No Left Turn

Hamblin County Mayor Addresses Firearms Group

2011-11-16T11:02:00.002-05:00

The Lakeway Chapter of the Tennessee Firearms Association (TFA) hosted Hamblin County Mayor Bill Britain at their monthly meeting on Tuesday, November 15.

Mayor Britain opened the meeting by stating that 6 of 14 County Commission members were serving their first term, having been elected in 2010 or appointed since that time. Britain, himself, was also elected in 2010. Several TFA members silently hoped that the current county officials are more firearms friendly that the previous administration.

Britain told the audience that the county is in good financial shape, having a sizable cash reserve on hand and being in debt at only half of the legally permissible rate.

Turning to the subject of firearms, Britain said that Cherokee Park, the only county park, is posted “No Firearms” but it does not apply to Handgun Carry Permit holders. He indicated that he would look into correcting the sign. He also said that the City of Morristown parks allowed firearms to be carried by those in possession of a valid HCP.

He was asked about county government buildings being posted. It was argued that the carrying of weapons is prohibited during judicial proceedings but not elsewhere in county government buildings. The relevant portion of the Tennessee Code says:

“39-17-1306. Carrying weapons during judicial proceedings.

(a) No person shall intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carry on or about the person while inside any room in which judicial proceedings are in progress any weapon prohibited by § 39-17-1302(a), for the purpose of going armed; provided, that if the weapon carried is a firearm, the person is in violation of this section regardless of whether the weapon is carried for the purpose of going armed.”

However weapons may be prohibited in any building which is properly posted in accordance with Tennessee Code :

“39-17-1359. Prohibition at certain meetings -- Posting notice.

(a) (1) An individual, corporation, business entity or local, state or federal government entity or agent thereof is authorized to prohibit the possession of weapons by any person who is at a meeting conducted by, or on property owned, operated, or managed or under the control of the individual, corporation, business entity or government entity.

(2) The prohibition in subdivision (a)(1) shall apply to any person who is authorized to carry a firearm by authority of § 39-17-1351.

(b) (1) Notice of the prohibition permitted by subsection (a) shall be accomplished by displaying one (1) or both of the notices described in subdivision (b)(3) in prominent locations, including all entrances primarily used by persons entering the property, building, or portion of the property or building where weapon possession is prohibited. Either form of notice used shall be of a size that is plainly visible to the average person entering the building, property, or portion of the building or property, posted.

(2) The notice required by this section shall be in English, but a duplicate notice may also be posted in any language used by patrons, customers or persons who frequent the place where weapon possession is prohibited.

(3) (A) If a sign is used as the method of posting, it shall contain language substantially similar to the following:

AS AUTHORIZED BY T.C.A. § 39-17-1359, POSSESSION OF A WEAPON ON POSTED PROPERTY OR IN A POSTED BUILDING IS PROHIBITED AND IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.

(B) As used in this section, "language substantially similar to" means the sign contains language plainly stating that:

(i) The property is posted under authority of Tennessee law;

(ii) Weapons or firearms are prohibited on the property, in the building, or on the portion of the property or building that is posted; and

(iii) Possessing a weapon in an area that has been posted is a criminal offense.

(C) A building, property or a portion of a building or property, shall be considered properly posted in accordance with this section if one (1) or both of the following is displayed in prominent locations, including all entrances primarily used by persons entering the property, building, or portion of the property or building where weapon possession is prohibited:

(i) The international circle and slash symbolizing the prohibition of the item within the circle; or

(ii) The posting sign described in this subdivision (b)(3).

(c) (1) It is an offense to possess a weapon in a building or on property that is properly posted in accordance with this section.

(2) Possession of a weapon on posted property in violation of this section is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by fine only of five hundred dollars ($500).

(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to alter, reduce or eliminate any civil or criminal liability that a property owner or manager may have for injuries arising on their property.

(e) The provisions of this section shall not apply to title 70 regarding wildlife laws, rules and regulations.

(f) This section shall not apply to the grounds of any public park, natural area, historic park, nature trail, campground, forest, greenway, waterway or other similar public place that is owned or operated by the state, a county, a municipality or instrumentality thereof. The carrying of firearms in those areas shall be governed by § 39-17-1311.”

An audience member also made the point that Hamblin County has no publicly accessible shooting range. Recently, one business owner had plans to construct a range in accordance with state law, however he was prohibited by the county government “until an ordinance could be passed to regulate such ranges.”

Mayor Britain listened politely to comments from the TFA members but did not make a commitment to use his office to take any action for or against the concerns of those in attendance.

TFA will not meet in December but will return to the normal meeting schedule in January, 2012 on the third Tuesday of the month at Shoneys on AJ Highway in Morristown. One does not have to be a member of TFA to attend.

I know what it say, but what do it really mean?

2011-07-27T07:38:00.001-04:00

One Hundred Forty Eight years ago this week the U.S. Congress passed the 14^th amendment to the Constitution.

“Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.

Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.

Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.”

This is probably the most poorly written and most misconstrued parts of the Constitution. The 14^th is only 147 words shorter than the first 10 amendments combined.

Let’s take a look at it, from a non-lawyer point of view.

Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Most people would say that Section One was written to grant citizenship privileges to former slaves, and I believe that was the writer’s intent. Did you notice the line about “and subject to the jurisdiction thereof”? I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how anchor babies of illegal aliens can be considered “subject to the jurisdiction thereof.” We need someone to stand up and say that at least one parent of a baby must be a citizen or legal resident (Article I, Section 8.4) in order for the baby to be a citizen. To the best of my knowledge, individuals were considered to be citizens of the several united (small u) States until this amendment. All of a sudden individuals became citizens of the United (capital U) States. It also states that no person shall be deprived of property without due process of law. More about this in Section 4.

Actually pretty simple. The writer intended to punish the Confederate States by denying voting privileges to them.

Also simple. Leaders of the Confederate States were banned from having a say in the new United (capital U) States.

Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.

This is a hot button section currently. Originally it said that the debts incurred by the Union States would be paid. And, the creditors of the Confederate States were out of luck. Currently B. Hussein Ubama is trying to say that he, as President, can increase the amount of debt which is owed by the United (capital U) States, and bypass Congress in the process. Apparently B. Hussein has never read the original Constitution, Article I, Section 8.2.

Do you remember in Section 1 where it says that people cannot be deprived of property without due process? Then in Sections 2 and 3, a goodly portion of Confederates were denied representation on the national level. Tell me, if you can how due process was followed when slaves were taken away from their owners. (Rabbit trail follows: I’m not saying that slavery was right and I will not defend it. But I will say that slaves were considered property at that point in history.) I know, I know! Not all former officials (Section 3 applies) were slave owners and not all slave owners were government officials. But the lines do merge enough to deserve consideration.

Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

Well! That overwhelms me. According to Section 5, Congress is free to expand and revise any law that they are able to connect, however remotely, to the 14^th. For example, I wanted to comment on the SCOTUS ruling that it was OK to kill unborn babies, citing the 14^th as authority. By their tacit approval of that ruling, Congress effectively made a law that authorizes murder.

The entire 14^th amendment had only two purposes. First, it was written to punish the states that were following the 9^th and 10^th amendments. Second, it was the cornerstone of a larger and more powerful central government.

This union (small u) has been deteriorating ever since the 14^th amendment was passed. God help us all.

Cute as a Speckled Puppy

2011-07-21T13:39:00.010-04:00

What weighs just over a half pound, is almost indestructible and may save your life?
It's called the BC Special, 5 shot derringer.
Boje and Dotti Cornils manufacture the tiny .22/.22 mag pistol in Russellville, Tennessee. Boje began his apprenticeship as a machinist in 1950. He has been modifying and building firearms for about 15 years.
The BC Special is entirely made of machined stainless steel, except for the wood grips made by Dotti. It's available in Stainless Steel, Titanium, and Black finishes. Each derringer is supplied with both a .22 LR and a .22 Mag cylinder. Dotti encourages potential buyers to dry fire the gun, a practice unheard of for .22 rim fire handguns. The trigger pull is necessarily heavy to prevent accidental discharge because there is no trigger guard. The basic Stainless Steel model begins at less than $300 and the black finish with screw-on compensator goes for around $450. Titanium finish is somewhere in between. A laser sighting device is also available and is easily mounted with just one screw.
Loaded with hollow point ammo, the BC Special would be an adequate self defense weapon that could be carried in a purse or behind a large belt buckle.
They welcome visitors at their shop in Russellville. They can be reached at (423) 587 5779 for an appointment.
Before embarking on the derringer, Boje made most of the improvements to the AA 12 shotgun shown in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4ebtj1jR7c. He is shown in the following video demonstrating the results of his work on the AA 12. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siOEEOTjGqM&feature=related Note the lack of recoil, even when held upside down.
I met Boje and Dotti at the July meeting of the Tennessee Firearms Association, Lakeway Chapter in Morristown, Tenn.

There are lies and they are damn lies

2011-07-12T15:26:00.002-04:00

Disinformation Tactics: The Methods Used To Keep You In The Dark

By Giordano Bruno | Neithercorp Press

Posted on pakalert on February 7, 2010

http://www.pakalertpress.com/2010/02/07/disinformation-tactics-the-methods-used-to-keep-you-in-the-dark/

There was a time, not too long ago (relatively speaking), that governments and the groups of elites that controlled them did not find it necessary to conscript themselves into wars of disinformation. Propaganda was relatively straightforward. The lies were much simpler. The control of information flow was easily directed. In fact, during the early Middle-Ages in most European countries commoners were not even allowed to own a Bible, nor was the Bible allowed to be interpreted from Latin to another language, let alone any other tome that might breed "dangerous ideas". This was due, in large part, to the established feudal system and its hierarchy of royals and clergy. Rules were enforced with the threat of property confiscation and execution for anyone who strayed from the rigid socio-political structure. Those who had theological, metaphysical, or scientific information outside of the conventional and scripted collective world view were tortured and slaughtered. The elites kept the information to themselves and removed its remnants from mainstream recognition, sometimes for centuries before it was rediscovered.

With the advent of anti-feudalism and, most importantly, the success of the American Revolution, elites were no longer able to dominate information with the edge of a blade or the barrel of a gun. The establishment of Democracies (and Democratic Republics), with their philosophy of open government and rule by the people, compelled Aristocratic minorities to plot more subtle ways of obstructing the truth and thus maintaining their hold over the world without exposing themselves to retribution from the masses.

Thus, the complex art of disinformation was born. The technique, the "magic" of the lie, was refined and perfected. The mechanics of the human mind and the human soul became an endless obsession for the elites.

The goal was malicious but socially radical; instead of expending the impossible energy needed to dictate the very form and existence of the truth, they would allow it to drift, obscured in a fog of contrived data. They would wrap the truth in a "Gordian Knot" of misdirections and fabrications so elaborate that they felt certain the majority of people would surrender, giving up long before they ever finished unraveling the deceit. The goal was not to destroy the truth but to hide it in plain sight.

In modern times and with carefully engineered methods, this goal has, for the most part, been accomplished. However, these methods also have inherent weaknesses. Lies are fragile. They require constant attentiveness to keep them alive. The exposure of a single truth can rip through an ocean of lies, evaporating it instantly. In this article, we will examine the methods used to fertilize and promote the growth of disinformation, as well as how to identify the roots of disinformation and effectively cut them, starving out the entire system of fallacies once and for all.

Media Disinformation Methods

The mainstream media, once tasked with the job of investigating government corruption and keeping elitists in line, has now become nothing more than a PR firm for corrupt officials and their Globalist handlers. The days of the legitimate "investigative reporter" are long gone, and journalism itself has deteriorated into a rancid pool of so called "TV Editorialists" who treat their own baseless opinions as supported fact.

The elitist co-opting of news has been going on in one form or another since the invention of the printing press. However, the first methods of media disinformation truly came to fruition under the supervision of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, who believed the truth was "subjective" and open to his personal interpretation. Hearst's legacy of lies and sensationalism lives on in the Hearst published magazine 'Popular Mechanics', who accuse the growing 9/11 Truth Movement of outrageous "conspiracy theory" while at the same time consistently publishing articles about UFO sightings and secret government flying saucer programs.

As we will show, this strange juxtaposition of mixed signals and hypocritical accusations is characteristic of all purveyors of disinformation.

Some of the main tactics used by the mainstream media (MSM) to mislead the masses are as follows:

Lie Big, Retract Quietly

Mainstream media sources (especially newspapers) are notorious for reporting flagrantly dishonest and unsupported news stories on the front page, then quietly retracting those stories on the very back page when they are caught. In this case, the point is to railroad the lie into the collective consciousness. Once the lie is finally exposed, it is already too late and a large portion of the population will not notice or care when the truth comes out. A good example of this would be the collusion of the MSM with the Bush administration to convince the American public after 9/11 that Iraq had WMDs, even though no concrete evidence existed to prove it. George W. Bush's eventual admission that there had never been any WMDs in Iraq (except chemical weapons which the U.S. actually sold to Saddam under the Reagan / Bush administration) was lightly reported or glazed over by most mainstream news sources. The core reason behind a war that has now killed over a million people was proven to be completely fraudulent, yet I still run into people today who believe that Iraq had nukes.

Unconfirmed Or Controlled Sources As Fact

Cable news venues often cite information from "unnamed" sources, government sources that have an obvious bias or agenda, or "expert" sources without providing an alternative "expert" view. The information provided by these sources is usually backed by nothing more than blind faith. A recent example of this would be the Osama Bin Laden audio tapes which supposedly reveal that the Christmas "Underwear Bomber" was indeed Al-Qaeda:

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/osama-bin-laden-addresses-president-obama-audio-tape/story?id=9650267

The media treats the audio tape as undeniable fact in numerous stories, then at the same time prints a side story which shows that the White House cannot confirm that the tape is even real:

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60N16I20100124

If the White House cannot confirm the authenticity of the tape, then why did the media report on its contents as if it had been confirmed?

Calculated Omission

Otherwise known as "cherry picking" data. One simple piece of information or root item of truth can derail an entire disinfo news story, so instead of trying to gloss over it, they simply pretend as if it doesn't exist. When the fact is omitted, the lie can appear entirely rational. This tactic is also used extensively when disinformation agents and crooked journalists engage in open debate.

Distraction, and the Manufacture of Relevance

Sometimes the truth wells up into the public awareness regardless of what the media does to bury it. When this occurs, their only recourse is to attempt to change the public's focus and thereby distract them from the truth they were so close to grasping. The media accomplishes this by "over-reporting" on a subject that has nothing to do with the more important issues at hand. Ironically, the media can take an unimportant story and, by reporting on it ad nauseum, cause many Americans to assume that because the media won't shut-up about it, it must be important! An example of this would be the recent push for an audit of the Federal Reserve which was gaining major public support, as well as political support. Instead of reporting on this incredible and unprecedented movement for transparency in the Fed, the MSM spent two months or more reporting non-stop on the death of Michael Jackson, a pop idol who had not released a decent record since "Thriller," practically deifying the man who only months earlier was being lambasted by the same MSM for having "wandering hands" when children were about.

Dishonest Debate Tactics

Sometimes, men who actually are concerned with the average American's pursuit of honesty and legitimate fact-driven information break through and appear on T.V. However, rarely are they allowed to share their views or insights without having to fight through a wall of carefully crafted deceit and propaganda. Because the media knows they will lose credibility if they do not allow guests with opposing viewpoints every once in a while, they set up and choreograph specialized T.V. debates in highly restrictive environments which put the guest on the defensive, and make it difficult for them to clearly convey their ideas or facts.

TV pundits are often trained in what are commonly called "Alinsky Tactics." Saul Alinsky was a moral relativist and champion of the lie as a tool for the "greater good;" essentially, a modern day Machiavelli. His "Rules for Radicals" were supposedly meant for grassroots activists who opposed the establishment, and emphasized the use of any means necessary to defeat one's political opposition. But, is it truly possible to defeat an establishment built on lies, by use of even more elaborate lies and by sacrificing one's ethics?

Today, Alinsky's rules are used more often by the establishment than by its opposition. These tactics have been adopted by governments and disinformation specialists across the world but they are most visible in TV debate. While Alinsky sermonized about the need for confrontation in society, his debate tactics are actually designed to circumvent real and honest confrontation of opposing ideas with slippery tricks and diversions. Alinsky's tactics, and their modern usage, can be summarized as follows:

1) Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have.

We see this tactic in many forms. For example, projecting your own movement as mainstream and your opponent's as fringe.

Convincing your opponent that his fight is a futile one. Your opposition may act differently or even hesitate to act at all, based on their perception of your power.

2) Never go outside the experience of your people and, whenever possible, go outside of the experience of the enemy.

Don't get drawn into a debate about a subject you do not know as well as or better than your opposition. If possible, draw them into such a situation instead. Look for ways to increase insecurity, anxiety and uncertainty in your opposition. This is commonly used against unwitting interviewees on cable news shows whose positions are set up to be skewered. The target is blind-sided by seemingly irrelevant arguments that they are then forced to address. In television and radio, this also serves to waste broadcast time to prevent the target from expressing his own positions.

3) Make the enemy live up to their own book of rules.

The objective is to target the opponent's credibility and reputation by accusations of hypocrisy. If the tactician can catch his opponent in even the smallest misstep, it creates an opening for further attacks.

4) Ridicule is man's most potent weapon.

"Ron Paul is a crackpot." "Dennis Kucinich is short and weird." "9-11 twoofers wear tinfoil hats." Ridicule is almost impossible to counter. It's irrational. It infuriates the opposition which then reacts to your advantage. It also works as a pressure point to force the enemy into concessions.

5) A good tactic is one that your people enjoy.

The popularization of the term "Teabaggers" is a classic example. It caught on by itself because people seem to think it's clever and enjoy saying it. Keeping your talking points simple and fun keeps your side motivated and helps your tactics spread autonomously without instruction or encouragement.

6) A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag.

See rule number 6. Don't become old news. If you keep your tactics fresh, it's easier to keep your people active. Not all disinformation agents are paid. The "useful idiots" have to be motivated by other means. Mainstream disinformation often changes gear from one method to the next and then back again.

7) Keep the pressure on with different tactics and actions, and utilize all events of the period for your purpose.

Keep trying new things to keep the opposition off balance. As the opposition masters one approach, hit them from the flank with something new. Never give the target a chance to rest, regroup, recover or re-strategize. Take advantage of current events and twist their implications to support your position. Never let a good crisis go to waste.

The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.

This goes hand in hand with Rule #1. Perception is reality. Allow your opposition to expend all of its energy in expectation of an insurmountable scenario. The dire possibilities can easily poison the mind and result in demoralization.

9) The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure on the opposition.

The objective of this pressure is to force the opposition to react and make the mistakes that are necessary for the ultimate success of the campaign.

10) If you push a negative hard and deep enough, it will break through into its counterside.

As grassroots activism tools, Alinsky tactics have historically been used (for example, by labor movements) to force the opposition to react with violence against activists, which leads to popular sympathy for the activists' cause. Today, false (or co-opted) grassroots movements use this technique in debate as well as in planned street actions. The idea is to provoke (or stage) ruthless attacks against ones' self, so as to be perceived as the underdog or the victim. Today, this technique is commonly used to create the illusion that a certain movement is "counterculture" or "anti-establishment."

11) The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative.

Never let the enemy score points because you're caught without a solution to the problem. Today, this is often used offensively against legitimate activists, such as the opponents of the Federal Reserve. Complain that your opponent is merely "pointing out the problems." Demand that they offer a solution.

12) Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.

Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. The targets supporters will expose themselves. Go after individual people not organizations or institutions. People hurt faster than institutions.

The next time you view an MSM debate, watch the pundits carefully. You will likely see many if not all of the strategies above used on some unsuspecting individual attempting to tell the truth.

Internet Disinformation Methods

Because the MSM's bag of tricks has been so exhausted over such a long period of time, many bitter and enraged consumers of information are now turning to alternative news sources, most of which exist on the collective commons we call the internet. At first, it appears, the government and elitists ignored the web as a kind of novelty, or just another mechanism they could exploit in spreading disinformation. As we all now well know, they dropped the ball and the internet has become the most powerful tool for truth history has ever seen.

That being said, they are now expending incredible resources in order to catch up to their mistake, utilizing every trick in their arsenal to beat web users back into submission. While the anonymity of the internet allows for a certain immunity against many of Saul Alinsky's manipulative tactics, it also allows governments to covertly attack those trying to spread the truth. In the world of web news, we call these people "disinfo trolls." Trolls are now being openly employed by governments in countries like the U.S. and Israel specifically to scour the internet for alternative news sites and disrupt their ability to share information.

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Raw_obtains_CENTCOM_email_to_bloggers_1016.html

http://www.thenational.ae/article/20090104/FOREIGN/882042198/1002

http://www.atlanticfreepress.com/news/1/10793-twitterers-paid-to-spread-israeli-propaganda-internet-warfare-team-unveiled.html

Internet trolls, also known as "paid posters" or "paid bloggers," are increasingly being employed by private corporations as well, often for marketing purposes. In fact, it is a rapidly growing industry.

Trolls use a wide variety of strategies, some of which are unique to the internet. Here are just a few:

1) Make outrageous comments designed to distract or frustrate: An Alinsky tactic used to make people emotional, although less effective because of the impersonal nature of the web.

2) Pose as a supporter of the truth. Then make comments that discredit the movement: We have seen this even on our own forums -- trolls pose as supporters of the Liberty Movement, then post long, incoherent diatribes so as to appear either racist or insane.

The key to this tactic is to make references to common Liberty Movement arguments while at the same time babbling nonsense, so as to make those otherwise valid arguments seem ludicrous by association.

In extreme cases, these "Trojan Horse Trolls" have been known to make posts which incite violence -- a technique obviously intended to solidify the false assertions of the notorious MIAC report and other ADL/SPLC publications which purport that constitutionalists should be feared as potential domestic terrorists.

3) Dominate Discussions: Trolls often interject themselves into productive web discussions in order to throw them off course and frustrate the people involved.

4) Prewritten Responses: Many trolls are supplied with a list or database with pre-planned talking points designed as generalized and deceptive responses to honest arguments. 9/11 "debunker" trolls are notorious for this.

5) False Association: This works hand in hand with item #2, by invoking the stereotypes established by the "Trojan Horse Troll."

For example: calling those against the Federal Reserve "conspiracy theorists" or "lunatics". Deliberately associating anti-globalist movements with big foot or alien enthusiasts because of the inherent negative connotations. Using false associations to provoke biases and dissuade people from examining the evidence objectively.

6) False Moderation: Pretending to be the "voice of reason" in an argument with obvious and defined sides in an attempt to move people away from what is clearly true into a "grey area" where the truth becomes "relative."

7) Straw Man Arguments: A very common technique. The troll will accuse his opposition of subscribing to a certain point of view, even if he does not, and then attacks that point of view. Or, the troll will put words in the mouth of his opposition and then rebut those specific words. For example: "9/11 truthers say that no planes hit the WTC towers and that it was all just computer animation. What are they, crazy?"

Sometimes, these strategies are used by average people with serious personality issues. However, if you see someone using these tactics often or using many of them at the same time, you may be dealing with a paid internet troll.

Government Disinformation Methods

Governments, and the globalists who back them, have immense assets -- an almost endless fiat money printing press -- and control over most legal and academic institutions. With these advantages, disinformation can be executed on a massive scale. Here are just a handful of the most prominent tactics used by government agencies and private think tanks to guide public opinion and establish the appearance of consensus:

1) Control The Experts: Most Americans are taught from kindergarten to ignore their instincts for the truth and defer to the "professional class" for all their answers. The problem is that much of the professional class is indoctrinated throughout their college years, many of them molded to support the status quo. Any experts that go against the grain are ostracized by their peers.

2) Control The Data: By controlling the source data of any investigation, be it legal or scientific, the government has the ability to engineer any truth they wish, that is, as long as the people do not care enough to ask for the source data. Two major examples of controlled and hidden source data include: the NIST investigation of the suspicious 9/11 WTC collapses, in which NIST engineers, hired by the government, have kept all source data from their computer models secret, while claiming that the computer models prove the collapses were "natural". Also, the recent exposure of the CRU Climate Labs and their manipulation of source data in order to fool the public into believing that Global Warming is real and accepting a world-wide carbon tax. The CRU has refused to release the source data from its experiments for years and now we know why.

3) Skew The Statistics: This tactic is extremely evident in the Labor Department's evaluations on unemployment, using such tricks as incorporating ambiguous birth / death ratios into their calculation in order to make it appear as though there are less unemployed people than there really are or leaving out certain subsections of the population, like those who are unemployed and no longer seeking benefits.

3) Guilt By False Association: Governments faced with an effective opponent will always attempt to demonize that person or group in the eyes of the public. This is often done by associating them with a group or idea that the public already hates. Example: During the last election, they tried to associate Ron Paul supporters with racist groups (and more recently, certain Fox News anchors) in order to deter moderate Democrats from taking an honest look at Congressman Paul's policies.

4) Manufacture Good News: This falls in with the skewing of statistics, and it also relies heavily on Media cooperation. The economic "Green Shoots" concept is a good example of the combination of government and corporate media interests in order to create an atmosphere of false optimism based on dubious foundations.

5) Controlled Opposition: Men in positions of power have known for centuries the importance of controlled opposition. If a movement rises in opposition to one's authority, one must usurp that movement's leadership. If no such movement exists to infiltrate, the establishment will often create a toothless one, in order to fill that social need and neutralize individuals who might have otherwise taken action themselves.

During the 1960's and 1970's, the FBI began a secretive program called COINTELPRO. Along with illegal spying on American citizens who were against the Vietnam conflict or in support of the civil rights movement, they also used agents and media sources to pose as supporters of the movement, then purposely created conflict and division, or took control of the direction of the movement altogether. This same tactic has been attempted with the modern Liberty Movement on several levels but has, so far, been ineffective in stopping our growth.

The NRA is another good example of controlled opposition. Many gun owners are satisfied that paying their annual NRA dues is tantamount to actively resisting anti-gun legislation when, in fact, the NRA is directly responsible for many of the compromises which result in lost ground on 2nd amendment issues. In this way, gun owners are not only rendered inactive but actually manipulated into funding the demise of their own cause.

6) False Paradigms: Human beings have a tendency to categorize and label other people and ideas. It is, for better or worse, a fundamental part of how we understand the complexities of the world. This component of human nature, like most any other, can be abused as a powerful tool for social manipulation. By framing a polarized debate according to artificial boundaries and establishing the two poles of that debate, social engineers can eliminate the perceived possibility of a third alternative. The mainstream media apparatus is the key weapon to this end. The endless creation of dichotomies and the neat arrangement of ideologies along left/right lines offers average people a very simple (though hopelessly inaccurate) way of thinking about politics.

It forces them to choose a side, usually based solely on emotional or cultural reasons, and often lures them into supporting positions they would otherwise disagree with. It fosters an environment in which beating the other team is more important than ensuring the integrity of your own. Perhaps, most importantly, it allows the social engineer to determine what is "fair game" for debate and what is not.

Alinsky himself wrote: "One acts decisively only in the conviction that all the angels are on one side and all the devils on the other."

One merely needs to observe a heated debate between a Democrat and a Republican to see how deeply this belief has been ingrained on both sides and how destructive it is to true intellectual discourse.

Stopping Disinformation

The best way to disarm disinformation agents is to know their methods inside and out. This gives us the ability to point out exactly what they are doing in detail the moment they try to do it. Immediately exposing a disinformation tactic as it is being used is highly destructive to the person utilizing it. It makes them look foolish, dishonest, and weak for even making the attempt.

Internet trolls, most especially, do not know how to handle their methods being deconstructed right in front of their eyes and usually fold and run from debate when it occurs.

The truth is precious. It is sad that there are so many in our society that have lost respect for it; people who have traded in their conscience and their soul for temporary financial comfort while sacrificing the stability and balance of the rest of the country in the process. The human psyche breathes on the air of truth. Without it, humanity cannot survive. Without it, the species will collapse in on itself, starving from lack of intellectual and emotional sustenance. Disinformation does not only threaten our insight into the workings of our world; it makes us vulnerable to fear, misunderstanding, and doubt; all things that lead to destruction. It can lead good people to commit terrible atrocities against others or even against themselves. Without a concerted and organized effort to diffuse mass-produced lies, the future will look bleak indeed.

************************************************************************************************************************************************

"The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." --Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (121-180)

The Constitution Ain’t What It Used To Be

2011-05-19T10:01:00.001-04:00

Greenville attorney and constitutional scholar Jeffery Cobble addressed the Tennessee Firearms Association, Lakeway Chapter on Tuesday, May 18.

The Tennessee Constitution, Article I Section 26 says, “That the citizens of this state have a right to keep and to bear arms for their common defense; but the Legislature shall have power, by law, to regulate the wearing of arms with a view to prevent crime.”

Cobble said that originally, in 1798, that was understood to say that all free men could bear arms. Keep in mind that black slaves were not the only ones in servitude. At that time it was common for white Europeans to be in a state of indentured servitude. Then in 1835 it was changed to mean that free white men could bear arms. Following the War for Southern Independence, as a condition of regaining statehood in the union, the state constitution was rewritten in 1870 to include the current version above.

In 1840, according to Cobble, “arms” referred to any weapon in common use by the military. In 1870 “arms” was redefined to include weaponry on a case by case basis. Theoretically, if they had existed in the mid 1800’s, a fully automatic rifle could have been the preferred walking around weapon.

When the 14^th amendment to the U.S. Constitution was adopted, the primary intent was to grant citizenship to former slaves. “Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.”

The 14^th amendment has been interpreted under the incorporation doctrine to mean that the U.S. Constitution pre-empts state laws. If one follows that line of thinking then the Tennessee Constitution phrase “but the Legislature shall have power, by law, to regulate the wearing of arms with a view to prevent crime.” is nullified by the U.S. 2^nd amendment which says “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” Remember that the federal government required the addition of “but the Legislature shall have power, by law, to regulate the wearing of arms with a view to prevent crime.” as a condition of statehood.

Cobble’s point is that both the Tennessee and U.S. Constitutions are subject to changing interpretations, even though the language of each is relatively simple and straight forward. He also stated that, in his opinion, the 14^th amendment has had all the sense interpreted out of it and that it should be repealed.

Cobble pointed out that until the early 20^th century, state militias were the primary defense force. A national standing army came into it’s own at about the time of World War I. He proposed that the states should activate the concept of true state militias. The founding fathers were leery of standing armies and so should be today’s citizens.

On a rabbit trail, Cobble said that capitalism will not work without morality. He said that there is no Wealth without Work and there is no Work without Wealth. Nothing is accomplished, he said, by going after and punishing the wealthy.

Cobble is an interesting man to hear and seems to be well versed in constitutional issues. He does not hesitate to opine that any constitutional discussion can have two or more sides.

2011-04-19T08:18:00.000-04:00

Tennessee Firearms Association, Inc.
Legislative Action Committee

Tennesseans have pushed for a change in the existing laws for many years so that individuals who have handgun carry permits can commute to and from work without fear of losing their job simply because the want to be capable of providing for their own defense in the event of an emergency while commuting.

For years, big business has opposed this change in the law and have used its money and resources to defeat this change in the law.

For years, Republicans have asserted to Tennessee's conservatives and particularly its firearms owners "give us control in the General Assembly and we will fix these problems." Well, the Republicans now have control - complete control. Tennessee's conservatives, the people, have put the Republicans in office. Now it is time to demand that the Republicans honor their promises to the citizens and remove infringements on our rights to keep, bear and wear arms under Article 1, Section 26 of the Tennessee Constitution. To date, there is no clear sign that these promises are being kept - much less remembered.

What is evident is that those who are in power are once again dancing to the carrot stick of big business as evidenced by the amendment to House Bill 2021. It is time, therefore, that we remind them that it was citizen voters - not big business - that elected them to office! To borrow a phrase from Bill Cosby, ""You know, I brought you in this world, and I can take you out...." If Tennessee voters do not fully understand and agree that conservatives are now in power, then those who are in power but failing in their promises can be removed and others can take their place.

Go to the TFA's action alert system and send them a message that they are being held accountable for their "campaign promises." Call to Action Email Alert - Send your own Message

Forward this message and this call to action to every firearms owner, to every conservative, to every Tea Party member you know.

Joyful Anticipation

2011-04-12T10:39:00.001-04:00

Food for thought.

Psalms 90:10--The days of our lives are 70 years; And if by reason on strength they are 80 years, Yet their boast is only of labor and sorrow; For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

Matthew 24: 3-- ......And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?

Matthew 24:32-35--"Now learn this parable from the fig tree; When it's branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near, at the very doors. Assuredly, I say to you this generation will by no means pass away till all these things are fulfilled. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away."

The fig tree is considered a symbol of Israel by many bible scholars. Israel became a recognized autonomous nation in 1948. 70 or 80 years from 1948 will be 2018 or 2028.

IMHO Christ will probably return sometime within the next 17 years. It could be today and it could be even later than 2028, but I do believe and hope it will be soon. Just an opinion.

BOHICA

2011-03-31T16:17:00.000-04:00

Obama's Assault on Weapons

By Mark Alexander · Thursday, March 31, 2011

Project Gunrunner Backfires on the Left

"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." --Second Amendment to the United States Constitution

Barack Hussein Obama and his Socialist cadre¹, in their enthusiasm to "fundamentally transform² the United States of America," have redoubled efforts to do what all tyrannical governments must do to establish absolute state supremacy and usurp Rule of Law³ -- disarm the people.

Leftists accomplish this through incremental implementation of gun confiscation measures, most of which are overt political machinations. These include legislation written and promoted by Leftist groups such as the American Bar Association, Physicians for Social Responsibility, the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, the Violence Policy Center, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, and the Brady Campaign.

Current legislation under consideration includes H.R. 308 to limit rounds in magazines, S. 35 to lock in gun show registrations, S. 436 designed to "fix gun checks," and, most disturbing, the reauthorization of Section 215 of The Patriot Act, which permits the FBI to seize gun sale records (4473's) pursuant to "an authorized investigation." Regarding the latter, the Inspector General estimated that between 2003 and 2006, the FBI exceeded its authority under Section 215 in more than 6,000 instances.

The objective of most of this legislation is centralized registration, which provides the federal government with data on the owner of every gun in the U.S. Then, under the duress of, say, the collapse of our economy⁴, Leftists will "justify" confiscation by way of such nefarious measures as an Executive Order -- just as they justified weapons confiscations after Hurricane Katrina.

"Rule one: Never allow a crisis to go to waste," right?

The generation that witnessed the adulteration of our Constitution⁵ by Franklin Roosevelt and his Useful Idiots⁶ during the Great Depression know exactly what I mean. Fortunately, growing ranks of Patriots⁷ across our nation are awakening to this very real threat against our Second Amendment rights.

As FDR aptly demonstrated, the primary method in the Left's playbook for advancing its agenda is to convert tragedy into political capital. That is precisely what they did with the shooting of Democrat Rep. Gabrielle Giffords⁸ and others in Tucson in January of this year, and that is the rallying point for current gun control legislation.

Of course, claiming "gun violence⁹" is the problem, rather than social entropy¹⁰ institutionalized by FDR's policies and those of his Socialist successors, is a better fit with the Left's agenda.

Another case in point, and one that is now backfiring on the Obama administration, is Project Gunrunner, a government program run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). As you may recall, ATF is an agency that exposed itself as a puppet for political agendas in the botched and bloody assaults at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, in 1992 and Waco, Texas, in 1993.

The ATF implemented Project Gunrunner in 2006 as a strategy to track weapon distribution networks between the U.S. and Mexican drug cartels -- a worthy goal on the surface. Problem is, once the guns crossed into Mexico, ATF lost most of its tracking capability, which is to say that efforts to follow the distribution trail and stem the tide ended at the border.

Enter the Obama administration's gun control agenda, which breathed new life into Gunrunner and re-established the ATF leadership's standard ops tempo: SNAFU.

While Project Gunrunner failed in charting weapons distribution channels south of the border, Democrats saw its utility as a means to implement new gun regulations north of the border by asserting that all the violence in the region is the result of gun sales in the U.S.

The Obama administration hoped to make a case that Mexican organized crime syndicates depend on illegal U.S. sales of so-called "assault weapons." In doing so, they hoped to revitalize their political agenda to register and regulate the sale of those weapons -- a major Leftist goal for the last two decades.

With its mission transformed, in 2009 and 2010 the ATF expanded Project Gunrunner offices to McAllen, Texas, El Centro, California, Las Cruces, New Mexico, Sierra Vista, Arizona, and Brownsville, Texas, and added new Gunrunner teams in Tucson and in El Paso, Texas. Project Gunrunner's focus became exposing the illegal sale of guns in the U.S. in support of Obama's political objectives.

But the ATF's Gunrunner is now the subject of a political firefight.

On 28 December 2010, I was contacted by a career federal agent who, like many of his colleagues, honors his oath to "support and defend¹¹" our Constitution, whose support and defense is contingent on the Second Amendment's¹² prohibition against government infringement on the right of citizens to keep and bear arms.

The contacting agent, who has a good track record of identifying government agendas designed to thwart 2A¹³ rights, told me that he suspected the weapon used in the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry on 14 December was among those lost by the ATF during the Gunrunner operation a few months earlier. Senior career agents in Phoenix and Tucson confirmed that some of the weapons recovered at the scene of the murder of Agent Terry were, indeed, Project Gunrunner weapons, but because the ATF took control of the weapons, it could evade the establishment of any ballistic link between Project Gunrunner and the bullet that killed Terry.

Further, the agent I spoke with confirmed that the mission of Project Gunrunner was now purely political, an effort to "implement the registration of 'assault-type' rifles purchased anywhere in the United States." Obama's political appointees at ATF rejected numerous objections from field agents, including supervisory agents. Some objections were career terminators, including that of the ATF's attaché in Mexico City, Darren Gil, whose objections resulted in forced retirement on 31 December 2010, just two weeks after the murder of Brian Terry.

Now, in response to the ATF's stonewalling on ballistics related to Agent Terry's murder, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, is demanding answers¹⁴. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), ranking minority member of the Judiciary Committee, is leading Senate inquiries¹⁵ into the connection between Gunrunner and Terry's murder.

Additionally, Grassley has also inquired about the murder¹⁶ of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent Jaime Zapata on 15 February, which may also involve weapons connected to Project Gunrunner.

For the record, a search of the ATF website, which prominently promotes Project Gunrunner, makes no mention of the murders of CBP Agent Terry or ICE Agent Zapata other than mentioning their names in off-the-shelf condolences.

For his part, Obama says of Gunrunner, "There may be a situation here which a serious mistake was made. If that's the case, then we'll find out and we'll hold someone accountable." He then asserted, "I did not authorize it; Eric Holder, the attorney general, did not authorize it. He's been very clear that our policy is to catch gunrunners and put them into jail."

Obama and Holder may have enough cutouts to provide political insulation from Gunrunner fallout, but their politicization of its mission has not only been responsible for countless deaths in Mexico (more citizens were murdered in the city of Juarez in 2010 than in the nation of Afghanistan), but very likely the murder of two front-line U.S. agents trying to do their job in accordance with their oaths.

The attention focused on Project Gunrunner has been motivated primarily by politics: first, Obama's gun control agenda to politicize the operation, and now the Republicans' agenda to see how far up the chain of command knowledge of the operation went.

Upcoming testimony from Adam Price and Jeffrey Stirling, program managers for Gunrunner at ATF headquarters, may lead to appearances by Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer, FBI Director Robert Mueller, DHS Director Janet Napolitano, Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

All the political shenanigans aside, the Left's assault on the Second Amendment is a much bigger contest: Liberty versus Tyranny¹⁷.

To that end, it's worth recalling the words of James Madison: "The advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation ... forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition."

James Madison's appointee to the Supreme Court, Justice Joseph Story, wrote in his 1833 "Commentaries on the Constitution," "The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered as the palladium of the liberties of a republic¹⁸; since it offers a strong moral check against the usurpation and arbitrary power of rulers; and will generally, even if these are successful in the first instance, enable the people to resist and triumph over them."

(Footnote: It is no small irony that as Obama endeavors to disarm the American people, he is contemplating how to arm "freedom fighters" (who are revealed, more each day, to be al-Qa'ida operatives or their useful idiots) in Libya. "I'm not ruling it out," says Obama. "If we wanted to get weapons into Libya, we probably could." Indeed, just call the ATF!)

Chuck Fleischman's true colors

2011-02-10T17:00:00.001-05:00

Ed

When Congress failed to renew certain aspects of the Patriot Act Tuesday, proponents for liberty rejoiced. Well, Congress is trying to rush through another vote on the Patriot Act in the next few hours! Six of our nine Tennessee representatives voted for extending the Patriot Act provisions. They don't get it! The Patriot Act is not the right answer for how to deal with threats to our country and it is unconstitutional, plain and simple. For those who voted against the Patriot Act, send them a "Thank you" and asked they do so again. For those who did not stand up for liberty, let them know that they need to take advantage of this opportunity to get it right.

These Representatives voted FOR the Patriot Act on Tuesday:

Member Name	DC Phone	DC FAX
Representative Chuck Fleischmann (R - 03) Call Fleischmann's Chief of Staff, Chip Saltsman, directly at (615) 500-2447 or email at chip@chipsaltsman.com Tell him you want Chuck to vote NO this time.	202-225-3271	202-225-3494
Representative Scott DesJarlais (R - 04)	202-225-6831	202-226-5172
Representative Jim Cooper (D - 05)	202-225-4311	202-226-1035
Representative Diane Black (R - 06)	202-225-4231	202-225-6887
Representative Marsha Blackburn (R - 07)	202-225-2811	202-225-3004
Representative Stephen Lee Fincher (R - 08)	202-225-4714	202-225-1765

These Representatives voted AGAINST the Patriot Act:

Member Name	DC Phone	DC FAX
Representative Phil Roe (R - 01)	202-225-6356	202-225-5714
Representative John J. Duncan, Jr. (R - 02)	202-225-5435	202-225-6440
Representative Steve Cohen (D - 09)	202-225-3265	202-225-5663

Let them known what you think today before it's too late!

In Liberty,
Van Irion
President, Lead Counsel, Co-Founder
Liberty Legal Foundation

The year that will be

2011-01-01T12:12:00.024-05:00

Phearless prognostications phor the phuture.

At the beginning of the year, it's standard for certain folks to make predictions for the year. Although I'm slightly less famous than some seers, I feel the need to get in on the bandwagon. So, without further ado, my top 20 expectations for 2011 follow:

1. Joe Biden will make at least one statement per month which is stupid, inane of false.
2. Ted Kennedy will remain dead.
3. Oprah Winfrey will buy Finland.
4. Mariah Carey will remain one fine looking female.
6. Hamas will attack Israel and the U.S. Government will blame it on Zionists.
7. Jesus may rapture His church, but it's no more likely on May 21 than on any other date.
8. B. Hussein Obama will take one or more vacations on the taxpayers dime.
9. Military personnel will die in combat.
10. Precious metals such as gold and lead will increase in price.
11. Algore will be stranded on an iceberg.
12. The Kentucky Wildcats will not win the SEC football championship.
13. A number of elected officials who were supported by Tea Party folks will become Washingtonized and fail at the mission for which they were elected.
14. Planned Parenthood will be involved in the murder of thousands of unborn babies.
15. Democrats will renew their push for statehood for Puerto Rico.
16. The Republican Party still won't 'get it'.
17. B. Hussein Obama will produce an official birth certificate written in crayon on a matchbook cover from the Honolulu Hilton.
18. Jerry Springer will finance construction of a 600 room Home for Inbred Mothers.
19. Jan Brewer and Joe Arpaio will remain near the top of my heroes list.
20. The U.S Constitution will become more irrelevant to government officials.

Here it comes

2010-12-30T10:57:00.001-05:00

"But I am deeply convinced that any permanent, regular administrative system whose aim will be to provide for the needs of the poor will breed more miseries than it can cure, will deprave the population that it wants to help and comfort, will in time reduce the rich to being no more than the tenant-farmers of the poor, will dry up the sources of savings, will stop the accumulation of capital, will retard the development of trade, will benumb human industry and activity, and will culminate by bringing about a violent revolution in the State, when the number of those who receive alms will have become as large as those who give it, and the indigent, no longer being able to take from the impoverished rich the means for providing for his needs, will find it easier to plunder them of all their property at one stroke than to ask for help."--------Alex de Tocqueville in Memoir on Pauperism

Dang, Orwell was very prophetic

2010-12-16T10:12:00.011-05:00

Sunday morning it became necessary for me to pass through the Cumberland Gap tunnel, both ways.I had to go to Middlesboro, Ky. from Harrogate, Tenn. to get something from grocery store for a church dinner later in the day. We had just started getting the first of the snow which accumulate to eight inches at my house by Tuesday.

As usual, I was listening to the radio as I drove. Normally I get good radio reception except for about 500 feet while inside the mile long tunnel. As I entered the hole in the ground the programming changed to an announcement from the tunnel authority about road conditions and speed. And, I thought to myself, 'self that's weird'. On the return trip I intentionally set the radio on a different station to see what would happen. Yup, the same announcement came through my speakers. And, I thought to myself, 'self the dadgum gumment can take over the airways, all of them, at any moment'.

Those of you in the big city may have experienced similar but here in the sticks, it was a first for me. Well, if you don't count my first reading of 1984 by George Orwell.

This comes on the heels of the announcement that WalMart will show messages from Big Sister and that an app now exists for telephones to report suspicious behavior directly to the feds.

And the sheeple said, "It is good."

Dunno where this originated, but it worth repeating

2010-12-07T09:54:00.003-05:00

I Am the Democratic, Republican, Liberal-Progressive's Worst Nightmare. I am a White, Conservative, Tax-Paying, American Veteran, Gun Owning Biker. I am a Master leatherworker. I work hard and long hours with my hands to earn a living.
I believe in God and the freedom of religion, but I don't push it on others. I ride Harley Davidson Motorcycles, and drive American-made cars, and I believe in American products and buy them whenever I can.
I believe the money I make belongs to me and not some liberal governmental functionary,Democratic or Republican, that wants to share it with others who don't work! I'm in touch with my feelings and I like it that way!
I think owning a gun doesn't make you a killer; it makes you a smart American.
I think being a minority does not make you noble or victimized, and does not entitle you toanything. Get over it!
I believe that if you are selling me a Big Mac or any other item, you should do it in English. I believe there should be no other language option.
I believe everyone has a right to pray to his or her God when and where they want to.
My heroes are Malcolm Forbes, Bill Gates, John Wayne, Babe Ruth, Roy Rogers and Willie G. Davidson, who makes the awesome Harley Davidson Motorcycles.
I don't hate the rich. I don't pity the poor.
I know wrestling is fake and I don't waste my time watching or arguing about it.
I've never owned a slave, nor was I a slave. I haven't burned any witches or been persecuted by the Turks, and neither have you!
I believe if you don't like the way things are here, go back to where you came from and change your own country!
This is AMERICA ...We like it the way it is and more so the way it was ...so stop trying to change it to look like Russia or China , or some other socialist country!
If you were born here and don't like it... you are free to move to any Socialist country that will have you. I believe it is time to really clean house, starting with the White House, the seat of our biggest problems.
I want to know which church is it, exactly, where the Reverend Jesse Jackson preaches, where he gets his money, and why he is always part of the problem and not the solution? Can I get an AMEN on that one?
I also think the cops have the right to pull you over if you're breaking the law, regardless of what color you are, but not just because you happen to ride a bike.
And, no, I don't mind having my face shown on my driver's license. I think it's good.... And I'm proud that 'God' is written on my money..
I think if you are too stupid to know how a ballot works, I don't want you deciding who should be running the most powerful nation in the world for the next four years.
I dislike those people standing in the intersections trying to sell me stuff or trying to guilt me into making 'donations' to their cause.... Get a job and do your part to support yourself and your family!
I believe that it doesn't take a village to raise a child, it takes two parents....
I believe 'illegal' is illegal no matter what the lawyers think!
I believe the American flag should be the only one allowed in AMERICA !
If this makes me a BAD American, then yes, I'm a BAD American.
If you are a BAD American too, please forward this to everyone you know....
We want our country back! My Country.....I hope this offends all illegal aliens.
My great, great, great, great grandfather watched and bled as his friends died in the Revolution & the War of 1812. My great, great, great grandfather watched as his friends died in the Mexican American War. My great, great grandfather watched as his friends & brothers died in the Civil War. My great grandfather watched as his friends died in the Spanish-American War My grandfather watched as his friends died in WW I. My father watched as his friends died in WW II.
I watched as my friends died in Vietnam, Panama & Desert Storm. My son watched & bled as his friends died in Afghanistan and Iraq . None of them died for the Mexican Flag. Everyone died for the American flag.
Texas high school students raised a Mexican flag on a school flag pole, other students took it down. Guess who was expelled...the students who took it down. California high school students were sent home on Cinco de Mayo, because they wore T-shirts with the American flag printed on them.
Enough is enough
This message needs to be viewed by every American; and every American needs to stand up for America . We've bent over to appease the America-haters long enough. I'm taking a stand. I'm standing up because the hundreds of thousands who died fighting in wars for this country, and for the American flag. If you agree, stand up with me. If you disagree, please let me know. I will gladly remove you from my e-mail list. And shame on anyone who tries to make this a racist message.
AMERICANS, stop giving away Your RIGHTS !

There oughta NOT be a law

2010-11-11T10:20:00.007-05:00

I've just returned home from a Veteran's Day program at a local high school. In accordance with the law, I entered the school unarmed even though I have a valid handgun carry permit from the state.

As I watched those young people sing, speak and perform in honor of the veterans It occurred to me that it would have been an unspeakable tragedy had someone attacked the assembly. Hundreds of students and veterans would have been unable to defend themselves.

There we were, men and women who have been trained in the defense of our country, massed like sheep for the slaughter. I'm sure that most of us still have enough fight left in us to counter an attack, if we had the tools.

Every veteran there vowed to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, yet we were prevented from exercising our right to keep and bear arms just because we were at a school. Something ain't right. The law needs to be changed to permit law abiding gun owners to go armed at any location.

I want also to thank the students and staff of Cumberland Gap High School for the meal and recognition they provided for area veterans. I know they put considerable effort into it.

TEA Party in Tennessee

2010-11-10T11:15:00.006-05:00

Yesterday evening I attended my first TEA Party event. It was held at the VFW in Morristown, Tennessee. Also in attendance were State Senator Steve Southerland (R-1) and newly elected State representative Don Miller (R-10) along with a couple of heavy hitters from the state GOP organization whose names I did not catch.

The meeting was opened in prayer, in Jesus name, and the pledge to the flag. Pizza, donated by Pizza Inn, was enjoyed by all. Newby's were recognized and offered a book containing the U.S. Constitution, The Declaration of Independence, Washington's farewell address and other freedom documents. Veterans were recognized and thanked for their service.

Excerpts from a documentary describing how the TEA Party has grown from a handful of people to a massive, national movement were shown.

I spoke with several folks and found them to be friendly, and focused on the restoration of our country to the ideals of the founding fathers. They generally agreed that the recent election appears to be a victory for the cause, but cautioned that we need to keep up the pressure on the newly elected and the more experienced politicians.

The American Patriot Taxpayers (East Tennessee Tea Party) meets at the Morristown VFW on the second Tuesday of each month. (No meeting Dec. 2010) More info available at www.americanpatriottaxpayers.com

From FAIRTAX.org

2010-11-10T11:12:00.001-05:00

How a newly elected Congressman views the will of the people who elected him to represent them.

Leaders Should Be Bold

Knowing the economic growth that the FairTax will bring to America, I am always pleased when one of America’s major news outlets focuses on this legislation, as happens frequently. A recent Wall Street Journal editorial warning politicians against supporting the FairTax was no exception. While I certainly disagree with the editorial’s conclusion, in the wake of Tuesday’s midterm election results the WSJ’s admonition is tremendously instructive to the new Republican majority set to lead the House.

The WSJ concludes, “Our advice to candidates would be to avoid the FAIR tax [sic] and focus on goals that are more achievable and less politically self-destructive.”

We have a President in the White House and a leader in the Senate whose policies have been so thoroughly rejected that the party in power lost more seats in the House on November 2 than have been lost in any election since 1948, when Republicans suffered an even greater defeat. Despite this rejection of the direction of their leadership, the President and the Senate leader seem committed to continuing their course.

The American people have a different plan. Having appeared at hundreds of events as a congressional candidate over the past seven months, I have never once had a voter ask me to “focus on the achievable”—those things that the President supports and will sign. Never once has a voter asked me to do what is politically prudent. Over and over again, voters have asked—nay, demanded—that I do what is right…that I be bold…that I speak the truth irrespective of the consequences. That is what the FairTax is all about.

Would it be “easier” or “safer” to simply talk about tax reform generally rather than write down all of the specifics in a 131 page piece of legislation that is introduced in the House and Senate for all to read? Absolutely. It would be both easier and safer, but the American people deserve better, and the FairTax gives it to them.

Would it be “easier” or “safer” to simply make some minor changes to the current income tax code rather than trying to abolish and replace it? Absolutely. It would be both easier and safer, but the American people deserve better, and the FairTax gives it to them.

The payroll tax is the largest tax that 80% of Americans pay, but the FairTax is the only bill in Congress that is bold enough to take on that burden. American businesses face the highest corporate tax rates in the world and we are losing American jobs as a result, but the FairTax is the only bill in Congress bold enough to say that businesses don’t pay taxes—only consumers do—and so in the name of transparency we should abolish corporate tax rates and be honest about how those taxes affect consumers.

The WSJ recognizes the merits of the FairTax. “[A] consumption tax like the FAIR tax [sic] is preferable to an income tax,” it says. “If we were designing a tax code from scratch, the FAIR tax would be one consumption tax option worth debating,” it concludes.

But not now, it advises. This is too soon, it warns. It is too hard, it cautions. I don’t have all the answers but I have this one: not one voter in Georgia elected me to wait; not one voter in Georgia elected me to do what is easy. Shame on the WSJ for encouraging either.

With our economy in shambles, our debt growing by trillions annually, and our faith in government at an all time low, we must act. If it was easy, it would have been done already. It is hard. If it was politically safe, it would have been done already. It requires risk.

As I look at new Congressmen elected across this country on Tuesday I am filled with hope for our nation’s future. These are men and women who will not wait, who will not be cautious, and who will gladly sacrifice themselves for a brighter future for our nation. I am proud to share those convictions, and I am committed to doing what must be done.

The time is now.

Rob Woodall is the Congressman-elect for Georgia's 7th U.S. Congressional seat. Rob is the former Chief of Staff to retiring Congressman John Linder (R-GA-7) and is the co-author of the New York Times Bestseller, FairTax: the Truth. The FairTax is the most widely cosponsored fundamental tax reform bill in either the U.S. House or Senate.

Election Reflections

2010-11-03T09:22:00.003-04:00

We made some gains but should not rejoice too much.

Barb Boxer, Bonnie Frank & Harry Reid are still around to support B. Hussein. Not to mention the unelected with power to write regulations.

I think we need to hold the newly elected feet to the fire to be sure that they act in accordance with the will of those who elected them.

We also need to look toward 2012, In Tennessee, I'm thinking Robin Smith or Mark DeVol for the Senate. Currently I'm behind Jan Brewer or Chuck Baldwin for President. Of course, my selections are subject to revision if another star rises in the next two years.

Right now the immediate need is to apply brakes to the runaway train of socialism.

Knox County Law Director Addresses TFA Regarding Attacks on the 2nd Amendment

2010-10-20T09:38:00.005-04:00

Joseph G. Jarret, Law Director for Knox County Tennessee, addressed the monthly meeting of the Lakeview Chapter of the Tennessee Firearms Association on Tuesday, Oct. 19.
The U.S. Army veteran served as Law Director for Polk County, Florida before moving to Knoxville in 2007 where he served as Assistant Law Director until June, 2010. When Director Bill Lockett resigned under a cloud of criminal charges, Jarret was appointed Law Director by the Knox County Commission to fill the remainder of Lockett’s term. Jarret plans to seek election to the position in 2012.
Jarret has been a life member of the NRA for more than 30 years.
“It’s amazing to me how many people will give up an unalienable right,” he said. Jarret pointed out that Anglo-Saxon tradition required citizens to bear arms for militia service. In fact, he said, in 1689 England passed a bill of rights saying that citizens must protect themselves against a tyrannical government. Then in 1997 England passed the Firearms Act which virtually made it impossible to citizens to protect themselves. Nowadays, gangs in that country terrorize citizens with illegal weapons.
“The most foolish mistake we could make is to allow the people to have arms” was a quote cited by the speaker which was originally made by Adolph Hitler. Jarret said that one of the duties of the Gestapo was to confiscate firearms from German Citizens.
Regarding the defense of the U.S, Jarret said, “You cannot negotiate with Islamic terrorists.”
He said that although Second Amendment supporters have had some recent victories in District of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v. Chicago, those victories are on shaky ground. Jarret pointed out that individual gun rights were upheld in 5-4 decisions in both cases. One administration or one Supreme Court Judge could reverse this country’s traditions regarding private ownership of firearms. SCOTUS is supposed to be comprised of the best educated legal minds in the country. However, he intimated, some of those judges are educated beyond their intelligence.
Jarret teaches a class at the University of Tennessee and says he is no longer amazed at how little students know about history and the government. He said that is often the result of 12 years of public schooling. “Teachers in elementary schools are trying to build little activists instead of educating students,” he commented.
I don’t live in Knox County and cannot vote for Jarret in 2012, but I wish I could. It’s refreshing to see a government official who is also a constitutionalist.

The Time is Now

2010-10-10T09:00:00.002-04:00

The time is now to elect a constitutionalist to Congress for Tennessee's 3rd district.
Mark DeVol is the man we need.
http://www.markdevol.com/

King George III....B. Hussein......Whatever

2010-09-09T07:56:00.002-04:00

‎"AWAKE! - Awake my Countrymen, and, by a regular & legal Opposition, defeat the Designs of those who enslave us and our Posterity."---The Boston Gazette, 1765

Happenings

2010-08-01T17:57:00.008-04:00

Tuesday, Oct 19
The October meeting of the Tennessee Firearms Association Lakeway Chapter will be held on Tuesday evening, the 19th of October, 2010

Our meeting place is the Shoneys Family Restaurant at 1933 West Andrew Johnson Highway (Hwy 11E), Morristown TN. This restaurant is located 1/2 block east of the West Andrew Johnson highway (Hwy 11E) and Morris Blvd intersection, more or less across from the Home Depot. There is a large, highly visible sign in front along with plenty of parking space. A pre-meeting social hour is from 6 PM to 7 PM during which you may want to eat dinner. The meeting will begin promptly at 7 PM and end at 8 PM. Opportunity will be given to ask questions related to the topic.

October 28-30
Town of Cumberland Gap Pumpkin Lights- October 28-30, 2010 Come and enjoy the array of decorated pumpkins glowing along Main Street and Festival Park.Anyone who wants to enter the best carved pumpkin contest should have their carved pumpkin in Festival Park (beside Webb’s Country Kitchen) between 5-6:00 pm on Oct 28th. Stop by the Fire Station on October 30th from 5-8 pm for a free hotdog and treat bags for the children.What better way to celebrate ghosts than with a haunted house tour. The Olde Mill Bed & Breakfast, located at 603 Pennlyn Ave, will be offering spooky tours on Oct 30th.

November 12-14
Thomas Moore, Chairman of the Southern National Congress, has announced that Mr. Larry Pratt, Executive Director of Gun Owners of America, will be the keynote speaker at the Third Southern National Congress (SNC), which will convene November 12-14, 2010, at Montgomery Bell State Park near Dickson, Tennessee.
Thomas Moore said, “We’re deeply honored to have Larry Pratt as our keynote speaker at theLarry Pratt - Third Congress speaker Third Congress. He has made Gun Owners of America into the most effective and steadfast protector of the Second Amendment rights of Americans, which is the one right that guarantees all the others. GOA is highly respected for its principled and uncompromising defense of the right to keep and bear arms. GOA is smaller than some better-known gun rights groups, but thanks to Larry Pratt it is a hundred times more effective. However, Larry Pratt is much more than an expert on gun freedoms. He is a nationally respected leader in the growing effort to restore limited government and the rule of law, which, along with our firearms, safeguards all our freedoms.”
More information is available at this site:
http://southernnationalcongress.org/truths/third_congress_speaker.shtml

December 4, 2010
Town of Cumberland Gap Victorian Christmas
10:00 am – 3 pm at the Victorian House, 511 Colwyn Ave. Kids will visit with Father & Mother Christmas, enjoy the reading of the Christmas Story and The Legend of Santa . There will be hot cider & cookies.

Please send submissions for this subject to ebaldy@bellsouth.net

Gunfight at the Golden Corral

2010-07-29T11:13:00.008-04:00

Well, not really the Golden Corral. Actually it was a different restaurant but the headline would not have been as catchy.

Earlier this week I was in Knoxville and decided to stop for supper at a restaurant that........(GASP!) serves alcohol and does not ban firearms. As is my habit, I was carrying a handgun, visible to the world. I can do that in Tennessee because I jumped through the hoops and took the training and paid my money to obtain a Handgun Carry Permit (HCP). Tennessee leaves it to the individual whether to carry open or concealed. Just this year the General Assembly of our state authorized HCP carriers to go armed in places that serve alcohol, much to the chagrin of Governor Bredesen, ex-Speaker of the House Jimmy Naifeh and, I suspect, candidate for Governor Bill Haslam. This was the second time the legislature passed that law and the second time it was vetoed by the Governor and the second time the legislature voted to override the veto.

Guess what happened?.....................I ate supper!

I did not shoot anyone. I did not even point my weapon at anyone. No one challenged me to a gunfight. I, and no one else I observed, did not consume alcohol while carrying a firearm.

Some folks foretell shootouts where alcohol is served. It may happen. But I doubt that those with a HCP will be involved. Criminals might shoot each other. HCP holders may be forced to fire their weapon in self defense but the chances of a law-abiding person starting a gunfight just because alcohol is available are, I expect, something less than one-half of one-half of one-half of one-half of one-half of one-half of one-half of one percent.

I, once again, want to thank the Tennessee General Assembly for demonstrating common sense regarding this subject.

Dependence Day

2010-07-02T17:18:00.005-04:00

Fourscore and a bunch of years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
I find it interesting that the speech that contained these famous words (except for the bunch part) was given by the man who was instrumental in destroying the liberty envisioned by the founding fathers. Lincoln said that his desire was to preserve the Union, at all costs. He didn't want to preserve the union of federated, sovereign states. He wanted to preserve the power that was concentrated in Washington DC. In the first eight decades following our independence from Britain, the states were in fact independent and only loosely affiliated for the primary purpose of defense.
As this now United States has evolved, more and more folks are in dependence on the power concentrated in Washington DC. Nearly every president since Lincoln has had a hand in the destruction of liberty and independence.
Wilson turned over the constitutional authority to coin money and set its worth to a private company called the Federal Reserve.
Franklin Roosevelt gave us the New Deal that put many Americans on the federal payroll in the CCC and WPA. He also gave us the "voluntary" Social Security Act that now takes money directly from our paycheck and pays it out to those who have never contributed a dime to its existence. The Social Security Trust Fund is empty yet continues to pay out in ways it was never intended.
Johnson is responsible for the "Great Society" that expanded welfare to those who will not work and medicare as another "voluntary" insurance program.
Carter created the official establishment of government controlled schools when he made the Department of Education a cabinet level department. Thus continuing the government takeover of schools which started during reconstruction.
George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush urged creation of a one world government called the New World Order and the latter destroyed the fourth amendment with passage of the "Patriot Act."
Clinton taught us that sex is not sex if the woman's knees are together.
And now we have B. Hussein Obama in office. The de facto CEO of General Motors, the biggest spender in presidential history, potentially the de facto CEO of BP, the friend of admitted terrorists, the most avid proponent of statism ever to occupy the white house, the man who mirrors every action of Hitler in order to obtain absolute government power.
Other presidents have done things to destroy this country, conceived in liberty. We've got involved in treaties that are harmful to the u(or U)nited states. We've been embroiled in unwinnable wars. We've regulated many industries into oblivion.
And all the while, more and more people, both citizens and illegal aliens look to the government for help. We are truly a country in dependence.
Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, and others who were instrumental in establishing a country of independents and independence are probably doing cartwheels in their graves.
God help America.

None Dare Call it Reason

2010-06-12T11:51:00.012-04:00

It's about seven weeks into the oil spill in the Gulf. The disaster just gets worse by the minute. First priority should have been cleanup but the Obama bunch seems to be more concerned with where to lay the blame. I think I know.
Blame the treehuggers cause they didn't want offshore drilling to spoil their view near the coast. Deep water became the only alternative. Oil companies had to develop new techniques to recover the oil in mile deep water.
Blame the gumment in general for banning drilling in accessible locations. Texas, Oklahoma, Alaska and shallow coastal waters come to mind.
Blame the Obama administration for blocking available sources of cleanup and containment. Foreign offers of help in the form of skimmers are not permitted because of the Jones Act which prevents foreign ships from transporting goods directly between U.S. ports. Obama has the authority to waive the Jones Act. But he hasn't.
Blame the gumment for keeping miles and miles of containment booms in a warehouse up north that could have been deployed during the early days of the spill.
Blame Obama and the treehuggers for blocking the construction of artificial sand dunes to keep the oil away from the coast.
Blame BP, mostly because they are hindered by the gumment and may have taken some shortcuts.
I cannot believe that BP is not doing everything they are able to end the disaster. There is no reason a large international company would be willing to spend billions of dollars if resources were available to end or minimize the disaster at a lower cost.
This is truly a disaster. In lives lost. In environmental destruction. In monetary costs. In employment. In common sense.
“You don’t ever want a crisis to go to waste; it’s an opportunity to do important things that you would otherwise avoid.” - Rahm Emanuel, Obama's Chief of Staff.
I believe Obama and his cronies are taking advantage of this crises to further his goal of destroying private industry. I believe Obama and his cronies are taking advantage of this crises to further his goal of destroying tried and proven methods of producing energy. I believe Obama and his cronies are taking advantage of this crises to further his goal of passing the cap and tax bill. I believe Obama and his cronies are taking advantage of this crises to further his goal micromanaging every aspect of the economy. I believe Obama and his cronies are taking advantage of this crises to further his goal of destroying individual and corporate initiative. I believe Obama and his cronies are taking advantage of this crises to further his goal of more and more dependence on the gumment.
Sooner or later, the effects of the disaster will be just a memory, with or without human interference. It would be sooner if Obama and the gumment in general would just get out of the way and allow the professionals to do their job.
God save the USA.

Repeal the 17th----Now

2010-04-02T09:21:00.003-04:00

U.S. Constitution, Article I Section 3:
'The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, (chosen by the Legislature thereof,) (The preceding words in parentheses superseded by 17th Amendment, section 1.) for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote."

In 1913 the 17th amendment was ratified. It says: "The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures."

In today's world several states are reasserting the rights of the states as soverign entities. I can't help but wonder if the election of Senators by popular vote was not the beginning of the end for the federation of states as envisioned by our founders.

In addition to states asserting the rights of the individual states, I believe that the several states should band together for the purpose of repealing the 17th amendment, thus giving the state legislatures a voice in the national Congress. "The people" would, of course, continue to elect Representatives to look out for their interests.

One of my own Senators told me that he did not support such a repeal. Like so many others inside the beltway, he seems to have lost an understanding of the basic intention of the wise men who established these united States (small u intentional)

Chuck said it much better than I did

2010-03-25T07:47:00.000-04:00

http://chuckbaldwinlive.com/home/?p=999

Alas Poor Republic, I Knew You Well

2010-03-22T12:29:00.007-04:00

Yesterday the U.S. House of Representatives passed the so-called Health Care Reform bill. B. Hussein is expected to sign it on Tuesday. I believe that will be the final nail in the coffin of the Republic.

Following the constitutional convention in Philadelphia, Ben Franklin was what type of government had been established. Franklin replied "A republic, if we can keep it."

The loss of that Republic started in the 1860's during reconstruction. It has declined ever since. The income tax, the popular election of Senators, The Federal Reserve Bank, the United Nations, the War on Poverty, Medicare, Medicaid, The Patriot Act, No Child Left Behind, the takeover of private industry by the government and now the socialism of the health care industry have all contributed to the demise.

I'm sad, more than angry.

I also believe that this country is headed toward another war on our own land. The war will be a civil uprising. We will have open warfare in the streets before the end of this year. The fighting factions will be those who support the socialist agenda of Washington DC versus those who want to restore the constitutional republic we once had. There will be no winner.

God have mercy on our country.

Non-sensus

2010-03-10T12:17:00.003-05:00

Who was the genius who decided to send out a letter from the Census Bureau to tell us that they were going to send us a letter? In five languages in addition to English, one of which I don't even recognize as a language.

It's been on TV for a long time. They are advertising for census workers in every form of media. I seriously doubt that there is anyone in this country who does not know that the census is this year.

U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 2, Paragraph 3 says in part: "The actual enumeration shall be made within three years after the first meeting of Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent term of ten years" The purpose of the enumeration (counting) is to determine the radio of representatives among the states. If the census has another constitutional purpose, I can't find it.

Indians were not counted in the original census. Slaves were counted only as 3/5 of a person. The 14th amendment changed that to include those groups as full citizens.

Would someone please explain to me why the government needs to know whether I rent or own or the bank owns my house?

BTW I worked for the census bureau in 2000 mapping and distributing information. I did not have to pry into peoples lives. I won't apply for the job this year cause I don't want to ask unconstitutional questions.

Nother great column by Chuck Baldwin

2010-03-02T12:37:00.001-05:00

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2010/cbarchive_20100302.html

Trapping wild hogs

2010-02-26T16:24:00.002-05:00

Someone mention to me just yesterday that some locations are getting carried away with SWAT teams. Then I received this today. Interesting.

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2010/cbarchive_20100226.html

Just when you thought it could not get weirder

2010-02-17T13:04:00.006-05:00

A couple of news stories caught my attention in the past few days. They are qouted verbatim below.

Washington (CNN) -- To the list of instructions you hear at airport checkpoints, add this: "Put your palms forward, please."
The Transportation Security Administration soon will begin randomly swabbing passengers' hands at checkpoints and airport gates to test them for traces of explosives.
Previously, screeners swabbed some carry-on luggage and other objects as they searched for the needle in the security haystack -- components of terrorist bombs in an endless stream of luggage.
But after the Christmas Day attempted bombing of Northwest Flight 253 over Detroit, Michigan, the TSA began a program of swabbing passengers' hands, which could be contaminated by explosive materials, experts say. The TSA will greatly expand the swabbing in the coming weeks, the agency said.
"The point is to make sure that the air environment is a safe environment," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told CNN. "We know that al Qaeda [and other] terrorists continue to think of aviation as a way to attack the United States. One way we keep it safe is by new technology [and] random use of different types of technology."
Security experts consulted by CNN said swabbing hands is a good move, and privacy advocates said they support the new swabbing protocols, provided the agency tests only for security-related objects and does not discriminate when it selects people to be tested.
It's a "very good idea," said security expert Tony Fainberg. TSA screeners currently swab luggage handles and parts of bags that are likely be contaminated by human hands, he said, and swabbing a person's hands increases the chances of finding explosive materials. "Looking at the hands means you will probably get a better dose," he said.
Under the new protocols, tests will be conducted at various locations -- including in checkpoint lines, during the screening process and at gates. Newer, more portable machines make it easier to conduct tests away from fixed locations such as the checkpoint.
The TSA has more than 7,000 explosive trace detection (ETD) machines and has purchased 400 additional units with $16 million in federal stimulus money. The president's fiscal 2011 budget calls for $60 million to purchase approximately 800 portable ETD machines.
Napolitano said the tests will not significantly increase wait times at airport checkpoints.
The American Civil Liberties Union has "always supported explosive detection as a good form of security that doesn't really invade privacy," said Jay Stanley, an attorney and privacy expert with the organization.
Stanley said the ACLU is chiefly concerned that the TSA does not discriminate when selecting people for enhanced screening -- something the agency said it does not do -- and that it treat people with dignity.
"We would not want to see it implemented in a discriminatory fashion, for example, in a disproportionate way against Muslims and Arabs or, for example, people with red hair or anything else. Security experts from across the spectrum will tell you that that's not just unfair and unjust and not the American way, it's also a terrible way to do security," Stanley said.
Swabbing also should not be used to test for nonsecurity-related contraband, such as drugs, he said. "Under the Constitution, searches in airports are only for the purpose of protecting the security of airline transportation; they are not general law enforcement stops. And so it wouldn't be permissible for the government to use these trace portal detectors to look for drugs," Stanley said.
The TSA said the machines test only for explosives. It declined to specify which explosives, citing security reasons.
Because some legal substances -- such as fertilizers and heart medicines -- can result in "false positives," Stanley said the ACLU also wants to ensure that people who test positive be treated respectfully.
"It's important that the government treat people who do show up as a positive -- fairly and with dignity -- and not parade them off in handcuffs and treat them as terrorists, but do rational things to investigate what the problem might be," he said.
But swabbing hands does not, by itself, raise civil liberty problems, Stanley said. "There's really not a big privacy interest at stake here," he said. "They are basically looking for particles of explosives, which is not something that people normally have."

------
Daniel Rubin: Another case of TSA overkill

By Daniel Rubin (Philadelphia Inquired)
Just when I thought I was out of the Transportation Security Administration business for a few columns, they pull me back in.
Did you hear about the Camden cop whose disabled son wasn't allowed to pass through airport security unless he took off his leg braces?
Unfortunately, it's no joke. This happened to Bob Thomas, a 53-year-old officer in Camden's emergency crime suppression team, who was flying to Orlando in March with his wife, Leona, and their son, Ryan.
Ryan was taking his first flight, to Walt Disney World, for his fourth birthday.
The boy is developmentally delayed, one of the effects of being born 16 weeks prematurely. His ankles are malformed and his legs have low muscle tone. In March he was just starting to walk.
Mid-morning on March 19, his parents wheeled his stroller to the TSA security point, a couple of hours before their Southwest Airlines flight was to depart.
The boy's father broke down the stroller and put it on the conveyor belt as Leona Thomas walked Ryan through the metal detector.
The alarm went off.
The screener told them to take off the boy's braces.
The Thomases were dumbfounded. "I told them he can't walk without them on his own," Bob Thomas said.
"He said, 'He'll need to take them off.' "
Ryan's mother offered to walk him through the detector after they removed the braces, which are custom-made of metal and hardened plastic.
No, the screener replied. The boy had to walk on his own.
Leona Thomas said she was calm. Bob Thomas said he was starting to burn.
They complied, and Leona went first, followed by Ryan, followed by Bob, so the boy wouldn't be hurt if he fell. Ryan made it through.
By then, Bob Thomas was furious. He demanded to see a supervisor. The supervisor asked what was wrong.
"I told him, 'This is overkill. He's 4 years old. I don't think he's a terrorist.' "
The supervisor replied, "You know why we're doing this," Thomas said.
Thomas said he told the supervisor he was going to file a report, and at that point the man turned and walked away.
A Philadelphia police officer approached and asked what the problem was. Thomas said he identified himself and said he was a Camden officer. The Philadelphia officer suggested he calm down and enjoy his vacation.
Back home in Glassboro a week later, Bob Thomas called the airport manager and left her what he calls a terse message.
He was still angry enough last week to call me after I'd written a couple of columns about travelers' complaints of mistreatment by screeners at the airport.
"This was just stupid," he told me.
At the very least, it was not standard procedure.
On Friday, TSA spokeswoman Ann Davis said the boy never should have been told to remove his braces.
TSA policy should have allowed the parents to help the boy to a private screening area where he could have been swabbed for traces of explosive materials.
She said she wished Thomas had reported the matter to TSA immediately. "If screening is not properly done, we need to go back to that officer and offer retraining so it's corrected."
Davis also said TSA's security director at the airport, Bob Ellis, called Thomas last week to apologize. He gave Thomas the name of the agency's customer service representative, in case he has a problem at the airport in the future.
Afterward, Thomas said he appreciated Ellis' call. He said he had no interest in pursuing the matter further or in filing a lawsuit.
"I'm just looking for things to be done right," he said. "And I just want to make sure this isn't done to anyone else. Just abide by your standard operating procedures."

I suspect that Middle Eastern men between the ages of 19 and 40 will not be swabbed cause that could be profiling. Never mind that most, if not all, of the terrorist attacks on this country were carried out by that specific demographic group. I also suspect that 4 year old handicapped children and 90 year old grandmas will continue to be closely scrutinized.

I reckon the 4th amendment is officially dead. God help our country.

Be careful out there

2010-02-12T14:01:00.001-05:00

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2010/cbarchive_20100212.html

united States or United States?

2010-02-12T13:52:00.001-05:00

"The true theory of our Constitution is surely the wisest and best, that the States are independent as to everything within themselves, and united as to everything respecting foreign affairs... and our General Government may be reduced to a very simple organization, and a very inexpensive one; a few plain duties... to be performed by a few servants." -- Thomas Jefferson

School Shootings

2010-02-11T10:43:00.006-05:00

Anyone familiar with the Knoxville area news has heard this story from:
2/10/2010
"A Knoxville elementary school principal has been critically injured and her assistant principal was wounded during a shooting at their office. Police identified the suspect as a co-worker, charging 48-year-old Mark Stephen Foster with two counts of attempted first-degree murder after the shooting at Inskip Elementary School. Foster is a fourth-grade teacher at Inskip. UT Medical Center officials says Principal Elisa Luna is in critical condition and Assistant Principal Amy Brace is in stable condition." (from WNOX NewsTalk100 webpage)

My heart goes out to the victims and their families. I pray for their rapid and complete recovery.

How did it happen? Well, I believe the government schools are responsible to a large extent. It has been reported that Foster had run-ins with a former employer and planned to kill that employer. Fortunately, that plan was foiled. Did the government school system not check on Foster's history? Or were those responsible for hiring Foster as a teacher more concerned with filling the slot with someone who would toe the line with the official government education system? We'll probably never know exactly the chain of events that led up to the shooting at Inskip.

I also blame the Tennessee General Assembly which declared a ban on handguns at schools. If the wounded ladies, or other staff on hand, had a chance to return fire the damage might have been minimized. Obviously Foster ignored the edict of the legislature.

Foster will likely be tried and convicted of attempted murder. That is, unless he is found incompetent to stand trial. Either way the taxpayers will providing him with three hots and a cot for many years to come.

Again, I pray for the victims.

Well written (No, he's not related to me)

2010-02-06T08:28:00.001-05:00

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2010/cbarchive_20100205.html

Don't ask, Don't participate

2010-02-03T10:55:00.011-05:00

In the State of Obama address recently the chosen one, aka B. Hussein, said that he wants to end the don't ask, don't tell policy about sodomites in the military.

In 1993 that great stalwart of morality, Bill Clinton, succeeded in getting approval for queers to serve in the military as long as they did not announce their perversion. At the same time military officials were banned from asking about the sexual orientation of an individual.

I'm not naive enough to believe that homosexuals were not in the military prior to 1993. I saw them myself while in the Navy. Just because they were there, that don't make it right. The Lord God said, "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination." (Lev. 18:22, NKJV) If God says it's wrong, so should the military.

Now the Communist in Chief is pushing for repeal of that regulation and promoting the acceptability of the homosexual lifestyle in the military forces. The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 1:26-27 (KJV) "For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet." then in verse 32 "Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them."

Obama will suffer the penalty of his stand in due time unless he repents. Likewise, those who participate in the abominable lifestyle will have the same result. My prayer is that they will renounce their views and actions and seek forgiveness from God. Then, and only then, should they be acceptable for military service. Until that happens, keep them off my ship and out of my barracks.

Snow

2010-01-29T15:00:00.002-05:00

Here in East Tennessee we're waiting for the worst winter storm since 1993. In fact, I've been waiting so anxiously that I'm kinda disgusted that it ain't here yet.

In late March 1993 I was in Rose Hill, Va. buying a goat from an old man (92 at the time I think). He said "It's going to snow at 1 o'clock." I thought "Yeah, right!"
At five minutes until one the first flake fell at my house. We ended up with 19 inches of snow. Electricity was out for 3 days. My only heat was a woodburning fireplace insert but the blower didn't work. High temperature inside my house was 42 degees during that three day period. I bought a generator at the first opportunity after that.

Guess what? I survived. FEMA didn't come to help me. The president didn't fly over my home to survey the situation. The Red Cross did not have a major fund drive to help me. Congress didn't give me money to buy generators and kerosene heaters. Nobody brought boxes of food and bottled water to my house.

I don't know how the current storm will play out. I pray that everyone who must be on the roads or working outdoors will be safe. I heard a weather guesser say that this will be a little brother of the '93 storm. I, and most people, will survive. We been there, done that. And we did it without government interference.

Interesting

2010-01-28T10:13:00.001-05:00

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=35362

State of the Union

2010-01-28T08:29:00.001-05:00

He did NOT say the words I wanted to hear: "I'm resigning and taking Stupid Joe, Dirty Harry and Princess Nancy with me"

Watch it quick before it's removed

2010-01-23T21:00:00.004-05:00

www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=tCAffMSWSzY#t=28

Powerful

2010-01-20T12:09:00.000-05:00

Dunno anything about this guy or the training offered...but the video is powerful, even if you don't read the ad.http://www.ignatius-piazza-front-sight.com/2010/01/18/ignatius-piazza-stop-screaming-start-shooting/#video

Don't rejoice (too much) yet

2010-01-20T10:56:00.006-05:00

The Jan. 19 election of a Republican Senator in Massachusetts is good news for conservatives. To tell the truth, I don't know a lot about Scott Brown. But I do know he is not a Kennedy style liberal.

The election of Brown is a shoulder wound for the liberal agenda currently rampart in Washington. It is not a kill shot. Brown (we hope)is likely to apply brakes to the healthcare bill. But, will the brakes hold? I hope so.

The liberals have enough dirty tricks on hand to possibly get around his vote in the Senate. The healthcare bill will be slowed but I'm not sure it will be stopped. We can but hope so.

We conservatives must not let our guard down. It's still 10 months until the November election. Considerable damage could be done to the America we love in that amount of time. We must continue to oppose the socialist/marxist/fascist agenda of Obama, Ried, Pelosi, Boxer et al.

Don't forget that DC is a lost cause. We need to keep an eye on them, but more importantly, we need to become involved in local and state politics in order to rebuild this country from the ground up.

Engage Brain Before Opening Mouth

2010-01-20T10:32:00.005-05:00

(left) TFA member Wayne Dollar inspects a Kel Tel 9mm carbine recently acquired by another member from M&M Firearms of Whitesburg, Tenn.

Knoxville Attorney David Eldridge addressed the Lakeview Chapter of the Tennessee Firearms Association on Tuesday, Jan. 19. The nearly standing room only audience paid rapt attention to the speaker and a lively discussion occured.

Much of the speakers time was occupied by questions about current firearms related laws in Tennessee but he still had time to address his intended subject of what to do if involved in a situation where you use a firearm.

Eldridge emphasized the importance of stepping back and thinking before speaking with law enforcement. He said that a person who shoots a criminal should speak only facts, without elaboration. To paraphrase Eldridge's comments: "I feared for my life (or someone elses life)." "I had to stop him/her." "I want a lawyer."

Eldridge said that following a traumatic event, it is a natural tendency to express sympathy. That's the wrong thing to do. He said calm down, be polite, and stick to basic facts of the situation.

We're dead and the Fed done it

2010-01-19T14:49:00.001-05:00

Ron Paul has a good column this week: http://www.house.gov/htbin/blog_inc?BLOG,tx14_paul,blog,999,All,Item%20not%20found,ID=100119_3630,TEMPLATE=postingdetail.shtml

Deja Vu all over again

2010-01-09T19:26:00.000-05:00

“The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves; whether they are to have any property they can call their own; whether their Houses, and Farms, are to be pillaged and destroyed, and they consigned to a State of Wretchedness from which no human efforts will probably deliver them. The fate of unborn Millions will now depend, under God, on the Courage and Conduct of this army” -- Gen. George Washington, to his troops before the battle of Long Island

Need proof Algore has lost it?

2010-01-09T18:56:00.001-05:00

This is a "poem" Mr. Ozone Head purports to have written.
I know what it say, but what do it mean?

One thin September soon
A floating continent disappears
In midnight sun

Vapors rise as
Fever settles on an acid sea
Neptune's bones dissolve

Snow glides from the mountain
Ice fathers floods for a season
A hard rain comes quickly

Then dirt is parched
Kindling is placed in the forest
For the lightning's celebration

Unknown creatures
Take their leave, unmourned
Horsemen ready their stirrups

Passion seeks heroes and friends
The bell of the city
On the hill is rung

The shepherd cries
The hour of choosing has arrived
Here are your tools

Top Ten Perilous Prognostications

2009-12-29T19:17:00.012-05:00

1. Rosie O'Donnell will remain ugly.
2. Nancy Pelosi will be re-elected by the narrowest of margins. 17 test votes will be taken before the real vote on election day which will delayed in California at Pelosi's request.
3. Government Motors (GM) will develop a car that runs on hot air or bovine defecation. It will only be available in the District of Columbia.
4. Wal-Mart will buy Lichtenstein and move its international headquarters there.
5. An Islamic terrorist will fail in an attempt to blow up Rosie O'Donnell. (Not enough explosive)
6. B. Hussein Obama will bow to the Dairy Queen, Queen Lativa, an Emperor Penguin and a King Size box of Tide detergent.
7. The AMA, WHO, CDC and the Four Mile, Kentucky Health Department will predict 74,000 deaths from a dog flu epidemic. All the deaths will be men who are on the couch licking their nether regions and fall off and hit their head on the coffee table.
8. The U.S. Constitution will be declared unconstitutional.
9. N.C.I.S. Albuquerque will become the #1 new TV show.
10. iStupid will be introduced as the newest electronic gadget.

These predictions are based on past performance and do not reflect future performance, income, advice, or mileage. Your results may vary. Always consult your physician before starting any program. For external use only. Place on ground, light fuse, run away. For indoor or outdoor use only. Not suitable for pets under 4.2 months of age. Do not climb. You break it, you bought it, and shoplifters will be prosecuted.

For my readers

2009-12-25T08:51:00.003-05:00

Away in a manger, no crib for a bed
The little Lord Jesus lay down his sweet head

On this day we observe and the anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ, I want to take this opportunity to wish all my readers a joyful and blessed day. Jesus was born into the human world to ultimately become the perfect sacrifice for our sins. My prayer is that you will accept Him as your Lord and Savior if you have not already done so.

History tells us that His birth was unlikely to have been in December. I don't care. I just appreciate the fact that much of the world takes this time of year to remember the greatest gift ever given to mankind.

Drivin' nails in the coffin

2009-12-24T08:04:00.001-05:00

Senate just passed their version of death care bill............is that the final nail in the coffin of the Constitution?

Survival sugestions

2009-12-20T10:27:00.002-05:00

Common sense from a former presidential candidate.
http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2009/cbarchive_20091215.html

It gets confuseder and confuseder

2009-12-17T14:00:00.002-05:00

S T A T E O F T E N N E S S E E
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
425 FIFTH AVENUE NORTH
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE 37243
February 22, 2000

Opinion No. 00-031

Ability of Persons to Carry Firearms on Premises that Sells Beer Which Contain Five Percent Alcohol or Less

QUESTION
Does Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1305(a) prohibit carrying of a gun into an establishment that sells beer with less than a 5% alcohol content?

OPINION
No. A court would most likely interpret the term “alcoholic beverages” in Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1305(a) to exclude beer, thereby permitting the carrying of a weapon into an
establishment that sells beer with an alcohol content of 5% by weight or less.

ANALYSIS
In 1989 the legislature changed the scope of the prohibition against carrying firearms on premises where beverages containing alcohol are sold or served. The current version provides:

It is an offense for a person to possess a firearm on the premises of a place open to the public where alcoholic beverages are served or in the confines of a building
where alcoholic beverages are sold.

Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1305(a)(emphasis supplied). The prior version provided:

No person shall intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carry on or about his person while inside the confines of the building of any establishment licensed to sell beer,
wine or any other alcoholic beverage, for consumption on or off premises, any weapon prohibited by § 39-6-1701 for the purpose of going armed.

Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-6-1717 (1988)(emphasis supplied).

When interpreting the meaning of a statute, a court cannot dismiss a change in wording which the legislature has chosen to make to the statutory provisions. State v. Horton, 880 S.W.2d 732, 736 (Ct. Crim. App. 1994). The court must presume that there was a purpose for the legislative decision to change the provisions of the prohibition from applying to an “establishment licensed to sell beer, wine or any other alcoholic beverage, for consumption on or off premises” to “premises of a place

Page 2

The legislature did not provide a separate definition for alcoholic beverages in Title 39. Courts have previously found that the terms “alcoholic beverages” and “beer” are not synonymous under the law. Underground II, Inc. v. City of Knoxville, No. 03A01-9709-CH-00425, 1998 LEXIS 78, p. 2 (Tenn. Ct. App. February 4, 1998).1 “Alcoholic beverages” are specifically defined in Tenn. Code Ann. § 57-3-101(a)(1) to exclude patented medicine or beer with an alcoholic content of five percent (5%) weight or less. These distinctions between “alcoholic beverages” and “beer” existed in 1989. When the legislature chose to reword the provisions of Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1305(a), the legislature removed the word “beer” from the statute, and did not provide a separate definition of the term “alcoholic beverages” for the specific purposes of Title 39. Therefore, a court would most likely interpret the term “alcoholic beverages” in Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1305(a) to conform to the definition provided in Tenn. Code Ann. § 57-3-101(a)(1). Thus the prohibition against carrying a weapon where alcoholic beverages are sold would not apply to establishments which sell or serve no intoxicating beverages other than beer with an alcohol content of 5% by weight or less.

PAUL G. SUMMERS
Attorney General and Reporter
MICHAEL E. MOORE

Solicitor General
WILLIAM C. BRIGHT
Assistant Attorney General

1 Further, Tenn. Code Ann. §57-4-203(k) provides that persons licensed to sell wine or liquor must display a sign specifying that it is illegal to carry weapons where alcoholic beverages are sold or served. Tenn. Code Ann. §§57-5-105 and 57-5-301, which deal with the regulation of beer containing an alcoholic content of five percent (5%) or less, do not have similar provisions dealing with the posting of a sign prohibiting the carrying of weapons. The presence of words of limitation in one part of a statute and the absence of those words in other parts of the same statute indicates an intentional legislative choice. State v. Harkins, 811 S.W.2d 79, 82 (Tenn. 1991). The legislature has clearly provided that in licensing of establishments which sell “alcoholic beverages” warnings concerning the possession of weapons on the premises are required. However the legislature has not required a similar provision for the licensing of establishments that local beer boards choose to license. The parts of a statute should be construed so that its component parts are consistent. Cohen v. Cohen, 937 S.W.2d 823, 827 (Tenn. 1996). open to the public where alcoholic beverages are served or in the confines of a building where alcoholic beverages are sold.”

Page 3
Requested by:
Mae Beavers
State Representative
208 War Memorial Building
Nashville, TN 37243-0157

Guns in restaurants law is dead...Long live the guns in restaurants law

2009-12-15T22:29:00.009-05:00

State Senator Steve Southerland spoke to the Lakeway Chapter of the Tennessee Firearms Association on Tuesday, Dec. 15.

He said that Nashville Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman overturned the new state law permitting Handgun Carry Permit holders to go armed in restaurants that serve alcohol as being too vague. Apparently the judge didn't like the idea of consuming alcohol while carrying a gun. Well, guess what Mizz Bonnyman? That act has been illegal for years in Tennessee. The law that passed the General Assembly in 2009 authorized HCP holders to carry handguns in restaurants that serve alcohol as long as they do NOT consume alcohol. Violation is a class A misdemeanor.

Southerland said that the judgment is being appealed. Also, Sen. Doug Jackson is submitting a replacement bill that would, hopefully, overcome the vagueness that Bonnyman cited. Attendees at the meeting asked numerous questions and provided input to Southerland on the subject. For now, the law is voided and HCP holders who carry a handgun into any location that serves alcohol are in violation of the law.

The Senator said that he does not see the need for a HCP as the right is guaranteed under both the U.S. and Tennessee Constitutions. Common sense should trump legislation but, he admits, it does not often happen.

Worth a read

2009-12-11T11:19:00.001-05:00

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2009/cbarchive_20091211.html

The Real Reason for Christmas

2009-12-11T09:27:00.001-05:00

Luke 2

1And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.
2(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
3And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
4And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
5To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
6And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
7And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
8And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
10And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
12And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Guest Column by Richard Evans

2009-12-08T16:59:00.001-05:00

Get Over It and Have a Merry Christmas Anyway
Merry Christmas. It’s funny that such a simple phrase – or more appropriately, the belief that the phrase is based upon - could spark such outrage and controversy. Recently, our friends in Maryville were told that they would have to stop a longtime city Christmas tree lighting tradition of reading the nativity story from the Book of Luke because one person objected to it. That’s right friends and neighbors, one person. Where have we gone as a country when one person can hijack the wishes of an overwhelming majority of the people? I don’t care what kind of nonsense the Supreme Court has ruled upon or how many times they have done so. At the end of the day, the concept of majority rule is tossed out to placate political correctness and its loyal minions.
I once asked this question in a newspaper column when writing about displaying the Ten Commandments: how does this harm anyone? If reading the Holy Bible meant that people were being incited to rebel against the government or to exact some form of violence on someone, I could understand not wanting it read publicly during the observance of a religious holiday. Side note: we know the former is not possible since much of the mainstream media in this country knows that Tea Parties and dissatisfaction with the Obama Administration are fiction created by Fox News and Lou Dobbs. That being said, the reading of the Holy Scriptures harm no one. Don’t hand me that tired old argument about separation of church and state. Certainly, the City of Maryville used tax dollars to pay for the ceremony, but they endorsed no religion. They merely acknowledged the basis for Christmas. As I’ve said many times, our country was founded on Christian principles. If it were founded on Islamic beliefs, then the Koran would have been appropriate; but thank God it wasn’t. I’d also like to note for the record that the bulk of the tax dollars collected by the city came from Christians. They should have some say as to how their tax dollars are spent. And separation of church and state was meant to protect churches from the state, not the other way around.
If atheists want to get their panties in a bunch over it, so be it. I’ve never understood anyone that could get so offended over something they claim they don’t believe in. I don’t believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, or the Tooth Fairy. It doesn’t bother me if someone else wants to believe in those things or even embrace them. They have a right to believe what they want – as do I. And I’m happy to believe in the virgin birth of Jesus Christ, the perfect life that He led, His death, burial, and resurrection, as well as His impending return. You want to believe something else or not at all? Fine, but stop telling me and everyone else how to celebrate Christmas.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to spread a little more Christmas cheer. If I don’t see you before Dec. 25, have a Merry Christmas.

Richard Evans is a guest columnist for No Left Turn. He will be an occasional contributor to this blog.

The difference is.....

2009-12-06T19:30:00.006-05:00

On December 7, 1941 the Japanese sent 353 airplanes to attack Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Eleven U.S. ships were sank, scores of U.S. aircraft were lost and about 2400 lives were lost. The U.S. declared war on Japan. Americans rolled up their sleeves and contributed to the war effort.

Less than four years later, President Harry Truman (D-Mo) ordered that nuclear bombs be dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan. Usage of the nuclear bombs hastened the end of World War II in the Pacific and saved thousands of lives on both sides.

On September 11, 2001 Islamic terrorists launched another air attack on the U.S. More than 3000 lives were lost. The World Trade Center in New York was destroyed. The Pentagon in Washington D.C. was damaged. One of the attack planes was forced into a field by passengers in order to save the intended target.

Here it is, more than eight years later and the 9/11 attack has still not been repaid. The U.S. has piddled around under President George W. Bush (R-Texas) with half-hearted attempts to immobilize the group that planned and carried out the 9/11 attack. Meanwhile, "nation building" seemed to be the order of the day for our military forces in Iraq. While building schools and hospitals is admirable, the primary purpose of military action should be to kill people and break things. Now, B. Hussein Obama (D-Chicago) (OK, for you purist reading this: "President B. Hussein Obama" has announced the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan (a terrorist training ground) in mid 2011.

Contrasting the weapons and technology of the 1940's with that of today, I wonder how we managed to win a major war in half the time that we've stumbled toward defeat in the 21st century. Harry Truman is not only turning over in his grave, he's probably doing cartwheels.

World War II spawned the greatest generation. It appears that the war against Islamic Terrorism will spawn the weakest generation. God help the U.S.A.

Bear Tracks and Burnt Tater Soup

2009-11-29T13:21:00.007-05:00

Eight of us in two campers traveled to Leach Mountain, near Clairfield Tenn. on Friday, Nov. 20. We spent Friday afternoon scouting before deer season to open on Saturday. I put my tree stand in a likely place, as did others. Hardwoods on hillside, grassy clearing and pond all within sight of stand.

Friday evening Junior was to feed us tater soup his wife had made. He burnt it. I didn't taste it but those who did said it was inedible. He poured it out. I noticed a couple of days later that even the possum's and crows wouldn't eat it. Instead, we ate vegetarian vegetable soup sent by Lonnie's wife. Those of you who know me also know that I'm not a vegetable eater. But I put enough cornbread in the soup to make it palatable.

Saturday morning we headed to the woods. Craig said he shot at a coyote. No other shots were fired. I saw a doe. It was bucks only season. Carl made chili for Saturday supper.

Sunday it was back to the woods after a breakfast of bacon, eggs and biscuits cooked by Craig. No luck. I fried taters and cooked pork chops over open fire for supper.

Monday, back to the woods again. Still nothing. About 1:30 I decided to move my tree stand. As I was loading it onto the ATV I saw a doe (the same one?) at about 170 yards. I missed it. Would of ate her in camp if I had got her. Junior went to his spot. Another guy, working in the area, saw a big black bear following him. Later, Ralph said the bear paw print was the same length as his size 10 shoe. Junior got kinda skittish. Craig provided beef stew for supper. Blue (70 years old) planned to hunt behind campers. He walked farther than he realized. Ralph saw him about 6 miles from camp and gave him ride back on ATV.

Generally the same story on Tuesday. Ralph fixed pork roast, taters & carrots in dutch oven over open fire. We decided weather was still kinda warm (60's day-30's night) and that deer in this area probably not in full rut yet. Any excuse is better than none.

Wednesday, nobody had much of a heart for hunting. We piddled around camp, cleaned the area and packed up. Left the mountain about noon.

All together we saw bear tracks, turkey tracks, elk tracks, coyote tracks, big cat tracks and deer tracks. Tracks are not filling to the stomach.

Wednesday afternoon I walked a trail behind Ralph's house. Saw fresh, inviting tracks. Hunted that area Wednesday evening and again Friday morning. Tracks still not filling to stomach.

Season is open until Dec 6. I may get in a couple of days within short drive of home. We talked about another camping/hunting trip but not sure if it will develop. Season opens again Dec 19 until Jan 10. There is still hope.

Outlived Their Usefullness

2009-11-15T19:29:00.003-05:00

I grew up in a strong union household. To this day, my dad is still a strong supporter of unions. He is a smart man, but not well educated. On the point of unions, I disagree with my dad.

Rabbit trails follows: Education does not equal intelligence. There are many educated idiots running around this country.

Back several decades ago, the unions fought for decent wages and safe working conditions. That is the trait of unions that my dad remembers. Because of unions, I was able to grow up somewhere above the poverty level. My family was by no means rich, but we had everything we needed, thanks to my dads hard work and a reasonably good paycheck.

The unions of the 21st century are not like the unions of the early to mid 20th century. Nowadays it's all about the union bosses and political favors. Politicians, of both parties, court the union vote. Therefore if the union bosses support a particular candidate, then it is expected that the workers will too.

United Auto Workers Union members receive $70+ per hour in wages and benefits. It's no wonder that prices are so high and that the auto makers are losing money. The National Education Association union of teachers has played a major role in the dumbing down of America. Nowadays, teachers aides, attempt to corral the students while the real "teachers" do their own thing. Service International Union.....not sure what they do but I do know they got their noses up Obama's south end. I'm sure he will give them something that his country cannot afford.

Unions, in general, have outlived their usefulness. Rank and file members pay into union funds and the big shots use that money to elect politicians who will funnel work towards the unions so the workers can pay their dues so the bosses can work for the election of favorable politicians so they can funnel more work etc, etc, etc.

Tennessee is a right to work state. I hope it stays that way. Working conditions are generally safe. True, wages may be lower here, but at least workers don't have to support a staff of suits who only have their personal interests in mind.

Harry Truman is doing cartwheels in his grave

2009-11-15T19:25:00.002-05:00

Corker Visits Tazewell

2009-11-12T17:34:00.005-05:00

Tennessee Senator Bob Corker (R) faced *puts tongue in cheek* an Angry Mob of Right Wing Terrorists *returns tongue to normal position* in the large courtroom of the Claiborne County Courthouse on Thursday, Nov 12. The near capacity crowd was calm, respectful, and polite, even the smattering of Democrats in the room.

Corker addressed the subject of healthcare reform. He commented that reform was one of the campaign topics he addressed in 2006 when running for the Senate. Corkers idea of reform includes tort reform, increased competition among insurance companies, and tax code changes. Caps on malpractice lawsuits could go a long way toward decreasing healthcare costs, he said. Removing the state line barrier for insurance companies would help too. Corker advocates a cap on the amount of tax free health insurance that an employers can provide. He said that taxing an amount of over $17,000 per year in insurance benefits would be more fair to those who do not have employer provided insurance. Then, Corker emphasized that the reforms currently in congress do nothing along the lines that he suggests.

Two healthcare reform bills have passed out of Senate committees and Corker says that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is working to combine them. Asked about former Senator Bill Frist's comment that the Senate would vote on and pass a healthcare bill before Christmas, Corker disagreed with that predication.

Corker says that the current bills would impose major unfunded mandates on states for healthcare. Yet, he said that the states do not need representation in Congress and that he is content with the popular vote election of Senators. Prior to the passage of amendment 17 to the U.S. Constitution, Senators were appointed by the state legislature for the purpose of representing the states. The people were represented by the House of Representatives.

Currently, he said, Medicare is facing $38.6 Trillion (with a T) liability. Obamacare would take $404 Billion from Medicare. Corker calls that robbing from one insolvent program to leverage another entitlement. In light of the Medicare problems, "The public option should not be trusted" Corker said. Corker asked if $404 Billion could be saved, would it not be better to use that money to pay for some of the existing $38.6 Trillion shortfall? "There is a lot of bogus accounting in Washington." It's "disastrous for the country," he said. Among other problems it would greatly increase the healthcare costs for young adults. Obamacare would cost about $1 Trillion over 10 years. Most of its requirements would not kick in until 2014, after the 2012 election.

On other subjects, Corker said that Cap & Trade is nothing more than a tax and a giveaway to many corporations. He said that inflation is likely because China and other lenders see the United States as financially irresponsible. On a positive note, the Senator said that he expects 30 new nuclear plants to be built or in the process by 2030 in this country.

Veterans Day

2009-11-11T09:42:00.003-05:00

Thanks to all you guys and gals who made sacrifices for the country. Your sacrifice may have been great or small. In my personal case, my 21 years in the Navy was just a job. I did not see combat or suffer major physical trauma. Many veterans had the same experience and returned to live a "normal" life. But some of you did lose an arm, or leg or more. Some of you experienced things that affected your thought processes for life. Some gave their own lives in service to others.
Regardless of your experiences, you did something to promote the cause of freedom and the American way of life. Again, Thank You.

Is there a Doctor in the House?

2009-11-09T18:17:00.002-05:00

I can't help but wonder how many congressmen/women went to the doctor with arm sprains in the past couple of days. Arms must have been twisted out of joint on Saturday to get that 2000+ page "health care" obomination passed. Of course, those who did seek medical care did not have to worry about quality or costs. Congress, you see, has a medical program that is too good for us mere mortals.

I got an email from the White House asking me to contact Zach Wamp for the purpose of chastising him for opposing the bill. Well, I do have some words for Rep. Wamp. You done good!

What is called a health care reform bill has nothing to do with health care. It's all about insurance and the government plan to take over every facet of American life. Obama and Pelosi don't give a rats patooty about health. What they do care about is amassing more and more personal power for themselves and their like-minded cronies. They also care about destroying the U.S. Constitution in favor of socalism/fascism/communism where everyone is equal, but some people would be more equal.

Frankly, I don't know if we will be able to save any of the constitution until election day next year. I certainly would not promote violence, but it would not hurt my feelings if Obama, Pelosi et al suddenly disappeared. Maybe a UFO will abduct them.

Ford has a better idea

2009-11-02T09:39:00.002-05:00

Ford Motor Company posted a profit for 3rd Qtr. 2009. You may recall that FoMoCo was the only American auto maker that did not take bailout money from the government. **plants tongue in cheek** Surprise! **removes tongue from cheek** Free enterprise works better than government programs.
I bought a new Ford pickup in 1974 and it was a lemon. I have not owned a Ford since. For the most part I've stuck with Chrysler. I may have to change my mind when the time comes to get a new vehicle. I'm sure it will not be a Government Motors vehicle and probably not a Fiat/Chrysler. Toyota/Nissan/Yugo and now Ford, are looking better all the time.
Take notice Obama....your socialist/fascist/communist agenda does not work as well as old fashioned capitalism.

Try 'Em & Fry 'Em part 2

2009-10-30T21:24:00.002-04:00

From the WNOX news page:
"Lemaricus Davidson convicted of kidnapping, raping and murdering Channon Christian and Chris Newsom has been sentenced to death. Davidson showed no reaction as jurors announced the death sentences and Judge Richard Richard Baumgartner announced his fate. There are still 2 more defendants to stand trial, George Thomas is the next to face a jury, and then Vanessa Coleman."

You may remember my comments from Sept 1. They still apply.

I understand that the defense attorneys must move for a mistrial or a new trial or an appeal. That's just the way the legal system works. I believe that the judge in this trial went out of his way to ensure that if any errors were made, they were on the side of Davidson. With that in mind, Davidson should receive one automatic appeal. If the verdict and sentence is upheld then the sentence should be carried out no later than one year from today.

Twelve citizens heard the evidence and determined that Davidson was guilty of the heinous crimes that he was accused of in the Christian-Newsom. Those same people determined that the crime was worthy of being punished by death.

It's sad that if and when the sentence is carried out, Davidson will be put to sleep like a sick puppy. I've participated in chemical euthanization of dogs and am convinced that the procedure is painless except for the initial stick of the needle. That painlessness is too good for Davidson. But, as I've said before, we have a legal system in this country but no justice system.

Scenic Byway

2009-10-23T16:09:00.001-04:00

The Tennessee Department of Transportation said Monday "The East Tennessee Crossing" and the "Great River Road" have received the designation from the Federal Highway Administration.
"The East Tennessee Crossing" route is U.S. Highway 25E that follows the original path of the Cherokee Warriors Path, the Wilderness Road across the Clinch Mountain and the Cumberland Gap, the Dixie Highway of the Civil War period and Thunder Road of moonshining lore. The byway begins with the nationally significant Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. To view the complete story click on the following link: http://www.byways.org/explore/byways/76017/

This vision of this project began in 2003 through the combined efforts of representatives from Claiborne, Grainger, Hamblen, Jefferson, and Cocke Counties. A East Tennessee Crossing Byway Partnership was developed from representatives of each of the five counties to work on the project. The partnership applied for and received a Federal Highways Administration grant to develop a Corridor Management Plan and submit an National Scenic Byway Destination application. The partnership also created a brochure and developed a website for the byways.

East Tennessee Crossing website: http://easttennesseecrossing.com/index.html

Tennessee Governor's Race

2009-10-21T08:54:00.000-04:00

A few days ago I wrote that I was undecided whether to support Zach Wamp or Bill Haslam for Governor. I was reminded last night that Haslam had signed on with Bloomberg on the anti-gun thing. I guess that narrows it down a bit. Now I'm 99% on Wamp's side. Will only change if an independent hardcore conservative gets into the race. Go Zach Go!

Donations Wanted

2009-10-20T09:56:00.001-04:00

The Claiborne Animal Shelter is now accepting donations for an auction to raise money to continue the construction on animal shelter building. Attached is a list of suggested items to donate for the auction.

For more information contact Liza Martz at (423) 626-2686 or visit ClaiborneAnimalShelter.com

Conservative vs. Liberal

2009-10-13T08:04:00.001-04:00

This was sent to me by a friend. It's too good to not share with others.

If a conservative doesn't like guns, he doesn't buy one. If a liberal doesn't like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.

If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn't` eat meat. If a liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone.

If a conservative sees a foreign threat, he thinks about how to defeat his enemy. If a liberal sees a foreign threat, he wonders how to surrender gracefully and still look good.

If a conservative is homosexual, he quietly leads his life. If a liberal is homosexual, he demands legislated respect.

If a person of color is conservative, they see themselves as independently successful. Their liberal counterparts see themselves as victims in need of government protection.

If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his
situation. A liberal wonders who is going to take care of him.

If a conservative doesn't like a talk show host,he switches channels. Liberals demand that those they don't like be shut down.

If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church. A liberal
non-believer wants any mention of God and religion silenced. (Unless it's a foreign religion, of course!)

If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it. A liberal demands that the rest of us pay for his.

If a conservative slips and falls in a store, he gets up, laughs and is
embarrassed. If a liberal slips and falls, he grabs his neck, moans like he's in labor and then sues.

If a conservative reads this, he'll forward it so his friends can have a
good laugh. A liberal will delete it because he's "offended".

ed column 10/12/09

2009-10-12T19:27:00.000-04:00

I've been neglegent with this blog, and to my loyal reader, I apologize.

Left home Sept. 16 for vacation. Traveled to NE Missouri, NE Kansas, SW Missouri, N Arkansas and back home via N Tennessee. Saw family, new personal friends who were previously internet friends, and old friends. Arrived home Sept. 27. Had a good trip.

When we got back from vacation, workers were here to build a new storage room onto the house. They finished Oct. 9. Of course I helped/supervised and did not spend much time on computer while they were here. Meanwhile, wife left Oct. 2 for cruise to Bahamas. She returned Oct 9. Since I was busy with construction, I didn't get much of a vacation while she was gone.

During my blog absence, numerous things have happened that I would have liked to comment on here so I'll just mention a few of them:

B. Hussein Obama was awarded the Nobel Piece Prize. I spell it P I E C E because he's taking a piece of everything most of us have worked to earn. He is also gathering standing ovations from sodomite groups. He wants more perverts in his administration.

Saturn car company went belly up. They never made money since inception. Probably not a big loss. At least we don't have to support them as a branch of Government Motors.

Hummer has been sold to the Chinese. Hailed as the American style of SUV, rugged and big. I suspect that with Chinese ownership the Hummer will become a line of products in the WalMart stores.

Zach Wamp, Bill Haslam and a few others are running for Governor of Tennessee. I have not yet decided which of those two to support. I believe Wamp is a social conservative but I see him as a fiscal moderate to liberal. Haslam seems to have the business experience to handle money wisely. Guess I'll watch them both for a few months and probably decide while in the voting booth.

I stopped at a gun shop in Knoxville the other day to buy some ammo. I was somewhat surprised to find they were out of .357 mag. I knew .380's were hard to come by but was not looking for .380's. According to guy in store the .38's are becoming scarce too.

T. Boone Pickens (he of the windmill theory) has suggested another cash for clunkers program. He wants to pay $67,000 for each of all semi-truck tractors currently on the road and replace them with tractors that run on natural gas. I wonder (among other things) what the escort people at the Cumberland Gap tunnel would have to say about that?

My pastor spoke Sunday about taking a stand. I took the message to heart. Henceforth, I do not intend to mince words while writing here. Stand by to stand by.

Say What?

2009-10-09T06:12:00.000-04:00

B. Hussein Obama has been selected to receive the Nobel Peace Prize...........and I thot the Norweigans were smarter than that.

33 bridge......we've been waiting

2009-09-11T18:01:00.000-04:00

The Tennessee Department of Transportation has identified 111 bridges to be replaced or repaired under its program to reduce the number of structurally deficient bridges in the state. The most expensive of the projects announced Friday is the replacement of a 73-year-old bridge over the Clinch River in Union County. It is expected to cost more than $20 million. Senator Mike Faulk announced today that work will begin on 33 Bridge this fall.

9-11 Lest We Forget

2009-09-11T17:57:00.001-04:00

Eight years ago today a group of Moslem terrorists conducted the worst attack on American Soil in history. Let us not forget that tragic event and who was responsible.

VA signs on to anti gun mantra?

2009-09-08T14:22:00.000-04:00

From a pamphlet at the VA Clinic in Knoxville, Tenn. Originated by Dept. of Veterans Affairs, Office of the Medical Inspector & Geriatrics and Extended Care Strategic Healthcare Group

“Firearms & Dementia
The presence of firearms in households has been linked to increased risk of injury or death for everyone in or around the home…….Firearms in the home can increase the possibility of completing suicide……The availability of a firearm offers a highly lethal means of completing suicide……Family members do not always take appropriate action to unload, secure, or remove firearms in the home.
Simple steps that can save someone you love
If you keep a gun:
-Keep your guns in a sturdy locked cabinet, that does not have glass
-Always store guns unloaded
-Install trigger guards on all guns to prevent them from being used
-Keep all ammunition in a locked fireproof safe in a separate place from the guns
-Keep the keys for the trigger guards, gun cabinet and ammunition hidden from children and persons with dementia.
-The safest action is to get rid of the guns. Store them at a neighbor’s house, sell them, or take them to the police to be destroyed.”

I edited the above some for length but did not change the words the VA used.

The criminals are likely to appreciate the steps taken to comply with the above suggestions.

edit....Someone pointed out that a trigger guard is listed to prevent use....Probably should have said trigger lock...but I copied it direct from pamphlet so I not gonna change what they said.

ed column 9-1-09

2009-09-01T18:11:00.000-04:00

Try ‘em & Fry ‘em

A trial just ended in Knoxville, Tenn. where the defendant, Letalvis Cobbins, was charged with 38 counts including rape and murder of Christopher Newsom and Channon Christian. He was found guilty on most of the charges and now faces two life sentences in prison.

The trial did not get much national attention, but it should have. It was a particularly gruesome carjacking, rape of both the young man and woman in the car, and murder of both. One reason it may not have received adequate national attention is that it was a black on white crime. Had it been the other way around I have no doubt the liberal media would have been all over it. That is not an indictment of any race or ethnic group but it does say something about the media.

But, I started out to write about the death sentence. Most talk show listeners in east Tennessee seem to agree that the convicted man should have received the death sentence. I agree with them. Rape or murder alone should result in death for the perpetrator. And I’ll throw in sexual abuse of a minor. Of course our legal system (we haven’t had a justice system in this country for years) seems to forget that the punishment should fit the crime. Instead, we provide three hots and a cot for life to the criminals on our dime. Personally I’d prefer public hangings at noon with the body to hang until sundown. That sight should deter others from doing heinous crimes. I suggest that the hangings not be televised because so much death is already portrayed on the boob tube. It would not have the same effect if seen on TV as if seen in person.

The trials of the three other suspects charged in the couple’s killings, Lemaricus Duvall Davidson (Cobbins’ half brother), George Giovanni Thomas and Vanessa Coleman will come in due time. Let us hope that justice is served following those trials. It sure was not with the Cobbins trial.

Throw the bums out ...part II

2009-09-01T09:12:00.001-04:00

Dunno who wrote this but gotta agree

The U.S. Post Service was established in 1775 - they've had 234 years to get it right; it is broke, and even though heavily subsidized, it can't compete with private sector Fed-Ex and UPS services.

Social Security was established in 1935 - they've had 74 years to get it right; it is broke.

Fannie Mae was established in 1938 - they've had 71 years to get it right; it is broke. Freddie Mac was established in 1970 - they've had 39 years to get it right; it is broke. Together Fannie and Freddie have now led the entire world into the worst economic collapse in 80 years.

The War on Poverty was started in 1964 - they've had 45 years to get it right; $1 trillion of our hard earned money is confiscated each year and transferred to "the poor"; it hasn't worked.

Medicare and Medicaid were established in 1965 - they've had 44 years to get it right; they are both broke; and now our government dares to mention them as models for all US health care.

AMTRAK was established in 1970 - they've had 39 years to get it right; last year they bailed it out as it continues to run at a loss!

This year, a trillion dollars was committed in the massive political payoff called the Stimulus Bill of 2009; it shows NO sign of working; it's been used to increase the size of governments across America , and raise government salaries while the rest of us suffer from economic hardships. It has yet to create a single new private sector job. Our national debt projections (approaching $10 trillion) have increased 400% in the last six months.

"Cash for Clunkers" was established in 2009 and went broke in 2009 - - after 80% of the cars purchased turned out to be produced by foreign companies, and dealers nationwide are buried under bureaucratic paperwork demanded by a government that is not yet paying them what was promised.

So with a perfect 100% failure rate and a record that proves that each and every "service" shoved down our throats by an over-reaching government turns into disaster, how could any informed American trust our government to run or even set policies for America's health care system - - 17% of our economy?

Maybe each of us has a personal responsibility to let others in on this brilliant record before 2010, and then help remove from office those who are voting to destroy capitalism and destroy our grandchildren's future.

Ed column 8-26-09

2009-08-26T18:48:00.000-04:00

The Wimpification of America

Along with all the woes of this country brought about by the phony economic stimulus, the so-called health reform bill and the threat to our interrogators who saved lives with the information they gleaned, we have for the past several years become a country of wimps.

Consider this. Tag is no longer permitted on school grounds because someone may be “touched inappropriately.” Dodge ball has frequently been banned because someone’s body or ego might be hurt. They don’t keep score at children’s ball games because losing might injure someone’s self esteem. No child is left out of a game because of a lack of ability. Children are not allowed to ride a bicycle without a helmet. Skateboarders need not only a helmet but knee and elbow pads. Children riding in cars must be strapped down like a criminal about to receive a lethal injection. Pocket knives are forbidden in schools.

In ancient times, when I was a child, none of those rules existed. We played dodge ball and did our best to sting the target with the ball. Eventually, we became the target and someone else tried to do the same to us. At the end of the day we would still be friends. We played tag asexually. Someone was always the last one chosen for a team in pick-up ball games. Some never played on a team at all. We rode bicycles bareheaded and did our best to be more daring than the next kid. We rode homemade skateboards in the street and had the occasional misfortune of scraping or breaking a leg. We stood up on the back seat hump in cars, or rode lying in the rear window, or (horrors) rode in the bed of a pickup truck. We played king of the hill and were thrown down the pile of dirt or gravel by the reigning king.

We climbed the neighbor’s Mulberry tree and ate unwashed berries until our stomach was full. If we happened to fall out of the tree our parents admonished us to be more careful next time. We would sharpen sticks with our own knives and have sword fights. We played cops & robbers or cowboys & Indians with cap guns that looked like real firearms. If by chance we went home with a black eye from a childhood fight our parents would ask “Did you win?” We drank from the water hose, not a bottle. Sometimes we shared a bottle of soda pop (of course we wiped the lip of the bottle with our sleeve or the palm of our hand before passing it to the next kid). We went exploring in the woods armed with a BB gun.

In today’s wimpy America kids ain’t allowed to be kids. In today’s wimpy America kids ain’t allowed to develop their imagination. In today’s wimpy America kids ain’t allowed to learn that some people are bigger, or stronger, or smarter or richer than others. In today’s wimpy America the only bottle kids are allowed to share is a bottle of hand sanitizer. No one is expected to take responsibility for their own actions. No one is ever supposed to be physically or emotionally hurt.

Believe it or not, I’ve carried a pocket knife every day of my life since the second grade. I’ve had and used guns since the age of three when I got my first BB gun. I’ve had broken bones, scraped knees and elbows and black eyes. And guess what! I’ve never stabbed or shot anyone. Most people consider me to be reasonably intelligent. Neither my parents nor I ever sued anyone as a result of treatment I’ve received.

It’s sad that America has been wimpificated. Unfortunately the situation is probably here to stay.

Harrogate Tennessee Park A Safer Place

2009-08-25T20:46:00.000-04:00

City Recorder for Harrogate told me today that the Board of Mayor and Alderman do not plan to opt out of the parks handgun carry law at the current time. So, Law Abiding, Handgun Carry Permit holders in Tennessee are welcome in the Harrogate City Park, armed or not. I believe that going along with the state law was a wise decision by our local legislators.
To Mayor Fultz and the Aldermen......well done and thank you.

Shelter Construction Progressing Nicely

2009-08-25T14:14:00.001-04:00

Construction of the new Claiborne County Animal Shelter is showing progress. The foundation has been poured and block has been laid. On Aug. 25 workers were constructing the wood frame for the walls atop the blocks.

PAL Mobile in Claiborne County

2009-08-25T14:06:00.000-04:00

On Aug 25 the PAL Mobile was once again in Claiborne County to perform low-cost spay and neuter surgery on cats and dogs. PAL (Prevent A Litter) is sponsored by the Claiborne Animal Shelter Board as a way to reduce the number of stray animals in the county. The mobile surgery suite is contained within a converted RV and was parked on the site of the forthcoming shelter. 35 animals were served by the Pal Mobile.

Park Safety Assured for Hamblin County

2009-08-19T08:59:00.001-04:00

Stancel Ford, Chairman of the Hamblin County Commission, assured gun owners that the county would not opt out of the Tennessee state law which allows handgun carry permit holders to take firearms into parks.
Ford addressed the Lakeway Chapter of the Tennessee Firearms Association at their regular meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 18. He said that as long as he is chairman of the commission, an opt-out resolution would not make it to the floor of the commission for a vote if within his power to stop it. He said that locations which opt out of the law are nothing but a “safe haven for criminals.” Handgun carry permit holders can, by law, go armed in the parks of many states. There has not been one problem with permit holders in any of those parks according to Ford.
He stressed the importance of attendance of commission meetings by the public and special interest groups to ensure their voice is heard. Ford is a former state legislator who received a rating of A+ from both the National Rifle Association and the Tennessee Firearms Association while serving in the General Assembly.

Credit for Clunkers

2009-08-17T03:54:00.000-04:00

I suspect that sometime in the next month or so the first of the payments are going to be due on vehicles acquired through the Cash for Clunkers program. I also suspect some of those who traded cars are going to realize they cannot afford the payments. It may be a similar situation to the housing credit fiasco where people bought more house than they could afford.
If I'm correct, what will Obama do about this government interference that goes bad? Maybe another government program?

ed column 8-13-09

2009-08-13T17:13:00.000-04:00

Standing Up for Rights
When B. Hussein Obama held his rigged town hall meeting in New Hampshire earlier this week, protestors and supporters lined the streets to see him. Among those protestors was a man with a handgun in a holster on his thigh. He was carrying a sign that said it’s time to water the tree of liberty. He was on private property, some distance from where the messiah would be speaking.
So What?
MSNBC reported extreme concern that a man was in the same neighborhood as the chosen one and that man was exerting his constitutional rights as guaranteed by both the U.S. Constitution and the New Hampshire Constitution.
U.S. Constitution, amendment 2 (in part) “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”
New Hampshire Constitution, Article 2-a: “All persons have the right to keep and bear arms in defense of themselves, their families, their property and the state.”
The pistol was open and the chief of police confirmed that the man was legally carrying it. Had it been concealed, it may have been a different story. New Hampshire Revised Statute 59:4 says: “No person shall carry a loaded pistol or revolver in any vehicle or concealed upon his person, except in his dwelling, house or place of business, without a valid license therefor as hereinafter provided.” RSA 159:6 says: “The selectmen of a town or the mayor or chief of police of a city or some full-time police officer designated by them respectively, upon application of any resident of such town or city, or the director of state police, or some person designated by such director, upon application of a nonresident, shall issue a license to such applicant authorizing the applicant to carry a loaded pistol or revolver in this state for not less than 4 years from the date of issue, if it appears that the applicant has good reason to fear injury to the applicant’s person or property or has any proper purpose, and that the applicant is a suitable person to be licensed. Hunting, target shooting, or self-defense shall be considered a proper purpose.” (Emphasis mine)
Let’s face it. Had the man intended to harm Obama, he would not have drawn attention to himself by displaying a handgun and holding up a large sign.
I respect and admire Hallerin Hilton Hill, a talk show host on WNOX FM 100.3 in Knoxville, Tenn. However, his take on the incident was wrong this morning. HHH said the man should not have shown up near the venue while armed. I maintain that the man was both making a statement and providing for his own self defense against potential action by Obama’s thugs. Perhaps he should have concealed the gun (if he had a concealed carry permit) or carried it in a location less accessible to others since both his hands were occupied with the sign.
I expect we will see more and more people carrying visible firearms in the months to come. I hope they do so in a manner in accordance with local and state laws. For example, the State of Tennessee constitution says in Article I Section 26: “That the citizens of this state have a right to keep and bear arms for their common defense; but the Legislature shall have power, by law, to regulate the wearing of arms with a view to prevent crime.” Tennessee has laws in place which do, in fact, regulate the wearing of arms. IMHO the laws are redundant to amendment 2 of the U.S. Constitution, but that’s the law and we must abide by it. By the way, those with a handgun carry permit in Tennessee are not required to conceal the weapon.
The man in New Hampshire, to the best of my knowledge, broke no law. In fact, he went out of his way to obey the law. My hat is off to him for standing up for what is right.

ed column 8-8-09

2009-08-08T09:21:00.000-04:00

It’s Not Personal

I’ve never met B. Hussein Obama, or Nancy Phewlosi, or Harry Reid. But, if they happen to read this because someone reported me on you email enemies list then please take note.
It’s not personal. If I were to meet you in person then I might actually like you and enjoy your company. But, your policies and agenda are an abomination. I am acquainted with a man in West Virginia who, I am sure, is a likeable person. I’ve never met him in person and only communicated with him via internet. I have no doubt that we could sit down over a cup of coffee and become fast friends. But, his political views are totally opposite mine. We could talk in a civil manner, but it’s unlikely that we would ever agree on the direction this country should take.
Healthcare/Insurance – No where in the Constitution does it say that the federal government has the right or obligation to control healthcare. It is a personal thing that will only be destroyed by a one size fits all bureaucracy. The ninth amendment guarantees certain rights to “the people.” That includes the right to seek medical care and pay for it by whatever means is available. The Constitution also does not authorize the government to determine who should live without due process of law. Allowing or promoting death by withholding medical care to certain groups is illegal and immoral.
Firearms – Gun restrictions and confiscation almost destroyed Germany. It has caused the crime rate in increase in Great Britain and Australia. The second amendment is plain and simple (as is the original Constitution and Bill of Rights). The right of “the people” the keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. HR45 is a terrible piece of legislation and, I believe, unconstitutional.
Supreme Court – Appointees to the Supreme Court should be constitutional scholars. Not back door legislators.
Abortion – Thou shall not kill. If it’s good enough for God then it’s good enough for me. Using my tax money to pay for the murder of unborn babies is disgusting.
State Sovereignty – The tenth amendment provides for states to act like mini-nations. The unification of those states was for specific purposes only, as outlined in the six articles of the basic constitution. Current legislation proposed by Obama, Pelosi and Reid et al usurps the authority of those 50 mini-nations. By the way, the letter that assistant-sub-vice-director of the BATF to FFL holders which stated that intrastate control for firearms manufacture and distribution is invalid, that letter is not worth the paper it was printed on. The federal government has no authority over intrastate commerce. And, the BATF has no authority to make law.
Government takeover of banks and the automotive industry – Again, there is no constitutional authority for government control of private corporations.
People are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Government interference of those rights by redistribution of finances, healthcare decisions, and enactment of unconstitutional regulations is just plain wrong.
So, whoever reads this because I was reported to the enemies list, don’t take it personally. You may be a good person but your policies are not good for this country. I beg you to get out of my personal business, NOW!

I almost did not watch this

2009-08-08T08:19:00.000-04:00

because of its length. Now I urge everybody to watch it.

http://nalert.blogspot.com/2009/07/white-folks-will-riot-pastor-manning.html

Ed column 8-4-09

2009-08-04T20:09:00.001-04:00

Hitler Also Had the Ultimate Solution

I can expect less years of life than I’ve already had. That puts me into the class that Obama wants to turn into compost. You may remember That Hitler also had plans for the undesirables. The German death camps were designed to eliminate a certain class of people. Hitler’s undesirables were Jews. Obama’s undesirables are those who are approaching or in their sunset years.
From the so-called health care bill currently under consideration:
PG 425: SEC. 1233. ADVANCE CARE PLANNING CONSULTATION Lines 4-12 Government mandates Advance Care Planning Consult. Think Senior Citizens end of life
Pg 425: SEC. 1233. ADVANCE CARE PLANNING CONSULTATION Lines 17-19 Government will instruct and consult regarding living wills, durable powers of attorney Mandatory!
PG 425: SEC. 1233. ADVANCE CARE PLANNING CONSULTATION Lines 22-25, 426 Lines 1-3 Government provides approved list of end of life resources, guiding you in death!
PG 427: SEC. 1233. ADVANCE CARE PLANNING CONSULTATION Lines 15-24 Government mandates program for orders for end of life. The Government has a say in how your life ends!
Pg 429: SEC. 1233. ADVANCE CARE PLANNING CONSULTATION Lines 1-9 An "advance care planning consultant" will be used frequently as patients health deteriorates.
PG 429: SEC. 1233. ADVANCE CARE PLANNING CONSULTATION Lines 10-12 "advance care consultation" may include an ORDER for end of life plans. An order from Government.
Pg 429: SEC. 1233. ADVANCE CARE PLANNING CONSULTATION Lines 13-25 – The Government will specify which Doctors can write an end of life order.
PG 430: SEC. 1233. ADVANCE CARE PLANNING CONSULTATION Lines 11-15 The Government will decide what level of treatment you will have at end of life.
OK. I’ve got a living will. Have had for years. It is not my desire to be kept artificially alive for an indeterminate amount of time. BUT that is my choice. It should not be the choice of some faceless bureaucrat who decides that I’ve outlived my usefulness.
Last year I had a mild heart attack. At the time it happened, I did not believe it was life threatening. I sought treatment. I’m still productive. (Some folks don’t think so, but I do.) Guess what, I went back to work and earned enough that I was able to pay off my medivac helicopter ride last week. Under Obama’s plan my family could have been stuck with paying that bill. Or I could have sat in the ER waiting room until I rotted had the episode been more serious.
Call, write, email, fax the Whitehouse, your Congressman, and your Senator to voice your opposition to the so-called health care bill. Attend town hall meetings in your area during the August legislative recess. Then do it again. And again until they get the message that people should be in charge of their own health decisions.

ed column 7-30-09

2009-07-30T16:14:00.001-04:00

Lamar Alexander is a Great Disappointment
With the full Senate vote on the confirmation of Sotomayor to the Supreme Court expected next week, Senator Lamar Alexander (Rino-Tenn) has once again displayed his true colors.
Earlier today he announced that he would break with the Republican Party and vote to confirm the Obama appointee. Our other Senator, Bob Corker (R-Tenn) has stated he will vote against confirmation.
As I said last week, it’s a foregone conclusion that Sotomayor will be confirmed. But, it’s sad that a so-called conservative would vote in favor of her.
I’ve contacted Alexander’s office a few times, on several subjects. He seldom responds. When he does the answer seldom fits the subject of my letter. For example, I’ve written him about gun owner’s rights. He responded with something about health care. I’ve contacted him about veteran’s affairs. His response concerned highway construction. My most recent correspondence to the Senator was a suggestion that he go ahead and declare allegiance to the Democrat, Socialist or Communist Party.
Republicans, in general, have left the party of Teddy Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan. Alexander, in particular, has completely crossed over to the party of Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and B. Hussein Obama.
Alexander has outlived his usefulness. He will be up for reelection in 2014. Let’s throw him out at that time.

FOR Our Community, BY Our Community - A Building Being Built From Big Hearts!

2009-07-27T07:54:00.000-04:00

We’ve got about 1/3 of the money needed to complete the Claiborne Animal Shelter – the generosity of this community is awe-inspiring! So many folks have donated to our Buy-a-Block campaign, we’re close to the 1,000 block mark – only 2,000 more to go and we’ll have enough to complete the lower wall. $10 will buy about 9 concrete blocks. Please consider making a tax deductible donation today. You can send it to Buy-a-Block, c/o Claiborne Animal Shelter, P.O. Box 186, Tazewell, TN 37879, or you can call our office for more information 423-626-8286 (M-F 10:00-2:00), or you can visit our website: www.ClaiborneAnimalShelter.com

Throw Them Out Back

2009-07-26T18:50:00.000-04:00

I just learned that Outback Resturants will post signs to disallow carrying of firearms by handgun carry permit holders in Tennessee. That is in response to legislation recently passed by the General Assembly to allow HCP holders to go armed in restaurants that serve alcohol.

I say "Let them throw their Blooming Onions out back cause I ain't buying them, or anything else at that restaurant chain."

Ed column 7-23-09

2009-07-23T15:08:00.000-04:00

It Ain’t Supposed To Be Agenda Driven

Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s appointment to the Supreme Court will be confirmed. There is no doubt about that. As Armstrong Williams said in The Washington Times, “Democrats believe Mr. Obama is the Messiah, and would do nothing to cause him embarrassment regarding his maiden Supreme Court appointment. Democrats also correctly discern Judge Sotomayor's strong sympathies for their political agenda: same-sex marriage, pro-choice, gun controls, anti-death penalty, redistribution of income in violation of contract rights in favor of groups who customarily vote a Democratic ticket, affirmative action for racial or ethnic minorities at the expense of a merit-based standard, the eviction of religion from public life, and muscular government power to regulate every dimension of the environment, including every immediate and remote contribution to global warming.”

Guess what? Supreme Court Judges are not supposed to enter their job with plans to further a specific agenda, other than as outlined in the Constitution. Article III, Section 2 delineates the duties of the Supreme Court. “The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority;--to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls;--to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;--to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party;--to Controversies between two or more States; between Citizens of different States,--between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects.”

Now take a look at Sotomayors agenda:

-Same sex marriage – I can’t find anything about marriage in Constitution whether between same sex partners, opposite sex partners, same species partners, inter-species partners or even inter-genus partners. Therefore, it should not be a subject for the Court to consider.

-Pro-choice – That’s liberal speak for abortion on demand. The Supreme Court In 1973 declared in error that women had the right to kill the unborn babies residing in their body. As I recall, the 14^th amendment was the basis for that ruling. The only relationship I can find to the subject is in amendment 14, section 1 which says in part, “(No State shall) deprive any person of life….without due process of law” What about that 9 day or 9 week or 9 month old baby? When do they receive due process? Sotomayor said Roe v. Wade is settled law. I maintain that the 1973 ruling was unconstitutional.

-Gun controls – Amendment 2: “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed” So simple even a caveman could understand it.

-Anti-death penalty – It seems that she thinks it’s OK to kill babies, but not heinous criminals.

-Redistribution of income – I’ll have to admit that is a good idea. As long as the wealth is redistributed by employers to those who EARN it.

America will be stuck with Sotomayor until she dies or resigns or does not confirm to “good behavior” (yup that’s in there). Actually, appointees to the Supreme Court should be chosen on their understanding to the original intent of the Constitution. Not on the agenda of the powers that be.

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it..//ed//

Southerland Addresses Firearms Group

2009-07-22T11:05:00.001-04:00

State Senator Steve Southerland was the guest speaker at the July 21 meeting of the Lakeview Chapter of the Tennessee Firearms Association.
Southerland was instrumental in the passage of several firearms friendly bills in the 2009 session of the Tennessee General Assembly. He expressed displeasure with major media handling of firearms topics. “It’s not about the truth,” he said, “It’s about selling newspapers” Southerland cited the restaurant carry bill as an example. Newspapers call it a “Guns in Bars” bill frequently he said. He said the major newspapers suggest that anyone can carry a firearm into a place that sells alcohol by the drink then purchase and consume alcohol. In fact, the restaurant carry bill allows ONLY those with a valid carry permit to go armed into a place that serves alcohol. And then, they are not permitted to consume alcohol. Drinking while armed can result in 11 months 29 days in jail, a $2,500 fine and loss of a carry permit.
Those who yell the loudest in support of the 1st amendment freedom of the press clause seem to want to use the 1st amendment to destroy the other nine amendments in the Bill of Rights according to Southerland.
A similar situation exists with the recently passed “Parks Carry” bill which allows carry permit holders to go armed in public parks in the state. The bill includes language that permits local governments to opt out of provisions, effectively banning firearms in locally governed parks. So far, major cities, with high crime rates, are the primary places that use the opt-out provision. Apparently they don’t want anyone other than criminals to be armed in public parks he admitted.
Southerland said that certain provisions of the pro-gun legislation passed this year need some fine tuning. Specifically language regarding signage. As currently written “adequate” signs must be posted if guns are completely banned. He said he would work toward requiring that signs be plainly visible and of sufficient size to be clearly read.
He said he voted for all firearms friendly bills considered by the General Assembly. “I’m here to protect everybody’s rights, not just specific special interests,” he said.

Who is your _______?

2009-07-17T17:17:00.001-04:00

Do you know who your County or City Commissioner is. How about your State Representative and Senator? Who is your State Governor? How about your U.S. Senators and Representative in Washingon?
If you can't name them, shame on you .
Do you know how to contact them?
Here's some phone numbers you may find useful.
White House 202-456-1111 Fax 202-456-2461
U.S. Capitol Switchboard (for both Senate and House) 202-224-3121

For those who share The Volunteer State with me:
Governor 615-741-2001 Fax 615-392-9711
General Assembly Switchboard (for both State Senate and House) 800-449-8366

They don't know what you think unless you tell them.

2009-07-16T09:02:00.001-04:00

Ed column 7-15-09

2009-07-15T16:17:00.000-04:00

From One News Now “Senators on Capitol Hill may be forced tomorrow to make a choice between approving an important defense spending bill and voting down "hate crimes" legislation.Senate Democrats are once again trying to pass a hate crimes bill by attaching it as an amendment to the Defense Authorization bill. The hate crimes legislation, known as the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act would add gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and disability to the list of protected categories under federal hate crimes law. A vote is expected Thursday on the Defense Authorization bill and its accompanying hate crimes amendment.”

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it dozens of times: Crime is crime, regardless of who the victim is.

S.909, Section 2 (7) and Section 3 (2) says that the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 addressed so-called “hate crimes” as relates to race, color or ancestry. Section 7 of S.909 provides an amendment to USC title 18, section 249 to include actual or perceived religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.

Murder, regardless of the race, faith, gender or perversion of the victim should carry a penalty of death, to be carried out in a timely and final manner. Assault should be punished in accordance with law.

S.909, Section 10 states that the legislation shall not be construed to allow prosecution based soley upon an individual’s expression of beliefs.But, we all know that a high priced Philadelphia lawyer can get around that. For example: Assume that John Doe Jr. respects the opinion of John Doe Sr. Junior hears Senior state that he believes Romans 1: 24-32 is the literal word of God. Junior keys in on verse 32 and then goes out and kills a practicing sodomite. The Philadelphia lawyer (working for the Justice Department) could argue successfully that Senior incited Junior to violence and prosecute as such. In reality, Junior should be prosecuted for murder, PERIOD.

All crime is hate crime. The perpetrator hates something about the victim. I want to know when male, heterosexual, God fearing Christians of European ancestry will receive special protection.

We'll see how it goes

2009-07-15T12:38:00.000-04:00

After leaving the newspaper business, I still miss chasing flashing red and blue lights. I also miss writing a weekly op/ed column. So, At the urging of my good friend, Mark Nelson, that's MARK NELSON of Golden City, Mo. I'm gonna try it this way.

Intended content: Local news for Claiborne County, and East Tenn. Conservative viewpoint. Occasional photos. Possible list of upcoming area events. Frequency of updates - If I write I post, If I don't write I don't.

Best presidents of my life time: Harry Truman and Ronald Reagan. Worst presidents of my lifetime: can't tell, there is too much competition.