Monday, February 6, 2012

Letter from Lt Col Daniel L. Davis: A fulcrum that can move a nation

A historical analogy is the briefing *Lt. Colonel John Paul Vann (US Army) gave to the senior Army leadership in Washington during June and July 1963, with statistical evidence proving that the military’s reporting about the Vietnam War was incorrect. It was suppressed, although some details slowly leaked into the press through a few brave journalists (as rare then as now). Let’s see if the actions of this brave man produce larger results than those of Vann.



Via Looking in the Mirror

Please read this letter from Daniel L. Davis (Lt Colonel, US Army). He has set in motion forces that can change America, but only if we choose to help. Pass this on to your Congressmen, Senators, local newspapers, associate, friends, and relatives. If we stand together we can reclaim America. Today is an opportunity to start this process.

δῶς μοι πᾶ στῶ καὶ τὰν γᾶν κινάσω (Give me a fulcrum, and we shall move the nation.)
— Archimedes of Syracuse (c. 287 BC – c. 212 BC), my translation

This letter is reprinted with permission. See his website here.

My Dearest Friends,

I haven’t talked to many of you in awhile, but so the rest of this makes sense, I was deployed to Afghanistan for a year between November 2010 and October 2011. I saw many things during that deployment — the fourth combat deployment of my career — that I found disturbing. Eventually I felt morally obligated to do something about what I saw to such an extent that iI was incapable of not acting. Here’s what I’ve done and things that are being done as a result.

MORE

Hitler And Mussolini 'Would Love Our Public School System'

Well said, Bishop and why would you recant something that is 100% true, thanks to our Collectivist school system?

The Catholic bishop of Harrisburg, Pa., has apologized for offending anyone with his recent comments that Hitler and Mussolini “would love” the public school system in Pennsylvania, because it is similar to what they sought to create in their totalitarian states.

But in a statement issued by the diocese of Harrisburg, Bishop Joseph McFadden did not retract comments he made during an interview on Jan. 24 with WHTM-TV, the ABC affiliate in Harrisburg.

MORE

What to Do With Leftovers in 529 Plans

Via Sister Anne

The Wall Street Journal
Verbatim Post

Most parents worry about not having enough money in their 529 savings plans to pay for their kids' college expenses. But sometimes you can end up with more cash in these accounts than you need—if, say, a child doesn't go to college or attends a state school rather than a private university.

What then?

One option, of course, is to simply withdraw the cash. But if you do that, you will owe tax on the earnings, plus a penalty equal to 10% of the earnings portion of the withdrawal. Fortunately, there are plenty of other ways to use leftover 529 funds without incurring tax or penalties, says Matthew P. McCarthy, head of the education-savings group at Vanguard Group.

After all, avoiding tax is a key benefit of state-sponsored 529 plans, which are named for the section of the federal tax code that created them in 1996. The money, typically invested in mutual funds, grows tax-free, and withdrawals to pay for qualified higher-education expenses generally aren't subject to taxation.

Weighing the Options

If your intended beneficiary decides not to go to college, be aware that the money in a 529 plan can be used to pay for postsecondary vocational or technical training at schools eligible for financial-aid programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education. This includes schools that teach a variety of trades, such as automotive and aerospace maintenance, hairstyling and computer skills. A tool on the savingforcollege.com website, under "Tools & calculators," can tell you if a specific school is eligible.

If a child goes to college but graduates without wiping out a 529 account, you can always let the remaining money sit for possible graduate-school expenses.

You also can change the beneficiary of the account, so long as the new recipient is a family member. That might be a sibling or step-sibling of the original beneficiary, for example, or a first cousin. Alternatively, a parent who funded the account may want to take college courses on a part-time basis, or save the money for potential grandchildren. (In rare cases, there may be gift-tax or generation-skipping-tax consequences when you change beneficiaries.)

Say there is money left over in a 529 account because your child got a big scholarship that reduced his or her college costs. In that case, money withdrawn would be subject to tax on the earnings but the 10% penalty would be waived, as long as the withdrawal doesn't exceed the amount of the scholarship. The penalty on withdrawals also would be waived if the beneficiary dies or becomes disabled.

Unless you need the money in a 529 account for something else, there is no rush to make a decision. In most plans, you can leave funds in the account to grow tax-free indefinitely, as long as there is a living beneficiary. The account owner can change beneficiaries at any time.

However, if the money is likely to stay in the plan for longer than originally expected, review how it is invested. The key is to think about your time horizon and your tolerance for risk. "It's like any other investment," says Ron Rogé, a financial planner in Bohemia, N.Y. "If you think you'll need the money in under three years, look for something stable, like a short-term bond fund. If it's longer term, look for growth."

Know the Rules

Most of the more than $130 billion in 529 savings plans is invested in age-based portfolios, where the investment mix becomes more conservative as the beneficiary gets closer to college age. But most plans offer other options. Indiana's College Choice 529 plan, for instance, includes a U.S. Equity Index Portfolio, an International Portfolio and a Short-Term Bond Index Portfolio, among other options. Alaska has a Total Market Equity Index Portfolio, composed of one stock fund that aims to parallel the performance of the entire U.S. stock market, and an Equity Portfolio, composed of several stock mutual funds.

"There are 3,000 investment options among all the plans," says Joe Hurley, founder of savingforcollege.com. Almost all states have at least one plan, and an account owner usually can roll over assets from one plan to another—or change investment options—once every 12 months. Some plans charge a fee for rollovers.

Especially when investing for the long term, it is important to designate a successor owner for a 529 plan to ensure assets will be available to the beneficiary if the account owner dies. This can be done when the account is established, or later.

It pays to know the rules of the state plan in which you are invested. While two-thirds of states offer state income-tax deductions or credits for residents who invest in their plans, some, like New York, can move to recapture those benefits if the assets are moved to another state's plan.

A final thought: If there is no future beneficiary in sight, you may be able to mitigate the tax bite and the penalty by donating proceeds of the account to charity and taking a tax deduction—if you itemize deductions.

Ms. Jasen is a writer in New York. Email her at reports@wsj.com.

The Liebster Award

I'm not so sure about accepting this award coming from someone who thinks of me as dearest and beloved if they're male. I'd better check into The Irishman to see if all those girlie pictures or a sham or.........:)
Liebster is German for dearest, beloved, or favorite. The Liebster Award is given to up and coming bloggers , who have less than 200 followers.

==========


1. Copy and paste the award on your blog.

2. Link back to the blogger who gave you the award

3. Pick out five (tough choice there are too many) favorite blogs with less than 200 followers, and leave a comment on their blog to let them know they have received the award.

4. Hope that the five blogs chosen will keep spreading the love and pass it on to five more blogs.

Here is my list of five some of my daily reads in no particular order:
and there are many others in my sidebar that I peruse often.

THANK YOU to all of you that make the blogosphere an amazing place!

Here's my five.........& there should be many more, but I know I'm relegated to only five........

Open Letter to the FBI -- Arrest the Corrupt Government Officials or Resign

Via On To Liberty

February 6, 2012

Mr. Brian Lamkin

Mr. Harry Hammick

FBI Atlanta
2635 Century Parkway N.E., Suite 400
Atlanta, GA 30345

Fax: 404-679-6289

Dear Mr. Lamkin and Mr. Hammick:

I am very disappointed that you haven’t contacted me about the judicial corruption in Atlanta.

I have MASSIVE PROOF of corruption with the federal judges and judicial employees in Atlanta. I am beginning to identify the extent of the corruption in the Fulton County legal and judicial system. I have been in contact with hundreds of other victims.

Last fall, I presented criminal charges against several federal judges, the Fulton County District Attorney, and some others to the Fulton County Grand Jury. I spoke to the Grand Jurors for 30 minutes.

The Grand Jury asked me to return at their next session with a document succinctly expressing the charges with copies of all of the evidence, footnoted to the document. I was to give, as they called it, “a slam bam thank you ma’am” presentation.

When I returned to the courthouse with the requested evidence, I was met by the DA’s Chief Investigator, Cynthia Nwokocha, and three Fulton County Sheriff’s Deputies. They forcibly removed me from the building, and I was given a Criminal Trespass Warning that states that I will be arrested if I ever return to the third, sixth, or seventh floor public elevator lobbies in the public courthouse. I visited various Fulton County judges for help, and no one would do a thing. One judge, Judge Jerry W. Baxter, took further action to deny me any recourse. I happen to have a lot of what took place on video due to a friend who turned on the video on her cellphone. I have witnesses.

So I then tried to present my charges to the federal Grand Jury – a right allegedly guaranteed by statute. Sally Quillian Yates, the U.S. Attorney, intercepted the mail that I sent to the Grand Jurors. When I showed up at the federal courthouse on the day that the Grand Jury meets, I was detained at the entrance (where my 8x10 color photograph is posted), and U.S. Marshal Tom Shell denied me access to the courthouse. I can never go anywhere in the courthouse unless one or several U.S. Marshals are there to dictate where I can and cannot go. I am banned from ever going on the 20th floor where the Grand Jury meets.

So, all of these crooks have succeeded in blocking the evidence from reaching the Grand Jury. What they did is a serious crime, but no one will do anything about it. I am asking you to take immediate action against the people who committed federal and state crimes to interfere with my presentation of evidence to the grand juries. I assure you that I will be informing the attorney general, the President, every member of Congress, and anyone else I can find about this. If you fail to pursue this blatant corruption, then I will make it a personal crusade to see the two of you indicted, arrested, convicted, imprisoned, and disgraced. Enough of this make believe investigative agency. Do your jobs, or get out.

I know that you are well aware of the corruption. If you are corrupt, you should resign. If you are honest or somewhat honest, now is the time to act.

I can meet with you anywhere anytime to present my evidence. Please call me. I carry my cell phone at all times – ###-###-####. I am also picketing and protesting every Tuesday at the Fulton County Courthouse, so please stop by.

Sincerely,

William M. Windsor

MORE

The $PLC has a new employee


The Despicable $outhern Poverty Law Center
Just love it!

Sipsey Street Irregulars
Verbatim Post

-----Original Message-----
From: Bill Morlin
To: Mike Vanderboegh
Sent: Mon, Feb 6, 2012 2:06 pm
Subject: requesting comment
Mike Vanderboegh:
I'm a freelance journalist, currently doing magazine work for Southern Poverty Law Center's "Hatewatch" news blog and "Intelligence Report" magazine. My current assignment is to write a half-dozen. 400-word profiles, including one on you, for the IR magazine.
Obviously I can find a lot about you on the Internet, but would like to extend this opportunity for you to say something about yourself -- what you represent and what you don't represent, some biographical background, place of birth, military experience, college, work experiences, political-religious philosophy, etc..
I'd also like to hear your thoughts on your novel "Absolved." Is it becoming the new "Turner Dairies" for the extremist movement and was that your intention in writing it?
Thanks for your time in responding to this request.
- Bill Morlin
So I wrote back:
Morlin. You used to work for a Washington state newspaper, right?
He replied:
Right. 37 years at The Spokesman-Review; now semi-retired. I think I may have spoken with you on the phone at some point. Covered Aryan Nations, Ruby Ridge, MT Freeman, militia movement, etc. etc. Now doing freelance work.
- Bill
So, I told him what I thought of him and his new boss:
Yeah, I remember you. From what I remember of your work, SPLC is a good fit for you.
Well, I'll tell you what. You get Morris Dees to confess publicly how much he knew about the OKC bombing in advance from his snitch inside Elohim City . . . and I'll give you my bio. But until then, you lyin' sacks of shit can do enough collectivist propaganda conflation on your own without my help. Hell, maybe you can screw up enough by yourself so I can sue you for your PATCON lies. Take yer "Narrative of 1995" and stick it where the sun doesn't shine. I'll stack my proven anti-Nazi credentials against any of you tyranny apologists any day of the week.
Now, piss off.
Mike Vanderboegh

Elites Must Control Thought

Old Virginia Blog
Verbatim Post
Worth quoting:

"If ideological competition operated in the area of network news, academia, or other parts of the communication and education domains, then half of the colleges would be overtly conservative, and most of the big newspapers and magazines would be conservative, and Hollywood would produce lots of films that exalt the values we share. In fact, it is not Adam Smith's supply and demand or Milton Friedman's free markets which hold sway in these fields as much as Lenin's "party line" and Orwell's groupthink."
~ Bruce Walker


The reason is that the ideology and philosophies which elites in academia and the media embrace cannot compete in the real world. So, they have to control liberty and freedom and attempt to suppress any dissent. That's the impetus behind political correctness and why so many in academia either deny or downplay PC. They don't want to be exposed. They are intellectual and moral cowards.


Muslim Gang Brutally Attacks 17-year-old Infidel, Police Treat it as 'race hate crime'

This is not a "race hate crime." Islam is not a race. This is a religious crime. This is a crime of Islamic supremacism and domination.

Remember the code/translation in the reporting of such events in the UK. "Asian" means Muslim. I expect we can begin seeing this kind of shariaspeak in the US. In France, mediawash refers to maruading Muslims as "youths." In other European countries, the press uses "immigrant youth," despite the thugs being second or third generation.

MORE

Muslims attack

The Ten Principles of a Free Society

Via On To Liberty

Liberty Defined, by Ron Paul

‪1.‬Rights belong to individuals, not groups; they derive from our nature and can neither be granted nor taken away by government.

‪2.‬All peaceful, voluntary economic and social associations are permitted; consent is the basis of the social and economic order.

‪3.‬Justly acquired property is privately owned by individuals and voluntary groups, and this ownership cannot be arbitrarily voided by governments.

‪4.‬Government may not redistribute private wealth or grant special privileges to any individual or group.

‪5.‬Individuals are responsible for their own actions; government cannot and should not protect us from ourselves.

‪6.‬Government may not claim the monopoly over a people’s money and governments must never engage in official counterfeiting, even in the name of macroeconomic stability.

‪7.‬Aggressive wars, even when called preventative, and even when they pertain only to trade relations, are forbidden.

‪8.‬Jury nullification, that is, the right of jurors to judge the law as well as the facts, is a right of the people and the courtroom norm.

‪9.‬All forms of involuntary servitude are prohibited, not only slavery but also conscription, forced association, and forced welfare distribution.

‪10.‬Government must obey the law that it expects other people to obey and thereby must never use force to mold behavior, manipulate social outcomes, manage the economy, or tell other countries how to behave.

Random Thoughts Regarding Machismo, If Any

I was delighted this morning to see a video on LewRockwell.com in which it was revealed that high-school students do not know what countries border on the United States, or how many states there are in what we think of, somewhat dubioously, as “the Union.” Decay and hopelessness warm a curmudgeon's heart.

Regarding Mexico (which, for readers under thirty, borders on the US) I have noticed that many Americans seem to think that it is a land of machismo and oppression of women. This view is lovingly held by feminists, who really ought to find something better to do with their time. I like to think the worst of people and countries, and certainly it is the way to bet, but occasionally even a curmudgeon must submit to the predations of truth. The truth is that machismo is well on its way out. And good riddance, since it really was obnxious.

BUILDING SMALL TEAMS: DEVELOPING COMBAT-EFFECTIVE RESISTANCE ELEMENTS

Soldiers have to eat soup together for a long time before they are ready to fight.” --Napolean

Four brave men who do not know each other will not dare to attack a lion. Four less brave, but knowing each other well, sure of their reliability and consequently of mutual aid, will attack resolutely. That is the science of armies in a nutshell.” --Ardant du Picq


Perhaps the two most often cited perceived weaknesses of all resistance movements are the numbers arrayed against the resistance by regime security forces, and the ability of regime security forces to utilize technological advances to attack the resistance elements.

While numbers always matter, there are historically proven methods to increase the quality and combat-effective power projection of smaller forces, especially the tactical maneuver elements that constitute the lethal “tooth” end of the fighting force. Human factors are the critical components that must be exploited to compensate for a disparity of mass within the battlespace.

Braindead Sharpton: Obama must dictate to Catholic Church to violate its religious tenets in order to … preserve the separation of church and state!

Someone has a very confused idea about the separation of church and state, and surprisingly, it’s the Reverend in this Morning Joe panel today.

What We Need Is More People on Food Stamps


Food stamp use is at an all time high. In 2011, more than 46 million Americans—about one in seven—received food stamps. But President Obama’s Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack doesn’t think that’s enough.

The US Department of Agriculture would like to see more people utilizing their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The department believes that one reason more people don’t sign up is individual pride. In order to combat the deleterious effects of self-respect,

…. the department is offering non-profit groups the chance to receive $75,000 grants for projects designed to boost food stamp participation among those who are eligible but have yet to sign up. The Department of Agriculture believes that the SNAP program is “severely underutilized” and says that 33 percent more Americans who are eligible to receive food stamps have yet to apply, thus the need to offer federal grants to sign more citizens up.1

Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsack believes that food stamps are good for the economy. After all, it puts “people to work,” because whenever they are used, “someone’s got to stock it, shelve it, package it, process it, ship it–all of those are jobs.”

We’ll take it as a given that Vilsack never read Frederic Bastiat’s Essays on Political Economy. He should have.

MORE

The Pseudo-Courage of Chris Kyle

The other side of the story.

That kind of courage, which is conspicuous in danger and enterprise, if devoid of justice, is absolutely undeserving of the name of valor. It should rather be considered as a brutal fierceness outraging every principle of humanity. –
Cicero, The Offices, Book I Chapter XIX

As a sniper with the Navy SEALs in Iraq, Chris Kyle was shot twice and wounded on several other occasions. He is credited with 160 confirmed kills. He received several commendations. Of his fierceness there is no reasonable doubt. Whether his exploits display courage is an entirely separate question.

American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History, the ghost-written memoir for which Kyle claims primary authorship, offers convincing testimony that Kyle not only failed to display genuine courage in Iraq, but was incapable of recognizing it when it was exhibited by desperate patriots seeking to evict the armed foreigners who had invaded and occupied their country.

The insurgents who fought the American invasion (and the few “allied” troops representing governments that had been bribed or brow-beaten into collaborating in that crime) were sub-human “savages” and “cowards,” according to Kyle.

“Savage, despicable evil,” writes Kyle. “That’s what we were fighting in Iraq…. People ask me all the time, `How many people have you killed?’... The number is not important to me. I only wish I had killed more. Not for bragging rights, but because I believe the world is a better place without savages out there taking American lives.”

None of the American military personnel whose lives were wasted in Iraq had to die there, because none of them had any legitimate reason to be there. From Kyle’s perspective, however, only incorrigibly “evil” people would object once their country had been designated the target of one of Washington’s frequent outbursts of murderous humanitarianism.

Summer 1941: Germans in Russia

Gunporn

Suspect in police shooting says he feared for life

Via Don

A man accused of fatally shooting a police officer and wounding five others during an Ogden drug raid last month says he feared for his life because he thought people were breaking into his home to rob and kill him.

Matthew Stewart told The Salt Lake Tribune (http://bit.ly/zMxrig ) that he never heard the drug strike force members identify themselves or announce they were at his home to serve a search warrant the night of Jan. 4.

Stewart, in an interview Friday at the Weber County Jail, said he was asleep when he heard his alarm clock and then a noise that sounded like glass breaking. A shootout between the suspect and officers followed a short time later.

“Some parts I remember vividly. Other parts it was like I was running on instinct,’’ he said. “When you’re convinced that you are getting robbed and most likely killed by a group of armed men, your instincts kick in.’’

MORE

Moses Dallas, Colored Pilot of the Savannah Naval Squadron

Moses Dallas served on the gunboat CSS Savannah as a pilot, and was praised by Savannah Naval Squadron commander Captain William A. Webb as “the best inland pilot on the coast.” He later served aboard the CSS Isondiga and the new ironclad, CSS Savannah, and while serving on the latter he would be engaged in this most adventurous action of the war.

The enemy blockading vessel USS Waterwitch was proving to be a tempting target for capture by a boarding party as it steamed up the Little Ogeechee River. On 3 June 1864, seven boats left the Beaulieu Battery on the Vernon River near Savannah with 15 officers and 117 men, including third in command Pilot Moses Dallas.

The night operation allowed the boarding parties to closely approach the Waterwitch’s hull undetected, when a lookout desperately alerted the crew. As the Confederate forces came alongside to scale the hull from both port and starboard sides, enemy small arms fire struck and instantly killed Pilot Moses Dallas who had guided the Georgians to the Waterwitch. Minutes later, expedition commander Lieutenant Thomas P. Pelot was first to gain the main deck and was also killed – though in ten minutes the swarming Georgians had secured the enemy vessel for the American Confederacy.

The action report to Secretary of the Navy Stephen Mallory cited the loss of 5 men killed and 12 wounded during the capture of the enemy craft Waterwitch. Author Robert G. Caroon notes:

“Pilot Moses Dallas, CSN, gave his life in a gallant attack on a well-armed enemy vessel and contributed to the victory of the Confederate Naval Forces. For three years he had served faithfully and well in the Confederate Navy and his comrades in arms were not unmindful of his service, nor would they prove themselves ungrateful.

On 4 June, 1864, the Confederate States Navy ordered a coffin and a hearse for the funeral of Moses Dallas, the expense to be paid by the Navy. Pilot Moses Dallas furnishes us with a fine example of a talented and dedicated African American serving in the armed forces of the Confederate States in a position of leadership. His contribution was recognized during his lifetime and after his death in action. He deserves to be remembered and honored by posterity as well.”

Source:

Moses Dallas, African American and Confederate Naval Officer, Robert G. Caroon, Confederate Veteran, Volume 5, 1999, pp. 26-27


Moses Dallas, Colored Pilot of the Savannah Naval Squadron

Teludyne StraightJacket Proof from H.P. White

If you read our original article on the Teludyne StraightJacket, Ultimate Accuracy Makeover, you may have been one of the naysayers who didn’t believe you could take a $300 deer rifle (one of the two guns was a Savage Axis) and make it into a 1/4 MOA gun, but it was indeed true. For this year’s SHOT Show, Teludyne has contracted the H.P White testing certification organization to prove what we figured out long ago. The StraightJacket is the most significant development in long range rifle accuracy possibly ever. After going over the testing a bit we’ll explain again what the StraightJacket is, and more importantly, why it is.

Flying People in New York City

Via Cousin Colby