Thomas Jefferson on the best form of exercise: I advise the gun.

In 1785 Thomas Jefferson wrote to his fifteen-year-old nephew, Peter Carr, regarding what he considered the best form of exercise: "...I advise the gun. While this gives a moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprize, and independance to the mind. Games played with the ball and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be the constant companion of your walks."[1]

Evidence exists to show that Jefferson was a fair marksman. At twenty-five he noted in his accounts: "Won shooting 1/6."[2] In a later contest during a muster of Captain Jacob Moon's Albemarle County militia company he lost 2/6.[3] But as he grew older, Jefferson limited his exercise to horseback riding while restraining his attachment for firearms and hunting.

References to ownership of arms and accoutrements may be found throughout his manuscripts and accounts. A cursory compilation shows that he owned a shotgun called a "two shot-double barrel," purchased in France, a number of pistols and other shoulder weapons. Further evidence that he used these may be found in the columns of his account books. In 1775 he paid to have a pistol repaired; a year later he bought a "double barrel gun-lock" for £5-5; in 1799 he had Henry Yost, a Staunton, Virginia gunsmith, mend his pistols (possibly those he carried for protection when traveling) and, as late as 1817 he was charged eight dollars for having a gun put in order by a Charlottesville repairman.[4]

Unquestionably, the finest arms that Jefferson owned were a pair of Turkish pistols received from the estate of General Isaac Zane in place of a money bequest. He described them and, at the same time, modestly alluded to his ability as a pistol shot: "They are 20. inch barrels so well made that I never missed a squirrel at 30 yards with them..."[5]

- Text from James A. Bear, "Some Jefferson Ideas on Exercise, Guns and Game," Monticello Research Report, n.d.

More @ Monticello

Spider & Kites

Screwed it up, but still thought it worthwhile.

Kites in the sky on my beach walk.

Blackout

Socialized Medicine Promoted At Opening Of Olympics

Freedom Outpost
VERBATIM POST

The 2012 Summer Olympic Games opened on Friday evening in London, England with a celebration of free healthcare among many other social issues like the trade union struggle, the battle for women’s rights and an uncensored lesbian kiss.

Oscar-winning British director Danny Boyle caught flack from the British political right claiming that he had slipped over into “lefty” issues. Aidan Burley, a lawmaker in the Conservative party, tweeted,

“The most leftie opening ceremony I have ever seen — more than Beijing, the capital of a communist state! Welfare tribute next?” Don’t hold your breath Mr. Burley, that may be on the agenda.

Some on the left, including Alastair Campbell, former communications chief for Tony Blair, and Cameron Downing applauded the ceremony on Twitter:

“Brilliant that we got a socialist to do the opening ceremony.”

“The opening ceremony has been a great showcase for this country. It’s more proof Britain can deliver.

“The most leftie opening ceremony I have ever seen — more than Beijing, the capital of a communist state! Welfare tribute next?” Don’t hold your breath Mr. Burley, that may be on the agenda.

Some on the left, including Alastair Campbell, former communications chief for Tony Blair, and Cameron Downing applauded the ceremony on Twitter:

Boyle claimed that he was not pushing a political agenda. He said,

“The sensibility of the show is very personal.”

“A group of us have created it, but we had no agenda other than… values that we feel are true. Not everybody will love that but people will be able to recognise as being honest and truthful really. I felt that very strongly. There is no bull***t in it, and there is no point-making either.”

No, now who would think there was any agenda in any of these things that were promoted in the opening ceremony? To say such things insults our intelligence.

While there is no doubt that the opening of the ceremony was spectacular in the fireworks, choreography and all of the stage show, what was presented was clearly political and clearly had an agenda.

Britain is a country that has embraced socialized medicine for several decades and though you have outlets such as The Guardian declaring that citizens receive same or next day health care, they don’t tell you that they are running in the billions on deficits because of healthcare, which means that things may be well for while, but eventually you have to pay the bill.

Tad Cronn also points out:

According to surveys of the British medical system:

Only 10 percent of hospitals met hygiene standards.
About 20 percent of hospitals did not properly sterilize medical instruments.
One in 8 did not properly isolate patients with infectious disaeases.
One in 5 patients being treated for bypass surgery did not receive proper care. Among those who died, many of them did so because the staff were slow to recognize deteriorating symptoms and there were delays in getting doctors to see them.

By the way, did each of those beds represent one of the 130,000 seniors they killed this year to make room for more patients? Or maybe they represented the patients doctors had to prescribe water for to make sure hospital staff didn’t let them die of simple dehydration.

All of this looks great in the latest cartoon or movie, but in real life things are much more than the fantasy land know as the Liberal Utopia.”

Tour the World's Top 10 Cities for Street Food

6. Saigon, Vietnam

Vietnamese cuisine has received some major street cred in recent memory (Anthony Bourdain's praise comes to mind), and a quick visit to Saigon's Ben Thanh or Binh Tay markets explains why. Similar to the other Southeast Asian destinations listed, the street food in Saigon embraces a mix of cultures, primarily the city's French colonial background with Vietnamese spices and ingredients.

In addition to Vietnamese standards of pho and bánh mì, other notable dishes include cơm tấm (cooked broken rice) with a fried egg on the top, Bo la lot (seasoned beef in a leaf), and spring rolls. A member noted that no matter what Cơm tấm dish you get, it always will be served with nuớc mắm (fish sauce), and since each street-food stall usually makes its own, people often choose which stall to return to based on its nuớc mắm.

However, since hawker registration and street-food health standards aren't as stringent in Vietnam, travelers should be careful to always choose popular, crowded stalls with high turnover.

More @ NewsMax

Counter Vehicle Tactics

When your enemy is rolling around on the roads in armored vehicles your options to deal with that are limited.

1. Stick to terrain that the vehicles can't reach.
or
2. Blow up the vehicles with whatever you've got.

Really that is what it boils down to, and so let us discuss option 1. If you force the enemy to dismount and come to you then what range you decide to engage the enemy has more to do with terrain and opportunity than tactics. Dismount to dismount tactics are well documented, and here marksmanship is very important to allow maneuver.

The second option, blowing stuff up, requires you to close with the enemy. John Mosby has written here http://mountainguerrilla.blogspot.com/2012/07/stealth-is-survival-or-victory-is-in.html about getting close, hitting hard, and getting out. What he writes is sound, and I would simply like to add on my thoughts to the matter.

To hit hard against a better equipped force you need explosives, or something that provides the same "shock" and damage effect on your enemy. Honestly the old RPG-7 is too small for this role anymore with the anti-armor cages and nets on armored vehicles. We are talking things like an anti tank recoilless rifle, a shoulder launched anti tank missile, a command detonated anti vehicle mine, an anti tank grenade. Here is an example of Iraqi Insurgents using the RKG-3 anti tank grenade. This is what closing with a mounted armored force looks like in an urban area.

More @ American Mercenary

Into The Fog

Oleg Volk

Warm colors of the incipient spring sunset gave the old Ostend
hotel a picture postcard look. Thick brick walls, crawling
with ivy, radiated the warmth absorbed through the day. Tamar,
chilled by the constant sea breeze, sought the comfort of her
temporary home without being much cheered by the expectation
of gaining it shortly. Though a Saturday, the day had not been
restful for her. Her fingers ached from the ten hours of
typing she had to do to gain her release from Europe.

Tamar Grant was thirty, a petite woman whose face was pleasant
without being memorable. To friends, she was amiable, to
strangers, a mask. She found life generally agreeable and
drifted easily through it. Her parents raised her in Boston
but, being British, they imposed upon her the old country
accent and some of its sensibilities. Tamar's wish, after
graduating, was to learn from the world. She came to Italy
right after college, back in 1932. That country soon grew
inhospitable to the likes of her, and she moved to France. Her
services as an English tutor were not in particularly great
demand, but she made ends meet. Her gains from the seven years
spent in Paris and, later, Reims were native proficiency in
the language and a French lover. That man taught her much.

The war concerned her very little, but her parents worried
aplenty. In early May, she gave in to their cabled entreaties
and made her way to Ostend to sail for New York. Just then,
the city became a trap, as the German advance suspended the
regular passenger traffic across the Atlantic. Tamar found
herself in a bind, unable to leave and uncertain of the
future. Her money would hold for a while, but she got herself
employed promptly as a typist for the British Expeditionary
Force. She had surmised, correctly, that she would have a much
better chance of gaining passage out of Belgium if attached to
the BEF, than if by herself as a civilian lost in the turmoil
of the no longer phony war.

That day, the city absorbed more refugees from Antwerp, and
German planes strafed some of the roads. Ostend had not been
bombed much, but her hotel did get hit once. The damage was
not great, but it created a great deal of dust from the
loosened whitewash and broken brick over the facade. As she
opened the door to the lobby, a cloud of particles came
down. For a second, Tamar saw the sun dogs filtered through
the cloud, and then it settled upon her clothes and hair. Some
got into her mouth and nose, and she began to cough. When she
could open her eyes, the reflection in the lobby mirror showed
a pale ghost which resembled a young woman in its general
outlines. Besides the ghost, stood a middle-aged bearded man
in a gray overcoat. She did not notice from where he
appeared. Through she did not cut the most glamourous figure,
Tamar wasn't upset at the thought of being seen. Strangers
mattered little: they could not embarrass her.

Something about this stranger sparked a hope of faint
recognition. He spoke with a Canadian accent, but annunciating
each word with exaggerated care. Deaf people spoke thus, she
remembered.

"Are you all right, Madam?" asked the man, then turned his
head to look a little to the left of her.

As Tamar replied, she realized that he was turning his good
ear towards her. She spoke a little louder than usual and her
voice echoed in the dark hotel foyer.

"Quite fine, thank you," she said, lapsing into the precise
accent of her Boston childhood "It's only the dust."

"Please excuse me...but your name wouldn't have been Miss
Grant once?" asked the man, his eyes catching the light of the
sunset behind her. She could not place him in her memory, but
the gleam in his eye said that he could place her. She nodded
assent. She was still Miss Grant, for her own Frenchman and
she had no plans of that special kind.

"You haven't changed much, Tamar," said the bearded man with a
smile "I recognized you even with all this chalk hiding your
pretty skin."

At this expression, she knew who he was. The shock of the
chance meeting added to her fatigue and she nearly fell. The
man saw her knees start to buckle and moved to hold her
up. The weakness lasted only a second, then the spring steel
was back in her bearing. She looked at the man straight and
smiled back, her expression friendly and yet curiously formal.

"Scott," she said in a normal tone of voice.

He stiffened. She repeated his name in a tone which she
reserved for her French lover and, before him, for Scott
Metcaw. The man less heard than saw, in the rounding of her
lips and the emergence of the dimples, that tone. His face
began to relax into a wide grin of gratification. It looked
old and foreign to her, with the dark beard making his
normally thin, aristocratic visage seem more common and
peasant-like. But the manner in which he offered her his arm
was not of a peasant. Her eyes sought an explanation of his
status, but the overcoat he wore bore no insignia.

"Where are you staying?" she asked "Why are you here?" Upon
graduating from Peninsular College a year before she did, he
worked as a jack of all trades for some obscure picture
magazine in Mobile. That publication folded in '33 and, with
the cessation of the bylines, she lost track of him.

"I have a small flat upstairs," she said, leading him
upstairs. "But I go home tomorrow!"

The flat, a tiny dark studio, still held a trace of the
pre-war comfort. A gas jet provided hot water and kept the
damp out of the couch upholstery. A tiny bathroom even had
cold running water, by then a rarity in Ostend. They kept the
lights off. Traces of the twilight came through the window,
and tempting the Fate in the guise of the night bombers
would have been unwise.

"Have you a place to stay?"

"No, Tamar. I just got here. Was to take pictures but that
won't happen. Got strafed on the way, and farewell to the
camera!" He spoke in short sentences, reminiscent of newspaper
headlines. A professional habit, she thought. "Sorry about the
hearing," he said, making a sad face which almost made her
laugh but for the parental instruction in good manners. "Got
close to a six-pounder when it blasted. Should be better in a
few days."

"You can stay here," she said, without thinking. She looked at
the small room, and a look of concern came upon her. Pierre
was still her lover, and this room offered scant privacy for
two people. As her former lover, would Scott expect to bunk
with her, she wondered. As she considered him as a man, she
remembered of her own worn state with alarm. "Let me clean
up," she said, heading to the bathroom.

Washing the dust off with cold water took a long time. Damp
hair and cold water splashed on the blouse made Tamar shiver
as she returned to the main room. Scott had a bayonet in his
hand, and he was shaving a bar of dark laundry soap into a
saucepan full of hot water. He turned and saw the goose bumps
on her arms. He dried his hands on a rag, stood up and began
to empty the pockets of his overcoat.

With the warm, comforting wool of Scott's overcoat around her
shoulders, Tamar felt better. She was still shivering, but
felt comforted by the concern for her welfare. Being in
besieged Belgium on her own had by then disabused her of any
expectations of courtesy. She turned her attention to the
table surface. On it, a bottle of lemonade syrup stood next to
several paper boxes, small but bulging with heft. Next to it,
lay his wallet, a handful of Belgian and Swiss coins, two
pencils and a small British pistol. With that, Tamar was
familiar, having seeing similar in her mother's purse. On top
of a thick, cloth-bound notebook, lay three empty pistol clips
and two more with cartridges much too big for the diminutive
Webley & Scott. Her eyes followed to the pan, in which his
hands were washing something akin to a metallic jigsaw
puzzle. He wore a once-expensive suit, now much worse for the
wear. She could see a wooden case with leather fasteners
poking from under the three-button vest.

"Have you any oil?" he asked. She took a bottle of sunflower
oil from the pantry. He poured some into a shallow enameled
bowl.

"Have you eaten today?" He shook his head, indicating the
syrup bottle. "That's all I got with me. Mix with hot water."
She did so, setting out a crusty baguette and a wax paper wrap
with sliced cheese. He fished out the twenty-odd puzzle pieces
out of the hot, soapy water and dried them with another
rag. The water ran black from his fingers. After dipping each
piece in sunflower oil and removing the excess, Scott laid put
them together to form a large, awkward-looking pistol with a
thin, slightly tapered barrel. He racked the bolt back,
thumbed in ten rounds from one of the clips and stuck the
weapon into its wooden case.

"Pardon the mess -- I had to clean it before the rust set in."

They ate sparingly, despite the physical hunger. The fatigue
was a leaden weight upon them, despite the sugary drink and
the most welcome comfort of home. The room had finally warmed
up a little. He talked about his path, which was she had
surmised: magazine, another magazine, then providing pictures
to the State Department, looking around Europe for news of
interest. That was a queer turn of phrase, and she looked at
him closely when he said it. He nodded, confirming her
guess. Family? None, he said, his eyes looking past the walls
to something past, something painful.

Then it was her turn to talk. When she spoke of Pierre, he
looked at her as she had earlier looked at him. She also
nodded, though in her heart she was far from certain. She had
not heard from her man since she left Reims, and his persona
had already acquired a sense of unreality about it. She said
she wasn't free and was surprised at the look of relief on
Scott's features. The periodic fluttering of his eyelids
betrayed extreme fatigue.

"I ought to clean up," he said "my smell must scare the
muck-rats. Should shave, but my hand isn't be steady
enough. Don't think I have blades left, anyway."

The next morning, Tamar was due at the port for the trip to
Southend. To that end, she had toiled ever since her arrival
to Ostend. Scott's duties lay somewhere on the Continent,
where he would not say. He offered to escort her, even at the
price of sleeping in. She accepted, not without some guilt, as
the city had become unpredictable since the flood of the
various transients hit.

Tamar brought a safety razor, a towel and a cup of hot water
to the table. Slowly, cringing at the scraping sound made by
the blades against the thick bead, she shaved his face. She
ran her fingers over the face to verify the results and was
struck by the pleasure the suddenly younger face showed. Her
fingertips paused, then resumed their tracing movement. No
harm in this, she thought.

"Where may I rest?" he asked, his eyes still closed. She
considered. The chair was hardly comfortable, and besides it,
the futon was the only piece of furniture in the room. "We can
share the bed," she heard herself say, thinking how
scandalized her parents would have been could they but hear
her. She heard him exhale sharply, apparently not dozing after
all.

"I must clean up then." He reached into the right overcoat
pocket and pulled out a department store paper bag with a
folded union suit. "I have a spare, at least." She thought of
the cold water in the bathroom, brought the galvanized washtub
from the closet. The tank over the gas jets held just enough
piping hot water to fill it half-way, with cold water filling
the balance.

"Get in," she said. Scott looked up doubtfully. "I won't look at you,"
she added "Nothing I haven't seen before." He got into the tub,
folding aching limbs with difficulty to fit. He was asleep
instantly. He woke up only part-way as Tamar washed him, stumbling to
the futon with her arm steading his unsteady step.

He woke up with a start. Somewhere in the dark, he could hear a
muffler cooling, its baffles ticking rhythmically. He opened his
eyes but could see nothing until he turned. In front of him, was a
woman and beyond her, an outline of an alarm clock. That was the
source of the ticking. He could not see the hour. It was past
midnight when they crashed, and she was due at the port at six, no
later. Scott looked at the peaceful face next to him, framed by
brown hair falling to shoulders which were a hint of nakedness,
for no straps lay atop of them. He dozed again, though twilight
was already aglow.

Tamar wasn't asleep, though breathing slowly and barely
perceptibly. She felt him turn and guess what he saw. As his
breathing returned to regularity, she opened her eyes. By
straining a little, she could tell the time without turning her
head: five in the morning. She thought about the time they had
spent together, and about her man in France, comparing. She dozed
off still reminiscing.

When she awoke again, she was alone in the bed. Scott was already
dressed. He sat at the table, pushing cartridges info the metal
charging clips. The rest of his things had already returned to the
coat pockets. Tamar looked from the bed, wondering if she should
ask him to bring her the dress which hanged behind him. On some
reflection, she got out of bed as she was and tip-toed across the
chilly floor to the closet door. His eyes ran up her body once,
and then she was inside that dress. The locked stares momentarily
and both smiled. They had it still, after all these years, that
comfort of old lovers.

Ten minutes later, they were ready to leave. They would say
good-byes then, out of the seashore wind and curious
glances. Scott put his arms and his coat around her. Tamar longed
for the warm, manly embrace to last, but that was not to be. The
ticking of the seconds reminded them of the deadline at
hand. Before going out of the door, Scott took out this big pistol
and attached its handle to the holster, then let it swing back
under the coat-flap on the right. That habit wasn't in evidence
last time they met back in Boston, she thought. Of course, she
could account for a few habits of her own as newly-developed.

The streets leading to the harbor were foggy, with the occasional
car headlights showing as yellow glow long before the engines
could be heard. The milky clouds overhead were good news, for no
bombers would sortie today. Tamar had sensible shoes, and they
made good time walking across the worn cobblestones towards the
wharfs. She had only a small valise with her. Somewhere far off,
the earth shook with the dull reports of artillery. Once, they
heard a closer crackle of gunfire, its source confused by the
echoes of the ancient town. Scott stopped, crouching deeply, his
head scanning for danger. In a minute, he was satisfied that the
danger was not too close, and they pressed on.

At the gangplank, she showed her papers and was admitted
aboard. They hugged once, and then the steamship whistle issued,
so he pushed her away. She wanted to stay topside and wave, but
the chill of the saltwater spray drove her below. Her cabin was on
the pier side, and she stared out of the porthole. She saw Scott's
silhouette, receding into the chowder-thick fog. For another
minute, his outline was visible, his shoulders swaying in a brisk
walk, and then he was gone.

As he walked toward his grim work, Scott thought of the coming
sunshine. The famous Channel fog would be gone before Tamar's ship
would be even under way. Then it would be easy prey for the roving
Stukas. He thought of his own task, perilous and touchy. At least
he held his own destiny in his hands. Hers was in the hands of the
fickle Providence.

Tamar, nested comfortably within her tiny cabin, kept her eyes
closed. Before her eyes, stood the question which forever defied
an answer. She thought to her lovers and wished that she could
look a year ahead. As things went, she did not get back to the
Continent for five years. By then, no trace of Pierre or Scott remained.

================

This reminded me of The Lover which prompted a re-post.

Loray Mills, Gastonia, N.C. 1912

Shorpy

"Photos taken during noon hour, October 23rd, 1912, at the Loray Mills, Gastonia, N.C. They said they were working and went in to work. At night I counted over thirty children coming out when the whistle blew, and they seemed to be from ten to twelve years old. The Superintendent was much disturbed over the photos." Photograph and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size.

Civil War Caused by Protectionism

23. " Tarif"

When the Saracens and Moors, in the 8th century invaded and devastated the rich and beautiful provinces of Spain, they were commanded by a general whose name was Tarif, who had but one eye (See Anquetil's Universal History) - Our Tariff must be a descendant of this infamous destroyer, and inherits his defect of having but one eye, as it can see but one interest, and in one direction."
(I found the above quote on microfilm at the Tarboro Library, but I either failed to write down the source, or there was none. Also, I failed to write down the date, but remember that it was well before the War, 1823/1833 sticks in my mind. BT)

=======================

The Walker Tariff of 1846 pleased the low-tariff supporters in the South as it promised a departure from the high protectionist tariffs pressed for by New England; by 1857 the tariff was lowered again to the chagrin of New England. With most conservative Southern congressmen gone in late February, 1861, the Republican (in reality high-tariff Whig) dominated Congress passed the protectionist Morrill Tariff. The war ended with some import duties as high as 100 percent and the general average being 47 percent – about double the average in 1857. Thus, trade barriers and protectionism were a prime motivation of Northern war upon the South.

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

Civil War Caused by Protectionism:

“One worldism is not an impossible ideal; but, it is not attainable through the medium of political power. On the contrary, the organization of the world into a single society – which is what the one-worlders really want – can be accomplished only if people can rid themselves of the fetish of authoritarianism. It is not necessary to plan or build a world society; it is only necessary to remove the obstructions to its growth, all of which are political and all of which stem from a belief in authoritarianism.

In the beginning, before Americans had been completely converted to this political paganism, it was stipulated that their marketplace should be as large as the country; the erection of trade barriers between the component commonwealths was prohibited. As the frontiers of the country were extended the marketplace grew apace and, in time, goods, men and ideas moved without hindrance from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from Mexico to Canada.

Therefore, an American society grew up. It was not planned; it grew. Several times the little separate political establishments set up blocks to trade at their respective borders, causing friction, but on the whole their efforts were frustrated by the spirit of free trade. (it might be well to mention, in passing, that the prime cause of the Civil War was protectionism, which is a dogma of authoritarianism.)

Let us look at a contrary example. Europe, which, outside of Russia, compares in size to the United States, is cross-checked with trade barriers, and Europe has been a battlefield for centuries. Political particularism has prevented the flowering of a European society. It is impossible for such a thing to get going in an area darkened by passports and customs regulations.

Time and again the doctors of political science have prescribed some sort of political union for the ills of Europe, on the assumption that such a union will be followed by a customs union. Quite the contrary; the borders between countries lose all meaning if the peoples can “do business” with one another, which is another way of saying, if the states get out of the way of society.

No political union can set up a society in Europe; that can only come from uninhibited “haggling and haggling” in a common marketplace.”

(Fugitive Essays, Selected Writings of Frank Chodorov, Charles Hamilton, editor, Liberty Press, 1980, excerpts pp. 125-127)

Our Gallery: Noir is Dieselpunk

You can set your dieselpunk story in Gotham or Metropolis, Librium or Antarctica. You can build the most incredible structures and fill the streets and hangars with every kind of weird machines. The sky is the limit! But you need something more: the atmosphere. No matter how optimistic you are, the genre simply cannot do without a bit of darkness. Stylish darkness. So, what about Noir?

We won’t bore you with academic definitions. Just two quotes from a highly readable TV Tropes article:

The Anti-Hero is the most common protagonist of the Noir — a man alienated from society, suffering an existential crisis. Frequently portrayed as a disillusioned, cynical police officer or private-eye and played by a fast-talking actor, the Anti-Hero is no fool and doesn’t suffer fools gladly. He faces morally ambiguous decisions and battles with a world that seems like it is out to get him and/or those closest to him.

The setting is often a large, oppressive city (filmed in dark and dusky conditions to create a moody atmosphere), with Mexico often playing a big role. Familiar haunts include dimly-lit bars, nightclubs filled with questionable clientele (including, the Gayngster) whom the lead may intimidate for information, gambling dens, juke joints and the ubiquitous seedy waterfront warehouse. At night in the big city, you can bet the streets are slick with rain, reflecting streetlights like a Hopper painting. Most of the characters (including the lead) are cynical, misanthropical and hopeless all the way through the film, and never find true redemption.

More @ Dieselpunk Encyclopedia

Stop Paying Taxes Now

For a long time now the trend has gone against the Constitution. The latest Supreme Court ruling that proves that as long as it is considered a tax the people can be forced to buy anything. The penalty for not buying shoes, handbags, cars or any other crazy thing they want us to buy to pay off their political friends can be as high as the products themselves so long as it is considered a tax.

The First Amendment has been under fire by hate speech crimes, by the the fact that one supports life over abortion and the laws against protesting certain political figures as long as the Secret Service denies the opportunity.

The Second Amendment has been denied in every important way already.

The Fourth Amendment has been under fire since the passage of the Patriot Act and has been heightened under the Obama Administration who seeks to use drones to surveil every movement of the people and the development of the TSA into an intrusive and invasive police force. 106 independent political organizations (towns and cities) have been given permission to begin flying drones over our heads to keep track of us, to identify organizations pursuing their First Amendment rights to peacefully assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances.

The Fifth Amendment has been by-passed by all manner of invasions from forcible DNA samples to surveillance techniques unheard of before.

The Ninth Amendment has never been given any weight in a court of law.

The Tenth Amendment has been trampled on by government coercion and extortion.

The big question to ask yourself is why is the Sixteenth Amendment sacred to a point of violation the due process clause?

More @ TL In Exile

Obama won’t push new gun control law

Must have taken a new poll............

A day after President Obama vowed in a speech to “leave no stone unturned” in his quest to reduce gun violence, his spokesman said the president’s efforts won’t include any new gun-control proposals.

“There are things that we can do, short of legislation and short of gun laws, as the president said, that can reduce violence in our society,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said. “We do need to take a broader look at what we can do to reduce violence in America. And that’s not just legislative, and it’s not just about gun laws.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, spoke similarly Thursday, ruling out any action on gun control this year, saying his chamber was too busy with other things.

“With the schedule we have, we’re not going to do anything on gun control,” Mr. Reid told reporters.

More @ The Washington Times

Obama backs race-based school discipline policies

Figures.

President Barack Obama is backing a controversial campaign by progressives to regulate schools’ disciplinary actions so that members of major racial and ethnic groups are penalized at equal rates, regardless of individuals’ behavior.

His July 26 executive order established a government panel to promote “a positive school climate that does not rely on methods that result in disparate use of disciplinary tools.”

“African Americans lack equal access to highly effective teachers and principals, safe schools, and challenging college-preparatory classes, and they disproportionately experience school discipline,” said the order, titled “White House Initiative On Educational Excellence.”

Because of those causes, the report suggests, “over a third of African American students do not graduate from high school on time with a regular high school diploma, and only four percent of African American high school graduates interested in college are college-ready across a range of subjects.”

“What this means is that whites and Asians will get suspended for things that blacks don’t get suspended for,” because school officials will try to level punishments despite groups’ different infraction rates, predicted Hans Bader, a counsel at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Bader is a former official in the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights, and has sued and represented school districts and colleges in civil-rights cases.

“It is too bad that the president has chosen to set up a new bureaucracy with a focus on one particular racial group, to the exclusion of all others,” said Roger Clegg, the president of the Center for Equal Opportunity.

“A disproportionate share of crimes are committed by African Americans, and they are disproportionately likely to misbehave in school… [because] more than 7 out of 10 African Americans (72.5 percent) are born out of wedlock… versus fewer than 3 out of 10 whites,” he said in a statement to The Daily Caller. Although ” you won’t see it mentioned in the Executive Order… there is an obvious connection between these [marriage] numbers and how each group is doing educationally, economically, criminally,” he said.

More @ Daily Caller

Concealed Weapons Carrier Saves Others From Stabbings at Salt Lake City, Utah Grocery Store!

A citizen with a gun stopped a knife wielding man as he began stabbing people Thursday evening at the downtown Salt Lake City Smith's store.

Police say the suspect purchased a knife inside the store and then turned it into a weapon. Smith's employee Dorothy Espinoza says, "He pulled it out and stood outside the Smiths in the foyer. And just started stabbing people and yelling you killed my people. You killed my people."

Espinoza says, the knife wielding man seriously injured two people. "There is blood all over. One got stabbed in the stomach and got stabbed in the head and held his hands and got stabbed all over the arms."

Then, before the suspect could find another victim - a citizen with a gun stopped the madness. "A guy pulled gun on him and told him to drop his weapon or he would shoot him. So, he dropped his weapon and the people from Smith's grabbed him."

More @ ABC 4

Border agents say DHS tells them to release illegals after violent crimes are committed

Senator Jeff Sessions, Alabama Republican, introduced two top border immigration agents on Thursday to talk about the lax enforcement directives they are given by the Department of Homeland Security and how illegal immigrants are cheating the system to get into United States even after multiple violent crimes have been committed.

"The Administration claims it has diligently enforced immigration law and that the border is 'more secure than ever.' But those on the front lines know this to be untrue. They see the violence, chaos and lawlessness. They have lost confidence in the leadership of their agencies...

As you will hear today, this administration has engaged in a sustained, relentless effort to undermine America's immigration laws," said Sessions.

Back in mid June, President Obama issued an executive order that halted the deportation of illegal immigrants that came to he United States as young children. The directive also gives these individuals, numbering about eight hundred thousand, the ability to work legally in the country as well.

According to The New York Times:

More @ The Washington Times

Contraceptive Mandate Suffers Court Blow as Catholic Business Wins Crucial Court Case

Bill Newlands

A Colorado business owned by a Catholic family does not have to comply with President Barack Obama's new healthcare mandate that private employers provide employees with insurance coverage of birth control, a Colorado federal judge ruled on Friday.

U.S. District Judge John Kane in Denver temporarily blocked the government from the enforcing the contraception requirement against the religious owners of Hercules Industries Inc, a private manufacturer of heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment.

The ruling only affects this plaintiff but opens the door for any company to seek relief on religious grounds. Lawyers for the Department of Health and Human Services argued that a temporary exemption for Hercules would interfere with the government's ability to implement the law. But Kane was not persuaded.

"This harm pales in comparison to the possible infringement upon (the Newland family's) constitutional and statutory rights," the judge wrote. He noted that the government had already created numerous exceptions for religious employers, exempting over 190 million health plan participants.

The law posed an imminent harm to the company's owners by forcing them to support contraception, sterilization and abortion in violation of their religious beliefs or face steep fines, Kane said.

Members of the Newland family, which owns Hercules, sued in April, challenging the provision that is part of the new health care law, the Affordable Care Act of 2010.

Roman Catholic bishops and many Republican lawmakers oppose the provision. The Catholic Church launched a campaign against it from Sunday Mass pulpits across the country. Catholic Church doctrine opposes artificial contraception but most American Catholics do not adhere to church policy.

More @ NewsMax

Colo. Shooting Suspect Was Under Care of Threat-Assessment Psychiatrist

She looks almost as batty as Holmes.:)

A former University of Colorado graduate student accused of killing 12 people and wounding 58 others in a shooting rampage at a Denver-area movie theater last week had been under the care of a psychiatrist who was part of a campus threat-assessment team.

The disclosure came in court documents filed on Friday by lawyers for James Holmes, 24, who is accused of opening fire last Friday on a packed showing of the latest Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises," in the Denver suburb of Aurora.

The defense attorneys, in their request to an Arapahoe County district judge, are seeking a court order requiring prosecutors to turn over the contents of a package that Holmes sent to Dr. Lynne Fenton and was later seized by investigators.

"Mr. Holmes was a psychiatric patient of Dr. Fenton, and his communications with her are protected," the filing said.

Fenton, medical director for student mental health services at the University of Colorado-Denver Anschutz Medical Campus, provides medication and psychotherapy for grad students in addition to her teaching duties, according to a school website.

A professional biography of Fenton posted on the site said she had conducted research on schizophrenia, including a two-year grant to work in the schizophrenia research department of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs from 2008 to 2010.

Fenton also is a member of the campus-based "behavioral assessment and threat assessment team," which helps faculty and staff deal with "individuals who may be threatening, disruptive or otherwise problematic," according to that group's website.

It could not be ascertained if Fenton was caring for Holmes under the threat-assessment program or under routine counseling she provided to students on campus.

Under Colorado law, mental health professionals cannot be held liable in civil suits for failing to predict a patient's violent behavior unless it involves a "serious threat of imminent physical violence against a specific person or persons." When such a threat is made, the mental health professional is required to take action, which may include notifying those targeted or a law enforcement agency.

Fenton could not immediately be reached by Reuters for comment, and a spokeswoman for the University of Colorado medical school declined to comment, citing restrictions under a gag order issued by the judge presiding over the case.

More @ NewsMax

GRNC Action Alert

Not Letting the Aurora Crisis Go To Waste…

In the wake of the Colorado tragedy, anti-freedom legislators have predictably seized it as an opportunity to punish those who were not responsible – the nation’s law-abiding gun owners.

Using the cybersecurity bill as a vehicle, an amendment (S.A. 2575) banning the sale and possession of magazines and other feeding devices with capacity exceeding 10 rounds has been added, and will be voted on by the Democrat-controlled senate sometime next week.

Sponsors of the magazine ban include Democratic Senators Frank Lautenberg (NJ), Barbara Boxer (CA), Jack Reed (RI), Bob Menendez (NJ), Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), Chuck Schumer (NY) and Dianne Feinstein (CA).

Schumer has characterized the ban as “a reasonable restriction” and “rational”. Co-sponsor Lautenberg is on record stating that high capacity magazines are not necessary for “shooting a duck,” as if the Second Amendment protects bearing arms only for sporting purposes.

These anti-freedom Senators have apparently overlooked the fact that the Second Amendment is a check against government tyranny. It is therefore absurd to suggest it can be “restricted” by the very government it limits. It is time they were taught a civics lesson, and you’re just the people to deliver it.

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!

You need you to do two things: Email US Senators representing NC Richard Burr (R - ****) and Kay Hagan (D – 0). Email US Senate Minority Leaders: Mitch McConnell, Jon Kyl, John Thune, and John Barrasso. These Senators are likely on our side and in a position to influence the fate of the bad amendment. CONTACT INFO US Senators representing NC: Richard Burr - http://www.burr.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm Kay Hagan - http://www.hagan.senate.gov/contact/ US Senate Minority Leaders: Mitch McConnell - http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=ContactForm Jon Kyl - http://www.kyl.senate.gov/contact.cfm John Thune - http://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact John Barrasso - http://www.barrasso.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactUs.ContactForm DELIVER THIS MESSAGE Suggested Subject: "No magazine restrictions" To NC Senators Burr and Hagan: Dear Senator, As a North Carolina gun owner I am outraged and insulted by the proposal to limit access of law-abiding citizens to only reduced-capacity magazines for modern defensive firearms. This law, submitted as S.A. 2575 to the “cybersecurity” bill, makes it clear that some US Senators believe that law-abiding North Carolinians should only be trusted to defend themselves and families with obsolete weapons. This amendment also makes it clear that certain Senators believe that Second Amendment rights are subject to what they deem “necessary.” This is a dangerous encroachment on Constitutional rights that cannot stand. I expect you to do everything in your power to defeat this misguided law. I will be watching your actions carefully through updates from Grass Roots North Carolina. Sincerely, To Senate Minority Leadership: Dear Senator, As a law-abiding American and gun owner I am outraged and insulted by the proposal to limit access of citizens to only reduced-capacity magazines for modern defensive firearms. This law, submitted as S.A. 2575 to the “cybersecurity” bill, makes it clear that some US Senators believe that law-abiding citizens should only be trusted to defend themselves and their families with obsolete weapons. This amendment also makes it clear that certain Senators believe that Second Amendment rights are subject to what they deem “necessary.” This is a dangerous encroachment on Constitutional rights that cannot stand. I expect you to do everything in your power to defeat this misguided law. I will be watching your actions carefully. Sincerely,

Tarboro on NC Weekend

Via Cousin Colby

4:48 to 9:45 and clear in full screen. Common not commons. The small house behind the Blount Bridgers House was given to the town by a great aunt. A few good stories about Bishop Cheshire below.

Bishop Cheshire And My Family Bishop Cheshire moved the line of his diocese in North Carolina so that it would include Tarboro, because he thought it had the best Bar B Que! He was a character. He loved to fish and once caught a huge one, then traced it on a piece paper which he kept in his pocket at all times to show people! He was close friends with my grandfather Joseph Powell Pippen who was born in Tarboro, but moved to Littleton. Once the Bishop was visiting him there when he asked my mother to come sit with him. My mother was just a child and Bishop Cheshire had an enormous stomach. After my mother pulled herself up onto his legs, she paused and stated "Bishop, where is your lap?!

Watch July 12, 2012 on PBS. See more from NC Weekend.

UN fails to reach deal on global arms trade treaty, as US asks for more time

U.N. member states have failed to reach agreement on a new treaty to regulate the multibillion-dollar global arms trade.

Some diplomats and treaty supporters blamed the United States for triggering the unraveling of the month-long negotiating conference.

Hopes had been raised that agreement could be reached on a revised treaty text that closed some key loopholes by Friday's deadline for action. But the United States announced Friday morning that it needed more time to consider the proposed treaty -- and Russia and China then also asked for more time.

A bipartisan group of 51 U.S. senators on Thursday had threatened to oppose the global treaty regulating international weapons trade if it falls short in protecting the constitutional right to bear arms.

In a letter to President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the senators expressed serious concerns with the draft treaty that has circulated at the United Nations, saying that it signals an expansion of gun control that would be unacceptable.

The Constitution's Second Amendment offers broad protection for weapons ownership by civilians. As recently as 2008, the Supreme Court affirmed it when it struck down a ban on handguns in the District of Columbia, ruling that individuals have a constitutional right to keep guns for self-defense and other purposes.

The court also has ruled separately that treaty obligations may not infringe on individual constitutional protections and rights within U.S. borders. This goes back at least to a 1920 ruling that a migratory bird treaty with Canada, which prohibited the hunting or capturing of certain birds, was an unconstitutional interference with states' rights under the 10th Amendment.

Treaties are government-to-government agreements and do not subject citizens of one nation to laws of another or to those of an outside body.

Also, the U.N. resolution that authorized drafting of the small arms treaty recognizes the clear-cut right of nations "to regulate internal transfers of arms" and says nothing in the treaty that emerges will affect "constitutional protections on private ownership" of firearms.

Beyond that, there are many court rulings spelling out the limits of treaties. And if an act of Congress is inconsistent with a treaty obligation, the law passed by Congress prevails. Legal scholars say this has been well established.

More @ Fox

Town Hall Conference Call featuring Dr. Ron Paul.

Please Join in a special "Invitation Only" Town Hall Conference Call featuring Dr. Ron Paul.


Dr. Paul's principled defense of Liberty and the United States Constitution has ignited patriots all across America. And the job is not finished in several key races.

Our other participants include:

Wes Riddle (Lt. Col. US Army-Ret.) U.S. Congressional candidate, District 25, Texas
Texas State Representative David Simpson
Glenn Addison

"This election is about more than simply electing people who call themselves conservatives. We need to elect patriots who are fighting for Liberty and to restore Constitutional government. We must stop Washington's government by decree, starting with repeal of Obamacare and the role of the Federal Reserve in saddling Americans with $5 TRILLION in new debt during the Obama Administration alone."

Join Dr. Ron Paul,

Wes Riddle, Rep. David Simpson and Glenn Addison

Sunday July 29th at 6pm Central Time
.........................................................
Call in: (877) 228-2184
Event ID: 110483
.........................................................

...A personal note from Wes Riddle

This Republican primary runoff will be low turnout and very close and I really need you to make sure you vote. You may find your polling place here:
https://team1.sos.state.tx.us/voterws/viw/faces/SearchSelectionPolling.jsp.
Or you can call us at (254) 939-559.

Because this Congressional District is so strongly Republican, THE PRIMARY IS ALL THAT MATTERS. The runoff election, in just a few weeks, WILL decide who wins this seat…

WHICH MEANS I MUST WIN THIS RUNOFF!

WE NEED YOUR HELP NOW

We are spending precious resources to contact voters to get out the vote, and we critically need your support at this time. Will you make a generous contribution of $10, $25, $50, $100, $250? The individual limit in this race is $2,500 per individual, as the runoff is considered a new election.

Thank you, and God bless you.

FAITH AND FREEDOM!

WES RIDDLE
Office 254-939-5597
www.WesRiddle.com

To donate by check, send to:
Wes Riddle for Congress
110 E. Central Ave.
Belton, Texas 76513

The individual limit in this race is $2,500 per individual as the runoff is considered a new election.

Wes Riddle for Congress

110 E. Central Ave
Belton, Texas 76513