Sunday, January 6, 2013
Raphael Semmes
VERBATIM
Raphael Semmes
Much has been written about Raphael Semmes, some of it controversial to say the least; but Semmes was without doubt one of the Confederate Navy's most brilliant and charismatic officers during the American Civil War where he ended his career as Rear Admiral of the Navy.
Raphael
Semmes was born in 1809 to Maryland tobacco farmer, Richard Thompson
Semmes and his wife, Catherine Middleton. Catherine was the daughter of
South Carolina lawyer and planter Arthur Middleton, a signer of the
Declaration of Independence. She died when young Raphael was two years
of age and his father died when he was ten. He was taken in and cared
for by two uncles, living most of the time at his Uncle Raphael's
Georgetown home.
As a young man, Uncle Raphael had sailed to many ports around the world, working for a maritime trading company. Settling down in Georgetown, he became a successful businessman, operating a wholesale grocery business, Semmes and Company. In addition, he was a bank director, an insurance commissioner and a tavern-keeper. Uncle Alexander Semmes on the other hand, owned a fleet of merchant ships but was lost at sea sometime in 1826 or 1827. Another uncle, Benedict Joseph Semmes, was a medical doctor who served in the Maryland state legislature and in 1825 presided as speaker in the House of Delegates. In 1828, he was elected to the U.S. Congress and served from 1829 to 1833. It was he who enabled the young Raphael to gain an appointment as a midshipman in the Navy. During his naval career, Raphael Semmes would study law and became an accomplished lawyer in the states of Alabama and Florida, where he spent much of his service. Despite being an accomplished lawyer, he proved himself to be an extremely capable, naval officer and recognition of his abilities was quick in coming when assigned command of the USS Somers during the US-Mexican War of the 1840's.  As a result of his gallantry in Mexico, Semmes was appointed a surveyor for the US Lighthouse Board. He worked in that capacity along the Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida coasts with the naval rank of Commander until the late 1850's when he was sent to Washington, DC as a member of the Lighthouse Board. He would hold this position until the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861. In March 1861, the State of Alabama decided to leave the Union and join the new Confederate States. Commander Semmes, finding himself torn between career and duty, decided to follow many of his colleagues and resigned his position in the United States Navy, returning immediately south to Alabama. A month later, in April of 1861, Semmes travelled to New Orleans and joined the Confederate Navy with the appointed rank of Commander.  Arriving in England and now without a command, Commander Semmes proceeded to Liverpool and met with a fellow, former US Naval officer, Commander James Dunwoody Bulloch, now the Confederate’s Navy Purchasing Agent in Europe. Bulloch already knew of Semmes’ prowess and maritime experience and requested that he travel to the Azores to ‘commission’ and take command of the Confederate’s newest cruiser, the CSS Alabama with a promotion to the rank of Captain. As the new commander of the CSS Alabama took his ship to sea few realized, the twenty two month voyage that followed would see Raphael Semmes hailed as a hero and damned as a pirate.   In February of 1865, Rear Admiral Semmes was given command of the James River Squadron and the responsibility of defending the approaches to the Confederate positions at Richmond in Virginia. Despite shortages of supplies, Semmes once more excelled in his given tasks but these successes were to be short-lived. In April of 1865 the Confederate Army was forced to abandon Richmond compelling Semmes to scuttle his fleet and prevent it falling into the hands of the enemy. Then, in command of a force without any ships, Semmes organized the former crews and marines into a naval brigade to fight alongside the battered Army of Northern Virginia in which he received the rank of Brigadier General. The end of the war came later that month and found Semmes and his remaining command near Durham, North Carolina where they surrendered alongside the army of Confederate General, Joseph E. Johnston. In December of 1865, Raphael Semmes was brought as a prisoner of war to Washington, D. C. on charges of treason and piracy. The US Government investigated these charges, taking testimonial oaths and statements from witnesses to Semmes actions from both sides of the conflict. In the end, the investigating authority found they were baseless and ordered Semmes’ immediate release after thirteen weeks of incarceration. Following the war, Semmes held several posts from college professor at Louisiana State Seminary to judge and newspaper editor. Such was his reputation his notoriety caused him trouble from those now occupying the former Confederate States. His destruction of the mercantile marine during his captaincy of the Sumter and Alabama embittered northern public opinion against him that. The unjust and false accusation of ‘Pirate’ was often used against him, even after his eventual pardon under the amnesty proclamation of President Johnson. It became impossible to lead the quiet life he craved so he once more took up the legal profession as a self-employed lawyer in Mobile, Alabama. Here he thrived, immersing himself in legal argument and helping other former Confederate soldiers and sailors whilst running a successful law firm until his death on August 30, 1877. During his later years he became a published author with ‘Service Afloat and Ashore During the Mexican War’ (1851); ‘The Campaign of General Scott in the Valley of Mexico’ (1852); ‘The Cruise of the Alabama and Sumter’ (1864); and ‘Memoirs of Services Afloat during the War between the States’ (1869). The body of Raphael Semmes is interred in the Old Catholic Cemetery, Mobile in Alabama. The enduring legacy of Rear Admiral Raphael Semmes is that his actions of the American Civil War are still studied around the world to this present day. Several books have been written about his exploits. The many voyages he undertook as a Confederate naval officer and the successes he enjoyed, have directly influenced naval warfare. During the early part of World War Two, Captain Hans Langsdorff of the Graf Spee, a German pocket battleship and successful commerce raider, spoke of Semmes during his final days in Montevideo saying, ‘Captain Semmes of the Confederate ship Alabama was and remains my inspiration!’ |
NC: The Original Golden State
VERBATIM
“From 1804 to 1828 all domestic gold coined by the United States Mint came from North Carolina. During that time thousands of foreign immigrants poured into the Piedmont area. North Carolina was known as the ‘Golden State.’
“For many years, North Carolina provided the only native gold for the United States mint. Once the gold was shipped to Philadelphia to be minted, however, little came back to circulate in the Tar Heel state. As a result, North Carolinians wanted a government mint.”
“While Congress delayed in deciding to establish the mint, private enterprise met the demand. With home-made equipment, Christopher Bechtler coined gold, including the first minted-gold dollar. Historians report that Bechtler coined $109,000 in his first four years of business (1831-1835). Always trusted, the Bechtler mint lasted until 1857, a decade and half after its founders’ death. “
There may be a new gold rush on the way. From last year:
“Now a second gold rush is going on in the piedmont area. Mining Companies using new technologies are investing in gold mining. Old mines are being revived, thanks largely to the high price of gold making exploration profitable again. Mines that have been abandoned for more than a hundred years are being opened and gold is being extracted.
A large nugget was found in 1997 but now those nuggets seem to be weekly finds. During this year’s Heritage Days event, a student found a nugget worth about $300. “The spot price for gold was at $1,475 per ounce,” Robinson said. “I offered him $300 out of my own pocket, but he was a smart kid and turned me down. He knew he had found something special.”
Just two weeks before, a French Exchange student found a nugget weighing approximately three grams. Robinson offered for that nugget too, for the museum at the site, but was turned down as well.
Since the start of the gold panning season in March, Robinson said there have been record numbers of panners at the mine. For $2 per pan, visitors search through dirt taken directly from Little Meadow Creek and have a chance to find a fortune. “Anything found in the panning area belongs to the panner, not the state,” Robinson said. “Your $2 ticket is your claim. So, if you did happen to find a 17 pound gold nugget at the bottom of your pan, it would be yours to keep.”
Action Alert: Midnight April 18, 2013
VERBATIM
Freedom Fighter Radio is urging all who cherish freedom and love our Sovereignty to consider two actions.
First, at midnight April 18, 2013 bring in the 238th anniversary of the start of the 1st American Revolution.
Discharge 3 rounds into the ground or fire blanks or fireworks if you don’t own a gun or it is illegal to discharge in your area. If you don’t own a gun, get one or blast a recording of gunshots from your car stereo. We need this to happen at thousands of locations in every major city. If this is done, they will not have the man power to handle the calls and this action will send a clear message that we the people will not be disarmed nor will we submit without resistance to a global or dictatorial government. Our government has ignored the will of the people and thereby is governing without our consent.The site is not calling for people to break the law, thus why there are a myriad of ways to demonstrate. Please notice that should you participate with your firearm, that the call is to discharge it into the ground, not in the air.
2nd Operation Distress Flag
Title 4 Chapter 1 Section 8 (See flag code click here) – In times of extreme danger to life and property the flag is to be flown Union Down America both conditions have and are being met. When ever you see an American Flag flying over any Government Building Local, State, or Federal Lower it and Fly it union down ( an international sign of distress ).If a State flag is present fly it above the Union down to display state sovereignty! State sovereignty should always trump federal authority per the 10th amendment. Be Creative!
This is only the beginning, a Revolution is coming.
Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.John F. Kennedy.
A revolution is coming “a revolution which will be peaceful if we are wise enough; compassionate if we care enough; successful if we are fortunate enough“ but a revolution which is coming whether we will it or not. We can affect its character; we cannot alter its inevitability.
Florida firearm violence hits record low; concealed gun permits up with poll
Via Tino
In the so-called Gunshine State, home to the most gun permits in the country, firearm violence has fallen to the lowest point on record.
As state and national legislators consider gun control laws in the wake of last month's Connecticut school shooting, Florida finds itself in a gun violence depression. The Firearm-involved violent crime rate has dropped 33 percent between 2007 and 2011, while the number of issued concealed weapons permits rose nearly 90 percent during that time, state records show.
"We're happy to have facts and statistics put into these debates, because every time they do, we win," said Sean Caranna, executive director of Florida Carry Inc., a pro-gun-rights advocacy group.
In the so-called Gunshine State, home to the most gun permits in the country, firearm violence has fallen to the lowest point on record.
As state and national legislators consider gun control laws in the wake of last month's Connecticut school shooting, Florida finds itself in a gun violence depression. The Firearm-involved violent crime rate has dropped 33 percent between 2007 and 2011, while the number of issued concealed weapons permits rose nearly 90 percent during that time, state records show.
"We're happy to have facts and statistics put into these debates, because every time they do, we win," said Sean Caranna, executive director of Florida Carry Inc., a pro-gun-rights advocacy group.
More @ Naples News
Should the U.S. pass tougher gun control laws in 2013?
McConnell Won’t Rule Out Government Shutdown
VERBATIM
“We now have a debt the size of our economy, which makes us look a lot like Greece,” McConnell said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “It’s a shame that the president doesn’t embrace the effort to reduce spending.”
When host David Gregory asked McConnell about the debt ceiling, and whether Republicans would consider a government shutdown to force the issue of spending cuts, the leader did not rule out the possibility.
“None of us like using these situations, like the sequestration or the debt ceiling or the operation of government, to try to engage the president to deal with this,” McConnell said. “If we’re not going to deal with it now, when are we going to deal with it? We’ve watched the government explode over the last four years.
“Now, the question is, will the president lead?” McConnell continued. “Why should we have to be bringing him to the table? Why isn’t he leading us in the direction of beginning to solve our long-term debt and deficit problem? It’s perplexing to me that the president of the United States, elected to lead the country, is so reluctant to engage on the most important issue confronting our future.”
McConnell said the Democratic Senate and Republican House have no choice but to work toward reducing America’s “massive, massive debt.”
“I wouldn’t have chosen this government,” he said. “I voted for Mitt Romney. If Mitt Romney had been elected, nobody’s taxes would have gone up, but this is the government we have, and can we make some progress for the country over the next two years? I’m hopeful we can.”
The answer is not tax increases, McConnell added.
“We don’t have this problem because we tax too little,” he explained. “We have it because we spend way, way too much.”
© 2013 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
Ron Paul
Via Daughter Dixie
This is encouraging: Most Popular Age Group, 25-34 years old.
I hate it when I wake up in the morning and Ron Paul is NOT President
Major General William Mahone's Presentation Sword
Roundabout via Timothy
Received from the grateful citizenry of Petersburg, Virginia for saving their city during the six-month siege.
Received from the grateful citizenry of Petersburg, Virginia for saving their city during the six-month siege.
Held in Gettysburg, PA in conjunction with the Gettysburg Civil War
Show, June 2007, the auction gallery sold 744 lots for a grand total of
$6.5 million dollars.
The presentation sword of Major General William Mahone sold for $388,375.
Source: Heritage Auction Galleries
The presentation sword of Major General William Mahone sold for $388,375.
Source: Heritage Auction Galleries
John Newland Maffitt
VERBATIM
John Newland Maffitt
John
Newland Maffitt was born at sea on February 22, 1819, onboard
a ship bound for New York City, his parents having emigrated from
Ireland. The Reverend John Newland Maffitt and his wife Ann
Carnicke, settled with their infant son in Connecticut but when John was
about five years old he was adopted by his uncle, Dr. William
Maffitt and moved to Fayetteville, North Carolina.
 In 1857, John was placed in command of the 'USS Dolphin' and tasked to capture any pirates and slavers in the West Indies. On August 21, 1858, ‘Dolphin’ captured the slaver ‘Echo’ with three hundred and eighteen Africans on board and sent her into Charleston. These liberated slaves were later sent back to Africa. Two years later, Maffitt became commander of the 'USS Crusader', continuing with his assignment to suppress slavers in the West Indies until February 7, 1861. In May 1861, with the coming of the Civil War, John Maffitt resigned his U.S. Navy commission and became a First Lieutenant in the Confederate Navy. He served as naval aide to General Robert E. Lee while preparations for the defense of Savannah were in progress. In early 1862, Maffitt was ordered to take the civilian steamer 'Cecile' and run the blockade with supplies for the Confederacy. On August 17, 1862 John Maffitt became the first commanding officer of the 'CSS Florida', taking her through a difficult fitting-out period during which most of the ship's company was stricken with yellow fever. While docked in Cuba, Commander John Maffitt himself contracted the disease. Despite his condition, he was determined to sail the ‘Florida’ from Cardenas, Cuba to Mobile, Alabama. Finding the way into Mobile Bay blocked by Union warships, ‘Florida’ braved a hail of fire from the blockaders and raced through to anchor beneath the guns of Fort Morgan. The bombardment from the blockaders was severe and caused considerable damage to his ship. Maffitt was unable to return to sea for more than three months and to further prevent his escape, the Union Navy increased the blockading force near Mobile. 
Leaving
CSS Florida at Brest, Maffitt travelled to Scandinavia to rest before
returning to Liverpool in order to board a vessel that would help him
return to the Confederacy. Not yet over his illness and suffering heart
problems as a side effect of the yellow fever, Confederate Agent, James
D. Bulloch advised him to spend some time recuperating at the Royal
Hotel in Waterloo, close to the home of Bulloch.
In
the summer of 1864, recovered and returning to the Confederate States,
Maffitt was given command of the ironclad ram, 'CSS Albemarle'. Under
his captaincy, the ‘Albemarle’ dominated the Roanoke River along with
the approaches to Plymouth, North Carolina throughout that summer. In
September, he overtook command of the blockade runner, 'CSS Owl' and on
October 3rd 1864, escaped to sea from Wilmington arriving in Bermuda on
October 24th with a large and valuable cargo of cotton. Maffit made
several more successful runs through the Union blockade in the ‘Owl’
before the war ended. By coincidence, Maffitt's son Eugene, was a
midshipman on the Confederate States cruiser 'Alabama' serving under
Raphael Semmes at the time she was sunk by the 'USS Kearsarge'. He,
Semmes and many other crew of the 'Alabama' were picked up by the
British yacht Deerhound.
John Newland Maffitt died in Wilmington on May 15, 1886, leaving an unfinished manuscript about piracy in the West Indies. His collected papers are kept in the library of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C. |
Rand Paul: I'm thinking about a presidential bid
Sen. Rand Paul, heir to his father Rep. Ron Paul's political establishment and following, said Friday that he is thinking about running for president, declaring that only a "libertarian-Republican" can unite the GOP.
Speaking on "The Andrea Tantaros Show with Jason Mattera," which debuted this week, the Kentucky Republican said that while he hasn't ruled a presidential run in 2016 in or out, the GOP is going to have to turn to somebody like him to win enough voters to beat a Democrat.
"We are going to have to have somebody a little bit different than we've had in the past," he told Tantaros on the show that replaced the Laura Ingraham Show on the Talk Radio Network. "Someone who can appeal to people in New England and on the West Coast. Someone who has a little more of a libertarian-Republican approach, I think, would have a better chance with independents and moderates.
"And so we'll think about it."
More @ The Examiner
Guns are not the Problem -- Democrats are the Problem
Via Tino
People across the United States of America are seeking solutions to gun violence. Rational people arm themselves, pay taxes for quality police protection, and pay for prisons to isolate dangerous criminals from free society. Arizona counties find armed citizen posses and armed private citizens to be logical approaches for the protection of society from madmen and criminals.
Mass murderers are a relatively rare occurrence, occurring at most every month or so. Armed citizens and no gun free zones without armed protection offer the best protection against madmen, since police cannot be everywhere and may take a long time to arrive when called.
The real shooting problems are in Democratically controlled cities that the Democrats have allowed to become infested with criminals and gangs. Democratic politics and corruption have made living in Democratically controlled cities more dangerous than living in Third World Banana Republics.
Democrats keep guns out of the hands of honest citizens in dangerous cities such as Washington, DC, and Chicago. Democrats use every mass shooting to push for even more disarmament. Democrats fight to keep violent insane criminals on the street and viscous criminals out of jail.
Disarming citizens increases murders. Chicago had 513 homicides in 2012, up from 448 in 2011.
More than 60 children were murdered in Chicago during 2012, as honest people are defenseless against armed criminals.
Daniel Greenfield categorizes the dangers of Democratically controlled areas very well. Following are excerpts from his excellent column,
Chicago’s murder numbers have hit that magic 500. Baltimore’s murder toll has passed 200. In Philly, it’s up to 324, the highest since 2007. In Detroit, it’s approaching 400, another record. In New Orleans, it’s almost at 200. New York City is down to 414 from 508. In Los Angeles, it’s over 500. In St. Louis it’s 113 and 130 in Oakland. It’s 121 in Memphis and 76 in Birmingham.
Washington, D.C., home of the boys and girls who can solve it all, is nearing its own big 100.
Those 12 cities alone account for nearly 3,200 dead and nearly a quarter of all murders in the United States. And we haven’t even visited sunny Atlanta or chilly Cleveland.
People across the United States of America are seeking solutions to gun violence. Rational people arm themselves, pay taxes for quality police protection, and pay for prisons to isolate dangerous criminals from free society. Arizona counties find armed citizen posses and armed private citizens to be logical approaches for the protection of society from madmen and criminals.
Mass murderers are a relatively rare occurrence, occurring at most every month or so. Armed citizens and no gun free zones without armed protection offer the best protection against madmen, since police cannot be everywhere and may take a long time to arrive when called.
The real shooting problems are in Democratically controlled cities that the Democrats have allowed to become infested with criminals and gangs. Democratic politics and corruption have made living in Democratically controlled cities more dangerous than living in Third World Banana Republics.
Democrats keep guns out of the hands of honest citizens in dangerous cities such as Washington, DC, and Chicago. Democrats use every mass shooting to push for even more disarmament. Democrats fight to keep violent insane criminals on the street and viscous criminals out of jail.
Disarming citizens increases murders. Chicago had 513 homicides in 2012, up from 448 in 2011.
More than 60 children were murdered in Chicago during 2012, as honest people are defenseless against armed criminals.
Daniel Greenfield categorizes the dangers of Democratically controlled areas very well. Following are excerpts from his excellent column,
Chicago’s murder numbers have hit that magic 500. Baltimore’s murder toll has passed 200. In Philly, it’s up to 324, the highest since 2007. In Detroit, it’s approaching 400, another record. In New Orleans, it’s almost at 200. New York City is down to 414 from 508. In Los Angeles, it’s over 500. In St. Louis it’s 113 and 130 in Oakland. It’s 121 in Memphis and 76 in Birmingham.
Washington, D.C., home of the boys and girls who can solve it all, is nearing its own big 100.
Those 12 cities alone account for nearly 3,200 dead and nearly a quarter of all murders in the United States. And we haven’t even visited sunny Atlanta or chilly Cleveland.
More @ Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
If US citizens don't need guns, neither does law enforcement
Via Tino
VERBATIM
My family and I grieve for the parents of the children slain during
an attack by a mentally challenged person, including an attack on his
mother. The parents deserve all the community support they are
receiving. We pray for the healing of the parents, and for knowing all
the slain children are in heaven.
That being said, we as a free nation must avoid knee-jerk reactions to this tragedy. Democrats throughout history are always the first to jump to badly misguided conclusions about what is good for their subjects.
In this case, the president, Diane Feinstein, Mayor (Michael) Bloomberg (of New York) and the rest of the Democratic Party are the first to call for gun control. They parrot the idea that if they can take away our rights we will be “safer.”
Unfortunately, the number of European theater combat troops are almost gone — which would serve to remind us of the errors of gun control. They witnessed firsthand the atrocities that occur when only the government and police have firearms.
Politicians like President Barack Obama, Feinstein and Bloomberg want us to trade our freedom for security.
I believe it was Thomas Jefferson who said, paraphrasing: If we trade our rights for security, we have neither.
Politicians, especially Obama, understand that if they can take away that one freedom, then the rest of the rights we have as citizens of the United States of America can be quickly eliminated — especially, since Michelle Obama recently stated that Obama wasn’t through changing America, and not one person in the media questions her motive for making that statement.
It is imperative that each citizen ensures their employees (our representatives to local, state and federal governments) know they are not to fall for knee-jerk reactions promoted by Democrats. We must do this while we still have this right. Our employees need to understand that if our right to own firearms is eliminated, then these same rights must be removed from all law enforcement agencies (local, county, state and federal).
The reason is intuitively obvious — if citizens are not armed, there is not one valid reason for law enforcement to be armed.
Floyd Galegar
Amarillo
That being said, we as a free nation must avoid knee-jerk reactions to this tragedy. Democrats throughout history are always the first to jump to badly misguided conclusions about what is good for their subjects.
In this case, the president, Diane Feinstein, Mayor (Michael) Bloomberg (of New York) and the rest of the Democratic Party are the first to call for gun control. They parrot the idea that if they can take away our rights we will be “safer.”
Unfortunately, the number of European theater combat troops are almost gone — which would serve to remind us of the errors of gun control. They witnessed firsthand the atrocities that occur when only the government and police have firearms.
Politicians like President Barack Obama, Feinstein and Bloomberg want us to trade our freedom for security.
I believe it was Thomas Jefferson who said, paraphrasing: If we trade our rights for security, we have neither.
Politicians, especially Obama, understand that if they can take away that one freedom, then the rest of the rights we have as citizens of the United States of America can be quickly eliminated — especially, since Michelle Obama recently stated that Obama wasn’t through changing America, and not one person in the media questions her motive for making that statement.
It is imperative that each citizen ensures their employees (our representatives to local, state and federal governments) know they are not to fall for knee-jerk reactions promoted by Democrats. We must do this while we still have this right. Our employees need to understand that if our right to own firearms is eliminated, then these same rights must be removed from all law enforcement agencies (local, county, state and federal).
The reason is intuitively obvious — if citizens are not armed, there is not one valid reason for law enforcement to be armed.
Floyd Galegar
Amarillo
Gun control has a clear record of failure
Via Tino
In the wake of the horrific murders at the Sandy Hook school in Connecticut, America has been deluged with calls for ever-more-restrictive gun-control laws, and that's understandable. It's natural to think that's the solution if you don't know these measures have been tried and have always failed.
We crave a solution so much that we'll ignore the record and keep repeating failed policies.
We are told that we need gun-control laws. Sounds good, right? Should we make it illegal for anyone adjudicated to be mentally ill to buy a gun? Let's make it illegal for felons to possess guns. Let's license gun dealers and require the FBI to do a background check on anyone buying a gun from these stores. How about an age restriction on buying guns? Gun shows should have to follow the same laws as everyone else.
All those already are law, and there are some 20,000 additional gun-control laws in the U.S. Before one can rationally call for passage of gun laws, he or she must know what already is covered.
How about a ban on “assault weapons”? We're told this is only common sense. But, what is this thing called an assault weapon? It's not a machine gun. There were no machine guns covered in the original assault-weapon ban because those firearms already are tightly restricted. No, the autoloading (called semiautomatic) rifles included in the original law simply looked like military guns. They should be banned on the basis of how they look? They fire only one shot with each pull of the trigger, like a revolver or the cowboy-style lever-action rifle used by John Wayne.
In the wake of the horrific murders at the Sandy Hook school in Connecticut, America has been deluged with calls for ever-more-restrictive gun-control laws, and that's understandable. It's natural to think that's the solution if you don't know these measures have been tried and have always failed.
We crave a solution so much that we'll ignore the record and keep repeating failed policies.
We are told that we need gun-control laws. Sounds good, right? Should we make it illegal for anyone adjudicated to be mentally ill to buy a gun? Let's make it illegal for felons to possess guns. Let's license gun dealers and require the FBI to do a background check on anyone buying a gun from these stores. How about an age restriction on buying guns? Gun shows should have to follow the same laws as everyone else.
All those already are law, and there are some 20,000 additional gun-control laws in the U.S. Before one can rationally call for passage of gun laws, he or she must know what already is covered.
How about a ban on “assault weapons”? We're told this is only common sense. But, what is this thing called an assault weapon? It's not a machine gun. There were no machine guns covered in the original assault-weapon ban because those firearms already are tightly restricted. No, the autoloading (called semiautomatic) rifles included in the original law simply looked like military guns. They should be banned on the basis of how they look? They fire only one shot with each pull of the trigger, like a revolver or the cowboy-style lever-action rifle used by John Wayne.
More @ The Columbus Dispatch
Target root causes of violence, not guns
Via Tino
The smartest people solve problems by addressing the root issue that causes a problem. With this approach, the problem has a permanent solution.
Others prefer to address problems by alleviating some condition of the problem, thereby reducing the occurrence of the problem and possibly the magnitude of the problem.
The latter approach is much simpler but the real problem still lingers.
For example, a person in pain goes to his doctor. The doctor tells the patient he has two choices. He can have an operation, which will permanently address the problem, or he can start taking painkillers to alleviate the pain. The painkiller route is cheaper, less risky and much simpler, but it's not going to address the problem.
This example translates directly to the gun control issue. Some people want to use gun control to alleviate the real problems in society. The cause of the recent incident was mental illness and violent video games. It appears that we will not address those issues but instead we will focus on the painkiller approach, being the control of the gun, bomb, knife or poison of choice.
Most people are open to some gun control laws.
But when some politicians vehemently suggest our Second Amendment
doesn't give an individual the right to own a gun, it closes the door
for compromise on gun control. You give this kind of person an inch and
he will take the whole gun.
That isn't happening in my life.
Wes Breinich
Hilton Head Island
VERBATIM
The smartest people solve problems by addressing the root issue that causes a problem. With this approach, the problem has a permanent solution.
Others prefer to address problems by alleviating some condition of the problem, thereby reducing the occurrence of the problem and possibly the magnitude of the problem.
The latter approach is much simpler but the real problem still lingers.
For example, a person in pain goes to his doctor. The doctor tells the patient he has two choices. He can have an operation, which will permanently address the problem, or he can start taking painkillers to alleviate the pain. The painkiller route is cheaper, less risky and much simpler, but it's not going to address the problem.
This example translates directly to the gun control issue. Some people want to use gun control to alleviate the real problems in society. The cause of the recent incident was mental illness and violent video games. It appears that we will not address those issues but instead we will focus on the painkiller approach, being the control of the gun, bomb, knife or poison of choice.
That isn't happening in my life.
Wes Breinich
Hilton Head Island
The Gun Thing: The Militia and Hunting
Via Don
I’ve warned my fellow conservatives in America
that over the next few months we’re going to be hearing a lot of
exquisitely ignorant nonsense regarding private gun ownership and the
Second Amendment.
I’ve broken the nonsense down into easily-digestible bits and will be posting them here over the next several days.
The first one concerns the matter of the word “militia” in the wording of the Second Amendment. It states:
Militias are ad-hoc by definition: They are formed at a particular time, to do a particular task. Militias have been mustered at various times throughout American history to meet a number of threats and pursue a number of missions.
The wording of 2A in no way requires every person who owns a gun to be part of a militia. Indeed, the very notion makes no sense, because again, militias are not standing armies. You can’t wake up any day of the year and just go sign up for a militia, like you can go volunteer for the US Army. Militias are mustered in response to specific threats or needs, and they disperse once the threat or need is gone.
Do not confuse “militia” as intended by 2A, with the scattered bands of armed wackos who call themselves “militias” but are really just scattered bands of armed wackos. Just because there are outlaw motorcycle gangs doesn’t mean you’re an outlaw simply because you ride a motorcycle.
Also, the phrase “well-regulated” has nothing to do with “government supervision.”
The first thing to remember is that liberals love them some government supervision of everything, down to how much soda you can buy and what kind of light bulbs you can put in your lamps, so it should come as no surprise that they read “well-regulated” and think, “Aha! This means your little militia has to be overseen and approved of by the state!”
It’s not used in this context that often nowadays, but at the time the Bill of Rights was written, “well-regulated” was used to describe something that was “functioning smoothly” or “properly functioning.” If you know what a regulator in a car engine does… that’s what they meant.
Now, read the amendment again with synonymous, modern language in place, and its meaning becomes perfectly clear to our modern ears:
“A [properly functioning] militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”
The Militia
I’ve broken the nonsense down into easily-digestible bits and will be posting them here over the next several days.
The first one concerns the matter of the word “militia” in the wording of the Second Amendment. It states:
“A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”First, what is a militia? It is *not* the same as the army of the government. A militia is composed of armed citizens; not draftees, not soldiers fighting under orders from the state.
Militias are ad-hoc by definition: They are formed at a particular time, to do a particular task. Militias have been mustered at various times throughout American history to meet a number of threats and pursue a number of missions.
The wording of 2A in no way requires every person who owns a gun to be part of a militia. Indeed, the very notion makes no sense, because again, militias are not standing armies. You can’t wake up any day of the year and just go sign up for a militia, like you can go volunteer for the US Army. Militias are mustered in response to specific threats or needs, and they disperse once the threat or need is gone.
Do not confuse “militia” as intended by 2A, with the scattered bands of armed wackos who call themselves “militias” but are really just scattered bands of armed wackos. Just because there are outlaw motorcycle gangs doesn’t mean you’re an outlaw simply because you ride a motorcycle.
Also, the phrase “well-regulated” has nothing to do with “government supervision.”
The first thing to remember is that liberals love them some government supervision of everything, down to how much soda you can buy and what kind of light bulbs you can put in your lamps, so it should come as no surprise that they read “well-regulated” and think, “Aha! This means your little militia has to be overseen and approved of by the state!”
It’s not used in this context that often nowadays, but at the time the Bill of Rights was written, “well-regulated” was used to describe something that was “functioning smoothly” or “properly functioning.” If you know what a regulator in a car engine does… that’s what they meant.
Now, read the amendment again with synonymous, modern language in place, and its meaning becomes perfectly clear to our modern ears:
“A [properly functioning] militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”
‘Most Horrendous’ Media Bias of 2012 Cited
The envelopes, please.
The “Damn Those Conservatives Award” goes to two Newsweek/Daily Beast staffers who discussed former Vice President Dick Cheney’s heart transplant in March. Senior writer Ramin Setoodeh said, “I would never give my heart to Dick Cheney. It would freeze over.” Assignment editor Allison Yarrow chimed in: “He may be one of the most evil people in the world.”
The “Never Let a Crisis Go to Waste Award” went to ABC’s Brian Ross and his coverage of the Aurora, Colo., theater massacre by accused shooter James Holmes in July. Ross proclaimed that James Holmes of Aurora had joined the tea party a year earlier, only to admit later that the tea party member was a different James Holmes.
NewsBusters gave its “Audacity of Dopes Award” to CNN’s Piers Morgan for fawning over Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In September Morgan asked him, “How many times in your life have you been properly in love?” Ahmadinejad, who has called for Israel to be wiped off the map, responded, “I’m in love with all humanity. I love all human beings.” To which Morgan commented: “That might be the best answer I’ve ever heard to that question.”
But the “Quote of the Year” citation for 2012 went to MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry and what she called her “footnote for the Fourth of July.”
She stated: “The land on which [the Founders] formed the Union was stolen. The hands with which they built this nation were enslaved. The women who birthed the citizens of the nation are second class.
“This is the imperfect fabric of our nation. . . It’s ours, all of it. The imperialism, the genocide, the slavery.”
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