ACLU Targets War Memorial

Mojave Desert Cross, Don't Tear Me Down!

By Tony Vega

"Any nation that does not honor its heroes will not long endure"~ [attributed to] Abraham Lincoln

In 1934, the VFW erected a wooden cross in the Mojave Desert as a memorial to their fallen brethren. The wooden cross was later converted to white painted metal and stands 8-feet tall. The current version was constructed and maintained by Henry Sandoz. Mr. Sandoz takes care of the area in memory of his late friend, J. Riley Bembry, who helped construct the original cross.



In 1994, the VFW donated the land to the government for the Mojave Land Preserve. The preserve encompasses 1.6 million acres of the Mojave Desert in California and falls under the auspices of the National Park Service (NPS)

In 1999, the ACLU demanded the Mojave Cross be removed because its display on federal land violated the Constitution's establishment clause. The memorial received widespread support and rankled only a former NPS employee, Frank Buono.

In 2000, the NPS exchanged several letters with the ACLU in an attempt to save the memorial. The ACLU responded by threatening to go after individual park employees if the memorial was not torn down. The NPS relented and was bullied into compliance.

In December 2000, Rep. Jerry Lewis got involved and had an appropriations bill disallow the NPS from using government funds to dismantle the cross, which gave the memorial a well deserved reprieve.

In March 2001, the ACLU made good on its threats and filed their lawsuit. In December 2001, Lewis rallied again and successfully had the Mojave Cross declared a national memorial in honor of World War 1 veterans.

In 2002, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Timlin ruled in favor of the ACLU and ordered the cross removed, but he failed to set a deadline. The Justice Department slowly navigated the murky waters of the courts decision and the Congressional ruling that designated the Mojave Cross a World War 1 national memorial.

During the legal maneuvering, the Justice Department had the cross covered by a plastic tarp. Patriots and Defenders of Freedom did not stand for that and removed the covering.

Henry and Wanda Sandoz landowners in the confines of the Preserve and caretakers of the Memorial Cross donated five acres of their own property to the NPS. This donation enabled the one-acre encompassing the Mojave Cross to be returned back to the VFW.

The ACLU did not relent and argued that the land transfer was unconstitutional, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed. The Bush administration appealed that decision and asserted that the land transfer was "an eminently sensible and constitutionally permissible way of resolving any establishment clause problem."

In February 2009, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the Mojave Cross case (now known as Salazar vs. Bruno). The Mojave Cross, a designated World War 1 memorial is now covered by a plywood box awaiting that decision.

The transfer of the federal land back to private ownership and in the hands of our defenders of Freedom not only enriches the government but also satisfies any "establishment clause" issues.

The devil is in the details, the ACLU does not care about civil liberties. They simply wish to target and attack sacred and traditional American symbols to further a radical agenda. They have the money, ergo the power to wield their ugly influence.

"It is bad enough to say that the veterans' memorial is unconstitutional, but it is outrageous to say that the government cannot give the monument back to the people who spilled their blood and put it there in the first place."- Kelly Shackelford, chief counsel of Liberty Legal Institute and attorney for the veterans groups.

An ACLU victory will put other veterans memorials in the cross hairs. Folks, do not allow this [Anti] American Civil Liberties Union to tear down this war memorial.

Resources:

www.donttearmedown.com

http://www.nps.gov/archive/moja/adminhist/adhi6.htm

http://www.saveourmemorials.com/

Lucia Whalen, Gates' 911 Caller Speaks Out

By Tony Vega

The below embedded video is a display of what your post-racial president reduced an American citizen to. Of all the parties involved in this ugly incident that deserves an apology and a drink it is Lucia Whalen.

Sgt. Crowley is a seasoned officer with thick skin; dealing with arrogant racial profiling professors is tame compared to what a cop may face. Granted being called out by the POTUS is not a routine result of answering 911 calls, but very well may be if the handlers do not reign in Obama. Don't forget folks, for over 20-years the POTUS sat in the pew of one of America's most popular racist, Jeremiah Wright.

Supporters of Gates have excoriated the 911 caller by wrongly accusing her of racism. The 911 transcript clearly shows how color blind she is, you can view that transcript here.

The danger of Obama's & Gates' racial profiling of Sgt. Crowley, because you see folks a white police officer must fit the description of a racist in the POTUS' & professor's viewpoint, is to create and continue apathy among otherwise decent citizens.

The treatment of Lucia Whalen, which was furthered by the POTUS, also creates and further divides race relations in America.

This alleged post-racial president impeded the forward progress of race relations in America. Way to go Barack Obama, way to go.

With out further adieu, I introduce Lucia Whalen:

Gates' 911 Caller Speaks Out 3:59

Shut Uppery, Fairness Doctrine, and Obama the 46-Year Old Political Virgin

(H/T AGB)

Andrew Klaven of PJTV brilliantly & entertainingly explains Net Neutrality, The Fairness Doctrine and the Liberal intent of well...shutting us up. Check it out:

Klaven also exposes the crap Obama is shoveling:

Aren't the American People Sick Of It?

Sent in by that Great American, AGB

IMAGINE! This guy is teaching, I mean, PROPAGANDIZING, your children...and you and the American taxpayer is paying for it all. Geez!

Everything is RACE to these characters. All Roads Lead to Rome...er, I mean...to RACE.

And I ask of whites and Orientals and others...why are YOU so afraid to speak about RACE when it is not you who raised the race issue in the first place and you are not guilty of bias?

Why are you not DIRECTLY confronting the racialists who are using the system AGAINST you as they pick your pockets? It is not you, who are the racists. THEY ARE THE RACISTS! Wake up!

Why do I say it is THEY, and not YOU, who are the racists?

BECAUSE THEY RAISE THE RACE ISSUE EACH AND EVERY TIME! That is why. They are the ones who want to manipulate and rip off the system BECAUSE of racial beefs, mostly imagined, most of which do not even exist. That does not mean that all beefs do not exist. Most however do not.

Turns out Gates is just another idiot (literally) and con man. An idiot because he and his partisans actually believe we cannot see through his act. He, like his partisan defenders, and his president, have provably BAD JUDGMENT based on false assumptions. This scam is just one among many.

And if you read the police reports you'll find that likely Gates PROVOKED the whole thing. In other words, he is like the rest of the racial arsonists...a seething HATER...SCAMMING the system to ENRICH themselves...to get publicity...and predeterminedly to SUE the municipality to MAKE money off YOU!...the taxpayer....for himself.

Why one might ask, are these people like this, why do they behave the way they do? I say, a huge inferiority complex is at the core of it all and the ENTITLEMENT mentality. They are entitled to the wealth of the system...and to YOUR money.

Affirmative action got him into Yale. Not competitive test scores or scholarship. He scored LOWER than the fellow/lady who got rejected.

Of course, Gates got in at the cost of keeping a legitimate and intelligent white or Oriental student out. Gates got to where he is BECAUSE of racial politics...without which he'd be a nobody. He is a phony, a phake, and a phraud!



Note the next video. Savage has a higher education than Gates, two PhDs...and not a result of affirmative action...and he speaks directly and honestly (unlike that worm Gates)...listen to the whole tape and decide for yourself and read the police report below:

Transcript of the 911 call in the Gates and Crowley Incident

(thanks A.)

Scores of jaded Americans berated Lucinda Whalen and claim she is a racist for calling the police, read the transcript of the 911 call and note how color blind she actually is.

The tragedy however, is that If Ms. Whalen did notice and mention the race of the men that just shouldered their way into a home she would have been a confirmed racist by Obama's standard and the rest of the race-arsonists that are rearing its ugly head.

Racial profiling did exist in this case folks, Sgt Crowley and Ms. Whalen was profiled by Gates, Obama, and the Jerimah Wrights of the world.

Read more on that here and for the original police reports read here

Note: the case against Gates was dismissed by a black governor, a black mayor and a black prosecutor.

Transcript:

911 OPERATOR: 9-1-1, what is the exact location of your emergency?

FEMALE WITNESS CALLER: Hi, I'm actually at (inaudible) street in Cambridge, the house number is 7 Ware Street.

911 OPERATOR: OK ma'am, your cell phone cut out, what's the address again?

FEMALE WITNESS CALLER: Sorry, it's 7 Ware Street. That's W-A-R-E Street.

911 OPERATOR: The emergency is at 7 Ware Street, right?

FEMALE WITNESS CALLER: Well no, I'm sorry. 17. Some other woman is talking next to me but it's 17, 1-7 Ware Street.

911 OPERATOR: What's the phone number you're calling me from?

FEMALE WITNESS CALLER: I'm calling you from my cell phone number.

911 OPERATOR: All right, tell me exactly what happened?

FEMALE WITNESS CALLER: Um, I don't know what's happening. I just had an older woman standing here and she had noticed two gentlemen trying to get in a house at that number, 17 Ware Street. And they kind of had to barge in and they broke the screen door and they finally got in. When I had looked, I went further, closer to the house a little bit after the gentlemen were already in the house. I noticed two suitcases. So, I'm not sure if this is two individuals who actually work there, I mean, who live there.

911 OPERATOR: You think they might have been breaking in?

FEMALE WITNESS CALLER: I don't know 'cause I have no idea. I just noticed.

911 OPERATOR: So you're saying you think the possibility might have been there? What do you mean by barged in? You mean they kicked the door in?

FEMALE WITNESS CALLER: No, they were pushing the door in. Like, umm, the screen part of the front door was kind of like cut.

911 OPERATOR: How did they open the door itself with the lock?

FEMALE WITNESS CALLER: They, I didn't see a key or anything 'cause I was a little bit away from the door. But I did notice that they pushed their (interrupted).

911 OPERATOR: And what do the suitcases have to do with anything?

FEMALE WITNESS CALLER: I don't know, I'm just saying that's what I saw.

911 OPERATOR: Do you know what apartment they broke into?

FEMALE WITNESS CALLER: No, they're just they first floor. I don't even think that it's an apartment. It's 17 Ware Street. It's a house, it's a yellow house. Number 17. I don't know if they live there and they just had a hard time with their key but I did notice that they kind of used their shoulder to kind of barge in and they got in. I don't know if they had a key or not because I couldn't see from my angle. But, you know, when I looked a little closely that's what I saw.

911 OPERATOR: (inaudible) guy or Hispanic?

FEMALE WITNESS CALLER: Umm.

911 OPERATOR: Are they still in the house?

FEMALE WITNESS CALLER: They're still in the house, I believe, yeah.

911 OPERATOR: Were they white, black or Hispanic?

FEMALE WITNESS CALLER: Umm, well there were two larger men, one looked kind of Hispanic but I'm not really sure. And the other one entered and I didn't see what he looked like at all. I just saw it from a distance and this older woman was worried thinking someone's breaking in someone's house, they've been barging in. And she interrupted me and that's when I had noticed otherwise I probably wouldn't have noticed it at all, to be honest with you. So, I was just calling 'cause she was a concerned neighbor, I guess.

911 OPERATOR: OK, are you standing outside?

FEMALE WITNESS CALLER: I'm standing outside, yes.

911 OPERATOR: All right, the police are on the way, you can meet them then they get there. What's your name?

FEMALE WITNESS CALLER: Yeah, my name is (deleted).

911 OPERATOR: All right, we're on the way.

FEMALE WITNESS CALLER: Ok. All right, I guess I'll wait. Thanks.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/07272009/news/nationalnews/transcript_of_gates_911_call_181639.htm

Professor Gates, Sgt Crowley and Obama the Divider

Professor Gates, front cuffed.
Image source, Carter/AP

By Tony Vega

Click here to review the police report.

What we know according to various news reports and witness accounts are that Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. returned home from a trip to China. Gates came home to a faulty front door due to a prior break-in. This prompted him and another person to force entry by shouldering the back door.

The next turn of events is a positive one. Far too often apathy sets in and folks in communities across the nation look the other way, but thankfully not Mr. Gates' neighbor. A neighbor reported men breaking into the house, unaware that it was the professor returning home.

Sgt. James Crowley of the Cambridge Police Department responded to the 911 report of two black men with backpacks breaking into a home. Upon arrival, Crowley observed a male inside of the home. Crowley asked the male to step out onto the front porch, unaware that this male was Mr. Gates. Harvard professor Gates opened the front door and exclaimed "Why, because I'm a black man in America!?"

By all accounts, it seems that Mr. Gates took umbrage over being challenged by a uniformed officer. The sergeant asked for identification, Gates initially refused and challenged the officer. Mr. Gates also berated the officer and repeatedly called him a racist.

In the presence of the police, Gates made a phone call and accused Crowley of being a racist to a third party. Sgt. Crowley says the acoustics of the kitchen and foyer area made it difficult to make radio transmissions over the yelling of Mr. Gates. Upon obtaining an earful and identification from Mr. Gates, Crowley informed Mr. Gates that he would continue speaking to him outside of the home, at which time Harvard professor Gates sated, "ya, I'll speak to your mama outside."

As Sgt. Crowley descended the front stairs of the home to the street area, Mr. Gates followed and continued his barrage of insults and tumultuous behavior, causing a crowd to gather. Gates did not cease this behavior upon threat of arrest. Mr. Gates was subsequently arrested for disorderly conduct, which was later dropped by prosecutors.

Professor Gates charges racism. Barack Obama charges stupidity on the part of police and hints to racial profiling by saying, "that there is a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately, and that's just a fact."

Here are some additional FACTS, perhaps Obama the divider would care to learn about; Sgt. Crowley is an expert on racial profiling and teaches a course of how not to single people out because of their ethnic background or culture.

Sgt. Crowley also demonstrated his lack of bias when he administered mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on NBA star Reggie Lewis who suffered a fatal heart attack. Remember folks, it is not mandated for cops to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, that is a personal choice.

Barack Obama may have hoodwinked the nation when he ran on a platform of unity. Obama may have perpetrated a con when he claimed he was not from the same racially perverse cloth that his mentor and preacher man was.

The Jeremiah Wrights of the world claim a black person cannot be a racist because they are not in a position of power to be a racist. When you make a negative claim against another person because of his race that is a racist point of view, period.

When a white man is accused of being a racist because he arrives on a scene in a police uniform to investigate a crime and he is accused of being a racist and stupid, where is the charge of bias for the accusers?

The support for Professor Gates is divided along racial lines and common sense falls into the gap. Instead of cautioning the nation to assess by fact before judgment is levied, Barack Obama stoked the flames of resentment and played the role of a race-arsonist. Jeremiah will be proud.

Another fact that is not mentioned by Barack Obama is that Sgt. Crowley front cuffed Mr. Gates. Procedure is to rear cuff prisoners, but he considered Mr. Gates' condition (Gates walks with a cane) and made sure he was comfortable.

Barack Obama likes to quote "facts," let's take another look at a factual sequence of events that Barack Obama and the rest of us are privy to; Mr. Gates, a burglar suspect, was not stopped at gun point, not ordered onto the ground AND given the benefit of the doubt, that he was the homeowner BEFORE verifying his identification.

Folks, I don't know about you but that does not sound like racial profiling to me. Wait, maybe it was, perhaps if it was a white man Sgt. Crowley would have used sound police tactics and rear cuffed the suspect and verified later.

Perhaps, Sgt. Crowley gave Mr. Gates the benefit of the doubt because he was afraid of being called a racist. Damned if you do, damned if you don't! Perhaps, the good sergeant should have acted in a sound tactical manner and treated the man that just shouldered his way into a home as a burglary suspect.

Perhaps, Barack Obama was in fact listening to Jeremiah Wright after all.

Police Reports of the Gates and Crowley Incident

Thanks Free Republic

Click on images of Police Reports to enlarge

1:


2:

3:

Happy Birthday John William Finn

John William Finn, wiki commons

By Tony Vega

"Any nation that does not honor its heroes will not long endure"~ [attributed to] Abraham Lincoln

In a society enamored with popular culture, far too often our American heroes are determined by the media that delivers such figures into our living rooms, the Michael Jackson coverage is a timely example.

The true American heroes of our time are often the unsung ones. There are indeed men and women that understand the value of a handshake and of service. There are moments when an individual will perform extraordinary feats of heroism that captures our attention and hearts.

This content is to illustrate one particular Defender of Freedom, Lieutenant John William Finn. Lt. Finn did receive accolades for his heroics during WW2 in the form of medals, but many haven't heard of this Great American. That's not their fault, for John William Finn did not win any MTV awards, nor did he earn the title “King of Pop.” No, John Finn earned the grade of Lieutenant in the United States Navy.

John William Finn was born July 23, 1909, today is his 100th birthday. Finn received the first Medal of Honor in WW2 for his action the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. On December 07, 1941, Finn was actually at Kaneohe Bay, which was hit several minutes before Pearl Harbor.



Finn is the oldest living Medal of Honor recipient and is also the only living Pearl-Harbor-Day Medal of Honor recipient.

During the first attack by the Japanese, John William Finn was an Aviation Ordnanceman Chief Petty Officer and took control of a .50 caliber machine gun mounted on an a completely exposed section of the air station's aircraft parking ramp. He continued to fire on the attacking planes despite being hit by shrapnel 21 times.

"I got the hell shot out of me, but it didn't kill me. If you aint dead you can still manage to do something"- Lt. Finn [from video]

John William Finn lived on base and shared quarters with his lovely wife Alice. While Finn was defending his country on that fateful day, his wife, Alice was tending to life saving duties in her capacity as a nurse. In September 1942, Lieutenant John Finn was presented the Medal of Honor for his heroism.

"My deal was... is inconsequential the way I see it. Some of the guys [that made the ultimate sacrifice] you just cannot believe what they did, what they were fighting for, it was our Freedom. And our right to liberty and justice and love of God, whatever God you worship...to have that Freedom."- John William Finn, Lieutenant US Navy, retired. [Excerpted from video]

In addition to the Medal of Honor, Finn's decorations include the Purple Heart; American Defense Service Medal; Navy Good Conduct Medal with two bronze stars; American Campaign Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal; World War II Victory Medal; and the Navy Occupation Service Medal.

Finn is the last surviving Medal of Honor recipient from the attack on Pearl Harbor, as well as being the oldest living recipient. As of 2009, Finn is the only Aviation Ordnanceman Medal of Honor recipient in the history of the rate (US Navy utilizes "rates" not "rank"). In addition to all of this, Finn's Medal of Honor is the only medal of its kind with a citation on the back summarizing the events of heroism.

"Although painfully wounded many times, he continued to man his gun and to return the enemy's fire vigorously and with telling effect throughout the enemy strafing and bombing attacks and with complete disregard for his own personal safety. It was only by specific orders that he was persuaded to leave his post to seek medical attention. Following first aid treatment, although obviously suffering much pain and moving with great difficulty, he returned to the squadron area and actively supervised the re-arming of returning planes."- John William Finn's MOH citation

Mr. Finn currently resides in California, his birthplace. He reportedly resides alone since his wife's death in 1998.

Folks do yourself a service and view the video of John William Finn and listen to this Great American tell his story, his manner and style of speaking gives a hint to why that WW2 generation is the greatest generation this nation has ever seen.

On behalf of my family to Lieutenant Finn, Happy Birthday Sir and May God bless John William Finn and all our Defenders of Freedom.

Sources:

http://www.greatamericans.com/channels/military

http://www.geocities.com/ntchistory/finn/finn.html

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

Crap and Trade

Janschwalde Power Station, Wiki Commons

By Tony Vega

Update: H. R. 2454 can be found here , thanks Independent Voice

With the birth of an Obamanation the second amendment becomes an even more attractive target, health care is close to being socialized and Cap & Trade is a euphemism for oppressive taxation.

A quick look at the numbers for this Cap & Trade fiasco will reveal that your average American will get hosed at the gas pump, may want to read their electric bill with the lights out and watch their jobs sail away to overseas corporations. Oh, let's not forget about the polar bears or the planet, no help there either.

There are many credible organizations, such as the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the Brookings Institute, the Heritage Foundation, the National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) and even the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that detail the cost and ineffectiveness of Cap & Trade. I implore the folks to turn the pages for themselves and asses by fact.

How about our European neighbors, how has Cap & Trade been working for them?

According to an investigative report by the London Bureau of BusinessWeek, Europe's CO2 output actually rose 1.1%. An in depth analysis published in the Washington Post delves into Europe's issues with Cap & Trade. Let's take a look:

Business

Kollo Holding's factory in the Netherlands is a silicon carbide maker that calls itself the greenest such plant in the world, but now can't afford to run full-time. Europe's program has driven electricity prices so high that the facility routinely shuts down for part of the day to save money on power.

Although demand for its products is strong, the plant has laid off 40 of its 130 employees and trimmed production. Two customers have turned to cheaper imports from China, which is not covered by Europe's costly regulations.

French cement workers may lose jobs to Morocco, which doesn't have to meet the European guidelines. Four-hundred cement workers protested a license for a rival company that plans to take advantage of Europe's system for controlling greenhouse gases by circumventing it. The rival wants to import material from Morocco, where factories don't have to pay to emit carbon gas.

Residents

German homeowners pay 25 percent more for electricity, even as their utility companies earn record profits.

[Landlords will pass increased heating and electric costs to tenants. Workers across the continent face the prospect of losing their jobs to foreign facilities that aren't required to follow Cap & Trade standards. When the price of electricity, gas, and operating costs rise everyone will feel the hit, from heating your homes, driving to work, or paying for transportation to get to work and/or play.]

Environment

[In addition to Europe's CO2 output rising by 1.1%] Europe's cap-and-trade system has done little to reduce output at such places as the Janschwalde coal plant, [located near the village of Janschwalde in Brandenburg on the German-Polish border] Europe's third-biggest carbon dioxide emitter. Each year, it spews more than 25 million tons of carbon dioxide; half of its output can power all of Berlin.

Remember that cement plant in Dannes, France and the prospect of them losing their jobs to a Moroccan plant?

The Moroccan plant may produce even more carbon dioxide than the one in Dannes. "This is going the wrong way from an environmental point of view," Vincent Bichet, Director General, Dannes.

Back in the U.S., Barbara Boxer, Nancy Pelosi and other Obama elites are pushing for similar Crap & Trade policies. Rest assured it will be like chum to the sharks, the lobbyists and enviro-arsonists are already circling.

It is my firm belief that we should all be good shepherds of the earth. The current Cap & Trade system will do nothing for the planet and is only green in the sense that it will remove the green from your wallet and plant it into the accounts of the fat-cats.

The UK Gun Ban

By Tony Vega

"An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life." - Robert A. Heinlein, American novelist and former liberal

The English are perceived to be the leaders of etiquette and masters of a polite society. Quite often, too often, it is American chic to consider our neighbors in the UK a model to emulate. Perhaps, to the American ear the English tone represents a higher intellect.

This is not to denigrate our UK neighbors, but rather to encourage our American citizens to assess by fact and not by fad. The trail blazing UK held the distinction of having the toughest firearm restrictions of any democracy and their 1997 handgun ban became the "gold standard" of gun control.

How has that UK gun ban been working?

• In the four years from 1997 to 2001, the rate of violent crime more than doubled.

• Your chances of being mugged in London are now six times greater than in New York.

• England's rates of assault, robbery, and burglary are far higher than America's.

• 53 percent of English burglaries occur while occupants are at home, compared with 13 percent in the U.S., where burglars admit to fearing armed homeowners more than the police.

In a [2002] United Nations study of crime in 18 developed nations, England and Wales led the Western world's crime league, with nearly 55 crimes per 100 people. [1]

Gun crime in London is increasing so rapidly that police fear they may not have the resources to cope. In a 2001 BBC report, officers stated there had been a 100% increase in firearms-related crime in the capital. [2]

"When Seconds Count, the police are minutes away."- Viral Internet quote

Northern Ireland [home of the IRA] is the only part of the British Isles where significant numbers of civilians are granted permits to carry a concealed handgun for self-defense. According to the International Crime Victim Survey released in August ’01, Northern Ireland had one of the lowest levels of victimization of any of the 15 industrialized countries studied and England had the highest. [3]

To be fair to our English neighbors, 2007 crime stats show a leveling off of overall gun crimes, despite an increase in homicide. [4] Publicizing gun crimes, however, is becoming a bone of contention among UK officials.

After a high profile shooting death of an 11-year old boy, the UK Shadow Home Secretary, noted the huge increase in gun crimes since the ban and claimed the ministers were putting out "misleading and inaccurate figures." [5]

Jack Straw, the UK Justice Secretary, admitted the increase in gun-related incidents, but cited an overall drop in crime crediting the government's efforts. David Cameron, Tory leader, accused Mr. Straw of "self satisfied comments" and "complacency." Cameron also accused ministers of spinning statistics. [5]

With the exception of gun-related deaths, 2008 UK crime stats show a significant rise in gun crimes, the biggest since 2004. [6] The overall picture since the UK gun ban clearly shows that gun control is not crime control and only serves to empower the criminal and inhibit the liberty of her people.

A Church of England vicar had this to say, "It seems as if we have slipped into some bizarre parallel universe where the basic rules about the way human beings communicate have been suspended. What can we say or do? We feel so powerless. "We need to ask hard questions about a kind of society that makes possible such a callous disregard of human life." [5]

By adopting a radical gun ban, the UK abandoned the principles of their own 1689 Bill of Rights calling for the citizenry to "have arms for their defence." The abandoning of such principles is not a practice that a Freedom loving nation desiring the safety, pursuit of happiness, liberty, and justice for all should emulate.

Remember folks, it is the law abiding that abides the law. The bad guys will not comply with gun laws and will remain armed. So what is the purpose of any nation stripping her people from the right of self-defense?

"No freeman shall ever be debarred the use of arms. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government"- Thomas Jefferson

What my dear Freemen and women are you willing to give up in the name of progressive ideology?

Resources:

1. Gun Control's Twisted Outcome: Restricting firearms has helped make England more crime-ridden than the U.S. - Reason Magazine
2. BBC News | UK | Police fears over rising gun crime
3. http://dvc.org.uk/dunblane/dbpolicy.pdf
4. BBC NEWS | UK | Analysis: UK gun crime figures
5. Another arrest as Croxteth pays tribute to Rhys | UK news | The Guardian
6. 28 gun crimes committed in UK every day - Telegraph

What's In Your Water

By Tony Vega

Early 1993, Milwaukee, Wisconsin had the largest waterborne-disease outbreak (WBDO) ever documented in the United States.

During this time frame two outbreaks of cryptosporidiosis occurred in large metropolitan areas, Milwaukee and Las Vegas/Clark County, and were associated with deaths among immunocompromised persons. The waterborne nature of these two outbreaks was not recognized until at least 2 weeks after the onset of the Milwaukee outbreak and until after the end of the Las Vegas outbreak. [1]

In Milwaukee, cattle were suspected to be the cause of the WBDO. It was theorized that melting snow from a local farm carried cow feces into the water supply. For approximately 10-years there was no definitive answer for the outbreak....until now.

Read More: What's in Your Water?

Sarah Palin 2012?

.

photo source: Wiki Commons

By Tony Vega

Many of Sarah Palin's supporters claim she is a viable presidential candidate in 2012. Turning down the hype, a 2012 run does not seem so far fetched. After all, Palin has proven herself to be more experienced and substantive than the incumbent, but that's tantamount to comparing two toddlers in the park, both cute but please don't expect them to walk on steady legs.

Sarah Palin resigning her post as governor of Alaska makes a 2012 run appear as an exercise in futility, some analysts may argue a Palin presidential run is futile regardless of recent events. This may be true, but again everything is relative and a Palin and anybody ticket may be better for the nation than an Obama-Bin-Lyin' ticket.

I digress, you see here is the rub, in our current society and culture, prevailing opinion is not shaped by facts but by media and fad, which more often than not the media determine the fad.

The Palin supporters are indicating that the multitude of detractors, bogus complaints and headhunters are occupying too much of the Alaska governor's attention and costing too much of state funds, therefore quitting the elected post is justified. Many analysts pro and con claim Palin's departure is a sign of weakness or simply self-serving; maybe they are all correct.

Perhaps, Palin quitting her post is indeed for valiant reasons and in the best interest of Alaska and dare I say the nation. Did not Barack Obama effectively remove himself from his senate post to run for president, in an effort to better the entire nation? By the way, Obama remained on the Illinois payroll during his 18-month run.

Quitting, however, in the face of adversity rubs Americans the wrong way. Valid arguments can be made that stepping down and handing the reigns over to a qualified lieutenant in the face of such chaos serves the public the best; the flip side is that a true leader will rise above it all and keep the ship on its proper course.

One thing for certain is that Sarah Palin inspires much emotion in both her supporters and detractors thus making her an attractive figure for the media to watch. Car wrecks, for bad or worse, also captures traffic-snarling attention. Palin's popularity and ability to garner media attention will afford her the viability she needs to seek high office, be it in 2012 or 2016.

Sarah Palin has recently said that if her resignation means that she is politically dead than so be it, her choice was made for the best interest of her family and the Alaskan public. Hopefully the folks will decide for themselves, recent significant American events indicate that the media will decide for the folks.

America has shown to have a short attention span and to be easily distracted by pretty lights. The master of those distracting lights is the Obama National Media. Regardless of which political aisle you stand, the truth should shape your opinions, merit and substance should determine viability.

For this voter, Sarah Palin does not represent the best the GOP has to offer, but the incumbent certainly is not the best the Democratic Party had to offer. It is a corrupt media that far too often determines the strength of a candidate. It is to our peril that we as a society refuse to muster the energy to think for ourselves. As a result, voting comes down to selecting the lesser of two evils; just remember that principle only leaves you with an evil victor.

"A Society of sheep must in time beget a government of wolves." - Bertrand de Jouvenal