Law professor defends call to 'give up' on Constitution
Georgetown Law Professor Mike Seidman explains radical suggestion to fix America's political system, scrap the US Constitution. He claims it is out of date, drawn up by men who were a small number of people who did not represent the whole United States. He says they are dead so it is time to get rid of their "outdated" ideas and even racial ideas.
Watch the video but try to stay calm . . . watch it all.
OK now consider: if they actually did what this loon is calling for; he & his kind would be the first ones rolled up & "taken care of" . . .
So which part of the Bill of Rights do we ditch first? How about FREEDOM OF SPEECH? Let me tell you something: if this A-hole suggested this sort of thing in ANY OTHER COUNTRY ON EARTH he would be thrown in prison.
I saw such a thing happen in Australia . . . a law professor - like this dumbass - thrown in prison for REFUSING TO VOTE . . . followed on short order by a guy getting his passport confiscated and not allowed to travel outside of Australia . . . because he was a HARE KRISHNA . . .
Hell-O-O-O . . . 'Freedom of Religion' anybody? Don't get me started about their gun laws Down Under . . .
My Uncle Guy used to say it about the Australians, and now I'm saying it: America is wasted on the Americans . . . I'm sorry people this country has gone completely over to the Moron Class . . .
- STORMBRINGER SENDS
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
SEATTLE GUN BUYBACK TURNS INTO GUN SHOW
Backfire: Collectors waved wads of cash at those in line. Mayor says "gaggles" of private gun buyers "insane"
Seven hundred and sixteen guns were collected at Saturday’s gun buyback program in Seattle. But officials say they are disturbed by the large number of private gun buyers the event attracted.
Mayor Mike McGinn says he was shocked by what he describes as the “gaggles” of private gun buyers who showed up to tempt people away from the long lines and gift cards and offer them cash for their weapons.
“We had a gun bazaar break out of the streets of Seattle outside of a gun buyback. That was just insane."
These deals are legal and don’t need any background checks. McGinn says lawyers are looking into whether the city has any authority to prevent private buyers from setting up shop right next to any future buyback events.
Schuyler Taylor, a previous gun retailer attending the event in hopes of buying weapons, asked “Why not offer them cash versus a gift card? I’m still taking the guns off the streets; they’re just going in my safe.”
The saying goes: "Put a bag of shit in front of a Liberal and they will step in it every time."
- STORMBRINGER SENDS
Seven hundred and sixteen guns were collected at Saturday’s gun buyback program in Seattle. But officials say they are disturbed by the large number of private gun buyers the event attracted.
Mayor Mike McGinn says he was shocked by what he describes as the “gaggles” of private gun buyers who showed up to tempt people away from the long lines and gift cards and offer them cash for their weapons.
“We had a gun bazaar break out of the streets of Seattle outside of a gun buyback. That was just insane."
These deals are legal and don’t need any background checks. McGinn says lawyers are looking into whether the city has any authority to prevent private buyers from setting up shop right next to any future buyback events.
Schuyler Taylor, a previous gun retailer attending the event in hopes of buying weapons, asked “Why not offer them cash versus a gift card? I’m still taking the guns off the streets; they’re just going in my safe.”
The saying goes: "Put a bag of shit in front of a Liberal and they will step in it every time."
- STORMBRINGER SENDS
STAND DOWN
Happy Ending: Brad the Pit here was reunited with his caretaker; he belongs to a serviceman who is deployed overseas, and he got out.
Thanks everybody for your support -S.L.
Special embedded subliminal message to the Barbi Twins - I might want to take you up on your offer to help an old dog in the near future.
- STORMBRINGER SENDS
Thanks everybody for your support -S.L.
Special embedded subliminal message to the Barbi Twins - I might want to take you up on your offer to help an old dog in the near future.
- STORMBRINGER SENDS
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
"A Free People can only afford to make this mistake ONCE . . ."
Henson Ong at Gun Violence Prevention Public Hearing - Hartford, CT - 1/28/2013
L.A. Riots, 1992 - Armed Store Owners Deter Rioters with AR-15s, Mini-14s and Shotguns
STORMBRINGER SENDS
L.A. Riots, 1992 - Armed Store Owners Deter Rioters with AR-15s, Mini-14s and Shotguns
STORMBRINGER SENDS
Monday, January 28, 2013
DEPENDABLE WORKER SEEKING POSITION OF RESPONSIBILITY
From the Dawn of Time, dogs are our natural companions. Loyal, loving, brave & constantly alert to danger, a dog will give all, asks only for shelter and will work for food. I love dogs. In fact, the more people I meet, the more I love my dogs. But I already have a pack of three and cannot help this lost soul, down on his luck. -S.L.
We're looking for a good home for this Pit. The dog turned up at a local company - lost or abandoned. He knows commands (sit) and is well-behaved. We don't want to put him in the shelter yet because they only get about 10 days then they are put down.
Anybody out there looking for a good dog? Please reach out to me via the email link, to the right there.
Thanks
- STORMBRINGER
We're looking for a good home for this Pit. The dog turned up at a local company - lost or abandoned. He knows commands (sit) and is well-behaved. We don't want to put him in the shelter yet because they only get about 10 days then they are put down.
Anybody out there looking for a good dog? Please reach out to me via the email link, to the right there.
Thanks
- STORMBRINGER
Sunday, January 27, 2013
SPRINGFIELD M1A STANDARD ACCURACY & RELIABILITY REVIEW
This man is extremely well-informed; apparently Springfield has MIM parts in the trigger assembly that are prone to breakage.
M1A Shooting:
STORMBRINGER SENDS
M1A Shooting:
STORMBRINGER SENDS
DESTROYING THE U.S. MILITARY
By Alan Caruba
The author of “1984”, George Orwell, once said, “The quickest way to end a war is to lose it.” In the preamble to the U.S. Constitution, among the priorities listed is to “provide for the common defense” of the nation. After having fought a six-year war during the Revolution and replaced the failed Articles of Confederation, the framers of the Constitution, many of whom had fought beside George Washington, well understood the need for a standing army and navy to protect the new nation.
In the nation’s earliest years, Americans repeatedly elected Presidents with military credentials and experience. In addition to Washington they included Monroe, Jackson, Harrison, Tyler, Grant, Teddy Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Bush41 and 43. FDR had served as Secretary of the Navy.
In recent times, two Presidents, Clinton —a draft dodger— and Obama have had no military experience to draw upon. Over the objections of their generals, both introduced policies to include and protect homosexuals in the U.S. military services. Now the doors have been opened to permit women to fight beside men. The military is not a place where one conducts social experiments. It’s a place where men go in harm’s way to protect the nation.
Today, thanks to the failure of the Congress to address America’s spending and growing debt problems, the U.S. military faces a draconian “sequestration”—massive cuts to the defense budget—that would so seriously decrease the nation’s ability to defend itself and project power globally, that it reminds one of the failure to maintain a strong military that required a massive effort to get up to speed after the Japanese Empire’s attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The WWII declaration of war included the Nazi Third Reich that threatened the United Kingdom, all of Europe, and Russia.
A recent Rasmussen Reports poll found that 40% of likely voters “believe the United States spends too much on defense and national security” while only 22% disagree and 32% believe the amount spent is about right. This is a definition of stupidity.
A nation requires a standing army, navy, coast guard, and air force, along with a trustworthy banking system. After the 2008 financial crisis—the result of government policies regarding housing—we had to bail out the banking system to the tune of billions. Today we face the prospect of a military that is flying an aging fleet of airplanes, has a navy that has as few ships in service as we had at the end of World War I, and a volunteer military that requires that support of thousands of civilian personnel.
Out-going Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta, has been loudly warning that the result of any spending cuts would be “catastrophic.”
One can argue that we have spent a fortune in treasure and blood in the Middle East since 2001, but only the most foolish would argue that America and the West is not facing the greatest threat in its history since Moslem armies were defeated at the doors of Europe in 732 AD and 1529 AD.
In a recent press conference, Panetta said that the practical results of the proposed cuts in defense would be less training for units not imminently deploying to Afghanistan; less shipboard training for all but the highest priority missions; less pilot training and fewer flight hours; curtailed ship maintenance and disruption to research and weapons modernization programs. He described it as the hollowing out of the defense force of the nation.
Noting that members of our military are fighting and sometimes dying to defend our nation, Panetta said, “Those of us in Washington need to have the same courage as they do to do the right thing and try to protect the security of this country. We must ensure we have the resources we need to defend the nation and meet our commitments to our troops, to our civilian employees, and to their families, after more than a decade of war.”
Courage and common sense are two elements that are missing in Washington these days.
Retired General Paul E. Vallely, U.S. Army, states the case bluntly. “President Obama is working very hard to destroy U.S. military superiority, consciously and unconsciously to the advantage (of) our global enemies in an attempt to seize control over national security and (in) another overt attempt to bypass Congress, the Obama administration may have already made this play as of this writing.”
Joined at the press conference by Army General Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dempsey described sequestration as “a self-inflicted wound on national security”, bluntly saying it was “an irresponsible way to manage our nation’s defense. It cuts blindly and it cuts bluntly. It compounds risk and it compromises readiness.”
Americans are largely unaware that our air fleet is the oldest in Air Force history, worn down by two-plus decades of combat dating back to the 1991 Gulf War. The average age of the fleet exceeds a quarter of a century. The U.S. Navy is a mere shadow of itself. Under normal operations one third of the fleet is in repair, one third is in port for the rest and relaxation of sailors, leaving approximately 90 ships to patrol the seven seas to protect American interests. There are about 800,000 civilians that provide support to our services and nearly 1.4 million in the active-duty military.
We have until March to know whether Congress will take action to repeal sequestration and replace it with the steps everyone with a lick of sense knows must be taken; reforming the nation’s tax code, reforming Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid to avoid their impending failure, reductions in the spending and borrowing that has imposed more than $16 trillion in debt, and reform of the spiraling avalanche of regulations that are choking the nation’s economic recovery.
How serious is it? Gen. Dempsey warned that operations, maintenance and training will be gutted. “We’ll ground aircraft, return ships to port, and sharply curtail training across the force. (We) may be forced to furlough civilians at the expense of maintenance and even health care. We will be unable to reset the force following a decade of war.”
“Within a year, we’ll be unprepared,” said Gen. Dempsey.
© Alan Caruba, 2013
Saturday, January 26, 2013
GUN CONTROL MEASURE FAILS TO PASS
This is how ALL city governments should be administered! Can you imagine this scenario occurring in any other country in the world? I can't - S.L.
Download Video
Kudo's to the disabled Afghan Vet, the Mayor, and the City Attorney - and thanks to Special Agent Gumby for sending this in -
STORMBRINGER
Download Video
Kudo's to the disabled Afghan Vet, the Mayor, and the City Attorney - and thanks to Special Agent Gumby for sending this in -
STORMBRINGER
SAW THIS COMING FOUR YEARS AGO . . .
Obama to Cut Healthcare Benefits for Active Duty and Retired US Military
Re-up don't look so good all of a sudden, does it?
Anybody in the US military who voted for the Dark Demon - and there are more than a few - is an idiot, especially if this story surprises them. - S.L.
TRASHING TRICARE
BY: Bill Gertz
February 27, 2012 3:36 pm
The Obama administration’s proposed defense budget calls for military families and retirees to pay sharply more for their healthcare, while leaving unionized civilian defense workers’ benefits untouched. The proposal is causing a major rift within the Pentagon, according to U.S. officials. Several congressional aides suggested the move is designed to increase the enrollment in Obamacare’s state-run insurance exchanges.
The disparity in treatment between civilian and uniformed personnel is causing a backlash within the military that could undermine recruitment and retention.
The proposed increases in health care payments by service members, which must be approved by Congress, are part of the Pentagon’s $487 billion cut in spending. It seeks to save $1.8 billion from the Tricare medical system in the fiscal 2013 budget, and $12.9 billion by 2017.
Many in Congress are opposing the proposed changes, which would require the passage of new legislation before being put in place.
“We shouldn’t ask our military to pay our bills when we aren’t willing to impose a similar hardship on the rest of the population,” Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and a Republican from California, said in a statement to the Washington Free Beacon. “We can’t keep asking those who have given so much to give that much more.”
Administration officials told Congress that one goal of the increased fees is to force military retirees to reduce their involvement in Tricare and eventually opt out of the program in favor of alternatives established by the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare.
I don't know what I like more; getting screwed by the government, or having the unionized civilian government workers kicking back watching while me & my buddies get screwed . . .
STORMBRINGER SENDS
Re-up don't look so good all of a sudden, does it?
Anybody in the US military who voted for the Dark Demon - and there are more than a few - is an idiot, especially if this story surprises them. - S.L.
TRASHING TRICARE
BY: Bill Gertz
February 27, 2012 3:36 pm
The Obama administration’s proposed defense budget calls for military families and retirees to pay sharply more for their healthcare, while leaving unionized civilian defense workers’ benefits untouched. The proposal is causing a major rift within the Pentagon, according to U.S. officials. Several congressional aides suggested the move is designed to increase the enrollment in Obamacare’s state-run insurance exchanges.
The disparity in treatment between civilian and uniformed personnel is causing a backlash within the military that could undermine recruitment and retention.
The proposed increases in health care payments by service members, which must be approved by Congress, are part of the Pentagon’s $487 billion cut in spending. It seeks to save $1.8 billion from the Tricare medical system in the fiscal 2013 budget, and $12.9 billion by 2017.
Many in Congress are opposing the proposed changes, which would require the passage of new legislation before being put in place.
“We shouldn’t ask our military to pay our bills when we aren’t willing to impose a similar hardship on the rest of the population,” Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and a Republican from California, said in a statement to the Washington Free Beacon. “We can’t keep asking those who have given so much to give that much more.”
Administration officials told Congress that one goal of the increased fees is to force military retirees to reduce their involvement in Tricare and eventually opt out of the program in favor of alternatives established by the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare.
I don't know what I like more; getting screwed by the government, or having the unionized civilian government workers kicking back watching while me & my buddies get screwed . . .
STORMBRINGER SENDS
Friday, January 25, 2013
HONOR
Five years ago today . . . this young man made the ultimate sacrifice for God, Country and his Teammates - S.L.
Staff Sgt. Robert J. Miller, U.S. Army, heroically distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous conduct in the face of the enemy of the U.S. while serving as the Weapons Sergeant, Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha 3312, Special Operations Task Force–33, Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force–Afghanistan, Forward Operating Base Naray, Kunar Province, Afghanistan, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
During the pre-dawn hours of Jan. 25, 2008, ODA 3312 conducted a combat reconnaissance patrol to Gowardesh, Afghanistan, to confirm or deny enemy activity and/or insurgents presence in the vicinity of Chen Khar in order to clear the valley of insurgent safe havens. This area was known to have several high- and medium-value targets massing and operating freely in the valley and three surrounding villages. The area of operations was also symbolically and strategically important because it was a Russian-era chokepoint, provided the enemy a tactical advantage due to its high ground and deep valley summits, and was a well-known insurgent stronghold.
Insurgents had prepared reinforced rocket-propelled grenade and small arms fighting positions with fortified overhead cover throughout the valley. They also amassed weapons caches comprised of RPGs, PKM medium machine guns, AK-47 assault rifles, ammunition, and food stores in the event of a protracted engagement.
The enemy’s confidence and morale was at a two-year high following a series of tactical successes against Afghan National Security Forces. The experience garnered from these battles, continued refinement of sophisticated tactics, techniques and procedures (including ambushes) and the expansion of insurgent forces in the region threatened the Coalition’s ability to operate freely in this key terrain. Insurgents were confident in their ability to win any battle against Coalition Forces on their own terrain.
As the combined ODA and ANA convoy neared its objective, ODA 3312 was forced to halt twice to dismount and explode insurgent-emplaced boulders along its route. Staff Sgt. Miller and other members of ODA 3312 recognized this tactict as a potential precursor to an insurgent ambush and immediately heightened security. Recognizing the historical enemy tactic used to canalize and ambush Coalition forces, the detachment dismounted an overwatch element.
Staff Sgt. Miller led the overwatch elements as the threat of imminent danger increased. The rocky, snow-packed terrain, freezing temperatures and a fierce wind chill further exacerbated the ODA’s movement to the objective. The ODA’s only Pashto speaker, Staff Sgt. Miller took charge of the dismounted element and assembled partnered ANA forces to ensure they could move under cover.
Once ODA 3312 arrived at the target compound, Staff Sgt. Miller led the ANA and established security around the ODA’s ground mobility vehicles. After security was established, the team confirmed through the employment of an unmanned aerial vehicle that 15 to 20 insurgents were congregating and occupying prepared fighting positions in the targeted compound.
Maintaining his situational awareness, Staff Sgt. Miller immediately jumped into his vehicle’s turret and engaged the enemy with its mounted MK19 40mm automatic grenade launcher.
From his vantage point in the turret of his vehicle, Staff Sgt. Miller expertly described the engagement area to the joint tactical air controller and identified insurgent positions by engaging them with his MK19.
As a result of his superior tactical skills, he positively marked the enemy while simultaneously describing the area to the JTAC. Without his expert marksmanship and accurate description of the area, the JTAC would not have been able to provide accurate grid locations for close air support.
As noted by the team’s JTAC, Staff Sgt. Miller’s involvement in the employment of CAS was largely responsible for the accuracy of four 30mm strafe runs and the emplacement of three precision-guided GBU38 munitions on the objective. As a result of his efforts, two A-10 Warthogs and two F-15 Strike Eagles dealt lethal effects onto numerous enemy positions and disrupted their ability to maneuver.
As Staff Sgt. Miller continued to neutralize numerous insurgent positions, his MK19 sustained a catastrophic malfunction, which eliminated it for the duration of the battle. Without hesitation, Staff Sgt. Miller quickly transitioned from the MK19 to an M240B machine gun mounted on the rear of his vehicle and continued to effectively engage the enemy.
Understanding the peril of the battle and the composition of his force, Staff Sgt. Miller moved from his firing position and began emplacing ANA soldiers in positions to provide overwatch, detect movement from the high ground, observe the rear of the patrol and provide security to the flank of the ground assault. His actions provided security for his team and enabled them to maintain their focus on enemy targets. Once ample security was established, Staff Sgt. Miller re-engaged the enemy.
During a lull in fire, Staff Sgt. Miller dismounted his GMV a second time to repair a malfunctioning Carl Gustav 84mm recoilless rifle.
Upon completion of the initial contact and CAS, the ODA commander directed a dismounted patrol to conduct battle damage assessment and a post-CAS strike assessment of the destroyed insurgent positions. Sensing the need to provide the ANA additional assistance, the ODA commander charged Staff Sgt. Miller with the responsibility to lead the partnered ANA force in an advisory role.
With the proficiency of an already-proven combat leader, Staff Sgt. Miller briefed the ANA platoon leadership on the scheme of maneuver onto the objective in their native Pashto language. Staff Sgt. Miller established rapport and instilled confidence in the ANA platoon leadership and its soldiers despite being partnered with the ANA platoon only 30 minutes prior to the mission.
Again, because of his tactical prowess, leadership and command of the Pashto language, Staff Sgt. Miller was selected as the point man for the dismounted patrol comprised of an Alpha and Bravo team from ODA 3312 and 15 ANA soldiers. He led the patrol with his M249 squad automatic weapon across the Gowardesh Bridge toward the target area.
During the movement, Staff Sgt. Miller continually reinforced proper patrolling techniques as well as repeatedly adjusted and corrected the ANA rate of speed. Realizing that the engagement area was located in the mouth of a small, extremely steep and narrow valley that created a natural choke point, Staff Sgt. Miller directed the ANA to disperse from a file into a modified wedge.
As Staff Sgt. Miller and the lead element of the patrol entered the mouth of the narrow valley, they confronted an insurgent hiding behind a large boulder. Refusing to surrender, the insurgent leaped from the boulder yelled, “Allah Akbar!” and began firing on the lead element from approximately five meters. Staff Sgt. Miller stepped forward to return fire and killed the insurgent instantly.
This contact initiated a near-ambush from a company-sized group of insurgents. The insurgent forces fired on Staff Sgt. Miller’s patrol with multiple PKM machine guns, RPGs, and AK-47 assault rifles from distances of less than 25 meters.
The patrol was completely vulnerable, in the kill zone and without cover in a complex ambush with insurgent fighting positions located to the front (East), the left (North), and the right (South).
It soon became evident that numerous insurgents occupied prepared, elevated and hardened fighting positions in the mountain rock with overhead cover along the North and South valley ridgeline. Insurgents on the valley floor to Staff Sgt. Miller’s direct front, left, and right were fighting in defilade and possessed ample cover and concealment necessary for the employment of overwhelming fires on the totally exposed patrol.
As enemy fire erupted from the high ground, Staff Sgt. Miller called out the contact report to his team members and his detachment commander located behind him. He simultaneously engaged multiple insurgent positions from a distance of approximately 15 to 20 meters.
In the face of devastating insurgent fire, the ANA located directly behind Staff Sgt. Miller broke formation and bound away downhill and out of the kill zone, leaving Staff Sgt. Miller alone and with no support in the open terrain.
To the front of Staff Sgt. Miller’s position one PKM machine gun and five AK47s were inflicting devastating hostile fire on the retreating ANA members and the remaining ODA patrol. Understanding the potential for catastrophe, Staff Sgt. Miller boldly charged the enemy and accurately engaged the entire force with his squad automatic weapon, thus eliminating the threat.
With heavy fire from insurgent forces from all sides of his position engulfing him, Staff Sgt. Miller continued to engage at least four other insurgent positions, killing or wounding at least 10 insurgents.
The darkness of the night and limited visibility made Staff Sgt. Miller’s weapon, also the most casualty producing, the greatest threat to the insurgent ambush. The highlighted muzzle flash and the distinct sound from his SAW instantly marked Staff Sgt. Miller as an easily identifiable target.
Cognizant that his vulnerability increased with every burst from his SAW, Staff Sgt. Miller continued to engage the enemy courageously drawing fire away from his team and onto his position. Within seconds, Staff Sgt. Miller began receiving a majority of the insurgents’ heavy volume of fire.
Realizing that his team was pinned down and unable to actively engage the enemy, Staff Sgt. Miller, with complete disregard for his own personal safety, continued to charge forward through the open area engaging multiple elevated insurgent positions and purposely drawing fire away from his trapped ODA members.
Staff Sgt. Miller’s cover fire was so accurate that it not only provided the necessary cover to save his team, it also suppressed the enemy to the right flank of the patrol, to the point where they could not reposition from that direction against the ODA for the duration of the engagement.
His actions single-handedly provided the needed cover fire that allowed his fellow ODA members to maneuver to covered positions as the ANA broke formation and ran away from the kill zone.
During his final charge forward, Staff Sgt. Miller threw two hand grenades into fighting positions, destroying the positions and killing or wounding an additional four insurgents. Only when Staff Sgt. Miller realized his fellow team members were out of immediate danger, and in positions to support him, did he attempt to move for cover.
As he directed his fire to engage enemy positions above him, an insurgent shot him through the right side of his upper torso under his right arm; the area not protected by his body armor. Staff Sgt. Miller immediately turned toward the enemy and shot and killed the insurgent who had wounded him. During this time, Staff Sgt. Miller’s detachment commander also sustained gunshot wounds to his upper chest and shoulder.
The perilous situation forced the detachment commander to order the ODA to fall back to cover. Staff Sgt. Miller realized his commander was seriously wounded and that, as the point man with ODA’s only SAW, he had the highest potential to inflict the most casualties on the enemy. Again, with complete disregard for his own personal safety, Staff Sgt. Miller remained alone at the front of the patrol, so his team could bound back.
Ignoring the severity of his critical wound and still completely exposed to intense, direct enemy fire, Staff Sgt. Miller continued to low crawl through the snow, incessantly fighting uphill into the valley to engage insurgent positions to the East and South in order to draw fire away from his wounded commander and identify insurgent positions to his fellow ODA members.
Without his heroic efforts, his wounded commander would not have been moved safely out of the kill zone to the casualty collection point.
Throughout the engagement, the insurgent fire around Staff Sgt. Miller was so intense that his fellow team members could not see him due to the dust, debris, and RPG and small arms fire impacting around him. During the ensuing 25-minute battle, Staff Sgt. Miller was mortally wounded by a second gunshot to his upper torso under his left arm. Despite suffering a second and fatal wound, Staff Sgt. Miller remained steadfast and continued his selfless acts of heroism. He provided essential disposition and location reports of insurgent actions and he relentlessly fired his SAW until he expended all of his ammunition and threw his final hand grenade.
At the first opportunity, members of Staff Sgt. Miller’s team bound up to his position to render aid and recover him. Enemy reinforcements overwhelmed the recovery team with direct fire causing the team to seek cover. During the recovery attempt, the enemy’s precision was clearly evident as team members sustained multiple hits from small arms fire to their body armor and equipment.
Approximately an hour and 45 minutes later, a quick reaction force arrived, which allowed the ODA to lead a patrol back into the valley to recover Staff Sgt. Miller. As a testament of the enemy’s tenacity, the quick reaction force sent to assist with recovery operations sustained additional casualties from intense direct RPG and small arms fire. Because of the enemy’s dominance of the terrain and potential for loss of additional lives, the patrol was forced to use its second CCP and two MEDVACs.
The entire battle lasted nearly seven hours.
Post-battle intelligence reports indicate that in excess of 140 insurgents participated in the ambush, more than 40 were killed and over 60 were wounded. Staff Sgt. Miller is credited with killing more than 16 and wounding over 30 insurgents. His valor under fire from a numerically superior force, complete selflessness and disregard for his own life, combined with his unmatched ability to accurately identify and engage insurgent positions, allowed his patrol to move to the safety of covered positions.
Staff Sgt. Miller chose to remain in the fight and provide vital suppressive fires to his teammates in order to save their lives, while disregarding his own mortality.
Staff Sgt. Miller’s selfless acts saved the lives of seven of his ODA members and 15 Afghan soldiers. As a result of Staff Sgt. Miller’s heroic actions, the Gowardesh Insurgency was dealt a crippling blow, decimating insurgent forces involved in the battle, and shattering their morale and confidence. Staff Sgt. Miller’s actions exemplify the honored tradition of military heroism and reflect distinct credit upon himself, Special Operations Task Force–33, the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force–Afghanistan, Special Operations Command Central, and the U.S. Army.
Official Citation
Staff Sgt. Robert J. Miller, U.S. Army, heroically distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous conduct in the face of the enemy of the U.S. while serving as the Weapons Sergeant, Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha 3312, Special Operations Task Force–33, Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force–Afghanistan, Forward Operating Base Naray, Kunar Province, Afghanistan, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
During the pre-dawn hours of Jan. 25, 2008, ODA 3312 conducted a combat reconnaissance patrol to Gowardesh, Afghanistan, to confirm or deny enemy activity and/or insurgents presence in the vicinity of Chen Khar in order to clear the valley of insurgent safe havens. This area was known to have several high- and medium-value targets massing and operating freely in the valley and three surrounding villages. The area of operations was also symbolically and strategically important because it was a Russian-era chokepoint, provided the enemy a tactical advantage due to its high ground and deep valley summits, and was a well-known insurgent stronghold.
Insurgents had prepared reinforced rocket-propelled grenade and small arms fighting positions with fortified overhead cover throughout the valley. They also amassed weapons caches comprised of RPGs, PKM medium machine guns, AK-47 assault rifles, ammunition, and food stores in the event of a protracted engagement.
The enemy’s confidence and morale was at a two-year high following a series of tactical successes against Afghan National Security Forces. The experience garnered from these battles, continued refinement of sophisticated tactics, techniques and procedures (including ambushes) and the expansion of insurgent forces in the region threatened the Coalition’s ability to operate freely in this key terrain. Insurgents were confident in their ability to win any battle against Coalition Forces on their own terrain.
As the combined ODA and ANA convoy neared its objective, ODA 3312 was forced to halt twice to dismount and explode insurgent-emplaced boulders along its route. Staff Sgt. Miller and other members of ODA 3312 recognized this tactict as a potential precursor to an insurgent ambush and immediately heightened security. Recognizing the historical enemy tactic used to canalize and ambush Coalition forces, the detachment dismounted an overwatch element.
Staff Sgt. Miller led the overwatch elements as the threat of imminent danger increased. The rocky, snow-packed terrain, freezing temperatures and a fierce wind chill further exacerbated the ODA’s movement to the objective. The ODA’s only Pashto speaker, Staff Sgt. Miller took charge of the dismounted element and assembled partnered ANA forces to ensure they could move under cover.
Once ODA 3312 arrived at the target compound, Staff Sgt. Miller led the ANA and established security around the ODA’s ground mobility vehicles. After security was established, the team confirmed through the employment of an unmanned aerial vehicle that 15 to 20 insurgents were congregating and occupying prepared fighting positions in the targeted compound.
Maintaining his situational awareness, Staff Sgt. Miller immediately jumped into his vehicle’s turret and engaged the enemy with its mounted MK19 40mm automatic grenade launcher.
From his vantage point in the turret of his vehicle, Staff Sgt. Miller expertly described the engagement area to the joint tactical air controller and identified insurgent positions by engaging them with his MK19.
As a result of his superior tactical skills, he positively marked the enemy while simultaneously describing the area to the JTAC. Without his expert marksmanship and accurate description of the area, the JTAC would not have been able to provide accurate grid locations for close air support.
As noted by the team’s JTAC, Staff Sgt. Miller’s involvement in the employment of CAS was largely responsible for the accuracy of four 30mm strafe runs and the emplacement of three precision-guided GBU38 munitions on the objective. As a result of his efforts, two A-10 Warthogs and two F-15 Strike Eagles dealt lethal effects onto numerous enemy positions and disrupted their ability to maneuver.
As Staff Sgt. Miller continued to neutralize numerous insurgent positions, his MK19 sustained a catastrophic malfunction, which eliminated it for the duration of the battle. Without hesitation, Staff Sgt. Miller quickly transitioned from the MK19 to an M240B machine gun mounted on the rear of his vehicle and continued to effectively engage the enemy.
Understanding the peril of the battle and the composition of his force, Staff Sgt. Miller moved from his firing position and began emplacing ANA soldiers in positions to provide overwatch, detect movement from the high ground, observe the rear of the patrol and provide security to the flank of the ground assault. His actions provided security for his team and enabled them to maintain their focus on enemy targets. Once ample security was established, Staff Sgt. Miller re-engaged the enemy.
During a lull in fire, Staff Sgt. Miller dismounted his GMV a second time to repair a malfunctioning Carl Gustav 84mm recoilless rifle.
Upon completion of the initial contact and CAS, the ODA commander directed a dismounted patrol to conduct battle damage assessment and a post-CAS strike assessment of the destroyed insurgent positions. Sensing the need to provide the ANA additional assistance, the ODA commander charged Staff Sgt. Miller with the responsibility to lead the partnered ANA force in an advisory role.
With the proficiency of an already-proven combat leader, Staff Sgt. Miller briefed the ANA platoon leadership on the scheme of maneuver onto the objective in their native Pashto language. Staff Sgt. Miller established rapport and instilled confidence in the ANA platoon leadership and its soldiers despite being partnered with the ANA platoon only 30 minutes prior to the mission.
Again, because of his tactical prowess, leadership and command of the Pashto language, Staff Sgt. Miller was selected as the point man for the dismounted patrol comprised of an Alpha and Bravo team from ODA 3312 and 15 ANA soldiers. He led the patrol with his M249 squad automatic weapon across the Gowardesh Bridge toward the target area.
During the movement, Staff Sgt. Miller continually reinforced proper patrolling techniques as well as repeatedly adjusted and corrected the ANA rate of speed. Realizing that the engagement area was located in the mouth of a small, extremely steep and narrow valley that created a natural choke point, Staff Sgt. Miller directed the ANA to disperse from a file into a modified wedge.
As Staff Sgt. Miller and the lead element of the patrol entered the mouth of the narrow valley, they confronted an insurgent hiding behind a large boulder. Refusing to surrender, the insurgent leaped from the boulder yelled, “Allah Akbar!” and began firing on the lead element from approximately five meters. Staff Sgt. Miller stepped forward to return fire and killed the insurgent instantly.
This contact initiated a near-ambush from a company-sized group of insurgents. The insurgent forces fired on Staff Sgt. Miller’s patrol with multiple PKM machine guns, RPGs, and AK-47 assault rifles from distances of less than 25 meters.
The patrol was completely vulnerable, in the kill zone and without cover in a complex ambush with insurgent fighting positions located to the front (East), the left (North), and the right (South).
It soon became evident that numerous insurgents occupied prepared, elevated and hardened fighting positions in the mountain rock with overhead cover along the North and South valley ridgeline. Insurgents on the valley floor to Staff Sgt. Miller’s direct front, left, and right were fighting in defilade and possessed ample cover and concealment necessary for the employment of overwhelming fires on the totally exposed patrol.
As enemy fire erupted from the high ground, Staff Sgt. Miller called out the contact report to his team members and his detachment commander located behind him. He simultaneously engaged multiple insurgent positions from a distance of approximately 15 to 20 meters.
In the face of devastating insurgent fire, the ANA located directly behind Staff Sgt. Miller broke formation and bound away downhill and out of the kill zone, leaving Staff Sgt. Miller alone and with no support in the open terrain.
To the front of Staff Sgt. Miller’s position one PKM machine gun and five AK47s were inflicting devastating hostile fire on the retreating ANA members and the remaining ODA patrol. Understanding the potential for catastrophe, Staff Sgt. Miller boldly charged the enemy and accurately engaged the entire force with his squad automatic weapon, thus eliminating the threat.
With heavy fire from insurgent forces from all sides of his position engulfing him, Staff Sgt. Miller continued to engage at least four other insurgent positions, killing or wounding at least 10 insurgents.
The darkness of the night and limited visibility made Staff Sgt. Miller’s weapon, also the most casualty producing, the greatest threat to the insurgent ambush. The highlighted muzzle flash and the distinct sound from his SAW instantly marked Staff Sgt. Miller as an easily identifiable target.
Cognizant that his vulnerability increased with every burst from his SAW, Staff Sgt. Miller continued to engage the enemy courageously drawing fire away from his team and onto his position. Within seconds, Staff Sgt. Miller began receiving a majority of the insurgents’ heavy volume of fire.
Realizing that his team was pinned down and unable to actively engage the enemy, Staff Sgt. Miller, with complete disregard for his own personal safety, continued to charge forward through the open area engaging multiple elevated insurgent positions and purposely drawing fire away from his trapped ODA members.
Staff Sgt. Miller’s cover fire was so accurate that it not only provided the necessary cover to save his team, it also suppressed the enemy to the right flank of the patrol, to the point where they could not reposition from that direction against the ODA for the duration of the engagement.
His actions single-handedly provided the needed cover fire that allowed his fellow ODA members to maneuver to covered positions as the ANA broke formation and ran away from the kill zone.
During his final charge forward, Staff Sgt. Miller threw two hand grenades into fighting positions, destroying the positions and killing or wounding an additional four insurgents. Only when Staff Sgt. Miller realized his fellow team members were out of immediate danger, and in positions to support him, did he attempt to move for cover.
As he directed his fire to engage enemy positions above him, an insurgent shot him through the right side of his upper torso under his right arm; the area not protected by his body armor. Staff Sgt. Miller immediately turned toward the enemy and shot and killed the insurgent who had wounded him. During this time, Staff Sgt. Miller’s detachment commander also sustained gunshot wounds to his upper chest and shoulder.
The perilous situation forced the detachment commander to order the ODA to fall back to cover. Staff Sgt. Miller realized his commander was seriously wounded and that, as the point man with ODA’s only SAW, he had the highest potential to inflict the most casualties on the enemy. Again, with complete disregard for his own personal safety, Staff Sgt. Miller remained alone at the front of the patrol, so his team could bound back.
Ignoring the severity of his critical wound and still completely exposed to intense, direct enemy fire, Staff Sgt. Miller continued to low crawl through the snow, incessantly fighting uphill into the valley to engage insurgent positions to the East and South in order to draw fire away from his wounded commander and identify insurgent positions to his fellow ODA members.
Without his heroic efforts, his wounded commander would not have been moved safely out of the kill zone to the casualty collection point.
Throughout the engagement, the insurgent fire around Staff Sgt. Miller was so intense that his fellow team members could not see him due to the dust, debris, and RPG and small arms fire impacting around him. During the ensuing 25-minute battle, Staff Sgt. Miller was mortally wounded by a second gunshot to his upper torso under his left arm. Despite suffering a second and fatal wound, Staff Sgt. Miller remained steadfast and continued his selfless acts of heroism. He provided essential disposition and location reports of insurgent actions and he relentlessly fired his SAW until he expended all of his ammunition and threw his final hand grenade.
At the first opportunity, members of Staff Sgt. Miller’s team bound up to his position to render aid and recover him. Enemy reinforcements overwhelmed the recovery team with direct fire causing the team to seek cover. During the recovery attempt, the enemy’s precision was clearly evident as team members sustained multiple hits from small arms fire to their body armor and equipment.
Approximately an hour and 45 minutes later, a quick reaction force arrived, which allowed the ODA to lead a patrol back into the valley to recover Staff Sgt. Miller. As a testament of the enemy’s tenacity, the quick reaction force sent to assist with recovery operations sustained additional casualties from intense direct RPG and small arms fire. Because of the enemy’s dominance of the terrain and potential for loss of additional lives, the patrol was forced to use its second CCP and two MEDVACs.
The entire battle lasted nearly seven hours.
Post-battle intelligence reports indicate that in excess of 140 insurgents participated in the ambush, more than 40 were killed and over 60 were wounded. Staff Sgt. Miller is credited with killing more than 16 and wounding over 30 insurgents. His valor under fire from a numerically superior force, complete selflessness and disregard for his own life, combined with his unmatched ability to accurately identify and engage insurgent positions, allowed his patrol to move to the safety of covered positions.
Staff Sgt. Miller chose to remain in the fight and provide vital suppressive fires to his teammates in order to save their lives, while disregarding his own mortality.
Staff Sgt. Miller’s selfless acts saved the lives of seven of his ODA members and 15 Afghan soldiers. As a result of Staff Sgt. Miller’s heroic actions, the Gowardesh Insurgency was dealt a crippling blow, decimating insurgent forces involved in the battle, and shattering their morale and confidence. Staff Sgt. Miller’s actions exemplify the honored tradition of military heroism and reflect distinct credit upon himself, Special Operations Task Force–33, the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force–Afghanistan, Special Operations Command Central, and the U.S. Army.
Now THIS is INTERESTING . . .
"What difference at this point does it make?"
The day before Sec Clinton's Benghazi testimony an anonymous source paid off nearly $11 million dollars of Hillary's 2008 Campaign debt.
It seems last year, "The campaign raised only $108 in the last quarter of 2012 . . . an all time record low."
Things that make you go "Hmmmm . . ."
STORMBRINGER SENDS
The day before Sec Clinton's Benghazi testimony an anonymous source paid off nearly $11 million dollars of Hillary's 2008 Campaign debt.
It seems last year, "The campaign raised only $108 in the last quarter of 2012 . . . an all time record low."
Things that make you go "Hmmmm . . ."
STORMBRINGER SENDS
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
ALGERIAN HOSTAGE MASSACRE
I'm on the road, catching a minute here in the airport to update SB.
Bottom Line Up Front:
What we are witnessing in Algeria is the direct result of the Obama / Hillary cabal's failed policies in Libya - the Arab Spring in general and Benghazi in particular. The terrorists' weaponry & funds came directly from Tuareg mercenaries returning home to Timboktu from Libya following the fall of their patron Ghaddafi; and their chutzpah to conduct such an operation was energized by Washington's quibbling and failure to follow the lethal attack on our consulate Benghazi.
What follows is from blogmeister Theo Spark Comments on the Comerade-in-chief are fellow contributor Donald Douglas who hosts the worthy blogsite American Power - S.L.
I've been busy with continuing updates on the hostage crisis in Algeria. While the president parties, Americans are dying, and he's not even made a speech to the nation. He could have done that over the weekend and still had plenty of time to suck Michelle's toes, or whatever the hell it is that collectivist presidential freaks do.
Anyway, here's some of the updates. There's lots of developments.
See, "Terror Threat Prompts U.S. Rethink on Africa."
Also, "Algeria Terrorists Had Help From Inside," and "Charred Bodies: Horrific Images From Algerian Hostage Massacre Emerge."
More, "Algeria Hostage Massacre: First British Victim Named as Paul Thomas Morgan."
More here, "War Against al-Qaeda in Africa Could Take Decades."
Plus, "Jihadists' Surge in North Africa Reveals Grim Side of Arab Spring."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Like I said I'm on the road haven't had time to properly analyze the events over in the North African Mahgreb other than to say this has aspects of Pearl Harbor to it - I'll explain:
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was the direct result of the US and British coal, oil and steel embargo on Japan. In hindsight, what followed made perfect sense. Likewise the events we are witnessing in Algeria; the West proclaims war on the Fundamentalist Islamic presence in Northern Mali, and so Al Qaeda In the Mahgreb (AQIM) made their move. The tactic of course is terror - pure, unadulterated violence, extremely horrific and cruel - on defenseless civilians, but the objective is purely strategic.
I know this area, spent six months right there in '04; before 9/11 I spent a year in the Mahgreb and for most of that time I was the only US serviceman in country. Resources are scarce in this harsh environment. Military operations in this vast area are mobilized guerrilla warfare - Toyota HiLux "technicals" - long range operations onto pinpoint targets, with no attempt to hold terrain or individual objectives.
Life in the Sahara is harsh - those people are already living at the survival level. They have little opportunity to look forward to in this life and not much to lose; subsequently they make perfect guerrillas. They are emboldened by our lack of response, and we can expect more events like this one, and Benghazi, in the months and years to come.
My heart goes out to the hostages - especially the poor souls who perished - and to their families.
STORMBRINGER SENDS
Bottom Line Up Front:
What we are witnessing in Algeria is the direct result of the Obama / Hillary cabal's failed policies in Libya - the Arab Spring in general and Benghazi in particular. The terrorists' weaponry & funds came directly from Tuareg mercenaries returning home to Timboktu from Libya following the fall of their patron Ghaddafi; and their chutzpah to conduct such an operation was energized by Washington's quibbling and failure to follow the lethal attack on our consulate Benghazi.
What follows is from blogmeister Theo Spark Comments on the Comerade-in-chief are fellow contributor Donald Douglas who hosts the worthy blogsite American Power - S.L.
I've been busy with continuing updates on the hostage crisis in Algeria. While the president parties, Americans are dying, and he's not even made a speech to the nation. He could have done that over the weekend and still had plenty of time to suck Michelle's toes, or whatever the hell it is that collectivist presidential freaks do.
Anyway, here's some of the updates. There's lots of developments.
See, "Terror Threat Prompts U.S. Rethink on Africa."
Also, "Algeria Terrorists Had Help From Inside," and "Charred Bodies: Horrific Images From Algerian Hostage Massacre Emerge."
More, "Algeria Hostage Massacre: First British Victim Named as Paul Thomas Morgan."
More here, "War Against al-Qaeda in Africa Could Take Decades."
Plus, "Jihadists' Surge in North Africa Reveals Grim Side of Arab Spring."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Like I said I'm on the road haven't had time to properly analyze the events over in the North African Mahgreb other than to say this has aspects of Pearl Harbor to it - I'll explain:
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was the direct result of the US and British coal, oil and steel embargo on Japan. In hindsight, what followed made perfect sense. Likewise the events we are witnessing in Algeria; the West proclaims war on the Fundamentalist Islamic presence in Northern Mali, and so Al Qaeda In the Mahgreb (AQIM) made their move. The tactic of course is terror - pure, unadulterated violence, extremely horrific and cruel - on defenseless civilians, but the objective is purely strategic.
I know this area, spent six months right there in '04; before 9/11 I spent a year in the Mahgreb and for most of that time I was the only US serviceman in country. Resources are scarce in this harsh environment. Military operations in this vast area are mobilized guerrilla warfare - Toyota HiLux "technicals" - long range operations onto pinpoint targets, with no attempt to hold terrain or individual objectives.
Life in the Sahara is harsh - those people are already living at the survival level. They have little opportunity to look forward to in this life and not much to lose; subsequently they make perfect guerrillas. They are emboldened by our lack of response, and we can expect more events like this one, and Benghazi, in the months and years to come.
My heart goes out to the hostages - especially the poor souls who perished - and to their families.
STORMBRINGER SENDS
Monday, January 21, 2013
OBSESSION - Radical Islam's War Against the West
"Every single country in the world is dealing with this on one level or another."
In 2003 I attended a lecture where an Agency analyst explained that the term 'Global War On Terror' was a misnomer. We are not at war against Terror, he explained; terror is a tactic. What we are engaged in at this time is a worldwide war against Fundamentalist Islam.
I was raised to respect all religions, but I recognize mass criminal insanity when I see it. Radical extremist nutjobs have hijacked what was once one of the world's great religions and have transformed it into an intolerant Religion of Terrorism; suicide bombings, mass murder, and enslavement of women.
The people depicted in this film calling for the defeat of the West are the Terrorist Enemy. We either engage them over in the sand countries, or they will emerge and prevail over here - as they have in Europe - and then it will be too late.
STORMBRINGER SENDS
In 2003 I attended a lecture where an Agency analyst explained that the term 'Global War On Terror' was a misnomer. We are not at war against Terror, he explained; terror is a tactic. What we are engaged in at this time is a worldwide war against Fundamentalist Islam.
I was raised to respect all religions, but I recognize mass criminal insanity when I see it. Radical extremist nutjobs have hijacked what was once one of the world's great religions and have transformed it into an intolerant Religion of Terrorism; suicide bombings, mass murder, and enslavement of women.
The people depicted in this film calling for the defeat of the West are the Terrorist Enemy. We either engage them over in the sand countries, or they will emerge and prevail over here - as they have in Europe - and then it will be too late.
STORMBRINGER SENDS
Sunday, January 20, 2013
WORLDS GREATEST GUN SALESMAN
Overseas readers cannot begin to appreciate what has been happening in this country over the past month; guns have been practically flying off the racks in gun shops. Firearms companies have hundreds of thousands of back orders, and many dealers have nothing left to sell.
There is a run on guns & ammo buying in this country, the likes of which have never been seen before. Let us give credit where credit is due, to the greatest weapons salesman of all time: Barack Hussein Obama.
BEST . . . FILM . . . EVER . . .
They finally get it right . . . now all they have to do is go out and make the movie . . . S.L.
Friday, January 18, 2013
WHY THE CITIZENRY REQUIRES HIGH-CAPACITY MAGAZINES
"The beauty of the second amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it." -Thomas Jefferson
In his speech Wednesday Obama proposed 23 executive orders concerning gun control measures. Reaction has focused mostly on a proposed ban on so-called "assault weapons" & high-capacity magazines. Other proposals include enhancing the Federal government's access to background checks - personal information on private citizens that is currently not available to the Federal government, short of a search warrant or an indictment.
These measures are extreme enough as it is, but more sinister are measures written into ObamaCare; i.e. the safety of the public requires that doctors question patients about gun ownership. Information being sought includes what kind of weapons are present in the home, how are the stored and/or secured, and do any members of the household suffer a mental condition?
A mental condition can be anything from schizophrenia, Alzheimer's, to alcohol abuse (ever had a DUI?), anger management (ever had a domestic abuse call from the cops?) to PTSD manifested by as mild a thing as sleep disorder (who DOESN'T have THAT).
If it is determined that a member of the household suffers a mental condition, the new bureaucracy of shared patient information will inform the Center for Disease Control of this move. A letter will then be sent to your attention from the CDC, the ATF or the DOJ demanding your home immediately be cleared of the weapons known to exist there thanks to an ObamaCare initiated, doctor-patient interview in which you participated!
Rather than decide which guns we’ll not be permitted to own, the government will simply not allow us to own ANY!
Advice:
If your healthcare provider asks anything regarding firearms in your home, simply reply, "I don't wish to discuss this subject." Or you can outright lie, if you like. You're not under oath or indictment; you are not required to say anything.
Regarding so-called "assault weapons" (I say so-called because none of the arms Liberals refer to qualify according to the pure military definition) and high capacity magazines; Obama's proposals will not affect me - I pack a .45 (7-round magazine) and my weapon of choice for home defense - or the car - is 12-guage pump shotgun; legal in all 50 states incredibly enough and more lethal than a semi-automatic rifle, at close range.
As usual Obama doesn't know what he's talking about. This thing is going to backfire in his face so bad. The Dems know that gun bans are a non-starter; they're using this thing to paint Republicans as intransigent for the upcoming spending/budget battles.
In other words if banning guns was so important why didn't the Democrats do it when they controlled Congress? The answer is because they know it would have cost them the election, just like the Clinton assault rifle ban cost them the House in '94.
Liberals focus on what they call "assault rifles" - civilianized versions of military weapons which are simply semi-automatic rifles with high-capacity magazines - because they look evil. The challenge is that the 2d Amendment allows us to arm ourselves in self-defense - a fundamental human right - and the type of weapons addressed are specifically weapons suitable for a battlefield.
Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples' liberty's teeth." -George Washington
Consider the 1992 Rodney King race riots in L.A. The only shops that survived the savage onslaught were Korean-owned businesses. The reason why the Koreans survived is because they are very organized; every Korean community has a Korean Association. Almost every Korean businessman has served in the ROK military, and as any American who has pulled duty in the Republic of Korea will tell you, ROK soldiers are the toughest on Earth and THEY DO NOT F*CK AROUND.
The Korean merchants of East L.A. armed themselves with their legally-acquired AR-15s, Mini-14s and Remington 870s, and manned their grocery stores and laundromats. When the looters came to Korea Town, they were met by volleys of rifle and shotgun fire.
I toured the riot-hit neighborhoods of East L.A. and downtown Hollywood not long after the riots and saw for myself the damage the inhabitants had brought upon themselves. What stood out was the Korean businesses. There were some broken windows and some incidental fire damage from adjacent structures, but it was remarkable to see these islands of civilization amongst the rubble and the burnt out storefronts.
Moral of the story: arm yourself with as many guns as you can get your hands on and keep them as close to yourself as possible. The right to self-defense is derived from Deity, it is natural law, codified in our Constitution, passed by Congress, ratified by the States and authenticated by Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State:
"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."
STORMBRINGER SENDS
Thursday, January 17, 2013
WE'LL ALWAYS HAVE PARIS
I always wanted to write adventure novels, spin yarns like the great heroic writers; Alistair MacLean, Frederick Forsythe, Ian Fleming. MacLean's Where Eagles Dare is total, 100% gutsy he-man adventure. Other influences are Conrad for his dark introspective side, Hemingway of course for style, and Somerset Maugham captures irony so well. I imagine my favorite time era of history is the late 30s-40s-early 50s (not counting the Seventies of course; what little I can remember of it). My single all-time favorite film is Casablanca, hands down.
Given all of the above, it occurred to me; whatever happened to Rick (Humphrey Bogart) after the end of Casablanca? After he kills Major Strasser and they get Igrid Bergman and Paul Henreid onto that plane, Claude Rains tells him there's a Free French garrison down in Brazzaville maybe he could arrange safe-passage...
Disclaimer: What follows is a fan fiction story for fun alone, a thought experiment to get the creative juices flowing and nothing more. No copy write infringement is meant toward Time Warner for the use of characters from the 1942 classic ‘Casablanca’.
Légion Etrangère
So I'm thinking...the story picks where Rick is in the French Foreign Legion, involved in the campaign up in North Africa against Rommel's Afrika Corps, alongside British and American forces.
Life really sucks for Rick right now; it's the Legion for one thing, and if that isn't bad enough he's dodging German bullets and artillery rounds on a daily basis.
Rick's put in his time in the ranks, and he gets a lot of respect because he's older and its obvious he's been around the block. He's obviously a take charge kind of guy so he makes Caporal-chef, which is a pretty big deal in the Legion.
Rick's outfit has been on the line for 90 days, it's time to cut loose for some R&R in Algiers. The cafes are full of soldiers from half a dozen nations drinking and womanizing. Rick's men are having fun chasing all those hot French-Arab beauties; purple silk held tight against khaki on the dance floors and in the pleasure pavilions. Rick himself is angst-ridden; Algiers reminds him of Casablanca and the glamorous life he left behind.
The cafes are full of intrigue, of course. Rick is approached by a mysterious American, who leads him to none other than the mythical General "Wild Bill" Donovan of the OSS - the World War II predecessor of the CIA. He's recruiting French-speaking Americans to work with the Maquis - the French Underground - in German-occupied France. Rick points out that right now he belongs to the Legion (not that he's happy about it); to come over to to General Donovan's team, well, it's going to take something substantial to make it worth his while.
Wild Bill is ready for this, of course. He tells Rick he's authorized to offer $500 in gold coins as a signing incentive. "Double that, and you got a deal," growls Rick. The OSS is willing to hire mercenaries; it takes all kinds to build an unconventional force, to fight guerrilla warfare. Rick sees this as his opportunity to rebuild the fortune he left behind in Casablanca and so he goes with it.
Deserting from the Legion just adds to Rick's desperado mystique. He already was a Man Without A Country before he signed up with the Legion. By deserting the Legion, now he's a double exile outcast pariah.
Occupied France
Rick parachutes in from the bomb bay of an R.A.A.F. Wellington bomber. He's a part of Captain Aaron Bank's Jedburgh detachment and they go through all kinds of adventures with the Maquisards.
Jedburghs in front of their aircraft in England just before a night insertion into occupied France, 1942.
There's all kinds of challenges with the guerrillas; personality issues with the leadership, all kinds of moral dilemmas as the Maquis go about wreaking havoc and seeking revenge on the Germans.
Rick encounters Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) of course, who now has a young child. Her husband Lazlo (Paul Henreid) is in trouble, as usual; he's been rolled up by the Nazis ... again... and its looking bad.
The Gestapo are due to show up at the German headquarters where Lazlo is being held, and they're going to put the thumbscrews on him hard before the Nazis eventually kill him. The whole Resistance movement will be set back two years. Ilsa implores Rick; something has to be done to rescue Lazlo.
The Maquisards don't want to have anything to do with it; they fear reprisals. Blowing up bridges and railroad tracks and sabotaging trucks is one thing, but the German policy is for every one German killed, they line up ten French civilians and shoot them right there in the middle of town.
So everybody looks to Rick to save Lazlo ... again ...
Rick's motto is "I don't stick my neck out for nobody" but when he looks at Ilsa's child in the eyes we suddenly learn exactly what happened that last night in Casablanca when Ilsa came to Rick at his place, for the Letters of Passage. Rick realizes he HAS to do something because ... Lazlo is raising his child. Rick is a double desperado; a man without a country AND a deserter from the Legion - he would have nothing to offer the kid if Lazlo buys it.
There's a council of war amongst the OSS operators; how exactly are they going to bust Lazlo out? Rick listens to everybody's plan, then he speaks up. "You wanna get a guy out of Waffen-SS headquarters right in the middle of downtown Lozère? There's only one way to do it. Forget all this exotic commando raid stuff; we're just gonna have to drive right on up there to the front door like we own the place and clean out the joint."
They have to listen to him because they begged him to come along and be a part of the OSS and anyway everybody else's plan is lame. Rick's idea is just so crazy it might actually work. Rick takes measures to make sure the Maquisards and the French people are not held accountable for the mayhem he is about to unleash: Rick has two United States flags painted on the two front doors of their Citroen sedan. As an added bonus the American flags will give them a psychological edge; make the Jerrys do a double take and possibly buy a few precious seconds.
So they roll up to SS headquarters. Sure enough the two guards out front are so busy staring all goggle-eyed at this weird car with the two American flags painted on the side, they don't even bring their weapons up. Rick and his four-man assault team bust out of the Citroen and unload their Thompson submachineguns into anything wearing a gray uniform. They run throughout the building, clear the place out and spring Lazlo.
Rick takes a special measure to ensure the Maquis are not held accountable for this mass-slaying of German soldiers. He lets two of the Germans live so they can tell the story; one will confirm the other's story. He also takes a group photo of his team in front of the Citroen, American flags and all, right in front of Waffen-SS HQ - this is to backstop the story the survivors are going to tell.
For an added touch Rick leaves a note he prepared the night before featuring a small American flag and the words:
Das Dicke Ende Kommt Noch
"The worst is yet to come" - pinned to the tunic of the highest ranking dead German he could find in the place. They roll out of there, and Lazlo is once more in debt to Rick for his life.
The D-Day invasion happens and the liberation of Paris and that's a poignant moment for Rick because of his past association with that city and his romance with Ilsa. But he has to scoot out of town fast because he doesn't want to end up having to answer questions with the French authorities over his short tour with the Legion. Rick ends up cooling his heels in London, and that's the end of the first part of this concept.
The second concept begins with Wild Bill Donovan offering Rick an opportunity to go to the China-Burma-India theatre as an operator on Detachment-101.
On China Station
Rick ends up in China right at the end of WWII, at the height of the struggles between Chiang Kai-shek's Koumintang and the Red Chinese. This is the "Terry & the Pirates" era of the American experience in China. Think Dragon Lady and opium dens - between his duties Rick has opportunity to rebuild his fortune running in planeloads of guns, whiskey, everything the whole nine yards. Everything but drugs - Rick doesn't mess with that garbage - and women; Rick doesn't buy and sell human beings. He does business with them, or he kills them; one or the other.
Rick there at the historic meeting of Ho Chi Minh and the OSS.
The OSS is signing up as many guerrilla warlords they can find in theater; "Uncle Ho" asks for American arms - specifically, two American Colt .45 pistols - so he can show all the other Viets that he is the Big Papa-san, that the Americans are behind him and so everybody better get in line with Ho - he is the Poo Yai Bahn. Rick increases his fortune, selling a lot of weapons to Ho Chi Minh and moving other supplies by air.
Rick and Ho hang out together; they are doing business together, and it is simply good manners to share a meal, get to know one another.
"But you're a Communist, Ho," Rick observes. "How can you tolerate a mercenary like me?"
"Yes, but I am a patriot first, I am for my country, and against the Japanese. All the rest is simply politics."
Rick shrugs; he is a soldier of fortune, and Ho's business is money in the bank.
Rick is in Hanoi at the end of the war; he's a businessman again - he doesn't belong to anyone's Army anymore and that's the way he likes it. He's there when Ho Chi Minh reads the American Declaration of Independence in Hanoi, but then the French show up and run Ho out on a rail and proceed to screw everything up tout de suite.
In the meantime Rick has re-established the famous Ricks Cafe Americaine - in Hanoi this time.
Enter TigerLily; that is not her name but that is what Rick calls her. She is the quintessential Oriental vamp, in an electric blue silk Suzy Wong dress slit up the side all the way to here, fishnet stockings & heels, the whole nine yards. At this stage in his career this is the only kind of romance Rick can handle. Well right on cue for Rick's luck, some Viet toad goes and tells the French that he dealt arms to the Viet Minh, and worse he's still in contact with them (true). The real deal is the toad has his eyes on Rick's nightclub.
The French pull Rick in for questioning and things don't go well, especially when the Legion catches wind of what's going down - now he's really in trouble. The Legion takes a dim view of deserters in wartime and they want to make an example out of him; it's their standard operating procedure to discourage the others from deserting. Never mind the fact that Rick helped liberate their country at considerable risk to his own life, that doesn't matter because the French are on a mindbender to the lowest common denominator; the precursor to the entire Indochina experience; a train wreck of historic proportions.
Rick is being held in the Hoa Lo prison in Hanoi when TigerLily visits him and helps engineer his escape. Rick makes his move and promptly falls into hands of the Viet Minh. TigerLily refuses to leave his side, and this makes an impression on the Viet guerrillas.
Rick tries to call in his marker with Uncle Ho but that gets him nowhere because Ho turns out to be a natural born backstabber. Ho claims he's in a precarious position, consolidating his power amongst the Communists; to help an American war profiteer at this time would be political suicide. Then out of the blue Lazlo shows up.
Lazlo's against the French nowadays because he's a Communist - he was a Communist all along apparently - and he's particularly got it in for the Foreign Legion because the Legion has entire battalions of ex-Wehrmacht & ex-Waffen SS troops all over Indochina.
But Lazlo owes Rick big time and so he helps arrange his safe passage to Thailand. On his way out of this mess Rick says, "Wait a minute Lazlo. The way I see it you owe me two or three times over. You're getting me out of here, but I want to these two French soldiers to come with me (he indicates two French Foreign Legionnaires, also prisoners of the Viet Minh).
When Lazlo hems & haws at this, Rick asks him, "By the way, Laz ol' buddy ol' pal - how's our kid doing these days?" Lazlo realizes that blood is thicker than water. Rick gets out, and he gets the two Legionnaires out with him.
Rick, TigerLily and the two Legionnaires make it across Laos to the Mekong River, which is the border to Thailand. Crossing the river in a sampan, one of the Legionnaires looks at him funny and says, "I know you, Monsieur. I've seen you before." Turns out he is one of the two Germans Rick let live, way back when he busted Lazlo out of SS headquarter in Lozère, France.
The German says, "You and I were on other sides then, Monsieur Rick. You killed my comrades and friends, and I would have killed you if I had the chance. But that war is over, and now you have saved my life a second time, and I wish to thank you." Rick looks him in the eyes, thinks of all the war crimes the Waffen SS committed, all the blood they spilled, and all the atrocities the ex-SS and ex-Wehrmacht soldiers were in the process of committing in Vietnam. He has an introspective moment. Reflecting on the odd connection he has with this ex-SS soldier, he utters a simple phrase in Latin:
"Legio Patria Est"
"The Legion is my country" - motto of the French Foreign Legion.
Rick has paid his debt to the Legion, in spades. He's finally a free man, for the first time in ten years. The future awaits Rick and TigerLily in Bangkok, the City of Angels.
Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn
TigerLily and Rick go to the Temple of Dawn, and before the Buddha, they proclaim their everlasting love for one another. They become husband & wife.
Buddhism is the religion of birth, and re-birth, and re-birth again. Rick has already worn out more lives than a cat.
It is the dawning of a new day . . .
"That's my story and I'm sticking to it . . .
STORMBRINGER SENDS
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
FRENCH AGENT EXECUTED
Somali Islamist rebels sentence French hostage to death
Sadly, a member of the free world intelligence community has paid the ultimate price, after four-plus years detention at the hands of Somali terrorists. Honor him - S.L.
(Reuters) - Somali militants linked to al Qaeda said on Wednesday they had sentenced a French agent to death after a failed attempt by French armed forces to rescue him at the weekend.
Al Shabaab said in a statement the decision to kill Denis Allex, held hostage in Somalia since 2009, was unanimous and followed three years of what it called "exhaustive attempts at negotiations" over his release.
"With the rescue attempt ... France has voluntarily signed Allex's death warrant," the militants said in an emailed statement that was also posted on the group's official Twitter handle.
The militants put up fierce resistance when French commandos flew into southern Somalia by helicopter under the cover of darkness early on Saturday to try to free Allex. Later that day, the Paris government said it believed their hostage had been killed.
Read the rest of it HERE
I always liked what the KGB did when Hezbollah grabbed a couple of their guys in the Lebanon, back in the 80's; THEY grabbed a couple of the Hez and sent them back in pieces, said “Give us back our people or it gets worse.”
There were never any more Soviets kidnappings after that.
Out society doesn't have the stomach to deal with terrorists effectively. If I was in charge things would be different. VERY different. I’d make Genghis Kahn look like a Liberal.
STORMBRINGER SENDS
Sadly, a member of the free world intelligence community has paid the ultimate price, after four-plus years detention at the hands of Somali terrorists. Honor him - S.L.
(Reuters) - Somali militants linked to al Qaeda said on Wednesday they had sentenced a French agent to death after a failed attempt by French armed forces to rescue him at the weekend.
Al Shabaab said in a statement the decision to kill Denis Allex, held hostage in Somalia since 2009, was unanimous and followed three years of what it called "exhaustive attempts at negotiations" over his release.
"With the rescue attempt ... France has voluntarily signed Allex's death warrant," the militants said in an emailed statement that was also posted on the group's official Twitter handle.
The militants put up fierce resistance when French commandos flew into southern Somalia by helicopter under the cover of darkness early on Saturday to try to free Allex. Later that day, the Paris government said it believed their hostage had been killed.
Read the rest of it HERE
I always liked what the KGB did when Hezbollah grabbed a couple of their guys in the Lebanon, back in the 80's; THEY grabbed a couple of the Hez and sent them back in pieces, said “Give us back our people or it gets worse.”
There were never any more Soviets kidnappings after that.
Out society doesn't have the stomach to deal with terrorists effectively. If I was in charge things would be different. VERY different. I’d make Genghis Kahn look like a Liberal.
STORMBRINGER SENDS
Monday, January 14, 2013
GUNS. SPECIFICALLY, ASSAULT RIFLES
The right to arm & defend oneself, family & community is a basic, fundamental human right - the 2d Amendment of the US Constitution reflects this, and takes it a step further; the citizenry has the right to arm itself and form up in militias as a defense against tyranny.
The 2d Amendment addresses this specific scenario - it does not mention hunting or defense against criminals.
"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."
The right to bear arms and/or state militias are important for one or more of these purposes:
Instead of banning military-style "assault" weapons, I say it should be a requirement for all lawful, taxpaying (mentally cognizant) citizens of military age to keep & maintain a military assault rifle and double basic issue of ammunition, and to complete training, annually and semi-annually. Just like in Switzerland.
Instead of disarming the law-abiding citizenry, concealed carry of all types of small arms should be allowed and encouraged, with one caveat; in the interests of safety, the weapon must be carried in a "cold" configuration (loaded, full magazine but with an empty chamber). Just like in Israel.
It really is that simple.
STORMBRINGER SENDS
The 2d Amendment addresses this specific scenario - it does not mention hunting or defense against criminals.
"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."
The right to bear arms and/or state militias are important for one or more of these purposes:
- deterring tyrannical government
- repelling invasion
- suppressing insurrection
- facilitating a natural right of self-defense
- participating in law enforcement
- enabling the people to organize a militia system
Instead of banning military-style "assault" weapons, I say it should be a requirement for all lawful, taxpaying (mentally cognizant) citizens of military age to keep & maintain a military assault rifle and double basic issue of ammunition, and to complete training, annually and semi-annually. Just like in Switzerland.
Instead of disarming the law-abiding citizenry, concealed carry of all types of small arms should be allowed and encouraged, with one caveat; in the interests of safety, the weapon must be carried in a "cold" configuration (loaded, full magazine but with an empty chamber). Just like in Israel.
It really is that simple.
STORMBRINGER SENDS
Saturday, January 12, 2013
STORMBRINGER SENDS
Just a Shotgun:
You're sound asleep when you hear a thump outside your bedroom. Half-awake and nearly paralyzed with fear, you hear muffled whispers.
At least two people have broken into your house and are moving your way.
With your heart pumping, you reach down beside your bed and pick up your shotgun.
You rack a shell into the chamber, then inch toward the door and open it.
In the darkness, you make out two shadows.
One holds something that looks like a crowbar.
When the intruder brandishes it as if to strike, you raise the shotgun and fire.
The blast knocks both thugs to the floor.
One writhes and screams while the second man crawls to the front door and lurches outside.
As you pick up the telephone to call police, you know you're in trouble.
In your country, most guns were outlawed years before, and the few that are privately owned are so stringently regulated as to make them useless..
Yours was never registered.
Police arrive and inform you that the second burglar has died.
They arrest you for First Degree Murder and Illegal Possession of a Firearm.
When you talk to your attorney, he tells you not to worry: authorities will probably plea the case down to manslaughter.
"What kind of sentence will I get?" you ask.
"Only ten-to-twelve years," he replies, as if that's nothing.
"Behave yourself, and you'll be out in seven."
The next day, the shooting is the lead story in the local newspaper. Somehow, you're portrayed as an eccentric vigilante while the two men you shot are represented as choirboys.
Their friends and relatives can't find an unkind word to say about them..
Buried deep down in the article, authorities acknowledge that both "victims" have been arrested numerous times.
But the next day's headline says it all:
"Lovable Rogue Son Didn't Deserve to Die."
The thieves have been transformed from career criminals into Robin Hood-type pranksters.
As the days wear on, the story takes wings.
The national media picks it up, then the international media.
The surviving burglar has become a folk hero.
Your attorney says the thief is preparing to sue you, and he'll probably win.
The media publishes reports that your home has been burglarized several times in the past and that you've been critical of local police for their lack of effort in apprehending the suspects.
After the last break-in, you told your neighbor that you would be prepared next time.
The District Attorney uses this to allege that you were lying in wait for the burglars.
A few months later, you go to trial.
The charges haven't been reduced, as your lawyer had so confidently predicted.
When you take the stand, your anger at the injustice of it all works against you..
Prosecutors paint a picture of you as a mean, vengeful man.
It doesn't take long for the jury to convict you of all charges.
The judge sentences you to life in prison.
This case really happened:
On August 22, 1999, Tony Martin of Emneth, Norfolk , England , killed one burglar and wounded a second.
In April, 2000, he was convicted and is now serving a life term.
How did it become a crime to defend one's own life in the once great British Empire?
It started with the Pistols Act of 1903.
This seemingly reasonable law forbade selling pistols to minors or felons and established that handgun sales were to be made only to those who had a license.
The Firearms Act of 1920 expanded licensing to include not only handguns but all firearms except shotguns.
Later laws passed in 1953 and 1967 outlawed the carrying of any weapon by private citizens and mandated the registration of all shotguns.
Momentum for total handgun confiscation began in earnest after the Hungerfordmass shooting in 1987.
Michael Ryan, a mentally disturbed man with a Kalashnikov rifle, walked down the streets shooting everyone he saw.
When the smoke cleared, 17 people were dead.
The British public, already de-sensitized by eighty years of "gun control", demanded even tougher restrictions. (The seizure of all privately owned handguns was the objective even though Ryan used a rifle.)
Nine years later, at Dunblane, Scotland, Thomas Hamilton used a semi-automatic weapon to murder 16 children and a teacher at a public school.
For many years, the media had portrayed all gun owners as mentally unstable, or worse, criminals.
Now the press had a real kook with which to beat up law-abiding gun owners.
Day after day, week after week, the media gave up all pretense of objectivity and demanded a total ban on all handguns.
The Dunblane Inquiry, a few months later, sealed the fate of the few sidearms still owned by private citizens.
During the years in which the British government incrementally took away most gun rights, the notion that a citizen had the right to armed self-defense came to be seen as vigilantism.
Authorities refused to grant gun licenses to people who were threatened, claiming that self-defense was no longer considered a reason to own a gun.
Citizens who shot burglars or robbers or rapists were charged while the real criminals were released.
Indeed, after the Martin shooting, a police spokesman was quoted as saying,
"We cannot have people take the law into their own hands."
All of Martin's neighbors had been robbed numerous times, and several elderly people were severely injured in beatings by young thugs who had no fear of the consequences.
Martin himself, a collector of antiques, had seen most of his collection trashed or stolen by burglars.
When the Dunblane Inquiry ended, citizens who owned handguns were given three months to turn them over to local authorities.
Being good British subjects, most people obeyed the law. The few who didn't were visited by police and threatened with ten-year prison sentences if they didn't comply.
Police later bragged that they'd taken nearly 200,000 handguns from private citizens.
How did the authorities know who had handguns?
The guns had been registered and licensed.
Kind of like cars. Sound familiar?
THIS IS WHY OUR FOUNDING FATHERS PUT THE SECOND AMENDMENT IN OUR CONSTITUTION.
"It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds."
-Samuel Adams
Obama is doing this very same thing, over here, if he can get it done. The UN Small Arms Treaty that Hillary is negotiating would take away our 2nd Amendment rights.
And there are stupid sheeple in Congress and on the street that will go right along with him.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass."
- Isoroku Yamamoto (1884–1943) Commander-in-Chief, Imperial Japanese Navy during WWII
STORMBRINGER SENDS
You're sound asleep when you hear a thump outside your bedroom. Half-awake and nearly paralyzed with fear, you hear muffled whispers.
At least two people have broken into your house and are moving your way.
With your heart pumping, you reach down beside your bed and pick up your shotgun.
You rack a shell into the chamber, then inch toward the door and open it.
In the darkness, you make out two shadows.
One holds something that looks like a crowbar.
When the intruder brandishes it as if to strike, you raise the shotgun and fire.
The blast knocks both thugs to the floor.
One writhes and screams while the second man crawls to the front door and lurches outside.
As you pick up the telephone to call police, you know you're in trouble.
In your country, most guns were outlawed years before, and the few that are privately owned are so stringently regulated as to make them useless..
Yours was never registered.
Police arrive and inform you that the second burglar has died.
They arrest you for First Degree Murder and Illegal Possession of a Firearm.
When you talk to your attorney, he tells you not to worry: authorities will probably plea the case down to manslaughter.
"What kind of sentence will I get?" you ask.
"Only ten-to-twelve years," he replies, as if that's nothing.
"Behave yourself, and you'll be out in seven."
The next day, the shooting is the lead story in the local newspaper. Somehow, you're portrayed as an eccentric vigilante while the two men you shot are represented as choirboys.
Their friends and relatives can't find an unkind word to say about them..
Buried deep down in the article, authorities acknowledge that both "victims" have been arrested numerous times.
But the next day's headline says it all:
"Lovable Rogue Son Didn't Deserve to Die."
The thieves have been transformed from career criminals into Robin Hood-type pranksters.
As the days wear on, the story takes wings.
The national media picks it up, then the international media.
The surviving burglar has become a folk hero.
Your attorney says the thief is preparing to sue you, and he'll probably win.
The media publishes reports that your home has been burglarized several times in the past and that you've been critical of local police for their lack of effort in apprehending the suspects.
After the last break-in, you told your neighbor that you would be prepared next time.
The District Attorney uses this to allege that you were lying in wait for the burglars.
A few months later, you go to trial.
The charges haven't been reduced, as your lawyer had so confidently predicted.
When you take the stand, your anger at the injustice of it all works against you..
Prosecutors paint a picture of you as a mean, vengeful man.
It doesn't take long for the jury to convict you of all charges.
The judge sentences you to life in prison.
This case really happened:
On August 22, 1999, Tony Martin of Emneth, Norfolk , England , killed one burglar and wounded a second.
In April, 2000, he was convicted and is now serving a life term.
How did it become a crime to defend one's own life in the once great British Empire?
It started with the Pistols Act of 1903.
This seemingly reasonable law forbade selling pistols to minors or felons and established that handgun sales were to be made only to those who had a license.
The Firearms Act of 1920 expanded licensing to include not only handguns but all firearms except shotguns.
Later laws passed in 1953 and 1967 outlawed the carrying of any weapon by private citizens and mandated the registration of all shotguns.
Momentum for total handgun confiscation began in earnest after the Hungerfordmass shooting in 1987.
Michael Ryan, a mentally disturbed man with a Kalashnikov rifle, walked down the streets shooting everyone he saw.
When the smoke cleared, 17 people were dead.
The British public, already de-sensitized by eighty years of "gun control", demanded even tougher restrictions. (The seizure of all privately owned handguns was the objective even though Ryan used a rifle.)
Nine years later, at Dunblane, Scotland, Thomas Hamilton used a semi-automatic weapon to murder 16 children and a teacher at a public school.
For many years, the media had portrayed all gun owners as mentally unstable, or worse, criminals.
Now the press had a real kook with which to beat up law-abiding gun owners.
Day after day, week after week, the media gave up all pretense of objectivity and demanded a total ban on all handguns.
The Dunblane Inquiry, a few months later, sealed the fate of the few sidearms still owned by private citizens.
During the years in which the British government incrementally took away most gun rights, the notion that a citizen had the right to armed self-defense came to be seen as vigilantism.
Authorities refused to grant gun licenses to people who were threatened, claiming that self-defense was no longer considered a reason to own a gun.
Citizens who shot burglars or robbers or rapists were charged while the real criminals were released.
Indeed, after the Martin shooting, a police spokesman was quoted as saying,
"We cannot have people take the law into their own hands."
All of Martin's neighbors had been robbed numerous times, and several elderly people were severely injured in beatings by young thugs who had no fear of the consequences.
Martin himself, a collector of antiques, had seen most of his collection trashed or stolen by burglars.
When the Dunblane Inquiry ended, citizens who owned handguns were given three months to turn them over to local authorities.
Being good British subjects, most people obeyed the law. The few who didn't were visited by police and threatened with ten-year prison sentences if they didn't comply.
Police later bragged that they'd taken nearly 200,000 handguns from private citizens.
How did the authorities know who had handguns?
The guns had been registered and licensed.
Kind of like cars. Sound familiar?
THIS IS WHY OUR FOUNDING FATHERS PUT THE SECOND AMENDMENT IN OUR CONSTITUTION.
"It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds."
-Samuel Adams
Obama is doing this very same thing, over here, if he can get it done. The UN Small Arms Treaty that Hillary is negotiating would take away our 2nd Amendment rights.
And there are stupid sheeple in Congress and on the street that will go right along with him.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass."
- Isoroku Yamamoto (1884–1943) Commander-in-Chief, Imperial Japanese Navy during WWII
STORMBRINGER SENDS
WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a double edge sword. She's the anti-gun Liberal Moron publisher that recently passed along every concealed carry gun owner and their address, from her New York County, in her newspaper, for ALL to see.
Like we used to say in the Q-course:
"Sorry 'bout that shit . . .
. . . sure sucks to be you."
- STORMBRINGER SENDS
Like we used to say in the Q-course:
"Sorry 'bout that shit . . .
. . . sure sucks to be you."
- STORMBRINGER SENDS
DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO GO WITH THIS ONE
. . . leaves a political statement instead of a tip . . .
We're barely into 2013, but we already have a frontrunner for the Douche of the Year award. Author Michael Kindt was at a California restaurant when he noticed that another patron left a political statement instead of a tip. The customer left a card that read: "As a direct result of …President Obama's insistence that I pay 'MY FAIR SHARE IN TAXES, I find that I must cut back on discretionary spending and gratuities," the card said. "I wish it didn't have to be this way." Here's an idea: Stay home, eat a frozen meal and post that rant online. It's just not cool to punish a restaurant employee because of your political views.
Source HERE
We're barely into 2013, but we already have a frontrunner for the Douche of the Year award. Author Michael Kindt was at a California restaurant when he noticed that another patron left a political statement instead of a tip. The customer left a card that read: "As a direct result of …President Obama's insistence that I pay 'MY FAIR SHARE IN TAXES, I find that I must cut back on discretionary spending and gratuities," the card said. "I wish it didn't have to be this way." Here's an idea: Stay home, eat a frozen meal and post that rant online. It's just not cool to punish a restaurant employee because of your political views.
Source HERE
Friday, January 11, 2013
YET ANOTHER ANTI-2d AMENDMENT HYPOCRITE
State Sen. R.C. Soles shoots one of two home intruders
State Sen. R.C. Soles shot one of two people who he said were breaking into his Tabor City home about 5 p.m. Sunday, officials said.
Columbus County Sheriff Chris Batten said Kyle Blackburn was taken to Loris Community Hospital in South Carolina. Late Sunday night, a spokeswoman at the hospital said that Blackburn was in good condition.
Sen. R.C. Soles shot Kyle Blackburn in the leg during an altercation at his home
The shooting occurred on Soles’ property when two men went to the senator’s house and tried to kick in his front door, Batten said. The incident happened about a quarter mile from Canal Street and Stake Road.
The other man involved in the incident is B.J. Wright, Batten said. Multiple media outlets have reported that Wright was a legal client of Soles – an attorney – and that Soles gave him money while Wright was in prison.
My Buddy the Gumby Spook asks: this guy is as anti-gun as they come, yet somehow he realized how important it was to BE PREPARED to protect his home and family.
I can't help but wonder why he didn't just call the police?
STORMBRINGER SENDS
State Sen. R.C. Soles shot one of two people who he said were breaking into his Tabor City home about 5 p.m. Sunday, officials said.
Columbus County Sheriff Chris Batten said Kyle Blackburn was taken to Loris Community Hospital in South Carolina. Late Sunday night, a spokeswoman at the hospital said that Blackburn was in good condition.
Sen. R.C. Soles shot Kyle Blackburn in the leg during an altercation at his home
The shooting occurred on Soles’ property when two men went to the senator’s house and tried to kick in his front door, Batten said. The incident happened about a quarter mile from Canal Street and Stake Road.
The other man involved in the incident is B.J. Wright, Batten said. Multiple media outlets have reported that Wright was a legal client of Soles – an attorney – and that Soles gave him money while Wright was in prison.
My Buddy the Gumby Spook asks: this guy is as anti-gun as they come, yet somehow he realized how important it was to BE PREPARED to protect his home and family.
I can't help but wonder why he didn't just call the police?
STORMBRINGER SENDS
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER
"There must be some kind of way out of here,"
Said the joker to the thief,
"There's too much confusion,
I can't get no relief.
Businessman they drink my wine,
Plowman dig my earth
None will level on the line, nobody offered his word, hey"
"No reason to get excited,"
The thief, he kindly spoke
"There are many here among us
Who feel that life is but a joke
But you and I, we've been through that
And this is not our fate
So let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late"
All along the watchtower
Princes kept the view
While all the women came and went
Barefoot servants, too
Outside in the cold distance
A wildcat did growl
Two riders were approaching
And the wind began to howl
I always loved this epic tune, it is on the playlist constantly running around in my head; the soundtrack of my life of adventure. Today I present All Along the Watchtower as a moment of celebration of my daughter's manuscript being accepted by a publisher - when her novel is published she join the great writing clan of my family, the third generation . . .
STORMBRINGER SENDS