US Should NOT Be Upset Over Israeli Housing in Jerusalem

Sec State Clinton and Barak Hussein Obama have expressed their outrage over new Israeli "settlements"- The problem- they are not really new settlements- they are apartments being built in Northeast Jerusalem. 

Israel captured East Jerusalem in 1967 during the "Six-Day War." This was a legitimate capture of territory in a war of aggression from Egypt and Syria with Iraq and Jordanian involvement. At the beginning of the Six-Day War, it looked like Israel was going to be wiped off the face of the Earth, and the UN stood idle.

While the issue of settlements in the "West Bank" may be an issue, the issue of Jerusalem should not be. Jerusalem is the capital of the nation of Israel.

After all the times the UN and World has turned its back on Israel, the question of Jerusalem should not be on the table. The US needs to back off the attacks on Israel and remember that they are the only democracy in the region, a people who have been oppressed for thousands of years, and remember they are allied with us--

Jerusalem is the rightful capital of Israel-- one would think that the President's Chief of Staff, who had a father in the Irgun would at least remember this.

Israel should not need to prove its commitment to peace-- but perhaps their neighbors who support and defend terrorism, and have vowed to wipe Israel off the face of the earth should.

US Should NOT Be Upset Over Israeli Housing in Jerusalem

Peter Graves Dies at 83

Peter Graves- of Mission Impossible, Stalag 17, and a huge body of film and tv work-- Including Airplane! where he played Captain Oveur (who was under Dunn) has died of natural causes... he was 83.

From Airplane!

Rumack: Captain, how soon can you land?
Captain Oveur: I can't tell.
Rumack: You can tell me. I'm a doctor.
Captain Oveur: No. I mean I'm just not sure.
Rumack: Well, can't you take a guess?
Captain Oveur: Well, not for another two hours.
Rumack: You can't take a guess for another two hours?

-----------------------------------------------------

Captain Oveur: You ever been in a cockpit before?
Joey: No sir, I've never been up in a plane before.
Captain Oveur: You ever seen a grown man naked?

From Airplane II

Clarence Oveur: Unger.
Unger: Oveur.
Dunn: Oveur.
Clarence Oveur: Dunn. Gentlemen, let's get to work.
Simon: Unger, didn't you serve under Oveur in the Air Force?
Unger: Not directly. Technically, Dunn was under Oveur and I was under Dunn.
Dunn: Yep.
Simon: So, Dunn, you were under Oveur and over Unger.
Unger: Yep.
Clarence Oveur: That's right. Dunn was over Unger and I was over Dunn.
Unger: So, you see, both Dunn and I were under Oveur, even though I was under Dunn.

Peter Graves Dies at 83

Former Astronauts ALSO Frustrated Over Obama's Killing of Constellation

I have expressed my concerns and frustration over Obama's cancellation of the Constellation Program- the US returning to the moon. Apparently, some of those that have been there (the moon that is) are just as frustrated.

Captain Jim Lovell- (who I would say can certainly "understate" things-- i.e. "Houston, we've had a problem" - yeah they definitely had a problem) said, "Personally, I think it will have catastrophic consequences in our ability to explore space and the spin-offs we get from space technology. They haven't thought through the consequences."

I definitely agree with Capt. Lovell.

Gene Cernan- the last man to walk on the moon- said, "I'm quite disappointed that I'm still the last man on the moon. I thought we'd have gone back long before now."

Both were speaking to the BBC in London on Friday.

The good news at least is that SpaceX announced today a successful static test of their Falcon 9's engines. SpaceX is a private company that may launch as early as April 12, from a pad just south of the shuttle's pads at Kennedy Space Center.

The Falcon 9 will be used for taking cargo into space.
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Former Astronauts ALSO Frustrated Over Obama's Killing of Constellation

Call Congress- Get H.R. 3121 Out of Comittee and Up for Vote

Today is a bit of a relaxing day at home for me, waiting for the unfortunate return of Daylight Savings Time.  Being a Native of Arizona, this whole concept of Daylight Savings Time still drives me nuts- and apparently I am not alone, but I digress.

Part of my relaxing is re-watching Band of Brothers- partially because The Pacific premiers tomorrow. 

While watching I decided to check on some bio's online- one of which is that of Maj. Dick Winters, US Army (Ret.).

For those that did not know, the Lt. Winters, was nominated for the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions in taking out four German 105mm's in the Brécourt Manor Assault.  Col Robert Sink nominated Lt. Winters for the CMH, however, at the time, the Army had imposed a limit on the number of CMH's that could be awarded to a division to one, and the CMH had been awarded to Lt Col Robert G. Cole.   Lt. Winters was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.  

Over the years, there have been a couple of bills submitted to Congress seeking change Lt. Winters' citation and award him the CMH.   The current bill is H.R. 3121.   H.R.3121 is still in committee.

If the House can move so quickly on a Health Care Reform bill that NO ONE WANTS, why not move on a bill to Honor a Hero, and by extension, all the men of Easy Company, 2nd Bat., 506 PIR, 101st Airborne.

Maj. Dick Winters is now 92 and living in Hershey, PA. In this case, it would be nice to see Congress move quickly and do something good for a change.

Call your Congressman and ask them to push for action on H.R. 3121.

The official website for the "Award the CMH to Major Winters" Campaign is here.
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Call Congress- Get H.R. 3121 Out of Comittee and Up for Vote

President of France Scolds US on KC-X - My Reply--

Earlier this week, Northrop and EADS/Airbus dropped from the KC-X bidding. Boeing will likely be building the KC-767 for the USAF as a result.

From Reuters:

"I did not appreciate this decision ... This is not the right way to behave," Sarkozy said.

"Such methods by the United States are not good for its European allies, and such methods are not good for the United States..

All right Sarkozy- Shut Up!

YOUR COUNTRY has denied US access to your airspace on multiple occassions during military operations- This is part of the reason we NEED tankers-- To deal with nations like FRANCE.

YOUR COUNTRY has OBJECTED to the US being allowed to bid on EU Defense Contracts-- talk about a double standard!

In the words of Jed Bartlett (The West Wing) to the French - "tell those poncy little hairdressers I'm going to shove a loaf of bread up their ass!!!"

President of France Scolds US on KC-X - My Reply--

Senate Health Care Bill Unconstitutional?

As the White House and the Congress try to cram the Senate Health Care bill down our throats, and as Barrack Hussein Obama postpones trips to strong-arm the House, and as Joe Biden considers over-ruling the Parliamentarian to pull a "Thermal Nuclear Option" on this bill, I am wondering when someone is going to wake up and state "The SENATE version of this bill is UNCONSTITUTIONAL!"

Let's look at what the Constitution of the United States says in "black and white" (actually now yellowed paper/parchment with iron-pigment ink, but I digress)-

Article 1, Section 7- All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives

That seems pretty clear to me. If the bill will raise revenue it SHALL ORIGINATE in the House…

Now here is what Pelosi has said about the current Senate Bill-

Pelosi said the legislation will eliminate 80 percent of an excise tax on high-priced insurance plans in the Senate measure

So 80% of an excise tax will be eliminated-- that still leaves 20%. That still means that the SENATE BILL IS RAISING A TAX-- RAISING REVENUE.

Let me repeat Article1, Section 7- All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives

But this bill originated in the Senate- NOT the House…

Therefore, by a "plain text" reading of the Constitution, it would seem that the Senate Bill is BLATANTLY UNCONSTITUTIONAL.

But then again, the President and members of Congress did swear to support and defend the Constitution… but when has that ever stopped them before?

Senate Health Care Bill Unconstitutional?

Bloggers Tracked 'Jihad Jane'- Congrats Rusty at Jawa Report

For quite some time, The Jawa Report, the Internet Haganah and others (including myself and my original blog-now off-line) have been tracking the "Internet Jihadist" who have been spreading the Jihadist message for years.

First, I want to congratulate Rusty Shackleford on the ABC coverage of the their part in bringing down 'Jihad Jane'

Second- and more importantly, I also want to express my OUTRAGE at ABC over referring to these HERO'S as "'Net vigilantes." A vigilante is someone who illegally punishes someone for perceived offenses, or participates in a group which metes out extrajudicial punishment to such a person.

How in the world is anything that The Jawa Report does illegal? Instead of illegal it is actually, JOURNALISTIC.

Perhaps every time ABC News manages to report actual investigative news about a criminal, they too should be called criminals and vigilantes themselves.

This is another example of the MSM's arrogance and contempt in their view of Blogger's who actually pursue news and manage to out-scoop the press.

Persnally, Rusty, I think you should file suit against ABC for calling you criminal... but I happen to know you are a better person than that.

Bloggers Tracked 'Jihad Jane'- Congrats Rusty at Jawa Report

GOP Needs to Change Message

Late yesterday I received a fundraising email from the GOP- specifically a Michael Steele email entitled "Pelosi's Failure."

Do I agree that Pelosi has failed? Yes. Do I hope she will be defeated in November- or at the least out of the Speaker's seat? Yes.

However, I am beginning to wonder if this early negative campaign direction is the right way to go for the GOP.

I am a Constitutionalist and a member of the Republican Party. I have donated money to the GOP, to candidates and directly worked for a GOP US Congressional Campaign and on State-wide campaigns. I wanted to state this first, before I went any further.

The GOP seems to be stuck in the mud. The GOP is failing to seize an opportunity to not just change the national debate, but also change the national mood.

The GOP should be sending out the message to members that the reason to vote with us and support us is not because of how bad our opponents are doing, but support us and vote for us because WE HAVE BETTER IDEAS.

Right now Democrats who are "running" ARE RUNNING from Obama. Obama's approval numbers are tanking and there is talk of his vulnerability in 2012

So now, instead of just talking about how much our opponents have failed, we should be sending out a message of why our ideas our better.

We need to be saying- actually repeating- "'We the People' tell the government what to do; it doesn't tell us."

We need to stating, that while times may be dark now, America is still the "shining city on a hill"
and, for America, "there will always be brighter days ahead."

GOP Needs to Change Message

Gun Control Lobby Patrolling Blogs- Re Starbucks

So the Gun Control Lobby appears to be doing Google Blog Searches for anyone writing about Starbucks' Open Carry Policy-

I guess they forget that bloggers like to know who their readers are.  Maybe I will make a "bad guys" list at the Brady Campaign!!! I certainly hope so!

Gun Control Lobby Patrolling Blogs- Re Starbucks

Starbucks and the Right to Carry- UPDATE

Original Post Here

Earlier today I sent an inquiry to Starbucks press office as follows:

1. In the fourth paragraph you state " we would be forced to require our partners to ask law abiding customers to leave our stores, putting our partners in an unfair and potentially unsafe position." Are you saying that having "law abiding" armed customers makes your stores safer? or are you saying "law abiding" armed customers may suddenly become "law breaking" citizens and threaten your partners? Your statement is not clear on this issue.

2. Does your open carry position apply to states with Concealed Carry laws but restricted "open carry"- such as Kansas? Your statement is not clear on this issue

I received this reply moments ago from a Starbucks Spokesperson:

Statement
As we indicate in our statement, our approach is to comply with the local laws and statutes in Kansas and all other communities we serve.

The statement certainly does NOT address my first question, which I believe, needs to be addressed.

As to the second question-
Unfortunately, Kansas law, and many other states with concealed carry allow a business to post a "no guns" sign on the door. Some municipalities in Kansas, for example do NOT allow open carry, but do allow concealed carry.

The original statement does NOT indicate that Starbucks will allow Concealed Carry in their stores- it merely addresses open carry.

However, we appreciate the response from Starbucks and appreciate their apparent support for the Second Amendment

Starbucks and the Right to Carry- UPDATE

Concealed Carry Saves Lives- Again- This Time in Memphis

On March 5, 2010 at about 3:00 pm a man armed with a butcher knife was running around the parking lot of the Frayser Plaza Shopping Center Family Dollar store in Memphis, Tennessee.

The assailant was attempting to stab people in the parking lot of the Family Dollar Store according to several witness.

Unfortunately for the assailant, the last man he tried to attack (and some witnesses say did stab), was an armed concealed carry permit holder, who was in his car with his two step-daughters.

After the assailant lunged at the man with the knife, the armed step-father opened fire and killed the knife wielding assailant.

According to reports, investigators do not consider this murder.

Witnesses- and there apparently were many- are all saying the father of two acted in self defense.

According to a call I placed this morning to the Family Dollar Store involved, the store does NOT have any "concealed carry restriction" sign or "no firearms" sign.

I have also placed a call to the Memphis Police Press Office to find out if the shooter has been charged with anything, or will be charged with anything. There has been no reply as of the time of this posting (the Press Officer was in a meeting), but I will post the reply when I get it.

Concealed Carry Saves Lives- Again- This Time in Memphis

Starbucks and The Right to Carry

UPDATE HERE

Starbucks has released a press statement (quietly- I had to search a bit to find it on their web site and it was just a link without a summary like all their other releases) stating that they support the laws in the states they operate.

In fact, Starbucks states that PROHIBITING OPEN CARRY in their stores may actually be a security risk for their employees! I am NOT SURE if they are saying having armed citizens in our stores makes us safer, or if they are saying that asking" a Law Abiding Citizen" to leave is dangerous.

We have examined this issue through the lens of partner (employee) and customer safety. Were we to adopt a policy different from local laws allowing open carry, we would be forced to require our partners to ask law abiding customers to leave our stores, putting our partners in an unfair and potentially unsafe position.

I suppose the good news is that Starbucks has realized that people who support the Second Amendment drink coffee too...even at $4.00 a cup.

Starbucks and The Right to Carry

Northrop-Airbus Dropping from Air Tanker Bid

One year ago I wrote about an air tanker bid that was awarded to Northrop and Airbus (technically EADS- Paris-based European Aeronautic Defence & Space).  The new tanker was to be built on the Airbus 330, a French aircraft.   Northrop was basically going to build the tanker boom and some avionics and Airbus was building the aircraft.  

My problem with the deal was that Boeing had submitted a lower bid that complied with the terms listed.  My bigger problem though was huge number of jobs and the money that would be going to France (Airbus/EADS), instead of to Americans (Boeing).  Also at that time, France had objected to EU Defense contracts being open to American companies.

There was a political uproar over the deal.  The GAO investigated and the USAF re-bid the contract.

Now, one year later, it finally looks like there will be a resolution favorable to American workers.  Northrop announced this week they are dropping from the tanker bid.   This appears to leave Boeing as the only bidder and the default winner of the contract

According to the Boeing bid, the new tanker will be built on the Boeing 767 airframe.   This is assembled in Wichita and Seattle. 

So, sometime this spring or early summer, the USAF will finally award the contract.  Hopefully this time, the new USAF tanker will be the KC-767 and will finally create American jobs instead of new jobs for France.

Boeing currently builds the KC-767 for both the Japanese Air Defense Force and the Italian Air Force in Wichita, Kansas.

Northrop-Airbus Dropping from Air Tanker Bid

Breaking: Actor Corey Haim Dead at 38

This was just on Fox News...Actor Corey Haim, of The Lost Boys died...appears to be accidental... there are also reports that the "accidental" part may be a drug overdose...

UPDATE:
LAPD is saying the death does appear to be from an accidental overdose and there will be an autopsy.  Haim was 38.

Breaking: Actor Corey Haim Dead at 38

Chief Justice Says State of Union 'very troubling'

Chief Justice Roberts, responding to a student's question today at the University of Alabama School of Law, said that people DO have the right to criticize the Court, but...

"On the other hand, there is the issue of the setting, the circumstances and the decorum.

"The image of having the members of one branch of government standing up, literally surrounding the Supreme Court, cheering and hollering while the court—according the requirements of protocol—has to sit there expressionless, I think is very troubling."

This was of course in response to this year's State of the Union, where Obama publically and incorrectly rebuked the court.

Chief Justice Says State of Union 'very troubling'

Believing Massa about Rahm Emanuel

UPDATE- after watching Glenn Beck's interview- and Beck was correct, it was a waste of time- I will say that there seems a lot more to this story that will come out soon.  I am NOT saying I totally believe former Rep. Eric Massa.   However, I will also state the shower scene that was described, still comes across like it was real.


ORIGINAL POST-
The shower scene, as told by Rep Eric Massa, definitely sounds like something out of a movie- or a certain White House Based Television Series. Maybe that is because a character in a White House Based Television Series was based on Rahm Emanuel. Perhaps the pure chutzpah of Emanuel confronting Massa naked in the shower is what leads me to believe that Massa may very well be telling the truth.

Let's take a look at Rahm Emanuel- aka Rahmbo (which Josh Lyman was called also- after telling a Senator he could shove his "legislative agenda up his ass")

He is a trained ballet dancer (by the way, West Wing fans will remember Josh Lyman also saying when he was four he wanted to be a ballet dancer).

He is short- somewhere between 5'5" and 5'7" and in my personal opinion probably suffers from Short Man Syndrome or Napoleon Complex.

He is a devoted Jew and served as a civilian volunteer the Israeli Defense Forces during the first- half of the Gulf War (i.e. 1991- there was NO Second Gulf War- the "First" War ended in cease fire that was violated by Iraq- therefore, the "second" war was just the war restarting). This is one thing I actually respect about Emanuel.

Rahm Emanuel's father Benjamin was a member of the Irgun. The fact that his father was a member of Irgun -and not the Haganah- I believe to be significant. The Irgun was a militant break-off of the Haganah, and is known for the bombing of the King David Hotel on July 22, 1946. Rahm was raised by an active militant- that some called terrorist.

Emanuel has a foul mouth- YouTube has a compilation of his use of the "F" word on various TV shows.

He has been reported to have a Bugsy Siegel style when it comes to fund raising- insulting and embarrassing contributors and hanging up on them. The contributors call back and donate more.

He "cautioned" (one report says "threatened") PM Tony Blair at one point, telling him not to "f--- it up" as Blair was walking out to make a statement with Clinton.

After the 1992 Clinton Election, Emanuel was witnessed sitting at a dinner table with George Stephanopoulos and others, screaming a list of Clinton enemies names and stabbing a steak knife into the table and saying "Dead! Dead! Dead!"

He sent a wrapped dead, rotting fish to a pollster who irritated him.  (This also was part of a West Wing Episode with Josh Lyman sending the dead fish).

So, with this kind of history- and I am only scratching the surface here- I would tend to believe the story Massa tells- at least about Emanuel.

This is who we have running the operations of the White House- a guy who probably would have done well in the Chicago Mafia and who has no problem forcing his will on whoever and however he wants.

(I know, based site reports, that I have readers both in Congress and the White House- or at least readers on those networks- I look forward to any obscene call I may personally get from Mr. Emanuel. I will report it to you all if I do.)

Believing Massa about Rahm Emanuel

Back to Writing

Today I am returning to writing. I have been ill, and unfortunately, this has caused my psoriatic-arthritis to flair and typing has been painful.

However, I am feeling better and, God willing, I will be able to keep writing without further interruption.

By the way- If you have Psoriasis- or a family history of Psoriasis, and have joint pain PLEASE see a rheumatologist right away. Psoriasis, with joint pain could be Psoriatic Arthritis. This condition should always be taken seriously as it can cause permanent joint damage as well as ongoing pain. The Psoriasis Foundation is a great resource on Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA).

Back to Writing

The Case- McDonald v. Chicago

The case of the decade was heard today, McDonald v. Chicago.  The importance of this case is that this case will determine if the Second Amendment applies to the states as well as to the federal government.

Unfortunately, I have been fighting a cold today, so I did not get to listen to the arguments.   However, the transcript of the case arguments can be found here.

I will be reviewing the case later tomorrow and provide my thoughts and opinion on it as time allows.

The Case- McDonald v. Chicago