Monday, February 26, 2018

Flowing Curves Of Beauty


A guy asked his personal trainer at the gym which machine he should use if he wanted to impress the ladies...he took one look at him and said, “the ATM".



Sunday, February 25, 2018

A Disgraceful, Incompetent, Grandstanding Sheriff

Blinded by political correctness and organizational stupidity and ineptitude, numerous governmental agencies and the Broward County Sheriff’s Department were demonstrably clueless about the relentless, disturbing and well-documented behavior of the Parkland assassin.
Twitter was awash with Americans calling for Sheriff Scott Israel to resign.
So egregious was the show of cowardice by four Broward County deputies and the dereliction of duty by Sheriff Israel that Roger Simon opined, “He could have flown across the country in a hot air balloon, dropping buckets of blood and guts and trailing a banner reading "I'm Gonna Shoot Up a School," and these clowns wouldn't have done anything.  When Cruz actually started shooting, they behaved like the most execrable cowards, the police hiding behind cars while students and teachers were dying.  That their boss, Sheriff Scott Israel, still has his job is the most incomprehensible development of all.”
On Saturday Bill Hager, Florida State Representative, was moved to pen a letter to Florida Gov. Rick Scott:
Dear Governor Scott:
This month’s tragedy in Parkland is something we all hope to never witness. Each day, new details emerge about potential interagency breakdowns and miscommunications. We must utilize all of our resources to ensure that a horrific act such as this never happens again. In the meantime, you have the power through Florida Statute 112.52 (1) to remove Broward County Sheriff Israel for neglect of duty and incompetence. Various news outlets have confirmed that the School Resource Officer and three Broward Sheriff Deputies were on campus at the time of the attack and chose to take cover themselves rather than stepping up to protect our students. Not one of these trained officers made an effort to enter the building to protect students and teachers and save lives. It was not until deputies from the Coral Springs Police Department arrived, a Department not under the authority of the BSO, that uniformed officers actually entered the school and took action. 
Additionally, it has been reported that there were 23 calls to the Broward Sheriff ’s Office relating to Nikolas Cruz and his home, as well as 39 visits by Broward Sheriff Deputies. Sadly, this will not be the first time a review of the Broward Sheriff ’s Office will be done. 
After the mass shooting at Fort Lauderdale Airport last year a report from BSO found that BSO failed to create a unified command structure during the emergency, suffered from poor radio communication and set up an insufficient crime scene perimeter, among other faults according to Bob Norman of ABC Local 10. An investigation by Sheriff Israel into the unfathomable inaction of these deputies will do nothing to bring back the 17 victims. The Sheriff was fully aware of the threat this individual presented to his community and chose to ignore it. Sadly, he was not the only one that ignored it. DCF, Broward County Schools, the FBI and the BSO all had the pieces to put this puzzle together but failed to communicate. While you do not have authority to remove anyone at the FBI, you do have the authority to remove Sheriff Israel, and I encourage you do to so immediately.
I, along with others on Twitter, did what we could to spur CNN’s Jake Tapper to ask Israel hard-hitting questions during his interview with Sheriff Israel on CNN’s State of the Union.
To my great surprise, Tapper did grill this tool.  Here’s his answer regarding Rep. Hager’s letter to Gov. Scott:
Asked if he and his deputies had done things differently might this shooting never have happened, Israel answered:
Not one shred of remorse.  This, dear Democrats, is your anti-gun hero.
Then he went on to praise his leadership as “amazing.”

A Walk On The Wild Side

Saturday, February 24, 2018

Too Stupid To Insult? Of Course Not!

Yesterday Marie Harf, former Senior Advisor of Strategic Communications for Obama’s Secretary of State John Kerry, who is inexplicably a “commentator” on Fox News, appeared on the cable news network’s program Outnumbered.  GOPAC Chairman David Avella was on the couch as well as Harris Faulkner, Sandra Smith and Trish Regan.
As the country continues to discuss the Parkland school shooting, the discussion turned to supporters of the Second Amendment.
Harf, from whom you get nothing but stupid, spouted off saying “Justice Scalia wrote, ‘the Second Amendment is not unlimited’…Republicans, and you just did it, say any gun restrictions that Democrats put forward is ‘against the Second Amendment. That’s not the case! You can be a supporter of the Second Amendment and also say, ‘maybe we shouldn’t have high magazine clips,’ for example.”
NOTE TO MARIE:  High Magazine Clips: A device for securing printed material in a lofty location.

Friday, February 23, 2018

Special Programming Alert

CNN, the most busted name in news, announced Jake Tapper will be “interviewing” Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel, er, Barney Fife on Sunday, February 25.
The blurb for the show indicates the survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting will talk about their “Never Again” movement and their call to action for lawmakers.
We learned today through Sgt. Jeff Heinrich of the Coral Springs Police Department, his officers “were stunned and upset the four original Broward County Sheriff’s deputies who were first on the scene did not join them as they entered the school.  We already knew about the yellow belly deputy assigned to the school as a resource officer who waited outside listening to screaming schoolkids as they were being ambushed and killed.  The other three deputies were hiding behind their squad cars with their weapons drawn.
Will Jake Fapper ask ol’ Barney to apologize for his grandstanding at the town hall?  Will he ask him if he, too, is a coward for withholding information about those officers?  Will he point out their slogan really isn’t “To Protect and Serve” but instead “To Cower and Then Blame” or “Shelter in Place, Good Luck.
911. What’s your emergency?  #ResignSheriffIsrael

Isolating Kim’s Rogue Regime

President Trump was slated to announce the largest-ever round of sanctions targeting Little Rocket Man’s regime at the 2018 Conservative Political Action Conference.
According to excerpts released to the media he would announce, "The Treasury Department will soon be taking new action to further cut off sources of revenue and fuel the regime uses to fund its nuclear program and sustain its military by targeting 56 vessels, shipping companies, and trade businesses that are assisting North Korea in evading sanctions." 
Leaving the formal announcement to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin in a later briefing from the White House the President did say, “I do want to say it, because people have asked, North Korea, we imposed today the heaviest sanctions ever imposed on a country before. Frankly, hopefully, something positive can happen. We will see. Hopefully, something positive can happen.” 
The sanctions announced today will target 56 trade companies, merchants, and vessels that have continued to prop up the Kim Jong Un regime and its pursuit of nuclear weapons.
They will also target 27 shipping and trade companies, 28 vessels and at least one individual, from countries including China, Panama, Taiwan, Singapore, North Korea, and Tanzania. Among those targeted are companies that “have been used to engage in ship-to-ship transfers prohibited by the United Nations.
“These designations are a critical part of our maximum pressure campaign to diplomatically and economically isolate North Korea,” according to a second senior administration official adding, “The purpose of the latest sanctions is to show Kim Jong Un there is no other path for him to take except denuclearization.
In a published report from The Washington Examiner, “U.S. Coast Guard officials are also expected to issue a global shipping advisory to accompany the newest sanctions to ensure countries are aware that they will face very significant consequences for evading our sanctions.”
In the months since the Trump administration last imposed sanctions against Pyongyang, North Korea has sought to disguise its vessels by painting over their names and intentionally disabling their collision avoidance systems in order to prevent others from seeing their movements. Last week, Japanese military officials reported witnessing a ship-to-ship transfer in the East China Sea that likely violated previous sanctions, according to local media reports.
Mnuchin would not discuss whether the sanctions would ultimately be enforced by a full naval blockade of North Korea. But he noted that United Nations Security Council resolutions allow the United States to board and inspect the cargo of any vessel with the consent of the country whose flag flies on the ship.
The new actions, which come on the eve of closing ceremonies of the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, had been in the works for months but came "as soon as they were ready," Mnuchin said. The Trump administration has signaled the coming sanctions for weeks, including a visit by Vice President Pence to South Korea this month.
Additionally, the Treasury Department designated a Taiwanese citizen, Tsang Yung Yuan, and two companies he owns or controls for coordinating North Korean coal exports with a Russia-based North Korean broker and attempted $1 million oil deal with a Russian company sanctioned for dealing with the North.
Harry Kazianis, Director of Defense Studies at the Conservative Center for the National Interest said, “Cumulatively speaking, the sanctions imposed on North Korea in total since 2017 are some of the biggest ever imposed on a nation state.”
See the full statement by the US Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control here:  https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm0297

Thursday, February 22, 2018

The Coward Of Broward County

One week after a psychotic savage murdered 17 school children inside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel had to tuck his tail between his legs when it was revealed his deputy, Scot Peterson, heard the gunfire and rushed to the building but never went inside to confront the shooter.  Instead the coward waited outside listening to the screams of those being murdered.  Not only that, but it was the Coral Springs PD who first tried to save lives and stop the carnage.
The admissions made by Israel added to the growing list of missed signs. The FBI has already admitted that in January it failed to follow up on a tip that could have prevented the shooting.
Knowing as he did that Peterson cowered outside explains Sheriff Israel’s deflection of responsibility during last night’s CNN propaganda shit show.
Peterson chose to resign after he was suspended without pay. His decision was made after investigators reviewed surveillance footage. Israel said the tape may never be released
WPLG Local 10 News reported two other Broward County Sheriff’s Department officers, Edward Eason and Guntis Treijs, have been placed on administrative duties pending further investigation. Both officers were involved in 23 calls for service at the shooter’s home and may not have followed protocol.
Local Fox affiliate WSVN said it sent a reporter to the home of the coward for an interview when the reporter was met by six Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputies "standing guard outside."  The family requested protection; something not given to those kids.

Fanaticism And Ignorance Is Forever Busy And Needs Feeding

“Fanaticism and ignorance is forever busy and needs feeding” is a line from the film “Inherit the Wind”, a 1960 film adaptation of the 1955 play by the same name written thirty years after the famous Scopes Monkey Trial.
Journalists were looking for a showdown in 1925 when a high school teacher had been charged with violating a state law which forbade the teaching of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution which denied the divine creation of man.
Conflicts arise when people do not value or respect differing beliefs. “Inherit the Wind” attempted to convey the need to fight for the freedom to think for one’s self and the need to respect opinions which differ from their own.
Last night, CNN was looking for a showdown by hosting a propaganda event in Sunrise, FL featuring the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Rep. Ted Deutch, Sen. Bill Nelson, Sen. Marco Rubio, NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch and Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel.  Ben Shapiro described it as a “stacked show trial.”
That’s precisely what it was which brings me back to the line “fanaticism and ignorance is forever busy and needs feeding.”  People cheered for a massive gun ban and unabashedly accused their political opponents of being murderers. 

These traumatized children were carefully organized by liberals.
Cameron Kasky, one of the students, lashed out at Sen. Rubio saying, “I'm sorry, I know I'm not supposed to do this, but I'm not going to listen to that. Senator Rubio, it's hard to look at you and not look down the barrel of an AR-15 and not look at Nikolas Cruz, but the point is: You're here and there are some people who are not.” 
He asked Rubio if he’d stop accepting money from the NRA.  Rubio waffled. Kasky asked the question again and again and again, until eventually Rubio provided a tepid answer.
The so-called town hall quickly devolved into a grotesque version of the appalling Jerry Springer Show.  On full display last night was tribalism masquerading as urgent social policy.  They booed a rape victim’s story.
The questions asked by the students were scripted by CNN’s producers.
Colton Haab, a Junior ROTC student and survivor of the school shooting said he was going to participate in the town hall but decided not to when the network provided him with a list of scripted questions according to ABC affiliate WPLG-TV.
Haab said he was planning to ask about school safety and the possibility of using veterans as armed security guards in schools. After being told he had to ask a scripted question, Haab decided not to attend.
CNN refuted Haab's claim Thursday morning on its communications page on Twitter saying, “There is absolutely no truth to this.  CNN did not provide or script questions for anyone in last night’s town hall, nor have we ever.”
Haab saved lives that day by using Kevlar sheets to protect his classmates.  I don’t think calling this young hero a liar is a good look for the most busted name in news.
CNN would never sell its soul but will cheerfully rent it out for desperately needed ratings.
In another spectacle, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel confronted NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch, telling her she was not standing up for the victims of a school shooting in Florida.
“I understand you’re standing up for the NRA and I understand that’s what you’re supposed to do, but you just told this group of people that you are standing up for them. You are not standing up for them until you say, ‘I want less weapons.’” 
The sanctimonious sheriff, along with the FBI failed the victims of the Florida shooter. Despite repeated calls to authorities, Cruz was never arrested and was basically cleared as being “no threat to anyone or himself,” as one therapist said in a police report from Sept. 28, 2016.
Attorney General Jeff Session declared, "It is now clear that the warning signs were there and tips to the FBI were missed. We see the tragic consequences of those failures."
If you in any way believe last night’s show trial wasn’t about Democrats attacking the Second Amendment and disarming law-abiding citizens get a load of what one Democrat said this morning.
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) said he is not interested in compromising with the National Rifle Association on gun control. “I am normally interested in compromise. Not this time. I cannot imagine a bill that would make a difference that the NRA supports. We don’t need to cut a deal with them, we need to beat them.” 

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

God’s Ambassador, Billy Graham, Is With The Lord Now

In a mission that lasted 60 years, Rev. Billy Graham preached in his soft-spoken Southern style to more than 210 million people in 185 countries─more than anyone else─and reached hundreds of millions more through his radio and television ministry.
The charismatic evangelist’s counsel had been sought out by presidents from Harry S. Truman to Barack Obama.
In 1983, President Reagan gave Graham the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor. When the Billy Graham Museum and Library was dedicated in 2007 in Charlotte, North Carolina former presidents George H.W. Bush, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton attended.
Rev. Graham was regularly listed by the Gallup organization as one of the Ten Most Admired Men in the World, whom it described as the dominant figure in that poll since 1948 making an unparalleled 46th appearance and 39th consecutive appearance. 
"My home is in Heaven. I'm just traveling through this world." 
Rev. Billy Graham was a servant of God and brought millions to Christ through his example of compassion and love. He said he missed his wife, Ruth, and he missed Heaven. Now he has crossed over for his great reunion. May we always remember his legacy and follow his passion for Christ.

Pelosi’s Stunning Border Security Solution

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi attended a town hall meeting in Phoenix which was broadcast live on Facebook and hosted by AZCentral on Tuesday.
She denounced the idea of a border wall saying the wall is “never going to happen.”  She added, “I’m not the wall’s biggest advocate in Congress, but I do know that representatives in the House and senators in that body from the border wall areas have some serious objection to a wall because they know how detrimental it can be to community trade.”
Her solution?
“Let’s talk about where a more serious structure might be necessary, where fencing will do, or mowing the grass so people can’t be smuggled through the grass. That’s something.”
The stupid is strong with this one.  Here’s the proof:

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

The Kremlin Hoped To Paralyze Our Government


"I once said, ‘We will bury you,’ and I got into trouble with it. Of course, we will not bury you with a shovel. Your own working class will bury you."─Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev
We have an adversary that thrives on our division. The notion that Russian interference in 2016 was unprecedented reflects a willful ignorance of history.
Rob Goldman, Vice President of Ads at Facebook, went on Twitter roughly eight hours after Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein read the indictment from the office of Special Counsel Robert Mueller of 13 Russian operatives for interfering in the 2016 presidential election.
Over the course of eleven presidential elections between the end of World War II and the fall of the Soviet Union, there have been three well-documented secret attempts to influence an American election.
In a published report from Smithsonian Magazine we learn Adlai Stevenson II, the Democratic nominee for president in 1952 and 1956, had advocated a ban on the testing hydrogen bombs.  Stevenson lost both bids for the presidency to Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Stevenson publicly stated he would not seek the nomination again in 1960, but Soviet Ambassador Mikhail A. Menshikov hoped he would reconsider. On January 16, 1960 Menshikov invited Stevenson to the [Soviet] embassy in DC for caviar and drinks to thank him for helping negotiate Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev’s visit to the United States.  But there was an ulterior motive. At one point, Menshikov pulled notes from his pocket and began delivering Stevenson a message he said came directly from Khrushchev, encouraging him to seriously consider another run for president.
“…We are concerned with the future, and that America has the right president. All countries are concerned with the American election. It is impossible for us not to be concerned about our future and the American Presidency which is so important to everybody everywhere.”
[SKIP]
“In Russia we know well Mr. Stevenson and his views regarding disarmament, nuclear testing, peaceful coexistence, and the conditions of a peaceful world. He has said many sober and correct things during his visit to Moscow and in his writings and speeches. When we compare all the possible candidates in the United States we feel that Mr. Stevenson is best for mutual understanding and progress toward peace.”
[SKIP]
“We don’t know how we can help to make relations better and help those to succeed in political life who wish for better relations and more confidence. Could the Soviet press assist Mr. Stevenson’s personal success? How? Should the press praise him and, if so, for what? Should it criticize him and, if so, for what? We can always find many things to criticize Mr. Stevenson for because he has said many harsh and critical things about the Soviet Union and Communism! Mr. Stevenson will know best what would help him.”
The report ends by noting, “Stevenson did eventually face the Soviets again.  After becoming UN Ambassador under President Kennedy, the winner of the 1960 election. Stevenson was tasked with presenting evidence to the world the Soviets had placed nuclear weapons in Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. His showdown with Soviet Ambassador Zorin is one of the key moments of the Cold War. After asking the Ambassador point blank whether Russia had missiles in Cuba, he pressed the issue. When the Ambassador hesitated to answer, Stevenson said, ‘I am prepared to wait for an answer until Hell freezes over, if that is your decision.’”
In 1968, the Soviet Politburo strongly favored Democratic presidential candidate, Hubert H. Humphrey out of fear of Republican nominee Richard Nixon, a vehement anti-Communist. Soviet leaders ordered their ambassador in Washington, Anatoly Dobrynin, to approach Humphrey with an offer of clandestine funding for his campaign. Humphrey politely declined saying, “it was more than enough for him to have Moscow's good wishes."  Nixon won, but instead of confronting the Soviet Union, he embarked on an era of détente and signed the first strategic arms limitation treaty, much to Moscow’s relief.
NOTE:  If you read The Washington Post’s review of Dobrynin’s book “In Confidence” by Robert G. Kaiser, you will be left with the impression he “maintained a personal moral code while representing men in Moscow who did not.”  It is unquestionably an adroit attempt to whitewash his role in the Soviets' espionage programs.
In 1976, the Soviet Union again secretly adopted measures to influence a U.S. presidential election. Early that year, the KGB warned the Politburo that Sen. Henry “Scoop” Jackson (D-WA), known for his fierce opposition to the Soviet Union, stood a good chance of gaining the Democratic nomination. 

To “conquer world public opinion” the KGB set up a special department, Service A, to discredit the United States.
Service A, prepared a wide-ranging set of measures to discredit Jackson, sending forged FBI letters to prominent U.S. newspapers and journalists claiming that Jackson was a closeted homosexual. Even after Jackson’s campaign faltered and he dropped out of the 1976 race, Service A kept up its homophobic war of disinformation against him, hoping to prevent him from ever again becoming a viable presidential candidate.

The drama series, “The Americans”, was created by former CIA agent-turned-author Joe Weisberg for the FX network; a story about a pair of deep-cover Soviet spies masquerading as a stereotypical Washington couple whose children, neighbors, co-workers and friends are completely unaware of their activities. They pose as travel agents; but at night, they weave a web of confidants, lovers, dupes, and historical figures from the Reagan-era Cold War. The startlingly realistic plot twists force the viewer to consider the real cost of an undeclared war.
The series is, of course, fictional but there’s an interesting “briefing” at the website Spy Museum which details the story of The Cambridge Five.  In 1934, before the Great Purge of the Communist Party, the repression of peasants and Red Army leaders, Soviet intelligence officer Arnold Deutsch met with five Cambridge University graduates.
All were dedicated Communists and demanded no financial compensation for their espionage services. In time, the Soviet strategy of recruiting young, disaffected members of the British elite would yield rich rewards.  Each quickly obtained key positions in the British government and intelligence apparatus.  They did immense damage to Western security when they learned of American efforts to build an atomic bomb, provided documents of “inestimable value” on the Allied strategy in the Korean War and disclosed Project Venona which broke encoded Soviet diplomatic messages.
I raise the issue of the Cambridge Five simply to illustrate the point that so many are willing to do harm to America.  It makes you wonder about dirty dossier author Christopher Steele, himself a Briton.
Many Americans have forgotten the lessons of the Cold War and the disasters witnessed in the crumbling economies and failed institutions of Communist and socialist countries in the 1990s. Communism was on its last leg, it appeared, and its little brother socialism was not far behind.
Little did we know that the fires of socialism were being stoked in corners all across America where it is held in higher regard than in nations that have suffered under it. It is obvious where such thinking abounds and continues to spread: in our colleges and universities. The ideologies of professors and educators have proven stronger than facts. The “benefits” of socialism and Communism are taught from the Ivy League to the local community college. A generation has been taught a lie and they now believe it.

Monday, February 19, 2018

Don’t You Dare Do It!

I was listening to iHartRadio on my Fire TV stick Sunday when Pennsylvania’s Democrat Sen. Bob Casey warned Special Counsel Robert Mueller against issuing a report on his findings in the ongoing investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election near the upcoming 2018 midterm elections. The direness of his warning reminded me of the 1965-1968 sci-fi TV show Lost In Space with the robot that constantly warned Will Robinson of some impending danger.)
Casey told host John Catsimatidis (Cats Roundtable AM 970 in New York 8:30 – 10:00AM) doing so would distract from the mid-term elections and/or cause people to question the election's integrity. 
"I don't think we'll know anywhere near the full story until Mueller issues his report," Casey said. "But once you get into the summer and you get close to the election, I think it's a mistake for him to release it late. I think he should wait until after the election." 

If you go to the 8:20 mark at the link you can hear his remarks for yourself.

Casey is up for re-election this year. Lou Barletta is seeking to unseat Casey who has represented the Keystone State in the Senate since 2007. 
It is a fact the Democrat Party wants to puff up Casey’s resumé for 2020─a kind of Tim Kaine without the dramatic eyebrows.  The folks of Pennsylvania may well remember Bonusgate─the scandal which saw Carl Romanelli illegally stiffed in 2006 by the pro-Casey Democrat machine and then-State Treasurer Bob Casey.
Casey’s campaign “friends” worked the political system to eliminate Romanelli.  If Romanelli were in the race, chances are Casey would not now be a US Senator. Rick Santorum would have another term. What Casey knew or should have known is worthy of debate.
The dirty linen exposed was one of the biggest corruption scandals in state government history. Its intricate web involved the siphoning off of state funds, overseen by Casey’s Treasury Department to pay state government employees for spending their time working for Democratic candidates moving the Democratic Party’s goals further along. One of the major goals was to oust Romanelli from his rightful place on the PA ballot. Through massive corruption, they succeeded. Yet, Casey still stands.
Romanelli theoretically needed “only” 67,070 valid signatures. He exceeded the requirement by almost 50%. Each petition sheet held as many as 50 signatures and as few as one. The campaign against Romanelli and others, dubbed Bonusgate was big and corrupt. Attorney General Tom Corbett led an investigation leading to the arrest of six state representatives and 19 staffers. Somehow, State Treasurer Casey was not implicated. The logical conclusion is that Senator Casey had nothing to do with it. What he knew or should have known is worthy of debate.
The dirty linen exposed was one of the biggest corruption scandals in state government history. Its intricate web involved the siphoning off of state funds, overseen by Casey’s Treasury Department to pay state government employees for spending their time working for Democratic candidates moving the Democratic Party’s goals further along. One of the major goals was to oust Romanelli from his rightful place on the PA ballot. Through massive corruption, they succeeded. Yet, Casey still stands.
The grand jury investigation discovered that from 2004 to 2006, PA House Democratic Caucus employees secretly grabbed $1,641,550 in taxpayer money while working hard to elect Democratic candidates.  

A Primer on "Common Sense" Gun Laws


First, let me say that I share in the loss and mourn with those who lost loved ones in that terrible Florida school shooting. Some people want to take advantage of those raw emotions to see if they can obtain some political advantage in what really ought to be a time of mourning. But I want you to fully understand that what the anti-gunners mean by "common sense" gun laws is not necessarily what the rest of us call "common sense". The phrase itself, "Common sense gun laws", polls well. I mean, it's obvious, isn't it? Who in their right mind could object to "common sense"? Poll any number of people if you think we should have "common sense gun laws" and you will get a majority, maybe even unanimity!

The gun grabbers then try to use that superficial verbal agreement, since nearly everyone agrees we should have common sense guns laws, then, you should have no problem accepting the ones they're proposing, regardless of how ineffectual they might be, whether or not they solve the problem, and whether or not there are unintended consequences to Constitutional rights, public safety or both, so long as we label them "common sense". There's the bait and switch.

A Democrat, John Dingell, of Michigan said in 1965,
"We now have on the lawbooks of this nation over 20,000 laws governing the sale, distribution and use of firearms.”
I guess it's pretty safe to assume we've added some since then. Yet, for all the "common sense" gun laws already on the books, the people whose ultimate goal is the complete elimination of privately owned firearms (the honest ones will tell you that. Stop laughing!), the anti-gunners want ever-increasing restrictions on firearms, the quantity, the quality, the ease of ownership, the cost of ownership, until they have made it too prohibitively expensive or onerous to obtain, and erode the Second Amendment rights of honest, law abiding Americans to keep and bear arms. At least you common ones! We with political clout and wealth will still require our bodyguards to be fully armed!

"But, but...you might say, we still have terrible school shootings. We have to do something!!" Aye, and we can. But before we trip down the primrose path of passing new laws, pause a moment and consider what effect new laws will have if they are enforced exactly the same way as the 20,000 plus we already have?

Flowing Curves Of Beauty


Isn’t the internet great? A man ordered a mail-order bride from Eastern Europe and received an email confirmation that his Czech was in the mail.



Sunday, February 18, 2018

Whoever Fights Corruption Should See To It He Does Not Himself Become Corrupt

In 2014 the Department of Veterans Affairs was awash in a scandal over massive wait times in its health care system, particularly at one hospital in Phoenix. In the aftermath, Congress and the White House took steps to reform the VA.
The scandal put a national spotlight on some of the financial incentives the VA used to encourage quicker and better care and how those incentives drove some VA employees to cheat the system, so they could continue getting pay bonuses even as they delivered abominable services to the men and women who have served this great nation.
When President Trump took office, he appointed a new Secretary of Veterans Affairs making accountability a major focus of VA reforms.
A scathing report has emerged which found Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin’s chief of staff attempted to cover up travel expenses incurred by Shulkin's wife, Dr. Merle Bari, by doctoring an email with false statements making it possible for Bari to travel at taxpayer expense.
The report comes as Shulkin, the only holdover from the Obama administration in President Trump’s Cabinet, is in the midst of a difficult attempt to overhaul the troubled VA and, in particular, its health care system.
An 11-member Veterans Administration delegation, including Bari and six members of Shulkin's security detail, traveled to Great Britain and Denmark last July, at a total VA cost of $122,334, according to the report. The trip included a tour of Westminster Abbey, attendance at the women's final at Wimbledon and a cruise along the Thames River.
Inspector General Michael J. Missal began his review last October after The Washington Post discovered Shulkin and his wife had spent nearly half their time on personal activities during the European trip. The VA said the two flew commercially and taxpayers covered her airfare as part of "temporary duty" travel expenses.
The audit found the trip violated a cost-saving directive that Shulkin himself had issued to the Department weeks prior to the trip to avoid unnecessary expenses.
Vivieca Wright Simpson, who had served at the Department for 32 years, had been a target of critics within the VA for what they saw as bureaucratic inaction on a host of reforms proposed by President Trump’s administration. She had previously served as Shulkin’s chief of staff at the Veterans Health Administration before he was promoted to the Department’s top post.  Simpson is the same person who in 2014 tried to get VA employees to hide evidence of the VA wait-time scandal from members of Congress.  She has since resigned.
IG Missal’s findings included (1) the Chief of Staff’s alteration of a document and misrepresentations to ethics officials caused Secretary Shulkin’s wife to be approved as an “invitational traveler,” which authorized VA to pay her travel costs (although only airfare was claimed); (2) Secretary Shulkin improperly accepted a gift of Wimbledon tickets and related hospitality; (3) a VA employee’s time was misused as a personal travel concierge to plan tourist activities exceeding that necessary for security arrangements; and (4) travelers’ documentation was inadequate to determine the trip’s full costs to VA. The OIG did not assess the value of the trip to VA or determine whether the Europe travel, as conducted, was “essential,” per VA policy.  The IG has also referred the matter to the Department of Justice for potential criminal prosecution.
Shulkin, in an appearance on Capitol Hill on February 15th, suggested her emails may have been hacked by individuals working against his leadership team.
“We act with the highest ethical character,” Shulkin said. “I relied upon my staff to do this, and in retrospect, I wish that I had asked more questions.”
According to a published report by The Daily Caller, Shulkin implied to Congress she might not have been responsible for that email; it might have been a hacker impersonating her. He insisted the department has “found there are people sending emails from her account that aren’t her.”
In that same Daily Caller report, it was noted, “An hour after he left the newsroom the Department’s website posted a statement saying it had found no evidence of any hack, either in June or on Wednesday. “We have thus far found no credible or conclusive evidence of a compromise to our email system or a user’s account.”
Some observers questioned Shulkin’s claims that someone was impersonating his chief of staff and were suspicious that his allegations coincided with the release of the IG report.
At least one lawmaker, Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO) an Army and Marine Corps veteran and member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, called for Shulkin’s resignation due to what he says is manipulation of evidence and the implication to legislators that there was credible reason to think the email might not be real.
“What we know now is there’s no evidence of a hack. I think he’s trying to muddy the waters on this. It’s not the issue itself, it’s the cover-up, it speaks to his lack of integrity,” he said.
For the record Shulkin has reimbursed the government the money for his wife’s unauthorized travel and intends to repay The Invictus Games for the Wimbledon tickets.
Also, The Daily Caller learned from a senior department official the Secretary has an upcoming official trip to the Vatican with his wife. The source reiterated that the trip is currently on the books, saying the pair are scheduled to travel to Vatican City from April 20 to 29 to attend the Pontifical Council for Culture.
“I am not going on any trip to the Vatican or any trip abroad. That is not happening” Shulkin responded.
The Vatican is one of the few countries in the world that does not have a military. The Council for Culture includes a show of European art and religious history.