Time For Americans To Dust Off Their Guns « Pat Dollard

Time For Americans To Dust Off Their Guns « Pat Dollard

No, I'm not going to explain anything. You'll have to go read it. Patrick could use a little help in the donation department, too.

Some New Laws Take Effect Tomorrow

The last one is a BFD and it needs to pass. This is how citizens protect themeselves and not rely on elected politicians who may or may not have an agenda, to do it for them. Its called taking responsibility for your own life. Its called "citizenship".

The Kelo Decision was nothing more than Grand Theft-Property by a government entity and SCOTUS screwed the pooch on that decision, just as they screwed the pooch on the Bambi-Care decision. Well, we can't fix Kelo, but we can restrict the government that supposedly serves the citizens from doing it again. (We CAN and WILL fix Bambi-Care in November).

ICYMI, the land at the center of the Kelo decision is now sitting vacant. Its a VACANT LOT!!!!!

Via email blast from Sen Mark Obenshain this morning:

Gun Rights

• The one handgun a month restriction has been lifted, with Virginia joining forty-eight other states in not placing arbitrary time limits between gun purchases (SB 323)
• The handful of localities which still fingerprint those who purchase firearms (data state government does not use) are no longer permitted to do so (SB 67)
• Clerks of Court may now issue concealed handgun permits by mail, and may not request any information from an applicant that is not contained on the concealed handgun permit form (SB 563)

Other Legislation

• Voters will now be required to show some form of identification at the polls, and if unable to do so, must vote provisionally (SB 1 - Senator Martin and I were chief co-patrons)
• A cause of action may now be brought for wrongful acts leading to the death of an unborn child (SB 674)
• Abortion clinics must now offer a woman the opportunity to view an ultrasound image, which she may accept or decline (HB 462)
• A law is now on the books specifically prohibiting law enforcement or any other agents of the Commonwealth from participating in any indefinite detention action pursued by the federal government (HB 1160)
• Although it's not in effect yet, it's worth noting that the Virginia Property Rights Amendment will be on the ballot in November; this eminent domain reform amendment will ensure that no property is taken for economic development purposes, and that in legitimate takings, owners truly receive just compensation (SJ 3 - my resolution)

Obamacare: Seven New Taxes on Citizens Earning Less than $250,000

Obamacare: Seven New Taxes on Citizens Earning Less than $250,000

IOW, we are screwed and just as a reminder: We told you so.

Virginia Democrats Organize Protestors Who Do Not Know What They Are Protesting

Virginia Democrats Organize Protestors Who Do Not Know What They Are Protesting

Hey, VADNC, you're an embarassment to Virginia. Can't your organizers at least find some people who know whats going on? Oh wait, that would defeat the purpose wouldn't it? You need people who don't know whats going on, otherwise, you'd never get anyone to support your assclown candidate.

Roger’s Rules » SCOTUS & ObamaCare: The Search for a Silver Lining

Roger’s Rules » SCOTUS & ObamaCare: The Search for a Silver Lining

STEPHANOPOULOS: [I]t’s still a tax increase.
OBAMA: No. That’s not true, George. The — for us to say that you’ve got to take a responsibility to get health insurance is absolutely not a tax increase. What it’s saying is, is that we’re not going to have other people carrying your burdens for you anymore than the fact that right now everybody in America, just about, has to get auto insurance. Nobody considers that a tax increase. People say to themselves, that is a fair way to make sure that if you hit my car, that I’m not covering all the costs.

There are millions upon millions of Americans who are refusing to purchase insurance and they are not being penalized or taxed. I want to know when the people who don't own a car, and refuse to purchase insurance for the car they don't own, will be taxed. I want to know how much that tax will be. I want these scofflaws found, arrested and punished.

OK a bit hyperbolic but if Dear Leader is going to keep throwing that "you're required to buy auto insurance" bullshit out there as a defense for raising taxes on 90% of America, I'm going to be unreasonable about it.

Lets get one thing clear, right now, right here, once and for all.

Ready?

YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO BUY AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE UNLESS YOU BUY AN AUTOMOBILE!!!!
YOU WILL NOT BE PENALIZED or TAXED FOR FAILING TO BUY AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE IF YOU DON'T BUY AN AUTOMOBILE!!!!!

The argument is specious and a straw man and is designed to throw the debate in another direction.
The federal government cannot force, coerce, or otherwise threaten an American citizen into purchasing a product or service they don't want. Thats called extortion. Its illegal when the gentlemen in the dark suits come to your place of business and tell you they are offering fire insurance for a weekly premium. Apparently its now government policy for all Americans.

Syllabus of the decision - And my opinion of Roberts' opinion

Basically, Roberts states that because it looks KINDA like a tax, and that Congress isn't allowed to do what it wants under the Commerce clause, and just because there's nothing describing this situation in the Constitution....and something MUST be done... then its a tax.

Hmmmm, Congress is not allowed to mandate a penalty. In fact, can't use the Commerce clause at all for this....but can be allowed to tax us to encourage us to utilize what is mandated.....but its not a mandate...because its a tax.....and we now have a choice.....to pay. Or break the law.

Roberts is a progressive bastard. A lying, progressive crapweasel.

Here's a summary of what the sane people on the bench said. The Dissent.


For entire decision, go HERE.

Bolding mine.
OCTOBER TERM, 2011
Syllabus
NOTE: Where it is feasible, a syllabus (headnote) will be released, as isbeing done in connection with this case, at the time the opinion is issued.The syllabus constitutes no part of the opinion of the Court but has been prepared by the Reporter of Decisions for the convenience of the reader. See United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co., 200 U. S. 321, 337.
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES

Syllabus

NATIONAL FEDERATION OF INDEPENDENT
BUSINESS ET AL. v. SEBELIUS, SECRETARY OF
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, ET AL.
CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT

No. 11–393. Argued March 26, 27, 28, 2012—Decided June 28, 2012*
In 2010, Congress enacted the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in order to increase the number of Americans covered by health insurance and decrease the cost of health care. One key provision is the individual mandate, which requires most Americans to maintain“minimum essential” health insurance coverage. 26 U. S. C. §5000A.For individuals who are not exempt, and who do not receive health insurance through an employer or government program, the means of satisfying the requirement is to purchase insurance from a private company. Beginning in 2014, those who do not comply with the mandate must make a “[s]hared responsibility payment” to the Federal Government. §5000A(b)(1). The Act provides that this “penalty”will be paid to the Internal Revenue Service with an individual’s taxes, and “shall be assessed and collected in the same manner” as tax penalties. §§5000A(c), (g)(1). Another key provision of the Act is the Medicaid expansion. The current Medicaid program offers federal funding to States to assist pregnant women, children, needy families, the blind, the elderly, and the disabled in obtaining medical care. 42 U. S. C. §1396d(a). The Affordable Care Act expands the scope of the Medicaid program and increases the number of individuals the States must cover. For ex——————
*Together with No. 11–398, Department of Health and Human Services et al. v. Florida et al., and No. 11–400, Florida et al. v. Department of Health and Human Services et al., also on certiorari to the same court.

2 NATIONAL FEDERATION OF INDEPENDENT
BUSINESS v. SEBELIUS

Syllabus

ample, the Act requires state programs to provide Medicaid coverage by 2014 to adults with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level, whereas many States now cover adults with children only if their income is considerably lower, and do not cover childless adults at all. §1396a(a)(10)(A)(i)(VIII). The Act increases federal funding to cover the States’ costs in expanding Medicaid coverage. §1396d(y)(1). But if a State does not comply with the Act’s new coverage requirements, it may lose not only the federal funding for those requirements, but all of its federal Medicaid funds. §1396c.

Twenty-six States, several individuals, and the National Federation of Independent Business brought suit in Federal District Court,challenging the constitutionality of the individual mandate and the Medicaid expansion. The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit upheld the Medicaid expansion as a valid exercise of Congress’s spending power, but concluded that Congress lacked authority to enact the individual mandate. Finding the mandate severable from the Act’s other provisions, the Eleventh Circuit left the rest of the Act intact.
Held: The judgment is affirmed in part and reversed in part.
648 F. 3d 1235, affirmed in part and reversed in part.

1. CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS delivered the opinion of the Court with respect to Part II, concluding that the Anti-Injunction Act does not bar this suit.
The Anti-Injunction Act provides that “no suit for the purpose of restraining the assessment or collection of any tax shall be maintained in any court by any person,” 26 U. S. C. §7421(a), so that those subject to a tax must first pay it and then sue for a refund. The present challenge seeks to restrain the collection of the shared responsibility payment from those who do not comply with the individual mandate. But Congress did not intend the payment to be treated as a “tax” for purposes of the Anti-Injunction Act. The Affordable Care Act describes the payment as a “penalty,” not a “tax.” That label cannot control whether the payment is a tax for purposes of the Constitution, but it does determine the application of the Anti-Injunction Act. The Anti-Injunction Act therefore does not bar this suit. Pp. 11–15.

2. CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS concluded in Part III–A that the individual mandate is not a valid exercise of Congress’s power under the Commerce Clause and the Necessary and Proper Clause. Pp. 16–30. (FINALLY, SOME RESTRAINT. BUT HE COULD HAVE SAID THIS WHILE DISMISSING.)

(a) The Constitution grants Congress the power to “regulate Commerce.” Art. I, §8, cl. 3 (emphasis added). The power to regulate commerce presupposes the existence of commercial activity to be regulated. This Court’s precedent reflects this understanding: As expansive as this Court’s cases construing the scope of the commerce power have been, they uniformly describe the power as reaching “activity.” E.g., United States v. Lopez, 514 U. S. 549, 560. The individual mandate, however, does not regulate existing commercial activity. It instead compels individuals to become active in commerce by purchasing a product, on the ground that their failure to do so affects interstate commerce.
Construing the Commerce Clause to permit Congress to regulate individuals precisely because they are doing nothing would open a new and potentially vast domain to congressional authority. Congress already possesses expansive power to regulate what people do. Upholding the Affordable Care Act under the Commerce Clause would give Congress the same license to regulate what people do not do. The Framers knew the difference between doing something and doing nothing. They gave Congress the power to regulate commerce, not to compel it. Ignoring that distinction would undermine the principle that the Federal Government is a government of limited and enumerated powers. The individual mandate thus cannot be sustained under Congress’s power to “regulate Commerce.” Pp. 16–27.(AT LEAST THIS IS RIGHT BUT HE COULD HAVE STATED THIS WHILE DISMISSING.)

(b) Nor can the individual mandate be sustained under the Necessary and Proper Clause as an integral part of the Affordable Care Act’s other reforms. (SO...MANDATES ARE ILLEGAL. PERIOD.) Each of this Court’s prior cases upholding laws under that Clause involved exercises of authority derivative of, and n service to, a granted power. E.g., United States v. Comstock, 560 U.S. ___. The individual mandate, by contrast, vests Congress with the extraordinary ability to create the necessary predicate to the exercise of an enumerated power and draw within its regulatory scope those who would otherwise be outside of it. Even if the individual mandate is “necessary” to the Affordable Care Act’s other reforms, such an expansion of federal power is not a “proper” means for making those reforms effective. Pp. 27–30.
3. CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS concluded in Part III–B that the individual mandate must be construed as imposing a tax on those who do not have health insurance, if such a construction is reasonable.(SO THE MANDATE IS ILLEGAL. BUT WE'LL TAX YOU IF YOU DON'T HAVE INSURANCE SO GO BUY IT.)
The most straightforward reading of the individual mandate is that it commands individuals to purchase insurance. But, for the reasons explained, the Commerce Clause does not give Congress that power.It is therefore necessary to turn to the Government’s alternative argument: that the mandate may be upheld as within Congress’s power to “lay and collect Taxes.” Art. I, §8, cl. 1. In pressing its taxing power argument, the Government asks the Court to view the mandate as imposing a tax on those who do not buy that product. Because “every reasonable construction must be resorted to, in order to save a statute from unconstitutionality,” Hooper v. California, 155 U. S. 648, 657, the question is whether it is “fairly possible” to interpret the mandate as imposing such a tax, Crowell v. Benson, 285
U. S. 22, 62. Pp. 31–32.
4. CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS delivered the opinion of the Court with respect to Part III–C, concluding that the individual mandate may be upheld as within Congress’s power under the Taxing Clause. Pp. 33–44.
(a) The Affordable Care Act describes the “[s]hared responsibility payment” as a “penalty,” not a “tax.” That label is fatal to the application of the Anti-Injunction Act. It does not, however, control whether an exaction is within Congress’s power to tax. In answering that constitutional question, this Court follows a functional approach,“[d]isregarding the designation of the exaction, and viewing its substance and application.” United States v. Constantine, 296 U. S. 287, 294. Pp. 33–35.
(b)
Such an analysis suggests that the shared responsibility payment may for constitutional purposes be considered a tax. The payment is not so high that there is really no choice but to buy health insurance; the payment is not limited to willful violations (OF COURSE NOT. YOU CAN BUY INSURANCE AND PAY THE "TAX), as penalties for unlawful acts often are; and the payment is collected solely by the IRS through the normal means of taxation. Cf. Bailey v. Drexel Furniture Co., 259 U. S. 20, 36–37. None of this is to say that payment is not intended to induce the purchase of health insurance. But the mandate need not be read to declare that failing to do so is unlawful. Neither the Affordable Care Act nor any other law attaches negative legal consequences to not buying health insurance, beyond requiring a payment to the IRS. And Congress’s choice of language—stating that individuals “shall” obtain insurance or pay a “penalty”—does not require reading §5000A as punishing unlawful conduct. It may also be read as imposing a tax on those who go without insurance. (WHAT THE HELL? THIS IS WHERE HE STRETCHES THE LOGIC. ITS NOT A PENALTY. YOU ARE JUST FORCED TO PAY THE IRS FOR NOT BUYING INSURANCE. THIS IS A CROCK OF CRAP.)See New York v. United States, 505 U. S. 144, 169–174. Pp. 35–40.
(c)Even if the mandate may reasonably be characterized as a tax, it must still comply with the Direct Tax Clause, which provides:“No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken.” Art. I, §9, cl. 4. A tax on going without health insurance is not like a capitation or other direct tax under this Court’s precedents. It therefore need not be apportioned so that each State pays in proportion toits population. Pp. 40–41.(EVEN THOUGH YOU ARE BEING DIRECTLY TAXED FOR NONCOMPLIANCE.)
5. CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS, joined by JUSTICE BREYER and JUSTICE KAGAN, concluded in Part IV that the Medicaid expansion violates the Constitution by threatening States with the loss of their existing Medicaid funding if they decline to comply with the expansion. Pp. 45–58.
Cite as: 567 U. S. ____ (2012) 5

(a)The Spending Clause grants Congress the power “to pay the Debts and provide for the . . . general Welfare of the United States.” Art. I, §8, cl. 1. Congress may use this power to establish cooperative state-federal Spending Clause programs. The legitimacy of Spending Clause legislation, however, depends on whether a State voluntarily and knowingly accepts the terms of such programs. Pennhurst State School and Hospital v. Halderman, 451 U. S. 1, 17. “[T]he Constitution simply does not give Congress the authority to require the States to regulate.” New York v. United States, 505 U. S. 144, 178. When Congress threatens to terminate other grants as a means of pressuring the States to accept a Spending Clause program, the legislation runs counter to this Nation’s system of federalism. Cf. South Dakota v. Dole, 483 U. S. 203, 211. Pp. 45–51.
(b)Section 1396c gives the Secretary of Health and Human Services the authority to penalize States that choose not to participate in the Medicaid expansion by taking away their existing Medicaid funding. 42 U. S. C. §1396c. The threatened loss of over 10 percent of a State’s overall budget is economic dragooning that leaves the States with no real option but to acquiesce in the Medicaid expansion. The Government claims that the expansion is properly viewed as only a modification of the existing program, and that this modification is permissible because Congress reserved the “right to alter, amend, or repeal any provision” of Medicaid. §1304. But the expansion accomplishes a shift in kind, not merely degree. The original program was designed to cover medical services for particular categories of vulnerable individuals. Under the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid is transformed into a program to meet the health care needs of the entire non elderly population with income below 133 percent of the poverty level. A State could hardly anticipate that Congress’s reservation of the right to “alter” or “amend” the Medicaid program included the power to transform it so dramatically. The Medicaid expansion thus violates the Constitution by threatening States with the loss of their existing Medicaid funding if they decline to comply with the expansion. Pp. 51–55.
(c)The constitutional violation is fully remedied by precluding the Secretary from applying §1396c to withdraw existing Medicaid funds for failure to comply with the requirements set out in the expansion. See §1303. The other provisions of the Affordable Care Act are not affected. Congress would have wanted the rest of the Act to stand, had it known that States would have a genuine choice whether to participate in the Medicaid expansion. Pp. 55–58.
6. JUSTICE GINSBURG, joined by JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR, is of the view that the Spending Clause does not preclude the Secretary from withholding Medicaid funds based on a State’s refusal to comply with the expanded Medicaid program. But given the majority view, she agrees with THE CHIEF JUSTICE’s conclusion in Part IV–B that the Medicaid Act’s severability clause, 42 U. S. C. §1303, determines the appropriate remedy. Because THE CHIEF JUSTICE finds the withholding—not the granting—of federal funds incompatible with the Spending Clause, Congress’ extension of Medicaid remains available to any State that affirms its willingness to participate. Even absent §1303’scommand, the Court would have no warrant to invalidate the funding offered by the Medicaid expansion, and surely no basis to tear down the ACA in its entirety. When a court confronts an unconstitutional statute, its endeavor must be to conserve, not destroy, the legislation. See, e.g., Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New Eng., 546 U. S. 320, 328–330. Pp. 60–61.
ROBERTS, C. J., announced the judgment of the Court and delivered the opinion of the Court with respect to Parts I, II, and III–C, in which GINSBURG, BREYER, SOTOMAYOR, and KAGAN, JJ., joined; an opinion with respect to Part IV, in which BREYER and KAGAN, JJ., joined; and an opinion with respect to Parts III–A, III–B, and III–D. GINSBURG, J., filed an opinion concurring in part, concurring in the judgment in part,and dissenting in part, in which SOTOMAYOR, J., joined, and in which BREYER and KAGAN, JJ., joined as to Parts I, II, III, and IV. SCALIA, KENNEDY, THOMAS, and ALITO, JJ., filed a dissenting opinion. THOMAS, J., filed a dissenting opinion.
_________________
_________________

The Republic's No-Good, Horrible, Very Bad Day....and Chief Justice Roberts is a lying sack of....

In honor of the horrible, no good, crappy, dishonest, clusterf#ck of a SCOTUS opinion by that coward Roberts who stretched logic to absurd lengths to justify his capitulation of his duty, stretched it so thin that even I could tell that he contradicted himself within one paragraph, to justify REWRITING the law, and thus giving power to Congress to tax us for ANYTHING....



A RE-POST OF TWO VERY RELEVANT PIECES BY CONCRETEBOB


Its a Dessert Topping, Its a Floor Wax

Heritage Foundation Morning Bell

The New York Times confirmed Friday that in preparation for defending constitutionality of the Obamacare individual mandate in court, an Obama Justice Department legal brief argues that the penalty used to enforce the mandate is “a valid exercise” of Congress’s power to impose taxes. Mr. Obama’s own Justice Department further repudiates the President’s earlier statement by noting that the penalty is imposed and collected under the Internal Revenue Code, people must report it on their tax returns, and that the Congressional Budget Office estimates that it will cost Americans $4 billion a year. Yale Law School professor Jack Balkin told a meeting of progressive activists last month that President Obama “has not been honest with the American people about the nature of this bill. This bill is a tax.”

The fact that the Obama administration and their allies are now admitting the individual mandate is a tax betrays their very real fear that the Supreme Court could find Obamacare’s individual mandate unconstitutional. In the bill itself, Congress identified the Commerce Clause as the source of their authority to force all Americans to buy health insurance. But as our legal team has made imminently clear, the mandate does not purport to regulate or prohibit commerce of any kind. To the contrary, it purports to “regulate”—and penalize—inactivity. If the Supreme Court allows the Obamacare individual mandate to stand, then Congress could do anything it wanted. They could: require us to buy a new Chevy Impala each year to support the government-supported auto industry; require us to buy war bonds to pay for the Iraq and Afghan wars; or force us to eat our vegetables.

Its a Dessert Topping, Its a Floor Wax, Its A Fine, Its NOT a Tax

"Legal arguments for Obamacare's individual mandate fail the 'Alice in Wonderland' test and the duck test. In two court challenges to the law in the past 11 days and a court hearing today on a third, the Obama administration's legal position is fading faster than the Cheshire Cat.

'The provisions of the Health Care Reform Act at issue here, for the most part, have nothing to do with the assessment or collection of taxes,' Judge Steeh ruled.

This is so important that the federal district judge in Florida, in Thursday's preliminary ruling in the second case, spent 22 pages analyzing it. If the fine is a penalty rather than a tax, Congress' power is far less extensive.

Judge Roger Vinson noted Congress repeatedly called the fine a 'penalty,' explicitly changing its description from a 'tax' that earlier versions of the bill assessed by name. Citing Alice's admonition to Humpty Dumpty that words can't 'mean so many different things' as Humpty intended, Judge Vinson concluded, 'Congress should not be permitted to secure and cast politically difficult votes on controversial legislation by deliberately calling something one thing ... [only to] argue in court that Congress really meant something else entirely.'

Judge Vinson explained that no matter what Congress called it, the assessment was designed to act as a punishment, not a revenue measure. Hence, it's not a tax.

His 22-page analysis is an exposition of the logic that if something is called a duck, acts like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck -- and the same goes for a penalty. The tax issue is vital because it's the Obama administration's fallback position if it loses on the first and biggest dispute, which is whether Congress has the power under the Commerce Clause not only to regulate commerce, but to force individuals to engage in specific commerce."

--The Washington Times

Liberty fights back: The silver linings in the Obamacare ruling | Western Free Press

Liberty fights back: The silver linings in the Obamacare ruling | Western Free Press

Our good friend Chris Cook from Modern Conservative has an interesting take on the SCOTUS decision.

From Cow Pastures To Kosovo: COL James Markert Takes Command of the 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment - "The Old Guard"

From Cow Pastures To Kosovo: COL James Markert Takes Command of the 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment - "The Old Guard"

My very good friend Leta has posted her images and feelings from the Change of Command Ceremony

Target: Syrian WMD | Washington Free Beacon

Target: Syrian WMD | Washington Free Beacon

Will the Israelis do what they they do best: deal with the problem? Damascus plays a central part in Biblical and End TImes prophesy.

Recent statements by senior Israeli military officials prompted U.S. concerns over an Israeli strike on Syria.

Senior officials in Israel told the newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth that if Syria’s army gave chemical weapons to Hezbollah or other terrorists an Israeli attack would be needed.

The newspaper reported May 31 that Israel failed to prevent Syria’s transfer of M-600 rockets to Hezbollah and the weapons can now threaten central Israel. One military source was quoted as saying that mistake would not be repeated.

Israeli Maj. Gen. Yair Golan, commander of forces deployed on the Syrian and Lebanese front, was quoted in press reports expressing concerns about Syria being used as “a warehouse for war materiel that feeds terrorist elements in the region.”

Golan also said there were reports that al Qaeda terrorists are working against the regime in Damascus and those terrorists eventually would target Israel, perhaps in the coming months.

New Series: Get Cozy With Navy Seals As They Describe Their Lives And What Happens When The Bullets Fly « Pat Dollard

New Series: Get Cozy With Navy Seals As They Describe Their Lives And What Happens When The Bullets Fly « Pat Dollard

If you can spare a few bucks, Pat could use it.

Turtle Wrasslin - a repost...since its been a year and I feel like it.

Turtle Wrasslin' and Almost Losing An Eye

So there we were....driving home down Highway 81, listening to a mystery on tape, when out of the blue,

TURTLE!

What?

Turtle! Back there! Pull over!

I had seen a suicidal turtle making a mad dash for the interstate. About the size of a dinner plate, it was hurtling across the shoulder at top speed, on its way to CERTAIN DOOM.

So, my wife, familiar with my tendency to be insane, pulls over and backs up. (We appear to be a little suicidally crazy too.) I pull on my shoes and jump out of the car. The Turtle is about to cross...the WHITE LINE OF DEATH!

My wife watches in horror as her animal loving husband runs up, bends over to pick up this poor, apparently depressed turtle, and then promptly kicks it back towards the shoulder. Spinning like a top, it lands in the gravel.

"What the hell are you doing?" cries my horrified wife.

What she didn't know was that was not a poor, depressed, suicidal turtle. Hell no! It was one evil, beady eyed, nasty, disgruntled snapping turtle that didn't take kindly to my interrupting his attack on these metal monsters that woke him from a nap....not too mention that goal kick.....that didn't endear me to him AT ALL.

I kicked him out of the way ( a toe nudge, really. He was heavy!) because I couldn't maneuver to pick him up so close to the traffic. HE may have been interested in dealing with the traffic... me not so much.

As I had run up to snatch him up to safety, that evil, beady eyed head twisted back on its snake-neck and damn near took a finger as a snack. THAT'S why there was a sudden "OH, S#!T!" and a sudden kick.

So, faced with a slightly annoyed, disgruntled, snapping turtle....and me never having learned that trick you see on TV where the animal handler neatly picks up the turtle by the shell, gripping it behind the head...I was stumped. Well, almost...the turtle missed....again. That turtle had a neck as flexible as a snake and 6 inches long.

I've never felt anything so strong that was that small. It was the original all wheel drive vehicle. Finally I got a grip on its tail and a hand on the top of its shell. Needless to say, picking up an already irate snapping turtle and holding it upside down does NOT make it any friendlier. It's neck stretched out backwards for my belt line so far that I worried about singing soprano. (I'm told that this is called "foreshadowing" in writing circles.)

So... there we were. Now what? I saw no ponds, streams, creeks, rivers, or puddles. The only place it could have come was from the hill in front of me. The steep hill. With bushes and saplings all over it. Covered in slippery pine needles. Did I tell you that my shoes were not completely on? Yeah......wait. It gets better.

So... up we go. Slip slidin' away....near the destination...the more you slip slidin' away.... Sorry. 70's flashback.

Anyway, up we go, darling daughter doing her best to help. Now, as one climbs a 45 degree slope, one tends to bring the arms in to keep balance......yeah...you see where this is going......

About halfway up the slope, that highly displeased, upside down, contortionist turtle makes an attempt to change my sex.....me not realizing how close my hands were to my body! All I see is a blur and hear a "snap!"

Turtles can fly.

Not very far, but they can fly. As I did, in the opposite direction, as my shoe comes loose. I go over backwards, the turtle comes sliding down after me...THE TURTLE! OH CRAP!. I'm dodging the sliding turtle and it wedges itself next to a sapling.

Darling daughter is doing her very best not to laugh.....which isn't very good. Gathering up the turtle, by the expedient handle of it tail, I begin to climb Mt. Everest again. Now...I'm in shape. I mean...round is a shape. So, its about 100 degrees, 200% humidity, branches scratching and bushes catching me. And we reach the top. Whew!

No pond. No stream. Not even a mudhole. I was really hoping that was mud all over the hind end of the turtle.......

Screw the damn turtle. Pitched him (gently) towards the fence, and turned my way back down.

Remember those branches? Yeah, the ones that scratch? Being the dutiful dad that I am, I held the branches back from my following daughter and also out of my face.

Branches break.

Hit me right in the eye. One half inch down, and it would have hit the eye and not the eye lid. 50 miles from well...anywhere.

That's how you almost lose an eye while wrasslin' a turtle.

Screw turtles. Ungrateful wretches.

Once In A Lifetime Opportunity For Ordinary Civilians

I'm heading up to Ft Meyer VA this morning for a very special event. The former CO of the 6/4 Cav, Colonel James Merkert, has been assigned to take over the reins of the 3rd ID, The Old Guard, and this old Jarhead was invited. I've been told that the Colonel loves my BBQ Sauce, so I whipped a batch this past weekend and will be presenting it to the Merkert family as a Welcome to Virginia gift.

I made two batches, one original, and a new addition to the line-up that uses no vinegar. In case you're wondering, I'm using bourbon in place of vinegar.

the LISA GRAAS show~"the Other McCain" on Kimberlin Case 06/18 by Fidelis Radio | Blog Talk Radio

the LISA GRAAS show~"the Other McCain" on Kimberlin Case 06/18 by Fidelis Radio | Blog Talk Radio

Patterico's Pontifications » Joe Gelarden, Indianapolis Star Reporter Who Covered Brett Kimberlin, Weighs in on the Kimberlin Saga

Patterico's Pontifications » Joe Gelarden, Indianapolis Star Reporter Who Covered Brett Kimberlin, Weighs in on the Kimberlin Saga

Older post; good background on Kimberlin

‘Scrubbed’ Writings Show Kimberlin Associate Neal Rauhauser’s Obsessions

‘Scrubbed’ Writings Show Kimberlin Associate Neal Rauhauser’s Obsessions

From the Other McCain: Kimberlin Files Update

Down the rabbit hole.

Is this Voter Fraud in the Making?

Is this Voter Fraud in the Making?

Suspicious forms showing up in Virginia mailboxes. P Henry thought so and did the legwork for us.

What Gun for Ocean?

I remember this.

Fun times......

True too. So many non-shooters in the Canoe Club.

And yet, all we were allowed to use on brow watch, in port, was an unloaded, ancient .45. The magazines each carried 5 rounds. We had two.

But then, considering the marksmanship of some of my shipmates........

Those of us who cared envied the Brits, French, and Germans who were armed with automatic weapons.

Well, that, and the fact that THEY were allowed booze on the ship.


h/t Broadside Blog

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Michelle Malkin » Brett Kimberlin fail alert: Criminal charges against Aaron Walker dropped

Michelle Malkin » Brett Kimberlin fail alert: Criminal charges against Aaron Walker dropped

A Kimberlin update from Michelle.

Exclusive -- Palin at RightOnline: The Revolution Starts with You

Exclusive -- Palin at RightOnline: The Revolution Starts with You

The revolution began years ago. The tools have been improved. We are using them as they were intended, the dissemination of information and education.

The problem is the ease of access and the succeptability of extreme interference from non-sympathetic entities.

Congressman King Sues Zero

DC Protest Warrior H/T @secupp

Rep Steve King to sue Zero over immigration reform by fiat.
800K new bodies; 800K new voters; 800K new dhimmis.
A flagrant use of power that doesn't exist.

Zero pandering to Hispanics. Who is going to employ these people?
Where are the JOBS for Americans?
When is Dear Leader going to put AMERICANS back to work?

Idiot.

Happy Birthday!

The one day of the year when its OK for a Squid to say
GO ARMY!!

Happy Birthday to the BEST DAMNED ARMY in the World

Berkeley Plantation - the most historic James River Plantation in Virginia.

Berkeley Plantation - the most historic James River Plantation in Virginia.

June 22-June 24th at Berkeley Plantation.

Don't miss this historic celebration.

“Birth of an American Tradition”
The 150th Anniversary Commemoration of “TAPS”

Study: Liberals Leading Haters of Mormonism

Study: Liberals Leading Haters of Mormonism

and these are the people who keep insisting we're the intolerant ones because we have a problem with a religion that calls for the killing of non-believers and puts the value of a woman below a goat.

Will the EPA Turn Off Your Air Conditioner?

Will the EPA Turn Off Your Air Conditioner?

They will if you let them. This is one of the agencies that absolutely is killing American initiative and ingenuity. The EPA must be reigned in and its authority restrained.

Records compared: job-creation under Obama vs. his predecessors

Records compared: job-creation under Obama vs. his predecessors

Obama on Republicans: ‘You Can Pretty Much Put Their Campaign On, On a Tweet’ | Vision to America

Obama on Republicans: ‘You Can Pretty Much Put Their Campaign On, On a Tweet’ | Vision to America

I can't argue that statement. Our platform can be summed up very easily.

Restore the Founders Vision of self-government and free will and defeat the socialist agenda.

So yes, the platform can be tweeted with letters to spare.

The Supreme Court and Obamacare: Eight Possible Outcomes

Please keep yourself informed on this one.

The Supreme Court and Obamacare:
Eight Possible Outcomes

...there are several outcomes that will carry the legal force of a tsunami and could change parts of the constitutional landscape for decades to come.

The four issues before the Court in NFIB v. Sebelius are:
1. Whether the Anti-Injunction Act (AIA) regards the individual mandate as a tax, and as such federal courts lack jurisdiction to decide this case until the individual mandate goes into effect in 2014.

2. Whether Obamacare’s requirement that individual Americans must purchase and maintain federally-approved forms of health insurance starting in 2014—the infamous individual mandate in Section 1501—exceeds Congress’ powers under the Commerce Clause, Taxing Clause, and/or Necessary and Proper Clause of the Constitution. 

3. Whether Obamacare’s massive Medicaid expansion that requires states to pay part of the cost and could penalize any state that refuses to go along with these requirements by stripping all Medicaid funds from that state, found in Section 2001, exceeds Congress’ power under the Spending Clause of the Constitution, thereby violating state sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment.

4. If either the individual mandate (or the Medicaid expansion) is struck down, whether it can be “severed” from the rest of the 2,700-page Obamacare statute, and if not, whether the invalid section can be partially severed to save most of Obamacare, or whether it is “nonseverable,” meaning the entire statute must be struck down completely.

US coal use falling fast; utilities switch to gas

US coal use falling fast; utilities switch to gas

Bleak outlook for the mineworkers and truck drivers. Layoffs are already starting; energy producers are reducing demand for coal. These folks are going to need jobs.
If we start pumping our own crude to our own refineries, we could jump-start the manufacturing sector which would create some work.
Of course, we need someone in charge who understands the free market and has a track record of job and wealth creation.

Jeb Bush Backs Off Republicans 'Hyperpartisan' Remark

IOW, what he wants is for us to "moderate" our principles when dealing with the left/liberal/democrat/dhimmicrat and not expect the same from them.

The problem is, the left/liberal/democrat/dhimmicrat crowd have gotten more and more radical and are moving ever closer to destroying the greatest experiment in freedom and liberty ever conducted. The extreme elements of the left want total government control of every facet of society and we cannot allow that to occur.

Jeb Bush Backs Off Republicans 'Hyperpartisan' Remark

This, in short, is why Jeb Bush was never a beloved candidate of the Republican base – he participates in the same “civility” nonsense that the rest of the mainstream DC actors do. He seems to think that strenuous political criticism harms the political discourse rather than being precisely what the founding fathers intended. He thinks all politics should be steak dinners and wine while discussing vagaries of health care policy. Bipartisanship isn’t the point of politics. Protecting constitutional values is.

Florida Thumbs Nose at DOJ Cleans Voter Rolls of Felons, Illegals

If it aint close, they can't cheat, and trust me, Friends, the left will cheat at every opportunity. If everyone who is eligible to vote will just get off their lazy ass and join the rest of their fellow citizens in exercising the one thing that makes America different from any other government in existence, the dhimmis and union thugs wouldn't stand a chance.

Now get off your ass and pull the handle, push the button, get involved; or accept what you get and STOP BITCHING.

Florida Thumbs Nose at DOJ Cleans Voter Rolls of Felons, Illegals

Late last year, South Florida radio talk show host Joyce Kaufman told her listeners she got an absentee ballot in the mail for her mother who had passed away in 2010. Kaufman recounted how she’d contacted the office of the Broward County Supervisor of Elections and submitted the appropriate paperwork for her mother to be removed from the voter rolls. But she wasn’t, and the absentee ballot came in the mail months later, addressed to someone who wasn’t around anymore to vote. 

When she came back from the next commercial break, she said a mailman had called to say he’d just delivered 10 absentee ballots to the same home--all of them addressed to people he’d never heard of.

Obama's order larded with 'globalist gobbledygook' | Times247

Obama's order larded with 'globalist gobbledygook' | Times247

The president is not vested with the authority asserted in Executive Order 13563, which locks us into a worldwide regulatory system and thereby gives up a huge slice of U.S. economic and environmental sovereignty. The proclaimed purpose is to globally harmonize regulations on environmental, trade and even legislative processes.

This executive order is larded with globalist gobbledygook about the obligation of our regulatory system to "protect public health, welfare, safety and our environment while promoting economic growth, innovation, competitiveness, and job creation." Those pie-in-the-sky goodies are designed to benefit "an increasingly global economy," rather than the United States.

Read the rest Mrs. Schafly's column here

The Party of Tolerance, Peace & Justice Is Not Good At Losing

'Kill Scott Walker': Left Unleashes Death Threats


Unhinged, racist, twisted, whining, sniveling, mewling leftist cowards. The party of tolerance, inclusion and peace. The party of justice. The party of LOOOOOZZZERRRRRZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!

BAWWWAWAWAWAHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!

EMBRACE THE SUCK, LOSERS!!!!! WE own you bitches!!!! Now SHUT UP!!! You lost!!!

Schultz On Walker Win: He Could "Be Indicted In The Next Few Days"

Schultz On Walker Win: He Could "Be Indicted In The Next Few Days"

BAWWWWAHHHHAHAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!
Is that all you got, Eddie?
You throw that out at the very end with no facts or allegations?

You're a bigger douchebag jackwagon than Billy Press.

Centenarians' Positive Attitude Linked to Long, Healthy Life - ABC News

Centenarians' Positive Attitude Linked to Long, Healthy Life - ABC News

Well this explains a lot. A sense of humor and a positive attitude extend your life.

So the number of liberals will likely decrease in the foreseeable future?

Once in a lifetime event - Transit of Venus

The planet Venus is seen to transit the face of the Sun only every 105 years.

Don't miss this.

http://venustransit.nasa.gov/webcasts/nasatv/
http://venustransit.nasa.gov/webcasts/nasaedge/
http://venustransit.nasa.gov/webcasts/norway/

Rebecca Kleefisch: 'They Don't Have The Stones To Move Wisconsin Forward'

Rebecca Kleefisch: 'They Don't Have The Stones To Move Wisconsin Forward'

The Profoundly Dishonest Brett Kimberlin : The Other McCain

The Profoundly Dishonest Brett Kimberlin : The Other McCain

Our very good friend Robert S McCain is in hiding because Kimberlin's twisted. perverted mindset causes him to believe he is incredibly talented and everyone wants to know what he thinks. (Personally, I think he misses Bubba Butt Buddy from prison. I'm sure he got plenty of attention inside.)

When we point out the stupidty inherent in those beliefs, Kimberlin resorts to fake 911 calls which send SWAT Teams to conservative homes, usually during dinner time. He'll continue this behavior until someone stops him, or until the police catch him and give him what he really wants; a warm cell and continuous attention from Bubba once again.

War hero and movie star to lead Fort Belvoir

War hero and movie star to lead Fort Belvoir

Just go read the article.

Coal industry video slams ‘frustrating’ EPA, backs up Romney energy speech

Coal industry video slams ‘frustrating’ EPA, backs up Romney energy speech

The coal industry is hitting back against attacks on Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who highlighted the Obama administration’s energy policies during a campaign stop in Colorado. Those policies, he said, are hostile toward coal.

A video released Friday by America’s Power, a coal industry-funded advocacy group, focused on the towns of Nucla and Naturita, Colo., where proposed regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency threaten to close a coal mine and a coal plant. The regulations cover mercury emissions and other pollutant standards.

If the EPA’s proposed rules were passed, the plants would be unable to afford the upgrades necessary to continue operation, leaving what one local business owner called “a ghost town.”

“If you wipe out those 150 jobs, when you’ve only got a town of 600 people, you’re going to have a ghost town and that’s going be all there is to it,” Apothecary Shoppe owner Don A. Colcord said in the video.

Read more:

Obama's 'Truth Team' Tells Lie

Obama's 'Truth Team' Tells Lie

Back in September, as part of the American Jobs Act, the President called for providing a $4,000 tax credit for businesses that hire the long-term unemployed—a similar approach to what Romney suggested Thursday night. Yet Republicans in Congress blocked this tax credit, along with the broader package the President put forward to help workers get back on the job, at every turn.
There are two main lies in this paragraph. The first is the lie that Republicans blocked the tax credit. Not true. Mitch McConnell offered the entire American Jobs Act as an amendment in the Senate and Harry Reid blocked it.

Senator McConnell attempted to put the president’s jobs plan to a vote by offering it as an amendment to a bill dealing with China’s currency. Senator Reid used a procedural maneuver to block it, calling the amendment “senseless.”

Last time I checked, Harry Reid is a Democrat, not a Republican.

NPR Spreads False Claim About Black Voters 'Targeted' by Voter ID Laws

It just doesn't make sense to be against something that ensures that elections reflect the will of the citizenry. There is no rational reason or justification to NOT require verification of eligibility to vote.

NPR Spreads False Claim About Black Voters 'Targeted' by Voter ID Laws

Fessler does not cite numerous opinion polls showing that black Americans, like other Americans, favor voter ID laws to protect the integrity of the ballot. She ignores the fact that black and Hispanic turnout has increased since voter ID laws were passed--even when controlling for Barack Obama’s historic 2008 candidacy. She does not even try to capture the views of ordinary voters in the black community on either side of the issue.

Instead, Fessler quotes black leaders, not voters--including (above) Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) of “Tea Party N-word” infamy. These leaders are no more concerned about voting rights than is Attorney General Eric Holder, whose primary concern is shoring up turnout for Obama’s re-election campaign. That is because voting rights are not threatened in the least by voter ID laws. Fraud, not voter ID, is the only danger.

Industry Groups Dispute Obama’s Claim to Pursue ‘All-of-the-Above’ Energy Policy | CNSNews.com

Industry Groups Dispute Obama’s Claim to Pursue ‘All-of-the-Above’ Energy Policy | CNSNews.com

One industry representative said that if the government allowed the industry to fully develop the country’s resources, the U.S. could “surpass Russia and China as the world’s largest producer of crude oil.”

The claims came during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing examining whether Obama is living up to his promise to pursue all domestic energy options.

“The question for this committee: Is that goal being achieved, and if not, why not?” committee chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said in his opening remarks.

Because Dear Leader wants electricty and gasoline so expensive, we'll have to use every cent we earn just to survive.

Draw and STRIKE!

H/T to my Yankee Girl Boston Maggie for the link. You should go read the whole post.

Draw and STRIKE!

Hayes went from insulting the fallen to insulting the living. Many of the living observing Memorial Day this year lost someone in the field of battle in just the last 10 years. Useless pro-forma ritual my ass.

In a true classic case of liberal projection, because Memorial Day is essentially a meaningless pro-forma ritual in his mind, he assumes it must be the same for every one else. He didn't really care about America's fallen soldiers so nobody else really does either. It's all a show, a sham, a kabuki theater.

You know why the Left is so pathetic? They keep talking about how awesome their empathy for others is. They supposedly have this amazing ability to empathize. And it's complete BS. People who spend a lot of their time bragging to you about how empathetic they are end up being like Mark Twain's Honorable Man:

"The more he shouted & protested about his honor, the faster we counted our spoons."


The Marxists &  Socialists that make up much of the intelligentsia of the Left disdain America's actual founding, it's governing philosophy, and rail against the traditions & ceremonies that teach each new generation a shared collective memory of appreciation for what makes America exceptional. 

Outrage: Secret Service Interrogates Obama Eligibility Activist

Sweet dreams, Kiddies.

Outrage: Secret Service Interrogates Obama Eligibility Activist

In a country which guarantees our free speech, it is chilling to see the US Government sending armed agents to scope out political activists. If Rudy was a leftist, Obama himself would be denouncing this visit. In Obama’s America, anyone can hear a knock on the door if you are vocal in your legitimate political disputes with Obama and his minions. I am proud that Rudy Davis held his ground, but he has no legal requirement to answer.

How About We Compare the Investment Records of Bain Capital and the Obama Administration?

How About We Compare the Investment Records of Bain Capital and the Obama Administration?

Because I garontee the numbers will be negative in Dear Leaders column.

Dear Leader is an academic hack who never held a paying job that wasn't funded by grants from taxes paid by working people. He never made a payroll, never made, created, or developed a usable product or sevice. He has no concept of hard work and success. His only success is conning people (i.e. "useful idiots") into supporting him.  He is the very antithesis of the American Dream. He is a charlatan; a con man; and a Marxist.