A message from the past for our troops today

I don't know where the flamboyance has gone. The bravado. The intestinal fortitude to step forward and LEAD in a way that inspires and motivates troops to follow. I don't know where the living legends are today.

Without a doubt General George S. Patton was one of the most flamboyant leaders to have commanded an army. I want to put forth his words here, as they are as applicable today, in my mind, as they were when he spoke them during World War II. Any of you who have ever seen the movie Patton, staring George C. Scott, should recognize this instantly:

Be Seated.


Men, this stuff we hear about America wanting to stay out of the war, not wanting to fight, is a lot of bullshit. Americans love to fight - traditionally. All real Americans love the sting and clash of battle. When you were kids, you all admired the champion marble player; the fastest runner; the big league ball players; the toughest boxers. Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser. Americans despise cowards. Americans play to win - all the time. I wouldn't give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed. That's why Americans have never lost, not ever will lose a war, for the very thought of losing is hateful to an American.


You are not all going to die. Only two percent of you here today would die in a major battle. Death must not be feared. Every man is frightened at first in battle. If he says he isn't, he's a goddamn liar. Some men are cowards, yes! But they fight just the same, or get the hell shamed out of them watching men who do fight who are just as scared. The real hero is the man who fights even though he is scared. Some get over their fright in a minute under fire, some take an hour. For some it takes days. But the real man never lets fear of death overpower his honor, his sense of duty to this country and his innate manhood.


All through your army career you men have bitched about "This chickenshit drilling." That is all for a purpose. Drilling and discipline must be maintained in any army if for only one reason -- INSTANT OBEDIENCE TO ORDERS AND TO CREATE CONSTANT ALERTNESS. I don't give a damn for a man who is not always on his toes. You men are veterans or you wouldn't be here. You are ready. A man to continue breathing must be alert at all times. If not, sometime a German son-of-a-bitch will sneak up behind him and beat him to death with a sock full of shit.


There are 400 neatly marked graves somewhere in Sicily all because one man went to sleep on his job -- but they were German graves for we caught the bastard asleep before his officers did. An Army is a team. Lives, sleeps, eats, fights as a team. This individual heroic stuff is a lot of crap. The bilious bastards who wrote that kind of stuff for the Saturday Evening Post don't know any more about real fighting, under fire, than they do about fucking. We have the best food, the finest equipment, the best spirit and the best fighting men in the world. Why, by God, I actually pity these poor sons-of-bitches we are going up against. By God, I do!


My men don't surrender. I don't want to hear of any soldier under my command being captured unless he is hit. Even if you are hit, you can still fight. That's not just bullshit, either. The kind of man I want under me is like the lieutenant in Libya, who, with a Lugar against his chest, jerked off his helmet, swept the gun aside with one hand and busted hell out of the Boche with the helmet. Then he jumped on the gun and went out and killed another German: All this with a bullet through his lung. That's a man for you.


All real heroes are not story book combat fighters either. Every man in the army plays a vital part. Every little job is essential. Don't ever let down, thinking your role is unimportant. Every man has a job to do. Every man is a link in the great chain. What if every truck driver decided that he didn't like the whine of the shells overhead, turned yellow and jumped headlong into the ditch? He could say to himself, "They won't miss me -- just one in thousands." What if every man said that? Where in hell would we be now? No, thank God, Americans don't say that! Every man does his job; every man serves the whole. Every department, every unit, is important to the vast scheme of things. The Ordnance men are needed to supply the guns, the Quartermaster to bring up the food and clothes to us -- for where we're going there isn't a hell of a lot to steal. Every last man in the mess hall, even the one who heats the water to keep us from getting the GI shits has a job to do. Even the chaplain is important, for if we get killed and if he is not there to bury us we'd all go to hell.


Each man must not only think of himself, but of his buddy fighting beside him. We don't want yellow cowards in this army. They should all be killed off like flies. If not they will go back home after the war and breed more cowards. The brave men will breed brave men. Kill off the goddamn cowards and we'll have a nation of brave men.


One of the bravest men I ever saw in the African campaign was the fellow I saw on top of a telegraph pole in the midst of furious fire while we were plowing toward Tunis. I stopped and asked what the hell he was doing up there at that time. He answered, "Fixing the wire, sir." "Isn't it a little unhealthy right now?," I asked. "Yes sir, but this goddamn wire's got to be fixed." There was a real soldier. There was a man who devoted all he had to his duty, no matter how great the odds, no matter how seemingly insignificant his duty might appear at the time.


You should have seen those trucks on the road to Gabes. The drivers were magnificent. All day and all night they rolled over those son-of-a-bitching roads, never stopping, never faltering from their course, with shells bursting around them all the time. We got through on good old American guts. Many of these men drove over forty consecutive hours. These weren't combat men. But they were soldiers with a job to do. They did it -- and in a whale of a way they did it. They were part of a team. Without them the fight would have been lost. All the links in the chain pulled together and that chain became unbreakable.


Don't forget, you don't know I'm here. No word of the fact is to be mentioned in any letters. The world is not supposed to know what the hell became of me. I'm not supposed to be commanding this Army. I'm not even supposed to be in England. Let the first bastards to find out be the goddamn Germans. Someday I want them to raise up on their hind legs and howl, "Jesus Christ, it's the goddamn Third Army and that son-of-a-bitch Patton again."


We want to get the hell over there. We want to get over there and clear the goddamn thing up. You can't win a war lying down. The quicker we clean up this goddamn mess, the quicker we can take a jaunt against the purple pissing Japs an clean their nest out too, before the Marines get all the goddamn credit.


Sure, we all want to be home. We want this thing over with. The quickest way to get it over is to get the bastards. The quicker they are whipped, the quicker we go home. The shortest way home is through Berlin. When a man is lying in a shell hole, if he just stays there all day, a Boche will get him eventually, and the hell with that idea. The hell with taking it. My men don't dig foxholes. I don't want them to. Foxholes only slow up an offensive. Keep moving. And don't give the enemy time to dig one. We'll win this war but we'll win it only by fighting and by showing the Germans we've got more guts than they have.


There is one great thing you men will all be able to say when you go home. You may thank God for it. Thank God, that at least, thirty years from now, when you are sitting around the fireside with your grandson on your knees, and he asks you what you did in the great war, you won't have to cough and say, "I shoveled shit in Louisiana."

Rock steady!

God bless and keep each and every one of you, your nation is proud of you.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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A liberal in Soldier's clothing...

When is a door not a door? When it's ajar.

Silly old kids joke, I know, but it leads into another question: when is a liberal not a liberal? Answer: a liberal is ALWAYS a liberal, no matter how hard it tries to pretend it isn't.

I've seen a lot of strained, forced behavior in my day, but Spencer Ackerman takes the cake in his piece entitled The Bitter End. I can't even begin to figure out exactly where he's going with his article, it's that convoluted and, as my seventeen year old son would say, "random." On the one hand, he tries to make the case for Congressional demands that the war in Iraq come to an end; on the other, he tries to show the troops impressions on how they feel about a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq.

Haunted by Vietnam, Democrats are determined to express support for the troops. This is admirable. The truth of the matter, however, is this: many troops in Iraq, perhaps even most of them, want to stay and fight. That doesn’t mean that we should stay in Iraq any longer. It does mean, however, that if Democrats want to bridge the divide between themselves and the military—an effort further complicated by their opposition to the war—they’re going to have to recognize that arguing in the name of the troops isn’t going to work.

Okay, so the Democrats don't want the war, but they don't want to be seen as not supporting the troops, so they try to say that since they care about the troops, they want them safe, let's bring them home? Is that the message? John "Breck Boy" Edwards seems to think so. I hope to gods I don't see any of his damned suggested signs this weekend, either, by the way. I think I may just have to go off on someone.

Ahem.

Sorry, sidetracked.

We continue.

Democrats, liberals, have tried to use this "protect the troops" tactic for quite a little while now. Is our military so pitiful it needs the brave, protective Congress to protect it? I don't think so. "George W. LIED to the American people, he LIED about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, he LIED about al-Qaeda involvement in Iraq." Is that a fact. I reckon Bill and Hillary Clinton and Al Gore lied about it, too, then, because they said the same things before W was elected to office. Amazing how liberals gloss over that and ignore it.

Soldiers may see that their unit is accomplishing its objectives and feel a boost in morale. They may search a house and find a weapons cache, for instance, or they may track down a crucial member of a terrorist cell and take him into custody. Frustratingly, as obvious and long as the list of tactical successes may be, absent dramatic political improvements they rarely coalesce on their own into a change in a counterinsurgency’s overall fortunes. And these aren’t questions soldiers can afford to concern themselves with. “Once you’re engaged, eyeball to eyeball, you tend not to think about those strategic issues at all. You’re trying to shoot and shoot back,” says retired General Merrill McPeak, a former Air Force chief of staff and Vietnam veteran. “Your entire focus becomes tactical.”

In addition, with the bar for success getting increasingly lower, even small improvements feel big. “They have a new commander over there, and at least the appearance and the rhetoric of a new strategy,” says military expert Richard Kohn of the University of North Carolina. The soldiers, says Kohn, will tell themselves, “All right, this is it. This is the one last chance.” (Indeed, this is almost exactly what Smith and Miller expressed to me.)

Okay, has the man not heard of gathering intelligence and information from unit and squad debriefing sessions? You put all the information together that comes in from the battlefield, from the rear, from the support units, the firebases, and so on and so on and so on and you put together a big clear picture of what's going on.

Fortunately, Congress seems to be, grudgingly, admitting at last that we can't abandon Iraq or the Middle East. For the record, before I include what follows, I want it made perfectly clear for the record that I still WILL NOT watch CNN news for their traitorous act of showing an American soldier being executed by a sniper first on television, then as a download on their site. WUA still uses them as a source, however, and sent this to me, ergo I felt compelled to include it. CNN remains, however, on my shitlist until they make ammends for treasonous acts.

House, Senate pass war funding bill
POSTED: 0202 GMT (1002 HKT), May 24, 2007

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Congress sent a $120 billion war spending bill to the White House late Thursday, abandoning a call for most U.S. troops to leave Iraq after an earlier veto by President Bush.

The bill replaces the earlier goal of withdrawing U.S. combat troops by March 2008 with a series of political benchmarks for Iraqi leaders to meet in order to receive continued American support.

But the move sharply split the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives, where 140 members -- including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi -- voted against the plan.

Simmer down, Nancy, at least your plastic surgeon hasn't signed up. It's about damned time that Congress did something right. Lord knows they've done enough wrong, ESPECIALLY in the last six months since this Congress was sworn in.

This bickering back and forth, the media lies, the Congress men and women and Senators with yellow stripes down their backs, are wearing on the people in the uniforms of our nation's service. Instead of being part of the solution, they're being part of the problem. A HUGE part of the problem. In some cases, they ARE the problem:

Carlson: Shift news to successes in Iraq, soldier urges

JOHN CARLSON'S IOWA

A tired and disgusted Iowa soldier fired off an e-mail a few days ago, telling family and friends how things are going in Iraq.

A Blackhawk helicopter pilot, Chief Warrant Officer Jim Funk has flown more than 80 combat missions since he arrived there in October.

He described his Boone-based unit's successes after 5,000 hours of flying out of LSA Anaconda, a huge American base north of Baghdad. He talked about the tragedies he and his fellow Iowans have witnessed and his worries of becoming complacent as he goes on mission after mission.

Morale?

"We're treading water," the Ames man told the people closest to him. "We continue to kick butt on missions and take care of each other, even though we know the American public and government DOES NOT stand behind us.

Ohhhh, they all say they support us, but how can you support me (the soldier) if you don't support my mission or my objectives. We watch the news over here. Every time we turn it on we see the American public and Hollywood conducting protests and rallies against our 'illegal occupation' of Iraq."

His greatest frustration? The performance of the people who deliver the news to the American people

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Go read the full article, read his letter, his words are compelling and from the heart.

Can a liberal pass himself off as a conservative? Not really. Not well, at any rate.

This is Memorial Day weekend. Honor well those who have fallen in defense of our freedom, in defense of our way of life. Respect those who wear the uniform still today, and support them. Not just with lip service, really, honestly support them.

They put themselves in harms way to make sure that the American people don't have to.

God bless them one and all.

To our soldiers, Marines, airmen and sailors, you have the thanks of this veteran, and I salute you. And I think regular readers of our site know that that ain't just lip service...

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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Israel Under More Attacks...Will the Media Blame Them Again?

Israel is a nation constantly under the gun. Not only from their active, shooting enemies, but from the media and indeed the United Nations. The UN has repeatedly shown their bias against this small nation in the Middle East, blaming Israel for problems when the Israeli's have returned fire or counter attacked against forces moving against them. The dinosaur media eats it up, each and every time, and according to them it's ALWAYS Israel in the wrong for fighting back.

Keep a watch over the next few days and see if it doesn't happen again when Israel responds to these latest attacks:

Israel threatens Hamas political leaders

By STEVE WEIZMAN, Associated Press Writer

JERUSALEM - Israel's deputy defense minister threatened Tuesday to target Hamas political leaders, calling them "terrorists in suits" after a rocket attack by the Islamic militant group killed an Israeli woman.

The harsh words were backed up by action. Israel airstrikes targeted two suspected arms caches and two Hamas bases. Later, an Israeli helicopter strafed a rocket launch site with machine-gun fire near the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun. Palestinian officials said a total of 10 people were wounded.

The 31-year-old woman who died Monday night was the first Israeli killed by a Palestinian rocket since November, inviting a harsh response. Militants fired nine more rockets at Israel on Tuesday, slightly wounding two people, the army said.

Israeli leaders suggested that even Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas could be targeted in reprisals, with Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh calling Hamas' leaders "terrorists in suits" in a radio interview.

"We don't care if he's a ringleader, a perpetrator of rocket launching or if he is one of the political leaders," Sneh later told The Associated Press. "No one has immunity."

Wary of Israeli strikes, leaders of Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups in Gaza have lowered their profiles, turning off cell phones and staying off the streets.

In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri threatened harsh retaliation if the group's leaders were attacked.

"Harming ... any of Hamas' leadership will cost the occupation dearly," he said. "This will mean responses." He did not elaborate.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, of the moderate Fatah, traveled from his West Bank headquarters to Gaza for talks with Hamas leadership in a last-ditch attempt to salvage a truce with Israel and rein in factional bloodletting between the two factions.

Abbas himself is seen as a potential target of Hamas. Witnesses said he entered the strip Tuesday evening in a motorcade of dozens of vehicles bristling with armed guards, while presidential security forces locked down central Gaza thoroughfares and marksmen staked out rooftop vantage points along the route to his seafront official residence.

Fatah officials said Abbas would meet Haniyeh but would not divulge the timing or location, citing security concerns.

After a six-month lull, Israel resumed airstrikes on militant targets in Gaza last Wednesday in response to heavy rocket fire. More than 40 Palestinians, most of them militants, have been killed.

Despite Israeli vows of harsh retaliation in response to Monday night's Sderot attack, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert acknowledged there is no quick solution for the rocket barrages.

Israel's high-tech military has not been able to find a solution for countering the crude homemade rockets. In the past week, more than 150 rockets have landed in and around Sderot, a town of 24,000 people about a mile from the Gaza border.

Defense Minister Amir Peretz told visiting European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana that Israel was holding off on launching a major ground offensive into Gaza in order to give diplomacy a chance to defuse the crisis, Peretz's office said.

The government evacuated hundreds of Sderot residents to hotels in other parts of the country for the Shavuot Jewish holiday, which began at sundown. The evacuation was orderly, and Israeli soldiers helped people board the buses.

Mechi Friederwitzer-Fendell, who immigrated to Israel from New York city in 2000 and has raised seven children in Sderot, said she is staying put. But she urged the government to get tougher still with the Palestinians.

"Maybe we should knock down some houses," she said. "They fire a missile and we destroy a few houses, let them realize that we can't stand for this."

Hamas' rocket attacks apparently have been aimed at triggering an Israel response that could unite Palestinians and end the infighting. Some 50 people were killed in the factional violence last week.

Ahmed Youssef, a senior Hamas official, said the group would consider talks on a cease-fire, if Israel first stopped its "mad attacks."

"The aggression must stop so we can talk about a comprehensive cease-fire," said Youssef, a top aide to Haniyeh. "The government is working on expanding the truce. This is a national interest."

Israel dismissed talk of a new cease-fire, saying Hamas never sticks to truces.

"Hamas ... is leading the violence," Peretz said. "We don't intend on stopping. We will stop at the point that the rockets stop."

To the dinosaur media, you are being watched. You are being scrutinized. You are under the microscope. Will you do the right thing this time and report this situation accurately? Will you stand up to the Islamic extremist's to whom you have been bowing down to the past several decades? Or will you continue to show your bias, your lies, your corruption and once again blame the Israelis as they retaliate for the strikes against their national sovereignty? We are WATCHING you, and you will be held accountable for your actions, as will the forces of evil driving the assaults against the nation of Israel.

Americans are starting to wake up to the truth, shaking off the shackles of complacency and apathy that you have enslaved them in for so long with your lies and biased reporting. The truth always comes out. The truth is coming out now, even as I write this...

The Sleeping Giant is reawakening.

And he's PISSED.

Shalom, Israel.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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Pack your bags, Lamar...

Lamar Alexander, I remember when you walked 1,000 miles across the state of Tennessee in a red and black flannel shirt in your bid for Governor of Tennessee. I remember SEEING you walking down the street in the Fish Fry parade in Paris, Tennessee, smiling and waving at people along the route, shaking hands and the like.

It worked, you won two terms as Governor.

I remember your presidential bids in 96 and 2000. You had my support until you withdrew from the races, knowing it was an uphill battle that you couldn't win. You had my vote when you ran for the senate...

I tried calling your office to let my word, one of your constituents in this state, someone who VOTED for you, be known.

Thousands of us tried to call your office over the last few days.

From Thursday until Monday I got a busy signal.

People calling into talk radio shows across this state, Steve Gill primarily among them, reported the same. You know Steve Gill. You were on his show this morning, skirting questions and dancing around issues. That pissed your voter base off even more, those of us who could stomach listening to you talking out of both sides of your mouth after yesterday.

Busy signals, Lamar.

I don't recollect your predecessor, Fred Thompson, ever having busy signals when people tried to call in.

NOT FOR FIVE DAYS.

I know I don't speak for every Republican in this state, but I can tell you this. There are a LOT of us who are FURIOUS with your "yes" vote yesterday. You didn't listen. I can't prove that your phones where off the hook, but that's the speculation amongst the people who PUT YOU IN OFFICE.

I don't believe we'll be repeating that mistake.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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Hillary Clinton NEEDS YOUR HELP

My dear friends.

I know you expect this to be a blog site supporting conservative ideas, conservative values, and conservative candidates.

WE ARE NOT WITHOUT COMPASSION TO THE LIBERALS WHEN THEY ASK FOR HELP.

Hillary Clinton has asked the American people for their help with something.



I think that Wake Up America and it's readers should do our part to help Senator Clinton.

She needs a theme song for her campaign. She's asking for the input of the American people in this to choose one. Bill's theme was "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow." Let's show Hillary Clinton how we feel.

I'm asking you for your opinions, here. Leave us a comment with your suggestions for helping Hillary Clinton with JUST the right song that captures "the essence of Hillary."

I know you'll come up with brilliant song suggestions.

And THANK YOU in advance for being the kind, compassionate people you are.

Oh, what's Hawk's suggestion for the Clinton Presidential Theme Song, you ask? Personally, I'm leaning toward "Liar" by Three Dog Night, "The Bitch is Back" by Elton John, or "Double Life" by Styx...

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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Purple Hearts...

I can't recall a time in history when a sitting President has been under more fire during a time of war than President Bush has been, unless it would be Abraham Lincoln, whose name was spoken ill of during the 1860's in the south.

That being said, what follows is heartwarming, touching, and shows a great deal of compassion by those involved. It makes sense when you read it. Outstanding.

Hat tip to Jules Crittenden for this one.

Copperas Cove man to give president his Purple Heart

By Joyce May
Killeen Daily Herald

COPPERAS COVE – History will be made today when Copperas Cove resident Bill Thomas and his wife, Georgia, present President George W. Bush with a Purple Heart at the Oval Office.

Thomas said he and his wife came up with the unprecedented idea to present the president with the Purple Heart over breakfast one morning a few months ago as they discussed the verbal attacks, both foreign and domestic, the commander in chief has withstood during his time in office.

"We feel like emotional wounds and scars are as hard to carry as physical wounds," Thomas said.

The medal was awarded to Thomas on Dec. 18, 1965, following injuries he sustained while serving in heavy combat with the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vietnam.

It is one of three he was awarded during his service.

Thomas said the Purple Heart he is presenting the president has special meaning to him because the injury he suffered to earn it occurred just after a friend, Richard Peterson, lost his life attempting to save him.

"The hand grenade came in, and I didn't see it. Before diving, which he should have ... he pushed me down and the delay cost him his life," Thomas recalled. "Shortly after that, I was laying in position ... and took a .50-caliber round that shattered my shoulder blade and virtually took out my right lung."

Thomas said he drew up a citation and he and his wife signed it before dropping it and the medal off with Rep. John Carter, R-Round Rock, to forward to President Bush.

"Congressman Carter called me last week and said the President was very moved by it, and would like us to present it in person," Thomas said.

Thomas is taking a copy of the original citation showing the origin of the actual medal to present as a companion piece with the citation he drew up for the President.

He has drawn criticism from some locals who have learned of his actions, Thomas said. Nevertheless, he said he earned the Purple Heart and it is his to do with it as he sees fit.

"I feel the President deserved one," he said. "The bottom line is, I paid for these Purple Hearts with my blood."

The Thomas' are scheduled to be at the White House at 12:30 p.m. Monday.

"As John Carter said, this is a piece of American history," Thomas said.

Contact Joyce May at jmay@kdhnews.com or call (254) 547-0428

Reminder; the President is the Commander in Chief of the United States Armed Forces. HE is in the chain of command. CONGRESS is NOT in the chain of command.

Like I said, this makes sense to me.

HOOOOWAAAA

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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THESE COLORS DON'T RUN!

It seems Nancy Pelosi is devoping QUITE a pattern of not allowing the media to cover things regarding her if they show her in a bad light.
Honestly, I don't know of any lighting where she would look good, perhaps total darkness is best for the screecher of the house, but I digress before I've even gotten started.

Ahem.

Protestors at yesterdays Surrender is Not an Option rallies who were allowed into screecherPelosi's office entered under a ban of cameras or media members.

'Surrender monkeys' protest Pelosi, Reid

Posted: May 18, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern


By Catherine Moy

Protesters and "surrender monkeys" marched on the offices of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., yesterday opposing the Democrats retreat-and-defeat policies in the war against Muslim jihadists in Iraq and around the world.

The "surrender monkeys" – played by two chimpanzees in San Francisco – wore the uniform of the original surrender monkeys from France: a beret and a waving white flag.

Move America Forward, or MAF, the country's largest pro-troop group, sponsored the "Surrender is Not an Option" protests in three cities: San Francisco, Las Vegas and Carson City, Nev. The protesters included Iraqi veterans, Vietnam veterans, Gold Star parents, Blue Star parents, American patriots and special guests: two chimpanzees and one French monkey dressed as "cheese-eating surrender monkeys."

Following the protest, 10 people were allowed inside Pelosi's San Francisco office to discuss the issues with a staff person. The media were prohibited from witnessing the meeting; cameras and recording devices were banned with no explanation. Guards kept an eye on the rally and strictly controlled entry into Pelosi's office.

The Cowardly Lion didn't cotton to having visitors come calling, either.

Sen. Reid's office did not take kindly to the 100-plus protesters at his Carson City office. A handful of people, including a war veteran carrying a flag, went to the office and asked a Reid worker if they could make a formal complaint to the Democratic senator. The group, led by Eric Odom of www.opposereid.com, asked her if she agreed with Reid. The woman slammed the door in their faces (video is available online).

Neither Reid nor his office could be reached for comment on the incident.

Isn't it amazing how often this is becoming the case with these two? "Not available for comment." "Could not be reached for comment." Translation, they ain't answerin' the damned phones, people. These leftist elitists are showing in TRUE FORM that they don't give a DAMN about their constituents, America as a nation, or anything anyone outside of their inner circles has to say.

Outstanding work to those who were able to make it to the rallies.

Humboldt County GOP Chairperson Patricia Welch and Eureka Republican Women President Joy Finley presented U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson’s office with a basket of white feathers and surrender flags Thursday morning as part of Surrender is Not an Option Day. Submitted photo

Surrender is Not an Option Day
by Cerena Johnson, 5/17/2007

Members of the Humboldt County Republican Party walked into U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson’s Eureka office Thursday morning to voice support for troops serving in Iraq.

The group intended to hold a pro-troop rally in front of the office in coordination with protests in San Francisco, Las Vegas and Carson City, as part of Surrender is Not an Option Day.

About five residents presented Thompson’s staff with a basket of white feathers and surrender flags, as well as a letter taking a stance against Democratic legislation for the Iraq War.

“The resolutions being proposed in Congress against the president’s call for additional troops are not in the best interests of the United States,” the letter stated.

It was requested in the letter that Thompson “stop politicizing the war and the men and women in uniform who are so bravely serving our country.”

Demonstrations were initially organized by the nonprofit organization Move America Forward.

I don't know that I necessarily agree with the title of the next one, but I'm SURE the Cowardly Lion and the Scarecrow FELT like they were being attacked...

Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid’s Offices Attacked By Surrender Monkeys

May 17, 2007 - San Francisco, CA - PipeLineNews.org - At 10:30 AM today MoveAmericaForward.org, America’s largest grassroots pro-troop support group brought a bit of street theater to bear on the Democrat leadership.

Outside Nancy Pelosi's office in San Francisco and Harry Reid’s offices in Las Vegas and Carson City, Nevada, living, breathing "Surrender Monkeys" led crowds of patriots in a protest over efforts by the House and Senate leadership to de-fund the war and hand al-Qaeda a victory in Iraq.

The monkeys appeared to be having a good time, but made clear in a statement released before the event that they took a bit of umbrage at being compared to the likes of Reid and Pelosi.

(CBS 5 / AP) SAN FRANCISCO Iraq War supporters surrounded the district offices of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority leader Harry Reid on Thursday.

Protestors brought chimpanzees from Hollywood to underline their charge that Pelosi and Reid are what the protestors call "surrender monkeys" for their opposition to the war.

"We are going to be out in the streets, with our flags, with our white surrender flags, with monkeys, with people, with energy and dedication and enthusiasm," said protest organizer Melanie Morgan. "Because we have a job to do and that is support our troops."

War opponents have claimed supporting the troops mean bringing them home.

Two people who attended Thursday's protest are parents who lost sons in the Iraq war. Joseph Williams says his son was killed on the third day of the war.

Debra Argel Bastian, whose son Derek Argel died in 2005, said Iraqis are thankful for the U.S. troop presence in Iraq.

"When I was in Iraq in November, I met a group of very thankful people," Bastian said.


Her son served as a captain for the Air Force.

"The troops don’t want to pull out, they want to finish their mission," Bastian added. "And I’m just very confused, because none of the politicians I hear in Washington are able to give us any sort of idea what happens when we do pull out, what happens here."

Let me make this clear, in plain, simple terms that even a politician can understand. We may have cowards in elected positions, there may be a very vocal minority out there who wants to cut and run, the news media with their liberal leanings may want us to surrender, BUT KNOW THIS:

The Heart and Soul of the American Fighing Man/Woman can NOT accept surrender, can NOT accept defeat, and can NOT accept anything but victory, nor can the American public at large.

Tired of the war, my ass. Our TROOPS are asking to let them finish, if they're willing to soldier on, WHO THE HELL IS A POLITICIAN NOT IN THE FIELD TO SAY OTHERWISE?

Again, NO member of Congress is in the chain of command.

THESE COLORS DO NOT RUN.



Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

.

John Edwards JUST DON'T GET IT

If you want PROOF that the Breck Boy doesn't get it, send him a message telling him how you are disgusted by his call for protests on Memorial Day, as reported earlier by WUA here and here. What do you get in response? Email's from him asking for your support, and from his wife asking for you to support her husband.

SIMPLY amazing.

Dear Mike,

Memorial Day Weekend is a time to honor all the brave men and women throughout our history who have served in our armed forces, especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice to safeguard our freedom. I believe it is our duty to use that freedom to stand up for those now serving in the most meaningful way that we can—by thanking them, supporting them, and bringing them home to a hero’s welcome.

It's time to support the troops. For far too long, George Bush has abused the rhetoric of patriotism to silence his critics and paper over the devastating cost of his war to the country we love. Our troops have served bravely and sacrificed without hesitation. Yet they are now paying the price for Bush's stubborn pursuit of his failed strategy in Iraq. Our troops deserve far better, and we all have a responsibility to stand up for them.

So this Memorial Day Weekend, I'm asking every one of us to take a stand for the troops and against the war. Let's reclaim patriotism for all of us who love our country, support our troops and fiercely believe in our hearts that this war must end now.

That's the opening of HIS. Here's the opening of HERS:

Dear Mike

I am so proud that today in Iowa, John is announcing the launch of our new group: Women for Edwards. Women from across the country—elected officials, community leaders, workers, political activists, mothers, daughters, sisters—have added their voices to the campaign.

Today, I'm asking you to join us. Please help me by sending this email on to your sister, your mother, a friend or any woman you know who might be interested in joining our campaign. Tell them the news about Women for Edwards, and let them know we need their voice.

Exactly WHAT does one have to do to make it clear when they say something like I said to them that you think that what they are doing is reprehensible?

Congratulations on your idea to turn a holiday tributing our veterans and military into a day of protest. Only the sickest, most vile of minds and cowardly of hearts could have come up with such a disgusting concept. God help me you'll not win an election if it comes to THIS veteran voting for you. Go have yourself a nice little spa day, you don't have the intestinal fortitude to run this country.

UNbelievable.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

.

THIS is "To Protect and Serve?"

It's not often I find myself saying much about law enforcement abuse. It's very seldom I find myself siding with the ACLU on ANYTHING.

When a decorated war hero is attacked by law enforcement officers simply for asking questions that puts me in company with strange bedfellows. What happened to Sgt Mark England in Las Vegas goes above and beyond police abuse.

Hat tip to Beth for this one, with compliments to A Soldier's Perspective and Cat is my copilot for their postings as well.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Assault American Hero at McCarran Airport

Hat Tip again to Miss Ladybug. This is ABSOLUTELY OUTRAGEOUS treatment of an American war hero! She got the original link from Soldier's Perspective and it's a complete abuse of power by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department at McCarran Airport in Las Vegas.








Here is the plea from SGT Mark T. & Julianna England:

We need help this week in putting pressure on the Las Vegas Metro Police Dept. and the TV station that interviewed my husband…

1) We need to flood the LVMPD with emails and calls letting them know how disgusted we are with the fact that these officers are still on the job after assaulting my husband they way they did for no reason

We can do this by ~Calling - LT. TIM ROBERTS AND DETECTIVE EVANSAT 702/828-3422 OR EMAIL THEM AT P3802E@LVMPD.COM

2) We need to continue to flood the ABC-Las Vegas station KTNV with emails and calls telling them how outraged we are by this story

We can do this by ~
Calling BEN DECI OF ABC-LAS VEGAS AT 702/871-3345 OR Emailing him at BDECI@KTNV.COM!!

Calling Polo Corona of ABC-Las Vegas at 702/871-3345 OR Emailing him at acorona@ktnv.com!!

Thank you again our friends for your help! The videos are below if you haven't seen them or want to pass them on!

Love you guys!
SGT Mark T. & Julianna England

Once again I find myself asking "Where is the Main Stream Media on this?" I'll tell you where. They're sitting on their asses not doing a DAMNED thing to help this soldier because he's not under the umbrella of being politically acceptable and correct to them.

So it's up to us, especially my fellow veterans. Contact the Las Vegas Police Department and demand justice for our brother in arms. I've not done this yet, because there are so many, many things out there that need to be handled, but it's time for the battle cry...

EAGLES UP!

Sgt. and Mrs. England, our thoughts and prayers are with you.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

Islamberg Update...now the death threats begin...

It seems we've touched a nerve, those of us spreading the word about this story. Is anyone surprised at this? Shouldn't be. It just goes to show, in my mind, how serious the situation is.

Know this.

Some of us may fall, some of us may be taken out. Others are still out there to spread the word, to spread the truth. The truth will not lay silent. The truth will not lay dormant. The truth will be known.

Hat tip to Heading right:

US Blogger Death Threat Over Islamberg
Remember this story about Islamberg, the Islamist paramilitary compound in New York I posted here? Well you know you’ve hit a nerve with Islam when they start issuing fatwas (death threats) against bloggers. The truth about Islam.
WTF are they training for in Islamberg? I did forward the blogger the appropriate FBI contacts. STAY ON THIS.

Blogger who posted CFP Islamberg story had life threatened
Canada Free Press, Judi McLeod


“Dear Robert, Brigette and Paul (Williams),

“Were any of you threatened in any way, specifically for carrying the Islamberg story?” asked a blogger, who copied Canada Free Press (CFP) last night.

Robert is Robert Spencer, the director of Jihad Watch, a project of the David Horowitz Freedom Center, and author of two New York Times bestsellers on Islamic Jihad.

Brigette is Brigette Gabriel, a Lebanese Christian and Middle East correspondent, who is Director of American Congress.

Paul Williams, prolific writer and author of the newly released Day of Islam, wrote a CFP cover story published May 11, detailing a radical Muslim paramilitary compound that flourishes in upper New York State.

I'll let you draw your own conclusions from that. Personally, I'm not going unarmed anymore, in one form or another...

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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Respect: a message from the Commander of the American Legion

Paul Morin has spoken, and his words, while few, are very important, and filled with great wisdom. I agree completely with his message, it makes sense, and it's the honorable thing to do.

I only hope that there remains enough honor in this nation that it can be fully done. Yes, John Edwards, that means you. John Kerry, you keep your damned mouth shut, too. And I sincerly hope Cindy Sheehan stays her ass at home, too...

Memorial Day is a day for paying tribute and saying a silent prayer of thanks, not for protestation. How tacky.

'nuff said, read the article... Special hat tip to the_right-reverand at GOE Forums for the link to this great message.

Message to America: Respect Memorial Day
By National Commander Paul A. Morin

Photo by John Raughter
Here is a surprise, I am not going to defend the Iraq war. I won’t even explain the importance of the war on terrorism. VA budget? Not today. That’s because this column is about Memorial Day, a hallowed day that should be about honoring the more than one million men and women who died in the service of this nation in wars and conflicts dating back to 1775. It should be above politics. Period.

Yet one presidential candidate has blatantly violated the sanctity of this most special day. I recently received an e-mail from a group called “Supportthetroopsendthewar.com.” It included a video of former Sen. John Edwards. He calls on Americans to use Memorial Day weekend as a time to “bring an end to this war.” Shockingly, the video is titled “A Memorial Day Message from John Edwards,” with the smoking gun note, “Paid for by John Edwards for President.” Moreover, the e-mail recommends that Americans bring signs with the message “Support the troops, End the War” to local Memorial Day parades. Revolting is a kind word for it. It’s as inappropriate as a political bumper sticker on an Arlington headstone.

Edwards is hardly the first politician from either political party to exploit this day, a holiday that was consecrated with the blood of American heroes. But the e-mail makes me sick nonetheless. It needs to stop. This isn’t about Edwards, it’s about everybody. As national commander of The American Legion, I implore all candidates to refrain from politicking on Memorial Day.

The families of those killed in war should not be led to believe that their loved ones died for a less-than-worthy cause. They died because they took an oath to defend this nation and its Constitution. The sacrifice is the same whether it’s for a “popular war” or an unpopular one. Memorial Day should be an occasion to bring Americans together to honor these heroes.

It brings to mind the words of Army Sergeant First Class Jack Robison, who recently wrote from Iraq, “Sometimes I think God must be creating an elite unit in heaven, because He only seems to select the very best soldiers to bring home early.”

If you want to honor these heroes, visit a veterans cemetery on Memorial Day. Attend a parade without the divisive political signs. Make cards for the comrades of the fallen that are recuperating in military and VA hospitals. Lay a wreath at the stone of a departed hero.

We Americans need to remember why Memorial Day is special. It’s not about picnics or trips to the beach. It’s not about making pro- or anti-war statements. It’s not about supporting political candidates. It’s about honor, duty and the ultimate sacrifice. It’s about people who have decided that the United States is worth dying for.

Amen.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

.

Urgent Special Gathering of Eagles update...15MAY07

Hat tip to Snooper and Victory Caucus for this one.

"Come on saddle up, boys, we're gonna ride into town, we're gonna get a little out of control..." The Eagles, Out of Control

URGENT - EAGLES NEEDED AT TIMES SQUARE 5/19/07

May 15th, 2007

Saturday, May 19, 2007 – Noon to 4pm or whatever it takes.

The forces of the Left wing have decided to make a mockery of every
American serviceman or woman this Saturday at Times Square. They
have decided to perform street theater decrying the supposed torture
of inmates at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility at a time when
three brave American servicemen are in the hands of Islamic
terrorists in Iraq. They have decided to put on this travesty at
the recruiting station where we will be holding a Support the Troops
rally that day. They have effectively declared war on the United
States, our Military, and the Gathering of Eagles organization.
They have no concern for OUR soldiers who are likely being tortured,
mutilated and beheaded even as I write this, This is an OUTRAGE,
this is TREASON, this has got to be smothered by a display of
patriotism so great that even the news media cannot reasonably
assert that they are the majority in this country.

We need every one of you to contact your friends, family and
neighbors and turn out at Times Square to ridicule these leftist
morons. Spread the word and forward this alert to everyone you know.

If their actions in the face of the manifest results of ISLAMIC
captivity for our troops does not motivate you, if your blood does
not boil at the thought that these pissants will be featured on the
evening news, if you care not a whit that OUR men and women are
jeopardized by their seditious behavior, if something else is more
important than standing up for OUR soldiers, then email me to be
removed from the GOE email list because you have already surrendered.

If, however, you know that we need to support our troops who daily
place their lives on the line to protect our freedom. If you know
that their many sacrifices should be honored and praised. If you
know that the enemy is both foreign and domestic. If you know that
all it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.
Then turn out with your flags and pro-troop signs and banners. This
is NOT a drill. We need you NOW!

Where: Times Square Recruiting Center, traffic island at 43rd
Street between Broadway and 7th Ave.
When: Saturday, May 19, 2007, Noon to 4pm or whatever it takes to
rout the opposition.

Directions:

N. Q, R, S, 1, 2, 3, or 7 subways to Times Square
A, C, or E subways to 42nd St. (Port Authority Bus Terminal)
From Penn Station take 1, 2 or 3 subway 1 stop to Times
Square.
From Grand Central Station take the S shuttle to Times
Square.
From Port Authority Terminal walk two blocks to E 43rd St
and one block to Broadway.

Eagles Up!
Dan Maloney
New York Coordinator goe.ny@earthlink.net
Gathering of Eagles
www.gatheringofeagles.org

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

.

Flying the Friendly Skies with James Arnes as Matt Dillon...

This is interesting. I thought that the whole notion of "Cut and Run" was because things are supposedly not as bad now?

U.S. Air Marshals Flooding German, British Flights
May 14, 2007 1:14 PM

Richard Esposito and Rhonda Schwartz Report:

As many as five or six U.S. air marshals are now assigned to each U.S.-bound flight from airports in Frankfurt, London and Manchester, England, because of fears terrorists might attempt a coordinated series of mid-air explosions, law enforcement officials tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com.

"We're afraid someone in the back is going to mix something or light something up, so air marshals are being placed strategically through the plane," said one senior law enforcement official with direct knowledge of the stepped-up security.

The stepped-up security on flights out of Britain's Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester airports began about two weeks ago, based on intelligence reports that another al Qaeda hijacking plot was in the making, the officials said.

ABC News reported last Friday that U.S. and German officials fear a new terror attack is in the advanced planning stages.

Security on all flights out of Germany was increased about two months ago, based on similar intelligence, the officials said.

U.S. officials said the federal air marshals re-organized coverage of domestic flights and canceled some training classes to have enough marshals for the expanded coverage out of Germany and Britain.

A spokesperson for the air marshal program confirmed coverage in Europe had been increased "but not at the expense of protecting U.S. domestic flights."

U.S. officials said Germany law enforcement is providing full coverage of flights by Lufthansa and other German-based carriers flying into the United States. "They are stretched so thin they've had to rely on German military officers to help out," one U.S. official said.

"The intelligence was that there are plans to take a plane and crash it in a high-density, high-profile place," one official told ABCNews.com. The official said the timing and identity of the "high-profile place" was not contained in the intelligence reports.

U.S. officials said that an al Qaeda-connected cell in southwest Germany had been under 24-hour surveillance since the beginning of the year after some of its members were detected conducting surveillance on the headquarters of the U.S. European Command at Patch Barracks, near Stuttgart.

The cell, officials said, is made up of members of the Islamic Jihad Group, a violent terrorist organization based in Uzbekistan.

Two members of the cell were spotted outside Patch Barracks late on New Year's Eve, officials said. When questioned, officials said they said "they wanted to see what U.S. soldiers do on New Year's Eve."

Further surveillance and intelligence reports led to stepped-up security at U.S. military and diplomatic facilities last month in Germany.

The U.S. Embassy in Berlin posted a warning that U.S. citizens should be vigilant because of a "heightened terror threat."

The official threat level in Britain is assessed as "severe," the highest level that signifies an attack is highly likely. It has been at the "severe' level since an earlier hijacking plot was revealed last Aug. 14, 2006.

Boggles the mind of how our politicians can be so blind, doesn't it?

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

.

Springtime in Islamberg

Tennesseans, you'd better wake up. That goes for the rest of the country, too, of course, but I say this particularly to Tennesseans because this is going on very literally across Kentucky Lake from me and I had no idea that it was happening until today.

Hat tip to Snooper at TownHall for this one.

Our nation is at war, something that we CAN NOT forget. What in the blue hades are we doing allowing the establishment of compounds by Radical Islamic Extremists on our own soil? Don't go throwing the First Amendment at me, either, because last time I checked, the First Amendment didn't include allowing groups intent on the destruction of our nation and the death of our people.

The fact that a Canadian media outlet had to be the one to break this story is all the MORE disturbing, in my mind. Thank you to the Canadian Free Press for showing us this story.

Springtime in Islamberg
Radical Muslim paramilitary compound flourishes in upper New York state
By Paul L. Williams Ph.D., (author of THE DAY OF ISLAM)

With the able assistance of Douglas Hagmann, Bill Krayer and Michael Travis

Friday, May 11, 2007

Situated within a dense forest at the foothills of the Catskill Mountains on the outskirts of Hancock, New York, Islamberg is not an ideal place for a summer vacation unless, of course, you are an exponent of the Jihad or a fan of Osama bin Laden.

The 70 acre complex is surrounded with "No trespassing" signs; the rocky terrain is infested with rattlesnakes; and the woods are home to black bears, coyotes, wolves, and a few bobcats.

The entrance to the community is at the bottom of a very steep hill that is difficult to navigate even on a bright sunny day in May. The road, dubbed Muslim Lane, is unpaved and marred by deep crevices that have been created by torrential downpours. On a wintry day, few, save those with all terrain vehicles, could venture forth from the remote encampment.

A sentry post has been established at the base of the hill.

The sentry, at the time of this visit, is an African American dressed in Islamic garb - - a skull cap, a prayer shawl, and a loose fitting shalwat kameez. He instructs us to turn around and leave. "Our community is not open to visitors," he says.

Behind the sentry and across a small stream stand dozens of inhabitants of the compound - - the men wearing skull caps and loose fitting tunics, the women in full burqa. They appear ready to deal with any unauthorized intruders.

The hillside is blighted by rusty trailers that appear to be without power or running water and a number of outhouses. The scent of raw sewage is in the air.

(...)

While buzzing with activity during the week, the place becomes a virtual hive on weekends. The guest includes arrivals from the inner cities of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania and, occasionally, white-robed dignitaries in Ray-Bans from the Middle East.

Venturing into the complex last summer, Douglas Hagmann, an intrepid investigator and director of the Northeast Intelligence Service, came upon a military training area at the eastern perimeter of the property. The area was equipped with ropes hanging from tall trees, wooden fences for scaling, a make-shift obstacle course, and a firing range. Hagmann said that the range appeared to have been in regular use.

Islamberg is not as benign as a Buddhist monastery or a Carmelite convent. Nearly every weekend, neighbors hear sounds of gunfire. Some, including a combat veteran of the Vietnam War, have heard the bang of small explosives. None of the neighbors wished to be identified for fear of "retaliation." "We don't even dare to slow down when we drive by," one resident said. "They own the mountain and they know it and there is nothing we can do about it but move, and we can't even do that. Who wants to buy a property near that?"

(...)

Islamberg is a branch of Muslims of the Americas Inc., a tax-exempt organization formed in 1980 by Pakistani cleric Sheikh Mubarak Ali Gilani, who refers to himself as "the sixth Sultan Ul Faqr," Gilani, has been directly linked by court documents to Jamaat ul-Fuqra or "community of the impoverished," an organization that seeks to "purify" Islam through violence.

Though primarily based in Lahore, Pakistan, Jamaat ul-Fuqra has operational headquarters in New York and openly recruits through various social service organizations in the U.S., including the prison system. Members live in hamaats or compounds, such as Islamberg, where they agree to abide by the laws of Jamaat ul-Fuqra, which are considered to be above local, state and federal authority. Additional hamaats have been established in Hyattsville, Maryland; Red House, Virginia; Falls Church, Virginia; Macon, Georgia; York, South Carolina; Dover, Tennessee; Buena Vista, Colorado; Talihina, Oklahoma; Tulane Country, California; Commerce, California; and Onalaska, Washington. Others are being built, including an expansive facility in Sherman, Pennsylvania.

Before becoming a citizen of Islamberg or any of the other Fuqra compounds, the recruits - - primarily inner city black men who became converts in prison - - are compelled to sign an oath that reads: "I shall always hear and obey, and whenever given the command, I shall readily fight for Allah's sake."

In the past, thousands of members of the U.S. branches of Jamaat ul-Fuqra traveled to Pakistan for paramilitary training, but encampments, such as Islamberg, are now capable of providing book-camp training so raw recruits are no longer required to travel abroad amidst the increased scrutiny of post 9/11.

(...)

By 2004 federal investigators uncovered evidence that linked both the DC "sniper killer" John Allen Muhammed and "Shoe Bomber" Richard Reid to the group and reports surfaced that Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was captured and beheaded in the process of attempting to obtain an interview with Sheikh Gilani in Pakistan.

Even though Jamaat ul-Fuqra has been involved in terror attacks and sundry criminal activities, recruited thousands of members from federal and state penal systems, and appears to be operating paramilitary facilities for militant Muslims, it remains to be placed on the official US Terror Watch List. On the contrary, it continues to operate, flourish, and expand as a legitimate nonprofit, tax-deductible charity.

Take a stand, Americans. Rattle your state and federal representatives. Rattle your local law enforcement, your state law enforcement. Bombard them with demands that this be looked into. Demand that action be taken for criminal activities.

We can NOT afford to sit idle any longer on our fat, lazy, complacent asses, letting someone else do things for us.

Be a part of the solution, not a part of the problem.

THIS IS HAPPENING NOW!

And we have to make sure that it doesn't endanger us again.

Cross post this article, trackback to it, link to it, but MAKE SURE that the American public knows that this is going on.

Tennesseans, you can find email resources for both state and federal government officials here.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

.

A Call for Justice

[UPDATE] Disturbing updates on a followup post found here.

I'm going to tell you about something horrible. Something horrendous. Something so terrible that you may not want to do much more than glance over the details and go to the bare facts. Why am I going to tell you about this? Because it needs to be told, and Justice needs to be done.

This is the story the Tennessean isn't covering. This is the story the National Media is paying no attention to. This is the story that has not gotten the coverage that is warranted considering the heinous nature of the crimes committed, the lives lost in such a brutal way. It's heartbreaking, it's tragic, and in my mind, there is a very, very large travesty of justice being committed as the story unfolds.

Going outside the blog world, my hat tip for this one goes to the Steve Gill Show, for that is where I first heard about this story today, nearly six months later, during his commentary on how that this story isn't getting any media coverage.

I'll begin with what media coverage there has been, then make commentary.

UT student's body found

January 9, 2007

KNOXVILLE (WATE) -- Police say the body of a UT student was found Tuesday in a Knoxville home is just down the street from where her boyfriend was found dead on Sunday.

The body of Channon Christian, 21, was found in a rental house on the 2300 block of Chipman Street in East Knoxville. It was taken to the UT Forensic Center where the positive identification was made.

The body of Christian's boyfriend, Christopher Newsom, 23, was found Sunday afternoon along the railroad tracks near 9th Ave.

The couple disappeared Saturday night while they were on a date.

Police have not released the cause of their deaths, but they say Newsom was murdered...

Search warrants reveal disturbing new details in Knoxville double murder investigation

January 16, 2007

By CATHARYN CAMPBELL
6 News Reporter

KNOXVILLE (WATE) -- Search warrants in the double murder investigation of a young Knoxville couple reveal disturbing new details about what happened.

According to the affidavits for those search warrants, investigators found the body of Channon Christian, 21, stuffed in a trash can in the kitchen of Lemaricus Davidson's home at 2316 Chipman Street.

Investigators obtained the warrants after they found the body of her boyfriend, Christopher Newsom, 23, near the railroad tracks behind 1701 Whittle Springs on January 7.

Newsom had been shot at least three times. He was bound with rope or bootlaces and wrapped in a sheet. His shoes and socks were missing, along with his ID and iPOD. His body had been burned and physically assaulted.

(...)


When officers went to Davidson's house on Chipman Street, they say the front door was ajar. As they looked for Davidson, they found Christian's body in the trash can.

In that house, investigators also seized evidence that includes: a .9mm magazine, two .22 rounds, a rifle, three black trash bags with more possible evidence, cell phones, iPODs, loose .38 ammunition, a .22 shell casing, a plastic bag with hair and socks and a gun cleaning kit.

Another affidavit says that two more of the suspects who are charged, Letalvis Cobbins and George Thomas, voluntarily told investigators they were at Davidson's house when he and a fourth suspect, Eric Boyd, came in with the couple bound and blindfolded.

Cobbins and Thomas also told investigators that Eric Boyd took Newsom from the house at gunpoint and later returned without him.

And Cobbins and Thomas said they were at the house when Boyd sexually assaulted Christian while she was still alive.

Officers have obtained DNA samples and fingernail scrapings from Boyd as part of their investigation.

All four suspects are facing a variety of felony charges. But so far, none of the men has been charged with murder.

Four suspects charged with murder in Knoxville double slaying

February 1, 2007

KNOXVILLE (WATE) -- Four suspects, including a woman arrested in Kentucky Wednesday night, are now facing murder, rape and kidnapping charges in the double slaying of a young Knoxville couple.

But the location of the carjacking that began the series of charges in the investigation and why it happened is still being kept quiet.

The suspects were indicted Thursday in Knox County, separate from the federal charges some of the men already face relating to the carjacking. The rape charges involve both murder victims, Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom.

Lemaricus Davidson faces 46 counts including felony murder, premeditated murder, aggravated robbery, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated rape and theft.

Letalvis Cobbins faces 46 counts including 16 counts of felony murder, two counts of premeditated murder, two counts of especially aggravated robbery, four counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, 20 counts of aggravated rape and two counts of theft.

George Thomas faces 46 counts including 16 counts of felony murder, two counts of premeditated murder, two counts of especially aggravated robbery, four counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, 20 counts of aggravated rape and two counts of theft.

Vanessa Lynn Coleman, 18, faces 40 counts including 12 counts of felony murder, one count of premeditated murder, one count of especially aggravated robbery, four counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, 20 counts of aggravated rape and two counts of theft...

What they don't tell on the news reports listed above, from what I've found so far, are the horrible details of what happened to this young couple. Both of them were raped, sodomized, he was castrated, and her breasts where cut off, before they were killed. Words can not express my feelings about this. There are no words. The full count indictments against these animals, and I say animals because anyone who can do what was done here can't be classified as human, can be found here. And yes, I know that we prescribe to innocent until found guilty. That being said, WHOEVER DID THIS to this young couple should be put down like rabid animals, in my opinion.

Insult to injury: the DA in this case is NOT, I repeat, NOT, seeking the death penalty, according to the Gill Show. I'm sure that he'd love to explain to anyone who wishes to call him as to why?

Knox County District Attorney
Address:
Randy Nichols
400 W Main St Rm 168
Knoxville, TN
37902
Phone: (865) 215-2515

Why is this not being shown nationally? Why does the Duke Lacrosse team make the headlines over false allegations and this horrible, horrible situation that really did happen go unnoticed?

A few thoughts on this can be found here:

The Truth About Who Suffers
And about who inflicts the suffering.

By Jack Dunphy

It may seem like ancient history now, but it was only a year ago that we were first subjected to the media circus that was the so-called and now-dropped Duke Rape Case. For months thereafter, you couldn't pick up a newspaper or turn on the television or radio without learning some new tidbit about the accused lacrosse players, even as their accuser remained shrouded in mystery. Today we know there was no rape and now not even a case at all, but even in those early days it was apparent enough that there were glaring problems with the accuser’s story (or, as it happened, stories). But not even those problems prevented the case from consuming the attention of the sages in our national media, whose foot soldiers decamped from New York and Los Angeles and such places to descend on Durham, North Carolina, as quickly as they could find it on the map.

The case was simply irresistible to our sophisticated betters in Manhattan and the tonier zip codes of southern California. The “victim” was black and a single mother, each in itself a shield against criticism, but taken together an impregnable defense against any judgment of her own behavior and motives. Furthermore, she claimed to have been attacked by a group of southern white elites, thus justifying the low opinion of such elites held by those who live within sight of the Pacific Ocean or the Hudson River. (Never mind that none of the accused were actually from the south.) Only when the evidence of the defendants’ innocence and of the prosecutor’s misconduct accumulated to an undeniable critical mass did the media slink off to await the next Big Story.

Compare the attention given the Duke case with that accorded a far more heinous crime, one whose victims have thus far failed to arouse the sympathies or even the notice of those who found so much enjoyment in their condemnation of the lacrosse players. Chances are, unless you live in Tennessee, you will not recognize the names Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom. Christian, 21, and Newsome, 23, both of Knoxville, were driving through that city together on the night of January 6 when they were kidnapped and murdered. Newsome’s burned body was found along some railroad tracks on January 7. Christian remained missing for two more days until her body, stuffed in a trash can, was found in a home not far from where Newsome’s was found. Police and prosecutors allege both victims were raped before being killed. Yes, both. Three men and a woman have been charged with the crimes in a 46-count grand jury indictment handed down in Knoxville on January 31...

Steve Gill has this to say on his Daily Notes page:

I guarantee that if the victims were a black college couple, and the murderers were a bunch of white guys you would have seen this story on television so much your eyes would be bleeding. As it is, the media has ignored it. Where is Jesse Jackson? Al Sharpton? Don't they think racially motivated crimes deserve attention? Or is only white on black crime worthy of our contempt and outrage?

This is why I'm against hate crimes legislation. We don't need the thought police telling us "this crime was a HATE crime and they deserve more punishment for it." Bull. It's a crime. How much more dead would Phillip Workman be today if he had been charged with a hate crime when he was found guilty of killing a Memphis police officer instead of just being charged for the crime itself? He'd still be dead after his execution this week.

I don't know the Christian or Newsom families; they live at the other end of the state from me. My heart goes out to them, though, as a parent, as a human, as a man. I can't imagine the grief and the pain they must be suffering.

Again I want to pose the questions. Why is this not being tried as a capital crime? It makes no sense to me that it would be treated as anything but. Why the lack of media attention for this case? Does this story have less merit, less importance, than finding out who the father of Anna Nicole Smith's baby is? Is it more important that we know that Paris Hilton is going to have to pay the price for driving on a suspended license?

I'm going to ask my fellow Tennesseans especially to feel free to cross post this one, in it's entirety, in part, trackback to it, link to it, whatever. Get the word out. Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom deserve it, and so do their families. They deserve justice. And they deserve, and need, our prayers and support. Any of you with more information on this story, feel free to pass it along to us.

This needs to be told, and it needs to be told now.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

[UPDATE] Disturbing updates on a followup post found here.

.

A modern parable...

I get a lot of email, some junk, some really great. Amazing for someone who doesn't do that much with OUTGOING email...

Some of my favorite students from when I was teaching were members of my adult education classes where I taught introductory computer courses. Ergo, some of the best of my emails that I get come from some of these students. The more thought provoking of them I put here. This is one of them.

Now folks, before you get all bent out of shape again, let me remind you this is from an email I got, he said, remembering the Cinco de Mayo email incident. Ahem.

This is so well put.
I am sending it to EVERYONE. and hope you will do the same.
ESPECIALLY YOUR SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES. They need to be reminded WE VOTED THEM IN and WE PAY THEIR WAY. Way not wages because wages are EARNED.
M

This needs to keep circulating.....we must not forget the burden of these
unwanted tax dependents.


I bought a bird feeder. I hung it on my back porch and filled it with seed.
Within a week we had hundreds of birds taking advantage of the continuous
flow of free and easily accessible food.
But then the birds started building nests in the boards of the patio,
above the table, and next to the barbecue.
Then came the poop.
It was everywhere: on the patio tile, the chairs, the table...everywhere.

Then some of the birds turned mean: They would dive bomb me and try
to peck me even though I had fed them out of my own pocket. And
others birds were boisterous and loud: They sat on the feeder and squawked
and screamed at all hours of the day and night and demanded that I fill
it when it got low on food.

After a while, I couldn't even sit on my own back porch anymore.
I took down the bird feeder and in three days the birds were gone.
I cleaned up their mess and took down the many nests they had built
all over the patio.
Soon, the back yard was like it used to be...quiet,
serene and no one demanding their rights to a free meal.

Now lets see...our government gives out free food, subsidized
housing, free medical care, free education and allows anyone
born here to be a automatic citizen.

Then the illegals came by the tens of thousands.
Suddenly our taxes went up to pay for free services;
small apartments are housing 5 families: you have to wait 6 hours to be
seen by an emergency room doctor:
your child's 2nd grade class is behind other schools because
over half the class doesn't speak English:
Corn Flakes now come in a bilingual box;
I have to press "one" to hear my bank talk to me in English,
and people waving flags other than "Old Glory" are squawking
and screaming in the streets,
demanding more rights and free liberties.

Maybe it's time for the government to take down the bird feeder.

WELL said.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

NRA update 8MAY07

Personal note here before the update. The Tennessean newspaper today has on their website a link to a listing of all registered handgun owners in the state of Tennessee. I can't think of anything that invades the individual rights to privacy of those who are simply following their constitutionally guaranteed rights to own firearms by a liberal newspaper that has a history of being anti-gun.

I don't buy the Tennessean, I don't look on their website for their "news." This is a personal request by me to all my fellow Tennesseans out there reading this to pass this information along and if you subscribe to this leftist rag, drop your subscription and stop buying it.

This time the Tennessean newspaper has crossed the line. This time they have willingly endangered gun owners.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

UPDATE 9MAYo7

Seems the Tennessean was flooded with phone calls from people all over the state and removed the page from their site. No apologies, no explanations, no nothing, just removed it.

I personally think they need to print a full page apology to the entire state for any potential problems that come from this. Further, I believe, personally, that any crimes committed against anyone who was listed on their site, if it can be shown that there is a connection to the crime and the fact that the victims name was listed, that the Tennessean be held criminally responsible as well.

Just my thoughts. Media is supposed to be responsible, not biased.

HCdL

LAW ENFORCEMENT AGREES WITH NRA-AGAIN!

Nation's Law Enforcement Opposes Release of Data on Gun Owners


For more than five years, cities suing the gun industry and anti-gun organizations have sought access to confidential law enforcement data on firearm traces¾records that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) compiles when it traces firearms in response to requests from law enforcement agencies. These efforts have been redoubled in recent years under the prodding of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R), who has funded a national television ad campaign that is so misleading that some television stations are refusing to run it because of its blatantly false statements!





NRA-ILA OPPOSES JUSTICE DEPARTMENT PROPOSAL: Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice sent a legislative proposal, along with a letter of support, to Congressional leaders. The legislative proposal would allow this¾or any future¾Attorney General to deny a firearm purchase to individuals on terrorist "watch lists" without due process of law. Anti-gun Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) has already introduced the legislation (S. 1237).





EXPLOITING TRAGEDY-AGAIN: Almost immediately following the horrific shootings on the campus of Virginia Tech, the anti-gun machine was revving into overdrive. Anti-gun politicians and gun control groups were having a field day jostling for an opportunity at any available microphone or in front of any camera.





STATE ROUNDUP (please click to see any updates on states not listed below.)


ALABAMA: Pro-Gun Bills Pending in Alabama Legislature! Senate Bill 62, House Bill 23, Senate Bill 370, and House Bill 598 need your support. Please contact members of the Senate at (334) 242-7800 and urge them to support SB 370 and members of the House at (334) 242-7600 and ask them to support HB 598.



ARIZONA (1): Help Improve the Southeast Regional Park Shooting Range! Please help continue improvements at the Southeast Regional Park Shooting Range. Written comments to the Chairman of the Committee can be submitted no later than Thursday, May 31, 2007. For more information as to where to mail your comments, please click here.



ARIZONA (2): Arizona Game & Fish Department to Host Meetings on BLM and Forest Service Plans! The Arizona Game and Fish Department will host a series of meetings across the state to provide an overview of the Forest Service and BLM planning processes and how you can become engaged. The plans could potentially include proposed alternatives that change the way you currently enjoy public lands, particularly with regard to recreational shooting, hunting, vehicular access and transportation, designation of open and closed roads, dispersed camping and/or recreation, and motorized retrieval of big game lawfully taken by hunters.



ARIZONA (3): Stop the Bureau of Land Management From Banning Recreational Shooting on Arizona Public Lands! The 128,000-acre Ironwood Forest National Monument is under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and is generally opened to dispersed recreational shooting. A management plan just released for public review and comment is likely to change that if BLM's preferred management alternative (Alternative C) is adopted. Alternative C would close the Monument to recreational shooting. Hunting would continue to be allowed for the time being. Let your voice be heard! Please send written comments to the BLM and let them know that recreational shooting is a legitimate use of public lands, and a legitimate and traditional recreational use in Ironwood Forest National Monument.



ARIZONA (4): Arizona Game & Fish Department Seeking Comment on Operational Plans! A series of eight public meetings will be held across the state to present a plan and to accept public comment regarding how the Arizona Game and Fish Commission will manage wildlife, outdoor recreational activities, and its own operations for the next two years. Your comments will play a major role in affecting the management of the AGFD. Help preserve Arizona's hunting and shooting heritage. Your participation is vital if we're to ensure the continuation of hunting and shooting sports for future generations.



ARIZONA (5): The Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Tucson Field Office will host a public meeting to answer questions and take comments on the Ironwood Forest National Monument Draft Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement. The agency has previously hosted five meetings. The meeting is scheduled for May 19, from 10 a.m. to noon, at Pima Community College West Campus, 2202 W. Anklam Road, Tucson, in the Proscenium Theater, located on the east side of the campus. Sign in for speakers will begin at 9:30 a.m. The meeting will be a question-and-answer format with a panel of BLM specialists. Each person will be given up to two minutes to ask a question or provide a comment, which will be recorded by a note taker. Comments to the plan will be accepted through May 30. Comments may be submitted in writing to: Mark Lambert, IFNM Planner, BLM, 12661 East Broadway, Tucson AZ 85748 or may be submitted via e-mail at AZ_IFNM_RMP@blm.gov.



CALIFORNIA (1): Urgent: Anti-Gun Bills Headed to California Assembly Floor! Two pieces of legislation, Assembly Bill 821 and Assembly Bill 334, that are critical to the rights of California's gun owners, are making their way to the Assembly Floor in the Golden State. Please contact your Assembly Member and respectfully urge them to oppose Assembly Bill 821 as well as Assembly Bill 334. Contact information for your Assembly Member can be found by clicking here.



CALIFORNIA (2): California Pro-Gun Bill Passes Assembly, Heads to Senate Assembly Bill 854 heads to the California Senate. AB854 would repeal a California law that restricts the publication of information about firearms that are not permissible for sale in California. Please contact your State Senator today and respectfully urge him or her to support AB854. Contact information for your State Senator can be found by clicking here.



CALIFORNIA (3): Golden State Ammunition Sales Registration Bill Stalled! Thanks to your calls and support, Assembly Bill 362 has been placed in the "suspense file." This will likely delay the bill until early-June. Please continue contacting the Assembly Appropriations Committee and ask them to oppose AB362. The Appropriations Committee can be reached by calling (916) 319-2081.



CALIFORNIA (4): California to Require Spaying and Neutering of All Hunting Dogs! AB 1634, currently awaiting a hearing in the House Appropriations Committee, requires every dog older than four months to be spayed or neutered. Owners hoping to be able to breed their dogs at some point during their lives would be required to apply annually to their local government for an "intact" permit. It is critical that you contact your State Assembly Member and ask that they oppose this overreaching and discriminatory legislation. Please ask them to vote "no" on AB 1634. Contact information for your Assembly Member can be found by visiting http://www.assembly.ca.gov/acs/acsframeset7text.htm.



COLORADO (1): Attack on Right-to-Carry Heads to Governor's Desk! Senate Bill 34 passed the House and is on its way to the desk of Governor Bill Ritter (D). If enacted, out-of-state carry permits would no longer be honored if the permit holder is not a resident of the state that issued the permit. Please contact Governor Ritter TODAY at (303) 866-2471 or email Governor.ritter@state.co.us and respectfully urge him to veto SB34.



COLORADO (2): Attention Colorado NRA Members: Please Urge Governor Ritter to Veto HB1174! If enacted, House Bill 1174 would permanently extend the database of concealed handgun permit licensees. Please contact Governor Ritter and respectfully urge him to veto HB1174. Governor Ritter can be reached at (303) 866-2471 or email Governor.ritter@state.co.us and respectfully urge him to veto SB34.



ILLINOIS (1): Many Anti-Gun Bills Still A Threat! There are still many anti-gun bills moving through both the State Senate and House. To view a list of all of these bills and how they work against our Right to Keep and Bear Arms, please click here: http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?id=2912. Please call your State Senator and State Representative today and urge them to vote "No" to all anti-Second Amendment legislation. The Illinois State Senate can be contacted at (217) 782-5715. The Illinois House of Representatives can be contacted at (217) 782-8223.



ILLINOIS (2): Illinois Anti-Gun Legislation Moving Swiftly! Senate Bill 1007 was hijacked and amended to include anti-gun legislation banning certain ammunition magazines. Any day, your State Senator could vote on legislation sponsored by former gun-ban lobbyist and current State Senator, Dan Kotowski (D-33). Please call your State Senator today at (217) 782-5715 and urge him or her to oppose Amendment 1 of Senate Bill 1007!



IOWA: Iowa: LeClaire City Council Meeting To Discuss Custom Gunsmith and Firearms Shop Moving Into The Area! Les Baer Custom, Inc. is no longer welcome in Illinois and has decided to move across the Mississippi to LeClaire, Iowa. Unfortunately, gun ban advocates are working against them in LeClaire too. Please call the Mayor and City Council and urge them to support Les Baer Custom Inc.'s move to LeClaire. For contact information for the Mayor and City Council, please click here.



LOUISIANA (1): Management Plan Underway for Mandalay and Bayou Teche National Wildlife Refuges! The National Resource Planner is taking comments on how Mandalay and Bayou Teche National Wildlife Refuges should be managed. Comments may be submitted until May 18th. Please address comments, questions, and requests for further information to: Charlotte Parker, National Resource Planner, Southeast Louisiana National Wildlife Refuge Complex, 61389 Highway 434, Lacombe, LA 70445 or call 985-882-2000 or send comments and questions via email to Charlotte_Parker@fws.gov.



LOUISIANA (2): Legislation to Ban "Assault Weapons" Pending in Louisiana House! House Bill 869 would establish far-reaching restrictions on semi-automatic firearms (dubbing them "assault weapons") and large-capacity magazines. HB 869 affects every firearm modified to conform with the now-extinct federal gun ban plus other semi-automatic firearms that have no lineage to those rifles or any "military-style" orientation whatsoever. Please contact the members of the House Criminal Justice Committee and respectfully urge them to oppose HB 869.



LOUISIANA (3): Attention Louisiana Hunters: Help Protect the Catahoula National Wildlife Refuge! A conservation plan has been made available by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service addressing the uses of the Catahoula National Wildlife Refuge. To ensure that our nation's wildlife refuges remain open to hunting, it is important for the hunting community, particularly those who hunt on wildlife refuges, to submit comments for the public record. Comments will be accepted until May 21 and should be sent to: Central Louisiana National Wildlife Refuge Complex, 401 Island Road, Marksville, LA 71351. A copy of the plan is available at: http://southeast.fws.gov/planning/ .



MAINE: Maine's Hunting Rights in Jeopardy! Anti-hunting legislation, Legislative Document 1635, "An Act To Prohibit Recreational Bear Trapping," has been referred to the Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. This bill would abolish the open season on trapping bears, a long-standing Maine tradition. Please contact the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee Members today and politely urge them to oppose LD 1635 and save a tradition of hunting that has been used by Maine hunters for decades. Senate members can be reached at (207) 287-1583, and House members can be contacted at (207) 287-4469.



MASSACHUSETTS: One-Gun-A-Month Bill Filed in Massachusetts! Governor Deval Patrick's (D) gun-rationing scheme has become a reality. House Bill 3991 is currently in the Judiciary Committee. This bill would limit law-abiding Massachusetts gun buyers from purchasing more than one firearm in a month's time. Please contact the Governor and the members of the Judiciary Committee and respectfully urge them to oppose this gun-rationing scheme.



MICHIGAN: "No-Net Loss" Bill Heading to House Floor in Michigan! House Bill 4597, "No-Net Loss" legislation that would ensure that today's total acreage of public lands open to public hunting would not be reduced, is heading to the Michigan House floor for a vote. Please contact your State Representative at (517) 373-6339 and respectfully ask him or her to support HB 4597.



MISSOURI (1): Missouri "Hunting Heritage Protection Areas Act" Heads to House! Senate Bill 225, a bill aimed at preserving Missouri's time-honored hunting and sporting heritage by protecting hunting areas and wildlife habitat within the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers' flood plain, is heading to the House. Please contact your State Representative at (573) 751-3824 and strongly encourage him or her to protect wildlife habitat and hunting by supporting and voting for SB225 without any amendments!



MISSOURI (2): Pro-Gun Bills Heading to the Missouri Senate! House Bill 845 and Senate Bill 62, aimed at strengthening the Second Amendment in Missouri, are headed to the State Senate. Please contact your State Senator at (573) 751-3824 and respectfully urge him or her to support and vote for both HB845 and SB62 in their current forms.



NEVADA: Three Pro-Gun Bills Pending in Nevada Legislature! State Senate and Assembly Committee members need to hear from you on three important pieces of pro-gun legislation. Senate Bill 237, the long-awaited Right-to-Carry reciprocity bill; Senate Bill 92, to eliminate the immediate handgun registration in Clarke County; and Assembly Bill 95, the "Emergency Powers Protection Act." The full text of SB 237, SB 92, and AB 95, as well as contact information for the members of the Senate and Assembly Government Affairs Committee and the Assembly Judiciary Committee, can be found online by visiting www.leg.state.nv.us.



NORTH CAROLINA: North Carolina Database Bill Heads to Senate! Legislation seeking to create a new statewide database to which sheriffs would report all individuals who have been denied a permit to purchase a pistol is going to the Senate. Please contact your State Senator and respectfully urge him or her to OPPOSE HB1287. Contact information can be found by clicking here



OREGON: Oregon "No-Net-Loss" Legislation Passes House, Moves to Senate! House Bill 3164, an NRA-supported bill that would require the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) to replace any public lands it closes to hunting with an equal acreage of public lands that must be opened to hunting is moving to the Senate. Please contact your State Senator and urge him or her to SUPPORT HB 3164. For contact information or help identifying your State Senator, please click here.



PENNSYLVANIA (1): Gun Registration Legislation Introduced! Your State Legislators need to hear from you about House Bill 760! If enacted, HB 760 would require every firearm in Pennsylvania to be registered with the government! Please call your State Representative and State Senator today and ask them to oppose HB760! For contact information or help identifying your State Legislators, please click here.



PENNSYLVANIA (2): Philadelphia City Councilman Seeks to Usurp Preemption and Sue Commonwealth! Unable to pass an anti-gun agenda thanks to Pennsylvania's preemption statute, Philadelphia City Councilman Darrell Clarke (D-5) is now attempting to seek final passage on eight gun-control bills that have been sitting idle. Clarke even has claimed that the City Council is preparing a legal suit claiming the Legislature's inaction on gun-control measures. Please contact your City Council member and respectfully urge him or her to oppose any of these anti-gun measures that may come before the Council. To find contact information for your Philadelphia City Council Member please click here.



RHODE ISLAND: Rhode Island Legislation Targeting Semi-Automatics! Firearm microstamping legislation has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee. For contact informatation for the House Judiciary Committee, please click here.



TENNESSEE: Several Pro-Gun Bills Headed to Tennessee Governor Bredesen's Desk! House Bill 1285 and its companion bill, Senate Bill 1597, and House Bill 145, and its companion bill, Senate Bill 135, are heading to the Governor's desk. Please call Governor Bredesen's (D) office at (615) 741-2001 and urge him to sign HB 1285/SB 1597 and HB 145/SB 135.



TEXAS (1): Texas Governor Signs Emergency Powers Bill Into Law! To ensure that what occurred in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina will never happen in Texas, Governor Rick Perry (R) signed Senate Bill 112 into law on Friday, April 27. This NRA-backed legislation will prevent the confiscation of firearms and ammunition from law-abiding citizens during a future state of emergency or natural disaster.



TEXAS (2): Important Texas Right-to-Carry Confidentiality Bill Heads to Senate Floor! House Bill 991, NRA-supported Concealed Handgun License (CHL) confidentiality legislation, passed by a 6-2 vote on Monday, April 30. The bill now moves to the full Senate for consideration. HB 991 would restrict access to the CHL database to law enforcement only. Media organizations have launched a full-scale assault on HB 991, so it is critical that you contact your State Senator today and urge him or her to support HB 991.