We Are Americans, Too

It is finished. The unthinkable and the impossible have happened: Hillary Clinton was defeated, and Donald Trump will be our next President.

Separatists are now in open revolt and calling for assassination. The propagandists masquerading as pundits are still trading in lies, and the usual racists are playing their ace in the hole. Their collective consternation reveals a telling ignorance about the roots of their demise. They still don't get it.

THEY passed NAFTA and GATT. THEY took our jobs. THEY sent them overseas. THEY:

Closed our factories

Shuttered our plants and our mills

Refused to follow and enforce the law

Facilitated global Islamic terrorism

Fomented domestic terrorism

Put our military in harm's way, and saddled them with dangerous rules of engagement to boot Ridiculed religions

Mocked the exercising of rights

Spied on reporters

Snooped on Citizens

Weaponized the IRS

Flouted the protocols of governance

Felt-up and fingered women and children in airports

Destroyed a river

Doubled the national debt incurred by every previous administration in only eight years

Lied about unemployment statistics

Led an unprecedented number of Americans into poverty

Engaged in more illegal wars

Targeted police officers

Perpetuated illegal immigration

THEY did all of this and so much more. So what did We The People do? We performed the duty that liberty and Reason demanded. But even this is unacceptable to the separatists, since it now conjures a white bogeyman (with no college degree). Us provincial rubes weren't supposed to upset their apple cart, you see. We're the contemptuous "old America", not their vainglorious new Utopia.

Remember in the movie "Independence Day" when they finally asked the alien what they wanted us to do? It was simple: Die. Whether through attrition, or drone strikes, or them shutting down an entire industry, our lot was to accept our eventual demise. But guess what?

I remember America. My President so loved our country that his voice cracked when he spoke of it. He came to my hometown when I was just a boy. He drove right past my bus stop and went to a local Polish-American Hall for a Citizens' swearing-in ceremony. He then capped it off by leading the crowd in an impromptu singing of "God Bless America". We were peaceful, prosperous, safe, and strong.

He's gone, sadly, but we're still here. Your polling and bubble of condescension may have missed us, but he said it best: We are Americans, too.

This Can't Be Happening

I've lost count how many times I've uttered, "This can't be happening." We were primed for a Cincinnatus to step forward, and got WKRP in Cincinnati's Johnny Fever instead.

I'm not a Trump supporter, but I comprehend the dynamic. This is what countless years of D.C. lawlessness gets you.

Citizens stood by while rich, feckless people thousands of miles away disgraced our founding principles. They stood by patiently while that cabal disregarded our rule of law. They stood by silently, still hoping for the best, while the traitors made a mockery of our protocols of governance. American cities are ransacked, looted, and burned by separatists officially given "space to destroy", while Citizens get shot thrice in the back. 

The seditious aristocracy gave away our jobs. Our manufacturing was gutted by NAFTA & GATT, and who knows what the glorious effects will be of TPP. Our I.T. workers are being laid off by the millions just so foreign H1-B visa workers can come to the U.S. and work for less.

The cabal imposes a law upon the most sacrosanct aspect of all: One's own body. And should a Citizen not comply, they are levied with a penalty that was post-legislatively decreed a tax. To rub some salt into the wound, they exempted themselves from it.

They force Citizens to fund Kermit Gosnell. Planned Parenthood officials are videotaped verbatim participating in the trafficking of human remains, and what happens? They double down on their hubris and sue the videographer.

They arm North Korea with nuclear weapons. While the ink is still drying on a subsequent deal with Iran, Pyongyang moves its nuclear forces to a preemptive posture. Not to be outdone, Iran is already violating the accord by test firing missiles marked, "Israel Must Be Wiped Out".

The cartel sends our military into harm's way for a lie, imposes ridiculously dangerous rules of engagement on them, and those lucky enough to return are branded "domestic terrorists". If they're wounded, their reward is to wallow in the morass better known as the V.A. How many Veterans committed suicide today?

In another stunning display of the regime's utter contempt for the law, just today they announced preliminary plans to start prosecuting dissent. That such dialog would even be had is grounds for revolt.

The establishment created this monster. From Bush 1 to Clinton 1 to Bush 2 to Obama to Clinton 2 and every lie, crime, corruption and usurpation in between, they're finally reaping what they've sown. If they somehow strip The People's nomination from the boorish billionaire, how do they think The People will respond? You're already seeing it at the increasingly volcanic Trump rallies. This air is summed up best by Michael Cannon, director of Health Policy Studies at The Cato Institute:

“If the people come to believe that the government is no longer constrained by the laws, then they will conclude that neither are they.”

The Last Americans

Another day, another putsch for guns. The king's vague wording about who's affected, such as "other diseases", is not for lack of nuance. It's so that he, or some other mendacious tyrant, can make up laws as they go along. Are you a Veteran with PTSD? Sorry, no gun. Did you take ADD/HD meds as a kid? Nope, no gun for you. 1982 Seattle Supersonic wearing socks on a Thursday? You get the picture.

My hands-down favorite part, however, is the one about being incapable of managing your own finances. Yes, the apparatus which loses $500,000,000.00 and is $19,000,000,000,000.00 in debt is going to judge your ability to handle money.

Does anything ever surprise you anymore? Do you even care? Or are you like me, just simply worn. The Alinsky tactics are in Barack Obama's playbook because they work. From IRS to spying on Congress to making up healthcare laws all on his own, he's run it up the gut since day one.

Let that sink in for a moment. A sitting President Of The United States Of America is eavesdropping on the private correspondences and communications of The People's representatives. Like some B-roll Bonaparte whose will is law, he'll do as he pleases and inflict maximum pain. And you'll like it, pleb.

Still, I'm willing to wager there's nary a pitchfork or bonfire to be found in the entire separatist enclave of D.C.. I'm certain Congress won't do a damned thing about it, either. In fact, I predict that by the end of the year, they'll be funding it by name. The "People's Watch" bill, or some other noble-sounding but seditious tract. They'll abdicate to the throne, and acquiesce with the glee only a millionaire could know. The few patriots like Amash, Massie, Paul and Gowdy will do their best, but in the end separatists will again prevail.

First you're startled, then you're pissed. You go to this rally and that, doing whatever you can in your capacity as a private Citizen to honor that oath you took as a kid. You know, the one about volunteering your life to defend of the Republic. Not 'Murica, not "the homeland". The Republic. The one where the rule of law was superior to the whim of one person. And now here we are, tired.

Do you know what I've realized?

My duty and scorn are misplaced. Congress has had countless opportunities to honor their oaths. They are of equal power, they are not "opposition". Their duties are clearly defined, and they were voted in as a clear repudiation of the status quo.

The emperor can only do what he does because Congress let's him. The Supreme Court as well, for   deeming a fine a "tax" directly defied Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 of the Constitution. If our beneficent, black-robed high priests won't follow the law, why would their pontiff?

Why won't the House and Senate do their duty? I expected articles of impeachment, but got to pay for murdered baby parts instead. I wanted some accountability for Benghazi, Fast and Furious, IRS targeting, AP wiretapping, and a score of other Nixonian dramas, but it was more important to facilitate nuclear weapons for Iran.

Then, as if to pour salt into the wound, one oath-eschewing politician chides me to "turn down the volume", and another bankrolls the emperor's designs with the rebuke that "anger is not a plan."

If we're truly a nation of laws and not men, then this matters. It's not Republican vs. Democrat, because how are they any different? It's Citizens vs. separatists, and we already fought the bloodiest war in American history over this.

It cuts right to the essence of being an American. If Barack Obama and his lawless horde get to assert their will as law, then we are no longer governed. If you let them spy on you, target you, and murder you without any modicum of due process, we are ruled. And if that be the case, then we ought to be shamed forever as The Last Americans.

Ted "Cartel" Cruz

Know what's pretty ballsy? Ted Cruz calling the D.C. apparatus a "cartel" right to its smug face.

That's exactly what I want to hear. It's the most dangerous period in the history of our republic (yes, I know we've already fought a civil war). Your Hyperbole Meter is surely spiking right now, but I really don't give a shit. My perspective is grounded in history, logic and truth, and I don't care how teabagger/teabilly/Tealiban you think it sounds:

I have a really keen appreciation for the men and women - white, black, gay, straight, young, old, northern, finer --  who created it, and I don't think any of them should have done so in vain. Now comes a tyrant, decreeing he'll intrinsically change it at will, as though those that preceded him had somehow gotten it all wrong. Jefferson? Patron saint of white privilege. Point du Hoc? Suckers. Fallujah? Look at Fallujah now, Marines, and tell me what this regime thinks of you.

It doesn't even concern itself with restraints like class or amity anymore. It outright calls Americans domestic terrorists, in league with radical Iranian mullahs because they don't wish to arm radical Iranian mullahs. It's the same dark, have-you-stopped-beating-your-wife logic that tells Israel, "If you do not lift the blockade which keeps us from attacking you, we're going to attack you."

The regime even whacks its own, if it has to, just like any good cartel would do (at least when they're not destroying rivers and stuff). Might I just add, if Bush ever so much as peed in a puddle, separatists would've gone into full-blown Mogadishu-Mode. Mr. Climate Change fundamentally transforms a river, but there's not a smidgen of arsenic.

Anyway, these are some heady times. I know it's a rote assessment at this point, but we're living in the era our Founders warned us about. We're at a crossroads, so of course we've decided to host the world's first reality-government television show.

Seriously, WTF is going on? Furthermore, it looks like the booth from "The Naked Gun" up there.

Our feet are now in the Rubicon. It's a time for choosing. We don't need a brain surgeon, we need a statesman. Not a Kardashian, but a Cincinnatus, and one who doesn't have to carry on like a Central Casting used-car salesman to strike a tone.

"Cartel." That's tone. I really like Ted Cruz, and apparently many others do, too. I want to keep digging, however, and invite you to join me in looking at his voting record to form a better opinion.

As an aside, if someone is unable to see honor in a representative of We The People honoring his Constitutional oath, that speaks to their character, not the Senator's.

Kudos to Rand Paul for calling out Huggy Bear! Christie openly vowed to violate the Fourth Amendment, and Rubio later joined him. Again.

These men have openly pledged to violate the Constitution they'll take an oath to preserve, protect, and defend. Right out of the gate! The very first question for them at the next debate should rightfully be, "Which other unalienable rights will you violate if elected President?"

How cool is Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI 3rd District)? An avowed Watchman (he explains EVERY vote) and lover of Taco Bell's Starburst-flavored iceys, he took the time to answer a voting/procedural question I had on Twitter. It's pretty damned cool for a Citizen to be able to communicate with our elected representatives like this. 

For What?

The outpouring of support on Memorial Day is so good to see. From Brandywine to Bagram, Americans have fought, bled and died for liberty and universal human rights.

It would have been in supremely poor taste to ponder this aloud on their day, but if you genuinely wish to memorialize them, it's worth asking yourself this:

Where is the outrage for their sacrifices being so callously disregarded? 

That's what I thought as I grabbed my license to drive, got in my registered vehicle and drove the speed limit to a nearby convenience store. I was on streetlight video cameras the whole way. I bought some bait and was charged a tax, despite already paying a tax on the money I earned to buy it. My wife, who the state licensed me to marry, texted me to also pick up some milk (because the state said we're not allowed to purchase it directly from the farmer near our house).

This private correspondence was read by an NSA analyst and the content stored in our bulk files at some innocuous-looking data center. But it's not really an issue -- if you're not doing anything wrong, why does it even matter?

I didn't have my line in the water for five minutes when an officer of the law asked to see my license to catch fish. Per protocol, I immediately informed him that the state also licensed my universal, unalienable human right to self-defense. He then checked my line and backpack for any non-compliant tackle. Our exchange didn't last more than thirty seconds, and once my papers were deemed to be in order, I was permitted to resume casting.

I barely got a nibble, but as the old saying goes, a bad day fishing is better than a good day working. Speaking of which, I was due to fly out on business in the morning. Traveling gets old, but one of the best things about my job are the benefits. Granted, my insurance coverage has diminished and the price is markedly higher now, but this is why I started working at 15 years old, joined the military, served my country, learned a skill, got a job, went back to night school, finished my degree and got promoted. Health, dental and vision insurance don't just grow on trees for free! Besides, who feels like paying a fine to the state for not having insurance?

Later that night I got some extra blankets out of the closet and tossed them on our bed. We'd usually have the wood stove burning this time of year, but the state said we can't use it anymore. It's not a big deal, and I don't really miss having to chop firewood several times a week. Talk about job-lock!

The next morning, I dropped my kids off at school on the way to the airport. My youngest son totally forgot about the "safe environment" rule about attire, so I had him change out of his American flag t-shirt before heading out. Today was their mandatory standardized tests, so I wished them luck and continued on to the airport.

The queue actually moved pretty fast this time. I think people are finally starting to get the hang of things! I took off my belt, removed my shoes, emptied my pockets and placed it all on the conveyor belt. Then I stepped into the body scanner, raised my hands in the air and was motioned to proceed. The TSA agent then indicated that I'd been randomly selected for further review. He ran his hands across my groin and backside, down my inner-thighs and around the small of my back. You gotta hand it to them -- even though they miss 95% of weaponry on these screenings, they are very thorough and I'm glad they're keeping us so safe.

When I landed, I retrieved my luggage and stopped at the food court. The usual recording about suspicious-looking people came across the PA as I scanned the various offerings. Mexican? Southern BBQ? I finally settled on some Asian noodles, but when I went to pay, my credit cards and cash were not in my wallet. Even my license was missing, and for the life of me I couldn't recall how I'd misplaced them.

Without any form of ID or ability to purchase anything, what was I to do? I'll admit it, I kind of freaked out for a bit, rummaging through every pocket and exterior compartment of my bags. An officer apparently observed this and approached me. I explained my situation and she thankfully asked me to accompany her to a room behind the car rental kiosk.

She explained that some people found my behavior a bit odd, so she'd have to ask me some questions and look through my things. No biggie, just the usual stuff. When she opened my laptop, asked for my password and viewed the desktop, however, her demeanor became a little icy. I have a Bible verse on it, you see, and apparently it has the potential to make others feel unsafe. I apologized profusely and felt really embarrassed. I just happen to think that life is sacred, you know? That seemed to make her even angrier, and my explaining that I was just speaking from the heart only made it worse. All I could think was that it's a good thing I didn't pack my pistol in the suitcase -- can you just imagine how much more trouble I'd be in?!

I'm now writing this from my holding cell. I should be out in a few days, probably, and in the meantime I'm anxious to hear what the charges are. I asked them for my Bible, but the guy in charge said it was contraband, at least for now. All I can do is wait and ponder, safe in this tiny room and grateful for all those Americans who died in defense of our freedom!

I Forgive You, D*******g

The original title of this latest piece of bullshit was, "F#$% You, Too, Barry". Then I realized taking such a tack would only lend his latest pedantic lecture credence.  So, ever the half-ass follower of Jesus, I am biting my virtual lip and forgiving the d*******g.

The guy defines hubris. He doesn't back away from controversial comments, he doubles down on them. First it was your high horse, now your faith just isn't up to snuff. He's had more pointed words for American Christians than he's had for ISIS.

His subsequent comments were pretty amazing, too. If you replaced his attribution with an Adams or Franklin, it would carry perfectly well:

“Where there is injustice we defend the oppressed. Where there is disagreement, we treat each other with compassion and respect. Where there are differences, we find strength in our common humanity, knowing that we are all children of God.”

Only, you can't believe a single word that comes out of his mouth, so you have to factor that in. Seriously, just go line by line:

"Where there is injustice we defend the oppressed."

Is he referring to Sudan, or Iran's 2009 uprising? Maybe Ferguson, or Conservatives being targeted by the IRS. There's a lot to pick from here.

"Where there is disagreement, we treat each other with compassion and respect."

Like during the government shutdown, when he dictated that Citizens feel "maximum pain" for the Tea Party's defiance to socialism? Was it the buses of 80 year-old Veterans who'd come to see their own Memorial, many for both the first and last time? He wouldn't permit them to approach, however, and instead made them disembark, walk, hobble, limp and roll 200 yards up the street. Because apparently the Bataan Death March wasn't quite long enough for him.

Honorable mention: When he stood before the Congress of The United States of America and decreed the body irrelevant (to thunderous applause from the separatist contingent).

"Where there are differences, we find strength in our common humanity, knowing that we are all children of God.”

Except for when he's assassinating four American Citizens and then bragging about how good he's gotten at it. Evidently it's become something rote to him, like Depeche Mode's "Violator" or knowing the Mets will be under .500 by May.

How about the fact that he's killed more innocents with drones than perished on 9/11? If that's not God-y enough for you, then go no further than his regard for His most innocent children of all.

I'd like to think they forgive him, too. 

What I Want From Ted Cruz

I'm an average, everyday guy. I wake up, get in the car, drive 45 minutes to work and stare at a screen all day. Then I come home, appreciate my family, futz about, and stare at a different screen 'til I fall asleep. Over and over and over, like a million other me's.

I'm Citizen X. Nobody. I've no expectation of my perspective mattering.

It matters to me, of course. I've worked hard and sacrificed. I've honored my god, cherished my family and respected the law. I served.

I can't help but wonder what is happening to my country, though. It's been one shitstorm after the next and no one seems willing or able to do anything about it. Fundamental Transformation. Solyndra. Fast and Furious. AP spying. Benghazi. IRS targeting. Bergdahl. NSA. If I like my country, I can keep my country.

My government tells me that things have never been better and not a lick of it is their fault. Between Telepromptorus I and that quirky tech start-up known as the State Department, I expect the entire apparatus to do nothing but break the law and then lie to me about it. If only one thing remains with you from this drivel, may it be this: What is a government that does not adhere to laws of its own making?

Ted Cruz doesn't remember me. I remember him, though, when he and Sen. Mike Lee came to the Veteran's March in October of 2013. They stood in the rain right along with us and spoke words of encouragement. I would wager that both men could've been ninety-nine other places that morning, but instead they chose to join us. When Cruz announced his candidacy, I was happy.  More liberty swirling in the pot is always a good thing.

I was a bit hesitant, too. Why should I vote for him and not Rand Paul? How resolute is he? Will he be the tip of the spear or just another splinter off the handle? Only time will tell, but in the interim I can tell you what I want from Ted Cruz:

Enough is enough. Stop it. Restore the rule of law and respect our founding principles. It's We The People, not Us The Government. I not only want you to follow the Constitution, I want you lead us back to it. We're not some two-bit banana republic, we are The United States of America. We're free men and women, we pledged our very lives and signed our own death warrants just to make it so.

I want a President that's proud of our country. When I was a kid, Reagan kissed the flag. Now I get one pedantic lecture after the next on how misguided and flawed we are. How about this: I want to hear how exceptional we are. We've cured diseases, connected the world, walked on the moon, put a robot on Mars, and guess what? You aint seen nothin' yet. 

I want a President who protects our friends and destroys our enemies. A President who champions the free market, not the bread line. A President who doesn't read my mail, listen to my phone calls, @#$% with my taxes, lie as sport and then call me a domestic terrorist. A President who doesn't separate us by the things which make us different, but unites us with the one amazing thing we all have in common.

Do all of that and more, and you have my vote. And hopefully that of a hundred million other me's.

Bergdahl And Afghanistan Casualty Rates

Per the Minnneapolis Star-Tribune, Bowe Bergdahl deserted his post on June 30, 2009. He was then exchanged for five jihadist commanders on May 31, 2014.

That's 1,796 days of not only defection, but allegedly collaboration as well. But if the latter is indeed true, how could it be verified? How can the assertion that "Taliban attacks on U.S. forces in the Paktika province seemed to increase in frequency and effectiveness" be substantiated?

Per iCasualties, there was a marked increase in coalition fatalities theater-wide immediately following Bergdahl's perfidy:

Respective U.S. fatalities followed suit:

I can't narrow the numbers down to Paktika province yet, but that will follow. The takeaway for now? There are myriad other variables involved, but the numbers do not lie: After Bowe Bergdahl joined the Taliban, coalition casualties increased. In particular, let's not forget the men who died trying to rescue him.

We Are Not A Nation Of Immigrants, We Are A Nation Of Citizens

 

Mark Levin rightly frames the current crisis in our revolutionary past, and nails the emperor's usurpations to the the wall. 

"A tradition in liberty. But now we have a President who rejects this tradition. Let me say this to you, Mr. Obama: You may have a pen and you may have a phone - likely an Obamaphone - but we have the Constitution of The United States... and We, not you, We own that Constitution. We own this country, and you, Mr. Obama, do not have any legitimate authority to fundamentally transform what does not belong to you."

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