The American Apologist

I ran across this quote recently. It is from the late Col. Jeff Cooper, USMC (Ret) who founded the Gunsite Academy (or Ranch) in Arizona. Gunsite teaches proper gun handling techniques for those who wish to survive an armed confrontation.

In observing our political scene, it is necessary to remember that in any
democracy the absolute goal of the politician is power. Not money, power.
This means that the only thing of any consequence to a politician is
re-election. He will walk on eyeballs to be re-elected, and the only time
that principle means anything to him is when it happens to coincide with
what appears to him the best course towards his own re-election. Now the
only way to get power is to take it from someone who already has it. Under
our system, the theory is that the people at large are sovereign and have
the power, but the only way the politician can achieve power is to take it
from the people who already have it – or should have it. This makes for a
permanent conflict in principle between the voter and his representative.
This is not cheerful, but it is nonetheless a fact.

Of the three systems of government enunciated by Aristotle – monarchy
(tyranny), aristocracy (oligarchy), and polity (democracy) – polity
(democracy) is the best, not because of its inherent virtue, but because of
its basic lack of efficiency. An inefficient government is best for the
people, simply because it is inherently incapable of doing anything well,
and the less it does the better.

Jeff Cooper
From Jeff Cooper’s Commentaries
Vol. 5, No. 2
February 1997

And “we” have decided to trust our healthcare to this ineffective bunch in Washington, DC…

*sigh*

Joe

From the Catholic News Agency via the Rocky Mountain News**:

Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput told a Canadian audience this week that some Catholics are treating President Barack Obama with a “spirit of adulation bordering on servility.”

“In democracies, we elect public servants, not messiahs,” he said.

Chaput also warned that an overly deferential attitude toward Obama makes the political situation “very hard for Catholics in the United States.”

Chaput delivered a lecture Monday night at a church on the campus of the University of Toronto. His remarks, reported by the Catholic News Agency, were picked up by blogs and nationally watched Web sites, such as the Drudge Report.

Chaput could not be reached for comment late Wednesday.

He was in Toronto to promote his book, Render Unto Caesar, which discusses how Catholics should bring their faith into public life.

In the presidential election, 54 percent of Catholics voted for Obama, who is pro-choice on abortion, which is condemned by the Catholic Church.

“President Obama is a man of intelligence and some remarkable gifts. He has a great ability to inspire, as we saw from his very popular visit to Canada just this past week. But whatever his strengths, there’s no way to reinvent his record on abortion and related issues with rosy marketing about unity, hope and change,” the Catholic News Agency quoted Chaput as saying.

“Americans, including many Catholics, elected a gifted man to fix an economic crisis. That’s the mandate. They gave nobody a mandate to retool American culture on the issues of marriage and the family, sexuality, bioethics, religion in public life and abortion,” he said.

Dear Bishop Chaput: the liberals don’t see it the same way…

So many people in this country want “The Government” to pay for, well… everything, that they could care less about abortion, bioethics, cloning, sexuality, religion, or personal freedom. The current administration DOES see their election as a mandate to change our nation from a capitalistic society to a socialist utopia — and frankly, I can’t envision a socialist utopia which contains a catholic church.

Wake up PEOPLE!!!

Semper Vigilans,

ProphetJoe

** Sadly, the Rocky Mountian News will be closing tomorrow…

UPDATE: The New york Times wants us to stop using the term “terrorists” and they quote this guy:

“If you are with the Americans, you are a legitimate fighter, you are a hero, but if you are fighting against a country supported by America then you are a terrorist,” said Abdel Bari Atwan, editor of the Palestinian newspaper Al Quds Al Arabi.

Well, Abdel… if you support the extermination of a religion and an entire nation (Israel and the Jews) then you ARE A GENOCIDAL MURDER. There… is that better?

David Spade… sometimes I think he’s one of the funniest comedic actors I’ve seen and in the next minute I think — “Geez, this guy is lame and he doesn’t even know it!” Maybe that’s the sign of a good actor. I don’t know, but I do appreciate Mr. Spade putting his money where his mouth is. Yesterday, David Spade donated $100,000 to the Phoenix Police Department to help buy 50 AR-15 rifles for their squad cars. He decided to donate the money after hearing that police were having to buy their own rifles. According to the AP story:

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Phoenix Police Department has gotten some high-powered goodies courtesy of actor David Spade.

The one-time Phoenix resident donated $100,000 so that the department can buy approximately 50 AR-15 rifles.

Spade said he wanted to make the donation after seeing a TV news report about Phoenix officers having to buy their own rifles. Spade grew up in the Phoenix area and graduated from Arizona State University.

Phoenix Police Sgt. Alan Hill says the rifles will be given to patrol officers and that the agency was grateful for the gifts.

“These guys need to be able to do their jobs and I am just happy I could help,” Spade said in a statement released by his publicist.

You will also note that when a Hollywood star is buying the weapons, the AP does NOT refer to them as “high powered, automatic assault rifles”…

# # # # #

Secondly, I missed a momentous occasion recently involving another great actor and a truly great American.  Gary Sinise was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by President George W. Bush.  Sinise was awarded the Medal for his work supporting American troops through the USO and for providing school supplies to Iraqi children.

Joe

H/T: Robert Avrech’s post and to Dirty Harry for his original post.

I like one premise in the movie “Starship Troopers” (you remember, the one with the bug invaders from outer space) — to be a voting citizen you had to have served in the military.

If we switched to that sort of model, it would take us back to the founding of this great nation. Back when the decision makers were not only TALKING about revolution, but they were actually LAYING THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE to choose what direction this country would take. Yeah, I like the idea of that — let the veterans vote and the rest whine about it — they will anyway!

I’m not serious, of course, but I’ve been thinking about this fact: In my adult life, I’ve seen 2 honorable, worthy, dedicated men — both bona fide war heroes (Senators John McCain and Bob Dole) — lose elections to slick, commercially-packaged, liberal elitists… people who ride a sound bite (like “I feel your pain” or “Change we can believe in”) to the White House.

I fear this nation has lost its moral compass. We are no longer serving the ideals of democracy and individual freedom. We’ve become a union state. Just look at where we’re headed:

• We are essentially told how much we can earn — that is, the Government takes more and more through taxation, thereby reducing your effective salary. VP-elect Joe Biden even went so far as to say paying taxes was your patriotic duty — his idea of patriotism and mine differ… considerably!
• They want to provide, (sorry) dictate your level of health care coverage and insurance, and the price you pay for it.
• They are now buying into entire industries (financial institutions, the auto makers, and you *know* the airlines won’t be far behind) which makes me suspect we’re headed toward some nationalization issues.
• We are “given” a pension in the form of Social Security (actually, it’s our money that we lost to the Government) — and just like the unions & big business, the system is not properly funded and it probably won’t be there when we retire because those in power have usurped the funds for one “crisis” or another.

We’ve become risk intolerant. I’ve heard talk-radio callers (liberals mostly) telling me that it’s not fair that tycoons like Henry Ford made millions of dollars while the workers at Ford continually face layoffs and work for a pittance of the profits. The fact of the matter is that Henry took the chance and reaped the rewards. The workers (unions) want health insurance and a retirement package. They don’t care that they don’t earn their wage based upon their skills and effort — they are willing for the best welder to be paid (virtually) the same as the most inept welder because they want the safety and security of a “union job”. The fact is that Henry Ford went bankrupt before he made his millions. He “rolled the dice” and the first time he lost and the second time he won — big. When was the last time you won a billion dollars by playing the nickel slots? You don’t! You win big by playing the BIG GAME. So stop whining and roll the dice already!

Are you willing to stand up to make this country better? Are you willing to fight to preserve our individual freedoms — the freedom of speech, the right to bear arms, the right to live as an individual without Government interference? If so, then you have probably already served in the military… so again I say, THANK YOU for your service, but the fight is not over. We still need you to defend our rights. Get involved in the direction this country is heading. Serve us once more… do it for the children.

Joe

They say a picture is worth a thousand words…

THANK YOU… and God Bless each and every one of you!

AverageJoe

P.S. — I believe these photos are all in the public domain. If not, please drop me a note and I will remove any copyrighted material.

I was reading one of my regular blogs today and Carol has a post about the how the Left is constantly changing the use of the English language. Her particular example had to do with the word “racialized” (which I’d never heard nor seen before), but I suppose you could easily go back 10 years or more (look here to refresh your memory about this infamous wordsmith) and see how the Elitists have attempted to hijack the english language to suit their needs.

What interested me was this comment on Carol’s post:

sierrahome Oct 10th, 2008 at 11:49

If you want to control a society first control the language.

To which I say:

Why not? The Elitist Left are trying to control the educational system, the legal system, the medical system, the economy, the arts and (of course) the media. In fact, I think it is a foregone conclusion that they dominate the latter two systems.

All of their policies are an attempt to gain control of the political system, and ultimately, our daily lives. All through a modern implementation of socialism as inspired by Saul Alinksy.

Now, before you dismiss me as “conspiracy monger” or a member of the “radical right” — let me enlighten you to the real world.

Let me introduce the School for Designing a Society . It is located near the campus of the University of Illinois and their goal is to change society. Hell, you can even receive college credit for attending their “school”. What are their goals? This is lifted from the opening paragraphs of their web site:

We…  find that this system maintains itself at the expense of its members so that misery, poverty, hopelessness, violence, and human degradation are daily occurrences. Our social system tells us that human beings are the problem, and that it, the current system, is the solution. We have taken long looks at this system, and we do not want it. As any social system is humanly created, not natural, and is maintained daily by human action, we wish to create new social systems, and to change our daily patterns of action.

Look at that final sentence: We want to create new social systems and to change our daily patterns of action. Now, take into account the political agenda of the Left and you see why I believe this country is moving in a socialist direction — it must be stopped, and soon!

Honestly, if you were to look at virtually any other country in the world and saw these events happening, wouldn’t you soon expect either a mass revolution by the (conservative) masses, or a military coup?

Think about it. What will happen if Obama is elected and Bill Ayers & Crew get their way — and who will stop them with Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid controlling the Congress — think about it. Are we entering the Second American Revolution… ?

AverageJoe

P.S. — Senator McCain — America is MAD — are you listening?

Three topics today:

1) Charlton Heston died last Saturday. The world lost a terrific actor and the nation lost a national treasure.

2) Last weekend was also notable because of Barack Hussein Obama’s comment about bitterness in middle America. I believe his quote was:

You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them,… And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.

Does he thinks most of middle America has been unemployed for the last 25 years, is a “gun nut” (in the derogatory sense of the term), and is a Bible-thumping fundamentalist who is against immigration?

Well, Mr. Candidate, you are mostly correct. The one part you got wrong was the unemployed part — we’re not unemployed, but we did lose many of our mining and manufacturing jobs 25-30 years ago when the politicians in power made it more profitable for firms to do business overseas.

We are bitter. We’re bitter because no matter who wins this general election, conservative American values will not inhabit the Oval Office. We’re bitter that you think gun ownership and religion are “low-brow” pursuits practiced only in “fly-over country” by blue-collar drones. We’re bitter that illegal aliens are eligible for tuition preferences and medical treatment that natural citizens aren’t entitled to receive.

Yeah, we’re bitter. We’re bitter that the Democratic and Republican parties haven’t been able to produce an honest, decent red-blooded American to steer this country with integrity and conservative values since Ronald Reagan. We’re bitter that the press, the politicians and academia look down their up-turned noses at the men and women who do the “heavy lifting” in this country — how else can you explain the idiocy of rewarding a professor with tenure while an Army Corporal needs food stamps to get by?

We’re bitter, but in reality, we are practical and fiercely proud. We are America.

3) In a related story, there’s now an active debate about allowing guns on college campuses. CNN had this story on Monday and it immediately stirred some controversy on my listservs. One of the respondents, who I’ll identify as Casey (not his real name) said this:

I think it is a bad idea. Police on my campus (Wisconsin Madison) responding to a campus shooting incident in progress say they would have a hard time telling the difference between the bad guys (initial shooter) and the good guys (students with guns responding). They go to a shooting incident all amped up and see someone with a gun, that person is immediately a target. Just my .02 worth.

To which I respond:

With all due respect, Casey, I disagree on several points:

1. The innocents (targets) are faced with a fight-or-flight scenario and arming them (and we’re talking about responsible students, staff, and faculty who have concealed carry permits) gives them a way to fight and for some, that’s a chance at life.
2. Using your argument, the next logical step would be to outlaw all private guns so police aren’t confused about who’s the criminal and who’s the victim. After all, police arriving at a business or a home don’t usually have advanced warning as to who has a firearm.
3. Frankly, I don’t think it’s an insurmountable problem – I don’t hear of homeowners being shot by arriving police very often (and trust me, if it happened frequently, it would be ALL OVER THE NEWS).
4. I would much rather take my chances facing a trained police officer (even an amped up officer) when I’m armed than facing a homicidal sociopath when I’m unarmed.

No offense to any law enforcement personnel, but I don’t believe their mission is to provide personal protection to each and every one of us – that’s simply not feasible. Most gun owners I know own a gun (at least partially) for personal protection reasons. Why should college campuses strip that option away?

Well, that’s all for today. Let me know what you think!

Joe