That’s a good one, John!

Story at Washington Post

Honoring our Veterans.

Thank you all.

Comments on gun control

I was just reading the weekly gun thread over at Ace’s and saw this paragraph:

The very same leftists who believe requiring voter ID is the modern day equivalent of poll taxes and literacy tests, even when the ID is provided at no charge to the same people who curiously manage to be able to deftly navigate the welfare benefits maze, support all sorts of “reasonable” “common sense” restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms. And these restrictions have an effect contrary to the one they purport to … in MA crime rates soared after politicians made it harder for law-abiding citizens to get guns.

One of the unspoken aspects of all this is that the primary purpose of the Second Amendment is to guarantee that the people of this nation have the means to rise up in revolution in case the government becomes too tyrannical. Neither side of the gun debate mentions this, because the lefties (the fans of tyranny) don’t want to give anyone ideas, and the conservatives don’t really want to, either.

But it’s true. Remember the context of the period in which the Bill of Rights was passed: the American colonies had just won a revolution against a British government which was viewed as having become too tyranical, and the early stages of the war were fought by men using weapons they themselves owned. (The Minutemen, right?)

It is the ultimate check on a system that is loaded with checks, most of which have by this point failed. (The commerce clause being the worst example of that.) It is the ultimate balance: the citizens balance the government and have the ability to resist it if need be.

That’s the real reason lefties hate it. It isn’t about crime for them, either, and the fact that crime goes up when private ownership of guns goes down, doesn’t bother them. Lefties believe that a benevolent dictatorship is the best form of government and they want to implement it here. (Recently it has begun to be received wisdom on the Left that the US Constitution is old, outmoded, and should be replaced.)

But they know they can’t really do it as long as tens of millions of American non-lefties own firearms. And they hate it.

It isn’t guns in the hands of criminals that they most fear. It’s guns in the closets of law-abiding fellow citizens who don’t happen to be Progressive.

Read Andrew C. McCarthy’s article: Obama’s Massive Fraud here.

I’m sorry, too that you and the Democrats were able to bamboozle so many into believing your lies – destroying industries and the prosperity of an entire nation.

Resign. Then I’ll believe you are sincere in your ‘apology’.

AllahPundit has more words at Hot Air.

Ron Fournier has even more at NationalJournal.

Charles C. W. Cooke has even more at National Review Online‘s The Corner

John Hinderaker has even more at PowerLine.

Mr. President, it’s time.

It’s interesting. In England, we say “full stop” instead of “period”; but in America, the president says “period” instead of “I’m lying.”

— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) November 7, 2013

Gun writer and Guns & Ammo television host Dick Metcalf wrote a column in the December issue of Guns & Ammo magazine that called for restrictions on Second Amendment Rights.  The readership is not thrilled.

Editor Jim Bequette today admitted his own mistake in publishing the column and announced the Dick Metcalf is no longer associated with Guns & Ammo and a new Editor will take over on January 1.

h/t Days of Our Trailers who has the announcement letter at his place. Follow his post for more information.

The Guns & Ammo Official Response is here. h/t The Bang Switch: Military Arms Channel Blog.

It was a choice between the current state of affairs (ObamaCare, more taxes, more economic decline) and liberty and advancement with Cuccunelli.

One can only wonder what might have been had the RNC actually supported the Republican candidate in Virginia this year. Cuccunelli was outspent 8:1 in this election cycle.

The Tea Party gave them a hell of a run though – overcoming a 15% loss a week ago to end in a near tie in overall votes.

Kudos to Ron Paul for standing up against the Democrat-funded “Libertarian” candidate who garnered 6.7% of the total votes.

A recount might be interesting to see.

1968 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible with Supercharged 383 Small Block stroker engine (350 block / 400 crankshaft = 3.75 in stroke compared to 3.48 with stock crankshaft).

Fun times!

Amanda Anderson, spoke with National Review Online, and said “… Running as a Republican is the best way to advance liberty.”

Vote for Cuccinelli as a referendum on Obama’s policies or be prepared to suffer Orwell’s totalitarian “boot to the face, forever”.

The Nation will thank you.

You know I like trucks and the 1968 Chevy C10 is progressing quite nicely.

But the latest seriously fun thing I did today was a trip to the Texas DMV to register another 1968 Chevy.

This time is was a Camaro.  A convertible Camaro.

A Camaro with a totally bad-ass supercharged 383 stroker Chevy-powered engine with a B&M under-the-hood style belt-driven blower.

In the rain.

I love the sound of a belt-driven blower.

It’s a beautiful thing,

Have I mentioned how much I love Judge Jeanine?

Yes. I believe I have.
See her latest at The Right Scoop

Shop here by Manufacturer or by Caliber/Gauge

PowerLine has this comprehensive post:

Over the last day or two, the major breaking story has really been a throwback: in 2010, the Obama administration promulgated rules governing what plans that pre-existed Obamacare would be “grandfathered” under that statute, and allowed to continue. In the context of announcing its rules, the administration predicted that because of their restrictiveness, many millions of Americans would lose their existing insurance coverage, whether they liked it or not. Further, it has been widely reported (as by CNN, here) that Republicans tried to reverse the administration’s “grandfather” rules so that those who liked their insurance would be allowed to keep it, but Senate Democrats voted them down.

Given the lies with which Obamacare was promoted–”If you like your health care plan, you can keep it”–this is of course a blockbuster story. So I spent some time today tracking down the original sources to verify it.

Over the last day or two, the major breaking story has really been a throwback: in 2010, the Obama administration promulgated rules governing what plans that pre-existed Obamacare would be “grandfathered” under that statute, and allowed to continue. In the context of announcing its rules, the administration predicted that because of their restrictiveness, many millions of Americans would lose their existing insurance coverage, whether they liked it or not. Further, it has been widely reported (as by CNN, here) that Republicans tried to reverse the administration’s “grandfather” rules so that those who liked their insurance would be allowed to keep it, but Senate Democrats voted them down.

Given the lies with which Obamacare was promoted–”If you like your health care plan, you can keep it”–this is of course a blockbuster story. So I spent some time today tracking down the original sources to verify it.

This is only the intro …

Read it all, and then go back and read it again.

It was all based on lies.

Join me for a Ken Cuccinelli Get Out the Vote Rally tomorrow. Details here http://t.co/4jU1ET6vg5

— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) November 2, 2013

4:15 PM
Loudoun Victory Office Rally
9 Catoctin Circle SW
Leesburg, VA 20175
 

CBS’ Sharyl Atkisson has the story, and it ain’t pretty.

Because allowing any Democrat to be elected to any office after what we’ve been through in the last five years would be ridiculous.

Actual HealthCare.gov contact number.

Priceless.

How are we “in this together” when you called us racists, terrorists, anarchists, etc for saying what happened would happen? #ObamaScare

— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) October 30, 2013

Seen at Curmudgeonly & Skeptical²

A Google search with these words returns more than 49,100,000 results in 0.31 seconds.

“The consensus we all live by is a fragile thing. It is being torn apart by the radical left and once it is destroyed, it will not bind the right, in the same way that it no longer binds the left.”

“And then the true conflict will begin.”

Read the whole thing at Sultan Knish.

Interesting times we live in, no?

Obama said, “Like your healthcare? You can keep it”, and “your premiums will go down by $2,500!”

Lies. All lies.

Obama claims (again) he didn’t know about the details or the impacts.

Which is worse? That he knew or that he didn’t know the details of his own HealthCare.gov plan?

The economic havoc Obama has wreaked upon America will surely exceed that of both WW I and WW II combined.

The ”Dem Party is F****d” and Democrats ”will own this problem forever.”

h/t Right Scoop

Impeach everyone

— Allahpundit (@allahpundit) October 28, 2013

That oughta do it.

“Benghazi was a planned, sophisticated attack by al Qaeda against a barely protected American outpost.”

- Lara Logan reports from CBS.

One year in the making, this report destroys the stories told by the Obama (and Hillary) administration.

Transcript:

When Chris Stevens was killed in Benghazi, Libya, on the anniversary of September 11th last year, it was only the sixth time that the United States had lost an ambassador to its enemies. The events of that night have been overshadowed by misinformation, confusion and intense partisanship. But for those who lived through it, there’s nothing confusing about what happened, and they share a sense of profound frustration because they say they saw it coming.

Tonight, you will hear for the first time from a security officer who witnessed the attack. He calls himself, Morgan Jones, a pseudonym he’s using for his own safety. A former British soldier, he’s been helping to keep U.S. diplomats and military leaders safe for the last decade. On a night he describes as sheer hell, Morgan Jones snuck into a Benghazi hospital that was under the control of al Qaeda terrorists, desperate to find out if one of his close friends from the U.S. Special Mission was the American he’d been told was there.

Morgan Jones: I was dreading seeing who it was, you know? It didn’t take long to get to the room. And I could see in through the glass. And I didn’t even have to go into the room to see who it was. I knew who it was immediately.

Lara Logan: Who was it?

Morgan Jones: It was the ambassador, dead. Yeah, shocking.

Morgan Jones said he’d never felt so angry in his life. Only hours earlier, Amb. Chris Stevens had sought him out, concerned about the security at the U.S. Special Mission Compound where Morgan was in charge of the Libyan guard force.

Now, the ambassador was dead and the U.S. compound was engulfed in flames and overrun by dozens of heavily armed fighters.

Although the attack began here, the more organized assault unfolded about a mile across the city at a top secret CIA facility known as the Annex. It lasted more than seven hours and took four American lives.

Contrary to the White House’s public statements, which were still being made a full week later, it’s now well established that the Americans were attacked by al Qaeda in a well-planned assault.

Five months before that night, Morgan Jones first arrived in Benghazi, in eastern Libya about 400 miles from the capital, Tripoli.

He thought this would be an easy assignment compared to Afghanistan and Iraq. But on his first drive through Benghazi, he noticed the black flags of al Qaeda flying openly in the streets and he grew concerned about the guard forces as soon as he pulled up to the U.S. compound.

Morgan Jones: There was nobody there that we could see. And then we realized they were all inside drinking tea, laughing and joking.

Lara Logan: What did you think?

Morgan Jones: Instantly I thought we’re going to have to get rid of all these guys.

Morgan Jones’ job was training the unarmed guards who manned the compound’s gates. A second Libyan force — an armed militia hired by the State Department — was supposed to defend the compound in the event of an attack. Morgan had nothing to do with the militia, but they worried him so much, he could not keep quiet.

Morgan Jones: I was saying, “These guys are no good. You need to– you need to get ‘em out of here.”

Lara Logan: You also kept saying, “If this place is attacked these guys are not going to stand and fight?”

Morgan Jones: Yeah. I used to say it all the time. Yeah, in the end I got quite bored of hearing my own voice saying it.

Andy Wood: We had one option: “Leave Benghazi or you will be killed.”

Green Beret Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Andy Wood, was one of the top American security officials in Libya. Based in Tripoli, he met with Amb. Stevens every day.

The last time he went to Benghazi was in June, just three months before the attack. While he was there, al Qaeda tried to assassinate the British ambassador. Wood says, to him, it came as no surprise because al Qaeda — using a familiar tactic — had stated their intent in an online posting, saying they would attack the Red Cross, the British and then the Americans in Benghazi.

Lara Logan: And you watched as they–

Andy Wood: As they did each one of those.

Lara Logan: –attacked the Red Cross and the British mission. And the only ones left–

Andy Wood: Were us. They made good on two out of the three promises. It was a matter of time till they captured the third one.

Lara Logan: And Washington was aware of that?

Andy Wood: They knew we monitored it. We included that in our reports to both State Department and DOD.

Andy Wood told us he raised his concerns directly with Amb. Stevens three months before the U.S. compound was overrun.

Andy Wood: I made it known in a country team meeting, “You are gonna get attacked. You are gonna get attacked in Benghazi. It’s gonna happen. You need to change your security profile.”

Lara Logan: Shut down–

Andy Wood: Shut down–

Lara Logan: –the special mission–

Andy Wood: –”Shut down operations. Move out temporarily. Ch– or change locations within the city. Do something to break up the profile because you are being targeted. They are– they are– they are watching you. The attack cycle is such that they’re in the final planning stages.”

Lara Logan: Wait a minute, you said, “They’re in the final planning stages of an attack on the American mission in Benghazi”?

Andy Wood: It was apparent to me that that was the case. Reading, reading all these other, ah, attacks that were occurring, I could see what they were staging up to, it was, it was obvious.

We have learned the U.S. already knew that this man, senior al Qaeda leader Abu Anas al-Libi was in Libya, tasked by the head of al Qaeda to establish a clandestine terrorist network inside the country. Al-Libi was already wanted for his role in bombing two U.S. embassies in Africa.

Greg Hicks: It was a frightening piece of information.

Lara Logan: Because it meant what?

Greg Hicks: It raised the stakes, changed the game.

Greg Hicks, who testified before Congress earlier this year, was Amb. Stevens’ deputy based in Tripoli – a 22-year veteran of the Foreign Service with an impeccable reputation.

Lara Logan: And in that environment you were asking for more security assets and you were not getting them?

Greg Hicks: That’s right.

Lara Logan: Did you fight that?

Greg Hicks: I was in the process of trying to frame a third request but it was not allowed to go forward.

Lara Logan: So why didn’t you get the help that you needed and that you asked for?

Greg Hicks: I really, really don’t know. I in fact would like to know that, the answer to that question.

In the months prior to the attack, Amb. Stevens approved a series of detailed cables to Washington, specifically mentioning, among other things, “the al Qaeda flag has been spotted several times flying over government buildings”.

When the attack began on the evening of September 11, Amb. Stevens immediately called Greg Hicks, who was back in Tripoli.

Greg Hicks: Ambassador said that the consulate’s under attack. And then the line cut.

Lara Logan: Do you remember the sound of his voice?

Greg Hicks: Oh yeah, it’s indelibly imprinted on my mind.

Lara Logan: How did he sound?

Greg Hicks: He sounded frightened.

In Benghazi, Morgan Jones, who was at his apartment about 15 minutes away, got a frantic call from one of his Libyan guards.

Morgan Jones: I could hear gunshots. And I– and he said, “There’s– there’s men coming into the mission.” His voice, he was, he was scared, you could tell he was really scared and he was running, I could tell he was running.

His first thought was for his American friends, the State Department agents who were pinned down inside the compound, and he couldn’t believe it when one of them answered his phone.

Morgan Jones: I said, “What’s going on?” He said, “We’re getting attacked.” And I said, “How many?” And he said, “They’re all over the compound.” And I felt shocked, I didn’t know what to say. And– I said, “Well, just keep fighting. I’m on my way.”

Morgan’s guards told him the armed Libyan militia that was supposed to defend the compound had fled, just as Morgan had predicted. His guards — unarmed and terrified — sounded the alarm, but they were instantly overwhelmed by the attackers.

Morgan Jones: They said, “We’re here to kill Americans, not Libyans,” so they’d give them a good beating, pistol whip them, beat them with their rifles and let them go.

Lara Logan: We’re here to kill Americans.

Morgan Jones: That’s what they said, yeah.

Lara Logan: Not Libyans.

Morgan Jones: Yeah.

About 30 minutes into the attack, a quick reaction force from the CIA Annex ignored orders to wait and raced to the compound, at times running and shooting their way through the streets just to get there. Inside the compound, they repelled a force of as many as 60 armed terrorists and managed to save five American lives and recover the body of Foreign Service Officer Sean Smith. They were forced to fight their way out before they could find the ambassador.

Not long afterwards, Morgan Jones scaled the 12-foot high wall of the compound that was still overrun with al Qaeda fighters.

Morgan Jones: One guy saw me. He just shouted. I couldn’t believe that he’d seen me ’cause it was so dark. He started walking towards me.

Lara Logan: And as he was coming closer?

Morgan Jones: As I got closer, I just hit him with the butt of the rifle in the face.

Lara Logan: And?

Morgan Jones: Oh, he went down, yeah.

Lara Logan: He dropped?

Morgan Jones: Yeah, like– like a stone.

Lara Logan: With his face smashed in?

Morgan Jones: Yeah.

Lara Logan: And no one saw you do it?

Morgan Jones: No.

Lara Logan: Or heard it?

Morgan Jones: No, there was too much noise.

The same force that had gone to the compound was now defending the CIA Annex. Hours later, they were joined by a small team of Americans from Tripoli. From defensive positions on these rooftops, the Americans fought back a professional enemy. In a final wave of intense fighting just after 5 a.m., the attackers unleashed a barrage of mortars. Three of them slammed into this roof, killing former Navy SEALs Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty.

Lara Logan: They hit that roof three times.

Andy Wood: They, they hit those roofs three times.

Lara Logan: In the dark.

Andy Wood: Yea, that’s getting the basketball through the hoop over your shoulder.

Lara Logan: What does it take to pull off an attack like that?

Andy Wood: Coordination, planning, training, experienced personnel. They practice those things. They knew what they were doing. That was a– that was a well-executed attack.

We have learned there were two Delta Force operators who fought at the Annex and they’ve since been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the Navy Cross — two of the military’s highest honors. The Americans who rushed to help that night went without asking for permission and the lingering question is why no larger military response ever crossed the border into Libya — something Greg Hicks realized wasn’t going to happen just an hour into the attack.

Lara Logan: You have this conversation with the defense attache. You ask him what military assets are on their way. And he says–

Greg Hicks: Effectively, they’re not. And I– for a moment, I just felt lost. I just couldn’t believe the answer. And then I made the call to the Annex chief, and I told him, “Listen, you’ve gotta tell those guys there may not be any help coming.”

Lara Logan: That’s a tough thing to understand. Why?

Greg Hicks: It just is. We–, for us, for the people that go out onto the edge, to represent our country, we believe that if we get in trouble, they’re coming to get us. That our back is covered. To hear that it’s not, it’s a terrible, terrible experience.

The U.S. government today acknowledges the Americans at the U.S. compound in Benghazi were not adequately protected. And says those who carried out the attack are still being hunted down.

Just a few weeks ago, Abu Anas al-Libi was captured for his role in the Africa bombings and the U.S. is still investigating what part he may have played in Benghazi. We’ve learned that this man, Sufian bin Qumu, a former Guantanamo Bay detainee and long-time al Qaeda operative, was one of the lead planners along with Faraj al-Chalabi, whose ties to Osama bin Laden go back more than 15 years. He’s believed to have carried documents from the compound to the head of al Qaeda in Pakistan.

The morning after the attack, Morgan Jones went back to the compound one last time to document the scene. He took these photos which he gave to the FBI and has published in a book he has written. After all this time, he told us he’s still haunted by a conversation he had with Foreign Service Officer Sean Smith, a week before the attack.

Morgan Jones: Yeah, he was worried. He wasn’t happy with the security.

Lara Logan: And you didn’t tell him all your worries?

Morgan Jones: No. No, didn’t want to–

Lara Logan: Why not?

Morgan Jones: I didn’t want to worry him anymore, you know? He’s a nice guy. I sort of promised him he’d be OK.

Lara Logan: You think about that?

Morgan Jones: Every day, yeah.

The U.S. pulled out of Benghazi and al Qaeda has grown in power across Libya. When a member of our team went to the U.S. compound earlier this month, he found remnants of the Americans’ final frantic moments still scattered on the ground. Among them Amb. Stevens’ official schedule for Sept.12, 2012, a day he didn’t live to see.

Yup.  All’s left is to circle the drain.

Article here from our Hot Air friend Ed Morrissey.

… with .22 revolver

Close-up view:

Seen at Boing Boing

*Nothing in the word “open” should be construed under any circumstances to mean that this website is in any sense functioning.

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I don’t link to AWR Hawkins at PJ Media enough … Check out all his posts.

Here’s his latest:

The Right to Keep and Bear Arms [With Less Than 10 Rounds] Shall Not Be Infringed

It’s a good one.

Yes. It’s like that.  Except it’s worse.

And YOU have to pay for it, or be fined by the IRS. Whether you like it, or need it, or not.

And it costs more than your current coverage. And you can probably say goodbye to your current doctor.

And neither the website nor the 800 number works for enrollment.

At least after an actual train wreck, there are things to be salvaged. tracks, wheels, etc.

Not so with this one.

I’ve actually seen this in ‘person’ at the Woodward Avenue Dream Cruise!

Cool!

Total number of Americans on food stamps 46,700,000

Total (2012) Population of Canada 34,880,000

Via Twitchy

Texas loves freedom.

Ted Cruz is a Texas hero!

ARLINGTON — U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz received a hero’s welcome during a swing through Tarrant County Tuesday as he continued to drum up support for his battle to end the country’s new health care program.

Denounced by top leaders in his own party for what they called a “fool’s errand” and by Democrats for bringing the economy close to collapse, a crowd of more than 1,000 at the Arlington Music Hall gave him a more than 12-minute standing ovation that included whistles, applause and chants of “Thank you, Ted,” “Cruz” and “USA.”

“If we are going to stop Obamacare, and I am convinced we are going to stop Obamacare, it is going to be because we continue to elevate the national debate and focus on how this thing ain’t working,” Texas’ junior Republican senator and Tea Party favorite said.

“Having spent the last month in Washington, it’s good to be back in America,” he told the crowd. “The purpose of tonight…is to say thank you to each and every one of you.

“Nobody thought taking on the Washington establishment would be easy,” he said. “What we are trying to do together is change Washington and make D.C. listen.”

Computer engineers are shocked at the cost of the Obamacare website.
DC News FOX 5 DC WTTG

Making it actually work may take twice as long! No worries though, it’s not their money they are spending.

Worthy Cause(s).

Plus $100 for every 100,000 YouTube views!

h/t to VodkaPundit

The original video was taken down because their donation was refused.

Here’s their explanation.

Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble said today the U.S. and the rest of the democratic world is at a security crossroads in the wake of last month’s deadly al-Shabab attack at a shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya – and suggested an answer could be in arming civilians.

Read more at Legal Insurrection

Senator Cruz returns to Texas welcome after shutdown battle

Welcome back home, Senator. Get some rest, take some encouragement and go back and hit ‘em again.

We Texans support you.

The rest of the country will thank you, once they realize to enormity of the stakes in the game.

Good for you, Oprah!

There is a good reason why you are respected across the country.

You have integrity.

NY Post article here