Tag Archives: Washington

On the Congressional Baseball Shooting

14 Wednesday Jun 2017

Posted by in Legal/Political Columns, News and Notes

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

Shots fired first thing in the morning. The news rehashed all day long. If you just emerged from under a rock, in a cave, on a desert island – go back! But first know what everyone else does: James T. Hodgkinson, 66, of Illinois, opened fire with a rifle this morning at a baseball field just outside D.C. His targets were Congressional Republicans practicing for the annual GOP/DNC charity game.

Five people were wounded, including LA Congressman Steve Scalise. All are expected to recover. Fortunately, only the lunatic shooter was killed, dropped by Capitol Police at the scene.

hodgkinson

James T. Hodgkinson, crazy man (deceased).

James Hodgkinson was a deranged leftist, Bernie Sanders fanboy, and homicidal sociopath. Even CNN is covering that angle which means it must be universally understood and accepted. Enough with it.

Several things:

I have no use whatever for Republicans and Democrats. I’m glad they’ve found solidarity today. Great. “An attack on one of us … blah, blah, blah.”  In truth they almost always have solidarity in their quest to wreck the country.

The baseball game is a perfect metaphor. On the ball field, Team GOP squares off against Team DNC. They oppose each other in play on the field but the overall goal is shared: raise money for charity. If that were their entire purpose I would applaud wholeheartedly. It isn’t.

In Congress, Team GOP squares off against Team DNC. They oppose each other with idiotic grandstanding and faux ideologies but the goal is shared: raise power for their Big Club masters. More power and money for them, less of everything for you.

I’m not saying take a rifle and shoot them. I am not saying that.

The whole lot of them aren’t worth a bullet, let alone the 50 fired off this morning.

But they have, with much and great assistance, utterly wrecked and destroyed the country I grew up in. Maybe “utterly” isn’t the right word just yet. Parts linger here and there. But darned near everything is fractured, including the people.

Hodgkinson is a picture perfect example of that fracture. And there are many more where he came from. People on the left really, really hate Donald Trump, GOPers, God, and you. They make plays about assassinating Trump. They hold up a mockery of his bloody severed head. They punch people talking to journalists. They hit people with bike locks. Some, more than just one nut from Illinois, are willing to murder.

The right-wing can boast some similar ideologues, but this post isn’t about them. This is about the leftoids, the communists, the blue-hair, shrieking loonies who hate the above mentioned personas. They hate a lot of people and a lot of things. And I’m writing about the “normal” ones. Their ultra-violent criminal allies in the ghettos and their pets of the Jihad are bad enough. But the home team regulars may be the worst of all.

Yes, they are full of hate. However, lately and quietly they have seemingly gotten over one object of hate – guns. Early this morning, before the facts were clear, I think I only heard the once ubiquitous calls for gun control from two sources, two fringe sources at that. Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, other Democrats, CNN, and the media have been strangely quiet about the whole “a gun did this” thing. It’s almost like they’re over it. And they might be.

Truthfully, most lefties never favored full gun control. Sure, they wanted to take your guns and mine. But they always had ways of carving out exceptions for themselves, their friends, and their security guards. Funny.

I started reading maybe back in December about the rise in liberal gun ownership. Just this time last year the same people were beating the same old, worn drum of disarmament. Remember Kersh Kuntzman almost exactly a year ago – he of the frightening AR-15 experience? My but things seem to have changed.

A year ago they were against guns. By December they had started buying them. At rallies and riots, here and there, this spring, they started toting them – in poor and uncomfortable form. Today they started using them – again, rather poorly. (Open baseball field? Clear day? AK at close range? Five wounded? Come on…). Tomorrow, however, cometh the next natural progressive step: shooting well. That’s coming about and up to speed pretty fast.

I’ve already heard some idiots making fun of the libs for being: soft, wimps, queers, etc. “They probably use little pink rifles.” Funny but more delusional than accurate.

These people are violence personified. They are the heirs of Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Pot, and all the other brutal leftist dictators of the 20th Century. Then, they collectively racked up a death toll of about 250 Million. That’s anything but soft or wimpy. “Dangerous” is more like it.

They may have taken a short break while they tried to take down the Second Amendment. And by “they,” I mean the ordinary liberals; their leaders never put down the sword (or the bombs). When the assault on the 2A failed and failed pretty miserably I guess they decided to get back to their more traditional ways.

This morning they stormed back in style. More of this is coming and not just against Congress.

So, what should we, the remnants of the Old America do? I’d suggest preparing for battle. One survivor of this morning’s attack credited a police officer with saving lives. As usual in these matters, things took a turn for the better as soon as a good guy with a gun showed up and started shooting back.

If the officer(s) hadn’t been there, this could have turned into a multiple homicide bloodbath. That’s the commonality with political assassination attempts, violent crimes, and terror strikes – they all rely on unarmed, soft targets.

It’s time we ended that part of the equation. Why wait for an officer who might not be there? Arm yourselves. Train yourselves. Carry everywhere. Shoot back. And win. Winning will be kind of important…

While this could have really been a stand-alone event, the insular work of a single nut case, something not likely to be repeated, it could also be something more and something much worse. Remember all the fracturing after a century of descent. The shots fired first thing this morning could well be the first shots of a new civil war.

CALEXIT and Interstate Civil Disobedience

29 Sunday Jan 2017

Posted by in Legal/Political Columns

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

Hard cases make bad law. That’s a legal maxim. It’s true but, too often, it’s just the way it is.

President Trump has threatened to cut off federal brides funding to sanctuary cities across the country. These cities willingly aid and abet criminal illegal invaders. I had recommended prosecuting the officials involved for felonies. Trump thinks the purse is enough. And he’s probably right.

Still, for now, the State of California is at least talking about a novel response – cutting off revenues from the state to Washington.

Officials are looking for money that flows through Sacramento to the federal government that could be used to offset the potential loss of billions of dollars’ worth of federal funds if President Trump makes good on his threat to punish cities and states that don’t cooperate with federal agents’ requests to turn over undocumented immigrants, a senior government source in Sacramento said.

The federal funds pay for a variety of state and local programs from law enforcement to homeless shelters.

“California could very well become an organized non-payer,” said Willie Brown, Jr, a former speaker of the state Assembly in an interview recorded Friday for KPIX 5’s Sunday morning news. “They could recommend non-compliance with the federal tax code.”

California is among a handful of so-called “donor states,” which pay more in taxes to the federal Treasury than they receive in government funding.

I like this part. Originally the little central government had no power to raise its own money. Accordingly, if it wanted a budget, it had to beg the several states for funds. They were free to say “no” and they sometimes did. This helped keep the central cabal small and weak. Then we foolishly adopted the Constitution and, later, the 16th Amendment.

I’m not sure how this would work. Perhaps California will collect federal taxes and hold on to them. My guess is they would not allow the people who earn the money to keep it. Of course, if they did “recommend non-compliance” as the story suggests, they would be advocating felonies. Since this all started because of other felonies, that kind of makes sense.

This would also set a great precedent. People in CA could stop paying state taxes in similar fashion. They could tell Sacramento to take their “high capacity” magazine ban and shove it. I doubt this has occurred to minds in Sacramento.

And then there’s the growing movement for CA to secede from the Union. That I fully support – not only as a Southerner and secession rights person but as one of millions who already regard CA as another world (might as well be another country).

I don’t know what California’s admittance paperwork said but there is nothing in the Constitution to suggest the Union is anything but voluntary. 600,000 dead to the contrary is not a legal precedent, just mass homicide.

Why is this a hard case? It’s because of the root issues. The loonies in CA only discovered states right in their suicidal bid to import and secure terrorists and criminals in their cities. A more idiotic cause could not be contrived.

If they go, I wish them well. I also recommend Trump extend his wall up and around California. The Communist Caliphate wouldn’t last two years before they would attempt to break back in.

 

Throwing Sucker Punches and Books

22 Sunday Jan 2017

Posted by in Legal/Political Columns, News and Notes

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

There’s been much speculation about and comparison between the inaugural crowds in D.C. for Donald Trump versus Hussein Obama. Everyone has an opinion though none have precise numbers. I’ve seen citation to photographs, bus permits, and subway tokens. The White House addressed the issue (hilariously) during an impromptu first press briefing yesterday.

If Trump had a lower turnout than Obama there may be many reasons why. Popularity? Possibly. Weather? Probably not. There’s the issue of Trump supporters being more likely to have jobs and businesses to attend to. And then there were the thousands of wild, violent savages running amok in D.C. yesterday and Friday.

Maybe you’ve seen some footage. There was representation of every anti-American, anti-civilization group in existence: Snowflakes. BLM. Feminists. “Anarchists”. Communists. LGBBQXYZ. SDS. More communists. The Weathermen. Oakland fans. General socialists. Abortionists. Anti-white. The “Pizza” crowd. La Raza. Pokemon zombies. Anti-Christian. NAMBLA. Ordinary felons. Madonna. Satanists. ISIS. Soccer hooligans. The Klingon Liberation Front. Opportunistic looters. I think I even saw an “Impeach Earl Warren” sign out there.

They attacked the police. They attacked bystanders. They attacked each other. They smashed windows. They attacked McDonalds. They attacked Starbucks. The burned limousines. They burned smaller cars. They burned newspaper boxes. They burned Trump hats and t-shirts. If it would hold a flame, they burned it. They threw rocks at the Secret Service. One sucker punched European Peoples civil rights activist Richard Spencer as he calmly spoke to ABC. Others caused author Mike Cernovich to get pepper-sprayed by the cops.

3c565f3a00000578-4141514-image-a-1_1484953253906

A gentleman eloquently discusses the pros and cons of the Trans Pacific Partnership. The Daily Mail / AP.

They spoke of bombing the White House. They screamed and chanted. They blocked traffic. They blocked pedestrians. They shoved reporters. They menaced regular citizens. They threatened hotels. The defecated in the streets. The smoked irregular cigarettes. The only thing they forgot to do was bathe.

Who in his right mind would wish to endure such madness in order to hear a politician – any politician – speak?

Now, according to The Mail, 230 of the rioters face felony rioting charges.

Most of the 230 rioters arrested after violent protests erupted in Washington D.C. following Donald Trump’s inauguration will be charged with felony rioting, federal prosecutors said on Saturday.

The charge carries a punishment of up to ten years in jail and a $25,000 fine.

Thousand of protesters launched a violent rampage just blocks away from the White House as anti-Trump demonstrators smashed store windows, set fire to cars and threw bricks at police.

These thugs have been accustomed to no consequences whatsoever from their violent behavior. In the rare cases of arrest, they are generally given wrist-slaps – further “micro aggressions” about which to rant and complain (while smoking MJ and still not bathing). The thought of a ten-year sentence, a felony record, and loss of the ability to vote against future Republicans never crossed their drug-addled minds.

I do not know how the charges break down. And I’m not looking into it. I assume, given the events and location, they are a combination of federal and local D.C. (federal). I think the blanket charge is “felony rioting”. To be consistent, here, I do not see “rioting” delineated in the Constitution. However, as I am the last reader of the Old Parchment, that does not matter. Few of the detained will raise that defense anyway; none successfully. A new legal reality for the denizens of the unreal world.

Part of the new reality is the plea deals and sentencing guidelines lurking within the halls of justice [SIC]. Those will account for circumstances and likely result in probation, short terms of incarceration, and suspended sentences. The odds are even against restitution for all the damages.

One hopes the scofflaws learn at least one of several available lessons here. No matter what your issues are, it’s wrong to attack people in the streets. It’s wrong to burn private property. Real Americans are rising again, beyond sick of these juvenile shenanigans. All those cops were there as much to protect the leftists from real Americans as to arrest the leftists. All of those cops had guns. It could have been 230 body bags. It still might be.

So, there we have it. In Amerika some throw rocks. Some throw punches and kicks. Others throw the book at the other throwers. I throw words from a keyboard.

Help Wanted: perrinlovett.net Requires a Washington Correspondent ASAP

15 Sunday Jan 2017

Posted by in Legal/Political Columns

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , ,

Well. It’s more of an unpaid internship really. Style the title as you will; the unpaid part is certain. But I’m going to need someone in D.C. possibly as soon as next week.

Talk radio hosts and bloggers could be invited to official White House press briefings once the Trump administration takes office, under a highly irregular proposal being floated that may also remove briefings from the West Wing.

Trump’s pick for White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, said on Sunday that due to “off the chart” interest in the new administration, the president-elect was considering moving briefings from the James S Brady press briefing room, which has been used by presidents to address the media since 1970, to a venue with a greater capacity.

A report published by Esquire magazine on Saturday indicated the venue could be inside the Old Executive Office Building, just west of the White House.

“I know change is difficult sometimes,” Spicer told Fox News. “But sometimes change can actually be better.”

Spicer argued the proposal would mean “you can involve more people, be more transparent, have more accessibility”. He suggested that this would mean outlets that are not traditionally part of the White House press corps would be able to ask questions during presidential press briefings.

There’s a lot of talk radio and bloggers and people that can’t fit in right now and maybe don’t have a permanency because they’re not part of the Washington elite media,” Spicer said, “but to allow them an opportunity to ask the press secretary or the president a question is a positive thing. It’s more democratic.”

4096

Could be calling on you. Justin lane / EPA.

Yes, more democratic. More bloggers. Carlos Slim has his blog’s reps there. Why can’t I have mine? More then, here, for you, from there.

I may have to make the first few trips myself. GoFundMe page for that coming soon…

If you’re serious about this unique employment opportunity, then I’m serious about the unpaid thing. Otherwise my H.R. protocols are much like Fox News – legs and all that. Apply in the comments section below. Only independently wealthy, free/anarchist-thinking, cigar-loving, gun-toting, hot, single women between the ages of 19 and 27 will be considered. Looks and attitude count more than degree or professional pedigree. I discriminate … but do not pay… No money…

A Seemingly Random Cartoon

29 Tuesday Nov 2016

Posted by in Legal/Political Columns

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , ,

A little cartoon explains so much. Sunday I posted the day’s Pearls Before Swine cartoon. I said it “accurately and easily sums up your relationship with the criminal banking industry.”

nimbus-image-1480256424377

Pastis, 11/27/16.

That was Sunday. Today, just two days later, Donald Trump started to bring the cartoon to life. Maybe. Perhaps. Just replace “your congressman” with “your president-elect” and “C.E.O.” with “Gary Cohn”.

Trump is possibly considering Cohn, chief gangster President of Goldman Sachs, for an appointment to the Federal Reserve. News also comes that Trump will appoint former Sachs huckster employee Steven Mnuchin as Treasury Secretary.

Yes, that ringing is an alarm bell.

These are two of the “banksters” that I routinely call for driving into the sea. Will we see them instead driven into Washington?

Let me play devil’s advocate here for a second. (And I’m not sure which devil I’m advocating for…) Both Trump and Hillary were and are in DEEP with the banksters. Their relationships are, however, a little different.

Hillary works(ed) for Wall Street and in particular for Goldman. She was their go-to gal in D.C. (and Libya, etc.). They paid her and she did as they said. Trump is (or was) a borrower, a customer to the banks. His business strategy was such that by using insanely large debts he controlled the lenders. They did what he said or he would threaten default and bankruptcy. It actually worked out well for both parties.

Many who analyze these choices seriously may come to those same conclusions. They may say that Hillary, had she been elected, would have worked for her masters, whereas Trump will master them. He may view them as enemies and want them closer than his friends, where he can keep an eye on them. Knowing his unusual associations, this may be true. If so, it could be one of the greatest political power plays in American history. If not, then it could be one of the biggest blunders.

I’m honestly hoping for the former while fearing the latter. I certainly support the concept of “make America great again”. However, my American allegiance is to freedom, not to any candidate or politician. I do not support the money changers.

This will develop into the new year. Time will tell.

Mr. Ross Goes To Washington

13 Sunday Nov 2016

Posted by in Other Columns

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

The 2016 election is over and January will see a new host of politicians headed to Washington. Some suggest real and needed change is coming. I will believe that when I see it. However I would like to share some happy memories about a more honest approach to D.C.

Most do not remember the name of Robert Ross. He was not a terribly popular figure in his time, especially in America. And his time has long since faded into the history books.  Maj. Gen. Ross was for a short time the commander of the British army during the War of 1812. That fratricidal nonsense gave us two things: a catchy tune by Johnny Horton* and a lesson on handling the American Capital. The latter was courtesy of Ross.

fig-8

Ross. U.S. Capitol Historical Society.

Ross was born in Ireland ten years before the American Revolution. He led a distinguished military career which culminated in his command of British forces on the east coast of America. He was killed just prior to the Battle of Baltimore in September 1814. This was just after his greatest success: The Burning of Washington, D.C.

 

On August 24, 1814 Ross and his men entered into Washington with the most noble of intentions, to level the place. The British torched the White House, the Capitol and numerous other government buildings. Interestingly, and greatly reflecting on Ross’s high character, he largely left private property alone. He was also persuaded to preserve benign public structures (most notably the Patent Office).

Negotiations also saved nearby non-government towns. They went something like this: Americans: “Please don’t burn our town.” British: “Okay”.

The very next day a hurricane came in from the Atlantic. The “storm that saved Washington” really didn’t. While it extinguished the flames, it caused equally substantial damage. For example, it took out the Patent building spared the day before by Ross. Admiral Sir George Cockburn regarded the storm as God’s assistance in cleansing the filth on the Potomac. Perhaps he foresaw what would eventually take shape there over the next two centuries.

And the growth came, just as nature springs back to life following a forest fire with greater vigor. From the ashes and water leapt one of the most insane conclaves of democratic tyranny ever known on Earth. From the ruins came a rebuilt government with laws, legions, and regulations enough to paper the globe.

Still, for his part in history, we may thank General Ross. For America’s official position, there are no hard feelings against the man. His portrait hangs in the Capitol building with honor. What happens in D.C. rarely ever makes sense. Yet for us, the freedom-minded, the lesson is simple: as a matter of last resort fire is the ultimate anti-septic.

*Horton’s famed The Battle of New Orleans is part of Americana. He made a lesser known version of the same name for the British, the lyrics essentially reversed. Ray Stevens updated the song following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Never, Ever, Ever Trust The Empire

23 Sunday Oct 2016

Posted by in Legal/Political Columns

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Lesson in the Evils of Government, number 11,897,654,365,114,701: Thousands of California soldiers forced to repay enlistment bonuses a decade after going to war. The LA Times:

Short of troops to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan a decade ago, the California National Guard enticed thousands of soldiers with bonuses of $15,000 or more to reenlist and go to war.

Now the Pentagon is demanding the money back.

Nearly 10,000 soldiers, many of whom served multiple combat tours, have been ordered to repay large enlistment bonuses — and slapped with interest charges, wage garnishments and tax liens if they refuse — after audits revealed widespread overpayments by the California Guard at the height of the wars last decade.

Investigations have determined that lack of oversight allowed for widespread fraud and mismanagement by California Guard officials under pressure to meet enlistment targets.

But soldiers say the military is reneging on 10-year-old agreements and imposing severe financial hardship on veterans whose only mistake was to accept bonuses offered when the Pentagon needed to fill the ranks.

“These bonuses were used to keep people in,” said Christopher Van Meter, a 42-year-old former Army captain and Iraq veteran from Manteca, Calif., who says he refinanced his home mortgage to repay $25,000 in reenlistment bonuses and $21,000 in student loan repayments that the Army says he should not have received. “People like me just got screwed.”

…

The problem offers a dark perspective on the Pentagon’s use of hefty cash incentives to fill its all-volunteer force during the longest era of warfare in the nation’s history.

Even Guard officials concede that taking back the money from military veterans is distasteful.

“At the end of the day, the soldiers ended up paying the largest price,” said Maj. Gen. Matthew Beevers, deputy commander of the California Guard. “We’d be more than happy to absolve these people of their debts. We just can’t do it. We’d be breaking the law.”

The soldiers were paid, paid the price, and then got screwed. That pretty sums up the ordinary run-in with the state.

This story serves as a stark warning. The California Guard, the Army, the Pentagon, the Treasury, and the rest of Washington are simply not to be trusted. Ever. With anything. Believe nothing they say. Do nothing the ask. Accept nothing they offer. Flee them. They are evil.

And the line about “breaking the law” is a bullsh!t excuse. They didn’t mind breaking the law to go to war without a declaration. Or based completely on lies. They didn’t mind breaking the law when the banksters needed people to die so they could illegally profit from funny money not controlled by Congress. Only now, and only concerning the little people, is the law and honesty in finance important.

How much, total, could these bonuses have cost? $15 Million? $50 Million? $1 Billion? Why so much effort and persecution over so trivial an amount – if they even know how much they’re after. This is, after all, the same sorry outfit that cannot account for $6.5 Trillion, misplaced they know not where. No matter, except where the pennies of the soldiers are concerned.

The soldiers should be concerned. First, with their paid status. “Soldier” means, from the ancient Roman world, one who is paid to fight for the government. The term derives from the Latin, solidus, “solid” currency, as was the pay to the legions.

payagent

“We’ll just need this back after your legs are blown off and your kids are in college.” Fallon.

The Founders favored militias as a superior form of defense. Militiamen, literally fighting for their homes and families, are the best way to defend a Republic or a free state. Paid, professional soldiers are the tools of monarchs, tyrants and empires. And our Empire pays, then demands the money back. Indian giving, to be politically incorrect.

Second, those California guardsmen and the rest of the concerned public, should look at the employment status of the Guard as a whole. A few still maintain the lie that the N.G. is the modern militia. In truth it is only a reserve force for the regular, standing Imperial military. About the same time the several States foolishly traded their representation, tax authority, and currency to the charlatans on the Potomac, they also legally gave up their militias. The replacement “defense forces” generally serve as little more than traffic directors and storm cleanup agents. All of the power went to D.C.

So it was, that in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina came calling, the people of the Gulf found themselves short on first responders. The Louisiana Guard, being at the time in federal service, was far away keeping the world safe for banking profits. Pathetically, but still thankfully, the first military assistance came to New Orleans from Mexico and Canada.

The third consideration is the usage of the professional military – not for defense, but for profiteering and international meddling.

The final consideration, obviously, is the lying, cheating, back-stabbing ways of the government. Why any can still come to volunteer for this fraudulent force is a mystery. They can’t all be in it for the transgender benefits.

As this story serves as a warning, so let it serve as a call to action for all those who “support the troops”. They should shake the halls of Congress until the injustice is abated.

They won’t. They will make less murmur than they did about the underlying illegal wars themselves – wars we’re still fighting fifteen years later and with no end in sight. Millions will march on, enthusiastically paying their taxes and voting to continue the fraud.

Perhaps these lessons are learned by a few.

The Time I Met Reagan

23 Sunday Oct 2016

Posted by in Legal/Political Columns, Other Columns

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Memories of an increasingly distant past occasionally flutter through my mind. Some end up here: shotguns at football games, floods and rugs, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, etc. I think I once mentioned my meeting with President Carter and his wife outside the Governor’s entrance to the Georgia Capitol. Sweeter people were not to be found in Atlanta that afternoon.

As it happened I had, just the year before, met Reagan outside of D.C.

It was the warm summer of 2002. My then wife and I attended a Federalist Society leadership conference in Washington. I, despite my constant shunning of leadership, prepared to enter my second term as president of a Fed-Soc chapter.

Whatever else the Society may be or may have turned into, they hold pretty good conventions and even better parties. After a day of not-too-boring presentations, workshops, and speeches, the gathering removed from the urban center unto the genteel suburbs of Great Falls, Virginia.

The setting was the estate of then U.S. Solicitor General Ted Olson. I had met Ted the previous fall and I genuinely liked him. His has been a distinguished career, fighting for causes important and sometimes improbable.

Life and the greater world are not always so kind. Ted’s wife, Barbara, was murdered less than a year before on September eleventh. Still, he stoically (and in good humor) hosted a gracious affair. I’ve described these get togethers before. Elegant and sophisticated, with a who’s who list of conservative political celebrities. And a few surprises from the opposition. Power subdued by manners and wine.

This event was more laid back than most – a backyard barbecue, in a palatial backyard. I drifted from group to group. A sub-feature of the conference was the grooming of third-year law students for prominence in the Society and the greater legal community. I assume it worked with some.

I really did have a marvelous time. The company was pleasant (though the Ivy Leaguers incessantly talked in circles of immaterial pondering), the food was excellent, beer was free, the grounds Masters-esque.

At some point I found myself in a conversation out back. If I remember rightly it was with Ken and Alice Starr and Ted himself. Suddenly, and without pretense, up swaggered Reagan. All attention immediately turned to him. Ted made the obligatory introduction.

Now, if you’re searching your historical memory, you are on to something. At the time President Ronald Reagan was convalescing at home in California (departing only two years later). A few years ago Olson recounted his time working for the former President. Mine was a slightly different Reagan, a namesake.

australian_shepherd_5368307

Not Reagan, per se, though a good approximation. Pet Breeds.

This Reagan was one of Barbara Olson’s two Australian Shepherds (the other being named after Lady Thatcher). You see, while I did not meet THE Ronald Reagan, I did meet Reagan the dog. And he essentially stole the whole party.

Extraordinarily intelligent breeds, like the Shepherds, when not working will automatically seek out the best available companions. Thus, he came to me.

He was by far the most interesting member present. I remember him as a slightly larger than normal Ozzy, slightly shaggy but well-groomed. He exuded the charm and thoughtful contemplation for which the breed is famous. We talked, uninterrupted, for several minutes. He was the last person I thanked before leaving that evening.

I never did meet Barbara. Reading one of her books and watching her on television was the closest I ever came. Her taste in canine friends was impeccable. Through Reagan, Ted maintained a happy link to the past. Dogs are wonderful in that regard.

So it is that I recall my last substantive visit to fallen D.C. The failed chief city of the Old Republic held, at the time, an eerie sense of foreboding. It all makes sense now. And it is all okay, I suppose, all because I at least met Reagan.

My 2001 Comments on Guns, Airliners, and 9/11

13 Tuesday Sep 2016

Posted by in Legal/Political Columns

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

Sunday was the fifteenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Two months after those attacks I went to D.C. for the annual Federalist Society National Lawyer’s Convention. It was my first real exposure to real power. They also featured a frequently open bar.

It was either Thursday, November 15th or Friday the 16th. Let’s say it was the 16th. A few hours before Ted Olson gave the inaugural speech in honor of his wife Barbara (deceased on 9/11/2001 on American Airlines flight 77), the Fed-Soc hosted several luncheon mini-seminars. Everything was at the Mayflower.

55240

The Mayflower, Washington.

I cannot recall which group I stumbled into nor what I had for lunch. We’ll just say Administrative Law & Regulation: Aviation Security with Tara Branum of Fulbright & Jaworski. And chicken – always a safe choice.

Of course, given that year’s main event the subjects of terrorism and hijackings dominated the discussion. Two days earlier I had flown into Reagan National under very tight security. Washington proper looked like an armed camp – fences, soldiers, Humvees – the whole nine yards.

Much of the talk centered on increased security. That and there was a debate over profiling Muslims at airports. I remember thinking, wondering how 19 savages with only box-cutters could have pulled off what they did. (At the time I had not considered outside and inside assistance). Also, most of the commentary then and there seemed irksome to me. I grew incredulous.

Finally, I raised my hand and was given the floor. Thus began my habit of making profound if off-beat comments at Society functions. Note: the “red wine incident” later that night does not count … what I recall of it…

I began by rhetorically asking the crowd exactly how such a tragedy could have happened in America of all places. I noted that we were (were especially now – past tense) a strong people. We had the Second Amendment. We had guns and lots of them. We carried them. Except, since the 1970s we were prohibited from carrying them on commercial airliners. That was where I found fault. I still do in spite of everything else odd about 9/11.

Americans, I said, had become conditioned to do nothing in such circumstances. “Just let the hijacker take the plane where he wants. Give him some money. We’ll be fine. The police will handle it.” Bull. One Monday morning turned all that malarkey on its head.

I said, sarcastically but firmly, that the headlines that day should have read: “Nineteen Hijackers Shot Dead.” That’s what should have happened and little more. The following cartoon could have been my visual exhibit:

64515

Scott Bleser, 2001.

An armed America could send its people onto any plane without worry of attack because they could defend themselves. Thus, gun control helped facilitate 9/11. And gun freedom will go a long way towards making sure it never happens again.

Most of the people at lunch that day nodded along (some with alarm at the prospect). Then there was nothing. Many in attendance made their livings off of regulations and laws. Laws are good for that and little more – certainly not good for freedom and security. My comments essentially died right there.

Fifteen years later and we still have the same gun control on planes. And we have a much less freedom-friendly society in general. Once clear of intrusive yet useless airport security and in the absence of an Air Marshal (frequently missing) passengers are still sitting ducks. My money says they will act the part too.

Passivity in the face of danger rarely works out well. Gun control never does. Remember that the next time they tell you disarmament is for your own good. Blame it on me if you have to.

The Black Slime That Ate D.C.

22 Monday Aug 2016

Posted by in News and Notes

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

I misunderstood a story at the Mirror. It seems that, as from a horror film, an unstoppable black slime is slowly creeping and oozing all over buildings and monuments in the Imperial Capital. Naturally, I assumed they meant the government itself. Nope.

hqdefault (1)

The Blob, 1958.

The slime, a black powdery substance, is just an air-fed micro-organism of some sort. I don’t think it’s toxic or, if it is, it has to be the least toxic thing in that town. Still, the Uruks complain that it is graying the appearance of many a white marble facade.

‘It’s called slime, but when you touch it, it’s dry; it doesn’t come off on your fingers,’ noted CBS News’ Mark Albert when he visited the area.

Because of its dryness, it’s even more difficult to clean off, said Mike Litterst of the National Park Service.

All biofilm, which is a colony of microscopic organisms, really needs to grow is nutrients and a surface such as stone. Many famous monuments all over the world have the same issue.

Rain can cause pits to form in smooth stone surfaces over time, creating the perfect petrie dish for the slime.

But getting rid of it isn’t as easy as soap and water.

Wars everywhere, economic oblivion, an invasion, and utter decay of nearly everything civic or good and all they care about is scrubbing some microbes. That should tell you where the government’s priorities are. They’re serious too – they’ve sought help from scientists the world over.

I have an easy fix. My solution will surely dry up, burn up the powder while getting rid of the other slime too. I recommend fire. Lots and lots of fire.