People Of The Land

Citing “The Crisis in Syria," President Trump announced today that he was not traveling to South America as had been planned. Vice-President Pence will travel in his stead. I had so hoped he wouldn't do a damned thing about Syria, but instead take care of America. It's what he campaigned on, after all, and it seems The Swamp sure wants another war in The Middle East... 

Also today, Mark Zuckerberg gave America it's very own collective #MeToo moment. It seems we have all been his bitch. 

Yesterday on CNN, Jake Tapper cut away from Ambassador Nikki Hayley testifying at The United Nations about matters that could lead our nation into a war in Syria. What he went to was “Breaking News” that was indirectly related to the Stormy Daniels situation, which is apparently the chosen battlefield of "The Most Trusted Name In News."

If you’re not familiar with Ms. Daniels, she’s the porn star who allegedly let the current President grab her by the... or something, back when he was a rich playboy... 2006 or something. I understand he was married, and that sucks. I've not been a saint so I'm not one to judge... but it does help define the man, and that's important in politics. at least we would like to think, since the era of FDR and JFK, Slick Willie... the story of Obama doing cocaine and whatever... I mean heck, our Founders had babies with Slaves. Nobody's perfect... at least none of us.  

My point is that we all knew he was a pig. And yet enough of us either wanted him because of some campaign promise, or we held our nose to protect America from Hillary, or we're deplorable raaaaacists... so here we are.

It’s possible that someday we might learn someday whether Donald J. Trump is the maniacal despot many believe. 

Or perhaps Robert Mueller is just going to keep on digging through Trump’s garbage cans, making a mockery of America. I’ve honestly wondered if this whole thing isn’t some sort of Clinton payback… especially now that we’ve learned Facebook has been working with Mueller?

I’ve honestly not been watching the Stormy Chasers as closely as I have the attacks on our Second and First Amendment by children, who are being supported by major leftist lobbying groups.

I’m also watching as an amazing number of corporations are being bullied into submission by partisan leftists acting as economic terrorists. These people are so hell-bent on destroying any of the foundation remaining under this great nation that they’ll sacrifice damned near anything. I’m wondering how long it will be until Starbuck’s is a corporate sponsor of the wrong cause du jour…

Those kids went through Hell, for sure. Our schools should be safer, for sure. But law-abiding Americans should not lose their rights because of the actions of a few outliers. Fact is that if you don’t own a gun whenever the shit goes down, you might want to know a guy or gal who thinks like me. We are freedom’s safest place. 

America is the Land of Liberty, and Liberty is not a safe space. The government can't protect everyone all the time, as has been proven by events like the shooting in Parkland, where the authorities were called to the shooter’s house 39 times yet failed to accept what was right in front of them.

 Oh, and September 11^th, 2001. Another day we weren’t quite ready for. There’s a #NotOneMore moment in American history if there ever was such a thing.

Our Founding Fathers left us the promise of being able to protect ourselves. Whether from each other, or from The Swamp, or an invader from another land meaning to do us harm... The Second Amendment is meant to protect Liberty. The thing is to do it responsibly, with respect for everyone else's rights, whatever you may think.

This past weekend I rode my Harley a little, got a mountain bike ride in, chilled with my “kids.” I stayed away from the drama of The Swamp and had a good weekend of personal growth. I need more of that.

But I’ve learned that I also need to know what’s going on in The Swamp.

It seems like every day there’s something new. People moving out, people moving in. Why? Because of the color of their skin. People love it when you lose. They love dirty laundry… Run, run, run, but you just can’t hide. Just leave well enough alone, eat your dirty laundry…

The thing is, there’s a fine line between right and wrong. Right now, I think the hard left and the hard right are simultaneously correct and incorrect about a number of issues. What we all have in common is our disdain for the people who we believe have been gaining the system at our expense. Where we differ is more difficult, but I think the more we talk the more we find we understand each other. And that’s the key.

I’m a simple man who lives a simple life. I am a twice divorced, white, 51-year old man living in the “Wild West” out here in Arizona.. a "Deplorable" if there ever was one. Out here we still see people carrying a gun occasionally without losing our collective minds. Most of us believe in the individual first and foremost, while still respecting and appreciating the collective. 

I believe in Liberty, which means letting the other guy live his life responsibly, provided he’s not interfering with yours. I’m a staunch defender of The Bill of Rights, many of which I believe are being trampled upon by The Swamp, a.k.a. Washington, D. C. I used to call it The District of Criminals, or The District for short.

Swamp is perfect to begin a sentence, I don’t even have to use my shift button... but I digress...   

I plan to start writing more about a great many issues. There are some issues about which I think the right-wing could use some understanding, or open-mindedness, or both… and some where those truly in search of progress need to slow down… maybe learn a little something from history before they go making all this change we necessarily need as much as they think.

But for now I leave you with a little song called “People Of The Land,” written and performed by a cool cat named Lincoln Durham. Lincoln brings influences from amazing places and people in the history of music to my world. I hope you enjoy.

Tiger Pride

The last time I saw Patrick Sweany perform was last October. I was in the midlle of a stretch where I enjoyed four amazing shows over about a 2-month period by some of the most amazing musicians of our time (Tab Benoit, The Steepwater Band twice, and Sweany). It also happened to be Sweany’s last night of touring in support of “Daytime Turned to Nighttime,” his seventh album.

Rather than taking an exit and making the crowd cheer for an encore, he had fun with the crowd, joking about how they (the band) might otherwise be standing outside the stage door of The Rhythm Room (in a very confined space) and “make you beg for the songs you want to hear.”

“Value Added,” he said. Funny, I use that phrase a lot…

As he continued having fun playing with the crowd, he broke into the story of being a kid from from Massillon, Ohio. “In high school, I was a 152 pound.. tackle” he joked.

So instead of getting his butt kicked on the football field, he picked up the guitar. 

“Tiger Pride” is a fun blues number that feels really close to home. It’s Patrick Sweany’s ode to his hometown. It took him until his seventh album to write it… or at least to put it on record… because sometimes it takes some of us just a little longer to recognize just how good we really had it growing up, or in that place in life, that relationship... job... or whatever it is… and how important it is to keep showing respect to those who made us who we are today.

Hogg Finally Challenged

I want to get away from the media hype and start focusing on the facts of history, regarding why our Second Amendment Right to Keep and Bear Arms was a vital part of the beginning of The Revolutionary War, and why we must maintain our Rights in order to protect America.

But tonight I must say; it is nice that someone in the media finally challenged David Hogg, the newly minted child advocate for “common sense gun laws, at least a little bit.” His rhetoric has been ill-informed, and beyond reprehensible.

It is worth noting that Hogg will not appear on any news network where he might face scrutiny or difficult questions. Nor will he be interviewed by any individual who might ask him questions that differ with his own sheltered opinions.

He also refuses to debate a fellow Parkland student whose opinions lean towards the protection of The Second Amendment and the individual’s right to responsibility keep and bear arms.

But setting that aside for a moment, Hogg is still wrong about Senator Rubio.

By all accounts, Senator Marco Rubio is a decent man who wishes no harm, nor ill will, towards another human being.

Hogg is also wildly misinformed about the NRA. Or, he is using lies as talking points to promote an anti-Constitutional agenda.

The National Rifle Association is not in the business of promoting the killing of children, or anyone for that matter. The NRA at its core is an organization that promotes the safe and responsible use of firearms. It also happens to lobby Congress towards the protection of The Second Amendment of The Constitution of The United States of America.

Those who understand our nation’s founding understand how important that issue is to the protection of our republic.

For the sake of comparison:

Planned Parenthood is also a lobbying organization. It publicly promotes what it calls family planning and women’s health.

But Planned Parenthood also performed 323,999 abortions in 2014, according to statistics givens to CNN. And that’s likely a consistent number, year over year.

Planned Parenthood lobbies for the protection of abortion rights, which means it lobbies for its own right to take the lives of unborn human beings, under the guise of “women’s health.”

It is also worth noting Planned Parenthood is funded in part by federal tax money.

That means whether or not I like it, some of my taxes are paying for abortions. Many, including this American, consider that fact a violation of our First Amendment, which protects our religious liberty from the intrusion of government.

The NRA is funded by individuals and companies. It receives no taxpayer funding. It is true that firearms manufacturers donate to the organization.

Planned Parenthood was involved in the organization of the so-called “March For Our Lives” rallies held nationwide last weekend.

I find it deeply ironic that an organization that lobbies our government for its own right to take life as a business, is promoting children in their advocacy against another organization which does not take life, nor promote such immoral behavior.

About That Omnibus...

There are no two ways about it; Planned Parenthood kills unborn children.

In addition to "100 years of providing education, information, and services to help you make informed choices about your sexual and reproductive health” Planned Parenthood performs hundreds of thousands of abortions each year... 323,999 in 2014, according to information provided to CNN.

Additionally, Planned Parenthood is a huge political funding and lobbying organization. In 2016 it contributed $4,070,102 to candidates seeking federal office (all Democrats). Over the years 2015-2016, Planned Parenthood spent over $2.35 million working towards the election of only one political party, as well as maintaining its own right to kill unborn children.

Furthermore, Planned Parenthood is, albeit indirectly, one of the largest supporters of the so-called “March For Our Lives” event taking place tomorrow. This event sounds great, and I am quite certain many well-meaning people will attend.

I hope it’s an educational experience for all... perhaps there will be readings from TheConstitution, or The Federalist Papers... I hear Federalist No. 46 is an excellent read...

But if we’re being honest, the “March For Our Lives” is really a Democratic Party anti-gun rally.

Sadly, it seems a handful of outspoken if not somewhat undereducated children who lived through a horrific experience have now been co-opted by a couple of cable networks and a few “news” outlets, as well as a handful of prominent Democrat politicians.

Don’t believe me? Try to find Kyle Kashuv being interviewed on CNN or MSNBC... or anywhere in the "mainstream" media. 

Count how many Democrats make speeches at these rallies tomorrow compared to the number of Republicans invited. It’s not because Republicans don’t care about the safety of kids in schools; it’s because the ideasRepublicans offer don’t involve removing Constitutional Rights from law abiding citizens.

I am willing to accept some abortions are done for medically sound reasons, and I’m willing to understand the idea of termination due to rape or incest. But evidence has been presented repeatedly that shows Planned Parenthood helps (if not encourages) teenagers to have abortions as a form of birth control, often without parental consent.

I am not willing to accept teenagers who don’t even understand The Constitution telling me that my rights are less important than their friend’s embarrassment about carrying a tampon in a backpack.

And I don’t appreciate my tax dollars funding any political party. I don’t want my hard-earned dollars funding Planned Parenthood and the Democrat Party through a spending bill, the same as I know some would say of the Republicans and the NRA. Therefore, neither.

Today President Trump signed a spending bill that, amongst other incredibly unnecessary things, gives $500mil to Planned Parenthood.

As much as I have appreciated some of the accomplishments of his administration, as far as I’m concerned, taxpayers continuing to fund Planned Parenthood is a fireable offense. 

Because as I’ve said since I started writing here in 2009; it’s not about right or left… it’s about what is right and what is wrong.

In Defense of The Second Amendment

Tonight, March 18th, 2018, the CBS news documentary show " 60 Minutes" is airing an interview with some of the students who survived the February 14th shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

I am interested to see which students are interviewed.

Or, more correctly, I am interested to see if some students are not interviewed, and what if any statement is made by the news team at CBS.

Regardless, I will be watching,

Afterwards, I will return here.

And when I return, I will begin to work in defense of The Second Amendment, in the one place I feel I can most effectively help the cause of saving our nation.

Because it is my firmly held belief that without The Second Amendment, we cannot defend any other. Our Founding Fathers understood this, and they documented it with great clarity, in their time. Of course they weren't of the time of YouTube, and 1:30 snippets of cable news, or social media pages like "Occupy Democrats," where information can just be put out there without reasonable challenge, and then shared across the world at the touch of a finger...

But for now, I’m off to ride… I've got a steel horse out there I call Liberty, and we're off to listen to the sound of freedom for a minute.

God Bless.

More of the McSame

On 550 KFYI's “Nearly Famous Barry Young Show” on Tuesday, Arizona Republican Senator John McCain said he's "seriously considering" running for another term when his current one ends three years from now. McCain was responding to a caller who criticized him for breaking from party leadership to support an extension of the nation's debt ceiling and an end to the recent partial government shutdown.

"I would match my voting record against anyone's," McCain told the caller, and I'm seriously thinking about maybe giving another opportunity for you to vote for or against me a few years from now. I'm seriously giving that a lot of thought. I'm certainly getting a lot of encouragement from our business community," which McCain said was angry at the shutdown and the impact it had on businesses.

Barry Young responded, "If some wild-eyed journalist is listening to this program and runs off and says John McCain announced on the air that he might run for another term in the Senate, that would not be wrong?”

McCain, who will be 80 years old when his current term expires in 2016, replied, "That would not be wrong."




There is no disputing that Senator McCain is a hero of the Vietnam War era, but his time has long since past. In the opinion of this blogger (who, by the way, President Obama says should be ignored), John McCain has become more of the problem in Washington than he has ever been part of the solution. In recent weeks, it has been the “go along to get along” attitude of those like McCain that has proven the Republican Party is in a state of failure and needs a complete overhaul. The Republican Party needs to stand for something besides bowing at the feet of President Obama and the entrenched political ruling class, or it is going to cease to exist.

Sadly because he has such deep pockets and is so entrenched in the Washington system, it will be nearly impossible to defeat McCain. But those of us in Arizona who know what's good for us will certainly make our best effort to remove McCain from the office we believe he no longer deserves to hold.

America is on life support due to many factors, but the largest concern that should be on the mind of every voting American is the out-of-control spending that has taken control of Washington, D.C. In my opinion and the opinion of many others, that and a need to eliminate the entrenched political ruling class on both sides of the aisle are the two largest issues currently facing this nation. Rand Paul, Mike Lee and Ted Cruz may be young and still learning their way, but Washington needs many more “wacko-birds” like them and a lot less John McCain if this nation is going to survive.

Extortion, Senate Democrat Style

Tonight some news outlets are reporting that five or six “red state” Senate Democrats are considering breaking ranks with President Obama over the “individual mandate” in Democare. The rumor mill has it that they will ask for a delay of the mandate, at the least for six to eight weeks but possibly up to one year. This is shocking news.. some might even call it extortion on the part of these Senators... considering that just one week ago those who wished to delay the individual mandate were “extortionists,” “anarchists,” were “holding a gun to the head of America,” “had a bomb strapped to their chest.” At least according to President Obama, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and many others on the left, that was the case... and my apologies to any liberals whose colorful descriptions of “teabaggers” I left out of this list. But I think we get the point.

If this rumor comes to fruition, I hope every news agency (Brian Williams at NBC) that railed against the “extremist right-wing faction” of the Republican Party runs some kind of story explaining how what the Democrats plan to do is EXACTLY what the “extremists” were asking to do just one week ago. After all it was those extremist Republicans all by themselves, with no help from President Obama and Harry Reid (who refused to negotiate on anything), who apparently managed to shut down the entire federal government (even though it was really only about 15%) and attempt to destroy America…

I also hope those networks cover in great detail the voting record of those who are shifting their position for political expediency. I’m not holding my breath, mind you, but I’m hopeful.

If they were in office when Democare was passed (which should include all but Joe Manchin, although I haven't checked each record), I hope the voters in those “red states” vote against each and every one of those shape-shifting Democrats. These Senators are not making this decision because they think it’s the right thing to do; they’re making this decision for political expediency. They’re afraid because the Democare roll-out has been a disaster so far, and at this moment there’s no light at the end of the tunnel. They are fearful for their lavish ruling class lifestyle.

Even if a person disagrees with their policies, those Americans who truly want change in Washington should support Ted Cruz, Mike Lee and Marco Rubio more than any of these entrenched hypocrites. The same goes for the likes of John McCain, Lindsay Graham and many on the political right. I feel similarly about Senator Bernie Sanders and former Congressman Dennis Kucinich as I do about Cruz, Lee and Rubio; at least with those two men I know where they stand, and I know they vote their conscience. They’re respectful and they’re not rhetorical bomb-throwers like President Obama and his cronies. While I may have principled disagreement with their ideology, I respect that they know their values and they stand by them.

Clearly there are many on the right and the left about whom the same cannot be said, and it’s time to start naming names and holding those individuals accountable. The days of the “What difference at this point does it make” politician have come to an end; it’s time for We, The People to take back America.