Those of you who have clung bitterly to this blog, reading when I write (less and less often these days – social media seems so much more … immediate … doesn’t it?) and even better – those who interact through comments, know where I have been. I am a Marine Veteran (Cold War Era), my younger brother is a Marine Veteran (Gulf War I), my older brother is an Army Veteran (Cold War), our Dad was a Marine (Korean Era), we have nieces and nephews currently serving, we have a family history of service to this nation going back before there was a nation. We had ancestors on both sides of the Revolutionary War and the War Between The States/War of Northern Aggression/Civil War. In short, my family has stepped up and said “This is our Constitution; this we will defend.”

I believe the Second Amendment to the constitution is very important, as regulars here can attest. Without the Second, the rest would fall like a row of dominoes. The First Amendment is a close second in my mind; you must have the unfettered ability to address what you consider to be a wrong in order to make it right.

That being said, ALL citizens of this nation have the right to freely express their closely held beliefs. They also have the right to consider other points of view without being forced to agree with them, and they have the right to change their closely held belief if they are properly convinced. Yes, this includes actors, comedians, professional athletes, and the people who shill for them announce their actions, introduce their appearance, or award them for their performance.

I will never take a knee while the National Anthem is being played. I will not willfully avoid showing respect for this nation while the anthem is played. I will do my best to model what I believe is correct behavior for citizens of the United States: come to attention, hand salute (as a veteran, I m permitted this action; civilians would place their hand over their heart), and standing quietly until the end of the anthem. If another country’s anthem is played, I will stand at attention, arms to my sides, and stand quietly until the anthem is complete. My loyalty is to this country, I will not salute another country’s anthem or national ensign.

I served in order to preserve the right of people to freely express themselves. You, me, everyone. Including the jerks who don’t know how good they have it for being so well paid to play sports or to act or to entertain (although they are all the same – entertainers, at heart). Yes, I called them jerks – because that is my opinion. I’m allowed to have one. So are you. I empathize with what they are trying to say, but they are using the wrong ways to get their point across. Yes, it’s tragic that there are a few (out of the hundreds of thousands of daily non-violent interactions) police episodes where a person is the victim of bad circumstances and terrible choices. Yes, it’s awful that the perception is that blacks are the major recipients of these interactions.

(Numbers say otherwise – and there are plenty of search engines out there to prove that. Point of fact – number one killer of black males between 16 and 35 is – other black males. Point of fact – allowing citizens the right to defend themselves, instead of removing or restricting the most effective equalizer (hand gun), would reduce murder and other crime rates. The more weapons are in the hands of citizens, the fewer crimes there are. Criminals may not be the smartest cookies, but the do figure odds, and the more armed citizens there are the fewer helpless victims there are. Please see Chicago for the latest proof of this statement.)

While they are free to express their opinions, I feel it is not appropriate to do so on the stage. By allowing the performers to continue to make these personal statements from a professionally supplied pulpit, the owners/managers/agents of those performers are giving their implicit permission to continue. They are free to express their opinions, I am free to not buy their wares. I am not required to spend money to watch or listen while someone tells me I am wrong. Just as they are not forced to listen to me, I am not forced to listen to them. When the revenue dries up the message will be plain enough to them. With great freedoms come great responsibilities, and great consequences.

To allow the continued disrespecting of our nation is to allow the further eroding of our nation. Once all the statues have been removed, and history has been revised, and no one hears the Star Spangled Banner on a regular basis anymore, what will have been solved? People are still the ones who’s hearts have not changed. If anything, every time a statue is removed; every time an historical event is glossed over , rewritten, or removed; or every time a professional entertainer is allowed to disrespect the National Anthem without repercussions, this nation is moved another step away from a Representative Republic, and closer to a Socialist Enclave.

For this reason, We the People must protest right back. We must also be heard – our voices must be included in the “National Dialogue” that those who are pushing for the enslavement of all by the removal of our rights keep insisting on. I find it odd they insist on a National Dialogue and then don’t allow any one to speak who disagrees with them. If We, the People (and we are a majority, I refer you to the 2016 Presidential Election results) will not continue to make ourselves heard, then We, the People will be people without our nation.

I stood up to defend our Constitution. I stood up so jerks can prove how ignorant, willfully or otherwise, they are. I stood up so every one could continue to voice their opinion, including those who don’t agree with the rest. This doesn’t mean that I have to stand quietly by and let those opinions go unanswered, it means that those with dissenting opinions – from BOTH sides – must be allowed to present their case, their beliefs, and their reasons. Common Sense should prevail, but that’s a post for another day.

One thing I am sure of – no matter who is in the White House, God is on His Throne. I already know how this story ends. What I don’t know is how it plays out along the way. As a God-fearing Christian, I place my trust in the Lord. As a citizen of this nation, I will defend my Constitution, using the First and Second Amendments as needed. Yes, peace in our time – but not at the cost of our freedoms and responsibilities as citizens of this great nation.

Chat ya later…

P.S. – All these protesters are free to take their complaints on the road. There are literally hundreds of countries in the world; they should do their research and find one that more closely aligns with their belief system – and move there.

Thanks for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, and Wear Red on Fridays!

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Over the last few weeks, a drama has played out on the Arts and Entertainment (A&E) channel’s decision to “suspend” Phil Robertson from his own show, Duck Dynasty. Seems Phil stated his beliefs according to his Christian teachings regarding same-sex couples, which sent the left into a tailspin of shock and disbelief. This is the same network that was trying to get the Robertson family to quit praying in Jesus’ name on the show – both kerfuffles resulted in the show continuing, with the resulting exposure and free advertising doing nothing but driving up the fan base numbers. And proving to those of us who watch for these things that the basic beliefs of this country are still there, just obscured behind the smoke and mirrors of a very vocal minority that seems to have a large corporation that happens to control the news on their side.

There was another flare-up, this time on the abortion front, and this time in Market Square in San Francisco. According to the SFGate, pro-choice groups feel that banners that state “Abortion Hurts Women” is “hate speech” – in spite of medical proof that abortion does and can results in harm and death in some cases. Of course, the child is never considered to have feelings or is factored into the “Harm” portion by the pro-choice groups.

Medical facts and Christian teachings are apparently not part of the left’s continuing mantra of “diversity and inclusion” since these two areas conflict with so many things the left believes.

To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, “It’s not that the left leaning liberals are wrong, it’s just that they believe so many things that are false.”

Chat ya later…

Thanks for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, and Wear Red on Fridays!

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You read that right. I figured I’d beat Obama(THHO) to the punch and come right out and say it.

Early reports indicate that Obama(THHO) is going to use his Executive Powers to make it all good. Obama(THHO) Is going to tell everyone to Enforce Existing Laws!” Obama(THHO) is going to demand that high capacity magazines and “assault style” weapons be declared illegal.

I’ll let you in on a secret or two – true gun control only happens when you can hit your target. True gun control is keeping YOUR OWN gun out of the hands of those who would use it for criminal purposes (are you listening, Eric “Fast and Furious” Holder?). Gun control is when the rules are followed by everyone.

And therein lies the issue. Not everyone follows the rules, even the ones they declare should be made. Dianne Feinstien D (umb, CA) treats an AR-15 style weapon like a firehose in a room full of people – loaded or not, you DO NOT POINT A GUN AT ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY. Especially with your finger on the trigger, you old bat. This, from Dianne “You can’t have weapons, only my bodyguards and I can have weapons” Feinstein.

Criminals don’t follow the rules. That’s why they are called criminals – because they break or don’t follow the rules. More rules about gun ownership is not going to suddenly make them law-abiding citizens. Taking away the ability of law-abiding citizens to protect themselves only emboldens and even allies the criminals with the politicians. Or the other way around – sometimes it’s hard to tell who is on which side.

Keep this in mind – if Obama(THHO) is allowed to sidestep the Second Amendment with an executive order, then what makes you think he will stop there? What happens when Obama(THHO) sidesteps the First Amendment? we won’t be able to stop him, because we will no longer be an armed society.

Stay ready, keep your powder dry, Molon Labe, Deo Vindice!

Chat ya later…

Thanks for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, and Wear Red on Fridays!

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I have declared myself to be a Mexican Drug Cartel. I figure I’ll be getting my first load of guns and ammo any day now …

Keeping myself busy until they show up – wearing red, getting a haircut, going up to An Affair With Trains to check out the new location of the layout, hanging with my daughter all day (the best part, right there!) and generally enjoying a day off.

If I don’t see you before next week, have a good weekend. Enjoy fellowship with like-minded individuals. Practice a few rights as enumerated in the Constitution, especially the first two.

Chat ya later…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

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I’ve had enough of the “me first” and the “you don’t count because you are ________” crowd. Last night was the final straw.

I am normally a pretty patient person while behind the wheel of a motor vehicle (with a couple of exceptions), and I usually give the other guy the benefit of the doubt. Not any more. I drive an SUV, and I used to do it with a small-car attitude – as in, you are in a hurry, go right ahead and speed past me and cut me off, I’ll back off and make allowances for you.

Last night, on the way home from Pastor’s house after watching a movie and enjoying pizza and fellowship, we stopped at the QT at Bethany Home and Grand. For those of you unfamiliar with Grand Avenue in Phoenix, it runs along side the ATSF Burlington tracks, at an angle, from 7th Ave and Van Buren out to northwest of town where it becomes US 60. After filling up TMBWitW‘s car, I pulled onto Grand to make the left onto Bethany and continue home. I got the green arrow, started the turn, and got honked at.

By the obliviot running the red light on Grand.

I had seen them starting across the intersection, after I made the turn, so I had made allowances to avoid a collision. I flashed my high beams at them (it was around 2100 hours and full dark) and received a few single digit salutes in return from the juvenile interior of the other car.

This really makes me wonder, just how entitled are people getting to feel? Do they really think they can disregard traffic control devices with impunity? Are they so brazen to think that they would get off scot-free if they were involved in (read: caused) a collision? What if it hadn’t been me, but some short tempered guy with a concealed weapon (legal in Arizona without a permit, BTW!) and a very low tolerance for jerks? True, this contradicts what I wrote about an armed society being a polite society – but then, it is a learning process. Maybe the kids in the car hadn’t learned about that yet. Maybe they haven’t been taught that running a red light is against the law. Maybe they haven’t learned that driving at night takes a different kind of concentration and awareness.

Maybe they are just dumb.

I can make allowances for a lot of things, but unless they have their “DUMB DRIVER ON BOARD” sticker displayed prominently, it’s tough to make an allowance for that.

My friend Greybeard just bought a motorcycle for commuting. Sure hope he doesn’t have the same kinds of drivers around him.

Ya’ll have a good day, I’m off to court to show support for my Pastor. The city of Phoenix is trying to tell him that he can’t have bible studies on his own property, and that the size of family gatherings is somehow limited. Prayers, please.

Chat ya later…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!