When Ted Olsen teamed up with his former adversary, David Boies, to file a federal lawsuit on behalf of two plaintiffs against Proposition 8 in California, one would have thought that the apocalypse was indeed nigh. Olsen and Boies were on opposite sides in 2000 when they were arguing before the Supreme Court about that little election issue in Florida… I think it was important, but I don’t recall. Anyway, the fact is, they teamed up and brought a lawsuit against the State of California. At the time it was filed, there was reticence and mistrust from the LGBT community. There was a real concern that if Olsen and Boies lost it would be disastrous precedent for future lawsuits to overcome. Lambda Legal was one group who was worried that the timing wasn’t right, and that a loss would be incredibly damaging. Some conspiratorial voices buzzed that Olsen was going to intentionally throw the case. But, no such thing happened, and they actually won, for now. There’s a good chance that this ends in California, though, because California may not pursue the appeal. Governor Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown have declined to pursue it any further, and as they were the defendants named, nobody else would have legal standing to defend Prop 8 before the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. If this happens and the 9th Circuit declares that there’s no standing, the case does not advance. That would be the best scenario for social conservatives, a containment of their loss, because a Circuit-wide defeat of Prop 8 would in effect wipe out any state law or state constitutional amendment that restricts marriages to one man and one woman. Other states would most certainly appeal that to the U.S. Supreme Court and it’s really a toss up at that point, because Judge Vaughn Walker- ahem- a Reagan conservative appointee- wrote a solid ruling that was based in constitutional law and analysis, and not the emotional, irrational whining of the Prop 8 defenders who almost seemed to be throwing their own case intentionally. But, this is not about the ruling in Perry v Schwarzenegger. There is a movement afoot that I have been sensing since this case was first filed.
Conservatives are turning the page on gay issues.
At first it was subtle. Just a little rustling in the wind. In 2004, Vice President Dick Cheney broke ranks with President Bush and declined to support a federal Constitutional amendment that would have forced a nationwide definition of marriage on all 50 states. Not for nothing, but many prominent Republicans at the time also recoiled at the idea of etching such a thing into our founding document. Many who did faced enormous criticism from liberals and conservatives alike. The next wave crested when the State of Massachusetts could not get the required votes to place a ballot initiative that would repeal marriage equality. The State of Iowa became the first state West of the Mississippi to enact same-sex marriage when their state supreme court overruled the ban on same-sex marriage and it’s held for several years now. So, when did conservatives see the writing on the wall and decide that the time was right to make a move? I would say it all began with the campaign and election of Barack Obama.
Barack Obama has, in the past, expressed his support for marriage equality back when he was doing community work in Chicago. Yet, when he ran for the U.S. Senate against the carpetbagger Alan Keyes, he dialed back his support to the fence-sitting position of ‘civil unions’. It was easy to look like the beacon of reason next to the virulently homophobic Alan Keyes, who called Mary Cheney a selfish hedonist and even kicked his own daughter out of the house for being a lesbian. Everyone knew that Obama was being groomed for a run at the presidency even while he was being sworn into the Senate, and on the national stage, the more vague you are, the more people you reach. He tried several times to reach out to socially conservative, religious Black people, first through using ex-gay singer Donnie McClurkin on his campaign tour, and then by inviting Rick Warren, pastor of the Saddleback Church, to give the invocation at Obama’s inauguration. Warren has had his own litany of anti-gay screeds and arguably, the blood of many Africans on his hands thanks to his help in getting condom distribution stopped in countries ravaged by HIV/AIDS. Gay people were frankly livid at Warren got such a prestigious invite. Incidentally, many social conservatives were also livid that Warren accepted. Obama then failed to say anything about Propostion 8. He did not object to his words being used out of context in pro-Prop-8 ads. He did not say much a year later when a voter’s referendum was used to repeal the legislatively enacted same-sex marriage law in Maine, one that was heavily financed by out of state interests, similar to how Prop 8 was pushed. Obama’s justice department filed briefs in two cases, one defending the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act from a Massachusetts lawsuit, and another defending the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy by people who were suing to keep their careers in the United States Military. Both briefs were filled with insulting and demeaning characterizations of gay people. It was becoming clear that Barack Obama was no “fierce advocate” for the LGBT community. By the time Ted Olsen and David Boies filed the lawsuit, a plan was in place.
I have to admit, it’s a good plan.
First, you quietly drop the opposition to same-sex marriage and gays serving in the Armed Forces. Even if you oppose it, just let it go, because eventually these battles will be lost. The second is to have some conservatives actually outflank the President on these issues. Not conservatives who actually have any power, mind you, but a few big names that might open some eyes, like Dick Cheney and Laura Bush. It makes Obama look weak if he can’t even throw a bone to members of his base. Ken Mehlman comes out. GOProud puts on a conservative gay convention and has Ann Coulter speaking, not to mention such sponsors as Tammy Bruce, Grover Norquist, Margaret Hoover, John Hawkins, Lisa DePasquale, Bruce Carroll & John Ciccone, Christopher Barron & Shawn Gardner, Jimmy LaSalvia, Craig Engle, Christopher Taylor & Anthony Cirone, Roy Eappen, and Jessica Lee. Glenn Beck even takes a few steps back and telling Bill O’Reilly that there’s bigger fish to fry than gay marriage. The plan is, I believe, in two years, to split the gay vote from two fronts- the first is dropping opposition to or even expressing support for marriage equality, and the second is to use Islamophobia to convince us that compared to Muslims, Christians are downright docile. Lastly, they get to one-up a president who has had a lot of trouble putting his words of support into any tangible action that benefits gays & lesbians. If the Republicans manage to deliver marriage equality while Obama waffles on it, it’s going to go a very long way in getting new GOP support in 2012.
Some have said that the social conservatives in the GOP won’t stand for it, but I believe that they will endure it, because the thought of four more years of Obama enacting what they believe to be a socialist, communist, non-citizen, Muslim (okay, look, birthers and other people who try and paint Obama as something completely foreign- he’s black. Deal with it, okay? Get over yourselves.) agenda is more frightening to them than two dudes and two chicks getting married. So the GOP will downplay their social cons and their theocratic cons, and use the Tea Party movement to recruit gays by one-upping the president and the do-nothing Democrats in Congress. Even though their motives are purely political and have nothing to do with, oh, doing the right thing for LGBT people, they get to wrap themselves in the mantle of acceptance and equality while they evangelize a new batch of gays & lesbians into Republicanism.
I’ve been there. I’m a recovering Republican. I’ve seen what this kind of governance has done for this country and I can’t say I like what I see, and that has nothing to do with marriage equality or LGBT issues. It has more to do with giving away so much power to megalithic, unaccountable corporations who have undermined capitalism and representative democracy, which as a result, is systematically destroying a once prosperous American middle class, and in this endeavor, Democrats are also complicit. They have just as much blood on their hands as Republicans. I am all for diversity of thought and public opinion in the political sphere, I am not one who thinks that all gays should vote Democrat, but I do ask that you think about this sudden shift in opinion and ask yourself why they want your vote so badly that they’re willing to throw 30 years of pandering to Christo-fascists and Moral Majority types under the bus to get it. Perhaps they see that younger generations aren’t quite as hip to the disturbing anti-gay messages of the late Jerry Falwell or the severely aged Pat Robertson. Perhaps they see Islam as a far greater threat to the West than homosexuality. No doubt we have to keep a watchful eye on crazy radical Muslims, but the degree of fearmongering going on lately is a bit much. Whatever the reason is, remember, they’re not doing it because they genuinely believe in marriage equality. They want something from us. They need something from us. Our problem is that we’ve forgotten how to be demanding. We’re a cheap date, anyone knows by watching how we fawn over Democrats who make us promises they have no intention of keeping. So let’s stop being such pushovers and start dealing, and make them come to us hat in hand. Democrats too, it’s time that we hold them responsible for broken promises, stalling, and inaction as well. Screw it, while we’re at it, ANYONE who feels that they’re simply being pandered to, stop being so easy and start holding the feet of your elected officials and candidates to the fire. Let’s hold them all accountable for selling out the American Dream while using volatile but meaningless social issues to distract us from how badly we’re being shafted.
President G.W. Bush and fmr. RNC chair Ken Mehlman.
Earlier this week, former Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman came out of the closet, confirming rumors and reports about his sexual orientation that have been around since 2003. Mehlman was also the campaign manager for President George W. Bush during his 2004 re-election campaign. Mehlman was the strategist who came up with the idea to put marriage rights to the ballot box in 11 states in 2004 and several more in 2006 in order to get social conservatives to come out and vote, using homophobia as a way to keep Republicans in power. He’s not the first closet homo to betray his own, but he is by far the most powerful in recent years to do so.
Mehlman now claims to support marriage equality and has expressed a desire to help achieve that end. Putting aside my outrage at this guy for a moment, let’s look at this practically. I don’t know if the damage he did can be undone. He’s created a climate in which over half the states now have some sort of state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, with some states like Texas going so far as to outlaw civil unions, domestic partnerships, or any private legal agreement that confers upon same-sex couples any semblance of marriage rights. Legislators cannot override these amendments. The courts are hesitant to, except in California, and that was only because same-sex marriage was actually legal for a short period of time before Proposition 8 went into effect. As that case waits to be heard by the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, efforts to defend marriage equality in the states that have it, and to at least stop further amendments in states that have yet to pass them, continue on. Though the anti-marriage equality movement is waning and groups like the National Organization for Marriage look more and more silly each day, there are still some powerful people out there who still are unwilling to support full marriage equality for gay & lesbian couples.
Like President Barack Obama.
It is sad that Laura Bush, Dick Cheney, and Ken Mehlman have all come out in support of same-sex marriage. That Ann Coulter is being ostracized by World Net Daily for speaking at a gay Republican (GOProud) convention. That Glenn Beck said on The O’Reilly Factor that we have “bigger fish to fry” than same-sex marriage. It’s stunning to me that Barack Obama would waste a political opportunity to be ahead of the curve, and it looks to me like conservatives are making a bold move to capture the gay vote. Obama, on the other hand, who promised to be a “fierce advocate” for the LGBT community, has been one great big letdown. In 2009, his justice department filed a brief (known as the DOMA brief) in federal court, defending a lawsuit against part of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, in which it compared same-sex marriages to incestuous couplings. Gay people were noticeably pissed. In response, Obama promised to sign into law a bill that would provide domestic partnership benefits for federal employees. We’re still waiting on that one. Granted, he did sign the Matthew Shepard Act into law, which added sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability to the federal hate crimes statute, but this was hardly an act of courage. The law was attached to a defense authorization measure. Two years prior it passed the House and Senate as a stand-alone bill that was vetoed by President Bush. With a greater Democrat majority in both houses, he couldn’t get this done by itself? And then there is Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Oh boy, is the Obama administration blowing it on this one. The wind is at his back on the repeal of this terrible law, and yet, he continues to pander to the dwindling number of people on the right who support this ban on gay & lesbian servicepeople for no rational reason. His “study” is a joke, the survey being conducted is loaded with homophobic questions, gay soldiers are not guaranteed secrecy if they take the survey, and people can take the survey as many times as they want. Can you say “skewed” and “unscientific”? I don’t remember Harry Truman conducting a survey before he ordered the military to be racially integrated. Soldiers follow orders. This should be a no-brainer. As Rachel Maddow mentioned, spending a little political capital goes a long way in winning respect, not just from your base and the people who voted you in, but from yourself.
I don’t even want to get into Obama hiring an “ex-gay” gospel singer for his campaign tour, or all his other borderline homophobic crap he’s dabbled with the whole time he was courting the gay vote. Ken Mehlman was a high-ranking Republican who was closeted and did do a lot of damage to the cause of equality, but he would have done the same if he were straight. We opposed Mehlman and the agenda he put forth back then. I am far more concerned with elected officials who claim to be ‘fierce advocates’ for me who then refuse to do jack shit when it comes to repealing terrible laws that keep us second-class citizens. Ken Mehlman betrayed himself. Barack Obama has been betraying us since before he got elected.
Shootin’ at Cap and Trade with a Smith & Wesson Model 500! He’s got my vote!
Gerald Gay, Republican. He’s a former Wyoming state Representative, tea party guy, running again this fall in HOUSE DISTRICT 36 (My district, Casper). He’s a member of the NRA and the JPFO, and I like his stances on things. Check out his answers to the RLC liberty survey, here: http://www.rlcwy.org/RLC-CandidateQuestionnaireV1.2-WYgay1.htm
His website is here: http://votegeraldgay.com
Vote for him in the primary on August 17, 2010! I certainly will!
CHEYENNE — The Wyoming Department of Revenue has suspended sales tax collections from gun shows because of increasing animosity toward the state’s field tax agents.
Dan Noble, director of the department’s excise tax division, said Friday that an incident at a gun show triggered the decision.
He added, however, that resistance from gun show sponsors and participants has been a recurring problem statewide.
“I have 10 field reps throughout the state, and every one of them has experienced some animosity,” he said. “Folks are nervous anyway because there are guns there. I don’t want to put my people at risk.”….
…”We tend to have more trouble at gun shows than any place,”….He said the “climate” has changed and some of the gun show people are “fairly extreme.”…
Anthony Bouchard (executive director of the Wyoming Gun Owners’ Association) said that the position of his group is that the state shouldn’t charge sales tax on gun and ammunition sales because of the Second Amendment right to bear arms.
Identifying himself as a “tea partier and damned proud of it,” Wise said Friday that people are angry at the federal government over health care reform and other actions.
…Noble informed members of the Legislature’s Joint Interim Revenue Committee Thursday of his decision because at some point legislation may be necessary, he said.
Note that no one pulled a gun, it’s just people who own guns getting up in the tax man’s grill.
I think the Founders would be proud. This is LITERALLY the intended and true reason for the Second Amendment.
Party like it's 1775!
And while we’re on the subject, check out this Daily Kos article, Why liberals should love the Second Amendment.
It’s written by a liberal and published in a progressive leftist rag. Despite all that, the article is brilliant. (*but the many idiotic comments will convince you that the writer is one of the few smart ones.)
Be Libertarian, AND avoid Christian Sharia. End the Fed, cut off welfare, but keep porn, pot and gambling legal!
I’m a libertarian. I believe that government FAR overreaches its rights. I think the government would be much more effective if it were about 1/2 of 1% of the size it is now.
I believe that the only morally correct laws are laws that protect people from aggression against their person or property. I think that the only things that should be illegal are murder, rape, assault, theft, fraud, and trespassing.
A large force that has always been active in American politics is what I call CCCs, i.e. Christian Conservative Constitutionalists. Ronald Reagan was one. The John Birch Society would fit that description. The Constitution Party do. Many LDS do. This CCC force is “making a comeback”, often in the form of people who claim to be part of the Tea Party, like Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck.
I agree with about 95% of what most of these folks believe in. For instance,
I believe in the right to keep and bear arms, without limitation.
I want lower taxes.
I do not believe in bailouts or “too big to fail.”
I think welfare (of all kinds) should be slashed to the bone, and/or eliminated.
I believe that homeschooling should be legal and easy, and the public schools should even be phased out.
I believe in the right of people to worship as they please (for instance, I’m appalled that a kid got kicked out of school for wearing a rosary. I don’t think that voluntarily wearing a rosary to public school violates any kind of “separation of church and state.”)
I oppose “hate crime laws” (murder and assault are already illegal, adding time for what you were thinking while committing the crime is racist.)
I’m against Affirmative Action (I think it’s racist.)
I believe the borders should be closed (at least until all freebie incentives are removed).
I’m against unlawful wiretaps and illegal search and seizure.
I am appalled by the march of socialism and I fear and hate the Obama administration’s hostile takeover of America.
HOWEVER, most CCCs believe that drugs, porn, prostitution, gambling and gay marriage should also be illegal. SHOW ME WHERE IN THE CONSTITUTION, OR IN NATURAL LAW, YOU CAN JUSTIFY THOSE THINGS BEING ILLEGAL! That’s my problem with CCCs. If they were in power, we would have a wonderful Constitutional Republic for about 95% of things, but something amounting to Christian Sharia for the other 5%.
NO LAW IS MORALLY JUST UNLESS IT PROTECTS THE PERSON OR PROPERTY OF OTHERS. It is immoral to try to force the government to force YOU to act “moral.” Trying to make the state regulate your husband from looking at porn or keeping your wife from gambling is lazy nanny-state bullshit, and is not morally acceptable. And it certainly isn’t Constitutional and does not conform to Natural Law (which is the only MORAL law.)
I don’t do drugs, but I am convinced that drugs should be 100% legal. The War on Drugs does far more harm than good, and ruins far more lives than it helps. It costs billions in taxes, jails and lawyers, and encourages violent crime. Prohibition didn’t work for alcohol and it ain’t working for drugs. Besides outlawing drugs (or porn or gambling) will NEVER stop drugs (or porn or gambling.) Outlawing these things won’t even minimize them. People will do them anyway.
Thomas Jefferson said “The Constitution on which our Union rests, shall be administered… according to the safe and honest meaning contemplated by the plain understanding of the people of the United States at the time of its adoption...” Well, at the time of The Constitution’s adoption, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington grew (and likely smoked) marijuana and Benjamin Franklin slept with many French whores.
My favorite Wyoming candidate for Governor, the best candidate we’ve got, the guy I’m voting for, Ron Micheli, said in a recent interview that he thinks porn should be illegal and marriage should be defined as being between a man and a woman. Porn illegal? How is that moral. How can you even SAY that? Show me in The Constitution, or Natural Law, where outlawing porn is even moral. (And my thought on marriage? Take the state out of the equation. The STATE has no right to be involved. Marriage should be between two people and maybe their church. As a libertarian comedian Doug Stanhope once said “If marriage didn’t exist, would you invent it? Would you go ‘Baby, this shit we got together, it’s so good we gotta get the government in on this shit. We can’t just share this commitment between us. We need judges and lawyers involved in this shit, baby. It’s hot!’”)
Doug Stanhope for president
Enforcing random nanny laws (like outlawing pot, porn and gambling) will lead to tyranny. It will pave the way for a new Hitler, whether the nannying comes from the right or the left. I don’t think Obama is Hitler. But I think that Obama is paving the way for a Hitler (or Stalin), a few presidents from now, at the rate things are going. AND CHRISTIAN “CONSERVATIVE” GEORGE BUSH HELPED HIM. Every time someone’s in “power”, for the last hundred years, they’ve chipped away a little more at the Constitution, at Natural Law, and added more and more bullshit, thinking their party will be in “power” forever. But with the next changing of the guard, the other party abuses those “powers” even more, in the opposite direction.
“The problem isn’t Democrats. The problem is Republicans who aren’t willing to become libertarians”
The only solution I can really see for NOT having a Hitler running America into the ground in ten or twenty years is GET RID OF THE NANNY-STATE BULLSHIT on the left and GET RID OF THE CHRISTIAN SHARIA on the right. Concentrate on the basic human rights governance, abide only by Natural Law, strip government down to near nothing, get rid of “special” rights, and only protect human rights. (Hint: free health care is not a “human right”, because it’s not free. Someone else has to pay for it, and the government forces them at gunpoint to pay. That’s not a human right!)
I’m not going to “waste my vote” on a third party. I’m going to back TRUE libertarian candidates (not CCCs) operating within the Republican Party. I think that’s the plan that’s got the best plan. (Rand Paul for president anyone?)
And from a simple logistical standpoint, the CCCs should re-evaluate their plan. CCCs are NEVER gonna get the “youth vote” or the “hipster vote”, which is a large part of the vote. Only Libertarian Republicans can attract the youngsters.
If a more-libertarian Republican Party can’t save America, nothing can. If it can’t, my prediction is that in five or ten years, we’ll all “party like it’s 1775.” And if that happens, I’ll likely be shoulder to shoulder with the CCCs, saying “How the fuck did you let this happen? Oh well, you did let it happen, now let’s fix it. So praise God and pass the ammunition.”
–Michael W. Dean
Michael W. Dean is the Wyoming representative for the Republican Liberty Caucus. His views are his own.
Congressman Assaults Student on Washington Sidewalk….
….allegedly.
Though video doesn’t lie….
Congressman Bob Etheridge (D)
Etheridge was elected to his seventh consecutive term in the 2008 Congressional elections. He defeated Republican Dan Mansell and Libertarian Will Adkins.
Bob Etheridge is a member of the New Democrat Coalition. He is active in Freemasonry and is currently the Grand Orator for North Carolina Freemasonry. Etheridge currently resides in Harnett County, North Carolina. His wife is a school nutritionist and they have three children and two grandchildren.
Contents
Recently while on a public street, Bob Etheridge was involved in an alleged assault, Breach of the Peace, and kidnapping (or false arrest) when he grabbed and forcibly detained a student who asked him a question about the Obama agenda. When asked “Do you support the Obama agenda?” Etheridge demanded to know the identities of the interviewers and grabbed one of them by the wrist, neck, and shoulders. The student’s repeated requests to be freed were ignored for most of the incident.
I hate liberals so damn much!
But not for their freaky mammal sex
I don’t care what you wed or do or screw
and I don’t care if you shoot crack!
I hate liberals because they steal
My money and my rights
They mug me and they mug you
and think they’re doing right…..
I HATE LIBERALS SO DAMN MUCH (AND I HATE STATISTS TOO)…but I love cats!
Michael W. Dean and Debra Jean Dean have rainy day fun talking about the baffling case of South Carolina candidate Alvin Green, chili cookin’ on a rainy day with your baby, the concept and the book Future Shock, the growing divide between far left and far right, the concept and the book The Road to Serfdom, THE PUSSIFICATION OF THE WESTERN MALE, the cool site and book The Art of Manliness, why people who hate guns are really dangerous (and pussies), how all laws and taxes are enforced at the barrel of a gun, and more nifty stuff.
I’ve always kind of dismissed the “birthers”, I think Obama was born in Hawaii. (Though I STILL don’t think he’s my legitimate “leader” because I don’t believe in mob rule being legitimate.)
But there’s a newish and under-reported theory here, on this site, which I think deserves to be reprinted far and wide, that basically shows why EVEN IF OBAMA WAS BORN IN HAWAII, HE IS NOT LEGALLY LEGITIMATE TO BE OUR PRESIDENT.
WHAT IS CERTAIN
What is certain is 1 fact; it’s not speculation; it’s not a conspiracy theory; it’s not based on rumor or the allegations or speculations of his opponents or supporters. It’s a fact he proclaims every day, and asserts about himself in his biography, Dreams from My Father.
1) We are certain that his father is Barrack Hussein Obama, Sr., a man who was a subject of the British empire on Aug. 4, 1961, and a transient alien in the U.S.A..
WHAT THIS 1 FACT PROVES
2) This one fact proves that according to the British Nationality Act of 1948, that — let’s call him by this name for the sake of ease — Barack Hussein Obama II was at birth a British subject.
3) And this conclusion in law, in turn, proves that he is not a natural born citizen of the United States of America; because according to 4 rulings of the Supreme Court, a natural born citizen is, “one born in the country of parents who are citizens,” and since his claimed father was a British subject, not a U.S. Citizen, even if Obama is a U.S. Citizen, he is not a natural born citizen. (It is important to note that “natural born” is a legal term, “natural-born” can be used also for the medical term, of a natural birth without caesarean insection).
4) And this conclusion, in turn, proves that he is not eligible to hold, accept or retain the office of President of the United States, on account of the absolute prohibition in Article II, Section i, paragraph 5, of the U.S. Constitution, that the president be a “natural born citizen.”
5) And this conclusion, in turn, proves in law that Barack Hussein Obama is not the lawful president of the U.S.A., and that none of the laws he signs, the appointments he makes, or the actions he takes are binding in law on anybody.
6) And this establishes that in law he is a usurper, a pretender, and not the lawful Commander-in-chief of the U.S. military.
7) And this proves, beyond the shadow of doubt, that the U.S.A. is currently in its greatest Constitutional Crisis.
So don’t get confused by speculation, rumor, or conspiracy theories. This 1 fact and its consequences in law are all that is necessary to act as a concerned citizen, and to vote accordingly, to march on Washington, D.C., or to justify his immediate and peaceful arrest by lawful authorities in any jurisdiction.
So….as some have asked (at FSW), if this COULD be proven in court (the Supreme Court?), would it invalidate everyone Obama has appointed? Every edict he’s enacted? His Supreme Court nominee? Would she have to recuse herself if this made it to the Supreme Court? Could it ever make it there? Will I get a knock a the door and be “disappeared” in the middle of the night for even conjecturing about this? (Very few people have covered this story online, and there is very little online about it, even mentioning it).
Anyway, not sure it would transfer to Biden if Barry were proved and found illegitimate to serve. Would probably transfer to Nancy Pelosi (yikes!) or the majority leader if it happens after Jan next year if the Repubs retake majority this November. Maybe a reason to wait on this?
Also, I have always had the feeling that if Berry were unable to continue (lets say sudden heart attack from realizing how tough the job is, and that not everyone will be overjoyed with his “CHANGE”s), that Biden would concede it to Nancy. The Powers that be just ain’t gonna let that lummox be in charge. he was on the ticket to be the gray haired white guy, period. He’s fulfilled that duty, and now he’s no longer part of the equation. Nancy is the Karl Rove to Obama’s Bush, she’s running the country FAR more than jokin’ Joe.
Sound Strike, a group of musicians–led by Rage Against the Machine, and including Kanye West, Sonic Youth, and Massive Attack–are calling for a boycott of Arizona, refusing to perform in the state until a recently passed law regarding illegal immigration is repealed.
WOW!
Remember the “King of the Hill” episode (“Love Hurts and So Does Art”) where an “important” New York City conceptual artist comes to Texas and gets shunned for defaming beef in his exhibit (by displaying an x-ray of Hank Hill’s beef-filled colon)?
"King of the Hill" "Love Hurts and So Does Art"
The artist threatens the sheriff “YOU’LL NEVER HAVE ANOTHER SHOWING OF IMPORTANT ART FROM NEW YORK IN THIS STATE AGAIN!”
The sheriff drawls back at the artist “We’ll get by….”
That will be Arizona’s feeling if “important” “edgy” bands stop playing the state.
My wife and I often drawl “We’ll get by….” regarding situations like that. It’s kind of a running joke, and fits SO many situations.
Today we signed the papers and bought our house! yay! yay! woot woot!
We’ve lived in Wyoming for coming up on a year, that will be in July. But one year ago today and tomorrow was when we came to Wyoming on a reconnaissance trip. We went all over the state that week, and we decided on that trip to make Casper our home. A month after that, we moved here and rented the house we just bought today.
To celebrate one year of being in love with wonderful Casper, Wyoming, here’s a re-print of my blog post (on my other blog, Stink Fight) from those two days. Yay!
So, we are having a BLAST! Loving this place. We’re really psyched to move here, and we’ve totally fallen in love with Casper. That’s where we’re pretty sure we’re going to live.
We arrive in Casper and go out to dinner at a Red Lobster full of families with kids, while both openly packing. No one blinked. People saw, but it was no issue. Food was yummy!
Next morning we go out to breakfast at the Cheese Barrel diner on W. 6th and S. Center. Open carried no problem. Food was great, service was nice. Very friendly place.
Ever see a snow shovel in June? Casper has ‘em!
We drove around for a few hours and got used to the lay of the city. Casper is a nice place. We looked at houses that were listed for rent in the paper, to get an idea of how much rentals are, and what different neighborhoods are like.
Stopped at a Walgreens. We open carried, no problem:
Went to lunch at Wonder Bar with a bunch of our new friends. Seven of eight open carried, no one cared, food and service were really good:
We have a far richer social calender in Wyoming than we do in California where we’ve lived for decades.
Four folks, four guns:
The Free Caballeros loafin’ at the Loaf & Jug:
Went to the Poison Spider Shooting Range. Spent about five hours there. Shot many many hundreds of rounds, 9mm, 45mm, .223 and .308. Even a few hundred rounds of .22. We were the only people there, and it’s totally remote. A nice change from the range we go to in Los Angeles that has about 100 people at it at any given time. Would have loved to shoot longer, but a thunderous downpour sent us seeking shelter and dinner (and I suppose it was getting late).
Bowling with guns:
DJ bowls a perfect 300 with a borrowed .45:
Me shooting a cool Israeli Galil
DJ with an AR-15:
I lose my battle rifle virginity! Me shooting the wonderful FAL. Hit a metal deer silhouette at 200 yards. DJ hit it repeatedly too.
Me shooting a Remington 700 (.308:) counter-sniper rifle:
I hit the same deer-sized metal target at 200 yards more than once. DJ hit a cougar-sized target at 300 yards – but only took that one shot, the kick was just a bit much for her post-surgery shoulder after the AK and the FAL. What an elegant weapon that Remington is!
Went out with our new friends afterward to Tacos Mexicanos. Yes there is Mexican food in Casper, and it’s good. And we open carried no problem.
Was a wonderful, gun-tastic day! Much thanks to our generous friends for sharing their weapons and the marvelous range.
Back at the hotel now, about to jump into the hot tub and then sleep. Tomorrow we continue on to other wonderful towns in Wyoming on our tour of liberty and bison!
What do you think contributes more to society? A cutting-edge modern art gallery in one of the most famous and cosmopolitan cities in the world, or a drive-through liquor store that sells cheap guns with no waiting period in Wyoming?
I’m gonna go with the guns & liquor place.
SUBMITTED FOR YOUR APPROVAL, two businesses…. The Shooting Gallery art gallery in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood, and the BiRite drug store in the Casper, Wyoming neighborhood known as “Felony Flats.” BiRite doesn’t even have a website, but you can go on Google Street View HERE, and see it and the neighborhood.
HERE Google Street View is the same treatment for The Shooting Gallery. And you will see that a “bad neighborhood” like Felony Flats in Casper is a much nicer looking (and safer) place than an “edgy” neighborhood in San Francisco (The Shooting Gallery says it picked that name because junkies shoot up in the doorway, and you can get shot on that block. Charming….) And scroll to the left of the Shooting Gallery….that’s the park we used to call “Sucker Punch Park”, named for what often happens to any white person who dares walk there. By the way….this place is a few blocks from Hyde Street Studio where my band Bomb recorded our first album, To Elvis in Hell. I know this neighborhood well.
I’ve never been to the Shooting Gallery, it started after I moved out of that town. But I’ve been to a dozen places exactly like it….taxpayer-funded gen-x edgy hipster anti-American-values storefronts that local liberal rags love to drool all over and consider “important.” The art these places show always sucks, barely qualifies as art, and the only people who ooh and ahh over it are suffering from “the emperor’s new clothes” syndrome.
Remember the “King of the Hill” episode where an important New York artist comes to Texas and gets shunned for defaming beef in his exhibit? He threatens the sheriff “YOU’LL NEVER HAVE ANOTHER SHOWING OF IMPORTANT ART FROM NEW YORK IN THIS STATE AGAIN!” and the sheriff drawls “We’ll get by…..”Well, I’m that sheriff in this story.
The Drugstore part of the Wyoming Drugstore went outta business this year, after many decades of providing for the community. But the other parts of the place are still in business: a greeting card shop that feels delightfully like something from the 1940s, a liquor department, and a sporting goods section that sells 9mm semi-auto pistols for $140 bucks with no waiting period.
Cheap 9mm Hi-Point Pistol
Yup, these are what are commonly called “Saturday Night Specials“, which was originally a racist term and I don’t like to use it (as in “guns that black people buy to shoot folks on a Saturday night, just for kicks.”) But the drugstore sells Hi-Point brand guns, which are OK if that’s all you can afford.) (Unlike Jimenez Arms – or what I call an Especial de la noche de sábado – an even cheaper Mexican gun that might blow up in your hand. They have before with some people.)
While I wouldn’t trust my life to a $140 pistol (my cheapest semi-auto cost $450, and my cheapest revolver cost $370), these guns do have a legitimate purpose – providing self-defense to people who can’t afford a better gun. And this Wyoming liquor store selling them contributes that service to society. Unlike edgy liberal art galleries, which provide nothing of value…..
The Shooting Gallery opened it’s (sic) doors in 2003 to the edgy Tenderloin district of San Francisco; one known for it’s diverse culture and history. Owner and curator, Justin Giarla, founded the space to offer a welcoming environment for viewing the art he loves.
Justin started collecting art at the age of 23 and has since amassed over 500 pieces in his own collection. Growing up in Southern California gave Justin an affinity with everything lowbrow: pop art, street art, outsider art, punk rock album art, comic book art, surf/skate art, erotic photography and hot rod culture. Giarla has long since recognized the necessity to provide lowbrow artists with a platform, which is exactly what The Shooting Gallery has done for the past seven years.
Since opening The Shooting Gallery, Justin has gone on to start his own publishing company and open three more San Francisco galleries including White Walls, Gallery Three and D.D.Arts. The Shooting Gallery also participates in art fairs around the worldand hosts annual fundraisers for local non profits.
(emphasis mine, not theirs – MWD)
Shepard Fairey at The Shooting Gallery
Come on. Some place that celebrates a destroyer of property (and Obama licker) like Shepard Fairey, considers graffiti on someone else’s private property to be art, considers a naked lady in a net or a piano hanging from the ceiling to be “art”, venerates propaganda that lambastes George Bush with an ironic “More Military Less Education” (if we’re talking about public schools, I’d agree, even though I know they’re being ironic)….AND does it all with the help of PUBLIC funds…..come on….I think a cheap gun store contributes a lot more to society. At least the cheap gun store could offer me protection for the risking of my life I’d have to do to walk down the street where the art gallery is…on a street devastated by bad decisions of San Francisco liberal politics. (Though I will never walk down that street again, because it would be a FELONY to carry a gun to protect myself on that street.)
Now if you wanna see some “emperor’s new clothes” art that I DO dig, here’s some nifty performance art, William S. Burroughs shooting a painting that Ralph Steadman did of William Shakespeare. (Steadman is the shorter gray-haired gent seen here with Burroughs.)
OK, I was not shocked AT ALL when Los Angeles County voted yesterday to boycott Arizona over the very sensible anti-illegal immigration law Arizona has passed. California is free to shoot themselves in the foot economically (this boycott will hurt sinking California more than it will hurt Arizona). California has shot themselves in the foot early and often for decades, which is why it’s drowning in debt and canceling even basic services. (Whereas the state I moved to from California, Wyoming, is doing fine and dandy, and even has a surplus of money! Shhh! Don’t tell California! They’ll get Obama to come steal it!)
And Los Angeles are hypocrites, they’re not going to boycott the electrical power they get from Arizona…about 25% of the power used in LA comes from Arizona!
So I wasn’t even surprised when this “shoot ourselves in the foot” boycott resolution was passed by a mere two people on a damn bureaucratic committee, despite the fact that a majority of Californians are in favor of the Arizona law.
The issue would, in essence, be dealt with in a manner similar to broadly accepted episodes of racial and cultural intolerance and abridgments of rights, such as the Jim Crow laws and the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, said district spokesman Robert Alaniz….
I dunno, I lived in California for 23 years, so nothing should really shock me. But when I see a region that is about to fail from its own policies, is bankrupt (economically and spiritually), yet insists on bankrupting itself further to insult another state’s policies, (that only mirror and enforce federal law), then insist on teaching their children, in an official capacity, that that other state is worse than Hitler for trying to save itself, well, I am just damn lucky (again) that I got out of that statist cesspool of entitlement and bullshit a year ago. Fuck those California carpetbaggers, and shame on them for trying to insist another state fuck itself up.
And remember, by the way, the Arizona law hasn’t even gone into effect yet! The law goes into effect 90 days after the close of the legislative session, which has not been ended yet and does not have a definite end date.
Meanwhile, I finally sat down and read the Wyoming Firearms Freedom Act (which goes into effect July 1). I love it. It’s so beautiful, it actually made me weep with joy. When is the last time a piece of state legislation in your state made you weep with joy?
Here’s the full text of that short, wonderful law.
I like all of it, and especially these “reaffirming our rights against the Feds” parts:
(vii) Article 1, section 7, of the Wyoming constitution provides that absolute, arbitrary power over the lives, liberty and property of freemen exists nowhere in a republic, not even in the largest majority; …
….the Wyoming constitution provides that all power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their peace, safety and happiness; for all the advancement of these ends they have at all times an inalienable and indefeasible right to alter, reform or abolish the government in such manner as they may think proper;
I’m glad my wife, my cats and me got out of California and got on the RIGHT side of any possible schism, early. And it’s pretty mindblowing where the candidates for Wyoming Governor are not only running on a platform of AGREEING with these ideals, it’s almost certain that one who feels this way WILL be the next Governor of Wyoming. I’d look for some legislation out of my state in the next few years that will make Arizona look like Californians.
This is likely, from all early accounts and polls, the next Governor of Wyoming:
When the New York City Community Board 1 voted 29-1 with 9 abstaining to support the proposed place of worship, a lot of people lost their minds. Many claimed that building a mosque so close to the former World Trade Center site was an insult to the memory of those who died at the hands of Islamic terrorists. I am inclined to agree and think it’s a little insensitive to build a mosque so close to the place where so many died horrible deaths, murdered in the name of Allah, and yet, I can’t help but see the irony in many conservative commentators who think that New York should force Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf to hit the bricks and find another location.
Private property is private property, even in New York. Just because a Muslim temple is offensive to those who think all Muslims are terrorists does not give them the right to use the police power of government to force Rauf to relocate. Besides, if you want to talk about “offensive”, how’s this?
Pretty disgusting, eh? Almost nine years after the attacks of September 11, 2001, and there’s still not much to speak of at the former site of the World Trade Center where almost 3,000 people lost their lives. Where is the outrage over that? You wont find it in this story because you can’t blame Muslims for all of the graft, gridlock, and politicking that occurs in New York City on a daily basis. I think it’s far more insulting to the memory of the victims to leave their grave unmarked. Think about it. Let’s say a Muslim killed you. Would your family be enraged if you were buried in a cemetery that couldn’t agree what to put on your grave as a headstone, and due to ‘cemetery politics’, the monument which is supposed to commemorate your eternal resting place was delayed indefinitely or would your family be angry that a Muslim family completely unrelated to your killer had a burial plot two rows over and was able to have their headstone?
~Matti Frost
P.S.- Hi everyone. Sorry I’ve been away for so long.
Libertarian rapper and TV personality Neema Vedadi visits Michael W. Dean and Debra Jean Dean in Nestlandia, in Wyoming, and drops mad science. They talk about consent of the governed, the coming collapse, impending doom, liberal idiots, and how to transcend all of the above through education, edu-tainment, and guns. Neema explains how America is headed toward a Weimar Republic where a loaf of bread costs a million dollars. He and the Deans talk about what to do about it, how to save yourself and your family, and chat about liberty, child rearing, taxation as theft, where America went wrong, why there should be no public property, and what’s cool about guns and weed.
They talk about a lot of other fun stuff, for a long long time (an hour and 40 minutes). Yay!
PODCAST:
Neema V Tells You How to Thrive in the Coming Collapse: Download
I make no secret of my love of snubbies. I carry a .38 special sometimes, and a .357 mag sometimes. The .357 can stop a bear, but weighs 24 ounces empty and kicks like a shotgun. The .38 special can stop most things, weighs only 12 ounces empty and has a manageable kick, which makes accurate follow-up shots easier.
My .38 is a Charter Arms Undercover Lite. Was 350 bucks new. I carry it all the time, even at home. Outside the house, I carry it, and often carry the .357 Taurus model 605 also.
Below the pix are some good links with excellent snubbie info. (added later: also check out the comments, there’s some great info there, especially on speedloaders, holsters and carry options.)
THE OLDER I GET AND THE MORE I KNOW, THE LESS I NEED TO SAY WHAT I KNOW.
Michael W. Dean sits in the backyard as the sun comes up & the birdies chirp and the cats purr. He ponders growing old gracefully, talks about guns, cats, love, liberty, the secrets to a happy marriage, politics, Wyoming, God, more guns and life. Then we hear the Right Arm of Wyoming bonus song (that isn’t on the CD) called “Tar and Feather a Tax Collector.” (lyrics are here if’n ya want to read ‘em.)
Michael’s wife Debra wakes up and says hi before running off to work.
PODCAST EPISODE 39.
Up all night, cats and guns and fun in the backyard [16:25m]: | Play in Popup | Download
or this wonderful YouTube video of a cop shooting himself in the foot in a classroom full of kids, after bragging that he’s the only person in the room “professional enough” to use a gun.
Let me preface this by saying that my sincerest condolences go out to the family of Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who was killed in Iraq in 2006. Grief is a powerful emotion, and losing a child is one of the most horrible things any parent can ever endure. To add insult to the injury, the Topeka, Kansas based Westboro Baptist Church, home of the Phelps family and their offshoot cult, picketed Snyder’s funeral with signs that said “God hates you” and “Thank God for dead soldiers”. The WBC is a truly despicable lot. Led by Fred Phelps, who was once, ironically, a civil rights attorney, and his daughter Shirley who handles most of the public relations these days, the WBC makes its living from the controversy they cause.
Before the war, before 9/11, the Phelps gang mostly stuck to protesting the funerals of people who died of AIDS, or of people they knew were gay or lesbian. “God hates fags” was their catch phrase, and they engaged in these protests going back as far as the 1980’s. They were present at the funeral of Matthew Shepard, a college student who was beaten and tied to a fence and left for dead because he was gay. They were so cruel in their delivery and their actions, but few people outside the LGBT community and independent media knew who they were. Then, in 2003, we went to war, and when the bodies started coming home, the WBC had new targets. They picket the funerals of American soldiers because, as they claim, this nation tolerates homosexuality.
Albert Snyder was not happy about these people using his dead son to make their point about homosexuals. He decided to sue the WBC, alleging privacy invasion, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and civil conspiracy in 2007, and won a multi-million dollar judgment against them. However, Westboro appealed to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the decision was overturned. The court then ordered Mr. Snyder to pay $16,500 to reimburse WBC for their legal expenses. Nothing like a little lemon juice in a wound that will not heal. This case will make it to the Supreme Court, where freedom of speech will be pitted against a family’s right to hold a funeral free of people protesting it.
To me, there’s no question about it. As much as I hate the Westboro Baptist Church and find what they do to be despicable and dishonorable, their right to free speech is protected by the First Amendment. The Constitution does not demand that expressions of free speech be unoffensive or in good taste. It forbids the government from abridging it, period. Though most people abhor their methods, the WBC is making political statements within the framework of the Bill of Rights. Albert Snyder should have realized that before he decided to sue a family of lawyers.
I feel for him, I really do. I would be extremely angry and hurt if my loved one were being lowered into the ground after sacrificing his life for his country and there were a bunch of jerkoffs holding up such horrible signs and shouting terrible things at me and my family. There’s no question that the Phelps gang are a bunch of cowards who hide behind the very freedom that Matthew Snyder died to defend, but die, he did, to defend that right, no matter how deplorable the sentiment being expressed.
Let us remember that the First Amendment was not installed to protect popular speech. That’s not the kind of speech that needs protecting. It’s the unpopular, terrible speech that needs to be shielded from being snuffed out by force of government, and what is considered unpopular and terrible by the government could change from time to time. For example, those who are intense in their criticism of President Obama might find themselves with less protection if the Supreme Court rules against the WBC. It’s called precedent, and nothing happens without it in our legal system. I agree that it would feel good to exact some measure of retribution against the Phelps gang, who have been causing intentional harm to grieving families for decades now, but not at the expense of our freedom of speech. Not now, not ever.
Article in the New York Times, written by some law student (!!!), MICHAEL SERINGHAUS, says we should ALL give DNA samples to law enforcement.
…The president was correct in saying that we need a more robust DNA database, available to law enforcement in every state, to “continue to tighten the grip around folks who have perpetrated these crimes.” But critics have a point that genetic police work, like the sampling of arrestees, is fraught with bias. A better solution: to keep every American’s DNA profile on file.
Your sensitive genetic information would be safe…..
Really? Safe?
Again, I’m reminded of this quote:
“The nine most terrifying words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help’.”
—Ronald Reagan
I also wonder when he says we should “give” DNA samples, does he mean voluntarily, or “voluntarily” at the barrel of a gun.
About two weeks ago, a 16 year old kid who was known among his friends for being a clown picked up a courtesy phone at Wal-Mart, punched in the code to access the PA system, and announced, “Attention Wal-Mart customers: All black people leave the store now”. I had an odd sense of deja-vu as the media blew this story up like it was a Klan lynching. I remembered Don Imus, who was fired from two jobs after making his ‘nappy-headed ho’s’ joke in reference to the Rutgers female basketball team- which wasn’t even an issue until a week after it was made thanks to Media Matters. I recalled how Michael Richards was made out to be Hitler after he blew up at two black hecklers in the audience and dropped all kinds of N-bombs on them. Even earlier, Senator Trent Lott was painted as a racist for telling Strom Thurmond at his birthday party that if he had been elected when he ran for president 50 some-odd years before, the country would be better off. Of course, that means Trent Lott wants separate drinking fountains, right? I also fondly recalled how South Park (see image above) ripped to shreds the race pimps and the politics of racial destruction with their ‘naggers’ episode.
This 16 year old kid, whose name is not being released due to his age, has been charged with harassment and bias intimidation. He was arrested. Let me repeat that. HE WAS ARRESTED. Now, granted, his prank was not in the best of taste, to some it was definitely offensive. I don’t even think it was all that funny of a joke, I think it could have been much better had it been thought out beforehand. But I am absolutely appalled that this teenager is being charged with a criminal offense because of what he SAID.
The libertarian in me would leave it up to Wal-Mart to decide whether or not to pursue criminal trespass, after all, the kid did use Wal-Mart’s property and did harm to their ability to do business. That I can understand. What I can’t understand is the thought-policing going on here. Nevermind actual racism, which this was not, but you can’t even make a joke involving race or you will face JAIL TIME.
Are you fucking kidding me? Seriously?
If this is where we’re going as a country then we deserve to be wiped out. A bunch of thin-skinned, whining nellies who can’t even shrug off a poor joke, something so obvious as a kid playing with the PA system. What gets me is that it’s not black people who are outraged about this, except for the black mouthpieces who are always outraged. It’s white people who are falling over themselves to be outraged because they think it makes them look not-racist to black people. It’s this sickening, nauseating, and condescending pandering that guilt-ridden white liberals engage in that is characterized by faux outrage and hypersensitivity to anything racial, whether it’s a joke or a serious point in discussing race relations or politics involving race. They want to be seen as so-not-racist that their racism is clear as day for anyone who looks past their holier-than-thou auras. They think that they have to defend black people from stupid pranks, jokes from Don Imus, angry outbursts from Michael Richards, and innocuous comments made by Trent Lott. Stop it. Black people are capable of deciding for themselves what is offensive and what isn’t. They’re even capable of chuckling at a racial joke or poking fun at the stereotypes associated with black people. They don’t need a white savior to protect them from bad jokes or even real racism. Enough with the pandering and thought policing. This kid does not deserve to be arrested for the content of his joke and charged with bias crimes, especially when racially motivated assaults from blacks against whites are happening more and more in cities all over the country. No more double standards and no more patronization, please.
1. Your idea of a traffic jam is 10 cars waiting to pass a motor home on the highway.
2. “Vacation” means going to Anchorage for the weekend.
3. You measure distance in hours.
4. You know several people who have hit moose more than once.
5. You often switch from “heat” to “A/C” in the same day.
6. You use a down comforter in the summer.
7. Your grandparents drive at 65 mph through 13 feet of snow during a raging blizzard, without flinching.
8. You see people wearing hunting clothes at social events.
9. You install security lights on your house and garage, and leave both unlocked.
10. You think of the major food groups as: deer meat, beer, fish, and berries.
11. You carry jumper cables in your car, and your girlfriend knows how to use them.
12. There are 7 empty cars running in the parking lot at the grocery store at any given time.
13. You know what Bunny Boots are.
14. Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.
15. You think sexy lingerie is tube socks and flannel pajamas.
16. You know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter, and construction.
17. It takes you 3 hours to go to the store for one item, even when you’re in a rush, because you have to stop and talk to everyone in town.
18. You didn’t know what the word “county” meant, and we were never taught about “area codes”… 907 is all you had to know
19. You think bald eagles aren’t that great
20. You know to go to Best Buy a month after a CD release because that’s when it will FINALLY arrive in Alaska
21. You wish seagulls came with a mute button
22. You can go to McDonalds and order off the $1.50 menu which they feel is equivalent to the $0.99 menu
23. You were appalled by the “Carrs-Safeway” merge a few years ago
24. You have to have a raven cage around your trash to keep them out
25. You go to school, work, or both in the dark and come out in the dark
26. 30 degrees is shorts weather
27. -10 is a bit nippy
28. Buses leaving school are delayed because a bear is in the parking lot
29. You tell people you live in an igloo for kicks
30. You don’t swim in natural bodies of water for fear of swimmers itch or beaver fever…or leeches
31. Having a moose in your front yard is a legitimate excuse for being late to school
32. There is nothing like Matanuska Maid…who cares about Meadowgold, Dairyland and Viva!!
33. You only go to the fair for turkey legs and a husky burger
34. You refer to the continental US as the “lower 48″
35. You get an attitude when you have to pay tax in the lower 48
36. There is 4 feet of snow the night before school and you STILL have to go.
37. If you don’t like the weather wait for 5 minutes and then go back out outside.
38. You sleep through an earthquake like nothing ever happened; the only way you know is because the clock fell off the wall
39. Salmon isn’t a delicacy, it’s a staple
40. Halibut is beer battered rather than cooked some fancy way
41. 70 degrees is equivalent to 90 degrees in the lower 48
42. You know who “Sleeping Lady” is
43. During the winter you rarely use your freezer
44. You think $4 for a loaf of bread is cheap
45. A “cookout” is not all the time outside because it’s entirely too cold for all of that
46. You don’t sleep in the summer because it’s too short to miss a minute of it
47. Half your friends own a sled (snow machine) and you think people that call them snow mobiles are idiots
48. You have been chased or know someone who has been chased by a moose at least once.
49. You’ve seen the northern lights, and you know why they are such a “big deal”
50. You know its all about the snow, DUH.
51. You know that Cattle Company has the best potato soup there is.
52. Your bedroom windows are covered in aluminum foil or black blankets.
53. You know the two speed limits in Alaska: the ‘get outta my way limit’ and ‘taking cover limit’
54. You only watch the news when they announce the amount of the year’s dividend
55. Your school classes were never canceled because of ice
56. You have to start your car at least an hour before you leave so most of the ice and snow will melt off by the time you leave
57. You wear flips flops all year without getting sick
58. You’ve never seen cotton or tobacco growing, but your neighbor has a 30 acre pot field
59. You literally can’t leave the house without seeing some one you know.
60. You know the term “studs” isn’t referring to hot guys.
61. You have to ski in gym class
62. You know who “Binki” was, made fun of that stupid Australian tourist, and was so sad when he died.
63. You expect to see a moose crossing Tudor every time you drive down.
64. You give up and tell people in the lower 48 that you DO live in an igloo and you DO have a pet polar bear named Mishka when they refuse to believe otherwise.
65. You call someone without a crack in there windshield a tourist
66. You remember what Showboats was and you’re little sad it’s gone.
67. When you go to the lower 48 you wonder where everybody’s block heater cable is
68. You’ve been to the Peanut Farm for a drink but refuse to tell anyone…ever
69. Combat fishing isn’t a joke, it’s a religion.
70. You’ve seen a 2-month old moose get hit by a full-size van at 65 MPH, then get up and run off
71. Two words “Korn Fritters”
72. Your parents taking you trick-or-treating involves riding door-to-door in the car
73. You design your kid’s Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.
Acrassicauda-which means Black Scorpion in Latin, is a Heavy Metal band from Baghdad, Iraq. Formed during the reign of Saddam they’ve endured death threats, mortar attacks during shows, and their practice space being blown up by a scud missile. in 2006, they were the subject of the documentary “Heavy Metal in Baghdad”, which covered everything from their formative years to their eventual exodus to Syria. Eventually, the quartet then moved to Turkey and eventually, The States. They have just released their first record, the 4-song EP titled “Only the Dead See the End of the War”.
I gotta respect these guys, they’ve had their lives threatened for playing “satanic, Western Music”, yet they still kept their dream and still played. After hearing these guys’ story, I feel like all the bands in the States and Europe who bitch about touring in a small van or not having a lot of money are a bunch of whining pansies.
This meeting occurred in a town only a 30 minute drive from my house. All these guys said was that if politics could not reign in this federal government, we may have to resort to a revolution. Well if the political system can’t reign it in then what are we supposed to do? Just accept it? No. I would hope that we can turn this around, but if it doesn’t then the sad reality is that yes, we may have to rebel.
As Thomas Jefferson said “I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, & as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.” – Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, Paris, 30 January 1787.
I don’t have anything political to write about now so I’ll just post about what’s been going on in my life.
Last Thursday, March the 4th, Machina Infernus broke up, this time it’s for good. At least, if guitarist and founding member Rich Kovacs decides to start it up again, I will not be a part of it. I am disappointed in the way this was handled and it’s kind of knocked me off-kilter for the last few days, it preoccupies my thoughts and just bums me out. I think it’s caused me to have a writer’s block, as I haven’t been posting much at all anywhere these last few days.
I’ve been irritated at WordPress because I can’t get my embedded YouTube videos to show up in my posts, I have to go to Michael and beg him, PLEASE, will you help me embed this video. PLEEEEEEEEEEASE. And he does it for me, but we can’t figure out why it’s not working when I try to do it myself.
Washington DC now has legal same-sex marriage. The city council passed a bill and the mayor signed it, and Congress, who oversees the District’s laws, declined to review the law. They had 30 session days to do so and, as is typical of Congress, didn’t make the deadline. The response by residents has been largely positive. Catholic Charities, however, is now finding ways to cut services. They’re ending foster care outreach and spousal benefits for their employees. How Christ-like. Whatever, I’m just going to get pissed off again if I go down this road, maybe another day.
They say we’re in a recession, but people keep ordering take-out and going to the movies. I saw Alice in Wonderland (in 3-D) the other day, and my advice to Tim Burton is to stop trying to make Tim Burton movies. Other than that it was just okay, visually stunning but I am tired of Johnny Depp playing the same charatcer in every Burton flick. The 3-D was just aight, dawg. Felt like it was shoehorned in, whereas in Avatar, it was meant to be that way from the beginning. Oh, and the takeout- 34 deliveries today in 9 hours, I was busy from the time I clocked in until the time I left. Maybe this recession is completely media-driven because I don’t see people not spending money, just the opposite.
Why is Justin Bieber famous, and who wants to take bets on when he gets his first arrest, when he beats his first girl, and how long before they find him overdosed in a seedy hotel? Well, we can hope, right?
Speaking of pop-culture garbage, if you haven’t seen the new version of We Are the World, you have to search it and watch this abomination. It’s pure douche-chill theater, most notably Jamie Foxx impersonating Ray Charles and Kanye West’s line at the end, and the autotune… oh the autotune.
That’s all for me for now. This week I’ll be back on politics.
Up the independents. I am tired of people trying to put me into a box because they only see other people’s political views in relation to their own. If I am disagreeing with a liberal, that must mean I am a right-wing nutcase. If I am arguing with a conservative, then I am a bedwetting liberal moonbat. Stop already, you people who do this are embarrassing yourselves.
Recently, I had an exchange with someone on one of the message boards I post on. Someone complained that Republicans were abusing the filibuster and stonewalling Democrat-backed legislation in the Senate. When I mentioned that the Democrats did the same thing to President Bush’s judicial nominees, I got a world of shit for it. I was called an ‘apologist’ for the GOP, I was told that it was different since the Dems were filibustering nominees but the Republicans are just blocking everything. I was even called a “traitor” to who I am, since the Republicans generally oppose same-sex marriage and the repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. Oh man, did I get pissed. Here’s what I said:
“Who the hell do you think you are to tell me what my political ideology should be based on who I have sex with? Because I like smoking a pole or two, that means I have to support EVERY liberal tax me out the ass, welfare state-loving, illegal immigrant harboring, enviro-nazi chump-stain socialist douche nozzle who runs for office?
Again, fuck you, pal. I agree with what the Democrats SAY about marriage equality and ending DADT, now let’s see them actually DELIVER on it. Maybe then I’ll be more willing to put up with all the other bullshit that spews out of the DNC. Until then, I will support whomever the fuck I want and if you don’t like it, tough shit.”
I was slightly miffed.
The truth is that I can’t stand either major political party. I think they’re both full of incompetent and/or corrupt people out for their own gain and their own power. I don’t think they care one bit about average people. TS, who responds to many posts here, believes that conservatives are selfish and liberals are compassionate. Are they? Or is that what people been led to believe by those who are trying to pose as compassionate? Who or what defines compassion anyway, or selfishness for that matter? Doesn’t anyone ever think that maybe, just maybe, there isn’t that great of a divide between Republicans and Democrats when it comes to their votes and their actions? Put away the rhetoric and look at what they DO.
Both tend to favor big business over the individual.
Both supported bailouts and giveaways to failing industries.
Both were complicit in the signing of the Patriot Act and in sending our troops to war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Both parties used the filibuster as a cheap way to thwart the executive branch, and both parties even met to hammer out a compromise so they would be able to use the cloture process as a de-facto filibuster in the future.
Both support the massive confiscation and wasting of our tax dollars.
Both support, for the most part, the war on drugs.
Both supported NAFTA and all of the other so-called “free trade” agreements that only served to gut the American workforce and erode our national sovereignity.
Just because they pretend to be on polar opposites every election year doesn’t mean they really are. They’re simply trying to get themselves elected, and the American public buys it, thinking that there are real differences at play.
As George Carlin was fond of saying, “Bull-fucking-shit!”
Words of Wisdom:
Rest in peace, George. A shame you didn’t live to see the final freak show.
RUSH HOUR GOING INTO LOS ANGELES 3 PM, FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2009:
RUSH HOUR GOING INTO BUFFALO, WYOMING 9 AM, MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2009:
I’ve always been very anti-authority, since I was a little kid, got in trouble arguing with teachers, scout masters, etc. I basically voted Democrat until a few years ago because I didn’t understand politics, and thought that liberals were compassionate and conservatives were selfish.
My road to libertarian had a lot to do with my road to Wyoming. My wife and I had wanted to move out of California since soon after we met, but it had more to do with not having neighbors than anything in specific.
Then we bought a gun, and I bought some gun and legal books, one was “You and the Police”, that was a big influence. I’d never encountered anything by a non-leftie non-criminal that told you how to stay out of the way of the police. It kind of blew my mind. That book was also the first place I ever heard of legal open carry….I had no idea such a thing existed. At that time I was going nuts with the thought that I couldn’t get a carry permit in Los Angeles, and Wyoming was on our short list of states we wanted to move to…..(It was Washington, New Hampshire, West Virginia, Wyoming and Idaho, in no special order at that time).
I finished “You and the Police” in one night, got on this forum that night, and nine months later we were living in Casper.
we’ve lived here seven months now and LOVE IT! And I got my carry permit last week, but it was a little anti-climatic after open carrying so much!
I guess there were a lot of influences….my Republican/libertarian wife, my Republican dad, my Goldwater Republican father-in-law, Boston, this board, the Free State Project (NH) board, and just “if you’re young and not a liberal, you have no heart. If you’re middle-aged and not conservative, you have no brain.”
I am registered Libertarian Party, but vacillate between Republican, libertarian, minarchist and anarchist, depending on my mood (and how much Fox News is irking me that day.)
And there’s more on the spoken word thing called “Letter to a Young Me” on the Right Arm of Wyoming CD. It’s me reading a chapter from this book I wrote: http://www.lifeamp.org
I know that when I mention politics, some say “It’s all useless, all politicians are snakes”, but when I read older things by those people, some of those same people were involved in politics. Maybe I’ll get to where they are in a few years, but it’s new and hopeful to me now.
I got involved with the Republican party at a pretty hopeless time, and a couple months later, a Rep took Ted Kennedy’s seat, then all this cool stuff happening in the Wyoming state Gov, I feel excited about it.
Last week at CPAC, much to my delight, some little prick from California named Ryan Sorba got himself un-welcomed. I couldn’t be happier.
The back story. Last year, a number of Log Cabin Republicans split from the group and formed GOProud. Apparently, LCR was too liberal, too Washington establishment. Personally, I think gay Republicans are gluttons for punishment, but hey, that’s just me.
It seems that GOProud was invited to be a part of CPAC, and initially, many other participants threatened to back out. However, they didn’t, and all was going well until this douchebag Ryan Sorba took the podium and began trashing CPAC and going off on his silly rant about natural law. Look at his face. Go on. Look at that smug little kisser. Don’t you just want to punch him repeatedly? Now, I am not advocating that anyone do it, but oh does he have a punchable, arrogant puss.
What surprised me, though, is that CPAC booed him off the stage. I expected perhaps a tepid response, or nervous clapping, but no, they took him down, and it’s likely he won’t come back next year. It’s a faint glimmer of hope that perhaps some mainstream conservatives are getting over their tendency to reject anything LGBT. It’s not much, but it’s a start.
This slick piece, created by WorldNet Daily contributor Jason Mitchell (also known as ‘Molotov Mitch’) has created a bit of a stir. I can’t see why, I mean, he’s only coming out in support of a bill currently pending in Uganda’s parliament that would make homosexuality a capital offense. He seems irked that many people, including thousands of Christians, have called upon American religious and political leaders to condemn the people pushing this bill. If gay Ugandans don’t like the new law, should it take effect, they can just leave.
This bill, commonly referred to as the “Kill the Gays” bill, would make certain gay sex acts punishable by death and others by life imprisonment. It would also require Ugandans who know a gay person to report them to the police. Failure to do so will land them in jail. Perhaps Ugandans can leave, but where will they go? Africa is the New Christian Experiment, with Catholics on one side promoting starvation, famine, and AIDS by preaching against condoms and borth control, and Evangelicals pushing for draconian laws against homosexuality and agreeing, for once, with the Catholics on doing away with condoms. Christians have been fucking over Africa for centuries. Maybe King Mwanga II was right.
Who was King Mwanga? According to Mitchell, he was a “Sodomite King” who passed a law that required any male he desired to yield to his sexual advances. There is no evidence that King Mwanga II was a homosexual or that he instituted such a law. In my readings on the subject, only Mitchell makes the claim. According to his summary on Wikipedia, he was a polygamist who had sixteen wives with whom he fathered seven sons and four daughters. While he might have enjoyed the company of men on the side, the claim that he was a “Sodomite” is ridiculous on it’s face. Mwanga II did, in fact, have 22 Catholic missionaries burned at the stake, but not because they refused his charming propositions. He had them killed because they had converted to Catholicism and wouldn’t renounce their new faith. These men became known as the Uganda Martyrs, but they died for their religious beliefs, not because they wouldn’t play with the king’s royal sceptre. Later in life, after being deposed and exiled to the Seychelles, Mwanga became an Anglican and spent his final days as a Christian man.
Mitchell also lies about the Founding Fathers, claiming they made homosexuality a capital offense, yet he only cites two examples where anything close to this was enforced. “Anti-buggery laws” were a default under English Common Law. This isn’t really a stretch. To say that they actively persecuted homosexuals, however, is. Very simply, homosexuality wasn’t defined as an orientation or attraction until 100 years after the Republic was founded. Of course, homosexuality existed- Washington did have a soldier drummed out. It didn’t stop him from having Baron Friederich von Steuben, a Prussian General and alleged lover of young boys, come and whip the Continental Army into shape. Without von Steuben, it’s likely the Revolutionary War would have been lost.
He ends his slick propaganda piece with a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr, saying that “the moral arm of the universe is long, but it bends towards justice”. I don’t think Mitchell understands the context of that quote, but then again, he deliberately mischaracterized and outright falsified so much else in is video editorial, I don’t think one more lie will matter.
ANGRY PEASANT RECORDS will send CDs FREE to active military at US/ APO/FPO address. Will send to the first 70 who write us. (NO FAKERS. REMEMBER, STOLEN VALOR IS A CRIME AND WE WILL CHECK!)
Sending these free to our troops is our small way of saying THANK YOU!
YOU GET: TWO (yes, 2!) copies of the CD of feisty libertarian gun-nut punk rock/industrial music, CLING TO OUR GUNS by Right Arm of Wyoming. Check out the music at www.rightarmofwyoming.
Extra copy of the CD is to “spread the love”, makes a perfect gift for that leftie relative who needs some modern “school house rock” to educate them on the error of their ways!
STYLE: PUNK ROCK, HARDCORE PUNK ROCK, INDUSTRIAL ROCK, ROCK ‘N” ROLL
SONG LISTING:
1. GET OFF MY PROPERTY!
2. MY GUN KEEPS YOU HONEST
3. REDISTRIBUTION OF THEFT
4. GOVERNMENT IS A COLLECTIVE HALLUCINATION
5. GUN CONTROL GETS WOMEN RAPED
6. LIBERTY IN SHARDS
7. FREAKY LIBERAL MAMMAL SEX
8. FAKIN’ THE RACE CARD
9. SINGLE CRACKLING BLUE FLASH
10. WE ARE THE GOOD GUYS!
11. US Bill of Rights (read by Mrs. Dean)
12. LETTER TO A YOUNG ME (SPOKEN)
13. MY GUN KEEPS YOU HONEST – CLEAN VERSION FOR RADIO
REVIEWS:
—”Fox News – the band” – Bridge Nine punk forums
—”As refreshing as a gunshot to the head…” – children’s book author Eric B. Anderson
—”You rule! I listened to your CD. It’s AWESOME!” –Pat Kim (head honcho at ConservativePunk.com)
—”WOW, you do not pull any punches. Great! The movement needs music which will strike a cord with all different kinds of people. Thanks for all you are doing to preserve our freedoms, liberty and culture.”
– Patriotic singer Lloyd Marcus
—”I threw up watching this crap. Talk about trying to indoctrinate! Pure propaganda set to music.”
–Some Michael Moore fan, commenting about Right Arm of Wyoming on YouTube
CD is factory glass mastered (not burned at home), and packaged in nice cardboard sleeve with four-color printing.
Alaska Governor Sean Parnell is proposing a bill that will pay for a students schooling depending on grades (A=%100, B= %75, C=%50). I think this is bullshit. No one has the right to make you pay for another person’s college. And now while this is probably paid for by taxes from the oil companies and other corporation and not individuals, it’s still wrong. Taxation is theft, whether by a mugger in the street or a politician in DC. And what is a corporation but a group of individuals.
And the price of this?:
Parnell is proposing to pay for it by carving out $400 million of the state’s $8 billion Constitutional Budget Reserve Fund savings account as its own separate endowment, saying interest and investment profits from that would be used to pay for the scholarships. State Education Commissioner Larry LeDoux said it’s not clear how much the program would cost the state each year but he figures $20 million could be available annually for covering the costs of the scholarship program.
I would much rather struggle to pay for college and live off of ramen and live on a couch through my schooling than make others pay for my college.
My beloved Taurus 605 snub-nose revolver failed the other day. Really bummed me out, I had a “relationship” with that gun, and was counting on it if I needed it to save my life. I carried it everywhere.
My Taurus jammed while shooting .38 special plus P ammo. I got the spent shells out, but the gun won’t close easily now, and you can barely pull the trigger.
Fortunately, Taurus guns covered by a lifetime guarantee, not just lifetime of the owner, but the life of the GUN, so even if you buy one second-hand, it’s still covered.
UPDATE, ONE MONTH LATER: Got it back from Taurus, 4 weeks to the day after sending it in, it’s now working better than ever.
I’ll carry my S&W 908 semi-auto until I get it back (could take Taurus a few months, I’ve heard) but I am going to ALWAYS carry at least the mouse gun (Ruger .380 LCP) as a backup. What if I’d needed the Taurus in a life-and-death situation and it failed, and I had no backup?
I got the gun new, and have fired maybe 1000 rd through it over a few months. Mostly .357, some .38.
FWIW, the brand of ammo I was firing when it jammed was Blazer, but I don’t think it’s an ammo issue. Those rounds have a lot less power than the .357s I usually use.
WHY REVOLVERS?
Someone asked me “why do people still buy revolvers”?
People buy revolvers for the reason people still buy hammers. Because it may be an old design, but they work (despite my exception, which is so rare it proves the rule).
They fail less than most semi-autos, they’re cheaper.
They’re actually great guns for people with no experience with guns. If you ever buy a gun for someone, like a girlfriend or wife, who’s willing to carry a gun, but not willing to really become a “gun person”, a revolver is great. No safety to forget to turn off, not mag disconnect to accidentally hit, just point, and pull trigger. The trigger is so hard it acts as a safety, but you can also cock the trigger with your thumb to get a shorter trigger pull. (Which also has the psychological effect on whoever you’re pointing it at,….think Dirty Harry).
And why snubbies? A .357 revolver is the most power you can pack in the smallest form. Someone described a .357 snubbie as being like the “Noisy Cricket” gun from Men in Black.
And Snubbies can be fired from inside the pocket if need be. A semi-auto, not so much, because the slide has to move. Also, revolvers do not engage a spring until you pull the trigger. You could probably leave a loaded revolver in a drawer for half a century, and it would still work when you pulled the trigger. A loaded semi-auto with a bullet in the chamber would probably seize up or the spring would break in that amount of time.
Plus all revolvers look and feel cool and retro, and have a lot of history. They were the first usable multi-shot handguns. “God mad man, but Sam Colt made them equal.”
Revolvers are much less affected by dust and dirt, require less cleaning and oiling, and are much easier to clean. (for what it’s worth, I cleaned mine often, and carried in a holster, which prevents pocket lint from getting in, but many people carry snubbies in a coat pocket. I don’t recommend that, for dirt, but also because in a holster, you KNOW what position it’s going to be in when you need to grab for it in an adrenaline situation.)
I’m psyched today. My concealed carry permit is waiting for me to pick up at the sheriff’’s office . Yay! I’ve wanted one for two years and more or less moved to Wyoming so I could get one!
Pro-Liberty legislation on Guns & Property Rights proposed by GOP legislators
by Michael W. Dean, Wyoming
Some interesting things going on here in the Rocky Mountain West…
There are three gun-rights bills going before the Wyoming legislature this month (as extra bills in a budget-only session), don’t know that they will pass, one will probably get tabled and considered later. two are 10th Amendment bills that would allow guns made and used only in the state to not come under federal purview (circumventing the Interstate Commerce Clause), but unlike the Montana bill, one of these actually allows the state to prosecute federal agents who violate it.
The other bill would allow Wyoming non-felons to carry a gun concealed without a permit, like Alaska and Vermont.
CHEYENNE — A proposal that would allow people in Wyoming to carry concealed weapons without permits passed an initial legislative hurdle on Thursday.
If the bill passes, Wyoming would become only the third state in the nation, after Vermont and Alaska, to allow conceal-carry without a permit.
Under House Bill 113, the only people not allowed to carry concealed weapons in the state would be people under the age of 21, convicted felons, those convicted of drug-related charges, alcoholics, those with physical disabilities that impair their ability to handle firearms, and people who have lived in the state less than six months.
Currently, Wyoming residents must apply every five years for concealed weapons permits.
Rep. Lorraine Quarberg, the Thermopolis Republican sponsoring the bill, said the legislation is meant simply to spell out rights that are already guaranteed under the Wyoming Constitution and the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
“I just believe people have the right to protect themselves and defend themselves,” Quarberg said. “And I want to make sure that we put it in statute and people know they can do it.”
There’s also the bill in session now to amend the state constitution to block federal demands that Wyomingites get health insurance if that federal health care debacle somehow passes.
http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2010/Digest/SJ0001.htm
SALT LAKE CITY — Conservative Utah lawmakers (photo of state capitol in SLC) want to spark a U.S. Supreme Court case that could ultimately allow states to develop resource-rich parcels of land that are now off limits where the federal government is the landlord.
The lawmakers said they will attempt to trigger an avalanche of legislation in the West through the use of eminent domain, which governments use to take private property for public use.
More than 60 percent of Utah is owned by the federal government, and policy makers here have long complained that federal ownership hinders their ability to generate tax revenue and adequately fund public schools.
Legislation was introduced in the Utah House on Thursday allowing the use of eminent domain on federal land. The effort has the full support of Republican Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, who would have to defend the law.
I grew up in New England. Southeastern Connecticut to be precise. Winter was always a season of wonder and fascination for me. We always had snow in Winter, and it started around Thanksgiving and went well into March. Somehow, we survived those storms and made it to Summer. Summer was fun, with the beach nearby and all, but I always liked Winter best.
Fast-forward 30 years later. I’m not 7 anymore, I am 37. I live in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Prior to last week, we hadn’t seen a blizzard in 7 years, and in between that, we were pretty light on snowfall amounts. I would even dare to state that my town got more snow Saturday and Wednesday than we got total in the last 7 years since that last hefty storm. Man, did I love not having to go to work. I loved sitting on my ass in front of this computer all day, catching up on a bunch of stuff I had neglected. Tuesday night I sent my other half to the store to pick up some food and candles- just in case the power went out. It didn’t, but it was nice to know they were there. We didn’t have to do squat, and it felt good.
I don’t get people who complain about snow, about winter. These people, to me, think that they’re above nature, and they resent being inconvenienced by her whims. It’s true, these kind of storms do disrupt our everyday routines and interrupt our flow, but this is a valuable lesson to learn. We’re nothing- NOTHING- compared to what nature can do to us. George Carlin once mentioned, “The Earth can shake us off like a bad case of fleas”. How right he is, and how arrogant we humans are to think that nature, that our climate, should readjust itself so we can conduct our everyday business. Storms like this remind us of how vulnerable we are, especially if we are not prepared and stocked up to get through long periods of time without electricity or running water, and more importantly, if we’re not armed and ready to defend what is ours should there be a major natural event that renders government unable to maintain order (Katrina anyone?).
I am not a survivalist, but I am thinking, maybe I should be, at least a little bit. It can’t hurt to have things you may need in a pinch, stuff you can collect here and there. Flashlights. Batteries. Blankets. Sterno. Something to start a fire with. Knives and multi-function tools. Water purification tablets. A rifle or a bow, if you’re proficient, to hunt with, and/or compact fishing equipment. A small crank-operated radio. What would happen if, one day, our power grid went out? How would we survive without electricity? What if you live in a city or suburb and the Zombie Apocalype happens and you need to GTFO? Do you have your “bug-out” bag that you can toss in your car and go? Do you have a route to get out of dodge that helps you avoid the tangled masses of traffic that are bound to occur? What if you can’t get out on car, can you get out on motorcycle, bicycle, or foot? Or will you sit there and wait for the government to save you, or worse- for roving gangs to come by and violate you?
Of course, the media will always blow a snowstorm like what we just got out of proportion as if it were the Zombie Apocalypse, but despite their obsessive fearmongering and wolf-crying, we should remember that in the fable of The Boy Who Cried Wolf, one day, the wolf really came.
On a lighter note, the nation’s capital was paralyzed and unable to do business due to these last couple storms. GOOD! We need more storms. The more blizzards we have, the less damage our federal government can do to our liberty.
Last Sunday, I was working around 3 PM, delivering food, when a bolt of inspiration struck me. I heard a melody in my head and I couldn’t get it out, but I knew if I didn’t do something I’d forget it eventually. I’ve lost so many ideas that way. So, I wrote down the first half of the first verse of what would become a new song in less than 24 hours’ time.
“And we march on through the frigid night,
In the shadow of our forefathers,
We brave the Winter’s might.”
I didn’t know if I would keep these at the time, or where the song would go from there, but it was enough so I remembered the melody. When I got home at midnight, I picked up my acoustic and fired up the drum program, and out came this song.
And we march on through the frigid night,
In the shadow of our forefathers,
We brave the Winter’s might
Soldiering across this barren lane
To where we’ll join out kin
And resist the invading warriors of
Christendom, who’re threatening
To destroy our very way of life
Lay siege to the cross
Don’t let them gain upon your ground
Fight to defend our clan
Cut every last one of them down-
Before they kill us all,
And put our women and children
To their swords and burning stakes
And raze our temples and destroy
Our lore, our tales of old
Traditions handed down for eons
From the bards, we were told
We must not let this be our fate
The next day, after mixing Not While I Draw Breath, Jay and I hammered out Heathen’s Lament in about six hours. While lyrically, this sounds like a gung-ho fight song, it’s intended to be a reflection on the history of what happened centuries ago, how vigorously our pre-Christian ancestors fought, and yet could not stem the spread of Christianity. At best, Christianity absorbed some of the heathen customs, holidays, and traditions, at worst, people were killed and the beliefs of our ancestors were stomped out. This song is written from the perspective of those who are marching off to fight to preserve their traditions, their culture, and their gods, who saw Christianity as a threat to their way of life and were willing to do whatever they had to do to stop it. Ultimately, they failed, and were either assimilated into Christendom, killed, or driven far from their ancestral homes and land.
Now that we live in a time of relative safety, we do battle mostly with words and images. We don’t go at each other with swords and axes, or guns for that matter. Instead, we mostly trade verbal slights and barbs. Non-Christians are subject to proselytizing by fervent believers, but that’s nothing new. We’ve learned to deal with that. However, there may be a time when the strife will become physical- maybe not- but the question remains, will we allow history to repeat itself? It probably won’t even be Christianity that threatens this time. Christians in Europe don’t seem to be willing to stand up to Islamists anymore and there aren’t enough Heathens to fight this battle. Even speaking out against Islam in Europe can be considered a hate crime, just ask Geert Wilders. So, basically, the song is saying, keep your swords sharp, your wits about you, and be prepared for anything. You never know when you may have to really fight for what you truly believe in. I sincerely hope and wish for peace and understanding between Christians, Muslims, and those of us who don’t follow any of the Middle Eastern Abrahamic faiths, but I still don’t think we’ve quite reached that level of ecumenicism.
And of course, enjoy the song. For all the layered meanings in the words, it’s a catchy number that’ll have you toe-tapping and singing along.
The most life-changing moments for me have always come by accident, it seems. When I was 15, I told a lie that ended up committing me to buying a drumset and started me on the path to becoming a musician. When I was 30, another flap of my big fat mouth put me in the gym and it’s kept me there, more or less, for the last 7 years. This bout of happenstance, however, was not my doing, at least, not directly, but it came about through my acquaintance with Michael W. Dean.
Michael and I met online at ConservativePunk.com, where our common love for music and passion of political discourse made us friends, at least online friends. When he was writing the first Right Arm of Wyoming album, I offered to send him some drum loops I had created in a program I have. Being a drummer for so long, I tend to try and make programmed drums sound as real as possible. Alas, I had no way of uploading the files to him, as none of the upload sites worked, but all of this was discussed openly on ConPunk.
After the RAW CD Cling to Our Guns was released, Michael would post reviews and comments on ConPunk, both positive and negative. One such post was a review posted on the Bridge Nine forums. The post, titled Fox News- The Band, was a scathing criticism of RAW’s music and themes. One user, however, seemed to have some inside knowledge, which could only have come from them being a lurker on ConPunk. They claimed that I was the drummer for RAW and that I was a “homosexual right-wing Odinist”. Sadly, the post has long since scrolled off the boards, but it did make me call out the person who posted such wrong information about me and RAW on the B9 boards. I also became a poster there as well.
It was shortly thereafter that I saw a post about organizing a compilation CD titled Enough is Enough, to benefit Freedom to Marry, an organization dedicated to promoting marriage equality and fighting anti-gay ballot initiatives. I contacted the organizer, Paul Blest, and offered a Frost Giant song, but none of the existing songs at the time fit topically except for Relic, which was just too long at 9 minutes to be included. So, I decided to record fresh. Initially, the plan was to do a 7 Seconds song called Regress No Way, which was arguably one of the first anti-homophobia songs out there, but the compilation started gaining ground, and soon, a lot of bigger names in punk & hardcore started signing on. I knew then that as much as I love that band, I couldn’t go out there with a 7 Seconds cover. I wanted to make my mark, so I decided to write a new song. It took me a long time to get a song in my head, as I do not do too well when I am forced up against a deadline, but soon enough I had something to work with and I went to my drum program and my trusty Les Paul and wrote it out. What came out of it was something I never imagined.
The song Not While I Draw Breath is probably the most angriest, pissed off, intense and in-your-face Frost Giant song to date. The lyrics deal with standing up to oppression and tyranny, of not caving in and backing down, and with being willing to hurt, suffer, and even die for the sake of your principles. It speaks of defending yourself and not going out meekly without a fight. On one hand, it could refer to the fight for marriage equality and is thus in line with the message of the compilation, but it’s written to be far more universal than that. Complacency, apathy, and willful ignorance abound in music and in pop culture in general. We are easily distracted by trivial things and made to focus on those as if they were important while we’re taken for a ride on the things that really matter. I intend this song to be a wake-up call to anyone that will hear it, but I leave it to the listener to apply it to their own lives however they see fit. I will not tell you what to think or what you should stand for, only that you should think, and that you should stand for something.
Not While I Draw Breath
by Matt Frost, January 2010. All rights reserved.
Will you stand with me
Fight and die if need be
Hold against the hordes until
The last man falls
Will you sacrifice all
You have gained in life
Reject your comfort
For a greater end
Stand together
And never waver
Brave in the face of
Overwhelming odds
For our future,
And our freedom
We unite in
Liberty or death
The evil stirs from its sleep
And no one will be safe from its reach
For we shall fight to be free
And never will we bend our knee
Forever clawing
Fight like a demon
Taking it to
The very bitter end
Swords are drawing
Battle lines forming
Storm clouds are churning
Soon there will be war
The earth will be fed
With blood
And the skies will weep
Unto the dead
Never give up,
Never back down,
We unite in
Liberty or death
Tonight, we lay down our lives
In the path of those who would oppress
And enslave us to their god
And trod us under until we are no more
Not while I draw breath
Will I submit, will I accept
Not while I draw breath
Will I bow down, nor will I live
With empty regrets
Now feel the sting of a thousand swords
Vanquish the hordes drive them away
To the darkness from whence they came
Obliterate they are no more
Overrun them all
Take what is ours.
Crush the wretched enemy
Bring victory
To our hearth and home
I recently asked my friends’ little girl what she wanted to be when she grows up. She said she wanted to be President some day. Both of her parents, liberal Democrats, were standing there, so I asked her, ‘If you were President what would be the first thing you would do? ‘
She replied, ‘I’d give food and houses to all the homeless people.’
Her parents beamed with pride.
‘Wow…what a worthy goal.’ I told her, ‘But you don’t have to wait until you’re President to do that. You can come over to my house and mow the lawn, pull weeds, and sweep my yard, and I’ll pay you $50. Then I’ll take you over to the grocery store where the homeless guy hangs out, and you can give him the $50 to use toward food and a new house. ‘
She thought that over for a few seconds, then she looked me straight in the eye and asked, ‘ Why doesn’t the homeless guy come over and do the work, and you can just pay him the $50? ‘
f I get inspired I may finish these five songs and release as a free download-only five-song EP.
I pressed 1000 of the first ten-song CD, sold about 100, which made me break even, but sales have gone down since I put it online. But I don’t want to NOT put it online, everything always gets more downloads than sales.
And it’s a lot of work to mail CDs around, and most people burn ‘em to MP3s these days anyway. And I like the immediacy of just doing it and getting it out there. And I’m not doing this for money. It’s a hobby and a mission.
I like the idea of doing EP-size releases from now on too….why wait nine or 12 months between releases…..just bang out a new EP every four or five months. Might work better from a promotional stance too, more chances to have people blog it….I’d rather release a five-song EP every five months than a ten-song LP-length batch every ten months.
MP3 podcast
Last Sunday, I was working around 3 PM, delivering food, when a bolt of inspiration struck me. I heard a melody in my head and I couldn’t get it out, but I knew if I didn’t do something I’d forget it eventually. I’ve lost so many ideas that way. So, I wrote down the first half of the first verse of what would become a new song in less than 24 hours’ time.
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