Ron Paul's Conflicted View Of War

Twitter was all a twitter when Ron Paul tweeted about  former SEAL and sniper Chris Kyle's death saying, "Chris Kyle's death seems to confirm that 'he who lives by the sword dies by the sword.' Treating PTSD at a firing range doesn't make sense."

First, I must agree that treating a former soldier suffering with PTSD  at a firing range doesn't make sense! That doesn't make anyone "anti-gun".  It's just common sense.

That being said, if Mr. Paul were anyone else I doubt such a fuss would have been made but rather dismissed except for the rabid few.  He then went to Facebook to clarify what he meant and didn't do well there either with this,  "Unconstitutional  and unnecessary wars have endless unintended consequences.  A policy of non-violence, as Christ preached, would have prevented this and similar tragedies."

Our current President is doing his best to promote a non-violent war policy.  Were it realistic I'd be thrilled.  But it isn't.  In order to have peace no one must to be willing to wage war. You see how well that's working as war, as we speak, is overflowing from the Middle East into North Africa and beyond. Regardless of what Christ, Gandhi or Martin Luther King, Jr. preached, non-violence does not seem to be in the human DNA.

I do understand, however, where Mr. Paul is coming from.  Violence begets violence.  It does.  Just look at the headlines.  I've listened to some veterans saying he is insulting every man and woman who wears the uniform.  I think not. He's decrying war and it's never ending effects.

He is a veteran, he knows about war and he hates it.  I dare say every one of those men and women in uniform also hate it. As should we all.  Not only for what it does to our own people, but also the innocents who are caught up in it through no fault of their own other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

That Mr. Kyle  and his friend had their lives snuffed out in such a manner is truly tragic.  It's also tragic that the shooter was also a military man.  It's also tragic that we need men of such character to put their lives on the line for us; that the world is such that it's necessary. Be thankful that we have such men ~ and women.

It's difficult to express what is truly in your heart in 140 characters and perhaps Mr. Paul would have done better rearranging his wording.  I have no doubt his sympathy toward the families of the deceased is genuine.  What he hates is the fact that they are deceased and the reason why is a consequence of war.  I find no fault in that.

Common Sense And The Gun Debate

The gun control debate has some staying power this time out though I doubt there will be much if any change.  Along with that comes typical over reaction.  I've read of at least two incidences where schools were locked down because some one had a nerf gun.  It's pretty difficult to mistake one of the multi-colored excesses for a real weapon unless there is something on the market I've not yet seen.

This morning I read about a 14 year old high school freshman who was suspended for having a wall paper depicting a rifle on his school issued laptop. According to the rules students were not to upload anything deemed threatening.

He didn't seem to think it was threatening.  He likes guns.  He's thinking about one day joining the military and he found a picture he liked on the Internet.  I decided to see if I could find it and I did on a page offering gun themed wall paper.

I found it interesting that the flag is that of the one time Yugoslavia.  Colorful to be sure. Kind of neat wall paper for a 14 year old.

 I browsed a bit more and found two examples with American flags and wondered if the school officials would find them less offensive.  Not that I think any of them realized what the flag on the one that was chosen represented.

But it isn't the flag of course.  It's the rifle.  Isn't it?  It seems to me we're driving ourselves crazy over symbolism and not getting to the crux of the matter which is the type and capacity of said guns not to mention the mental stability of those who have them.

I have no argument with those who don't think assault rifles are a necessary part of the average gun owners life.  Nor  30 round clips.  A regular automatic clip has somewhere between 7 and 10 shots roughly speaking.  I'm not an expert but from what I've seen anyway.  If you can't hit an intruder before you have to change clips it's a pretty good bet he'll get you.  As for those out to mass murder, well...

The argument about the militia reference in the second amendment has been decided by the courts but I dare say the framers of the Constitution hadn't envisioned an automatic rifle of the sort our military uses today.  Rifles back in those days were single shot and weighed a ton. It has always amazed me how bloody our early wars were considering the amount of time it took to ready a weapon.

More than any of the above, however, are the numbers of those weapons already in circulation.  I equate that with the problem we have with illegal immigrants.  They're already here.  The weapons are already out there.  How on earth do you expect to find them when they are legally owned?  Just like what are you going to do with the 11 million illegals already within our borders?

We're finally at least having some discussions about the latter.  Look how long it has taken?  Since the days of Ronald Reagan when he gave those here at that time amnesty.  Yet we did nothing further and here we are again.

I haven't a clue as to what a remedy might be.  I agree with the background checks.  You can limit the size of magazines but that can be circumvented.  You can give "amnesty" to those who already have "assault" weapons but sell no more.  Is the Constitution written broadly enough to allow that?  Should that be revisited?

The fact remains there are millions of guns "out there" and just where is any ones guess. There's a whole lot more to the problem than background checks and banning certain types of weapons.  Until we look at the entire problem, which is complex and wide reaching, and start addressing each segment, it, like so many other difficult tasks, will continue to be kicked down the road.

At the rate we're going with gun violence, however, we won't have to worry about the kids and grand kids inheriting an insurmountable debt.  There won't be any left!

When Power Goes Unchecked

Living in Idaho, it's not unusual to hear rumors about groups wanting to build their own private compounds. One is planned for the county next door though none of the powers that be are taking it seriously.  Besides, as long as they follow the law there is nothing to prevent it.

Their web site suggests Marxists, Socialists, Liberals and establishment Republicans might not find their ideology compatible.  Wow.  Who does that leave other than the fringe?

It goes on to explain what they stand for, how it will be funded, by a gun manufacturer no less with a factory on the grounds, and what the requirements for residents will be.  One that struck me is that every able bodied "Patriot" 13 or older must qualify on an annual basis with a rifle of his or her choice.  They must be able to hit a man-sized target at 100 yards with 7 out of a possible 10 shots.  They must show the same proficiency with a hand gun at 25 yards plus they must maintain one AR15 with at least 5 magazines and 1000 rounds of ammunition.

Now I realize there are a lot of doomsday groups around the country that have similar plans and I trust some where some one is keeping an eye on all this.  It's ambitious to be sure but some 200 people have already submitted down payments.  They plan to accommodate 3500 to 7000 families.

Who, I wonder, would want to live like that? Obviously some. Then I began thinking about how the President, the one person in government we have little recourse against, is openly defying law.  The latest of course are the "recess" appointments of the NLRB and CFPB officials.  The courts have ruled the appointments illegal and ordered those officials to vacate their jobs and the actions they have taken  to be null and void.  Nothing.  Rather like the State Department officials that are still employed after the Benghazi debacle.

When the President has such contempt for not only the Constitution, but the people, the country has a problem. This President has been pushing the envelope for some time now and I don't want to hear that others have done it too. Two wrongs don't make a right.

There has always been conflict among our ruling parties.  I'd like to say governing, but they no longer do that - they rule by any means necessary. This President is out to totally destroy the Republican party and unfortunately the Republicans are too feckless to ward him off. The new regulations coming out for Obamacare are another example of how he is maneuvering health care to a single payer system. More governmental power over our lives for it will destroy the insurance industry.

He and his minions are trying to reshape more than the health care to a single 'payer' (read party) system.  They are trying to make the government a one party system for perpetuity.

I don't think moving behind two layers of walls and fencing and arming myself to the hilt is the answer.  Change has to come from within.  For those who would have it, they had better get with it.  I am not yet to the point where I believe every Democrat ascribes to Progressive extremism.  I see hope when a Marco Rubio will be pragmatic and defy far right extremism.

We need a lot more like him on both sides to keep the one person who is beholden to no one, who suffers no consequence for his actions, in line. The President.  Or he will no longer be.  He will be a Dictator.  Then those fences and walls may look pretty good.

What's going On In Iran?

When the White House says that a report is not credible you can bet it is.  Especially when it concerns Iran.

According to WND  an explosion occurred within Fordow, one of Iran's most important nuclear sites.  Fourteen North Korean technicians and two military officers are reported to be among the missing.  North Korean technicians?  That's enough to send shivers down my spine.

What exactly happened isn't nearly as important as the fact that it did happen and has been confirmed by the Times of London and German Die Weit.

The site has allegedly been secured and there are fears of initiating a rescue mission from outside due to the possibility of further explosions and the leakage of toxic gases and radiation. Wonderful.  This may save those living on the outside but could well spell doom for the 200 trapped within.

There is certainly a lot of cloak and dagger possibilities here.  It would certainly blow Iran's cover for it's nuclear program and would unveil the collaboration between the North Koreans and the Iranians.  The word from the government is to keep it quiet.

Fortunately, other countries around the world have better intelligence than we do when it comes to what the Middle Eastern rogues are up to.

Let's assume the story is true. Why aren't we hearing about it?  Could we be behind it?  I don't think so.  Could the Israelies?  Possibly.  Disrupting the Iranian nuclear program is high on their priority list.  Could it just be a horrible accident?  Why not? However, we've not offered any assistance which even we usually do in times of disaster.

More likely Jay Carney's statement that we don't find it credible is evidence enough that it is.  The end result will depend on which of the sceanarios is the correct one.  Whichever it is, the business of war has reached out it's ugly tentacles once more and a lot of people who are there because of circumstances not necessarily compliant with their government dictates, face a slow and agonizing death.

Should the Iranians ask for outside aid?  Absolutely.  Will they?  No.  Death to protect their interests  means far more to them than life.  It matters little if it's their allies such as the North Koreans, or their own citizens. Heaven forbid government aims should be relinquished for the good of the people.  We, at least, do know something about how that goes. Unfortunately.

"Our" Gang

It's enough to warm your heart. Seeing the bipartisan "Gang of Eight" come up with some specifics on immigration reform. I honestly didn't think they'd get it done before the President put forward his plan.

 It's especially gratifying to see Democrats Schumer and Durbin as part of the gang because they are in leadership.  Robert Menendez has been around for a long time and Michael Bennet is a welcome new face.

The Republicans have two of their old war horses in McCain and Graham plus young super star Rubio and the Libertarian leaning Jeff Flake.

Wow.  On the Senate side no less!  Do you think we'll ever seen anything similar in the House? Where a Tea Party conservative could sit down with a moderate and work with the progressives?  That will be the day. Well, maybe if the Senate can lead by example...  It's better than leading from behind.

The next challenge will be moving things forward.  Graham has already been accused of doing his part out of political expediency.  He has to face re-election in 2014. Somewhere along the line they are all going to face this accusation, especially when they begin to flesh things out.

Unfortunately political expedience seems to trump what's needed more often than not. I wonder if somewhere along the way these eight have come to realize the voters are sick and tired of the sniping and nit picking and want to something accomplished regardless of political expediency.  One can only hope.

 The Framework is vague in some areas and quite detailed in others.  I hope they will be willing to take it bit by bit rather than all in one fell swoop to get it passed. Hopefully, too, it will end up simple enough that not only will they be able to read it before passing it but that we will too.  A real plus would see an end to monstrous bills that don't become clear until after passage.

For now, however, it's a start.  These gangs have been formed before and then fade away. This is a window of opportunity when the parties have some freedom to stretch without fear of reprisal from the White House. There shouldn't be any in the first place, but Congress is represented as two houses of fear.

Whatever sparked this, hallelujah!  I hope it's habit forming.  I also realize the amount of political courage it has taken. Really. Too bad it's so difficult to ferret out!