The NYPD and our nation's police...

California used to be considered a national trendsetter. Let some cultural innovation catch on out there and supposedly it was only a matter of time before the required thought processes traveled north and east. It may still be that way for many things, I sure hope not.

However other states & cities are also harbringers of things to come. One of them (IMHO) would be NYC. For those of you who detest the Yankees in general and inhabitants of the Big Apple in particular, my condolences. It is what it is.

So that may be why so much attention is currently being paid to the strife between Mayor DeBlasio and the NYPD. If a grand jury verdict for a case like the death of Garner and the following chaos happened in Seattle would anyone pay as much attention? Methinks not.

So when the cops openly defy Hizzoner at a funeral by turning their backs to him; it gets a lot of attention. It seems folks are shocked, shocked I tell you that the rank and file don't appreciate the recent comments made about them.

Imagine, in an occupation where threats to life are to be expected (http://dnainfo.com/new-york/20141231/civic-center/nypd-investigating-threats-kill-officers-on-new-years-eve-sources-say)
the lowly badge wearer expects support from his supervisors.

Obviously it's the fault of the police themselves, they should know their place (http://thefederalist.com/2014/12/31/the-nypds-revolt-is-a-direct-threat-to-democracy/) lest they put us all on the road to Third World anarchy. Noted. Never mind that this sort of threat to the police is spreading (http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/12/31/one-look-at-the-graffiti-image-scrawled-near-a-police-station-and-its-clear-why-officers-are-so-upset/).

All the tongue-in-cheek commentary aside, this blowback by the police was to be expected. Did everyone believe they would meekly go their way, bowing heads in shame whenever some wingnut on the street started screaming, "Racist cops!"?

I believe they've had enough, not just in NYC but all over the nation. In the Big Apple they're starting to NOT enforce the laws. Who can blame them? They'll get paid regardless and if the higher ups are going to swing at them like a bunch of kids at a pinata why stick their necks out? Why put themselves in the line of verbal abuse?

The consequence of this will be the spread of crime throughout the land. As New York goes, so goes the nation.

Stock up on ammo, go to the range more often. Be aware of your surroundings at all times.

Welcome to the 21st century version of America.

Dissing the cops and consequences thereof.

Watching the steady parade of race hustlers run their yaps about Ferguson and NYC brings to mind the 70's and the hollow military we had then.

For anyone reading this who might be unfamiliar with the term, "hollow military" refers to the post Viet Nam military. It was when the armed forces were often held up for contempt and ridicule in popular entertainment, the MSM and even on the floors of Congress, where one Representative who was pushing for reduction in military pay & benefits contemptuously opined, "...they can vote with their feet if they don't like it." when told of the inevitable detriment to morale his actions would have.

"Vote with their feet" is exactly what many good men did back in those days. Whether they couldn't support their families properly, didn't like being treated as second class citizens or they just got fed up with being portrayed in a bad light, many just left. Some of them ended their service well after the ten year mark, the point at which it's often assumed if you go past it you're making the service a career.

Consequently we had undermanned boats which often had crew members that were in the Navy because they couldn't cut the mustard in civilian life. There weren't TOO many men like that, just more than we'd had in times immediately prior and after that interesting decade. In many minds there was the feeling if war broke out we'd be getting our butts kicked from here till breakfast until a draft was instituted and the nation played "catch up" as had happened initially after Pearl Harbor was bombed.

So how does this tie into the denigration of our nation's police in general and specific spots like Ferguson & NYC in particular? Stay with me please, I'll try explaining.

If our nation's police keep getting slammed you can bet there will eventually be an exodus of a lot of qualified men and women. Their places will be filled all too often (after the recruiting standards are lowered) by less than optimum candidates. There will also be a fair number of police departments undermanned and it won't be coincidence that they'll be the ones in the worst areas experiencing crime.

Therefore crime will increase, John & Joan Q. Public will avail themselves of their 2nd Amendment rights, corruption will increase with the attendant increase in bad press from the MSM, vigilante committees will begin cropping up in various hot spots.

We'll either get a national police force (not a good idea, I'll explain in a bit) or we'll descend into permanent chaos, much like out national neighbor to the immediate south of the border.

The idea of a national police force, controlled from D.C. would be bad due to a few factors: A) With such an entity local problems don't get solved locally, they get taken care of by some desk jockey hundreds of miles away from the problem. How effective has that ever proven in other areas? B) Inevitably the members of a national force will be shuffled around, the idea of a local cop who grew up in the same part of the state he presently works in will die off. Along with the end of that locally rooted cop goes a lot of empathy on both his part and that of the local populace for him. C) A national police force is just a bit too much like an occupying army, for proof of that look to Spain under Franco when the Guardia Civil kept firm control of the nation. It wasn't pleasant, at least according to the locals I spoke with at that time.

So it's time for the American people to take a collective deep breath, step back a bit and think of where we're heading. It's time to shut down the professional scaremongers that fan the fires of popular indignation every time some dumbass commits suicide by cop.

Because unlike a "hollow military" where all problems with it are a bit removed from the public eye, a nationwide plague of "hollow police departments" will have immediate and very evident effects.

And it won't be pretty.

Stupidity is a truly bottomless pit.

Right now our nation is freefalling in it: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/08/08/this-dad-was-baffled-after-being-told-his-fourth-grader-brought-a-weapon-to-school-then-they-told-him-what-it-was/

“If you're litigating against nuns, you have probably done something wrong,..."

Ya think? Here's the link: http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/michael-w-chapman/sen-cruz-mr-president-when-did-democratic-party-declare-war-catholic

Just MHO but this won't die an easy death, it's one of many flash points coming to prominence in our nation. Yesterday I was talking to the wife (who routinely suffers through my rants) and noted that many optimists believe in 2016 we'll have a replay of when Reagan trounced Carter. In other words a champion of conservative values will ride a landslide of voter indignation to the Oval Office and we'll see a return to the conservative values now in decline. The sun will come out, birds will chirp and the Millenium will be upon us all.

If only.

Sorry folks, back then the biggest item was how to deal with the USSR, Carter & Co. believed in soft pedaling any differences between us while moving forward in the spirit of detente originally fostered by Gerald Ford. Ronnie Rayguns thought we should stand up to the international bully and face him down. God bless Reagan.

This time around things are considerably different. Our country is fighting over gay marriage, the Affordable Care Act, illegal aliens, gun control, global warming/climate change, the role of the nanny state in our lives, how to deal with followers of the Pedophile Prophet  and probably a few more I can't bring immediately to mind.

We're divided on so many topics and if a strong conservative such as Cruz gets placed in the White House, we can expect a backlash of Biblical proportions from the left side of the aisle. It won't be a redux of Reagan/Carter, it'll fall along the lines of another Civil War.

What led us into this diatribe was a visit by the wife and I to the local range, something we haven't done together for quite some time (FWIW she cleaned my clock, I gotta get out more). Anyway, the upshot of the rant was my warning her she ought to get a CHL and start packing some heat before the 2016 election. IMO the shit will hit the fan shortly after Election Day.

Will the braclets have yellow star pendants too?

This is just off the charts stupid: http://freebeacon.com/issues/holder-we-want-to-explore-gun-tracking-bracelets/

It's scary too.

Full disclosure time: I actually think some time should be spent on a national debate regarding gun control. There, I said it. Now grab the pitchforks and torches, I'll be waiting.

However in my own defense I'd like to add that several years ago I gave up advocating for any exploration into the merits of gun control. This was because there is no possibility of finding common ground between the wingnuts driving the issue. On the left there are fools who faint if a six year old points a finger at someone and yells "BANG!" while on the right the counterparts of those fools thinks it's perfectly okey-dokey to have your very own ICBM in the back yard.

When I gave up advocating for a discussion I went to the "own the ICBM" party. At least they aren't trying to take anything away from anyone!

So about those bracelets.

Hey, we're proven geniuses at demonizing whoever might be out of favor at the moment. Look at cigarette smoking, it's gone from being considered unhealthy to downright evil & immoral. "Back in the day" having a good smoke was considered relaxing. Even Rudyard Kipling thought more highly of his cigars than a woman: http://www.bartleby.com/364/31.html . Now you half expect the smell of fire and brimstone when someone indulges in a still highly legal activity.

Back to the main topic.

I don't want to be tracked via a bracelet or any other device. I don't want the government to know whenever I might squeeze off a few rounds. I want the government out of my life, period.

Ya know how the German Nazis knew with unerring efficiency who was Jewish? They had highly detailed census data to rely upon. Census data taken in 1934 with the full compliance of a docile population. Check it out if you don't believe me:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_and_the_Holocaust

So yeah, giving the government any more information about me or my actions is scary. In plain unadorned English: FUCK 'EM!!! ( so much for my resolution to clean up the trash talk )

Thanks for listening, God's will be done.

Tinfoil hat time?

So let me see if I understand some recent stories. The DOJ has decided that minority students can't be disciplined in the same manner as their white classmates. The IRS will insure employers don't fire their workers in order to more easily comply with the Affordable Care Act. The DOJ will now recognize all same sex weddings in every state (all 57?) regardless of what local law may proscribe. The head of that same DOJ is now pushing for ex felons to be given the right to vote. The DHS is currently in the market for 141,000 rounds of sniper quality ammo (and it's damn depressing when Alex Jones is accurately covering such a story). The Ohio National Guard recently conducted training under a scenario where right-wing terrorists were the designated foe. Let's not forget the DOD school for the military's EO program has been caught promulgating the notion that conservative Christians and their values are not to be tolerated.

Another way to see it is that the Feds are completely taking over our kids' education and morphing it into genuine propaganda (while all students will be equal some will be more equal than others). The private market place is coming under complete government control. The voter base for our current regime will be expanded by any means possible (I haven't even mentioned pandering to the illegal immigrants). Our government is conditioning the military into a mindset of unquestioning animosity towards traditional values at the same time their prepping for war against the civilian community at large (if you think G.I. Joe will conscientiously refer to the copy of the Constitution he carries in his backpack, think again. Our troops are just as ignorant as their civilian counterparts, after all they DID attend the same schools.).

Did I miss any big ticket items? Am I misstating anything here?

Tell me again how things will magically turn around in 2016 and I'll tell you how I doubt it. Tell me again how we can't possibly be seeing the groundwork laid for the declaration of martial law. Keep telling me and as God is my witness, I hope you'll be right.

Because right now I've a feeling we're all in for a taste of Hell on Earth.

God's will be done, may He have mercy upon us all.

School confiscates toy soldiers on cupcakes.

Here's the link: http://radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes/top-stories/school-confiscates-cupcakes-decorated-with-toy-soldiers.html

Just when you think it can't get nuttier, it does.

We already have gun registration in effect...

I've thought of getting a concealed carry permit, just to keep things tidy and legal. Texas is pretty lax on carrying firearms in the car, you can always claim you're either going to or coming from the range and that's supposedly good enough as long as your weapons are properly stored while driving. However I'm a follow-the-rules type and figured I should act accordingly.

But lately I've wondered if getting such a permit wouldn't have the same effect as gun registration After all, it's a safe bet you don't go through the hoops of obtaining one unless theres a need to justify carrying a firearm. Therefore anyone having such a permit is a gun owner. It ain't rocket science.

It seems my thinking might be close to the mark: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2013/03/dhs_backdooring_gun_registration_in_missouri.html

The coming face of true gun control.

So the wacko NRA and their fellow travelers are needlessly worried about gun control measures to be passed because we all know our Constitutional rights will never ever be infringed. Right?

Evidently legislators in the Peoples Republic of Washington State didn't get that memo or just don't care about things like the Fourth Amendment: http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2020373291_westneat17xml.html

I'm a political novice so could somebody explain how THE AUTHOR of a bill wouldn't know what in hell was in it? I know ObamaCare is an example (Hey guys, let's vote the sucker in so we'll find out whats in it!) but that thing is an exception. I hope.

All you gun nuts are insane and will be treated accordingly.

With thanks to Adrienne (btw, I'm no longer able to comment on your site unless I sign on for another server. Long story, won't do it).

Here's the link: http://youtu.be/yRW-W97OjO8

As the man in the video says, this has been a favorite trick of the Communists (and before them the Nazis). What constitutes a problem with mental health is always a gray area. Take for example the furor over anorexia that erupted after Karen Carpenter died. It seemed every teen girl worried about her figure was misdiagnosed as anorexic. Question: are there ANY teen girls not obsessed with their figure?

Didn't think so.

So let some new "disorder" receive attention and we gun owners could find ourselves frog marched to the nearest sanitarium. For our own good of course.

Gun control and voter ID....

Maybe it's apples and oranges but if stricter voting laws pose an unnecessary hardship for the poor and racial minorities, wouldn't tighter controls on gun ownership have the possibility of the same?

If not, why not?

Obama the skeet shooter...

Supposedly our Dear Leader has put in some time shooting skeet at Camp David. Whatever. But I have to wonder if the Secret Service detail assigned to him would back up that claim. Personally I think it sounds like pure crap, just some political posturing before he enthusiastically acts to gut the 2nd Amendment. IMO he looks like the sort of uber nerd that would be completely befuddled in handling a firearm, the safest place on the range would be wherever he'd be aiming.

But maybe I'm wrong.

Action, reaction and gun control...

So now we've seen the 23 actions El Presidente plans to take regarding gun control. In case you haven't noticed it yet, he unleashed a tsunami of objections. A lot of folk just ain't happy and are letting it be known long and loud..

Which makes me think it might be just what he wanted.

Remember, this is "for the children". So any objections would risk those voicing them to accusations of being heartless, cruel, uncaring and maybe (important point here) out of touch with reality.

So will the Powers That Be now collectively reach for the smelling salts to counter an attack of the vapors, brought on by such "unexpected and unreasonable" responses to 23 rather mild suggestions?

After they recover, will our political elite declare the reaction only shows the problem is worse than they thought. That there are evidently a LOT of unreasonable and mentally unbalanced people in the general population and they've probably got access so guns. So it's time to act and act decisively, the very safety of the nation is at stake!

Therefore to Hell with these 23 tepid actions and let's prescribe the strong medication called for. I won't go any further with the scenario, this is uncomfortably close to "tin foil hat thinking" as it is.

But you get the point I'm sure.

What got my pea sized brain turning and burning on this was that very strong reaction to Obama's stated goals. On one level it's pretty damned good to hear. But having some fat retired sub sailor get surprised by this is entirely different from what our Dear Leader might have expected. The man has access to all sorts of information sources, was he really NOT expecting the furor that's been unleashed?

Or were he and his handlers actually counting on it?

Stay tuned.

Down the Gun Control Yellow Brick Road we go!

Got this off the site for Fox News, my comments are in red italics:

The following is a list, provided by the White House, of executive actions President Obama plans to take to address gun violence.

1. Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal agencies to make relevant data available to the federal background check system. What in Hell is "relevant" data?

2. Address unnecessary legal barriers, particularly relating to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, that may prevent states from making information available to the background check system. Uh-oh, as I understand it one of the reasons HIPA was ennacted had to do with insuring patient privacy. For example; a recovering alcoholic wouldn't think it's anyones' business what his problems with booze are. Will this be one of the conditions that prohibits folks from purchasing a firearm?

3. Improve incentives for states to share information with the background check system. More loss of privacy to the almighty State.

4. Direct the Attorney General to review categories of individuals prohibited from having a gun to make sure dangerous people are not slipping through the cracks. What are "dangerous" people? I recall a memo from DHS back in 09 that spoke of portential right wing terrorists who were religiously devout, believers in limited government, avidly pro life, or military veterans. Are they "dangerous"?

5. Propose rulemaking to give law enforcement the ability to run a full background check on an individual before returning a seized gun. So if the local cops take my guns for whatever reasons, e.g. argument with the neighbors, with a "promise" to return those firearms after ascertaining it's okay, will they be crawling up my ass with a microscope?

6. Publish a letter from ATF to federally licensed gun dealers providing guidance on how to run background checks for private sellers.

7. Launch a national safe and responsible gun ownership campaign. Boy is THAT one ever vague and open to interpetation, especially on the definition of "responsible".

8. Review safety standards for gun locks and gun safes (Consumer Product Safety Commission).

9. Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal law enforcement to trace guns recovered in criminal investigations. More crawling up our ass with a microscope.

10. Release a DOJ report analyzing information on lost and stolen guns and make it widely available to law enforcement.

11. Nominate an ATF director.

12. Provide law enforcement, first responders, and school officials with proper training for active shooter situations.

13. Maximize enforcement efforts to prevent gun violence and prosecute gun crime. Another vague statement open to LOTS of abuse.

14. Issue a Presidential Memorandum directing the Centers for Disease Control to research the causes and prevention of gun violence. Oh boy! The same group of clowns that routinely hypes problems that are almost non existent in the general population (e.g. anorexia ) to the point that every teen girl on PMS starts complaining they're suffering from them.

15. Direct the Attorney General to issue a report on the availability and most effective use of new gun safety technologies and challenge the private sector to develop innovative technologies.

16. Clarify that the Affordable Care Act does not prohibit doctors asking their patients about guns in their homes. Yeah just what we all need, some quack who safely lives in a gated community determining if our homes are safe enough. I'm thinking particularly of pediatricians here who feel parents need micromanagement on a 24/7 basis.

17. Release a letter to health care providers clarifying that no federal law prohibits them from reporting threats of violence to law enforcement authorities.

18. Provide incentives for schools to hire school resource officers.

19. Develop model emergency response plans for schools, houses of worship and institutions of higher education. Uh-oh, that inclusion of "houses of worship" sends up a red flag.

20. Release a letter to state health officials clarifying the scope of mental health services that Medicaid plans must cover.

21. Finalize regulations clarifying essential health benefits and parity requirements within ACA exchanges.

22. Commit to finalizing mental health parity regulations.

23. Launch a national dialogue led by Secretaries Sebelius and Duncan on mental health. Oh boy! Wonder how soon it will be before owning a gun requires periodic candling of your head by a shrink? .

The whole idea creeps me out.

Don't know if Hitler actually said this, a lot of times dead people are credited with things they'd never even think of uttering while alive (did Jefferson REALLY say all that shit?). But the photo here is creepy enough, especially given what the current occupant of the Oval Office plans for his upcoming news conference. (H/T to Rick from Divine Ripples)

UPDATE: Okay, now the White House is releasing letters received from various kids around the country; http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/wh-releases-letters-little-kids-pleading-gun-control_696099.html

Cue the violins.

This reminds me of how Jimmy Carter would claim his daughter believed the biggest problem in the world was thermonuclear war. Yeah right, most kids at that age (11 at the time) are into things like Nancy Drew and New Kids on the Block (yes, I'm dating myself but you have to go with what you've got. Increasingly it seems all I have is historical trivia).

I mentioned that the Administration would waste no time in getting to wave the bloody shirts of Newtown, CT. This crap is what I had in mind. Just remember that "it's for the children", a tactic that automatically puts naysayers on the defensive trying to prove a negative, i.e. they are NOT uncaring bastards driven solely by a desire to appease Big Business.

It doesn't matter how many polls will show the American people don't believe this horseshit. It won't matter how much of an outcry is heard asking just how any measures under consideration would result in a nutcase NOT going a rampage. We're going to get gun control rammed down our throats, soon after that we'll start hearing stories of active repression by the government at all levels. The vast majority of our fellow countrymen won't give a damn as they'll be too busy debating the merits of the latest contestant on American Idol.

I've said it before and will continue, the United States of America as we knew it is dead. The best thing to do is prepare for a period of totalitarian repression, hoping that it will be brief enough to end by the time our grandchildren have grandkids. Thats how it'll be IMHO.

God's will be done and may He have mercy upon us all.

Persecution doesn't need government involvement...

Here's the hyperlink: http://cnsnews.com/blog/gregory-gwyn-williams-jr/bank-america-freezes-gun-manufacturers-account-company-owner-claims

To put things in perspective, nobody gets whipped or thrown to the lions here. But freezing someone's account "for further review" because your legitimate business doesn't meet with the approval of some wing nut sure does sound like an exercise in bias. Gee, I'm sure the Justice Dept., ACLU, etc are all getting ready to swing into action on this one! Right? Right?

Here are a few silly questions. Does this happen to someone peddling "adult" literature? Does it happen to any abortionists? Does it happen to any "gay friendly" enterprise?

Nope.

Privately owned firearms are fast becoming the current time's equivalent of cigarettes, they're considered absolutely EVIL! Hell, just look at how groups such as the  American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) advocate banning guns in the home. But hey, "it's for the children". Cue the violins.

Here's the deal though. This won't stop just with gun manufacturers, we can expect it to start spilling over onto anyone who promotes traditional values on any level. Hey, theres already been a petition for the White House to label the Catholic Church as a hate group, ya think it's gonna lighten up any time soon?

Not hardly.

We are losing any semblance of a nation that follows it's laws. If you don't believe that, just look at how acts of civil disobedience (formerly known as riots, theft, mob intimidation) are cast in a positive light with no comments to the contrary.

So if you're not satisfied that someone is sufficiently intimidated into the correct mode of thinking just take matters into your own hands. What the hell, in your heart you know you're right!  Any laws on the books to the contrary, you'll be considered justified by popular opinion.

For a moral compass we'll be expected to go with the flow of popular opinion. Since holding to objective truths of any sort is considered "judgmental" any talk of wrongdoing outside current conventional wisdom will be strongly muzzled.

Stand by, it's gonna get a lot worse before it ever gets better. May God's will be done and may He have mercy upon us all.

Bet you saw the movie too....

Just an idle thought regarding guns and their availability....

If wack jobs aren't deterred by the possibility of return fire; why do we never read of Newtown style tragedies at gun ranges, military vet reunions, biker bars, etc.? If it's strictly notoriety they seek, attempting to shoot up those venues would definitely provide that.

Yes, it was a stupid question.

Tipping points....

Here's a recent story from the website of the Washington Post:  The Unapologetic NRA---and what it means.

Let me state from the start that I have no use whatsoever for Wayne LaPierre. I've felt that way ever since the early 90's when I received a letter from the NRA that he'd written talking about "jackbooted thugs of the ATF". Sorry folks, that sort of rhetoric turns me cold. Therefore Hell can freeze before I join the NRA with LaPierre running the show.

But he makes a valid point. Yep, we're encouraged to climb aboard the gun control wagon and completely ignore any inconvenient truths that call the gun grabbers' agenda into question. One of the prime truths is the way violence is touted in our culture. If you don't think movies, music etc. shape acceptance of various behaviors then why do we no longer see someone casually light up a cigarette on the silver screen as we once did? It's been strongly discouraged because none of the ruling elite want to imply cigarette smoking is ever okay.

So if we'll nonchalantly accept that line of reasoning as regards smoking, why not for other behaviors? I'm thinking of violence, casual sex, etc.

So LaPierre is right on that one.

Also, am I the only one that notices a less than neutral tone in the reporting of his speech? Nothing like objectivity, nothing like it at all.

The article is wrong though when it implies we'll only see business as usual regarding gun control. Nope, I'm thinking we HAVE reached a tipping point. Thanks to the involvement of the Fourth Estate in this and other contentious issues of our day, plus a completely selfish mindset in too many fellow Americans. It's set the stage for a lot of change coming down the pike.  A greater push for gun control is one of many.

Those others would include a greater push for acceptance & legalization of gay marriage. Perhaps acceptance is the wrong term, all too often outright endorsement and advocacy is deemed the minimum standard. Other areas will include a greater silence on what our military is doing in the world as it's used to support unsavory characters such as the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. The silence will also cover the cost in the lives of our service members it entails, they'll be treated as expendable assets and nothing more. Another example will involve the further breakdown of parental responsibility and involvement in the lives of minor aged children (over the counter contraceptives sold to teens and abortions minus parental consent are prime examples). We'll here more and more how such practices are endorsed by leading pediatricians and "experts" on children. Any dissenters will be treated as Luddites and Know Nothings. We can also expect euthanasia to be sold as "merciful and necessary" soon. After all, who wants "Granny" to suffer the physical and mental decline inherent in her Golden Years? Better (we'll be told) to kill her off while it's still economically feasible.

These items have been building up steam for a while, now it'll all hit the fan. Nor do I blame Obama, he and his supporters are only figureheads in all of this cultural deterioration.

Our nation as we knew it has died. Trying to get back to where we once were would be like trying to put toothpaste back into the tube it came out of.

What can we do? I recently read of how many traditionally minded folks have turned their backs on national politics in order to concentrate on local issues. Evidently the thought is to work from the ground up. The writer of the story felt this was a mistake, he's wrong.

This is what we have to do, i.e. start with our families and work outward. Face it, that's whats left now that the popular culture has become so filled with rot. We work within our homes and neighborhoods, salvaging what we can and hoping for a rebirth that we'll never live to see.

Not too cheerful, but it is what it is.

God's will be done, may He have mercy on us all.

Reading the tea leaves of our times....

I see membership applications for the NRA have jumped since last week's shooting in CT. There wasn't a similar jump after Columbine and other such tragedies. IMO a lot of people are prepared for an assault on their 2nd Amendment rights, an assault they didn't expect after past incidents. Go figure.