Richard Disney

I think so many Americans have become dependent on government largess that they forget the meaning of Independence Day.

The 4th of July is celebrated because after the American Colonies had petitioned the King of England for redress without favorable consideration for many years, the Colonial leaders made the decision that unjust rule was sufficient reason for a People to rule themselves.

Everyone should read the Declaration of Independence at least once a year and this is a great day to do it!

Don’t just read the resounding opening lines– read the whole thing.

Read the damning point-by-point indictment of King George’s gross misrule and petty tyrannies.

“In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.”

(Realize that those were fighting words that could have put the signers of the Declaration to death.)

So definitely enjoy the blessings of liberty! Enjoy the cook-outs, the fireworks, the beer, and the guns too. Remember to shoot the guns before drinking the beer!

Raise a glass or two to the health of our Armed Forces, to the glory of the United States, and damnation to our enemies.

Tags: independenceday, 4th of july, liberty, armed forces, declaration of independence, king george, tyrannies, cook-outs, fireworks, beer, guns, shoot

Audio Link

I appeared on the KUNR Nevada Newsline radio show on June 27th, 2008. At times the debate gets somewhat contentious between myself and former Nevada Assemblywoman Vivian Freeman. Contentious means that it is interesting.

Not only do we discuss the Special Session of the Nevada Legislature but by listening to this broadcast you can hear a distinct comparison between an individualist philosophy of self-reliance and a philosophy of reliance on government.

From the KUNR website:

RENO, NV (2008-06-27) On this edition of Nevada Newsline, Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons has called a special legislative session to address a 250 million dollar shortfall in the state budget.

Just ahead, host Brian Bahouth takes your calls for a discussion about the special session that is just getting underway in Carson City. Our guests are former Nevada lawmaker, Democrat Vivian Freeman and one-time Assembly Candidate, local businessman and political blogger, Republican Richard Disney.

Also this hour, some Nevada Republicans will be holding another state convention in Reno this weekend, they say, to conclude unfinished business from the first state convention that ended in mayhem back in April. The state Republican party does not sanction this weekend’s gathering, but organizers say delegates chosen this weekend will be going to the national convention in September. We’ll be taking your calls for a conversation with long time Republican leader Mike Weber. Enjoy the show.

kunr NewsRoom

Tags: kunr, richard disney, vivian freeman, nevada legislature, special session, brian bahouth, republican, democrat, nevada republicans, convention,

When reading this British news article, I detected some angst from the author that a weapon designed to obliterate terrorists actually works. Also down further in the article, there is a sense that the author would like to see a weapon that is more humane.

War is an ugly thing, it is even uglier when wars are lengthened by “humanitarians”  who make war “humane” enough to endure for longer periods. What is so controversial about a missile that kills the enemy? Wars are virtually impossible to fight let alone win when large segments of a population cringe at killing the enemy.

Article follows:

From Times Online by Michael Smith

British forces in Afghanistan have used one of the world’s most deadly and controversial missiles to fight the Taliban.

Apache attack helicopters have fired the thermobaric weapons against fighters in buildings and caves, to create a pressure wave which sucks the air out of victims, shreds their internal organs and crushes their bodies.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has admitted to the use of the weapons, condemned by human rights groups as “brutal”, on several occasions, including against a cave complex.

The use of the Hellfire AGM-114N weapons has been deemed so successful they will now be fired from RAF Reaper unmanned drones controlled by “pilots” at Creech air force base in Nevada, an MoD spokesman added.

Thermobaric weapons, or vacuum bombs, were first combat-tested by the Soviet Union in Afghanistan in the 1980s and their use by Russia against civilians in Chechnya in the 1990s was condemned worldwide.

The secret decision to buy the Hellfire AGM-114N missiles was made earlier this year following problems attacking Taliban fortified positions.

British Apache pilots complained that standard Hellfire antitank missiles were going straight through buildings and out of the other side. Even when they did explode, there were limited casualties among the Taliban inside, particularly when a building contained a number of rooms.

American Apache pilots overcame the problem in Iraq with the thermobaric Hellfire.The weapons are so controversial that MoD weapons and legal experts spent 18 months debating whether British troops could use them without breaking international law.

Eventually, they decided to get round the ethical problems by redefining the weapons.“We no longer accept the term thermobaric [for the AGM-114N] as there is no internationally agreed definition,” said an MoD spokesman. “We call it an enhanced blast weapon.”

The redefinition has allowed British forces to use the weapons legally, but is undermined by the publicity of their manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, which markets them as thermobaric.

When the American military bought them in 2005, President George W Bush said: “There are going to be some awfully surprised terrorists when the thermobaric Hellfire comes knocking.”Despite the Bush rhetoric, it is unlikely anyone targeted by the missile would know much about it. The laser-guided missile has a warhead packed with fluorinated aluminium powder surrounding a small charge.

When it hits the target, the charge disperses the aluminium powder throughout the target building. The cloud then ignites, causing a massive secondary blast that tears throughout any enclosed space.

The blast creates a vacuum which draws air and debris back in, creating pressure of up to 430lb per sq in. The more heavily the building is protected, the more concentrated the blast.

Click here to read entire article Army ‘vacuum’ missile hits Taliban - Times Online

Tags: vacuummissile, thermobaric missile, enhanced blast weapon, george bush, british army, ministry of defence, taliban

This is a horrible indication of how many Americans are willing to vote away all of our freedoms. Talk about the Wussification of America!

If the federal government starts regulating the Internet “the same way it does radio and television”, say goodbye to free speech in the form of blogging written audio or video content. Say hello to licensing and regulation that will limit Internet content production only to those who can afford the massive fees, compliance and lobbying necessary to have a sanctioned site.

As Ronald Reagan said, “Government is not the solution to our problems…Government IS the problem.”

Article follows:

From Rasmussen Reports

Nearly half of Americans (49%) believe that the federal government should regulate the Internet the same way it does radio and television, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national survey.

Thirty-five percent (35%) disagree, and 16% are undecided.

Americans also believe overwhelmingly — 73% yes to 13% no — that it should be a crime to harass someone on the Internet.

The findings come as a Missouri woman faces an unprecedented federal prosecution for allegedly setting up an account for a fictitious 16-year-old on an online social networking site to harass the 13-year-old daughter of a neighbor.

Click here to read entire article Rasmussen Reports™: The most comprehensive public opinion coverage ever provided for a presidential election.

Tags: internet, free speech, government regulation, blogging, federal regulation of the internet, rasmussen, poll, 49%, americans want regulation, wussification of america

When Major General Jeffrey Hammond said last week, “In a most humble manner, I look into your eyes today and I say ‘Please forgive me and my soldiers,’” he may not have begun a new era of weak American leadership, but he certainly signaled how submissive the U.S. military leadership has become.

MG Hammond supplicated to Sunni tribal sheiks in Iraq because an American soldier used a copy of the Koran (Qur’an) for target practice on a rifle range shared with an Iraqi police unit. General Hammond went further to say that the actions of the American rifleman when shooting the copy of the Islamic holy book were, “nothing more than criminal behavior.” I question what part of shooting any book is criminal unless Hammond is ordering his soldiers to abide by Islamic Sharia law. Was the decision by the U.S. soldier to shoot a Koran an example of bad judgment? Yes. Is shooting an inanimate object, whether it is a book or not, a violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice? Absolutely not!

The Jihadists must be howling with laughter knowing that one of the senior American military leaders in Iraq, dutifully bowed his head in submission to Islam. If a U.S. soldier right after World War 2 had been caught shooting a copy of Mein Kampf, would a new copy of that book have been given to our West German allies with a public apology from a senior general? Hell, no. Mein Kampf was a book that helped drive the National Socialist (Nazi) ideology to attack other countries and commit mass murder against “undesirables.” In the past and now, the Koran drives the Jihadi ideology to attack all countries and advocates mass murder against all “infidels”.

American military generals used to be known around the world for powerful quotations and actions in the face of adversity. When an apology was demanded from Iraqi sheiks, General Hammond should have replied using a pithy remark similar to the reply Brigadier General McAuliffe gave to the Nazis demanding his surrender at Bastogne…”NUTS!” If Hammond had come up with a strong reply he may have gone down in history as another steadfast American General who kicked ass and took names. Instead, General Hammond will be remembered as “The American General who begged forgiveness.”

The motto of the 4th Infantry Division, which MG Hammond commands, is “Steadfast and Loyal”. Hammond has given the impression that the motto includes being steadfast and loyal to Islamic Sharia Law. Islam means “submission” and the Islamic leadership must love the image of an American General submitting to Islamic sensibilities.

MG Hammond’s last foray into national news was when he chided a large group of junior officers at Fort Hood for having the audacity to agree with an article written by Lieutenant Colonel Paul Yingling called, “A failure in generalship.” By chiding the junior officers and telling them in essence that nobody can judge a general except other generals, Hammond was proving LTC Yingling’s point. Now with MG Hammond’s supplication to Sharia Law, Yinglings points are being proven further.

President W Bush gave a speech in Israel a few days back where Bush said,

“There are good and decent people who cannot fathom the darkness in these men and try to explain away their words. It’s natural, but it is deadly wrong. As witnesses to evil in the past, we carry a solemn responsibility to take these words seriously. Some seem to believe that we should negotiate with the terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along. We have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: ‘Lord, if I could only have talked to Hitler, all this might have been avoided.’ We have an obligation to call this what it is – the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history.”

In response to Bush’s comments, Presidential Candidate Barack Obama took offense at the comments even though Obama wasn’t mentioned by name. In fact Obama was so forceful in his denunciation of Bush’s words it seemed that Obama took ownership of the appeasement position and felt a great need to defend it. It is indicative when Obama and other Democrats are so touchy when a general reference to appeasement is made during a Presidential speech. As Shakespeare might have put it, “…[Obama] doth protest too much, methinks.”

After Mitt Romney announced his pull out of the 2008 Presidential Race at CPAC 2008, the only viable candidate left standing is Senator John McCain. In what state does this leave the Republican Party? Unfortunately both the Democratic and Republican parties continue their march away from limited government and individual liberty and toward growing government reach and individual dependence on the Federal Government.

Unlike when Ronald Reagan communicated individualist conservative values to lead many Democratic voters to vote for him, John McCain embodies the movement of the Republican Party to embrace more Collectivist notions in hopes that they can outbid the Democrats in the purchase of votes from constituencies that think it desirable to become more dependent on Government largess. As the saying goes, “Any government big enough to give you everything is big enough to take everything away.” A growing number of Americans now falsely perceive their rights to stem from what Government chooses to let them have rather than being “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights” as recognized by the Declaration of Independence.

As the two dominant American political parties move toward competition as to which party can spend more taxpayer dollars for more pork dumped on more voters, what is a defender of Constitutionally limited government and individual liberties to do?

Hat Tip: Tom Kovach at Military.com

I did not know until today that Senator John McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone. I lived in the Republic of Panama for over 3 years while in the U.S. Army. Interestingly, I was just talking with a friend about the Panama Canal and how the Panama Canal Zone used to be a possession of the United States like American Samoa, Guam, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are today. An interesting question is raised by an article over at Military.com. Is a Puerto Rican or a Guamanian eligible to be President of the United States? If John McCain wins and is inaugurated as President the answer would be yes because the exact same circumstances apply.

Is someone born in a possession of the United States considered a “natural born citizen“ as defined by the U.S. Constitution? John McCain has not been known as a strict interpreter of the Constitution especially in lending his name and efforts to the McCain-Feingold legislation which restricts political speech prior to elections of all things. What part of “Congress shall make no law…” does McCain not understand? Senator McCain’s ability to bend or ignore the Constitution makes more sense relative to his citizenship status and his run for U.S. President.

According the Constitution, there are only three requirements for an individual to be President of the United States. The Constitution says:

No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty five years, and been fourteen Years a resident within the United States.

Although there is no doubt that John McCain is a citizen of the United States, the question is if he is a “natural born citizen” and eligible to be President of the United States. McCain is only the third person in the history of the United States where the citizenship question has applied. Prior to John McCain only Barry Goldwater who ran for President in 1964 (born in Arizona while it was still a U.S. Territory) and George Romney who ran in 1968 (born in Mexico to U.S. parents) have prompted the question of natural born citizen status and eligibility for the Presidency.

During the current Presidential primary (or the 2000 primary) I had heard no mention of the McCain eligibility issue until now. The litigious nature of past Democrat Presidential candidates (like Gore in 2000) should make one have no doubt that if McCain ends up winning the general election there will be a motion made to the Supreme Court as to McCain’s eligibility to hold the Presidential (or even Vice-Presidential) office. It would be very disturbing indeed to see a Democratic victory for the Presidency by the Democrats successfully proving the winner ineligible in court.

It is easy to see yet another reason for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to endorse John McCain because of Schwarzenegger’s own naturalized citizenship status and his reported desire to seek the Presidency in the future.

Newt Gingrich coined the phrase, “Real change means REAL CHANGE!” In this video that is just over one minute long, Newt challenges President Bush not to wait until the next election for change but to announce changes to be accomplished in his upcoming State of the Union speech.

This video produced in 1952 uses less animation and more live action to show how electrical power and freedom are linked. This video shows how many advances in technology that were achieved during the life of a 75 year old man in 1952. A “house of the future” is shown from a 1952 perspective and I find it very interesting. My favorite quote is, “We are not a nation of destroyers. We are a nation of builders!” That is a true statement. Unfortunately there are many Americans born and raised who would ridicule this video and deny its point of view. If you love America, you will love this video.

If you don’t love America, this video will make you arrogantly laugh or get angry. Detractors of the United States want the U.S. weak and “wussified”.

One of the main goals of Environmental Collectivists is to shut down the motor of the world through ignorance and paranoia about the environment. To shut down the motor of the world the United States must be weak. For those who think the United States is bad or repressive, consider this: Millions of people would not risk their lives to get into the U.S. illegally if it were as bad as U.S. detractors say it is.