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Government Cover-Up of Ammo Buys Implodes

23 March 2013

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The failure on behalf of the federal government to provide any explanation for why the Department of Homeland Security is arming to the teeth with high powered weapons and billions of hollow point bullets, as well as crude efforts by mainstream media mouthpieces to debunk the war-like preparations, have backfired massively, propelling the story to a viral status.

As we reported today, 15 Congressmen have written a letter to the DHS demanding to know why the federal agency is buying so many rounds of ammunition and whether the purchases are part of a deliberate attempt to restrict supply to the American people.

Big Sis has remained silent on the issue, refusing to answer questions from reporters and even from multiple elected representatives, about the ammo buys.

The continued huge orders for weapons and bullets have prompted attendances at gun shows to explode, as gun store owners say they are having to contend with significant national shortages.

Efforts to portray the very real stockpiling by the federal agency as a conspiracy theory have fallen flat on their face, and have only served to further highlight how suspect the DHS’ actions are.

When Media Matters and Raw Story both recently attacked Fox Business host Lou Dobbs for daring to raise the issue on his show, it quickly became clear that neither had any prevailing counter point, and were dismissing the facts only by regurgitating a glib statement of a single DHS official.

Media Matters, which has been documented to be little more than an Obama administration mouthpiece, reported that, “The claim that DHS bought a 1.6 billion bullet stockpile is also misleading,” while simultaneously admitting that “DHS did buy 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition.”

The source of the claim that concerns over the bullet buys are a conspiracy theory or “misleading,” is a February 14 Associated Press report which did not conduct any actual investigation into why the DHS was purchasing the ammo, instead regurgitating a statement from DHS official Peggy Dixon, who claimed the bullets were bought in bulk to save money and were for training purposes only.

Fast And Furious Report Proves Ignorance and Mismanagement of DHS

23 March 2013 / 0 comments

As Homeland Secretary Janet “Big Sis” Napolitano faces mounting pressure to answer for DHS’ large solicitations and purchases of ammunition over the past year, the second of two reports looking at who is to blame in the gunrunning scheme known as Operation Fast and Furious is painting DHS operations in Arizona as inept, ignorant and mismanaged. Of course, top officials in DHS are exonerated, not that we’re surprised, but one has to question that if the Arizona office is all of those things, how much more are the top officials who have been exonerated?

Richard Serrano writes, “Even as they lost scores of illegal firearms in their Fast and Furious operation, federal ATF agents asked their Border Patrol counterparts not to pursue criminal leads or track gun smuggling in southern Arizona so they could follow the firearms themselves, and senior Homeland Security agents ‘complied and the leads were not investigated,’ according to a new Department of Homeland Security inspector general’s report.”

“The report,… also said that a Homeland Security special agent on the border was collaborating with the ATF in Fast and Furious,” Serrano continued, ” but his ‘senior leaders’ in Arizona never read his updates about fundamental flaws with the failed gun tracking operation. Had they done so, Homeland Security officials could have tried to close down the operation before one of their Border Patrol agents, Brian Terry, was killed not far from Tucson.”

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Comment by Gordon Ray Kissinger on March 25, 2013 at 10:05pm

1.6 Billion Bullets By The DHS Numbers

March 25, 2013 By Avg Joe

I keep waiting for someone who knows what they are doing to investigate, look at the numbers and do some simple math. Since no one has, here is what I have been able to come up with based on “what has been reported thus far”. Most government contracting includes statements like, up to, which means that they can request more of an item over the period of the contract, but not the full amount if they don’t need that many. Most of the purchases are for a five year period, which means that they are not getting it all right away.

Since 2004, the number of Federal Agents has increased by about 30-40% to somewhere around 120,000 agents employed under about 70 Federal Departments. It is estimated that about 90,000 of these are under DHS. These are Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs) and include NOAA, SS, FWP, ICE, FPS, ATF, and just about all the alphabet soup entities of the federal government whose primary purpose is enforcement. It is a lot. However, 1.6 Billion rounds divided by 120,000 agents it is still 13,333 rounds per LEO.

Each LEO has to “qualify” at the range with any weapon that they carry on duty, twice a year. The standard qualification includes various shooting positions, magazine changes, and reloads, and hitting targets at various distances. Standard run of the mill street cops carry a side arm, rifle, and shotgun.

One of the departments that were folded into DHS is the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. It was originally under the Treasury Department. It operates four training centers in the United States and at least two outside. A statement by FLETC is that they use around 15 million rounds a year. This ammo is for all Federal Agents under DHS and the LEOs that work for say, the IRS or Social Security. FLETC also provides training for state and local LEOs that are outside of the aforementioned. It is unclear whether the 15 million rounds per year statement includes all of the training centers, or just the main one, in Georgia, a 1600 acre complex with multiple ranges and even a small town to simulate urban warfare, I mean urban LEO scenarios.

So if each of the FLETC locations uses 15 million rounds a year, which is a stretch, and there are at least six that we know of, a conservative estimate for all training using all three weapons, could be as high as 450 million rounds. That leaves approximately 1.2 billion rounds to be distributed to 120,000 LEOs in the field of operation. Or around 10,000 rounds per LEO.

So how much ammo is distributed to each LEO to carry in the field and how much is kept in reserve at each local office? Well we all know that every LEO in the field already has ammo, and each field office already has a stockpile, what are the additional 10,000 rounds per LEO for? That is an additional 2,000 rounds per year over the five year period.

It is still a staggering amount. A typical run of the mill police officer carries a loaded weapon and two magazines on their person, which if it is a high capacity firearm; that is around 45 rounds for the side arm. Probably another 200 rounds exist in the vehicle as immediate resupply. The rifle is usually a short magazine of 20 rounds and there are at least two loaded mags in the vehicle and probably another couple hundred rounds of immediate resupply. The shotgun is going to hold around eight rounds and another six or so with the weapon and another couple of boxes of various type of shotgun ammo, buck shot, slugs, and less lethal rounds in the car, let’s call that a conservative 80 rounds. So the total per officer is going to be around 600 rounds per officer and officer vehicle. That equals a total resupply rate of 3.3 times per year per officer which is a LOT of shooting, given that most LEOs never fire there weapon during their entire career.

Bottom line, the numbers don’t add up anyway you look at them. They simply cannot use that much ammo, nor do they need that much ammo for their normal enforcement activity.

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Comment by Gordon Ray Kissinger on March 25, 2013 at 10:00pm: Critical ammo shortages affect U.S. military stocks

Supply comes from same sources as civilians for training, recreation shooting

by F. Michael Maloof

The surging nationwide demand for popular rounds of ammunition has virtually eliminated the ability to purchase them in any quantity, thereby affecting firearms training and recreational shooting across the country, as well as the supply of ammunition to the U.S. military which relies on commercial manufacturers.

“The small-arms ammunition situation in this country is currently very bad,” said John Farnam, who runs Defense Training International.

DTI provides training in defensive weapons and tactics. As one of the top handgun instructors in the world, Farnam has trained thousands of federal, state and local law enforcement personnel, as well as non-police clients.

He pointed out that such popular rounds as 9mm and .223 calibers (same as NATO 5.56mm) “are virtually unavailable in any kind of quantity.” Both of these rounds are popular for training and are the backbone of what the U.S. military uses.

“The military relies on the retail level for their supply of ammunition and even the military has a problem getting it,” Farnam said.

There are indications that the U.S. military is looking abroad for the components that make up a round.

“Ammo is in waning supply in many parts if the U.S., and [the federal] government is buying all it can get its hands on,” one gun enthusiast told WND. “I recently offered to buy $50,000 worth of once-fired 5.56×45 brass casings from an outfit here in Israel and the answer was ‘No, we have too many buyers.’ Whoa! Stock up while you can,” he warned.

Farnam said the supply of other handgun calibers such as the .45ACP are somewhat more plentiful, but gun shops are heavily rationing purchases to one or two boxes of 50 rounds per box to each person.

Farnam and others also pointed out that people who do reloads are experiencing similar shortages of the elements needed to make a cartridge.

Bullets, brass cartridges, smokeless powder and the primers – elements which comprise the full round – are also hard to find.

Brass cartridges increasingly are becoming a premium since the ingredients that comprise brass, especially copper, are in demand for other uses and are the subject of considerable thefts across the nation due to demand and the lack of supply.

Farnam said that all of these elements, especially the most complex of these components – the primer – similarly is produced by commercial enterprises and their production also is down.

The chronic shortage of components for reloads also is indicative of the limited supply available to commercial producers of bulk ammunition.

He attributes the nationwide run on ammunition to demand stemming from the concerns over limits being sought by gun-control advocates and singles out the Obama administration in particular for pushing this agenda against law-abiding gun owners.

“I have been in the firearms/ammunition distribution business since I left my agency in 1988,” one supplier said, “and I have never seen Americans this desperate to buy anything and everything associated with weapons and effective fighting. The current situation is unprecedented!”

The supplier said that gun, accessory and ammunition manufacturers are ramping up to meet the unprecedented demand but are proceeding cautiously due to the unpredictability of the outcome of current pending legislation and subsequent court decisions.

“No one wants to wake-up one morning, only to discover that he owns a warehouse full of expensive product that has suddenly become illegal,” he said. “So, none of us should expect any species of relief, any time soon!”

Farnam said the situation isn’t going to get any better.

“With the volatile international situation, militaries around the world will continue to demand, and consume, every round of small-arms ammunition that can be produced,” he said. “Jittery government agencies get the rest. We peons get what falls through the cracks!

“In the training business, we are having to moderate ammunition consumption during Courses, as students are unable to get their hands of quantities necessary to expend it at former rates,” he said. “In addition, everyone wants to retain adequate personal stashes, as it is impossible to know when, and to what degree, they can be returned to ‘normal.’”

He also referred to the recent run on ammunition purchases from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security which has accumulated some 1.6 billion rounds which DHS spokesman says is for training of law-enforcement entities which come under the department.

However, rough calculations suggest that despite the training, the DHS would have something like a 24-year supply of ammunition on hand. These purchases are in addition to other law-enforcement equipment for tactical police teams.

In recent days, DHS officials, including Secretary Janet Napolitano, have refused to tell inquiring congressmen why the department needs so much ammunition and tactical equipment, given sequestration in which all U.S. government agencies are to cut back spending.

Because of DHS’ run on ammunition, sources say that it is leaving local law-enforcement agencies “high and dry” in their ability to obtain it for their own use and training.

In some locations, sheriff’s departments are issuing fewer rounds when practicing at the range.

http://www.wnd.com/2013/03/critical-ammo-shortages-affect-u-s-milit...

“The concern over firearms availability and ammunition availability and potentials of gun control certainly has impacted the availability of ammunition purchased locally,” a Hamilton County, Tenn., sheriff’s training coordinator told Fox News.

As with private purchasers, a number of police departments and sheriff’s offices are experiencing a shortage especially in .223 cal. for their AR-15s, thereby limiting training.

Farnam said that the run on supplies isn’t limited to ammunition alone. It also affects virtually all varieties of firearms.

One large Midwest retailer said he’s never seen such a “feeding-frenzy” and never thought such a thing were even possible.

“I’ve watched our entire inventory sell out over the past few weeks, and our pace of resupply doesn’t come close to keeping up,” he said.

In particular, he said virtually all of his Stoner-System rifles, such as AR-15s which take the .223cal, or 5.56mm round, are “now all long-gone!”

Following that were the Kalishnikovs, XCRs, SCARs, FALs, PTRs, M1As – “anything that looks ‘modern military’ and has a detachable box magazine that holds twenty-plus rounds.

“When those racks were empty, Ruger Mini-14s, and M1 Carbines vanished, followed by semi-auto .22 rimfire rifles!” he added.

“After rifles sold out, attention moved to handguns,” he said. “First went high capacity 9mm pistols, followed by all pistols that chamber for .45ACP, then single-column 9mm concealment pistols (then) five-shot snubby revolvers in 38Spl.”

He said that his major retail store is “cleaned out” of 9mm, .45ACP, .223 cal, .308 cal (7.62mm), 12-gauge slugs an 12-gauge buckshot.

“Rifle magazines are all long-gone, as are double-column pistol magazines,” he said.

“If this frenzy ended tomorrow morning,” he said, “it would still be at least two years before our inventory would have any chance of returning to ‘normal.’”

In early March, Farnam said that his survey of major retailers with whom he is in contact and knows personally said that there are some 30-06, some 30-Carbine Gold Dot, some 7.62x54R some .45ACP Gold Dot, three 20-round boxes of 7.62×39.

Law enforcement agencies across the country apparently are rising to the crisis.

“All officers qualified with rifle or slug-shotgun are now carrying them, hot, by sling, everywhere, and on every call,” he said. “Never seen anything like this!”

By “hot,” he meant that in addition to having fully loaded magazines, one round is in the chamber, ready to fire.

Farnam said that such a reaction is not uncommon in this period of crisis.

“Americans, police and non-police alike, are expressing their universal unease by becoming armed, in any way they can,” he said. “We are also openly frustrated with an administration that accuses honest gun-owners who have never committed any kind of crime, with or without a gun, of representing some kind of societal problem, while simultaneously doing nothing about real crimes, except soliciting their votes!”

For personal protection, Farnam has pointed to the need for private citizens to be armed, referring to historical precedent of Germany and Italy in which the citizenry was disarmed, as seen in Great Britain today where it is almost impossible to buy a firearm.

Farnam said it’s best to prepare “as best we can but when you don’t have it, you don’t have it.”

Farnam likes to find memorable comments to make his point, and quoting the Afghan poet Abdul Rahman Pazhwak, Farnam said, “When fools and folly rule the world, the end of man may come as a rude shock, but it can hardly come as a surprise.”

Comment by Gordon Ray Kissinger on March 25, 2013 at 8:37pm: Will Hastily Crafted Mental Health Laws Do More Harm Than Good?

By Stateline.org March 25, 2013 12:27 pm

(AP Photo/Mike Groll)

WASHINGTON -- Little noticed in the tough gun control measures that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo drove through the General Assembly was a provision containing the most expansive language in the United States for keeping gun ownership from people with mental illness.

Most states have laws that remove ownership rights from those a court has involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital. But the New York law makes a court determination unnecessary.

Instead, it requires mental health professionals to tell local officials if they believe a patient is likely to hurt himself or herself or someone else. Police officials would then be authorized to seize guns that person might own. The name of the patient would also be entered into state and national registries to prevent future firearm purchases.

"People who have mental health issues should not have guns," Cuomo said upon passage of the bill in January. "They could hurt themselves. They could hurt other people."

Many blanched at Cuomo's comments even as states across the country struggle to achieve a balance between public safety and the rights of the mentally ill on this issue. To many, Cuomo seemed to suggest that anyone with a mental illness -- a broad swath that includes depression, eating disorders, personality disorders and schizophrenia -- is dangerous even though studies have shown that those with mental illness are only slightly more likely to commit acts of violence than anyone else. Research shows that they are more likely to be victims of violence.

New York was the first state to adopt new gun control measures in the aftermath of the December shooting massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. Thirty-four states and the District of Columbia have laws that restrict the sale of guns to some with mental illness, according to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Legislators have introduced this year at least 66 gun bills in 23 states, pertaining to gun ownership by certain mentally ill people, according to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

In addition, some states, such as Colorado, are considering legislation to make it easier to involuntarily commit people, which, in turn, would made it easier to rescind their gun ownership rights.

Mental health providers and patient advocates say that whether the New York law actually makes the state any safer, it will further stigmatize the mentally ill, weaken doctor-patient confidentiality and undermine the judgment of mental health providers.

Worse, they fear that this law and similar measures around the country could cause some who suffer from mental illness to withhold essential information from their providers or avoid treatment altogether for fear of being reported to the government. And it's lack of treatment that increases the possibility of violence, they say.

"We want people to seek help when they need it," said Ron Honberg national director for policy and legal affairs with the National Alliance on Mental Illness. "The last thing we want to do is pass a law that ensures that someone who voluntarily seeks help is going to be put on a registry maintained by the FBI and state police."

Cuomo's office referred questions to the Office of Mental Health, which did not respond to requests for comment.

Not everyone in the mental health community opposes the New York law. D.J. Jaffe, executive director of MentalHealthPolicy.org recently wrote in The New York Times, "(T)he overriding concern must be keeping the patient they are currently seeing alive and those around them safe -- not some hypothetical future client. The far greater risk is to know someone has a serious mental illness, believe they are dangerous -- despite their being under your treatment -- and do nothing about it."

The flurry of legislation was prompted by disclosures, some sketchy, that Newtown shooter Adam Lanza, like gunmen before him in Aurora, Colo., Tucson and at Virginia Tech, suffered from mental illness In Lanza's case, the "mental illness" reported was Asperger's syndrome, a developmental disorder resembling autism.

Whether legislation under consideration would have prevented all or any of the tragedies is far from certain. Some believe that politicians have simply made the political calculation that targeting mental illness is safer than antagonizing the National Rifle Association.

"To the extent that we believe we are making ourselves vastly safer, I think we are fooling ourselves," said Paul Appelbaum, director of the Division of Law, Ethics, and Psychiatry at the Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons.

"The general concern that I have is that in the wake of horrific events like Virginia Tech and Newtown," Appelbaum said, "there's been a concerted effort by the NRA to distract attention from questions of the availability of guns and particularly those with high capacity, and instead to point the finger at the mentally ill because it's always easier to do that."

While opposed to virtually every other legislation regarding gun control, the NRA does support legislation to keep guns from those judged to be a danger to themselves or others, found not guilty in a criminal case by reason of insanity or committed involuntary to in-patient or out-patient treatment.

"We have a mental health system in this country that has completely and totally collapsed," NRA chief Wayne LaPierre said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "We have no national database of these lunatics."

Patient advocates say it's also far easier to target the mentally ill than to restore the $4.5 billion in state funding the public mental health system has cut over the last four years, which has vastly reduced access for tens of thousands of needy people with mental health issues.

Federal law prohibits the sale of guns to anyone who has been "adjudicated as a mental defective or has been committed to any mental institution." States are supposed to report these people to the federal database of those prohibited from gun purchases, the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).

But compliance is spotty. According to the group Mayors Against Gun Violence, 23 states plus the District of Columbia had submitted fewer than 100 mental health records to NICS as of November 2011. Some states, such as Vermont, Mississippi and Tennessee, have legislative proposals this year to ensure better reporting.

Many states have adopted legislation that hews closely to the federal language regarding gun ownership and mental illness, although without the phrase "mental defective," which mental health advocates find deeply offensive.

State laws pertaining to gun ownership and mental illness generally piggyback on state statutes governing involuntary commitments to psychiatric facilities or to out-patient treatment. When seeking to commit someone, most states rely on a determination by a court, based on expert psychiatric testimony, that a person is either at high risk for self-harm or for hurting someone else.

Most states rescind patients' rights to gun ownership if they have been involuntarily committed. But some states, including Georgia and Mississippi, restrict gun rights not only to those involuntary committed, but also to those who have voluntarily committed themselves. A few states have laws that allow restoring gun ownership rights after some specified period of time has elapsed after commitment has ended.

But the standard states use for commitment -- dangerousness -- is considered by many to be suspect. "Our ability for predicting future behavior, violence and suicidality, is highly imperfect," Columbia's Appelbaum said.

"I understand the desire that is voiced so widely now for someone to figure out who's going to commit acts of violence and to do something to prevent them," he said. "But the fact is any strategy that relies on the identification of dangerous people as opposed to restricting access to the means of violence is both inherently flawed and not likely to be successful."

Studies show that the mentally ill as a group are only slightly more likely to commit acts of violence than anyone else in the population, particularly if the person is also abusing alcohol and illicit drugs, has an untreated psychosis, or has a history of violence.

Overall, the mentally ill are responsible for no more than 5 percent of violent crime (and much of it doesn't involve firearms). Rather than focusing on the mentally ill, says Honberg, of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, legislators should look to remove guns from people who have already shown a predilection for violence, for instance, those convicted of domestic abuse or other violent incidents.

But others, such as Joshua Sharfstein, Maryland secretary of Health and Mental Hygiene, insist that it is possible to balance public safety and the rights of the mentally ill. Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley has proposed a package of gun control legislation, including a measure that would deprive gun ownership from those who have been committed for any amount of time. The law now says only after a commitment of 30 days or more.

"I think we're trying to help the legislature craft a law that focuses on the area of greatest risk without going overboard by creating real disincentives to seeking care," Sharfstein said.

Which is exactly what critics say the New York law will do. The measure was considered, passed and signed into law in 24 hours. "We weren't involved at all," said Don Capone, executive director of the New York Chapter of NAMI. "Right after the tragedy in Connecticut, the governor decided he wanted to address gun control issues. He got together with the legislature and the whole thing was enacted with very little debate."

The law requires psychiatrists, psychologists and other mental health professionals to report a patient they deemed dangerous, even if that provider believes that the patient would respond well to treatment and have no reason to believe the patient owns a gun.

"This is a massive invasion of privacy for very likely little gain," Capone said.

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Comment by Gordon Ray Kissinger on March 25, 2013 at 8:04pm: Are YOU America’s Greatest Threat?

Written on Monday, March 25, 2013 by Jan Morgan

America’s greatest threat is not Barack Obama. It’s not George Soros, Islamic Terror, Socialism, Communism, or Liberalism.
No… America’s greatest threat is APATHY.

America is suffering from an epidemic of selfish, gutless people who do not care, and will not sober up from their reality tv, politically correct, clueless stupor and get off their couch to stand up and fight for the things that made this nation great.
God, please help me to help them WAKE UP

I travel around the country, speaking out for the restoration of our Constitutional Republic and yet, every single day, I meet people who do not have a clue just how close we are to losing everything our Founding Fathers handed us on a silver platter.

I meet people who do not know what is going on in our country. They do not watch the news, read the paper, read books, or surf news blogs on the net. They tell me they can’t handle all the negativity and don’t want to know. These are people who are hard workers, tax payers, hunters who love their guns, and people who show every indication of intelligence in every other aspect of their lives, yet, I wonder why their brains do not grasp the importance of knowledge about current events and our government. I wonder why they don’t feel an obligation to stand up for what is right and just.

I don’t understand how these people (there are millions of them) think our nation can survive all of the threats from within if they remain silent and detached. Thomas Jefferson said “All that is necessary for evil to prevail is for good men to remain silent.”
Do these people not care or do they simply believe as individuals, they are helpless to do anything about the state of our nation?

The day that Americans feel as individuals, they are helpless to make a difference, is a day we all need to step back and examine what we have done with the gift from our Founders.

We were to be a nation of the people, by the people, and for the people… not a nation of the government, by the government and for the government. Our Founders designed this Constitutional Republic to be run by the people. The government is there to serve US. Somehow, we have lost sight of this pecking order and it is time to remind those who serve us, who is the boss. Apathy is the government’s best friend. It cannot grow, thrive and survive without it.

We must stand up and fight APATHY!
How?
Allow me to list the ways YOU as an individual CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE:
* We must not be afraid to take a stand publicly for what is right and speak against all that is wrong. We must share truth with our friends, family, and neighbors, even when it is uncomfortable to do so.
* We must educate our children about the importance of the Constitution and Bill of Rights so they are sensitive to any efforts by the government to infringe on liberty.
* We must stay on top of our children’s education. Know what is in their text books and what their teachers are putting in their brains on a daily basis.
* Teach your children or grandchildren gun safety, good marksmanship, and the importance of the 2nd Amendment. Without it we have no way to defend the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
In the 20th century, over 270 million people have been annihilated by their own governments AFTER BEING DISARMED.
* We must stay on top of current events. Watch the news (not msnbc, nbc, cbs,and abc).. Read reliable news outlets on the net… Listen to Conservative news talk radio
* Get involved in active Conservative groups that are fighting for Constitutional causes in your state
* Financially support political campaigns of candidates who stand for the values that made this country great.
* If you can’t donate money, volunteer to knock on doors, work a phone bank or put up campaign signs
* Once your candidate is elected, you must stay on his or her back. Keep him/her accountable. You put them in office and you can remove them.
* Run for office. We need people,(not politicians) in office who know and understand what its like to live in real world America. Eliminating career politicians from our legislative branch of government is the fastest road to fiscal health and a sound Constitutional Republic.
* Financially support organizations that stand up for YOUR 2nd Amendment Right… NRA, Gun Owners of America, The Second Amendment Foundation, Oath Keepers, National Association of Gun Rights.

Those are just a few of my suggestions. America did not get in this desperate state over night and we will not recover overnight. It is going to be a long, tough, road but we must become determined, passionate, and consistent with our efforts to overcome. Only then will we be victorious! I look forward to celebrating that day.

Read more: http://patriotupdate.com/articles/are-you-americas-greatest-threat/...

Comment by Gordon Ray Kissinger on March 25, 2013 at 7:59pm: Gun Control Battle Heats Up

By Associated Press March 25, 2013 6:55 am

WASHINGTON -- Leading advocates for both sides in the national debate over guns urged voters on Sunday to make their opinion known to lawmakers ahead of critical votes next month in Congress that will determine whether gun rights groups can again thwart efforts to tighten firearms regulations even after the Connecticut school massacre.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Wayne LaPierre, the CEO and executive vice president of the National Rifle Association, an influential gun rights lobbying group, claimed their opposing views on guns have the support of the overwhelming majority of Americans.

Both sides see the next two weeks as critical to the debate, when lawmakers head home to hear from constituents ahead of next month's anticipated Senate vote on gun control legislation drafted in response to the December elementary school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, that left 20 children and six educators dead.

Bloomberg, a former Republican-turned-independent, has just sunk $12 million for Mayors Against Illegal Guns to run television ads and phone banks in 13 states urging voters to tell their senators to pass legislation requiring universal background checks for gun buyers.

"We demanded a plan and then we demanded a vote. We've got the plan, we're going to get the vote. And now it's incumbent on us to make our voices heard," Bloomberg said in an interview on NBC television's "Meet the Press."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday that legislation would likely be debated in his chamber next month that will include expanded federal background checks, tougher laws and stiffer sentences for gun trafficking and increased school safety grants.

Reid dropped aban on assault-style weapons from the bill, fearing it would sink the broader bill. But Reid has said that he would allow the ban to be voted on separately as an amendment to the bill. President Barack Obama called for a vote on the assault weapons ban in his radio and Internet address Saturday.

Still, the amendment banning assault weapons Is unlikely to be passed by the Democratic-controlled Senate where it takes 60 votes to advance measures to a final vote. About a dozen centrist Democratic senators from rural, Republican-leaning states are wary about supporting such restrictions. The legislation expanding background checks has better prospects in the Senate, but faces stiff opposition in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

Recalling the horrific shooting three months ago at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Bloomberg said it would be a great tragedy if Congress, through inaction, lost the moment to make the country safer from gun violence. Bloomberg said that 90 percent of Americans and 80 percent of National Rifle Association members support universal background checks for gun purchases.

"I don't think there's ever been an issue where the public has spoken so clearly, where Congress hasn't eventually understood and done the right thing," Bloomberg said.

But the NRA's LaPierre counters that universal background checks are "a dishonest premise" because mental health records are exempt from databases and criminals won't submit to the checks. Background checks, he said, are a "speed bump" in the system that "slows down the law-abiding and does nothing for anybody else."

"The shooters in Tucson, in Aurora, in Newtown, they're not going to be checked. They're unrecognizable," LaPierre said. He was referring to the 2011 shooting in a Tucson shopping center that killed six and wounded 13, including former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who is now an outspoken gun control advocate, and the July assault in a suburban Denver movie theater that killed 12 and injured 70. In both instances, as well as in the Newtown killings, the alleged shooters used military-style assault rifles with high-capacity ammunition magazines.

LaPierre, who also appeared on "Meet the Press," slammed the billionaire Bloomberg for the ad buy.

"He's going to find out this is a country of the people, by the people, and for the people. And he can't spend enough of his $27 billion to try to impose his will on the American public," LaPierre said, adding, "He can't buy America."

"Millions of people" from across the country are sending the NRA "$5, $10, $15, $20 checks, saying stand up to this guy," LaPierre said, referring to Bloomberg.

LaPierre said the NRA supports a bill to get the records of those adjudicated mentally incompetent and dangerous into the background check system for gun dealers, better enforcement of federal gun laws and beefed up penalties for illegal third-party purchases and gun trafficking. Shortly after the Newtown shooting, LaPierre called for armed security guards in schools as well.

LaPierre would like to see Congress pass a law that "updates the system and targets those mentally incompetent adjudicated into the system" and forces the administration to enforce the federal gun laws.

"It won't happen until the national media gets on the administration and calls them out for their incredible lack of enforcement of these laws," LaPierre said.

The NRA opposes universal background checks for gun purchasers, fearing it would lead to a national registry of gun owners that could be used by the government to some day confiscate guns. Mayors Against Illegal Guns and other gun-control advocates cite studies that suggest about 40 percent of U.S. gun transfers were conducted by private sellers not subject to federal laws requiring background checks.

In Colorado, a state with a pioneer tradition of gun ownership and self-reliance but also the scene of last summer's massacre at an Aurora movie theater, Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper just signed bills requiring background checks for private and online gun sales. The legislation also would ban ammunition magazines that hold more than 15 rounds.

"After the shootings last summer in the movie theater, we really focused on mental health first then universal background checks," Hickenlooper said on CNN's "State of the Union." `'I think the feeling right now around assault weapons, at least in Colorado, is that they're so hard to define what an assault weapon is."

Hickenlooper said he met with a group of protesters against the bills in Grand Junction, Colorado, who were "very worried about government keeping a centralized database, which I assured them wasn't going to happen." The protesters, he added, view the background checks as "just the first step in trying to take guns away."

Bloomberg announced the television ad campaign on Saturday. The two ads posted on the group's website, called "Responsible" and "Family," show a gun owner holding a rifle while sitting on the back of a pickup truck. In one ad, the man says he'll defend the Second Amendment of the U.S. constitution which guarantees the right to bear arms, but adds that "with rights come responsibilities." The ad then urges viewers to tell Congress to support background checks.

In the other ad, the man, a hunter, says "background checks have nothing to do with taking guns away from anyone." The man then says closing loopholes will stop criminals and the mentally ill from obtaining weapons.

The NRA blasted Bloomberg and the new ads, saying NRA members and supporters would be calling senators directly and urging them to vote against proposed gun control legislation.

____

Associated Press writer Michele Salcedo in Washington contributed to this report.

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.

http://www.gopusa.com/news/2013/03/25/gun-control-battle-heats-up/?...

Comment by Gordon Ray Kissinger on March 24, 2013 at 9:49pm

Retired Army Officer: DHS Must Surrender Their War Weapons to Dept. of Defense

Captain Terry M. Hestilow, United States Army, Retired (Examiner)

On Saturday March 23, Terry M. Hestilow, a retired Army officer with nearly 30 years of service under his belt, posted this letter he sent to Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) this week. Hestilow wants DHS to hand over their war weapons to the Department of Defense.

The Honorable Senator John Cornyn, State of Texas
United States Senate
517 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510

Re: Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and that agencies preparation for war against citizens of the United States of America

Dear Senator Cornyn,

It is with gravest concern that I write to you today concerning the recent appropriation of weapons by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that can only be understood as a bold threat of war by that agency, and the Obama administration, against the citizens of the United States of America. To date, DHS has been unwilling to provide to you, the elected representatives of the People, justification for recent purchases of almost 3,000 mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) armored personnel carriers, 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition (with associated weapons), and other weapons systems, when, in fact, the DHS has no war mission or war making authority within the limits of the United States of America.

Significant is the fact that at the same time the Obama administration is arming his DHS for war within the limits of the United States against the People of the United States in accordance with his 2008 campaign speech claiming,

“We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we’ve set. We’ve gotta (sic) have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well funded [as the United States military]”–Candidate Barack Obama, 2008.

The Obama administration is deliberately defunding, overextending, and hollowing the Department of Defense; the only legitimate agency of the U.S. government with a war mission.

This act of the Obama administration stands as a glaring threat of war against our nation’s citizens! This act of the Obama administration can only be understood as a tyrannical threat against the Constitution of the United States of America! If left unresolved, the peace loving citizens who have sworn to defend the United States Constitution “against all enemies, both foreign and domestic” are left no option except to prepare to defend themselves, and the U.S. Constitution, against this Administration’s “coup” against the People and the foundations of liberty fought for and defended for the past 238 years. We have no choice if we honor our oaths.

The only proper response to this threat against the American people is for the representatives of the People, the members of the U.S. House and Senate, to demand in clear terms that the Administration cannot ignore, that the Department of Homeland Security immediately surrender their newly appropriated weapons of war to the Department of Defense (DoD). Further, since the DHS has assumed a position in the Administration to enforce the tyrannical acts of this president against the People of the United States against the limits of the United States Constitution, it remains for the United States Congress to exercise its limiting power in the balancing of powers established by our founding fathers, to disestablish and dissolve the DHS as soon as possible. One needs only to look to the rise of Adolf Hitler, and his associated DHS organizations, the SA and the SS, of 1932-1934, to see the outcome of allowing an agency of government this kind of control over the free citizens of a nation. The people of Germany could not have imagined, until it was too late, the danger of allowing a tyrant this kind of power. We must not be so naïve as to think it will not happen to us as well if we remain passive toward this power grab by the Marxist Obama administration!

Finally, for more than two centuries the nation has lived in peace at home because of the protections of our legitimate military and the many appropriate state and federal law enforcement agencies, supported by Constitutional courts. We stand today at a cross-road. Will we allow this present Administration to overthrow our United States Constitution and its legal processes to amend injustices, or, will we honor our obligations to defend the Constitution against a “domestic” enemy? Our Constitution lays out the proper methods of resolving our differences; and it does not include its overthrow by a rogue agency of a Marxist leadership at home. You, sir, are our constitutionally elected agent to defend our Constitution at home. We are counting upon you. We remain aware, however, of this present threat and will not expose ourselves as an easy prey to the authors of the destruction of our nation.

I know that this letter demands much of you. We elected you because we, the citizens of the State of Texas, believe that you are up to the task at hand and will, against all threats, honor your oath and office. We are also writing to your fellow members of the House and Senate to stand in integrity with the Constitution and against this present threat by the Obama administration and his DHS.

We refuse to surrender our Constitution or our nation!

Resolved,

Captain Terry M. Hestilow
United States Army, Retired
Fort Worth, Texas
March 23, 2013

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/03/retired-army-officer-dhs-mu...

Comment by Gordon Ray Kissinger on March 24, 2013 at 7:09pm: Thanks W.M!

Comment by Gordon Ray Kissinger on March 24, 2013 at 6:52pm: Senate Votes to Stop US From Joining UN Arms Trade Treaty

Sunday, March 24, 2013

In the last batch of amendment votes to the budget, the Senate voted on several foreign policy proposals.

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) introduced an amendment that would prevent the United States from entering into the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty in order to uphold the Second Amendment. His amendment passed on a 53-46 vote.

Republicans have been critical of President Obama’s decision to consider the treaty, although Obama has said he would not vote for anything that would violate the Second Amendment.

The U.N. Arms Trade Treaty would regulate international arms sales. Negotiations end on March 28.

Post Continues on thehill.com

Read more: http://patriotupdate.com/2013/03/senate-votes-53-46-to-stop-us-from...

Comment by Gordon Ray Kissinger on March 24, 2013 at 12:07am: The Revolution Against Tyranny Continues!

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Note: VENUE has been changed to:

INNER HARBOR AMPHITHEATRE

W. Kirkpatrick Street, Syracuse, New York 13204

11:00am -2:00pm

Sponsored by:

The Oath Keepers of NYS

Turn Albany Upside Down

W2A - Women for the Second Amendment

The Upstate NY Republican Party County Chairmen

The NYS Conservative Party County Chairmen

Keynote Speaker- NYS Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long

In Opposition to the NY SAFE ACT

For updates & additional information contact:

Glen Maine of NY State Oath Keepers at nova.maine76@gmail.com

John Wallace of NY State Oath Keepers at john@teapartyrep.com

Jackie O'Bannon of Turn Albany Upside Down at jjobannon@ellicottdevelopment.com

Gary L Perry of Turn Albany Upside Down - glprespecta@yahoo.com

Or Sheryl Thomas of W2A- SherylThomas@gmail.com

This event will be the first of two regional rallies intended to prepare taxpayers for the "March on Albany" on a date in April to be announced when 100,000 New Yorkers will demand the resignation of Andrew Cuomo, and those in the legislature who, at a time of high emotion and trauma, when our nation was grieving the horror of the Connecticut mass killing, chose to attack the basic rights of taxpaying citizens for the sole purpose of appeasing the egotistical arrogance of the self-absorbed Andrew Cuomo, who was more interested in advancing his political career than allowing due process and affording voters the opportunity to weigh in on the issues.

Just got confirmation that SHERIFF RICHARD MACK and Stewart Rhodes will be speaking in Syracuse on March 23, 2013 so pass the word as fast as we possibly can. Stewart Rhodes is Founder of Oath Keepers. Sheriff Mack's Supreme Court victory beat back the first assault weapon ban "The Brady Bill" and the Clintons. Sheriff Mack is also a Board member with OATH KEEPERS as well as heading the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (http://www.cspoa.org ) He is also involved in his Benefit SOS (Support Our Sheriffs) Sheriff Mack has written several books including:"The County Sheriff - Americas Last Hope", "The Victory for State Sovereignty", "From My Cold Dead Fingers", and others.

Syracuse, NY March 23, 2013 11:00 am - 2:00 pm

Help us get the word out!