Truth Or Rumor?

I ran across this story yesterday. Normally I try to find a second independent source before I pass on stories like this. I couldn't find one, for the reason stated below. However, because there are a few veterans who drop by here from time to time I thought I'd go ahead and post it, and ask if they have any knowledge of this.

Here's the original story.

Veterans Affairs Bans iPhones For Veterans

Veterans are now receiving leaflets from Veterans Affairs prior to diagnostic appointments that show iPhones are among a short list of “prohibited items” at VA medical centers. Other items on the list are pistols, knives and backpacks.

Actually, based on the picture, I think it's all smart phones that are banned, not just iPhones.

I understand the ban on weapons, but backpacks? And smart phones? After all, backpacks can be searched. And everyone carries a smart phone today. Even airports allow backpacks and smart phones.

Someone in the story's comments asked about a confirmatory source. Here's the question and the reply.

Question:

Can someone cite a source for this please.
I am outraged that the VA would do such a thing but if so I want this to go viral.

Reply:

This is an original story from this website written by me. The leaflet was recently received by a veteran in Colorado. I submitted a FOIA request for additional information from VA yesterday. It will probably take 60 days to get a response.

Like I said, I did a little digging myself. The best I could come up with is this statement from the Baltimore VA.

Prohibited Items

Patients may not have alcoholic beverages, narcotics, firearms, ammunition, knives, other weapons, lighter fluid, non-safety matches, straightedge razors or any medications from home while at the Baltimore VA Medical Center. If a patient has any of these prohibited items with them while in the VA, they will be required to turn them over to the VA Police.

Cameras, Video Equipment and Tape Recorders

For reasons of patient privacy, cameras, video equipment and tape recorders are generally not allowed in the Baltimore VA Medical Center. If your family or friends wish to bring in a camera, video camera or tape recorder, they must make arrangements with the Nurse Manager.

I get the need to protect patient privacy. And I understand that smart phones can be used as recording devices. But a total ban on those devices seems like overkill. Of course, this is the government we're talking about. And the VA doesn't exactly have a sterling record when it comes to taking care of our veterans. Still, I find this a little hard to believe.

If anyone out there has additional info on this I'd love to hear it.

The Pope's Aftermath

The Pope has come and gone. I'll let wiser minds than me dissect the nuances and implications of his visit. I will, however, note two things.

First, he waited until he was on his way out of Dodge to touch on the current controversy regarding gay marriage.

Pope Francis waited until his historic U.S. visit was over to make his most direct comments on the nation's debate over gay marriage, saying government officials should have the right to refrain from actions that violate their religious beliefs.

Sorry, Pope, but I disagree. If a government official has an issue with a particular law or regulation he/she/it should resign or recuse themselves. Of course, I also think bakers should have the right to decide who they will make cakes for, so what do I know?

The second thing I'd like to point out is the boost the Pope gave to Fiat sales.

On his first visit to the United States, Pope Francis turned heads with his mode of transportation: a black Fiat 500L...

More.

It’s a little black car that’s been talked about as much as the famous passenger riding inside.  When Pope Francis stepped off his plane in Philadelphia, it wasn’t a limousine standing by to transport him around.

It was a Fiat...

Erik Baron of Jeff D’Ambrosia Alfa Romeo Fiat of the Main Line was paying close attention to the Pope’s car.

“I thought cha ching,” said Baron.

It was a four door Fiat 500L, and Erik sells them at Fiat dealership where he works.

“I knew we were going to have people start coming in or calling,” said Baron

“It’s going to have its peppiness, it’s also gonna have space, its got room for your family and the dog,” said Baron.

Just what Carmen and Judy Salamone were looking for.

“We have two dogs, one of which is a great dane and she’ll fit right in the back of one of those,” said Judy Salamone.

Available in 11 colors, and the cost?

“About $27,000 for what he was driving in and we have great rebates and good incentives for coming in to buy it before the end of the month,” said Baron.

“If it’s good enough for the pope, it’s good enough for us,” said Carmen Salamone.

FIAT = Fix It Again Tony

Here's a few more observations of the Papal visit.

FWIW, I am not a Catholic...

Bonus FOD 2015.09.28

A little late with this one.

I'm amazed this didn't receive widespread coverage in the mainstream media...  [/sarc]

FOD 2015.09.28

Russian president Vladimir Putin and our own barack hussein obama are scheduled to meet this week. In advance of that meeting, barry is talking tough.

Pope Francis gave him a boost, Republican Speaker John Boehner is sobbing off into the sunset, and China’s Xi Jinping gave him paper promises on the environment and cybertheft. No wonder President Obama is feeling cocky.

No doubt fear stalks the Kremlin and Putin is quaking. Barack Obama is mad at him and letting the whole world know!

But Putin knows something else, too. Macho talk is the only weapon Obama is ready to use...

obama talks. Putin acts.

...Iran, Russia and Syria have set up three-way military coordination. Some reports suggest Shiite militia from Iraq may also be part of the effort to keep Assad in power.

When obama does act, he screws things up.

While some of that effort will fight Islamic State, the axis also will be fighting the same Syrian rebels the United States is supposedly supporting. We already spent tens of millions of dollars on them, with only a handful of trained soldiers and no advances to show for it.

Here's a little more detail about obama's effort to arm and train the Syrian rebels.

He (Putin) mocked U.S. plans to train up to 5,400 Syrian rebels to fight the group. "It turns out that only 60 of these fighters have been properly trained, and as few as four or five people actually carry weapons," he said.

As if that's not bad enough, the rebels are actually working for al-Qaeda.

U.S.-trained rebels in Syria handed over American-supplied vehicles and ammunition to an al-Qaeda linked group, the Pentagon said Friday in the latest blow to a program plagued by problems since its inception.

Way to go, barry. Is it any wonder that Putin neither fears nor respects obama?

Here's more insight regarding Russia's move into Syria.

Russia’s expanding military intervention in Syria has the potential to tilt the course of the war in favor of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, leaving U.S. policies aimed at securing his departure in tatters and setting the stage for a new phase in the four-year-old conflict.

Exactly what Russia intends with its rapidly growing deployment of troops, tanks and combat aircraft in the Assad family heartland on Syria’s northern coast is difficult to discern, according to military experts and U.S. officials, who say they were not consulted on the Russian moves and were caught off guard by the intervention.

Already, however, the Russian activity has thrown into disarray three years of U.S. policy planning on Syria, derailing calculations about how the conflict would play out that may never have come to fruition and now almost certainly won’t.

Another foreign policy victory for team obama. Many more of these and we'll be an international laughingstock.

Oh, wait...

Sunday Funnies 2015.09.27

Tonight is not only a total lunar eclipse, but a rare and dramatic supermoon blood moon eclipse.

Supermoons occur when the moon reaches its full phase at or near the satellite's closest approach to Earth, and appears abnormally large and bright as a result. The Sept. 27 event is quite special; the last supermoon eclipse occurred in 1982, and the next won't take place until 2033.

Check it out if you get the chance. Full viewing info can be found here. More information about a blood moon can be found here.

Q: Did you hear about the great new restaurant on the moon?
A: The food is excellent, but there's no atmosphere.

Q: How do you know when the moon is going broke?
A: When it's down to its last quarter.

Q: "Why does the Moon orbit the Earth?"
A: "To get to the other side?"

Q: How does a man on a moon get his haircut?
A: Eclipse it.

Q: Why haven't they sent a woman to the moon?
A: Because it doesn't need cleaning!

Mick and Seamus staggered out of a bar in Limerick.  They sat on a bench to get their bearings

Seamus, in a philosophical mood, said to Mick, 'Which do you think is farther away - Dublin or the moon?'

Mike thinks for a full minute and says, 'It must be Dublin.  I can see the moon up there, but I've looked around and I cannot see Dublin anywhere'.

The next night, Mick and Seamus staggered out of a pub. Mick said to Seamus, 'What a beautiful night. Look at the moon.'

Seamus stops and looks at Mick. He says, 'You are wrong, that's not the moon, that's the sun.'

They start arguing for a while. Then a third Irishman staggers out of the pub. They stop him and ask, 'Sir, could you please help settle our argument? Tell us what that thing is up in the sky that's shining. Is it the moon or the sun?'

The stranger looks at the sky and then looks at them, and says, 'Sorry, I don't live around here.'

I don't know if there are men on the moon, but if there are they must be using the earth as their lunatic asylum - George Bernard Shaw

This is why we don't trust Wikipedia.

We're Raising A Nation Of Wimps

Remember the case last spring when the state of Maryland seized two kids and dragged their parents into court for the shocking offense of letting the youngsters - ages 10 and 6 - play alone in a park less than three blocks from their home?

The Silver Spring siblings were about 2 1/2 blocks from their home Sunday when Montgomery County police got a call reporting them — gasp — playing alone.

“The police coerced our children into the back of a patrol car and kept them trapped there for three hours, without notifying us, before bringing them to the Crisis Center, and holding them there without dinner for another two and a half hours,” their mom, Danielle Meitiv, said to her Facebook friends. “We finally got home at 11 pm and the kids slept in our room because we were all exhausted and terrified.”

Mom and Dad were dragged into court for that incident, and the nation debated whether they are good or bad parents. Montgomery County ruled that they were guilty of unsubstantiated child neglect. (emphasis added)

Unsubstantiated child neglect?!? What the hell is that? Someone claimed your neglected your kid but couldn't prove it? Sounds pretty damn Kafkaesque to me.

Anyway, I thought that was the height of government-inspired foolishness when it comes to kids.

I was wrong.

Seattle-area school bans game of 'tag'

American schools have banned dodgeball because it's too "aggressive" and made competitive sports uncompetitive by giving all involved "participation trophies" so no one's feelings are hurt.

The latest outrage against childhood is occurring in a Seattle-area school that has banned the game of "tag" because school officials think it affects the "emotional well-being" of students.

The school district's communications director Macy Grade, in an email, told Q13 that the "rationale behind this [ban] is to ensure the physical and emotional safety of all students."

Emotional safety? Are kids such wimps that they become traumatized while chased in a game they volunteer to play? Or is that the hyper-sensitive, hyper-protective school district feels the need to protect students from made up dangers to justify their paychecks?

They also address physical safety, wanting kids to "keep their hands to themselves." After all, a pat on the back in a voluntary game of tag might ... make you mildly uncomfortable?

Of course, the ban doesn't make a lick of sense, particularly in the context of what other activities the school offers.

The school promotes competitive sports like football, which is like tag only instead of gently tagging someone and saying "you're it," students will viciously tackle their opponents. Further, the school also provides for wrestling; again, considerably more violent and dangerous than a game of tag.

The only difference I can find behind this kind of hypocrisy is that they charge students $190 per sport in order to participate (this fee was recently raised $15 - perhaps that will go to counseling for the players - they likely will suffer emotional damage from all the rough play, right?). Or perhaps the school can't charge $190 for tag, so they'll ban it.

As editor Lifson notes, we are becoming a "nation of delicate flowers," where the game of "tag" is banned, but they teach about homosexual sex in the early grades.  There is never any consistency in their actions because they are reactive and the result of hysteria.  In other words, they appear to sit around trying to dream up new ways to "protect" the kids without giving any thought to how stupid it looks to any sane, rational person.

I suppose eventually, they will come to the conclusion that school itself is dangerous to kids and shut themselves down.  Then perhaps parents can breathe a sigh of relief and homeschool their kids anyway.

Thank God my kids are out of that public school mind-suck. Although, to be fair, here in small town Texas the school district, for the most part, employs common sense. The kids even get a day off for the opening of the county fair and rodeo, and for years the first day of hunting season was an unofficial holiday (probably because the principal and half the teachers called in 'sick' that day).

But overall, I fear the nation's public school system is in the midst of a downward spiral, fueled by political correctness and mind-numbing bureaucracy (see: Zero Tolerance, although that hopefully seems to be changing).

I don't understand the problem some people have with letting kids be kids. I guess they're just not happy unless they're meddling in other people's lives.

Thankfully, my kids and I are past that.

Friday Follies Happy Hour 2015.09.25

Today's Happy Hour song was chosen in response to the Pope's U.S. visit.

We Are So Doomed

A friend of mine posted the following on Facebook.

Whoever thought it was a good idea to hire foreigners who aren't fluent in English as call center operators should be shot.

We've all been there. Stuck in call center hell with someone who is, shall we say, English-challenged. Nothing too outrageous in that post, right? Just a mini-rant against a call center staffed with people who speak English as a second language (more or less).

Here's what some brain-dead liberal replied.

...it's not that person's fault they were hired. blame the companies that send these positions to the developing world, the nations (like this one, among countless others) that have brutalized the developing world and forced them into a submission that renders these people no other options than to apply.

How do you go from a complaint about hard-to-understand call center employees to brutalizing the developing world and forcing "them into a submission that renders these people no other options than to apply?" And what the hell does that even mean, anyway?

They walk among us .... and vote ... and reproduce.

We're doomed.

Carson Wins This Point

I'm still sorting through all the clowns emerging from the GOP car as part of the 2016 campaign circus. One of them is Dr. Ben Carson, an individual I profoundly respect for his accomplishments, but question his ability to heal a wounded nation and persuade a fractured congress to pass necessary legislation.

He's been in the news lately for his statement that a president's religious beliefs matter, and consequently he believes that no Muslim should be president of the United States. Predictably, the usual suspects on the left went into full 'that's offensive and intolerant' mode. But if one takes a closer look, it appears that the good doctor's position makes a lot of sense. In 2009, Syrian Islamic scholar Abd Al-Karim Bakkar said "Democracy runs counter to Islam on several issues…."

This is self-evident in the fact that Islamic theocracy rules throughout the Islamic world, crushing human rights such as those delineated in our Bill of Rights. In some “secular” states like Turkey and Egypt, democracy is tolerated for Western acceptance, but trying telling a Coptic Christian in Egypt, for example, about the freedom of religion or try imposing a government dictate contrary to Islam, the way ObamaCare imposes on pro-life Christians, on Muslims. Under Islam and Shari Law, there is no freedom of religion or speech and equal rights are forbidden to women and non-Muslims. If you should convert to Christianity, you have signed your death warrant.

Another islamic scholar, Sheikh Abdul Rahman bin Nassir Al Barrak, put it this way.

“Electing a president or another form of leadership or council members is prohibited in Islam as it has been introduced by the enemies of Moslems.” The idea of popular elections, he said, “has been brought by the anti-Islam parties who have occupied Moslem land.”

Dr. Carson is simply echoing what muslims themselves believe: "Islam and democracy are incompatible and Sharia Law is particularly toxic to our way of life and human rights and freedom..."

Frank Gaffney, founder and president of the Center for Security Policy, points out that a president cannot “uphold, defend and support the Constitution of the United States” and adhere to Sharia Law. “It cannot be done. Because Sharia says, ‘No it’s not the Constitution of the United States that must govern. It is God’s law. It is Sharia. It is this repressive totalitarian, misogynistic program that must govern.’”

An October 2010 report from the Center for Security Policy echoes that sentiment.

The report concludes the Shariah system is "totalitarian" and incompatible with the U.S. Constitution, our system of democratic lawmaking and the constitutional guarantees of freedom of conscience, individual liberty and freedom of expression, including the right to criticize Shariah law itself….

It seems to me that Dr. Carson is right on in this instance.

A Bad Taste In My Mouth

I'm usually an upbeat, optimistic, the-glass-is-half-full kind of a guy. But lately I've been worn down by the unceasing drumbeat of bad news.

The republican candidates for president are feeble. The democrat field is even worse. The only saving grace is that whichever clown gets elected will still be an upgrade from obama.

Speaking of obama, I fear he has done so much damage to this country that it will cripple us for generations to come. I don't worry so much about myself - with luck, I've only got 15 or 20 years left - but I weep for future generations. This is the first time we Americans have left our country in worse shape than when we inherited it. That makes me sick - especially when I think of what awaits my children and grandchildren.

The ongoing failed foreign policies of the obama administration are bad enough, but he's wreaked even more havoc here at home. Racial tensions, abortion controversies, health care fiascoes (the latest is the looming Cadillac tax), a stagnant economy, illegal immigration, and more ... much, much more. The list is long and depressing. And now we're going to import thousands of 'refugees' from the MidEast. Of course, they will all be thoroughly screened to ensure no sleeper terrorists are among them.

Yeah, right...

But what's really got me depressed tonight is the reports that American troops are being instructed to ignore incidents of child abuse by our Afghan allies.

In his last phone call home, Lance Cpl. Gregory Buckley Jr. told his father what was troubling him: From his bunk in southern Afghanistan, he could hear Afghan police officers sexually abusing boys they had brought to the base.

“At night we can hear them screaming, but we’re not allowed to do anything about it,” the Marine’s father, Gregory Buckley Sr., recalled his son telling him before he was shot to death at the base in 2012. He urged his son to tell his superiors. “My son said that his officers told him to look the other way because it’s their culture.”

Rampant sexual abuse of children has long been a problem in Afghanistan, particularly among armed commanders who dominate much of the rural landscape and can bully the population. The practice is called bacha bazi, literally “boy play,” and American soldiers and Marines have been instructed not to intervene — in some cases, not even when their Afghan allies have abused boys on military bases, according to interviews and court records.

Predictably, the brass has denied those reports.

The top four-star commander in Afghanistan, Army Gen. John Campbell, issued a rare statement Tuesday morning clarifying that there is no policy requiring American service members to turn a blind eye to the Afghan cultural practice known as "Bacha Bazi."

Campbell said that "any suspicions of sexual abuse will be immediately reported to the chain of command, regardless of who the alleged perpetrators or victims are. The chain of command will take appropriate action under applicable law, as well as DoD and service regulations."

"If the abuse involves Afghans, a report shall be forwarded to me through operations channels, copied to the Staff Judge Advocate, so that the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan can be advised and requested to take action.

Those of you who have served will recognize that for the 'three bags full' of crap that it is. Report it up the chain of command, hand it off the Afghanis, who are the ones doing the abuse, and then step back and say 'We took appropriate action.'

Sigh...

I remember a day when America, and the American military, had principles - when we defended the weak and helpless against bullies and oppressors. I fear those days are gone forever.

Writing this has left a very bad taste in my mouth. I am signing off now and headed out to find something to wash that taste away.

You Know What?

I am seriously tired of the pablum being shoved down our throats by the two major political parties. There isn't a damn bit of difference between the democrats and the establishment GOP. Reminds me of that old service song:

F**k 'em all,
F**k 'em all,
The long, the short and the tall...

FOD 2015.09.21

Pope Francis is coming to America next week. I am not Catholic. However, I respect the Pope, given that he is the leader of a large, mostly benign, worldwide religion. I may disagree with some of his positions - his support of climate change activists, for example - but that doesn't alter my opinion that the leader of the Catholic Church should be treated with some measure of respect.

Apparently barry doesn't share that opinion.

Obama gives Pope Francis the finger

President Obama has decided that his invited guests for the arrival of Pope Francis next week will include transgender activists, the first openly gay Episcopal bishop, and a nun who criticizes church policies on abortion and euthanasia. The Vatican has objected...

...Obama’s lack of respect for the pope is inexcusable. Including the nun who opposes church policy seems particularly egregious because Obama is gracelessly injecting himself into an internal church dispute.

     It’s vintage Obama. Even when hosting the most ideologically sympathetic pontiff in his lifetime (climate change, Cuba), Mr. Obama cannot restrain himself. He cannot be civil and respectful, searching for common ground. . . .

    We’ve become a little inured to this president’s staggering insensitivity and passive aggression over the years. But in this case, you’d have to remove the “passive” part. This is an embarrassing moment for our country.

     What struck us ... is the contrast between the administration’s apparent decision to risk a bit of rudeness in the case of the pope and its overwhelming deference to foreign dictators when similar issues arise.

    When Secretary of State John F. Kerry traveled to Havana to reopen the U.S. Embassy recently, he painstakingly excluded from the guest list any democrat, dissident or member of civil society who might offend the Castro brothers.

    And when Chinese President Xi Jinping comes to the White House next week, shortly after the pope leaves town, it’s a safe bet that he won’t have to risk being photographed with anyone of whom he disapproves...

Castro and Jinping are communists. Pope Francis is a Christian. Is there any doubt where obama's sympathies lie?

Sunday Funnies 2015.09.19

Yesterday was International Talk Like A Pirate Day (arrrgh, me hearties!). In honor of the occasion, let's splice the mainbrace and have a few laughs...

Top Ten Pirate Pickup Lines

10. Avast, me proud beauty! Wanna know why my Roger is so Jolly?

9.  Have ya ever met a man with a real yardarm?

8.  Come on up and see me urchins.

7.  Yes, that is a hornpipe in my pocket and I am happy to see you.

6.  I'd love to drop anchor in your lagoon.

5.  That’s some treasure chest you’ve got there.

4.  How'd you like to scrape the barnacles off of me rudder?

3.  Wanna shiver me timbers?

2.  Well blow me down.

1.  Prepare to be boarded.

Top Ten Pickup Lines for the Lady Pirates

10. What are YOU doing here?

9.  Is that a belayin' pin in yer britches, or are ye just glad to see me?

8.  Come show me how ye bury yer treasure, lad!

7.  So, tell me, why do they call ye, "Cap'n Feathersword?"

6.  That's quite a cutlass ye got thar, what ye need is a good scabbard!

5.  Let's get together and haul some keel.

4.  I've crushed seventeen men's skulls between me thighs!

3.  C'mon, lad, shiver me timbers!

2.  RAMMING SPEED!

1.  You. Pants Off. Now!

Q:  "What's the pirate movie rated?"
A"  "Arrr!"

Q:  "What kind o' socks does a pirate wear?"
A:  "Arrrrgyle!"

Q:  "What's the problem with the way a pirate speaks?"
A:  "Arrrrticulation!"

Q:  "How do pirates know that they are pirates?"
A:  "They think, therefore they ARRRR!!!"

Q:  "Why does it take pirates so long to learn the alphabet?"
A:  "Because they can spend years at C"

A pirate walks into the bar with a ships wheel attached to the front of his trousers. The bartender asks, "What the hell is that ships wheel for?"

The pirate says, "I don't know, but it's drivin' me nuts!"

A little boy is trick or treating on Halloween by himself. He is dressed as a pirate. At one house, a friendly man asks him, "Where are your buccaneers?"

The little boy responds, "On either side of me 'buccan' head!"

A pirate walks into a bar wearing a paper towel on his head. He sits down at the bar and orders some rum.

The bartender asks, "Why are you wearing a paper towel?"

"Arrr..." says the pirate. "I've got a bounty on me head!"

A Second (Amendment) Look At Trump

I'll admit to flip-flopping on Donald Trump. I'm firmly in his corner when it comes to the issues he is raising, the corruption and dysfunction in D.C. that he is highlighting, and the straightforward non-PC language he is using.

On the other hand, I have my doubts about whether or not he has the gravitas to be President and Commander-in-Chief. He has a tendency to bluster, swagger, and bully people. He shoots from the lip and considers himself the smartest person in the room, often with little justification.

He has also, IMO, been long on grandiose pronouncements and short on specifics. We have some sense of what his policies would be, but not how he would implement them.

However, he has come out with a position statement on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms that makes a lot of sense.

PROTECTING OUR SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN

(Side note: I'm all for protecting our Second Amendment rights, and I agree that it will make America a better place, but I'm not convinced that it will 'make America great again.' Anyway, here's The Donald on the 2A.)

The Second Amendment to our Constitution is clear. The right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed upon. Period.

Hard to argue with that.

It’s been said that the Second Amendment is America’s first freedom. That’s because the Right to Keep and Bear Arms protects all our other rights. We are the only country in the world that has a Second Amendment. Protecting that freedom is imperative. Here’s how we will do that:

Enforce The Laws On The Books

We need to get serious about prosecuting violent criminals. The Obama administration’s record on that is abysmal. Violent crime in cities like Baltimore, Chicago and many others is out of control. Drug dealers and gang members are given a slap on the wrist and turned loose on the street. This needs to stop.

Several years ago there was a tremendous program in Richmond, Virginia called Project Exile. It said that if a violent felon uses a gun to commit a crime, you will be prosecuted in federal court and go to prison for five years – no parole or early release. Obama’s former Attorney General, Eric Holder, called that a “cookie cutter” program. That’s ridiculous. I call that program a success. Murders committed with guns in Richmond decreased by over 60% when Project Exile was in place – in the first two years of the program alone, 350 armed felons were taken off the street.

Right on, Donnie! Project Exile, which was backed by the NRA and other gun rights groups, was a success. Commit a crime with a gun - go to jail. That's the kind of gun control I can support.

Here’s another important way to fight crime – empower law-abiding gun owners to defend themselves. Law enforcement is great, they do a tremendous job, but they can’t be everywhere all of the time. Our personal protection is ultimately up to us. That’s why I’m a gun owner, that’s why I have a concealed carry permit, and that’s why tens of millions of Americans have concealed carry permits as well. It’s just common sense.

Fix Our Broken Mental Health System

Let’s be clear about this. Our mental health system is broken. It needs to be fixed. Too many politicians have ignored this problem for too long.

All of the tragic mass murders that occurred in the past several years have something in common – there were red flags that were ignored. We can’t allow that to continue. We need to expand treatment programs, because most people with mental health problems aren’t violent, they just need help. But for those who are violent, a danger to themselves or others, we need to get them off the street before they can terrorize our communities. This is just common sense.

Agree in principle, but the devil's in the details. Labeling people as having mental health problems and subsequently taking away their rights is a path fraught with peril, and open to abuse. We must be very, very careful going down that route.

Defend The Rights of Law-Abiding Gun Owners

GUN AND MAGAZINE BANS. Gun and magazine bans are a total failure. That’s been proven every time it’s been tried. Opponents of gun rights try to come up with scary sounding phrases like “assault weapons”, “military-style weapons” and “high capacity magazines” to confuse people. What they’re really talking about are popular semi-automatic rifles and standard magazines that are owned by tens of millions of Americans. Law-abiding people should be allowed to own the firearm of their choice. The government has no business dictating what types of firearms good, honest people are allowed to own. (emphasis added)

Amen, brother!!!

BACKGROUND CHECKS. There has been a national background check system in place since 1998. Every time a person buys a gun from a federally licensed gun dealer – which is the overwhelming majority of all gun purchases – they go through a federal background check. Study after study has shown that very few criminals are stupid enough to try and pass a background check – they get their guns from friends/family members or by stealing them. So the overwhelming majority of people who go through background checks are law-abiding gun owners. When the system was created, gun owners were promised that it would be instant, accurate and fair. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case today. Too many states are failing to put criminal and mental health records into the system – and it should go without saying that a system’s only going to be as effective as the records that are put into it. What we need to do is fix the system we have and make it work as intended. What we don’t need to do is expand a broken system.

Similar to the mental health issue, this is a potentially terrible idea masquerading as a good one. It would be frighteningly easy for a background check system to morph into a gun registry.

NATIONAL RIGHT TO CARRY. The right of self-defense doesn’t stop at the end of your driveway. That’s why I have a concealed carry permit and why tens of millions of Americans do too. That permit should be valid in all 50 states. A driver’s license works in every state, so it’s common sense that a concealed carry permit should work in every state. If we can do that for driving – which is a privilege, not a right – then surely we can do that for concealed carry, which is a right, not a privilege.

This one makes a lot of sense. That's why it will probably never pass.

MILITARY BASES AND RECRUITING CENTERS. Banning our military from carrying firearms on bases and at recruiting centers is ridiculous. We train our military how to safely and responsibly use firearms, but our current policies leave them defenseless. To make America great again, we need a strong military. To have a strong military, we need to allow them to defend themselves.

Common sense. Something that's in short supply in our nation's capital.

This makes me view Trump a little more favorably. I'm still not convinced he's The One, but he's looking better...