PLEASE! FLY YOUR FLAGS AT HALF MAST

The world is a bit emptier today.

Today we lost a hero and a great American.

Neil Alden Armstrong

passed away at the age of 82.

August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012

       Neil Armstrong was the first astronaut; indeed the first person in the entire history of mankind to set foot on a world other than our own. Out of the billions of human beings that live or have lived on our planet, only 12 have ever walked on another piece of this universe. He was the first.
      Sadly, although his legacy will remain forever, Neil Alden Armstrong died today: August 25th, 2012 at the age of 82. Our prayers go out to his family and friends; and to a nation who watched his accomplishments with amazement as many a child dreamed of following in his footsteps. 
     That is a feat actually possible not only figuratively, but literally. The footprints of all 12 of the brave pioneers that walked on the moon are still there for the inspiration of those that surely will follow.

      Possibly best remembered for his iconic statement “That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind”, heard by the world audience as he stepped on to the moon, he and Edwin "Buzz" Aldren also planted the first of six American flags still proudly on the moon.

Watch the first moon landing here

       As far as is known, theirs is the only one of the six not still standing, having been blown over by their spacecraft exhaust upon takeoff from the moon.

     On July  20^th 1969, America jumped ahead of the Soviet Union in the space race by sending Michael Collins, Edwin Aldren and Neil Armstrong to the moon aboard the Apollo 11 spacecraft.

     About 600 million people watched as the first humans landed; and then walked on another piece of real estate in our solar system.

 

      At 2:56 UTC (EDT=10:56 pm,20 July) he set his left foot down in the moon dust. He was followed about 20 minutes later by Buzz Aldren. Michael Collins drew the short straw and remained aboard the command module, orbiting the moon.

      After fighting a battle with heart disease and undergoing heart surgery earlier this month, Neil Armstrong passed away today; the 25^th day of August, 2012.

 

He was the hero of a generation.

 

He will be missed.

Rest In Peace

Moon Landing Trivia:  The first galactic phone call was placed on July 21^st, 1969 UTC. Shortly before midnight Washington DC time, then-President Richard Milhous Nixon called the Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. He spoke via Houston Texas Mission Control for about 3 minutes congratulating them on their successful mission. The two astronauts were in Sea of Tranquility on the Moon. They traveled from Apollo 11 to the moon in the LEM (Lunar Excursion Module).

You can listen to the entire call here:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALEXANDRIA

She turned 19 today!

     She is the oldest of the 10 grandchildren that, until the first of this month I didn't know I had.
     Thank you, Jesus for bringing the rest of my family to me.
     And Alexandria, I hope you have a wonderful birthday and a fantastic life.

I love you.
Your grandfather

"A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity." Sigmund Freud

      Every since I was a child; and probably before, there has been a conspiracy in the United States to outlaw private ownership of firearms. My father warned me frequently that, once universal gun registration was the law of the land, the next step would be confiscation. Since the liberal left knows that they would never get away with an outright ban on firearms, they have been slowly chipping away for 60+ years at our basic right to keep and bear arms and protect ourselves, our families, our country and our American way of life.

      Beginning with The National Firearms Act of 1934 that prohibited or severely restricted private ownership of machine guns and moving on to Assault Weapons ban, with the included High-Capacity Magazine ban, the Brady Bill, and many more federal and state laws and regulations, the totalitarian left-wing arm of our government keeps trying to disarm the law abiding citizens of America.

      As every despot knows, the first thing a conquering force must do before subduing a population is to disarm them and remove their ability to defend themselves. Is that what our government has planned for us? To make us into slaves by disarming and oppressing us? If so, they're on the right track. It's what dictators throughout history have done.

"All political power comes from the barrel of a gun. The communist party must command all the guns, that way, no guns can ever be used to command the party."-Mao Tse Tung


"The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subject races to possess arms. History shows that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by so doing. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that the supply of arms to the underdogs is a sine qua non for the overthrow of any sovereignty."-Adolf Hitler
 

"The measures adopted to restore public order are: First of all, the elimination of the so-called subversive elements .... They were elements of disorder and subversion. On the morrow of each conflict I gave the categorical order to confiscate the largest possible number of weapons of every sort and kind. This confiscation, which continues with the utmost energy, has given satisfactory results.-Benito Mussolini
 

"If I could have banned them all - 'Mr. and Mrs. America turn in your guns' - I would have!"-Diane Feinstein¹

      When the American government wants to help a people or government attain or regain their freedom, the first thing they do is supply the oppressed people with guns. It has been said that the reason the Japanese and Germans never considered an invasion of the United States in WWII is because they knew that so many Americans are armed that they (the Axis) would suffer unacceptable causalities and face armed resistance far fiercer than in any other country. According to Admiral Yamamoto, commander-in-chief of the imperial Japanese navy during WWII, "You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind each blade of grass."

"And they are ignorant that the purpose of the sword is to save every man from slavery^."
Marcus Annaeus Lucanus Roman poet (A.D. 39-65)
Source: De Bello Civili (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, Loeb Classical Library, 1988), IV, 579, p. 216
"The right of self-defense never ceases.  It is among the most sacred, and alike necessary to nations and to individuals."
President James Monroe (November 16, 1818)
"I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it."
Thomas Jefferson, letter to Archibald Stuart, Philadelphia, December 23, 1791; “The Works of Thomas Jefferson,” Federal Edition (New York and London, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1904-5) Vol. 6
"There exists a law, not written down anywhere, but in our hearts; a law which comes to us not by training or custom or reading; a law which has come to us not from theory but from practice; not by instruction but by natural intuition: I refer to the law which lays it down that, if our lives are endangered by plots or violence or armed robbers or enemies, any and every method of protecting ourselves is morally right."
Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BC-43 BC) Roman Orator and Statesman at the trial of T. Annius Milo in 52 BC ²
 
     The Jul 31, 2012 edition of Daily World states “In addition to the need for self-defense, our Founders understood the bearing of arms was essential to protecting this country from tyrannical governments. Fresh on their minds was the revolutionary clash between the tax-happy British government and a population of armed and ragtag citizens with the dream of freedom burning in their souls.”
      Now the would-be slave masters in our government have decided try a new avenue. They have teamed up with tyrants, dictators and murderers around the globe in an attempt to have the United Nations dismantle our constitution through the Arms Trade Treaty.
      On Jul 29, 2012, Townhall Magazine³ reported on the then on-going UN negotiations regarding the Arms Trade Treaty⁴ which supposedly would only affect international arms trade and have no effect on 2^nd amendment rights within the borders of the US of A.
      According to the treaty supporters, our constitution would always override any international treaty. They say “The ATT will only apply to international export, import, and transfer of conventional weapons.⁵” Besides, didn't the Supreme Court just rule that we all have the right to bear arms and the it is an individual; not a collective right⁶?  Our government wouldn't possibly try to take away our basic rights would they? 

Let's look at the facts
       The countries that are pushing the hardest for the Arms Trade Treaty are Algeria, China, Colombia, Cuba, the Russian Federation and Indonesia.⁷ Now there's a list of people who support personal freedom. Yeah...and I'm a famous super model
      It would ”Ban the trade, sale and private ownership of all semi-automatic weapons (any that have magazines even though they still operate in the same one trigger pull – one single “bang” manner as revolvers, a simple fact the ant-gun media never seem to grasp). And “Create an international gun registry, clearly setting the stage for full-scale gun confiscation.³”
      In 1952, Secretary of State and Council on Foreign Relations member John Foster Dulles told the American Bar Association that “Treaty law can override the Constitution.” “Treaties for example…can cut across the rights given the people by their constitutional Bill of Rights.” and...A century ago, Theodore Roosevelt signed and implemented the terms of a treaty “...for two years before the Senate acted.” In his defense, he said “The Constitution did not explicitly give me power to bring about the necessary agreement with Santo Domingo. But the Constitution did not forbid my doing what I did.” ⁸
This U.N. Arms Treaty has caused so much controversy because it outlines a plan to target all types of conventional weapons...⁹

       As of last week, the Arms treaty has failed to pass the UN; at least in part because President Obama feels that he needs to wait for his re-election before he shoves it down our throat. “A Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, also blamed the U.S., saying 'they derailed the process,' adding that nothing will happen to revive negotiations until after the U.S. presidential election in November.¹⁰” That sounds a bit like what Obama said to Vladimir Putin, doesn't it?

      The US wasn't the only country that decided not to sign on the dotted line. Russia and China joined the United States in saying that “...they needed more time to consider the issues.¹¹” My thanks to Presidents Hu Jintao and Vladimir Putin. Not sure what their real reasons were.

     Although it isn't getting a whole lot of press, there was another reason that Obama decided not to try to sign away our constitution. At least for now. According to The New York Times [July 27, 2012] A large group of senators sent a letter to Obama assuring him that the treaty stood a snowball's chance in hell(sic) of being ratified. It takes at least 67 senators to ratify a treaty and 51 of them signed the letter.
      Don't think that's the end of it though. Whether Obama wins or loses in November, he will have nothing to lose by trying to persuade a lot of senators to go along with him. AND... if the Dems lose a lot of senate seats in the election, the lame duck session is liable to feel that they have nothing to lose either and push to get it ratified before January restores some sanity to congress and the White House.

      In the meantime, Liberals in congress are launching a parallel attack at our ability to keep our country free by continually aligning all gun ownership with sporting use. How many politicians and vocal gun-grabbers have you heard say “Give me one good reason why anybody needs a magazine that holds 30, 40 or 50 bullets to hunt a deer?” As I and many others have said over and over, the 2nd amendment has nothing to do with hunting ducks. Or deer. Or target practice and competition. The reason we need as many rounds as possible at our disposal is to help level the playing field a bit if we have to defend our country from enemies without or within. Reloading takes time; time that costs lives in a firefight.

      In the July 31^st edition of USA Today Dennis Henigan, vice president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence is quoted as saying there is no viable civilian use for large-round (sic) magazines. "It's rare that anyone has to fire 33 rounds in self-defense.¹²" He's absolutely correct. And as long as criminals and people bent on harming Americans and America know that many of us HAVE lots of guns and ammunition, our odds of having to use them will remain low. The US military has hundreds of nuclear warheads and it's rare that they have ever had to use them due primarily to the deterrent affect. Thank God.

      Let's face the truth. Whiny, nanny-state, we-know-what's-best-for-you liberals have for decades been trying to – and slowly succeeding in their attempt to completely outlaw private ownership of firearms and remove our capacity for self-defense. We the people need to remain ever-vigilant and let our elected officials know in no uncertain that we will not tolerate the usurpation of any part of our constitution by another country or some international group of do-gooders. Or any body else, for that matter. At least for now we have not only the ability but also the will to resist. With lethal force if necessary.


At least that's my opinion. What's yours?



For an entire page of very quotable quotes regarding the need to be – and remain armed, see: Notable-Quotes
Want to know what some congressional representatives consider to be reasonable gun control? For quotes...and a real insight into the liberal mindset, see: "Nobody Wants to Take Your Guns."

Citations

¹ Anti Gun Quotes

² ProGun Quotes

³ Townhall.com

⁴ U.N. Arms Trade Treaty

⁵ Arms Treaty Rhetoric

⁶ 2nd Amendment Decision

⁷ Fake Treaty or Real Treaty?

⁸ Obama-backed UN treat

⁹ Treaty to disarm Americans

¹⁰ Arms Treaty Fails

¹¹ UN Chief Dissapointed

¹² Guncontrol advocates target high-capacity magazines

Have a conspiracy you'd like me to research? Got a question about crypto?  

Write your question or comment HERE and I'll do my best to find and post the 
answer.

If you wish to unsubscribe from this blog, please send an email to pyrate02@gmail.com with the word “UNSUBSCRIBE”in the subject line.

A GLORIOUS DAY

     I have 6 kids: 4 of my own and 2 step kids. My youngest daughter Tonya I have not seen or heard from since 1988. Until yesterday!

      After all these years of wondering where she is, what she's doing and if she's even still alive, we found each other. I cannot describe the feeling. I am flabergasted and overjoyed.
     I also found out that I have 10... yes: TEN more grandkids. Yahoo. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full. Mine is overflowing and I am truly blessed. Thank you, Jesus.

     I absolutely L U V grandkids. Spoil 'em, feed 'em suger and send 'em home to mama. I wondered for years if I had any more grandkids. Now I know. I'll take a bow, now.
     Seriously, I've seen things like this on TV: siblings or parents and children suddenly being re-united after decades of seperation, but I never really believed that it could happen to me. On TV it usually is because of some reporter or private investigator. Then, when long-lost lovedones finally find each other, there's always a lot of tears. There sure was here.
     I had hoped to find her for all those years but never really believed that I would.
Now we are re-connecting.
     I love you baby girl. It is truly a glorious day.

REALLY! WHAT IS MARRIAGE?

      On this; the fourth day of July, in the year of our Lord: 2012, we come together around bar-b-ques, fireworks and family to celebrate the 236th birthday of American independence from England. As I sit comfortably in my Lazy-Boy, surrounded by a loving family and a couple of very spoiled cats, two distinct thoughts come to mind.

First: 

     Did Washington, Adams, Jefferson and all the rest of our founding fathers “mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honour" ¹, fight eight years of a bloody war and go through all the work of building a new nation out of a wild continent so they could take money, property and livelihood from those that work hard, take risks and finally succeed only to redistribute that wealth and give it to a bunch of spoiled, lazy, self-aggrandized bums? Did they put together a constitution supposedly limiting the power of the federal government and guaranteeing liberty and freedom for all only to have a bunch of socialist, Johnny-come-lately liberal whiners impose their Marxist ideals on the rest of us? I think not. Maybe; just maybe it's time for another revolution. 

Just a thought.

Second: 

     With the words”We hold these truths to be self evident; that all men are created equal” the biggest social and political experiment in the world started. Yet, in those days, the term “All Men” held a different meaning than today. It did not mean women, blacks, native Americans, or anybody else other than white males over the age of majority. Times have changed and our society has evolved and matured.

     This posting is not about any conspiracy. Nor does it have anything to do with cryptography. It is about possibly one of the most hot-button issues; both politically and socially in the last 20 years.
      That issue is same-sex marriage. Adamantly for it or vehemently against it, one thing is for sure. You will be hard pressed to find someone that doesn't have an opinion about it.

      Many people feel that marriage should be restricted to a union between one man and one woman. Others say that anybody should be able to marry anybody else. In the midst of this controversy I propose what I hope is a satisfactory compromise using an already-in-place legal concept: civil unions.

      Civil unions are supposed to let gays and lesbians feel like they are being treated equally and yet this concept comes at a time when non-traditional marriages are cropping up all over the place. I'm going to take a wild guess and say that probably less than half of marriages these days are actually performed in a church. On top of that, women keep their last name or the husband takes the wife's last name or they choose a completely new name to celebrate their lifelong union. Prenuptial agreements are almost as common as the marriage licenses they accompany. With the concept of “Spiritual Marriage", some people have even found a legal way to practice polygamy.        

     The time-honoured religious institution of marriage as we [used to] think about it is these days more the exception than the rule. Civil unions are supposed to be a subset of that institution. A type of “separate but equal” status. Of course that status goes over as well with the GLBT crowd today as it did with African Americans back in the 50s and 60s.

      So here's my thought. Maybe we're looking at it backwards. Maybe marriage should be a subset of civil unions. Let everybody that wants to join in a life-sharing contract do so. They can specify things like hospital visitation, inheritance rights, property rights and all the other things that married couples now take for granted. Along with the injustice this would remove from our GLBT population it would for our atheist brethren remove the stigma of having to have their union recognized some kind of religious power or authority.

      These contracts will be sworn to before a court-approved authority and registered down at the court house just like a whole lot of other contracts are. AND... those that decide to have their union performed in and sanctioned by the religious institution of their choice can enter into their contract via a preacher, priest, rabbi or whoever is their recognized religious authority. Those civil unions performed under religious trappings– and only those would officially be known as a “marriage”, although you would be free to call your union whatever you want.

      Let's face facts. As long as there are people, there will never be true and total equality for everyone. This simple step should however bring a semblance of equality and acceptance for a large portion of our population and a little peace of mind for another bunch all while keeping the term “Marriage” pure and un-defiled for those of us that feel that “Marriage” is a religious and spiritual institution.

      So that's my opinion. Tell me yours. Put them in a comment and I'll share them with the world. Just maybe we can start a dialog that will someday lead to a little better society and a bit more freedom and justice for all.

Happy 4th of July

¹ Read the full text of the Declaration of Independence here

If you wish to unsubscribe from this blog, please send an email to pyrate02@gmail.com with the word “UNSUBSCRIBE”in the subject line.

GOD BLESS AMERICA

      Yes! I'm late again. Had to have another surgery for a torn rotator cuff. I've got to stop splitting firewood and buy a splitter.
      This month's posting was supposed to be on same-sex marriage and a possible solution to the debate. I had it almost finished when a news segment caught my ear. Look for it in July instead.
      A school principal banned Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" from a graduation ceremony " telling teachers the Lee Greenwood ballad could offend other cultures. ¹"
      According to The Washington Post:(11/13/2011) “A federal court judge ruled that officials at a California high school had a legal right to send home students wearing shirts showing the American flag on Cinco de Mayo...”
      So let's get something straight. If you are offended by our flag or the Pledge of Allegiance or our national anthem or patriotic songs or anything else that Americans are prone to as an expression of pride in and love for our country, then GET THE HELL OUT! Go back to Iran or North Korea or China or wherever else your brain-dead ideas will be accepted.
      And to all the bleeding-heart sorry-ass liberals who think that if we just don't fly the flag or speak about how great America is, all the jihadists will suddenly like us and leave us alone; here's a wake-up call for you.
      They don't hate us because of our flag or our songs. They hate us because we are free and they can't stand anybody being free. They hate us because our wives are free to get a job and a driver's license and walk down the sidewalk showing their face. They hate us because our daughters can go to school and get an education and plan a career. They hate us because our women aren't the property of the father until he finds a husband for her and then she becomes the property of the husband. They hate us because a woman can choose NOT to get married and still have a career and buy a house and a car and live a life. And they hate most of all because all of us are free to read The Washington Post or Time Magazine or, God forbid- a Playboy. We are all free to be Muslims or Jews or Christians or Athiests and to worship-or not-as we see fit.
      The only way to keep them from hating us is to become them. So, unless you want to grow your beard, make your wife and daughter wear a burkha in public, ban girls from schools and the workplace and spend your whole life reading nothing but religious texts they are going to hate you. I'm not going to do all that so they are going to hate me and I don't care.
      As the old Merle Haggard song says; When you're runnin' down our country, boy, you're walkin' on the fightin' side of me. If you don't love it, leave it.

That's my opinion and, on this one, I don't care what anybody else thinks.

¹ http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Principal-Justin-Bieber-Baby-God-Bless-the-USA-Graduation-Song-158547255.html
http://www.wpix.com/news/wpix-god-bless-usa-061212,0,7467477.story
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/06/12/ingraham-principal-who-banned-god-bless-the-usa-is-part-of-angry-left/

If you wish to unsubscribe from this blog, please send an email to pyrate02@gmail.com with the word “UNSUBSCRIBE”in the subject line.

A DAY TO HONOR THE MEN AND WOMEN SERVING IN OUR MILITARY

Happy Memorial Day.      And to all those men and women that are serving or have served in our armed forces, and especially to those thousands that made the ultimate sacrifice and gave their lives for their...and our country: THANK YOU Last year at this time, I wrote a memorial day posting and recieved the following message from a gentleman(???): From: Walt ...........@#$%.net (I won't invite reprisals from any patriots by publishing any identifiable information about him)
To: Me

Please remove my name from this list I do not want your CRAP

     We removed his name from our mailing list and sent this reply to him.

To: Walt

I'm sorry that you don't appreciate our great country, the troops that defend it and your freedoms and privileges that you enjoy by being an American. Your name has been removed from our list and you will receive no more mailings from us.

      For me, that says it all. We are free only because we; Americans, are willing to fight and die to keep the freedoms and liberty that comes with living in this great country of ours.
     No! America is not perfect. After all, it's full of people and people aren't perfect. We make mistakes. Sometimes we do the wrong thing for the right reason. There is, however no other country in the world that has the smooth transition of government, personal freedoms and the benifits of citizenship that we Americans enjoy.
   So - on this Memorial Day, fire up the bar-b-que, pour a glass of your favorite beverage, tell your friends and family how much you appreciate them and all of you give a toast to the United States of America.

God bless our men and women in uniform and

God bless the

 United States of America