Common Defense: In Crisis, America Buys Guns, Hurray! 

By: John Ransom  / Townhall Daily

While the Left looks for more reasons to restrict our right to self defense every time an infamous shooting occurs, the standard reaction of the general population in Colorado is to stock up on guns and ammo in self defense.

It’s a reaction that’s uniquely American, where every man’s a captain. But it’s also a reaction that has a long history in the West, a history we should be proud of.
 
And when I say the West I really mean everywhere in America. Because at one time or another in our history everywhere from the tidewater on the east coast to the tidewater on the west coast was the West, as civilization pushed further and further westerly. And so, I believe, everywhere remains the West- at least metaphorically. 

As the establishment press (hat tip to Dan Mitchell) acts shocked! yes, shocked! that people are buying guns in record numbers in the Denver area as a reaction to last week’s shooting rampage in an Aurora, Colorado theater that killed or injured 70 people who were attending a screening of the newest Batman movie, I’m feeling, um, American about the sales.

---

Really American.       

I want to go out and salute the flag and say: “Thank God for average Americans.”

From the Denver Post:

"It's been insane," Jake Meyers, an employee at Rocky Mountain Guns and Ammo in Parker, [Colorado] said Monday.

When he arrived at work Friday morning — just hours after a gunman killed 12 and injured 58 others at the Century Aurora 16 theater — there already were 15 to 20 people waiting outside the store, Meyers said.

He called Monday "probably the busiest Monday all year" and said the basic firearms classes that he and the store's owner teach are booked solid for the next three weeks, something that hadn't happened all year.

“Gun sales are up because a tragic event such as the theater murders reminds people that they need to be prepared to defend themselves from the predators in our society,” says Dave Gill, vice president of the Colorado State Shooting Association.  “The reason that we have Concealed Carry laws is to give citizens the ability to effectively defend themselves and their families.”

Gill says that just posting a sign banning guns obviously didn’t work.

“This theater banned effective self-defense,” he emphasized.  “This didn’t seem to work well for the 12 who were killed or the dozens who were injured.”  

Meanwhile Bloomberg is reporting that background checks for gun purchases in the area are up 43 percent according to figures released by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

“Gun dealers submitted 2,887 requests for state background checks required to sell a firearm in the three days after the July 20 shooting, said Susan Medina, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation,” reports Bloomberg via SFGate.com. “That’s 43 percent more than the 2,012 requests during the same three days the prior week, and a 39 percent increase over the 2,078 check during the first Friday to Sunday in July.”

This is exactly what we should expect from America. It fits with our history, our traditions, and the rights that we fought to preserve.

While there is a role for the government in preventing such massacres, it doesn’t include a knee-jerk-- emphasis on jerk --reaction from the Left restricting the right of self-defense for the rest of us.

We fought a war over this. Ever hear of the Powder Alarms? For those who have, of course you did. For those who haven’t, of course you haven’t.   Read more history, please.
     
Here’s a little known fact: As a percentage of the population, more men volunteered to serve in the Union army from Colorado than any other state or territory of the United States. Nearly 4,000 volunteers out of a population of about 50,000 men and women took up on arms on behalf of the Union.

These were ordinary citizens who put down their mining pans, picks and shovels, pushed their commercial interests to the background and became the government in the same sense that the citizens at Lexington and Concord did.

Americans tend to react this way when their God-given rights are in jeopardy.

A citizenry in a rush to arm themselves during a crisis shouldn’t be condemned, but rather, they should be applauded. This is the highest form of government for us.

It belongs with the Mayflower Compact and the New England Town Meeting in our history and tradition.
Because the threat we face isn’t only- or even mostly- from a masked crazy man in a long trench coat.
It’s from a government wearing a different mask altogether.

“What do you think the Devil is going to look like if he's around?” said character Aaron Altman in the movie Broadcast News. “Nobody is going to be taken in if he has a long, red, pointy tail…. He will look attractive and he will be nice and helpful and he will get a job where he influences a great God-fearing nation and he will never do an evil thing... he will just bit by little bit lower standards where they are important. Just coax along flash over substance.”

Don’t get me wrong. Some flash is OK.

But I’d rather be standing behind "the flash and substance" as substance is rifling out of the barrel of a gun.

That’s my right.

And yours too. 

A Moment for Olympic Moral Courage 

By: David Malcolm  / Townhall.com

In 1972, Palestinian terrorists affiliated with terrorist group Black September murdered 11 Israeli Olympic athletes and one American, David Burger, in Munich, Germany. German security forces were unable to rescue the athletes, and the terrorists emerged unscathed as heroes of a terrorist movement that would plague the world for the next forty years.

Western governments, through their pathetic, morally indefensible non-response to the massacre, implicitly and cowardly legitimized terror as a valid means of Palestinian (and on a larger scale, Muslim) political expression. Indeed, Palestinian terrorist leader Yasser Arafat, who personally directed the Munich massacre, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 for his efforts to “create peace in the Middle East.” Similarly, the man many recently believed was the key to the “peace process,” Palestinian Authority president and so-called “moderate” Mahmoud Abbas, was likewise implicated in the Munich massacre.

Forty years later, as thirty-seven Israeli athletes arrive in London to participate in the Olympic Games, President Obama has a golden opportunity to show moral courage where the rest of the world has faltered. President Obama has reportedly backed an effort to hold a minute of silence during the upcoming opening ceremonies at the London Olympics to recognize the Israeli athletes murdered at the Munich Games. For a president who has thus far refused to visit Israel and has publicly snubbed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this is a good start.

International Olympic Committee president and moral coward Jacques Rogge quashed the idea, however, saying, “We feel that the Opening Ceremony is an atmosphere that is not fit to remember such a tragic incident.” With respect, the Opening Ceremonies are just such a time.

A simple, yet powerful symbol of remembrance of the Munich massacre is necessary and appropriate, especially in light of last week’s terrorist bombing of an Israeli tour bus in Bulgaria that many suspect was perpetrated by Iran’s hit squad, the Quds Force. To send a global message that America rejects terror and stands with Israel as it does the same, we propose the following.

American and British Olympians should wear an Israeli flag lapel pin on the blazers of their Olympic uniforms. Further, both countries’ teams should carry the Israeli flag alongside their respective flags, the Stars and Stripes and Union Jack. Finally, once both teams have been introduced and have taken their place in the opening ceremonies, they should unilaterally recognize a minute of silence in remembrance of the eleven Israeli athletes and one American athlete who were murdered in Munich.

Beyond this, President Obama must speak. As always, the world looks to America for moral leadership, and President Obama has an ideal opportunity to provide it. He doesn’t need to give another long-winded Cairo speech lamenting America’s sins abroad or drawing a perverse moral equivalence between America and our enemies. Something simple and direct will suffice. It could go something like this:

“Forty years ago, Palestinian terrorists killed eleven Israeli athletes and one American athlete in a senseless act of indefensible evil. In response, the world did nothing, and in the subsequent years, we have failed to pay adequate tribute to those who were killed, and failed to condemn the barbarity of what was done. Today we correct those failures."

 
"Today we say that the murder of those athletes was evil, and we mourn with their families. Many years have passed since that day, and we know that time cannot erase the heartbreak and loss that you feel. But we know that God comforts the grieving, and our prayer is that you know His comfort today. Today we also say that terrorism has no place at the Olympics, or in Israel, or in London, or New York, or anywhere else. America stands with Israel today and vows to do whatever is necessary, whenever necessary, to ensure her safety and security."

 
“Finally, to those who traffic in terror – who attack innocents on buses in Bulgaria, and in subways in London, and on trains in Spain, and in nightclubs in Jakarta, and in hotels in Mumbai or Jordan – know this: your day of reckoning will come. America will not stand idly by while you terrorize innocents. To those who would test our resolve, hear this: if you do, the full resources of the United States government and our allies will be unleashed against you, and against those who support you. You will find no sanctuary from our justice."

 
“The United States looks forward to a safe and historic Olympic games. God bless the United States, Britain, Israel and all of the athletes assembled from across the world who inspire us with their excellence. Thank you.”

LTC Allen West...a true American hero

Dear Fellow American,

My name is Robert Delgado, and I am a former Sergeant in the United States Army. I want to share the story of my experience with Allen West, because I want to make sure you know what kind of a man he is.

During Operation Iraqi Freedom, Lieutenant Colonel Allen West was my commander. When we got our orders to go to Iraq, my wife was eight months pregnant, and it was nerve-wracking leaving her and not knowing if I would live to see my child.

At that time, when we went into Iraq, many of us where not outfitted with body armor. But Allen West assured me, “I will make sure you come home to your wife and your newborn baby.”

Lieutenant Colonel West gave me his own personal body armor.

One night we were driving on patrol. Suddenly, a car came speeding at us and we began taking small arms fire. I was shot in the chest.

If I hadn’t been wearing Allen West’s body armor, based on where the bullet hit, I believe I would have been killed.

Lieutenant Colonel Allen West saved my life.

Political opponents are trying to paint a dishonest picture of Allen West. But I know he is a true patriot. He put his men first then, and he continues to put his country first now.

We need a leader like Allen West in Congress – a man with the honor, integrity and the courage to fight. Our country’s future depends on it.

Please SHARE and Tweet this ad with your family and friends and people across Martin, Palm Beach and St. Lucie Counties. They need to know the kind of leader Allen West really is.

Thank you for standing with us.

Sincerely,
Robert J. Delgado, Former Sergeant
US Army

Watch and listen to Robert's own words here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m62bsXCUjic

Op-ed:

Iraq could fall thanks to Obama

By: Diane Sori

As a result of last year’s all too public announcement when Barack Hussein Obama told our enemies the date when we would be withdrawing our troops, a few days ago Iraq had its deadliest day of violence in two years with over 100 Iraqi’s killed in al-Qaeda bomb attacks.

Thanks to Obama’s big mouth over 4800 American troops who made the ultimate sacrifice have now been dishonored, and all their hard work in trying to free the Iraqi people from not only the brutal rule of Saddam Hussein but also from encroaching islamic extremists has now been for naught, as the enemy is starting to make inroads into taking over once again.

And all this because our miserable excuse of a Commander-in-Chief announced when our troops would be withdrawn.  Guess he was asleep or doing some blow the day our military leaders told him unequivocally that you do NOT tell the enemy your plans.

With those words of his to our enemy, Obama actually in no uncertain terms said, ‘here my muslim brethren, just lay low until we’re out and then it’s all yours for the taking.’

And taking is just what they’re doing as the steady renewal of violence sends a powerful message that al-Qaeda is most definitely regrouping and staging acts of terrorism now that our troops have left.  And with 107 people killed and more than 200 wounded in the newest series of bomb attacks, al-Qaeda is now starting to recruit help from Sunni tribes in their effort to recapture territory they previously held.

And it appears they just might succeed even though Iraqi officials keep bloviating over and over that al-Qaeda appears to be much weaker than before.  I didn’t know that weaker meant al-Qaeda was still capable of launching mass-casualty attacks as they just did.  I didn’t know that weaker meant they could successfully coordinate attacks, as witnessed by the fact that the recent blasts all happened within a few hours of each other striking mostly security forces and government officials, main al-Qaida targets.

I guess my idea of what a weakened al-Qaeda means is vastly different than what Iraqi officials believe weaker to be.

But what can you expect when there is such a major weaknesses in Iraq's ability to not only gather intelligence about terror plots but to stop them at all.  The total failure of Iraqi security checkpoints has proven just how ineffective the new government is in protecting its own people.

Add to that the fact that the political showdown between Iraq's main Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish factions leaves the door open for al-Qaeda to retake Iraq, as alluded to by the following statement, 'The majority of the Sunnis in Iraq support al-Qaida and are waiting for its return.' That very statement was recently posted on the militant website Bakr al-Baghdadi.

So thanks to Barack Hussein Obama’s giving away our withdrawal timetable, Iraq most likely will also follow in the footsteps of the other Arab countries that have recently fallen, but fallen NOT in the name of democracy but fallen to islamic extremists like the muslim brotherhood.

Hope you’re happy with yourself, Obama, because your muslim brethren sure are.

Romney’s MUST Give Speech By Craig Andresen / The National Patriot   (I'm a little under the weather today so with his permission I'm running my friend Craig Andresen's piece from his blog.)

It’s time for Mitt Romney to start telling it like it is. Like it really is. It’s high time he took off the nice guy gloves and started laying it on the line with respect to our economy.

What follows is the speech he needs to start delivering.

Hello.

My name is Mitt Romney and I’m running for President.

Next month, our party will hold a convention and, I expect to receive the Republican nomination at that convention but, there are some things you need to know and waiting until after the convention might be too late.

My opponent, Obama, is running about telling stories. He’s on the attack. Okay. We, my staff and I, expected that. I would hazard to guess that some of you expected it too.

His plan is to attack…ME. Early in our republican primary race, his campaign issued the order…”Kill Romney.”

Now, I’m not just speaking to those in my own party when I ask this question: Is that what a president, immersed in the worst economy we’ve seen in many, many decades and a skyrocketing debt should be doing? To those who voted FOR Obama in 2008…Is that what you elected him to do?

Please, correct me if I’m wrong but…Didn’t you elect Obama to change things? Change them for the better? 

Didn’t you elect him to fix the economy? Didn’t you elect him to cut the debt in half? Didn’t you elect Obama to bring transparency to the government? To mend the divide between parties?

How’s that working out for you?

I’ll tell you how it’s working…Obama hasn’t followed through on one single promise he made to you.

Not one.

Cut the debt in half? It’s laughable. He’s actually INCREASED our national debt more than all presidents before him put together.

Transparency? Really? An administration which engineered Obamacare behind closed doors by hijacking an already passed bill from the House and completely rewriting it in the Senate to turn it into the largest tax increase in American History and then they wouldn’t even allow it to be read before it was passed? That’s transparency??

An administration that walked guns over our southern border until they were in the hands of Mexican drug cartels and now, more than 200 people are dead including at least 1 U.S. Border Agent after which, they have done everything possible including enacting Executive Privilege to cover up the facts? That’s transparency???

You know, Obama and his party’s pundits and, yes, some republicans too, have been calling on ME to release more of my tax records. They say I’M the least transparent candidate since Nixon and they have eluded to me being a felon.

Well, I’ll you, and them, what. I’ll release more of MY tax records right after Obama releases HIS records…His college transcripts, his college thesis, verifiable information on who got him into and paid for his college career…Verifiable information regarding his Social Security Number, his Selective Service registration and yes, his birth records.

The key word is…VERIFIABLE.

Because Obama likes to talk about being “fair” and “transparent” let’s do just that. In the name of “fairness” and “transparency” I’ll show mine as soon as he shows his.

That’s fair and transparent.

Now then, about those bank accounts I have with Swiss banks and in the Cayman Islands.

I’ve been taken to task about this by liberals and some conservatives too.

In fact, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz has been very aggressive on this issue or, at least she was, up until it came out that, she TOO had such accounts. Let me ask a simple question. Is it legal to have such accounts?

Of course it is and lots of people do it. In fact, there are lots of liberals with substantial wealth who do the same thing but the difference is…like Schultz…what’s good for them is viewed as unethical when, and only when, a republican does it.

If you elect me as your president, I’ll work with congress to rewrite the tax code for a couple of very important reasons. First, we’ll work to make it attractive for people like me, and yes, Wasserman-Schultz, to keep our money HERE rather than legally shelter it elsewhere. Second, rewriting the tax code will make it so that we can all understand it. Right now, I can’t even understand it and I assure you that if YOU or I have a question and WE contact the IRS…WE will get as many different answers to the question as the number of people we ask.

The IRS doesn’t even understand the tax code but we can do better. Much better. We can close loopholes and straighten it out so that everybody is on even ground and everybody pays in. In that way, we can lower everybody’s individual tax burden AND raise more revenue at the same time.

Speaking of the IRS…As your president…I will NOT appoint a tax cheat to run it.

Now, the economy.

It’s in deep trouble and one of the biggest reasons it’s in deep trouble is because of liberal agenda and programs.

4 years of Obama didn’t get us to this point. 4 decades of liberal entitlements certainly played a big part in it though.

From the time of president Johnson’s liberal/social programs to today, the liberals in this country have been cultivating a permanent voting bloc based on permanent dependence on government handouts and programs.

Our nation’s poverty rate is about to reach its highest point since 1965 and it’s projected to continue on that trend.

What was that program Johnson put in place back in 1965? Oh yes, that’s right…The war on poverty?

From that day to this, the poverty rate has continued to climb. Do you think all those programs, all that welfare, all the Medicaid  and affirmative action has won the war on poverty?

The numbers are facts and the numbers don’t lie. We’re losing the war on poverty and the only tactics we’ve employes in nearly 5 decades have been liberal tactics. How’s THAT working for ya?

Administration after administration has robbed from one social program to fund another and sometimes, too many times, to fund programs or initiatives that have absolutely nothing to do with those from whom the money was stolen. It’s absurd and it’s shameful.

Meanwhile, people have come to rely on those programs and more and more are doing so today.

Well, enough is enough.

As Republicans and conservatives, kneeling to the pressure of liberals must end. 

We have been shamed into acceptance of things we knew wouldn’t work and afraid to be labeled as cruel, uncaring, or inhumane if we speak up or vote against such things.

No more.

Americans are the most caring and helpful of other people of all the people on earth. It’s impossible to believe that such programs, operated currently by the federal government, wouldn’t be in better hands either at the state level or amongst faith based organizations.

I believe, if we place those in need, into the hands of state and local entities and yes, faith based entities, they would be better served and strengthened than they could EVER be in the hands of the federal government.
To quote directly from faith…”Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he’ll never go hungry.”

Right now, the federal government is handing out fish and guess what, the government is out of fish.

Obama wants to take MORE fish from YOU and give those fish to others. Guess what? YOU’RE running out of fish too.

Let’s talk about businesses.

My opponent says that if you have a business, you didn’t build that. He thinks you couldn’t POSSIBLY build a business without government help.

I think he’s lost his last marble.

Did government build the roads and bridges that allow your business to move goods from place to place or your customers to get to your door? My opponent says yes and YOUR business couldn’t succeed without them.

I’m going to let you all in on something liberals and my opponent don’t want you to know.

The government never built anything they didn’t get the money from YOU to build.

EVERYTHING the GOVERNMENT builds, gets built off the sweat, perseverance, innovation and exceptionalism of those who reach for and obtain the American Dream.

Success.

If it wasn’t for individuals and businesses who build their own success…Let me say that again…If it wasn’t for individuals and businesses…THAT BUILD THEIR OWN SUCCESS…the government wouldn’t be able to build squat.

My opponent, Obama, has never had a job in the private sector and he’s never created a job. He came to his current position with no experience in economics, no experience in job creation, no experience in foreign affairs and no experience in working with or creating a budget

It shows. Oh yes…It most certainly shows.

This nation saw its most impressive period of growth during the industrial revolution and, we can and will do it again. In fact, we do more.

By getting government out of the way, we’ll create an atmosphere in which entrepreneurs will BULD successful NEW industries and businesses and we’ll bring other industries HOME. One of those NEW industries will be ENERGY. PROVEN energy.

We should NOT have a president who goes to OTHER countries and tells them that WE want to be THEIR best energy customers and, we should NOT be sending OUR Veterans to CANADA to assist THEM in building a pipeline to deliver energy to China.

That’s not only absurd…It’s just plain stupid and that is exactly what my opponent has done by refusing to approve the Keystone XL pipeline.

If we can’t convince our friends in Canada to change the direction of that pipeline now, or when I’m the president…We’ll make up the difference by tapping even MORE of our OWN energy right here in THIS country!

Am I turning MY back on green energy options? No. I’m turning GOVERNMENT’S back on it and putting it into the hands of PRIVATE enterprise where it will succeed or fail without the GOVERNMENT’S hand in YOUR pocket either way!

Now, let me tell you something about this economy.

When you hire me as president, I’ll “inherit” a stagnant GDP, an economy that’s struggling, an obscene amount of debt and an unemployment rate that is far too high. That will be November 6^th.

Come January 20^th, all of that is mine. It will NOT belong to MY predecessor or his predecessor. It will belong to ME.

We will construct a budget to cut spending and we will PASS that budget.

As president, I will form a jobs council…NOT to look for ways that GOVERNMENT can create jobs but to identify ways we can get government OUT OF THE WAY so that YOU can create jobs and businesses and, I WILL meet with that jobs council on a REGULAR basis.

By cutting wasteful programs and eliminating wasteful and oppressive agencies, we will begin to lower the national debt without cutting our military in ways that would leave us vulnerable to our enemies.

We will eliminate the largest tax increase in American history when we repeal Obamacare and we will work to find ways to lower the cost of healthcare without putting the government in charge OF your healthcare

We will find a way to streamline the immigration process so that those who wish to become Americans CAN without the long and tedious process that takes, in some cases, much more than a decade but, we won’t do that until after we secure our borders.

We will stand with our friends around the world and keep a wary eye on our enemies and should trouble or threats arise against us OR our friends, we will work in concert with those friends to deal with it but, we will NOT ask permission of ANY world body or organization to do so and when we lead, we will lead from the FRONT.

It’s time we had a president who believes in the exceptionalism of this nation and the exceptionalism of its people. A president and an administration that takes the oath of office and believes in that oath because they believe in the constitution. It’s time for a president who believes in the American Dream and embraces the vision of the framers that smaller government is better government and the power belongs to the states and ultimately to the people.

4 years ago, my opponent was talking about “Fundamental transformation” of America and “Spreading the Wealth.” Well…

As your president, I want to RESTORE the principles that made America GREAT and spread the OPPORTUNITIES that will lead to individual success.

May God Bless the People of the United States and the United States of America!

The Reddest of Presidents 

By: John Ransom  / Townhall.com

It’s clear the economy is seeing red.

A host of economists, who always seem to be the last to know, have cut GDP growth forecasts recently, in light of rising unemployment and falling manufacturing output. The latest to see the light at the end of the tunnel in its proper context as a speeding train coming right at us is Fannie Mae’s chief economist, Doug Duncan. Fannie Mae always seems to be the last-est of the last to know.

“The data from the past month collectively point to decelerating economic growth, but growth nonetheless," noted Duncan in a statement by Fannie Mae. “It's now clear that our bias toward downside risks noted in the June forecast have materialized, pushing down our already modest growth projections.”

And, according to Newsday, poverty is approaching levels not seen since 1965.

“Poverty is spreading at record levels across many groups,” says Newsday, “from underemployed workers and suburban families to the poorest poor. More discouraged workers are giving up on the job market, leaving them vulnerable as unemployment aid begins to run out. Suburbs are seeing increases in poverty, including in such political battlegrounds as Colorado, Florida and Nevada, where voters are coping with a new norm of living hand to mouth.”

That should not surprise anyone who has paid much attention to the administration over the past year. Despite increasing worry over lack of economic growth, the administration has done little to get the economy moving and much to prevent it from growth.

Last year, in a signal to business that perhaps he really did feel their pain, Obama appointed Chicago’s Bill Daley as his chief of staff. This allowed former Obama chief of staff Rahm Emmanuel to exit stage left to replace the other Daley- Richie- as mayor of Chicago.

And for a brief moment the chamber of commerce crowd thought maybe Obama was starting to be more business-friendly. But the Daley ascendancy lasted months, not years. And while Obama announced an effort to cut back on red tape and regulation, year three of Obama's economic-whatnot has been as tough on business as any year of Obama’s administration.

An update to last year’s report from Heritage, Red Tape Rising, says that “Despite this promise of restraint, however, the torrent of new rules and regulations from Washington continued throughout 2011, with 32 new major regulations. These new rules increase regulatory costs by almost $10 billion annually along with another $6.6 billion in one-time implementation costs.”

And that’s not counting Obamacare costs.

In fact, last year Obama’s own Small Business Administration calculated that the total cost to implement regulations in the country amounted to $1.75 trillion or 13 percent of GDP.

While some of that money is accounted for already in government outlays, it means that total cost of government (state, local and federal), which accounts for over 40 percent of our GDP in cash costs, is actually much higher than that when you figure in other costs like lost business and costs of compliance.

Might government costs be over 50 percent of our economy? Possibly. But for sure, government now is the single biggest factor in our economy whether the actual percentage of GDP it accounts for falls just below the 50 percent-of-GDP rate or just inches past it.

And we haven’t even gotten to the bad part either:

Warns Heritage: “This regulatory tide is not expected to ebb anytime soon. Hundreds of new regulations are winding through the rulemaking pipeline as a consequence of the vast Dodd–Frank financial-regulation law (the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act), Obamacare, and the Environmental Protection Agency’s global warming crusade, threatening to further weaken an anemic economy and job creation.”

Total costs of all regulation will cost the economy close to $20 trillion in the next ten years, just using estimates from the Small Business Administration from 2011. In contrast, our yearly economic output is only $15 trillion. If Obamacare is implemented and Dodd-Frankenstein continues to turn on its masters, the costs, including lost opportunities for our economy, will be staggering.

Obama told us that for generations his election would be hailed as the moment the seas stopped rising and the earth began to heal.

But he neglected to mention how much it would cost us in red tape.

That red tape makes him the reddest of all presidents.

What? You expected something else? 

Syria Admits WMD Cache

by Sam Rolley / Personal Liberty Digest

UPI

As they continue to face rebellion, Syrian officials say they will use weapons of mass destruction in the event of foreign invasion.

The embattled Syrian government said on Monday that it has stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction and will not hesitate to use them in the event the country is invaded by foreigners.

Foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi said that Damascus would not use unconventional arms against its own citizens, but would against foreign invaders.

Currently, Syria faces international isolation, a rebellion that has left more than 19,000 people dead, and threats from Israel of invading to prevent the weapons from falling into rebel hands. Syrian officials, before now, had not admitted that the country possessed WMDs, though speculation that it had them is long-standing.

“No chemical or biological weapons will ever be used, and I repeat, will never be used, during the crisis in Syria no matter what the developments inside Syria,” Makdissi said during a news conference on Syrian state television. “All of these types of weapons are in storage and under security and the direct supervision of the Syrian armed forces and will never be used unless Syria is exposed to external aggression.”

He noted, however, that Syria is facing domestic enemies in the rebellion, which the regime has described as being funded from abroad by foreign extremists.

U.S. intelligence officials say they are intensifying monitoring efforts to track the weapons and try to determine whether the Syrian government will use them.