Any Guitarists Out There?

 

Ok. Been awhile. I’ve been busy tilting at metaphysical windmills, in an ongoing and probably futile attempt to get to the core, you know the real crux of the collectivist mindset.

You think after ten years I might have learned that deep down inside, there is no there, there, to their there. After all, they admit as much … as self-proclaimed moral nihilists and eliminative materialists. Leftism: a caravan to nowhere.

Speaking of caravans, and something a bit more positive in the way of one, I went to Youtube the other day to pull up a  video wherein Frank Vignola the amazing jazz guitarist  had guested with the Hot Club of Detroit jazz group. As I may have mentioned before, when I first saw that particular 90.3 FM WCPN video, I didn’t know who Vignola was, nor of his reputation.

I thought Evan and the Hot Club boys had some local to Cleveland rock band mop top sitting in [far right] as a courtesy gesture. Then I heard Vignola’s lead solo during Nuages. The reaction of the band members tells you all you need to know about Vignola’s musicianship. You might want to listen to the first 40 seconds of the clip which I have started with the lead handover.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7ZIF9f1pO8&feature=player_detailpage#t=315s

So anyway, despite the fact that I don’t much care for – to put it politely – French accordion, I thought I’d take another listen. That’s when I stumbled across a related subject matter video put up by a fellow named Jay Cunningham. He’d attended a luthiers’ convention (that’s ‘guitar builders’ to us civilians) in Woodstock.

What Jay Cunningham captured with his battery powered video camera was what looks to be an impromptu acoustic jam featuring Vignola, backed by his sideman, and one Julian Lage.

As with Vignola earlier, I had no idea who Julian Lage was. I figured he was some obscure grinning Frenchman having a turn at the guitar at a trade show jam. I was wrong. Turns out he’s an American, and quite famous – having been an official child prodigy, who somehow, he reports, had a more or less normal upbringing.

If you don’t like guitar work, skip the video. If old standards bore the hell out of you, skip the video. If you have never played any kind of musical instrument, skip the video. You won’t have any idea how amazing what he is doing is, since you will have no context in which to locate it.

If, however you know anything about musicianship, take a look. There are many fine and highly talented musicians in the world. This, is a little different. You are watching real genius. Take note at the 2 minute mark.

And thanks to Jay Cunningham and his video camera with its dying battery, some of that genius, apparently spontaneously expressed before what seems to be a small, casually gathered audience of trade show attendees, was captured for posterity.

 

 

 

Lies Of Omission

I’m fairly sure that anyone here is sufficiently ”plugged in” to current politics enough to have heard about House member Gabby Gifford’s recent plea for further gun restrictions. I’m not sure what your local media is like, but there’s a fair chance that there was even a mention of Sarah Palin or at least some sort of “incitement” behind that shooter’s attack. Given the body count, it’s not too surprising.

Also recently mentioned, though only in passing, is that the guy who shot up the Family Research Council in DC. Honestly, my main memory of that was being on a family trip and wondering why the heck somebody targeting based on “anti-gay bias” would have bags of Chick-fil-A. I can remember a few commentators suggesting that it was some sort of cartoonish attempt at “blending in”– an indication of just how crazy his view of those who disagree is or was. “Hey, Chick-fil-a is ‘anti-gay’ the same way that the FRC is– they don’t support redefining marriage to fit current pop culture appeals. The Family Research Council even denies a man and woman are functionally identical to two guys or two gals, of all the nerve! They’ll never notice me coming in and killing people if I have suitable fast food bags!”   Not someone to take too seriously, even if he <I>did</i> have a gun.

I vaguely remember reading a blog about him choosing the target from the Southern Poverty Law Center, but I think that was from a site that collects examples of the SPLC faking and inflating “hate” for fundraising purposes. As I said, it didn’t stick in my mind, and I already don’t trust the SPLC. I assumed that they’d mentioned the FRC as being against homosexual marriage and the guy had gone from there.

Mostly, the “Giffords shooting” (the six dead victims get less press, since it seems likely she was the focus– if only because her public meeting gave that scum a crowd) sticks in one’s mind so much more because of the horrible range of people killed; from the little girl that was a 9/11 baby and the retired grandparent-types to the federal Judge and the first staffer to die in the line of duty, there was someone incredibly relatable to for everyone. Nobody died in the FRC attack, and Leonardo Johnson was able to overcome the shooter even after being shot in the arm.  No fuss about heroism there, so it must have not been that bad of a shot, or it would’ve hit the news, right? (An aside: You might notice that I don’t name the murderers or attempted murderers. I don’t want to give them that level of recognition. The victims or heroes, though, are a different matter, and it took quite a bit of digging to find Mr. Johnson’s name wasn’t “A. Security Guard.”)

After today, I’m rather disabused of the notion that the Giffords attack was anything but more successful and more hyped: the attempted murderer bought the Chick-fil-A sandwiches to rub in the faces of his dying victims.

Insult to injury.  Fatal injury.  Not as cartoonish, now.

If not for Mollie Hemmingway’s post over at Ricochet, I wouldn’t have even thought about media bias. I’m Catholic– if that doesn’t make you realize how much the media screws up, what on earth will?  It would be easier to find stories about the Church where reporters got it right than where they didn’t.  I’m sure other traditional religion followers, or even folks who simply are part of uncommon fandoms or do something as “strange” as know more about a gun than what end the bullet comes out can relate…. The news screws things up, a lot.

I’m guessing folks will remember the “Blame Sarah Palin Because Her Website Had A Map With Gifford’s Area In A Target” to-do? If not, Mollie goes over it, with links. Although I want you to go read it, the short version is: even though Mrs. Palin didn’t say anything vaguely like ”go shoot this bad woman,” and there was no evidence that the Gifford’s shooter had even seen the map or Palin’s facebook page, it was worrying because it might affect an effect on “troubled” people.

Turns out that the FRC was ”mentioned” on the SPLC site– it was on a “hate map.” That’s where the thank-God ineffective attempted murderer got his target. From a hate map.  They’re hateful, you see– so it’s good to target them.

Target a house seat: dangerous.

Make a “hate map” of those who oppose you politically on an issue: not worth mentioning. In fact, noticing that the attacker specifically stated he chose the target because of that “hate map” means that you are picking a fight.

As Mollie writes in response to a quote about that little detail “reigniting the culture wars that erupted around the shooting:”

Excuse me? What is that supposed to mean? I mean, you have an actual shooting in the culture war – an actual shooting – and you dismiss this aspect of the story as a “detail” that is “sure to reignite the culture wars”? The gall. The chutzpah. The …. hypocrisy of our media. The story doesn’t mention, by the way, that the shooter had a list with other groups whose names he got from the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Cherry on top: a guy goes in to kill people he hates, and has a list of other targets that he hates, and intends to assault the dying further with a symbol of yet another group he hates… and the SPLC doesn’t include that as a “hate incident.”

Gun Show Bans Guns, Kills Show

Yorkshire posted an article on The First Street Journal that discussed Reed Exhibitions’ sudden and unilateral decision to side with the anti-constitutional, Second Amendment killing gun grabbers and the aftermath of that decision. One sixth of the exhibitors and celebrities pulled out of the nation’s largest outdoor sportsman’s show in a show of solidarity with the US Constitution. You can find a large (but incomplete) list of the boycotters here. That list includes Cabelas, one of the nation’s premiere big box stores dedicated to the outdoor sportsman, muzzle loaders, knife businesses, bow organizations and businesses, turkey call companies, fishing related companies and organizations, conservationists, television shows and celebrities, and much, much more.

Reed Exhibitions tried to shrug it all off as “a small percentage of more than 1,000 exhibits” as if Cabelas was equivalent to Kokosing Backwater Beaver Traps, but decided to “stop loss” (an investment term for the first rule of holes) and cancel the show. Granted, they called it “postpone” but if Reed Exhibitions continues to side with the anti-constitutionalist gun grabbers, there will be no show. Period. Because the celebrities and exhibitors necessary for such a show will not participate and the people who go to such a show will not attend. As it is, Reed Exhibitions severely and possibly permanently harmed its reputation with the very people it depends upon for millions of dollars of profit a year.

Hey, Reed Exhibitions, spoiler alert: I watched Red Dawn and your side loses.

Constitution lovers, check out the list of boycotters and support them with your outdoor recreation dollars. You don’t have to be a hunter or even a gun owner. If you’re into boating, fishing, camping, hiking, mountain climbing, conservation or any other outdoor recreation, you can find your equipment and educational needs among that list.

It’s All The Social Conservatives Fault!

I really, really wish I were joking about the title, but I’ve actually heard several folks seriously suggest this.  (Hugh Hewitt show had a co-host/guest suggest “dropping the abortion issue,” for example—thankfully, Hugh pointed out that was…not a great idea.)

In a campaign where social issues were not focused on, where the SoCon vote was assumed, where the entire point would be “It’s the economy, stupid” and our turnout dropped hugely… we should really ditch these social conservatives entirely and try to peel off some Democrat voters.  I was one of the folks that was saying at the beginning that we could not just assume we’d get our own base and that all we needed was to go after other groups, though I—like many others—thought that things were obviously bad enough that maybe the base could be taken for granted.

We tried the “shut up about social issues, focus on the financial short-term disaster.”   Shock shock, it didn’t work.  The “of course” votes didn’t show up, as best we can tell at this early of a time.  Of course there was fraud and probably voter suppression, but we knew from the start that we’d have to win so big that they couldn’t cheat.

I know the thinking Libertarians believe that Social Issues hurt us, and if we’d just drop them it would improve—but they ignore that if you let people do all the stupid stuff they immaturely desire, they are going to want to be saved by someone else.  (I’m ignoring the sub-group of thinking Libertarians that thinks having children at is a “personal choice” with no serious effect on the future of society, and mostly only something that ‘women want while they leach off men.’  I wish that last part was not a very slight paraphrase.)  Of course, thinking Libertarians think social issues hurt because when thinking Libertarians recognize the cause and effect of libertine personal actions in creating demand for a leech-State, they become at least isolationist conservatives, rather than Libertarians.  But I’m digressing.

So, we tried assuming that the rah rah Abortion!! stuff on Obama’s side would be enough to 1) get half our base out, and 2) get them to vote for Romney.  Clearly, that was wrong.

We focused on the economy.  I think we did pretty well on that, considering that Obama and Co could lie their tails off about what we actually said.  (It’s a given, sadly.)

That makes me think that we maybe should’ve beat on the military side of things a bit more as well.  I  have friends who are still active duty who thought I was blowing smoke up their rears when I told them there was never a protest when the Ambassador was killed, when that was known just days after the attack.  (Power Line linked an interview in a UK paper that included quotes from the guys who were opening a hospital with the Ambassador; they were on the phone when the attack started, and there was no mention of a protest, which would’ve been a pretty big deal.)

So, we need to actually make our own case, try to win the base before we try to peel folks off, and probably improve our communication networks.  I’m going to work even harder on applying this in person—when someone says something incredibly untrue in person, I’m going to politely correct them.  Yes, it’s uncomfortable and socially awkward, but that is what the other side’s tactics depend on.  At some point, the drunk in the party has to be confronted.  We’re there and past.

This is going to be especially hard on religious people.  There are a lot of very nice people who…well… voted for Obama because that’s what “nice” people do.

The Unrepentant Tyrannical Thug

Perry Hood, the retired Lewes, Delaware Socialist, has repeatedly threatened another’s livelihood because Perry Hood does not like what that other person says online. He has accused another of Federal Income Tax Evasion, a felony. He goes out of his way to try to bully and intimidate his enemies, Conservatives, into silence. And he doesn’t care what rules are in place to prevent his thuggish actions.

Wagonwheelsays:

November 4, 2012 at 19:15

Ropelight now takes his turn:

Koolo, if Preey is taking lessons from Brett Kimberlin, The Speedway Bomber and Democrat activist, resident in the neighboring state of Maryland at last notice, you might consider notifying your local police department that SWATting could be a possibility.

It’s a good idea to be on-record if something truly dangerous might be in the offing. It’s happened to too many bloggers too many times before to ignore the possibility. No one knows the extent of the evil that lurks in the hearts of these belly crawlin’ leftist bastards.

This is typical of the venom that emanates from your blog, Mr Editor. It reflects on them, and on your blog, all because of ideological differences.

Maybe not.

I stand up for the well being of our students.

koolo’s behavior on here, if repeated in the class room, which it probably is, would constitute predatory behavior by a bully against children. Hube is in exactly the same category. As a matter of fact, Mr Editor, you yourself, by your Comment and Content Policy, have in the past exercised your prerogative to limit what you call “liberty”. So playing that card this time on me is not impressive, with all the other crap going on here on a daily basis.

Face it, the amount of abuse given me on here by these extremist ideologues, koolo, ropelight, Eric, and Hitchcock being the worst offenders (Who’s left?), is reprehensible, but is part of the rhetoric we see repeated time and again by these people, and you do nothing about it. Your own modeling of civility has been of no good influence on these people.

If I knew koolo’s identity, I would turn him in in a New York minute. Unfortunately, I don’t, so there is no threat which can be carried out. However, he considers it a threat, because he knows his behavior here would trigger an investigation, if known. We must not have a person with his obvious character deficiencies in our classrooms teaching our children, period. If he is worried about his livelihood, then he needs to demonstrate that he has gotten control of himself.

Note that even when you asked for civility on your Friday thread, koolo was unable to stifle himself, totally ignoring your request. Same with Hitchcock. Some respect they showed to you!

Koolo surely said that he would apologize, which he did not do in a timely fashion. What kind of an adult person would push the limit until caught, then apologize? This is what bullies do until they see they have caused harm, which in some cases could be serious harm, as we’ve seen reported in the news in recent years. Then they apologize, when often it is too late, the harm already done. Does koolo do this bullying in his classroom, push it to the limit, then apologize? If so, what kind of damage has he done to our children?

If this means that I am to be banned from your blog, so be it. Then your cowardly right wing friends will be most pleased, as they have been lobbying for this for many months. They can give out the heat, but they can’t stand it themselves, like crybabies. How childish and immature is that?

Does that tell you enough about Perry Hood? How about this?

Wagonwheelsays:

November 3, 2012 at 12:58

In case you can’t figure it out, you aren’t even in the ballpark about my professional behavior.

I’ll believe that when I see some professional behavior on here from you!

I’ll apologize to the Editor in this thread now … for hijacking the thread. But I hope he understands b/c Perry has made yet another threat to a commenter b/c he can’t stand it when his own tactics are turned against him.

Absolutely I have said that I would turn you in, based on your behavior on here vis a vis a classroom. If you have nothing to fear, then you would not be pushing back on this issue, to the extent that you would even refer to it as a “threat”. You know full well, or should know, that your behavior on here would raise questions by administrators and board members, the same questions I am raising. So clean up your act, koolo, as a demonstration of your “professional” persona!

[Comment left intact; in this, Wagonwheel has admitted that he has threatened koolo's livelihood.

It should be obvious that, if koolo is a teacher, simply a complaint made of this nature would cause serious repercussions, whether the complaint was dismissed or not. Because Wagonwheel is, himself, retired, he is immune to such threats.

We have endured many, many personal insults on this site, but only one commenter here has threatened someone else's liberty or livelihood, and that commenter, himself, has made complaints when others have published his real name, even though that commenter has no job to lose. His request for personal anonymity has been honored on this site, simply because he has requested such.

I fully recognize that there are some significant personal animosities here, and that as discussion gets more strident, those animosities accelerate. However, threatening someone's livelihood or liberty crosses the line, very blatantly. -- Editor]

That should be enough to tell you everything you need to know about the evil, hate-filled tyrant Perry Hood of Lewes, Delaware.

My Second-Born Died, Life Went On

On September 10, 1989, my second-born daughter Audréy Renée-Maree Hitchcock died. And life went on. For me, that meant I went to work on the day she died, after spending the night in a hospital basically waiting for her to die. I didn’t have a choice.

Back then, I had a sub-contractor job of stuffing and delivering 1,100 advertisement bags door-to-door. The bags got stuffed on Friday and delivered Saturday and Sunday. Half the bags got delivered Saturday, then Saturday night, Audréy went to the emergency room at Knox Community Hospital, then life-flighted to Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Sunday, she died, all her organs failing. Sunday afternoon I was back in Mount Vernon, delivering those blasted MIDS bags.

Because people depended on those free bags, and the death of my daughter impacted their lives not at all. On the worst, most evil day of my life, I soldiered on. Because I had to.

Run the New Jerk City marathon as scheduled and quit crying that the police won’t be there for when New Yorkers do what New Yorkers do 365 days a year anyway.

Abortion Stories, As Told By Abortion Survivors

From Teen Breaks.com:

Gianna Jessen My name is Gianna Jessen… I was aborted, and I did not die. My biological mother was 7 months pregnant when she went to Planned Parenthood in southern California, and they advised her to have a late-term saline abortion. A saline abortion is a solution of salt saline that is injected into the mother’s womb. The baby then gulps the solution. It burns the baby inside and out, and then the mother is to deliver a dead baby within 24 hours.

This happened to me! I remained in the solution for approximately 18 hours and was delivered ALIVE… in a California abortion clinic. There were young women in the room who had already been given their injections and were waiting to deliver dead babies. When they saw me the abortionist was not yet on duty and had me transferred to the hospital.

I should be blind, burned… I should be dead! And yet, I live! Due to a lack of oxygen supply during the abortion I live with cerebral palsy.

When I was diagnosed with this, all I could do was lie there. They said that was all I would ever do! Through prayer and hard work by my foster mother, I was walking at age 3 ½ with the help of a walker and leg braces. At that time I was also adopted into a wonderful family. Today I am left only with a slight limp. I no longer have need of a walker or leg braces.

…Death did not prevail over me… and I am so thankful!

Teen Breaks has more stories from abortion survivors. Teen Breaks is ready, willing, and able to help teens out. You don’t have to be pregnant, or even a girl, to reach out to them. They’re there to provide a loving environment, information, and a community of support for you as you are bombarded by pressures and life’s travails. If you’re a “cutter”, cutting yourself to regain a sense of control or to zone out or to get relief from life’s stresses, you’re not alone. 1 in 200 teen girls have done it. Teen Breaks is there for you, ready to help you.

Pregnant and need help?
You can talk with someone by phone, e-mail, text, chat live online or be shown where there is a pregnancy center near you. And remember, everything is confidential and free!

Click above to chat live or text “TEEN” to 313131.

Claire Culwell’s April 2010 story from Stand For Life:

Putting a Face To What You’re Fighting For

By Claire Culwell

 

A year ago, when I was 21 years old, I met the woman who gave birth to me. I had always dreamed about the day I would meet her, and it NEVER involved the most significant part of it all…learning that I was an ABORTION SURVIVOR.  She was 13 years old when she became pregnant with me and the only option she knew of (according to her mother) was abortion.  She proceeded to go to an abortion clinic nearby where she had an abortion.  A few weeks later she realized she was still pregnant and decided to go to an out-of-state late-term abortion clinic to have a second abortion. During her examination at the late-term abortion clinic, she was told that she had been pregnant with TWINS.  One was aborted, and one survived.  She was also told that it was too late to have even a late-term abortion.  She decided to give me up for adoption when I was born two weeks later.  If you ask her now, she will tell you that if she had known the results of abortion vs. adoption, she would have gone straight to the adoption agency instead.  Putting me up for adoption (and giving me the best family I can imagine) was a life-changing decision for all of us.

Because of the abortion, I was born 2 ½ months premature and weighed 3 lbs 2 oz.  I was on life support and had to stay in the hospital for 2 ½ months until I could be brought home.  My hips were dislocated and my feet were turned (because during the abortion, the sac that held my body together was broken) and when I was brought home I had 2 casts on my feet and a harness. I was put in a body cast for 4 months, and I didn’t walk until I was over 2 years old.  It still affects me even today.

[continue reading at the above link]

And Claire Culwell’s amazing 2011 video:

When Will They Ever Learn? NEVER!

In March 1962 when I was a young teenager a storm quite like Sandy came up the East Coast of the US and destroyed most of the Barrier Islands in VA, MD, DE and NJ. The storm had no name, but it probably did more damage in today’s money than most East Coast Hurricanes. The storm was simply called the Nor’easter of March, 1962. We had vacationed in Ocean City, MD several summers so I was familiar with the Boardwalk, the pier, and the beaches. At that time, Ocean City only occupied about 4 miles of the Barrier Island from the Inlet (create by the 1933 hurricane) heading north towards DE.

We did go to Ocean City well after the storm to see the damage. A large amount of the houses were gone, or severely damaged. One would think, why do they build these places so vulnerable to Momma Nature. Of course the answer is because they can. To me then I thought having a place on the beach would be great, just rebuild it every 10 to 15 years. Since 1962 there have been numerous summer and winter storms that have taken out structures, towns, small condos, and whatever else man puts up, it will eventually come down at the hands of Momma Nature. (She can be a real bitch like the last few days)

So, since we never learn, we have flood insurance for these fools. Towns, and/or the Corps of Engineer will keep pumping sand onto the beach just to watch it go back out to sea. The storm of Feb 1993 is a good example. The summer before had the beach rebuilt, and in the winter 1993 storm took it away, just to throw it back up there. Some how no one has gotten the hint Momma Nature is in charge of the sand beaches of the Barrier Islands, and not man. But Hubris says NO, we are going to beat you Momma N. No one has ever won that battle.

So Sandy, a CAT 1 hurricane got in with some other characters off VA and turned itself from the warm center hurricane to the cold center Nor’easter because of various natural ingredients (kinda like in the movie The Perfect Storm) and made its own version of I guess the Perfect Storm 2. Man has found out Momma Nature won again, and hubris will make these idiots defy nature and build again.

It was in March 1962 I decided that no matter how inviting a beach front property is, don’t invest in this fool’s gamble.

Bristol Palin And #DWTS All-Stars

Bristol Palin got voted off Dancing With the Stars, All-Stars season. I had hoped she could continue further, but I am not surprised she is done after getting to Week Four.

Bristol was better than half the celebrities during her regular season on DWTS, but she was not third best. While I was rooting for her to win it all, she was not third best. There were more than two better than her. But she was better than half of the ones there.

Bristol was also better than two of the All-Stars, one of which still remains. Even so, she lasted longer than her dancing talent alone could carry her in an All-Star season. Wow, can those celebrities dance! I love it! And I loved watching Bristol out there on the dance floor, too.

But the point is Bristol outperformed her ability level. And there’s a reason for that. Oh, the hateful, criminal, terroristic Left can blame it all on the TEA Party, but that’s not the reason. The reason for Bristol’s success on Dancing With The Stars is the hate-filled, criminal, terroristic Left were being hate-filled, criminal and terroristic. That’s the reason. And the TEA Party came to her rescue against the criminal, hate-filled, terroristic Left. That’s it. That’s why Bristol Palin — who is a far better dancer than I ever will be, and a better dancer than many of her opponents — lasted longer than talent alone could take her.

When you hate-filled criminals and terrorists on the Left force a celebrity TV show to provide extra security because you’re sending death threats to a now-22 year old woman, wishing her dead, sending white powder in envelopes to her, what do you expect normal human beings to do? You’re blame right we pushed back against your satanic evil and your criminal actions! We came to the rescue of an innocent young lady you sought to terrorize!

You sphincters on the Left can only blame yourselves for the wild success Bristol is having, despite all your criminal actions. Actually, because of your criminal actions.

Where Are The Artists?

Lately, I’ve been seeing a lot of folks lamenting how modern art (especially Modern Art) doesn’t have anything to compare to, oh, the great cathedrals of Europe—according to some, doesn’t even have a decently sized mural.  Usually comes with a lot of talk of how soul-killing Walmart and their sort are, but not always.

Besides the obvious opportunity to plug folks like Tim Jones, I think they’re simply not looking right.

 

Depending on your taste in music, you might want to mute this.  Depends on how closely you want to watch.  Either way, maximize this video, and pay attention to things like the flow of the cloth vs fur vs hair, and even how the Asura’s ears move.  Notice the background detail, from a game that was still in testing and development at the time.  Notice the way that light makes a difference.

Guild Wars 2 isn’t a top-of-the-line game, although it is fairly new and well designed.

There’s a part of the game where players go around looking for "vistas"– when you reach the vista point, you activate it, and see… well:

 

The person that made this video had their settings up a bit high, you can tell from the slight hesitations in the visual flow, but look at the detail, and how lovely most of them are.

We still have artists, lots of them.  And they’re being paid for their work.  It’s just not displayed in the form of buildings, or windows, or even on walls; it’s more likely to show up on your computer’s wallpaper.

MSNBC Spreads Its Socialist Lies

Who among you remembers when MSNBC was frothing at the mouth about the TEA Partier in Arizona who had the unmitigated gall to wear an “assault rifle” on his back out in the open, in a crowd? Do you remember how MSNBC was telling all ten of its viewers that was undeniable proof of the murderous desires of the purely white TEA Party? Do you also remember that MSNBC cropped the shot of that man so closely that you could only see part of the man and the rifle? Do you also remember that, while MSNBC was warning everyone about how the WHITE TEA Partiers so the black men could likewise be afraid, that the closely cropped image of a TEA Partier with a rifle was cropped closely to hide the fact that that particular TEA Partier with a rifle strapped to his back was black? Proving MSNBC would lie and provide wholly dishonorable and deceitful video to advance its Socialist agenda?

WELL…

Mess NBC is at it again! While they claim to be covering the Republican National Convention for all ten of its viewers, it is studiously avoiding anything that would harm the Socialist Baraka Obama’s (and the rest of the Socialist leadership of the Democrat Party) propagandistic agenda. So, what did MessNBC do? In their coverage of the Republican National Convention, MessNBC studiously avoided airing any speeches by minorities!!!! Perry Hood of Lewes, Delaware should be proud!!!

When popular Tea Party candidate Ted Cruz, the GOP nominee for Senate, took the stage, MSNBC cut away from the Republican National Convention and the Hispanic Republican from Texas’ speech.

MSNBC stayed on commercial through former Democratic Rep. Artur Davis’ speech, as well. Davis, who recently became a Republican, is black.

Then, when Puerto Rican Governor Luis Fortuno’s wife Luce’ Vela Fortuño took the stage minutes later, MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow and Chris Matthews opted to talk over the First Lady’s speech.

And Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval? Noticeably missing from MSNBC, too.

Mia Love, a black candidate for Congress in Utah, was also ignored by MSNBC.

Say, wouldn’t the practice of ignoring people of color be considered raaaaaaaaaaaacist? And what did MSNBC use as a replacement for all of these speakers last night?

In lieu of airing speeches from former Democratic Rep. Artur Davis, a black American; Mia Love, a black candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives from Utah; and Texas senatorial hopeful Ted Cruz, a Latino American, MSNBC opted to show commentary anchored by Rachel Maddow from Rev. Al Sharpton, Ed Schultz, Chris Matthews, Chris Hayes and Steve Schmidt.

No doubt, they were trying to keep their 20 19 17 viewers up to date with all of the antics of raaaaaaaaaaaacist Republicans, and so had no choice but to block out Republicans like Mia Love, Ted Cruz, and Artur Davis. I’ve seen news reports from Communist countries that had less Orwellian message control than this.

MessNBC didn’t bother to provide the speeches of minorities. Period. Full-stop. Why? Because the Socialist Baraka Obama (who was a registered Socialist in Chicago) has decided to wage a campaign on the over-played raaaaacist card and the over-played “war on women” lie. And MessNBC is absolutely in bed with the Socialist Baraka Obama and the Socialist leadership of the Democrat Party.

Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice ROCKED THE HOUSE!!! But if you were one of the ten people who were religiously watching MessNBC, you didn’t see it. Because she was a black woman and MessNBC did not want you watching a black woman rock the Republican Cazbah!

 
(YouTube video provided by Barracuda Brigade. Please, do go visit that worthy site.)

Governor Nikki Haley ROCKED THE HOUSE!!! But if you were one of the ten people who were religiously watching MessNBC, you didn’t see it. Because she was a Sikh woman and MessNBC did not want you watching a Sikh woman rock the Republican Cazbah!

Mayor Mia Love ABSOLUTELY ROCKED THE HOUSE!!! But if you were one of the ten people who were religiously watching MessNBC, you didn’t see it. Because she is a black woman born of LEGAL immigrants who have made their own way without freebies from the Government (read “everyone else”).

That BLACK WOMAN, Mia Love hates black people like herself so much that she married a white man! That white man, a Conservative Republican hates black people so much that he married one! MessNBC was right to hide Mia Love’s speech from its ten viewers because nobody should be faced with an intelligent black person who decries the Liberal hatred of all who stand in their way of ruling the ever-declining and ever-impoverished world. Mia’s YouTube video provided by mialoveinterviews. Mia Love is involved in a very tight race for Representative of the 4th District of Utah. All freedom-loving people who haven’t been devastated by the Obama economy should strongly consider donating money to her campaign.

Artur Davis ROCKED THE HOUSE, then CRUSHED THE HOUSE in his speech. Remember 2009 to 2011: lesson learned. 2012, mistake corrected. Absolutely crushingly powerful! Barack Obama is only a man I once knew! Wowzers! Coming from the former up-and-coming black Democrat and former member of the Congressional Black Caucus (is there a Congressional White Caucus, and would the Democrats inside the Congressional Black Caucus remain civil?), the man who seconded Obama’s nomination in 2008 and introduced him to the Democrat Party at their 2008 convention!

 

To those Democrats and independents whose minds are open to argument: listen closely to the Democratic Party that will gather in Charlotte and ask yourself if you ever hear your voice in the clamor.

Ask yourself if these Democrats still speak for you.

When they say we have a duty to grow government even when we can’t afford it, does it sound like compassion to you — or recklessness?

When you hear the party that glorified Occupy Wall Street blast success; when you hear them minimize the genius of the men and women who make jobs out of nothing, is that what you teach your children about work?

When they tell you America is this unequal place where the powerful trample on the powerless, does that sound like the country your children or your spouse risked their lives for in Iraq or Afghanistan?

Do you even recognize the America they are talking about? And what can we say about a house that doesn’t honor the pictures on its walls?

John F. Kennedy asked us what we could do for America. This Democratic Party asks what can government give you. Don’t worry about paying the bill, it’s on your kids and grandkids.

Bill Clinton took on his base and made welfare a thing you had to work for; this current crowd guts the welfare work requirement in the dead of night.

Bill Clinton, Jack Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson reached out across the aisle and said meet me in the middle; but their party rammed through a healthcare bill that took over one-sixth of our economy, without accepting a single Republican idea, without winning a single vote in either house from a party whose constituents make up about 50 percent of the country.

You know, the Democrats used to have a night when they presented a film of their presidential legends: if they do it in Charlotte, the theme song should be this year’s hit, “Somebody That I Used to Know.”

Governor Susana Martinez ROCKED THE HOUSE!!! But if you were one of the ten people who were religiously watching MessNBC, you didn’t see it. Because Susana Martinez is a wise Latina. The NBC News website, which listed Republican speakers, didn’t even mention her. At all.

 

I fear some of our leaders today have lost the courage to stand up. What we have now are politicians. They won’t offer real plans, and only stand up when they want to blame someone else.

And I don’t say that just because a Democrat is in the White House, I was a Democrat for many years, so were my parents.

Before I ran for district attorney, two Republicans invited my husband and me to lunch, and I knew a party switch was exactly what they wanted. So, I told Chuck, “We’ll be polite, enjoy a free lunch, and then say good-bye.” But we talked about issues — they never used the words Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal. We talked about many issues, like welfare, is it the way of life or hand up? Talked about size of government, how much should it tax families and small businesses? And when we left that lunch, we got in the car and I looked over at Chuck and said, “I’ll be damned. We’re Republicans.”

Senator Marco Rubio, a Cuban American, ROCKED THE HOUSE!!! Did the ten people watching MessNBC see it? Highly improbable.

 

My Dad used to tell us: “En este pais, ustedes van a poder lograr todas las cosas que nosotros no pudimos” “In this country, you will be able to accomplish all the things we never could.”

A few years ago during a speech, I noticed a bartender behind a portable bar at the back of the ballroom. I remembered my father who had worked for many years as a banquet bartender.

He was grateful for the work he had, but that’s not the life he wanted for us.

He stood behind a bar in the back of the room all those years, so one day I could stand behind a podium in the front of a room.

That journey, from behind that bar to behind this podium, goes to the essence of the American miracle — that we’re exceptional not because we have more rich people here.

We’re special because dreams that are impossible anywhere else, come true here.

That’s not just my story. That’s your story. That’s our story.

It’s the story of your mother who struggled to give you what she never had.

It’s the story of your father who worked two jobs so doors closed for him would open for you.
The story of that teacher or that coach who taught you the lessons that shaped who you are today.

And it’s the story of a man who was born into an uncertain future in a foreign country. His family came to America to escape revolution.

They struggled through poverty and the great depression. And yet he rose to be an admired businessman, and public servant.

And in November, his son, Mitt Romney, will be elected President of the United States.

Former Solicitor General of Texas and next US Senator Ted Cruz brought the house down!!! But if you were one of the ten people who were religiously watching MessNBC, you didn’t see it. Because Ted Cruz is a Cuban-American.

 

This love story is the story of the brave Texans in the City of Gonzales. When General Santa Anna demanded that they give up their guns and the cannon that guarded the city, they responded with the immortal cry “Come and take it.”

It’s the story of the greatest generation of Americans, who rose up to confront the grotesque evil that was the Nazis, and ushered in the greatest era of peace and prosperity the world has ever seen.

It’s the story of civil-rights heroes, like Dr. Martin Luther King, who stood strong against the scourge of discrimination, and bravely championed that every man and woman should be judged, not by the color of our skin, but by the content of our character.

It’s the story of President Ronald Reagan, who turned back the creeping growth of government and restored Morning in America. Who spoke out against the oppressive evil of communism and demanded “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”

It’s the story of my Mom. Irish and Italian, working class, the first in her family to go to college – a pioneering mathematician and computer programmer in the 1950s.

It’s the story of my Dad, who was imprisoned and tortured in Cuba, beaten nearly to death. He fled to Texas in 1957, not speaking English, with $100 sewn into his underwear. He washed dishes making 50 cents an hour to pay his way through the University of Texas, and to start a small business in the oil and gas industry.

My father is here tonight. When he came to America, él no tenía nada, pero tenía corazón. He had nothing, but he had heart. A heart for freedom. Thank you, Dad.
…
This election presents a stark choice. Two visions: we can continue down the road of the Obama Democrats, towards more and more spending, debt and government control of the economy and our lives. Or we can return to the founding principles of our nation-free markets, fiscal responsibility, and individual liberty.

Unfortunately, President Obama’s campaign is going to try to divide America. They’re going to try to separate us into little groups, and try to scare everybody. They’re going to tell seniors that Medicare will be taken away, tell Hispanics that we’re not welcome here and send the Vice President to preach a message of division.
…
How do we turn things around? How do we get America back to work? President Obama thinks the answer is more and more government.

Government is not the answer. You are not doing anyone a favor by creating dependency, destroying individual responsibility.

Fifty-five years ago, when my dad was a penniless teenage immigrant, thank God some well-meaning bureaucrat didn’t put his arm around him and say let me take care of you. Let me give you a government check and make you dependent on government. And by the way, don’t bother learning English. That would have been the most destructive thing anyone could have done.

Instead, my parents worked together to start a small business, to provide for their family and to chart their own future. That’s the American dream, and Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan understand that.
…
I’d like to close with asking you a few questions, with apologies to Barack Obama.

Can we restore the Constitution?

Yes we can.

Can we retake the U.S. Senate?

Can we repeal ObamaCare?

And can we defeat President Barack Obama?

That, my friends, is change we can believe in.

Thank you, and God bless America.

Ann Romney absolutely killed it!!! Did you ten viewers of MessNBC see it? Well, did you Perry Hood of Lewes, Delaware? Not if you watched MessNBC!!!

Senator Rand Paul killed it!!! Did those ten viewers of MessNBC see it? Maybe.

 

When the Supreme Court upheld Obamacare, the first words out of my mouth were: I still think it is unconstitutional!

The leftwing blogs were merciless. Even my wife said — can’t you pleeeease count to ten before you speak?

So, I’ve had time now to count to ten and, you know what? I still think it’s unconstitutional!

Do you think Justice Scalia and Justice Thomas have changed their minds?

I think if James Madison himself — the father of the Constitution — were here today he would agree with me: The whole damn thing is still unconstitutional!

This debate is not new and it’s not over. Hamilton and Madison fought from the beginning about how government would be limited by the enumerated powers.

Madison was unequivocal. The powers of the federal government are few and defined. The power to tax and spend is restricted by the enumerated powers.

So, how do we fix this travesty of justice? There’s only one option left.

We have to have a new president!

When I heard the current president say, “You didn’t build that,” I was first insulted, then I was angered, then I was saddened that anyone in our country, much less the president of the United States, believes that roads create business success and not the other way around.

Anyone who so fundamentally misunderstands American greatness is uniquely unqualified to lead this great nation.

The great and abiding lesson of American history, particularly the Cold War, is that the engine of capitalism — the individual — is mightier than any collective.

American inventiveness and desire to build developed because we were guaranteed the right to own our success. For most of our history, no one dared tell Americans: “You didn’t build that.”

In Bowling Green, Kentucky, the Taing family owns the Great American Donut shop. Their family fled war-torn Cambodia to come to this country. My kids and I love to eat doughnuts, so we go there frequently.

The Taings work long hours. Mrs. Taing told us that the family works through the night to make doughnuts. The Taing children have become valedictorians and National Merit Scholars.

The Taings from Cambodia are an American success story so, Mr. President, don’t you go telling the Taings: “You didn’t build that.”

When you say they didn’t build it, you insult each and every American who ever got up at the crack of dawn. You insult any American who ever put on overalls or a suit.

You insult any American who ever studied late into the night to become a doctor or a lawyer. You insult the dishwasher, the cook, the waitress.

You insult anyone who has ever dragged themselves out of bed to strive for something better for themselves or their children.

My great grandfather, like many, came to this country in search of the American Dream. No sooner had he stepped off the boat than his father died.

He arrived in Pittsburgh as a teenager with nothing, not a penny. He found the American Dream: not great wealth, but a bit of property in a new land that gave him hope for his children.

In America, as opposed to the old country, success was based on merit. Probably America’s greatest asset was that for the first time success was not based on who you were, but on what you did.

My grandfather would live to see his children become doctors, ministers, accountants and professors. He would even live to see one of his sons, a certain congressman from Texas, run for president of the United States of America.

Immigrants have flocked to our shores seeking freedom. Our forbearers came full of hopes and dreams. So consistent and prevalent were these aspirations that they crystallized into a national yearning we call the American Dream.

No other country has a Dream so inextricably associated with the spirit of its people.

In 1982, an American sailor, John Mooney, wrote a letter to his parents that captures the essence of the American Dream:

“Dear Mom and Dad, today we spotted a boat in the water, and we rendered assistance. We picked up 65 Vietnamese refugees. As they approached the ship, they were all waving and trying as best they could to say, ‘Hello America sailor! Hello Freedom man!’ It’s hard to see a boat full of people like that and not get a lump somewhere between chin and bellybutton. And it really makes one proud and glad to be an American. It reminds us all of what America has always been — a place a man or woman can come to for freedom.”

Hung and Thuan Tringh are brothers and friends of mine. They came to America on one of those leaky, overcrowded boats. They were attacked at sea by pirates. Their family’s wealth was stolen. Thuan spent a year on a South Pacific island existing on one cup of rice and water each day until he was allowed to come to America. Now both of these men and their families are proud Americans. Hung owns his own business and Thuan manages a large company. They are the American Dream.

So, Mr. President, don’t go telling the Tringh family: “You didn’t build that.”

When the president says, “You didn’t build that,” he is flat out wrong. Businessmen and women did build that. Businessmen and women did earn their success. Without the success of American business, we wouldn’t have any roads, or bridges, or schools.

Mr. President, you say the rich must pay their fair share. When you seek to punish the rich, the jobs that are lost are those of the poor and middle class.

When you seek to punish Mr. Exxon Mobil, you punish the secretary who owns Exxon Mobil stock.

When you block the Keystone Pipeline, you punish the welder who works on the pipeline.

Our nation faces a crisis. America wavers. Unfortunately, we are one of a select group of countries whose debt equals their gross domestic product.

The republic of Washington and Jefferson is now in danger of becoming the democracy of debt and despair. Our great nation is coming apart at the seams and the president seems to point fingers and blame others.

President Obama’s administration will add nearly $6 trillion to our national debt in just one term.

This explosion of debt is unconscionable and unsustainable. Mr. President, we will not let you bankrupt this great nation!

Republicans and Democrats alike must slay their sacred cows. Republicans must acknowledge that not every dollar spent on the military is necessary or well-spent, and Democrats must admit that domestic welfare and entitlements must be reformed.

Republicans and Democrats must replace fear with confidence, confidence that no terrorist, and no country, will ever conquer us if we remain steadfast to the principles of our Founding documents.

We have nothing to fear except our own unwillingness to defend what is naturally ours, our God-given rights. We have nothing to fear that should cause us to forget or relinquish our rights as free men and women.

To thrive we must believe in ourselves again, and we must never — never — trade our liberty for any fleeting promise of security.

Author Paul Kengor writes of a brisk evening in small-town Illinois. Returning home from a basketball game at the YMCA, an 11 year old boy is stunned by the sight of his father sprawled out in the snow on the front porch. “He was drunk,” his son later remembered. “Dead to the world, crucified.” The dad’s hair was soaked with melted snow, matted unevenly against the side of his reddened face.

The boy stood over his father for a minute or two. He simply wanted to let himself in the door and pretend his dad wasn’t there. Instead, he grabbed a fistful of overcoat and heaved his dad to the bedroom, away from the weather’s harm and neighbors’ attention.

This young boy became the man – Ronald Reagan – whose sunny optimism and charisma shined so brightly that it cured the malaise of the late seventies, a confidence that beamed so broadly that it pulled us through a serious recession, and a faith that tugged so happily at all hearts that a generation of Democrats became Republicans.

The American Dream is that any among us could become the next Thomas Edison, the next Henry Ford, the next Ronald Reagan.

To lead us forward, away from the looming debt crisis, it will take someone who believes in America’s greatness, who believes in and can articulate the American dream, someone who has created jobs, someone who understands and appreciates what makes America great, someone who will lead our party and our nation forward.

I believe that someone is our nominee: Governor Mitt Romney.

As Reagan said, our freedom is never more than a generation away from extinction. If our freedom is taken, the American Dream will wither and die.

To lead, we must transform the coldness of austerity into the warm, vibrant embrace of prosperity.

To overcome the current crisis, we must appreciate and applaud American success. We must step forward, unabashedly and proclaim: You did build that. You earned that. You worked hard. You studied. You labored. You did build that. And you deserve America’s undying gratitude. For you, the individual, are the engine of America’s greatness.

Thank you.

Because MSNBC is working very hard to lie to all ten of its viewers and pretend that only angry white men are involved in the Republican Party. MSNBC cannot at all tell the truth because the Truth absolutely destroys MSNBC’s lie-filled, hate-filled, anti-American, Socialist agenda, as provided by the Socialist in Chief, one Baraka Hussein Obama.
_________________________________________________
Perry Hood of Lewes, Delaware, has just this week hatefully attacked DNW because DNW remains anonymous. Previously, Perry Hood of Lewes, Delaware cried like a baby when I refused to release the last name of an US Army officer who told a highly inappropriate joke to my daughter (who rather enjoyed the joke) but could have a career shortened to “today’s your last day” should his or he name be published.

Perry Hood of Lewes, Delaware, who is in his late 70s, has decided that he wants anonymity after repeatedly giving his name out in public, but Perry Hood of Lewes, Delaware demands everyone else give up his or her anonymity.

That makes Perry Hood of Lewes, Delaware the worst possible person in the world, and an absolute flaming hypocritical Socialist.

Two Quick Links

In the theme of things coming to a head.

Creative Minority Report: High Noon on The Hill.

CNN: Obama Asserts Executive Privilege Over ‘Fast and Furious’ Document.
Their headline says “documents,” but their story says documents.

Bonus link: Donald has a better link and some discussion.

Who would have thought it

Despite not being a “collector” type myself, a number of years ago I decided to make a collection of something that I thought would be both useful,  and potentially one day, have some modest economic value or interest .

Some people collect stamps. Others, collect coins. Well-heeled or highly motivated types often collect motorcycles or automobiles.

My notion, was not to make a “gun collection” in the usual sense of the word, but merely to obtain a representative selection of off the shelf, lever action rifles, of a bore suitable for big game on the order of deer and bear and possibly elk.

At the time there seemed to be an unusually broad selection of available models, some of which, the Winchester Model 1895 for example, had been reintroduced, after years of suspended production.

Other models, like the Savage Model 99 were rumored as destined for discontinuation. Minimal investment, maximal utility (for a hunter) and substantial technological interest from an historical point of view, made it all  seem like a good idea.

I never followed through.

But the idea of relatively inexpensive collectible items, representing a particular or modest niche, is not an uncommon one it turns out. People do collect almost anything, and almost every child has the start of his own collecting hobby in his or her toy train or race car set, or barbie or other dolls, or comic books …

The problem with these kinds of items is that their value as a collectible depends in part on the fact that they are not treated as such from the start.  If every comic book every kid bought was saved in a wrapper, if no ungrateful boy deliberately drove his train set off the ping pong table just to watch it crash over a “cliff”, then these things would be anything but rare.  And while landfills would be considerably less full our dwellings would be considerably more so.

Grown-ups are aware of this process of natural and necessary attrition, and this realization may be part of what is behind parents or grandparents starting kids off with stamps, or pennies, or as my mother did with my much younger kid sisters, a series of expensive but probably now worthless American Something or Other dolls bestowed upon them every Christmas for years. That latter example kind of defeats the purpose of the whole exercise though. What’s the point of buying an expensive “collectible” when every example issued is stored away on a closet shelf for two decades in the wan hope that it will represent a small fortune someday?

Anyone want a set of Franklin Mint commemorative “coins”?

So if the average man is going to collect he might as well do so for pleasure. And adult people experience harmless fun in collecting all kinds of things – even obsolete business machines or manual typewriters, for example. There are of course the better known farm tractor collectors, and lawn mower collectors, and 1930′s dinnerware collectors.

I don’t know if there are collectors of those 8mm formatted films of 1930′s cartoons which were used to demonstrate home movie projectors to potential buyers in the 1950′s and 1960′s, but I would not be surprised if there were.

Now guitars are of course, are something that we would expect people to collect. The best of them are beautiful, functional, and in many cases economically valuable from the time of their creation; only to grow more so with time.  Check out the going price of a 1954 Les Paul Gold Top, or a 1962 Fender Stratocaster in pristine condition if you need convincing.

But what about those “other” guitars? What about those  economical, second-tier, private labeled, entry level player kinds which were advertised in the department store catalogs right up through the 1980s? Would anyone really want, say, a 1965 Danelectro?

Or how about a Sears Silvertone hollow body made by some company like Harmony or Kay? [These are sold but you can still look] It turns out they do and the answer is yes.

People do collect these items with some obvious enthusiasm and even whimsical reverence.

And if you think about it, there are many worse hobbies, than that.

Here’s a fellow that put his interest in guitars to a good use.  I don’t think he is playing an Harmony or a Kay, but I think he is doing rather well all the same even though I don’t care for this tune by and large. The old guy on the fiddle is someone famous from years ago. An Italian aristocrat who took up with some Belgian Gypsy guitar player and with whom he had some success before WWII.

I don’t know. There’s probably something worth investigating there too.

He Just Ain’t Got A No Good Upbringin’ Stiffing GI’s For the Lunch Tab

Now wasn’t it just a few days ago BO chastised the Repubs for running up a fictional restaurant Bill and leaving the bill for him. He used this for a metaphor to bash Bush for about the 5,000th time this election series. And here BO skips out of lunch with the GI’s stuck with the Bill. The word IRONY does not do this Justice. Maybe Lowlife fits, or he ain’t got no good upbringing and expected we pay for it.

Obama Treats Military Vets To Lunch…Then Leaves Without Paying the Bill
Posted on June 14, 2012 at 6:58pm by Erica Ritz
Barack Obama isn’t necessarily known for being fiscally responsible, but it seems he may be a bit oblivious when it comes to personal finances as well as national.

ABC explains:

Amid the bustle of President Obama’s surprise stop for barbecue Wednesday the White House apparently overlooked one key detail: the bill.
Celebrating Father’s Day early, the president had lunch with two service members and two local barbers at Kenny’s BBQ on Capitol Hill.
As the group chatted about fatherhood, the president enjoyed a steaming plate of pork ribs with hot sauce, collard greens, red beans and rice and cornbread.
The bill for the president and his four guests was $55.58, but was left unpaid at the point of sale, according to pool reports.
Whoops!

Ironically, the move follows Obama’s declaration that Republicans left him the bill for a steak dinner on the economy.
Obama representatives settled this particular debt by the end of the day, and the servicemen (at least during the meal) seemed to be enjoying their time.

(H/T: Gateway Pundit)

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/obama-treats-military-vets-to-lunch-then-leaves-without-paying-the-bill/

Defense of Self Against Unlawful Attack

apparently, this applying to police is controversial. 

Who knew?

To clarify, I’m talking about the new law in Indiana, not to #OWS punching a cop and being shocked when they get thumped.  Was falling asleep last night and heard Coast to Coast AM start in on it.

Look: I don’t want cops to die. I don’t even want a CPS agent that’s kidnapping kids “for their own good” to be shot.
Then again, I don’t want any more people to die in misplaced raids, like Jose Guerena.  I don’t want a Jose Guerena who managed to shoot a home intruder on trial because the people breaking into his house were state employees who thought he was a dangerous criminal.

The law is give and take. So far as people follow it, they are protected by it.  There is no way that you should get special protections against logical, immediate consequences of breaking the law simply because of who your employer is; when officers of the law make mistakes, they are putting the lives of those involved on the line.  The victims of the mistake should not be put in further jeopardy (not just of legal action, but of criminals doing the obvious exploitation of such a ruling) to protect those who initiate the confrontation.

When I  joined the Navy, I was taught that I must refuse an unlawful order.  Police have a similar responsibility.  It has a sister right to resist unlawful force—if something is unlawful, it is outside of the law, unprotected by the law.

Here’s the meat and potatoes of the edited law:

"A person is justified in using reasonable force against ANY OTHER person to protect the person or a third person from what the person reasonably believes to be imminent use of unlawful force."

Quote copied it from the link up above.

Police are no different from other citizens, other than that they are empowered to enforce the law.  This does not give them special protection when they break the law, any more than they should be specially penalized for inadvertently breaking the law. The obvious hard case is that of a mistaken raid, where the police don’t realize they’re raiding the wrong house, and the homeowner doesn’t realize that the men with guns yelling are police.  I can see no reason that a law abiding person who is the victim of bad paperwork should be put in even more jeopardy than the screw-up already did.