Todays Quote

"Capitalism and communism stand at opposite poles. Their essential difference is this: The communist, seeing the rich man and his fine home, says: 'No man should have so much.' The capitalist, seeing the same thing, says: 'All men should have as much.' " -Phelps Adams

Found in the U.S. Concealed Carry Armed American Report on 02-22-08

Problem Solved

Soap Box Ravings says Blogger appears to have solved their Spell Check problem. They have eliminated the Spell Check function. I, for one would prefer to have spell check than the ability to translate my blog into a foreign language. Perhaps words in foreign languages do not require proper spelling like English does.

WAY TO GO NAVY, FANTASTIC SHOT BY THE USS LAKE ERIE (CG-70)

The USS Lake Erie (CG-70), launched a SM-3 missile designed to knock down incoming missiles (not orbiting satellites) at 10:26 p.m. EST. The Lake Erie hit the school bus sized target about three minutes later as the spacecraft traveled in polar orbit at more than 22 times the speed of sound or about 17,000 mph.

Talk about wingshooting!

The three-stage SM-3 Navy missile has been very successful in a series of tests since 2002. The previous tests targeted short- or medium-range ballistic missile but never a satellite. The Navy had to adapt the SM-3 programming for this shot. Navy officials have said the changes would be reversed once this satellite was down.

Soap Box Ravings is proud of his shipmates. Taking out a target moving 22 times the speed of sound is some truly awesome shooting. The bad part of the shot is that it reveals a little more of our potiential to countries, who for whatever reason, worry about us. For example, I am sure we will soon hear comments from Russia and Communist China among others. They will use this feat to ratchet up their weapons requirements regardless of the fact that this was done to prevent possible injury to people on the ground.

Barak OBama Needs You To Believe

A Houston campaign office for Barack Obama displayed the Cuban flag with the murderous Che Guevara superimposed.

Soap Box Ravings hopes those who support Obama's idea of change actually spend some effort to figure out what his stated changes are going to be.

While researching, perhaps they could enlighten me on the actual accomplishments of Senator Obama or Senator Clinton for that matter. Senators Obama and Clinton seem to be fairly matched on their accomplishments which in each case seem to be minimal. Although Clinton may have actually slept with a President.

Read The Patriot Post

Some People Should Not Be Allowed Firearms

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin points an AR-15 pattern rifle at Chief of Police Warren Riley during a press conference on Tuesday, 12 February.

The rifle was part of $6 million in new equipment purchases for the New Orleans Police Department and fires a .223 bullet at 3300 feet per second.

Mayor Nagin is infamous for ordering the New Orleans Police Department to seize the guns of law-abiding citizens in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, supposedly to make the city safer.

Soap Box Ravings (who qualifed as a firearms instructor in the US Navy and again while a police officer) says this is another picture of an elite anti-gun person who feels that elementary safety precautions do not apply to them. Luckily he does not have his finger on the trigger. And, of course, the Chief of Police (who by definition is also a politician) is laughing at his bosses joke while there is a rifle muzzle pointed at his midsection.

Another infamous antigun line:
Only the police and military should be allowed to have guns!

There are more pictures at: http://patriotpost.us/news/nagins_got_a_gun.asp

"Brief, Rapid-fire Assault"

Soap Box Ravings says this is the description of todays (02-14-08) shooting at Northern Illinois State University today.

This is also the description of any shooting with malice incident anywhere, military or civilian. You are very lucky if you see the shooter and/or the gun before they start shooting. The name of their game is not to fight fair but to kill, terrorize and finally memorialize themselves in the evening news. Following that, they quite often kill themselves so they can avoid punishment.

The antigun folks want all firearms restricted to police and military. In last weeks shooting Kirkwood, Missouri was initiated when the gunman shot and killed a police officer in the parking lot. He then armed himself with the police officer's firearm which increased his firepower immensely. The shooter went from having a revolver to now having a revolver and a semiautomatic pistol.

As a police officer firearms instructor I trained my peers to realize every call, every interaction involved a firearm; at the very least theirs. I repeatedly told them if a bad guy wants a gun all he needs to do is call a police officer. The officer will be wearing one when he or she arrives. And often, they are not expecting someone to take it away from them.

By the time the police, university or anyone else could get the word out this shooter was done with his mission. Cell phone notifications, pa announcements and calling the police mostly take place in the time it takes to fire XX number of bullets and believe me you can not count that fast much less call or answer your cell phone.

I don't even have to ask, but my guess this is another "GUN FREE ZONE".

How is it working for you!

For Some The Learning Curve is Much Longer Than Others

You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot lift the wage-earner by pulling down the wage-payer.
You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich.
You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot establish security on borrowed money.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away men’s initiative and independence.
You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.
by William J. H. Boetcker, 1916

Soap Box Ravings says these quotes are 92 year old secret information. Many folks in this country do not believe any of the lines quoted above. Actually non-believers prefer to operate either under the newer theory that if a big enough lie is shouted long enough and loud enough it will become true. Well not of course, if your talking about the Law Of Gravity. Or the other popular theory where you restate your past actions in the best possible light regardless of what they actually were.
Twist the facts loudly.

The Law Of Unintended Consequences, Again

From The Patriot Post, 02-08-08, more at: http://patriotpost.us/


In recent weeks, environmentalist groups are realizing Federal biofuel and ethanol mandates have the potential to do far more harm than good.

Initially the idea made a fair amount of sense; use a portion of our abundant corn crops to produce ethanol as an alternative to oil. Thereby reducing greenhouse emissions, in addition to reducing our reliance on foreign oil.

Pressured by the environmentalist folks and their allies, the federal government enacted a series of ethanol subsidies. Thereby causing market confusion with unpredictable and changing government mandates and subsidies.

Farm subsidies are sacred to politicians, but the consequences of this “solution” are now obvious, and even environmentalist groups have begun to complain.

Rising demand for ethanol means a rising demand for corn and a corresponding rise in corn prices, in and out of this country. Those who eat tortillas made from corn have been particularly affected.

The resulting increase in food prices have have caused farmers to increase their land useage and causing increased environmental damage.

If America’s entire grain harvest were devoted to ethanol production, it would replace only 18 percent of our automotive demand for oil.

Most importantly, the ethanol fiasco reveals the ineptitude of centralized government when it comes to running the market. Remember, the USSR used a centralized government to control their markets among other things.

The laws of supply and demand are enough to handle our energy troubles, so long as the market is free from government interference. Otherwise, we will continue to suffer from the Law Of Unintended Consequences.

Quote

“Today, the political platforms of at least one party in the United States and pretty much every party in the rest of the Western world are nearly exclusively about... government health care, government day care, government this, government that. And if you have government health care, you not only annex a huge chunk of the economy, you also destroy a huge chunk of individual liberty.” —Mark Steyn

Soap Box Ravings is all about individual liberty. I obey the rules and try to play nice in group settings but I want to decide how to live my life and spend my money that I earned by putting my "sheepdog" life on the line around the world to protect the"sheep."

Another Day

Which is worse: ignorance or apathy?

I don’t know and I don’t care.

Another Point To Ponder

“Washington, D.C. is a place where delusions go to thrive. That explains why Congress and the president are now agreed on remedies that will not work, expending money they do not have, to fix a problem that may not exist.” —Steve Chapman

It Is Always About William Jefferson Clinton, Whether You Like It Or Not

Clawing for a Legacy

In Charles Krauthammer's article "Clawing for a Legacy" from Friday, February 1, 2008he writes: “There was general amazement when (the now-muzzled) Bill Clinton did his red-faced, attack-dog, race-baiting performance in South Carolina. Friends, Democrats and longtime media sycophants were variously perplexed, repulsed, enraged, mystified and shocked that this beloved ex-president would so jeopardize his legacy by stooping so low. What they don’t understand is that for Clinton, there is no legacy. What he was doing on the low road from Iowa to South Carolina was fighting for a legacy—a legacy that he knows history has denied him and that he has but one chance to redeem. Clinton is a narcissist but also smart and analytic enough to distinguish adulation from achievement. Among Democrats, he is popular for twice giving them the White House, something no Democrat has done since FDR. And the bouquets he receives abroad are simply signs of the respect routinely given ex-presidents, though Clinton earns an extra dollop of fawning, with the accompanying fringe benefits, because he is (a) charming and (b) not George W. Bush. But Clinton knows this is all written on sand... Clinton knows that popularity is cheap, easily lost, easily regained. (See Lewinsky scandal.) But historical legacies are forever. He wants one, desperately. But to get it he must return to the White House. And for that he must elect his wife. At any cost."

Soap Box Ravings total digust of all things Clinton holds to this day. Today, Neal Boortz reported that Hillary "cried" again. Is it any wonder, a Clinton with tears in their eyes particularly when a camera is focused on them is to be expected. When Hillary Clinton claims to have more experience than Barack Obama this is what she is talking about. While the majority of her experience seems to be sleeping with the President she has had amny years to learn her husbands tricks of the trade (no pun intended).

The full text of Charles Krauthammer's article can be found at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/31/AR2008013102627.html?sub=AR

Another Thought To Consider

“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed, and hence clamorous to be led to safety, by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.” —H.L. Mencken

Soap Box Ravings is truly amazed by how government and/or politicians at any level continue to react as described by H. L. Mencken above. So much of the in-fighting takes place over "phony" issues that the real issues are never decided. For one example, read our Constitution and see how far the government has gotten into your life using "interstate commerce."

Thought For Today

“Every candidate who repeats the misleading nonsense that ‘47 million in America have no health care,’ ought to be challenged with hard truth. The number is grossly inflated by including millions who are here illegally and millions of others who have the means to pay for health care insurance but refuse to adjust their budget and lifestyle. And don’t expect any media type to question where in the Constitution Congress derives any authority to dispense health care.” —Janet LaRue

Soap Box Ravings wonders with government health care for all will it be mandated that those who are self-insured must use the government health insurance whether they want to or not. I doubt it. I really don't see Teddy Kennedy waiting in line in a doctor's office with all of the unemployed and social security recipients. Don't really see any high member of the government doing that.

The reason I say waiting in line is because the good doctors and surgeons will move to another country where they can charge and get reasonable fees. Think not? Have you ever wondered why such a large percentage of our doctors and surgeons are from other countries?

Although if you run enough illegal aliens through daily and the government is foots the tab I guess you could make a profit. The thought reminds me of a military sick call about 45 years ago.

Quote For Today

“A liberal is a man who will give away everything he doesn’t own.” —Frank Dane

How Much Does It Cost The Federal Government For a Presidential Election

How much does it cost the federal government for a presidential election? Much of the costs for the election are born by the candidates. Some more of the cost is paid for by the political parties themselves. And the individual states bear a large portion of the costs since they have to purchase and pay for all of the voting machines and the support systems for them.

After due thought, all other things being relatively equal from election to election, Soap Box ravings has come to the conclusion that this election is going to be the most expensive one ever for the federal government. In fact it appears that it will be about 150 Billion dollars more in new costs than any previous election which is the estimated cost of the "cookie" that mother government wants to feed selected citizens of this country.

Soap Box Ravings can't help but wonder what costs Nancy Pelosi, the most ethical speaker of the hose ever, and her fellow party members are going to cut since they campaigned on making sure they balanced the books.

They are not the only ones feeding at the trough. It appears to be a stampede led by President Bush. It seems like every politician in Washington, DC wants to be remembered for passing out "free cookies" to the citizens of this country.

Nuff Said Bout This

The Associated Press reported on 26 January, 2008 that Saddam Hussein allowed the world to believe he had weapons of mass destruction to deter rival Iran and did not think the United States would stage a major invasion.

Saddam did not expect a U.S. invasion and deliberately kept the world guessing about his weapons program, although he already had gotten rid of it.

The full article is available at: http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,160823,00.html?wh=news

Soap Box Ravings would file this information under the heading of "Don't do the crime if you can't do the time" with subheadings under "You reap what you sow." In law enforcement this is sometimes known as "suicide by LEO."

Soap Box Ravings can not help but wonder if U. S. President's had a history of reacting quickly and firmly to world situations would Saddam have played this game. For example in the "walk softly and carry a big stick" era of Teddy Roosevelt it is hard to imagine that Saddam would have played that game. And now we have the leader if Iran, Mahmūd Ahmadinejād, pulling our chain to see how we measure up.

When Republicans Act Like Democrats

From The Patriot Post:
“We’re all Keynesians now." So famously declared Richard Nixon back in 1971, in what we thought was a different economic era. But after [recent events], we’re not sure what decade we’re in. With Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and President Bush both endorsing temporary tax cuts and more federal spending as ‘fiscal stimulus,’ an inflation-adjusted version of Jimmy Carter’s $50 rebate can’t be far behind. Appearing before Congress, Mr. Bernanke told Democrats what he thought they wanted to hear. The former academic economist blessed a ‘fiscal stimulus package,’ as long as it is ‘explicitly temporary.’ How new federal spending can be ‘temporary,’ he didn't say, as if a dollar collected in taxes or borrowed and then spent can be recalled. The ‘temporary’ line was thus a dagger aimed directly at the heart of Mr. Bush’s desire to make his tax cuts permanent. The Fed chief did aver that, ‘Again, I’m not taking a view one way or the other on the desirability of those long-term tax cuts being made permanent.’ But of course refusing to endorse something is itself a point of view—a point Democrats were already joyfully repeating... Instead, Mr. Bernanke embraced the explicit Keynesian notion that the government should write checks to ‘low and moderate income people,’ who will spend it quickly and thus lift consumer demand... We’re all for putting more money in the hands of the poor and moderate earners, especially via stronger economic growth that will give them better paying jobs. But the $250 or $500 one-time rebate check they may now receive has to come from somewhere. The feds will pay for it either by taxing or borrowing from someone else, and those people will have that much less to spend or invest themselves. We are thus supposed to believe it is ‘stimulating’ to take money from one pocket and hand it to another.” —The Wall Street Journal

Soap Box Ravings remains in awe and feels that even more amazing bullshit awaits us. There is an old saying that a fool and his money are soon parted. So we spend millions of dollars and the only benefit is many of the low wage earners now have a high definition television.

Soap Box Ravings can't help but wonder if the federal government for example started to repair or maybe even increase the interstate highway system that we would reduce unemployment, get money rolling through the economy and the low income wage earners may decrease in this country. Or the federal government could hire folks to repair and or improve the National Parks System.

Spending money to create jobs would eventually result in more folks paying taxes. Just handing out money will not help anyone.

Pick Up Your Head And You Can See The Future Coming At You

The whole story is at US Concealed Carry: www.uscca.us/news/newsletter/burglars-have-rights-terminal-stupidity/

In an article titled "Burglars have rights too, says [British] Attorney General," Melissa Kite and Andrew Alderson discuss the rights of British householders and their governments defense of the rights of burglars.

The British Prime Minister had pledged to look again at British law with a view to giving homeowners more rights to protect themselves.


Lord Goldsmith, the attorney-general, said that criminals must also have the right to protection from violence.

Sir John Stevens, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, denied that a change in the law, which currently gives homeowners the right to use “reasonable force” when tackling intruders, would encourage burglars to become more aggressive.

Sir John - in favour of the Right to Fight Back campaign said: “I am convinced that enabling householders to use whatever force is necessary will discourage burglars.

Lord Goldsmith, said “We must protect victims and law abiding citizens; but we have to recognize that others have some rights as well. They don’t lose all rights because they’re engaged in criminal conduct.”

Sir John spoke of his regret about the repercussions over the verdict on Tony Martin, the farmer who shot dead one burglar and seriously injured another during a break-in at his farm in August 1999.

There was a public outcry when Martin was found guilty at Norwich Crown Court and sentenced to life in prison. The charge and sentence were later reduced to five years for manslaughter.

Sir John did not suggest that the jury had reached the wrong verdict, but added: “The Tony Martin case is unfortunate because it has skewed the debate [on the public’s right to protect their home]. But it is a fact that burglars have acted with greater confidence since the Tony Martin verdict and that has to be a matter of regret.”

Lord Goldsmith, however, warned of the dangers of using the Martin case to make bad law: “There are very few cases that have given rise to this problem. Besides Tony Martin, there’s only one I know about."

Soap Box Ravings says Tony Martin plus one equals two. It really sucks to be them. This is the condition a lot of folks in this country would like us to be in and I am disregarding the burglars and others who commit the crimes. I am only talking of our "Gun Free Zone" neighbors.