The Real SOTU As Seen from Downrange

As I'm sure all of you are aware, last night was the annual State Of The Union Address by the Buffoon In Chief. I wish I could tell you that I watched it, but the truth is I didn't; the mere sound of NObama's voice makes me want to rip my ears off, so I didn't watch it. I did what I always do - I read the transcript instead. Takes less time, gives me a chance to look at things two or three times to make sure I understand it, and spares me the wasting of 60+ minutes of my life that I'll never get back.

To make a long story short, I'm not impressed. This year's speech was just more flowerly rhetoric, more empty promises (although the promises are smaller this year as compared to last year), more over-inflation of minor accomplishments, more criticism of the Republicans in Congress resulting in more division, and nothing positive of any real substance or meaning.

But it was also laced with a couple of veiled threats, one of which the GOP jumped on right away and one which I'm not sure that most folks recognized. I'll get to those in a minute; right now, here's the real State Of The Union as I see it from Downrange.

Our nation is more divided along political lines than ever, and the faith of the American people in the Federal government is at an all-time low. Our President has done nothing over the course of the past five years to resolve this; rather, he has contributed to the divisiveness that has frozen the Congress into a stalemate by laying the blame for all ills and failings of both Congress and his administration squarely in the laps of the Republicans. He holds both himself and the Democrats in Congress blameless for the quagmire that our Congress has become. He has failed us as a leader in every way, shape and form, and the speech he gave last night in which he makes yet more empty promises and speaks in flowery terms about the "progress" the nation has made under his insightful leadership is both a joke and insulting to anyone with half an ounce of common sense. From his speech last night:

"The lowest unemployment rate in over five years."

Sounds good, until you realize that the unemployment rate was 7.8% when he took office, rose to 10.0% under his "leadership," and didn't drop below 7.0% until last month. And all this after he vowed that under his leadership, unemployment wouldn't top 8%.

"And for the first time in over a decade, business leaders around the world have declared that China is no longer the world's number one place to invest; America is."

Was this before or after American's credit rating got downgraded for the first time in the nation's history?

"It's not just oil and natural gas production that's booming; we're becoming a global leader in solar, too. Every four minutes, another American home or business goes solar, every panel pounded into place by a worker whose job cannot be outsourced. Let's continue that progress with a smarter tax policy that stops giving $4 billion a year to fossil fuel industries that don't need it, so we can invest more in fuels of the future that do."

Does the name, "Solyndra" sound familiar to you, Mr. President? You know, that company you gave billions of dollars to, the one who got that money after contributing to your campaign fund, the company that went bankrupt two years ago? Does that rign a bell? And how about the Keystone Pipeline? Have you forgotten how you killed the funding for that one? Or is that a figment of my imagination?

"Finally, if we're serious about economic growth, it is time to heed the call of business leaders, labor leaders, faith leaders, law enforcement -- and fix our broken immigration system. Republicans and Democrats in the Senate have acted. And I know that members of both parties in the House want to do the same. Independent economists say immigration reform will grow our economy and shrink our deficits by almost $1 trillion in the next two decades. And for good reason: When people come here to fulfill their dreams -- to study, invent, contribute to our culture -- they make our country a more attractive place for businesses to locate and create jobs for everybody. So let's get immigration reform done this year. Let's get it done. It's time."

From where I stand, the only thing that's broken about our immigration system is that you still haven't secured our borders to stem the flow of illegal immigrants who steal jobs from Americans and then don't pay taxes, and the only people who think the immigration system is broken are the illegals who don't want to go through the process legally. We have a process in place, the process works, but you have to actually use it to see that. The illegals in our country don't want to do that; they'd rather have you and the liberals in Congress give them without working for it what others have gained by working for it. They want something for nothing, and they're counting on you to give it to them.

"I'm also convinced we can help Americans return to the workforce faster by reforming unemployment insurance so that it's more effective in today's economy. But first, this Congress needs to restore the unemployment insurance you just let expire for 1.6 million people."

Now if you want to talk about a process that's broken, this is it. Our unemployment process allows the shiftless, unmotivated, unwilling, and lazy to take advantage of a system that will sustain and promote their useless way of life by means of taxpayer-funded handouts. Sure, there are people in our nation who genuinely need and deserve this program, but for every one of them that fit that category there are three that are taking advantage of it. THIS is the process you should be concentrating on fixing, not immigration.

"Already, because of the Affordable Care Act, more than 3 million Americans under age 26 have gained coverage under their parents' plans. More than 9 million Americans have signed up for private health insurance or Medicaid coverage. Nine million."

Uh, no. Technically, the numbers do add up to 9 million, but the real truth is that only 3 million have signed up for NObamacare, and the other 6 million have signed up for Medicaid. A little creative juggling of numbers to over-inflate the truth. But wait, does this sound familiar: "If you like your health care plan, you can keep it." You told us this three years ago, and you lied to us just like the senator from South Carolina proclaimed. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have had their insurance cancelled because it's no longer available under your "Affordable" Care Act. Doctors that were available to treat special-needs patients are no longer available because they're not on the list provided by the "Affordable" Care Act. Programs that were being used to help treat cancer are no longer available because they're not offered under the "Affordable" Care Act; one of our own congressmen just found this out for himself when the program to treat his cancer got cancelled - all due to your "Affordable" Care Act. The bottom line is that America can't afford your health care program.

"Citizenship demands a sense of common purpose; participation in the hard work of self-government; an obligation to serve our communities. And I know this chamber agrees that few Americans give more to their country than our diplomats and the men and women of the United States Armed Forces."

Really? So would you please explain to us why you signed a bill last month that only gave our Armed Forces a meager 1% pay raise, and why you signed into law a budget that slashed the medical benefits of our retirmed Armed Forces members? We give 20+ years of our life for 50% of our pay, while you and the members of Congress can retire with full benefits after only 2 years of service. If you want to talk about a wage inequality, look no further.

Earlier I mentioned a couple of veiled threats that NObama made and that I'd mention them in a minute; well, it's time, and here they are. I'll start off with the one that the GOP jumped on right away.

"But America does not stand still -- and neither will I. So wherever and whenever I can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more American families, that's what I'm going to do."

In other words, NObama is telling us that he's going to rule by executive order and bypass Congress at every opportunity. Whatever he wants to do, he's going to find a way to slap the label of "expanding opportunity for more American families" on it and then sign an Executive Order, bypassing Congress. This is the exact thing our Constitution is designed to prevent, and the GOP has already said publicly that if he does this he's going to "run into a brick wall." You have to keep in mind that our President is the same one who recently said, "It seems our Founding Fathers designed a system that is a little harder to change than I'd like." That's the whole point, and the GOP is going to remind you of it at every turn.

Now for the one veiled threat that I haven't heard anyone talk about. Here it is:

"Citizenship means standing up for the lives that gun violence steals from us each day. I've seen the courage of parents, students, pastors, police officers all over this country who say "we are not afraid." And I intend to keep trying, with or without Congress, to help stop more tragedies from visiting innocent Americans in our movie theaters, in our shopping malls, or schools like Sandy Hook."

In plain English, the NObama Administration's war on the Second Amendment is about to kick into high gear. The Buffoon In Chief has just declared that he will bypass Congress in order to assault our Second Amendment rights by means of the Executive Order. If any of you thought that the fight over our Second Amendment rights was over, I have some very bad news for you: it's only just begun. If you support the Second Amendment but are not a member of the NRA, now is the time to join.

Contrary to what NObama wants me to believe, I don't believe that America is a better place in any way due to his administration. He has done more harm than good and intends to do yet more. I believe him to be the biggest threat to the American way of life that this country has ever faced, and I thank God that he's not eligible for a third term. I am genuinely afraid for the future of our great nation, but I vow to do my part to protect and defend our nation, the Constitution, and our way of life.

I'm a patriot, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

IHC

South Carolina Senate Bill 308 - It's About Time

Late last week the news broke that the South Carolina House had overwhelmingly approved and sent Senate Bill #308 to Governor Nikki Haley for signature, and the liberals and gun-grabbers immediately went into a frenzy. Of course, this is to be expected anytime a legislative body of any kind does anything to guarantee the Second Amendment rights of the citizens, so we should be used to this kind of thing by now.

For those of you not familiar with the provisions of the bill, it does several things: it lengthens the time that a Concealed Weapons Permit is valid, it provides for improved training and certification, expands the methods and places that you can carry a weapon in a vehicle, streamlines and improves the application/renewal process, and most importantly for those of us who have a CWP, it allows a CWP holder to carry concealed in an establishment that serves alcohol for consumption and prohibits the holder from consuming while doing so.

So out of the list of things I just mentioned, guess which one the liberals and gun-grabbers totally ignored and which one they centered all of their attention on.

If you said they totally ignored the part about providing for improved training and certification, you'd be correct. If you said they chose instead to center their attentiona bout the part where you can now carry concealed in a place where alcohol is consumed, you'd also be correct. And if you're as familiar with the "logic" (how I hate to use that term in this case) of the liberals and the gun-grabbers as I am, none of that comes as a surprise.

What this bill means to me, basically, is that I no longer have to disarm to take my wife out to eat. Prior to the bill I had two choices: leave the weapon at home, which goes against every fiber of my being, or leave the weapon in the car - which also goes against every fiber of my being. Leaving the weapon in the car invites it to be stolen and then possibly used in the commission of a crime, and wouldn't the liberals and the gun-grabbers just love that! I can see the headlines now: "Weapon Owned By CWP Holder Used In Crime!" Of course, they'd use the term "owned" instead of "stolen from," but we all know that. No, leaving the weapon in the car is not a good choice, not even if you lock it in the trunk.

And leaving it at home kinda defeats the whole purpose of having a CWP in the first place. After all, if you're going to get accosted or robbed while out and about, statistics show that you're most likely to be accosted in the parking lot while you're either walking from or back to your car. Your chances of being accosted inside the restaurant are slim to none. The parking lot is where the bad guys ply their trade, and that's the place where you need the weapon the most.

This, of course, is something that is totally lost on the liberals and the gun-grabbers, and I fully believe it's that way by their own design. The first thing you heard from this group of malfeasants was that South Carolina was going to turn into the Old West, with drunken shootouts taking place in the streets of Five Points and inside every bar in the state. This is, of course, the same thing the liberals and gun-grabbers said was going to happen in Florida when that state became the first state to pass a "must-issue" CWP law way back in the '90s, and of course that didn't happen. (Statistics from the FBI have shown that crime has actually decreased in that state since the passing of the law, as it has done in every state that has passed a similar law since.) And as it didn't happen then, it's not going to happen now.

The main thing that the liberals and gun-grabbers refuse to realize is this: if a person is mature and responsible enough to be trusted with carrying a weapon and granted a Concealed Weapon Permit, they're also mature and responsible enough to be trusted not to drink alcohol while armed. And since the people with CWPs are law-abiding citizens, they will obey that part of the law that says they can't drink while armed. It's as simple as that. (Besides, if you're not going to drink, why go into a bar anyway?)

Another thing that the liberals and gun-grabbers choose to ignore is the fact that there are already guns in bars throughout the state and the nation, and it's the bad guys who have them. The good guys don't, because up until the bill is signed it's illegal to carry concealed in a bar or restaurant. In the Columbia area in the past couple of months there have been several shootings in parking lots of bars, and they all have the same things in common: the participants were all drunk, they were all out in the parking lot, and none of them were CWP holders. But of course, you won't read that in the paper or hear it on the news; no, all you'll hear is that there was ANOTHER shooting.

Personally, I think this amendment to the law is long overdue. It's about time the state of South Carolina brought itself into line with the majority of states who have CWP laws and who allow their permit holders to carry concealed in a restaurant or bar. We've proven that we can be trusted by getting the permit to begin with, and it's about time that the state recognized this by doing away with a provision of the law which prevented us from being armed where it was most important - in the parking lots. To me, this is just one more step in the slow process of formal, legal recognition of the fact that weapons in the hands of law-abiding citizens is the answer and not the problem.

Now if only the liberals and gun-grabbers would realize that.

Nah, I ain't holding my breath.

IHC