Category Archives: politics

Coming home: It’s that time of year again!

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It is a week before I begin my travels to my hometown for the Thanksgiving holiday and some much needed time in the woods deer hunting.

But this year, it is a little different. You see, my hometown is in a bit of spot with City Hall not being transparent, people feeling harassed and intimidated when they speak out against those in charge of the city. Well, I have a bit of advice for the residents of my little town, stand up, be heard and do not back down. Just like the lack of transparency can cause chaos in the federal government, it can crush a small town and when residents allow that to happen, you can’t blame anyone but yourself.

Now I am one who does not take to intimidation very well. I will tell you what I think and if you don’t like it, walk away. You can discuss differences and come to middle grounds or even an agreement, but you have to know all the facts.

Now, someone might ask, “what do you care, you don’t live here?” or “you don’t know all the facts!” I would agree with that, except for two points:

1. I care because that is my hometown and I am moving back.

2. I have seen what both sides have said in public forum as well as watch clips from local news and articles written about what is going on.

Now this little town has gone on social media and has an “Official” information page. But the problem is, they do not post relevant information, like when the next council meeting will be held, where it is and what is on the agenda, and the minutes of the previous meetings. When businesses use social media, they allow the customer to originate posts when they have questions or comments, good or bad about the host page. On this particular page, that is not allowed. So, I took it upon myself to post the city council meeting just an hour before it began, so that those who did not know would be informed.

After the meeting was over, I went back to the host page and my comment had been deleted, and I was magically banned from making any further comments on the page. My comment was simply “Don’t forget the city council meeting at 7pm.”

Well, I had written to the administration asking why it was deleted and why they banned me, but they have yet to respond to me. Instead, they posted this “This facebook page is for city information only any negative posting will be removed.  Let’s keep it clean.  Thank you.”

I wrote them another email asking about why they deleted my post again and have yet to get a response to that as well.

Now I am not going to go into the weeds as to all the problems of the town, or name names on here. What I will say is, that it is time for the residents of this great American town to stand up and take it back. The residents own the town, the city government serves you and you as residents deserve to be treated with respect and honesty.

I make it home at least once a year and really look forward to getting back there. Yes, I can see that my trip home will be interesting to say the least, but it will be even more interesting when I finally move back there for good!

Even with all the problems of this great town, I can’t wait to return, it will always be my home. See you soon!

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Wake up and fight America!

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At the start of the Revolutionary War, it took a king to try to control and tax the colonist into submission as a cause for war. The King wanted to confiscate our guns so that he could keep collecting more taxes. As time went on, the colonists decided that enough was enough and America stood up against oppression for the first time in our young history. A country was formed from fighting men who wanted and won freedom. So America was born because strong men stood up, stood together and defeated evil!

Fast forward to San Antonio in the year 1836 where a group of Texans joined by strong Americans fought against a dictator from Mexico to win their independence. When you step back and look at this war, you will see a lot of similarities to our own Revolutionary War. You have a dictator that wants to have total control over his subjects and make them pay for whatever freedoms he allows them. Even though all of those fighting inside of the Alamo lost their lives, their loss gave the rest of Texas the anger and strength to stand up and fight for freedom and they won if not for the words of “Remember the Alamo!”

In World War II the United States tried to stay out of the war, but when Japan decided to attack Pearl Harbor, they pulled the United States together once again, proving that once again if you attack us as a Nation, you have truly “Awaken a sleeping giant!”  The United States did what was needed at that time and fought to make sure that Japan did not get away with killing thousands of people.

And then you have September 11, 2001 when terrorists attack us with hi-jacked planes again killing thousands of innocent people. We stood up, stood together and have been in a war against terrorism ever since. Every American wanted justice to be served and wanted those who planned the attacks to be held accountable for their actions. It did not matter what party you were affiliated with, republican, democrat or independent, we all agreed we needed to fight.

Each of these wars was being perpetrated by leaders (one sort or the other) who thought that we would cower down to them, would be scared and not stand up to them. Well, that backfired in a big way because as Americans, we just do not give up our freedoms to anyone. We live by our constitution and die protecting it.

The point of all this is, why as Americans do we stand up to anyone attacking us from foreign lands but we will not stand up to those in our own country who want to take rights away? Why is it that we allow our government to try mimic countries who hate us, who do not believe that we should live free? While America is the country who comes to the rescue of every country in the world during some of the worst disasters, even our enemies, we are hated and yet we still give more to the world than anyone has ever given us. We don’t complain about that, we don’t ask anyone for anything.

Why is it that we have a government that believes that hard working Americans should “have” to give part of their money to those who could work hard but refuse to? What has happened to the America that stood together and when times were tough we helped our neighbors without being asked to or without being forced to?  Why do we have a government that will force us to buy healthcare under the guise of reform, yet they decide there are some who do not have to live by the rules and then still call it a tax, run by the IRS?

When did we start blaming tools, games, music and movies for the troubles in society? When instead we should blame our justice system and parents for that. We don’t want anyone to be held accountable for their actions, so we allow millions of babies to be aborted because some do not want to be pregnant. Our government would rather glorify abortion, saying it is ok to take an innocent life and then wonder why kids are murdering innocent people. It is ok to rip a baby out of the womb thousands of times a month but it is not ok to defend yourself with a gun.

When is it ok for someone to call themselves a reverend, yet every word out of his mouth is filled with racist hate? When do we allow people like him to talk to large groups and cause hate to grow? Yes it is free speech, but it is only free speech if he does it. If someone speaks out against him, they are labeled a racist. Since when do we allow a religion that is against everything we believe in, like equality, women’s rights and peace even be mentioned in this country. Freedom of religion is a right, but it is not a right to use against all other rights.

Parents, start parenting. Start playing with your kids more, take them camping, fishing, play wiffle ball in the yard. Have game night, make time for each other. When a kid wants to play cops and robbers, it is ok to be a good guy. Let kids be kids, and don’t arrest them for making a pop tart into the shape of a gun!

We should never need a phrase or a disaster to bring us all together. We should never have to say “Remember the Alamo” to make us stand and fight. We should just look around and see what is happening in our own communities and have the guts to stand tall and say enough is enough!

We need a change in this country, we need less government and more people standing up. We need truth and until we get that, we will continue to go backward instead of forward. Some say we need less religion, but personally, I think right now we need God more than ever.

The Unity Party (Shameless Plug)

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My first attempt at a political thriller. I started writing this in 2002, but got my first writers block. By the time I wanted to start writing again, I was afraid that it was coming too close to the truth and people would think I was using current events. I really made it up, honest. The Unity Party  is now available as an E-Book on Amazon.com.

Unity_Cover

There is a new kind of government taking over and everyone comes together. But togetherness is not always good. Spies, and conspiracy for a larger world order is happening. Can a small group protect and save the entire country?

Why so many are flocking to obtain concealed carry permits: Members of a Tennessee class explain

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By Jeff Nichols, as published in Western Shooting Journal May 2013 issue.

WITH THE RECENT TRAGEDIES IN NEWTOWN AND AURORA, and the political fight for the Second Amendment waging in Washington, DC, millions of Americans are heading out to get their concealed weapons permit (CWP). According to the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, in Tennessee (the Volunteer State) as of March 2013, there were a total of 398,194 valid Tennessee Handgun Carry Permit Holders. This is an icrease of 13.6 percent since March 2012, when there were 350,327.

In Tipton County, Tenn. the sheriff’s department provides classes on the last Saturday of the month. When asked why the sheriff conducts this course, Deputy Sheriff Bob Beanblossom, the Rangemaster, responded, “The Sheriff thinks this is a good public service. We can provide a public service to the people, first to help them learn a little more about guns and the laws that affect them when they are a handgun permit carrier, and it also helps us to give them a little shooting time on our range, and get a better opinion of us.”

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CONCEALED WEAPONS PERMIT Deputy Sheriff Bob Beanblossom, Rangemaster, gives instruction during the shooting portion of the Tipton County Handgun Permit class on March 30, 2013. (JEFF NICHOLS)

Why do residents of Tennessee want obtain their CWP? I recently attended the CWP class at the Tipton County Sheriff’s Office to talk to applicants as well as to take the class myself. For me, getting my CWP was for several reasons. One reason was to protect myself and those around me. It is not because anyone wants to be a hero, or wants anything to happen. The fact is, having a weapon in case you need it is similar to having a fire extinguisher in case of a fire. It may never happen, but if it does, you will be prepared and may be able to stop another tragedy from occurring.

“I think it is due to the political climate, and people are afraid that they will have their rights taken away from them. One, they are getting their handgun for personal protection,” Beanblossom said. “But it also will let the lawmakers know that there are a lot of people out there who care about exercising their Second Amendment rights.”

No one ever wants to be in a place where a criminal or a person who is mentally ill decides to kill or maim other people, but the odds of a person being able to commit mass murder when there are honest armed citizens around drops tremendously.

Kriston Arnold, a Tipton County resident who shot a handgun for the first time a week prior to the training, said that her husband convinced her to get her carry permit for her own safety. She brought a 9mm for the class, “I tried several different calibers and felt most comfortable with this one,” she said. “I might do a little more target shooting because I now realize that I enjoy it and have a little fun doing it now that I am not scared to do it.”

MOST POLITICIANS AND CELEBRITIES WOULD LIKE YOU TO BELIEVE that only bad things will happen if citizens are allowed to own guns, while reporting only the stories that represent a person intent on killing as many people as they can. Those same politicians and celebrities would like people to believe that if you restrict or take away certain guns (or all guns), that the criminals will magically begin to follow the law.

Tracy Green, a United States Marine Corps veteran who did three tours to Iraq, also took the class. “I came to get my carry permit today because of personal protection and also economic situations today, people would rather steal what you have, instead of going out and working for their own stuff,” he told me. “It was very informative, and helps you know gun safety and the laws about gun safety; how to protect yourself and when to protect yourself.”

Beanblossom said, “This is the first class we had a pre-registration. We had been increasing in size from three attending, to five, to 15. Now, last month (Feb.) we had 39.” He continued, “We try to give a complete class that encompasses just the law, or just the parts of a gun. We try to incorporate the laws in such a way that people understand them in practical terms. And then we try to bring the shooting down to not just a skill, but an activity that has consequences.”

** Update: At this time the Tipton County Sheriff’s Office is not conducting handgun permit classes. You can go to http://www.concealedcarryservices.org/tennessee/index.php for information on obtaining your first permit or renewing an existing permit.

Visit http://westernshootingjournal.com/ to subscribe.

*Update: After 109 days, I finally received my CWP.

Guns: Politics and Common Sense

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Things are heating up throughout the United States when it comes to guns, gun control and the second amendment. You have celebrities saying that we need stricter gun control, but yet they make a living making movies that has more death than a major war. They say, well, if we limit the amount of bullets in a magazine, that will make it harder for someone to be able to fire a large amount of bullets, and when they take a second to change magazines it would give people a chance to either stop the shooter or people to escape. In theory that sounds really great, but in reality, it doesn’t quite work that way. The bottom line is, if magazine limits are imposed on law-abiding citizens you are only limiting them from protecting themselves. I read a really good analogy that really struck home.

A woman is home alone with her two children and three armed intruders break into her home in the middle of the night. With no lights on, she grabs her 9mm and shoots a couple warning shots and to no avail they keep coming. She then shoots at the intruders, hitting one of them before her seven rounds are spent. She fumbles around to retrieve another magazine, but drops it in the dark and she is over-taken by the intruders.

This is an nightmare that could come true. Can you imagine what that would be like? Could you be calm enough to be able to handle this situation? I hope that no one reading this will ever have to find out, but wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t have to fumble around to try and save your families lives?

The one thing that really bothers me, is that in addition to that law, the government is trying to ban what they call “Assault Weapons.” Lets think about what they call an assault weapon and what an assault weapon is.

They would like you to believe that an AR15, which can come in 22, 223 or other similar calibers that are common in many weapons that are legal. This scary weapon is a “Semi-Automatic,” which means on bullet is fired every time the trigger is pulled. It is considered an assault weapon only because it looks like the same weapons that the military uses. The difference is, is that the military model has a select fire mechanism that allows you to use semi-auto, three round burst or fully automatic fire. Of course they both have those scary large capacity magazines which according to a representative from Colorado says if you shoot all the bullets out of a magazine, you can’t use it again. They say if it has a folding stock, or a pistol grip then the civilian model is classified as an assault weapon.

But wait a minute, lets look at some FBI Crime Statistics (which are compiled here Ban These) :

  • From 2007 until 2011 homicide deaths by rifle was on a steady decline 453, 380, 351, 367 and 323 respectfully.
  • In the same time period, homicide deaths by personal weapons (hands, fists, feet, etc…) were 869, 875, 817, 769 and 728.

Under the logic of those who are wanting to ban assault rifles, they should also ban parts of your body, right? Assault feet? Anything that someone uses to um… assault someone else is an assault weapon (this is where the common sense comes in).

In the same compilation you will find that there are many other things that kill more people than guns, which by the way, never have I seen a gun kill someone.

Try using this information on those in the media, Piers Morgan or some other celebrity who’s heart I am sure cries for anyone who is injured or killed by violence and they will side-step your information every time and blame the NRA, Conservatives or us unruly country people who cling to our guns, bible and the constitution. They want to make a name for themselves as the one, or the group that disarmed America, only to make it a more dangerous place for honest, law-abiding Americans to live. They say that the NRA is only in the fight because they make money off of scaring us, but let me tell you, being an NRA member makes me 1. proud and 2. glad that I have someone on my side to protect my rights! I guess what I am really saying is “I am the NRA!”

Maybe, just maybe if these people who want to ban certain guns would open their minds more instead of their mouths and realize what the problem really is here, then maybe they can make a difference. Not one gun ever shot a person on it’s own. Limiting what an honest American can have only allows criminals to win. I read an article once that the author interviewed a career criminal who went up and down the east coast. He was asked if there was any place he would not invade a home, and his answer was, West Virginia. When asked why, he stated that he would not even attempt it there because everyone had a gun in West Virginia and they were not afraid to use them.

I think that is enough said.

http://www.slideshare.net/JeffNicholsWV/ban-these

My One And Only Post About Politics!

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So, the world’s eyes on the American election system and everyone seems to be divided. Everyone has their own views and give advice freely to who they think would be a better candidate for them. But ultimately, it comes down to the individual, and what they see in a candidate. I myself, post on Facebook and Twitter as to who I support, I put facts as I see them to share with others who may or may not agree with me. But the golden rule that I live by, is not to actually tell anyone who to vote for specifically. Since those who know me, already knows who I am going to vote for. My posts put out information to cause people to discuss facts, rumors and issues. What really strikes me, is the number of online reporters who are so bias that they should be working at one of the candidate’s campaign office. You see headlines that are so blatantly one-way that you have to wonder if those reporters actually went to journalism school. On the other hand, you have to wonder how their editors got their jobs.

Just like all American’s, those reporters have their choice, their opinions and can choose who they want to win an election, but I am so amazed at the articles day-to-day who don’t use facts or they cut a quote to make it fit their agenda.

The American press is the strongest in the world and what people from across the globe read about us from papers and tv news they take as the whole truth. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could actually go on YahooNews and actually read an article that puts the issues in a story and then has side-by-side facts?

But that doesn’t sell advertising, it doesn’t sell papers or get you to watch their shows, it is too boring. People love hearing about the conflicts, the ugly side, the fights and the controversies that are out there.

The greatest power that any person has, is the power to elect the person who will serve their country the best, the one who will (in your mind) do the things they say they will do. If you fail to vote, then you have no right to complain, although we have freedom of speech in the USA, it doesn’t help your case to complain about who was elected if you did not take part in the election yourself. Often, I will hear someone say “Man, that guy has really ran the country into the ground, how did he get elected?” and my response to them is, “Did you vote in the last election?”  If they did vote, then we have a discussion, if they didn’t vote, I just shut the conversation down, after I tell them that it is ignorant for them to complain when they did not actually go to the polling place and put in their choice and that if they don’t like things the way they are, to register and vote the next time!

Freedom of speech yes, but when you allow your non-vote to elect the person you don’t want, I blame them personally.

The whole point to this post is two-fold:

1. Don’t listen to just one person, do the research yourself and make the decision through looking at the facts. Disregard news that does not attempt to show both sides equally, because they are not going to give you a true view of the candidates. They will make their choice look like Superman and the other look like Lex Luthor.

2. Get out and vote. register, show your ID (no excuse for not having an ID), and don’t let yourself be pressured into voting any other way than the way you want to vote.

The greatest power of all individual American’s, is to change who is in office with your vote if you feel they have not done their job!