Innovation often triggers a few raised eyebrows

And an adapted vending machine in Pennsylvania is said to be doing just that:

From BeaverCountian.com:

A vending machine operated by a candidate for Beaver County Sheriff that distributes firearms ammunition is raising some eyebrows. The machine is installed inside of the Beaver Valley Rifle & Pistol Club, offering both rifle and handgun ammunition and operating in the same fashion as vending machines commonly used to sell snack foods.

Gabby's back....

Look who shows up in DC peddling gun control while the GOP wallows in surrender sauce.

Bibi was exploited by disingenuous Republicans

My congressman spoke from the House floor immediately following the Netanyahu address. 

Grieves me to say, today's GOP has stooped low enough to exploit excitement over the Israeli prime minister's address to slip through DHS funding that includes money to move ahead on executive action amnesty.

So, my letter to Congressman Woodall;

Using an address to Congress by the Israeli prime minister to distract from a fast moving push to fund Obama's executive amnesty is beyond shameful. 

You seem more than complicit with this action. As you appeared on the House floor following Netanyahu, you promised transparently, yet you deflected to some marginal bill about passenger rail reform. Lessons of history make it ironic that you chose now to express concern that America pass reform to get our trains running on time. 

We have entered a dark era in American history, one that's pushed forward by a Congress full of members who shirk their oath to uphold the Constitution.  

You should be ashamed at the way the GOP has sold out for cheap perks promised to the elites as part of Obama's fundamental transformation.  

Today's action may escape immediate notice by most Americans. But it will be common knowledge on election day 2016.

Worse than cowards

It appears to me John Boehner and the GOP leadership are using Benjamin Netanyahu's address to Congress as a distraction.

While we're cheering Netanyahu, Boehner's busy engineering surrend to Obama on executive amnesty.

Watching the Republican Party leaders use Netanyahu in this way is unforgivable.

How many traitors can be recruited with a $400,000 media push?

Republican complicity with Obama's unconstitutional power grab is no longer in the shadows. 

John Lewis fails to meet the challenge

Last month, Atlanta Congressman John Lewis said he and other black members of Congress would skip today's speech by Benjamin Netanyahu because it was "legislative overreach" for the House Speaker to invite the Israeli prime minister.

Lewis is afraid Congress is infringing on Obama's territory?

Gimme a break.

Have we heard Lewis criticize Obama's replacing legislation with executive orders on things like immigration amnesty?

Has Lewis dared to speak up as the White House ponders bypassing Congress, and looks at enacting new taxation by the stroke of Obama's pen?

I suspect John Lewis is no longer up to the intellectual challenge of serving on Congress.

Democrats expect Boehner to cave on executive amnesty

Unclear, however, whether they have a promise in writing or even one verbally expressed.

Intriguing report as Netanyahu heads to Washington

What would the status of Obama's presidency be today if he had ordered U.S. forces to shoot down Israeli military planes last year?

There's a report that says he indeed gave Israel such a warning if it moved to target Iranian nuke facilities.

Yes, the report has only indirect sourcing. Yet it seems in line with the way Obama and John Kerry see and treat Israel, so I find it intriguing.

How would American military personnel have responded if given such an order?

How would Americans have reacted had cable news suddenly started airing reports of Obama-ordered forces shooting down Israeli jets to protect Iran?


Brings to mind another matter. What's Benjamin Netanyahu going to say once he's in DC?

I've never seen the kind of counter push the White House is dishing out before a speech is even given. It's almost like the White House knows Netanyahu has information gravely detrimental to the administration.

I guess the big question is, how far will Bibi go in laying his cards on the table at this particular time?

Goodbye World - a review

Watched an interesting apocalyptic tale on Netflix last night.

You might call Goodbye World a prepper movie, and it does have good points in that direction.

In the story, as the country come under a massive cyber attack, a band of friends reunite at the mountain home of two members of their old college crowd who have chosen a back-to-basics life.

Theatrical poster via Wikipedia

No, this isn't a prepper manual movie, but here are some of the lessons I took away from it:

• Not all preppers are politically conservative. Nor will those be who seek out the help from prepper friends when an unraveling starts.
• You're not necessarily nuts if you have a store room full of supplies like food and medicine.
• Not all preppers are 40 or older.
• Excessive use of alcohol or recreational drugs can be detrimental to group effectiveness and cohesion. This is true if done individually, but especially so in group settings.
• The best laid plans of prepping can be quickly undone if a means of resisting those who would take your preps is not cooked into your plans. This is story where most the members seem appalled at possession of firearms, but... 

The characters here are solidly bent to the political left, know that going in. The story's set in northern California, so politically left is the norm. Adult themes of sex, drinking and smoking weed are woven into the story line, This probably isn't one to watch with the kiddies.

Not badly acted, and well produced for what it is. Critics mostly panned the film, but I'm not sure if it was the film itself they panned, or if their reception was jaded by resistance to the story line, by personal denial of what the world might quickly become if the virtual trappings of their lives were suddenly stripped away.

Any apocalyptic flick that has potential to get people 40 and younger thinking "what if" is probably a good thing. This one strikes me as better than most in being able to penetrate a scoffing youthful mindset, and sow a few mental seeds that bad things can happen on a society-wide scale, and that today's high tech society is perhaps especially vulnerable to a rapid unraveling.

Laying it out

On Facebook, Franklin Graham writes:

Why is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu being shunned by the liberal media, congress, and President Barack Obama? I believe it’s because this administration has been heavily influenced by Muslims speaking into and giving advice in various areas of the White House. They are anti-Israel and anti-Semitic—and they are influencing the president who as we all know was raised with a strong Muslim influence in his life. His father and his stepfather were Muslims and he attended Islamic schools. Prime Minister Netanyahu has been a friend to the US and deserves our respect. They’re treating our friend and ally as an enemy.

Give it up Jeb, just go home

Roll out the Astroturf, bus in supporters where you have none.

Isn't that the way SEIU stages portests? How the Dems pack venues ahead of the Iowa primary?

It's how Jeb Bush reportedly played CPAC. 

Most everything in politics is phony now.

Don't expect politicians to fix it. They like it the way things are.

Pelosi's team bumbled as bad as Boehner's

Earlier today, Democrats were pounding their chests over the way Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats came to "rescue" John Boehner's Republican efforts to keep DHS open.

So, Pelosi caved...

What's up with that?

Didn't Nan get the memo that Dems wanted a shutdown for fundraising purposes?

From The Hill:

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee on Saturday emailed supporters incorrectly saying that Republicans had allowed the Department of Homeland Security to shut down.  

"Republicans forced a shutdown of Homeland Security. It started at MIDNIGHT last night," the DCCC wrote in a fundraising email to supporters shortly after 9 a.m. Saturday.  

"Together, we can make the Republicans regret their destructive choice to shut down President Obama’s agenda. Don’t miss this chance!" the email added. 

Understand the bottom line:

Pelosi ordered House Democrats to vote against Boehner's short term DHS funding plan on Friday.

A fundraising letter was prepared blaming Republicans for failing to muster vote for passage to keep DHS open.

But Pelosi apparently had a change of heart, and gave up enough Democrat votes at the last minute late Friday night to keep DHS open.

The disingenuous Democrat fundraising letter went out anyway.

This completely crashes Democrat attempts to spin Friday's events. Not that Boehner gets any bragging rights for his own botched attempts at complicity with the administration.