What Do They Know and Why Don’t They Know It

What Do They Know and Why Don’t They Know It by Frank Salvato

Recent actions and statements by those who exist on the left side of the aisle have served as proof for any reasonable American that congressional Democrats, especially their leadership, are invested in – and in fact insist upon – placing politics before government. Their blatant disregard for the well-being of our nation leads me to ask, how well do the Progressive-Left and the Democrats who appease them understand the duties associated with being an elected member of the United States government?

One of the last true statesmen to have graced the halls of Congress, Henry Hyde (R-IL), was often heard to say that those elected to office are the stewards to the US Constitution. By this he meant that they were beholden to the principles, ideals, tenets and procedural boundaries held within the document itself. My belief goes a bit further to include the idea that all Americans are vested with this commitment and that in addition to the principles, ideals and tenets of our founding documents each and every one of us is obligated to at least understanding the philosophy that influenced our Founders and Framers to compose such a revolutionary form of self-governance.

That said, and current events taken into consideration, I am led to believe that many in Congress from both sides of the aisle – and perhaps most people elected to office – are sadly devoid of a proper understanding of the Constitution and just exactly what it is they are required to do for their constituencies.

Two instances, appalling in nature to those of us who embrace the idea of good government, took place this week at the hands of Democrat leadership.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), leaving a meeting at the White House where the issue of the Iraq War Supplemental Appropriations Bill was being discussed, said "I believe myself that the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense and - you have to make your own decisions as to what the president knows - (know) this war is lost and the surge is not accomplishing anything as indicated by the extreme violence in Iraq yesterday."

Reid made this statement in stark contrast to declarations by US military personnel on the ground, some in positions of high command and others from the ranks of the soldiers doing the job White House spokeswoman Dana Perino was quick to point out that no one else in attendance at that meeting heard Senator Reid make such a statement. Secretaries Rice and Gates have never issued such statements of defeat.

hat Reid would have an opinion on the matter is one thing. Every American is afforded their opinion via the authority of the First Amendment. But for Reid, who sits in a position of leadership within our government, to assume to speak for others, for him to disregard first-hand knowledge of the facts as they are presented to him by those intimate with the conditions on the ground in Iraq, is not only arrogant, it is politically motivated and reckless.

I am forced to defend his right to make such an inaccurate, uninformed, uneducated and unscrupulous statement because I am faithful to the Constitution. But Reid’s statement only serves to benefit his political standing and the well-being of his political party while it damages our country, damages the morale of the troops in theater and sends a clear message of defeatism and weakness to our enemies.

Where this statement might – might – have been appropriate for private closed-door discussion, as a political leader Reid is obligated to conduct himself in a manner that best serves his constituents. Promoting an uneducated and thoroughly partisan opinion on an issue involving our country’s very survival – and in such a public way as to aid the enemy’s propaganda campaign – is not in the best interest of his constituency.

Just across the hall, figuratively speaking, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi found herself “unavailable” for a closed-door briefing on the military situation currently existing in Iraq given by General David Petraeus. In fact, the only Democrat to show up for this briefing was Senator Carl Levin (D-MI), chairman of the Senate Armed Service Committee.

While the entirety of congressional Democrats should be exposed for their blatant refusal to gather first-source, fact-based information on a situation currently being debating in Congress (when did gathering facts become optional?), it is singularly Nancy Pelosi’s responsibility as Speaker of the House and leader of her party in that chamber to lead them, to require, to insist that to do their jobs.

That Pelosi opted for a phone conversation with Gen. Petraeus is of little consolation. Leaders lead by example and Pelosi’s absence served to diminish the importance of gathering the facts regarding our troops in Iraq and the progress of their mission. What could possibly have been more important than gathering the facts on the premier issue of our day. But for her political victories as a partisan Progressive-Leftist, Pelosi has proven throughout her short tenure to be a miserable leader.

In both instances Democrat leadership has proven it has a lack of knowledge of – if not fidelity to – the constitutional requirements of their offices. For a country at war with the most lethal foe it has ever faced this sort of self-centered, opportunistic behavior could very well prove to be our death knell.

Returning to Henry Hyde’s idea that elected officials are the stewards of our Constitution – and to that extent the sentinels who should be standing guard over good government – I propose that every time a new congress is seated, every time a new president is elected and every time a new Supreme Court justice is sworn in, that they undergo a three week intensive study of the Constitution not unlike the program offered at the National Academy for Civics & Government through the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Further, I propose that those in Congress take one week to engage in an extensive crash course in the subject related to any committee they may find themselves sitting on: finance committee members should know how to balance a budget; defense committee members should have an understanding of the Pentagon and the military; intelligence committee members should understand the ideology of gathering intelligence; foreign affairs committee members should have a grasp of the inner-workings of the State Department, etc.

Only when those elected to office are properly educated on the requirements of their positions, informed and knowledgeable about the subject matter of the committees on which they sit and dedicated to the principles, ideals, tenets and procedural boundaries of the Constitution will we be able to move from a government run by special interest groups and partisans to a government that holds good government above politics. Only when we require our elected officials to understand the greatness and the intricacies of our country’s foundation will we rid ourselves of political opportunists like Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.

Now, the question is what politician has the guts to do the right thing by proposing legislation to this affect?

DhimmicRAT Hipocracy in Action

Despite complaints by anti-smoking groups and some DhimmicRAT activists, the National Democratic Club was granted an exemption from the District-wide smoking ban that took effect January 2, 2007.

According to the District’s Department of Health, the National Democratic Club (NDC) is one of only eight establishments in Washington, DC, granted an exemption, and the only private club on the list. Under the law, exemptions are possible for tobacco bars that generate ten percent or more of their annual revenue from the sale of tobacco products, and for retail tobacco stores that generate at least 75 percent of their revenue from the sale of tobacco products.

The National Democratic Club’s official website offers no description as a retail tobacco store, nor does it state the club is a tobacco bar.

Angela Bradbery of Smokefree DC, an anti-smoking lobby, told Roll Call in January that the DNC’s attempt at an exemption was “pretty outrageous” and “the height of hypocrisy.” While the group lists the seven other establishments granted exemptions, there is no mention of the NDC on their website.

“As Members of Congress, we must be held to a higher standard,” Pelosi said when announcing her own smoking ban in Speaker’s Lobby of the U.S. Capitol. “We can no longer risk the health of colleagues, staff, pages, reporters and others who pass through the Speaker’s Lobby each day.”

Because of the exemption, those protections do not extend to workers at the NDC. Ironically, Pelosi at the time “applaud(ed) the District for…recognizing the need to protect the public from secondhand smoke.”

But despite frequent descriptions as the most powerful DhimmmicRAT in the country, she was powerless to extend the smoking ban to the private club she shares with other Democrat leaders.

A Monster Stalked the Corridors of Virginia Tech

A Monster Stalked the Corridors of Virginia Tech Yesterday. I offer my heartfelt condolences to the families who have lost loved ones to this inhuman monster. This was a truly needless atrocity that could have been prevented or mollified by the exercise of American Constitutional RIGHTS. I hope he is enjoying the tender ministrations of Satan and his minions, he has an eternity to enjoy. WND VIRGINIA TECH MASSACRE South Korean ID'd as killer 23-year-old resident alien, English major at university Posted: April 17, 2007 9:49 a.m. Eastern © 2007 WorldNetDaily.com Cho Seung-Hui Authorities have identified a 23-year-old South Korean as the killer of up to 32 people at Virginia Tech, the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history. Cho Seung-Hui was a resident alien enrolled as a senior English major at Virginia Tech. His U.S. residence was established in Centreville, Va., a suburb of Washington, D.C. Investigators believe Cho at some point had been taking medication for depression, according to the Chicago Tribune. He left an invective-filled note in his dorm room that included a rambling list of grievances and died with the words "Ismail Ax" in red ink on the inside of one of his arms. He had shown recent signs of violent, aberrant behavior, an investigative source told the Chicago paper, including setting a fire in a dorm room and allegedly stalking some women. A note found in Cho's dorm room railed against "rich kids," "debauchery" and "deceitful charlatans" on campus. The Tribune said the student came to the U.S. in 1992. His family runs a dry cleaning business and he has a sister who attended Princeton University. The gunman found dead yesterday by authorities from apparently self-inflicted wounds had been described to MSNBC by an injured student as a college-aged Asian with a maroon hat and black leather jacket. Authorities found a cellphone at the scene that initially led them to believe the killer was a Virginia Tech student from China. There were two separate shooting incidents on the campus, hours apart, but it is still unclear whether the same shooter was involved in all instances, officials said today. The first 9-1-1 call came at 7:15 a.m. from a residence hall where two people reportedly had been shot. The second shooting spree was at Norris Hall, an engineer building, where 31 people were killed and Cho took his own life with a gunshot to his face. Another 15 people were wounded. Virigina Tech Police Chief Wendell Flinchum said this morning lab results confirm one of the two weapons seized in Norris Hall was used in both shootings. Police are not looking for a second shooter, but they do not rule out the possibility an accomplice may have been involved. Cho was carrying a backpack that contained receipts for a March purchase of a Glock 9 mm pistol, sources told ABC News. Police said Cho also had a .22 caliber pistol. He was eligible to buy a handgun because he was a permanent legal resident of the U.S. without a felony conviction. ABC News said sections of chain similar to those used to lock the main doors at Norris Hall, the site of the second shooting, also were found inside a Virginia Tech dormitory. Cho's family lived in an off-white, two-story town house in Centreville, according to the Tribune. A neighbor described the family as quiet and said Cho wouldn't respond if someone greeted him. "He was very quiet, always by himself," Abdul Shash told the paper. Court records show Cho received a speeding ticket April 7 from Virginia Tech Police for going 44 mph in a 25 mph zone and had a court date set for May 23. Cho lived at Harper Hall where students said they had little interaction with him and no idea why he carried out the attack. Student Timothy Johnson told the Tribune people would say hello to him in passing but nobody knew him well. "People are pretty upset," Johnson said. "He's a monster; he can't be normal. I can't believe I said 'hi' to him in the hall and then he killed all those people." Two hours to notify It took authorities more than two hours to notify the campus, by e-mail, of the first incident. Asked yesterday by reporters to explain, Virginia Tech Police Chief Wendell Flinchum said initial information led officials to believe it was an isolated event and that the shooter had fled the campus. Only the residence hall, West Ambler Johnston, was locked down, he said. University President Charles Steger defended his handling of the tragedy, saying he and other officials "had no reason to suspect any other incident was going to occur." "We can only make decisions based on the information you had on the time," he said. "You don't have hours to reflect on it." Steger said it was difficult to inform everyone on campus, with about 11,000 people arriving in the morning. Earlier yesterday, Steger said the grieving campus was quickly organizing a convocation of faculty, staff and students. "Today the university was struck with a tragedy that we consider of monumental proportions," he said. "The university is shocked and horrified that this would befall our campus. ... I cannot begin to convey my own personal sense of loss over this senseless of such an incomprehensible and heinous act." The deadliest U.S. campus shooting, until yesterday, took place at the University of Texas in 1966 when 16 people were killed by Charles Whitman, who opened fire from a clock tower. In 1999, two teenagers killed 12 fellow students at Columbine High School near Denver. But yesterday's shooting was the deadliest mass shooting of any kind in U.S. history, a prominent criminologist told the Roanoke Times. James Alan Fox of Northeastern University in Boston said the death toll, which stands at 33, surpasses the 22 people killed in 1991 when a gunman opened fire at a cafeteria in Killeen, Texas. ABC News reported Virginia Tech students and an employee say the first e-mail warning they got from the university came at 9:26 a.m. By that time, the gunman had struck again. Another ABC News report said there were two separate bomb threats in the past two weeks at Virginia Tech that targeted engineering buildings. The first was in early April and the second at the end of last week, which prompted evacuation of students and staff. The university had offered a $5,000 reward for information. Officials said today they have no information to link the threats to yesterday's attack. The 2,600-acre campus in Blacksburg, in the western part of the state near West Virginia and Tennessee, has more than 28,000 full-time students. Virginia Tech student Blake Harrison witnessed the chaos while on his way to a class near Norris Hall. "This teacher comes flying out of Norris, he's bleeding from his arm or his shoulder ... all these students were coming out of Norris trying to take shelter in Randolph [Hall]. All these kids were freaked out," Harrison said, according to Fox News. The students and faculty were barricading themselves in their classrooms. The shooter was "wearing a vest covered in clips was just unloading on their door, going from classroom to classroom ... they said it never seemed like it was going to stop and there was just blood all over," Harrison said. The shooter had two handguns and several clips of ammunition, according to NBC News. Flinchum confirmed an earlier report that the shooter chained the doors of a classroom to make it almost impossible for the students to escape. University officials have closed the campus for the week and directed families and students to meet at the Inn at Virginia Tech today. Last August, classes were canceled on the opening day at Virginia Tech when an escaped gunman, William Morva, allegedly killed a hospital guard off campus and fled to the campus area. President Bush said he was "horrified" after hearing news of the shootings, said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino. "It is difficult to comprehend senseless violence on this scale," said Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine in a statement. "Our prayers are with the families and friends of these victims, and members of the extended Virginia Tech community." Chalk up another 32 deaths for the anti-gun lobby, may they all rot in Hell. I hope the Good Lord will forgive them because I don't have the capacity to do so

This is the first in a series of, requested, posts covering survival, security, marksmanship, hand-to-hand combat and generally how to react in an emergency when others may be looking for you.

First we'll have the SERE (Survival, Evasion, and Recovery) training manual's

QUICK REFERENCE CHECKLIST

Decide to Survive!

S- Size up the situation, surroundings, physical condition, equipment.

U- Use all your senses

R- Remember where you are.

V- Vanquish fear and panic.

I- Improvise and improve.

V- Value living.

A- Act like the natives.

L- Live by your wits.

1. Immediate Actions

a. Assess immediate situation. THINK BEFORE YOU ACT!

b. Take action to protect yourself from nuclear, biological, or chemical hazards (Chapter IX).

c. Seek a concealed site.d. Assess medical condition; treat as necessary (Chapter V).

e. Sanitize uniform of potentially compromising information.

f. Sanitize area; hide equipment you are leaving.

g. Apply personal camouflage.

h. Move away from concealed site, zigzag pattern recommended.

i. Use terrain to advantage, communication, and concealment.

j. Find a hole-up site.

2. Hole-Up-Site (Chapter I)

a. Reassess situation; treat injuries, then inventory equipment.

b. Review plan of action; establish priorities (Chapter VI).

c. Determine current location.

d. Improve camouflage.

e. Focus thoughts on task(s) at hand.

f. Execute plan of action. Stay flexible!

3. Concealment (Chapter I)

a. Select a place of concealment providing¾

(1) Adequate concealment, ground and air.

(2) Safe distance from enemy positions and lines of communications (LOC).

(3) Listening and observation points.

(4) Multiple avenues of escape.

(5) Protection from the environment.

(6) Possible communications/signaling opportunities.

b. Stay alert, maintain security.

c. Drink water.

4. Movement (Chapters I and II)

a. Travel slowly and deliberately.

b. DO NOT leave evidence of travel; use noise and lightdiscipline.

c. Stay away from LOC.

d. Stop, look, listen, and smell; take appropriate action(s).

e. Move from one concealed area to another.

f. Use evasion movement techniques (Chapter I).

5. Communications and Signaling

(Chapter III)

a. Communicate as directed in applicable plans/orders,

particularly when considering transmitting in the blind.

b. Be prepared to use communications and signaling devices on short notice.

c. Use of communications and signaling devices may compromise position.

6. Recovery

(Chapter IV)

a. Select site(s) IAW criteria in theater recovery plans.

b. Ensure site is free of hazards; secure personal gear.

c. Select best area for communications and signaling devices.

d. Observe site for proximity to enemy activity and LOC.

e. Follow recovery force instructions.

Have any of you seen the T-shirt that some wetbacks are wearing with a little pepper-belly holding the mexican flag with one hand and flipping the bird with the other, the caption is ¡Hey, América! ? I'll try and find a picture to post here.

I saw it at the store today on the back of one of these scum-sucking invaders. I scared the hell out of the wife when I started talking to him in my ice tone. I told him: Hijo de puta, luché para este país. ¡Tienes muchos del nervio de mierda con esta camisa en tu parte posteriora asquerosa AQUÍ! ¡Debo cortarla de ti!

Son of a whore, I fought for this country. You’ve got a lot of nerve wearing this shirt on your filthy ass HERE! I should cut it off you! That’s as well as I can translate this, its been many years since spanish class. I’m so fucking sick of this empty-headed garbage. I’m being driven closer and closer to the edge daily and when I go over it, its not going to be pretty.

We need to push these foul assholes back across the border, tell them to stay there and if they don’t build the wall from their bones. It is time for us to be shed of any politician or moonbat who doesn’t think America should protect herself.

I’m all for freedom, Hell, I’ve killed for it several times and went through weeks of hell at the hands of paleo-swineians for it, but these idiotarians are killing our countrry. They are killing our very way of life and the leftards seem to be either too stupid or too cowardly to see it.

Lets throw out the RINOs, and DhimmicRATs in the next election and vote in CONSERVATIVES, who will stand for the values and culture of America. If they don’t, then I don’t give a damn who says they are conservative, they aren’t.

Are the RINOs and DhimmicRATs actually TRYING to bring about a revolution in our country? That seems to be what they are doing with leaving our borders as leaky as a sieve.

I’m ashamed of the government of the country I love.