How America Was Gunned Down

By now you know the story.

An assassin targeted Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, shot her in the head and proceeded to attack others that were there. As of right now, 14 were wounded and 6 are dead including a precious little girl who was born on 9/11. The attack was evil.

Not only was the attack on the Representative, but it was on the American people.

We are Americans. We solve our problems through discourse (well, that is the idea anyway - that is for a later post). Let me tell you how this event gets even worse.

Loughner (allegedly) ruined the lives of several families that day. Forgive the unintended pun, but he also gave ammunition to big government types. All I have heard from the beginning is the political posturing of the left. The current buzzword is "vitriolic." As in, "The root cause of the shooting is the vitriolic rhetoric on talk radio." Sarah Palin didn't escape blame - it was insisted that her political ad with cross-hairs on the district Gabrielle Giffords represents was the impetus for the attack.

I have yet to see ANY account where this guy had any political bend whatsoever. I have yet to see any account of how the Palin ad incensed him to go ballistic. On the contrary, I have read comments of his friends who say he was nihilistic, had no real political position. According to friend accounts, his favorite read was the Communist Manifesto. A friend also said what really incensed Loughner was that Giffords blew off a question from Loughner at a public meeting.

I listened to an interview of the sheriff who is investigating the case. He was directly asked if he had any evidence that the 'vitriolic rhetoric' was influential in the attack. The Sheriff's answer, "I have no evidence... but I believe..." then he went on to politicize the attack. This, in my opinion, is like saying "sick'em" to a defense attorney as it seems to severely jade the Sheriff's investigation.

Yes, the attack was one on America as well. Here are some of my predictions of what will come of this evil:

1. A law will be proposed to protect the ruling class from "hate speech." The law will be sufficiently vague to leave interpretation up in the air.
2. There will be renewed energy in gun control. Proposals to ban "assault-style" weapons and high capacity magazines will be the target
3. There will be calls to restrict what is said on talk radio - 'equal time' will be the refrain.

There are those who are going to continue on the 'vitriolic' bandwagon. They say that the discussion is not productive. Here are a couple of things to consider - if the freedom of speech is restricted, what other outlet will people of dissenting opinions have? No, talk radio and its ilk serve a purpose - a place to vent. A place to dissent... peacefully. Secondly, the discussion (even if you want to label it 'vitriolic') was, and is productive. Just ask the Representatives and Senators who lost their seats in the 2010 elections.

Loughner is full of crap - and so are his accomplices on the left.

My thoughts and prayers are with the victims.

You've GOT to be Kidding Me...!

What is this country coming to?

In Florida, they are setting up "No Refusal" checkpoints. That is right... you are driving down the road, minding your own business. You roll up to a checkpoint and the cop says, "Blow!"

You refuse. After all it is YOUR body right? Apparently, not so much. You see, the cops will have a judge right there at the checkpoint. If you refuse, the judge will simply order a mandatory blood test. Are you kidding me?

This smacks of medieval thuggery at its highest point. Understand the situation, citizen! This sounds like something you would find in a third world country - not USA! Of course, this is all done in the interest of "safety." People are applauding the effort of the state government. I am not.

I believe that if someone is convicted of driving while impaired, they should receive the appropriate penalty. Not only are they taking their lives in jeopardy, but they are endangering everyone around them. However, the fact that those dangers are out there DOES NOT mean that our government can just operate in such a manner.

When will the citizen realized what is happening to them? When will they say, "ENOUGH!"

It reminds me of one of my favorite lines from Star Wars - "So this is how liberty dies. To the sound of thunderous applause."

And the Winner Is...

Went to church Sunday after the election. It figured to be an interesting Sunday with plenty of conversation of the big day and Obama's victory over McCain.

One particular conversation stood out to me. It came from the teacher of the Sunday School class I attend. He's a young guy, seems smart (though the jury is still out) and genuine. He said he knows a guy that is 100% in elections since the 70's. This guy supported:

Jimmy Carter in 1976

Ronald Reagan in 1980 & 1984

George Bush, Sr. in 1988

Bill Clinton in 1992 & 1996

George Bush in 2000 & 2004

Barack Obama in 2008

It is amazing that this guy supported the winner of each election and even more so - that the choices made were so very different. I mean, how different can Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton be?

Needless to say the class was surprised to hear how accurate this guy was in his support for elected presidents and their interest was piqued. He told the class the name of this guy with one word:

God.

Romans chapter 13