Archive for October, 2011
Author: The Editor of the Boston Globe had this to say about a reciprocity gun bill, that is picking up momentum, that would allow Americans who have a concealed carry permit to be legal country wide:
GUNS: This isn’t Salt Lake City:
“Massachusetts should be able to decide for itself who can carry concealed handguns within its own borders. However, that may not be the case for much longer. The US House is on the verge of passing a bill to make all permits for concealed guns reciprocal between states. It would mean that a permit from Utah, a state with notably lax standards for concealed-carry permits, as well as from every other state, would be valid in Massachusetts”. If this bill is brought up in the Senate, John Kerry and Scott Brown — and every other right-thinking senator — should vote against it.
Mark’s Note: The above statement about UTAH ‘lax standards’ is false. Utah has strict criteria to gain a Utah carry permit, it is easily as strict as Massachusetts criteria. I know, I teach it, as well as the qualifications for a Ma. LTC/FID. Obviously the Editor of the Boston Globe has allowed his anti-gun stance to leak out of his mouth before he engaged his brain. Investigative reporting IS dead, has been for a long time, his reporters should have informed him of the facts before he could openly make a fool of himself.
“Massachusetts should be able to decide for itself who can carry concealed handguns within its own borders”. Mark’s Note: Sure. And Massachusetts should be allowed to decide which parts of the Constitution are available to its citizens and visitors and which are not! I have a huge problem with this statement. I pay state as well as federal taxes, as all working Americans do. I am not only a citizen of Massachusetts but of the United States as well. This editor would regulate my, and your freedoms, confine them only to within the state borders wherein we live, really?!
Maybe one of the Globe reporters should look up the Constitution and let the editor read it. He should not limit himself to reading just the Second Amendment, he should read the clause under Article IV section I , Full Faith and Credit, (the reason we don’t need 50 drivers licenses). This ‘editor could also read the Privileges and Immunities clause; States have no rights to deny Privileges and Immunities granted by other states. Concealed carry is a ‘privilege’ granted by your state, right?
“If this bill is brought up in the Senate, John Kerry and Scott Brown — and every other right-thinking senator — should vote against it”. Mark’s Note: I think the editor misspoke, he meant to say ‘and every other left- thinking senator’. I am amazed the liberal Boston Globe is still hanging on with its ‘prepared/scripted’ statements that masquerade as ‘news’, this ‘newspaper’/fish-wrapper could only survive in Massachusetts.
Mark Shean, Submitted 10-29-2011, www.mafirearmsafety.com
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We have all heard by now, (unless you live under a rock) that a Super Committee has been formed in DC and their task is to lower the deficit. This is the very same deficit that every member of the so-called super committee, along with the rest of Congress created through their utter incompetence. Now we will all be ‘saved’ by this group of six Republicans and six Democrats, sure….. These 12 ‘Representative’s’ will not be looking out for the American people, instead their decisions will lean heavily to the big money special interest groups that have funded their campaign’s for years. That’s the political way of life folks. Political gridlock begins with special interest lobbyist’s. These people found it easy to run up a 15 trillion dollar debt in three years but only want to cut one trillion in spending over the next ten years! There will be more interest than that accrued over ten years!! These people need to go, all of them!
As a constituent/American, I know that according to population, there should be roughly 435 members of the House of Representatives sent by We the People to represent us on the issues of the day from the 50 states. We send them to find solutions and to keep us safe. We have 100 Senators charged with the same mandate. They are all failing in that mandate. Istead they allow ‘Czars’ to take up the slack it seems, really….?
The following list of 32 are appointed so-called ‘Czars’, they are not accountable to you or I, we can not vote them out. In many cases we are not even told what their salary’s are that they suck out of our taxes, but the decisions they make can negatively impact our lives, with no recourse. Read their inflated titles, they are comical, because what they represent are all failures. Its apparent to me these are politically ‘connected’ hacks that you have never heard of, and we are paying through the nose for these bottom feeding ‘good ole boy’ types…… Obama has stated he will appoint 3 more, Cyber, Health Insurance, and Copyright Czars, to sponge off our taxes, oh joy… Does Congress even have a function anymore? Should we keep them?
My solution in a move toward correcting the deficit is at the bottom of the page in my ‘Summary’ concerning the so-called ‘Super Committee’ and the so-called ‘Czars’.
CZARS:
1. Afghanistan Czar – Richard Holbrooke Title: Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Salary: unknown
2. AIDS Czar * – Jeffrey Crowley Title: Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy. Salary: $102,000
3. Auto Recovery Czar – Ed Montgomery Title: Director of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers. Salary: unknown
4. Border Czar * – Alan Bersin Title: Assistant Secretary for International Affairs and Special Representative for Border Affairs Salary: unknown
5. California Water Czar – David J. Hayes Title: Deputy Interior Secretary. Salary: unknown
6. Car Czar – Ron Bloom NOTE: on July 13, 2009, Bloom took over as head of the Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry, replacing Steven Rattner. Title: Counselor to the Secretary of the Treasury. Salary: unknown
7. Central Region Czar – Dennis Ross Title: Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for the Central Region (encompasses the Middle East, the Gulf, Afghanistan, Pakistan and South Asia). Salary: unknown
8. Climate Czar – Todd Stern Title: Special Envoy for Climate Change. Salary: unknown
9. Domestic Violence Czar – Lynn Rosenthal Title: White House adviser on Violence Against Women. Salary: unknown
10. Drug Czar * – Gil Kerlikowske Title: Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Salary: unknown
11. Economic Czar * – Paul VolckerTitle: Chairman of the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board. Salary: Volcker reportedly isn’t paid for his advice…..
12. Energy and Environment Czar – Carol Browner Title: Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change. Salary: $172,200
13. Faith-Based Czar * – Joshua DuBois Title: Director of the Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Salary: $98,000
14. Government Performance Czar – Jeffrey Zients Title: Chief Performance Officer. Salary: unknown
15. Great Lakes Czar – Cameron Davis Title: Special advisor to the U.S. EPA overseeing its Great Lakes restoration plan. Salary: Unknown
16. Green Jobs Czar – Van Jones Title: Special Adviser for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Salary: unknown
17. Guantanamo Closure Czar – Daniel Fried Title: Special envoy to oversee the closure of the detention center at Guantanamo Bay. Salary: unknown
18. Health Czar * – Nancy-Ann DeParle Title: Counselor to the President and Director of the White House Office of Health Reform. Salary: $158,500
19. Information Czar – Vivek Kundra Title: Federal Chief Information Officer. Salary: unknown
20. Intelligence Czar * – Dennis Blair Title: Director of National Intelligence. Salary: $197,700
21. Mideast Peace Czar – George Mitchell Title: Special Envoy for Middle East Peace. Salary: unknown
22. Pay Czar – Kenneth R. Feinberg Title: Special Master on executive pay. Salary: Reportedly receiving no compensation for his work….Out of the goodness of his heart……..
23. Regulatory Czar – Cass R. Sunstein *Title: Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. Salary: unknown
24. Science Czar – John Holdren Title: Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Co-Chair of the President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology. Salary: unknown
25. Stimulus Accountability Czar – Earl Devaney Title: Chair of the Recovery Act Transparency and Accountability Board. Salary: unknown
26. Sudan Czar – J. Scott Gration Title: Special Envoy to Sudan. Salary: unknown
27. TARP Czar – Herb Allison Title: Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability. Salary: unknown
28. Technology Czar – Aneesh Chopra Title: Chief Technology Officer. Salary: unknown
29. Terrorism Czar – John Brennan Title: Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism. Salary: $172,200
30. Urban Affairs Czar – Adolfo Carrion Jr. Title: White House Director of Urban Affairs. Salary: $158,500
31. Weapons Czar – Ashton Carter Title: Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics. Salary: unknown
32. WMD Policy Czar – Gary Samore Title: White House Coordinator for Weapons of Mass Destruction, Security and Arms Control. Salary: unknown
SUMMARY:
So if 523 out of 535 of our Representative’s have decided to turn over all their responsibilities to 12 representative’s, and 32 unelected/appointed ‘czars’ of questionable ethics, I have a deficit cutting proposition for the constituents of those 523 dead beat ‘Representative’s…..We obviously no longer need them, send them all home if they have decided not to do the job they were sent to Washington to do! They are fired, no gold plated retirement pension, go back to the real world and work for a living like the rest of us. That would save us a bundle!
The only other alternative for our ‘Representative’s would be to fire all the so-called czars, disassemble the so-called super committee, and get back to the work of the people as they were voted in to office to do. Pass a Balanced Budget Amendment, repeal Dod/Frank that continues to decimate the housing market, now! ‘Czars’ are nothing more than an end run around the checks and balances that were built into our Constitution, no wonder Obama likes to appoint ‘Czars’!! Congress needs to outlaw the use of ‘Czars’, now. That would be a good start.
Mark Shean, submitted 10-26-2011 www.mafirearmsafety.com
A * next to 7 of these means these ‘Czars’ were in other administrations as well….. Obama invented the rest…..
By Mark Shean, author of GUN SENSE on Amazon
Dear Rep. Dwyer, This is a copy of a certified letter I sent years ago to the State House, to my elected ‘Representative’, with no response. Can I ask that you now represent this ongoing concern?
State House, Boston: Dear Mr. DeMacedo; Hello, I will try to be as concise as possible concerning the problem herein. I am a basic firearms instructor registered with the state. As such, I have had the opportunity to hear many varied true stories that concern many an honest citizens quest to gain his or her license to carry concealed in this state. I will relay to you the following examples that highlight a few of the road blocks that are being reported to me from people that have taken my safety class, as well as others who have contacted me.
10-3-11, I have watched all of the GOP debates with interest as the 2012 race heats up. This is my opinion of the candidates so far, in no particular order.
UPDATE: 10-11-11 Debate, I did not like the round table set up and the Bloomberg channel does not try to hide their ‘left’ slant with ‘gotcha’ questions. Also I noticed the media (Mr.Rose, host) of the show was not giving each candidate the same amount of time, instead he was trying to lead the audience to who he wanted to go against Obama by omitting others from the debate, mainly grilling Romney. Newt Gingrich for instance was only given two questions in the entire two hours, he gave great answers and drew applause both times, the other candidates did not. All in all I don’t think anyone lost any ground, they stuck to their ‘talking points’. This is the media trying to decide for us who should run in 2012.
Michelle Bachmann: She started out strong but has faded almost into obscurity, she really has not been able to resonate well with the overall public since before the Florida debate. I don’t think the public is ready for a woman President quite yet. I think she would be good as a VP if she is offered that chance. UPDATE: 10-11-11 Debate, Michelle sounded very good, I did not like the round table set up and the Bloomberg does not try to hide their ‘left’ slant with ‘gotcha’ questions
John Huntsman: When he starts talking I cant help but thinking of a phony car salesman. This guy is the ‘slick’ type of politician, he really does not belong as a GOP contender, I think he is a democrat acting as a ‘spoiler’ to the process. By looking at his poll numbers he obviously is only fooling himself. Get out of the race John.
Rick Perry: I like most of his stands on issues, he appears honest in my view. He is a conservative candidate and we need conservatives in this race. I do not agree with his Dream Bill in Texas for illegals getting ‘free’ college educations while Americans struggle for the same education. I do understand that as a governor he was presented the bill by the representatives of the Texas people, and signed it in accordance with the will of the people, so in that respect he did what he was elected to do. As far as the vaccination issue for young girls, he has stated it was a mistake to go about it the way he did, but it was not lost on me that he did have a opt out for parents, it was not mandatory even though people want to pretend it was so to hurt him in the polls. Politics are dirty.
Ron Paul: What can I say about this guy, some things he talks about I agree with, like his views about the Federal Reserve, and on the Constitution. Other times I think he is a totally senile isolationist wing-nut, as when he made the statement that he did not see any reason Iran should not have nuclear weapons because other nations did. Gee Ron, the very second Iran got nukes they would launch them on Israel, and you do not understand this as a sitting congressman all these decades? If people want Obama to win just put Ron Paul against him. It would be the same outcome as when Dole ran against Clinton, or when McCain ran against Obama the first time. Old and Cranky vs. Charismatic, the GOP should know the outcome by now. Ron Paul does not have what it takes to win a majority of conservatives, his son would stand a better chance.
Mitt Romney, I firmly believe that there are southern democrats in office who are more conservative than Romney. He is a very weak Republican at best, who talks a good game but even then his words come off as insincere. He is only a couple notches above Huntsman on his ability to hide his phony side. He is not what real conservatives are looking for in a candidate, many will just stay home if he is the one who runs against Obama. I believe this is why the lefty media is trying to keep him in the limelight, they want him to be the one. His health-care (Romneycare) for Ma. is surviving solely because it is being subsidized by the federal government. In other words it is a failure. Obama care will also need to be subsidized, who will do that? Sky high taxes will be the only way to subsidize Obamacare. Romney does not have the moral courage to say his health-care plan in Ma. is a failure. He is weak.
Newt Gingrich: He is very smart, probably the brightest candidate on the stage. He thinks fast, has good solutions, would make a great VP because he would be a real asset to any President. The problem is Newt just comes across as a cranky old professor. Personally I think he would make a great President, unfortunately he has a lot of baggage and the media would use it against him to harpoon his message with smoke and mirrors. I would like to see all the states move their primaries into January of 2012, get it over with, so the media would have lost the ability to manipulate the public perception of candidates to the medias liking.
Herman Cain: I liked him from the very first debate. Refreshingly candid, direct and to the point. He is the only one on stage that is not a career politician. I like that fact. I can detect nothing phony about him. He is the only candidate that has a tax structure plan that makes sense, the 9-9-9 plan, no one else says a word that makes any sense in that direction. You will hear him talk of it in these debates. He is starting to pick up momentum, as he should if anyone is listening. I feel he would get this economy back on track in short order. What he may lack in foreign policy he can surround himself with experts in the field, not thugs and unqualified friends from Chicago…..Americans deserve better and Mr. Cain knows it. Cain & Gingrich in 2012 has a nice ring to it………….
Rick Santorum: I do not like his whiney debating style, he sounds desperate to make a ‘splash’ in the polls, its not going to happen. I don’t see him as Presidential, or even as a VP, now or in the foreseeable future. Step aside Rick.
Gary Johnson: I have only seen Gary once in Florida, he was dry, and at times entertaining, (dogs making shovel ready jobs), I will need to see how he carries himself in a couple more debates before I form an opinion. He is a Libertarian, that is not a bad thing, I like the fact that Libertarians like small government. I like the fact that he vetoed nearly 700 tax bills as Governor of New Mexico and did not raise any taxes in the 8 years he served as Governor. I need to hear more about him….
NOTE: There may be others that throw their hats into this race, as I am sure there will be those throwing in the towel soon, I will update this as events occur.
Mark Shean, submitted 10-3-2011