Speaking at Osawatomie High School, in Osawatomie, Kansas, Obama said: "Now, it’s a simple theory. And we have to admit, it’s one that speaks to our rugged individualism and our healthy skepticism of too much government. That’s in America’s DNA. And that theory fits well on a bumper sticker. But here’s the problem: It doesn’t work. It has never worked. It didn’t work when it was tried in the decade before the Great Depression. It’s not what led to the incredible postwar booms of the ’50s and ’60s. And it didn’t work when we tried it during the last decade. I mean, understand, it’s not as if we haven’t tried this theory."

Now, if you’re wondering what it is that Obama believes doesn’t work, Terrence P. Jeffrey, writing for CNSNews, succinctly summed up the president’s remedy for the rugged individualism he decries this way: "Americans must look to a more activist government that taxes more, spends more, and regulates more if they want to preserve the middle class." ("Obama: Limited Gov’t That Preserves Free Markets ‘Doesn’t Work. It Has Never Worked’"; Dec. 7, 2011)

Ladies and Gentlemen:  I’d like to tell you a story of a different man and what he did in a different time.
 
It was in 1860, the Nation was at war and this story begins on a day early in the Civil War when a youth of 20, harried and self-conscious, haunted the corridors of the bustling War Department in Washington.
 
He had had to run the gauntlet of military red tape even to gain entrance to the sacred confines.  To the busy ordnance officers, he was just another “young man with a gun;” just another crazy inventor come to take up their valuable time with senseless talk of a revolutionary weapon.
 
Every armory and every capable manufacturer in the North was turning all his efforts to producing more of those fine muzzle-loading percussion rifles.  Yet here was an adolescent talking gibberish about not only a metallic cartridge breechloader, but actually one which would fire repeatedly after being loaded with several cartridges!  How could the war ever be won with all these interruptions of precious routine?
 
Dispirited, discouraged, ready to quit, Spencer complained bitterly to the one man he found who would listen to him:  a humble doorkeeper at the War Department Building, not an arms “expert,” – just a simple little man who sensed in the manner of the boy something the experts had not taken the time to observe.  That plain American doorman examined the weapon he boy carried.  He watched the dummy cartridges inserted in the tube in the hollow butt, watched the lever of the crude model thrown down to feed a cartridge into the chamber, studied the action as young Spencer brought the lever back to seat the cartridge and seal the breech.
 
Another forward movement of the trigger-guard lever and the dummy cartridge in the chamber was ejected and a second one fed: a closing movement of the lever and thee breech was sealed again!  Unbelieving the humble man watched the stream of dummies ejected as Christopher Spencer worked the lever.  He thought here was a development which might actually make killing so fast and terrifying that it might shorten the fratricidal war!
 
“You come back here after I am through for the day and I will take you to a man who will examine your gun.”  Those were the words the doorman spoke as Christopher M. Spencer recalled them in a later day.  Heartened but doubting, the youngster left, alternation between hope and fear as the day dragged on.
 
Later that day the two made their way to the great White Mansion next door to the grim War Department Building.  The man was confident that the great humble personage in the White House would have the time no Army man could spare; the boy was tense and unbelieving at the prospect of seeing the Commander-in-Chief himself.
 
Why President Lincoln had such confidence in the simple door tender we do not know.  That he did is evidenced by his actions, for he saw them both in his chambers.  His paid shawl about his shoulders, Abe Lincoln sat gaunt and drawn, attentively watching and listening as the boy demonstrated the action with dummy cartridges.  Slowly he rose.  “It works all right,” Spencer recalled the President saying, “but the proof lies in the shooting.  Let’s go out and shoot it.”
 
As they walked down the grounds of the White House, Lincoln absently noted that the pocket of his coat was torn.  “This is a nice dress for the Chief Magistrate to appear in public,” he said, as he asked for a pin.  While the tall gray man pinned his torn pocket, young Spencer picked a weathered shingle from the ground and stood it against a nearby tree.
 
With nervous fingers, he dropped seven cartridges into the hollow in the butt, pushed forward and locked the feeder spring.  Carefully now, he swung the carbine towards the target.  Quickly he thrust the lever down, catching the glint of the copper cartridge case as the spring drone the first cartridge into the chamber when the breech pin left its catch.  Quickly he pulled the lever back, seeing the breech pin thrust the cartridge home as it was cocked forward behind the head of the case.  He thumb cocked the bulky side hammer expertly, aimed fleetingly, fired.  Again he fired.  Again, and again.  The gun functioned perfectly!
 
The boyish inventor reloaded the weapon and handed it to President Lincoln.  Gravely the great man aimed and fired; levered, cocked the hammer, and again aimed and fired Again.  Together, the two men walked down to inspect the riddled shingle.  Noting that Spencer had made the better pattern, Old Abe grinned slightly and in his solemn drawl said, “When I was your age I could do better”.
 
This is the way one of the major weapons of the war ended up in action and being used to great advantage, perhaps even changing the outcome of the war to some degree.
 
We look back at President Lincoln from many varied perspectives these days, there has been much written about him, positive and negative, but there can be no doubt he is among the greatest of all our Presidents, and I believe it is in a great part from the way he grew up, the kind of work he did, the fact that he was in general, pretty much what most anybody would expect or “an American rugged individualist, with a healthy skepticism of government”.
 
This is what a “Great Man” would do, but it doesn’t look much like today’s swash-buckling “leaders”, does it?
 
Personally, I think the difference between what this shows says pretty much all there is to say about leadership.
 
This story was taken in full text from “Small Arms of the World” by Smith and Smith, ninth revision.

Semper Fidelis

Editorial:  There’s a deadly virus infecting the body politic of America. It’s destroying American’s ability to think, and making many delusional, unable to separate truth from lies, fantasy from reality. As our quality of life vanishes before our very eyes, as our once peaceful country degenerates into a violent police state, as our freedoms and constitutional rights are stripped away by the strokes of government pens, Americans, like lemmings or the rats of Hamlin, troop blindly toward disaster, unable to see the fatal drop-off ahead.

If one were to only, as is the case with far too many people, get one’s news and information from the so-called mainstream media, one might think that professional sports and the lives of movies actors were of paramount importance, and that the only office of any consequence in the upcoming 2012 election is that of President. All we hear about is Obama-Soetoro and the handful of Republicans running against him. Mentions of the people running for the Senate or the House are so few as to be non-existent. However, the simple truth is that who is president means very little, if the House, and particularly the Senate, are controlled by veto proof majorities.

As things stand, the Senate is in the control of radical leftist Democrats, outright thieves, and their establishment Republican running dogs. The House is better, but still overrun with Marxists and turncoat Republicans who got elected by pretending to be conservative. In any case, both houses need to be taken back by We, the People, if we are to kill the deadly virus and save our country from a collapse into diseased darkness.

In the past few years, the Senate has passed bill after unconstitutional bill, many of them co-sponsored, or even written by establishment Republican running dogs. John McCain is a glaring example of such traitorous behavior. They have degenerated into a self-serving, self-enriching, corrupt, elitist oligarchy. And since 2010 when Democrats lost control of the House, the Senate has actively worked to thwart all efforts to end what amounts to criminal, and some might say, traitorous borrowing and spending, and to put us back on a track to restore constitutional government. As of this moment, some 28 well-crafted House-passed bills aimed at solving the budget crisis, a crisis intentionally brought on by the neo-fascist misleadership of the Democrat Party, languish in Senate committees, imprisoned by Fascist-in-Chief, Harry Reid, and abetted by go-along-to-get-along lap-dog Mitch McConnell.

We need to stop allowing the Ministry of Propaganda to distract our attention from the real source of our problems. Yes, Obama-Soetoro and his totalitarian gang of racists and thieves, aka, the Executive Branch/Administration, are dangerous. However, they can be neutered at any time, should the Congress choose to do so, by cutting off funding for their nefarious activities. Folks, a government shut-down could be the best thing to happen to America in years.

We need to focus on getting a Congress that actually represents the interests of We, the American People. We need to put into office men and women who understand that the Constitution, capitalism, and our Judeo-Christian values and traditions are what made it possible for America to become that Shining City on the Hill, that Beacon of Hope to the world. We need to elect genuine public servants, not self-proclaimed “leaders” whose loyalty can be bought by the highest bidder. We need men and women of honor, to whom a promise is a sacred thing, and an oath something never to be broken.

At a more mundane level, we need honest men and women who have, as it were, day jobs, i.e., people who are not looking to become “career” politicians. The shameful, corrupt abuse of their positions for self-gain, either by voting themselves outrageous benefits and privileges, or by taking totally unethical advantage of insider-knowledge, must not only end, but be completely rolled back. Congress was originally intended as a part-time body, as are many state legislatures, and a return to that concept would be a very healthy thing.

So, as we contemplate what today appears a grim New Year, let’s resolve to get off the couch, turn off the TV, and get involved in taking back America, if not for ourselves, then, as the Party of Lies is so fond of saying, for the children. I hate to think of all these sweet, innocent little ones having to grow up to be slaves for a privileged class, a ruling elite. If there’s to be class warfare, let it be We, the People, against the Ruling Class.

The privilege of authoring books, making movies, and writing these weekly columns that are read by countless people around the world in newspapers, magazines, and online publications comes with added benefits.  All of my books and these weekly columns include my contact information.  I am very grateful when readers take the time to call or email me.  This has given me the priceless gift of many friends I have never met before; however, in today’s connected world, we need not meet someone face to face for them to be a valued friend to us.

Several years ago, such a friend wrote to me after reading one of my books.  He had to write to me through his daughter here in the United States because my friend, whom I’ve never met in person, lives in another country and speaks a different language.  We have corresponded over the years, and his thoughts have always been insightful, and his encouragement has always been meaningful to me.  

Recently, my friend sent me a poem that is indicative of him and his influence in my life.  I would like to share it with you so that my friend I have never officially met can become your friend as well.

When I started my company, the Narrative Television Network, we began developing the technique we have utilized for the last 25 years to make movies, television, and educational programming accessible for millions of blind and visually impaired people around the world.  One of the first movies we began working on in the late ’80s was the holiday classic It’s a Wonderful Life starring Jimmy Stewart.  I got to meet and interview Mr. Stewart for that project, and he told me what a privilege it had been for him to work with the creative genius Frank Capra on that movie.

Mr. Stewart told me that Frank Capra had gotten the idea for It’s a Wonderful Life from a Christmas card he had received that shared the message:  No one can be considered poor if they have one friend.  I have come to believe those words, and now neither you nor I can ever think of ourselves as poor because we are friends, and we have a friend in a distant land who speaks another language but shares a powerful message with us.  Friends are not people who necessarily share the same space.  They share the same heart, mind, and spirit.

As you go through your day today, enjoy your friends, always be a friend, and pass it on.

Today’s the day!

Jim Stovall is the president of Narrative Television Network, as well as a published author of many books including The Ultimate Gift.  He is also a columnist and motivational speaker.  He may be reached at 5840 South Memorial Drive, Suite 312, Tulsa, OK  74145-9082; by email at Jim@JimStovall.com or click here for the Facebook page.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez reportedly called President Barack Obama “a clown” and “an embarrassment” Monday, following strong comments from Obama in a written interview with Caracas newspaper El Universal.

As reported by The Guardian, “Focus on governing your country, which you’ve turned into a disaster,” Chavez told state television Monday, in reference to Obama.

In the interview with El Universal, Obama said he is concerned about actions the Venezuelan government has taken that have “restricted the universal rights of the Venezuelan people, threatened basic democratic values and failed to contribute to the security in the region,” according to the Guardian’s report on the Spanish language interview.
 
He also criticized Venezuela’s relationship with Iran and Cuba, saying, “it seems to me that the ties between Venezuela’s government and Iran and Cuba have not served the interests of Venezuela and its people.”
 
Referring to Iran, Obama said: “Sooner or later, Venezuela’s people will have to decide what possible advantage there is in having relations with a country that violates fundamental human rights and is isolated from most of the world.”
 
“Mr. Obama decided to attack us,” Chavez said in response to Obama’s words, according to the Guardian. “Now you want to win votes by attacking Venezuela. Don’t be irresponsible. You are a clown, a clown. Leave us in peace….Go after your votes by fulfilling that which you promised your people.”
 
Chavez‘s remarks show he’s apparently had a change of heart with regard to Obama: A year ago, he invited him to Venezuela to “sit down to talk, to eat socialist arepas,” a popular corn-based pancake.  To read more from The Blaze, click here.

Not to make too much of a point on clownish behavior or to agree with Communist Dictator Chavez…

While President Obama was in Kansas trying to present himself as the reincarnation of Teddy Roosevelt with an attack hailed by multiple media as a ‘Class Warfare’ Speech.  President Obama opened by greeting Texas…in Kansas…so for those of us in Oklahoma how much more clear could he be that we don’t count.  Dang, guess it happens when we vote for a Kenyan – more than fly-over country we are not even noticed as one of what President Obama once said were 57 states in the United States of America. 

We’ve all seen spoofs of bands who greet their adoring fans by declaring how great it is to be in their city, only to make a mistake and name the wrong city, but does it seem curious to anyone why President Obama chose Osawatomie, Kansas, of all places, to give a controversial speech attacking capitalism?

Trevor Loudon of New Zeal Blog does, and he’s not the only one.  Loudon points out that the odd sounding Osawatomie was also the name given to the Weather Underground’s publication. Of course, Weather Underground was lead by none other than Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn.

To top it off, Judi McLeod of Canada Free Press highlighted yet another Obama and Osawatomie-Weather Underground connection that was first exposed by Zombietime:
 
Here’s another one of those “coincidences” about Obama and Osawatomie unearthed by Zombietime.com back in 2008:  “Obama’s Election ’08 logo, and the logo of Osawatomie, the newspaper of the Weather Underground are one and the same. “Confronted, they (Obama and Ayers) would laugh it off as coincidence and conspiracy theory, and generations of graduates from the public school system, would counter a unified: “So what?”
   
So when Obama was doing the talking in Osawatomie on Tuesday, were Billy Ayers and the Weather Underground pulling his wobbly strings or was Obama signaling in the open that he is in lock-step with the radical left?

Charles Krauthammer in reaction to that speech said Obama: ‘More a Hugo Chavez Than He is a Teddy Roosevelt’

In a published column, Krauthammer said when Obama spoke about the millions who “are now forced to take their children to food banks,” he said so implying he himself bears no responsibility for the current economic climate.

“It’s the rich” Obama blames, Krauthammer wrote. “And, like Horatius at the bridge, Obama stands with the American masses against the soulless plutocrats. This is populism so crude that it channels not Teddy Roosevelt so much as Hugo Chavez.

Speaking on “Inside Washington,” Krauthammer discussed the point further:

“He talked about how we got here. He gave a nice historical rundown except that he left out a critical three years – his presidency. It’s as if it didn’t exist. It’s as if we jumped from ’08 to today….This is a classic example of how little it takes to stir the erogenous zones of liberals. You give them a speech with social justice, a little bit of class war, you wrap it up in the patina of intellectualism in what is essentially a speech that exonerates anything he’s done and obviously not done and says all of our problems today are the result of the plutocrats.”

To watch the video click here. 

A year ago this week, U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was murdered by his own government in a high crime that potentially reaches all the way to the White House. 

Agent Terry died protecting his country from brutal Mexican gangsters.
Two AK-47 assault rifles were found at his death site. We now know the
horrifying truth: Agent Terry was killed by weapons that were part of an
illegal Obama administration operation to smuggle arms to the dangerous
drug cartels.  

This is not only a major scandal; it is a high crime that potentially reaches all the way to the White House, implicating senior officials. It is President Obama’s Watergate.

Operation Fast and Furious was run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and overseen by the Justice Department. It started under the leadership of Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. Fast and Furious enabled straw gun purchases from licensed dealers in Arizona, in which more than 2,000 weapons were smuggled to Mexican drug kingpins. ATF claims it was seeking to track the weapons as part of a larger crackdown on the growing violence in the Southwest. Instead, ATF effectively has armed murderous gangs. About 300 Mexicans have been killed by Fast and Furious weapons. More than 1,400 guns remain lost. Agent Terry likely will not be the last U.S. casualty.

Mr. Holder insists he was unaware of what took place until after media reports of the scandal appeared in early 2011. This is false. Such a vast operation only could have occurred with the full knowledge and consent of senior administration officials. Massive gun-running and smuggling is not carried out by low-level ATF bureaucrats unless there is authorization from the top. There is a systematic cover-up.

Congressional Republicans, however, are beginning to shed light on the scandal. Led by Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Rep. Darrell Issa of California, a congressional probe is exposing the Justice Department’s rampant criminality and deliberate stonewalling. Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer, who heads the department’s criminal division, helped craft a February letter to Congress that denied ATF had ever walked guns into Mexico. Yet, under pressure from congressional investigators, the department later admitted that Mr. Breuer knew about ATF gun-smuggling as far back as April 2010. In other words, Mr. Breuer has been misleading Congress. He should resign – or be fired.

To read more from The Washington Times, click here.