25 Things No One Asks Politicians

25 Things No One Asks Politicians
 

1.  What is you political philosophy and how did you come to it?  Follow Up:  Would you be willing to publicly defend your political philosophy?  When?

2.  What, is the role of local/state/federal government?  Follow Up:  Is that role being performed now?  Effectively/Efficiently/Honestly?  

3.  What is (will be) your role in government?  Follow Up:  How do you measure yourself as to whether you are being effective/efficient/honest in your role?

4.  Do you agree with the statement "All governments have a natural inertia towards growth."?  Follow Up:  Can you name a time when a government shrank by its own hand and by a significant amount relative to its size at that time in history?

5.  What is the role of government social services?  Follow up:  Anecdotally and Scientifically people appreciate less something that is given to them versus something they earn.  With that in mind, how do you justify a fit person receiving social service aid year after year?

6.  Describe "Private Property" and how it relates to government.  

7.  If a citizen or the press accused you of spin, pandering or evading a question would you be willing to answer those charges publicly to the satisfaction of the citizen/press?

8.  Anecdotally it seems many have a poor view of politicians.  Why do you think that is?  

9.  What is the difference between a "politician" and a "statesman".

10.  How malleable is the Constitution on a scale of 1-10, one being Steel and 10 being Clay?

11.  What do you see as the major successes of our nation/state/municipality?  Follow Up:  Are these successes because of government, nothing to do with government or in spite of government?

12.  What are our major shortfalls?  Follow Up:  Are these shortfalls because of government, nothing to do with government, or in spite of government?

13.  How much money did it take for you to be elected?

14.  Are you part of the "political elite"?  Who is?

15.  What is meant by "Tyrannies of the Majority"?

16.  What is meant by "Tyrannies of the Elite"?  Follow Up:  What systems are in place, if any, to prevent these tyrannies.

17.  What is your view of State's Rights or Federalism?  

18.  Who knows what is best for you and your children, the government or you?

19.  Do you believe that local/state governments are better equipped to handle issues of "morality" and "education" than the federal government?

20.  Assuming that the current tax burden is about right, shouldn't we be paying vastly more money in taxes individually(and business) to state and local governments than to the federal government, the level of government that is furthest from our individual problems/issues/opportunities?  

21.  If governments must redistribute wealth, would not it stand that those governments most local to the citizenry are best equipped to collect and distribute that wealth fairly -because they can see the issues and facts most clearly and distribute that wealth efficiently -because there would be less bureaucracy and better access to those politicians that control the spending?  

22.  What is your opinion of "career politicians"?

23.  Describe a non public sector "real job" (not relating in any way to politics, public policy or government) you have held and were successful doing.

24.  What are your thoughts on this parable as it relates to government:  "Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime."

25.  Do you believe in American Exceptionalism?  Explain.


By Benjamin Parrish Cook

The Key to Wining an Armed Confrontation

A Key to Wining an Armed Confrontation

If you are ever unlucky enough to find yourself in a situation where you must defend yourself with lethal force there is one "trick" to having a serious advantage.  That is to be able to move and shoot.

If you can move laterally and still hit your target you have just created a huge advantage for yourself.  Firing a gun accurately is tough enough.  Doing so in a stressful situation is doubly so.  But, then adding to the mix that your target is on the move and returning fire... well.  No thanks.  I would rather just run, take cover or surrender.  But even if your target isn't as smart as me and doesn't bug-out or surrender you can be assured that the advantage is yours if you learn how to shoot on the move.

Shooting Vid 1     Shooting Vid 2

The Myth of "Knock Down Power".

The Myth of "Knock Down Power".

In a nutshell there is none if your pistol doesn't start in "4" or better.  As well, then it is more of a psychological reaction than a physical reaction to being shot IF you do not score a hit in a critical area.

Newton's law of physics says for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.  So, if the gun doesn't knock you down when you shoot it, it won't knock someone down when the bullet hits them.  There are other factors of course. 

A 9mm has been accused of being a poor defense caliber.  I even made such accusations at one time.  NOW, I think 9mm is a fine defense caliber and is perfect for small concealable handguns.  It is fast, and has minimal recoil (except when fired from a small handgun like a Kel-tec PF-9 or Taurus 709 Slim).  It also has NO knock down power.  Nor does a 38spl, or a 357 mag, or a 40 s&w, or a 380 acp or, or, or... 

Now, hold up.  I know many of you reading this want to disagree with me on the 357.  And, I will give you that it has more "knock down power" than any other caliber listed above, but it suffers from a small projectile and a high velocity.  Meaning, it is likely to not expend all of its kinetic energy on the target, but rather pass through.  With a proper defense round, it could stay in target, or leave with minimal force left to impart.  But it still suffers from a small projectile, which means a small primary wound channel.  As well, while it travels fast for a pistol bullet, it travels too slow to create a significant secondary wound channel.

The 45 acp loaded to travel over 950 ft/sec is your best option for knock down.  Even it will only provide limited push in the "opposite" direction on your target.  But, bullet size, type of bullet and projectile speed will make sure that all of the energy it has to impart on a target is transmitted.  Again, remember, if you want to approximate what your target would feel when hit with a bullet... just shoot your firearm.  What you feel is a good approximation. 

What makes most targets "go down" is either a hit in a critical area or the psychological effects of being shot... perceived pain, fear, etc.  So what does this mean for the average shooter.  It means don't be an average shooter.  Be proficient with your chosen personal defense firearm(s).  It means be able to hit what you aim at.  It means be able to put multiple rounds on target.  It means Hollywood isn't real and no ones arm will be blown off and no one will be sent backwards through plate glass.  Physics... It's the LAW.

My Dog Molly

I just buried Molly, well watched a nice neighbor with a back-hoe do all the lifting. The whole time I was thinking. "God that is a lot of dirt for me to fill in if he doesn't offer to fill it in." But I didn't want him to fill it in, I wanted to have a quick moment with Molly before she returned to nature. Instead he did offer and I accepted. So rather than the "moment" I chunked her unceremoniously down a 4 foot hole and said a few words under my breath. Not at all what I had in mind. And even though we are nearing the end of April it was cold. It was dark with ominous clouds, distant thunder and blowing rain. Despite the fact that Molly and I didn't have our planned moment, nature gave it to us anyway. It was Molly having her last growl, her last bark and her last wet kisses. Molly will be missed.

"Everybody Draw Muhammad Day" May 20th!!!

On May 20th, please create your best interpretation of the Muslim profit Muhammad.

This is a show of Solidarity with all artists who dare create their visions of a religious figure.

This is also to speak in a clear voice to Muslim/Religious extremists that threaten violence... and turn those threats against them.

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2010/04/muslim_extremis.php

A Review of "Emergency, This book wil...

A Review of "Emergency, This book will save your life.

What I hate about reviews is I have to read them.  So, I will get to the point for all the impatiant uber-male types that want the guts without the frills.

Buy the book and read it.  Don't put it down when Neil Strauss seems like a spaghetti spine liberal, endure.  While he doesn't get it completely at the end, it is a great journey that he lets us in on. 

Neil does a great job relating his growth from a person reliant on the system to a person who is self reliant.  He discovers via his attempts to have a "bug-out" plan to leave the US in the event of something catostrophic -like a major national disaster, terrorist attack or the total collapse of the US economy- that he doesn't possess any of the knowledge or skills to make it out, or to make it on his own once he is out.

Along the way he dispels a few myths about gun ownership, survivalists and the generally paranoid.

It is well written and ADD-types will appreciate his varietal style and short chapters.  People from the rural south will particualarly love this read as it confirms what we already know.  Most folks in big cities will be eating each other in 30 days after a real disaster, while we will be growin' tomatoes and brewing ethanol to live on in most of rural America, especially the littler latitudes.

So go.  Buy the book.

A letter to Neil Strauss regarding "Emergency".

Neil,

Wow!  I couldn't put it down.  I read most of the book in one night.  And while I loved the book I thought the ending was a bit odd.  You realize in the book that the government can't save you, but then suggest the government is going to save us at the end.

Along your journey you figured out what realists/fliesians have always known, that the government no matter its size has limited capabilities and it is us not the government that makes changes on the ground that last and that matter.  The residents of New Orleans figured it out the hard way.  Yet, in the final chapters you revert to the same error in attribution that started your journey.  You allow the government back in.  This time in the form of a politician.  Barack Obama. 

No career politician will lead us out of our current doldrums.  Can he inspire.  Yes.  But that is not what he is doing.  And to look to a politician for answers considering where they have lead this country is a dangerous thing. 

I am not talking Republican or Democrat here.  I am talking over reliance on the US government.  More people now are on some type of government assistance than are not on it.  That says something.  That means that 50% of the country is a Chapter-One Neil Strauss and less than half are Last-Chapter Neil Strauss.

I don't want to seem too political here.  That is not my point.  But did you ever stop to think about how those that taught you your skills generally vote?  I would be willing to bet that most vote Republican.  "Republican" means less and less everyday, but my point is they are likely Realists and Conservatives.  Or, like it or not... neo-fliesians. 

Which is where I would put you at the end of your book.  Not so much a fliesian anymore but a realist slash fliesian.  There is no way a person who generally sees the world for what it is (yet hopes for what it can be) could ever really think that a President of the US, much less one whose number one credential was his race, would provide a path out of our current problems.

You made it all that way, learning that you can't rely on the government WTSHTF only to end the book in a way that suggests we rely on the government.  I just don't get it.

I hope I am not coming off as an anarchist.  I am far from it.  I believe as C.E.M.P. does.  WTSHTF you look to your family first, then your immediate community then your broader community.  There is real wisdom there.  It is also a maxim for government and how our Founders hoped we would run this country.  Smaller more localized governments are best equiped to service their constituency.  A broader government is ill equipped to service, but it is better equipped to redistribute wealth on a wide scale, but the smaller states must have control over that redistribution...  We no longer do. 

When you listed the Federal bueracracy that snaps into "action" when there is an emergency that was a beautiful illustration.  That lethargic beast, the Leviathan, can not be relied upon to save any of us.  Nor can it be relied upon to fix the problems it has caused.  I was hoping all throughout your book you would come to this conclusion. "It is about personal responsibility."

To say something about personal responsibility rather than "hope" from a politician...

Luckily the ending doesn't ruin the book for me.  But, it does make your growth in the book suspect.  The Psychology Major in me wants to suggest that even after your personal growth from the one likely to be the first eaten or killed to the one prepared to survive you are holding tightly to the biases you held when you started.  George Bush, bad.  Obama, good.  Or Republican, bad.  Democrat, good.  Or Iraq war, bad.  No war, good.  When those biases betray you every time because they are based on outmoded paradigms that I hope you no longer subscribe to. 

Now I hope you see that Neil is in charge.  And that life is not that simple.  Eight years of Bush, wasn't all bad.  Republicans and Democrats, generally all bad... maybe a few good. 

The country that scared you into this journey in 2004 is still here.  It is still the Leviathan but it is wearing another teams jersey.  THAT is the only difference.

Now is where I try to sell you AMWAY and pass out the kool-aid. 

It is obvious you were not a Conservative before the book.  You should be now.  You should be for personal responsibility, individual rights and State's Rights (Federalism).  You should see the US Gov for the Nanny State that it is.  Out of control.  Running on pure inertia towards implosion due to its own bloat and girth.

Forget the bullshit about Christian-Conservative and Neo-Conservative.  Fuck Pat Robertson and Karl Rove.  They are not Conservatives.  If you ever run into a "Conservative" that hyphenates they are little "c" conservatives that serve two masters.  At the end of your journey I would have thought that you would have figured out that Neil is in charge of Neil and no one in the White House can change that.  That is Nature's Law and the 10th Amendment.  Remember how you grew into a new understanding of the 2nd Amendment and how you now look at it with similar reverance to the 1st amendment?  What I am talking about now is the same thing, but now embrace the 10th amendment.

Let go the Chicago-High-Rise/Chapter-One Neil Strauss and give into the Realist Neil that sees the world for what it is and hopes for what it can be.  (Said with my best Star Wars Emperor voice.) 

If you have made it this far and are not screaming "NO it's not true, I'll never join you"...  Let's have coffee.

Benjamin Cook
Right-Wing Propagandist and Local Arms Dealer

Major General Bob Livingston, says he will not confiscate guns via a federal order.

Major General Bob Livingston fielding the last question from the Palmetto Conservative Show, a blog show, said he would not confiscate firearms even via a federal order. Alluding to the fact that it would violate the Constitution that he as sworn an oath to, the Major General explained that his oath would prevent him and other Constitutionally sworn federal officers from carrying out this hypothetical order.

This interview was on: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/cbmedia-network/2010/03/16/the-palmetto-conservative-show