Tag: Antifa

Political

Be A Sheepdog

Too many people in America act like sheep.

Did this title strike a nerve? I hope so! Too much is at stake here to be worried about political correctness. If a few people are so insecure that a few words trigger a total psychological meltdown on their part … too bad. We are reaping that which the “no individual responsibility, everyone gets a trophy, you can’t play tag on the schoolyard at recess, helicopter parenting” mentality has sown in our country. There are just not enough blankies, puppies, and cups of warm cocoa to go around. It is too bad, and I hope the pendulum begins to swing back the other way soon … before it is too late.

We desperately need a few more sheepdogs!

Why do I say this? Well, step back, clear your eyes, and take a good look around. America, the greatest nation on this planet, is being attacked by a coordinated and well-funded radical left movement, and we are in real danger of losing our country.

This post has been stewing in my brain since the first presidential debate. Yes, the event was a complete catastrophe. I think both candidates performed like two spoiled 70-year-old toddlers. President Trump came on way too hard and aggressively. The endless whoppers Joe Biden told were utterly unbelievable. And Chris Wallace? Well, Wallace should probably move over to MSNBC or CNN. The most fabulous “moderator” in modern history quickly lost complete control of the debate, and his bias was blatantly evident.

Here are just three examples:

Proud Boys

Chris Wallace asked President Trump to go on the record [again], and denounce White Supremacy. President Trump answered that he had already done so numerous times.

In fact, President Trump had just recently announced a plan to prosecute both Antifa and the KKK as terrorist groups. The last time I checked, the KKK was a white supremacy group.

Of course, that was not the answer Chris Wallace wanted, so he pressed harder. President Trump asked exactly which group Biden and Wallace wanted him to denounce (which was a tactical blunder on his part). Biden replied, “Proud Boys.” Trump answered by telling the Proud Boys “stand back and stand by.” I don’t know, maybe Trump should have said, “stand down.” You know how we love to parse words these days.

Here is my problem. Did Chris Wallace then turn to Joe Biden and ask him to denounce Antifa or BLM? No, he did not.

Yes, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the ACLU consider Proud Boys a violent right-wing hate group. However, they believe that almost all conservative organizations are violent hate groups. They are both incredibly left-leaning, after all.

Side Note: Did you know the ACLU was initially a communist organization? It was. I read the memo where they announced the decision to change their name because too many Americans really disliked communists. A copy of the memo was available on the internet at one time. It may have disappeared by now.

After President Trump’s “stand down'” request, Enrique Tarrio (hardly a WASP name), leader of Proud Boys, is reported to have stated, “That’s my president.”

Picture from NBCMiami.com

FYI: This is Enrique Tarrio. He is Afro-Cuban. Enrique is the national leader of the Proud Boys, which includes a large number of Black and Hispanic members. The media reports that Proud Boys is a white supremacy hate group. However, the truth is the group is anti-Antifa, anti-rioters, anti-communism, anti-socialism, and anti-looters. They are pro-law enforcement and pro-USA.

Aside from Enrique, could some white supremacists be lurking among the ranks of Proud Boys members? Of course, there could.

Now, here’s a hard question for you. Can you be honest with me! Could there be black supremacists included in the ranks of BLM? Hmmm.

Antifa

Biden laughed, saying that Antifa doesn’t exist – that Antifa is just an idea. Ok, Joe! If Antifa is just an idea – it is one that uses real bricks, clubs, Molotov cocktails, fireworks, and other ideas to threaten, intimidate, and destroy Americans and American businesses. You should get out of your basement more often, Joe.

Photo from therightscoop.com

I mean, we could say that the Waffen-SS was just an idea as well. Of course, they murdered millions. But here’s the rub. Did Chris Wallace press good old Uncle Joe on this comment? Nope!

So, Antifa attacks Americans, burns American businesses, beats up American journalists, and yes, sometimes accidentally set themselves on fire with Molotov cocktails.

Who do the Proud Boys clash with? Antifa! Maybe if law enforcement was allowed to do its job, other Americans wouldn’t have to step in to help.

BLM

I have a real problem with this one. I will tell you upfront, I am not a racist. You certainly don’t have to belive me, but it’s true. My family is one of incredible diversity. I just believe all lives matter. In my opinion, if you have to put a color in front of “lives matter,” you’re a racist.

But BLM is not about race at all. If they were, they would care about all the black communities being destroyed by BLM’s “white” useful idiots. They would care about the Black on Black crime in our big cities, the shooting of innocent children in drive-by attacks, , the fatherless children, the drugs, the poverty, and the millions of Black lives and families being ruined every day. But they don’t. That is because BLM is a Marxist movement. They just use race to achieve their goals.

Photo from freewestmedia.com

You don’t believe me? Have you read their mission statement, their charter, or any of their handouts? Incidentally, you can’t find any of this on their website anymore. It was there, I saw it! But, they recently scrubbed it all clean. I guess some people were beginning to take notice, after all.

Here, let me help!

Read these quotes carefully. They look innocuous at first glance. But what do the words actually mean?

We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and “villages” that collectively care for one another, especially our children, to the degree that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable.

We cultivate an intergenerational and communal network free from ageism. We believe that all people, regardless of age, show up with the capacity to lead and learn.

We see ourselves as part of the global Black family, and we are aware of the different ways we are impacted or privileged as Black people who exist in different parts of the world.

Handout 1 – Black Lives Matter Document Set

You won’t find these statements on their website anymore. I wonder why? And I am sorry, but there is a massive difference in the knowledge, wisdom, understanding, and leadership abilities of 16-year-olds and 50-year-olds. Wisdom is accumulated through experience, which requires time.

BLM leaders have even admitted in several interviews that they are a Marxist organization. This isn’t new news, but it may indeed be news to you. This guy really sums it up very well in his video, which also includes a historically accurate portrayal of Fascism.

Yes. The lunatics are now running the asylum. “Protected groups,” long separated, isolated, protected, and coddled by the Democrat Party because they were “useful” as voting blocks, have escaped the plantation, and joining together in “collective” entitlement thinking, are burning down the house.

In short, some groups of really unpleasant people with an incredibly dangerous left-wing agenda are running around this country doing bad things to good people. The Dems don’t want to stop it! Why? Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that both the DNC and BLM raise money through ActBlue. Antifa doesn’t need ActBlue because they have George Soros, who seems to have bottomless pockets.

So, who are you going to call?

When a group of BLM protesters decides to drag you out of your car and beat you to a pulp, or an Antifa mob decides to burn down your small family-owned business because you have an American flag hanging out front, who are you going to call?

Well, the way things are going, you might as well call the Ghost Busters! Combine the radical left’s push to defund or eliminate the police with the backstabbing and “stand down” orders from radical left politicians like Bill de Blasio and Ted Wheeler, and you have a severe problem. The cops won’t be there. Or, even if they are, good cops will be reluctant to act out of fear of being falsely charged with a crime for doing their job.

You may find yourself completely on your own!

There is a reason gun sales have surged since March. And a large percentage of these sales are to first-time buyers. People are scared and want to be able to protect themselves and their families. And I do not blame them one bit.

We all think – it won’t happen to me. However, I was accosted not too long ago in a grocery store by a twenty-something punk who looked like prime Antifa material. He didn’t like my patriotic t-shirt. Fortunately for him, he did not push things too far. I am pretty confident he would have had a terrible day. He simply saw an older man … and did not know he was picking a fight with a veteran who served with the 101st Air Assault Division, and who is also a trained bodyguard, a 5th-degree blackbelt, and who carries. Of course, I am glad he decided to stomp off muttering curses rather than escalate things. The fact is … you just don’t know.

Become a Sheepdog

Are you buying a gun?

Don’t just buy a gun. Learn to use it proficiently. Go to the range regularly. Take classes. I train regularly to stay proficient at certain skills.

  • Can you get your weapon out of its holster quickly … and without having it taken from you in the process (weapon retention)?
  • Can you shoot accurately from any position?
  • Can you shoot well one-handed … right and left (what if your “shooting hand” is injured)?
  • Can you reload or rack your pistol one-handed?
  • Can you shoot when breathing hard?
  • Do you know when not to shoot!!
  • What do you do if you are involved in a shooting incident (I recommend joining USCCA)?

Get in shape

Join a gym, run, bicycle, dance, hike, do yoga, lift weights, but do something. You don’t have to be a super athlete. After all, you are not training to fight eighteen rounds. Most serious self-defense situations are actually over pretty quickly.

Study a serious martial art

We are not talking sport karate here. When your life or the life of those you care about is on the line, there are no rules. The driving need is simply not to lose. A back fist to the forehead or a jump spinning roundhouse kick to the head just isn’t going to work. There are dojos out there that train martial arts as they were initially intended – a system of personal combat, and not as a sport or a pathway to some kind of omnipresent supergalactic oneness. Find one, join, and train seriously.

On the upside, those dojos usually cost much less to join than Supreme Ultimate Grandmaster Billy Bob’s Karate Super Center and Health Food Emporium.

OMG! You’re advocating violence!

No, I am not advocating violence here. But I do believe that you, as a free and law-abiding American, have the God-given right to protect yourself, your family, and your livelihood from injury or the wanton and idiotic destruction of radical left-wing rioters that are determined to destroy America. That right, clearly enunciated in the Declaration of Independence, is guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. That is why the left wants these documents gone and forgotten.

Also, this is not about being paranoid; it is about being prepared

Of course, you may choose not to protect yourself. That is certainly your right as an American citizen. However, you do not have the right to deprive me of the means to protect my family and those I love.

I would also add that when you are sitting in your car, and Antifa thugs are smashing in the windows with sledgehammers and threatening your family with Molotov cocktails, it is a little too late to make that decision to be prepared.

So you decide … it’s your choice; sheep or sheepdog?

We can always be a bit more prepared than we were yesterday. No matter your age or condition, you can do something to improve your ability to protect yourself and those you love. Make that first step in your decision to be a sheepdog and not a sheep. America needs you to step up.

hero's death
Fictional

A Hero’s Death …

The once sturdy frame, now withered from age, leaned into the wind and he made his way unsteadily down the quiet street. His ninety-four-year-old knees ached. These same knees had carried him safely across the island of Sicily. And later, they’d carried him ashore with the U.S. 4th Division at Utah Beach. He’d been wounded twice before Herr Hitler was finally defeated; before the evil that was the Third Reich finally ended. They Army had given him a medal, and President Truman had shaken his hand.

But now, without the help of his old wooden cane, his knees would never be able to make it the two blocks to the bus stop. The was proud, and did not ask for, nor would he accept help from anybody. He was a soldier. Pulling the worn out World War II Veterans’s cap down onto his head, he leaned into the wind, and pushed forward.

It was a daily ritual, this journey to the bus stop. His aching knees would painfully announce their displeasure as he slowly climbed those three stairs up into the bus, paid his fare, and found a seat. The bus driver, Joe, always had a pleasant word to say. He knew Joe pretty well. Those worn out knees had been complaining about climbing up into that same bus every day for almost fifteen years now.

It was a twenty-minute ride to the veteran’s hospital where he would spend the day talking to younger veterans less fortunate than himself. At least he had his knees to remind him he was still alive. Too many of these younger men were missing too many limbs. They hadn’t seen these things called improvised explosive devices back in his day. They had land mines though!

Memories of the horrors of war haunted a brain as sharp as when he’d first landed in Sicily. His hands were gnarled. His back stooped. But, those two eyes still burned, clear and bright. Inside, he was still the same proud, honorable, tough patriot he’d always been.

At eighteen, he’d answered his country’s call and unflinchingly did his duty. His young knees had supported him well as he fought for his country, for freedom, and for the man standing beside him in their shared foxhole. He’d walked across Sicily, France, and into Germany.

He survived being shot twice to return home and marry his high school sweetheart, Rose, and put two children through college. A strong back and two still pretty good knees had gotten him through almost thirty years as an iron-worker.

A widower now, his daughter called a few times a month. Judith lived in Florida. He did not know where his son was, but knew from Judith that John had made it pretty big; in real estate she’d said.

The bus slowed to a stop at the bus stop near the veteran’s hospital. With the help of his cane, his knees were forced to unbend and grudgingly supported his weight. He made his way down the aisle to the door of the bus, nodded to Joe, and listened to his knees bitterly complain as he climbed down the three stairs to the sidewalk. Leaning into the wind, he slowly made his way toward the veteran’s hospital.

A crowd dressed in black was gathered. He’d seen them before, protesting something. He did not know what. They always seemed so angry. Now they even wore masks and carried sticks. The old warrior was unafraid. He had nothing they would want. He adjusted his hat and just leaned into the wind. It was not much farther to the veteran’s hospital entrance.

Hate. He could feel it swirl around him. Black clad figures, hoods and masks, carrying clubs. An angry voice screamed obscenities. Was the voice screaming at him? Stopping, he forced his aching knees to turn and confronted a masked face, eyes filled with hatred. The old man looked into those hate-filled eyes and … smiled. He’d faced worse evil than a kid with a mask and a stick in his life; faced it down and survived.

Aching knees complained bitterly as he took a single step forward. Gnarled hands gripped the cane just a little tighter. His smile never left his face. He heard a single word screamed at him, “Nazi,” as the stick swung hard. What were they teaching kids in school these days, he wondered.

He saw the blow coming. There was nothing he could do … to old, to slow, to proud, his knees ached so. No point even to try. The old man just leaned into the wind once more.

Book Reviews

Book Review: The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

Third ReichI first read this history of the Third Reich many years ago when I was a high school student. It was a fascinating book back then. I decided to read it again just a little while ago. It is an imposing book with 1280 pages. Since I have aged a bit since I read it last and my eyes are not what they used to be, I bought the book on Audible.com and listened to it instead. It is still imposing … 57+ hours of reading time.  It took several long distance trips to complete it.

History Unfolding

This book is packed with documented history,  William Lawrence Shirer was an American journalist and war correspondent who was present in Germany when the things he is writing about were actually taking place. He heard many of the speeches, read the newspaper articles, was present at press conferences and historic meetings, and talked to Nazi government officials.

One of the best things about this book is that it has a riveting narrative and does not simply present historical details to the reader. Shirer weaves them into an engaging narrative that really makes it hard to put the book down. The reader actually reads the notes from staff meetings, journal entries, battle orders signed by Adolf Hitler, and more. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich is a history of Nazi Germany that has been read by many and cited in scholarly works for more than 50 years,

Ignore History … And You’re Doomed to Repeat It.

Why did I reread this book? We are at a time in our country’s history where skin heads and white supremacists are battling with black clad. masked Antifa members. It bears an eerie resemblance to the National Socialists battling the Communists in pre-WW II Germany. We even have some people fanning the flames of racial discord and class warfare. American and its people are better than this. Reminding ourselves of what has occurred in the past can help us prevent it in the future.

Authors, Patriotism, Political

Words Really Are Weapons If You Control The Narrative

If you control the language, you can control the story. Therefore, words are weapons. The radical left has learned this and is using that fact to destroy this country. My brother, Dan Gilbert, penned the below post. I just made a few edits. It sums this idea up very well.

Antifa

Words Are Very Powerful!

Words are very powerful, especially in their impact on the uneducated. The radical left has seized on this concept and it has freed them from accountability and rationality. They have figured out that if they can control words, they can maintain a powerful role in America despite promoting ideas that are clearly against this country’s best interests. They promote ideas that ignore the will of the vast majority of its population and violate our laws.

It is hard to understand how we have let the statist radical left claim the term liberal. But, it is one of the more effective tactics developed in modern political history that they employ to work to legitimize their radical beliefs. They are in no way liberal. The Democratic party is patently not liberal. Every one of their policies is the antithesis of liberalism.

By claiming the term, they position their enemies as not only wrong but evil. While they promote totalitarian and statist policies that degrade the last vestiges of individual liberty in the US, they rant about how their opponents are racists and bigoted.

Promoting racially segregated housing on campus they call opponents racists. While rioting to prevent others from expressing their beliefs through intimidation, they call their opponents violent. Demanding adherence to a single worldview, they call their opponent fascists. They justify assaulting harmless animals, burning buildings and cars by claiming they are defending themselves. Yet, they call themselves liberals and as such are beyond reproach.

Claiming A Title Does Not Make It So!

By claiming the liberal title they can ensure that the DNC lines up behind them. As long as you are liberals, rape, assault, burning buildings, and looting trucks on the highway is okay.

True liberalism prioritizes individual freedom from the government over the desire of the government to control our daily lives. The liberals protected freedom of speech, thought, property rights, and freedom of social practices such as freedom of worship against government intrusion. The academics that dominate the radical left have mastered doublespeak to the point that terms mean what they say they mean in order to promote a statist, totalitarian agenda. The worst examples are the clowns running around in black and face masks claiming to be the “Antifa” (anti-fascist) movement when they themselves are acting very much like fascists. Liberty requires accountability and acceptance of others. It does not explain away criminal behavior or treat people differently based on some artificial identity marker. Liberals developed the rule of law as a concept to fight against the implementation of a different set of laws based on identity or class.

We do not have to accept this. We do not have to be witnesses to the death of the American Dream. Do not allow the radical left to pervert the English language to promote their totalitarian worldview.

We need to reclaim our language and our principles, one nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.