CHRISTIANS---WAKE UP!

Reading from the book of Luke 21:35-38; Then Jesus asked them, "When I sent you without purse, bag, or sandals, did you lack anything?"
"Nothing" they answered.  He said to them, "But now, if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you do not have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.  It is written; 'And he was numbered with the transgressors'; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me.  Yes, what is written about me is reaching it's fulfillment."  The disciples said," See, Lord, here are two swords."  "That is enough," he replied.
In that day travel was dangerous.  It is dangerous today.  Christians sometimes forget that Jesus Christ was a man as well as the Lord of all, the Savior.  He was not a wimp, or a pushover.  Yes he  was caring, loving and forgiving while at the same time, he was hard as nails, tough, strong, both physically and mentally or he would never had been able to endure what he did for us.  But before he died on the cross and was raised from the grave he walked among us as a man.
Jesus recognized that it was necessary to defend themselves as they traveled, hence the swords.
Those today who think that we should let someone else defend our home and family (think police) are missing the point of the Second amendment.  It is not about hunting or sport but about DEFENSE AND THE NEED TO BE READY!  Yes, and to remove a despotic government if necessary!...Medicineman!

"KEEP US SAFE"

All over the country it seems, students are marching, carrying signs "KEEP US SAFE", "BAN THE GUNS", ETC.  They are in the cities, in the streets, in the halls and "in your face".
They are sincere and, for the most part, behaved.  They certainly are motivated!
The problem, as I see it, is that they are telling their story to the wrong people.  For instance: in Washington they want congress to act and "Make Them Safe".  But Congress will just do what they always do, blame the gun.  It's the gun's fault.  They are too easy to get.  They kill people.  So, we must get rid of the guns!
But look around.  Congress is protected by guns.  The President is protected by guns.  Banks are protected by guns.  Entertainers are protected by guns, as are members of NBA and NFL, etc.  So, keeping that in mind, why don't these kids go to their local school boards, carrying their signs, and demand that they NO.1-LOCK THE DOORS, NO.2-TAKE DOWN THE SIGNS "GUN FREE ZONE", NO.3-PUT PEOPLE IN THE BUILDING TRAINED IN THE USE OF FIREARMS (GUNS).
 I have a gun sitting in the same place for months and has never once offered to get up and shoot someone!......Medicineman!

THE "DEEP STATE"!

I have heard this term, as we all have, used over and over in recent months to describe our government.  It has puzzled me because I did not understand what was "The Deep State"?  Now I find the answer and wonder why I never picked up on it before.
Simply stated the Deep State, the permanent state, is that portion of our government never elected by the people.  Did you get that?  The Deep State is made up on thousands of employees, drawing public salaries, who have NO AUTHORITY given them by the electorate.  They live in and around Washington and go to work every day and do what they do with little oversight from Congress, (the voice of the people).  94% of Washington DC voted for Hillary Clinton.  You will find that those who live in and around Washington and work in the various departments are some 80% anti-President Trump.  Case in point;  the EPA and other federal agencies are using encrypted cell phone technology to communicate with other federal employees---an open violation of the law!
I have to believe that if the people's representatives did the job they are elected to do this could not happen!.....Medicineman!
 

"DIAMOND L. SLIM"

The great state of Wyoming has many stories that bring the old west to life.  One of those stories was told to me by an eye witness.
When living in Newcastle, the County Seat of Weston County, I was privileged to live neighbors to someone who could remember when her father was killed by the Indians.  Her father was Billy Mitchell, known as the "Martyred sheriff of Weston County".  It was in the Fall of 1903 and the Sioux Indians had left the reservation to steal cattle in the County at a place known as Lance Creek.  The Sheriff formed a Posse and went after them and in the ensuing fight was wounded and bleed to death.  But that is only part of the story.
In the early Spring of that year A ranch couple were murdered by their hired hand, Wm. L. Clifton, known as "Diamond L. Slim" after the ranch he worked on.  He was tracked down and jailed in Gillette.  The Sheriff feared that mob action would take "Slim" so he took him to Newcastle, some 70 miles away.  President Roosevelt happened to be traveling the West and was in Newcastle at the time and for his safety he was moved out of town.  It was May 27, 1903.
In those days the Sheriff's quarters were above the jail.  My friend and her sister were watching through the hole in the floor which allowed the Sheriff to check on prisoners when the mob invaded the jail and held him at gunpoint while they took Diamond L. Slim to the railroad bridge, put a rope around his neck, and at his request, gave him a "long drop".  As the story goes the long drop jerked his head off.  Lore has it that the undertaker attached his head on backwards and put him on public display.  One might assume that costs to the County were minimal!...Medicienman!  

"JUST THE FACTS MAAM" Sgt. Friday

Children, and adults acting like children, skipping school and parading the streets carrying signs asking ", demanding, "Keep Us Safe", "No Guns", "Guns Kill", "School is not safe", Etc, Etc.
Let's take a look at some facts.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tell us that daily nearly 30 Americans die in motor vehicle crashes.  Should we do federal background checks on those wanting drivers license?
The FBI's 2015 Uniform Crime Report shows us that nearly three times more people are stabbed or hacked to death than are killed with shotguns and rifles combined, which numbered 548, while those stabbed and hacked to death amounted to 1,573.  Should we have federal background checks before buying a knife?
Most people and courts would argue that it is utter nonsense to deal with drunk driving or with knife deaths that way because, after all, they are inanimate objects.  Guns are also inanimate objects and have no will of their own to do anything but sit in the gun cabinet, or behind the bedroom door.
The Sears mail-order catalog of 1902 had 35 pages of ads for firearms.  Lots of magazines through the 40's, 50's and 60's had ads for firearms, aimed at children much of the time.  Until The 1968 Firearms Act, one could order many old military weapons such as, Mauser '98 rifles and Jap Nambu pistols and many other firearms.  Every boy over the age of ten wanted a .22 rifle for his birthday.
"Gun Free Zones" will not solve the problem, only encourage the "Nuts".  Banning cops 'n' robbers and cowboys 'n' Indians play won't do much either.
Congress cannot make our society more Moral.  It cannot make our families more civil.  Our moral standards have been under siege for 50 years.  God is out of many schools.  The trek to the Principle's office holds no fear for the miscreant any more.  Teachers have lost control of classes, and some have suffered physical injury because of it.  Bad behavior needs to be punished and instantly.  It worked when I grew up!....Medicineman!

THE FALL OF BATAAN

 Only historians and old Vets remember the heroic battle there and the infamous "Bataan Death March".  But the story is worth the telling today simply because of the impact that battle had on the outcome of WWII.
On April 9, 1955 the following article appeared in the base newspaper of the Navy Base at Sangley Point, PI:
The Fall of Bataan---A Magnificent Victory
BATAAN---April 9, 1955.  On a peninsula 30 odd miles northwest of Sangley Point, one of the principle events of World War II took place thirteen years ago today.  We have often times passed the Bataan Peninsula on recreation cruises to Corregidor and White Sands Beach.  As you stand gazing toward Bataan, memories of the memorable fall of the Filipino and American forces are recalled.
The late Major Genaral Jonathan M. Wainwright defended Bataan from January 10,1942 when 200,000 members of the Japanese Imperial Army ruptured Abecoy-Moran Line in northern Bataan, until April 8, 1942.  Sangley Point and Cavite were captured by Gen. Homma on January2, 1942.
From January until the final attack on April 3, the Japanese kept regular patrols to forstall any USAFFE (United States Armed Forces Far East) counter attacks.  In March, the bombing and shelling of the Japanese No. 2 Corp line beame more severe.  General Homma moved his headquarters from San Fernando to Orani.  Philippine Scout patrols reported the strength of the enemy to be over 60,000 men and with strong tank and artillery support and about 1,000 trucks.
Two weeks before the main assault, Gen. Douglas MacArthur left Corregidor for Australia and MAJ. GEN. Wainwright took command of USAFFE which he redesignated as USFIP (United States Forces in the Philippine Islands).
In the planning phase of the battle of Bataan, Gen. Wachi, Chief of Staff to General Homma, was greatly aided by a captured USAFFE situation map of Bataan.  Washi declared that his general estimate of USAFFE strength was 50,000 to 60,000 men.  As to planes, he knew that there were one or two planes at Corregidor.
General Homma decided to break through near Mount Samat: First, USAFFE would least expect a frontal assault against the 65 foot cliffs, and second, Homma wanted to take the key terrain to get commanding artillery support to his attacking troops.
On the eve of the fall of Bataan, the USFIF numbered 28,000.  On the Japanese front, the Imperial 4th Army had 50,000 to 60,000 combat troops with tank, artillery and air support.
The zero hour was set at 1500 hours April 3, 1942.  For the Japanese the day was "Empire Foundation Day"; for the Fil-Americans it was Good Friday.  From that time on, the final stages of the Battle of Bataan were on, and the death throes of the gallant USAFFE began.  
"The Bataan garrison was destroyed due to its dreadful handicaps, but no army in history more thoroughly accomplished its mission.  Let no man henceforth speak of it other than a magnificent success"----Gen MacArthur! ...................Medicineman!

CIVIL SERVANTS?

The catchy phrase used during the election was "Drain the Swamp".  What a great idea, BUT!  Open the Books is a government transparency watchdog.  For eleven years they have been trying to get information from the Office of Personnel Management of the names, titles, agencies, salaries and bonuses of all federal employees.  When they got the data: 240,839 federal salaries, amounting to $20 billion in spending, were redacted.  We are not allowed to see what one out of five federal employees is paid. Is it any wonder Washington is in the mess it is in?
The average Bureaucrat makes about $127,000 in salary and benefits---compared to $70,000 in the private sector.  From December 2007 to June 2009 the federal workforce increased by 46% those making $100,000 per year, and a 93% increase in those making in excess of $170,000.
The Va scandal showed how, almost impossible it is to fire a federal employee.  The New York Times reported that only three people had been fired from their jobs.  Trump is cleaning house and another 500 have been fired from their job in the VA in the past year.
Due to Civil Service protection passed by Congress decades ago the President has control of only 2 percent of the work force.  Congress needs to move on this.  It is way past time for bureaucrats to realize they are not elected but are civil servants, not overlords!....Medicineman! 

NORTH KOREA'S CHEERLEADERS!

I have refrained from writing about the Winter Olympics this year until I cooled down a bit.  What should have been a demonstration of the differences between the North K. and South K. and how the devastated by war country of South Korea has rebuilt and become a vibrant and successful "Jewel of the Orient" while it's sister country up north is a dictatorship that keeps it's people enslaved and living in fear.
Kim Yo-Jong, sister of the "Fat Boy" dictator, represented North Korea. The fawning press (CNN and Washington Post) never mentioned that she is sanctioned by the United States.  CNN wrote, "If diplomatic dance' were an event at the Winter Olympics, Kim Yo-Jong has struck a cord with the public just one day into the PyeongChang Games."  Her "warm message", of course, called for a unification of the peninsula, which of course means taking over the south.
And, of course, they romped on Vice President Mike Pence because he met with defectors from the north and the father of Otto Warmbier.  You will remember who Otto was.  He was the American student released from North Korea in a coma and died six days later.  North Korea beat him and stole his mind over a period of more than a year
I prefer the old Olympics when it was not professional.   When the winners were respectful of their country and proud.  I liked the Biathlon when it was run with the hunting rifle.  And, I am too old to get warm and fuzzy with North Korea!....Medicineman!  

BAN ALL GUNS! BAN SOME GUNS! MAKE US SAFE!

When the country suffers a tragic Commuter Train wreck, or an Air-Liner disaster, or even a tremendous crash on the Interstate with all suffering hundreds killed and injured it is in the news briefly.  On the other hand, if guns are involved, as in school shootings, the immediate response from the halls of Congress are to ban the culprit, GUNS, the evil one.
If no guns were to be sold to the public they would still be there, stolen guns, black market guns, even guns made in prison.  Several years ago a gun was expertly made in the machine shop at San Quentin and used in the breakout of several prisoners.
The point I make is this: Congress, and others, go arm waving berserk because they can pass a law that would have prevented whatever act that has just transpired!  So they say!  What do they then proceed to do?  They go after the innocent.  The honest gun-owner.  The one who is not the problem. The way the system is run today it would make no difference if the "bad guy" had a gun or not because he could cause just as much mayhem with a machete, ax, bolo knife or samuari sword.  So what is the answer?  It has been shown that most shooters, when an authoritative figure, police or one in charge shows up the perp either gives up or shoots himself!  Therefore, arming responsible people on the scene shortens the length of the attack.  That is especially true if police response time is slow-two minutes can make huge difference in the casualty count!
The House of Representatives has passed a piece of legislation that is very important to every citizen in the U.S.A.  It is HR-38, which allows citizens who have qualified for a Concealed Carry Permit to carry across state lines without fear of arrest.  Before the bill left the House it was amended by anti-gun members.  If passed it will mean that the back-ground checks could keep one from buying a gun for unpaid parking fines.  It would strip Vets of the right because they talked to their doctor about feeling depressed, etc.  And on and on it goes!.....Medicineman!