RANDOM SHOTS - Atheist Attacks, ObamaCare Goes To Court Again, and More!

Supreme Court Orders Review Of Liberty University's ObamaCare Challenge

This week the U.S. Supreme Court ordered a Federal Appeals Court to reconsider Liberty University’s legal argument that the ObamaCare law violates the school’s religious freedom.

The case will be returned to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va.

"Today’s ruling breathes new life into our challenge to ObamaCare," said Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, which filed the suit on behalf of the school. "Our fight against ObamaCare is far from over."

A federal judge in 2010 rejected Liberty’s claim, and the Appeals Court later ruled the lawsuit was premature and failed to address the substance of the school's arguments.

The Supreme Court upheld Obama's health care law in June 2012.

In the high court’s 5-4 decision, the justices used lawsuits filed by 26 states and the National Federation of Independent Business to uphold the health care law, then rejected all other pending appeals, including Liberty's.

The school is challenging the constitutionality of the part of the law that mandates employers provide insurance and whether forcing insurers to pay for birth control is unconstitutional under the First Amendment’s free exercise of religion clause.

The appeals court ruled last year the Anti-Injunction Act barred it from addressing the merits in the case.

The act blocks any challenge to a "tax" before a taxpayer pays it - in this case referring to the penalties associated with failing to obtain health insurance.

However, the Supreme Court’s ruling stated the act did not serve as a barrier to lawsuits challenging the health care law. On that basis, Liberty University immediately petitioned the court to allow it to renew its original case.

Monday's Supreme Court order for the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals to study the constitutionality of Obamacare’s employer requirements for health care as well its mandatory coverage of contraceptives is a chance that the program will be ruled unconstitutional.

Atheist Practice Religious Persecution Of Christians

Near to this small place we call Glencoe, I know that Christmas and Christians are doing well.

I know that the American Legion Calaveras Post 376 will be having a Christmas Celebration for kids and families in this rural area on December 21st at 6pm. There will be snacks and even Santa will show up for the kids.

Columbia State Historic Park is decorated for the Christmas season with traditional boughs and wreaths, and docents will be decked out in their old-time finery. If you're there, I hope you have a camera for a picture with Father Christmas at the Tibbits House.

Children and others will be singing Christmas carols. Free carriage rides will be offered on Main Street and gingerbread houses will be on display at the Columbia House Restaurant.

The Merry Merchants event is hosted by the Columbia Chamber of Commerce and is fun for all ages.

Friends of Rail Road Flat will host a holiday benefit concert from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 15, at the Mokelumne Hill Town Hall on Main Street.

All proceeds will go to Mokelumne Hill, Rail Road Flat and West Point Elementary schools.

Valley Springs Craft Faire and Parade begins at 10 a.m. at California and Chestnut streets. Santa Claus will be present.

Angels Camp Holiday Festival and Christmas Parade – the Festival goes from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and the Christmas Parade begins at 2 p.m. at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church.

There will be live music, hay rides, children’s art and food will be available. Tree lighting will occur at 5 p.m. A variety of events will be held downtown throughout the day.

Hospice of Calaveras and Amador Tree of Lights – Tree lighting at 5 p.m. at the Hospice Calaveras Thrift Store, 570 N. Main St. Santa, music, candle lighting and refreshments will be available.

So while other places are being invaded by leftist and Atheist who are on a mission to destroy Christmas and have it repealed as a Federal Holiday, we here in this part of Calaveras County and the Gold Country can Thank God that we don't live in places where cities are bending to the demands a few inherently cold hearted individuals.

And yes, Atheist are extremely evil people. Evil because they practice something that goes to the heart of America's founding. Atheist fervently practice religious persecution.

Atheist in America today endorse and participate in the systematic mistreatment of Christians as a response to their lack of religious beliefs. Its as if they don't want others to have beliefs and morality if they don't.


Yes, Americans understand that there is a separation between church and state. The reason that this was established was so that the state doesn't establish a national religion. Americans understand this because they are smart enough to know that that would have lead to the persecution of others who wanted to worship in their own ways.

But, Americans also know that there is nothing in the United States Constitution that says the government, or agents of the government can attack or impede Americans from practicing their religions. Freedom of religion does not mean freedom from religion.

A report by two U.S.-based religious freedom groups says anti-Christian persecution is on the rise in America.

The joint report by Texas-based Liberty Institute and Washington-based Family Research Council says groups like the American Civil Liberties Union and other Atheist groups aren’t the only culprits. The report says government agencies around the U.S. are trying to push Christian expression out the door.

Liberty Institute Founder Kelly Shackleford, of the recent hike in reported incidents of persecution. “I have been doing these types of cases for almost 25 years now. I have never seen the levels of attacks like these and how quickly they are now proliferating.”

Shackleford says government, from schools to social programs, is the ringleader.

"There are children being prohibited from writing Merry Christmas to the soldiers, senior citizens being banned from praying over their meals in the Senior Center, the VA banning the mention of God in military funerals, numerous attempts to have veterans memorials torn down if they have any religious symbols such as a cross, and I could go on and on," Shackleford said.

In August 2011, the Houston, Texas, veterans’ cemetery director issued an order banning the word "God" from being said at military or veteran funerals at the facility.

A pastor and family members of deceased veterans had to eventually file a Federal lawsuit alleging that the Houston National VA Cemetery is discriminating against their religious freedoms.

The suit alleged that cemetery administrator Arleen Ocasio required pastor Scott Rainey to edit a Memorial Day prayer so that the prayer was "general, and its fundamental purpose [was] nondenominational in nature."

Christian civil rights organization ACLJ senior counsel David French says the exact rate of increase is hard to determine, but many of the new cases come from colleges.

"Our knowledge of incidents is only as good as the reporting," French says. "However, it’s clear that – particularly on college and university campuses – we have seen a significant rise in attempts to silence Christian organizations by the misapplication of nondiscrimination laws."

Mr French adds that many public facilities are also covering over Christianity.

"One of the most strident examples: the misuse of the Establishment Clause to attempt to ban any mention of God from historical markers, monuments or even museum exhibits. This represents an effort to whitewash God from American history and change our national identity."

It was reported in February of this year that the City of New York was attempting to cancel the leases of all church and religious groups renting city facilities.

"Our view is that public school buildings, which are funded by taxpayers’ dollars, should not be used as houses of worship," said Marge Feinberg, spokeswoman for New York City’s Department of Education. "Public school space cannot and should not be used for worship services, especially because school space is not equally available to all faiths."

When I first read this, I was amazed that they were trying to do this considering that a church renting a city building is no different than any other private citizen or organization renting the building.

What are they going to do, ask everyone who wants to rent a hall from the City of New York their religious preference - and only allow those who have no religion to rent from the city? It's stupidity like that that makes me wonder where is the sanity!

Shackleford says the attacks are becoming violent, too.

“The recent attacks on the faith-based Family Research Council and the attack on the Sikhs are recent examples alone,” Shackleford says.

He also cites an example of a city trying to push out its Jewish residents.

"In one case I was involved in, a city literally tried to zone out Orthodox Jews from the city. An official city meeting perpetrated this. Some said, ‘Hitler should have finished the job.’”

Among the violations listed in the joint report:
•A federal judge threatened “incarceration” to a high school valedictorian unless she removed references to Jesus from her graduation speech.

•City officials prohibited senior citizens from praying over their meals, listening to religious messages or singing gospel songs at a senior activities center.

•A public school official physically lifted an elementary school student from his seat and reprimanded him in front of his classmates for praying over his lunch.

•Following U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ policies, a federal government official sought to censor a pastor’s prayer, eliminating references to Jesus, during a Memorial Day ceremony honoring veterans at a national cemetery.

•Public school officials prohibited students from handing out gifts because they contained religious messages.

•A public school official prevented a student from handing out fliers inviting her classmates to an event at her church.

•A public university’s law school banned a Christian organization because it required its officers to adhere to a statement of faith that the university disagreed with.

•The U.S. Department of Justice argued before the Supreme Court that the federal government can tell churches and synagogues which pastors and rabbis it can hire and fire.

•The State of Texas sought to approve and regulate what religious seminaries can teach.

•Through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare, the federal government is forcing religious organizations to provide insurance for birth control and abortion-inducing drugs in direct violation of their religious beliefs.

•The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs banned the mention of God from veterans’ funerals, overriding the wishes of the deceased’s families.

•A federal judge held that prayers before a state House of Representatives could be to Allah but not to Jesus.

 Where a person's religion often determines to a significant extent his or her morality and personal identity, Atheist believe in nothing and subsequently have no basis for standards of morality.   Yes, that is the reason that Atheist persecute Christians at every turn. They attack without guilt or reason just like those who persecuted the Jews in Germany during the 1930s and 40s. 
Like Hitler's Nazi persecution of Jews and Catholics, Atheists are the new Nazis with a zeal to kill off any trace of Christianity in America.

Religious persecution is religious bigotry. It is the denigration of the Christian practitioner because he or she does not believe as the hate filled Atheist activist does.

Atheist view Christians as a threat to their interests in the very same way that Nazis under Hitler viewed Jews as a threat to Germany. Their constant attacks on anything representative of the Christian belief in America is religious persecution.

Just as other forms of racism and bigotry should not be tolerated and are cconsidered human rights issues, so should the Atheist well funded attacks on Christians - and any symbol of Christianity like Christmas

Arizona Declines to Set up State-based Health Insurance Exchange

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, an ardent critic of President Barack Obama's push to overhaul the U.S. health care system, said on Wednesday she was rejecting a new federal mandate to set up a state-based health insurance exchange under the U.S. Affordable Care Act - aka ObamaCare.

Citing lingering unanswered questions about the exchanges and concerns about high costs she said would be passed on to Arizona families and small businesses, Brewer, a Republican, said her state would opt instead for a federally run exchange.

Such networks are designed to function as online insurance markets where consumers can shop for private coverage at federally subsidized rates, and are an integral provision of the act, a centerpiece of Obama's first term in office.

Under a newly extended deadline, states have until December 14th to notify the U.S. Health and Human Services Department whether they intend to comply with the insurance exchange mandate or leave it to the federal government to set up and operate exchanges for them.

About 17 states have told the Obama administration they plan to move ahead on their own exchanges, while at least nine Republican governors in recent days have rejected the plan outright, as Brewer has, or opted to cooperate with Washington in setting up a hybrid federal-state network.

"My opposition to the Affordable Care Act is unwavering, as is my belief that it should be repealed and replaced," Brewer said in a statement announcing her decision.

Two Sentenced in Fast and Furious Federal Gun-Running Case

No it wasn't Janet Napolitano and Eric Holder as many people hope, but two people have been sentenced to a few years behind bars for their roles in the Federal gun smuggling ring that was part of the Obama administration's failed Operation Fast and Furious.

The U.S. Justice Department says Jacob Anthony Montelongo was sentenced Monday in Phoenix to nearly 3 1/2 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy and dealing guns without a license. Sean Christopher Steward received a nine-year sentence for conspiracy and lying.

During the Fast and Furious operation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents hoped to track illegally obtained weapons to high-level arms traffickers, but authorities lost track of more than 2,700 guns.

Many are right now being used to kill innocent civilians on both sides of the border. Just something else that Obama doesn't seem to care about.

So far, the operation led to congressional inquiries and little else.

It was exposed after two of the illegally obtained weapons were found at the scene of the 2010 fatal shooting of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.

Western Senators ask Justice Department to Oil Companies

Six Pacific state senators are asking the Justice Department to investigate whether oil refineries manipulated the price of gasoline when it hit near-record prices in the region from May through October.

The price was more than $4 a gallon during that period and broke the $5 mark last month in California, even though the price of crude oil has been declining.

Analysts have said the near-record prices were the result of refinery problems. But the senators point to a review of California refinery emissions data showing inconsistencies between the time refineries were producing petroleum products and when maintenance shutdowns were publicly reported.

The politicians said misleading reports of shutdowns could have created a perceived shortage of gasoline.

I wonder if those liberal senators will acknowledge out of control federal and state taxation on a gallon is the reason that gas is so high and not some sort of oil refinery manipulation of the price of gasoline?

Probably not. Remember, as far as liberals are concerned - oil companies are an easy scapegoat for Democrats who want to get the focus off the increased taxes put on the public at the pumps.


Story by Tom Correa

RANDOM SHOTS - Sandra Fluke, Obama and the Fiscal Cliff, ObamaCare, and More!

Sandra Fluke's Extreme Promiscuity Pays Off Big Time

First she testified in front of Congress to say that she spent over $3000 on birth control during her three years at Georgetown Law. Then she was picked by the Democrat Party as their poster-girl of new-age promiscuity and actually gave the doll-eyed Fluke the microphone to speak at their Convention.

She has appeared on magazine covers and on talk shows like The View and so on. Well now there is more! And yes, this is too funny!

All of the money that she spent on birth control, and no there is no word if she needed to pay for multiple abortions, is all paying off big time.

Yes, this is really a big deal when we consider that her singular accomplishment in life is needing government assistance to have sex because she spent $1000 a year for condoms and such while in Law School.

Imagine what she has done to become famous? Imagine her road to stardom and fame? Heck, her whole persona is built around the fact that she sleep around so much that she needs government assistance to do what she does in the future.

Now Sandra Fluke, who by the way is now being billed as a "feminist activist" instead of "sex activist," is now being considered for Time Magazine's Person of the Year.

No kidding, it's true. Fluke, pronounced "Fluck" at Georgetown University, is one of 40 contenders who have been nominated to grace the cover of Time as its Person of the Year.

Fluke makes a list of luminaries that includes President Obama, Mitt Romney, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President Bill Clinton, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and many others who haven't done anything noteworthy.

Fluke's nomination might come as a surprise to some, but not to the guys at Georgetown Law. It is rumored that she has been the person of the year at Georgetown Law for at least 4 years.

I received an e-mail telling me that Sandra Fluck is very "popular" there. That explains a lot, especially when you consider that the not very attractive and somewhat vacant looking Fluck spent $1000 a year on condoms and other birth control while attending Law School.

To answer some of your e-mail, I can honestly say that don't know how she found time for classes. Yes, I agree with those writing me, $1000 a year on condoms is an astronomical amount. And no, I don't know how many Prostitutes are attending school at Georgetown Law.

I always assumed that sexually active co-eds weren't as sexually active as someone who would need to have the government subsidize what they do. It appears from what Fluke said that there might be others like her who are extremely promiscuous who need  government subsidies to have sex.

The winner of Times Person of the Year will be announced on December 14th.

Since spending $1000 a year on condoms is a great deal of money, I just can't help but wonder if there are hundreds of guys attending Georgetown Law who will want bragging rights to say they know Time's Person of the Year.

Yep, I can only do the math and wonder!

What Will More Taxes On The Rich Get Us?

President Obama’s plan to end the Bush-era tax cuts for families earning more than $250,000 a year would finance the U.S. government for only eight days, says Georgia Republican Rep. Tom Price.

"The president's plan to increase taxes on the upper 2 percent (of American earners) covers the spending by this federal government not for eight years, not for eight months – not for eight weeks, but for eight days," Rep Price, the chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, told MSNBC.

The Obama tax-rate plan would generate only $82.3 billion a year, according to estimates by the Congressional Budget Office, Price said.

The Bush-era tax rates expire and massive spending cuts automatically kick under sequestration on January 2nd.

"Eight days only," Rep Price told MSNBC. "It's not a real solution. I’m puzzled by an administration that seems to be more interested in raising tax rates than in gaining economic vitality."
A more balanced approach – which includes cuts to federal spending on such programs as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security – is what Obama should be focused on, he said.

The tax increases and spending cuts would total about $500 billion next year, Fox News reports.

In addition, about $1.2 trillion will be cut from the federal budget over 10 years should both sides fail to reach a deal to keep the nation from going over the so-called fiscal cliff.

ObamaCare Should Be On The Table As Well!

Democrats have gone back on their word and have already started cutting Medicare. They did earlier this year with ObamaCare's automatically started $716 Billion in cuts from Medicare.

Back in August, Obama declared that his proposed reforms "won’t touch your guaranteed Medicare benefits. Not by a single dime."

But facts are facts and this was a lie. Fact is that ObamaCare cuts $716 billion from Medicare over the next 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), and uses these "savings" from Medicare to fund other entitlement expansions mandated by ObamaCare.

Medicare becomes a cash cow for ObamaCare, and the Medicare "savings" from payment cuts are not put back into making Medicare solvent. Such massive payment cuts do impact Medicare benefits, as well as seniors’ access to those benefits.

To me, it seems apparent that America is trying to fund ObamaCare by taking from Medicare and seniors.

Why not make cuts to ObamaCare before it's fully implemented in 2014? Why not fix Medicare and Social Security and leave it's essential services alone? Why not shift the focus on making cuts to ObamaCare before it gets off the ground?

Initially, the government said they needed to provide health care coverage for a 5% of the American public. So why create this huge dictatorial program that is going to effect 100% of the public and takes from programs that need the funds?

Why can't someone in Congress come up with Amendments to the ObamaCare Law stopping it from sucking so much money out of the system?

It seems to me that all of the problems that we are having with this so-called "fiscal cliff" stems from the government wanting to fund ObamaCare.

And I ask you this, if Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, Veteran Hospital funding, Military funding, and all the rest are said to be on the table to take a look at for cuts, then shouldn't ObamaCare be on the table as well? 

Black Friday Gun Sales Set Record for Second Year

Can you tell that people are still wiry of Obama and his so-called promises not to go after guns?

Americans know full well that Obama is going to treat his next four years as if he has a mandate to work his agenda. Obama may lie all he wants to, and that's fine because people are on to him.

Gun sales on Black Friday set a record for the second year, as firearm dealers seeking required background check requests shut down FBI calls centers twice.

The FBI said on Monday that it fielded 154,873 calls on Black Friday, up about 20 percent over last year’s previous one-day record of 129,166, USA Today reports.

The requests for background checks were so numerous that FBI call centers experienced two brief outages, one lasting 18 minutes and another 14 minutes, FBI spokesman Stephen Fischer said.

The FBI does not track actual gun sales, but Fischer told USA Today that the number of firearms sold on Friday was likely higher because multiple firearms could be included in one transaction by a single buyer.

Dealers said the continuing gun surge was affected by an increase in women buyers and concerns that lawmakers in President Obama’s second term might impose stricter gun laws, including a ban on assault weapons.

One reporter said that "Obama did not offer any such proposals during the campaign."

But that's a lie, fact is that Obama said that he would like to revive the so-called assault weapons ban in the townhall debate with Mitt Romney. The spin from the left never stops so don't believe when they say something like "Obama did not offer any proposals during the campaign" because he did so.

“With the recent election, some people are making buying decisions just in case something (a new law) happens,” Don Gallardo, manager of Shooter’s World in Phoenix, told USA Today.

Gallardo’s store posted a 10 percent increase in Black Friday sales, he said.

Buyers cited similar reasons right after Obama won his first term in 2008, Gallardo told USA Today.

At Guns Galore in Killeen, Tex., salesman Greg Ebert said his store has seen more purchases by women.

“Women have taken a strong interest in shooting sports,” Ebert told USA Today. “I think they see target shooting and other shooting sports as another form of relaxation.”

That might be well and good, but there is no denying the fact that fear of what Obama will do in the future remains the number one reason for the majority of gun sales in America.

Colorado County Considers Banning Panning For Gold 

Prospectors during widespread Gold Rushes in the 1800s are credited with settling land and developing commerce in several Western states, including Colorado.

However 200 years later, officials in one Colorado county say amateur prospectors panning for gold on county land have become such a nuisance they are considering banning the practice.

9News reports officials in Larimer county say they will vote vote on banning widespread prospecting next month after a significant increase in panning.

"There's certainly an uptick," Dan Rieves, visitor services manager for Larimer County, told 9News. "There's rangers that we've had out in the field who have been working here for 10, 15 years that have contacted more people out prospecting in the past 18 months than they have in their entire career."

The vote would lead "minerals" to be added to a list of things that already can't be removed from county land. Officials say the county is not anti-prospecting, and may consider setting up specific prospecting zones or times in the future if the ban is passed.

"We're really just trying to put that regulatory structure in place, and kind of slow things down," Rieves told 9News.

This all doesn't surprise me since that state did vote overwhelmingly for Obama. Check behind the curtain and you'll find out that liberal environmentalist are behind any effort to restrict what can be taken out of a river or steam.

No it certainly doesn't surprise me. After all, Colorado is turning into East California!

Story by Tom Correa

Gunfight at the OK Corral - The Aftermath - Part One

To get an idea of what took place right after the shootout, let's start as the smoke started to clear and Cochise County Sheriff John Behan walked up to Wyatt Earp, who was by then one of the few there still standing. Believe it or not, John Behan actually attempts to arrest Wyatt, who had been deputized by his older brother Virgil just before walking down to the lot where everything would take place.

In a line that has become famous with the telling of the OK Corral story, Wyatt supposedly responds, "I won't be arrested today. You threw us, Johnny!"  This apparently meant that Behan had set them up by telling them earlier that he had disarmed the cowboys himself. Wyatt then sees to it that Virgil and Morgan get medical care and are taken to their homes.

Immediately after the shooting, Virgil Earp was suspended as City Marshal pending a full investigation can take place. The shoot-out becomes the talk of the town. The Tombstone Nugget ran a story noting that "The 26th of October, 1881, will always be marked as one of the crimson days in the annals of Tombstone, a day when blood flowed as water, and human life was held as a shuttlecock."

The town is divided on whether Virgil Earp acted appropriately in firing so quickly. Many residents asked why Doc Holliday, a hothead with a personal ax to grind with the Clantons, was deputized by City Marshal Virgil Earp to assist in the disarming of the Clantons and Frank McLaury. Keep in mind that Tom McLaury was not armed when he was killed. This fact riles the citizens. 

A funeral for the slain men showed deep sympathy for the men, with three hundred mourners joining the procession to Boot Hill. An estimated crowd of more than 2,000 onlookers watched the procession from Tombstone's dusty sidewalks.

A couple of days later, Ike Clanton filed murder charges against the Earps and Doc Holliday with Judge Wells Spicer, who was reportedly a good friend of Virgil Earp. While this is taking place, the Earps are being moved into the Cosmopolitan Hotel because they fear for their lives. The hotel turns into an armed fort. Part of their concern is that the Tombstone Vigilance Committee met over their concerns that the Earps may need to be reined in. Even though Tombstone Mayor John Clum, who was the owner of The Tombstone Epitaph, which staunchly supported the Earp faction in Tombstone, was the head of the Tombstone Vigilance Committee, he couldn't stop the citizens from questioning the Earps' actions.

Soon afterward, the Earps and Doc Holliday were charged with murder by Billy Clanton's brother Ike Clanton. Although Virgil and Morgan were excused because of their injuries, a little more than a week later on November 4th, 1881, Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday were arrested by Deputy Sheriff Harry Woods and taken to jail.

Bail was set at $10,000.00 each for Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp. They were initially released after posting said bail. The wealthy people who put up their bail were people like wealthy cattleman Henry Hooker and Tombstone Mayor John Clum. Soon after Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp were released on bail, William McLaury, the brother of the dead men, arrived in Tombstone.

William McLaury is someone who is hardly heard of in the story of the OK Corral, probably because he wasn't a part of the gang. The fact is that William McLaury was an attorney and became outraged when he learned Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday were free on bail. In fact, after meeting with Judge Spicer on November 7th, William McLaury succeeded in getting Wyatt and Doc put back in jail.

Wyatt and Doc were arrested again and were this time jailed pending a preliminary hearing. And yes, believe it or not, Wyatt and Doc were forced to pay out a huge sum of money in legal fees and court costs during this time. No, it wasn't much different than today, where money buys you a better legal defense. In their case, it was their good fortune that they had wealthy supporters like Hooker and Clum.

During the trial, everyone was questioned, from Wyatt Earp to witnesses on the street. But then, as was the case, Wyatt caused a prosecution objection when he asked to tell the events that transpired on the day of the shooting. Why would this cause a problem? Well, it was because Wyatt pulled out a prepared statement written by his lawyer, not himself. It was a prepared statement that was written for him.

When he commenced to read from it, the prosecution immediately objected. Judge Spicer overruled the objection. Wyatt read his statement just as his attorney wrote it. Below is that statement, and please understand that the spelling of names and such is exactly as recorded on the day of his testimony:

The difficulty between deceased and myself originated first when I followed Tom McLowry and Frank McLowry, with Virgil and Morgan Earp and Captain Hearst and four soldiers to look for six government mules which were stolen.

A man named Estes told us at Charleston, that we would find the mules at McLowry's ranch, that the McLowrys were branding "D. S." over "U. S." We tracked the mules to McLowry's ranch, where we also found the brand. Afterwards some of those mules were found with the same brand. After we arrived at McLowry's ranch there was a man named Frank Patterson who made some kind of a compromise with Captain Hearst. Captain Hearst came to us boys and told us he had made this compromise and by so doing he would get the mules back. We insisted on following them up.

Hearst prevailed upon us to go back to Tombstone, and so we came back. Hearst told us two or three weeks afterwards that they would not give up the mules to him after we left, saying they only wanted to get us away: that they could stand the soldiers off. Captain Hearst cautioned me and Virgil and Morgan to look out for those men; that they had made some hard threats against the lives.

About one month after that, after those mules had been taken, I met Frank and Tom McLowrv in Charleston. They tried to pick a fuss out of me, and told me that if I ever followed them up again as close as I did before that they would kill me. Shortly after the time Budd Philpot was killed by those men who tried to rob the Benson stage, as a detective I helped trace the matter up, and I was satisfied that three men, named Billy Leonard, Harry Head and Jim Crane were in that robbery.

I know that Leonard, Head and Crane were friends and associates of the Clantons and McLowrys and often stopped at their ranches. It was generally understood among officers, and those who have information about criminals, that Ike Clanton was a sort of chief among the cowboys; that the Clantons and McLowrys were cattle thieves, and generally in the secrets of the stage robbers; and that the Clanton and McLowrvs ranches were the meeting place, and place of shelter for the gang.

I had an ambition to be sheriff of this county next election, and I thought it would be a great help to me with the people and the business men if I could capture the men who killed Philpot. There were rewards offered of about $1,200 each for the robbers. Altogether there was about $3,600 offered for their capture. I thought that this amount might tempt Ike Clanton and Frank McLowry to give away Leonard, Head and Crane; so I went to Ike Clanton and Frank McLowry, when they came in town.

I had an interview with them in the back yard of the Oriental saloon. I told them what I wanted. I told them I wanted the glory of capturing Leonard, Head and Crane; if I could do so, it would help me make the race for sheriff next election. I told them if they would put on the track of Leonard, Head and Crane - tell me where those men were hid - I would give them all the reward, and would never let anybody know where I got the information. Ike Clanton said that he would be glad to have Leonard captured, that Leonard claimed a ranch that he claimed, and if he could gel him out of the way he would have no opposition about the ranch. Ike Clanton said that Leonard, Head and Crane would make a fight, that they would never be taken alive, and that I must first find out if the reward would be paid for the capture of the robbers dead or alive.

I then went to Marshall Williams, the agent of Wells, Fargo & Co., in this town, and at my request he telegraphed to the agent of Wells, Fargo & Co., at San Francisco to find out if the reward would be paid for the robbers dead or alive. He received in June, 1881 a telegram which he gave me, promising that the reward should be paid dead or alive. I showed this telegram soon after I got it to Ike Clanton in front of the Alhambra and afterwards told Frank McLowry of its contents.

It was then agreed between us that they should have all the $3.600 reward outside of necessary expenses for horses in going after them and Joe Hill should go to where Leonard, Head, and Crane were hid, over near Eureka, in New Mexico, and lure them in near Frank and Tom McLowry's ranch near Soldier Holes, 30 miles from here, and I would be on hand with a posse and capture them. I asked Joe Hill, Ike Clanton and Frank McLowry what tale they would make to them to get them over here. They said they had agreed upon a plan to tell them that there would be a pay master going from Tombstone to Bisbee shortly to pay off the miners, and that they wanted them to come in and take them; Ike Clanton then sent Joe Hill to bring them in; before starting Joe Hill took on his watch and chain and between two and three hundred dollars in money, and gave it to Virgil Earp to keep for him until he got back. He was gone about ten days and returned with the word that he had got there a day too late; that Leonard and Harry Head had been killed the day before he got there by horse thieves. I learned afterward that the thieves had been killed subsequently by members of the Clanton and McLowry gang.

After that Ike Clanton and Frank McLowry said I had given them away to Marshal Williams and Doc Holliday, and when they came in town they shunned us, and Morgan and Virgil Earp and Doc Holliday and myself began to hear of their threats against us. I am a friend of Doc Holliday, because when I was city marshal of Dodge City, Kansas, he came to my rescue and saved my life, when I was surrounded by desperadoes. A month or so ago Morgan and I assisted to arrest Stillwell and Spence on the charge of robbing the Bisbee stage. The McLowrys and Clantons have always been friendly with Spence and Stillwell, and they laid the whole blame of their arrest on us, though the fact is, we only went as a sheriff's posse.

After we got in town with Spence and Stillwell, Ike Clanton and Frank McLowry came in. Frank McLowry took Morgan into the middle of the street, where John Ringgold, Ike Clanton and the Hicks boys were standing, and commenced to abuse Morgan Earp for going after Spence and Stillwell. Frank McLowry said he would never speak to Spence again for being arrested by us. He said to Morgan, "If ever you come after me you will never take me." Morgan replied that if he ever had occasion to go after him he would arrest him. Frank McLowry then said to him, "I have threatened you boys' lives, and a few days ago I had taken it back, but since this arrest it now goes." Morgan made no reply, and walked off.

Before this and after this, Marshal Williams and Farmer Daly, and Ed. Burns and three or four others, told us at different times of threats made to kill us, by Ike Clanton, Frank McLowry: Tom McLowry, Joe Hill and John Ringgold. I knew that all these men were desperate and dangerous, cattle thieves, robbers and murderers. I knew of the Clantons and McLowrys stealing six government mules. I heard of Ringgold shooting a man down in cold blood near Camp Thomas. I was satisfied that Frank and Tom McLowry killed and robbed Mexican in the Skeleton canyon two or three months ago, and I naturally keep my eyes open, and I did not intend that any of the gang should get the drop on me if I could help it.

Three or four weeks ago Ike Clanton met me at the Alhambra, and told me that I had told Holliday about this transaction, concerning the capture of Head and Leonard. I told him I never told Holliday anything. I told him when Holliday came up from Tucson I would prove it. Ike Clanton said that Holliday had told him so; when Holliday came I asked him and he said no; I told him that Ike Clanton had said so.

On the 25"' of October Holliday met Ike Clanton in the Alhambra saloon and asked him about it. Clanton denied it, and they quarreled for three or four minutes. Holliday told Ike Clanton he was a d-d liar, if he said so. I was sitting eating lunch at the time. They got up and walked out on the street. I got through and walked out, and they were still talking about it.

I then went to Holliday, who was pretty tight, and took him away. Then I came back alone and met Ike Clanton. He called me outside and said his gun was on the other side of the street at the hotel. I told him to leave it there. He said he would make a fight with Holliday any time he wanted to. I told him Holliday did not want to fight, but only to satisfy him this talk had not been made.

I then went away and went to the Oriental, and in a few minutes Ike Clanton came over with his six shooter on. He said he was not fixed right; that in the morning he would have man for man that this fighting talk had been going on for a long time, and it was about time to fetch it to a close. I told him that I wouldn't fight no one if I could get away from it. He walked off and left me, saying, "I will be ready for all of you in the morning." He followed me into the Oriental, having his six shooter in plain sight. He said, "You musn't think I won't be after you all in the morning." Myself and Holliday walked away and went to our rooms.

I got up next day, October 26, about noon. Before I got up, Ned Bolye came to me and told me that he met Ike Clanton on Allen street, near the telegraph office that morning; that Ike was armed; that he said "As soon as those d-d Earps make their appearance on the street to day the battle will open," That Ike said, "We are here to make a fight, we are looking for the sons of b--s." Jones came to me after I got up and went to the saloon, and said, "What does all this mean?" I asked what he meant. He says, "Ike Clanton is hunting you Earp boys with a Winchester rifle and a six shooter. "I said, I will go down and find him and see what he wants."

I went out, and on the corner of Fourth and Allen streets I met Virgil Earp, the marshal. He told me how he had heard that Ike Clanton was hunting us. I went up Allen street, and Virgil went down Fifth street and then Fremont street. Virgil found Ike Clanton on Fourth street in an alley. He walked up to him and said, "I hear you are hunting for some of us."

Ike Clanton then threw his Winchester rifle around towards Virgil. Virgil grabbed it and hit Clanton with his six shooter and knocked him down. Clanton had his rifle, and his six shooter was exposed in his pants. By that time I came up, and Virgil and Morgan took his rifle and six shooter away and took them to the Grand Hotel after the examination, and took Ike Clanton before Justice Wallace. Before the investigation Morgan Earp had Ike Clanton in charge, as Virgil Earp was out. A short time after I went into Wallace's court and sat down on a bench. Ike Clanton looked over to me and says, "I will get even with all of you for this. If I had a six shooter I would make a fight with all of you." Morgan then said to him, "If you want to make a fight right bad I will give you this one." At the same time offering Ike Clanton his (Ike's) own six shooter. Ike Clanton started to get up to take it, when Campbell, the deputy sheriff, pushed him back on his seat, saying he wouldn't allow any fuse. I never had Ike Clanton's arms at any time as he has stated.

I would like to describe the position we occupied in the courtroom at that time. Ike Clanton sat down on a bench, with his face fronting to the north wall of the building. I myself sat down on a bench that was against the north wall right in front of Ike. Morgan Earp stood up against the north wall with his back against the north wall, two or three feet to my right. Morgan Earp had Ike Clanton's Winchester in his left hand and his six shooter in his right hand, one end of the rifle was on the floor. Virgil Earp was not in the court room any of the time, and Virgil Earp came there after I walked out. I was tired of being threatened by Ike Clanton and his gang. I believed from what they had said to others and to me, and from their movements, that they intended to assassinate me the first chance they had, and I thought if I had to fight for my life against them, I had better make them face me in an open fight.

So I said to Ike Clanton, who was then sitting about eight feet away from me, "you d--d dirty cur thief, you have been threatening our lives, and I know it. I think I should be justified shooting you down any place I should meet you, but if you are anxious to make a fight, I will go anywhere on earth to make a fight with you, even over to the San Simon among your own crowd." He replied, "all right, I will see you after I get through here. I only want four feet of ground to fight on."

I walked out and just then outside the court room, near the justice's office, I met Tom McLowry. He came up to me and said to me, "If you want to make a fight I will make a fight with you anywhere." I supposed at the time he had heard what had first transpired between Ike Clanton and me. I knew of his having threatened me and I felt just as I did about Ike Clanton, that if the fight had to come, I had better have it come when I had an even show to defend myself, so I said to him all right "make a fight right here," and at the same time I slapped him in the face with my left hand, and drew my pistol with my right. He had a pistol in plain sight on his right hip, but made no move to draw it. I said to him, "Jerk your gun use it."

He made no reply and I hit him on the head with my six shooter and walked away down to Hafford's corner. I went into Hafford's and got a cigar, and came out and stood by the door. Pretty soon after I saw Tom McLowry, Frank McLowry and William Clanton. They passed me and went down Fourth street to the gunsmith shop. I followed down to see what they were going to do. When I got there Frank McLowry's horse was standing on the sidewalk with his head in the door of the gun shop. I took the horse by the bit, as I was deputy city marshal, and commenced to back him off the sidewalk.

Frank and Tom McLowry and Billy Clanton came to the door, Billy Clanton had his hand on his six shooter. Frank McLowry took hold of the horse's bridle. I said, "you will have to get this horse off the sidewalk." He backed him off on the street Ike Clanton came up about that time and they all walked into the gunsmith's shop. I saw them in the shop changing cartridges into their belts.

They came out of the shop and walked along Fourth street to the corner of Allen street. I followed them as far as the corner of Fourth and Allen streets, and then they went down Allen street and over to Dunbar's corral. Virgil Earp was then city marshal; Morgan Earp was a special policeman for six weeks, wore a badge and drew pay. I had been sworn in Virgil's place to act for him while Virgil was gone to Tucson on Stillwell and Spence, on the charge of robbing the Bisbee stage trial. Virgil had been back several days, but I was still acting. I know it was Virgil's duty to disarm those men. He suspected he would have trouble in doing so; and I followed up to give assistance if necessary, especially as they had been threatening us, as I have already stated.

About ten minutes afterwards, and while Virgil, Morgan, Doc Holliday and myself were standing in the center of Fourth and Allen streets several persons said, "there is going to be trouble with those fellows," and one man named Coleman said to Virgil Earp, "they mean trouble. They have just gone from Dunbar's corral into the 0. K. corral, all armed. I think you had better go and disarm them." Virgil turned around to Doc Holliday, Morgan Earp and myself and told us to come and assist him in disarming them. Morgan Earp said to me, "they have horses; had we not better get some horses ourselves, so that if they make a running fight we can catch them?" I said, "No, if they try to make a running fight we can kill their horses, and then capture them."

We four then started through Fourth to Fremont street. When we turned the corner of Fourth and Fremont streets we could see them standing near or about the vacant space between Fly's photograph gallery and the next building west. I first saw Frank McLowry, Torn McLowry, Billy Clanton and Sheriff Behan standing there. We went down the left hand side of Fremont street. When I got within about 150 feet of them I saw Ike Clanton, Billy Claiborne and another party. We had walked a few steps further when I saw Behan leave the party and come towards us, every few steps he would look back as if he apprehended danger.

I heard Behan say to Virgil Earp, "For God's sake don't go down there or you will get murdered." Virgil replied, "I am going to disarm them" - he, Virgil Earp, being in the lead. When I and Morgan came up to Behan he said, "I have disarmed them." When he said this I took my pistol, which I had in my hand, under my coat, and put it in my overcoat pocket. Behan then passed up the street, and we walked on down.

We came up on them close - Frank McLowry, Tom McLowry and Billy Clanton standing all in a row against the east side of the building on the opposite side of the vacant space west of Fly`s photography gallery. Ike Clanton and Billy Claiborne and a man I did not know were standing in the vacant space about halfway between the photograph gallery and the next building west. I saw that Billy Clanton and Frank McLowry and Tom McLowry had their hands by their sides and Frank McLowry's and Billy Clanton's six shooters were in plain sight. 

Virgil said, "Throw up your hands. I have come to disarm you." Billy Clanton and Frank McLowry had their hands on their six shooters. Virgil said, "Hold I don't mean that; I have come to disarm you." They - Billy Clanton and Frank McLowry - commenced to draw their pistols, at the same time Tom McLowry threw his hand to his right hip and jumped behind a horse. I had my pistol in my overcoat pocket where I had put it when Behan told us he had disarmed the other party.

When I saw Billy and Frank draw their pistols I drew my pistol. Billy Clanton leveled his pistol at me but I did not aim at him. I knew that Frank McLowry had the reputation of being a good shot and a dangerous man, and I aimed at Frank McLowrv. The two first shots which were fired were fired by Billy Clanton and myself he; shot at me, and I shot at Frank McLowry. I do not know which shot was first; we fired almost together. The fight then became general. After about four shots were fired Ike Clanton ran up and grabbed my arm. I could see no weapon in his hand and thought at the time he had none, and so I said to him, "The fight has now commenced go to fighting or get away." At the same time I pushed him off with my left hand. He started and ran down the side of the building and disappeared between the lodging house and the photograph gallery.

My first shot struck Frank McLowry in the belly. He staggered off on the sidewalk but first fired one shot at me. When we told them to throw up their hands Claiborne held up his left hand, and then broke and ran. I never saw him afterwards until later in the afternoon, after the fight. I never drew my pistol or made a motion to shoot until after Billy Clanton and Frank McLowry drew their pistols.

If Tom McLowry was unarmed I did not know it. I believe he was armed and that he fired two shots at our party before Holliday who had the shotgun, fired at and killed him. If he was unarmed there was nothing to the circumstances or in what had been communicated to me, or in his acts or threats, that would have led me even to suspect his being unarmed.

I never fired at Ike Clanton, even after the shooting commenced, because I thought he was unarmed and I believed then, and believe now, from the acts I have stated, and the threats I have related, and other threats communicated to me by different persons, as having been made by Tom McLowry, Frank McLowry and Isaac Clanton, that these men, last named, had formed a conspiracy to murder my brothers Morgan and Virgil, and Doc Holliday and myself. I believe I would have been legally and morally justified in shooting any of them on sight, but I did not do so or attempt to do so; I sought no advantage.

When I went as deputy marshal to help disarm them and arrest them, I went as a part of my duty and under the direction of my brother the marshal. I did not intend to fight unless it became necessary in self defense, and in the performance of official duty. When Billy Clanton and Frank McLowry drew their pistols - I knew it was a fight for life, and I drew and fired in defense of my own life and the lives of my brothers and Doc Holliday.

I have been in Tombstone since December 1, 1879. I came here from Dodge City Kansas, where, against the protest of business men and officials, I resigned the office of City Marshal, which I held from 1876. I came to Dodge City from Wichita, Kansas. I was on the police force in Wichita, from 1874 until I went to Dodge City. The testimony of Isaac Clanton that I had anything to do with any stage robbery, or any criminal enterprise, is a tissue of lies from beginning to end. Sheriff Behan made me an offer in his office on Allen street, and in the back room of the cigar store, that if I would withdraw and not try to get appointed sheriff of Cochise county, that we would hire a clerk and divide the profits. I done so; and he never said another word to me afterward in regard to it. The reasons given by him here for not complying with his contract, are false.

I give here as a part of this statement, a document sent me from Dodge City, since my arrest, and marked Exhibit A, and another document sent me from Wichita, since this arrest, which I wish attached to this statement. and marked Exhibit B. Myself and Doc Holliday happened to go to Charleston the night that Behan happened to go down to subpoena Ike Clanton. We went there for the purpose of getting a horse that had been stolen from us a few days after I came to Tombstone. I had heard several times that the Clantons had him. When I got there that night I was told by a friend of mine that the man that carried the dispatch from Charleston to Ike Clanton's ranch had my horse. 

At this time I did not know where Ike Clanton's ranch was. A short time afterward I was in the Huachucas, locating some water rights. I had started home to Tombstone, and had got within twelve or fifteen miles of Charleston, when I met a man named McMasters. He told me if I would hurry up I would find my horse in Chaleston. I drove to Charleston, and saw my horse going through the streets toward the corral. I put up for the night at another corral. I went to Barnett's office, to get out papers to recover the horse. He was not at home, having gone to Sonora to see some coal fields that had been discovered. I telegraphed to Tombstone, to James Earp, and papers were made out and sent to Charleston, that night. 

While I was in town, waiting for the papers, Billy Clanton found out I was there. He went and tried to take the horse out of the corral. I told him that he could not take him out, that it was my horse. After the papers came he gave the horse up without the papers being served, and asked me "if I had any more horses to lose." I told him I would keep them in the stable after this, and not give him a chance to steal them.

In one of the conversations I had with Ike Clanton about giving away Leonard, Head and Crane, I told him one reason why I wanted to catch them was to prove to the citizens of Tombstone that Doc Holliday had nothing to do with it, as there were some false statements circulated to that effect. In following the trail of Leonard, Head and Crane, we struck it at the scene of the attempted robbery, and never lost the trail or hardly a footprint from the time that we started from Drew's ranch, on the San Pedro, until we got to Helm's ranch, in the Dragoons.

After following about eight miles down the San Pedro river and capturing one of the men, named King that was supposed to be in with them, we then crossed the Catalina mountains within fifteen miles of Tucson, following their trail around the front of the mountain after they had crossed over to Tres Alamos, on the San Pedro river. We then started out from Helm's ranch and got on their trail. They had stolen fifteen or twenty head of stock so as to cover their trail. Wyatt Earp, Morgan Earp, R.H. Paul, Breckenridge, Johnny Behan and one or two others still followed the trail up into New Mexico. Their trail never led south from Helm's ranch, as Ike Clanton has stated. 

We used every effort we could to capture these men. I was out ten days. Virgil Earp and Morgan Earp were out sixteen days, and we done all we could to capture these men, and I safely say if it had not been for myself and Morgan Earp, they would not have got King, as he started to run when we rode up to his hiding place, and was making for a big patch of brush on the river, and would have got in it if it had not been for us."

_______________________________

It is interesting to note that Wyatt was never cross-examined after reading his statement. That fact meant that his statement was not challenged. Which of course was very favorable to the defense.

In addition to the letter of support that the citizens of Wichita sent to Judge Spicer, the citizens of Dodge City similarly submitted a letter in support of Wyatt Earp:

"We, the undersigned citizens of Dodge City, Ford County, Kansas, and vicinity do by these presents certify that we are personally acquainted with Wyatt Earp, late of this city, that he came here in the year 1876; that during the years 1877, 1878, and 1879, was a Marshal of our city; that he left our place in the fall of 1879; that during his whole stay here he occupied a place of high social position and was regarded and looked upon as a high minded, honorable citizen; that as Marshal of our city he was ever vigilant in the discharge of his duties and while kind and courteous to all, he was brave, unflinching, and on all occasions proved himself the right man in the right place. Hearing that he is now under arrest, charged with complicity in the killing of three men termed cowboys, from our knowledge of him we do not believe that he would wantonly take the life of his fellow man, and that, if he was implicated, he only took life in the discharge of his sacred trust to the people, and earnestly appeal to the Citizens of Tombstone, Arizona, to use all means to secure for him a fair and impartial trial, fully confident that when tried he will be fully vindicated and exonerated of any crime."

(signed by dozens of people, too many to list here) Defense Exhibit "A", Wells Spicer Hearing, 1881.

The prosecution against the Earp party brought a dozen witnesses forward, stating that the Earps were murdering stage robbing psychopaths who were looking for a reason to kill the Clantons and McLaurys. On the other side, the Earps hired an experienced trial lawyer, Thomas Fitch, as defense counsel. Fitch managed to produce testimony from prosecution witnesses during cross-examination that was contradictory and appeared to dodge his questions. Fitch brought about a dozen witnesses of their own who claimed the Clantons and McLaurys were rustling, murdering, psychopaths who had been threatening their lives. 

No one knew what side to believe, and it seemed impossible to find a completely non-partial witness. But then again, there was one witness who is believed to have won the case for the Earps and Holliday.

He was railroad engineer H.F. Sills. As a newcomer to Tombstone, Mr. Sills did not know either party and was not from Tombstone. He had only arrived in town one day before the gunfight took place. He would later testify that he heard the cowboy gang members who had gathered in front of the OK Corral state that they were going to "kill Virgil Earp" on sight. 

By the way, his testimony is part of the reasons that I believe that Virgil and Morgan Earp were the real targets at the shootout. Sills's testimony confirmed that Virgil Earp was the real target and not Wyatt, as some historians have suggested. In fact, I believe that the McLaurys and Clantons didn't see Wyatt as a concern. Between Sills's testimony and the fact that Virgil and Morgan were the targets of assassination attempts later, tells me that Wyatt was probably seen as being pretty far down on the list of threats to the cowboy faction.  

Mr. Sills's impartial testimony was from a man who didn't know either faction and didn't care either way. So yes, his testimony may have been the straw that broke the back of the prosecution. After a preliminary hearing and then again by a local grand jury, at the conclusion of an exhaustive inquest, Judge Wells Spicer made his decision.

Judge Spicer ruled, on November 30th, 1881, that there was not enough evidence to indict the Earps and Doc Holliday. He noted that the doctor who examined the dead cowboys established that the wounds they received could not have occurred if their hands and arms had been in the positions that prosecution witnesses described. He said the evidence indicated that the Earps and Holliday acted within the law and that Holliday and Wyatt had been deputized temporarily by Virgil.

In his ruling, Judge Spicer noted that Ike Clanton had, the night before, while unarmed, publicly declared that the Earp brothers and Holliday had insulted him and that when he was armed, he intended to shoot them or fight them on sight. On the morning of the shooting, he was armed with a revolver and a Winchester rifle.

Judge Spicer noted that:

"Witnesses for the prosecution state unequivocally that William Clanton fell or was shot at the first fire and Claiborne says he was shot when the pistol was only about a foot from his belly. Yet it is clear that there were no powder burns or marks on his clothes. And Judge Lucas says he saw him fire or in the act of firing several times before he was shot, and he thinks two shots afterwards."

He also wrote in his decision that Ike Clanton had claimed the Earps were out to murder him, even though the Earps had allowed him to escape unharmed during the fight. He wrote, "the great fact, most prominent in the matter, to wit, that Isaac Clanton was not injured at all, and could have been killed first and easiest."

He described Frank McLaury's insistence that he would not give up his weapons unless the marshal and his deputies also gave up their arms as a "proposition both monstrous and startling!" He noted that the prosecution claimed that the cowboys' purpose was to leave town, yet Ike Clanton and Billy Claiborne did not have their weapons with them. 

Judge Spicer did not condone all of the Earps' actions and criticized Virgil Earp's use of Wyatt and Holliday as deputies, but he concluded that no laws were broken, saying:

"In view of these controversies between Wyatt Earp and Isaac Clanton and Thomas McLaury, and in further view of this quarrel the night before between Isaac Clanton and J. H. Holliday, I am of the opinion that the defendant, Virgil Earp, as chief of police, subsequently calling upon Wyatt Earp, and J. H. Holliday to assist him in arresting and disarming the Clantons and McLaurys - committed an injudicious and censurable act, and although in this he acted incautiously and without due circumspection, yet when we consider the condition of affairs incidental to a frontier country, the lawlessness and disregard for human life; the existence of a law-defying element in our midst; the fear and feeling of insecurity that has existed; the supposed prevalence of bad, desperate and reckless men who have been a terror to the country, and kept away capital and enterprise, and considering the many threats that have been made against the Earps.

I can attach no criminality to his unwise act. In fact, as the result plainly proves, he needed the assistance and support of staunch and true friends, upon whose courage, coolness and fidelity he could depend, in case of an emergency."

_______________________________

Judge Spicer then invited the Grand Jury to confirm his findings. Two weeks later, the County Grand Jury agreed with his ruling -- and also refused to indict either Wyatt Earp or Doc Holliday.

The Trouble Only Gets Worse

Wyatt testified that he drew his gun only after Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury went for their pistols. He detailed the Earps' previous troubles with the Clantons and McLaurys and explained that they intended to disarm the cowboys. He emphasized that they fired in self-defense. 

But even though that was the case and the Earps and Holliday were free, their reputations had been tarnished. And to make matters worse, supporters of the cowboys in Tombstone looked upon the Earps as murderers and plotted revenge. 

On December 14, 1881, Tombstone Mayor and Earp ally John Clum is nearly killed in an assassination attempt while he is riding on the stage from Tombstone. During that incident, the horses pulling the stage are spooked and take off on the run, probably sparing Clum and other passengers their lives. Mayor Clum, feeling the attempt was made on him, leaves the stage and walks most of the way back to Tombstone.

A few days later, on December 17, 1881, Judge Wells Spicer received a threatening letter from "A Miner," which told him that he should leave Tombstone or lose his life. The letter said, among other things, that it was "only a matter of time" before he is no longer among the living.

Spicer retaliates with a defiant letter published by The Tombstone Epitaph, stating he would not bow to threats from the rabble of the city, stating, "The attempt to assassinate Mr. Clum has been made, who will come next?"

Besides Judge Spicer and Mayor Clum, attorney Tom Fitch, Wells Fargo Agent Marshall Williams, and Oriental Saloon owner Lou Rickabaugh, the Earps were also threatened. In December, Ike Clanton went before Justice of the Peace J.B. Smith in Contention City and again filed murder charges against the Earps and Holliday.

A large posse escorted the Earps to Contention, fearing that the cowboys would try to ambush the Earps on the road. The charges were dismissed by Judge Lucas because of Smith's judicial ineptness. The prosecution immediately filed a new warrant for murder charges, issued by Justice Smith, but Judge Lucas quickly dismissed it, writing that new evidence would have to be submitted before a second hearing could be called.

Because the November hearing before Judge Spicer was not a trial, Ike Clanton had the right to continue pushing for prosecution --  but the prosecution would have to come up with new evidence of murder before the case could be considered.

After the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, the Earps relocated their families to the Cosmopolitan Hotel for mutual support and protection. As stated, they turned the hotel into a fort of sorts. Contrary to popular belief today, back then, Virgil Earp was the real lawman in the Earp family.

Though Wyatt has received a lot more attention than his older brother Virgil, it was Virgil who served as a lawman longer and in more ways than Wyatt. While Wyatt apparently straddled the line when it came to being a lawful upstanding citizen during his lifetime, not all of the Earps were that way.

In fact, Virgil was the City Marshal at the time of the so-called gunfight at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona Territory. On October 26, 1881, the day of the shootout at the OK Corral, since Morgan was already Virgil's deputy, Virgil deputized Wyatt and dentist-turned-gambler John "Doc" Holliday that very morning as "special deputy policeman."  Virgil was the real lawman in the Earp family, by my way of thinking, and that made him the number one target of what was left of the Clantons and McLaurys.

There is an old saying, "Cut off the head and the snake will die." Many governments and military units have used this rule for thousands of years. In 1881, Tombstone, Arizona, was no different. For the Earps, besides being City Marshal, older brother Virgil was a Deputy U.S. Marshal and the head of the Earp clan. If reprisals were to come, he was their number one target.


Tom Correa

RANDOM SHOTS - Don't Ignore The Signs, Sandy Victims Angry Over Latest Insult, Union Comment Response, and much more!

Don't Ignore The Signs!

No, I'm not talking about knowing the difference between someone you can trust, or a conservative with traditional values versus spotting a liberal who thinks taking for himself is the new "OK", or one of Obama's lies.

No, I'm talking about something bigger than that. I'm talking about the reason that I've been unable to post anything since last Tuesday.

On Tuesday morning, I posted a short article on the EPA using fake names and fictitious e-mail accounts. After having coffee and feeding the horses, I made a list of things I needed to get done while my wife was gone on her trip with her mother, then attempted to finish an article before my wife came home.

My wife Deanna and I arrived at our American Legion at around two in the afternoon. After checking the stock and restocking some of the bar, I checked the cash box and was getting ready to head home when Chris Zahniser - who is my number one go to volunteer bartender these days - showed up early. He was set to open at 4, but gets there early.

As I was talking with Chris, my chest started to tighten up and a numbing pain sort of shot to my back. The soreness reminded me of pulling a shoulder muscle.

Instead of leaving right away, I went into the office and got on the website for the Legion and updated upcoming events and such. The soreness in my chest had lightened up some. I just thought it might be a little stress so I didn't pay it too much mind.

After returning home, Deanna went in to start fixing dinner and I went out to feed. I was thinking about another article on horse care or maybe one on feeding right. Then I thought about writing something about the new horse that we've picked up recently. Another refugee looking for a home sure, but he's also my replacement for my boy Murphy who I lost last year.

Since starting this blog, I've tried to get out as many articles on all sorts of different subjects. I've tried putting out as many as I've had the time to do. The Old West, American history, horses, cattle, and of course what's going on around us on the political scene are my favorite topics. But really, it seems as though the election absorbed most of my efforts.

I went to bed early for a change and slept uncomfortably all night  The pain just wouldn't go away.

At eight on Wednesday morning, I picked up my mom and drove to Placerville. After meeting with my sister Joan and her husband Ray, we talked awhile and had breakfast. We joked about Holiday stress giving me chest pains.

After they left, I found myself on Highway 50 driving West. I wanted to stop at a tack store in Shingle Springs, but instead kept driving for the VA Hospital at Mather Field about 10 miles away. I decided that I needed someone to take a look at what's going on with the tightness and pain in my chest.

When I walked into the ER, the folks there took me right in and immediately hooked me up to take an EKG. They took blood and asked a bunch of questions from family history, to time duration of the pain, to my personal medical history, you name it.

And no, some of the questions weren't asked just once or twice, I was asked to describe the pain and how it all took place about a half dozen times by more than just two or three doctors. These folks were treating me as if I were someone important! No kidding!

Nitro under the tongue, aspirin, oxygen, all helped to reduce the pain. Though the EKG didn't look too bad, soon the first blood work came back with some not so good results.  An enzyme was too high.

The enzyme numbers indicated a cardiac "incident." It indicated something was not right with my heart.

Now, I know that there are a few folks out there who will say that that is no great surprise - but it was something that most folks don't like to know about.

I figured being over-weight and having a family history of heart troubles finally caught up with me. My mother has congestive heart disease and it wasn't but a couple of years ago that my old brother went through open heart surgery, so I figured it was my time.

My normal excuses weren't washing at the moment. Writing, reading, and researching for my blog; my having a bad back, my this, my that, have all contributed to too much sedentary and not enough activity .

I didn't think I was that sedentary. But at that moment, I figured I must be.

Prior to being on that gurney, I really thought that my working my horses, unloading feed, working around the place digging post holes, mending fences, fixing this and that, combined with my volunteering and running around for the Legion would be enough to to offset how much time I spend in front of the computer.

On that gurney in ER, yes, I realized how wrong I was.

Because that enzyme was high, they admitted me and started running blood test every 6 hours. I was told that they were watching what that enzyme does. If it rises than the heart might have a lot of damage, but if it lowers on its own than the heart might not have the problems suspected such as severe blockages.

My wife arrived while I was in the ER and stayed until I was settled in my room upstairs. She wanted to come and be with me on Thanksgiving, but I insisted that she go to her folks home to enjoy the day with our family. Her mom and dad, her brother and his wife and their kids are all very special to us - there was no need for both of us not to be there.

Because Thursday was Thanksgiving, the hospital wouldn't be able to preform a Cardiac Catheterization Exam until Friday morning.

A Cardiac Catheterization Exam is an invasive diagnostic test that is used to detect blockages in the arteries of the heart. The test is used to diagnose heart disease and heart attacks.

A long, thin tube called a catheter is inserted into an artery in your groin! Then a thinner tube known as a guidewire is used to guide the catheter into the various arteries of the heart.

While this is going on, your doctor will track the course of the catheter through the blood vessels by viewing moving X-ray pictures displayed on a screen that is similar to a TV monitor. 

Believe it or not, I found out later that more than One Million heart catheterization exams are performed annually in hospitals across our nation.

I found out later that the cardiac catheterization part of the exam really only refers to the catheter insertion. The cardiac catheterization is all about having an angiogram. The coronary angiogram is the X-ray picture of the arteries of the heart.

This is really incredible stuff here! I actually saw my own heart beating on their monitor!

They take a special contrast dye, and inject it into the arteries that supply blood to the heart via the catheter so that the X-rays can be taken. Imagine that!

The angiogram is used to pinpoint the location and severity of coronary artery disease, including blocked arteries and abnormalities in the heart wall.

Cardiac Catheterization is an invasive diagnostic test that is reserved for people who have a high likelihood of having heart disease or who may be having a heart attack. I read where a patient is sent for a cardiac catheterization exam only after having a positive (abnormal) noninvasive test.

In an emergency situation, including a suspected heart attack, you may be sent immediately for catheterization. Cardiac catheterization, the angiogram, helps locate the blood clot that is causing a heart attack.

On Thanksgiving, for lunch, the hospital served a plate of turkey with stuffing and green beans. It was backed with a slice of pumpkin pie.

That night, a friend brought in some of her own home cooking to enjoy. It was part of her family's Thanksgiving dinner. She shared some with me.

Her family is from Oklahoma and Louisiana. Her food reminded me of my travels down South and how much I enjoyed Southern cooking. I don't know if it is strictly a part of African American cooking or simply a part of the South, but by God she can cook. And yes, her collard greens were outstanding.

Outstanding is the perfect term to use for all of those fine folks at the Mather VA Hospital.

Upon arriving, I met an ER Tech by the name of Laroya who is a 27 year old Black women who is holding a full time job while attending Nursing School.  She has ambitions of becoming an RN. She is an great example for other 20 something year olds who only have excuses as to why they aren't trying to get ahead in life.

Then there is Doctor Taylor. He's the doctor who has been there for me on 4 occasions now. And yes, this is the first time dealing with my heart.

He is a great doctor who I fondly refer to as "Doc Alabama." It's not only because he is from Alabama, but also because of his bedside manner. Doctor Taylor would have made a great country doctor in the days when they still made house calls  - and part of their stock and trade was making you feel better about their situation.

Many folks in the ER just want to know that things will be OK. He makes folks feel that way. And yes, it is a gift that he has. One which too many doctors today are sorely lacking.

So what did I learn from this?

Well, only a fool ignores the signs of a heart attack. It is something that I really should have paid attention to on Tuesday instead of waiting almost 24 hours later. I was very stupid for not having it looked at sooner.

Yes, very stupid. My ignoring the signs and the severity of what was going on could have killed me. I got lucky in respect that all worked out all right for now. But yes, follow ups are in my near future.

Don't be stupid like me, don't ignore the signs if your heart tells you that there is something wrong. It might not be just a case of too much stress. It might be something where treatment is needed as soon as possible!

One-Party Political Control Now In 37 States

The November 6th election left more than two-thirds of states under single-party control beginning in January. With one party holding the governor’s office and majorities in both legislative chambers, it is believed that people in those states may see drastic changes.

The ultra-left New York Times reported that single-party control in at least 37 states means bold partisan agendas will likely grow over the next couple of years, and indicates voters are no longer interested in compromise even though President Barack Obama and Republicans have signaled a greater willingness to reach across the aisle.

As usual the New York Times is full of itself. Voters are interested in compromise, they're just tired of giving away the store for nothing in return.

As for Obama and the Republicans, Obama has nothing to lose and will work to try to achieve something other than the fiscally insane program known as ObamaCare - which I still believe will be repealed somehow down the road.

As for the Republicans, they better not bend over too far in an attempt to kiss the president's ass. Fact is that they are holding on to the House of Representatives and want the Senate in 2014, just two years away. They are going to need a lot if not all of those 56 million voters who stepped forward for Romney if they plan on taking the Senate - or keeping the House.

Anger them by bending over too far and they may find themselves out of a job because those conservative voters just might stay home and hand the whole shooting match over to the communist in the Democrat Party.

Republicans will control 24 states while 13 states will be controlled by Democrats.

And by the way, it's not surprising that Democrats control Legislatures in Minnesota, Oregon, and the left coast called California. Democrats in California now hold a super-majority, so yes citizens of California are expecting them to run the state right into the dirt.

I was very surprised that Colorado went to the Democrats. I really thought those folks had more sense than that. But then I was told not to blame the people who have been their for a few generations, because Colorado now has a huge number of California liberals now living there.

You can recognize them easily. They're the ones who will tell you that your border collie is really a rare tri-colored sheep on the endangered list. Yes, they are full of themselves. So yes Colorado, you might just get what you've voted for.

State governments which are split between the parties are in only 12 states, the lowest since 1952.

Some at the New York Times believe in fairy tales, because they have made the statement that politicians will likely come to realize that one-party control means there’s not as much room to spread around blame, meaning voters could retaliate and switch party control in the next election.

I say they won't care. They will try to get away with as much as they can.

The irony is that the states that have had Republican Governors have shown to have economies that are on the rise as their unemployment drops. The opposite is true for states that have Democrat Governors.

Knowing this, I can't help but wonder how far Democrats can drag down a state with no opposition at all.

Long Island Resident Angry Over Post-Sandy Electric Bills

If Katrina was handled like Sandy, the liberal mainstream media would have called for George W. Bush's impeachment!

It has been one thing after another. No preparation, no aftermath response, and government bureaucrats everywhere except with help.

Those poor people have gone without power, water, housing, food, warmth, and all they have gotten has been insult after insult.

November 1st, it was reported that Environmentalists Groups were saying "Don't Rebuild Jersey Shore."
At the same time, it was reported that looters descended on Coney Island in wake of the storm, and the mayor of New York wanted to divert needed resources to holf a marathon.

November 5th, it was reported that FEMA was unprepared to distribute even something as simple as bottled water to Hurricane Sandy victims when the storm hit. On the same day, it was reported that Post-Sandy price-gouging was taking place, and again there were evacuations ordered as second storm threatened New York.

On the 7th, a nor'easter took it blustering cold into New York and New Jersey. It threatened to swamp homes all over again, plunge neighborhoods back into darkness and inflict more misery on tens of thousands of people still reeling from Superstorm Sandy.

A day later, NYC Mayor Bloomberg ordered gasoline rationing.

Since then local governments have sent housing inspectors to red-tag homes and inform victims that they will be fined and charged if certain things are not done to fix their homes. Power companies drug their feet in getting power to the those in need, and the National Guard has never been called out like it was during Katrina to assist in taking control of looters and crime in the street.

Then on November 24th, it was being reported that some Long Island Power Authority customers are angry because they are charged for electricity in their normal electric bill despite the fact that they have spent weeks without power due to Hurricane Sandy.

That's right! Imagine the gaul it takes to do such a horrible thing!

The New York Post reported that Long Island residents received an estimated rate that covered the entire billing cycle, and the statements made no mention of potential refunds to account for the prolonged blackouts.

"I can't get LIPA to acknowledge my existence on earth to talk to me about anything," Jonathan Saporta told the paper after getting hit with $649 for a home he left in October and $281 bill for his new place. "But I guess they had power, so they could print my bills. Nice, right?"

The utility's hurricane response and preparedness has been horrible with LIPA keeping many victims of Sandy in the cold and dark for weeks on end. 

On the other side, LIPA said in its defense that the storm was worse than anyone could have imagined and that it didn't just damage outdoor electrical lines - it caused flooding that touched home and business breaker boxes. LIPA also acknowledges that an outdated computer system for keeping customers notified has added to people's frustration.

But really, some say the government-run utility should have seen it coming. It was recently criticized in a withering state report for lax preparation ahead of last year's Hurricane Irene and for the 25-year-old computer system used to pinpoint outages and update customers.

At its peak, Hurricane Sandy knocked out power to over 8.5 million customers in 10 states with New York and New Jersey bearing the brunt of the outages.

As for Mr Saporta, for his part he promised to fight the bills.

"I am not paying any of my bills, that much I promise," Saporta said. "They can put me into collections, and I'll fight them tooth-and-nail. It's simply criminal."

I don't blame him for being angry. This whole ordeal that the victims have had to endure is just criminal.

And to me, the worse was Chris Christie and Obama and others all congratulating themselves when nothing was being done yet. It was a terrible sight since they made themselves look fairly desperate and camera hungry.

Their response was their job. Their congratulating themselves was totaling uncalled for. If it was done at all, they should have waited until the all were cared for and the area rebuilt.    

Propaganda From The Unions, The Left, The Democrat Party

Regarding my post on Sunday, November 18, Kool-Aid Drinking Unions Kill Hostess, on November 23, 2012, Anonymous wrote me saying:

"Too much Fox news. Try going to the baker's website and teamster's site and read the experts' reports about Hostess by Dr. Belzer and Harry Wilson, do a little research. Hostess managers ran Hostess into the ground I am proud that the bakers said no. Unions are not the problem, hell the American middle class is because of the unions, the problem is people like you who believe that what Fox news bables about has any relevance to the facts."

When I found that comment this afternoon, I was merely going to post it under the article in the comment section - but then I decided to reply to it.

This is my reply:

Anonymous,

Actually, I read a number of news sources besides FOX News. I do like FOX News a lot, but I really like to look at many others like NewsMax, Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times, Town Hall, and The Mail out of London England. All have relevance on the facts.

It seems that you missed the point of my article. That being, why do unions have a real desire to shoot themselves in the foot when it comes to keeping their members jobs?

The point of my article was not to address ALL of what contributed to the problems at Hostess. And yes, I read on the BCTGM union website their information that they knew the management and financial problems at Hostess. My article was to address the Union's role in striking the final blow that killed Hostess.

Sure, you are correct that management was suffering. But friend, it was the BCTGM Union who made the final blow that killed that 82 year old company. You simple can't get away with saying the union is not responsible for their closing.

And by the way, just for the record, it wasn't the AFL-CIO Teamsters who did it. They apparently saw what was happening and settled in an effort to keep the company alive.

One news agency reported, "The fear of thousands of job losses, for its own members and other unions, led the Teamsters to plead with the BCTGM to hold a secret ballot to determine if bakery workers really wanted to continue with the strike, even with the threat of closure.

Teamsters officials complained that bakery union leaders did not substantively look for a solution or engage in the process, and complained that the BCTGM called for its strike on November 9th without first notifying the Teamsters. They said that, unlike the bakery union, the Teamsters voted to "protect all jobs at Hostess."

It was in fact the BCTGM Union who refused to take less from a company that was in obvious financial trouble. The sad part is that the BCTGM knew that they were in trouble - but didn't seem to give a damn!

Ask yourself why?

Why didn't the BCTGM settle on less in an effort to keep the company going during the company's reorganization during bankruptcy? Why not wait for the company to regain its footing before asking for more? Why bleed an already in trouble company while you knew perfectly well that that company was in dire straits?

Why purposely put yourselves out of work, especially during the Holiday Season, knowing that your demands were already rejected and the company would be forced to close its doors?

As I said in my article, I both belonged to different unions in my life and I worked in security to prevent unions from taking their anger out on the places that they were striking. In security, I watched business after business close during union strikes. And yes, most times the unions stayed out for what they considered "principles" of the strike.

One of the worse that I saw was St Regis Paper Company in Union City California back in the 1980s. I saw that plant go from a place where more than a hundred people worked to being closed over .25 cents and hour difference in what was demanded and what could be paid.

In that strike, the Union got everything it demanded but would not compromise with the company over .25 cents an hour increase. The workers were going to get an increase, just not the full increase that the union demanded.

The company would be able to safe about $70,000 a year by holding back on that .25 cents for all its union workers. That would have enabled the company to hire one or two more union members if things increased as they later did throughout the economy.

The union said they didn't care about the company hiring one or two more of its members. They cared about what their union bosses wanted in showing St Regis Paper its power to bring them to their knees.

Finally St Regis advised them that they could not pay the .25 cents and would have to close the plant in Northern California if the union didn't take their offer of compromise.

After receiving the ultimatum of being closed, union members spiked the tires of the managers and shop foremen coming in to the plant parking. Then a few union members, who were late getting to the picket line, snuck around the building to the loading docks and set a rail road car on fire. The car was filled with rolls of paper delivered for processing.

The next day, the plant closed. The picket line disappeared after the first Teamster driven trucks arrived to remove the machinery.

Vandalism at the plant increased 10 fold after the picket lines were gone. I went there to check on things, and once there I was told that security was primarily concerned with the Union inciting their members to burn down the plant.

Just for the record, the security company that I worked for was Unionized. Yes, of the few different unions that I have belonged to in my life, I belonged to a Security Officers Union at the time.

Months later, I was having a drink at a Honky Tonk in the town of Niles (actually a district of the city of Fremont California) when an older man walked up to me and introduced himself as one of the strikers at the "Old" St Regis plant.

He said he recognized me and wanted to talk about the strike. He said he never thought it would come to that. He said he had 27 years invested at that plant. He said it all went down the drain because his Union was too proud to give in over a mere .25 cents an hour - which amounted to about $500 a year for the average full time worker there. He was in his late 50s and didn't have any prospects for work.

About 6 years later, I saw him working at a convenience store as a clerk behind the counter. We said hello, and said no after I asked if he went to work in another paper plant. He said he was kicked out of the union because he couldn't pay his dues after the plant closed. Besides, he said, there weren't but one other paper plant in the Bay Area at the time.

Like with St Regis Paper about 30 years ago, I feel it was greed and distrust on the part of the union bosses who encouraged the strike vote at Hostess.

I don't believe Unions have the needs of their members in their best interest, the bosses have themselves in their best interest. They know that Union meetings usually have the same guys show up most of the time, and these power hungry bosses want to climb the Union ladder know how to influence those few who vote and keep them in power.

As for your assertion that the Unions built the Middle-Class in America, World War II built America's Middle Class. At the end of the war, the GI Bill enabled education benefits for people who prior to WW II would not have had the opportunities to go to school and make something more of themselves.

That combined with a new found buying power on the side of consumers divided America into more than just the old saw of "the haves and have nots." It created a vibrant Middle-Class America that has become the majority of our society.

And please don't make it sound like all of the rich during the Great Depression were Republicans, over 40% of all of the wealthy people in America during that time were in fact Democrats.

What that means is that over 40% of the wealthy were part of "the haves" that the Democrat Party likes to make the American people think were all Republicans.

Democrats like John F. Kennedy, who once said "the only thing he knew about the Great Depression was what he read in the papers," did little for working Americans during the 1930s.

And please don't say that he wasn't in a position to help working folks working at the time, fact is that John F. Kennedy was born into one of the wealthiest families in America. It is also a fact that in 1938, on his 21st birthday, he was given One Million Dollars by his father.

One million dollars is a big deal now, but back in 1938 it was worth even more. In today's dollars, that was $17 Million dollars today.

While unions have not been the whole problem with shutting down companies like Hostess, unions have never been all that public spirited.

And no, it doesn't surprise me that a lot of people - especially old timers - have a poor opinion of unions. In the spring of 1941, American defense plants were swept with a wave of strikes.

When I was in West Allis, Wisconsin, I found out that the Allis-Chalmers plant which manufactured turbine engines for US Navy Destroyers went on one of the most bitter strikes in history and adversely effecting how many U.S. Navy Destroyers would be built in 1941.

US Destroyers used to get conveys to Great Britain were not available because of labor unions.

In fact, unions did very little to help the War Effort during World War II. In fact just prior to America's entry into the war as a combatant, more than 3,500 strikes took place throughout 1941 when America was ramping up its defense production capabilities. In 1941, union strikes cut defense production by a full 25% of what it should have been. 

In 2011, the union membership rate - the percent of wage and salary workers who were members of a union - was 11.8 percent, essentially unchanged from 11.9 percent in 2010, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The number of wage and salary workers belonging to unions, at 14.8 million, also showed little movement over the year. In 1983, the first year for which comparable union data are available, the union membership rate was 20.1 percent and there were 17.7 million union workers.

This shows a drastic decrease in union membership across the country. And to top that, the biggest group of union workers is not in the private sector at all.

Of the 11.8% of Americans in the union today, government workers have a union membership rate of 37 percent. That's more than five times higher than that of private-sector workers with 6.9 percent.

Maybe the reasons that less Americans are going into the unions have to do with how the unions preform their jobs and treat their members? Maybe the union habit of worrying too much about politics and greed has caught up to them?

Their attitude of always looking out for what's good for them before anyone else has turned off a lot of Americans. They seem to care less about what's good for their paid members, like me who once needed help from my union, and more about their own interest.

As for their reputation in America today, I really believe that their exposure of trying to insert their influence into matters that have very little to do the interests of their membership - and have more with politics and a left agenda - has put unions in a bad light.

A lot of people see unions as more part of the problem than the solution, especially when it comes to its control on public services through hostile union actions like wanting to shut down essential city and national services if their demands aren't met. 

And by the way, if you think that people like me "who believe that what Fox news babels about has any relevance to the facts" are the problem, then I'm sorry to inform you that the really nice part of being Americans is that we have the ability to discern the truth from multiple sources.

Americans are no longer held hostage by having to listen to liberal mouthpieces that guys like you want people to hear. It would be great for folks like you, the liberals, the Democrat Party, the Unions, the Occupy Movement, the anti-Christians, the Atheist, the anti-American revisionists, those on the left, to completely monopolize the news for your own advantage.

Sorry Anonymous, but it's not happening. Like it or not, today many Americans are smarter and a lot more informed. Today, we don't have to buy into the propaganda that guys like you put out. We don't need to watch or read or listen to the official line from the left.  We don't have to buy into the union line anymore.

If Americans care to, today we have all sorts of information sources to better understand the issues. The key is our desire to research and not just accept what a union or a company has to offer in the way of information. Good non-biased information is out there if we look.

I believe that this last election showed that 56 Million Americans were not drinking the Kool-Aid and actually put the nation's best interest ahead of the Obama socialist agenda.

In contrast, 58 Million Americans voted for their own best interest knowing that Obama would pay them back somehow. Their vote shows that more people than thought would prostitute themselves and throw the next generation under the bus.

That's just how I see it!

Story by Tom Correa