The Agenda I'd Like To See President Trump Enact

Below is part of President Trump's actual agenda. Below also has elements of the agenda that I would like to see him enact. 

1.  On day one, I'd like President Trump to send the U.S. Army on a humanitarian mission to provide real federal government help in the way of road building and temporary housing to aid those who endured the destruction of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. 

The Biden Administration's pathetic response was weak and shameful and there are still Americans living in tents in freezing Winter weather that's now hitting that area. There is no reason for our people to suffer considering Joe Biden gave Billions of American taxpayer dollars to all sorts of foreign countries to help their people live better. 

January 21, 2025, President Trump announced that he's going to North Carolina to inspect what needs to be done after the Biden-Harris administration abandoned those folks.

2.  On day one, let's secure the border and stop the Illegal Alien invasion. Bring back common-sense Immigration Policies that work for legal immigrants. Stop outsourcing, and turn the United States into a Manufacturing Superpower. 

On Inauguration Day, January 20, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order to Secure the Border by declaring a National Emeregency on the Border!  

3.  Within the first few months of 2025, carry out the largest deportation operation in American history. Deport the criminals, the gangs, the Drug Cartels, the child sex traffickers, and the people who were released from foreign prisons. Focus on deporting the criminals when deporting everyone who came across the border "illegally." 

The people Democrats allowed to freely enter the United States while bypassing our Immigration System should be put at the end of the Immigration Line. Stop the migrant crime epidemic, demolish the foreign drug cartels, crush gang violence, and lock up violent offenders.

On Inauguration Day, January 20, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order to designate the Cartels as International Terrorists and to start the Deportation of Illegals.  

4.  Prosecute and imprison thieves, robbers, those who assault others, those who would steal and scam others, rapists, arsonists, murderers, and terrorists. Bring back consequences for one's criminal behavior. Make criminal activity crimes again and persecute the criminals.  Make it so criminals are brought to justice and made to pay for their crimes. Support law enforcement. 

On Inauguration Day, January 20, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order to support law enforcement and prosecute criminals. 

5.  Rebuild our cities, including Washington DC, making them safe, clean, and beautiful again. Many cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Portland are rat-infested cities.

6.  End the weaponization of government against the American people. Prosecute the traitors who tried to weaponize the Department of Justice, the EPA, the IRS, and other agencies. They have overstepped their authority and have criminally persecuted working Americans for violating agency regulations that were not laws. 

On Inauguration Day, January 20, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order to End the Weaponization of Federal Government Agencies. 

7.  End inflation, and make homes, groceries, goods, services, and gas affordable again. Make America an affordable place to live again.

8.  Eliminate the over-regulation of Farmers and Ranchers, food producers, American agriculture, manufacturing, and businesses big and small. Our industrial base is critical to ensuring good jobs for our people, as well as the reliable production of vital Defense platforms and supplies. Our Policy must be to revive America's Industrial Base with a priority on Defense-critical industries. 

Equipment and parts critical to American Security must be MADE IN THE USA. Let's "Buy American and Hire American." Let's ban foreign companies from doing business with the Federal Government. 

On Inauguration Day, January 20, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order to rescind all burdensome regulations created by the Biden-Harris Administration. 

And while we are at it, let's rebuild family farms instead of driving them into poverty. Let's bring back President Trump's Deregulation policies, they saved Americans $11,000 per household and ended Democrats’ regulatory onslaught that disproportionately harms working Americans.

9.  Reenstate the Trump policies that make America the dominant energy producer in the world. This alone will bring down transportation and manufacturing costs.

On Inauguration Day, January 20, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order to "Drill Baby Drill!" 

10.  End the "Green New Deal," cancel the electric vehicle mandate, and eliminate costly and burdensome regulations on manufacturing so that the cost of products comes down.

On Inauguration Day, January 20, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order to end the oppression caused by the "Green New Deal" and he canceled the Biden-Harris Administration's electric vehicle mandate.  

11. End the support for the Climate Change Hoax. Stop overtaxing Americans and giving our taxpayer dollars to other countries. Americans are in need and don't need to be overtaxed. 

If the Federal Government has enough money that it can give Trillions of American taxpayer dollars to foreign countries for Climate Change and other political reasons, then we are being overtaxed. 

On Inauguration Day, January 20, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order for the United States to exit the Paris Climate Change Agreement which will instantly safe American's ONE TRILLION DOLLARS!  

12.  Create tax cuts for working Americans. End Income Tax, Inheritance Death Tax, and Seniors paying taxes.. Besides stopping tax on tips, stop taxing Americans into poverty to fund Socialist/Communist programs. 

13.  Defend our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, and our fundamental freedoms, including freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right to keep and bear arms.

14.  Prevent World War Three, restore peace in Europe and in the Middle East, and build a great Iron Dome Missile Defense shield over the entire United States -- all made in America.

15.  Rebuild and strengthen our military with a masculine warrior ethos, eliminate CRT and DEI, and make it without question the strongest and most powerful in the world. Before that can happen, we need to stop the Left's social experimentation within our military. 

Also, as a matter of national defense, we must be concerned with critical supply chains that return to the United States. These chains ensure National Security and economic stability while also creating jobs and raising wages for American workers. 

On Inauguration Day, January 20, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order to end DEI in all Federal Government departments, including our military.  

16.  Keep the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency. Place heavy Tariffs on cheap goods and equipment coming from China where slave labor is used in manufacturing. Let's stop bringing in China's poor-quality metals and other items.

17.  Fight for and protect social security and Medicare with no cuts, including no changes to the retirement age. Restrict Illegal Aliens from receiving government benefits. 

Let's understand that Social Security is a lifeline for millions of Americans. Of course, that hasn't stopped corrupt politicians from robbing Social Security to fund their pet projects. We need to restore Economic Stability to ensure the long-term sustainability of Social Security, as well as strengthen and protect Medicare’s finances from being financially crushed by the Democrat plan to add tens of millions of Illegal Aliens to the rolls of Medicare. 

18.  Cut federal funding for any school pushing critical race theory (CRT), radical gender ideology, and other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content on our children.

Let's ensure K-12 schools are safe learning environments free from political meddling. We need to restore Parental Rights and promote American Values while preparing students for successful lives and well-paying jobs. But we need teachers who want to teach instead of show up to indoctrinate children in Leftist Ideology. 

19.  Disband and rebuild the FBI, the CIA, the NSA, and other corrupt government agencies from the ground up. Let's eliminate any existing political partisanship and corruption. 

Ingrained corruption and a culture of criminal activity, and that's what it is when government agencies spy on American citizens without warrants or just cause, needs to be eliminated and we need to start fresh with officials being held to a code of conduct that can result in prison time for violations. 

Americans should not have a "Deep State" of covert operators doing what they want to sabotage the working of our elected government. Partisan Americans should not condone the actions of a rogue FBI agent colluding with others to go after the President of the United States, just as it should be criminal for the former FBI Director to secretly orchestrate "leaks" to newspapers with the motive of perpetuating the Russian Collusion Hoax. 

20.  Keep men out of Women's Sports. Support Women's Rights by getting Gay men out of Women's Sports competitions. Gay men do not belong in Women's Sports. We can keep men out of Women’s Sports by banning American taxpayer funding for sex change surgeries, and we can stop taxpayer-funded schools from promoting gender transition. We need to reverse Joe Biden's radical rewrite of Title IX Education Regulations and restore protections for women and girls.

We need to educate young people that it is scientifically impossible for someone with an XY chromosome to transition into having XX chromosomes. Females have two X chromosomes in their cells, while males have X and Y chromosomes in their cells. That can't be changed and thus the term "Trans" is a political term used by the Left. It is not a scientific term. 

On Inauguration Day, January 20, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order designating that the United States only has to sexes, Male and Female.  

21.  Deport pro-hamas radicals and make our college campuses safe and patriotic again. Arrest and deport violent protestors of every sort who are here on Student Visas. 

Please understand that we should all condemn anti-Semitism and support revoking Visas of Foreign Nationals who support terrorism and jihadism. While there are a lot of folks who focus on supporting this Race of people over that Race of people, we need to hold accountable those who perpetrate violence against the Jewish Race. 

22.  We need to ensure Election Integrity. We should exercise our duty to vote in secure same-day elections. We need to institute voter identification, paper ballots, and proof of citizenship for everyone who votes. We also need to have stiffer penalties for fraud. 

23.  We should try to have Congressional Term Limits instituted to stop politicians from staying in office too long. Joe Biden got rich over a 50-year span in government which should not have taken place.  No one should spend that much time in government or get rich off of public service.

24.  We must defend the First Amendment Right to Religious Liberty. It protects the Right not only to Worship according to the dictates of Conscience, but also to act by those Beliefs, not just in places of Worship, but in everyday life. Republican ranks include men and women from every Faith and Tradition, and we respect the Right of every American to follow his or her deeply held Beliefs.

To protect Religious Liberty, Republicans support a new Federal Task Force on Fighting Anti-Christian Bias that will investigate all forms of illegal discrimination, harassment, and persecution against Christians in America.

On Inauguration Day, January 20, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order to Defend our Freedom of Speech and end government censorship. He did all of the above in one day.  

25.   Encourage American Patriotism starting in grade schools as it once was in America. Americans need Donald Trump's 1776 Commission Republicans reinstated to promote Fair and Patriotic Civics Education. We must support schools that teach America’s Founding Principles and Western Civilization.

Tom Correa

Biden's Farewell Address To Nation -- A Delusional Attempt To Rewrite His History

Biden whistles to get the attention of the press during a briefing on the federal response to the Los Angeles wildfires in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on January 10, 2025.

Hello Friends,

I sat through Joe Biden's farewell address to the nation and could not believe what I was hearing. The man has been known as a liar throughout his career. And today, January 15, 2025, in an address to the nation, Joe Biden sat there and read his teleprompter as well as he could -- all the while, he lied to the American people. Below is my critique of his address in red type. I didn't take on everything he said, just the lies that irked me when hearing him say it. 

The worst lie was his use of "Mirror Politics" when he "warned" us of an oligarchy -- all while knowing that an oligarchy made up of Democrats, a covert government run by a handful of powerful people, the same people who forced Biden not to run for reelection, has been secretly running the United States government since Joe Biden was elected. 

Below is Joe Biden's Farewell Address to the Nation (in black type) with my critique (in red type with source links)

January 15, 2025
President Joe Biden

My fellow Americans, I'm speaking to you tonight from the Oval Office. Before I begin, let me speak to important news from earlier today. After eight months of nonstop negotiation, my administration — by my administration — a cease-fire and a hostage deal has been reached by Israel and Hamas, the elements of which I laid out in great detail in May of this year.

This plan was developed and negotiated by my team, and it will be largely implemented by the incoming administration. That's why I told my team to keep the incoming administration fully informed. Because that's how it should be: Working together as Americans. 

This will be my final address to you, the American people, from the Oval Office, from this desk, as president. And I've been thinking a lot about who we are and, maybe more importantly, who we should be.

Long ago, in New York Harbor, an ironworker installed beam after beam, day after day. He was joined by steel workers, stonemasons, engineers. They built not just a single structure, but a beacon of freedom. The very idea of America was so big, we felt the entire world needed to see the Statue of Liberty, a gift from France after our Civil War. Like the very idea of America, it was built not by one person but by many people, from every background, and from around the world.

Like America, the Statue of Liberty is not standing still. Her foot literally steps forward atop a broken chain of human bondage. She's on the march. And she literally moves. She was built to sway back and forth to withstand the fury of stormy weather, to stand the test of time because storms are always coming. She sways a few inches, but she never falls into the current below. An engineering marvel.

The Statue of Liberty is also an enduring symbol of the soul of our nation, a soul shaped by forces that bring us together and by forces that pull us apart. And yet, through good times and tough times, we have withstood it all. A nation of pioneers and explorers, of dreamers and doers, of ancestors native to this land, of ancestors who came by force. A nation of immigrants who came to build a better life. A nation holding the torch of the most powerful idea ever in the history of the world: that all of us, all of us are created equal. That all of us deserve to be treated with dignity, justice and fairness. That democracy must defend, and be defined, and be imposed, moved in every way possible: Our rights, our freedoms, our dreams. But we know the idea of America, our institution, our people, our values that uphold it, are constantly being tested.

Ongoing debates about power and the exercise of power. About whether we lead by the example of our power or the power of our example. Whether we show the courage to stand up to the abuse of power, or we yield to it. 

This is very ironic coming from a sitting president who consciously weaponized agencies of the Federal Government to create illegal mandates and draconian regulations, to demanding how Americans live from what we can drive to what appliances we can use in our homes, to prosecuting political opponents.

After 50 years at the center of all of this, I know that believing in the idea of America means respecting the institutions that govern a free society — the presidency, the Congress, the courts, a free and independent press. Institutions that are rooted — not just reflect the timeless words, but they — they echo the words of the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident." Rooted in the timeless words of the Constitution: "We the People." Our system of separation of powers, checks and balances — it may not be perfect, but it's maintained our democracy for nearly 250 years, longer than any other nation in history that's ever tried such a bold experiment.

If he felt this way, why did he threaten the Supreme Court with "Court Packing" and attack Americans' Right to Freedom of Speech? Here's just one example where the courts had to stop Biden from attacking Americans' Right to Free Speech: Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey Obtains Court Order Blocking the Biden Administration from Violating First Amendment

In the past four years, our democracy has held strong. And every day, I've kept my commitment to be president for all Americans, through one of the toughest periods in our nation's history. 

For all Americans? What about his divisive hate-filled rhetoric toward Republicans -- especially Trump supporters? Why did Biden attack half of the American population who were Trump supporters by calling MAGA Americans "a threat to democracy" and "semi-fascists"? 

Here's just one example of Biden's divisive rhetoric while in office: Biden attacks Trump, MAGA Republicans as a threat to democracy in blistering speech

I've had a great partner in Vice President Kamala Harris. It's been the honor of my life to see the resilience of essential workers getting us through a once-in-a-century pandemic, the heroism of service members and first responders keeping us safe, the determination of advocates standing up for our rights and our freedoms.

Biden wants Americans to forget about his COVID Mandates? Americans remember when Biden attacked millions of Americans who are not yet vaccinated. Remember this: Sweeping New Vaccine Mandates for 100 Million Americans

Biden said, "We’ve been patient. But our patience is wearing thin, and your refusal has cost all of us." He went on to say that those of us who refused to get the jab "can cause a lot of damage, and they are." How about in October 2024 when the Biden-Harris administration's new mandates threatened a mass shutdown of nursing homes and senior care across the country. I guess Biden thinks we've forgotten about his acting like a "dictator" and issuing edicts to set illegal mandates that were un-Constitutional. 

Instead of losing their jobs to an economic crisis that we inherited, millions of Americans now have the dignity of work. Millions of entrepreneurs and companies, creating new businesses and industries, hiring American workers, using American products. And together, we have launched a new era of American possibilities: one of the greatest modernizations of infrastructure in our entire history, from new roads, bridges, clean water, affordable high-speed internet for every American.

Actually, according to the Heritage Foundation and other sources, only 5% of the 2.25 Trillion dollars in Biden's Infrastructure Bill was assigned to what can be traditionally defined as "infrastructure projects," the other 95% has gone to Democrat politicians, their family members and friends, donors, to funding CRT and DEI programs in government, businesses, and school, and the Democrat Party implementing their Socialist Dream "The Green New Deal" which was trying to force Americans to accept their energy "solutions" which Americans don't want. 

We invented the semiconductor, smaller than the tip of my little finger, and now is bringing those chip factories and those jobs back to America where they belong, creating thousands of jobs. Finally giving Medicare the power to negotiate lower prescription drug prices for millions of seniors. And finally doing something to protect our children and our families by passing the most significant gun safety law in 30 years. And bringing violent crime to a 50-year low.

If Americans allow Biden to use old data then he's right, but the FBI's revised data doesn't agree with Biden. See this article: FBI quietly updates crime data to show big jump in violence under Biden-Harris admin: 'Shocking'

Also, Biden neglects to take responsibility for the rape, arson, murder, and terrorism that he has unleashed on Americans through his Open Border policy which has enabled rapists, arsonists, murderers, terrorists, Drug Cartels, Child Sex Traffickers, and Criminal Gangs from several countries to enter the United States unimpeded. 

Meeting our sacred obligation to over one million veterans so far who were exposed to toxic materials, and to their families, providing medical care and education benefits and more for their families.

You know, it will take time to feel the full impact of all we've done together. But the seeds are planted, and they'll grow, and they'll bloom for decades to come. At home, we have created nearly 17 million new jobs, more than any other single administration in a single term. 

Biden's lie is his taking credit for 25,000,000 Americans returning to work after the Pandemic's initial onslaught is not "Job Creation." The only job creation he has been successful at is having his son Hunter sell his artwork to Chinese and other foreign officials for millions of dollars.

More people have health care than ever before. And overseas, we have strengthened NATO. Ukraine is still free. And we've pulled ahead in our competition with China. And so much more. I'm so proud of how much we've accomplished together for the American people, and I wish the incoming administration success. Because I want America to succeed.

If he really wanted "America to succeed" as he said today, then why did he attack American Manufacturing with business-killing regulations? Why did he attack American Oil companies, swear to end our use of "Fossil Fuels," and push to revert America back to being an "energy dependant" nation, and putting thousands of Americans out of work? Why did he do all of that while at the same time increasing the cost of transportation of goods and services, increase the burden on farmers and ranchers, and distributors, businesses, in an effort to make it miserable on Americans to live and afford gas and groceries, all while flooding the United States with "Illegal Aliens" with an Open Border" program? 

He did that. And yes, he's lying when he said he has wanted America to succeed.   

That's why I've upheld my duty to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition of power to ensure we lead by the power of our example. I have no doubt that America is in a position to continue to succeed.

We are in a position to succeed because Americans have elected President Donald J. Trump who puts the cares and concerns of Americans first. Biden emboldened China and showed the world that we did not have an Americans President making decisions for the last 4 years.

That's why my farewell address tonight, I want to warn the country of some things that give me great concern. And this is a dangerous — and that's the dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a very few ultrawealthy people, and the dangerous consequences if their abuse of power is left unchecked. Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead. We see the consequences all across America. And we've seen it before.

The Biden-Harris Oligarchy (2021-2025) has already happened. It has been a period when President Joe Biden was a puppet in the White House and an inept Vice President Kamala Harris could not lead the country. It has been a time when a small group of powerful Democrats, including billionaires George Soros and others, secretly controlled the United States Government. 

Please understand, no one other than those inside the Biden-Harris Administration and a small group of powerful people knows exactly how decisions were made with Joe Biden being as cognitively impaired as he has been for the last 4 years. The oligarchy that has been running this country in lieu of us having a president is the biggest scandal in American History. And yes, I agree with those who say that the Democrat-controlled Mainstream Media has conspired to cover up what was going on. 

More than a century ago, the American people stood up to the robber barons back then and busted the trusts. They didn't punish the wealthy. They just made the wealthy play by the rules everybody else had. Workers want rights to earn their fair share. You know, they were dealt into the deal, and it helped put us on the path to building the largest middle class, the most prosperous century any nation the world has ever seen. We've got to do that again.

The last four years, that is exactly what we have done. People should be able to make as much as they can, but pay — play by the same rules, pay their fair share in taxes. So much is at stake. Right now, the existential threat of climate change has never been clearer. Just look across the country, from California to North Carolina. That's why I signed the most significant climate and clean energy law ever, ever in the history of the world.

Biden keeps saying, "The existential threat of climate change has never been clearer." But he, himself, has been "the biggest existential threat to the world" since he has been purposely pushing the world closer to World War III and a Nuclear War with Russia and China. Biden has ignored the fact that a Nuclear War is a threat to the existence of people and the planet. 

And the rest of the world is trying to model it now. It's working, creating jobs and industries of the future. Now we have proven we don't have to choose between protecting the environment and growing the economy. We're doing both. But powerful forces want to wield their unchecked influence to eliminate the steps we've taken to tackle the climate crisis, to serve their own interests for power and profit. We must not be bullied into sacrificing the future, the future of our children and our grandchildren. We must keep pushing forward, and push faster. There is no time to waste. It is also clear that American leadership in technology is unparalleled, an unparalleled source of innovation that can transform lives. We see the same dangers in the concentration of technology, power and wealth.

You know, in his farewell address, President Eisenhower spoke of the dangers of the military-industrial complex. He warned us that about, and I quote, "The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power." Six days — six decades later, I'm equally concerned about the potential rise of a tech-industrial complex that could pose real dangers for our country as well.

Americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation enabling the abuse of power. The free press is crumbling. Editors are disappearing. Social media is giving up on fact-checking. The truth is smothered by lies told for power and for profit. We must hold the social platforms accountable to protect our children, our families and our very democracy from the abuse of power.

Let's be clear. The Biden Admin, and those in charge, have waged a war on Free Speech in America by using the tried and true tactic to say something to the effect, "Information may be harmful to the security of the United States." But it is not the job of the Federal Government to censor speech or limit what information Americans receive. It is our right to hear and read and disseminate information. 

This is why Biden's attempt to censor information was shot down when his "Disinformation Governance Board (DGB)" was shut down after only being in effect for less than 4 months. Biden's DGB was part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), from April 27, 2022 to August 24, 2022. The board's stated function was "To protect national security by disseminating guidance to DHS agencies on combating misinformation, malinformation, and disinformation that threatens the security of the homeland." Because it violated the U.S. Constitution, it was disbanded. It was an attempt to censor Americans, and impede the information that we recieve to protect us from an all powerful government with overreach. 

Meanwhile, artificial intelligence is the most consequential technology of our time, perhaps of all time.

Nothing offers more profound possibilities and risks for our economy, and our security, our society. For humanity. Artificial intelligence even has the potential to help us answer my call to end cancer as we know it. But unless safeguards are in place, A.I. could spawn new threats to our rights, our way of life, to our privacy, how we work, and how we protect our nation. We must make sure A.I. is safe and trustworthy and good for all humankind.

In the age of A.I., it's more important than ever that the people must govern. And as the Land of Liberty, America — not China — must lead the world in the development of A.I.

You know, in the years ahead, it's going to be up to the president, the presidency, the Congress, the courts, the free press, and the American people to confront these powerful forces. We must reform the tax code. Not by giving the biggest tax cuts to billionaires, but by making them begin to pay their fair share.

We need to get dark money — that's that hidden funding behind too many campaign contributions — we need to get it out of our politics. We need to enact an 18-year time limit, term limit, time and term, for the strongest ethics — and the strongest ethics reforms for our Supreme Court. We need to ban members of Congress from trading stock while they are in the Congress. We need to amend the Constitution to make clear that no president, no president is immune from crimes that he or she commits while in office. The president's power is not limit — it is not absolute. And it shouldn't be.

He failed to call out Nancy Pelosi's inside trading deals while in office. And while saying that the Supreme Court needs term limits, he fails to say that Congress needs term limits to stop people like him from being in government for 50 years.

And in a democracy, there is another danger — that the concentration of power and wealth. It erodes a sense of unity and common purpose. It causes distrust and division. Participating in our democracy becomes exhausting and even disillusioning, and people don't feel like they have a fair shot. We have to stay engaged in the process. I know it's frustrating. A fair shot is what makes America America. Everyone is entitled to a fair shot, not a guarantee, just a fair shot, an even playing field. Going as far as your hard work and talent can take you.

We can never lose that essential truth to remain who we are. I've always believed, and I told other world leaders, America will be defined by one word: possibilities. Only in America do we believe anything is possible. Like a kid with a stutter from modest beginnings in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Claymont, Delaware, sitting behind this desk in the Oval Office as president of the United States.

That is the magic of America. It's all around us. Upstairs in the residence of the White House, I've walked by a painting of a Statue of Liberty I don't how many times. In the painting there are several workers climbing on the outstretched arm of the statue that holds the torch. It reminds me every day I pass it of the story and soul of our nation, and the power of the American people.

There is a story of a veteran — a veteran, a son of an immigrant, whose job was to climb that torch and polish the amber panes so rays of light could reach out as far as possible. He was known as the keeper of the flame. He once said of the Statue of Liberty, "Speaks a silent, universal language, one of hope that anyone who seeks and speaks freedom can understand."

Yes, we sway back and forth to withstand the fury of the storm, to stand the test of time, a constant struggle, constant struggle. A short distance between peril and possibility. But what I believe is the America of our dreams is always closer than we think. And it's up to us to make our dreams come true.

Let me close by stating my gratitude to so many people. To the members of my administration, as well as public service and first responders across the country and around the world, thank you for stepping up to serve. To our service members and their families, it has been the highest honor of my life to lead you as commander in chief.

And of course, to Kamala and her incredible partner. A historic vice president. She and Doug have become like family. And to me, family is everything.

My deepest appreciation to our amazing first lady who is with me in the Oval today. For our entire family. You are the love of my life and the life of my love.

My eternal thanks to you, the American people. After 50 years of public service, I give you my word, I still believe in the idea for which this nation stands — a nation where the strength of our institutions and the character of our people matter and must endure. Now it's your turn to stand guard. May you all be the keeper of the flame. May you keep the faith. I love America. You love it, too.

God bless you all, and may God protect our troops. Thank you for this great honor. 

____

As if we have not lived through the last horrible four years, Joe Biden's farewell address to the nation was his delusional attempt to highlight his so-called achievements while neglecting to mention the misery that he brought to the American people. His speech was a terrible attempt to rewrite the history of his administration and ignore the evils that he has tried to do to us. From cutting jobs and ending our energy independence on day one when entering office to commuting the death sentence of convicted murderers and attempting to escalate a war with Russia in the last months in office, he failed to be the dictator that he tried to be. His is a failed presidency.

No matter how he and others will try to rewrite what he and his oligarchy have done over the last four years, credit has to go to the American people for stopping him at the November 2024 Election. We the people stopped the Biden Administration's tyranny on the American people.

And yes, that's the way I see it.

Tom Correa

Old West Treatment For Colds & Flu -- Rock & Rye Whiskey

So, let's talk about my Grandfather. He was a great believer in whiskey as a remedy for Colds and the Flu. He was especially a fan of Rock & Rye Whiskey for what ails you. He used to say that you should only buy the Rock & Rye Whiskey that had the piece of orange in the bottle. 

So what is Rock & Rye Whiskey? It is a blend of rye whiskey and rock candy (crystallized sugar) with added citrus. It's all very medicinal -- at least that's what people have been saying for more than 150 years. 

According to a website that professes to know everything about Rock & Rye Whiskey, Everything You Need to Know About Rock and Rye, they report:

Oddly enough, rock and rye's first role was as medicine. By the late 1870s, virtually every pharmacy in the nation was stocking their shelves with some proprietary recipe, often promoted as a sort of cough syrup. As a medicine, rock and rye was taxed at a lower rate than liquor, adding to the potential profit. In 1883, the drink was finally reclassified as a distilled spirit. According to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau definition, rock and rye has a minimum 25.5% alcohol by volume, must be made with rye, straight rye, or whiskey distilled from a rye mash, and contain either rock candy or sugar syrup. The addition of fruit, fruit juices, or other natural flavoring is allowed, but optional.

Even after it became classified as a distilled spirit, rock and rye's pursuit of pharmacopeia persisted. An 1891 advertisement for Tolu rock and rye in Chicago promoted its use "for coughs, colds, sore throat, bronchitis, asthma, pneumonia, consumption and all diseases of the throat, chest and lungs." In some cases, "women's issues" and cancer were added for good measure. To prop up such outlandish proclamations, a cornucopia of exotic ingredients made its way into rock and ryes at the turn of the century. Additives like cloves, balsam, and horehound were meant to evoke medicinal properties. While its medicinal claims were dubious at best, the sweet and potent amalgamation earned devotees.

So, was my Grandpa right? Well, there's no doubt that my Grandpa's attitude about Rock & Rye Whiskey being the cure-all for what ails you may have been a holdover from years past. But, I have to tell you that it wasn't just his opinion back in the day. 

Yes, I, myself, witnessed several men visiting my Grandpa's bar and taking a shot or two of Rock & Rye Whiskey to kill the Cold and Flu bug. I remember them walking out feeling better than they walked in. Of course, some had to take a little more of the cure than others. But really, that goes along with anything.

Did it work? Well, none of them died. So yes, I gather it must have.

Tom Correa

The 6666 Ranch

The Four Sixes Ranch

Story by: H. Allen Anderson

Published: 1952
Updated: 2019
Source: Texas State Historical Association

The Four Sixes (6666) brand was established by Samuel Burk Burnett in the early 1870s. 

Although legend persists that Burnett's brand was devised to honor a winning poker hand of four sixes that he once held, sources indicate that Burnett, after successfully completing his first drive to Kansas as trail boss for his father's herd in 1867, saved his earnings and in 1871 used them to buy 100 cattle bearing the Four Sixes brand from Frank Crowley in Denton County. 

Burnett's brother Bruce used the brand in reverse (9999) for his ranching operation, which he moved to Knox County in 1889. 

In 1874, Burnett moved his cattle to the region of the Wichita River, bought land, and established his ranch headquarters near the site of present Wichita Falls. Due to the drought of 1881, Burnett was forced to drive his cattle to the Red River to survive. He subsequently leased 300,000 acres of Comanche-Kiowa reservation land. 

In 1893 he began the process of purchasing the Old Eight Ranch, 140,000 acres and 1,500 head of stock, from the Louisville Land and Cattle Company of Kentucky. The purchase was finalized in 1900, and Burnett moved his 6666 Ranch headquarters to King County.

By 1900, when the government opened the Kiowa-Comanche reservation for settlement and ordered the cattlemen to vacate their leases, Burnett obtained from President Theodore Roosevelt a two-year extension to enable him and his fellow cattlemen to move out and dispose of their herds in an orderly fashion. 

In 1902, Burnett bought 107,520 acres in Carson and Hutchinson counties from the British-owned White Deer Lands for $2.65 per acre. This choice Panhandle range, which had previously been leased to Al Popham and J. L. Harrison, was located along Dixon Creek and contained abundant water. It became known as the Burnett-Dixon Creek-6666 Ranch. Over the next few years, Burnett acquired sufficient adjoining range land to constitute an operation totaling almost a third of a million acres.

On his Four Six ranges, Burnett began improving his cattle by careful culling of cows and importation of purebred Hereford and Durham bulls. The resultant offspring soon became consistent winners as feeder cattle in livestock shows nationwide. 

The Dixon Creek Division, sometimes known as the Stocker Ranch, was set up to receive calves produced on the other Burnett properties. Gradually, the Four Sixes became a strictly Hereford operation, and Burnett's cattle were among the first to be spayed to better fatten them prior to slaughter. 

The Four Sixes acquired its first cow horses from Burnett's father-in-law, Col. M. B. Lloyd of Fort Worth; since then all horses on the ranch have been branded with the letter L on the left shoulder. Burnett's purebred Quarter Horses likewise became well-known throughout the Southwest. 

Outstanding Four Six employees during its early years, some of whom had worked for the Eight Ranch before Burnett bought it, included John Humphreys, Jim Gibson, Sid Williams, Charlie Hart, Joe Crystal, and Oak (Coley) Owens. Bud Arnett was retained as the first foreman. 

The Four Sixes brand was used on the Burnett properties in Wichita County, headquartered at Iowa Park, until 1910, when Burnett leased them to his son Thomas L. Burnett, who subsequently adopted Colonel Lloyd's Triangle brand as his own.

Although Burk Burnett at first utilized the Old Eight Camp as his headquarters in King County, he later moved it west to the county seat of Guthrie and in 1917 built his magnificent $100,000 stone ranch house on a hill overlooking the town. Barns, corrals, a bunkhouse, and other outbuildings were erected around it. 

In 1918, a severe Panhandle blizzard wiped out 2,000 cattle on the Dixon Creek Division, but the losses were practically forgotten in 1921, when the first seven of Carson County's oil and gas wells, including Eugene S. Blasdel's Gulf No. 1 and No. 2, were drilled on the ranch.

After Burnett's death in 1922, the Four Sixes was inherited by his granddaughter, Anne Burnett Tandy. 

Known affectionately among the ranch people as "Miss Anne," she became nationally famous as a judge and breeder of horses; among the well-known champion racers and show horses acquired by or bred on the Four Sixes were Grey Badger II and Hollywood Gold. 

The ranch and its overseers were prime movers in the organization of the American Quarter Horse Association. When Bud Arnett retired as foreman in 1930, his son-in-law filled the position for two years and then was succeeded by a second-generation Four Sixes cowhand, George P. Humphreys. 

By 1936, around 20,000 Hereford cattle stocked the Four Six ranges, ably run by the S. B. Burnett Estate in Fort Worth, of which John C. Burns served as trustee for many years. In 1961 John Boyce (Jay) Pumphrey III was appointed as trustee and general manager; he held the position until 1980.

The Four Sixes Ranch, which occupies some 208,000 acres, continues to be the primary economic mainstay of King County. The imposing ranch house, occupied by the foreman and his family, stands at the end of a paved driveway just off U.S. Highway 82. 

A rock water tower stands behind it, and other ranch facilities, including barns and corrals, a dining room, and a bunkhouse for single employees, cover about eighteen acres. Four line camps, the South, North, Old Eight, and Taylor are located on the ranch. Each camp is run by an overseer, who looks after an allotted number of acres and cattle. Living quarters are furnished for him and his family. 

The wagon boss and other married ranch employees reside with their families in Guthrie, in furnished, rent-free housing. 

The town's high school and nondenominational church are supported by tax money from the ranch, and the Four Sixes Supply Store is another well-known landmark. The ranch continues to use the old horse-drawn chuckwagon, where cowboys and visitors are welcome to a Western-style meal out on the range at roundup time. 

The Dixon Creek Division (108,000 acres) in Carson and Hutchinson counties contains several producing oil and gas wells and a spacious stone headquarters house, which is easily spotted from State Highway 207 north of Panhandle.

After Miss Anne's death in 1980, the Four Sixes was passed on to her daughter Anne V. (Little Anne) Windfohr Sowell and granddaughter Windi Phillips. George Humphreys, known in later years as the "Little Sheriff" of King County, remained as foreman until his retirement in 1970. His successor was another second-generation employee, James J. Gibson, Jr. 

In addition to conducting an extensive brush-control project, Gibson's main contribution in recent years has been the introduction and crossbreeding of Brangus cattle with ranch Herefords to produce the Black Baldie, a hardy breed more resilient to cedar flies, a common pest in the cedar brakes of West Texas. 

Champion Quarter Horses continue to reap profits for the Four Sixes. George (Coon) Jeffers became foreman of the Dixon Creek Division in 1949. In the 1980s, Gibson became general manager of the ranch. Mike Gibson was the foreman in 1994.

In addition to its high-grade livestock, the Four Sixes has won fame as a setting for several Marlboro cigarette television ads during the 1960s, with certain ranch employees posing as the "Marlboro Man."

Portions of the movie Mackintosh and T. J., which starred Roy Rogers, were filmed at the Old Eight Camp in 1975. The ranch has likewise been a favorite subject for paintings by area artists such as Tom Ryan and Mondel Rogers. One of the original red Four Sixes barns, which was for years a prominent landmark in Guthrie, is now on the grounds of the Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock.

Source: Texas State Historical Association

Update:

In December 2020, the ranch was being sold in accordance with the Will of owner Anne Burnett Marion, who had died in February of that year. The ranch was listed on the market for a total of $347.7 million.

In May 2021, a buyer group represented by Hollywood screenwriter/actor Taylor Sheridan purchased the Four Sixes Ranch located at 1102 Dash for Cash Rd, Guthrie, Texas, 79236. Sheridan is noted for being part of the cast in the ultra-violent crime drama television series Sons of Anarchy and as one of the creators of the neo-Western television series Yellowstone.  

Hillary Clinton Gets A Medal From Joe Biden -- It's Laughable

On Saturday, January 4, 2025, Hillary Clinton was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom 

by President Joe Biden. 

It is the Nation's highest civilian honor.

When it comes to Hillary Clinton, there's a lot to dislike. While some say it was how she let those Americans die in Benghazi, for me, if I were to pick one thing to have to justify my disdain for the woman, it's what she put the whole nation through by engineering the whole Trump-Russian Collusion Hoax. 

When the Durham Report came forward, it pointed out how President Donald Trump was the victim of an insidious secret surveillance operation at the hands of his political opponent in the 2016 presidential election. Ever since then, more and more has been exposed, and we now all know that Hillary Clinton was the mastermind behind the Trump-Russia collusion hoax. We also know she invented the elaborate "Russia Collusion" hoax, financed it, and directed the process. We also know she has not been charged with any sort of criminal act -- even though we know she tried to unseat a sitting President of the United States and undermine his administrative duties. 

Make no mistake about it, the Durham Report says Hillary Clinton had her associates pay to "infiltrate" servers at Trump Tower and the White House. We know that lawyers for the Hillary Clinton campaign paid a computer technology company to surveil a sitting president, Donald Trump. We know that more than half a dozen crimes may have been committed to advance the false accusation that he colluded with Russia.

After a 22-month probe, Special Counsel Robert Mueller found no evidence of a criminal collusion conspiracy because none ever existed. U.S. Attorney John Durham investigated how the lie started and whether or not crimes were perpetrated to accomplish the "Russia Collusion Hoax."

John Durham's report has disclosed that Clinton campaign lawyers hired a tech company to "infiltrate" computer servers housed in Trump Tower, and later, the White House. The goal was to generate an "inference" or "narrative" that Trump was colluding with Russia and then feed the phony information to the FBI to trigger an investigation of him.

According to the Durham Report, their devious methods were revealed. The tech company exploited its access to non-public and proprietary internet data on servers at Trump Tower and the White House. It was reported as being the equivalent of breaking into a computer except the technicians had special access since the company was performing what's called "resolution services" on those highly sensitive accounts.

The computer criminals covertly penetrated the servers without authorization. Once inside, they commandeered innocuous information and peddled it as nefarious back-channel communications between Trump and a Kremlin-linked financial institution called Alfa Bank. By doing that, the Mainstream Media controlled by the Democratic Party, broadcasts insinuations that Trump and his associates were secretly communicating with Russia. The Mainstream Media ran with everything that was fed to them and declared that a sitting U.S. President, Donald Trump, was in cahoots with Russia. 

Never mind that most of what that tech company's criminals found on the Trump Tower computer was simply routine Internet traffic such as computer-generated and automated advertising. Yes, the same stuff that Americans get every day on our own computers. Never mind that that information was mundane and meant nothing. Let's remember that President Trump was the victim of an insidious secret surveillance operation and smear campaign by his political opponent in the 2016 presidential election. 

Here's something that should worry all of us. Hillary Clinton's operatives in that tech company who were able to criminally access Donald Trump's computer in Trump Tower -- also had access to the computer that President Donald Trump used in the Oval Office as President. Hilary Clinton knew about this, she engineered this, she orchestrated this, and she enabled these crimes to take place. It was the efforts of Hillary Clinton that ultimately led to only the third presidential impeachment in U.S. history.

According to a report from the CATO Institute: The Mueller Report did not find evidence to warrant any criminal indictments regarding offenses having to do with those central accusations—not against Trump, his associates, or any other American. Specifically, the report stated: “[T]he investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.” The Intercept’s Glenn Greenwald provided a succinct summary of the results, asserting that Mueller “did not merely reject the Trump-Russia conspiracy theories. He obliterated them.” Greenwald added: “Several of the media’s most breathless and hyped ‘bombshells’ were dismissed completely.”

Of course, there was no evidence of Russian collusion because there was no "Russian Collusion." It was a hoax created by Hillary Clinton and her associates. We know this because it came out in the Durham Report. We know from that report that she did her dirty work while maintaining distance and separation through an elaborate chain of people which the Durham Report points out. Yes, as some have said, "It was akin to a money laundering scheme, except dirty information was being washed."

Clinton's associates lied to the FBI -- it is a crime to provide a law enforcement agency such as the FBI with knowingly false information. We're not only talking about mere fraud. We're talking about a conspiracy to defraud the government.

According to sources, "The [Hillary] Clinton secret surveillance ring sounds very much like a criminal enterprise engaged in an illegal scheme involving fraud and obstruction of justice. As with any well-organized criminal exercise, it is exceedingly difficult to nab the person at the top. Hillary Clinton is no different. She carried out her machinations in smart and clever ways. She had others do her dirty work for her and maintained a distance separated through an elaborate chain of people. It was akin to a money laundering scheme, except dirty information was being washed. Unless people in the chain break their silence and implicate Hillary, she will likely escape culpability. 

Evidence of her role has slowly emerged from declassified records. It was July 26, 2016, when Clinton personally approved the plot to vilify Trump with the bogus collusion claims, according to CIA documents. The genesis of the smear came from Hillary herself as a strategy to distract from her own email scandal. Two days later, President Obama was alerted but appears to have done nothing except keep the matter concealed. Intelligence officials then sent an investigative referral on Clinton to then-FBI Director James Comey and his deputy, Peter Strzok. Predictably, it was buried."

For a really well-done article on this, please read Durham’s Damning Report Assails FBI Leadership, Media for Enabling Hillary Clinton’s Alleged Russia Hoax Plan   

After reading the above link and other sources, I really believe all of the evidence points to Hillary Clinton as the mastermind who invented the elaborate "Russia-Collusion Hoax." From everything that I've read, it's my opinion that she engineered the entire Russia-Collusion Hoax, financed it, orchestrated it, and circulated it to the media and government agencies including the Department of Justice and the FBI. 

And while I truly believe it was a planned coup to take over the government by removing President Trump from office, the Russian-Collusion Hoax served a few purposes for the Democrat Party. First, it kept President Trump constantly on the defense instead of allowing him the opportunity to focus on fixing many of our problems. Second, it served to divide the nation -- and that is how Democrats like things. Third, it took the focus off any good that was taking place in the nation and diverted it to the "Russia, Russia, Russia" news for the entire time he was in office. 

Make no mistake, in the long run, no one will ever ask why Hillary Clinton, James Comey, or Peter Strzok, among many others, weren't charged with conspiracy or treason. While there are many of us who still believe that those people should be brought to justice, I doubt that will ever happen. Don't get me wrong here. While I don't think those people will ever be tried for treason as they should, I believe Americans need to see it happen -- just to prove that no one is really above the law. 

All in all, the Democrat-controlled Mainstream Media adores Hillary Clinton and because of that they will bury what she did, or play it down as if to say "She had less of a hand in it than most think." That, of course, would be another huge lie since she was behind the whole hoax -- a hoax meant to defraud the American people which is a clear violation of the law. 

923. 18 U.S.C. § 371—Conspiracy to Defraud the United States: To conspire to defraud the United States means primarily to cheat the Government out of property or money, but it also means to interfere with or obstruct one of its lawful governmental functions by deceit, craft or trickery, or at least by means that are dishonest. 

"Deceit, craft or trickery, or at least by means that are dishonest," is Hillary Clinton's legacy. But before we talk about Hillary Clinton's legacy, since that's what her being awarded the Medal of Freedom was all about, I've been thinking lately about former president Jimmy Carter's death the other day. He lived to be 100 years old. 

To me, Carter lived long enough to see Joe Biden take up the mantle of being the worst President in American History. I was thinking about how people are coming forward right now saying how Carter was such a "Good man." And yes, I agree that he might have been a "Good man." But he was a lousy President. 

That brings me to one's legacy. I remember the Carter years very well. Those years were a constant financial struggle. Carter became president the year my first enlistment in the Marine Corps had ended. I remember him stopping our training and wanting to allow women Marines in front-line units in combat. I remember how a lot of problems were created to appease politicians who were into experimenting with Social Engineering in our military. Yes, problems arose because American men have been raised to believe that there should be a respected separation between the sexes -- and Americans weren't ready for co-ed military units. 

I also remember a lot of talk going around about how President Carter wanted to cut our pay. I remember thinking that the $433 a month pay that I was getting at the time as a Sergeant was already stretched thin as it was. 

Once my enlistment was up, I remember entering the world of the toughest economic times since the Great Depression. And to add insult to injury, I remember how Carter was so preoccupied with the affairs of foreign countries that he didn't seem to have time to address our problems. 

By the way, it really was the toughest economic times since the Great Depression. And for those of you who have heard me say it before, I'll say it again: Jimmy Carter was the Herbert Hoover of the later part of the 20th Century. 

Under Carter, we had an 18% Mortgage Interest Rate, a 16% Unemployment Rate and 14% Inflation Rate. And those were just "the official" numbers. Most thought at the time that the double-digit inflation, unemployment, and interest rates were much higher than what was being reported. Of course today they are downplayed to make his administration look better. But for many of us on the low end of the workforce, we remember it well. 

I remember standing in a line with over 300 other guys hoping to get one of the three positions offered at a warehouse. I also remember standing out in the cold rain waiting for a boss to pick four men out of about 60 of us to work a construction job. I remember getting jobs because I knew someone. I remember how tough times were. And yes, I remember Carter caring more about what was happening overseas than at home. It was the "Economy Stupid" even back then, and he didn't get it. 

That's the legacy of Jimmy Carter that I'll remember. Was Carter a good man? He probably was, but there are many of us who will remember that he should not have been president because he was lousy at it.  

So now, can the Democrat-controlled Mainstream Media spin the facts to make Hillary Clinton look like a good woman who "contributed to the American people" in a positive way? They can. But really, we all know better.

 United States Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens

We will remember that at 9:40 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, members of Ansar al-Sharia attacked the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi. The attack took place over a 13-hour period and resulted in the United States Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans being butchered. 

At the time, a Marine Detachment, a combat-ready rifle platoon, was 45 minutes away in the Mediterranean Sea. The Marines saddled up and were on standby but were not sent in. The decision not to send any help to Benghazi was left up to Hillary Clinton who was U.S. Secretary of State at the time.

So yes, we know her legacy is one of political dirty tricks and conniving, of a woman who decidedly left Americans to be tortured and be dragged in the streets of Benghazi when help was minutes away. We will always remember the condescending power hunger woman candidate who appeared on television to ask Americans, "What difference does it make?’ -- when answering questions about how she let those Americans die in Benghazi. 

Of course, getting on television to lambast Americans about her low polling numbers wasn't smart. But then again, neither was her calling half of the American people, "Deplorables." 

The Mainstream Media and the Democrat Party can try to rewrite her history, but most of us who had our eyes open watching her and her husband over the years know exactly what sort of notorious individual she is. It's sort of sad to think that her cold demeanor, one that reeks of some sort of power-hungry personality, would be embraceable by anyone. But that's her ultimate legacy. And no, no matter how many awards and medals Joe Biden and the Democrat Party give her to try to rewrite her legacy - we'll always know that it just doesn't matter how the Left spins the truth -- because we know the truth of who Hillary Clinton truly is. 

No, she has not contributed to the American people in any sort of positive manner. She certainly hasn't upheld our values of virtue and honesty in the slightest way. So really, Joe Biden awarding Hillary Clinton with the Medal of Freedom cheapens the award. It is pathetic to see and sadly makes it laughable at best. 

Tom Correa  

The Smith & Wesson Safety Hammerless -- Lemon Squeezer

I made the mistake of thinking one of my readers said that I called "The Protector Palm Pistol of 1882" a "lemon squeezer." I said he should really re-read that post. I didn't realize his comment was meant for a previous comment and not for me. So yes, I apologize for taking your comment wrong. 

I did not call the Protector Palm Pistol a "lemon squeezer" because it wasn't called a "lemon squeezer." The pistol that became commonly known as a "lemon squeezer' was a Smith & Wesson Safety Hammerless revolver which I'll talk about in a minute.

As stated in the post, "The Protector Palm Pistol of 1882", its official name is "The Minneapolis Firearms Co. Protector Squeezer Type Palm Pistol." It is also known as "The Protector Squeezer Type Palm Pistol," "The Protector Palm Pistol," "The Protector," or simply the "Palm Pistol."

The small palm pistol was fired by "squeezing" or "mashing" the lever trigger built into the back of the rotary turret. The action type of that little pistol is referred to as a "turret revolver," but does not use a traditional trigger. Instead, the cartridges are fired by the shooter "squeezing" their fist while the gun is held clasped in the hand. This mashes the lever trigger and fires the pistol.

The usual way of holding the "Palm Pistol" is with the barrel protruding from between the shooter’s fingers. The action is operated by squeezing the hinged lever on the rear of the gun’s circular frame. But that has nothing to do with the pistol known as a "Lemon Squeezer," which is a Smith & Wesson top-break revolver. 

The Smith & Wesson Safety Hammerless -- Lemon Squeezer -- 3-inch Barrel

The pistol known as a "lemon squeezer" is commonly known as the Smith & Wesson Safety Hammerless revolver. It is a small double-action revolver that was produced from 1887 to 1940. The first model was manufactured from 1887 to 1902. Improvements were made with the Second Model, Third Model, Fourth Model, and Fifth Models, and it was a good-selling pistol until just before World War II. It is chambered in .32 S&W and .38 S&W calibers. 

The small hammerless double-action Smith & Wesson Lemon Squeezer, known as the Smith & Wesson Safety Hammerless, was officially designated "The New Departure." It has an internal hammer and external grip safety on its grip's backstrap that has to be squeezed to be fired. It was "nicknamed" the "Lemon Squeezer" by owners because of the grip safety built into its backstrap. 

Lemon squeezer utensils of different sorts were commonly found in kitchens across America. They are general-purpose citrus squeezers that are ideal for squeezing lemons, limes, and even small oranges. The easy-to-use hand operation of the squeezer makes it easy to draw juice from a lemon. The Smith & Wesson Safety Hammerless revolver's grip safety has to be squeezed firmly to fire the pistol. Thus the nickname, "lemon squeezer."

The "lemon squeezer" is based on the Smith & Wesson Model 2 double-action design. It is a top-break revolver designed for fast reloading and ease of concealable carry. Its internal hammer means no snags when drawing the revolver from a coat or trouser pocket. This made it very popular and extremely convenient to carry. It was designed for personal protection. 

The Smith & Wesson Safety Hammerless pistols were originally known as "The New Departure" revolvers. Why? Well, in 1887, when Smith & Wesson introduced "The New Departure," they called it  "The New Departure" because of Smith & Wesson's new internal hammer design and grip safety. Pardon the pun, their additions were a "departure" from the norm.  

As for concealed hammer revolvers, hammerless revolvers, revolvers with hammers built in the frame? From what read, the concept had been around a while -- especially among some British gunmakers. What was really a standout feature was the grip safety. The grip safety was considered ingenious. And from what I've read, it was supposedly the work of Daniel B. Wesson himself.

As for concealed internal hammers, hammerless revolvers, among American gunmakers? Well, it sounds as though the Smith & Wesson Safety Hammerless "New Departure" Lemon Squeezer was a first in the United States. But that doesn't mean Smith & Wesson were the only makers of revolvers with internal hammers. By the late 1890s, there were others getting into the hammerless small-frame revolver game. Some of those names were very big gun manufacturers in their day. I'm talking about Harrington & Richards, Iver Johnson, Hopkins & Allen, and Forehand & Wadsworth for example. Most of these firms gave Smith & Wesson some competition at one point or another.

The Smith & Wesson "Lemon Squeezer" was considered a very popular concealed carry and it was also considered a great hide-out backup gun for law enforcement officers. Some sources say it was carried as a backup gun by some law enforcement officers well into the 1970s. And frankly, while I find that hard to believe since there were already so many other options for backup pistols by the 1950s, that sentiment is probably due to the popularity of Smith & Wesson's Bicycle Revolvers. 

The Smith & Wesson Safety Hammerless "Lemon Squeezer" was produced with 2-inch, 3-inch, or 3.5-inch barrels. The Lemon Squeezer version with the short 2-inch barrels was known as the Smith & Wesson Bicycle Revolvers. The 2-­inch barrel version was called "Bicycle Revolver" because it could be put into one's pocket and remained unnoticeable while out peddling around on a bicycle. And yes, Smith & Wesson would take special orders if you wanted to buy one with a 1.5-inch barrel.

All in all, Smith & Wesson produced eight models of their Safety Hammerless revolvers. Three models were cambered for the .32 S&W, while five models were chambered for the .38 S&W. They were all with internal hammers with a grip safety, five-­round capacity cylinders, ejected their spent casings, were available with blue or nickel finish, and they came with either black hard rubber or pearl grips. 

Here's something else, the Smith & Wesson "Lemon Squeezer" that I own is in .32 S&W. It was given to me by my father-in-law when we got into Cowboy Action Shooting. And yes, in case you're wondering, it's a nice little shooter. My father-in-law, a man who was a real gun expert, once told me that the first models of Lemon Squeezers were made between 1888 to 1902.  Mine has a push-down barrel latch. The later models required the latch to be pulled up. 

Around 240,000 of the .32 caliber Safety Hammerless Revolvers were produced in total. The most common barrel lengths were the 3-inch and 3.5-inch barrels. The 1.5-inch and 2-­inch barrel "Bicycle Revolvers" were available but were mostly special order items. It's said the shorter barrel "Bicycle Revolvers" were usually bought for storekeepers who wanted to keep a pistol in their pocket, for law enforcement, bankers, gamblers, pimps, prostitutes, and others who wanted to carry a hide-out gun. 

The Smith & Wesson Safety Hammerless -- Lemon Squeezer -- Bicycle Revolver

There is a reason that I said that there were other options for law enforcement backup pistols by the 1950s. One reason has to do with how top-break revolvers made way for solid-frame swing-out cylinder J-frame Smith & Wesson models. Smith & Wesson J-frame revolvers are snub-nose revolvers that incorporate the "Bicycle Revolver" concept. And while snub-nose revolvers with hammers were plentiful for many years, it wasn't until the early 1950s that Smith & Wesson applied its safety hammerless concept to a J-frame revolver. 

The result was the Smith & Wesson Centennial Model 40 revolver. It came about in 1952 on the 100th anniversary of the founding of Smith & Wesson.

Smith & Wesson Centennial Model 40

Since the hammer was completely concealed, it was a double-action-only handgun. It was produced until 1974 and came in .38 Special. The Model 40 was a double-action-only revolver that featured a fully concealed hammer and still incorporated a grip safety. As far as I can tell looking at Smith & Wesson's line of revolvers, none today incorporate a grip safety in its design. 

Tom Correa

Wyatt Earp's Vendetta Posse Charged With The Murder Of Frank Stilwell

By March 25, 1882, a Grand Jury charged Wyatt Earp, his brother Warren Earp, Doc Holliday, and the others in the entire Earp Posse with the murder of Frank Stilwell. 

The below transcript of the murder indictment was returned as a "True Bill" by Grand Jury foreman John S. Carr on March 25, 1882. This is the Grand Jury Indictment for the murder of Frank Stilwell: Territory of Arizona vs. Doc Holliday, Wyatt Earp, Warren Earp, Sherman McMasters, and John Johnson.

In the District Court of the First Judicial District of the Territory of Arizona in and for the County of Pima:

Territory of Arizona

against

Doc Holliday, Wyatt Earp, Warren Earp, Sherman McMasters and John Johnson.

Doc Holliday, Wyatt Earp, Warren Earp, Sherman McMasters, and John Johnson are accused by the Grand Jury of the County of Pima and Territory of Arizona on their oath by this indictment of the crime of murder committed as follows: 

That the said Doc Holliday at the City of Tucson in the said County of Pima on or about the 20th day of March, A.D. 1882 with force and arms in and upon the body of one Frank Stillwell then and there being, then and there feloniously, wilfully, and of his malice aforethought did make an assault and the said Doc Holliday a certain gun charged with gunpowder and leaden bullets which he the said Doc Holliday in his hands then and there feloniously, wilfully, and of his malice aforethought in and upon the body of him the said Frank Stilwell did discharge and shoot off giving to him the said Frank Stilwell then and there with the said gun so discharged and shot off as aforesaid in and upon the body of him the said Frank Stilwell a mortal wound of which said mortal wound he the said Frank Stilwell instantly died. And the said Wyatt Earp, Warren Earp, Sherman McMasters, and John Johnson then and there feloniously, wilfully and of their malice aforethought were present standing by, aiding, abetting assisting and maintaining the said Doc Holliday the felony and murder as aforesaid set forth, in manner and form aforesaid to do and commit, and so the Jurors aforesaid upon their oath aforesaid do say that the said Doc Holliday, Wyatt Earp, Warren Earp, Sherman McMasters, and John Johnson, the said frank Stilwell then and there in manner and form aforesaid feloniously, wilfully and of their malice aforethought did Kill and Murder: Contrary to the form of Statute in such case made and provided and against the peace and dignity of the Territory of Arizona

Second Count

and the said Grand Jurors do further present that the said Wyatt Earp on or about the said 20th day of March A.D. 1882 at said City of Tucson in said County of Pima with force and arms in and upon the body of the said Frank Stilwell then and there being, then and there feloniously wilfully and of his malice aforethought did make an assault and the said Wyatt Earp a certain gun charged with gunpowder and leaden bullets which he the said Wyatt Earp in his hands then and there had and held, then and there feloniously, wilfully, and of malice aforethought in and upon the body of him the said Frank Stilwell did discharge and shoot off, giving to him the said Frank Stilwell then and there with the said gun so discharged and shot off as aforesaid in and upon the body of him the said Frank Stilwell a mortal wound of which said mortal wound he the said Frank Stilwell instantly died. And said Doc Holliday, Warren Earp, Sherman McMasters, and John Johnson then and there feloniously, wilfully and of their malice aforethought were present standing by, aiding abetting assisting and maintaining the said Wyatt Earp the felony and Murder as aforesaid set forth in manner and form aforesaid to do and commit. and so the Jurors aforesaid upon their oaths aforesaid do say that the said Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Warren Earp, Sherman McMasters and John Johnson the said Frank Stilwell then and there in manner and form aforesaid feloniously, wilfully and of their malice aforethought did Kill and Murder: Contrary to the form of the Statute in such case made and provided and against the peace and dignity of the Territory of Arizona.

Third Count

and the said Grand Jurors do further present that the said Warren Earp on or about the said 20th day of March A.D. 1882 at said City of Tucson in said County of Pima with force and arms in and upon the body of the said Frank Stilwell then and there being, then and there feloneously, wilfully and of his malice aforethought did make an assault and the said Warren Earp a certain gun charged with gunpowder and leaden bullets which he the said Warren Earp in his hands, then and there had and held, then and there feloniously, wilfully and of his malice aforethought in and upon the body of him the said Frank Stilwell did discharge and shoot off giving to him the said Frank Stilwell then and there with the said gun so discharged and shot off as aforesaid in and upon the body of him the said Frank Stilwell a mortal wound of which said mortal wound he the said Frank Stilwell instantly died. And the said Doc Holliday, Wyatt Earp, Sherman McMasters, and John Johnson then and there feloniously, wilfully and of their malice aforethought were present, standing by, aiding, abetting assisting and maintaining the said Warren Earp the felony and murder as aforesaid set forth in manner and form aforesaid to do and commit. and so the Jurors aforesaid upon the oaths aforesaid do say that the said Warren Earp, Doc Holliday, Wyatt Earp, Sherman McMasters, and John Johnson the said Frank Stilwell then and there in manner and form aforesaid feloneously, wilfully and of their malice aforethought did Kill and Murder: Contrary to the form of Statute in such case made as provided and against the peace and dignity of the Territory of Arizona.

Fourth Count

and the said Grand Jurors do further present that the said Sherman McMasters on or about the said 20th day of March A.D. 1882, at said City of Tucson in said County of Pima with force and arms in and upon the body of the said Frank Stilwell then and there being, then and there feloniously, wilfully and of his malice aforethought did make an assault and the said Sherman McMasters a certain gun charges with gun powder and leaden bullets which he the said Sherman McMasters in his hands then and there had held, then and there feloniously wilfully and of his malice aforethought in and upon the body of there the said Frank Stilwell did discharge and shoot off, giving to him the said Frank Stilwell then and there with said gun so discharged and shot off as aforesaid in and upon the body of him the said Frank Stilwell a mortal wound of which said mortal wound he the said Frank Stilwell instantly died. and the said Doc Holliday, Warren Earp, Wyatt Earp, and John Johnson then and there feloniously, wilfully and of their malice aforethought were present standing by, aiding, abetting, assisting and maintaining the said Sherman McMasters the Felony and Murder as aforesaid set forth, in manner and form aforesaid, to do and commit. And so the Jurors aforesaid do say that the said Sherman McMasters, Doc Holliday, Wyatt Earp, Warren Earp, and John Johnson the said Frank Stilwell then and there in manner and form aforesaid feloniously wilfully and of their malice aforethought did Kill and Murder: Contrary to the form of the Statute in such case made and provided and against the peace and dignity of the Territory of Arizona.

Fifth Count

and the said Grand Jurors do further present that the said John Johnson on or about the said 20th day of march A. D. 1882 at said City of Tucson in said county of Pima with force and arms in and upon the body of said Frank Stilwell then and there being, then and there feloneously, wilfully and of his malice aforethought did make an assault, and the said John Johnson a certain gun charged with gun powder and leaden bullets which he the said John Johnson in his hands then and there had and held, then and there feloneously, wilfully, and of his malice aforethought in and upon the body of him the said Frank Stilwell did discharge and shoot off, giving to him the said Frank Stilwell then and there with the said gun so discharged and shot off as aforesaid in and upon the body of him the said Frank Stilwell a mortal wound he the said Frank Stilwell instantly died, and the said Doc Holliday, Warran Earp, Wyatt Earp and Sherman McMasters then and there feloneously, wilfully and of their malice aforethought were present standing by, aiding, abetting, assisting, and maintaining the said John Johnson the Felony and Murder as aforesaid set forth, in manner and form aforesaid to do and committ and so the Jurors aforesaid upon their oaths aforesaid do say that said John Johnson Doc Holliday, Wyatt Earp, Warren Earp and Sherman McMasters the said Frank Stilwell then and there in manner and form aforsaid feloneously, wilfully and of their malice aforethought did Kill and Murder: Contrary to the form of the Statute in such case made and provided and against the dignity and peace of the Territory of Arizona

Hugh Farley District Attorney
of Pima County Arizona Territory

The excerpt below was published in the Ventura Free Press, Volume VII, Number 39, 29 March 1882:

An Arizona Feud

Tucson, March 21. -- Last night another crime was added to the many which have occurred during the past few months, arising out of the well-known trouble in Cochise County between cowboys and the Earp brothers. A young man, about 26 years of age, named Frank Stillwell, came to his death from gunshot wounds inflicted, it is supposed, by four men belonging to the Earp party. 

Just as the western bound passenger train was pulling out of the depot at 7 o'clock several shots were heard, but they attracted no attention, being attributed to the excessive enthusiasm of some citizens on account of the illumination of the town by gaslight. 

Daylight this morning, however, revealed the dead body of Stillwell lying a short distance west of Porter’s Hotel, near the railroad track, riddled with bullets and buckshot, six shots having taken effect. 

One load of seven buckshot had entered the left breast, passed downward, and out through the back. His left hand and coat were burned and blackened by powder, showing that the gun when discharged was in close proximity to him. His right leg was badly mutilated. He had, no doubt, been taken unawares, as a pistol with all the loads intact was found on his person. When discovered, the body was stripped of all valuables, including a watch and chain. A part of the latter was found attached to the vest.

The above excerpt from the Ventura Free Press, Volume VII, Number 39, was published on 29 March 1882. It is part of a larger news story published via syndicated telegraph out of Tucson. The first report of the murder of Frank Stilwell was syndicated by telegraphed right after Stilwell's body was found. 

Does the above description of how Frank Stilwell was killed match how Hollywood and Earp fans depict Stilwell's killing? And what about the people in that area at the time, what was the sentiment of the people in Arizona at the time?

Did the people there see the "Arizona Fued" as a case of the "good guys" versus "bad guys"? Read the editorial below and ask yourself if it closely resembles what we're led to believe how things were.

Published in the Ventura Free Press, Volume VII, Number 39, 29 March 1882:

EDITORIAL NOTES

Two gangs of desperadoes in Arizona have got foul, and each is murdering the other at every opportunity, thereby doing the Territory a service by wiping each other out. The leaders of the respective gangs are the Clantons and the Earps, and two of each, besides some followers, have already been killed. The Clantons years ago squatted on the Colonio rancho, in this county, but they did not “stay.” Both gangs are a set of murderers, and the authorities should let them keep on shooting until the last one is exterminated.

 I know it's only a short editorial, but from what I've read, it seems to capture the feelings of the people in that area at the time. I will report more on this later. 

Tom Correa