Smith & Wesson - A Tough Success Story - Part 4

Well, my e-mail says that you want part four of my series on Smith & Wesson. I'm sorry it's taken so long.

In part four on Smith & Wesson, I'll discuss the importance of Smith & Wesson in the American Gun Industry, talk about how this great company is staying afloat, and I'll also try to answer a few e-mail questions - including one special e-mail that you might find very interesting.

As we know, Smith & Wesson is one of the world's largest manufacturers of quality handguns, law enforcement products and firearm safety/security products.

The company also provides a lot more. It is a fact that Smith & Wesson provides shooter protection, knives, apparel, footwear, and other accessory lines.

Smith & Wesson is based in Springfield, Massachusetts with manufacturing facilities in Springfield and Houlton, Maine. The Smith & Wesson Academy is America's longest running firearms training facility for law enforcement, military and security professionals.

So Let's Start By Looking At The Numbers!

Recently, on June 28th, 2012, Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation's shares jumped in after-hours trading after the legendary firearm maker said its fourth-quarter net income soared on strong sales, particularly of its polymer pistols and modern sporting rifles, and it gave forecasts that beat all expectations.

Its shares soared more than 15 percent after hours on the news.

The company earned $12.5 Million for the quarter that ended April 30. That's up over a Million dollars from the same quarter last year.

Analysts polled by FactSet anticipated earnings from continuing operations of 17 cents per share on revenue of $128.6 Million. Smith & Wesson's total quarterly revenue grew 28 percent to $129.8 million from $101.7 Million.

During the year, Smith & Wesson, based in Springfield, Mass., paid down $30 million of debt and increased its manufacturing capabilities. It said that that growth helped it lay a solid foundation for the new fiscal year.

For fiscal 2012, the company reported net income of $16.1 million, or 25 cents per share, compared with a loss of $82.8 million, or $1.30 per share, last year. From continuing operations, it earned 41 cents per share, compared with 13 cents per share last year. Its revenue rose to $412 million from $342.2 million last year.

On June 29, 2012, Nasdaq stocks posted its large percentage increases. Among the 10 biggest percentage gainers on Nasdaq at the close of trading that day was Smith & Wesson which rose 20.5 percent to $8.31.

For the 2013 fiscal year, it forecast earnings between 60 cents per share and 65 cents per share on revenue between $485 million and $505 million. Analysts are expecting the company to earn 50 cents on revenue of $466 million.

The reason: Americans are buying more guns than ever.
 
Friends, this is a big deal. The reason is that Smith & Wesson looks to be making a come back!
 
This figures might dazzle investors. They might impress brokers and bankers. They should also make you feel good, because these figures point to a jump in sales.
 
Just a month before these numbers came out, two prominent gun makers came out with "Buy" ratings because sales show that more Americans than ever before are opening up to the idea of owning a gun.

Fact is that gun sales have been booming this year. In March, Sturm Ruger said that it received orders for more than one million units, forcing it to stop accepting new orders. Ruger said it will start taking orders again but that was supposed to be last month.

The reason for the huge demand is that many believe, and yes, fear is rising that President Barack Obama will be re-elected.

Millions of Americans are worried that Obama will institute extremely restrictive gun laws.

Since becoming President, he has routinely by-passed the legislative branch of our government - Congress - by using his ability to put out Executive Orders to make sweeping changes that wouldn't have otherwise been able to get by the American people.

President Obama has signed 130 Executive Orders to date during his Administration.

When president Obama couldn't get his so-called Dream Act legislation passed through Congress. The legislation that was basically an Amnesty Program for Illegal Aliens, Obama used his privilege to write an Executive Order put it into place.

Now, many in the House and the Senate say President Obama's Executive Order on Immigration "has actually made the problem worse."

Americans fear what Obama will do next, and gun control is a topic he said he will address in his second term in office. Because more and more fear Obama because of his ideology and behavior, Americans are buying what they think will be outlawed or be restricted to only law enforcement in the future.

Fear of Obama, and a Growing Acceptance!

Besides the fear of Obama being re-elected, there is a growing social acceptance of firearms that is also driving up sales.

Citing Federal Bureau of Investigation background checks, most say that interest in buying guns for either protection or leisure is growing in regions aren't traditional gun buyers.

Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:SWHC) target has been increased by Benchmark Co. following the adjusted point of sale FBI background checks increased 24.5% in June.

The company has provided an FY13 guidance which the firm states is “extremely strong.” The firm believes that commercial firearm sales will be strong throughout the next year causing it to keep its Buy rating.

And yes, the number of background checks rose the most in the Northeast, West and Midwest in 2011, according to the FBI data. The South was the slowest growing region in 2011, a change from 2008 when the South led the country in background check growth.

There is something else, there seems to be a change in attitude about gun ownership. So for Americans who are interested in staying vigilant of our 2nd Amendment Rights, and of course great gun makers like Smith & Wesson, new gun buyers will probably keep going up even after the election this November.

The reason that Smith & Wesson is doing well is due to it's diligence to produce fine firearms.

This is an important part of this article, so let me explain what I've done lately.

To get a feel of how sales is going for Smith & Wesson, and of course customer satisfaction, I visited a number of gun stores from Modesto to San Francisco Bay Area, from Sacramento to Reno.

Once there, I looked at what Smith & Wesson has to offer as a "Buyer" - a consumer. I asked all sorts of questions pertaining to cost effectiveness, quality and workmanship, dependability and ease of use - all in relation to itself in years gone by, as well as to in relation to other makers.

Out of all of those who I spoke with, only one store owner was concerned about the quality of the new M&P15 line of tactical rifles. Other than him, all raved about the quality of all of the guns coming out of Smith & Wesson these days.

As for the M&P15, to me with my background in the Marine Corps and security, the M&P 15 is a civilian M4. And yes, that's a good thing!

As I said in part three, the Smith & Wesson's popular line of M&P15 semi-auto tactical rifles is a ready-to-go design. It is accurate, easy to operate and tear down, very good adjustable rear sights, and has a good price that is not to over the top. To me, I liked the quality and workmanship.

So yes, I really do like the M&P15. I also like the M&P40 semi-auto pistol because it is a very nice extremely comfortable in the hand firearm. Smith & Wesson puts out real quality.

Quality: That's the bottom line!

From what I seen, people are concerned about quality almost as much as they are concerned about price. In these hard times, people don't have a lot of what was once called "disposable income" - a term that has never made any sense to me.

If Smith &Wesson sacrifice on Quality Assurance or Quality Control, cut corners, or simply steer more of their funds to other products instead of their firearm product line, then the company will again be in financial trouble.

Research and development (R&D) is great. It is what helps a company come out with new and better products, but if any company spends more of its available capital on R&D and less on its Quality Assurance programs - then that company will find that it has taken the very thing that keeps its company alive and squandered it.

R&D makes a company money down the road, Quality Assurance/ Quality Control gets a company down the road.

If sales drop for Smith & Wesson, it will be because of poor workmanship, poor quality, or an unpopular unacceptable inferior product. It can happen if Quality Assurance and Control is not the company's priorities.

Now, before ending this series on Smith & Wesson, I have to answer one particular email that took me to task about something that I wrote in another article. The reader thinks it simply was "not nice" of me to say what I did about part of Smith & Wesson's latest line of revolvers.

In one of my RANDOM SHOTS articles, I made mention that I was looking into a pistol for Concealed Carry  - and yes, I made the comment that I find some of the guns in the Smith & Wesson's latest line of revolvers these days - well, ugly.

I state, "I have owned a few Smith's in my time. I've always liked the way they handle, the feel of the pistol, their reliability. I've always liked their balance, and the look, the basic aesthetics of their line of pistols. Their guns were always nice and simple, and they didn't look like toys. They looked like firearms, guns, pistols.

Like many others, I wanted to buy another gun lately so I went to a Gun Shop and took a look at what I had already found on the Internet. Some in their new line of revolvers are ugly. Please understand that's just my opinion, but Smith & Wesson is putting out some really ugly guns.

OK, so I like traditional looks. And yes, I know that some of their change is being made "to improve" on their guns. But seriously friends, I really believe that aesthetics are important.

As I look at their line of handguns these days, and taking into consideration their extremely high prices, I'm probably going to go with another manufacturer like say Ruger or maybe even Charter Arms." 

Well, as for the price of a Smith & Wessons these days? I found them to be very comparable to other top makers of similar quality like say Ruger. Obviously, Smith & Wesson or Ruger are not the "economically" priced guns that Charter Arms puts out - and no, I really don't know what their quality is like these days.

But I've owned a Charter Arms Bulldog since the early 80's, so if they are anything like they were before then it was very good. I'm hoping to find out soon enough as I'm looking into doing an article on Charter Arms soon.

As for "ugly"? 

I stand by what I wrote in that I don't like what some Smith & Wesson's look like these days.   

Where Ruger was always sort of bulky, but put together like tank, Smith & Wesson was always streamlined with classic good looks. 

I know first hand that Smith & Wesson puts out a really reliable, well balanced, hard to beat line of firearms. I'm just saying that some like the ones above simply aren't as aesthetically pleasing. They are strange looking guns.

But that hasn't stopped me from loving Smith & Wesssons!

In fact, recently on my recommendation, my brother purchased a Smith & Wesson Bodyguard .38 caliber revolver.

It is a very nice revolver. Since he has only limited experience with handguns, I figure that the small very nicely built Smith & Wesson Bodyguard with its laser sights in .38 would be a perfect gun for him for personal protection.

This gun is an instant classic!

No I've never been crazy about lasers, but this has a great integrated lasers setup. It's very concealable, very lightweight, and extremely simple to use.

This revolver has a stainless steel barrel, a one-piece aluminum alloy upper frame for strength, a ambidextrous cylinder release, a very comfortable "ergonomic" one-piece rubber grip, a very nice very smooth trigger pull, with an internal hammer and smooth fixed sights that won't snag on clothing.

The day my brother picked it up, he brought it over to my range on my property. We went through almost 100 rounds target shooting. All I can say is that it preformed super! It has very good accuracy with out the laser, and once the laser is activated life is just that much more easy.

And yes, it looks like there my be one or two in my future because, besides me, my wife even likes it.

And that brings me to my last point, more and more women are wanting to learn how to shoot and carry a handgun for personal protection. They don't want complicated. They was ease of use, dependability, reliability. The Smith & Wesson Bodyguard in .38 is all of that!

This is the perfect little shooter for my wife or anyone else who is a novice with guns and needs to use one.

I can't wait to purchase one for my wife as soon as I can. The problem with that is that Smith & Wesson is putting out their guns as fast as they can to meet the demand. Even Bass Pro Shop, who I visited recently along with others, said that they are back-ordered trying to get that model in.

And that's the point, Smith & Wesson is doing fine. If they are an indication as to how other American gun makers are doing, then our gun industry may be on the rebound from years of lawsuits and government intrusion.

It is great to see an American gun maker making guns in America - and doing pretty well at that.

Smith & Wesson - A Tough Success Story - Part 1

Smith & Wesson - A Tough Success Story - Part 2

Smith & Wesson - A Tough Success Story - Part 3

Story by Tom Correa

RANDOM SHOTS - Democrat Wants Islam In American Schools, Morgan Freeman's Way Out There, Black Teen Gets Life for Murder of Two British Tourist, and Much More!

FIRST SHOT!

Democrat Congressman Andre Carson says Public Schools Should Be Like Muslim Madrassas

With all that has taken place since the Supreme Court enacted a prohibition on state-sponsored Christian prayer in public schools since the early 1960s, I kind of find this next story sort of ironic.

It was reported yesterday, July 7th, that Democrat Congressman Andre Carson from Indiana wants American schools to be more like Islamic ones - called madrassas.

Madrasah is the Arabic word for an Islamic educational institution. Obviously Representative Carson must really have had a great experience to say that that is what America needs.

Rep Andre Carson of Indiana — one of only two Muslims in Congress — claims the country will always miss out unless it changes its education system to resemble faith-based schools such as the Islamic madrassas.

“America will never tap into educational innovation and ingenuity without looking at the model that he have in our madrassas, where innovation is encouraged, where the foundation is the Koran, and that model we are pushing in our schools meets the needs of our students,” Carson said.

I know that this may be hard to believe, but he is a three-term congressman from Indianapolis. He said this when he spoke at the Islamic Circle of North America in Hartford, Connecticut, on May 26th 2012.

Video only surfaced recently when it was posted by WorldNetDaily.

“America must understand that she needs Muslims,” said Congressman Carson. “There are over 7 million Muslims in this country. And while we are under attack, we cannot retreat.”

Interesting comment since they are the ones doing the attacking. I wonder where he gets his information?

Since the video came to light, Carson has claimed his comments were taken out of context, saying his speech addressed "Islamaphobia."

He told the Indianapolis Star, "This is a message that I’ve given consistently to Christian groups, Jewish groups. The question becomes for me, ‘Why are the graduation rates higher at faith-based institutions? What are they doing that we might be able to extract from that? That is not an argument saying that we should remove separation of church and state, because I think that is important in the public sector."

He told the Huffington Post, "I do not believe that any particular faith should be the foundation of our public schools, it is important that we take note of the instructional tools these schools utilize to empower their young people."

His speech has started up something in the way of talk regarding a possibly agenda among the Muslim community is America. But then again, this is not the first time that Congressman Carson has sparked outrage.

Last year he said the tea party would like to see black people "hanging from a tree."

It's becoming more and more apparent that the Democrat Party is ripe with fools!

SECOND SHOT!

Black 17 year old teenager Shawn Tyson gets Life for Murder of two White British tourists

Shawn Tyson was in  the courtroom when the verdict was read in his murder trial at Sarasota County Court, March 28, 2012, in Sarasota, Florida.

The 17 year old black Florida teenager received a life sentence after a jury convicted him of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of two young British tourists last April, a case that generated blaring tabloid headlines in the U.K. press - but hardly nothing here in the states.

Shawn Tyson, 17 years old, sat stone-faced as the jury's verdict was read and as two friends of the victims spoke angrily about the crime. When Judge Rick De Furia asked the black teenager if he wanted to say anything before being sentenced, Tyson mumbled, "No!"

The verdict came after two hours of deliberations and the sentencing about an hour after the verdict. Because he is under 18, Tyson is ineligible for the death penalty and is facing a mandatory life sentence.

During the trial, witnesses testified that the 17 year old black teenager Shawn Tyson shot James Cooper, 25, and James Kouzaris, 24, last April 16th.

The two white British men were vacationing in Sarasota, Florida, and spent an evening drinking when they got lost and walked into a housing project where Tyson lived. So to say, it was the wrong move on there part.

Details of their deaths have gripped the British news media. Tabloids there have written stories saying the men were "slaughtered" in a Florida "ghetto." And yes, they are right as can be.

In a statement, the families of James Cooper and James Kouzaris accused the 17 year old Shawn Tyson of being "evil." They said that they had been given "a life sentence when our sons were so brutally and needlessly taken from us. Ours is a life sentence, with no chance of parole from a broken heart, and a shattered soul."

Joe Hallett, a friend of the victims who sat through the entire trial, said the pair befriended people from different walks of life and would have tried that with Shawn Tyson, as well.

"I have to try to make you understand the pain you brought to so many people," Joe Hallett said directly to Shawn Tyson. "It was through your deadly action that you've taken us all on a journey to Hell. Every night before you go to sleep, every morning you wake up, I want you to think of my friends who were murdered."

During a news conference in front of the courthouse following the verdict, Joe Hallett praised Sarasota police and municipal officials. But he criticized the U.S. government for what he said was its failure to send condolences to the victims' families.

I'm sorry for the loss of James Cooper and James Kouzaris. I remember getting lost once in Detroit and was actually escorted to a freeway on ramp to get out of town safely by a Police Officer there who informed me that I was the wrong skin color to be there. It is a scary feeling to be lost in such a hostile land.

A prosecutor read a statement from James Cooper's parents and played a video at the request of his parents. The video, which portrayed the young man from the time he was born, was also played at his funeral.

James Kouzaris was from Northampton and James Cooper was from Hampton Lucy, Warwick. Both were considered fun-loving world travelers by friends — but also smart and cautious.

Authorities said both were drunk when they got lost and wandered just before 3 a.m. into the housing project where Tyson lived. Witnesses testified that Shawn Tyson told them he saw two "crackers" — his phrase for white people — walking through the neighborhood and that he intended to rob them.

The young white tourists said they didn't have any money and begged 17 year old Shawn Tyson to let them go home. The men also told the teenager that they were lost.

"Since you ain't got no money, then I have something for your ass," Shawn Tyson recounted to a witness, then added that he shot the men several times.

Just like that, huh! Animal bastard is too light a term. I'm just hoping his prison stay will be as horrible as God can see fit!

The two tourists' bodies were found shirtless on the street and their baggy pants were pulled down to their thighs. Both men still had their wallets and did in fact have money.

James Cooper also had a cellphone and camera in his pants pocket. Authorities later found that James Kouzaris' blood alcohol level was 0.243 and Cooper's was 0.214 — well past Florida's legal limit for intoxication when driving, which is 0.08.

During closing arguments, Assistant State Attorney Ed Brodsky told the jury that the case was about "opportunities."

"For James Cooper and James Kouzaris, they had seized an opportunity to travel abroad," Ed Brodsky said. "Shawn Tyson seized upon an opportunity to rob and kill two men."

I say it's about savagery! Shawn Tyson is nothing less than a savage. An animal, but God knows that I have never seen animals act like that black teenager. Maybe it's just something blacks do nowadays. Kill and hate.

In the end, 17 year old teenage Shawn Tyson was his own undoing.

Several prosecution witnesses said Tyson told his friends about the shootings in the hours after the killings, then asked friends to hide the murder weapon and bury the bullets. At the trial a DNA expert said 17 year old Tyson's skin cells were found on Cooper's jeans.

Tyson maintained to police that he was at home during the murders. But witnesses spotted him crawling into his window shortly after hearing gunshots.

Tyson did not testify. His attorneys called only one witness, a crime scene technician, and questioned him briefly. Defense attorneys also tried to discredit the witnesses by saying many of them had criminal records and cooperated with detectives to avoid jail time.

Authorities say Tyson wasn't alone the night of the shooting; police have not charged the second suspect because they don't have enough evidence - supposedly that person is currently in prison on unrelated charges.

Paul Davis, another friend of the men who attended the trial, had another message for the black teenager Tyson.

"You might think that being a man is about carrying a gun, but it isn't," Paul Davis said. "The stupid thing about what you've done is that you've ended your own life."

Paul Davis is right. With murdering James Cooper and James Kouzaris, he effectively ended his own life.

That is unless of course the Justice Department under Attorney General Eric Holder, the ACLU, or the NAACP black civil rights lawyers turn this around in the future to make it appear as though James Cooper and James Kouzaris were the actual assailants.

From what I've seen this year, it could happen!

THIRD SHOT!

Morgan Freeman says "We Invented God"

OK, so I usually don't care what liberals out of Hollywood say because I really believe that most live in glass houses in that they are not without major issues in their lives.

Most put way too much importance on their spot in this crazy world, and though I really enjoy some TV and films, I really wish they would just act or sing or do what they do without being -  well, liberal all the time!

I really like some of Morgan Freeman's films in the same way that I like some, but not all, of Clint Eastwood's movies. He is a really good actor. And honestly, I think it must really be extremely difficult to put a voice and emotions to words and actions written by someone else.

Like I said, I've always liked Morgan Freeman's work on screen, but this was on the Internet in early June -and I still don't know what to think about it. It just seems hard to believe.

The Science Channel has cast Morgan Freeman as the host of its new series, "Through the Wormhole With Morgan Freeman."

When The Wrap asked Freeman about one of the coming episodes, titled "Did we invent God?," the distinguished actor didn't hold back.

"Yes [...] Well, here's a scientific question: Has anybody ever seen hard evidence? What we get is theories from our earlier prophets. Now, people who think that God invented us think that the Earth can't be more than 6,000 years old. So I guess it's a question of belief. My belief system doesn't support a creator as such, as we can call God, who created us in His/Her/Its image."

Answering whether he was an atheist or agnostic, he said that was "hard" because the actor thinks "we invented God."

"So if I believe in God, and I do, it's because I think I'm God," he said.
"Through the Wormhole" is a show that deals with weighty philosophical questions like the existence of God and whether we're alone in the universe.

"The question of if we’re alone only occurs to you every now and then, when you look up and say, 'Oh goodness, this can’t be all there is,'" Mr Freeman told the Huffington Post earlier this year. "If you are going to try to logically answer the question of if we’re alone in the universe, the answer is, 'We can’t be.'”

Actor Morgan Freeman famously played the Almighty in "Bruce Almighty" and its sequel, "Evan Almighty." He's set to star as the Earth-bound Lucius Fox in "The Dark Knight Rises," which is out in theaters on July 20.

So does playing God on screen give you unique insight into deity? That's what the some are asking. As hard as it is to believe, Morgan Freeman seems to think so.

But wait! That isn't the only craziness from the actor.

FOURTH SHOT!

Morgan Freeman says Barack Hussein Obama not America's First Black President!

Yes, it's true!

A few days ago, on July 5, 2012, the Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman joined Tell Me More host Michel Martin to discuss his new movie, The Magic of Belle Isle.

What came out of his mouth was a huge surprise. Believe it or not, when he was talking about President Obama, the actor said that he thinks Obama should not be called "America's First Black President."

Since President Obama is clearly black, Mr Freeman's reason amazed me!

"First thing that always pops into my head regarding our president is that all of the people who are setting up this barrier for him ... they just conveniently forget that Barack had a mama, and she was white — very white American, Kansas, middle of America," Mr Freeman said.

"There was no argument about who he is or what he is. America's First Black President hasn't arisen yet. He's not America's First Black President — he's America's first mixed-race president."

Try to understand his reasoning here. Even though President Obama is black, according to Morgan Freeman - the president cannot be considered black because he had a white mother.

By God, Morgan Freeman is a Racist!

The NPR report stated that many of Morgan Freeman's films explore important chapters of Black American history: Amistad was about the trans-Atlantic slave trade; Driving Miss Daisy was set in the civil rights era; and Glory centered on an all-black Union Army Regiment established during the Civil War.

Not surprising, Mr Freeman says that he has been disappointed by what he considers unfair treatment of Obama by his political opponents.

I gather Mr Freeman thinks that everyone in America should have just rolled over and let Obama do whatever he wanted to do because he's the country's first black president? Oh wait, I'm sorry Mr Freeman doesn't think President Obama is black because his mother was white. 

Mr Freeman said, "He is being purposely, purposely thwarted by the Republican Party, who started out at the beginning of his tenure by saying, 'We are going to do whatever is necessary to make sure that he's only going to serve one term.' That means they will not cooperate with him on anything. So to say he's ineffective is a misappropriation of the facts."

Again, that's not surprising. It just seems a little early to rewrite what has taken place in the three and a half years of the Obama administration. Besides, Mr Freeman forgets that President Obama had complete control over both Houses of Congress for his first 2 years in office.

And yes, there are others who Morgan Freeman is not happy with!

FIFTH SHOT!

Morgan Freeman said Obama has made Racism worse

In September of 2011, Morgan Freeman said that Obama has actually made Racism worse and that the Tea Party will do "Whatever [It] Can To Get This Black Man Outta Here."

That's right, as untrue as that is, actor Morgan Freeman believes it!

But it's not because of the Race Card that Obama or even Attorney General Eric Holder have played again and again, it's because of the Tea Party! Yes, they are responsible for race relations going down to the dogs since Obama took office.
In an interview on CNN, with liberal host Piers Morgan, Morgan Freeman actually said that Obama has actually made Racism worse and blames it on the Tea Party - saying they're "going to do whatever [they] can to get this black man outta here."

PIERS MORGAN, HOST: Has Obama helped the process of eradicating racism, or has it in a strange way made it worse.

MORGAN FREEMAN: Made it worse. Made it worse. Look at, look, the Tea Partiers, who are controlling the Republican Party, stated, and what’s this guy’s name, Mitch O’Connell. Is that his, O’Connell?

HOST: Yeah, Mitch McConnell, yeah.

MORGAN FREEMAN: Mitch McConnell. Their stated policy, publicly stated, is to do whatever it takes to see to it that Obama only serves one term. What’s, what does that, what underlines that? “Screw the country. We’re going to whatever we do to get this black man, we can, we’re going to do whatever we can to get this black man outta here.”

HOST: But is that necessarily a racist thing?

MORGAN FREEMAN: It is a racist thing.

HOST: Is it not Republicans, wouldn’t that say that about any Democrat president?

MORGAN FREEMAN: No, they would have gotten rid of Bill Clinton if they could have.

HOST: They tried.

MORGAN FREEMAN: They did try, but still. I don’t, they’re not going to get rid of Obama either. I think they’re shooting themselves in the head.

HOST: Does it unnerve you that the Tea Party are gaining such traction?

MORGAN FREEMAN: Yes.

HOST: Why?

MORGAN FREEMAN: Well, it just shows the weak, dark, underside of America. We’re supposed to be better than that. We really are. That’s, that’s why all those people were in tears when Obama was elected president. “Ah, look at what we are. Look at how, this is America.” You know? And then it just sort of started turning because these people surfaced like stirring up muddy water.

Wow, is that what it shows? Interesting stuff huh?

And yes, this man has gotten awards for his wisdom. Imagine that!

To me, it shows that people - and yes, not just those in the Tea Party - are treating him just the same as they would any other president - not special with some sort of insight that only he has, but instead with open and honest constructive criticism and a fair appraisal of what they see him doing.

What's wrong with that? Nothing!

Because of this, many people - even those who were his most ardent supporters - have lost faith in Obama and now see him as just more of the same from the Democrat Party. He is simply another politician who has tried the sell the American people a bill of goods that they don't want.

Proof? Well, fact is, Obama's poll numbers continue to sink.

The reality is that more and more people - even some in the liberal media, believe it or not - have come to the conclusion that it is true that Barack Obama was totally un-qualified for the job as President. Fact is that his performance proves it.

What folks like Morgan Freeman, and really most of liberal America, basically doesn't understand is that there is nothing racist about disagreeing with Obama or any other president.

Fact is, it is all about his policies.

People have a right to feel the way they do without being labeled racist.

That is not right, and to make such an accusation is - well, extremely racist. Besides, it is now having a horrible effect because the term "racist" has been thrown around so much since he was elected that the word itself is losing its power and real meaning.

But, sorry to say, I really agree with others out there who see those types of accusations getting louder and even more often as we get nearer to the Presidential election. And yes, if Obama loses, then most likely there will be black-Americans out there who will surely shout "racism."

Of course, as everyone should remember, we were told that with the election of the first black president that our nation would come together.

I agree with Morgan Freeman on only one of his points: Yes, Obama has made racism worse. In fact, I really believe that racial problems in America are at the lowest point that they have been in at least 40 years.

If Obama loses the upcoming November election, then I see racism as being the excuse for riots in the streets, killings, and cities on fire.

SIXTH SHOT!

Hero lifeguard who was fired after saving man outside his 'zone' offered back his job

On July 05, 2012, a Florida lifeguard who was fired after leaving his beach zone to save a drowning man has been offered his job back. But, he has declined the offer.

Tomas Lopez, 21, who was fired by his then employer Jeff Ellis & Associates after his heroic actions at Hallendale Beach, 18 miles north of Miami, should never have been fired, Jeff Ellis told the Sun-Sentinel.

"I am of the opinion that the supervisors acted hastily, " Ellis said. "It was not the appropriate course of action to take."

But after being offered his old job back, Tomas Lopez told the Sun Sentinal that he now sees that the company is trying to fix the issue. And went on to say, but that "on a personal level I just don't want to work for the company anymore."

More lifeguards exit in solidarity.

The nine other lifeguards, who either quit in solidarity or were fired for stating publicly that they would also do as Lopez did, have also been offered their jobs back, according to the Sun Sentinal.

Some of them have also decided to decline.

The incident took place on July 2nd, when a beach-goer asked Lopez to help a drowning man on an unprotected part of the beach. After running to help the victim, Lopez swam toward him, double-hooked him, and brought him ashore.

An off-duty nurse tended to the swimmer's water-filled lungs before paramedics arrived.

"I was not supposed to leave my jurisdiction," Lopez told "Fox & Friends on Thursday morning.

His reward from the company for doing such a great job above and beyond the call of duty was termination. It was not until Lopez filled out an incident report about what took place that he was actually fired.

"I'm not going to obey such a ridiculous rule," Lopez continued.

According to Jeff Ellis & Associates, due to legal liabilities, the company has a policy of firing any lifeguard who rescues someone outside their jurisdiction.

Does that make sense? No! But here's more ... "We have liability issues and can't go out of the protected area," supervisor Susan Ellis initially told the Sun-Sentinel. "What he did was his own decision. He knew the company rules and did what he thought he needed to do."

The rescue victim remains in intensive care. But alive, thanks to Tomas Lopez going against stupid company rules and doing what's right!

May God Bless Tomas Lopez. He's to be admired and respected!

LAST SHOT!

Funny Pictures!

I do. I really think they're funny!

Have a great weekend!

Story by Tom Correa

My Solution to Repeal and Replace ObamaCare!

Now I don't know what anyone else has suggested, but back when all of this hoopla about Health Care started under the Clinton Administration, I suggested a way to try to cover all low income people who needed coverage.

Of course, I'm nobody so why should anyone pay an average citizen like me any attention.

My solution is a result of my own situation many years ago. Allow me to elaborate.

Back in 1995, I was on my own. I was out of work and I needed Health Care coverage - just for me.

I decided to start shopping around.

One thing that I did was to talk with a friend who was a Nurse Practitioner. She did Insurance Physicals and knew real well about what were the best Health Care deals available out there. She dealt with all of the Insurers so she would have a better idea than most of what was going on at the time.

Since she knew that I'm a Veteran, a former Marine, she advised me to go to the Veteran's Administration to see if they can provide me coverage.

Well, I did. I went to the Veteran's Hospital in Livermore, California, where I met some very nice people who were very eager to help me. They sat me down and talked to me about a "Means Test". Actually, it's called a Financial Assessment (Means Test).

Most Veterans who do not receive a VA disability or pension payment or have a VA special eligibility, such as a recently discharged Combat Veteran, must complete VA Form 10-10EZ, Application for Health Benefits.

These Veterans must provide information on their prior income year total gross household income and net worth to determine enrollment status, and co-pay responsibility for VA health care and/or prescription medication.

Total gross household income includes income of the Veteran, spouse and dependent children.

In my case, because of the amount of money that I made in 1994, it was determined that each visit would cost me a set amount of  $40 and my prescriptions would be another preset amount of $12.

To review how it works, click here: Veterans Health Benefits Cost Financial Assessment Information

From this experience, later when all of the talk about Health Care went on and on and on endlessly, and of course the ObamaCare law which none of the Democrats in Congress had the time wanted to even read, I kept thinking about my experience with the VA -- government run Health Care.

Yes, I'm sure everyone remembers the whole craziness from then Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi with her famous "We have to pass it before we can find out what's in it" speech.

That was insanity!

Can you just imagine if someone typing it up decided to put in there that the Federal Government was re-instituting Slavery? And yes, they passed it without reading it? Thank God that didn't happen under the Democrats.

Although, maybe someone should have put in there that the President and Congress gets a 50% cut in salary! I'd bet they'd wished they had read really it in that case!

But back to my small, maybe too simple, solution:

1) Repeal ObamaCare

Just do it the same as was done other bad laws like Slavery and Prohibition.

2) Use the saved funds to fix Social Security and Medicare

Yes, once ObamaCare is repealed, we should use those Billions of Dollars that are presently being used under ObamaCare to instead shore up Social Security and Medicare.

Just by doing that alone we'd save Trillions of taxpayer dollars in the future!

3) Use Medicare for very Low Income as well as Seniors.

Once Medicare is on it's feet, obviously keep it available to Seniors -- but also make it available to very low income people.

Do this without effecting the Healthcare Coverage of the rest of America.

4) Not Free!

Don't allow it to be free for anyone, but instead make it affordably paid for through "Means Tests" to see just how much an individual can afford.

Make low ages? Pay $40 a visit. Make more, but not that much more, pay $60 until you drop off the scale because you make too much money -- then you pay the maximum.

This should be no different than what the VA does right now. Use the VA system as a template. Apply it to individuals in the same way that the VA does right now -- using a sliding scale to make things fair and just.

If a person makes over a certain amount, they simply pay more than someone who doesn't.

I would suppose that, like the VA, if you make way too much money then they will politely tell you that you make too much and go away.

5) Tax Deductions and Subsidize Companies.

Yes, award companies who are putting people to work!

If we help small businesses recoup their cost through tax deductions, in a way we are subsidizing those hiring more Americans.

This is nothing new. There are all sorts of benefits that companies get from hiring the handicapped, helping return disabled worker get back into the job force, veterans, minorities and so on.

So yes, why not subsidize companies in the form of tax credits and write off some of their expense for being good providers and hiring more people.

If you are a Liberal, and are reading this, understand that what Uncle Sam gets in Income Taxes from putting more people to work is a heck of a lot more than what he'd get out of just one business laying off people as in the case of ObamaCare.

Tax credits and deductions make it advantageous to hire -- it's the American way!

Instead of doing what is being done right now -- in that the government makes hiring more people a money losing proposition -- give businesses an incentive to hire more people at full time.

Face it, Big Government, the Feds and the States like California, impede economic growth because of regulations, penalties, greedy, and desire for total oversight which is a fancy word for total control.

By subsidizing their cost, if business hire more people, we all benefit because our tax dollars go right back into the economy and the pockets of the American people - and not into the hands of some 12th level manager in some government agency.

Since smaller businesses feel the pinch worse than huge corporations, award them instead of penalizing those companies who hire more and show they are "good employers."

6) Subsidizing Health Care, But Not The Government?

Yes, but not at the method or scope that Obama thinks is possible.

Take the government out of the Health Care "Business" and put Business in the Business of Health Care.

Look, anyone who has dealt with State and Federal agencies knows real well the bottom line reason that agencies over-spend, over-regulate, and over-do-it. It's because those working for the government have no vested interest - other than personal honor - to do a good job and treat their work as a business in the private sector does.

Once you're in the government, you usually have a job for life. In the private sector, we have a vested interest in making things better, stronger, nicer, cleaner, affordable, and cost efficient because your butt will be looking for another job if it isn't.

I figure we can subsidize small businesses in the same way we subsidize Farming, Oil, Auto Manufactures, Film Studios, the Arts, and even Trains that we don't need or use, to name a few things. Actually a lot of businesses of all sorts are subsidized in one way or another.

But instead of making government jobs through a Socialist Dream like ObamaCare, help make private sector jobs by lifting one huge barrier to hiring more employees more affordable - health care.

So where's the money come from in my senario?

Well first, as I said before, use the money already allocated by Nancy Pelosi's Congress when they passed ObamaCare.

Money that is alreeady in the pipeline - like the Millions of Dollars set aside to "advertise" and push ObamaCare - can be reallocated to better use.

But here's the twist!

Use the enormous funds the we give to corrupt organizations and governments.

We need to quit funding Dictators who hoard American taxpayer money that we send in the form of Foreign Aid. Also, stop or cut our funding of over half the budget for the United Nations. And while we're at it, stop funding lawless groups like ACORN from getting Federal assistance grants.

And don't stop there! This next item is a biggy and where a lot of money can be found!

Fix Duplication, Overlap, and Redundancy!

Take the money from hundreds of other Federal agencies that do the same job. Duplication is a real problem in that everyone wants airplanes, their own armed agents, and on and on.

Yup, it can be done.

In fact, the British Defence department just cut the heck out of their Army through what is called a "Redundancy" program. They found thousands of jobs absolutely reduntant, and now they are streamlining their Defence capabilities.

Let's take on federal agencies. And also ask this question, why do some agencies have the same equipement and mission now that other agencies already have?

For example: I love our military, but why do we have Navy Special Ops called SEALs and a bigger better trained Marine Corps Special Ops called Mar Soc? Why do we have Air Force Special Ops and Army Special Ops?

That my friends is called redundancy! To me, leave the Navy on the water, keep the Air Force in the air, let troops trained for ground combat doing ground combat. Let the Marine Corps and the Army do their jobs.

And just as with them, if a federal agency is redundant to a point of absurdity, I say cut it or combine it!

Another example, how many Intelligence Organizations do we need? Granted, we all agree that we need great Intelligence Work - but why can't we do more with less managers in Washington?

And come on, you know as well as I do that that is really what it amounts to with all of these agencies.

And how about the EPA, why in the world do they need armed agents? And why is it that they moved from an advisory agency in the 1970s to a Gestapo now?

In many cases regarding agriculture, I can tell you first hand that there are multiple agencies like the USDA, the EPA, and so on, all doing the same job - state and federal.

And just how many agencies are set up to help the poor! God only knows the money wasted there!

Take some of those agencies and combine them!

Don't believe how bad redundancy really is?

Well, check out this report from the GAO, dated March of 2011.

"What GAO Found:

1) Overlap and fragmentation among government programs or activities can be harbingers of unnecessary duplication. In this report we include 81 areas for consideration drawn from GAO's prior and ongoing work.

2) We present 34 areas where agencies, offices, or initiatives have similar or overlapping objectives or provide similar services to the same populations; or where government missions are fragmented across multiple agencies or programs.

3) We also present 47 additional areas—beyond those directly related to duplication, overlap, or fragmentation—describing other opportunities for agencies or Congress to consider taking action that could either reduce the cost of government operations or enhance revenue collections for the Treasury.

4) All of these areas span a range of agencies and government missions: agriculture, defense, economic development, energy, general government, health, homeland security, international affairs, and social services.

5) Collectively, by reducing or eliminating duplication, overlap, or fragmentation and addressing these other cost savings opportunities, the federal government could potentially save billions of tax dollars annually and help agencies provide more efficient and effective services - but these actions will require some difficult decisions."

Here is the full report from the GAO, http://www.gao.gov/assets/320/315920.pdf

This can work if we decide to cut government waste, duplication, and overlap. It  bogs down business and creates nothing but animosity. We need to address it, so why not make it work for us!

Granted, this is just one idea to replace ObamaCare for Low Income folks who can't afford basic treatment.

This doesn't not address entire issue of health care in America. This does not addres tort reform, or malpractice insurances, or gouging by Nurses Unions, or over priced Doctors, or shady lawsuits, or pharmacy companies ripping off the people.

My idea is not meant to replace insurances, employer plans, health care saving accounts, or whatever else you presently have in place right now.

My idea is designed to have Medicare strong enough to pick up the people who cannot afford health care - but still have folks pay for it even if it is a minimal amount. Iit is just an idea for the government to get out of the business of contolling our lives and get back in the business governing it's real responsibilities.

It's telling the government, go away and do your job and stop trying to control people with oppressive over-reaching laws. That is not what We The People designed you to do!

This is just one idea to help solve three major questions - First, what do we do for the low income folks when we finally smarten up and repeal ObamaCare, and two, can we find a practical health care system that we can emulate that we know works?

Since I'm a big believer in people being positive and talking about solution, and not just harping about the problem, that's what I came up with.

I believe that if ObamaCare is left intact, it is going to put America in financial distress beyond anything seen in Greece or Spain or the EU. It places un-needed and unwanted pressure on the American people to cooperate or else!

And yes, that is nothing but a prescription for disaster for the future.

That just the way I see it.


Tom Correa

Obama's Book Faces New Scrutiny

Barack Obama smoking pot?

Barack Obama's life story of a lost black man in America is pretty well known.

His life story was published in great detail with the publication of his 1995 memoir, Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance.

The book, which believe it or not, won critical acclaim and rose to No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list, recounted a sort of complex narcissistic tale that is by now familiar to most Americans.

His book Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance is Obama's egotistic story of being black in America.

But more accurately, his book is about having a promiscuous white mother from Kansas, a bigamist black father from Kenya where he already had one family, smoking pot, doing drugs, and living the life of a spoiled rich kid privilaged beyond his imagination.

That's right. The life of a rich kid.

Like it or not, both men known as Barack Hussien Obama and Barry Sorento did not work until after becoming a Community Organizer in Chicago.

So how do you do that? How do you attend some of the most expensive schools in the country - starting in High School with one of the most expensive Private Schools in the entire state of Hawaii? 

His book talks about his mother's re-marriage to, and eventual split from, Obama's Indonesian Muslim stepfather. And yes, it talks about being raised as a Muslim until the age of 10 in a school in Jakarta, then at the age of 10 was raised with his white grandparents who lived in Hawaii.

It talks about Grandparents who sent him to the most expensive Private School in Hawaii. Grandparents who made it possible for him to never to have worked, and who paid for him to go to Chicago.

His book talks talks about his supposedly attending Occidental College and Columbia University, which he himself has never shown transcripts for attending, and there supposedly finding his intellectual "roots" in the black world view of life.

In Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance there is supposedly numerous romances, some of them bi-racial with white women. He was supposedly the first black editor of the Harvard Law Review in his book, although strangely none of the law students who attended Harvard can remember him there.

And of course, in his book, he writes about his exploits as a Community Organizer and Chicago lawyer which he felt qualified him to be President of the United States.

Obama now openly admits changing some people's names in his book. Now many Obama biographers have found his book a combination short on fact and heavy on fiction.

Supposed some of his experiences are real. Some of the characters in his book are supposedly real-life individuals. But other experiences and characters are certainly made up, completely convoluted. Yes, they're just lies!

Now comes the publication last month of, Barack Obama: The Story, which is a deeply researched, 600-page study of the president's ancestry and early life by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and Washington Post editor David Maraniss.

The result of Maraniss work is an in depth scrutiny that should be attached to all of our presidents. It offers a look into how much of the life story of this self-made man may have been made up. Yes, Maraniss proves the Obama is a liar!

By some counts, Barack Obama: The Story presents more than three-dozen instances of material discrepancy where Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance fails to give accurate facts as researchers have found them.

Case in point: Maraniss confirmed that Mr. Obama's mother, Ann Dunham, left his father, Barack Obama, Sr., "a volatile bigamist," and not the other way around, as related in the president's book.

The President's book also related the tale of Obama's paternal grandfather, Hussein Onyango, who was said to have been detained and tortured in a prison outside Nairobi for six months because of his brave defiance of British colonialists.

But after a half-dozen interviews and other research, Maraniss deemed the tale "unlikely."

Maraniss did not respond to several calls requesting an interview, but Fox News caught up with him outside a Washington book signing.

"I think there's a difference between a memoir and the serious, rigorous factual history of a biography," he said. "Some of what he did was the result of mythologies that were passed along from his family, and some were for the purposes of advancing themes in his book which had more to do with finding his racial identity."

In an Oval Office interview prior to the publication of The Story, Maraniss handed the president a copy of Maraniss's introduction, which conveyed the degree to which The Story would be challenging various scenes in Obama's memoir.

The president confirmed Maraniss's research and offered an explanation for those instances when he had chosen to employ an approach in his book which were less than factual - in other words, when he was not honest and lied.

Gerald Early, a noted professor of English literature and Black-American studies at Washington University in St. Louis, agreed. "It really doesn't matter if he made up stuff," Early told Fox News.

"I mean, after all, it's like you going to a psychiatrist and you make up stuff, and the psychiatrist can still psycho-analyze you because they're your lies." he said.

That's right! This guy Geral Early, who is supposedly a "noted professor" of English literature and Black studies, believes that it doesn't matter if Obama sold his book as a factual portrayal of his life - or whether he lied or not!

This is the kind of bullshit that drives me nuts! If it were George W. Bush, the same guy would probably be screaming "Liar!"

David Remnick, the editor of The New Yorker magazine and author of a previous biography, The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama, published in 2010, judged Obama's book to be "a mixture of verifiable fact, recollection, recreation, invention, and artful shaping."

Remnick concluded that Obama wanted his life story to fit into a long tradition of African-American literature: a "narrative of ascent" discernible in early slave memoirs right up through contemporary classics like Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man (1952) and The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965).

So in other words, according to this guy all Black memoirs are lies? I sure hope not!

Fact is, Obama's early life was one of wealth and privilege, - ripe with recreational drug use, a Hawaii upbringing which was made financially comfortable by his white grandparents, and enrollment in some of the most elite private schools and universities in the nation.

To say that his silver spoon life fits in with some sort of true and honest agony of an aggrieved black man or woman is too much to ask for - even in black literature.

"Obama seems to sense this problem and, at the very start of his book, darkens his canvas as well as he can," Remnick wrote.

In other words, Obama tried to make himself sound more black since he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and subsequently couldn't really relate to black Americans who truly have had it rough growing up.

Imagine this for a moment.

Black people in the inter-cities of America do have it rough. Their educational systems are horrible. Their family structures are usually not what they should or supposed to be. They face higher unemployment than others in our nation. Their lives are surrounded with terrible influences such as drugs, violence, crime, no role models. They live with a total lack of morality.

So what did Obama do knowing that he faced absolutely none of these problems growing up in Hawaii?

Well, bottom line, he knew when writing his story that it would not fly - so he lied!

He wanted to be "ghetto" so he lied about how horrible his life was, his so-called supposed life changing events, and his awaking as a "black" person. Too bad he never admitted to having a great education, not having to ever hold a job, or living a privileged life from the age of 10 to 18 - far better than most who live in Hawaii.

He didn't do it because it wouldn't have convenient to do so when he wrote his "Oh poor me" book.

Maraniss actually confirmed this in his book The Story.

For example, the back story offered for one of the now famous "composite characters" in Obama's Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance is a fictional black female student at Occidental - supposedly known as "Regina," who helped the young Obama embrace his Black/African heritage.

Maraniss found this to have been based in large part, but not solely, on Michelle Obama.

Although, this is really making excuses for the President Obama since he would not really meet Michelle until eight years after he had completely left Occidental for Columbia University.

And where Obama's book gives us a story of how Obama quarreled with a white girlfriend after the two attended a black theatre production in Manhattan - and that that was some sort of a supposed searing experience that supposedly was a huge turning point for Obama because it supposedly left Obama feeling more estranged from white people at the time - David Maraniss found that the incident actually happened with a different girlfriend - not  in New York but in Chicago.

The lie about how the the incident happened was a startling surprise to Australian native Genevieve Cook, who confirmed to Maraniss that she was that girlfriend and they were actually in Chicago when it took place.

Cook, who provided to Maraniss the love letters she and the future president exchanged, also told Maraniss that Obama had "greatly exaggerated" in his book Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance the details of another encounter between them.

Henry Ferris, the editor who helped Obama shape his rough and overly long manuscript nearly two decades ago, told Fox News that he does not remember discussing with Obama his use of "literary license."

"I was immediately struck by how talented the writer was and what an unusual story it was," said Ferris, now a vice president and executive editor at the New York publisher William Morrow. As for the departures from the facts, Ferris cautioned that it is "not uncommon" for memorizes.

"I think there's the very good possibility ... that what he intended to do is to protect the privacy of these people he writes about in his book."

OK, I can see someone writing a story and leaving out names to protect the privacy of the people in the story - especially when it's embarrassing.

But how do you get around this next statement by Professor Geral Early, who remember is supposedly a "noted professor" of English literature and Black studies.

"Autobiographies are not really good sources if you're looking for absolute complete factual accounts of some one's life," agreed Professor Early.

"Autobiographies serve another kind of purpose for the person writing the book. I don't think it much matters whether Barack Obama has told the absolute truth in Dreams From My Father. What's important is how he wanted to construct his life."

So in other words, it's OK if someone with an inflated idea of their own importance "constructs" his or her life to be anything he or she wants it to be, pass it off as real, and then not worry about people believing it or taking it as the truth?

I don't think so! I don't know what sort of crooks and con artist that this "noted professor" is used to dealing with - but that sort of bullshit just doesn't wash with most Americans!

But now, how about all of that stuff in Obama's book about his drug use? How much of a lie is it?

Well, the meticulous biographer David Maraniss revealed President Barack Obama's early girlfriends, but also new details of Obama's smoking marijuana with his buddies at Punahou School in Hawaii.

All in all, his drug use was fairly extensive.

From Barack Obama: The Story, "When a joint was making the rounds, he often elbowed his way in, out of turn, shouted 'Intercepted!' and took an extra hit," Maraniss writes.

But Obama's buddies, who called themselves the "Choom Gang," didn't mind him messing up the rotation - supposedly because that was Hawaii.

That's not all. Maraniss writes that Obama was known for starting a trend called "TA," short for "total absorption."

"When you were with Barry and his pals, if you exhaled precious pakalolo - Hawaiian slang for marijuana, meaning 'numbing tobacco' -  instead of absorbing it fully into your lungs, you were assessed a penalty and your turn was skipped the next time the joint came around."

Maraniss also describes Obama's technique of "roof hits" while hot-boxing cars. "When the pot was gone, they tilted their heads back and sucked in the last bit of smoke from the ceiling," he writes.

Classy guys, huh?

The fate of their dealer, Ray, was far more tragic than those of Obama and his extremely privileged pals. A "scorned Gay lover" killed Ray later with a ball-peen hammer.

Obama has openly bragged about his drug use, in Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, he wrote, "Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it," he writes in the memoir.

Later on doing drugs, he talked about Bill Clinton's comment that he had tried marijuana but "didn't inhale," Obama said in 2006, "That was the point, wasn't it?"

Later in Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, one of Obama's friends was arrested for drug possession and his mother, home from Indonesia, confronted him about it in his room, and all he did was walked out.

Just like any spoiled rich kid would do.

Story by Tom Correa