Texas To Stop Enforcement Of New Federal Gun Laws

New Bill In Texas State Capitol Stops Local Enforcement Of New Federal Gun Laws

First off, why is the Federal Government expecting States to enforce Federal Laws?

If the Federal Government wants to make laws - then they should be the ones to enforce them. States should no be responsible for having to enforce Federal Laws. 

Using that logic, under a measure in the Texas Capitol, local police officers could be convicted of a crime for enforcing any new federal gun control laws.

Rep. Steve Toth, a newly elected Republican from the Woodlands, said his proposal would prevent officers from carrying out any future federal orders to confiscate assault rifles and ammunition magazines.

"There's a federal law, there's a 30-round magazine right in front of you - what do I do?" Toth said in an interview. The measure known as the Firearm Protection Act "answers that question in spades," he said. It moved Tuesday to the House Committee on Federalism.

President Barack Obama has proposed federal laws banning such weapons, but no such laws currently exist. If they are indeed Federal Laws, then the FBI or some other Federal law enforcement agency - and there are many - should get off their backsides and try enforce them without using State time, money and personnel to do their job. 

And why be selective about it, if pot is a Federal crime than have the FBI or whoever else enforce those federal laws pertaining to marijuana. Just because Obama was a drug user and pot smoker, should that mean that he will call of his federal law enforcement from enforcing federal laws in say Colorado where the State is now saying its legal.

The word out of Washington DC is that they are not going after the Federal law breakers in Colorado because the Obama administration is in favor of legalizing drugs and pot.

The opposite is true for a state which let's say would legalize the ownership of "machine guns". The feds would be all over it because they want to see gun banned altogether. And yes, the feds would request local police to assist them in the enforcement of the federal law prohibiting the ownership of "machine guns" unless properly licensed.

The states are having budget problems. How many states would save money if they told the federal government to enforce their own laws while the states tended to only theirs?

Rep. Steve Toth's proposal would create a Class A misdemeanor for police officers enforcing any new federal gun regulations.

It also would establish cause for the state attorney general to sue anyone who seeks to enforce new federal gun regulations. It is one of several states-rights measures being offered by conservative state lawmakers nationwide in response to federal gun control proposals.

Courts have long upheld the federal government's right to enact new laws, which generally supersede state law.

After the Civil War, during the Reconstruction Period, the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments of the Constitution were passed. With these Amendments, it became spelled out that a state cannot make a law that supersedes a federal law - the concept being that we are Americans first before being citizens of a state.

The 14th Amendment specifically was designed to stop a state from say making slavery legal. But at the same time, the federal government must enforce its own laws without the assistance of the states - especially if that state is keeping its law within the guidelines of the U.S. Constitution.

Asked how legal precedent for the supremacy of federal law would affect enforcement of his bill, Toth said he expects a legal challenge.

"It may end up in the Supreme Court," he said.

One point of interest is the question of just how does the federal government get the state police agencies to enforce federal laws when in fact no state laws are being broken?

And really, other than staying within the parameters of the U.S. Constitution, why would any state have to do what the federal government orders them to do?

Federal police agencies in every state to enforce federal laws? A centralized Big Brother federal government telling people what to do and how to act? The complete loss of state's rights?

Are these things possible? Should anyone at the state, county, or local levels of government be taking orders from Big Brother Federal Government?

Isn't is enough that states meet federal "guidelines" so that states don't violate a citizen's U.S. Constitutional rights?

Why should a state assist the federal government when it is violating an American citizen's Constitutional rights? I say let the feds enforce their own laws, and if they are violating the Constitution, then it will be for a federal court to decide if the federal government actually has the authority they think they have.

Several recently elected lawmakers gathered at a news conference Tuesday with Toth and Richard Mack, a former Arizona sheriff who successfully contested implementation of certain provisions of the Brady gun laws in the 1990s.

"The federal government is not our boss," Mack said. "If there's any place that that's applicable and true, it's the state of Texas."

Referring to Greg Abbott, the attorney general who helped draft the bill, Mack added: "And we've got a great attorney."

And yes, I agree. The federal government is not our boss.

Now, how do we make them understand that?


Story by Tom Correa

PTSD Does Not Make You A Murderer

Recently, with the killings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, and the killing of decorated Navy SEAL Chris Kyle in Texas, the focus on mental health and gun ownership is front and center in the news. Many are saying that people who experience some sort of mental health problem, whether it's sleep problems, simple anxiety, or even to the smallest degree, may harm others. And yes, people are especially pointing to Veterans who suffer from PTSD as people who should be treated as Lepers and ostracized from society. It's an unhealthy way of thinking.

On February 3rd, 2013, Chris Kyle, a former U.S. Navy SEAL credited with the largest number of confirmed sniper kills, was one of two people fatally shot at a North Texas shooting range on Saturday, Texas Highway Patrol confirmed to Fox News. Eddie Ray Routh of Lancaster was arraigned on two counts of capital murder in the deaths of Kyle, 38, and Chad Littlefield, 35, at the shooting range about 50 miles southwest of Fort Worth. 

Capt. Jason Upshaw with the Erath County Sheriff's Office said Routh used a semi-automatic handgun, which authorities later found at his home. Upshaw and Sheriff Tommy Bryant said Routh was unemployed and "may have been suffering from some type of mental illness from being in the military himself," but they didn't know if Routh was on any medication.

The U.S. military confirmed Sunday that Routh was a corporal in the Marines, serving in active duty from 2006 to 2010. He was deployed to Iraq in 2007 and Haiti in 2010. His current military status is listed as being a Reserve. Routh is being held on a $3 million bond.

Bryant said the trio went to the shooting range around 3:15 p.m. Saturday. A hunting guide came across the bodies of Kyle and Littlefield around 5 p.m. and called 911.

Bryant said that after the shootings, Routh left the shooting range in Kyle's black pickup truck. First going to his sister's home in Midlothian, where he told her and her husband what he had done. The couple called local police. Routh arrived at his home in Lancaster, about 17 miles southeast of Dallas, at about 8 p.m. Police arrested him after a brief pursuit and took him to the Lancaster Police Department.

Travis Cox, the director of a non-profit Kyle helped found, told the Associated Press that Kyle and Littlefield had taken Routh to the range. Littlefield was Kyle's neighbor and "workout buddy," Cox said.

"What I know is Chris and a gentleman -- great guy, I knew him well, Chad Littlefield -- took a veteran out shooting who was struggling with PTSD to try to assist him, try to help him, try to, you know, give him a helping hand and he turned the gun on both of them, killing them," Cox said. Chris Kyle's nonprofit, FITCO Cares, provides at-home fitness equipment for emotionally and physically wounded veterans.

Please understand, what I am about to explain is factual.

If killer Eddie Ray Routh does indeed suffer from PTSD, then it must be understood that his having PTSD should not be used as an excuse nor as an explanation for his committing murder. The fact is, having PTSD does not make you a murderer!

A Justifiable Fear Of Losing One's Rights

Out of what took place there in Texas and up in Connecticut in December of last year, a national debate on gun violence and mental health is presently taking place. And yes, President Obama's reaction to the horrific event that took place in Connecticut is on the minds of a lot of gun owners around the country. Americans are worried about Obama overreacting.

President Obama wants, among other measures, to institute a Gun Ban, create a National Gun Owner Database of law-abiding citizens who are exercising their 2nd Amendment rights, and forbid anyone who has sought mental health assistance from owning firearms. The government likes to group people, and they see those with symptoms of PTSD as a group that should be restricted from owning guns.

Now, let's understand what that means. If President Obama gets his way, then everyone who has PTSD, everyone with some sort of anxiety disorder, will be restricted from owning guns in America. That, in turn, means an estimated 24.4 million Americans would automatically lose their 2nd Amendment Rights to keep and bear arms. Yes, that's how many Americans suffer from some sort of anxiety order.

PTSD is an Anxiety Disorder.

There are several recognized types of anxiety disorders, including:

Panic disorder: People with this condition have feelings of terror that strike suddenly and repeatedly with no warning. Other symptoms of a panic attack include sweating, chest pain, palpitations (irregular heartbeats), and a feeling of choking, which may make the person feel like he or she is having a heart attack or "going crazy."

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): People with OCD are plagued by constant thoughts or fears that cause them to perform certain rituals or routines. The disturbing thoughts are called obsessions, and the rituals are called compulsions. An example is a person with an unreasonable fear of germs who constantly washes his or her hands.

 
Social anxiety disorder: Also called social phobia, social anxiety disorder involves overwhelming worry and self-consciousness about everyday social situations. The worry often centers on a fear of being judged by others, or behaving in a way that might cause embarrassment or lead to ridicule.

Specific phobias: A specific phobia is an intense fear of a specific object or situation, such as snakes, heights, or flying. The level of fear is usually inappropriate to the situation and may cause the person to avoid common, everyday situations.

Generalized anxiety disorder: This disorder involves excessive, unrealistic worry and tension, even if there is little or nothing to provoke the anxiety.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) : PTSD is a condition that can develop following a traumatic and/or terrifying event, such as a sexual or physical assault, the unexpected death of a loved one, or a natural disaster.

It's All About Trauma

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which there was the potential for or actual occurrence of grave physical harm. Traumatic events that may trigger PTSD include violent personal assaults, natural or human-caused disasters, accidents, and military combat. People with PTSD have persistent frightening thoughts and memories of their ordeal, may experience sleep problems, feel detached or numb, or be easily startled. Post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury can increase a person’s anger and hostility and diminish his or her self-control. But the link between those disorders and outright violent behavior is weak and hard to pin down with certainty.

Symptoms of PTSD are often grouped into three main categories, including:

Reliving the trauma: People with PTSD repeatedly relive the ordeal through thoughts and memories of the trauma. These may include flashbacks, hallucinations, and nightmares. They also may feel great distress when certain things remind them of the trauma, such as the anniversary date of the event.

Avoiding people places and reminders: The person may avoid people, places, thoughts, or situations that may remind him or her of the trauma. This can lead to feelings of detachment and isolation from family and friends, as well as a loss of interest in activities that the person once enjoyed.

Increased arousal: People with PTSD often have lasting and frightening thoughts and memories of the event, and may or may not make some sufferers emotionally numb. 

They may also have excessive emotions, problems relating to others, including difficulty feeling or showing affection, difficulty falling or staying asleep, irritability, outbursts of anger, difficulty concentrating, and being "jumpy" or easily startled. The person may also suffer physical symptoms, such as increased blood pressure and heart rate, rapid breathing, muscle tension, nausea, and diarrhea.

And No, PTSD Is Not Just A Veteran Thing!

Most people who experience a traumatic event will have reactions that may include shock, anger, nervousness, fear, and even guilt. It is common for every one of us to have these reactions. These reactions are common. And for most people, they go away over time.

For a person with PTSD, however, these feelings continue and even increase, becoming so strong that they keep the person from living a normal life. It can be so intense that it becomes a quality-of-life issue. People with PTSD have symptoms for longer than one month and cannot function as well as before the event occurred. The fact is, women who are rape victims are the number one sufferers of PTSD in America.

It is a fact that almost one-third (31%) of all rape victims develop PTSD sometime during their lifetime, and more than 1 in 10 rape victims (11%) still have PTSD today. Rape victims were 6.2 times more likely to develop PTSD than women who had never been victims of any crime (31% vs 5%). Rape victims were 5.5 times more likely to have current PTSD than those who had never been victims of any crime (11% Vs 2%).

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that there are approximately 96.3 million adult women in the United States age 18 or older. If 13% of American women have been raped and 31% of rape victims have developed PTSD, then 3.8 million adult American women have had rape-related PTSD. If 11% of all rape victims have PTSD, then an estimated 1.3 million American women have PTSD right now. And yes, if in fact 683,000 women are raped each year, then we know that approximately 211,000 will develop PTSD annually.

Under President Obama's plan, if any of those women get mental health assistance, then they will lose their right to own a firearm for protection.

How About First Responders Who Have PTSD?

Yes, while some folks think PTSD is just a military or veteran thing - it's certainly not. In fact, if you look at the numbers, First Responders have the second highest incidents of PTSD symptoms. The fact is that by the mere nature of their occupation, their work, their duty, their day in and day out responsibilities Police Officers, Deputies, Crime Scene Photograpers, Crime Scene Technicians, Mortitians, Fire Fighters, EMT, Paramedics, Ambulance Drivers, are all intrinsically likely to have PTSD. People need to understand that because people in those occupation are confronted with traumatic events, or the results of tregedies, to the point where they have to witness and manage death and suffering from crimes and accidents, they are suseptable to suffering from PTSD in the future. In many many instances First Responders can also be put at considerable direct risk of injury or death simply because of the nature of their job.

Anyone can suffer PTSD at any age. This includes those risk occupations such as First Responders, combat veterans, survivors of physical and sexual assault, physical and mental abuse victims, those involved in car accidents, work related accidents, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, and many other serious events. And no, not everyone with PTSD has been through a dangerous event. Believe it or not, some people get PTSD after a friend or family member experiences danger or is harmed. It is also believed that the sudden and unexpected death of a loved one can also cause some level of PTSD.

General PTSD Stats

Here are some statistics on PTSD. And yes, some of these statistics may surprise you.

•70% of adults in the U.S. have experienced some type of traumatic event at least once in their lives. That’s 223.4 million people.

•Up to 20% of these people go on to develop PTSD. As of today, that’s 31.3 million people who did or are struggling with PTSD.

•An estimated 8% of Americans – that’s 24.4 million people – have PTSD at any given time.

•An estimated 1 out of 10 women develops PTSD; women are about twice as likely as men.

•Among people who are victims of a severe traumatic experience 60 – 80% will develop PTSD.

•Almost 50% of all outpatient mental health patients have PTSD.

•Somewhat higher rates of this disorder have been found to occur in African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans compared to Caucasians in the United States

Veterans are no different than anyone else with PTSD. People with PTSD avoid certain activities and environments, are hyper-vigilant, have intrusive memories, and are often depressed. Headaches, troubled sleep, poor attention span, and muddled thinking are the hallmarks of PTSD. Impulsive behavior is sometimes seen, too. But surprisingly, anger, hostility, and aggressiveness are less common symptoms.

Veterans with PTSD are two to three times as likely to be physically abusive of their wives and girlfriends as those without the diagnosis. They’re three times as likely to get into fistfights when they go to college. One study showed they are especially prone to “impulsive aggression,” but that “premeditated aggression” was far more common in veterans without PTSD than in those with it.

Lifetime occurrence in veterans: 9 – 31%. The prevalence of PTSD in combat veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars varies from 9 percent to 31 percent, depending on whether the severity of impairment is included in the measurement. In the past year alone, the number of diagnosed cases in the military jumped 50% – and that’s just diagnosed cases. Studies estimate that 1 in every 5 military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan has PTSD And yes, 20% of the soldiers who’ve been deployed in the past 6 years have PTSD. That’s over 300,000.

Of course, it's not just a male thing among Veterans since 17% of combat troops are women. And, as a result of being a victim of sexual violence, 71% of female military personnel develop PTSD due to sexual assault within the ranks.

(Military statistics as of 12/2010)

PTSD In Teens And Children:

•15-43% of girls and 14-43% of boys will experience a traumatic event
•3-15% girls and 1-6% of boys will develop PTSD
•As many as 30 – 60% of children who have survived specific disasters have PTSD
•According to the National Center for PTSD: “Rates of PTSD are much higher in children and adolescents recruited from at-risk samples. The rates of PTSD in these at-risk children and adolescents vary from 3 to 100%.”
•3 - 6% of high school students in the U.S. who survive specific disaster develop PTSD
•More than 33% of youths exposed to community violence with experience PTSD
•According the the National Center for PTSD: “Studies have shown that as many as 100% of children who witness a parental homicide or sexual assault develop PTSD.

Similarly, 90% of sexually abused children, 77% of children exposed to a school shooting, and 35% of urban youth exposed to community violence develop PTSD.”

According to The Effects of High Stress on the Brain and Body in Adolescents report from Yale, stress is believed to contribute to the physical and behavioral health problems of adolescents. Of adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17, 2.3 % have fair or poor health, 5% miss 11 or more days of school because of illness or injury, 10% have smoked cigarettes, and 17% have used alcohol; of adolescents between ages 12 and 19, 18% are overweight.

So, Should You Lose Your 2nd Amendment Rights Because You May Be One Of The Millions Of Americans Who Suffer From PTSD?

PTSD affects our quality of life, but it doesn't automatically make you a murderer. And really, having PTSD should not mean that you should automatically be treated as a felon and lose your Constitutional Rights as a citizen. Just because you suffer from PTSD should not have anything to do with you losing your Constitutional Rights.

The negative impact of traumatic events can manifest in a variety of indirect ways, such as increased alcohol use, interpersonal and family conflicts, social withdrawal, depression, sleep problems, amplified physical pain, somatic distress, and basic performance deterioration at work and at home. Anxiety and stress impact the way we see the world, creating negative thinking and cognitive distortions. It also diminishes our memory, concentration, attention span, and even our decision-making.

If someone has PTSD, then they should know that they are not alone. Whether they’re looking for information on general PTSD stats, combat-related symptoms, women's issues, or teens and children's problems with PTSD, there is help available. Whether it's counseling, groups, psychiatric and non-psychiatric medical treatment, people with PTSD should not feel as though they will lose their Civil Rights under the Constitution if they seek help. True support includes understanding that PTSD symptoms affect millions of Americans, and those who suffer from PTSD should not be looked upon as Lepers.

The term mental Illness already has a stigma that goes along with it. Many do not seek help because of that stigma. Now with a national debate on gun violence and mental health taking place, it would be a crime if a police officer or other First Responder couldn't get some counseling if he or she needed to, or if a rape victim couldn't get help, or if a veteran couldn't talk about what he or she may have experienced -- all simply out of fear that if they did, then they would lose their Consitutional Rights to bear arms or to any other of our rights under the Bill of Rights.

President Obama's plan to curb gun violence should not go forward because it will hurt more than help in more ways than he understands.

And yes, that's how I see it. 

Tom Correa

Cow Facts and Trivia

Are cows as innocent as they seem?

If your image of cows is one of gentle placid animals looking at you with those large soft cow eyes and contentedly chewing their cud, good for you!

A recent article published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that about 20 people a year are killed by cows in the United States.

The cows actually attack humans – ramming them, knocking them down, goring them, trampling them and kicking them in the head – resulting in fatal injuries to the head and chest.

These behaviors remind us that mother cows, like other animals, can be fiercely protective of their young.

The bond between a cow and her calf is very strong and continues after the calf is fully grown. In non-commercial herds, some cows will nurse their calves for up to three years.

In January 2009, a cow reportedly knocked a woman off her bike and stepped on her legs in Boulder, Colorado. The woman was not seriously injured. News sources cited the incident as the result of a "cow engaging in people-tipping.”

Now before some politician gets a hold of that information and wants to make political points with PETA by calling for a ban on cattle, let's look at some other facts and trivia about cattle.

Facts you may already know:

A cow is a mature female, and a bull is an adult male of the bovine family.

A heifer is a young female cow that hasn't had a calf yet. 

A cow can’t produce milk until she has had a calf.

Cattle is the name for the entire "cow" family.

There are an estimated 920 different breeds of cows in the world

People first domesticated cows about 5000 years ago. Someone had to be the first to try some milk, researchers are working to find out who and why?

The Greek physician Hippocrates recommended milk as a medicine some 2,300 years ago.

Cheese was an important item in the diet of the Vikings, and was an article of commerce in ancient Rome.

Monks in Europe developed the art of cheesemaking in the Middle Ages.

On his second voyage to the New World, among other freight, Christopher Columbus brought cattle.

Cows came to America with the Pilgrims. They arrived in the Jamestown colony in 1611. The arrival of dairy cows from Europe in America in 1611 helped end starvation in the Jamestown Colony.

The first documented ice cream parlor opened in 1776, in New York City. George Washington reportedly liked ice cream so much, he ran up a $200 bill for ice cream one summer.

In 1841, a New York and Erie Railroad stationmaster asked a farmer to try shipping milk by rail 60 miles to New York City. They successfully shipped a wooden churn holding 60 gallons. A few years later wooden containers for shipment were replaced by metal cans.

The modern large-scale dairy industry developed with the growth of cities and fast, refrigerated transportation. Mechanical refrigeration began in the 1880s.

The glass milk bottle was invented by Hervey D. Thatcher in 1880. Some of us are old enough to remember when Milkmen delivered bottled milk to our door.


In 1892 Nathan Straus established the first infant milk depot in the United States. He offered sterilized milk for sale at five cents a quart or one cent a glass.

Cows can walk up a flight of stairs, but they can’t walk down a flight of stairs. Their knees don’t bend properly for going down.

A cow can emit about 350 liters (230 grams) of methane per day. A 1,000 pound cow produces an average of 10 tons of manure a year.

Calves are born with pads on their sharp little hooves to protect their mother’s birth canal. These pads wear off easily as the little calf struggles to stand up.

The smallest type of cow is a breed called Dexter, which was bred small for household living.

The tail is the cow’s mood barometer. Unlike the dog, a “wagging” tail does not mean a happy cow.

Not being milked in a timely fashion, dinner off schedule, calves bellowing, and flies are the major causes of crabby cows.

Crabby cows generate crabby farmers.

There are 9.2 million cows in the U.S. And only 2.1 million lucky bulls. (Source: USDA, Aug. 09).

In an average herd, there is 1 bull to every 30 cows. Yes, he stays busy!

It takes 21.2 pounds of whole milk to make one pound of butter.

It takes 12 pounds of whole milk to make one gallon of ice cream.

Cows don’t bite because they have no upper front teeth. Instead they have a thick, tough pad of skin on their top jaw. They curl their very large tongue around the grass and feed they eat.

Definition of cow tongue:  a variety of meat many people will not eat because it clearly crosses the line between a cut of beef and a piece of a dead cow.

Modern domestic cattle are believed to belong to either the species, Bos taurus (Holstein, Brown Swiss, Jersey and Guemsey), or the species, Bos indicus (humped cattle like the Brahman). Some cattle are a cross between the two species.

Humans and cows have the same gestation period which is about nine months.

Milk contains 4 necessary minerals: calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and zinc.

There are approximately 350 "squirts" in a gallon of milk. Don't believe it, I'm sure I'll repeat myself later.

Cows are very social animals. They form large herds and just like people, they will bond to some herd members while avoiding others.

They "moo" and use different body positions and facial expressions to communicate with each other

A Holstein's spots are like a fingerprint. No two cows have exactly the same pattern of black spots on their white body.

The Holstein produces the most milk of all breeds

The average dairy cow produces about 10 gallons of milk a day

A cow drinks about 30 gallons of water per day

Cows spends 6 hours a day eating, and 8 hours a day chewing cud

A dairy cow can produce 5 gallons of ice cream a day

Cows can live 25 years if people would let them

You can guess the age of a cow that has horns by counting the number of rings on the horns. Before counting, make sure the horns belong to a cow.

A cow stands up and sits down about 14 times a day. That’s 11 more times than your average couch potato, and not as much as a NASCAR fan!

One cow produces from 200,000 to 350,000 glasses of milk in her lifetime.

The record milk production for a single cow in a year is 55,660 pounds of milk.

It takes about 350 "squirts" for each gallon of milk from a cow's “udder” end.

A cow weighs about 1,000 to 1,400 pounds.

A 1,000 pound cow produces an average of 10 tons of manure a year.

Ladies, if you marry a dairy farmer, be prepared to hear at the dinner table on a regular basis a discussion of manure.

Cows can detect odors up to five miles away. At a mile their noses are better than a bloodhound. The U.S. government was going to use drug-sniffing cows but decided against it.

Cows are able to hear lower and higher frequencies better than humans. That's why you can't sneak up on them, they can hear a whisper.

Cows have almost total 360 degree panoramic vision and are able to see colors, except red. So a bull, in a bullfight, doesn’t see the red of the toreador’s cape – just the movement of the cape.

Cows drink anywhere from 25 to 35 gallons of water each day, equal to a bathtub filled with water and eat about 40 to 50 pounds of feed per day.

Dairy cows can produce up to 35 gallons of saliva a day.

To you, cud may be disgusting. To a cow, it's delicious.

Cows are ruminants or cud-chewing mammals. Sheep and camels are also ruminants.

Each day a cow spends 6 hours eating and 8 hours chewing her cud. (regurgitated, partially digested food).

You have probably heard that a cow has four stomachs. Not true.

A cow has only one stomach which contains four digestive compartments: the rumen, reticulum, omasum and abomasum.

The rumen is the largest compartment and acts as a fermentation chamber. It holds up to 50 gallons of partially digested food. This is where cud comes from. Good bacteria in the rumen help the cow to digest her food and provide protein.

The reticulum is called the hardware stomach because if cows accidentally eat hardware scrap (like a piece of fencing), it will often lodge here causing no further damage.

The omasum acts like a filter.

The abomasum is the fourth compartment and is similar in structure and function to the human stomach. We just can’t store hardware like the cow.

When galloping through boggy, soggy places or deep mud, cattle can run faster than horses. They have cloven hooves and their toes spread so their wide feet do not sink as deep as those of the solid-hoofed horse.

The temperature of milk when it leaves the body of a cow is 101 degrees Fahrenheit. The milk is then quickly chilled and stored at a temperature of 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

Here's a Tip: to keep milk from turning sour, keep it in the cow!

Speaking of ice cream, an average of 48 pints of ice cream per person is consumed each year in the U.S. – more than any other country. I have long argued that ice cream is one of the basic food groups.

Cows produce 90% of the milk in the world. Any warm-blooded animal such as goats, sheep, horses, reindeer, camels and water buffalo also produce milk.

Today, farmers use machines to milk more than 100 cows per hour. Before milking machines were invented in 1894, farmers could only milk about 6 cows per hour.

Until the 1850's, nearly every family had its own cow.

There is the same number of cows as there are people in Friesland, Netherlands.

On August 18, 1953, four cows in Stearns County, Minnesota were picked up by a tornado and set down again unharmed.

India has 30% of the world’s cattle, but because the cow is respected as a sacred animal, it is allowed to roam the streets in towns and cities unharmed.

Old cows in India have their own nursing homes. Is that where we got the phrase, "Holy cow"? Could be!

The World Championship Cow Chip Throw is held each April in Beaver, Oklahoma.

Never try to pick up a soggy cow chip!

Studies have shown that classical music helps cows produce more milk.

Cows don't produce as much milk if they listen to hard rock like Heavy Metal or modern Country music.

It takes all the milk from 330,000 cows each year to fill the milk needs of Wal-Mart.

The Masai tribe in Africa traditionally lives on a diet that includes cow blood- taken straight from the still-living cow. This is obtained by firing a short arrow into the jugular vein of the cow. The blood is usually mixed with milk. See, this occurs in places other than Chicago!

The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 that destroyed much of the city has long been blamed on Mrs. Kate O'Leary's cow kicking over a lamp.

In 1997, the Chicago City Council, after much research, passed a resolution exonerating Mrs. O'Leary and her cow.

The “got milk” mustache advertising campaign began in 1995.

The city of Boston was laid out by cow paths. Yes, cow paths!

Wisconsin has the most dairy cows, Texas the most beef cows, California produces the most milk and cheese.

Plastic milk containers came later, believe it or not, they started in 1964. And yes, the world hasn't been the same since!

Indicators That Your Cow Might Have Mad Cow Disease:

• She insists on wearing a little A-1 sauce behind each ear as cologne.
• She refuses to let you milk her, saying, “Not on the first date.”
• She takes up painting and cuts off one of her ears.
• She wants to get a silicon implant for her udder.
• She appears on Oprah, claiming to be a horse trapped in a cow’s body.
• She demands to be branded with the “Golden Arches Logo”.
• She insists that all Hindus are sacred.
• She insists that evaporated milk comes from dehydrated cows.
• You find her hiding secret plans to burn down half of Chicago.
• She quits the family dairy business and applies for a job at Burger King.
• She starts giving you Milk of Amnesia.
• She purposely blinds herself with a dart and yells out, “Bulleye!”
• She joins the Hell’s Angels because, hey, she’s already got a cool leather jacket.
• She gets a job at the Beef Marketing Board.
• She tips other cows over and laughs.
• She spends half the day sitting in the Lotus Position chanting “moo” backwards.
• She insists that she’ll give you chocolate milk if you start feeding her Hershey’s bars.
• She laughs hysterically until milk spurts out her nose.
• She claims Milk Duds are the result of stupid cows.
• She looks like Hillary Clinton!

Now you know!

RANDOM SHOTS - Is Fox News Turning Left? Liberal Media Throws Up Diversions, and More!

FIRST SHOT!

So is FOX NEWS turning Left?

Fox News shakes up their line-up of Political Contributors, and seems to be pulling away from their conservative viewer-base who look to them for equal time in a media full of leftist reporting.

Fox News let go conservative icon Sarah Palin, a great woman who has become a voice of the American people since her 2008 debut into the world of national politics.

Then Fox News let go the very knowledgeable Dick Morris, who though helped Bill Clinton become President in the 1990s has become pretty conservative since the World Trade Center 9/11 terrorist attack.

And who does Fox News add in their place? Fox has added ultra-liberal Dennis Kucinich, and believe it or not Massachusetts RINO (Republican In Name Only) Scott Brown.

That's right! Fox News Channel is hiring former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown as a Political Contributor. And believe it or not, the RINO is making his debut in prime time tonight.

So why hire someone with little to no political experience? Who the hell knows!

Brown is supposedly a member of the Republican Party, and faced the Democratic candidate, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, in the 2010 special election to succeed U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy for the remainder of the term ending January 3, 2013.

Brown ran for a full senate term in 2012, but lost to Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren. He subsequently joined the board of directors of Kadant paper company and is in talks to join Fox News as a commentator.

So why would I, and many others consider Scott Brown a RINO (Republican In Name Only)?

It's easy, it's because he has demonstrated himself to be just that.

Following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting last December, Scott Brown became the first Republican Senator to support a Federal Ban on so-called assault weapons.

And back in 2010, after entering the US Senate, RINO Scott Brown joined in on the effort to pass a Democrat Party "jobs bill" - in fact, praising Democrats Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senator John Kerry. 

Brown was only one of five Republican senators to vote for cloture on the jobs bill. The motion passed in the Senate 62–30 on February 22, 2010. In an up or down vote on the bill itself on February 24, 2010, Brown voted for final passage, helping to pass the bill 70–28.

Brown's defeat in the 2012 U.S Senate race was no surprise since many conservatives in Massachusetts believe that Brown betrayed them once elected the first time.

So now Fox News says that Scott Brown will offer commentary across several programs, starting with Sean Hannity on Wednesday.

Brown lost his seat to Elizabeth Warren in November and declined to run in a special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by now-Secretary of State John Kerry. Probably because he'd get beaten again.

Fox has been remaking its contributor lineup in recent months. Cutting ties to Sarah Palin and Dick Morris while hiring ultra-liberal Dennis Kucinich and RINO Scott Brown, may ultimately hurt the station that I depend on for television News.

I'm just hoping that Fox News is not pulling away from its conservative base and turning to the left to become another MSNBC.

If it does, it will lose it's number one place in the news.

NEXT SHOT!

NRA's New Ad

The NRA unveiled a new online ad on Tuesday night that adopts a kinder, gentler tone than its last campaign, which drew criticism from all sides for highlighting the security surrounding President Barack Obama’s daughters.

The new commercial, which is narrated by Chris Cox, the NRA’s chief lobbyist, rather than executive vice president Wayne LaPierre, who spearheaded the last effort, cites the administration’s own research to take down its gun proposals.

The ad’s debut coincided with President Obama’s State of the Union address, in which he made emotional introductions for several victims of gun violence who were in the audience and said they deserved a vote on the issue.

Showing an internal Justice Department memo, the new ad highlights statements saying that an assault weapons ban is unlikely to affect gun violence without buybacks of those weapons already in the hands of the public. Another document suggests that universal background checks wouldn’t work without gun registration.

Gone is the rhetoric of the last ad, which concluded with the question, “Are the president’s kids more important than yours?” That was widely seen as detracting from the NRA’s message at a time when it was on the defensive after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., in which 20 first-graders were killed.

Even veteran NRA lobbyist James Baker disagreed with the tone of that commercial, telling Reuters it was “ill-advised.”

The new ad ends with the words “mandatory gun confiscation” and “requiring national gun registration” in bold on a plain background before Cox returns to ask, “Still think President Obama’s proposals sound reasonable?”

The ad will appear on websites visited frequently by people in South Dakota, Colorado, Louisiana, Arkansas and Alaska, all of which have Democratic senators facing mid-term elections in 2014.

NEXT SHOT!

Why is the Department of Homeland Security buying so many bullets?

The Homeland Security Department wants to buy more than 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition in the next four or five years. Those sorts of numbers are roughly the equivalent of 5 bullets for every person in the United States 

It says it needs them, all of them for law enforcement agents in training and on duty.
The government's explanation is much less sinister then conspiracy theorists saying that our government is "gearing up for total collapse, they're gearing up for huge wars."

Federal solicitations to buy the bullets are known as "strategic sourcing contracts," which help the government get a low price for a big purchase, says Peggy Dixon, spokeswoman for the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia.

The training center and others like it run by the Homeland Security Department use as many as 15 million rounds every year, mostly on shooting ranges and in training exercises.

Miss Dixon said one of the contracts would allow Homeland Security to buy up to 750 million rounds of ammunition over the next five years for its training facilities.

The rounds are used for basic and advanced law enforcement training for federal law enforcement agencies under the department's umbrella.

The facilities also offer firearms training to tens of thousands of federal law enforcement officers. More than 90 federal agencies and 70,000 agents and officers used the department's training center last year.

The rest of the 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition would be purchased by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the federal government's second largest criminal investigative agency.

ICE's ammunition requests in the last year included:
--450 million rounds of .40-caliber duty ammunition
--40 million rounds of rifle ammunition a year for as many as five years, for a total bullet-buy of 200 million rounds
--176,000 rifle rounds on a separate contract
--25,000 blank rounds

The Homeland Security ammo buy is not the first time the government's bullets purchases have sparked concerns among conspiracy theorists. The same thing took place in 2012, last year, when the Social Security Administration posted a notice that it was buying 174,000 hollow point bullets.

NEXT SHOT!

Study finds Smoking Marijuana linked to Higher Risk of Stroke

Many who support the legalization of marijuana often tout the drug’s benign side effects, asserting that long-term marijuana use has no lasting impact on an individual’s health.

However, many studies have surfaced that shed doubt on this claim.

Recent research from Duke University in Durham, N.C., found that smoking marijuana habitually during their adolescence showed a decrease in their general intellectual ability as they progressed into adulthood.

But than again, dumb might be in? Look who they supported as president.

And now, now there is an even more chilling possible side effect of cannabis use – an increased risk of stroke.

According to a new study from the University of Auckland in New Zealand, marijuana may double the risk of ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA) – even those who had no risk factors that often contribute to an attack.

LAST SHOT!

Liberal Media Throws Up Diversions

Senator Rubio vs The Liberal News Media

MSNBC, NBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, all liberal news outlets. All having a great time being critical with Senator Marco Rubio for taking a drink of water while giving the Republican rebuttal to President Obama's State of the Union speech.

One idiot actually in CNN announced their Senator Rubio segment - a discussion on his taking a drink of water no less - by asking if his water-swig is a "career ender".

No kidding! Imagine the idiot that came up with that one. Imagine his throwing out the idea of running a whole segment, a discussion, a news report, breaking news, on a Senator taking a drink of water during a speech?

Imagine for a moment what they were really doing here. And yes, ask yourself, where's the beef? Where's the substance to their angst with Senator Rubio as to what he said?

Folks, I watched it and I can't tell you where they find problems with Sen. Rubio's speech. They did not talk about his rebuttal or any of the "specifics" that Senator Rubio addressed.

The only thing that they could come up with was that Senator Rubio stopped his rebuttal to take a drink of water. Horrifying as that might be to the liberal left, it just shows their impotency to articulate what they don't agree with - as well as their determination to divert the converation away from real concerns.

The liberal left, the liberal news media, simply can't bring anything to the table, they have no game, they are weak, they want to distract people from the real issues, they cannot refute what was being said so they talk about crap like a drink of water.

I just don't know how else to say it. The liberal news media, MSNBC and CNN being the worse of the bunch, throw distraction after distraction to steer the discussion away from what needs to be talked about.

They talk about this Republican saying this and that Conservative doing that, but they don't address the problems and concerns that Americans are really worried about. 

• Out of control government spending,
• unemployment highest it has been in years,
• gasoline is at or above $4 a gallon,
• everyone is getting more taxes taken out of the paychecks,
• rising taxes across the board, 
• more small businesses are shutting down than ever before,
• big businesses are not hiring or relocating,
• home foreclosures are at an all time high because people are out of work,
• manufacturing jobs are being sent overseas because the liberals wanted to make "their lives" better,
• more Americans are on food stamps than ever,
• more Americans are below the poverty line under President Obama than any other president in our entire history,
• more government intrusion in the lives of Americans,
• the fact that a majority of Americans feel threatened by the U.S. government more than ever before,
• Americans losing hope  --

and all the jokers like Chris Matthews and the other assholes in the liberal media want to talk about is Senator Rubio taking a swig of bottled water. Imagine that!

We have a president that does not want water-boarding of terrorists even if it means saving American lives, but he sees no problem in ordering a drone missile strike to kill unarmed Americans overseas if they are merely "suspected" of working with a terrorist network..

We have a president that wants to ban guns and limit the sale of ammunition, even for reloading which no criminal does, because he is worried about saving the life of "just one child," but at the same time he is for late term abortion of children -- those who are about to be born.

And yes, Democrats feel that abortion is OK even though they have sanctioned the death of over 45 Million children over the last 40 years -- all while saying that they are worried about "the children."

They want to stop Global Warming even though it doesn't exist, because they say they are worried about the children. They wan a gun ban, because they say they are worried about the children. they want to stop people from Smoking cigarettes, because they say they are worried about "the children."

All, all, while never saying that they want to prevent or slow down the rising rate of abortions in this country.

Why? Because they are NOT worried about "those children."

Did Senator Rubio taking a drink of water on camera seem a little awkward? Sure.

Did anyone at home watching it think it was as big a deal as prissy jerkweeds like Chris Matthews did? Probably not. The reason is that the people had home have bigger concerns. 

As for it being a "career-ender?"  Well, believe it or not, that's the question CNN posed regarding Sen. Marco Rubio's water-swig during his response to the State of the Union Tuesday night.

No, they did not take that time to talk about the out of control cost of ObamaCare, the problems with illegal aliens committing crime in America, voter fraud like that that takes place in Chicago and Philadelphia, the issue of our having to show an ID to turn in recycling - yet not to vote, the horrible security of our schools, teacher sex crimes, gay clergy abusing children, and runaway cost of living.

No, to them, it is more important to devote a segment examining whether the a drink of water could squelch Senator Rubio's rising political career.

"Can a drink of water make or break a political career?" Wolf Blitzer asked. "A U.S. senator, possible presidential candidate. We're going to find out, whether he likes it or not."

As a clip of the swig aired, the graphic on the screen then said: "Career-Ender?"

Imagine the insanity here! The guy took a drink of water!

Later, CNN tried to say that they were just teasing and defended the graphic saying it was just a joke.

"It was simply a tease (posing a question) leading up to a segment with our political contributors -- when Wolf specifically said no one thinks this will be a career-ender," a CNN spokeswoman told FoxNews.com.

During a panel discussion, Blitzer asserted Rubio's got a "huge future ahead of him." CNN analyst Cornell Belcher, though, claimed the night would haunt him through his career.

"He goes in stylistically, he's sweating like Nixon. He goes for the water in a really awkward way which will, quite frankly, be what's most remembered from this," Belcher said. "Style matters. And he fumbled."

CNN wasn't the only outlet to find the drink of water exceedingly newsworthy.

Not surprisingly MSNBC replayed the clip roughly 155 times. The play was indicative of how some outlets tried to turn the awkward moment into something more significant.
"The Rachel Maddow Show" played a loop of the swig over and over again Wednesday night. Host Al Sharpton even took a drink from a gigantic Poland Spring jug, just to hammer home the mocking.

That's fine, it's great when they can joke and mock someone when they should have been focused on what Senator Rubio had to say in his rebuttal.

This is a one way street. They don't want to talk about the issues when they really want to distract and steer the discussion away from the big problems we face.

If they don't want to take a serious look at the problems and face, then that's up to them. If they are really too busy defending a Democrat President and fill their time by distracting their viewers away from the real issues, then why should anyone take them serious about anything?

And by the way, if they really want something funny - they should look to Obama!

Story by Tom Correa