Democrats Worry About ObamaCare Repercussions

There have been a few reports out that are saying that Democratic lawmakers are worried about political repercussions once the final implementation of ObamaCare takes effect next year.

Holding down premium costs is one thing, but stifling employment and raising taxes on everyone for what seems like a liberal super boondoggle is another.

Making the issue even worse is that Americans are confused as to what ObamaCare is going to do.

The basic idea of making health-care affordable for those who couldn't afford it sounded reasonable at first. 

For me, I was all for having Medicare preform a "means-test" on those who absolutely couldn't afford  the huge premiums associated with health-care. 

I thought Medicare preforming "means-tests" would find out what people facing poverty could afford per visit with no monthly premiums. After which we could support Medicare to help make up the difference in premiums lost and that would take care of the problem. 

To me, it would've been an easy less costly fix because it would have provided "temporary medical care coverage" for those in poverty - until such time that they make enough money to where they no longer qualify for Medicare help.   

Instead, the Obama administration went big - real big. And yes, in the process threw the baby out with the bathwater by Socializing America's health-care system in its entirety.

The Obama administration wants to effect every walk of life.

That grandiose ambition is coming to fruition. But they should watch out what they wished for!

Along with changes to the health insurance system, ObamaCare guarantees access to coverage to everyone regardless of pre-existing health conditions, ObamaCare requires that people be insured or you pay a penalty. Yes, or you pay a penalty.

Confusing? You bet it is! So much so that the Government is spending Millions of Taxpayer Dollars on hiring ObamaCare Navigators!

No shit, it's true!

Early in April 2013, the Health and Human Services (HHS) Department opened the application process to spend $54 Million in Federal Taxpayer Grants - all just to hire ObamaCare Navigators.

It is supposed to be their way of helping people, Americans and Illegals, navigate the new insurance marketplace under the Affordable Care Act also known as ObamaCare.

And no, they don't want people who are compensated by insurance companies. They aren't allowed to become Navigators.

HHS is releasing the $54 Million in Federal Taxpayer Grants for "navigators" to find people who will help consumers shop for insurance in newly created exchanges.

HHS said it expects to spend up to $54 million to fund navigators, but that might not be enough money. They might need more! More to the tune of over $800 Million more!

According to the HHS, which is partly responsible for enacting ObamaCare, each state should have two or more navigators. One of which must be a non-profit entity.

Can you say Tens of Thousands of ObamaCare Navigators?

If these navigators will not directly enroll customers in a plan, who does?

Well, that job is reserved for the exchanges themselves, the navigators will only help consumers compare their options.

So what are we the taxpayer be getting for spending $54 Million in Federal Taxpayer Grants?

Well, the two laws comprising ObamaCare come to nearly 1,000 pages, and the regulations issued under it are already “well over twice as long as the Guinness World Record for the longest novel,” according to Americans for Limited Government.

A draft version of the federal government’s application for insurance is 15 pages long for a family of three and includes an additional 61-page questionnaire for determining eligibility for financial assistance.

The proposed Navigator rule itself runs to 63 pages.


Just who is eligible to become a navigator?

Although the rule declares that Navigators "must not have a conflict of interest during their term" and "must provide information and services in a fair, accurate, and impartial manner," it provides little other guidance.

"The rules allow navigators to come from the ranks of unions, health providers and community action groups such as ACORN and Planned Parenthood," Bedard states.

In fact, they require each exchange to have "at least two different types of entities as Navigators, one of which must be a community and consumer-focused non-profit group."

How many navigators will be needed?

According to The Washington Examiner’s Paul Bedard, it is going to take "tens of thousands" of people, each possibly earning "$20 an hour or more," to help Americans navigate through the labyrinthine legislation known as ObamaCare.


The final number has not yet been determined, but according to Bedard, California alone has requested 21,000 ObamaCare navigators.

It’s no exaggeration to suggest that there may be hundreds of thousands of these tax eaters when all is said and done.

And exactly how much this cost the taxpayers?

Remember that $800 Million number that I used earlier? Well,  the Health and Human Services (HHS) Department estimates that ObamaCare navigators will make anywhere from $20 to $48 per hour, depending on their positions.

So if we assume that Liberal California gets its 21,000 ObamaCare navigators, and all make $20 an hour for a 40-hour week, than they would cost taxpayers over $873 Million A YEAR!

And that’s for just one state!

Rep. Kenny Marchant (R-Texas), a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, sent a letter to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius expressing his concern over the ObamaCare navigators' "inflated hourly wages," particularly "at a time when thousands of current federal employees are being placed on furloughs to reduce our budget deficit."

Additionally, taxpayers will have to foot the bill for ObamaCare Translators for non-English-speakers who seek insurance on an exchange. Yes, Translators!

It just keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger!

The exchanges themselves are supposed “to have a strong customer-service component, including call centers and physical offices,” according to The Hill. This, too, will undoubtedly take taxpayers for a pretty penny — and provide customer service similar to that of the Internal Revenue Service.

Then there’s the matter of voter registration.

The draft ObamaCare application asks the applicant if he would like to register to vote; if so, it directs him to a voter registration form.

Republicans are none too happy with this, fearing that it could be used to encourage people to register as Democrats — especially since Democrat-aligned activists may well be serving as ObamaCare navigators.

Rep. Charles Boustany, Jr. (R-La.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee, on March 25, sent a letter to HHS seeking more details on the voter-registration matter.

In his letter he reminded her that the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) does not mention voter registration and that the Paperwork Reduction Act "requires that Federal agencies gather only appropriate information as required by legislation."

Navigating ObamaCare is going to be a costly, labor-intensive, intrusive, and politically charged task. In no conceivable way does it improve the quality or reduce the cost of health-care.

It does, however, vastly extend the reach of the federal government and the party that controls its executive branch. And that, more than anything else, explains why the law was passed and why it is proving so difficult to repeal.

Democrats Are Worried!

Last December, 2012, sixteen (16) Democrat Senators who voted for the Affordable Care Act are asking that one of its fundraising mechanisms, a 2.3 percent tax on medical devices scheduled to take effect January 1, 2014 be delayed. 

What is the Medical Device Tax?

The $30 Billion Medical Device Tax was included in ObamaCare. It is a tax which will push medical device manufacturers overseas, cost jobs, will stifle innovation, hurt small businesses, and cause increased medical costs for patients.

The amount is based on a 2.3% excise tax that will be levied on the total revenues of a company, regardless of whether a company generates a profit, starting in 2013.

Fact is, many companies will owe more in taxes than they generate from their operations. The result will be devastating to innovation, patient care and job creation. And yes, ObamaCare may either put these companies out of business or sent overseas.

It was an argument that was made by Republicans against ObamaCare, but now Democrat senators say the tax levy will cost jobs . In a statement, Sen. Al Franken called it a “job-killing tax” - and also impair American competitiveness in the medical device field.
That was December, this month the liberal rag The New York Times is reporting that Democrats are raising concerns directly with Obama administration officials at a recent luncheon meeting with Denis McDonough who is the White House Chief of Staff.

So what did those Democrats tell the Obama rep?

Well, to show you how completely out of touch Democrats are, according to reports, Democrat politicians are only now beginning to hear from constituents who are angry, confused and worried about how the law will adversly affect them.

Imagine that! Only now are they beginning beginning to hear from constituents who are angry, confused and worried about how the law will adversly affect them.

Democrats always act so surprised!

It's as if Democrats think their constituents enjoy taking home less money on their paychecks because of higher taxes, or enjoy having the Federal Government lord over them, or relish having the Federal Government fine, jail, or confiscate their property if they don't comply with ObamaCare laws.

New Hampshire Democrat Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, told the Times that she is "hearing from a lot of small businesses in New Hampshire that do now know how to comply with the law."

Shaheen said, "restaurants that employ people for about 30 hours a week are trying to figure out whether it would be in their interest to reduce the hours" of those workers - so the restaurants could avoid the law’s requirement to offer health coverage to full-time employees.

Democrat Shaheen said, White House officials “acknowledged that these are real concerns, and that we’ve got to do more to address them." 

In 2001, as Governor, Shaheen tried to implement a 2.5 percent sales tax, the first broad-based tariff of its kind in history of New Hampshire. She also proposed an increase in the state's cigarette tax and a 4.5 percent capital gains tax.

I can't help but wonder how she feels about raising taxes on her constituents because the Feds want more money to spent on nothing vital?

Shaheen, who is up for re-election next year, said the White House “acknowledged that these are real concerns, and that we’ve got to do more to address them.”

Iowa Democrat Sen. Tom Harkin, chairman of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on health-care, also voiced his concerns, telling the Times: “I am greatly disappointed —and beyond upset — that the administration chose to help pay for the Affordable Care Act in fiscal year 2013 by raiding the Public Health and Prevention Fund.”

Harkin was referring to the White House’s acknowledgement that it had transferred $322 Million from the prevention fund to pay for promotion of the new insurance exchanges.

That's right, $322 Million just to promote ObamaCare!

At Congressional hearings this week, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius reportedly said the administration needed to tap the fund because Congress had refused to provide money for outreach activities.

In addition, Maryland Sen. Benjamin Cardin told the Times that he is worried about big rate increases being sought by the largest health insurer in his state, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield.

He said the company is seeking increases of roughly 25 percent for individual policies that will be sold in the state health insurance exchange, and a 15 percent increase for small businesses. The company reportedly said the higher premiums reflect the costs of complying with the new ObamaCare laws.

For allowing the power hungry socialists in the White House to enact ObamaCare and drive our nation into bankruptcy, especially when easier less costly solutions could have been used, I can only hope the Democrats get what's coming to them in 2014.

Democrat politicians are a miserable group. And yes, it seems that until the bottom completely falls out, they will just screw the American people at every turn.   

Story by Tom Correa

The Real Threat Is From Illegal Guns

With anti-Constitutionalists politicians all calling for more infringement on our Constitutional Rights of gun ownership, one has to ask if they understand the real threat pertaining to guns?

Do liberals understand where the threat is coming from?

Here's a hint: its not from law abiding American citizens or legally obtained firearms.

In 2010, the United States imported 3.9 million guns, some 16 times more than we exported to other countries.

Those imported guns accounted for 43% of new guns legally available to Americans for sale that year.

Granted other countries sell guns in America legally, but how about the illegal gun trade?

While those figure are correct, we have no way of really knowing how many guns and explosives are coming into the United States from other countries illegally. Yes, illegally.

We hear a lot about guns being smuggled into Mexico these days, but nothing about what is being smuggled into the United States!

The threat is not a gun bought legally in the United States, the real threat, the correct target of criminal activity, should be the arms and explosives coming into the United States by way of the U.S./Mexican Border and the Port of Long Beach which is being operated by China using a front company for the Communist Chinese Army.

There is a joke these days that goes: "What is the modern term for Illegal Aliens?"
Answer: "Undocumented Democrats!"

What does Illegal Aliens have to do with illegal guns coming into the United States? The issues of Illegal Guns and Illegal Aliens, or Border Security, intertwine.

While the joke is funny to Conservatives, sadly it seems to be more fitting than funny!

The reason is that Democrats appear more concerned about having Illegal Aliens fill out Voter Registration cards than they are with stopping illegal entry. Democrats see the border as secure contrary to experts who say the opposite.

Their apathetic attitude toward stopping illegal entry demonstrates their total lack of concern for security along our Southern border. Their apathy is life threatening.

While much is written and talked about regarding the U.S. role in feeding Mexico's enormous gun violence across the border, not much is said about illicit arms and explosive trafficking coming in the United States.

The focus by the liberal news media is to make America look like the culprit to Mexico's problems when we are not.

We all know about stolen guns that are sold illegally, but how about guns that aren't stolen and that the general public can't purchase legally such as fully-automatic weapons - yet are showing up on the streets of American cities? 

Guns Not Available for Civilian Purchase in the United States are found in the United States and in Mexico.

The argument that semi-automatic weapons, which can be bought legally by Americans, are the guns of choice by Mexican cartels and gangs in American cities is laughable.

Small semi-automatic arms are one thing, but true military grade fully-automatic weapons and unattainable explosives are another story all together.

Weapons encountered along the U.S./ Mexico border are military-grade ordnance and not generally available for sale in the United States.

These include hand grenades, 40 mm grenades, rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), automatic assault rifles and main battle rifles, and even light machine guns.

These weapons are fairly difficult to obtain, as well as very expensive to buy, in the United States, especially in the large numbers in which the cartels are employing them.

They are also dangerous to obtain in the United States due to heavy law enforcement scrutiny.

Therefore, most of the military ordnance used by the Mexican cartels comes from other outside sources, such as the international arms market - increasingly from the Chinese military via the same networks that furnish precursor chemicals for narcotics manufacturing - or from corrupt elements in the Mexican military or even deserters who take their weapons with them.

Besides, items such as South Korean fragmentation grenades and RPG-7s, often used by the cartels, simply are not in the U.S. arsenal - and certainly not available to U.S. citizens.

For Mexico, this means that these weapons are not coming from the United States - but instead other sources overseas.

For the United States, these weapons coming into our country illegally is a threat that our Federal Government under the guidance of the Obama administration is ignoring.

The threat to the United States is coming from our Southern border and our ports, both which is not being secured properly.

In recent years the drug cartels, especially their enforcer groups such as Los Zetas, Gente Nueva and La Linea, have been increasingly using military weaponry instead of sporting arms.

A close examination of the arms seized from the enforcer groups and their training camps clearly demonstrates this trend toward military ordnance, including many weapons not readily available in the United States.

Some of these seizures have included M60 machine guns and hundreds of 40 mm grenades obtained from the military arsenals of countries like Guatemala.

But Guatemala is not the only source of such weapons. Latin America is awash in weapons that were shipped there over the past several decades to supply the various insurgencies and counterinsurgencies in the region.

When these military-grade weapons are combined with the rampant corruption in the region, they quickly find their way into the black arms market.

For Mexico, the cartels have supply-chain contacts that help move narcotics to Mexico from South America, and they are able to use this same network to obtain guns from the black market in South and Central America and then smuggle them into Mexico.

While there are many weapons in this category that were manufactured in the United States, the overwhelming majority of the U.S.-manufactured weapons of this type encountered in Mexico - like LAW rockets and M60 machine guns - go into Mexico from other third party countries. Not the United States.

These weapons do not come from the United States, but many end up in cities in the United States from Mexico.

Commercially available to American citizens versus only Military issue? Yes there is an overlap between classes of weapons.

For example, the FN Five-Seven pistol is available for commercial purchase in the United States, but the 5.7x28 armor-piercing ammunition for the pistol favored by the cartels is not. It is restricted to military use only.

However, some of the special operations forces units in the Mexican military are issued the Five-Seven as well as the FN P90 personal defense weapon, which also shoots the 5.7x28 round, and the cartels are obtaining some of these weapons.

And yes, both the arms and the armor-piercing ammunition from the Mexican military are not coming from the United States.

For us, we are seeing arms and explosives being smuggled into the United States which are not found for sale to the American public.

From Mexico, fully automatic AK-47s and M16s manufactured and purchased elsewhere, are being smuggled into the United States.

As noted above, Communist China has become an increasingly common source for military weapons like grenades and fully automatic assault rifles in recent years.

The last case of arms smuggling into the United States was not in 1996, but smuggling into America doesn't make the news as much as smuggling into Mexico does - after all, liberals see Americans as the root of all evil.

June 5, 1996
China Arms Case Draws Indictment

A federal grand jury returned a 30-count indictment, charging 14 people and a Georgia company in a scheme to smuggle automatic weapons into the United States from China, U.S. officials said.

The indictment formalizes charges made last month when federal agents smashed an arms smuggling ring that they said involved two government-run Chinese munitions firms.

Seven of the people charged have been arrested, and seven others, including officials of China's state-controlled munitions firm China Northern Industrial Corp., remain at large.

The indictment also charged Dynasty Holding Co. of Georgia with money laundering.

May 23, 1996
U.S. Seizes 2,000 Assault Arms as Smuggling by China Is Probed

Investigation: Federal agents say arrests involve firms linked to Peking's military, leadership. They allegedly brought record number of automatic weapons into U.S.

WASHINGTON — Federal authorities began making a series of arrests in an intensive investigation of China's two main state-controlled arms exporting companies for allegedly smuggling automatic assault weapons into this country, according to law enforcement officials.

The companies under investigation, called Poly Technologies and Norinco, lie at the heart of China's military-industrial complex.

Poly Technologies, in particular, operates directly under the Chinese People's Liberation Army and has been run by the children of several of China's top leaders, including the son-in-law of China's ailing patriarch Deng Xiaoping.

About 2,000 fully automatic AK-47-type weapons from China were brought into the United States through the port of Oakland last March 18, according to authorities.

The Chinese arms dealers apparently believed that the undercover agents were mid-level American arms smugglers willing to pay up to 400% markups for the outlawed weapons.

The Chinese dealers believed that the illegal weapons were going to be used by violent American gangs, the officials said.

August 10, 1989
200 AK-47 Rifles Seized; 4 Alleged Smugglers Arrested

In what authorities called one of the largest weapons seizures in county history, nearly 200 semiautomatic rifles and 80,000 rounds of ammunition were seized by federal agents in Irvine and San Diego, culminating an undercover investigation of a weapons-smuggling ring, it was announced Wednesday.

The two-week investigation by Operation Alliance, a task force composed of members from the U.S. Customs Service, Drug Enforcement Administration and various state and local agencies, ended with the arrests of four men who delivered 98 Chinese-made AK-47 assault weapons, 2 handguns and about 8,000 rounds of ammunition to a customs agent posing as buyers.

An additional 93 AK-47 rifles and 70,000 rounds of ammunition belonging to the four men were seized in Irvine, and will be used as evidence against the alleged exporters, agents said.

The assault rifles had a street value of $285,000, they said.

The Real Threat From Guns In The United States Is In The Streets And They Are Weapons The Average Citizen Can't Buy

No, it wasn't that long ago when three Chinese officials were arrested in 1996 in a U.S. Justice Department sting in which two undercover agents paid $700,000 for a shipping container filled with 2,000 Chinese-made AK-47s.

They weren't headed for Mexico. They were headed for street gangs in cities right here in the United States.

It was the largest seizure of illegal automatic weapons in U.S. history. The three officials had ties with China's two main arms firms: China North Industries Corp. (Norinco) and Poly Technologies.

The Chinese-made MAK-90, an AK-47-like rifles that can be equipped with a silencer and grenade launcher, was illegally imported to the United States.

While Democrat's ignore the nation's security needs on the border, they increase put America is harms way of terrorist threat of illegal arms and explosives coming across the border from Mexico, Americans should ask While  do not seem to worry the Obama administration or Democrats who want an Open Border with Mexico.

Mexico has very strict gun-ownership laws. While that country’s Constitution allows for citizens to keep and bear arms, the conditions it places on this ownership through amendments to the constitution are much more limiting.

Fact is, only one entity is permitted to sell weapons in Mexico - and it is run by the Mexican Army. For Mexico, such a situation opens up all sorts of doors to bringing in guns from foreign countries.

Communist China and Eastern European nations, who produce arms with the support of their governments, traffic arms into Mexico and the United States with regularity. 

It is estimated that there are over 700 million small arms in circulation world wide, and that over 1,135 companies based in more than 98 different countries manufacture small arms as well as their various components and ammunition.

Historically a highly efficient, well organized, and profitable business, gun trafficking into the United States and elsewhere moves guns from legal manufactures through corrupt government safeguards such as corrupt Border Patrol Agents so that criminals who can’t buy guns legally get them.

So where are these guns and explosives going?

Gangs continue to commit criminal activity, recruit new members in urban, suburban, and rural regions across the United States, and develop criminal associations that expand their influence over criminal enterprises, particularly street-level drug sales.

Thanks to a pathetic response to security problems on the border, there has been an overall increase in gang membership, and the expansion of criminal street gangs’ control of street-level drug sales and collaboration with rival gangs and other criminal organizations.

Gangs are expanding, evolving and posing an increasing threat to U.S. communities nationwide.

Many gangs are sophisticated criminal networks with members who are violent, distribute wholesale quantities of drugs, and develop and maintain close working relationships with members and associates of transnational criminal/drug trafficking organizations.

While the Federal government is overly concerned with taking away guns from women rape victims and defenseless families, gangs are becoming more violent.

Gangs are responsible for 48% or more of all violent crime in most jurisdictions and up to 90% in several others, according to NGIC analysis.

While engaging in less typical and lower-risk crime, such as prostitution and white-collar crime. Gangs are more adaptable, organized, sophisticated, and opportunistic, exploiting new and advanced technology as a means to recruit, communicate discretely, target their rivals, and perpetuate their criminal activity.

The National Gang Intelligence Center (NGIC) prepared the 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment (NGTA) to examine emerging gang trends and threats posed by criminal gangs to communities throughout the United States.

So Let's Really Talk About Gun Violence!

Based on state, local, and federal law enforcement reporting, the NGIC concludes that:

■ There are approximately 1.4 million active street, prison, and outlaw motorcycle gang members comprising more than 33,000 gangs in the United States.

■ Gangs are responsible for an average of 48% of all violent crime in most jurisdictions and up to 90% of the gun violence, according to NGIC analysis.

■ Major cities and suburban areas experience the most gang-related violence. Local neighborhood-based gangs and drug crews continue to pose the most significant criminal threat in most communities.

■ Aggressive recruitment of juveniles and immigrants, alliances and conflict between gangs, the release of incarcerated gang members from prison, advancements in technology and communication, and Mexican Drug Trafficking Organization (MDTO) involvement in drug distribution have resulted in gang expansion and violence in a number of jurisdictions.

■ Gangs are increasingly engaging in non-traditional gang-related crime, such as illegal alien smuggling, human trafficking, and prostitution.

■ Gangs are also engaging in white-collar crime such as counterfeiting, identity theft, and mortgage fraud, primarily due to the high profitability and much lower visibility and risk of detection and punishment than drug and weapons trafficking.

■ U.S. gangs have established strong working relationships with Central America criminal organizations to perpetrate illicit cross-border activity, establishing wide-reaching drug networks; assisting in the smuggling of drugs, weapons, and illegal immigrants along the Southwest Border

■ Many gang members continue to engage in gang activity while incarcerated. Family members play pivotal roles in assisting or facilitating gang activities and recruitment during a gang members’ incarceration.

■ Gang members in some correctional facilities are adopting radical religious views while incarcerated. This has lead to a growth of Islam within the prison system.

■ Gangs encourage members, associates, and relatives to obtain law enforcement, judiciary, or legal employment in order to gather information on rival gangs and law enforcement operations.

■ Gang infiltration of the military continues to pose a significant criminal threat, as members of at least 53 gangs have been identified on both domestic and international military installations.

Gang members who learn advanced weaponry and combat techniques in the military are at risk of employing these skills on the street when they return to their communities.

■ Gang members are acquiring high-powered, military-style weapons and equipment which poses a significant threat because of the potential to engage in lethal encounters with law enforcement officers and civilians.

■ Gangs typically acquired firearms are through illegal purchases from overseas arms manufacturers, straw purchases via surrogates or middle-men, and thefts from individuals, vehicles, residences and commercial establishments.

■ Gang members also target military and law enforcement officials, facilities, and vehicles to obtain weapons, ammunition, body armor, police gear, badges, uniforms, and official identification.

■Gangs on Indian Reservations often emulate national-level gangs and adopt names and identifiers from nationally recognized urban gangs. Gang members on some Indian Reservations are associating with gang members in the community to commit crime.

■Gangs are becoming increasingly adaptable and sophisticated, employing new and advanced technology to facilitate criminal activity discreetly, enhance their criminal operations, and connect with other gang members, criminal organizations, and potential recruits nationwide and even worldwide.

Gang membership continues to expand throughout communities nationwide, as gangs evolve, adapt to new threats, and form new associations. Consequently, gang-related crime and violence is increasing as gangs employ violence and intimidation to control their territory and illicit operations.

Many gangs have advanced beyond their traditional role as local retail drug distributors in large cities to become more organized, adaptable, and influential in large-scale drug trafficking.

Gang members are migrating from urban areas to suburban and rural communities to recruit new members, expand their drug distribution territories, form new alliances, and collaborate with rival gangs and criminal organizations for profit and influence.

Local neighborhood, hybrid and female gang membership is on the rise in many communities. Prison gang members, who exert control over many street gang members, often engage in crime and violence upon their return to the community.

Gang members returning to the community from prison have an adverse and lasting impact on neighborhoods, which may experience notable increases in crime, violence, and drug trafficking.

With approximately 1.4 million active street, outlaw motorcycle gang, and prison gang members, comprising more than 33,000 gangs, all criminally active within all 50 US states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, this surge represents a 40% increase from an estimated 1 million gang members in 2009.

This increase in gang membership is primarily due to aggressive recruitment efforts by gangs, the formation of new gangs, new opportunities for drug trafficking, and collaboration with rival gangs and drug trafficking organizations, and a lack of security on the U.S./Mexico border.

More than half of all law enforcement reports an increase in gang-related criminal activity in their jurisdictions over the past two years.

Neighborhood-based gangs continue to pose the greatest threat in most jurisdictions nationwide.

Since 2009, gang membership increased most significantly in the Northeast and Southeast regions, although the West and North Central regions - particularly Arizona, California, and Illinois - boast the highest number of gang members.

Sureño gangs, including Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), 18th Street, and Florencia 13, are expanding faster than other national-level gangs, both in membership and geographically.

Twenty states and the District of Columbia report an increase of Sureño migration into their region over the past three years. California has experienced a substantial migration of Sureño gangs into northern California and neighboring states, such as Arizona, Nevada, and Oregon, because of the lack of border security.

All of this makes one wonder why the Obama administration places such a focus on legal firearms when the real threat pertaining to guns is coming from those illegal arms being smuggled into the United States from Mexico, China, and Eastern European nations. 

Yes, the president wants amnesty for everyone here illegally.

But don't swallow the lie that liberals are trying to feed you. Though the majority of the folks coming here illegally are good hard working people just looking for a better life for their families, like the Cuban Boat Lift under Jimmy Carter there are also murderers, rapists, child molesters, and other criminal types including gun smugglers and confederates to the Drug Cartels who want to live in the United States.

Homeland Security is buying enough arms and tanks to outfit an entire Army Division, and they are militarizing their people for trouble against us the American people.

But how can they be convinced that we don't need guarding as if America has become one big prison? How can we convince them that the problem is the gangs who are killing each other by the truckload?

Homeland Security seems very concerned about the amount of smuggling going on from the United States into Mexico, but the Department of Homeland Security seems totally unconcerned about the arms coming into the United States making their way into the hands of those who are really the threat today - those with illegal guns.

This all makes one wonder why our Federal government, which is specifically tasked with protecting America's ports and borders, is not doing their job?

The gutless cowards of Obama administration and Homeland Secruity see the American people as the easier target to attack.

Those who have the arms and personnel to secure the border, don't have the guts, determination, or integrity to attack the real threat from illegal guns and those shipping them into America accross our borders or into our ports and secure our border.


Story by Tom Correa

America's First Gold Rush - The Carolina Gold Rush

Besides the wonderful people down there, another thing that I absolutely love about the South is Southern Pride.

When especially compared to Northerners, Southerners make sure their children are weaned on their rich history.

During my travels in the South, one of my favorite places to visit was always Charlotte, North Carolina.

Scott, who is one of my readers, wrote to remind me that the California Gold Rush of 1849 wasn't America's First Gold Rush.

America's First Gold Rush, known as the "Carolina Gold Rush," took place in North Carolina.

 

Gold was first discovered in North Carolina in 1799 and that Congress authorized the construction of the Charlotte Mint to cope with the sheer volume of gold dug up in North Carolina.  

Known as "The Carolina Gold Rush," it was the first gold rush in the United States.  

Though it was the discovery of gold in North Carolina in 1799, it was not until a few years later that word of the gold spread and men started coming to North Carolina from other states.

In 1799, twelve-year-old Conrad Reed was fishing when he found a 17-pound shiny rock in Little Meadow Creek on his family’s farm in Cabarrus County, North Carolina.

And yes, believe it or not, he and his family kept it as a doorstop until 1802.

His father John Reed took the rock to a jeweler who recognized it as gold and bought it from the unaware Reed for $3.50. Now I know that $3.50 sounds like the jeweler swindled him, which he did, but we must understand that $3.50 in 1802 was a week's wages for farm labor.

Why do I say swindled?  Well, that nugget's true value was around $3,600.

If that were at today's price of gold per ounce at $1,375 that would be a nugget about 2.6 ounces in size. But it was 1802, the price of gold at the time was $19.39 an ounce.

Before long, more gold was found in and along the creek, making Conrad’s father, John Reed, a very wealthy man.

News of gold in Cabarrus County spread quickly. Soon gold was being found in neighboring counties of Montgomery, Stanly, Mecklenburg, Rowan, and Union.

With the news of a gold discovery, people flocked to North Carolina anxious to find gold of their own.

In the 1700s, the pioneers who settled there were described as "industrious people" with most families having six to ten children.

They raised livestock and crops such as corn, wheat, barley, rye, and indigo, and traded primarily with bigger Charleston, South Carolina, some two hundred miles to the south.

Charlotte, the state’s largest city today, was little more than a village at the time.

Around 1805, only a few years after Conrad’s discovery, newspapers began reporting on gold-mining activities and people coming into the area to search for gold.

William Thornton, of Baltimore, Maryland, designer of the United States Capitol, was one of these seekers. After learning of the gold, he purchased thirty-five thousand acres of land in Montgomery - now Stanly - County and formed the North Carolina Gold Mine Company.

By 1806, investors in his company included a former governor of Maryland and the treasurer of the United States.

Of course, initially local landowners did most of the mining.

The first newcomers to arrive were from neighboring towns and counties and states. But then, as luck would have it, another event occurred that would greatly increase the numbers of people migrating to the state’s gold fields.

In 1825, Matthias Barringer discovered that gold could be found in veins of white quartz. By following these veins of quartz into the ground, one could recover more gold.

Prior to this discovery, all of the mining conducted in North Carolina had been above ground, called "placer" mining. With Barringer's discovery of "lode," or underground mining, the rush to North Carolina was on in a big way.

Yes, just as later during other booms, people came from far and wide to make their fortunes.

Many of the most important lode mines were located in or around Charlotte.

In 1828 J. Humphrey Bissell, of Charleston, bought part of the McComb Mine and brought with him not only new technology but also "men experienced in South American mining."

At one Charlotte mine that employed almost a thousand workers, thirteen different languages were spoken.

Count Vincent de Rivafinoli, an Italian aristocrat and experienced mining engineer, was one of the most cultured and flamboyant foreigners in  Charlotte.

As head of the Mecklenburg Gold Mining Company, he brought in as many as eighty expert miners from England, Germany, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Switzerland, Italy, and France.

Among the European workers, miners from Cornwall, England, had a huge influence on North Carolina mining culture.

The Cornish miners had developed techniques for "lode mining" over several centuries, extracting tin and copper from their native England.

Upon their arrival, they shared their knowledge and expertise in North Carolina. They taught proper and safe techniques for "lode mining."

And yes, they were also experts in the process of milling gold ore and the use of steam technology. Because of their knowledge of steam technology, the use of steam engines soon spread from gold mining to other North Carolina industries such as textile mills.

Many of the immigrants who came to North Carolina during the gold rush were single men, both young and middle-aged, all ambitious and hardworking.

They came unaccompanied by women and children wanting to get rich to make better lives for themselves and their families they had waiting in some cases overseas. As single men unencumbered by family responsibilities, they were able to move freely from one mining area to another.

When gold was found later in other southern states such as Georgia, and then in California in 1848, many moved out of the area.

The Cornish miners, however, had often moved with their families. They were known to be “skilled, superstitious, clannish,” and strongly Methodist.

Unlike the single prospectors who followed the gold to California, the Yukon, and beyond, many of these
Cornish miners and their families stayed in North Carolina, in the lode mining centers of Charlotte and especially Gold Hill in Rowan County.

The Cornish culture is a unique culture within Great Britain, much like the Welsh or Scottish, with its own dialect and customs.

But because the Cornish also spoke English, they and their descendants quickly melded into American life, and their cultural influence is not easy to pinpoint.

As with the others who arrived, their influence had a big impact on North Carolina’s emerging industries.

It is interesting to note that a year after John Reed started mining his land, a slave named Peter, found a 28-pound nugget of gold on the property.

John Reed started placer mining, then later underground mining, on his property, and truly became a wealthy man in spite of once being swindled by that jeweler.

The very First Gold Mine in the United States was in fact established in North Carolina at the Reed Gold Mine.

The Reed Gold Mine is located in Midland, Cabarrus County, North Carolina, and is the site of the first documented commercial gold find in the United States.

In 1966, it was designated a National Historic Landmark because of its importance to the history of our great nation. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Need For The Charlotte Mint

Can you imagine there being so much gold coming out of a single discovery that you find yourself having to built a new Mint locally to handle it?

Well, that was the case of the Charlotte Mint!

In 1835, because of the huge volume of gold coming out of North Carolina, President Andrew Jackson signed into law a bill to open three branch mints. One of those was in Charlotte, North Carolina, for new bullion and the minting of gold coinage.

The Charlotte Mint was a branch of the United States Mint that came into existence on March 3, 1835 during the Carolina Gold Rush.

The United States Congress approved an Act to establish several branch mints; the act stated, "...one branch at the town of Charlotte, in Mecklenburg County, in the state of North Carolina, for the coinage of gold only...".

In November, 1835, Levi Woodbury, Secretary of the Treasury, was notified by Samuel MeComb that he had purchased from William Carson and F. L. Smith a full square containing 4 acres of land for $1,500, which is now the 400 block of West Trade Street.

Proposals for construction of the building were advertised and the contract was awarded to Perry & Ligon, of Raleigh, North Carolina, on October 15th, 1835 at a price of $29,800.

In 1836, construction on the Charlotte Mint began. It opened for business on July 27, 1837.

Only raw gold was processed and refined until March 28, 1838, when the first $5 gold half eagle was struck in Charlotte.

The Half Eagle is a United States coin that was produced for circulation from 1795 to 1929 and in commemorative and bullion coins since the 1980s.

Composed almost entirely of gold, it has a face value of five dollars. Its production was authorized by The Act of April 2, 1792, and it was the first gold coin minted by the United States.

Later in 1838, $2½ Quarter Eagles were minted, and 1849 production started on a small gold dollar.

In 1838, the Charlotte Mint produced half eagles of the Coronet type in their first years of operation, and would continue to mint Half Eagles until 1861, their last year of operation.

All gold coinage coming from this mint has a "C" mint mark to distinguish it from other sister mints then in operation. The Charlotte Mint issued over $5 million in gold coins.

One should note that these days a 1838-C $5 Gold Half Eagle is worth about $2,250!

In May 1861, North Carolina seceded from the Union. The Confederacy took control of the Charlotte Mint. The Confederate government continued coining operations until October when it became clear it was a futile effort.

The mint was then converted into a hospital and military office space for the remainder of the Civil War.

After the Civil War, Federal troops used the offices for the first few years of Reconstruction. In 1867, the U.S. government designated it an Assay Office.

In 1873, the General Assembly of North Carolina petitioned Congress to reopen the mint at Charlotte. This request was denied.

As an Assay Office, it operated until 1913 when the gold supply was quickly dwindling. Then from 1917 to 1919, the Charlotte Woman's Club met in the building - and it also served as a Red Cross station during World War I.

In 1931, the old Charlotte Mint building was to be demolished to make room for the post office expansion next door. But that was not to be, fact is a coalition of private citizens acquired the structure from the U.S. Treasury Department in 1933.

Believe it or not, though this was the midst of the Great Depression, these great folks relocated the structure a few miles south of downtown Charlotte.

In 1936, it was dedicated as the Mint Museum of Art, the first art museum in North Carolina.

Why Is The Charlotte Mint So Significant?

For the world of coins, most historic coins are pretty well known. But it is also true that every so often there is a very historic coin that seems to fall through the cracks in terms of interest.

That description might well fit the 1838-C quarter eagle as this is a very historic issue that seems to be known by very few.

The 1838-C was something no one had ever seen before as it was a quarter eagle of the United States that was not even made in Philadelphia.

The fact is had many persons seen the small "C" on an 1838 quarter eagle at the time, the odds are pretty good that they would not have known why it was there or what it meant.

The situation in 1838 had to be exciting for the Mint. For the first time in the history of the United States there were going to be coins produced outside Philadelphia.

The decision to built other mints other than the one in Philadelphia was made because it was seen as better to deal with the gold on the spot rather than to try and send it all the way to Philadelphia.

Because of that, the Charlotte Mint only produced gold coins.

Of course there was something of a delay in production. The reason was that outfitting a mint in a place like Charlotte back in the 1830s was not the easiest task. It took time to get what was needed to the area. Then everything had to be set up.

By the time the facility was ready to produce its first gold coins, it was 1838. So yes, the 1838-C $5 Gold Half Eagle and $2½ Quarter Eagles were the first coins minted there.

At Charlotte there would be a $5 Gold Half Eagle mintage of 17,179 pieces, but also Charlotte would mint $2½ Gold Quarter Eagles to the tune of 7,880 pieces.

The smaller mintage, and the fact that only Charlotte tried $2½ Quarter Eagles in 1838 should not be too surprising. The $2½ Quarter Eagles were still really getting established in circulation.

The $2½ Quarter Eagle denomination had been authorized in 1792, but it had never been widely used. Besides the sparse use, they were first minted in 1834 with a $2½ Quarter Eagles mintages of more than 10,000. That means the bulk of those $2½ Quarter Eagles coins were only minted in one place, the Charlotte Mint.

It would be safe to suggest there was very little saving of the 1838-C Quarter Eagle at the time.

So as a result, what we have today is basically $2½ Quarter Eagle circulated coins with a price of between $1,700 and $27,000 today.  Low mintage and an important place in history really does pay off.

In any grade, the 1838-C $2½ Quarter Eagle is a special coin. And yes, at today's prices, they are a great find.

At the Charlotte Mint today, one can find thousands of various artwork items, along with a complete collection of all gold coins minted at the Charlotte Mint.

The Charlotte Mint has a collection of gold coins that range from scarce to extremely rare. They are some of the most desired items in numismatics today, making the museum's collection highly valuable.

The gold industry influenced other developments in industry, commerce, and infrastructure that helped North Carolina prosper.

Today’s leaders in North Carolina's industry, research, banking, farming, and community have indirectly benefited from the miners and investors, those who followed their dreams of our nation’s first gold rush - the Carolina Gold Rush.

Story by Tom Correa

Anchorage VFW Post Fighting To Stay Alive

A friend who is about to return to his home in Alaska advised me that the Anchorage VFW Post is having big problems.

I found an article from the Anchorage Daily News about what is going on up there.

My first reaction after reading the article, honestly, I thought, "The Alcoholic Beverage Control Board is really pretty chicken-shit!"

And besides the ABC (Alcoholic Beverage Control) folks, it sounds like the Post has a neighbor with a cruel agenda of wanting it closed down - no ifs ands or buts!

And for us who have never been to Anchorage Alaska, I've found out that Anchorage has a population of  295,570 as of 2011, covers an area of 1,961 sq miles, with an unemployment rate at around 5.2% as of December 2012.

Anchorage which is officially called the Municipality of Anchorage is a "unified home rule municipality" in the south central part of the U.S. state of Alaska.

What is a "unified home rule municipality"?

In United States local government, a consolidated city–county is a city and county that have been merged into one unified jurisdiction. As such it is simultaneously a city, which is a municipal corporation, and a county, which is an administrative division of a state. It has the powers and responsibilities of both types of entities.

Anchorage is governed by an elected mayor and 11-member assembly, with the assistance of a city manager.

These positions are supposedly non-partisan as is the case with all municipal elected offices in Alaska, and because of this no candidates officially run under the banner of any political party.

All eleven members are elected from districts known as sections. Five of the sections elect two members from designated seats, while the remaining section elects one member.

Here's the article, and ask yourself if this doesn't all sound pretty chicken-shit to you:   

Dispute over S. Anchorage VFW club goes to Assembly

Published: April 21, 2013

By ROSEMARY SHINOHARA, Anchorage Daily News

Anchorage — Neighbors of a Veterans of Foreign Wars club in a strip mall on the Old Seward Highway want to close it down, and they're hoping to enlist the support of the Anchorage Assembly on Tuesday.

Neighbors have been complaining for nearly two years that the club was too noisy to be next to a residential area, that trash from the club blows into their neighborhood, and there's sometimes vomit.

VFW Post No. 9981, in a mall south of Huffman Road, is allowed to serve alcohol to members and their guests, but is not open to the public.

As recently as March, the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board says the VFW violated its license by serving alcohol to a non-member -- an undercover investigator from the board.

In July of 2012, the board sent the VFW a notice of violation for putting notes on the club's Facebook page indicating that the public was welcome to some club events.

"We've made a few mistakes," says Steve Hubbard, commander of VFW Post No. 9981. But, Hubbard said, all the concerns raised have already been responded to.

"Trash has not been an issue for two years," Hubbard said. "The fact is all of those issues are resolved."

HOUSES VERY CLOSE

Apart from the liquor license violations, at least some of the club's problems stem from its location. The mall is on land zoned industrial. But right behind the mall and down a small slope there's a subdivision.

Don and Katie Kessler live in a house behind the mall where the second floor overlooks the back entrance of the VFW.

They've been leading the effort to get rid of the club.

"Right now, because of all the liquor license violations, we would really like to see the place shut down," Don Kessler said.

Kessler said he didn't want to go into detail because the matter is coming up before the Assembly.

THE ASSEMBLY'S CHOICES

On Tuesday, the Assembly considers whether to protest renewal of the VFW's license.

The Assembly has two separate issues on its agenda:

• A protest. If this proposal passes, the city would protest the club's liquor license renewal with the state ABC Board, which makes licensing decisions. A public hearing is scheduled Tuesday night at which representatives of the VFW, the residents and the Old Seward Highway-Oceanview Community Council are allowed to testify.

• A deal. The city attorney's office and lawyers for the VFW on Friday signed a potential agreement that the Assembly could accept instead of moving ahead with the protest. A resolution to accomplish that is on the agenda.

Under the deal, the city says it won't protest the club's liquor license renewal as long as the VFW agrees to certain conditions, such as not playing karaoke or live music after 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, or midnight on the weekends; and collecting loose trash along the fence-line once a week.

The strip mall, on the west side of the Old Seward Highway, has been there for 30-some years, its owner told the Daily News in 2011.

The VFW moved to rented space in the mall in January of 2011. The group sold its old building, also on the Old Seward Highway, to get out of debt, Hubbard said in 2011.

THE BEST FIX?

Assembly member Jennifer Johnston, who is sponsoring the move to protest the license, said she's trying to fix the problems, not necessarily close the club.

She'd like to see it modify operating hours to accommodate the neighbors, keep the area neat and clean, and "not have karaoke at 2 in the morning."

She's taking into consideration the fact that the strip mall is on land zoned for industrial uses, she said.

"On the one hand you have a couple of houses built there with full knowledge the adjoining land was industrial," she said. "There could have been a gravel pit."

The city doesn't have direct control over the VFW's liquor license. The state does. But the city does have the ability through land use laws to set conditions on the city permit to use that space as a club that serves alcohol. That's what Johnston wants to do.

Kessler said the agreement drawn up by city lawyers and VFW lawyers gives the VFW "exactly what they already have."

"The agreement had absolutely zero input from the community," Kessler said.

Wayne Ross, whose law firm represents the VFW, said the club is contesting issues raised by the Kesslers.

"But in the interest of being good neighbors, they've agreed to the conditions.""These guys should have a place where they can relax and not still have to fight for freedom," Ross said.

-- end of article.

You can reach Rosemary Shinohara at rshinohara@adn.com or at 257-4340.

For me, I find it interesting that there isn't a Home-Owner's Association attacking the VFW - but instead a single home owner with an agenda.

Kessler appears to have a problem with Veterans.

And yes, taking what he said into account, it appears he certainly has an agenda. Remember, Don Kessler exaggerated the Post's violations when he said, "Right now, because of all the liquor license violations, we would really like to see the place shut down,"

"All the liquor license violations"? What "all" is there?

The VFW Post No. 9981 has only been at that location since 2011. The complaints about the trash were not liquor license violations but were addressed.

In July of 2012, the board sent the VFW a notice of violation for putting notes on the club's Facebook page indicating that the public was welcome to some club events.

That's right, since the VFW is considered a Private Veterans Club, it cannot say the words "public welcome."

Yes, that's right, they should have said, "members and guests welcome."

No kidding! Call the FBI! Quick, arrest someone! Teach those Veterans a lesson! The nerve of them saying "public" instead of "guests!"

That grammatical error alone should result in stiff prison terms for everyone associated with the Post.

Don't think so, ask ABC who went out of their way to send the VFW a notice of violation for "putting notes on the club's Facebook page."

How is saying the word "public" in place of the word "guests" on Facebook "a liquor violation?"

Is that "chicken-shit"? Yes, that is without a doubt the epitome of being "chicken-shit!"

As for failing to have someone sign-in to the Post's guest book?

Most all Veterans Posts stay on top of that for two reasons. First, it is the law. Non-members must sign-in.  And second, most are afraid of ABC who might want to play the game of "Gotcha!"


You see, the premise to Good Government is that government and private sector work hand in hand to accomplish a harmonious existence.
The government entity justifies their existence by helping the company stay within the rule of the law through notification and guidance called "help."

The company in return benefits and employs people who pay taxes to keep that government in the black.

The government benefits from seeing more citizens working. The companies benefit by become profitable and a success, subsequently employing more neighbors and townspeople. Everyone wins!

To bad that that's not the real world.

Today, government employees abuse power. Power is everything to those with "authority."

To those with authority, it is all about justifying their existence by demonstrating how many fines they can levy and how many businesses they can shut down.

As recently as March, the Alaska state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board says the VFW in Anchorage violated its license by serving alcohol to a "non-member" - aka "a guest".

That information came from an undercover investigator from the ABC Board who obviously saw it take place and noted someone didn't sign-in. 

But instead of advising the bartender or a Post Officer right away of what just that took place - and maybe in the process help the Post by showing them where they need to be more vigilant - instead that ABC investigator said "Gotcha!"

What is wrong with this picture is easy. People there are being "chicken-shit"!

And as for the Vets? I'd wager that they just want a place where they can find camaraderie and serve the community in a positive way. After all, that's what we do.


Story by Tom Correa