RANDOM SHOTS - "Fast and Furious" Goes To Court, Bob Hoskins Retires, Railroads, The EPA, and More!

FIRST SHOT!

Republican Representatives In Congress File Suit Against Holder Seeking "Operation Fast and Furious" Documents

So now, "Operation Fast and Furious" goes to court.

Operation Fast and Furious was a government arms sting that was supposed to lead Federal Agents to Mexican Drug Cartel members. It launched in Arizona in late 2009 by the ATF with help from the U.S. Attorney's office there.

Federal agents gave over 2,000 guns to buyers who ran them into Mexico with the help of the Federal Government. They didn't use a few guns, they used thousands of guns!

And what happened to the guns? Well, the guns ended up at crime scenes in Mexico and the United States, including the December 2010 murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.

Republican lawmakers have been looking into the botched Justice Department sting for months. One big reason is to find out who is responsible for giving the guns to the killers of Brian Terry. His family among others would love to know.

Now leading a congressional investigation into Operation Fast and Furious, they have filed a lawsuit in federal court urging a judge to compel the Justice Department to turn over documents related to the gun-running probe.

In the lawsuit, lawyers representing House Republicans said Attorney General Eric Holder's "intransigency" and "contumacious refusal" to comply with a House subpoena have prevented congressional investigators from determining whether the Justice Department intentionally tried to obstruct their investigation.

After President Obama asserted Executive Privilege over the documents nearly two months ago, the full House, mostly along party lines, held Holder in criminal and civil contempt of Congress.

But with a Holder ally as the gatekeeper to criminal proceedings in Washington, the criminal contempt citation was virtually dead on arrival. Basically, the Justice Department is being run by a someone who has been convicted for criminal contempt.

So now Republicans are hoping a judge will enforce the civil contempt citation - since the justice department won't.

The documents at the center of Monday's lawsuit are mostly composed of internal Justice Department emails after Feb. 4, 2011, when department officials realized they would have to retract a letter to Congress that denied Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents ever let guns fall into the hands of suspected criminals.

A Justice Department official has insisted the documents at issue "show no intention or attempt to conceal information or mislead (Congress)." But if that's the case, why withhold them, hide them, or use have Obama assert Executive Privilege?

The lawsuit filed on Monday says those documents "would enable the Committee (and the American people) to understand how and why the Department provided false information to Congress and otherwise obstructed" the Congressional Investigation.

The "principal legal issue" is whether the Justice Department can withhold documents under Executive Privilege when "there has been no suggestion that the documents at issue implicate or otherwise involve any advice to the President" or otherwise involve "core constitutional functions of the President," according to the 41-page lawsuit, filed on behalf of Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

The lawsuit says Holder's "conception of the reach of 'Executive privilege'" would "cripple congressional oversight of Executive branch agencies" altogether. It's unclear whether the law is on the Republicans' side -- something the judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia will have to determine.

After the lawsuit was filed Monday, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said the Justice Department "has left the House no choice but to take legal action."

But the ranking Democrat member on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., called it "all politics," saying it "seems clear that House Republican leaders do not want to resolve the contempt issue and prefer to generate unnecessary conflict with the Administration as the election nears."

It's interesting that Cummings sees the investigation to find out who was ultimately in charge of running guns into Mexico and into the hands of the killers in the Drug Cartels, as an "unnecessary conflict" with the Obama administration.

What's that all about? Why is there a conflict?

Doesn't the Obama Administration want to know who broke the law and is responsible for getting a Border Patrol Agent killed?

I would hope so!

SECOND SHOT!

A Resurgence Of Railroads Across America Creates New Jobs

Right now across America, railroad tracks that once rattled with loads of goods have been dormant and overgrown. The good news is that that is changing.

With gas and oil prices rising, rail shipping is seeing a resurgence, and the small town of North Creek, N.Y., is seeing the reopening of tracks that were shut down more than two decades ago.

"Trains use only about a fourth of the fuel that trucks use, and they emit only one-fourth of the pollutants -- so it's a much more environmentally friendly way to move anything," said Ed Ellis, president of Iowa Pacific Holdings, the rail company that's working to clear 30 miles of track between North Creek and Tahawus, where an old mine will provide long-leftover rock for new projects.

Ellis says the railway may one day be used for other products like lumber or minerals. "We're excited about the idea that we're bringing rail freight back to the North Country after a lapse of over 20 years."

Ellis says many new jobs will be created, and he envisions success that may one day provide for more than 100 workers.

"There will be a number of new jobs created. We have people out working on the track. We've created train service jobs, the people who actually run the trains and work the trains but, in addition to that, there will be jobs crushing the rock, loading cars," said Ellis.

George Canon, the town supervisor of nearby Newcomb, says the work will be welcome.

"In this particular town of 480 people, a job with 10 people or 20 people is huge," said Canon, who once worked at Tahawus Mine, where the railway will soon lead, as soon as next summer.

He hopes to see big machinery back in action at the mine and fresh paychecks in the pockets of workers. "If they started a big crushing operation here, it could be 10 or could be 100."

Short line railways across the nation have been gaining steam. With an annual operating revenue of nearly $32 million, these smaller regional lines operate in 49 states, employing roughly 18,000 people.

According to the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, the industry started to surge again in the 1980s when the Staggers Act was enacted, softening regulations.

In 2006, short line freight traffic reached its height. It spiked again in 2011, up in almost every major commodity over 2010. Traffic in steel, metals, minerals and ores increased by 7 percent. Transfers of lumber and chemicals increased by more than 10 percent, and the movement of automobiles and parts increased by 25 percent.

Not everyone wants to see the trains back on track. As the clearing of tracks gets under way in the miles surrounding North Creek, environmental organizations are expressing concerns about the Forest Preserve where the tracks are routed.

Local environmentalist and activist Charles Morrison says the government never should have used eminent domain to lay the rails through the area in the 1940s.

"The solution is to have the land that was taken by the federal government returned to the people of New York State. That can only be done by removing the rails and going to court," said Morrison, though it's unclear if efforts to appeal the approval process will be able to stall development.

The project has yet to be derailed by lawsuits, and Ellis projects a bright future for short line business across the nation.

"There are dormant tracks and there are now 600 short line railroads across the country that have preserved or reopened essential lines for freight and passenger service and there are new lines that can be opened. So yes, this is something that's just going to continue to grow over the next decade," said Ellis.

Good news for all Americans. Those who are looking for work, those wanting to get out of there car and subsequently that nasty commute traffic, and those train buffs like me who know that trains a part of the solution to our energy troubles.

Trains are a solution that has been waiting patiently, as if knowing that someday someone will give trains another look.

THIRD SHOT!

Actor Bob Hoskins to Retire after Parkinson's Diagnosis

There are certain actors who I really like. For one reason or another, their work or maybe just one piece of their works stood out and made me take notice. Bob Hoskins is one of those actors.

Last many others, I saw him in different roles. But there was a role that he played that I'll remember always, it was as a British Infantry Sergeant in a movie called Zulu Dawn.

In the movie, Bob Hoskins played Sergeant Major Williams. He played the part of the epitome of a professional British Soldier of the time.

He was loud and aggressive. As a Sergeant Major, he was a high-ranking NCO viewed by his soldiers with a mixture of fear and respect. Hoskins character displays genuine concern for his troops.

As a Sergeant Major, Hoskins took a special interest in making a good soldier out of a young Pvt Williams. He was on him at every move. In one scene during a formation, Hoskins ripped into the young private for moving in formation seeming more interested in something else going on around him.

Hoskins barked, "You moved! You moved! Go and tell the NCO at that black shambles that you love him more than you love me! NOW!" And with that bark, Private Williams was sent running off.

Bob Hoskins as Colour-Sergeant-Major Williams with his troops

In the final scene when Bob Hoskins playing Sergeant Major Williams was making ready his troops for the Zulu attack, Private Williams was there next to him. At one point, to give the young soldier confidence - Hoskins winks at him as to say "Don't worry!"

During the battle, Hoskins as Sergeant Major Williams loses many of his infantrymen during hand-to-hand fighting, and is injured while defending a group of unarmed artillerymen. Williams is stabbed in the back while attempting to save the life of the young soldier Pvt Williams. Having killed several Zulu soldiers with his bayonet, he dies at the hands of a large band of Zulus.

Zulu Dawn is a 1979 film about the historical Battle of Isandlwana between British and Zulu forces in 1879 in South Africa.

The film centers on Lord Chelmsford's invasion of Zululand without the knowledge of the British Government in the hope that he could Capture Cetshwayo, the Zulu King, before London discovered that hostilities had started.

The movie Zulu Dawn is about the biggest military defeat in British history. The size and scope of the massacre at Isandhlwana Hill, Zululand, on the 22nd of January, 1879, makes Custer's Last Stand at the Battle of the Little Big Horn look small in comparison.  

It was called the Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January 1879. It was the first major encounter in the Anglo-Zulu War between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom.

Eleven days after Lord Chelmsford commenced the invasion of Zululand in South Africa, a Zulu force of some 20,000 warriors attacked a portion of the British main column consisting of about 1,800 British, colonial and native troops and perhaps 400 civilians.

The Zulus were equipped mainly with the traditional assegai iron spears and cow-hide shields, but also had a number of muskets and old rifles though they were not formally trained in their use. 

The British and colonial troops were armed with the state-of-the-art Martini-Henry breech-loading rifle and two 7 pounder artillery pieces as well as a rocket battery.

Despite a vast disadvantage in weapons technology, the numerically superior Zulus ultimately overwhelmed the poorly led and badly deployed British, resulting in the killing of over 1,300 troops, including all those out on the forward firing line.



In "Who Framed Roger Rabbit"



Bob Hoskins was born on October 26, 1942, in Bury St. Edmund's, Suffolk, where his mother was living after being evacuated as a result of the heavy bombings during the German Blitz.

Growing up, Bob Hoskins received only limited education and he left school at 15, but with a passion for language and literature instilled by his former English teacher.

A regular theatre-goer, Mr Hoskins dreamed of starring on stage, but before he could do so he had to work odd jobs for a long time to make ends meet.

His acting career started out more by accident than by design, when he accompanied a friend to watch some auditions, only to be confused for one of the people auditioning, getting a script pushed into his hands with the message "You're next". He got the part and acquired an agent.

His broke through was in 1978 in Dennis Potter's mini TV series, "Pennies from Heaven" (1978), playing "Arthur Parker", the doomed salesman. After this, a string of high-profile and successful films followed, starting with his true major movie debut in 1980's The Long Good Friday (1980) as the ultimately doomed "Harold Shand".

This was followed by such works as The Cotton Club (1984), Mona Lisa (1986), which won him an Oscar nomination as well as a BAFTA award, Cannes Film Festival and Golden Globe), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) (Golden Globe nomination), Mermaids (1990), Hook (1991), Nixon (1995), Felicia's Journey (1999) and Enemy at the Gates (2001).

Mr Hoskins has always carefully balanced the riches of Hollywood with the labor of independent film, though leaning more towards the latter than the former.

Bob Hoskins recently announced that he will be retiring from acting due to his Parkinson's disease diagnosis.

The condition, which affects as many as 1 million people in the United States, causes symptoms that can grow more severe with time and include tremors, stiffness, and balance and movement problems, according to the National Institutes of Health.

While there is no cure for the condition. Some treatments, like drugs and surgical options, can help with symptoms. My prayers go out to all who suffer from such a cruel condition.


In "Hook"

 Bob Hoskins, whose career has spanned four decades and earned the actor several accolades, has announced that he will retire following a Parkinson’s Disease diagnosis.

In a statement released Wednesday, the 69-year-old actor’s agent announced that the British-born star would withdraw after a “wonderful career” to spend time with his family.”

“He wishes to thank all the great and brilliant people he has worked with over the years and all of his fans who have supported him during a wonderful career,” the statement read.

“Bob is now looking forward to his retirement with his family, and would greatly appreciate that his privacy be respected at this time.”

I wish him the best in his retirement. He has given us so many wonderful roles to pick from, now it's his turn to enjoy live and his family. He can rest on his laurels and feel good about what he has given others.

We should now give him something in return, his privacy.

LAST SHOT!

Environmentalist Extremists Want West Virginia Strip Mine Ruling Overturned

It's not surprising when Environmental Extremists groups side with the EPA, they seem to be working hand in hand at every turn.

Their mission is to ruin American industry and agriculture capabilities through over-regulation, fines, and unreasonable authority.

Now five environmentalist extremists groups say that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had legal authority to veto water-pollution permits for one of West Virginia's largest mountaintop removal mines, and that the federal judge who ruled otherwise improperly considered the potential economic implications.

In a brief filed recently with the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, the Environmental groups say Judge Amy Berman Jackson's March ruling on the 2,300-acre Spruce No. 1 mine should be overturned "to prevent unacceptable harm to vital West Virginia waterways."

The West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, Coal River Mountain Watch, Natural Resources Defense Council, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition and the Sierra Club say the Clean Water Act plainly gives the EPA the power to withdraw - and effectively reverse - permits issued by the Army Corps of Engineers.

These environmentalist groups act hand in hand with the EPA. They are the ruin of our nation.

Not surprisingly, the groups argue that Judge Jackson was wrong to impose economic policy decisions on what is solely an environmental issue.

Though coal operators may want "finality" in the permitting process, the groups say, there is no such thing.

Under Judge Jackson's interpretation, they say, "EPA would be powerless to act." And yes, that pains them to no end. Unless the Justice System works in their favor, they refuse to recognize the ruling.

Jackson ruled that the EPA exceeded its authority in January 2011 when it revoked a permit that the Army Corps of Engineers had issued four years earlier to St. Louis-based Arch Coal and its Mingo Logan Coal Co. subsidiary.

Again, not surprisingly, the environmental extremist friendly EPA concluded that "destructive and unsustainable mining practices would cause irreparable environmental damage and threaten the health of communities nearby."

As I said, no surprise there. They do not work for American - they work against Americans. And yes, they are not above using scare tactics. 

It was only the 13th time since 1972 that the EPA had used the veto authority it was given by Congress and the first time it had acted on a previously permitted mine.

The EPA said it reserves the power for rare and unacceptable cases, but Judge Jackson declared the action "incorrect and unreasonable."

Coal-state politicians and industry officials see Judge Jackson's ruling as a victory for those states and confirmation of an overreach of the federal government's authority.

It was one of several setbacks this year for the EPA and their extremist friends.

Last month, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton ruled that the agency overstepped its authority by setting up water-quality criteria for Appalachian strip mines. That ruling said the authority belongs to state regulators under existing clean-water and surface-mining laws.

The EPA appealed the Spruce No. 1 ruling in July, and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection filed paperwork indicating that it, too, will file a brief in the case.
Mountaintop removal is highly efficient form of strip mining.

Should the court determine that the language of the Clean Water Act is vague, the agency argues, "it should uphold EPA's interpretation of the statute as reasonable and permissible."

The question before the appeals court is whether or not to send the case back to Judge Jackson for a hearing on whether the EPA's actions were arbitrary and capricious.

In its appeal, the EPA said that while one section of the Clean Water Act lets the corps issue permits for the dumping of fill material, another gives EPA the "unambiguous right" to "prohibit, deny, restrict or withdraw specification of fill disposal sites."

When I see that some federal agency believes it has the "unambiguous right" - I read as them thinking they have "unbridled power".

That power was created in a legislative compromise the EPA says was intended to let the agency do its job and prevent unacceptable environmental damage. The EPA says it can invoke that authority before, during or after the corps' permitting process.

Too bad Judge Jackson doesn't agree!

These days, a smart man on the bench is hard to find. I tip my hat to Judge Jackson for doing the right thing despite the political pressure coming in from liberal environmental extremists.

Story by Tom Correa

An American Icon: John Moses Browning

He epitomizes American genius.

A firearms designer who developed many varieties of military and civilian firearms, cartridges, and gun mechanisms, many of which are still in use around the world today.

John Moses Browning is the most important figure in the development of modern automatic and semi-automatic firearms in the world.

He is credited with 128 gun patents.

John Browning influenced nearly all categories of firearms design.

He invented or made significant improvements to single-shot, lever-action, and slide-action, rifles and shotguns, but his most significant contributions were in the area of auto-loading firearms.

He developed the first auto-loading pistols that were both reliable and compact by inventing the telescoping bolt, integrating the bolt and barrel shroud into what is known as the pistol slide.

John Browning's telescoping bolt design is now found on nearly every modern semi-automatic pistol, as well as several modern fully automatic weapons.

He also developed the first gas-operated machine gun, the Colt-Browning Model 1895 which has a system that surpassed mechanical recoil operation to become the standard for most high-power self-loading firearm designs worldwide.

But why stop with small arms like pistols, rifles, or even machine guns? Believe it or not, John Browning made huge contributions to automatic cannon development.  Yes, cannons.

The M4 cannon, a 37mm auto-cannon, was initially designed by Browning in 1921, and entered service in 1938.

During World War II, the M4 was used in both aircraft like the Mitchell Bomber and on U.S. Navy PT boats. It was also used in the Army Air Corps Bell P-39 Airacobra and P-63 Kingcobra fighters. It provided interceptors with a weapon that could shoot down any bomber with as little as one hit. 

The M1895, the M1911, the Ma Deuce, the BAR!  

Based on a John Moses Browning design dating to 1889, the M1895 Machine Gun was the first successful gas-operated machine gun to enter service.

The M1895 Machine Gun saw action in the Spanish-American War with the United States Marines.

The Colt-Browning M1895, nicknamed "the potato digger" due to its unusual operating mechanism, is an air-cooled, belt-fed, gas-operated machine gun that fires from a closed bolt with a cyclic rate of 450 rounds per minute.

Mr Browning's most successful designs include the 1911 pistol, the Browning .50 caliber machine gun, the Browning Automatic Rifle, and the Browning Auto-5 which was a ground-breaking semi-automatic shotgun.

Of the M1895, the M1911, the Ma Deuce, and the BAR (or B-A-R), the M1895 is the only one that I haven't gotten a chance to fire.

The M1911

The M1911 is by far my favorite pistol. I have a couple of them. I bought one old standby almost 40 years ago. And yes, she is as dependable today as she was then.

John Browning's M1911 is a single-action, semi-automatic, magazine-fed, recoil-operated handgun chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge.

It served as the standard-issue side arm for the United States armed forces from 1911 to 1985 - and, believe it or not, it has been pressed back into service in recent months with the Marine Corps Special Ops Command.

The M1911 was widely used in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The M1911 is still carried by some U.S. military forces and law enforcement agencies.

Its formal designation as of 1940 was Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911 for the original Model of 1911 or Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911A1 for the M1911A1, adopted in 1924.

The designation changed to Pistol, Caliber .45, Automatic, M1911A1 in the Vietnam era. Today's Marine Corps is designating the M1911 as the Pistol, Caliber .45, Automatic, M45. This modern M1911 is being used by some elite units within the U.S. Marine Corps right now.

The M1911 was replaced by the M9 pistol as the standard U.S. sidearm in the early 1990s, but due to its poor knock down power and so-so performance in the field, it appears as though it is being slowly phased out.

Designed by John Browning, the M1911 is the best-known of his designs to use the short recoil principle in its basic design. The pistol was widely copied, and this operating system rose to become the preeminent type of the 20th century and of nearly all modern centerfire pistols.

The M2


U.S. Marine mans his Ma Deuce 

The M2, fondly referred to as the "Ma Deuce", has been in use longer than any other small arm in U.S. inventory except the .45 ACP M1911 pistol which was also designed by John Browning.
The Ma Deuce, also known as the M2 Machine Gun or Browning .50 Caliber Machine Gun, is a heavy machine gun designed towards the end of World War I by John Browning.

It is very similar in design to Browning's earlier M1919 Browning machine gun, which was chambered for the .30-06 cartridge.

The M2 is the primary heavy machine gun of NATO countries, and has been used by many other non-NATO countries.

The M2 uses the much larger and much more powerful .50 BMG cartridge, which was developed alongside and takes its name from the gun itself (BMG standing for Browning Machine Gun).



Today's U.S. Navy M2 "Twin .50s"



During World War II, the M16 was a Half-Track with four M2 .50s in a single mount. It was called the "Meat Chopper!"

B-25H "Barbie III" with nose canopy open showing the four .50 cal M2 Browning machine guns and feeds, and note the 75mm M5 cannon below. Stuart airshow 2011

The M2 has been referred to as "Ma Deuce" by American Marines, Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen for the better part of a hundred years. She is also known as "the fifty" in reference to its caliber.

The design has had many specific designations; the official designation for the current infantry type is Browning Machine Gun, Cal. .50, M2, HB, Flexible. It is extremely effective against ground tropps, unarmored or lightly armored vehicles, boats of all sorts, light fortifications, and low-flying in range aircraft.

The Browning .50 caliber machine gun has been used extensively as a vehicle weapon and for aircraft armament by the United States from the 1920s to the present.

It was heavily used during World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and these days during operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the world right now.


M2HB

Rhe M2HB is manufactured in the United States by General Dynamics and U.S. Ordnance for use by the United States government, and for US Foreign Allies via FMS sales. FN Herstal has manufactured the M2 machine gun since the 1930s.

The M2 Browning machine gun, the timeless .50 caliber "Ma Deuce", which was developed in 1918 and entered service with the US Armed Forces after World War I in 1921, still remains in active service for nearly a century with various armed forces across the globe in a variety of roles.

U.S. Ordnance developed their M2 Quick Change Barrel system after years of manufacturing machine guns for the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. allies.

The BAR

John Browning's Browning Automatic Rifle, the "B-A-R", was one of a group of automatic rifles, or "machine rifles", and light machine guns used by the United States and numerous other countries during the 20th century.

Of the different variations of the B-A-R, the primary variation was the M1918. It was chambered for the .30-06 Springfield rifle cartridge.

I had the pleasure of firing it many years ago. I instantly fell in love with it's big .30-06 round.

It was specifically designed by John Browning in 1917 for the U.S. Expeditionary Corps in Europe as a replacement for the French-made Chauchat and M1909 Benet-Mercie machine guns.

The B-A-R was designed to be carried by advancing infantrymen using a sling over the shoulder or fired from the hip, a concept called "walking fire" - thought to be necessary for the individual soldier during trench warfare.

However in practice, it was most often used as a light machine gun and fired from a bipod which was introduced in later models. A variant of the original M1918 BAR, the Colt Monitor Machine Rifle, remains the lightest production automatic gun to fire the .30-06 Springfield cartridge, though the limited capacity of its standard 20-round magazine tended to hamper its utility in that role.

Though the BAR was designed for World War I, it was used into the 1970's by Army National Guard units.

These arms are nearly identical today to those assembled by John Browning, with only minor changes in detail and cosmetics.

Even today, John Browning's guns are still some of the most copied guns in the world.

His life was one of genius. He rivals Thomas Edison and other great inventors for a place in history.

John Moses Browning was born on January 23rd, 1855 in Ogden, Utah. He died on November 26nd, 1926, half way around the world doing what he did best - designing firearms.

He made his first firearm at age 13 in his father's gun shop, and was awarded his first patent on October 7, 1879 at the age of 24.

John Browning was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served a two-year mission in Georgia beginning on March 28, 1887.

His father Jonathan Browning, who was among the thousands of Mormon pioneers in the mass exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois, to make the journey to Utah. Once there, he established a gunsmith shop in Ogden in 1852.

Jonathan Browning had built a gunsmith business in Nauvoo, developing and refining advanced (for the time) repeating firearms and manufacturing techniques. The Browning gunsmith in Nauvoo is now operated as a museum, and is open to the public at no charge.

His son, John Moses Browning worked in his father's Ogden shop where he was taught basic engineering and manufacturing principles. And there is something else, while there as a young boy, he was also encouraged to experiment with new concepts.

Because of this, he developed his first rifle which was a single-shot falling block action design - then founded his own manufacturing operation and began to produce this firearm.

Production examples of the Model 1885 Single Shot Rifle caught the attention of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, who dispatched a representative to evaluate the competition. Winchester bought the design for eight thousand dollars and moved production to their Connecticut factory.

From 1883, Browning worked in partnership with Winchester and designed a series of rifles and shotguns. Most notably, the Winchester Model 1887 and Model 1897 shotguns, the falling block single shot Model 1885, and the lever-action Model 1886, Model 1892, Model 1894 and Model 1895 rifles, most of which are still in production today in some form or another.

Over seven million Model 1894s have been produced, more than any other centerfire sporting rifle.

John M. Browning and Winchester Repeating Arms Company

Winchester manufactured several popular small arms designed by John M. Browning.

For decades in the late 19th Century-early 20th Century, John Browning designs and Winchester firearms were synonymous and the collaboration was highly successful.

Like most things though, this came to an end when Browning proposed a new semi-automatic shotgun design, a prototype finished in 1898, to Winchester management and they refused to back the development of the shotgun.

Ultimately it became the Browning Auto-5 shotgun.

The problems that divides folks usually has something to do with money.

As was the custom of the time, Browning's earlier designs had been licensed exclusively to Winchester (and other manufacturers) for a single fee payment. With this new product, Browning introduced in his negotiations a continuous royalty fee based upon unit sales, rather than a single front-end fee payment.

If the new shotgun became highly successful, Browning stood to make substantially more fee income over the prior license fee arrangements. Winchester management was displeased with the bold change in their relationship, and rejected Browning's offer.

Remington Arms was also approached, however the president of Remington died of a heart attack as Browning waited to offer them the gun. This forced Browning to look overseas to produce the shotgun.

Having recently successfully negotiated firearm licenses with Fabrique Nationale de Herstal of Belgium (FN), Browning took the new shotgun design to FN; the offer was accepted and FN manufactured the new shotgun, honoring its inventor, as the Browning Auto-5.

The Browning Auto-5 was continuously manufactured as a highly popular shotgun throughout the 20th century.

In response, Winchester shifted reliance on John Browning designs when it adopted a hammerless shotgun design of Thomas Crossley Johnson for the new Winchester Model 12, which was based upon design features of the earlier Browning-designed Winchester Model 1897 shotgun.

This shift marked the end of an era of Winchester-Browning collaboration.

John Browning designed products to the end of his life. He was known as a dedicated and tireless inventor, an innovator, an experimenter, who sought breakthrough consumer-oriented features and performance and reliability improvements in small arms designs.

He did not retire from his career in his elder years, but dedicated his entire adult life - literally to his last day of life - to these pursuits.

On November 26, 1926, while working at the bench on a self-loading pistol design for Fabrique Nationale de Herstal (FN) in Liège, Belgium, he died of heart failure in the design shop of his son Val A. Browning.

Even the 9 mm self-loading pistol he was working on when he died had great design merit and was eventually completed in 1935, by Belgian designer Dieudonne Saive. Released as the Fabrique Nationale GP35, it was more popularly known as the successful Browning Hi-Power pistol, a favorite of sportsman and law enforcement.

The Browning Hi-Power would have a lengthy period of service outside the United States, and remains the standard side arm of the Australian, British, and Canadian armed forces.

The premium priced Browning Superposed shotgun, an over-under shotgun design for the ages, was his last completed firearm design and possibly his most elegant. It was marketed originally with twin triggers; a single trigger modification was later completed by his son, Val Browning.

Commercially introduced in 1931 by FN, Browning Superposed shotguns, and their more affordable cousins, the Browning Citori made in Asia, continue to be manufactured and come with different grades of fine hand engraving and premium quality wood. They are a wonderful tribute to a great gun maker and inventor.

Throughout his life, Browning designed a vast array of military and civilian small arms for his own company, as well as for Winchester, Colt, Remington, Savage, and Fabrique Nationale de Herstal of Belgium.

John Browning's firearms have been made, both licensed and unlicensed, by hundreds of factories around the world.

In 1977, FN Herstal acquired the Browning Arms Company which had been established in 1927, the year after Browning's death.

John Moses Browning was the most famous and competent gunmaker the world has ever known. He invented more firearms than any other gunmaker in the history of the world.

He is truly an American Icon!

Story by Tom Correa

RANDOM SHOTS - Obama Protected Occupy Protesters, Zimmerman Trial, Harry Reid a Child Molester, and Much More!

FIRST SHOT!

Obama White House Told Authorities Not To Crack Down On "Occupy Protesters"

Sometimes the facts about a given situation are pretty hard to believe. Knowing how much damage and violence the Occupy Protesters did, this new report explains why local authorities were so soft on Occupy Protesters. 

A report that just came out on August 8th says the Obama administration told law enforcement authorities to go easy on Occupy Wall Street protesters, even though they were violating local laws.

This is according to documents obtained by watchdog group Judicial Watch.

Imagine how insane this appears! Small businesses were destroyed. People were attacked and some were found dead. There were rapes, and other sexual assaults in protest camps on federal property.

Police were attacked and hospitalized. Companies lost everything. Blue collar workers were laid off and were horribly effected by the loss of income during the protests.

Insurance companies are still going over claims. It was riot after riot after riot, and now we find out that the Obama White House told local law enforcement to go easy on the very people who did this.

This is amazing. It's like finding out that you have an Executive Branch of Government that wants chaos and strive and turmoil - instead of wanting to maintain the peace and safety of the people.

E-mails from the General Services Administration show that that federal agency, acting on orders from the Obama White House, actually told Federal Law Enforcement authorities in Portland, Oregon, to not to enforce curfews on protesters camped out on federal property.

JudicialWatch.org obtained the emails through a Freedom of Information Act request lodged last year.

In one exchange from Nov. 6, 2011, officials from the Department of Homeland Security and the GSA discuss a group of 11 protesters camped out at the federally-owned Terry Schrunk Plaza.

"We have communicated with the [White House], which has afforded us the discretion to fashion our approach to Occupy issues." - Robert Peck, former GSA official in email

"They have chained themselves to a large drum filled with concrete," reads an email from Department of Homeland Security/National Protection and Programs Directorate Chief of Staff Caitlin Durkovich to GSA Public Buildings Service Commissioner Robert Peck.

"GSA controls the permits and has asked FPS [Federal Protective Services] not to enforce the curfew at park and the prohibition on overnight encampments…Our FPS Commander in Portland says they are standing down and following GSA's request to only intervene if there is a threat to public safety," she added in the email.

Former GSA official Robert Peck - who later resigned amid revelations his agency held lavish junkets at taxpayers' expense - replied, "Caitlin: yes, that is our position; it’s been vetted with our administrator and Michael Robertson, our chief of staff, and we have communicated with the WH [White House], which has afforded us the discretion to fashion our approach to Occupy issues…The arrests last week were carried out despite our request that the protesters be allowed to remain and to camp overnight…"

The arrests Peck referred to were carried out by Portland police in riot gear. Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said the emails show the White House was protecting Occupy Protesters.

"We now have a new GSA scandal - one that involves the Obama White House," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.

"These documents clearly show that federal agencies colluded with the Obama White House to allow the Occupy Wall Street protesters to violate the law with impunity. These documents tell us that the GSA and DHS can't be relied upon to protect federal workers or property."

In a written statement sent to Fox News, a spokeswoman for the GSA responded, "The General Services Administration worked closely with the Portland Police Bureau and the Federal Protective Service (FPS) in maintaining the health and safety of the general public, protesters and federal employees during last year's Portland Occupy protests - however FPS and local law enforcement had the best understanding of the situation on the ground in Terry Schrunk Park, and determined the necessary action."

The Occupy Wall Street protest started with University students in lower Manhattan last September of 2011 to protest Capitalism and America. The protester demanded closure of 1,000 American military bases, a bigger Socialist government, and the elimination of all student loans. 

Occupy Portland saw some of the more violent protests of the national movement.

A week before the email exchange, 25 Occupy demonstrators were arrested after they refused to leave Jamison Square in the Pearl District after the park was closed at midnight. The arrests were the conclusion of an intense standoff that lasted until the early hours of the morning.

During the Occupy Portland protests, I remember 3 young men who had explosives on them in their vehicle when they were pulled over for a traffic violation.

The 3 men claimed to be Occupy Portland protesters were arrested in Marion County for possession of explosives.

A Marion County Sheriff's Office deputy at 8:40 a.m. Sunday stopped a gray Subaru Outback that was traveling southbound on Interstate 5, near milepost 245, after he recorded it traveling at 81 mph.

When the deputy made contact with the driver, William Maxwell Patterson, 21, he reportedly smelled the odor of marijuana coming from the car. When he searched the car, the deputy found a bag of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Inside the car was also Emery Nicholas Luff, 21, and Zachary Salzwedel-Kemp, 20, and all three are from Klamath Falls.

Inside the car, the deputy also found a number of firecrackers and two commercially made mortars inside glass canning jars, designed to be fired into the area during professional pyrotechnic displays. One was found in the floorboard of the vehicle, and the other was allegedly in Luff's jacket.

The deputy also found two gas masks, protective eye goggles and a safety helmet. All three men told the deputy that they had spent the night at the Occupy Portland demonstration, and they brought the mortars and safety equipment to the demonstration in preparation of the expected confrontation between police and protesters that Sunday morning.

Imagine that!

The three had been at the demonstration during the confrontation and had left about an hour before the vehicle was stopped. During that confrontation, a police officer was injured by a firework, but the three men denied being involved in the incident.

When asked about the explosives, the three men told authorities that they knew the canning jar would explode, causing glass shrapnel to fly and injury police officers.

Nice guys huh!

The Marion County Sheriff's Office released this photo of the mortars seized from the vehicle.

All three men were arrested and booked at the Marion County jail. Patterson is charged with unlawful possession of fireworks and possession of a controlled substance. He was released from jail.

Luff is charged with unlawful possession of destructive device, unlawful manufacture of destructive device and unlawful possession of fireworks. He remains in jail and is expected in court at 3 p.m. Monday.

Salzwedel-Kemp is charged with unlawful possession of fireworks and possession of a controlled substance. He was cited and released from jail.

Portland Police Bureau officers were advised about the discovery of the mortars and fireworks and the subsequent arrests. They said that they were going to use it on the Police during the upcoming riots.

Yes, these Occupy Protesters were being protected by the Obama White House! Is that insane or what!

SECOND SHOT!

New Urban Dictionary definition has Harry Reid a Child Molester

The high-stakes political battle between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has taken a new turn, and it’s as ugly as Jerry Sandusky’s future in a prison shower.

The Urban Dictionary, a fast-evolving online lexicon that promotes itself as “the dictionary you wrote,” has added a new definition of Harry Reid that seems calculated to respond to the Nevada senator's recent claims about Mitt Romney's alleged federal income tax "evasion."

"Harry Reid," the dictionary now says, is defined as "[a]n unofficial rap sheet of alleged pederasty and sexual abuse of minors by anonymous sources that may not exist."

The definition emerged, the dictionary notes, "after an explosion of reports surfaced online and on the airwaves, that [Reid] is a serial pederast. The outlets reporting the allegations all protected the anonymity of their sources, and no one knows if the allegations are true, but they’re out there. A spokesperson for Reid declined to deny them."

A Pederast is defined as a man who has sexual relations, especially anal intercourse, with a boy.
It’s unknown who submitted the definition. The Urban Dictionary employs a panel of moderators who approve of reject new definitions, many of which hinge on pop-culture references.

Reid attracted criticism from conservatives after he told The Huffington Post on July 31 that an unnamed Bain Capital investor told him that Romney "didn’t pay any taxes for 10 years."

And speaking August 2 on the floor of the U.S. Senate, Reid doubled down. "The word is out that [Romney] has not paid any taxes for 10 years," Reid declared. "Let him prove he has paid taxes, because he has not."

Well, I guess Harry Reid can prove he not a child molester. And really, it does explain why he's called "Dirty Harry" doesn't it?

Republicans’ complaints have largely centered on the anonymity of Reid’s source, which makes his allegation impossible to prove. The same phenomenon apparently applies to The Urban Dictionary’s anonymous, unsubstantiated claim — which is obviously false — that Reid himself is a “pederast,” or a man who has sexual relations with young boys.

The Internet meme that put the new Reid definition on the map originated within hours of Reid’s initial statement, when conservatives began to use the Twitter hash-tag "#HarryReidisaPederast."

At one point that evening, the hash-tag was the top trending item on Twitter in the United States.

"Some guy told me #HarryReidIsAPederast," read one typical tweet. "Not sure if its true, but I should probably just throw it out there and let the people decide."

"So an unnamed source has told another that #HarryReidIsAPederast," tweeted another user. "Reid is silent. Where’s the front page story @HuffingtonPost?"

The Twitter account managed by Ace of Spades, a conservative blog, now declares that it is "[a]n account to remember the alleged victims of Harry Reid, and those fresh victims inevitably to come."

"If Harry Reid isn’t a pederast, why is everyone saying he is?" that account tweeted August 2nd. "People don’t just make up vicious smears for political advantage."

A Google search Wednesday evening turned up more than 482,000 results for the combination of "Harry Reid" and "pederast."

A google search for "Harry Reid pedophile" turns up more than 375,000 results. 

Is Harry Reid a pedophile? The voters have a right to know.

Harry Mason Reid is the senior United States Senator from Nevada, serving since 1987. He is a member of the Democratic Party, he has been the Senate Majority Leader since January 2007, and now voters want to know if he is a pedophile - a child molester?

Reid’s liberal allies have largely supported him in his claim that Romney failed to pay taxes for a full decade - including a super PAC affiliated with the powerful AFL-CIO federation of labor unions. But how are they on this question about Dirty Harry?

Reid and other Democrats have argued that Romney should make public his personal income tax returns for more than the two years he has already released. The move is seen as an attempt to paint the former Massachusetts governor as an out-of-touch wealthy elite.

Harry Reid should make available proof that he has never been charged nor has even been suspected of being a child molester?

Fact-checkers at the Tampa Bay Times’ "PolitiFact" website quickly declared that Reid’s public accusation against Mitt Romney is false, giving it a "Pants on Fire" rating on July 31.

Harry Reid a Child Molester? Maybe! Its sounds as probable as saying Mitt Romney is a Tax Evader.

THIRD SHOT!

Zimmerman Will Seek "Stand Your Ground" Hearing

George Zimmerman will seek to have second-degree murder charges dismissed under Florida's "stand your ground" law in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, his attorney said Thursday.

The hearing, which likely won't take place for several months, will amount to a mini-trial involving much of the evidence collected by prosecutors as well as expert testimony from both sides.

"Most of the arguments, witnesses, experts and evidence that the defense would muster in a criminal trial will be presented in the 'stand your ground' hearing," said the statement posted by Zimmerman attorney Mark O'Mara on Zimmerman's official defense website.

Although the posting did not say so, legal experts say it's likely that Zimmerman himself would testify since he is the sole survivor of the Feb. 26 confrontation.

Under the "stand your ground" law, Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester can dismiss the charges if Zimmerman conclusively shows he fatally shot Martin because he "reasonably believed" he might be killed or suffer "great bodily harm" at the hands of the teenager who was pounding his skull into the concrete sidewalk.

The law also says a person has no duty to retreat in the face of such a threat - which of course in Zimmerman's case would have been hard to do since he was flat on his back after being punched a couple of times and Trayvon was on top of him. 

Janet Johnson, a Jacksonville defense attorney who has represented defendants in other "stand your ground" cases, said Zimmerman has a good chance to win his claim if he can also show he was in a place where he had a legal right to be and that he didn't create the danger.

"Or, if he did, he had abandoned that activity when Mr. Martin 'attacked' him,'" Johnson said in an email. "There's only one side since Trayvon Martin can't testify."

Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, shot Martin after a confrontation in Zimmerman's gated community in the central Florida town of Sanford, where Martin was visiting.

The case drew local and nationwide protests because Zimmerman was accused of being a racist and not arrested for weeks after the shooting.

Zimmerman claims Martin punched him and slammed his head against a sidewalk.

Evidence released by prosecutors, the website statement said, shows "clear support for a strong claim of self-defense."

The statement urged "everyone to be patient during this process and to reserve judgment until the evidence is presented in the 'stand your ground' hearing."

Prosecutors released 76 pages of additional evidence Thursday, mostly consisting of Zimmerman's community college school records. Why did they bother getting his college records? Who knows.

If the prosecution is trying to create a case where they can show Zimmerman had belonged to a racist organization like say the KKK than they might be able to make a case that he was indeed as described "a white man out to kill a black boy."

The problem for the prosecution is that Zimmerman is like Barack Obama, only half white. That tends to be a problem when painting him as a black hating white dude.

Also released, was a grainy photograph that they described as "depicting the killing of a person," presumably Martin.

In a subsequent email, they asked news media to not use the photo, which they said due to its content is exempt from the state's public records law. The extremely dark, poor-quality photo shows a small, unrecognizable shape at the center of the frame.

Martin's parents have contended that Zimmerman singled out their son as he was returning from a convenience store because he was black and that it was Zimmerman's aggression that led to his death.

Zimmerman, who is free on $1 Million bail, faces a possible life prison sentence if convicted of second-degree murder.

If his "stand your ground" claim succeeds, however, the criminal charges would be dismissed and Zimmerman could not be held liable in any civil action such as a wrongful-death lawsuit.

Prosecutors would likely appeal a successful self-defense claim.

A spokeswoman for special prosecutor Angela Corey declined to comment Thursday. Benjamin Crump, attorney for Martin's parents, said in an email he believes the "stand your ground" claim will be denied and that Zimmerman's guilt or innocence will ultimately be decided by a jury.

"Trayvon's parents do not feel that this is a man that feared for his life the night he shot and killed their 'child,' this is a man whose only fear is spending his life in prison," Crump said.

Legal experts have said that Zimmerman's credibility is crucial to his claim and that he undermined his own cause by deceiving the judge about his finances during an April bond hearing.

That "alleged" deception led to perjury charges against Zimmerman's wife, Shellie. She has pleaded not guilty.

Lester remarked that Zimmerman "flaunted the system" by making misleading statements about how much money the couple had raised through online contributions from supporters. The judge, who will also rule on the "stand your ground" claim, revoked Zimmerman's initial $150,000 bond and had him returned to jail.

Lesterlater allowed him to be released on the higher $1 Million figure with additional restrictions.

"His credibility in asserting that he lawfully 'stood his ground' is key and he has been proven to be less than credible in prior dealings with the court," said Johnson, the Jacksonville defense attorney. "The defense will try to limit how much of this comes in."

Anyway you paint it, Zimmerman has the deck stacked against him. It will be interesting to see if he can get a fair trial anywhere.

FOURTH SHOT!

Ousted Bell, California, Police Chief Now Suing For Severance Despite Outrage Over His Huge Prior Salary

The California police chief forced out after revelations about his nearly $500,000 annual salary is now suing his former employer for severance pay.

Now that's cojones! First you rape the city you worked for, then you charge them for what you consider they owe you for the pleasure of your company!

The suit has drawn outrage from the city's new administration, considering former Bell, California, Police Chief Randy Adams used to make $457,000 as a base salary - $770,046 with benefits - in his municipal job.

Plus, believe it or not, the guy is currently raking in a plump pension.

"The filing of this suit looks to be the height of hypocrisy to me," new City Manager Doug Willmore said in a statement. "Randy Adams was a police chief who was making more money per year than the president of the United States. In my opinion, his compensation was outrageous!"

Adams argues in the suit that he never agreed to resign or give up his severance, though city officials had pressured him to do so, according to The Los Angeles Times.

The revelations two years ago about the huge salaries of top Bell officials drew nation attention and nearly bankrupted the small Los Angeles County city.

Eight former Bell officials, including ex-Chief Administrative Officer Robert Rizzo, have been charged with felonies in the case. Adams is not named in that suit - but many question why not since he was part of what went on there.

He now receives more than $22,000 a month. That's right, he makes more than $22,000 a month!

That makes him one of California’s highest paid public pensioners, according to The Times, which broke the latest story.

Willmore also said Adams’ claim will be answered with a counter-claim by the city "that will far exceed anything that he is asking for."

FIFTH SHOT!

Census Data Show Huge Number Of Immigrants On Welfare Rolls

A new study from the Center for Immigration Studies shows that high percentages of legal and illegal immigrants in America are drawing benefits from at least one major form of welfare.

Using U.S. Census Bureau data from 2010 and 2011, the group analyzed the more than 50 million legal and illegal immigrants and their American-born children under 18 years of age. Large numbers, the limited immigration advocacy group found, are struggling in poverty, reliant on welfare and uninsured.

The study found that in 2010, 36 percent of immigrant-headed households receive benefits from at least one welfare program, compared to just 23 percent of households headed by U.S. natives. Among households with children, immigrant welfare households outnumbered non-immigrants by a similarly wide margin: 57 percent to 40 percent.

Welfare enrollment was highest for households headed by immigrants originating in Mexico, with 57 percent participation. Guatemalan immigrants were second, with 55 percent; those from the Dominican Republic were third, with 54 percent participation.

Immigrants with the lowest rate of welfare participation came to the United States from the United Kingdom, with just 6 percent accessing one or more welfare programs, Germany at 10 percent and Canada with 13 percent, according to the report.

The authors noted that compared with households headed by U.S. natives, twice as many headed by immigrants who have lived in the United States for more than 20 years access welfare programs.

Poverty among immigrants and their children, the report added, dwarfs the rate among American natives, by a 23 percent to 13.5 percent margin.

According to the study, immigrants and their children represent one-quarter of American residents in poverty. Their children are one-third of poverty-stricken children in the U.S. overall.

Additionally, immigrants in the U.S. are more likely than native residents to be without health insurance, with 29 percent of immigrants and their children uninsured, compared to 13.8 percent of those who were born in the United States.

The Center for Immigration Studies noted that limited education levels - not a failure to work or difficulties with legal status - is responsible for most of the high immigrant poverty rate. A full 28% of immigrants have not completed high school, compared to just 7% of natives.

LAST SHOT!

Olympian Gabby Douglas May Owe Uncle Sam $$$ for Her Gold Medals

We all know how the government stays up at night thinking of new regulations and ways to tax the American people. Well, this is an interesting angle for the Federal Government to make more money.

Sixteen-year-old Gabrielle Douglas cemented her spot in history last week, as the first black American to win the all-around women’s gold medal in Olympic gymnastics.

But in addition to her new found fame, Douglas is also taking home a hefty tax burden from her wins in London, as are other winning Olympians.

For every gold medal won, Americans for Tax Reform calculated that Olympians would pay close to $9,000 in federal income tax. ATR reports silver medalists pay more than $5,300 per medal won.

Scott Berger, CPA and principal with Kaufman Rossin and Co., said this tax burden comes from the compensation that goes along with the winning medals.

Athletes who become their own brands—think Michael Phelps, Tiger Woods, Venus and Serena Williams—have to pay to play. The checks made out to Uncle Sam, of course.

Here are some tips Berger has for entrepreneurs whose brands are the business:

No. 1: Know what you can write off. Berger said when you, literally, are your own business, you can often write off the expenses you incur while performing your job.

“For example, if I am working as a sole proprietor, making $1,000 for doing a tax return, my expenses would be a deduction against that income,” he said.

No. 2: File tax returns and know your bracket. Berger said younger up-and-coming athletes like U.S. swimmer Missy Franklin, likely never had to file tax returns before. LeBron James, NBA and Team USA basketball player, is already likely in the top tax bracket making millions annually.

“Some of those athletes probably never thought of even filing a tax return before,” he said. “Gabby Douglas is 16, she probably hadn’t even made babysitting money yet at 16 [years-old], so she would probably be in the bottom bracket.”

No. 3: Consult a financial planner. Breakaway stars from the Olympic Games like Franklin and Douglas will likely stand to make a lot more money off endorsements and appearances, Berger said. Retirement planning is something that many small businesses and entrepreneurs overlook, so getting a head start on that is never a bad idea.

“Consider a retirement account to save early and often,” he said. “Even if you can put a few dollars away, just get into the habit of doing that.”

No. 4: Keep track of expenses. Track your revenue and expenses to create a budget, Berger said. With lots of money and deals coming in, tracking the money you make and spend becomes more and more important.

No. 5: Know how to classify your business. Berger said that oftentimes when you are the actual business, the appropriate classification is sole proprietorship. This means you don’t have to formally register yourself as a business, but can do so under your name or a fictitious name to protect your privacy.

"If you don’t have employees, you don’t need a separate tax ID number," he said. "Depending on the type of business you have, you may want to patent or trademark to protect yourself or ideas."

I believe the government would tax a quack if ducks had money! 

Story by Tom Correa

Obama's Joe Soptic says "It all had a happy ending,"

I've been asked to change the title of this article. From "Obama's Joe Soptic" to simply "Joe Soptic."

But I can't see why? Joe is doing commercials for Obama. It's just that simple.   

Obama's Joe Soptic says "It all had a happy ending," but you'd never think that that was the case judging from the Obama Re-Election 2012 Campaign commercial Joe took part in.  

A proxy liberal Political Action Committee of the Obama administration, Priorities USA, has Joe Soptic calling Mitt Romney a murderer, a felon, a no good man who intentionally led his first wife die. 

This is an all time low in politics, even for Democrats!

So a regular looking guy appears on screen, he's sitting down, and almost tearfully tells us a story about how Mitt Romney is responsible for killing his wife.

No kidding. This is real. It is an Obama re-election ad that's being run by a liberal Political Action Committee, a nasty group called Priorities USA headed by a former Obama staffer.

Did I say that the Obama White House is running this ad? Well they say they are not. Priorities USA is supposedly an "independent" group unaffiliated with the Obama White House. But honestly, who fooling who!

It's the Obama re-election committee's standard attack of Mitt Romney. Their Chicago politics and go for the throat philosophy is being played out daily on televisions across the country.

First they tried to attack Romney's religion, but unlike 4 years ago that hasn't taken hold as they had hoped. Then they tried to attack his wealth, but since his opponent is just as wealthy - that fell flat.

They went after his business experience and the businesses he built. They've gone after his tax records, his bank accounts, his stocks, his dog, his family history. In fact, they've even attacked his wife's horse that she used to battle her MS as a source of therapy.

The latest attack tries to say that portray a former steel mill worker by the name of Joe Soptic losing his health care and then his wife to cancer because of Mitt Romney.

Joe Soptic, a former steel mill worker, appears in a new ad that tries to link his first wife’s death with Mitt Romney and Bain Capital’s takeover of the steel plant where he worked.

Of course, today, August 9th, it was reported that Joe Soptic has admitted to getting a 'buy out" when the plant was closed - something that was conveniently left out of his initial story or the liberal attack ad.

But besides the facts of the story, a lot more is not right!

President Barack Obama's re-election campaign washed its hands Wednesday of an independent group's vicious lie that is basically blaming Mitt Romney for the death of a laid-off steelworker's wife from cancer.

The Obama campaign has denied any knowledge of the facts in the case - but it turns out the widower told the same story on an Obama campaign conference call in mid-May.

"We have nothing, no involvement, with any ads that are done by Priorities USA. We don't have any knowledge of the story of the family," Obama campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters aboard Air Force One on Wednesday.

The ad features Joe Soptic, who lost his job and his health benefits after Bain Capital closed the GST Steel plant in Kansas City, Missouri, in 2001.

Soptic later told CNN that his first wife had health insurance through her own employer from that point to 2002 or 2003, when she left that job because of an injury - a detail that undermines the ad's heartbreaking story.

A detail conveniently left out!

"I don't know the facts about when Mr. Soptic's wife got sick, or the facts about his health insurance," deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter told CNN on Wednesday.

But there's a problem. As Politico first reported, Joe Soptic told essentially the same story in a May 14, 2012, conference call hosted by the Obama campaign.

Here's what he said then, according to a partial recording of the call passed along by a Republican official:

"After we lost our jobs, we found out that we were going to lose our health insurance, and that our pensions hadn't been funded like Bain promised they would be. I was lucky to find another job as a custodian in a local school district. They gave me some health insurance, but I couldn't afford to buy it for my wife. A little while later she was diagnosed with lung cancer. I had to put her in a county hospital because she didn't have health care, and when the cancer took her away, all I got was an enormous bill. That put a lot of stress on me: I thought I'd be paying it off until I died myself. That probably wouldn't have happened if Bain kept its promise and I was allowed to keep our health insurance."

"It's upsetting what Mitt Romney and his partners did to us," he added.

Talk about messing with the facts!

The revelation drew an immediate rebuke from Romney campaign spokesman Ryan Williams, who said Obama and his campaign "are willing to say and do anything to hide the president's disappointing record."

"But they're not entitled to repeatedly mislead voters," he said.

Fact: Mitt Romney had left Baine Capital in 1999, Joe Soptic's first wife Ilyona “Ranae” Soptic died in 2006 while Mitt Romney was in fact Governor of Massachusetts.

And there's more!

It's not all about Joe Soptic, or if he's telling the truth or leading us on - it's really about more lies from the Obama re-election Campaign.

The Washington Post describes Joe Soptic, 62, as the "go-to figure for supporters of President Obama," appearing this week in his 2nd campaign ad talking about being laid off from GST a Kansas City, Missouri, steel mill that was taken over by Bain Capital in 1993.

In the ad, released Tuesday by the liberal super PAC Priorities USA and titled "Understands," Joe Soptic makes his most heated claim to date, suggesting a link between his wife’s death five years ago and Mitt Romney by way of the Bain Capital takeover.

The ad has Joe saying "When Mitt Romney and Bain closed the plant, I lost my health care, and my family lost their health care. And a short time after that, my wife became ill ... she passed away in 22 days."

Wow! Tough ad huh? Too bad it's not true!

The truth: Mitt Romney had nothing to do with closing GST, he was already gone when the plant closed a few years later.

As for Joe's first wife Ilyona “Ranae” Soptic, she had health insurance from where she worked - and was covered until she died in 2006.

Joe Soptic did lose his health care after the plant closed even though he was a member of a Union. His union did not provide him with any sort of supplemental health care coverage after the plant closed.

In reality, the GS Technologies (GST) plant that Barack Obama has used to attack Mitt Romney was scheduled to be closed whether or not Mitt Romney and his partners had bought or not.

Baine Capital bought the plant in an effort to keep it alive and not go under. Mitt Romney tried to help turn GST around.

It started in 1993 when Bain Capital had invested in and in fact purchased GS Technologies. GST was a struggling Kansas City steel plant from Armco. Prior to this investment, Armco announced plans to close the Kansas City plant if a buyer could not be found.

Armco Steel bought the steel plant in 1930, and expanded it in 1945. At its peak in the 1950s, it was one of Kansas City's largest employers with more than 4,500 employees.

It operated as Armco Worldwide Grinding System until it was sold in 1993 to GS Technologies which became GST Steel Company.

The investment – and $170 million in upgrades – kept the Kansas City plant competitive in a tough international market and saved steel workers' jobs for eight years.

In 1999, two years later, Mitt Romney left Bain Capital and the GS Technologies plant was closed because of foreign steel dumping into the U.S. market.

Fact: 31 other steel companies declared bankruptcy during the same period because of labor problems and foreign steel dumping into the United States.

Some folks in Kansas City say that the 1997 strike, called by the Union at the plant, didn't help keep GST afloat. The union plant had a long hard 3 and a half month strike that nearly ruined the company financially.

Some say, thanks to that strike, GST never fully recovered and was forced to close its doors three years later in February 2001. The result was the layoff of the remaining 750 employees.

On Wednesday, Obama advisers distanced themselves from the former steelworker and the most recent ad, saying they were unaware of the details of Soptic’s account about his wife.

"We don’t have any knowledge of the story of the family," spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Air Force One.

But in addition to running its own ad with Soptic, the Obama campaign featured him in a conference call with reporters in May, when he shared his story.

A Conference Call with Obama people, yet they have no knowledge of Joe? What's this all about?

Republicans pounced on the discrepancy. "Still no knowledge, Jen?” a news release from the Republican National Committee taunted after reports of the conference call surfaced.

When Ilyona “Ranae” Soptic died in 2006, Romney was governor of Massachusetts.

Campaigns have long sought regular people to carry their messages to voters, betting that personal stories and plain speaking are more effective than the poll-driven talking points of the candidates and their aides.

Democrats have featured workers such as Soptic, who say they lost their livelihoods because of Romney, to suggest that the Republican’s approach to business gutted companies and communities rather than creating jobs.

Although the ads typically last a minute or so, the lives and stories that inspire them are more complicated.

But why let the facts get in the way of a great story, for example: five years passed between the time Soptic lost his job as a steelworker and his wife’s death, yet the ad seems to compress the timing and suggests a correlation in just weeks.

So who is Joe Soptic?

Joe Soptic, a lifelong Democrat and union member, said he did an Internet search and found Democratic groups to tell his story - they were first reported in local newspapers several years ago.

"This all started back in December [2011]. They wanted to know how our lives have changed since the plant closed and how I felt," he said in an interview Tuesday.

Joe Soptic, who appeared in Obama’s first television ad about Romney’s record at Bain Capital in May, continued, "I think the reason they keep coming back to me is because of everything that has happened in our life since the plant closed."

As a steelworker, Soptic was part of a crew that removed slag debris from underneath furnaces used in the steel making process. His last day on the job came in March 2001, after GS Industries filed for bankruptcy.

Soptic, who was earning $46,000 a year, said, "It took me six months to find a job."

He was hired as a school custodian, making about $15,000 a year.

Joe Soptic sees himself as a sort of spokesman for his Union and his friends, he says, "Everyone is quite proud because the story had to be told."

Priorities USA, the super PAC supporting Obama, contacted him about a week ago to alert him to the latest ad, which was partially shot in his home and at the union hall. In it, he talks about the loss of his first wife of 30 years.

The ad shows Soptic, the father of a grown daughter, a grieving widower and bitter former steelworker struggling to make ends meet.

Yet today, that is only part of his story! Here's the rest of the story!

With his Union pension and salary as a Custodian, Joe Soptic actually makes about $46,000 a year. Which of course is what he made 11 years ago in 2001, when he lost his job at GST.

He also has a new wife - his High School sweetheart from 42 years ago.

"It all had a happy ending," Soptic told The Washington Post.

He declined to comment on whether he thinks Romney is to blame for his first wife’s death, as the ad seems to suggest.

Referring to his former employer, he said, "They made certain promises, and I feel like if they did fulfill those promises, she would have had health insurance."

But is that story true, or is it misleading? 

CNN reported that Ilyona Soptic had health insurance through her employer when her husband lost his job.   But she was not employed, and no longer had coverage years later by the time her end-stage cancer was discovered and diagnosed.

Today Mitt Romney asks where "hope and change" went amid furor over misleading ad

Today, August 9th, Mitt Romney asked where all the "hope and change" has gone as President Obama's supporters pressed ahead with plans to air a misleading TV ad and a top campaign aide was accused of "lying" about her knowledge of its contents.

The Republican presidential candidate, in his most forceful comments to date, suggested Obama's supporters should be "embarrassed" over the super PAC ad that ties him to a woman's death from cancer.

But he wasn't holding out hope that the group would pull it down, after the Democratic operative behind the ad claimed it'll be airing soon in battleground states despite the furor.

"You know, in the past when somebody pointed out that something was inaccurate campaigns either pulled the ad - they were embarrassed," Romney said on Bill Bennett's "Morning in America" radio show. "Today, they just blast ahead."

The Obama campaign has faced mounting criticism over the ad not just from Romney but independent fact-checkers, though the ad was produced by the purportedly independent super PAC Priorities USA.

Further, Obama Deputy Campaign Manager Stephanie Cutter is now being accused by the Romney campaign of lying over what she knew about the man at the center of that ad.

Cutter appeared on CNN Wednesday morning to say, among other things, that "I don't know the facts" about the case of Joe Soptic, the steelworker who appeared in the video.

Cutter said she didn't know when Soptic's wife fell ill, or about his health insurance.

But wait, she's lying!

In May, Cutter herself hosted a conference call in which Joe Soptic detailed his case to reporters.

During the call, as he did in the ad, Soptic explained how his wife fell ill after he lost his job, and how he lost his health insurance. The call took place as Soptic began appearing in other Obama campaign ads, and was featured in a profile on the Obama campaign website.

The Obama campaign has acknowledged that conference call, but has not responded directly to allegations that anyone lied.

Cutter wasn't the only Obama campaign official caught up in the controversy.

"I certainly don't know the specifics of this man's case," campaign adviser Robert Gibbs said on MSNBC.

Campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters "we don't have any knowledge of the story of the family."

Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney claimed he hadn't seen the ad, though it had already gotten heavy media coverage by that point.

Former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu, a top Romney surrogate, told Fox News that while the super PAC is defending the ad's accuracy, "the lie is in the omissions."

The ad did not reveal key details about the timeline of Soptic's case.

• First, Soptic's wife initially had her own health insurance after her husband lost his job.
• Second, Soptic's wife died in 2006, five years after her husband's company, GST, filed for bankruptcy.
• Romney had left Bain Capital in 1999, years before GST went bankrupt.
• Let's not get the facts in the way of an attack by Democrats.

Sununu blasted Obama aides for denying knowledge of the case.

"First of all they craft a despicable ad full of lies," Sununu said. "And then Stephanie Cutter and Robert Gibbs and Jay Carney lie to the press that they didn't know anything that was in that ad."

Bottom Line!

Obama has nothing positive to run on, his record in the White House is as bad as that of Jimmy Carter back in the late 70's during the last Economic Depression in America.

Obama's presidency has been a horrible experiment in what happens when you put a person with absolutely no experience in the White House.

So what does he do? Well, he sure as hell doesn't mention three important facts that his administration wants to forget.

First, Obama has not produced a single budget in his 3 and a half years in office; second, America has seen over 40 straight months of unemployment figures under Obama; third, ObamaCare is already costing Americans more than projected; fourth, his immigration policy may be getting him Latin votes - but it's putting Americans at risk; and lastly, Obama has done nothing to address any of these problems.

Instead of answering policy questions, his campaign is built on attacking Mitt Romney's successful life.

No answers, just more attacks and diversions away from the issues.

Story by Tom Correa