Gangs and drug dealers armed with fully automatic firearms are committing crimes with these weapons on both sides of the border. The Obama administration is blaming our relaxed gun control laws due to the weapons being used by these criminals, and subsequently wants to push for further regulation here in the United States. But there is something that they're not telling you.

The criminals in Mexico are mainly using fully-automatic rifles, by definition, "assault rifles". Here in the United States, it's nearly impossible for the average citizen to own these rifles. Further, our ownership of unrelated firearms is being blamed as the source of Mexico's problems.

Again, automatic rifles so heavily regulated here, the average citizen can not own one. If you want to buy a rifle, it must be a semi-automatic or bolt-action rifle, both commonly used for hunting. Sure, here in the U.S. you can buy a semi-auto rifle that may look identical to an assault rifle (like an AR-15, which is the civilian version of the M16), but looks cannot hurt you. They function in entirely different ways!

But, because criminals in Mexico are obtaining automatic assault rifles from corrupt sources (third world countries, corrupt government officials, etc.) unrelated to average American citizens, the Obama administration's reaction is to ban our semi-automatic rifles by calling them "assault weapons", which sounds a lot like "assault rifle".

Anti gun organizations and politicians use creative rhetoric to confuse the public. Need proof? Ever hear of the "Assault Weapons Ban"? It was just a ban on semi-automatic firearms, but calling them "assault weapons" brings a lot more fear and panic to the ignorant public, don't you think?

What's even more interesting is that anti gun organizations wish to take it a step further by banning any guns with certain "dangerous features". Apparently, a bolt that holds a bayonet or a certain hand grip is so deadly that it must be banned. These people want to talk about common sense, but how is it common sense to think lives will be saved by banning ergonomic features? They know it won't! But this is an incremental step to more gun control.

If you're against guns, that's fine. But for someone to say that they are "pro gun" but "against assault weapons" is absurdly ignorant. What they're essentially saying is that they are "pro gun" but against anything that the government deems "inappropriate".

By: Robert Saggy
http://pro2a.org

As appalling as the recent revelations of the torture of terrorist suspects are, we have to ask; was it the right thing to do at the time?

When dealing with an enemy whose idea of salvation is their own death (while causing ours) there are few options available to the interrogator who needs information quickly. Coffee, cookies and a chat just don't seem to work.

Despite depictions on television of the supposed humiliation that Islamic warriors feel when being dealt with by, for example, a female questioner, they have been trained to resist such amateur productions.

Like our own soldiers they are taught to resist. They fear very little because death is something they have been conditioned to look forward to. What are the options? What techniques would provide information vital to the safety of thousands, perhaps millions? More importantly, what is the price barrier to protect our freedom?

The reason why the military used, and was approved to use, torture was to save lives - our lives. In the days, weeks and months after 9/11- conspiracy theories aside - we had no idea if and when the next event would occur. Would it be bigger, more deadly? Were operatives in place? Was there nuclear dirty bomb material prepared for use? Perhaps in time we will find out that torture did indeed thwart another attack. America in 2001 and 2002 could not afford a repeat performance of 9/11. Indeed we can't afford it now; another 9/11 would cause an economic implosion so close are we to the edge.

Only an expert can testify as to torture's effectiveness. Fear is a powerful stimulant for everybody; second only to pain. Both are the tools of the interrogator.

It is easy to second guess the use of torture - at this stage - long after the event. The morals or ethics of torture were not relevant in those desperate days post-attack. The need for information was the driving force.

Torture has existed as part of political apparatus' the world-over forever. It's nothing new in the U.S., we're just now noticing it, that's all. The CIA for years used external bases and other countries as their torturers; Vietnam, Nicaragua, in all of our un-official conflicts.

Civilization as we know it is a relatively new departure for mankind and in many parts of the world it is not a feature at all. Take many parts of the Middle East. Life is cheap; women are property and perceived political and religious transgressions are dealt with harshly, punished with execution or mutilation. Children in these parts of the world are mere objects, particularly young girls who, according to a recent news story, may be married at the age of eight. This of course translates into state and religious-sponsored pedophilia. We don't understand them any more than they us. This mentality however is what we are up against.

Bush, Cheney - like them or hate them - did what they had to do, no more and no less, to protect the country at a time of dire emergency. I would expect our current administration to do exactly the same thing under similar circumstances.

Consider this as you mull your muted outrage.

Post 9/11, for whatever reason, our military trundled into Iraq. According to the Opinion Research Business, in London, we - the U.S. - killed in excess of 1 million Iraqis during our sojourn there.

We did so by shooting, dismemberment through artillery and bombing, suffocation through the use of fuel-air bombs, concussion, burning, and explosion. Not recorded are the hundred of thousands of wounded and maimed.

Surely this action, which certainly qualifies as an atrocity, demands more of a response and outrage than the water-boarding of a few dozen suspected terrorists; where are our priorities? Unfortunately this is a demonstration of the illogical duality of our American thinking. We can be infuriated by the sight of a woman's breast on the television while ignoring the violent action of a B-52 bombing a village in Afghanistan.

As the headlines veer away from the sound-bites of terror alerts and travel fears, we are becoming complacent and once again are returning to our amnesic state, safe in our shielded cocoon of denial.

War is an unpleasant business. So that we don't have to face it, we employ an army of specialists who are well versed in the ways of death. Torture is but one of the tools of the trade employed by these specialists in the business of war.

It is part of the price that we - and our enemies - must pay for peace on our shores.

By: Evin Daly
Evin Daly is a journalist and publisher of http://www.ButlerReport.com (World News Update).

I would have to say that what I'm seeing being done in the name of my country is something that I never considered even possible, even in my worst nightmares. This, I believe, is the first time in our nation's history that our Commander-In-Chief, the Leader of our country and most powerful man on Earth has decided to snub and insult our nation's friends and warm up to and become bosom buddies with our enemies. This must be what Alice felt like when she stood in the Looking-Glass House. This can't be the reality I know.

I have read many books on history and ethics, leadership and military concepts, on philosophy and morality and only one thing can allow this to make any relative sense would be the concepts I learned when reading the 2000+ year old masterpiece written by the Chinese general Sun-Tzu called The Art of War. In this you come to learn the concept that a leader should "keep your friends close, but your enemies closer." There is only one problem with attributing the President's actions with this concept. He seems to have skipped the first part of that sentence and only learned the second. Maybe he was sleepy when he read the book. Perhaps he's so smart that he was speed-reading and just missed it. Or possibly to save time he was reading the Cliff Notes version and that part wasn't included.

Whatever the reason he has for this type of conduct though does not excuse the type of treatment he forwards toward our greatest ally in the world, Great Britain, or their Queen Mother. Nor does it warrant the touchy-feely attitude toward Communist dictators like Hugo Chavez or the acceptance of Anti-American literature with a childish smile on his face, gleeful with someone giving him a present like a child at Christmas. It made me frustrated on the outside and emotionally unsure for my country's future on the inside, asking myself in my head "What world am I on anymore? Did I fall through the Looking-Glass?"

At no time that I can recall from anything I have seen, heard or read has a President while in office ever been so obsequious to foreign leaders as to been seen as subservient to their position like our President was with the King of Saudi Arabia, or at best be viewed as a Prop on a stage for the real leader as he was with Chavez. This is not real. It can't be. Somebody shake me out of this dream!

A President of these United States, any President, let alone the sitting Commander-In-Chief, would never go around the world, to every corner of the globe, and rail on about how his country, our country, is arrogant and full of mistakes and bigotry, that the problems of the world rest squarely on the United States shoulders and that everything wrong on this planet is our fault. No no no! This isn't happening! I'm asleep. That's what it is. Only a dream. It has to be. Is it?

There are only three conclusions that I personally can come to after having witnessed all this. The first is that this man that has been elected to be the Leader of the Free World is so inept, inexperienced and gullible that he is incapable of realizing what a buffoon and inconsequential as a President he appears to be to the other leaders of the world and too many of his own citizens. I hope I'm wrong here. Or he is as smart as the media says he is and these actions he is performing in our name are what he truly feels. God forbid this be true. The final option is a combination of the previous two, he is gullible AND he believes in these things he does. This option I believe is by far the most dangerous and frightening of the three, but I'm being optimistic that it is one of the two former possibilities that is the reality of all of this. And that is a sad day indeed when that is an American citizens, a true American Nobody's, hope.

Just please, somebody, anybody, tell me that I'm dreaming and that I will wake up again to a world where my country stands for the ideals she has always held dear of freedom to all, government staying out of our lives as much as possible, being allowed to succeed or fail based on our own merit and hard work, and our President expressing the greatness that America is.

I want to get back to my side of the Looking-Glass again.

By: Ian Hayes
Ian Hayes is a former Naval Intelligence operative for 4 years and former Financial Advisor for over 7 years. Ian is also politically involved with the Republican Party in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the past 5 years, having volunteered for multiple campaigns on a Local and State level.

Ian Hayes is a ongoing Conservative author and contributor to http://www.PaWaterCooler.com, a Political Blog in Pennsylvania that discuss the political issues of the day on a local, state and National range.

Ian Hayes can be reached for comments or questions at IanMHayes@hotmail.com

Ever since Obama took the office of President it seems as if he is trying to change America into a super Obama World where he is king and we are his subjects.

If you take a long look at his campaign speeches and all the fabulous promises that he made that he was going to implement "if" elected. There were 514 in total. How many has he kept? 2.

Let's take a look at his record since in office. He has passed his first stimulus bill that was $850 billion and never read not one single page. Not long after he signed the omnibus bill, behind closed doors" I might add. Once again never reading one page of what he was signing. This is leading to a super Obama world with guess who at the helm?

He fires the CEO of GM. Maybe he needed to be fired but that sure is not the business of the President's. Not only that but in this super Obama world the government is backing the warranties for GM vehicles. ??? (Nationalized Auto System)

By all means lets not for get the $170 Billion that was given to AIG because they were too big to fail. NO business is too big to fail. But, lets give all the failing banks and institutions money then we can tell them what to do and how to do it. (Nationalized Banking System)

Not to mention the fact that he wants to Nationalize Health Care! England has told us repeatedly NOT to take that route. The reason for this is that in terminal cases when treatment is needed to keep someone alive the government plays god and has the power to chose whether or not a person lives or dies. Do you actually want Obama choosing your fate? This becomes the decision of the super Obama world and you have NO decision about it what so ever. Is this the change you were hoping for when you voted him in?

When he visited Europe all he did was apologize for America, that offended me because according to history if no the Americans they would more than likely be under German rule today. He dissed America everywhere he went. Then to put the icing on the cake, he bowed down to the Saudi king. That was a slap in every Americans face.

The new super Obama world is going to be the end of America that we know. We have over 5.7 million people out of work and now he wants to grant citizenship to over 12 million illegal immigrants. He is stacking the deck for his Super Obama World.

With the tea-party demonstrations that took place on the 15th show that people are sick and tired of big government and have finally gotten enough in their bellies that they finally stood up to make their voices heard. So is with the super Obama world. Enough is enough. The days of Big Government are on their way out and it is high time. The only obstacle: Obama. With all the hard core liberal cronies that he has himself surrounded with they believe that they will some how pull off the trick of the century and develop the super obama world. I believe that it is time the "We the People" stand together and in ONE voice stop the advance of the Super Obama World.

By: Wayne R Boyd
http://YourHealthStore.ws