Political Pawns

By Tammy Derouin

When tragedy strikes we do everything we can to further protect ourselves and the ones we love. We go through many different stages of emotion. Shock and disbelief are certainly in the forefront as we struggle to grasp with what is happening. Shock eventually gives way to grief and or anger as we begin to comprehend and come to terms with our new reality.

It is never easy to understand why such tragedies take place. Why do innocent people become victims? We try to recreate a better outcome with “what if” or “if only” possibilities. We even insert ourselves into the situation. What could we have done differently? Could we have prevented this moment in time? Trying to make sense of something so senseless can be exasperating. But, that's what we do, we try to find a reason and then we try to fix the problem so that it never happens again.

We have all dealt with personal loss or tragedies. We know the heart-wrenching feeling of helplessness. As a nation, we have also dealt with many tragedies from natural disasters, the loss of those who serve protecting our freedom, to attacks on our home soil by both foreign and domestic assailants. Once we begin to recover and acknowledge the reality, we want to prevent such tragedies and losses from ever happening again. Acting purely on emotion is however, very dangerous. Using our children as political pawns to promote an anti-American agenda is disgraceful, shameful and a national tragedy.

I think we can all agree that any violent act against children is unacceptable and we need to make sure our children are safe in our schools. The latest shooting in Florida had many warning signs. Local authorities were aware of this individual. The FBI was informed and failed. School security at the time of the tragedy, failed. We need to investigate and analyze each situation, each tragedy, on a case by case basis.

We know the Left doesn't waste an opportunity to push their agenda. Tragedy, unfortunately, becomes an opportunity for them to target our most basic God-given rights, our rights which are protected in our Constitution. They will use any means necessary, including our children, to promote their agenda. The children and the American people are exploited for their political gain. Every American will be victimized if the Left ever becomes successful in removing our rights.

A gun free zone is a joke. The only individuals who abide by the law are law-abiding citizens. If we allow ourselves to be disarmed by our government, the only entities who will have guns or weapons of modern day choice, will be the government and criminals. Do we want to be stuck with yesterday's weaponry while the government and criminals make advancements which could be used against us?

An individual who wants to cause harm will seek out his weapon of choice regardless of the law. It is not the gun or the weapon which causes harm, it's the individual. The Left knows this but they use it as an opportunity to advance their cause. If they can get the people to willingly remove their rights, the Left accomplishes their goal. They prompt and encourage the population to become a weapon against themselves. The Left isn't forcibly taking the guns out of our hands; the uninformed Americans are doing their dirty work for them. This way the Left can say they did, by way of legislation, what the people wanted them to do. Once the 2^nd Amendment is gone, the rest will follow.

With freedom comes responsibility and with freedom comes risks. The government cannot protect every individual from a personal attack. I would much rather take my chances with my God-given rights, protected by the Constitution, than rely on individuals who claim they know what's best for me. The government cannot keep drugs off our streets, illegals from crossing our border or corruption from taking place within itself. I'm supposed to believe that by giving up my rights I'll be better protected?

Why is it that those who love the ideals of socialism and communism do not move to their Utopian paradise? If you truly feel that your rights are granted by the government and the government should have ultimate control, please feel free to migrate to such countries which limit speech, assembly, religion, do not allow you to own a gun and keep you shackled and chained. You may however, need to apply for legal status and assimilate to their culture. Let me know how it goes when you try to make entitlement demands. If socialism and communism are your ideas of paradise, please feel free to leave and live among the enslaved. Leave my freedoms alone.

“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

Benjamin Franklin

Dick Morris: 10 Russian spies assigned to ‘get close to Hillary’

Dick Morris: 10 Russian spies assigned to ‘get close to Hillary’:

"Members of several congressional committees have been told by an FBI informant that the Russians “bragged” that the Clintons’ influence in the Obama administration would ensure approval of the Uranium One deal, according to the informant’s lawyer, Victoria Toensing.

Hillary Clinton’s State Department approved the sale of 20 percent of U.S. uranium reserves in 2010 to a Russian state-owned company at a time when interested parties were donating hundreds of millions of dollars to the Clinton Foundation. Bill Clinton also was paid $500,000 by a bank tied to the Kremlin for a speech.

The FBI informant, William Campbell, said in his statement to Congress, which was obtained by the Hill, that he was told by Russian nuclear executives that Moscow had hired the American lobbying firm APCO Worldwide specifically because it was in position to influence Hillary Clinton."

Angel Dad Demands DOJ Probe into Oakland Mayor's 'Obstruction' of ICE Operation

Angel Dad Demands DOJ Probe into Oakland Mayor's 'Obstruction' of ICE Operation:

"The father of a man killed by an illegal immigrant is calling for the federal government to file obstruction of justice charges against the mayor of Oakland, California.
Mayor Libby Schaaf (D) sent out a memo and tweet on February 24, warning migrants that immigration officers were about to began an arrest operation. The memo also threatened California businesses who cooperate with federal immigration enforcement officers."

Obamacare: 20 states file lawsuit to kill health care law, citing Trump mandate repeal - Washington Times

Obamacare: 20 states file lawsuit to kill health care law, citing Trump mandate repeal - Washington Times:

"Twenty states filed a lawsuit Monday arguing the new law President Trump signed last year revoking Obamacare’s individual mandate actually makes the rest of the 2010 health law unconstitutional as well.

Led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel, the lawsuit says the individual mandate — upheld by the Supreme Court in 2012 — was the crux of the Affordable Care Act’s legality.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts ruled that the mandate — and thus most of the ACA — was constitutional under Congress’s taxing powers. But the attorneys general say if the government isn’t collection money under the mandate, it’s not using the taxing power, so the law no longer has legal underpinnings."

Lawsuit: 100,000 noncitizens registered to vote in Pennsylvania - Washington Times

Lawsuit: 100,000 noncitizens registered to vote in Pennsylvania - Washington Times:

"More than 100,000 noncitizens are registered to vote in Pennsylvania alone, according to testimony submitted Monday in a lawsuit demanding the state come clean about the extent of its problems.

The Public Interest Legal Foundation, which has identified similar noncitizen voting problems in studies of Virginia and New Jersey, said Pennsylvania officials have admitted noncitizens have been registering and voting in the state “for decades.”"

Feminist PANICS After Dana Loesch Suggests Women Who Carry Guns Are Harder To Rape | Daily Wire

Feminist PANICS After Dana Loesch Suggests Women Who Carry Guns Are Harder To Rape | Daily Wire:

"Feminist author and blogger Jessica Valenti was disappointed to learn, Wednesday night, that some women find arming themselves a useful way of protecting themselves against sexual predators.
Actually, that's putting it mildly. Valenti panicked after hearing National Rifle Association spokeswoman Dana Loesch suggest that the Second Amendment is a helpful tool in preventing violence against women, and launched into a four-tweet diatribe about how women are all going to be dead as a result of being armed."

DOJ Says Atty. Gen. Used Alias to Conduct Official Business to Protect Security, Privacy - Judicial Watch

DOJ Says Atty. Gen. Used Alias to Conduct Official Business to Protect Security, Privacy - Judicial Watch:

"Though the DOJ recently furnished the documents with Lynch’s fake name, the records were part of Judicial Watch’s original 2015 FOIA request. The records also show that then Assistant Attorney General John Carlin touted SCN at an event sponsored by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), an extremist leftist group that helped a gunman commit an act of terrorism against a conservative organization. A year later Carlin would launch the Michael Flynn counterintelligence investigation and seek the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant now in question."

How liberals use the latest school shooting to demonize gun ownership - Washington Times

How liberals use the latest school shooting to demonize gun ownership - Washington Times:

"The reaction to the latest school shooting could have been predicted and is unfolding in just the way the massacre at Newtown, Connecticut, did back in 2013. Progressive politicians and their friends in the media are blaming not the shooter or those who ignored warnings about him or the lack of school security, but the National Rifle Association and the right of law-abiding Americans to purchase and own firearms.
They’re riding a wave of public outrage that we all understand and fueling it with liberal money from their Hollywood friends while the media exploits the victims and their families to demand the very same things they were demanding after the Newtown shootings."

NRA accuses companies of 'cowardice' after severing ties under threat of boycott - Washington Times

NRA accuses companies of 'cowardice' after severing ties under threat of boycott - Washington Times:

"In response, the NRA accused the companies of trying to “punish our members who are doctors, farmers, law enforcement officers, fire fighters, nurses, shop owners and school teachers that live in every American community.”
“Let it be absolutely clear,” said the NRA. “The loss of a discount will neither scare nor distract one single NRA member from our mission to stand and defend the individual freedoms that have always made America the greatest nation in the world.”
Supporters came to the NRA’s defense by sharing photos of their membership confirmations."

Enterprise Is Getting DESTROYED For Canceling NRA Member Discounts | MRCTV

Enterprise Is Getting DESTROYED For Canceling NRA Member Discounts | MRCTV:

"And those are just a few of literally thousands of online pledges to boycott Enterprise, who has yet to issue any sort of statement explaining why they've chosen to target law-abiding gun owners in response to a mass shooting by a criminal.
According to the NRA's website, the organization still has discount deals with rental companies Avis, Budget and Hertz.
Additionally, First National Bank of Omaha, one of the country’s largest privately held banks, also announced it would end its credit-card co-branding deal with the NRA. "

Barack Obama's real debt and deficit legacy - Washington Times

Barack Obama's real debt and deficit legacy - Washington Times:

"But Mr. Obama made the deficit hundreds of billions of dollars worse with a stimulus plan that by the administration’s own admission didn’t create a single new job. (The number of jobs in 2009, 2010, and 2011 was lower than Mr. Obama’s economists predicted we would get if we had done nothing and not wasted $800 billion.
Mr. Obama’s failed presidency is being falsely lionized in other ways as well. The new spin from the left is that Mr. Obama saved the U.S. from a second great depression, when in fact he gave America the weakest recovery from a recession since the Great Depression. He also left Mr. Trump with an economy that was crawling at 1.6 percent— which is why many people thought we were headed to another recession."

Devin Nunes expands dossier probe to find out what Obama knew - Washington Times

Devin Nunes expands dossier probe to find out what Obama knew - Washington Times:

"The dossier, funded by Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic Party and written by British ex-spy Christopher Steele, was circulated by paymaster Fusion GPS during the 2016 campaign.

Mr. Steele, relying on Kremlin sources, made a series of felony charges plus several salacious claims against Mr. Trump and his aides. None to date have been confirmed publicly.

The letter’s recipients are redacted. But it is assumed they are going to be such leading Obama administrations officials as CIA Director John Brennan and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper."

What Percentage Of Mass Shootings Happen In 'Gun Free Zones'? The Number Is Stunning. | Daily Wire

What Percentage Of Mass Shootings Happen In 'Gun Free Zones'? The Number Is Stunning. | Daily Wire:

"After dozens of warning signs and alerts from concerned citizens went unnoticed, a shooter walked into a South Florida high school and murdered 17 people. In the wake of the tragic mass shooting, guns and "gun free zones" have become hot-button issues.

The Left has since turned-up the volume on calls for a crackdown on Secondment Amendment rights, quickly exploiting teens who attend the targeted school to makes the case for them. They have also slammed the suggestion that schools should have armed security, or perhaps well-trained, voluntarily armed teachers."

Trump: 'I'm thinking about' pulling ICE out of California | TheHill

Trump: 'I'm thinking about' pulling ICE out of California | TheHill:

"Trump said California is uncooperative with federal law enforcement, particularly when it comes to dealing with gang crime.

If federal agencies were to "pull out" of the state, Trump said, "you would have a crime mess like you've never seen in California.

"If we ever pulled our ICE out, if we ever said, 'hey, let California alone, let them figure it out for themselves,' in two months they'd be begging for us to come back, they would be begging. And you know what, I'm thinking about doing it," he added."

Republican Rebuttal To Democrat Memo | The Daily Caller

Republican Rebuttal To Democrat Memo | The Daily Caller:

"The rebuttal focuses on ignored and omitted information in the Democratic memo, which was also released Saturday. The Republicans pounced on several points, including Michael Isikoff’s Yahoo! News article, the DNC and Christopher Steele’s credibility.

The Republican rebuttal argues the Democrat memo is an “unpersuasive attempt to distract from the Committee’s key findings on FISA abuse.”

The Republican rebuttal states, “Amazingly, the Democrat memo does not contain a single reference to the DNC or Clinton campaign, or acknowledge that they funded the dossier, or admit that this information was not provided to the FISA Court.” "

NRA’s LaPierre warns of socialists behind big anti-gun push

NRA’s LaPierre warns of socialists behind big anti-gun push:

"National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre is warning conservatives of just who is behind the effort to “exploit” a tragic school shooting and tear down gun-rights supporters.

“European socialists,” he said, and they’re taking over the Democratic Party.

“Socialism is a movement that loves a smear. Racists, misogynists, sexists, xenophobe and more,” LaPierre said at the Conservative Political Action Conference. “These are the weapons and vitriol these character assassinations permanently hang on their targets because socialism feeds off manipulated victims.”"

“Collusion against Trump” timeline | Sharyl Attkisson

“Collusion against Trump” timeline | Sharyl Attkisson:

"But it’s not so easy to find a timeline pertinent to the investigations into these events.
Here’s a work in progress.
(Please note that nobody cited has been charged with wrongdoing or crimes, unless the charge is specifically referenced. Temporal relationships are not necessarily evidence of a correlation.)"

U.N. Declares Northern Ireland's Pro-Life Laws 'Violence Against Women' | Daily Wire

U.N. Declares Northern Ireland's Pro-Life Laws 'Violence Against Women' | Daily Wire:

""Abortion is among the most egregious forms of torture that can be perpetrated against a child, and attacking the church's moral and religious beliefs violates the religious liberty of the church, a human right which the United Nations affirms. Yet, the U.N. Committee Against Torture seems to be setting the stage that if you are pro-life you are pro-torture," said McGuire. "There is a strong bias against the Vatican."

Conclusion: the United Nations hates Jews and Catholics."

'Twitter purge' of conservative accounts prompts backlash, lawsuits - Washington Times

'Twitter purge' of conservative accounts prompts backlash, lawsuits - Washington Times:

"“The Twitter purge is real,” Mr. Bongino said on his Twitter account.

Conservative Project Veritas investigative filmmaker James O’Keefe commented sarcastically on his Twitter account Wednesday: “Looks like thousands of Twitter users committed the thought crime of tweeting about ‘God,’ ‘the American flag’ and ‘guns,’ and were taken off the platform.”"

Chuck Norris defends shooting survivor who says CNN censored him

Chuck Norris defends shooting survivor who says CNN censored him:

"Progressives are on the warpath to restrict free speech and guns, and they even tried it with Colton Haab. Thank God, Colton was not afraid to stand up to suppressors of free speech. Rather than suppress Colton’s freedoms and solutions, CNN should have elevated and highlighted them.

Our friend and NRA Executive Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre explained it well on Thursday as he addressed CPAC, when he said no matter what political persuasion you are, “We share a goal of safe schools, safe neighborhoods and a safe country.” He also reminded us that “evil walks among us.”"

Robert Mueller Investigation: A Hollow Farce | National Review

Robert Mueller Investigation: A Hollow Farce | National Review:

"Is it now time to prosecute foreigners for attempting to interfere with a U.S. election? If so, then surely Christopher Steele, the author of the Fusion GPS dossier, is far more culpable and vulnerable than the 13 bumbling Russians.

Steele is not a U.S. citizen. Steele colluded with Russian interests in compiling his lurid dossier about Donald Trump. Steele did not register as a foreign agent. And Steele was paid by Hillary Clinton’s campaign to find dirt on political rival Trump and his campaign."

Assault Weapons: An Emergency Bulwark against Tyranny | National Review

Assault Weapons: An Emergency Bulwark against Tyranny | National Review:

"When facing the big questions about guns — such as whether America should “ban” an entire category of weapons (such as “assault weapons”) — it’s better, I think, to go back to the first principles embodied in the Second Amendment. At its core, the Amendment protects a person’s individual inherent right of self-defense and empowers the collective obligation to defend liberty against state tyranny. As Justice Scalia noted in District of Columbia v. Heller, this concept was fully embedded in the founding generation:"

What is the FBI hiding in its war to protect Comey? | TheHill

What is the FBI hiding in its war to protect Comey? | TheHill:

"Comey now looms large over a burgeoning constitutional crisis that could soon overshadow Watergate at its worst. To deepen the crisis even further, it now appears some of Comey’s former FBI and Justice Department colleagues continue to protect him from accountability.

Three suspicious activities stand out, all intertwined: the so-called Comey Memos, Comey’s controversial testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee and Comey’s book deal."

FAIL: Student Had AR-15 In State With Assault Weapon Ban; Had Grenades, C-4 Land Mine Detonator | Daily Wire

FAIL: Student Had AR-15 In State With Assault Weapon Ban; Had Grenades, C-4 Land Mine Detonator | Daily Wire:

""While government believes that banning certain weapons will prevent potential criminals from acting, such bans mostly hurt those who seek to exercise their Second Amendment rights lawfully," Hamilton continued. "Government should look more carefully on how to mitigate the factors related to criminal behavior rather than infringing upon the rights of law-abiding citizens.""

Devin Nunes expands dossier probe to find out what Obama knew - Washington Times

Devin Nunes expands dossier probe to find out what Obama knew - Washington Times:

"Rep. Devin Nunes is trying to determine how far and wide the unverified Russia-Trump dossier spread inside the U.S. government, especially among senior leaders in President Obama’s administration during the 2016 election.
The chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence released a letter Tuesday that is being sent to as many as two dozen senior leaders in the Trump and Obama administrations.
The California Republican is asking 10 questions to gauge who received the dossier information and what they did with it.
The dossier, funded by Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic Party and written by British ex-spy Christopher Steele, was circulated by paymaster Fusion GPS during the 2016 campaign."