Why are all the big BLM riot cities run by the Democrats?

Here's some interesting facts: Most of the large cities where protesting, riots and looting have taken place are under control of whom? If you guessed Democrats, you are 100% correct.

The question is why did those officials not take a stand and make every effort to stop the mayhem? Some say they wanted the protesters to be heard, regardless of the damage that would likely occur. Some say they thought the looting and rioting would be on a much smaller scale. Some even say, they didn't care as long as the unrest didn't reach their door. How'd that turn out for Mayor Jenny Durkan in Seattle or Cheryl Selby in Olympia? When the protesters started damaging THEIR property they called for police protection. The police should have told them to "F" off just like they were telling the police while vilifying them for personal gain and potential future votes.

On that subject, the City Council in Minneapolis used taxpayer money to hire private security for them and their family while badmouthing the police. Real nice and guess what...they were all Democrats too. Andrea Jenkins, Alondra Cano and Philippe Cunningham. "The City of Minneapolis is paying $4,500 per day to hire private security guards to protect members of its city council who have received threats as the council makes efforts to defund, disband, and replace the city's police force." The City did not want to admit who the three were but you can't hide the truth for long. And along those lines, why do these mayors need special law enforcement protection in the way of multiple officers to guard them and many times act at drivers for their vehicles? Likely because they are not as popular as they think.

The pure dollar costs from these riots, and they are riots, will never be fully tallied. Even some small towns have seen insured losses, not total losses, climb in to the millions. Fargo, ND has spent a million and still counting. Larger cities are now estimating losses that top billions, and the final count is still way off. And the sad thing is the rioters wanted more money spent on programs for the socioeconomically challenged but that money will instead be going to fix the damage they did. Nice work, idiots!

Here's the shameful list of the large cities with Democrat mayors where the greatest violence has occurred. This list DOES NOT include the many smaller cities and towns that are being destroyed across America.

Bill de Blasio New York
Eric Garcetti Los Angeles
Lori Lightfoot Chicago
Sylvester Turner Houston
Kate Gallego Phoenix
Jim Kenney Philadelphia
Eric Johnson Dallas
London Breed San Francisco
Andrew Ginther Columbus
Vi Lyles Charlotte
Jenny Durkan Seattle
Michael Hancock Denver
Muriel Bowser Washington, D.C.
Marty Walsh Boston
Mike Duggan Detroit
Ted Wheeler Portland
Jack Young Baltimore
Tom Barrett Milwaukee
Tim Keller Albuquerque
Darrell Steinberg Sacramento
Quinton Lucas Kansas City, MO
Keisha Bottoms Atlanta
Robert Garcia Long Beach
Libby Schaaf Oakland
Jacob Frey Minneapolis
Frank Jackson Cleveland
LaToya Cantrell New Orleans
Jane Castor Tampa
Lyda Krewson St Louis
Bill Peduto Pittsburgh
Michael Tubbs Stockton, CA
Melvin Carter III St. Paul, MN
Ras j. Baraka Newark, NJ
Byron Brown Buffalo
Mary Salas Chula Vista, CA
Rick Kriseman St. Petersburg, FL
Lauren McLean Boise
Levar Stoney Richmond

Strangely enough, almost none of the Republican controlled cities had this type of rioting. Maybe because their government is not ultra liberal and so called "progressive"? If this is the "progressive way" to move America along, we are more than screwed. It seems everyone is "offended" by something and the leftists will fall over to change everything for any group that demands it. Changing cartoons to remove funny guns from Elmer Fudd or violence by the Road Runner is demanded, and had, by idiots but they still get to play bloody carnage games on their XBox or Play Station. Even Fortnite? How about demanding all graphic video games be rated for children and all others banned. The social police can go to everyone's door and politely request they hand over their games. If I am offended nobody cares, and frankly I don''t give a damn if anyone else is offended either.

Finally, if you don't agree, don't comment. This is not a debate page, just what I and many others believe is the cancer destroying the country. COVID-19 isn't the real enemy here, it's the snowflake mentality that will destroy us. Those who never did anything for the country but take and take and take. Who never fought a war or served in any public service or would fight for the rights of ALL people, even those they never knew. The beaches in Normandy and Guadalcanal, jungles of Vietnam, sands of the Middle East, cold ground of Korea and all over the globe have run red with the blood of patriots. Where are the legions who would now stand for the American Flag? Few it seems. Other than our military, veterans and first responders along with our medical professionals, the me-me-me society has taken over the country.

It's no longer about whose life matters...

First off, we are a blended family and I am not racist. I believe in equality. Equality between men and women, between all races and peoples. But it's no longer about whose life matters. It's all about what matters to some black people and not that black lives matter. If black lives mattered the blacks themselves wouldn't shoot 104 and murder 6 in Chicago on Father's Day. Or other days when it's 40 or 60 shootings and God knows how many killing each other. A child shot through the second floor window while she was watching TV with her family, an infant murdered while in a car seat with her daddy. Two young men shot and killed after asking how tall another man was? What the hell? Every life matters no matter the color, but when will the people of color stop shooting and start trying to save their own lives?

This has become a real shit storm and I firmly believe the Black Lives Matter movement has been hijacked by anarchists and domestic terrorists. Politicians are pandering to whatever these people want, using the BLM as a reason to roll over and play dead. It seems anything that can be turned against non-blacks is being done, and likely not by the actual BLM people. Statues destroyed, buildings burned and looted. The leftist press wants people to believe the looting is just consequential and that is crap. They came with battery powered metal cutting saws to get into stores, so that is sure as hell not just spur of the moment. That was planned way ahead of time. I see this as becoming a civil war in the US as more and more people get fed up and will defend their homes and property against this invasion. To add idiocy to this, while the alleged protesters get away with destroying tens of millions or perhaps billions of dollars in property, three people are arrested and charged for tearing down a BLM sign made out of garbage bags.And this is equality in justice now?

The press is so left leaning they jump on every opportunity to vilify the current administration. For example, the following was blown up by the press as poor woman whines her family doesn't get stimulus check. Simple issue is she married an illegal. That is on her not the American people.  He's freaking illegal, you filed a joint tax return with someone who is illegal, he has no social security number, worked under the table, paid no taxes, you took the married deduction, got the earned income and child deductions and then what...wanted us to give you more? Freaking morons and yet the news picks up these stories so people think the current administration is bad.  It's just unbelievable.

The Democrats kneeling with African scarves around their neck for George Floyd. When did they ever kneel for the tens of thousands of service men and women killed defending our country? When did they kneel for all the first responders killed in the line of duty? When did they kneel for the victims of the Pulse nightclub? When did they kneel for the victims of wildfires, floods and tornadoes? Never. Pandering is what keeps them in office. What a sad bunch of people who were elected by other sad people. Of course they want to remove John Wayne's name from the Orange County Airport. I suppose if it was John Wayne Gacy it would be okay or maybe they will name it Hanoi Jane in honor of that traitor bitch. Anything is possible. 

We all need to be cognizant of others and be open to frank dialogue on the current issues. Racism has no place in our society, and while many of the old stereotypes seem to hang on, there are good and bad people in every race, color, creed, and unfortunately, religion as well.  Maybe what the country needs is to re-institute the draft to get all young people to see we are all the same. Serving side by side by men and women of color makes one realize we are all brothers and sisters, regardless of how we appear outside. Skin only covers blood and we are all bleeding red. 

Be kind to each other and maybe, just maybe, we can survive and prosper as one.

China keeps screwing the US over and over, regardless of the coronavirus

This is not anti-Chinese rhetoric, but rather the hard facts on how we, as a nation, keep getting screwed time and again by China, thanks to our own greedy businesses and even ourselves.

Most goods from China are sub-standard, lack quality control and are designed to put money in someone's pocket while delivering a less than efficient, or even safe, product. Let's examine some of the reasons why:

Cheap. Simply stated, Chinese goods are cheap. Cheaply made, cheap instruction manuals that look and read like they were written by kindergartners, poor packaging, and not designed to last.

Unsafe. Chinese products often carry labels like UL and others making them appear as if they were tested by Underwriters Laboratories for safety. In almost every case, they have not and they counterfeit the trademark of UL to increase sales among consumers who think they may be getting safe products. I read almost daily about products that fail, catch fire, melt, and present undue shock hazards and yet, they remain 9n the market. Someone is falling down on the job allowing this junk into the country without examination. Sadly, catastrophic failure of an item makes any legal avenue to claim damages and injury almost impossible.

Unsafe for children. Also unsafe is the materials themselves used in manufacture of Chinese goods. Lead base paint has been found in many children's toys and while some US companies state they go to China to assure they are using the proper materials, spy video has shown the Chinese switching back to unsafe materials as soon as the US based inspector leaves.

Unsafe for anyone. Remember the Chinese drywall debacle? If you don't have a house made with Chinese drywall you are more than lucky, you are blessed. It made many thousands sick when the contaminated and corrosive formula that emanated hydrogen sulfide, a corrosive gas with a rotten egg smell, and ended up in as many as 100,000 homes in the US alone. An estimated 550 million pounds were imported, enough to built at least 60,000 home in their entirety. Think that's an exaggeration? Here's from Wikipedia:
"Chinese drywall" refers to an environmental health issue involving defective drywall manufactured in China, imported to the United States and used in residential construction between 2001 and 2009 — affecting "an estimated 100,000 homes in more than 20 states."^[1]
In samples of contaminated drywall, laboratory tests will detect off-gassing of volatile chemicals and sulfurous gases — including carbon disulfide, carbonyl sulfide, and hydrogen sulfide. The emissions worsen as temperature and humidity rise, will give off a sulfuric (rotten egg) odor and will cause copper surfaces to turn black and powdery, a chemical process indicative of a hydrogen sulfide reaction and an early indication of contaminated drywall. Copper pipes, electrical wiring, and air conditioner coils are affected, as well as silver jewelry.
Homeowners have reported health symptoms including respiratory problems such as asthma attacks, chronic coughing and difficulty breathing, as well as chronic headaches and sinus issues."

Unsafe for pets. Numerous pet food recalls result from the quality of pet food that has been imported from China. Sadly, pets have died or ended up with severe disease that shortens their lives as a result. Pats are not considered people so the liability a company has for killing your beloved pet is almost nil. Check the labels and don't buy any pet, or human food, produced in China.

Failure. The failure rate of offshore products is surely many times greater than US made items. Yes, we sometimes have products made here that fail, but there are resources available to us to contact the manufacturer, or at least the seller, and have the issues rectified. Not so with most offshore products.

Customer service. That phrase falls on deaf ears with so many Chinese products and even their US sellers. Many are not versed in the English language and cannot converse with consumers to a successful resolution of  a problem. Sometimes they will answer queries and then go silent, or many times they just don't answer. And then you seem to have little to no recourse.

Warranties. The warranty on so many products made in China are worthless. US companies sell these products and in many cases, their entire product line is made in China. The companies swear they have a no hassle warranty and it really is...for them. They simply quit answering and then you are stuck with a useless product. Here's an example:

Sun Joe Cordless Pressure Washer fails after 4 uses in about 6 months. It seemed to be a great unit and has a two year warranty so the seller is contacted. (They state they are the "factory" but in actuality the factory is in China and they are in New Jersey.) Canned automated response asks for the usual information including model and serial number, name, address, etc. Then the silence begins. No further response from Sun Joe but they seem to still have time to send ads to buy more of their products. Another week and I e-mail them again, then another week and nothing. No matter how often they are contacted it's the same idiotic auto response, or no response at all. Oh yeah, they now blame COVID-19 for their lack of response. And I am not alone in these complaints, many others seem to be having the same lack of help. Another Chinese product that you can't fix and ends up in the junkyard.

Solar lights for the patio fill with water from the rain and fail in just a few months. Seller acknowledges the problem but then drops contact. Again, what a useless Chinese product and the seller can't compose a readable sentence. I kick myself for wasting money and swear no more junk products from China.

So how are we screwing yourselves with Chinese products? We keep buying them and keeping their economy afloat while our American economy falls further behind. No, the consumer is not totally to blame; manufacturers are greedy and move production offshore to make a bigger profit while decimating jobs at home. Corporations are only based on profits and not the consumer. Yes, there are some companies with stellar service, products and warranties, but they are few and far between. It is difficult to find Made in America goods for the most part. We need to demand more made in America goods and be willing to spend more for quality products. This will bolster our employment and economy here and not in sweat shops overseas.

Buy American!

Defunding the police is a bad idea

Cities are now questioning their current police departments and what steps to take to reduce police violence. Maybe the first thing they need to do is have the community actually respect law and order, rather than adopt the "me,me,me" attitude that the entire world is wrong and they are right. Maybe we need to start making crime not pay, and to actually punish those who break the law rather than reward them with a no bail, cut-em-loose policy. Catch and release works for some fish, allowing them to get bigger and breed. It is not an acceptable manner to deal with criminal behavior.

Defunding means moving dollars away from police departments and in many cases, giving it to social programs alleged to help a marginalized or lower socioeconomic community. This is a really bad idea as time and again we have learned that throwing money into inner city problems does nothing to stem the crime and violence. Several cities including San Francisco are floating the idea that police should not respond to "non-criminal" complaints or scenarios and that will be handled by social service type arbitrators. Imagine a domestic issue that escalates and the arbitrator is going to do what? Talk more? Or now call the police when it spirals out of control? I think we will see many injured civilians in cities that decide to do this. Many situations police face on a daily basis start out as pleasant interfaces and end up being much more. Of course, those suggesting foolish moves have never been a street cop nor had any experience in actual law enforcement activities. Like those non-players who Monday morning quarterback, and condemn the way a football was tossed on Sunday, it's easy to condemn the police for making split second decisions. 

 

My opinion is it's time to not defund the police but to restructure the department from top to bottom. How a department operates should NOT be on political whims nor on reactivity to events, rather by a hierarchy of command that starts with high quality leadership. Too often the command staff is filled with those the current politicians see as supportive and leaning to their cause, rather than to the standards and qualities that make a law enforcement agency a positive factor in city government. Chicago is a prime example where the Mayor throws the police command staff under the bus, and then has yet another head who she then vilifies as a prime reason crime is out of control, while she is pulling the strings to preclude effective policing.

Community policing has failed. The "old days" when everyone knew the cop on the beat is long gone. Now we have officers riding in cars and unable to meet and greet the citizens they protect. What happened to door checks on every business on a beat, where the officer had the phone number to call in the event he found a door unlocked? In my opinion, when that was stopped, it denigrated the value of community policing. Nobody knows the beat cop anymore and the community spirit of mutual respect has died.

Sad to see how times have changed and yes, I'm an old dinosaur, who remembers it as it was...respectful policing and community care.

Protests vs Anarchy

In these most difficult times, we are now faced with a serious action taken against all Americans...protests that have turned into violent actions bordering on anarchy.

It is not bad enough that so many families and businesses have been sorely impacted with the COVID-19 Virus but now we have to deal with the destruction of businesses and public buildings that already are suffering from the economic downturn brought on by the virus.

Those protesting certainly have the right to do so in a peaceful manner and I commend those who do just that...protest against disparity and injustice for any reason. Race, color or creed should have no place in whether anyone receives fair treatment in this country. But when protest become violence and looting, the protests lose traction and become a scourge on the very fabric of our society. When lawlessness supersedes common sense, the message of a protest is drowned out entirely. The focus now becomes on those who defy logic and think violence actually adds credibility to anything. It doesn't. In fact, people who may have been sympathetic to the protests now are enraged at what it has become.

I commend the authorities who have had such restraint in the face of violence. Having had to deal with a riot many years ago, I know the difficulty in being threatened, assaulted and still not responding with force. It is an almost uncontrollable urge to strike back, and only training stops that response action.

What amazes me is how the looters and arsonists target any business at all, and many are businesses that are owned by individuals, many minorities, who have or will lose everything as a result. One man, himself a minority, had just opened his smoke shop the day before the violence, and is now left without a means to feed and clothe his family, all because some idiots decided to loot and burn his business. He did nothing to deserve this...a hard working man who was trying to build a future for his family and better himself. What a sad scenario.

Then we have the elderly couple trying to defend a business who were beaten with 2x4's. Why not leave them alone and move on? And the person who saved for many years, just opened a bar and restaurant, and it was burned to the ground..destroying his future. And even sadder is he was a black man trying to build a better life for himself and his family. I wonder what he thinks of the protests now.

Those who damaged so much will be the same ones looking for handouts and freebies when this is all over. They don't work so looking for work won't be much of a chore for them; many likely live on the public dole or with parents so they have the freedom to be idiots on someone else's dime.

And, when the ravages of COVID-19 comes to these rioters and protesters door, then what? They will want the very society they decry to save them from the disease and possible death. They will want the paramedics and ambulances they are blocking now to respond quickly to assist them or their family. How many will end up on ventilators due to their own actions, failing to adequately distance themselves and protect each other from the virus? Only time will tell. 

2020 has become a year for the annals of history. The virus, huge unemployment, business failures and now the protests and riots. What is next for our country? We can all pray the future is brighter than the immediate past.

COVID-19 and the "New Normal"

It has now been 5 months since the COVID-19 virus impacted our nation and we are no closer to any solution than we were in the beginning. Many mistakes ere made and while we all can "Monday morning quarterback" those mistakes and decisions, this is not something anyone could have been prepared for.

There are conspiracy theorists who believe the Chinese failed to maintain secure control and storage of a virus and it somehow left their laboratory in Wuhan, China. Was it an experiment gone wrong? A deliberate attempt to infect people and see how far the virus would travel? Was it some plot to bring the world to it's knees? After all, China losing a few million people would not make a huge impact on their population. At this point we don't really know; regardless it's something we all have to live with and face many changes.

While so many have self-isolated and sequestered themselves to avoid the virus, many seem to think gathering in crowds unprotected is just fine. Videos and photos of crowds at parties, pools, beaches and bars show the blatant disregard for the health of the general public by many selfish people. Contact with someone who has the virus and may be asymptomatic sets loose a new chain of infection that is exponential in number. One infects five or more who do the same and before you know it, hundreds are infected from only one virus carrier. In one gathering hundreds were infected by only one person who was ill when attending! Those who think they are immune need a reality check; there is absolutely nothing proven on immunity, and frankly, being stupid is not a protective measure!

As summer fast approaches, some believe the virus will die off due to the heat. This is not true as the temperature needed to destroy the virus is way above what a human can withstand. Although UV light can mitigate the virus to some extent, the UV-C rays needed to destroy the virus are so harsh that a human would be a crispy critter in seconds from a blast that would also kill the virus. So, while being in the sun is important for mental health for many, the sunlight won't protect you. What will protect you is washing your hands often, don't touch your face, wear a mask, practice social distancing, and stay healthy. I am not proposing people take any supplements but we take Vitamin D3 daily and so far, so good, and we are part of the population most at risk.

So what will be the "new normal"? I don't know for sure but believe many people will continue to work from home, brick and mortar stores will change how people shop, grocery and goods delivery will boom well into the future, social distancing will continue, gatherings could be limited in size and scope, and people will be limited in hours and schedules for such common things as haircuts, beauty salon, nail salons, and even restaurants. Order on line and pickup at store, or delivery, will be more common; curbside delivery has been perfected by some merchants like Best Buy, so ordering and getting items as large as major appliances is very convenient.

Many businesses will fail, especially those who struggled long before this crisis. Restaurants normally have a terrible failure rate and I believe we could see 40% or more fail within a short time. Service industries will experience losses due to lack of travel and stay at home workers. Some airlines will fail and hotels will operate in the red for years. People will put off major spending and home modernization projects and many homeowners will address home repairs themselves while at home, rather than engaging outside sources. I note more people trimming their lawns themselves recently rather than hire a gardener.

Sadly, I believe there will be many home foreclosures and homes for sale as a result of not being able to pay the mortgages. People who depended on a two earner income have seen, or may see their income fall precipitously and not be able to keep up payments. So many people are "underwater" in their homes, meaning they owe more than the home is worth, they will never be able to recover. Add to this the additional mortgage payments that will become due at some point, whether now or later. High dollar homes with expensive cars in the driveways will go up for sale. I saw this in 2009 and the Mercedes, Jaguars and Audi's in those driveways were replaced by small Honda's and Toyota's after the houses sold. I see many homes for sale in our area over the last few months; some are going to live with family to cut costs I believe. Others are moving to where cost of living is less. Savings, if any, went to simply surviving the first few months of the crisis; many never saved and are now in deep debt and trouble. Renters have been given a break in paying rent but it will come due and then what? Will landlords allow them to renew leases and tack missed payments into future rent, or will they demand it all in full, forcing people to leave their home or business? And if so, what good are empty apartments and leased stores if new lessees are unable to pay the rent and security deposits?

Cities and states, along with the Federal government, are way short in tax collections and revenue. How will they make this up? Increase taxes and fees on those who can pay? Reduce services and cut programs? Welfare and social programs won't be cut so what will? Will the remaining taxpayers take the brunt of funding the shortfall? Will politicians stop wasting tax money and tighten the belt? Sadly, that's unlikely as politicians spend taxpayers money with reckless abandon and then ask for more. The stimulus checks that were received? Someone has to pay for that and it's the taxpayers. The 3 trillion dollar proposal by the Democrats is a crap shoot, with more pork barrel politics where every congressperson got some deal for their district in return for a vote. The logic of giving everyone $2000 a month for a number of months is so faulted, and is intended to create a universal income system where everyone gets a set amount monthly, paid of course by the working taxpayer. Those on welfare and government programs will get more and overburden the taxpayers yet again. Funny how this worked out...someone once suggested every person should stop working for a week to send a message to the government on taxes. Looks like lots more than a week happened due to the virus and look what a mess it has become.

We will weather this as Americans always do.Time to stop blaming Trump or anyone else for the response to this pandemic. As I stated, mistakes were made, but if you want to blame someone, blame the Chinese government. I firmly believe they hid the enormity of this virus, the contagious nature and simply hoped it would go away. It didn't and now we have almost 100,000 Americans who have died because of it. More Americans have died from this virus than were killed in the Vietnam War! Yet there are no protests to distance ourselves from China, only protests to open up the country, mostly by whiners who really don't own businesses and fanned by the twisted media coverage. Yes, we want the country to re-open, but at what cost? Another 100,000 to die?  Selfish reasoning will cost us dearly. But then again, selfishness has become a nasty trait of so many of our newer generations. It is "me too, me too" except when it comes to doing the right thing and helping fight this virus. I suppose asking everyone to do their part in fighting the virus is like asking snowflakes to defend their homeland. Unlike their predecessors, they don't stand for anything except self satisfaction and self indulgence. And that is what will keep this terrible virus circulating and mutating for many years to come.

Where have all the patriots gone?

First of all, I consider myself a patriot. I have a fierce loyalty to America and what it stands for. I respect the flag, respect those who served and have served, respect those first responders who strive every day to protect us in the homeland. Yes, I suppose I do ascribe to the Mom, Apple Pie and America legend.

One of my worries is what will happen should there ever be another World War, or one that directly threatens our homeland. Sure, there are lots of volunteer enlistees in our Armed Forces and they do a great job. But what if we needed millions more men and women? What if the draft were reinstated? Who would step up to defend America? Sadly, the possible answer scares me.

Instead of new barracks to house the inductees, we will be building thousands of "cry rooms" so the snowflakes can cry about the terrible injustice that is being done to them in being required to do something. Of course they won't think that it's because of others who risked, and gave, all so they could be snowflakes. They just can't accept that they are asked to actually be men and women rather than babies who need coddling and soothing of their tender psyches.

Instead of using our military and police wisely, we will be forced to round up all the snowflakes as they melt and physically bring them to boot camp, where they will insist on better cry rooms as the ones that have are too crowded and missing their "necessary" amenities such as WiFi, streaming and their PlayStation. They will bitch and complain that the food doesn't fit their culinary wishes; some will go on hunger strikes because the coffee isn't from Starbucks, and neither Chipotle nor avocado toast is on the menu. They will whine for their leftist college professors to lead them instead of drill sergeants. During training they will huddle in masses thinking of ways to get out of work, never thinking that a collaborative effort will make work easier. Teamwork? Huh? They will defy orders and then be amazed at the discipline meted out. Calling mom and dad at home to ask their lawyer to file suit against the bad people doing this to them. Of course, mom and dad won't respond; they are so damned glad to get 35 year old Junior and 30 year old Missy out of the basement they just moved away with no forwarding address.

Is the above tongue-in-cheek? Sure it is, but how far from the truth is it really? Somehow, people have raised a generation of beings that shirk responsibility and find allegiance to anything important is beyond their comprehension. Sadly, the time will surely come to test what it means to be an American. Will these snowflakes quit melting, freeze into some solid substance and stand up for the country that has given them so much? Or will they just melt down into a puddle like the one in front of a urinal in a gas station restroom? Time will tell.

Patriotism is what saved this country and made us what we are. It wasn't shirkers who fought all the battles that kept us free.People died so anyone can state an opinion, and it can be left, right or in the middle. But, when the chips are down, every man and woman in America needs to be willing to stand up and fight so they continue to have the same freedom to state that opinion. Else, we will end up like so many other countries, where the people thought someone else would fight the fight for them...and they found afterwards there were no more fighters and they were now alone.