Rudyard Kipling

Tommy
I went into a public-'ouse to get a pint o' beer,
The publican 'e up an' sez, "We serve no red-coats here."
The girls be'ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I:
O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away";
But it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play,
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
O it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play.


I went into a theatre as sober as could be,
They gave a drunk civilian room, but 'adn't none for me;
They sent me to the gallery or round the music-'alls,
But when it comes to fightin', Lord! they'll shove me in the stalls!
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, wait outside";
But it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide,
The troopship's on the tide, my boys, the troopship's on the tide,
O it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide.


Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap;
An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit.
Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, 'ow's yer soul?"
But it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll,
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll.


We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints,
Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;
While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, fall be'ind",
But it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind,
There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind,
O it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind.


You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all:
We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute!"
But it's "Saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot;
An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;
An' Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool -- you bet that Tommy sees!

I thought it fit also; however, you and I seem to be the only ones that agree looking at how many likes I got on it.

well, it's like their celebrity the cop-killer. . they make
celebrities out of Ché Guevara and the like, gun-
dictators of the first order ... and the analogy just
fits so well. -- j

I will take your word for it. Can't wait to get the guy out of office!!!

Don't worry, I've got plenty of ammo to go around, at least enough for the neighborhood. I finally got my complete collection of at least one each of the small arms I fired in the Nam, including an AK and a Thompson.

No one will be able to take away our guns or our ammo, period. And when I say "period" I'm not lying like some others do. You saw what happened to that latest ridiculous ammo bill, and now they're trying again to do the same thing using another tactic. It won't work, period.

Thanks. The original idea came at a discussion at my CCW class I was attending. In the class is when it occurred to me that the far left were the ones running to the wolves for I know liberals that believe in gun ownership.

perfect analogy! -- j

gun control takes guns out of the Good Folks' hands!!! -- j

probably in "the moon is a harsh mistress," because
as I remember the moon was nearly a penal colony
and virtually everyone traveled armed. -- j

What I am worried about now is that instead of going after our guns they are just going to take away our ammo!!!

Very true!!! Right now, Government is the problem...

This is why for a number of years now I have done ALL of my investing in precious metals... BRASS AND LEAD!!

We shouldn't, you are right. But in "Atlas Shrugged", it was primarily the tactic of telling people they should feel guilty for a basic right that led to state takeover. We've seen it in today's world over being productive and earning money. This is a case where people are rejecting implied guilt and seeing through the tactic to retain their rights.

Why feel guilty about having the means to protect yourself?
Where I live in the Deep South people are proud of their guns.

Here's one just released from today: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2...

Not the best source, but a pretty comprehensive article that seems to have covered its bases well.

What the article fails to address is that Americans more and more are fearful of government and understand what the founders did...that firearms are the only thing between the citizens and tyranny. This is particularly glaring when to look at the picture in the article. That gal there is not addressing criminals but government. The photo does not match the text.

Brings me back to the comment I made recently on the issue of police shootings. I asked if there were enough, enough to perhaps decrease the crime rate.

This article mentions blacks arming themselves against criminals since they are realizing they can protect themselves better than those that simply wait for the police to arrive.

Think about that. We pay police for protecting us, then we jump all over them when their adrenaline gets the best of them while trying to do what we pay them to do. I thank the Almighty that I didn't take that job with the Sheriff's Department after the Nam. My adrenaline couldn't really handle some of those situations they are put in, especially in my younger days. And I know about adrenaline, I remember the experience I got in a far and distant land, a lot more than I want to remember.

I know so many people now that "carry". I was out with one of my closest friends recently, I notice his shirt had gotten hung up on his hand gun that I never knew he carried. We've always talked about guns and such, but I never ever knew he carried. I asked him about it and he said he's carried so long that he never even thinks about it at all. He says is like getting up in the morning and putting on your socks. He then asked me if I carry, and I simply replied, "maybe". I do believe the police 'carry' to protect themselves from the people we pay them to protect.

Greg Gutfeld is a actually a pretty smart man. I really don't see that "they" will ever get our guns. And I hope that "we" don't let "them" put too many restrictions (and taxes) on our right to bear arms. I would hope we would fight to protect that right.

Now there's the core of your Gulch population, right there!

The sheep don't like the sheepdog because it reminds them of the wolf yet when the wolf shows up the sheep run to the sheepdog for protection. Just think of the left as being stupid sheep and run to the wolf. My view on why we have gun control.

Woe!

Here's one I found quickly: http://www.heritage.org/federalbudget/to...
According to them, the top 10% pay nearly 70% of income taxes.

Here's one from 2011 saying that more than half of Americans benefited from some welfare program: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-...

The government's official numbers are here (for welfare along): http://www.statisticbrain.com/welfare-st... They cite 11,400,000 people on welfare and total government spending of $131.9 billion. Quick math says that's a whopping 11,570$ per recipient.

That's just for starters. We haven't even gotten into the big spenders: SS Disability, Medicare, and Medicaid.

One of the other comments that was freaking brilliant was this:

"Go ask Debbie Wasserman-Shultz what she and the Democrats think about your idea. THEN come back and talk to me."

Sounds way too boring. ;) Something like this might lead to peace and prosperity or something! Oh, the humanity! [laments with extreme sarcasm]

I agree. I do not want to see the presence of human fallibility used as a pretext for 'doing nothing' (because corruption is inevitable). It would be interesting to consider a society in which the person best suited to running the government (for x amount of time) was chosen by an overall computer screening process (let's assume the process is relatively honest). What would society be like if, time after boring time, an intelligent, honest and well-intentioned chief executive was selected to run the country? (ie Voting for president might not be the best way to choose one.)

Jan