Democrats to register ammo purchases

Support - NRA/ILA

Monday to Democrat legislation has been drafted and put forward that would effectively ban online or mail-order purchases of ammunition in the aftermath of the mass shooting at an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater.

The proposal, crafted by Democratic Senator Frank Lautenberg and Democratic Representative Carolyn McCarthy, aims to restrict the ability of Americans to buy unlimited quantities of ammunition over the Internet, or by mail order, anonymously.

The new legislation, dubbed the Stop Online Ammunition Sales Act, rests on four pillars, according to Lautenberg's office:

1. It requires anyone selling ammunition to be a licensed dealer.

2. It requires ammunition buyers who are not licensed dealers to present photo identification at the time of purchase, effectively banning the online or mail order purchase of ammo by regular civilians.

3. It requires licensed ammunition dealers to maintain records of the sale of ammunition.

4. It requires licensed ammunition dealers to report the sale of more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition to an unlicensed person within any five consecutive business days.

The NRA's official stand is that we have more than enough gun laws on the books already and that the Democrats are soon to draft legislation to ban or confiscate all weapons when there is another shooting.

Gun owners are encouraged to contact their congressman and voice concerns over this ammunition grab the Democrats are forcing upon us.

Obamas 'Hope and Change' should actually be 'Disgrace and Change'

David Barton of Wallbuilders.com has come out with a list explaining why Barack Obama is the most biblically hostile President of all time. While most of these stories have been seen before, seeing them all laid out in one list is pretty astonishing.

1. Acts of Hostility Toward People Of Biblical Faith:

a. April 2008 – Obama speaks disrespectfully of Christians, saying they “cling to guns or religion” and have an “antipathy to people who aren’t like them.”

b. February 2009 – Obama announces plans to revoke conscience protection for health workers who refuse to participate in medical activities that go against their beliefs, and fully implements the plan in February 2011.

c. April 2009 – When speaking at Georgetown University, Obama orders that a monogram symbolizing Jesus’ name be covered when he is making his speech.

d. May 2009 – Obama declines to host services for the National Prayer Day (a day established by federal law) at the White House.
 
 e. April 2009 – In a deliberate act of disrespect, Obama nominated three pro-abortion ambassadors to the Vatican ; of course, the pro-life Vatican rejected all three.

f. October 19, 2010 – Obama begins deliberately omitting the phrase about “the Creator” when quoting the Declaration of Independence – an omission he has made on no less than seven occasions.

g. November 2010 – Obama misquotes the National Motto, saying it is “E pluribus Unum” rather than “In God We Trust” as established by federal law.

h. January 2011 – After a federal law was passed to transfer a WWI Memorial in the Mojave Desert to private ownership, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that the cross in the memorial could continue to stand, but the Obama administration refused to allow the land to be transferred as required by law, and refused to allow the cross to be re-erected as ordered by the Court.


i. February 2011 – Although he filled posts in the State Department, for more than two years Obama did not fill the post of religious freedom ambassador, an official that works against religious persecution across the world; he filled it only after heavy pressure from the public and from Congress.

j. April 2011 – For the first time in American history, Obama urges passage of a non-discrimination law that does not contain hiring protections for religious groups, forcing religious organizations to hire according to federal mandates without regard to the dictates of their own faith, thus eliminating conscience protection in hiring.

k. August 2011 – The Obama administration releases its new health care rules that override religious conscience protections for medical workers in the areas of abortion and contraception.

l. November 2011 – Obama opposes inclusion of President Franklin Roosevelt’s famous D-Day Prayer in the WWII Memorial.

m. November 2011 – Unlike previous presidents, Obama studiously avoids any religious references in his Thanksgiving speech.

n. December 2011 – The Obama administration denigrates other countries’ religious beliefs as an obstacle to radical homosexual rights.

o. January 2012 – The Obama administration argues that the First Amendment provides no protection for churches and synagogues in hiring their pastors and rabbis.

p. February 2012 – The Obama administration forgives student loans in exchange for public service, but announces it will no longer forgive student loans if the public service is related to religion.

2. Acts of Hostility From The Obama-Led Military Toward People Of Biblical Faith:

a. June 2011 – The Department of Veterans Affairs forbids references to God and Jesus during burial ceremonies at Houston National Cemetery ..

b. August 2011 – The Air Force stops teaching the Just War theory to officers in California because the course is taught by chaplains and is based on a philosophy introduced by St. Augustine in the third century AD – a theory long taught by civilized nations across the world (except America).

c. September 2011 – Air Force Chief of Staff prohibits commanders from notifying airmen of programs and services available to them from chaplains.

d. September 2011 – The Army issues guidelines for Walter Reed Medical Center stipulating that “No religious items (i.e. Bibles, reading materials and/or facts) are allowed to be given away or used during a visit.”

e. November 2011 – The Air Force Academy rescinds support for Operation Christmas Child, a program to send holiday gifts to impoverished children across the world, because the program is run by a Christian charity.

f. November 2011 – The Air Force Academy pays $80,000 to add a Stonehenge-like worship center for pagans, druids, witches and Wiccans.

g. February 2012 – The U. S. Military Academy at West Point dis-invites three star Army general and decorated war hero Lieutenant General William G. (“Jerry”) Boykin (retired) from speaking at an event because he is an outspoken Christian.

h. February 2012 – The Air Force removes “God” from the patch of Rapid Capabilities Office (the word on the patch was in Latin: Dei).

i. February 2012 – The Army orders Catholic chaplains not to read a letter to parishioners that their archbishop asked them to read.

3. Acts of Hostility Toward Biblical Values:

a. January 2009 – Obama lifts restrictions on U.S. government funding for groups that provide abortion services or counseling abroad, forcing taxpayers to fund pro-abortion groups that either promote or perform abortions in other nations.

b. January 2009 – President Obama’s nominee for deputy secretary of state asserts that American taxpayers are required to pay for abortions and that limits on abortion funding are unconstitutional.

c. March 2009 – The Obama administration shut out pro-life groups from attending a White House-sponsored health care summit.

d. March 2009 – Obama orders taxpayer funding of embryonic stem cell research.

e. March 2009 – Obama gave $50 million for the UNFPA, the UN population agency that promotes abortion and works closely with Chinese population control officials who use forced abortions and involuntary sterilizations.

f. May 2009 – The White House budget eliminates all funding for abstinence-only education and replaces it with “comprehensive” sexual education, repeatedly proven to increase teen pregnancies and abortions. He continues the deletion in subsequent budgets.

g. May 2009 – Obama officials assemble a terrorism dictionary calling pro-life advocates violent and charging that they use racism in their “criminal” activities.

h. July 2009 – The Obama administration illegally extends federal benefits to same-sex partners of Foreign Service and Executive Branch employees, in direct violation of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

i. September 16, 2009 – The Obama administration appoints as EEOC Commissioner Chai Feldblum, who asserts that society should “not tolerate” any “private beliefs,” including religious beliefs, if they may negatively affect homosexual “equality.”

j. July 2010 – The Obama administration uses federal funds in violation of federal law to get Kenya to change its constitution to include abortion.

k. August 2010 – The Obama administration Cuts funding for 176 abstinence education programs.

l. September 2010 – The Obama administration tells researchers to ignore a judge’s decision striking down federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

m. February 2011 – Obama directs the Justice Department to stop defending the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

n. March 2011 – The Obama administration refuses to investigate videos showing Planned Parenthood helping alleged sex traffickers get abortions for victimized underage girls.

o. July 2011 – Obama allows homosexuals to serve openly in the military, reversing a policy originally instituted by George Washington in March 1778.

p. September 2011 – The Pentagon directs that military chaplains may perform same-sex marriages at military facilities in violation of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

q. October 2011 – The Obama administration eliminates federal grants to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for their extensive programs that aid victims of human trafficking because the Catholic Church is anti-abortion.

4. Acts Of Preferentialism For Islam:

a. May 2009 – While Obama does not host any National Day of Prayer event at the White House, he does host White House Iftar dinners in honor of Ramadan.

b. April 2010 – Christian leader Franklin Graham is dis-invited from the Pentagon’s National Day of Prayer Event because of complaints from the Muslim community.

c. April 2010 – The Obama administration requires rewriting of government documents and a change in administration vocabulary to remove terms that are deemed offensive to Muslims, including jihad, jihadists, terrorists, radical Islamic, etc.

d. August 2010 – Obama speaks with great praise of Islam and condescendingly of Christianity.

e. August 2010 – Obama went to great lengths to speak out on multiple occasions on behalf of building an Islamic mosque at Ground Zero, while at the same time he was silent about a Christian church being denied permission to rebuild at that location.

f. 2010 – While every White House traditionally issues hundreds of official proclamations and statements on numerous occasions, this White House avoids traditional Biblical holidays and events but regularly recognizes major Muslim holidays, as evidenced by its 2010 statements on Ramadan, Eid-ul-Fitr, Hajj, and Eid-ul-Adha.

g. October 2011 – Obama’s Muslim advisers block Middle Eastern Christians’ access to the White House.

h. February 2012 – The Obama administration makes effulgent apologies for Korans being burned by the U. S. military, but when Bibles were burned by the military, numerous reasons were offered why it was the right thing to do.

Many of these actions are literally unprecedented – this is the first time they have happened in four centuries of American history. The hostility of President Obama toward Biblical faith and values is without equal from any previous American president.

Dear Liberty Dispatch

I made the mistake of reading the person you have referred to as “the liberal blogger” and wondered what the deal was with our County Judge and our Sheriff. But now I am back to believing us voters did the right thing when we elected Craig McNair County Judge and now I just wish we could vote against “the liberal blogger”!

That blog must be on a mission to discredit Judge McNair because from what I can tell he never did anything but make our lame duck Sheriff (Henry Patterson) accountable.

It is now being reported that Liberty County Commissioners approved a budget amendment Tuesday that will allow Liberty County Auditor Harold Seay to pay invoices for fuel delivery to the Liberty County Sheriffs Department. But the good news for taxpayers is that $100,000 was taken from the Sheriffs Department capital outlay fund and placed in their fuel fund. Any complaints about the way money has been spent in the LCSO should be directed at Henry Patterson.

It appears to me this County Judge has done the same thing with the private jail company and that he let them hang themselves as he now has complete justification to dump them and give the new Sheriff the jail back. Blaming this County judge for cleaning up the mess the longtime commissioners and judges Fitzgerald and Kirkham created is just more nonsense from “the liberal blogger”. He must be worried Todd Fontenot chickens have come home to roost.

Anonymous please

Fellow Republicans,

I endorsed Stephen Takach on June 25th. I was going to stay out of this Congressional Race and quietly vote for the candidate I thought would best represent our District but after taking a good long look at both candidates, I decided that I would support Stephen Takach. After vetting this candidate as a good family man, a good business man, a conservative, and a Christian, I felt comfortable having made my decision.

Thank God, I made the right choice.

I just received the “Times Free Press” put out by the Stockman Campaign and was appalled to find such blatant lies being told about an innocent man and the award-winning company that he works for.

Anyone who has any investments knows the information in that rag that was sent out doesn’t work. Can you imagine telling your financial advisor to do something with your money and him refusing? Give me a break, anyone that believes this nonsense either does not have any investments or doesn’t realize the control one has over his own money.

I have been a client with Edward Jones for years (Stephen Takach has never been my financial advisor) and I know how these things work. Consider this, Mr. Takach has hundreds of clients, he is ranked in the top 1% of his company, has won numerous awards, is very successful in what he does and has hundreds of satisfied clients. Seems strange that there was just one person, Fleet Capt. Fischesser, that he wouldn’t listen to.

For those of you who are convinced that Stephen Takach is not pro-life and is anti-Second Amendment, please stop and consider what you are being asked to believe. I refuse to believe you are this gullible. Mr. Stockman is used to running against a liberal, Mr. Takach is not a liberal, he is conservative – you can take that to the bank!!! Stockman is using the same arguments that he used against Jack Brooks.

Time and time again, Mr. Takach has stood before our meetings (many times more than Stockman has) and told you he is pro-life (and he has proved this statement in his own life).

Time and time again, Mr. Takach has stood before our meetings (Stockman was here once on the 16th of July) and told you he is for upholding the Second Amendment (he is also a member in good standing of the NRA).

Surely you don’t believe that Mr. Stockman, if elected, is the only man that can keep our guns safe, that he is the only man that can get a tax break for home-schoolers.

But stop and consider this, what about economics? Don’t you want someone who understands how to balance a checkbook, don’t you want someone to represent you who has been successful in his own life, handling his money and hundreds of other peoples successfully?  This is why Stockman has introduced this Fleet Capt. Fischesser into the picture, he wants to get your attention away from his own failures when it comes to finances and get you to believe a lie about his opponent. This reminds me of Obama and the way he has gone after Romney and Bain Capital.

I’ll tell you what I see, I see a LIAR that is out to win no matter what he has to say or do – and this is scary – if he is lying to his base now to get votes, how will you ever be able to believe anything he tells you?

For all those of you who are concerned about “one” issue in this election, whether it is a tax break for home-schoolers* or gun control issues, why do you think that Stockman is the man that can make a difference?

He has a record in the US House of Representatives relating to the bills that were passed during his tenure in office; look up what he did (or didn’t do); it is a matter of record.

My name is Sue Cleveland, and I approve this message.

Colorado shooting suspect a registered "Democrat" and "Occupier"

Fruitcake Murderer

Liberty Dispatch has checked public records and sources related to Colorado shooter James Holmes and found some interesting data. Holmes reputedly killed 12 people, not 14 like was reported locally and injured dozens more.

Holmes has been a Democrat activist almost since the time he could legally vote.  He claimed on multiple blogs he would prove Republicans could get weapons they shouldn't.

Holmes made good on his political threats and appeared to have bought a "well funded" assortment of weapons and explosives.

James Holmes, DOB 12/13/1987- Checking public primary voter records for Holmes shows he has been a registered Democrat from May 10, 2006 in California to June 14, 2011 in Colorado.

The suspect was a college student working on his PhD at Colorado State University and was involved in several government funded psyop and neuroscience programs. Before moving to Colorado, Holmes was involved in the California "occupy movement".

Many more people would have surely died in the massacre had the shooter's cheap Chinese drum magazine for his AR-15 not jammed.

STOCKMAN OR TAKACH?

When there was an opportunity to speak on behalf of a candidate Aubrey Vaughn, the Cleveland man that has formed and currently leads an independent Tea Party group with a handful of members from the tri-county area in north Liberty County rose to speak. He spoke on behalf of Steve Stockman and recommended voters in this community support him in the July 31st run-off. Liberty Dispatch respectfully disagrees and, while we continue to agree with Aubrey mission to rid Cleveland of red light cameras, we are also concerned that this Tea party continues to appear to be at odds on selecting candidates with many local Republicans (including those who identify with the Tea Party movement – an example is Aubrey support for Henry Patterson over Bobby Rader in the sheriff’s race).

Steve Stockman and Steven Takach are the two Republicans left in the run-off. They are both conservatives and both are near identical in their positions on issues. If researched, voters will find neither candidate is likely to be influenced by Washington D.C. to be more liberal. With that said, Liberty Dispatch is mystified as to why Aubrey would be pushing for voters to vote for Stockman. Stockman’s campaign has tried to muddy the voters view of Takach with negative and misleading ads but Steven Takach’s stance on the issues is easy to know and similar to Stockman’s. Stockman has tried to act like he has a superior stance on the second amendment, but he only has a routine endorsement that the NRA gives to an incumbent or someone who has held office before that supports their issue. Takach has the highest rating the NRA gives.

It remains baffling why Aubrey endorses Takach. Candidate Takach is not close personal friends with anyone at Liberty Dispatch, but he is from Liberty County. He lived here for years. He has a great deal of family that still lives here. He has had a strong connection with Liberty County since he was in ninth grade. Steve Stockman has never lived here. He would not even have his name on our ballot except that re-districting left us tied the area he calls home.

There is absolutely no need to say anything more about Stockman. He is a good guy, a Christian, a true conservative, and a patriot. But Liberty Dispatch hopes people realize Takach is no different in any of those areas and he is from here. On top of that, Stephen Takach’s area of expertise is money management and economics. He is exactly what we need to be sending to Congress during these times. Let’s cut through the last minute desperate attempts to get votes and send him up there to work with Ted Poe and company!

Liberty County GOP responds to liberal blog...

Below are excerpts from a story as posted on the Liberty County Republican (GOP) Website concerning comments made by liberal/democrat blogger Allen Youngblood.

For the record: "Liberty Dispatch agrees and supports the Liberty County GOP's position concerning Youngblood's story."

The Link to the story on the GOP website is located at the end of this story.

I-DineOut Gets it Wrong
Jul.17, 2012 in Blog, Local

In the article, “Judge McNair Informs County Employees What to Expect – LIBERTY, July 16, 2012″ , I-DINEOUT stated:

“County Judge Craig McNair in his own Power Point presentation to the audience indicated that from 2007 through 2009 County Government spent less than it’s income and lived well within their means. However, in 2010 and even more so in 2011 County Government spent millions more than their income greatly reducing the county’s fund balance that had taken more than a decade or more to build and create."

It was on January 1, 2010 that County Judge Craig McNair and new first term County Commissioner Charlotte Warner took Office and along with Commissioner Norman Brown became the majority in Commissioners Court."

Secondly, Judge McNair sighted a second reason for the County being in such a financial struggle and that was due to the tremendous amount of borrowing money greatly increasing the debt of the county. According to his presentation the County owes $23,345,275.00 million dollars which if paid on time won’t be paid off until 2028 some 12 years from today.” — i-dineout.com

FACT: The article leaves it to the reader’s imagination as to who is to blame, but implies that Republican Commissioner Warner and County Judge McNair are at fault. The article got it wrong. Republicans did not take office until January of 2011! And, the article failed to mention that these debt obligations were in fact, enacted by the Democrats prior to Republicans taking office! I-DINEOUT also failed to note that these obligations, along with increasing health care expenditures are the reasons for the deficit spending by the current office holders.


-more link-

ALLEN YOUNGBLOOD IS AN IDIOT PART 2

In Part 1 of our series “Allen Youngblood is an Idiot” we pointed out how local liberal bomb thrower Allen Youngblood doesn’t give any credit to the voters. In short, he seems to think the voters are stupid and that recent wholesale changes in elected officials is evidence the county is going backwards instead of making progress. While Youngblood seems to be trying to overcome recent scandals and defeats at the ballot box, the majority of voters in Liberty County have continued to vote for change. As we wrote earlier, while many see this as a hopeful time in our community’s history, Youngblood is steadily spinning out cobwebs of disinformation as his reports tie facts with fiction and include as targets people who are actually doing their job well.

In Part 1, we called readers’ attention to an ongoing and partisan attack by Youngblood on County Judge Craig McNair. While Liberty Dispatch waited patiently for Youngblood and the rest of the local media to point out problems with the very cunning Phil Fitzgerald before federal investigators made the former county judge’s problems impossible to hide, we have watched as the same “reporter” imagines Judge McNair should be blamed for just about everything he can imagine. Youngblood even blames our Honorable Judge Craig McNair for Fitzgerald fiascos’.

Our second example of the kind of distortion Youngblood is peddling is his attacks on Liberty County’s County Clerk, Paulette Williams. He has made several efforts to make her look incompetent. It may be that Youngblood’s attacks on two local Republicans, Judge McNair and Ms. Shivers, are meant to help gain a few local votes for Barack Obama or the few local Democrats running locally. But just as Liberty Dispatch has always welcomed rebuttals concerning elected officials, we are sure our readers will welcome rebuttals concerning Youngblood’s victims.

Though our County Clerk has been graciously quiet, Ms. Shiver’s rebuttal came in many forms the other night. The lies and distortions Youngblood would have this community believe were not mentioned initially as our Liberty County Republican Chairman, Ken Coleman publically praised Paulette for her conservative and wise handling of the election finances and for her leadership in conducting a near perfect primary election. But after the applause died down for Paulette, people were correcting the record, or should I say the falsifications from Youngblood’s blog.

One person in attendance said he knew it was all Youngblood’s usual stuff because one of the people running would have gotten a refund if the story were true. Law enforcement officials said the election wasn’t perfect, but it was the opposite of what Youngblood implied. The hand count made the results only “one” more vote from the changing the results.

Stay tuned for Part III of “Allen Youngblood is an Idiot” and read how he is trying to convince you to vote for his candidate in the next elections.

ALLEN YOUNGBLOOD IS AN IDIOT PART 1

In 2004 Henry Patterson ran against Liberty County Sheriff Greg Arthur in the Democrat’s primary and he lost. In 2008 Patterson once again asked the voters to end Arthur’s reign as the leader of the sheriff’s department, but this time he asked the Republican Party to help him oust the incumbent. Republicans and independents were tired enough of the good ole boy system and the Obama led Democrats that Patterson won easily.

In 2012 the local Republican Party and local true Republican Activist did not make the same mistake Democrats did. Republicans knew Patterson’s ineffectiveness was the subject of many a conversation and many problems in the county. Republican and independent voters were willing to give Patterson a chance, but after three years of performing poorly, rather than defend Patterson, the GOP elected a different sheriff to send as the Republican primary winner to the general election this November. In fact, voters gave Bobby Rader the largest margin of victory by any challenger to an incumbent in any sheriff’s race in the county’s history.

But local liberal bomb thrower Allen Youngblood doesn’t give voters any credit for a process that has led us to perhaps the most hopeful time in our community’s history. Youngblood is steadily spinning out cobwebs of disinformation as he reports the facts mixed with fiction and includes as targets people who are actually doing their job well.

One example of Youngblood’s new method of spewing mud now in the 2012 Republican Liberty County (now that there are many races that do not even have Democrats for him to promote) is his recent and ridiculous attempt to tie our popular conservative county judge to the sheriff Republicans rejected by a large margin in the recent primary. Patterson was soundly defeated without a doubt and "our" Honorable Craig NcNair had nothing to do with Patterson's defeat. Many voters are not surprised at all to hear Patterson is asking for an additional $160,000 for fuel in this budget year. But most of us were not sitting around thinking Patterson’s continued problems should be blamed on anyone but himself. Allen Youngblood seems to think that Patterson’s need for more money to buy fuel is somehow a problem caused by County Judge Craig McNair or even Republican supporters.

Youngblood writes- “The disagreement between Sheriff Patterson and Judge McNair is where to get the funds necessary to fund the need for the additional $160,000.00 for fuel in this budget year.” He implies Judge McNair should have done something about Patterson’s problem earlier. This has become a typical pattern of the putrefied liberal blogging Youngblood uses to try and dog Republicans.

But voters confused by Youngblood’s sniper-like attempts to discredit the people working on improving this county will soon result in at least two obvious facts. One: Youngblood is an idiot. Two: While Youngblood is playing games and trying to influence voters, most of the people he is attacking are doing their jobs well and ignoring his stupid blogging.

Support: TED CRUZ FOR SENATOR

David Dewhurst, I have been a supporter of yours in the past, but it is my intention to vote for your primary opponent in the run-off, Ted Cruz, unless you respond to the following. If you disagree with anything written, honor your commitment to explain your record before Texas voters, not by hiding behind people who are not running for U.S. Senator, but by standing on your own two feet.

• It is a fact that under your leadership, the sanctuary cities bill did not pass into law.

• It is a fact that under your leadership, the TSA groping bill did not pass into law and according to at least one Senator, you personally solicited the help of a Democrat Senator to kill the TSA bill.

• It is a fact that under your leadership, you led the effort to increase spending and the overall state budget grew $72 billion – from $116 billion in 2003-2004 to $188 billion 2010-2011. And while you claim to have “cut” the 2012-2013 budget, it is a fact that you “kicked the can down the road” by utilizing 24 months of revenue for 19 months of services in the most recent budget and consistently utilized accounting tricks, against the wishes of conservative.

• It is a fact that while you blame the “All Funds” budget increase on federal mandates, you repeatedly led the charge to INCREASE federal entitlement spending by arguing that more Texans should be eligible for Medicaid and you used federal stimulus dollars to “balance the budget.”

• It is a fact that in 2007, you stated that you supported a guest worker program “for those here today illegally” Dewhurst: Mr. South Texas Furthermore, after the Houston Chronicle confirmed this fact by providing a web link to the text of your speech on your taxpayer-funded website, that the text of your “Mr. South Texas” speech suddenly disappeared from the website.

• It is a fact that you did support and actively encourage the passage of a “payroll tax” in 2005.

IN WHAT SHAPE WILL THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE START IN 2013?

People that run for public office often adopt the title of “public servant”. Politicians campaign on the idea of public service and try and leave a legacy that indicates to most the honor they are due for their efforts. But oddly enough, one of the most interesting times to test the motivation of a public servant can be when they lose.

For example, look at the previous article on George W. Bush. Bush continues to be committed to Africa and remains almost totally silent as the current President and his dragoons use him as a punching bag and an excuse bank. This work and his behavior after his presidency, is an indication that there is a good chance any fair minded person will look back at George W. Bush and view him as someone who was a patriot.

The 39th President, as poor of an executive as many of us believe he was, also has a post Presidency many indications that he was motivated by the desire to make the world a better place. To many of us, the less Jimmy Carter is involved or comments on foreign affairs the better. But his work with Habitat for Humanity and the sincerity of his convictions have some point to his post Presidency as an example of public service.

In Liberty County we had a District Judge lose in 2010 that decided to take the law books the court relies on when he cleaned his office out. Former District Judge Rusty Hight was never charged and, as far as we know, never even apologized. But Hight severely damaged an already unimpressive legacy by his actions after his landslide defeat.

At the end of May, Henry Patterson set a record by losing his re-election bid by more votes than any incumbent sheriff in the history of Liberty County. Bobby Rader’s victory was huge and after defeating Patterson and Will Cox in the Republican primary, he has no Democrat opponent.

The seven months Patterson serves as a lame duck sheriff will not only effect the department he is responsible for, it will decide his legacy. What kind of shape will he leave the Liberty County Sheriff’s Department in? Will he spend taxpayer money wisely and efficiently and leave the department better equipped than when he took over? Will he show up for work and be an example that carries forward to the next administration? Will he leave records that for future administrations to emulate (how about records, for instance, that show how he has used assets confiscated from criminals)?

The answers to these questions and more will soon be known. And the legacy of this sheriff, like all public officials, will soon be sealed as he leaves office.

The sames questions are being asked about Liberty County DA Mike Little and if his replacement Logan Pickett who has now taken over the running of the DA's office will be an improvement or befall the same "legacy" as Henry Patterson- only time will tell.

GEORGE W., COMPASSION, AND AFRICA

GABORONE, Botswana, July 7 -- Former U.S. President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, announced a $3 million initiative in Botswana to promote cervical cancer detection.

The Bushes just completed a weeklong tour of Africa and though counter to the stereotyping by liberals, Bush continues to be one of the most committed Presidents in our nation’s history to the suffering in Africa. Political pundits have ridiculed the “compassionate conservatism” Bush promoted and they continue to blame Bush for economic troubles that are attached to the 911 terrorists attack and Democrats pushing affordable housing to the point of collapsing the housing market and damaging financial institutions involved with derivatives.

Cervical cancer is the second-most-common cancer in Botswana and the leading cause of cancer deaths for women in the country, experts say.

Also on their Africa trip, the Bushes spent much of their week in Kabwe, Zambia, where they helped renovate a clinic to diagnose and treat women with cervical cancer.

Bush started an initiative as President that initially funded $15 billion worth of anti-retroviral drugs and treatment to extend the lives of millions of Africans with HIV and AIDS.

VOA said Bush's humanitarian work after his presidency has received widespread praise in sub-Saharan Africa, where an estimated 23 million people have HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

WHAT THE FOURTH OF JULY MEANS TO ME

Editor's note: When he was president, Ronald Reagan wrote the following piece for Independence Day in 1981. Aide Michael Deaver later wrote: "This 4th of July message is the President's own words and written initially in his own hand."

For one who was born and grew up in the small towns of the Midwest, there is a special kind of nostalgia about the Fourth of July.

I remember it as a day almost as long-anticipated as Christmas. This was helped along by the appearance in store windows of all kinds of fireworks and colorful posters advertising them with vivid pictures.

No later than the third of July – sometimes earlier – Dad would bring home what he felt he could afford to see go up in smoke and flame. We'd count and recount the number of firecrackers, display pieces and other things and go to bed determined to be up with the sun so as to offer the first, thunderous notice of the Fourth of July.

I'm afraid we didn't give too much thought to the meaning of the day. And, yes, there were tragic accidents to mar it, resulting from careless handling of the fireworks. I'm sure we're better off today with fireworks largely handled by professionals. Yet there was a thrill never to be forgotten in seeing a tin can blown 30 feet in the air by a giant "cracker" – giant meaning it was about 4 inches long. But enough of nostalgia.

Somewhere in our growing up we began to be aware of the meaning of days and with that awareness came the birth of patriotism. July Fourth is the birthday of our nation. I believed as a boy, and believe even more today, that it is the birthday of the greatest nation on earth.

There is a legend about the day of our nation's birth in the little hall in Philadelphia, a day on which debate had raged for hours. The men gathered there were honorable men hard-pressed by a king who had flouted the very laws they were willing to obey. Even so, to sign the Declaration of Independence was such an irretrievable act that the walls resounded with the words "treason, the gallows, the headsman's axe," and the issue remained in doubt.

The legend says that at that point a man rose and spoke. He is described as not a young man, but one who had to summon all his energy for an impassioned plea. He cited the grievances that had brought them to this moment and finally, his voice falling, he said, "They may turn every tree into a gallows, every hole into a grave, and yet the words of that parchment can never die. To the mechanic in the workshop, they will speak hope; to the slave in the mines, freedom. Sign that parchment. Sign if the next moment the noose is around your neck, for that parchment will be the textbook of freedom, the Bible of the rights of man forever."

He fell back exhausted. The 56 delegates, swept up by his eloquence, rushed forward and signed that document destined to be as immortal as a work of man can be. When they turned to thank him for his timely oratory, he was not to be found, nor could any be found who knew who he was or how he had come in or gone out through the locked and guarded doors.

Well, that is the legend. But we do know for certain that 56 men, a little band so unique we have never seen their like since, had pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor. Some gave their lives in the war that followed, most gave their fortunes, and all preserved their sacred honor.

What manner of men were they? Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists, 11 were merchants and tradesmen, and nine were farmers. They were soft-spoken men of means and education; they were not an unwashed rabble. They had achieved security but valued freedom more. Their stories have not been told nearly enough.

John Hart was driven from the side of his desperately ill wife. For more than a year he lived in the forest and in caves before he returned to find his wife dead, his children vanished, his property destroyed. He died of exhaustion and a broken heart.

Carter Braxton of Virginia lost all his ships, sold his home to pay his debts, and died in rags. And so it was with Ellery, Clymer, Hall, Walton, Gwinnett, Rutledge, Morris, Livingston and Middleton. Nelson personally urged Washington to fire on his home and destroy it when it became the headquarters for General Cornwallis. Nelson died bankrupt.

But they sired a nation that grew from sea to shining sea. Five million farms, quiet villages, cities that never sleep, 3 million square miles of forest, field, mountain and desert, 227 million people with a pedigree that includes the bloodlines of all the world. In recent years, however, I've come to think of that day as more than just the birthday of a nation.

It also commemorates the only true philosophical revolution in all history.

Oh, there have been revolutions before and since ours. But those revolutions simply exchanged one set of rules for another. Ours was a revolution that changed the very concept of government.

Let the Fourth of July always be a reminder that here in this land, for the first time, it was decided that man is born with certain God-given rights; that government is only a convenience created and managed by the people, with no powers of its own except those voluntarily granted to it by the people.

We sometimes forget that great truth, and we never should.

Happy Fourth of July. Ronald Reagan President of the United States