It’s rare that volumes of Short Bursts come back-to-back, but things are happening that deserve comment. Speaking of comments, thanks to those readers that sent compliments — especially about the fact that two of my recent articles scored number one in their respective categories in the Google News hit-count.

Bravo Senator Frist

When writing a column, there is a temptation to gain a reputation as a “watchdog” by simply “blasting” politicians when they do wrong. But, if one has a conscience, then it is important to also praise politicians when they do right.

I blasted US Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, MD, in Short Bursts: Volume 05-01, for having a policy on border security that falls short of the Constitutional mandate. His idea was “pretty good”, but that was not “good enough”. I like Senator Frist — at least, what I know about him so far. (We’ve never met, although we only live a few miles from each other.) So, blasting him was a reluctant move for me.

Now, it’s time to praise Senator Frist for supporting a bill that puts common sense back into one area of tort-law practice. The bill is called the “Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.” Its goal is to prevent frivolous lawsuits against gun manufacturers. Bravo!

To put things in perspective, here are some points from Senator Frist’s recent VOLPAC message. “Overzealous trial lawyers — the same lawyers who are driving doctors out of the practice of medicine with their frivolous lawsuits — have long had the gun industry in their crosshairs…. The tacit goal, really, is to drive these companies out of business…. Endless lawsuits have been filed...the majority of which are found to be WITHOUT MERIT and dismissed…. Local U.S. firearm manufacturers have already spent $200 million in legal fees to defend themselves against these frivolous lawsuits…. To put that in perspective, that's MORE than the ENTIRE INDUSTRY made in TOTAL PROFITS in 1999…. In many small communities, gun manufacturers are the biggest employer in town. They supply our nation's police officers; they supply our nation's military…. As one chapter of the United Steelworkers of America puts it: ‘We are just one defeat away from bankruptcy….’ Well, we're just NOT going to let overzealous trial lawyers get away with putting one more American out of work…. This common sense measure seeks to end the frivolous lawsuits that are harming the industry. It enjoys the bipartisan support of 61 Senators.... It simply seeks to protect these gun manufacturers when a 3rd party uses a firearm negligently or in a criminal act…. Again...a 3rd party…. Americans can STILL — as a matter of principle — sue gun manufacturers for negligence in producing a firearm ... or for knowingly breaking the law…. We don't solve the problem of crime in America by unjustly targeting the gun industry; we do it by targeting unjust criminals.”

That final sentence of Senator Frist’s comments cemented my support of this legislation. It reminds me of a 1960s bumper sticker, which came out in response to Ralph Nader’s lawsuits against American car manufacturers. The sticker said, “Ban low-performance drivers, not high-performance cars!” The logic of that sticker has inspired me ever since.

Of-course, the anti-gunners are trying to minimize the logic, and maximize the emotion. (What’s new?) Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) claimed that 30,000 Americans die every year from gun injuries. But, how many of those “injuries” are caused by gang members shooting each other? How is that scenario the fault of the gun manufacturers? The real reason that the anti-gun crowd opposes this common-sense legislation is simple: disarmament. Any measure that prevents law-abiding citizens from having access to firearms is one more step toward the Left’s goal of total control. (Remember when Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan proposed a ten-thousand percent tax against certain bullets? The idea was actually gaining momentum, until I called Gordon Liddy’s talk-radio show and suggested an amendment that would also require a ten-thousand percent tax on abortions. Within a day or two of that phone call, the bullet-tax idea disappeared.)

What needs to disappear right now is the wheedling opposition to legislation that could, in a single move, 1) help prevent some of the erosion of our right to keep and bear arms, 2) help stop the voracious tyrannical machinations of the political Left, and 3) help preserve jobs for at least some of our skilled American workers. It’s rare that one piece of legislation can accomplish such broad, yet simple, goals. But, this one can.

Thank you, Senator Frist.

Sham-800

The situation that I described recently in “Flight 800: The Shameful Sham” is continuing. Despite a follow-up article, “Flight 800: ‘Mainstream’ Media Aids Government Cover-Up” , the shameless and relentless cover-up continues. The Washington Post recently published an editorial, “Eliminate This Risk”, which demands that the government put a stop to something that doesn’t exist — the risk of spontaneous explosions of airliner fuel tanks. So, it is now time to introduce a new term to the American lexicon: “Sham-800” .

Sham-800 is the terrible situation where the vast majority of news outlets — which are supposed to be watchdogs against government corruption and abuses — actually help the government abuse its power by ignoring logic and covering up facts. This sort of thing, unfortunately, goes on more than most people realize. The reason that most people don’t know is because the news outlets suppress or distort the very information that the citizens expect them to report truthfully.

Unfortunately, our history is full of examples of the failure (or refusal) of “Mainstream Media” (MSM) to do that for which people depend upon them. How many citizens are aware of the unconstitutionality of the Federal Reserve? Or, the tailspinning of the American economy … when President Franklin Roosevelt took our money off the gold standard in 1933? And, of course, the classic example of MSM collusion with corrupt forces in government: The “Magic Bullet Theory”. For those that don’t remember, our government — via the Warren Commission — actually claimed that a single bullet hit President Kennedy in the back of his neck, blew out part of his brain, bounced off his bones, went through the front seat of the limo, bounced off an upholstery spring on the way, and broke Governor Connolly’s elbow. And, of course, that same commission said that this “magic bullet” was the only shot fired by a lone gunman. Before long, the MSM gave up trying to look for the truth, and merely repeated the government story. (In the days of the Soviet Union, this was called providing “new lies for old”. Such lies were presented in a newspaper named “Pravda”, which means “Truth”. Is America headed to where Russia spent 70 years?)

So, just as we have other simple terms to describe complex and confusing situations, I’m offering “Sham-800” as a simple term to describe an elaborate government effort — with news media collusion — to tell the public that an obvious lie is the truth, and that anyone that disagrees is an idiot or a “conspiracy theorist”. Sham-800 is a way to quickly describe a situation in which “The Delphi Technique” (if you don’t know what that is, then you’re vulnerable to it) is applied to an entire population in a long-term scheme. It’s one thing to apply The Delphi Technique to a person, or a group of people, regarding an isolated incident. But, it is quite another thing to apply that same technique to an incident that was witnessed simultaneously by hundreds of people in three different states, and in which 230 people were instantly killed in an enormous fireball. That is a situation that requires a name of its own: “Sham-800”.

I would much rather that the name didn’t exist, because I’d prefer that the government would tell the truth. But, since that hasn’t happened yet, and since the MSM (another term coined by Mens’ News Daily) has not fought the lie, then some term must exist to describe the situation. And, since such a term must exist, then I can only hope that my idea will “grow legs”, and take its place among the other great phrases to describe bizarre modern situations. For example, there is the American habit of applying the syllable “-gate” after a unique name, to imply a shadowy operation that has come under scrutiny. (It comes from the break-in at the Watergate building, in 1972, during the Nixon Administration. It came to be used in Contra-gate, Travel-gate, and the ultimate irony of Whitewater-gate.) And, of course, there is the phrase “getting Borked”, to describe an unfair — and untrue — character assassination of someone trying to stand up for goodness against an onslaught of evil. (Named for just such an attack upon Judge Robert Bork, when he was nominated for the Supreme Court.) And, a novel gave us its title as a phrase to describe a situation in which two opposite requirements present a person with an impossible decision: “Catch-22”. I wish that none of those phrases had to exist. But, considering that the situations exist, we might as well apply a bit of American-style humor. One of my favorite quotes is from Paul Harvey, who said, “Sometimes, you have to laugh, just to keep from crying.”

Oh, by the way, no wonder that Gordon Liddy refers to the Post as the Washington “Bleep”.

Christian resistance

Around the world, Christians are being persecuted. It manifests itself in a variety of methods and intensities. Sometimes, we are dulled to the brutality by the sheer number of stories. (Josef Stalin said, “One murder is a tragedy. A million murders is a statistic.”) Somehow, this story rose above the others. (If you cannot read the PDF file, then read this short version of “ Three Christian Women on Trial for Allegedly Converting Minors”. I cannot help but be amazed at the contrast between the behavior of the Muslim crowds — calling for the death penalty — and these three Christian women smiling, praying, and calmly answering questions at their trial. I hope never to be put through an ordeal like theirs. But, if I am, then I can only pray that God would enable me to behave with as much dignity as they have shown. Please pray for them, and for all persecuted Christians.

For people that wonder why I write such intense articles — squeezing the oil of Truth from the stones of government lies — my answer is that I truly believe it is my calling from God to do so. Ironically, many people at churches that I’ve attended over the years have shunned me for my truth-based activism. I try not to let it get me down, because the same thing happened to men like Gideon and Jeremiah, among others. If more Christians would risk their comfort to confront lies, I believe there would be a lot fewer lies to confront.

Save That Cave

I’m a history buff, and have long enjoyed the search for “the first domino” in certain situations. So, when I moved to Nashville four years ago, I was fascinated with the story of an explorer that hid in a cave, and how his stay in that cave led to the founding of this beautiful city. Then, while walking a nature trail in a city park, I saw the entrance of the cave on the other side of the river. It sparked an interest.

That interest led me to drive my wife around town one weekend a couple of years ago, trying to find the entrance to Demonbreun’s Cave. Despite being easily seen from a historical marker across the river, the cave’s entrance is quite difficult to find when standing literally on top of it. When we did find it, my wife and I were appalled at the shabby condition of the area. I began doing research, and wanted to start an organization to clean up and restore the cave to a state in which visitors could go inside.

The task proved to be far more daunting that I could have imagined. Chief among the obstacles is the fact that the Cumberland River is a navigable waterway. Large barges go up and down the river every day. (Ingram Barge Company of Nashville has a long family history, which is tied to the history of the growth of America.) Because of its status as a navigable waterway, the river and its immediate surroundings are subject to supervision by the Army Corps of Engineers. Decades ago, there was a boat dock that enabled tourists to float right up to the cave’s entrance. The dock, and the steps leading down to the cave from the road above, have fallen into hazardous disrepair.

As it turns out, various construction code changes have created a situation in which a simple set of stairs to the cave would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to build. The existing steps, made of wood and iron, have rotted and rusted to the point of being a safety threat to anyone trying to use them. And, the wooded area surrounding the steps has been used as both a campground and a dumping ground — with results that are actually disgusting to consider.

I made phone calls to various civic groups, and even tried to start a group myself. But, although I have some talents, I did not have what it takes to muddle through the paperwork and the fundraising to do the job properly. (If I were any good at fundraising, then I would’ve been elected to Congress over ten years ago, and might not have ever moved to Nashville!) My personal nature is such that, if I cannot do the job properly, then I will not go about it half-baked. Thus, the civic group that I wanted to establish — “Save That Cave” — has never gotten off the ground. I’m asking for your help.

Other civic groups have agreed to send volunteers to help with the work. (I even spoke with an official that said he could authorize inmate labor, because it is a civic project.) I have several development concepts (both public and private) in mind. I’ve made a request for the Corps of Engineers to provide me with a list of requirements to make the cave safely and legally accessible. But, all of this takes more legal expertise and money than I have. Would you consider helping?

If you are an attorney in the Nashville area, and are willing to donate your time to set up a not-for-profit corporation, that is my primary need right now. (If you know such a person, please send him the link to this article.) Until we have a list of requirements from the Corps of Engineers, we don’t even really need much money right now. I have experience at building Web sites, but have never operated a Web site that took in money. Although I’m independent by nature, I’m also prudent. I’d rather not learn by mistakes if it involves taking donations from others. So, the other need that I have is someone with the time and talent to become Webmaster for a site that could receive donations for Save That Cave.

If the above factors come to fruition, then I’ll be glad to keep you posted on any future progress. Thanks, in advance, for any help that you can provide.

Tom Kovach