Sunday, February 3, 2013

American Sniper Chris Kyle Shot to Death on Texas Gun Range

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“I began teaching my son how to shoot when he was two, starting with the basics of a BB rifle. My theory is that kids get into trouble because of curiosity—if you don’t satisfy it, you’re asking for big problems. If you inform them and carefully instruct them on safety when they’re young, you avoid a lot of the trouble. My son has learned to respect weapons. I’ve always told him, if you want to use a gun, come get me. There’s nothing I like better than shooting.”
~ Chris Kyle, from his book American Sniper

From the New York Times
Mr. Kyle wrote the best-selling book, “American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History,” detailing his 150-plus kills of insurgents from 1999 to 2009.

Mr. Haschel said Erath County deputies responded to a shooting at the Rough Creek Lodge west of Glenn Rose at about 5:30 p.m. Saturday and found the bodies of Mr. Kyle, 38, and a second man, 35-year-old Chad Littlefield. Glenn Rose is about 50 miles southwest of Fort Worth.

The police said Mr. Routh opened fire on the two men at about 3:30 p.m. Saturday, then fled in a Ford pickup truck. At about 8 p.m., Mr. Routh arrived at his home in Lancaster, about 17 miles southeast of Dallas. Police arrested him after a brief pursuit and took him to the Lancaster Police Department.

From the Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram
The suspect, identified as Eddie Ray Routh, 25, was pursued to a house in Lancaster by officers, including a local SWAT team. Routh tried to flee in a vehicle but was stopped about 9 p.m. after spikes were laid across a road, Bryant said.
. . . Witnesses told sheriff's investigators that the gunman opened fire on the two men around 3:30 p.m., then fled in a pickup belonging to one of the victims. Cox said it was Kyle's. The Sheriff's Department didn't get a call until around 6 p.m.

. . . A member of SEAL Team 3, Kyle picked off his targets from rooftops or windows of abandoned buildings during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which toppled Saddam Hussein. Primarily serving as a sniper and wounded twice, he provided "overwatch" protection for Marines and other U.S. troops and earned a reputation for his proficiency.
Most shots ranged from 200 to 1,200 yards. His longest and most remarkable kill -- from 1.2 miles away -- took out an insurgent aiming a rocket launcher at an approaching Army convoy.


From Politico
A news release from Travis Cox, director of FITCO Cares, a nonprofit Kyle helped start, said Kyle served four tours of duty.
“Chris died doing what he filled his heart with passion - serving soldiers struggling with the fight to overcome PTSD,” Cox said in the release. “He will be forever missed.”

From Zap2It
Kyle earned two Silver Stars, five Bronze Stars With Valor and two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement medals.
This past summer, Kyle was one of the "operatives" on the NBC reality show, "Stars Earn Stripes," in which he was paired with actor Dean Cain, who demonstrated an effusive affection and admiration for Kyle.

From USA Today
Kyle was sued by former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura over a claim in the book that Kyle punched Ventura in a bar fight over unpatriotic remarks in 2006. Ventura says that the punch never happened and that the claim defamed him.
Kyle had sought to have Ventura's claims of invasion of privacy and "unjust enrichment" dismissed, saying there was no legal basis for them. A federal judge said the lawsuit should proceed. Both sides were told to be ready for trial by Aug.1.





Interview with Guns.com
(transcribed by snark amendment)

On his Commander-In-Chief, President Obama, and Gun Control

I don't know exactly what he (Obama) was doing, but he's definitely against the Second Amendment, tryin' to ban everything, so uh, you know . . . Good Luck. 'Cause I've talked to a bunch of the cops and some Secret Service guys and they're not going to dare go to anyone's house, especially if they know they have guns. They don't wanna be knockin' on doors. You start puttin' these bans in effect and people who don't know anything about the guns, they start thinkin' 'well, who needs thirty-round magazines.' Really? That's just opening the doors to taking more of our rights. Our founding fathers had the exact same weapons as the military - we don't even have that now.

England is a great example. Australia - they did a gun ban. Their gun violence went down, that's for sure. They're overall crime rate went up. When people aren't afraid because they know everyone, the populace, is unarmed, what's going to deter them from attacking someone, robbing them, or committing a crime? Especially when you're law enforcement in England, unarmed for the most part. So yeah, you look at ...Switzerland - has the lowest crime rate. Everybody has a weapon, 'cause everyone has to do, I think, it's two years in the military. And you keep your rifle and you go home. So everybody's armed. The lowest violence - there's something to it.

On Arming Teachers with Guns

In Texas, the independent school districts can decide themselves if they want guns in schools. It doesn't need the state to say it. It's already said - it's your decision. So my company's already been going in (Kyle is President of Craft International). Depending on how big the school is and how much money they have, we're putting our armed guards in there, or we're hiring off-duty police to put in there . . . the school puts in names of teachers who want to carry, then we do a screening process which is three-sided. Emotional, physical, but we also want your peering eval (?Peer Evaluation?) because you can lie about things but we wanna monitor you. And we want to put you through training. And it's ... we try to let them know you're not a cop, you're not a killer. Most of these people (perps), if they see a gun they're either going to kill themselves or run away. The worst thing ever is for a teacher to have to shoot someone if that teacher's not mentally prepared for living with that.

On Soldiers Coming Back to Society After the War

I was out with a bunch of my former guys and they're all saying they had a hard time getting out too. It's tough. I mean you go from being military to civilian and we let our job identify who we are. It's heroic, it's honorable, and you're doing it for the greater good, and all of a sudden you don't have an identity. You have to learn a whole new way to act because you can't act the same way we do at work out in public. And people think you're a savage or somethin'. So it's hard to get your head around. You do and you adjust, but it takes a while. I've seen a lot of intiatives, people trying to do job training. Vets are given the priority as far as who's being hired first, and who's being on job training to get them read for that job. I think it's awesome.

On Fame

It's strange. It definitely makes you feel good when you got people coming up saying 'Hey, thanks, you really brighten my eyes.' Or 'I was going through the same thing and was glad to know someone else was going through it.' And opening people's eyes as far as look at the families too, it's not just the warriors - it's the families. I can't walk the (Gun) Show because I keep getting stopped by people 'Hey thanks, it's awesome.' I'm glad they're not wantin' to beat me up.

On watching the movie "Zero Dark Thirty"

I've heard from all the team guys that they're refusing to go watch it because it was supposed to be pro-Obama and falsifies some different stuff. But talking to some of the people who have actually seen it, they said it's not that way. ...I don't have much down time. If I do, I'm going to go hunt.

On the Media

I saw one (interview) when I walked in, it was with him (Piers Morgan) and Alex Jones. I'm not an Alex Jones supporter, but as far as his stance on that, I'm 100% in agreement. But he looked like an idiot by blowing up and doing that. (laughs) And he should have handled it a different way and I think his opinion might have resonated a little bit better. (cringes) Just a little . . . over the top.


~~~~~~~



Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and many friends of former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle tonight. Todd and I first met Chris in Pella, Iowa, when he helped out with security for the premiere of the film “The Undefeated.” And later we became friends with Chris when he was on “Stars Earn Stripes” with Todd. Chris was a wonderful man, a good friend, and a true American hero who loved our country and served honorably. He was loved and admired by so many, and he will never be forgotten.
- Todd and Sarah Palin on Facebook



Live by the gun, die by the gun.
~ dustinrorie on YouTube

Still waiting for Obama to come on TV and tell us the country lost a great man today.
Like when he had all the flags lowered when Specter died.)
Still waiting…..
Guess I’ll go brew some coffee…
Guess I could probably grow the plant, roast it, grind it and then brew it…
Still waiting…
~ John1776 on TheBlaze

Guns do not protect you against bullets.
~ xxdr zombiexx on Daily Kos

. . . In the last TWO years 32 former SEALs have died. And more than 100 prominent pro-gun activists have also been killed. Not exactly very subtle. The NRA was arguing JUST DAYS AGO that there was NEVER a shooting at a gun range. And then this happens???? Of course something is up.
America??? This IS your call to arms! It won't get any clearer or plainer or MORE OBVIOUS than this. The mass exterminations have already begun.
~ tvercetti1 on YouTube

If only there had been someone armed and fully trained to stop the lunatic killing these two guys . . . oh wait. This tragedy shows how pathetic the argument the NRA offered to solve gun violence is.
~ 2011Walker on YouTube

Could the government make his planned murder more obvious? Jesus Christ, not subtle at all.
~ brenchtoast44 on YouTube

This guy took delight in blowing out other peoples brains. You live by the sword.......next!
~ VacManCan on Breitbart

It smells like revenge.
~ DianeWE on Breitbart

Indeed its sad, leaving two kids behind, but just wonder how many children are fatherless because of his actions in the Oil Wars, poetic justice?
~ MarkP. on Breitbart

I guarantee you one thing: This story will change several times before it ends. And it has already begun to do so. Different names, completely separate locations, alternate times, and number of victims. I no longer believe a thing I read and have become to think some "characters" are created by special ops complete with a back story for such type of "national tragedies" I was never a conspiracy nut, but am becoming one. If it is true that a fellow vet was slain, God rest his soul.
~ AmericanTruther on Breitbart






























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Friday, February 1, 2013

Chuck Hagel Vs. GOP Senators

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I have one fundamental question that I asked myself on every vote I took, every decision made: Was the policy worthy of the men and women that we were sending into battle and surely to their deaths?
I saw it from the bottom. I saw what happens. I saw the consequences and the suffering and horror of war.
. . . I always ask the question: Is this going to be worth the sacrifice? Because there will be sacrifices.
~ Chuck Hagel, who served his country during Vietnam, and is now nominated for Secretary of Defense

~~~~~~~

Transcript of Chuck Hagel Confirmation Hearing for Secretary of Defense, via WSJ
SEN. MCCAIN: Will you please answer the question? Were you correct or incorrect when you said that the surge would
be the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since Vietnam? Were you correct or incorrect?

MR. HAGEL: My –

SEN. MCCAIN: Yes or no?

MR. HAGEL: My reference to the surge being both dangerous –

SEN. MCCAIN: Are you going to answer the question, Senator Hagel? The question is, were you right or wrong? That’s a
pretty straightforward question.

MR. HAGEL: Well –

SEN. MCCAIN: I will — I would like to answer whether you were right or wrong, and then you are free to elaborate.

MR. HAGEL: Well, I’m not going to give you a yes or no answer on a lot of things today.

SEN. MCCAIN: Well, let the record show that you refused to answer that question.

Now please go ahead.

MR. HAGEL: Well, if you would like me to explain why –

SEN. MCCAIN: Oh, I actually would like an answer. Yes or no.

MR. HAGEL: Well, I’m not going to give you a yes or no.

SEN. MCCAIN: OK.

MR. HAGEL: I think it’s far more complicated than that. As I’ve already said, my answer is I’ll defer that judgment to history.
As to the comment I made about the most dangerous foreign policy decision since Vietnam — was about not just the surge but the overall war of choice going into Iraq. That particular decision that was made on the surge, but more to the point, our war in Iraq, I think was the most fundamentally bad, dangerous decision since Vietnam. Aside from the costs that occurred in this country to blood and treasure, aside what that did to take our focus off of Afghanistan, which in fact was the original and real focus of a national threat to this country — Iraq was not — I always tried to frame all the different issues before I made a decision on anything.
Now just as you said, Senator, we can have differences of opinion.

SEN. MCCAIN: But –

MR. HAGEL: That’s essentially why I took the position I did.

~~~~~~~

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, R-SC: Explain this a bit. You said, ‘The Jewish lobby intimidates a lot of people up here.’ ‘I’m not an Israeli senator; I’m a United States senator.’ ‘This pressure makes us do dumb things at times.’ Name one person in your opinion who’s intimidated by the Israeli lobby.

MR. HAGEL:: Well, uh, first …

SEN. GRAHAM: Name one.

MR. HAGEL: (SHRUGGING) “Uh, I don’t know.”


~~~~~~~


Fluster Chuck
Did anyone tell Chuck Hagel there would be questions?
~ Dave Weigel on Salon

This was maverick on maverick violence.
~ David Corn on MSNBC's Martin Bashir show

It's probably dawning on Sens. who didn't serve w/Hagel that he's just not very bright. Exchange w/McCain unresponsive & bumbling.
~ Brit Hume

. . . all the talk that the senators are shocked about how ill-prepared he is on some of the most basic controversial comments that he made that he and everyone knew were going to be coming at him from the likes of Senator John McCain and Lindsey Graham and others.
Even a Democrat who is on this committee who I spoke to who is supporting Hagel sort of shaking his head in disbelief saying he's surprised that he's not more forceful. And another undecided senator on this committee said that he had three different ways to answer the question on the surge, that he simply got into it on with John McCain.
~ CNN Reporter Dana Bash

The undercaffeinated Hagel was clearly over-rehearsed into a near stupor by his White House handlers. He was hardly impressive. But compared to his inquisitors, he was Churchill.
. . . So what if Hagel opposed the surge? The surge did not “win” the war as McCain would now have us believe; all the surge did was provide the cover that enabled us to pull out of the Iraq fiasco with some dignity intact and to spare Iraq hawks like McCain more humiliation. Hagel’s judgment on that war was far superior to most in his party, including McCain, and superior to that of some Democrats as well (including Hillary Clinton). I don’t agree with Hagel on everything, but I think he’s a good, hardheaded choice to run the Pentagon for Obama.
~ Frank Rich, NY Mag

To put it bluntly, Chuck Hagel did not acquit himself well. He was sluggish, tongue-tied and practically meek in the face of constant badgering by Republicans. He's far from the most dynamic speaker, stammers constantly and appears to agonize over every word he utters. This gave GOP Senators every opportunity to constantly interrupt him with even more leading and obnoxious questions.
. . . after a while, it was hard to figure out if Hagel was the nominee for secretary of defense or "Israel's new bestie", so obsessed were Republican Senators with how Hagel views the US-Israel relationship. It was a demoralizing spectacle.
~ Michael Cohen, Guardian UK

Hagel didn’t help himself with a confused, stumbling appearance yesterday in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Admittedly, the SFRC was infested with what seemed to rabid jackals, extreme-right Republicans like Ted Cruz of Texas and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, along with John McCain of Arizona, still fighting the long-lost Iraq war.
But Hagel, rather than take any of them on, shucked and jived his way through the ordeal. It was the Apology Tour, during which Hagel alternately apologized for having semi-progressive views on issues such as Israel and Iran or, otherwise, denied he had them.
~ Robert Dreyfuss on The Nation























Though I respect Senator Hagel, his record to date demonstrates that he would be a staunch advocate for the continuation of the misguided policies of the president's first term, retreating from America's unique global leadership role and shrinking the military would not make America safer. On the contrary, it would embolden in our enemies, endanger our allies and provide opportunity for nations that do not share our interests to fill a global leadership vacuum we leave behind. It is for these reasons that I believe that he is the wrong person to lead the Pentagon at this perilous and consequential time.
~ Senator James Inhofe, R-Oklahoma, Ranking Member of Armed Services Committee

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

















I'm all for asking Hagel, but I don't think it matters who the secretary of defense is, folks.
Look, I know a lot of people get caught up in this, but Obama is the secretary of defense. Obama is the secretary of commerce. Obama is the secretary of state. These people are the fall guys for when things go wrong. But Obama's running everything here. The reason Chuck Hagel's gonna be secretary of defense is when something goes wrong, he's gonna take the blame for it. He's the fall guy. It's the same thing with Kerry at secretary of state. That's all that's happening here.
. . . Chuck Hagel is being ripped to shreds. Senator McCain ripping him to shreds for his use of the term "the Jewish lobby." Hagel said, "I only said that once in my whole career." But a lot of people are dumping on Hagel. All I need to know, folks, is Marco Rubio just said he's voting against Hagel. So I would, too, then. If Rubio's against Hagel, I'm against Hagel. Ahem. (I'm winking here, folks. Don't tell anybody. This is just between us.) At any rate, Hagel is the placeholder. John Kerry is the placeholder.
~ Rush Limbaugh
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