If this is a "victory" we have a serious problem

The FBI's investigation and arrest of Christopher Lee Cornell for 'planning to set off pipe bombs then gun down panicked law makers and staff as they fled the US Capitol building' has the makings of a perfect, fairytale "terrorist" arrest. Well, a fairytale it is.

Apparently some our federal law enforcement officials have no interest in going after the real murderers in (organized) radical Islam, so they groom and assist in the creation of a "monster" to parade for public display.

For anyone with an operating brain there are so many problems with Christopher Cornell's "terror plot" it smacks of something designed by a mentally ill person, which Cornell clearly seems to be, or a small child with crayons and a recently painted interior wall.

First, an 'attack on the US Capitol building with pipe bombs and AR-15s.' Really? We can tell Cornell has, one, never been to Washington DC. Otherwise he would know that the publicly accessible areas of the US Capitol building are for tourists. No, not terrorists. Tourists. People on vacation. And, two, his plot is completely void of any tactical logic since the DC metro area, especially surrounding government buildings, is protected by some of the most heavily-armed police in law enforcement.

Members of congress and staffers, myself once the latter, work in office buildings surrounding the Capitol building and move to and from, if smart and don't want to be stopped and asked a million questions by visitors, via tunnels under Congress member offices and the Capitol building itself.

Did the FBI, based on their investigation, have legal authority to arrest Cornell? Of course. Should they have? Of course not. What this kid needed was a visit from a local field office FBI agent and a stern talking to. Or left under investigation, by the FBI, to see if he could make contact with REAL bad guys from radical Islam.

Sadly it seems the FBI knew Cornell was not switched on or sane enough to organize with members of Islamic Jihad and decided to move in for an easy, and very public, arrest via grooming and assisting his “terror” plan.


To the competent, constitutional, and patriotic FBI agents protecting Americans from real Islamic terrorism, thank you! To agents who think arresting Christopher Cornell is a victory in the growing asymmetrical war with militant Islam, you need to reevaluate your motivations. 

France.... has an aircraft carrier? Feel-good “Gun Free” Nations and “Highly-Trained” Terrorists

Many in the American gun community were shocked when France, immediately following the Charlie Hebdo terror attacks, staffed the streets of Paris with French military “armed” with rifles but no ammunition or magazines. 

Equally shameful were seeing French cops in tactical gear "securing the city" with no rifles at all. One wonders if, when French police initially encountered the Islamic gunmen, their service pistols were even loaded. 

The fact that many American gun owners are better armed than most French police officers should come as no surprise. Consider the source. France, like much of Europe, is adversarial toward the sight of firearms, and outright aghast at the idea of personal gun ownership.

So how are these anti-gun philosophies working out for segments of the planet forcibly disarmed by government mandate? Not so well. Especially in Paris, for 17 innocent victims, and thousands dead in Borno Nigeria; a massacre Western media intentionally overlooked.

In reality the “gun free” world is a complete humanitarian disaster, especially in Africa where little to no rule of law is combined with generations of Africans being told guns are "bad" and citizens are “safer” not owning them.

Of course America has its share of active shootings and gun murders, but look where those attacks occur: gun free zones or cities, like Chicago, where guns are strictly regulated if not completely “illegal” (yet everywhere).

Perhaps if more in the American press corps embraced their country's gun heritage we wouldn't hear ridiculous statements about how the Paris gunmen were so “well-trained.” Well trained? What, did they participate in one of ISIL's choreographed “dance” videos before returning to France? 

No, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS...... MessNBC, the Charlie Hebdo attackers were not well-trained. They were sloppy and tactically clumsy. One could not even clear a malfunction with his own rifle. What they were was completely unopposed!

The truth is the Kouachi brothers expected to be killed during their initial assault on Charlie Hebdo because they clearly had no idea what to do with the “time” they had afterward.

In short, the police response to the January, 7 terror attacks in multi-cultural, “gun free” Paris was slow, confused, and extremely inadequate. Hey, aren't you glad Diane Feinstein and her band of disenfranchised kooks didn't get that “assault” weapons ban through two years ago? How would you like to be without your AR or AK in Obama's Jihad-friendly world now?

And, yes, France does have an aircraft carrier. To save face Hollande has it is steaming to help NATO operations in Iraq. The unarmed citizens for France, however, are just as vulnerable and defenseless now as they were on January, 7 2015.

America is a gun culture...

America is a gun culture and should embrace its heritage, notably in this era of increased terrorism and active shooting attacks. A terrorist killed by an armed citizen at the outset of an attack is a terrible recruitment tool for future, would be terrorist. An active shooter shot dead by an armed teacher is a clear disincentive for anyone contemplating an attack on schools. The world has changed. Innocent civilians are more a target than uniformed military or law enforcement.

The pen may be mightier than the sword, but not a bullet. You cannot continue to exercise free speech if you have been killed so doing. In a free society we, as citizens, must become more responsible for our own protection.