What Really Matters in the Gun Debate

February 27, 2013 in Community, Faith with 0 Comments

by Thomas Ryan

How can we reframe the gun debate so we focus on what really matters? A ‘laugh at’ tack that I’ve found very successful with several quite liberal friends is to simply say, “Ya know, trying to curb violence committed with a gun by limiting the number of rounds in the magazine is like trying to curb alcoholism by making the beer can smaller.” The lunacy of the argument becomes self-evident.

[Also, note that I always say ‘violence committed with a gun’ rather than ‘gun violence.’ The issue is violence, whether committed with a gun, a bomb, poison gas, a knife, a baseball bat, bare fists, or whatever may be the weapon of choice.]

Another line of questioning that has had good results is the following: “Legislators have put themselves in the position of deciding for me what I ‘need.’ As in, ‘you don’t need that many rounds’ or ‘you don’t need that kind of gun.’ How do they know what I might need? Since when do legislators like Joe Salazar get to decide what I need? [Always use the word ‘legislator’ and names if possible rather than ‘government’ because it makes it more personal.] What’s next? Will they decide that I don’t ‘need’ my SUV? Will they decide I don’t ‘need’ a house bigger than maybe 1800 sf? Will they decide that I don’t ‘need’ more than two children?”

This often then drives the discussion to the HEART of the matter. People will say, “But it’s about the children. It’s about keeping them safe.” At which point, the argument has now shifted from their terms to MY terms. I simply state, “I ABSOLUTELY agree with you! This should be about protecting our children! That’s what really matters! (Continue Reading)

Are Guns the Problem?

February 15, 2013 in Community with 2 Comments

by Thomas Ryan

Not that long ago (early 1960s), an eight-year-old could open a Sears & Roebuck catalog lying around the house and order a shotgun and a few dozen boxes of shells – and the United States Postal Service would deliver it to his home without even requiring a parent’s signature. At most, the postman might admonish the youngster with a warning of, “You be careful now.”

I certainly am NOT advocating that eight-year-olds be allowed to purchase guns. My point is that guns have been part of American culture since before our founding. In the 1600s (if memory serves correctly), an ordinance was passed in several Massachusetts communities imposing fines of a month’s earnings against individuals who ventured unarmed more than a half-mile from their home. During his presidency, Theodore Roosevelt (certainly no friend of the Constitution) proclaimed that all young men should learn to shoot – and not so they could become better hunters, but so they could defend themselves, their families, and their country. The vast majority of those signing up for military service during WWII already knew how to handle and shoot guns. Since the 1950s, a pickup truck with rifles in a rack mounted in the rear window has been an iconic symbol of American freedom. Guns, including semi-automatic guns, have been around for decades. It has only been in the last 25 years (and especially the last 10 years) that major acts of violence – some committed with guns – have escalated. There has always been street crime involving guns, knives, and other weapons. But only recently have major acts of violence (Continue Reading)

Rudeness, Disrespect, and Lies – The Core of the Obama/Biden Campaign

October 12, 2012 in Community, Faith, Your Pocketbook with 1 Comment

by Thomas Ryan

At one point during last night’s vice-presidential debate, Martha Raddatz questioned both candidates on the overwhelmingly negative tone of the campaign. Rep. Ryan could simply have responded,

“Martha, you need look no further than the rudeness, the disrespect, and the condescension the vice-president of the United States has shown this evening not just toward me, but toward all of the American people. His derisive laughter, his constant interrupting are not ‘debate tactics.’ They expose the contempt Mr. Biden has for me and for Governor Romney. His behavior further exposes the contempt he has for the American people who are eager to hear about the substantive differences between our policies. And you know, Martha, the vice-president also shows disrespect and condescension toward the American people when he looks directly into the camera and patently and blatantly lies about the tragedy in Benghazi, his own voting record on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and even his administration’s cooked unemployment numbers.

Earlier today, in sworn testimony, intelligence officials carefully explained that they informed Obama and Biden’s administration within 24 hours of the Benghazi attack that this was a direct terrorist act against the United States. Yet Mr. Biden claims it was the intelligence community that lied to them, claiming it was a “spontaneous demonstration” triggered by a movie trailer. It couldn’t possibly be that his administration wanted to cover up the fact that Al Qaeda is alive, well, and increasing in reach and influence throughout Northern Africa, the Middle East, and Indonesia during the past four years of his adminstration’s foreign policy.

And Martha, the documented paper trail clearly contains repeated requests for additional security for our ambassador and the American detachment in Benghazi; requests that were directly and repeatedly ignored by Obama and Biden’s State Department. In fact, security was significantly decreased over the last few months leading up to the anniversary of 9-11 in one of the hot-bed areas of the world. Yet Mr. Biden claims “we didn’t know.” Mr. Biden also claims that he voted against both the war in Afghanistan and the war in Iraq. Yet the Senate record clearly shows that he, in fact, voted in favor of both actions.

And what American living in the real world and not some tweaked politically-influenced financial model believes that the American economy grew in September at the fastest rate in over thirty years? Yet, Mr. Biden looks directly in the camera and claims, “Unemployment is going down. The economy is going in the right direction.” Martha, as I said earlier, fewer jobs were created in September than in August, and fewer jobs were created in August than July. The overall economy is growing slower this year than last year; and last year was slower than the year before. These numbers clearly show that we are NOT moving in the right direction. But Americans need only look at their friends and neighbors, at their communities and their congregations, and even at their own paychecks to know that we are not moving in the right direction. To claim otherwise is an insult.

Now Martha, we can, and do, have valid disagreements over how much control the government should have over our lives; whether as President Obama and Mr. Biden believe, we serve the government or whether as Governor Romney and I believe, the government is there to protect and serve all Americans. We can disagree on whether its right for government to violate personal property rights to rob from Peter to give to Paul…as long as Paul is a campaign donor or belongs to the right voting constituency. We can disagree on whether as President Obama and Mr. Biden believe, poverty is merely a problem of not having enough money or whether as Governor Romney and I believe, poverty is a problem of spirit and that the wholeness of the person must be considered in any valid proposal to help America’s poor. Martha, I’ve been broke many times but I’ve never been poor. We can disagree regarding moral and ethical ways to care for the sick and the elderly. But Mr. Biden’s rudeness, disrespect, and lies do not further this debate. They expose the shallowness of President Obama and Mr. Biden through their efforts to distract American’s from the critically important decision we, as a country, face this November.

Martha, my prayer is for this country. My prayer is for all Americans. And my prayer is for President Obama and Mr. Biden. That all of us can come together. That all of us will clearly examine the choices before us. And that all of us will choose to turn our backs on rudeness, disrespect, and lies, and instead embrace and respect the dignity and honor of every American and give every American the opportunity to make of themselves whatever they, with faith in and guidance from their creator, choose.”

As a Monday-morning-quarterback, that is what I wish Rep. Ryan would have said. But then again, maybe not. During the debate, Rep. Ryan upheld his Catholic, mid-western values. Rep. Ryan treated Mr. Biden with respect, even in the face of blatant rudeness. On substance, I believe Rep. Ryan won the debate. As for Mr. Biden, perhaps he should go back to Parochial school and have the nuns slap a ruler on his knuckles until he learns to treat people with respect. His behavior last night was an insult to all Catholics, and to all Christians, when he claimed, “My faith informs who I am.” His actions last night were anything but Christian.

© 2012 Thomas Ryan

A Contradiction Worth Noting – Part 2

October 2, 2012 in Community with 0 Comments

by Thomas Ryan

A campaign ad for Democrat Ed Perlmutter (running in Colorado’s 7th Congressional District) berates his Republican rival, Joe Coors; claiming that Coors outsourced manufacturing jobs during Coors’ tenure at CoorsTek. The ad features a manufacturing facility and a distribution warehouse backdrop as Perlmutter talks about employing Colorado workers to make American products.

Only one problem.

A forklift featured prominently in the ad is manufactured by Hyster – a manufacturer founded in the Pacific Northwest, that long ago realized the benefits gained from global operations. Hyster maintains manufacturing facilities in the US, Mexico, Brazil, China, Japan, Australia, Ireland, The Netherlands, and Italy. Talk about outsourcing!

Perlmutter may actually believe the xenophobic, protectionist, us-versus-them rhetoric of his campaign; but if he does and he makes it to Washington, his efforts will penalize Americans and lower our standard of living. In any event, his campaign ought to at least be consistent and use only American-designed, American-fabricated, and American-assembled forklifts. Oh wait, none exist.

© 2012 Thomas Ryan

Words Change Minds – Progressive Misdirection

September 26, 2012 in Community, Faith, Your Pocketbook with 1 Comment

by Thomas Ryan

This is Part 4 in the Words Change Minds series that highlights words used by Conservatives that shape our thinking in ineffective ways and hinder our efforts to change minds. The series also exposes words Progressives use to hide their true intentions and misdirect Americans.

(This post was suggested by a subscriber’s comment to Part 1 of this series.)

Progressive Misdirection

Progressives refer to the poor as ‘less fortunate‘ or ‘disadvantaged, while successful individuals are referred to as ‘more fortunate.’ The use of these labels is specific and deliberate. ‘Fortunate‘ implies that luck is a major player in whether an individual is successful; as in “She was fortunate to have been in the right place at the right time” or “Some people get all the breaks.” Advantage implies that external benefactors are responsible for an individual’s success; as in “He was given every advantage in life.” Both of these terms align closely with the Obama campaign’s belief that “you didn’t build that!” The successful individual is merely a bystander (Continue Reading)

Words Change Minds – Darn Those Democratics

September 24, 2012 in Community with 0 Comments

by Thomas Ryan

This is Part 3 in the Words Change Minds series that highlights words used by Conservatives that shape our thinking in ineffective ways and hinder our efforts to change minds. The series also exposes words Progressives use to hide their true intentions and misdirect Americans.

Darn Those Democratics

It’s been a couple weeks since the Democrat convention in North Carolina…or should I say, the Democratic convention. Darn those Democratics. They’re at it again; usurping words that have a positive-sounding vibe to mislead Americans.

A Republican is an individual. A group of Republicans make up the Republican party. A Democrat is an individual. A group of Democrats make up the Democrat party. It is not the Democratic party any more than it is the Republic party. The Democrats held a Democrat convention, just as the Republicans held a Republican convention.

But in 2005, the George Soros-backed Democracy Alliance (a group of almost 100 millionaires and billionaires (Continue Reading)

A Contradiction Worth Noting

September 23, 2012 in Community, Faith, Your Pocketbook with 1 Comment

by Thomas Ryan

Over on Cafe Hayek, Don Boudreaux posts the following:

It’s an immensely curious fact about modern “Progressives” that they dismiss as intellectually handicapped or hopelessly superstitious (or both) those who deny the full reality and role of undesigned, evolved order in the non-human world (especially in the realms of biology, geology, and astronomy), but regard as enlightened and indisputably correct those those who deny the full reality and role of undesigned, evolved order in society.

A contradiction worth noting…

© 2012 Thomas Ryan

Words Change Minds – Conservative Pitfalls

September 22, 2012 in Community, Faith, Your Pocketbook with 2 Comments

by Thomas Ryan

In Part 2 of this series, once again I highlight words that conservatives use that do not help in our efforts to change minds – both because of the immediate negative reaction triggered by certain words and because of how words shape our own thoughts. For example, in Part 1, I discussed the importance of talking ‘with’ people instead of talking ‘to’ people.

Conservative Pitfalls

Starting with our own frame-of-reference, think how often we use the words ‘right’ and ‘wrong.’ Frequently I hear friends complain, “They’re just wrong” or “I know I’m right, but I can’t seem to get through to my co-worker.” And even if we don’t explicitly say the words ‘right’ and ‘wrong,’ we often are thinking that we are right and Progressives are wrong. But stop for a moment and think about how you react when someone tries to tell you that you’re wrong and they’re right. For just about everyone, the reaction is immediate and very defensive. Listening shuts down (on both sides) and the opportunity for genuine discussion is lost. (Continue Reading)

Words Change Minds – Part 1

September 3, 2012 in Community, Faith, Your Pocketbook with 6 Comments

by Thomas Ryan

During recent presentations to various liberty groups, I have emphasized the importance of words; the words we use to communicate our ideas and beliefs and more importantly, the words that shape our thoughts. Words used to communicate can make the difference between changing minds or alienating a friend or co-worker. More subtle is recognizing that our own vague ideas, feelings, and beliefs actually take shape and become tangible and consciously known to us when they are expressed in words. Many bloggers and writers of all kinds comment that writing helps to clarify their thinking. We feel pre-cognitively. We think in words. That is why words are critical!

Starting with this post and continuing over the next few weeks, I will be posting thoughts on various words that we should actively work to inculcate into our vocabulary and words that we should avoid. Whenever I suggest a word to avoid, I will suggest a substitute. Some substitutions are designed to improve our communication. Others are designed to shift our thinking.

Similarly, I will highlight words that are used by Progressives as misdirection. Because words often are associated with positive or negative feelings from our own direct experience, Progressives have come up with a playbook of word-substitution rules to ensure their discussions invoke only positive feelings.
For Progressives, it’s about manipulation. That is not my intent. My intent is to improve genuine communication.
(Continue Reading)

Helping Patriots Change Minds

August 16, 2012 in Community with 1 Comment

by Thomas Ryan

Later this month on the evening of August 27th, I’ll be speaking at the 285 Corridor Tea Party meeting at the Mountain Resource Center in Connifer. In keeping with the mission of BarbequeLogic, the focus is on helping everyone who believes in individual liberty and personal responsibility to better share their beliefs in ways that build advocates rather than entrench enemies.

As I finalize the talking points for my presentation, I will be posting a series of blogs that – rather than reflect current headlines – address broader themes that are foundational to the cause of liberty; topics such as “Why Limiting Government Is Critical”, “What Has Happened to American Manufacturing”, “Why Focusing on Jobs is Dangerous”, and “Will Green Energy Reduce Our Dependence on Foreign Oil?”

Stay tuned!

© 2012 Thomas Ryan

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