Why is Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA8) Constantly Acting to the Detriment of His Constituents? IS IT PAST TIME FOR HIM TO GO?

Don Beyer (D-VA8) is my US Congressman and he represents the Virginia Congressional District closest to Washington, DC, our Nation’s Capital and the home of the Pentagon.  The number of causes championed by Beyer detrimental to his constituents are too numerous to chronicle here but the two that most irritate me are:

> His untiring support for DC Statehood with it disastrous tax implications for residents of Virginia and Maryland, especially voters in his district that are so unfortunate as to have to work in the District. Most VA-8 residents would be in the 8.5% DC Tax Bracket although some would hit the 9.5% one.

> His persistent fraternization with and support for the notorious traitor “Hanoi Jane” Fonda including her constant shenanigans that snarl DC Traffic and inconvenience his constituents. Also, just the embarrassment of being constantly photographed with someone that is a “slap in the face” of all Veterans, especially those of us that had the privilege of serving in Vietnam.

Now let’s look at each of these issues in depth:

Support for DC Statehood.  Beyer Co-sponsored H.R. 317,  New Columbia Admission Act 15_H317 on Jan 13, 2015 - Statehood for the District of Columbia, which “Sets forth procedures for admission into the United States of the state of New Columbia.”

The first thing a new state of New Columbia would do is impose a Commuter Tax on Virginia and Maryland residents unlucky enough to have to work in DC. As I mentioned before, because the 8.5% DC Tax Bracket begins at $60,000 a year, most of Beyer’s constituents would fall in that bracket although several would be in the 9.5% bracket.

Currently the District of Columbia’s government doesn’t have the authority to attack the liberty of people who are not citizens of the District through an income tax. In fact, in and of itself, the D.C. government has no authority to do anything. It has only what authority Congress grants it. And Congress has specifically barred the District from taxing its neighbors.  The Home Rule Act (1973) prohibits DC from levying a commuter Tax, a provision added at the insistence of local congressmen of BOTH parties from Maryland and Virginia and accepted as part of the compromise necessary to pass the Act.

In 2004 DC went to Court seeking to interject its authority into the tax policy of its neighbors and levy an income tax on the citizens of Virginia and Maryland who happen to work each day in the District. A federal judge heard initial arguments in the District’s suit seeking to declare the law barring a DC commuter tax unconstitutional arguing that Congress is limiting the rights of DC residents by barring a commuter tax. The District also contended that its citizens’ rights were violated because the District has no vote in Congress, and thus, no way to make the citizens’ voice heard on the issue.

In their responses, the federal government and Attorneys General from BOTH Maryland and Virginia hit on a number of key points. For example, they pointed out that the District is not a state, and doesn’t have the same rights as states. They also argued that commuters already pay sufficient taxes to the District through sales, meals, and other levies, to cover the services that they utilize during their days at work, and they shouldn’t have to pay for services that they won’t ever be able use as non-residents.  Finally, they pointed out that Article I Section 8. US Constitution states: “Congress shall have power …. To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States …” Hence, it would take a Constitutional Amendment for DC Statehood, something that will NEVER happen.

Fortunately, the judge ruled that the DC arguments, while creative, were also (borrowing an expression from Joe Biden I’m sure) “a bunch of malarkey.”

Fraternization with the NotoriousTraitor “Hanoi Jane” Fonda.  Beyer constantly associates with and routinely has his picture taken with “Hanoi Jane” – the Infamous Traitor who proudly posed on a North Vietnamese Anti-Aircraft Gun used to shoot down American Airmen during her trip to North Vietnam supporting our enemy in that War. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that she actually engaged a few “targets” while she was there.  In these pictures that are also viral on the Internet it certainly looks like she was having such a terrific time atop that AA Gun!

Beyer’s District is home to the Pentagon, the headquarters for the entire US Military, and has one of the highest percentages of Active Duty and Retired Military, and Veterans in the Nation but that doesn’t deter Beyer from his BFF status with “Hanoi Jane.”  To say she is vilified by almost all Veterans would be an understatement.  Although apologists say she has apologized for being photographed on that anti-aircraft gun and point to her 1988 Barbara Walters interview where “Hanoi Jane” expressed regret for some of her comments and actions as proof of her remorse, that’s not the full story.  True, in that interview she did state: “I would like to say something, not just to Vietnam veterans in New England, but to men who were in Vietnam, who I hurt, or whose pain I caused to deepen because of things that I said or did…. I want to apologize to them and their families. ... I will go to my grave regretting the photograph of me in an anti-aircraft gun, which looks like I was trying to shoot at American planes. It hurt so many soldiers. It galvanized such hostility. It was the most horrible thing I could possibly have done. It was just thoughtless.”

Of course what is always left unsaid is what prompted this insincere “apology” was she was shooting a film in New England at the time and it was being disrupted by Vietnam Vets protesting her presence. The production delays were costing her big bucks and she issued that insincere apology in an effort to quell the Veteran riots that were disrupting her shooting and almost driving her into bankruptcy.  Now knowing this piece of omitted information, you can judge for yourself how sincere her “apology” was.

Now how have “Hanoi Jane’s” recent antics affected Beyer’s VA-8 constituents? On Friday, 20 December 2019, “Hanoi Jane” was arrested here in DC for the fifth time in the past three months during a demonstration over global warming, something has she has done every Friday in Washington since early October.  At least this time she was nabbed inside the Hart Senate Office Building so she was only inconveniencing politicians. Earlier in the month on 5 December her antics managed to snarl traffic all over the city as she led a rolling protest that meandered through downtown Washington for more than seven hours including the morning rush.  “Hanoi Jane” and her gaggle of followers blocked major intersections with bodies and banners, sending cars and buses down winding, alternate routes. Outside some Washington offices she and her protesters chained themselves to doors blocking all entrances and exits. Despite hours of disruptions and tense moments between her protesters and DC police, officials were too intimidated by her coziness with politicians like Beyer that they didn’t make a single arrest.  Appears disrupting traffic and making his Virginia constituents late to work doesn’t trouble Beyer in the least.

Global warming is a worthy cause

but “Hanoi Jane” Fonda is the wrong face for the movement. Veterans will never forgive her for those picture of her laughing and smiling as she was manning that North Vietnamese antiaircraft battery used to shoot down and kill American pilots. What’s even more galling is my Congressman Don Beyer is constantly appearing with her and having his picture taken with this traitor. As recently as this past October Beyer he even had her as his “special guest” at a Women’s Forum he sponsored at George Mason University and he appeared on stage at the event with her praising her “activism” including her deplorable traitorous antics in North Vietnam.

Beyer even being in company of “Hanoi Jane” let alone praising her is a slap in the face of all Vets and especially those of us that were sent by our Nation to fight the Vietnam War. I realize Beyer reached draft age at the height of that war but managed to dodge the draft but that doesn’t give him a pass from those of us that did answer our Nation’s call. I would urge all voters in Beyer’s Virginia Congressional District to contact him and voice displeasure at his association with a traitor like “Hanoi Jane.”

I hope ALL Virginia 8th District Voters, but especially Veterans, are disgusted by Don Beyer’s deplorable association with “Hanoi Jane” Fonda and I encourage every VA-8 Constituent to contact his Congressional Office by either email at:   RepDonBeyer@mail.house.gov  or by filling out an online message at: https://beyer.house.gov/contact/  to voice displeasure at Congressman Beyer having the audacity to appear with a traitor like “Hanoi Jane.”

MAYBE IT’S ABOUT TIME WE VOTE THIS “POLITICIAN” THAT ASSOCIATES WITH TRAITORS OUT OF OFFICE AND REPLACE HIM WITH A GENUINE LOYAL AMERICAN.

Let’s Turn “Nose Picking in Public” into a “White Power” Hand Gesture and Rid the World of a Disgusting Habit!

The Washington Post published no less than eight (8) nasty anti-Military articles accusing West Point Cadets and Naval Academy Midshipmen making the “OK” hand signal during the 14 December 2019, Army-Navy Football Game of instead flashing a “white power” sign. This 14 Dec WaPo article: “Naval Academy probes possible ‘white power’ gesture at game" is representative of the kind of dishonest Military sliming the WaPo engaged in.

It wasn’t until 20 Dec 2019 that the WaPo had to finally come clean with this article: “West Point cadets and Navy midshipmen were playing the ‘circle game,’ not making a racist gesture, investigators say." Then it appears it all went away … but not before the WaPo got to have its fill of ridiculing those of us that serve the Nation! I would only point out that, if the Cadets and Midshipmen were making a racist hand gesture, these pictured show they were in good company.

Now, I’d like put his “racist hand signal” phenomenon to some good by starting the rumor that “sticking one’s finger up one’s nose” is a “white power” sign. At least this might have the serendipitous benefit of elimination the disgusting practice of nose picking in public. I’m confident the WaPo could go through their archives and find a picture of many politicians of both parties “picking their nose” so they could label all of them White Nationalist. It would be as honest as what the WaPo did to these innocent USMA and USNA students (or even what they did to “The Covington Kid” Sandmann) but this time they would be “serving the public good” by ridding the World of this disgusting habit.

I’m confident The Washington Post could pull this hoax off with a straight face because as their new Tag Line declares:  Democracy Dies in Darkness and the WaPo is Turning Out the Lights.

VIRGINIA CONGRESSMAN DON BEYER INVITES "HANOI JANE" FONDA TO HIS DISTRICT - HOME OF THE PENTAGON!

Serious Gun Law Fixes Demand Serious Discussion by Serious People

Unfortunately, that leaves out the Washington Post (WaPo) and ALL the Democrat Presidential Candidates!

Passing laws dealing with gun “cosmetics” rather than “ballistic characteristics” is stupid so as soon as I hear a politician or reporter use the terms “assault rifle” or “military style” I immediately dismiss them as clueless. The term “assault rifle” or “assault weapon” does NOT currently appear anywhere in Federal statutes. We need a serious discussion of the issues by people that actually know what they’re talking about but all I hear from people that couldn’t pick the AR-15 out in a line up with Nerf guns is we need "common sense gun laws." To help educate these people I have put together this graphic so they can identify the different types of weapons.

Seems Politicians and reporters that keep demanding gun legislation never seem to be able to suggest many "common sense" Laws and the WaPo is no exception. I’m all in favor of universal background checks, keeping guns out of the hands of convicted felons and people who have received less than honorable discharges from the Military, and “Red Flag” Law. I’m also for limiting magazine size to 15 rounds although a trained shooter can change magazines in a fraction of a second. Unfortunately, most of the mass shootings would not have been prevented by a background check as the shooters didn’t have anything recorded that would have stopped them from legally buying a gun.

How about we start by fixing the major flaw in the Background Checks system by making states report data and require the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) be checked BEFORE ALL gun sales.The Fix NICS Act of 2017 was supposed to remedy the holes in the background system but it is still deficient because its provisions only “incentivized” states to register people but it is still not mandatory.

Presently over half the States do not populate the NICS with State criminal or mental health information. Unfortunately, the fix may be difficult. Using the same argument California is using to defend their Sanctuary State Laws protecting illegal aliens from ICE Agents, it may be impossible to force States to enter data into the NICS to keep people with disqualifying criminal or mental conditions from purchasing a firearm.

Next, maybe we should be writing laws that address acceptable weapons and ammunition ballistic characteristics rather than using such meaningless terms as “military style” and “assault rifles.” It would probably surprise most anti-gun zealots to learn that if I were to saw the pistol grip and flash suppressor off a semiautomatic AR-15 it would not fit the definition of an “assault rifle” contained in any State or proposed Federal statute yet the lethality of the weapon would be unchanged.  It’s like passing “cosmetic” laws banning two door cars because they look sporty so people that drive them may be inclined to speed. When NY state passed the SAFE Act shortly after Sandy Hook, it basically outlawed AR-15 style rifles yet within a week manufactures were selling a work around that was the same basic gun missing a couple features like the pistol grip.

I would add the true Military definition of an “Assault Rifle” is “a selective-fire rifle (capability to be adjusted to fire in semi-automatic, burst mode, and/or fully automatic firing mode) that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine.”  Hence, Military “Assault Rifles” have been strictly regulated since passage of the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934. This federal law regulates fully automatic weapons, suppressors, short-barreled rifles and shotguns and was subsequently modified in 1968 by the Gun Control Act and in 1986 by the Firearm Owners Protection Act.  NFA items are highly regulated and a special license from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) is required to manufacture, sell, and own any of these items, without exception.

One final piece of educational material for the WaPo, Military Style semi-automatic Assault Rifles are not the major problem as the vast majority of firearm deaths are caused by handguns. Also, in fact Assault Rifles are LESS Lethal than the standard hunting rifle.  The .223 round fired by the AR-15 (the single shot civilian equivalent of the M-4/M16) is less lethal than the .308 Winchester which is the standard round used in hunting rifles.  The .308 is very similar to the military 7.62x51 NATO cartridge fired by the M-14 rifle and M-60 Machine Gun, but the .308 is loaded to higher pressures.  In Vietnam I’ve seen enemies hit with both the .223 (5.56mm) M-16 round and the 7.62 fired by both the M-240/M-60 and the M-14 and given the choice I’d much prefer to be hit by the smaller and less powerful .223 every time.  Seems those who have never served don’t know this.
 

As for those that advocate requiring insurance to exercise their Constitutionally protected Second Amendment right to possess firearms, to be consistent they must also support requiring insurance to exercise their First Amendment right of “freedom of speech.” Don’t they also need to be “Protected” in the event they or a fellow citizen were to liable or slander them? Maybe Congress should just pass a companion act to Obamacare requiring every American to carry personal liability insurance to cover every possible transgression, real or perceived. Just taking this ridiculous "gun insurance" proposal to its illogical conclusion.

In conclusion, I support the US Constitution and the Second Amendment that guarantees every citizen the right to own a firearm for self-protection. Ask any citizen who has been directed by law enforcement to “shelter in place” because a crazed killer was loose in their neighborhood and if they answer honestly, they will confess they wished they had had a firearm. But I also agree there are some limits such as the ban on automatic weapons and high capacity magazines that should be enacted but law abiding citizens should never be deprived of their Constitutionally protected right to possess a fire arm for self-protection; otherwise, only criminals that don’t abide by laws anyway will have guns and the rest of us will be classified as “their victims.”

Serious fixes demand serious discussion by serious people. Unfortunately, knowledgeable serious people are few and far between and certainly don’t include anyone at the Washington Post, New York Times or most of the media and very few in the U.S. Congress or the Virginia Legislature.

Added 31 May 2021

How can we take either Schumer or Biden seriously when they say they want to pass “sensible gun laws” when presently they allow over half the States to NOT populate the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) with State criminal, mental health or Red Flag information and the two new House passed laws don’t fix that. 

Checking a half empty NICS database is useless. Take a look for yourself, Schumer’s NY state only has ONE Felony record in the entire NICS Database?

 https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/active-records-in-the-nics-indices-by-state.pdf/view 

Than there is this latest incident of Hunter Biden illegally buying a semiautomatic weapon. Politico Headline (25 Mar 21): Secret Service inserted itself into case of Hunter Biden’s gun seems Hunter responded ‘no’ to a question on the transaction record that asks, ‘Are you an unlawful user of .... narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?’ Lying on the form is a felony. Given Biden's recent railing against gun violence, this shielding of Hunter must be especially embarrassing because it reeks of hypocrisy. How can Joe tout universal background check while covering for Hunter's felonious purchase of a firearm in violation of Federal criminal statutes already in existence?

 www.politico.com/amp/news/2021/03/25/sources-secret-service-inserted-itself-into-case-of-hunter-bidens-gun-477879

Added: 14 June 2022

Glenn Kessler, the Washington Post Fact Checker, confirmed in his 9 June 2022 article that Hunter Biden was caught illegally purchasing a firearm in 2018 by falsifying his background check application but was not even arrested let alone prosecuted. Daddy Joe Biden’s Secret Service detail made it “go away.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/09/lying-atf-gun-purchase-form-yields-few-prosecutions-new-data-shows/ 

GREEN BOOK WINS AT THE O$CARS BUT LOOSES AT THE BOX OFFICE! THE PUBLIC HAD ALREADY VOTED FOR AVENGER WITH THEIR WALLETS!

BUT BLACK PANTHER WAS A DISTANT SECOND

Again this year I truly appreciate the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences members telling me that GREEN BOOK was the Best motion picture of the year, but in the ONLY category that really counts – MONEY MADE – it appears the International audience made a different decision.  When it comes to picking movies, I always "trust the mob" so here is how the movie going paying public ranked this year’s movies as of 25 February 2019.

In a departure from the norm, two of this year’s eight nominees for Best Picture are among the eight top money maker of the past year with Black Panther coming in a distant second at $1.347 Billion and Bohemian Rhapsody was #6 bringing in $861 Million.  This year’s Top earner and crowd favorite was AVENGER: Infinity War with a whopping $2,048.4 take at the box office.  That means AVENGER made nearly 30 times more money at the box office then the Academy’s “Best” picture selection – GREEN BOOK.  Although I’m sure winning the Oscar is a great honor, I’m confident the producers of GREEN BOOK would gladly trade their Oscar for the extra $1.979 Billion Avenger earned.

Hence, as in past years in the money spending public’s opinion it was again no contest ….and the WINNER is, bank statement Please (drum roll), the hands down winner by a country mile is (sorry GREEN BOOK): AVENGER: Infinity War!

As a footnote, if BlacKKKlansman had won the Oscar for Best Costume Design, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam would have been really pissed off since it would have been a rip off of his 1984 Halloween costume and he has his Medical School yearbook photo to prove it.

HOW MUCH BORDER FENCE DOES $5.7 BILLION BUY?

Based on the cost of border barriers already completed, $5.7 Billion should just about seal the entire US-Mexico Border. According to a recent US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) briefing (slide above), between 2007 - 2009 (2 years) they built 400 miles of Border Barrier in support of US Customs and Border Protection at a total cost of $1.3B. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Cumulative Price Change since 2010 to today is 15.16% (yearly average inflation rate has been 1.78%). Doing the math that means $1.3B of 2009 dollars is ~$1.5B in 2019 dollars ($1,497,042,502.84 to be exact) so $5.7B should buy another 1523 miles of border wall. Given USACE has already built 400 miles, if Trump builds another 1523 miles then he should have 1923 miles completed. The entire United States and Mexico border is only 1954 miles so that leaves only 31 more miles to build to completely seal the US-Mexico border 100%.

All I did was take the briefing slide from the USACE briefing (the briefing is posted on the Army Engineer Association website under the August 2018 Industry Seminar) and extrapolate from the numbers there to estimate the cost. In the construction World, past experience or analogous estimating is a recognized method for estimating the cost of future work of similar scope but that number would be the contracting costs so would include any access roads but not land purchases nor would it account for significant differences in terrain.  I can’t speak to what other “experts” estimate, only how much the existing 400 miles of barrier actually cost. To be honest, I don’t contemplate all 1954 miles of border will require fencing nor do I expect the unfinished portions of barrier be as easy or inexpensive to construct as what has been completed.  I do believe the $50 - $70 Billion some Members of Congress are throwing around wildly exaggerate the cost and that the actually cost will be in $7 - $10 Billion range for what really requires fencing.  Just something to ponder.

Washington DC 2018 Yearly Homicide Statistics Just Out - DC Regaining their "Murder Capital of the National" Mantle

Today, New Year’s Day 1 January 2019, the Washington Post published the homicide statistics for Washington, DC and the surrounding Maryland and Virginia adjacent suburbs in an article entitled: "Homicides spike in District as shootings become more lethal, police say" . The stats once again clearly demonstrated that any WaPo reader so naïve as to believes the myth that onerous gun laws yield safer communities needed to look no further than the stats in this WaPo 1 Jan 19 article to be disabused of that fantasy. Using the data in that article and the latest Census Bureau population numbers, I calculated the homicide rates of DC and the adjacent Maryland and Virginia suburbs.  Here are the results:

Maryland:  4.3 Homicides/100,000 citizens – 85 Homicides

(Montgomery Co Population = 1,058,810 – 19 Homicides; PG Co = 912,756 – 66)

Virginia:  2.3 Homicides/100,000 citizens – 35 Homicides

(Arlington Population = 234,965 - 3 Homicides; Fairfax = 1,148433 - 14; Alexandria = 160,035 - 4)

DC:  22.8 Homicides/100,000 citizens - 160 Homicides

(702,455 Population – 160 Homicides)

This means a DC resident, where firearms are virtually impossible to own, is almost 10 times more likely to be a homicide victim then one of us Gun Tottin Virginians who live in a state where gun ownership is almost unrestricted.  Even a Marylander with very restrictive gun laws is over five times less likely to be a homicide victim than a DC resident; much better than DC but a Marylander is still almost twice as likely to be a homicide victim than one of us Virginia Gun Totters!

This article clearly shows the breathtaking disparity in homicide rates between the jurisdictions of DC or Maryland that not only don’t have the death penalty but where criminals have little chance of being confronted by a law abiding citizen who just might have a gun of their own and Virginia where gun ownership is almost unrestricted and the only question for murders is “do you prefer the needle or the chair?” That same WaPo article noted that 40% of DC homicide offenders had a previous gun arrest

 

The statistics clearly demonstrate that contrary to liberal rhetoric, it is an “inconvenient truth” that “guns actually do make us safer.” Ask any Bostonian who was directed to “shelter in place” during the Marathon Bomber manhunt how they feel about owning a gun now!  Could it be that homicidal maniacs would much rather commit their crimes in jurisdictions like DC and MD without the death penalty and are not so anxious to attack law-abiding VA citizens as they might be "packing heat?"