Armenian National Committee 2012 Questionnaire

Below are the answers to my questionnaire from the Armenian National Committee of America.

Their questions tend to revolve around Armenian-specific issues.

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(From ANCA)

Below are questions on issues of special concern to Armenian American voters. Please fax or email the completed questionnaire to the ANCA at (202) 775-5648 or anca@anca.org.

1) Will you co-sponsor and support the Congressional Armenian Genocide Resolution?

This is a difficult question for me to answer because it is actually two questions. One...you are asking me if I support Armenia. Of course I do. They are some of the worlds first Christians.

Two... you are asking me to spend time in Congress writing resolutions that I feel are a waste of time. I am a person that focuses on the big picture and the future. I think Armenian efforts are better spent on other goals instead of trying to shame the Turks... because to be quite honest about it ... the Turks don't care! Armenians can't undo what has been done. The Turks murdered your ancestors because they are Muslims, and that faith has nothing but a genocidal hatred for every other faith on earth. They had no compunctions about doing what they did in 1915, and they would have absolutely no compunctions about doing it again if given the opportunity. You cannot compromise with evil....because evil will not compromise with you. Trying to have conversations with them about this subject is a waste of time.

2. Will you oppose "historical commissions" and other efforts to call into doubt the Armenian Genocide?

Again, this is more focusing on the past that I feel is unproductive. I will be happy to read into my comments in Congress that I believe the Muslim Turks are responsible for murdering 1.5 million Armenians from 1915-1923.

I will also be happy to publicly state that I believe that the Muslim Turks are still a long-term threat and intend to do the Armenians more harm in the future.

Of course, you can always vote for my opponent, Adam Schiff, who is buddy-buddy with an organization called "CAIR". They would be happy to tell you that I am silly and wrong, and that the peaceful Muslims in Turkey and elsewhere have no ill intentions whatsoever towards Armenia.

3. Do you support decisive steps to help end the genocide in Darfur?

I would support predator drone strikes on Janjaweed positions and troops, but I see no specific reason to commit American ground troops to fight a Civil War in Sudan.

4. Do you support U.S. aid and other programs to strengthen Armenia's self-reliance?

I think Armenia needs a high-tech, well-trained military to defend themselves from hostile and aggressive neighbors. They also need alliances with other militarily powerful nations to discourage predatory neighbors from acting out.

5. Do you support developmental and humanitarian aid to Nagorno Karabagh?

I support freedom and independence worldwide for all who desire it.

6. Do you support actions to expand U.S. - Armenia economic relations?

Yes, the free flow of goods and services is a positive thing for everyone worldwide.

7. Do you support maintaining parity in U.S. military aid to Armenia and Azerbaijan?

No. I would not vote for one penny of assistance to Azerbaijan, but this is due to my hardliner stance against Muslim nations. I would not vote for one penny of assistance to any of them, because I believe they have malicious intentions towards the rest of the world.

8. Do you support the Nagorno Karabagh Republic's right to independence?

Yes, as I stated before, I support freedom and independence worldwide for all who desire it.

9. Do you support maintaining Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, limiting aid to Azerbaijan?

If I become an elected official and earn the privilege of casting votes in Washington, my message to Muslim countries will be clear and concise: "I will give you nothing." They harbor ill intentions towards the rest of the world.

10. Do you support legislative and other means to urge Turkey to end its blockade of Armenia?

Personally, I want to break off diplomatic relations with all Muslim countries. I want nothing to do with these people. They intend to do us harm. They are our friends in about the same way the Japanese were on December 6th. One of the first legislative goals of mine would be to eliminate immigration or visits from people with passports from these countries. That would send a very clear message.

11. Do you support linking Turkey's ability to purchase U.S. arms to its progress in ending its blockade of Armenia, occupation of Cyprus, attacks on Kurds, restrictions on Christians, and rights abuses?

I've actually been to Turkey, so I have a little different perspective on this issue. I found the Turks to be arrogant, aggressive and militaristic. They have an enormous chip on their shoulder over losing the power and influence of the Ottoman Empire. Some of the people I spoke with in Turkey actually gloated over what they had done to the Greeks (in Cyprus) and the Armenians. And they also expressed negative sentiments and open hostility towards their geographical neighbors.

The Turks are bad customers. I wouldn't sell them any weapons whatsoever.

Valley Forge

Some of my Conservative friends have been moaning about the Obamacare decision and the treachery of Justice Roberts.

I see it as a regrettable outcome, but not unexpected. I think even in a best-case-scenario, there were going to be parts of Obamacare that they would have left standing. I was only hoping they would destroy the individual mandate. And in a way, they did. They said it was unconstitutional under the commerce clause, but it was OK as a tax. A weird read on the situation, but a possible outcome that was foreseeable.

Although some of my Conservative friends see this as the "end of the world" or the "end of America" or the end of freedom, I am not so dour about this development.

This ruling is a temporary defeat in the bigger battle against evil...against Socialism and Statism.

Things have looked bleak before for Americans.

In December of 1777, General Washington arrived at Valley Forge to gut out a winter on the run from the British. His soldiers were starving and some didn't even have shoes.

Over 2,000 of them would die due to the poor nutrition, health, and weather conditions.

The next spring brought an alliance with France, and increased donations of food and supplies.

But for a while, Washington wondered if the Revolutionary War effort was doomed.

Things have been bleak for Americans before.

But we are optimists. It's who we are.

It's what we do.

We can defeat Barack Obama and remove his influence. We can take the Senate and stop the lawless legislating being done.

Now is not the time to quit or to run from this fight.

Confusion on June 28th

I'd like to blog more in detail about the Supreme Court ruling on Obamacare, but it may have to wait until tomorrow. Different media sources are saying different things.

Is Obamacare unconstitutional? Is it legal?

Seems to be a mixed opinion on the court.

Nobody is quite sure yet until they read through the fine detail of these lengthy holdings.

If you see the screencap photos here, CNN said two different things in about 30 minutes this morning.

I'll have more on this tomorrow...but it does look like a majority of Obamacare is going to be allowed to stand.

Michael Joseph Jackson 1958-2009

On Monday, the media announced that it was the third anniversary of the death of pop music superstar Michael Jackson.

I thought back to one of my favorite memories of Michael...seeing him up close and personal in concert in London, England in 1992.

I don't remember the exact date, but it was sometime in August of 1992. I was heading back to my flat after having spent some time with my then-girlfriend, a Slovenian hairdresser who lived near Golders Green.

On the way home -- I don't remember if I was on the tube or on a bus -- but I noticed people getting all excited talking about Michael Jackson. They said he was playing in concert at Wembley Stadium. I was nearby already, so I decided to go over to Wembley and see what was up.

I missed the first few songs of the concert. I was hanging around outside the stadium and couldn't find an extra ticket. Then I noticed some American media people leaving. When I asked them why they were leaving, they said it was the third night of a three night stand and they had seen the show twice already.

Thinking quickly, I asked them for their "Dangerous Tour" ID lanyards and passes. One reporter shrugged and said "Why not?' and handed them over. I raced into the stadium and managed to gain access to all different areas -- even backstage ....but eventually I ended up in the front rows on the field level as British fans went absolutely insane.

The way that Europeans and international fans loved Michael Jackson was very different from the way American fans appreciated him. People around me were delirious and hysterical ...sobbing, weeping...passing out from the intensity of the moment.

I was having fun, but not nearly as much fun as they were having.

If you watch the video above, you will see what I mean.

These fans were in Bucharest, Romania... not London.

But it was the same "Dangerous" Tour, just a different venue.

For international fans, seeing Michael Jackson live in concert was beyond their wildest dreams. It was something they couldn't even imagine. Even in their fantasies this could never happen.

And then there they were...living that moment.

It was magical to them.

And I enjoyed being part of it.

Michael will be missed.

We are unlikely to see anyone like him again in our lifetime.

Dangerous Enemy of Freedom Mike Gatto dreams of his "Saddam Moment"

Mike Gatto is a monster.

And that ain't hyperbole.

If you ever had any doubt whatsoever that Assemblyman Mike Gatto was a dangerous lunatic, this video below will clear things up for you completely.

In the video, Gatto shows his totalitarian instincts when he shoots down Assemblywoman Shannon Grove in her attempt to argue against a coming vote on an energy bill she does not support.

Grove represents tens of thousands of Californians who live in the Bakersfield area, but according to budding-dictator Gatto, they have no right to have their arguments heard.

Gatto then calls for an immediate decision on the proposal and rams through the legislation on a party-line vote.

Stunned lawmakers were not too thrilled by Gattos contemptuous attitude and behavior.

Assemblywoman Linda Halderman tries to appeal the decision to censor Assemblywoman Grove, but is shot down by Gatto immediately. After the vote passes, Assemblyman Curt Hagman of Chino Hills dresses down Gatto for his boorish behavior and reminds him of the rules of the State Assembly.

But to be quite honest, they shouldn't be surprised at all.

This is always the way it is with the left.

First they don't want to hear your arguments, then eventually, they just want to get rid of you.

In 1979, Saddam Hussein organized a purge of the leadership of Iraq. He called a meeting of 400 of the top leaders in his country -- and in a surprise move -- proceeded to seize total power. He made a speech declaring many of the political figures to be traitors. They were led away by secret police and executed. In the video below, you can see Saddam operating with coolness and contempt as other Iraqi leaders pleaded for their lives.

The contempt for other leaders shown by Saddam is a clear and eerie parallel to the behavior of Assemblyman Mike Gatto.

I hope voters in the Glendale/Burbank 43rd Assembly District correct their voting error of 2010 and remove Gatto from power as soon as possible. Gatto has always been a bit of a deranged weirdo, attacking bloggers for telling the truth about him, obsessing over writing bizarre laws about male genitalia -- and now to top it off -- basically denying elected officials the freedom to voice their dissent and to represent the voters who elected them.

The political views of the left always lead to one place.... tyranny.

There is no doubt in my mind that Mike Gatto dreams of his "Saddam Moment"... the moment when he can just seize power and permanently remove the nuisance of having any political opposition whatsoever.

If I was Greg Krikorian, I would make sure that every voter in the 43rd Assembly District got a hand-delivered DVD copy of Gatto acting like a ruthless Iraqi dictator up in Sacramento.

If Krikorian doesn't have the money to pay for the DVDs, he might want to hit up the previously mentioned Assembly Members Grove, Halderman and Hagman for political donations. I'm sure that these Assembly Members would love to see Gatto lose his grip on the gavel of power.

They have seen what awaits them in the future if Gatto isn't stopped in November.

Big Day at SCOTUS

Rulings coming out in the next few minutes on important cases!

Arizona ruling is mixed. Law partially upheld.

But it appears that the crucial aspect allowing law enforcement officers to ask about immigration status is an acceptable practice!

A terrible blow for the Obama Administration.

Still waiting for the really good news.

I expect Obamacare to get destroyed this morning.

No opponent for The Cat Whisperer?

Whatever happened to David Vahedi? You know...the guy who missed out on beating Paul Koretz out of a City Council seat in 2009 by about 500 votes?

I figured he would be tanned, rested, and ready for 2013. But a quick glance at the city elections website shows that nobody has yet filed to be an opponent for the Cat Whisperer.

I cannot tell you how much this grieves me.

With only about 9 months until the election, it seems that anybody serious about running would have filed their paperwork by now. Some of the other City races have a dozen people involved.

But no opponent for Koretz.

The voters of this City continue to get the government they deserve.