WORDS ARE BETTER THAN FISTS

It was a Friday night (late 80’s) in Grass Valley, California.  I was a senior in high school and a friend of mine suggested we attend a party being thrown at a house where someone’s parents were out of town.  I wasn’t much of a “partier” as I didn’t drink alcohol or do drugs, but aside from school, the “parties” were where the girls could be found.

So to the party we went.

It was your typical soiree with too many teenagers doing too many stupid things like drinking beer and wine coolers.  Yes wine coolers were “all the rage” back then. My buddy and I weren’t there long, before another reason I didn’t crash too many parties, arrived.

Testosterone fueled males looking to impress the ladies.

Now for those of you who have read Late Bird you know fighting was part of my adolescence.  Sometimes it went my way. Sometimes it didn’t.  I learned very early that if someone was messing with you to hit first, hit hard.

I was also one that never held a grudge.

Once the fight was finished, as far as I was concerned, the problem was solved.

Sadly too many who get their egos crushed feel the need to “come back for more”.

I digress.

Because this story isn’t about this particular fight I am going to condense.  Someone I did not know had a problem with me. I addressed the problem in a way that was unsatisfactory to them.  My friend and I left the party.  Again as far as I was concerned the issue was over.

The next week in school the aggrieved individual and his friends offered to rearrange parts of my body and made comments in general that in this day and age would not be considered “micro aggressions”.

One of the aggrieved party’s friends was a big, strong,  blond, tough guy (we’ll call him Steve) that I didn’t know and had never had any problems with.

He stared at me as I squared off with two of them at a basketball game.  The conversation was brief.  A word that rhymed with buck and chuck attached to you was shared a few times back and forth.  Fortunately aside from profanity and threats nothing happened.

Two on one isn’t the best odds especially if you are the one.  Much more on this subject later.

You see sometimes life has an interesting way of making a nemesis a very real friend.

Let us fast forward about a year.  I’d just finished my first year of college baseball and was playing in an all-star game that encompassed the best players in our district and then traveled to Sacramento to play other all-star teams from different districts.

One thing about Grass Valley and the surrounding towns that made up our district.

The citizens supported their sports teams.

This all-star game happened in the middle of day and during the week, but the “mountain folk” as we were called, traveled well and were there to cheer us on.

This was the only game I can remember that my father didn’t attend.  He made all the others but couldn’t get this day off.  Looking back on it I believe this was divine intervention because had he been there I have no doubt, some of the fans of the other team, wouldn’t have made it home.

We were matched up that day with a district that was made up of what is today referred to as “urban”.

It was the “city” kids against the “mountain” kids and the stands were packed with adults cheering on each side.

I always thought the “euphemisms” were kind of funny.  We all knew “city” meant black and brown and “mountain” meant white and the stands were filled that way.

So were the teams.

Skin color never mattered to me in any way and athletics was no different.  Whether my opponents were black, white, brown or blue didn’t matter because I ALWAYS thought I was the best player on any diamond on which I stepped.

The better my opponents the harder I competed.  This happens when you HATE TO LOSE and are willing to dedicate yourself to something in pursuit of excellence.

Before the game even started, fans on both sides were yelling comments onto the field and eventually at each other.  The umpires were getting tense as the language was filled with profanity, primarily from the city crowd.

Someone on the city side brought a drum and they were beating the living tar out of it.

I have to admit, aside from the profanity and threats, I LOVED the environment.

You could smell the competition, right along with the newly cut grass and pine tar.

Wonderfully, in the middle of it all, was I.

Early in the game I drove a fastball over the left field fence and as I rounded the bases a wide variety of slurs were hurled at me.

If you can think it, it was said.

I actually started laughing coming around third and took my time in reaching home.  The fans were the worst.  Only one other time during the rest of my career did I ever experience anything close and that happened at Fresno State.

One of the more memorable lines from the probably drunken crowd at Bulldog University was from a young woman who screamed “you ain’t got nothing down there!” when I adjusted my cup in between pitches.

To be fair I may have slightly turned my hips and aimed my “adjustment” in their overall direction but after innings of listening to their opinions about my genetic makeup and sexual prowess/persuasion, I thought I’d give them a little “hat tip”.

Back to the story.

The next inning one of the “city” kid’s hit a towering home run to center field.  It might still be going.  Now remember I took my time rounding THIRD.  This joker still hadn’t hit first base and was one flap down Jeffrey Leonard style screaming at the top of his lungs “DING DONG! DING DONG!”

Jogging back to shortstop I started screaming at him to “shut the f*&k up!”

He passed within a few feet of me, and although I was boiling, I doubt he even heard me as the “DING DONG” kept getting louder.

The city fans were screaming their delight and the drum was being beaten…well like a drum.

The noise was incredible, the ranting, spitting, and screaming was at a peak (or so I thought) and again, aside from the threats, and the profanity (yes I realize I was part of the profanity problem) it was AWESOME!

Looking back on it the DING DONG wasn’t something I would have done but I have to admit I am smiling as I remember that moment.

Fast forward a couple of innings and things had gotten tight.

The score had gone back and forth but their pitcher was getting tired and my guess is they didn’t have anyone else they thought could get the job done.  He gave up the lead, became frustrated and drilled our next hitter.  It happens.  He started to throw a temper tantrum on the mound and drilled our next hitter which loaded the bases.  I was having quite a day and I guess their coach didn’t want to take a chance that he was about to witness a grand slam because he pulled his pitcher as I walked to the plate.

As the new pitcher warmed up, their center fielder jogged into the infield and stood around third base staring at me. I was standing on their side of the diamond watching their new pitcher warmup as I am right handed.  I’m not really sure what or why he decided to remind me of my skin color (not that that wasn’t happening all day) but he lit into every word imaginable including the one that rhymes with bigger.

I had my 34 31 Easton in my hands and with a head nod waved him in and said,”come on down.”  He did what most “tough guys” like to do and walked INTO his third basemen while pretending to be held back. When the pitcher was ready to go the center fielder stopped with his “hold me back” program and jogged to the mound, pointed at me and said something to the new pitcher.

Now remember.  This entire day was filled with threats, profanity and our last two hitters had just been beaned.

I glanced back at the home plate umpire and said,”blue, if this guy hits me we’re gonna have a problem.”

The old guy working the dish looked exhausted.  He’d had both sides screaming at him and had also received comments about his melanin level when calls didn’t go a certain way.  He didn’t even lift his mask.  He just looked at me and said, “son, you do what you gotta do.”

In all my experience in athletics I’d never had an official say anything like that and it has never happened since.

The poor old guy was through.  “Son you do what you gotta do.”

Now for a rule follower like myself this was a green light.

Of course even if he’d said nothing, if their pitcher drilled me, “we were gonna have a problem.”

As the pitcher went into his windup I braced for a fastball to be thrown at my head.   The pitch left his hand and bounced in front of the plate.

“Strange,” I thought as the catcher threw the ball back.

The pitcher toed the rubber and threw his second pitch.

Again, right in the dirt in front of home plate.

“That’s weird,” I thought.

Pitch number three same spot.

I stepped out of the batters box  and finally realized what was about to happen.

Pitch number four drilled me squarely in the back and he threw it as hard as he could.

For those of you who haven’t been smoked by a pitch it isn’t pleasant and when you know it is on purpose…well….

I took three steps towards first base and then took a hard left and sprinted to the mound.  The fight was on.

When you are first to a baseball brawl things usually don’t go very well.  I ended up on the bottom of the pile with my arms wrapped around the necks of two opposing players and yes I was squeezing with everything I had.

It didn’t take long though for all the oxygen to be gone and the panic to set in as I could feel myself being smothered.  Just as things were going dark multiple bodies were removed from my chest and both of my arms were ripped back freeing the others.

I inhaled deeply as I was lifted from the ground and then escorted to our dugout where I was informed I was being thrown out of the game.

The two players I’d had at the bottom of the pile were screaming and yelling that they were going to kill me.

This language earned their removal as well.

I was escorted off the field by District officials, and walked to the parking lot, by one of my teammate’s father and older brother.  Unfortunately this wasn’t a well laid plan as leaving wasn’t an option as we had to wait for my teammate, their son and brother.

We decided to return to the field.

That was a mistake.

The two other ejected players and their families had apparently been held back and when they saw little ol’ me…they lost their minds.

I was standing in my sliding shorts, socks, a shirt and had a necklace on.  As I looked up the stands emptied.

In my direction.

The father of my teammate grabbed my bat, jumped in front of me and then tackled the first attacker.

His son tackled the next one.

The rest was up to me.

I don’t know how many of you have ever experienced a mob of insanity running towards you screaming, that they are going to “kill you”, but I strongly suggest you try and not have this experience.

It isn’t pretty.

I was knocked down three times, had my shirt ripped off my body, necklace gone forever and had a massive goose egg on the back of my head where I think I was kicked while fighting on the ground.

I was told later that one of the mother’s was arrested for pulling a knife.

As I fought back the third time to my feet the punches and kicks had subsided.  Standing in front of me now were OUR fans.

This probably kept me from ending up in the hospital or worse.

As I stood there half naked, bleeding from the mouth, snarling unintelligible things, I noticed a big strong blond kid to my right pushing back two adult men whom were both bigger than he.

I heard him say, “that’s my friend…now back the f*&k up!”

It was Steve.

That was almost thirty years ago and I still remember Steve standing there like it was yesterday.

I was getting the tar beat out of me and into the fray stepped a young man who knew what was happening was wrong.

He knew he didn’t have to put himself in harms way but he did anyway.

Did I care, that at one time, Steve had said some horrible things to me.

NO.

Did I care that in the past Steve had chosen a different side than myself.

NO.

I was in trouble and Steve stepped in, defended me and bought me enough time to GET BACK UP AND INTO THE FIGHT.

Sound familiar?

It should.

The United States is at a cross roads.

The election of Hillary Clinton will remove all semblance of the Rule of Law.

Eventually millions of us are going to decide that we will not be dictated to.

That we will not be lied to.

That we all follow the laws or none of us follow the laws.

This will cause tremendous pain for you, for me, for America.

Something none of us want.

Without the electorate choosing a new direction the writing is on the wall.

The needs of the Human have been the same since the dawn of man.

Water, food, shelter, SECURITY, the need to belong.

You don’t have to like Steve, but he is the only one standing in front of us, taking hits that he doesn’t have to be taking.

He is speaking truth to power and getting crushed.

While we are trying to get back up from the beating, Steve is pushing the abusers back, giving us time to regroup.

Steve’s language was profane.  So was theirs.  So was mine.

Did the beating stop?

Yes it did.

We have four weeks to stop the assault.

You damn well better appreciate Steve as he is the only one holding back four more years of a beating.

A beating that many will not survive.  Whether you believe that or not is irrelevant.  Facts are facts.

A new way must be paved.  A new card must be played.  We all know what it is.  It has five letters…just like Steve.

That card is known as TRUMP.

For those of you who have been with me for a while you know how I feel about profanity. There are so many beautiful words available to use I believe profane verbiage is the measurement of the intellectually lazy.

There are times however that profanity is appropriate and even warranted.

It is always warranted in the physical protection of ourselves or others.

Usage of any word is always better than fists.  Fists are always better than bullets.

Due to the fact that corruption is ruining our country I want to make sure this message is clear.

Stand the f*&k UP!

If you won’t now, “Steve” might not be there next time.

To all my Brothers and Sisters.  To all American Sons and Daughters.

It’s time to do what we gotta do.

Jason Kraus

www.aleadernotapolitician.com

We need a bigger basket

Sadly we keep hearing the same two things over and over from the politicians, radio talk show squawkers, television talking heads and of course the incredible intelligentsia known as the American Media.

(1) America is a Democracy.

(2) Taking a knee or saying something stupid is a Constitutional Right.

No and NO.

The United States is a Constitutional Republic.  Don’t take my word for it.

Look it up.

Of course many, who believe this to not be true won’t, so I will simplify.

We have a Constitution.  Maybe you’ve heard of it.  It’s that thing many scream about when you feel one bathroom isn’t enough or somebody just hit you with a micro aggression.

For the record “micro aggressions” have been around for a while.

We call it whining.

Furthermore each State (we have 50 of them Barry) via Article 4 Section 4, is required to have a Republican form of government.

Hence a CONSTITUTIONAL REPUBLIC.

I can hear the Liberals heads popping like the swollen ticks that they are, as the truth squeezes them into an uncomfortable place that those of us who work hard, save our money and are beneficial to others like to call…reality.

Oh Jason you know nothing.

Of course I don’t.

You’re right as always Lucy Liberal.

By the way I love what you’ve done with the place!

Record highs on Food Stamps, probably over 100 million not in the workforce, violent crime rising in virtually every major city in America and historic debt piling up, while human trafficking soars.

Gang banging thugs are killing blacks, whites, browns, and cops everyday.

Look out Progressives.  “Dog whistles” galore.

I thought Bush was a train wreck but then came Obama.

Putting a Community Organizer in charge of our nation has been great!

Well done!

America is looking more and more like Chicago everyday!

Failing schools, murder rates soaring, lying politicians, striking unions, and soon to be bankrupt cities begging for a bailout.

Emanuel Obama strikes again!

While this is all increasingly getting worse your new criminal, err candidate, says you guys want to give us “four more years” of the same.

Well slap my backside and call me “uneducated” but us Deplorables, would rather have a BILLIONAIRE take a shot, than continue with those who go begging on their knees to millionaires and billionaires, bowing to Kings, flying around with pedophiles and fomenting terrorism with our own money.

In fact we’d like to invite all of you Obama and Shiite supporters to visit Iran.

Upon your arrival please remember “real American leaders do not negotiate with terrorists”.

Hopefully you will have taken Streisand, Dunham, and a Kaepernick with you. I’m sure they will all love living under Sharia.

There, Colon can use both knees while he kisses the ground.

Good luck with your “humor” Lena.  I doubt the Shiite will find you funny.  We may have found something I can agree on with Iran.

Oh and dear dear Barbara.  The Muslims are going to LOVE you.

I digress.

It truly is stunning to listen to a wide variety of Americans, even Republicans, say something like “well that is Democracy for ya.”

Well if we are a Democracy then why are you calling yourselves Republicans?

Bueller?  Bueller?  Anyone? Anyone?

In conclusion please say it with me silly Liberals.

We are a CONSTITUTIONAL REPUBLIC.  Protection of the rights of the Individual through the rule of law.

You’d best learn quickly to stop tearing it down.

It is the only thing protecting you.

Moving on to Item (2)

Taking a knee or saying something stupid is not and has never been a “Constitutional Right”.

It’s called Free Will.

Freedom of Speech has nothing to do with being a bona fide moron.  It has nothing to do with the NFL or any other private entity.

The 1st Amendment protects (among other things) our right to speak truth to power freely without fear of persecution or prosecution from any form of GOVERNMENT.

Of course in this day and age both fear of persecution and prosecution are very real if you don’t agree with the Obama Administration.

Not convinced?

Why did Lois Lerner (IRS) admit her crime (targeting American Citizens), apologize and then take the 5th?

Quiet down Polly Progressive.

The “Deplorables”  (Adults) are talking now.

Let us switch gears and focus on Free Will.  Free Will and Freedom are two dramatically different things.

Target or Tarjay decided a while ago to get involved in the “he go, she go, we go” bathroom episode.

So many jokes here.

Apparently millions of Americans didn’t like this and Tarjay’s sales numbers were off dramatically in their last reporting.

Coincidentally a recent article discussed how WalMart was back on track taking share away from its competitors.

Now I have no idea what WalMart’s lavatory situation is (and I don’t want to know) and I am guessing millions of Americans don’t either.

I guess WalMart decided they’d just focus on what ol Sam founded the business on.

Cheap prices.

Not his and hers toilet seat covers.

Then again I’m sure WalMart sent some money to Hillary too.

Maybe someone should tell the AFL/CIO.

Speaking of a place that needs “organizing” The CEO of Starbucks decided he wanted to join the America bashing too.

Howard Schultz proclaimed that if you have conservative values (you know he’s upset he didn’t use deplorable first) Starbucks doesn’t want your money.

I’m sure the stockholders loved that one.

Starbucks fascinates me and is the perfect example of why too many Americans won’t have any money as they age.  It is also an example of inflation and probably price gouging but hey as long as everybody is cranked up on caffeine and 500 different flavorings “it’s all good bro”.

You know it home slice.  Ax me no questions I’s tells youse no lies.

Then again maybe you should tell that to your kidneys, liver and your heart while you swallow your Type-Two diabetes medications.

“Just sayin.”

By the way I abhor that “sayin”.

If you are going to say something stand behind it.  Don’t weasel out with “just sayin.”

Let us refocus.

I know multiple people who consume Starbucks items almost daily that no longer open their wallets.

I’m sure Peet’s and Dutch Bros are gaining ground out here in California and I’ll bet Dunkin Donuts is doing well on the East Coast.

I myself have purchased many gift cards for others over the years from Starbucks.

Not anymore Schultz, and I’m not even a Conservative.

I’m an AMERICAN.

Maybe you’ve heard of us.  We make up the Armed Forces, Law Enforcement, Fire, and the Private Sector that funds the world’s largest economy.

Yea the one that has created so much wealth you can charge five bucks for a cup of joe and enough sugar to put a horse into a coma.

While you run around  supporting Obamacare your products are causing more citizens to die from heart attacks, strokes, and diabetes.

No I don’t want six pumps of chocolate in my mocha.  My health insurance premiums are already too high, but hey, great job!

As Pocahontas would say “you sure did build it.”

Can I get a defibrillator with my pumpkin spice latte Howie?

How about a body bag for all the Citizens your product is killing through obesity related diseases?  Maybe you should have a chat with your Progressive partner Bloomberg.  I’m sure he’d love to put a size limit on your ability to sling legal crack.

Of course he would.

Mikey likes it!

Listen up you two clowns.

Starbucks products kill more Americans than guns ever will yet we don’t need to outlaw guns, coffee or sugar.

We need to outlaw the narcissism, greed and ego-centrism known as the Liberal.

Fortunately we are a Constitutional Republic.

We are legally protected from the days of having to kneel to putrid souls like yourselves, but even if we weren’t, Free Will would keep us from it.

At least those of us in the basket.

Jason Kraus

www.aleadernotapolitician.com

 

 

What am I going to do for you?

A conversation took place a while ago.

If you get elected what are you going to do for me?

My answer was simple.

I’m not going to do anything for you.

You are going to do for you!

If elected I am going to go to DC and stop the lies and corruption that are eating away at our country so YOU can live your life with liberty and pursue happiness to the best of your ability!

I continued.

Your greatest asset or largest liability can be found in the mirror every morning…if you have the courage to look.

Take a good look!!!

Besides, I continued, you are asking the wrong question.

It’s not what I am going to do for you it’s what are you going to do for others?

I don’t remember there being much of a response.

Of course this could have been because of my non verbal cues flashing an incredible irritancy.

Then again who knows these days?

With a good portion of the population conditioned to believe they “deserve” things rather than having to earn them the person asking the question could have been genuinely surprised as this may have been the first time they’d ever been told the truth.

Regardless if I get the question again, and keep my temper in check, my answer will be this.

I am going to continue to work hard, save my money, and be beneficial to others, or in other words, lead by example.

My mirror works just fine because the reflection in it says only one thing.

Freedom First.

Freedom Only.

Okay…two things.

Jason Kraus

United States Senate 2017

No campaign contributions.
No salary
One term

Leadership by example.

www.aleadernotapolitician.com

Affordable for who?

As insurance companies continue to drop the fraud placed upon the American Taxpayer known as the “Unaffordable Care Act” there are still voices clamoring for more “government” control.

It would be comical if not so disconcerting to listen to someone rant about their “right” to medical “care” while proclaiming it should cost them nothing.

It’s almost as bad as being lead by politicians who boldly state “we have to pass it to find out what is in it.”

Or…

“Americans are too stupid so we have to lie to them to get this through”.

“The “Affordable Care Act will cover the 40 million uninsured.”

Never covered more than 12 million and even that is debatable as these numbers came from the government.

We were promised the ACA would not be available to humans here illegally.

Another lie as California has been offering it along with drivers licenses.

Of course there was the Obama claim that “you can keep your plan, doctor, etc., and everyone would save money.”

With all of this information available to everyone there are still millions voting for Clinton and Sanders who either want to keep a system that was built on lies or expand it to completely get rid of choice and give everyone “universal coverage”.

This from a man kicked out of a commune because he wouldn’t do his “fair share” of the daily work required to feed everyone.

Seriously though what do you expect?

The guy responsible for this monstrous lie was part of the Choom Gang and bragged about doing cocaine.

He also thinks Islam is woven into the fabric of our country and Michael Brown was a hero.

The woman who would like to keep this monstrous lie apparently does not understand what “Top Secret” means or that her “husband” is probably still cheating on her.

She also stared into the face of the parents of the four killed in Benghazi and told them it was about a video when she knew it wasn’t.

Finally we are left with a Democratic Socialist who thinks he can read a woman’s mind and when he does somehow decides women fantasize about being raped simultaneously by three different men while having sex with their partner.

With these kinds of “friends” who needs enemies?

The facts are in.

Washington DC is the main hub for corruption in the world.

Garbage in garbage out.

So put on your hard hat and gloves America…it’s time to take out the trash.

Jason Kraus
United States Senate 2017

No campaign contributions
No salary
One term

Leadership by example.

www.aleadernotapolitician.com

All Incumbents Out

I’ve heard the uninformed state things like “the government built the roads you drive on”.

No “it” didn’t.

Individual humans created the wealth that was then taxed to allow other individuals to build “the roads”.

The “government” is a collection of individuals who are suppose to be our brightest minds and moral leaders who’ve been successful in their own lives and can share their experiences on a larger platform guiding the positive growth of society.

Today’s government has neither bright minds nor moral leaders.

The last three Presidents have burdened the country with bigotry, economic absurdity, and ethical ambiguity.

The House of Representatives is more like House of Cards filled with individuals who aid and abet the crushing debt, have embraced Sharia Law, call for the militancy of illegals against Americans, and think islands can tip over.

The US Senate?

Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell?

If this is the best America has to offer…we are done.

Fortunately it isn’t.

America has incredible strength and it isn’t found in the “government”.

It’s found in you…the Individual.

The American Individual to be more precise.

It’s found in our businesses and our schools.

It’s found on our farms and in our markets.

Our law enforcement and fire.

It’s found in our military.

It’s there because we embrace the concept of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness by the Individual.

Our culture is Freedom.

Hundreds of millions of Individuals who will not be grouped, contained, or restrained in any way.

Our DNA will not allow it.

Government is not our friend or our enemy.

It is a group of humans making decisions.

The better the humans the better the decisions.

The worse the humans the worse the decisions.

I have no doubt we can all collectively agree on one point.

Time for new humans in “government”.

Jason Kraus
United States Senate 2017

No campaign contributions
No salary
One term

Leadership by example.

www.aleadernotapolitician.com

Income Tax will never work

It is very clear to those of us who pay into the current taxation “system” that it isn’t working.

Some will say it is broken and needs to be fixed.

Broken implies it worked at one time.

Taxation of any behavior that we want more of is foolish and contrary to growth.

Taxation of work through income tax has been a disaster that’s been covered by the creation and massive consumption of credit.

Not only are humans living well beyond their means all around the world…”Governments” are too.

Through Central Banking, greed and corruption the United States taxpayer is sitting on a monetary time bomb that politicians continue to add more explosives to while resetting the clock.

For those not familiar with the aforementioned statement this happened when they REMOVED the debt ceiling.

Yet here we are listening to the same “experts” who admitted they completely missed the housing bubble.

The same experts who know Fannie and Freddie are a disaster but continue to ignore them as housing inflates again.

The same experts who force us to fund future “retirement” programs while punishing those of us who save our money with zero interest (and soon to be negative) on our capital.

The same experts who think we can mint trillion dollar coins to pay off our debt.

The same experts who believe the creation of a wealth effect is the same as real wealth.

The same experts who are worried the “island of Guam” will tip over if too many humans geographically move to one side.

Yes you read that right.

These people aren’t experts in anything except lies, deceit, and destruction.

This isn’t debatable. The numbers are in.

The last twenty plus years of Clinton, Bush, Obama have been an abject failure.

It’s time for the truth.

Ethics matter.

Self sustaining systems matter.

Enforcement of Law matters.

All of our issues are correctable.

No problem is too great for the American Citizen who values life, liberty, and is willing to pursue happiness.

All incumbents out.

All forms of income tax removed.

Our borders are closed.

It’s really that simple.

Don’t let the “experts” tell you it’s complicated.

It isn’t.

Doing the right thing is never wrong…or complicated.

Jason Kraus

United States Senate 2017

No campaign contributions
No salary
One term

Leadership by example.

www.aleadernotapolitician.com

Without the 2nd Amendment there is no 1st.

It is those in any society who wish to oppress that scream the loudest about the tools that keep them from harming others.

California alone has had elected officials rant about individual gun ownership only to discover later these same officials were trafficking in automatic weapons.

The 2nd Amendment isn’t about a gun.

The evil try to portray this and only the foolish or naive are willing to believe.

The 2nd Amendment is about freedom, more importantly maintaining freedom, and is the greatest insurance policy ever created.

If you don’t want to own a weapon, as a free person, that is up to you.

But, as God is my witness, your choice to not will never trump the choice of any other free person to do so.

NEVER.

Your rights stop at my nose and in some cases well before that.

It must be clear to any rational American that most levels of the Federal Government are corrupt and oppressive.

The overwhelming debt is a form of oppression.

The ignorance of the rule of law is a form of oppression.

The lies from the Bully Pulpit over the last 24 years are a form of oppression.

The complete takeover of housing, banking, medical insurance, education, etc., are all forms of oppression.

The reason the 2nd Amendment is receiving attention is because so much pressure is being applied to the freedom of Americans…and we’ve had enough.

The best outcome for any insurance policy is to never be used.

This is my desire and the reason I am here now.

We must push forward in defense of America roaring at whatever volume is required to ensure our swords do not escape their scabbards.

But make no mistake those swords must stay sharpened and at the ready.

American Freedom has requirements.

Resistance to tyranny.

Removal of tyranny.

The Pursuit of Happiness.

The 2nd Amendment protects the 1st.

Enough said.

Jason Kraus
United States Senate 2017

No campaign contributions
No salary
One term

Leadership by example.

www.aleadernotapolitician.com

Make your choice count

“You are free to choose but you are not free from the consequence of your choice.”

Many in these United States do not understand or appreciate how many humans around the world are not free to choose for fear of imprisonment or death.

The greatness of America has allowed each new generation to inherit freedom while teaching individual responsibility…until the late sixties.

After 40 plus years of the incremental breakdown of the family unit, rampant sexual irresponsibility, and the allowance of credit to anyone with a pulse, every American child born in the last decade will have less freedom and choices than their parents.

Today’s choices will guarantee our future. Your individual decisions will shape a greater or lesser opportunity for our children.

That is sowed shall be reaped.

The level of success or pain in this reaping depends on our decisions today.

The choice to do the right thing is always correct.

Let us not allow those that do, to be punished by those who do not.

Jason Kraus
United States Senate 2017

No campaign contributions
No salary
One term

www.aleadernotapolitician.com

You are the Voice

Let us forge ahead in this new year, leaders by example with the truth as our shining light, our beacon in the night, and our strongest weapon.

It is the strength of one voice, the American individual, that propels freedom forward.

You are this voice that resonates and permeates the land of the free and the home of the brave. Roar with it into each sunrise, each sunset, and all in betwixt and between using the gift of free will and embracing the responsibility of ensuring freedom lasts through the coming generations upon the soil of these United States.

The greatness of America is found in the extraordinary example of you, the ethical American, born and bred in the cradle of fierce competition protected by a loving God that allows growth through persistence, the pursuit of happiness, and the one true paradigm of the human experience:

To love one another.

Your example is the catalyst to a better day, a brighter path, a freer nation.

America is the canvas for our pens and swords. We must use both wisely with the comprehension that the sword is used in protection of freedom, the pen in its creation.

While the sword is kept sharp the pen must always be flowing. Yes we are the sword but more importantly you are the pen.

Stand with me now shoulder to shoulder and let loose the roar of the American Lion that provides shelter to our allies and such a fear in our enemies that they simply lay down and pray for the ever famous mercy of the American as their reckoning arrives.

Enemies both foreign and domestic.

The world is changed by your example.

Require it be for the better.

Jason Kraus United States Senate 2017

The Eyes of the Vietnam Veteran

Born in 1970 I was almost five years old when the Vietnam War ended.  I cannot point to one particular event or occasion per se, but as those of you who’ve read Late Bird know, even as a young child I felt a fierce loyalty to Vietnam Veterans.  Maybe it was my desire to protect others that formed my allegiance to these brave men…these brave Americans.

Even in my youth, the things that were said or done to them upon their return home, angered me greatly.  As I grew older and learned more about their experiences in “Nam” and the absurdity piled on them at home by cowards, my admiration for them increased even further.

As a twenty year old I took a job working on a self-described “ranch” that housed and counseled S.E.D. (Severely Emotionally Disturbed) teenage males.

My first supervisor on the ranch was a Vietnam Vet.

His name was Robert (everyone called him Bob) and aside from my father, a better man I have not known.

Bob was a gregarious, mustachioed, brawny, chain smoking human being that every adult respected (which was saying something because some of my co-workers…well let’s just say it was an eclectic gathering of behavior) and every child trusted (which was an even greater feat as most of these kids had been through their own personal hell).

Aside from the smoke “breaks” (that happened routinely) his entire time on the ranch was spent leading, teaching, and counseling both the adults and the kids.  To know Bob was to love him although that word was never used.

At least not among the “men” and there were plenty of us on the ranch acting like “men”.

Although I’ve always been a defender of others I could still be a handful as a six foot 190 lb 20 year old male who challenged authority at every instance if I thought they were wrong.  As I write this now I have no doubt Bob could have taken me out back and left me there, but the great thing about this wonderful person was his ability to see the potential in everyone.

He genuinely moved people in the right direction by leading by example…with respect.

It didn’t take long working for Bob before I stopped questioning his leadership.

It wasn’t out of loyalty although he had mine.

It wasn’t out of respect although he had that too.

It was because he was right.

As I worked under his tutelage with the kids my skills and understanding of human behavior grew stronger.  Even though I wouldn’t pick up verbiage like intrinsic and extrinsic motivation until later in life he was providing me a lesson in both and how to use them as tools…ethically.

Although Bob was an easy person to talk with he rarely ever spoke about Vietnam…but he did cough a lot.  My occasional question was always met with a self deprecating small shrug of a shoulder followed by silence.  One time early on he’d assigned me to a group with another counselor.  His name was Alan.  Bob told me to hang out with Alan’s group and mentioned offhand that Alan was a para-jumper in Vietnam.

“Alan saved people” was what Bob said.

Alan was a short, bespectacled man with a policeman type mustache who always seemed to be wearing sunglasses.  I probably had a couple of inches and thirty pounds on Alan although its been twenty five years so it could have been more…or less.

The kids didn’t love Alan the way they loved Bob (that was a bit much to ask) but they definitely respected him.  He was an introspective soul that I grew to enjoy being around very much.  When I mentioned that day what Bob said to me, he cocked his head and gave me a look (through his sunglasses) while baiting a hook for one the kids, who was fishing in the man made pond on the ranch.

“Bob told you that huh?”

“Yep”

Alan just stared out over the pond and didn’t say another word for what seemed like an hour but was probably only a minute.  We never talked about Vietnam.  Our conversation turned to God.  Maybe I’ll cover that another time.

In retrospect I wish I’d had more time to sit with these two American heroes…whether we spoke or not.

They were both different yet had very American characteristics: Honor, loyalty, humility, and empathy.

They could also handle their business as I saw Bob break up a fight between two large teenagers by snatching them both by the back of their necks and hauling them off, one in each hand, to a three sided outdoor room known as “time out”…coughing the entire way.

I was front and center when a teenager lost all control and started beating another kid with a baseball bat.  Alan got there first, stepped in front of the fallen kid and took a shot from the bat right in the arm that was raised to block his face.  His disarmed the kid (who was just as big as he was) and took him to the ground where the kid lunged and clamped into Alan’s triceps with his teeth.  Blood spurted as I jumped in and helped Alan dislodge the kid’s incisors and we were able to restrain him without any damage to the teenager.  Alan cleaned himself up and went on with the day as though nothing had happened.

The kid was arrested later that evening.

I have lots of stories about Bob that would make you smile but my favorite was the time he called me into his office.  I was having a problem with a supervisor who was older than I and liked to walk around strutting with fatigues and a crew cut giving orders like he was a drill sergeant.  I doubt this guy spent a day in the military.

Let’s just say we had words a few times and back then…well…when angered my words rarely came out as profane…they came out as…statements…yes let’s call them statements and in my “statements” I am very clear what I am willing to do if not left alone.

As you can imagine that didn’t go over too well with “Crew cut” and although nothing ever happened “Crew cut” started making my job a lot harder during the one day a week I was under his supervision.  I cannot prove it but I know in my heart what happened next to be true.

“Crew cut” wanted to show his “leadership skills” and write me up for something.  Again I cannot prove it but I have no doubt when he started to do this Bob stepped in and told him he would take care of it.  “Crew cut” didn’t like it but he wasn’t going to challenge Bob.  Everyone loved Bob.  Especially “Crew cut’s” boss.  He backed off and Bob wrote me up for something I cannot remember.  At first I was stunned and hurt that Bob was doing this to me.  It seems like such a small thing but loyalty was important to both of us and I was extremely loyal to him.  He’d earned it.  I left that night upset and I know Bob was too.  About a month went by when he called me into his office and closed the door.  He opened my personnel file, took out the written admonishment, smiled and tore it in half.

Bob was playing Chess while “Crew cut” was playing…you can fill in the blanks.

Last year while in Miami spreading the message of freedom I had the honor of meeting another Vietnam Veteran.

Kenneth Manny.

Kenneth had read a few of my columns on Facebook, knew I would be in Miami and drove down from his home in Florida.  When we shook hands I instantly flashed back to Bob.  It wasn’t the firm handshake, the straight back, or even the eyes.  Every Vietnam Veteran I have ever met has the same intense look.  That they’ve experienced hell…and came out on top.

The best way for me to explain this is to use myself as a reference.  As an adult young children and dogs have always loved me.  People will always comment how kids and dogs will follow me from room to room or climb on me.  I tell them its because children and dogs are very in tune to what is around them and they know they are safe.

They are at peace.

That is how I feel around Vietnam Veterans.  At peace.  There is no ego, no preening, no arrogance.  Just hard core peace from hard core heroes.  God bless you one and all.

The reason for this particular column was an experience I had last week.  My wife and I were shopping and standing in line to check out.  I turned slightly to my left and saw a man wearing a hat that said Vietnam Veteran with the same  straight back, same intense stare.  I thought of Bob and Alan and Kenneth and many other Veterans from Vietnam and smiled as I walked toward the American Hero.  He slightly cocked his head as I nodded and referenced his hat,”Vietnam Vet?” I asked.

“Yes sir,” he answered.  His name was Terry.

I extended my hand, “Thank you brother.  It’s because of men like you I was born free.”

He looked a little shocked then gave an ever so small smile and said “thank you.”

“My pleasure sir.  Thank you,” I said as I shook the hand of American Greatness.

His grip said it all.

Jason Kraus

12-20-2015

United States Senate 2017