Daniel Bledsoe

@CNN @FoxNews @NBCNews @wis10 @60Minutes @WCBD @CBSNews @ABC @ChrisCuomo @seanhannity @Johnny_Joey @RCPolitics @washingtonpost @NewsNation @NewsHour All Concerned: There is a discharge petition in the House of Representatives concerning The Major Richard Star Act. It has had more co-sponsors than almost any piece of legislation. Currently, there are ONLY 157 signatures on the petition-ALL Democrats! This is Memorial Day weekend. How is your organization not covering this? The way the math will be done concerning longevity, it probably won’t help me, but witnessing how the MSM could care less is what is astounding to me. At least show some coverage!

@ChillyPooch @BskiMike22802 @realphilhendrie @TJH314 I agree! He gets into the weeds, but he knows his material!

@BskiMike22802 @realphilhendrie @TJH314 Your articles are some of the most informative and often entertaining reading on X. I am surprised at how often I have discovered either new information or a deeper understanding of topics I thought I was pretty clear on.

Let me ruin your June for a second. Every year when National Gun Violence Awareness Month rolls around, the same people who have not read a single page of John Lott's 13,312-regression peer-reviewed study start posting pictures of children and demanding you feel responsible for deaths you did not cause and had nothing to do with. So. Let us talk about children. Since they brought it up. In 2006, the CDC recorded 642 accidental firearm deaths in the entire United States. For children under the age of ten — the number was 31. Thirteen under age five. Eighteen between five and nine. Tragic? Absolutely. Every single one. But here is the number that will not appear on a single "Orange Friday" awareness post: 80. Eighty children under the age of five drown in bathtubs every year. Every. Single. Year. ALMOST THREE TIMES as many children drown in bathtubs annually as die from ALL firearm accidents combined — including adults. And forty more drown in five-gallon water buckets. The kind you buy at Home Depot for $4.99. I have given this information at talks and watched jaws drop, because people genuinely believe the number is in the thousands. They have been so thoroughly marinated in "gun violence awareness" content that their perception of actual risk is completely detached from reality. That is not an accident. That is the point of the campaign. Where is Bathtub Awareness Month? Where is the congressional hearing on five-gallon bucket control? Where is the hashtag? Where are the orange ribbons for the children who drowned while their parents were in the next room? There are none. Because the campaign was never about children. It was never about safety. If it were about safety, they would be equally outraged about cars — which killed 1,305 children that same year. Or fire. Or drowning. But they are not. The selective fury lands exclusively on firearms. And if you are a scientist, which I happen to be, you do not get to cherry-pick your data based on which conclusion you prefer. Quinn's Law Number Six: facts are the enemy of liberalism. Now let us talk about what the actual data says about guns and safety, because John Lott ran 13,000-plus statistical regressions across every county in America and the results are not ambiguous. Fifty-six percent of convicted felons surveyed in a ten-state study said they would NOT attack a target they believed was armed. Fifty-six percent. The deterrence is real, it is documented, and it functions whether or not a shot is ever fired. The firearm you carry protects your neighbor whether your neighbor knows it or not. When states passed right-to-carry laws, multiple-victim public shootings — what the media insists on calling "mass shootings" to maximize terror — dropped by 67 percent. Deaths in those events dropped by 75 percent. Injuries by 81 percent. States that adopted these laws virtually ELIMINATED mass public shootings within four to five years. The remaining events? They happened almost exclusively in the specific locations where guns remained banned. The gun-free zones. The places we hang the sign that only the law-abiding ever read. There were between 760,000 and 3.6 million defensive gun uses in the United States last year alone, depending on which of fifteen national polls you consult. A JAMA Network Open study from March 2025 estimated 489,000 DGUs in which a firearm was actually discharged. The Department of Justice's own National Crime Victimization Survey puts the conservative floor at 65,000 defensive uses per year against assaults, robberies, and home invasions. No dead body. No coverage. No awareness month. Here is one more number for you: 74. Seventy-four percent of convicted felons in a National Institute of Justice survey said they actively avoided homes they believed were occupied by armed residents. Criminals respond to incentives. That is not ideology — that is basic deterrence theory, and it is confirmed by the people who actually commit the crimes. I also want you to think carefully about something the Supreme Court already settled. DeShaney v. Winnebago County (1989). Town of Castle Rock v. Gonzales (2005). Two separate rulings establishing that the government has NO legal obligation to protect you as an individual. None. You are your own first responder. That is not my opinion — that is settled constitutional law from the highest court in this country. So the political class that just told you the government is not required to protect you... is also the one demanding you surrender the tool you use to protect yourself. I want fewer people dead. That is why I know the data. That is why I read the book. That is why I am furious every June when emotion and fundraising replace science and evidence in a "debate" that has actual life-or-death consequences for real people. You want to honor the children? Honor ALL of them. The ones who drowned. The ones who died in car crashes. And the ones who will never be born because a woman alone in her house at 2 a.m. had no way to stop what was coming through her door. But what do I know — I am only a published textbook author, a science teacher, a father of four, and a combat medic who spent his career reducing human suffering and who actually read the peer-reviewed data before forming an opinion. IF you agree: LIKE this post so the algorithm shows it to people who need to read it. SHARE this. COMMENT below — did you know the bathtub number? Or did the narrative keep that from you? Tell me. And if you want MORE of this -- the data, the history, the science, the stories -- JOIN Bski's Classroom community on X or YouTube. #MAGA #Veterans #Trump @JoJoFromJerz @GuntherEagleman @catturd2

@DavidWarrenVet I owe you an apology. I publicly thanked several others the other day because of their knowledge of TCAVA and actual Major Richard Star Act. I failed to mention you and I sincerely apologize. Thank you for your knowledge, input and posts!

@majorStarActNow I trust US Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District Website over Congress intern staffers. Do your own research... Please. I tell my students not to trust anyone... including me. Verify it yourself.

@majorStarActNow His leadership bio as commander in 2016, before he was retired, says you are wrong. mvs.usace.army.mil/About/Leadersh…

@BskiMike22802 So typical veteran BS- robbing Peter to pay Paul. All disabled veterans DESERVE every benefit they’ve been promised annd have earned. Politicians should never take from the very people who protect and serve! @SenatorLankford @SenArmstrong @RepBice @TomColeOK04

This bill is NOT helping more than the original intent. It is helping LES. And for most of those, it is helping; it is giving them less! I have looked at both bills, the original and the amendment. It does not help Reserve or Guard over 20 years of service. That is about 5-10k of the 54K. This bill is a lot worse than the original! Please do the research and let me know where I am wrong! I have a post of all three laws side by side. x.com/BskiMike22802/…

What if the "Star Act fix" still wouldn't cover MAJ Star — even though CBO already scored the cost of including him? That's H.R. 9237 right now! Let's fix it! #MajorRichardStarAct #StarAct #HR9237

The bill named after Major Richard Star... still wouldn't cover Major Richard Star. CBO already scored the cost of fixing paragraph (1) — the exact provision that disqualified him. They're leaving it out of H.R. 9237 anyway. #MajorRichardStarAct #StarAct #HR9237

@davidmedic81 @BskiMike22802 @54KVeterans @Chrisujwo3 @TeeeRoy1 @DavidWarrenVet @rg81416 @SeabeeBonner @smith8024 @kniftarqr9y @restore_GI_Bill @passmajstaract @SgtJoebishop 100% this ☝️my Gunner was hit by an IED, lost an eye and other quality of life issues. E3 two years in. He is not getting financial support that matches his sacrifice. 🇺🇸

The bill named after Major Richard Star... still wouldn't cover Major Richard Star. H.R. 9237's fix to the Wounded Veterans Tax only patches half the problem.

@HouseGOP I can say that about what you all are doing to the Major Richard Star Act. Do better, for those who have sacrificed so much.

The bill named after Major Richard Star... still wouldn't cover Major Richard Star. CBO already scored the cost of fixing paragraph (1) — the exact provision that disqualified him. They're leaving it out of H.R. 9237 anyway. #MajorRichardStarAct #StarAct #HR9237

@davidmedic81 @endwarriortax @TeeeRoy1 @BskiMike22802 @kniftarqr9y @majorStarActNow @54KVeterans @Chrisujwo3 @DavidWarrenVet @Jeremy_Profitt @rg81416 @SeabeeBonner @smith8024 @restore_GI_Bill @passmajstaract @SgtJoebishop Wrong argument my friend!

This debate has lost sight of who this bill is supposed to help. Hr9237 S4744 #majorRichardStaract Some E7s, senior NCOs, and officers with 15 or more years of service are demanding 75% as if they completed a full 30-year career. I understand why they want it. Everyone wants the highest benefit possible. But the reality is that 75% was always the outlier. The original concept was based on years of service, and getting to a 50% retirement floor is already a major improvement for thousands of disabled retirees. What about the E4 who lost an arm in Iraq after only three, four, or five years of service? What about the young Marine, Soldier, Sailor, Airman, or Guardian whose career ended because of combat wounds or service-connected disabilities? A 50% retirement benefit would be life-changing for them. Yet some people seem willing to torpedo the entire bill because they want more. Nobody is losing money. You cannot lose money you are not receiving today. What some people are really saying is that they want a larger benefit than what is currently being offered. That’s a fair position to advocate for, but it is not the same thing as losing money. What frustrates me is that many of the loudest voices seem focused on protecting the interests of the highest ranks while claiming to speak for everyone. The rank-and-file disabled veterans—the E4s, E5s, and E6s whose careers were cut short—matter too. They deserve consideration just as much as someone who was a few years away from a regular retirement. Take the win that is on the table. Help the veterans who need it now. Then keep fighting for improvements later. Rejecting a meaningful benefit today in pursuit of a perfect benefit tomorrow could leave thousands of disabled veterans waiting another decade for relief. If you’re fighting only for the highest ranks, then just say so. But don’t pretend you’re speaking for every disabled veteran when many of us would gladly take a fair deal today and continue the fight tomorrow.

#MajorRichardStarAct #MajorStarAct #MajStarAct #54KVeterans #EndTheWoundedVeteranTax @54KVeterans @Chrisujwo3 @davidmedic81 @TeeeRoy1 @DavidWarrenVet @Jeremy_Profitt @rg81416 @SeabeeBonner @smith8024 @kniftarqr9y @restore_GI_Bill @passmajstaract @SgtJoebishop @restore_GI_Bill @DavidSt59726197

@majorStarActNow @JerryMoran Wrong argument pal!

This debate has lost sight of who this bill is supposed to help. Some E7s, senior NCOs, and officers with 15 or more years of service are demanding 75% as if they completed a full 30-year career. I understand why they want it. Everyone wants the highest benefit possible. But the reality is that 75% was always the outlier. The original concept was based on years of service, and getting to a 50% retirement floor is already a major improvement for thousands of disabled retirees. What about the E4 who lost an arm in Iraq after only three, four, or five years of service? What about the young Marine, Soldier, Sailor, Airman, or Guardian whose career ended because of combat wounds or service-connected disabilities? A 50% retirement benefit would be life-changing for them. Yet some people seem willing to torpedo the entire bill because they want more. Nobody is losing money. You cannot lose money you are not receiving today. What some people are really saying is that they want a larger benefit than what is currently being offered. That’s a fair position to advocate for, but it is not the same thing as losing money. What frustrates me is that many of the loudest voices seem focused on protecting the interests of the highest ranks while claiming to speak for everyone. The rank-and-file disabled veterans—the E4s, E5s, and E6s whose careers were cut short—matter too. They deserve consideration just as much as someone who was a few years away from a regular retirement. Take the win that is on the table. Help the veterans who need it now. Then keep fighting for improvements later. Rejecting a meaningful benefit today in pursuit of a perfect benefit tomorrow could leave thousands of disabled veterans waiting another decade for relief. If you’re fighting only for the highest ranks, then just say so. But don’t pretend you’re speaking for every disabled veteran when many of us would gladly take a fair deal today and continue the fight tomorrow.

We need to continue our opposition, not to helping Brother and Sister veterans, but to legislation that is drafted in this manner. I have not seen legislation like this, minus one, that has caused as much anxiety and fear as this one proposed bill. Thank you Jerry @JerryMoran and Mike @RepBost . You two are creating so much chaos with this!

Unbelievable that you have the nerve to post this! What happened to all of the supposed money saved in the fraud, waste and abuse discovered by DOGE? The speech that Senator Blumenthal @SenBlumenthal gave identified the offsets that could be found in the One Big Beautiful Bill. What happened to those? Quit making excuses and toeing the line for Project 2025 and the Koch brothers! We know!

Members of Congress need to understand that they need to be responsible stewards to American taxpayers. If Members believe another offset is preferable for H.R. 9237 – they can offer one – we cannot pretend the cost does not exist.

@HouseVetAffairs Oh… so you’re the House Committee on American Taxpayer Affairs now? Either change your name or do your job, everybody in congress is there at the behest of the taxpayer, your job on that committee is to look after the subset of taxpayers called veterans. Do that or f*€< off

@HouseVetAffairs #passthemajorrichardstaract

@HouseVetAffairs Uh the billions you give to foreign countries to wage war. Duh. The billions found by DOGE, the billions taken from the taxpayers in fraud and grift. Let us know if you need more.

@HouseVetAffairs Served OEF 6/7 Afghanistan for 16 months. Lost over 90 soldiers of Task Force 76. Nearly died, retired early due to combat injuries and you guys are now treating us we're the problem.