Archive for December, 2008

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So? Just what is new in Illinois…

December 10, 2008

Illinois has a long history of corruption. Indeed, there are people that imply that New Orleans became corrupt only after Chicago carpetbaggers arrived there immediately after the War of Northern Agression. From the Daley dynasty in Chicago to the Governors mansion the state appears to have one big “for sale” sign on it. It’s no wonder to me why my father left Springfield and joined the Marine Corps, and that was more than fifty years ago. What follows serves to fill in just a few of the blanks having to do with this tradition…

Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) — Rod Blagojevich has followed in the footsteps of his predecessors: He became the fourth of the past seven governors elected in Illinois to be arrested. Residents blame the sad tradition on a culture of patronage.

“Government in Illinois isn’t about political ideology or helping people,” said Christopher Mooney, who teaches political science at the University of Illinois-Springfield. “It’s about which idiot brother-in-law are you going to get a job on a road crew because he helped you get into office.”

The governor, a Democrat, was charged yesterday with trying to sell Barack Obama’s vacated Senate seat, according to a criminal complaint filed by prosecutors. Three previous governors were jailed: Otto Kerner, governor from 1961 to 1968; Dan Walker, who held the job from 1973 to 1977; and George Ryan, who served from 1999 to 2003.

Blagojevich, 51, and his chief of staff, John Harris, 46, threatened to withhold state assistance to now-bankrupt Tribune Co. in connection with the sale of the Wrigley Field ballpark, according to federal prosecutors. No pleas were entered and neither defendant made any statements during the hearing.

The men also allegedly sought to force the firing of members on the Chicago Tribune’s editorial board who were critical of the governor. Tribune Co. owns the newspaper and the Chicago Cubs baseball team, which plays at Wrigley.

State politicians being carted off to jail reflects a local indifference to wrongdoing that needs to be changed, said Dick Simpson, a political science professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a former city alderman.

“We have a culture of machine politics and it lends itself to corruption,” said Simpson. “We are the capital of corruption in the U.S.”

History of Corruption

Political corruption has a bipartisan history in the state. Kerner, a Democrat convicted in 1973, was jailed after the manager of two horse-racing tracks admitted to bribing the then- governor; charges were filed after Kerner left office. Walker, a Democrat convicted in 1987, a decade after leaving office, served less than two years of a seven-year sentence for receiving improper loans.

Ryan, a Republican charged with accepting trips and gifts in exchange for political favors, was sentenced to more than six years in 2006.

Robert Sorich, who led Democratic Mayor Richard M. Daley’s Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, and three other men were found guilty by a Chicago federal court jury in 2006 for illegal hiring. Daley, first elected in 1989 and the son of the city’s longest-serving mayor, wasn’t accused of wrongdoing.

“They must have a cell reserved somewhere for aldermen and governors,” said Tommy FitzGibbon, executive vice president at MB Financial Bank in Chicago, who wants Blagojevich to resign. “It’s an embarrassment.”

‘What an Idiot’

The region’s reputation was in the national spotlight during this year’s presidential election. Republican presidential nominee John McCain ran political ads claiming that Democratic rival Barack Obama is part of a “corrupt Chicago political machine.”

The Blagojevich arrest has brought more notoriety to the region. Clients in Germany and Ireland were aware of the arrest and brought it up in morning telephone calls with Caimin Flannery, a partner in Caimin Flannery & Associates in Naperville, Illinois, about 35 miles west of Chicago. The international business-development firm advises companies on mergers of $10 million to “several hundred” million dollars.

“Most people I’ve talked to today feel: ‘What an idiot,’” said Flannery, who was born in Ireland and speaks nine languages. “It’s just the greed factor.”

‘A New Low’

The governor was charged with conspiring to obtain campaign contributions in exchange for official actions, including the replacement of Obama. Court-approved wiretaps intercepted Blagojevich last month conspiring to sell the Senate seat, said U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. At various times, Blagojevich sought in return a cabinet post, an ambassadorship or a seat on a corporate board for his wife, Fitzgerald said.

“This is a sad day for government and it’s a very sad day for Illinois government,” Fitzgerald said. “Governor Blagojevich has taken us to a new low.”

The governor’s office has become the heart of a corruption culture in the fifth-largest U.S. state, said Tamara Holder, a Chicago defense attorney.

“It’s definitely ingrained,” Holder said.

Blagojevich, in his second term, has been buffeted by scandals in the state government and budget shortfalls. A Chicago Tribune poll in October put his approval rating at 13 percent, the lowest ever recorded by the newspaper’s surveys.

No one among more than a dozen residents interviewed said they were caught off-guard by the arrests.

“You’ve been getting report after report of something negative going on,” said Hector Galvan, a trading consultant for RJO Futures, the private client division of R.J. O’Brien & Associates LLC in Chicago.

While Blagojevich is the latest Illinois governor in court, Galvan said the state has also produced admirable politicians.

“The President-elect is from here,” Galvan said. “You can’t let a few spoil it for everyone else.”

SOURCE

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Posted in Editorial, Opinion, Education, Gun Control, Law, Men's Issues, News, Politics, Wordpress Political Blogs | 5 Comments »

GOA Members Win Key Battles in 2008

December 10, 2008

GOA Members Win Key Battles in 2008
— While gun rights advanced this year, the prospects for next year
look very tough

Gun Owners of America E-Mail Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408
http://www.gunowners.org/ordergoamem.htm

———————————————-
“The best Second Amendment defense organization in the country is Gun
Owners of America.” — Joseph Farrah, founder and CEO of
WorldNetDaily.com, September 2008
———————————————-

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Change.

That’s what the next four years are going to bring. More government
regulations… more government spending… and more battles over gun
control.

Once Barack Obama takes his oath of office in January, he will
become, without a doubt, the most anti-gun President this nation has
ever seen.

How are gun owners responding to the oncoming Obama presidency? By
the tens of thousands, they are pouring into gun stores all across
the country and stocking up on guns and ammo, fearing the worst.
Many buyers include first-time gun owners.

And while that is not a bad idea, it’s a short term solution to a
long-term problem that does nothing to defend our Second Amendment
rights from being eliminated by a Congress controlled by people like
Ted Kennedy, Chuck Schumer, Carolyn McCarthy and other notorious gun
grabbers.

That’s why we need you to stand with Gun Owners of America next year.
If you have never become a GOA member — or you’ve let your
membership lapse — we need you on board so that we have the
ammunition necessary to fight every gun control bill that comes our
way.

It takes less than five minutes to go to
http://www.gunowners.org/ordergoamem.htm and sign up. By doing so,
you will be joining — in the words of WorldNetDaily’s founder — the
“best Second Amendment defense organization in the country.”

We need you now more than ever, as we are surely in for the fight of
our lives!

Even so, despite all the hurdles that we see ahead, one should not
forget that 2008 was a real improvement for gun rights in many
respects. Gun Owners of America experienced victories in the
courts… in the Congress… over federal bureaucracies… and in the
states.

The following victories are just a few of the accomplishments that
GOA was able to achieve this year with YOUR HELP. So let’s take a
look at our work together, month by month.

January – February

* As the new year dawns, President Bush signs the Veterans
Disarmament Act (a.k.a. the NICS Improvement Amendments Act). This
legislation codifies illegitimate procedures that, over the past
decade, had already resulted in almost 150,000 veterans being denied
the right to buy guns because battle-related stress has supposedly
rendered them unable to manage their own financial affairs.

GOA was able to win some significant concession in the bill, even as
we were trying to kill it outright. Unfortunately, the bill passed
both houses of Congress last year without a vote. Republican Senator
Jim DeMint of South Carolina later complained that the Democrat
controlled Senate had passed 94 percent of its bills this year
without a recorded vote.

* An Associate Director in the U.S. Interior Department defends the
National Park Service ban claiming that “parks are safe places” and
that right to carry laws “do not reduce crime” or protect people
against dangerous wildlife. GOA responds by generating thousands
upon thousands of postcards into the Oval Office, asking President
Bush to put the squeeze on Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to get
the NPS ban reversed — a reversal that will come about in May.

* The U.S. Solicitor General files a brief with the U.S. Supreme
Court in the D.C. v. Heller case arguing that categorical gun bans of
virtually all self-defense firearms are constitutional if a court
determines they are “reasonable” — the lowest standard of
constitutional review. This view could justify a national ban on all
firearms, including a ban on all hunting rifles.

GOA works with Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA) and helps him to quickly get
57 additional congressmen to oppose the Solicitor General’s opinion.

* Because of generous contributions from its members, GOA is able to
submit a very unique amicus brief before the U.S. Supreme Court in
defense of Dick Anthony Heller, who was denied the right to own a gun
in the nation’s capital as a result of the draconian gun ban which
exists there.

In this hard-hitting brief, GOA takes aim at the weak arguments put
forth by both the DC government and the Bush Administration. But
more than that, GOA examines the favorable text and context of the
Second Amendment in great detail, while also documenting the pro-gun
history that formed the backdrop of its inclusion into the Bill of
Rights.

March – May

* After looking at all the briefs which have been submitted in the
Heller case, the editors at USA Today decide to use GOA for the
opposing voice on March 19. The paper’s editors tell our attorneys
that GOA had an argument that was clearly distinctive, as we were the
only ones to argue that the words “shall not be infringed”
invalidated all federal gun control laws.

* In the states, GOA helped Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming to pass
Emergency Protection bills throughout the country. These bills
repeal laws that allow police to confiscate firearms during a
declared emergency, such as what occurred in New Orleans after
Hurricane Katrina decimated the city in 2005.

The sponsor of the Utah legislation, Senator Mark Madsen (R), thanked
GOA in March for the help we offered in helping pass the legislation
in his state.

“GOA supplied me with video that documented the plight of decent gun
owners in New Orleans who had their guns stolen by police after
Hurricane Katrina,” Madsen said. “The DVD was very helpful in
educating other members of the Utah legislature, and my bill to
protect Utah gun owners from gun confiscation, SB 157, passed by
overwhelming margins.”

Sen. Madsen’s new law is one of the best in the country. If someone
were to have his gun illegitimately confiscated, that person could
not only sue for damages, but could hold the offending officer and
his superior personally liable.

* GOA’s attorneys uncover a proposal in April to keep gun owners from
shipping replica or inert munitions through the mail. GOA
immediately submitted a blistering critique to the U.S. Post Office
and contacted thousands of grassroots activists so they could submit
their own comments as well. To date, the agency has backed off of
its original gun control proposal.

* The Bush administration, after more than seven years, has finally
issued regulations permitting the carrying of firearms in national
parks! Beginning in 2009, gun owners will be able to carry firearms
according to the laws of the state in which the park is located.

* GOA learns about Pastor Phillip Miles of South Carolina, who was
sentenced to three years in a Russian prison for carrying a single
box of hunting ammo in his luggage, intended as a gift. GOA urges
President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice to intervene on
Miles’ behalf, as the sentence definitely did not fit the “crime.”
Russian authorities succumb to the outcry shortly thereafter… Miles
is released in June and returns to the United States.

June – August

* The Supreme Court strikes down the DC gun ban! While not perfect,
the Court’s decision recognizes that the Second Amendment protects an
“individual right” and states that the decades-old ban in the
nation’s capital is unconstitutional.

GOA’s brief had countered both the DC government and the Bush
Administration — as the latter had asked the Court to use the DC
case as a justification for all sorts of gun control. GOA is pleased
that the Justices heeded our admonition to limit the Court’s holding
to the case before it, thus shooting down both the DC government and
the Bush Administration in their quest to validate other firearms
restrictions.

* GOA Executive Director Larry Pratt escorts David Olofson to a
federal prison in Minnesota. Olofson was convicted in federal court
of transferring a malfunctioning semi-automatic firearm which the ATF
claimed was machine gun — a determination that should concern every
gun owner who owns a semi-auto.

Gun Owners of America becomes the lead gun organization fighting
against the ATF’s persecution of Olofson. In taking on this case,
GOA is also defending the rights of gun owners who could be
prosecuted for owning a malfunctioning firearm. For the ATF, a gun
that misfires is an excellent opportunity to rack up an easy
conviction on an illegal machine gun charge.

In Olofson’s defense, GOA submits an appeal challenging his
conviction at the district court level, and sets up a relief fund to
help pay for his family’s mortgage and car payments.

September – November

* David Olofson’s wife, Candy, thanks GOA and its members for helping
their family. Candy tells GOA Executive Director Larry Pratt that
because of the financial help that GOA members have given, she has
not had to get a second job, so she is able to spend time being a
Mom.

* GOA’s Larry Pratt travels to the Big Easy to award a brand new
handgun to Patricia Konie — the New Orleans resident who was tackled
and disarmed by police in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Konie was
forced to evacuate her home in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005,
and until recently, had remained disarmed. To this day, she has
never gotten back her stolen gun.

* GOA tells its email activists how the ATF was trying to prevent the
distribution of an electronic 4473 Form. This software has been
developed by a private firm, Coloseum Software Corporation, and is
intended to protect dealers against the “mistakes” that have
allowed
the ATF to prosecute or harass them into giving up their licenses.

GOA issued a grassroots alert in mid-October explaining how the ATF
had been dragging its collective feet for months — keeping Coloseum
from distributing its software, even while the ATF was developing its
own competing software (and possibly, violating the copyright which
belonged to Coloseum).

After GOA asked gun owners to contact the Bush Administration, the
owner of Coloseum contacted us shortly thereafter to tell us that our
alert had been a tremendous success: “After the GOA alert put the
spotlight on criminal activity by the BATFE, they quickly provided us
[Coloseum Software Corp] with the required documentation for the new
Form 4473 which we had been asking for months.”

Sign up with GOA… the battle lines are now drawn!

GOA is on the front lines, fighting to defend your rights. Even if
you have already renewed your membership in GOA, we hope you will
consider making an additional contribution.

With your extra support in 2009, we will fight off every new attack
on our gun rights. And we will remind the Democratic Congress what
happened to their majority the last time they followed an anti-gun
President down this path.

This next year is going to be our most difficult year in a long, long
time. Already, President-elect Obama is surrounding himself with
virulent anti-gunners:

* His pick for Attorney General went to a committed gun grabber in
Eric Holder. Holder signed on to an amicus brief in the Heller case
which SUPPORTED the DC ban on handguns and the ban on using any
firearm for self-defense in a person’s home. Holder’s brief also
argued that the Second Amendment protects a “collective” right, not
an individual right (as the Supreme Court eventually ruled).

* And based on his pick for Chief of Staff, you can be sure that the
Obama administration will use any “crisis” it can to push its gun
control agenda. Obama’s Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, told the Wall
Street Journal recently that, “You never want a serious crisis to go
to waste…. [A] crisis provides the opportunity for us to do things
that you could not do before.”

Get it? Every time a crackpot goes on a shooting spree, the Obama
administration is going to use that “crisis” to come after
your guns!

So please make the decision to stay with us in the upcoming year, as
it will be critical for America’s gun rights. Whether you can help
us out with your gift of $35 or $3500, your contribution will be put
immediately into the fight to preserve and restore all of our gun
rights.

Please go to http://www.gunowners.org/ordergoamem.htm and stay with
us in 2009!

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Posted in Editorial, Opinion, Education, Gun Control, Law, Men's Issues, News, Politics, Wordpress Political Blogs | 1 Comment »

It’s the economy stupid!

December 9, 2008

It’s the economy stupid! Remember that being   said not all that long ago in a campaign speech? I sure do, and I also remember another politician being blasted because of what he said about the “fixes” that were being talked about back then.

Well, things have not really changed all that much have they? Nope, not that I can see. So, like a phoenix, the wraith returns.

by  Patrick J. Buchanan

In a deepening recession, what does the reasonable man do?

Seeing friends laid off, he will get rid of all but essential credit cards, dine at home more often, terminate unnecessary trips to the mall, put off buying a new car, give up the idea of borrowing on the vanishing equity in his house. He will begin to save and start paying down debt.

A company that has reached the limits of its credit and is staring at Chapter 11 will batten down the hatches, lay off nonessential workers, cut employee hours, put off expansion plans, cancel year-end bonuses and try to ride out the storm.

This is the natural behavior of people responsible for others in an economic storm of the magnitude of the category 4 hurricane heading our way. Yet, to see and hear our government, folks are doing exactly the wrong thing.

For the U.S. government is set to borrow on a colossal scale, unprecedented save in World War II, and to take America trillions of dollars deeper in debt to pick up the slack in the economy caused by the rational decisions of individuals and corporations.

The Fed, whose easy money policy created the housing bubble that has exploded in our faces, is back printing money and shoveling cash into the banks. And, though the Bush deficits are said to have been responsible for our troubles, a new Congress and president have advanced a deficits-be-damned, full-spending-ahead policy.

On top of Bush’s $455 billion deficit and hundreds of billions in bailouts for AIG, Bear Stearns, Fannie, Freddie and CitiGroup, Obama is talking up a new stimulus package of $500 billion to $1 trillion.

Our governors and mayors — who, facing deficits, had been cutting back — have now reversed field and are demanding to follow the federal formula.

When Obama arrived at the National Governors Association Conference in Philadelphia, they pounced. Led by Pennsylvania’s Ed Rendell, they handed Barack a bill: $138 billion. The governors want U.S. taxpayers to relieve them of what U.S. families face: the need to cut spending, pay down debt, make sacrifices, take pain and live within their means.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the mayors have now followed the governors’ lead, declaring they have 4,100 projects “ready to go,” which they want U.S. taxpayers to fund.

What are these projects?

Under the ever-popular rubric “infrastructure,” they include roads, bridges, schools and public buildings. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says he has $28 billion worth “ready to go,” which he would like folks in the other 49 states to fund.

Now, historically, bridges, highways, roads and public buildings have been regarded as pork. In the campaign, they were “earmarks” — payoffs for powerful constituents, a form of political corruption that reformers like Barack and John McCain were going to end.

Now, it seems, earmarks are our salvation.

Why are governments at every level doing this?

Because government believes that the restoration of economic health requires us to act against our natural instincts in a recession, and start buying and financing new homes and cars, and get back to the malls, lest this Christmas season become a bummer for retailers.

After all, 70 percent of our gross domestic product is now based on consumption, though Americans in recent years have had a savings rate of zero.

The disconnect between the instincts of average citizens and the policies of government could not be greater. Governments want us to act prodigally, while natural instincts and inclinations are telling us to act conservatively.

Conservatism and capitalism are giving conflicting signals.

Average Americans are behaving as though in rehab, trying to kick a bad habit of spending more than they earn and borrowing more than they can pay back, while the U.S. government is suggesting that what we really need is to return to the auto showrooms and malls, and start spending again, only in radically increased dosages.

Beyond the present recession, questions arise as to whether the U.S. model is sustainable. If government spending were the remedy to recession, why, after Bush’s deficits, are we in recession? And if the easy money of Ben Bernanke’s Fed is the cure for what ails us, how did we get sick when Alan Greenspan’s Fed was conducting a never-ending policy of easy money?

How does it stimulate the private economy to pump hundreds of billions of dollars into consumer checking and credit-card accounts, when more and more of what we consume — from computers to cars to clothes — isn’t even produced in America anymore?

What do conservatives, few of whom have opposed the Obama plans and fewer of whom have called for repeal of Bush’s big-spending social programs, believe is the alternative approach to ending the recession and creating a sustainable economy?

For the economy we have seems to be condemned to an ever-deepening and widening cycle of crises, each brought on by the cure for the previous crisis, which is always the same: more government.

SOURCE

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Posted in Economics, Editorial, Opinion, Education, Historical Quotes, News, Politics, Wordpress Political Blogs | 2 Comments »

Ill. governor arrested…

December 9, 2008

Illinois Governor Blagojevich is corrupt. So says the FBI at least. Now, it would be all too easy to say “I told you so.”

But then, that would be picking on someone that has hit bottom. It would be all to easy to post comments along the lines of “bottom feeding gun grabber” and such…

Let’s all wait for the FBI to put up or shut up, and allow the legal system to work. No comments about how the law is bought and sold across that state. Nor will I speculate about the power of pardon and the President Elect. Or about said soon to be Presidents political cronies.

Nor should we speak in terms of elitism and justice. After all, people like politicians and sports hero’s are above that which we mortals must endure.

story here

In the mean time, I can daydream…

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Posted in Editorial, Opinion, Education, Gun Control, Law, Men's Issues, News, Politics, Stupid is as Stupid Does, Wordpress Political Blogs | 1 Comment »

The Brady Bunch and the NRA just more hypocrisy

December 8, 2008

The Brady Bunch once again shows it’s colors with it’s latest press release. The usual ballyhoo of self aggrandizement as well as hypocrisy. The National Rifle Association jumped right on it as might be expected. What the NRA failed to recognize as usual, is their own failings when it comes to really supporting the Constitution of the United States. In any case enjoy the dog and pony show that follows.

source


It is a simple matter of fact, beyond dispute, that for years prior to passage of the Brady Act, the organization now known as the Brady Campaign called for a waiting period on handgun sales and vigorously opposed the establishment of the National Instant Check System (NICS). The anti-gun group, when known as Handgun Control, Inc., ranted and raved against instant check legislation proposed by Rep. Bill McCollum (R-Fla.) in the late 1980s, and by Rep. Harley O. Staggers (D-W. Va.) in 1991.

While NRA strongly opposed the Brady Act because of its five-day waiting period, when Congress passed the Brady Act in 1993, it contained a provision authorizing its waiting period on dealer handgun sales only until a NICS could be established (applicable to all dealer firearm sales). The final bill required that the NICS become operational within five years. As it turned out, Brady’s prized waiting period, which Brady claimed could reduce so-called “crimes of passion” (though by the group’s own admission no data existed to support such a theory) was abolished after only four years and nine months, having taken effect in February 1994, and having been replaced by the NICS in November 1998.

President Bill Clinton signed the Brady Act in November 1993, however, so in November 2008 the Brady Campaign released a 15-year anniversary propaganda paper praising itself and–you guessed it–calling for a federal law prohibiting private sales of firearms, not just those at gun shows, but all private sales. What they don’t say, of course, is that if private sales are prohibited, they will immediately call for the FBI to retain records on all firearm transactions run through the NICS.

The title of Brady’s anniversary propaganda? Get this: “Brady Background Checks: 15 Years of Saving Lives.” Brady checks? These are the same instant checks that Brady has opposed for 20 years, and which have been conducted for the last 10 years, instead of the waiting period that was in place for less than five years before! Barack Obama is not the only one who has “audacity.”

Adding to their lie, Brady claims “the National Rifle Association (NRA) fought long and hard to block Brady background checks.” While NRA opposes waiting periods, it supported NICS, and Brady worked hard to block it. And in the end, NRA’s proposal carried the day.

Adding further to the lie, is Brady’s pretense that the Brady Act is the reason that violent crime has declined in recent years. The Act “has been a resounding success by stopping more than 1.6 million potentially dangerous people from purchasing a gun from a licensed gun dealer,” the group claims.

The reality is something much different. First of all, as the FBI states in its annual national crime report (www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2007/about/variables_affecting_crime.html), a variety of factors determine the type and volume of crime, and none of these factors is guns, gun ownership, or gun laws. And the Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service, National Academy of Sciences, National Institutes of Justice, and others have studied gun control and found no evidence that it reduces crime at home or abroad.

Secondly, the nation’s violent crime rate began declining in 1991, three years before the Brady Act took effect. And violent crime committed with weapons other than guns has declined, as well as violent crime with guns–the only weapons requiring a background check. This is largely due to tougher criminal justice policies imposed in the states during the 1990s, such as mandatory sentencing and reduction of probation and parole of violent criminals–precisely what NRA has advocated for years.

Thirdly, Brady incorrectly assumes that denying gun sales must necessarily decrease crime, because it believes guns are the cause of crime and it opposes the use of guns for defense against crime. However, since 1991, the number of new guns sold to private citizens has increased by 70 million, and total violent crime has decreased 38 percent, including a 43 percent decrease in murder. Let’s not forget also the deterrent factor posed against criminals by the Right-to-Carry laws now in effect in 40 states.

Brady also claims that before the Brady Act, “gun traffickers had it easy” with “new handguns bought easily over-the-counter in states with weak gun laws.” The fact is, however, that prior to the Brady Act, the 18 states and the District of Columbia that already had Brady-like laws delaying the acquisition of firearms–including waiting periods, purchase permit requirements, and license requirements–accounted for 63 percent of the nation’s violent crimes. Therefore, the Brady Act–particularly during the waiting period phase favored by the Brady Campaign–never had an effect on jurisdictions where most violent crimes occur.

Naturally, the media have reported Brady’s claims as gospel. But otherwise, the anniversary propaganda is little more than a pathetic attempt by a decreasingly significant group whose agenda has been rejected time and again, and whose views are ever further removed from the mainstream of public opinion.

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Posted in Domestic Violence, Editorial, Opinion, Education, Gun Control, Law, Men's Issues, News, Politics, Wordpress Political Blogs | 5 Comments »

The day of infamy

December 7, 2008

The day of infamy, December 7th, 1941. Not a single post about it that I could find on wordpress this morning. Are people so ambivalent about that these days? It makes me wonder.

My father and Godfather were in the Philippines that fateful day. The United States was on the ropes, and victory in the Pacific was far from assured. Both men later escaped capture and helped organized Filipino resistance to the invasion by the Japanese. Both of them attempted to rescue men that had been captured that endured the infamous Bataan death March.

People like them have been called “The greatest generation.”  But the men themselves..? I have never once heard any of them say anything much more beyond that they just did what had to be done. In my own family they just said that they were United States Marines, and that was what Marines do.

This is not about the various conspiracy theory’s that Roosevelt knew that we were about to be attacked, or even orchestrated the attack. It is about men and women that pulled together during a desperate time and defeated a three pronged assault on what we hold dear.

 Our liberty and freedom. God bless each and every one of you.

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Posted in Editorial, Opinion, Education, Men's Issues, Military Science, News, Politics, Uncategorized, Wordpress Political Blogs | 5 Comments »

Yet another Kennedy in government?

December 6, 2008

There has been talk of Caroline of the Kennedy clan becoming the Senator for New York once Hillary Clinton assumes her coronation as Secretary of State.

Personally, I think that it is high time that we Americans do away with the political dynasty’s that we have collard ourselves with. The Clinton’s, Daley’s , Bush’s, and the Kennedy’s all come to mind.

I find it difficult to see any people as being truly free when they basically enthrone families in positions of power seemingly forever. No, I don’t have anything against the woman. I’m just getting pretty tired of seeing the same families controlling this nations destiny.

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Posted in Editorial, Opinion, News, Politics, Wordpress Political Blogs | 4 Comments »

Praire Wolves, and kids do not mix

December 6, 2008

Seems that yet again we have had a wildlife human encounter that was anything but good.

BOY INJURED BY COYOTE IN WELD COUNTY

DENVER, Colo. – A nine year-old boy from Erie suffered a minor injury Thursday afternoon when a coyote snapped at him on the Vista Ridge Golf Course in Erie.  The boy and his brother were snowboarding and had stopped at the bottom of a hill at about 3:30 pm when the coyote approached, circled the boy, and lunged at him twice.

After the incident, the boy returned home, where his mother contacted the Erie Police Department to report the attack. She then took the boy to Children’s Hospital Clinic. He was released early Friday morning.

The Colorado Division of Wildlife worked with assisting agencies to track and locate the offending coyote.  A coyote was found in proximity to the incident and subsequently killed.  It has been sent to the DOW Fort Collins lab for testing, which is standard procedure after an incident such as this.

“Coyotes are naturally fearful of humans, but occasionally a coyote becomes aggressive and must be removed for public safety,” said Larry Rogstad, Area Wildlife Manager.  “It is imperative that people report encounters with aggressive coyotes right away so that we can monitor the activity and intervene when necessary.”

Most conflicts between people and coyotes are due to someone feeding these wild animals, whether intentionally or otherwise.  The DOW strongly discourages feeding of wild animals, including coyotes.  Coyotes also cause concern for pet owners, as these animals view pets as a threat, prey, or possibly even a mate.

If a coyote approaches you:
–Be as Big, Mean, and Loud as possible
-Wave your arms and throw objects at the coyote
-Shout in a deep, loud and authoritative voice
-DO NOT RUN or turn your back on the coyote
-Face the coyote and back away slowly
-If attacked, fight back with your fists and feet

The DOW encourages members of the public who encounter an aggressive coyote to immediately call 303-291-7227. If the incident occurs after business hours, contact the Colorado State Patrol (303-239-4501).

To learn more about living with coyotes, visit the DOW web page, at:
http://wildlife.state.co.us/WildlifeSpecies/LivingWithWildlife/Mammals/CoyoteCountry.htm

The Town of Erie offers additional information on living near coyotes on their website.  Visit www.erieco.gov and select “Coyotes – FAQs” from the Living in Erie section.

For more information about Division of Wildlife go to: http://wildlife.state.co.us.

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Posted in Editorial, Opinion, Education, Hunting Fishing and the Great Outdoors, Local Politics Colorado, News, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

O.J. gets juiced…

December 5, 2008

O.J. Simpson was sentenced today for crimes against the people of Nevada. The judge was pretty lenient in her sentencing. No doubt at least part of that was pure political correctness.

Here is what I am waiting to see. Will the Federals go after him and stick him with the ten year minimum for any crime committed with a gun. I doubt it, after all he is not a Border Patrol Agent doing his sworn duty…

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Posted in Editorial, Opinion, Gun Control, Law, Men's Issues, News, Politics, Wordpress Political Blogs | 3 Comments »

Utter irresponsibility

December 4, 2008

Utter irresponsibility: That is how I see this situation. Hat tip to Texas Fred for the update. Anyone that follows me on the forums and blogs are more than aware that I support civilian ownership of Class Three weapons. This is not the place for that discussion though.

This is about responsibility, accountability, and just plain common sense. I have been to many “fun shoots” that involved fully automatic weapons. They were fun, and never have I seen any sort of mishap.

At this event though, people dropped the ball, and a boy died. Others are calling for the heads of those involved. Too a degree I also believe that there should be consequences. However, I do not think that the prosecution should be given free reign for a lynching, either figuratively or relatively. This was tragic for any and all involved.

Lets look at what the investigation reveals, and then take the necessary steps to minimize the chance that anything like this ever happens again, anywhere.

What am I talking about? Read the story here.

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Posted in Editorial, Opinion, Education, Gun Control, News, Politics, Wordpress Political Blogs | 4 Comments »

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