If anyone really believes that the Republican Party is a bastion of small government and the leaders for individual rights… Think again!
Archive for May, 2009
Dick Cheney and the Rino Republicans
May 14, 2009Dick Cheney has been catching hell lately, a lot of it. Not only from the usual suspects but from supposed allies. The Republican In Name Only types that are thinly veiled authoritarian statist’s.
For my part I have always liked him (Cheney), no, I’m not in lock step with him. Then again, I’ve never been that way with any politician. I admired Tom Tancredo for years, and still do to a great extent. Yet he voted for the bail out, and made some really stupid comments after Columbine. What I like about both Cheney and Tancredo is their type of moxy. They don’t run away and hide when confronted. They both stand by their beliefs come hell or high water. That is a rare quality these days.
It is causing something of a fire storm.
GOA Helps Push Pro-gun Coburn Amendment Over the Hump — And Montana becomes a model state
May 14, 2009Gun Owners of America Alert: Some good news for a change! 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
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Gun owners won a long-fought victory in the U.S. Senate yesterday with
the passage of an amendment to repeal the gun ban on National Park
Service (NPS) and National Wildlife Refuge System land.
GOA was the driving force behind this amendment and lobbied Senators
hard prior to the vote to get the provision passed. The amendment,
offered by Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK), passed overwhelmingly by a vote of
67-29. People can see how their Senators voted on the Coburn amendment
by going to:
http://capwiz.com/gunowners/issues/votes/?votenum=188&chamber=S&congress=1111
NPS and Wildlife Refuge land is treated differently with regard to gun
rights than other federally controlled land. For instance, the Bureau of
Land Management (BLM) allows state and local laws to govern firearms
possession. However, carrying firearms on NPS land and Wildlife Refuges
is prohibited, even if the state in which the land is located allows
carrying firearms.
The only way to legally possess a firearm anywhere on National Park land
is by having it unloaded and inaccessible, such as locked up in your
trunk.
This has created a patchwork of conflicting regulations. For instance, a
Virginia resident who is licensed to carry a concealed firearm can
legally carry on the Commonwealth’s roadways, but it is illegal to carry
on the George Washington Memorial Parkway, a major thoroughfare in
Virginia under the jurisdiction of the NPS.
In the waning days of his administration, President Bush partially
reversed the ban, but even that half-way measure has been
single-handedly negated by an activist judge in Washington, D.C. The
Department of Interior has decided not to appeal that ruling, thus
leaving the gun ban in place.
The Coburn amendment will treat NPS land and Wildlife Refuges in the
same manner as BLM land. The amendment will in no way change or override
state, local or federal law, but will simply allow those laws — enacted
by legislation, not bureaucrats or judges — to govern firearms
possession.
The amendment was attached to a bill, H.R. 627, regulating the credit
card industry. The House passed its own version of the bill on April 30
by a vote of 357-70, and the Senate is expected to follow suit this
week.
The House bill does not contain the Coburn language, and is
substantially different in other respects. Therefore, a House and Senate
conference committee will have to iron out the differences between the
two bills. President Obama said he wants to sign a bill before Memorial
Day.
GOA will alert you once the conferees are appointed, as we need to put
the heat on the conference committee to keep the Coburn amendment in the
final bill.
Please stay tuned for further updates.
States Beginning to Resist Federal Intrusion
The epicenter of the earthquake you may have felt last month originated
in Helena, Montana.
That’s where Governor Brian Schweitzer signed the Montana Firearms
Freedom Act into law. This act basically states that if you build a gun
in Montana — and the firearm stays in the state — it is exempt from
federal gun control laws.
Several states have passed so-called Tenth Amendment resolutions in
recent years to protest the usurpation of power that the federal
government has engaged in. However, most of these resolutions have no
teeth.
What Montana has done is to actually interpose itself so as to protect
its citizens from the unconstitutional mandates that have been passed at
the federal level.
Gary Marbut, a former GOA Board Member and the current head of the
Montana Shooting Sports Association, is the intellectual author of this
legislation. He says that almost a dozen states are considering — or
have already introduced — similar bills. Marbut is expected to talk
about the new law on Fox’s Glenn Beck show this Friday (5 pm EST).
This effort is not the first act of interposition on Montana’s part.
This is the state that has effectively, by law, decreed that every
law-abiding citizen within the state is authorized to carry a firearm
within a school zone; the state that nullified the federal requirements
of REAL-ID (read: National ID card); and which had even threatened to
leave the union if the Supreme Court ruled against Second Amendment
rights in the Heller case.
Thank God for the state of Montana.
****************************
What’s Your Current GOA Status?
Obviously, we now face years of invigorated attacks on our gun rights.
Shutting down gun shows, prohibitions on specific calibers, another
semi-auto ban, and the anti-gun extremists’ Holy Grail of mandatory
federal licensing and registration of all gun owners — these are just
some of the horrors that we already know we’ll have to defeat head-on.
Meanwhile, we’ll take every opportunity to go on offense and advance the
Second Amendment.
It can’t be done without every single voice being counted. That’s why we
are asking you to consider making the commitment of becoming a Gun
Owners of America Life Member. By doing so, you put the politicians on
notice that neither you nor GOA is going away — that no matter who’s in
the White House, there is always going to be a solid wall of resistance.
National Security Letters
May 14, 2009National Security Letters have been used by many Presidents for a long time. Most often they are used as intended. A tool that will help the President guard the safety of the people of the United States. That has not always been the case, but it has been the norm.
There appears to be a new twist added by the current administration though. That being the broad brush approach to diverse groups of people from varied backgrounds that support or oppose various issues and causes. It’s not just the Libertarians being painted into this picture anymore. It’s a pretty large slice of the American pie. I first saw something about this a day or so ago, and was thinking about posting about it with commentary; however, Tracy at No Compromise, as usual, beat me to it. Read on…
The American government is officially out of control, and has murdered the Constitution! We the People have aided in this killing, and it didn’t start with Faux-bama at the helm.
This slow crawl to utter control of us consumers (notice I said consumers, and not Citizens, that’s another post for sure) has been going on for a very long time, and the only reason we see it more clearly right now is because American Citizens are using technology to expose the destruction of the Constitution and our self-sovereignty!
I posted the Fourth Amendment to remind you of your self-sovereignty, natural Rights and show you first hand with a contrast to our beloved Constitution what the federal government is doing to take away our un-a-LIEN-able natural, non-government issued, Rights we possess because we were born human beings!
Let’s start with this little tidbit of information, the unclassified (meaning: not kept private) National Security Letter. What is that you ask?
“A National Security Letter (NSL) is a letter request for information from a third party that is issued by the FBI or by other government agencies with authority to conduct national security investigations.”
On the face, it all sounds really groovy, and protective of our Nation, but let’s take a closer examination of what a “national security investigation” might look like.
Recently, The Homeland Security released a so called “non-classified” report called Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment.
The writers stated that the purpose of the report was
to facilitate a greater understanding of the phenomenon of violent radicalization in the United States. The information is provided to federal, state, local, and tribal counterterrorism and law enforcement officials so they may effectively deter, prevent, preempt, or respond to terrorist attacks against the United States. Federal efforts to influence domestic public opinion must be conducted in an overt and transparent manner, clearly identifying United States Government sponsorship.
Let me start with this statement:
Federal efforts to influence domestic public opinion must be conducted in an overt and transparent manner, clearly identifying United States Government sponsorship.
The Feds don’t even make good liars anymore! Why is it that the Feds are trying to “influence domestic public opinion”? It’s called brainwashing, but I digress!
H.R. 2159 making the Constitution toilet tissue
May 11, 2009I have many times said that the Constitution and Bill of Rights are a package. Take one part from them, and the whole thing falls apart. The ultimate goal of the authoritarians is the dismantling of our way of life. As noted on another WordPress blog this morning the failed “communitarian movement” sought, as a base statement that individual liberty is subject to communal liberty. That scholarly work was from 1996 and contrasted militia movements with communitarian’s as well as pointing out the similarities.
It seems that although the so-called movement has gone away it’s ideology has reached the halls of power. As expressed in proposed law by those that just absolutely hate liberty and freedom H.R. 2159 will deny rights to people simply based upon suspicion. The obamanites are learning though, they have tossed in leftest groups this time as well as those that they previously had branded as home grown terrorists. Read on…
By Drew Zahn
© 2009 WorldNetDaily
 Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y. |
A new gun law being considered in Congress, if aligned with Department of Homeland Security memos labeling everyday Americans as potential “threats,” could potentially deny firearms to pro-lifers, gun-rights advocates, tax protesters, animal rights activists, and a host of others – any already on the expansive DHS watch list for potential “extremism.”
Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., has sponsored H.R. 2159, the Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act of 2009, which permits the attorney general to deny transfer of a firearm to any “known or suspected dangerous terrorist.” The bill requires only that the potential firearm transferee is “appropriately suspected” of preparing for a terrorist act and that the attorney general “has a reasonable belief” that the gun might be used in connection with terrorism.
Gun rights advocates, however, object to the bill’s language, arguing that it enables the federal government to suspend a person’s Second Amendment rights without any trial or legal proof and only upon suspicion of being “dangerous.”
“[Rep. King] would deny citizens their civil liberties based on no due process,” objected Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America. “A ‘known terrorist?’ Look, if the guy has committed an act of terrorism, we shouldn’t have to worry about him being able to buy a gun; he should be in jail!”
Pratt further warned WND of the potential overlap of H.R. 2159 and a recent DHS memo that warned against potential violence from “right-wing extremists,” such as those concerned about illegal immigration, increasing federal power, restrictions on firearms, abortion and the loss of U.S. sovereignty.
“By those standards, I’m one of [DHS Secretary] Janet Napolitano’s terrorists,” Pratt said. “This bill would enable the attorney general to put all of the people who voted against Obama on no-gun lists, because according to the DHS, they’re all potential terrorists. Actually, we could rename this bill the Janet Napolitano Frenzied Fantasy Implementation Act of 2009.”
| ; |
HOMELAND INSECURITY
Next step? No guns allowed for right-wing ‘extremists’
Bill empowers attorney general to forbid firearms for those ‘suspected dangerous’
Obamanomics explained
May 10, 2009
Who will help me plant my wheat?" asked the little red
hen.
"Not I,"
said the cow.
"Not I," said the
duck.
"Not I," said the
pig.
"Not I," said the
goose.
"Then I will do it by myself,"
said the little red hen, and so she did. She planted her crop, and
the wheat grew very tall and ripened into golden
grain.
"Who will help me reap my
wheat?" asked the little red hen.
"Not
I," said the duck..
"Out of my
classification," said the pig.
"I'd
lose my seniority," said the cow.
"I'd
lose my unemployment compensation," said the
goose.
"Then I will do it by myself,"
said the little red hen, and so she
did.
At last it came time to bake the
bread. "Who will help me bake the bread?" asked the little red
hen.
"That would be overtime for me,"
said the cow.
"I'd lose my welfare
benefits," said the duck.
"I'm a
dropout and never learned how," said the
pig.
"If I'm to be the only helper,
that's discrimination," said the
goose.
"Then I will do it by myself,"
said the little red hen.
She baked five
loaves and held them up for all of her neighbors to see. They wanted
some and, in fact, demanded a share. But the little red hen said,
"No, I shall eat all five
loaves."
"Excess profits!" cried the
cow. (Nancy Pelosi)
"Capitalist leech!"
screamed the duck. (Barbara Boxer)
"I
demand equal rights!" yelled the goose. (Jesse
Jackson)
The pig just grunted in
disdain. (Ted Kennedy)
And they all
painted 'Unfair!' picket signs and marched around and around the
little red hen, shouting
obscenities.
Then the farmer (Obama)
came. He said to the little red hen, "You must not be so
greedy."
"But I earned the bread," said
the little red hen.
"Exactly," said Barack the
farmer. "That is what makes our free enterprise system so wonderful.
Anyone in the barnyard can earn as much as he wants. But under our
modern government regulations, the productive workers must divide
the fruits of their labor with those who are lazy and
idle.."
And they all lived happily ever
after, including the little red hen, who smiled and clucked, "I am
grateful, for now I truly
understand."
But her neighbors became
quite disappointed in her. She never again baked bread because she
joined the 'party' and got her bread free. And all the Democrats
smiled. 'Fairness' had been
established.
Individual initiative had
died, but nobody noticed; perhaps no one cared...so long as there
was free bread that 'the rich' were paying
for.
EPILOGUE
Bill
Clinton is getting $12 million for his
memoirs.
Hillary got $8 million for
hers.
That's $20 million for the
memories from two people, who for eight years repeatedly testified,
under oath, that t hey couldn't remember
anything.
IS THIS A GREAT BARNYARD OR
WHAT
NRA ILA Alerts
May 10, 2009H.R. 2296 — BATFE Reform Bill Introduced In U.S. House
As we reported last week, the companion bill to S. 941 — the “Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Reform and Firearms Modernization Act” that was introduced by Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on April 30-was introduced in the U.S. House this week.
Sponsored by Representatives Steve King (R-Iowa) and Zack Space (D-Ohio), H.R. 2296 is bipartisan reform legislation that represents the culmination of efforts to address BATFE abuses and problems highlighted in several congressional oversight hearings in 2006. (To read more about those hearings, please click here.) H.R. 2296 represents NRA-ILA’s latest efforts to pass legislation that will make it easier for gun owners and dealers to comply with federal law and regulations, while ensuring that criminals are punished accordingly.
 Click here to vote in this week’s poll. |
Polling Data Shows That Most Americans Oppose New Gun Control: Anyone who follows the news closely can tell you that, despite what a majority of the media’s anti-gun talking heads say, most Americans do not support more gun control. Faced with the new anti-gun administration, the economy, terrorism, gang violence, etc., gun and ammunition sales are soaring. And recent polling data once again prove that Americans value the Second Amendment and don’t want more restrictions placed on their freedom.
H.R. 2324–Aiming At Registering Gun Owners And Putting Gun Shows Out Of Business: On May 6, at a press conference with Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign, U.S. Representatives Michael Castle (R-Del.) and Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.) introduced H.R. 2324–the “Gun Show Loophole Closing Act.” Masquerading as reform, H.R. 2324 would impose severe bureaucratic restrictions aimed at shutting down gun shows.
Joyce Foundation’s Investment In Violence Policy Center Yields Poor Return: The Joyce Foundation gives millions of dollars to the two or three radical anti-gunners that make up the Violence Policy Center, to put together white papers vilifying everything related to guns and gun owners. But after VPC’s latest effort, Joyce might want to reconsider whether it’s getting its money’s worth.
This week, VPC came out with one of its most trite and superficial bits of gibberish to date–an extraordinarily brief piece pointing out that Louisiana, Alabama, Alaska, Mississippi, and Nevada are the five states that have the highest firearm-related death rates, and among the highest rates of gun ownership and “weakest” gun laws.
No Surprises Here: As reported in the April 3 Grassroots Alert, Richard Aborn, former president of Handgun Control, Inc. (now Brady Center) is running for Manhattan District Attorney. A story in the May 5 issue of The New York Times, notes that Aborn recently unveiled a five-point plan for combating gun violence in the city. Not surprisingly, it is laden with gun control provisions.
Aborn’s plan calls for “regional interdiction approach to gun trafficking; more gun buyback programs and a program in which parents could give the police permission to search homes for guns; a requirement that pistols sold in New York include micro-stamping technology; a five-year renewal process for handgun permits; and support for a national gun-control strategy.”
ILA Dinner and Auction At Annual Meetings: The Institute for Legislative Action will hold its Third Annual Dinner and Auction in conjunction with the NRA Annual Meetings in Phoenix, Arizona, on Friday evening, May 15th.
The Third Annual NRA-ILA Dinner and Auction will allow you to show your continued support for NRA-ILA, and enjoy a great evening filled with good food, friends, and an excellent live and silent auction. This year’s auction is dedicated to “Investing in our Firearms Freedom.”
For more information regarding this great event or to purchase tickets, please click here.
Supreme Court Plaintiff Dick Heller To Speak At Grassroots Workshop Breakfast! If you haven’t signed up yet for the NRA-ILA Grassroots Workshop on May 15, being held in conjunction with NRA’s Annual Meeting, here’s another reason to do so.
During the free continental breakfast that proceeds the Workshop, Dick Heller, the plaintiff in the landmark D.C. v. Heller case, in which the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Washington, D.C.’s handgun ban and affirmed the Second Amendment as an individual right, will be presenting remarks.
Mr. Heller will speak at 8:30 a.m., on the Heller decision and the need for continued and increased grassroots activism in order to protect the Second Amendment.
To read more about this Workshop, please click here.
Thugs in the White House
May 8, 2009Noted economist John Lott unloads on the White House.
Tom Ridge Drops Out as Pressure Against his Candidacy Intensifies!
May 8, 2009Tom Ridge Drops Out as Pressure Against his Candidacy Intensifies!
— Plus, gun owners gain ground in opposition to Health Care Gun Ban
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
Friday, May 8, 2009
Earlier this week, GOA alerted email activists that certain prominent
Republicans were pushing former Department of Homeland Security Director
Tom Ridge to run against pro-gunner Pat Toomey in a Pennsylvania
primary.
GOA members flooded the Republican National Committee (RNC) office with
phone calls and emails, highlighting a few of Tom Ridge’s anti-gun
actions:
* As a Congressman, he provided the pivotal vote to pass the Clinton
semi-auto ban.
* As Governor, he signed into law the infamous Act 17, which registered
and taxed long gun buyers and placed other restrictions on Keystone
State gun owners.
* As the first director of DHS, Ridge opposed arming commercial airline
pilots in defense of terrorism.
In contrast, former Rep. Pat Toomey stood 100% for the rights of gun
owners.
GOA also sent a letter to every RNC official nationwide, assuring them
that gun owners and sportsmen would not accept an anti-gun candidate
like Tom Ridge.
Well, good news! Tom Ridge “decided,” with the help of
activism like
yours, to stay out of the 2010 Pennsylvania Senate race. He withdrew
his name yesterday.
That means Pat Toomey, who has been endorsed by Gun Owners of America
Political Victory Fund, could face Republican-turned-Democrat Arlen
Specter next November.
Specter, you may recall, provided crucial support to confirm gun-hating
Attorney General Eric Holder; was one of two Republicans to vote against
arming commercial airline pilots; and singlehandedly passed the
so-called economic “stimulus” bill, which contained several
provisions
of grave concern to gun owners.
Update on Health Care Gun Ban
Two weeks ago, GOA asked you to urge your Representative and Senators to
vote against the budget resolution conference report. The vote was a
key battle in the larger war over whether to create a national health
database which would allow BATF to troll your medical records for
information about whether your mental state subjects you to a gun ban.
Well, it looks like we took a couple of small steps forward, even though
the resolution passed the House and the Senate. The Senate only passed
the resolution by a 53-43 vote, which means that despite the pleas of
the Obama administration — thanks to your efforts — all Republicans,
plus Specter, Bayh, Nelson of Nebraska, and Byrd voted against the
conference report.
This means that, with all senators present, we are only about a half
dozen votes away from defeating the vast, hugely controversial health
package when it comes up for a final vote in September or October. And,
when the package is unveiled later this summer, we will have a good shot
at picking up the additional votes we need, based on its controversial
details.
****************************
Got Form Letters?
Recently, several legislators such as Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia have
been sending activists interesting form letters whenever those activists
contact them via GOA’s Legislative Action Center. Essentially, the form
letters state that a detailed reply will not be forthcoming because the
e-mail was generated through an “outside third party website,” or
include similar sentiments. This has some GOA supporters understandably
concerned that they are being ignored.
Rest assured, our contacts on Capitol Hill report that GOA-generated
e-mail IS being received and the contents noted by staff of the offices
in question. If the legislators choose to respond with a nothing-burger
form letter, fine. They know they have to pay attention to gun owner
concerns when the votes are taken. So please do not be discouraged if
you receive a less-than-forthcoming response. Your views are being
heard.
****************************
Just a note. So far I have received real responses from the Wyoming legislators. 😀
Gitmo
May 8, 2009Do you feel safer now..?
Conservative Libertarian Outpost 