Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category

Gun control or people control?

February 7, 2009

Those that preach the panacea of a society without violence often use legitimate people as whipping boys for their targets. Legal gun owners for example. Their twisted logic states that guns are evil, and that it is the gun that makes the person do evil things.

Those very same people expose the rest of us to extreme violence, and make it tough, if nor outright illegal to effectively defend ourselves. They make laws that create free fire zones for criminals and social misfits. Like schools, parks and so on. People that inhabit such places are turned into cannon fodder by other people that care little for anything other than their agenda. Such measures may have started out as well intentioned but the evidence is more than clear after so many mass shootings that the law of unintended consequences beats intentions every time.

So then, just who is it that commits most gun crime? A tiny minority are sociopaths that shoot up schools, malls and other public places. By far though, the vast majority are gang related. It is a sad fact of life that in America gangs are just about everywhere. Money is the driving force behind most of the violence, and innocent people get caught in these cross fires as groups vie for territory or “street cred.”

Drugs, and the lucrative profits from dealing that the ongoing drug war bolsters are most often tied to gun violence. At least according the the alphabet soup agencies. A recent CNN article pointed out that nearly all gun violence is gang related. So why then are so many different people, and organizations hell bent on disarming the rest of the population?

It could be blamed on mental illness, and many of the anti rights types are clearly hopolophobics. I think though, that is simply that old game of control. They want control of your life, and through that, your death.

USS Cole

February 7, 2009

There are people that respect the dead, and their sacrifice. Then, there is the Obama. Fair winds and following seas.

Hull Maintenance Technician Third Class
Kenneth Eugene Clodfelter – Mechanicsville, Virginia
Electronics Technician First Class
Richard Costelow – Morrisville, Pennsylvania.
Mess Management Specialist Seaman
Lakeina Monique Francis – Woodleaf, North Carolina
Information Systems Technician Seaman
Timothy Lee Gauna – Rice, Texas
Signalman Seaman Recruit
Cherone Louis Gunn – Rex, Georgia
Seaman James Rodrick McDaniels – Norfolk, Virginia.
Engineman Second Class
Marc Ian Nieto – Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin
Electronics Warfare Technician Third Class
Ronald Scott Owens – Vero Beach, Florida
Seaman Recruit
Lakiba Nicole Palmer – San Diego, California
Engineman Fireman
Joshua Langdon Parlett – Churchville, Maryland
Fireman Apprentice
Patrick Howard Roy – Cornwall on Hudson, New York
Operations Specialist Second Class
Timothy Lamont Saunders – Ringold, Virginia
Electronics Warfare Technician Second Class
Kevin Shawn Rux – Portland, North Dakota
Mess Management Specialist Third Class
Ronchester Mananga Santiago – Kingsville, Texas
Fireman Gary Graham Swenchonis, Jr. – Rockport, Texas
Ensign Andrew Triplett – Macon, Mississippi
Seaman Apprentice
Craig Bryan Wibberley – Williamsport, Maryland

“Never let a serious crisis go to waste.”

February 6, 2009

“It’s the economy stupid.” Remember that? I do, and then I also remember George H.W. Bush’s statement “Read my lips, no new taxes.”

The current mess that the economy is in makes George Bush a handy whipping boy. While at the same time conveniently forgetting that it was the Congress that forced those in the market to grant loans and general credit to people that just plain were not qualified. Now that same Congress is playing what basically is the same hand in a card game called  “The House of Cards.” What follows are two similar, but different approaches for caging the tiger. While at the same time pointing out the fallacies of the Democrat proposal (s) that simply continue to hang onto the tigers tail.

First, from Mike Rosen from the Rocky Mountain News;

Here’s the opening paragraph from a New York Times story by reporter Robert Pear (please note that this is a news story in the oh-so-liberal New York Times): “The stimulus bill working its way through Congress is not just a package of spending increases and tax cuts to jolt the nation out of recession. For Democrats, it is also a tool for rewriting the social contract with the poor, the uninsured and the unemployed, in ways they have long yearned to do.”

Reinforcing that assessment is this quote from White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel: “Never let a serious crisis go to waste. What I mean by that is it’s an opportunity to do things you couldn’t do before.”

It would be bad enough if HR 1, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 – a gargantuan $900 billion so-called economic stimulus bill – were merely an overblown accumulation of largely misdirected, politically motivated or wasteful government spending. Examples in the bill abound, like $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts, $4 million for ACORN or $75 million to discourage cigarette smoking. But those items are nickels and dimes. Calling it “pork laden” is too kind.

FULL STORY HERE

Then, from CNN we have a Libertarian perspective;

Editor’s note: Jeffrey A. Miron is senior lecturer in economics at Harvard University

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (CNN) — When libertarians question the merit of President Obama’s stimulus package, a frequent rejoinder is, “Well, we have to do something.” This is hardly a persuasive response. If the cure is worse than the disease, it is better to live with the disease.

In any case, libertarians do not argue for doing nothing; rather, they advocate eliminating or adjusting policies that are bad for the economy independent of the recession. Here is a stimulus package that libertarians can endorse:

Repeal the Corporate Income Tax: Repeal would spur investment, improve the transparency of corporate accounting, slash compliance costs, and avoid the distortions caused by the special-interest provisions in the tax code. Repeal can work fast, by raising companies’ share prices, increasing cash flow, and allowing corporations to lessen their need for bank lending.

hus repeal provides short-run stimulus and enhances long-run efficiency. Recent estimates suggest that tax cuts are at least as effective as spending increases in raising GDP. The adverse impact on the deficit is likely to be less than the $300-$350 billion in revenue the corporate tax takes in per year, since repeal spurs growth and therefore the revenue from other taxes.

Increase Carbon Taxes While Lowering Marginal Tax Rates: Reasonable people disagree about how much the U.S. should reduce its use of fossil fuels, but crowded highways, air pollution, and global warming all suggest that some reduction is desirable.

The effective way to accomplish this is higher gasoline or other carbon taxes, not the messy, complicated green spending in the Obama plan that will morph into pork in many cases. If higher carbon taxes are combined with lower marginal tax rates, the private sector faces better incentives on both counts. This approach avoids the higher deficits implied by Obama’s green initiatives.

Moderate the Growth of Entitlements: The elephant in the room amidst the stimulus debate is the impending imbalance in Social Security and Medicare as the baby boom generation moves into retirement. Without reductions in benefits, taxes will have to increase substantially, generating a major drag on the U.S. economy.

FULL STORY HERE

Both people have very defined ideas. Which beats the Democrat idea of tossing good money after bad IMO. What do you think..?

The Tenth Amendment…

February 5, 2009

The Federal Government, as currently embodied by the Obama and friends appears to be running into a few roadblocks here and there. It seems that a few states are actually asserting their authority, or at least sending messages that they will do so, and based upon the Constitution of the United States no less.

Washington joins Montana, and Oklahoma now in seeking to bring the Federal Government into check. Tread carefully is my advice. The last time that states really did assert their power resulted in the bloodiest war this nation has ever known. Even Arizona is getting into the act now!

Laws too gentle are seldom obeyed; to severe, seldom executed.
Benjamin Franklin
US author, diplomat, inventor, physicist, politician, & printer (1706 – 1790)

From RMGO: H.R. 45

February 5, 2009

H.R. 45 is Draconian Gun Control

What H.R. 45 Does

The legislation has three main components.

  1. Increasing requirements for firearms purchases.
  2. Creating a national firearms registry overseen by the Federal Government.
  3. Stiffen penalties for bookkeeping errors related to the Federal Firearms Database formed in section 2.

To purchase a firearm a person would be required to pass a written firearms examination, release all health records — including mental heath records — to the Attorney General’s office, and submit to a two-day waiting period, as well as pay an “appropriate” fee of $25 per firearm.

Additionally, every firearm sale would be recorded in a database, which would track the serial number, make, model and identity of the owner. The legislation would also make all private sales of firearms illegal, and a felony offense.

In addition to these regulations, the legislation includes excessive regulations and penalties for bureaucratic missteps from simple failures to report address changes to failure to report stolen weapons.

Provisions of H.R. 45 include:

  • Requires passing a written examination to purchase a firearm.
  • Releases medical records — including confidential mental health records — to the Attorney General for Government review.
  • Requires a two-day waiting period on all firearms purchases.
  • Institutes a fee of $25 or more on all firearm purchases.
  • Creates a national database with all firearms and firearms owners registered by serial number with the Federal Government.
  • A Federal ban on all private firearms sales.
  • Increases in penalties for clerical errors related to this national firearms registry.
  • You can read the full text of the bill here.Click here to sign the petition against H.R. 45!


    Who’s sponsoring H.R. 45

    H.R. 45 — President Obama’s National Gun Registry and Citizen Disarmament Act — was written by Illinois Congressman Bobby Rush (D). It currently has no cosponsors.


    But will it pass Congress?
    Congressman Rush’s bill an outrageous destruction of Constitutional Rights, but it’s the compromises that are truly dangerous

    Though far-left gun-haters routinely sponsor pie-in-the-sky legislation (anyone remember the days of Sen. Moynihan’s annual 1000% tax on ammo?), H.R. 45 has set new lows for the depths to which hoplophobes will sink.

    Is H.R. 45 dangerous? Yes.  But is it likely to pass?  No, not in its current form…. it’s too far-reaching.

    What is likely to pass, though, is a compromise, a deal cut with the gun-grabbers and the group that ostensibly represents gun owners, the NRA.

    Think that can’t happen? Rewind to the summer of 2007, when arch gun-hater Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy sat down with NRA board member Congressman John Dingell to craft a deal to expand Brady Checks into new realms of mental health records. A few months later, H.R. 2640 passed…with the approval of the NRA and McCarthy.

    Congressman Rush’s gun control ideas are much, much more dangerous as amendments to legislation that is already advancing.

    Remember the Brady Bill? It didn’t pass as a stand-alone bill. It passed as an amendment.

    Even more frightening was that it passed with the approval of the NRA (click here for that full story)

    The same is true of the Lautenberg Domestic Abuse ban, the Assault Weapons ban, 1986 McClure-Volkmer (which bans the manufacture of transferable machine guns), the 1968 Gun Control Act, and numerous other examples (especially if you look at state legislation).

    Yes, we’re watching H.R. 45. , and we want everyone to sign our petition against it. But also beware the slight of hand — it’s often more dangerous.

    Click here to sign the petition against H.R. 45!

    Eric Holder Sworn In As Attorney General

    February 5, 2009

    Anti-gun Eric Holder Sworn In As Attorney General
    — See who stabbed you in the back

    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, February 4, 2009

    GOA wants to thank all of you for your hard work in opposing the
    extremely anti-gun Eric Holder for Attorney General.

    While we lost the battle on Monday (by a vote of 75-21), you guys
    registered your opposition loud and clear.

    There is no doubt that your activism truly made gun rights THE issue in
    this nomination battle. Every Senator who spoke against Holder
    mentioned Second Amendment fears. And even among many of the Senators
    who voted for him, there was tremendous concern regarding Holder’s
    stance on gun rights.

    As stated by The Washington Post yesterday, “Holder overcame concerns by
    a small but vocal group of GOP lawmakers about his position on national
    security and GUN RIGHTS, as well as his recommendations in two
    controversial clemency decisions by President Bill Clinton.”

    This was truly a battle worth fighting. In fact, the man who was being
    deified two weeks ago is now the very same President who is widely seen
    as not being able to shoot straight in selecting cabinet members and is
    already starting to lose public support. The battle over Holder was
    certainly central to taking the bloom off this rose.

    So thank you for helping magnify our voice on Capitol Hill. GOA spent
    many hours lobbying against Holder, as we were the only gun rights group
    in Washington to tell Senators we would be rating this vote in our
    end-of-session grade report.

    With Holder in office, you can expect to see renewed efforts to drive
    gun dealers and manufacturers out of business — similar to the efforts
    he supported while in the Clinton administration.

    Expect also to see attempts to classify more guns as “not
    suitable” for
    sporting purposes. And don’t be surprised to see attempts to use the No
    Fly List to disqualify gun owners from exercising their Second Amendment
    rights. (Bureaucrats can add innocent Americans to the No Fly List —
    and have done so — without any due process of law being followed.)

    With Eric Holder at the helm, the list could easily become a No Gun
    List, as there are already discussions in Washington about doing this.

    All the above horror scenarios are policies that could conceivably occur
    without ANY legislation being passed in Congress. That is what makes
    Holder’s confirmation as Attorney General so dangerous. Through the use
    of Executive Orders or by prosecuting gun owners, Holder can inflict
    much damage upon the Second Amendment — even apart from lending his
    support for legislation, such as renewing the semi-auto ban.

    So what can we do now? Is the battle over Holder finished?

    No, not yet. There’s one more action item that needs to be taken.
    There are 75 Senators who ignored your pleas to vote against Holder.
    They need to hear from you and know that you’re upset.

    They need to be reminded again and again that voting for gun control is
    what cost Bill Clinton’s party the control of Congress in 1994… and Al
    Gore his election in 2000… and John Kerry the presidency in 2004.

    And don’t forget, there are the 21 Senators who voted right. They need
    to be thanked. So please don’t file this alert until you’ve taken the
    action item below.

    ACTION: Please use the Gun Owners Legislative Action Center at
    http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm to send your Senators a
    pre-written e-mail message. You will be prompted to input your zip
    code, which will then bring up the correct letter for your Senators.

    The pre-written letter will differ according to whether your Senator
    voted in favor or against Eric Holder. (Three Senators missed the vote
    entirely. GOA is treating their absence as an anti-gun action.)

    NOTE: GOA’s pre-written letters are usually editable by the sender. In
    this instance, they are not for the sake of avoiding confusion, so that
    Senators who voted wrong are not thanked (and vice versa).

    —————————————————————

    SENATORS WHO VOTED FOR ERIC HOLDER (AN ANTI-GUN VOTE):

    Akaka (D-HI)
    Alexander (R-TN)
    Baucus (D-MT)
    Bayh (D-IN)
    Bennet (D-CO)
    Bennett (R-UT)
    Bingaman (D-NM)
    Bond (R-MO)
    Boxer (D-CA)
    Brown (D-OH)
    Burris (D-IL)
    Byrd (D-WV)
    Cantwell (D-WA)
    Cardin (D-MD)
    Carper (D-DE)
    Casey (D-PA)
    Chambliss (R-GA)
    Collins (R-ME)
    Conrad (D-ND)
    Corker (R-TN)
    Dodd (D-CT)
    Dorgan (D-ND)
    Durbin (D-IL)
    Feingold (D-WI)
    Feinstein (D-CA)
    Gillibrand (D-NY)
    Graham (R-SC)
    Grassley (R-IA)
    Gregg (R-NH)
    Hagan (D-NC)
    Harkin (D-IA)
    Hatch (R-UT)
    Inouye (D-HI)
    Isakson (R-GA)
    Johnson (D-SD)
    Kaufman (D-DE)
    Kerry (D-MA)
    Klobuchar (D-MN)
    Kohl (D-WI)
    Kyl (R-AZ)
    Landrieu (D-LA)
    Lautenberg (D-NJ)
    Leahy (D-VT)
    Levin (D-MI)
    Lieberman (ID-CT)
    Lincoln (D-AR)
    Lugar (R-IN)
    McCain (R-AZ)
    McCaskill (D-MO)
    Menendez (D-NJ)
    Merkley (D-OR)
    Mikulski (D-MD)
    Murkowski (R-AK)
    Murray (D-WA)
    Nelson (D-FL)
    Nelson (D-NE)
    Pryor (D-AR)
    Reed (D-RI)
    Reid (D-NV)
    Rockefeller (D-WV)
    Sanders (I-VT)
    Schumer (D-NY)
    Sessions (R-AL)
    Shaheen (D-NH)
    Snowe (R-ME)
    Specter (R-PA)
    Stabenow (D-MI)
    Tester (D-MT)
    Udall (D-CO)
    Udall (D-NM)
    Voinovich (R-OH)
    Warner (D-VA)
    Webb (D-VA)
    Whitehouse (D-RI)
    Wyden (D-OR)

    SENATORS WHO VOTED AGAINST HOLDER (A PRO-GUN VOTE)

    Barrasso (R-WY)
    Brownback (R-KS)
    Bunning (R-KY)
    Burr (R-NC)
    Coburn (R-OK)
    Cochran (R-MS)
    Cornyn (R-TX)
    Crapo (R-ID)
    DeMint (R-SC)
    Ensign (R-NV)
    Enzi (R-WY)
    Hutchison (R-TX)
    Inhofe (R-OK)
    Johanns (R-NE)
    McConnell (R-KY)
    Risch (R-ID)
    Roberts (R-KS)
    Shelby (R-AL)
    Thune (R-SD)
    Vitter (R-LA)
    Wicker (R-MS)

    SENATORS NOT VOTING

    Begich (D-AK)
    Kennedy (D-MA)
    Martinez (R-FL)

    Facist Holder secures power

    February 2, 2009

    Fascist Eric Holder has been appointed United States Attorney General. Only twenty-one Senators had the courage to stand for the Constitution and against the Obama henchman. Get ready for more Americans to die at the hands of government rogues after being entrapped. How long until another group of Americans are incinerated at the hands of the Department of Justice for practicing their religion? Those things happened during Holders last watch. Eric Holder condemns as torture something that every American troop that is spec ops, and many others go through as training, but he can’t condemn atrocities against Americans..?

    Obama, the new “American way?”

    February 2, 2009

    Many times I have posted about the Obama. About this phenomenon and his ability to mesmerize audiences. About how our Constitutional Republic is turning into the pure democracy of mob rule. About how the Obama used amoral methods to get elected to an office that he does not deserve to be in simply based upon the requirements for the office laid out in the Constitution. Not to mention the foreign money. His promises to negotiate with those sworn to destroy America. Well, just take a look at his cabinet. What a bunch of misfits and outright traitors to their oaths to the Constitution. My prose though, is nothing compared to that of  Dr. Ali Sina. Read his work here.

    Achmed gets…

    February 2, 2009

    Please go to NO COMPRISE to view the latest version of our favorite terrorist, Achmed!

    One has to wonder if just maybe American Special Operations didn’t supply some of the ammo used…

    The Million Gun Owner March

    February 1, 2009

    SOURCE

    I received this from our fellow member Bushwack and this is one of those things that needs to be passed on, supported, nurtured and carried to fruition!

    The Million Gun Owner March

    Last week I received the below email from a lady in Belgium who had just read my book “RKBA: Defending the Right to Keep and Bear Arms”. She was distraught and discouraged because her beloved country was no longer what it used to be. Here are her words.

    “Another nutcase criminal entered a baby/little kid’s daycare center… and he began to stab the kids with a knife! You know what the adults who are supposed to take care of the kids did? One was stabbed himself, but two others ran away. One hid behind a closed door and watched through the window while the kids got slaughtered and another one ran away and left the kids alone with the attacker! Two babies died, several kids badly wounded… The country is in shock, how is this possible? …No one said anything about the cowardly behavior of the two adults who ran away. They told it like it was a normal reaction, a normal thing to do…”

    I can sense the outrage in her voice when I read her words. This woman, once a patriotic and proud citizen, was now a mere subject, and ashamed of what her country had become. Thanks to the miracle of gun control and pistol-free zones, two more babies are dead.

    I did some research and learned that in June of 2006, reacting to a racially inspired shooting in Antwerp, a Draconian gun ban went into effect in the country of Belgium. Citizens were required to turn over their firearms to police, without compensation, or, in the case of antiques, were required to render them permanently inoperable.

    In the words of my reader in Belgium “The country is in shock, how is this possible?” The answer is simple: cause and effect. When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns. In this pitiful case the man didn’t even have a gun. He was loaded down with knives; he was mentally ill, and he arrived at the crime scene on a bicycle, did his killing, and then rode away – on a bike. Folks this is sad and shameful. Six adults couldn’t stop one crazy man with a knife on a bike.

    “One man with a gun can control 100 without one. … Make mass searches and hold executions for found arms.” ~ Vladimir Lenin ~

    Apparently, one man with a knife can now control six people without. But then again, it’s easy for us Americans to sit back and make fun of Europe. After all, we are the land of the free, the home of the brave. Right? Well, not so fast. In many states in America, including my home state of Michigan, the outcome would have been the same as in Belgium, because daycare centers are one of the hallowed and sacred pistol-free zones. (Sacred and revered, but only to law-abiding citizens, because criminals pay them no heed.)

    For two centuries, us damned Yankees have enfleshed the attitude of freedom and independence. But now, have we changed? Is Obama fiddling as Washington DC burns? In my opinion, America has lost much of its spunk, much of its spirit, and much of its grit. We have become less heroic and more sheeplike. We are no longer leaders, but followers. In light of the outcome of the last elections, have we become simply Euro-sheep? I am ashamed to admit that many of my fellow Americans have indeed succumbed to oppression and have lost their will to fight. They would rather have peace than freedom.

    I received another email just yesterday. It was from a fellow patriot who said:

    “I am a fellow gun owner and supporter of the second amendment. I have been chatting with a bunch of fellow gun lovers on the S&W forum about trying to get a million man march on Washington organized. Since I know very little about doing so, I thought I’d write you on behalf of all of us. We would like to get some help organizing such an event. We would like to be able to get the word out to as many gun owners as possible and encourage them to join us.”

    That idea struck me as good, so I got involved. First, I emailed Ted Nugent and asked him to headline a “Million Gun Owner March” on Washington DC. Here is his response:

    “It is time. IF coordinated with NRA, GOA, JFPOFO, MCRGO, SCI, NWTF, RMEF, DU, FNAWS, etc etc & all gunrights orgs, I would be proud to join/lead the fray!!!”

    This is how it works folks. Every revolution throughout history has always started with a single person. One ordinary person wakes up, looks around and says “Hey! This isn’t right! Someone should do something!”

    And that someone is you and I. We are one small part of the Million Gun Owner March. The next thing I did was email Chuck Perricone, Executive Director of Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners and asked if they’d like to be involved. His response was similar to Ted’s:

    “The answer is, “YES”…and we’d like to handle the press/recruiting. We can knock this out of the park. FANTASTIC idea, Skip.”

    Hmmm, I see some possibilities here. I see excitement. I see motivation. I see patriots with guns! I see a peaceful (but loud) march on Washington DC, on the Capitol steps, down Pennsylvania Avenue, with Ted Nugent singing his electrified version of the National Anthem as loud as he can. Maybe I can get Toby Keith too? And I like that song by LC Greenwood “God Bless the USA”. That one just brings chills to my tired, old, gun-totin’ body.

    I’ll have to check into that. In the meantime, I logged on and bought the domain name http://www.milliongunownermarch.com/. It is my donation to the cause. Now, since I’m computer clumsy, we need someone to step forward and build the website. Any computer-savvy volunteers out there willing to build a website for us?

    You know the frustrating part of a movement, is that too many people wait for someone else to step forward and do what needs doing. It’s known as the crowd mentality. People wait until it looks safe, then they step out and join. A few weeks ago I quoted Mark Twain, and it bears repeating.

    “In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, brave and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot.”

    Well, America, this is the beginning of a change and it is no time for the timid. This is the time for brave men and women to stand up and be counted. Because, I just have a feeling, that America’s time may be running out. I don’t want to live in a nation of Euro-sheep. I want my children to inherit the freedom our forefathers knew. But freedom has to be protected or it will fall. I suspect, my freedom-loving friends, that we are at a crossroads. Now, assuming we are smart enough to see it, and that we are brave enough to take the road less traveled, perhaps, America, just perhaps, there is still time to save our liberty. The time to act is now. We must march now, or forever hold our piece (rendered inoperable by the government).