Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Personal independence and the citizen authority to act

November 9, 2010

By way of Gun Owners of America I was introduced to yet another Gun Rights Examiner. Be sure too read his newsletter often, as well as his Examiner page!

by John Lngenecker

My core message to non-gun owners is that the health of the second amendment is the primary indicator of the overall health of the nation.

Understanding of how the two are related is going to be the key to smaller government, where everyone benefits.
With a changing of the guard in Washington and across many state governorships, some on the road back home to smaller government are bracing us once more
for sacrifice and some pain. There is no question that the people will have to participate in how we get smaller government, but not in the way we were told.
The time for compromise and sacrifice are actually over because most of the boondoggles are about to be over. With them gone, there is lesser need for compromise on a lot of things. From now on, our only sacrifice will be the time and trouble of supervising our public servants. For some, it is this supervision instead of being supervised that unsettles, but we are the sovereign, and we put the self in self-rule, making suprervision of officials a duty of all.
Whether some are comfortable or uncomfortable with self-rule is immaterial: it is our way of life for the good of the country. The repeal of gun laws is integral to smooth running governments who operate within budget, respond to constituents and who are free from scandal.
When the republicans take office in 2011, a lot of us expect the incoming Congress to repeal a chunk of gun laws as unjust and unconstitutional.
But there is more. Republicans and the officials and constituents who share republicanism values – those who understand that we are a republic and not a democracy, for instance – will know that an armed citizenry deters and fights crime best. Get a much better handle on violent crime and you have found the unlock block to uncontrolled spending. They key to smaller government is to withdraw the keystone of nearly all boondoggles, gun control.
With conservatives in office, Americans can likely see one vital thing: that personal independence works best when the target of violence has a free hand in being their own first line of defense.
If republicans stand for this kind of independence, they will be able to reduce the size of government by unfunding tons of anti-violence programs which attempt to take the place of the armed citizen and the citizen’s authority to act. Note that where the crime is the highest – and funding is the most wasteful – is in major cities with major gun control. With no force to resist violence, crime thrives. Don’t forget that gun control and gun laws are an absentee concept in how crime is cultivated. Anti-violence programs do little when every single crime is yet another failure of the program.
The sunlight on this reveals what gun control has been hiding: personal independence and the citizen authority to act. The best evidence, of course, is in how successful that independent authority to act is elsewhere in states which do not have severe gun laws.
The correctness and the dignity of the repeal of all gun laws is in the republicanism value that not only do the officials obey the constituents and respect their rights in this republic, but that they trust them because they believe in the system of republicanism.
Hurry, 2011, hurry.
— LA Gun Rights Examiner John Longenecker publishes the Safer Streets Newsletter.

BIGHORN RETURNED TO NORTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO RANGE

November 7, 2010

CRESTONE, Colo. – Thirteen Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep have a new home in the northern portion of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range following a successful transplant operation by the Colorado Division of Wildlife.

The Northern Sangres have been devoid of bighorn sheep since the 1980’s, but with the population in the Southern Sangres thriving, the DOW decided to take advantage of an opportunity to reestablish Colorado’s state animal to another part of its historic range.

“Bighorn belong in the Northern Sangres,” said Dan Prenzlow, DOW Southeast Regional Manager. “Restoring native species is the kind of thing the Division of Wildlife loves to do. We’re delighted to be able to make this happen.”

The project, led by Brian Dreher, the senior terrestrial biologist for the Southeast Region, presented a novel challenge.

“This is the first time we’ve moved sheep from one high alpine location to another,” Dreher said.  “We hope these first 13 animals are the beginning of new self-sustaining alpine herd sheep in good habitat were bighorn were once common.”

During a two-day operation in mid-October, Colorado-based Quicksilver Air, Inc. captured three rams, nine ewes and a lamb at elevations between 12,000 and 13,000 feet above sea level in the mountains southeast of Crestone.  The bighorns were airlifted to a central processing station on the valley floor where DOW veterinarians took DNA and blood samples, gave each animal a thorough medical exam and recorded data.  The sheep were also fitted with radio telemetry tracking collars and ear tags.

Once the animals were processed, DOW crews used trailers to truck the sheep to the upper end of the San Luis Valley.  From that point, the helicopter airlifted the sheep again to their new alpine home north of Hunts Lake.

Prior to undertaking the project, Dreher did extensive research on habitat suitability and looked for historical accounts of bighorn sheep on the alpine areas of the Northern Sangre de Cristo range. His research indicated that bighorns were once common, but that over time sheep numbers dwindled. The last sighting of bighorns in the Northern Sangres was in 1980.

“In the early 1900’s, local ranchers reported sheep in the Northern Sangres around Stout and Bushnell lakes,” he said. “Locals even called one of the peaks Sheep Mountain. When we looked, we found no sheep but plenty of good habitat, including winter range, lambing areas and escape terrain.”

Dreher added that the bighorns will be monitored monthly from fixed-wing aircraft for several years to evaluate survival, reproduction, and distribution.

More information about bighorn sheep and the DOW’s bighorn conservation program can be found at:  http://wildlife.state.co.us/WildlifeSpecies/Profiles/Mammals/BighornSheep.htm

NOTE TO NEWS EDITORS:  Still photos are available for download:

Photo # 1:  Helicopter delivers bighorn sheep.
http://dnr.state.co.us/ImageDBImages/26036.JPG

Photo # 2:  DOW biologists carry sheep from helicopter.
http://dnr.state.co.us/ImageDBImages/26038.JPG

Photo # 3: Dr. Mike Miller collects DNA blood samples from bighorn sheep.
http://dnr.state.co.us/ImageDBImages/26041.JPG

Photo #4: DOW biologists fit bighorn sheep with a radio tracking collar.
http://dnr.state.co.us/ImageDBImages/26040.JPG

Photo #5: Bighorn sheep with radio tracking collar.
http://dnr.state.co.us/ImageDBImages/26037.JPG

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

Right To Hunt And Fish Amendments Adopted In Three States

November 7, 2010

 

Voters in Tennessee, Arkansas, and South Carolina made a powerful statement on Tuesday by overwhelmingly voting to include National Rifle Association-backed constitutional amendments to protect America’s great, ages-old heritage of hunting and fishing as state constitutional rights.

“The voters have spoken and they have sent a very clear message to anti-hunting groups like the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and PETA: You and your extremist agendas are not welcome in my state,” said NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris Cox. “NRA will continue to lead efforts to pass these amendments across the nation. We must be vigilant because even as we get more sportsmen’s groups to join us in the fight, extremists are pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into anti-hunting campaigns.”

Tennessee’s Amendment received 90 percent of the vote, followed by South Carolina with 89 percent and Arkansas with 82 percent. The voters in these states appreciate that sportsmen are today’s true conservationists, as their license fees and excise taxes paid on equipment fund the vast majority of wildlife and conservation efforts in the country. Both sportsmen and wildlife were undisputed winners on election night.

Right to Hunt and Fish constitutional amendments are a state-by-state priority for the NRA and will continue at a rapid pace, especially with more pro-Second Amendment and pro-hunting legislators being elected around the country. NRA’s model Right to Hunt and Fish constitutional language, developed over the past five years, has become the standard from which to negotiate with legislators and game and fish professionals. Thirteen states now have these important constitutional protections: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin.

“Hunting is in America’s DNA. Indeed, it is as old as civilization itself,” concluded Cox. “NRA has long assumed a leadership role but we must all work together to ensure that every resident in every state is able to rest, knowing that their hunting heritage will be there for future generations.”

SOURCE

Zero tolerance at election time

November 4, 2010

“I think that the message is unmistakable that the Obama agenda is dead. … [N]ow it will depend on how Obama proceeds. He has now tried a two-year experiment in hyper-liberalism, and the country has said no.” –columnist Charles Krauthammer

“Democrats will spin Harry Reid’s victory and cling to it like the American people allegedly cling to their Bibles and guns, but I see a huge silver lining here for conservatives. … Yes, Reid would have made a great trophy on the GOP’s mantle. But cheer up: He’s even better as a leader of Senate Democrats — depending on your point of view.” –columnist Stephen Spruiell

“I so want to believe that the tea party marks the beginning of a comeback for small government. But I’m probably deluding myself. I know that big government usually wins. Remember the last time the Republicans took power? They promised fiscal responsibility, and for six of George W. Bush’s eight years, his party controlled Congress. What did we have to show for it? Federal spending increased by 54 percent. That’s more than any president in the last 50 years.” –columnist John Stossel

“[T]he GOP still faces significant challenges. Heck, an electoral bonanza notwithstanding, Republicans are still fairly unpopular. But if the first half of the Obama presidency proves anything, it is that straight-line predictions lead to political hubris. Events change and attitudes change with them, for every demographic.” –columnist Jonah Goldberg

“The Constitution cannot protect us and our freedoms as a self-governing people unless we protect the Constitution. That means zero tolerance at election time for people who circumvent the letter and the spirit of the Constitution. Freedom is too precious to give it up in exchange for brassy words from arrogant elites.” –economist Thomas Sowell

“America, its founding principles, its Constitution, its robust liberty tradition and its strength are being stolen out from under us by a man who has no appreciation for America’s greatness and who has contempt for ordinary Americans (we’re ‘enemies’), whom he considers beneath him and unworthy of their sovereign prerogative to preserve this nation. The people have had enough. Consequently, absent unimaginable, comprehensive voter fraud … we’re going to see an unprecedented housecleaning.” –columnist David Limbaugh

SOURCE

Stuck on stupid: A tale of two states…

November 3, 2010

This will be a short post, but to the point. And surly there will be follow up postings.

Colorado and California. That says it all…

Largest campaign finance violations in Colorado history!

November 2, 2010

Contact Matt Arnold: director@clearthebenchcolorado.org or 303.995.5533.

On Thursday, Clear the Bench Colorado – Political Action Committee filed, pro se, a campaign finance and electioneering complaint against the “Know Your Judge” consortium: the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (“IAALS”), Colorado Bar Association (“COBAR”), Colorado Judicial Institute (“CJI”) and the Colorado League of Women Voters (“LWV”).

In this complaint, Clear the Bench Colorado alleges that both collectively as the “Know Your Judge” group and as individual organizations, these groups have engaged in electioneering communications through print, radio and television advertisements as well as on their website – in violation of campaign finance laws, which would have subjected them to the same guidelines to file as a political committee (and the same contribution and expenditure limits) with the Secretary of State’s office as were followed by Clear The Bench Colorado.

Tens of thousands of dollars have been spent by these organizations with no accountability or transparency, in sharp contrast to Clear the Bench Colorado – which has followed the ever-changing law to the letter – while conducting similar political advocacy activities.

In a clear example of “what’s good for the goose should be good for the gander,” Clear the Bench Colorado simply wants these organizations held to the same legal standard as is everyone else in the state.

Unlike the frivolous, groundless, and vexatious complaint filed by “Colorado Ethics Watch” (CEW, pronounced “sue” – it’s what they do) against Clear the Bench Colorado back in May, this lawsuit has a solid legal basis (in part, due to the ruling against CTBC, ironically enough).  View our website, www.clearthebenchcolorado.org, to read the complaint in its entirety and for updates.

If Clear the Bench receives a favorable judgment, these organizations will be subject to fees ($50 per day that they didn’t file) as well as fines of 2-5 times the contribution totals above and beyond the $525 contribution limit of a political committee (which, since these groups spent at least $85,000, will add up to a hefty sum).

This would be the largest campaign finance violation penalty in the history of Colorado – dwarfing the previous record by some 30 times…

These groups, with armies of accountants and lawyers at their beck and call, should (and do) know better.  Apparently, they thought that they could get away with violating the law, since CTBC’s resources (and ability to challenge) have been strained almost to the breaking point.  However, they messed with the wrong guy…

Clear The Bench Colorado may be the underdog in this fight – but it’s not the size of the dog in the fight that matters, but the size of the fight in the dog.  CTBC doesn’t have armies of attorneys and accountants on call – but CTBC is… an Army of One.

President of Wyoming Family Coalition lies to gun owners about Matt Mead

November 2, 2010

Reprinted, with permission.

Director of Wyoming Gun Owners asks for Maureen Emrich to step down.

Maureen Emrich, President of Wyoming Family Coalition, has apparently become a mouthpiece for the Mead Campaign. But not on the issues one would expect. To the contrary Emrich has decided to act as if she is an expert on gun rights. To read Emrich’s letter click here

These are the same kind of insider politics that have become the norm with ineffective lobby groups, including the NRA. Instead of standing for principles, they opt to sell-out and compromise, only leading to furthering the opposition’s agenda. We call this the proverbial seat at the table.

Being a Wyoming Gun Rights Advocate, I expect attacks on my character from career politicians, but not from a conservative advocacy group’s leader. Like me, you should find it disturbing that Emrich left out the most important part – THE TRUTH.  As usual I pride myself in delivering factual information, so please listen to the following conversation with Maureen Emrich. click here

Emrich’s letter is strikingly similar to the Mead Campaigns rhetoric, however Bill Novotny from the Mead Campaign denies that they had anything to do with Emrich’s letter. My hunch is that a lower level campaign aid was involved and Maureen Emrich was foolish to take the bait!

Since she threw gun rights under the bus for political gain, it reveals that Emrich is calling plays right out of “the book of compromise”. Following are the facts that Emrich was so eager to overlook:

1. It is an undeniable fact that Matt Mead fought against gun rights and States Rights in Wyoming vs. BATF. For Brady Campaign link click here

2. Matt Mead stated he was just doing his job, but I contend he ignored the oath he took to uphold the Constitution.

3. Mead admitted that as a U.S. Attorney he had the ability to recues himself from a case, but he chose not to do so in Wyoming vs. BATF.

4. Mead has been disingenuous by reporting he never had contact with me, the truth is Mead spoke with me by phone, not just once, but twice. Mead said about Wyoming vs. BATF – quote – “I was just doing my job” and “you should see my gun collection”.

5. Mead is misleading in telling his supporters that he knows me as “some blogger from California”. Mead is fully aware of my position as a gun rights advocate in Wyoming.

MORE REVEALING INFORMATION–
6. Mead supports the Patriot Act, in his own words he stated and I quote – “You’re not going to like my answer, I support the Patriot Act”. If you don’t know what the Patriot Act is click here

By writing an editorial without verifying facts, Maureen Emrich, President of a group that says it stands for conservative principles, has seemingly become nothing more than a marionette puppet with politicians pulling her strings.  Look out – Emrich’s nose might start growing!

To put this more directly, Emrich has no business sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong!

Clearly, if Emrich can so easily attack those who have consistently defended Gun Rights, it will call into question her ability to lead a “conservative” organization in Wyoming, PERIOD.

Wyoming Conservatives, especially the “gun bearing” types, should contact the Wyoming Family Coalition and ask that Maureen Emrich immediately submits her resignation.  Not only is their credibility at stake. But it is apparent that under her leadership their organization has only become part of the problem in Wyoming politics.

For Wyoming Family Coalition contact info click here

Anthony Bouchard
Director – WyGO

SOURCE

Belly Laugh of the Week: Politics

October 30, 2010

Belly Laugh of the Week: “One of [Barack] Obama’s greatest political weaknesses has been his stubborn — and unrequited — love for bipartisanship. … The expected Republican gains in the coming mid-term elections may solve one of Obama’s problems: his misplaced faith in logic, persuasion and cooperation in the national interest.” –Atlanta Journal-Constitution editorial page editor Cynthia Tucker

Belly Laugh II: “Unlike Ronald Reagan, whose poll ratings were slightly lower than Obama’s just before the 1982 mid-term elections, Obama didn’t take every possible opportunity to pin the economic mess on his predecessor.” –Cynthia Tucker, missing the fact that Obama takes every opportunity — and then some — to blame Bush

Sympathy for the devil: “Nancy Pelosi is considered one of the most effective speakers in congressional history. But now she’s faced with the fact that Democrats could lose the House in November. You get indignant when you hear that.” –CBS’s Rita Braver to Pelosi, who responded, “I don’t get indignant. I just don’t believe it.”

“Where is the celebration over what has been done and accomplished [by Barack Obama] in the face of all this anger and vitriol in Washington?” –MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski

Whose money is it? “Why are we letting the top 2 percent of the population win over the other 98?” –MSNBC’s Ed Schultz on taxes

Non Compos Mentis: “[The Tea Party’s philosophy is] every man for himself. … No more taxes, no more government, no more everything. No more safety net. You know these people, if they were every man for himself down in that mine [in Chile], they wouldn’t have gotten out. … They would have been killing each other after about two days.” –MSNBC host Chris Matthews

SOURCE

A TIME TO LIVE…

October 24, 2010

Yes, I have been away for a few days. This was a time for one of those most personal things…

My Mother passed away some time back, and, California, in it’s wisdom, decided to “process” my Mother, as an indigent.

With no survivors… Even though they were told that she had a son. That said son had been a Paramedic, in Colorado. One, even having given them the last known address of said son. That being me…

All in all it took months to sort things out. California, in it’s wisdom; Decided that, my COLB, remember those? Was not sufficient to establish that she was my Mother, or that I was her son.

Now, please understand that the last time that I received an actual Birth Certificate? It was basically unreadable. You see? The Marine Corps, for so long, was the red headed step child of the Navy. That said, my Birth Certificate was typed out on a typewriter that was probably obsolete before World War Two…

In any case, I finally received my Mothers remains. No one in Mexico Missouri that I could find had any interest in this issue of her final deployment, to use a Marine Corps phrase. So much for Baptist family ties, values, and so on. Extended Family as well.

My decision; was to bury Mother with her Granddaughter. One that she never had the opportunity to meet. I spread her ashes near to where I had done the same with my Daughters some years ago. That way they can watch over, and care for each other.

Should Ancestry dot com, or any of the others that are out there wish to know, should some ancestor someday want to know? They are just east of the Moffat Tunnel, in Colorado. It is a rather beautiful place, I think.

Semper Fi Mom. From your Marine Corps brat.

Second Amendment Foundation Defends an American Veteran!

October 17, 2010

Alright… I like the Second Amendment Foundation, what they do, and why they do what they do. What makes me sick though is the never ending begging for bucks that they engage in. Want to donate? Fine, I’ll plug in a link at the end.

Now, the meat of this is a theme often addressed here. That being life time bans of inalienable rights for less than felonious deeds. Indeed, since the treasonous and un-Constitutional Lautenberg Abomination that made ex post fact law the national norm? Things have only become worse, due to hot button political correctness. The Second Amendment Foundation is taking this head on. Playing follow the leader is not always a bad thing, as Gun Owners of America have been on top of this from day one. While the NRA, sat back, and collected dues…

SAF Sues Eric Holder, FBI Over
Misdemeanor Gun Rights Denial

Acting on behalf of a Georgia resident and honorably discharged Vietnam War veteran, the Second Amendment Foundation today filed a lawsuit against Attorney General Eric Holder and the Federal Bureau of Investigation over enforcement of a federal statute that can deny gun rights to someone with a simple misdemeanor conviction on his record.

The lawsuit was filed in United States District Court for the District of Columbia. SAF and co-plaintiff Jefferson Wayne Schrader of Cleveland, GA are represented by attorney Alan Gura, who successfully argued both the Heller and McDonald cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

MILITARY VETERAN ACTING IN SELF-DEFENSE DENIED RIGHT TO OWN A GUN

In July 1968, Schrader, then 21, was found guilty of misdemeanor assault and battery relating to a fight involving a man who had previously assaulted him in Annapolis, MD. The altercation was observed by a police officer, who arrested Schrader, then an enlisted man in the Navy, stationed in Annapolis. The man he fought with was in a street gang that had attacked him for entering their “territory,” according to the complaint.

FBI THREATENS TO CONFISCATE SCHRADER’S FIREARMS

Schrader was ordered to pay a $100 fine and $9 court cost. He subsequently served a tour of duty in Vietnam and was eventually honorably discharged. However, in 2008 and again in 2009, Mr. Schrader was denied the opportunity to receive a shotgun as a gift, or to purchase a handgun for personal protection. He was advised by the FBI to dispose of or surrender any firearms he might have or face criminal prosecution.

FELONS GIVEN MORE RIGHTS THAN HONORABLE SERVICEMAN

“Schrader’s dilemma,” explained SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb, “is that until recently, Maryland law did not set forth a maximum sentence for the crime of misdemeanor assault. Because of that, he is now being treated like a felon and his gun rights have been denied.

“No fair-minded person can tolerate gun control laws being applied this way,” he added. “Mr. Schrader’s case is a great example of why gun owners cannot trust government bureaucrats to enforce gun laws.”

Now, more than ever, we need your commitment to fight the war against unlawful gun enforcement. The lawyer’s bills are mounting. Fighting for freedom is not inexpensive. Help us raise the amount we need to stop the anti-gunners dead in their tracks.

Support from patriots like you will help us make sure what happened to Jefferson Wayne Schrader doesn’t happen to you.

YOU CANT PUT A PRICE ON THE VALUE OF YOUR LIFE

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.SAF.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms.  Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control.

DO NOT BE SILENCED – MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!

For our projects to be successful, we must count on the voluntary financial support from individuals like you who care.

We need your financial support today to ensure we have the resources to beat back anti-gunners who will stop at nothing to take away our right and ability to defend ourselves and our families.

Here is the obligatory link