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Irish Christmas Cookies

December 22, 2007

knappogue-castle-whiskey.jpgSome things are timeless indeed. My forefathers brought certain things from the Emerald Isle that persist to this very day in fact! A Pint of plain, was, and still is the very same Guiness. Celtic gold work is still among the finest made. Celt whisky, be it Irish or Scot, is, and always be, ambrosia…

1c of dark brown sugar
1c (2 sticks) butter
1c of granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2c of dried fruit, such as dried cranberries or raisins
1tsp salt
1tsp fresh lemon juice
1c coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
2c all-purpose flour
1 bottle Knappogue Castle 

Instructions:

Take a large bowl, sample the Knappogue Castle to be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink.

Turn on the electric mixer… beat one cup of butter in a large bowl. Add one teaspoon of sugar. Beat again.

At this point it’s best to make sure the  is still OK, try another cup, just in case.

Turn off the mixerer thingy. Break 2 legs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit. Pick the frigging fruit off floor…

Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the etrrs, just pry it loose with a drewscriver.

Sample the  Knappogue Castle to check for tonsisticity.

Next, sift two cups of salt, or something.

Check the Knappogue Castle.

Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. Add one table. Add a schpoon of sugar, or somefink… whatever you can find.

Grease the oven. Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over.

Don’t forget to beat off the turner.

Finally, throw the bowl through the window, FINISH the Knappogue Castle and make sure to put the stove in the dishwasher.

Cheery Mishmas..

stolen in principle from; http://texasfred.net/archives/870#comment-5805

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Posted in Blogroll, Education, Humor, News, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

A different kind of rescue assignment

December 21, 2007

WILDLIFE OFFICERS, COUNTY EMERGENCY WORKERS RESCUE ELK

In one of the most unusual emergency operations in Colorado this year, three cow elk that fell through the ice of a private pond south of Pagosa Springs were rescued by Division of Wildlife officers, a local volunteer fire fighter and ten other law enforcement workers. The rescue occurred on Dec. 15.
 
Another elk, a young spike bull, died in the pond during the effort.
  
It is not uncommon for big game animals to break through ice during winter while searching for water. But it’s not common for the animals to be rescued.
    
James Romero, a DOW officer, received a call from the Colorado State Patrol about 8:30 a.m. and was told about the animals struggling in the pond. The call also went out to Archuleta County emergency operations. Staff from the sheriff’s office, the Pagosa Fire Protection District, the Pagosa Springs Police Department and Upper San Juan Search and Rescue also went to the scene and all arrived within a few minutes of each other.
  
The elk, apparently, had seen open water in what was the middle of the pond. When they moved to the edge the ice broke under their weight. Romero estimated that the animals weighed from 300 to 500 pounds each. 
 
“I think they’d probably fell in earlier in the morning,” Romero said. “They were panicked and struggling, but appeared they had enough energy to last awhile.”
  
One of the people who came to the scene was Thad McKain, a volunteer with the Pagosa Fire District who is certified to perform ice rescues. He had been called by the search and rescue workers. They carry two suits designed for ice rescues in their truck. 
  
McKain said he’d been involved with three rescues of dogs on ice, but had never been called on to save wildlife.
 
“We put the suits on and I gave James a crash course about what to do,” McKain said.
  
Without the suits, rescue of the animals might not have been possible.
  
Secured by ropes, the two men moved to the edge of the water with an ax and broke some ice away to make a narrow slot into which they hoped to guide the elk. On the bank the 10 others stood to help.
 
“Then we just started making things up as we went,” said Mike Reid, another local DOW wildlife officer who helped with the rescue.
  
Romero, who had never attempted to rescue a big game animal before, wasn’t sure what to expect as he moved toward the elk. When he got to the edge of the ice, one of the cow elk swam to him.
 
“I was surprised. I didn’t anticipate that, she came right up to me and seemed to be very calm,” Romero said.
  
He dropped a rope around the elk’s neck and held it close to the edge. McKain got on his knees, reached his hands into the water and tied a rope around the animal’s legs. Then the whole crew worked to pull her out of the water. She fell down in the snow and the rescuers threw a blanket over her.
  
“Thank goodness that she made it a lot easier than it could have been,” Romero said.
  
The rescue, however, didn’t go quite so smooth with the other animals.
  
Romero went back to the edge of the ice and a second cow swam up to him. She was pulled out in the same way. But when the rope was removed she dashed back into the water. Romero went back to the edge and swinging the rope cowboy style threw it around the elk’s neck. The crew pulled her out again, held her down and tied her feet together.
  
By this time the spike bull had died and was floating. Romero and Reid speculated that the cow elk might have been going back to the water to protect the young animal. So they threw a rope around the dead animal’s antlers and dragged it out of the water.
  
The last cow elk proved to be the most difficult: It resisted being pulled up and fought its way back into the water three times. By the last time the elk was exhausted and crew was able to hobble her.
 
“We were all pretty wiped out by that time,” Reid said. “The surprise is that we got three of them out alive.”
  
The crew made sure the elk were hobbled securely, dried them off as much as possible, and then lifted each of them into separate pick-up trucks. Reid and Romero decided to take the animals to an area about 20 miles south of Pagosa Springs and let them go on U.S. Forest Service land.
 
They arrived at the release site by about noon, unloaded the elk and removed the hobbles. The animal that had run back into the water three times stood her ground and acted to protect the others. It charged toward the rescuers and reared up, kicked at them and grazed the face of one of the men with a hoof. Then it turned, jumped a fence and ran toward the forest.
 
A second elk stood up a few minutes later and made a similar escape. But the third elk, exhausted from the ordeal, fell back down after trying to stand up several times.
  
The wildlife officers stayed with the animal for an hour then left to make their work rounds. About 4:30 p.m. they returned and found a sheriff’s deputy there. He had not been part of the rescue, but went to the release site after receiving a report that an elk was injured near U.S. Highway 84. The elk was in obvious physical distress and he decided to end its misery.
 
“It was frustrating to see, but the deputy made the right call,” Romero said.
  
Romero said that the other two elk appeared to recover and looked good when they ran off.
 
“I think they had a pretty good chance,” Romero said.
  
For McKain, who also owns a construction company, the effort put an unusual wrinkle in his career. “It gave me a new addition to my rescue resume,” he said.
  
Romero credited the team effort for the rescue.
 
“We couldn’t have done it without the help from the other agencies,” he said.
   
 
# # #
 
 
NOTE TO EDITORS: Below are links to photos on the DOW web site of the rescue effort. Also below are photo cutlines. The photos were taken on Dec. 15. Please credit photos to: Elizabeth Reid, for C-DOW.
 
 
ELK IN POND: Rescue workers from the Colorado Division of Wildlife and Archuleta County move to rescue elk that had fallen through ice in a pond south of Pagosa Springs. Four elk fell through the ice and one died in the water.  The photo was taken Dec. 15, 2007.
Photo by Elizabeth Reid, for C-DOW
http://dnr.state.co.us/imagedb/images/3795.JPG
 
 
 
RESCUING FIRST ELK: Rescue workers wearing special ice- rescue suits, prepare to pull an elk out of the pond where it had become trapped. The photo was taken Dec. 15, 2007.
Photo  by Elizabeth Reid, for C-DOW
http://dnr.state.co.us/imagedb/images/3796.jpg
 
 
 
ELK OUT OF WATER: Colorado Division of Wildlife Officer James Romero, left, walks away from the edge of the water after pulling four elk out of a pond south of Pagosa Springs. Thad McKain, a volunteer fire fighter with the Pagosa Fire Distrct, tries to catch his breath. Ten other people worked ropes to help pull the elk out of the water. The photo was taken Dec.15, 2007.
Photo by: Elizabeth Reid, for C-DOW.
http://dnr.state.co.us/imagedb/images/3797.JPG
 
 
CAPTURING ELK: A cow elk scrambles to move away from rescue workers after it was pulled from a pond near Pagosa Springs. The photo was taken: Dec.15, 2007.
Photo by: Elizabeth Reid.  
http://dnr.state.co.us/imagedb/images/3798.JPG
 
 
#   #   #
 
The Colorado Division of Wildlife is the state agency responsible for managing wildlife and its habitat, as well as providing wildlife related recreation. The Division is funded through hunting and fishing license fees, federal grants and Colorado Lottery proceeds through Great Outdoors Colorado.
 

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Posted in Education, Hunting Fishing and the Great Outdoors, News, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Stabbed In The Back

December 21, 2007

To me, this is the best Christmas present I could ever receive” —
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), CBS News, December 20, 2007

——————————————————————

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Gun Owners of America and its supporters took a knife in the back
yesterday, as Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) out-smarted his
congressional opposition into agreeing on a so-called
“compromise” on
HR 2640 — a bill which now goes to the President’s desk.

The bill — known as the Veterans Disarmament Act to its opponents —
is being praised by the National Rifle Association and the Brady
Campaign.

The Brady Bunch crowed “Victory! U.S. Congress Strengthens Brady
Background Check System.” The NRA stated that last minute changes to
the McCarthy bill made a “good bill even better [and that] the end
product is a win for American gun owners.”

But Gun Owners of America has issued public statements decrying this
legislation.

The core of the bill’s problems is section 101(c)(1)(C), which makes
you a “prohibited person” on the basis of a “medical
finding of
disability,” so long as a veteran had an “opportunity”
for some sort
of “hearing” before some “lawful authority” (other
than a court).
Presumably, this “lawful authority” could even be the psychiatrist
himself.

Note that unlike with an accused murderer, the hearing doesn’t have
to occur. The “lawful authority” doesn’t have to be unbiased. The
veteran is not necessarily entitled to an attorney — much less an
attorney financed by the government.

So what do the proponents have to say about this?

ARGUMENT: The Veterans Disarmament Act creates new avenues for
prohibited persons to seek restoration of their gun rights.

ANSWER: What the bill does is to lock in — statutorily — huge
numbers of additional law-abiding Americans who will now be denied
the right to own a firearm.

And then it “graciously” allows these newly disarmed Americans to
spend tens of thousands of dollars for a long-shot chance to regain
the gun rights this very bill takes away from them.

More to the point, what minimal gains were granted by the “right
hand” are taken away by the “left.” Section 105 provides
a process
for some Americans diagnosed with so-called mental disabilities to
get their rights restored in the state where they live. But then, in
subsection (a)(2), the bill stipulates that such relief may occur
only if “the person will not be likely to act in a manner dangerous
to public safety and that the GRANTING OF THE RELIEF WOULD NOT BE
CONTRARY TO THE PUBLIC INTEREST.” (Emphasis added.)

Um, doesn’t this language sound similar to those state codes (like
California’s) that have “may issue” concealed carry laws — where
citizens “technically” have the right to carry, but state law only
says that sheriffs MAY ISSUE them a permit to carry? When given such
leeway, those sheriffs usually don’t grant the permits!

Prediction: liberal states — the same states that took these
people’s rights away — will treat almost every person who has been
illegitimately denied as a danger to society and claim that granting
relief would be “contrary to the public interest.”

Let’s make one thing clear: the efforts begun during the Clinton
Presidency to disarm battle-scarred veterans — promoted by the Brady
Anti-Gun Campaign — is illegal and morally reprehensible.

But section 101(c)(1)(C) of HR 2640 would rubber-stamp those illegal
actions. Over 140,000 law-abiding veterans would be statutorily
barred from possessing firearms.

True, they can hire a lawyer and beg the agency that took their
rights away to voluntarily give them back. But the agency doesn’t
have to do anything but sit on its hands. And, after 365 days of
inaction, guess what happens? The newly disarmed veteran can spend
thousands of additional dollars to sue. And, as the plaintiff, the
wrongly disarmed veteran has the burden of proof.

Language proposed by GOA would have automatically restored a
veteran’s gun rights if the agency sat on its hands for a year.
Unfortunately, the GOA amendment was not included.

The Veterans Disarmament Act passed the Senate and the House
yesterday — both times WITHOUT A RECORDED VOTE. That is, the bill
passed by Unanimous Consent, and was then transmitted to the White
House.

Long-time GOA activists will remember that a similar “compromise”
deal helped the original Brady Law get passed. In 1993, there were
only two or three senators on the floor of that chamber who used a
Unanimous Consent agreement (with no recorded vote) to send the Brady
bill to President Clinton — at a time when most legislators had
already left town for their Thanksgiving Break.

Gun owners can go to http://www.gunowners.org/news/nws9402.htm to
read about how this betrayal occurred 14 years ago.

With your help, Gun Owners of America has done a yeoman’s job of
fighting gun control over the years, considering the limited
resources that we have. Together, we were able to buck the Brady
Campaign/NRA coalition in 1999 (after the Columbine massacre) and
were able to defeat the gun control that was proposed in the wake of
that shooting.

Yesterday, we were not so lucky. But we are not going to go away.
GOA wants to repeal the gun-free zones that disarm law-abiding
Americans and repeal the other gun restrictions that are on the
books. That is the answer to Virginia Tech. Unfortunately, the
House and Senate chose the path of imposing more gun control.

So our appeal to you is this — please help us to grow this coming
year. Please help us to get more members and activists. If you add
$10 to your membership renewal this year, we can reach new gun owners
in the mail and tell them about GOA.

Please urge your friends to join GOA… and, at the very least, make
sure they sign up for our free e-mail alerts so that we can mobilize
more gun owners than ever before!

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Posted in Editorial, Opinion, Education, Gun Control, Hunting Fishing and the Great Outdoors, Local Politics Colorado, Men's Issues, News, Politics, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Veterans Organizations get “F” Grades

December 18, 2007

Numerous Veterans aid organizations received failing grades recently. Wounded Warriors was not on the list at all, nor were many of the newer groups seeking to assist our military personnel that are returning to a somewhat hostile nation that they served to the best of their ability. No, it’s not like it was post Viet Nam, but it is a disgrace, and a national dishonor that Veterans are not treated with a solem degree of respect. They don’t want a parade, nor butt kissing. Just respect for having done what their nation asked of them. Hooha Hooha! We love and respect all of you!

Cross posted below is from http://texasfred.net/archives/845

Veterans Charities – How They Fared

EDIT TO ADD 12-14-07: Mr. Jay Agg, National Communications Director for AMVETS, has contacted me personally and has posted a comment in this thread, I want to thank Mr. Agg for his response and I also want my readers to know, Jay has been the only official from the list of charities receiving an ‘F’ that I have heard from on this matter…To the gentleman from Alaska that keeps trying to post figures and so forth about the PVA, you’re NOT an official of PVA and your link to Fishing in Alaska or whatever it is, is the reason I am not letting your comments thru, I detect a bit of commercialism on your part, if you want to see the PVA’s viewpoint on this blog, have THEM contact me and have them submit their comments, facts and figures from an official site and an official position like Mr. Agg did…

EDIT TO ADD 12-13-07: I have sent emails to all sites that garnered an ‘F’ in this report, 3 of the site had no email available and one was returned as undeliverable, no mail there I guessHere are the figures on how well some of the Veterans Charities are doing on a grading level, I am shocked at the grades received by several of these highly regarded charities, this is truly a disgusting situation and I hope this list and the story just below will wake a few folks up…

How many of you have the guts to re-post this list and the story below?? How many are going to take the stance of the Bush Bots and just blow it off and say all is well??

The American Institute of Philanthropy, a leading charity watchdog, issued a report card this month for 29 veterans and military charities. Letter grades were based largely on the charities’ fundraising costs and the percentage of money raised that was spent on charitable activities. The charities that received failing grades are in bold type.

Air Force Aid Society (A+)
American Ex-Prisoners of War Service Foundation (F)
American Veterans Coalition (F)
American Veterans Relief Foundation (F)
AMVETS National Service Foundation (F)
Armed Services YMCA of the USA (A-)
Army Emergency Relief (A+)
Blinded Veterans Association (D)
Disabled American Veterans (D)
Fisher House Foundation (A+)
Freedom Alliance (F)
Help Hospitalized Veterans/Coalition to Salute America’s Heroes (F)
Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund (A+)
Military Order of the Purple Heart Service Foundation (F)
National Military Family Association (A)
National Veterans Services Fund (F)
National Vietnam Veterans Committee (D)
Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society (A+)
NCOA National Defense Foundation (F)
Paralyzed Veterans of America (F)
Soldiers’ Angels (D)
United Spinal Association’s Wounded Warrior Project (D)
USO (United Service Organization) (C+)
Veterans of Foreign Wars and foundation (C-)
Veterans of the Vietnam War & the Veterans Coalition (D)
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (D)
VietNow National Headquarters (F)
World War II Veterans Committee (D)

SOURCE:
Veterans Charities – How They Fared

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Posted in Editorial, Opinion, Education, Local Politics Colorado, Men's Issues, Military Science, News, Politics, Uncategorized | 6 Comments »

“To secure these rights…”

December 17, 2007

Often, there are those that think that they are wiser than the Founders of this nation. They tend to be well educated, and think of themselves as the elite of society. They believe in freedom of expression. Just so long as it is in line with their thinking. Mark Alexander writes yet another fine piece about this in the Patriot Post. Well done Mark. It is reprinted here in the hope that it, and Mark, get even more exposure.

“The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for, among old parchments, or musty records. They are written, as with a sun beam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of the divinity itself; and can never be erased or obscured by mortal power.” —Alexander Hamilton

PATRIOT PERSPECTIVE

“To secure these rights…”

By Mark Alexander

Saturday, 15 December, is the 216th anniversary of the adoption of the Bill of Rights, the first Ten Amendments to our Constitution, as ratified in 1791.

The Bill of Rights was inspired by three remarkable documents: John Locke’s 1689 thesis, Two Treatises of Government, regarding the protection of “property” (in the Latin context, proprius, or one’s own “life, liberty and estate”); in part from the Virginia Declaration of Rights authored by George Mason in 1776 as part of that state’s Constitution; and, of course, in part from our Declaration of Independence authored by Thomas Jefferson.

James Madison proposed the Bill of Rights as amendments to our Constitution in 1789, but many of our Founders objected to listing the Bill of Rights at all, much less as “amendments.” Their rationale was that such rights might then be construed as malleable rather than unalienable, as amendable rather than “endowed by our Creator” as noted in the Constitution’s supreme guidance, the Declaration of Independence.

Alexander Hamilton argued this point in The Federalist Papers, the most comprehensive explication of our Constitution: “I go further, and affirm that bills of rights, in the sense and to the extent in which they are contended for, are not only unnecessary in the proposed Constitution, but would even be dangerous… For why declare that things shall not be done which there is no power to do?” (Federalist No. 84)

George Mason was one of 55 who authored the U.S. Constitution, but one of 16 who refused to sign it because it did not adequately address limitations on what the central government had “no power to do.” He worked with Patrick Henry and Samuel Adams against the Constitution’s ratification for that reason.

As a result of Mason’s insistence, ten limitations were put on the Federal Government by the first session of Congress, for the reasons outlined by the Bill of Rights Preamble: “The Conventions of a number of the States having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best insure the beneficent ends of its institution…”

Read in context, the Bill of Rights is both an affirmation of innate individual rights (as noted by Thomas Jefferson: “The God who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time…”), and a clear delineation on constraints upon the central government.

However, as Jefferson warned repeatedly, the greatest threat to such limitations on the central government was an unbridled judiciary: “Over the Judiciary department, the Constitution [has] deprived [the people] of their control… The original error [was in] establishing a judiciary independent of the nation, and which, from the citadel of the law, can turn its guns on those they were meant to defend, and control and fashion their proceedings to its own will… It is a misnomer to call a government republican in which a branch of the supreme power [the judiciary] is independent of the nation… The opinion which gives to the judges the right to decide what laws are constitutional and what not, not only for themselves in their own sphere of action but for the Legislature and Executive also in their spheres, would make the Judiciary a despotic branch.”

In Federalist No. 81 Alexander Hamilton wrote, “[T]here is not a syllable in the [Constitution] which directly empowers the national courts to construe the laws according to the spirit of the Constitution, or which gives them any greater latitude in this respect than may be claimed by the courts of every State.”

That admonition notwithstanding, the federal judiciary has become “a despotic branch.”

Indeed, since the middle of the last century, judicial despots have grossly devitalized the Bill of Rights, asserting errantly that our Founders created a “Living Constitution” amendable by judicial diktat.

For example, the Leftjudiciary has “interpreted” the First Amendment as placing all manner of constraint upon the exercise of religion by way of the so-called “establishment clause” and based on the phony “Wall of Separation” argument. At the same time, the courts have asserted that all manner of expression constitutes “speech.”

The judiciary and legislatures have undermined the strength of the Second Amendment, a right of which James Madison’s appointee, Justice Joseph Story, referred to as “…the palladium of the liberties of a republic; since it offers a strong moral check against the usurpation and arbitrary power of rulers…”

Equally derelict is the manner in which the Tenth Amendment has been eroded by judicial interpretation.

In Federalist No. 45, Madison outlines the clear limits on central government power established in the Constitution: “The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite.”

Alexander Hamilton added in Federalist No. 81 “…the plan of the [Constitutional] convention aims only at a partial union or consolidation, the State governments would clearly retain all the rights of sovereignty which they before had, and which were not, by that act, exclusively delegated to the United States.”

There was a very bloody War Between the States fought over offense to the Constitution’s assurance of States’ Rights.

All is not lost, however.

Sunday, 16 December, is the 234th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party (1773). The “radicals” from Marlborough, Massachusetts, who threw 342 chests of tea from a British East India Company ship into the Boston Harbor in protest of tyrannical rule, did so noting, “Death is more eligible than slavery. A free-born people are not required by the religion of Christ to submit to tyranny, but may make use of such power as God has given them to recover and support their… liberties.”

Three years later, this rebellion had grown to such extent that our Founders were willing to give up their fortunes and lives, attaching their signatures to a document that declared, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

Judicial and political despots, take note

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Posted in Contemporary Quotes, Editorial, Opinion, Education, Gun Control, Historical Quotes, Local Politics Colorado, Men's Issues, News, Politics, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

The truth be damned! MSM agenda fails in the light of truth and logic!

December 17, 2007

Some peoples children just cannot understand normal thinking!

Outrage Of The Week! An Inane Statement
 
Friday, December 14, 2007
 
This week’s outrage comes courtesy of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” show co-host Mika Brzezinski, who apparently has a very hard time laying aside her anti-gun sentiments, even when confronted with the truth.   

We all know that firearms are used as many as two and a half million times a year for self-defense.  And, as we recently saw graphically demonstrated in the senseless shootings at the New Life Church in Colorado, a law-abiding, armed citizen can make a difference.   

In the tragic New Life Church incident, Jeanne Assam, who, according to media reports, had a permit to carry a concealed firearm and was volunteering as a “security person” at her church, shot a heavily armed, homicidal madman as he began attacking innocent parishioners.  New Life’s Senior Pastor Brady Boyd hailed Jeanne as “a real hero,” because the gunman she shot “had enough ammunition on him to cause a lot of damage.”  There is no question that this brave citizen’s decisive action with her personal firearm saved many lives. 

But, facts be damned.  Brzezinski, who wasn’t in the church, but who appears daily as a co-host on the MSNBC morning program doesn’t agree.  

When discussing the murderous rampage, Brzezinski responded to host Joe Scarborough’s assertion that “One person with a gun can make a big difference,” by blurting, “Oh gosh, no!  No, no, no.  No, no, no, no, no.”  Scarborough then reiterated his assertion, “One person with a gun in the right place can make a big difference.”  At this point, Brzezinski had clearly had enough of the truth and, putting an exclamation point on her unabashed anti-gun sentiments, said, “You know, that is the most inane statement I have ever heard.”   

Ms. Brzezinski obviously can’t be bothered with undeniable evidence, nor restrained by a code of unbiased reporting.  She can’t look at a crystal-clear example of evil being countered by an armed, law-abiding citizen and have the integrity and intellectual honesty to draw the correct conclusion.  That’s outrageous. 

To see a video clip of the exchange, please click here:  http://www.nraila.org//news/read/InTheNews.aspx?ID=10366.   

To respond to Ms. Brzezinski, please visit the MSNBC “Morning Joe” web page at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036789/, and send a message via the e-mail tool at the bottom of the page.   

If you see something that you feel would be a good candidate for the “Outrage of the Week!” section, please send it to:  freedomsvoice@nrahq.org.  Please be sure to send additional background and citations where available.

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Posted in Editorial, Opinion, Education, Gun Control, Local Politics Colorado, News, Politics, Stupid is as Stupid Does, Uncategorized | Comments Off on The truth be damned! MSM agenda fails in the light of truth and logic!

Liberty, and RKBA End of the year report

December 17, 2007

This has been a rough year for those that actually believe in the Constitution. From the ability of the people to speak out, in groups, about candidates to things that are all across the board our rights are under constant assault by the authoritarians that would return us to a state resembling the servitude of the colonist’s to King George. One organization, is always there to speak up for your rights. Yes, firearms are their primary area of concern, but they are always there, in every fight on the side of freedom and liberty. When it comes to those issues, there can be no compromise!

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

——————————————————————
“Gun Owners of America has remained a steadfast ally. Their
unwavering defense of our rights as Americans is commendable.” —
Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK), November 2007
——————————————————————

Thursday, December 13, 2007

When people look back on 2007, they may remember the several, notable
shootings that took place: the massacre at Virginia Tech in April,
the slayings at the Nebraska and Utah malls, and the most recent
killings in Colorado — a shooting that could have eclipsed all of
the previous ones if one courageous lady, Jeanne Assam, had not been
armed with a gun.

Gun Owners of America has been there each step of the way, sometimes
serving as the only national gun group which has regularly appeared
on national television, arguing for the right to keep and bear arms.

Just this week, GOA’s Larry Pratt appeared on Fox News to debate the
Brady Campaign in the aftermath of the Colorado-church shooting.
Pratt hailed Assam as a hero and called for the elimination of gun
free zones which leave victims defenseless.

While GOA considers it very important to inform the general public on
the practical value of the Second Amendment, there’s much more that
we have done to defend our freedoms in the legislative and judicial
halls around the country. The following is just a glimpse of what
GOA has been able to accomplish this year with YOUR HELP. So let’s
take a look at our work together, month by month.

January

* As the year dawns, Gun Owners of America is headed for the U.S.
Supreme Court! GOA begins preparing its amicus brief in the FEC v.
Wisconsin RTL case — a case that became important to gun owners
shortly after last year’s elections when the Brady Campaign asked the
Federal Election Commission to shut down GOA’s ability to post its
candidate ratings on the Internet.

In this amicus brief, Gun Owners of America led a coalition of
organizations to argue before the Supreme Court, realizing that a
victory at the nation’s highest court would take the wind out of
Brady’s sails and protect the right of GOA members and the public to
read our candidate ratings on the Internet. (See “June Part 2” for
the final resolution of this case.)

* In Congress, GOA wins an early battle against legislation
introduced by Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) that would have required GOA to
monitor and report on its communications with its members and friends
(like you). GOA helps produce an outpouring of calls against this
anti-speech language (S. 1), and the pernicious text is subsequently
dropped from the bill.

February — March

* GOA spends a lot of time in the state legislatures during the early
part of the year lobbying for bills that would protect the right of
self-defense (a.k.a., the Castle Doctrine) and would allow
law-abiding gun owners to carry firearms without getting permission
from the government (known as Vermont-style carry).

* GOA also begins lobbying for bills that would outlaw gun
confiscations during declared emergencies. Gun Owners helps citizens
of Arizona and Montana to become the most recent states to outlaw the
type of gun thefts that occurred in New Orleans after Hurricane
Katrina. More than a dozen states have now enacted such laws.

* In the nation’s capital, GOA begins its campaign against the
Veterans Disarmament Act and activates its members all over the
country to oppose the legislation introduced by the Queen of Gun
Control, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D) of New York. (More on this
below.)

April — May

* As the nation watches the horrifying images coming from Virginia
Tech on April 16, gun control advocates heighten their calls for
greater restrictions. GOA spokesmen spend countless hours on Capitol
Hill and in the media. In just the first two weeks following the
shooting, GOA appeared in several hundred news outlets across the
country (newspaper articles, radio talk shows and TV debates).

* The April shooting jumpstarts anti-gun legislation sponsored by
Rep. McCarthy and Senator Chuck Schumer. In the name of stopping bad
guys like the Virginia Tech gunman, the Veterans Disarmament Act
would disarm hundreds of thousands of military veterans who are
suffering the ailments that frequently follow combat stress.

* Gun Owners of America begins activating its grassroots network on a
weekly basis (sometimes more), generating thousands upon thousands of
e-mails and phone calls into the House of Representatives in
opposition to the Veterans Disarmament Act.

June (Part 1)

* Betrayal! The House Democrat leadership secretly conspires to
bring up the Veterans Disarmament Act. Republicans find out the bill
is coming to the floor with only a couple of hours lead time. On
June 13, the bill passes without a recorded vote, and very few
Representatives are even present on the floor of the House.

As the bill moves to the Senate, GOA continues fighting the bill and
works to get other groups to join the battle. On June 18, the
Military Order of the Purple Heart takes a strong position against
the McCarthy-Schumer text.

* In other legislative battles, GOA helps kill an anti-gun
immigration bill that was introduced by Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA).
The bill contains harmful language which, in the hands of a future
anti-gun administration, would allow gun shops to be shut down and
classified as “criminal gangs.”

GOA gins up the grassroots in favor of a killer amendment that brings
the huge debate over the amnesty bill to a screeching halt. That one
amendment is credited by Capitol Hill insiders as being the biggest
reason this anti-gun bill was defeated by a 53-46 vote in the Senate.

June (Part 2)

* Big news. GOA’s Political Victory Fund raises thousands of dollars
for GOA Life Member Dr. Paul Broun, who is running to replace the
late Charlie Norwood in Georgia. The Republican Broun wins the
special election by 373 votes and is now a member of the U.S. House
of Representatives!

* More big news. The Supreme Court rules in favor of GOA in the FEC
v. Wisconsin RTL case! This victory makes it almost certain that GOA
will receive a favorable ruling from the Federal Election Commission
in August, thus allowing GOA to continue posting its candidate
ratings on the Internet.

July — August

* As the Congress prepares to go on recess, GOA registers its
complaints with an executive agency (Occupational Safety and Health
Administration) after it proposed regulations that could bring the
sale and transportation of ammunition in this country to a halt.
Less than two weeks later, the Labor Department (which oversees OSHA)
withdraws the regulations and states that, “OSHA is taking prompt
action to revise [and] clarify the purpose of the regulation.”

* GOA beats the Brady Campaign in the battle at the Federal Election
Commission! The FEC dismisses the Brady Bunch’s complaint against
Gun Owners and states that we have broken no laws in posting our
candidate ratings which educate the public.

September

* With Congress returning from their summer break, GOA continues to
generate a flood of e-mails, postcards, letters and faxes into
Senatorial offices — all in opposition to the Veterans Disarmament
Act.

* The fight against the McCarthy-Schumer bill is gaining steam, and
GOA announces two key allies are joining the fight against the
Veterans Disarmament Act. First, Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) places a
hold on the Schumer bill — a “hold” being a parliamentary maneuver
which stalls the legislation and keeps it from easily advancing. The
Coburn hold has continued to bottle up the bill until this very day.

Second, the American Legion informs Senator Coburn that it is opposed
to the Veterans Disarmament Act, as it would “abrogate the rights of
certain service-connected disabled veterans to own firearms, a right
guaranteed by the Second Amendment.”

* In other issues, GOA works closely with Senator David Vitter (R-LA)
to craft language which stipulates that no U.S. funds can be used by
the United Nations — or organizations affiliated with the UN — to
restrict or tax our gun rights. Sen. Vitter pushes the pro-gun
language through the U.S. Senate on an 81-10 vote, as an amendment to
the Department of State appropriations bill.

October

* GOA’s founder and chairman, Sen. H.L. “Bill” Richardson (ret.),
issues an open letter to the gun community urging them to encourage
ALL PRO-GUN groups to stand united in opposition to the Veterans
Disarmament Act. You can see the letter at
http://www.gunowners.org/a100407.htm on the GOA website.

The letter states unequivocally that no compromise is acceptable on
the McCarthy-Schumer legislation.

* GOA activates its supporters in opposition to the Law of the Sea
Treaty (LOST), as it could allow the UN to force the closing of
firing ranges based on the bogus argument that runoff from these
ranges pollutes the world’s oceans.

November — December

* Gun Owners Foundation begins preparing an amicus brief for the U.S.
Supreme Court after the justices decide to take up Washington, D.C.’s
appeal after its gun ban is declared unconstitutional. An appellate
court ruled in March that the city’s draconian gun ban violated the
Second Amendment of the Constitution. The DC v. Heller case will
likely be heard next spring.

* Gun Owners Foundation is also continuing its defense of Ignacio
Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean — the two border patrol agents who
were convicted of shooting a Mexican drug smuggler on the U.S. side
of the border. GOF attorneys filed an amicus brief earlier in the
year which argued that Ramos and Compean were falsely convicted of
“firing a gun during the commission of a crime” — a crime that
doesn’t even exist in federal law.

While the “firing a gun” charge can serve as a sentence enhancement
to an underlying crime, the prosecutor would have to show that the
two border agents were unlawfully carrying firearms — a ludicrous
idea! It became very clear in December that two of the three judges
hearing the agents’ appeal were very familiar with GOF’s arguments,
as their questions to the prosecutor repeatedly focused on this
particular area of federal law. Prospects look good for a decision
reversing their conviction next year.

* When the Senate recently came within a couple of hours of
unanimously approving the anti-gun Michael Sullivan for the position
of BATFE Director, GOA sent an emergency fax to every Senate office,
urging them to oppose the Sullivan nomination. Thankfully, one
senator filed an official objection to Sullivan, and his nomination
was temporarily stalled.

GOA then generated a massive outpouring of opposition from its
activists, which resulted in yet another Senator placing a
“hold” on
the Sullivan nomination. The anti-gun appointment has now been put
off until next year.

PLEASE CONTINUE TO STAND WITH GOA IN 2008!

The ability of GOA to continue putting pressure on politicians
depends on loyal activists like you. GOA has been the national
leader when it comes to opposing the Veterans Disarmament Act.

In October, The Politico stated, “Gun Owners of America… has
launched grassroots efforts across the nation, backed by military
groups such as the Military Order of the Purple Heart and the
American Legion.”

Even as far back as April, Newsweek noted that, “The Gun Owners of
America [has] already launched a public campaign to block the
[McCarthy] legislation that the NRA supports, warning that the
proposal could ‘block millions of additional, honest gun owners from
buying firearms.'”

We can only continue fighting this pernicious legislation as long as
you continue to stand with us. You can stand with us today by
joining GOA at http://www.gunowners.org/ordergoamem.htm (or renewing
your existing membership there).

Posted in Editorial, Opinion, Education, Gun Control, Local Politics Colorado, Men's Issues, News, Politics, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

Thieves at the Public Trough! Poacher convicted!

December 17, 2007

Way to go DOW! 

2004 POACHING CASE ENDS IN GUILTY PLEA FOR ELIZABETH RESIDENT

Elizabeth resident Jacob Haas, 22, has pled guilty to charges filed by a Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW) officer stemming from the illegal take of an elk on private property on a ranch near Franktown in southern Douglas County.  Haas must pay the $10,000 ‘Samson’ surcharge for killing a trophy quality bull elk, is on probation for two years, and faces license suspension for illegally killing the bull elk and hunting on private property without permission.  The guilty plea is the culmination of three years of work on the case by District Wildlife Manager (DWM) Travis Harris.  Harris also credited the assistance of the Douglas County Sheriff’s office and Douglas County Open Space rangers with helping secure evidence in the case.

On October 16, 2004, Haas and a friend entered private property and illegally killed a trophy-class bull elk.  DWM Harris received a tip and responded to the working cattle ranch south of Franktown. Douglas County Open Space rangers, a Douglas County sheriff deputy, and two other wildlife officers responded to the area and assisted Harris as he led the investigation. Among other violations, they found Haas had entered the ranch without permission from the landowners.

“It’s always unfortunate when people knowingly hunt on private property without first obtaining permission, since it can negatively impact a landowner’s willingness to allow legal hunters access in the future,” said Harris. “We want landowners to remember that this particular violation was intentional, and that the DOW will aggressively prosecute these cases when landowners are willing to press charges.”

DWM Harris also cited Haas with the killing of a 5×6 bull elk, prompting the assessment of the ‘Samson’ $10,000 surcharge. The Samson surcharge was passed into law in 1998 following the killing of Samson, a large bull elk, in Estes Park. “We take prosecuting poachers who target trophy animals very seriously,” said DWM Casey Westbrook, who assisted Harris in his investigation.

Haas faces suspension of his hunting, fishing, and falconry licenses. In Colorado, if someone accrues 20 or more points against their wildlife license privileges they can be suspended from those activities. An administrative hearing will determine the length of Haas’ suspension, which must then be approved by the Wildlife Commission. In especially egregious situations, lifetime suspensions can be imposed.

Harris added, “Residents of Douglas County are fortunate to live in a place with a rich and diverse wildlife resource. Some people will try to exploit this resource, and DOW relies on the support of the citizens and landowners to assist us in protecting and preserving Douglas County’s wildlife.”

Operation Game Thief is a Colorado Division of Wildlife program, which pays rewards to citizens who turn in poachers. You can call us toll-free within Colorado at 1-877-COLO-OGT, Verizon cell phone users can dial #OGT, or contact us via e-mail at Operation Game Thief.

The Colorado Division of Wildlife is the state agency responsible for managing wildlife and its habitat, as well as providing wildlife related recreation. The Division is funded through hunting and fishing license fees, federal grants and Colorado Lottery proceeds through Great Outdoors Colorado.
 

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

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Posted in Education, Hunting Fishing and the Great Outdoors, Local Politics Colorado, Men's Issues, News, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

MOOSE IN GUNNISON AREA

December 17, 2007

A BIG thumbs up for the DOW on this one.

MEETING SET TO DISCUSS MOOSE IN GUNNISON AREA

The Colorado Division of Wildlife has scheduled a public meeting Dec. 18 to discuss releasing moose in the Gunnison-Lake City area to augment existing moose populations.
 
DOW wildlife managers will talk about two plans.
 
The first is the release of moose in the La Garita Mountains between the Continental Divide and Cebolla Creek in Game Management Unit 67 to augment the small population that exists there now. The habitat in that area is considered to be suitable for moose and the DOW plans to release an undetermined number of moose there this winter. Currently, just west of the proposed release area, a viable population of moose occurs near Lake City in GMU 66. Two moose hunting licenses are issued for that area annually. The DOW hopes to allow some moose hunting opportunity in GMU 67 in the near future.
 
Second, the DOW staff will discuss the release of moose into the Taylor Park area within the next two to three years. It’s estimated that about 20 moose live in Taylor Park; no hunting licenses are issued for that area. The DOW and the U.S. Forest Service will be studying vegetation there to determine long-term moose carrying capacity of the habitat. No decision has been made about if or when moose would be released at Taylor Park.
 
Moose moved into the two areas in the early 1990s, dispersing from the North Park and Creede areas where they were originally released in the late-1970s and early 1990s respectively.
 
The moose for the La Garitas will be transplanted from northern Utah where there is an abundance of moose. The animals are trapped by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and made available to the DOW. Moose will be given a certificate of good health, be fitted with radio collars and then transported via horse trailers and released as quickly as possible in the target area.
 
The DOW hopes to stabilize the existing moose populations in the LaGarita and Taylor Park areas. The transplants also will provide additional wildlife viewing and hunting opportunities in the near future. 
 
Wildlife managers want to hear from the general public and livestock producers about any possible concerns with adding more moose in theses areas. Discussion at the meeting will be limited to the moose plans.
 
The meeting will be at the Fred Field Western Heritage Center, Gunnison County Fairgrounds, 7 p.m., Dec. 18.
 
For more information, call J Wenum, Gunnison area wildlife manager, (970)641-7060.

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Posted in Education, Hunting Fishing and the Great Outdoors, Local Politics Colorado, News, Uncategorized | Comments Off on MOOSE IN GUNNISON AREA

ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK’S ELK MANAGMENT PLAN

December 17, 2007

DOW AND WILDLIFE COMMISSION CRITICAL OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK’S ELK MANAGMENT PLAN

The Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW) and the Colorado Wildlife Commission said Thursday that Rocky Mountain National Park’s decision to reduce elk numbers in the park with sharpshooters should rely instead on qualified volunteers.

The park’s Final Elk and Vegetation Management Plan will use sharpshooters to kill up to 200 elk a year to reduce the herd of about 3,000 elk to 1,600 to 2,100 animals.

Tom Burke, chairman of the Colorado Wildlife Commission, said qualified volunteers should cull the elk.

The park’s elk management plan, including the use of sharpshooters, would cost about $6 million and last for up to 20 years.

The overpopulation of elk in Rocky Mountain National Park has caused habitat damage to certain areas of the park. Hunting isn’t allowed in the park, established in 1913.

The DOW and the wildlife commission also oppose parts of the park’s plan involving the use of fertility control agents and wolves to thin elk herds. The Colorado Wildlife Commission took a position against those methods last year.

However, Burke praised the management plan for leaving open the option of using qualified volunteers as well as sharpshooters.

“Repeatedly, the Colorado Wildlife Commission has said that we are proponents of using qualified citizen volunteers to assist in managing the elk population in Rocky Mountain National Park,” said Burke.

“Culling 100-200 or less elk a year may not have the impact desired on the current population of 3,000 in Rocky Mountain National Park,” he said. “The language in the plan falls short of our expectations.”

He also said fertility control agents and wolves shouldn’t be utilized because readily available citizen volunteers could cull the elk.

The Colorado Wildlife Commission is an eleven-member board that sets regulations and policies for hunting, fishing, watchable wildlife, non-game, threatened and endangered species.

The commission adopted a resolution in July of 2006 calling for the use of qualified public volunteers as the appropriate method to achieve the population reduction to the Rocky Mountain National Park elk herd.

“The Division of Wildlife and the Commission worked hard to develop a viable alternative to using federal tax dollars to fund government sharp shooters and wasting the carcasses,” said Burke.

“The plan isn’t reassuring when it comes to addressing our constituents’ concerns pertaining to either of those issues,” he said. “We believe we owe it to our constituents to get a stronger commitment from the park staff to use qualified public volunteers to restore a natural balance in the park.”

The resolution is available at:
http://wildlife.state.co.us/WildlifeCommission/Archives/2006/July2006.htm To reach the resolution, click “Minutes” and scroll to pages 49 and 50.
 
 
I agree wholeheartedly with the DOW about this. These people at the Parks Service so obviously don’t listen to outsiders like the people that they serve, or other agencies that it is pathetic!

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Posted in Hunting Fishing and the Great Outdoors, Local Politics Colorado, News, Politics, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

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