Bloomberg Follies: Grassroots politics is alive and well in the United States

September 20, 2009

The felon that is Mayor of New York City just can’t seem to get a break from the people that he so despises. Imagine that!

Grassroots politics is alive and well in the United States, as gun owners have been making their voices heard to their mayors. In the past few weeks, gun owners have been contacting their mayors who joined New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s anti-gun group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG).

The result:  MAIG has lost over 50 members because gun owners took action to tell their mayors the truth about this organization.  Many of the mayors who have resigned from MAIG have indicated they were unaware of the full extent of their anti-gun agenda.  They now know they were mislead by MAIG’s claims that it was only concerned with “illegal” guns.

In response to NRA-ILA’s efforts to inform voters and mayors regarding the truth about MAIG and its anti-gun agenda, Bloomberg’s group has contacted mayors repeating their claim that they are only concerned with “illegal” guns, claiming that NRA is misrepresenting their agenda.  But the facts are clear.

MAIG has never taken any direct action regarding illegal guns. (Click here to read more about MAIG.)  All of their priorities, from repealing the Tiahrt amendment, to opposing interstate Right-to-Carry reciprocity, have been targeted at law-abiding gun owners.  Law enforcement groups, like the Fraternal Order of Police, have made their support for the Tiahrt amendment clear.  The Tiahrt amendment protects not only ongoing criminal investigations, but also the lives and safety of law-enforcement officers. (To read what FOP President Chuck Canterbury wrote on the Tiahrt amendment click here.)

The real reason MAIG opposes the Tiahrt amendment is because it interferes with the efforts of anti-gun mayors like Bloomberg, Boston’s Thomas Menino (a MAIG co-founder), and Chicago’s Richard Daley to bring bogus lawsuits against lawful firearm manufacturers.  These suits are designed to punish gun makers for the acts of criminals, and to use the courts to impose strict regulations on gun sales that legislatures have rejected; gun regulations that negatively impact law-abiding gun buyers, but have no impact on criminals.

MAIG opposition to Right-to-Carry reciprocity is a clear example of their opposition to legal gun ownership and self-defense.  Reciprocity would only apply to those who have permits, and then only if all local laws are followed.  Criminals and gunrunners do not undergo background checks, take training courses, and seek certification to obtain a carry permit–law-abiding gun owners do.

Gun owners must keep up the pressure on their mayors to ensure that their rights are respected.  If your mayor is a member of MAIG, contact him and let him know the truth about this anti-gun group’s real agenda. (To find if your mayor is a member of MAIG, click here.)  If your mayor is one of those who has resigned, call and thank him for his support.

SOURCE

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Posted in Editorial, Opinion, Education, Gun Control, Law, mysandry, Politics, Wordpress Political Blogs | Comments Off on Bloomberg Follies: Grassroots politics is alive and well in the United States

Income Redistribution: A Tale of Two Americas

September 18, 2009

We in our humble shop have discovered that John Edwards was right after all: There are two Americas. However, we don’t believe this story was quite what he had in mind.

An analysis by Chris Edwards (no relation to the former senator) of the Cato Institute found that federal civilian employees are a group not exactly hit hard by the recession. They now have an average compensation package (wages plus benefits) that doubles the average compensation package found in the private sector. Furthermore, it’s an overall disparity that’s increased over the last eight years.

In relating his findings, Edwards notes, “The result [of a lack of fiscal restraint during the Bush administration] has been an increasingly overpaid elite of government workers, who are insulated from the economic reality of recessions and from the tough competitive climate of the private sector.” While federal employees tend to complain about their pay scale — which is “only” about 60 percent higher than the private sector’s — it’s telling that they quit their jobs much less often than do those in the private sector. Obviously few are forced out because the federal government never shrinks in size, and, as the data show, federal employees are loath to give up their gold-plated benefit packages.

It’s a trend that will only increase with the proclivity of Barack Obama to expand the highly unionized government workforce and create additional bureaucracy. After all, someone has to push pencils for the dozens of czars Obama has appointed to supplement the already burgeoning workforce in place under those Cabinet department heads.

However, there is a chance this difference may be erased soon. With the proposed addition of thousands more workers to referee cap-n-tax and ration our health care, our growing government may finally leave no private sector jobs to be compared. That seems to be the desired result of this administration’s policies.

SOURCE

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Guns, Crime and Prison Population

September 18, 2009

According to new data released by the FBI, violent crime in America continued its downward trend in 2008, proving once again that criminals — not more guns — are the problem. While murder, manslaughter and rape have all been on the decline since an all-time high in the early ’90s, killings dropped 3.9 percent between 2007 and 2008 alone, even with millions of guns purchased during that time — especially those scary “assault rifles” that give liberals such heartburn. “These are rates we haven’t seen since the 1960’s, even though the change from year to year has been rather small,” said Alfred Blumstein, a criminal justice professor at Carnegie-Mellon University.

Of course, despite the drop in crime (or the fact that none of these crimes even require a gun), liberals continue to push for stricter gun control laws in the interests of our “safety,” and the Leftmedia (expectantly) points out that crime usually rises during recessions and that the bulk of this data was gathered before the height of the economic crisis.

While government is trying to deprive us of our Second Amendment rights, courts are advancing the rights of criminals. When presented with a class-action suit brought by California inmates, a three-judge district court panel found that prison overcrowding is robbing them of their constitutional rights and decided to free 46,000 criminals in order to make incarceration more comfortable. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for a stay on the ruling, arguing that the safety of Californians would be at risk if the prisoners are released, but the Supremes refused.

So, if the Left has its way, we should all turn in our firearms and pray that Big Brother will protect us from the thousands of newly released criminals prowling the streets. Another attempt to pay lip service to the Constitution while trampling it.

SOURCE

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ACORN — A Tough Nut to Crack

September 18, 2009

ACORN: Organizing the community one prostitute at a timeACORN — A Tough Nut to Crack

The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) bills itself as “the nation’s largest grassroots community organization of low- and moderate-income people.” Its mission is typical leftist activism — anything from advocating for a higher minimum wage and the type of home loans that precipitated the housing crisis to ballot initiatives and voter registration. We know that ACORN has also submitted fraudulent voter registration forms filled out by “Mickey Mouse” and other fictional characters. But, hey, “get out the vote” knows no bounds. Also, Barack Obama worked alongside ACORN during his own “community organizing” days.

This week, news broke that the Census Bureau, which had planned to partner with ACORN in next year’s census, severed all ties with the organization. Then the U.S. House and Senate each voted to deny the group access to further federal housing funds (though who knows what will happen in Conference Committee). Even the Obama White House “distanced” itself from this taxpayer-funded organization.

So why all the fuss? If inquiring minds read only The New York Times, they might be in the same blissfully ignorant boat as ABC News anchor Charlie Gibson, who, when asked about the ACORN scandal, claimed, “I don’t even know about it.”

The story began when two young conservative activists, James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles, posed as a pimp and a prostitute seeking advice on obtaining a loan for a home to use as a brothel, evading income tax on the young woman’s income and claiming as dependents underage El Salvadoran girls they wanted to employ. In five different ACORN offices (Baltimore, DC, New York, and San Diego and San Bernardino, California), workers bit on the story, hooker, line and sinker, freely giving pointers without so much as batting an eye on how to get illegal loans and evade taxes. The videos are posted on Andrew Breitbart’s BigGovernment.com. None showed concern for the obvious implication of child abuse.

The Times, however, with the motto “All the News That’s Fit to Print,” didn’t find anything fit to print until days later, and then only with the laughable headline, “Conservatives Draw Blood From Acorn.” As Charlie Gibson condescended, “[M]aybe this is just one you leave to the cables.”

The truly unfortunate thing is that ACORN has received more than $50 million in taxpayer dollars since 1994 and was set to receive $8.5 billion in “stimulus” cash. Most Democrats are feverishly turning off the funding spigot before this scandal drags their own political skeletons out of the closet. For the record, however, seven senators voted to continue funding this criminal enterprise, and, not surprisingly, they’re all Democrats: Sheldon Whitehouse (RI), Dick Durbin (IL), Roland Burris (IL), Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), Bob Casey Jr. (PA), Patrick Leahy (VT) and self-proclaimed socialist independent Bernie Sanders (VT). In addition, 75 (yes, seventy-five) House Democrats voted to continue throwing our money at the group. Space doesn’t permit us to list the names of these disgraceful twits, but BigGovernment.com has them for all to see.

One of the ACORN workers did tell O’Keefe, “Honesty is not going to get you the house.” Perhaps she meant “House” with a capital “H.” In any case, O’Keefe and Giles deserve a medal.

On Cross-Examination

“Good thing I wasn’t drinking coffee when I read the Politico headline about Team Obama trying to run away from ACORN: ‘W.H. distances from activist group.’ Choking. Up. With. Laughter. Barack Obama can no more disown ACORN than he could disown his own shadow. He IS ACORN. And ACORN is him. The ‘accountability’ that White House flack Robert Gibbs says they take ‘extremely seriously’ doesn’t extend to Team Obama itself — and the accountability they have evaded for pouring more than $800,000 into an ACORN front group for campaign advance work that was mysteriously re-classified as ‘get-out-the-vote’ work. As for the ACORN ‘advisory committee’ that will ‘audit’ the group’s illicit activities, I repeat: Choking. Up. With. Laughter.” –columnist and blogger Michelle Malkin

From the ‘Non Compos Mentis’ File

“The truth remains that thousands of New Yorkers who are facing foreclosure depend on charitable organizations like Acorn for assistance.” –Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)

But as Investor’s Business Daily argues, “The fact is that this ‘charitable organization’ helped precipitate the mortgage meltdown that shattered the economy. It was Acorn, under the cover of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), that intimidated banks through mob action into making risky loans in the name of ‘fairness’ to people who could not afford them. The tactics, taken straight from the pages of Saul Alinsky’s ‘Rules for Radicals,’ were used by Acorn as early as 1991, when it took over the House Banking Committee room for two days to protest efforts to scale back the CRA.”

SOURCE

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NEW SWA IN GMU 49: Colorado Hunting

September 18, 2009

BUENA VISTA, Colo. – Colorado has a new State Wildlife Area in Chaffee County.

Chubb Park Ranch State Wildlife Area is located approximately nine miles northeast of Buena Vista on Highway 24/285.  Joseph and Arlene Cogan, whose family has been ranching in Chaffee County since 1889, own the 507-acre ranch.  They have agreed to open their ranch to public hunting as part of a perpetual conservation easement.

The conservation easement was jointly financed by the Colorado Division of Wildlife, Trust for Public Lands, Land Trust of the Upper Arkansas, Great Outdoors Colorado, Chaffee County, and a donation from the Cogan family.

Chubb Park Ranch SWA is comprised of a blend of mountain grassland habitat, creeks, and forest habitat.  It provides critical elk winter range.

“The purpose of this project is to protect the conservation values of Chubb Park Ranch in perpetuity and allow public access for hunting,” said Division of Wildlife Regional Manager Dan Prenzlow.  “It will protect 84 acres of riparian habitat, 12 acres of forested habitat, over 400 acres of sagebrush/grassland habitat, as well as important winter range for elk.”

The conservation easement also protects nearly 2.8 acres of stream frontage, including portions of Trout Creek, as well as some of the smaller tributaries to both Trout and Chubb Creeks, although the access easement is for hunting only.

Prenzlow said the agreement would also preserve historic ranching practices, habitat for non-game wildlife, and invaluable scenic vistas including a fantastic viewscape from Hwy. 9 to Buffalo Peaks.

The conservation easement preserves valuable habitat as a wildlife corridor between surrounding State Land Board land and the San Isabel National Forest.

The perpetual access easement allows the public to hunt the Chubb Park Ranch.  Access to the 507 acre ranch also enhances access to the existing 3,640 acre Chubb Park State Land Board parcel which is open to hunting as part of the State Trust Lands Program.

The DOW is a co-grantee on this perpetual conservation easement with the Land Trust of the Upper Arkansas.

The property is located in Game Management Unit 49.

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

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Second Amendment March

September 18, 2009

Yes, it’s still on the burner. The newsletter is all but impossible to re-post here due to formats and other conflicts that I have not been able to figure out yet, but? I’ll give it a shot.

www.secondamendmentmarch.com

info@secondamendmentmarch.com.

Well,  so much for that… Try the links above to view the newsletter, or to sign up for it!

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Posted in Editorial, Opinion, Education, Hunting Fishing and the Great Outdoors, Law, News, Politics | 1 Comment »

Independence Institute: Newsletter

September 18, 2009

From the bastion of freedom and free markets in Golden, Colorado!

Save The Date: Can you believe it, the Independence Institute turns 25 years young this year!! So save the date and book your seats now for our 25th Annual Founders’ Night Dinner with keynote speaker P.J. O’Rourke…it’s going to be huge! That’s Thursday, November 19th at the Infinity Park International Ballroom in Glendale, CO. Details and RSVP info here. Or you can call Mary at (303) 279-6536, or email her at mary@i2i.org. Hurry, this event is filling up fast.

He’s Not My Doctor! Remember those anti-Bush bumper stickers that read, “He’s not my President”? Well, I am pleased to announce that we at the Independence Institute recently debuted our new awesomely awesome “He’s Not My Doctor” bumper stickers. If you’d like to show the world that Obama is not your doctor, email Mary MacFarlane at mary@i2i.org and send her your name, address, and primary email account, and we’ll send you a brand spanking new bumper sticker – free of charge! PS – Due to the overwhelming demand, please limit your requests to just 2 per household. Thanks!

Free Our Health Care: Our brilliant Health Care Policy Center director Linda Gorman alerted me to a couple great health care links. First, we have the Free Our Health Care Now online petition, that some 732,000-plus people have already signed. Let’s help spread the word to our elected officials that we do not want a government takeover of our health care. As much as some may want to see doctor’s offices resembling the DMV, I prefer that didn’t happen.

Second, we’ve got the Conservatives for Patient’s Rights website, which has a large amount of important links and resources.

And of course don’t forget our Patient Power Now blog, written mostly by health care policy analyst Brian Schwartz, with special guest appearances by Linda Gorman herself. Be sure to check out the John Goodman Health Policy Blog, where Linda is a featured writer.

Must Hear Podcast: Over at ivoices.org Jon Caldara sits down with Dave Kopel to discuss free speechand some of the historical limiters to speech, leading all the way to McCain-Feingold of present day. There is a new challenge to McCain-Feingold headed to the courts. How does Dave think it will turn out? Give a listen here.

Must See TV: Want to know who’s up and who’s down in Colorado’s political races? How about the ongoing efforts to close a state budget gap? Denver Post reporter Lynn Bartels and Tim Hoover join host Jon Caldara for an end of summer wrap up of state polics and the budget debate. Tune in this Friday night at 8:30 pm to KBDI Channel 12; repeated the following Monday afternoon at 1:30 p.m..

Perspective: Ben DeGrow from the Education Policy Center thinks northeast Denver’s demand for more schools deserves some outside the box solutions. Check out his latest, “Stapleton School Shortage Needs Creative Thinking.”

Until next week…

Straight on

Jon Caldara

www.independenceinstitute.org

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Posted in Blogroll, Economics, Editorial, Opinion, Education, Law, Local Politics Colorado, News, Politics, Uncategorized, Wordpress Political Blogs | 3 Comments »

San Fran Nan is worried again?

September 17, 2009

Seems that Madame Speaker is concerned. Concerned about what? Losing her job perhaps? I seriously doubt that, but the Golden State of my birth has a notoriously fickle electorate. Even in the Bay Area at times. However, as I stated, I doubt it. What she probably does have valid fear about is quite simply what she, and those like her have done that could provoke some to resort to violence as a means of secession. Her astounding support of anti liberty legislation may only be topped by Frank Lautenberg, Chuck Schumer, and the late Ted Kennedy. I would speculate that the only reason for that would be her relative newness to Washington.

Nancy apparently wants to blame all these troubles on race and “astro turf.” Why not be honest Nancy? Why not point out your horrible record when it comes to sexism via legislated mysandry, your taxation policy votes, and yes, your rabid hate for the Bill of Rights? Then after you realize that you have been one of the most detrimental people ever to serve in office at any level we can give voice to all those that never had a chance to live because of you and your support for mass murdering profiteers…

Read on…

Pelosi worried about angry health care rhetoric

By LAURIE KELLMAN (AP) – 46 minutes ago

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that the anti-government rhetoric over President Barack Obama’s health care reform effort is concerning because it reminds her of the violent debate over gay rights that roiled San Francisco in the 1970s.

Anyone voicing hateful or violent rhetoric, she told reporters, must take responsibility for the results.

“I have concerns about some of the language that is being used because I saw this myself in the late ’70s in San Francisco,” Pelosi said, suddenly speaking quietly. “This kind of rhetoric was very frightening” and created a climate in which violence took place, she said.

Former San Francisco Supervisor Dan White was convicted of the 1978 murders of Mayor George Moscone and openly gay supervisor Harvey Milk. Gay rights activists and some others at the time saw a link between the assassinations and the violent debate over gay rights that had preceded them for years.

During a rambling confession, White was quoted as saying, “I saw the city as going kind of downhill.” His lawyers argued that he was mentally ill at the time. White committed suicide in 1985.

Pelosi is part of a generation of California Democrats on whom the assassinations had a searing effect. A resident of San Fransisco, Pelosi had been a Democratic activist for years and knew Milk and Moscone. At the time of their murders, she was serving as chairwoman of her party in the northern part of the state.

On Thursday, Pelosi was answering a question about whether the current vitriol concerned her. The questioner did not refer to the murders of Milk or Moscone, or the turmoil in San Francisco three decades ago. Pelosi referenced those events on her own and grew uncharacteristically emotional.

“I wish that we would all, again, curb our enthusiasm in some of the statements that are made,” Pelosi said. Some of the people hearing the message “are not as balanced as the person making the statement might assume,” she said.

“Our country is great because people can say what they think and they believe,” she added. “But I also think that they have to take responsibility for any incitement that they may cause.”

Pelosi’s office did not immediately respond to a request for examples of contemporary statements that reminded the speaker of the rhetoric of 1970s San Francisco.

The public anger during health care town hall meetings in August spilled into the House last week when South Carolina Republican Joe Wilson shouted “You lie!” at Obama, the nation’s first black president, during his speech. On a largely party-line vote, the House reprimanded Wilson.

SOURCE

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Posted in Czar Wars, Economics, Editorial, Opinion, Education, Gun Control, Immigration, Law, mysandry, News, Politics, Wordpress Political Blogs | 4 Comments »

President Jimmy Carter’s recent comments about critics of President Obama:

September 17, 2009

Fellow blogger extraordinaire Afrocity has a wonderful piece up today that is a must read. Citing the false accusations or back door affirmations that the world is, in effect ruled by racism rather than honest disagreement with positions and policy’s of the current administration. She tears down the walls of misconception in a way that, simply put, I am unable to do. Then, in my inbox up pops this. Ten gallon Hat tip to Texas Fred for this;

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Corbin Casteel

September 16, 2009                                                                                    (512) 482-0682 Office

wcc@WilliamsForTexas.com

Statement by Commissioner Michael Williams, a Republican candidate for the United States Senate, concerning former President Jimmy Carter’s

recent comments about critics of President Obama:

“I have immense respect for President Carter, but I fundamentally disagree with the notion that opponents of President Obama’s immense spending proposals are motivated by race. As a black man from the South, I take exception to the notion that my opposition – or the opposition of millions of Americans to the president’s healthcare proposal – is rooted in racial politics. It is a sad day when genuine disagreement is smeared by such an incendiary characterization. I oppose the president’s plan because it will explode the deficit, allow further government intrusion into the doctor-patient relationship, and continue to insulate healthcare consumers from the true cost of their care.

“America has come a long way on the issue of race, so much so that we elected the first black president in the history of our country. The president’s supporters seem to want to denigrate the motives of the opposition so they don’t have to actually engage in a debate about reforms that will forever change the direction of this country.

“It is no coincidence as the liberals continue to lose public support for a budget-busting healthcare plan that they have begun a seemingly orchestrated effort to change the subject from the content of the reforms to the character of their opposition. From the former president of the United States, to the opinion pages of the New York Times, a new ugliness has permeated our discourse. I say to them that I can disagree with my president based on the politics of ideas rather than the politics of identity.

“Americans who have honest concerns about increasing government control of healthcare, and the overall direction of this nation, deserve answers instead of scorn, respect instead of reviling accusations of racism. If this president is going to change the tone in Washington, he better first change the tactics of his supporters.”

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All The President’s Race Baiters

September 16, 2009

All the presidents men, and women.

The U.S. House of Representatives met on Tuesday and voted, not on health care or military actions or tax cuts, but on whether to reprimand Rep. Joe Wilson for shouting “You Lie” during Barack Obama’s speech last week. After the outburst, Wilson immediately apologized directly to the White House, yet the Democrats wanted to make it a political circus and called for an apology on the floor of the House. Wilson said no!

But that’s not all that happened yesterday. It appears that Jimmy Carter (remember him? The worst president ever?) can’t keep his mouth shut and is playing the perfect tool for the Democrats. In an interview on Tuesday, Carter said that Wilson and basically anyone who is opposed to Obama are racists. Can Jimmy Carter please shut up and go away!

Read More

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