Posts Tagged ‘Education’

Brady Campaign And Lautenberg Unite To Mislead And Control–Again

April 25, 2009

More from the masters of mysandry and misdirection.

This week, in a typically misleading move designed to bolster their political agenda rather than reduce violent crime, the Brady Campaign released a report calling for background checks on “all gun sales in America, including at gun shows.” The Brady report was intentionally designed to correspond with, and bolster, a “gun show loophole” bill (S. 843) introduced this week by fanatical anti-gun Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ). In fact, the Brady report was released at the press conference Lautenberg held earlier this week.

Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign, said in the group’s press release, “We can do this. It will have no impact on any law-abiding gun owner in the country.” Of course, that is absolutely false—the proposal will ONLY impact law-abiding gun owners, including any law-abiding person selling a firearm to a law-abiding buyer. Does Helmke really think that criminals, drug cartel members, and violent gang thugs are going to start legally purchasing firearms and submitting to a background check? Law-breakers, by definition, break the law. They are criminals; they are predatory, they operate outside of the law. You know that, we know that, Lautenberg knows that, even Helmke knows that.

Lautenberg’s new bill is essentially a re-introduction of the same bill he introduced in the 110th Congress—S. 2577. And as before, S. 843 calls for massive new government powers to register gun show customers, register gun owners, retain information on people who pass criminal records checks when buying firearms, heavily tax both gun collectors and gun sales, and require gun show promoters to police gun show customers, as if they were agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The bill is not about gun shows. Rather, S. 843 is a solution in search of a problem; numerous government studies have determined that gun shows are an insignificant or miniscule source of firearms misused in crime. For instance, a 2000 Bureau of Justice Statistics study, “Federal Firearms Offenders, 1992-98,” found only 1.7% of federal prison inmates obtained their gun from a gun show. Similarly, a 1997 National Institute of Justice study reported less than 2% of criminals’ guns come from gun shows.

In reality, gun shows are large, public events held in convention centers and banquet halls. But S. 843 defines “gun show” so broadly that it would include a person’s home. Merely “offering” to “exchange” a firearm at an “event” could be banned. The National Matches at Camp Perry and your local gun club’s Sunday trap shoot could be defined as “events” subject to the bill’s provisions. Even talking about a gun at an “event” could be seen as an “offer” to sell a gun. Even if you are not a dealer, but you display a gun at a gun show, and then months later sell the gun to someone you met at the show, you would be subject to the same requirements as if you had completed the sale at the gun show. The restrictions and regulations S. 843 would impose upon real gun shows, and upon gun owners’ personal activities that the bill would preposterously define as “gun shows” and “events,” are unprecedented. S. 843 actually imposes restrictions on “gun show” transactions well beyond those required for firearms transactions at a gun store. And running afoul of S. 843’s numerous, far-fetched provisions could send you to prison for years. Among other things, the legislation calls for:

Gun show customer registration: A person who attends a show, even without a gun, who even discusses the possibility of selling a gun, would be required to sign “a ledger with identifying information.” Gun show promoters would have to retain the ledgers indefinitely for inspection by the BATFE.

Absurd requirement on gun show promoters: Because a promoter cannot know whether a person who attends his show will discuss the sale of a gun, he will have to require every customer to sign the ledger, and check every customer’s identification to verify the information required on the ledger.

Invasion of privacy: In addition to records kept on gun show customers, this bill would allow the FBI to retain, for 90 days, personal information about people who clear instant checks when buying guns.

Gun collector registration: If you are at home with a collection of fifty or more firearms, it would be a five-year felony to “offer” or “exchange” a single gun — even between family or friends — unless you first registered with the BATFE and paid a fee, the amount of which would be at BATFE’s discretion.

The real objective of this legislation is to over-regulate gun shows out of business. Rest assured we will continue to actively monitor the bill and will apprise you of any developments.

Please be sure to contact your U.S. Senators and urge them to strongly OPPOSE S. 843! You can call your U.S. Senators at (202) 224-3121.

SOURCE

Boo boo strikes again!

April 24, 2009

Seems like an ongoing theme around here. Figure it out, wild animals, well, are wild. Go figure…

This is the time of year when wildlife are getting active. Most are birthing, and can be even more dangerous than they are most of the time. That people just drove by a pregnant woman clearly in distress really bothers me.

Ashley Swendsen, 26 years old and nearly six months pregnant, was chased into traffic by a bear as she went for a walk during her lunch hour in Colorado Springs Thursday.

A car brushed her to the ground and the driver slowed as Swendsen screamed that she was being chased by a bear.

But the driver, an older woman, sped off and the three cars behind it passed by as well, said Swendsen, reached by cell phone at the hospital.

Her physical injuries are believed to be minor, but the nervousness was still evident in her voice as she waited to see a doctor at about 4 p.m.

As the bear first appeared about 2 feet away from her on a hiking trail between the Vincent Drive Bridge and Interstate 25, she said “I thought … ‘what am I going to do?'”

She walked quickly for a few seconds before her fear overcame her and she began to run. The 4-foot-tall brown bear galloped behind her for about 20 seconds until she reached the roadway at 1005 Garlock Way.

“I started screaming for help, but nobody could hear me,” she said.

Wildlife officers soon located and killed the female bear. No cubs were found nearby. Swendsen said she was going to see its body after she was checked out at the hospital.Colorado Springs police are still looking for the hit-and-run driver, a woman likely to be in her 70s driving a black four-door Mitsubishi sedan.

SOURCE

People Advised To Think Twice About Picking Up Young Animals‏

April 23, 2009

It seems that every year this message needs to be repeated. Not just for youngsters though. It simply amazes me how many adults think Boo Boo Bear, Coyotes, Cougars and so on are just misunderstood fellow occupiers of the Earth. Animals that pose somewhat less danger to humans need to be left alone as well though.

PEOPLE ADVISED TO THINK TWICE ABOUT PICKING UP YOUNG ANIMALS

DENVER, Colo. – Spring is the season of re-birth when many wildlife species come into the world. As people venture outside in the warm weather, they may find newborn wildlife in their yards, along trails, or in open space areas.  As tempting as it may be to “help” a young animal by picking it up, or by trying to give it food or water, for wildlife babies, there is no substitute for their natural parents.

It seems counter intuitive, but according to wildlife experts, it is normal to find young wild animals without an adult animal nearby.   Well-meaning people sometimes scoop up baby wildlife and bring them to wildlife rehabilitation facilities, veterinary clinics, or Colorado Division of Wildlife offices, but experts say that is the wrong thing to do.

If you find young wildlife, enjoy a quick glimpse, leave the animal where it is, and keep pets out of the area.  “The best thing to do if you are concerned is to quietly observe the animal from a distance using binoculars.  Don’t hover so close that the wild parents are afraid to return to the area,” advises Colorado Division of Wildlife Officer Jeromy Huntington.

“If several hours go by and the parent does not return, it is possible the newborn was abandoned or the parent is dead (hit by a car, for example) then report it to the Division of Wildlife.  Do not move the animal yourself,” he said.

Donna Ralph of the non-profit Ellicott Wildlife Rehabilitation Center agrees.  “Many of the animals we get should have never been picked up in the first place,” said Ralph.  “They would have had a better chance for survival if left in the care of the parent animal.”

“The sooner the animal can be released back to where it came from the better,” she explained.   “Make sure you provide your contact information so we can let it go in the same place you found it.”

Ralph said her center has already taken in many small mammals this year including several fox kits.  “Baby foxes don’t look like most people would expect them to look like. They are very small, very dark (almost black) and appear to be very kitten like.  People who find them think they might be baby raccoons, skunks, or something else.”

Ralph’s advice: Don’t try to feed them. Don’t put anything into their mouths. Contact the DOW, a veterinarian, or licensed wildlife rehabilitator to give these babies the care they need.

“Whatever you do, don’t try to keep the animal as a pet,” she said. “It is illegal to keep wild animals in captivity unless you are a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. ”

Right now, wildlife centers are taking in small mammals, but as the season progresses, people will bring in newly hatched birds that have fallen from their nest.  Experts recommend returning them to the nest if you can do so safely, or placing them on a high branch to keep them away from pets.  It is an old wives tale that birds will reject their young if people touch them.  Birds have little sense of smell.

“If you are not able to reach the nest, put the bird in a small box and attach it as to close to the nest as you can.  It is a lot easier, and more successful, when the parent birds feed and care for their babies than when humans try to do so,” Ralph said.

Picking up wildlife is not only detrimental for the animal; it can be risky for people, too.   According to Huntington, most people have good intentions when they pickup wildlife, but are unaware of the risks associated with handling wild animals.  Wild animals can carry rabies, distemper or other illnesses.  It is also possible for the animals to carry fleas that might subsequently spread disease to humans or pets.

Cute baby raccoons and skunks will grow up to be big problems if you illegally “adopt” a foundling. “You are putting yourself and your family at risk.  You can be ticketed and the animal will be taken away,” he cautioned.

Human-raised and hand-fed animals rarely can be returned to the wild because they have imprinted on humans or because they lack survival skills.  Licensed wildlife rehabilitators are trained to use methods that will give a wild animal the best chance of surviving upon release.

Despite the fact that wildlife is usually best left alone, there are instances in which people find injured or orphaned wildlife that needs help.  If this happens, call the DOW for assistance.

For more information, visit the DOW web site at www.colorado.gov/wildlife or call your local Colorado Division of Wildlife Office.

Thomas Sowell on gun control

April 23, 2009

Yes, I know  that there are some people that have a great deal more patience than I do. I admit that there are times when I just get fed up explaining the obvious over and over. Time, and time again it goes on… In any case, Thomas Sowell, someone that I have great respect for attempts yet again to explain the great mysteries of life to the uninitiated.

“Some of our biggest political fallacies come from accepting words as evidence of realities. …[For example,] ‘gun control’ laws do not control guns. The District of Columbia’s very strong laws against gun ownership have done nothing to stop the high murder rate in Washington. New York had very strong gun control laws decades before London did. But the murder rate in New York has been some multiple of that in London for more than two centuries, regardless of which city had the stronger gun control laws at a given time. Back in 1954, when there were no restrictions on owning shotguns in England and there were far more owners of pistols then than there were decades later, there were only 12 cases of armed robbery in London. By the 1990s, after stringent gun controls laws were imposed, there were well over a thousand armed robberies a year in London. In the late 1990s, after an almost total ban on handguns in England, gun crimes went up another ten percent. The reason — too obvious to be accepted by the intelligentsia — is that law-abiding people became more defenseless against criminals who ignored the law and kept their guns.” –Hoover Institution economist Thomas Sowell

CIFTA, and the NRA

April 18, 2009

CIFTA is yet another attempt by those that hate American freedom and liberty to undermine our Constitution and Bill of Rights. The NRA acts yet again like a broken clock. I can’t wait for the G.O.A. assessment…

During an official visit to Mexico on April 16, President Obama announced his support for Senate ratification of an inter-American treaty on firearms trafficking. In response, NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre and NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris Cox issued the following statement:

“The NRA is well aware of the proposed Organization of American States treaty on firearms trafficking, known by its Spanish initials as CIFTA. The NRA monitored the development of this treaty from its earliest days, but contrary to news reports today, the NRA did not ‘participate’ at the meeting where the treaty was approved.

“The treaty does include language suggesting that it is not intended to restrict ‘lawful ownership and use’ of firearms. Despite those words, the NRA knows that anti-gun advocates will still try to use this treaty to attack gun ownership in the U.S. Therefore, the NRA will continue to vigorously oppose any international effort to restrict the constitutional rights of law-abiding American gun owners

SOURCE

Well, I didn’t have to wait long! 😀

President Obama Continues Assault on the Second Amendment
By John Velleco
Director of Federal Affairs

President Obama is determined to eradicate the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding American citizens.

In recent meetings with Mexican President Felipe Calderón, the American President promised to urge the U.S. Senate to pass an international arms control treaty.

The treaty, cumbersomely titled the “Inter-American Convention Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related Materials” (known by the acronym CIFTA), was signed by President Bill Clinton, but never ratified by the Senate.

President Obama is hoping to capitalize on an increased Democrat majority and push its quick ratification.  The U.S. is one of four nations that have not ratified the treaty.President Obama with Mexican President  Felipe Calderón

If ratified and the U.S. is found not to be in compliance with any provisions of the treaty — such as a provision that would outlaw reloading ammunition without a government license — President Obama would be empowered to implement regulations without Congressional approval.

Supporters of CIFTA claim the treaty is not a threat to the Second Amendment, but only a “symbolic” gesture.  But symbolic of what?  That America really is to blame for problems of violence and drug gangs in a foreign country?  That the American government can be pressed by a foreign country to alter the Second Amendment?

If the kind of “change” that Obama wants is for the United States to take its marching orders from third world countries regarding our gun rights, we’re in big trouble!

The fact is, this treaty will do NOTHING to combat the violence in Mexico, but it will go a LONG WAY toward eroding our ability to protect the right to keep and bear arms through our elected officials. [Read more about CIFTA]

Some Victories Last Week During The First Budget Skirmish

April 9, 2009
But the most important battles are still to come

Gun Owners of America E-Mail Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408
http://www.gunowners.org

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Thank you for your activism last week on the budget resolution,
especially given the short notice.  (Please realize that GOA has no
control over when votes are scheduled, so sometimes we have to alert you
with little time before the vote takes place!)

While the budget resolution for fiscal year 2010 has now passed the
Senate and the House in different forms, we were able to secure some
significant victories in the Senate.

First, with 64 favorable votes, the Senate passed an amendment by Sen.
Roger Wicker (R-MS) to force the federally subsidized Amtrak to allow
passengers to carry  firearms in checked bags.

In addition, the Senate adopted an amendment offered by Senator James
DeMint (R-SC) to prohibit any system of nationalized health care which
would prevent Americans from being able to select their doctors and
insurance companies.

This amendment could make it more difficult to institute either
socialized medicine or a Massachusetts-style insurance that requires
everyone to purchase [government approved?] insurance.

This is good news for gun owners.  A "mandated" insurance 
system could
not only cost you up to $1,000 month, but could also result in your most
sensitive personal information being placed in a medical database --
information that could easily be used to put more names on the gun
prohibition list (NICS).

The budget resolution now goes to conference committee, where
anti-gunners are expected to strip out both of our pro-gun amendments.
But these amendments did pin senators down on important issues early in
the budget war, which was an important strategic objective.

It is unclear when the conference report on the budget resolution will
be sent back to the Senate and the House.  One possibility is that the
resolution will be held in conference until September.

The Democrat leadership has ominously threatened to produce a bill that
would require mandatory health insurance.

They are not talking about this openly, but as a recent editorial in The
Washington Post confessed:  "Though only some of the players [on Capitol
Hill] will say so now, the [health care] plan will ultimately include a
mandate requiring everyone to have insurance." (April 6, 2009)

You see, the power players on Capitol Hill are not admitting this openly
because the American people oppose it. But if they set in motion a
process to help sneak such a "mandate" into law, then gun 
owners will
only have a few weeks to stop it in September.

This is why we need to keep the pressure on liberty-leaning Senators
during the ensuing months.  Please stay tuned.

****************************

Olofson Update

David Olofson continues to languish in prison for a malfunctioning
rifle.  GOA attorneys made oral arguments before the federal appeals
court in Chicago on January 23.  They pointed out that the government
withheld from the jury that the Supreme Court itself, along with a
government training manual, has made it clear that a gun functioning
like Olofson's was not a machine gun but simply a malfunctioning gun.

If this decision is not overturned, any owner of a semi-automatic
firearm could find himself sitting in jail next to David Olofson.

Generous individuals have made monthly commitments of $10 a month (or
more).  This has enabled Candy Olofson to take care of their three kids
and keep her job as a nurse without having to get a second job.  The
Olofson Relief Fund has been making the monthly payments of
approximately $1300 combined for the family car and mortgage.

Understandably, some have had to stop making their monthly
contributions.  Can you step up to the plate and take their place?  If
so, please go to http://gunowners.org/olofson.htm  and use your favorite
credit card to make an automatic monthly donation of $10 (or more).

If you can't commit to a monthly charge, that same page accepts one-time
donations... every little bit helps.

****************************

Broken Clocks?

March 14, 2009

Even a broken clock shows the correct time twice a day as the saying goes. The forces of anti-liberty often point to Great Britain as a fine example of how things like gun control are a panacea for ending violent crime. What they do not like though is reality.

The horror of the school shooting in Winnenden will be followed by calls for Germany’s already restrictive gun laws to be tightened. But the hope that this will work is misplaced.

After the Erfurt school shooting in 2002, guns controls were supposedly strengthened and before that, in 1972, Germany introduced draconian gun laws to combat Baader-Meinhof terrorism. In the first three years after the legislation was passed, German military and police armouries “lost” 34 machine guns, 198 sub-machineguns, 363 automatic rifles and 1,142 pistols: with such firepower available from the organs of the State itself, the Federal Republic did not have enough terrorists to go round. As we in Britain now know, having seen the doubling of handgun crime within five years of our total ban on pistols, “gun control” is a perverse concept.

If the Germans are serious about stopping killers running amok in schools, they might consider the Israeli solution of arming teachers. It works there, as it has on occasion in America – the massacre in the “gun-free zone” of Virginia Tech can be contrasted with the assault by a former pupil on the neighbouring Appalachian Law School in 2002 that was halted by two armed students.

FULL STORY

A Nation for sale, one state at a time

March 14, 2009

The past election cycle made it very clear that elections can in fact be bought. True, how the money is used to market a package has a lot to do with the process but the result is still pretty much the same. Putting together a war chest and then painting a picture that sells has a lot to do with how people influence electoral outcomes. What follows is a great piece of work and should be required reading for anyone that wants more from candidates then simple lipstick on a pig with wings.

H/T to Face the State
March 13, 2009

More light has been shed on the Colorado Democracy Alliance, a coalition of wealthy and once clandestine donors who helped turn Colorado from a solidly red state to trusted blue over just the last five years.

In the most recent edition of National Review magazine, former state Rep. Rob Witwer, a Genesee Republican, writes about Colorado’s “Rocky Ride,” detailing how the GOP fell “from power in Colorado — and how the Democrats hope to replicate it.”

Witwer’s thesis is that Colorado Democrats rose to power in the 2004 and 2008 elections not because of some complicated strategy, but rather because of a winning combination of basic grassroots politics coupled with a ton of cash.

Prior to the 2004 election, the GOP ruled nearly every political office in the state, holding both U.S. Senate seats, five of seven congressional seats, the four major statewide offices, including governor, and controlling both houses of the state legislature. By the time 2009 rolled around, however, Witwer concludes, “the opposite is true: Replace the word ‘Republicans’ with ‘Democrats’ in the previous sentence, and you have one of the most stunning reversals of fortune in American political history.”

Democrats spoke freely with Witwer for his analysis, which is part of a book he’s currently working on with 9News political reporter Adam Schrager. Titled, “The Blueprint: How Democrats Won the West (and Why Republicans Should Care).” The book will be published in 2010.

“In hindsight, what Colorado Democrats did was as simple as it was effective,” Witwer writes. “First, they built a robust network of nonprofit entities to replace the Colorado Democratic party, which had been rendered obsolete by campaign-finance reform. Second, they raised historic amounts of money from large donors to fund these entities. Third, they developed a consistent, topical message. Fourth, and most important, they put aside their policy differences to focus on the common goal of winning elections. As former Democratic house majority leader Alice Madden later said, ‘It’s not rocket science.’”

Witwer says he’s interested in studying Colorado’s political history from a journalistic perspective, not a political one. “Whether people are happy or unhappy with the political developments of the last four years, the [political] change has been remarkable and that story needs to be told,” he told Face The State.

Last October, documents obtained by Face The State revealed the inner workings of CoDA, including a memo detailing a plan to “educate the idiots.”

Ayn Rand, and America today

March 3, 2009

It’s no secret that I think quite in terms based in objectivism. This post from The Patriot Post pretty well sums up what I have been blogging about for more than three years.

“One of the methods used by statists to destroy capitalism consists in establishing controls that tie a given industry hand and foot, making it unable to solve its problems, then declaring that freedom has failed and stronger controls are necessary.” –Ayn Rand

“In January, Stephen Moore caused a stir by arguing, in the Wall Street Journal, that the current crisis is turning Atlas Shrugged ‘from fiction to fact.’ And those who are warning that increased government restrictions will cause the nation’s most productive workers to withdraw their talents have taken to calling this the ‘John Galt Effect,’ a reference to the hero — and the main plotline — of Atlas Shrugged. It is no coincidence that the strongest resistance to a government takeover of the economy is coming from people influenced by Ayn Rand. She has long functioned as a stiffener of resolve and as the fountainhead of pro-free-market ideas. …Ayn Rand’s contribution to the philosophical defense of capitalism can be summed up in one central idea: individualism. Ayn Rand demonstrated that the ultimate source of all wealth — everything from steel mills to microchips — is the individual reasoning mind. Thus, a society that wants to prosper has to ask what is required by its thinkers and producers, the ‘prime movers’ who originate and implement new ideas. And the first thing that is required for these thinkers to function is that they be free from coercive interference by bureaucrats, by blowhard legislators, or by federal ‘czars.’ … Ayn Rand’s ideas are the mostly unnamed fuel giving fire and confidence to people like [CNBC financial analyst] Rick Santelli. … If we’re going to have an ideological Boston Tea Party, a declaration of independence from the whole theory behind state management of our lives and wealth, then Ayn Rand is the ideal philosophical hostess.” –editor of The Intellectual Activist and TIADaily.com Robert Tracinski

2nd Amendment: Crime is down, some call for more gun control

February 14, 2009

The FBI has recently released 2008 statistics showing that violent crime in the United States has dropped to a 35-year low, with the murder rate at its lowest in 43 years. In fact, since peaking in 1991, the rates of murder and violent crime as a whole have fallen 41 percent and 46 percent respectively. But despite this positive news, the anti-gun Brady Campaign is continuing to wage war on our Second Amendment right to bear arms.

The Campaign is claiming, “Most states have weak or non-existent gun laws that help feed the illegal gun market, allow the sale of guns without Brady background checks and put families and children at risk.” This statement flies in the face of the cold, hard fact that violent crime stats have fallen during a time when laws restricting the purchase of firearms have become less stringent.

Manipulating data is nothing new to the Brady Campaign. Each year the group issues a scorecard for each state, on which the state scores anywhere from zero to 100. The more gun control laws it has on the books, the higher the score. The problem is, they don’t bother to check whether the laws are having any effect on crime. In truth, it’s more guns, less crime.

SOURCE