Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Stalwarts versus NRA

Nevertheless, the NRA does some very good things and for this it does need to be honored, but the NRA's attitude in standing firm for what it so long touted itself to be, is another, and why I do not actively support them any longer.
Whose Paranoid articulates a conclusion many are reaching.

Too bad. It's like the Republicans. Power was entrusted but defective leadership squandered opportunity.

Brown Wins!

Santa Barbara gun owners can breathe a sigh of relief and rest assured that this NRA "A-rated" sheriff will do his utmost to restore their uninfringed Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.

Can't they?

GOA "Unaware of Any 'Publicity Campaign'"

I informed Gun Owners of America about the 1911 Forums thread where an email reply ostensibly from an NRA representative about the Ron Paul race was posted.

Here's what I sent:
Please note the following (scroll 2/3 way down the page to comment by ‘kjhof]):

http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=157138

“We have been receiving a bit of communication from NRA members after the latest publicity campaign from GOA regarding Ron Paul's NRA-rating. GOA does this to encourage folks to join their organization rather than NRA. Think about it: if they said NRA was doing everything right, they wouldn't have any members. Only in trying to stir up disagreement among our members, do they reap the benefits.”

I haven’t seen this publicity campaign the NRA rep refers to. Have you sent out alerts on this, or is there a web page you can refer me to?

Also, will you give me a “for the record” comment on the NRA allegation?

Thank you,

David Codrea

Here's what I got back:
David,

We are also unaware of any "publicity campaign" on this issue. Other than publicizing his GOA rating as we do with all candidates we can identify, we have not been active in Paul's district this election. (No alerts, no postcards, etc.) And of course, we gave Paul his usual A+ rating.

Regarding a "for the record comment," we consider all of our responses to e-mailed questions to be on record unless specifically stated otherwise. We don't have any idea what the quoted passage is referencing, if anything.

I also feel obligated to point out that it is by no means uncommon for forum threads to include inaccurate information, misattributed quotes, and even outright false or manipulated posts. Do not interpret that to mean I'm at all suggesting such has been the case in this instance. I'm pointing it out because, since GOA has been unfairly tarnished in those ways more than a few times over the years, we are obligated to give NRA-PVF every last bit of the benefit of the doubt. So I suppose the sound bite would be: "I would be interested in seeing the original e-mail -- with all header information included."

In liberty,

--Craig.

Craig Fields
Director of Internet Operations, GOA

I have not been able to access the 1911 Forum site since yesterday afternoon. I'll keep trying with the intent of contacting poster "kjhof" about this.

We're the Only Ones Déjà Visité Enough

The first mistaken break-in was more than enough for Sheila Jones, who bought the house a year ago. But what makes her even angrier is that the police barged back into the house 20 minutes later.
Because you just can't get enough of "The Only Ones"...

[Via Cousin G]

RKBA Campus...er...Bone Toss? #4.5

The Mad Hatter presents another recap on scholastic thought as it relates to 2A.

Helping Others Understand Firearms

Once a person has a chance to use a firearm he or she will come to understand that a gun is an inaminate object under the total control of its operator. That person might then become more open to supporting gun rights.
Jennifer Freeman presents a necessary component of activism needed to restore and protect our rkba. People don't fear the familiar.

Meanwhile, Over in Iowa

As a practical matter, there is very little difference between Nussle and Culver on the 2nd amendment issue...while NRA rates Nussle with an "A"[A+ actually, with an endorsement--DC] (and Culver as well), GOA has more appropriately rated Nussle with a "C" ("leans our way occasionally") because of his unwillingness to take a strong stand against many anti-gun issues important to gun owners. For example, he is a strong supporter of sending money to the anti-gun "United Nations" and has twice on record refused to vote to rescind funding to this essentially communist based organization, despite the fact that they continue to attack the 2nd Amendment on our own soil, as they did just this last summer. Nussle also fully supported the movement of the ATFE from the Treasury department to the "Justice" department... because of Nussle and others like him, the ATFE is now a full blown police agency rather than a taxing authority as they were previously, which is a gross violation of the 2nd amendment and other provisions of the Constitution.

I myself and many gun owners that I know made a concerted effort to contact Nussle directly and asked him to cosponsor legislation to establish national concealed carry reciprocity...he refused to do so when the bill originally came up. When pushed into a corner, Nussle will usually (though not always) vote pro-gun; he has never, to my knowledge, been the original sponsor of anything that could be called "pro-gun" legislation. In general, Nussle is a "big, intrusive government, big spender" (as I am certain Culver is as well). Of course you can vote as you please tomorrow (and deceive yourself while you're doing it), but don't realistically expect Nussle to actively work to get, for instance, "shall issue" concealed carry in Iowa...it just ain't gonna happen.

The moral is...don't look at NRA ratings...look at how they vote...this is vastly superior to being "well connected."

Phil Roe

Email reprinted with permission of author. Gun owners all over the country are on to the phony ratings game.

The Most Important Election?

I found this release by my friend Russ Howard to be an interesting analysis on why losing the House will not derail one of George Bush's main priorities, but will actually help him move it forward.
It’s increasingly clear the main threat facing American Citizens, our Constitution (including the 2nd Amendment), and our freedoms, culture, environment, and quality of life, is the “perfect storm” of venal, criminal, treasonous interests conspiring to subvert America’s borders, immigration limits, and sovereignty.

Voter unhappiness with Bush - combined with the Republican base's disgust with phony Rs - is likely to cost the R Party control of Congress, but not the Senate. Many see voting against Rs in congress as voting against Bush. Unfortunately, it helps him. As phony, self-serving, worthless, and disappointing as many "Republicans" in congress are, they did something right this year: R control of Congress was the only thing standing against Bush's comprehensive immigration “reform”. Virtually all D politicians voted for it, and the R Senate passed it. So giving Democrats the House probably gives GW “Guest Worker” Bush what he most eagerly wants: Amnesty & Open Borders. The destruction of America’s sovereignty, via the end of meaningful limits on immigration, would be the ultimate legislative coup of any President. This may be the most important election in American history, because it could lead to the end of American history.

Despite the overwhelming majority Americans opposing open borders, if Rs lose the House, legislators will be tempted to quickly cram down Amnesty and “Guest” Workers, leaving maximum time to cover tracks before the next election. Voters will be upset, but the law will be vastly harder to repeal than it was to stop or to pass. Even if voters were hot enough in two years to toss Congress and elect a loyal President, the Chamber of Commerce and other treasonous groups would need to keep just 40 whores in the Senate to block repeal. They have twice that many. The damage may be practically irreversible. Meanwhile, with Ds running congress, R fundraising will skyrocket and the RINO elite will use diversionary meat puppet issues, exploiting values and patriotism it doesn't share, to trick the base back into serfdom.

In May, the conservative, normally pro-Bush Heritage Foundation estimated the original Senate “Guest” Worker / Amnesty bill would increase immigration by up to 200 million in 20 years, not including Anchor Babies. Given 3rd-World birth rates, it could've doubled our population in 20 years. With the R House out of the way and less need to compromise, any post-election cramdown bill may be even worse.

Action Item? Maybe too late, but if your R congressman helped block the Senate's open border / amnesty scheme and is in a close race, it won't hurt to volunteer at the HQ for last minute Get Out The Vote. There’s also a website for GOTV from home. www.GOP.com/Call

Some Democrats in congress oppose amnesty & “G”W, but when push comes to shove, with Ds running the House, they will work with their leaders to pass it.

This Day in History: November 8

On this day in 1775, General George Washington seeks to resolve several problems facing the army: how to encourage experienced troops to enlist, how to assemble a capable officer corps and how to overcome provincial differences and rivalries. Describing the problems, he wrote, "Connecticut wants no Massachusetts man in her corps. Massachusetts thinks there is no necessity for a Rhode Islander..."