The Shreveport Reaction

In reference to the recent Angela Garbarino "unpleasantness":

Joyce Bowman, who represents District G, said the incident gives the city a "black eye."

I don't think it's the city that got the black eye, there, Joyce. Two of them, along with split lips, knocked out teeth, that Frankenstein stitch on the forehead, bruises all over her body...

...She said she would like to say more, but "it is a legal matter now and I serve on the Risk Management Committee — I do not think that it would be wise to speak on the matter at this time."

Circle the wagons and bring in the mouthpieces and bean counters. God forbid a representative of the people should take a moral stand based on what's right.

District B Councilman Monty Walford said he wants to learn more before saying much on the subject. "I'm not ready to pass judgment one way or the other. I've been told I need to see the whole video."

I've heard of "The Full Monty" but until now, not "The Full-of-it Monty. I'm sure there's gotta be some scenario to explain how she worked herself over like a professional from a fall on the floor. While you're at it, Councilman Python, why not share the whole video with the rest of us, too? Why wasn't it all released? And I'm sure you'd be this reasonable had the brutality been inflicted on your mother, wife or daughter.

Councilman Joe Shyne, who represents District F..."One thing you can say about it, at least it wasn't racial."

Dang if it isn't Optimist Prime! That's some silver lining you found there, Joey. Who says the glass is half empty?

...Shyne said he was upset by the risky position the incident places the city in, since it is self-insured..."That's money that could go to police salaries or equipment and benefits," he said.

Or truncheons or...hey, has anybody besides me noticed a complete absence of concern for the only legitmate purpose of government,the protection of people, their rights and property, and a complete focus on CYA and stuffing pockets with as many wads as possible while the building burns...?

...Other council members did not return e-mails or messages left on their work or cell phones.

They're no doubt too busy getting guns "off the street".

And Chief Whitehorn agrees:

Thank all of you and I have passed that information along Mr. Mayor to all of our fine men and women of the police department. We have received about 50 calls on the gun program, the gun initiative that we’re following up on. We’ve made some arrest and hope to make many, many more.

No doubt. Because when people see how they're treated when Shreveport's finest takes them into custody, and how deeply their elected representatives care about making sure their rights are upheld by city employees, they might not be inclined to go peacefully.

If you thought there was a good chance you'd get a beating like that--excuse me, I meant "you'd slip and fall"--would you?

Why anyone would reelect any of these bloated ticks after this sorry performance is beyond me, but they probably will.

UPDATE: I note Chief Whitehorn makes a special point in his press release to say "Before being transported from the scene, she was treated by Shreveport Fire Department paramedics for facial injuries resulting from the vehicle crashes."

Just compare the "after" pictures to the "before" provided in the video.

Nice try, chief.

"Not Overreacting"

A long University of Nebraska-Lincoln tradition came to an abrupt end this week after a student brought a Nerf gun into a classroom..."All of a sudden, I saw five or six officers rush into the room," said student Arthur Scott...Vice Chancellor Juan Franco said they're not overreacting.

No, no of course not.

You can't be too careful, these days.

Ai-yi-yi...

[Via Joe's Crabby Shack]

We're the Only Ones Fighting Ugly Plaque Enough

They were real looking enough. Three wooden plaques each embossed with a gold police shield, a small gun piece and each engraved with an officer's name.

But these "plaques" sent to the police department Sunday were no awards. They came from a bogus address in Puerto Rico, supposedly sent from a former assistant district attorney and were in recognition for the officers being "corrupt." They were dated "9-11-2007."

As first reported on The Eagle-Tribune's Web site eagletribune.com yesterday, police Chief John Romero has launched an investigation into who sent the packages. He said police are contemplating criminal charges, possibly at the federal level. Police yesterday dusted the plaques for fingerprints. Romero was one of the recipients of the so-called award.

Oh, good grief--make a federal case out of it. Sounds like anyone who would sic the feds on someone for exercising their "supreme law of the land"-guaranteed First Amendment right to criticize government is corrupt. Dusting for prints--like I said, good grief.

And newsflash: It doesn't matter if you find it "disturbing," employee.

Think about it--if Romero has his way and identifies the sender, armed "Only Ones" will go out to bring him in by force--lethal force if he defies them, or maybe doing a flash-bang dynamic entry regardless--just to be safe from the Plaque Terrorist--and assuming he survives, they'll take him hostage, and assuming he survives that process, they'll try to get a magistrate to throw him in a dungeon.

Here, John, on behalf of The War on Guns, I'm pleased to present you with an award you've more than earned:


Now investigate me. I'll even save you the trouble of dusting for fingerprints. Or at least for one of them.

Guest Editorial: Citizens

by Mike Vanderboegh
20 February 2008

"You can't conquer a free man; the most you can do is kill him" -- Robert Heinlein

The "Fatigues" of Supporting Freedom

Rasczak: "You." (Pointing the stump of his arm at Johnny Rico.) "Tell me the moral difference, if any, between the citizen and the civilian."

Johnny: "The difference lies in the field of civic virtue. A citizen accepts personal responsibility for the safety of the body politic, of which he is a member, defending it, if need be, with his life. The civilian does not."

Rasczak: "The exact words of the text. But do you understand it? Do you believe it?"

Johnny: "Uh, I don't know."

Rasczak: "Of course you don't. I doubt if any of you here would recognize 'civic virtue' if it bit you in the a--." - Starship Troopers, the movie, 1998.

"One can lead a child to knowledge, but one CANNOT make him think." So says Robert Heinlein's History and Moral Philosophy teacher, Mr. Dubois, in his 1959 classic Starship Troopers. Almost 40 years later, the movie adaptation of Heinlein's book changed Dubois' name, but not his lessons. In the fictional future, citizens must be soldiers first to earn their franchise. This is because civilians, especially the liberal social engineers, mucked up civilization so badly that the veterans of the war that the civilians' ineptitude started had to step in and take back the system. On the other hand, the Founders of our very real Republic did not insist that all citizens perform military service as a prerequisite of citizenship. However, they did expect, as Tom Paine said: "Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it."

How else shall we interpret the Second Amendment? The people were guaranteed the means of resistance -- that "keep and bear arms" thing which today's "liberals" have such trouble understanding - precisely so that they would be able to "undergo the fatigues of supporting" their own liberties in the face of would-be tyrants. The Founders, being historians and students of human nature, trusted no one with governmental power, even that of their own carefully crafted, exquisitely balanced and inefficient-by-design system. They trusted no one, that is, but the armed citizenry. They understood, as Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson once observed: "It is not the function of the government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the government from falling into error."

I thought about citizens -- the kind of citizens envisioned by Paine, Jackson and Heinlein -- when I attended the national meeting of the Patriots' Border Alliance in St. Louis this past weekend. The room was packed with just such men and women as the Founders counted upon to maintain their Republic.

The Minutemen

"History, for good or ill, is made by determined minorities. Never was that truer than among that small band of New Mexico Minutemen. They were dirty, unshaven and exhausted on their best day. They didn't look like much more than a small convention of the homeless. But by their presence and their gritty determination they were calling the shots on the border. They were pitiful, they were magnificent. I am proud to have known them and to have served with them. And if we can find more of their kind, we just might be able to save the country." -- Mike Vanderboegh, "The Magnificent Minutemen," October, 2005.

First, I owe the reader some background. Everybody remembers the Minuteman Project, which staged the first border vigil in Arizona in April 2005. Founded by Chris Simcox and Jim Gilchrist, this organization no sooner took to the field than its originators split up over conflicts of ego and substance. Gilchrist's people retained the Minuteman Project name, Simcox founded Minuteman Civil Defense Corps (hereinafter, MCDC). Like several of my friends, I joined MCDC in mid-2005.

There is no doubt that these two men and the organizations they founded changed the entire dynamic of the argument over illegal immigration. The public was tickled pink that someone was embarrassing the Bush Administration into doing something, no matter how small and insincere, about the flood of illegal aliens. Armed men and women - the armed citizenry envisioned by the Founders -- were going to the border to help our vastly outnumbered and hamstrung Border Patrol in defiance of the contrabandistas, the coyotes, the cheap labor exploiters and the upper echelons of their own national government. The President called us "vigilantes." The professional liars-for-money of the Southern Poverty Law Center and the brown racists of the La Raza and Reconquista crowd called us worse. The Border Patrol loved us. The American people loved us. Our positive poll numbers rose to two or three times those of Bush and the Congress. As a result, MCDC grew by leaps and bounds.

But with the rush of volunteers and donations came real questions of how those volunteers were being used and where those donations were going. My old friend Bob Wright of New Mexico, who served as National Training Director for MCDC, was one of those who, while focused on the mission, began having doubts. Ultimately a sizable number of the top and midlevel leadership MCDC volunteers (some 13 of them) were purged by Simcox and his "cult of personality" for having the temerity to insist upon an accounting of MCDC money. Hundreds (perhaps thousands) of others quit in disgust after the purge, some retreating into smaller groups around proven local or state leaders. Others, including Bob Wright, sought a third way: the Patriots' Border Alliance. (See their website: http://patriotsborderalliance.com/)

This "Gang of Thirteen" (as the Simcoxian Koolaid drinkers characterized these incorruptibles) fought to maintain effective border vigil efforts while simultaneously building another national organization that would have what MCDC lacked: open books, accountability of leadership and democratic organization from the bottom up, not the top down. The meeting in St. Louis last weekend achieved those goals, and the Patriot's Border Alliance now has open (albeit slender) finances, a newly elected, fully accountable Board of Directors (including the indomitable Bob Wright as President) and a plan to take the fight over illegal immigration to higher levels of struggle on both old and new battlefields with an eye to forcing the problem back to center stage in this election year.

At the PBA meeting I renewed friendships I had first made in my trip to the border. (See my essay from 2005, "The Magnificent Minutemen.") I also made new friends from among a wide variety of border activists hailing from a rainbow of states: Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, Washington State and, of course, Alabama. (I missed seeing Gary Cole of "The Great Northwest", whose physician forbade him to fly. My Alabama scouts reported to Gary out in New Mexico in 2005 where he had served as operations officer. He is a smart, tough, competent patriot -- and very funny. I'd trust my back and my people to his calm, quiet determination any day.)

The Oath and the Flag

So the national meeting of PBA (and all those important little side meetings that always take place at such gatherings of like-minded souls) was in itself well worth the trip from Alabama. But what came after the meeting was an experience out of the "mystic chords of memory." It was billed as a reception, a party. It would be at 7PM sharp they said, don't be late. The whispering beforehand was that no matter how tired you were -- after an all day meeting and the traveling you had done to get there and the traveling you would do the next day to get home -- you needed to be at this party. You would regret it if you missed it, they said. They were right.

The reception was held at the substantial home of Joe Adams, about fifteen minutes from the Staybridge hotel where most of us were lodged (I highly recommend it, by the way, if you're ever in St. Louis). There was food, there was music, there was a substantial bar. And there was more.

There had been an honor guard at the opening of the meeting that morning consisting of Revolutionary War Minutemen reenactors from Living History Reenactors, Inc. (See http://www.livhis.org/ ) The same group, dressed in rifleman's shirts and militia garb of the Founders' day, presented arms as we entered the Adams' manse. After all were within, they did a first-person impression of drill and military usage from 1775. Other female reenactors depicted Betsy Ross and friends sewing the first national colors. Then the room grew absolutely quiet as one militia rifleman stepped forward to swear the original Minute Man's oath:

"We trust in God, that should the state of our affairs require it, we shall be ready to sacrifice our estates and everything dear in life, yea, and life itself, in support of the common cause."

At the end of the ceremony, reenactors advanced to present Joe with the Revolutionary Stars and Stripes: "From the original generation of Minute Men to the Minutemen of today, we present this flag. Bear it with honor."

Goosebumps. I wasn't the only one with wet eyes, nor the only one with a lump in my throat.

You know, I have spent long hours over the past fifteen years trying to make the point with my writing that the Americans of this generation need only look to our ancestors - the Founders - to know how to comport themselves as free men. Yet this simple ceremony, taking but a few minutes, was more eloquent and more powerful than all the gallons of ink I have spilled to bring the Founders' principles back to life with mere, and wholly inadequate, words.

The Immortal Citizen

I looked around the room through misty tears realizing that we were citizens all: citizens who the Founders would have recognized; citizens freely accepting the responsibilities that come with their rights; citizens who stand ready to bear the "fatigues" of supporting their freedom; citizens who froze and baked and suffered and spent themselves broke on the border vigils because they understand that it is their function to keep the government from "falling into error."

We were, in that moment, citizens immortal -- from that time to this to the unseen future -- from hand to hand and soul to soul, eternal. Free Americans. Minutemen. Citizens. We can be killed. We cannot be conquered.

Mike Vanderboegh
PO Box 926
Pinson, AL 35126
GeorgeMason1776@aol.com

We're the Only Ones Who Really Know How to Treat a Gal Enough

The Shreveport Police Department has received at least two other excessive force complaints against an officer who recently was fired amid allegations that he beat a Mooringsport woman during a DWI arrest.

Boy, those are some "allegations" on her face and body. But hey, she just wouldn't listen.

Watch the sickening slide show here.

Then see the movie. Ain't it something how the camera gets blocked out right before we see her lying in a pool of her own blood? She must have fallen, right, or hit herself on the door?

But hey--the union says the chief didn't follow "protocol" in firing their member in good standing, that they don't think he hit her, that his "Officers' Bill of Rights" were violated. Yeah, "her face hit the floor." That explains all the other body bruises, too. And Willis had nothing to do with it, even though she was unmarked before he got his hooves on her. Take a good look at these union goons--if you don't believe they place their self-interest above all else and that they have chosen to become mercenary domestic enemies, you're on the wrong website.

Please moderate your comments to not include anything specific I'll have to remove for legal reasons. Just understand I'm right there with you.

I'll go this far: any citizen has a right to defend him or herself against this kind of savage animal attack with lethal force, regardless of the tormenter's employment status. This is an atrocity--if our troops had done this to anyone at Gitmo it would be front page news with demands for impeachment. And if any "Only One" ever did this to someone I loved, we would end up speaking privately on the matter--especially since it appears the same old special treatment has been applied so far: Really--you don't think one of us would not have been immediately incarcerated and facing assault, battery, torture and attempted murder charges?

It would appear some are bound and determined to hasten the day when people have finally had enough.

UPDATE: City "leaders" add insult to injury.

We're the Only Ones Who Like Our Beef Well Done Enough

Because everyone knows the best way to calm a grazing animal down is to attack it and cause it searing agony. Besides, they didn't want to shoot it, y'see, and being near a farm they couldn't, like, borrow a rope, or slow and direct traffic for 20 minutes while they got somebody out there who knows what the hell he's doing to help round it up...

No, instead it's we're The Only Ones "Git Along Little Dogie" Enough...

What They're "Smoking" at Colleges in South Dakota

We spoke on Wednesday about the South Dakota campus carry bill (HB 1261) that was stopped in the Senate by a procedural maneuver called a "smoke-out," that not only killed it for this year, but also managed to stifle any debate on the floor.

Nice, the way these slimy creatures play games with your rights, isn't it? Not only will we deny them, we won't even talk about them. I guess that's what happens when the role of servant and master are reversed.

I've been in correspondence with someone who has inside information on this from a faculty perspective. Due to the outright hostility of the preponderance of academics--and all of their leadership--I need to make sure his identity is protected, as well as remove all clues from his correspondences that I will share. And doesn't that speak to the sorry state of our "tolerant and diverse" institutions of higher learning, that the solons still administer consequences for the heresy of speaking the truth?

Before I get started, a couple of observations and caveats: I'm an outsider looking in. I hadn't even heard of this bill until a few days ago, so I don't want anything I write here to second-guess or complicate the foundation work already done by South Dakota RKBA activists. That said, I do find it odd that some guy in Ohio who's not even directly affected (that would be me) is the place where you'll find much original information on this.

Since I never intended for WarOnGuns to become a clearinghouse for local grassroots action alerts, gun owners in South Dakota who wish to pursue this should not rely on this site for anything more than a passing mention when something of note is brought to my attention.

There are a couple places to start with this for those interested in learning more:

Here's the NRA Alert that went out, As you see, the date has passed, so continue to monitor them for updates. Thing is, looking around their site, I don't see this getting any attention, so my uninformed guess is that they probably don't see much more they want to put energy into at this time.

A resource I would look to for marching orders is South Dakota Gun Owners. They have details you need to be aware of here, including background. They're "working right now to collect the last two votes necessary for final passage and we will need your help," and advise all to "stay tuned."

Their first action that the need support on is to email an important swing vote. Do it.

What follows are the correspondences I've received from our anonymous ally, presented in the order I received them. It's long, it's raw, and I did do some edits where I felt it appropriate, indicated by ellipses (...) There is some good stuff here, particularly from the academic mucky-mucks.

This will be a long post, but it contains good information. You'll notice I have not concentrated over-much on formatting.

-----------------------------------

Tue 2/19/08 10:04 PM
Hi David, I am reading about your Idaho bill, and we have a similar bill here in South Dakota having similar problems. I am trying to lobby for this, but am somewhat constrained by being a faculty member at one of the campuses. The upper level management has been very threatening and I would rather my name not be associated with the efforts in a public forum. But there is grassroots support on campus. There is a range on campus used by the college rifle team and the 4H youth shooting program that will be closed down if the college administration has their way and bans guns on campus, and those people are also fighting for the bill.

That said, a bunch of grass roots emails from pro gunners would be a good thing right about now. I have a list of which senators would be the most likely to flip our way and a plea that the rifle team sentout to the 4H parents. If I send you that stuff, maybe you could cut-n-paste or write your own blog article about it. Our bill officially looks to be dead but the senators have promised me it will come back to the floor this session,so a lot of emails (and/or phone calls) would help. I'll attach the blurb the rifle team sent me. It has the basic plan (although it's geared towards the 4H parents). They are trying to play up the fact that failing to pass this bill will make outlaws out of students who hunt or go to the range and downplay the fact that it will also allow CCW on campus . It will not change the law on campus, only those with goverment approval and the correct permit will be allowed to exercise their 2nd amendment rights. Any mention you could give this issue would be great. The web page for contacting the SD Legislature is such that you can type (or paste in -- keep columns below 80characters and don't use attachments) a message and then use the pulldown menu to send it to each senator in turn w/out re-typing it.

From talking to a couple of Senators here's a list of the players:

Senate sponsors on the PRO RKBA side want to pass HB 1261 so BOR can't close the range:

These are the really good guys take time to thank them. They are marked with an asterisk
below:

Schmidt (Dennis), Apa, Greenfield, Kloucek, Maher, McNenny, Napoli

Voted to Pass Bill (good guy)

Abdallah
Albers
Apa *
Bartling
Gant
Garnos
Greenfield *
Hunhoff voted against smoke-out but eventually for the bill, wavering
Lintz
Maher *
McNenny *
Napoli *
Peterson (Jim)
Schmidt (Dennis) *

voted to Kill the bill and allow BOR to close the range. These guy (and gals) all need to hear from you:

Dempster very vocal leader AGAINST the bill
Gray very vocal leader AGAINST the bill but claimed to be wavering
Hansen (Tom) against us, but is in a tight race w/ Hargens (Rep who voted for us)
Hanson (Gary) seemed to switch back and forth, but finally voted against us
Hauge for smokeout but against bill??? Indicates he may be wavering
Heidepriem very vocal leader AGAINST the bill
Hoerth wants to do the right thing, but afraid of NSU/BOR (he's in Aberdeen
Hundstad Very firmly against us, but he should hear from pro freedom folks
Jerstad Firmly against us, but fearful of NRA endorsing opponent???
Katus Probably firmly agasinst us
Knudson very vocal leader AGAINST the bill
Koetzle Generally a pro gun rights Senator, but seems very against this bill
McCracken Seems firmly against us
Nesselhuf Firmly against us, but should be kept busy w/ pro-freedom calls/mails
Smidt (Orville) seems to want to do the right thing, but being pressured by SDSU/BOR
Sutton Was in favor of the bill, but now saying wants same rules for capitol?
Turbak Berry Against, but claiming it needs amended (trying to play it both ways)

Not there:

Duenwald (on our side)
Kloucek * (indicates sponsor, on our side)
Olson (Ed) Against us
Two Bulls Not sure

So, we should concentrate on those we can win over more easily? Probably:

Orv Smidt, Gray, Hoerth, Sutton, Hanson, Hansen, Koetzle, and Jerstad Turbak Berry is a possibility.

Wed 2/20/08 6:10 PM
I've been in contact with the sponsors, and they (as of Sunday night, I have not heard back from them since then) are hoping to drag it out to the floor again. Either the same bill, or the same wording jammed into something else. At least two of the senators on the "call list"(Jerstad and Orv Smidt) are backpedaling and wavering. I think that if the sponsors feel that they can switch a couple of votes (of the 4 who were excused, one was a sponsor, another is on our side, and one was dead set against us) they will bring that wording back up. The guys who were on the fence are now changing their story. According to them, students are allowed to have guns in their car and dorm rooms already, and HB 1261 is not needed. As late as Saturday they were saying that HB1261 would allow students to have guns and lead to gunfights in the classrooms. It looks like the article you linked is referring to Friday's vote, and we're not giving up yet. If we can bring pressure on those fence-sitters it will be back...The governor has said he will sign it, and is actually publicly in favor of HB 1261.

Wed 2/20/08 6:39 PM
...It seems that the StateAssociation is in disarray (I think somebody moved away and nobody picked up the ball)...I've been tracking down the remnants of the state association group, and we're trying to rally but the web isn't in their comfort zone(email yes, but phone is better and web is not gonna happen). There is a student rifle and pistol club, they have a facebook presence but no web page... I also dug up a "SDSU Rifle Association" which seems to be a political RKBA group on campus...They had not been coordinating w/ theSenate on this as of 2/18, but maybe they have done something since then... I find that students can be very enthused at one moment, but not quite get around to finishing something, ,and I'm not sure what they have actually done already. There is also a college paper with some online comments http://media.www.sdsucollegian.com/media/storage/paper484/news/2008/02/13/News/Students.Association.Reacts.To.Gun.Bill-3207304.shtml

The story is old, but the comments are still being accessed and updated...

Wed 2/20/08 7:09 PM [In reference to the link to SD Gun Owners, above--DC]
Great. Their list of swing votes is slightly different....

Thu 2/21/08 6:45 AM
There's a couple of suspicious things going on. The biggest of these is that several liberal campus groups supposedly are trying to kill HB 1261. No real surprise, but the SDSU Academic Senate passed a measure to send an anti HB 1261 statement tothe legislature the day before the committee was initially to vote. The chairwoman of the Academic senate took it upon herself to draft the following:

Faculty in higher education at South Dakota State University stand united with The Board of Regents in opposing HB 1261. We note that all permission to carry guns is commonly subject to regulation (even in the state of South Dakota) dependent upon location and potential danger to public safety. Our universities are not the singular purview of students, but are common areas for many members of the public. We are proud host community members in sporting events, meetings, conferences, performances, and speaking engagements. In addition, we offer child care and educational opportunities to children in the area and the region. The inability to control and/or charge violators in case of devastating attacks is not subsumed by crisis management, but rather is prevented most effectively by day-to-day safety precautions and regulations for students, staff, faculty and state citizens who enjoy the many benefits of our university communities.

SDSU Council of Higher Education
SDSU American Association of University Professors
SDSU Academic Senate

She sent that statement w/ this email:

Greetings Senators: I hope you all are having a good semester so far. Although we have a meeting coming up on Tuesday but we have a piece of business that can not wait. I have been approached as to whether the Senate is taking a stand against HB 1261 allowing weapons and concealed weapons on campus. This bill has passed through the House and is going next to the Senate. But Monday morning it will be discussed by the State Senate Committee. We would be opposing it for safety reasons. Attached, please find a draft of a common statement that will be submitted on behalf of the Academic Senate, COHE and the AAUP if they all sign off on it. So please let me know immediately how you would vote and I will be passing it if I receive a majority YES vote by 3PM tomorrow.

Madeleine Andrawis

Very few faculty members even found out about this statement, which was supposedly approved by email vote w/ no chance to debate. This has not shown up on their published agenda or in their minutes, but has been passed off as an official statement. Normally the State Senate wouldn't pay any attention to such, but it probably didn't help us. Thanks for sending the link to the SDGO site. I suspect that the bill just flew through the house so easily and seemed like such a common sense solution that nobody thought there'd be any heavy lifting in the Senate either.

Thu 2/21/08 7:35 AM
There have been several rent-a-cops and university police testifying against these bills. The house testimony was contradicted by a real cop. The rent-a-cop testified that if they showed up and there wereboth good and bad guys w/ guns then the police might shoot a good guy. The house committee called the real cop back up, who testified that "No, actually we're trained to think before we shoot". I heard that from a person who was at the hearing, and had read it online since then, but can't find it now. During the Senate hearing a Vermillion (town of another University, USD) cop (police chief?) testified against it. It looks like that'd be mentioned here: http://media.www.volanteonline.com/media/storage/paper468/news/2008/02/13/News/Senate.Could.Revive.Gun.Bill-3206370.shtml

but it may have gotten cut (I can't see it in the article, but the subtitle indicates that they did testify...It's actually quoted here:

http://www.m-14forum.com/upload/showthread.php?p=325375

but not a "main stream" source.

-------------------------------------

[DC back again]

That's what I've got. I can think of several actions I would do were I directly involved in this fight, but this needs to be something South Dakotans take on themselves--including disseminating future information. I'll keep an eye on things from afar, but unless something newsworthy breaks, don't expect to see too much more here--besides, if you need to rely on some guy in Ohio for this, the battle's already lost.

I would be interested in at least asking this Andrawis "Archon" exactly what her qualifications are for prescribing appropriate personal defense strategies for gun owners in a campus environment--stuff like what training she's had in that field, expertise, certifications, experience--the same kind of stuff she'd be expected to produce were her other professional opinions to be taken seriously. I note she proudly lists herself as a member of a group of "collaborators," and I suspect that's all the credentials we need understand.

What's in a Name?

Sen. Barack Obama's name brand recognition has much currency these days as Americans mull over the appeal of the Illinois Democrat's name for their own precious offspring.

What, we can now expect a glut of "Thulsa's"?

The Cult of Set--coming soon to a nursery near you.

This Day in History: February 22

George Washington, the first president of the United States, was born on February 22, 1732...When his father died in 1743, young George was sent to live with relatives first at Ferry Farm and later at Mt. Vernon, the estate of his elder half-brother Lawrence. The first president of the United States was self-educated, privately tutored, and homeschooled by his father and his brother Lawrence for eight years. This constituted his "formal" schooling.

The BATFU Spreadsheet

*Glock 22 40 caliber REVOLVER??
*Glock Model 27 45 (it is supposed to be a 40)
*Browning B799 (it should be a BT-99) 12 ga

This wouldn't be a big deal, but...the ATF is shutting down gun dealers for minor paperwork errors...

Ryan found something about this story that further illustrates the double standard that is BATFU.

Here's a link to download the spreadsheet in question. It's not clear if this was taken directly from what was reported or input independently, but you'd think they'd make a note to that effect...assuming anyone even noticed.

Thulsa Doom Produces Miracle Mucous--And the Crowd Goes Wild

Hey, this is some revival goin' on over at the Cult of Set .

I wonder if Chris Matthews had another moment of shrieking ecstasy?

I know Halle Berry says she'll "do whatever he says to do." George Clooney wants to stalk...uh...follow him around.

I wonder if anyone retrieved the kleenex. No, not for eBay, that would be sacrilegious--I'm thinking more along the lines of a relic for the ages, like the Shroud of Turin or a piece of the True Cross...

"It's Certainly Not an Endorsement"

The National Rifle Association has added $2,500 to the campaign coffers of incumbent Sen. Tim Johnson.

It's the first time since the South Dakota Democrat ran for the Senate in 1996 that he has received support from the pro-gun organization, which promotes the Second Amendment and opposes more restrictions on gun ownership and possession.

Steve Jarding of Rapid City, Johnson's re-election campaign manager, said Wednesday that the NRA donation was "a big deal."

"It's not necessarily an endorsement," he said. "But sending financial assistance is certainly a form of support. To send it this early, I think, sends a signal that this organization feels pretty good about Tim Johnson."

Hmmm...


And hmmm...

[Via Bruce W. Krafft]

The Cornhusker Gun Ban

A heavily rewritten gun-control bill takes aim at assault weapons and, if approved by the Legislature, could lead to the banning of certain firearms in Nebraska.

Joe's Crabby Shack has the details...

Everybody notice how shark-infested the waters seem lately? They must smell those first few molecules of November blood...

2008 NRA Board of Directors Election

The time is once more upon us.

A few have asked if I have any recommendations apart from what the "official journal" tells us.

No.

I could.

But based on past results, I'm not holding my breath.

I find it curious that "no compromise" gun owners can't even muster a majority to take over the NRA Board, but then hope to be a force in general public elections.

I don't mean to be snotty about it, but there it is. I wish it were different, but then again, I've never found wishing to be a particulary effective or reliable activity.

UPDATE: A Keyboard and a .45 introduces us to a candidate who deserves a closer look.

Standing Guard

The March 2008 American Rifleman is out, and Wayne LaPierre's Standing Guard column, "DANGER! Gun-Free Zone" appears to decry the concept.

But I notice he focuses on the Omaha mall and the church in Colorado. I don't see anything specifically calling for guns on college campuses to deter "mass shootings" (is it still "too soon"?) or repudiating his earlier commitment to "gun free schools."

Why do you think that is?

[Via Ron W]

Punk'd in Jersey

Last month, New Jersey strengthened its criminal code by making illegal gun possession a second-degree crime instead of a third-degree offense. As a result, a person convicted of illegal firearm possession faces a maximum of five to 10 years in prison instead of a maximum of three to five years.

More importantly, prosecutors said, judges are more likely to incarcerate someone convicted of a second-degree crime than they would someone convicted of a third-degree crime. Because of that, they said they expect more people convicted of illegal firearms possession to be sent to prison.

That's "possession." So that would include anyone choosing to exercise the supposedly unalienable right to keep and bear arms, even (especially?) if it meant defying a tyrannical state edict.

Kind of like one of the extremists documented here.

“It'll make sure that the punks caught with guns for the purpose of committing crimes end up behind bars,” Burlington County Prosecutor Robert D. Bernardi said after the news conference.

But unless you either catch them planning, in the act or after-the-fact, how do you know what someone's "purpose" for carrying a gun is, Mr. Prosecutor? What if they just want to protect themselves--something you can't do for them--and their application for permission to do so has been denied...?

If they do it anyway, will you still consider them "punks"?

The Gunless Gun Shop

The Joe Gun firearms store two miles east of Sanford is open for business, although most of the owner's inventory of 200 firearms is locked in the evidence room of the Midland County Sheriff's Department and may remain there for years.

Prosecutors will need the weapons as they try to convict seven suspects police arrested in raids in Saginaw and Midland counties this week.

I don't get why sworn depositions along with an audited inventory list and a photographic record wouldn't suffice, but what do I know? I guess it's a good thing I'm not a lawyer.

The Maple Leaf Paradox

Guns are used in only a fraction of the violent crimes in Canada, but young offenders are using firearms more than ever, according to a Statistics Canada survey.

The report released yesterday says the rate of gun crime is at one of its lowest levels -- affecting only 2.4% of all victims of violence -- and holding steady.

Guns are being used by young offenders "more than ever" but the violent "guncrime" rate "is at one of its lowest levels"?

My head hurts.

Still, with all those knives and clubs being used by feral youths at the height of physical prowess, I'd want to have a gun, eh.

Wouldn't you?

This Day in History: February 21

After a successful cruise in the West Indies the Continental cutter Revenge, Captain Conyngham, sailed north and arrived at Philadelphia February 21,1779. Here the Revenge was sold, but the purchaser fitted her out as a privateer and Conyngham was put in command again, under his Continental commission of May 2,1777. In April the Revenge was captured by the British frigate Galatea and taken into New York. Conyngham was sent to England in irons and treated with great severity. He was accused of piracy on the ground that his cruise in the Surprise in the spring of 1777 preceded the date of his commission.

I, Trojan Horse

If you got your April issue of GUNS Magazine, you'll find two letters taking strong exception to this.

It seems some object to my contention that the Constitution does not grant rights, and fear that pointing this secret out will give the antis an advantage--to the point that I'm suspected of being a "Trojan Horse."

As I wrote to my editor when he forwarded a copy of that particular email and I encouraged him to print it: "[H]ow can I possibly argue against 'clowns like this idiot'? Has he been talking to my kids?"

Anyway, you'll need to actually buy the magazine to see the letters in question--especially since that writer threatened to cancel his subscription if I ever write anything like that again, so they could probably use some help offsetting the loss. But all the regulars here are already doing that, right?

UPDATE: See the letters here.

Amtrak Stooges Derail Fourth Amendment

Amtrak will start randomly screening passengers’ carry-on bags this week in a new security push that includes officers with automatic weapons and bomb-sniffing dogs patrolling platforms and trains.

Because it works so well at airports that do it full time, y'see.

Besides, we want to give Colin Feguson every possible advantage.

Amtrak stooges on full auto. The demonstrated level of professional security guaranteeing my safety somehow does not induce me to "rest assured."

Excuse me if the image that comes to mind instead is The Three Stooges accidentally setting a lion loose in the sleeper car. (Incidentally, that's Curly with the clothespin on his nose and the full head of hair--it was after his stroke, he was visiting the set and they had him make a cameo appearance, I believe the only time all three Howard brothers appeared together in a short).

[Via DONE! SEO]

A Cryptic Subterranean "Only Ones" Festival

From Jay.Mac:

Just blogged a few stories on the Only Ones-

http://crypticsubterranean.blogspot.com/2008/02/dvd-police.html
A couple had some overdue DVDs and hadn't paid the bill. The store called the police to report it and the police called the couple who promptly returned them to the store. A few weeks later he was then arrested for the "crime".

http://crypticsubterranean.blogspot.com/2008/02/taser-abuse.html
A man handcuffed and in a police cell was tasered three times to keep him quiet when he complained about police arresting his sister; who was herself arrested when she complained that he had been punched when he was arrested.

http://crypticsubterranean.blogspot.com/2008/02/gruesome-find.html
Police receive a missing persons report and later discover that person's vehicle- and don't search it but merely called the family to pick it up. And left it to them to discover her body.

He also covered the "Dial 911 and Be Threatened By Us Then Die" story we posted on here.

It's nice to see I'm not "the only one" posting on these.

And Now, a Word from "The Lawgivers"

The South Dakota Senate has refused to consider legislation that would allow people to have guns on state university campuses.

Because, you know, they own you.

And here's my finalist nomination for the Newspeak Award:

"This bill was not to deny students the right to carry guns. It was to continue the policy we have, which is to let the Board of Regents set the policy..."

And the board's plan when the Red hour strikes?

Landru, guide us!

CeaseFire PA Director's Watch

In case you hadn't noticed, the graphic is now in the left margin, under the blogroll. I'm not going to do more than update it once a week without additional comment, unless and until our dear friend Professor Alexander Tristan Riley gets the official recognition we so sincerely want him to have.

Your Daley Dose of Treason

Mayor Richard Daley and other elected officials announced their annual push for new gun-control legislation Tuesday, this time using the fatal shootings at Northern Illinois University and the Lane Bryant store in Tinley Park as stark illustrations of the need for action.

I guess these evil punks just aren't getting enough people killed fast enough to suit their purposes.

Besides, why settle for a "push" when your goal is a putsch?

The Return of the Archons

With the first anniversary of Virginia Tech's mass shootings just two months away and the campus rattled by the recent rampage at another college, school administrators want answers from the federal government about funding to help their community cope with the aftermath...

"It's a sense of powerlessness and a sense of reliving what occurred," Plummer said Monday. "It's a dramatic reminder of this horrific, unbelievable mass homicide that occurred on our campus. It's unfathomable sometimes."

Ah the throw-federal-money-at-it Katrina solution--that always helps, plus, as we all know, the clause authorizing that is right here in the Constitution, section...uhhh...article...ahhh...

Look at this: "the assistant provost...the deputy director of the university's office of recovery and support," the leader, if you will, admits she doesn't have a clue and is overwhelmed and paralyzed, that is, useless. But just mention the real and only solution--the one that annhilates, rather than overturns predominant superstitous assumptions, and watch her all of a sudden act like she's a rational and informed authority who knows what she's talking about.

These aren't educators, this is the priesthood of the flat earth cult, determined to seal their eyes and ears, and burn out all heresy against the established order.

Blind fools. That it's self-imposed and rooted in arrogance makes it all the more inexcusable.

The official helplessness would be kind of funny if it wasn't so pathetic and so dangerous in terms of guaranteeing future horrors, future grieving, future loss.

They remind me of nothing so much as the hooded "lawgivers" of Beta III from the original Star Trek series.

"Landru, guide us!" they plead, absolutely incapable of making a rational decision based on observation, cause and effect.

Introduce something new, something alien to their worldview, and the fixation directs outward, pointing in horror and loathing to reject it:

You're NOT of the body!

And not to beat the analogy to death, but a couple other relevant comparisons come to mind:

Kirk's admonishment: ""You said you wanted freedom; it's time you learned that freedom is never a gift – it has to be earned."

And unless and until that's learned, the next time "the Red hour" strikes, all anyone will be able to do is react mindlessly until the madness runs its course.

[Via SameNoKami]

And Now, A Word from Karl

Hillary says Obama's wordjacking Deval Patrick.

Obama says Hillary's stealing slogans from him.

I don't know what the big deal is. They're both ripping me off, and you don't hear me complaining.

We're the Only Ones "Sorry, Wrong Number" Enough

A Central Florida woman whose 17-year-old daughter was killed in a murder-suicide apparently committed by her ex-boyfriend said the teen was told by police to stop calling for help or she'd be arrested.

Stop bothering us! It's not like we're getting pai...uh...well stop calling anyway, we're busy with important "Only Ones" stuff...

[Via MacEntyre]

We're the Only Ones Forgetful Enough

Hammond said he suffered a head injury in the accident that night and does not remember who was driving.

Yeah, that and the arguments and car crashes happen to me every time I mix alcohol and prescription medication, too.

That's why I leave that kind of stuff to the professionals: "The Only Ones."

I'll bet that kid in the picture is imprinting some interesting perceptions on how to make choices and behave.

[Via Mark G]

This Day in History: February 20

The loyalists' plan was to advance along the southwest side of the Cape Fear to the coast, provision the British troops arriving by sea, and then join them in conquering the colony. On February 20, 1776 MacDonald began his movement toward the coast.

Unacceptable

"It would have allowed concealed weapons, loaded weapons, on the University of Idaho campus, and all the campuses in the state of Idaho," said White. "We just found that to be unacceptable."
...
"This is a balance between the rights of the second amendment, which is the right to bear arms, versus safety and security," he said.

Yeah, that must be why the Founders thought keeping and bearing arms was "necessary to the security of a free State."

And that must be why we should let ignorant "authorities" like this define which regions they find acceptable for us to exercise our rights.

So, Tim, just what exactly would you personally be prepared to do should someone ignore you and your regents by doing the "unacceptable" and bringing a gun on campus?

Aside from maybe having this pop out?

No Haven in the Storm: It's the Law

The measure, when it takes effect, will require health professionals to inform state authorities about patients who display violent, suicidal or threatening behavior. Right now, such information is reported to state officials only on people who have been institutionalized, not on those who receive only outpatient treatment.

So much for doctor/patient confidentiality. The state has inserted itself into your most private affairs, thanks to our wonderful representatives and those who aid and abet them.

What this means, of course, is those who have suffered an extreme loss and don't know how to cope with it are on their own. Lose a beloved spouse or a parent? Feeling depressed, maybe violently angry at a drunk driver who ran over your child? Been brought down to your knees and grasping for something, anything to help you go on, make sense of things, stop the unendurable heartache?

Well congratulations. If you sought professional help, you just went in and confessed to a deputized agent of the state, and forfeited your right to keep and bear arms not only now, during your time of greatest pain and confusion, but probably forever after. And since there doesn't appear to be a limitation on access to only that information specifically related to the new law's criteria, all kinds of other deepest darkest most private secrets may now be subject to state scrutiny and probing.

I'm waiting for the first person victimized by this to file a test case against self-incrimination. At the very least, with this new edict should come a requirement for mental health professionals to read all patients a Miranda warning before begining treatment.

We are all slammed into the ground at times in life. When the bell tolls for you, seek out a trusted friend, family member, minister. Unfortunately, when that is not enough, your choices will be to forego treatment or lie to your therapist--that is, if you wish to keep your guns after the storm has done its worst.

Speaking of Boston...

Ryan Horsley sent me two links where The Boston Globe is stumping for "Maximim Mike" Sullivan that are instructive.

"Held Up by Gun Lobby Radicals" and "Gunning for a Fight" tell us much about the mindset that evidently prefers police state secrecy over a right their city's founders deemed worthy of going to war to protect.

Rather than tell their readers why it is informed gun owners fear a Sullivan confirmation will officially sanction current abuses, the editor drops things immediately into name-calling, off-handedly dismisses concerns as "groundless" without addressing what they are, and even drags the NRA--the major "gun lobby" group that has conspicuously not called for ousting Sullivan into their tirade.

The second hit piece is a classic leftist, worthy perhaps of comments at Democratic Underground or The Huffington Post, but still somehow surprising (and I know it shouldn't be) to see in a "mainstream" paper (but I guess it's indicative of how far the profession has degenerated).

"Anti-gun male" Kevin Cullen makes his sophisticated, worldly and urbane contempt clear for "cow chip kickin' senator[s]" and the constituents they represent. It gets worse from there, as he drops all pretence of legitimate argument and goes right into attack dive/character assasination mode, while masking the real issues with generalized manipulation.

That's basically all the other side's got: Lies, omissions and name-calling. Along with the basest of betrayers to propagate them--"Authorized Journalists," the supposed watchdogs of government, who instead and bizarrely, have become its biggest apologists.

We're the Only Ones Secret Enough

Boston’s year-old police-civilian review board - touted as the people’s watchdog on cop abuses - is so shrouded from public view it stands out nationally as among the most secretive panels of its kind, a Herald review shows.

Not only is the public not invited to the board’s rare meetings, but its activities cannot be monitored because there are no minutes.

What better reason to trust Mayor Against Guns Tom Menino and his secretive enforcers as "The Only Ones"?

Yeah, that's the vision of government the Founders had, all right...

[Via Mad Rocket Scientist]

Wayne Fincher Update

Update: 2/19/2008
An appeal for funds

Oral arguments are set for March 10th in St. Louis. Quentin Rhoades will be presenting the argument for Wayne Fincher before the Appellate Court.

Currently, we are short funds to provide for all the necessary expenses for the presentation of the case at the Appellate level. It is necessary that we cover all of Quentin's expenses for his work on this case. We ask that you please support Wayne and your Second Amendment right by sending a donation to the address given [below].

We would greatly appreciate your assistance.

To support Wayne and your Second Amendment rights please send checks to:

The Wayne Fincher Defense Fund
P.O. Box 215
Elkins Arkansas 72727

[Via Paul W. Davis]

We're the Only Ones "Three Strikes and You're Out" Enough

A Winsted police officer has been arrested three times in the past three months for separate incidents.

Let's see, aside from sounding like a real soap opera, he's accused of threatening his wife, harassing his girlfriend's husband, dragging his girlfriend with his car...yeah, just the kind of "Only One" I want out there making sure I'm being even-tempered and peaceable...but then again, maybe everybody's just "blowing things way out of proportion" and all of us ought to be able to act that way.

[Via MH]

XVI

Free Constitution hosts its 16th Second Amendment Carnival.

Then as Now

Chris Horton shares some "mindful musings" centered on John Adams.

For those of you who get HBO, they're having a miniseries in a few weeks.

This Day in History: February 19

I am grieved to find, that instead of Six or eight thousand weight of Powder, which I fondly expected to receive from Providence (agreeable to your Letter), that I am likely to get only 4217 lb, Including the 3000 Weight belonging to this Province (If to be had). My situation in respect to this Article, is really distressing, and while common prudence obliges me to keep my want of it concealed, to avoid a discovery thereof to the Enemy; I feel the bad effect of that concealment from our friends, For not believing our distress equal to what it really is they withhold such small supplies as are in their power to give; I am so restrained in all my Military movements, for want of these necessary supplies, that it is impossible to undertake anything effectual; and whilst I am fretting, at my own disagreeable situation, the World I suppose is not behind hand in censuring my inactivity. A Golden Opportunity has been lost, perhaps not to be acquired again, this year.

We're the Only Ones Dsylex...Dyslxe...Who Can't Read Enough

"I was amazed that they managed to read the same plate wrong three times in a row," he said...The DMV told Eyewitness News they are considering dropping Q and zero from license plates because of the mix-ups.

When in doubt, dumb down and inconvenience everybody else.

Did you hear the one about the atheist Sunpass employee who didn't believe in "Dog"? Or how about "Look, up in the sky! It's a bird. It's a plane. It's 2perman!"

[More from "The Only Ones" Files]

BATFU's Glass House

I have written in the past about the BATFE's own record keeping: here and here. Since the ATF demands 100% compliance out of dealers, it is only natural to look at how their own record keeping compares.

Ryan examines the BATFU double standard.

PSH Miami

That's how he described the president's decision not to renew the ban on assault rifles.

Talk about no understanding, not only of what actually happened, but of the concept of enumerated powers. Both on the part of this boob and on the part of the "Authorized Journalist" whose head it went right over.

And its these voices that reach the masses.

Return of The Mad Hatter

He's back after a hiatus of many moons, and he's continuing with the important task of keeping an eye on what the young skulls full of academic mush are saying about RKBA:

I couldn't stay away for too long, you know. This weekend, I've added three new posts, all covering campus discussion on RKBA issues:

From Yale:
http://madhatter907.blogspot.com/2008/02/warming-back-up-on-campus-editorials.html

A few from UW-Madison:
http://madhatter907.blogspot.com/2008/02/rkba-campus-round-up-12.html

And a few from my alma mater, UT-Knoxville:
http://madhatter907.blogspot.com/2008/02/rkba-campus-watch-121.html

Welcome back, JH. Keep this up and we'll need to replace the top hat with a tassled mortarboard.

"Retooling" in Idaho

I received the following from correspondent ChareltonHest:

There is a bill in Idaho that has been suggested, Senate Bill 1381, that

(1) "Repeals and adds to existing law to provide for preemption of all regulation of firearms by a county, city, constitutional corporation,agency, board or any other political subdivision of this state withexceptions."

And there have been the usual articles online regarding the bill's provisions for Universities and Colleges and firearms. With one side always ignorantly saying guns make things worse and that they are "uncomfortable". The other side always saying that it's only people with special government permission(CC Permits)that will be carrying, and that those that do have proven themselves worthy to the state in order to exercise their KABA rights.

2)The latest news is that the bill has been pulled for "re-tooling". The one outraged thing is this:.."Even before taking public testimony, McKenzie told the committee he was dropping colleges and universities from the bill. He agreed to the change at the urging of Gov. Butch Otter and university and college presidents."

(3)I have e-mailed our Governor to ask his reasoning behind this "urging", if it is in fact true. I will post online about it when I get a response.

1.) http://www3.state.id.us/oasis/S1381.html
2.) http://media.www.arbiteronline.com/media/storage/paper890/news/2008/02/14/Opinion/Will-We.Have.Guns.On.Campus-3209691.shtml
3.) http://www.idahopress.com/news/?id=3818

Same Car Dealer Sold to 2 DUI Killers!!!

I just wanted to change the headline a bit to demonstrate how ridiculous the AP and "Authorized Journaist" Scott Bauer are being here.

Note to Eric Thompson: These people are not your friends. If you must issue a statement, prepare a release with an attorney and make that your final word to the media. Because they will hold your statements against you, and you don't want to have some sharp ambulance chaser making judicial theater out of some of the statements I see here.

I also note the correction at the bottom of the story. What do you want to bet ol' Scott here assumed any gun with a stock was a rifle?

One Would Expect

An amicus brief in support of Washington D.C.'s handgun ban dealing with the historical issues in the case was filed by fifteen professional academic historians. One would expect such a brief to be historically accurate, address the Second Amendment in its proper Bill of Rights related context, and include the most relevant figures, statements, and actions for understanding any historical issues in the dispute. However, any such expectation is left largely unfulfilled in the historians' brief.

One would expect that, if one expected this particular group of agenda-driven manipulators to be more interested in truth than Marxist social engineering. We are told those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. When historians betray their trust and obscure and rewrite that past with present motives, it is a very special type of betrayal, an act of treason against all humanity.

David E. Young does a fine job deconstructing the deception, albeit he mostly treats it as error, omission and failure. Not being part of the "respectable" academic community, I'm under no restraints to conclude that no one, not even 15 professional academics, could be this obtuse. The only explanation is one of premeditated sleight of mind to promote their ideology, rather than solid scholarship to pursue the truth.

Incidentally, if you don't have Young's book, "The Origin of the Second Amendment," you're missing out on one of the finest, most comprehensive resources available. It is among the most highlighted and dog-eared tomes on my shelf.

[Via Of Arms and the Law]

This Day in History: February 18

The late freezing Weather having formed some pretty strong Ice from Dorchester point to Boston neck, and from Roxbury to the Common, thereby affording a more expanded and consequently a less dangerous Approach to the Town, I could not help thinking, notwithstanding the Militia were not all come In, and we had little or no Powder to begin our Operation by a regular Cannonade and Bombardment, that a bold and resolute assault upon the Troops in Boston with such Men as we had (for it could not take many Men to guard our own Lines, at a time when the Enemy were attacked in all Quarters) might be crowned with success; and therefore, seeing no certain prospect of a supply of Powder on the one hand, and a certain dissolution of the Ice on the other, I called the General Officers together for their opinion...

Hillary's Poached Duck Recipe?

Clinton told an audience she supported gun rights, two days after a student opened fire on the campus of Northern Illinois University, killing five before turning the gun on himself. Clinton said she believed in getting guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill even as she favored protecting the rights of law abiding gun owners.

"I've gone hunting," she said. "I know you may not believe it, but it's true. My father taught us to shoot."

Clinton told reporters later she had once shot a duck in Arkansas, along with "a lot of tin cans, targets and some skeet."

OK, so here are my questions: Would there still be a record warehoused away somewhere to see if she pulled a hunting license? And if she didn't, isn't a violation of state migratory waterfowl regulations also a federal violation?

And won't someone please email PETA and express outrage, outrage I say, over this shameless exploitation and encouragement of animal murder just so she can pander for the brutal blood sport vote?

“Homegrown Terrorists”

So what would a cop on the street look out for?

“Defenders of the US Constitution against federal government and the UN (Super Patriots),” read the very first point in the very first category, “Right Wing Extremists.”

“Groups of individuals engaged in paramilitary training,” it continued.

"Homegrown Terrorists" is my Rights Watch column for the April 2008 issue of GUNS Magazine, on sale now at domestic newsstands throughout the Republic.

Rally Rapture at the Cult of Set

Click on the title link and watch the video.

Give them some room. Give them some water.

Good grief.

What have I been saying about these fanatics?

Shrieking girls fainting in hysteria.

Shrieking girls treating Thulsa Doom like the new messiah, having self-induced orgasms and weeping in religious ecstasy.

I remember the last time I saw this phenomenon.













This isn't a political campaign. This is Beatlemania.

I actually think returning to hereditary kings would make about as much sense.

Power to the Sheeple

People in crowds behave just like sheep, scientists claim, by blindly following one or two people who seem to know where they are going.

No duh.

"Even more striking, that study found that even when we are shown a faster route, we still prefer to stick with the old one and tell others to take the long road too..."

Yeah, tell me about it.

[Via Stieger]

It is Not Clear When, or If...

But after Thursday's shootings left six dead and another 16 injured at Northern Illinois, Koehler contacted County Administrator Peter Austin and had the item taken off the agenda...

"Both of my sons were teaching assistants in the same lecture hall where the tragedy took place, so it hit me pretty hard," Koehler said.

It is not clear when, or if, the anti-gun control resolution will come before the full board.

Yeah, like his sons'll be safer by ignoring the Second Amendment.

We've talked about the McHenry County 2A Resolution, and that it was pulled. This Ken Koelhler character is why.

This is the problem when we rely on elected "leaders" to do things, because most will angle for political advantage or damage control, as opposed to those who truly lead on principle. You get nincompoops who allow their emotions to rule, or at least use that as a calculated excuse for why they betrayed the group they're supposed to be leading. This guy just doesn't want any fallout and heat, and he's masking it with "Look how empathetic I am."

Here's contact info for him, for those of you who care. While you're at it, you may as well contact everyone who went along with it without a word of public protest. My guess is the people behind the resolution want us to be polite, so I won't come in at the 11th hour and pollute their pool. And it's not like the resolution itself is anything more than symbolic, albeit powerful symbolism, so its passage isn't urgent. But if I was a local gun activist there, I'd sure make it known I expected it to be resurrected within a timely period, and I'd do it during public comment (agenda item 11) at the meeting they pulled it from.

45superman has lots more.

UK Freedoms Up in Smoke

No one would be able to buy cigarettes without the permit, under the idea proposed by Health England...

"The senior government advisor putting this idea forward is not only adding to the red tape and bureaucracy we already have in this country.

"He is openly bragging that he wants to make the form as complex as possible to fill in."

What a sadistic, twisted martinet that sick little "government advisor" is. Why should such an obvious and despicable pervert have any sway over peoples' lives? The UK nanny state is damn near complete, if my "grasp of British culture" is firm.

By way of disclosure, I used to be a heavy cigarette smoker. I'd tried quitting many times, for years. What finally provided the motivation was my wife discovering we were expecting a child 18 years ago--I figured I owed the kid a father, quit cold and never looked back, although I do still enjoy a good cigar on weekends.

But the anti-smoking fascists are also gaining momentum on this side of the pond, to where, in many states, it's no longer a choice of restaurants and bars to allow the market or--gasp--the owner to decide based on customer demand or proprietary interest. And now it's moving into people's homes, people's cars...all with the heavy, coercive hand of the state putting a big "do as we say or else" behind their usurpation of free human choices. Because we can't be trusted to run our own lives, you see.

I've talked before about "ATF Night," a pro-RKBA monthly dinner we used to have in California (so named because we enjoyed adult beverages and cigars during the event and discussed firearm rights). The restaurant spent a quarter million dollars on a "Cigar Room," with special ventilation in a room apart from the main restaurant, so they could host gourmet dinners with fine wine and cigar tastings. Thanks to the intrusive state, we could no longer enjoy the "T" part of why we were getting together unless we wanted to huddle outside--not a pleasant prospect on a cold or wet evening.

The Nazis just can't stand to think anyone might be enjoying themselves doing something they disapprove of. And they're so intent on promoting their vision of healthy lifestyles, they'll destroy anyone who gets in their way.

Ultimately, just like with guns, it boils down to "Be safe and healthy according to our dictates or we'll kill you."

Sunshine, anyone?

UPDATE: Bottled Water "Immoral" in UK

Good grief.

Saving Grace

James Picket may be 80, but he's no pushover. The North Texas man proved that when a couple of guys up to no good knocked on his door last weekend and tried to mess with him.

His "saving grace," we are told, is the gun he kept in his pocket.

We're also told he faces no charges. Who would think he would? This man deserves a special citation and a reward.

What kind of despicable subversive cowards would think otherwise?

[Via Tony G]

Democrat Democracy

A top Hillary Clinton adviser on Saturday boldly predicted his candidate would lock down the nomination before the August convention by definitively winning over party insiders and officials known as superdelegates, claiming the number of state elections won by rival Barack Obama would be “irrelevant” to their decision.

Ah yes, the party of the people.

Orwellian, ain't it?

We're Not the Only Ones...

A woman who was patrolling to keep her neighborhood safe nearly became a crime victim herself when someone opened fire on her.

And now, she says, she's armed.

Who does she think she is? An "Only One"?

Damned vigilantes. Don't they know the militia of the whole people is an anachronism and the Second Amendment is a product of a different time?

[Via Tony G]

We're the Only Ones "Good Dog Carl"* Enough

A man has filed suit against the city of Winter Springs, accusing two of its police officers of mistaking his home for someone else's, hauling him outdoors without clothes and shooting dead his Rottweiler.

I wonder if the minimum wage pizza delivery guy could find the right address, where the highly trained "Only Ones" could not? I mean, it's not like the city of Winter Springs has property/parcel plans on file or anything.

*

This Day in History: February 17

Arriving at Albany, NY on February 17, 1778, Lafayette found that the expedition was disastrously lacking in money, food and soldiers. Residents of upstate New York (who ought to know) considered it foolhardy to lead an expedition to Canada in the dead of winter, and the British and Canadians already knew of plans for the expedition and were preparing against it.