Notes from the Resistance...
St. Clair County Associate Judge James Radcliffe dismissed the county's eminent domain lawsuit against the Caseyville Rifle and Pistol Club in Mascoutah.But it ain't over. The covetous county thieves will be back after they cross their "t's" and dot their "i's", and the judge thinks that'll do the trick....
Latest Major Action: 11/15/2012 Senate floor actions. Status: Motion by Senator Reid to commit to Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources with instructions to report back forthwith with amendment SA2880 fell when cloture was invoked on the bill in Senate.Activist Brian S. Wegner forwarded a detailed email with his analysis, titled "S. 3525 - The Way I See It." It has a lot of thoughtful insights, and he agreed to let me share it here on WarOnGuns. What follows are his words:
Senate Bill 3525 is being touted as the Sportsman’s Act of 2012. However, in my opinion, this is much more than just about sporting activities. I see it as a way for the Federal government to transfer ownership of land.I saw two firearms related entities fighting about the language of this bill. On one side was GOA’s Larry Pratt (a pro-constitutional gun rights organization) saying that it has unconstitutional provisions sweetened a bit with certain provisions favoring sportsmen, and on the other was NSSF’s Larry Keane (basically the gun manufacturer’s lobby) saying that it’s all good - no problems with this bill - it needs to be passed.I read the entirety of the bill http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c112:S.3525: (time I can never get back) and then looked at GOA’s response http://gunowners.org/a11152012.htmAt first I didn’t see GOA’s objection to the text as it was written. That was until I read the context with which the bill would allow a bureaucratic entity (a mini-EPA) to expand Federal control over land/water - and not just land/water that is already under Federal control. Ever see a map of Utah? More than 70% of the land is not under Utah’s control…..So back to the point….
Sec 211(e) Effect on Other Authorities-(1) ACQUISITION OF LAND AND WATER- Nothing in this subtitle alters or otherwise affects the authorities, responsibilities, obligations, or powers of the Secretary to acquire land, water, or an interest in land or water under any other provision of law.(2) PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTION- Nothing in this subtitle permits the use of funds made available to carry out this subtitle to acquire real property or a real property interest without the written consent of each owner of the real property or real property interest.(3) MITIGATION- Nothing in this subtitle permits the use of funds made available to carry out this subtitle for fish and wildlife mitigation purposes under--(A) the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.);(B) the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (16 U.S.C. 661 et seq.);(C) the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 (Public Law 99-662; 100 Stat. 4082); or(D) any other Federal law or court settlement.
Sounds good right? Except that it is the same language used in the Clean Water Act which has been used by the EPA to declare areas ‘wetlands’ and screw people like this: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/03/21/supreme-court-sides-with-idaho-property-owners-over-epa/However, this is actually worse in that it would now allow an UNELECTED bureaucratic entity the ability to transfer ownership of land through a privately funded organization, in the same way Kelo vs New London eminent domain allowed a government entity the ability to allow the transfer of real property for commercial purposes. So while some of this bill would be fine for Sportsman, the backdoor trap to subvert the Constitution’s Separation of Powers cannot be ignored.Instead of keeping people from being able to build on their land, they would now be able to legally take the land in much the same way that eminent domain is used.
WHO ARE THE DECISION MAKERS?The National Fish Habitat Board consists of 27 members. The initial members (Obama appointees) select the remaining members. Thus while the “commercial fishing industry” supposedly has a representative, you can bet that that fisherman is an Obama-supporter and will support his agenda.The board then enters into “partnerships” with, inter alia, outside groups. And you can bet that every liberal environmental organization in the country will now be feeding at this pig sty. The outside groups recommend fish habitat programs and plans for seizing private lands.Bottom line: This will give immense powers to unelected bureaucrats -- a clear violation of the Separation of Powers which our Founders implemented as a way of protecting our rights.
You make the call.
I speak from personal experience recalling a local range that was closed in Ohio after a development was built nearby, even though everyone – the developers, the realtors and the home purchasers, knew it was there and sold and bought property with that knowledge and with all required disclosures. And I’ve noted the same thing happening elsewhere. The same people would no doubt squawk like hell should the same government they’re turning to now decide their property would be more valuable as a township revenue generator, as happened in the notorious Kelo decision. [More]Today's Gun Rights Examiner report notes a phenomenon analogous to "progressives" moving to freer states and deciding the laws aren't restrictive enough, or foreigners moving to the U.S. and deciding we need to adopt their gun laws. If you move next to a gun range, why would you expect them to be the ones to go away? And what will you do when somebody with more clout decides there's a compelling overriding interest for infringing on your property rights?
When one of your site visitors wrote that as an attorney he saw no modern basis for the second amendment it drew no agrument. The subsequest testimony you printed last week brought up the second amendment and dismissed the argument...and this does not produce strident comment???A few clarifying notes:
You posted a letter positing that the second amendment had been rendered meaningless, that it had become a mere cynical fund raising ploy. That drew comments from 6 distinct individuals on a site that draws thousands a day? On the RKBA site when I log on for my daily news I am "one of 87 - 450 persons logged on at that time" - This translates to NO INTEREST IN THE TOPIC.
A million people may begin to have some voice but a hundred...a hundred is just a few more than the dead and forgotten at the Branch Davidian "compound" in Waco. You often bring up the possibility that people in numbers may have some effect and just this week in one of your postings you mentioned the 81 million gun owners and 400 showed up type thing. Our "side" shows no numbers.
Our "side" has enough persons with the willingness, interest, guts and foresight to stand up despite their comfort and not kiss the Pharaoh'’s ring to make us an easy and obvious scapegoat for totalitarian government and a super photo op for the coming "one world" infrastructure that is being built by the day.
Based on the numbers (81 million gun owners that can'’t / won'’t coalesce) against an apparent continental or international plan to open or erase our borders, average our laws with the countries of the continent and the world, create ever increasing webs of laws that can not be understood or abided by - can it be long before gun owners are out of favor and marginalized as a group?
Friends of mine who are police officers have been telling me for some time that there is a trend in law enforcement that the criminals are the "customers" and then there is everybody else. The theory being that the criminals drive the system and employment not the law abiding. The converse of this thinking is that a) check every citizen to see if they are a customer and b) Law abiding citizens are not customers and possible enemies. It'’s just good marketing to convert "citizens" to "customers".
Among the comments of posters on the topic (and we can admit it is a widely held sentiment) was that "when the time comes, I won'’t register my guns" or "I'’ll bury my guns" or "If they come for my guns we'’ll all be dead" ad nauseum and that is fine and I hold that sentiment myself in principal. HOWEVER, it is easy to hide your guns and be under the radar if you have 3 or 10 but if you have 500 or a thousand you won't be viewed as a collector you will be viewed as an enemy of the state and you will not hide or be hidden when they start compiling 4473's. Didn't the FBI kill Vicky Weaver and Sammy Weaver over one machine gun transfer?
But will you take to the hills? Hell, the Weavers were in the hills!
The second amendment has seemingly been rendered entirely symbolic. If you look at McCain-Feingold (limits on the most fundamental first amendment protected speech), Kelo (eminent domain expansion) and increasing narrowing of the fourth amendment, a reasonable person can conclude that the constitution as a whole is on a path toward meaninglessness.
Those us of that believe (romantically) in the constitution and that the second amendment secures all other rights are being sold out and screwed by absolute lowest common denominator traitors at every level of government installed by a comfortable and illiterate population of easily manipulated TV watchers. MY CHILDREN ARE BEING SCREWED!
"We" have built a welfare mommy state and we vote our own entitlement. I am losing faith that the government is acting in the best interest of the US and not the un. I am starting to fall to the one worlders' conspiratorial views because I can not see freedom or sovereignty as the basis for anything going on legislatively or in the courts. AND TO GET THERE THEY WILL HAVE TO TAKE OUR GUNS. If not from you and me then from our children. Let's call a spade a spade now and not wait to be told.
I am not ordinarily a pessimist.
Our children need guts. We have to actively counter the indoctrination they get at school and on TV (we don't allow TV). We need Paul Revere again...but that is just...the rest of the story...
I refuse to be a party to raising "villagers". Let's fight and stop embarrassing ourselves.
I am not a prisoner, I'm a free man. Period.---------------------
Paramilitary police and anti-riot units here have opened fire with pistols and automatic rifles for the past two nights on rioting farmers and fishermen who have attacked them with gasoline bombs and explosive charges, according to residents of this small coastal village...
The long-simmering conflict in Dongzhou arose over disputed confiscations and what farmers here said were inadequate compensation payments. Authorities exercising the equivalent of eminent domain seized farmers' fields to build a wind-driven electric generating plant on a hillside overlooking the village...
"It is illegal to impede the progress of a key infrastructure project," a Shanwei spokesman, Li Min, told Radio Free Asia then. "As for whether the compensation is reasonable, it was in line with the usual standards."
