Thursday, January 31, 2008

The Company He Keeps

There's one other point I wanted to make about last night's debate.

John McCain said:

I'll rely on people to judge me by the company that I keep.
and
I hope that some people judge me by those that are supporting me.
Fair enough.

Senator McCain: You recently announced you were supported by Sylvester Stallone, who not only endorses government confiscation of firearms, but also jokes about how he "injected [a former girlfriend] with [his] fist."

Comment? Should we judge you by him?

Senator...?

A Numbers Racket

I took last night's CNN republican debate transcript and crunched some numbers. I pulled it into Word to get aggregate totals using the "Find" utility with "Match Case"--as candidates speaking were presented in upper case. Here's what it showed:

ROMNEY: 49
MCCAIN: 45
HUCKABEE: 16
PAUL: 9

A bit of a disparity there, don't you think? And I couldn't help but notice Jim VandeHei from Politico initiated only one question to Dr. Paul. Janet Hook from the LA Times didn't even acknowledge he existed.

Here's something else that bothered me:

PAUL: ...But I would like to take one minute, since I didn't get a chance to answer this discussion on conservative versus liberal.

COOPER: We're going to have -- I promise you we're going to have -- you're going to have another opportunity to do that. I promise you, coming up in like two minutes or two questions.

Go ahead and find where Anderson kept his promise.

We've talked before--several times--about how the "Authorized Journalists" are marginalizing Dr. Paul by omission. He needs to do a better job of not allowing that to happen, particularly in debates where he has some immediate control--by gently but firmly protesting being ignored, and insisting on equal time for all candidates.

I think if, during commercial break, he and Huckabee decided to walk out in protest when the cameras came back on, they'd not only have their own impromptu mini-debate/news conference with plenty of reporters, but it would be today's major headline, completely overshadowing the meaningless posturing, pandering and prevarication that went on last night between establishment darlings Romney and McCain. That's a guerilla move--millions of dollars worth of free publicity that would also set them apart in a way, I believe, that many Americans who are sick of the same old BS and manipulation would admire.

We're the Only Ones to Catch a Predator Enough

Connecticut state authorities say a Norwalk police lieutenant has been arrested on charges he had sexual relations with teenagers...

According to the arrest warrant affidavits, authorities say the 46-year-old used computer Web sites and chat rooms to entice the boys to his home, where he allegedly showed them pornographic materials and engaged in sexual intercourse.
"Cummings"?

Why don't you take a seat?

[Via Declan]

[More from "
The Only Ones" Files]

The Pen is Prohibited as the Sword

A child was suspended for 3 days because he was writing with a pen that had a Glock logo on it in Georgia.
I haven't seen anything on this from the "Authorized Journalists," but that means less and less these days. So we'll assume it's on the up and up.

I'd like to know the name of the school and the name of the bonehead Vice Principal. An email address would be nice, too.

[Via HZ]

Civil Disobedience

The Bush Administration does not want convicted felons to to lawfully own firearms. What if the convicted felon's only crime was the civil disobedience of an anti-Constitutional, anti-gun law?
The Liberty Belles' Jennifer Freeman brings up something every gun owner needs to think about. The sad thing is, there will be no shortage of "enforce existing gun law" heroes on the gun boards who will tell you anyone who disobeys knew there were consequences and deserves what he gets, makes us all look bad, and should work to change laws they disagree with and obey them in the interim.

The question we should ask ourselves is whether we think these forum warriors are instrumental in--or obstacles to--securing real liberty.

A New Gun Claim

The gun used to shoot and blind a TTC bus driver two years ago has been shuffled between criminals, Toronto police said yesterday, and is implicated in four other crimes, including the 2003 murder of youth worker Kempton Howard.
You know what would solve that?

A registry of legal owners. That and forbidding the "law-abiding" to own them.

Don't you think?

And here's a new one on me from the "Authorized Journalists." They've told us about guns that go off and guns that kill, but I believe this is the first I've heard about guns that "claim sight."

You learn something new every day.

Almost Heaven, West Virginia

Seventh- through ninth-graders could opt for instruction in topics ranging from survival skills to gun safety, but the weapons would have dummy ammunition or be disabled. Sen. Billy Wayne Bailey, who introduced the bill this month, doesn't envision students firing real guns during class time.
It's a step in the right direction, but that's why I used "almost."

This Day in History: January 31

Lafayette’s 1779 memoirs record his January 31, 1778, meeting with the Board of War. According to Lafayette, at dinner in Gates’s quarters that evening, he embarrassed the guests by asking them to drink to the health of the commander in chief.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Off on a Comet

Rudy Giuliani, who sought to make the leap from New York mayor to the White House, bowed out of the Republican presidential contest Wednesday...


So long, Marsh...uh...Rudy. Don't let the Oort cloud hit you in the...

Maximum Mike's Anti-Gun Ties

From Ryan Horsley:
"Maximum Mike" has shown his true colors and every gun owner needs to contact their Senator to oppose Sullivan's confirmation.

Speaking of which, I neglected to mention that Saxby Chambliss cheesed out of the controversy with weasel words.

As a general rule, I've found any time someone begins a sentence with "Rest assured," they may as well be holding up their middle finger.

Republican Gun Control

ANTI-GUN CRUSADERS seem worried about the advent of a Republican administration. Heaven knows why. Republicans, in recent years, have managed to do nearly as much damage to the Second Amendment as Democrats.

This is is an old article, but it's still a surprise to some of us. I created the following poll back in 2003:


Guess who it was about, which I intentionally didn't reveal until the polling was complete?

But some among our brave ranks, those who comfort themsleves by denying that defending freedom is not only costly but personal, keep drinking that Kool-Aid. And encouraging the rest of us to join them so they won't feel so bad about it.

[Via ZG]

And the Hits Just Keep on Coming...

"Assault weapon" ban...one gun a month...end private sales...ammunition accountability... ammunition encoding...

The Illinois Legislature reminds me of that scene from Star Trek, in "The Omega Glory," where Captain Tracey violated the Prime Directive and engaged in battle against the "Coms" with his phaser. I don't have the exact quote but it was to the effect "I drained (four?) power packs, and still they kept coming..."

Lawless disregard for "the supreme law of the land," and they're allowed to get away with it. They make my case for me about citizen tribunals...

[Via HZ]

What a Mitt Head...

Bottom line: Romney supports the second amendment and showed unique prowess in helping gun owners in a extremely blue state.
Thanks, Justin Hart! That Kool-Aid was delicious!

I take back everything I've said.

Clearing Up "Misconceptions or Apprehensions"

In terms of what “serious” activists on both sides of the issue want for handguns and “assault weapons”, that’s easy. Serious gun controllers want to ban them and serious RKBA advocates will not surrender theirs. Intermediate steps like licensing, registration, etc. are just that–increments on the way to a goal.

I try my best to depart from my usual scorched earth policy. I don't know if the effort is worth it with Suzanne Harris, but maybe some of her readers will be receptive...

[Via Say Uncle]

Where, Indeed?

Chris Horton notes CBS has adopted the standards of Faux News, which, incidentally, is still avoiding highlighting Ron Paul every step of the way:

I guess he's not in the battle.

See, if you give all the other candidates exposure except one, and you have the power of the national media, you can create a self-fulfilling prophecy. And while I join those who are disappointed at Dr. Paul's showing in Florida, it's hard to make the argument that he hasn't beaten Rudy Giuliani on the whole thus far, and there's been no shortage of coverage for "America's Mayor" (if for no other reason than to see what time the comet's leaving...)

My Kind of "Only One"

Republican presidential candidate and Texas Congressman Ron Paul has unveiled a new television ad – titled “The Only One” – that is running in Tennessee and Arkansas.
You can view the ad here.

[Via Paul W. Davis]

My Kind of Trial

Retired Army Green Beret Smokey Taylor was court martialed this weekend, and came away feeling good about it. Taylor, at age 80 the oldest member of Chapter XXXIII of the Special Forces Association, was on mock trial by his peers under the charge of "Failing to use a weapon of sufficient caliber" in the shooting of an intruder at his home in Knoxville, Tennesee, in December.
Seeing as how citizen tribunals are proving so much better at producing justice than the official ones, maybe we ought to conduct a few more...

[Via Brian F]

CeaseFire PA Director's Watch Weekly Update


I've decided this doesn't merit a daily update. After reading a comment by TJH, I was considering doing it in spates, but for now will go with weekly updates.

This Day in History: January 30

On January 30, 1778, General Washington gave a report on the result of a General Court martial held on January 23, when a soldier of the artillery was tried for desertion and stealing a horse from General McIntosh. The soldier was acquitted of the desertion charges, but found guilty of theft and was sentenced to receive 100 lashes on his back and have "half his pay stopped monthly until General McIntosh is fully satisfied".

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Heaven's Gate Redux


I caught parts of George Stephanopolous' interview with Rudy Giuliani the other night and kept noticing something that creeped me out. Talk about separated at birth...

Watch the video yourself and see how many Applewhite Moments you can spot.

In another bit of eerie similarity, it looks like the asteroid leaving us might just be preceding Rudy's departure, and that would just be Heavenly.