Storm Warning! Obama Will Attack...

Sources from Washington are telling me that President-Elect Obama may move forward on an Assault Weapons/Magazine Capacity Ban ASAP — maybe as soon as later this January. [More]

"He said there's a storm coming in."

"I know."

[Via HZ]

The War in Gaza - A Militia View

One of the things forgotten in America today is that war is the normal state of being for man. Throughout the history of the human race we find one war after another, and very few, if any, real periods of peace. In fact, the only time we find real peace is when nations are prepared for war, and will not go to war, because their prospective opponents are too well armed, and the risk and cost are far too high. [More]

I agree.

Via Paul W. Davis, who tells me:

There are many possibilities to explore here, but the first order of business is to be mentally prepared for what may come. After all, many folks in this country cease to function after a natural disaster, and virtually give up and give in, never taking responsibility, and never being proactive about recovering from the disaster. This does not bode well for our ability to withstand invasion and war on our own soil.

Again, I agree.

We're the Only Ones Protecting the Queen Enough

Attempted burglary victim was former Rose Queen

Camille Clark hid in a closet in her room and called to alert police to a burglary at her house...

...A police officer fired several gunshots at an SUV driven by one of the suspects when it approached him, authorities said. [More]

Hell of a defense plan, isn't it? Hide in a closet and hope you don't get dragged out for the party?

And what's with the cop firing at a vehicle that "approached him"? Did it try to run over him? And was he certain everyone in the SUV was a bad guy, that they didn't take the victim with them?

Regardless, Ms. Clark got off easy this time.

I wonder if she'll continue to rely on the "Only Ones" as her first and only line of defense in the future?

This Day in History: January 9

I observe our people (a few excepted) are firm &> not to be shaken. A great number of volunteers may be had. I hope all the enlistments mayz be filled, but doubt if it can soon be done. I am endeavoring at vigorus measures. Languor seems to have been diffused thro the Naval department. However I hope it will mend. The Cherokees are humbled, but I fear hostility about Pittsburg in the spring... [More]

Holed Up in Fairfax and They Ain't Comin' Out

I said this morning I'd get around to addressing NRA's silence on the Holder nomination, and on Sebastian's defense of it.

He gives a list of pros and cons. I'm not going to address every one, but will comment on what I think are the most important points.

The gist of his first "risk" is that a vengeful Holder will cut off access to the DoJ. If he did, that would certainly be worth raising a ruckus over, but what makes them think this anti-gun zealot who hates NRA and everything they stand for is going to not make things as difficult for them as he legally can as a matter of course?

This reminds me of the NRA representatives' stated position when they arranged for the California DoJ to come tell their members that there was no individual right to keep and bear arms, and that they had to fill out registration cards for their lawfully-owned semi-autos. The NRA rep actually told us how lucky we were to have the DoJ come speak to us, and how they didn't have to--like we were being done a favor--arranged through NRA's vaunted access to the corridors of power--to have the enforcers come and personally dictate to us the terms of our surrender.

His second stated "risk" is that if we lose, we'll be seen as impotent.

That all depends.

A man very close to me told me a good thing that happened to him when he was a teenager at a Depression-era CCC camp was that he got beat up in a fight on the first day.

"Why was that a good thing?" I asked.

"Because it took the guy half-an-hour to do it. Everybody knew they might be able to beat me, but they wouldn't be able to do it without a lot of effort and getting hurt back."

This business of being afraid to engage because you might lose is precisely the excuse given when they tried to derail Heller, a decision they now can't take enough credit for. It is simply unworthy of any who would call themselves our leaders.

Talk about appearing impotent.

The third "risk" he lists, "distracting membership from bigger fights looming on the horizon" is simply not credible. He's not just saying we can't walk and chew gum at the same time, he's saying we can't walk now and chew gum at some undetermined time in the future.

If this is the capacity and commitment of grassroots gun rights activists for multitasking, it's difficult for me to fathom why the "pragmatists" (there, I said it) put so much faith in their way being the strongest and most reliable.

What--if I ask you to write a letter on Holder today, when I come back to you next year and say "Obama's trying to ban assault weapons," you're going to turn around and tell me "Sorry-- I'm burned out on all I did last time"...?

This is our last best hope?

And what if we win and we get someone just as bad? If we win, the new administraiton won't put up someone just as bad, because they'll realize why it was they lost and not want to repeat it. If we win, they'll be so rocked back on their heels, their momentum will have been broken and their confidence challenged.

If we win, they'll know the old lion still has some teeth left.

And if we lose, well, remember the CCC camp.

NRA needs to understand that a growing critical mass gun owners are fed up. They're like the dumb republicans--more worried about what their avowed enemies will say about them than keeping faith with their core constituency. They don't understand that guys like me want a strong and principled NRA--and their hiding when they should be leading disgusts and alienates activists sick of all the compromise. It guarantees they'll be weak with the people who count--gun owners with a fire in their bellies for freedom.

And the opinion that NRA can't afford to lose and have it's reputation tarnished, but other, smaller groups can is insulting. What, like we don't have any credibility and NRA does?

Let me share some NRA credibility. Or better yet, let Mr. Cox:

Your NRA-PVF does not just pick the easy battles. There are groups that endorse only “safe” candidates, but avoid the tough races completely...

And when we walk the halls of Congress to defend our rights, we need to know—and your lawmakers need to know—that you’re standing behind us all the way. United, we—and the Second Amendment—will prevail.

I haven't been this inspired since Mel Gibson yelled "FREE-DO-O-O-MM!!!"

Mr. Cox reveals something else very interesting:

[T]he NRA Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) endorsed 23 candidates for the U.S. Senate, of whom at least 14 were victorious...

OK, guys, we backed you. You're now in, thanks to us.

How about you now give us some return love, and EVERY DAMN ONE OF YOU pledge to put a hold on Holder? How about we start with the biggest "risk" NRA backed out of the entire herd, the old bull elephant himself, John "End Private Sales/Free Political Speech" McCain?

How many millions did NRA sink in his campaign, and on promoting other Republicans?

It's simply not credible that an organization that screamed so loudly and relentlessly on Obama being "the most anti-gun president in American history" would remain hidden and mute on the ascendancy of the most anti-gun Attorney General in American history.

The only excuse I can make for them is that they could be quietly working behind the scenes to get a "hold" commitment. That's the only thing I can think of that's acceptable. And since I haven't heard it floated from their apologists, I don't have confidence that's anything more than my desperate wishful thinking.

One last thing and then I've said enough--for now. If I were the Bradys, or some smaller group trying to establish relevance, I'd be looking at this latest schism. How would I exploit it?

The antis are already crowing every chance they get about how NRA is now impotent and ineffectual. It doesn't matter that they're making much of that up, the bottom line is they're doing it, and the media is helping them amplify their voices.

Do our champions at Fairfax really want to be portrayed as not only too insecure to fight, but hiding in their fortress afraid to even speak out?

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

NRA may be unwilling to engage on the Holder confirmation. How about you?

The following links are from a four-part (and ongoing) series from Examiner.com explaining why Holder is so bad for gun owners, what reasons a non-gun owner would have to oppose Holder, what citizens can do to oppose his confirmation, and new information regarding his contempt for using the legal system to defend yourself.

This guy will be a disaster for our liberties. Please help me let people know that.


Holder" To-Be" or Not To Be


How to Hold Holder Without "Using Guns"


How You Can Help Hold Holder


Another Reason to Hold Holder

No Charges

No charges against Metroparks dog shooter...

A Cleveland man is charged with failing to control his dog...

While Keeney was in the cruiser, witnesses say Smith approach and tell Keeney he wanted to see the face of the man who shot his dog. One of the Rangers says Smith even threatened to shoot Keeney in revenge. [More]

I first wrote about this here. Go read it to see how the same event can be "reported" on two completely different ways.

Nice to see the "Authorized Journalists" at 19 Action News haven't corrected the record on the "family pup shot execution-style."

Perhaps I should have titled this post "No Integrity."

[Via TZ]

We're the Only Ones Not Defending it as Best Practice Enough

According to the lawsuit, Parks disregarded Brown's repeated statements that her injuries prevented her from putting her arm behind her back, as the officer had ordered. The lawsuit says Parks ignored Brown's efforts to tell him about the documents she had with her that described her condition....

"We're not defending it as best practice," Pishko said. However, "Officer Parks didn't know he was dealing with a citizen who was brain-injured.... All he knew was she was noncompliant and agitated." [More]

Oh, bull. He assaulted a disabled woman who is clearly impaired.

She was not endangering him in any way. And who wouldn't be agitated with an irritating agitator like this bullying "Only One" treating you like a hostage because you were hula hooping, that is pursuing happiness...?

[Via Les K]

We're the Only Ones Giving Back to the Community Enough

Burglars forced their way into the secured Contra Costa County sheriff's lot in Martinez and ransacked several patrol cars and stole weapons between Monday night and Tuesday morning, said sheriff's Capt. Daniel Terry.

Three Colt semi-automatic assault rifles and a Remington shotgun were taken from cars parked at a lot in the 1900 block of Muir Road, location of the agency's field operations and investigative divisions. [More]

Ah...more "guns on the street" via the Police Cruiser Loophole, I see...

And from a "secured lot," no less.

Good thing they don't make "Only Ones" leave their guns in their cars parked in open lots when they go to restaurants that serve alcohol--like many states require of just us folks...

Be funny if they got 'em back at a turn-in. It'd be one of the few times the term "buy back" was accurate.

[Via Blake S]

"I Like That Guy's SHOOT ME Pose"

Pictures from the aftermath of the BART shooting...

Figures the guy who made that comment has chosen a Nazi clown as his avatar. [More]

[Via Steven K]

Shoving Walmart Greeters

The following is a rebuttal to this post. I am presenting it unedited in its entirety. My comments follow it.
------------

Mr. Codrea,

I just read the email that you had sent to Chief Cramer and Chief Cooper. I asked Chief Cramer if I could respond to your letter.

First of all, thank you for taking an interest in this. What happened at the Wal-Mart on Dec. 24th was very unfortunate. I do need to tell you that you need to have your facts straight before sending a sarcastic filled letter to anyone. If you are relying on the media for the facts then you have made a mistake. Let me help you with the facts.

Fact #1 Officer Freeman did not refuse to show his receipt, the greeter asked to see the receipt of the other officer who did in fact stop and show it, Officer Freeman proceeded out the door.

Fact #2 During the interview of the greeter, he stated that he may have set the alarm off himself due to a tag he had in his pocket.

Fact #3 The Collegedale Police Department did not "decline to bring charges" against Officer Freeman as you so put it. I don’t know there you are from but in the State of Tennessee pushing someone is nothing more than a “Simple Assault” which is a misdemeanor. For an officer to make an arrest the misdemeanor must have happened in the officer’s presences. The procedure for an arrest to happen is the victim comes to the Police Department and fills out an Affidavit of Complaint which is then given to the Judge to sign. The greeter did in fact come to the station about four days later. An Affidavit of Complaint was completed and sent to the judge. Keep in mind that the words on the Affidavit are from the victim and not an officer. At this point the judge reviewed the Affidavit and felt it did not have enough evidence for a warrant and did not sign it. That is on the Judge and not the Police Department. We did what we could do. Like it or not, that’s the law.

I can tell you that the Collegedale Police Department has a very good working relationship with the Wal-Mart and its employees. It’s unfortunate that the Collegedale Police Department was placed in the middle of this situation but that’s the nature of the job and we take great pride in what we do.

One last comment, I won’t speak for the Chattanooga Police Department because I don’t work for them but I will tell you they did take action on Officer Freeman. What they did hurt him more then any judge could have done on a charge of “Simple Assault”.

I know it’s easy to target police departments when you don’t know all the facts. I hope this helps you understand a little more clearly.

If have any questions, feel free to email them to me .

Thank you,

Det. Lt. R. J. Barber
Criminal Investigation Division
Collegedale Police Department

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

First, I'm painfully aware that "Authorized Journalists" don't always get it right. My real concern in this is more of an "Only Ones" nature:

Does Det. Barber sincerely believe this would have been the outcome, had it been a citizen conducting a "Simple Assault" against a police officer?

I'll send him this link and invite him to respond.

What it is About Guns isn't Even About Guns. Part II, Guns on Campus.

Today's Los Angeles Gun Rights Examiner post. [More]

Who is the "Powerful Gun Lobby"?

Today's Cleveland Gun Rights Examiner post. [More]

We're the Only Ones Towed Enough Redux

An off duty Chattanooga Police officer involved in an incident with a tow truck driver near the Deep Blue club in Brainerd said the incident started when the wrecker driver was driving aggressively and brushed him with the vehicle window.

Officer Phil McClain also said that he revealed his weapon after an owner of nearby property, Jeff Whitley, pulled his handgun "in a very aggressive manner."

The officer also claimed that Mr. Whitley told him, "Get off my property black boy."

Here's an update to this.

It does somewhat mitigate. We shall see...

[Via Firedbrass]

We're the Only Ones Gambling Enough

The pressures of gambling debts, domestic problems and family health problems contributed to Decatur police Sgt. Faron White's decision to steal money confiscated from drug cases and fake his abduction Friday night to head to Las Vegas, where he would to try to win back the stolen money. [More]

Sounds like this "Only One" didn't know when to hold 'em or when to fold 'em...

[Via Jason S]

Getting the Lead Out

Congress passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, or HR 4040, a retroactive rule mandating that all items sold for use by children under 12 must be tested by an independent party for lead and phthalates, which are chemicals used to make plastics more pliable.

All untested items, regardless of lead content, are to be declared "banned hazardous products.'' The CPSC has already determined the law applies to every children's item on shelves, not just to items made beginning Feb. 10. [More]

I haven't even read the bill let alone analyzed it. If you have time, it's here.

WarOnGuns correspondent Rova speculates:

Youth shotguns and rifles that use lead bullet components in ammunition come immediately to mind - as a worst-case back-door.

Avg Joe, who sent me the WND link says:

I broke my teeth shooting in Boy Scouts, this of course is going to go after bullets as well. So children under 12 will no longer be allowed to shoot but for steel shot if they make it for a 410 or BB guns with steel BB's.

Anyone aware of any current warnings from the major gun groups?

Courage and Guns

True courage is in short supply in this nation’s gun culture. [More]

No argument.

I get pretty scared myself some times. I'm sure we all do.

Hell of a thing, isn't it? Why any group of men would want to force another group of men to choose between their principles and their freedom, and punish them when they catch them choosing "wrong"...?

To think that my children will also know such fear...

And to know that fear only paralyzes us if we allow it to...

[Via Ron W]

BREAKING NEWS: NRA ALERT!!!

Click to Enlarge

What--you were expecting something else...?

Sebastian explains why.

Vanderboegh, WRSA and Jeff Knox aren't buying it.

I'll weigh in later today.

Another Reason to Hold Holder

Think about that. Defending yourself through the legal system makes you a special target of the government. That is flat-out chilling and un-American. Anyone with this mentality presuming to be our nation's top law enforcer is terrifying. [More]

Another in a series on trying to stop confirmation of Eric Holder as the next attorney general.

If you believe in this effort, I ask you to help me spread the word by sending others the links to my Examiner articles --whether through emails, forums, you name it. Will you take a moment and do this?

I bring it up because I note from my Examiner.com stats that only a fraction of WarOnGuns regular visitors even bother to check out the links I provide every day. I frankly don't understand why anyone would come here and not go there, nor do I understand why anyone who presumably gets daily value from this site wouldn't want to help me promote this new opportunity to get strong "gun rights" message out in front of a nationwide audience.

This Day in History: January 8

You may be assured, that no molestation will be offered to the Convoy of Money and Stores, which Genl. D'Heister means to send to the Hessians taken at Trenton, or to the Surgeon with Medicines for the Wounded at Princeton, by any part of the regular Army under my command: But I cannot answer for the Militia who are resorting to Arms in most parts of this State, and exceedingly exasperated at the Treatment they have met with, from both Hessian and British Troops. [More]

How You Can Help Hold Holder

So far this week, we've explained why Obama attorney general nominee Eric Holder is a terrible choice for gun owners, and why we should oppose his confirmation. We then explored alternative objections should the senators we contact have a track record of hostility to the Second Amendment.

It's important for those of us who believe in the right to keep and bear arms to take two actions, and to do so immediately, as a hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled for the 15th of this month. [More]

This is the wrap-up to the priority I've been focusing most of my energies on this week. I hope you decide to get involved and take the few simple actions requested.

As always, your assistance spreading the word on Gun Rights Examiner columns is appreciated.