The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008

Economics has been on a lot of people’s minds recently. Microsoft had a lay-off last week–the first ever that was motivated by external economics. I know two other gun bloggers that also dodged “the axe” in the last couple of months. I’ve had people approach me wanting information on buying guns and bulk food in a similar manner as I did just before Y2K. Federal interest rates are effectively zero. That has never happened before in my lifetime. Another economic indicator that we are in unusual circumstances is the money supply, or as Kevin put it, It’s Official: You May Now Panic. When you look at that graph note that the doubling of the money supply in the last year (yes that difficult to see spike is real, not just an artifact of the graphic) is unprecedented in the last 100 years. I attended a speech (if you want to call it that) by economist Paul Krugman yesterday–the auditorium was packed. The first hundred people or so received a free copy of his new book — The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008. It’s so new it is copyright 2009 and had to come directly from the printer. I have a copy in my hands now.


This blog post is mostly to capture my notes from listening to Krugman yesterday. I’m formulating a big blog post in my mind and hope to post it this weekend.


If in italics below it means it was a direct quotes (as best as I could capture).



  • Not as bad as the 30s–yet.

  • It is as bad as the early 80s.

  • This isn’t your fathers recession. This is your grandfathers recession.

  • All of the 1st world is falling at approximately the same rate.

  • The problem with the stimulus bill is that it isn’t big enough.

  • A trillion here and a trillion there and pretty soon you are talking about real money. A twist on Dirksen’s quote which got a laugh.

  • I’m not feeling panicky but uneasy.

  • I thought I was intellectually prepared.

  • It’s a whole lot harder to head off a second great depression than we thought.

  • The trouble with a big tax cut is that they aren’t spent. Tax cuts are a very bad tool for this type of problem. See also this blog post by Krugman.

  • Tax cuts made permanent won’t work because we can’t afford them.

  • We should seize troubled assets, clean them up, and then sell them. Just take the hit. “We” meaning the U.S. government.

  • There are no safe options. He was responding to a comment from someone about the risks of massive government spending–which Krugman is advocating. He is of the opinion that the stimulus package should be twice the size as the one proposed and passed yesterday.

  • The thing I’m most worried about is Kindelberg’s law: When given two options we will pursue both half-heartedly. I must have the spelling wrong on “Kindelberg”. I can’t find any such “law” on the net.

I’ve read the introduction and the first chapter of his new book. He says socialism is dead and it’s obvious to everyone except a few extremists who have their heads in the sand. But in his talk yesterday he said that “universal health care” would be a good thing to spend some of the two trillion in government spending he is proposing. His attitude was that “universal health care” was obviously a good thing. You could tell from his tone and the words he used that it wasn’t even open to debate with him. I have to wonder if maybe he is one of the extremists he was talking about in his book. See also Phil’s post from day before yesterday.

Quote of the day–Paul Krugman

This isn’t your father’s recession. This is your grandfather’s recession.


Paul Krugman
January 29, 2009
Speaking to the Microsoft Political Action Committee in Redmond, Washington.
[I attended this presentation and I’ll have more on his talk later. He is also an active blogger — The Conscience of a Liberal.–Joe]

I hope this is a typo

I’m not an editor but I play one on the Internet.


From the Washington Post:



Officials said the report reflected Obama’s desire for greater transparency in the bill-writing process, as he sought to fully map out what he plans to do with the $825 trillion package.

Quote of the day–Michael Gaddy

Leave it up to New Yorkers to defeat those who support the constitution and elect those who seek to destroy it.


Michael Gaddy
Buy, Buy, Buy
January 5, 2008
[As pointed out by Clayton, Jeff, SayUncle, and Sebastian, this is not always true so -1 point for Gaddy. He still gets a 99% on his essay.–Joe]

The anti-Christ

First I would like to draw your attention to SayUncles post that we have an extraordinary number of news stories about Obama’s inauguration. I would like to further point out the following:


There were one or more songs written just for this inauguration. There were “Inauguration Cupcakes” in my company cafeteria!


It was a “religious experience” for a lot of people. Of course they overlook that “Barack Hussein Obama” can be rewritten as “Barack Hussei Nobama” which is obviously a synonym for “666”.


I think I need to buy more ammo and explosives.

I don’t even recognize his name

Some might ask if I know this guy who is sort of a neighbor of mine:



A 65-year-old Spokane man has been ordered held in custody on federal charges of illegally possessing automatic weapons and illegally storing explosives in a Bellevue commercial storage shed while agents investigate how he came to possess a huge military-grade arsenal that included grenade launchers, machine guns and plastic explosives.


Ronald Struve, heavyset and bearded, appeared in Seattle before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Alice Theiler on Tuesday after being extradited from Spokane, where he was arrested Jan. 7 during a raid by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF).


In four searches in Bellevue and Spokane, agents seized 37 machine guns, 12 silencers, two grenade launchers, more than 60 high-explosive grenades, several pounds of military-grade C-4 plastic explosives and thousands of rounds of ammunition.



One box contained 54 M406 high-explosive grenade rounds — 40-millimeter shells that can be launched from a shoulder-fired weapon to distances of 300 yards or more, according to military specification.


Its explosion creates a “kill radius” of up to 16 feet from the point of impact and injuries dozens of yards beyond that.


Agents also found several other anti-personnel grenades, including a Korean War-era “Chicom” stick grenade.


In another box, agents found six blocks of C-4 plastic explosives.


Agents counted 32 apparent machine guns, including M-14s, M-16s, and several “Sten guns,” a mass-produced submachine gun known for its high rate of fire — upward of 500 rounds per minute.


They also found nine silencers and the parts for several others, as well as thousands of rounds of ammunition and various other military hardware.


“All of the military explosive items seized are considered contraband and cannot be possessed by anyone other than the military,” Wallace wrote in a search warrant. “The majority of the items seized appeared to be stolen military explosive materials.”


Spokane isn’t that far away from my home in Moscow and I think I could literally throw a rock from the front door of my office in Redmond and have it land in Bellevue. But this guy has never appeared on my radar of “people of the gun” in the circles I run in.


He shouldn’t have been storing the stuff in an ordinary storage unit or be in possession of stolen property. That’s just wrong and he should “pay the price” for that. But other than that he’s being charged with a victimless crime. Had he purchased those items on the open market (as they should be) and had he stored them in a proper manner all would have been fine.


So, for the most part, all this effort and money being spent on investigation and prosecution is because the government has repressive laws on the books. Sort of like laws against sex toys. Except sex toys aren’t constitutionally protected like “arms” are. [Updated with the following sentence.] Except while protected in general by the constitution, sex toys aren’t a specifically enumerated constitution right like “arms” are.

Quote of the day–Speed

The “prosperous” divested after hearing:



“this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control — and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous.”


Speed | 01.20.09 – 4:47 pm |
Speed is quoting President Obama’s inauguration speech after noting the stock market crash yesterday.
[I may have this slightly wrong but as Ry told me the other day, “Difficult times are never dull.”–Joe]

Another step closer to Incorporation

David has the details on what he declares a Win For Our Side!

This could be interesting

If I recall correctly predictions are that if this blows with the same sort of destruction as in previous eruptions all life within about 300 miles is likely to be killed. Areas as far away as Kansas, depending on the wind direction and duration, will get up to 10 feet of ash falling from the sky.

A Report on Recent Days from Inside Israel

I’ve posted some of Howard’s letters in the past.  He’s a journalist living in Israel, a lawyer, an IDF sniper trainer and counterterrorism specialist.  Here’s a list of his communications from the last several days.  I’ll preface them by pointing out that the Kassam rockets, mortars and etc., have been fired into Israel from the Gaza strip ever since it was ceded to the Palestinians, “ceasefire” or no “ceasefire”.  This makes the news only when the Israelis get around to shooting back.



Dec. 17, 2008


Friends:
 
What isn’t reported are the Kassams that continue to rain on my daughter’s college down south despite the fake cease-fire about to end (sorry, very sorry not a joke) in 48 hours.
 
Howard


===========================


Dec. 21, 2008


Friends:
 
We are in the Christmas and New Year’s home stretch.  Hanukah starts tonight.
 
My friends in local ERT units have been ordered to turn there IDF issued M16s back to the IDF.  They were given something like 72 hour notice.  The Israeli government only arms Fatah and allows Hamas and Hezbollah to arm themselves unhindered.
 
Have a good week.
 
Howard


===========================


Dec. 22, 2008


Friends:
 
Here is the latest.  So far still no significant effort to stop the rain of rockets!
 
\\\Howard


===========================


Dec. 24, 2008


Friends:
 
Traffic around the Old City and in the direction of Bethlehem was already clogged at 13:30 despite the cold, raw weather.
 
Down south the Gaza terrorists are setting a new record for the number of Kassam, Grad and mortar bombs being fired into Israel.  The reach of the rockets get farther and farther.  Only heaven knows if the Israeli government will act to stop the attacks.
 
Have a Merry Holiday.
 
Howard


===========================


Dec. 25, 2008


Season’s Greetings


=========================


Dec. 27, 2008


It has started.
 
Howard
—– Original Message —–
Sent: Saturday, December 27, 2008 12:23 PM


Subject: CORRECTION: IDF SPOX ANN: IDF Targets Hamas Government Terroris Infrastructure In The Gaza Strip 


Dec 26th, 2008


IDF SPOKESPERSON ANNOUNCEMENT


Israeli Air Force aircraft, attacked a short while ago, a series of Hamas targets and infrastructure facilities, in the Gaza Strip. All Israeli pilots returned safely to their bases. The IDF will continue its operations against terror in accordance with constant state assessments held be the IDF Chief of General Staff. This operation will be continued, expanded and intensified as much as will be required.


The Air Force activity came as a result of the continuation of terror activity by Hamas terror organization from the Gaza Strip, and the duration of rocket launching and targeting Israeli civilians.


The targets that were attacked were located by intelligence gathered during the last months and include Hamas terror operatives that operated from the organization’s headquarters, training camps and weaponry storage warehouses.


The Hamas government leaders and operatives, which activate terror from within civilian population centers, are the sole bearers of responsibility for Israel‘s military response. This response is crucial for preserving Israel‘s security interests.


The IDF Spokesperson wishes to emphasize that anyone sponsoring terror, hosting terror in his house, housing terror in his basement and sending his wives and children to serve as human shields- is considered a terrorist.


The IDF will continue its activity against terror activities according to operational assessments held by the Chief of the General Staff.


The IDF is ready to widen and deepen its activity against all terror organizations in the Gaza Strip, as long as it is necessary.


In addition, the Homefront Command and emergency authorities, took all necessary measures for preparing the civilian population.


=========================


Dec. 29, 2008


Friends:
 
Israel only hit the terrorists after they fired 60 rockets into Israel proper in one day.  No one, the UN included said a word. 
 
Thousands of calls are placed to the cellular telephone of the civilians in the area of an impending strike before it takes place telling then to get out of harm’s way!!!
 
So far today (16:10) approximately 35 rockets have been fired into Israel.
 
Howard


==========================


Dec. 30, 2008


Friends:
 
Israel already has its back to the wall being attacked in the media worldwide.  Hamas is never mentioned.
The phone calls I told you about, being placed to civilians to get out of harm’s way, was reported on Israel radio network “B” at 06:00 today as having reached 90,000.  I called the IDF Spokesman’s Office and asked for confirmation of the report.  Rather than answering my question I was challenged as to who I was and for who I reported.  Send an Email I was told.  That was 6 hours ago.  So far no response.  And they can’t figure out how  winning the fighting on the ground doesn’t result in winning the war.
 
Howard


==========================


Dec. 31, 2008


Friends:
 
Not reported is today’s Israeli Supreme Court decision in favor of the Foreign Press Association permitting reporters access to Gaza.  It was forbidden since Nov. 24th. 
 
“What are you hiding,” was on the lips of those whose written and broadcast words and images[.  They] lose Israel its war despite victory on the battlefield.  How to make friends and influence people. 
 
Howard


==========================


I find the whole thing surreal.  I recently heard U.S. reporters haranguing one of Bush’s people in Crawford, demanding to know when Israel was going to stop the violence.  No matter how many times he told them that it depended on Hamas stopping their rocket and mortar attacks, they kept asking the same questions, over and over, merely rephrasing them.

Brady Campaign sues over National Park carry

As predicted here the Brady Campaign is suing to stop the implementation of the new rule on carrying in National Parks. Unfortunately we won’t have (vice) President Palin in office next month to direct the Justice Department to arrest and prosecute the offenders.



The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence sued the Bush administration Tuesday in hopes of stopping a new policy that would allow people to carry concealed, loaded guns in most national parks and wildlife refuges.



The lawsuit said members of the Brady Campaign will no longer visit national parks and refuges “out of fear for their personal safety from those who will now be permitted to carry loaded and concealed weapons in such areas.”


If they were consistent they would stay out of states (and even countries) where concealed carry were allowed. I’d would be much happier if they did.


But if they were consistent that might mean they had the capacity to use logic and data for the basis of their actions. And we all know that would be the end of their organization and they would have to get real jobs rather than being professional bigots.

More Seattle gun ban news

From the Second Amendment Foundation yesterday:



For Immediate Release:   12/15/2008


BELLEVUE, WA – Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels is asserting that he has the authority to skirt Washington State’s long-standing firearms preemption statute, but in a 2006 letter to House Speaker Frank Chopp, he admitted that state law prevents him from taking any such action.



The letter is being made public at tonight’s special hearing at City Hall by Alan M. Gottlieb, founder of the Bellevue-based Second Amendment Foundation.



In his letter to Speaker Chopp, dated May 4, 2006, Mayor Nickels acknowledged that “State law preempts any and all local regulations related to firearms. Our hands are tied at the local level and we are unable to adopt any local laws to protect our residents from gun crime.”



“This is what Attorney General Rob McKenna’s office told Mayor Nickels in October,” Gottlieb noted. “Despite all of his bluster over the past six months, it is evident now that Mayor Nickels has known all along he cannot ban legally-carried firearms, by executive order, by ordinance or by wishing upon a star. He knew this in 2006 and he was reminded of it two months ago by McKenna’s office.



“Mayor Nickels has tried to capitalize on a single unfortunate incident at the Seattle Center,” he continued, “in order to push his long-standing anti-rights agenda. More than 20 years ago, the state legislature wisely enacted our common-sense preemption law that is now preventing the mayor from acting like a monarch, answerable to nobody. Essentially, he wants to use executive authority as though it were a royal decree, to not only defy state statute, but also to violate our state constitutional right-to-bear-arms provision.



“The May 2006 letter to Speaker Chopp clearly proves that the mayor knows he cannot legally do this,” Gottlieb said. “If Mayor Nickels goes forward with this ban, he will leave the Second Amendment Foundation no alternative than to take immediate legal action to stop him.”



The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nations oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 600,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and an amicus brief and fund for the Emerson case holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.


And today:



For Immediate Release:   12/16/2008


BELLEVUE, WA – When a cross-section of firearms owners gathered at Seattle City Hall Monday night to oppose Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels’ gun ban scheme, the mayor was nowhere in sight to defend his plan, and the Second Amendment Foundation wonders why.



“If ever an audience reflected the kind of diversity that elitists like Greg Nickels normally rave about, Monday night’s turnout of gun owners certainly measured up,” said SAF founder Alan Gottlieb. “There were gays, straights, men and women, including one self-described feminist Democrat party activist. I was proud of the broad spectrum represented by the firearms community.



“Under any other circumstances,” he continued, “Mayor Nickels and other Seattle establishment insiders would be drawn to such a group like moths to a flame. But these were law-abiding gun owners, outraged over the mayor’s arrogant plan to ignore state statute and advice from the state attorney general. In short, it was an audience of citizens that Nickels and his ilk claim to represent, saying that he doesn’t. The mayor wanted no part of such a public embarrassment.



“Mayor Nickels started this controversy by proposing the gun ban,” Gottlieb observed, “yet he lacked the intestinal fortitude to defend his scheme before the very people who would suffer. Elitists like Nickels are always quick to sneer about ‘cowardly gun owners,’ but when he had the chance to face them, he vanished.



“Many department heads were there to take the heat,” Gottlieb added, “except for Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske. It is not clear whether he skipped the meeting because he doesn’t care for armed citizens, or because he was still out looking for his stolen pistol, which is more of a threat to public safety than anybody who testified at Monday night’s hearing.



“This proposed gun ban is nonsense,” he concluded. “It will not prevent a single crime. It will only leave citizens more vulnerable. As usual, Mayor Nickels chooses symbolism over safety, and he is clearly afraid to face the people whose rights he plans to abrogate.”



The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nations oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 600,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and an amicus brief and fund for the Emerson case holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

Sex toys

In another gift to gun owners before leaving office the adminstration arrested Illinios Governor Rod (Pocket Rocket) Blagojevich today.


Now instead of restricting access to guns which he mixed up with a popular sex toy there is a chance he might well become a sex toy himself while visiting Club Fed. After working so hard for so many years to screw gun owners we can only hope he discovers what it’s like to be on the receiving end for a few years.

Their lies are catching up with them

The company that owns the anti-gun Chicago Tribune, the anti-gun LA Times, 10 other newspapers, and 23 television stations is filing for bankruptcy. They have 13 billion in debt.


They will continue to operate but the future isn’t bright and I’m hoping they will at least fade away into obscurity.


There still remains the anti-gun New York Times and Washington Post but it’s a pretty good start.

No more lunches at Wingers

James and Kim just had lunch there this weekend. Barb and I go there fairly frequently but it’s going to be a while before we go back. I took these pictures this morning about 0800 at the University Mall in Moscow Idaho:




And before someone asks, I haven’t been within 30 miles of my chemistry set since Thursday evening.

Quote of the day–Alan Gottlieb

The mayor is beating his chest trying to make a statement that he’s anti-gun. The mayor and violent criminals in this case have something in common this time — neither of them have any respect for the law.

Alan Gottlieb
November 21, 2008
Nickels expects December start to city gun ban
[Seattle Mayor Nickels says he is going to defy state law and prohibit guns by executive order on city property. The Washington State Attorney General says state law prohibits him from doing that. A public hearing is scheduled for 6:30 PM, December 15, at City Hall.

You can read the proposed rules and comment on them here. See also the Citizen’s Committee to Keep and Bear Arms news release. Be polite, run your comments through spelling and grammar checkers, and ask someone else to read them before submission. You might also consider get yourself into the proper State of Mind, and/or thinking about Just One Question before writing your comments.–Joe]

Israel continues to commit suicide

Death by a thousand, self-inflicted cuts.  This from our friend Howard;



Friends:

 

Today we really have a poporie of news. 

 

I’m on duty patrolling downtown this evening.  20:30 I get the patrol officers briefing.  21:00 we get our volunteers briefing.  Hope the rain holds-off.  Then again if it starts raining for real I guess we just go home.

 

Soon we may be all the protection the public gets.

 

The public transportation unit is gone.  More cops are leaving than replacements can be found.  The Ministry of Interior is disarming the public who have licensed guns…after passing [a] process determining need for a gun and background, physical and mental record checks.

Who ever said registration and licensing were the path to confiscation?  Once again we see Jews being disarmed, only this time Jews are doing it to each other.



Now the Finance Ministry is not going to fund the minimum wage school guards receive.  So the schools will be totally unprotected.

This is what is known as the “Peace” process– The lack of meaningful opposition to socialist, Marxist, Fascist, communist or jihadist military expansionism.

Interview with a Moderate

I sometimes do a back-and-fourth with a self described centrist, or moderate (which is another name for a leftist in denial, something like a “moderate drinker” who can’t get through a day without alcohol) over at Say Uncle in the comments, but I thought it should be posted here too.  Today we’re talking about the proposed (yet another) GM “bailout”.  I explained how propping up failure is inviting more failure, while at the same time negatively influencing the way we make decisions, while at the same time freezing out some of the small, hungry, innovative businesses and potential businesses, to say nothing of unfairly punishing taxpayers for the bad decisions of others.  He offered some of the regular arguments against pure capitalism;



“…the party with leverage will take advantage of that leverage, often to the level of exploitation..”


To which I replied;



I know that is the age-old argument, but what you describe has a simpler name. It’s called crime [or corruption]. That’s what government is for– to protect basic rights by punishing (retaliating against) crime.


And the reason why centrism is the superior stance;



“…pure capitalism and pure socialism are both bad…”


How so? Do you have any proof of that? Any evidence? Have we ever seen pure capitalism? If so, I’d like to know. Give me an example. I’ll bet you a case of beer that any example you attempt to give will in fact be an example of what happens when government get its nose into the market, creating some form of monopoly [either that or government has simply failed to do its job as protector of basic rights].


I’ve been all through this many times before. Please read the book, Capitalism, the Unknown Ideal or I’ll be forced to re-write the whole damned thing right here. Trouble is; that would take months and I’d go broke wasting my time writing. As I said, you haven’t seen this stuff [these ideas] before, and so you’re falling into all the old traps. You need some genuine de-programming. I know that sounds really insulting and condescending, but the same is true anytime you try to tell an alcoholic he’s an alcoholic. This is damned tough stuff. I’m saying here that you’re addicted to a belief in government-sponsored coercion. You’re convinced that it has a proper place in a free society. I’m saying that that is a contradiction in terms.


The coercion pushers have gotten to you and got you hooked. You’ve grown up with pushers and you’ve known nothing else. The same happened to me and it was a tough, slow, painful withdrawal. Even still it’s one day at a time. I have to go to regular meetings with other people struggling with the destructive effects of believing in socialist theories. Oh sure, I thought a little bit here and a little bit there would be fine. A lot of people do it just to get along in social situations. Lots of people think like that, but a little bit is never enough, is it? You always end up needing another fix, and there’s always another pusher ready and willing to sell it to you…


“Hello. My name is Lyle and I’m a recovering socialist…”


You have to first admit you have a problem before you can take the steps to solve it. Your original post is a good start– you’re asking questions. That’s good, but you’re fighting the answers because they go against everything you’ve ever known. If you really want the answers, it’s going to take a lot of effort on your part. It will be time-consuming and it will be painful. Some of the people you thought were your friends are going to chastise you [even disown you]. Stay strong. Only you can help you, but we can help point you in the right direction. You will have friends.


What the centrist doesn’t realize is that, though some people are bad and as a result sometimes people will get burned, when government shifts away from being the protector of rights and becomes the main perpetrator of coercion, we’re all screwed.  This has been referred to as the equal distribution of misery.

We hear from our friend in Israel

…almost daily;



Friends:
 
Obama may not get the 6 months Biden said the new president would have before he was “tested.”   President Bush may be the one.
 
While everyone was looking elsewhere, Syria has enveloped Lebanon and moved the Syrian 3rd Army to Israel’s border.  In the meantime the cease-fire farce with Hamas is a shooting war.  In the last 36 hours we had rockets fired into Israel.  Last evening we raided into the Strip, Hamas responded with 20 Mortar bombs. What followed this morning the Jerusalem Post calls “Massive” Kassam rocket fire into Israel.
 
This is all being fueled by the Israeli and American elections.
 
I mourn the Republic.
 
Howard


Surely this sort of thing will be nothing but an uncomfortable memory after the world is “united” by Obama.  The oceans will recede, the clouds of suspicion between cultures will part, earthquakes, storms, pain and hunger will be a thing of the past, the Angels of Peace, Love and Tranquility will sing forever more above all the skies of the world.  Yea, and there will be much rejoicing, amen.

If you can’t win fairly

I call myself a loser if I lose when everyone plays by the rules. Obama supporters lie and cheat. It’s what socialists do. It’s in their rule book (written by Marx).


Update: The link above is broken. Here is the original content I was linking to:



NRA-ILA Alert Members of Deceptive Tactics By Obama Supporters


Friday, October 31, 2008
Fairfax, VA–The National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) today sent the following email alert to members following reports of deceptive phone calls in support of Barack Obama. The callers falsely claim to be from NRA and attribute Senator John McCain’s pro-gun voting record to that of Obama.


Dear NRA Member,
It has come to our attention that with Halloween upon us, the Barack Obama campaign and its allies are up to dirty political tricks.


NRA members in key presidential battleground states have informed us they have received deliberately misleading phone calls from someone professing to represent the NRA, asking voters to support Barack Obama. This is an absolute and intentional lie.


NRA has long been on record as opposing Barack Obama, as Barack Obama has long been on record as opposing the rights of law-abiding gun owners. For example, Barack Obama:




    • Voted to allow the prosecution of citizens who use a firearm for self-defense in the home (Illinois Senate, S.B. 2165. 3/25/04);

    • Voted to allow reckless lawsuits designed to put America’s firearms industry out of business (S.397, vote 219, 7/29/05);

    • Voted to ban almost all rifle ammunition commonly used for hunting and sport shooting (United States Senate, S. 397, vote 217, 7/29/05);

    • Supported a 500% increase in federal taxes on guns and ammunition (Chicago Defender, 12/13/99);

    • Voted to ban hundreds of rifles and shotguns commonly used for hunting, including single-shot, over-under and side-by-side shotguns (Illinois Senate SB 1195, 3/13/03); and,

    • Proposed restrictions that would close 90% or more of all gun stores in the U.S. (Chicago Defender, 12/13/99).

For more information on the TRUTH about Barack Obama’s hostility toward the Second Amendment, please visit http://www.gunbanobama.com/.


If you receive a call to this effect, please know that it is a deliberate attempt by Barack Obama supporters to mislead gun owners. Our opponents know that you can make the difference in this election, and they’ll stop at nothing to try and deceive you!


Thank you for your support, and remember to “Vote Freedom First”! on November 4th.
Sincerely,
Chris W. Cox
Executive Director, NRA-ILA