Category Archives: Freedom

ATF gets slapped down

Posted on by

I don’t think the ATF gets their wrists slapped often enough for thuggish behavior but it’s always a pleasure when it does happen:

A judge found the actions of federal agents who refused to show Zanesville residents a warrant when asked are “completely unreasonable and unjustified.”

…

At the suppression hearing in July, Marbley made it clear to agents with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Bosley, that he was unhappy with the way agents handled the search June 18 at the Thompson home on Kopchak Road.

…

Marian Thompson said even though she repeatedly asked for a warrant, none was ever supplied.

Marbley stated in his ruling that “one of the purposes served by the warrant requirement is informing citizens that the executing agents are acting under proper authorization when they invade the sanctity of a citizen’s home.”

Marian Thompson testified she was fearful when the agents confronted her and without a search warrant, wasn’t sure if they truly were agents.

She said she was made to sit outside the home, with only a shirt on, for hours. She was nude when agents came in, she testified, but they did allow her to put a shirt on.

Marbley said nothing indicated that Marian Thompson was uncooperative or in any way jeopardized the search and rather than quickly allaying her fears, her doubt was prolonged for several hours.

Marbley also said not only not showing Marian Thompson the warrant at the onset of the search led to his decision, but because she was forced to partially dress in plain view of 14 officers with guns pointed at her rather than being allowed to dress behind a counter, then made to sit outside in the heat for five hours, went without food or water and never shown any identification of the officers was also in violation of her Fourth Amendment Right.

I think the thugs should be prosecuted under 18 USC 242 and forever barred from a government job. But that’s not going to happen. And as long as it doesn’t incidents like the above will continue.

The Tenth Amendment is for cowards

Posted on by

Wow! It’s almost surreal reading this:

I’ll say the last refuge of cowards in the Tenth Amendment.

The Tenth has been invoked a lot lately. The Tenth has been mentioned as the reason health-care reform is unconstitutional. It’s the way the Speaker of the Tennessee State House says his state can circumvent federal gun laws. It’s the states’ rights argument carried to the extreme.

The amendment reads: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

What that says, in other words, is that if a power is unclaimed by the federal government — or if that power is not denied to the states — then the states have it. The intent is to clarify the basic point that if the feds aren’t in charge, the states are.

It’s a truism, not a grant of power.

Soon after the framers wrote the original document, it was obvious states couldn’t act independently. When the Constitution was written, there wasn’t much interstate commerce at all. Going from one end of the country to the other end didn’t take five hours — it took five months. So the federal government claimed some powers to tie up loose ends.

If states acted on their own when it came to matters of interstate commerce, it would be to easy for states to grant monopolies to business, and too easy for large businesses to fix prices and destroy smaller competition.

…

Everyone learns at some point in life that there are three remedies to a negative situation: avoid, alter or accept it. Those against health-care legislation or gun-control laws don’t need to accept what they see as bad policy. They should try alter the policy in all the accepted ways.

But reverting to the Tenth Amendment is avoidance. It’s the equivalent of taking your ball and going home. And these issues are too important to do that.

After invoking the Tenth Amendment he goes on (there is more than just that above) to justify the Interstate Commerce clause without even mentioning it as if it were the Tenth Amendment.

And did you notice all the errors in the passages above?

  • The first line says “…in the Tenth…” instead of “…is the Tenth…” but I figure that is just a typo and I give him a pass on that.
  • “It’s a truism, not a grant of power. “? It explicitly states that the Feds are not granted most powers and he turns it around to claim the states are not granted powers.
  • It took five months to travel from one end of the 13 colonies to the other? It’s only about 1500 miles so he is saying the average speed of travel was 10 miles per day. Even with a backpack on and walking on mountain trails I can do better than that.
  • The Tenth Amendment is part of the U.S. Constitution and it’s pretty clear the original intent is being violated. Many other Federal laws have been struck down by the courts as violating various parts of the constitution, including the Tenth Amendment, so it’s entirely reasonable to quest whether this law is in violation.

 So it’s the author that is the coward avoiding the issue. He gets it exactly backward and calls people invoking the Tenth Amendment cowards. It’s called “projection” and it just goes to show he either has mental problems or has crap for brains.

Very Good Post

Posted on by

Most of you probably already visit Kevin’s blog regularly.  If you don’t, please go and read this piece.  It’s by one of his readers, formerly of the U.K.  It’ll take you a few minutes, but it’s well worth it.  It’s an overview of what’s been happening in the U.K. and what, I submit, has been happening here in the U.S. though more slowly (until now).

Quote of the day–Spartan ephor

Posted on by

If.

Spartan ephor
Via the Wikipedia entry on Laconic phrase. This must be the ultimate example.

Direct quote from Wikipedia:

From the time of the invasion of Philip II of Macedon. With key Greek city-states in submission, he turned his attention to Sparta and sent a message: “If I win this war, you will be slaves forever.” In another version, Philip proclaims: “You are advised to submit without further delay, for if I bring my army into your land, I will destroy your farms, slay your people, and raze your city.” The Spartan ephors sent back a one word reply: “If.”[17] Subsequently, both Philip and Alexander would avoid Sparta entirely.

[Very cool.–Joe]

Horrified and fearful

Posted on by

As our neighbors to the north attempt to regain a little bit of their freedom the anti-freedom people are “horrified and fearful”:

Gun-control advocates say they are horrified and fearful that Canada’s long-gun firearms registry is on the verge this week of being scrapped because the Conservatives may have enough support from the opposition to kill it.

Wendy Cukier, president of the Coalition for Gun Control, says her organization has been monitoring the progress of a Conservative private member’s bill to abolish the registry and is now bracing for it to clear an important vote in the Commons on Wednesday.

“It is astonishing, just a few months after the opposition parties voted for a Bloc Québécois motion that reiterated support for the firearms registry and against efforts to repeal it, that many of the same MPs will support this Conservative bill,” Cukier said Sunday.

“It not only eliminates the need to register rifles and shotguns but requires that the information contained on seven million registered guns be destroyed.”

I find it very telling they don’t tell us how many crimes the two billion dollar gun registry helped solved. The last time I heard a number it was one. Yes, one crime was solved that would not have been solved without it. Two billion dollars to solve one crime and these people are “horrified and fearful”?

The only conclusion that I can come up with is that it’s not about crime. It’s about control. They are “horrified and fearful” they will have less control.

Quote of the day–Voltaire

Posted on by

I know many books that have bored their readers, but I know of none which has done real evil.

Voltaire
[Voltaire was wrong. This is not to take issue with Voltaire’s primary message of strong civil liberties in general or even free speech in particular.

Voltaire should have known of the tens or hundreds of thousands kill because some religious book said followers should kill, maim, or enslave non-believers. But he didn’t live at a time to have seen the hundreds of millions dead due, in large part, to Karl Marx‘s The Communist Manifesto. One can use the same arguments used in defense of the First Amendment in defense the Second Amendment. People that claim free speech doesn’t harm people like guns do only have to shown the millions and millions of dead in the Soviet Union, China, and other “people’s paradises”. And the sad part is that private weapons ownership would have prevented most of those deaths.

–Joe]

Quote of the day–Li Li

Posted on by

I don’t think a creative solution is needed. Only one that is straight to the root of the problem: Coming from a country which does not believe that civilians should be allowed to carry arms for self-defense, Singapore – and we have a very low crime rate, and even lower crime rate involving arms – why don’t Americans consider taking back all the guns civilians are allowed to have once and for all?

Li Li
October 26, 2009
Comment to Looking to Blog Readers for Good Ideas to Reduce Teen Shootings
[Because freedom is better than bondage and tyranny, it fails my Jews in the Attic Test, and it would be a violation of a specific enumerated right. Try answering Just One Question then get back to me.–Joe]

Ohio is considering Firearms Freedom Act

Posted on by

Montana and Tennessee passed it. Ohio is now considering it:

Reps. Seth Morgan, R-Huber Heights, and Jarrod Martin, R-Beavercreek, have introduced legislation that would allow for firearms made and sold within Ohio to be exempt from federal firearms regulations.

Morgan said that House Bill 315 is mainly a preemptive effort to protect the state in the event President Barack Obama’s administration tries to push any new federal regulations.

My opinion is here.

U.N. and guns

Posted on by

Bob Barr says the U.N. is coming to take our guns:

The real agenda of these folks at the UN, and in London, Tokyo, Brasilia, and the other capitals around the world of nations pushing the US to “come on board,” is not international regulation, but limiting the freedom we enjoy within the United States to keep and bear arms.

Back in the mid-1990s the NRA sent out postcards for members to mail to the head of the U.N. saying what they had planned was illegal under the U.S. Bill of Rights. I added a note to the one I sent. I told him the guns wouldn’t be voluntarily turned in even with monetary compensation. And if they sent people to take them by force to make sure anyone they sent brought their own body bags.

I still am of that opinion and I’ve had a lot more time to prepare and prepare others for such circumstances (see also here). And my neighbors have similar opinions.

Μολὼν λαβέ.

Quote of the day–Anonymous

Posted on by

Why can’t people just do what they’re told? When we do our taxes do we ask why line 35 is subtracted from line 22? Do we argue with the judge when he makes a decision or a cop tells us not to stand in a certain place? No.

We are subjects of the government that is supposed to care of us. Whether the rules are stupid or illogical, do what you’re told by authorities. The rules are for your own good.

Life will be a lot simpler if you do what you’re told.

Anonymous
October 24, 2009 7:01 PM
Response to “Bag Check” Cartoon
[I’m just not quite sure if this person was serious or sarcastic. I’m about 80% sure it was serious. And that is extremely scary to me.

And the TSA has a blog? What a hoot! I wish I had the time to go play with them more. I left a comment at the above link but due to moderation it hasn’t shown up yet. I essentially just left a link to What TSA really stands for. So it may be that won’t make it past moderation.–Joe]

Update: The comment made it through moderation and I’m getting hits from it. There is also a automatically generated link to this post as well that is getting a few hits.

Quote of the day–Kevin Gaudet

Posted on by

It was a stupid idea in the first place and a ridiculous waste of money on an ongoing basis.

Kevin Gaudet
Federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation on the gun registry in Canada.
October 26, 2009
Gun registry battle rages
[If the Canadians can regain some of their freedom it will be a good sign for us and others all over the world. It provides more data that freedom doesn’t mean the sky is going to fall and it removes one more arrow from the quiver of the anti-freedom people that say things like (Wendy Cukier, president of the Coalition for Gun Control, from the same article):

Without information about who owns guns and the guns they own, there is no effective control. Internationally, most countries licensing gun owners and registering firearms are moving to strengthen controls. This would be a huge step backwards.

Please also note that she doesn’t say anything about making people safer–it’s about control.–Joe]

Quote of the day–Winston Churchill

Posted on by

When you have to kill a man it costs nothing to be polite.

Winston Churchill
On formal declarations of war.
[As I was looking through my collection of quotes for some reason this one reminded me of the Threepers.

I considered using something about unicorn bacon that I heard in a recent Gun Nuts podcast but I thought this one was more appropriate. Unicorn bacon reminds me of Threepers too but that is more difficult to explain.–Joe]

How freedom was lost in the UK

Posted on by

I read this and almost cried. The road to Hell is paved with good intentions and all that.

How does one prevent such a tragedy? And more importantly how can a society recover from it?

Could a strictly enforced constitution (we don’t have such a thing–there is no penalty for politician who propose and/or vote for unconstitutional laws) with enumerated powers have prevented it?

Knife rights victory

Posted on by

Via a Tweet from Sebastian I discovered Knife Rights just announced an important victory:

WE STOPPED CUSTOMS Pocket Knife Grab! The Senate has passed the conference report for the fiscal year 2010 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill with our amendment to the Federal Switchblade Act intact. The bill will now be sent to the President for signature. There is no indication that he would veto the bill.

This is the culmination of an incredible effort on the part of Knife Rights, American Knife and Tool Institute, NRA, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and many other organizations who contributed. Each organization made key contributions to the effort, without which the end result might not have turned out so well. Not many folks gave us much hope of succeeding when Customs first proposed revoking their rulings and redefining what is a switchblade back in May. At a time when bipartisanship is rare as hen’s teeth in Washington, we garnered support from both sides of the aisle.

We succeeded because the coalition of groups that came together to fight Customs represented a broad swath of American industry and grassroots. We succeeded in large part because of YOUR contributions, letters and calls in support of our efforts. You can give yourself a pat on the back for your effort and a job well done against all odds. It is time to pop the cork on that bottle of champagne and celebrate a victory for your knife rights and for all America.

To help you celebrate and commemorate this incredible victory, please purchase one of our collectible “WE STOPPED Customs Pocket Knife Grab” coffee mugs, t-shirts or sweatshirts, available for a limited time only: www.cafepress.com/KnifeRights Proceeds will help pay off the incredibly high cost of accomplishing this victory.

Knife Rights has quickly grown to become America’s largest grassroots knife owners organization. This latest fight against Customs Pocket Knife Grab has validated the power and importance of a dedicated grass roots organization in defending your knife rights. Now we have to finish paying pay for this effort. It took a great deal of money to accomplish all this. Carrying a fight like this to Washington cannot be done without lots of cash. The victory isn’t complete until we pay the bills. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO SUPPORT THIS SUCCESSFUL FIGHT FOR YOUR KNIFE RIGHTS!

Also of interest on that same page:

Knife Rights News Slice Vol. 2 Number 19 – October 13, 2009

Knife Rights Changing Perceptions

Ritter (left), Gottleib (right)The weekend before last I was invited to speak at the annual Gun Rights Policy Conference put on by the Second Amendment Foundation and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. While I was there, I took the opportunity at their annual awards luncheon to make a special presentation to CCRKBA President, Alan Gottleib.

When this issue with Customs first reared its ugly head, Alan and the Citizens Committee were the first to step up in support of our efforts to achieve a legislative solution when it became clear that nothing else would work. CCRKBA helped to the tune of $30,000. Lest you think that covered all the expenses, let me assure you that it DID NOT, but it was a HUGE help. Alan also offered his wise counsel at critical junctures. In recognition of this major commitment, I was very pleased to present Alan with a custom Mini Eros Gentleman’s Tactical Folder generously donated by renowned knifemaker, and Knife Rights Cornerstone member, Ken Onion.

My remarks later in the day, which focused on the fact that the Second Amendment doesn’t say “firearms,” it says “arms,” apparently struck a chord with the nearly 700 participants. When it came time for resolutions, which guide the two organizations in terms of policy, my points were reflected in a historic change to one recurring resolution and the introduction and acceptance of a second.

The “Farmer” resolution was originally passed at the first GRPC twenty four years ago. This year it was amended to say that “an attack on any class of arms is an attack on all classes of arms,” in recognition that knives, as well as other arms, are due equal protection. This represents something of a watershed event for Second Amendment policy which heretofore has focused almost exclusively on firearms.

Jeff Knox of The Firearms Coalition was inspired to introduce a new resolution, which was adopted, that reads, “Whereas: The banning of any personal tool or weapon has never resulted in increased public safety,…We support the repeal of the Federal Switchblade Act and any other federal, state or local laws and regulations banning tools and weapons rather than addressing behavior.” Jeff’s heart is in the right place, we all know the Federal Switchblade Act was simply political theater and a sham, but the reality is that after 50 years as law of the land a legislative solution eliminating it is unlikely. However, it’s the thought that counts and it once again is indicative of a historic change in attitude. Jeff’s resolution is a strong statement of support for the concept that tools and weapons should not be blamed for social ills or criminal behavior and neither should they be regulated or banned for those reasons.

You can read the complete text of the two resolutions at: www.KnifeRights.org/grpc2009resolutions.pdf

Notice that The Second Amendment Foundation donated $30K as well as advice? I’m doubling my twice monthly paycheck deduction (matched by Microsoft) to SAF.

Also notice that Jeff Knox introduced a resolution similar to Just One Question? Although Jeff is aware of Just One Question his dad had something similar before I came up with it.

Quote of the day–Benedict D. LaRosa

Posted on by

The headlines in India and across the world should have read, “Terrorists and Gun Control Claim More Victims.” Instead, the complicity of the various Indian governments – national, state, and city – was ignored and their inability to protect the victims of that tragic event was barely questioned. The truth is that, except for a few policemen on the scene, all the victims were unarmed by public policy. India has among the strictest gun-control laws on Earth, which, according to gun-control advocates, should have made Mumbai one of the safest cities on the planet. So it shouldn’t surprise anyone with common sense or a historical perspective that disarmed citizens and visitors had no way of defending themselves and were, once again, the victims not only of terrorists, but of the misguided, immoral policy of their governments.

Benedict D. LaRosa
October 17, 2009
The Horror of Gun Control in Mumbai
[I’m doing my part to help remedy the situation by teaching some of the Indians I know how to shoot. The students have enjoyed the lessons, are continuing them, and are contemplating purchasing their own firearms.–Joe]

Quote of the day–Sarah Brady

Posted on by

Our task of creating a socialist America can only succeed when all those who would resist us have been totally disarmed.

Sarah Brady,
for Handgun Control Inc.,
To Senator Howard Metzanbaum.
National Educator 1994, page 3.
[Nice quote. Except it’s totally bogus. I once spent several hours trying to verify it without success and concluded it probably was bogus. I thought I would try again today and almost immediately found what I expected.–Joe]

Quote of the day–Benjamin Franklin

Posted on by

‘Tis a common observation here that our cause is the cause of all mankind, and that we are fighting for their liberty in defending our own.

Benjamin Franklin
[Although our fight for the right to keep and bear arms is just a small part of the total “liberty package” it is the essential liberty that enables all the others to be realized and to be held. For that reason our fight is like that of Franklin’s day. It is a fight for the liberty of all mankind. Our cause is just and our cause is not just for the residents of D.C., Chicago, or New York. It is for the future of mankind. Will mankind be forever in fear of the next tyrant or thug or will the individual be able to defend themselves and their community against perpetual servitude?–Joe]

Why aren’t they screaming about this illegal act?

Posted on by

So even though I don’t pay much attention to them it was hard to avoid hearing about “the criminals in the White house” and all the “criminal acts” and the charges of treason against the Bush administration. But what I don’t get is why I don’t hear anything about Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels when he does stuff like this:

A new city of Seattle gun ban takes effect this week – prohibiting firearms in places like city parks and community centers.

But the law is already generating controversy with many asking is this new rule truly enforceable? Washington state Attorney General Rob McKenna and some community gun advocates say, no.

“What this does is put Seattle on a collision course with state law,” says Dan Sytman, the Attorney General’s office spokesperson.

The questionable deeds that Bush administration did at least had prior approval from the U.S. Attorney General’s office. Nickels is doing something that all legal advisers, except the city lawyer who found a contorted rational, say is illegal.

So where is the outcry from the left?

Apparently they don’t really care about politicians engaged in illegal acts. They just wanted to remove their political opponents by whatever means possible. Having their own politicians commit illegal acts on their behalf is just fine.

See also what Ry has to say on the topic.

Quote of the day–Bill Wilson

Posted on by

The tepid response by Missouri to this episode is frankly appalling. If no record of who produced and approved this trash exists, then the entire leadership who was working at MIAC at the time of this report being drafted and issued should be fired and barred from future law enforcement service.

Bill Wilson
President Americans for Limited Government
October 15, 2009
ALG Blasts Missouri Information Analysis Center For Retaining No Records of Erroneous MIAC “Modern Militia Movement” Report
[H/T to Dave Hardy.

Remember the “Modern Militia Movement” document that came out last February? Well via a Freedom of Information act request they say the don’t know who wrote it or approved it. They don’t even have anything but a draft version of that document.

Typical. I have FOIA requests to Pacific Northwest National Labs that were supposed to be answered within 20 days and it’s been, what, 2+ years and they haven’t done anything but acknowledge receipt of the requests. Then there was the one request I involved my congressman, a lawyer, and the DOE on and documents that I originally wrote which were completely open suddenly became For Official Use Only. But in order to tell my lawyer that they revealed material that was classified as Secret — without telling him it was classified.–Joe]

Quote of the day–Edward Abbey

Posted on by

No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets.

Edward Abbey
[I’m not so sure about the electromechanical gadgets but the other stuff strikes a nerve with me.

I’m reminded of this by the ammo sale restriction bill just signed into law in California. It’s more than just irksome, but it isn’t so dangerous or infuriating that it’s worth starting a civil war over.–Joe]