Category Archives: Freedom

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition

Posted on by

This post was inspired by this post by Rachel Lucas (H/T to David).

From her post:

The first thing that surprised me about Auschwitz is that it is not as secluded these days as I expected; it is just right there in what seems like the middle of this average small town. It’s just…right there. It is jarring. There’s a busy parking lot about 50 yards from the “front door,” a lot that is filled with buses and cars and noisy tourists. Again. Very jarring.

…

It was the most surreal moment of my life so far. There I was, facing this object I’ve seen in a thousand photographs, something that is attached in my mind to pure abject despair and massive human suffering…and it’s surrounded by happy tourists. It was almost like a Disneyland version of hell, just because of all the serene camera-toting tourists. Of which I was one, I know that, but still. It was nothing short of the worst case of cognitive dissonance I think I’ll ever experience.

…

There was such natural beauty visible to any human standing in the middle of Birkenau that day. It was as if nature was asserting herself over all the despair and ugliness. Look how green I can be, feel this perfect air, listen to this thunder, there is always something good that will come out of something awful.

How will you know when the plane, train or bus you are told by the government to board is headed to “the camp”? The sun will look no different on that day. The clouds won’t have your eulogy written in them. And the nearby buildings will look the same as it did the day and the week before. Will you fuss about your children’s clothes that just got dirty because they rubbed up against the lamp post? Will you worry if you packed enough underwear for your trip? Will you curse under your breath because you forgot to bring sunscreen or an extra jacket?

I will know when it is the government telling me I must get on a plane, train, or bus or report to a particular location. I won’t be worrying about dirt on anyone’s clothes or what I didn’t bring. I’ll be worrying about getting a good sight picture and alternate exit routes.

How will you know whether the medicine the government doctor gives you to ease your pain is in your best interests or the governments best interest? Will the treatment prescribed be for the good of society as a whole or will it be for the good of the individual?

I will know when the doctor gets his paycheck from the government and cannot get a job with similar compensation in the private sector.

How will you know when gays, blacks, Japanese, Muslims, or Jews are in danger of being sent to the camps?

I will know when the government demands that information be put in lists–whether that list is in the form of an ID card or a census. But census data can’t be legally used for 70 years, right? I’ve got news for you. U.S. census data was used to find Japanese citizens and send them them to the “War Relocation Camps” in 1942.

Just because you have never broken the law or injured another doesn’t mean those in power won’t think of you as a terrorist. Are you a gun owner? To some that means you are a potential threat to society. They may think 10% of gun owners “shouldn’t have guns”. But how can they determine which 10%? Just to be safe they have to send them all to the camps, just for a little while until they can sort them out, right? It is for the good of society. The world will be a better place soon. It’s will hurt for just a little bit. Sort of like an inoculation, a little jab and it stings for a few seconds and then everything will be better. It’s only 10%.

How will gun owners know when it’s time to start shooting? The sun will look no different on that day. The clouds won’t have their eulogy written in them…

Nice wall paper

Posted on by

David has some new wall paper up on his office wall (and here). He calls it “Wall o’ Freedom”.

Very nice.

But I’m biased.

Quote of the day–‘Doc’ Russia

Posted on by

I guess that the Democrats will try to pass the healthcare bill in Kennedy’s name. Of course, if you want an accurate descriptor, they would call it the Mary Jo Kopechne Memorial health service, and patients would spend their lives getting taken for a ride by an elected official who will try their best to screw them, and then die while they wait for someone in the government to do the right thing.

‘Doc’ Russia
August 26, 2009
More gallows humor
[Via an email from Scott K.

I cannot think of a single thing to add to this.–Joe]

Quote of the day–Father Denis Edward O’Brien

Posted on by

The Soldier

It is the soldier, not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the soldier, not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the soldier, not the campus organizer,
who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.

It is the soldier, not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the soldier,
who salutes the flag,
who serves under the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag,
who allows the protester to burn the flag.

Father Denis Edward O’Brien
USMC
[Although O’Brien used the above poem in his writings he was apparently not the original author.

I’m reminded of this poem because, via Say Uncle, Take a Vet to Lunch is a worthy cause.–Joe]

It’s about time

Posted on by

The bigots in New York and New Jersey routinely violate Federal law and arrest gun owners that attempt to check their guns in as baggage on commercial flights.

David Hardy has links to briefs in the lawsuit against them. The facts of the case will probably enrage you:

However, Torraco testified that Sgt. Goldberg’s first question was “Where is your New York license?”. Goldberg testified that he asked if Torraco had a New York permit, to which Torraco explained that under 18 U.S.C. § 926A, he did not need one.

Torraco urged Goldberg to call the state prosecutor or other person who would know about § 926A. Goldberg “told me federal law does not apply in the State of New York. He told me very condescendingly that he ain’t calling nobody and that I was in his jurisdiction.”

…

Defendant Officer Robert Paulsen arrived at the scene and requested, and was shown, Winstanley’s permits for the firearms and driver’s license. He asked Winstanley if he had an Arizona permit. Winstanley responded that he did not need a permit to carry a weapon openly in Arizona, but that he did have a Florida permit, which permitted him to carry a concealed weapon in Arizona. Paulsen disagreed, although he later testified that he was only trained in New York and New Jersey state law. Winstanley asked to speak to Paulsen’s supervisor. Paulsen told Winstanley that if he persisted in asking to speak to a supervisor, he would place him under arrest.

“Federal law does not apply in the State of New York” and “I was his jurisdiction”. What if this was some big-bellied sheriff in Mississippi or Alabama saying that to a black guy and his wife peacefully going about their business?

I did note with some satisfaction the lawsuit “seeks to redress the deprivation, under color of the laws, statute, ordinances, regulations, customs and usages of the State of New York, of rights, privileges or immunities secured by the United States Constitution and by Acts of Congress.” And that it is against the following organizations and individuals:

PORT AUTHORITY OF NY & NJ BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS; KENNETH J. RINGLER, JR., Executive Director, Port Authority of NY & NJ; PORT AUTHORITY POLICE DEPARTMENT; SAMUEL J. PLUMERI, JR., Director of Public Safety/Superintendent of Police, Port Authority Police Department; CHRISTOPHER TRUCILLO, Chief, Port Authority Police Department; Port Authority Police SERGEANT GOLDBERG; Port Authority Police Officer ANTHONY ESPINAL (shield # 2134); Port Authority Police Officer PAULSEN (shield # 2306); Port Authority Police Officer, unknown at present (shield #1400); Port Authority Police LIEUTENANT, unknown at present (Lieutenant John Doe IV); Port Authority Police SERGEANT, unknown at present (Jane Doe I); Port Authority Police Officer, unknown at present (John Doe I); Port Authority Police Officer, unknown at present (John Doe II); and Port Authority Police Officer, unknown at present (John Doe III)

Until the individual bigots involved start having to pay a price this sort of thing will not stop. Maybe this time they will get slapped down by the courts rather than merely having the charges against the gun owners dropped as is usual in these cases.

Even so, it is my intent to not set foot in New Jersey unless I can buy hunting tags for New Jersey law enforcement and politicians.

Quote of the day–Mary King

Posted on by

[The County should not] provide a place for people to display guns for worship as deities for the collectors who treat them as icons of patriotism.

Mary King
July 20, 1999
Attributed to an Alameda County Press Release in plaintiff’s brief.
[Reading the brief was enlighting to me. The case isn’t really about a misguided attempt in “preventing crime” or accidental shootings. The county even admits that isn’t the reason. It’s about bigotry and deliberate repression of free expression. This gives me hope that the 9th circuit giving the case another look might not be about throwing out the 2nd Amendment incorporation finding.–Joe]

SAF joins Firearms Freedom Act lawsuit

Posted on by

The Second Amendment Foundation announced today they have joined the Montana Shooting Sports Association in suing the Federal government to stop enforcing gun laws against guns and ammo that stays entirely within the state of Montana.

The article in the Missoulian elaborates:

That the guns and ammo not be used outside Montana is important, Gottlieb said. So far, the federal government has justified federal control over guns by citing the “interstate commerce clause,” which states that the federal government can regulate commerce between the states.

But if a gun will not be leaving Montana, there is no “interstate commerce” and the federal government has no standing to enforce its laws, Gottlieb said.

Marbut said he’ll planning to file suit in Montana federal court the day the law goes into effect. He said he’s received letters from Montanans interested in making their own guns, but who aren’t sure the new law will protect them from federal prison time.

This makes perfect sense to anyone that hasn’t read the Federal case law that came out of the 1930s (and since). But after hearing about the case law in which a farmer growing wheat on his own land for his own use was found to be engaging in Interstate commerce you realize we have a much higher hurdle to clear with this sort of lawsuit. That one case was just the beginning. There have been thousands of cases and laws built upon that one finding. How can a gun rights case find a niche in that “wall”?

Everyone I have talked to about this thinks the Firearms Freedom Acts (Montana and Tennessee so far) are only good for entertainment value. But SAF throwing it’s weight behind this causes me some doubt. Sure, it makes great copy for fundraising. But so would a lot of other gun lawsuits that are lost causes. I’ve had a lot of “behind the scenes” conversations with the SAF people over the years and while I acknowledge fundraising is one of their objectives I know they are smart enough to not back a completely lost cause. Winning lawsuits is far better for fundraising than losing a case no matter how noble a cause.

Perhaps my email to Gottlieb’s and my Senator, Patty Murray, convinced her to pull a few strings on her end in Washington as well.

Problems with The Blade Shop

Posted on by

A couple months ago I suggested people buy their “assault knife” now because of proposed regulations that might make many folding pocket knives illegal.

I posted that I had just made my bulk purchase from The Blade Shop. In the comments people reported there were many people who had delivery and customer service problems with that particular outlet. I received my knives within a few days and thought that they had gotten their act together and that there was no need to be concerned.

That was two months ago.

Today I received this email from reader Ben:

I have read your blog for a long time now and very much appreciate your knowledgeable writing on firearms and explosives.

Several months ago you posted a snippet about how you picked up several knives from a place called The Blade Shop. Since I was in the market, I took your suggestion for the place to buy the knifes. I ended up ordering $165 in knives from them. It is now two months later and I have not receive anything except excuses.

After several weeks of not having received anything, including a status update on merchandise being back ordered I emailed them asking what was going on. They responded that one of the items was on back order and it would be a couple of weeks. After that deadline had come and gone I asked again. They said that item was still on back order. I asked to be refunded the money for that particular knife and send the rest on their merry way. The person at the other end said that they were going to refund the money and ship the others, but that it would take 10-14 days for the refund to go through. Now three weeks later I don’t have a refund or any knifes.

I will be calling my credit card company today and asking for them to reverse the charges. They have a 2 month policy, thankfully I am a few days inside of that.

Please spread the word that at least some people are having difficult with this particular shop.

Thank you,

Ben

Rats.

Sorry about that.

Projection or imagined telepathy?

Posted on by

As pointed out by others MSNBC cropped the video of the black guy with a rifle at the Obama protest down enough to not show his skin color. Then they talked about gun owners being white racists against Obama.

I have to wonder what the basis for that belief was and why they would put effort into falsifying the evidence to fit their, obviously, false beliefs. Do they think they have some sort of telepathy such they can read the minds of others? Or is it as Say Uncle pointed out:

So, you were assigning stereotypes to a broad group of people? Supposedly trying to address bigotry in this country while being bigoted yourself seems to lessen your point. It’s OK, they’re only gun owners.

Although there are a people who believe they have telepathic powers I believe projection is far more common and all the evidence appears to fit that diagnosis.

Projection is very common in the anti-gun camp and it’s one of the first thing you should look for when you encounter an anti-gun person. Do they say they are afraid of what someone might do if they carried a gun while at a school/church/restaurant/wherever? The evidence is overwhelming that people with guns in those places do nearly exactly the same things that other people without guns do in those places. It’s actually their fear of what they might do if they had a gun in those places. Never mind that a police officer with a gun in the same location is just fine for nearly all of these people–disregarding the fact that police officers accidently shoot innocent people at a much higher rate than private citizens do.

So in this case the media representatives feel, without a factual basis, badly toward gun owners. They then search for something that could justify their bad feelings. Racism is an easy “hook to hang their hat on” since there once was a great deal of racism against people of color in this country and President Obama has the necessary pigmentation to be a target of white racists. But it’s the feelings of the media that drove the conclusion that someone else must be racists rather than the evidence of racism that drove their feelings.

This can be generalized to freedom in general. People are afraid of making their own decisions and they attempt restrict others decisions via some “wiser” authority with the justification being that someone else might make a bad decision–regardless of the fact that government “one size fits all” decisions for nearly everything cost more and are less effective than private solutions. Hence because of their feelings of fear of their own decision making ability drove the demands that others not make decisions for themselves rather than actual fear of others making their own decisions.

I suppose another psychological model that could be applied is one of stress reduction. It’s more stressful to believe that you are bigoted than to falsify the evidence to indicate someone else is bigoted.

In the case of the generalized freedom issue the stress reduction model works there too. It’s impossible to predict the future in any detail so having someone else to blame for making the wrong decision relieves the stress of making the, possibly wrong, decision yourself–even if the situation of nearly everyone is worse than if they made their own decisions. It appears to be more stressful for many people to see a disparity of outcomes than for everyone to have the same bad outcome. As a friend, Susan K., told me many years ago there are people who would rather everyone earns $1.00/hour than for the minimum wage in a truly free market (no government imposed minimum wage) to be $100/hour if there were other people earning $10,000/hour. I found this hard to believe but I’m now convinced it is true as long as there is some method by which the person desiring this sort of outcome can put some sort of whitewash, such as using phrases such as “social justice”, over the ugly truth.

As a side note I’ve heard it said that Bill Gates earned, on the average, about $100/second or $360K/hour while at Microsoft. This may have contributed to the great pressure put on Microsoft by the U.S. Justice Department during the 1990s and the European Union legal action that continues to this day.

Human psychology is a strange thing. What we call rational thought and socialization is only a very thin veneer over something far, far different which it pokes its ugly head through the veneer far more frequently than we realize.

Interesting goal

Posted on by

This surprised me:

He added that the Orange County couple’s ultimate goal is an initiative to divide California into two states – one of which would recognize the fundamental right of gays and lesbians to marry.

I’ve heard, many times, that most of California, geographically, is pro-gun. If they could just get rid of the big population centers the place would be politically tolerable. It seems both sides (I acknowledge not all gays are anti-gun, but there is a strong correlation) want a divorce.

California having such a huge population has a large influence on great number of things nationwide. Presidential elections might be the most obvious but there are thousands of other things as well. The contents of school books, safety standards, air pollution standards, and even gun laws that first show up in California have a nasty habit of spreading to other states. If there were two states where their used to be only one that influence would diminish.

I wonder what we can do to encourage such a separation.

Quote of the day–Bruce Schneier

Posted on by

Surveillance infrastructure can be exported, which also aids totalitarianism around the world. Western companies like Siemens, Nokia, and Secure Computing built Iran’s surveillance infrastructure. U.S. companies helped build China’s electronic police state. Twitter’s anonymity saved the lives of Iranian dissidents — anonymity that many governments want to eliminate.

Every year brings more Internet censorship and control — not just in countries like China and Iran, but in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and other free countries.

The control movement is egged on by both law enforcement, trying to catch terrorists, child pornographers and other criminals, and by media companies, trying to stop file sharers.

It’s bad civic hygiene to build technologies that could someday be used to facilitate a police state. No matter what the eavesdroppers and censors say, these systems put us all at greater risk. Communications systems that have no inherent eavesdropping capabilities are more secure than systems with those capabilities built in.

Bruce Schneier
August 3, 2009
Building in Surveillance
[Schneier doesn’t mention this but the concept of “bad civic hygiene” has wider application than just surveillance technology. It also applies to the TSA, gun control, and even government provided health care (do you want health care decisions for gays made by people like Fred Phelps–or vice versa?). It’s another way of expressing concern about failures of my Jews In The Attic Test.

Some people have a lot of concern about Microsoft contributing to this sort of thing. I have been, and am, involved in projects that have the potential to cause concern. I have been very pleased to see that not only the corporate policy is appropriate to protect innocents but also the attitude of the people I work with is on par with my standards in this regard.–Joe]

Quote of the day–Barbara Scott

Posted on by

I want to go break the law.

Barbara Scott
August 14, 2009
When she heard of the law (essentially) banning children’s books printed before 1985.
Link courtesy Say Uncle and Sebastian.
[I, of course, immediately thought of the quote by the character Jayne Cobb in Firefly, “Shiny. Let’s be bad guys.”–Joe]

State nullification of laws

Posted on by

Interesting post here about the Firearms Freedom Acts (such as in Montana and Tennessee) and concludes:

While many advocates concede that a federal court battle has a slim chance of success, they point to the successful nullification of the Real ID Act as a blueprint to resist various federal laws that they see as outside the scope of the Constitution.

Some say that each successful state-level resistance to federal programs will only embolden others to try the same – resulting in an eventual shift of power from the federal government to the States and the People themselves.

I’m not sure comparison can be made to the Real ID Act. The Real ID Act was impractical to implement (as well as being useless), had to be done by the states, and the states among other things said we aren’t doing it unless you give us a LOT more money. Defying Federal firearms laws requires a win in the courts or use of force against Federal law enforcement. Neither of which I see as very likely.

I agree with the goal, I’m just not convinced it will work unless there were a large number of states that went along with it. In which case a Constitutional Amendment would be feasible.

I suppose you could think of it as a form of communication to the Feds saying, “Back off” or as a symbolic middle finger. Which has it’s value. But mostly I just see it as having entertainment value.

Quote of the day–Roberta X.

Posted on by

I’ll bet you thought you lived in the United States of the Framer’s dreams, didn’t you? …As long as you bear in mind that “nightmares” is a subset of “dreams,” you’re right, too.

There’s not a current or former Congresscritter, except maybe Ron Paul, who ought not be brought up on charges of treason and/or offenses against persons, be given a perfectly fair trial and be imprisoned for life at the very least. The Executive branch is equally culpable. Not gonna happen but hey, a gal can still dream, right? They haven’t made that a Thoughtcrime yet, have they? Have they?

Roberta X.
August 12, 2009
James Madison Calling
[Read the Madison quote in her post for context.

I don’t know if Roberta independently arrived at the same conclusion but I’ve suggested the treason idea before too. Great minds think alike, we share the same delusion, or something.–Joe]

Don’t be stupid

Posted on by

Playing with explosives can be a lot of fun. But don’t be stupid.

I don’t know for certain but that what this appears to be:

Federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents continue to investigate an explosion in Harrison County on the morning of Aug. 1.

Bryan Byrne, a sergeant with the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department, said multiple calls came in to Harrison County Dispatch reporting an explosion that shook houses and rattled windows in the area.

An ATF agent sent to the scene collected evidence from a blast area near Baker Hollow Road. The area where the explosion took place measured about 50 feet in diameter, with trees in the vicinity charred as high as 15 feet.

Kathy Goldman, wife of Harrison County Commissioner James Goldman, told her husband she thought a liquid propane tank had exploded.

The Goldmans live about a quarter of a mile from the site of the blast.

“I wasn’t home, but my wife was. It scared her to death,” James Goldman said. “It was a pretty strong explosion.”

He said an ATF agent from Louisville took a sample of the ground and sent it to Washington to be tested. From what he could tell, Goldman said it appeared to be a homemade bomb made in a plastic five-gallon bucket.

If you are going to be detonating things that make house rattle then get the permission of the land owner and you might want to call the cops yourself, before someone else does. Even if no law was broken or property damaged it wastes a lot of time and money of the cops. If they find out it was you they are going to make your life miserable just because they would rather be eating donuts, writing tickets to increase government revenue, or inspecting the local strip club for touching violations.

When people do stupid stuff some nanny statists will use it as an excuse to attempt preventing people from doing something stupid. And that makes me rather grumpy. You won’t like me if I get too grumpy.

Quote of the day–Milton Friedman

Posted on by

The Great Depression, like most other periods of severe unemployment, was produced by government mismanagement rather than by any inherent instability of the private economy.

Milton Friedman
[As we enter another Great Depression keep that in mind. And also keep in mind that FDR and his complete lack of understanding of economics which extended the depression created by the high tariffs under the Hoover administration–who “Long before he entered politics he denounced laissez-faire thinking“.

FDR insisting on extremely high taxes for the rich and frequent changing of the law created great uncertainity for investors. It was the death of FDR and Truman’s friendly attitude to business that finally brought the country out of the depression.

Read New Deal or Raw Deal?: How FDR’s Economic Legacy Has Damaged America for the details.–Joe]

RDS

Posted on by

In my continuing frustration with Republicans, I decided to go directly to Sarah Palin’s official website.  We’ve all heard (or rather witnessed– no one seems to have actually heard anything real to back it up) the enthusiastic support for Palin.

I have yet to hear anything of substance from Palin, so where better to go than directly to the source?  Surely if there’s anything there it will be in her very own web site, in her very own words;

What is SarahPac?

SarahPac is a federally registered political action committee that supports Gov. Sarah Palin’s plans to build a better, stronger, and safer America in the 21st century.

Great!  How?  No answer.  “Safer America”?  Safer from what– corporate greed, or socialist greed?  Asteroids?  Jihadists?  Anti-Americanism in our own ranks?  No answer.  “…in the 21st Century”?  Cool.  So maybe that undefined “better” America will materialize before my great grandkids die of old age then.

How will contributions be spent?

Your support of SarahPac will make it possible for Gov. Palin to continue to be a strong voice for energy independence and reform.

Any run-of-the-mill Democrat might have said the same thing.  Energy independence, how– by deregulating oil exploration and drilling, or by “weaning us off our addiction” to oil?  Could be either.  Doesn’t say.
By supporting SarahPac, you will allow Gov. Palin to help find and create solutions for America’s most pressing problems;
“Find” solutions?  Conservatives already have them.
…priority number one is building a strong and prosperous economy that recognizes hard work, innovation and integrity by rewarding small businesses and hard working American families.
I think that’s called a “free market”.  Otherwise; how many of you want to be “built” by the government, or want the government to “recognize” or “reward” you?
SarahPac will support local and national candidates who share Gov. Palin’s ideas and goals for our country.

And those ideas are..?  Or haven’t you “found” them yet?

Who is behind SarahPac?

Gov. Sarah Palin believes all Americans must work together for the future, regardless of their party affiliation.

Again; could have been said by any run-of-the-mill Democrat/Progressive, including Marx or Lenin.  “Must work together”?  Toward what?  Or else what?  “For the future”?  What sort of future?  Since when has “the future” been a goal we “must work” for?  The future is coming no matter what it holds.  What, Sarah, do you want for the future?  Say it loud and proud!  Say something!  Anything!

Gov. Palin is the honorary chair of SarahPac, and its supporters are Republicans, Democrats, Independents, and those unaffiliated with any political party.

So I’m sure the Democrat “Borking” machine is now going to shower you with love and adoration then, right?  Now that you’re all unaffiliated and stuff?

Why now?

No; it’s what now?  Tell us What you want to do.

As a new president takes office and begins to lead our country..

The president’s job is to lead Congress and command the military, not the country.  How many of you want to be lead, verses, say, left the hell alone?

…Gov. Palin believes that every one of us has a duty and responsibility in this time of economic crisis and international challenge.

We have a duty and a responsibility to do what, exactly?  Would that be to roll over and play nicey nice in the face of encroaching socialism that threatens to tear apart the republic, or stand up and fight it tooth and nail?  Which?  Can’t decide?  Still looking for ideas?  Still haven’t found them?  Oh look!  A pony!

Each one of us must step up to the plate, get involved in the spirit of renaissance and renewal that is critical to America’s success.

Again; all politicians, from the best to the very worst, talk just like that.  There’s nothing there.  Thousand points of light.  Great Society.  Bridge to the 21st Century, Thousand Year Reich, Renaissance and Renewal, Hope and Change, blah, blah, blah, (gag) (puke).  How about Puppies and Unicorns?  Hey, yeah.  Everybody likes puppies and unicorns.  Lets use that.  The ignorant masses will love it.  Yes We Can!

Make your voice heard by joining SarahPac today!

Some will say she’s crazy like a fox– that she has this super-duper, duper…duper plan (that no one’s ever heard– ever) and that once she gets a goin’  by golly gee whizz, Katy bar the door!  I’m not holding my breath.  I say she’s a Republican.

Sorry; it’s just that, assuming words mean things, it’s amazing how little meaning can exist in so many words.  Yes I’m being very hard on her, but we’ve seen this vacuous crap all too often.

Quote of the day–Peter Nickles

Posted on by

The last place you want to conceal is in the District, with all of these federal buildings. It makes the job of law enforcement damned difficult.

This is a frontal assault on the District’s regulations under the Second Amendment. I don’t think that’s what Justice Scalia had in mind when he talked about self-defense.

Peter Nickles
August 8, 2009
D.C. Attorney General
Lawsuit Seeks Right to Carry Concealed Weapons in the District
[Does this guy think the only place you should be allowed to defend yourself is in your home? If you leave your home you leave the Second Amendment right to self-defense behind?

Sure, it makes it easier for law enforcement to arrest anyone with a gun in public. Just as it makes it easier for them if they arrest any black/white/yellow/red skinned person, Jew (wearing their yellow star), or homosexual (wearing their mandated pink triangle) in public after dark. But that wouldn’t be justice nor should it be tolerated in a free society. But the actions and statements of D.C. politicians make that abundantly clear they aren’t interested in a free society. And that means they need to be slapped down by the courts again.–Joe]

Good to know

Posted on by

Via Dave Hardy.

The government is not allowed to:

5 US Code §552a(e)(7) commands that any Federal agency

“(7) maintain no record describing how any individual exercises rights guaranteed by the First Amendment unless expressly authorized by statute or by the individual about whom the record is maintained or unless pertinent to and within the scope of an authorized law enforcement activity;”

This wouldn’t protect some blogger making viable threats against a politician (and rightly so). But it could be used to punish someone in the Federal Government (and rightly so) for keeping records of your peaceful opposition to proposed legislation (if that link goes dead here is a saved version of the page from Whitehouse.gov as of August 8, 2009 at 2315 PDT).

A win for knife rights

Posted on by

This is actually rather old news but I haven’t seen it mentioned on any of the blogs I frequent. KnifeRights.org reports that Customs has backed off on expanding the definition of switchblades:

In a letter to Representative Kurt Schrader (D-OR), Customs has officially backed off their proposed revocations in recognition of the Amendment that was passed by the Senate (see below), at least until the Homeland Security Appropriations Bill is acted upon in Conference Committee.

You can read the letter here, but the key paragraph reads “The amendment would effectively obviate the need for CBP’s proposed revocations and render the current issue moot. Additionally, due to the numerous comments received in response to the proposed revocation, it is unlikely that CBP will take any further action prior to passage of the Appropriations Act.

This is about as close to a victory as we can come at this time. It may not be over until the fat lady sings, and we actually get the Amendment through Conference Committee, but for all practical purposes, we shouldn’t have to worry about Customs reaching into your pockets for your pocket knives anytime soon. Do take note that Customs has included some ambiguous wording in their letter, leaving their options open, no surprise. But, make no mistake, they have gotten the message; don’t mess with our pocket knives!

Of course Liberty is always unfinished business so don’t expect this will be the end of it but it’s good enough for now.