I believe a self-righteous liberal Democrat with a cause is more dangerous than a Hell’s Angel with an attitude.
Ted Nugent
Category Archives: Freedom
Quote of the day–Sen. Phil Gramm
Some people say that I have no heart. I am here tonight to tell you that I do have a heart. I have the heart of a liberal…. It’s in a jar on my desk.
Sen. Phil Gramm
1992 Lincoln Dinner at the Middlesex Club in Waltham, Massachusetts
[Something very similar is also attributed to Colorado Sen. John Andrews. — Joe]
Quote of the day–Edmund Burke
Among a people generally corrupt, liberty cannot long exist.
Edmund Burke
(1729-97)
Irish philosopher, statesman.
Quote of the day–Samuel Cummings
Americans may like guns because they were reminiscent of the smell of outdoors, military heroism, the intensity of the hunt or merely because they are fascinated by the finely machined metal parts. Maybe the origin of a gun speaks of history; maybe the gun makes a man’s home seem to him less vulnerable; maybe these feelings are more justified in the country than in the city; but, above all, many of us believe that these feelings are a man’s own business and need not be judged by the Department of the Treasury or the Department of Justice.
Samuel Cummings
Quote of the day–Robert Heinlein
Anyone who cannot cope with mathematics is not fully human. At best he is a tolerable subhuman who has learned to wear shoes, bathe, and not make messes in the house.
Lazarus Long
A character in “Time Enough for Love” by Robert Heinlein
[Applicable to those anti-freedom, gun hating people that say “I don’t believe numbers” or “I never trust statistics”. — Joe]
Geocaching could get you arrested
I heard it on the radio yesterday while reloading ammo. It’s on the web now:
Idaho 55 at the Rainbow Bridge was closed for about six hours Tuesday after a suspicious object was found underneath the bridge.
An ITD spokesman said investigators were conducting a routine bridge safety inspection around 9:30 a.m. today when they saw an object they could not identify. It was a green bucket with wires poking out.
Idaho State Police and the Boise Bomb Squad were called in to investigate and 17 miles of highway was closed. Investigators determined the bucket was filled with trinkets, photos and toys placed there as part of an online scavenger hunt called geocache. Players use a global positioning system to find the treasure.
Police say the man who stashed the object under the bridge has come forward and charges might be filed against him.
As it was said in a geocaching forum:
Consider. If all it takes to shut down the country is to toss ducted tape tupperware full of rocks with an old radio in it out the side of your window while you are driving down the interstate, then it won’t be long before terrorists start causing disruption in a mass scale by doing exactly that.
There are an almost infinite number of things we can’t and shouldn’t defend against. Money is better spend attacking the root of the problem–extremist Muslims. We must destroy their culture.
Almost surprised
Occasionally I’m surprised at how far the anti-freedom people will take things. The banning of certain types of clothes took me by surprise. That Gun Guys (anti-gun website) would suggest there is no such thing as justifiable homicide almost surprises me, but not quite. In order maintain internal consistency they have to conclude that one life is just as valuable as any other life. And so we end up with drivel like this:
What exactly is a “justifiable” homicide? Is it OK to kill people sometimes and not others.
And from their newsletter which doesn’t appear to be their website there is this:
For whatever reason, killing another human being, an act made simple and easy by firearms, is an act not lightly taken, and not without consequences. Though a killing may be considered “legal” by any number of laws, that doesn’t necessarily make it right, and doesn’t mean that we should broaden laws without regard for those consequences.
Anyone that has taken any firearms self-defense class will have been exposed to the downside of using deadly force to defend innocent life. The taking of a life is serious stuff. But sometimes it’s the best of the available options. And when the legal use of deadly force is employed the person on the receiving end of that deadly force made the choices that triggered the use of the deadly force. It is they that bear the ultimate responsibility for their own injury or death. For the “Gun Guys” to even hint that there is not a time and a place for the use of deadly force in the defense of innocent life shows how completely disconnected from reality they really are. The last sentence of their email only seals that forgone conclusion. I’m not surprised:
Legal or not, like anything else involved with firearms, “justifiable homicides” lead to more violence and pain.
Quote of the day–Aristotle
Those who have command of the arms in a country are masters of the state, and have it in their power to make what revolutions they please. [Thus,] there is no end to observations on the difference between the measures likely to be pursued by a minister backed by a standing army, and those of a court awed by the fear of an armed people.
Aristotle
Quoted by John Trenchard and Walter Moyle
“An Argument showing That a Standing Army is Inconsistent with a Free Government, and Absolutely Destructive to the Constitution of the English Monarchy.”
“Secure” flight report
More news on the airport insecurity front. Bruce Schneier was on the working group that reviewed the plans for the TSA database to match passengers with names on the Watch List and the No-Fly List. As usual Bruce asks questions they can’t answer without confirming they don’t have a clue about security. The basic questions are in the report and are repeated on his blog. Here is a taste:
The SFWG found that TSA has failed to answer certain key questions about Secure Flight: First and foremost, TSA has not articulated what the specific goals of Secure Flight are. Based on the limited test results presented to us, we cannot assess whether even the general goal of evaluating passengers for the risk they represent to aviation security is a realistic or feasible one or how TSA proposes to achieve it. We do not know how much or what kind of personal information the system will collect or how data from various sources will flow through the system.
Again, “TSA has not articulated what the specific goals of Secure Flight are.” That’s absurd. How many billions have we spent on airplane security since 9/11? However much it has been it was all wasted if they can’t answer that simple question. It’s time to reevaluate airplane security methods.
Bruce winds up with the story of a commercial pilot that was put on the no fly list–which means he can’t work and he can’t find out why. He summarizes with:
Remember what the no-fly list is. It’s a list of people who are so dangerous that they can’t be allowed to board an airplane under any circumstances, yet so innocent that they can’t be arrested — even under the provisions of the PATRIOT Act.
Quote of the day–Thomas Jefferson
The policy of the American Government is to leave their citizens free, neither restraining them, nor aiding them in their pursuits.
Thomas Jefferson
Quote of the day–William F. Buckley, Jr.
World War is the second worst activity of mankind, the worst being acquiescence in slavery.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
On the Right
Quote of the day–Tench Coxe
As civil rulers, not having their duty to the people duly before them, may attempt to tyrannize, and as the military forces which must be occasionally raised to defend our country, might pervert their power to the injury of their fellow citizens, the people are confirmed by the article in their right to keep and bear their private arms.
Tench Coxe
1755–1824
Progress against the bigots
From a KABA alert:
FEDERAL JUDGE HALTS NEW ORLEANS GUN SEIZURES
BELLEVUE, WA – The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana this afternoon issued a temporary restraining order on behalf of the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and National Rifle Association (NRA), bringing an end to firearm seizures from citizens living in and around New Orleans.
District Judge Jay Zainey issued the restraining order against all parties named in a lawsuit filed Thursday by SAF and NRA. Defendants in the lawsuit include New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Police Chief Edwin Compass III.
“This is a great victory, not just for the NRA and SAF, but primarily for law-abiding gun owners everywhere,” said SAF founder Alan M. Gottlieb. “We are proud to have joined forces with the NRA to put an end to what has amounted to a warrantless gun grab by authorities in New Orleans and surrounding jurisdictions.
“Over the past three weeks,” he continued, “residents who had lost virtually everything in the devastation following Hurricane Katrina had also essentially been stripped of something even more precious, their civil rights, and their right of self-defense, because of these gun seizures.
“SAF and NRA had no alternative but to take action,” Gottlieb added. “If these gun confiscations had been allowed to continue without challenge, it would have set a dangerous precedent that would have encouraged authorities in other jurisdictions to believe they also could suspend the civil rights of citizens in the event of some other emergency.
“What must happen now, and quickly,” said Gottlieb, “is for authorities in the New Orleans area to explain how they will return all of those firearms to their rightful owners, and do it promptly. What this ruling affirms is that even in the face of great natural disasters, governments cannot arbitrarily deprive citizens of their rights. Thanks to some great teamwork between SAF and the NRA, this sort of thing will hopefully never happen again.”
PS Click here to make a contribution to help fund this lawsuit.
It’s just a small step. But it’s certainly a step in the right direction. From here we need to proceed to get one more more convictions on charges stemming for the violation of laws such as these:
If two or more persons conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or because of his having so exercised the same; orIf two or more persons go in disguise on the highway, or on the premises of another, with intent to prevent or hinder his free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege so secured—They shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and if death results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, they shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both, or may be sentenced to death.Whoever, under color of any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom, willfully subjects any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or to different punishments, pains, or penalties, on account of such person being an alien, or by reason of his color, or race, than are prescribed for the punishment of citizens, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and if bodily injury results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include the use, attempted use, or threatened use of a dangerous weapon, explosives, or fire, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and if death results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both, or may be sentenced to death.
It’s a stretch, but if someone lost their life due to these jerks confiscating their firearms then some bigots could be facing the death penalty.
See also:
SAF and the NRA to file suit
SAF needs New Orleans info
Searching for survivors
This is the way it will always happen
See also: Random Nuclear Strikes.
Nation of Riflemen blogger
We have a blogger up and running full speed over at the Nation of Rifleman. He calls himself The Gun Guy. He immediately got added to the blogroll. This is no relation whatsoever to Gun Guys which is very anti-gun.
See also my post Nation of Riflemen is up now.
Thanks to Analog Kid at Random Nuclear Strikes for the heads up.
Cognitive dissonance obliviousness
I don’t understand how they can say this without causing their head to explode:
Currie has been a strong advocate for civil liberties and women’s rights in the state legislature. She also has pushed for major reforms in the state’s property tax-reliant funding of public schools. Additionally, she’s been a leading advocate for gun control and an opponent of the death penalty.
[Emphasis added. — Joe]
It makes just as much sense as if the following occurred:
- NAACP advocated white supremacy
-
ADL advocated children joining Hitler youth groups
-
HRC advocated stronger sodomy laws
Why doesn’t the press laugh them them all the way to the funny farm?
Quote of the day–Ronald Reagan
Information is the oxygen of the modern age. It seeps through the walls topped by barbed wire, it wafts across the electrified borders.
Ronald Reagan
Guardian (London, 14 June 1989)
SAF and the NRA to file suit
From a Keep and Bear Arms alert I just received. Tomorrow morning they will file suit:
SAF, NRA ASK FEDERAL COURT TO HALT NEW ORLEANS GUN SEIZURES
BATON ROUGE, LA (Sept. 22) – The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and National Rifle Association (NRA) joined with individual gun owners in Louisiana Thursday morning, filing a motion in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana seeking a temporary restraining order to stop authorities in and around the City of New Orleans from seizing firearms from private citizens in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Click here to make a contribution to help fund this lawsuit.
Arbitrary gun seizures, without warrant or probable cause, have been reported during the past three weeks since the Crescent City was devastated by the hurricane. In cases reported to SAF, police refused to give citizens receipts for their seized firearms. Earlier, SAF insisted that police account for all seized firearms, disclose their whereabouts, and explain how they will be returned to their rightful owners. Authorities have not responded.
Gun confiscations have been highly publicized since the New York Times quoted New Orleans Police Superintendent P. Edwin Compass III, who said, “Only law enforcement are allowed to have weapons,” and ABC News quoted Deputy Police Chief Warren Riley stating, “No one will be able to be armed. We are going to take all the weapons.”
For example, a San Francisco, CA camera crew from KTVU filmed one incident in which visiting California Highway Patrol officers tackled an elderly woman identified as Patricia Konie, to seize her pistol and forcibly remove her from her home. An ABC news crew accompanying an Oklahoma National Guard unit filmed another incident in which homeowners were handcuffed and disarmed, then released but without their firearms.
“We are delighted to work jointly with the NRA in an effort to bring these outrageous gun seizures to a halt,” said SAF founder Alan M. Gottlieb. “Our inquiries about these confiscations were cavalierly ignored, as were our demands for a public explanation from the police and city officials about why citizens were being unlawfully disarmed, leaving them defenseless against lingering bands of looters and thugs.
“New Orleans officials left us with no recourse,” Gottlieb observed. “It was bad enough that Big Easy residents were victims of the worst natural disaster in the nation’s history. That they would be subsequently victimized by their own local government, taking their personal property without warrant, is unconscionable. These illegal gun seizures must be stopped, now.”
Quote of the day–Ann Landers
No one has the right to destroy another person’s belief by demanding empirical evidence.
Ann Landers
Nationally syndicated advice columnist and Director of Handgun Control, Inc.
[I would claim than in matters that adversely affect other people one has the obligation to demand empirical evidence. But so many moonbats agree with Landers philosophy that it is rather depressing at times. — Joe]
GRPC Live Feed
The annual Gun Rights Policy Conference is this weekend. If I had a job and it wasn’t in California (spit, spit) I would have seriously considered going. I was a speaker at GRPC 1999 and 2000 and was very impressed with the entire event. I just received this Keep and Bear Arms alert:
WATCH LIVE FEED FROM GUN RIGHTS POLICY CONFERENCE
BELLEVUE, WA – Gun rights activists unable to attend this weekend’s 20th annual Gun Rights Policy Conference in Los Angeles can still get in on the action via a live internet video feed from the event, according to Alan M. Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA).
Gottlieb announced today that by visiting the SAF website at www.saf.org, the CCRKBA website at www.ccrkba.org, or KeepAndBearArms.com, and clicking on the link, activists may watch the action unfold on their computer screen.
The live feed is being accomplished through the courtesy of the Freedom Broadcast Network, both Saturday and Sunday.
In addition to Gottlieb, scheduled to appear during the conference are U.S. Senator Larry Craig (R-ID), National Rifle Association President Sandra Froman, NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre, SAF President Joseph Tartaro, UCLA Law Prof. Eugene Volokh, national syndicated talk radio hosts Larry Elder, Michael Reagan, author and Professor John Lott of the American Enterprise Institute, Larry Pratt with Gun Owners of America; John Burtt, chairman of the Fifty Caliber Shooters’ Institute; Dr. Timothy Wheeler, director of Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership, and many others.
Cool. Very cool. You won’t get a chance to do all the networking (I met Stephanie at GRPC 2000–she does all the publicity for Boomershoot) but you will get a chance to listen to some awesome speakers.
Visiting Thailand?
Mandatory reading if you plan to spend some time in Thailand or those of you who think working on the holy day, Friday, is no big deal. From Jihad Watch with the complete article on Sign On San Diego:
PATTANI, Thailand – The open-air market in this southern Thai city falls eerily quiet on Fridays. Most vendors stay home, terrorized by leaflets threatening to kill or cut off the ears of anyone who works on the Muslim holy day.
After 20 months of insurgent violence, the no-work threat has driven another nail into what is becoming an economic coffin in Thailand’s terrorized southern provinces.
…
Among the hundreds killed in the predominantly Muslim provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat are police and soldiers, but police records show that 80 percent are civilians – rubber tappers, shopkeepers, civil servants, construction workers and ice cream vendors.
Bombs have exploded at a department store, a cinema complex, the international airport at Hat Yai and a department store owned by the French Carrefour chain. Now investors and tourists have been driven off and some workers are leaving.
…
Soaring demand, driven by the booming Chinese economy, has doubled rubber’s price on the global market, but production in Pattani province has plummeted to a tenth of its volume in just a year, according to official statistics.
…
Prices of quarried rock have doubled, because the government severely limited the use of explosives that were reportedly being stolen for bomb attacks. The government eased the curbs as part of efforts to revive the economy, but Defense Minister Thammarak Isarangura Na Ayutthaya, while warily approving the measure, said he expected coffins would have to be stockpiled for bomb victims.
I might be about to adjust to not working on Friday, but severe restrictions on explosives? Now they’ve done it! We we have no viable options but to destroy the extremist Muslim culture world wide.