Category Archives: Politics

Quote of the day—Henry Louis Mencken

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The typical lawmaker of today is a man devoid of principle—a mere counter in a grotesque and knavish game. If the right pressure could be applied to him he would be cheerfully in favor of polygamy, astrology, or cannibalism.

Henry Louis Mencken
http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/mencken.htm
[And this is why people of principle are routinely disappointed and disgusted by lawmakers.

It was just this reason that we have politicians proposing new restrictions on the specific enumerated right to keep and bear arms. The Tucson shooting was “the right pressure” to cause them to violate known and accepted principles in the Bill of Rights. What we must do is apply “the right pressure” in the other direction.

I’m working on a post that if applied correctly I believe will exert an equal and perhaps greater pressure in the other direction. It might not be ready until tomorrow so be patient.—Joe]

‘Our Progressive Health Care Bill is Better Than Theirs’

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Maybe you thought the newly elected Republicans would move to get government’s meddling, grubby hands out of the health care industry.


Think again, suckers.


How many times must we be treated to silver hairspray dude trying to act as though he genuinely believes what he’s saying?  That guy didn’t make it two and a half minutes without an edit, and he was reading from a prompter.  This is our leadership?  It’s an insult.


The least they could do is get these phonies a few more acting lessons, so when they’re bullshitting us to death, at least they’d do a good job of it.  I really wonder who it is they think will find that video appealing.  I think that guy came right off the set of the Lawrence Welk Show.


If you’re figuring on politics to help reverse this encroaching socialism, you’d better be working more locally, because the national-level Republicans are up to the same old Progressive tricks.

First and Second Amendment should be off the table

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As you may know Pima Country Sheriff Clarence Dupnik claims Rush Limbaugh bears some responsibility for the shooting in Tucson this weekend:



The kind of rhetoric that flows from people like Rush Limbaugh, in my judgment he is irresponsible, uses partial information, sometimes wrong information,” Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik said today. “[Limbaugh] attacks people, angers them against government, angers them against elected officials and that kind of behavior in my opinion is not without consequences.”


Limbaugh today railed against the media and Dupnik for trying to draw a link between the heated political climate and the shooting rampage, calling the sheriff a “fool.” But Dupnik stood by his assertions.


Others claim the sheriff bears the responsibility for not providing proper security for the Congresswoman:



If he would have done his job, maybe this doesn’t happen,” Republican state Rep. Jack Harper said in an interview Monday. “Sheriff Dupnik did not provide for the security of a U.S. congresswoman.


Here is what one of my “shooting buddies” said to Sheriff Dupnik:



From: Joe Durnbaugh
Sent: Monday, January 10, 2011 4:39 PM
Subject: Sheriff Dupnik


Here is the email I sent to the Pima County Sheriff yesterday (hope I don’t get on some watch list):
 
Dear Sheriff Dupnik,
I am a retired law enforcement officer, and I cannot understand how your public comments, as a law enforcement professional, contribute anything to civil discourse. If anything, your vitriolic and partisan comments do nothing but aggravate the political polarity in this country. You, sir, are an embarrassment to law enforcement. You should learn to shut your pie hole and keep your idiotic opinions to yourself. Please, do the residents of your county a favor and retire at the earliest opportunity!
 
Joe Durnbaugh


All the data is not in yet but it looks as if politics were essentially unrelated to the shooting. The political left appears to have jumped the gun (or Planck Time) and assigned blame prior to having facts supporting their preconceived notions.


I’ll have to think on this some more but it may be this shooting incident will bring into the spotlight a much more difficult question to answer than issues related to the First and Second Amendment. The issue is mental health. The simple answer is a mental health test for gun ownership.


But if someone isn’t mentally competent to possess a firearm are they any more competent to possess a can of gasoline and a book of matches? Here, here, and here are some attempts and successes at using gasoline for mass murders.


Or how about sharp objects? The Sharon Tate murders or Lizzie Borden probably will continue to have as much or more notoriety that the assassination attempt of Representative Giffords.


Attacks on the Bill of Rights should stay off the table but there may be some opportunity for “violence prevention” if a national discussion ensues over mental health.


Clayton Cramer brought this very topic up in April of 2009. Perhaps a discussion on the topic will find a way to reduce the risks without restricting our rights.

Quote of the day—Selwyn Duke

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Nothing that could reconcile the flat-out Marxist-Leninist Obama was in his college days with the man he supposedly is today.  There’s no one who says, “Yeah, he was a radical guy in his youth, and I just couldn’t believe how he became disenchanted with his old ideas.”  There are no stories about a great epiphany, an overseas trip that opened his eyes, or a personal tragedy that inspired growth.  There’s nothing to explain how a radical Marxist became a reasonable politician.  And if there is such an explanation, it’s the most elusive of missing links.

So could “it” happen here?  And is it really nutty to ask if, just maybe, it already has?

Selwyn Duke
December 28, 2010
The Missing Link in the Evolution of Barack Obama
[Via email from Ry.

Yes. “It” could happen here. It is happening here. Our governments are collapsing. I believe there are going to be a lot of people dying in the next decade or so. And all the while the Federal government will be grabbing more and more power and make the situation worse and worse.

I’m investing in land, explosives, brass, and copper-jacketed lead. What are you investing in?—Joe]

Quote of the day—Milton Friedman

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I am in favor of cutting taxes under any circumstances and for any excuse, for any reason, whenever it is possible.

Milton Friedman
[It improves the economy, improves the conditions of the individual, and increases freedom.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Treborleeks

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Please lawmakers, take away all my rights. I will be safe, then and only then. Your kind and benevolent actions are the only way I make it through the day. Your laws are always just and your wisdom shines above all others.

Feed me, clothe me, shelter me, amen.

Treborleeks
March 11, 2009
Comment to Gun control now!!!
[Slaves need to be properly cared for. And of course slaves should never be allowed to own firearms. That is the conclusion I keep coming back to when I read and listen to the advocates of gun control and other “liberal” political philosophies.—Joe]

Senate rejects ATF nominee Andrew Traver?

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I’m not entirely sure what this means but it sounds like Andrew Traver won’t even be debated as a potential head of the ATF until we have our new Senate seated:

The Senate did not vote on whether to confirm Andrew Traver as the next leader of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives this Congress, sending his nomination back to the White House on Wednesday.

I think this means we will have a more gun friendly Senate to review Traver’s background with the Klan Joyce Foundation.

Update: John Richardson examines the issue in detail.

Quote of the day—General Nuisance

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His dress as a 20’s Chicago Gangster is probably for a Halloween party so I suspect strongly the gun is a toy.  You can’t see the muzzle in this view, but if it is a toy the muzzle would be molded from an orange colored plastic.

You guys on the left should be flattered.  D’cruz is dressed like some of your president’s strongest supporters, gangsters and Chicago thugs.

General Nuisance
December 21, 2010
Comment in the thread NRA…What Were They Thinking?
[This reminds me of a comment many years ago by Alan Gottleib, “We have sometimes joked that because of the high number of criminals in his district Chuck Schumer was just voting to protect his constituents.”—Joe]

Quote of the day—Edward Abbey

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Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell.

Edward Abbey
(1927 – 1989)
[I think of the growth of government in these terms.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Jim G.

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The constitution is too long.

It should have started with “Fuck you!” and ended with “Fuck you!” In the middle it should have said, “Provide for the common defense.”

The 1st Amendment should read, “Congress will make no law” and we are done.

Jim G.
December 14, 2010
[I had lunch with Jim. Instead of the usual gun control issues we were talking about the TSA and health care. This wasn’t even the portion of the conversation where the water I was drinking spurted out my nose.

Jim has some strong Libertarian leanings.—Joe]

If You’re Clueless, Take a Poll

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The NRSC sent out a mass e-mail this week, linking to a web-site poll they have going.  Seriously, guys; you haven’t been listening all year?


It may just be that poll-taking is a pet peeve of mine, but really; if you came into the field (any field) not knowing what you want do and why you want to do it, why are you there at all?  You ran for office, in this case, and really, really wanted to win.  You spent tons of money and long hours getting elected, and now you don’t know why you’re there?  Whiskey…Tango…Foxtrot?


As usual, the poll questions are multiple choice, and as usual the answers could be easily interpreted in opposite ways, depending on the observer.  Unlike many polls however, there are places to enter comments.


They start with; “What do you think should be the first legislation addressed by the new Congress?”


There are four choices, plus “Other”.


I left them all blank and then entered this comment;



It’s really quite simple; if you understood the American Principles of Liberty, you wouldn’t need to take a poll.  The fact that you’re asking tells me you’re fishing for a position, trying to figure out what it is you should PRETEND to believe.  Crack a history book or two and figure it out, then run on those principles, actually stand for them in practice, and win big.


Then came; “Please rank in order of importance to you personally, the following issues” and there were nine choices, starting with abortion (really?) plus “other”.  I left them all blank, and filled in the next comment box;



Regarding #4; See, there you go again.  I don’t see liberty on the ballot.  Never have.  Hence the problem.  This isn’t rocket science, people.  Defeat the left.  Go for the jugular and drive them and their programs into political extinction.  Get Progressivism out of the Republican Party so we can win more elections, shrink the federal government (I mean real, meaningful contractions, and closure of departments) and “promote the general welfare” BY  PROMOTING LIBERTY.  It doesn’t work any other way.


Do we demand perfection immediately?  Of course not.  1; There is no such thing as perfection, and 2; things take time.  The point is; if you have the Ideals, you naturally trend toward them.  If you don’t have the Ideals, stand aside and make room for someone who does.


But after you submit the poll, you’re taken directly to a donation form.  Chances are, no one’s interested in the poll (it’s a piece of jr. high school crap anyway) so much as they’re interested in the raising of funds.


Here’s another (bonus) message for you Senate Republicans;



I’ll consider sending you money after I see some results.  I’m tired of supporting mushy, confused Republicans who can’t decide what it is they should pretend to stand for.  Been there, done that, and I’m never doing it again.


You know about all those eligible voters who sit out election after election?  Yeah; maybe that’s a clue you’re still not getting, and maybe, just maybe, it’s a sign that there are millions of votes available to someone who will, for once, actually stand for American ideals rather than simply jabbering about them during campaign season and hoping we’re still dumb enough to fall for it.  Time is running out.


Really?  You guys didn’t see the spontaneity and scale of the tea party movement?  You really didn’t understand a bit of it?

It’s a start

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Key healthcare provision voided by federal judge.

My hope is the entire act will be gutted in a timely manner and the lawmakers who participated in enacting this will be thrown out with the remnants.

Quote of the day—Phillip Van Cleave

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The gun control side of America has fallen apart.

Phillip Van Cleave
From the Virginia Citizens Defense League
December 12, 2010
Death of eight-year-old becomes a symbol of lost struggle by US gun control lobby
[The struggle over gun ownership was a legal conflict between individual responsibility and group punishment. The individual is taking the lead for a while. Let us hope it continues and spreads to other areas as well.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Henry Louis Mencken

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Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule—and both commonly succeed, and are right. The Coolidge Prosperity and the Hoover Economy of Plenty were quite as bad as the New Deal. The United States has never developed an aristocracy really disinterested or an intelligentsia really intelligent. Its history is simply a record of vacillations between two gangs of frauds.

Henry Louis Mencken
Minority Report, page 222.
[This collection of observations was first published in 1956 and they appear to be just as true now as they were then.—Joe]

Quote of the day—John P. Zenger

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No nation ancient or modern ever lost the liberty of freely speaking, writing, or publishing their sentiments, but forthwith lost their liberty in general and became slaves.

John P. Zenger
[Read the article linked to. The context for this quote is not the least bit frivolous. His case established freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and jury nullification in this country. And Zenger died in 1746—30 years before the Declaration of Independence!—Joe]

Maybe now they will let people defend themselves

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California is likely going to be forced to release 40,000 inmates from prisons due to over crowding.

With the economic in shambles few of these people will be able to find work and will resort to crime for the basic necessities. With the huge deficit and debt California has don’t expect an expansion of parole officers and/or police to protect the public from people that are still dangerous. And besides, what would they do with them if they caught them committing a crime? Put them back in the prison that was already overflowing?

California politicians who oppose people being able to defend themselves may face a sudden change of attitude in their voters in regards to gun control.

One might also expect a rise in the black market. The excessive regulation and high taxes stifle the utilization of cheap labor these newly released inmates represent. If the incentives to go straight are strong enough (getting shot for committing a minor crime could be sufficiently motivating) the price of the labor will become very low. If the labor is cheap enough entrepreneurs will consider getting into a grey market which bypasses the regulations and taxes. I would not be surprised that a dollar earned “below the radar” of the state is worth two dollars earned in full compliance with the state. If this does happened the underground economy will further erode the financial position of the state.

And what will be the end result? Will it be a Mad Max world, a libertarian utopia, or an invitation for the Feds to create a police state?

Random thought of the day

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When having a discussion about Federal taxes being too high I’ve had people tell me, “You have nothing to complain about. Your state receives more Federal money than it pays in Federal taxes.”

I think the proper response to this is, “It doesn’t come back in the form of gold. It arrives in the form of whips, chains, and taskmasters.”

Quote of the day—Lyle Keeney

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Victimhood is cherished by the left. As one of their media of exchange it is like gold to them. It is one of the highest forms of existence, for which they all long, to which they all aspire, and which they would have us all attain at their hands as payment in kind.

Lyle Keeney
November 21, 2010
Comment to Quote of the day—Kurt Hofmann
[This is in regards to Virginia Tech gun control victim Colin Goddard representing the Brady Campaign.—Joe]

Moxie Media investigation

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I haven’t read the entire set of documents but the basics appear to be that a group of people conspired to hide their true political backers, distributed political materials harmful to a pro-gun candidate, who then lost by 122 votes.

Here is a tidbit I found in the documents alleging demonstrating misconduct:

image

If you voted in the primary in her legislative district (Washington State 38th district—in or near Everett) you can help. Read the following and fill out the Declaration and send it to her.

Via email from Joe Waldron:

From: Joe Waldron
Sent: Tuesday, November 16, 2010 4:28 PM
Subject: GOAL Alert, 38th Legislative District

Dear GOAL listers:

GOAL is a political action committee (PAC) registered with the state Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) with the mission of supporting pro-gun candidates to elected office in Washington, primarily at the state level.  (Due to RCW 9.41.290, state preemption, most firearms-related legislation is limited to the state level.)

In furtherance of this goal, GOAL has endorsed and given campaign contributions to candidates from BOTH major political parties, and occasionally to minor party candidates.  The determining factor is their position on the Second Amendment and Article 1, Section 24 of the Washington state constitution.

Once again in a Washington election, there are reports of inappropriate or even illegal activity conducted in support of or opposition to several candidates.  (Hard to believe, I know, but apparently Chicago-style politics has made it to the great Northwest.)

One of these allegations of illegal activity involves a group calling itself Moxie Media.  At the request of the PDC, state Attorney General Rob McKenna is investigating Moxie Media’s actions in the 2010 elections.  According to the PDC report, Moxie Media created several separate organizations to conduct attacks on candidates too conservative for their liking.  Moxie Media allegedly received its funding from several labor unions, among others.  .

One of the candidates they attacked during the primary election period was Senator Jean Berkey, a Democrat representing the 38th District (NW Snohomish county). 

Senator Berkey has been in the legislature since 2001, and a Senator since 2003.  Senator Berkey was given an A- rating by the NRA-ILA Political Victory Fund and was also endorsed by GOAL and recommended to its members by the Washington Arms Collectors.

Senator Berkey lost the primary election by 122 votes.

I recently received the below communication from Senator Berkey.  I believe she has a case.  And the individual elected, Democrat Nick Harper, didn’t even bother to return the Candidate Questionnaire.  That gives a pretty strong indication as to where he will stand on gun issues.

The GOAL list is a statewide e-mail list.  I have no idea who on the list lives in what legislative district, hence the general mailing.  This e-mail is intended for residents of the 38th District . 

If you live in the 38th and you believe your vote in the primary election may have been influenced by the Moxie Media mailing, please give Senator Berkey a hand.  She has been there for us, and deserves your support.

TIA,

Joe Waldron

Chairman, GOAL

Legislative chairman, WAC

Legislative chairman, WSR&PA

E-MAIL FROM SENATOR BERKEY:

Joe,

Thank you for your endorsement and your help with the Primary election in the 38th Legislative District.

I lost the Primary election by 122 votes and I believe some mail sent out by Moxie Media on behalf of some liberal Democratic groups cost me the election.

They designed the last minute mail to look like it was from Republicans (Cut Taxes PAC) to fool conservative voters. Unfortunately, it was well done and worked.

I believe the Attorney General may overturn the election and the liberal Democratic candidate that won the election may not be seated in the Senate.

I will send you this link to the PDC report (130 pages) that will shock you with the arrogance of these liberal labor and attorney groups. Every member of the Gun Owners Action League should read this report to see what we are up against.

www.pdc.wa.gov/archive/commissionmeetings/meetingshearings/pdfs/2010/11.015.pdf

Also, I will send this link to the editorial published by the Olympian.

http://www.theolympian.com/2010/11/10/1434238/maneuver-to-finance-political.html

I need help from your members in Everett and Marysville (the 38th Legislative District) and would like to ask them look at the attached Declaration (BerkeyDeclaration.doc–27 KB). If they voted during the last five days of the Primary election on August 17th, they may want to complete it and return it to me. If they have any questions, they should contact me at jeanberkey AT comcast.net.

It won’t cost them a penny and may prevent another gun control nut from being elected to the Washington State Senate.

Thank you for all your great help,

Senator Jean Berkey

Quote of the day–President Barack Obama

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I believe it is a mistake for us to borrow $700 billion to make tax cuts permanent for millionaires and billionaires. It won’t significantly boost the economy and it’s hugely expensive, so we can’t afford it.

President Barack Obama
November 14, 2010
Obama Says He’s Committed to Middle-Class Tax Cut Extension
[Just the phrase “we can’t afford it” and the word “expensive” in reference to a tax cut tells you how out of touch with reality he is or desires to change your perception of it. The proper usage of those words is more like, ‘You can’t afford spending money on expensive items.” You use a different set of words to describe taking money from people at gun point.—Joe]