By the time Gross gets to arguing against a new bill that would force states to recognize each other’s concealed-carry permits — an issue on which I’m sympathetic to his position — it’s awfully difficult to take him seriously. Even putting aside that he calls the bill the “George Zimmerman Armed Vigilante Act.”

Remember, this isn’t some random clown blogging for the Huffington Post; it’s the president of a leading gun-control group. If these are the best arguments the anti-gun movement can put forth, our Second Amendment rights are safe indeed.

Robert VerBruggen
June 13, 2012
‘The NRA’s Dark Vision’?
[Yes, these are the best arguments they can put forth and they are indeed pathetic. But politics is rarely about good arguments about the merits of the legislation. Yes, good arguments about the merits of the proposed law contribute but as much as anything it is arguments about acquiring and maintaining political power that win the legislative votes.

Hence our rights and freedom are never truly safe. Eternal vigilance and frequent demonstrations of our political muscle are required.—Joe]

While we were all shocked and angered at the revelation of Nixon’s abuses, today the same abuses are not only ignored but tolerated- even encouraged- by the Left.

I never thought I would see a time when the U.S. government would deliberately sell guns to Mexican drug cartels just to advance a petty policy argument about gun control, while the press stood by with not a word or reproach. Or allow the Black Panthers to practice the worst type of racism abetted by the highest law enforcement officer in the land, while the press applauded.

John Ransom
June 11, 2012
Watergate at 40: Obama is the Democrats’ Nixon
[Politics in this country (probably everywhere) is pretty nasty. Even in the late 1700’s when we just formed our current form of government there was incredible division between parties. And political divisiveness goes further than just tolerance for hostile rhetoric. There is evidence that ordinary people, essentially, become sociopaths when dealing with their political opponents:

Empathy is the root of morality and cooperation. People without empathy are called sociopaths, and they are by far the most dangerous people on the planet. Every genocide features sociopaths; every mass atrocity and every continued abuse requires them. So, when a study shows empathy being almost entirely crushed, it should be jarring. To put it clearly and simply, this study showed something very scary, which is this:

When people are under the influence of politics, they turn into sociopaths.

We ask ourselves, “Why are liberals so violent?” And we ask “Why would the government sell/give guns to the drug cartels?” At least part of the answer is because they are in a political contest with non-liberals.

This does not justify the behavior. What it means is that we must guard against it. Do not underestimate the capacity of your political enemy, or your political ally, to behave in monstrous ways.

H/T to Chris M. for the heads up email on politics turning people into sociopaths.—Joe]

What makes MAIG so dangerous is that they have chosen to remain rooted in reality as the rest of us know it, rather than trying to construct their own.

Sebastian
June 4, 2012
Richard Aborn’s Desperate Plea
[Sebastian has been concerned about MAIG (Mayors Against Illegal Guns) for a long time and I haven’t been seeing it. I’m not convinced yet but this is a best reason that I have seen so far.

The Brady Campaign and others have severe cognitive distortion problems. And it’s almost as if When Prophecy Fails was written about them. When one of their predictions about “blood will run in the streets” fails they become more frantic and proselytize even more. After a time most people realize they are a few Fruit Loops short of a full bowl and don’t pay much attention to them.

MAIG does appear to be fairly well grounded and for the most part stay on their one message. That message, if implemented, is harmful to us but is not easily dismissed as pointless. People want to believe there are simple solutions that will reduce violent crime. The MAIG message when viewed from a very narrow perspective would seem to have promise in doing this without significant harm to gun rights. This isn’t true but the complete refutation of that message doesn’t lend itself well to sound bites* and that makes the risk of causing problems greater.

*I like, “The war on ‘illegal guns’ will be no more effective than the war on illegal drugs.” But too many people view the war on illegal drugs as a necessary and beneficial thing. And it would seem to concede there is such a thing as an “illegal gun” when in fact they are referring to a prohibited person in possession of any firearm. Hence we quickly get out of sound bite territory.—Joe]

The NRA’s proud history of fighting the Klan has been airbrushed out of the record by those who were complicit with the KKK, Jim Crow and racial terror, to wit: the Democrats.

Ann Coulter
April 23, 2012
Coulter: Gun control and self-defense
[Great article. As is usual for Coulter there is lots of snark.-Joe]