You gotta break some eggs to make a Utopian ommlette

"In a word, liberal ideology so often proves more important than people. Noble theories about saving humanity offer exemption from worry about the immediate consequences for individual humans. In a personal sense, those who embrace progressive ideas expect to be excused from the ramifications of their schemes. For the elite who send their kids to prep schools and private academies, public charter schools for the poor are bad, given that they undermine the dream of progressive, union-run education that has turned into a nightmare for those forced to enroll in it."
- Victor Davis Hanson, writing at National Review

Easter weekend in Chicago: At least 9 dead, 36 wounded

Progressives are really know how to tackle what they call "gun violence."

Yeah, right.

Chicago officials have their hands full this morning, trying to put some spin on a very bloody weekend.

CHICAGO (CBS) – Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said a bloody holiday weekend that saw at least nine people shot and killed and dozens others wounded “doesn’t wipe out” reductions in violent crime in the past two years.  

Since Friday evening, at least nine people were shot and killed in Chicago, and at least 36 others were wounded.  

“This doesn’t wipe out what has happened over the last two years, and this is a conversation that we’ve had time and time again,” Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said Monday morning. “There’s no magic formula here. We have a plan, we have a strategy, and it’s hard work... 

Meanwhile, Chicago still has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the U.S.

Can't wait to see what boils over on Memorial Day... or on the 4th of July...

Firearms ignorance reigns in the anti-gun movement

Bloomberg's "Everytown" political machine finally gets a Facebook page.

And then goes and posts this...

From Facebook

The anti-gun crowd once again shows it knows nothing about guns.

Meanwhile, the pro-gun "Everytown" Facebook page is still up and running. With far more "Likes."

Wanna bet the Kremlin is laughing?

Does anyone think the Russians will be impressed or deterred by military mini-exercises in Europe proposed by Obama and Hagel? This is supposed to reassure NATO allies?

We've probably seen larger military training ops take place in major U.S. cities in recent years.

Laying the groundwork for censorship

It appears Democrats are on the move again:

Boston (April 16, 2014) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, introduced legislation to examine the prevalence of hate crime and hate speech on the Internet, television, and radio to better address such crimes. The Hate Crime Reporting Act of 2014 (S.2219) would create an updated comprehensive report examining the role of the Internet and other telecommunications in encouraging hate crimes based on gender, race, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation and create recommendations to address such crimes.

H/T: My Daily Kona

Conundrums

I received an email that contained the following:

Conundrums 

The six contradictions of socialism in the United States of America: 

1. America is capitalist and greedy - yet half of the population is subsidized. 

2. Half of the population is subsidized - yet they think they are victims.  

3. They think they are victims - yet their representatives run the government.  

4. Their representatives run the government - yet the poor keep getting poorer. 

5. The poor keep getting poorer - yet they have things that people in other countries only dream about. 

6. They have things that people in other countries only dream about - yet they want America to be more like those other countries. 

Much wisdom expressed, but it came as one of those emails that's apparently been floating around for years without a notation of authorship.

So, I did some digging.

I found it posted online as early as 2009 at FreeRepublic, which had excerpted it from a comment at the Wall Street Journal following a Peggy Noonan column. The lines appear to be a rewrite of an old Soviet joke, but even the WSJ comment attributed the observations to an anonymous author.

The conundrums have spread far and wide.

The People's Cube also featured them in November 2012, both at its home site and the Washington Times.

If anyone knows of earlier citations or authorship, please share. Drop me a email or leave a comment.

On the theme of an American Easter...

From Library of Congress:

"General Washington at Christ Church, Easter Sunday, 1795"
A painting by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris (1863-1930) from 1908

Yes, it's Easter

Via Twitter:

Luke 24:6 “He is not here but he is risen!”
— Mr. T (@MrT) April 20, 2014

Bloomberg's "Everytown" bungles at the start

"Everytown for Gun Safety"

Ex-New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg's putting $50 million into his latest project pushing deeper, more restrictive gun control laws.

But somebody beat him to claiming the name on Facebook.

BuzzFeed Politics notes:

Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg announced on Tuesday the creation of Everytown for Gun Safety, a major gun-control campaign that will combine some of his previous efforts.  

But a pro-gun group has already reserved that page on Facebook. The first post the group made proudly stated that it stole the name of Bloomberg’s group. 

Here's the pro-gun site's Facebook link. The Bloomberg team has thus far failed to have it permanently banished.

It features real gun safety messages, like this:

Via Facebook

And yes, it does take a dig at the Bloomberg anti-gun campaign:

via Facebook

According to BuzzFeed, Bloomberg's "Everytown" team vows to get the pro-gun site eliminated, or at least separated from the name:

“Maybe they’d like to duel for it,” said Mark Glaze, the executive director of Everytown for Gun Safety. 

Odd suggestion coming from a group that claims its intentions are to end gun violence.

Back at ya, Harry Reid

You may have seen this a couple days back. Senate President Harry Reid (D-NV) said protesters who turned back federal agents at the Bundy Ranch were "nothing more than domestic terrorists."



However, Reid's name calling carries little sting. According to at least one news account, it's apparently being welcomed with open mockery.

From the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

“Are you guys domestic terrorists?” he (Cliven Bundy) asked the crowd gathered around a stage near the north bank of the Virgin River. 

The supporters, many wearing name tags that said “domestic terrorist,” erupted with cheers and applause.

Remember the Democrat congressman from Memphis who tried to smear Tea Party Republicans in Congress with a "domestic enemies" label last year?

Democrats sure have changed under Obama's reign.

I clearly remember when Democrats championed dissent and protest.

"I am sick and tired of people who say that if you debate and you disagree with this administration somehow you're not patriotic. We should stand up and say we are Americans and we have a right to debate and disagree with any administration," said Hillary Clinton just eleven years ago.

Democrats like Sen. Reid and Rep. Steve Cohen would do well to review the words of the former junior senator from New York.

Georgia's HB 60 to be signed next week

The Safe Carry Protection Act was passed by the Georgia legislature earlier this year.

Governor Nathan Deal's office now says he'll sign the new law next week.

But the signing won't be in Atlanta. Deal's taking the signing show north to Ellijay.

.22 ammo orders still backlogged

Anyone who shoots .22 Long Rifle ammo knows supply is still hard to come by.

The Civilian Marksmanship Program continues to have a huge backlog of  backorders. An email from the CMP carried this update:

AGUILA .22LR STANDARD VELOCITY. After a very long wait, CMP received a full container (1,000 cases) of Aguila .22LR ammunition, CMP item number 419ASVSE. Because of the price increase to $305 per case, we are contacting customers who have this item on order with the option to cancel the order or to continue processing at the new price. Contact is being made via email and phone call if necessary, oldest orders first. We still have over 6,000 customer orders for this item and are expecting another shipment of 1,000 cases in June, 2014. 

On the bright side, the CMP says it has caught up on its outstanding orders for Aguila .30 cal carbine ammo, and even has some in stock to sell. It also had some vintage Lake City carbine ammo available at the time the email went out.

There is a set of eligibility requirements for those buying from the CMP, stuff like demonstrating active involvement in firearms or marksmanship activity, and membership in an approved shooting sports or collectors organisation. Most folks can easily qualify if they have interest.