Let's be fair

From Hope n' Change Cartoons:

What will you do for Liberty in 2013?

It probably won't involve buying government bonds, the Treasury now has the Fed buying the stuff it prints.

But the nation is in peril as 2013 begins. And those who love liberty must rise to its defense.

Those Obama loving celebs who demand gun control...

Someone mashed up their sappy PSA with clips of how they make their money.

These hypocrites want to dictate morality to the rest of us?

YouTube.com

U.S. military course notes gun grab priorities

In case of civil unrest, U.S. military police are taught to prioritize targets. And guns are a specified priority:

When such threats exist, military personnel may have to be committed to security operations.  In particular, security must be placed on armories, arsenals, hardware, and sporting good stores, pawnshops, and gunsmith establishments, or other places where weapons or ammunition are stored.  To conserve manpower, consideration may be given to evacuating sensitive items, such as weapons from stores and storing them in a central facility.

The paragraph is part of a U.S. military police sub-course syllabus published in 2006. And it specifically says the focus of the training is to address potential military actions during domestic unrest in the United States.

Aside from the fact the U.S. military traditionally does not have a domestic law enforcement role, the tactic of seizing guns in a rioting situation may seem like common sense. But it takes on new and ominous tones in light of a president and members of Congress who now proclaim they're on a mission to openly strip away Americans' right to bear modern firearms.

If lists of storage locations for registered privately owned arms were available, would they be added to the military police priority list?

He's going for it

Obama wants more gun control enacted in 2013.

The Hill:

President Obama on Sunday said he would make gun control a priority in his new term, pledging to put his “full weight” behind passing new restrictions on firearms in 2013.

Sides in the gun control debate

Minuteman Memorial
Photo circa 1900

I'm tired of hearing the Left, and even some well meaning folks in the middle, make the claim that gun control is being held up by the NRA.

The NRA is just a player on one side.

The bigger picture involves one side who are citizens who revere and abide by the Constitution, including the Bill of Rights, and who vow to defend it; the other involves pandering politicians who have vastly expanded the federal government beyond its means to be sustainable, and who now claim a right to self defense and self determination bestowed by God and protected under founding documents should be infringed upon for what they claim will be for the greater good of the collective.

That's it. Black and white. Choose your side.

Ron Paul on the Fiscal Cliff

Ron Paul was on CNBC last Friday:



Among the highlights from the soon to retire congressman:

"So the Republicans and Democrats, they pretend they are fighting up there, but they really aren't. They are arguing over power, spin, who looks good, who looks bad; all trying to preserve the system where they can spend what they want, take care of their friends and print money when they need it."

Anyone looking at NFA gun trusts?

If by some miracle the Democrats manage to push through Feinstein's semi-auto gun ban, how many current owners have considered putting their existing arms in an NFA gun trust?

How many gun owners even know the trust entity exists?

James Wesley, Rawles' SurvivalBlog.com dealt with the topic earlier this year:

Gun trusts use estate planning law to deal with, and in some cases legally circumvent, arcane and restrictive federal laws that regulate the use and possession of certain types of firearms. 

A trust creates a legal entity to register and own a restricted gun, and creates a pool of individuals who legally have access to the firearm.  A Jacksonville, Florida law firm has this on its site:

NFA gun trusts have become popular in recent years as an alternative to individual registration because of the flexibility they offer after the firearm is purchase as well as not requiring the photos, fingerprints, or CLEO signature.

There other sites from other firms on the Internet. If you're a gun owner of a weapon that has potential to be restricted under an NFA expansion, it's probably a good idea to at least be aware of some of your legal options.

This appears to be a very specialized area of law. While I have no personal experience with these trusts, if someone decides to go the trust route, I suspect it's best to use an experienced attorney who specializes in them.

High cap magazine ban

"How much actual “advantage” does a high-capacity magazine give to a monster who is shooting unarmed people? Practically none."

But that's not about to stop the big mag haters.

High-Capacity Magazines Bill To Be Introduced By Democrats On First Day Of Congressional Session.

Not that I'm taking any of the efforts lightly, but how much of the gun and mag ban talk is really serious, and how much of it is just progressives pandering to their base while trying to mess with our heads?

Run on ammo apparently widens

Quick trip inside a sporting goods store was an eye-popper this afternoon.

This shelf from Dec. 8 is well stocked
compared to what I saw today.

Ammo aisle about three-quarters empty. Maybe more.

No 9mm. No .38 Special. No .22s of any kind. A few boxes of .45 ACP and .40 caliber remained. There were a couple boxes of some "specialty" .380.

.223 gone. I expected that. But other rifle categories were stripped too. Some 6mm. Some 7mm. Some .222. But it was mostly premium stuff.

I was most surprised by the shotgun selection. Most 12 and 20 gauge varieties gone. If you dug around you might find some trap loads for under ten bucks a box. But nothing was shelved where it should have been.

On shopper walked up to the aisle. Shook his head, looks at me and said, "It's like this everywhere." I guess he didn't find what he came for. He shook his head again and moved on.

About a dozen customers were at the gun counter. I didn't do an exhaustive study of what they were buying, but handguns seemed to be the focus. I just glanced, but I didn't see anything in tactical long guns in the racks.  My guess of what was left is high end shotguns and bolt action rifles.

I wonder if retailers are holding back some ammo for customers who are buying guns. Some stores were doing that back in 2009.

Hypocrite Bloomberg calls for perspective

Mike Bloomberg, who publicly expressed disbelief that police across America hadn't abandoned patrols and go on strike after the Aurora theater shootings....

CNN via YouTube

...now tells people and the media to keep things in perspective after New York City trains were used in shoving incidents to kill people.

Perhaps there is value to keeping CNN show host Piers Morgan on the air. Not only does Morgan articulate the views of the gun-grabbers in a pompous, know-it-all style, he gets other gun control fanatics to open up and say stuff like Bloomberg said in the clip here.

Mr. Heston said it well

Charleton Heston, as he addressed the NRA a dozen years ago:

Every time our country stands in the path of danger, an instinct seems to summon her finest first, those who truly understand her. 

When freedom shivers in the cold shadow of true peril, it's always the patriots who first hear the call. 

When loss of liberty is looming, as it is now, the siren sounds first in the hearts of freedom's vanguard. The smoke in the air of our Concord bridges and Pearl Harbors is always smelled first by the farmers, who come from their simple homes to find the fire, and fight, because they know that sacred stuff resides in that wooden stock and blued steel; something that gives the most common man the most uncommon of freedoms. 

When ordinary hands can possess such an extraordinary instrument, that symbolizes the full measure of human dignity and liberty. That's why those five words issue an irresistible call to us all, and we muster. So. So, as we set out this year to defeat the divisive forces that would take freedom away, I want to say those fighting words for everyone within the sound of my voice to hear and to heed, and especially for you, Mister Gore: 

From my cold dead hands.

The first Sandy Hook lawsuit is in the works

Gun-free schools are apparently not enough. Warning-free schools may be next.

There's a lawyer in Newtown, Connecticut who has filed notice of intent to sue on behalf of  the family of a Sandy Hook student 'traumatized' by what she heard on the school's loudspeakers. 

Sure, part of the mayhem was transmitted over the PA system. But so were warnings (including the mayhem itself), giving teachers real time information in time to take as much defensive action as possible.

How many lives were saved by the warnings? It's even possible the PA broadcast may have distracted the killer, slowing or shortening his engagement. 

Would those behind this intended lawsuit have preferred the kids and teachers at Sandy Hook not know what was unfolding until they were confronted by the gunman face-to-face? Do they seek restrictions on how schools are allowed to give warnings in future life-threatening situations?

God only knows how much longer and deadlier the attack at Sandy Hook might have been had those speakers not been in place - and used for their intended purpose.

Exactly what are you saying, Rev. Jackson?

When asked about gun control failures, the Rev. Jesse Jackson gives some pretty incoherent answers.

My favorite part is where Jackson says he went to a jail on Christmas and asked the inmates how many of them had been shot. Three-fourths stood up. Jackson says he encourages these victims and those who are doing the shooting to join in actively campaiging for more gun control.

Doesn't Jesse know thugs have always preferred unarmed targets?

Gun Free Schools

"Gun group says active killer events quadrupled after Gun Free School Zones Act"

David Codrea has a quick summary at Examiner.com

Georgia Carry's report is here.

I found the old press clippings interesting. Everything old is new again.

For those interested, take a look at Joe Biden's Crime Control Act of 1990:

Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 - Amends the Federal criminal code to impose criminal penalties for the possession or discharge of a firearm in a school zone, with specified exceptions including the possession or discharge by an individual as part of a school program or by a law enforcement officer acting in an official capacity. 

Encourages Federal, State, and local authorities to post signs around school zones warning of a prohibition of the possession of firearms in a school zone.

Friday's Don and Doug

A return that seems long overdue.

Don and I return for our final program of 2012 at 1:00 pm ET on Friday, December 28.

Guns, the Fiscal Cliff, an apparent lack of leadership in DC...

Are you really prepared for what may be coming your way in 2013?

Listen at TalkSouthRadio.com or access the audio feed directly by clicking here.

Update: The show was heavy on debunking the dishonesty behind the pitch for civilian disarmament, including specific whoppers told by Dianne Feinstein in recent weeks.

We also look at the path to consolidated power being taken by progressives in America, and offer an example from history for comparison.

The December 28th show is available On Demand from start to finish here. 

Dianne Feinstein as Red Sis

"Comrades, hand over your guns!"

The original.

Not everyone on the Left is blaming guns

"For what it's worth, the Newtown Massacre to me is largely about the failure of men in America, and in particular the failure of men to raise up male children into men." - James Howard Kunstler

Civilian disarmament. It's hardly an original idea.

This poster is from Russia in 1918. There are politicians in Washington who would like America to follow the same path in 2013.

"Citizens, hand over your weapons"
Artist: Alexander Petrovich Apsit
1918

The push to eliminate many modern firearms

Senator Dianne Feinstein seeks big steps in the disarming of Americans with legislation she's about to introduce in the senate.

Take a peek at what she's disclosed so far:

Summary of 2013 legislation

Following is a summary of the 2013 legislation:

• Bans the sale, transfer, importation, or manufacturing of:
• 120 specifically-named firearms
• Certain other semiautomatic rifles, handguns, shotguns that can accept a detachable magazine and have one military characteristic
• Semiautomatic rifles and handguns with a fixed magazine that can accept more than 10 rounds
• Strengthens the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban and various state bans by:
• Moving from a 2-characteristic test to a 1-characteristic test
• Eliminating the easy-to-remove bayonet mounts and flash suppressors from the characteristics test
• Banning firearms with “thumbhole stocks” and “bullet buttons” to address attempts to “work around” prior bans
• Bans large-capacity ammunition feeding devices capable of accepting more than 10 rounds. 
• Protects legitimate hunters and the rights of existing gun owners by:
• Grandfathering weapons legally possessed on the date of enactment
• Exempting over 900 specifically-named weapons used for hunting or sporting purposes and
• Exempting antique, manually-operated, and permanently disabled weapons
• Requires that grandfathered weapons be registered under the National Firearms Act, to include:
• Background check of owner and any transferee;
• Type and serial number of the firearm;
• Positive identification, including photograph and fingerprint;
• Certification from local law enforcement of identity and that possession would not violate State or local law; and
• Dedicated funding for ATF to implement registration

Sorting fact from fiction at Sandy Hook and in the resulting gun control push

Ol' Remus has a collection of observations at the Woodpile Report.

Think. Analyze. Don't merely be led.

Well ahead of schedule

Timmy Geithner suddenly says the U.S. will hit the debt ceiling in less than a week.

If true, and if the government's just figuring this out, it seems more than a bit sloppy.

Just another manufactured element of the manufactured "Fiscal Cliff" crisis?

You say you want a revolution?

From Chris Muir's Day by Day Cartoon:

David Gregory's show prop

It seems DC police are at least going through the motions of investigating what was in David Gregory's hand during last Sunday's Meet the Press program. The Washington Post reports:

In asking his guest on the NBC show whether high-capacity ammunition magazines should be banned, Gregory held an object in his hand and said it was a magazine that could hold 30 bullets. 

In its firearms regulations, the The D.C. Code stipulates that “No person in the District shall possess, sell, or transfer any large capacity ammunition feeding device” whether or not it is attached to a firearm.

Is there any chance a star correspondent like Mr. Gregory, at the thick of his network's coverage of government and gun control, could be so woefully uninformed about the gun laws in the city where he works? Who had the idea of flaunting the magazine? Who actually brought it into the studio? Was it real? Or did Gregory fib to his viewers?

So many questions to be answered here.

I'm also curious if authorities in Colorado have begun an inquiry into claims recently made by a news anchor at another network.

Feinstein's big lie

Many of the arguments for gun control are based purely on emotion, with no basis in fact. And some of the arguments being presented now in the wake of the Newtown shootings are complete and outright lies.

Here's a big one from Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA):

The weapons today are much more powerful and lethal than the weapons were when we did this bill in 1993.

Feinstein's Big Lie hits at about 2:13 in the timeline of this CSPAN video of her news conference of December 21.

Exactly what's more powerful and lethal about guns today than 1993?

The ammunition? Is Feinstein referring to .223 ammo like that used in the AR-15?

Most AR type rifles are chambered for .223 ammunition that has been around since the early 1960s.

Ditto for the AR-15 itself. It's based on a design that's been around since 1950s, and was well perfected prior to Feinstein's 1993 ban.

Ruger's Mini-14 shoots the same .223 round as most AR-15s, and it came to the American sporting market in the early 1970s.

If you want to get into military surplus rifles, or those based on foreign designs, the SKS and the AKs have pedigrees back to the 1940s. Even America's little M-1 Carbine of World War Two had 15 and 30 round magazines. The U.S. government teamed with the NRA in the 1960s to sell thousands of those carbines to the public, some tagged with prices under $20. The carbine sales continued (although at much higher prices) through the Civilian Marksmanship Program until a couple of years ago when stockpiles available domestically were finally exhausted.

And the ammunition shot by any of these rifles is less powerful than the 30.06 caliber popular with hunters and target shooters going back more than a century. Yes, there are ARs chambered for other calibers. Some are chambered for .308, 9mm, and even .22 Long Rifle. But each of these calibers predates Feinstein's 1993 ban. The 9mm round goes dates back to 1901, the .22 Long Rifle to 1887.

There were other disingenuous comments in Feinstein's news conference. The more you listen to people like Feinstein, the more you realize they seek to exploit emotion and falsehoods to push their grasps at more gun control. But it's an old game for them. No one should be surprised by their dishonesty this time.

Today in history

December 26, 1860: Union troops near Charleston evacuate to the more secure Fort Sumter following South Carolina's secession from the Union. The Confederate bombardment to remove the Yankee force didn't take place until the following April.

Civil War era sketches of Fort Sumpter (left)

Christmas 1919

In December 1919, Newton Baker, a member of President Wilson's cabinet was photographed with his son and his son's Christmas gift.

"Jack Baker's Christmas present from his father was a complete overseas outfit, a regulation army rifle, gas mask, helmit [i.e. , helmet], etc. Photo shows the Secty. giving Jack his first instruction in the use of the rifle."
National Photo Company collection, Library of Congress

The "assault weapon" ban they really want

Despite Democrats like Diane Feinstein speaking of re-instituting the 'assault weapons' ban, what they really speak of would look nothing like the one crafted when Bill Clinton was president.

What they have in mind is one that eliminates new production, requires registration of existing arms, and would in some cases lead to confiscation.

Kurt Hofmann explains at Examiner.com.

Image courtesy Oleg Volk

Merry Christmas

"Christmas Eve" Wood engraving by Thomas Nast, published 1889

"Early Christmas" Stereo viewer card by Griffith and Griffith from 1897

Any laws broken? Misrepresentations made?

CNN news anchor Don Lemon apparently bragged on-air that he was able to buy an AR-15 in Colorado. He apparently went the extra mile, and got a Colorado driver's license to do it.

Has Lemon ever lived in Colorado?

While guys like Lemon clamor for more gun control laws, will government let them get away with breaking existing law (if indeed that's what happened)?

I'm still waiting to hear NBC's David Gregory explain why he was in possession of an apparently illegal high capacity magazine while on TV on Sunday.

AEP gives in to Obama's coal killing EPA

American Electrical Power adds the Big Sandy coal burners to its list of closures, according to the New York Times.

The move appears in line with plans AEP had announced last year. But plans to shut the iconic plant, located in coal country, had set off a chain of community protests in the region.

Bottom line, President Obama's administration is doing what he promised before being elected in 2008. He's making it too expensive to stay in business by producing electricity with coal, America's most plentiful energy resource.

Thought police or just an excuse to spy?

NYPD explores the idea of trolling for potential mass shooters, using online posts to ID their targets, according to a report by CBS New York.

“The techniques would include cyber-searches of language that mass-casualty shooters have used in e-mails and Internet postings,” (Police Commissioner Ray) Kelly said.

Would online use of gun related jargon be enough to trigger higher levels of targeted surveillance or other interventions? I'd love to hear Kelly elaborate on the kind of language he's looking for.

Sounds like a creepy excuse for government to ramp up levels of cyber-surveillance on all of us.

The progressive anti-gun campaign escalates

Aren't these some of the same idiot celebs who eagerly sold Americans on Obama's Hope and Change con four years ago?

Now they're back demanding civilian disarmament.



Disarming law abiding Americans to fight so-called gun crimes is kind of like declawing cats to protect them from being chased by dogs.

A blogger who recalls other gun rushes

Tam shares her thoughts on this time versus some of the others.

Even the liberal media violates gun control laws?

And it sure looks like a guy at NBC was flaunting a violation here. 

Yet the same media folks tell us criminals will comply?

CDNN suspends online order taking

The gun and gun accessory company cites existing backlog and product shortages.

Source: CDNNinvestments.com as of 12:20pm EST on December 23, 2012

Another blogger's observations after visiting a gun store

"I have been through the panic buys of the Clinton years and the panic buys following the election of President Obama but have never seen a panic like this anywhere."

Have you stockpiled what you need?

Especially imported stuff.

I saw this at Savannahnow.com:

Dockworkers along the East and Gulf Coast ports — including Savannah’s — are preparing to walk off the job next weekend in a move that would have a ripple effect on an already fragile economy and disrupt the delivery of everything from retail goods and food items to parts critical to U.S. manufacturers.

Christmas drawings of the Civil War

"Santa Claus in Camp"
Published in Harper's Weekly, January 3, 1863

"A Christmas Dinner. A scene on the outer picket line"
Drawing by Edwin Forbes

Texas gun store receives death threat

The Houston Chronicle reports:

"Live by the gun. Die by the gun. You will not live to see Easter," reads the typed letter that was mailed Thursday in Houston and arrived Saturday at Jim Pruett's Guns & Ammo.

The threat also targeted the owner's family and store employees, according to the report.

It's not the first threat to firearms advocates since the Newtown shootings.

Others have popped up on Twitter.

One Texas Democratic Party official said NRA members should be shot. Of course, he claims that wasn't a threat.

Does anyone think these people will suddenly discover civility if their political opposition is forced to disarm?

Copycats

The idea of more cops in schools didn't originate with the NRA.

As president, Bill Clinton was pushing for twelve years ago. 

Thoughts after travel on I-75

We made the drive from Atlanta to Florida and then back to Atlanta this week using I-75.

In south Georgia, several of the exits no longer have operating gas stations or other vendors. Stores closed, weeds growing up around them.

Were these businesses forced out by a down economy? Did they over finance in the boom years? Or were they simply unable to compete with the bigger clusters of competitors that formed around other exits just a few miles down the road?

I also noted empty billboards. Dozens of them. Most displayed phone numbers, and solicitations for  new business. Others carried out-of-date ads still on display.  Again I ask, how much of this is due to a contracting economy?

I have to wonder how much the billboard biz is being hurt by wireless devices that put the resources of the web within reach of passengers riding in a moving car. Are billboards as effective when travelers use the web to plan their trips in every detail? Is their impact diminished when travelers can instantly go online and seek reviews for motels, restaurants or attractions they see advertised?

Here's an example of how mobile Internet impacted our trip: When we were rolling south on I-75 earlier in the week, a family member suggested we eat at a certain restaurant you usually don't see advertised on billboards. So, we whipped out the iPad, and checked locations on the chain's website. And then pulled up directions to one in a city we were approaching.

Did they goof big time?

Online gun and gun accessory seller Cheaper Than Dirt posted that it has suspended online gun sales post-Newton to allow review of of its internal policies. The Blaze has a rundown of Cheaper's website updates and customer reaction.

Did Cheaper try to be politically correct in the biz where the customers aren't?

If they'd been smart, they could have simply said they'd sold beyond their immediate capacity to fill orders, and had suspended online sales until they caught up with those already placed. They tried to suggest that on one of their updates. But by that point, it appears the damage had been done.

I might see this differently if we later learn the review was the result of some kind of ATF inquiry. Or if Cheaper discloses it was out of compliance on some specific law or regulation. But as long as the company appears to simply be waffling, I'll shop elsewhere.

While the Left tries to exploit the Sandy Hook shootings as an excuse for more gun control, the simple truth is that more guns in civilian hands have been accompanied by a drop in violent crime.

USA Today notes it's a long trend:

The number of federally required background checks of prospective gun purchasers has nearly doubled in the past decade — a time when violent crime has been in long decline in many places across the USA, according to FBI records.

Prior to the Connecticut shootings, 2012 was already a record breaker for gun sales. As of last week, USA Today reported there had been 16.8 million background checks run in 2012. I have to wonder how many tens of thousands more have been run since Friday.

Run. Hide. Fight.

"Surviving an active shooter event."

Produced by the City of Houston.  And pretty good for a government funded short.

More killing with Fast and Furious fingerprints

From CBS News.

Anyone notice Obama's not calling for an open discussion about this gun problem?

Panic buying or prudent procurement?

There's a gun store near me that usually has a good inventory of AR type rifles. So I popped in today to see what was left.

Not much. A wall that's usually filled with 'em held only a few. The blank space glaringly obvious.

There were at least four people working the behind the counter. I've never seen more than two at a time before in this particular shop.

On the other side of the store, the selection of tactical type shotguns looked to be only a half to a third of the usual norm. And in the regular rifle racks, it looked as if only one in three spaces held a long gun, but I didn't stop to do a precise assessment.

The ammo shelf behind the counter looked a little thin too. I didn't take time to check the pistol cases, I'd come in for some cleaning patches and an eyeful of what recent events had done for black rifle sales.

I got both. And went on my way.

Public rifle and skeet facilities near Atlanta

We enjoyed a great morning of rifle shooting, and an early afternoon of skeet and trap shooting today at the Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center near Mansfield, Georgia.  It's about an hour's drive east of Atlanta.

The rifle range has been improved in recent years, and the shotgun facilities are completely new (at least since the last time I was out there a year or two ago).

One of the  two of shotgun skeet/trap ranges at Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center near Mansfield, GA.
There is also a 5 Stand facility.

About eight to ten other shooters were using the 100-yard rifle range when my wife and I were there this morning. Only a few folks were using the 50-yard pistol range. Friends have told me this can be a very busy place on weekends. But there were shooting stations to spare when we were there today.

Charlie Elliott is among the state wildlife facilities that now requires users to have a GORP (Georgia Outdoor Recreational Pass). An annual small group pass is around $35. And an individual three-day pass is only $3.50. Use of the skeet and trap facilities costs a little extra ($15 to purchase your first round of 25 clay targets and acquire the necessary debit-type card, refill rounds are only $6.25 more).

For city dwellers or suburbanites who often find their shooting choices confined to commercial indoor ranges, Charlie Elliott offers a great alternative at a reasonable price. But unlike commercial ranges, you have to provide your own firearms, targets and ammo. Charlie Elliott used to require you bring your own stands as well as targets, but the rifle and pistol ranges now provide target stands where you can post the paper targets you bring. The facilities are open Tuesday through Saturday.

Democrat gun control talking points...

As written by the staff at NBC News. Via Breitbart.com.

NDAA is back in the news. Or at least it should be.

Maybe you didn't see it for all the wall-to-wall coverage being generated out of Newtown, Cnnecticut or by the so-called Fiscal Cliff. But opponents of the indefinite detention elements of the National Defense Authorization Act went to the Supreme Court last week to file an emergency motion to block implementation.

The Huffngton Post notes:

Since January, former New York Times reporter Chris Hedges, Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg and other activists have been waging a legal battle against the U.S. government, arguing that the NDAA gives the military far too much leeway to imprison journalists or activists on vague accusations of supporting terrorism. 

Lawyers for the Obama administration, meanwhile, have maintained that blocking the NDAA would do irreparable harm to the president's ability to wage war. 

But the NDAA development apparently didn't slip past Chris Muir at Day by Day Cartoon. Have you seen today's strip?

Overlooked in national media

A jammed rifle and a silent challenge by an armed civilian are what preceded the suicidal end to last week's mall shooting in Portland, Oregon. Nick Meli says he saw the gunman trying to clear his jammed rifle. Meli pulled his own gun, but couldn't get a clear shot at the gunman. Still, Meli tells KGW TV he knows he made a difference:

"I'm not beating myself up cause I didn't shoot him," said Meli.  "I know after he saw me, I think the last shot he fired was the one he used on himself."

Armed civilians have successfully intervened in breaking up attacks by armed criminals. Even in mass shooting situations. But these interventions are far less likely when shootings take place in so-called gun free zones.

China tells Obama: More U.S. gun control. Now.

Chi-coms to Obama: Man up and implement gun control. Regardless of U.S. domestic resistance.

From China's Xinhua news agency:

For all that, the latest heartbreaking deaths of the 20 schoolchildren aged five to 10 have made the crime especially unbearable. Many people can't help but turn to the dim hope once again: the gunman's cruelty and evil may provide a strong momentum and broader public support for the restart of gun control efforts. Moreover, with no re-election pressure, President Obama is currently in the best position to promote it. 

Obama said of the latest tragedy the country had "been through this too many times," and it was time to put aside political differences and "take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this." 

Some people have noticed Obama's tougher tone this time, compared to the Colorado shooting, when he called for "prayer and reflection." 

Action speaks louder than words. If Obama wants to take practical measures to control guns, he has to make preparation for a protracted war and considerable political cost.

Do the Chinese know this might well trigger a U.S. civil war? Is that their intent?

Small town America ain't what it used to be

Paragould, Arkansas has a population of about 26-thousand. The Paragould Daily Press reports the local police are introducing new anti-crime measures:

"[Police are] going to be in SWAT gear and have AR-15s around their neck," (Police Chief Todd) Stovall said. "If you're out walking, we're going to stop you, ask why you're out walking, check for your ID." 

Stovall said while some people may be offended by the actions of his department, they should not be. 

"We're going to do it to everybody," he said. "Criminals don't like being talked to."

Seriously? AR-15s may be appropriate for securing certain high risk targets, or for police dealing with some tactical situations. But to use them for regular street patrols, it's absurd for cops to have guns slung around their necks that fire rounds capable of penetrating walls of houses or apartments where innocent people inside are doing nothing more than peacefully carrying out normal lives.

The paper goes on to say the city's mayor has backed down on some of the show-your-papers rhetoric.

Even so, I find it hard to believe anyone in Paragould, Arkansas favors the kind of gunned-up police state presence the chief and the mayor seem to envision.

Individuals are responsible for their actions

Ronald Reagan Presidential
Portrait 1981

"We must reject the idea that every time a law's broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions." - Ronald Reagan, July 1968

Evil misspelled

"The issue isn’t really guns. Guns are how we misspell evil. Guns are how we avoid talking about the ugly realities of human nature while building sandcastles on the shores of utopia." - Daniel Greenfield

Tear up the Constitution. Confiscate Guns.

So says MSNBC show host Ed Schultz via Twitter:

Schultz articulates that the Left really wants. The election may be over, but this is no time for constitutional conservatives to let their guard down.

Sums it up The Left is looney.

Source

Newtown

Where registered guns were used to carry out a mass killing in a gun free zone.

Self defense is a human right

Photo courtesy: Oleg Volk

Compare the latest to a past mass shooting

Originally posted January 16, 2011

Tucson aftermath: Let's take some cues from 1966

It's been more than a week. It's time to roll back the scope and scale of coverage in Tucson. There is no on-going national crisis there unless you count attempts to manufacture one.

The event in Tucson was horrific. But it certainly seems to have been the isolated work of one man. Let's take a cue from history, and begin to move on.

Consider how America handled the Texas Bell Tower massacre in 1966.

The death toll was much higher. So was the number of wounded.

And  there's startling contrast in how leaders and media reacted in 1966 compared to the inflammatory rhetoric of the past eight days.

The archive of a national weekly news magazine may help us gain perspective.

In sorting out the details of the Bell Tower event, Time magazine's August 12, 1966 cover story focused on the gunman, and didn't try to herd us to political action. Nor was it filled with politicians trying to shape the event in support of their personal or partisan agenda.

Once the event was over and the gunman dead, it was clear the crisis aspect concluded.

Sure, there was discussion and debate after the event in 1966.  Some of it focused on gun control. And, like today, some of it focused on handling suspected psychotics. Time's cover story devoted a paragraph to some of the proposals, but news coverage didn't fall into the role of  cheerleader. "There was a spate of ideas, some hasty and ill conceived," according to Time.

Following the cover story, Time readers offered reaction and opinion, but the letters published are focused on policy, without a tone of personal vilification.

Back then, we seemed more able to identify the bloodshed as the work of madman. And didn't try to smear political opponents near and far with emotional attacks framed with the blood of victims.

For the most part, life was allowed to resume a course toward normalcy after the Bell Tower massacre. We weren't fed polling updates telling how politicians gained or lost popularity pegged to their response. America in 1966 likely would have been horrified at the suggestion politicians crafted responses or sought or received personal gain from such events.

Let's take some cues from 1966. We can't dwell on Tucson forever. Some additional aftermath coverage is warranted, but it's also time we move to keep things in perspective.

Today, we have real issues begging for attention. If we want to accomplish something, let's target a failing, increasingly centralized, public education system, or come to grips with the disaster in progress known as the federal debt.

Don't count on politicians or the media to direct discussion back to key issues. Events of the past week show political leaders often take the path of least resistance, speak before they think, and are prone to distraction rather than staying on target.

As for the media, it is no longer the watchdog it once was. It has become more focused on covering events or personalities than it is on connecting dots and covering issues. Many media simply seek a platform that yields ratings.

It's up to all of us to become our own watchdogs, to be aware of what's going on, to immerse ourselves in a knowledge of "boring stuff" like government finance, budget reports and legislative proposals. We must then make decision makers aware that we're aware and expect them to act in our best interests. Otherwise, they may simply look for the next diversion to play on our emotions rather than begin work to fix what really needs fixing.

This is not to say we shouldn't continue to keep those recovering in Tucson in our thoughts and prayers. Many there undoubtedly continue to wrestle with personal crises over what this tragedy has brought to their individual lives.

But as for a national focus, let's get back on target and move forward.

Exploiting crisis for political gain

From Day by Day Cartoon:

Gun free zones

Originally posted here August 16, 2012

Is this it?

Is today's mass school shooting in Connecticut the event that puts an all-out progressive push against the Second Amendment into motion?

Mr. Obama certainly wasted no time in getting out in front with at least a hint of where he wants things to go:

As a country, we have been through this too many times.  Whether it’s an elementary school in Newtown, or a shopping mall in Oregon, or a temple in Wisconsin, or a movie theater in Aurora, or a street corner in Chicago -- these neighborhoods are our neighborhoods, and these children are our children.  And we're going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics. 

The Democrats have been gearing up for a gun control push. Perhaps they think they have the upper hand right now. Obama's reelection is constantly being spun as a mandate for his agenda. The Dems may also see the GOP as being vulnerable now with political capital being especially low as fiscal cliff talks wear on.

From: WhiteHouse.gov

In sharing his reaction to today's shootings, media reports noted that the president teared up during his comments. Sincere emotional reaction, or calculated political theater?

While you're looking one way...

The Obama team announces moves on another front.

From the Washington Times:

The administration has issued stays of deportation for 102,965 illegal immigrants under President Obama’s new non-deportation policy, officials announced Friday.

Democrats. They don't present themselves like they used to.

How many remember this ad?

Watching history unfold, and not afraid to talk about it

We return for the 101st live show and mark the second anniversary of the Don and Doug show later today, Friday, December 14th.

When we started the program, many conservatives thought Obama's changing of America would be stopped by a Republican landslide in the November 2010 elections. But two years later, the situation is now more dire than ever.

We talk about it beginning at one o'clock (eastern time) this afternoon. Just click the Listen Live icon for access at TalkSouthRadio.com or access the program directly by clicking here.

Leftist celeb advocates jail for Obama opponents

Harry Belafonte says Obama has a mandate from the people. And if conservatives don't shut up and get out of his way, Belafonte suggests a remedy to clear Obama's progressive path.

He shares his strategy with Al Sharpton on MSNBC:

“Work like a Third World dictator and just put all these guys in jail.”

H/T Moonbattery

Greece vs U.S.

"The only difference between the U.S. and Greece is that the European Union stops Greece from printing money and going deeper in debt." - Letter to the editor in the Baltimore Sun.

Cultural war

"The progressives have few children of their own. Your children are their children. If they can corrupt your children, then they have a future." - Daniel Greenfield at Sultan Knish

12 days til doomsday

Actually, as of today, it's less than twelive if the Mayans are right.

But regardless of the Mayan calendar, or because of it, here are some things to consider.

In Chicago, cops are crime targets

Crime so prevalent that no one's safe in Chicago. Not even the cops.

Off duty Chicago cop shot in robbery attempt early Monday:

Despite getting shot in the chest, the bullets missed his vital organs and the officer is “doing well,” resting with his wife and family, police department spokeswoman Melissa Stratton said in an email. Police say the ten-year veteran was getting out of his vehicle when a man with a handgun walked up and attempted to rob him just after midnight, near West 63rd Street and South Nashville Avenue.

Later the same day:

An off-duty Chicago Police officer was carjacked Monday night in the Calumet Heights neighborhood on the South Side, police said.

Meanwhile, Chicago's mostly disarmed civilian population may soon get better means of self protection. A federal appeals court today overturned the Illinois ban on carrying a concealed weapon.

Sporting purpose?

"The Founding Fathers did not devote ten percent of the Bill of Rights to the protection of the right to keep and bear sporting goods." - Kurt Hofmann

Killing white people gets laughs on SNL

Jamie Foxx at it again.

This time on Saturday Night Live:

“I got a new movie coming out ‘Django Unchained’. And in the movie I got to wear chains. But don’t be worried about it because in the movie I get out of the chains. I get free. I save my wife and I kill all the white people in the room. How great is that?”

Even at their darkest, Nazis didn't broadcast jokes about killing Jews, Stalin's crew didn't publicly yuk it up over over Ukrainians being starved. And the Klan did its evil under cover of darkness, with identities shielded by hoods and sheets. But in a fundamentally transformed America, the idea of killing white people is the stuff of mainstream media humor.

We've fallen a long long way from where we were just a few short years ago. How much credit should Foxx's lord and savior Barack Obama get for leading us in the decline? How much credit goes to the entire progressive movement as it tirelessly seeks to overturn traditional American values and replace them with something else?

December 10th in budget deficit history

President Reagan issued the following statement on December 10, 1985:

Statement Endorsing the Congressional Conference Agreement on the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Bill 

I am pleased that the Senate and House conferees have produced a bill that I can support which will bring the Federal budget into balance by 1991. I strongly endorse this measure and urge the Congress to act quickly and make this the law of the land. The American people have made clear their desire to eliminate the Federal deficit, and this bill provides a realistic way to accomplish that goal. Additionally, it is my strong hope that the Congress will build upon this effort to adopt a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution to ensure that these deficit reductions are permanent. 

While this proposal is welcome, I am concerned that in the extreme it could have adverse effects on maintaining adequate levels of defense spending. We have no higher priority than maintaining a strong national defense. To that end, I am committed to and will propose budgets that meet this requirement. I look forward to working with Congress to implement our previous agreements on defense spending levels. In pursuing our commitment to a balanced Federal budget, I am pleased that Gramm-Rudman-Hollings does so in the proper way, by providing the incentive to reduce Federal spending, not by raising taxes. As I have said, the budget deficits are not the result of Americans paying too little in taxes; they come from the Federal Government spending too much money. 

This agreement is the result of a lot of hard work and determination. In particular, Senators Gramm, Rudman, and Hollings have energetically fought to produce this landmark legislation. Much credit also goes to Senators Domenici and Packwood and Congressmen Foley, Gephardt, and Panetta. They are to be commended for their dedicated efforts to deficit reduction.

About sums it up

For those who expected a Republican stronghold in the House to act as a check against Obama's agenda, you have to be disappointed. If you're not, I suspect you're not paying attention.

From Hope n' Change Cartoons:

Are you scoped yet?

I'm curious about rifle and pistol scopes, and how the ATF interprets the definition of implements of war.

ATF: "IOWs include magazines, grips, barrels, mounts, scopes, and night visions, etc."

With the vast majority of scopes now of Chinese manufacture (with others coming from Korea or the Philippines), how vulnerable is U.S. civilian retail supply to new import restrictions or reinterpretations by federal bureaucrats?

Plenty of shooters are laying in additional guns, mags and ammo to lessen the impact of potential regs or a UN Small Arms Treaty. But are they overlooking optics?

ATF and armor piercing ammo

Bureaucrats at the ATF may be probing a back door to get more types off ammo out of circulation.

Today in history

December 8, 1776:  George Washington's other crossing of the Delaware - in retreat from New Jersey to Pennsylvania. Washington's more celebrated crossing came later the same month.

Bad paper. That's all that's holding things together,

"This circular game of governments buying bad loans from banks that use the money to buy government bonds will eventually spin out of control."

Two "rich people"

It continues to strike me that today's so-called American progressives borrow many of their themes and their imagery from another time and place. Here's yet another example:

From YouTube.com

One of these "rich people" images is from an old propaganda film praising the founding of Soviet Communism.

The other from a California teacher's union video.

From California Federation of Teachers 

Each is fat, and has a hat, a cigar and is clutching bags of money. In text and imagery, the union seems to have borrowed heavily from Soviet themes.

Coincidence or intentional?



Previous post regarding the union's video 

One of the Americans who defended Pearl Harbor

Chief Aviation Ordnanceman John William Finn, USN

Who was awarded the Medal of Honor for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service during the 7 December 1941 Japanese air attack on Naval Air Station Kanoehe Bay, Oahu, T.H. He is wearing the medal in this photograph.

Medal of Honor citation of Lieutenant John William Finn (as printed in the official publication "Medal of Honor, 1861-1949, The Navy", page 183):

"For extraordinary heroism, distinguished service, and devotion above and beyond the call of duty. During the first attack by Japanese airplanes on the Naval Air Station, Kanoehe Bay, on 7 December 1941, Lieutenant Finn promptly secured and manned a 50-caliber machine gun mounted on an instruction stand in a completely exposed section of the parking ramp, which was under heavy enemy machine-gun strafing fire. Although painfully wounded many times, he continued to man this gun and to return the enemy's fire vigorously and with telling effect throughout the enemy strafing and bombing attacks and with complete disregard for his own personal safety. It was only by specific orders that he was persuaded to leave his post to seek medical attention. Following first-aid treatment, although obviously suffering much pain and moving with great difficulty, he returned to the squadron area and actively supervised the rearming of returning planes. His extraordinary heroism and conduct in this action were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service."

Photo and text courtesy: Naval History and Heritage Command

Ammo shelf snapshot

A couple of sporting goods retailers I visited Friday night were showing spotty ammo inventories. Not to the point we got to in early 2009, but spottier than I've seen 'em in a long time. Varieties of .223 ammo seemed shortest in supply. Even bulk packaged (500 rounds or more) .22 seemed nearly non-existent.

One more Pearl Harbor remembrance photo

Never forget 2402 American lives were lost in the attack on Pearl Harbor.

A Marine rifle squad fires a volley over the bodies of fifteen officers and men killed at Naval Air Station Kanoehe Bay during the Pearl Harbor raid. These burial ceremonies took place on 8 December 1941, the day after the attack. U.S. Navy photo via NHHC.

Heard a song on the radio this morning. Made me smile.

"You can break the back, but you can't break the spirit of a small town southern man." - Alan Jackson

No Don and Doug today, Dec. 7, 2012

Scheduling conflicts abound. So we're taking the week off from the radio show.

Next week will mark our webcast's second anniversary. And our 101st show.

Join us for the December 14th show at 1:00 pm Eastern at TalkSouthRadio.com.

Pearl Harbor Remembrance

December 7, 1941

Photograph taken from a Japanese plane during the torpedo attack on ships moored on both sides of Ford Island. View looks about east, with the supply depot, submarine base and fuel tank farm in the right center distance. A torpedo has just hit USS West Virginia on the far side of Ford Island (center). Other battleships moored nearby are (from left): Nevada,Arizona, Tennessee (inboard of West Virginia), Oklahoma (torpedoed and listing) alongside Maryland, and California. On the near side of Ford Island, to the left, are light cruisers Detroit andRaleigh, target and training ship Utah and seaplane tender Tangier. Raleigh and Utah have been torpedoed, and Utah is listing sharply to port. Japanese planes are visible in the right center (over Ford Island) and over the Navy Yard at right.  NHHC (Naval History and Heritage Command) photograph.

Panorama view of Pearl Harbor, during the Japanese raid, with anti-aircraft shell bursts overhead. The photograph looks southwesterly from the hills behind the harbor. Large column of smoke in lower right center is from the burning USS Arizona (BB-39). Smoke somewhat further to the left is from the destroyers Shaw (DD-373), Cassin (DD-372) and Downes (DD-375), in drydocks at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard. Official U.S. Navy photograph via NHHC.

The forward magazines of USS Arizona (BB-39) explode after she was hit by a Japanese bomb, 7 December 1941. Official U.S. Navy Photograph via NHHC

U.S. Army aircraft destroyed by Japanese raiders at Wheeler Air Field. Photographed later in the day on 7 December 1941, following the end of the attacks. Wreckage includes at least one P-40 and a twin-engine amphibian. Note the wrecked hangar in the background. Official U.S.
Official U.S. Navy photograph via NHHC

What's his real intent?

"The President does not want to solve the cliff or the budget; he wants to punish Republicans."

A pattern of abuse

He's told us every time that what he's doing will make things better...

But what do the results of his policies look like?

Image source: The People's Cube

The potential for higher taxes and increased costs of doing business in the private sector as the result of more regulation are taking a toll. A Wells Fargo-Gallup survey shows more American small businesses plan to cut jobs in 2013, not add them:

The 14% of small-business owners who in November reported increasing their company hiring over the past 12 months is unchanged from July. However, the 26% reporting a decrease in the number of job positions at their businesses over the past 12 months is up from 21% in July, and is the highest level since November 2010. Small-business owners' self-reported hiring suggests deteriorating job growth over the past year, but not nearly as severe a decline as is implied by owners' hiring expectations for the next 12 months.

The election's over. Now the honeymoon may already be coming to an end. There are many signs things in America are going to be getting worse before they get better. And many of those about to get hit the hardest are the ones who were most vehement in backing the president's reelection.

Here's that teachers union class envy video again...

This time it comes with a critique that tears it to pieces.

My simple retort

Howard Dean: "The Truth Is Everybody Needs To Pay More Taxes, Not Just The Rich"

Me: "Why can't we just get along with less government?"

Creative deletions

The fact that the California Federation of Teachers quietly slipped an edited video in to replace the original on it's website is is nothing new.

Long before modern video or things like Photoshop, Stalin's regime was especially noted for creative editing.

For instance, Stalin's people had a real knack for making people disappear.

Images courtesy Wikipedia

Zombie apocalypse on the government dime

The Washington Examiner notes:

The above film clip is not a “behind the scenes” of the latest Dawn of the Dead straight-to-DVD ripoff. It is the actual footage of first responder seminar in San Diego, California. The Department of Homeland Security deemed the event an allowable expense, enabling participants to use federal grant funding to pay to go.

Was the scene depicted here of any more practical value to first responders than a trip to the set of The Walking Dead would have been?

Economic illiteracy reigns in California

Poor Californians. They're convinced that soaking the rich will be their fiscal salvation.

The Sacramento Bee explains how hard California's rich may be hit:

Thanks to passage of Proposition 30 last month, high-income Californians would pay the nation's highest marginal income tax rates -- nearly 52 percent -- if President Barack Obama and Congress fail to make a deal to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff," according to a new study.

Meanwhile, it's public employee unions and their pension funds that are the lodestone around the necks of drowning cities and states.

So what do the unions do?

Produce clever propaganda to blame the rich and "their towers of money" for all that's gone wrong.

Here's one posted prominently on a California teachers union website, a union of people who teach California's kids in public schools.Take note of the scene where the rich guy takes a wiz on the poor and middle class folk.



The way I see it, if anyone's doing the pi**ing, it's the unions.

Update: After being outed by online media, it looks like the union has taken the original video private. It's cut the golden shower video from this version now publicly linked on the union website, but you can still hear the trickle down at about the 2:50 mark in the timeline in the edited offering:

In Obama's world, it's all about who's on the bus

From Chris Muir's Day by Day Cartoon: