How cool is this?

We have always found Second Amendment activism to be intellectually stimulating. We can now report that it can be quite gastronomically satisfying as well.

As promised, we ate today at Valle Luna, the restaurant whose owners bravely outlined their reasons for declining to post "no legally concealed and carried firearms" signs at their establishments in an article printed in yesterday's Arizona Republic. We had the excellent albondigas soup and, at the server's suggestion, a truly exquisite dish called pork fundido. It probably wasn't the healthiest item on the menu, but what the heck, we were celebrating.

After eating, we asked to see the manager, politely informed her why we were dining with them and asked her to please convey our respect and thanks to the owners. She was very friendly and appreciative, and promised to relay our message to the owners when she meets with them tomorrow. We then asked her if there had been any problems with anti-gun hysteria whether organized or not, and she replied in the negative. In fact, she stated that the owners had some pre-printed cards ready for employees to hand out should any customers have questions or criticisms about their decision, and none have been handed out to date, shockingly enough. We asked if we could have one, just for our own edification.

Check this out (click on the pics for a bigger image):







What a fabulous idea, and what an outstanding and articulate way for the owners to express their sincerely-held beliefs to their patrons.

We are truly impressed with this establishment, and plan to be regular customers. We urge other Valley residents to patronize them as well. Based on our meal today, we can state that you definitely won't be sorry.

Disgusting, even by Hollywood standards

The usual suspects (liberal Hollywood actors and directors, deigning to take some time off from their recent hero-worship of Venezuelan dictator President Hugo Chavez, and who generally present themselves as emphatic champions of womens' rights and are very outspoken against such crimes as rape and child abuse. Except in this case.) have come rushing to the defense of film director and unrepentant fugitive from justice Roman Polanski, who in 1978 pled guilty to drugging, then anally raping, a thirteen-year-old girl at Jack Nicholson's house in Los Angeles. Polanski subsequently jumped bail before he was sentenced as he was (rightly) facing serious prison time, and he apparently thought that his measly 42-day stay in a mental ward was punishment enough. He has been ducking American law enforcement ever since.

Yes, we know he was a Holocaust survivor and that his wife was brutally murdered by the Manson gang in 1969. None of that excuses his absolutely horrifying and felonious behavior that night.

"Whoopi Goldberg used her spot on ABC's "The View" to try to clear up the record regarding the crime to which Polanski pleaded guilty in 1978.

"I know it wasn't 'rape' rape. I think it was something else, but I don't believe it was 'rape' rape," said Goldberg, dismissing the possibility that Polanski had forced himself on anyone."

Except for one small detail, Ms. Goldberg - the girl testified in front of a grand jury at the time that that's exactly what Polanski did to her, and that's why he decided to cop to the lesser charge of having sex with a minor - to avoid having to face her on the stand in a court trial, where her devastating testimony would no doubt have easily convicted him.

Thanks to Ms. Goldberg, we now know that there's "'rape' rape", which is apparently very, very bad, and then there's plain ol' "rape", which isn't so bad and should be punished lightly, if at all. How about "statutory" rape, Whoopi? Which of these categories do you in your learned opinion think that serious crime should fall under?

By the way, Whoopi, if this same situation were to happen to your daughter or granddaughter, would you be as willing to let the perpetrator off scot-free just because he also happened to make good movies? Your stand doesn't seem so noble and principled when you view it in that light, now does it, ma'am?

Here are some of the other "esteemed Tinseltown luminaries" besides Ms. Goldberg who are agitating for this lowlife worm to be spared punishment for his crime and long years on the lam, according to the article:

Harrison Ford

Harvey Weinstein

Woody Allen (Of course. Aficionados of vulnerable young women have to stick together, you know.)

Martin Scorsese

Debra Winger (Is she still a working actress?)

We're sure there are many others in that industry who feel the same way as the above individuals, but we apologize as we're too nauseated right now to go find out who they are.

We do know one thing for sure - we won't ever spend another dime in the future to view any project with which these execrable people have even the smallest involvement.

We now have a new favorite place for Mexican cuisine

Arizona's new gun laws go into effect tomorrow. The one garnering the most attention in the local media, naturally, is the one that will now allow law-abiding, non-drinking carry permit holders to carry concealed firearms into bars and restaurants licensed to serve alcohol by the drink, as evidenced by the surprisingly even-handed article on the subject in today's Arizona Republic.

(Actually, this minor change really isn't a big hairy deal, especially when one considers that such behavior is perfectly legal for law-abiding citizens in thirty-nine other states, including Minnesota, our former place of residence. We don't seem to recall there having been any problems in the 35 years or so that such activity has been lawful for permit holders there.)

Establishments are free to post signs banning firearms from their premises if they so desire, as of course they are private property. The article reports that the Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control has handed out about 1,000 of them, although we have yet to see a single one posted, and we frequently eat out in places all over the Valley.

At least one local restaurant owner doesn't have any problems whatsoever with the new law. On the contrary, she quite intelligently recognizes the obvious benefits of having the new policy:

"Janie Riddle, co-owner of the local chain Valle Luna, decided not to post any signs banning firearms, saying that it would be "business as usual" at the family's three Mexican restaurants.

'We've never had a problem in 26-plus years,' said Riddle, whose husband, grown children and various relatives also work at Valle Luna.

'We basically talked about it as a family and as a business and just decided it was in the best interest to not prohibit law-abiding citizens from exercising their rights under the Second Amendment.'

Riddle also said they felt the presence of those carrying guns legally could deter trouble from those carrying guns illegally. 'I think it would get them to think twice, big time,' she said."

She absolutely nails the exact reasons why citizens here pushed so hard for the changes in the carry law. Many thanks for bravely stating them in public, Ms. Riddle.

We think that we'll be having Mexican food for dinner tomorrow evening.

Guess where?

England's still hard at work keeping up its reputation as the Ground Zero of lost rights

Another whimsical cavalcade of stories from the ultimate Nanny/police state that we all know and love:

1. The British government has announced plans to funnel all online and telephone traffic in that country into one centralized database, so that government bureaucrats may wade through every single one of the peasants' private communications at their leisure:

"UK internet service providers will be invited to tender for a British government scheme to monitor all internet communications and telecommunications.

Under the proposed Interception Modernisation Program (IMP), internet service providers (ISPs) would be required to link 'black boxes' to their servers to record all internet traffic, including details of emails, VoIP telephone conversations, instant messages and browsing habits. Telephone conversations would also be monitored."

There's just one slight hitch - putting such a "scheme" into practice is currently against the law in that country, as doing so would violate the privacy rights of UK citizens. No problem, though. The government over there is in the process of simply changing the law so that their snooping will now be A-OK:

"'At the moment, the centralised database and self-authorisation would be illegal under the Data Protection Act,' said [Cambridge security expert Richard] Clayton. 'The draft Communications Data Bill will contain clauses to make this legal.'"

So much for protecting the data of the average British citizen, it seems. How much does anyone want to bet that the government's precious data will be exempt from this draconian change?


2. A woman preparing some printed materials for her small business at a library in central London asked to borrow a pair of scissors to cut some paper, and was refused on the grounds that she might stab one of the workers:

"Ms [Lorna] Watts, from Islington, north London, said: 'I asked why I couldn't borrow a pair of scissors and she said, 'they are sharp, you might stab me'.

'I then asked to borrow a guillotine [paper cutter?] to cut up my leaflets but she refused again - because she said I could hit her over the head with it!'"

She repeated her request at three other area libraries, only to be similarly turned down at all of them.

It's a good thing Ms. Watts didn't ask to borrow a pencil or attempt to check out a heavy book. She probably would have then been arrested for possession of a deadly weapon.

3. Police in Wiltshire, England threatened a middle-aged soccer mom with arrest and prosecution because she committed the dastardly crime of pulling a dead flower from a public bed in order to make it appear neater:

"[The cop who actually showed up at her house over this incident] threatened to 'put her in the cells' and warned that she could be prosecuted for theft and criminal damage - offences carrying a possible six-month prison term."

Taking up valuable jail space that could no doubt be better used to house some of the drunken "yobs" who regularly pee all over the flowers, according to the mom, Angie Summers:

"'You get rough drinkers in there shouting and swearing and urinating on the flower beds and nothing seems to happen to them.'"

You're an easier target, ma'am. The cops over there aren't afraid of you.


4. The "authorities" who run the cafeteria at the Flintshire City Council offices (what, are they too good to bring their lunch or head off to a local restaurant like everyone else?) have backed down after being ridiculed for mandating that the classic (and delicious) dessert spotted dick, which has been around for hundreds of years, be hereafter referred to as "Spotted Richard" after someone heard one person make a joke about the name of the dish:

"But [the council] has warned any customers who act in a "childish way" to behave themselves or be refused food."

We're sure the dastardly fellow who made the crack is currently wetting himself with fear that he'll be denied another helping of spotted dick at that government cafeteria.


Even with the continual erosion of our civil liberties and massive lurch toward socialism over the last six months here in America, at least we can definitively state that we aren't nearly as bad as England.

Yet.

What are you doing to help prevent our country from deteriorating into a similar hopeless mess?

Oh, brother

"Bill Clinton says a vast, right-wing conspiracy that once targeted him is now focusing on President Barack Obama."

You mean the same evil VRWC that "targeted him" with all those sordid allegations about Mr. Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, Gennifer Flowers and Paula Jones, claims that actually turned out to be entirely true? (To be completely accurate, Clinton never officially copped to the last one, but he did pay Jones $800,000 to settle her case against him, something people don't usually do if they're innocent of any wrongdoing. Oh, and Clinton was disbarred as well for lying under oath. Guess that was a byproduct of the VRWC's nefarious machinations against him as well.)

Boy, it's really desperation time down at the DNC right about now, isn't it?

The Jack-Booted Thug(s) of the Week...

... are Venice, Florida Police Chief Julie Williams, Police Lt. Mike Rose and City Attorney Bob Anderson, among others, if this article is at all accurate.

The devastating piece recounts that Venice Officer Mike Frassetti (fairly new to the department, but a previous 5-year veteran of the NYPD), responding to a radio call for assistance made by Chief Williams herself, stopped a Camaro that Williams had observed driving recklessly. Frassetti subsequently arrested the driver, Joshua Rose, for DUI and carrying a concealed weapon (brass knuckles).

Yes, you guessed it from the names given above. Josh Rose was apparently "connected", in that his cousin just happens to be Lt. Mike Rose, Frassetti's direct supervisor at the department.

Read the rest of the article for the dirty details of how this gang of thugs is currently trying to have Frassetti thrown off the force for doing his job in a professional manner allegedly destroying a routine incident report from a domestic violence call (that resulted in no arrests, and none were expected to be made) that took place two full months before he arrested Rose, even though:

1. Frassetti vehemently claims he filed the report in question at the time of the incident;
2. Frassetti is apparently the only officer ever to be investigated by the VPD for this sort of alleged record keeping lapse;
3. Internal Affairs didn't notify Frassetti that he was being investigated until two months after the domestic violence call, one month after the IA case supposedly was put into motion and one week after he arrested Rose, all dates being in complete violation of department guidelines that "when an officer is undergoing an internal affairs investigation, he is supposed to be notified immediately";
4. Other officers have in the past reported similar instances of reports being deleted and information from other cases being substituted in reports, both randomly done by a poorly functioning computer records system;
5. The department's own IT guy testified that since password security was so bad citywide (computer users merely were told to use their name and badge number) anyone could have logged in and erased the report, and that records showed that Frassetti himself was nowhere near a department computer at the time he supposedly wiped the records.
   

The person who lodged the IA complaint and who initially interviewed Frassetti about his records? Good ol' Cousin Lt. Mike Rose, of course, he who had absolutely no ax whatsoever to grind with his officer.

These are the "professionals" that are charged with protecting and serving the public down there?

There's apparently a Part 2 to this sordid story coming. We'll have to check back in to see how much worse this bunch of clowns down in Florida can make themselves look by attempting to fire a good cop who did nothing wrong except lock up the "wrong" drunk - one who apparently had that "blue wall of silence" placed around him by familial extension.

Stinging commentary from abroad

David Hughes, the London Daily Telegraph's chief leader writer, has some choice opinions about President Obama, remarks which illustrate quite well that the sort of buyer's remorse felt among many in this country is becoming prevalent on a global scale as well:

"Alongside the picture [of a British soldier recently killed in Afghanistan], we read that the Prime Minister was forced to dash through the kitchens of the UN in New York to secure a few minutes “face time” with President Obama after five requests for a sit-down meeting were rejected by the White House"

"This country has proved, through the bravery of men like Acting Sgt Lockett, America’s staunchest ally in Afghanistan. In return, the American President treats the British Prime Minister with casual contempt"

"Mr Obama’s churlishness is fresh evidence that the US/UK special relationship is a one-way street"

All of our former Presidents, whatever their faults, have been rock-solid allies of Great Britain and the rest of NATO (including Poland, which has selflessly sent troops to Iraq and Afghanistan in order to assist our forces in those hellholes, and despite that admirable commitment is one of the countries that the Messiah recently sold down the river by unilaterally canceling plans for an anti-missile shield system in Eastern Europe).

We remind the Telegraph that they chose to print London Mayor Boris Johnson's fawning endorsement of Obama last fall, although the editors stopped short of endorsing him themselves, unlike so many of their counterparts at other British newspapers. (The Telegraph editorial board did note the obvious, however: "For his supporters, Mr Obama has become an almost Messianic figure." See, it isn't just us.)

It's only a matter of time before others abroad figure out to their horror what a complete fraud they helped put into the White House. Having a given country's vested national interests and population's personal safety being threatened so badly by the way Obama is "tending" to foreign policy issues (as well as seeing one's own elected leaders being treated in such a rude manner) will undoubtedly hurry that process along.

It can't happen quick enough.

Somehow we don't see much sympathy being generated from this

The family of Donald Rice, the 29-time burglary arrestee who was killed with a samurai sword by a renter who caught Rice breaking into his home, wants the Johns Hopkins University student who dispatched the intruder to be charged with an (unspecified) crime:

"'There's nothing there but his arm. So how is his arms of bones and flesh gonna do anything to a sword,' said [sister] Peggy Rice."

You've got things a little mixed up, Ms. Rice. Your brother's "arms of bones and flesh" (which were quite capable of being used to injure or murder someone) were engaged in carting someone else's belongings out of their house, and presumably were used first in order to "do something" harmful to the student once he accidentally interrupted your sibling's crime spree. That seems to be why the sword was used - for self-defense, in order to protect the student from an attack by your family member. You know, ma'am, if your poor, innocent, misunderstood brother hadn't been caught in the middle of committing multiple felonies in someone else's residence, he would be alive and well today.
"'I don't understand why my brother went that way. But like they say, you've got a bad seed and a good seed in every family, but it still didn't mean for his life to be taken,'"

The student from all reasonable accounts certainly didn't wake up that morning intending to take a life. Your brother was responsible for causing this situation, and he paid dearly for his actions.

Please go away now. Thank you.

A frightening example of indoctrination

This is disturbingly reminiscent of the type of "Dear Leader" patriotic songs the kids in North Korea are taught to regurgitate on demand.

"He said red, yellow, black or white
All are equal in his sight"

Lifted from the old hymn "Obama Jesus Loves the Little Children".

"Hello, Mr. President we honor you today!
For all your great accomplishments, we all doth say 'hooray!'"

Sung to the tune of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic". You know, "Obama's His truth is marching on" and all that.

And people wonder why we refer to President Obama as "The Messiah". As we have previously stated, we do so precisely to mock this sort of outrageous deification of a politician merely because he's the "first black American to lead this great nation".

By the way, this video was apparently shot at B. Bernice Young Elementary School in Burlington, New Jersey, a public school. (The link is currently not working, no doubt due to the crashing of the site's server by the thousands of people who are curious to see the type of institution that would sanction such a brainwashing program by a teacher.)

We're sure the parents in that district will be ecstatic to see how their hard-earned tax dollars are being used to promulgate this sort of indoctrination.

We still remember when our sixth-grade class was forbidden to sing John Lennon's "Imagine" at our graduation ceremony because the powers-that-be deemed it too political for a public school function.

How far public education has fallen.

Why I carry a handgun for protection, Vol. 23

I often wear my handgun holstered openly on my hip while doing such chores around the house as lawn care, working on my money pit Chevy Nova or taking out the garbage. A few of my neighbors have politely questioned why I do so, and at least one has expressed doubt when I answered her inquiry by informing her that random violent crime can happen to anyone at any given moment, even people who live in the upscale, supposedly "safer" parts of a city.

I'll bet my neighbor won't wonder so much anymore about my behavior once I show her this article:

"Phoenix police are searching for a man who they say raped and beat a woman inside her home Wednesday morning after confronting her at knifepoint as she was taking the trash out on her street."

This incident occurred in a perfectly respectable neighborhood in North Phoenix. It is by no means the "bad part of town".

(The woman attempted to fight back with her bare hands, by the way, and was beaten unconscious for her trouble.)

Since I can't carry a police officer with me while I go about my household duties, I will continue to be legally armed, so that in case such a horrific crime is ever attempted against myself, my loved ones or my neighbors, I will be prepared to take instant defensive action, instead of having to wait precious minutes (or more) for law enforcement to show up.

The old saying unfortunately still holds truth, despite what the likes of the folks at the Brady Campaign or the Violence Policy Center would have one believe - "When seconds count, police are only minutes away".

The Jack-Booted Thug of the Week...

... is the unnamed (once again, the favor of anonymity is extended to someone who seemingly doesn't deserve it, this time thanks to "union rules") Chicago, Illinois police officer who on August 1st handcuffed an ER nurse and stuffed her in the back of his squad car because she had the temerity to refuse to draw blood from a DUI suspect until the alleged perp had been admitted to the hospital, which is apparently standard protocol in such situations.

The incident crippled the emergency room's operations that night as the nurse, Lisa Hofstra, at the time was the "charge nurse", tasked with triaging the patients as they arrived and making sure the most serious cases (that is, not a DUI suspect, no matter what sort of mayhem he was accused of causing, but rather people suffering from heart attacks, strokes and the like) were seen first.

'"If this officer is treating me the way he treated me, what is he going to do to people on the street?' Hofstra said"

That is a very insightful question. Answer, Chicago Police?

"A security video of the incident shows the officer smiling outside the squad car as Hofstra sat inside.

'He feels comfortable about smiling when he just illegally arrested someone,' said Hofstra’s attorney Blake Horwitz. 'He is enjoying his power.'"

After watching security camera video of the incident,





we tend to agree with Mr. Horwitz's assessment of the cop's attitude. We wonder if the officer will still be smiling like that when he's held personally accountable in court for his thuggish behavior that night?

What happens when the government tries to run things

USA Today has gotten hold of an audit, undertaken by the federal government itself, that concluded that

"Federal agencies that supply food for 31 million schoolchildren fail to ensure that tainted products are pulled quickly from cafeterias... In recent recalls, including one this year in which salmonella-infected peanut butter sickened almost 700 people, the government failed to disseminate 'timely and complete notification about suspect food products provided to schools through the federal commodities program,'"

Negligence like this usually results in criminal charges when a private company drops the ball in a similar manner. It's the government, though, so there's no accountability and no one even loses their job, much less finds themselves in legal hot water.

These are the highly competent politicians and bureaucrats, mind you, that solemnly promise with a straight face to promptly ferret out the waste, fraud and abuse currently rampant in Medicare and Medicaid, and then proceed to take over and run the entire health care industry in an efficient and competent manner. It's just not going to happen that way, no matter how many vows they make.

Let the Feds straighten out the thousands of programs they're already royally screwing up, and then we'll talk about their taking on some additional responsibilities .

Newspeak

The Messiah's Energy Secretary, Steven Chu, has imperiously pronounced that we stupid unwashed peasants are nothing more than petulant teenagers when it comes to saving energy and fighting "global warming", and he's generously going to be the parent that shows us the error of our ways, even though the Energy Department itself just can't be bothered to follow its own orders recommendations:

"'The American public…just like your teenage kids, aren’t acting in a way that they should act,' Dr. Chu said. “The American public has to really understand in their core how important this issue is.'"

After seeing his boss's words in print, one of his lackeys desperately tried to salvage the situation:

"Energy Department spokesman Dan Leistikow added: 'Secretary Chu was not comparing the public to teenagers. He was saying that we need to educate teenagers about ways to save energy.'"

Umm, nice try, Dan. No sale.

Why don't you guys clean up your own house before you presume to lecture us on our supposedly profligate ways?

From the Department of Glaringly Obvious Headlines

"Man who beheaded bus passenger remains 'a serious risk'"

You don't say?

Remember the story from last July out of Canada about the deranged man on a Greyhound bus who picked a sleeping fellow passenger at random, then proceeded to saw the victim's head off with a knife while the rest of the passengers merely stood by like sheep and watched?

Would you believe that the Canadian justice system actually considered releasing the man after a little more than a year in custody? We didn't either, until we saw it in print:

"A judge ruled in March that Li suffered from untreated schizophrenia and did not realize that killing McLean was wrong.

Li's case was then handed over to the province's review board to decide whether he should be given an unconditional discharge, released with conditions or continue to be kept in a mental health facility."

It's absolutely mind-boggling that the first two options were even on the table, especially after such a short period of treatment. How dare they seriously consider letting such a dangerous lunatic back out onto their streets so soon after what he did to an innocent person, especially given that he doesn't really seem to be working very hard at rehabilitating himself?:

"[The board] also says Li has a history of refusing treatment for his illness and has shown 'unpredictable, threatening, impulsive and anti-social behaviour.'"

Sounds like the perfect candidate to quickly foist back onto society.

As if that weren't bad enough, the "authorities" up there seem to have been more concerned with the privacy rights of the murderer, Vince Li, than with letting the public (as well as the family of the victim, Tim McLean) in on their decision-making process:

"The board initially said it might not release the reasons for its decision out of concern for Li's privacy rights. Following an outcry from McLean's family and others, the board decided to make its detailed decision public."

A country that bars law-abiding citizens from carrying firearms for self-defense against just this sort of horrific, unpreventable random violent crime, secretly ponders cutting the perpetrator loose after little more than a year with only a few unspecified "conditions", and then doesn't bother to inform the victim's family or the public (which just might want to know about the possibility of such a man being released back into their midst) about the particulars of their decision until a mighty uproar is raised.

Canada sounds like a charming place to live. Very enlightened and progressive, and a country that's continually pointed out to Americans as a model of successful governance.

We should emulate them forthwith.

Quick, Britons - better buy one of these quick before they get banned as well

An American company (naturally) is marketing a reinforced umbrella in the U.K. that they claim is as equally effective against muggers as it is the elements:

"A spokesman for Real Self-Defence, based in Vermont, USA, said the umbrella was a vital tool for staying protected on the streets.

He said: ''Our Unbreakable Umbrella has no unusual parts, no more metal than an average umbrella, it does not arouse suspicion, can be carried legally everywhere where any weapons are prohibited.'" (Emphasis mine)

Of course, now that the product has gotten some publicity, it's only a matter of time before the "authorities" over there ban its sale and possession, as those martinets prefer their peasants to be completely defenseless against the two-legged vermin that are running wild over there.

A bald-faced lie

"'Frankly, it's not really something I've followed closely,' Obama said. 'I didn't even know that ACORN was getting a whole lot of federal money.'"

Our President, commenting on the burgeoning ACORN scandal while appearing yesterday on ABC's This Week.

Contrast this statement with one of the Messiah's previous utterances, taken straight from his propaganda website:

"I come out of a grassroots organizing background. That's what I did for three and half years before I went to law school. That's the reason I moved to Chicago was to organize. So this is something that I know personally, the work you do, the importance of it. I've been fighting alongside ACORN on issues you care about my entire career. Even before I was an elected official, when I ran Project Vote voter registration drive in Illinois, ACORN was smack dab in the middle of it, and we appreciate your work.” (Emphasis mine)

We're expected to swallow being informed by the Messiah that an organization loyal to him and to which he has very old and close ties (and one to which his campaign paid out $800,000 for services rendered during last fall's election) has been booted from working on the upcoming Census after specifically being made a key partner in that event by his own administration, is in the process of being stripped of every cent of its Federal funding by Congress and is currently being slowly roasted alive by some responsible media journalists, and these are developments that he's not "following closely"?

You are a liar, sir, and not even a particularly good one.

We can't wait to find out what other unchallenged whoppers you're going to be allowed to spew on your talks show appearance tonight.

Two similar incidents, and the Feds only care about one of them

1. An innocent Belleville, Illinois high school student on a school bus (who happens to be white) simply going about his business is taunted, then badly beaten by two black students as many other black students on the bus cheer them on. Furthermore, the bus driver does nothing to stop the assault. The attackers are charged with aggravated battery.

2. An innocent woman (who happens to be black) simply going about her business gets badly beaten by a white man at a Cracker Barrel restaurant in Morrow, Georgia after an altercation at the entrance to the establishment. The man is charged with battery and disorderly conduct.

Both are senseless violent crimes carried out by brutal thugs, and they should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

-except-

"The FBI has "initiated an investigation in the matter to determine if a civil rights violation occurred [in the second incident]," the agency said in a statement."

Why is only the second case deemed worthy of such close scrutiny by the Feds in spite of the apparently very similar circumstances in the two incidents, and despite the Belleville police initially (before they were muzzled) labeling the bus assault as being "racially motivated"? It couldn't solely have to do with the disparate races of the victims, now could it?

It would appear once again that Attorney General Eric "Neutral, leaning towards favorable" Holder's "Justice" Department is reserving the investigation and filing of "hate crime" charges solely for minority victims, and that in their esteemed judgment such a crime towards a white person simply doesn't exist.

That's a wrong and discriminatory policy in itself.

"Hate crimes" laws are simply an updated term for "thought crimes", which by definition cannot be proven as no one can truly know what goes on in a person's head. Punish the deed, not the thinking behind it. After all, who cares what the motivation for a crime, from murder to mugging, happens to be?

The victim usually doesn't, that's for sure.

It's finally out in the open

It looks like individuals such as Rep. Joe Wilson were correct all along about the Messiah's ultimate plan to finance health care for illegals as President Obama, seemingly under immense pressure from groups such as La Raza, has today now finally deigned to openly announce what's been evident all along to anyone with three or more brain cells: his intention to grant amnesty to all of the illegal aliens currently in this country so that they will then be eligible for his socialized medicine scheme:

"Mr. Obama said legalizing illegal immigrants is a way to take the sting out of the entire issue."

It's all semantics, you see. Just grant amnesty to everyone in one fell swoop, and then he can't be accused of providing medical coverage to illegal aliens, even if that's exactly what he just did. No "sting" at all, except to the taxpayers' wallets and to the concept of the rule of law in this country. No muss, no fuss.

"But Republicans said by pushing to legalize illegal immigrants, Mr. Obama is signaling that those here illegally eventually will get access to taxpayer-funded benefits."

Well, of course. That "signal" would seem to be much too obvious to even have to point out.

We don't think it's hyperbole to state that a major philosophical line has just been crossed, and that people who don't wish to see America turn into a socialist welfare state just like the one England has been sadly reduced to need to get off their butts right now and begin absolutely melting the phone lines on Capitol Hill.

They're really going to do it

The Massachusetts State Legislature is scheduled to vote tomorrow (and is expected to approve by a comfortable margin, given the predominance of Democrats in those bodies) on reinstating the policy of a governor appointing an interim senator due to a vacancy, in order to satisfy the last wishes of Ted Kennedy.

This, of course, is the exact same process that those very legislators got rid of in 2004 in favor of an interim election process, also at the behest of Kennedy (his third or fourth last wish, perhaps?), as the state's Democrats were worried about then-Republican Governor Mitt Romney getting to make a senatorial appointment if John Kerry were to win the Presidential election that year.

That decision was deemed prudent, reasonable and fair by the legislators at the time; not one single thing has changed in the five years since, except the letter after the governor's name. Now all of a sudden the law needs to be "fixed" posthaste (and ex post facto) because their Messiah is being inconvenienced by Kennedy's death. Heck, the President himself is even not-so-subtly championing the "change" in the law through his political minions:

“'Before they vote, all your state representatives need to hear loud and clear the support we all share for an interim Senate appointment,' wrote John Spears, Massachusetts director of Obama’s political committee Organizing for America"

More of the "change" that's being crammed down our gullets at every turn, we suppose, especially if by "change" they mean switching around every possible law and rule around to favor the Messiah, at the expense of every last shred of decency the political process has left.

This is nothing more than the most blatantly hypocritical and nakedly partisan political move that we've ever seen on any level. It actually nauseates us. Imagine the outcry from the media if Republicans were to urge the same kind of hypocritical policy U-turn, and then wonder where they've disappeared to in this case.

The right-thinking people of Massachusetts need to immediately let their "leaders" know in no uncertain terms that they will not stand for this type of unapologetic power grab, on pain of voting every single one of them out of office in the next election. The same type of election that the state's voters are being robbed of right this very minute, of course, so it's seems perfectly reasonable to wonder whether another legitimate election will ever again be held in that state.

Of course, these are the same persons who regularly returned Kennedy to office for four decades and who continue to support Kerry, so maybe they deserve the rogering they're currently receiving. Either way, we're not holding out much hope for stopping this absolute travesty of justice and fairness.

Wise words from all quarters

"Is the New York Times or NBC News really mainstream when they ignore the Van Jones story?

Isn’t there something wrong when Glenn Beck, who doesn’t even pretend to be a journalist, scoops the “mainstream media” on all sorts of stories – from Van Jones to Acorn, to name just two recent examples?"

Respected former CBS newsman Bernie Goldberg. His sentiments are particularly apt given that a fifth ACORN video has surfaced, this one featuring a reprehensible worm of a San Diego ACORN employee who offers to use his contacts to help facilitate the smuggling of tens of (fictitious, fortunately) underage girls from El Salvador across the border at Tijuana for the purpose of putting them to work in this country as child prostitutes.

We would also add Daily Show host Jon Stewart to the list of people who are apparently fed up with the traditional news outlets:

One truly knows that the fix is in when even an openly liberal self-described "fake newsman" feels he has to step up and excoriate his buddies in the "mainstream" press for their shameful lack of coverage of these truly earth-shattering stories, ones that involve the sordid acts of both individuals (Jones) and groups (ACORN) who are intimately involved with the President of the United States.

"Camelot" is gone for good, no matter how hard the liberal-leaning media wishes to bring it back.

Theme parks for thugs

Here are a few recent news stories to peruse. Anyone else see the common theme in them?:

1. Four men have been arrested for the alleged gang-rape of an 18-year-old Hofstra University (New York City, New York) co-ed last Sunday morning. Cops are still looking for a fifth suspect.

2. A 20-year-old Johns Hopkins University student (Baltimore, Maryland) killed a home invader with one well-placed slash of a samurai sword early this morning (Tuesday). The now-deceased suspect apparently was well-known to the local cops:

"Police have also not formally released the name of the suspected burglar, but a department source identified the man as Donald D. Rice, 49, of the 600 block of E. 27th St. in Baltimore. Guglielmi said the suspect had 29 prior convictions for crimes such as breaking and entering, and had been released Saturday from the Baltimore County Detention Center after he was arrested by county police in August 2008 for stealing a car in Baltimore." (Emphasis mine).

Unbelievably, the student is currently in custody while police attempt to determine if his actions were justified (?). In an interesting twist, the official who presumably will make that call is none other than Patricia Jessamy, the Messiah-supporting prosecutor who is attempting to cover up the ACORN scandal (and, by extension, President Obama's hip-deep involvement with that group) by threatening to file felony wiretapping charges against the two intrepid filmmakers who uncovered ACORN's atrocious actions in Baltimore, among other places. Hopefully Ms. Jessamy will be able to tear herself away from grandstanding in that case long enough to let this clearly innocent student return to his home in a timely manner.

3. The autopsy results that will determine the cause of death of Annie Le, a 24-year-old Yale University (New Haven, Connecticut) doctoral student, are currently pending release. Le's body was found in the wall of a heavily-monitored campus laboratory on Sunday.

"Yale officials say every entrance and exit to the building on the school's medical school complex is captured on video by a series of 70 cameras."

Yet no suspect was captured on any of those multiple cameras or by the key-card security system, and thus police have no one in custody to date for Le's murder, despite heavy suspicion centered around a lab tech who worked in the same building.


The common thread that runs through all three of these cases? All took place in double criminal-empowerment "gun-free" zones. By "double", we mean that not only are the states in which the events occurred extremely anti-gun (Connecticut marginally less than the other two, surprisingly enough, but it's nowhere as gun-friendly as most other states), the crime scenes were all also located on college campuses that ban the lawful carry of firearms by law-abiding students, faculty and staff, which pretty much ensures that only criminals and lawbreakers will possess them while on the property, as those thugs don't bother to pay attention to any laws, much less firearm bans.

Would the presence of a legally-possessed firearm by the victims of these crimes have resulted in a better outcome for them? Maybe, maybe not, but we certainly would postulate that the victims would have appreciated the chance to at least try to successfully defend themselves from their attackers with a tool that's much more effective than a decorative sword or their bare hands.

A bucolic suburban campus, an island of higher education in the middle of a ghetto war zone and a supposedly highly-secure campus lab. Violent crime can happen to anyone, anywhere and at any time, and no amount of supposed "security" can prevent it from taking place, as the Yale case graphically demonstrates. Why, then, are these sorts of victims denied their Constitutional right to self-defense merely because they are trying to obtain an education?

This situation would be comical, if it weren't so infuriating

Here are the outfits the two amateur filmmakers from BigGovernment.com apparently wore when they asked ACORN workers in three different cities (that we know of to date) for help in getting a fictitious prostitution service (that would be staffed by underage illegal alien women from El Salvador, no less) off the ground, as well as hide the illicit proceeds from that enterprise - which the workers shockingly all agreed to do:

(Picture is from the New York Post article)

How anyone could have someone dressed like this walk into their office and proceed to ask for assistance in setting up a blatantly illegal (not to mention morally reprehensible) business and not immediately conclude that they are being set up on Candid Camera or Punk'd is beyond us. Nonetheless, help them was exactly what the ACORN workers did:

"counselors at the social-services group shockingly offer suggestions [on the latest tape] on how they can launder their earnings"

Naturally, instead of hanging their heads in shame, the organization is going full-bore against the group that exposed their disgusting policies (Sorry ACORN, having the investigation net the same exact results in three different cities means that this sort of behavior is standard operating procedure for your entire organization, not just a few rogue employees freelancing on their own as you pitifully argue):

"'And, in fact, a crime it was -- our lawyers believe a felony -- and we will be taking legal action against Fox and their co-conspirators,' the statement said."

Well, you won't be doing it with our tax dollars anymore, since the Senate just voted to block your group from accessing federal housing funds in the future. Combined with being booted from the Census project, this sure has been one bad week for you, ACORN. Whatever will you leeches do for income now?

We agree with James O'Keefe, the man who portrayed the pimp in the videos, when he points out ACORN's complete hypocrisy in these cases:

"O'Keefe said, 'ACORN wants it both ways.'

'You can't fire the employees and then say I have defamed them,' he said."

In a just world, O'Keefe and Hannah Giles (the woman who portrayed the prostitute) would be immediately nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for uncovering the sleaze going on at ACORN, instead of being ignored by every news outlet save Fox as well as being pettily threatened with prosecution in Maryland by a Messiah-supporting district attorney.

Personally, we can't wait to see what else the Big Government site's got on that particular bunch of low-lifes. Pass the popcorn, willya?

No huge surprise there

We wrote the following paragraph last Thursday in response to the Messiah's passing reference in his speech to Congress about "getting around to possibly looking at some state pilot programs" concerning tort reform, especially in the area of medical lawsuits:

"A token sop to conservatives that contains no specific details, just like the rest of "his" nebulous plan. If you really believe that he plans to follow through with this project, we've got a Nigerian general that wants to give you millions of dollars in return for borrowing your bank account for a few days."

Today we wake to find out, courtesy of the Kansas City Star and via the Schnitt radio show, some interesting and relevant background information about HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the person chosen by President Obama to head up this sham effort:

"That would be Kathleen Sebelius, who used to be the chief lobbyist and executive director of the Kansas Association of Trial Lawyers, now known as the Kansas Association for Justice."

We're absolutely positive that Ms. Sebelius is just going to pour her heart and soul into giving any such pilot programs a fair shot. Isn't everyone else?

Shades of the future of health care in America, if we allow it to come to pass

While perusing our mail the other day, we opened a lovely note from a local couple who are good friends of ours, thanking us for inviting them to our Fourth of July party.

Our Fourth of July party in 2008, that is.

We called the friends, who bemusedly confirmed that they did indeed post the letter in question right after the event, which means that it took the Post Office just about 14 months to deliver a first-class letter across town.

Still want to entrust this sort of monolithic government bureaucracy, which is currently badly foundering (to the point that it is now considered a "high-risk" agency, according to the Government Accountability Office) despite its enviable monopoly status and in spite of being annually subsidized to the tune of hundreds of millions of our taxpayer dollars, with all of your personal and private health care decisions?

We know that we surely don't.

The Jack-Booted Thug(s) of the Week...

... are certain personnel who staff and run the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

Big time.

In 2005, that particular agency (along with some Federal wildlife officers - isn't it curious how the Feds seem to be so omnipresent these days? Must be all of that stimulus money floating around.) seized around 500 turtles of various species from amateur herpetologist Steve Santhuff and subsequently charged him with keeping the animals illegally as well as endangering them (the relevant charge here).

Santhuff was acquitted of all charges in February 2008. According to this story out of Atlanta, only last week were his reptiles finally given back to him.

Minus, that is, the (the exact number is in dispute, but it's definitely over 300) turtles that died while in the state's custody. As if that weren't bad enough, Santhuff claims that the ones that were fortunate enough to survive their stay in the "care" of the state were returned to him in very poor condition.

"When asked about the turtle deaths and ailments, state DNR spokesman Rick Lavender said 'because of the pending litigation we can’t respond to questions about the type of quality of care of the turtles.'"

Yes, we would imagine you can't, Mr. Lavender. Why hasn't your organization been charged with "endangerment" (the much more serious charge of felony animal cruelty would actually seem to be a more appropriate indictment, from the sound of it), by the way? Immune from the laws that you so willy-nilly impose upon the common peasants down there, are you?

Does this turn of events mean that were your officers to abuse and kill dogs a la Michael Vick they would get go scot-free as well, or does your department's magical force field of protection from the laws applied to everyone else only extend to non-mammals, even if someone has devotedly cared for them for over 20 years, as in this case?

Santhuff was only given back 128 of his turtles, and he states that the DNR still has possession of 44 more, some of which are valued at up to $350 apiece. He has now filed both state and federal lawsuits seeking the return of the rest of his property as well as just compensation for his losses and "civil rights violations he claims to have suffered regarding the legalities of the search warrant."

As devoted pet owners ourselves, we are pulling for Mr. Santhuff to legally smack that abattoir of an agency (that supposedly is all about "animal welfare") up one side and down the other, and that he ends up shutting their incompetent doors for good.

Rep. Wilson was wrong in action, but right on the fact

Was Representative Joe Wilson rude for interrupting the Messiah during one of his ever-more frequently given speeches last night? Yes.

Was Wilson correct, however, that President Obama was lying when he stated that his health care "reform" scheme wouldn't cover illegal immigrants? Yes.

We don't condone rudeness, but we do understand Wilson's inability to contain his outrage, as we would have become just as aggrieved if we had to sit there and listen to Obama repeatedly label legitimate concerns about his proposed socialist takeover of the U.S. health-care system "games", "bogus claims" and "scare tactics". In fact, we take serious offense to our thoroughly researched and genuinely-held opinions being dismissed so cavalierly.

A couple of other points in the speech that jumped out at us:

"A bill for comprehensive health reform was first introduced by John Dingell Sr. in 1943. Sixty-five years later, his son continues to introduce that same bill at the beginning of each session."

The fact that people are elected to Congress and subsequently never leave is a large part of our country's current difficulties. There is no reason whatsoever to have a person in office today who's been there since 1955, as that politician naturally will be hopelessly out-of-touch with their constituency. The people of Michigan should have long ago retired Dingell Jr.

"On the right, there are those who argue that we should end the employer-based system and leave individuals to buy health insurance on their own."

Why not? Bosses don't pay workers' auto or homeowner insurance, so why should they be on the hook for health insurance? Employer-based insurance is a relic of World War II wage controls which should be allowed to die a quiet death, and people should be allowed to purchase insurance (or not, as they wish) from any company nationwide with pretax dollars. Problem solved.

"I believe it makes more sense to build on what works and fix what doesn't"

How about fixing Medicare and Medicaid first, before you attempt to cram millions more people onto the public rolls?

"First, I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits - either now or in the future. Period."

An outright falsehood, as proved by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, which estimates that the tab will be at least 1.6 trillion dollars over ten years, double what the Messiah is promising will be the final bill. There is absolutely no way that this scheme will not add to the deficit and overall national debt. "Period".

"Second, we've estimated that most of this plan can be paid for by finding savings within the existing health care system - a system that is currently full of waste and abuse."

If you're so certain of that, sir, then again why not fix Medicare and Medicaid's problems first, then apply any savings towards a plan to cover uninsured people going forward? Because you know that there's no way in heck that cost savings alone will cover even most of the bill, and the American peasant is inevitably going to have to make up the difference by government forcing them to pay more and higher taxes once the system is in place and it's too late to go back, that's why.

Forgive us for being a little skeptical when we're asked to pony up even more of our hard-earned dough before seeing one dollar of these so-called "savings" (a task that should have been accomplished decades ago, by the way).

"That's why under my plan, individuals will be required to carry basic health insurance"

We reread the Constitution last night, and we again failed to see the part where it permits the Federal government to force people to buy things they don't want to own.

"It's worth noting that a strong majority of Americans still favor a public insurance option of the sort I've proposed tonight."

If that's the case, then why were you forced into appearing before us yet again in a desperate attempt to gin up support for your scheme?

"So I am proposing that we move forward on a range of ideas about how to put patient safety first and let doctors focus on practicing medicine. I know that the Bush Administration considered authorizing demonstration projects in individual states to test these issues. It's a good idea, and I am directing my Secretary of Health and Human Services to move forward on this initiative today."

A token sop to conservatives that contains no specific details, just like the rest of "his" nebulous plan. If you really believe that he plans to follow through with this project, we've got a Nigerian general that wants to give you millions of dollars in return for borrowing your bank account for a few days.

"'What we face,' [Ted Kennedy] wrote, 'is above all a moral issue;'"

We will not be lectured to about morality by the likes of that man. Ever.

"You see, our predecessors understood that government could not, and should not, solve every problem. They understood that there are instances when the gains in security from government action are not worth the added constraints on our freedom."

We'd love to see an issue to which Obama feels this way of thinking would apply. His actions to date certainly haven't illustrated even a single example.



There's plenty more to choose from to pick apart, but we think that we've pointed out the more glaring fallacies in the Messiah's arguments.

We've already called our Representative and Senators today, urging them in the strongest possible terms to block this plan from ever being enacted into law.

Have you?

It's not about health care...

... but rather all about obtaining and securing permanent power and control by organized crime labor over one-sixth of the American economy, as the mission statement of a Michigan local of the SEIU union freely admits:

"We must organize unorganized Healthcare workers, extending to them the gains of unionism while securing control over the Healthcare industry." (Emphasis mine)

This is the very same SEIU whose purple-shirted thugs have been busily intimidating and even assaulting opponents of socialized medicine at town-hall meetings across the country, while also going after their own members as well as other unions that don't toe the party line.

Now you know why.

Some welcome dissension in the ranks of the BATFE

Kimberman over at the Forum has alerted everyone over there to the existence of a website called Cleanup ATF, which claims on its home page to have been created by "members of the ATF community to promote restoration of integrity, accountability and responsibility to ATF's leadership, and regain the trust of the American taxpayer."

That certainly sounds like a noble (and sorely-needed) task, and we admire them for taking it on.

The site seems to be legit, and is stuffed with what appears to be insider information (complete with internal documents) about some of the outrageous abuses of authority many people accuse that agency of committing, including against its own employees.

We especially enjoyed perusing the Hall of Fame section, which includes this excerpt from a deposition which, after reading, we agree with the site authors demonstrates "an extraordinary absence of basic competence and/or honesty" on the part of the agent being questioned under oath.

The fact that the site creators took this drastic step speaks volumes about the way the ATF is currently being (mis)managed, in our opinion. The authors seem to have truly thought that they had no other recourse but to warn the American public in such a public manner to beware of the out-of-control agency that employs them, an organization which purports to "serve" citizens but instead all too often treats law-abiding people quite unprofessionally, if not with outright contempt.

We fervently hope that this is but a small first step which will lead to the eventual overhaul (if not complete dismantling) that that particular agency desperately needs.

Hit out of the park

"Once upon a time the people deluded themselves into thinking a suave extremist was to be their nuts-and-bolts centrist. Now they don’t know whether to be mad at him or themselves — or both."

National Review columnist Victor Davis Hanson has a fantastic article out today that really nails down exactly why the Messiah's approval rating has lately been dropping like a stone, especially among moderates and independents. It's well worth a read.

Only the criminals have firearms. Scouts can't have knives. Welcome to England, the epicenter of ridiculous policies

Several brain-dead members of a violent street gang in Sheffield, England have been sent to prison after they stupidly posted pictures online of themselves posing with firearms.

(Picture is from the article)

Sounds like wonderful news. Some pissant thugs who were terrorizing their city get put away and - hey, wait just one minute - we thought firearms were pretty much completely banned in that country?

You mean to tell us that British criminals don't obey the law, while at the same time the only people who apparently bother to do so are the very law-abiding citizens of that Nanny state who are strictly prevented from owning and carrying self-defense weapons in order to protect themselves and their families from exactly this sort of lethal "yob"?

Boy, that sure sounds like a recipe for success. Not, as the above picture clearly shows.

For the umpteenth time: Gun bans only end up confiscating firearms from responsible, law-abiding individuals, which then has the effect of robbing those innocent people of their natural right of self-defense against the thugs and criminals of society who by definition don't pay one whit of attention to any laws, let alone the ones involving firearms.

One day, the English government will hopefully figure that simple fact out.

One day.


In a similar vein, the British Boy Scouts have announced that the boys will no longer be allowed to bring their Swiss Army-style pocketknives to camp:

"'I think it is safest to assume that knives of any sort should not be carried by anybody to a Scout meeting or camp, unless there is likely to be a specific need for one. In that case, they should be kept by the Scout leaders and handed out as required.'"

Unbelievably, that quote is from a knife-maker who teaches safe knife practices to the Scouts. We suppose he's now just talked himself out of a job.

Well, maybe not, as we presume that the leaders (including the now-useless idiot knife-maker) are now going to have to perform all of the cutting of firewood, slicing of victuals and pretty much every other chore save emptying the privies, relegating the boys to standing around and watching (but not doing) everything remotely interesting or enjoyable.

That sure sounds like great fun and a wonderful way to teach camping skills as well as confidence and self-reliance, doesn't it?

We're just waiting for the inevitable announcement that the British Army is going to begin having colonels and above keep all of the rifles and pistols locked up securely, and only hand them out just prior to a battle.

That sort of outlandish scenario seems more and more likely to really take place at some point, given the speed that England is descending into madness.

Why I carry a handgun for protection, Vol. 22

So that when two armed teenage thugs storm into my backyard party and rob myself, my family and guests (which happened twice in South Minneapolis this weekend, once early Saturday and once early Sunday), shooting one party-goer in the process, I will be able to fight back and defend my home and occupants against the attackers.

The neighborhood where the crimes took place isn't the best in town, but neither is it Crackton, which just goes to show that random violent crime can happen to anyone anywhere at any time, even to law-abiding citizens simply trying to enjoy a holiday weekend barbecue at their home.

"'We want people to enjoy their evening, but we want them to be a little cautious,' [MPD spokesman Sgt. William Palmer] said. 'And we want people who see something suspicious to call 911.'"

Good advice, but not particularly helpful when the criminals are already on your property while demanding your money and goods at gunpoint. You are unfortunately going to be completely on your own at that point, so please be equipped, trained and mentally prepared to deal successfully with the situation yourself.

Question a diagnosis, lose custody of your children

Yet more horror stories from England that graphically illustrate the vital importance of our continuing to reject the same sort of socialized medicine scheme that the Messiah is going to once again try to cram down our throats this Wednesday evening:

"The mother of a 13-year-old girl who became partly paralysed after being given a cervical cancer vaccination says social workers have told her the child may be removed if she (the mother) continues to link her condition with the vaccination.

A couple had all six of their children removed from their care after they disputed the necessity of an invasive medical test on their eldest daughter. Doctors, who suspected she might have had a blood disease, called for social services to obtain an emergency protection order, although it was subsequently confirmed that she was not suffering from the condition. The parents were still considered unstable, and all their children were taken from them." (All emphases mine)

How many more of these insane (yet all-too-true) stories out of Great Britain is it going to take before we wake up and realize that allowing the government to take complete control of our private health care decisions is not a good idea?

Very nicely done

A letter to the editor of the Arizona Daily Sun:


Monday, August 31, 2009

To the editor:

I carry a gun everywhere I go in Flagstaff. I carry at the bank, I carry at the grocery store, I carry when I go check the mail. Any business with a sign that says "no weapons" does not get my business. I do not have a permit to carry a gun, as you do not need one in our great state. I carry a gun for one reason; guns save lives. According to a study by The University of Florida a person defends himself with a gun every 53 seconds. According to the NCIPC, a homicide is committed with a gun every 48 minutes.

I would like local businesses in our community to wake up and realize what restricting guns does. Criminals do not obey rules. It seems a simple fact, yet businesses in our community still post "no weapons" signs. Criminals will ignore your sign while people lawfully possessing a weapon will follow your rule. Posting a "no weapons" sign is as good as a "come rob me, no one will stop you" sign.

The day I need a gun to solve a problem is going to be a terrible day, but much better than the day I needed a gun to solve a problem and I didn't have one. I'm not strong enough to carry a cop on my back, so I carry a gun on my hip.

Get smart, Flagstaff; arm yourself.

TYLER MATTHEWS

Flagstaff


Well put indeed, Mr. Matthews.

Go away, Toms. You're worse than useless

Thomas Friedman and Tom Brokaw, describing the Internet (and, by extension, the bloggers who uncovered the mountain of damning information that forced Van Jones to resign in disgrace yesterday) as "so much disinformation out there"... "you have to vet information... you have to test it" (Brokaw) and "an open sewer of untreated, unfiltered information" (Friedman) while discussing the Van Jones resignation on Meet The Press this morning.

Hey, uh, fellas? If you grand poobahs in the mainstream press had just done your jobs properly in the first place, instead of falling all over yourselves to worship at the feet of the all-popular Messiah, the "amateurs" on the Net wouldn't have had to go and dig up all of these easily obtainable facts about Jones for themselves.

We say "facts", gentlemen, because please name one thing written about Jones on the big, bad, scary Internet that was untrue or libelous. You can't, of course, and neither can Jones in his rambling resignation letter alleging unspecified "smears", "lies" and "distortions", because he himself was openly taped and recorded (sometimes even by his own organizations and people) on multiple occasions spewing his racist, hateful statements (he was a public figure at the time and quite fair game, Mr. Friedman), and he also personally admitted to signing the "9/11 Truther" document.

Where, oh where are the falsehoods, then, besides in your own minds, sirs?


(h/t to Gateway Pundit)

Add "traitor" to Van Jones's resume as well

The Van Jones situation has now officially deteriorated from embarrassing to downright disgusting.

(By the way, how embarrassing is it that bloggers have had to do all the heavy lifting in researching and publicizing this story, as Byron York handily points out:

"From a Nexis search a few moments ago:

Total words about the Van Jones controversy in the New York Times: 0.
Total words about the Van Jones controversy in the Washington Post: 0.
Total words about the Van Jones controversy on NBC Nightly News: 0.
Total words about the Van Jones controversy on ABC World News: 0.
Total words about the Van Jones controversy on CBS Evening News: 0."

But we're constantly being told that mere bloggers can't hold a candle to the mighty Mainstream Media when it comes to journalism. Hmm. Tell that to Dan Rather and Mary Mapes.)

Verum Serum's Morgen managed to dig up an interview with Jones that appears on an anti-Iraq war album ("hosted" by Mumia Abu-Jamal, of all people) put out circa 2004 by a record label named Freedom Fighter Music, which was funded by an organization Jones founded and headed. Here's some of what Jones spewed on that record:

"We see violence against poor people and poor people of color within the U.S. border, at the U.S. border, and beyond the U.S. border, and you see U.S. tax dollars funding all of it, and so we have, you know, now this global struggle against the U.S.-led global security apparatus and military agenda"

Jones, a self-admitted Communist, makes a blatantly racist and inflammatory statement on a record featuring a convicted cop-killer (which means Jones tacitly supports him, as well) which basically accuses America of systematically injuring and killing people who don't happen to be rich white folk, and the Messiah rewards him for it by appointing him to a cushy White House gig?

Yep, that counts as truly disgusting in our book.

Oh, and the Messiah had to have known about Jones's background, according to this American Spectator piece by Jeffrey Lord, a former Reagan White House aide. Lord states that a person with Jones's obvious radical political and criminal background would almost certainly have been denied clearance to the White House by the Secret Service, necessitating a personal intervention by either the President or someone very close to him in order to allow Jones to assume his "green jobs czar" position. Lord's describing someone on the level of Rahm Emanuel, Obama's Chief of Staff, or Valerie Jarrett, one of his closest and longest-tenured advisors.



Speaking of Ms. Jarrett, here's an interesting and very well-researched and documented article from a blog out of New Zealand, of all places (since our news media apparently can't be bothered to research any of these "unimportant" matters) that clearly connects Frank Marshall Davis, Obama's Communist mentor in Hawaii, with Vernon Jarrett, a left-wing Chicago journalist with close ties to the Communist Party in that city (and Valerie Jarrett's father-in-law until his death in 2004). The New Zealand blog confirms that Davis and Jarrett knew each other and worked closely together, and provides ample evidence that Jarrett himself was in fact a Communist Party member. The Kiwis then reach the following conclusion:

"Frank Marshall Davis works closely in communist causes with Vernon Jarrett in Chicago. Davis moves to Hawaii where he eventually meets and mentors a young Barack Obama. Then Obama moves to Chicago where his career is promoted by both Davis's old colleague Vernon Jarrett and the Communist Party. Vernon Jarrett's daughter-in-law employs Barack Obama's fiance, befriends the family and becomes one of President Obama's most trusted advisors. The Communist Party throws its entire weight behind Obama's presidential campaign.

Are we expected to believe that this is all mere coincidence?"

We here at the Muckraker certainly don't, and we are now looking forward to watching the Messiah's many apologists once again try to claim with a straight face that Obama isn't really a Socialist, or that his lifelong associations with radicals such as Davis, Jarrett, Ayers, Dohrn, Wright and now Jones are mere happenstance, or that he really doesn't want to remake our country into another failed "Worker's Paradise", beginning with our financial markets, auto industry and health-care system.

Those apologists have quite a job ahead of them, and it's getting harder by the day.


(Thanks to Scott Jordan and Allan Favish for providing the above links)