It's actually happened again

In another monumental example of Barney Fife-ery, an unnamed (natch) off-duty and out-of-jurisdiction Bonner County, Idaho sheriff's deputy experienced a negligent discharge of his duty firearm in a Lewiston hotel room while he was putatively practicing "dry firearm drills". 

Well, he seems to have learned how to successfully reload, anyway.

Fortunately no one was injured in the incident, although the adjacent room in which the round ended up was in fact occupied at the time.

This latest example of a blatant violation of basic gun-handling practices is stunningly similar to one in Minnesota we covered extensively a few years ago, right down to the model of pistol involved and the fact that an innocent bystander narrowly escaped injury, as well as the officer's apparent indifference in letting local law enforcement know about his little boo-boo in a timely manner.  Officer Gort, did you change jobs and states on us?

"[Lewiston Police Captain Roger] Lanier said no one else was in the deputy's room. He said Lewiston Police conducted an investigation and determined the accident was not reckless discharge of a firearm, which is a crime."

Why not?  It sounds pretty reckless to us, and almost certainly would have been called that if a common peasant had been the one who pulled that trigger.  We've also no doubt that the doofus's name would have been released by now if he had been a simple "civilian".

There seems to be a crying need for a rule forbidding cops from immediately practicing in hotel rooms what they have learned in training classes.  Isn't that just the kind of dumb and hysterically reactive policy the Brady Campaign or Violence Policy Center would be screaming for had these two almost identical incidents occurred with anyone else but police officers?

"Lanier said officers from around the state are in town all week for the training at the LPD training center put on by the Idaho Peace Officers Standard Training (POST)."

Let's be careful out there.

The Jack-Booted Thug of the Week...

... is the (of course) unnamed San Jose, California motorcycle cop who thought it would be a good idea to show up in full uniform to his 14-year-old stepdaughter's 15-year-old boyfriend's house to handcuff the teen and threaten to send him to prison for having consensual sex with the girl, even though both individuals were underage so no actual crime was committed:



Ordinarily we wouldn't be too adverse to a little shock therapy to scare a wayward teen straight, but the incident was apparently done without the advance knowledge and permission of the boy's parents.  If that fact wasn't enough to make the encounter awfully suspect, the officer then comes out with this tripe:

"It does not bode well for you. Do you know what that means? No? Not a good thing that the person you had sex with is a cop's daughter. The district attorney will probably file charges.

A cop's daughter is not somebody you mess around with. You're stupid."

No, you're "stupid", sir.  A child of a cop doesn't deserve any kind of special treatment over any other kid just because of what his or her parent does for a living.  The justice system is not your personal retribution machine to be unleashed on someone simply because your offspring by marriage was caught having a little happy fun time, something while not ideal is done by millions of teens every single day without their being beaten over the head with the threat of being sent to adult prison. 

"The officer has been placed on leave and prosecutors are considering criminal charges of false imprisonment."

Good.  Maybe this will teach other individuals that are granted authority over the peasants not to abuse their police powers.

From the Department of Glaringly Obvious Headlines

"An Effort to Recapture Democratic Enthusiasm"

Dear Leader plans to hold a good old-fashioned pep rally on Tuesday in Moscow West Madison, Wisconsin, in a desperate and last-ditch effort to fire up his faithful worshipers.

Yeah, good luck with that.

More madness out of what used to be Great Britain

Extremely cool:  English writer Terry Pratchett was recently knighted by his Queen.  To celebrate, he forged his own sword, to the point where he dug up and smelted the iron ore himself.

Extremely uncool: Sir Terry now finds that he has to hide the sword in an undisclosed location to avoid prosecution under that particular Nanny-state's idiotic laws, ones that disarm the common peasant of common kitchen implements in a vain attempt to prevent the rampant yobs there from committing "knife crime" on each other:

"Pratchett has stored the sword, which he completed last year, in a secret location, apparently concerned about the authorities taking an interest in it.

He said: 'It annoys me that knights aren’t allowed to carry their swords.'"

We're sure that this esteemed author can certainly think of much more appropriate (and stronger) words than "annoyed".  He must simply be politely restraining himself out of deference to his "ruler".

Guess the politician's party from his campaign ad

Give up?

It's from our own Arizona 5th Congressional District Representative, DEMOCRAT Harry Mitchell, only one sure wouldn't know it from his campaign ad, which doesn't once list his party affiliation (but sure mentions the other one a whole bunch of times).

We actually had a very favorable opinion of Mr. Mitchell's service in Congress, at least until he saw fit to vote for the unconstitutional abomination that is Dear Leader's socialized medicine Ponzi scheme.

Because of Mitchell's disappointing vote on this critical issue (as well as his subsequent avoidance of public meetings, even at this late date, to explain his actions.  Sorry, sir, carefully-controlled "telephone" town meetings don't count) we will now be voting for David Schweikert, the Republican candidate upon whose character the congressman's minions have already seen fit to go negative:




Legally purchasing bank-owned foreclosures is now somehow some sort of evil plot to destroy the country?  Heck, we'd be doing the exact same thing if we had the available funds.  Real estate is a once-in-a-lifetime bargain right now.

If this is what Mitchell is reduced to pointing out about his opponent he must indeed be getting quite nervous about hanging on to his job.

(h/t to Ace)

John Kerry thinks you're stupid

"A testy U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry yesterday blamed clueless voters with short attention spans for the uphill battle beleaguered Democrats are facing against Republicans across the nation.

'We have an electorate that doesn’t always pay that much attention to what’s going on so people are influenced by a simple slogan rather than the facts or the truth or what’s happening,' Kerry told reporters after touring the Boston Medical Center yesterday."

What breathtaking arrogance.  The only answer that can explain the Dems' current difficulties is that the idiotic peasants are getting brainwashed by catchy propaganda, right, Senator? 

It's quite telling that Kerry seemingly can't entertain for one moment the possibility that we proles might actually be able to think for ourselves, and that the majority of this country's voters genuinely oppose the Democratic Party's plans to turn America into Great Britain Lite.

You keep right on with that asinine line of thinking, Mr. Kerry.  It's serving your party very well, if the latest polls are any indication.

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

... are Philadelphia police officers Donyule Williams and Jimmy Leocale, for apparently taking exception when eyewitness Kimla Robinson noticed the blue-clad thugs whacking the snot out of a suspect with batons (for the apparently quite serious "offense" of standing on a public sidewalk in front of a Chinese restaurant waiting for his take-out order to be prepared), and began recording the beating with her cell-phone camera.



The two cops allegedly took exception to being caught on tape to the point where they then began to assault Robinson herself (at the end of the video when someone obviously knocks the phone from her hand), after which they hauled the retired school counselor to the pokey for "disorderly conduct", which appears to be the default charge these days when cops don't happen to like the lawful activity in which a citizen is engaging.

This isn't the first time this angelic pair of "professionals" has been accused of being a little too hands-on:

"Williams has been on the force for nearly eight years and has racked up eight complaints, four alleging physical abuse. Leocal, a 10-year veteran, had six complaints and at least four were for physical abuse, including one by his wife."  (Emphasis ours)

With track records like those going for them we find it fairly easy to believe Robinson's claim.

"Officer" Leocal is also apparently a common thief in addition to his seeming violent ways: 

"Leocal received a departmental violation last year for failing to properly fill out a property-receipt form after obtaining money from a suspect in an arrest.

That suspect, Emil VanOtoo, filed a complaint against both officers alleging that he was physically abused on Haverford Avenue near 58th Street after being stopped by the officers who asked him for identification."

Physically abused with nightsticks, by the way.  Sound familiar?

Williams and Leocale are now under investigation by Internal Affairs for these latest accusations of outrageous behavior, according to the story.  Hopefully the fallout from this highly-publicized incident will be enough to finally end their ignominious police careers.


(Thanks to John Pierce of opencarry.org for the tip)

A snapshot of life

Two examples of the sort of sentiments we're seeing displayed on autos more and more these days:

 

Oh, how quickly it's all going south for Dear Leader. 

The Jack-Booted Thug of the Week...

... is the 26-year-old Orlando, Florida police officer who thought it necessary to slam an 84-year-old allegedly intoxicated man to the pavement, breaking his neck, all because the World War II veteran was highly upset and argumentative about having his car towed from a private parking lot.

Really, what kind of judy-boy cop can't handle a drunk octogenarian without resorting to such measures?  That uniformed thug should be quite ashamed of himself.

The injured man (who is out of surgery and expected to survive his injury, which kills 90% of those who suffer it, according to the article) admittedly "put his hands on the cop" (whatever that means.  Poked him in the chest?  Brushed by him while pacing?  We aren't given any more information than that, which leads us to reasonably conclude that there wasn't in fact a true assault on the officer) three times and threatened to punch the cop.

Disorderly conduct, drunk in public, threatening an law-enforcement officer?  Sure.  Absolutely.   Lock the major pain in the rear up until he calms down and/or sobers up.

We highly doubt, though, that the motorist's no-question-about-it asinine behavior rose to the level of  "a situation that could lead to death or great bodily harm" and thus required the cop to preemptively assault him in that sort of brutal manner.

"An Orlando police sergeant and spokesperson said this situation should qualify as imminent danger, but many residents don't think so."

Because they are fully aware that they could easily be the next victims of this, shall we say, overzealous officer, who might next decide to TASER an old lady for "threatening his personal safety" merely by parking in a fire lane or failing to display a handicapped parking permit.


UPDATE:  More info on the incident:
  
"[Eyewitness Sean] Hill said Daley tapped the officer's shoulders a few times"

Yep, that's about how we thought things might've gone down.

"But [Officer Travis] Lamont has been investigated three times by the police internal-affairs division."

He's apparently been with the force for two whole years.  That's an average of one IA investigation every eight months.  Not a very good track record at all, to say the least.

"A second officer who arrived after Lamont, Natasha Endrina, said the elderly man looked as though he was going to choke her colleague, Jones said. Hill said Endrina remained inside a police car during the confrontation."  [Emphasis ours]

Well, that was certainly being helpful.  Thanks, Officer Endrina!

This whole incident stinks to high heaven, and it only looks worse every time new details are released.

Oh no we don't

"If I come as an immigrant, you have the obligation to make me a citizen."

- President Obama's "Auntie" Zeituni Onyango, who has been living in this country illegally for over a decade and despite a lawful deportation order being issued to her in 2004.

What an infuriatingly arrogant (as well as flat-out wrong) mentality. One isn't entitled to United States citizenship simply because of who they are related to, or as some sort of reward for managing to hide here long enough.

"In May 2010, Onyango's case went back before the same judge who ordered her out of the country in 2004. This time she was granted asylum in the United States. The ruling said a return to Kenya might put Onyango in danger."

As opposed to all of Dear Leader's many half-siblings (courtesy of the famously randy Obama pere) and myriad other relatives living there at this very moment. They don't seem to be having any difficulties.

"So she is now here legally, still living on public assistance and hoping that the spotlight on her will dim."

Not if we have anything to say about that.

Why I carry a handgun for protection, Vol. 38

So that if two of our female neighbors, one of them pregnant, are attacked by three out-of-control bull mastiffs we will be able to instantly come to their aid and save their lives.

Sound farfetched?  This very scenario is indeed what happened the other day in mostly anti-gun California:

"Witnesses said that at about 6 a.m. Friday, three loose dogs pounced on 52-year-old Janelle Dalson, who was on a jog through her neighborhood. The woman’s screams woke one neighbor, who came outside to find her fending off the three dogs, which collectively weighed nearly 300 pounds."

Two alert neighbors armed with handguns subsequently shot two of the dogs, saving at least one of the women from certain death:

“'In speaking with the officers on the scene, they said that they truly felt that had the neighbors not interfered and come to their aid, that at least the first victim would not have survived,' said Fairfield Police Officer Kathryn Sommerdorf. 

On Saturday afternoon, neighbors gave flowers to [Gary] Paquet and [John] Bettencourt for their actions. 

'I was really glad both Gary and John had gun skills. Because if there was a place on this block where this could have happened, these are the two guys who could take care of it,' said Diana Paquet."

Those women are quite fortunate to have such prepared and decisive individuals as neighbors.  This being California, though, we're shocked the two heroes haven't been arrested and charged with unlawful discharge of a firearm.

Ho-hum

Another day, another unconstitutional bypass of the Congressional approval process by Dear Leader and his merry band of societal changers, this time related to their creation of an entirely new government bureaucracy designed to artificially control the nation's financial industry.

Instead of appointing controversial nominee Elizabeth Warren to a permanent Treasury position, one which would require Senate confirmation, President Obama merely named her to a "special advisory" position when in reality she will indeed be formally heading an entire new agency designed to completely remake the country's banking system.

This latest blatant bypass of the Constitution's advise and consent process has cheesed off lawmakers from both parties:

"The president's decision, first reported by ABC News' Jake Tapper, will give Warren an important role in creation of the bureau, but will avoid a confirmation fight in the Senate, a political maneuver that has upset lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle."

Don't you understand yet, Democrats?  Dear Leader doesn't give a fig about your legally-mandated oversight role, no matter what party you happen to belong to.  He alone knows what's best for America, you see, and he fully intends to implement his agenda regardless of whether anyone, even those in his own camp, wants to examine even the smallest aspect of it.

"The president on Friday did not respond to questions about why he decided not to appoint Warren to a permanent position with the agency." 

His Arrogantness apparently doesn't feel like he needs to explain himself to anyone, which is why the American people need to clearly explain to him in 2012 that his dictatorial services are no longer required.

Explain this, Ms. Brady

Gun sales in the U.S. reached an all-time high last year (thanks in no small part to the ascension of Dear Leader), yet violent crime continues its precipitous fall, according to the FBI's own figures:

"In fact, the types of crime most likely to be committed with a firearm, murders and manslaughters, experienced one of the greatest rates of decline in 2009 – 7.3 percent."

The truly interesting thing to note will be if the horrifying rate of violent crime in Chicago begins to mirror this national trend now that the city's unconstitutional handgun ban has been struck down.  If so, Sarah Brady & Co. will have no argument left at all, as if they ever did.

Road trip

In L.A. to visit with family.  Back late tomorrow.

Why I carry a handgun for protection, Vol. 37

So that when a bunch of low-life gangbangers crash a party at our home and then proceed to assault the people who were actually invited to the get-together, those guests will be able to successfully defend themselves and their loved ones, just like a Chandler, Arizona man did last week.

The party-goer shot and killed two of the nine or so miscreants who were attacking his wife and himself, apparently showing extremely good judgment in the process:

"[Chandler police spokesman Detective David] Ramer said the husband showed restraint during the incident and only fired when he was threatened with a gun."

Which is one of the reasons why the local cops have already ruled the man's actions were a justified defensive shooting. 

Actually, the force's entire official reaction to this incident is pretty refreshing:

"'People in Arizona carry guns,' said [Ramer]. 'You better be careful about who you are picking on.'"

Sounds like an eminently sensible position for those service-oriented police officers to take. 

Well, the criminals down in Chandler can't say they weren't warned. 

There's lies, damn lies, and then there's President Obama

Anyone remember Dear Leader's recent Oval Office address, in which he proudly took credit for the smashing success of the very "surge" in troop strength that he so vehemently opposed during the 2008 campaign?  The speech where he also took the opportunity to smugly announce "the end of our combat mission in Iraq", and told everyone that the "final combat brigade" had pulled out two weeks earlier?

Yeah, about that.  The following is an email in its entirety (save for our removal of identifying information and pictures to protect the soldier who wrote it from reprisal.  We will say that the author is an officer and West Point graduate) from a very good friend's deployed relative that shows how much of a complete sham the President's cynical proclamation really was:

Subject: Update 8-20-2010
Date: Friday, August 20, 2010, 5:41 PM

Hey everybody I just wanted to send a quick update and give Yall the REAL story on what's going on over here with the troop withdrawal.  The picture is of my crew and I on a break during a mission.   The guy to the far left is my gunner [redacted] and the guy in the middle is my driver [redacted].  They go with me on every mission and are great guys.  The reason I'm sending this out is because I have had a few people ask if I left Iraq early because all of the combat troops are out of Iraq and I wanted to let everyone know the real deal.  It's kind of ridiculous how the news is saying that the last of the "combat" troops are out of Iraq because of Pres Osama ( I mean Obama ).  He says that it was his campaign promise.  Take our Brigade for example.  We were originally called a HBCT ( Heavy Brigade Combat Team).  Well since Obama said he would pull all of the "combat" troops out by Aug all they did before we left was change our name from a HBCT to a AAB ( Advise and Assist Brigade ).  We have the same personnel/equipment layout as before and are doing the same missions.  The ONLY difference is that they changed our name from a HBCT to an AAB and that's how he is getting away with saying that he has pulled all of the "combat" troops out.  It is really ridiculous what he's doing and he has ticked alot of people off.  And it's funny how the media is buying all of it to.  So no the last combat troops are not out of Iraq we are still here.  There are other Brigades just like ours that are doing the same missions that are still over here.  Sorry for going on about it but we are just sitting over here watching it and are like "You've got to be kidding me!"  So anyway now you know the REAL story so that's why I'm not coming back early.  Anyways I hope everyone is doing well and I'll see you soon!

[redacted]


Mr. President, calling a carrot a chocolate cake just doesn't make it so.

Please stop your pathological incessant lying to the American people at every opportunity.

Thanks.

Today's TASER Travesty

"NORTH BELLE VERNON, Pa. — Police had to use a stun gun on a Pittsburgh-area man whose house was on fire because they say the man was endangering himself trying to battle the blaze with a garden hose."

Sounds eerily reminiscent of "We had to destroy the village in order to save it", doesn't it?

The homeowner, Damon Baker, was frantically trying to save his many reptiles from being consumed by the flames.  He saved five; six more didn't make it because the cops forced him to stop his efforts by shocking him senseless.

Yep, that sure is a legitimate use of a "less than lethal" self defense weapon right there.  Not.  Maybe the cops could have grabbed some buckets or a neighbor's hose if they really wanted to help Mr. Baker, instead of arrogantly deciding to assert their putative authority over him and his selfless actions.

When one comes right down to it it's Baker's pets, house, property and, ultimately, his life.  If he wants to risk it by wading in with a garden hose that's his business and no one else's. 

"Police say no charges will be filed against Baker."

Of course there won't be any charges, because he committed no crime.  We're sure being let off without penalty is of pretty small comfort to him right now, though, especially as he grieves the senseless loss of his pets.

No accomplishments except his "cool"

Victor Davis Hanson demonstrates once again why he's one of the very best at pointing out that the Emperor Dear Leader has no clothes:

"The exotic name, the mixed racial heritage, and the street cred cool, juxtaposed to the nerdy professorial sermonizing, trumped the need to author or repeal significant laws or create lasting community institutions — or to leave any footprint of achievement at either the University of Chicago, the Illinois legislature, or the U.S. Senate. Running for office or courting appointments or angling for promotions seemed divorced from worry about doing anything when such wishes were granted. Obama’s tragedy is that there is nothing left he can run for, no further adulatory confirmation for just being Obama. Performance for the first time in his life is now all that counts."

The whole piece is well worth your time.

Fletcher's Follies Followup

A loyal reader who wishes to remain anonymous has graciously put together an Excel graphic that provides an eye-opening view of just how out-of-kilter Ramsey County, Minnesota Sheriff Bob Fletcher's handgun carry permit denial rate is when compared to those of four other counties (Anoka, Dakota, Hennepin and Washington) that make up the Twin Cities metro area.  The cumulative denial rate of all counties in Minnesota except Ramsey is also included for comparison:

(click for a larger view)

Keep in mind that this chart was prepared using the Ramsey County summary numbers from the yearly BCA reports that have already been proven to be false, which means that the difference in the rates between Ramsey and the rest of the counties is even greater than the already-hard to believe distance shown here.

(Interestingly, Sheriff Fletcher's outrageous denial rate dipped sharply in 2008, the year in which we first called attention to his abusive and apparently illegal shenanigans.  Coincidence?  We'll let you decide.)

That same reader also handily reviewed the 2008 Minnesota Department of Public Safety Uniform Crime Report, which shows that Ramsey County had the second lowest crime rate of the five counties during that year, which clearly disproves the theory that the vast majority of persons prohibited from lawfully owning and carrying a handgun reside in Ramsey County.  

This additional information only reinforces our conclusion that Sheriff Fletcher is clearly unlawfully denying eligible Ramsey County residents their handgun carry permits on a systematic basis.  We also stand by our call for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to investigate and discipline Sheriff Fletcher for the blatant misuse of his office's authority.

Fletcher's Follies Continue

 Copyright 2010 Douglas J. Hester 

This article may be freely copied, distributed and quoted, provided attribution is given to the author at this website.

When we last visited Ramsey County, Minnesota Sheriff Bob Fletcher, he was left trying to explain just why his handgun carry permit denial rate was so much higher than any other county in Minnesota, and exactly why the data that his own office reported to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (the state agency required by law to collect such numbers once a year from each of the 87 counties in Minnesota) appeared to provide direct evidence that someone in Fletcher's office was trying to hide an even higher denial rate from the BCA as well as the public at large.

Well, we were wondering how the sheriff was doing at his job lately, especially given the relatively recent news of his alleged deep involvement in papering over the antics of the now-shuttered in disgrace Metro Gang Strike Force, so we thought we'd pull the 2009 BCA Permit to Carry Report and see if Sheriff Fletcher did in fact see fit to report his carry permit denials to the state in a more consistent and forthright manner.  Surely he would have taken serious note of our previous exposure of his office's "sloppiness" (to be more than kind) and tightened up his reporting accuracy, right?

Would anyone be shocked to learn that apparently absolutely nothing has changed over at the Ramsey County Government Center?

Based on the numbers presumably submitted by Fletcher's own deputies to the BCA that are listed on the report's summary page, Ramsey County issued 1160 permits and declined to give out 151 (remember this number, as it will join several others in just a moment), a denial rate of 13%.  This percentage is stunningly high when compared to other high-population counties in the metro area.  Hennepin County, for example, issued 3053 permits and declined to issue 80, a denial rate of 2.6%.  Anoka County issued 1723 permits and denied 36 for a rate of 2.1%.  Washington County issued 1226 permits and denied 12 and Dakota County issued 1529 permits and denied 15, which means that both heavily-populated jurisdictions had impressive denial rates of under 1%.  Even St. Louis County, which contains the city of Duluth and has roughly the same population as Ramsey, issued 1301 permits and denied 5 for a denial rate of 0.4%.  The rest of Minnesota's counties had denials in the single digits, so those weren't looked at in detail.

Ramsey County appears either to contain the vast majority of persons in the state prohibited from owning and carrying handguns (which is nonsense) or, more likely, someone in power is misusing their authority to arbitrarily deny the citizens of that particular county of their right to carry firearms in public for self-protection.  Someone such as Sheriff Fletcher, who just like in previous years seems to be consistently denying carry permits at a rate 4 times higher than any other sheriff in Minnesota feels is necessary.

That's not the real stunner, however.  Perusing page 770 of the BCA report, which is where Ramsey County lists the categories of specific reasons for each denial, a whopping 171 permit applications are reported to have been denied for the nebulous (and hard to prove) catchall reason of "danger to self or others".

But wait just one minute.  Remember, on the summary page Ramsey reported a total of 151 denials.  This one category has more than that total just by itself, which obviously means that more than 151 total permits had to have been denied.

Now, unbelievably, wait just one more minute.  On pages 787 to 801 of the report, in which the specifics of each and every denial are listed in detail, Ramsey County documents reasons for denying an incredible 191 permits, yet a third total for the exact same category.  Taking 191 as the actual number of denials (a reasonable step since the individual details for each case are presented), this would give Ramsey County (and by extension Sheriff Fletcher, whose personnel control such decisions) a truly astounding actual denial rate of 16.5%, more than five times that of the next lowest counties.  What's more, many of the other reasons (besides Fletcher's plainly overused and seldom-proven "danger to self or others") given by Ramsey County for permit denials are for such things as arrests (not convictions) for crimes and convictions for DWI, neither of which disqualify a person from a handgun carry permit under current Minnesota law.

151, 171, 191.  Whichever is the true number (why can't the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office get the numbers to come out right even once in the same report, much less over multiple years), it only reinforces our previous conclusion that 

"The only explanation seems to be that Sheriff Fletcher is denying applicants based on some other standard known only to him, a standard which is apparently much higher than the legislated one that 86 other sheriffs in Minnesota seem to be using with great success."

One wonders why the BCA is still refusing to look into this obvious ongoing misuse of the carry permit approval process in Ramsey County, especially given the lack of professional judgment and institutional controls Sheriff Fletcher demonstrated in the aforementioned Gang Strike Force debacle.  

America is truly screwed as long as these clowns remain in charge

The Washington Post's Dana Milbank, certainly no foe of the Obama Administration, chronicles a truly surreal scene:

"Lunch at the National Press Club on Wednesday caused some serious indigestion.

It wasn't the food; it was the entertainment.  Christina Romer, chairman of President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, was giving what was billed as her "valedictory" before she returns to teach at Berkeley, and she used the swan song to establish four points, each more unnerving than the last:

She had no idea how bad the economic collapse would be. She still doesn't understand exactly why it was so bad. The response to the collapse was inadequate. And she doesn't have much of an idea about how to fix things.

What she did have was a binder full of scary descriptions and warnings, offered with a perma-smile and singsong delivery: "Terrible recession. . . . Incredibly searing. . . . Dramatically below trend. . . . Suffering terribly. . . . Risk of making high unemployment permanent. . . . Economic nightmare."

Anybody want dessert?"

These are the people in charge of managing our tottering economy?  No wonder America's financial picture seems to be headed straight for the abyss.

"The valedictory was becoming more of an elegy. At the end of the depressing forum, the moderator read a question submitted by a member of the audience: 'You seem like you'd be a lot of fun at parties. Are you?'"

Unbelievable.  Fiddling while Rome burns, indeed.

What's even worse is that not only is that not only is no one immediately taking over the duties of the cheery yet clueless Romer, Dear Leader doesn't even seem to have anyone waiting in the on-deck circle for this vitally important position:

"The White House said Aug. 9 that a successor to Christina Romer, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, would be named “by September 3rd, when Dr. Romer leaves her post.” That’s today, and no announcement is planned before the holiday. The West Wing has been flummoxed over a replacement. The Chicago crowd likes campaign stalwart Austan Goolsbee, now working under Romer, and no obvious alternative to him emerged. Goolsbee’s good on TV, and they need a communicator. But some aides argue for keeping a woman on the econ. team."

Well, go right ahead and take your sweet time getting your quotas tweaked just right, Mr. Obama.  It's not like we're in an economic crisis or anything.

This is exactly what all that promised "hope and change" nonsense is getting us.  Had enough yet?

Off topic but interesting, at least to me

A handy tip - when vacationing in Scotland don't cook and serve your family mushrooms that look exactly like penises:

That's what the guy who wrote The Horse Whisperer did and now he, his wife and his brother-in-law all need kidney transplants.

Stay away from wild mushrooms unless you know exactly what you're doing, and maybe not even then.  It's just not worth poisoning yourself and your loved ones.

Why I carry a handgun for protection, Vol. 36

Because it is indeed possible for innocent people to get shot by a masked stranger for no apparent reason at all simply because they answered a knock on their front door early on a weekend morning.

Bad, weird and seemingly wildly implausible situations can and do happen to good people.  Don't be caught unawares.

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

... are the three butterfat-filled rent-a-cops who took time away from scarfing cheese curds and turkey legs to tackle and sit on a lone disabled old Lyndon LaRouche supporter named Sidney Hill who was peacefully demonstrating at the Alaska State Fair on August 26, along with the Palmer, Alaska police officers who subsequently arrested the man for assault, disorderly conduct and trespass.  For peacefully demonstrating on a public right-of-way.



A claimed witness to the incident reports on what led to security being called, and it apparently wasn't due to any disruptive actions on the part of Mr. Hill.  The commenter also raises some very interesting and valid questions:

"I was a witness to this outrage - the video didn't start soon enough. There was not a security guard present until the man with the white beard got in Mr. Hill's face and yelled verbal assaults, telling him to "F-ing leave" which Mr. Hill returned, "I have a right to be here. It's my freedom of speech." This is what drew a crowd. The white bearded man left to get security and this is where it all went downhill. The white bearded man should have been arrested for disturbing the peace. No statements were taken by security, police or Troopers. Mr. Hill wasn't waving his gun around threatening anyone. He was carrying a SIGN! How many wear t-shirts with advertisements and political views??  THERE IS NO SIGN POSTED THAT SAYS FIREARMS ARE NOT ALLOWED onto the property. I know many people that have carried their firearm onto the fairgrounds! If the sign wasn't allowed, why wasn't he told to leave it at the gate? It's not like he just snuck that in! I don't care what he had on that sign or what his past history is. The state fair is wrong and the security men handled it wrong. The state fair does not have my support and will not get another dollar from me or my family."

The assault charge against Mr. Hill has apparently already been dropped, which is a very good thing because the only assault we viewed was perpetrated upon the fairgoer by the wannabe-cops.  It's not a crime to be an annoying old nut, at least the last time we checked.

Bully Security Guard:  Can you put that [video camera] away please?"

Bystander:  "Nope".

Darn right.  The days of one-way photography are long gone, and the powers-that-be had better get used to it.

Today's TASER Travesty

Marin County, California resident Peter McFarland was returning with his wife from a charity fundraiser last June 29 when he tripped and fell on his own front stoop.  Mrs. McFarland called paramedics, who arrived and treated her husband for his minor injury.

As the EMTs were leaving, according to the McFarlands, two Marin County sheriff's deputies showed up and announced that they were going to force Mr. McFarland to go to the hospital because he "may be suicidal" (he had apparently joked about shooting himself in the head if he had possessed a gun in a presumably (and admittedly dumb) gesture to lessen his pain and embarrassment at the situation). 

When McFarland, a 64-year-old pancreatic cancer survivor with a heart condition, refused to go with the two cops, guess what?  Out came the TASERs, which were then used on him three times:



McFarland was then taken in on resisting arrest charges (which were then naturally subsequently dropped since he, well, wasn't actually being arrested for anything).

"[Attorney John] Scott says the deputies had no search warrant or legal reason to enter McFarland's home and even if they thought he was drunk and suicidal, Scott says the Tasing was excessive force." 

Gee, you think?

The latest economy-crippling stupidity from our government

In only the most recent example of the special kind of madness that private businesses regularly encounter while attempting to deal with onerous and arbitrarily-imposed government rules, Tesla Motors has announced in its latest SEC filing that it agreed to pay a $275,000 fine to the EPA because the company in 2009 neglected to obtain a certificate proving that its products' emissions comply with the Clean Air Act.

Tesla cars, of course, being all-electric vehicles have no emissions.  They don't even come with tailpipes, for Pete's sake.

How many Tesla workers won't be hired or retained because the company had to pay this ridiculous penalty?