My Letter from Wayne

I hope you all have gotten one of these letters. If not you should join the NRA.

Dear Fellow NRA Member,

           In the next few days, you'll receive your new NRA membership card.

           The moment you receive it, I urge you to validate your new membership card as soon as possible. More than ever, we need you to stand with NRA and fight to save ourSecond Amendment freedoms.

Because Barack Obama's campaign promise
not to take away our guns is a lie.

           He's not even in office, yet he's fired the opening salvos in a war against the future of the Second Amendment, our hunting and shooting traditions, and YOU.

           Obama's FIRST attack on YOU: Appointing Illinois Congressman Rahm Emanuel to be White House Chief of Staff. In Congress, Emanuel earned an "F" rating from NRA, and while working in the Clinton Administration, he was known as the "point man on gun control." He is an avowed enemy of the Second Amendment and will wield enormous power in the battle for the future of our firearm freedoms.

           Obama's SECOND attack on YOU: If Hillary Clinton is confirmed as Secretary of State, she'll rip the Second Amendment right out of the Bill of Rights. She'll be our nation's top diplomat with the power to determine whether the United Nations will pass, and Obama will sign, a global gun ban treaty that will surrender our Second Amendment rights and our national sovereignty.

           Obama's THIRD attack on YOU: Nominating ex-Senator and former Majority Leader Tom Daschle-an avowed enemy of NRA-to be Secretary of Health and Human Services. NRA was responsible for defeating Daschle when he ran in South Dakota for re-election to the Senate. If Daschle is confirmed, he could hold the ultimate power to declare guns a "public health menace" and regulate away our essential liberties.

           Obama's FOURTH attack on YOU: Nominating Eric Holder to be Attorney General. As former Assistant Attorney General, Holder was a key architect and vocal advocate for the Clinton era's sweeping gun ban agenda. He supported national handgun licensing, mandatory trigger locks, and ending gun shows as we know them.

           Just recently, Holder opposed the District of Columbia's Heller decision that declared the Second Amendment an individual right. Holder also called for reviving the Clinton gun bans and, as Attorney General, would fight in court to prevent the landmark Heller decision from being made applicable to state and local governments.

           Worst of all, if Holder is confirmed as the nation's top law-enforcement officer, he would control BATFE and wield enormous power to harass gun owners and sue America's arms makers out of existence.

           Obama's FIFTH attack on YOU: In the job application for the Obama Administration, he made it clear that gun owners are second-class citizens and told 80 million gun owners not to even bother applying for a job. In the "White House Personnel Data Questionnaire" he asked:

           "Do you or any members of your immediate family own a gun? If so, provide
           complete ownership and registration information. Has the registration ever
           lapsed? Please also describe how and by whom it is used and whether it has
           been the cause of any personal injuries or property damage."

           This chilling notice to gun owners-that they are not welcome to serve in his Administration-shows the deep hostility for Americans' Second Amendment Freedoms that Obama and his Administration have in their hearts.

           On its face, that question endorses gun registration-a mandate in only five states in our nation-and buys into the anti-gun premise that firearms are inherently dangerous and gun owners are prone to misusing them.

           That's an outrageous mindset, especially for the President-elect whose sworn duty will be to uphold the U.S. Constitution, including our right to keep and bear arms.

           Obama CLEARLY wants to make gun registration the law of the land.

           First for employees under his control...AND THEN FOR YOU.

           Working with a Congress dominated by gun haters like Nancy Pelosi, Dianne Feinstein, John Conyers, Henry Waxman, and Charles Schumer!!!

           Rubbing salt in gun owner wounds is the Brady Campaign, which just issued a completely bogus poll claiming that two-thirds of the Americans-including 60% of all gun owners-favor gun registration, licensing of firearm owners, and other sweeping restrictions on our firearm freedoms!

Add it all up and you have the potential
for a Second Amendment disaster that's unlike
any other NRA members have ever battled.

Is anyone surprised?

The story

Tonight, a call for a little more transparency from President-elect Barack Obama about what he did or did not know about the allegations against Gov. Rod Blagojevich in Illinois.

I will first re-iterate what we heard from U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. He said Obama did nothing wrong and there are no allegations of wrongdoing against the president-elect.

Then Obama himself said he never had contact with the governor about who should replace him in the Senate and had no idea any of this was going on.

Fair enough. But that is all Obama has said.

And what now looks pretty clear, at least based on these tapes and what the U.S. attorney is telling us, is that someone from Obama-world did have communication with the governor about this.

This is a great call for Obama and his team to live up to his campaign promise of being more transparent. Yeah right. Let the lies begin. How many people voted for Obama based on this kind of rhetoric. It's going to be a painful four years.

Russia modernizes missiles in response to US plans

This news article from Newsvine talks about Russia's recent response to the build-up of anti-ballistic missile systems in Eastern Europe.

We come out with better ABM system and they develop and test newer missiles. Not only are we headed back into the Cold-War, we're still fighting the damn Islamic-Radicals.

If only we could develop cold-fusion or some other form of technology to get us out of the position where we need oil and we could get the oil money flowing into Russia and reduce our interests in the Middle East. I know that's overly simplistic, but doesn't it seem like we're headed to hell-in-a-hand-basket? It's bad enough that America is enamored with Barack "Osama's" promises of change. Sure, I'm not totally thrilled w/ McCain, but I'm not going to let my country dissolve into a socialist cult.

Obama Kids: Sing for Change (Pyongyang Remix)

Obama has made is veep choice?

Wow, that's great.

Pretty soon we can see what color lipstick the dems are putting on their pig.

Things I gotta think about

The Virginia Tech shootings have had me thinking about a lot...

• psychological screening before handgun purchases
• what psychological tendencies do mass murderers have?
• safety vs. liberty
• the constitution
• what are violent crime rates
• handgun ownership in other countries
• historical tracking of violent crimes
• violent crime prevented by self-defense
• most effective means of self-defense
• violent crime in cities with gun bans
• state of Americans today
• class 3 vs. semi-auto rifles w/ hi-cap vs. long arms vs. handgun crimes
  

If you can't beat 'em, send a bunch of cartoons after them.

A change of title

This used to be "The Liberal Gunner" blog.

I'm sick of that label. I'm tired of the greed-based politics. And I'm tired of people thinking that IF I were a liberal then I'd abolish gun ownership. I'm tired of people thinking that IF I were a conservative then I'd outlaw every abortion and ban contraceptives.

I was raised with certain traditions that define me and separate me from others. But, I live in a country that has taught me how to live comfortably and amicably with others. Yet, I hone my awareness and preparedness for the probable outcome of misfortune.

Somethings are worth drawing lines in the sand for. Individual rights, gun ownership, a woman's choice, rule of law, progressive taxation, and the right to education are some of those things.

So I may not fit in the "box". And I might dull the "cookie cutter". And some people may not like what I say. But you know what... I don't like people anyhow. Most folks just piss me off anyhow, on the inside. (That doesn't mean I won't listen to them though.)

Gun Politics and where I stand

This is from an article about the different aspects to the issues of gun ownership. I have included my own personal agreement and dissention from these popular stances.

In summary, those who support greater restrictions on firearm ownership believe some subset of:

1. (I disagree) that there is no fundamental right to own firearms
2. (I disagree) that gun control legislation may reduce violent crime
3. (I agree) that guns are more dangerous to the owners than intended targets because most gun related deaths are a result of domestic violence, accidents and suicides
4. (I disagree) that guns are often of little use as self defense for the typical owner because in the incidents where a hostile encounter with an armed criminal occurs, the criminal is usually more experienced and skilled with his/her weapon
5. (I agree) that even against unarmed criminals, the presence of a gun serves most often simply to escalate the likelihood and/or severity of violence
6. (I disagree) that citizens have no need to own guns to protect themselves against crime, since this is the task of the government
7. (I disagree) that citizens of First World countries today have no need to protect themselves against their governments if they are vigilant enough to confront government wrongdoing before violence is necessary, or that even if such a need should arise, it would be hopeless anyway to take up individual small arms against the sort of modern military technology that a government could bring to bear.

Those who favor maintaining or extending the private ownership of firearms believe some subset of:

1. (I agree) that owning firearms is a fundamental right
2. (I agree, however how can anyone know another person's intentions?) that the government has no right to interfere with an individual's right to own firearms as long as the individual is not harming or intimidating fellow citizens
3. (I don't necessarily agree, changes in crime rates are multi-variable and I have yet to hear of conclusive evidence of this fact, though there is a limited intuitive truth to this statement) that guns in the hands of the populace decrease crime
4. (I agree) that citizens have a right to self-protection
5. (I don't necessarily agree, see above) that an armed populace decreases the overall risk of violent crime, because it provides a deterrent effect for criminals who cannot know whether their next prospective victim, or someone nearby, will turn out to be armed
6. (I agree) that law-abiding citizens have a responsibility to provide their own protection because governments cannot be held civilly or criminally responsible for failing to provide such protection
7. (I disagree) That carrying firearms properly makes one safer, not less safe; for the same reason that police forces carry firearms
8. (I disagree) that gun ownership protects citizens from the excesses of government
9. (I agree that guns provide) the possibility of revolution, if necessary

So, where does that leave me? I suppose I'm generally a supporter of gun ownership with some restrictions (basically those defined by Class 3 firearms). I don't see much use in anti-assault weapon laws like those of NJ.

Defining a Liberal

I suppose this is a good place to start out. I consider myself a liberal through the common definitions:

• I embrace multiculturalism, human rights, civil liberties, freedom of speech and the press, free market and trade, a constitutional government, a limited degree of governmental intervention in the economy, an open mind to ethical issues, financial aid.
• I am a child of a capitalist society, however I am vexed by the class-based system in that it is not fully democratic or participatory.
• I find the concept of a truely open society very interesting, where the politics and laws continually evolve to meet the needs of the people.

I know this leaves a lot to be described. Keep in mind, this is only a beginning point for me.