Attribute to L. Neil Smith's The Libertarian Enterprise
Tis the custom in these here parts to start off with one from Mama
Liberty. But I ain't gonna do that, pilgrim. I'm gonna start off with
TWO by Mama Liberty. Because I've got'em! Well, one is BY her, and
one recommended by her. First, her piece (originally in JPFO's
e-zine)
[Link]
If you are not a member of JPFO, what the
hell is keeping you? One of the finest pro-gun-rights organizations
out there!
Ancient wisdom tells us that a bird in the hand is worth two in the
bush. What's in your hand is yours to do with as you please, but in
opening your hand to grasp the two in the bush, you may well lose all
of them.
Many, if not most ordinary people accept the fact that actual
violent crime is not common in most places, and may even be
decreasing in frequency overall. The mainstream media works very hard
sensationalizing every tidbit they can find, especially if a gun
happens to be involved, or "children," and people become fearful
without actually understanding either the risk or the rational
response to it.
Finish it, you'll like it! And, the recommendation—
[Link]
One of the biggest problems with the gun control debate is the fact
that it is about guns. Before anyone gets all butt-hurt about that
statement, let me explain what I mean. First off, it should be noted
that I support gun rights. I enjoy shooting and plinking, and I have
a license to carry concealed in my state. Clearly I don't have a
problem with guns, so why do I consider guns to be the problem within
the context of the debate? . . .
I think it's fair to say that there is something of a stigma
against guns amongst the general public. People tend to fear what
they don't understand; it's human nature. So it stands to reason that
the non-gun-owning public, who are likely being exposed to media with
a pretty obvious bias against guns and gun ownership on a nearly
constant basis, would be ambivalent at best toward the idea of gun
rights.
This man makes some excellent points.
It reminds me of an ad I recently read about. It shows two young
boys, sword fighting with fairly large, brightly colored dildos. And
it says "Children will play with anything. Keep your guns locked up."
[Link] The link takes you to HuffPo,
which, of course, doesn't get the real point. But it DOES make you
think.....
A gun safety advocacy group is
using sex toys to start a conversation around gun safety and
responsibility.
An ad released Thursday titled "Playthings" shows two young boys
running around, playing with large, brightly colored dildos as if
they're swords.
"If they find it, they'll play with it," the narrator says, "so
always lock up your guns."
The video at the link does not approach the ad seriously, though
the written article is a bit more understanding. Funny, isn't it,
that the people who approve of teaching 10 year olds about safe sex,
anal sex, and how to use a condom are opposed to using dildos to aid
in removing the "stigma" of guns from the topic of gun safety?
SO Rahm "Deadfish" Emanuel's back-door method of keeping legal
businesses (gun shops) out of Chicago passes 48-0 with Chicago's
aldermen.
[Link] I give up—The Windy City is just too fucking
stupid to be allowed to continue to exist.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Emanuel's rules "[prohibit]
gun retailers within 500 feet of a school or a park."
As
Breitbart News reported on May 27, Emanuel's rules will also
require video taping of all gun sales and force the few gun stores
that do exist to perform "quarterly audits of their gun sales and
allow police to inspect their records."
Bet your ass I wouldn't buy a gun in Chicago. If I lived in that
city (not fucking likely), I'd buy it outside the borders.
Oh, really? SWAT Teams are private entities?
[Link]
A regional SWAT team in Massachusetts is refusing to release
information on raid statistics due to its belief that it is a private
organization.
After being
petitioned by the ACLU, the North Eastern
Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council
(NEMLEC), the
group that overseas the SWAT team, claimed it was not subject to
public records laws.
"When we asked NEMLEC for records about their SWAT policies and
deployments, we were startled to receive this response: we don't have
to give you documents because we aren't government agencies," the
ACLU blog,
PrivacySOS, revealed.
Although claiming to be a private entity, the group seemingly has
no issue with using government grants and public funds to purchase
and maintain armored vehicles and military equipment.
"NEMLEC can't have it both ways," said Jessie Rossman, a staff
attorney with the ACLU of Massachusetts. "Either it is a public
entity subject to public records laws, or what it is doing is
illegal."
The ACLU immediately responded by filing suit against NEMLEC,
asking the Suffolk County Superior Court to order the group to
release all relevant documents including training materials, incident
reports and deployment statistics.
So all the issue weapons were privately bought, and properly
recorded as the non-officer's private property, and they are licensed
in accordance with Massachusetts law? Any weapons qualifying as Class
Three (all bombs, flashbangs, grenade launchers, or select fire
weapons, suppressors/silencers) are properly recorded with the BATFE,
and privately owned (and taxed) by the officer who carries them?
Proper notifications, in compliance with Massachusetts law, is made
to all police chiefs and county sheriffs each time any of these Class
Three weapons is moved/transported, and they are only discharged at
approved Class Three rated ranges? I call bullshit on that. Please
note—I do NOT support the entire Class Three system, but these are
supposed to be law enforcement officers, who must follow the
law....... OOPS! Silly me, I forgot, they claim they are NOT a
government agency. SO they DEFINITELY must follow the law, or face
citizens' arrest each time they appear in public!
How dare this evil woman oppose a big, brave man who was just
engaging in some larcenous redistribution of wealth!
[Link] Doesn't she know this NEVER works?
On June 23 a Philadelphia Vitamin store shopkeeper shot and killed a
knife-wielding robbery suspect.
The 46-year-old shopkeeper was a former Philadelphia police woman.
According to
Philly.com, she "was behind the counter of Stan's Health
Foods...just after 5 p.m. when a 47-year-old man walked in and
brandished a six-inch hunting knife."
Inspector Scott Small said no other employees or customers were in
the store at the time. It was just the shopkeeper and "the robbery
suspect."
The suspect "went behind the counter and threw the cash register
on the floor to break it." Then he put his knife against the
shopkeeper's chest, who "drew a gun and fired a shot into the
[suspect's] chest." The suspect "collapsed on the floor" and "was
pronounced dead shortly afterward."
That evil evil woman.
Ahhhh, our brave FBI protects us yet again from...... an average
American citizen who believes in having more than 7 days worth of
food in the house. That evil bastard!!
[Link] First, they convict the poor guy in the court
of public opinion by lying their asses off about what he supposedly
has, then they claim he intends to shoot federal agents if they show
up, then they say he's booby-trapped his home and property to protect
over "50 high-powered rifles" (which, by the way, are
Constitutionally protected private property), then they raid him. And
they find.... No booby traps, he never even threatens the
raiders, he has 5 guns secured in a safe, NO guns buried on the
property, and barrels of preserved foods.
Federal agents this week
searched the Florida home of a 'doomsday prepper' they alleged had
stockpiled over 50 high-powered assault rifles and several explosive
devices buried around his property as 'booby traps'.
However the warrant showed up little more than barrels of food.
...
But in federal court on Wednesday, Winters' defense attorney,
Ellis Faught, said the confidential informant's estimates were wide
of the mark.
The informant had bought four so-called destructive devices from
Winters, but they were not buried as booby traps.
Five guns were found locked in a safe, according to 10 News.
...
'None of this was there,' Fraught told the court, the station
reported.
'And it's my understanding that no guns were dug up.
'It was alleged by the government that there were 50 to 60 guns
and I'm only aware of five of them that were found and they were
found in his house in a safe.'
Isn't it funny, how Rand Paul, who the media considers a nut-job,
predicted exactly this type of raid 3 years ago?
Senator Rand Paul warned Americans about this growing trend of
demonizing innocent Americans in a speech he delivered to Congress
three years ago in opposition to the
National
Defense Authorization Act noting that those who don't subscribe
to the status quo could be branded as extremists and terrorists.
Paul's prediction couldn't have been more accurate, especially
considering the manhunt and circumstances surrounding the ordeal with
Martin Winters:
There are laws on the books now that characterize who might be a
terrorist.
Someone missing fingers on their hands is a suspect according to
the Department of Justice. Someone who has guns, someone who has
ammunition that is weatherproofed, someone who has more than seven
days of food in their house can be considered a potential
terrorist.
If you are suspected by these activities do you want the
government to have the ability to send you to Guantanamo Bay for
indefinite detention?
I suspect, we're not talking about someone who has been tried
or found guilty. We're talking about someone suspected of
activities.
This seems to be exactly what has happened here. Let me point out
a few things—Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, where people were without
electricity, safe food, or drink, for (in many cases) weeks. The big
East Coast Blackout a few years ago. In EACH of these cases, people
who were prepared were better off than those who were not. My parents
had a generator installed in their home (of course, Pop, who is
getting up there in age forgot to get more than 5 gallons of gas, so
I had to bring him 40 gallon from my house) and who had a pantry full
of "Doomsday Prepper) style foods, went 7 days without electricity
after Sandy. Okay, they had electricity, but not from the power
company. They had cold milk, lots of food, light and heat. And they
are potential terrorists for having such. For being able to feed
themselves, give themselves power, and possess a few guns to protect
what they have from looters.
Another example of how owning a gun does not let you protect
yourself. 
[Link]
A robber approached a gentleman in a Jackson, Mississippi parking lot
on June 20, pointed a gun at him and said, "Betcha ain't got one of
these."
The would-be victim pulled a gun and shot the suspect.
According to MS News
Now, the suspect approached the man and feigned an interest in
cigarettes. When the would-be victim said he didn't have any
cigarettes, the suspect "began to walk away, turned and said, 'betcha
ain't got one of these,' pointing a gun at the [would-be] victim."
However, the would-be victim was carrying a gun for self-defense
and he responded to the threat by shooting the suspect in the chest.
The suspect left the scene "and was later picked up by ambulance
the Pines apartments" on Watkins Drive.
The would-be victim "is not facing any charges."
That poor mugger, not only was he shot, not only did he lose his
gun, he didn't even get to have a cigarette! That "would be victim"
is just plain mean. (This has been a sarcasm break by Neale Osborn,
for those too fucking stupid to realize it)
I suggest that Chicagoans get together, find out what these things
look like, and destroy them as fast as they go up.
[Link] There isn't a
government around that will not violate your rights as quickly as a
new method of doing so is fielded. Destroy them now, before they
become nationwide. We have too much surveillance already, the last
thing we need is more of it!
Researchers intend to launch the sculpture-resembling spy boxes
throughout eight intersections near Michigan Avenue by mid-July,
hoping to install dozens more around the Loop and hundreds more
across the city into neighborhoods by the end of the year. In order
to reach optimal concealment, the spy boxes were designed by the
School of the Art Institute, secured by more than $1 million in
donations from Cisco Systems, Intel, Zebra Technologies, Qualcomm,
Motorola Solutions and Schneider Electric. "Planners envision a
permanent system of data collection boxes that can be used by a range
of researchers from the public, private and academic sectors who want
to test ideas but wouldn't have the resources to build the testing
infrastructure," reported The Chicago Tribune. Developers say the
sensor-collecting boxes, which will connect to the Internet, can be
easily updated and will be capable of adapting to "the latest and
greatest technology." Responding to privacy concerns, Catlett assured
that the boxes "...don't collect things that can identify people.
There are no cameras or recording devices." He added that sensors
will collect "sound levels but not recording actual sound. The only
imaging will be infrared."
We believe you, man. Really, we do. NOT. EVEN if this is all the
boxes do now, you can bet your ass the first "upgrade" (taking place
about 10 minutes after the first installation) will add regular
filming and full sound recording.
If you don't want to take your medicine, and follow doctor's
orders, the nursing home will have you killed by police. As the
family's lawyer said, the police did to this 95 year old WWII vet
what the Japanese failed to do 70 years ago.
[Link] can
there be ANY legitimate reason to tase AND shoot a 95 year old man 5
times with 12ga beanbag rounds for refusing to go to the hospital?
For treatment of a UTI?
The family of a World War II veteran has filed a federal civil rights
lawsuit after the 95-year-old man died following a confrontation with
Park Forest police last summer.
Park Forest Police Officer Craig Taylor, 43, is charged with
reckless conduct for striking John Wrana with five shotgun beanbag
rounds as he and other officers tried taking him into custody on July
26, 2013.
Wrana was a patient at the Victory Center Nursing home when he
refused to go to the hospital for a urinary tract infection. Police
were called and eventually used a Taser and a beanbag shotgun to
remove the belligerent man by force. He died the next day.
* * * * *
"Officer Taylor fired the five rounds from his shotgun from a
distance of only 6 to 8 feet from where Mr. Wrana was standing," the
family's attorney, Nicholas Grapsas said.
"Unfortunately what the Japanese military failed to do to Mr.
Wrana during the war, the Park Forest Police Department succeeded in
doing 70 years later in the twilight of was, until then, an extremely
wonderful life."
Cudos to the police for their handling of this dangerous
man.... And these are the people we are supposed to trust with
our lives!
A good NewsVine friend, Marshall James, seeded this article.
[Link] And it makes such good
common sense arguments (well, common sense to people with brains) for
the case for firearms being necessary for a truly civilized and equal
society that I felt obliged to include it on my next rant. And it
goes something like this....
Human beings only have two ways to deal with one another: reason and
force. If you want me to do something for you, you have a choice of
either convincing me via argument, or force me to do your bidding
under threat of force. Every human interaction falls into one of
those two categories, without exception. Reason or force, that's it.
In a truly moral and civilized society, people exclusively
interact through persuasion. Force has no place as a valid method of
social interaction, and the only thing that removes force from the
menu is the personal firearm, as paradoxical as it may sound to some.
When I carry a gun, you cannot deal with me by force. You have to
use reason and try to persuade me, because I have a way to negate
your threat or employment of force. The gun is the only personal
weapon that puts a 100-pound woman on equal footing with a 220-pound
mugger, a 75-year old retiree on equal footing with a 19-year old
gangbanger, and a single gay guy on equal footing with a carload of
drunk guys with baseball bats. The gun removes the disparity in
physical strength, size, or numbers between a potential attacker and
a defender.
It goes on to make a series of excellent points. Read it. You'll
like it. (Again, those of you with a brain)
For our Quote(s) of the Week, this time we shall go with
some anti-Constitutionalists and their opinions of armed American
citizens—
"We'll take one step at a time, and the first is necessarily
... given the political realities ... very modest. We'll have to
start working again to strengthen the law, and then again to
strengthen the next law and again and again. Our ultimate goal, total
control of handguns, is going to take time. The first problem is to
make possession of all handguns and ammunition (with a few
exceptions) totally illegal."—Peter Shields, founder of Handgun
Control Inc., New Yorker Magazine, June 26, 1976
"If I could've gotten 51 votes in the Senate of the United
States for an outright ban, picking up every one of them...'Mr. and
Mrs. America, turn 'em all in,' I would have done it."—Senator
Diane Feinstein (D-CA)
"Waiting periods are only a step. Registration is only a
step. The prohibition of private firearms is the goal."—Janet
Reno, US Attorney General.... and finally, her boss....
"We can't be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights
of ordinary Americans."—Bill Clinton, President of the United
States in USA Today, March 11, 1993
Thus endeth the rant. For this week.
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