Day by Day Cartoon by Chris Muir

Saturday, March 31, 2012

Cat update

Leo pulled through having his colon flushed out, but currently is being warmed to bring his core temperature up, and will be watched over the weekend. Prognosis "guarded". Chris and I sat with him for a while at the vet's.

We are praying for the little guy.

Human Achievement Hour

8:30 tonight.



Stolen from Ace of Spades

Friday, March 30, 2012

Sickness in the family

Our little Leo cat is at the vet overnight - "megacolon", really bad constipation. He might not make it.

Demonrat / union tolerance

There ain't none:
++++++++++++++++


Fired for Free Speech? Having a Pro-Gov. Walker Sign in Her Car Costs Wisc. Custodian Her Job

Mary Taylor was working as a custodian at a Wisconsin high school when she decided to put a pro-Scott Walker sign in her car, after seeing several other vehicles with anti-Walker bumper stickers. Soon thereafter, her janitorial service employer told her to get rid of the sign, because teachers had begun complaining. Taylor refused, however, saying having the sign within her private vehicle was well within her rights.

“I felt that it was necessary to provide information to other people that I do in fact stand for Scott Walker, and when I first started [working] there, these teachers had their recall stickers on their cars. Didn’t bother me one bit,” Taylor said. “Liberal school teachers and liberals in general cannot push the public around when they have different opinions other than theirs.”

Fox and Friends reached out to Taylor’s employer for comment but didn’t hear back.

The custodian has since gone back to work for the same high school. When Steve Doocy asked her if there had been any retribution since her return, Taylor informed him that someone had keyed her car.
++++++++++++++
Video at the link.

Right up there with the "Recall Walker" car that tried to run me off the road in front of my home...

Almost missed it!

Earth Hour is Saturday!

Just got the Yamaha running right again - and, I did the responsible thing - new valve seals and some new gaskets, so it doesn't get 100 miles per quart of 20W50 any more. Still needs new plug wires - was missing badly on the left from a loose plug cap.

Of course, I did it for all the wrong reasons - like enjoying a long ride without worrying about running out of oil and wasting my money.

Also fired up the lawn tractor for the first time this season. Going to have all the lights on and engines running again this year, as is tradition.

H/t Ace of Spades

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

A stupid person speaks

And proves her ignorance and stupidity.



This stupid female doesn't think past what her handlers tell her. Replace a barrel, firing pin, or some judicious application of a Dremel tool will make the whole thing moot, anyway - except for adding cost to Americans exercising their rights, and violating the Constitution.

"Sensible gun regulation" == control of the people for the benefit of the governing.

These idiots think criminals obey laws. She swears no one will be hurt by her law - and she used to "hunt" - so she's a good guy.

Her last line - "get rid of those damn criminals" - is priceless. The way you do that is by allowing people to defend themselves and their property, and repealing laws that protect violent criminals by disarming the good people.

Monday, March 26, 2012

CCW training

Wisconsin Carry, Inc. FREE Concealed Carry License Training Course:

Saturday, April 28th 11am to 3pm 

West Shore Sportsmen's Club
11267 Lakeshore Drive
Two Rivers, WI 54241

to attend this class email WCI certified instructor: Art Jordan to reserve a spot.

arthurjordan2209@hotmail.com

AND

visit the following link to download and bring to class the documents/notes needed.

http://www.dwave.net/~phred/WCI_Downloads.html

This class is open to the public and is 100% free.  Space is limited. Email the instructor to reserve a spot.

Carry On,

Nik Clark
Chairman/President - Wisconsin Carry, Inc.
www.wisconsincarry.org
nik@wisconsincarry.org
www.facebook.com/groups/wisconsincarry
www.twitter.com/wisconsincarry
www.youtube.com/wisconsincarry

As usual, it's all Koch's fault

MSNBC’s Karen Finney Says the Koch Brothers Killed Trayvon Martin

Trayvon Martin’s death in Florida is a terrible tragedy made even worse by a police department that seemingly bungled the investigation. There are multiple eyewitnesses, some who saw the shooter, George Zimmerman, yelling for help. Others saw Trayvon Martin yelling for help.

It shouldn’t be a partisan issue.

But MSNBC decided to make it one. According to Karen Finney on MSNBC, the Koch Brothers, NRA, and other conservatives are responsible for Trayvon Martin’s death.

They have blood on their hands because they apparently built a time machine with their billions and went back to 1789 and inserted the second amendment into the Bill of Rights.

Idiot.

Another good post about Trayvon and Zimmerman

http://seriousgun.com/pimps-thriving-florida-case/

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Alternate history

Much has been said about the shooting of a black youth in Florida.  It is being used by the left to attack gun rights, conservatives and Republicans, and death threats have been made and abetted by public figures.

But - What if Trayvon had had a CCW?

Interesting read.

Surprise!

Go to this site:
 
www.communists.com 
 
and see what comes up! You won't believe it!
 
Update - the original link, and the one to "www.socialists.com" were taken down - so I fixed this one to go to the proper site.

Reduce, reuse, recycle, litter...

Found on the west edge of our front field:


Someone paid good money for this. And left it out to blow down the road and end up in my prairie grass.

Any guesses how many American recycled pop bottles went into making this? How much fuel oil was used to transport it from the factory to the store?

Exactly how many trees were "saved" by buying this and not using recyclable paper bags?

I'll bet that China used virgin polypropylene to make this. Probably floor sweepings from one of the plants that make the lead-coated toys they ship over here.

The "greenbag" website took over a minute to load the cute flash animation of green grass moving around. How many innocent electrons were enslaved to do that? How many grams of that eevil CO2 were released?

Saturday, March 24, 2012

The real reason for Osamacare

So people will never have to work, ever again:

Pelosi: Obamacare Allows You to Quit Your Job and Become 'Whatever'


(CNSNews.com) – House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday that Obamacare facilitates the type of “liberation” that the “Founders had in mind” because it allows you to quit your job and become a “photographer,”  a “writer,” a “musician”--or “whatever.”
“As you hear from these stories, this is a liberation,” Pelosi said at a Capitol Hill news conference Thursday.
“This is what our founders had in mind--ever expanding opportunity for people.
“You want to be a photographer or a writer or a musician, whatever --  an artist, you want to be self-employed, if you want to start a business, you want to change jobs, you no longer are prohibited from doing that because you can’t have access to health care, especially because you do not want to put your family at risk,” she said.
The House Democratic Leader appeared alongisde House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), to celebrate the health care law that was passed two years ago Friday.
+++++++++++++++
More at the link.

Now we know why we had to pass the bill in order to see what's in it - so Pee-Lousy could give us all this good news!

Free CCW class

Greetings in Freedom:
 
WCI has another FREE concealed carry license training course available.
 
This course is free and open to the public. If you attend, before you leave, you will receive a proof of training certificate that satisfies Wisconsin's training mandate.  You submit a copy of that certificate to the Wisconsin DOJ to receive your Concealed Carry License.
 
Saturday April 21st
1 pm to 5pm
Izaak Walton League
N6491 County Hwy K
Fond du Lac, WI 54937
 
If you would like to attend this class email WCI certified instructor Rich Koprek to reserve a space:
 
 
In addition, if you want to attend this class you need to visit the following link and print the class notes/documents and bring them to class:
 
 
Carry On,
 
Nik Clark
Chairman/President - Wisconsin Carry, Inc.

Friday, March 23, 2012

I forgot I ordered this!

Good thing there's email:

Your order for our air commuter services has been received and processed. The helicopter will be at your disposal from 0.00 p.m. monday to 6.45 friday. Once again, our rates are:
1 hour in the air: 597$
Takeoff / Landing: 239$
1 hour down time on the ground: 158$
Longest fly-time is 4 hours.
When flying for longer distances, a second pilot is needed, and the cost accordingly increases by 88$ an hour.

Bill you will be find in the attachment.(Open with Internet Explorer Only)

With Best Regards
Elnora Xiong
MD5 check sum: a5f294680a5f2ba5f2baf2b7d1c4680a
Order_N85442.htm

Loading. Please wait. 

The attachment didn't open, of course. Thanks Firefox!

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Help Illinois get out from under Chicago!

Mostly for residents, to get credit in the legislature, but out-of-state people sure like to sign stuff in Wisconsin, so perhaps turnabout is fair play...

You have to go to the link to fill out the form.

Join Downstate Legislators in the Fight Against Chicago's Anti-Gun Laws!

Downstate must stand up and say “No!” to these Chicago politicians and their vendetta against law-abiding gun owners. Chicago politicians are after our guns once again. They want to require all gun owners to register their handguns with the government AND pay a fee (House Bill 5831), and they want to tax ammunition (House Bill 5167). Enough is enough. Gun owners already have to jump through too many hoops when it comes to their Second Amendment rights. There’s no way we’ll let this oppressive, anti-gun agenda become law. We will stand up with our fellow citizens by standing up to Chicago politicians in defending our constitutional rights and freedoms. These proposals are out of touch, misguided and a slap in the face of responsible gun owners. Harassing downstate gun owners with harsh taxes and irrational gun registries won’t do anything to reduce crime. Now is the time to let your voice be heard. Sign the petition and let House and Senate leaders know that you won’t tolerate these infringements on our Second Amendment rights. Note: Please be advised that by agreeing to participate in this Petition you hereby also consent to Google's Terms of Service Agreement as this software product is offered by Google.
* Required



Tuesday, March 20, 2012

A tactic for handling dunning phone calls

and anyone else you would rather not talk to. You will need a speakerphone to do this right.

Have Pandora set up on your computer, ready to play some of your favorite music. Pause it at the start of a favorite track - something nice and long like 'Inna Gadda Da Vida" is always good.

When the bill collector / political pollster / irritating charity calls, simply say "Hello", so the computer picks up the call and hands it off to the human operator. When they start their spiel, ask them to hold a moment, and un-pause Pandora.

Enjoy your music, and when the caller hangs up in disgust, simply hang up the speakerphone.

Works well with loud TV shows, too.

So far, only one guy who called had a sense of humor, and commented on the music before hanging up. Most just hang up after a few minutes - the record so far is just over five minutes.

I figure if they are going to bug me, they might as well pay more of a phone bill in the process, and in the case of robocallers, it ties up a line on their system for as long as possible, perhaps saving someone else the irritation of receiving the next call.

Just another peaceful weekend in old Chi-town

How's that gun-free thing going for you?
++++++++++++++

10 dead, 49 wounded in 46 shootings over the weekend in Chicago

Ethel C. Fenig


Chicago has one of the strictest gun control laws in the nation; it is almost impossible for anyone to legally own a gun. So as a result of this prohibition of gun ownership, this unilateral disarmament Chicago must be as peaceful, as calm, as safe as well...kindergarten in paradise.

Uhm...no! While law abiding citizens don't own guns and struggle to overturn laws banning them, those who laugh at such niceties as following the law, purchasing guns through authorized dealers and even stopping at stop signs, manage to obtain guns. And they use them in a brutal war being played out in some of Chicago's poorest neighborhoods, including the one so ably organized by our present president and the one about a mile from his ill gotten home. The shootings are done mainly by Hispanic and black gang members, mowing down the innocent, the passersby, the children in addition to the occasional opposition gangbanger.

Last week end as Chicagoans enjoyed three record breaking sunny, 75 degree and higher seemingly summer days in this winterless winter, some Chicagoans set a shameless record of their own--10 dead, 49 others wounded in 46 shootings, mainly in the city's high crime districts.

++++++++++++++
If at first you don't succeed, try harder! Chicago is now pushing "may issue" CCW, probably so the connected and elites can carry, while silencing the calls for CCW for the unwashed masses. If the federal reciprocity bill passes, those elites would be able to carry anywhere, and the people who make Illinois run will get screwed.

Beloit gets a casino!

...if the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs agrees, which could take another two years or so.

I would like someone to explain to me why Native Americans are so stupid as to be required to ask the Great White Father in Washington, DC - oops, Great Chocolate Father - for permission to enter freely into a business arrangement with a city in a sovereign state of our Union. At the most, the State of Wisconsin might have a say - and they did, already.

How much could we chop out of the federal budget by eliminating the BIA and all other extraneous and outdated "bureaus" left over from the 19th Century?

And how much could be saved if we got rid of every bureau that is not explicitly authorized by our Constitution?

Osamanomics, IRS edition

I was expecting a fair refund from the IRS. Got a letter from them today.

I made a "mistake" somewhere, after reading their oh-so-clear instructions for filling out the myriad forms required for someone who dares to work for himself, rather than collect a wage.

The IRS informed me that they were reducing my reported income by 25%. This of course caused my tax owed to double.

So, instead of a respectable refund, which would have gone toward such trivialities as overdue medical bills, and the property tax due on my home, I owe the IRS several hundred dollars, due, of course by April 17th.

Happy birthday to me!

Monday, March 19, 2012

The ultimate concealed pistol!

Should work really nice with those baggy pants favored by so many young people these days...


Especially with a 40-round banana magazine - you never know when those extra few rounds will be the difference between life and death...

History lesson

Holder 1995: We Must 'Brainwash' People Against Guns

Video at the link.

Attorney General Eric Holder supported using Hollywood, the media and government officials in order to “really brainwash people” into opposing firearm ownership, according to a 1995 C-SPAN video that emerged Sunday online.

Holder, who was then the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, was addressing the Women’s National Democratic Club on Jan. 30, 1995. In his speech, he held up anti-smoking campaigns as a model for an anti-gun campaign.

“What we need to do is change the way in which people think about guns, especially young people, and make it something that’s not cool, that it’s not acceptable, it’s not hip to carry a gun anymore, in the way in which we’ve changed our attitudes about cigarettes,” Holder said.

Video of the speech was discovered by Breitbart.com.

 

More on Osama's power grab

Supposedly, this is just clarification of existing governmental powers, but...



Long, but interesting.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Osama declares martial law?

Some people are thinking so. This just released on Friday, with no MSM reporting:

The White House
Office of the Press Secretary

Executive Order -- National Defense Resources Preparedness

EXECUTIVE ORDER
NATIONAL DEFENSE RESOURCES PREPAREDNESS

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended (50 U.S.C. App. 2061 et seq.), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, and as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Entire text below the fold.

It seems to me that this gives Osama and his successors the power to do anything with anything, any time he feels like it, as ling as he can declare some sort of "emergency". 

There's no need for martial law, if the government owns everything and commands everyone all the time.

We te People speak out

NAACP Brings U.S. Election Law Before United Nations 
Written by Raven Clabough   
Thursday, 15 March 2012 16:04

The United Nations Human Rights Council, comprised of human rights violators like Saudi Arabia, China, and Cuba, has turned its attention to American election laws. Ironically, the council is investigating the impact of American election laws on minorities in the United States, even as some of the Council’s member nations have only just recently permitted women the right to vote, and Saudi Arabia still bars women from voting completely.

Fox News reports, “Officials from the NAACP are presenting their case against U.S. voter ID laws, arguing to the international diplomats that the requirements disenfranchise voters and suppress the minority vote.”

The NAACP is opposed to the new voting laws approved by some states that require voters to show identification before voting.

Eight states have passed voter ID laws in the past year, while voter ID proposals are currently awaiting approval in 32 other states. The Obama administration has already acted against South Carolina and Texas from enacting their voter ID laws.
++++++++++++++++
More at the link.

The only reason that anyone objects to requiring voters to prove who they are is that it makes voter fraud more difficult, and voter fraud is a mainstay of machine politics - particularly Demonrat machine politics.

Osama would never have become an Ill-Annoys Senator, let alone a US Senator, and would never be occupying the White House to our detriment today, if voter ID had been in place in Ill-Annoys back in the 1990's.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Out of the mouths of babes...

At A Girl and her Gun:
I have been subbing this week at my children's school. This morning I got ready and E(my 8 year old)asks me "where's your gun?". I tell her the law does not allow me to carry my gun into a school. "But what if a bad guy comes in?" "Who will stop him?" "A good guy, should be able to have a gun."

I thought, well she understands this and while I know she is very smart, I would think the folks who make the laws, in theory, should be smarter. They should be able to put the pieces together and come to the same conclusion.
A third grader gets what our "solons" cannot grasp. Go read - this lady is good.

Movie trailer

The lefty-liberals don't like this, so I'll post the video:


AGENDA: Grinding America Down (Trailer) from Copybook Heading Productions LLC on Vimeo.


The original poster wants to warp the words of our Founders to tell us that what they really intended was a Marxist government.

They really are scared of the "Tea Party", and are convinced it's really a vast right-wing conspiracy. People like this can't see past their own conspiracies to take control of the world, and assume there's no way the people could spontaneously rise up and fight back.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Liar

He never stops:
+++++++++++++++

Yuk-Yuk… Obama Cracks Gas Jokes: “There’s a Few Places We’re Not Drilling… The National Mall… At Your House” (Video)

So sad.
Barack plays comedian and cracks jokes about gas prices. He told an audience today that there’s “a few places” we’re not drilling… the National Mall… at your house.”
HapBlog
reported:

Posted by Jim Hoft on Thursday, March 15, 2012, 2:39 PM

So sad.

Barack plays comedian and cracks jokes about gas prices. He told an audience today that there’s “a few places” we’re not drilling… the National Mall… at your house.”
HapBlog reported:

And, we’re not drilling in ponds. We’re using the scum for oil.
Of course, like most everything Obama says, a quick Google search paints a totally different picture of the truth.

Investor’s reported:
Obama has chosen almost always to limit production. He canceled leases on federal lands in Utah, suspended them in Montana, delayed them in Colorado and Utah, and canceled lease sales off the Virginia coast.
His administration also has been slow-walking permits in the Gulf of Mexico, approving far fewer while stretching out review times, according to the Greater New Orleans Gulf Permit Index. The Energy Dept. says Gulf oil output will be down 17% by the end of 2013, compared with the start of 2011. Swift Energy President Bruce Vincent is right to say Obama has “done nothing but restrict access and delay permitting.”
“The U.S. consumes more than a fifth of the world’s oil. But we only have 2% of the world’s oil reserves.”
And just two days ago Democrats blocked ANWR and the Keystone Pipeline.
If Obama really wanted laughs with his leftist audience he stick with the c-nt jokes.
+++++++++++++++
Speaking of low-life jokes, here's some tasteful pictures of Osama's mother.

Another feel-good for you

Brought tears to my eyes.

http://www.9news.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=1298199044001&odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|featured


Ignore the law - the Ill-Annoys way!

This is why our civilization is in trouble:
++++++++++++++

‘Porno Palace’ Next to Convent Violates State Law

- Christian Newswire  Thursday, March 15, 2012 

CHICAGO,—On behalf of local residents and the Missionary Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo, Thomas More Society attorneys demanded that the Village of Stone Park, Illinois, put a halt to construction of a three-million dollar strip club, “Get It,” located several feet from the property line of the Sisters’ convent.

“For over 60 years, the Sisters of St. Charles have devoted their lives to teaching the children of Stone Park—service for which they’re now being repaid with a ‘porno palace’ towering over their convent,” said Peter Breen, executive director of the Thomas More Society. “This facility was located in clear violation of state law, and zoning permissions were given without notice to the Sisters, whose convent is located immediately next to this facility.”

In his address to the Village Board this week, Breen identified a state law imposing a one-mile “buffer zone” between adult entertainment facilities and “places of worship,” which he contends prohibits the placement of “Get It” next to the convent and its several chapels.
++++++++++++++
More at the link.

In Ill-Annoys, if a particular law offends thee, you simply hire more lawyers than the local government can fight, and intimidate them into submission.
According to the Mayor of Stone Park, the village chose not to defend the developer’s lawsuit because doing so would cost the village half a million dollars. Village officials have discouraged residents and the Sisters from protesting “Get It.” However, this week, the Thomas More Society offered free legal services to the village of Stone Park should it choose to join residents in taking action against “Get It.”
Since the law in question was never challenged, and in any case is backed by a similar state law, the only explanation is that the local officials DID get caught with their hands out, and rather than take their lumps in court, they folded.

I would love to see the people of Stone Park rise up and drive these creeps out of their village on rails, after  a good old fashioned tar and feather treatment. Perhaps a few instances of public justice like that might encourage the good folks in Chicago to clean house once and for all - and Illinois can finally get rid of the monkey on her back in Crook County.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Egotism

This kind of thing only happens in banana republics, right?
+++++++++++++++++

American flag with President Obama's image sparks outrage at Florida Democrats



An American flag with President Obama's image in place of the stars flew over a Florida county's Democrat headquarters long enough to enrage local veterans who called the altered banner "a disgrace."

Lake County Democratic Party officials took down the flag, which flew just below a standard Old Glory on the flagpole outside headquarters in Tavares following complaints by local veterans. But merely taking it down wasn't enough for several local veterans, who said they fought for the flag Betsy Ross made famous, not one with a politician on it.

"It's absolutely disrespectful," Jim Bradford, a 71-year-old veteran who participated in the Bay of Pigs Invasion told FoxNews.com. "It's totally ridiculous. To put somebody's picture there, to me, it's a disgrace to do that."

Bradford, an organizer with the Veterans Memorial at Fountain Park in Leesburg, Fla., snapped photos of the flag and distributed them to fellow veterans and friends. By late afternoon, he and several other veterans delivered a copy of the federal flag code to Nancy Hurlbert, chairwoman of the Lake County Democratic Party.

"We read that to her, but she would not accept that," Bradford said. "The discussion finally got a little bit heated."
The flag, which had been flying for several months without complaint and is available online for $12.95, was later removed by Hurlbert.

Bradford said Hurlbert apologized for the incident, but did not offer any promises that it wouldn't fly again.

+++++++++++++++++
More at the link.

Just deserts


The Battle of Athens

Why we need the Second Amendment:

Monday, March 12, 2012

Repairing what ain't broke

Milwaukee wants to "fix" our new concealed carry law:
+++++++++++++

Milwaukee police call for concealed-carry changes

Habitual criminals would be targeted


Milwaukee police are asking state legislators and gun rights activists to back three proposals police say would repair Wisconsin's concealed-carry law - among them: barring people with three misdemeanor convictions in five years from obtaining a concealed-carry permit.

The purpose of the changes would be to prevent repeat criminals from carrying guns, and stiffen penalties for those who do.

But one of Wisconsin's most prominent gun rights organizations says the proposals are too broad and could make it more difficult for law-abiding people to exercise their constitutional right to defend themselves with guns.

Police say they see three main problems with the existing law, which took effect in November and made Wisconsin the 49th state to allow concealed carry:

First, straw purchases - buying a firearm for someone who is prohibited from possessing a firearm - are a misdemeanor on a state level, not a felony as they are on a federal level.

Second, the requirements for a gun permit ignore the reality of plea bargains. Many habitual criminals legally qualify for, and could obtain, a concealed-carry permit because they were never convicted of a felony for which they were charged.

"Many of our career criminals don't have a felony conviction," explained Joel Plant, chief of staff with the Milwaukee Police Department. "They've been arrested for felonies, they've been charged with felonies, but because of necessity of the criminal justice process - and this is not a disparaging comment on the prosecution process or the judicial process - but because of necessity in our system, a lot of those felonies, many of those felonies, most of those felonies, are pled down to misdemeanor convictions."

Habitual criminals, Plant said, can carry a concealed gun with impunity from a potential of a felony charge unless they fire their guns.

Nik Clark of Wisconsin Carry, a gun rights group, said the problem seems to lie with the criminal justice system rather than the law.

"If he's got a problem, he needs to go talk to the (district attorney) and say, 'Why are you plea-bargaining these down to a misdemeanor that should otherwise be felonies?' That's a problem the DA needs to address," Clark said. "If these are serious offenses, they shouldn't be plea-bargained out. If you're not going to utilize the laws that exist, don't come asking for new laws that have the potential to infringe on the rights of law-abiding (people)."
+++++++++++++
Exactly. If someone is so dangerous they can't be trusted with their Constitutional rights, WHY are they loose on our streets?

If Milwaukee would back off and support our Constitutional rights, the crime problem might start to get better, like it has in so many other places where citizens are allowed their right to self-defense. And perhaps many of those criminals now getting plea bargains would be getting cheap graves at taxpayer's expense after a citizen does what is necessary.

Gun nation

Good article:
+++++++++++++++

Gun nation: Inside America's gun-carry culture

Why Americans now carry handguns in so many public places, from parks to college campuses. Is it making the country safer or more dangerous?

garner, n.c.

Leaning against a scrub pine as preschoolers scurry about at his feet, Shane Gazda, father of 3-year-old twins, recalls a conundrum he faced earlier that morning: whether to take his Smith & Wesson .40 caliber handgun to a Groundhog Day celebration in this town's White Deer Park.

After all, what was once against the law in North Carolina – carrying a concealed gun in a town park, square, or greenway – is now, as of Dec. 1, 2011, very much allowed. To Mr. Gazda, who likes to shoot targets in his backyard, an event as innocent as paying homage to a rodent could turn dangerous if the wrong person shows up.

"Part of it is being ready for cataclysm every day," says Gazda, a hospital maintenance engineer. "And to be honest, I started carrying precisely to protect not just myself, but my family, and anyone around me who needs help."

In the end, Gazda left the gun at home. But his internal debate is emblematic of one a growing number of Americans are having almost daily. Thirty years after a powerful gun-control movement swept the country, Americans are embracing the idea of owning and carrying firearms with a zeal rarely seen since the days of muskets and militias.

A combination of favorable court rulings, grass-roots activism, traditional fears of crime, and modern anxieties about government has led to what may be a tipping point on an issue that just a few years ago was one of America's most contentious. Gun rights have now expanded to the point where the fundamental question seems not to be "should we be able to carry guns," but instead is "where can't we carry them?"

The answer: not very many places.
+++++++++++++++
Go read - lots of good links, too.

The last question in the quote above should be answered in the negative - Americans can carry in any public place, at any time. The only place one should be prohibited is on another's private property.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Take a ride on a Zeppelin

http://home.comcast.net/~bzee1b/Zeppelin/Zeppelin.html

Tiny by the standards of the old German Zeppelins, but impressive nonetheless.

Daylight saving time

The most useless law passed in the history of the USA. All it does is disrupt people's sleep patterns, cause traffic accidents because of sun glare that wasn't there yesterday, and make work for people with a lot of clocks to reset.

Every explanation I have found for its' existence makes no sense to me. If you work outside, you get up when you can see well enough to do your job, and quit when you can't see any more. No farmer ever got more work done just because it suddenly was 4 AM instead of 3 - or because it was suddenly an hour earlier.

If the idea was to have more daylight in the evenings, why not just stay on "DST" year round? The people who live close to the eastern boundaries of the time zones still get the short end of the stick.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Osama's record on jobs

as he sees it, not as it is in the real world:



The real unemployment number in America today is closer to 25% than the 8% or so that the government claims. So many people have been dropped from the ranks of the "unemployed" because their unemployment benefits have run out. Creative accounting.

I think the recent gains in jobs is wishful thinking on the part of employers who can see the light at the end of the tunnel, around next January 20th.

Letter from the Brady Bunch

They wasted postage on a big envelope with these pages:


Take stuff out of context, and have fun with it. The "guys with the guns" currently are the Osama administration. 

Lie like a rug. The NRA is not opposed to fighting terrorists, they only want the government to follow their own rules - namely, the Constitution.

Not one crime has ever been prevented by a gun trace - the best they can do is help convict the shooter long after the crime was committed. 

Allowing students to exercise their right to self-protection on campus is a no-brainer. How many young women are attacked and killed on campus? Those little blue lights over the "rape phones" I have seen on the Beloit College campus only promise that the second responders (police) will arrive too late to do more than draw a chalk line around the body, or transport the victim to the hospital. They truly do think a woman raped and strangled with her pantyhose is preferable to a dead rapist.


The "gun lobby" does not exist in the sense the Brady Bunch would have us believe it does. It consists of millions of Americans, each contributing their small share to organizations like the NRA.

The "Brady Bill" has not prevented one criminal from obtaining a gun since its' inception. It has only caught those stupid enough to attempt to purchase one through a legal dealer, and more often than not, that person was not prosecuted for attempting an illegal purchase. How do you get a statistic on events that have not happened, anyway? Not every illegal gun sale results in a shooting, let alone a death.

The "gun show loophole" does not exist. It is actually private citizens selling private property privately. It would not have prevented the Columbine shooters from stealing guns, or getting them through buyers willing to make a straw purchase. Again, one armed teacher might have prevented the whole incident.

There is no such thing as a "deadly assault ammo clip". No ammunition feeding device is dangerous unless you trip on it or try to insert it into a body orifice.

Only the very innocent or very stupid really think that "preventing loaded guns in schools and restaurants" would have any effect on public safety - after all, Columbine and Virginia Tech both occurred in places where guns were prohibited.
The Tucson shooter did not use a "military assault clip", since his Glock uses a magazine - and if he had been limited to a standard magazine, he would have simply carried a couple more of them to do his evil act. The size of the tool is immaterial - the use it is put to is all important.

The Fort Hood attacker was in the ARMY. He used standard magazines.

I had no idea there were 49 people shooting at Virginia Tech. I guess the Brady Bunch can't afford proofreaders.

 The ability of the "disturbed individual" to get hold of magazines was overshadowed by the fact that all of his victims were disarmed by school rules and at his mercy, where only one student or instructor with a personal weapon could have prevented many or all of the deaths and injuries.

Osama's "op-ed" sure was instrumental in getting all those laws passed, wasn't it? During his administration so far, Americans have regained many freedoms with respect to personal protection.


If we all just would get along...

Now for the tear-jerker on blue paper:


Colin has to live with his bullets and the images of all those bodies because of the efforts of people like the Brady Bunch who work ceaselessly to infringe on Americans' Constitutional and God-given right to armed self defense. One armed person could have saved him from those bullets, but he wants to make sure that the next nutcase who goes into a college with evil intent will have no opposition.

Again with the lie about the Brady Bunch not wanting to take anyone's guns - they just want to make sure that no one can legally obtain a weapon or carry it for self-defense. Criminals will not be bothered, as they get their weapons out of a car trunk at night in the kinds of places that Brady Bunch members don't go into.

Jim Brady was a collector of guns before he got shot - and I'm not sure that his wife is not the brains behind the whole works - along with a liberal application of money from that patriot, George Soros.

They didn't include a postage-paid envelope - perhaps they ARE getting smarter with age.

Letter to the editor

In the weekend Beloit Daily News:

‘Laughing all way to the bank’

Posted: Saturday, March 10, 2012 10:00 am | Updated: 10:07 pm, Fri Mar 9, 2012.
Will the real Governor of Wisconsin stand up? And he did and his last name was Koch.

Why would these billionaires be interested in sending millions of dollars to several Republican governors just elected such as Scott Walker? Could it be because public unions keep middle class wages higher and business must adhere to medical insurance and safety practices that they do not have to do in right to work states? This like Medicaid, Social Security, and Medicare deductions, takes away from the huge profits of big business. Imagine if they could get away from those deductions, after all, they certainly will not need these programs. They do not even believe in public schools.

Can you imagine even the bigger tax breaks for the 1 percent that there would be? They may not have to put up so much PAC money anymore. I cannot believe that any of us really believe that the Koch billionaires are sending all these millions of dollars to our state without wanting something in return. 
After all, billionaires do not get to be billionaires by giving away millions. There is always something in it for them.

It is their American Dream, their greed, their power in our state. This is our state, our American Dream and it is about time, like my son who has fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, we fight to keep our middle class dream alive, like our grandfathers did. If you are in the 99 percent, please neighbors stop fighting for the 1 percent; they are laughing at you all the way to the bank.
Jenny Conner
Beloit

My response:

 For some reason, Democrats and lefty-liberals have a huge Koch fixation.

Yes, the Libertarian Koch brothers have donated large amounts of money to the campaigns of those who, like our own Governor Walker, are fighting to end the stranglehold that left-liberal politics and deficit spending have had on our economy. So what?

How about the billions foreigners like George Soros have pumped into the campaigns of persons like Barack Obama? At least the Koch  brothers are American citizens, and made their money by running a successful business - that incidentally employs thousands of American workers. They follow federal laws concerning worker safety, which were not changed by Wisconsin's legislation.

Public unions are a conflict of interest by definition. The employees of a unionized private company do not have the power to demand that taxpayers give them raises, as did public union members until Governor Walker signed that bill curtailing some - not all -of their bargaining "rights".

Most middle-class workers in Wisconsin do not belong to public unions. They have to pay for all the benefits public workers get, even if it means their own families must go hungry, as taxes are taken from their wages before they get them.

As far as PACs go, didn't Mr. Obama recently go back on his promise not to use PAC money himself?

I salute the writer's son who served in the military. He fought to keep the dream most Americans have alive - that they can live their lives without the government regulation every moment of them, and taxing them into poverty.

I would also like to point out that her grandfathers did not have to deal with public unions or the overblown federal and state governments that we have today.

Regards,
Chuck Kuecker

Update on the Milwaukee Aldi incident

The citizen is still disarmed.

Greetings in Freedom,
 
I would like to take this opportunity to update you on the status of the effort to get the Milwaukee Police Department to release the firearm that the legally armed citizen used in the Aldi's store in Milwaukee to dispatch an armed robber.

First, thank you to the thousands of you who emailed and called the Milwaukee Mayor and Common Council members who sit on the Public Safety committee.  Your voice was heard.
 
The Public Safety Committee met subsequent to your emails and phone calls and were briefed by the Milwaukee Police Department on the status of the gun being held.  UNFORNTUNATELY, the Milwaukee Police Department continues to take the vague position that the gun is "evidence".  Wisconsin Carry vehemently disagrees.  
 
After your emails and phone calls, the Milwaukee Police Department made a posting on their Facebook page:  http://www.facebook.com/milwaukeepolice

In that posting they had a memo from Alderman Puente who sits on the Public Safety Committee who said the police had briefed him and the gun was needed as evidence because a bullet was removed from the leg of the armed robber.  THIS STATEMENT CONFLICTS WHAT THE DETECTIVES ON THE SCENE told the armed citizen the night of the robbery.  Detective Reaves told the armed citizen that "the bullet passed through" the robbers leg. Therefore, the only way to tie the robber the scene of the crime is not the connection between the gun and bullet, but the bullet and the robber. If the bullet was recovered from the wall of the store and contained the robbers DNA that would tie the robber to the scene with physical evidence (as would any blood on the floor, the shotgun the robber dropped and left behind) and also the video surveillance and dozens of eye witnesses.  The gun of the armed citizens provides no forensic connection to the robber since the bullet passed through.  The bullet would make a connection if it contained DNA.  Wisconsin Carry is not asking the police to release the bullet (if recovered from the store).

I responded to the facebook posting asking Alderman Puente to CONFIRM that the police told him a bullet was removed from the leg of the robber and at that point, the facebook posting was REMOVED by the Milwaukee Police Department. 

Did MPD misrepresent the truth to the public safety committee? 

Wisconsin Carry believes the police cannot articulate a logical reason how the gun the armed citizen used can be used to connect the robber to the scene but they are misleading or being intentionally vague in their claim that "the gun is evidence".  A claim that cannot be supported by the facts we have. 

Please contact Alderman Puente and ask him if his statement on MPD facebook page that "a bullet was removed from the robbers leg" was true.  Ald. Robert W. Puente, Vice Chair (414) 286-2221 E-mail rpuent@milwaukee.gov

Even if that was true (which our information from Detective Reaves on the night of the robbery contradicts) the police could test fire Nazir's gun for ballistics confirmation, photograph it, and return it to him. 

We believe this represents a continued pattern of MPD confiscating even legally owned guns that were not involved in any crime and doing everything they can to avoid returning them to the law-abiding citizens who own them violating their 4th amendment civil rights.
 
Below is the original press-release and email message.  Please continue to contact the members of the public safety committee and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and ask them to demand MPD articulate a reason why a law-abiding citizens gun is not being returned to him.
 
Carry On,
 
Nik Clark
Chairman/President - Wisconsin Carry, Inc. 
nik@wisconsincarry.org
www.wisconsincarry.org
www.facebook.com/groups/wisconsincarry
www.youtube.com/wisconsincarry
www.twitter.com/wisconsincarry.
 
(original press release/email below)
 
-------------------------------------------------------
 
Wisconsin Carry, Inc. issued the following press release a few minutes ago:
-------------
For Immediate release:

On January 30th, 2012 a law-abiding Wisconsin concealed carry license holder, Nazir Al-mujaahid, used his sidearm to shoot a shotgun-wielding armed robber who had entered a north-side Aldi's grocery store in Milwaukee and threatened the cashier and customers. As is standard protocol, the armed citizen's holster, gun, and ammunition were taken into evidence by the Milwaukee Police Department.

A few days later the Milwaukee District Attorney's office cleared the armed citizen of any wrong-doing and declared the shooting justified.

Despite being exonerated by the DA, making repeated attempts to obtain the return of his firearm from Milwaukee Police, and sending a letter to the DA's office requesting assistance in the return of his property, Mr. Al-Mujaahid's gun remains in Police possession.

Wisconsin Carry, Inc. has observed what appears to be a pattern of civil-rights infringing behavior from the Milwaukee Police Department. The Milwaukee Police Department appears to have a practice of concocting baseless reasons to seize any and all guns they come across in the City - even when those guns have never been used in connection with a crime. The Police Department also appears to have a practice of refusing to return firearms or unduly delaying the return of firearms that were seized incident to an arrest despite the fact that no charges were brought or when the gun owner is exonerated by the court system. 

WCI believes that these acts by the Milwaukee Police Department represent violations to law-abiding citizens constitutionally guaranteed right to be free from illegal seizures of their private property and their Constitutionally recognized right to keep and bear arms. 

As Wisconsin Carry considers whether legal action against the City of Milwaukee is justified or required to correct this apparent illegal and immoral behavior, we call on the Milwaukee Police Department to return Mr. Al-Majaahid's gun to him without delay. 


(end or press release)
-------------------------------

Today Wisconsin Carry would ask that our members begin making contact with the Milwaukee Common Council and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and demand that they take action and have MPD return Nazir's gun to him to prevent Milwaukee from exposing itself to possible litigation from Wisconsin Carry, Inc. Milwaukee just paid a settlement to Wisconsin Carry this past fall that the Common Council had to approve because of MPD's actions and refusal to return property to a citizen who was cleared of any wrongdoing yet his gun never returned. They should be familiar with our organization and our propensity NOT to make idle suggestions of filing litigation against the city.

Ask Mayor Tom Barrett and the members of Common Council Public Safety to side with the law-abiding citizen who defended himself and others from a shotgun-wielding thug and implore Milwaukee Police to return the "Aldi's armed citizen", Nazir's gun to him immediately.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett:

(414) 286.2200 mayor@milwaukee.gov

Milwaukee Common Council Public Safety Committee:

The Public Safety Committee is concerned with issues brought forth from the fire, police, health and neighborhood services departments.

Members:
Ald. Robert G. Donovan, Chair 
(414) 286-2221 E-mail rdonov@milwaukee.gov

Ald. Robert W. Puente, Vice Chair
(414) 286-2221 E-mail rpuent@milwaukee.gov

Ald. Terry L. Witkowski
(414) 286-8537 E-mail twitko@milwaukee.gov

Ald. James N. Witkowiak
E-mail jwitko@milwaukee.gov

Ald. Joe Davis, Sr.
(414) 286-2221 E-mail jldavis@milwaukee.gov

Wisconsin Carry, Inc. will continue to use an "all of the above" approach to advancing and protecting the right to carry of law-abiding Wisconsin residents. This approach will include civil litigation, public relations, grass-roots legislative activism, and education/training.

Carry On,

Nik Clark
Chairman/President - Wisconsin Carry, Inc. 
nik@wisconsincarry.org
www.wisconsincarry.org
www.facebook.com/groups/wisconsincarry
www.youtube.com/wisconsincarry
www.twitter.com/wisconsincarry