Battle of the Terrorists

Remember the two Fox journalists that were kidnapped and recently released? They were released for an expensive price.

ilad Shalit, the IDF soldier kidnapped on the eve of the IDF re-entry into Gaza, was the price for the release of two Fox News reporters, Time Magazine reported Monday.

According to the report, the journalists were kidnapped as part of internal struggles between various terrorist factions in the Palestinian Authority.

So, who exactly are these struggling factions?

The never-before heard of Holy Jihad Brigades is apparently a militia headed by Zakaria Dughmush, a terror chief reportedly involved in attacks on Americans and sub-contracted by Hamas to kidnap Gilad Shalit. When Hamas took the reigns of deciding Shalit’s fate, Dughmush’s militia decided to gain leverage by kidnapping the journalists. They were released when Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh promised to allow the group to participate in deciding Shalit’s fate.

What does this mean for the "peace process" - admittedly a joke, but for some reason, interesting Americans right and left?

he fact that a second party will be issuing demands complicates the negotiations for Shalit’s release and is likely to further up the already steep-price the Olmert government is reportedly planning to pay to win.

An alternative explanation, offered by Debka File, a repository of unconfirmed intelligence reports, posits that the Holy Jihad Brigades were assigned the task of reshuffling the cards once negotiations for the release of hundreds of PA Arabs from Israeli prisons had extracted the largest amount of concessions from the Israeli government.

The kidnapping of the journalists, Debka argues, in fact provided Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh with good public relations, as the kidnapped journalists met with him and praised his actions on their behalf. This also acts to complicate Shilat's release as his kidnappers are now seen as liberators.

I don't care who you have there - the UN, the French (sacre bleu, throw down your wee-pon or we will say mean things about you), etc. Until you eliminate the source, there will be no peace.

Gas Prices Hit 5-month Low

Let's get this straight - everything is President Bush's fault, right?

Hurricane Katrina (and every other hurricane) last season:

Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, who was camped outside President Bush's Texas ranch for the past few weeks, says Hurricane Katrina (search) is all President Bush's fault, insisting that the president is "[now] heading to Louisiana to see the devastation that his environmental policies and his killing policies have caused."

...Sheehan is not the only one blaming President Bush for Hurricane Katrina. Germany's environmental minister says, "neglected environmental policies" in the U.S. have led to global warming and catastrophic weather. Minister Jurgen Trittin insists, "The Bush government rejects international climate protection goals by insisting that imposing them would negatively impact the American economy. The American president is closing his eyes to the economic and human costs his land and the world economy are suffering under natural catastrophes like Katrina."

And, of course, gas prices. As the State of Michigan website proclaims:

Michigan drivers are again facing the reality of $3-per-gallon gas - it’s time for President Bush and leaders in Washington to stop watching and start protecting us from the skyrocketing cost of gasoline! It's just not right that big oil companies should be allowed to hold customers hostage to outrageously expensive gas; they rake in billions in record-setting profits while consumers are left with no option but to pay ever-increasing prices.

Consider these facts:

* The average price for unleaded gasoline is 64 cents higher than the same time last year.
* ExxonMobil reported a $36.1 billion in profit, making it the largest corporation in the world and larger than the next four companies on the Forbes 500 list combined.
* Oil prices have increased 240 percent since George Bush’s inauguration in January 2001.

Then is he responsible when Michigan's gas prices hit 5-month low?

Work

Hi, all.

Due to work commitments, my postings will be rather shallow this week. Thanks for the understanding.

Jay

Socialist Party or Democratic Party?

This came from the GOA. It is somewhat long, but sensible reading. If you didn't get this email from GOA, please read on.

It Didn't Happen Overnight

by
Sen. H. L. Richardson (Ret.)

Gun Owners of America
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408
http://www.gunowners.org


Because of my many years as a conservative in elected office, I have been asked by others, "how did we get in this mess we are in?" The great author Robert Louis Stevenson wisely said, "Sooner or later in life, we all sit down to a banquet of consequences."

That's what's happening now, we're at the banquet.

Here is a brief synopsis of how it happened.

Many Americans believe that the core religious values, which founded and sustained this nation, have not only been sadly neglected but also forgotten. In so doing, the public is finding out what political ignorance and religious apathy has created. While godly people snoozed and gun owners were busy hunting, small minorities of hedonists have inveigled their way into government and have been able to impose their political will upon the majority.

It didn't happen over night.

To understand, we have to go back one hundred years to the comments of a very wise man, President Theodore Roosevelt. He stated, "There are those who believe that a new modernity demands a new morality.
What they fail to consider is the harsh reality that there is no such thing as a new morality. There is only one morality. There is only true Christian ethics over against which stands the whole of paganism. If we are to fulfill our great destiny as a people, then we must return to the old morality, the sole morality."

Roosevelt saw moral slippage occurring at the beginning of the last century. He saw radical activists proclaiming a "new morality"
embodying atheism and materialism. They were becoming increasingly vocal on our college campuses and were becoming more active in American politics, promoting their "new" morality. They were also attempting to elect their candidates on the socialist ticket.

In the beginning, the Socialists and their allies were singularly unsuccessful and remained small in number. The vast majority of Americans were happy with our liberty, constitutional government, free enterprise and politics implemented through the two party system.

At the beginning of the last century, a socialist by the name of Lenin, put wheels under the world socialist movement. He lead a small minority of communists in overthrowing the czarist government in Russia; in so doing, Lenin developed a financial base and a national platform for the promotion of world socialism. After the First World War, the hard core left became more politically active in the United States. Lenin was an excellent organizer, and he and other socialist leaders realized that it was an impossible task to sell their bad tasting political medicine to the vast majority of Americans.

Norman Thomas, an early leader in the American socialist movement promoted the concept that Americans would never knowingly adopt socialism but, under the name of liberalism, they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program until one day America will be a socialist nation without ever knowing how it happened.

The left abandoned their attempts to sell their socialist programs as a third party and decided that there was more fertile political ground within the two party system running as "liberals" and "progressives."

At the beginning of the Twentieth Century, the democrats had a weak political party, eager for any new members. The left seized the opportunity and registered as democrats. They were aware that both parties are open to any one who registers in either party.

The socialists recognized that to be a candidate, all you have to do is register, be of age, alive, not a felon and have the money to legally file for office. There is no political litmus test in either party in order to be a member or a candidate.

Socialists could easily register as Democrats and campaign on any issue to get elected rather than campaigning on socialist programs -- say anything to win the office, then legislate as they please once in office.

The left-wing political leader ship recognized that by themselves, they were only a tiny percentage of the American population. They did, however, recognize that only one out of four Americans vote in primary elections and therefore, a small percentage could nominate a candidate in primary elections since multiple candidates often seek the office. The left saw that in local elections for school boards and city council and supervisors, even smaller numbers could affect the outcome. If their Socialists candidates won local offices, they could establish a base of operations in order to move up step by step to higher office, such as state representatives, state senators and at a later opportunity, to Congress and the US Senate.

The following is an actual example of how a small minority can win a major California State Senate office. Registration heavily favored the Republican Party.

District population approximately 600,000 Those who could register to vote 400,000 Those who bothered to register 235,000 Total who voted in primary election 120,000 Republican primary vote 70,000 Democrat primary vote 50,000 Eight candidates sought the Republican nomination The Republican winning candidate gained 16,000

And won handily. In the general election, he easily gained the senate seat and served for 22 years. Is this race an exception? No! It happens all the time. Realize the significance of only 16,000 votes out of potentially 400,000 who could have participated. Think about it. Is it any wonder that a small, dedicated minority of voters could have a disproportionate impact on our government when three out of four Americans don't even register or bother to take part in primary elections, in the important process of selecting who their candidates might be? It has been said that when one American was informed that much of the country's population suffered from both political ignorance and apathy. His yawning response was "I don't know and I don't care."

The socialists, in democratic garb, had a long-range plan with little to stand in their way. Since they were atheists and agnostics, they believed that any method that achieved socialist power was "ethical."
The expression, "the end justifies the means" became their motto and method of operations. Deception and lying became the tools of their trade.

During the latter 1800's and early 1900's, the socialist base was still too small to elect their numbers to many offices; they needed to attract additional support. Now clothed as liberals in democratic garb, they increased their numbers by wooing small disgruntled and politically isolated segments of the population, with future promises of political advantage. Knowing that by adding small segment by segment, their combined small numbers could add up enough votes to win primary elections.

They first successfully impacted and wooed segments of the union movement. Then over the years, adding little segments one at a time, they captured support from the homosexual community by sympathizing with their "gay" activities. They attracted anti-war pacifists, disgruntled feminists, the extreme environmentalists, gun control supporters and any other dissident group that could be wooed with future promises of legislative support. Adopting "class action"
agitation, they pandered to any group they could exploit and bring on board.

During the growth of their move towards power, the left wing leadership wisely kept these segments separated, appealing to them directly, and then, only to each one's special interest. They knew there would be difficulties if they ever brought them all together, for they certainly didn't want to have meetings of rank and file union members with the "gay" community nor the elderly with anti-war activists.

The socialist knew that, with accurate polling information, they could campaign on issues that they didn't really believe -- but appealed to the average voter; they didn't have to broadcast who their real supporters happened to be. The great depression of the 1930's brought the democrats into national power at all levels of government, including a segment of the "liberal" Democrats. The majority of the Democratic legislators elected during the 1930's and 1940's were still traditional Americans in their ethics and values.
However, few old-line Democrats saw trouble brewing and the shift in leadership taking place within their own party. The old time Democrat found out soon enough when he found himself gerrymandered out of his seat and replaced by a young leftist.

At the present time, the good ole hard working jackass, the symbol of the Democrats, should have been changed to the condor; a bird far more in keeping with the leftward slant of their party.

A condor is a large ugly vulture, which feeds on carrion. It stays afloat on hot air and deserts its young when frightened. Its defense mechanism is to throw up, barf a stream of semi-digested meat on its enemies. The bird can't survive near civilization and is becoming extinct in proximity to civilized society. To keep it alive in California, the government now subsidizes its food. It survives quite well in backward South American countries. Could anyone think of a more appropriate symbol for a left-wing socialist movement?

Over many years, the planned "liberal leftist" control over the inner workings of the Democrat party structure increased dramatically.
Working together as an organized minority during the nineteen fifties and sixties, the leftists set forth to take control of the Democrat party leadership. Achieving substantial success, they then moved to influence the Republican Party as well, running their candidates as liberals or "moderate" Republicans. RINOs (Republican In Name Only) became a small dissident element in the Republican Party as well.
Small but mouthy, they are the croaking frogs on republican lily pads.

While in office, during the 1970's and 1980's, I saw the left grasp control over the political fortunes of the Democrat party, On a first hand basis, right before my own eyes, I watched it happen. Today, the socialists are the dominant voice in its elected leadership. Whenever the opportunity presented itself, they effectively and systematically eliminated conservative democrat office holders within their ranks.
Because the Left now controls leadership, they control candidate funding, thereby controlling who wish to be elected and leveraging Democrat incumbents who wish to be returned to office.

A very conspicuous case of rooting out non-conforming members of the Democrat party is the primary election defeat of Sen. Joe Lieberman in Connecticut. In six years this long-time Senator went from national icon of the Democrat party to pariah. The message is the same -- tow the line, or else.

Over the past fifty years, controlling the vast wealth created through taxation, they have built a huge federal, state and local bureaucracy which not only employs their own kind but implements a wealth of programs that reflects the wishes of their base, the unions, the gays, the feminists the anti war pacifists, the gun controllers, etc. Through laws, they have dramatically increased their power and have done what Norman Thomas hoped would happen.

The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism, but under the name of liberalism they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program until one day America will be a socialist nation without ever knowing how it happened.

Fortunately, a number of Americans are aware of how it's happening and are trying to inform their fellow Americans. Millions of Americans still hold to the core traditional and religious values that founded this nation and, properly informed, are working diligently to see the left in both parties are routed out of our Constitutional government.

The first glimmer of hope came with the republican nomination of Barry Goldwater for president in the 1960's. Although he was soundly defeated in the general election, he defeated in the primary, the darling of the left leaning republicans, Nelson Rockefeller.
Conservatives rallied to work for Goldwater and didn't quit working after his defeat. In California, in 1966, they defeated another "moderate" in the primary by nominating and electing as governor, something as rare as a right-winger in Hillary Clinton's staff -- a conservative actor.

The fledgling American core value revolt was under way. A voice was raised promoting our traditions and our ethics: activist organizations began to crop all over America -- politically unsophisticated but eager to learn. Fourteen years later, they nominated and elected Ronald Reagan to the presidency.

In 1994, the Lower House of Congress went republican and its leadership shifted toward conservatism. Was liberalism dead? Not by a long sight. They had managed to control both houses of Congress for forty years. The Republicans held narrow margins but with a few "moderate" RINOs in their midst, their control is iffy. The lefties were deeply imbedded in the Northeastern states and were the controlling factor in most large cities.

However, they were increasingly having problems within their own ranks. The splinter groups they'd attracted and wooed began to make demands. They had contributed to the democrat victories, now they wanted their reward. They wanted more of their own elected to office and they wanted their issues enacted into law. Instead of being splinter groups kept in the closet, they demanded to be heard, and their wishes subsequently become part of our laws.

They got their wish and, and the dissidents are now running the "Democratic" party. The tail is now wagging the old "Democrat"
donkey. The anti-war, pro-abort, environmental extremists, soft on crime, big spending liberals, feminists and deviants of both sexes are calling the political tune and are marching hand in hand in gay parades. The large body of old rank and file Democrats are scratching their heads and wondering, "What's going on?"

Big changes are now occurring. The South, traditionally Democrat but fundamentally religious, has turned Republican. Not because of any great love for the Republican structure, but because of their disgust over the present leftward drift of their own party.

Amongst elected democrats, hoping to seek higher office and recognizing that the new base of the party has become a collection of wacko wonks, are trying to cover and obfuscate this fact by constantly attacking their opposition as "extreme," haters of the poor or religious bigots. Their rhetoric borders the wild -- trying to please their base while seeking to appear as moderate to the average voter. It ain't working.

They are in trouble and they know it. The governmental bureaucracy, which houses and provides jobs for their supporters, is being threatened. Their economic base is vulnerable and their future is suspect. How can they send Junior and Zelda to Harvard if they are outa' work? Therefore, their attacks are becoming more vicious and the thin veneer of civility is wearing off their "democratic"
facade.


There is a truism in economic circles, "bad money drives out good."
The same thing is true in politics. Bad people drive out good ones.
In the "Democratic" party that rule is holding true. Bad democrats drive out good ones. In rural America, the trend is decidedly towards basic American values. Who would have believed forty years ago, that below the Mason Dixon Line, the South would turn Republican? Or that rock-ribbed republican New Englanders would tolerate Barney Frank or Ted Kennedy in office?

The left hasn't gained total control, for if they had, they'd have made it a "crime" for me to write what I have just written.
There is
still time to turn it all around and get the buggers out of government. I know it's possible and so does the left, which is why, when challenged, and a conservative leaning judge is appointed to the Supreme Court, the thin veneer of civility rubs off for all to see.
We are now witnessing how uncivil and uncouth they really are.

They started as a minority and still are a minority. The big difference is that over the last hundred years, they have embedded themselves and their unworkable policies in all facets of government
-- including education and segments of the major media.

They can be routed out but they won't go willingly. They have worked hard to get where they are and are going to see that all their socialist programs are going to be shoved down our collective throats. They are nasty people. Rub off that thin veneer of civility and see for yourselves.

Theodore Roosevelt also said, "All those blatant sham reformers, in the name of new morality, preach the old, old vice and self indulgence which rotted out first, the moral fiber and then even the external greatness of Greece and Rome."

Is America next? Are we to be "rotted out by sham reformers?"
Are we
to be apathetic Americans who say, "I don't know and I don't care!"?

I don't think so. I believe we are at the banquet and Americans are feasting on the political consequences of the last one hundred years.
They don't like the taste of the political concoctions they've been fed and are demanding and working for change.

If your email is boring and brainless, why don't you subscribe to the free, low-volume GOA alerts? Go to http://www.gunowners.org/ean.htm on the web.

Playing Ostrich

According to Israel National News, the ceasefire is in jeopardy.

Foreign Minister Tzippy Livni told CNN Tuesday that the government has evidence that Iran and Syria already are supplying Hizbullah terrorists with more arms via Syria. The government is relying on United Nations Security Council resolution 1701 - the ceasefire - to solve the problem, but the agreement appears to have been followed by more problems than solutions.

France has provided the latest hitch in the deployment of the proposed international United Nations force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). The French General in charge of UNIFIL was quoted in a French newspaper as saying that it could take up to a year to deploy the forces.

Paris has promised to send thousands of troops to lead the international force to carry out the ceasefire resolution, which requires "the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon, so that... there will be no weapons or authority in Lebanon other than that of the Lebanese State."

However, the resolution also calls for "no foreign forces in Lebanon without the consent of its government," and Lebanon already has said it will not force Hizbullah give up its arms. The French defense minister also has said its forces will not take away arms from Hizbullah terrorist guerillas.

Thousands of French soldiers are on ships ready to sail to Lebanon, but the government now is backtracking, wanting a clear definition of its mandate and when soldiers can open fire, according to the The Associated Press.

How French. How anti-Semitic. There are simply three possibilities to look at this situation.

Option #1 - The UN and France are completely anti-Semitic. They have a tinge of guilt about their hatred of the Jew, so they do up a ceasefire, get militants re-armed and re-grouped, then back out of it and watch Jews die.

Option #2 - The UN and France are complete idiots, think that Hizbollah will honor the ceasefire, hold hands with Israeli Jews and sing Kum Ba Yah, and never have a problem again.

Option #3 - France has no balls.

I guess the absolute truth could be a combination of these three options.

Playing ostrich, sticking heads in sand, isn't going to put an end to this conflict/war. Rooting out the cause - Hizbollah - will.

Reporting is Silly

Former NBA player Lonny Baxter was arrested by uniformed Secret Service agents on Wednesday after shots were fired from a vehicle about two blocks from the White House...

Officers stopped the vehicle, which Baxter was driving, near the intersection of 17th and I streets in Northwest Washington.

“There were spent shell casings in plain view inside the vehicle,” Zahren said. Officers also recovered a handgun.

You know, one the surface, this seems like an interesting story. No one in their right mind would carry a gun near the White House, let alone discharge their weapon that close to the White House.

Then the reporting gets worse.

Baxter... was taken into custody around 2:30 a.m. after a witness flagged down a Secret Service agent and reported shots fired from a white sport-utility vehicle, said Secret Service spokesman Eric Zahren.

Kind of scary it took a civilian to alert the authorities to this situation. But, still, no big deal... until the end of the article.

Both Baxter, 27, and the vehicle’s passenger, 35-year-old Irvin Martin, were charged with carrying a pistol without a license and other firearms charges. It wasn’t immediately clear why they were allegedly firing the gun.

“We’re not sure at this point,” Zahren said. “There may be some subsequent charges if we discover some additional information.”

What are "other firearms charges"?

And what is the deal with "It wasn’t immediately clear why they were allegedly firing the gun." What is it? They allegedly fired a gun? Or they fired it?

More on Cops and Guns Don't Mix

I put up a post yesterday called Cops and Guns Don't Mix.

Apparently, I was wrong. At least according to The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Cops and guns do mix. This was simply "an accident." It is murder, etc. when it happens to a civilian. It is "an accident" when it happens to a cop.

Zach Ragbourn, spokesman for the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence in Washington, D.C., said guns in homes need to be secured with trigger locks or other methods.

"You can assume in this case that the police officer is a good and generally responsible guy and that this was an accident," Ragbourn said. "But a lot of kids are dying in accidents."

Cops and Guns Don't Mix

Cops make bad decisions, too.

A 4-year-old boy apparently shot himself to death early Thursday with a powerful handgun he found under a bed in a home on Detroit's east side.

The home belongs to a 59-year-old Detroit police officer, Louis Anderson, and the .40-caliber Glock semiautomatic pistol was issued to him by the Detroit Police Department, officials said.

The incident occurred in the 15800 block of Park Grove about 12:36 a.m. Thursday, according to a preliminary police report. Anderson, who was babysitting the 4-year-old and three other children, was asleep when he awoke to a loud boom.

A bullet from the gun tore through the head of the boy, Kenneth Thomas, and lodged in the wall, officials said. Kenneth was not related to Anderson, police said.

Anderson was placed on administrative leave pending further investigation. Neither he nor Kenneth's mother, identified as Jewelry Thomas, whose age and address were not available, could be reached for comment.

A preliminary report on the death calls it an accidental shooting, according to police.

Jill Carroll

Jill Carroll is a forrmer Michigan resident, best remembered as the Christian Science Monitor reporter kidnapped by Sunni Muslims in Iraq earlier this year.

The Detroit Free Press is running her story in an eleven part serial. It is frightening and compelling reading. Click here for part one of her story.

US Planned Israel's War in Lebanon?

There are allegations that the US planned Israel's incursion into Lebanon. Of course, all from "unnamed sources."

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh writes in The New Yorker magazine that President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney were convinced that a successful Israeli bombing campaign against Hezbollah could ease Israel's security concerns and also serve as a prototype for a potential US preemptive attack to destroy Iran's nuclear installations.

iting an unnamed Middle East expert with knowledge of the current thinking of the Israeli and US governments, Hersh said Israel had devised a plan for attacking Hezbollah -- and shared it with Bush administration officials -- well before the July 12 kidnappings.

"When they grabbed the soldiers in early July, that was then a pretext" for Israel's assault on Hezbollah, Hersh said Sunday on CNN television.

"We (the US) worked closely with them (Israel) months before, not necessarily ... knowing when it was going to happen, but when there was an incident they will take advantage of the incident, what I call a fortunate timing'," Hersh said.

"Nobody is suggesting that Israel wouldn't have done what it did without the Americans," he added.

Private Police Force?

Wow. Here is an interesting concept: Private Police to fight illegal immigration. This story, of course, out of CAL-EE-FORN-EE-AH.

Fed up with what it says is a failure on the part of authorities to act on the area's illegal immigrant problem, a group purporting to be residents of the affluent, sprawling and isolated La Cresta, Tenaja and Santa Rosa communities is vowing to take matters into its own hands.

A group calling itself Private Police Force announced last week on a new Web site that it will begin doing the job U.S. Border Patrol and the Riverside County Sheriff's Department aren't doing by conducting citizens' arrests on illegal immigrants and detaining them.

If it follows through on its promise, the group would be taking things further than other anti-illegal immigration groups, such as The Minutemen Project, which have previously deployed their members to monitor the U.S.-Mexico border and only report illegal immigrant sightings.

The Private Police Force is threatening to actually detain illegal immigrants.

"They will be handcuffed to the Oak Trees," according to the group's Web site, so they can be picked up by authorities.

"Don't treat this website lightly," the group states. "We will make Citizens Arrests on Illegal Aliens. We will File Criminal and Civil Complaints if you Hire or House an Illegal. If you have sold a vehicle to an illegal, we will prosecute you under the DMV law too. If you house an illegal, we will also prosecute you under the Zoning Laws."

Best comment heard on the weekend news programs

Over the weekend I listened to the normal blatherskite offered by different "experts" on the different news programs.

The best comment heard all weekend came from a local Detroit news/talk station. Among the many topics offered by the host, the question came out - does Israel have an exit strategy for their "current aggression" in Lebanon? Of course, the Detroit area is heavily Muslim, so this posed some interesting discussion.

The best comment came from a caller who said: "I guess their exit strategy is to kill all the terrorists, then leave."

Voting In Lieu of Blogging

Today is primary election day in Michigan.

In lieu of blogging, I'll be voting and then turning out the vote for some local 2A candidates.

Sadly, only 20% of registered voters in Michigan turn out for primary elections. Even worse, many of these voters come from another party and seek to skew the November ballot by voting for a weaker candidate. We last saw this on a national scene when Bush and McCain were dueling it out. Worried that Bush might win in 2000, Democrats flooded the polls to vote for McCain in the primary election, thinking he was much more likely to lose in a General Election. We often see this in the local scene.

On the bright side, theoretically, if only 1 in 5 registered voters show up, your vote for a 2A candidate today really counts as five votes.

A plea to Michigan Republican voters and 2A supporters:
Vote for Keith Butler for US Senate. Not only does he have a track record of action supporting the Second Amendment (as opposed to the obligatory lip service offered by most candidates), he has a proper, traditional constitutional view of the role of government. Additionally, he is the only Republican since before World War II to serve on the Detroit City Council. And unlike Sheriff Bouchard, Keith Butler can win a Detroit vote and beat anti-freedom, anti-2A incumbent Debbie Stabenow (D).

More Gun Buyback Goodies

What is it with gun buybacks and homocides?

Among the hundreds of weapons that police collected in church parking lots as part of a citywide gun buyback this week were many that apparently hadn't been fired for years or even decades...
Officer Keith Dean, who was manning the buyback Thursday at St. John Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, said many of the 138 guns turned in at the site that day had been collecting dust, and their owners worried about having them around their children and grandchildren.

As stated in an earlier post, I have a real problem with a gun collection at a church, sponsored by the state (whatever happened to the "separation of Church and State"? - oh, I forgot, that doesn't count during election campaigning or when the state wants to exert some pressure), in a location where guns are illegal.

In the middle of the article, Detroit's Police Chief hits on the real problem:

"We see that most of our shootings have a narcotic nexus to it, and I have to be concerned.

...The department has redeployed some officers to focus on three hot spots around the city -- one in the eastern part of the city, one in the west and one in the northeast, Bully-Cummings said. In May, the department, together with the county prosecutor and federal law enforcement officials, launched Operation TIDE in the city's northwest district. Officials describe the program as an "intelligence-driven" strategy to better determine crime patterns and hone in on the worst offenders.

Gee, send officers to problem spots? Good thinking, Chief.

Speaking of Editorials...

This dandy also showed up in the Free Press:

A cave-in to guns


Gov. Granholm's cave-in to the gun nuts -- first it was killing mourning doves, now it's killing people -- makes me want to weep. The pity of it all is that right-wing zealots like state Sen. Alan Cropsey aren't going to vote for her no matter how much she bows her head and bends her knee. He didn't have even the grace just to thank her.

All she accomplished is to risk losing votes from supporters like me who continue to long for a Democrat with the guts to stand up for what's right. Once more we have to choose between all we can get and the impossible.

Joseph R. Neall
Farmington Hills

Well, Joey, I hate to break it to you, but Governor Granholm may very well have saved her job by signing this legislation. A lot of people, Democrat, Republican, Independent and Third Party, like to be safe in their homes. If that makes us "gun-nuts," so be it, although most "gun-nuts" I know aren't into guns but do appreciate the Second Amendment and the right to self-defense.

Credit goes where credit is due, and she gets credit for signing this legislation. Obviously, with typical "supporters" like this guy, Governor Granholm took a pretty brave step in protecting our rights.

Some Gun Buyback Editorials from the Free Press

From the Detroit Free Press, regarding our wonderful gun buyback here in Detroit.

Don't disarm the public

Gun buybacks for safer streets? Oh sure, I can just see all the goons and gang-bangers lined up to turn in the guns! Think crime rates are high now? All you have to do is disarm the law-abiding homeowners of their only means of self-protection and watch crime skyrocket as criminals will have no fear of an armed public.

Then of course the alternative is to dial 911 and hope and pray that someone will show up. When they do, 45 minutes later, an ambulance will be provided to carry you out. Of course liberal commentators with comfortable bank accounts living in gated, well-policed communities have no such concerns.

Mack Tario
Southfield

Sorry, they only printed one letter worth posting.

It's Time!!!!

It is that beautiful time of year, again. The time of year that lasts until deer hunting season begins.

What am I talking about? High School Football! Practices begin all over the state of Michigan today. Life is good, in deed.

In Case There is any Confusion

In case there is any confusion, Hezbollah really is waging war amid suburbia. Look at these images showing Hezbollah using high-density residential areas as launch pads for rockets and heavy-caliber weapons.

Don't forget these clowns started the conflict when they illegally crossed the border and kidnapped Israeli soldiers, then began firing rockets on Israeli civilians.



Once again I must ask - people really think we can negotiate with these guys?

Iran Proposes a Solution

Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, delivered his answer to the Israel/Hezbollah conflict at a recent Muslim nation meeting. A man of deep sensitivity, he called for a cease fire immediately. But he also called for the "Elimination of the Zionist regime."

That is some proposed solution.




And people really think we can negotiate with these guys?

More About the Gun Buyback in Detroit

I was listening to the Paul W. Smith show on WJR, 760 AM this morning.

Detroit Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings was Paul W's guest for one segment, and she talked about the gun buyback. He asked Chief Bully-Cummings what happens to the guns the Detroit Police Department buys back.

She told him the buybacks are anonymous. They test each gun to make sure it wasn't used in the commission of a crime. Then they destroy the guns.

WHAT SHE SAID NEXT SENT CHILLS DOWN MY SPINE.

She said "We destroy every gun we confiscate."

There you have it. Buybacks are disguised confiscations. And as Armed and Christian noted in my first buyback post, "$50-$200 for a firearm is a pretty poor deal; especially for an 'assault rifle.'"

The Terrorists Lied? Imagine That

The massacre was fake. Imagine that. The mainstream newssources lied. Hesbollah lied. And I don't understand why people don't care.

The central piece of evidence leading to this conclusion is the fact, mentioned by IDF officials from the very beginning, that the building collapsed a full seven hours after the Israel Air Force bombing. Why, then, would the residents inside not have been evacuated in the meantime? As Brig.-Gen. Amir Eshel of the Israeli Air Force told reporters Sunday night, “It is difficult for me to believe that they waited eight hours to evacuate it.” Without additional evidence, Eshel merely left open the possibility that Hizbullah terrorists, or explosives they left behind, caused the explosion.

"Indeed," writes Robert Spencer for FrontPageMagazine, "it strains credulity that not only did these Lebanese civilians remain in a house that had been bombed for eight hours, but peacefully went to sleep in it after the bombing – since the victims were all apparently sleeping, despite continuing Israeli air bombardment in the area, when the building collapsed."

Gen. Eshel also said that the building was used by Hizbullah to store explosives. This was supported by a letter by Dr. Mounir Herzallah, a southern Lebanese Shiite, who wrote that Hizbullah terrorists came to his town, dug a munitions depot and then built a school and a residence directly over it.

2A Michigan Voters: Vote For Keith Butler on August 8

From the Detroit Free Press:

He's a big -- make that huge -- fan of guns. He wears genuine alligator shoes. He says "ma'am" a lot and introduces himself in a deep bass voice with a slight Southern drawl.

He is more handshaker than backslapper, more preacher than politician.

That's some of what you learn in a day campaigning with Keith Butler, who is running an underdog race for U.S. Senate as that rare political commodity -- a conservative black Republican candidate.

Keith Butler is a man of integrity and a man who stands for something. Unlike Sheriff Bouchard, who pays lip service to the 2nd amendment, Reverend Butler believes in the 2nd amendment, understands it's importance to American freedom, and has backed up his verbal support for the 2nd on many occasions with ACTION.

And like so many who support the Second Amendment, Reverend Butler understands the importance of personal responsibility and is anti-government fixing every problem. He holds a constitutionally-appropriate view of government's responsibility.

Michigan Republican voters, if you love freedom, and your 2nd amendment rights, remember to vote for Keith Butler on Tuesday, August 8.

Think the Reverend can't work miracles? He has been the only Republican elected to the Detroit City Council since World War II. Reverened Butler served on the council for four years.

Taking a Bite Out of Crime - Yeah, Right

Some 215 guns -- including at least one AK47 assault rifle -- were turned in Tuesday, the first day of the Detroit Police Department's citywide gun-buyback campaign, officials said.

The buyback started in conjunction with the 23rd annual National Night Out crime-prevention event.

The guns collected Tuesday were turned in at the department's Northeastern District station, at 5100 E. Nevada, and to the King David Missionary Baptist Church, at 18001 Sunset. Anyone turning in a gun received $50-$200, depending on the caliber and size of the gun.

Gee, I feel much safer on my Detroit streets now. It always warms my heart to know that savage criminals will no longer have access to any weapons.

By the way, what is the King David Missionary Baptist Church doing with this buyback? By Michigan law, it is illegal to carry guns onto church grounds. Hmmm.

It is Hot Outside - Big Deal

You know, it sure seems like the news sources enjoy hyping the heat. I always assumed it was hot because it was summer... no big deal. Wrong. It is hot because G.W. Bush is abusing his presidential authority and letting greenhouse gases produced exclusively by the rich in America to destroy the ozone hole and cause global warming.

That, along with the weatherperson basically crying into the TV screen: Please, if you can stay inside today, do so. Those of you who work outside, call your boss and tell him you aren't coming. Drink water until you explode.

I get particularly upset over the pleas to avoid work... a major problem with America nowadays.

Newsflash: it will be winter soon. Temperatures will plummet. It won't be an ice age, and when a few inches of snow drops, it won't be a nightmare.

Weather is what it is, which is no big deal most of the time.

Mel Gibson is Nothing

What I am about to write will really piss off a number of people. Don't think I am making excuses for Mel Gibson. I am not.

The Mel Gibson thing is still getting a lot of media play, but Mel isn't the real anti-Semite to worry about. Sure, he hates Jews, but not in the "let's kill them off" way. There are different categories of hatred. Some people simply hate Jews but have no intention of killing one. Mel falls into this category, I believe. And frankly, there is no law against him hating Jews in this way - or any other group of people that made him a millionaire several times over.

Plus, he's suffering plenty. ABC has announced the cancellation of a planned miniseries about the Holocaust it was developing with Gibson's Icon Productions. What else could they do?

There are more dangerous men in the world than Mel Gibson.

The European Union does not intend to place Hizbullah on its list of terrorist organizations for the time being, EU President Finland said on Tuesday.

"Given the sensitive situation, I don't think this is something we will be acting on now," Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, told a news conference following an emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

The world itself is strongly anti-Semitic, and the EU especially so. Either the EU doesn't have the fortitude to do the right thing, or the EU is anti-Semitic. Possibly a combination of the two, since there are so many Muslims living in Europistan.

Russia recently published a list of 17 groups it regards as terrorist organizations and did not include the Palestinian movement Hamas or Lebanon's Hizbullah group, both of which are regarded as terrorists in Washington.

Groups on the list, published in the official daily Rossiiskaya Gazeta, included al-Qaeda and the Taliban as well as the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, a rebel group fighting for Kashmir's independence from India, and Egypt's banned Muslim Brotherhood.

Basically, the Russians condemned groups that have targeted the Russia. It has no problem with groups that kill Israeli citizens, nor will it take a stand and do anything to stand with innocent Jews, even something as simple as call Hesbollah a bad guy.

Mel's drunken rage may make good press, and it gives a lot of people to say "woe is me... look at all the anti-Semitism." But this is misplaced. Deadly anti-Semitism is on display right now against Israel.

Christianity is PG?

I was reading the book of Isaiah recently. The Prophet wrote:
"Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter." (Isaiah 5:20).

It kinda reminds me of our leftist friends in Hollywood.

The movie ratings board run by Hollywood's six top studios is back-pedaling from a process that reportedly used to target movies for PG ratings if they carried an evangelical Christian message, WorldNetDaily has learned.

The move by the Motion Picture Association of America followed controversy over a rating for Sony Provident Films' "Facing the Giants," which was given the PG tag after officials told the movie's makers it was because it was so Christian.

"The scene that caught the association's attention was an exchange between a coach and a player," said Ted Baehr, chairman of the Christian Film & Television Commission in an op-ed piece published this week. "The coach assures the player that following Jesus Christ is a decision everyone makes for himself, but, if he accepts Christ, it will change his life."

I find it amazing that the Messiah stirs up so much leftist emotion... some of them say he was simply a nice man while many more of them completely deny He ever lived. Yet, they still find Him threatening.

Ceasefire? Why?

Israel punched into southern Lebanon on Tuesday and pounded towns and villages in two other areas to push Hizbollah guerrillas back from the frontier, despite growing calls for a ceasefire.

Now why in the world would Israel agree to a ceasefire? British Intelligence service MI6 has established that Hezbollah is poised to launch a new "rain of terror" on Israel with rockets equipped with "dirty bomb" nose cones. The material is spent nuclear rods provided by Iran. Not much incentive to stop, is there, especially when Hezbollah started this by firing rockets on Israeli civilian locales and kidnapped Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid.

Most Arab and European governments have insisted an immediate halt to the fighting but Israel's closest ally, Washington, has said any ceasefire must be part of a broader deal that ends the threat to the Jewish state from Hizbollah.

In a related note, most Arab and European governments aren't dealing with the level of hostility facing Israel today. Hesbollah received another 3,000 rockets last week from Iran. A cease fire would enable Hesbollah to set up and rain terror even further south than Haifa. That would include Tel Aviv, Israel's third largest city.

Map Copyright ©1996-2006 MacNeil/Lehrer Productions. All Rights Reserved.

Take a good look on the map. Tel Aviv is pretty far south of Haifa (both cities on the Mediterranean coast). Most countries have their embassies in Tel Aviv, so this should further highlight Hesbollah's murderous ambitions. Of course, I am sure the world would find a way to blame the Jews... Anti-Semitism is never short in supply.

College Students Think You'll Mindlessly Gun People Down

I shouldn't be surprised that some eddukated guy at Michigan State University doesn't understand self-defense (self-defence for my British readers).

I mean, the guy goes to State, so you know there is a problem to begin with. According to this guy writing for The State News, Michigan's new Castle Doctrine promotes violence. How?

The bill allows people to use deadly force without needing to retreat if a person believes they could be physically harmed, killed or raped. This is granted in any situation he or she has a legal right to be in — on the street, in the store or in the classroom, for example...

Whether you like it or not, there is a difference between the intentions of a burglar and those of a rapist.

How do we judge in which situations a life is really in danger?

The guy goes to college, so he must know what he is talking about. I mean, just because a criminal breaks into a house doesn't mean that he has ill will. It isn't like breaking and entering, larceny, etc. is a violation of law already and justifiably makes a homeowner afraid. It isn't like a criminal thug forces the homeowner to respond to a criminal threat. Because Mr. College Boy Elitist doesn't think so. So there.

Honestly, is this the state of "higher education" nowadays? Wait until you hear your window shatter at 2am, buddy. Will you spend your time debating the intentions of some thug?

If, in a situation of self defense, the aggressor is killed, it should be obvious that the other person involved was only doing what was necessary to protect his or her life. There is no need to encourage violence. If there really is no other option, the line between self defense and murder should be pretty clear.

Actually, no, it wasn't pretty clear. Hence the need for the Castle Doctrine legislation to codify that it is legally permissible to defend yourself and your loved ones in the event a lawless person breaks into your house or attacks you in your car. And the plethora of cases against those engaged in self-defense is proof. I realize, by the way, "plethora" is a big word for Michigan State people. It means "superabundance." That is also a big word. It means "lots and lots and lots." I know studying English vocabulary violates your 1st amendment rights and you probably think it implies English is better than any other language in the world, so I won't use any more difficult words.

While we are at it, the Castle Doctrine doesn't allow people to kill. It allows people to engage in self-defense. I wish these liberal boneheads would read the freakin' legislation, for crying out loud. It allows people to defend themselves, and also clearly describes situations when lethal force may not be used. Got that, College Boy? You can't shoot a guy unless there is a threat to your life or a threat to your loved ones. It still isn't legally permissible to shoot a burglar if you find the TV set in his arms - so there isn't any "encouraging of violence."

There are no Cliff's Notes for this legislation. Sometimes you have to read this stuff for yourself. Sure, it isn't as fun as reading a two paragraph blurb on the X Games, but as a college student, once you start it, you may find reading is a useful skill. You may find this amazing, but reading even helps you use your mind - something desperately needed in today's collegiate atmosphere. I mean reading something other than Al Gore's book or The Communist Manifesto.

I don't know if they teach this at Michigan State, but generally, when someone breaks into your house, that person has already shown a strong tendency to ignore the law. Granted, that person may not be there to kill you... but that person is there to harm you and violate you in some way. A homeowner has a right to feel, at the very least, somewhat threatened when someone breaks into his house. A person broke the law to get into a place they don't belong - and that makes them a criminal. Hence, there is a threat. Maybe the threat will escalate into a complete self-defense scenario. Maybe not. Let's remember, little liberal students and liberal elitists alike: self-defense doesn't necessarily mean lethal force.

There. Useful information and you didn't even spend tuition money learning it.