Quote of the Week, May 13 - 19

A smart man only believes half of what he hears, a wise man knows which half.

- Col. Jeff Cooper

CPL Holder Wins A Battle

Here in Detroit:

A 53-year old man was attacked by two thugs, one carrying a .22 and one armed with a baseball bat.

A robbery and crime spree aided by an unloaded gun came to a halt late Thursday when the gunman met more than his match: a gun with bullets.

Charles Parker Jr., 18, of Detroit was killed when a 53-year-old man pulled out a 9mm handgun and shot the teen, who was armed with an unloaded .22-caliber handgun.

Detroit police are calling it self-defense.

The botched carjacking on Grand River and Prevost came after a string of robberies in Detroit on Thursday, which police said were committed by Parker and four others, ranging in age from 16 to 20.

The good news:

After the shooting, police questioned the 53-year-old man and released him, noting that he had a valid concealed weapons permit.

Then they gave him back his gun.

Couple Days Off

I can't blog much through the end of May because work is very busy right now - a good problem to have, especially here in Michigan where jobs have been evaporating at an alarming rate (Michigan state motto: Make sure the last person leaving the state turns off the light).

Please excuse the slow down. I'll post lightly as possible.

God Bless,
J

Quote of the Week, May 6 - 12

Quote of the Week, May 6 - May 12, 2007

How do you tell a communist? Well, it's someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist? It's someone who understands Marx and Lenin.

- Ronald Reagan

Carjacker Beats 91-Year-Old Man as Bystanders Look On

Out of Detroit, from Fox News:

A convenience store surveillance video shows each punch 91-year-old Leonard Sims took to the side of his face during a carjacking.

But the tape also caught a group of people standing only feet away who either didn't see the attack or chose not to get involved.

Mr. Sims was outside his car in the store parking lot about 8:30 p.m. when a man walked up and asked for a light for his cigarette. The man then pummelled Mr. Sims, a World War II veteran, hitting him at least 21 times in the head.

Our local police chief said the crime is "one of the most heinous" she's seen in years and is upset the bystanders did nothing. I thought the bystanders did exactly what they were trained to do. Nothing. See some old man getting pummeled? Do nothing. See someone attacked on the streets? Do nothing. Don't get involved and call 911. That's what the bystanders did. Except for the 911 part.

Crooks Pick the Wrong Victim

Crooks picked the wrong guy to pick on at Eastland Mall in Harper Woods (a suburb on Detroit's north border). From the Detroit News:

Two would-be thieves wound up fleeing their intended victim Saturday afternoon.

The men, one armed with a handgun, tried to carjack a man in the Sears parking lot about 2 p.m. at Eastland mall, according to a Harper Woods Police press release.

But the man turned out to be a retired Detroit Police officer -- and he had a handgun, Harper Woods Police said.

The retired officer fired one shot at the men, striking the stolen Dodge Durango truck they were driving, police said.

Detroit Police found the truck on Buckingham Street, but the suspects were gone. No one was harmed in the shooting and Harper Woods Police detectives are investigating the case.

When Non-Issues Become Dangerous

Here's one for the "Who Cares" files that just won't go away: Major League Baseball players may have done steroids. No shock there. Here is the more disturbing news: former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell (a retired Georgia Democrat) is leading an "investigation" into the players medical records. And even if you hate baseball and couldn't care less about the 'roids "scandal" - this will trickle down to effect your life.

And please note, this post has nothing to do with whether or not it is "wrong" to use steriods... the MLB has banned them, so players shouldn't use them. If, however, players used them during the era when there was no prohibition against them - and while the MLB owners turned the other way and ignored what was going on - then the 'roid cases didn't break the rules... they may have bent them, but they didn't break them.

The medical records of Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro are being sought by investigators in baseball's steroids probe, The New York Times reported in Wednesday's editions.

The investigation, led by former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, is seeking the files of dozens of other players, an unidentified baseball official with direct knowledge of the request told the Times.

A few years ago, Congress held hearings on the use of steroids in Major League Baseball. Now a former Senator is investigating - and medical records may open up to government agents. This can't be a good thing.

And perhaps the strongest union in the history of unionism, the MLB Players Union, is allowing this invasion of privacy to move forward.

Major League Baseball and the players' union reached an agreement earlier this week that players will decide whether to release their medical records, unidentified baseball sources told the Daily News reported.

Under the compromise, when Mitchell asks for a player's history, the team will give it to the player. After that, the player will decide whether he wants to cooperate.

Leave it to a former Senator and a bunch of billionaire team owners to take a complete non-issue and turn it into a violation of someone's privacy.

"They gave you your medical record, pal. Why won't you show it to us? What are you hiding? Hey, media sources, this guy won't release his records to us... he must be guilty of something."

Here's another thing that scared me:

Mitchell, picked by commissioner Bud Selig last year to lead the investigation, does not have subpoena power and has faced resistance in his effort to interview players and get medical records.

No subpoena power? No kidding. Why should he have subpoena power? What possible legal reason should he have to be given subpoena power? Is he a judge? A prosecuting attorney? No. He is a private citizen with a famous name hired to pry into medical records.

If this kind of medical privacy invasion can happen to a guy who inks a $40 million contract, it isn't much of a stretch saying it can happen to the guy in the factory or the office worker. Sure, it wouldn't be about steroids, but this abuse of justice opens another legal door to trample on people and their rights. All under the guise of keeping "America's game" clean.

This is no Mickey Mouse

This is just too much:

Hamas TV has a new children's show which features a Mickey Mouse lookalike. But this Mickey does not romp about with Pluto, nor does he woo Minnie Mouse. Instead – he teaches his young viewers to fight the "Zionist Occupation" and dream of a world dominated by Islam.

Click here to see "Mickey" say interesting things like "We are setting the cornerstone for world leadership under Islamic Leadership" and "It's the time of death, we will fight a war." All while sounding like he's been sucking on helium balloons.

The squeaky-voiced Mickey Mouse lookalike, named Farfur, is the star of a weekly children’s program called Tomorrow’s Pioneers on the official Hamas TV station (Al-Aqsa TV), which broadcasts from Gaza via satellite to the entire Arab world. Farfur and his co-host, a young girl named Saraa’, teach children about such things as the importance of the daily prayers and drinking milk, but also instruct them to hate Israel and the US and support "resistance" – a euphemism for terror.

Farfur tells children that they must pray in the mosque five times a day until there is “world leadership under Islamic leadership.” The earnest and soft-spoken Saraa’ explains that the nucleus of the Islamic leadership of the world will be from “all of Palestine,” including Israel. Farfur refers to Israel as “the oppressive invading Zionist occupation,” which the children must "resist."

Saraa’ announces that after death, the children will have to answer to Allah for what they did or did not do for the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and for Palestinian prisoners: “I remind you that Al-Aqsa and the prisoners are a responsibility on our shoulders, and Allah will ask us on Resurrection Day what we gave for their sake," she tells the tots viewing the show.

[...]

The program encourages participation by child viewers, who phone in to the show and recite poems with images of hate and violence; for example, “We will destroy the chair of the despots, so they will taste the flame of death,”
and, in another poem, "Rafah sings ‘Oh, oh.’ Its answer is an AK-47. We who do not know fear, we are the predators of the forest."

Herod the Great's Tomb Found

Maybe it isn't as exciting to the American Media as Paris Hilton's upcoming 45 days in the slammer, but archaeologists have discovered King Herod's tomb in the ruins of Herodium in modern-day Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem and north of Hebron.

A view of Herodium from the air.
Photo Copyright Arutz Sheva

Herod the Great is most famous for slaying the male babies 2 years old and under around Bethlehem. This forced Joseph, Mary, and Jesus to flee to Egypt until Herod the Great died (Matthew 2). His son, Herod Antipas, was the ruler during Jesus crucifixion (Luke 23) and resurrection. According to Acts 12, his grandson, Herod Agrippa I, killed the Apostle James (Yakov) and imprisoned Peter (Kefa) who was subsequently freed during an angelic visitation.

map copyright BBC

According to Arutz Sheva,

Herod was the Roman-appointed king of Judea from 37 to 4 BCE. He was renowned for his many monumental building projects, including the expansion of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, the palace at Masada, and the Herodium complex, 15 kilometers south of Jerusalem. The Herodium, Herod's final resting place, is among the most outstanding of his building projects. Prof. Netzer has led archaeological digs there since 1972, and the "exposure of the king's tomb here becomes the climax of this site’s research," Netzer said.

The coffin was found broken into pieces, and Prof. Netzer explained that it was likely broken some 70 years after the unpopular king's death, during the Jewish rebellion. Herod had also been known for his cruelty, killing his wife and children, among other perceived opponents.

The Herodium is famous for the well-known mountain-top structure comprising a palace, a fortress and a monument. The excavations on the slope of that mountain, where the tomb was found, began in August 2006. The expedition, on behalf of the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, was conducted by Prof. Netzer, together with Yaakov Kalman and Ro'i Porat.

The approach to the burial site was via a monumental flight of stairs 6.5 meters wide, leading to the hillside; the stairs were especially constructed for the funeral procession. Herod died in Jericho, but left instructions to be buried in the area known as the Herodium.

The mausoleum itself was almost totally dismantled in ancient times, but part of its well-built podium remains. Spread among the ruins are pieces of a large, unique coffin, nearly 2.5 meters (over 8 feet) made of a Jerusalemite reddish limestone, decorated by rosettes. The sarcophagus (coffin) had a triangular cover, which was decorated on its sides. Only very few similar sarcophagi are known in the country, and can be found only in elaborate tombs such as the famous one at the King’s Tomb on Salah a-Din Street in eastern Jerusalem. Although no inscriptions have been found yet at Herodium, archaeologists are hopeful that some might yet be found.

Wild Goose Chase
The search for Herod’s tomb, which began actively 30 years ago, focused until last year on Lower Herodium, which includes an area built especially for the king's funeral and burial. However, atop the Herod-era ruins was a large complex of Byzantine structures that took many years to dig out first.

Finally, Herod's Tomb Estate was dug. Though two monumental buildings and a large ritual bath (mikveh) were found, as well as a large route (350 meters long and 30 meters wide) that had been prepared for the funeral, no sign of the burial place itself was found.

The expedition then started to search for it on the slope of the hill, where it was finally found. Prof. Netzer emphasizes that there seems to be no doubt that the king's initial intention was to be buried in the estate. Herod later changed his mind, however, asking to be buried within the artificial cone which gave the hill of Herodium its current volcano-shape.

Josephus Leaves Out Detail
The main historical source of the Second Temple’s days, the historian Josephus Flavius, described the site of Herodium in detail, as well as the funeral - but left out the detail of the burial having taken place on the hillside instead of in the Tomb Estate.

A complex of tunnels from the days of Bar-Kokhba within the Herodium mount was opened to the public in the 1980's. The archaeological excavations at the site, which stopped in 1987, were renewed 10 years later and continued until 2000, and after a second break, were renewed at the end of 2005.

Blogs for Borders, May 8

Illegal Immigration Riots

Highlights the "illegal" part of illegal immigration.

Warning - protesters use bad language

Michigan State Senator Wants to Eliminate Gun-Free Zones

This is somewhat dated news (coming to light right after the VT tragedy), but very interesting. I saw it first on the Michigan Coalition of Responsible Gun Owner's site.

State Senator Alan Cropsey (R-DeWitt), the man who led the legislative charge for our new Castle Doctrine protections, wants to eliminate gun-free zones (aka Criminal Empowerment Zones).

As highlighted in the Jackson Citizen-Patriot, Cropsey declares "It's time that the American people say the Second Amendment should apply everywhere."

Of course, Michigan's Bastion of Socialism, Ann Arbor, has a State Senator who disagrees. She was Ann Arbor's mayor when I briefly taught at the U of Michigan - and hasn't changed at all.

Sen. Liz Brater, D-Ann Arbor, says it is time Michigan and other states investigate ways to learn about an applicant's mental-health history when issuing gun permits.

"We need to revisit the whole system of background checks and make it much more thorough," Brater said. "It's just much too lax."

I'll skip the expected liberal response and focus on Senator Cropsey:

Cropsey is among gun advocates who say the nation's campuses should be deregulated to allow professors to carry concealed weapons, eliminating what he calls "victim zones" where gunless people are left defenseless.

One valid reason for more guns on campus, he said, is because there is no armed security at most private colleges.

pring Arbor University and Albion College both operate safety departments staffed by officers who are neither sworn nor armed. Both schools rely on local police to provide protection, officials said.

Cropsey pointed to one instance in last week's tragedy where a professor died trying to block a door so his students could escape Cho's rampage.

"How come that professor wasn't allowed to defend himself?" Cropsey said. "We need to say, 'Educators have the right to defend themselves. They have a right to defend their classrooms.' "

As an interesting side note, the Executive Director of the Michigan Psychiatric Society is against "mental health evaluations" for those who want to purchase a gun.

Kathleen Gross, executive director of the Michigan Psychiatric Society, said it would be difficult to regulate guns based on mental illness and ensure accuracy, fairness and that it "holds up to constitutional muster."

"We can't predict behavior. We can kind of evaluate who might benefit from treatment."

Quote of the Week

Quote of the week, April 29 - May 5, 2007

We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.

- Benjamin Franklin, at the signing of the Declaration of Independence

Rattlesnake Time

When I was a kid, the phone company replaced a phone pole right by our house. When they yanked the old pole out of the ground, there were rattlesnakes there in the pit! In Detroit! And I wasn't born in 1911 or some time when this would be typical.

I understood as a kid that Detroit may have a lot of faults, but rattlesnakes were not one of them. I'd never seen a live and up-close rattlesnake before - anywhere, let alone Detroit.

This memory flashed across my mind when I saw today's lead story in the Detroit Free Press by my favorite Free Press columnist, Mike Wendland (a certified good guy in 2Valuable's book):

Michigan is snake species' favorite locale, but don't be rattled

This photo is copyright Regina H. Boone/Detroit Free Press

Nowadays they are found further out from the city, especially in the counties on Detroit's northern border.

It's rattlesnake season in Michigan.

If you live near wetlands in southeastern Michigan, you probably have Eastern Massasauga rattlesnakes nearby. They're just waking up from winter. And they can be cranky.

Massasaugas are in danger of extinction in every state, except Michigan. There are so many here that Purdue University researchers are trying to figure out why.

"There are thousands and thousands of them around southeastern Michigan," Dr. Bruce A. Kingsbury, director of Indiana-Purdue University's Center for Reptile and Amphibian Conservation and Management in Ft. Wayne, Ind., said last week. "It's probably the last stronghold for the Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake."

Of course, with any interesting article, government has to get in the way and tick you off.

It's a misdemeanor in Michigan to kill one, punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $500 fine.

A misdemeanor to kill a snake? Gee, that's good to know, although I don't really expect to run into another rattlesnake in Detroit - at least one that isn't a metaphor.

Side Note:
During the War of 1812,more soldiers died from rattlesnake bites on the march up from Northern Ohio to Detroit than died from actual fighting trying to keep Detroit in American hands.

American General William Hull, a hero in the Revolutionary War, eventually surrendered Detroit to British forces. The US won it back before the end of the war.

Terrorism in Michigan

I've been to four or five weddings at this church. What happened here really caught my eye.

If you are an anti-gunner, please tell me what you would do in this situation, before the police nabbed the bad guy. Please tell me how a firearm wouldn't be a part of your self-defense.

This happened in Troy, a suburb of north of Detroit. These threats occurred during the same time period as when another disgruntled employee shot up an accounting office just a few miles away.

A displaced music director at the Evanswood Church of God faces four terrorism-related charges over e-mail threats to conduct a "Columbine or Virginia Tech type killing" aimed at 13 church members, police said.

Roy Owen Yaryan, 56, of Rochester Hills, was arraigned Tuesday and is held in lieu of $750,000 cash bond pending his preliminary exam in Troy's 52-4 District Court.

Troy Police Lt. Gerry Scherlinck said Yaryan sent out e-mails under the name of Evanswood Church of God Pastor A.C. Phipps while describing himself as having a Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personality.

"The e-mail indicated the recipients were about to see his Mr. Hyde side, as he was planning a Columbine or Virginia Tech-type killing at services the follow Sunday (April 29)," Scherlinck said.

Church officials at the 150 member congregation at 2601 Square Lake Road cancelled the services, but have reopened since Yaryan's arrest, an unidentified woman at the church said.

A worker at the church said Phipps was out-of-state and on vacation.

However, the church did issue a statement reading: "Thank you for your concern for our congregation at Evanswood Church of God. We understand from Troy Police that an arrest has been made and their investigation continues. We view this as a time of healing for our congregation and the families involved."

A church Web site said Phipps joined the church in June2004 and has served 35 years as pastor at churches in Texas, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Scherlinck said Yaryan had some "internal grudge" with the Evanswood Church of God pastor and the church's leadership team.

"My understanding is that he was the music director and they replaced him," Scherlinck said. "But there were other things he also didn't agree with."

Yaryan, Scherlinck said, took elaborate steps to disguise his computer trail from the victims.

"We have a forensic computer investigator who found software and encryptions," Scherlinck said. "(Yaryan) sent e-mails out of the country and back to victims to protect his identity."

Troy police executed a search warrant at Yaryan's residence on April 27 and confiscated two computers while no one was home, Scherlinck said.

Then on April 28, several members of the congregation received another threatening e-mail allegedly from Yaryan purporting to be the pastor. It contained the names of 13 church members indicating he intended to kill them, Scherlinck said.

The e-mail message indicated the sender knew the church had closed, but it was his intent to "engage in a mass killing whenever the church doors were re-opened," Scherlinck said.

Soon afterwards, police executed a second search warrant at Yaryan's house and found him inside with another computer that he tried to hide,

Scherlinck said. Police arrested Yaryan and confiscated the computer. Yaryan called the threats a "prank," Scherlinck said.

Oakland County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Paul Walton described the accusations against Yaryan as "very, very serious."

"I know his assertions will be he never intended (to carry out) this," Walton said. "But that is irrelevant. The crime occurred when the threat was made. The defendant has effectively terrorized a small church. He did this on April 25 and April 28 and both times he reported he would kill specific people."

Walton said Yaryan is married. Yaryan doesn't appear to have a previous criminal record, Walton added.

Yaryan is charged with two counts of false report or threat of terrorism and two counts of using a computer to commit a false report or threat of terrorism. All are felonies, punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

The alleged threats follow three workplace shootings on April 9 at Gordon Advisors, 1301 Long Lake Road, Troy.

End of the Fast

The Bible records that Jesus the Messiah fasted for 40 days (Matthew 4:2). Elijah also fasted 40 days (1 Kings 19:5-9). Of course, Moses had his famous fast from food and water for 80 days straight (Deuteronomy 9:9-18).

My reasons weren't holy, but I did fast from Blogger. And it showed how addicting blogging is. It was much harder to "fast" from Blogger than it is to fast during Yom Kippur.

Anyways, I'm back.

Blogging Fast

I am crunched at work until Friday night.

Some people fast from food. I am on a fast from Blogger - until Friday night. I'll binge as soon as I can - but not for a couple of days.

In the meantime, God Bless.
Jay

Blogs for Borders, May 1

NY Times Suffers

I know people's reading habits are changing and newspaper readership has been suffering for years... but I can't help but wonder if plain crappy reporting is responsible for this current problem in "journalism."

From Family Business Magazine:

Investors withhold 42% of votes for N.Y. Times directors.

New York Times Co. shareholders withheld 42% of their votes for four directors at the company's annual meeting April 24. "While the vote is largely symbolic since the Sulzberger family remains in control of the company, the significant withhold vote reflects growing impatience among investors about the company's lagging stock price," the Associated Press reported. "The size of the withhold vote was even larger than last year, when 30 percent of investors withheld their votes for directors elected by holders of the company's publicly traded shares."

In a statement, Times chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. said, "Management and the full Board will continue to listen carefully to the issues raised by our shareholders. That said, the Ochs-Sulzberger family remains firmly and unanimously committed to the dual class share structure that has been in place since before the Company went public in 1969. With approximately 19% of the Company's Class A shares and 89% of its Class B shares, our family's interests are very much aligned with other shareholders in seeing the Company's performance improve."

Before the vote, Institutional Shareholder Services, a shareholder advisory firm, had recommended that Times investors withhold their votes for the four directors elected by Class A shareholders. In a Wall Street Journal opinion piece the day before the vote, Donald E. Graham, chairman and CEO of the family-controlled Washington Post Co. -- which has a similar stock structure -- decried ISS's recommendation. "[I]f the stock structure were eliminated," Graham wrote, "a line of buyers eager to purchase the company would form within minutes.... The line would include private equity firms, high-ego billionaires, international media companies lacking a famous property and lots more. Who would bid the highest? Perhaps a principled owner, dedicated to the welfare of the Times and the Boston Globe; willing to anger its friends on a regular basis, as good newspapers do; and prepared to spend money and run other risks to sustain the paper like the Sulzbergers. Or maybe the bidder would be someone quite different." (Sources: Associated Press, April 24, 2007; Wall Street Journal, April 23, 2007.)

What a funny quote, by the way, from the Chairman/CEO of the Washington Post. Apparently the only groups who can give "objective and accurate reporting" are people hired by the WaPo and the NYT.

What the Heck?

Blogger, for some reason, is changing things posted on my pages to Spanish. What's up with this? If it is going to screw up, at least put it in French. My French is much better than my Spanish.

UPDATE: It's Fixed! Muchas gracias to the Blogger techs.

Michigan Gun Owners

From GOA:

URGENT MICHIGAN ALERT
-- Contact Rep. Dingell and urge him to drop his support of the Schumer-McCarthy bill!

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

Monday, April 30, 2007


Last week, GOA alerted you twice to the Brady Law expansion bill -- legislation that will continue the assault on your Second Amendment rights.

This bill (HR 297) is gun control, pure and simple, and it is being pushed by the most rabid anti-gun congressmen in Washington. Current and past sponsors include anti-gun Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Ted Kennedy (D-MA), and Dick Durbin (D-IL). And on the House side, there's the notorious Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) and John Conyers (D-MI) who are in full support of this gun control measure.

But what is confusing a lot of pro-gun Congressmen on the Hill is the fact that a former NRA Board Director (Rep. John Dingell of Michigan) and a current NRA board member (Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho) are both on record in support of this legislation.

No wonder so many pro-gun congressmen on the Hill are confused.

So what can we do? Or more importantly, what can YOU do?

Well, your living in Michigan gives you a very powerful voice in this fight. As mentioned above, a congressman from your state -- John Dingell -- has already cosponsored this bill. It's not too late to ask him to reconsider his support. After all, he opposed the original Brady bill in 1993. So why, in heaven's name, would he support an expansion of the law in 2007?

The Washington Post reported on April 20 that Rep. Dingell has become the point man for pushing HR 297. As such, he should have to explain to every Michigan resident why he thinks it was necessary for him to become a mouthpiece for Sarah Brady and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY).


McCarthy is the Queen of Gun Control in the House of Representatives.
She holds an F- rating with Gun Owners of America. And while she is the chief sponsor of this bill, she's taking a back seat, having admitted to The Washington Post that her "crusades" for more gun control have made her voice "toxic" in gun circles.

"So Dingell is handling negotiations with the NRA," the Post reported. "Dingell is also in talks with Sens. Orrin G. Hatch
(R-Utah) and Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), House Minority Leader John A.
Boehner (R-Ohio) and Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner (Wis.), the senior Republican on the House Judiciary Committee."

In essence, Dingell has become an "evangelist" of sorts for this gun control bill in the House. And this from a former NRA Director! We dare not let him stab the gun community in the back without us raising a fuss.

And that's why your help is needed.

Getting Representative Dingell to back off of his evangelistic kick
-- and to renounce his support -- would send shockwaves through the Congress and keep pro-gun legislators from getting behind this legislation as well.

So it is imperative that you, and as many other gun owners in the state of Michigan as you can find, contact Rep. Dingell and encourage him to stop doing the dirty work for Sarah Brady and Carolyn McCarthy. Tell him to stop selling out our rights.

You know that more gun control is not the answer to school shootings.
And that is why we have provided you a special letter below to really help make the point that gun control is the problem, not the solution.

ACTION:

1. Please take immediate action and contact Representative John Dingell. You can write him by e-mailing his Legislative Director in Washington, DC at:

joshua.tzuker@mail.house.gov

Or you can contact Representative Dingell by:

Phone: 202-225-4071 -- or use the toll-free switchboard at
877-762-8762
Fax: 202-226-0371

2. Circulate this e-mail far and wide in the state of Michigan. Get EVERY GUN OWNER you can to contact Representative Dingell. Urge him to reconsider his position on this bill and to renounce his previous support of it.

----- Pre-written letter -----

Dear Representative Dingell:

I am very concerned about our Second Amendment rights. And I am extremely disappointed that you are doing Carolyn McCarthy's dirty work in supporting HR 297, as reported by The Washington Post on April 20 in "Dingell, NRA Working on Bill to Strengthen Background Checks."

According to the Post, you have been anointed as the evangelist to get pro-gun representatives to support HR 297, even though you voted against the Brady bill in 1993. Why are you trying to expand something you were against in the first place?

One of the nation's leading anti-gun medical publications, the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that the Brady registration law has failed to reduce murder rates. In August 2000, JAMA reported that states implementing waiting periods and background checks did "not [experience] reductions in homicide rates or overall suicide rates." Studies from the Centers for Disease Control and the National Academy of Sciences also found similar results.

So I implore you to NOT support this legislation... to tell Rep.
McCarthy that you want OUT... and that you will instead try to REPEAL the gun control laws that create criminal safe zones, such as the one that exists on the Virginia Tech campus where no one is allowed to carry a gun for self-defense.

Rep. Dingell, do you really think that expanded background checks will ultimately stop evil-minded people from getting a gun and prevent school shootings? In considering your answer, don't forget Canada, Germany and Scotland. Even though these countries have imposed massive amounts of gun control, they have all been afflicted with school shootings in the past ten years.

And are you aware that current gun control laws are denying law-abiding Americans their Second Amendment rights -- sometimes erroneously, but other times by intent? Before the Virginia Tech massacre occurred on April 16, there were several students and professors at that university who had publicly expressed their desire to carry guns on campus. But gun control left them disarmed and defenseless.

Now, rather than repealing existing gun control, HR 297 would expand the Brady law -- even though it has already kept countless, law-abiding citizens from exercising their Second Amendment rights.
Americans have been prevented from buying guns because of outstanding traffic tickets, because of errors, because the NICS computer system has crashed, because combat veterans sought treatment to deal with the shakes after returning home and because married couples got into screaming matches with one another -- and are now disarmed for life as a result of the Lautenberg gun ban that you voted for in 1996.

This should teach us that if you give an anti-gun bureaucrat an inch, he'll take a mile. (By the way, Gun Owners of America has documented, on its website, numerous instances of the abuses mentioned above, which have resulted in good people being denied their gun rights FOREVER.)

Again, I hope that you will reconsider your support for HR 297 and renounce everything it stands for. Please tell me that you will do so.

Sincerely,

Schmuck Alert on the Gun Range

I went to the range yesterday evening, not expecting to do anything but have a little fun shooting a few rounds.

I ran into two schmucks instead.

Schmuck #1 was some big guy trying to impress his non-shooting girlfriend with his manliness. He was popping of his .44 mag, then demanding she give it a try. No, I am not kidding. I later found out she had never been to a range before, never even fired a gun before.

Finally, he pulled out his .45 and popped off several rounds. "Here, baby, your turn" he called out to her. She was so scared she actually started crying. This insensitive jerk really ticked me off. I called him over, and while we were alone, I asked if he would mind if I offered to let his girlfriend fire my .22. He thought that might work, even if "it wasn't a real gun," which ticked me off even more. "It is real enough for me. I sure wouldn't want to take a round."

I always take the .22 mag to the range, no matter what other gun I may practice with that day, because I run into people who have never fired a gun. It is light, not "scary" looking, and it doesn't make much noise. No recoil issues. It is a great beginner gun (and a lot of fun for those more advanced). Plus ammo is cheap.

Long story short, she liked the .22. She enjoyed shooting it enough that she pestered the boyfriend to go rent her one so she could keep shooting.

Schmuck #2 was an uncle taking his nephew out to shoot. This man chose to be a drill sergeant and take all the fun out of shooting. After each shot he offered a loud (and usually not nice) critique.

We are acquaintances, so he came up to me during a break in the action and complained about his nephew's "crappy" shooting.

I asked him why he was making this such a negative experience for his nephew? As long as the kid followed safety rules, who cares if his form wasn't completely perfect? Who cares if there were some flaws? If the kid loves to shoot, that's all that matters at this point. Make it safe, fun, and stop being mean. And move that target up from 30 feet to 10 feet so he can hit the target. He's not a Marine, he is a kid.

Schmucks like these two give gun owners a black eye. Guns are dangerous, so we should never stop emphasizing safety to beginners or first-time shooters (heck, my experience shows they understand they don't know anything about guns, so they listen very carefully to safety instructions - unlike some 'advanced' shooters who 'know everything').

But shooting should be fun for people. If they aren't, or if we are rude, we simply turn people off.

We may fight much of the war to preserve 2nd Amendment rights in courtrooms and in legislative sessions. But we can win so many hearts, and open up so many minds to the importance of the 2A through safe, fun times at the range. Conversely, we can tick people off and shut their minds for them permanently if we behave like a schmuck.

Congressional Leaders Moving To Pass Gun Control Without A Vote!

From GOA: more warnings about H297 and workings on the Senate end of things.

Two giant points from their urgent alert:

McCARTHY BILL TREATING GUN OWNERS WORSE THAN TERRORISTS

HR 297 would require the states to turn over mountains of personal data (on people like you) to the FBI -- any information which according to the Attorney General, in his or her unilateral discretion, would be useful in ascertaining who is or is not a "prohibited person."

Liberal support for this bill points out an interesting hypocrisy in their loyalties: For six years, congressional Democrats have complained about the Bush administration's efforts to obtain personal information on suspected terrorists WITHOUT A COURT ORDER.

And yet, this bill would allow the FBI to obtain massive amounts of information -- information which dwarfs any records obtained from warrantless searches (or wiretaps) that have been conducted by the Bush Administration on known or suspected terrorists operating in the country.

In fact, HR 297 would allow the FBI to get this information on honest Americans (like you) even though the required data is much more private and personal than any information obtained thus far by the Bush administration on terrorists.

And all of these personal records would be obtained by the FBI with no warrant or judicial or Congressional oversight whatsoever!!!

and

Please take a moment to communicate your opposition to HR 297 -- even if you already sent your Representative a note earlier this week. We have provided a new letter (below) which provides updated information relating to the battle we are fighting.

House leaders are talking about bringing up this bill soon. And Sen. Schumer (in his interview with O'Reilly) even hinted at the fact that the bill could come up WITHOUT the ability to offer pro-gun amendments -- such as a repeal of the DC gun ban or reciprocity for concealed carry holders -- provisions that could potentially serve as killer amendments.

Also -- oh yeah, this is going to upset you -- Senator Schumer told O'Reilly, "I got to tell you, a lot of NRA people, they support this." Can you believe that? Senator Schumer is claiming to speak for you! That's why it's so important that you once again tell your congressman that Schumer is wrong... that you're a supporter of gun rights who OPPOSES the anti-gun McCarthy-Dingell bill.

Rural Chief of Police and County Prosecuter Arrested for Machine Guns

From the Detroit Free Press, in an article about a county in Northern Michigan (a beautiful place, by the way):

Some folks say former Ogemaw County Prosecutor Frederick MacKinnon and his buddies were gun nuts -- a compliment of sorts in this tiny community in Michigan's north woods.

Others suspect the men may have been stockpiling machine guns, silencers and ammunition for a right-wing paramilitary group.

Federal officials say MacKinnon, along with former Chief Assistant Prosecutor Gary Theunick and ex-Rose City Police Chief Maxwell Garnett obtained the weapons illegally and failed to pay taxes on them. The men say they bought the equipment to protect residents.

[...]

he men were indicted in January 2005 on charges of illegally possessing seven machine guns and nine silencers from 1999 to 2004; falsifying firearms applications to make it look like the weapons belonged to the prosecutor's office and police department; and evading federal firearms taxes. The most serious charges -- illegal possession of the guns and falsifying the applications -- carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and $250,000 in fines.

The men -- who bought the automatic weapons and silencers with their own money from licensed firearms dealers and kept them in their homes -- have denied any wrongdoing. They said they bought the equipment with the blessing of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), whose agents are expected to dispute that at the trial. A conviction would bar the men from owning firearms.

[...]

Ogemaw County is one of the poorest counties in the state, in part because nearly two-thirds of its residents are retirees living on fixed incomes, local officials said. Rose City, the county's second-largest city, covers 1 square mile and has 721 residents and one stoplight.

[...]

So they had automatic weapons; I don't think most people around town really care," said Richard Dooley, president of the Rose City-Lupton Chamber of Commerce and owner of the local feed and paintball store, who knows Garnett and Theunick.

Ronnie Burns, a retired truck driver from Rose City, said many residents think the feds are railroading the trio: "Once they get started on something like this, they don't like to stop."Dooley and Ken Morse, a retired construction manager, said gun ownership is no big deal in Ogemaw County, where 517 of the county's 17,000 adults have concealed weapons permits -- nearly twice the Michigan average.

Both men, interviewed at the Rose City Café, a local hangout, pulled out CCW permits, which they said they obtained with the help of Garnett, a certified firearms instructor.

This will be an interesting case that I'll be watching.

By the way, the Free Press had this interesting inset (copyright Martha Thierry/Detroit Free Press):


I was under the impression that the Bushmaster XM15 was a semi-auto, not a machine gun. I may be wrong, though.

An Unpleasant Topic

I've heard an inaccurate statement presented as fact from several different members of the media. With all due respect to those involved (except Cho), the Virginia Tech shooting was not the largest mass murder in American history. It is not the largest school murder in American history, either.

Those horrifying distinctions belong to a tragedy in 1927 in rural Michigan. The Bath Consolidated School was attacked by a member of the school board. Andrew Kehoe blamed a property tax increase for school building improvements on his farm's foreclosure. He decided to kill kids as retribution, planning his attack over several months and using his elected position to get into the school to carefully plant dynamite charges and other explosive devices around the building for maximum carnage.

Long story short, two teachers, the school superintendent, a farmer, the Postmaster, the perp's wife and the perp died from the violence.

So did 37 kids in the third through sixth grades.

UPDATE: Last year, another nut case planned a similar assault at another Michigan school. The Educated Shoprat has more information on the Bath School tragedy in his post about the near-tragedy prevented by the police in Oxford, Michigan.

How I Started To Believe In The 2nd Amendment

I wasn't always a believer in the 2nd Amendment. It took an educational experience to make me understand how precious and valuable this freedom is.

Of course, I never had a problem with people using guns for hunting... and while I know better now, back then I thought the 2A was simply to protect things like hunting. As a hunter, I liked that. I came from a hunting family. One of my grandmother's was a much better shot than anyone else in my family. Many women hunt today, but few did back then.

Of course, handguns weren't something you hunt with, so I didn't have a problem with people who wanted to ban them. Shotguns and rifles were "different" in my mind.

I went to the University of Michigan where the 2A was crapped on almost every day. While it did nothing to deter my support of guns for hunting, I bought into the rest of the blatherskyte.

Then I got a job. I am a scientist by trade. After a while, I got into management. After more time passed, I had to fire someone. This was awful. I felt terrible, but this person was deserving of firing, and basically we had to or else there would be legal problems. But it wasn't something I liked. "Bosses" are pegged with an inaccurate stereotype - contrary to the Hollywood portrayal, I don't know anyone personally who gets any pleasure at all from firing someone, no matter the reason. I fired him, he cussed me out and said he'd "get me" and that was the end of it. So I thought. After all, he was informed to never come back on company property - to do so would be trespassing.

The company, of course, had all the "don't bring weapons to work" legal mumbo jumbo in the employee handbook. It was also posted in the lobby and the employee entrance that weapons were not allowed in the building.

This didn't matter to the gentleman I fired. He came back a week later to get me, entered the lobby and asked for me. The employee behind the counter, a new person who didn't know this gentleman, paged me. Then he excused himself, found me before I got to the counter, and told me this guy was acting strange. In fact, he used these exact words: "He keeps a hand in his coat pocket. It's like this guy has a gun in his pocket and wants to shoot you." He described this man's looks and I knew right away who it was.

Instead of going to the lobby, we went to a phone to call the police - even if he didn't have a gun, he was trespassing. Fortunately for all of us, this guy was content to wait in the lobby and police had time to defuse this situation. If he decided to jump the counter and come looking for me... I shudder to think of what might have happened.

Long story short, this guy was illegally carrying a stolen, fully loaded 9mm while trespassing in a "gun-free" zone.

It would have been very easy, though intellectually dishonest, to jump on the "guns are bad" media circus and "ban all guns" bandwagon. Instead, I analyzed and learned from this situation.

This man knew, and ignored, the company policy on guns at work.

This man knew, and ignored, his previously signed statement (from his employee days) declaring (among other things) that he understood weapons were not allowed on the premises.

This man knew, and ignored, the order to stay away from company property or be arrested for trespassing.

This man knew, and ignored, the posted signs.

This man knew, and ignored, the laws prohibiting stealing.

This man knew, and ignored, the laws on concealed carry.

This man knew, and was ignoring, the laws prohibiting assault with a deadly weapon.

This man knew, and apparently planned to ignore, the laws prohibiting murder.

Through legal technicalities, this man escaped a long prison sentence. The company attorney told me to get a restraining order. Realizing that a restraining order would only be used as toilet paper by someone who wanted me dead, I went out instead, took defensive gun lessons from a reputable instructor, and bought a hand gun. I took other, non-firearm, training to prepare in case this man, or anyone else, decided to do me in. While I appreciate the police, they can't protect me from every threat. It is my job to protect myself. The 2nd Amendment codifies my right to bear arms for my self defense and for the defense of my country. And I realize in countries like Great Britain and Australia that I would not be allowed to defend myself. I cherish my 2nd Amendment.

I've never had a life-threatening problem since, and I pray that I don't. Rather than join the "ban guns" crowd, I realized that bad guys don't obey the law. I want the means to defend myself, and I want you to have the means to defend yourself. While there is much more to self-defense than firearms, they are an important part of self-defense strategies.

Rather than become a statistic, I chose to be a survivor.

And that's how I started to believe in the 2nd Amendment.

Teddy Kennedy is at it Again

At least it wasn't about guns, this time...

A few weeks ago, Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) introduced the “Employee Free Choice Act,” S. 1041. This bill is identical to the version passed in the Democrat-controlled House. Senator Kennedy has pledged to do all he can to get the bill to a vote quickly.

So what is this bill about anyways? It's about payback to his supporters.

Labor leaders blame their troubles (decades of declining membership - in fact, only 7% of private sector employees are union now) on the process workers use to decide whether or not they want to be represented by unions. These leaders complain that the cards are stacked against them.

The yes-or-no vote for union representation involves employee secret ballot elections, which are overseen by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

Currently, unions win more than half of these elections... but that isn't enough for them.

Enter Ted Kennedy and S 1041. Just eliminate the private ballot elections and certify the unions as the bargaining agents for workers once they persuade a majority of eligible employees to sign authorization cards. Unions would have as long as they need to collect signatures. That is, this “card check” process would remain open until they win.

Not bad - unless you are into fair representation.

The Only Gun Control We Need

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Gun control = Infringement

I am so sick of hearing cowardly blowhards in the news calling for "reasonable measures" to limit the second amendment. These "reasonable measures" are always complete gun control. I even keep hearing about the dangerous "military .22" that Cho used. Or, one of my favorites, "banning assault rifles like the 9 mm pistol."

I am glad to say that reasonable measures limiting the 2nd Amendment are already in place in each of the 50 states, Washington D.C., and every territory of this great nation. And these reasonable limiting measures do not infringe upon the 2nd Amendment.

What are they?

Unjustified homicide = felony
Rape = felony
Robbery = felony
Assault = felony

And so on... No one may use a weapon (of any type) to violate someone else's freedom.

These are reasonable measures that do not infringe upon the 2nd Amendment. These reasonable measures are ignored by the criminal thug.

Anything infringing upon the 2nd Amendment (i.e. "gun control measures") are clearly unconstitutional and evil. They keep the law-abiding citizen from enjoying their Constitutional right (and responsibility) to self-defense , yet do nothing to cut down on crime.

NRA Members, Unite

Lots has been written lately about the NRA teaming up with anti-gun Democrats to put new legislation through.

NRA is freakin' hard to get through to. I honestly doubt NRA members can ever get the leadership on the right track, but rather than throw up my hands in disgust and walk away, I say let's all remember to call in and share our opinions.

To leave an email contact (not that I'll expect them to read it), go here: https://www.nrahq.org/contact.asp

NRA-ILA, by phone, may be reached at (800) 392-8683

I don't know that one loud, united voice screaming "enough" will achieve anything - but I know giving up will lead to more gun control.

About the One Square Solution...

The blogosphere has been talking non-stop about Sheryl Crow's great solution to global warming. (By the way, hat tip to The Educated Shoprat where I first read about it.)

Of course, she starts off writing "Now, I don't want to rob any law-abiding American of his or her God-given rights..." but then goes and explains how she indeed does want to rob a, well, is it a God-given right or simply necessity? Anyways, here is the solution: "... but I think we are an industrious enough people that we can make it work with only one square per restroom visit, except, of course, on those pesky occasions where 2 to 3 could be required."

I think that is a fantastic solution, but I think I can one-up it. Why don't we simply recycle fallen leaves? My proposal encourages recycling and organic fertilizing. Those eco-studs who collect enough leaves can use them year-round. The lazy people would simply have to wait until the following autumn to do their business. Not only will we save trees, but we will be one with the trees as we partner with them to utilize their - and our - full potential.

True eco-studs can use only one side of a leaf per visit, doubling the effectiveness of this plan.

I do admit that those who live near evergreens and poison ivy will not benefit from this plan.