Work Hard

Let's all work hard to ensurethis idiots dying wish is never granted.

Breaking CCW News Alert

Straight from the VCDL newswire

"Breaking news! I have just been told by one of my official contacts
that Ohio and Virginia WILL have reciprocity effective August 1st!

If you are headed up to OH on or after the 1st, be sure to check the
VASP and OHAG web sites below to confirm reciprocal arrangements:

Ohio Attorney General's CHP page:

http://www.ag.state.oh.us/web_applications/concealcarry/reciprocity.asp

Virginia State Police reciprocity page:

http://www.vsp.state.va.us/cjis_reciprocity.htm

I expect that Florida reciprocity will be announced in the near
future. Kentucky should happen as well.

As always, I will advise on other states as I learn of them. There
are a bunch of states that should qualify under the new VA
reciprocity laws."

Does reciprocity with Florida mean I automatically pick up all of Florida's reciprocity agreements as well?

What's Howard Kurtz Smoking?

In his column today on Washingtonpost.com, media critic Howard Kurtz reviews reactions to Kerry's speach and concludes with this shocking comment (after examining Glenn Reynolds reaction)

That's the thing about critiquing a speech--it's all so inherently subjective, like critics disagreeing over a movie. It's all the more remarkable, therefore, that the mainstream media--the folks who don't overtly come at politics from the left or the right--were nearly unanimous in hailing the speech. That, I predict, will convince people out there that it was a better speech than they might have thought.

And just who does he think makes up that maintream media - the folks who don't overtly come at politics from the left or the right?

"A strong speech," said Tom Brokaw. "Working himself literally into a sweat," said Dan Rather. "A good speech . . . a tough speech," said Peter Jennings.

"An extremely tough, hawkish speech," said Jeff Greenfield.

"The best speech I've ever seen John Kerry deliver by a mile," said ABC political director Mark Halperin.

"I've never seen the man speak so well," said Joe Klein, who covered Kerry's first congressional campaign in 1972.

Oh sure there are others too . . .

• The Los Angeles Times sees a strong Kerry


• The New York Times also seizes on the S-word


• The Boston Globe takes the personal approach


• The Chicago Tribune is Lincolnesque in conjuring up Kerry's essence

Got that.

The non partisan mainstream press.

The folks who don't overtly come at politics from the left or the right

I guess he failed to read Daniel Okrent's admission? He probably failed to review this report on the political activities of the "mainstream media" as well.

Sort of makes you wonder what he's been smoking up there in Boston.

A French Communist

Turns out (WSJ subscription required, I've lectured my readers about this before) Kerry doesn't just look French, he is French (or at least partly so).

Mr. Kerry comes from an American family, albeit one with members who settled here. James Grant Forbes, Mr. Kerry's and Mr. Lalonde's common grandfather, was descended from the Brahmin Forbes family of Massachusetts. He went into banking and married Margaret Winthrop in 1906. Her ancestors were Pilgrims. Mr. Forbes was drawn to foreign business and financed railways, coal and steel businesses across the globe. When World War I began in 1914, he was living in Paris and remained in France for most of the rest of his life.

His daughter Rosemary was John Kerry's mother. Rosemary's younger sister, Fiona, is Mr. Lalonde's mother. In World War II, Rosemary fled to the U.S. and married Richard Kerry, John's father. Fiona fled to England. There, she met a French resistance activist, Alain Lalonde, the descendant of a Jewish man named Levy. Alain's father had changed his name to Lalonde, converted to Catholicism and settled in Paris. Brice Lalonde was born in 1946.

His cousin, the subject of the article, is also what you would call, a bit of a commie.

Both men grew up to become politicians running for president of their respective countries. Mr. Lalonde was a leader of the 1968 Paris student revolt, and in the 1970s he helped found the French chapter of Friends of the Earth. He never joined a political party, though the Greens drafted him as their candidate for president in 1981. He served as Minister of Environment in a socialist government from 1988 to 1991

What does this all mean? It means, the French love Kerry.

Today, the people of Saint-Briac (population 2,000) are excited about the blood tie Mr. Lalonde has with the Democratic nominee for president. And like most Frenchmen, they are rooting for Sen. Kerry to unseat George W. Bush, whom they blame for poisoning Franco-American relations in the dispute over whether to invade Iraq. A recent poll in Le Figaro showed 78% of French adults would vote for Mr. Kerry if they could, compared with 9% for Mr. Bush.

American's should be skeptical.

Self Rightous Citizens and Police Errors

THe parallels between this report on a landscaper being assaulted by a Houston Police Drug Task Force unit for legally growing hibiscus in his front yard, and the recent police actions against Virginian citizens excecising their right to openly carry firearms is alarming.

Perhaps whats needed is a new law to prosecute snoopy citizens who should otherwise mind their own business. I hope Mr. Davis sues and wins big.

Unfit for Duty

In a discussion on the commitment of Bush to prememption, Hugh Hewitt has more clearly enunciated why Kerry is unfit to lead than anyone else I've read.

John Kerry is not so committed. In his acceptance speech he said "[a]ny attack will be met with a swift and certain response." This is not the question, and by refusing explicitly to answer the question of when if ever he would act preemptively, we can only conclude that Kerry will not move preemptively against gathering threats. Like Clinton, he will judge the intelligence too vague, the country insufficiently prepared for battle, or the undeniable costs in the lives of Americans and American dollars too great.

George Bush is trying to kill the terrorists before they kill more Americans. He will not always succeed. But I think fewer Americans will die from such attacks if Bush wins reelection, far fewer in fact.

Hugh's right. Failing to respond to a direct attack is almost treasonous. I'm not worried about that, though I do worry about the nature of our response - do we overthrow the Taliban or send missles into the desert. The bigger questions remaining though is to what extent is Kerry willing to go to kill them before they kill us. As George Patton once said

To conquer, we must destroy our enemies. We must not only die gallantly; we must kill devastatingly. The faster and more effectively you kill, the longer you will live to enjoy the priceless fame of conquerors.

Of course, Patton also said

We'll win this war, but we'll win it only by fighting and by showing the Germans that we've got more guts than they have; or ever will have. We're not going to just shoot the sons-of-bitches, we're going to rip out their living Goddamned guts and use them to grease the treads of our tanks. We're going to murder those lousy Hun cocksuckers by the bushel-fucking-basket. War is a bloody, killing business. You've got to spill their blood, or they will spill yours. Rip them up the belly. Shoot them in the guts. When shells are hitting all around you and you wipe the dirt off your face and realize that instead of dirt it's the blood and guts of what once was your best friend beside you, you'll know what to do!"

Replace German and Hun for Muslim and Islamist and I think it is also applies.

Life or Death

Yet another instance of guns saving lives.

LIVINGSTON, Montana -- Two Colorado girls vacationing in Montana used a cell phone to call for help after finding themselves on a hillside infested with dozens of rattlesnakes. Izzy Effler, 13, and Morgan Beadwell, 12, climbed a hill in Livingston to try to get cell phone reception. However, while climbing, Izzy said a rattlesnake struck at her. Morgan also reportedly stepped on a snake. The girls then discovered that they were surrounded by six rattlers and used the phone to call for help, according to the report. Brian Effler and his nephew eventually rescued the girls after shooting two of the snakes. A rattlesnake trapper said he saw 25 to 30 snakes in the area.

Hippies and Guns

I love the Dead and I love guns, so it was a pleasure to read one of John Perry Barlows recent, but all to infrequent, postings touching on his recent travels across the country.

I left there with the Dead boys in their tour bus, driving through the night to Nashville and re-telling old tales like a bunch of war buddies. (There were great moments, like: Billy Kreutzmann: "Hey, I almost shot Weir one time." Bobby Weir: "Well, Barlow *did* shoot me!" Which is true. Sort of. I'd kind of forgotten about it.)

Wish he would have expanded on this story. Perhaps he will in the future.

Oh, and BTW, his daughters are cute.

Those AWB Polls

SayUncle linked to this story in the Hill but left out the most revealing admissions I've seen yet.

The bill itself is not controversial, Hamm and Hummel said, because even gun owners favor its extension. Sixty-four percent of gun-owning households and half of the NRA members polled were in favor of extending the ban, according to a recent poll conducted by the Annenberg Election Survey.

But many of the weapons included in that poll, Uzis and AK-47s among them, have been illegal since 1981, Cox said.

Bunny Style

This is way way way too funny.

A Moderate Party My Ass

Straight from the mouth of the spawn of Satan:

LO: You're known as a bona fide liberal in the halls of power, in the halls of Congress. What kind of struggles and obstacles do you have to go through every day to get your causes, our issues, advanced?

JS: None right now. I've never seen such a united Democratic Party.

You look at people who have the podium. As a liberal, did I have a problem yesterday?

Just in terms of members of Congress: Tammy Baldwin and Stephanie Tubbs Jones were up there making speeches.

Any progressive I think would have been proud with what they heard yesterday…

…so as a person on the left of the party, or as the late Paul Wellstone would say, the "Democratic wing of the Democratic Party," I feel very, very comfortable right now.

A centrist party my ass.

Threesomes

I thought they said Bill Clinton was getting out of town after his speech?

Everyone is walking around grinning like thy've just had their first threesome.

Ben Affleck

I’ve got a story for you.

It involves a household name actor with a couple of early memorable roles under his belt, who in recent years has been appearing in an increasingly more embarrassing string of B movies and is just recovering from the very public breakup of his relationship with a women possessing far more star power. The guy seems to have little luck in Hollywood recently, and instead has been hitting the lecture circuit working as a spokesman and selling a product. While a little awkward at first, he has grown into the role magnificently and his star power is now rising in new ways. The guy can give a great speech, has tremendous presence, and really connects with the audience, in a come-into-my-living-room-and-have-a-drink kind of way. In addition, it turns out the guy also writes his own speeches, tailoring them on the fly to the audience at hand and has a pretty well developed foundation of ideas on how to address real issues facing American families.

Sounds familiar?

Sound a little like the Ronald Reagan story? Well, it could be, but in this case I am talking about Ben Affleck (Reagan worked for GE, Affleck seems to be selling Democrats).

Now, I liked Good Will Hunting, but haven't been a fan of anything else Affleck has done. When he started appearing all over the place with the Dems and vigorously campaigning for Al Gore in 2000, I wrote him off as just another Hollywood Lefty. However, in recent months he has clearly separated himself from the usual vacous Hollywood pols. While I don’t agree with him on almost any issue, I do have to give him a lot of credit for being very good at something a lot of people really struggle with.

With the publication of a glowing profile in today'sWashington Post, Affleck’s political value was just bumped up a little more.

Affleck doesn't speak in lefty cliches. He sounds like a party man, if not exactly original, then as cogent as the average House member: "The deficit is financing tax cuts for millionaires like me." He doesn't have the usual Hollywood causes -- Tibet, acid rain, world peace -- and instead subscribes to the party platform, with the exception of gun control.

It certainly would have been nice if the Post expanded on his gun control views, but in the meantime, it will be very interesting to keep an eye out for him as he goes forward. I wish him luck (even as I hope his party fails).

A Big Fat Lecherous Drunk

If you haven't checked out Matt Welch's excellent convention coverage at Hit and Run you should. Discussing Teddy Kennedy, he had this to say

So, too, is the confusion of normal campaign politics with profound revolutionary bravery. Here's Ted Kennedy tonight, right after he invoked the Boston Tea Party and the American Revolution (but before he compared John Kerry to John Adams):

For today, like the brave and visionary men and women before us, we are determined to change our government.

Ben Franklin may have been a big fat lecherous drunk from the Eastern Seaboard, Ted, but that's about where the similarity ends.

And about Howard Dean's speech

[T]he vision of a disabled woman handing over her last quarters to another moneybags politico who dreams of taking more of the stuff by force strikes me as, at minimum, nausea-inducing.

Heh.

Teeee Reeee Saaa Ketchup

I was going to post something about her rant tonight, but then remembered I already put up my post on Climate Change and the Democrats Lying Liars and the Lying Lies they Lied. Go read it, use your head, and tell me what was strange about Teeee Reeee Saaa Ketchup's speech.

On a more positive note though, I really do think Waffles and Grits ought to let her out some more. I'd love for every American voter to meet her, just once.


In the meantime, today is Wictory Wednesday and you can help celebrate it, and ruin Teeeee Reeee Saaa Ketchup's day by volunteering and/or donating to the Bush campaign if you haven't done so already. And if you have volunteered and donated, then get a friend to join you. It's the only way to defeat Teeee Reee Saaa Ketchup, the lying liberal media and their special interest pandering whores in Congress and keep the French out of the White House.

If you're a blogger, you can join Wictory Wednesday simply by putting up a post like this every Wednesday, asking your readers to volunteer and/or donate to the president's re-election campaign.

Virginia's Open Carry

I promised to post my letter to the Washington Post if they didn't run any pro gun letters.

Well, they didn't and here it is.

Isn't it ironic that the same individuals who decry Virginians' openly carrying firearms in restaurants have emphatically opposed efforts to allow the concealed carry of those same firearms in Virginia’s restaurants for years?

Of course, what should we expect from a group seeking to ban private ownership of firearms?

Now, whats so scary about that they couldn't print that?

Flamenco!

Its been a lifelong passion of mine, one that I inherited from my father. As a little kid I used to sit in the living room ever sunday morning and listen to the spanish/gypsy guitar shows on the radio with my father. While Andres Segovia is the most famous, and Pepe Romero has done quite well himself, I really always wanted to play like Paco Pena.

Thankfully, Mr. Jobs was kind enough to include some of his music in the iTunes music store and I am listening right now to Fabulous Flamenco. Fabulous indeed.

Thai Massages For Kerry

I would have expected this kind of event for Bill Clinton, but for John Kerry?

$60/1 hour suggested. I studied at the Wat Pho temple's traditional massage school in Bangkok, Thailand and do this work part time. Trying to make this a rolling event. After July 29th, checks made out to the DNC. Days work best for me, but some nights I may be available.

Postal match

Neanderpundit is still lokoing for people to sign up for the postal match, but so far I've submitted my name three times and he still hasn't acknowledged it.

If you've got information on how to get his attention, please let me know.

Thanks

A Whole Lot Of Nothingness

This is pretty much the most compelling argument my wife has used in trying to keep me from attending the Republican convention.

This is not a national town hall meeting; it's more akin to a televised debutante ball. I'm afraid that politics here in America is so abstracted from reality that it is, in fact, impossible to understand on a level other than the superficial.

As Glenn likes to say, read the whole post. Its quite interesting, especially coming from a liberal dem.

Buck FAMA!!!

I hate fucking 'Bama

As you may have read, officials were concerned about Fulmer's safety at the event in Birmingham, Ala. Most other conferences' media days take place in virtual anonymity, but the SEC being the SEC and its followers being, well, a tad bit nutso, fans often stake out the lobby of the hotel for a potential glimpse of the coaches and players. There was concern about what might happen if an angry 'Bama fan found a way to come in contact with Fulmer -- not to mention vengeful lawyers handing out subpoenas.

What a fascinating scene it would have been had Fulmer attended. In case you're unaware, Fulmer has been considered persona non grata in Alabama ever since it was revealed he assisted the NCAA in the investigation that ended in major sanctions for the Crimson Tide. You see, in Southern football culture, cheating is nowhere near as deplorable as ratting someone out.

God, I hate 'Bama.

Dems and Horses

Jonah continues to ply the internet with some of the smartest color commentary out there, talking about the Boer Wars, Horses, and of course, the Jackasses convention.

The biggest "news" is that Ronald Reagan "Jr." is taking time out from doing color commentary at dog shows to exploit the memory of his dead father, and that John Kerry managed to get a picture of himself looking like he ordered the "deluxe" enema at a car wash. Oh, and his wife yelled "shove it" to a reporter. Perhaps she was actually just yelling instructions to the team working on Kerry.

Ouch.

Imagine That

It turns out that allowing the sale of so called assault weapons (especially at gun shows) and the lack of ballistic fingerprinting really isn't the problemt. Rather, like anyone with a shred of common sense realizes, its simply a matter of throwing the crooks in the pen and tossing out the keys.

Justice Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine identified more than 7,000 cases in 2002 and 2003 in which a person prohibited from buying a gun under federal firearms restrictions was able to do so. The report also found that less than 1 percent of the 120,000 people who unlawfully tried to buy guns during those years were prosecuted for the crime.

Imagine that - Of 120,000 crimes committed, we only prosecuted 1200.

Earth To Chief Ramsey and DiFi and all the other gun banners out there - if you don't prosecute the crooks and throw them in jail, guess what??? All the laws in the world won't stop them from committing crimes.

The Dummocratic Convention

The Dummocrats are doing a fine job of breaking down the convention.

Lying Liars and the Lying Lies they Lied.

Last night Bill Bennet was on Fox news discussing how well orchestrated the Democratic Convention was going and how much they were striving to move to the middle and silence the crazies. One area he especially focused on was the language ot the Party Platform compared to the beliefs of the average conventioneer.

This really struck home for me while watching Clinton's speech. In particular, Clinton said about the Kyoto Treaty:

Instead, he and his congressional allies made a very different choice. They chose to use that moment of unity to try to push the country too far to the right and to walk away from our allies, not only in attacking Iraq before the weapons inspectors had finished their work, but in withdrawing American support for the climate change treaty and for the international court on war criminals and for the anti-ballistic missile treaty and from the nuclear test ban treaty.

Now, I've got problems with a lot of this paragraph, but for purposes of this post, I am solely focusing on the Kyoto Treaty which was unanimously rejected by the U.S. Senate (including John Kerry). It turns out, even the Democrats don't support Kyoto anymore.

The draft was similar to the party's 2000 platform, but dropped references to full support of the Kyoto global warming treaty and the death penalty, according to media reports.

I've got a copy of the full Platform that I can email you if you want to read the whole thing. Its pretty interesting.

Monday Song Lyric

In honor of the lies and double speak emenating from the Conventioners, I present to you a special Monday Song Lyric - Pink Floyd's Animals, in its entirety. Of course, this is a Roger Water's masterpiece off of the bitterly anti authoritarian, anti-newspeak, and anti communist, Animals. Like so much of Water's other works, this album is extremly personal and represents the bitterness he felt at the impending Red (communist) threat, as also showcased on The Wall and The Final Cut.

Animals itself was deeply influenced by George Orwell’s Animal Farm. In Animals, the Sheep (commoners) were led around by Dogs (industrial leaders) and Pigs (tyrants). Of course, while the Democrats complain constantly that the Republican Dogs are running the country, thats a much better situation than being subjected to the Tyranny of the Democratic Pigs. On top of all that

Pigs (Three Different Ones) specifically lampoons Mary Whitehouse, who was then the self appointed guardian of British pop music morality.

Can we say Tipper Gore anyone???

Pigs on the Wing (Part One) (Waters) 1:24
If you didn't care what happened to me,
And I didn't care for you,
We would zig zag our way through the boredom and pain
Occasionally glancing up through the rain.
Wondering which of the buggars to blame
And watching for pigs on the wing.

Dogs (Waters, Gilmour) 17:06
You gotta be crazy, you gotta have a real need.
You gotta sleep on your toes, and when you're on the street,
You gotta be able to pick out the easy meat with your eyes closed.
And then moving in silently, down wind and out of sight,
You gotta strike when the moment is right without thinking.

And after a while, you can work on points for style.
Like the club tie, and the firm handshake,
A certain look in the eye and an easy smile.
You have to be trusted by the people that you lie to,
So that when they turn their backs on you,
You'll get the chance to put the knife in.

You gotta keep one eye looking over your shoulder.
You know it's going to get harder, and harder, and harder as you
get older.
And in the end you'll pack up and fly down south,
Hide your head in the sand,
Just another sad old man,
All alone and dying of cancer.

And when you loose control, you'll reap the harvest you have sown.
And as the fear grows, the bad blood slows and turns to stone.
And it's too late to lose the weight you used to need to throw
around.
So have a good drown, as you go down, all alone,
Dragged down by the stone.

I gotta admit that I'm a little bit confused.
Sometimes it seems to me as if I'm just being used.
Gotta stay awake, gotta try and shake off this creeping malaise.
If I don't stand my own ground, how can I find my way out of this
maze?

Deaf, dumb, and blind, you just keep on pretending
That everyone's expendable and no-one has a real friend.
And it seems to you the thing to do would be to isolate the winner
And everything's done under the sun,
And you believe at heart, everyone's a killer.

Who was born in a house full of pain.
Who was trained not to spit in the fan.
Who was told what to do by the man.
Who was broken by trained personnel.
Who was fitted with collar and chain.
Who was given a pat on the back.
Who was breaking away from the pack.
Who was only a stranger at home.
Who was ground down in the end.
Who was found dead on the phone.
Who was dragged down by the stone.

Pigs (Three Different Ones) (Waters) 11:26
Big man, pig man, ha ha charade you are.
You well heeled big wheel, ha ha charade you are.
And when your hand is on your heart,
You're nearly a good laugh,
Almost a joker,
With your head down in the pig bin,
Saying "Keep on digging."
Pig stain on your fat chin.
What do you hope to find.
When you're down in the pig mine.
You're nearly a laugh,
You're nearly a laugh
But you're really a cry.

Bus stop rat bag, ha ha charade you are.
You fucked up old hag, ha ha charade you are.
You radiate cold shafts of broken glass.
You're nearly a good laugh,
Almost worth a quick grin.
You like the feel of steel,
You're hot stuff with a hatpin,
And good fun with a hand gun.
You're nearly a laugh,
You're nearly a laugh
But you're really a cry.

Hey you, Whitehouse,
Ha ha charade you are.
You house proud town mouse,
Ha ha charade you are
You're trying to keep our feelings off the street.
You're nearly a real treat,
All tight lips and cold feet
And do you feel abused?
.....! .....! .....! .....!
You gotta stem the evil tide,
And keep it all on the inside.
Mary you're nearly a treat,
Mary you're nearly a treat
But you're really a cry.

Sheep (Waters) 10:19
Harmlessly passing your time in the grassland away;
Only dimly aware of a certain unease in the air.
You better watch out,
There may be dogs about
I've looked over Jordan, and I have seen
Things are not what they seem.

What do you get for pretending the danger's not real.
Meek and obedient you follow the leader
Down well trodden corridors into the valley of steel.
What a surprise!
A look of terminal shock in your eyes.
Now things are really what they seem.
No, this is no bad dream.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want
He makes me down to lie
Through pastures green He leadeth me the silent waters by.
With bright knives He releaseth my soul.
He maketh me to hang on hooks in high places.
He converteth me to lamb cutlets,
For lo, He hath great power, and great hunger.
When cometh the day we lowly ones,
Through quiet reflection, and great dedication
Master the art of karate,
Lo, we shall rise up,
And then we'll make the bugger's eyes water.

Bleating and babbling I fell on his neck with a scream.
Wave upon wave of demented avengers
March cheerfully out of obscurity into the dream.

Have you heard the news?
The dogs are dead!
You better stay home
And do as you're told.
Get out of the road if you want to grow old.

Pigs on the Wing (Part Two) Waters) 1:27
You know that I care what happens to you,
And I know that you care for me.
So I don't feel alone,
Or the weight of the stone,
Now that I've found somewhere safe
To bury my bone.
And any fool knows a dog needs a home,
A shelter from pigs on the wing.

Convention Blogging . . . from DC

Three quotes and the reason why Jonah Goldberg is the creme de la creme of political pundits.

b>1.Anyway, on the ride to the subway station, I chatted up the shuttle driver, a very nice retired Boston cop. After talking about his sons and whatnot, I asked him what he thought of John Kerry. "Not much," came the reply. "That's what I like to hear!" your unbiased reporter responded.


<2.Anyway, I met one of my best friends. He's a lobbyist, but I won't blow his cover. I met him at the bar of the Eliot Hotel, where he's staying. The Eliot is a very nice hotel. It seems the Democrats like lobbyists a lot more than they like National Review. Alas, this is probably true of the Republicans as well. We had some drinks. My friend showed me on the Boston map where we were. He then showed me where The Ramada Inn would be if the map were as big as a king-size fitted sheet

3.Because my friend is a lobbyist, he was invited to the Blue Dog Democrats' big party at the Roxy. . . . . . Every now and then I said something along the lines of, "This shrimp is very good. Thank goodness the Democrats have fought for a Health-Care Bill of Rights. Because of them I can eat this shrimp without fear of choking and ending up in the hospital with medical bills I cannot afford."

Go Yankees

Put this one in the idiot catagory.

7. When you get into office, would you consider passing an executive order that would prevent Pedro from signing with the Yankees?

I'd consider an executive order that abolishes the Yankees. We'll have to set up some very strict regulations with respect to Yankee behavior. I think the Red Sox may take care of it. I think there may be an A-Rod backlash this year. I think there may be a reverse curse here.

And Kerry thinks he can carry New York????

Kalashnikov

Its a New York Times Pro Gun Two-fer today.

First, we get the earlier letter on open carry.

Then we get this great article on counterfitting.

Only this time, the items being counterfitted are Kalashnikovs and the Times takes a very pro Russian stand.

The automatic Kalashnikov, made in a factory here, is in many ways Moscow's Ford. It is a quintessential national product: extraordinarily successful, widespread, a name closely connected to the identity of a state.

It was designed by Mr. Kalashnikov, a former Russian tank sergeant, in classified Soviet weapons trials shortly after World War II, and was promptly embraced by Soviet soldiers for its simplicity and reliability under almost any condition. It is regarded as a weapon that rarely, if ever, fails.

The Times also provides touching pictures of Mikhail Kalashnikov himself, and this one of a young child and his sister fondly examining and appreciating Mr. Kalashnikov's timeless design at a Russian gun show.

It of course begs the question, that if I should not be purchasing a Romanian made Kalashnikov . . . is the Time's now in favor of importing Russian made Kalashnikov's???

I'd certainly trade in my SAR for one.

Modern Racists

Seems those old KKK connections just can't escape the modern day Democratic Party and Waffle and Grits presidential campaign.

In inflammatory columns for her local newspaper obtained by the Herald, the normally soft-spoken Vilsack tore into several minority and ethnic groups while lampooning non-midwesterners for regional dialects.

``I am fascinated at the way some African-Americans speak to each other in an English I struggle to understand, then switch to standard English when the situation requires,'' Vilsack wrote in a 1994 column in the Mount Pleasant News, while her husband, Tom, was a state senator.

Vilsack wrote that southerners seem to have ``slurred speech,'' wrote that she'd rather learn Polish than try to speak like people from New Jersey, and wrote that a West Virginian waitress once offered her friend a ``side saddle'' instead of a ``side salad.''

. . . .

Vilsack's Aug. 24, 1994, column was particularly critical of dialects from other regions of the country. In addition to the knock on African-Americans, Vilsack knocked residents of New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

``Later, on the boardwalk, I heard mothers calling to their children, `I'll meet yoose here after the movie,' '' she wrote. ``The only way I can speak like residents of New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania is to let my jaw drop an inch and talk with my lips in an `O' like a fish. I'd rather learn to speak Polish.''

Two years later, in a column about her trip to the Olympics in Atlanta, Vilsack said she had ``language problems.''

``When I ask for directions, I can't understand the slurred speech of southern Americans, who are so polite and eager to please,'' Vilsack said.

Yes, thats all from Christie Vilsack, a very prominent member of Team Kerry, who'se leader had this to say in her support

She has become a key power player in Iowa politics and is widely credited with breathing new life into Kerry's flagging presidential bid in January with her endorsment a week before the kickoff Iowa caucuses.

At the Jan. 12 endorsement event, Kerry said of Vilsack, ``Christie is the first teacher, not just the first lady.''

Yep, teaching hate, I'd say.

Convention Blogging

This is classic reporting. I'm surprised others haven't picked it up.

7:13 pm: Kennedy staffer: 'I love all these Democrats being here. It's like being a Jew in Israel'.

OxBlogger: 'but usually, just being in Boston has the effect of surrounding you with Democrats, doesn't it?'"

OxBlogger, setting the standard for Donkey Convention Blogs.

Jackie Mason

Growing up in the shadows of New York, where EVERYONE I knew was either an Italian or Jewish, I've long been familiar, and thoroughly enjoyed, the comedy of Jackie Mason. Think of it as Rodney Dangerfield for the liberal, urban, jewish set.

Well, in recent years, like so many others of the jewish faith, Mr. Mason has been particularly displeased with the Democratic Party's blind embrace of various muslim groups. Mr. Mason hasn't been quiet about what he thinks of these people either.

Guest-hosting on Jim Bohannon's nationally syndicated radio show in mid-July, comedian Jackie Mason went on a tear against Islam. "In plain English, the whole Muslim religion is preaching and teaching hate, terrorism and murder, and nobody knows it, and it's about time they found out about it," Mason said. "I don't know how we can call it a religion in the traditional sense. It should be called a murderous organization that's out to kill people."

Good for Jackie. Its about time someone spoke the truth. Of course, in the interest of full disclosure (if you don't follow the link) the Washington Post's Richard Leiby (someone who strikes me as willing to hand Israel over to the Germans, if that will win John Kerry a couple of extra votes) prefaces these comments by saying "Thats Not Funny."
Not surprisingly, CAIR is insulted and demanding a retraction and apology. Mason, who has more balls than most in his profession, doesn't give a rats what CAIR thinks. While he hasn't responded, one of his writing buddy's, Raol Felder, who has called Mohamad a pedophile, has.

Felder said the remarks were based on the Koran and denied broad-brushing the religion: "One would have to be a moron to think that this applies to every single Muslim in the world. It doesn't, obviously." Citing the First Amendment, Felder said: "We have the right to say it and they have the right to curse us and say we're full of beans and to go on cursing Jews.

More on open carry

The Washington Post still hasn't run my (or any other) pro gun letter. I know I promised to post it, I'll try to remember tonite.

But in the meantime, check out the New York Times, which today ran a very pro gun letter.

Open carry of handguns has been legal in many states for generations, far longer than concealed carry, which has recently become so popular throughout the nation. Before complaining about such a peaceful and longstanding American tradition, consider the last time in recent memory someone openly carried a handgun on his belt and committed a crime or injured someone. Probably never.

These are the most law-abiding of all gun owners - the folks who take gun ownership and safety the most seriously.

Good for them. And congrats to Daniel Schmutter of West Orange, New Jersey for getting one through.

Middle Eastern Intergrity

I think this pretty much tell you everything you need to know about politics in the middle east.

Palestinian businessmen have made millions of pounds supplying cement for Israel's "security barrier" in the full knowledge of Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader and one of the wall's most vocal critics.

A damning report by Palestinian legislators, which has been seen by the Telegraph, concludes that Mr Arafat did nothing to stop the deals although he publicly condemned the structure as a "crime against humanity".

The report claims that the cement was sold with the knowledge of senior officials at the Palestinian ministry of national economy, and close advisers to Mr Arafat. It concludes that officials were bribed to issue import licences for the cement to importers and businessmen working for Israelis.

Yep. In evaluating our successes and failures in the middle east, forget everything the politicians and liberal media want you to believe. Its all hogwash. In the middle east, the I (which includes the family unit, not necessarily the individual) is far far more important than the we (national, regional, or religious identity).

For more on the subject, every American ought to read the Seven Pillars of Wisdom. (Here is a free online copy. Its long. Buying the book is probably cheaper than printing it out yourself.)

Polluters Pay

Well, what do you know.

Alaska prosecutors Thursday filed criminal charges against Greenpeace, saying the activist group broke environmental laws by not submitting oil spill prevention documents before its ship entered state waters.

. . .

"They had no plan to show they were capable of responding to (an oil spill), they had no way to show they were financially responsible for paying the cost," Morones said. "You'd think that they'd be out in front of this."

State law requires a non-tank vessel larger than 400 gross tons to file an oil spill response plan application five days before entering state waters.

Prosecutors filed charges against Greenpeace, Arctic Sunrise Capt. Arne Sorenson and the ship's agent, Willem Jan Beekman. The criminal negligence charges carry a maximum sentence of a year in prison and a $10,000 fine for an individual and $200,000 for an organization.

As if we needed more proof

Shame on Bill Clinton

Though novel for its open endorsement of indiscriminate killing, Bin Ladin’s 1998 declaration was only the latest in the long series of his public and private calls since 1992 that singled out the United States for attack.
In August 1996, Bin Ladin had issued his own self-styled fatwa calling on Muslims to drive American soldiers out of Saudi Arabia.The long, disjointed document condemned the Saudi monarchy for allowing the presence of an army of infidels in a land with the sites most sacred to Islam, and celebrated recent suicide bombings of American military facilities in the Kingdom. It praised the 1983 suicide bombing in Beirut that killed 241 U.S. Marines, the 1992 bombing in Aden,and especially the 1993 firefight in Somalia after which the United States “left the area carrying disappointment, humiliation, defeat and your dead with you.”

Bin Ladin said in his ABC interview that he and his followers had been preparing in Somalia for another long struggle, like that against the Soviets in Afghanistan, but “the United States rushed out of Somalia in shame and disgrace.” Citing the Soviet army’s withdrawal from Afghanistan as proof that a ragged army of dedicated Muslims could overcome a superpower, he told the interviewer:“We are certain that we shall—with the grace of Allah—prevail over the Americans.”He went on to warn that “If the present injustice continues . . . , it will inevitably move the battle to American soil.”

And what do John Kerry and his cohorting, traitorous friends in the Dumocrat party want to do? Yep, you guessed it, run from the fight again.

And what happened the last time we did that. Well, as eBin Ladin has explained, it caused him to launch 911

May they all rot in hell.

Blood On His Hands

Shame on Bill Clinton. Shame on Sandy Berger. Shame on Madeline Albright. May they rot in hell.

The details of what happened on the morning of September 11 are complex, but they play out a simple theme. NORAD and the FAA were unprepared for the type of attacks launched against the United States on September 11, 2001.They struggled, under difficult circumstances, to improvise a homeland defense against an unprecedented challenge they had never before encountered and had never trained to meet.

At 10:02 that morning, an assistant to the mission crew commander at NORAD’s Northeast Air Defense Sector in Rome, New York, was working with his colleagues on the floor of the command center. In a brief moment of reflection, he was recorded remarking that “This is a new type of war.”

He was, and is, right. But the conflict did not begin on 9/11. It had been publicly declared years earlier, most notably in a declaration faxed early in 1998 to an Arabic-language newspaper in London. Few Americans had noticed it. The fax had been sent from thousands of miles away by the followers of a Saudi exile gathered in one of the most remote and impoverished countries on earth.

Clueless Fools

The 9-11 Report is as sobering as it is disgusting. If you still held any respect of appreciation for the authorities overseeing our airways before reading it, I can guarantee you won't afterward.

Several FAA air traffic control officials told us it was the air carriers’ responsibility
to notify their planes of security problems. One senior FAA air traffic
control manager said that it was simply not the FAA’s place to order the airlines
what to tell their pilots. We believe such statements do not reflect an
adequate appreciation of the FAA’s responsibility for the safety and security of
civil aviation.

The airlines bore responsibility, too.They were facing an escalating number
of conflicting and, for the most part, erroneous reports about other flights, as
well as a continuing lack of vital information from the FAA about the hijacked
flights.We found no evidence, however, that American Airlines sent any cockpit
warnings to its aircraft on 9/11. United’s first decisive action to notify its
airborne aircraft to take defensive action did not come until 9:19, when a
United flight dispatcher, Ed Ballinger, took the initiative to begin transmitting
warnings to his 16 transcontinental flights: “Beware any cockpit intrusion—
Two a/c [aircraft] hit World Trade Center.” One of the flights that received
the warning was United 93. Because Ballinger was still responsible for his
other flights as well as Flight 175, his warning message was not transmitted to
Flight 93 until 9:23.

Shame on them all. Whatever punishment the marketplace hands to United and American is not strong enough.

GOTMILF

So much for the 1st Amendment.

Ohio Police

This is from the latest VCDL bulletin.

I was contacted by the Ohio Attorney General's office and told that
they are offering reciprocity to VA. I expect VA will reciprocate,
but we won't know until the VASP publishes the new list.

You know VCDL is doing something right when an out-of-state AG's
office contacts us about reciprocity! I was very impressed with that
office, they are ACTIVELY pursing reciprocity and I was told they are
going to have it with 22 states! We have a measly 13 (but it should
be going up).

Good for Ohio!

The Commons

Ian Murrary's great The Commons Blog has moved to a new home, complete with exciting graphics and neato navigation features.

Dummocrats.com

This is an interesting Top 20 Blogs list.

I am familiar with about half of these, but especially proud to see The Crease rank higher than Prof. Reynolds. Yet, I've got to wonder about any blog list that doesn't include everyone's favorite South African, He Who Shall Not Be Named.


In any case, I suggest you keep up on the Dummocrats activities. Don't want to let them get behind you.

Blood On Their Hands

This is pretty interesting.

Well, look now to what the 9/11 report has to say about the man to whom President Clinton, under attack by an independent counsel,delegated so much in respect of national security, Samuel “Sandy” Berger. The report cites a 1998 meeting between Mr. Berger and the director of central intelligence, George Tenet, at which Mr. Tenet presented a plan to capture Osama bin Laden.

“In his meeting with Tenet, Berger focused most, however, on the question of what was to be done with Bin Ladin if he were actually captured. He worried that the hard evidence against Bin Ladin was still skimpy and that there was a danger of snatching him and bringing him to the United States only to see him acquitted,” the report says, citing a May 1, 1998, Central Intelligence Agency memo summarizing the weekly meeting between Messrs. Berger and Tenet.

In June of 1999, another plan for action against Mr. bin Laden was on the table. The potential target was a Qaeda terrorist camp in Afghanistan known as Tarnak Farms. The commission report released yesterday cites Mr. Berger’s “handwritten notes on the meeting paper” referring to “the presence of 7 to 11 families in the Tarnak Farms facility, which could mean 60-65 casualties.”According to the Berger notes, “if he responds, we’re blamed.”

On December 4, 1999, the National Security Council’s counterterrorism coordinator, Richard Clarke, sent Mr. Berger a memo suggesting a strike in the last week of 1999 against Al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan. Reports the commission: “In the margin next to Clarke’s suggestion to attack Al Qaeda facilities in the week before January 1, 2000, Berger wrote, ‘no.’ ”

In August of 2000, Mr. Berger was presented with another possible plan for attacking Mr. bin Laden.This time, the plan would be based on aerial surveillance from a “Predator” drone. Reports the commission: “In the memo’s margin,Berger wrote that before considering action, ‘I will want more than verified location: we will need, at least, data on pattern of movements to provide some assurance he will remain in place.’ ”

In other words, according to the commission report, Mr. Berger was presented with plans to take action against the threat of Al Qaeda four separate times — Spring 1998, June 1999, December 1999, and August 2000. Each time, Mr. Berger was an obstacle to action. Had he been a little less reluctant to act, a little more open to taking pre-emptive action, maybe the 2,973 killed in the September 11, 2001, attacks would be alive today.

I guess we now know why Sandy was stuffing his pockets. But I don't know that I really blame him for this. He of course is simply a pawn in this game and his actions were all designed to carry forth the desires and policies of his boss, Bill (and Hillary) Clinton.

Shame on them.

Shame on the Democrats for continuing to defend them.

Shame on New York for continuing to support them, and elect her.

Le Tour Update

This comes from Velonew's Live Update

3:35 p.m. - Not much to report - aside from the fact that the yellow jersey has stopped to water the French countryside - as the gap has bumped up to 8:00.

Good on ya Lance. First we beat them, then we piss on 'em!

Go Lance Go

Lance just won another stage in a dramatic sprint to the finsh at the end of a screaming 13km descent.

Go Lance Go.

F The French and their German masters too!

Volunteer Tailgate Party

Big Orange Michael has the Volunteer Tailgate Party up and rolling.

Got my bourbon, got my BBQ, got my corn bread and got my links. Go Rocky Top!

Media Bias

This is very interesting.

The newspaper's letters editor, William Pates, reached at home by telephone, confirmed that he had contributed about $400 to the Kerry campaign but declined to comment on his paper's response. Pates said he had worked for the Chronicle for the past 35 years.

"He's on paid leave while we are investigating. We have not made any judgment at this point as to whether the policy was violated," said editorial page editor John Diaz.

"It would be a concern to have somebody who is involved in selecting letters make what amounts to a public demonstration of support for a particular candidate."

I wonder if other newspapers will follow the Chronicle's lead. There is a slew of editors that demand immediate investigation.

Go Lance Go

For what its worth, Lance Armstrong just kicked the proverbial shit out of the competition on the l'ALpe d'Huez, blowing by Ivan Basso and beating Jan Ullrich (the second place rider on the stage) by over a minute.

Go Lance Go!

On Berger

Glenn Reynolds is doing his usual top notch job of rounding up all the dialogue on Sandy Berger.

Now, I am not sure where this fits in, and I don't know what the protocols are for the Top Secret (eer, Codeword) wing of the Archives, but I was doing research on old EPA memos last week at the Archives branch in Adelphi, Maryland.

The Adelphi facility, in addition to housing lots of mundane records, are also home to large quantities of the nations military records, the Nixon tapes, and the JFK Assassination records. The buildings and grounds, are quite simply, more secure than most military bases I have visited.

My car was stopped at the road, and another 3 times with numerous questions, before I even entered the building. Once inside, I needed to provide an ID, register as a certified researcher and then go through security.

Here is the kicker - You are not allowed to bring in briefcases, or binders, or even your own pens or pencils. You are not allowed to wear a jacket or clothing with more than the normal number of pockets. They are extra sensitive to loose clothing. I had some notes that I drafted before heading up (listing what I was looking for). Those were reviewed by security, time and date stamped, and logged in before I was allowed to go further than the front entry hall. The manila folder (not envelope) they were in was taken from me (I had the option of renting a locker for it, but chose to throw it out instead). When I left, I was searched (though they didn't pat me down) and the papers I had were checked to ensure they were the same ones I entered with.

Now, its true, Sandy Berger has a higher security classification then me. But what I find incredible, is that the protocols the press is reporting (that he could bring in a briefcase and note pads and pens) are significantly more lax than are applied to non classified materials made available to the general public.

Can this be? Or is there much more to this story than we are hearing now? Probably. In any event, I find it bewildering that Sandy Berger could ever describe his actions as inadvertent.

INSTALANCHE!!! - Welcome to my humble page. Thanks for visiting and please feel free to snoop around. Theirs lots more good stuff to be found. You can return to the home page here.

Yes Men

The Washington Post finally published a letter concerning its reporting on open carry in Virginia. However, the rather feckless letter does little to challenge the Post's position on the issue.

No one is contesting their right to carry pistols in the open. But choosing to do so is gratuitously confrontational and borderline immature. Their need to display their weapons in Starbucks for supposed self-defense reasons is laughable.

The writer, Stephen Charnoff is a very young attorney with the small Alexandria, VA (liberal D.C. suburb) law firm of Carter & Coleman. You would think an attorney would know something about the law (or the facts) before so publicly making a pronouncement such as this. In fact, in the Starbucks incident, no one claimed that the guns were worn for self defense purposes. Rather, the two individuals had just returned from a session at the NRA Range and instead of leaving unsecured firearms in their car they chose to wear them in to the store. Not possessing concealed handgun permits they simply had no other choice. To say their actions are gratuitously confrontational, not to mention immature, makes no sense in light of Virginia’s very clear law on concealed carry.

I know I submitted a short letter to the Post challenging their position (I'll post it here tonight) and I am pretty sure other Virginian’s did as well. For the Post’s editors to simply ignore these letters and only publish a single letter reaffirming their own biases shows a pronounced lack of interest in reasonably advancing the dialogue over firearms ownership and possession.

As most consultants will tell you, surrounding yourself with Yes Men will only lead to serious long term problems as your ideas simply wallow around in a stale, shallow pool, of brain matter. It is a flaw many bad politicians (Bill Clinton, Trent Lott) have succumbed to and a trap management consultants’ continually recommend against falling into.


Intelligent people appreciate and respect the vigorous exchange of ideas, understanding that those lively debates ensure continued intellectual advancement. Clearly, the Washington Post's isn’t interested in this exchange of ideas. The Post’s continued preference for Yes Men is one of the main reasons it is utterly nugatory on this and many other serious public policy issues.

More Assault Weapons Ban Stuff

In a very nice post, Conservative and Right asks and answers the questions why would Feinstein sponsor a bill and issue press conferences about the AWB if she has no intention of acting on it?

Because it's a political tactic. To the American public, it sounds great to support the Assault Weapons Ban. The surface of this issue sounds great. "No one needs to own a machine gun," the Average American thinks. Of course they don't. That's why fully automatic weapons were outlawed in 1934. The AWB bans semi-automatic weapons based on their appearance, not lethality. So Feinstein has her name attached to this "good sounding" ban, and she can put the blame on the President for not having it renewed, all the while avoiding defeat in the House and the Senate by not introducing the Ban again. It's a win/win political strategy.

My advice is to educate yourself about this ban. Check out the statistics, and the wording of the polls Feinstein and Schumer use. Check out what rank and file police officers think about the ban. Make an informed decision, and push your Congressperson to allow the ban to expire.

Check out her blog. While I disagree slightly with her (I think we all should have machine guns - and I would if I didn't have to save for my kids college education) she understands the fraud that Feinstein are trying to pull her. And, after one of her commentators pointed this out she seems to have accepted it.

Check her out.

Kerry, Man of Leisure

Not that he needs me for the link, but Matt Drudge's photocollage today is perhaps the finest piece of political commentary I have seen in a long long time. The short text just adds the expected exclamation point.

XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX MON JULY 19, 2004 12:15:04 ET XXXXX

'YOU'RE GOING TO FIND US WORKING'

"So here's what we're going to fight for, and we're going to fight for it every single day, not just through this election, but from the day we win until the day we raise our hands and every day thereafter. You're not going to have to look for us on vacation. You're going to find us working for America." --- Kerry Delivers Remarks At Campaign Event, Cleveland, OH, 7/7/04

Kerry has missed more than 80% of Senate votes this year, the AP reports.

One question it does beg is how Kerry is able to swim and parasail and windsurf and never, never, never have a hair fall out of place.

I do have to admit though, it looks like we have a heck of a lot in common. I love to ski, shoot, play golf, bowl, and ride my bike. I'd play hockey if I could ice skate, have always wanted to go parasailing, and love baseball.

Assault Weapons Ban

Clayton Cramer is searching for the basis of th e10 year sunset of the assault weapons ban. He can't find ten years or September 13 in title 18 of the US Code.

Well, I haven't looked there, but the reason the ban sets on the 13th is because the 1994 Crime Bill as signed by Bill Clinton (PL 103-322) states

SEC. 110105. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This subtitle and the amendments made by this subtitle--

(1) shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act; and

(2) are repealed effective as of the date that is 10 years after that date.

It passed out of the Senate and was sent to President Bill Clinton on August 25, 1994. He signed it (Bastard!) on September 13, 1994.

I am not sure why it wasn't reprinted in the U.S. Code, but regardless the actual language of the Public Law is controlling.

Nardwuar vs.

I don't think I have ever mentioned Nardwuar the Human Serviette herebefore. Well, know I have.

Nards, from Vancouver, BC, is quite clearly the finest internet broadcast journalist around. I believe he hosts a local radio show, but his genius is really in the utterly amazing gonzo journalism interviews he has undertaken.

Whether with political leaders such as Dan Quayle, Paul Martin (who he enticed to do a hip shake), Jean Chretien, Gerald Ford, or Mikhail Gorbachev or notable figures from the entertainment world likeFranz Ferdinand, Neil Young, Rob Halford, Ron Jeremy, Nirvana, Henry Rollins he shows no mercy and keeps his interviewees on their toes as he assaults their knowledge of pop culture and Canadian connections.

Truly a web page worth spending hours on. You must especially check out the Snoop Dog interviews. Pure genius.

The War on Drugs

So this is what it comes to.

Brazil is set to start shooting down aircraft suspected of smuggling drugs across its jungles in 90 days, now that it issued a controversial new law on Monday after a six year delay.

We must really be proud of ourselves. This certainly seems like a case of the punishment not fitting the crime.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's signature on the law, which was approved by Congress in 1998, has prompted Washington to warn that it could curtail anti-drug cooperation with Brazil if it concludes there are not sufficient precautions to satisfy U.S. law.

Yeah, I bet. Again, we must be really proud of ourselves.

The Weak and the Strong

I've always thought the ability to face, and acknowledge, ones critics is an integral part of showing intestinal fortitude and preserving your convictions and a strong will.

With that, it seems as if we now know who the more intellectually honest paper is here in D.C. As I commented about earlier, the Washington Post has still remained silent, refusing to print neither my letter to the editor or others letters, over the silly stories on open carry in Virginia. Rather, it has let its ally the New York Times up the ante instead with today's editorial on open carry in which the Times assailed not only Virginia but also other states such as Utah who continue to recognize the second amendment.

Luckily, consumers in D.C. have a clear choice now. The Washington Times, while running the more egregious story, at least has the werewithall to publish a letter defending the constitution and critizcizing the quality of the Times reporting.

It has been with great amusement that I have observed the media hand-wringing, even in your paper, regarding Virginia's gun laws ("Virginia laws on weapons defy common sense," Metropolitan, Friday). One can always tell a columnist's position is weak when the columnist resorts to name-calling, as did Adrienne T. Washington when she referred to "hillbilly hills" and called lawmakers "East Coast gun-toters of the Wild West."
We are proud of our police in Virginia, particularly in Fairfax County, where the controversy originated. When a county has one of the best police departments in the country and honest residents exercising their constitutional rights, it is no wonder that criminals prefer to ply their trade elsewhere.

Well put!

Bush and Kerry

This is pretty funny.

Burn In Hell

I hope this murderer burns in hell for all eternity.

This is not an easy read, but clearly demonstrates why the New York Times long ago lost any semblence of credibility and the rest of the world despises us.

She should be so lucky to have to shop at COSTCO.

Monday Song Lyric

Juan Non Volokh has a great Sunday Song Lyric today concerning the dispute that has arisen over Michael Moore's failur eto secure the rights to the Who song Won't Get Fooled Again for use in Farenheit 9/11. Turns out, this minor spat provides more evidence that Mr. Moore has issues with the truth. According to JNOV, Fat Bastard has gone on record as saying Townsend refused the use of the song because he is a War Supporter, Blair Supporter, and dislikes Moore.

Know, while these are all good and valid reasons to prevent Moore from using the song (and indeed, go a long way towards lifting my opinion of Mr. Moore) it appears that is not quite the reason the use was rejected. It seems Pete Townsend has a different view:

Moore was initially turned down by Townsend's publisher because Miramax offered substantially less for the rights to the song than is usually paid. At that point, Harvey Weinstein interceded in an effort to change Townsend's mind. According to Townsend, he was uneasy due to concerns about the accuracy of Moore's prior film, Bowling for Columbine. Nonetheless he said he would reconsider if he had a chance to see the film and how the song would be used, but he never heard back. Townsend says he has "nothing against Michael Moore," but he "greatly resent[s] being bullied and slurred" by him merely because Moore did not get to use the song.

Good stuff, and good for Townsend. Of course, an area that was ripe for exploration by the Countertop Chronicles has know been effectivly occupied by JNOV. In its place, we have another song that might be used by the movie Michael Moore Hates America as it describes Moore and his meglomaniac friends the Weinstein brothers control over the moonbat Howard Dean wing of the Democratic Left: Metallica's Master of Puppets.

From the 1986 Album of the same name, while it wasn't Metallica's biggest seller, Master of Puppets is the album that cemented their place in the panthenon of Heavy Metal and Rock and Roll Gods (According to their web page, Metallica are the 7th biggest selling act in American history.) More refined than its predecessors Kill 'em All and Ride The Lightning, Master of Puppets introduced a more complex level of songmanship to what was then a pure speed metal band. However, unlike most of heavy metal albums of the mid 80s, the tender ballad type songs, such as Welcome Home (Sanitarium) managed to hit harder than anything else on the radio. Sadly, it was the last album for original bassist Cliff Burton who died in a tragic accident in the fall of 1986 when the bands tour bus rolled over while touring in Sweden.

Master of Puppets
Music and Lyrics by Hetfield / Ulrich / Burton / Hammett
End of passion play, crumbling away
I'm your source of self-destruction
Veins that pump with fear, sucking darkest clear
Leading on your death's construction

Taste me, you will see
MOORE is all you need
You're dedicated to
How I'm killing you

Come crawling faster
Obey your master
Your life burns faster
Obey your master
Master

Master of puppets, I'm pulling your strings
Twisting your mind and smashing your dreams
Blinded by me, you can't see a thing
Just call my name, 'cause I'll hear you scream
Master
Master
Just call my name, 'cause I'll hear you scream
Master
Master

Needlework the way, never you betray
Life of death becoming clearer
Pain monopoly, ritual misery
Chop your breakfast on a mirror

Taste me you will see
MOORE is all you need
You're dedicated to
How I'm killing you

Come crawling faster
Obey your master
Your life burns faster
Obey your master
Master

Master of puppets, I'm pulling your strings
Twisting your mind and smashing your dreams
Blinded by me, you can't see a thing
Just call my name, 'cause I'll hear you scream
Master
Master
Just call my name, 'cause I'll hear you scream
Master
Master

Master, master
Where's the dreams that I've been after?
Master, master
You promised only lies
Laughter, laughter
All I hear and see is laughter
Laughter, laughter
Laughing at my cries
Fix me

Hell is worth all that, natural habitat
Just a rhyme without a reason
Never-ending maze, drift on numbered days
Now your life is out of season

I will occupy
I will help you die
I will run through you
Now I rule you, too


Come crawling faster
Obey your master
Your life burns faster
Obey your master
Master

Master of puppets, I'm pulling your strings
Twisting your mind and smashing your dreams
Blinded by me, you can't see a thing
Just call my name, 'cause I'll hear you scream
Master
Master
Just call my name, 'cause I'll hear you scream
Master
Master

Southerin Photobloggin

After a brief flurry of activity this last week, it looks like this is shaping up to be another slow weekend.

I'm heading out of town tomorrow afternoon, but will return on Sunday when I've got a bunch of work to catch up on. Monday through Wednesday we have out of town guests here, and with Waffles and Grits accepting their nomination in a little over a week, Congress is going to try to finish things up, meaning that I'll be busy in the office.

Look for some periodic updates anyway and take your time to review ALL the posts from the last few days. There’s a bunch of good ones, especially on open carry in Virginia.

In the meantime, the Trip South Photoblogging continues with some more pics.



One of the highlights of any trip to Chattanooga is to hike around the Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park. We went over there a couple of different days. This is a picture of one of the battlefields taken on the 5th. I took it just before making my way to the top of the hill to visit Wilder Tower where a
women’s body was found on the 4th of July. When I made it to the top the Tower I was interviewed by a newscaster. I told him that lots of strange things had happened at the tower over the years (about fifteen years ago they had a real problem with Satan worshipers there) but the news story only mentioned that three people had died at the tower in its 100-year history.


This is Dessie's. We went up to Rock City one day and then took a drive down Lookout Mountain to De Soto Falls State Park in Mentone, Alabama (its haunted). Dessie's has served up some of the best catfish in the country for a long long time and we felt obliged to stop in for a bite (we always do). I suggest getting a side of Mac and Cheese and Fried Okra along with the Pepper Vinegar. Mmm Mmm good.


Armstrong's is the best value in BBQ hand down. It’s in Summerville, GA. It doesn't get better than this place, which is the only place that can even compete with the esteemed Fresh Aire BBQ in Jackson.


This is above the front door at Armstrong's. I always liked it.


Ha! Jersey Mikes! On the now pretty crappy strip in Knoxvegas.
Taken from the always great, and Instapundit approved Krystals.
If yer wonderin', I'm still doing research for my big piece on how to repair Knoxville. Not gonna pull a Josh Marshall on that one. Seriously.

Well, that’s it for now fine friends. I'm off to bed. Its way to late and my fingers hurt.

Silence

Thats what we are hearing from the Washington Post as its now Saturday, and so far they have failed to publish neither my letter on the open carry articles or anyone elses.

However, they do have two firearms related letters in today's paper. The first comes from Gary Mehalik of the National Shooting Sports Foundation who corrects their continued misstatements about the assault weapons ban.

Weapons Ban Explained


Regarding your July 11 news story "Weapons Ban Set to Fade Into Sunset": In 1994, Congress defined "assault weapons" as those semiautomatic firearms with features resembling fully automatic machine guns. All semiautos manufactured today comply with the restrictions of this law, function mechanically the same way as "banned" firearms and even use the same ammunition. "Banned" firearms originally manufactured with "assault weapon" cosmetic features remain legal to buy and sell. Congress never forbade their ownership nor banned them for target shooting or hunting. Nothing about that will change in September when the law expires.

The other letter, from a neighbor of mine questions why people have forgotten about the duel that took place on the Arlington McLean line near Chain Bridge twenty years after Burr and Hamiltons.

On April 8, 1826, the two men fired two shots at each other near the Chain Bridge on the current Arlington-McLean border. The Potomac Heritage Trail goes past the probable duel site. Mr. Randolph authored the academic basis for the Civil War -- states' rights. Clay, co-author of the Missouri Compromise, tried to keep us from civil war.

Postal match

The Neanderpundit is hosting a Postal match. I suggest you participate. He Who Shall Not Be Named is helping out as a judge.

If your in the Northern Virginia area and want to get together to shoot the match at the terrific NRA range, let me know. If you want to participate but don't have a gun (shame, shame on you) I'll provide the .22 (in the form of a 10/22 - I left the Remington Targetmaster in Georgia) and ammo. You have to pay for targets and range fees (about $10).

Voting RKBA

Publicola has posted his much promised meme about Bush & the AWB and is wondering if the blogsphere will still vote for Bush if the AWB ban is renewed.

The answer for me is a bit complicated as I think Bush has lots of problems, I live in Virginia (which should vote overwhelmingly for Bush, and if it doesn't, he doesn't stand a chance at re-election, so I have the luxury of throwing my vote away), and the fact that I will likely be out in the field working to re-elect Bush in some capacity this fall (and so therefore do not really want to be a hypocrite).

You see, I am not a one issue guy. As Ed Koch, former Democratic Mayor of New York City always says, pick your top 12 issues and vote for the guy who you agree with on 8 of them. I don't follow that exactly, instead I have adopted a modified test whereby I take all my issues, handicap them, and then apply the test. That way, my concerns over RKBA and national security aren't weighted equally with my desire to lower taxes. Sure, I think lower taxes are incredibly important, but they just arent as important as national security.

So, what are my big issues? Here ya go, in no particular order.

• Integrity, honesty, trustworthiness - Bush wins this hands down. As you will see below, I simply don't trust Waffles and Grits on anything.


• Economic and Tax Policy - Bush wins.


• Size of Government - I certainly don't trust Kerry on this, but Bush has managed the issue poorly. A third party can win points here.


• 1st Amendment - Again, I think Bush has managed the issue poorly but don't trust Kerry to do any better. A third party can win points here.


• 4th Amendment - Bush has destroyed the issue (I'm ok with Patriot Act activities and profiling, I just don't like the constant erosion of the 4th Amendment). However, it will not improve under Kerry and I doubt i will find a third party candidate who agrees with my vision on the 4th and other provisions of the Constitution.


• 5th Amendment (Property Rights) - Bush has been as bad as Clinton on this issue. Frankly, he has let Thomas Sansonetti (who along with his minions at the Justice Department deserve a good tarring and feathering), basically adopt the Sierra Club/American Rivers wish list, ignoring clear Supreme Court directives and stealing the land of hard working Americans. Kerry simply won't be better on this issue and it provides a real opportunity for a third party candidate to win me over.


• Federalism - Bush should be better than Kerry here, but he simply isn't. However, this isn't a philisophical problem, rather its an issue of bad management. The administration went native upon arriving in D.C. In light of the fact that the original attraction for many to Bush was his MBA and promise to run American like a corporation, his performance on this issue and the lack of management and oversight over his minions is very disturbing. Again a third party could gain ground here, just don't suggest Kerry or any Donk is going to be better than Bush on this issue.


• Homeland Defense - Bush has my clear support here and this issue rises above all others. Still, I think his administration has shown a disturbing willingness to allow politicaly correct concerns over profiling and armed pilots (and passangers - heck, why shouldn't I be allowed to carry on the plane?) to jeapordize our safety. Do I trust Kerry more? No, but it would be nice for Bush to fire Norm Minetta and allow more profiling.


• Support of Free Markets - Bush has my clear support (well, he faltered on steel, but he seems to be attempting to manage the various pressures placed upon his administration over this issue.


• Crime - Again, Bush has my clear support


• Environment - Bush has my clear support. Frankly, on the big picture, there really isn't much of a difference between the two major parties, notwithstanding all the rehtoric. The air and water and soils have been getting cleaner for 30 years and will continue to do so at a steady clip, regardless of who is in the White House. Kyoto will never be ratified and while Dems like to discuss it on the campaign trail, none are dumb enough to allow anything like Kyoto to come even close to ratification. What will change is Kerry is in charge are the appointments to the agencies. Kerry's folks might be more in tune with the career staffers at first, but will soon grow frustrated by their attitudes. Another thing that will change is the willingness of the Agency or its enforcement branch to actually question the assertions of enviros before acting. However, while slightly costly, no one will really be indicted in greater numbers than today, and there wont be significantly more regulations, because the enviros tend to be wrong about a lot and the courts will generally keep them in check (as they have in the past). Thank goodness for the Data Quality Act.


• RKBA - Finally, the 2nd Amendment. Bush is better than Clinton, but hasn't pushed the issue as far as I would have liked. However, in his defense, this is certainly an area better attacked in his second term, not his first. Compared to Kerry, he is light years ahead on this issue. Living and working in D.C. I understand most of the games that are played, and wont really hold Bush responsible if the AWB passes. He is struggling in the polls as a result of Iraq and needs to do what it takes to win more votes. If he decides he can pick up additional votes by signing it (and then repays us next terms) I might be okay with it. However, based upon numerous conversations with White House staffers, I think there is less than a 5% chance this thing comes even close enough to Bush that he has to sweat. That makes it almost a non issue in this analysis. However, if it were to happen, some of the 2nd Amendment plans I've discussed with them for the second term are really exciting - nationwide CCW recognition, lifting of the firearms ban in national parks, and a gun free DC. Still, the jury is still out on this one. Lets see if a dark horse third party shows up to challenge for this.

So far, nothing has happened to make me want to vote for any possible third party candidate. Of my twelve issues Bush carries 6 clearly with third parties able to swoop in on 5 others. The jury is still out on RKBA. Will passage of the AWB be enough to push me over the edge? Tough to say but think its just a red herring. As I already stated, I live in Virginia where my one vote will likely not count as much as in Florida so it could happen. If a third party candidate were to emerge that appealed to me, I would vote for them in a heartbeat. Indeed, I have done this in the past - voting for Andre Marou (libertarian) in 1992 while living in Rhode Island and Harry Brown (libertarian) while living in Vermont. Both times my vote was cast as a rejection of what I thought were weak republican candidates but without the possibility of them hurting the chances of Republican victory.

The problem for the third party candidates is that Bush still commands my respect on so many other issues and has plenty of time to pick up another couple of issues. Right now, I am voting for Bush regardless of what occurs between today and the election. That, of course, can always change.

Libertarian Disfunction

John at The-Crease has been on top of this for awhile, but I had no idea things had gotten this bad with the Libertarian party (Didn't know Harry Browne was so questionable either).

In addition to exposing the troubles Libertarians are facing, the article also details in extraordinary fashion how neither dark horses, nor third party candidates, should ever be taken for granted since they can always come from behind and win.

UPDATE:John at the Crease has kindly posted a One Stop Badnarik Shop in response to this post.
Check it out.

Disappointing

Its pretty disappointing that while the Washington Post has run two better than average stories on open carry here in Virginia, the otherwise sensible Washington Times has what is perhaps the most biased and defamatory article on firearms I've seen in a long long long time.

In them thar hillbilly hills and suburban highways, law-abiding Virginians can carry a six-shooter openly in a hip holster or conceal a weapon in a designer purse, but they better not be caught toting a concealed machete.

Go figure. Which is worse while your family is dining on a "Grand Slam" breakfast at Denny's — sitting next to Quick Draw McGraw or Zorro? Well, the Virginia legislature obviously thinks that a machete is more dangerous than a firearm or an assault weapon. Why else would they have made it illegal, as of July 1, to carry a concealed machete, but barred local jurisdictions from enacting any legislation or ordinances limiting laws concerning concealed weapons or "open carry" options.

Besides completely getting the law wrong on this one (go figure), I am shocked that this rubbish is published in the Times. To make matters worse, the only people quoted are the director of the Virginia branch of the commie mommies (no surprise there) and Sgt. Richard Perez of the Fairfax Police who reports no problems as a result of the law (and is roundly criticized for this position).

Fine. I wonder how long that's going to last if folks have a mind to take the law in their own hands because they are carrying a gun on their hip? Doesn't the county have a growing gang problem? Are guns or machetes really their preferred weapon of choice? Mrs. Robinson is "shocked but not really surprised" by these latest incidents because "you see people carrying weapons in the General Assembly [and] where's the real danger there?" Last year she became "horribly alarmed" and uncomfortable when a man wearing a gun walked into a concert hall in colonial Yorktown while her son was practicing with a high school drum and fife corps.

Ummm, yeah. One problem, or two. The gang members are mostly illegal immigrants (not the type to try and call police attention), too young to legally possess handguns, and more often or not already convicted felons by the time they are 18. I would argue that no gang member in his right mind is going to open carry. None. Zero. Nuts. Not if they are trying to avoid being arrested.

And please, Suzie Robinson is "horribly alarmed" that someone is displaying a gun at Colonial Williamsburg, where the employees routinely walk around armed and engage in demonstrations of blackpowder firepower? Give it an F'ing break mam. Of course, their true intent quickly comes out. Yep, the so called assault weapons ban.

What really concerns Mrs. Robinson and an army of gun-control activists is the impending sunset of the federal assault-weapons ban. If the ban expires Sept. 13 as expected, there's a very real possibility in Virginia that someone "can put a Tech 9 in a holster and carry it around." The Tech 9, she noted, was the weapon of choice for one of the shooters in the Columbine High School massacre in Colorado.

It figures. I won't even bother de-fisking this one since my readers are bright enough to do it on their own.

What’s most surprising to me about the article though is that the same family that owns Kahr Arms and Auto Ordinance (they make Tommy guns) also owns the Washington Times. It seems that they would be particularly impacted by passage of the assault weapons ban. Of course, its possible that Kahr - a gun maker known for its concealed carry pieces doesn't want to see people openly carrying - since that leads to the purchase of non Kahr firearms (how’s that for a conspiracy theory).

So Called Climate Change

Vladamir Putin's senior economic advisor Andrei Illarionov provided some more commentary on Kyoto the other day. You really should read the entire statement, its not very long and is in pretty easy to understand language.

Since Kyoto and the McCain Leiberman Climate Change bill both rely on the same identical science, and provide essentially the same burdens and mandates on our economy, his comments and criticisms (of which there are six total) are of particular importance (all emphasis added by me).

This is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, international adventure of all times and nations. Frankly speaking, it's hard to recall something like this of the same scale and of the same consequences, just as the lack of any grounds for action in field.

Basically, none of the assertions made in the Kyoto Protocol and the "scientific" theory on which the Kyoto Protocol is based been borne out by actual data. We are not seeing any high frequency of emergency situations or events. There has been no increase in the number of floods. Just as there has been no increase in the number of droughts. We can see that the speed of the wind in the hails in some areas is decreasing contrary to the statements made by the people who support the Kyoto Protocol. We are not witnessing a higher incidence of contagious diseases, and if there is a rise, it has nothing to do with climate change.

He has some particularly force full criticism of the actual science underlying it as well.

The statistical data underpinning these documents and issued in millions of copies are often considerably distorted if not falsified. The most vivid example of that is the so-called "ice hockey stick", or the curve of temperature changes on the planet over the past 1000 years. It is alleged that there were insignificant temperature fluctuations for 900 years but there was a sharp rise in temperature in the 20th century.

A number of scientific works published lately show that in order to produce this "ice hockey stick", nine intentional or unintentional, I don't really know, mistakes were made that led to distortions in initial data and final results. Using the words of famous poet Vladimir Vysotsky, everything is not the way it should be.

Of course, his most forceful point comes a bit later.

The next point brings us directly to the Kyoto Protocol, or more specifically, to the ideological and philosophical basis on which it is built. That ideological base can be juxtaposed and compared, as Professor Reiter has done just now, with man-hating totalitarian ideology with which we had the bad fortune to deal during the 20th century, such as National Socialism, Marxism, Eugenics, Lysenkovism and so on. All methods of distorting information existing in the world have been committed to prove the alleged validity of these theories. Misinformation, falsification, fabrication, mythology, propaganda. Because what is offered cannot be qualified in any other way than myth, nonsense and absurdity.

He goes on to pretty thoroughly discredit the work of official researchers from many of the nations advocating Kyoto's adoption, paying particular attention to the claims of Britain.

When it became clear that they could not provide a substantive answer to a question, three devices were used. And I have to say it now although has not direct bearing on the Kyoto Protocol and the content of the extremely interesting presentations made during the past two days. The British participants insisted on introducing censorship during the holding of this seminar. The chief science adviser to the British government, Mr. King, demanded in the form of an ultimatum at the beginning of yesterday that the program of the seminar be changed and he presented an ultimatum demanding that about two-third of the participants not be given the floor.

Of course, he also states about the British scientists:

I personally was surprised by the exceptionally poor content of the papers presented. During the past two years I took part in many international meetings, seminars, conferences and congresses on these issues both in Russia and in many of the countries, including the seminar that we had today and yesterday. Honestly, these papers and presentations differed dramatically from what is usually offered at international congresses and conferences.

Really, it is amazing how poor the science that underlies all these claims of Climate Change really is. And to think, the enviro weenies insist we have our head in the sand. Ugh. It gives me indigestion.

Thank goodness for people like Mr. Illarionov though, who are willing to publicly stand up for the truth and expose this fraud for what it is. Why can't we have more clear headed bureaucrats like him in this country?