The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State …
Apparently they dropped the ball. RNC could actually learn a lot from NRA in this regard, who had a more successful blogger outreach effort. In fact, they probably have a lot to learn from NRA in terms of their ground game too, which I don’t think is very strong in my area. Hell, I don’t think it’s very strong in my state. That’s kind of sad, because I think NRA could do better too.
Hat Tip Instapundit
You’ll be able to transfer a firearm in the Distirct of Columbia starting next Tuesday. You’ll pay monopoly prices for the transfer though, $125 dollars, as there’s only one FFL in the district who’s willing to do transfers. Sykes says he’s getting several calls a day about transfers. At that price, I suspect not many people are going to bite. Hopefully Josh Sugarmann will see the light and put his own FFL to good use. A couple hundred bucks a day is probably more than VPC is making now!
The Examiner rightly takes the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to task as author Peter Manso faces the possibility of ten years in prison because his previously lifetime Firearms Identification license expired, and he didn’t know to renew it. They go on to state:
The more intricate and technical the law becomes, the harder it is to understand, respect and abide by. It’s irresistably tempting for many people to ignore the law’s sillier restrictions, and all too easy to unwittingly fall behind in paperwork — at the cost of years behind bars if a local official wants to be by-the-book about such things.
And, of course, offending local officials then comes to carry a hefty penalty in terms of selective enforcement of arcane law.
Exactly. This is something the Brady Campaign would like to quietly sweep under the rug, because this isn’t really a bug in their eyes, it’s a feature. Look how easily guys like Bryan Miller dismiss these concerns. They want gun owners in jail. It’s where they think we belong.
Dave Hardy points to some upcoming law reviews on the Heller case, and says:
The 2A is becoming the one interesting field of con law. The First Amendment has been mined for, what, forty years or so. Debates over what is obscenity, what are fighting words, and whatnot are really getting to be a bit boring. But the 2A can keep scholars busy for another few decades. And the courts, as well.
It’s certainly going to keep bloggers busy too.
Tonight Bitter and I watched Sarah Palin’s acceptance speech for the nomination for Vice President. Palin definitely has her delivery down. She even said Minnesota that weird way people from there say it, and she recovered from her one fumble with a grace George W. Bush only wishes he had. What I did not get from her manner of speaking is an unprepared amateurish politician. She far surpasses the current occupant of the Oval Office in terms of speech making. Biden is going to have his work cut out for him. After 8 years of having to listen to him (the Bush Him, not the Biden him, although he makes me want to gouge my ears out too), it’ll be nice to have someone who’s pleasant to listen to (and look at).
There were a lot of shots of her family. Her youngest daughter Piper seems to be a total ham on camera. She either has a future in pagents or politics. Seriously, these people are way too attractive for politics. They put the Kennedy’s to shame. No wonder the media hates them. They even look good in HD, which is a harsh mistress for a lot of people. It has to really get in the left’s craw that these people come from small town Alaska, and not an uppity cosmopolitan city. I am going to enjoy this election. It’s the kind you’ll want to make some popcorn for.
The chant for the Republican convention appears to be “Drill Baby! Drill!” I half expected them to erect a drilling rig right there on the convention floor and to get started. That would have been handy, because Palin’s hubby could have oversaw the operation. I’m not sure whether there is any oil under the streets of St. Paul, but if there were, I’m sure that crowd could find it.
After seeing Palin in action, I feel much better about the choice. She’ll be a capable candidate. Even if this ticket loses, they’d be foolish not to put her up against the Lightworker (who I suspect by then will be about as popular as herpes) in 2012.
… make me not want to vote for a ticket with Palin on it, it’s having the opposite effect.
UPDATE: Damn. Apparently she was never a member of a secessionist movement. Color me disappointed.
From Robb Allen on Sarah Palin:
I’ve said before, she’s not perfect, she’s going to have skeletons in her closet, but we live in a time where Jesus himself couldn’t get elected because someone would bring up the whole unmarried mother thing and that he changed water into wine without a proper Class B Miracle license.
Those are definitely the times we live in.  Also, this is just funny. I don’t care who you are.
I know Joe’s been working on this for a few days. I think it turned out really well.
Here it happened to someone rather well known. But this is a story that’s told over and over again in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and why I don’t believe you can license a right, and still pretend it’s not just a privilege.