I can’t recall NRA doing this in previous years, but maybe they did and I just didn’t notice. It’s a good idea to explain. A lot of people might question their incumbent friendly policy, but all you have to do is look at this to understand why that’s the case. That’s why John McCain gets an NRA endorsement over J.D. Hayworth. Endorsements and grades are political tools. They aren’t an affirmation of faith that many people would like them to be. If Hayworth wins, he’ll enjoy the same incumbent friendly policy that McCain currently enjoys.
Year: 2010
Going Mainstream
Josh Horwitz seems to be having issues with the fact that insurrectionist thinking is going mainstream. I hate to tell him this, but many of the ideas he rails against have always been mainstream. Take a look:
While America began as a revolution against the king of England, revolution turned out to be a terrible form of governing, Horwitz says. “There was no ability to tax, so (Gen.) Washington’s army starved. State legislatures had an immense amount of power. There were mobbings in every city with no central authority to put any (revolt) down. Militias formed and closed down the courts.â€
This seems to be a tacit suggestion that perhaps we would have been better off staying under the British Crown. I have to wonder if Horwitz believes that. Because really, what Horwitz is rallying against is the very founding idea of this nation itself:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
If you had to pick one paragraph from the Declaration of Independence that you could say is really the philosophical basis of the United States of America, this is it. This was the sentence that gave birth to this nation. If the anti-gun people want to take the side of the loyalists, and suggest we ought to have remained under the British Crown, they are free to. But you can’t escape this passage. It is who we are, and it shouldn’t be surprising that people are still talking about it 234 years later.
What I can’t figure out is whether Horwitz is legitimately goofy about believing that folks who would suggest the Declaration of Independence is a blueprint for just revolution are just as radical and extreme as, say, a Timothy McVeigh, or whether he’s trying to chain the real extremists to those who are not in hopes that it pulls the whole issue under the water. If it’s the latter, he might want to rethink much of his rhetoric.
Top Shot Premiers This Weekend
There is little time left before fellow blogger Caleb’s giant premier on Sunday on the History Channel. Caleb was seen on NRA News last night with Cam talking about the show, which you can listen to here.
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Since the premier is on the anniversary of D-Day, I’m going to be very disappointed if the first episode of Top Shot doesn’t involve Caleb trying to scale a sea wall while the other contestants shoot at him.
The Lesson of Carthage
Thanks to commenter Sterling Archer for this story of Carthage:
History demonstrates that destruction awaits those who attempt to placate their enemies by surrendering their weapons. In 149 BC, half a million citizens of Carthage tried to appease Rome by turning over their armaments. But instead of buying peace, they only facilitated their own destruction. Ninety percent of the Carthaginians were killed, and the city of Carthage was razed. Those who survived were sold into slavery, and Carthaginian civilization was forever wiped from the face of the earth. The story of how the Carthaginians sealed their fate by delivering their weapons into the hands of their enemy is chronicled in my book, Science and Technology in World History, Vol. 1.
I’m trying to think of any point in history where appeasing an aggressive enemy has actually worked out pretty well for the appeaser.
“Enuf is enuf. Enough is too much.”
These people are educators. They are teaching your children. Remember that as you read and cringe.
Four peaceful protesters, some dressed in full-length black and yellow bee costumes, represented the American Literacy Council and the London-based Spelling Society and stood outside the Grand Hyatt on Thursday, where the Scripps National Spelling Bee is being held. Their message was short: Simplify the way we spell words.
Roberta Mahoney, 81, a former Fairfax County, Va. elementary school principal, said the current language obstructs 40 percent of the population from learning how to read, write and spell. …
According to literature distributed by the group, it makes more sense for “fruit” to be spelled as “froot,” “slow” should be “slo,” and “heifer” — a word spelled correctly during the first oral round of the bee Thursday by Texas competitor Ramesh Ghanta — should be “hefer.”
Meanwhile, inside the hotel’s Independence Ballroom, 273 spellers celebrated the complexity of the language in all its glory, correctly spelling words like zaibatsu, vibrissae and biauriculate.
My guess is that these people are part of the movement to do away with red pens for grading, too.
When challenged by a 15-year-old on the issue, the principal said that if spelling bees were so important, the bees could just make up their own dictionary of new words that would be harder to spell.
What Happened with DC’s Gun Laws
This is a great story in Washington City Paper about what happened with the DC Voting Rights Act that NRA was moving. It provides some interesting insight into what might have happened to scuttle the bill:
Some aides on the Hill believe the Childers changes ultimately provided a convenient excuse to escape the pressure. “She got some bad editorials,†an aide to the Democratic leadership says of Norton. “She was looking for an offramp and she found one.â€
“The language on guns was still being finalized,†adds another aide. “In that final go-around, Delegate Norton made a determination that it was not something the District could accept. She indicated that to the majority leader and a decision was made to pull the bill.†As reporters gathered Tuesday morning for Democratic Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s weekly briefing, they were first told the vote was a go—and moments later they were told that it was being shelved. Again.
On the Hill, few people think that the bill will resurface. “At this point in time I do not see the ability to move it in this session of Congress,†Hoyer told the Washington Post.
So sounds like Norton might have been having doubts and getting cold feet, and the Childers amendment was her cover from pull out of a deal she wasn’t sure she wanted to make anyway. I can’t vouch for the authenticity of any of this account, as NRA does not share details of its legislative strategy with me, but it sounds plausible, and this is what the Dems are saying happened. Read the whole thing. It’s a great insight into the chess game Joe was talking about a few days ago.
Bailouts for Traditional Media. What Could Go Wrong?
Looks like the Federal Trade Commission is looking for ways to bail out traditional media to the tune of 35 billion dollars. The ideas it to establish a journalism division of AmeriCorps, increasing funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, national funding for local papers, tax credits for employing journalists, and establishment of Citizenship News Vouchers. But go take a look at how they propose to pay for it.
I can’t imagine that suckling at the government teat will have any effect on the objectivity of the media when it comes to holding government accountable. Just can’t imagine it.
Mass Shooter Had a License
The shooter in the UK was a licensed gun owner. As Days of our Trailers points out, this is not going to end well for British shooters.
A Gun Owner’s Paradise
Outdoor Life has put together the top 200 towns for sportsmen. I’m shocked that any Pennsylvania towns made it on the list, but they put Erie at number 82. On the other hand, my home state had towns to make the cut: Bartlesville at 71, Poteau at 156, Elk City at 184, and Enid at 189.
Yes, some of you will complain that the number of fishing holes near a city doesn’t matter for purposes of gun ownership. I will agree – to some extent.
The list does take into account gun laws when it ranks the issues that matter for sportsmen.
Outdoors-related subcategories, which combine to account for 60 percent of the overall score, include the gun-friendliness of each town’s state, huntable and fishable species nearby, proximity to public land and waters, and the potential for taking a trophy-caliber animal or fish nearby.
It’s even the first thing they mention in the outdoor categories. I would also point out that the other factors can make a difference in the type of people you’re likely to have a neighbors – people who understand gun ownership as a tradition and a civil right who are more likely to vote against politicians who are anti-gun.
One of the best features of this list is that it also takes into account economic and quality-of-life issues. It’s great to be surrounded by pro-gun neighbors, but it’s also nice to have a job and be in a city where life doesn’t suck to raise your pro-gun children.
Socio-economic subcategories, which make up 40 percent of the overall score, include population percent growth since 2000, median household income, median home value, cost of living, unemployment rate, population density, mean commute time and amenities.
The magazine broke down several areas of interest – best for whitetail hunting, best for kids, best fishing, etc. I find one of the cities that tied for number one as best for kids is near the hometown of one of my best friends from college. She introduced me to shooting, and she has more hunting mounts than she knows what to do with. So I’d say she’s evidence that Evergreen, CO is very good for raising children with solid values – who also happen to be great marksmen. She’s also brilliant, so it speaks volumes about the school system.
For all of you curmudgeons who don’t want any neighbors nearby, they’ve got the list for you. (Tip: Look to Alaska.) If you’re winding down your time on the job, they’ve got lots of suggestions in Arizona and Florida for retirement. Your money will go furthest in these cities with the lowest cost of living and highest incomes.
No Injuries – Except a Car
It seems that 10% of the Nosler ammunition plant was leveled in an explosion yesterday afternoon. All 100 employees were evacuated and are just fine, with the only outside loss being a worker’s car that was buried in rubble.
Witnesses said work was under way in the ballistics tunnel, a testing area for ammunition, when there was a flash, followed by an explosion, the television station reported.
Barb Gonzalez, who lives near the plant, said the blast was like “feeling a bomb inside your house.” Gonzalez said she saw dense plumes of orange smoke above the plant.
So, I guess that load was a little hotter than they expected. (via Outdoor Pressroom)