Bucks Right notices that the unemployment rate, so far, seems to be tracking worse than the Obama Administration predicted it would track without the Stimulus plan that puts our kids in debt up to their eyeballs.
Category: Politics
Guns in New Jersey
Via Cemetery, we find this video by the Star-Ledger staff on rising gun sales. You could find a lot to like and dislike about this particular New Jersey gun shop (did the owner really have to post a comic showing a woman about to shoot herself or say that women find shooting more gratifying than sex while laughing?), perhaps the most newsworthy bit is that he clearly has ammunition in stock based on the b-roll footage.
| Ledger Live: Guns and religion |
Is anyone willing to risk a trip into Jersey to liberate that ammo?
How Things Roll in Philly
I’m very intrigued by this post by Wyatt, about turning a criminal over to the feds for prosecution on guns charges (felon-in-possession), something we know that the City of Philadelphia often will not do:
Anyway, the AUSA wanted to take over the case and try him federally. He even asked my permission – which made me laugh a little – because he said a lot of Philly detectives resent it when the feds take over their jobs. I told him that I couldn’t care less about that or the court overtime, because putting a thug like this behind bars for some real time was much more important. In Philly, this guy would have received probation or something equally ludicrous. The feds expect him to serve between 7 and 20 years if convicted. Nice!
Emphasis mine. So petty territorial issues are more important than public safety in the City of Brotherly Love? Wonderful. I’m glad Wyatt’s experience with the AUSA was positive, and if we had more detectives in that city with his attitude, we might be able to get some of these folks behind bars where they belong.
I’ll be honest, as a libertarian, I’m skeptical of federal authority to control possession of guns, even by felons, but I’m also skeptical of a city justice system that just refuses to enforce the state laws that are supposed to take care of this problem. As long as the herpes theory of the commerce clause is law, it seems to be that the primary goal should be getting dangerous people off the streets.
Quote of the Day
From this very worthwhile lament on conservative marketing, from a Hollywood perspective:
I grow a bit tired of the in-fighting on all the conservative blogs and news shows between the “social conservativesâ€: and the Libertarian wing of the party. Ditch abortion. Don’t ditch abortion. Move to the center. Don’t abandon principles. It’s a defeatist argument and one that really doesn’t need to be fought. The David Frums and Meghan McCains have it half right. Where they lose me is in their obvious attempts to gain approval from our enemies.
But they do have one thing right. In the current climate, many of the social issues are big losers amongst certain voter groups. The biggest bloc, and the one we have the greatest potential to turn, is women. Women tend to poll liberal on issues like gay marriage and abortion.
Now, before this turns into a two-hundred comment post with people yelling about not giving up their core principles, let me be clear. I do not advocate that the party pull left or advertise itself as “Democrat-light.â€Â But I do advocate prioritizing the issues that form the foundation of our marketing campaign..
I agree with him that fiscal and economic issues ought to be front and center, because it’s one area there’s pretty much uniform revulsion across the entire Republican coalition, including many independents, for the current status quo.
The real difficulty, keeping with the film analogy, is the Main Stream Media owns all the big theaters, and they only show one side’s movie. To the extent they are willing to even show our trailers, they like to edit them first, to mislead the public about what the movie is really about. It’s tough to get our message out there. Made no easier by the fact that the last actor in our starring role wasn’t exactly Sir Laurence Olivier. That’s not an excuse for not trying, but the deck is more stacked against our message than you might think.
Almost Right
I am sympathetic to this article, which points out the problem in Philadelphia has to do with abysmal enforcement gun laws against actual criminals. This is true. The cop killers in Philadelphia were let go without even being charged with gun crimes they were arrested for.
Despite what we endlessly hear – that guns have one purpose, to kill people – Judge Shreeves-Johns didn’t see it that way. She threw out the most serious charges, leaving Floyd with a mess of misdemeanors, but only a single second-degree felony count for gun possession.
Here’s a felon who shouldn’t have a gun in his hand under any circumstances, he’s on a public street, he fires three times, and gets 11 1/2 to 23 months, which is more like a time-out than a serious sentence. The judge also ordered anger-management treatment and drug and alcohol counseling for Floyd.
Is that enough?
No, it’s not. I agree with this. But here’s where you go to far:
That’s a mistake. If we’re serious about guns, that law must be expanded. If you use or carry a gun when committing a crime – shoplifting bras, writing graffiti, tipping over cows – you must get five years before the other offenses are added on.
No, sorry, I should not get five years because I was speeding while lawfully carrying a firearm. People like Stu Bykofsky get what the real problem is, but they also need to get that there are lawful ways people can carry guns in this Commonwealth for the legitimate reason of self-defense. I have no problem with enhanced sentencing for criminals who misuse guns to further a criminal act, like robbery, selling crack on the street corner, assault, or other violent acts. But some kid in Lancaster shouldn’t get a five year felony rap because he tipped some cows with dad’s pistol in the glove box. Let’s not get ridiculous here. We can solve the actual problem without getting nuts.
Specter Getting Ready to Flip on Card Check?
Brian Faughnan at Red State is reporting that Specter seems to be working out a deal on Card Check:
A spokesperson for Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), the lead sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act, confirmed today that an agreement is near that will allow Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) to return to his earlier position of support for the legislation.
One wonders what else Specter is going to flip on? Let’s hope he’s not talking to Kirsten Gillibrand too.
Castle Doctrine Introduced
Senator Alloway has introduced the Castle Doctrine Bill into the Pennsylvania Senate. It’ll have to make its way through the Judiciary Committee, and Stu Greenleaf is chair of that committee, who is rated B by NRA. Hopefully he’s looking to improve his grade. Looking at the makeup of the committee we have:
Majority (R)
- Greenleaf (chair), B rated
- White (vice chair), A rated
- Browne, A- rated
- Earll, A rated
- Gordner, A rated
- Orie, A rated
- Piccola, A+ rated
- Rafferty, A rated
Minority (D)
On a straight party line vote, it looks like we can get this out of committee pretty easily. The question will be where Stu Greenleaf is going to stand on this bill, and whether he’ll want to bring it up. But pretty clearly, we have a lot of highly rated Republicans on this committee that should be able to help us advance this bill.
It’s a pretty standard castle doctrine bill, all in all, except for a minor revision to the state’s law in regards to the definition of a loaded firearm:
If the magazine is inserted into a pouch, holder, holster or other protective device that provides for a complete and secure enclosure of the ammunition, then the pouch, holder, holster or other protective device shall be deemed to be a separate compartment.
That should clarify being able to carry pre-loaded mags to the range in the same range bag as your pistol. As long as you put them in a secured holder of some kind, you won’t be considered loaded under the law. That’s a nice fix. Also contained is a provision preempting any “Commonwealth agency” from regulating lawful carry.
The Rank and File
A retired police firearms instructor from New Jersey takes issue with Jimmy Carter’s position on so-called “Assault Weapons.” But I thought law enforcement all supported this? Far be it for me to call my governor a liar.
Absecon is in South Jersey, in Atlantic County. It’s not Republican like Cape May and Ocean County, but you don’t get as much anti-gun hysterics when you drop below Monmouth County. New Jersey is largely anti-gun because it borders New York City.
How is This Not Socialism?
I’m not one to use the hyperbole of calling ever Democratic politician to the left of Joe Lieberman a socialist, but can the folks who bitch to people on the right about calling Obama a socialist tell me how this isn’t socialism? How about this? [Link removed, sorry] You have the government directing the means of protection. That seems pretty socialist to me.
Countertop also asks the rather fantastic question of what happens if Obama decides to take a bit of Eliot Spitzer’s advice and put the squeeze on Cerberus, who own Chrysler, and a whole boatload of gun companies? I have two words for Cerberus: Smith and Wesson.
Netroots Primary Arlen
Sestak is still making louder noises about a primary Challenge against Specter, and it looks like the progressive-left is looking to get behind him, despite the fact that the Democratic establishment in Pennsylvania is behind Specter.
Actually, if NRA endorses Specter in the primary, I will gladly help him. Let’s not forget Sestak is an anti-gun leader, and is a solid-left Democrat. I will gladly help Arlen beat him in a primary. The idea of Sestak representing Pennsylvania in the Senate disgusts me a lot more than Arlen ever has.
UPDATE: More here.