Yesterday, the full Alaska legislature held a vote on the nomination of NRA Board of Directors member Wayne Anthony Ross and rejected his nomination by Sarah Palin to be the state’s Attorney General. Nine Republicans crossed party lines to vote against him. Reasons for his rejections floated by the left ranged from his opinions on gays and lesbians to how to fill empty legislative seats to the fact that he’s an NRA Board Member to, I kid not, the argument that he uses his initials too much.
Category: Politics
Quote of the Day
That’s easy: Bush’s “Bailout†of $700 billion in TARP funds, followed by Obama’s “Bailout Expansion†of something on the order of an addition a trillion, with more to come. The demands that come along with this money, whether it goes to banks, auto manufacturers or state treasuries, looks like the Federal government essentially seizing control of anything and everything.
All this happened FAST.
And our normally somnolent population finally woke the hell up.
I sure hope he’s right, but suspect he is. For those of us who believed in smaller and less intrusive government, we suffered through an abusive relationship with the Bush Administration for eight years. Obama was just the straw that broke the camel’s back. This is not the change we were looking for.
Philadelphia Politicians At It Again
The state representatives that represent the City of Philadelphia are introducing three bills in Harrisburg:
The first bill would make it illegal for anyone charged with a felony, but not yet convicted, to buy, transfer, sell, or possess a firearm.
The second would prohibit anyone convicted of a felony drug offense as a juvenile from buying or owning a gun as an adult.
The third bill would require a mandatory one-year sentence for carrying a gun without a license. It was first introduced in 2007, but failed to move out of committee.
The first one is a non-starter. We don’t limit constitutional rights based on mere accusation of a crime. There is not enough due process here.
The second I’d be more amiable to, if I thought it would actually do anything to reduce crime for those intent on committing them. Just because a gun control law might be constitutional doesn’t mean it will work. And just because we pass something, doesn’t mean it will be enforced, which brings me to three.
Three is a no go because the city refuses to use the laws it already has. We’ve clearly documented on this blog the City’s utter failure to prosecute criminals who carry firearms illegally.
Enforce the laws you already have before you ask for more. I am not in favor of giving Philadelphia more laws it won’t use against criminals. If the problem is judges, city politicians need to campaign to get new ones. The answer is not to continually blame Harrisburg. Pennsylvania has expanded its gun control laws significantly in the past several decades, and the city has refused to use any of them to actually go after criminals. I think that’s a big deal, and it’s not being talked about, but it’s the the first conversation that should be had before new laws are discussed. Philly politicians keep saying the Commonwealth’s gun control laws are inadqueate. How would they know if they won’t use them?
Toomey Announces
He has formally entered the race:
“We can stop the bailouts and the spending stampede; we can reduce the burdens on taxpayers; and we can unlock the ingenuity and job creation potential of our great nation once again,” Toomey said in his remarks. “I am running for the U.S. Senate because I believe the economic stakes for our country have never been higher. The people of Pennsylvania deserve the very best from their leaders in Washington – but that’s not what they are receiving.”
It’s change I can believe in. I anxiously await Alren Specter’s next attack ad, which will no doubt inform Pennsylvania voters that Pat Toomey’s involvement with the Second Bank of the United States lead directly to the real estate bubble and, eventual panic of 1819.
Hat Tip Instapundit
Philadelphia Area Tea Parties
It’s Tax Day, which means it’s time to start thinking about attending your local tea party. Bruce is going to his, with a sign that’s made of WIN. The Philadelphia Tea Party is on Saturday April 18th, at Independence Mall, on Chestnut Street between 5th and 6th Streets, from Noon to 2PM. Speakers will be:
- Dom Giordano – Talk Show Host, WPHT-AM
- Don Adams – writer, teacher, public affairs consultant
- Christine Flowers – Attorney and Columnist, Philadelphia Daily News
- Scott Rutter – Decorated veteran and Townhall.com columnist
- Scott Wheeler – Executive Director,The National Republican Trust PAC (GOPtrust.com), columnist at Newsmax.com.
If Philadelphia is too far for you, there will be a Bucks County Tea Party, at Washington Crossing, from 1 to 3 on Saturday. In addition to that, there are numerous Tax Day Tea Parties happening all over the country today.
UPDATE: Glenn Reynolds has some interesting thoughts on the Tea Party Movement in today’s Wall Street Journal.
UPDATE: More from Glenn here. I think his reader Dusty really gets the significance. To me, what the Tea Party Movement represents is a “silent majority” deciding to no longer be silent. People like us, who have jobs, who have families, and generally haven’t had the time to be heavily involved in politics, are starting to realize that the problems of the country will not fix themselves; that ignoring government only makes it worse. What I suspect, or perhaps hope, is that people who want government to leave them the hell alone are finally waking up and making noise. That’s the first step. After this, we need to organize, and throw the bastards out. And keep throwing them out until we get the government we want.
UPDATE: 4000 in DC. Treasury yanked their permit to protest outside at the last minute. The atmosphere is described as “electric.”
Specter Begging Dems to Register as GOP
Our favorite Senator from Pennsylvania was in Philadelphia on Monday begging Democrats to switch registrations so they can vote for less conservative candidates in the GOP primary.
Facing a tough primary rematch against conservative Pat Toomey, Specter stumped with a House Democrat in Darby, Pa., and told one group in Philadelphia: “I don’t know if there are any Democrats in this room. If there are, I’m going to need you to become Republicans, Republicans at least for a day.”
Even in New Jersey …
… gun sales are up 30%. Now if the folks who are buying all these new guns would get involved and get engaged, we might be able to make some progress over there.
The Horror
Folks, this is New Jersey at is very very best:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyAzwREVBZs[/youtube]
Reality Check for Lefty Bloggers
This is more about the post I ran yesterday about Lefty blogs looking to rake in the dough from the causes they support. Advertising Age has some commentary about it that I think is spot on:
All that said, realistically speaking, no one believes that political blogs on either side of the aisle are anything more than water-carriers for their favorite parties or candidates. They’re not journalists — and don’t pretend to be. And they do provide a useful service: They keep the grass-roots watered and fertilized. Especially on the left, the big-name bloggers have grown and cultivated communities that, jokes about Lamont aside, can have a multiplier effect and provide buzz — and cash.
This is someone who understands new media, and what role blogs play in political advocacy. Read the whole thing. It’s insightful. This is also an area where the right wing model of organization by think tank is horribly disorganized and behind. This could have grave consequences for the right moving forward.
Despite the fact that NRA seems to be developing relationships with bloggers along this model, I also worry that they have not been keeping up with the left, when you really look at some of the things they are doing with online organizing. It’s astounding. If we don’t grab the best ideas, and use them ourselves, we could be out in the political wilderness for a long time.
Drop the Pie!
Pennsylvania health authorities are busy fighting a massive threat to public health: Lenten fish-fry dinners:
On the first Friday of Lent, an elderly female parishioner of St. Cecilia Catholic Church began unwrapping pies at the church. That’s when the trouble started.
A state inspector, there for an annual checkup on the church’s kitchen, spied the desserts. After it was determined that the pies were home-baked, the inspector decreed they couldn’t be sold.
“Everyone was devastated,” says Josie Reed, a 69-year-old former teacher known for her pumpkin and berry pies.
Sold for $1 a slice, homemade pies have always been part of the Lenten fish-fry dinners at St. Cecilia’s, located in this tiny city near Pittsburgh. Similar dinners are held in church basements and other venues across the country this time of year.
Look at them! Bloody Catholics filling the bloody world up with bloody pies they can’t bloody sell! Clearly these marauders are going to kill us all if it weren’t for the fine people at the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
This is apparently what caused the recent bills that are meant to exempt non-profits from these insane requirements.