Category: Politics

Don’t We Have Better Things to Worry About?

Looks like the Pennsylvania cell phone ban bill is back:

Democratic state Rep. Josh Shapiro plans to reintroduce his bill to outlaw handheld phones while driving.

For Josh Shapiro, the numbers tell the story.

Last year, according to the state police, there were 1,245 accidents on Pennsylvania’s roadways where a driver was talking on a handheld cell phone, compared to 56 accidents with a driver using a hands-free device.

In 2006, the totals were eerily similar: 1,241 crashes with handheld phones; 60 with hands-free.

Shapiro, a Democratic state representative from the 153rd District, which includes most of Abington and part of Upper Dublin, wants to make it illegal to drive while talking on a handheld cell phone.

Just to give reader some sense of scale here, there were 6,657 crashes involving heavy trucks in Pennsylvania in 2006, 4,763 accidents involving pedestrians and 3,889 motorcycle accidents.  Even bicycle accidents are higher.  On the scale of vehicular dangers Pennsylvanians face, this is a small one.  We have accepted in Pennsylvania that motorcyclist deserve to have the freedom to choose not to wear a helmet, even though this is shown to make our highways more dangerous.  I think people should have to freedom to responsible use a cell phone while driving.  Distracted and careless driving is already a crime in most states.  At the very most, cell phone use while driving should be a secondary offense.

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Republicans Growing Spine on Holder Nomination

The Republicans are gearing up to delay the confirmation of Eric Holder.  The 111th Congress is sworn in on January 3rd, 2009, and starts session January 6th.  It’ll be important to start hitting your local critter with letters and phone calls as soon as the 111th Congress is seated.   Defeating a nomination is difficult work, but Holder is bad enough we should give it the old college try, and there’s a lot of blue dog Democrats out there that claim to be sympathetic to our issue.  We should hold them to that.

UPDATE: I’ll put aside my differences with Senator Spector for now, since he’s one of the GOP senators that’s willing to start asking questions.

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Reading Passes Lost & Stolen

Reading, Pennsylvania has passed its own Lost and Stolen ordinance, in addition now to Philadelphia, Allentown, Pottsville, York, and Pittsburgh, in defiance of statewide preemption.

Making a straw purchase of a gun already is a violation of Pennsylvania law, but it is a difficult law to enforce because it is nearly impossible to prove that a buyer obtained a weapon for someone who is not permitted to have one.

The reporting law is much easier to enforce. A gun is seized by police after the commission of a crime and traced back to the original buyer, who either reported it missing or faces some difficult questions from police and prosecutors.

So the media freely admits this law is means to lower the states burden of proof.  Anyone who fails to report is automatically assumed to be guilty of straw purchasing, rather than someone who might now have known about the law, or who might not have discovered the gun had gone missing, or in the midst of a stressful burglary investigation, forgot to mention it to police.  We are going to have a hell of a fight on our hands this legislative session to keep a lid on this, but we must.  The state doesn’t get to deal with this issue by making assumptions of guilt.  This is not how a free society is supposed to operate, and it’s a shame the media isn’t reporting this side of the story.

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Wrong about Palin

Great article in the Wall Street Journal today from someone who knows Margaret Thatcher, and can speak to her qualities vs. Sarah Palin:

Inevitably, Lloyd Bentsen’s famous put-down of Dan Quayle in the 1988 vice-presidential debate is resurrected, such as by Paul Waugh (in the London Evening Standard) and Marie Cocco (in the Washington Post): “Newsflash! Governor, You’re No Maggie Thatcher,” sneered Mr. Waugh. Added Ms. Coco, “now we know Sarah Palin is no Margaret Thatcher — and no Dan Quayle either!”

Jolly, rib-tickling stuff. But, as it happens, I know Margaret Thatcher. Margaret Thatcher is a friend of mine. And as a matter of fact, Margaret Thatcher and Sarah Palin have a great deal in common.

Read the whole thing.  Well worth it.  I think part of the reason I like Sarah Palin so much is because she upsets all the right people.  I have a soft spot for troublemakers who can do it with a smile, and despite the fact that I probably have disagreements with her on social issues, I think she’s my kind of troublemaker.

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Gun Rights Inserted into RNC Leadership Debate

Ken Blackwell is campaigning to be chair of the RNC, and many posts and stories have mentioned in passing his election to the NRA Board this last year.  However, he recently announced that he earned the endorsement of Sandy Froman, and the featured letter highlights his support for the Second Amendment as a key reason for the endorsement.

Ken has been a strong supporter of the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms and respects every individual’s fundamental right of self-defense.  I strongly support his candidacy and urge my friends on the Republican National Committee to join me in supporting Ken Blackwell.

I actually came across the announcement after reading about the most recently released step in a GOP resurgence.  I like it, at least based on what details Hotline provides.  I think it gets back to grassroots, something that we as gun owners are generally pretty good at.  If we make ourselves a key coalition in that grassroots effort, then we’ll see more outspoken pro-gun lawmakers.

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Some Positive Developments For Hunting in New Jersey

At least one senator is trying to get a bear hunt approved, and they have formed a sportsmen caucus:

Hoping to give sportsmen a better voice in the Legislature, and to help educate his colleagues, Sweeney initiated and organized a bi-partisan group of lawmakers and sportsmen: the recently inaugurated New Jersey Angling and Hunting Conservation Caucus (NJAHCC).

It’s a small step, but these things aren’t won by leaps and bounds.

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Quote of the Day

From Richard Fernandez:

The problem with government is that it doesn’t actually make any money. It only spends it. As such it is perpetually caught between the desire to get its hooks on cash and the necessity to leave some seed corn for future harvests. This is called public policy.

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“Pretty Safe Bet” from Montana’s Senator

Montana’s junior Senator, Jon Tester, is putting his seat on the line with his support of Barack Obama. I covered it here before when he was actively pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes on Obama’s record. I was disappointed that he went so far to deny that Obama has an anti-gun history, and I still hope that NRA takes those things into account since it went far beyond a simple endorsement of your party’s nominee.

Now, Tester is being questioned about the likely future of gun control since it’s clear gun owners and those who had, until recently, only thought of being gun owners don’t quite believe all of those election promises.

U.S. Sen. Jon Tester says he understands there are plenty of gun owners worried that there could be new gun control measures coming from Washington D.C.

But Tester says Wednesday that he doesn’t see it happening. …

But Tester says he would be really surprised if gun control cleared a Congress focused on other issues.

What should concern Montana residents is that in the same article, Tester doesn’t promise to oppose any gun control that either Obama or Pelosi pushes.  He just says it’s a “pretty safe bet” that he probably wouldn’t support it.  How about an absolutely safe bet, Senator?

It is true when he says there should be enough pro-gun votes in the House and Senate to stop any gun control from getting to Obama’s desk.  But it’s also reasonable for people to be scared and to prepare for a grassroots battle with even some of the otherwise pro-gun Democrats.  It hasn’t happened on gun control, but on other issues, Pelosi has been pretty successful at keeping the Blue Dogs quiet.  Those who have battled her have been punished.  But so far, she doesn’t seem to have overreached on issues the Blue Dog’s swing constituents are following closely.  It is possible that with the new majorities, she may try to go too far expecting the Blue Dogs to give in like many have over the last two years.  If she does or if Obama decides that gun control is an easy (and free!) issue to pick on when all of the other left-wing issues are complex and expensive, then Jon Tester will have egg on his face.

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