Peter of Firearms and Freedom points out some easy ways to get involved in the election. Even if you hate John McCain, there are plenty of downstream candidates worth supporting.
Category: Politics
Gun Trafficking in New Jersey
Thanks to reader Chuck, who sent me this while I was in Virginia, and I am not just getting around to posting, we have a look into the world of black market gun trafficking in New Jersey:
Milgram said Kinston, who was out on parole on an eluding conviction, managed to lead hundreds of gang members across the state despite being monitored with a locator bracelet as a condition of his prison release in January.
However, on Aug. 16, state police with the help of 16 different law enforcement agencies learned that a shipment of stolen handguns would be arriving from North Carolina at Kinston’s residence in Burlington City, Milgram said.
So the guy was out on parole, had a locator bracelet on, and yet somehow was managing to run an elaborate gun and drug trafficking network. Would Bryan Miller care to come on here to describe how exactly other states are to blame for the fact that New Jersey can’t keep its violent gang members in prison where they belong? It’s a simple equation. Gang members who are in prison have a harder time running a black market gun business. But somehow the gun control crowd thinks trying their failed policies everywhere else is the answer.
Quote of the Day
From Chuck Heath, Sarah Palin’s father:
She started shooting a gun when she was eight and shot her first animal when she was ten. It was something small, possibly a rabbit. She is a really good shot. I taught her to shoot a moose and dress it, to fish and hunt for game. We raised our family to be able to support ourselves — 90 per cent of our meat and fish we get ourselves.
Obama can make fun of it all he wants, but Sarah is the real deal.
A Female Teddy Roosevelt?
Firearms and Freedom notices that Sarah Palin looks like an ordinary person. I think it’s interesting, but if you look at some of the parallels, she’s not completely unlike Teddy Roosevelt. TR overshadowed McKinley on the ticket. Given McCain’s age, it’s not out of the realm of possibility she could end up assuming the presidency. She’s about the same age TR was. She has a reputation as a reformer. She’s an outdoorswoman. There would be more than a few people in Washington who’d be rather unhappy to see her ascend to the highest office. I doubt she’ll be giving a speech with a gunshot wound to the chest any time soon, but she just might be the same kind of political personality. TR defined the presidency for the 20th century. Could Sarah Palin do the same thing for the 21st? Hard to say. Reality doesn’t quite live up to the reputaiton, but the same charge could have been leveled at TR. Legend matters, and Sarah Palin’s story has the potential to be that kind of legend.
The Mortgage Crisis
It’s a giant shit sandwich, and we’re all going to have to take a bite. After this all runs its ugly course, we need to make sure the government gets out of the mortage business completely. It never should have been in it in the first place. Thanks FDR!
Obligation to Be Informed?
I’m glad Ilya Somin has clarified that he’s sympathetic to the idea that voters do have a moral duty to be informed, even if they are, as he has suggested, rationally ignorant of politics. I think voters do have some obligation to be informed, but my bar is not set very high. When I think about a voter’s moral obligations, I have to take into account the fact that I don’t believe the the single issue voter is shirking his civil responsibilities.
If someone is, for instance, well informed on the gun issue, and vote specifically on that issue, I have no issue with their going to the polls and casting a ballot. But how far is someone obligated to be informed on their single issue? I tend to take the position “trust, but verify.” Don’t just vote a certain way because your buddy told you candidate X would take all your guns. Do some research. See if other people are saying that too. Check with organizations who advocate on behalf of your issue and see what they say.
I think there’s little problem with general political ignorance provided that the voter is reasonably informed on the issues that bring him or her into the voting booth. They don’t have to be experts, but they should be well enough informed and engaged as to make up their own mind.
I view my job as an activist for this issue to be making sure gun owners have the right information and are asking the right questions. I won’t hide McCain’s record on guns, but nor will I exaggerate it. I’ve heard way too many other activists claiming there’s no difference between McCain and Obama, which just isn’t true.
Media Bias?
ABC News edited key parts of Charlie Gibson’s interview with Sarah Palin. Now, I’m not a professional journalist, but I would think if you need to edit a segment for length, you cut out questions, along with the answers. It appears to me that all the answers that reflected the depth of her understanding of issues ended up on the cutting room floor.
But hey, ABC News has an election to win. All is fair in politics right?
Bryan Miller Lambasting Pat Murphy
Looks like the anti-gunners might be getting upset with Pat Murphy. Either that or Bryan Miller is behind on his marching orders. See this Philadelphia Inquirer news roundup, and scroll down to “Under the Gun”:
U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, whose Bucks County district includes a sliver of Northeast Philadelphia, is taking flak from gun-control groups for his support of a bill loosening gun regulations in the District of Columbia.
[…]
Bryan Miller, executive director of Ceasefire NJ, expresses outrage. “As I understand it, Murphy is joined at the hip to [U.S. Rep.] John Murtha, and Murtha is a tied-at-the-hip NRA [National Rifle Association] guy,” Miller said. “I don’t see any other reason why a suburban Philadelphia Democrat, with Philadelphia going through the horrible throes of gun violence, would sign onto a bill making the availability of guns so much greater in D.C. I think, frankly, [Murphy] should be ashamed of himself.”
So by Bryan’s logic, since he hangs around Murtha a lot, surely he must be pro-gun right? That’s not entirely true. He is a supporter of Congresswoman McCarthy’s ban on most semi-automatic firearms, and never signed on to a Congressional Amicus brief to end the ban. It’s hardly surprising that Congressman Murphy, close to an election, is signing onto pro-gun bills in an effort to placate Bucks County’s numerous gun owners, hunters, and shooters. If this represents a turnaround on behalf of the Congressman, I welcome that, but until he takes his name off McCarthy’s bill, forgive me if I suggest Bryan Miller has no clue what he’s talking about when he tries to paint Patrick Murphy as too pro-gun.
I suspect, though, that the Brady Campaign is probably wondering what they are getting for their 5000 donation to Congressman Murphy in the last election.
NJIT Continuing with Development of Smart Gun
The New Jersey Institute of Technology has recieved another quarter million dollars of your hard earned tax dollars to keep researching “smart gun” technology. Senator Lautenberg and Menendez are responsible for this earmark. As I mentioend on Cam’s show last night when we talked about this, as an engineering problem, smart guns are a folly.
With current technology, it’s just not really possible to get a solid biometric reading from a firearm except under very controlled conditions. Far more controlled conditions than someone breaking into your house at 2AM. That’s why when smart guns are declared “ready” under New Jersey law, that police will be exempt from the requirement for sales of smart guns only. This was never about safety, but is entirely about passing a gun ban that most people in that state would not recognize as such.
UPDATE: More from Robb here.
Philadelphia Subway Hammer Attacker
Police have arrested a man in connection with the hammer attack on the subway in Philadelphia. Thanks to Fred Fry, I have obtained a copy of Thomas Scantling’s criminal record. Much like the case of the murder of Officer Steven Liczbinski, this is another case of the City’s justice system utterly failing to protect its citizens from violent predators. Just look at what he was arrested for, and for which he was never prosecuted:
- Rape
- Sexual Assault
- Simple Assault
- Statutory Sexual Assault
- Unlawful Restraint
- Corruption of Minors
- Criminal Conspiracy
- Possession of Firearm by a Prohibited Person
- Carrying Firearms Unlawfully
- Terrorist Threats
- Reckless endangerment
It goes on. And yet city politicians have the nerve to claim that the city has a high crime rate because of insufficient gun laws. Well, they failed to charge this guy for violation of the gun laws we already have, and he went on to beat someone nearly to death with a hammer.
And these same politicians question why I feel the need to carry a firearm for self-protection in their city? Unbelievable. This guy should never have been out on the streets.
UPDATE: Apparently Chief Ramsey is chastizing folks for standing by and doing nothing. Considering that Chief Ramsey is against ordinary folks carrying weapons for protection, especially firearms, what exactly did the Chief expect any honest citizen to use? Harsh language?