Friday, January 28, 2005
The Right & Duty To Keep & Bear Arms--Conservative Debate Handbook: "Laws that forbid the carrying of arms... disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. ...Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.--Thomas Jefferson, quoting with approval a noted criminologist of his day."
Click Here For Enemies of the Second Amendment
Enemies of the Second Amendment: "Hitler 'negotiated' for the Sudetenland because he felt himself weaker than an alliance between England, France, and Czechoslovakia. Historians do not believe that Hitler would have gone to war had England and France told him to go to hell instead of appeasing him.
Hitler similarly gained the rest of Czechoslovakia because England and France (still probably stronger in 1938) did not stand up to him.
On the political front, the Million Mom March sought to 'negotiate' away the Second Amendment through a policy of incrementalism. Second Amendment supporters who knew themselves to be stronger did not seek any negotiations or compromises with the Million Mom March. We destroyed it as an organization by exposing evidence of serious improprieties. This caused its own rank-and-file supporters to walk away in disgust. "
Hitler similarly gained the rest of Czechoslovakia because England and France (still probably stronger in 1938) did not stand up to him.
On the political front, the Million Mom March sought to 'negotiate' away the Second Amendment through a policy of incrementalism. Second Amendment supporters who knew themselves to be stronger did not seek any negotiations or compromises with the Million Mom March. We destroyed it as an organization by exposing evidence of serious improprieties. This caused its own rank-and-file supporters to walk away in disgust. "
Click Here For The Stentorian's Second Amendment site: Position Statement
The Stentorian's Second Amendment site: Position Statement: "This site defines strategies and tactics for counteracting gun control legislation, and even for destroying the political credibility of organizations like Handgun Control Incorporated. In fact, it introduces military-grade propaganda, the kind that countries use when they are at war, into the controversy. Isn't this a bit extreme? Shouldn't a reasonable person seek compromise or a win-win solution? Everybody agrees that violent criminals shouldn't have guns. Everybody agrees that law-abiding firearm owners should use them safely and responsibly; wouldn't mandatory licensing and registration (as with automobiles, a point the gun control party makes repeatedly) help promote safe and responsible firearm use? Dr. Stephen Covey's Principle-Centered Leadership is a principal reference for my nonfiction books. It contains the essence of how any organization, social group, family, or country should operate. The quest for a win-win solution, e.g. 'keep guns out of the hands of violent criminals while promoting safe and responsible firearm use by law-abiding citizens' is a keystone of constructive conflict resolution. I consider myself among its foremost advocates. Dr. Covey also points out (accurately) that 'compromise' is lose-lose; neither side gets everything it wants but, since both sides agree the solution is 'fair,' no one walks away angry. This is the situation:
In peace there's nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility:
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger"
In peace there's nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility:
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger"
Click Here For Fascism: it CAN happen here
Fascism: it CAN happen here: Who said this? "'[nationality of citizens] who wish to use firearms should join the [Armed Forces]. Ordinary citizens don't need guns, as their having guns doesn't serve the State'"
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Click Here For The Problems with Government Gun Control
The Problems with Government Gun Control: "Burglars have rights too, says Attorney General
He [Lord Goldsmith, the attorney-general] said that criminals must also have the right to protection from violence. - Melissa Kite and Andrew Alderson, December 12, 2004 [news.telegraph.uk] "
He [Lord Goldsmith, the attorney-general] said that criminals must also have the right to protection from violence. - Melissa Kite and Andrew Alderson, December 12, 2004 [news.telegraph.uk] "
Click Here For Reason: Gun Control's Twisted Outcome
Reason: Gun Control�s Twisted Outcome: "Gun Control�s Twisted Outcome
Restricting firearms has helped make England more crime-ridden than the U.S."
Restricting firearms has helped make England more crime-ridden than the U.S."
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Click Here For The Armed Citizen Reporter
The Armed Citizen Reporter: "GRANNY KILLS ARMED ROBBER: Imagine the surprise for the would-be armed robber who became the second criminal to be killed by his intended victim in Houston in one week. He turned his gun on Nora Ghani, a woman in the convenience store he was robbing and she didn't wait. She killed him. Her son Napel thought first that he had been shot. Then that his mother had been shot. But no. It was one of the two robbers. The other one hasn't been seen nor heard from since, according to this story. They're soon going to be short on convenience store robbers in Houston. (Source: 'The Houston Chronicle,' Feb. 28, 2000, via the 'Keep and Bear Arms' web site. URL elsewhere.) "
Click Here For The Armed Citizen Reporter
The Armed Citizen Reporter: "NOT GOING TO BE THE SIXTH VICTIM: Khoa Dang Nguyen was determined not to be the sixth victim of robbers, who killed five of his friends. When two armed robbers tried to hold him up, he gave them the money and asked them to leave. When one of them locked the security door, he knew they were not going to be satisfied with taking his money. So he shot them both. Twins Albert and Abbert Gaston, who were wounded, were charged with aggravated robbery. (Source: 'Houston Chronicle,' Houston, Texas 2/24/2000 via 'Keep and Bear Arms Organization.') "
Click Here For The Armed Citizen Reporter
The Armed Citizen Reporter: "HE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE EASY: Brian K. Franklin thought it would be easy to force his way into a Mayo, Florida home and 'have his way' with the occupants. Franklin, who had evaded a months-long manhunt, walked onto the back porch of the home, but the woman locked the door. So he broke the door down and walked in. When he raised his gun to the woman, her husband blew him away with a 12-ga. shotgun. Very unexpected. (Source: 'Branford News,' Branford, Florida, 12/23/99 via 'Keep and Bear Arms Organization.') "
Click Here For NRA-ILA :: Fact Sheets
NRA-ILA :: Fact Sheets: "D.C.`s homicide rate has soared since the city banned handguns in 1976. Homicide had been declining in D.C. before the ban, but increased after the ban was imposed. By 1991 D.C.`s homicide rate had risen more than 200%. By comparison, the U.S. homicide rate rose only 12% during the same period. D.C.`s homicide rate is more than double the rate when its handgun ban took effect. (FBI, Metropolitan Police of the District of Columbia)"
Click Here For NRA-ILA :: Fact Sheets
NRA-ILA :: Fact Sheets: "The District`s gun law forces law-abiding citizens to choose between protecting their lives and obeying the law. Former U.S. Senator Warren Rudman explained his choice: 'Honest people don`t have guns and criminals do. I think people have a right to protect themselves. I was outraged to learn that I couldn`t legally have a gun in Washington. Despite the law, I kept one in my office and one in my apartment, because there were plenty of armed criminals roaming the streets of Washington.' (Combat: Twelve Years in the U.S. Senate, 1996, p.40)"
Click Here For NRA-ILA :: Fact Sheets
NRA-ILA :: Fact Sheets: " D.C.`s homicide rate has soared since the city banned handguns in 1976. Homicide had been declining in D.C. before the ban, but increased after the ban was imposed. By 1991 D.C.`s homicide rate had risen more than 200%. By comparison, the U.S. homicide rate rose only 12% during the same period. D.C.`s homicide rate is more than double the rate when its handgun ban took effect. (FBI, Metropolitan Police of the District of Columbia)"
Click Here For Annie Get Your Gun
Annie Get Your Gun: "For those women who think that just because they call 9-11 when a couple of big bruisers break into their home - if they even have the time or opportunity to get to the phone - that the police are obligated to run right over and save their bacon are wrong. Dead wrong. Not here in California and many other states. Anyone can look up these appellate cases and find out that the courts have repeatedly ruled that law enforcement do not have a duty to protect you or your property:
Hartzler v. City of San Jose (1975) 46 Cal.App.3d 6, 120 Cal.Rptr. 5, Davidson v. City of Westminister (1982) 32 Cal.3d 197, 185 Cal.Rptr. 252, Westbrooks v. State (1985) 173 Cal.App.3d 1203, 219 Cal.Rtr. 674, Ne Casek v. City of Los Angeles (1965) 233 Cal.App.2d 13 1, 4-3 Cal.Rptr. 294, Susman v. City of Los Angeles, et al (1969) 269 Cal.App.2d 803, 75 Cal.Rptr. 240, Antique Arts Corp. v. City of Torrence (1974) 39 Cal.App.3d 588, 1 14- Cal.Rptr. 332.
Those three to five minutes it takes a squad car (if that quick) to get to your home or apartment can very well mean the difference between life and death. If the two legged predators out there got the message that women have guns in their homes and will use them, guess whose home they're going to skip on burglary/rape night out with the boys? "
Hartzler v. City of San Jose (1975) 46 Cal.App.3d 6, 120 Cal.Rptr. 5, Davidson v. City of Westminister (1982) 32 Cal.3d 197, 185 Cal.Rptr. 252, Westbrooks v. State (1985) 173 Cal.App.3d 1203, 219 Cal.Rtr. 674, Ne Casek v. City of Los Angeles (1965) 233 Cal.App.2d 13 1, 4-3 Cal.Rptr. 294, Susman v. City of Los Angeles, et al (1969) 269 Cal.App.2d 803, 75 Cal.Rptr. 240, Antique Arts Corp. v. City of Torrence (1974) 39 Cal.App.3d 588, 1 14- Cal.Rptr. 332.
Those three to five minutes it takes a squad car (if that quick) to get to your home or apartment can very well mean the difference between life and death. If the two legged predators out there got the message that women have guns in their homes and will use them, guess whose home they're going to skip on burglary/rape night out with the boys? "
Click Here For WAGC (Women Against Gun Control)-Georgia
WAGC (Women Against Gun Control)-Georgia: "The wife of an Atlanta police officer who works in the city's Zone 4 precinct shot and killed a would-be robber early today in the couple's Midtown apartment police said. Investigators were not releasing any information regarding the shooting, but said the woman will not be arrested. Maj. Ted Hall, commander of the Atlanta police Criminal Investigations Division, declined to release any information about the officer or his wife. One of the officer's partners said he and the young woman had just married two months ago, and he recently bought his wife a firearm for protection. "
Click Here For Thought You Should Know - To Preserve and Protect
Thought You Should Know - To Preserve and Protect: "We are told the police are there to 'preserve and protect' and it must be true for we see it emblazoned upon the cruiser cars. Unfortunately it is all a myth. The rude, harsh fact is that the police; local, state, or federal are no more obligated to protect you than the man in the moon. The U.S. Supreme Court has held on many instances that the police are in no way obligated to protect either individuals or groups of individuals.
In a recent case the court ruled it is a, 'fundamental principle of American law that a government and its agents are under no general duty to provide public services, such as police protection, to any individual citizen.' [Warren v. District of Columbia, 444 A.2d 1 (D.C. Ct. of Ap., 1981)] In point of fact, it is not the innocent that will receive any protection but, rather, those criminals already convicted of crimes and held in captivity!
'The affirmative duty to protect arises not from the State's knowledge of the individual's predicament or from its expressions of intent to help him, but from the limitation which it has imposed on his freedom to act on his own behalf.' [DeShaney v. Winnebago County Department of Social Services, 109 S.Ct. 998 (1989) at 1006.] And just what limitations are referred to in the court's declaration? Why the limitations imposed by law to certain individuals, such as incarcerated prisoners, involuntarily committed mental patients and others restrained against their will and therefore unable to protect themselves. "
In a recent case the court ruled it is a, 'fundamental principle of American law that a government and its agents are under no general duty to provide public services, such as police protection, to any individual citizen.' [Warren v. District of Columbia, 444 A.2d 1 (D.C. Ct. of Ap., 1981)] In point of fact, it is not the innocent that will receive any protection but, rather, those criminals already convicted of crimes and held in captivity!
'The affirmative duty to protect arises not from the State's knowledge of the individual's predicament or from its expressions of intent to help him, but from the limitation which it has imposed on his freedom to act on his own behalf.' [DeShaney v. Winnebago County Department of Social Services, 109 S.Ct. 998 (1989) at 1006.] And just what limitations are referred to in the court's declaration? Why the limitations imposed by law to certain individuals, such as incarcerated prisoners, involuntarily committed mental patients and others restrained against their will and therefore unable to protect themselves. "
Click Here For Police Have No Duty to Protect Individuals
Police Have No Duty to Protect Individuals: "Because the police have no general duty to protect individuals, judicial remedies are not available for their failure to protect. In other words, if someone is injured because they expected but did not receive police protection, they cannot recover damages by suing (except in very special cases, explained below). Despite a long history of such failed attempts, however, many, people persist in believing the police are obligated to protect them, attempt to recover when no protection was forthcoming, and are emotionally demoralized when the recovery fails. Legal annals abound with such cases. "
Click Here For What Gun Control Advocates Must Believe
What Gun Control Advocates Must Believe: "That guns are not an effective means of self-defense, which is why police carry them."
Click Here For Taking On Gun Control - Do You Have a Right to Police Protection?
Taking On Gun Control - Do You Have a Right to Police Protection?: "Warren v. District of Columbia is one of the leading cases of this type. Two women were upstairs in a townhouse when they heard their roommate, a third woman, being attacked downstairs by intruders. They phoned the police several times and were assured that officers were on the way. After about 30 minutes, when their roommate's screams had stopped, they assumed the police had finally arrived. When the two women went downstairs they saw that in fact the police never came, but the intruders were still there. As the Warren court graphically states in the opinion: ``For the next fourteen hours the women were held captive, raped, robbed, beaten, forced to commit sexual acts upon each other, and made to submit to the sexual demands of their attackers.'' The three women sued the District of Columbia for failing to protect them, but D.C.'s highest court exonerated the District and its police, saying that it is a ``fundamental principle of American law that a government and its agents are under no general duty to provide public services, such as police protection, to any individual citizen.'' Warren v. District of Columbia, 444 A.2d 1 (D.C. Ct. of Ap., 1981). "
Click Here For 40 Reasons for Gun Control
40 Reasons for Gun Control: "Most people can't be trusted, so we should have laws against guns, which most people will abide by because they can be trusted."
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Click Here For "Gun Controllers: It's Like They Have an Addiction!" by Howard�Nemerov
"Gun Controllers: It's Like They Have an Addiction!" by Howard�Nemerov: " Unfortunately for the deluded gun controller, history shows one consistent fact: loss of civil rights follows civilian disarmament. In New South Wales, Australia, Premiere Bob Carr is pushing for revocation of double jeopardy. (15) Britain is looking into the same possibility. (16) Remember that these two countries are the most recent to create a complete ban on civilian firearm ownership.
We have other, more terrifying, examples from the 20th Century. Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Saddam Hussein, and many other despots first made sure the people were disarmed. Then they began to slaughter the very people that national leaders are supposed to protect, to the tune of tens of millions; far more than all the gun-related deaths in the history of the United States."
We have other, more terrifying, examples from the 20th Century. Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Saddam Hussein, and many other despots first made sure the people were disarmed. Then they began to slaughter the very people that national leaders are supposed to protect, to the tune of tens of millions; far more than all the gun-related deaths in the history of the United States."
Click Here For It can't happen here!
It can't happen here!: "Several recent court decisions have consistently held that the state owes a Citizen no personal police protection whatsoever. The United States Supreme Court, and State Supreme Courts, have consistently held that there is no constitutional right to be protected from the criminal element, nor is there any liability if the police fail to protect you. In 1856 the United States Supreme Court declared that law enforcement has no duty to protect a particular person, but only a general duty to enforce the laws. "
Click Here For Gun Facts From Australia and US
Gun Facts From Australia and US: "After a 16 year decline in the misuse of guns that saw the firearms-related death rate cut nearly in half and firearms related homicides decrease by nearly two-thirds from 1980 to 1995, crime in Australia suddenly reversed itself and began a steep climb.
Following the gun ban (in Australia), armed robberies went up 69%, assaults with guns went up 28%, gun murders went up 19% and home invasions went up 21%.
(March 27, 2000 violent crime statistics posted to the Australia Bureau of Statistics Web site.) "
Following the gun ban (in Australia), armed robberies went up 69%, assaults with guns went up 28%, gun murders went up 19% and home invasions went up 21%.
(March 27, 2000 violent crime statistics posted to the Australia Bureau of Statistics Web site.) "
Click Here For A Nation Of Cowards
A Nation Of Cowards: "OUR SOCIETY has reached a pinnacle of self-expression and respect for individuality rare or unmatched in history. Our entire popular culture -- from fashion magazines to the cinema -- positively screams the matchless worth of the individual, and glories in eccentricity, nonconformity, independent judgment, and self-determination. This enthusiasm is reflected in the prevalent notion that helping someone entails increasing that person's ' self-esteem '; that if a person properly values himself, he will naturally be a happy, productive, and, in some inexplicable fashion, responsible member of society.
And yet, while people are encouraged to revel in their individuality and incalculable self-worth, the media and the law enforcement establishment continually advise us that, when confronted with the threat of lethal violence, we should not resist, but simply give the attacker what he wants.
If the crime under consideration is rape, there is some notable waffling on this point, and the discussion quickly moves to how the woman can change her behavior to minimize the risk of rape, and the various ridiculous, non-lethal weapons she may acceptably carry, such as whistles, keys, mace or, that weapon which really sends shivers down a rapist's spine, the portable cellular phone."
And yet, while people are encouraged to revel in their individuality and incalculable self-worth, the media and the law enforcement establishment continually advise us that, when confronted with the threat of lethal violence, we should not resist, but simply give the attacker what he wants.
If the crime under consideration is rape, there is some notable waffling on this point, and the discussion quickly moves to how the woman can change her behavior to minimize the risk of rape, and the various ridiculous, non-lethal weapons she may acceptably carry, such as whistles, keys, mace or, that weapon which really sends shivers down a rapist's spine, the portable cellular phone."
Click Here For Fighting Back: Crime, Self-Defense and the Right to Carry a Handgun
Fighting Back: Crime, Self-Defense and the Right to Carry a Handgun: "Concealed-carry reform reaffirms the basic idea that citizens have the right to defend themselves against criminal attack. And since criminals can strike almost anywhere at any time, the last thing government ought to be doing is stripping citizens of the most effective means of defending themselves. Carrying a handgun in public may not be for everyone, but it is a right that government ought to respect."
Click Here For Gun Control - It Doesn't Work
Gun Control - It Doesn't Work: "Gun control. I'm against it. We don't need it. Guns are inanimate. Emotionless. Immobile. They have no ability, means or desire to commit crime or violence. One of the fundamental principals of a free society is you are not punished for the acts of others. You are not deprived of your rights and freedom because of the criminal activity of others. (Aside from aiding and abetting criminal acts) Instead of trying to control the guns that are properly employed by the vast majority of the millions of decent and law abiding gun owning citizens, why don't we control the people who abuse the rights of gun ownership? I rather detest employing the platitudinous old clich�, 'Guns don't kill people, people kill people', but it's true. "
Click Here For Rage against self defense: A psychologist examines the anti-gun mentality
Rage against self defense: A psychologist examines the anti-gun mentality: "In my experience, the common thread in anti-gun people is rage. Either anti-gun people harbor more rage than others, or they're less able to cope with it appropriately. Because they can't handle their own feelings of rage, they are forced to use defense mechanisms in an unhealthy manner. Because they wrongly perceive others as seeking to harm them, they advocate the disarmament of ordinary people who have no desire to harm anyone. So why do anti-gun people have so much rage and why are they unable to deal with it in appropriate ways? Consider for a moment that the largest and most hysterical anti-gun groups include disproportionately large numbers of women, African- Americans and Jews. And virtually all of the organizations that claim to speak for these 'oppressed people' are stridently anti-gun. Not coincidentally, among Jews, Blacks and women there are many 'professional victims' who have little sense of identity outside of their victimhood. "
Click Here For OA Online Editorials
OA Online Editorials: "Indeed, the government's position is simple: We don't trust you to protect yourself with handguns or rifles, but the police have no obligation to protect you, either. This point, rather than hand-wringing about violent video games and 'easy' access to guns, needs to capture more attention, because it holds the key to making schools safer. "
Click Here For Ed's Views on Gun Control
Ed's Views on Gun Control: "In order to fully stand by an anti-gun sentiment, you must be willing to do the following:
Post 'gun free house' signs on your home and/or wear 'gun free person' signs on yourself, showing to the world you're unarmed, and be willing to accept the consequences that may arise as a result.
AND
Be willing to publically state that it is better for a woman to be raped/murdered than to defend herself with a gun. "
Post 'gun free house' signs on your home and/or wear 'gun free person' signs on yourself, showing to the world you're unarmed, and be willing to accept the consequences that may arise as a result.
AND
Be willing to publically state that it is better for a woman to be raped/murdered than to defend herself with a gun. "
Click Here For Kopel, Gallant & Eisen on Uganda & Gun Control on National Review Online
Kopel, Gallant & Eisen on Uganda & Gun Control on National Review Online: "More gun control, more genocide. That's the lesson of the 20th century in many nations, including Uganda. Yet the United Nations is again trying to make it impossible for Ugandans to protect themselves. Once again, the U.N. is supporting repression rather than human rights. "
Click Here For IFR News - 86
IFR News - 86: "Concealed carry laws have dropped murder and crime rates in the states that have enacted them. According to a comprehensive study which studied crime statistics in all of the counties in the United States from 1977 to 1992, states which passed concealed carry laws reduced their murder rate by 8.5%, rapes by 5%, aggravated assaults by 7% and robbery by 3%.4 "
Click Here For GunOwnersAlliance.com - Ask the Rabbi: Legality of Police Protection?
GunOwnersAlliance.com - Ask the Rabbi: Legality of Police Protection?: "No ordinary person in America has a Constitutional right to police protection. Yet, many states and cities refuse to issue permits to carry a weapon for self defense. Why isn't this fact more widely publicized? Would you vote for a bond measure to drag your city or state into further indebtedness for the hiring of additional officers if you knew of this ruling? Just something for you to think about. "
Click Here For The New American - Gun Control Cliches - April 4, 1994
The New American - Gun Control Clich�s - April 4, 1994: "Numerous state and federal court decisions have firmly established that the police have no legal obligation to protect individual citizens and cannot be held liable for failing to do so. Some of those key decisions are summarized in an important report, Dial 911 And Die?, published by the Wisconsin-based Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (JPFO), which concludes that Americans who believe that their local police have a duty in law to protect them against criminals 'are wrong.' As a result of this complacency-inducing belief, JPFO contends, many persons have become crime victims after being 'duped by ignorant or else dishonest politicians or police chiefs, who promise protection that they cannot give and have no legal duty to give.'
Dr. Gary Kleck agrees that the claim that 'citizens can depend on police for effective protection, is simply untrue,' since it 'implies that police can serve the same function as a gun in disrupting a crime in progress, before the victim is hurt or loses property. Police cannot do this, and indeed do not themselves even claim to be able to do so. Instead, police primarily respond reactively to crimes after they have occurred .... ' The idea that 'modern police are so effective in controlling crime that they have rendered citizen self-protection obsolete is widely at variance with a large body of evidence that police activities have, at best, only very modest effects on crime.' "
Dr. Gary Kleck agrees that the claim that 'citizens can depend on police for effective protection, is simply untrue,' since it 'implies that police can serve the same function as a gun in disrupting a crime in progress, before the victim is hurt or loses property. Police cannot do this, and indeed do not themselves even claim to be able to do so. Instead, police primarily respond reactively to crimes after they have occurred .... ' The idea that 'modern police are so effective in controlling crime that they have rendered citizen self-protection obsolete is widely at variance with a large body of evidence that police activities have, at best, only very modest effects on crime.' "
Click Here For Washington University Law Quarterly: OF HOLOCAUSTS AND GUN CONTROL
Washington University Law Quarterly: OF HOLOCAUSTS AND GUN CONTROL: " When victims have guns, the overwhelming advantage otherwise enjoyed by physically superior or more numerous aggressors is diminished. One (usually unintended) consequence of an effective ban on citizen firearms ownership is to weaken the weak and strengthen the strong relative to one another. It is not embellishment to call this effect a 'cause' of genocide, because it foreseeably expedites this outcome by lowering the costs of predation. In practical effect, moreover, the matter is even more stark, because gun bans are never universal. By definition they do not operate on people whom government illegally supplies with guns such as government officials.[8]
To summarize: from the point of view of any aggressor, it is desirable if not essential that intended victims not possess weapons, especially firearms. This principle holds true whether the subject is a gangster premeditating a crime or a government planning a genocide. This is an inherently dangerous incentive structure. It seems to us indefensible to fail to acknowledge its potential for mischief even if at the end of the day one decides that 'tyranny' is too remote an evil, and an armed citizenry as a means of avoiding this evil too feeble, to repay its cost in accidental or unjustifiable bloodshed. We discuss these questions presently, but we turn first to a threshold question. "
To summarize: from the point of view of any aggressor, it is desirable if not essential that intended victims not possess weapons, especially firearms. This principle holds true whether the subject is a gangster premeditating a crime or a government planning a genocide. This is an inherently dangerous incentive structure. It seems to us indefensible to fail to acknowledge its potential for mischief even if at the end of the day one decides that 'tyranny' is too remote an evil, and an armed citizenry as a means of avoiding this evil too feeble, to repay its cost in accidental or unjustifiable bloodshed. We discuss these questions presently, but we turn first to a threshold question. "
Click Here For Reasonable Gun Control � Support H.R. 648 - Geoff Metcalf
Reasonable Gun Control � Support H.R. 648 - Geoff Metcalf: "Who would have thunk it? A congressional bill has been introduced to defend your Second Amendment rights that is reasonable and makes sense. Which probably means Schumer/Boxer/Feinstein/Clinton will go ballistic vilifying it. "
Click Here For GUN CONTROL AND RACISM - Stefan B. Tahmassebi
GUN CONTROL AND RACISM - Stefan B. Tahmassebi: "The first gun control laws were enacted in the ante-bellum South forbidding blacks, whether free or slave, to possess arms, in order to maintain blacks in their servile status. After the Civil War, the South continued to pass restrictive firearms laws in order to deprive the newly freed blacks from exercising their rights of citizenship. During the later part of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century, gun control laws were passed in the South in order to disarm agrarian reformers and in the North to disarm union organizers. In the North, a strong xenophobic reaction to recent waves of immigrants added further fuel for gun control laws which were used to disarm such persons. Other firearms ownership restrictions were adopted in order to repress the incipient black civil rights movement.
Another old American prejudice supported such gun control efforts, then as it does now: the idea that poor people, and especially the black poor, are not to be trusted with firearms. Even now, in many jurisdictions in which police departments have wide discretion in issuing firearm permits, the effect is that permits are rarely issued to poor or minority citizens. [Page 68]
Blacks, and especially poor blacks, are disproportionately the victims of crime. Yet, these citizens are often not afforded the same police protections that other more affluent and less crime ridden neighborhoods or communities enjoy. This lack of protection is especially so in the inner city urban ghettos. Firearms prohibitions discriminate against those poor and minority citizens who must rely on such arms to defend themselves from criminal activity to a much greater degree than affluent citizens living in safer and better protected communities."
Another old American prejudice supported such gun control efforts, then as it does now: the idea that poor people, and especially the black poor, are not to be trusted with firearms. Even now, in many jurisdictions in which police departments have wide discretion in issuing firearm permits, the effect is that permits are rarely issued to poor or minority citizens. [Page 68]
Blacks, and especially poor blacks, are disproportionately the victims of crime. Yet, these citizens are often not afforded the same police protections that other more affluent and less crime ridden neighborhoods or communities enjoy. This lack of protection is especially so in the inner city urban ghettos. Firearms prohibitions discriminate against those poor and minority citizens who must rely on such arms to defend themselves from criminal activity to a much greater degree than affluent citizens living in safer and better protected communities."
Click Here For TEN MYTHS ABOUT GUN CONTROL
TEN MYTHS ABOUT GUN CONTROL: "If gun laws worked, the proponents of such laws would gleefully cite examples of reduced crime. Instead, they uniformly blame the absence of tougher or wider spread measures for the failures of the laws they adv ocated. Or they cite denials of applications for permission to buy a firearm as evidence the law is doing something beyond preventing honest citizens from being able legally to acquire firearms. They cite Washington, D.C., as a jurisdiction where gun laws are 'working.' Yet crime in Washington has risen dramatically since 1976, the year before its handgun ban took effect. Washington, D.C., now has outrageously higher crime rates than any of the states (D.C. 1992 violent crime rate: 2832.8 per 100,000 resi dents; U.S. rate: 757.5), with a homicide rate 8 times the national rate (1992 rate 75.4 per 100,000 for D.C., 9.3 nationally.) No wonder former D.C. Police Chief Maurice Turner said, 'What has the gun control law done to keep criminals from gettin g guns? Absolutely nothing... [City residents] ought to have the opportunity to have a handgun.'
Criminals in Washington have no trouble getting either prohibited drugs or prohibited handguns, resulting in a skyrocketing of the city's murder rate. D.C.'s 1991 homicide rate of 80.6 per 100,000 population was the highest ever recorded by an American big city, and marked a 200% rise in homicide since banning handguns, while the nation's homicide rate rose just 11%. Since 1991, the homicide rate has re mained near 75 per 100,000, while the national rate hovers around 9-10.
Clearly, criminals do not bother with the niceties of obeying laws--for a criminal is, by definition, someone who disobeys laws. Those who enforce the law agree."
Criminals in Washington have no trouble getting either prohibited drugs or prohibited handguns, resulting in a skyrocketing of the city's murder rate. D.C.'s 1991 homicide rate of 80.6 per 100,000 population was the highest ever recorded by an American big city, and marked a 200% rise in homicide since banning handguns, while the nation's homicide rate rose just 11%. Since 1991, the homicide rate has re mained near 75 per 100,000, while the national rate hovers around 9-10.
Clearly, criminals do not bother with the niceties of obeying laws--for a criminal is, by definition, someone who disobeys laws. Those who enforce the law agree."
Click Here For Gun Control Misperceptions
Gun Control Misperceptions: "New York City and Washington, D.C. are two of the most restrictive cities in the country with respect to gun control, yet they are also two of the least safest cities in the country."
Click Here For Gun Control vs. Our Freedoms
Gun Control vs: "Stricter gun control laws are but one example of our society's movement away from personal liberty and self-reliance, and toward an assumption that the best agent to handle all of our problems is the government. Governmental police forces were created to prevent and break up riots, and to keep a general sense of public order. They were never designed to stop criminal acts against individuals and, accordingly, they do this job poorly. When confronted with a threat to their personal safety or property, many people will choose to simply submit and hope for justice later. This is most definitely a personal decision, and entirely their right. However, for those who choose to exercise their rights to self protection it is immoral to deny them the most effective means to do so. As minorities, and oftentimes unpopular minorities, in this society, it is of critical importance that we have access to the most effective "
Click Here For Gun Laws / Gun Control
Gun Laws / Gun Control: "(A) Every year, more than 2,400,000 people in the United States use a gun to defend themselves against criminals-or more than 6,500 people a day. This means that, each year, firearms are used 60 times more often to protect the lives of honest citizens than to take lives.
(B) Of the 2,400,000 self-defense cases, more than 192,000 are by women defending themselves against sexual abuse.
(C) Of the 2,400,000 times citizens use their guns to defend themselves every year, 92 percent merely brandish their gun or fire a warning shot to scare off their attackers. Less than 8 percent of the time, does a citizen kill or wound his or her attacker."
(B) Of the 2,400,000 self-defense cases, more than 192,000 are by women defending themselves against sexual abuse.
(C) Of the 2,400,000 times citizens use their guns to defend themselves every year, 92 percent merely brandish their gun or fire a warning shot to scare off their attackers. Less than 8 percent of the time, does a citizen kill or wound his or her attacker."
Click Here For Fact Sheet: 1995 Firearms Talking Points
Fact Sheet: 1995 Firearms Talking Points: "Washington, D.C. has the most restrictive gun control laws in the country, and yet it has one of the highest murder rates in the nation.
* Objection: Critics claim criminals merely get their guns in Virginia where the laws are more relaxed. This, they argue, is why the D.C. gun ban is not working.
* Answer: Perhaps criminals do get their guns in Virginia, but this overlooks one point: If the availability of guns in Virginia is the root of D.C.'s problems, why does Virginia not have the same murder and crime rate as the District? Virginia is awash in guns and yet the murder rate is much, much lower. "
* Objection: Critics claim criminals merely get their guns in Virginia where the laws are more relaxed. This, they argue, is why the D.C. gun ban is not working.
* Answer: Perhaps criminals do get their guns in Virginia, but this overlooks one point: If the availability of guns in Virginia is the root of D.C.'s problems, why does Virginia not have the same murder and crime rate as the District? Virginia is awash in guns and yet the murder rate is much, much lower. "
Click Here For Guns Save Lives
Guns Save Lives: "My husband and I were accosted in Phoenix one evening (about 6PM) in a public parking lot (well lighted) by four individuals who wanted our truck (and who knows what else). If we had not been armed, they would have had the truck and anything else they may well have wanted. The police were no where in sight and when we contacted them the next day all they said was, 'what were you doing on that street at that time of the evening? We don't even go there after dark.'
I agree with what has already been stated and is well documented, 'courts have long held that the police are under no obligation to protect individual citizens. "
I agree with what has already been stated and is well documented, 'courts have long held that the police are under no obligation to protect individual citizens. "
Click Here For Do the police have an obligation to protect you? | shadyvale.org
Do the police have an obligation to protect you? | shadyvale.org: "In a word, no. The courts are very clear on this topic in several landmark rulings:
Hartlzer v. City of San Jose
DeShaney v. Winnebago Department of Social Services
Warren v. District of Columbia
Of the three cases the most interesting to me is the third. The short version of the story is as follows: Two women heard their roomate downstairs being attacked by intruders. The two women called the police station and were told that officers were on their way. When their roomates screams stopped they assumed that the police had arrived. They were wrong. For the next 14 hours the women were forced to... (I am sure you can find it on the web if you really want to know.) As expected, the women sued the city. The opinion of the court was that it is a 'fundamental principle of American law that a government and its agents are under no general duty to provide public services, such as police protection, to any individual citizen.'"
Hartlzer v. City of San Jose
DeShaney v. Winnebago Department of Social Services
Warren v. District of Columbia
Of the three cases the most interesting to me is the third. The short version of the story is as follows: Two women heard their roomate downstairs being attacked by intruders. The two women called the police station and were told that officers were on their way. When their roomates screams stopped they assumed that the police had arrived. They were wrong. For the next 14 hours the women were forced to... (I am sure you can find it on the web if you really want to know.) As expected, the women sued the city. The opinion of the court was that it is a 'fundamental principle of American law that a government and its agents are under no general duty to provide public services, such as police protection, to any individual citizen.'"
Click Here For WAGC (Women Against Gun Control)-Georgia
WAGC (Women Against Gun Control)-Georgia: "The weapon at the feet of a DeKalb Co. policeman was involved in an attempted carjacking Monday night, police said. Local crime Georgia Crime Files A shooting Monday evening in a Dunwoody shopping plaza parking lot is apparently a case of an intended carjacking victim getting the drop on his attacker, DeKalb County police said. The would-be carjacker 'chose the wrong guy,' police told one shopper moments after gunfire erupted in the Perimeter Village shopping plaza parking lot on Ashford Dunwoody Road, about a mile north of Perimeter Mall. Police learned of the shooting from the shooter himself, said police Sgt. Lisa Reese. At 6:15 p.m., he called DeKalb 911 and said his Ford Taurus was being carjacked but that he had shot the suspect, Reese said. Investigators have found no other witnesses to the shooting, she said. The man who was injured was able to tell paramedics only that he had been shot, Reese said. "
Click Here For Taking On Gun Control - Reasons to Own A Firearm
Taking On Gun Control - Reasons to Own A Firearm: "Police Cannot Protect And Are Not Required To Protect Every Individual
The courts have consistently ruled that the police do not have an obligation to protect individuals, only the public in general. For example, in Warren v. D.C. the court stated 'courts have without exception concluded that when a municipality or other governmental entity undertakes to furnish police services, it assumes a duty only to the public at large and not to individual members of the community.'
Former Florida Attorney General Jim Smith told Florida legislators that police responded to only about 200,000 of 700,000 calls for help (28.57%) to Dade County authorities. Smith was asked why so many citizens in Dade County were buying guns and he said, 'They damn well better, they've got to protect themselves.'
The Department of Justice found that in 1989, there were 168,881 crimes of violence which were not responded to by police within 1 hour.
Currently, there are about 150,000 police officers on duty at any one time to protect a population of more than 250 million Americans or almost 1,700 citizens per officer. "
The courts have consistently ruled that the police do not have an obligation to protect individuals, only the public in general. For example, in Warren v. D.C. the court stated 'courts have without exception concluded that when a municipality or other governmental entity undertakes to furnish police services, it assumes a duty only to the public at large and not to individual members of the community.'
Former Florida Attorney General Jim Smith told Florida legislators that police responded to only about 200,000 of 700,000 calls for help (28.57%) to Dade County authorities. Smith was asked why so many citizens in Dade County were buying guns and he said, 'They damn well better, they've got to protect themselves.'
The Department of Justice found that in 1989, there were 168,881 crimes of violence which were not responded to by police within 1 hour.
Currently, there are about 150,000 police officers on duty at any one time to protect a population of more than 250 million Americans or almost 1,700 citizens per officer. "
Click Here For "Shall Issue": The New Wave of Concealed Handgun Permit Laws
"Shall Issue": The New Wave of Concealed Handgun Permit Laws: "When criminals use force, though, they are violating the law, and thereby taking the law into their own hands. When citizens use or threaten force "
Click Here For Japanese Gun Control
Japanese Gun Control: "In Japan, the legal system is, in effect, an omnipotent and unitary state authority. All law enforcement administrators in Japan are appointed by the National Police Agency and receive their funding from the NPA. Hence, the police are insulated from complaints from politicians or other citizens.[50] There is hardly any check on the power of the state, save its own conscience.
What does the breadth of police powers have to do with gun controls? Japanese gun controls exist in a society where there is little need for guns for self-defense. Police powers make it difficult for owners of illegal guns to hide them. Most importantly, the Japanese criminal justice system is based on the Government possessing the inherent authority to do whatever it wishes. In a society where almost everyone accepts nearly limitless, unchecked Government power, people do not wish to own guns to resist oppression or to protect themselves in case the criminal justice system fails.
Extensive police authority is one reason the Japanese gun control system works. Another reason is that Japan has no cultural history of gun ownership by citizens."
What does the breadth of police powers have to do with gun controls? Japanese gun controls exist in a society where there is little need for guns for self-defense. Police powers make it difficult for owners of illegal guns to hide them. Most importantly, the Japanese criminal justice system is based on the Government possessing the inherent authority to do whatever it wishes. In a society where almost everyone accepts nearly limitless, unchecked Government power, people do not wish to own guns to resist oppression or to protect themselves in case the criminal justice system fails.
Extensive police authority is one reason the Japanese gun control system works. Another reason is that Japan has no cultural history of gun ownership by citizens."
NCPA - Policy Report 176 - Myths About Gun Control
NCPA - Policy Report 176 - Myths About Gun Control: "In the 1960s a New York-based antigun group printed signs for its members to post on their homes, 'THERE ARE NO GUNS IN THIS HOUSE.' But the signs came down and the organization withered after a large number of those homes were robbed or burglarized."
NCPA - Policy Report 176 - Myths About Gun Control
NCPA - Policy Report 176 - Myths About Gun Control: "Case Study: Los Angeles, Calif.
Rioters in Los Angeles in the spring of 1992 looted and burned a store owned by Korean-Americans in Hollywood, even though they had to break through steel roll-down doors with crowbars and sledgehammers to get at it. But they spared a similar business in Koreatown. The reason? The rioters could see commandos with Uzi machine guns on top of the Koreatown building. The merchants later revealed that, although they did have a few guns that they fully intended to use if necessary, the 'Uzis' were toys, and the 'commandos' were costumed merchants.17
The looters and arsonists tended to leave houses and apartment buildings in the riot area of Los Angeles alone - not out of compassion, but because, as a 13-year-old neighborhood resident said, 'They (the residents) got guns and everybody knows that. Nobody's going to want to mess with folks in houses.'18"
Rioters in Los Angeles in the spring of 1992 looted and burned a store owned by Korean-Americans in Hollywood, even though they had to break through steel roll-down doors with crowbars and sledgehammers to get at it. But they spared a similar business in Koreatown. The reason? The rioters could see commandos with Uzi machine guns on top of the Koreatown building. The merchants later revealed that, although they did have a few guns that they fully intended to use if necessary, the 'Uzis' were toys, and the 'commandos' were costumed merchants.17
The looters and arsonists tended to leave houses and apartment buildings in the riot area of Los Angeles alone - not out of compassion, but because, as a 13-year-old neighborhood resident said, 'They (the residents) got guns and everybody knows that. Nobody's going to want to mess with folks in houses.'18"
NCPA - Policy Report 176 - Myths About Gun Control
NCPA - Policy Report 176 - Myths About Gun Control: "The experience of other nations also provides little support for the notion that guns causecrime:7
Switzerland has one of the lowest murder rates in the world, and it requires all able-bodied males between the ages of 20 and 50 to have a military-issued automatic weapon, ammunition and other equipment in their dwellings.8
Israel, which has an extremely low crime rate but is vulnerable to enemies including terrorists, depends on the defensive value of widespread civilian gun possession.
Denmark and Finland also have high rates of gun ownership and low crime rates.
The experience of these countries shows that widespread gun possession is compatible with low crime rates. On the other hand, nations like Japan and England also have low crime rates but low gun ownership. There is no simple relationship between firearm availability and crime.9"
Switzerland has one of the lowest murder rates in the world, and it requires all able-bodied males between the ages of 20 and 50 to have a military-issued automatic weapon, ammunition and other equipment in their dwellings.8
Israel, which has an extremely low crime rate but is vulnerable to enemies including terrorists, depends on the defensive value of widespread civilian gun possession.
Denmark and Finland also have high rates of gun ownership and low crime rates.
The experience of these countries shows that widespread gun possession is compatible with low crime rates. On the other hand, nations like Japan and England also have low crime rates but low gun ownership. There is no simple relationship between firearm availability and crime.9"
Click Here For NCPA - Policy Report 176 - Myths About Gun Control
NCPA - Policy Report 176 - Myths About Gun Control: "Myth No. 14: People don't need guns for self-protection because they can rely on the police. About 83 percent of the population will be victims of violent crime at some point in their lives, and in any given year serious crime touches 25 percent of all households. Considering that, effectively, there is only one police officer on patrol for every 3,300 people, the odds are not likely to improve. And the courts have ruled that government has no duty to protect individual citizens from crime."
Read it and weep
GOA Fact Sheet-- 2004 Gun Control Facts: "Justice Department study:
* 3/5 of felons polled agreed that 'a criminal is not going to mess around with a victim he knows is armed with a gun.'42
* 74% of felons polled agreed that 'one reason burglars avoid houses when people are at home is that they fear being shot during the crime.'43
* 57% of felons polled agreed that 'criminals are more worried about meeting an armed victim than they are about running into the police.'44 "
* 3/5 of felons polled agreed that 'a criminal is not going to mess around with a victim he knows is armed with a gun.'42
* 74% of felons polled agreed that 'one reason burglars avoid houses when people are at home is that they fear being shot during the crime.'43
* 57% of felons polled agreed that 'criminals are more worried about meeting an armed victim than they are about running into the police.'44 "
Click Here For Criminals Avoid Armed Citizens
GOA Fact Sheet-- 2004 Gun Control Facts: "* Kennesaw, GA. In 1982, this suburb of Atlanta passed a law requiring heads of households to keep at least one firearm in the house. The residential burglary rate subsequently dropped 89% in Kennesaw, compared to the modest 10.4% drop in Georgia as a whole.37
* Ten years later (1991), the residential burglary rate in Kennesaw was still 72% lower than it had been in 1981, before the law was passed.38 "
* Ten years later (1991), the residential burglary rate in Kennesaw was still 72% lower than it had been in 1981, before the law was passed.38 "
Click Here For GOA Fact Sheet-- 2004 Gun Control Facts
GOA Fact Sheet-- 2004 Gun Control Facts: "Armed citizens kill more crooks than do the police. Citizens shoot and kill at least twice as many criminals as police do every year (1,527 to 606)25. And readers of Newsweek learned that 'only 2 percent of civilian shootings involved an innocent person mistakenly identified as a criminal. The ?error rate? for the police, however, was 11 percent, more than five times as high.'26 "
Click Here For Second Amendment Foundation Online Again
Second Amendment Foundation Online: "The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) today expressed astonishment that the City of Chicago would carry its anti-gun extremism to new heights by insulting every retired police officer in the country. ?We?ve long known that the Daley Administration hates law-abiding gun owners,? said SAF Founder Alan Gottlieb. ?But now the city is fomenting hysteria over passage of a federal law that allows off-duty and retired police to legally carry concealed handguns anywhere in the country, provided they meet certain requirements.? "
Click Here For Second Amendment Foundation Online
Second Amendment Foundation Online: "The arrest of a man identified by Fox News as a bodyguard for anti-gun film director Michael Moore by New York Port Authority Police Wednesday evening proves that Moore is an elitist who thinks it is fine for him to have armed security, while he has endeavored to disarm other law-abiding Americans, the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) said today. Adding to the irony, said SAF Founder Alan M. Gottlieb, is the fact that bodyguard Patrick Burke was arrested for violating the kind of Draconian gun law that Moore and his extremist gun control contemporaries would support. "
Click Here For Brady Campaign
NRA-ILA :: Current Legislation - State: "If anyone deserves a bad grade, the Brady Campaign does for failing 'Civics 101.' It reduced Ohio`s grade from a 'D+' to a 'D-' because the state`s Right-to-Carry law 'forced police to issue CCW' permits! Well of course they did; that`s called 'democracy.' Legislatures, representing the people, pass laws. That`s what they do! "
Click Here For GunCite: gun control and Second Amendment issues
GunCite: gun control and Second Amendment issues: "Until the Second Amendment is treated as normal constitutional law, this web site will always be under construction... "
Click Here For Is A Gun An Effective Means Of Self-Defense?
: "'In general, self-protection measures of all types are effective, in the sense of reducing the risk of property loss in robberies and confrontational burglaries, compared to doing nothing or cooperating with the offender. The most effective form of self-protection is use of a gun. For robbery the self-protection meaures with the lowest loss rates were among victims attacking the offender with a gun, and victims threatenting the offender with a gun. For confrontational burglarly, attacking with a gun had the second lowest loss rate of sixteen self-protection measures, bested only by another mode of armed self-protection, threatening the offender with a nongun weapon.' "
Click Here For Christian Guide to Small Arms Online v.1.0
Christian Guide to Small Arms Online v.1.0: "The Christian's Guide to Small Arms was developed in response to the fact that most American Christians have fallen into ignorance concerning the responsibilities and skills required of the Christian freeman. "
Click Here For Concealed Carry (CCW), Concealed Weapon Permit, Concealed Weapon Law : Home
Packing.org Concealed Carry (CCW), Concealed Weapon Permit, Concealed Weapon Law : Home: "Welcome to Packing.org. This is a great place to find out how to legally carry a concealed weapon, if it is possible in your state. We also try to discuss issues related to carrying in the news and talk sections. Make this your home, but behave...manners count. See the new misc stats page by contributors to this site. Also, I've added pages if you are looking to buy a Gun Blue Book or gun safe. "
Click Here For Protect Your Rights: American Self-Defense Institute
Protect Your Rights: American Self-Defense Institute: "Some people train in martial arts. Others train with knives, or batons. While still others train with firearms. A few train with all the above
These people train to be prepared to defend themselves against harm that could come their way, and that preparedness helps to give them peace of mind.
The largest portions of people don't train incessantly? or don't train at all.
Because they do little or nothing to help them be prepared, many of these people don't have peace of mind. Many times they have a deep-seated fear that someone is going to mug them, rob them, rape them or do them harm in some way. "
These people train to be prepared to defend themselves against harm that could come their way, and that preparedness helps to give them peace of mind.
The largest portions of people don't train incessantly? or don't train at all.
Because they do little or nothing to help them be prepared, many of these people don't have peace of mind. Many times they have a deep-seated fear that someone is going to mug them, rob them, rape them or do them harm in some way. "
Click Here For 20,000 Useless Gun Laws
20,000 Useless Gun Laws: "More laws, more regulation, more restrictions. That's the government's answer to crime, especially to any kind of crime dealing with firearms. Today, we have over 20,000 local, state and federal laws which cover every aspect of using, owning, carrying, buying, transporting, storing and possessing a firearm. Yet, with all these new laws, the majority of which have been created since 1968, we have had more and more illegal use of firearms than ever before. Despite all the laws and despite harsher penalties. One has to ask why?"
Click Here For Did British Gun Control Work?
Did British Gun Control Work?: "It does not seem that Britain can be said to be a safer place as a result of the gun ban. The police there have traditionally gone unarmed, but the number of incidents in which police officers have had guns issued to them in recognition of potential danger increased from about 6,000 in 1994-95 to over 12,000 in 1997-8."
Click Here For Pistol-packing Senior Chases Off Mugger, Gets Charged for Unlicensed Gun
7Online.com: Pistol-packing Senior Chases Off Mugger, Gets Charged for Unlicensed Gun: "A mugger in the Bronx got quite a surprise when the 80-year-old man he attacked in an elevator pulled out a .38 caliber handgun. There was a struggle, a shot was fired, and now the elderly victim is being criminally charged. "
Click Here For USURP: Gun Control
USURP: Gun Control: "I remember when Texas passed the concealed carry laws... the crime rates plunged! Could it be that the criminals were now subject to being shot at and killed themselves? Wouldn't that give them second thoughts on whether or not to perpetrate their crime? You bet it would! Every state that passes such laws has a sharp decrease in their crime rates."
Click Here ForCrime is more pervasive in Britain than in the USA
Crime is more pervasive in Britain than in the USA: "Incidentally, the 2/1 UK/USA ratio for burglaries shown above is even worse for Britain, because about half of British burglaries are against *occupied* homes, while in American the ratio is a mere 15%, so rare that such burglaries are headlined as 'home invasions.' The difference, of course, stems from liberal US gun laws; American burglars take great care to avoid the possibility of encountering an armed homeowner."
Monday, January 24, 2005
Click Here For Thousands of Moms lead around by Lies
Thousands of Moms lead around by Lies: "This so-called grass roots movement had the finacial and organizational backing of the Democratic National Committee.
One of the key people behind this media event is a close relative of HRC media consultant Susan Bloodworth-Thomas.
HRC supporter and vocal MMM activist Rosie O'Donnell just hired a bodyguard (who carries a handgun) to protect her child.
She feels that her kid is important enough for this level of safety, but your kid is not!
Far Left political activist Susan Saradon was there. This hypocrit is a member of a Beverly Hills Gun Club, where she practices with her handgun.
Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) was also there. Did you know that she is a HCI Member), and carrie{s,d} a concealed handgun?"
One of the key people behind this media event is a close relative of HRC media consultant Susan Bloodworth-Thomas.
HRC supporter and vocal MMM activist Rosie O'Donnell just hired a bodyguard (who carries a handgun) to protect her child.
She feels that her kid is important enough for this level of safety, but your kid is not!
Far Left political activist Susan Saradon was there. This hypocrit is a member of a Beverly Hills Gun Club, where she practices with her handgun.
Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) was also there. Did you know that she is a HCI Member), and carrie{s,d} a concealed handgun?"
Click Here For The American Enterprise: A Liberal Democrat's Lament
The American Enterprise: A Liberal Democrat's Lament: "Yet the criminological literature provides little support for this caricature of gun owners. Instead, careful research has discovered an incredibly high amount of firearms? being responsibly used in self-defense. Research by Florida State University criminologist Gary Kleck and others indicate between two and three million cases of self-defense per year. Overwhelmingly these incidents involve not firing the weapon at the attacker, but simply brandishing it and thereby causing the attacker?s withdrawal.
In recent years a majority of states have passed laws permitting honest citizens to carry concealed weapons, and the results tell us much about self-defense and the responsibility of the average citizen. Once it was passionately argued that such laws would turn minor altercations into bloody shoot-outs; now we know better. Over 1 million Americans have licenses to carry firearms, but firearms misuse by this group has been utterly negligible. Criminologists now debate not how much harm has been caused by concealed-carry laws, but how much good."
In recent years a majority of states have passed laws permitting honest citizens to carry concealed weapons, and the results tell us much about self-defense and the responsibility of the average citizen. Once it was passionately argued that such laws would turn minor altercations into bloody shoot-outs; now we know better. Over 1 million Americans have licenses to carry firearms, but firearms misuse by this group has been utterly negligible. Criminologists now debate not how much harm has been caused by concealed-carry laws, but how much good."
Click Here For Taking On Gun Control - 20,000 Laws That Don't Work!
Taking On Gun Control - 20,000 Laws That Don't Work!: "More laws, more regulation, more restrictions. That's the government's answer to crime, especially to any kind of crime dealing with firearms. Today, we have over 20,000 local, state and federal laws which cover every aspect of using, owning, carrying, buying, transporting, storing and possessing a firearm. Yet, with all these new laws, the majority of which have been created since 1968, we have had more and more illegal use of firearms than ever before. Despite all the laws and despite harsher penalties. One has to ask why?
"
"
Click Here For The Sniper and the Gun Controllers
Sowell: The Sniper and the Gun Controllers: "Gun control laws do not control people who are in the business of breaking laws. Gun control simply disarms their potential victims, making crime a safer occupation, and hence one that can be indulged in more widely by more people. "
Click Here For Intruder Kills Woman
LP News Online: May 2001: Affiliate News: Michigan: "Tragic killing shows the danger of anti-gun laws
A tragic incident where an intruder killed a woman while she was desperately dialing 911 shows how gun control laws kill people, said the state Libertarian Party.
'Begging a 911 operator to have the police hurry is hardly the best use of the few seconds you have when an armed and dangerous person is trying to break into your home,' said LP State Chair Stacy van Oast.
On March 26, a former boyfriend killed Detroit resident Stephanie Rice and her brother. Rice was on the phone to police when she was killed.
'Instead of a weapon, Ms. Rice used the gun-controller defense -- call 911,' said van Oast. 'The simple fact is that the police just cannot be everywhere in order to effectively deal with a crime in progress. You need to be able to do that yourself.'
And if politicians overturn a new 'shall-issue' gun law, they 'will be writing the epitaph for a lot more folks [like Rice],' said van Oast. "
A tragic incident where an intruder killed a woman while she was desperately dialing 911 shows how gun control laws kill people, said the state Libertarian Party.
'Begging a 911 operator to have the police hurry is hardly the best use of the few seconds you have when an armed and dangerous person is trying to break into your home,' said LP State Chair Stacy van Oast.
On March 26, a former boyfriend killed Detroit resident Stephanie Rice and her brother. Rice was on the phone to police when she was killed.
'Instead of a weapon, Ms. Rice used the gun-controller defense -- call 911,' said van Oast. 'The simple fact is that the police just cannot be everywhere in order to effectively deal with a crime in progress. You need to be able to do that yourself.'
And if politicians overturn a new 'shall-issue' gun law, they 'will be writing the epitaph for a lot more folks [like Rice],' said van Oast. "
Click Here For Guns, Crime, And The News Media: The Truth About "Concealed Carry" Is Concealed
Guns, Crime, And The News Media: The Truth About "Concealed Carry" Is Concealed: "What the media almost never report is the fact that everywhere concealed carry is in effect, serious crime has declined dramatically. That's because most of the media is in favor of gun control. The fact that concealed carry has a positive effect in every community where it is used disrupts their theory that gun control is needed to combat crime.
You never hear the truth about Washington, D.C. The nation's capital has the toughest gun control laws in the nation. But Washington also has one of the highest murder rates committed with guns in the nation. There turned out to be no correlation between the passage of gun control laws and a drop in the number of murders committed with guns. In fact, crimes committed with guns actually went up after some of the toughest measures were passed. "
You never hear the truth about Washington, D.C. The nation's capital has the toughest gun control laws in the nation. But Washington also has one of the highest murder rates committed with guns in the nation. There turned out to be no correlation between the passage of gun control laws and a drop in the number of murders committed with guns. In fact, crimes committed with guns actually went up after some of the toughest measures were passed. "
Click Here For 80,000,000 Firearms owners pray for quick apprehension of this killer.
80,000,000 Firearms owners pray for quick apprehension of this killer.: "Consider: A person or persons, bent on exercising power and deadly force on others, brings a gun or other weapon(s) to a place where he or she can be reasonably certain that there will be unarmed people to victimize. Every crime needs a crime scene, but what I find so obvious about the type of crime described above is that its location is not all that random and can even be predicted. In fact, look around your immediate surroundings. You may be standing in the middle of a killing zone right now. "
Click Here For When Lives are at stake
When Lives are at stake: "Within our country, enacting ?tough? gun laws has consistently increased crime rates versus areas where gun laws were ?loosened? - the net result is more deaths whenever we ?toughen? gun laws. In other countries, the effects are even more dramatic; David Kopel?s research shows gun laws in other countries have NOT reduced crime or suicide, while J. Simkin and R.J. Rummel document that genocide, which kills many times more people than criminals do, is unheard of where guns are readily available. As reflected by their documented debates on the issue, the authors of our Bill of Rights, which establishes the balance of power between citizen and government, clearly felt citizen?s individual ownership of firearms was not to be infringed, for it was needed to protect American citizens from their own government, especially from standing armies like our now federalized National Guard. Contemporary world events show such concerns are still valid. We have details of this information and links to other sources on our site, www.KeepAndBearArms.com "
Click Here For Why Gun Control Laws Kill
Jefferson Review: "Well, since gun control does not make innocent people safer, what can be done? Mr. John R. Lott Jr., senior research scholar at the Yale University Law School, has proposed a solution. He writes in his book, entitled More Guns, Less Crime, about a study that was done between the years of 1988 and 1992. The study found that states that allowed people to carry concealed weapons saw a dramatic decline in the crime rate. Lott?s study shows that criminals are not the stupid stereotypes we make them out to be through Hollywood and TV. Criminals will weigh the advantages and disadvantages of a situation. If they think chances are good that they are going to be shot, they are far less likely to commit the crime in the first place. Still, many people argue that taking all the guns away is a sure way to rid the world of gun violence. However, it is impossible to get rid of all the guns in the world. What is, after all, the definition of a criminal? Criminals are lawbreakers. They break laws. This means that, no matter how many laws are enacted, the ?bad guys,? murderers and thieves, will always find a gun because they do not really care how many laws they have to break to get one. In truth, gun control laws only make the world a safer place for criminals?not for innocent people, and if these laws are eliminated, the world will truly be much safer. "
Click Here For Chuck Baldwin -- Why Does The Religious Right Ignore Civil Liberties Issues?
Chuck Baldwin -- Why Does The Religious Right Ignore Civil Liberties Issues?: "By today's standards, the fear of governmental abuse of power by America's founders would be considered paranoia. However, it was the founders' distrust of government that gave this nation the legal underpinnings to produce the freest country on earth. "
Monday, January 17, 2005
Click Here For More liberal hate speech
Boston.com / News / Boston Globe / Opinion / Op-ed / More liberal hate speech: "Overwhelmingly, though, political hate speech today comes from the left. It has increasingly become a habit of leftist argumentation to simply dismiss conservative ideas as evil or noxious rather than rebut them with facts and evidence.
That is why there was no uproar when Cameron Diaz declared that rape might be legalized if women didn't turn out to vote for John Kerry. Or when Walter Cronkite told Larry King that the videotape of Osama bin Laden that surfaced just before the election was 'probably set up' by Karl Rove. Or when Alfred A. Knopf published Nicholson Baker's 'Checkpoint,' a novel in which two Bush-haters talk about assassinating the president. 'I'm going to kill that bastard,' one character rages."
That is why there was no uproar when Cameron Diaz declared that rape might be legalized if women didn't turn out to vote for John Kerry. Or when Walter Cronkite told Larry King that the videotape of Osama bin Laden that surfaced just before the election was 'probably set up' by Karl Rove. Or when Alfred A. Knopf published Nicholson Baker's 'Checkpoint,' a novel in which two Bush-haters talk about assassinating the president. 'I'm going to kill that bastard,' one character rages."
Saturday, January 15, 2005
Click Here For Bump, grind your way to riches, students told
PALO ALTO / Bump, grind your way to riches, students told: "Students at a Palo Alto middle school learned more than school officials ever expected when a recent 'career day' speaker extolled the merits of stripping and expounded on the financial benefits of a larger bust. "
Friday, January 14, 2005
The Secular Inquistion
From an email:
The Secular Inquisition
By Samuel Gregg
Published December 8, 2004
The Washington Times
Christians are bad. Comrades are good. That is the lesson of the
recently concluded parallel process by which the European Union
Commission and the European Parliament accepted Laszlo Kovacs of Hungary as a European commissioner while vociferously rejecting Italy's European affairs minister, Rocco Buttiglione, for
his views on marriage and homosexuality.
The media describe Laszlo Kovacs as a "socialist." In fact, he is
a career communist with decades of totalitarian experience. Mr. Kovacs worked closely with the leadership of Janos Kadar's sinister regime, installed literally over the dead bodies of the Hungarian democracy activists killed by Soviet tanks after the 1956 popular uprising against the Communist Party's monopoly of power. Years before glasnost, Mr. Kovacs was one of the dictator's henchmen with the title of "Deputy Head of the Department of International Relations" of the Hungarian Communist Party's Central Committee.
Given that communist systems imprisoned, tortured and murdered
millions of people, one might think Euro parliamentarians would be
slightly concerned about how deeply Mr. Kovacs was involved in some of the darker aspects of Hungary's communist dictatorship.
Just as searching questions were rightly asked of former Nazi
Party members seeking public office in postwar Germany, they might have queried speeches Mr. Kovacs gave in the 1980s, attacking Western institutions such as NATO and extolling the Soviet Union as the bedrock of Eastern Europe's "stability."
Instead, the Euro MPs confined themselves to grumbling about Mr.
Kovacs' somewhat scanty knowledge of energy policy. Mr. Kovacs passed his confirmation hearings with flying colors and is now the EU taxation and customs commissioner.
Rocco Buttiglione never previously participated in a murderous
regime. He is a worldly, mild-mannered, philosophy professor who can be defined as a classical liberal in the Acton-Tocqueville tradition. Yet Mr. Buttiglione was the focus of a tempest in the European Parliament. The same MPs who calmly evaluated the nomination of several ex-communists labeled Mr. Buttiglione a potential inquisitor, an intolerant zealot, and a stain on the political landscape. His views, they said, made him unfit for office.
All Professor Buttiglione did was articulate his beliefs and
answer questions. A full reading of the confirmation hearings
transcripts reveal a man with profound tolerance and a commitment to equality before the law and to the equal dignity of every individual.
The transcripts also reveal his religious faith and his personal views on the family and homosexuality -- views Mr. Buttiglione stressed would not affect his official duties. His opponents, however, began a public campaign and maliciously quoted the transcripts selectively to caricature Mr. Buttiglione as a homophobe who believes women should be in the home with children (ironically, Mr. Buttiglione's wife is a successful working professional).
The transcripts (available online at www.acton.org/rb) show Mr.
Buttiglione blundered by assuming his questioners were open to a
mature discussion of his views, including his opinion -- which,
incidentally, is also taught by Christianity -- that not all sins
should be treated as criminal offenses.
The Euro MPs were not interested in such a discussion. Mr.
Buttiglione was a target. He was "Borked" because he was not afraid to provide truthful answers about his personal beliefs even though those beliefs would have no role in his work. Mr. Buttiglione was Borked because faith in Europe is only acceptable if it is politically correct. Believing Christians have no place in Europe's public square.
The breathtaking double standard of the past six weeks results
from the rise of secularist fundamentalism. In the United States,
secularist fundamentalism dominates academe, where speech codes are regularly used to harass any religious organization whose views on particular moral questions offend groups privileged by secular fundamentalism.
Secularist fundamentalism also rears its head in the political
realm. For example, Attorney General John Ashcroft was the target of opposition for being a religious believer. The American Civil Liberties Union and a chorus of other opponents repeatedly told us Mr. Ashcroft would try to impose his religious beliefs or even seek a theocracy.
The secular fundamentalists do not care if the religious believer
swears to uphold the law -- all those with politically incorrect
beliefs and faith must be persecuted and punished. An example is Judge Bill Pryor, whose offense was admitting he is
a practicing Catholic. Some religious views are not forbidden under
secularist fundamentalism -- provided the practitioners have solid
left-wing credentials. Secular fundamentalists and their left-wing
allies never complain about the involvement in public life of the Rev. Jesse Jackson or the Rev. Al Sharpton.
Europe and America both are witnessing a curious phenomenon of
those who present themselves as guardians of tolerance committing terrible acts of intolerance in the name of tolerance. One need not be religious to regard this as a disturbing trend. The most effective way to combat the assault on religious liberty is through consistent public exposure and by rejecting the double standard. Anyone who desires genuine, open conversation in the public square should be on notice that secularist fundamentalism is rapidly infecting public life and that we sacrifice committed and worthy public servants if we allow witch hunts and Borking in the confirmation process.
Samuel Gregg is director of research at the Acton Institute in
Grand Rapids, Mich.
Copyright © 2004 News World Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Secular Inquisition
By Samuel Gregg
Published December 8, 2004
The Washington Times
Christians are bad. Comrades are good. That is the lesson of the
recently concluded parallel process by which the European Union
Commission and the European Parliament accepted Laszlo Kovacs of Hungary as a European commissioner while vociferously rejecting Italy's European affairs minister, Rocco Buttiglione, for
his views on marriage and homosexuality.
The media describe Laszlo Kovacs as a "socialist." In fact, he is
a career communist with decades of totalitarian experience. Mr. Kovacs worked closely with the leadership of Janos Kadar's sinister regime, installed literally over the dead bodies of the Hungarian democracy activists killed by Soviet tanks after the 1956 popular uprising against the Communist Party's monopoly of power. Years before glasnost, Mr. Kovacs was one of the dictator's henchmen with the title of "Deputy Head of the Department of International Relations" of the Hungarian Communist Party's Central Committee.
Given that communist systems imprisoned, tortured and murdered
millions of people, one might think Euro parliamentarians would be
slightly concerned about how deeply Mr. Kovacs was involved in some of the darker aspects of Hungary's communist dictatorship.
Just as searching questions were rightly asked of former Nazi
Party members seeking public office in postwar Germany, they might have queried speeches Mr. Kovacs gave in the 1980s, attacking Western institutions such as NATO and extolling the Soviet Union as the bedrock of Eastern Europe's "stability."
Instead, the Euro MPs confined themselves to grumbling about Mr.
Kovacs' somewhat scanty knowledge of energy policy. Mr. Kovacs passed his confirmation hearings with flying colors and is now the EU taxation and customs commissioner.
Rocco Buttiglione never previously participated in a murderous
regime. He is a worldly, mild-mannered, philosophy professor who can be defined as a classical liberal in the Acton-Tocqueville tradition. Yet Mr. Buttiglione was the focus of a tempest in the European Parliament. The same MPs who calmly evaluated the nomination of several ex-communists labeled Mr. Buttiglione a potential inquisitor, an intolerant zealot, and a stain on the political landscape. His views, they said, made him unfit for office.
All Professor Buttiglione did was articulate his beliefs and
answer questions. A full reading of the confirmation hearings
transcripts reveal a man with profound tolerance and a commitment to equality before the law and to the equal dignity of every individual.
The transcripts also reveal his religious faith and his personal views on the family and homosexuality -- views Mr. Buttiglione stressed would not affect his official duties. His opponents, however, began a public campaign and maliciously quoted the transcripts selectively to caricature Mr. Buttiglione as a homophobe who believes women should be in the home with children (ironically, Mr. Buttiglione's wife is a successful working professional).
The transcripts (available online at www.acton.org/rb) show Mr.
Buttiglione blundered by assuming his questioners were open to a
mature discussion of his views, including his opinion -- which,
incidentally, is also taught by Christianity -- that not all sins
should be treated as criminal offenses.
The Euro MPs were not interested in such a discussion. Mr.
Buttiglione was a target. He was "Borked" because he was not afraid to provide truthful answers about his personal beliefs even though those beliefs would have no role in his work. Mr. Buttiglione was Borked because faith in Europe is only acceptable if it is politically correct. Believing Christians have no place in Europe's public square.
The breathtaking double standard of the past six weeks results
from the rise of secularist fundamentalism. In the United States,
secularist fundamentalism dominates academe, where speech codes are regularly used to harass any religious organization whose views on particular moral questions offend groups privileged by secular fundamentalism.
Secularist fundamentalism also rears its head in the political
realm. For example, Attorney General John Ashcroft was the target of opposition for being a religious believer. The American Civil Liberties Union and a chorus of other opponents repeatedly told us Mr. Ashcroft would try to impose his religious beliefs or even seek a theocracy.
The secular fundamentalists do not care if the religious believer
swears to uphold the law -- all those with politically incorrect
beliefs and faith must be persecuted and punished. An example is Judge Bill Pryor, whose offense was admitting he is
a practicing Catholic. Some religious views are not forbidden under
secularist fundamentalism -- provided the practitioners have solid
left-wing credentials. Secular fundamentalists and their left-wing
allies never complain about the involvement in public life of the Rev. Jesse Jackson or the Rev. Al Sharpton.
Europe and America both are witnessing a curious phenomenon of
those who present themselves as guardians of tolerance committing terrible acts of intolerance in the name of tolerance. One need not be religious to regard this as a disturbing trend. The most effective way to combat the assault on religious liberty is through consistent public exposure and by rejecting the double standard. Anyone who desires genuine, open conversation in the public square should be on notice that secularist fundamentalism is rapidly infecting public life and that we sacrifice committed and worthy public servants if we allow witch hunts and Borking in the confirmation process.
Samuel Gregg is director of research at the Acton Institute in
Grand Rapids, Mich.
Copyright © 2004 News World Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Click Here For Doug Bandow: Can Democrats be pro-life?
Doug Bandow: Can Democrats be pro-life?: "For instance, the Web log 'BlameBush!' recently opined 'that the bizarre creature brutally extracted from' Bobbie Jo Stinnett, the pregnant woman apparently murdered by another woman who wanted a child, 'was a fetus.' Yet, complained the author, 'the anti-choice crowd still insists on referring to the damned thing as a 'baby.''
Nevertheless, wrote the blogger, the obvious human characteristics of the fetus don't 'make it any more human than a baby-shaped intestinal parasite.' Thus, 'we must protect a Woman's Right to Choose and err on the side of inhumanity.' That's precisely the problem with the pro-abortion lobby: it errs 'on the side of inhumanity.' Which is a strange position for a party that claims to speak for the poor and disadvantaged."
Nevertheless, wrote the blogger, the obvious human characteristics of the fetus don't 'make it any more human than a baby-shaped intestinal parasite.' Thus, 'we must protect a Woman's Right to Choose and err on the side of inhumanity.' That's precisely the problem with the pro-abortion lobby: it errs 'on the side of inhumanity.' Which is a strange position for a party that claims to speak for the poor and disadvantaged."
Click Here For Doug Bandow: Can Democrats be pro-life?
Doug Bandow: Can Democrats be pro-life?: "For instance, the Web log 'BlameBush!' recently opined 'that the bizarre creature brutally extracted from' Bobbie Jo Stinnett, the pregnant woman apparently murdered by another woman who wanted a child, 'was a fetus.' Yet, complained the author, 'the anti-choice crowd still insists on referring to the damned thing as a 'baby.''
Nevertheless, wrote the blogger, the obvious human characteristics of the fetus don't 'make it any more human than a baby-shaped intestinal parasite.' Thus, 'we must protect a Woman's Right to Choose and err on the side of inhumanity.' That's precisely the problem with the pro-abortion lobby: it errs 'on the side of inhumanity.' Which is a strange position for a party that claims to speak for the poor and disadvantaged."
Nevertheless, wrote the blogger, the obvious human characteristics of the fetus don't 'make it any more human than a baby-shaped intestinal parasite.' Thus, 'we must protect a Woman's Right to Choose and err on the side of inhumanity.' That's precisely the problem with the pro-abortion lobby: it errs 'on the side of inhumanity.' Which is a strange position for a party that claims to speak for the poor and disadvantaged."
Click Here for Jack Kemp: The road to serfdom?
Jack Kemp: The road to serfdom?: "Friedrich A. von Hayek, one the giants of classical free-market economics, warned that 'The Road to Serfdom' results from the unintended consequences of market interventions by governments, leading to economic distortions that ultimately lead to further interventions. He noted that liberty is lost - gradually, incrementally, inexorably - with each subsequent intervention descending down the road to serfdom."
Click Here for John Leo: Playing the old blame game
John Leo: Playing the old blame game: "Florida Democrats, 15 of them, came down with 'post-election selection trauma' and required treatment by licensed therapists after Bush's re-election. Signs of the syndrome, according to psychologist Douglas Schooler of Boca Raton, are being 'depressed and angry' and 'threatening to leave the country.' The executive director of the American Health Association said pest is something 'we're working to develop a counseling program for.'"
Click Here For Cal Thomas: CBS report fires 4, but fails to see bias
Cal Thomas: CBS report fires 4, but fails to see bias: "This is the Watergate equivalent of locking up the men who conducted the break-in at Democratic Party headquarters, but ignoring Attorney General John Mitchell, Vice President Spiro Agnew and President Richard Nixon, which CBS News and Dan Rather famously did not do."
Click Here For Star Parker: What's the Congressional Black Caucus thinking?
Star Parker: What's the Congressional Black Caucus thinking?: "What's going on here? The winner of the Nobel Prize for economics says it's a good idea and the black caucus dismisses it before it has even been formally proposed. Is this about good economics or is this about power politics? Where is our exciting new Sen. Obama? There is certainly nothing partisan about the Nobel Prize. Yet, the recommendations of Prescott, honored by the Nobel committee as most distinguished in his field, are irrelevant to black Democrats. "