Americans imagine a simpler world, and then they make rules based on this imagination. Because the Constitution represents a time honored set of rules-with the added weight these rules are supposed to actually exist-Americans demand “their constitutional rights” and believe these rights will be given to them. Like any good movie this demands a suspension of disbelief-because the rich and powerful regularly escape the bounds of these rights, responsibilities, and (most importantly) the restrictions. Willful blindness is a necessity for belief in the sanctity of old documents. These creeds, drawn up in a different time, with different problems have to be “interpreted” to create relevance. But there is a consequence for depending on interpretation. First, anyone gaining the privilege of interpretation can see what he wants in the old words. But secondly, there are consequences to any decision; and there is no now that we have defended ‘our rights’ we can go home and sleep soundly knowing we have protected democracy. There is no happily ever after.
The second amendment of the constitution of the United States is in the news more often than other members of the Bill of Rights. The founding fathers are often cast as guaranteeing the right of every citizen to have a gun. This is a willful interpretation of their words and more importantly, a misinterpretation of their motives, even their psychology. A factor missing from modern analysis is the psychology of leaders of a small weak country, having won a war more by circumstance and reluctance on the opposition’s part, wrote a document reflecting the possibility the war of independence would not be the final war, and the next war might not have favorable circumstance-they could lose. With a possible loss, perhaps in the offing, they codified “rights” such as maintaining a militia-which would be acceptable to the British as a ‘keeping order’ efficiently in the hinterlands of the vast new nation. These militias would be key to another, further, war of independence. Codified rights would be less likely to be struck down. Efficient means of keeping order and protection for the expanding borders would appeal to the British. This was the greater reality of the 2nd Amendment. The founding fathers viewing the modern interpretation of their writings would be shocked and horrified. The loss of ruling power by the men with property would be terrifying. Every citizen armed-Never…
But it is the adherence to old documents and the psychology of the past that should give great pause. We honor the constitution because it gives a sense of order. Without this wall against circumstantial morality the country could veer in any direction and the country could be lost. A bill could be introduced to restrict and control an industry, only to be affected by lobbyist and rewritten to codify the demands for profit by that very industry(like the Cable Bill). So to maintain any illusion of control-we worship the constitution and feel this frees us from any consequence-as if the founding fathers were omniscient for all times and circumstances. Americans forget that any moment of crisis the first thing tossed are the constitutional rights of someone seen as less deserving. Lincoln, FDR, bush, all violated the rights of citizens and were allowed to do so because of the “good motive justification.” So the “Rights” so fervently believed in and used as a banner by so many-are simply canceled with some justification. Any rule or law that allows for excuse is a suggestion not a law-but this also is ignored.
But what if the Constitution is viewed as inviolable law? There are still consequences to every decision. What if the second amendment really meant for every American to have a gun? Is this a stable order for a country? There is an obvious price to pay for an armed citizenry. First problem is, there will have to be a large manufacturing industry to provide the guns. When the market is satisfied-every American has a gunAmericans imagine a simpler world, and then they make rules based on this imagination.... more
I'm watching this right now. It looks pretty good so far, and you can watch the full length movie here.
Fall Of The Republic documents how an offshore corporate cartel is bankrupting the US economy by design. Leaders are now declaring that world government has arrived and that the dollar will be replaced by a new global currency.
President Obama has brazenly violated Article 1 Section 9 of the US Constitution by seating himself at the head of United Nations' Security Council, thus becoming the first US president to chair the world body.
A scientific dictatorship is in its final stages of completion, and laws protecting basic human rights are being abolished worldwide; an iron curtain of high-tech tyranny is now descending over the planet.
A worldwide regime controlled by an unelected corporate elite is implementing a planetary carbon tax system that will dominate all human activity and establish a system of neo-feudal slavery.I'm watching this right now. It looks pretty good so far, and you can watch the full... more
Gun rights advocates scored a victory Thursday as the House Financial Services Committee adopted an amendment to allow guns in public housing projects.
The amendment, by Tom Price , Ra?`Ga., would bar any housing authority from restricting legal ownership of guns. It was adopted, 38-31, as the committee continued its markup of a housing bill (HR 3045) that the panel is expected to approve next week.
“Seniors and other individuals have the right to protect themselves,” said Joe Baca of California, one of 13 Democrats who voted for the amendment. “Those guns would be registered, and those individuals have a right, in public housing or any other place, to protect themselves.”
While the Department of Housing and Urban Development does not have a specific policy concerning guns in public housing, several local agencies have banned them in an effort to reduce violent crime in housing projects. Major urban centers began to adopt gun bans in the 1990s, and advocates of such steps argue that the bans have improved the safety of public housing.
“There was a time during the ’70s and ’80s when public housing developments were considered killing grounds,” said Emanuel Cleaver II , D-Mo., who grew up in public housing. “It is just foolhardy to place guns in developments of poor people, many of whom are unemployed, and place these guns around children. . . . Why would we try to put guns in the most densely populated areas in the urban core? It’s just unbelievable.”
Only two Republicans — Peter T. King of New York and Michael N. Castle of Delaware — voted against the amendment.
Carolyn McCarthy , D-N.Y., a longtime gun control advocate, said opponents of the Price amendment would try to remove the language from the bill at a later point in the legislative process, without subjecting the issue to a recorded vote.
“What we’re trying to do will not involve votes,” McCarthy said.
Several Democrats also backed a separate Price amendment that would require anyone applying for Section 8 rent vouchers to produce a photo ID card that meets REAL ID standards, such as a passport or other identification approved by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The committee adopted the amendment, 37-31.
Opponents of the amendment argued that the measure, if intended to weed out illegal immigrants, was redundant, as they are already prohibited from receiving public housing assistance.
“This just hurts Americans,” said Baca, who said the measure would likely keep those who cannot afford to pay for such identification, such as the chronically poor and homeless, or the eligible relatives of uncooperative applicants, from getting the public subsidy vouchers.
Democrats blocked a series of GOP amendments aimed at reducing the supply of 150,000 additional Section 8 vouchers authorized under the bill, or requiring offsets before such new vouchers can be issued.
The last remaining hurdle to the bill is resolution on the Moving to Work program, an incentive-based initiative to get people into jobs that would in turn move them off Section 8 housing vouchers.
Democrats have resisted making broad expansions to the work incentives program, opting for a 10-year reauthorization with new initiatives limited and closely monitored under the bill. Republicans want time limits and back-to-work conditions on Section 8 vouchers in an effort to reduce what they criticize as unchecked dependency on the program.Gun rights advocates scored a victory Thursday as the House Financial Services... more
Armed men seen mixing with protesters outside recent events held by President Obama acted within the law, the White House said Tuesday, attempting to allay fears of a security threat.
Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, said people are entitled to carry weapons outside such events if local laws allow it. "There are laws that govern firearms that are done state or locally," he said. "Those laws don't change when the president comes to your state or locality."
Anti-gun campaigners disagreed with Gibbs's comments, voicing fears that volatile debates over health-care reform are more likely to turn violent if gun control is not enforced.
"What Gibbs said is wrong," said Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. "Individuals carrying loaded weapons at these events require constant attention from police and Secret Service officers. It's crazy to bring a gun to these events. It endangers everybody."
The past week has seen a spate of men carrying firearms while milling outside meetings Obama has held to defend his health-care reform effort. On Monday, a man with an AR-15 semiautomatic assault rifle strapped to his shoulder was outside a veterans' event in Phoenix. He was one of a dozen men who reportedly had guns outside the forum.
Phoenix police made no arrests, saying Arizona law allows weapons to be carried in the open.
......more at link....Armed men seen mixing with protesters outside recent events held by President Obama... more
I was hoping for a denunciation of the guns... instead I get this.
******************
Asked by an MSNBC anchor on Monday, a Georgia Republican member of Congress actually encouraged Americans to attend public forums packing heat.
“It just so happens those same people would take that weapon anywhere they go,” said Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA), speaking to Chris Matthews during a Monday broadcast. “They are permitted to carry a concealed weapon. They have the right to do that…”
Matthews interrupted him. “They’re not concealed. … We’re looking at gentlemen here that have guns on them, in their holsters. They’re not concealed. They’re basically displaying their weapons. Armed weaponry at these public meetings. I’m just asking, why is it going on? …”
Gingrey replied: “Well Chris, they have the right to do that. I have no fear of it. I’ve already had five town hall meetings; I have six more planned. I don’t plan on wearing a bullet-proof vest. In fact, I usually get standing ovations when I come into these meetings … I have no fear.”
“Okay,” began Matthews again. “Would you discourage Americans, no matter race, color, creed or political identification, not to come armed to public meetings? Would you discourage them from doing that?”
Congressman Jim Cooper (D-TN), who has not been holding town hall meetings on health care, replied, “My answer is yes…” He was cut off by Gingrey.
“No, I would not di … Oh,” the Georgia Republican trailed, before concluding that Americans should “exercise their Second Amendment rights.”I was hoping for a denunciation of the guns... instead I get this.... more
At a VFW National Convention where Obama spoke reform some people were carrying guns, one person had an assault rifle. Nobody was arrested.At a VFW National Convention where Obama spoke reform some people were carrying guns,... more
More people are re-discovering the second amendment and that it was specifically included into the US Constitution to be a response to a tyrannical occupation government.
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PHOENIX (AP) -- About a dozen people carrying guns, including one with a military-style rifle, milled among protesters outside the convention center where President Barack Obama was giving a speech Monday - the latest incident in which protesters have openly displayed firearms near the president.
Gun-rights advocates say they're exercising their constitutional right to bear arms and protest, while those who argue for more gun control say it could be a disaster waiting to happen.
Phoenix police said the gun-toters at Monday's event, including the man carrying an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle slung over his shoulder, didn't need permits. No crimes were committed, and no one was arrested.More people are re-discovering the second amendment and that it was specifically... more
A gunman strolled into an exercise class at a health club in suburban Pittsburgh on Tuesday night and started spraying bullets, leaving five people dead, including himself, and injuring at least 10 others, police and a hospital said.
“He did not say anything,” Allegheny County police Superintendent Charles Moffatt said. “He walked right into the room where the shootings occurred as if he knew exactly where he was going.”
The shooting was at the L.A. Fitness Center in Bridgeville, a community of about 5,000 residents not far from downtown Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh International Airport.
UPMC Mercy Hospital said five critically injured women were taken there. Allegheny General Hospital said it had two women in fair condition with gunshot wounds.
St. Clair Hospital said one of the victims of the shooting died there. Spokesman Rich Sieber said the woman was shot in the chest. He said two other victims were taken to his hospital, both in stable condition.
The fitness center, which opened last year, is in a strip mall called the Great Southern Shopping Center, where a few businesses were destroyed in a 2006 fire. It said in a statement: “Each of us in the LA Fitness family are shocked and saddened by the senseless acts of violence that took place.”A gunman strolled into an exercise class at a health club in suburban Pittsburgh on... more
Officials today will destroy 16,000 guns confiscated from criminals and collected from numerous gun buy-back programs across L.A. County.
Law enforcement agencies have attempted to get guns off the street by allowing people to turn them in for gift cards.
Back in March, an LAPD gun-buyback program that traded gift cards for firearms netted nearly 1,700 weapons, including 40 assault-style weapons and a rifle with a grenade launcher.
The grenade launcher AR-15 rifle, which did not have a grenade in it, was delivered to the Los Angeles Police Department's Topanga station over the weekend as officers across the city distributed gift cards in exchange for handguns, rifles and shotguns. The anonymous drop-off program netted AR-15s, Uzis and AK-47s.
Sheriff Lee Baca will be on hand in Rancho Cucamonga to watch the guns being crushed. They will be recycled into steel rebar.Officials today will destroy 16,000 guns confiscated from criminals and collected from... more
Stephen Colbert, a political satirist and host of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report," took on Tennessee's guns-in-bars bill on his show Wednesday night.
In a five-plus minute long segment about guns, Colbert talked about the new Tennessee law, which went into effect on Monday. In a taped segment, Colbert interviewed state Sen. Doug Jackson of Dickson, who proposed the legislation.
"I think the right to keep and bear arms is as American as apple pie, baseball and hot dogs," Dickson said, backed by videos of those items being destroyed by gunfire.Stephen Colbert, a political satirist and host of Comedy Central's "The Colbert... more
We need your vote!!! Is Max Mueller Who's Hot or Who's Not!
He is the owner of Max Motors that gave away free AK-47s also know as choppas to customers who bought trucks to increase business. What Are Your Thoughts? He lists a good one as costing around "$400 to $500" when I've seen them advertised online for as little as $200. Check it here and let me know what you think on Free Guns w/ Truck Buy vs. {A Playstation Cost} More Than A Choppa???
“Killer” Jones came ready for battle. Two loaded pistols rested in the holsters at his sides, his rifle at the ready. His sunglasses concealed his cold, steely eyes from the rest of the patrons in the dark saloon as he surveyed the bar for his next target. That’s when he came across a mark with a fitting last name — Emily Cannon.
Cannon, who had already been hit several times, hid behind the bar waiting for just the right moment to get in her shot. However, she was no match for Jones, who blasted away, earning yet another notch in his belt. Of course, all this occurred to the delight of the bar’s owner, “Deadeye” Dan Numan.
Jones’ guns weren’t actually loaded with bullets, but rather with water, and billiards would hardly be the only thing shot at Numan’s Cafe and Sports Bar Tuesday afternoon.
The same day that legislation allowing carry permit holders to bring firearms into restaurants that serve alcohol went into effect, Numan’s staged its own protest of the law by inviting its employees and customers to take part in a mass water gun fight.
“It turned out it was incredibly successful,” Numan said amid streams of water passing by. “Everybody just had a ball.”
The filled water pistols were given to customers as they came through the door, and Darlene “Potshot” Ponzio quickly armed herself. While she said she was having a blast with the water guns, she had other thoughts on the idea of real guns in bars.
“I think it’s fun. I think it’s great,” she said of the protest, “and I think it’s stupid they would let guns come into a bar in the first place. That was a stupid law they put in. That’s ridiculous.”
Numan said Ponzio’s feelings on the legislation seem to be the consensus among his customers.
“I got a good, wide range of people who come by and everybody is telling me I’m doing the right thing by protesting this,” he said.
Aside from the water gun fight protest, Numan is also leaving up a petition in his bar.
“I know that all my customers are going to be signing this, and I’m trying to get a thousand signatures this week,” he said.
Early Tuesday morning, Numan said signs, which state “No Guns Allowed In This Bar,” were posted at the business’ entrances, which was required for restaurant owners choosing to opt out of the legislation. However, Numan feels the measure leaves more questions than answers regarding the signs.
“They said we could say ‘no guns in bars,’ but they didn’t spell out what it had to say on the sign or what the penalties are or anything so we just made our own up,” he said.
The legislation, Numan feels, is incomplete as it stands now, pointing to an aspect of it which states establishments gaining more than 50 percent of their revenue from alcohol sales are automatically opted out.
“Who’s going to know?” he said. “Fifty, 51 percent? It could vary by week or month. This whole thing was not thought out. It certainly didn’t get the people’s input.”
Like Numan, Jones, a patron who requested to be referred to as only “Killer,” questioned the legislation’s passage.
“The problem I’ve got with the state legislators, bless their heart, they didn’t go with what the majority of people wanted or law enforcement or even the government,” Jones said. “They went with the gun lobby and their wallets, and that’s all there is to it.”“Killer” Jones came ready for battle. Two loaded pistols rested in the holsters at... more
The new state law permitting gun carry permit holders to bring firearms into Tennessee bars and restaurants goes into effect at midnight Monday, after a group of restaurateurs failed to convince a judge to stop it. However, another hearing on the issue has been granted.
Monday afternoon, Randy Rayburn, owner of Sunset Grill, Cabana and Midtown Cafe, asked Davidson County Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman for an injunction against the law, which was vetoed by Gov. Phil Bredesen but affirmed by the Legislature in a veto override. Rayburn contends the new law, which allows carry permit holders to bring handguns into places that serve alcohol, puts his customers and employees at risk.
Bonnyman refused to issue an injunction, saying Rayburn and others who disagree with the law may place signs on their doors prohibiting guns. Rayburn has argued that places him in an uncertain liability position should an incident occur. He has already posted such signs on his restaurants.
Despite the disappointing verdict, another hearing has been granted after 90 days, Rayburn spokeswoman Jayne Rogovin says. "We live to fight another day," she says.
Proponents of the law say patrons will be safer if trained gun owners with carry permits can easily access their guns to defend them in case of a robbery or other crime.
But law enforcement officials including Nashville Police Chief Ronal Serpas also have spoken out against the new law, saying they don’t believe that people who bring guns into bars will refrain from drinking, even though the law says they are not supposed to. They fear the prospect of inebriated customers deciding to settle a dispute with guns.The new state law permitting gun carry permit holders to bring firearms into Tennessee... more
Gun rights advocates scored a victory Thursday as the House Financial Services Committee adopted an amendment to allow guns in public housing projects.
The amendment, by Tom Price , R‑Ga., would bar any housing authority from restricting legal ownership of guns. It was adopted, 38-31, as the committee continued its markup of a housing bill (HR 3045) that the panel is expected to approve next week.
“Seniors and other individuals have the right to protect themselves,” said Joe Baca of California, one of 13 Democrats who voted for the amendment. “Those guns would be registered, and those individuals have a right, in public housing or any other place, to protect themselves.”
While the Department of Housing and Urban Development does not have a specific policy concerning guns in public housing, several local agencies have banned them in an effort to reduce violent crime in housing projects. Major urban centers began to adopt gun bans in the 1990s, and advocates of such steps argue that the bans have improved the safety of public housing.
“There was a time during the ’70s and ’80s when public housing developments were considered killing grounds,” said Emanuel Cleaver II , D-Mo., who grew up in public housing. “It is just foolhardy to place guns in developments of poor people, many of whom are unemployed, and place these guns around children. . . . Why would we try to put guns in the most densely populated areas in the urban core? It’s just unbelievable.”
Only two Republicans — Peter T. King of New York and Michael N. Castle of Delaware — voted against the amendment.Gun rights advocates scored a victory Thursday as the House Financial Services... more
Gun rights enthusiasts welcomed Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as she made an appearance Friday on a radio talk show, whose callers included rock n' roller turned avid hunter Ted Nugent.
Palin spoke on the Michael Dukes' "Firearms Friday" show on KFAR radio in Fairbanks. She was in Alaska's second largest city to sign a gun rights bill and several resolutions.
Nugent, well-known for the 1970s hit "Cat Scratch Fever," told Palin from his home in Michigan that he was firing up the grill to cook up some Alaskan black bear backstrap in her honor.
The governor told Nugent that she thought that was "awesome."
Palin announced last Friday she is resigning, saying it was the best thing for the state and for her family. Her resignation takes effect July 26 when Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell takes over.
Nugent signed off by saying, "Sarah Palin, God bless you and your family."
Since her announcement, Palin has mostly been traveling around Alaska and visiting towns and signing bills.
After talking with Nugent, Palin took some questions from listeners. Most of them said they supported her decision to resign but were disappointed.
"I chose not to play their game," Palin explained.
She wanted instead to free herself of the constraints of the governor's job so that she could again "get out there and fight," she said.
As governor, she was forced to answer ethics complaints filed by anonymous people, Palin said.
"They do things like that," Palin said. "I can handle it but not when it cost the state the time and money it has cost."
The state said this week it has spent $1.9 million on the ethics complaints.
The bill she signed in Fairbanks aimed at helping people with permits to carry concealed weapons to remember to renew their permits. The permits used to have a renewal date based on the day the permit was issued. The law changes the renewal date to the permit holder's birthday.
In Alaska, residents are allowed to carry weapons either openly or concealed without a permit. However, if they want to carry their guns in other states that have concealed carry laws they may need a permit recognized by that state.Gun rights enthusiasts welcomed Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as she made an appearance... more
"Shreveport Citizens Disarmed By Police For 2nd Amendment Bumper Stickers"
Welcome to Shreveport: Your rights are now suspended.According to Cedric Glover, mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana, his cops “have a power that [. . .] the President of these Unites States does not have”: His cops can take away your rights.
And would you like to guess which rights he has in mind?
Just ask Shreveport resident Robert Baillio, who got pulled over for having two pro-gun bumper stickers on the back of his truck — and had his gun confiscated.
While the officer who pulled him over says Baillio failed to use his turn signal, the only questions he had for Baillio concerned guns: Whether he had a gun, where the gun was, and if he was a member of the NRA. No requests for a driver’s licence, proof of insurance, or vehicle registration — and no discussion of a turn signal.
Accordingly, Baillio told the officer the truth, which led the police officer to search his car without permission and confiscate his gun.
However, not only does Louisiana law allow resident to drive with loaded weapons in their vehicles, but Mr. Baillio possessed a concealed carry license!
What does such behavior demonstrate, other than transparent political profiling — going so far as to use the infamous Department of Homeland Security report on “Americans of a rightwing persuasion” as a how-to guidebook, no less?
Mr. Baillio made no secret of his political affiliations: An American flag centers a wide flourish of pro-freedom stickers and decals on his back windshield.
In fact, when Baillio asked the officer if everyone he pulls over gets the same treatment, the officer said no and pointed to the back of his truck."Shreveport Citizens Disarmed By Police For 2nd Amendment Bumper Stickers"
Welcome... more
A Louisville pastor is welcoming gun owners into his church's sanctuary Saturday for what he says is a show of support for the right to bear arms.
Ken Pagano is asking visitors to bring their unloaded handguns in a holster at a late afternoon event at New Bethel Church in southwest Louisville.
Pagano says he got the idea after some members at the Pentecostal church expressed concern over the Obama administration's views on gun control. He says the gathering is meant to promote safe gun ownership.
The "Open Carry Celebration" will include a handgun raffle.
It has prompted a coalition of peace and church groups to stage a peaceful, gun-free event across town at the same time on Saturday.A Louisville pastor is welcoming gun owners into his church's sanctuary Saturday for... more
A new Montana gun law puts the state at the forefront of a national bid to restore states' rights by attacking up to a century of federal court decisions on Washington's power.
Two other states - Alaska and Texas - have had favorable votes on laws similar to Montana's, declaring that guns that stay within the state are none of the feds' business. More than a dozen others are considering such laws, and more-general declarations of state sovereignty have been introduced this year in more than 30 legislatures.
The federal courts may not respond well to these laws in the short term, but backers who acknowledge this say that regardless, they intend for the laws to change the political landscape in the long term. They hope these state laws will undercut the legitimacy of contrary federal law - as has happened with medicinal marijuana - and even push federal courts to bend with the popular wind.A new Montana gun law puts the state at the forefront of a national bid to restore... more
Governor Phil Bredesen will not stand in the way of House Bill 1796. He will allow it to pass without his signature.
Bredesen, in a letter to Speaker Kent Williams, states that the bill which says that federal laws do not apply to firearms, accessories, or ammunition that is manufactured in Tennessee, will likely be found to be unconstitutional.
“This bill is not about firearms. It is about a fringe constitutional theory that I believe will be quickly dispensed with by the federal courts.
The Tennessee General Assembly lacks the Constitutional authority to limit the power and authority of federal government in this way…
…While I share the General Assembly’s commitment to federalism, this legislation contravenes our Constitution. I am allowing it to become law so that it can quickly be dealt with by the federal courts.”
Excuse me? What exactly is our governor saying here? I believe in federalism — except when the states really try to take real power back? I believe in federalism — but not for things like this?
What is unconstitutional about this? If a gun is made here and kept here what the heck business of the federal government is it? If Tennessee wants to make its own laws on firearms why is that bad and how is it unconstitutional?Governor Phil Bredesen will not stand in the way of House Bill 1796. He will allow it... more
Chicago, IL) -- The National Rifle Association is wasting no time in asking the Supreme Court to strike down the latest verdict on Chicago's handgun ban.
On Tuesday, a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the gun ordinance in Chicago and the Oak Park suburb.
NRA officials say last year's gun rights decision in the District of Columbia should also appeal to local and state laws.
If the Supreme Court agrees to pick up the case, it will not get underway until September.Chicago, IL) -- The National Rifle Association is wasting no time in asking the... more
