Chicago's Professional Police

Don't worry folks. This is an anomaly, an exception to the rule which is the behavior of the morally superior class entrusted with professional courtesy priveleges, superior firearms, and immunity from virtually all litigation:

Videotapes of angry officers savagely beating civilians and charges that a murder plot was hatched within an elite special operations unit have Chicago's troubled police department reeling again.

Adding to the department's woes is word from federal prosecutors that they are investigating claims that homicide detectives tortured suspects into confessing to murders that landed them on death row in the 1980s.

Not since club-swinging cops in baby-blue helmets chased demonstrators through clouds of pepper gas at the 1968 Democratic National Convention have Chicago police been so awash in trouble.

To think otherwise would blow a hole in the idea that the equal protection clause is enforced, and the rationale for banning guns in Chicago, so I guess we'll just not go there.

Britain to spy on every call

Today in Britain, yet another step toward Orwellian tyranny:

Officials from the top of Government to lowly council officers will be given unprecedented powers to access details of every phone call in Britain under laws coming into force tomorrow.

The new rules compel phone companies to retain information, however private, about all landline and mobile calls, and make them available to some 795 public bodies and quangos.

The move, enacted by the personal decree of Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, will give police and security services a right they have long demanded: to delve at will into the phone records of British citizens and businesses.

But the same powers will also be handed to the tax authorities, 475 local councils, and a host of other organisations, including the Food Standards Agency, the Department of Health, the Immigration Service, the Gaming Board and the Charity Commission. The initiative, formulated in the wake of the Madrid and London terrorist attacks of 2004 and 2005, was put forward as a vital tool in the fight against terrorism.

I wonder how many conservatives would be on board should the Bush Administration attempt a similar program, or how many liberals would do the same should President Hillary try it.

Burma protesters dying off

Some reports of destroyed villages and mass relocation, journalists being killed, monks being killed, possibly hundreds killed, not to mention rule from an abusive military dictatorship for decades.

But I thought the UN's main charter was "to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small..." Huh.

With each passing day the Burmese military exponentially increase their deservedness of a serious ass-kicking. Maybe one serious enough to employ the Powell Doctrine this time.

We're the Only Ones...

Since David's under the weather, I'll help fill the void with an Only Ones triple serving.

Because this isn't my thing, I don't want to give the wrong impression. This is not to bash cops, rather it's to challenge the idea that law enforcement officers are the only ones trustworthy and professional enough to carry firearms. As if by virtue of being a cop, they're morally superior to us common people. With that said, I give you the triple entrée.

We're the only ones driving murderously enough:

A 15-year veteran of the Wausau Police Department is charged with attempting to murder his wife.

Shawano County authorities say Chueng Lee, 45, crashed his truck last week. They now believe Lee crashed on purpose with the intention of killing his wife, Chao, who was in the front seat.

We're the only ones embezzling enough:

Fired, then suspended, White Cloud Police Officer Kevin England was arrested Friday and charged with embezzlement by a public official. He was arraigned and released on bond.

We're the only ones myopically focused enough:

A woman who spent eight days trapped in a wrecked vehicle has severe injuries, but her brain function is normal and she can move her arms and legs...

Bellevue police took the report right away, but when they found video of Tanya Rider getting into her car after work, they told her husband the case was out of their jurisdiction and he should notify King County, he said. Tom Rider said he tried that, but "the first operator I talked to on the first day I tried to report it flat denied to start a missing persons report because she didn't meet the criteria," he said.

"I basically hounded them until they started a case and then, of course, I was the first focal point, so I tried to get myself out of the way as quickly as possible. I let them search the house. I told them they didn't have to have a warrant for anything, just ask," he said.

Thursday morning, detectives asked him to come in to sign for a search of phone records. They also asked him to take a polygraph test.

Hoplophobia watch

Maybe I'll make this a recurring feature, like the Second Amendment Carnival (don't worry it's not gone), since stories like this are so frequent:

People caught selling realistic fake guns face six months in jail from Monday in a new law following an Evening Post campaign.

The ban also covers the manufacture and import of imitation firearms, and offenders could face fines of £5,000.

The move is part of a Government clampdown on violent crime, which also sees the minimum age for buying knives raised from 16 to 18.

The maximum sentence for carrying an imitation firearm in public without reasonable excuse is also doubled from six to 12 months.

Just wow. Every week it seems there's a new story on how Britain is incrementally outlawing freedom, with tacit approval from its citizens. At what temperature does this English frog in a pot of cooking water finally croak? Maybe it already has.

I suppose this is a good time to drop a relevant quote, a quote so uncommonly insightful that I saved it, with thanks to the Conservative UAW Guy.

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their consciences. - C.S. Lewis

Blogging is dissonant

So many stories, and so little time to blog.

I'll be back soon.

Columbia's Schedule of Speakers.

Update: No offense to Lee Bollinger, who by the way, was magnificent. The following was crafted amid the speculation that Columbia was going to likely give Ahmadinejad a stump to propagandize from.

2007 Fall Term Lectures and Presentations

September 28th: David Duke to address students on the topic of reverse racism in the 21st Century.

October 5th: Alex Jones to speak regarding the effects of terrorism on America's youth.

October 12th: Robert Mugabe to lecture on the economics of Africa, after which a seminar on racial equality will be held.

October 22nd: Kim Jong Il via teleconference to speak on democratic values in East Asia.

November 2nd: Lecture on the principles of free speech to be given by Hu Jintao.

Note: the lecture on institutional credibility has been canceled.

November 14th: Hugo Chavez will host a luncheon discussing the economics of political freedom.

November 30th: Honored guest Vladimir Putin to debate Bashar Assad on freedom of the press.

December 4th: Jacques Chirac to speak on the integrity of trade and its effect on international relations.

December 10th: Ray Nagin to give a presentation on the value of government efficiency and crime control at the local level.

December 14th: Comedian Larry the Cable Guy to speak on the value of education and careers of honesty.

No Gays in Iran

If one were to believe him, I wonder how it happened. It must be those scientists of theirs, working on nukes and curing the gay disease and such, what scientific achievement.



Vid via Allahpundit who points to Iran's medicine for teh ghey disease.

New Favorite

CDR Salamander, a milblogger and gun-nut.

Can't get much sweeter than that. Give it a read.

A Republican Against Republicans

One wonders how they all, or at least try to, get away as being the reincarnate of Ronald Reagan, especially when in repeated violation his 11th Commandment:

"Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican."

To be fair, winning primaries can be difficult, and all the easy targets are standing next to you.

The better, but more difficult thing to do, would be letting your ideas compete with your fellow Republicans', and let those be the guide for primary voters, not to mention general election voters.

Admittedly, there's a lot of time between now and November 2008. But success of Republicans communicating their big ideas to the American people, or to have big ideas at all, which is another benchmark of Reagan, hasn't yet materialized. I think the great communicator of this presidential race is not on the right side.

Yes, the Democrats are acting more like Reagan than the Republicans in this regard. All three of their front-runners have announced a plan that guarantees all or virtually all Americans affordable healthcare. All of them have been clear that the troops will come home soon under their presidency. All of them have kept criticism of other Democrats to a minimum.

The Republican Party is a mess, and deservedly so, but to some extent so are the Democrats. One striking difference is that Republicans increasingly have the tendency to make a spectacle and publicly take care of their miscreants, while the Democrats, well, don't.

Civic Duty for Good Reasons

If I were a black man hoping for a fair trial in a town with racial tensions, I'd be ashamed that no blacks showed up for jury duty:

Bell faced an all-white jury. However, this did not result from the jury selection process. Instead, it resulted from an all white jury pool. The 150 people called for jury duty may have included black citizens, but only 50 people appeared, and none of them were black.

That was from Wikipedia, which I used because of their quantity of information not found in the press, but here's the main source.

I hadn't been following the story that closely, partly thanks to the ambivalence-inducing pathetic fact that stuff (everything from the 'race fights' to the seemingly racially motivated egregiousness of the charges) like this still happens in the South, so I'll keep my comments to a minimum.

I will comment on the obvious fact that tennis shoes are no more a deadly weapon than fists. And I don't think any teenager deserves 20+ years for getting in a fight where tennis shoes were the most dangerous weapon.

Ronald Reagan: A Time for Choosing

I've always thought this was one of the best speeches I've ever heard. So until Monday, enjoy a great speech with a slideshow:


(This was my first attempt at anything resembling video editing, and the quality came up a bit short after uploading, but it's not too bad.)

Video: Fred Thompson speaks to the NRA

My apologies if your looking for the one about his wife being a better first lady than Bill Clinton. This one's got a bit more substance:

Click To Play

You can find that other fluff here.

Predictable NYT Editorial: Giuliani's NRA visit and "Crime-making guns"

First, it rightly calls out Giuliani's about-face on gun rights; he was an anti-gun machine while mayor, and now he's an NRA pandering federalist.

The NYT totes the liberal line on guns, but only after playing gotcha with Giuliani, which in my opinion he deserves.

In a politically eerie coincidence, the multicity lawsuit previously led by then-Mayor Giuliani, accusing the gun industry of liability for the runaway gun culture, is being argued this week in federal court.

As for the editorial part, we have name calling: "N.R.A.’s lock-n-load zealots," we have anthropomorphizing: "crime-making guns."

Not to mention a highly extensive and nuanced argument on just how to stop these guns from making crime: "gun control is the only way..."

So, per the scholarly work of the Times, it's safe to assume the link between criminals and 'carnage' (they changed it from 'crime' to 'carnage' in 2 paragraphs) has been spurious all along, as their more nuanced approach reveals the underlying causation thereof: guns.

The good news is that we can get more of this enlightening Pulitzer performance for free now!

Shocker: Capitalist libertarian cares about poor people

Kudos to Ron Paul. I'm a raging capitalist as well, but very poor at the moment. And yeah, housing is outrageously overpriced it seems, which is only compounded by liquid gold at every gas station. What's the Left's answer to this? Open Border slave labor and quasi-redistribution of wealth, via more taxes. What's the Right's answer, I don't know, it seems like a mixed message.

That's why the Democrats will win, because even Marxist ideas beat no ideas. Too bad.

Are we too free?

Economically speaking...

In a complex set of transactions, Dubai is moving to acquire 19.9 percent of the Nasdaq in New York, placing the Arab government in an ownership position of the key U.S. stock exchange and raising concerns in Congress.

As a result of the transaction, Dubai also will acquire 28 percent of the London Stock Exchange, one of the oldest and largest in the world.

Nothing against Dubai, but a weakness was just made obvious of our economic openness. Now as everybody knows, Dubai, or any other rational actor is not about to ruin an investment, but what's to stop irrational actors from "investing"?

"What are you gonna do?"

The thought had crossed my mind earlier, but it's funnier in writing.

"This is America; sometimes there are random snipers..."

Best Gun Blog

I just left a comment over at the 2007 Weblog Awards site, since they do not have a category for 'Best Gun Blog.' They're accepting ideas for new categories until the end of today (Thursday).

If they don't run with this idea I think we'll have to do our own awards, so we can make ourselves feel special.

By the way, does anyone know what the difference between 'Best Individual' and 'Best Diarist' is?

Darth Cheney

The presidential and ever-courteous Hillary unmasks Vader:

Ahmadinejad may won't still might visit Ground Zero

Is that a newly constructed tower over Ground Zero or is it just a big head? Ahmadinejad's bloated ego may be the only thing towering over Ground Zero in the days to come, should certain people get their way.

In a move that has stunned New York, the Bloomberg administration is in discussions to escort the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to ground zero during his visit to New York next week, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said today.

The Iranian mission to the U.N. made the request to the New York City Police Department and the Secret Service, which will jointly oversee security during the leader's two-day visit. Mr. Ahmadinejad is scheduled to arrive September 24 to speak to the U.N. General Assembly as the Security Council decides whether to increase sanctions against his country for its uranium enrichment program.

We can thank the unAmerican mayor Bloomberg for considering this genius idea. I remember one of my conservative professors telling me we shouldn't be so open minded that our brains fall out. We're now apparently so open that not only have our brains, but our pride has fallen out.

Update: Good.

Update part 2: Not good:

A law enforcement source says the Iranian mission to the United Nations has informed the Secret Service that the Iranian president intends to visit Ground Zero Monday at 10 a.m.

The source says regardless of the NYPD's rejection of the request for a Ground Zero tour, Iran's president and his entourage will be accompanied by a Secret Service protective detail, a detail provided to all heads of state when they visit the United States.

The Iranian mission to the United Nations made the initial request to the NYPD and the Secret Service, who will jointly oversee security during the president's two-day visit.

Apparently, President Bush only cares about invading other countries, not other countries invading us.

Dan Rather files suit against CBS

Because they pandered to the White House, or something.

Mr. Rather, 75, asserts that the network violated his contract by giving him insufficient airtime on “60 Minutes” after forcing him to step down as anchor of the “CBS Evening News” in March 2005. He also contends that the network committed fraud by commissioning a “biased” and incomplete investigation of the flawed Guard broadcast and, in the process, “seriously damaged his reputation.” As plaintiffs, the suit names CBS and its chief executive, Leslie Moonves; Viacom and its executive chairman, Sumner Redstone; and Andrew Heyward, the former president of CBS News.

In the suit, filed this afternoon in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, Mr. Rather charges that CBS and its executives made him “a scapegoat” in an attempt “to pacify the White House,” though the formal complaint presents virtually no direct evidence to that effect. To buttress this claim, Mr. Rather quotes the executive who oversaw his regular segment on CBS Radio, telling Mr. Rather in November 2004 that he was losing that slot, effective immediately, because of “pressure from ‘the right wing.’ ”

Yes it all makes sense now. Rather is the victim of a polarized network. The anti-Bush biased story and the pro-Bush CBS executives are responsible for Rather's downfall. It's not like fact checking is part of a journalist's job description.

Habeas Corpus

Cloture to end debate on legislation to grant habeas corpus to "enemy combatants" was blocked today:

Last year, Congress passed and President Bush signed an act eliminating the right of habeas corpus for non-Americans who are labeled “enemy combatants” in the continuing campaign against terrorism.

Most immediately, the 2006 act affected hundreds of prisoners held at the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba who the authorities say are Al Qaeda or Taliban militants. More broadly, the act has stoked the ongoing debate over the proper balance between national security and personal liberty in an era of terrorist threats.

I am not a global citizen, but I do believe in unalienable rights, rights every person is born with. I also believe when engaged in war, rights are quite trivial.

I could care less about enemies' right to petition our government after they were picked up on the battlefield. After all, this denial of habeas corpus applies to only foreign non-citizens labeled 'enemy combatants'. But the fact that we pluck these combatants from 'battlefields' including urban areas, means we will inevitably deny habeas corpus to an innocent bystander caught in a battle who then was wrongfully labeled an enemy. I think we already have. But that doesn't mean we should commit the obviously counterintuitive measure of allowing every single Guantanamo inmate the right of habeas corpus.

I guess I'm just on the fence on this one. I understand and am sympathetic to both sides of the argument. I guess it comes down to how you look at it: protecting Americans, or the American way.

Gun Blogger interviews Fred Thompson. Really.

Fits of Shooting the Messenger has a tailgate party interview with Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson on the right to keep and bear arms. A few quotes from the Fred:

"Sure I'd like to see them hand down a decision before the elections. Then every candidate would have to take a stand and no amount of verbal sparing is going to make people believe there's a middle ground here...you're either for the Constitution or against it..."

"For those against it maybe its time to ask them what other parts of the Constitution they don't believe to be fashionable any more..."

There's more, and more in comments that you'll not want to miss.

Blogs for Borders Video...

FBI cover ups and scandal at the border! We investigate.
100% Preventable! And this week every one had been deported previously.
Amnesty alert! Congress seeking to pass an amnesty...again!



Make sure to vote for us in the Blogger's Choice Awards!

After next weeks show we will be taking a five week hiatus to revamp and improve the show. Please make sure to let us know what you're liking and what you ain't!

NumbersUSA has the goods on stopping the latest amnesty debacle.

This has been the Blogs For Borders Video Blogburst. The Blogs For Borders Blogroll is dedicated to American sovereignty, border security and a sane immigration policy. If you'd like to join find out how right here.

Tags: illegal immigration, amnesty, the dream act, numbersusa, murder, rape, mexico, deportation, open borders

The Free Constitution

It is Constitution Day, after all.

I was thinking that I never got around to why I blog. So I figure should start writing about that right now.

Free Constitution: The Transcending Sovereignty

That's the name; kind of an awkwardly name, but it's mine, and I like it.

Why? Well, I've always thought the Constitution was Free in a sense, but as we all know it by no means came at a low cost, nor was it sustained at a low cost. It is a document that immortalizes valuable principles while remaining free from the whims of even the most powerful politicians, and despite all efforts the Constitution continues to confound its enemies with the immortal words of Liberty as the only Supreme Law of the United States.

As for the second part, it's the American way of life, it's the people, the land, the resources, the beauty, and the righteousness of the American citizenry that will always overcome the greatest of challenges. I believe this Sovereignty Transcends all others.

That's why I like the name, but I gave it to my blog because I'm the most patriotic person I know, besides my dad. Despite my thirst for history, I'm not much of a scholar in that field, but I am aware of the many acts that have brought America shame. Myopically, one might come to the conclusion that America is quite an evil place. And I'll be the first to tell you it is. And it isn't. I've seen many great things, and it would be a shame to discount them because of America's misdeeds. This is the freest country, by real standards, and that alone makes this nation great.

Those global polls and studies that say America is not the most free or is not perceived to be the most free are bunk. They were biased before they were written. Because we lack free health care, freedom from guns, lacking in abortion availability, lacking in free retirement benefits... the list goes on; I wasn't sure when all of that became part of the concept of freedom. I just fail to understand how paying for everyone else became inseparably fused with freedom of oneself. Sounds like clashing freedoms... But it's not. One is not really freedom. My thinking on freedom is much in line with this.

This is starting to sound like a rant itself, but it's merely context. The answer to why I blog, and a little about myself will come soon. I will continue to update this post as often as I can, until I feel it's complete.

Your 1st Amendment.

In Action:



I would be in jail if I was there. I would have yelled at the cops and then would proceed to tell John effin Kerry he's a worthless American for not telling them to stop. The guy was loud and obnoxious, but the unwarranted intervention by the police caused the disturbance. Notice the unnecessary tasering, 10 cops couldn't drag him out of there without zapping him?

Hard to swallow.

I guess Americans aren't allowed to ask about Skull & Bones. Jeez. This just contributes to the paranoia of the conspiracy theorists.

Via Stop the ACLU.

Update: I don't know, here's more context. It's looking like he was just asking for a show, and well, while not illegal per se, he got what he asked for.

Hugo Chavez: Totalitarianist

What does a blogger do on a slow news day?

Usually a quote I thought was interesting will suffice, sometimes just a link to what everybody else is talking about, but now and then I'll check up on our communist friends in Latin America.

Today I'll focus on the international metrosexual, the increasingly ambiguously heterosexual Hugo Chavez. Just look at that chemistry.

Not to be outdone by his Iranian affaire de l'amour who is cleansing the curriculum in universities, Chavez will take it a step further:

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez threatened on Monday to close or take over any private school that refuses to submit to the oversight of his socialist government as it develops a new curriculum and textbooks.

"Society cannot allow the private sector to do whatever it wants," said Chavez, speaking on the first day of classes.

All schools, public and private, must admit state inspectors and submit to the government's new educational system, or be closed and nationalized, with the state taking responsibility for the education of their children, Chavez said.

A new curriculum will be ready by the end of this school year, and new textbooks are being developed to help educate "the new citizen," said Chavez's brother and education minister Adan Chavez

The Revolución is near complete. Soon the working class of Venezuela will, whether they like it or not, be forced to know that they can't succeed in life because the wealthy and imperialists are keeping them down. After all, perceived wealthy job-providing oppressors are always more dangerous than the state.

Keeping schools safe... For who?

I ran across this typical example of hoplophobia, an irrational fear of guns, which in this case contributed to irrational fears of students swarming to find the teacher's gun, any gun, like a mad easter egg hunt the very moment such legislation passed. It's borderline PSH as Uncle would call it.

The thought of teachers bringing guns into the classroom is a frightening one. In no time, we expect, students would be hunting for their teachers' firearms, breaking into secured areas where guns might be stored. Just as children have a knack for finding their parents' hidden firearms at home, some would consider finding and taking their teachers' classroom weapons an enticing challenge.

It goes on to say that despite Columbine and VA Tech, gun bans are still the best way to keep schools safe. I agree, they're very safe for killers.

Hillary's $110 billion mandatory health care plan.

Individual freedom: diminished.
Tax burden: increased.
Dictating the insurance market: check.

Is it me, or does the left increasingly like to tell people what to do, and how to do it?

The centerpiece of Clinton's plan is the so-called "individual mandate," requiring everyone to have health insurance—just as most states require drivers to purchase auto insurance. Rival John Edwards has also offered a plan that includes an individual mandate, while the proposal outlined by Barack Obama does not.

...

Clinton is sure to court danger from the health insurance industry by proposing several industry reforms. Among other things, she would require insurance companies to provide coverage to all consumers regardless of pre-existing conditions.

I'm amused at the thought of police coming to my door telling me to buy health insurance, or else. I wonder if this plan will pick up the tab for those who "choose" Eastern medicine, or religious/spiritual healing methods over the predominant medical establishment. I'm more interested in seeing how the left will react to their diverse multi-cultural religious minorities, you know, the ones who will have religious objections to Western medicine while being forced to pay for it?

Tony Snow on Journalism

Ouch!

Video courtesy NewsBusters.org

Video: President Bush's Iraq Speech 9/13/07

Here's the entire speech in three parts, courtesy of CSPANJunkie. Watch for "An enduring relationship... beyond my presidency..." in part 3. What did we expect him to say, it's time to throw Iraq to the wolves? There is no easy way out of this where we both win, and if we didn't invade then, it'd just be a matter of time, unless you believe the UN really scared Saddam.

Part 1:

Parts 2 & 3 below the fold...



Part 3:

Someone remind me...

What country am I in?

Patriotism is now banned in a North Carolina public high school.

I knew free speech was heavily regulated in public schools, which I highly detest, but there's a difference in protecting delicate sensibilities, which is misguided but understandable, and enforcing the capriciousness of unassimilated anti-American immigrants by the arrogant liberal school administrators appeasing them in the name of PC diversity.

Via HotAir headlines.

California passes micro-stamping gun regulation

So a casing will now be stamped with a signature in California, and this will stop crime how?

The Crime Gun Identification Act (AB 1471) would require all new models of semiautomatic pistols sold in California after 2010 to be microstamped, or microscopically engraved, with their make, model and identification number.

Theoretically, the microstamping would be transferred onto the cartridge casing when the handgun is fired, allowing police to match bullet casings found at crime scenes with the gun that fired the bullet.

Critics say the technology is vulnerable to tampering -- the laser engraving can be scratched and altered. And even if the technology does work, it won't prevent criminals from using the stamped guns, critics argue.

Oh I get it now, since most murdering thugs buy their guns legally, fill out the required forms, and cross all the Ts, we can find out who they are. That's not the genius of it though.

Now that these guns will be much more expensive, which won't help drive the black market at all, Mr. legally-acquired-gun-murdering thug, will have a harder time affording such gun. And they say gun control encourages more crime, silly gun-nuts!

Putin grooming next Russian President?

Russian President Vladimir Putin accepted the resignation of his prime minister. It sounds like the resignation was requested by Putin, but it's not clear as of yet.

It's speculated that Putin wants a new prime minister, one more in line with his world view, who will be poised to take the presidency once Putin is gone:

Putin, limited by the constitution to two consecutive terms, says he will step down next year. Whoever the popular Putin endorses to replace him is almost assured victory in the March 2008 presidential election.

Update: Maybe he's not grooming a future president:

Russian President Vladimir Putin stuck to his habit of choosing virtually unknown technocrats as prime minister on Wednesday by nominating Viktor Zubkov.

With his choice of the 65-year-old, who is head of the Federal Financial Monitoring Service, Putin confounded expectations the job would go to a heavyweight candidate who would use it as a stepping stone to becoming president in 2008.

Rather a stooge:

"He did not generate ideas. He was someone who carried out instructions." Zubkov was nominated to replace Mikhail Fradkov, who stepped down after more than three years as prime minister on Wednesday.

Cleveland Mayor: ban the kind of guns that have no relation to what I'm trying to stop.

That's right. Not that the AP would tell you, but in Cleveland, adult-minors (those over 18 and under 21) cannot legally buy a handgun, you know, the kind of gun that was recklessly and maliciously fired resulting in the death of a 12 year-old. But don't let details get in the way of this media-politico orgasm over new gun control legislation:

Cleveland's mayor called on the state Monday to create a law that would prohibit anyone younger than 21 from possessing a firearm.

Mayor Frank Jackson's proposal followed the shooting death last week of a 12-year-old girl who was hit by a stray bullet.

Diverting blame, is easy with a common enemy so readily visualized as a bad guy: the gun.

Hoplophobia

"Millions fear guns on streets."

But that's impossible. I mean they passed a law that made them feel good about this, didn't they?

Blogs for Borders Video

Mexican trucks roll over our Southern border, can our government control this? Is it safe? Are Americans at risk?

100% Preventable!
The Dem. Prez debates in Spanish.
And a small remembrance of 9-11



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Outraged Patriots billboard vandalized! Help put the next one up...here.

This has been the Blogs For Borders Video Blogburst. The Blogs For Borders Blogroll is dedicated to American sovereignty, border security and a sane immigration policy. If you'd like to join find out how right here.

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Liveblog: General Petraeus, the surge, & Iraq progress. Update: Video & Transcript Added.

[Live Video Feed Here] Hearing recessed until tomorrow. Video, transcript, charts and more below the fold.

Trends in violence:Update: here's a better transcript of General Petraeus's report and a better view of the charts (pdf).

Update: Video Highlights of the hearing:
Troop drawdown:


Code Pink removed:


Decline in security "incidents" charts:


Democratic Rep. Tom Lantos wonders why not cut and run.


Update: There will be more of the hearing tomorrow, and so far, nothing really unexpected, even the disruptive Democrats' Code Pink minions. But I've got to go, for more coverage see Hot Air, NYT's the Lede, Outside the Beltway, the Tank, and more.

UPDATE 3:04 ET: HotAir also liveblogging, has the pdf's of the testimonies: Petraeus's report, Crocker's, and charts.

(Note: following quotes from hearing are paraphrased)

Petraeus says improved police forces as in Fallujah is allowing for better mobility of Iraqi Army.

"Syria has allowed foreign fighters to enter Iraq... many have become suicide bombers."

UPDATE 2:55 ET: Petraeus is asked if we should talk to Iran and Syria? Petraeus says "Iran showed no readiness to engage in serious issues... Iranians interested in only appearance of negotiating... As a first step Iranians must help improve security in Iraq, which they say is their own interest. Haven't seen any earnestness from Iran."

Talks about Iranian attacks in Iraq... More or less tells the distinguished gentlemen he's crazy for thinking we should or even could talk to the Iranians for a better Iraq.

UPDATE: Moonbats disrupt, show no respect, and have just been forcefully removed 2:00pm ET.

Ambassador Crocker: "Iraq is like America during civil rights movement..." "Is Iraq ready to prioritize the national interest over sectarian interests..." "The commitment of its leaders is encouraging..." "a continued need for multinational forces..."

He says there has been political improvement at the local level across the country.

UPDATE: From The Lede NYT blog:

The general begins by saying that the following statement was his own, and had not been cleared by the White House. Some bullet points:

• Overall Assessment: “The military objectives of the surge are in large measure being met.”
• Most Important Development: The rejection of Al Qaeda by Sunni tribes in Anbar province. Other areas are following suit, he adds.
• End of Surge: The troop levels in Iraq can return to pre-surge levels by the Summer of 2008, he said. “However, in my professional judgment, it would be premature to make recommendations on the pace of such reductions at this time,” he added.
• Violence: A slew of charts reports that violence is dropping in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq. The general says the number of attacks and deaths would be lower without Al Qaeda in Iraq’s attacks. One chart shows that two provinces have seen increasing violence during the surge.
• Al Qaeda in Iraq: The deals with Sunnis in Anbar province and operations against leaders of Al Qaeda in Iraq have left the group “off balance,” but not defeated, he asserted.
• Iran: The general said there is evidence that the Iranian government is using its Al Quds force to help spur the insurgency in Iraq, a charge that the U.S. military has leveled before. The aim, he said, was to create a friendly organization in Iraq as Iran has in Lebanon with Hezbollah.

Update: Petraeus says troop levels can be cut next summer back to a level of 130,000. As we expected to hear, I hope he's sincere about that.

***

I'm a little surprised the report hasn't been leaked, which is typically a bad sign when an administration doesn't float leaks. But in this case I suspect there may be something surprising in General Petraeus's report.

Not quite a rule, but when bad news happens, it is usually kept under a tight seal until such news can be better spun or countered with good news. Which is why good news is leaked quickly. But in this case, I think the White House has good reason to keep leaks of the report from coming out. For one, it would keep the nay-saying Democrats flat-footed until the blow was delivered, which explains their preempted defense. How do you win an argument you haven't yet heard? Attack the source.

Secondly, it would give the White House complete control of that crucial first impression on the public.

Most importantly, and related to the first reason, is that any shift in public opinion toward favoring continuation of pursuing a victorious end to the war, backed up with facts from a popular general who was unanimously approved by the Senate, will put the anti-war politicians on the defensive. This would give the White House what is most likely its last chance to give the military the time and resources it needs to win, and if the administration is lucky, a chance to redeem themselves.

We've been hearing what may be in the report, but it's mostly opinion. Some more credible than others, much of it the same; take it as you will what the LA Times was told:

Officials have said they expect Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker to make three major points:

— The surge is beginning to succeed, but it is too soon to withdraw significant numbers of troops.

— The central government in Baghdad has failed to meet the administration's political goals, but there are signs of progress at the local level.

— The consequences of a too-hasty withdrawal would be catastrophic.

Here's what Gen. Petraeus told ABC News:

"The surge will run its course. There are limits to what our military can provide, so, my recommendations have to be informed by — not driven by — but they have to be informed by the strain we have put on our military services," Gen. David Petraeus said in the interview at Camp Victory in Baghdad. "That has to be a key factor in what I will recommend."

While he would not get specific about the recommendations that he gave to President Bush during a surprise visit to Iraq yesterday, when Raddatz asked if March would be the time for a drawdown to avoid further strain on the military and even longer deployments, he answered by saying, "Your calculations are about right."

It already sounds as if the report won't have anything new. We've heard about the success of the surge, but we've contrarily heard that success was merely successful at maintaining a precarious peace. We've heard the political situation is highly unstable, and is anything but a success. To me, all these reports sum up the effectiveness of the surge: no significant improvement overall.

Those negative sources happen to be the NYT, the LAT, and the Government Accountability Office, not something one can shrug off.

Yet they don't see it as the boots on the ground. Bill Ardolino reporting from Iraq sees astounding improvements in Fallujah. A Milblogger currently employed says it's working in his slice of Baghdad. Even in Petraeus's letter to the troops, he says while some things hadn't turned out as expected, the situation has definitely changed for the better.

And the other night McCain assured us and Mitt Romney directly in the Republican debate that the surge IS working.

I guess my point is, is that the White House is going to use the report for all it's worth and more, and that there is reason to believe it has more good news than what we've been hearing. We'll see very soon.

Quote of the Week

"It is perhaps a privilege of those who have never had to confront violence to disparage the power to resist."

From across the pond no less, an excellent read.

Saturday Funny

Minimal posting for the rest of the weekend, but I've got something to hold you over until Monday. With OBL's new video out, and a possible new offensive from al Qaeda I thought I'd help expose their new recruitment tactics.

Osama Bin Laden Video Transcript. Video Added

It's here in .pdf.

He's got no idea about American history, yet he speaks as an authority on the subject.

He claims Kennedy was elected during Vietnam, sought to end it, and was assassinated by corporations profiting from the war. Ooookaaaay. JFK refused to pull out the little advisory support we had there, if anything he would've went to war too. But it didn't start until LBJ took over.

He then spouts rhetoric you often hear from the nutroots, about Bush, the war, Democrats not ending the war, big corporations, evil America...

Oh, and he says sharia law is fiscally conservative, with only a 2.5% tax. He's trying to win over support, converts, sympathy, etc., and he'll get some, which is truly very sad. Video below the fold...

Update: David Brooks has similar thoughts:


Update: the whole video, part 1 of 3:

Osama Bin Laden new message 1/3

Here's part 2, and here's part 3. For some reason this video isn't lasting long on the internet.

And here is CNN's body language analysis:

South Korean President yells at Bush

Partly because the South Korean president is a dunce, and partly or probably, because his translator is also a dunce. And if that's not the case, feel very sorry for South Korea.

From the AP:

As Bush began to wind down his stay at the Asia-Pacific summit, Roh challenged him to make a declaration to end the Korean War. That conflict ended in a truce in 1953, not a peace treaty, so the two sides technically remain at war...

Bush said that during his talks with Roh, he reaffirmed the U.S. position that Washington will consider the war formally over only when North Korean leader Kim Jong Il actually dismantles his nuclear program.

Whatever Roh heard Bush say through his translator, it wasn't good enough.

"I think I did not hear President Bush mention the - a declaration to end the Korean War just now," Roh said as cameras clicked and television cameras rolled.

Bush said he thought he was being clear, but obliged Roh and restated the U.S. position.

That wasn't good enough either. "If you could be a little bit clearer in your message," Roh said.

Bush, now looking irritated, replied: "I can't make it any more clear, Mr. President. We look forward to the day when we can end the Korean War. That will end - will happen when Kim verifiably gets rid of his weapons programs and his weapons."

The story goes on to say that NoKo is technically at war with the UN, and last I checked Bush hadn't yet declared himself fuhrer of the UN. Secondly, I see no possible hurry to end an ongoing technicality without NoKo's complete cooperation down to the last disassembled and permanently deactivated nuke plant. Sounds quite reasonable to me.

If there were an ulterior motive for the South Korean's outburst, it may have been that he jumped the gun. Seeing an end to NoKo's threat, he would see no need for American troops stationed in SoKo since the technicality of a war would be over. If that's the case, we should not only remove our troops, but our submarines and ships as well giving them no more nuclear umbrella to sit under.

Judicial Foreign Policy

Payback.

Iran must pay $2.65 billion to the families of the 241 U.S. service members killed in the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, a federal judge declared Friday in a ruling that left survivors and families shedding tears of joy.

U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth described his ruling as the largest-ever such judgment by an American court against another country. "These individuals, whose hearts and souls were forever broken, waited patiently for nearly a quarter century for justice to be done," he said.

Think they'll pay up? Don't hold your breath.

Via Allahpundit.

Syrian-Israeli Tensions Rise

Via Drudge, another story capturing the volatile nature of the Middle East:

Syrian officials reported that four or five IAF aircraft broke the sound barrier and dropped fuel tanks over deserted areas of northern Syria, along its border with Turkey. Witnesses said the incident occurred in the Abyad area.

A Syrian military spokesman said that Syrian air defenses opened fire on the IAF aircraft. "The Israeli enemy aircraft infiltrated into the Arab Syrian territory through the northern border, coming from the Mediterranean heading toward the eastern region, breaking the sound barrier," the spokesman said.

"Air defense units confronted them and forced them to leave..."

No word yet on what Israel has to say.

Fred Thompson announcement video

I had high hopes for Mr. Thompson, and I suppose filling an announcement video up with talking points and nothing specific is par for the course. I wont bore you with that video, but here's the video of Thompson on Leno:



I don't know his strategy here on the Tonight show if there even is one, whether it's creating the impression of a guy you can sit down and have a beer with, or bringing a level of comfort and casualness in contrast to the awkward stiffs on the Republican debates. And yet I find myself disappointedly unenthusiastic.

Via Allahpundit.

Video: The Entire Republican Debate 9/5/07

Here's last night's Republican presidential debate on Fox News in its entirety, courtesy of CSPANJunkie. It's in eleven parts, here's the first:

The rest is below the fold, including Giuliani and Paul on gun control in part 4, and an interesting exchange between Paul and Huckabee in part six...

Part 2:


Part 3:


Part 4:


Part 5:


Part 6:


Part 7:


Part 8:


Part 9:


Part 10: yes really, there's more of this crap:


And part 11:


I'm not sure who, and I am certainly no big fan of Paul, but the constant laughing every time he was called on by one of the announcers (or maybe other candidates?) was highly unprofessional, disrespectful, and the guy should have been thrown out.

As for the candidates: Romney got slammed from McCain, the deputy sheriff, and a bit from Giuliani, and he didn't handle it very well. Brownback made me remember why I oppose legal support and/or legal recognition of gay marriage, but he sounded like he wanted to criminalize it. Other than that he bombed. Tancredo needs improvement as it was hit and miss as far as performance. Hunter was characteristically easy to forget. Huckabee did remarkably well, at least in his spat with Paul. Paul made a few good points; he is definitely running as an alternative to the same lame Republican party, but comes off as a bit crazy. McCain was at his best, but I don't think it was good enough. And Giuliani just repeated what he did for New York City several times. From their collective performance last night, I think the winner was the Democrat Party, with Fred Thompson a close second.

Quote of the Day

"If lead has gone up almost 400%, that’s certainly because of China since it seems to be a major component in the toys they make."

The German terror plot

Pajamas Media has a roundup.

Three have been arrested. They had the capability to set off bombs bigger than the ones used in Madrid and London. They belong to the Islamic Jihad Union, had ties to al Qaeda, and were trained in... Pakistan.

A huge credit goes to the adept German police:

It was when the men began to process the legally obtained 730 kilograms of chemicals that the authorities became alarmed. A few days ago, police experts secretly swapped the 35-percent solution of hydrogen peroxide contained in 12 barrels for a diluted liquid that only contained 3 percent of the chemical. "Concrete preparations had begun, so we had to act," said one official.

Via Allahpundit who has more.

Innocence is Relative

I sent the following story to Mr. Codrea at the War on Guns as a tip, but it's so outrageously meaty, I can't in good conscience not blog about it.

It turns out that being independent minded while not a crime by itself, is in fact a crime when an officer is present...

If you shop with any frequency at giant chain stores such as Circuit City, Best Buy, Home Depot or even Bed, Bath & Beyond, you've probably grown accustomed to showing a security person your receipt and allowing him to inspect the contents of your bag as you leave the store.

For most of us, this inspection is routine and nothing more than a nuisance. But, have you ever stopped to wonder if this is even legal, or that this search of your bags is essentially an accusation of theft? Well, this past weekend, an Ohio man decided to refuse the search of his bag at an area Circuit City and soon found himself behind bars...

When Righi was told by the door person that his bag needed to be inspected and compared to his receipt, Righi refused with a polite "No thank you" and kept walking outside, where his father was waiting behind the driver's seat of his car. The security person and manager ran out of the store and blocked the car's exit from the parking lot. When neither could tell Righi which U.S. law gave them the right to search his bag, Righi asked to be let go or he would call the police himself. They refused and Righi called the police. When the officer showed up, he inspected the bag and saw nothing had been stolen. He also asked Righi for his driver's license. Since Righi was not driving his father's car, he refused to give up his driver's license, but was happy to give his name and address at the officer's request. Not amused, the officer arrested Righi and booked him for 'Obstructing Official Business.'

This guy's got a blog too (I love the new media):

Me: “I’m required by law to state that my name is Michael Righi, but I do not have to provide you with my driver’s license since I am not operating a vehicle.”
Officer Arroyo: “Give me your driver’s license or I will place you under arrest.”
Me: “My name is Michael Righi. I am not willing to provide you with my driver’s license.”
Officer Arroyo: “Turn around and up against the wall.”

At this point I was placed in handcuffs, patted down, had my wallet removed from my back pocket and was placed in the back of Officer Arroyo’s police car. My three siblings sat in the back of the Buick crying their eyes out, which is the only part of today that I regret. I wish my little brother and sisters didn’t have to watch this, but I knew exactly what I was doing and was very careful with my words. Other than putting my family through a little scare I don’t regret anything that happened today.

Officer Arroyo ran my father’s license plate, my driver’s license and inspected my two receipts along with the contents of my bag. He also handed over my Circuit City bag to Joe Atha and allowed him to ensure that in fact I stole nothing from the store.

Welcome to the Village Mr. Righi. And be sure to read the whole thing. We need more of guys like him.

Senator Craig rethinking resignation

You can imagine what this is doing to the already worried Republicans. According to Craig's spokesman, he's down but not out:

A senior GOP Senate strategist said Republican leaders want him gone now and will press for him to keep his promise to resign. The strategist warned Craig is "losing any goodwill built up among his colleagues," adding, "He is simply a fish out of water, floundering right now to get his last gasp of political air."

But Tuesday night, spokesman Dan Whiting said Craig might not resign if he is cleared of the charges before Sept. 30. Legal experts said it is doubtful Craig will be cleared because he pleaded guilty to the charge. The unexpected announcement caught fellow GOP senators – and members of Craig's own crisis management team – mostly by surprise and threatened to draw negative attention to the party at a time when it is preparing for big fights over the budget and the Iraq war.

I can understand why he pleaded guilty, or at least I understand why a guy would plead guilty to a minor charge to get it out of the way quickly. I've done the same on a lesser level with parking tickets, when I was in fact legally parked. But he's a professional politician, and he knew or should have known the political ramifications of his arrest and guilty plea which came just in time for campaign season when Republicans need all the help they can get. And then he said he intends to resign. Whether or not out of political pressure is irrelevant.

He pleaded guilty, then changed his mind. He intended to resign, and now is thinking about changing his mind. That's too many fumbles for one guy to have in the political playoff season. Despite the only evidence being innuendo, the Republicans being hypocrites to some degree, and their treatment of Craig being a bit of a double standard, Larry Craig is a grown man who dropped the ball all by himself.

If any other congressman pleaded guilty to lewd conduct in a public restroom I'd fully expect them to resign too.

Update: Noting what I said earlier, this story was and should have been over, that was until Senator Craig brought it right back today, the WaPo can now celebrate for being accidentally more relevant.

Katie Couric: Improvement from Surge

Another via Drudge. There seems to be a clear lack of consensus on just what the surge hath wrought. Clearly every perspective will have differences, and every town in Iraq will show different levels of stability, but I wonder if those are the primary reasons we're seeing conflicting reports on the effectiveness of the surge, or if it's just blinding agendas.

Nevertheless, Couric sees significant improvement:

...Fallujah is "considered a real role model of something working right in Iraq," Couric said.

Many more Iraqis have joined the Iraqi Security Forces in the overwhelmingly Sunni Anbar province. Despite mutual distrust, stemming from the power shift after Saddam Hussein's Baathist government fell, Sunnis and Shiites are working together in the ISF to fight al Qaeda...

"The spike in police has really been significant," Couric said. "The incidents in Iraq have gone down dramatically."

Gun bans, gun rights, & the Supreme Court

Lots of buzz today on Parker v. D.C., hopefully soon to be known as D.C. v. Heller if the Supreme Court grants certiorari.

First, an op-ed by the mayor of D.C. in the Washington Post in support of the D.C. gun ban.

Secondly, a debate at the Federalist Society.

And third, D.C. appealed to the High Court.

All via David Hardy who is on top of things.

Surge success? Improvement, or status quo?

The news I am hearing are small doses of increasingly good news, more so militarily, but political gains as well.

The LAT claims the surge hasn't done much but secure Baghdad:

Despite the plan, which has brought an additional 28,500 U.S. troops to Iraq since February, none of the major legislation that Washington had expected the Iraqi parliament to pass into law has been approved.

The number of Iraqis fleeing their homes has increased, not decreased, according to the United Nations' International Organization for Migration and Iraq's Ministry for Displacement and Migration.

Military officials say sectarian killings in Baghdad are down more than 51% and attacks on civilians and security forces across Iraq have decreased. But this has not translated into a substantial drop in civilian deaths as insurgents take their lethal trade to more remote regions.

Michael Barone of US News takes on a political approach, but sees things the way I do:

Democrats as harshly partisan as Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin and as steadfastly opposed to military action in Iraq as Washington Rep. Brian Baird have had to admit or report that Petraeus' "surge" strategy and forward-moving tactics have produced military progress in Iraq. We are making gains that even strong supporters of the administration were unwilling to claim in July. For Baird, this means Congress should support the surge and not attempt to recall troops now.

Barone goes on to say that Americans will readily choose victory over stalemate, but not stalemate over withdrawal.

I'm optimistic in eventual progress in Iraq both militarily and politically, but not so much about our patience here.

WaPo refuses to let Craig story go away.

The WaPo is apparently, desperate to keep the idea of a Republican congressman sex scandal fresh in the minds of Americans for as long as possible. It must be the case because I can think of a lot better and more respectable things to talk about than what Craig's children think about it.

Ridiculous.

Update: Craig brings more relevance to this ridiculous story, he's now considering not resigning.

Blogs 4 Borders Video...

Border Security: Instead of removing dangerous aliens, experienced agents to be inspecting grapefruit!
100% Preventable! More Americans killed -- raped -- molested by those not supposed to be in this country!
The Deportation Joke: Deported pedophile returns to molest more children, does our government care?



You can vote for us in the Bloggers Choice Awards Here.

This has been the Blogs For Borders Video Blogburst. The Blogs For Borders Blogroll is dedicated to American sovereignty, border security and a sane immigration policy. If you'd like to join find out how right here.

Tags: illegal immigration, rape, murder, pedophile, mexico, invasion, reconquista, bloggers choice awards, deportation, open borders, sanctuary city

China adept at hacking, NoKo... not so much.

Via Drudge comes two stories. One about China's PLA hacking the Pentagon, and the other about North Korea's "one laptop."

Not that we're not doing it, but Chinese People's Liberation Army apparently has been at this for months, and finally got in. But they didn't get far:

The Pentagon is still investigating how much data was downloaded, but one person with knowledge of the attack said most of the information was probably “unclassified”. He said the event had forced officials to reconsider the kind of information they send over unsecured e-mail systems.

It was far enough however:

“The PLA has demonstrated the ability to conduct attacks that disable our system...and the ability in a conflict situation to re-enter and disrupt on a very large scale,” said a former official, who said the PLA had penetrated the networks of US defence companies and think-tanks.

I hope they just did us a favor, letting us know what to improve on, as I'm sure was the Chi-Coms' primary concern.

Canada would have stopped Cho...

A critic of the VA Tech Report, has the solution:

The federal form asked Cho whether he had an adjudicated condition, meaning a court ruling declaring him mentally defective or committing him to an institution. Presumably that could be checked...

The Canadian system is different, and better. Presumably the gun registration system was costly because it is admirably meticulous. Among many personal questions, it asks the buyer, crucially, whether he has suffered from depression, alcohol, drug or substance abuse, behavioural problems or emotional problems in the past five years.

In other words, they don't merely seek an adjudicated illness, where a court or mental hospital has dealt with the illness. They ask whether you have these problems, even if you had the cunning to avoid the legal or medical establishment noticing it.

I'm proud that Canada does this...

First she acknowledges that Cho may have lied on his form, but then she claims that with this new Canadian question, Cho would have told the truth. Oh there's more:

Cho's menace was apparent to almost everyone. And if he had walked into a gun shop in Canada, the shop owner would have been legally compelled to notice that the guy in front of him in the reflective glasses had long ago driven round the bend and right over the edge.

Another layer of Canada's superior gun control: the shop owners, who by virtue of being Canadian are vastly more skilled in the art of detecting would be murderers. After all, they are legally compelled to judge a person's sanity by their appearance.

I haven't seen such condescending nationalist snobbery in a long while. But rest assured, if we are to stop the next Cho, we must not only strive for that extra truth-inducing question on the forms, but we Americans must work hard to achieve Canadian skill-level in judgment.

(I'm not saying the article implied Canadian superiority in judging a person's sanity over Americans; I am saying such is the assumption in Canadian law, comparatively. In Canada if you have the appearance of being less than sane, your inalienable right to arms rests upon the whim of a shop owner. Power over another on subjective terms mandated by law.)

AP: Serious Decline in Hunters and Fishermen

Here's the story. And an interesting tidbit:

The primary reasons, experts say, are the loss of hunting land to urbanization plus a perception by many families that they can't afford the time or costs that hunting entails.

"To recruit new hunters, it takes hunting families," said Gregg Patterson of Ducks Unlimited. [...]

"People grew up hunting — you went out with your family, your uncle. And now you go back, and there's a shopping plaza or a housing development. Some of your favorite places just aren't available anymore."

I don't know about the rest of the country, but in Utah, the decline was all but mandated by law, not urbanization. I'm not an avid hunter though I do hunt elk on occasion, I'm not well schooled in Utah hunting laws, but here's what I do know:

For big game, we now only have 5 days to rifle hunt deer, and you have to draw out for it, so there's a possibility you wont even get to hunt. As far as elk, you only have five days as well, you can't hunt the bulls unless you get lucky and draw out with a once in a blue moon tag (possibly 'once in a lifetime'), so most resort to the over-the-counter spike tag. As for cow elk hunting, it's also a drawing. As for antelope, good luck drawing out there. I know you can hunt cow moose, but only 63 permits were given out in 2006. And I think you'd have to be the governor or Bill Gates to hunt Big Horn Sheep.

You also have to draw out for bear, lion, and I just don't know about bobcat or lynx.

When it comes to small game, it's easy to get a permit, but there are limits to what you can bag.

And Prairie Dogs. Another reason why hunting is in decline, at least in Utah might be because our father-son target practicing pastime has been restricted. This law is based on grossly underestimated figures. I could count over 4,000 in the very small town of La Sal in an area no larger than 1000 acres. The prairie dog is one of the only animals credited with destroying land more than cattle, while infecting wildlife with disease, and more of a nuisance to farmers and ranchers than coyotes.

Granted, there are good reasons for restricting certain hunts, for population and disease control to name a few. But I don't understand why hunting is increasingly being restricted, while the numbers of hunters and poachers are way down compared to the days of lax hunting restrictions.

Copenhagen Rioters at it again.

I've been getting some traffic for a story I half heartedly commented on months ago, the Copenhagen riots.

So I googled it, and sure enough, the anarchist/communist punks, six months after their first rioting, are back at it.

From Reuters:

More than 50 people were arrested early on Sunday after clashes with police in central Copenhagen during the night where demonstrators threw stones and bottles and set fire to garbage containers.

More than 1,000 demonstrators gathered in the multi-ethnic, working class Norrebro neighbourhood to protest the demolition of a youth centre six months ago, police said.

When the protesters turned violent, set fires and started looting shops, police responded with tear gas.

In a quote from the AP report, these leftists were simply marking the sixth anniversary in order to "show they've not forgotten..."

The building that they were evicted from, and subsequently torn down, was their underground leftist headquarters. I guess while they were busy plotting away the new Marxist world order, they forgot to pay the bills. And now we have their beautifully orchestrated PR campaign complete with tear gas.

Here's a video of the first rioting six months ago:

Are you safe? Or do you just feel safe?

The BBC has reactions of students and others affected from the VA Tech tragedy to the panel's report. Here's a reaction that caught my eye:

The campus is now taking appropriate measures to protect students. Dorms are on 24/7 key card access, VA state police and VT police are everywhere, there are warning signs posted in every classroom on what to do in case of an emergency, and there is now a campus warning siren.

...I know of no one here that feels unsafe.

A cop on every corner, key cards at every door, sirens here an there, with posted warning signs nearly everywhere. Oh, and gun-free! (Except for the only ones, of course) That should stop a madman with a gun, eventually. You know, after he's made himself known. Just hope it's not you who knows first.

I don't know what to say.

The search for the trapped Utah miners is reportedly over:

Federal authorities suspended the rescue effort indefinitely, leaving the miners' families devastated. There is no word of when — or even if — there will be any later effort to recover the bodies of Don Erickson, Kerry Allred, Carlos Payan, Brandon Phillips, Luis Hernandez and Manuel Sanchez.

"I think our trapped miners are going to be in there a long time," Colin King, a lawyer hired by the miners' families, said Friday. "I think this means that MSHA (the Mine Safety and Health Administration) has concluded the miners are dead."

The mine has claimed six miners and three rescue workers, one of whom was a friend of mine, Brandon Kimber who died valiantly. He was the kind of guy you admired. In high school, he was one of those guys you wanted to be like. He still is.

Link of the Day

CCW reciprocity state by state. Just click on your state.

Via David Hardy.

Update: And how did I miss this? I was starting to rethink Mr. Republican Flipper, but now he's solidly a flip-flopper, who has no clue about guns, or how to accurately and quickly gauge his audience.

Giuliani's no good, Fred is turning out to be a disappointment, Huckabee supports nanny-state smoking bans, and Paul is well... too freakishly and non-interventionist (isolationism anyone?) libertarian.

And Bill Richardson, good on guns, but why would I vote for more government virtually everywhere else? Oops I almost forgot to mention McCain. That's all I have to say about him.