"Write Your Congressman" -- Not Just a Cliché Anymore...

I don't remember ever writing to any of my elected representatives before, but I feel compelled to do so now. Here is my first (of many?) letters to Chet Edwards (D-TX), who represents the 17th Congressional District of Texas in which I currently reside:

Dear Congressman Edwards,

It has been said that if one's elected representatives do not know you, then they can not, and do not, represent you. With this in mind, I write to you to introduce myself. I am a new resident of your district, having left New Jersey after 45 years to settle in central Texas with my family. I choose to live in Texas, in part, because I believe in freedom; I oppose punitive taxation; and I take the Second Amendment literally. The elected officials in New Jersey clearly do not share my beliefs, therefore I voted with a U-Haul truck last August and now happily reside in the great state of Texas.

I am a member of no political party; I view Republicans and Democrats with equal suspicion. I judge politicians by their votes and actions, not their promises and rhetoric. Being new to your district, I know little about you other than what I've read on your web site and by briefly searching the Congressional records on THOMAS.

I applaud your support for our veterans, for domestic oil drilling, and for border security, yet I'm disappointed by your votes on the so-called "stimulus" package and other spending bills. I am of the opinion that government must live within its financial means just as my family must. If our household budget runs into a deficit, we do not have the option of transferring wealth from others in order to cover our shortfall; that government does this through forced taxation is irresponsible and contrary to everything I believe in.

After perusing your web site I am happy to see that you share my beliefs with respect to American citizens' Constitutional right to keep and bear arms. Therefore, I urge you to support the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2009 (H.R. 197). The notion that I can cross a state border and instantly be transformed from a law-abiding citizen into a felon is pure insanity and antithetical to the Second Amendment which grants citizens of the United States of America gun ownership and possession rights, regardless of what state they happen to find themselves in. Any state law that infringes upon this right, I believe, is unconstitutional. While H.R. 197 is not a perfect solution to unconstitutional firearm laws, it is certainly a step in the right direction and must be enacted into law as soon as possible.

I also urge you to oppose all current and future anti-gun legislation, including the so-called "assault rifle" ban which targets firearms for their looks, not their function. Even though a blackened rifle with a folding stock might be too scary-looking for certain elected officials and bureaucrats, and even though the mere sight of such weapons might cause them to soil their panties, that is not reason enough to infringe on the Constitutional rights of honest, law-abiding citizens who keep and bear such arms for self-defense and sporting purposes. I do not own any rifles at this time, scary-looking or otherwise, but I reserve my right to own one or more in the future and resent a government that attempts to decide which firearms I may or may not own; that they would do so based on cosmetics makes it all the more insulting.

Thank you for taking the time to listen. I will be following your voting record closely during this 111th Congress and sincerely hope that you will earn my support in the next election.

I will post any and all future correspondence here.

Honor Student Kills 4 Cops, Guns Clearly To Blame

Honor Student

More proof that gun control works:

Gunman kills 3 officers, wounds 4th in Oakland
(AP) Sun Mar 22, 10:03 am ET - OAKLAND, Calif.

A police officer was battling for his life and three more were dead after a parolee with an "extensive criminal history" opened fire at a routine traffic stop and hours later gunned down members of a SWAT team searching for him.

The gunman was also killed Saturday, capping a day of violence that the Oakland Police Department said was the worst in its history. Never before had three police officers died in the line of duty on the same day.

[...]

Police said Mixon wielded two different weapons. One gun was used at the first scene and an assault rifle was used at the apartment building where he was hiding.

Jordan said Mixon had an "extensive criminal history" and was wanted on a no-bail warrant.

"(Mixon) was on parole and he had a warrant out for his arrest for violating that parole. And he was on parole for assault with a deadly weapon," said Oakland police Deputy Chief Jeffery Israel.

Call for tougher gun control in California (if that's even possible) in 4...3...2... Oh, silly me. It didn't even take that long:

Officer killings renew gun control issue
[...] Oakland police say Lovelle Mixon used a handgun to shoot the motorcyle cops who pulled him over and an assault rifle at the apartment. They say they believe this is an example of why parolees should not be allowed to have guns.

Mixon was on parole and had a warrant out for his arrest for violating that parole. He was also on parole for assault with a deadly weapon according to Oakland Deputy Police Chief Jeffery Israel.

The gun control issue is a controversial one, with 65 House democrats saying just on Wednesday, that they would oppose any attempt by the Obama administration to ban any military-style weapons.

Yes, gun control is the answer. It is obvious that the laws in this country need to be changed to make it illegal for violent felons to keep and bear arms. That would have stopped this guy, for sure.

Oh, wait -- it's already illegal for violent felons to keep and bear arms!?!?!? The hell you say! Well then, we should change the laws to place more restrictions on honest, law-abiding gun owners; that would have stopped this guy, for sure.

Note also the requisite mention of "assault rifle" in both these articles. Wouldn't be complete without that! They've got to go, too. I mean, aside from the gazillions of murders they commit (all by themselves, no trigger-puller required), think about all the bed-wetting by limp-wristed Leftoids that can be avoided if we eliminate scary looking guns.

In a nutshell: A career criminal let out of jail to walk the streets (by whom, I wonder...) commits murder with guns that he is forbidden by Federal and State law to own. Murder is illegal, gun possession by a felon is illegal, there are countless laws on the books already that this asshole has broken. The State of California knew he was a violent felon, they had him incarcerated, but decided it was in the public interest to let him walk free amongst us humans. And when this honor student commits murder (despite laws saying he can't do that) with guns (despite laws saying he can't own them) the answer is to place further gun restrictions on me?!?!?

Makes perfect sense, I suppose, if you're a citizen of the Leftoid Bizarro World.

Bonus Question -- Find the "assault rifle":

Now, what's the difference between the two?

Answer: NOTHING. Except that one is scary looking and makes Leftoids wet their panties. Both shoot the same rounds, both accept the same magazines, both can be used for "assault." Yet, one is on the would-be gun grabbers' shit list, the other is not.

Well, not yet, anyway...

Springfield Armory To Be Obaminated?

Don't like history? Just erase it!

The Springfield Armory National Historical Site in Massachusetts is a tribute to America's first and last national armory, the place where much of our national history was shaped (the above illustration is from Harper's Magazine in 1861 as the Armory tooled up for the Civil War).

Now it appears that the Armory itself has come under fire, this time from its National Park Service overseers.

Yesterday Jim Shepherd at the SHOOTING WIRE and I received information ostensibly from an insider whistle-blower that the Springfield Armory is quietly being disassembled. According to the information we received, the new director not only has no background in firearms — rather, from "textiles" — but sees no benefit in preserving "old guns."

Again, according to the information we received, the curator has been removed, the huge arms library has been closed and the new administrator is in the process of locking up the arms collections.

Via Michael Bane.

Why do guns need a museum, anyway? It's not like they were instrumental in the forging of our nation, right? Besides, guns kill people. Well... that, and preserve liberty.

Update: Been thinking about this all morning. The government funds all sorts of museums. Ellis Island and Alcatraz are both National Historic Sites under the purview of the National Park Service. The Holocaust Memorial, too, and the Holocaust, arguably, is no more about "American" history than is the Munich Beer Hall Putsch or the Blitzkrieg. (Also arguably, if the Jews had guns in 1930's Germany, maybe there would be no need for a Holocaust museum. But I digress...) Obama's so-called "stimulus" plan allocates $55,000,000.00 for a Mob museum?!?!? For Christ's sake...

Update 3/24: Or perhaps not. Via Outdoor Wire:

We've been receiving reports of moves afoot to make significant changes to the Springfield Armory National Historic Site. Those changes, sources told us, weren't to the betterment of the facility or the historically significant collection of thousands of unique and prototype arms either on display or in storage there.

Following a conversation with the top official there, I can report the rumors of the impending demise of the Springfield Armory collection appear to have been greatly exaggerated.

During my extended discussion with Michael Quijano-West, the Superintendent of the Springfield Armory National Historic Site yesterday, Quijano-West made it extremely clear changes were being made, but they were designed to make the armory collection and the accompanying historical archives more accessible, not to lock them away.

"We're not closing anything," he said, "in fact, we've expanded our operating hours to 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week. That certainly wasn't the case before, hours were inconvenient for visitors. Today, there are only three days on our calendar when we won't be open: Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day."

Additionally, Quijano-West says, there will be longer summer hours this year, and guided tours on the weekends. All designed, he says, to help build interest in the historical site he calls a "gem" of American history.

"Springfield Armory is a significant, inspirational and unique treasure," he says, "it's a shrine of our country. And a story we'd like to share with even more visitors."

So what of the closure reports?

"Not accurate," he explained, "we are upgrading the facilities, and that includes relocating some office spaces. Upgrades will create separate archive and collection research areas in new multi-purpose spaces. Those spaces will enable researchers and photographers to examine either the archives or firearms in our collection on an appointment basis. And the rooms will also give us the ability to create temporary exhibits there, too.

"The whole goal of the upgrades is to make everything easier to see and more accessible - including the document archive. The archive is as significant as the armory firearms many of the documents support, but it's not been as well organized as it could have been in the past."

While the modernization of a portion of the exhibits building has caused the relocation of some of the thousands of firearms in the collection, Quijano-West says the intention has nothing to do with limiting access and everything to do with preserving the armory.

"Making this historical treasure available and accessible to the public is my goal," he says, "whether they like guns or not - there is something here for everyone interested in history, from General Washington to the architectural and cultural landscape of the buildings. It is really a work of art."

Does "like guns or not" mean a de-emphasizing the fact it is, or was, an armory?

"No," he explained, "in fact much of the earlier emphasis here has been on the manufacturing process. I keep reminding everyone that the manufacturing developments were, indeed, revolutionary, but the place was an armory. You can't ignore the firearms."

"We're working to interest school children in the area more interested in the facility. One project we've created is a poster called a poem on muskets," Quijano-West explained.

"Henry Wadsworth Longfellow came here and saw the Springfield Armory and was so impressed with it he wrote and published a poem about it. We took a high-quality photograph of part of our exhibits and put that poem with it. We'll be distributing it to area schools, hoping we can get kids interested in firearms and the Springfield Armory."

There have been changes at the Springfield Armory National Historic Site, and there are more changes planned. Some changes will be obvious, and others will be dedicated to the preservation and security of the entire collection.

Others, I was told, will make bring the facility into compliance with National Park Service policies on security and safety. None, Quijano-West says, will make this national historic treasure less accessible.

As a sworn federal law enforcement officer, Quikano-West explains he's particularly aware of the idea of security of everyone visiting - and working- at the Springfield Armory, but he's also determined to see that everyone has easy access to the armory, the firearms collection, and the associated document archives.

The entire facility he says, makes the unique importance of firearms to the history of America apparent -including our history not yet written. Hiding them away, he says, would not accomplish that goal.

Agreed.

Well, OK then.

Lou Dobbs & Stephen Halbrook on Gun Ownership Rights

(h/t Gun Rights Radio)

Flying the Terrorist-Friendly Skies

From The Washington Times:

After the September 11 attacks, commercial airline pilots were allowed to carry guns if they completed a federal-safety program. No longer would unarmed pilots be defenseless as remorseless hijackers seized control of aircraft and rammed them into buildings.

Now President Obama is quietly ending the federal firearms program, risking public safety on airlines in the name of an anti-gun ideology.

The Obama administration this past week diverted some $2 million from the pilot training program to hire more supervisory staff, who will engage in field inspections of pilots.

It's not clear whether pilots who are currently permitted to keep and bear arms in the cockpit will be stripped of their weapons (though it wouldn't surprise me...) but it is clear that by cutting funding to the training program, our articulate and clean Teleprompter-Reader in Chief is going to prevent future pilots from arming themselves in order to maximize their ability to protect passengers.

(h/t: Ace, who poses an important question: "If you don't trust a pilot to carry a gun, what the fuck are you doing allowing him at the controls of a plane carrying 300 people?")

Fight the Real Enemy!

First, a word from our sponsor:

"The spirit of the times may alter, will alter. Our rulers will become corrupt, our people careless. A single zealot may commence persecutor, and better men be his victims. It can never be too often repeated that the time for fixing every essential right on a legal basis is while our rulers are honest and ourselves united. From the conclusion of [their] war [for independence, a nation begins] going down hill. It will not then be necessary to resort every moment to the people for support. They will be forgotten, therefore, and their rights disregarded. They will forget themselves but in the sole faculty of making money, and will never think of uniting to effect a due respect for their rights. The shackles, therefore, which shall not be knocked off at the conclusion of [that] war will remain on [them] long, will be made heavier and heavier, till [their] rights shall revive or expire in a convulsion." -- Thomas Jefferson: Notes on Virginia Q.XVII, 1782. (*) ME 2:225

And now, the news.

Our government overlords have revealed their new plan to combat terrorism, and it's a simple one: Just redefine "terrorist" to describe anyone who doesn't subscribe to the Leftoid worldview.

People (that is, "White Males") who own firearms, support Libertarian candidates, own a "Don't Tread On Me" flag, watch videos about the Federal Reserve, read Tom Clancy novels, believe in the US Constitution, and/or mistrust our government -- according to some nondescript government agency called the Missouri Information Analysis Center (MIAC), these people are the real enemies of America.

The MIAC report does not concentrate on Muslim terrorists, but rather on the so-called “militia movement” and conflates it with supporters of Ron Paul, Chuck Baldwin, Bob Barr, the so-called patriot movement and other political activist organizations opposed to the North American Union and the New World Order.

I don't believe in the supremacy of the white race, or any other. Nor do I believe in a Vast Zionist Conspiracy. I don't particularly like Ron Paul or his supporters all that much -- I find him to be the Ross Perot du jour, someone who can to make perfect sense while still giving me the heebie-jeebies. I am not (as yet) even a member of the Libertarian Party, mostly because I don't believe in wasting my vote as a matter of principle just to "send a message." That said...

• I DO consider myself to be a (small "l") libertarian and subscribe to just about every plank in the Libertarian Party platform.
• I DO believe in the US Constitution; I believe that it means what it says, and that it should be taken literally.
• I DO own firearms, which I keep and bear under the laws of the State of Texas and the United States of America.
• I DO oppose restrictive gun laws, and believe that an unchecked government eventually will move to confiscate my firearms.
• I DO oppose the notion of a one-world government and especially despise the United Nations, and find our government's cozying up to a collection of authoritarian thugs and and dictators to be sickening.
• I DO oppose the increasing federalization of the states; the Tenth Amendment is another one of those things that means what it says.
  

In short, I DO NOT TRUST OUR GOVERNMENT. Apparently for good reason, because they don't seem to trust people like me, either.

According to the aforementioned nondescript government agency, this qualifies me as a right-wing extremist and a terrorist threat. So be it. At least I'm in good company: Thomas Jefferson fought to have the Bill of Rights ratified along with the Constitution for that very reason -- he believed that government could not be trusted with power over the citizenry. He seems to be the grandfather of the so-called "Militia Movement" as defined by MIAC.

Unfortunately, what Jefferson feared and foretold 230 years ago is coming to pass; our rights have been ever so slowly eroding since the end of the Civil War, which effectively settled the question of whether states can secede from the Union, the first drop of White-Out to hit our Constitution. It's happened slowly enough that people don't even notice because they're too transfixed by American Idol.

Will I wake up one day and find myself on a government watch list because I choose to exercise my God given right to keep and bear arms? Or have a bumper sticker endorsing the "wrong" candidate on my Jeep? Or go to the "wrong" church? Or say mean things about our articulate and clean President on my blog? When will it end? And how badly? Am I paranoid, or merely observant?

The MIAC website has a handy form for citizen-comrades to report their neighbors suspicious activities. Maybe they'll add a check box for "Has Ron Paul Bumper Sticker on his Lexus" after "Miscellaneous Suspicious Activity with a Terrorism Nexus." If this doesn't give you the creeps, nothing will.

Meanwhile, back in Obama-land: Let's close down Gitmo and let those poor Islamic so-called "terrorists" go. While we're at it, stop calling Islamic Fascists captured on the battlefield while trying to kill American soldiers "Enemy Combatants" -- why, it might offend them. And besides, referring to them as such might lend credence to the notion that America is, indeed, at war. Which, of course, we're not.

We are so fucked.

It's Deja Vu...

...all over again. I went to bed one night in March of 2009, and woke up the next morning in 1979 to learn that Nicaragua's Venezuela's Marxist government has agreed to let the Soviets Russians base strategic bombers in their country, within striking distance of the US mainland, while Jimmy Carter B. Hussein Obama scrambles for his teleprompter to deliver yet another scathing attack on America's real enemy: Rush Limbaugh. Or is it Jim Kramer's turn today? I forget...

Gun Ownership: Because I Can.

When in Texas, do as the Texans do.

Last weekend I exercised my Second Amendment right and purchased a Taurus 24/7 Pro DS 9mm at a gun show in Dallas. Despite being a longtime advocate of gun rights in America and an occasional member of the National Rifle Association, this is the first firearm I've owned. I had no intention of buying a gun that day, I was just looking around in order to educate myself, but my wife really wanted to buy one right away, so I let her pick out a handgun she felt comfortable with. She chose the Taurus over 9mm over similar S&W and Glock models; I would have preferred a sub-compact .45 as a carry weapon (I like the Glock 36, but the Taurus Millennium 145 is tempting...) but she thinks a 9mm might be easier for her to handle. Probably right. Taurus is a Brazilian company; I figure any nation that produced Ayrton Senna is perfectly capable of producing quality firearms.

So now I'm a gun owner. My leftoid pal up north is beside himself with the prospect of me turning into a gun nut. "Why do I need a gun," he asks? "Why does anyone need a gun? Their whole purpose is to kill people!!!" He attributes my desire to arm myself to "fear of boogeymen"; I attribute his anti-gun politics as "fear of gun owners". He thinks the Second Amendment is outdated and no longer applies; I consider the Second Amendment as a guarantor of our fundamental rights. And 'round and 'round we go -- no amount of reason or facts will change the mind of a fully indoctrinated leftoid, especially on the topic of guns. Ultimately, my decision to exercise my right to keep and bear arms is simple and needs no defense: Because I can. FYNQ.

As the current administration chomps at the bit to further government limitations on our Constitutional rights, including (but not limited to) the Second Amendment, I felt it was time to act. Anti-gun zealots in our government are either incapable of comprehending that pesky "shall not be infringed" language or (more likely) they simply don't care. Obama's record on gun rights is dismal; his Attorney General is on the record stating that he does not believe an individual's right to keep and bear arms is affirmed by the U.S. Constitution; and Congressional Democrats have already announced their intentions by introducing legislation to restore the so-called "assault weapons" ban -- which, as we have learned, bans pretty much any firearm they find to be scary looking and instantly turns thousands of law abiding citizens into criminals with the stroke of a pen. If the left's early actions on taxation and spending are any indication, I expect they'll rush new gun control legislation through Congress before they can be held accountable in the 2010 elections, by which time the laws will be on the books and, given the scrotumless, roll-over nature of elected Republicans, will have little chance of being overturned.

America is stocking up: Glock is reported to be unable to keep up with the demand for their handguns; premium ammunition is becoming scarce; political uncertainty looms ahead. Some may see this as paranoia; I merely see it as a matter of practicality. If guns and ammo are to be restricted or heavily taxed in the near future, it makes fiscal sense to buy early and buy often -- I did the same thing when the FCC outlawed full-coverage VHF/UHF receivers back in the 90's; I would do the same thing if I knew there was going to be a hike in the price of bottled water.

So with this in mind, I intend to purchase as many firearms and as much ammo as I can afford while I still can; I am not alone on this. I shall strive to become as proficient as possible with all types of firearms; I will take advantage of the liberty afforded me by the great state of Texas to become a licensed concealed weapon carrier; and I will urge others to do the same. History has proven -- repeatedly -- that a right not exercised soon becomes a right lost.

Of Parasites and Hosts.

"Owners of capital will stimulate the working class to buy more and more of expensive goods, houses and technology, pushing them to take more and more expensive credits, until their debt becomes unbearable. The unpaid debt will lead to bankruptcy of banks, which will have to be nationalized, and the State will have to take the road which will eventually lead to communism."

Karl Marx, Das Kapital, 1867

(h/t: Konstantine)