Preach It, Brother Lawdog!

"For the best part of my adult life, Congress and the various Presidents of this Union have, at best, ignored the Constitution, and, at worst, actively crapped on it.

And I am Sick. And. Tired. Of. It.

No more. My line is here.

You want Government-run National health-care? You do it right -- you get the Constitution amended to allow Congress that power.

Until then -- go to h***."

Couldn't have said it better myself.

DHS Report On Rightwing Extremism

Man, has it really been almost two months since I posted anything? I'm such a slacker.

My only excuse is that I hate to keep posting almost nothing but crap like this.

H/T to Mrs. Malkin via Caleb.

Knew It Was Coming...

Just didn't think it'd be this soon.

I'm not going to comment further. Not here, at any rate.

H/T to Tam.

Anyone Feel Like a Tea Party?

Hmmm....

H/T to Tam.

HB1237 In Senate Judiciary Committee

HB1237, the bill to remove churches from the list of prohibited places under Arkansas' concealed handgun licensing law, has passed the House and is now sitting in the Senate Judiciary committee. I read somewhere that Governor Beebe has stated that he will sign the bill if it makes it to his desk. Unfortunately, I'm now coming up with a blank as to where I saw that bit of info.

Additionally, Robb as Sharp as a Marble has a nice rebuttal to some of the uninformed hysteria that has arisen concerning this bill. The only thing that I would add to his reply is to the "ministers" who are making the local media with their opposition to this bill. From what I have seen, every one of you represents a denomination that holds as one of its beliefs that the church is the people, not the building. It's the people who gather together that are holy, not the place where they sometimes gather together. Yet all I'm seeing is talk of "preserving the sanctity of the church" and "the church is a place of peace". If it's wrong in God's sight for a Christian to carry a gun into "church", then it's wrong for them to carry at all, seeing as how they are an integral part of the church!

Y'know, it really makes me wonder if you've put any thought or study into this subject at all or are just reacting at a gut level. I'd suggest you take a look at 2 Samuel, particularly the story of Uzzah, as to how God responds to his people reacting at a gut level without thinking things through.

Nice Of Them To Let Us Know...

It seems that the Arkansas State Police have decided to add extra legal burdens on CHL holders. Under Rule 3.2 of the DEPARTMENT OF ARKANSAS STATE POLICE, ARKANSAS CONCEALED HANDGUN CARRY LICENSE RULES which was put into effect on January 1, 2009, if a concealed handgun license holder interacts with a law enforcement officer in an official manner, the licensee now has the responsibility to present the officer with their CHL if the officer requests identification and the licensee is in possession of a handgun.

Based upon emails with the ASP by one of the posters on THR, this rule does not carry the weight of law and there are no penalties that can be invoked for not following the rule. However, as this document is provided to officers and CHL instructors as being in compliance with AR law, there are two distinctly unsavory possibilities: 1) An officer believes that there is a legal duty to inform and arrests a CHL holder for not informing and 2) CHL instructors will promulgate this information as having the weight of law, further muddying the waters for those licensees/prospective licensees who are less informed.

Also included in the THR thread was the fact that the ASP apparently posted, in both newspapers and on their website, a public hearing regarding these rules. I did not see either of these notices and I am fairly certain that my CHL-holding friends did not see them, either. Therefore, I will, from now on, do my best to check ASP's website on a regular basis in an attempt to catch further rule-making hearings. I will post any activity in that area on this website.

On a more positive note, HB1237 (allowing CHL holders to carry in churches/places of worship) and HB1097 (allowing allowing CHL holders to carry in schools) are scheduled to go before the Judiciary Committee, HB1237 as early as tomorrow morning. Three of the members of this committee are co-sponsors of HB1237.

ETA: HB1097 evidently is only concerned with allowing the CHL holder to keep the firearm in their vehicle. It's still a step in the right direction, just not as big a step as I'd previously thought.

This Made Me Chuckle

I'm an embarrassment to Barack!


I only scored 16 on the Obama Test

Heh, heh, heh...

H/T to Tam

What is Libertarianism?

I've had several people ask me recently, "What exactly is libertarianism, anyway?" I've attempted to answer these rather succinctly, as these folks weren't looking for a dissertation, with the phrase, "We should be allowed to do whatever we want so long as we don't interfere with the rights of others." I wasn't really satisfied with that answer and so I've plunged into the Wikipedia entry on Libertarianism. What I've come up with are a couple of quotes from that page that I believe to hit the high points of the libertarian philosophy (at least as I see it):

"...individual liberty, constitutionally limited government, peace, and reliance on the institutions of civil society and the free market for social order and economic prosperity..."

"Libertarians are committed to the belief that individuals, and not states or groups of any other kind, are both ontologically and normatively primary; that individuals have rights against certain kinds of forcible interference on the part of others; that liberty, understood as non-interference, is the only thing that can be legitimately demanded of others as a matter of legal or political right; that robust property rights and the economic liberty that follows from their consistent recognition are of central importance in respecting individual liberty; that social order is not at odds with but develops out of individual liberty; that the only proper use of coercion is defensive or to rectify an error; that governments are bound by essentially the same moral principles as individuals; and that most existing and historical governments have acted improperly insofar as they have utilized coercion for plunder, aggression, redistribution, and other purposes beyond the protection of individual liberty."

Remember, Remember...

...the Fifth of November, the Gunpowder Treason and Plot. I can think of no reason why the Gunpowder Treason should ever be forgot.

And remember, it ain't just some line from a recent movie.

This Makes Me Sad

I thought better of him. I really did.

The High Road Has A New Home

See the following email from Oleg regarding THR's new home:

My name is Oleg Volk, and I am the owner of The High Road(tm). When I started the forum in 2002, my vision was to create a place where people from around the world could engage in cordial discussion of RKBA related matters. Since then, you have helped make The High Road(tm) one of the best places on the web for learning about firearms, for educating new shooters and for supporting effective advocacy of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

Due to pending legal issues, I am moving the forum to a new home at TheHighRoad.us. This is the one and only official site at this time, owned by me. The same high standards of civility apply. In the near future, we will provide more than just a forum. The High Road(tm) is becoming an information and activism center for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

With the help of GeoVario, our new host, The High Road(tm) is now online in its new home. The new location of The High Road(tm) -- http://www.thehighroad.us -- will serve our members while the conversion of the .org domain name by THR's former sysadmin is being challenged in court (Copy of the complaint available: http://www.geovario.com/legal/Complaint1.pdf ).

Feel free to mirror this announcement on your blog (here is a link to mine with details of this matter and how you can help. http://olegvolk.livejournal.com/474369.html ). If you link to THR, please update the link to point to thehighroad.us Eventually, both .us and .org addresses will point to the same site again.

Thank you all
- Oleg Volk, Owner
The High Road(tm)

Edited to correct the links.

He's Got My Vote

Caleb over at Call Me Ahab has decided to throw his hat into the ring for president of these united states. You need to go read his 3-step plan for change in the U.S.

It's so beautiful it makes me tear up just thinking about it.

Gun Nuts Radio

To those who may not be familiar with this program, it is hosted by blogger Caleb from Call Me Ahab. It has been guest-co-hosted recently by Breda from The Breda Fallacy. Their most recent show covers some information regarding the past and present political agenda of candidate Barack Obama. I highly suggest giving this episode a listen. There were a couple of glitches where the broadcast cuts out but give it a couple of minutes and they're able to get everything working again.

No Real Surprise There...

Via Matt G at Better and Better, we have the Politics Test.

My results:

You are a Social Liberal (75% permissive) and an... Economic Conservative (78% permissive) You are best described as a: Libertarian Link: The Politics Test on OkCupid.com

Honestly Didn't Think He Had It In Him

So, um ... Yeah. How about that move by McCain, huh?

Sarah Palin.

Yeah.





Awww, crap. Please don't tell me I'm gonna end up voting for Col. Tigh.

The Lesser Evils

Marko at The Munchkin Wrangler has an excellent post on his reasons for no longer settling for the lesser evil when it comes to voting. He actually captures a number of reasons that I myself will no longer vote for someone only so that a worse choice might be avoided. I decided a few years ago that I will not ever vote against anyone again. I will only vote for a candidate whom I agree with.

Go take a gander.

Arkansas Democratic Party Chairman Killed

Chairman Bill Gwatney was killed today by one Timothy Johnson of Searcy, AR. Johnson was also killed after reportedly fleeing and firing at police. No motive has been established at this time.

Prayers for and condolences to his family and loved ones.

Helena Curfew Extended

Helena's city council has voted unanimously to allow their police force to expand the area under curfew.

I've already made my position clear on the matter. This is a violation of rights protected by the Constitution. But these quotes by the mayor and a council member just leave me shaking mad.

From the Log Cabin Democrat's article:

Mayor James Valley:"Now if somebody wants to sue us, they have an option to sue, but I'm fairly certain that a judge will see it the way the way the citizens see it here. The citizens deserve peace, that some infringement on constitutional rights is OK and we have not violated anything as far as the Constitution."

So it's okay to infringe on constitutional rights as long as you don't violate the Constitution? Could someone explain that one to me?

Oh, and the citizens deserve peace? Really? I'm disinclined to agree with that statement. I'm in good company, too. Benjamin Franklin once said, "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

Also from the Log Cabin's article:

The council rejected Dickson's claims, at one point questioning the Little Rock-based attorney if she'd live in a neighborhood they described as under siege by wild gunfire and gangs.

"As far as I'm concerned, at 3 o'clock in the morning, nobody has any business being on the street, except the law," Councilman Eugene "Red" Johnson said. "Anyone out at 3 o'clock shouldn't be out on the street, unless you're going to the hospital."

Any one care to lay odds on whether Mr. Johnson would feel the same way if it was his neighborhood that was under the curfew?

I'm not going to touch much on the assertion that local drug dealers "carry...AK47 assault rifles...". A rifle built around the AK's action, maybe, but I sincerely doubt that the local hooligans have access to true AK47s. You know, the full-auto, military-grade small arm that have been banned from importation since 1986. My bet is that it's the common WASR-type rifles that are built up on US-made, semi-auto only receivers and are dirt cheap right now.

In closing, I believe I need to make my position perfectly clear: Nothing the police can do will be able to save this neighborhood. Nothing the mayor can do will be able to save this neighborhood. Nothing the city council can do will be able to save this neighborhood. The only way for this neighborhood to be saved is for the residents to decide that they will not stand idly by when they or their neighbors are assaulted. They need to make life too difficult for the goblins who are causing the problems. They know who these people are. They know who and where to keep an eye on for problems. And since this state is one of the few that are still relatively free, they have the ability to purchase arms for their common defense.

Yes, by doing this, uninvolved people are likely to get hurt. But the question is, which is more acceptable? A few people hurt over a short period of time while the neighborhood does the right thing and tries to sort itself out? Or a few people hurt by goblins who then go about their evil ways unmolested and are thereby emboldened to continue hurting more and more people with no end in sight?

Think about that for a minute.

Mandatory Curfew in Helena Neighborhood

It seems that Helena's mayor James Valley has decided that its gotten too dangerous for the residents of certain neighborhoods to go outside. Therefore, he's ordered that anyone caught outside without a good excuse is to be arrested.

Says Valley, "It's something akin to martial law. It got to the point where somebody was going to get seriously hurt or killed if we didn't do something."

And we can't have people getting hurt or killed now, can we? After all, it's not like that can happen driving back and forth to work, right?

Uhhh...wait a minute...

But seriously, it seems that if the police see you on a public street, they can just toss the Fourth Amendment right out the window, having you and your vehicle searched. 'Cause, you know, only criminals would have any reason to leave their homes. Or maybe they're using the old standby justification of "if you don't have anything to hide, then you have no reason to worry."

Thankfully, the Arkansas branch of the ACLU has jumped on this, sending a letter demanding the curfew be lifted. Valley, however, doesn't seem to take them seriously. Here's one of my favorite quotes in the articles: "I invite them to move in on Second Street and be up all night with people shooting at them. That's my comment to them."

Well, no offense, Jimmy but be careful what you wish for. This is Arkansas, after all. I think the last thing you'd want is a bunch of independently-minded and/or rights-minded people moving into an area where they're likely to be shot at. 'Cause in all honesty, they're more than likely to shoot back. Which is exactly what should be happening in these neighborhoods in my opinion. Nothing like responding gunfire from multiple locations to put the damper on your attempted drive-by.

Hopefully the ACLU will pursue this matter further. I'd be tickled to see a lawsuit or organized civil disobedience. What makes me nervous, however, would be the possibility that the courts would back up the mayor in this matter. It really wouldn't surprise me any more.

Gee, Thanks Tam

Tam points out some of the more endearing TSA habits.

And since she didn't feel the need to warn anyone, I will. Don't click on the video. Trust me, you'll hate yourself if you do.

Now I gotta go dig the mental bleach out from under the sink. Again.