Richardson No Longer Acceptable Candidate
Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico was the only presidential candidate the Dem/S have running that was in any way tolerable to me. The sole reason for that was his gun control stance. In short, he was against it. Not so now. Anyone who will resort to bringing up the false idea of a gun show loophole as a reason for more regulation is a putz and not worthy of the office. Read about it here at SCHotline Press Releases.
***Message from Matt Halprin – New Listing Restrictions on Gun Parts***
July 30, 2007 | 10:00AM PST/PT
Matt Halprin
Hello everyone…In mid-August, we will be updating our Firearms, Weapons and Knives Policy to place more restrictions around gun-related items. Once these changes take effect, we will prohibit listings of any firearm part that is required for the firing of a gun. This includes items like bullet tips, brass casings and shells, barrels, slides, cylinders, magazines, firing pins, trigger assemblies, etc. Please read the Firearms, Weapons and Knives Policy for more details on our current policy.
As you may know, eBay does not allow the listing of any items which are regulated by individual states or the federal government; however, there are still a large number of firearm-related parts that are legal and are widely available in retail stores. These items have also historically been allowed on eBay.
After learning that some items purchased on eBay may have been used in the tragedy at Virginia Tech in April 2007, we felt that revisiting our policies was not only necessary, but the right thing to do. After much consideration, the Trust & Safety policy team – along with our executive leaders at eBay Inc. – have made the decision to further restrict more of these items than federal and state regulations require.
This new update continues to encourage safety among our community members and brings our policies in the U.S. and Canada in closer alignment with our existing policies in other markets around the globe.
Sincerely,
Matt Halprin Vice President, Trust & Safety
Not such a big deal because now I think that firearms component and parts auctions will be concentrated at Auction Arms and Gunbroker. What really saddens me is that eBay is no longer what the founders envisioned and is, in fact, managed by ignorant, controlling people. Imagine the worst of the antique mall managers who think they know everything and try to make their renters jump through hoops to sell in their facility. It is such a mental attitude that has eBay in the position of banning legal items and allowing the sale of porn. As you might know, it isn't only the firearms community who've been dismissed by eBay, the tobacco and alcohol folks have, too. Notice a common thread here? Yep, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. I'm not quite sure why, but this government entity has made, at least since 1994, a special effort to intimidate folks and discourage them from even legal commerce in these items. They've made some spurious charges and seized on some rather innocuous acts as a pretense for legal actions that have frightened some folks including the already pre-disposed management at eBay. This is the sort of thing that is a real threat to freedom in this country.
Kilts are Gay. Say WHAT!?!
I can't believe what you see on the internet that just makes you want to reach for rolls (and rolls) of duct tape. I mean there are some loonies out there. Whoever is blogging for Sam Brownback here at Baptists for Brownback is just right on over the edge. What a maroon! Their post, The Sissification of Seattle is a display of pseudo-Christian intolerance nearly as bad in implication as the loonies at Westboro Baptist (notice a similiarity here?) led by "Reverand" Jim Phelps are in their actual behavior. The poster went so far in his stupid attack on kilts as homosexual "dress" that he included USMC 1SG Farr as a link to "Sick man-skirt web page". After centuries of traditional wear of the kilt and similar in "Christian" communities these imbecile believes that commercial production in Seattle is reason enough to damn the whole lot of kilt makers and wearers. He sure is demonstrating a good grasp of logic there isn't he? Wonder what Jesus wore, wasn't that a shift/dress?...
Yet More on the Traffic Fees
I've been looking but I see little in the local "conservative" blogs vis-a-vis these hideous fees. Rightside VA has a post here and here. In Politically Correct had this anti-Dem/S post. Now our inimitably Dem/S Governor Kaine did make the exceptions for out-of-state drivers but he wasn't the only one who argued for them. Neither did he veto the bill. The Republicans being the majority didn't defeat this either. They allow common sense pro-gun bills to go down in committee but forwarded this? My disgust knows no bounds.
Not a conservative blog, Not Larry Sabato had this.
Interesting take on life from J. K. Rowling
You know, the author of the incredibly successful Harry Potter series of books that have become movies. Well, I only watch the movies, I can't stand reading fiction. Anyway, I saw The Order of the Phoenix last night and noted a couple of interesting points.
#1 - When the government of the witches and wizards wanted to control them they started by denying the right to self-defense. In this case they literally took away their weapons by not teaching them how to use the spells but clearly, the allegory is direct.
#2 - When denied the weapons of self-defense the population (students at Hogwarts) went underground.
#3 - The tyrannical government found no end of eager volunteers to enforce their edicts.
#4 - The tyrants put on a pretty, happy face while torturing the defensless.
I can see how Ms. Rowling's books have attracted so many fans from so many countries. They must be much more detailed than the movies and they suffer little in the translation to film. I wonder how many worldwide have been forever affected by some of the concepts she's used. I should add that one tag line is that evil must be confronted. I think that applies to our current situation.
I think we need to charge the House of Delegates, Senate and Governor with an abuser fee. They're certainly abusing us! Bad drivers. Look at the definition of bad driver. Speeder. You know just how easy it is to speed unintentionally. A little bad luck being the one pulled over out of a group a couple of times and you're a bad driver even if you're doing as you were taught to go with the flow of traffic. Heck, some courts in VA don't even get this much restitution from criminals.
- Dem/S don't give a damn about the war on the US by the terrorists and paint us as the bad guys to get back at Bush.
- Republicans abandoned US to the waves of illegal immigrants to curry the favor of the Hispanics who still don't like them and pissed off the rest of us in the process.
- Dem/S want to raise taxes when low taxes (relatively) are what is keeping the economy going despite the war.
- Republicans can't field a viable candidate who doesn't look like a leftist light. They have flat abandoned fiscal responsibility and are working to find ways to run from national security.
- The Media is more worried about Lindsay Lohan and Michael Vick than they are about Iranian nukes and the bloodbath that will follow if we precipitously withdraw from Iraq.
- There are a number of pols who don't want to defend the USofA and don't want us to be able to defend ourselves in our homes. Of course they all have security.
- Global warming is a fraud to give Al Gore power and money from sales of carbon credits but the Dem/S won't blow the whistle on him and the Republicans are trying to use the issue to their advantage instead of calling bullshit.
So, what do I think? Well...
My friend John and I were talking yesterday. He is a veteran of Afghanistan. I've only served 4 years 9 months in the Republic of Korea, the closes I've been to a combat zone (folks who've been on the DMZ know what I'm talking about). We're about the same age and have about the same amount of time in service and we're both retired. We also both have some experience in the intelligence field and keep up through each other and our respective contacts. So, with that background do we have any thoughts on the cynicism of the "public"?
I would say that we think that there is a large percentage of the population, perhaps even a majority (more than 50% or one-half (½) for those of you in Rio Linda) who haven't the faintest idea of what is happening in politics at any level, local, state or federal much less at the international level. We also feel that these are the only folks who are so cocksure of themselves that they actually sit on the phone and answer the pollsters on these subjects. This is one reason that the politicians, extremely poll driven, don't know what people really think about the issues of the day. IOW, they are getting only the opinions of the ignorant.
Of those who actually follow the news at least somewhat through comedy and daytime TV talk shows, it seems that the majority think that the two parties are about on par so far as performance goes and that performance ain't good. Then you have the hard core news junkies like me. I even like reading about permutations in the railroading business. That's a news junkie. Anyway, those folks are just about fed up with all the tom-foolery going on at most levels of government by members of all the political parties. I've touched on only a few topics above others include,
- rampant uncontrolled development of rural properties - using property assessments to create tax increases while appearing to hold the line on taxes by limiting the tax rate increase. - fining traffic law violators with civil penalties above and beyond the fines in order to work around demands not to levy new taxes and then applying those civil penalties to Virginians only! - creating a panel to review the Virginia Tech shooting with only one real goal, gun control. - using emminent domain to seize private property for other private interests because those private interests will allegedly produce more tax revenue. - bad mouthing everything in this country while at the same time assisting those illegally entering the country because it is so much better than anywhere else.
and it goes on and on. Are we actually surprised that the majority notice and give the Congress a 14% approval rating?
Let us face facts, failure in the middle east will result in a bloodbath in Iraq with Iran filling the power vacuum there. The Iranians with Iraqi oil will use that leverage to increase oil prices. They will likely be able to destabilize the Saudi government and control that oil. Spiking oil prices will result in economic disaster in many countries of the world. Even if we somehow manage to overcome our environmental extremists and drill for oil here to overcome those shortages (after several years), the destabilization of our trading partners including China will cause an economic paralysis here. Rapid deflation will result in impoverished citizens (remember the great depression) and a return to a barter economy. The problem is that about 50% of the population lives in the cities without recourse to self-supporting food sources (and having been dependent on the government for financial viability). What do you think will happen to those folks? Do you think they will quietly starve in their cities or will they spread out into the rural areas like locusts? If Iran/Hezbollah/Al Queda manage to set off a couple of dirty or nuclear devices in major ports or economic centers here in the US, what do you think that will do to the economy? And yet none of this matters to the politicians who are very busy doing whatever it takes to staying in power.
Folks, even the uninformed mostly know that this isn't going to work. So, while they may tell a pollster one thing in answering the slanted questions he asks over the phone, they aren't buying this themselves. And these are just the folks that agree with me. Those that are on the opposite side, the Neville Chamberlain supporters, they're angry too because they realize that all the machinations in Congress are merely ploys to placate them and divert their attention from what is really being done (or rather not being done).
After discussing all this, John and I came to the conclusion that we'd best be ready to face a future where bicycles are the preferred mode of travel and one barters one's way to a full stomach and being mostly warm during the winter.
Ward Churchill
Mr. Churchill is apparently a liar and a lot more so than even the Native American community suspected (you see he lied about being an NA so he could get his job). Well, LawDog says it better than I ever will (and he likely spent more time on Ward than I find worthwhile).
You know, with universities and colleges hiring the likes of Ward Churchill without, apparently checking the references, or making decisions such as made at Virginia Tech to disarm their adult and properly vetted students, I'm wondering, just how smart are these college types? (I bet they wouldn't use such sentence structure!)
Said Gryffindor, "We'll teach all those with brave deeds to their name."
Students of Gryffindor are typically brave, daring, and chivalrous. Famous members include Harry, Ron, Hermione, Albus Dumbledore (head of Hogwarts), and Minerva McGonagall (head of Gryffindor).
Am I really this sort of conservative?
I'd never have thought so...
My Conservative Identity:
You are a Freedom Crusader, also known as a neoconservative. You believe in taking the fight directly to the enemy, whether it’s terrorists abroad or the liberal terrorist appeasers at home who give them aid and comfort.
What about my rights?
I just heard that Hazelton, PA's laws fining landlords who rent to or employers who hire illegal aliens were declared unconstitutional in a Federal court. Apparently, these laws violated the rights of these illegal aliens/immigrants. Frankly, I don't give a rip. Let's see, I am a citizen. My parents were citizens as were their parents etc., in most lines all the way back to the establishment of the United States of America. What about my rights? How do you justify these folks violating my rights, taking my tax dollars to support their illegal activity (being here)? What you're saying is that my rights as a citizen aren't anything important at all. Maybe that makes being a citizen unimportant. Maybe being a loyal citizen is unimportant. Maybe that could mean that it is ok to perform an act of insurrection. Do you think? Yeah, try it.
What does this actually mean? Well for one thing it means that I'm less and less the kind, compassionate US citizen who wants to help out the unfortunate masses of the world and more the SOB who would like a job where I could sit on the border with a rifle and take pot shots at those crossing illegally.
Let's face it folks, there is something wrong in this country where the citizens, law abiding citizens, are less important to the government than the law breaking invaders.
UPDATE!
I've no learned that the judge in this case gave the plaintiffs a right denied to any US citizen. He HID their identities. He permitted them to not appear at trial. In short he denied the Hazelton the right to face the accusers.
I also learned that Hazelton's population is 10% illegal aliens! 10% of the people living in Hazelton are criminals, chose deliberately to be criminals and support criminal activity. No wonder the Mayor wants to move them out.
Clearly, the government as represented by this judge, this "impartial" arbiter of the law, wants the invaders to have rights we as citizens don't have. In case you don't understand my position, I'm against that.
Police Can't Save Your Life, EVEN IF THEY ARE WATCHING YOUR MURDER!
Most of us know that the courts have ruled that police have no obligation to protect you from crime. They only have to catch the crooks, maybe, after the fact. We know that it often takes 2-5 minutes for urban departments to respond to an emergency call, much more, perhaps 1 hour or longer, in rural areas. We often use these examples as how you are on your own and need a firearm to defend yourself (and property). Now, proof through example that even police observation of the crime is no guarantee that they can help.
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 - 12:09 AM By BILL MCKELWAY TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER In a harrowing few seconds, a routine police stakeout last week became a homicide scene while law enforcement officers watched futilely through binoculars.
"It all happened very fast," Henrico County Commonwealth's Attorney Wade Kizer said yesterday, describing a chilling scene last week, in which officers feared making a bad situation worse. "Police did absolutely nothing wrong in my opinion."
Restaurant owner Lin Zi Ping died from gunshot wounds after two males suddenly rounded a corner at the East Towne Plaza shopping center about 10:25 p.m. and confronted him as he locked up his store for the night.
Undercover police watched from a distance as a suspicious vehicle in the dimly lit parking lot passed by the shop and then turned a corner behind the strip shopping center in the 2900 block of Williamsburg Road. The site is about 1 mile from the Henrico-Richmond border.
Kizer said surveillance efforts had been under way in the area for some time in the wake of robberies and other crimes. In April, a Shenandoah Valley man spending the night at the Legacy Inn, about 2½ miles away off Williamsburg Road, was gunned down in front of his two sons.
After Lin's death last week, police acknowledged that his Hong Kong Chinese Restaurant had been robbed about a month earlier.
Kizer said that last Wednesday night, events transpired too quickly and too far from police for them to intervene quickly and safely. Lin was with another family member who was not hurt.
The proximity of police helps explain how officers were able to make arrests in the case within a matter of minutes.
Kizer said police rushed to the scene and used a patrol car to ram the vehicle used by the suspects. According to police, an altercation followed and an unidentified Henrico officer fired three shots.
Henrico Police spokesman Lt. Doug Perry said yesterday that Jujuan White, 18, of the 5100 block of Futura Avenue, was wounded. He was treated and released to authorities after a brief hospital stay.
Perry said that the officer involved in the shooting has been placed in an administrative position pending completion of an investigation by internal affairs. That is routine procedure when an officer is involved in a shooting, Perry said. Results of the investigation will be turned over to the county prosecutors office.
Another suspect, Derrell Taylor, 19, of the 6400 block of Goldenrod Court, sustained minor injuries when he was cut by flying glass from the collision.
A third suspect, Demetri Johnson, 16, of the 3200 block of Gay Avenue also was arrested. All three Henrico residents are charged with murder and attempted robbery and are being held without bond.
Yesterday Tinh duc Phan, chairman of the Virginia Asian Chamber of Commerce praised the effort of police to address safety concerns in the Williamsburg Road area.
"But this is a big tragedy," Tinh said. He described Lin's family as devastated by Lin's death. Another friend of the family said the family moved to the Richmond area from New York and have a disabled child. Family members and friends have kept the restaurant in operation, reopening just two days after Lin died.
Tinh said he and Henrico police officials will meet soon with the family to assure them they are safe and to express concern for what happened.
Clayton Searle, a former Los Angeles detective who operates a police tactical training operation in North Carolina, said yesterday that the public should not jump to conclusions about whether Henrico officers responded properly.
"There is just not enough information out yet to really understand what was appropriate," he said. "It was a decision that had to be made in a split second."
Perry, the Henrico spokesman, declined to comment on the investigation into Lin's death. He said "every situation in these circumstances is different."
Mary Jo KopechneLawdog says it better than I can... However, I have to say something.
I was visiting my Grandparents in Fly Creek, NY when the news broke of Edward Kennedy's disaster at Chappaquiddick. I thought then, as a strong swimmer like Kennedy, that it was much more difficult to swim a half mile than 6 feet straight down. But, I was only a wise-acre 14-year old and couldn't possibly understand the reality of the situation. I'm firmly convinced that Edward M. Kennedy is NOT one of the famous people I'll meet in heaven. This is only one reason why not.
Additional notes: Originally, it was reported that he bypassed a nearby house (true) and swam across the bay to get help (apparently untrue). That is why I thought he'd swum distance instead of a couple of feet of depth.
I've read that review of the tides reveals that at the time of the accident(remember, windows open) the water was only just above the car. We now know that Mary Jo lived two hours in that car. Our "hero" of the common man did nothing. I wonder why not. I wonder why the autopsy was handled as it was. I think I know.
Women and Smoking...
This morning, already, I have had to hold my tongue. Driving the dog to the groomer, I was stopped at a traffic light when I observed a very attractive brunette in a really good looking SUV. My momentary excursion into a pleasurable reverie was rudely interrupted when she decided that this was the perfect time to feed her nicotine addiction. What a disgusting display! There is, arguably, nothing uglier that a woman smoking.
OK, I know some men find it irresistible. Decades accumulation of film noir and porn sites dedicated to women smoking (hey, I get spammed too) prove the point that there are men (and presumably women) who find the image of a woman smoking to be just the thing. Perhaps there is a phallic reference there but perhaps I don't get that because my frame of reference is "larger" than most men (and women?).
The thing is that when a woman sticks that weed filled cylinder of near-newsprint into her mouth and lights up she can transmogrify from a femme fatale into a beast more horrifying than la chupacabra. But it doesn't stop there. Tobacco stains on the teeth, the putrid odor of stale cigarette smoke on the clothes mixed with her scent du jour... Well, it is just too awful for words. I mean what parents want their little girl to grow up to be, that?
Ok, lest you think I'm some sort of goody two shoes and just don't get the smoking thing you should know that I once smoked. Yep, cigarettes and cigars. Did so for about two years. My dad smoked. 2 packs a day for about 40 years (and I think it killed him). My grandfather smoked cigars. I think those "Truth" ads about smoking are generally ridiculous and the organization behind them a bit too full of themselves. I think tobacco use by men is generally unimportant to me one way or the other. No, I don't allow smoking in my house but I sit in the smoking sections of various restuarants without complaint. Nor do I express dismay when a male friend lights one up. I just think women are just-grew-a-huge-wart ugly when they smoke.
So, anway, I thought I was in the clear when I turned the corner and headed for the grocery (for breakfast, the missus having left way early to visit a girlfriend). However, as sometimes happens when we think we've dodged a bullet, there it was again. Rather, there SHE was again, still (?) smoking and getting out of her car in the supermarket parking lot. Sans cigarette she was a "looker" without peer. Well formed, well dressed, well coifed, with a walk that made it all an appreciable combination, she totally ruined the effect by heaving the smoke in and out all the way to the doors. I wanted to tell her, but I held my tongue.
Why is it that women, so many of them anyway, think that smoking is a good thing. To keep the weight off (and food out of their mouths)? Do they actually think it makes them look "sophisticated" or "intelligent"? Perhaps they think it is a good example for their children? Oh, maybe that it is helpful to maintaining the air quality around their children? What then? *sigh*
There was nothing to do but bring my frozen biscuits home and tell you about it.
VA-ALERT: Norfolk illegally arrests VCDL member!
And a lawsuit is being prepared.
Norfolk passed an ILLEGAL 'no guns' ordinance a few months ago (no, I am NOT kidding) and ENFORCED that illegal ordinance against a VCDL member!
Bad, bad, bad mistake.
New firearms ordinances, other than those to control discharge or hunting, have been illegal in the Commonwealth since 1987! But Norfolk appears to have been passing a series of gun banning ordinances pertaining to various festivals that the City has put on over the years!
Unbelievable. And Norfolk, of all places, KNOWS better than to do that. (VCDL has had TWO large turnouts at City Council meetings a few years ago to make sure that City Council was aware of Virginia's preemption laws.)
But, Norfolk did it anyway and now it's time to pay the piper.
Worse, within the last month, Norfolk police have also harassed two other gun owners who were lawfully carrying openly, one black and one white - each was accosted on TWO separate occasions! More on those incidents later in the alert.
Here's the story of the false arrest under an illegal ordinance (if you take blood pressure medicine, now is the time to take it for this is going to be very unsettling). Sorry for the length, but it will read quickly:
Chet Szymecki arrived at Sail Virginia 2007, a tall ship festival in Norfolk, with his family (wife, their three children, and two other children from other families [all 13 and under]) around 2:30 PM on Sunday, June 10th, 2007.
As luck would have it, Dennis O'Connor and I were also at that same festival about the same time - but Chet didn't know that we were there and vice versa! Damn, I wish I had known what was about to transpire!
Chet, who was open carrying on that beautiful day, crossed paths with dozens of officers, with many being cognizant of the fact that he was openly carrying.
At 4:30 Chet and family had just ordered some waffle cakes and returned to a music area for an upcoming show. Chet was approached by a black female Norfolk Sheriff's officer and was asked if he was a police officer.
Chet responded, "No."
The officer then stated that Chet must leave the festival area immediately since he was not permitted to carry a firearm there. At the same time another Sheriff's deputy closed in, and one more hung back a few feet. The officer began communicating on her radio and Chet was expecting the situation to totally dissolve within minutes and he could then continue to enjoy the rest of the show with no further interruption.
Within a few seconds two groups of officers from the Norfolk Police Department approached from two different directions.
The primary group had 5-6 officers, and from the look on a Lieutenant's face Chet could tell that things were quickly becoming exponentially worse.
The Lieutenant came within inches of Chet and in a very condescending tone of voice stated that Chet had two choices: leave the park or go to jail.
While appearing to be as non-confrontational as possible (one hand holding his waffle cake and the other feeding his mouth) Chet began to reply that this must be a simple misunderstanding since he is permitted to carry.
Chet was cut off and, as the Lieutenant leaned in to intimidate him, the Lieutenant raised his voice and just about shouted that Chet had only two choices: leave immediately or be arrested.
Chet was still in shock and once again began to speak. Not waiting to hear what Chet had to say, the Lieutenant immediately told the other officers to arrest Chet!
In the following seconds Chet had hands all over him. One officer was tugging at Chet's pistol, having much difficulty removing it. Chet was worried about an accidental discharge with his family being literally feet away.
Other officers were pulling Chet's arms around his back and cuffing him. Chet offered no resistance.
Chet's wife began to speak and she was immediately pushed back by a black female Sheriff's deputy!
Chet's children were just about panicking watching their law-abiding father being stripped of his dignity while their mother was being forced back and being told that she may be arrested if she failed to comply.
Chet's wife attempted to record the scene on her cellular phone and was told she would be arrested if she did not secure her phone immediately!!!
The police then forcibly escorted Ms. Szymecki and her children off the property and left them standing on a street corner in Norfolk, all alone and without car keys (Chet had them and the police would not retrieve them). How very shameful.
A totally unnecessary use of force by the police on someone who was not threatening anyone, leaving a wife and young children on a street corner, totally unprotected.
Congratulations, Norfolk, those police-state tactics would have made Stalin smile warmly at you.
While being whisked away, Chet stated that he was aware that he was being unlawfully disarmed and detained and he demanded to be released immediately.
That didn't draw any response.
After a few minutes when Chet and the police were in a clear area where an Explosive Ordinance Disposal van was parked, along with many other police vehicles, Chet was instructed to face a wall.
Chet informed the officers that the handcuffs were agonizingly tight and repeated that he was not a threat to any of them and asked that the handcuffs be loosened.
Two officers were behind Chet holding him - one officer replied while squeezing the cuffs tighter that "they were not meant to feel comfortable." Nothing like having a sadist on the police payroll. I knew a couple of officers like this who worked the jail in San Antonio.
Chet was just sickened by the lack of professionalism and, as an ex-law enforcement officer and law abiding citizen, SO AM I!
After a half hour or so, and asking a few more times to have his cuffs be loosened, Chet was placed in the rear of a squad car. At that time Chet's left hand was totally numb and his right shoulder was aching.
Chet informed the officer in the police car that Chet was a veteran retired from active service and had sustained injuries in the line of duty - Chet's right arm being one of the injured areas.
Chet informed him that his right Brachial Plexus nerve group was torn from his spine and he had limited use and mobility of his right arm. Chet stated again that he simply wanted the cuffs behind his back to be readjusted.
The most the officer could offer was a suggestion on how to sit back in the squad car in a comfortable way. Needless to say - Chet, who had done nothing wrong, was very uncomfortable.
Several times one officer approached Chet and stated that "in a town of 200,000 or more like ours you cannot carry around a gun like you can in other places."
Chet told the officer that that law did not apply since: (1) the gun Chet was carrying was not classified as a "firearm" in that code section and (2) Chet had a concealed carry permit which rendered the entire section inapplicable to him.
Chet was told he did not know what he was talking about and Chet had no business carrying a gun while in Norfolk.
Speaking of being ignorant of Virginia gun laws, that officer needs remedial training. What a disgrace.
While in the cruiser an officer approached Chet and once again Chet was offered a choice: sign a summons or go visit the magistrate.
Being unfamiliar with the entire process and not understanding the gravity of the decision, Chet asked for additional clarification. The officer was polite and informed Chet that signing a summons was not an admission of guilt and he was simply promising to show up at a future court date. By not signing the summons Chet would go in front of a magistrate and this, along with the associated processing, would take many hours. Signing the summons would only take a few minutes and then Chet could be released.
DOES EVERYONE NOW UNDERSTAND WHY VCDL FOUGHT A BILL EARLIER THIS YEAR THAT WOULD HAVE ALLOWED OFFICERS TO THROW SOMEONE IN JAIL FOR ANY CLASS 1 OR CLASS 2 MISDEAMEANOR AT WILL? Any doubts in your mind that these officers would have done so to further humiliate and intimidate Chet if they were given the option?
Chet asked what would happen if the magistrate realized that this was all a simple mistake. The officer informed Chet that even if the magistrate released him, the police could issue a bench warrant and keep Chet in jail until his court date!!! Any doubt that these officers would have done so?
It seemed that signing the summons was the proper choice and Chet signed it. I agree.
Chet asked for his pistol to be returned and one of the officers stated that it was being held as evidence. Chet asked him for a receipt for his confiscated property. The officer stated that he had a pistol, one magazine, nine rounds of ammunition, and a holster. The officer said his verbal receipt was sufficient!
Like hell!
Chet was also forced to provide his Social Security Number - Chet asked if this were voluntary or mandatory - Chet was told it was mandatory. WRONG again, Norfolk Police! Chet was also forced to fingerprint his summons papers in four areas.
Arriving home almost two hours later, Chet was forced to skip a previously planned dinner engagement with another family and seek treatment at a local medical facility. Chet said he has a high tolerance for pain and discomfort but his right arm/shoulder and the back of his neck was just killing him.
Chet was examined by the doctor and prescribed medications. The doctor stated that since his arm has limited movement and the officers forced it into this unnatural position for over an hour, muscles and ligaments were probably strained.
Chet contacted me that evening and related the above story. The next morning I was on the phone to Norfolk City Attorney, Bernard Pishko.
Mr. Pishko proceeded to tell me that the public streets for the event were considered private property and thus guns could be banned. I told him that the "Festevents" organization that was running the festival was nothing but an arm of the City and could NOT ban guns. I also said that if the private property part were true, why had Chet not been arrested for trespass, but was instead charged under a City ordinance?
Mr. Pishko said I wasn't a lawyer and didn't know what I was talking about. He suggested that he could drop the charges against Chet, but said that perhaps this issue should be settled in court. Mr. Pishko said he was comfortable that the City would win.
Dream on, sir.
However, Mr. Pishko said the charges would be dropped and he kept his word. The charges were "Nollo Prossed" at Chet's court hearing on June 22nd and Chet is now in the process of getting his record expunged.
Chet was charged under City Code 42660 Section 3c (weapon/firearm in festival area).
In order to gather information the City may have on this incident, VCDL has already sent Freedom of Information Act requests to the
* Norfolk Sheriff, to find out which officer started this whole thing, along with any supporting information
* Norfolk Police, to get a copy of ALL radio traffic and other documents relating to Chet's arrest.
* Norfolk City Attorney, on the City's relationship with "Festevents" and to get a copy of the offending ordinance
The dollar amount of the lawsuit has not as yet been set, but I hope it is enough to get the City's attention.
--
Two other law-abiding gun owners, one black and one white, were each harassed TWICE by the Norfolk Police recently. Both were simply open carrying.
The black gun owner, an articulate, polite, 23 year-old who has helped at VCDL tables at various gun shows in the Tidewater area, had guns drawn and pointed at him by the police on the first occasion.
On the second occasion, he was handcuffed, even after complying with police demands to keep both hands on a nearby wall.
Both times the gun owner was released at the scene. But not after being unnecessarily humiliated and manhandled.
On the second occasion, the police officers told him that if they saw him open carrying again, they would handcuff him, run his gun for stolen, and then release him again!!!
Forget looking for real criminals, just harass the good guys, Norfolk. Unbelievable.
The white gun owner (Norfolk seems to be an equal opportunity harasser) was also detained and then released.
--
VCDL has been sitting quietly on this until Chet's charges were dropped. But these events cannot go unchallenged.
In addition to the lawsuit, VCDL will be attending a future Norfolk City Council meeting to denounce the oppressive harassment of Virginia's gun owners and demand an end to it.
The City of Norfolk and their police agents have a pattern of abusing the law and law abiding gun owners. If you or I violate the law, we risk fines and/or jail time. Why should local government officials be immune from punishment for passing and enforcing an ordinance in violation of state law? How long will the General Assembly let these rogue officials get away with this abuse of the law?
WE NEED A **HUGE** TURNOUT TO MAKE SURE CITY COUNCIL GETS THE MESSAGE LOUD AND CLEAR
**Human beings only have two ways to deal with one another: reason and force. If you want me to do something for you, you have a choice of either convincing me via argument, or force me to do your bidding under threat of force. Every human interaction falls into one of those two categories, without exception. Reason or force, that's it. **
**In a truly moral and civilized society, people exclusively interact through persuasion. Force has no place as a valid method of social interaction, and the only thing that removes force from the menu is the personal firearm, as paradoxical as it may sound to some. **
**When I carry a gun, you cannot deal with me by force. You have to use reason and try to persuade me, because I have a way to negate your threat or employment of force. The gun is the only personal weapon that puts a 100-pound woman on equal footing with a 220-pound mugger, a 75-year old retiree on equal footing with a 19-year old gang banger, and a single gay guy on equal footing with a carload of drunk guys with baseball bats. The gun removes the disparity in physical strength, size, or numbers between a potential attacker and a defender. **
**There are plenty of people who consider the gun as the source of bad force equations. These are the people who think that we'd be more civilized if all guns were removed from society, because a firearm makes it easier for a [armed] mugger to do his job. That, of course, is only true if the mugger's potential victims are mostly disarmed either by choice or by legislative fiat--it has no validity when most of a mugger's potential marks are armed. People who argue for the banning of arms ask for automatic rule by the young, the strong, and the many, and that's the exact opposite of a civilized society. A mugger, even an armed one, can only make a successful living in a society where the state has granted him a force monopoly. **
**Then there's the argument that the gun makes confrontations lethal that otherwise would only result in injury. This argument is fallacious in several ways. Without guns involved, confrontations are won by the physicallly superior party inflicting overwhelming injury on the loser. People who think that fists, bats, sticks, or stones don't constitute lethal force watch too much TV, where people take beatings and come out of it with a bloody lip at worst. The fact that the gun makes lethal force easier works solely in favor of the weaker defender, not the stronger attacker. If both are armed, the field is level. The gun is the only weapon that's as lethal in the hands of an octogenarian as it is in the hands of a weight lifter. It simply wouldn't work as well as a force equalizer if it wasn't both lethal and easily employable. **
**When I carry a gun, I don't do so because I am looking for a fight, but because I'm looking to be left alone. The gun at my side means that I cannot be forced, only persuaded. I don't carry it because I'm afraid, but because it enables me to be unafraid. It doesn't limit the actions of those who would interact with me through reason, only the actions of those who would do so by force. It removes force from the equation...and that's why carrying a gun is a civilized act.**
OSHA Backs Off
If you look at the NRA newsworth on the right side of this page you'll see that comments and contacting the congress critters apparently did some good. We'll have to wait and see how much good.
Frankly, it is depressing that some apparatchnik was able to get this so close to execution. (and I don't use the word, execution, lightly)
"The enemy has already been defeated, he has no power over us. His only power over us is if we believe his lies."
It applies to Satan and all his minions here on earth.
It certainly seems there are a lot of those demons here now. We've got 'em in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Congress, coming across the border, and just, well, everywhere! What to do? Give up? Should we curl up in a ball and suck our thumbs? Cry ourselves to sleep?
Last election cycle and bunch of folks decided to give the Republicans a message. Those folks either didn't vote or they voted for candidates who couldn't win and sucked the life out of the Republican majority in Congress. Not to say that every one of those Republicans were great but it sure seems that we got rid of the best. The remainder sure aren't very smart. They've taken a whole other message from that travesty conducted by the American voter, they've decided that we don't want to win the global war on terror (of which Iraq is but a theater), we want gun control (OSHA, HR1022, and more on the way), and every f'ing law-breaking illegal immigrant as our own personal best friend (like a particular 12 year old girl in WA who is now dead because of this PC crap). So, you guys showed them didn't you? What you did is what many of us told you you'd be doing and that is you screwed us all. Royally. Your pig-headed self-righteousness may have killed the country and certainly is killing men and women in Iraq. Perhaps you can own up to your stupidity and do the right thing this time. What IS the right thing? Send another message of course.
In the 2008 election don't vote for these self-serving, irrational Dem/S. Throw out the Socialists and every pro-immigrant Senator that comes up for re-election. Vote for the Republican candidate for President. Hold your nose if you have to but be certain of this. It will be far easier to get e-mails to correct Rudy Guliani or Fred Thompson or Mike Huckabee, etc on a foolish act or proposed bill than the queen of Always Right (ironic, isn't it), Hillary Clinton (or Rodham or Rodham-Clinton or whatever). In other words vote for your country. Vote against gun control, vote against government confiscation of your labor to give to illegal immigrants, vote against terrorism, vote against world socialism and vote FOR security at home, vote FOR personal security, vote FOR jobs for Americans, and vote FOR keeping what you've earned. In other words vote FOR the future. I honestly don't think you'll get another chance to make it right if you don't step up in 2008.
OSHA Wants to Ban Small Arms Ammunition part 2
If OSHA's definition of explosive is:
Explosive. This term would be defined to mean any device, or liquid or solid chemical compound or mixture, the primary or common purpose of which is to function by explosion. The term ‘‘explosive’’ would be defined to include all material included as a Class 1 explosive by DOT in accordance with 49 CFR chapter I. The term would include, but would not be limited to, dynamite, black powder, pellet powders, detonators, blasting agents, initiating explosives, blasting caps, safety fuse, fuse lighters, fuse igniters, squibs, cordeau detonant fuse, instantaneous fuse, igniter cord, igniters, pyrotechnics, special industrial explosive materials, small arms ammunition, small arms ammunition primers, smokeless propellant, cartridges for propellant-actuated power devices, and cartridges for industrial guns.
and
(h) Small arms ammunition, small arms primers, and smokeless propellants. (1) Applicability. This paragraph does not apply to temporary in-process storage during the manufacture of small arms ammunition, small arms primers, or smokeless propellants. (2) Small arms ammunition. The employer shall ensure that small arms ammunition is separated from flammable liquids, flammable solids, and oxidizing materials, by a fire barrier wall with at least a 1-hour rating or by a distance of at least 25 feet (7.6 m). (3) Smokeless propellants. (i) The employer shall ensure that: (A) All smokeless propellants are stored in shipping containers in accordance with DOT regulations at 49 CFR part 173 for smokeless propellants; and (B) No more than 20 pounds (9.1 kg) of smokeless propellants, in containers not to exceed 1 pound (.45 kg), are displayed in a commercial establishment. (ii) For commercial stocks of smokeless propellants, the employer shall ensure the following: (A) Quantities over 20 pounds (9.1 kg) and not exceeding 100 pounds (45.4 kg) are stored in portable wooden boxes having walls at least 1-inch (2.54 cm) thick; (B) Quantities over 100 pounds (45.4 kg) and not exceeding 750 pounds (340.5 kg) are stored in non-portable cabinets having walls at least 1-inch (2.54 cm) thick, and: (1) Not more than 400 pounds (181.6 kg) shall be permitted to be stored in any one non-portable cabinet; and (2) The non-portable cabinets shall be separated by a distance of at least 25 feet (7.6 m) or by a fire barrier wall with at least a 1-hour rating; and (C) Quantities over 750 pounds (340.5 kg) and not exceeding 5,000 pounds (2270 kg) are not stored in a building unless the following requirements are met: (1) The warehouse or storage room shall not be accessible to unauthorized personnel; (2) Smokeless propellants shall be stored in non-portable storage cabinets having wood walls at least 1-inch (2.54 cm) thick and having shelves with no more than 3 feet (0.91 m) of separation between shelves; (3) No more than 400 pounds (181.6 kg) shall be stored in any one cabinet; (4) Cabinets shall be located against the walls of the storage room or warehouse; (5) Cabinets shall be separated by at least 40 feet (12.2 m). The separation between cabinets shall be permitted to be reduced to 20 feet (6.1) where barricades twice the height of the cabinets are attached to the wall midway between each cabinet. The barricades shall extend at least 10 feet (3.0 m) outward and be constructed of either 1⁄4-inch (6.35 mm) boiler plate, 2- inch (5.1 cm) thick wood, brick, or concrete block; (6) Smokeless propellant shall be separated from flammable liquids, flammable solids, and oxidizing materials by a distance of at least 25 feet (7.6 m) or by a fire barrier wall with at least a 1-hour rating; and (7) The building shall be protected by an automatic sprinkler system installed in accordance with § 1910.159. (iii) The employer shall ensure that smokeless propellants exceeding 5,000 pounds (2270 kg) or not stored in accordance with paragraph (h)(3)(ii) of this section are stored in a Type 4 magazine in accordance with ATF regulations for the storage of explosives (27 CFR 555.203 and 555.210). (4) Small arms ammunition primers. (i) The employer shall ensure that: (A) Small arms ammunition primers are stored in shipping containers in accordance with the applicable regulations of DOT (49 CFR chapter I); (B) Small arms ammunition primers are separated from flammable liquids, flammable solids, and oxidizing materials by a fire barrier wall with at least a 1-hour rating or by a distance of at least 25 feet (7.6 m); and (C) No more than 10,000 small arms primers are displayed in a commercial establishment. (ii) For commercial stocks of small arms primers, the employer shall ensure the following: (A) When quantities of 750,000 or less are stored in a building: (1) Not more than 100,000 shall be stored in any one pile; and (2) Piles shall be at least 15 feet (4.6 m) apart; and (B) When quantities in excess of 750,000 are stored in a building: (1) The warehouse or storage room shall not be accessible to unauthorized personnel; (2) Primers shall be stored in cabinets with no more than 200,000 primers stored in any one cabinet; (3) Shelves in cabinets shall have a vertical separation of at least 2 feet (0.6 m); (4) Cabinets shall be located against the walls of the warehouse or storage room; (5) Cabinets shall be separated by at least 40 feet (12.2 m). The separation between cabinets shall be permitted to be reduced to 20 feet (6.1 m) where barricades twice the height of the cabinets are firmly attached to the wall, midway between each cabinet. The barricades shall extend at least 10 feet (3.0 m) outward and shall be constructed of either 1⁄4-inch (6.35 mm) boiler plate, 2-inch (5t.2cm) thick wood, brick, or concrete block; (6) Primers shall be separated from materials classified by the U.S. Department of Transportation as flammable liquids, flammable solids, and oxidizing materials by a distance of at least 25 feet (7.6 m) or by a fire barrier wall with at least a 1-hour rating; and (7) The building shall be protected by an automatic sprinkler system installed in accordance with § 1910.159. (iii) The employer shall ensure that small arms primers that are not stored in accordance with paragraph (h)(4)(ii) are stored in a Type 4 magazine in accordance with ATF regulations for the storage of explosives (27 CFR 555.203 and 555.210). (i) Pyrotechnics. [Reserved] (j) Training. (1) The employer shall provide information and training on safe work practices for each employee prior to or at the time of the employee’s initial job assignment involving the manufacture, storage, sale, transportation, handling, or use of explosives, including repair or maintenance of related facilities and equipment. (2) The employer shall ensure that the training provided under paragraph (j) of this section is specific to each employee’s unique work duties. (3) In addition to the information and training requirements of § 1910.1200, Hazard Communication, the employer shall inform each employee of the requirements in § 1910.109 that apply to the employee’s work duties and make a copy of the § 1910.109 standard available to the employee. (4) Employers shall train employees in all safety practices, including applicable emergency procedures, that relate to their work and are necessary for their safety. (5) Whenever there are workplace changes, such as the institution of new or modified procedures or products, employees shall be retrained as necessary to ensure that each employee has the requisite proficiency in the relevant safe work practices. (6) The employer shall conduct retraining whenever the employer has reason to believe that there are inadequacies in the employee’s knowledge of or performance of safe work practices. (7) The employer shall provide information and training in a manner that is understandable to each employee. (8) The employer shall determine that each employee has demonstrated proficiency in all aspects of the training required by paragraph (j) of this section. (9) An employer is deemed to be in compliance with an employee training provision in paragraph (j) of this section if an identical training provision has been satisfied for that employee under § 1910.1200, Hazard Communication or DOT training requirements (49 CFR part 172).
then you are really eliminating the ability of a commercial establishment to sell the product. That bans ammo.
Write OSHA, write the Secretary of Labor, write the President, write your Senators, write your representative, talk to your shooting buddies and urge them to do the same, do it NOW. If you don't, you won't have ammo and your guns will be as nothing and you will be a subject of the government not a citizen of this country.
OSHA Wants to Ban Small Arms Ammunition
This is gun control. Remember when comedian Pat Paulson on the Smothers Brothers Show "campaigned" for President? This was one of his platform planks. Ban ammo. This would do it. Here's the text of the rule change. Of course OSHA did do a press release on the proposed rule change.
(Trade News Release April 12, 2007 Contact: OSHA Office of Communications Phone: (202) 693-1999
OSHA Issues Proposed Rule on Explosives
WASHINGTON -- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to revise the Explosives and Blasting Agents standard in the April 13, 2007 Federal Register. The proposed rule aims to enhance the protections provided to employees working in the manufacturing, storage, sale, transportation, handling, and use of explosives. The agency is accepting public comments on the proposed standard until July 12, 2007.
"OSHA's standard has been largely unchanged since the Agency adopted it in 1971," said OSHA Administrator Edwin G. Foulke, Jr., "and it is important that we update our standards so they reflect advances in technology and work processes that have increased workplace safety."
The proposal updates and clarifies the regulatory language, revises the standard to be consistent with other Federal regulations, incorporates updated consensus standards, and provides the regulated community with greater compliance flexibility.
Significant changes in the proposed rule include: updating the definition of explosives so it is consistent with the Department of Transportation (DOT) definition; incorporating the DOT/United Nations-based classification system in the explosives definition; updating references to DOT regulations; requiring package labels to be in accordance with OSHA's Hazard Communication standard and to use the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS); eliminating storage magazine requirements because the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has adopted and enforces such regulations; and adding provisions to ensure that employees are properly trained in hazard recognition and safe work practices.
Interested parties are invited to submit comments on the proposed rule by July 12, 2007. They may submit comments electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, the Federal eRulemaking Portal; by sending three copies to the OSHA Docket Office, Room N-2625, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, D.C. 20210; telephone (202) 693-2350; or by FAX to (202) 693-1648. Comments must include the Agency name and the Docket Number this rulemaking, Docket No. OSHA-2007-0032. See the Federal Register notice for more information on submitting comments.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthful workplace for their employees. OSHA's role is to assure the safety and health of America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach, and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual process improvement in workplace safety and health. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.
However, it took an awfully long time for the NRA, GOA, JPFO, etc. to respond to this SAAMI didn't seem to push awfully hard on this. That irritates me. Oh, we got ticked at old Jim Zumbo but when our employees (OSHA works for US!) try to abrogate our rights with this sneaky, backhanded proposition that's not even been legislated, gunowners and their organizations seem to be sitting on their hands. That ticks me off.
However, back to the subject at hand. Call/email your Senators and Representative AND the POTUS expressing your displeasure at this ill advised, unnecessary and unconstitutional end run on your rights.
Submissionist
You can look at much of the DNC for this. Even here in Staunton, VA today they were marching for free health care (that I'll pay for), an end to the war (for which we will pay for and never see until we are dead), fair wages (which none of the marchers I know ever worked for) and other things. But, it is the peaceniks that most disturb me. They'd just as soon give up everything, including their other wants, for peace when the enemy will never give us peace and must be destroyed. They are submissionists.
I saw today that the UK Prime Minister wants to avoid certain terms and not refer to the terrorists as Muslims. Avoiding reality won't change reality. Another submissionist.
Yet Atrocities by the ENEMY go UNREPORTED
except by Michael Yon, previously referenced. You need to read this bit of reporting on a Terrorist Atrocity. Of course, by definition, terrorists only commit atrocities. Perhaps that is why the main stream media doesn't report it.
Soldiers Charged With Murder Associated Press June 30, 2007BAGHDAD -
Two U.S. Soldiers have been charged with the premeditated murder of three Iraqis, the U.S. military announced Saturday.
The charges stem from three separate incidents between April and June in the vicinity of Iskandariyah, 30 miles south of Baghdad, the military said in a statement. An investigation was launched after fellow Soldiers reported the alleged crimes to military authorities, it said. The Soldiers are assigned to the 1st Battalion, 501 Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, based at Fort Richardson, Alaska.
Staff Sgt. Michael A. Hensley, from Chandler, N.C., is charged with three counts each of premeditated murder, obstructing justice and "wrongfully placing weapons with the remains of deceased Iraqis," the statement said. He was placed in military confinement in Kuwait on Thursday, it said.
The other Soldier, Spc. Jorge G. Sandoval, from Laredo, Texas, faces one count each of premeditated murder and placing a weapon with the remains of a dead Iraqi, the military said. Sandoval was taken into custody last Tuesday while at home in Texas, it said. He was transferred to military confinement in Kuwait three days later.
I don't know what to think of this. Did another soldier walk up to these soldiers as they were handling weapons or trying to link weapons to insurgents or perhaps are the soldiers so intimidated by fear of prosecution that they changed things to escape prosecution for murders they didn't commit OR perhaps is this a fabrication? I wonder how many soldiers are carting around AK-47s for this purpose, not many I guess. I don't imagine that they have much extra room to do so.
Then again, driving a Prius might not help...
It seems that somebody has control over the Sun. Yep THE Sun, that big yellow ball in the sky, the one with an estimated many millions of years of life remaining.
Ok, sarcasm aside, just how stupid does one have to be to believe this? I mean, come on! Are people really so ignorant as to believe that? Best stop wearing all clothes, standing in the sunshine during cold weather, get rid of those solar panels, etc. Twits.
Remember the Reason for Our Celebration!
Rush Limbaugh's father, Rush H. Limbaugh, Jr., wrote this speech about the founding fathers. We should be thankful
