Senator Bad Ass McCain

…while on a diplomatic mission led by Sen. Bob Dole and others in the fall of 1987. Cochran, McCain — who’d been elected to the Senate the year before — and other members of a bipartisan committee of lawmakers called the Central American Negotiations Observer Group met with Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, the head of the left-wing Sandinista political party, Cochran said.The atmosphere was tense, as the United States was pressing “pretty hard.” Cochran said he noticed a disturbance at the meeting table in a room lined with armed personnel.

“McCain was down at the end of the table and we were talking to the head of the guerrilla group here at this end of the table, and I don’t know what attracted my attention,” Cochran said. “But I saw some kind of quick movement at the bottom of the table and I looked down there and John had reached over and grabbed this guy by the shirt collar and had snatched him up like he was throwing him up out of the chair to tell him what he thought about him or whatever. I don’t know what he was telling him but I thought, good grief everybody around here has got guns and we were there on a diplomatic mission. I don’t know what had happened to provoke John, but he obviously got mad at the guy and he just reached over there and snatched him.”

No punches were thrown, and the two sat back down, he said. The man, who appeared to be ruffled after the confrontation, was an associate of Ortega’s, but Cochran said he was unsure of his identity.

Emphasis mine. I’m liking this guy. Full story here.

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Science Snark

Whack-a-mole, evolution-denier version. The final letter is priceless.

h/t:  MadRocketScientist.

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Heller Kitty Shirts, Continued

Just had a very nice phone conversation with Michelle over at www.ImageInMedia.com, the outfit that’s printing up the Heller Kitty shirts. She called me to take my credit card info and shipping address. I asked where they got the design, and she said it was their in-house graphic designer, Chris, who apparently came up with it on his own. I congratulated her on having such a fine individual on staff. He deserves credit for his work.
Of the folks calling in orders, some say they saw it on this or that blog, but most just say they saw it on the internet somewhere. She said one person actually asked if they were tracking the referral sources. How much you wanna bet that person was a blogger? Sigh.

They’re pleasantly surprised with the response; they don’t usually deal with individuals but rather large corporate orders — “Hi, I need 5,000 shirts next week with our logo, thanks” — that sort of thing.
I’m pretty sure it’s a limited run, so be sure to get your order in here.

Posted in Have Gun, Will Travel, Kewel! | 2 Comments

What’s Going Down In California

This post by lead-attorney in the SF-gun-ban case Chuck Michel is too good not to reprint in its entirety. Emphasis is mine.

NRA Coalition’s California Plan:

The incorporation lawsuits are not the extent of the NRA’s plan nationally, nor is the SF suit all that is planned in California. We have a full “dream sheet” of litigation we want to bring, using both the Heller ruling and the Fiscal preemption ruling (Prop H). NRA is leading and working with like minded civil rights groups including CRPA, CCRKBA, SAF (represented by Alan Gura), GOC, PP and reps from calguns. Hopefully we can hold all the groups together for the long haul. Factionalism is counterproductive. At this stage everyone seems to recognize that overreaching too soon could result in bad precedent not just for California, but nationally.

Some examples of what is coming down the road:

Oakland has already been served with a pre-litigation demand to repeal its “ultra compact handgun” ban. SF’s UCH and .50 caliber handgun bans are also in our sights.

A renewed challenge to all or part of the semi-auto [i.e., “assault weapons”] ban is also in the works. CRPA has already has significant funding set aside for this effort. TMLLP is coordinating with Calguns on a semi-auto [“assault weapons”] licensing suit, which may include other elements. We can work together on this effort, but we need to time it carefully. This case is probably not the forum to litigate the incorporation issue. Consider how clean the SF ban on guns in publlic housing challenge is — the SF gun ban is broader than the ban that SCOTUS struck down in Heller. That allows the lawyers on our side to focus the court on the threshold incorporation issue. Until we get that issue resolved, state and local governments are not restricted by the Heller ruling.

I am also in contact with some of the lawyers and groups advancing CCW litigation. This is also a licensing issue, not as clean as challenging a flat out ban.

There are a lot more possibilities. Lawyers are still studying the Heller decision and considering its implications. Ultimately though, any case chalenging a state or local law in California will have to get a hearing before the Ninth Circuit, or perhaps SCOTUS, on the incorporation issue. Hopefully, everyone in the self-defense civil rights community can appreciate the need to get incorporation resolved as quickly and simply as possible before moving to phase two.

Continue reading →

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You gotta be kidding me

Humiliation: International Monetary Fund to Audit U.S. Financial System and Federal Reserve

h/t: Survivalblog

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Lightening it up a bit

What with gas costing what it is, the boys at Top Gear have a tip for us all

I do like the R8. But someone with a commute whose route mirrors mine has a DB9 Convertible.

And they’ve been driving it to work as of late.

Aston-Martin-DBS-2-lg.jpg

The back of my hand is sore from me biting it.

Posted in Kewel! | 2 Comments

Always with the questions

It is an election year, and with Heller, Washington State Democrat legislators are having to show their constituents that they agree with the decision or face a tough challenge from the Repubs

A U.S. Supreme Court decision on a Washington, D.C., gun ban combined with Seattle’s attempt to restrict guns on city property has sparked a legislative discussion about an issue Washington Democrats have consistently avoided.

On Monday, six Democrats from rural state legislative districts called on Attorney General Rob McKenna to issue an opinion on a city’s authority to ban people who legally possess firearms from city property and facilities.

“The statement from us is that our districts are just a totally different culture, and it’s a big part of our culture, people hunt and they carry their gun rights on their sleeve,” said House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam. “We represent people who are adamant about the Second Amendment of our Constitution and we try to represent them.”

That’s a stark contrast to urban Democrats who have for years been frustrated that so-called common sense gun control has been stymied despite the party’s majority control in the Legislature.

“We just have a split on that,” Kessler said. “I don’t think it’s contentious, it’s just the way it is.”

The request follows Friday’s Supreme Court ruling that struck down the District of Columbia’s ban on handguns, and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels’ recent executive order to prohibit the possession of weapons, including firearms, on city property.

Rep. Kevin Van De Wege, D-Sequim, represents the city of Montesano, which recently considered a similar ban.

“I’d like to know whether cities like Seattle can set aside the Bill or Rights when you walk onto city property,” Van De Wege said.

“Public safety is important to us all, but it seems to me an outright ban infringes on the right of citizens to legally carry a gun.”

“There are a lot of questions, but I would also like to know if state laws are being preempted by Seattle’s mayor.”

McKenna, who received a similar request from Republican lawmakers, says his office will provide a through analysis to lawmakers.

If they’re hearts are truly in this and it isn’t some sort of ploy, I would like to thank these brave individuals for breaking from their party platform to stand with and for our civil rights.

If not, then all I can hope is that you all have your resumes updated for your future employment in the private sector.

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The Best of the Rest

Who’d a thunk it? Usually the black robes are a bit wonkish.

The Supreme Court of the United States of America has the highest approval ratings of the three branches of government.

The United States Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on the Second Amendment last week did more than clarify an important Constitutional principle—it also improved public perceptions of the Court itself.

Following the decision which uphold the right of citizens to bear arms, 34% of voters say the Supreme Court is doing a good or an excellent job. That’s an eight-point improvement in just a few days.

These things tend to happen when you do things that a large majority of the citizenry approves of.

Executive and Legislative branches, as well as contenders for positions in each, please take note.

PS: We like cheap gas, low taxes and walks in the moonlight with our best guy or girl and gun at our side.

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Finally, A Plan

I was getting worried there, what with the candidate who can’t speechify his way out of a wet paper bag and all and the other guy having the press as his cheering section.

GOP hopes to keep guns in the spotlight

Republicans believe Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling striking down Washington D.C.’s handgun ban has revived gun rights as a campaign issue, benefiting the GOP up and down the November ticket.

“The gun issue is not going away,” said Tucker Bounds, a spokesman for Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the Republican presidential candidate. “We are going to drive it. We are going to keep talking about this issue.”

Even the NRA is going to get in on the act

NRA plans $40M fall blitz targeting Obama

The National Rifle Association plans to spend about $40 million on this year’s campaign, with $15 million of that devoted to portraying Barack Obama as a threat to the Second Amendment rights upheld last week by the Supreme Court.

“Our members understand that if Barack Obama is elected president, and he has support in the Senate to confirm anti-gun Supreme Court nominees, [the District of Columbia v. Heller decision] could be taken away from us in the future,” Chris Cox, head of the NRA’s political arm, told Politico.

I’m sure the Obamanation will have something hateful to say about that headline.

But more importantly, this is an issue to more folks than I think Obama realizes. The Teamsters have made their play to promote they guy, and yet less than a quarter of the 150 Teamsters in the shop I work at that I’ve spoken to plans to hand the guy their vote.

And I’ll be talking to those guys for the next four months.

I’ve got my clothespins ready to block my nasal passages on November 4th, 2008. I’m not buying that he’ll replace Ginsberg or Souter with another Ginsberg or Souter. GHWB wasn’t prepared to replace a Justice and took a recommendation (from Sununu, if I remember correctly). McCain knows this is an issue and I’m positive he already has a list of overqualified candidates.

I’m positive of this because he knows that Obama has a list of hyper-Marxist candidates who believe that there is a “right” to health care, and to housing, and to free college, and to every penny you make, because somewhere, somehow, you had to have benefited because of your race or gender or your parents citizenship status.

“F^*k It! McCain 08”

That’s how I’m rollin’ in twenty oh-eight.

Posted in Have Gun, Will Travel | 5 Comments

Gas prices keep going up and up

Actually, they went down three cents over the weekend around here.

But they went up over night. Not because of any fluctuation in the trading market.

Nope, we got taxed again.

The gasoline tax is going up a penny-and-a-half to 37.5 cents a gallon in Washington.

A state Department of Licensing spokesman, Brad Benfield, says Tuesday’s hike is the last step of a 9.5 cent increase that has been phased in since 2005. It was approved by the Legislature to help fund nearly 300 projects over 16 years.

They include money the Alaskan Way Viaduct and Highway 520 floating bridge in Seattle. Other projects include more bridge repairs, reducing congesting, making highway safety improvements, and improving freight mobility.

With the way gasoline has been going up recently, Benfield says the tax increase is “not going to be real noticeable” because it’s a diminishing component of the overall price.

Oh, it’ll be noticed. This weekend was the first negative price change in months and everyone at work  was talking about it this morning. Not the price drop, but the overnight increase back to almost where it was on Friday.

This tax increase was sold to the taxpayers back in 2005, when gas was less than $2.50. You remember, before the Democrats took control over the Congress. There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth from the Democrat majority in Washington about how the Viaduct was in imminent danger of collapse and the 520 bridge of sinking into Lake Washington.

We’re halfway through 2008 and, and all the way through each of the incremental increases, and oddly enough, no one is saying much about fixing those pieces of infrastructure. Hell, they haven’t even gotten a plan worked out as to what to do about either of them yet.

Funny how government works like that, isn’t it?

“The Politics of Fear” indeed.

Posted in The Left is Never Right | 1 Comment