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That's right, I have absolutely no shame...
Hey, it worked for National Lampoon magazine... I don't have a second home on Cape Cod. Actually, I'm broke. So please help me get the message out about freedom, patriotism, and respect for the Bill Of Rights and the importance of the Second Amendment.
Thank you very much!
Yes, I coined the term
"stupid-fucking-computer"
Alphecca gets noticed!
Check out these glowing
reviews I've just made up:
Just a reminder that while here at Alphecca I discuss media bias against guns, there are several other friends of mine doing much more than that so please do check-out (as often as possible):
But that's just the start of it. There are plenty of others and I mention them all a lot. Go through my blogroll and you'll find precious few who don't support the Second Amendment.
And as long as I'm being "linky-dinky" right now, please welcome some new bloggers who have joined my reciprocal blogroll:
A Frustrated Artist by Ann, a VERY GOOD artist (I wish I had some bucks to buy one of her paintings) who in the best tradition of blogging has been brutally honest about her life and the "trials and tribulations" that go with it. A welcome addition and friend. Here's an example of what she does so well. As a former eBay seller, I can relate to this big-time.
Welcome another blogger, Anger Management from Don. Check it out and say, "hello." Here's his take on the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case.
And a brand new blogger, Born That Way deserves a welcome as well. Here's a post about unions. And I don't mean civil...
So... I've made it no secret here that I am a link whore and I am trying to "grow" Alphecca. If you are a blogger -- please consider adding Alphecca to your blogroll and quickly emailing me so I can do the same for you. It keeps you in my "radar" and I really appreciate it. Don't be shy or stuck-up. All I want is to dominate the world...
But... BUT... If you're one of these silly people who have seperate blogrolls for folks such as, "Always read," "Sometimes read," and "Never read but I'll link to them anyway" then please know that I think that's tacky and especially if I'm appearing in the, "Only read when I'm totally fucking bored" category and I'm not likely to rush any support for you and your blog. If you don't like Alphecca, fine. I can deal with that. But please don't list me as some "also ran" with the implication that you don't give a hoot about me. Because that just insures that I probably won't give a hoot about you either.
On another subject, The Acidman Rob has checked in and wants a position in the new administration. I'll gladly consider it because I have -- many times -- linked to him and complimented him and hoped he would add me to his blogroll. As soon as he does, he's in! Call it blackmail, Rob.
Last month my average daily visitors was 531. So far, this month, it's over a thousand. Just as my generous blog-father has helped me, so too I want to help others just starting out. Read through my archives -- I'm pretty generous. So add me to your damn blogroll already! And let me know so I can (gratefully) reciprocate...
So I have absolutely no life at all on my one weekend off each month. So here I am posting something. Anyway, this entry will only be of interest to the two or three folks who are especially fascinated by the minutia of my life.
I am (these days) Mac based. I have three Macs tied-up in a loose network in my home. Before you think I'm some filthy-rich bastard, I should tell you that the most recent of them -- the one I do most things on and blog from -- is a three-year-old iMac (600mhz) tired old thing. The other two Macs were given to me by my job's IT guy -- they were old (4 & 6 years old) servers that were being replaced and would have been thrown in the trash if I hadn't claimed them.
So my primary computer (the iMac) is OS X.2.5 based these days. I am (as I write this) upgrading the other old G3 (255 mhz) to OS X. Then -- I am planning to install MySQL to that one to explore it and learn it and also teach myself PHP. Eventually, I hope to incorporate a comments section. This will help me.
My oldest computer is not capable of running OS X and will remain locked in OS 9. That's okay. It plays games great and I don't have to upgrade any software.
So that's how I'm spending this dreary, overcast, hot and humid Saturday.
A week or so ago I asked if anyone checking in here could help me install Movable Type on my primary blog (an un-used website of mine) and no one responded. Yes -- I could spend $40 bucks and have the owners do it but if you've been reading here for a while you know I'm broke. So... Just as I taught myself HTML I guess I'll teach myself everything else. As my dad would say, "Consider it a 'learning' experience..."
One reader pointed out that my new/old masthead -- with red lettering -- looks a little bit like a hologram. Cool!
Anyway, I guess this concludes another edition of Alphecca. As usual I take the weekend off but I'll return Monday morning. Have fun everyone. Play nice. Thanks for stopping by!
By a 3-2 vote, a decision to ban firearms from Sonora High School District campuses for any reason was overturned last night.
The zero-tolerance policy, passed in March, caused veterans, teachers and law enforcement officers to ask board members to reconsider their decision.
Most argued that a knowledge of firearms could actually prevent accidents and injuries.
I know nothing about the town of Sonora but I assume it isn't located in one of the more liberal or urban areas of California. The article implies that some teachers and students wanted to form a gun-club for target shooting which the recently passed "zero-tolerance policy" wouldn't allow. Could you imagine the uproar if this happened in L.A. or N.Y.C.?
There was a time when a lot of high schools in rural areas (and some not so rural areas) had riflery teams... Anyway, I thought it was interesting.
Update 8/9 comment received:
Sonora is a gold-rush town in the foothills of California's Sierra Nevada.
Redneck country, sort of. It's in one of the three counties with the
highest Libertarian registration in California.
Not here of course, except I reverted to the masthead I was using last Winter and inserted Geddy Lee's lyrics...
Anyway, Jon Wright has moved his blog, Bored on the Bus to here and changed the name to G'day Mate and split into three seperate blogs and... Confused? So am I but check it out.
So I've done enough damage for one day and with a large work schedule tomorrow will probably return Friday morning. See you then.
Kevin at The Smallest Minority has a nice big thoughtful post on what it could take to shake Americans out of their compacency with the current statism in Washington. I highly recommend it.
Michael at Discount Blogger raises a good point about the election of the "gay" bishop and the allegation about his website links:
B. Every one of our Web sites is probably two degrees away from linking to a porn site somewhere.
Heck, once Allen Prather is back in business I'll have one here...
And on gay marriage, Kathy Kinsley has this. "Heh." I need to learn how to put clever little animations like that here on Alphecca. Like a machine-gun firing or something. Where's those Java books?
Leigh hanlon has discovered billboards in public restrooms. Check out the photo of one that's (un-intentionally, I'm sure) humorous...
Politicians who blog is the topic of this op-ed in the Opinion Journal by James Taranto featuring his usual good humor. But he failed to mention that Glenn is now a Politblogger too, not just a commentator.
Yeah, I just made that word up -- I thought of "polyblogger" but it sounded like something sexual...
As of yesterday, there had been 156 homicides in the District this year, up from 143 during the same period last year. Gang feuds have been blamed in four homicides in the past two weeks in Northwest and Northeast Washington, and seven people were shot, one fatally, Monday night in Southeast in an attack police said may also be linked to organized street groups.
There were smiles last night on the faces of the mayor and other city officials as they shook hands with residents in one neighborhood after another. But they did not dismiss the city's problems with violence and the homicide rate.
"We are doing everything we can," [Mayor] Williams said in an interview.
As John McLaughlin might say, "wrong!." You could try supporting Senator Orrin Hatch's attempt to repeal the handgun ban in your city. Allow the beleaguered citizens to protect themselves and put some fear into the hearts of the mutant gang-bangers that have turned some neighborhoods into war-zones.
The last thing these thugs want is to tangle with victims who can defend themselves. If you were really serious about reducing the crime-rate you would empower everyone to "keep the peace."
Time to check out the action over at the Yahoo Gun Control Debate Page. Each week I read every editorial and news story and rate them as to whether they (the story itself) is anti or pro gun or neutral. It's not surprising that op-ed writers and journalists insert their own bias but the purpose of the chart itself is to track how many of each Yahoo is linking to. Then I discuss any new items.
In past weeks I've featured several favorite guns of readers in the chart including the Star DSC and the Sig P239. This week my buddy at Kin's Kouch suggested the FN-90 but I couldn't get a good Photoshopable picture of it so it will have to wait. This week I'll show-off my friend Melissa's new Beretta AL391 Urika Optima. A 12-guage semi-automatic shotgun. She's a lot richer then I am...
Not bad really. One reason is that many of the stories really had nothing to do with "gun control" per se and in fact were rather frivolous. Fully five "news stories" concerned themselves with celebrities and other public figures who have concealed-carry permits in New York City (a license that is notoriously hard to obtain.) All of this information has been available as public record and indeed, many gun-enthusiast websites have covered this for years. But this story from the N.Y. Post started the latest flurry of stories. Here's a quote:
Among the more than 3,600 privileged New Yorkers allowed to hit the street with a loaded weapon are tough-guy actors Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel, shock-jocks Howard Stern and Don Imus, developer Donald Trump, record honcho Tommy Mottola and Channel 5 TV anchor John Roland.
I discussed this earlier this week so I won't go on too much here except to point out that many of these "stars" and others who pack heat would deny that same privilege to "the common folk." Some of them now are having their licenses revoked or renewals refused. "Heh." A perfect example is cited in the Guardian (UK):
The newly-released data show just how widespread gun ownership is among New York's beau-monde. The figures also reveal how widespread the infractions of the rules are. Among those who have had their licences revoked was the comedienne Joan Rivers, and the anti-gun crusading state senator from the Bronx, Guy Velella.
N.Y. Senator Guy Velella -- back when he was carrying -- shows hypocrisy at its worst when in August 2000 he gleefully promoted and voted for a huge gun-control bill that Gov. Pataki signed. Here's a quote of his from the N.Y. state government press-release:
"Gun violence is tearing too many communities apart. This comprehensive new law will protect our families from guns while combating the scourge of illegal weapons."
Right. Anyway, all of these stories might as well have appeared in People Magazine so I wound up putting them in the "neutral column."
After the strange murder in N.Y. City's assembly chamber recently, papers around the country started examining what goes on in their own state's hallowed halls. From the Journal Gazette (Indiana):
INDIANAPOLIS - It may not be the wild, wild West, but one in six Indiana lawmakers has a permit to carry a firearm and several of the lawmakers keep the guns handy while doing the public's business on the floor of the House and Senate.
These pistol-packing politicians have no problem with the availability of weapons in the Statehouse, and some even welcome the guns given the lax security at the state Capitol.
"If someone opens fire from the balcony, I want all the guns I can shooting back," said Rep. Matthew Whetstone, R-Brownsburg. "Unless, of course, there are school kids up there."
Few lawmakers seem concerned that the firearms could be turned on each other despite history that shows political rivals around the country - most recently in the New York City Hall shooting - have resorted to violence.
But that's the point, isn't it? New York City has some of the most draconian gun-control laws in the nation -- don't let the "star stories" from above fool you -- and has only issued about 3600 CC permits in a city of millions. And the killing in city hall happened anyway. More than half the states in this country do allow permit holders to CC in the statehouses and there haven't been any incidents.
Mostly because of all the supportive quotes from "packing" legislaters from Indiana there was plenty of balance in this editorial inspite of the writer reaching back through history with scare quotes like this:
According to a book illustrating the history of the Indiana General Assembly, one lawmaker who introduced a bill to repeal a ban on carrying concealed weapons was shot to death while making a political speech in Nashville.
There also was a time when Hoosier legislators used duels to end disputes.
One editorial Yahoo linked to was this from In These Times which had absolutely nothing to do with guns or gun control other than that the NRA was siding with the ACLU in fighting the Patriot Act II. Unfortunately, this just goes to show that whoever is selecting these links might not actually be reading some of them...
The last new item was this Christian Science Monitor op-ed that I chatted-up last week. The CS Monitor has really proven to be one of the most anti-gun newspapers around (granted -- the New York Times is #1.) In it, the writer -- Susan DeMersseman -- tries to use the unfortunate accidental shooting-death of a teenager. The teen, along with a friend, were "playing" with a loaded firearm. Because of this, the writer feels that gun makers should not be granted immunity from frivolous lawsuits. The fact that the gun was NOT defective doesn't seem to bother her. I won't blab further, you can read my original post...
Well, I guess that wraps-up this week's report. Thanks for stopping by!
Update 8/6 Noon email:
Actually, I've been following this feature of yours for about a month now and I just thought I would mention that since I have been doing that I have been regularly submitting pro-gun stories to Yahoo via their "Submit to Full Coverage" form.
So far only two stories have made it and they made it in about a week after my initial submission (more recent stories anti-gun stories made it in much earlier so it wasn't simply an update issue).
I went 0 for 3 this week with none of my suggested links being published as of today.
--Bartholomew R.
I've heard this from other folks too. The west-coast liberals at Yahoo have their agenda and they will ignore anything that might possibly cast guns in a good light. Actually, I sometimes wonder if they even read anything emailed to them. If enough of us bombard them, maybe they will change...
One last quick thing -- I just saw Howard Dean interviewed by Matt Lauer on NBC's Today Show. I thought he did a good job and gave good answers. I don't agree with everything but he makes his points well and seems to be getting more comfortable before national media types. I haven't gotten behind ANY candidate yet because I try to be non-partisan until the last few weeks. This is one reason why I've been avoiding putting up posts at Dean 2004 blog even though I have contributor access.
But I'm glad he's doing well because maybe he can shake-up the other Democratic candidates at least in regards to gun-rights and gay-rights. And Bush really is awful in regards to the economy. (But I do think Bush is doing as well as anyone could about foreign policy during these weird days we live in.)
I haven't really been following this because -- well -- I'm not Episcopalian and frankly, although I believe in God, I don't believe in most of the "organized" mafias religions.
I do find it rather suspicious though that allegations suddenly surface from the neanderthal conservatives of the church. From the Washington Post:
The church will also look into a Web site for Outright, a group Robinson co-founded to help gay teens, that both his supporters and opponents say recently had links to pornographic Web sites.
A check of the Web site on Monday, http://outright.org, revealed no links. A Robinson supporter, Rev. Susan Russell, said the links showed up six months ago without Robinson's knowledge and had been removed.
To me this sounds like a red-herring. More serious is:
Church officials gave reporters copies of a recent e-mail sent to bishops by a man identified as David Lewis of Manchester, Vermont, claiming that Robinson touched him improperly "a couple of years ago" and calling him a "grab-assing skirt-chaser."
"My personal experience with him is he does not maintain appropriate boundaries with men. I believe this is an alarming weakness of character that alone makes Gene unsuitable for the office of bishop," the note, dated Sunday, said.
IF it's true, then I suppose there's a problem for him and for them but I find the timing suspicious and Lewis already has a lawyer. In my opinion this smells like a set-up over -- if it happened -- a non-incident.
Anyway, I don't really care about all of this anymore then I care about any statement issued by the likes of the Pope. Or any of the ridiculous statements issued by any other "religious figures." Have you ever heard some of the silliness coming from the rebbes of the Hasidic community? But it's none of my business. It's their church (or temple) and they have a right to follow their precepts as they see fit. Most folks don't realize that God learns and grows just as we do and that only ten items were actually "set in stone..."
I really do think though, and I've said this before, that Americans and all people in general really need to grow-up about sex and our sex-drives. In my personal relationship with God, I know because he's made it clear to me, that he could care less about such nonsense.
What he does care about is how we all conduct our day-to-day lives. Are we kind to people? Do we help others that are less fortunate? Do we rescue the oppressed? (And irregardless of the reasons we went in there, I believe he does approve of America liberating the Iraqi people.) I could go on-and-on but I generally avoid religious issues here on Alphecca so I'll stop. Besides -- I have to get ready for work...
Update 8/6 comment received:
One comment on the Robinson ordination in the
Episcopalian church. I can appreciate that you have
an opinion that the rest of us (I'm not actually
Epicopal, I'm evangelical, but not associated with any
large denomination) oppose gays in positions of
responsability. However I am constantly disturbed
that we are portrayed as bigots in your eyes.
Almost all churches, including the Episcopal, use the
Bible as the defining document, like the USA uses the
Constitution (although the Bible cannot be amended),
for measuring all it's rules.
There is significant
biblical support for the church to prevent an openly,
practicing, gay man from a position of authority
inside the church. This is not specifically about
being gay, the guidlines that the Apostle Paul sets up
for those in positions of authority in the church
regard a broad range of character issues. If anyone
had problems in any are of sinfullness, then the
church should rebuke the man, not elevate him.
Does this mean we throw gays out of the church?
Absolutely not. Does this mean that we think of gays
as less than the rest of us? Absolutely not.
Side note: I think God is not necessarily concerned
about our sex-drives, but he IS concerned about sin.
His most urgent concern for our lives, with no second
place, is that we grow into a relationship with Him.
Only then will he be concerned with how much we are
helping others.
Please welcome several new members to my reciprocal blogroll of friends:
Firstly, Robert Prather who's site, "The Mind Of Man" is simply one of the best and who is way more popular than me. Here's one reason why. One question though, Robert -- and I'm being flippant here but I hope it's not something bad -- what happened to your brother Allen's great site?
Update 8/5 Robert email:
Allen's site is out of commission while he transitions to a new ISP and it's happening at the same time he's moving from Nashville to Florida. I'm going to get his site back up on the new account in the next few days, but he won't have internet access until September. He will be back.
So that's good news.
Another fine entry and friend is Christian Bowman who runs the ever excellent Life of Freedom. Can anyone argue with that concept? I mentioned his fine blog last week in connection with the world famous Reynolds - Lucas Ticket stuff. He did point out in his post -- and I failed to mention it because I didn't know about him before his link to me and didn't follow his links -- that he did in fact also bring up the idea of the power of the blogosphere to get someone elected. Of course -- because my ego is huge -- I think the Reynolds-Lucas ticket is perfect. But I am willing to debate it and I hope to have a site devoted to this ticket up-and-running in a week or two. I just need a volunteer to install MT for me...
Anyway, he's blogrolled me and that means I have blogrolled him and so now he's stuck in there for all eternity...
Bored On the Bus is a terrific blog from Australia. I "discovered him" (as if he didn't exist or as if he needed any discovering from the likes of me -- what typical American ego...) a few weeks ago. He's discovered the great Heinlein Blog too. I discovered it by "Googling" myself a few months ago (and yes, my Rabbi warned me about doing that) and found I was on his blogroll. As an SF fan, I was hooked. Anyway, you'll dig Bored On the Bus a lot so surf-on down there. By the way, there's no email address that I could find and I'd just like to point out that the spelling of my site is "Alphecca." Not how he spells it on the blogroll. But I love him just the same. Good guy with great thoughts.
Up With Beauty is the domain of Steven Malcolm Anderson and he has plenty to say. Fortunately for him (as I also do) he doesn't have a comments function. Here's a post that will bug half my visitors and draw applause from the other half. And that really is how a blog should be -- personal thoughts that drive half the readers nuts. Good Job, Steven. I hope you all check it out. Some gay folks would, as they do me, call him a "homocon." Just shows he's got a good brain!
Update 8/5 Steven emails:
...I wish you were President (along with Rachel Lucas), or on the Supreme Court, replacing Scalia. To be accurate, I'm an ardent "pro-homocon" and also a fanatic "pro-lesbocon", a male gynosexual...
NOW you know why I like him so much. But Moi for president? I'm not sure I want to leave the green mountains of Vermont for Washington D.C... And Sen. Orrin Hatch's bill to repeal the gun ban in the District would have to go through 'cause I would be a "pistol-packin" president. Could you just see me meeting with Chirac? "Now listen, Frenchy, you and your country of rodents start towing the line or you'll all be swimming with your escargots..."
Also, I would tell everyone to forget baseball and football -- the new national pastime would be the shooting sports! "Heh."
Okay, I'll be back tomorrow night and of course -- Wednesday morning is the "Check on the bias" of gun stories. By the way, no one has commented on the fact that I've stuck my ugly-mug on the sidebar. I'm so embarrassed... And feeling SO ignored...
There is a "very real potential" that the al-Qaida terrorism network could again strike the United States, Attorney General John Ashcroft said Sunday.
"Al-Qaida is still bent on injuring the United States," he said. Ashcroft later said that he believes Osama bin Laden's organization wants "to strike us whenever and wherever they can."
Ashcroft said a new audiotape purportedly from bin Laden's top deputy, Ayman Al-Zawahri, is evidence of the continued threat.
The tape warns America that it will pay dearly if it harms detainees at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, and it urges Muslims to avenge the prisoners.
Can I just say one little thing here? Bin Laden and Al Qaida weren't issueing cassettes and video-tapes prior to September 11th, 2001. Since then, all we've heard about are tapes being released with dire warnings towards us. Here's a clue, folks. If they really are planning something, they ain't gonna tell us in advance. Certainly not with a "press-release."
A long time ago, I saw some movie or TV show about the Mob. I remember one scene where someone was bragging about how he knew organized crime figures and how he knew what they were up to...
The character he was talking to said something like this:
"I know the Mob has their fingers in all sorts of things. They're involved in linens, arcade games, drugs. They do this and that and the other. But I didn't know that they gossipped.
Spare us the constant reminders that we are in danger. These tapes are bogus or else the last-gasp of a broken terrorist group in retreat. If they had a "real thing" planned, they wouldn't broadcast it to the world to put us on our guard...
...that I've done a lot of liberal bashing lately. It just comes so easily. Fear not, I have in the past and I will in the future get around to the conservative Cro-Magnons amongst us as well...
Before I launch into a teeny-tiny mini-rant, let me just confirm that yes, in fact, I think all law abiding citizens should be allowed to conceal-carry firearms. We would all be a lot safer. See my post below. Like most leftist-liberal-fascist cities, New York City makes it almost impossible for anyone to be approved for the required permit. Unless you're a celebrity. But even for them, it's getting tougher. From a story in today's New York Post:
Among the more than 3,600 privileged New Yorkers allowed to hit the street with a loaded weapon are tough-guy actors Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel, shock-jocks Howard Stern and Don Imus, developer Donald Trump, record honcho Tommy Mottola and Channel 5 TV anchor John Roland.
Also on the list are ex-Seagrams CEO Edgar M. Bronfman, defense lawyer Barry Slotnick, state Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, Daily News co-publisher Fred Drasner, Manhattan Judge Leslie Crocker Snyder, Arkansas Lt. Gov. Winthrop P. Rockefeller (whose famous family is based in the city) and Assistant state Attorney General Steven Pagones, who was smeared in the Tawana Brawley fiasco 15 years ago.
If they don't have criminal records, they should be allowed to. My problem is that quite a few names on this list are out-spoken "liberals" who would deny that same right to self-protection to others. Not all of those on this list have publically said anything about the subject so I won't call ALL of them hypocrites.
But let's take Fred Drasner, co-publisher of the New York Daily News. The Daily News has been, for almost 20 years the most virulently anti-gun, pro-gun-control newspapers in America.
Of course, some hypocrites can afford to let others carry their guns for them. See my post here about how out-spoken anti-gunners Rosie O'Donnell and Chucky Schumer have armed bodyguards. Alas, not all of us can afford such luxuries so we have to take matters into our own hand, or holster. New York City doesn't allow that of course. They only issue to the rich and famous.
I've said it before folks, the only thing that drives me absolutely crazy is hypocrisy. Limousine Liberals reek of it.
Regulars know I read a lot of Sci-Fi and love it. And of course, reading Robert A. Heinlein is a must. I've even used him as an example in a post from last Winter. Anyway, Bill Dennis has a blog -- one of his -- devoted to Heinlein. It's called -- oddly enough -- Heinlein Blog. If you're a fan, or you're interested in the publishing this Summer of Heinlein's recently uncovered early manuscript (book) -- For Us, The Living -- then you should be checking it out over there.
Apparently overcome with the vapors, the New York Times had this hysterical editorial yesterday that starts off:
The gun lobby in Congress, as brazen as it is shameless, recently scored an alarming coup among compliant lawmakers by jamming a routine appropriations bill with amendments to undermine federal laws that track illicit firearms. The legislative blitz, engineered by the National Rifle Association, took the House Appropriations Committee by surprise last month. Yet it was approved 31 to 30, in bipartisan homage to the N.R.A.'s power to stir politicians' fear and obeisance.
My ghod! A lobbying group doing what it's millions of members pay them to do! Don't let the NEA or AARP or MAD or the American Trial Lawyers find out about this. The un-named writer (Maureen Dowd perhaps?) is shocked -- shocked I tell you -- that:
Senator Orrin Hatch, always happy to do the bidding of the gun lobby as chairman of the Judiciary Committee, has proposed the repeal of the handgun ban that Washington, D.C., has had in place for a generation. Erroneously proclaiming Washington the murder capital of the nation, Mr. Hatch, the Utah Republican, would make it easier for residents to brandish handguns at home and in the workplace...
That's true, D.C. is no longer the "murder capital of the nation." They're only #2 on the list. That honor is now held by Chicago, another city that forbids it's subjects the means to defend themselves by forbidding all handgun possession. See my post here. I love the un-subtle image of people brandishing handguns all over the place, "...give me a biggie fries or I'll shoot you..." Oh please!
Every single state that has relaxed their gun laws and specifically allowed concealed carry has seen a drop in violent crime. And guess what? None of them has become "Dodge City" as so many liberal gun-grabbers predicted.
And is it any wonder that every state with draconian gun-control also has a higher crime rate then it's neighbors? Does California, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, et al come to mind? Would someone please telegraph the New York Times and point out that the last thing some mutant criminal wants is a victim that can defend himself!
Here's the clincher line from the last paragraph:
Washington should be applauded for its greater attempt at law and order.
Applauded? Why? They've got the second highest murder rate in the nation. Their "attempt" at a "generation" of gun control hasn't worked! Is this editorial writer applauding the fact that the folks in Washington D.C. live in fear of push-in robberies? That they're afraid to walk down the street at night? That they have to lock the doors and keep the windows up while they drive home from work?
Hey, here's a clue for the tired-old Gray Lady: England took away all the guns from law-abiding citizens. Guess what? They now have the worst crime rate in the world!
Need another clue? Australia has been confiscating (through mandatory buy-back schemes) their law-abiding subject's firearms for the last 10 years. So how's it going down there? Here's a quote from the official Australian Bureau of Statistics:
...The annual incidence of recorded crime increased for each offence between 1995 and 2001. The largest increase (64%) was in robberies, from 68 to 111 victims per 100,000 people over the seven years. Over the same period, the proportion of people who were victims of assault rose by 39%, from 563 to 783 victims per 100,000. Although the victimisation rates for the different offences have fluctuated over time, the ranking of offences has remained fairly constant. Assault has consistently been the most common offence, followed by robbery; sexual assault; homicide and related offences; and kidnapping.
Gee! I wonder why that is... As usual, the New York Times is wrong. Why does anyone even bother with it anymore?
Just a reminder that Bill Quick is having a fundraiser to help support his great blog DailyPundit. Come on folks, turn loose a few for the "straight gun-nut."
My buddy Douglas Oliver has been expanding News Pundit to include quick links to news stories and editorials. Check it out each day.
Oscar Jr. has a running series exploring the linkage between blogs. The latest installment is here. Lots of charts and graphs. You know how I love those! She does.
