The NRA vs. the Second Amendment

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photo credit: muffett

As a civil libertarian and a gun owner, I understand all too well that tragedies like the Newtown mass murder invariably mean a new wave of assaults on our most fundamental rights as human beings. 9/11 brought us the TSA, the Patriot Act, and the War on Terror, and every mass shooting brings out the same authoritarian coalition calling for an end to video games, movies, secular education, and, of course, guns. I have written in the past about why we should cling most dearly to our rights in times of crisis, but have only recently caught on to a much more deceptive (perhaps unwitting) foe of our right to bear arms: the National Rifle Association.

I admit, the suggestion seems ludicrous on its face. After all, the NRA ostensibly represents millions of gun owners and wields immense pro-gun lobbying power in Washington. But it is precisely this perception of the NRA as the end-all, be-all of Second Amendment advocacy, when combined with a perpetuated misunderstanding about the primary functions of both the NRA and the Second Amendment, that makes the organization a threat to gun liberty.

In fact, the NRA has quite a history of supporting restrictions on our fundamental right to bear arms. The NRA supported the National Firearms Act of 1934 and the Federal Firearms Act of 1938 (the first comprehensive federal restrictions on the right to bear arms). The NRA supported gun-control measures throughout the 1960s and continues to do so to this day. It even supported Mitt Romney’s candidacy despite Gov. Romney’s horrid record on gun rights (support which Gov. Romney was always quick to point out in defense of his record). Wayne LaPierre, the current CEO and executive VP of the NRA, testified in 1999 in support of the Federal Gun Free School Zones Act and many other federal violations of the Second Amendment. In short, the NRA’s history is the history of a group more concerned with protecting the commercial viability of the gun industry than protecting the principle of the Second Amendment.

So when Mr. LaPierre took to his massive national platform last week to respond to the horror in Newtown and the subsequent attacks on gun rights, his speech left little doubt what the NRA is worried about. Mr. LaPierre blamed the weather, he blamed the media, he blamed video games, he lashed out at every target he could think of in a transparent effort to deflect, rather than engage, the anti-gun argument. He then insisted that the government should arm hundreds of thousands of government agents and put them in every school in America.

This was not the reasoned, principled argument of a scrupulous believer in the Second Amendment; it was the nonsensical, desperate plea of a charlatan trying to defend his product at the expense of any principle at stake.

Read more from this story HERE.

After Only 3 Days, White House Petition to Deport Piers Morgan Gets Enough Signatures

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As we reported last week, CNN’s Piers Morgan came completely out of the closet with respect to his hatred for guns, calling Gun Owner’s of America President Larry Pratt an idiot, among other things. Mr. Pratt got the better of the exchange:

MORGAN: Yes, I know — I know why sales of these weapons have been soaring in the last few days. It’s down to idiots like you. Mr. Pratt, thank you for joining me. When we come back –

PRATT: Thank you for your high-level argument, Mr. Morgan. It’s really very good.

MORGAN: You know what, you wouldn’t understand the meaning of the phrase high-level argument. You are a dangerous man espousing dangerous nonsense. And you shame your country.

PRATT: Disarmament is dangerous. Ask Neville Chamberlain, your role model.

As a result of Morgan’s outburst, Second Amendment loving Americans filed a petition with the White House. It states:

British Citizen and CNN television host Piers Morgan is engaged in a hostile attack against the U.S. Constitution by targeting the Second Amendment. We demand that Mr. Morgan be deported immediately for his effort to undermine the Bill of Rights and for exploiting his position as a national network television host to stage attacks against the rights of American citizens.

Within just three days, the petition exceeded the twenty-five thousand petitioners necessary to generate a White House response. At the time of this article, it had well over thirty thousand signatures:

Japan: On Path to Rearming?

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WASHINGTON – Despite what has been described as a “pacifist” constitution implemented following World War II, Japan is considering rearming to offset what is perceived in the East Asia region as a more assertive China, according to a report from Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.

That nation is throwing around its military weight to enforce its hegemony over the East and South China Seas.

Almost all the countries in the region are affected by China’s new assertiveness in the region, including Vietnam, the Philippines and even India, in addition to Japan. All have open and somewhat confrontational disputes with Beijing over jurisdiction over islands and potential maritime oil and gas resources.

For India, it has a number of contracts with Vietnam for offshore oil and gas exploration in the East and South China Seas to meet its increasing energy demands. In recent months, China and India have had disputes over access to areas where Beijing claims exclusive jurisdiction.

In addition to separate disputes between New Delhi and Beijing over land border disputes between the two countries, India has decided to enhance its presence in the East and South China Seas with an increased military naval presence of its own.

Read more from this story HERE.

‘Tis The Season: US Senator Charged with DUI, Released on $1,000 Bond

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ALEXANDRIA, Va. – — Idaho Sen. Michael Crapo was arrested early Sunday morning and charged with driving under the influence in a Washington, D.C., suburb, authorities said.

Police in Alexandria, Va., said Sunday that the three-term Republican was pulled over after his vehicle ran a red light. Police spokesman Jody Donaldson said Crapo failed field sobriety tests and was arrested at about 12:45 a.m. He was transported to the Alexandria jail and released on an unsecured $1,000 bond at about 5 a.m.

“There was no refusal (to take blood alcohol tests), no accident, no injuries,” Donaldson said. “Just a traffic stop that resulted in a DUI.”

Police said Crapo, who was alone in his vehicle, registered a blood alcohol content of .110. The legal limit in Virginia, which has strict drunken driving laws, is .08.

The 61-year-old Crapo has a Jan. 4 court date.

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Obama Threatened Boehner With ‘Public Shaming’ Over Fiscal Cliff Negotiations

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President Obama allegedly threatened Speaker John Boehner with a public shaming if he held up a compromise on the fiscal cliff negotiations.

Mr Obama reportedly said that he was willing to blame the failed negotiations on stubborn Republicans in either his inauguration speech or the state of the Union if the two parties were unable to reach an equitable decision.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Mr Obama made the threat a number of times, and though nothing has been formally decided as the deadline looms one week from today, the move would be a drastic one, and seen by many as a divisive way to head into his second term.

One of the points where President Obama became frustrated with Mr Boehner came when the Speaker said that he expected some show of gratitude or concession after he reportedly handed over $800 billion from tax revenue earnings.

That was promptly shot down by the President, with him allegedly retorting: ‘You get nothing. I get that for free.’

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Rocket Launch Proves North Korean ICBM Can Now Hit U.S. Mainland

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The rocket launched earlier this month by North Korea had the capability to travel more than 6,000 miles, meaning this type of rocket could strike the United States, South Korean defense officials said.

In remarks to reporters Friday, which were embargoed until Sunday, three officials with South Korea’s defense ministry offered their observations about the December 12 launch based on a recovered oxidizer tank that had been part of one of the rocket’s boosters. According to NASA, an oxidizer tank contains oxygen compounds that allow rocket fuel to burn in the atmosphere and outside of it, in space.

North Korean officials cheered what they hailed as a successful launch of a long-range rocket, which they said put a satellite in orbit. But the mission drew international condemnation, with many viewing it as cover for testing of ballistic missile technology, which the United Nations has forbidden Pyongyang from using.

The South Korean military officials said the evidence they found helps show their nuclear-equipped rival’s intent and progress in developing intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Based on a simulation, the officials estimated the rocket can travel more than 10,000 kilometers (6,200 miles), meaning it could reach the U.S. mainland from North Korea. It can carry a payload of about 500 to 600 kilograms (225 to 275 pounds).

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Romney Didn’t Want to Run for President, Son Says

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AFP – No one wanted to be president less than Mitt Romney, his son said in an interview out Sunday that raises new questions about the candidacy of the losing Republican nominee.

In an interview with the Boston Globe examining what went wrong with the Romney campaign, his eldest son Tagg explains that his father had been a reluctant candidate from the start.

After failing to win the 2008 Republican nomination, Romney told his family he would not run again and had to be persuaded to enter the 2012 White House race by his wife Ann and son Tagg.

“He wanted to be president less than anyone I’ve met in my life. He had no desire… to run,” Tagg Romney said. “If he could have found someone else to take his place… he would have been ecstatic to step aside.”

Mitt Romney “is a very private person who loves his family deeply and wants to be with them. He loves his country, but he doesn’t love the attention,” his son said.

Read more from this story HERE.

Call to Arms: Sandy Hook May Foreshadow Unimaginable Horrors for the US

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The horrific Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre almost immediately led to calls across the nation for stricter gun control, from President Obama to CNN’s Piers Morgan. Protests against the NRA and disparaging remarks against other pro-Second Amendment groups seemed to dominate the mainstream and social media. Some newspapers are actually pushing online petitions to ban assault rifles.

But the reactions aren’t limited to these petitions and public statements; anti-gun laws are being planned, too. In fact, Democratic leaders have announced that they will introduce comprehensive gun control legislation in the 113th Congress. They, as well as Obama, believe the only answer to gun violence is to take away guns.

The GOP House may prove incapable of stopping this effort. As the Reagan coalition continues to implode due to spineless leadership in Congress, many believe that RINO’s will partner with Democrats and enact more restrictive gun control.

In my opinion, this could be a catastrophic mistake. In fact, I’ll go a step further: instead of making our schools safer, banning guns may actually lead to more Sandy Hooks.

First, no law is going to stop a madman from a massacre. Before he started his evil rampage, Lanza was already in violation of all sorts of laws including the prohibition on his possession of handguns (he was under 21 years of age) and the possession of guns on school property.

But more importantly, the whole world now knows that a single lunatic, with apparently little firearms training, can pretty much break into any school and massacre children at will until law enforcement arrives. There’s little risk of anyone interfering, as the vast majority of U.S. schools have no armed guards.

What are our enemies thinking? The radical Islamists, who have perpetuated mass suicide attacks in the US and abroad, are likely salivating over the possibilities in the U.S., opportunities that are certain to expand with even more gun restrictions.

They’ve already tried it in schools abroad. Remember the horrific Beslan School massacre in Russia eight years ago? 334 were slaughtered – over half, children – in an attack by Islamists from Chechnya.

Could you imagine if just 100 of these fundamentalists, split into two-man teams, decided to attack fifty elementary schools across our nation? If a scrawny lunatic 20 year old can single-handedly murder dozens, think what trained terrorists could do. And think about the impact of such a coordinated attack.

These fanatics are likely already operating in the U.S., as they did immediately prior to 9-11. Close to home, we know Iran is exporting terror to Mexico and to drug cartels operating in Latin America. Additionally, increasing numbers of illegal aliens from the Middle East are crossing our southern border.

Coordinated Beslan-like attacks in the United States would be absolutely devastating. Due to misguided gun-free zones, the United States would be looking at a slaughter on an unimaginable scale.

So how is additional gun control legislation going to help protect against that? Rather than enhancing safety, further restricting guns from private ownership in the U.S. will only serve to embolden such aggressors, ensuring that their murderous plans are not impeded.

As Larry Pratt noted in his skewering of Piers Morgan on CNN last week, the only reasonable answer to prevent aggression is to arm potential victims, not disarm them. Schools across the nation should recognize that they are targets and prepare accordingly.

Navy Caves to Atheists, Removes Nativity Scene From Bahrain Base

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A live Nativity scene planned at the U.S. Navy base in Bahrain was dropped from a holiday program after an atheist group complained that it amounted to command sponsorship of a Christian event and could put servicemembers in the Muslim-majority country at risk.

The live nativity was initially scheduled for Dec. 6 during an annual holiday tree-lighting ceremony hosted by Naval Support Activity Bahrain. The celebration also advertised appearances from “Mr. & Mrs. Claus and Camel,” according to a promotional flyer.

The Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers wrote a complaint to the Inspector General responsible for Navy installations, asking that the event be investigated because it promoted “Christianity as the official religion of the base.”

“This violates the Constitution and the mandates of the command to support all belief while privileging none,” the group wrote, according to a post on its website.

The event also could foster misconceptions about the U.S. military’s religious agenda in a Muslim country, the group argued. “This event threatens U.S. security and violates the Constitution as well as command policy,” the group wrote.

Read more from this story HERE.

The Massacre of the Innocents

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Lullay, Thou little tiny Child, by by, lully, lullay . . . ”

The 16th-century Coventry Carol, a mother’s lament for her lost son, is the only song of the season about the other children of Christmas — the first-born of Bethlehem, slaughtered on Herod’s orders after the Magi brought him the not-so-glad tidings that an infant of that city would grow up to be King of the Jews. As Matthew tells it, even in a story of miraculous birth, in the midst of life is death. The Massacre of the Innocents loomed large over the Christian imagination: In Rubens’s two renderings, he fills the canvas with spear-wielding killers, wailing mothers, and dead babies, a snapshot, one assumes, of the vaster, bloodier body count beyond the frame. Then a century ago the Catholic Encyclopedia started digging into the numbers. The estimated population of Bethlehem at that time was around a thousand, which would put the toll of first-born sons under the age of two murdered by King Herod at approximately 20 — or about the same number of dead children as one school shooting on a December morning in Connecticut. “Every man a king,” promised Huey Long. And, if it doesn’t quite work out like that, well, every man his own Herod.

Had my child been among the dead of December 14, I don’t know that I would ever again trust the contours of the world. The years go by, and you’re sitting in a coffee shop with a neighbor, and out of the corner of your eye a guy walks in who looks a little goofy and is maybe muttering to himself: Is he just a harmless oddball — or the prelude to horror? The bedrock of life has been shattered, and ever after you’re walking on a wobbling carpet with nothing underneath. For a parent to bury a child offends against the natural order — at least in an age that has conquered childhood mortality. For a parent to bury a child at Christmas taints the day forever, and mocks its meaning.

For those untouched by death this Christmas, someone else’s bewildering, shattering turn of fate ought to occasion a little modesty and circumspection. Instead, even by its usual execrable standards, the public discourse post-Newtown has been stupid and contemptible. The Left now seizes on every atrocity as a cudgel to beat whatever happens to be the Right’s current hottest brand: Tucson, Ariz., was something to do with Sarah Palin’s use of metaphor and other common literary devices — or “toxic rhetoric,” as Paul Krugman put it; Aurora, Colo., was something to do with the Tea Party, according to Brian Ross of ABC News. Since the humiliations of November, the Right no longer has any hot brands, so this time round the biens pensants have fallen back on “gun culture.” Dimwit hacks bandy terms like “assault weapon,” “assault rifle,” “semiautomatic,” and “automatic weapon” in endlessly interchangeable but ever more terrifying accumulations of high-tech state-of-the-art killing power. As the comedian Andy Borowitz tweeted, “When the 2nd Amendment was written the most lethal gun available was the musket.”

Actually, the semiautomatic is a 19th-century technology, first produced in 1885. That’s just under half a century after the death of Madison, the Second Amendment’s author, and rather nearer to the Founding Fathers’ time than our own. And the Founders were under fewer illusions about the fragility of society than Hollywood funnymen: On July 25,1764, four Lenape Indians walked into a one-room schoolhouse in colonial Pennsylvania and killed Enoch Brown and ten of his pupils. One child survived, scalped and demented to the end of his days.

Read more from this story HERE.