Nov 12 2008

Could we, like, concentrate on CRIMINALS?

Category: gunsharmonicminer @ 5:35 pm

Orange County sheriff’s crackdown on gun permits comes under fire – Los Angeles Times

Hutchens said she was concerned that more than 1,100 people held concealed carry permits issued by the former sheriff — nearly three times the number of permits issued in Los Angeles County.

Let’s see: the population of Orange County is about 3 million according to the US Census people. So that means that roughly 1 person in 3,000 in Orange County has a concealed carry permit. 

It is, of course, risible to compare permit numbers to LA County, as if it was some kind of standard.  LACounty is one of the most repressive districts in the USA in the matter of firearms ownership and lawful carrying.  If your county only has three times the number of LACounty, it means you’re pretty repressive, too.

Run! Run! Save yourselves! People without criminal backgrounds might be carrying guns! Run!

Now, just for laughs: take a guess at how many criminals in Orange County are carrying guns around? Somehow, I think the number is quite a bit higher than 1100…

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Nov 12 2008

The NYTimes exposes yet another secret program

Category: media,military,terrorismharmonicminer @ 4:07 pm

The NYTimes is again at work exposing secret US military operations.

The United States military since 2004 has used broad, secret authority to carry out nearly a dozen previously undisclosed attacks against Al Qaeda and other militants in Syria, Pakistan and elsewhere, according to senior American officials.

These military raids, typically carried out by Special Operations forces, were authorized by a classified order that Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld signed in the spring of 2004 with the approval of President Bush, the officials said. The secret order gave the military new authority to attack the Qaeda terrorist network anywhere in the world, and a more sweeping mandate to conduct operations in countries not at war with the United States.

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Nov 12 2008

What Price Liberty?

Category: libertyamuzikman @ 2:06 am

Liberty: Dictionary.com has several definitions listed.  Here are the two I think most applicable.

freedom from control, interference, obligation, restriction, hampering conditions, etc.; power or right of doing, thinking, speaking, etc., according to choice.

freedom from arbitrary or despotic government or control.

Liberty: There was a man once who made a very famous statement on the subject.  That man was Patrick Henry. His statement was “Give me liberty or give me death”.  He obviously had strong feelings about the subject.

Liberty:  France once gave us a statue.  It currently sits in New York harbor.  You may have seen it.  It’s called The Statue of Liberty.  It stands as a symbol of freedom and liberty to the world.  I suppose France could have kept it for themselves or given it to some other country – they didn’t.

Liberty:  There is a rather famous document that says our Creator endowed us with certain inalienable rights.  Liberty is one of three mentioned by name.  This document is one of the most profound in all of human history and is foundational to our nation’s very existence.

Men and women have bled and died for the sake of liberty.

People have come and continue to come to our shores by the thousands in search of liberty.  Some risking their lives to do so.

Ours is not a nation without faults.  But still a mere glance across the history of the last two centuries shows we have used our liberty well and have been largely a force for good in the world.

A precious individual right of self-determination.  A dream-come-true for the oppressed.  A hope for those who would be free.  A hallmark of these United States Of America.

Our nation now stands on the brink of a new era, soon to be led by a man who by word and deed has indicated he does not hold individual liberty in such high esteem.  We are asked to support this man.  We are asked to reconcile differences and heal wounds.  We are asked to believe in change. I don’t know about his coming change, but I do know a little about liberty.  And who among us believes when this man is finished with his promised change that liberty will remain as strong then as it is now?  And who will be left among us to stand in defense of liberty when so many will lie beholden to the governmental yoke?  Can we even imagine Patrick Henry’s words being uttered by those who are about to occupy the halls of leadership?

Does this sound corny and melodramatic? Do you imagine you can hear The Battle Hymn of the Republic being whistled in the background like some cheesy soundtrack?  Funny, what I hear are the voices of those who we honor today – veterans.  These for whom the word liberty is more than a statue, document, or dictionary definition.  Those for whom liberty was precious enough that they were willing to die to protect it. In the next four years I suppose we shall see how precious liberty is to the rest of us.

Thank you, all veterans.  Thank you.  I pray your sacrifice was not in vain.

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Nov 12 2008

The Foundation for Economic Education

Category: economy,education,freedomharmonicminer @ 1:48 am

One of my favorite sites is the Foundation for Economic Education.

There’s a small joke involved:  access to the site is FREE, but the url is http://www.fee.org/.

Get it?  OK, I’m amused by small things.

Anyway, I’ll be adding a link to this place in my blogroll soon, and I urge you to visit and read, often.

Just skulk around.  Click here and there.  Read a bit.  It will be worth your while in understanding two critical things:

1)  How the USA got so rich

and

2)  How it can become much poorer

And once you understand these two things, you have some idea of how we can help societies that are now poor to become richer.

I’m for that.

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