Home Front
Best/worst run states in America
(24/7 Wall Street): Based on several dozen factors, here is the business publication’s listing, in part:

1.  North Dakota
2.  Wyoming
3.  Nebraska
4.  Utah
5.  Iowa
6.  Alaska
7.  South Dakota
….
29.  Colorado
….
46.  New Jersey
47.  Arizona
48.  Illinois
49.  Rhode Island
50.  California

Nathan: The only one that comes as any sort of surprise is Arizona, and the only state in the West to be in the bottom 10. (NO, I do NOT consider California or Oregon or Washington as a whole to be part of the West.)  In the top 10, the only surprise is Iowa:  I work in Iowa now and then, and the state is bureaucratically bloated even more than Colorado.  But apparently they know basic math, unlike Colorado.  Having a passing familiarity with several of the states in the top 10, the scary part of this story is simple:  IF North and South Dakota and Wyoming are among the BEST, seeing how incredibly stupid and inefficient and overbearing and servile to DC THESE states are, the rest of the country is truly and completely well-done.

It is also very interesting that this list pretty much follows a list rating state governments’ positions on a basic human right: that of self-defense.  I talk about that in the next story’s commentary.

Mama’s Note: Personally, I’d rank New Jersey, Illinois, and California a tie for dead last.

Mainstream media – Our right to defend ourselves
Surprise! NY Times Pushes Obama On Gun Control
(NY Times via JPFO E-mail newsletter) President Obama’s fleeting mention of the need for stronger gun controls at a presidential debate last month was hardly the kind of forceful political statement needed to address the scourge of gun violence in this country. Even his tepid remark was considered by the nation’s gun owners as a threat to take away their firearms. In what amounts to a buyers’ panic, they are again ramping up gun and ammunition sales as they did four years ago, convinced that Mr. Obama intends a gun-control crackdown. Mr. Obama talked about starting “a broader conversation” about reducing gun violence. The best place to start is in Congress, which has been grossly negligent toward constituent safety for the past 20 years as it bows to the demands of the gun lobby.

Nathan: As JPFO’s folks pointed out, Congress SHOULD be negligent about ignoring or getting rid of that “pesky First Amendment.”  The thing is, the NYT is growing more and more bizarre as their panic seeps in: we knew that they were a bunch of scum bags, but the degree of their cluelessness continues to surprise a lot of us.  I can’t beat what the JPFO folks said:

The Times worries about the “30,000 lives lost to gun violence every year.” What they don’t tell you is that around half of those are suicides. Of the remaining, in 2010 (the latest year for data), 8775 were from crime, the rest accidental. That’s with over 270 million privately owned guns. I wonder how many crimes were prevented because someone owns a gun? Hmmm, an estimated 2.5 million ? And women are the most likely to be saved by owning a gun? And most shootings involved criminals killing other criminals? Oh, and women are the biggest recipients of being able to show a gun to someone who is looking to harm them?

When you look at WHERE the crime is – including those 8775 dead from guns – you see that most of those are in those badly-run states listed above.  And no surprise: those states are FAR more concerned about such critical items as preventing state endorsement of religion (by having Christmas trees), equal rights (by twisting the definition of marriage to allow homosexuals to “marry” each other), properly teaching human sexuality (to kindergartners), how badly people’s self-esteem is bruised by requiring an ID to vote (or get welfare), and of course, ensuring that “women have rights” by making sure that babies (of any sex) do NOT.  Which leads to the JPFO’s last comment.

Perhaps the Times should be concerned with the 1 million plus abortions this year.

Onward Forward!!!

Meanwhile, other people keep having to defend themselves, some without guns, thanks to groups like the Times.

Self-defense
Florida: Valrico store clerk grabs gun, fights off robber
(Plant City Courier) “A gas station clerk in Valrico thwarted a robbery by grabbing the  barrel of an armed robber’s gun and pushing him out of the store,  according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. About 7:10 a.m.  Thursday, the gunman entered the Mobil Mart at 2510 Highway 60 E. in  Valrico, east of Miller Road, and demanded money from the store clerk,  according to the sheriff’s office. That’s when the clerk grabbed the  barrel of the revolver and wrestled with him, eventually pushing him out  of the store. The suspect ran south from the store without getting any  money.” (11/28/12)

Mama’s Note: That’s doing things the hard way! Glad he didn’t get shot.

Nathan: I wonder what the regulations of the company and the laws of Valrico are to keep the clerk from being able to protect himself without such risk.  What if the clerk had been handicapped; say, in a wheelchair?

Home front – Our right to self defense
FBI crime stats: You are more likely to be killed by hands and  feet than by a shotgun or rifle
(Daily Caller) “The FBI has released their 2007-2011 ‘Murder Victims by Weapon’  report. The results are contradictory to anti-gun industry claims that  relaxing the ban on assault weapons will cause more crime. The report  indicates you are more likely to be killed by hands or feet than by a  rifle or shotgun.” (11/27/12)

Okay, so of COURSE the MSM (like the NYT) and the Tranzis will immediately recant, and the First Citizen will move to change their act – and ban hands and feet.

Home front – War on some drugs
Indiana State Police chief to lawmakers: Legalize and tax pot
(The Raw Story) “The top cop for the Indiana State Police on Tuesday advised a group  of state lawmakers that marijuana be legalized and taxed. Speaking at  a budget committee meeting, Superintendent Paul Whitesell noted that  both Colorado and Washington had decriminalized small amounts of the  drug for recreational use. ‘It’s here, it’s going to stay, there’s an  awful lot of victimization that goes with it,’ Whitesell said,  according to radio station WFPL. ‘If it were up to me, I do believe I  would legalize it and tax it, particularly in light of the fact that  several other states have now come to that part of their legal system  as well.'” (11/28/12)

Oh, my, now that Colorado and Washington have done it, the facade is starting to crack all over the place.  Wonder if he is figuring just how much money they can suck out of those two bastions of state control of every aspect of life, Illinois (particularly Chicago) and Ohio.  I can picture block after block of cannabis supermarkets all along Gary’s border with Illinois. (And Raum Emmanuel building the Chicago Wall to prevent the traffic!)  What fun!