Home front
Murders Have District Attorneys Across Texas on Edge
(CNSNews.com)
Nathan: Two in the same district in two months. This time, the victim was aware and armed (and presumably trained) but still died in his own front door. Guns do not always provide the means of SUCCESSFUL self-defense – although no doubt this will now be used by hoploclasts to justify taking guns away from everyone. The next incident, just a few days later, is a bit harder to use, but I expect them to find a way.
Mama’s Note: No, having a gun is no guarantee of success for anyone, but this case illustrates something I say all the time, and work hard to impress on my students. The gun is only about 10% of what is needed for successful self defense. Some people never learn the other 90%, and trust to their gun for everything.
I suspect that this man let down his guard somehow, or actually knew and trusted the person who killed him. We may never know.
Self-defense
Intruder killed while breaking into Colorado prosecutor’s home
(NBC News) An intruder who forced his way into the mountain home of a Colorado deputy district attorney was shot dead by either the prosecutor or her police officer husband, authorities said on Tuesday.
Mama’s Note: Probably just another stupid criminal – and probably not from Colorado. Isn’t it nice that the ruling class and their minions are able to defend themselves? I’m sure the story would read a whole lot differently in another year… if the people in that home were just ordinary working stiffs… Why can’t people see that?
Nathan: One more incident – but this time, an ATTEMPTED assassination that FAILED because of an armed and prepared couple – ready and able to defend themselves. See, these are the kind of people that will basically get a free pass from the laws that go into effect on 1 JULY: government employees and “licensed” to carry and do whatever. Sure, if they buy a new gun, they’ll have to pay for the background check. But believe me, on the salary of a Deputy DA and a cop, that extra $10 or $50 bucks added to the price won’t be much of a hurt.
Incidents like this show the stupidity of the General Assembly and their silly, foolish, illegal, immoral, unconstitutional and (fortunately) mostly unenforceable laws. If these people in Hot Sulfur Springs (county seat of Grand County) are confronted with someone breaking these new laws, will they do as many sheriffs in Colorado say, and refuse to enforce the laws, or will they give the defendant an opportunity to point out their hypocrisy in defending themselves while denying that right to others?
Home front – Assassination – War on some drugs
Suspect ID’d in W.Va. sheriff’s fatal shooting
(AP) A new sheriff who was cracking down on the drug trade in southern West Virginia’s coalfields was shot to death Wednesday in the spot where he usually parked his car for lunch, and State Police said the suspect was in a hospital with gunshot wounds inflicted by a deputy who chased him.
Nathan: Now we have a fourth one – this one (like those in Texas) tied to the war on some drugs. Finally, do we have a major spillover from the Mexican civil war? It may be that the Mexican tactics are being used, perhaps as pressure on “law enforcement” to keep their corrosive, corrupt relationship with the drug dealers, gangs, and cartels.
Self-defense – The “messiah”
70,291,049 Background Checks for Gun Purchases Under Obama
(CNSNews.com)
Nathan: That is about 1 in 4.5 Americans: I am sure there are many who bought guns more than one time, but even if it is only one in 5 or 6, that is a LOT of people (formerly) without guns. He definitely deserves gun salesman of the decade honors.
Hoplophobes and hoploclasts – Self-defense
Putting Gun Death Statistics in Perspective
(JPFO and About.com)
Nathan: JPFO presents an About.com guide’s thoughts, which brings up some valuable points in this article. But this (like most libertarian arguments) assumes that people – especially the mass of the people of the United States and the electorate – are RATIONAL. They are not: We are in a zero-risk society: a society adverse to ANY risk, and one in which, yes, 999 people can and should be punished because of the actions of the 1000th person, because we (as a nation) believe that we can ELIMINATE the risk of that one person (or another person) to do that same thing again. If we take this to the logical extreme, if one man rapes a woman – especially an American woman – then the other 999 men should be castrated to prevent the event from happening again. This of course does not happen because we are irrational: only some things are “supposed” to be taken to that extreme. This Dusty makes some good points (although he does overlook many – such as calling all intentional gun deaths “murders” and not discussing self-defense at all) but he assumes a rational response which does not and will not exist. So once more, we have an article which preaches to the choir.
Mama’s Note: Irrational and ignorant… Many of the same people who demand the elimination of guns -thinking that will eliminate the risk – have little recognition or understanding of the real risks they take every day with prescription drugs, riding on public transport, drinking and driving, even their poor diets and unhealthy lifestyles. And indulging in these risks, they are actually, statistically far MORE apt to die tragically than if someone shot them.
You really want to live to be a ripe old age? Start by throwing out all the pills and don’t see a doctor unless you break something or spring a bad leak. Learn how to eat healthy and eliminate the stress that causes most of the disease – and start by getting out of the cesspool big city. Oh yes, and go buy a gun – then learn truly how to use it in a comprehensive plan for self defense.
Hoplophobes and hoploclasts – Self-defense
Connecticut: Ammunition “Eligibility Certificates” Laws
(Vision to America) Connecticut lawmakers spurred into action by the Sandy Hook school shooting have agreed on what they say is the nation’s strongest gun control bill. The bipartisan agreements includes universal background checks for firearm sales, new state-issued eligibility certificates for the purchase of any rifle, shotgun, or ammunition, and a ban on future sales of high-capacity magazines, the New York Times reports. The package, which also strengthens the state’s existing ban on semiautomatic assault rifles, is expected to easily pass state House and Senate this week, reports the Hartford Courant.
Nathan: As expected, these have passed. It is a round-about way of stealing our rights and insanely expected to make the state “safer.” So bullets join guns and tobacco and drugs as profit centers for gangs – all smuggled in to feed the “evil” habits of the denizens of Connecticut – and harming the poor of the state.
Mama’s Note: I suspect that the dealers in the surrounding states will benefit. Most folks will simply drive across the state line to buy what they need… if they can find it at all. But yes, the tighter the noose, the more the black market will operate. Just remember that folks other than vicious gangs can operate in the black market, and have always done so. Not all smugglers are evil.
Hoplophobes and hoploclasts – Self-defense
Congressional Democrats Proposed$10K Fine for No Gunowners’ Insurance
(Vision to America) When New York Rep. Carolyn Maloney introduced the legislation last month with eight other Democrats, she boasted that it is “the first bill to require liability insurance of gun buyers nationwide.” Maloney’s “Firearm Risk Protection Act” requires gun buyers to have “a qualified liability insurance policy” before they are able to legally purchase a firearm.
Nathan: Most people don’t think this will go too far, at least in Congress. I think any number of state legislatures will take this and run with it, as will the White House. Again, it is a roundabout way of stealing rights, and sure to be popular. And ironically, harder to fight than “mere” straightforward confiscation, since the pressure can be put on the insurance companies. (I don’t want to go into detail on this: no sense in giving the thugs more ideas.)
Mama’s Note: Straining out the gnat and swallowing the camel. This sort of thing will simply drive more people underground and further weaken their respect for government and the bogus “laws” they enact.
Hoplophobes and hoploclasts
Maryland set to become latest state to enact stiff gun-control measure
(Reuters ) Maryland was set to become the latest U.S. state to enact stiff gun control measures, with the approval on Wednesday by the state’s House of Delegates of legislation that includes a ban on dozens of assault weapons and limits on magazine size.
Nathan: Just like Connecticut, but next to that cesspool called DC, this is sure to get many more Marylanders killed. Again, we see irrational responses to emotional screams and accusations.
Mama’s Note: It would seem to me that a rational response to all this would be a steady exodus OUT of CT, D.C., Maryland, or any other state that criminalizes – further criminalizes – self defense. It isn’t only the gun and ammo manufacturers who need to find a better place. That would be a far more potent message than any “letter to the editor,” or phone calls to “representatives.”
Russian front – Free speech
Russia: Internet censorship begins
(Fast Company) “The New York Times reports that Russia has begun censoring the Internet inside its borders, acting on a law that was passed back in November. The [pretext for] the censorship act is to prevent easy access to information that could potentially harm children or that contravenes the law.” (04/01/13)
Nathan: Leave it to the oligarchs to use “for the children” in this way: sure to be imitated by the so-loving Tranzis in the US, of course.
Mama’s Note: And, of course, it isn’t really possible to “censor” the internet much, or for very long. In reality, the governments of the world are seriously behind the curve, and new technology will always outstrip the feeble efforts to stop or control it. Those who want to see what is going on in the world will have to work a little harder at it, perhaps, but they cannot be stopped. Oh, and those CHILDREN are the very ones on the cutting edge of that innovation.
The first picture is of the $120 Lego model available since early last year. Neat model, based on the movie sets and the popular scene, including Jabba the Hut, “Slave Leia” (popular icon in SF-fandom), and more. 700+ pieces. Cost in Euros about the same as in dollars due to the VAT.
This is the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey. This place, by the way, hasn’t been a mosque since 1931 – and has been a museum since 1935. Before the Turks conquered Constantinople, it was an Orthodox cathedral. The minarets (which look like ICBMs to me) were added by the Turks. Yeah, the designers for George Lucas may have designed Jabba’s palace based on this. OR they may have used another iconic image (images) for their ideas:
This is one of many UFO flying saucer pictures which seem to look a LOT like the dome on Jabba’s palace and den of thieves and pirates – OR Hagia Sophia, a former den of murdering invaders who supported thieves and pirates for about 500 years.
The Price of Liberty 
Libertarian Commentary on the News #13-12D: Roads and economics and stupid government
We are seeing a lot going on this week. North Korea has declared war on the Republic of Korea and the United States and said that they will use nuclear weapons to attack both them and Texas; yet no one seems to really be panicking, yet. (Well, Guam, maybe, and the military forces there, beefed up with more anti-missile defenses, fearful that the island will tilt with the added force (weight) of a nuclear bomb.) Meanwhile, a lot of folks seem to be blaming the US for escalating tensions. The US does a lot of stupid things, but it does not seem to me as though that is the case with North Korea: I suspect that once more the North is starving (well, the working class and what used to be the middle class), and so they are screaming and dancing. It is the North Korean version of the Cargo Cult.
At the same time, a LOT of folks are really getting hyper about cops and prosecutors getting gunned down in various parts of the country. This might be tied to the war on Some Drugs (where several folks have declared that the war is over and marijuana won – but the UN is trying to turn both Washington and Colorado into rogue states: worse than North Korea, apparently). Or it might be tied to the war on guns or the Mexican civil war or… insert your own idea here. What it does NOT yet seem to be is the beginnings of a general rebellion or reaction against increasing tyranny as shown in the wars on drugs, poverty, guns, or bad words like “illegal immigrant” or “Islamist” that are banned by NBC or AP. Meanwhile, bad economic indicators are whumping on the stock exchanges, and Bitcoin fever has been waylaid by hacking and some cautious words by some very interested observers.
Last week’s storms are a fading memory (at least in the West) so we are again worried about drought. And people are worried and frustrated by the confusion between all these sequestration cuts and yet money getting wasted by government on what seems to be a more rapid pace each day.
Some specific news items:
Government lies
America’s Roads Aren’t Crumbling
(Foundation for Economic Education) Urban interstates with “poor” pavement dropped from 6.6 percent to 5.4 percent between 1989 and 2008…
Nathan: What? Did government lie to us again? Yes, we all know that there are certain stretches of road with really bad pavement or other problems (drove on a couple of them yesterday!!), and so it is easy to buy propaganda that ALL roads are crumbling to some degree, and that more money is needed to throw at the problem. But if they are lying…
Economy 2013
Farmland: Yet Another Bubble?
(The American) With prices rising by double-digits in six of the last seven years, farmers are witnessing the value of their farms skyrocket — Iowa land selling for $2,275 per acre in 2003 is now selling for $8,700 per acre…
Nathan: Bubble or inflation or something else?
Our right to self-defense – UN thuggery
Kerry Hails U.N Arms Trade Deal, Which Senate May Not Ratify
(CNSNews.com)
Nathan: Look, we know what kind of a piece of work Kerry is – so what else would he do but applaud this evil agreement? With him out of the Senate, that is at least one less vote it will get. Meanwhile, shouldn’t he be indicted or impeached for even having ANYthing to do with this deal, which is at best an attack on American liberties protected by the Constitution, and therefore the Constitution itself? He is an oath-breaker, at best; a traitor most likely.
Mama’s Note: Actually, he’s merely an aggressor… the same as one who would break down your door and attack you. The “constitution” is of far less value as a deterrent than the average city hollow core door – especially when it is left unlocked.
Our right to self-defense – WH thuggery
White House: New Gun Control in 2 States Reflects Capacity for Stricter Federal Laws
(CNSNews.com)
Nathan: As expected, these become poster children for the bigger bully-tyrant on the street.
Islamic wars – Internet front
Prodded by Islamists, Bangladeshi Gov’t Targets ‘Atheist Bloggers’
(CNSNews.com)
Nathan: I do wonder if it is not true: those religions who try to use government force to protect themselves from ideological/theological attack simply demonstrate that they do not have very much confidence in the viability or truthfulness of their own religion, nor of their own faith in their object of worship.
Mama’s Note: I always said that those who are the most violent in rejection of what others believe probably don’t have a great deal of faith in their own theology or precepts – or much understanding of their own history.
The “messiah” and his consort – fear and hatred
Iowa Fright: Obama Says If Michelle Lived There, She’d ‘Probably Want a Gun, Too’
(CNSNews.com)
Nathan: This… words fail me concerning the lack of morality, wisdom, intelligence, common sense, and intensity of hatred in the soul of this man and his consort. But then, what do I expect? Their life is so totally foreign to rural America (much less frontier regions of the nation) and they are so typically Chicago political gangsters that I am sure that any length of time in even the relatively densely populated farmlands of Iowa would severely depress them. The fear and loathing that they show towards general American society and culture, and towards those of other ethnic backgrounds, not just Anglo but most Asian and European and even AmerInd, is significant and forms a basic part of their personality and decision-making process.
Mama’s Note: The real problem is their learned self loathing. They do not truly respect themselves or anything else… so it is no shock that they do not recognize the value of others. They are gossamer parasites, here today and gone tomorrow… not even able to pollinate the flowers of the next generation.
I laugh and shake my head when some folks say that these people will have power over us “forever” if we do not do this or that… Their power is as fleeting as the storm clouds, and their influence is as thin as the gossip going around the square. All we truly need do is ignore them, and cease to empower them with our fear…
East Asian front
North Korea Threatens Nuclear Attack; U.S. Sending Missile Defense Shield to Guam
(CNSNews.com)
Nathan: More fear of the island tilting over. Not just Jarheads but anti-missile missiles as well! I am certain that North Korea is blowing smoke up people’s noses with their bold and rather stupid boasts, and yet… Still, moving the missiles to Guam has to cost several millions – which could have been used to buy and airdrop rifles and pistols and ammo into North Korea and let the people free themselves.
Home front – The “messiah”
As North Korea Crisis Deepens, Obama Raises Campaign Cash in San Francisco
(CNSNews.com)
Nathan: Campaign cash for WHAT? Is he REALLY planning a third term? And apparently using the North Korean “threat” to raise the money?
Congress in action – Self defense
NRA tactics erode post-Newtown support for gun-control measures
(Washington Post) Sen Mark Begich declared a “sea change” in the politics of gun control immediately after the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., telling his local newspaper that he would not hesitate to buck the powerful National Rifle Association.
Nathan: Obviously, that is NOT what he did, and a lot of other people in DC are finding that the NRA (and a lot of other organizations) have a lot of backing from people. Doesn’t change my opinion too much of the NRA as being a compromising, state-loving, and often-back-stabbing group, however.