Losing the Peace in Iraq
"In the early 80's I was among some of the pioneers of homeschooling who took serious hits by the status quo neighbors, churches, and school officials, not the mention the legislature. Everyone seemed so threatened by my actions at the time, and I guess not much has changed in the last 20 years.
"At one legislative hearing that was winding down after hours of debate about the unthinkable possibility that parents should be allowed to have full stewardship over their own children, a senator asked, 'Before we close is there anyone who absolutely has to say something?'
"I found myself rising as if lifted by an invisible source. At the microphone I properly addressed the 'distinguished' (?) panel of legislators and surprised myself by saying '...If indeed we parents are too incompetent and too uneducated to teach the children God sent to our homes, it is precisely because we are products of your public schools and your state colleges.' I then sat down to the cheers and applause of the audience and the total irritation of the panel."
-- Judy Naegle
R. Lee Wrights at Rational Review Victims of victimization - on the growth of the victim mentality in Amerika. [smith2004]
Instead of telling people to fight back, the State cautions us to just surrender and join the ever-growing throng of victims. Instead of instructing people to arm themselves by mastering the use of a weapon, they are taught to cow down to the weapon when it is held upon them. Instead of urging individuals to be responsible for themselves, they are programmed to be dependent on a justice system that everyone admits cannot protect them. The State creates a victim class from its own citizenry by teaching them it is better to be a slave to an armed intruder than to be free individuals with the capability of defending themselves. We become victims of the State in an effort to avoid being victimized by the smallest proportion of society that chooses to live outside the law.
Charley Reese - A Sad Story - how America, by the sheer stupidity of neglecting to plan the rebuilding part of the mission, is losing the peace in Iraq. [lew]
John Lott at LewRockwell.com - Dems Have Not Dropped Gun Control Agenda - they're just being more careful and quiet about it, waiting for the next opportunity to take away our self-defense tools, while quietly working on more treasonous infringements every day. [lew]
Over the last decade it is simply impossible to find one study by either the U.S. Justice Department or the Treasury that measures the benefits from people owning guns. For example, every year the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms puts out a list of the top 10 guns used in crime, but why not one time put out a list of the top 10 guns used by people to stop crime?
J.J. Johnson at Sierra Times - When Is the Use of Force Against Government Officials Justified? - An exploration of the Bryant home-schooling case in Massachusetts. Mr. Johnson refrains from stating a conclusion, asking us to reach our own. OK. If anyone from any government attempts to take the Bryants' children, the Bryants should shoot them dead. Any time a government official commits a crime, you may arrest him. If he resists arrest, you may shoot him.
Samantha Levine at Armed Females of America - The INDIVIDUAL Right to Keep and Bear Arms - IT'S YOUR DUTY! - the tale of Marion Pritchard's defense of three Jewish children in World War II Holland. I've read this before, but it's worth a regular re-read. We need to start doing this here in America. [kaba]
Like the angel of death, the Dutch police officer stood at the door. It was 2 o'clock in the morning, and he was hunting for Jews. Someone must have tipped him off to the three Jewish children sheltered in the home of Marion Pritchard. He entered the living room, his back to the bedroom where the youngsters were sleeping. Pritchard's gut told her he would send them to a concentration camp. Within two minutes, she'd decided what to do. She reached up to a shelf and felt for the revolver given to her for emergencies. "It was him or the kids, so I shot him," she says, unflinching. "It was a moment of excitement. I did it! I did it! The kids are safe! Then it was, what do I do with the body?"
Jonathan D. Epstein at The (Delaware) News Journal - Banks to require more ID - More privacy lost thanks to the U.S.A. P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act. I'll refrain from cursing in print this time, but I'm doing it in my head. [kaba]
The rules, which take effect Oct. 1, are based on the USA Patriot Act, and are designed to prevent terrorists or other criminals from using the U.S. financial system. They also may aid in the fight against identity fraud.
Financial services providers must ask each new customer for proof of name, address, date of birth and taxpayer identification number or Social Security number. They must record the information electronically, along with how they verified the information and what documents they checked. Credit card issuers must verify information through a credit bureau or one of several online software systems available commercially.
The information must be kept on file for the duration of the account, and for five years after the account is closed. It has to be readily accessible for regulators and investigators if questions arise. Companies also must check the names of new customers against a government list of potential terrorists.
Joe Scarborough at MSNBC - 'The Real Deal' on extreme gun control - when guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns. More echoes of the arrest and plea-bargaining of Ron Dixon, this time from a Washington insider. [kaba]
WHEN I WAS in Congress, I lived on Capitol Hill for a year. I spent the rest of my time in my office or living in Virginia.
Why? Because life three blocks from the United States Capitol was too dangerous. Neighbors working on the Hill were routinely held-up, had their cars burglarized, or their houses broken into.
Many of the attacks were brazen and in broad daylight. It took me a while to figure it out, but finally, I did. These frequent attacks came in my neighborhood because Washington has the most extreme gun control laws in America. And no one working on Capitol Hill could afford to have his or her name show up in the Washington Post on an illegal weapons charge. But the thugs who victimized the neighborhood did not share the same concerns, so they roamed at will and terrorized law-abiding citizens, citizens who were not allowed to defend themselves, or their children from such attacks.
It would have only taken one or two Hill staffers firing back in self-defense to send the clear message to criminals that open season was over on Capitol Hill.
