Month: September 2004

No Guns in Schools!

Tell that to the Russians, whose Commandos raided a school occupied by eighteen or more Islamic terrorists (and yes, that’s what “Chechen Rebel” means.) Of course the UN condemned the hostage-taking (but then I’m sure the UN condemned the slaughter of refugees at the UN-run camp in Burundi, too.)

As Instapundit noted this morning,

That could be happening here, and sooner or later it will if we don’t win this war first.

It would be a good idea if America woke up to the philosophical difference between “violent and predatory” vs. “violent but protective.” We need to become a nation of dangerous victims again.

Edited to add, from a CNN report:

“The bandits opened fierce fire on the running adults and children. In order to save the lives of the hostages, return fire was opened on the bandits. Local people who were armed also then opened fire on the bandits. This did not allow the special forces to do their work effectively.” — Regional FSB security service chief Valery Andreyev

Somehow I don’t think the “local people” gave much of a shit.

Edited again to add: Laughing Wolf in the comments points to this page at Logic&Sanity.com for a comprehensive compilation of information on the situation in Russia. Really outstanding stuff, most of it translated from Russian news services.

Damn, I love the blogosphere.

Blogs Across America

I hosted Seldom Sober last night in his trek across the Continental U.S. from the People’s Republic of California to the People’s Republic of New York City (out of the fire into the frying pan?) He arrived from his stay at Da Goddess‘s about 4:30 in the afternoon, whereupon I took him on a whirlwind tour of Casa Minority, and then we loaded up and went to the indoor pistol range for a little blasting, a Mexican restaurant for dinner, and a little postprandial discussion before bed. He stayed up late and blogged about it. A good time was had by all. Vay con dios, amigo. Good luck in the Big Apple.

New Member of the Blogroll

By comparison to many, my blogroll is ridiculously short. There’s a reason for that. A lot of bloggers will have dozens of links, but I only put up the ones I read on a regular basis – at least once a week, and more likely three or four times a week. A few I’ll check several times a day.

Technorati says I’ve got something like 187 unique links, so I suppose that means there’s at least fifty bloggers out there who have me on their rolls, and it’s going to be pretty obvious that I haven’t reciprocated with many of them (especially the guy who has me listed as “some gun nut.”) I hope no one is offended by that, but the fact is I don’t really have the time to read everyone I want to as often as I’d like, and my list reflects those that I have decided I will spend my time reading on a regular basis.

I just added new blogger VariFrank. Frank has been blogging about three weeks now. He’s attracted the attention of VodkaPundit, and not one but two Instalanches. On top of that, he’s drawn death threats from readers of DemocraticUnderground.com.

Now that’s a resumé!

Now I have to figure out how much more sleep I can do without so that I can hit his blog regularly.

Back in October of last year, Steven Den Beste predicted that the upcoming election would be a solid defeat for the Democrats, and he’s proving prophetic.

So 2004 will be the nadir for the Democrats. Barring extraordinary events, in 2004 the Democrats will crash and burn, and then many in the Democratic party will finally start asking whether the “Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party” is actually a liability rather than an asset, something to be isolated and frozen out instead of pandered to. Given that they, like the religious right, have nowhere else to go, it’s not even clear that the Democrats actually need to pander to them. If that happens, the Democrats may again become viable in the US.

At that time I wrote a response piece where I disagreed with Steven on just that one point:

Yes, indeed, the Religious-Right were marginalized by the Republicans – and they had nowhere to go. They certainly weren’t going to vote Libertarian, and Ross Perot’s Reform Party was stillborn, though the miscarriage did cost Bush 41 re-election. But the (to be less charitable) “Barking Moonbat Wing” of the Democratic Party does have the Greens to move to. And the moonbat wing is, apparently, not insigificant given their representation in the current “Deep Space Nine” array of presidential hopefuls. The best the Religious-Right ever managed was Pat “Idiotarian” Robertson. According to this recent Gallup poll on media bias:

(A)bout 4 in 10 Americans today identify themselves as conservatives and about the same number identify as moderates, while less than 20% identify as liberals.

And that “less than 20%” is apparently in control of the Democratic Party, something I don’t think you can really say about the Religious Right. They were pandered to, but never had their hands on the reins. The Moonbats apparently do, and most aren’t going to be “marginalized,” I think. They’ll leave first, and remain fervently active.

I’ll be the first to admit I may be wrong, but the thing that has changed as far as I can see is the militance of the far-left. They don’t care about being “ideologically pure losers.” They just condemn the conservatives and the moderates for being “ignorant sheep” and soldier on in their efforts to save us from ourselves like good socialists should. Evidence for this militance? Increasing eco-terrorism for one thing. Earth First!ers setting fire to SUV dealerships and luxury homes under construction, PETA activists raiding labs and fur farms, protesters actively advocating soldiers killing their officers – and forums praising such action.

The Information Age has allowed everybody to politically organize, and nowhere is this more apparent than at the fringes, and yes, I realize that I represent one of those fringes. They no longer feel alone and helpless. Gun control activist are acting in our own self-interest (I believe preserving the Constitution is self-preservation, anyway). The liberals are crusaders out to save us from ourselves, and they will never rest until they do. (Scratched that last out because there’s always one more crusade for the true believer.) For the Religious Right, being politically marginalized just made them resigned to wait for the Second Coming. For the Moonbat Left being marginalized will just make them more fervent. Crusading is their religion.

So, I don’t think the Democrats will quite reach their nadir in 2004. I think it will occur after the more moderate forces of the Democratic Party attempt to marginalize the moonbat wing – and the moonbat wing, in large part, leaves. When that happens, the Greens will gain strength – and may actually manage to elect a representative or two, especially in areas such as San Francisco where they have a strong following. The Green Party will certainly further harm the Democratic Party – until the Democrats complete the second step and sell themselves to the electorate to the point where they can draw more from that 40% of the population that identifies itself as moderate. That will be a few years after 2004, I think, and it’s going to be a definite two-step process.

Well, the militant moonbats are out in force in NYC right now. Their bretheren around the country are frothing at the mouth.

Rodger Schultz points out an example of the “Party of Hate” here. James Lileks talks of “Sudden Bush Hatred Fatigue Syndrome”. Instapundit points to a NY Daily News piece on the implosion of the Kerry campaign. Power Line shows moonbat spokesman Al Franken coming (further) unhinged in the presence of his enemies. And then there’s the über-moonbats at DemocraticUnderground.com, like, oh, say “Tyler Durden:”

I want no Republican “friends”….associates, aquaintances or relatives.

Period.

I don’t want to discuss politics with some Republican asshole. I don’t want to have drinks with one, share an office with one, have sex with one, or even stop on the side of a road in the rain to help one change a tire.

Fuck them. Fuck them all. I hate them for destroying the nation where I was born. I hate them for making me feel unwelcome in the community where my home is. I hate them for their selfishness which has made a mockery of the democratic process, And I hate them for the death that they deal to the helpless in the name of money.

I repeat; Fuck them all. At this point, I would not cross the street to pick one of them up out of a body of water where they were drowning: GOOD. One less of them to vote for the scum that they support and the filth that they do to the rest of us.

The camel’s back is broken, folks. Don’t think it’s going to heal soon.

(The link is http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=2293502&mesg_id=2293502 and is intentionally left cold. Cut and paste if you want to read it from the original source. Please do, and read the – as of the time of this writing – 69 responses as well.) Or read this one, by “Hobo:”

All right I finally reached my breaking point. I vowed to myself I will not watch any of the Repuke hate fest. So Last night I listened to some world music on the CD player, checking in here from time to time to see some reports. Then I saw the thread about the Purple Hearts on the Band Aids.

I need to know how the fuck can any person who served in the military or the family of military personnel even consider supporting a Repuke for any elected position in this country?

To me this little “gag” is offensive, it is like spitting on the cross. Vietnam Vets, they are laughing at your service to your country. Widows, they are laughing at the sacrifice your loved ones made. Mothers they are laughing at the death of your child.

Finally, They are laughing at my mom, whose son made the ultimate sacrifice. The flag from the coffin and the medals of my long lost brother still hang in my parents home. I detest all of those scum who last night decided it would be funny to wear those “gags” You, you fucking holier than thou, smug, religion hijacking, assholes can, and I know you will, rot in a special place in hell.

Plus, all you Free Republic George W Bush ass licker fuck wads out reading this, I say to you, You want a piece of me? You had better come with more than just one or two of you. Come and get me! I have been very tolerant of any repubes in my office, or general discussions I have had, not any more the gloves are off.

To all the chicken hawks out there, you know who you are, can go, in the words of the lead chicken hawk, fuck yourselves.

The link for that one is http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104×2289224 and it has 18 replies. There’s more, but those are representative of the sentiment.

IndyMedia is reporting on the actions of the protesters in NYC. Here’s a taste of what they consider “freedom of speech:”

(S)everal hundred people gathered outside of Fox News at 47th st. and 6th ave. to hold a Fox “shut-up-a-thon,” where they berated the news agency for its crimes against the television-watchers of the world.

And, just so we understand they’re socialists, there’s this:

The “Men in Black Bloc” also caused a ruckus uptown at Sotheby’s where Johnny Cash memorabilia was being auctioned off to Republicans. Their demand was “No Cash for the Rich!”

How cute. There’s more reports available on IndyMedia too.

The Command Post reported on March 8 that Kerry is ready to “pre-challenge” the election results. The original Yahoo! story is no longer available, but I believe it was this piece that’s been archived at GOPUSA.com. (That’s an interesting illustration of the motivation behind Hugh Hewitt’s latest book, If It’s Not Close, They Can’t Cheat.)

So, here’s my prediction: When Bush wins the election with enough margin to prevent cheating on the part of the Dems, there are going to be riots. There will also be domestic terrorism by the moonbats.

The “Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party” has no place to go? They’ve been stirred up past the point of no return. They’re going to go completely nuts.

Kerry’s Combat “V”

A lot of people are making serious accusations about John Kerry’s DD-214 showing that one of his awards is a Silver Star with Combat “V”, since the Navy doesn’t award the “V” with the Silver Star – ever. Captain’s Quarters blog notes, for example, that “John Lehman denies ever signing the modified citation Kerry’s site has prominently displayed for months, and states categorically that he didn’t write the additional language describing the engagement.” FrontPageMag has two pretty comprehensive pieces on it. Much glee has been take in in a quote by Kerry over the suicide of Admiral Mike Boorda, in 1996. Then Chief of Naval Operations, his wearing of two small Combat “V” clips on medals to which he was not entitled was questioned, and shortly before a planned news conference he committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest. (From NRO):

What did John Kerry have to say at the time about the matter? Let us consult the Boston Herald of May 18, 1996:

Veterans said yesterday that although they would take offense at someone falsely wearing a “V” combat pin, they couldn’t see how this could drive Navy Adm. Jeremy Michael Boorda to suicide.

“Is it wrong? Yes, it is very wrong. Sufficient to question his leadership position? The answer is yes, which he clearly understood,” said Sen. John Kerry, a Navy combat veteran who served in Vietnam.

Citing uncertainty of whether Boorda deliberately wore the pins improperly, Kerry added: “If he made a mistake, in my judgment it wasn’t worth his life, so I’m very sad about it.”

And let us consult the Boston Globe for the same day:

“The military is a rigorous culture that places a high premium on battlefield accomplishment,” said Sen. John F. Kerry, who received numerous decorations, including a Bronze Star with a “V” pin, as a Navy lieutenant in Vietnam.

“In a sense, there’s nothing that says more about your career than when you fought, where you fought and how you fought,” Kerry said.

“If you wind up being less than what you’re pretending to be, there is a major confrontation with value and self-esteem and your sense of how others view you.”

Of Boorda and his apparent violation, Kerry said: “When you are the chief of them all, it has to weigh even more heavily.”

My take on the matter? I’m more interested in why there are three different versions of the award (none of which mention a Combat “V”) than what appears to me to be a typo that Kerry didn’t bother to correct. And Lehman? Does he remember everything he signed? Doubtful.

But I’d like to know why Kerry isn’t being asked about this by the press.

What Bush Actually Said

Of course by now you know that the Left is spinning Bush’s comments from the Matt Lauer interview as hard as they can, but here’s what he actually said (via Michelle Malkin’s blog):

Lauer: “You said to me a second ago, one of the things you’ll lay out in your vision for the next four years is how to go about winning the war on terror. That phrase strikes me a little bit. Do you really think we can win this war on terror in the next four years?”



President Bush: “I have never said we can win it in four years.”

Lauer: “So I’m just saying can we win it? Do you see that?”

President Bush: “I don’t think you can win it. But I think you can create conditions so that those who use terror as a tool are less acceptable in parts of the world –- let’s put it that way. I have a two pronged strategy. On the one hand is to find them before they hurt us, and that’s necessary. I’m telling you it’s necessary. The country must never yield, must never show weakness [and] must continue to lead. To find al-Qaida affiliates who are hiding around the world and … harm us and bring ‘em to justice –- we’re doing a good job of it. I mean we are dismantling the al-Qaida as we knew it. The long-term strategy is to spread freedom and liberty, and that’s really kind of an interesting debate. You know there’s some who say well, ‘You know certain people can’t self govern and accept, you know, a former democracy.’ I just strongly disagree with that. I believe that democracy can take hold in parts of the world that are now non-democratic and I think it’s necessary in order to defeat the ideologies of hate. History has shown that it can work, that spreading liberty does work. After all, Japan is our close ally and my dad fought against the Japanese. Prime Minister Koizumi, is one of the closest collaborators I have in working to make the world a more peaceful place.”

Lauer: “Your daughters are how old now?”

President Bush: “Twenty-two.”

Lauer: “Twenty-two years old. They’re approaching the age, President Bush, [when] they’re going to have their own children. And when their kids are teenagers are they going to those kids – your grandchildren – be reading about al-Qaida in the newspaper every day?”

President Bush: “I know if steadfast, strong and resolute — and I say those words very seriously — it’s less likely that your kids are going to live under the threat of al-Qaida for a long period of time. I can’t tell you. I don’t have any … definite end. But I tell you this, when we succeed in Iraq and Afghanistan, it’s the beginning of the end for these extremists. Because freedom is going to have a powerful influence to make sure your kids can grow up in a peaceful world. If we believe, for example, that you can’t win, and the alternative is to retreat … I think that would be a disaster for your children. I’ll tell you why. If al-Qaida and their ideologues were able to secure a nuclear arsenal, then your children would grow up under the threat of nuclear blackmail. I think you would look back and say, ‘Why did George Bush not hold the line?’ We cannot show weakness in this world today, because the enemy will exploit that weakness. It will embolden them and make the world a more dangerous place.”

Will the mainstream media report the entire conversation, or will they just endlessly repeat the line highlighted in red?

Michael Moore Hit the Nail on the Head – Really!

In today’s USAToday column:

Our side is full of wimps who’d rather compromise than fight. Not you guys.

And our side has concluded that if your side is in charge it would rather compromise with the Islamists than fight them. Just like the French.

No thank you.

KeepAndBearArms.com Under New Management

I literally just received this email:

KeepAndBearArms.com Under New ManagementSAF and CCRKBA Set to Lead KABA to Brighter FutureSeptember 1, 2004



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



KeepAndBearArms.com (KABA) has undergone a transfer of power and leadership. Launched in April of 2000, KABA has become a daily source for news and information about gun rights, gun control and gun-related activism.Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) have purchased the website, domain name and related assets associated with the website. SAF and CCRKBA combined have over a million members and contributors nationwide, and its leaders are confident in taking KABA to the next level of growth and development.



KeepAndBearArms.com Founder Angel Shamaya says “this move is in the best interest of KABA and in the best interest of my family. While we haven’t had the resources to help KABA realize its full potential, SAF and CCRKBA have much greater resources and a commitment to immediately implementing needed changes to assure the website’s success and longevity. They’ve been in the gun rights fight for over three decades, and they’re prepared to lead KABA to new heights at a time where we’re rubbing nickels together. Their ability to reach many people who don’t currently know about the website can only strengthen public awareness about the war being waged against gun owners’ rights. We thought about this situation for a long time before concluding to hand over the reins, and I believe we’ve made the right choice, for the above and other reasons. I am doing everything I can to assure a smooth transition and to assure that KABA thrives. I am grateful for all of the support KeepAndBearArms.com has received over the years, and it is my sincerest hope that the site will continue to receive support so it can continue to expand public awareness in defense of Liberty.”



Second Amendment Foundation Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb has high hopes for KABA’s future. He says, “KeepAndBearArms.com has been the premier daily website for gun rights news and information for quite a while now. They’ve done a great job in providing needed services to the gun rights community, and we salute them for their valiant efforts. We are working closely with key KABA staff to assure a smooth, seamless transition. We are also investing in a new server and in new development in key areas to begin expanding KABA’s reach and influence. We are confidant in our abilities to build upon what KeepAndBearArms.com has become while continuing to provide valuable services to the gun rights community for which KABA has become famous.”



KeepAndBearArms.com will continue to function as an independent gun rights website owned by KeepAndBearArms.com, Inc. whose shareholders consist of SAF and CCRKBA. The website will continue to be hosted by the NetSalon Corporation.



The transition to new KeepAndBearArms.com leadership is effective September 1, 2004. SAF and CCRKBA are committed to taking care of all existing members, including Life Members, and are eager to hear from KABA members about desired changes and upgrades to the site and services provided. And of course, new memberships and donors are always welcome.KABA Founder Angel Shamaya invites KABA members to join him in the Members’ Forum to catch up, share thoughts, reminisce or just touch base and say hello. Members can log in to the members’ forums here:

https://www.KeepAndBearArms.com/members

On the web:

http://www.KeepAndBearArms.com

http://www.saf.org

http://www.ccrkba.org

Another Classic Example of a Truism



As most of you are probably aware, Steven Den Beste is taking a hiatus, probably long-term, possibly permanent. I’m sorry to see that. I certainly understand his reasoning (can’t help being envious of the traffic, but he’s illustrated the problem very well.)

So, of course, his detractors are gleeful:

I’ve been at this a long time. I know what’s important, and a pompous ignoramus like Den Beste doesn’t qualify. He’s a run-of-the-mill, rote, conservative, which means: when it comes to politics and the whole cultural and philosophical underpinning of the thing, he couldn’t think his way to the nearest light-switch on the wall with the earnest intent to flip the thing on.

Once again proving the old adage that “Those who can, DO. Those who can’t, teach. And those who can’t teach, criticize.”