Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

The Cop Heard Round The World

What would happen if you or I said these things to another person, or to a police officer? (video here)

"You are supposed to say that right off the goddamn bat," Harless screamed. "I'm so close to caving in your goddamn head."

Harless continued.

"You know what I shoulda done? I'll tell you what I shoulda done: As soon as I felt your gun, I shoulda took two steps back, pulled my Glock 40 and just put 10 bullets in your [expletive] and let you drop," the officer said. "And I wouldn't have lost any sleep. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir," Bartlett said.

"And he [Harless' partner] would have been a nice witness as I executed you because you're stupid," Harless continued.

On the video, Bartlett appeared respectful and calm through the officer's tirade. Police charged Bartlett, 52, with carrying a concealed weapon, alleging that he failed to inform officers of his concealed-weapon status and his gun. The case went to jury trial Nov. 10 in Canton Municipal Court, where Judge Stephen Beldon acquitted Bartlett before his lawyer could put on a defense.

Bartlett tried to tell Harless he had a carry permit but was stopped by Harless. After the video of the incident was distributed via Facebook and Twitter and other social media by Ohioans for Concealed Carry last summer Harless was placed on administrative leave and later on "medical leave."

Let's get to the nitty gritty: Daniel Harless should have been immediately dismissed from any duties related to public safety and/or requiring armed contact with the public. Based on the video, he should have already been charged with assault regarding his statements to Mr. Bartlett. Bartlett was very lucky the video surfaced for without it he would likely have been convicted and in jail.

And it seems this isn't the first time Harless threatened citizens with death... And has faced SIXTEEN internal affairs investigations since 2000.

Gunwalker Just Went Bi-Partisan.

Via Bob Owens' Blog:

...former Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Joe Lieberman, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, is now launching his own investigation.

Operation Fast and Furious, known as "GunWalker" to rights activists following the scandal, is about to blow up big time. Hello, Mr. Obama...

Et Tu, Blackburn?

From Smitty at TOM:

Et Tu, Blackburn? Early last month I was singing the praises of Rep. Marsha Blackburn, who was taking a bold stand against Net Neutrality and FCC over-reach at the Defending the Dream summit.

Via Instapundit, we discover that the legacy media are funding the Stop Online Piracy Act in a big way.

Sigh... One consolation in living in Rep. Jim Cooper's (D-TN) district was that a responsible Congress Critter was one district over. C'mon, Marsha!

I thought that Rep. Blackburn sounded quite educated on the technical aspects of Net Neutrality. Maybe she can enlighten us on how the First Amendment is less important than media profits. I don’t see where her fellow Defending the Dream summit panelist Seton Motley has commented on SOPA.

Also on that list is our Sen. Bob Corker. What is it with Tennessee Republicans? Stop SOPA!

It's Still True, More Guns = Less Crime

Data and a graph from No Lawyers - Only Guns and Money: Seems as "shall issue" carry spread across the states homicide rates fell dramatically. Armed citizens do not make easy prey.

TSA Rape

Amy Alkon:

Why Did I Have To Go To Pravda To Get My Op-Ed About TSA Rape Published?
I don't understand it. I went to countless mainstream news outlets in America and every one of them refused to publish this -- my op-ed on our eroding civil liberties and what we need to do to stand up for them.

Media outlets that refused to publish this piece include the LA Times, The New York Times, Reuters, CNN.com, The Huffington Post, AOL, The Wall Street Journal, Yahoo.com, MSNBC.com, and The Washington Post.

Apparently, only the Russian media cares about discussing civil liberties in America. The Russian newspaper Pravda published the piece about an hour after I sent it to them. (My next try was going to be North Korea, but the furor there following Kim Jun Il's death made that seem like kind of a bad idea.)

The entire piece is published here, on Pravda's website.

As they say, read the whole thing.

Iowa Stupid

Voters in the Iowa GOP are making the case for the rest of the 49 states to remove Iowa's right to vote. Via Big Government:

Poll: Ron Paul Moves into First Place in Iowa

In Obama's world, 56 states are considering removing Iowa's right to vote...

Who Wrote The Ron Paul Newsletters? Ron Paul.

Pretty clear proof at the below link.

Who Wrote The Ron Paul Newsletters? Ron Paul Wrote Them – Clear Proof | Conservatives Network

It's past time for Paul to go away regarding this election.

Via Dan Riehl on Twitter.

What's Wrong With Our Schools?

Part of the answer is here:

SMYRNA, Tenn. - For the rest of the semester, a Rutherford County elementary student has to eat lunch at the "silent table" for allegedly waving around a slice of pizza some say resembled a gun.

Seriously? The principal and his/her cronies at David Youree Elementary School need a time out.

US Youth Abandoning Obama

So writes @AlanaGoodman at Commentary:
Millennial Poll Should Alarm Obama:

In 2008, voters under the age of 30 helped catapult Obama into the White House. Three years later, Obama’s approval rating is underwater with the demographic, which is becoming increasingly confident he’ll lose reelection.

According to a Harvard University poll out today, Obama’s approval rating with young Americans is at the lowest point of his presidency:

Despite a six percentage-point increase after the midterm elections that was reported in our Spring 2011 polling, President Obama’s job performance rating among young Americans, ages 18 to 29, is at the lowest point since we began polling the Obama administration in the fall of 2009. Currently, 46 percent of young Americans approve of the job the president is doing and 51 percent disapprove.

Also in the poll, Obama's useful idiots in the Occupy Wall Street crowd have even less support. Only 21 percent support OWS while 33 percent oppose it. Fully 46 percent have no opinion.

Further:

...Obama’s failure to live up the expectations he set in 2009 has actually caused young people to disengage from politics and activism, according to the poll:

The key findings in our survey suggest that Millennials are prepared to show their frustration not through strong support for the eventual Republican nominee, but rather by punishing President Obama and the Democrats by not engaging, volunteering or voting in the same volume that they did in 2008.

As it should be: If you wish to be ignorant of the truth of political realities, don't vote.

Stop SOPA!

VIDEO: UN Oops

From Strategy Page:

VIDEO: UN Opps

Happy Bill of Rights Day!

Hurry and celebrate them before the current occupant of The Resolute Desk takes them away.

Strangling the US Economy Obama Style

Via John Lott:

The rise of regulations under Obama:
The figure is from the WSJ.

Ryan was Wrong – Newt was right

First, I was totally on board the Draft Ryan for President movement from the outset. If he would run, I'd still jump on board. But, via Legal Insurrection, Newt was right:

Newt Gingrich has been raked over the coals for using the term “right wing social engineering” with regard to Paul Ryan’s Medicare Plan released last spring. In context, Newt was making the point that the plan as proposed went to far in one fell swoop to pass unless public confidence had been built in advance of passage.

(...) Newt has been proven right, and is owed a huge apology, which of course will not be forthcoming. Newt was the adult in the room, as it turns out.

Newt was right. So much for Zany, huh?

Update: Newt was right about the Middle East, too. Shocker.

Quote Of The Day, “Witches and Mormons, Oh, My!”

Comes from @rsmcain at The Other McCain:
Christine O’Donnell Endorses Mitt Romney; Des Moines City Council Member Endorses Rick Santorum:

A friend whom I won’t name sent me an e-mail suggesting the headline, “Witches and Mormons, Oh, My!” Christine O’Donnell, the former Republican Senate candidate and a tea party favorite during the 2010 election, has officially endorsed Mitt Romney for president. . . .

Now I ask all of my fellow Tea Party types, did O'Donnell really present a better choice as a loss than Mike Castle did as a win?

Blogging Again, Maybe...

Well, I posted a few items over the past several days just because... And no one died.

That I know of.

So, perhaps I'll get back into it. Perhaps I won't. With the 2012 Election heating up I probably will... I confess that Twitter alleviates a LOT of the compulsion to make regular blog posts, however. Who knew 140 characters at a time could be so addictive?

And so it goes.

Americans Fear Big Government

From Gallup: In U.S., Fear of Big Government at Near-Record Level.
And for good reason. And that fear is why the Founding Fathers gave us the Second Amendment.

In Norway, $500 per pound BUTTER

Norwegians take their Christmas baking serious, and that along with a rainy summer and a new fad diet has sent butter prices soaring through the roof.

The shortfall, expected to last into January, amounts to between 500 and 1,000 tonnes, said Tine, Norway's main dairy company, while online sellers have offered 500-gramme packs for up to 350 euros ($465).

Of course, the Russian mob saw opportunity and immediately started trying to smuggle the new gold into the country...

Via @PolitixGal on Twitter

Dave Kopel's latest paper

Via Arms and the Law:

Dave Kopel's latest paper:

"How the British Gun Control Program Precipitated the American Revolution". I suggest downloading the paper, not only because it's interesting, but also because that drives up the paper's SSRN statistics. If you get a high enough readership, you make "top ten" in Con Law downloads, and all subscribers to SSRN get an email announcing that, which gives a paper wider exposure.

Gingrich 37%, Romney 22% Among GOP Voters Nationwide

Gingrich 37%, Romney 22% Among GOP Voters Nationwide.
(Gallup)
All others in single digits...

Infamy

But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us. . .



7 December 1941

President Franklin D. Roosevelt:

Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of American was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

The United States was at peace with that nation, and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu, the Japanese ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our secretary of state a formal reply to a recent American message. While this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or armed attack.

It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time the Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.

Yesterday the Japanese government also launched as attack against Malaya.

Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.

Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam.

Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.

Last night Japanese forces attacked Wake Island.

And this morning the Japanese attacked Midway Island.

Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.

As commander in chief of the Army and Navy I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense. But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us. . .

Source: Courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, New York.

Graphic from http://www.homeofheroes.com/.