Victor Hanson Applauds McCain's VP Choice of Governor Sarah Palin

Victor Hanson applauds McCain's decision to select Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as VP.

H/T to Michael Bane.

Additional Alaska Governor Sarah Palin Videos

I found some additional Alaska Governor Sarah Palin Videos on youtube.









Update 1: A Keyboard & a .45 found McCain's announcement & her acceptance speech:

I Love McCain's VP Choice in Alaska Governor Sarah Palin

I know this is already big news everywhere today but I just have to say that I am VERY happy about McCain's decision to choose Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his VP. Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is a life member of the NRA, she has been hunting since she was a little girl, has an A+ NRA rating for her stellar voting record, and she is much more conservative than McCain. I still have not fully decided if I'll be voting for McCain or Barr, but this does tremendously help his odds of gaining my vote, and certainly in my opinion increases his odds of getting elected either way.

. . . Stevens' former chief of staff Mitch Rose called McCain's selection of Palin "a fantastic choice."

"She's down to earth, a hunter and fisherman, really connects well with the people of Alaska," Rose said. Rose noted that Palin's approval ratings in Alaska are "sky high," over 80 percent in some polls . . .

Also, Buckeye Firearms had this video showing her shooting a black rifle which is cool:

PA: Thug Attempted to Rob the Wrong Customer

A Thug attempted to rob the wrong customer early this morning in a Stroudsburg, PA Walmart parking lot. The thug was paid back with a couple of bullet wounds & was found by Police while attempting to bury his handgun. My favorite part is that he could end up serving 30+ years after he gets patched up:

Jacques is charged as an adult with attempted murder, robbery, aggravated assault, crimes committed with guns and illegal possession of a gun, all felonies, and reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor. He hung his head and sighed after the judge told him he could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted of the most serious charge, attempted murder.

Listen up all you so-called Violence Policy Centers - you want to reduce violence? Lock thugs up & throw away the key. That's the only real way to reduce violence, not by attempting to disarm their potential victims.



H/T to Sebastian.

Update 1: According to this article about 1 out of every 16 people have a CCW permit in Monroe County, PA. If that ratio is correct, criminals in Monroe County really should consider moving somewhere they are more likely to find unarmed victims, like Washington DC or New York City.

TX: David Thweatt Glenn Beck Interview

I'm still looking for an online copy of the David Thweatt interview on Glenn Beck in a video format but have not yet found it. I have it saved on my Dish DVR unit but don't currently have any hardware to migrate the video to my computer. That will probably be a future purchase of mine as the hardware is relatively inexpensive now I understand. The Transcript of the David Thweatt Glenn Beck interview is available from the Aug 19th 2008 airing of the Glenn Beck TV show as a temporary stop gap & is well worth a read:

. . . BECK: The school shootings at Columbine and Virginia Tech, terrible, terrible tragedies, but I and many others believe they would have been prevented if some professors or teachers or, even in those cases, some students, at least in the Virginia Tech case, would have been armed.

One school district in north Texas apparently feels the same way. Officials at the Harold Independence School District will now allow teachers and staff to carry concealed firearms on campus. The district is about 30 minutes away from the local sheriff`s office, which they say -- that leaves them completely unprotected.

There are requirements, of course. A teacher must be authorized by the district, must have a handgun license, and I`m hoping also must not be crazy nuts.

David Thweatt is the superintendent of the Harold Independent School District in Texas.

You`re either laughing because you`re crazy nuts or you agree with me.

DAVID THWEATT, SUPERINTENDENT, HAROLD INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT: I agree with you 100 percent or we wouldn't have done it.

BECK: Right. All right, so, just blanket policy now, no crazy nut people working at the school district.

THWEATT: Right.

BECK: Yes.

THWEATT: And, you know, the best -- the best thing I could say about this, Glenn, is I have my own children in that school. I would be crazy to put -- I trust them with my own children.

BECK: OK. You`re getting quite a bit of flak and pushback here. I love this one. The president of the Houston Federation of Teachers, the union, says, "This policy is an embarrassment, and it is the stupidest move that I have seen done in public education." That`s a quote.

THWEATT: Yes, that particular quote is interesting to me. And you know, unqualified quotes, Glenn. Anybody can make a statement. The only thing I can say to that statement, and I have to say that`s the stupidest quote I`ve ever heard in the history of quotes.

BECK: Well, have you had any pushback from -- why would the unions be against this?

THWEATT: No, I think that this particular individual likes to hear herself talk. She`s not an expert in security. She`s not a -- she`s a person who spent the last 25 years with the union, fighting against administrators for teachers who probably need to be getting out of the classroom. That`s why Houston has all its problems with cheating...

BECK: Yes.

THWEATT: ... et cetera, et cetera. You know what? We have the same population, type of students as they do, but we`re a recognized state school, and they`re not.

BECK: All right. OK. Tell me, because their argument is, well, now, the kids, kids will be kids, you know, they`ll just run behind the teacher and grab their gun.

THWEATT: You know, what I find fascinating about those arguments is this. First of all, there`s guns all over schools with security guards and resource officers, and they`re in open holsters. Here`s the kicker. We are concealed. We`re not telling them who they are.

And so, it would be like somebody attacking a teacher, and then trying to take off their underwear, you know? It`s not happening. It`s never going to happen.

BECK: I just love...

THWEATT: We call it the air marshal plan.

BECK: Right. You know what? Can I tell you something? America, this is why you need to live in Texas. You really do. You need to live in Texas. Because as Davy Crockett said, "You can all go to hell. I`m going to Texas."

THWEATT: That`s right.

BECK: Do you have any teachers there in the school district that are saying, "I`m uncomfortable with this"?

THWEATT: No. No, we don`t.

BECK: You can all go to hell, I`m going to Texas. You see what I`m saying?

Best of luck to you, sir. Thank you very much, and keep the school safe. Thank you.

THWEATT: Thanks, Glenn.

BECK: You bet.

Coming up, one of the richest men in America, betting $58 million of his own money that he can change public opinion on alternative energy. His name, T. Boone Pickens. He`ll be here in a second. "The Real Story," next . . .

AZ: Voting Records & Questionnaire Responses

The AZCDL has posted the details of the voting records of Arizona Legislature Representatives & Senators as well as their responses to the AZCDL Gun Rights Questionnaire. If your Senator or representatives have not yet responded to the Gun Rights Questionnaire contact them & ask that they do so.

Don Myers: No Safe Places

CCW instructor Don Myers wrote about a tragedy where a couple of young musicians were killed for $2.00 on the one day that for an unknown reason Steve (one of the two victims) had decided to leave his home unarmed. The article is titled No Safe Places:

. . . I waited my turn to give condolences to Steve’s mother. Then as I approached her, she said in a voice that was a mixture of crying and disbelief, “Don, Steve didn’t have his gun! He always carries his gun! When he comes to my house, he has his gun on him under his shirt. He doesn’t go anywhere without his gun! Don, he didn’t have his gun! In fact, when the police were telling me about the shooting, I asked them where Steve’s gun was. They said that they had not found his gun so I told them that the criminals have it. Later, we found it at his home.”

I was sick. The tragedy was bad enough, but for him to be killed on one of the few nights where he had forgotten to take his gun seemed to rub salt into the wounds of those of us who cared for him . . .

Update 1: More details on the crime here from Xavier, including an interview of one of the cold blooded killers.

Brady Campaign Endorses Biden

The Brady Folks have endorsed Biden. What better confirmation can we receive that Biden is a well practiced gun grabber than an endorsement from one of the leading anti-gun campaigns?

CA: More on Orange County Sheriff Hutchens

As I have discussed earlier, Sheriff Hutchens in Orange County California is searching for a solution to a problem that does not exist, denying CCW renewal to citizens who she feels don't have sufficient cause. The best solution would be to change the CCW law in California to match Alaska or Vermont (no permit required to exercise your right to bear arms), and second to that would be a shall issue CCW law. Those solutions being unlikely in California anytime soon the next best solution Orange County citizens can dish out is to make sure she looses her election campaign. She was appointed to her current position to backfill a vacated spot (which is why I call it election rather than re-election) but eventually she will have to ask the people to elect her. Failing to loose her election campaign would be a big bitter pill for her to swallow, but take two & don't call me in the morning.

Jean Aragon on Concealed Carry on Campus

Jean Aragon, a staff employee at the University of New Mexico wrote an excellent Opinion Piece explaining why she should not be disarmed by an illogical Gun Free Zone policy:

. . . I believe it's time to be allowed to even the playing field. I want a fighting chance when three drunk, 250-pound men approach me shouting lewd comments. Everywhere else in the city, I am allowed to conceal and carry my Kel-Tec .380, but when I come to work, I have to leave it in my night stand and hope I can run fast. I only weigh 125 pounds, and against any normal-sized man, I don't stand a chance . . .

Biden Rivals Obama With Gun Ban Record

As if we needed another reason NOT to vote for Obama, he has officially picked Gun Ban Biden to be his running mate.

Obama & the Upside Down Flag

Once again Obama shows a complete lack of respect for America & our Flag. This is the kind of Change America could do without.

Glenn Beck Interview & his Daughter's 1st Date

As you probably know I'm a huge Glenn Beck fan largely because he's an ardent supporter of gun rights in addition to the fact that he often mirrors exactly what I'm thinking on many of the issues he discusses. I just found these old ABC Glenn Beck Interviews while searching for something else. They offer a peak behind the scenes at his family & home life for anyone who is interested.

Aired 4 minute version of the Glenn Beck interview:



Longer version of same interview in 2 parts:





You may also enjoy this snippet of one of his stand up comedy shows describing his daughter's first date:

Gary Reed: Saturday Night Assault Specials

Check out this article by Gary Reed on Saturday Night Assault Specials:

. . . If, as history reports, assault weapons were developed for assault troops to assault enemies with, what are self-defense weapons?

Why do we never read stories of homeowners driving off thugs with a "self-defense weapon"? If an "assault weapon" is used for self-defense, doesn't that make it a "self-defense weapon"?

Where is the news article of the carjacking victim beating off his assailant with a self-defense nine iron?

Why haven't we heard newscasts of a would-be rape victim defending herself with a self-defense spike heel? . . .

Wouldn't a brick used to attack a person be an assault brick?

Shouldn't hate speech be called assault words?

Shouldn't a hand signal flashed during a road-rage incident be called an assault finger? . . .

Obama version of Soviet Union National Anthem

A glimpse of the new National Anthem we could end up with if Obama wins the election (from Glenn Beck):

Joe Bethancourt: Me & My .30-06

Joe Bethancourt was kind enough to give me permission to post this video of him singing "Me & My .30-06" - my favorite line of his song is "I've never shot anyone, nor has my gun"

TX: David Thweatt Interviews

There has been a lot of media coverage of the Harrold Texas School District that unanimously voted to allow a board approved list of specially trained teachers & administrators to conceal carry in their schools. David Thweatt is the superintendent & has been interviewed on a number of news programs. I've done some searching on youtube to see if any of them have been uploaded, this is what I have found so far. I know this list is missing his appearance on Glenn Beck Yesterday as well as possibly others. If anyone finds links to other David Thweatt interviews send me a link via email or comment & I'll update this post.





Here's an interview from ABC News. You can also listen to Tom Gresham interview Superintendent David Thweatt in the 2nd half of the 1st hour of Aug 17th.

Update 1: Article with more details and an online poll.

Update 2: Transcript of David Thweatt interview on Glenn Beck.

Update 3: One Year Later.

Congratulations to Heller

Heller received a permit for his .22 revolver in Washington DC. Hopefully he also plans to register a revolver of a more substantial caliber, but a .22 in hand is better than a .45 locked up in his work locker. Of course thanks to the unconstitutional laws on the books in Washington DC (in defiance of the Supreme Court) Heller is not actually allowed to have his revolver readily available to defend himself so hopefully he'll be notified before he needs it. Perhaps criminals will be nice & call ahead. A bit like call ahead seating at a restaurant, but in this case it would be a call ahead assault. "Hello, in an effort to be a friendly criminal, I'm calling to let you know that I'm on my way to break into your home to assault you. Feel free to break the law by getting your revolver ready for my arrival now."

TX: Elementary School Increases Safety

At least one school district in Texas has taken steps to increase safety by granting teachers permission to conceal carry. Not a full fledged step away from gun free zones, but definitely a step in the right direction for the safety of everyone in the school:

. . . When the federal government started making schools gun-free zones, that’s when all of these shootings started," Thweatt said. "Why would you put it out there that a group of people can’t defend themselves? That’s like saying 'sic ’em’ to a dog."

Texas law outlaws firearms on school campuses "unless pursuant to the written regulations or written authorization of the institution." . . .

H/T to A Keyboard and a .45

Update 1: Listen to Tom Gresham interview Superintendent David Thweatt in the 2nd half of the 1st hour of Aug 17th.

Update 2: Arizona Senator Karen Johnson comments on this news.

Update 3: Compiled list of Superintendent David Thweatt audio & video interviews.

Update 4: One Year Later.

Obamanomics: Massive Tax Increases Recipe for Recession

We all already know that Obama is a gun grabber, having made statements that he'd like to ban all handguns & semiautomatic guns of all types as well as concealed carry. This is an interesting Wall Street Journal article detailing his plans to massively increase taxes (combined marginal tax rate would go up from the current 44.6% to 62.3%). Talk about kicking us while our economy is down. That's low, even for Obama.

Also, check out this cool Obama bumper sticker: "I'll take your dollars and give you change."

The Urban Patrol Rifle

The Peoria AZ PD purchased 12 Urban Patrol Rifles in 2006 & explained for us why they are a useful tool:

In 2006 the Peoria Police Department added 12 additional Urban Patrol Rifles. These rifles allow officers to operate at extended distances, defeat body armor that suspects wear, and rapidly stop violent subjects that are threatening the lives of others. The Peoria Police Department also conducted two Urban Patrol Rifle certification classes for its officers to support the utilization of these vital tools.

I couldn't agree more. Some of the same exact reasons that I own a mid-powered Self Defense Rifle myself. It is interesting to note that in this context Self Defense Rifles are given the respectable name of Urban Patrol Rifle. It makes you wonder why in the hands of someone like myself who is not a police officer the gun grabbers like to call the same exact mid powered semi automatic rifle with an evil pistol grip an assault weapon. This is how I would change the wording in the Peoria PD annual report to apply the same exact listed reasons for owning a Self Defense Rifle to myself:

I purchased a mid powered Self Defense Rifle. This rifle allows me to more effectively operate at extended distances from criminal threats, defeat body armor that one or more criminals who broke into my home might be wearing, and rapidly stop violent subjects that are threatening the lives of my family . . .

2008 Draft of the Democrat Platform Favors Firearms Bans

It is worth noting that our current Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano chaired the committee that came up with the draft of the 2008 Democrat Platform. Of particular note is the Firearms section of the "Renewing the American Community" Plank on page 48:

Firearms
We recognize that the right to bear arms is an important part of the American tradition, and we will preserve Americans’ continued Second Amendment right to own and use firearms. We believe that the right to own firearms is subject to reasonable regulation, but we know that what works in Chicago may not work in Cheyenne. We can work together to enact and enforce common-sense laws and improvements, like closing the gun show loophole, improving our background check system and reinstating the assault weapons ban, so that guns do not fall into the hands of terrorists or criminals. Acting responsibly and with respect for differing views on this issue, we can both protect the constitutional right to bear arms and keep our communities and our children safe.

They only want to protect the Bill of Rights because of tradition? They believe that Americans have a right to own & use firearms, but not keep & bear them? They are in favor of the unconstitutional Chicago Handgun Ban but are fine with other areas of the US such as Cheyenne not tearing up the Bill of Rights? They want to ban the manufacture & sale of certain types of mid powered semi automatic rifles that are scary looking because they are black & have a pistol grip or an evil looking "shoulder thing that goes up"? They want to ban all Americans from being allowed to engage in the private sale of personally owned property if they happen to be at a gun show to close up the mythical gun show loophole? They actually think Criminals & Terrorists are not already armed or could be disarmed by making it more illegal for them to touch the weapons they're already not allowed to touch?

What a load of horse puky. They might as well say they're in favor of the 1st Amendment, but want to ban all use of free speech on the Internet to keep the Internet out of the hands of terrorists & criminals in the guise of keeping all children safe. Or that they are in favor of protecting the use of sunshine but want to ban all use of sunshine while outdoors in the guise of keeping children safe from sunburn & the possible result of skin cancer. Or that they are in favor of allowing Americans to consume water but want to ban the use of dihydrogen monoxide in all alcoholic drinks to prevent drunk driving accidents.

How about this novel idea. Why don't the Democrats simply advocate the creation of a law that makes it illegal to children with the use of any weapon, regardless of whether it is done using a scary bird gun or an evil baseball bat. That way they could say they are in favor of protecting the 2nd Amendment protected but preexisting right to keep and bear arms while actually meaning what they say.

CCRKBA: Platform Confirms Dems Still Don't Get It About Gun Rights

CCRKBA News Release:

Citizens Committee for the
Right to Keep and Bear Arms
12500 N.E. Tenth Place
Bellevue, WA 98005
PLATFORM CONFIRMS DEMS STILL ‘DON’T GET IT’ ABOUT GUN RIGHTS, SAYS CCRKBA

For Immediate Release: August 12, 2008

BELLEVUE, WA

The 2008 Democratic Party’s draft platform confirms that the party still doesn’t get it about Second Amendment gun rights versus the Utopian fantasy that gun control laws will somehow make neighborhoods safer, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.

While promising to preserve our Second Amendment rights, said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb, the party platform demonizes semiautomatic sport utility rifles and wants them banned, calls for anti-gun show legislation and proposes so-called ‘common-sense’ gun laws. Many Democrats believe bans on most guns are ‘common sense’ and they still support the handgun ban in Barack Obama’s hometown of Chicago. Boiled down, all it really means is that the Democrats are still the party of gun control no matter how they try to re-package the rhetoric, and they know it.

Gottlieb, co-author of a new book called These Dogs Don’t Hunt: The Democrats’ War on Guns, said the party is shamelessly telling American gun owners that they embrace the rights of millions of shooters, hunters and gun collectors, but there’s a caveat.

The party’s gun control platform plank puts the lie to everything they say, he added. As Democrats descend on Denver to nominate a candidate who is on record in opposition to sensible concealed carry laws, we encourage gun owners across the country, and especially in Colorado, to remind the party that the Supreme Court in June held that gun bans are unconstitutional. Yet here they are, calling for a ban on so-called ‘assault weapons’ even after years of experience tells us that Bill Clinton’s ban accomplished nothing, and cost the party control of Congress in 1994.

Democrats want to regulate gun shows out of business, he continued, even after a study done for the Justice Department found that gun shows are rarely the source of firearms used by criminals. Gun shows provide a forum, a gathering place for law-abiding gun owners to discuss ideas and issues, and share constitutionally protected freedoms of speech, assembly and the right to keep and bear arms. Increasingly, Democrats seem averse to the exercise of these rights by anyone who does not share their philosophy. And this is the party of inclusion?

Democrats have an opportunity to reject and repudiate this platform, Gottlieb concluded. If they do not, that tells American gun owners everything they need to know about Democrats as November approaches.

With more than 650,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is one of the nation’s premier gun rights organizations. As a non-profit organization, the Citizens Committee is dedicated to preserving firearms freedoms through active lobbying of elected officials and facilitating grass-roots organization of gun rights activists in local communities throughout the United States. The Citizens Committee can be reached by phone at (425) 454-4911, on the Internet at www.ccrkba.org or by email to InformationRequest@ccrkba.org.

AZ: City of Peoria AZ Police Department Fleecing our Pockets

The City of Peoria AZ Police Department has been unjustly taking money from citizen pockets for YEARS (see details below), but I only recently became aware of it when I became yet another victim of their so-called "false alarm" policy. You see, a burglar broke into my home late at night last November while we were out of town for a week enjoying the Thanksgiving Holiday. Hearing our burglar alarm sound, he or she ran away to find an easier target. The burglar was in such a hurry to get away he or she left our door wide open. My alarm company did the job I pay them to do, and called the City of Peoria AZ Police Department to notify them of the alarm event. The City of Peoria AZ Police Department then did the job I pay them to do (via the taxes I pay) & came out to investigate.

They arrived sometime after the criminal had already safely escaped, found the door wide open, searched for the criminal, found the place vacant, secured the door, left a note saying the door had been found wide open when they arrived but after searching they were not able to find the criminal nor any evidence of wrongdoing other than the wide open door, and left. That should have been the end of the story, but it turned out only to be the first step of the City of Peoria Arizona Citizen Victimization Plan (I made that name up - I presume the plan is named something far less scandalous, perhaps it is called something more pleasant like the City of Peoria Arizona Alarm Reduction Plan).

You see, like any normal governmental organization, the Peoria AZ PD thirsts for additional funds. Normal cities acquire their PD funds through something called taxation. The City of Peoria AZ Police department does receive revenue through taxation, but they also found another way to raise additional funds. I would call it the "lets pillage the pockets of our own citizens who have been targeted by burglars plan". That way burglar victims can be victimized twice, once by the burglar who illegally broke in and subsequently escaped without charges, then by the Police who did their job to investigate & then ASSUMED it was a false alarm even if the door is found wide open (Hello, door found wide open after we've been away for nearly a week should be a CLUE).

That's right ladies & gentlemen, our fine City of Peoria AZ Police Department ASSUMES you are guilty of having a false alarm if it was triggered in ANY way shape or form, unless they actually catch a perpetrator red handed OR you can prove it was not a false alarm. Guilty until you prove yourself innocent, that's the way it's supposed to be isn't it? Or is that only supposed to happen in places like China or Cuba?

I heard the standard Policy right from the horses mouth, Lt. Scrivens, a member of the City of Peoria AZ Chief or Police office who has been delegated the duty of reviewing requests to re-categorize false alarms that can be fined to actual alarms that can't be fined. When I explained the full situation to him he explained why he could not do as I asked & explained the standard policy to me in an e-mail:

. . . The Peoria Police Department responds to thousands of alarm calls each year. Ninety nine (99%) percent of all alarm calls are false alarms. Each alarm activation police receives requires a minimum of a two officer response and sometimes additional officers depending on the size of the building and the individual circumstances . . .

In review of your alarm appeals, there was no annotation of any suspicious or criminal activity associated with the activation. It is department policy to leave a door hanger to notify residents we have responded to their residence on an alarm call annotating if the house was secured, door found unlocked or open, etc. If any potential evidence or witness information at the scene can be developed of the alarm being set off by a criminal act, our policy is to initiate a written report and contact the home owner as soon as possible. This was not the case in your alarm activation so a door hanger was left . . .

When you boil the stated policy down, the policy of the City of Peoria AZ Police Department is that unless all of the following miracles take place simultaneously, they automatically ASSUME all alarms are a false alarm, victimizing burglar victims a second time, first by the criminal, then by the Police Department. This is what is required for us lowly citizens to PROVE we are not guilty of a false alarm event:

1. The criminal that broke in must be seen illegally entering the premises by one or more eye witnesses (unlikely at late hours of the night as in the case of my alarm event).
2. The witness must then ASSUME it was a criminal entering & not the owner or someone authorized by the owner.
3. The witness must then be willing to go to the trouble of notifying Police to file an eye witness report of assumed criminal activity.
4. Someone in the Police Department would then have to link the eye witness report to the alarm event & actually document the found link, after which someone in the PD would have to change the recorded alarm event from the assumed false state to a valid state.
   

It's no wonder our city has a 99% ASSUMED false alarm rate. It's a miracle that all of the above requirements manage to take place in 1% of the alarm events. I took a look at some of the past City of Peoria AZ Police Annual Reports & found that they are making some nice coin off the backs of the citizens they victimize by making the false alarm assumption in their current policy:

2003 & earlier - I failed to locate the annual reports - they may not be online.
2004: 4,700 alarms ASSUMED to be false. Citizens FLEECED to the tune of $59,000.00
2005: 3,700 alarms ASSUMED to be false. Citizens FLEECED to the tune of $69,000.00
2006: Assumed false alarm data not reported - did they forget or could they be hiding it?
2007: I was unable to locate the 2007 annual report - I don't know if I didn't find it or if it has not yet been created & placed online.

It is interesting to note that from 2004 to 2005 the number of alarms assumed to be false decreased by 1000 events, yet the revenue they fleeced from city citizens & businesses increased by $10,000.00. If you live in Peoria AZ, please contact the Peoria PD Community Relations Department at 623-773-7099 & your Peoria Council Member (see district map here) to ask that this unjust policy of guilty until you prove yourself innocent as well as the current policy of letting the Police Police themselves for alarm reviews be corrected. For an extra touch contact the Mayor too. In the very LEAST an open door found at the alarm event scene should be presumed to be a valid alarm until the PD proves otherwise, not the other way around.

I have contacted my City of Peoria AZ Representative, Vice Mayor Carlat to notify her of this unjust situation and all I got was essentially a form letter saying she does empathize with me but the Police Department has already reviewed my case so all is ASSUMED to be well (somehow having the Police Department review its own flawed determination seems less than satisfactory to me, but maybe it's just me):

While Ms. Carlat does empathize with your frustration, a thorough and comprehensive review of your case was performed by the designated representative for the Peoria Police Chief, as authorized by the Peoria City Code.

Is it just me or does that sound like a flawed policy to anyone else? Put the Police Department in charge of reviewing its own flawed determinations. Isn't that just perfect. A government Police agency in charge of Policing itself to make sure it is being fair in the methods it uses to fleece its Citizens to gain the extra revenue it desires. Isn't this just typical, if you want something screwed up, ask the government to do something. If you really want to see something screwed up, ask the government to police itself while doing something.

Being myself completely unsatisfied with Vice Mayor Carlat's response, not to mention the fact that during her tenure she voted in favor of forcing Peoria residents to pay more for sewer & garbage services (my rates have already increased TWICE since) in order to pay for forced curbside recycling which had already been REJECTED when presented to the citizens for a vote, I checked to see who is running against her this year for her spot on the Peoria City Council, and to my pleasant surprise I found that Mark Knight is running against her. I have since met both Mark Knight & his wife when they stopped by to install a yard sign I requested & we discussed politics at length. During my online & in person discussions I found him to be a person of solid conservative values like unto my own (keep government small, don't create unnecessary laws or policies, no increase in taxes, etc). He is also a strong supporter of the Constitution & the Bill of Rights, including the 2nd Amendment.

I have made a donation to the Mark Knight Campaign, and I had his yard sign installed in my front yard next to my bitter gun owner & Jack Harper (AZ Senate District 4) yard signs. My wife & I will be voting for both Mark Knight & Jack Harper this year. If you are a member of AZ Legislative District 4 you might be interested in watching a debate between Senator Jack Harper & his current opponent in the upcoming Republican Primary.

If you like myself happen to live in the Peoria AZ Mesquite District I encourage you to check out Mark's web site to see if you'd be interested in voting for him. He is very responsive to his e-mail so feel free to contact him with any questions you may have.

Couple Forced to Shoot Cougar

A New Castle Colorado couple was walking down a road when they were attacked by a Mountain Lion. Luckily one of them was armed:

. . . a couple was walking on a road about two miles north of New Castle, about 170 miles west of Denver, when a mountain lion emerged from bushes alongside the road. The two told state wildlife officers that they yelled, waved their arms and backed away slowly, trying to scare the mountain lion away without startling it.

But the couple said the mountain lion was down low and kept moving toward them. The man drew a pistol he was carrying and shot the cat. "Our investigation shows the mountain lion was about 6 feet away before the man fired a shot," Colorado Division of Wildlife spokesman Randy Hampton said . . .

"We felt this was a situation, where had they not been armed, we would've been dealing with a very different story today," Hampton said. The cat in Tuesday's incident was a young male and underweight at 60 pounds. Hampton said preliminary results from a necropsy -- the animal equivalent of an autopsy -- show the mountain lion had pneumonia, bronchitis and probably hadn't eaten in several days . . .

NRA Political Victory Fund Endorsements

The NRA Political Victory Fund Endorsements are now ready for a number of States, including Arizona (AZ Primary will take place September 2nd). Go check it out & make sure you vote freedom first!

Airports Don't Have Rights!

Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. stated:

"If airports think (guns) should not be allowed, they should have the right to modify their security plan to reflect that"

No Mr. Thompson you are incorrect. Airports don't have rights. Airports are paid for & operated by we the people and only have the power & authority that we the people grant unto them. They have powers, not rights. The powers that we the people grant to Airport authorities would obviously end at any point where an Airport Authority would attempt to usurp a constitutionally protected but preexisting right to keep & bear arms.

So don't attempt to lecture me about Airport Rights that don't even exist Mr Thompson. Talk to me about the rights of we the people, and start doing the job of upholding the constitution you swore to protect when you accepted your office as a representative of the people!

Call Mr. Thompson's office yourself & let him know what you think about this critical issue: 202-225-5876

More from Sebastian.

Update 1: More from the NRA-ILA. Contact the TSA to let them know what you think about them considering the request to allow airports to ban guns outside of the secure areas.

I Dream of the Day I can Travel Freely While Armed

It wasn't long ago in the grand scheme of things that you could travel anywhere in the US or most of the World for that matter armed without having to be a Police Officer to be allowed to exercise that fundamental right to be prepared to defend yourself from any unknown enemy. Thanks to the efforts of many throughout this wonderful Country I can now travel over the majority of the US while armed so that I can always be prepared to defend myself & my family from predators & beasts that walk on either two legs or four.

Unfortunately, if I travel to some States in the US or to most Countries outside of the US the laws either outright won't allow me to be armed for my own defense, or require a mountain of paperwork & bureaucratic approvals. Many countries like the UK even make it illegal to defend yourself at all - if you defend yourself you could actually be sentenced to more jail time than the perpetrator you defended yourself against. They require you to just be a good victim & call the Police with hopes that you'll still be alive when they arrive.

I know I'm a dreamer, but I dream of the day when the fundamental freedom to defend ones family & oneself has been restored throughout the US & even many areas of the World. My simple wish is that all the world could be as free as an Arizona resident like myself, or better yet as free as an Alaska or Vermont resident where you don't even need to get government permission to exercise the fundamental right to bear arms. Watch this video & imagine yourself being free to dance the funny dance while carrying a concealed weapon in all these places to get the best effect of my dream:

AZ: AZCDL Questionnaires Sent to Candidates

The AZCDL has sent questionnaires to all Arizona Legislature Candidates - be sure to contact the candidates you're interested in supporting and request that they fill it out & send it in:

We recently mailed questionnaires to all State legislature candidates. Results will be posted on our website after they start coming in. We will notify you with a link to the new web-page when it's completed.

AzCDL's questionnaire fit on a postcard and we provided return postage. We asked every candidate to respond "Yes" or "No" to each of the following statements:

* Law-abiding citizens have the right to carry a weapon, with or without a government issued permit, in any place that they have a right to be.
* Trained, law-abiding adult citizens have the right to carry their weapons onto the grounds of schools, colleges and universities in order to be able to protect themselves and others from criminals.
* Law-abiding citizens have the right to carry a weapon into a restaurant with them while they dine, whether or not the establishment happens to serve alcohol for consumption on the premises.
* Article 2, Section 26 of the Arizona Constitution means what it says. Our right to bear arms must not be subject to local laws.
* Law-abiding citizens who are forced to use a weapon in self-defense should be presumed innocent of any wrongdoing unless proven otherwise by the state, and should also be free from any retaliatory civil suits by the criminal or his family/estate.

In our cover letter to all candidates, we told them that they could send us an expanded response, but that anything other than a "Yes" was a "No", and anything perceived as a "Yes but…" will be posted as a "No." Unchecked boxes will also be treated as a "No."

We are updating out website to accommodate the questionnaire results, and to show the legislator voting records from the recent legislative session. We will "Alert" you when we have made the changes and the data is available.

These alerts are a project of the Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL), an all volunteer, non-profit, non-partisan grassroots organization. Join today!

AzCDL – Protecting Your Freedom
http://www.azcdl.org/html/accomplishments.html

Copyright © 2008 Arizona Citizens Defense League, Inc., all rights reserved.

Fight or Flight?

Fox news ran a news piece saying that when faced with a criminal Police recommend you choose flight over fight. To demonstrate their point they ran a story on a Father who went outside (empty handed) to investigate some noises he heard & ended up being by a couple of thugs who ran him over while they were stealing his car. Fox news said that his mistake was going outside. Generally I agree you should stay inside, get your gun, your phone, gather your family behind your defensive position (you should practice this gathering just like you practice fire drills) & call the Police. In this way you truly are able to protect your most valuable possessions, your family members.

Fox said "there is nothing you own that is worth risking your life for." I say, there is nothing in my home worth losing your life over, so if you are a criminal planning to break in, be aware that you will risk being carried out in a body bag. My TV is nice, but not THAT nice, and if you break into my home I'll be protecting my wife & children, not my TV, so don't mess with me!

Update: As a related side note, FBI Statistics show that if you are ever attacked by a criminal you are less likely to be injured if you fight back than if you offer no resistance. Especially if you fight back using a gun. When compared to offering no resistance at all, fighting back with a gun decreases your chances of being or seriously injured from 55% to only 3% in the case of attempted assault, & from 23% to only 7% in the case of attempted robbery.

McDonald v City of Chicago

You can follow the McDonald v. City of Chicago lawsuit to throw out the the City of Chicago Gun Ban as unconstitutional at http://chicagoguncase.com

All American Blogger: The Second Amendment According to Keith Olbermann

Duane Lester responds to Keith Olbermann's assertion that the 2nd Amendment only protects the fundamental & preexisting individual right for we the people to keep and bear the types of arms commonly in use in 1791. If true, why isn't Keith using a quill to spread his 1st amendment protected propaganda rather than the TV media?

NRA ILA Grassroots Alert

This week's NRA-ILA Grassroots Alert

Students for Concealed Carry on Campus National Conference

Today the Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC) held their first National Conference on the topic of getting rid of Gun Free Zones. You can watch the archive Real Player feed from c-span. They did a great job, definitely worth watching.