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Gun Rights

Would New Gun Laws Spark Widespread Civil Disobedience?
Perhaps no other current issue has such potential.

Scratch A Proggie, Find A Tyrant
Seattle Times columnist Danny Westneat’s recent piece on a Washington Senate Bill that would permit the local Sheriffs to enter the homes of assault weapons owners to ensure that their weapons are “properly secured” got some traction this weekend.

Concealed weapons on college campuses
Crimes against disarmed college students are not hypothetical. Amanda Collins, a concealed-weapons permit holder, was unarmed when she was raped by James Biela in a parking garage at the University of Nevada, Reno in 2007.

DHS Supplier Sells Targets of American Gun Owners
Law Enforcement Targets, Inc., a 21 year designer and full service provider of training targets for thousands of law enforcement agencies throughout the country, including the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department, is now providing a line of “No More Hesitation” targets. What is so unusual about these targets? They are of a “pregnant woman threat,” “older man with shotgun,” “older man in home with shotgun,” “older woman with gun,” “young school aged girl,” “young mother on playground,” and “little boy with real gun.”

NRA PAC has best fundraising month since summer
The previous best month in NRA’s PAC fundraising took place in the context of a national election. This new haul took place in the context of a national debate. As gun-control advocates tried to paint the NRA as an extremist group — or worse — their political action committee raised more than $1.1 million, almost double their average

Rape Survivor: A Call Box Above My Head While I Was Being Brutally Raped Wouldn’t Have Helped
Amanda Collins is a young rape survivor. While in college in 2007, she was raped 50 feet away from the campus police department office at the University of Nevada-Reno and was lucky to get out alive. Her attacker was James Biela, a serial rapist who raped two other women and murdered another. He attacked her at gun point in a gun free zone. At the time of the attack, Collins was in possession of a concealed weapons permit but was not in possession of her firearm due to university policies prohibiting carrying concealed weapons on campus. She was also a second degree blackbelt at the time and walked to the parking garage with a large group of people. Today, Collins did an interview with NRA News host Cam Edwards to tell her horrific story. She explained why Colorado Democratic Rep. Joe Salazar’s comments about call boxes and rape whistles being sufficient self defense for women on campus will only result in more uncessary victims.

Colorado Governor Isn’t Sold on Magazine Capacity Limit After Huge Public Fallout
According to coloradopeakpolitics.com, the governor of Colorado, John Hickenlooper is wavering on a proposed magazine capacity limit that is making its way through the Colorado state legislature.

Firearms Companies Restricting Sales To GOVERNMENT Agencies In Areas That Restrict Gun Rights
A growing number of firearm and firearm-related companies have stated they will no longer sell items to states, counties, cities and municipalities that restrict their citizens’ rights to own them.

Mass. Town Politician’s Bizarre ‘Militia’ and Anti-Gun Proposal Yanked After ‘Hundreds’ of Pro-Gun Supporters Turn Out
One of liberals’ favorite arguments for the impermanence of the Second Amendment is the argument that, because the prefatory clause of the amendment discusses “a well-regulated militia,” the right to keep and bear arms is only protected in a militia context (read our debunk of that theory here). Now it appears that at least one local official in a deep blue state tried to put that theory to the test and failed.

Calif. lawmakers seek toughest gun laws in nation
Weeks after New York enacted the nation’s toughest gun laws, California lawmakers said Thursday they want their state to do even more in response to recent mass shootings, particularly the Connecticut school massacre.

7TH CIRCUIT LETS POSNER RULING STAND; HUGE WIN FOR CCW, SAYS SAF
The Second Amendment Foundation today won a significant victory for concealed carry when the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals let stand a December ruling by a three-judge panel of the court that forces Illinois to adopt a concealed carry law, thus affirming that the right to bear arms exists outside the home.

Hide the Decline

Environment &
“Green Energy”

Peer-Reviewed Survey Finds Majority Of Scientists Skeptical Of Global Warming Crisis
It is becoming clear that not only do many scientists dispute the asserted global warming crisis, but these skeptical scientists may indeed form a scientific consensus.

Roger Pielke Jr.: Interesting Timing to be Removed from GEC Editorial Board
Five days ago I critiqued a shoddy paper by Brysse et al. 2013 which appeared in the journal Global Environmental Change. Today I received notice from the GEC editor-in chief and executive editor that I have been asked to “step down from the Editorial Board.” They say that it is to “give other scientists the chance to gain experience of editorial duties.”

British Media Declare All-Out War On Green Energy Lobby

Obamacare

Government in Healthcare

Key Democrats Turn on Obamacare
Powerful Democrats who helped write and pass Obamacare subjected the new law’s chief administrator to withering criticism at a Senate hearing yesterday. Gary Cohen, the director of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, testified before the Senate Finance Committee, and the Democrats on the committee—from its Chairman Max Baucus to Senators Ron Wyden, Bill Nelson, and Maria Cantwell—tore into him.

The Unsung, But Massive Obamacare Sales Tax Increase That Is On the Way
Today, America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) President Karen Ignagni issued a press release in support of bipartisan legislation (H.R. 1370, S.1880) co-sponsored by Rep. Charles Boustany (R-LA) and Jim Matheson (D-UT) to repeal the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) health insurance tax. While much of the dialogue on healthcare reform centers on the federal mandate of health coverage for all Americans – which many conservatives call the largest tax increase in U.S history – less attention is being given to the massive sales tax increase on the purchase of health insurance also implicit within the legislation that will dramatically escalate costs for employers and consumers.

Another Day, Another Crack in Obamacare
Self-insurance is the latest loophole that could implode Obamacare. The news comes courtesy of the New York Times, which was a strong supporter of the measure when it was working its way through Congress but has lately devoted much of its coverage to the law’s numerous problems.

Surprise! Democrat Rep. Eliot Engel Isn’t So Sure About ObamaCare Now
Jason Mattera strikes again! Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) was sooooo sure that ObamaCare would never cost any American their health care coverage.

Why your boss is dumping your wife
Companies are dropping health coverage for spouses to cut costs

Florida doesn’t have enough doctors for Medicaid expansion, lobby group says
TALLAHASSEE Brace yourself for longer lines at the doctor’s office.
Whether you’re employed and insured, elderly and on Medicare, or poor and covered by Medicaid, the Florida Medical Association says there’s a growing shortage of doctors — especially specialists — available to provide you with medical care.

War & Terror

China’s Military Hawks Go On The Offensive
When China’s Lieutenant-General Ren Haiquan took the podium in front of an audience filled with representatives from various Asian militaries in Melbourne, Australia, last month, he attacked “some people” who were threatening to repeat the mistakes of WWII. ”Flames of the war ignited by fascist countries engulfed the whole region, and many places, including Darwin in Australia, were bombed,” he said. In a crazy coincidence, perhaps, fireworks thundered into the sky overhead as he spoke.

Multiple explosions in India; at least 10 dead
Multiple explosions hit the Indian city of Hyderabad, in a “densely populated” area of the city, according to several news reports coming in now. Three explosions appear to be coordinated, and targeted on a bus transport area. If that sounds familiar, a recent execution of a Kashmiri terrorist convicted of taking part in a terrorist attack on India’s parliament may be related to the incident.

National

Cell earnings: Prison inmates collect unemployment
DID YOU KNOW that Philadelphia prison inmates collected unemployment benefits while sitting in their cells?

Mentally ill roundup plan after train pushes
The city is making a major push to sweep the streets of dangerous, mentally ill New Yorkers — and has even compiled a most-wanted list, The Post has learned.

Booker will need to mend fences in time for 2014 Senate campaign
Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s (D-N.J.) decision to retire cleared what was likely the largest obstacle to Newark Mayor Cory Booker’s path to the Democratic nomination for Senate in New Jersey, but Democrats privately warn that Booker will have to mend fences coming out of a turbulent two months.

AP Retracts Rand Paul Story After Reporting the Opposite of What He Actually Said
The Associated Press retracted a story Sunday after wildly misreporting a quote by Senator Rand Paul (R-KY).

Democratic voter fraud cases become ammo for Virginia GOP
Well-publicized instances of attempted voter fraud by high-profile Democrats in Virginia and Maryland have helped Republican lawmakers make a case for tougher voting requirements.

Atty General Holder Argues Parents Have No Right to Educate their Children
The background for this case is the German war on homeschooling that has led some families to seek political asylum in the United States where homeschooling is still legal for now.
While the Obama Administration refuses to expel illegal aliens who have committed felonies and welcomes in immigrants with AIDS, European Christians who don’t like the compulsory indoctrination of their children are not their cup of tea.

Pregnant TX Teen Wins Battle to Prevent Her Parents From Forcing Her to Abort
Over the past week, a Texas teen has made headlines with a lawsuit aimed at preventing her parents from forcing her to have an abortion. Last week, TheBlaze reported that the 16-year-old girl, who is going by the name R.E.K. for the sake of anonymity, was in an epic battle to keep her child. Following days of intense media attention over a fascinating case surrounding teen reproductive rights, she has now settled with her parents, who say that they will allow her to have the child.

Senators in Immigration Talks Mull Federal IDs for All Workers
Key senators are exploring an immigration bill that would force every U.S. worker—citizen or not—to carry a high-tech identity card that could use fingerprints or other personal markers to prove a person’s legal eligibility to work.

Tea Party and Republican groups launch Hispanic outreach
Never let it be said that Tea Party people were not game for a challenge.

Blueprint NC: How A Shadowy Left-Wing Hydra Plans A Targeted Attack On NC Republicans
Confidential memo outlines plan

Liberalism = Depravity + Coercion
The Massachusetts Department of Education has issued new directives regarding “transgender” students. Like the troubled children liberals encourage to wallow in psychosexual dysfunction, the directives are depraved
The guidance also addresses what to do if other students consistently and intentionally refuse to refer to a transgendered student by the name or sex they identify as: ‘‘It should not be tolerated and can be grounds for student discipline.’’

US gov’t to air-drop toxic mice on Guam snakes
To battle a slithery enemy, US to air-drop mice laced with drugs toxic to Guam tree snakes

Irony: Pervert Bob Menendez Co-Sponsoring ‘Comprehensive’ Sex-Education Legislation
He needs to make sure those 16-year-olds are up to the task. Even creepier is the decrepit fossil Frank Lautenberg, who probably last had sex in the 1950s, is one of the authors of this silliness, along with far-left crackpot Barbara Lee.

Mayor Emanuel’s Approval Rating In The Tank
The Washington Post has a blog post entitled “President Rahm? Maybe.” It cites Emanuel’s fundraising ability, knowledge of the political process, discipline and media contacts as reasons he could succeed his fellow Chicagoan, Barack Obama.

Top Cuomo Aide Delivers Public Rebuke of State Worker Who Talked to the Press
Mike Fayette broke the rules. An engineer at the New York State Transportation Department, he gave an interview to a reporter from The Adirondack Daily Enterprise.

59% Think Most School Textbooks Put Political Correctness Ahead of Accuracy
Voters continue to believe that political correctness trumps accuracy in most school textbooks. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 16% of Likely U.S. Voters think most school textbooks are more concerned about accurately providing information.

The case of the phantom ballots: an electoral whodunit
About 2,000 rejected absentee ballots at Miami-Dade Elections Department, mostly for lack of signatures or review of signatures from the last election.

Economy
& Taxes

Do tax increases kill jobs? Minn. soon to find out
Dik Bolger is a lifelong Minnesota Democrat, a gray-bearded baby boomer with a braid down his back whose Minneapolis printing company’s plant displays work by local artists and sculptors. He backed Mark Dayton for governor, but his take on the Democratic chief executive’s plan for new business taxes could be the voice-over for a Republican campaign commercial.

Nevada’s tax burden is higher than you think
Authorities take more than $30k per household every two years

License to Work: Nevada
Nevada is among the top tier of most broadly and onerously licensed states, ranking fourth. The state requires a license for 55 of the 102 occupations studied, more than all but five other states. Nevada is the most expensive state in which to work in a licensed lower- and moderate-income occupation, with average fees of $505. It also requires an average of 601 days of education and experience and two exams, resulting in the third most burdensome licensing laws.

US tyre boss mocks ‘crazy’ French unions
French employees at Goodyear’s loss-making plant in Amiens “only work three hours” a day and are represented by “crazy” unions, the head of US tyre manufacturer Titan said on Wednesday after France approached the firm to discuss a possible takeover.

The Sequester in Proportion
Sequestration is certainly not a smart way to manage federal spending. Some programs are more important than others, some programs are better able to sustain spending reductions than others, and any cuts should be prioritized accordingly. The sequester doesn’t do that. It was proposed by the White House and accepted by Congress precisely to avoid a debate about specific prioritization and just pass the debt ceiling deal in 2011. They hoped the “supercommittee” might agree on some kind of prioritization (and perhaps especially on entitlement reforms that could add up over time). But that didn’t happen, and here we are. This was the only way the parties could agree on to implement modest cuts.

Over 100 B’klyn bus matrons fired after returning to work following school bus strike
Over 100 Brooklyn bus matrons who came back to work this morning after their union ended its month-long school bus strike were abruptly terminated — after being told their company had folded.

Detroit and How Democracies Die
Detroit Is Amerika’s Ghost of Christmas Future.

The $995 billion Sequester Cut Is Actually a $110 Billion Spending Increase
Don’t worry big government folks. We won’t be entering into anything that looks like a period fiscal restraint even if sequestration actually happens

The Feds Want Your Retirement Accounts
Quietly, behind the scenes, the groundwork is being laid for federal government confiscation of tax-deferred retirement accounts such as IRAs. Slowly, the cat is being let out of the bag.

Union That Bankrupted Hostess to Receive Generous Government Subsidies
The union whose strike led to the bankruptcy of Hostess last year has just been awarded government benefits from a program few qualify for.

International

Muslim preacher urges followers to claim ‘Jihad Seeker’s Allowance’
A Muslim preacher is secretly filmed urging followers to take benefits from the state to fund a holy war.

Russian Meteor Sheds Light on Russia-China Tensions
By now, everyone has seen the meteor that spread a shockwave over Russia last week, and watched the footage of bright lights and blown-out windows. But while the physical impact of the blast is well understood, the the light from the meteor explosion over Chelyabinsk also illuminated some realities in international politics.

Tunisia’s new premier promises inclusive government
Tunisia’s prime minister-designate Ali Larayedh, a hardliner from the main Islamist Ennahda party, said on Friday he hoped to form a “government of all Tunisians”, but opposition leaders swiftly signaled discontent.

Zambia seizes control of Chinese-owned mine amid safety fears
The Zambian government has taken over the running of a Chinese-owned coal mine after revoking its licence because of safety lapses.

Papal resignation linked to inquiry into ‘Vatican gay officials’, says paper
Pope’s staff decline to confirm or deny La Repubblica claims linking ‘Vatileaks’ affair and discovery of ‘blackmailed gay clergy’

Aaron, 9, ‘bullied to death for being white’
Family blames Asian yobs for suicide
THE devastated family of a nine-year-old boy who hanged himself say he took his life after racist taunts by Asian bullies.

Opinion

About Paul Ehrlich and ‘The Most Spectacularly Wrong Book Ever Written’

The Disenfranchisement of Rural America
Small-town Americans are losing the right to govern themselves and their own communities.

Brave New World
The Revolutions We Missed

On William F. Buckley, Jr.’s guiding principles

The Devil Made Them Do It
Senate Democrats try to dodge responsibility for ObamaCare.

Where Have All the Babies Gone?
More and more Americans are childless by choice. But what makes sense for the individual may spell disaster for the country as a whole.

Noble savages revisited
At my number one daughter’s primary school in the 1990’s, study of the Yanamamo bushmen permeated the curriculum. By the time my daughter moved on from the school to seventh grade, I believe she “knew” (I think much of what she was taught isn’t true) more about the Yanamamo than she did about American history.

Why LOLcats Matter in Politics
Professor Bill Jacobson at Legal Insurrection had a must read post this weekend that I felt compelled to draw to everyone’s attention. It brilliantly lays out a great example of how memes and internet culture pervade politics, especially when done intentionally and strategically. This is a point in a larger picture that I myself have been trying to stress to activists in the movement – it’s all about the culture.

The Abnormal “Normative”
One of the more interesting exchanges I had with a faculty member in Boulder last week came over my offhand remark during questioning that I, and most conservative academics I know, tend never to use the term so common to academia in the social sciences: “normative.”

California’s Hollow “Comeback”
After all, it’s not the highly paid Bay Area tech geeks we were worried about—Silicon Valley is already rich and dynamic enough to survive California’s state’s crushing taxes and regulations. Hollywood will probably be fine as well. But these two industries only employ a small portion of California’s 38 million people, and the picture begins to look much worse the farther you travel from San Francisco or L.A.

Gilded Class Warriors
Liberal grandees attack the rich while enjoying their lifestyle.