Free North Carolina… Perfect Posted: 11 Apr 2013 07:21 PM PDT Via Ninety Miles From Liberty

We still don’t have an amnesty bill to examine — maybe today, maybe next week, like a contractor telling you when he’ll be done remodeling the bathroom. But based on Katrina Trinko’s post over at National Review Online and the New York Times story, a few thoughts:

Amnesty comes first, enforcement promises second. Everyone should know this by now, but I spoke with a reporter yesterday who had been fooled, which did little to raise the MSM in my estimation. So, just as a refresher from Chuck Schumer:

“First, people will be legalized . . . then we will make sure the border is secure.”

The border-security “triggers” that would move the amnestied aliens from green-card-lite to normal green cards are phony. As the Times put it: “the bill does not impose any specific measurements of border enforcement results that, if they were not met, would stop the immigrants from proceeding toward citizenship.”

Here’s some more from the Times, highlighting how the triggers are nothing but fig leaves to dupe gullible Republicans (apparently including Rubio):

The senators’ compromise allows Republican lawmakers, including Senators John McCain of Arizona and Marco Rubio of Florida, to say that they achieved border enforcement advances in the bill as a condition before any illegal immigrants can apply for permanent-resident green cards, the first step toward citizenship.

But it also allows Democrats to describe the border measures as goals that can be achieved with the resources provided, so they will not become roadblocks that could stop the immigrants from reaching the final stage of citizenship.

This bit from Katrina’s post is especially rich:

DHS will be given six months to come up with a plan to accomplish this [apprehension of 90% of border infiltrators], and then must issue a notice of commencement that they have begun to implement the enforcement policies. When five years have passed, DHS must be meeting these goals; if not, a commission will then devise additional policies that DHS will have to implement.

The conflict between law enforcement and armed military personnel in the community around Fort Hood, one of America’s largest military bases, has recently and repeatedly involved the issue of gun control — and the tension has been exacerbated in part by an Obama-supporting prosecutor described as a “bandleader” of anti-gun efforts in the heavily conservative community.

The conflict reached a fever pitch last month, when Texas police arrested an active-duty Army sergeant for “rudely displaying” a hunting rifle. The sergeant, C.J. Grisham, established an online legal defense fund after he was, in his words, “illegally arrested and disarmed” for carrying the firearm.

“While out hiking with my son through backcountry roads to help him earn his Eagle Scout rank, I was illegally arrested and disarmed without cause. I was thrown in jail and my lawfully owned weapons were confiscated without receipt or notice,” Grisham wrote on the website for the defense fund.

The Gun Owners of America is planning a campaign to boot Sen. Pat Toomey out of office, charging the Pennsylvania lawmaker betrayed his conservative base by supporting expanded background checks.

“We have exactly 3½ years to do this and we’re going to take it very seriously. We’re going to try to hold him accountable,’’ Larry Pratt, executive director of the advocacy group, told Newsmax TV’s “The Steve Malzberg Show.’’

Following the announcement of a compromise deal on background checks by Senators Pat Toomey and Joe Manchin that it calls “misguided,” the National Rifle Association sent a letter yesterday to members of the Senate disapproving the move, and stating such actions will affect the way it scores candidate grades.

“S. 649, the ‘Safe Communities, Safe Schools Act of 2013’ … would criminalize the private transfer of firearms by honest citizens, requiring friends, neighbors and many family members to get government permission to exercise a fundamental right or face prosecution,” Institute for Legislative Action Executive Director Chris Cox wrote. “The NRA is unequivocally opposed to S. 649.

Plymouth created an all-time legendary muscle car in 1970 in the almighty Hemi ‘Cuda. Only 652 hard tops and 14 convertibles were built, making them exceptionally rare today. Today the rarest of Hemi Cudas are ones that remain unrestored and original, a phrase that perfectly describes this amazing one-owner, genuine R-code coupe.

Offered for sale by the original owner for the very first time, it was bought new in Kentucky after the owner returned from military service. After starting a family, he moved the car to his mother’s garage across town in favor of more family-oriented transportation; it has been kept there away from the elements for 43 years, during which time it has been driven a grand total of just 16,770 miles.

The power train is the stuff of automotive lore: the venerated 426/425 HP Hemi engine with high-duration hydraulic-lifter cam, 10.28:1 compression ratio, forged rotating assembly and dual inline Carter 4-barrel carburetors, in this case topped with the optional Shaker Hood Fresh Air Package and backed by an A727 Torqueflite automatic transmission and a 4.11 rear end.

Exterior options include hood pins, chromed outside racing mirrors. The Rallye Road wheels and White-letter Goodyear Polyglas GT tires are correct new replacement items along with new factory shocks, brakes and ignition wires. Finished in the original Jamaica Blue paint with Gold body side pinstriping and Blue vinyl body side trim, the car retains its original Black interior with vinyl bucket seats, center console with Slap Stik shifter, Rallye gauges and AM/FM sound. This original, unrestored low-mileage 1970 Hemi Cuda is truly an amazing find that will instantly elevate the status of any collection.

 - Unrestored 1970 R-Code Hemi Cuda
- One owner car with 16,771 original miles
- Original 426 CI Hemi engine
- 7A27 automatic transmission
- 4.11 gear rear end
- Original Jamaica Blue paint
- Original interior
- Garage kept for 43 years
- New tires and wheels in 2006
- Engine repaired in 1986
- New factory shocks, brake system and ignition wire
- Touch up paint in engine compartment to prevent rust
- Car includes the following parts not installed: complete factory exhaust system, original factory fan blade, dual point factory distributor

An Oregon man says his teenage daughters saved his life last weekend after they somehow lifted a 3,000-pound tractor off him after his boot slipped off the tractor’s clutch and flipped.

Jeff Smith, who was tending his yard at the time, was pinned to the ground by the steering wheel. He could not breathe. He told The Democrat Herald, “I was losing more and more breath every time I screamed.

He grew more and more desperate. Smith said he pleaded to God with whatever air he still had left.
His two daughters, Hannah and Haylee, 16 and 14 respectively, had just come home from school in the town of Lebanon, which is northwest of Eugene. They were out walking the family’s dog when they heard the cries. The teens ran to their father’s side.

The teens say they called 911, but decided they couldn’t wait for emergency crews. They each grabbed a side of the tractor and started lifting. They made headway around the seventh try.

So, about that “we’ll never come take your guns thing.” From The Blaze:

On April 1st, a legal gun owner in upstate New York reportedly received an official notice from the state ordering him to surrender any and all weapons to his local police department. The note said that the person’s permit to own a gun in New York was being suspended as well. The gun owner contacted attorney Jim Tresmond (a specialist in gun laws in New York) and the two visited the local police precinct.

Mr. Tresmond reportedly went into the precinct and informed the officers that his client, waiting in the parking lot, was coming in to voluntarily surrender his weapons as requested. The local police were aware of the letter because they had already been contacted by the State Police. Apparently, if people do not respond to the initial mailing, local law enforcement is authorized to visit the gun owner at their home and demand the surrender of the firearms. In this case, the gun owner followed the request as written. The guns and permits were handed over and a receipt given to the client.

After the guns were turned over, a request for a local hearing was filed and the gun owner is expecting to have his Second Amendment rights restored. But there is more to this story.

In our conversation with lawyer Jim Tresmond, we learned that this client, who has never had a problem with the law — no criminal record and or violent incidents on record — did have a temporary, short term health issue that required medication. But how were his client’s private medical information accessed by the government? This appears to be a violation of HIPAA and Health Information Privacy policies at HHS.gov. If it is declared a violation, this becomes a civil rights issue.

 In Medieval Europe, Several Countries Banned crossbows and arbalests for Civilian use. The reason was transparent: protecting the monopoly of armored knights and soldiers on effective violence. 

Crossbows were far easier to learn than longbows and quite effective against armor at close to medium range. In our days, crossbows are still banned in quite a few places.

American government hasn’t banned the modern equivalent of the crossbow, the rifle, yet. But they did quietly ban bullets that are relatively effective against armor last year. Used primarily for dangerous game hunting, lathed brass bullets are no longer legal for civilian ownership. Even the hollow point bullets designed for controlled expansion such as shown above are considered AP based on the alloy used.

This Monday is the cut-off for NRA voting on members of the board. If you are eligible to vote, you got a ballot in your March magazine from the NRA. This could be First Freedom, American Rifleman or American Hunter. From what I gather, you have to be a consecutive NRA member for five years, or a Life Member, to vote for the board. There are some famous people on the board, and not just Ted Nugent. The NRA Board includes Tom Selleck, Richard Childress, Oliver North, Karl Malone, and Lee Ermy, “Gunny,” as well as a lot of judges and former Congress members.

Some people on the board may represent your interests, but surprisingly others may not. For instance, if you watch this video of NRA Board Member Joaquin Jackson, around 1:14 he says he is against civilians owning guns that hold more than five rounds. A retired Texas Ranger, Mr. Jackson is so detached from American gun owners he should be voted out as soon as possible. Even though everyone at NRA is a Life or Endowment member of the NRA, we are certainly not getting into NRA politics here, but especially if you are familiar with some of the members on your ballot, send it in TODAY, Friday, so it gets there by Monday.

Brief profiles of the current NRA Board Members can be found at:

http://nra.org/board/

 Tom King, a current NRA board member who is up for re-election, gave us the heads up about the Monday deadline for NRA voting. We can’t officially endorse him, but he seems like a passionate 2nd Amendment supporter in touch with the values of today’s NRA members.
 
We were asked to send this reminder by a current NRA board member Tom King, who is up for re-election. He is one of the non-celebrity, non-industry-executive board members, but you may have seen him as a talking head on Fox & Friends, Lou Dobbs, the Lehrer Report, and a lot of local and regional newscasts, as well as a bunch of the NRA video stuff. Tom is the president of the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association and is the only board member from New York, one of the states that was hit early with devastating legislation from the anti-gunners. This is a message from Tom about the board election. If you haven’t sent in your ballot, LAST CALL.

April 11, 2013

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

During the course of the past year membership in the NRA has grown tremendously due to the changing political situation and the re election of the President. As an NRA Board Member it is gratifying to see the gun owners of the United States choosing the NRA as their organization to defend the 2 nd Amendment but with membership comes responsibility. 

The NRA is a member driven Association that is managed through the elected board of Directors. In the March issue of your magazine you should have received a ballot for the 2013 election of members to the NRA Board. It is your responsibility to vote for the Board members of your choice and you have two days left to accomplish that task. If you haven’t already submitted your ballot please mail it today or Friday at the latest so your voice is heard. 

Thank you, 

Tom King
NRA Board Member and a 2013 candidate for re election to the Board of Directors.

GunsAmerica
Where America Buys and Sells Guns.
http://www.gunsamerica.com

The Technology Behind this carbine is 1860s. The design is 1870s. This one is in .44 Mag, but they are also available in .45 Colt – again, 1870s technology that can work even with black powder and cast lead bullets. As we have seen with the recent drive to make more and more people outright ineligible for legal gun ownership, the anti freedom forces have dropped the pretense of being concerned with modern weapons alone.
 
States like New Jersey regulate air guns as firearms without as much as an exemption for very low power models. Anything not under their direct control that can throw an aimed projectile is anathema to them. Air guns and .22 s are useful for training and, in a pinch, they are better than nothing for defense.

“Gun Owners of America [has] been pressing lawmakers who may have wavered on this emotional issue of background checks.” – CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, April 10, 2013

We’ve been fighting these gun control battles for almost 40 years now. And we almost always win. But it’s almost always a nail-biter.

And so it is on Obama’s gun control agenda.

We’d hoped that we could stop the gun control bribe-o-thon early (and risk-free) by blocking the motion to proceed to the package. But thanks to sell-outs like Pennsylvania’s one-term senator, Pat Toomey, we’re going to have to take a different battle position and defeat the package at a later stage.
The Senate today overcame the Paul-Cruz-Lee filibuster and voted to move to proceed to Harry Reid’s gun control bill (S. 649). Where Reid needed 60 votes, the tally was 68-31. Click here to see if your Senator sold you out by voting to “move to proceed” to the bill.

Republican defectors who voted anti-gun were: Alexander (TN), Ayotte (NH), Burr (NC), (Traitor) Chambliss (GA), Collins (ME), Corker (TN), Coburn (OK), Flake (AZ), Isakson (GA), McCain (AZ), Heller (NV), Hoeven (ND), Kirk (IL), Graham (SC), Toomey (PA) and Wicker (MS).

So, here’s where we are. Right after the Senate proceeded to the gun control bill, Harry Reid used his privileged recognition to put a bunch of amendments in place. In Senate parlance, they are referred to as an “amendment tree;” and they contain the universal registry bill, the Feinstein gun ban, and the magazine ban. These will be voted on in upcoming days.

As for the Toomey-Manchin-Schumer universal registry bill, don’t believe the press’ efforts to sugar-coat it. If you have ever had an “Internet … posting” on (or related to) your gun, you can sell it only by going to a dealer and filling out a 4473 and getting the government’s approval. Only a cave man would be exempt.

And once you have a 4473? Well, the ATF is going from dealer to dealer, copying the information on these forms, and feeding it into a database. But, says Toomey, he’s against universal registries. This is where it would have helped if Toomey had consulted someone who knew something about guns.

Registration and violation of privacy.

First of all, Toomey’s anti-registry language prohibits photocopying the 4473′s, but it doesn’t prohibit going into the FFL with a laptop and copying all the information. Second, ATF takes the position that the data it’s accumulating in a database is not a “registry,” so Toomey’s ban does no good. Third, guess what the sanction is for violation of Toomey’s anti-registry language? Answer: Eric Holder has to choose to prosecute himself and his own department.

But this isn’t the only bad thing about Toomey-Manchin-Schumer.

Section 107 of the sell-out also waives any federal privacy prohibitions under HIPAA to sending the names of Americans with PTSD, ADHD, and post partem depression to the gun ban database. But that’s not all.

Believe in Jesus, hand in your guns?

Because private shrinks will be able to add patients names into a federal database of the mentally ill – without due process – you will be at their mercy.

As Red State editor, Erick Erickson says, “Activist mental health providers will probably be overly aggressive in adding people to the list. Give it five years in liberal areas and people who believe in the physical resurrection of Christ will probably get automatic entry onto the list.”

And as for veterans? Toomey-Manchin-Schumer reinforces the proposition that bureaucrats in the Department of Veterans Affairs can take away veterans’ rights without any due process. If a veteran has $30,000 to spend getting back the rights Toomey-Manchin-Schumer wrongly took from him, the sell-out creates yet another redundant money-trap for restoration of rights that shouldn’t have been taken away in the first place.

Repealing gun owner protections.

What if you want to travel across the country? McClure-Volkmer allowed you to do that with an unloaded gun in the trunk (18 U.S.C. 926A). But, under the Toomey-Manchin-Schumer sell-out, unless you can “demonstrate,” to the satisfaction of the New York police (1) where you came from, (2) where you’re going, (3) that you’re legally entitled to possess the gun in the place you can from, and (4) that you’re legally entitled to possess the gun in the place you’re going, they will arrest you in New York.

The Toomey-Manchin-Schumer sell-out creates a Biden-like commission to insure that the cries for gun control continue.

Like sprinkles on a pile of dung, Toomey and Schumer steal some of the proposals we drafted and try to use them to get us to buy onto gun control. But it won’t work.

The gun movement is united against this disgusting pile of gun control.

Here is the new battlefield. Because of the Senate rules, many of the upcoming gun control votes will need 60 (out of 100 votes) to move forward. That will almost certainly be the case with the Toomey-Manchin-Schumer proposal. And because the entire Second amendment movement – GOA, NRA, etc. – is against the Toomey language, it virtually ensures his amendment will fail.

And if Toomey-Manchin-Schumer doesn’t pass, then Reid probably won’t have enough votes to overcome a second filibuster on the bill – as it would contain the original anti-gun language sponsored by Reid and Schumer. This all but guarantees that the legislation would die, as Republicans and a half-a-dozen Democrat Senators would then team up to keep the bill from getting the required 60 votes.

One last question or thought: Did we waste our time supporting the Paul-Cruz-Lee filibuster and fighting the motion to proceed? No, because we forced Obama to fire most of his ammunition, as he dragged his human props around Washington in an effort to exploit them for political gain.
If Obama had been able to wait to play this card until Toomey-Manchin-Schumer came up for a vote, that vote would be a lot harder for us to win.

But Obama has already played this card for his “they deserve a vote” theme. Okay, they’re getting their vote. But by the time we reach the vote on cloture on Toomey-Manchin-Schumer, Obama’s exploitation of the victims of Newtown will begin to be realized for the cynical exploitative political ploy that it is. And he will be less able to shift gears and use the victims for the theme “They deserve a ‘yes’ vote.”

ACTION: So contact your Senators. Tell them to vote against cloture on the Toomey-Manchin-Schumer sell-out.

Click here to send your Senators a prewritten email message.

Three members of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights have sent a letter to the Congressional Black Caucus urging them to oppose amnesty. In their letter, the Commissioners ask if there are currently enough jobs in the country for minorities and they say no.

“The obvious question is whether there are sufficient jobs in the low-skilled labor market for both African-Americans and illegal immigrants,”  USCCR members Peter Kirsanow, Abigail Thernstrom, and Gail Heriot wrote. “The answer is no.”

The Congressional Black Caucus has come out in favor of an amnesty for illegal aliens, and the president of the NAACP Benjamin Todd Jealous was the keynote speaker at yesterday’s pro-amnesty rally in Washington, D.C.

But the Commissioners referred to a 2008 hearing where witnesses testified that illegal immigration harms Black Americans.

“The briefing witnesses, well-regarded scholars from leading universities and independent groups, were ideologically diverse,” they wrote. “All the witnesses acknowledged that illegal immigration has a negative impact on black employment, both in terms of employment opportunities and wages.”

The heads of the House Judiciary Committee are threatening to subpoena the Obama administration for access to its legal justification for killing suspected terrorists who are U.S. citizens

In a letter to President Obama on Wednesday, committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and ranking member John Conyers (D-Mich.) demanded that plans to view the documents be finalized by Thursday evening or they will issue a subpoena.

The move comes more than two months since the panel first requested access to the detailed Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) memos, which lay out the administration’s legal support for targeting U.S. citizens who are suspected of being terrorists, pose an “imminent threat” to U.S. national security and for whom capture is not an option.

“If arrangements for our review of these materials are not finalized by COB tomorrow (Thursday, April 11, 2013), the committee will have no choice but to move forward with issuance of subpoenas for the documents,” wrote Goodlatte and Conyers.

Oceanside Pier.  The same guy who pulled “an ounce of gold coin for anybody who could guess the value of it plus or minus 25%.” Nobody won.:)

In a vapid and disappointing Wall Street Journal op-ed, the editors assert that Constitutional conservatives in the Senate are facing a political backlash by threatening a filibuster on gun control.

…a faction of Republicans [including] Mike Lee of Utah and Ted Cruz of Texas … late last month said they’ll use the filibuster to prevent the Reid bill from coming to the floor. On Tuesday Minority Leader Mitch McConnell endorsed the gambit, and the Heritage Action for America PAC says it plans to “score” the filibuster as a key vote for election purposes.

In an instant, these GOP wizards have taken the onus off Senate Democrats and made Republicans the media’s gun-control focus.

The Journal is — as usual — either over-thinking the issue or simply parroting the Boehner-Rove-McCain establishment line. You make the call.

Where are their principles?

Hey, schmucks: the Constitution and Bill of Rights aren’t up for debate. Legislation developed in secret, without a deliberative process, left us with Obamacare — a disaster in every sense of the word. And that is precisely what is occurring with the Senate’s “gun control” bill.

No more “Gangs of Eight”. No more secret deals between the AFL-CIO and the Chamber of Commerce that are hidden from the American people.

The Constitution and the Bill of Rights aren’t up for election every two years with these temporary hack politicians.

Is it a winning formula to parrot losers like Reince Preibus, John McCain and John Boehner? These numb-skulls have spent more time, money and energy waging war on the Republican base than on the Marxist Left. This country is crumbling, economically and morally, and the Journal is cheering on the guys who cower in the interest of “moderation”.

There is no moderation when it comes to our nation’s highest law. There is either fidelity to it — or infidelity.

At the Journal’s site, commenter George Wickham nails it when some Leftist tool named “Derrek Saber” (heh) quotes Obama: