Snowflakes in Hell

I’m hoping this means we can finally start having a serious discussion about violence in Philadelphia.  It’s long overdue.

Hat Tip to Dave Hardy

Tam points out that half of our Heller dissenters were put on the bench by Republicans.  By any measure, shifting the federal courts more toward the center has actually been one of the Republican party’s most stellar achievement, and even here, the best we can really say is “Well, Republicans tend to get it right about half the time.”  Really, the federal judiciary should be owned by conservatives right now, but it isn’t.  Yet moving the court rightward has been an accomplishment.

Republicans: even doing our best work, we’re still pretty damned incompetent.

Ilya Somin has a sobering post comparing gun rights to property rights:

With very few exceptions, the effort to strengthen protection for property rights was categorically opposed by the Court’s liberal justices. Any property rights case that got to the Court almost starts with four guaranteed votes in favor of the government. This has two important effects.

First, any division in the ranks of the conservative justices is likely to be fatal for property rights in the case at issue. For example, Justice Anthony Kennedy voted with the liberal justices in Kelo and several other important property rights cases, leading to important setbacks for property supporters.

This is why we must vote McCain to keep Obama out of the oval office.  McCain is far from perfect, but neither were the two Bush’s, which we would be facing a loss on Heller had it not been for electing them.

As with property rights, the ideological division on the Court also leaves any gains vulnerable to future reversal in the event that a Democratic president is elected. The liberal justices’ opposition to gun rights is also shared by the vast majority of liberal judges on the lower courts. If Obama (or any other Democrat) becomes president, they will likely appoint justices who share these views. Even if Obama does not make this issue a major priority in his nomination decisions, the fact that he will want to nominate justices who are liberal on other constitutional issues will ensure a strong likelihood that they would also embrace the dominant liberal position on this issue. This happened in the case property rights as well. Opposition to property rights was probably not a major factor in Clinton’s choice of Ginsburg and Breyer. Indeed, Clinton was among those who later vehemently denounced the Kelo decision. Nonetheless, these two justices turned out be property rights opponents (even in Kelo) precisely because Clinton did make a priority of appointing judges who are generally liberal, and such judges are likely to be anti-property rights.

Seriously, McCain sucks, except for the alternative.  Let’s not get complacent here, or this day will be all for naught.

He says that law evolves, but he also says:

“What we’re seeing on the streets of Philadelphia is not self-defense. It is sensless violence and slaughter.”

Nutter says it’s not lawful ownership but illegal activity that is the source of the gun violence in the city.

Really?  Because my friend might have a different view on this one.  Sorry Mayor, just because your lapdogs in the media aren’t reporting cases of self-defense against the criminals whom you have allowed to run amok, doesn’t mean they aren’t happening.

… over at the ACLU.  You’d imagine that one of the most prominent decisions regarding the Bill of Rights in years would at least be deserving of a mention.

UPDATE: Looks like they did release something, but it’s not prominent.

Why can’t we run this guy, instead of McCain?   Seriously.  And he’s NRA “A” rated too.

The delivery is top notch, I think.

Apparently Americans for Prosperity was planning to take their “Hit Air Balloon Tour” right over Al Gore’s house in honor of his ever growing energy consumption.   Seems they had the permits all lined up, and out of nowhere, the permits got revoked:

Sure enough, just a few hours before our event was scheduled to kick off, the Nashville Parks and Recreation Department has been in touch, claiming that the permit they approved doesn’t allow us to launch our balloon from the city park where we’re holding our event — even though we told them repeatedly exactly what we planned to do.

Roy Wilson, the director of the Board of Parks and Recreation, has even reportedly told one of our staffers on the ground that Nashville police officers will be on hand and will physically restrain members of our crew if they attempt to launch the balloon.

And if that weren’t enough:

UPDATE 3:00 pm Eastern time: Roy Wilson at the Nashville Parks Department must not have liked our earlier post, since he just completely revoked our permit — even though his department’s own rules state that he can’t do that unless we break a law or one of the department’s rules, which we haven’t done and have no intention of doing.  Then he hung up on our legal counsel.

In the meantime, good news to report — we’ve secured a private location for this afternoon’s event.  We’ll be in a field at the corner of Sneed and Vaughn Roads — just about a mile and a half from the original event location.

You’d almost thing that someone didn’t want to deal with being publically embarassed.  After all, he’s Al Gore.  He’s hunting down and trying to kill manbearpig.  Who are we little people to queston the great one?

According to the Times-Leader, the public range at State Game Lands 91 will be rebuilt and reopened in October.  My county’s range was closed in 2005 as well, and I do hope it can reopen at some point.  The closure of that range was my primary impitus for joining a club.  Even if they reopen the range, I probably won’t shoot there much, but public ranges are important for hunters, casual shooters, and new shooters.

Looks like PGC is going all out on this one, with a covered firing line, baffles, an improved back stop, and a management program to prevent lead contamination.

Pennsylvania’s gun laws are useless, because Philadelphia isn’t enforcing them, again.  So why are they not only barking loudly for more, but if they aren’t going to enforce the laws we have now, why are they even on the books?

Michael Bane has a visual example of guns Obama wants to ban.

Not how I want my national security advisor starting a sentence.

Philly has long been held hostage by trade unions.  If Nutter manages to break them, he’ll be doing the City a tremedous service on the way to turning it around.  Just to give you an idea how this city works:

A few days earlier, a couple of blocks away, the same electricians union had been outbid for a job repairing a bit of wiring at the Five Guys burger joint. The electricians are headed by John Dougherty, one of the city’s most vocal and visible union leaders, who has a reputation for rough tactics when it comes to union business. The union — Local 98 — sent picketers who insinuated that the restaurant was unclean due to a vermin infestation.

The unions in Philadelphia are no better than a criminal shakedown racket, and they are in desperate need of having their power smashed.  If Nutter can accomplish that, it’ll make up for some of his bungling stupidity in other areas.  This, no doubt, also has to do with Philadelphia voters kicking John Dougherty to the curb.

Having grown up in an area with a lot of union households, I can say based on my antecdotal evidence, this is more than just political correctness:

The “problematic” piece of legislation stemmed from a push by City Council for more racial balance in the trade unions, following a series of stunning revelations in previous weeks.

I had one of my friends who was in a trade union explain to me that “there’s no way we’d accept more n*****s into the apprenticeship when it’s getting harder for white people to find work.”  Another said “if you hire scab labor, it’s just a bunch of lazy mexicans who will do faulty work.”  When I used to work in a union shop part time in high school, it was our company’s unstated policy that no blacks would be hired, and I was looked at as if I had some kind of disease when I suggested this practice might be, I don’t know, morally and lawfully wrong.  The common belief was “They’ll steal our product, and sell it to all to their ‘home boys.’”

Now, I’m not saying that all union members are racist, but in my experience growing up and working for a bit in that kind of environment, the attitude is pretty prevalent, and it’s difficult for me to believe that doesn’t make its way into decisions about who and who doesn’t get let into the apprenticeships.

It’s been almost two decades since I worked in a union shop, so maybe things have changed since then, but I think they’ve largely kept African Americans and other minorities out of the skilled trades, and the skilled trades are a way out of the poverty trap.  As libertarians, we can’t go around demanding and end to government handouts and affermative action, and let remain in place the system, such as the one that exists in Philadelphia, that allow unions to hold the city hostage, and deny a fair shot to people outside that system to get ahead.  It’s high time that was ended, and it’ll be an important component of any turnaround the city might have.

UPDATE: This is what used to happen when you stand up to union thugs in Philadelphia:

Altemose installed a mile-long chain-link fence around his work site, and proceeded without the unions. He started carrying a pistol, which he practiced shooting while wearing his coat and tie.

He and his workers received threats — such as acid in their kids’ faces — if the work continued. Altemose installed a device on his car so he could start it by remote control each morning in his driveway.

In June, a thousand union men showed up in Valley Forge, wearing hard hats. They trampled over the chain-link fence and began what the state Supreme Court later called “a virtual military assault,” using color-coded smoke bombs to designate targeted areas, along with firebombs and — incredibly — hand grenades.

The second amendment protects us against a lot more than just government thugs.  Would Altmouse have had the minerals to stand up to the unions if he was forcibly disarmed by a government that would have most decidedly looked the other way when it came to union thugs carrying guns?

There has been a bit of controversey over my statement on the picture of a police officer in Iowa holding a man at gunpoint who attempted to push his way through a police blockade with his vehicle.  I should note that I was merely pointing out that the officer in question was within the bounds of the law in his action.  Under Iowa’s emergency powers statutes, the Governor can order the police to enforce evacuation zones.  That might not be right, but that’s the law.  If you ever want the civil libertarian in you to go into convulsions, take a look at your state’s emergency powers provisions.  Pennsylvania’s is here.

State of emergency declarations have the effect of expanding the powers of the governor greatly.  Under Pennsylvania law, for instance, they state personnel are empowered to come on to your property and remove any debris that could be considered a threat to public health or safety, including, one would presume, the remains of your house.  Another provision can be found here:

§ 7308.  Laws suspended during emergency assignments.

In the case of a declaration of a state of emergency by the Governor, Commonwealth agencies may implement their emergency assignments without regard to procedures required by other laws (except mandatory constitutional requirements) pertaining to the performance of public work, entering into contracts, incurring of obligations, employment of temporary workers, rental of equipment, purchase of supplies and materials and expenditures of public funds.

Pennsylvania’s emergency powers are rather limited compared to what I’ve seen in a lot of states.  There doesn’t seem to be any power to enforce evacuation zones, for instance, like there is in Iowa law. [UPDATE, there is, see in comments below] But the time to look at your state emergency powers provisions, and petition your government to make changes to it, is now.  Most of these laws have been in place for decades, and it’s easier to get them changed when there’s not a disaster than get them changed when there is.

I stand by my assertion that challenging that authority with the officers charged with enforcing the Governor’s edicts (and yes, under most emergency powers laws, the governor gets to make edicts) isn’t the way to go.  If you feel being kept from your property is a violation of your rights, there is a remedy for that through the courts.  My feeling is that restricting movement ought to be unconstitutional except in the most dire circumstances (like a pandemic).  But my opinion isn’t law, and making ones opinion law is usually an uphill battle if you can’t get a lot of your fellow citizens to agree with you.

Looking over this very interesting post on ATF enforcement patterns at SayUncle, it would seem the City of Philadelphia refers a great number of cases over to federal prosecutors for violations of federal gun laws.  The feds took only 238 of the 1578 cases that were referred to them.  The top reason for our district was “Minimal federal interest, or no deterrent value.”

So if the feds aren’t using the laws to go after actual violent criminals, but are using the law to go after people like Wayne Fincher, David Olafson, and various other folks who are no threat to polite society, what use are they really in terms of public safety?  What is the “federal interest” in sending hobbyists to federal prison, but not violent felons?

I have to agree with Kevin on this one.  Playmobil is a German company, so I’ll take some comfort in that, but it’s kind of disturbing this is sold anywhere.  Or was, rather.  I can’t find it as a current product offering on their web site.

GunPundit points to a picture I’ve seen making the rounds through forums and what not.  It shows an Iowa police officer holding a gun on a driver.  I’ve variously seen this attributed to police enforcing a checkpoint with excessive force.  Didn’t blog about it when I first saw it, because we had no context.   Well, here’s the context:

After being denied re-entry to a flooded neighborhood, Rick Blazek, 53, returned to his vehicle as a state trooper used his police vehicle to block the checkpoint, according to the news release.

“Blazek drove his vehicle toward the state trooper and struck the state trooper three times with his vehicle,” the release said.

Police told Blazek to get out of his vehicle, and when he refused, “the driver’s window was broken out because the doors were locked and Blazek was removed from his vehicle,” according to the release.

The trooper was not injured. Blazek, who was arrested and charged with assault on a peace officer with a deadly weapon, could not be immediately reached for comment.

The trooper in question was fully justified in drawing his pistol on the driver as they took him into custody.  Cars are deadly weapons.  Whether or not the police were justified in keeping a man from his home isn’t material.  You’re allowed to use force to overcome an unlawful restraint (different from kidnapping), but not deadly force.

Whether or not one can be kept from one’s home is a matter of emergency powers provisions under the Iowa Code, which seem to allow for “Control ingress and egress to and from a disaster area, the movement of persons within the area, and the occupancy of premises in such area.” and “A peace officer, when in full and distinctive uniform or displaying a badge or other insignia of authority, may arrest without a warrant any person violating or attempting to violate in such officer’s presence any order or rule, made pursuant to this chapter. This authority shall be limited to those rules which affect the public generally.”

So under the Iowa Code, the governor can prevent persons from entering a declare disaster area, and the police are empowered to enforce edicts issued under the Governor’s disaster powers.

No, not Paul Helmke’s blog.  No one pays attention to that one except us.  Rachel Lucas has some stunning examples of douchebaggery from some of the bloggers there.  I think Paul’s problem is, he’s not foaming at the mouth enough.  No one on the left cares about gun control.  They care about making Republicans look like farm animals.  It’s classy stuff.

Judge Kozinski’s wife responds to the latest incident of yellow journalism on the part of the LA Times.  Unfortunately, the lie is already halfway around the world.  I agree with Kevin.

The Brady Campaign is always quick to remind us that while an overwhelming number of Americans support the second amendment, there are still a lot of people that support some vague thing called “gun control.”  Rachel Lucas points to some interesting polling on the first amendment, in regards to “hate speech”.

88% “guard” free speech but only 53% have any sort of a clue as to what that means. Since it would be silly to imagine that as time goes on, more people will get the clue, I’m guessing that in another few decades, we’ll have laws just like France and Canada. Awesome.

The poll basically shows that while 88% believe in the first amendment, only 53% oppose laws regulating “hate speech”, with 28% favoring it, and 19% undecided.  I don’t share Rachel’s pessimism about things going downhill from here, however.  We’ve shown that public support for the second amendment can be enhanced when people start understanding the issue.  I don’t see why the first amendment has to be exempt from that.

On the election:

This election brings us what is probably one of the worst match-ups in presidential history.  We’re running a conservative democrat against a Marxist, and for some reason I can’t seem to get real excited about our options here.

Read the whole thing.

Barack Obama isn’t too keen on the right to bear arms, but he certainly thinks people who are irresponsible with credit cards deserve some extra “rights”.

Kevin Baker talks again about the “reset” button.  I’ve said previously, any pressing of said button will have to be instigated by a state government, rather than through actions of individuals or groups of individuals.  That gets hard when states basically suckle at the federal teat, but I don’t see any other way to stand up to the federal government that won’t end badly.  We already have some examples of states willing to make token gestures.  The big problem is, we’re not losing our freedom by the guillotine, but by death of a thousand cuts.  It’s hard to convince other people that “This encroachment has to be it.  The line has been crossed.”

Personally, I don’t think we’re there yet, but I think it’s not unwise to whip up some resentment of federal meddling in matters they have no business in, within state legislatures.  What Oklahoma has done is a start.

UPDATE: Maybe we don’t have it so bad.

Obama needs to pick a veep who is good with gun owners, says news.com.au.  He’s not the only one though.  Of course, the funny thing about this is the Australian media isn’t to up on a lot of our politicians:

There are two front runners. Governor Tim Kaine of Virginia is just like his state - a mix of progressive ideals and conservative values of the old rural south. A pro-gun, pro-life, Church-going family man from the heartland but also a Harvard educated lawyer and greenie.

Governor Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania is described by his local newspaper as “a laughing, back-slapping, forearm-squeezing, all-pro schmoozer”.

He is a political warhorse, renowned for his love of shooting and football as much as his formidable reputation for fundraising, grass roots organising and delivering his key state to Democratic candidates.

His prowess helped Clinton to a 10-point win in Pennsylvania.

Ed Rendell and Tim Kaine are both gun lovers?  That’s news to me.  Last I checked Kaine is getting behind a new round of gun control initiatives in Virginia, and Rendell is trying to bulldog the legislature into passing more gun control laws.  Let’s also not forget that as Mayor of Philadelphia, Rendell pioneered the idea of suing the gun industry out of existence as a public nuisance.

Here’s the type of guns that Barack Rainbow Brite Obama would like to ban.

Hat tip to Instapundit

… but it looks like he keeps his bets, at least.