ABC's coverage of the Foley/Congressional Page Story Nailed By The American Thinker

The American Thinker as a devastating analysis of the entire Foley/Former Congressional page issue. This is really a must read. My question is: did Mr. Edmund hire a lawyer because the "prank" with the IMs mean that they were a fake?

More on whether teachers should be able to carry guns at school

"Just taking a course and shooting some bullets down-range every six months does not adequately prepare you for the potential risk of having that gun taken from you," said Pochowski, a former Milwaukee police officer.

"These high school students are bigger than they've ever been," he said. "We've seen them take guns from police officers who are trained in how to retain that weapon."

The measure has also drawn criticism from gun control advocates, both in and out of Wisconsin.

"I'm shocked," said Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. "When I'm making a decision on where to send my kids to school, there's a lot of factors that go into it. I don't think people want to look at the marksmanship scores at the same time they're looking at the academic scores."

"I think it's an absolutely ridiculous response," said Tom Mannard, executive director of the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence. "This will help score some points with at least the gun lobby in Wisconsin. I don't know that it's going to help educators and those in the classrooms." . . .

A couple of responses:

1) Prior to the end of 1995, almost all the states with concealed handgun permits at that time allowed people to carry concealed handguns on school property. I know of no case where there was any problem.
2) Utah and Oregon allow people to currently carry concealed handguns on school property (I would have to check in New Hampshire also). I know of no case where there has been any problems.
3) Other countries allow this (Israel and Thailand), but again there are no problems that I have been able to find and there is no discussion in either place of preventing this policy from continuing.

In at least one very tight congressional race the Republican demolishes Democrat in debate

For those interested, you can watch the Weldon and Sestak Debate here. I have to say also that the Democrat is pretty scary with his proposals to pass legislation where the government would regulate wages to ensure that women get paid properly.

Detailed information on teachers carrying guns

Detailed information on teachers carrying gun is available here, here, here, here, and here.

Here is also another news story on the recommendation that teachers and others be able to carry concealed handguns on school property.

"Teacher Hacked to Death in Mexican City"

A teacher was hacked to death in this historic Mexican city that has been paralyzed for months by protests and violence, police said late Thursday. A colleague claimed the man was killed for opposing a teachers' strike. . . .

How to respect the different opinions of others.

Do environmentalists like people?

John Fund wrote this for OpinionJournal's Political Diary (if you don't subscribe, I recommend it strongly to everyone). This movie sounds really interesting and I look forward to seeing it.

Move over, Michael Moore. You have competition in the art of political film-making from a 23-year-old unemployed Romanian miner. And instead of advancing the cause of smug liberal hypocrisy, he's debunking it.

Gheorge Lucian is the star of a new film by Irish journalist Phelim McAleer that exposes the all-too-real agenda of the radical green movement. Mr. Lucian comes from a poor village in Romania where environmentalists are fighting plans for a new gold mine. His village, where unemployment tops 70%, desperately needs the $1 billion in new investment and 600 jobs the project would bring. But environmentalists have blocked it, claiming it will pollute a pristine environment.

Mr. McAleer, the filmmaker, considers himself an environmentalist. But when he went to cover the story for the Financial Times, he says, "I found that almost everything the environmentalists were saying about the project was misleading, exaggerated or quite simply false," he wrote in London's Daily Mail. "The village was already heavily polluted because of the 2,000 years of mining in the area. The mining company actually planned to clean up the existing mess. And the locals, rather than being forcibly resettled as the environmentalists claimed, were queuing up to sell their decrepit houses to the company which was paying well over the market rate."

All this set Mr. McAleer to thinking that there might be other examples where mining companies, now part of the most heavily regulated industries in the world, were being blocked from making investments that could improve the lot of local residents. When Gabriel Resources, the Canadian mining company that was proposing the Romanian project, offered to fund a documentary on the idea, he jumped at the chance so long as he had full editorial control. Gabriel Resources wound up paying for part of the project, while Mr. McAleer raised the remainder from investors.

His film, "Mine Your Own Business," premiered last week at the Denver Gold Forum. In it, Mr. Lucian, the Romanian miner, is seen hop-scotching around the globe confronting environmentalists in the style of Mr. Moore with the real-world consequences of their ideology.

He finds plenty of pincushions to stick needles into. Belgian environmentalist Francoise Heidebroek pompously tells Mr. Lucian that he and his fellow Romanian villagers prefer to use horses rather than cars, and to rely on "traditional cattle raising, small agriculture, wood processing" to live. In Madagascar, Mr. Lucian finds an official of the World Wide Fund for Nature who argues that the poor are just as happy as the rich and then insists on showing Mr. Lucian his new $50,000 catamaran. . . .

Poll on whether teachers should be able to carry concealed handguns

Wisconsin state Representative proposes letting teachers carry concealed handguns.

In the wake of school shootings in Wisconsin, Colorado and Pennsylvania during the last two weeks, a Wisconsin state legislator said he plans to introduce legislation that would allow teachers, principals, administrators and other school personnel to carry concealed weapons.

Rep. Frank Lasee, R-Bellevue, said Wednesday that, while his idea may not be politically correct, it has worked effectively in other countries.

"To make our schools safe for our students to learn, all options should be on the table," he said. "Israel and Thailand have well-trained teachers carrying weapons and keeping their children safe from harm. It can work in Wisconsin." . . .

The above link has the poll.

--Frank Lasee's blog discusses this issue.

After crimes occur college students try to get support for carrying concealed handguns on campus

After recent assaults on University of Minnesota students, the campus College Republicans and a firearm instructors' group offered gun information Wednesday and circulated a petition aimed at allowing more people to carry guns on campus.
After four hours at an information table at Coffman Union, gun advocates garnered signatures from 29 students on a petition asking university regents and President Robert Bruininks to abolish policies that ban students, faculty and other staff from carrying guns. Guns, however, can be stored in vehicles.

State law allows anyone to carry a gun who is at least 21, has obtained firearms training and passed county sheriff background checks. But university policies bar students and staff from carrying guns on campus, as do policies for the Minnesota state college system. . . .

Two elderly men stop crimes with guns

1) October 02, 2006

Montgomery, Alabama (AP) - Police say a 34-year-old Montgomery man was shot and killed when he allegedly attacked a 72-year-old man Friday night in west Montgomery.

Captain Huey Thornton, a police spokesman, said Jack Sanchez was pronounced dead around 10 p-m. Thornton said the shooting occurred after Sanchez kicked the man's truck as he drove by. He said when the older man got out to inspect his vehicle, Sanchez attacked him.

Police did not release the shooter's name because he was not arrested.

Thornton said the case will be sent to a grand jury to determine if any charges are warranted.

2) September 30, 2006

Pulaski County, Arkansas -- A watchful Pulaski County homeowner and his neighbor confronted a pair of Little Rock men Friday morning at gunpoint as the burglars loaded a truck with his belongings.

The homeowner, 71-year-old Lonnie Yarberry, fired a shot through the driver’s side window of the truck as the robbers tried to escape and then held one of the men at gunpoint until deputies arrived, police said.

The second suspected burglar was arrested a block away from the crime scene, where he was being held at gunpoint by the neighbor, Paul Yarberry, 42.

Pulaski County sheriff ’s deputies arrested Michael Todd Bell, 35, of 6905 Azalea Drive and Leonard Dewayne Terry, of 12 Saxony Circle on charges of residential burglary and theft.

Bell was also arrested on charges of carrying a knife, and Terry was charged with aggravated assault and possessing an instrument of crime, a crack pipe.

The two were being held Friday evening in the Pulaski County jail.

Sheriff ’s office spokesman John Rehrauer said Paul Yarberry spotted two men in a Dodge Ram that was backed up behind a residence at 13621 Heinke Road shortly after 8:30 a.m.

“The two men were in the process of loading a dryer into the back of the truck when the neighbor spotted them,” Rehrauer said. . . .

Push for more gun control

Instead of asking if the problem is being caused by existing gun laws, the approach is to call for even more regulation.

THREE FATAL shootings on school campuses in a single week should prompt deep national soul-searching about what could be done to make sure horrific crimes such as these never happen again.

In the past, these sort of shootings might have triggered intense discussion about the need for stricter gun-control laws.

Yet, it is an indication of how successful the National Rifle Association and other anti-gun-control forces have been in removing the issue of gun control from the national political agenda -- and getting our political leaders to acquiesce to their wishes.

We know that gun-control laws on their own won't eliminate gun violence.

But the question has to be asked: How it is possible that a disturbed man in Pennsylvania can get hold of a shotgun, a rifle and a semiautomatic handgun, along with 600 rounds of ammunition -- then use them to kill five defenseless schoolgirls?

The question has to be asked: How can guns flow through East Oakland, West Oakland, Richmond's Iron Triangle and Bayview-Hunters Point in San Francisco without any legal barriers?

President Bush's response? Convene yet another conference.

Incredibly, the conference won't focus on how to get guns out of the hands of criminals, but will strategize on how to improve school safety. . . .

New Jersey put sales tax on tanning

New Jersey has not only increased its sales tax rate to 7 percent, but it has now applied it to

ownloaded music and video
Shipping and handling charges
Flooring and carpeting installation
Storage space
Tanning, massage and tattooing
Data processing
Limousines
Health, shopping and other club membership fees
Parking garages and lots
Non-clothing cleaning services
Landscaping
Magazines and periodicals
Investigation and security services, such as security

If they forgot to tax something, I am sure that they will get it next time.

Law-abiding citizen with guns foils robbery that would have gone really badly

Roscoe Parmley knew he wouldn't have much time to act as he looked down the barrel of a gun in the hand of the masked man trying to rob his Eastside jewelry store.

"I just knew he was going to do something," Parmley, 76, said. "I saw my opportunity, and I took it."

The face-off at Rosco Jewelry ended Wednesday with the robbery suspect dead and his brother, arrested as his suspected accomplice, facing the potential of murder charges.

Rosco Jewelry, 5416 E. Washington St., has been a fixture in the Irvington area for 34 years. Parmley started out dealing in rare coins, then expanded into gold and other jewelry. He also sells firearms.

"Everybody in the neighborhood knows they are armed," Indianapolis Police Detective Marcus Kennedy said.
The suspects apparently knew it, too.

Corey Artry, 18, and his brother Nicholas Artry, 20, cased the store days before the botched robbery, police said, and saw the warnings inside -- shelves of firearms, a shotgun openly displayed and a sign that reads "We Don't Call 911." Undeterred, the suspects went into the store armed with a .22-caliber handgun and a knife, according to police and witness accounts.

The Artrys, however, quickly found themselves outgunned, police said.

The incident began about 10:40 a.m., when the suspects entered the store wearing masks and demanding cash, according to police.

Parmley said he had just sat down in a back room to eat breakfast when he heard the commotion and found himself staring at the armed man who had jumped over his counter.

The suspect took turns pointing the small pistol at Parmley, Parmley's wife, Hwa-Lan, 65, and store employee Michael Ross, 53. The man's partner jumped another counter, police said, and held a knife to the throat of jeweler Garry Brown, 49.

The men wanted money and demanded access to the safe.

In those panic-filled seconds, Hwa-Lan Parmley blurted out that she recognized the men as customers she had seen in the store two days before. At that moment, Roscoe Parmley, a retired Air Force veteran, said he felt the situation was going to end badly.

The suspect would likely perceive the burly Ross as the biggest threat, Parmley figured, so he waited until the gunman focused his aim in that direction.

Parmely then reached into his front pocket for his .38-caliber handgun and fired, striking the suspect five times. Hit, Corey Artry stood for a few heartbeats, Parmley said, then wobbled toward the door. He turned and raised his hand, the one holding the pistol, Parmley said. . . .

Thanks to an anonymous emailer.

Double standard on sex scandals?

The Washington Post has an excellent article on sex scandals in Washington and that Republicans who do it face a much worse future than Democrats. You should read the piece, but here is the explanation that they offer:

"The reality is that Democrats seem to get away with more," says Chuck Todd, editor in chief of the Hotline, a daily political journal. "They can have an affair and bail [themselves] out. There's a lower threshold for Republicans. I guess it's more of a hypocrisy thing," he adds, because such scandals put Republicans at odds with the party's socially conservative image.

Todd thinks he knows who's to blame for this: "It's the media, to be honest. What is the standard 'gotcha' story in the media? It's hypocrisy. If we can prove hypocrisy, we have a story. . . . So in a sex scandal, the bar for Republicans is lower." . . .

So how does this apply to Foley who was fairly widely known as being homosexual? He was strongly in favor of abortion and held liberal social views in other areas. If we accept the Post's excellent evidence that Republicans are treated differently this doesn't answer the question.

But it's tough to blame the media when it's the electorate that determines who stays and who goes. . . .

True, but if you look at the level of publicity in these cases, my guess is that they aren't even close.

Businesses opposed restrictions on eminent domain

"[I]t's always been true that business is not a friend of a free market," argues Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman. "I have given a lecture from time to time under the title 'Suicidal Impulses of the Business Community,' something like that, and it's true. It's in the self-interest of the business community to get government on its side."

This situation is on full display in the campaign to stop Proposition 90, the statewide Protect Our Homes initiative that will be on the November ballot. If it passes, the initiative will mean the end of two troubling and common policies in California. The first is eminent domain abuse, by which cities take property from small businesses and homeowners and give it to big developers who promise to pay more sales taxes than the current owners. The second is regulatory takings, whereby governments "take" property through regulations such as downzoning, often obliterating the value of a property without paying compensation.

Yet instead of siding with a good principle that ultimately protects all business owners, the business guys are pouring money into the "no on 90" campaign. As Friedman understood – and Lenin, for that matter, who said that businessmen would sell the hangman the rope used to hang them – businesses are mostly interested in their own private advantage, and they are more than willing to manipulate government to further that advantage. . . .

School shootings some thoughts

I don't have much new to add to the school shootings other than note that all three took place in gun free zones. For a general discussion, see this op-ed and academic research.

Schwarzenegger Vetoes Electoral College Bill

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill Saturday that would have given California's electoral votes in presidential elections to the winner of the national popular vote, rather than the candidate who captured the state.

The bill could have gone into effect only if states with a combined total of 270 electoral votes - the number now required to win the presidency - agreed to the same process.

Schwarzenegger said the bill sponsored by Assemblyman Tom Umberg, a Democrat, disregards the will of a majority of Californians.

"This is counter to the tradition of our great nation, which honors states' rights and the unique pride and identity of each state," Schwarzenegger said. . . . .

"The only way to make California relevant is to have it re-engage in the presidential election and not have it be thought of as an afterthought," [Umberg] said of his reliably Democratic state. . . . .

It is not "the only way to make California relevant." One way to make it relevant is if it the voters in California are relatively divided on who should be president. Right now California goes for the Democrats all the time, but there was a time in the 1970s and 1980s when it always went Republican. In any case, with out an electoral college we could have an election debate similar to what they just went through in Mexico where the votes in the entire country were being contested.

Internet gambling stocks plunge on ban being adopted in the US

This law is a real disappointment. My guess is that many casinos and other gambling businesses helped push for this ban.

Billions of pounds were wiped off the value of online gaming stocks today after a controversial move to prevent internet gambling in the United States.

Shares in the sector tumbled by as much as 80% as investors reacted with dismay to new laws in the US which ban banks and credit card companies from processing payments to online casinos.

The legislation was a major blow for firms such as Party Poker owner PartyGaming and 888 Holdings, which rely heavily on the US for business.

The two companies said today that they will suspend business in the US indefinitely once President George Bush signs the Bill into law - a move expected within two weeks.

Shares in PartyGaming tumbled 61% while 888 was down 45% and Sportingbet was off 70%. World Gaming plummeted 80% after it was also hit by the end of takeover talks with Sportingbet, and online money transfer company Neteller fell 60%.

Rosie O'Donnell Shocked by women with Guns

Here is an exchange on ABC's The View between Rosie O'Donnell, Barbara Walters, Joy Behar (Left of center Comic and guest co-host), and Elisabeth Hasselbeck (Conservative foil. Formerly a participant on the second edition of "Survivor: The Australian Outback"). Given that Rosie has used bodyguards for protection, it is strange that she doesn't understand the need for self-protection.

Behar: "...Women are more, a little bit more snotty, though, and nasty to each other. But they talk it through, they don't hit and they don't drop bombs and they don't shoot. They don't play with guns. So that's ...
O'Donnell: "Yeah."
Hasselbeck: "That's so stereotypical...I know plenty of women who pack a gun."
O'Donnell sounded shocked by Hasselbeck's statement and asked in amazement:
O'Donnell: "Seriously?"
Hasselbeck: "Yeah."
O'Donnell: "You know women who carry a gun?"
Hasselbeck: "Sure."
O'Donnell: "Who are not police officers?"
Hasselbeck: "Who were not in uniform."
O'Donnell: "That they just carry it in case they get attacked? Like friends?"

Minutes later, Walters equated Hasselbeck's knowledge of women with guns to the ineptness of her fellow View hosts:
Walters: "...I would like to say something about my colleagues."
Behar: "What?"
Walters: "One of them says, I know women who carry guns. I mean, that's a great message. This one [pointing to Behar] doesn't even know how to hold up a prop. This one [pointing to O'Donnell] doesn't know how to swallow a cold drink. I mean, what is with you people?"

Quite a wedding

The woman here certainly seems to be having a good time.

Thanks to Steve Finefrock for sending this to me.

Swiss Defense Minister Defends Keeping Guns in People's Homes

The Defense Minister's argument eems like a sensible one to me.

Schmid rejected calls for the weapons to be kept in military storage to reduce Switzerland's high rate of suicide by firearms.

In an interview in Saturday's Tages-Anzeiger newspaper of Zurich, Schmid said storing soldiers' rifles away from their homes "would not solve the underlying social problem" of suicide.

"The army is not responsible for the problems in our society," he commented.

"A person who wants to kill himself or others will always find a way."

Schmid argued that Switzerland's militia army needed to be able to mobilize rapidly, "for example to protect airports and railway stations quickly". . . .

Thanks very much to Rich for sending this to me.