New piece at National Review: "Ted Cruz Sets the Record Straight on Guns"

My new piece at National Review starts this way:

Newly elected senator Ted Cruz has jumped right into the fray. So far he is the only senator who has dared challenge the many blatant falsehoods President Obama and many congressional Democrats have been pushing regarding guns, in particular the bogus claim that 40 percent of gun sales are done without background checks. 

Unsurprisingly, his willingness to speak out has recently made Cruz a target of the media. While he has come in for a range of attacks from the New York Times, recently Politifact has focused on his statement: “the jurisdictions with the strictest gun-control laws, almost without exception . . . have the highest crime rates and the highest murder rates.” In the last case, they labeled his statement “false.” 

Is the “false” rating deserved? In Politifact’s explanation, it becomes more than a little bit obvious that their verdict is seriously strained, not least because they do acknowledge that context clarifies Cruz’s point. When using the term “strictest gun-control laws,” the senator was referring to gun bans (either a ban on handguns or all guns), and he was referring to so-called panel data as the evidence. 

This makes a considerable difference  . . . .

What the Obama administration predicts for gun control regulations

From The Hill Newspaper:

The gun lobby is citing the nine-page memo in ads running in 15 states, including several swing states with Senate elections next year. In the ad, the NRA says the memo proves that the administration “believes that a gun ban will not work without mandatory gun confiscation” and thinks universal background checks “won't work without requiring national gun registration,” according to the AP. . . .

New Fox News piece: Will Obama push us over the edge?

My newest Fox News piece starts this way:

Obama thinks he has a mandate for change. But this is the man who ran for president in 2008 promising to “cut net spending” and to shrink the federal government; a man who promised that his “stimulus” spending was only temporary. 

Obama hid regulations from view until after his reelection. The press maintained the fiction that Obama supports the Second Amendment and is no threat to citizens’ keeping guns for self-defense. Yet the day after his reelection, Obama called for the UN Arms Trade Treaty negotiations to be started again, and a few weeks later he promised to put the full force of the federal government behind a push for massive new gun control. 

Even on taxes, Obama’s post-election demands contradicted the positions on which he campaigned. Sure he promised higher taxes on “the rich.” But during the campaign he said that he wanted $800 billion from them. As soon as Republican speaker of the House, John Boehner, agreed to raise that amount by eliminating various credits and deductions for high-income taxpayers, Obama announced that he really wanted twice that amount. . . . 

Interview with Mark Levin on my new book "At the Brink"

It was a very lively interview and is available here.

7th Circuit Appeals Court will not reconsider decision to strike down Illinois' ban on concealed carry

The question now seems to be whether Illinois will appeal to the Supreme Court.  My own hope is that they do appeal.  This is the best case to create a precedent on concealed carry laws.

A federal appeals court won't reconsider an earlier ruling that Illinois' concealed carry ban is unconstitutional.
A three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Illinois' ban in December and gave lawmakers until June 8 to legalize the concealed carry of firearms.
Attorney General Lisa Madigan asked for all 10 judges to review the decision, saying it conflicted with decisions by other federal appellate courts and goes beyond what the U.S. Supreme Court has held. . . .

Thanks very much to Tony Troglio for this link.

Obama's cynicism: Refusing to negotiate and then saying that it is the Republicans who are refusing to do so

Politico here could be tougher, but at least they are making it clear that the delays are do to Obama, not the Republicans.

. . . . He has been so certain of his campaign skills that he didn’t open a line of communication with House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell until Thursday, a week before the spending ax hits. And when they did finally hear from Obama, the calls were perfunctory, with no request to step up negotiations or invitations to the White House. 

That’s because Obama’s all-in on an outside strategy, doing just about everything other than holding serious talks with Republicans. In the last two days alone, he’s courted local TV anchors, called in a select group of White House correspondents to talk off-the-record, chatted up black broadcasters, and announced plans to stump next week at Virginia’s Newport News Shipyard. Throughout, he’s talked in tough terms that signal little interest in compromise — or suggestion of backing down. 

He’s navigating a thin line. Obama is convinced he’s got the upper hand on Republicans. Yet he can go only so long before he risks being perceived as a main actor in Washington’s dysfunction, threatening a core element of his political brand — and the fragile economic recovery he’s struggled to maintain. 

The calls placed Thursday to Boehner and McConnell were prompted, in part, by a White House desire to inoculate Obama from that exact criticism. . . . .

Compare that discussion in Politico to the White House's discussion here.

QUESTION: Did the White House or the administration make the Department of Defense wait to release the specific cuts on the sequestration until the last two weeks? It seems like we're just hearing about this. And General Odierno had said last week that they didn’t prepare for it very well because they didn’t think it was going to happen. 

JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE: No. The answer to your question is no. And there is a process here underway. I think -- I mean, I can't speak for General Odierno, but I think we're all hopeful and remain at least insistent that Republicans do not make the choice to allow sequestration to happen; that they choose instead to come up with a balanced plan or to agree to a balanced plan to postpone or eliminate the sequester. 

The fact is, broadly speaking, we've known what the impact of these dramatic, across-the-board cuts would be. I can quote to you page after page of Republicans citing the harm to the Pentagon and our defense readiness that would come if sequester were to take effect. . . .

Charlie Cook has a related point on immigration, where the president's constant politicization of issues makes it harder for an agreement to be made.

Every time Obama takes a public stand on immigration, he makes it that much more difficult for Republican members of Congress to support it. Keep in mind that 94 percent of House Republicans are in districts Mitt Romney carried and that 34 of 45 GOP senators represent states Obama lost. As a result, most congressional Republicans are far more afraid of losing a primary to a more conservative challenger than a general election to a Democrat. It is a lot easier for them to support an immigration bill that has broad-based support in the business and farming communities (and that also happens to be supported by Obama and the Democratic leadership) than to back a bill so popularly identified with the other side. If the president really cares about enacting immigration reform, he will get off the campaign trail, depoliticize it, and keep as quiet about it as he can. . . .  

Colorado Democrat Rep. Joe Salazar is in trouble over rape comments and Amanda Collins' powerful response

Here is the debate over gun free zones on college campuses.

Salazar:  “It’s why we have call boxes, it’s why we have safe zones, it’s why we have the whistles. Because you just don’t know who you’re gonna be shooting at. And you don’t know if you feel like you’re gonna be raped, or if you feel like someone’s been following you around or if you feel like you’re in trouble when you may actually not be, that you pop out that gun and you pop … pop around at somebody.”  

Amanda Collins has a response here.

Senate Democrats outraged by problems with Obamacare

The video from Fox News is available here.

Teacher outrageously gives zeros to students who wrote about hunting and a gun show

These teachers are just trying to traumatize students about guns.  From Fox News:

An English teacher at Denton High School in the Dallas-Fort Worth area allegedly refused to grade two student reports because they discussed guns. 

MyFoxDFW.com reports that the teacher, Dewey Christian, told his students to write a report on anything they wanted. 

Marshall Williams, one of Christian's students, told the station he chose to write about a Fort Worth gun show he had attended. He said Christian told him he would get a zero on the assignment because of the topic. 

Another student, Alex Wright, said Christian rejected his report because it mentioned hunting. 

After telling his mother, Kimberly Williams, about the incident, she and Marshall met with Christian, according to the report. 

Kimberly Williams' cell phone video recording of the meeting reportedly shows Christian explaining that he refused to grade the report because of concerns about school violence. . . . .

More vote fraud in Hamilton County, Ohio

So there are no examples of vote fraud?  Possibly all this explains the very high voter turnout rate that they had in that county that drove the state barely to Obama.

Authorities also are investigating if she voted in the names of four other people, too, for a total of six votes in the 2012 presidential election. 

"I'll fight it for Mr. Obama and for Mr. Obama's right to sit as president of the United States," Richardson vowed when asked about the voter fraud investigation that is now under way. 

Richardson is one of 19 people suspected of illegal voting by the Hamilton County Board of Elections in the last election. . . .

More vote fraud here:

Another case of alleged voter fraud was brought to the attention of the the Hamilton County Board of Elections Tuesday, this time involving two Sisters of Charity.  

Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters sent a letter to Board of Elections director Tim Burke saying there's probable cause to believe criminal activity has occurred in the case of deceased voter Sister Rose Marie Hewitt. 

Sisters of Charity confirm that Hewitt died on Oct. 4 of last year. 

Board of Elections documents obtained in an open records request indicate Hewitt applied for an absentee ballot on Sept. 11, but it wasn't received by the board until after she died. . . .

Audio of my radio interview with Glenn Beck yesterday on my new book "At the Brink"

My radio interview with Glenn Beck is available here.

Newest piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer: "Misleading claims about what new proposals will do"

My newest piece starts this way:

President Obama's continued call on Friday for "commonsense proposals to make it harder for criminals to get their hands on a gun" is something that everyone agrees with. Unfortunately, the president is misleadingly claiming what his proposals would do, and they are more likely to do more harm than good. 

Consider "background checks." According to Obama and gun-control advocates, "40 percent of all gun purchases are conducted without a background check." That is just false. Only if you were to classify family inheritances and gifts as "purchases" would you get a number anywhere near that high. . . .

A version of this piece has appeared in the Tampa Bay Times, Omaha World Herald, Youngstown Vindicator, the Gulf Today, and the Columbus Post-Dispatch.

Copy of my radio interview with Sean Hannity on Monday about my new book "At the Brink"

Sean was great to about my new book "At the Brink" on Monday.  He had me on for about 15 minutes, which is a very long time.  The audio of the radio interview is available here.

Here is a picture I had yesterday with Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke.

It was great to meet him (previous posts here and here). I really admire him.

Helping people in high crime areas defend themselves: The Armed Citizen Project

Houston weather, traffic, news | FOX 26 | MyFoxHouston

This is an interesting project located in Houston, Texas:

The Armed Citizen Project is dedicated to facilitating the armingof law abiding citizens, and analyzing the relationship between increased firearm availability and crime rates. We will choose a mid-high crime neighborhood in Houston, and offer defensiveweapons to citizens that can pass a background check, and that will take our safety, legal, andtactical training. . . . 

From Fox News Houston:

A University of Houston graduate student is doing an unusual study. He's going to give away 20-gauge single-shot shotguns in high-crime neighborhoods to see if it reduces crime."We're not just tossing a bunch of shotguns into a community and walking away," says Kyle Coplen. "What we're doing is finding residents who are interested in protecting themselves. we're not forcing guns on anyone."

From CBS:

A University of Houston graduate student says he’s conducting a study to hopefully answer the question being asked across the country, “Do more guns reduce crime or not?” 

Kyle Coplen, who founded the Armed Citizens Project, is giving away 20-gauge single-shot shotguns to residents in mid- and high-crime neighborhoods to test whether or not the weapon will help reduce crime in the area, according to the group’s website. Coplen says the weapons are not of much value to criminals, but are especially useful for citizens looking to protect themselves from criminals. . . .

Thanks to Kyle Coplen for contacting me earlier today. 

Appearance on Glenn Beck's radio program to talk about my new book

A transcript and audio of my interview with Glenn is available here.

GLENN: John Lott is one of my favorite thinkers, especially when it comes to ‑‑ well, when it comes to facts and figures, you know, he’s probably best known for his work on guns, guns by the numbers. I think his name is ‑‑ the name of his book is More Guns, Less Crime, and it is the ‑‑ it is the standard bearer, I think, for that kind of stat, and you won’t read that anyplace else. Well, he has turned his attention now to what this administration is doing and what this government is doing to push us over the brink. That’s the name of his new book called At The Brink. Will the man who won’t be named on this program without a $20 fine, will “that guy” push us over the edge is the subtitle and John is with us now. Hi, John, how are you? 

LOTT: Great to talk to you. Thank you very much for having me on. 

GLENN: You bet. You’re taking this on, and I wonder if we can ever come back from this because I look at the facts that you have in this. I just look at the things when you talk about the stimulus and how the stimulus is going to go down in history as the most expensive economic failure in all of history. You want to make that point first before I ask you the question on it? . . .

"At the Brink" is in the top 100 in Amazon sales rank

Thanks for everyone who has bought the book and written such nice reviews.  I greatly appreciate you all doing that.  Thank you.

These are the types of gun control emails Obama's "Organizing for Action" are bombarding its massive email list with

Yesterday I put up a post on how the Obama administration was collecting stories about people's whose lives have been impacted by gun violence.  Today, they are starting to send out these types of emails.  You can click on this picture to make it larger and easier to read. Note no discussion of defensive gun uses.  No acknowledgment of the benefits of owning guns.  Just attacks about the evils of guns.

Science explains why women talk more than men

From Science World Report:

. . . Previous research has shown that women talk almost three times as much as men. In fact, an average woman notches up 20,000 words in a day, which is about 13,000 more than the average man. In addition, women generally speak more quickly and devote more brainpower to speaking. Yet before now, researchers haven't been able to biologically explain why this is the case. 

Now, they can. New findings conducted by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and published in The Journal of Neuroscience show that a certain protein may be the culprit. 

In 2001, a gene called FOXP2 appeared to be essential for the production of speech. In order to test this protein, the team, led by J. Michael Bowers and Margaret McCarthy, looked at young rat pups. These animals emit cries in the ultrasonic range when separated from their mothers. The team recorded the cries over five minutes in groups of 4-day-old male and female rats that had been separated from their mothers. They found that male pups had up to twice as much of the protein FOXP2  in regions of the brain known to be involved in vocalization--perhaps an unsurprising finding since researchers noted that males made twice as many cries as females. . . .

"At the Brink" reaches 197 on Amazon

Thanks very much to the eight people who have so far written reviews of the book.  After one works for months on a book, it is great that people seem to enjoy it so much.

Yet more stories of the damage from Obamacare

From the Financial Times:

US retailers and restaurants chains that employ millions of low-wage workers are considering cutting working hours or paying fines rather than enrolling employees in health insurance plans under Barack Obama’s landmark healthcare law. 

Employers are concerned that the law increases the cost of insuring employees on existing plans, partly by broadening the range of benefits. It also requires companies to insure some employees not previously covered. 

David Dillon, chief executive of the Kroger supermarket chain, told the Financial Times that some companies might opt to pay a government-mandated penalty for not providing insurance because it was cheaper than the cost of coverage. 

Nigel Travis, head of Dunkin’ Brands, said his doughnut chain was lobbying to change the definition of “full-time” employees eligible for coverage from those working at least 30 hours a week to 40 hours a week. 

Some restaurants, including Wendy’s and Taco Bell franchises, have explored slashing worker hours so fewer employees qualify for health insurance, arguing that they cannot afford the additional healthcare costs. Other businesses are deliberately keeping headcounts below 50. . . .

Obama Campaign (now called Organizing for Action) email about organizing to push gun control

This is an email that I received today.  Apparently Obama's people think that there should be a debate by only discussing the bad things happen from guns, but the point should be what the net effect of gun ownership is.

Woman defends herself against three male attackers

From St. Louis:

Police say a woman shot at three people this morning when she suspected them of breaking into her apartment building. 

The woman was in her third-floor apartment about 10:30 a.m. at Miami Street and Missouri Avenue when she saw three men coming up the stairs, police said. She fired one shot at the trio, prompting them to run off. It wasn't clear if anyone was shot. 

She was not hurt. Police were looking for three males but did not immediately have descriptions of them Tuesday. . . .

Kindle edition of "At the Brink" now released

Many people have been asking me when the Kindle edition of "At the Brink" would be out.  Well, it is available here.

Armen Alchian, one of the greatest economists ever died today

The Alchian family said that Armen died in his sleep this morning 
at the age of 98. Alchian was one of the greatest 

and most influential economists ever.  His free market views 

shaped generations of economists.  Alchian had a huge impact 

on anyone who knew him and my life was no different.

"Colorado Democrat Under Fire For Suggesting Female College Students Fearing Rape Should Not Have Access To Concealed Guns"

The link is available here.

Video of my appearance on Sean Hannity's TV show

The video is available here.

Why is Obama getting such positive news coverage?

Reporters do have a tough job and only a fraction of the resources that they used to have.  I can definitely see how that has caused the government to have much more power relative to them, that it is so much easier now to simply take and run with what the Obama administration gives them.  Still, I don't believe that is the entire story.  I don't think that a Republican would have this easy of a time dealing with the media.  From Politico:

With more technology, and fewer resources at many media companies, the balance of power between the White House and press has tipped unmistakably toward the government. This is an arguably dangerous development, and one that the Obama White House — fluent in digital media and no fan of the mainstream press — has exploited cleverly and ruthlessly. And future presidents from both parties will undoubtedly copy and expand on this approach.
“The balance of power used to be much more in favor of the mainstream press,” said Mike McCurry, who was press secretary to President Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Nowadays, he said, “The White House gets away with stuff I would never have dreamed of doing. When I talk to White House reporters now, they say it’s really tough to do business with people who don’t see the need to be cooperative.” . . .

Some of the radio shows that I am doing today for the book launch

These shows should be fun.  I particularly enjoy the Dennis Miller and Dennis Prager shows whenever I have been on in the past.

	The Pat Campbell Show 9:35 to 9:50 AM
	Frank Beckmann Show				10:09 AM – 10:29 AM
	Mark Larson				10:40 AM – 11:10 AM
	Dennis Miller				11:05 AM – 11:35 AM
	Dennis Prager				12:20 PM – 1:00 PM
	Scott Hennen Show				1:35 PM – 2:00 PM

Employee with gun stops armed robbery

Typical very short news story that occurs frequently even if it doesn't get much news coverage.  From Lancaster, PA:

A robber who claimed to be armed fled a Lancaster sub shop without money when an employee pulled a gun of his own, police said. 

Lancaster police said the would-be robber demanded cash from Speed's Sub Shop, at 318 E. King Street, just after 10 p.m. Saturday. 

The employee pulled and then pointed his own handgun at the suspect, who immediately fled the store empty handed, police said. . . .

Proposed Washington State law would require that police go inside gun owners homes once a year to check guns

I wish that the nonsensical parts of the proposed assault weapon ban that this provision is part of would also get critically discussed, but at least this might keep the law from getting passed.  From the Seattle Times:

Forget police drones flying over your house. How about police coming inside, once a year, to have a look around? 

As Orwellian as that sounds, it isn’t hypothetical. The notion of police home inspections was introduced in a bill last week in Olympia. 

That it’s part of one of the major gun-control efforts pains me. It seemed in recent weeks lawmakers might be headed toward some common-sense regulation of gun sales. But then last week they went too far. By mistake, they claim. But still too far. 

“They always say, we’ll never go house to house to take your guns away. But then you see this, and you have to wonder.” 

That’s no gun-rights absolutist talking, but Lance Palmer, a Seattle trial lawyer and self-described liberal who brought the troubling Senate Bill 5737 to my attention. It’s the long-awaited assault-weapons ban, introduced last week by three Seattle Democrats. . . .

"CU regents seek board support for concealed-carry on campus"

I am not sure what impact that this resolution will have on the political debate, but it is not particularly surprising that the Board of Regents may have become more accepting of concealed handguns on campus after it is clear that the problems that they were concerned about haven't occurred.  From the Bolder, Colorado Daily Camera:

Two regents on the Republican-leaning University of Colorado Board of Regents will ask their colleagues later this week to support concealed-carry rights on the school's campuses. 

Regent Jim Geddes, R-Sedalia, and Sue Sharkey, R-Windsor, are proposing a resolution that says the regents "support the right of Colorado citizens to lawfully exercise the right of concealed carry, including on University of Colorado campuses." The proposed measure goes on to say that "gun-free zones" leave law-abiding citizens vulnerable to harm. 

The board will likely vote on the measure at its meeting in Colorado Springs next week. The board will meet there Wednesday and Thursday. . . .

"Teachers in Florida suburb getting free weapons training lessons"

Will the attitude of teachers change on guns?  Probably not for most liberal teachers, but this is still encouraging.

A group of teachers in a Florida suburb are receiving free weapons training classes for free, according to a report by FOX13 News. 

The event held in Safety Harbor and conducted by security company International Executive Protection is meant to teach teachers, and students, the basics of self-defense and the details of Florida's Concealed Carry Weapons Permit. 

"I've been kind of skirting around the issue of getting a gun again and this opportunity came open," Oak Grove (Clearwater) Middle School teacher Terri Cunningham told FOX13 News. "I decided it's free; don't turn down anything that's free." 

The class, which normally costs $75, was offered with a discount because of the apparent growing interest in concealed carry permits among teachers in the wake of the Newtown shooting. . . .

26 states completely opt out of state run exchanges, seven other states would only take on part of the task

From the Washington Times:

The backbone of President Obama’s health care law is taking shape, with 26 states choosing to let the federal government run the online insurance markets mandated by his signature reforms instead of keeping the job in-house or partnering with the feds. 

The Department of Health and Human Services had encouraged states to run their own markets, or “exchanges,” that help the uninsured find coverage. Only 17 states and the District of Columbia took on the task, while seven states decided to split the duty with the Obama administration, according to a breakdown by the Kaiser Family Foundation. . . .

This is putting it mildly.

“It’s not what the drafters of the bill had hoped would happen,” Timothy Jost, a health law expert at Washington and Lee University School of Law, said of the outcome on Friday. . . . 

There could be a lot of court cases determining whether there are now limits on what the Federal government can spend on health care in those states. 

Democratic state senator and three Democratic state representatives move to ban hunting ammunition in Wisconsin?

This type of law would never have been offered a decade or two ago.  Redstate has a detailed discussion of the proposed law:

“The provision in the bill draft that provides whoever intentionally sells, transports or possesses any bullet that expands or flattens easily in the human body is guilty of a Class H felony conflicts with current DNR hunting rules.  Under s. NR 10.09 (1)(c)2., ‘no person shall hunt any deer or bear with any air rifle, rim-fire rifle, any center-fire rifle less than .22 caliber, any .410 bore or less shotgun or handgun loaded with .410 shotgun shell ammunition or with ammunition loaded with nonexpanding type bullets or ammunition loaded with shot other than a single slug or projectile.’ The bill draft does not provide an exception to the prohibition on possessing expanding bullets for deer or bear hunting.” (Emphasis added)

Great piece by Jeff Jacoby in the Boston Globe: As gun ownership in Massachusetts plummeted, murders and violent crime soared

The whole piece here is highly recommended.  From Sunday's Boston Globe:

IN 1998, Massachusetts passed what was hailed as the toughest gun-control legislation in the country. Among other stringencies, it banned semiautomatic “assault” weapons, imposed strict new licensing rules, prohibited anyone convicted of a violent crime or drug trafficking from ever carrying or owning a gun, and enacted severe penalties for storing guns unlocked. 

“Today, Massachusetts leads the way in cracking down on gun violence,” said Republican Governor Paul Cellucci as he signed the bill into law. “It will save lives and help fight crime in our communities.” Scott Harshbarger, the state’s Democratic attorney general, agreed: “This vote is a victory for common sense and for the protection of our children and our neighborhoods.” One of the state’s leading anti-gun activists, John Rosenthal of Stop Handgun Violence, joined the applause. “The new gun law,” he predicted, “will certainly prevent future gun violence and countless grief.” 

It didn’t. . . .

Jacoby points out that while gun ownership plummeted, murder rates soared.