May 2012 – Page 8 – Shall Not Be Questioned

Annoying the Opposition By Using Their Own Logic

Anytime a remark of mine spawns a post on CSGV’s “Things Pro-Gun Activists Say ~~That We Take Out Of Context~~“ I feel I must be doing something right. I finally got tired of them spewing their peacenik nonsense, and tried to make them live up to the logical conclusion of their rhetoric, which would be that the violent, armed resistance that was necessary to eradicate Nazism in Europe was an immoral act. Apparently they didn’t appreciate that, and went off at length to mischaracterize my statement as suggesting that advocating non-intervention was the same as outright support.

But the fact is, anyone who advocated for waging peace against the Nazis, or sitting idly by while Hitler conquered Europe and wiped the Jewish people off the face of the planet, certainly fits in the category of those who “would have let Hitler finish his final solution.” Perhaps that is a logical conclusion of CSGV’s rhetoric for which they are deeply uncomfortable. But I suspect that is the case.

I would point out I never got a satisfactory answer to my question posed here, and ultimately CSGV had to cop out of that particular conversation, suggesting that questions about how to defeat Hitler by waging peace were above their pay grade, even though they themselves advocate this philosophy on a regular basis.

Stop and Frisk

How Bloomberg keeps New York City’s crime rates low by violating civil liberties of its residents.

Number Nine

Not many bloggers make it to 9 years. Congrats to Kevin. Kevin’s blog was one of the blogs that was on my RSS feed before I started blogging.

Observing the Transit of Venus

In a couple of weeks, Venus will once again transit the face of the sun, on June 5th and 6th specifically. The last transit was in 2004, but this won’t happen again in our lifetimes. The next transit will not be until 2117, well into the 22nd century. It would be interesting to observe this, but I am not aware whether it can be observed with ordinary equipment, such as you can make for viewing a solar eclipse. Does anyone know much about how one would observe a phenomena like this absent a very expensive solar telescope?

More Chasing the Culture War Stick

Looks like even Rand Paul can’t help himself, to the point where even the FRC doesn’t particularly appreciate the Senator’s remarks. Yeah, I can see a couple of college students making a crack like that over some beers. I can’t see a sitting United States Senator thinking that kind of humor is a wise thing. I was hoping that perhaps Rand Paul could avoid beclowning himself like his father accomplished by trawling the paelolib/paleocon fever swamp for support back in the 80s. Now, not only has Rand Paul chased the stick, but he gnawed on it so viscously, even the SoCos don’t want to play fetch with him anymore.

Insurrectionism at Waging Nonviolence?

Given that the Communication Director for the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, Ladd Everitt, is a contributor at this site, don’t expect him to be condemning this bit of insurrectionist thinking any time soon:

I think itâ€™s no accident that the question of self-defense has been coming up in some circles in the Occupy movement at this time. Having the discussion reflects how many people are realizing that moving the 1 percent out of the driverâ€™s seat is a revolutionary mission. The person who doesnâ€™t feel fear at the prospect of revolution is out of touch with their feelings. Itâ€™s only natural at such a moment to wonder if there is some way to act boldly â€” and at the same time stay safe.

The author even notes the history of armed resistance to the Klan and other aspects of the civil rights movement that occurred; facts that make Ladd Everitt decidedly uncomfortable. To be clear I don’t view violence as a legitimate answer to the problem of the 1%, the 3% or whatever side it’s coming from, provided the mechanisms of our Republic still largely function. But the author is at least taking a serious look at a serious topic. When we do this, Ladd is all over us for our “insurrectionism” and violence rhetoric. It just goes to show his double standard, and the double standard of all our opponents.

Another Case of Our Opponents Standing up for Thuggery

Barron Barnett and Weer’d take a look at another example of our opponents mourning a criminal who was justifiably killed by the person he was attacking. This is an example of what Bitter and I have been calling the “every little snowflake is precious” syndrome. Barron comes up with several more examples of this philosophy.

We should always strive to avoid taking of human life if it can possibly be avoided, but sometimes an attacker leaves no other alternative. Sometimes not every snowflake is precious. Some little snowflakes turn into thugs and cold blooded killers. Sometimes that happens before they turn 18. If our opponents want to actually contribute something positive in this world, they would take a look at the underlying social conditions that make juveniles turn to armed robbery, rather than focusing on the tools of that profession, and the people who carry defensive arms to protect themselves against our opponents precious snowflakes.

A Case of American Blind Justice

A blind gun collector wins his guns back, in New Jersey.

NRA Endorsement of George Allen

Extrano’s alley questions George Allen’s stance on guns based on this bit over at On The Issues. On The Issues is out of date, incomplete, and often misleading, and it is in this case when it comes to Allen’s record on guns. It is true that Allen voted against the PLCAA, as we would have wanted him to, because it ended up with an assault weapons ban renewal attached to it. Some may recall back in 2004 an Amendment to PLCAA was brought up to renew the ban, and served the very important purpose of getting John Kerry on record as supporting renewal. Once that goal was achieved, the bill was killed. Eventually Allen did vote for final passage of the clean bill after the elections in 2005.

On the Issues mentioned that he does not have an absolutist view of gun ownership. I’m aware of very few politicians that do, and any candidate for Senate that was telling me he believed that is probably a liar. Allen’s record on guns has been quite good, as he’s been willing to introduce, sponsor and help move legislation, which isn’t all that common among Senators. I thought his political career was going to be over after the “Macaca” incident, but apparently he’s on a comeback.

I Always Love Headlines Like This

“Recent killings in NH renew debate about gun laws.” I think the only debate about gun laws is happening in the editorial board meetings at the Nashua Telegraph. But the media says it’s renewing the debate, so it must be so, right?