Bitter – Page 131 – Shall Not Be Questioned

Oh, Those Silly Hipsters…

I couldn’t help but laugh at this bit from Jim Geraghty today on the May Day protests in California that lead to the destruction of the front of an Urban Outfitters store.

By the way, I cannot tell the difference between the trust-fund radicals who dress in black and try to smash stuff at Urban Outfitters and the tragically hip trust-fund bohemians who actually shop at Urban Outfitters.

He also notes that the Georgetown location actually designed their shop to make it look the window had already been smashed. This used to irritate me to no end. You’re in Georgetown, no one is believing for one second that anyone who shops down there is so full of rage at the man that they took a brick to the window.

Getting You Fired Up This Week

Here’s a video to get you fired up for the upcoming elections. The focus is on the special election for John Murtha’s former seat out in Western Pennsylvania.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNrhLRerypg[/youtube]

I swiped it from Jim Geraghty who adds:

But the music and editing is superb; you keep waiting for Paul Giamatti as John Adams to appear and declare that the Continental Congress has approved this message.

If you’re so inspired, you can go lend a (financial) hand to his campaign. He’s got to win this seat twice in 6 months.

Why Does Lenin Greet Capitol Visitors?

During the Right to Keep & Bear Arms Rally in Harrisburg, I tweeted about the mystery of Lenin’s face sculpted into our Capitol doors. Of course, I assumed it wasn’t really Lenin, but damn if it didn’t look just like him.

Doing a bit of VPC-endorsed intensive research, the busts in the door are of people associated with building the Capitol. It doesn’t provide a list, but does mention a few names. One initial possibility was Gov. Samuel Pennypacker, though I didn’t think that they really looked alike. Based on this list, it looks like that was an incorrect guess.

However, if my guess based on that list is correct, the bust is of E.C. Gerwig, the secretary to Governor William Stone. I didn’t find any pictures to compare him to Lenin, though.

On an interesting side note, Sebastian noticed that one bust had a hinge, so we assumed it hid a handle or lock. Sure enough, that bust (no photo, sorry) is of the Capitol’s architect and hides the keyhole.

Is Reapportionment Good for Gun Owners?

I put up a quick hits post this morning on PAGunRights with various federal election stories that will impact Pennsylvania gun owners, including this piece that notes the Keystone State has lost more Congressional seats than any other state in history. An astute reader took note, and made a compelling argument that even though we might lose a seat, it may not be bad for gun rights.

States like Texas, Arizona, Utah, Florida, Georgia, etc. are usually (not always) sending pro 2nd Amendment representatives to the House and states like New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, etc. are quite the contrary. …

Some of the other states that are losing a Rep are mixed bag of ratings but in general, it seems as this reapportionment would be a good thing for pro 2nd Amendment issues.

He noted that this is a theory, and it is correct as a theory. But damn it, real life may get in the way, or it could make his observation 100% spot on. The unknown factors will be state elections.

The Pennsylvania Concern
We’re most likely to lose a pro-gun seat. Regardless of which party controls the state House & Governor’s Mansion, the logical elimination in Pennsylvania is Murtha’s old seat. It doesn’t matter which party wins the special election to replace Murtha, they won’t be an entrenched incumbent. It’s also probably easier to absorb that corner of the state into the various district around it – it touches 4 other districts & is close to 2 more. That would allow the suburban districts around Philadelphia to simply “grow” west since we are likely the source of any growth in population.

Murtha’s seat is pro-gun, regardless of party, so that’s a loss right there. The expansion of seats in suburban Philadelphia will make it harder to hold on in close races, especially for two pro-gun votes in Reps. Charlie Dent & Jim Gerlach. But since it’s all politics, the logical thing to do might be ignored, and my assessment could be 100% opposite of what they actually do during reapportionment.

Those Other States
While culturally, many of the states slated to gain seats are pro-gun, most have portions that are most decidedly not friendly to our rights. Texas will likely see the most growth around Houston because of all of the Katrina evacuees, and those votes will not be in our favor. Arizona could be good for us, but even it has some anti-gunners in office. I am venturing to guess that their growth is mostly around Phoenix which has also been the source of many state lawmakers who get in the way of a pro-gun agenda.

Georgia’s growth, I assume, is probably centered around Atlanta which may be hit or miss depending on where the seats go. Nevada and Utah should, generally, be pretty safe. Though it really depends on where the transplants to Nevada are coming from – if it’s a bunch of Californians, that may not be good for us. Florida also produces as many anti-gun votes as pro-gun votes. Again, it depends on where their growth has been during the last 10 years.

The Solution
Voters in all of the states slated to gain a seat have to put pro-gun majorities in their state legislatures this year. Whoever has control of state houses after the November elections will decide who has power for the next decade. Gerrymandering is never a pretty sight to see, but it will happen. The question is whether we’ll have any kind of say in the process.

Here in Pennsylvania, we’ll benefit more by putting Republicans in power. The voters in Texas, Georgia, Arizona, Florida, Nevada, Utah, and other states will need to examine their own states to see which seats need to flip to seal majorities in their legislatures for pro-gun lawmakers.

My other tip is to not get lost in the federal battles alone this year. While it is important to flip Congress, because of reapportionment, you cannot afford to ignore your state representative and senate seats, either. This is not a year to sit on your ass. Write checks or start walking precincts.

CeaseFire Caught Lying

This whole CeaseFirePA effort to become politically relevant is turning into comedy. Apparently, the reason Tom Corbett didn’t bother responding to the questionnaire was because he didn’t care for the endorsement. His campaign said the questionnaire was to be used for endorsement purposes. But CeaseFire is all about education, right?

In a follow-up interview, Grace said he’d made repeated overtures to Corbett’s campaign over the phone, through e-mail and in-person at a March debate at the National Constitution Center in Philly, to get the AG to play ball on the questionnaire.

At no time did the question of an endorsement come up, Grace said.

“It was clear as could be,” he said. “We were seeking that the Attorney General, as with all the candidates, respond to the questionnaire.”

At no time! Never did any talk of endorsement every come up. Not at all.

Except, when it did. John Micek noted that the cover letter of the questionnaire does specifically say that the questionnaire is about earning the anti-gun group’s endorsement.

What muddies the waters, however, is language on the cover letter of the questionnaire which reads thus:

“To be considered for endorsement by CeaseFirePa, please complete the questionnaire and return it to CeaseFirePA no later than February 26, 2010.”

In standard anti fashion, now they swear that it’s not what they meant. And they promise that even though they did talk about an endorsement, they didn’t really mean it.

It sounds a lot like how they jump around on the issue of gun bans, too. “We’re not for taking people’s lawfully owned guns! Except for anything we don’t like. And we don’t like rifles, shotguns, or handguns.”

Tip to Joe Grace & his anti-gun friends: It’s a lot easier to cover up your lies when you don’t lie in the first place.

Last Night’s Lost

We were absolutely exhausted by the time we returned home last night after the lobbying all day at the Capitol. But I was so happy to find out that we were back in time for Lost. Until I turned it on and found out it was a repeat. Now I know that I should have watched the entire thing because it was really so much more than that. Les Jones explains:

It was just like an earlier episode. Freaky.

Itâ€™s sort of like the audience is now time-traveling. We time-traveled back to a previous â€œLostâ€ episode. That episode had died in an alternate timeline (the Smoke Monster probably killed it), but in the new timeline it was brought back to life after bathing in the spring at the temple.

Rather than having to wait week after week and season after season, I watched all 6 seasons in fairly rapid succession given that we started from the beginning right around Christmas with our subscription to Netflix. This waiting thing, especially when they pull a repeat stunt, is for the birds. I’ll be so damn glad when this show is over.

So, who read the spoiler call sheet? (We didn’t. I just read about it.)

If You Talk to Them, Your Grade Goes Up

It’s very telling that the anti-gun group in Pennsylvania is giving out positive grades for nothing more than acknowledging their existence. Sam Rohrer was willing to talk to CeaseFire PA, so they gave him a D. Tom Corbett blew them off, so they failed him.

I was chatting with a fellow activist who said, “I wonder what they give you if you talk to them and tell them to fuck off. D-?” I laughed.

Kennedy on the Campaign Trail

It’s zombie Kennedy. Fortunately for us, it’s John, not Teddy.

The JFK Library is recreating JFK’s campaign through tweets as though they were written on the trail on @Kennedy1960. If you enjoy history, politics, or just innovative uses of social media for teaching, you should follow it.

I have to say, this is one of the best uses of Twitter I’ve seen for an organization like this. It’s a very different way to bring history alive, and a great way to celebrate an anniversary that most people would understandably forget.

Remember November

This is probably the best use of the “have to pass it so we can find out what’s in it” and “we make up the rules” lines I’ve seen all year. Â I doubt it will be topped.

I Don’t Think They Understand the Process

Sometimes I read what politicians do, and it makes me wonder how many times they’ve stumbled across the stupid stick.

The House Transportation Committee voted unanimously to report as amended HB 914 which amends Title 75 requiring certain first time DUI offenders to have their vehicles equipped with an ignition interlock device and increase the required time period for ignition interlock to third and subsequent offenders. After the vote was taken, several committee members raised questions regarding the bill and its potential impact. A motion to reconsider the vote was made but eventually withdrawn with the understanding there will be further discussions regarding the bill.

Typically the questions are asked and impact considered before the damn vote.

In other news, I hope that those who have made one unfortunate mistake of driving while a little over the limit are willing to give up mouthwash and/or use of their cars.