NBC Universal has settled a $105 million lawsuit brought by a woman who claimed a televised sex sting by "Dateline NBC: To Catch A Predator" drove her brother to kill himself.I've expressed concerns before, but it looks like South Park totally nailed it.
[Poster design by ryanmguard]For Erik Prince and Niccolo Machiavelli have very different ideas on the subject of mercenaries. Not that Erik Prince would even embrace that term. His employees are called "private contractors" not mercenaries. This is true in the same sense that prostitutes are now called "sex workers" to avoid the stigma.Mike Vanderboegh examines our friends at Blackwater.
A FEMA inspector, angered at a pedestrian who got in his way, allegedly took out a golf club, chased the pedestrian down and bashed him across the arm, breaking the club in the process...That's almost as good as "Do you know who I am?"
According to the Cedar Rapids Police Department, Koley stopped the car, got out and insisted that "he didn't have to slow down, he was with FEMA."
Like the inhabitants of other formerly free societies, Americans are content to define "freedom" in terms of those liberties we are permitted to exercise. Yesterday's Supreme Court ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller is perfectly in harmony with this self-defeating concept of "freedom."
While everybody's popping champagne corks, William Norman Grigg issues a warning that we ignore at our peril. We need such critical examinations, especially since there will be no shortage of "practical" voices, ostensibly from "our side," dismissing such examiners.
I especially am moved by his observation that "the intellectual and psychological disarmament of our population is nearly complete."
[Via Ron W]
My best friend is a Public Defender in Phoenix. Hard-corps Jew, entire family wiped out in the Holocaust except his dad (who was 17 at the time). Political Science professor as well - he and I went to college together, and he is a big 2nd Amendment supporter (for obvious reasons). We talked about Heller yesterday and here is what he has written, after reading it all - his lawyerly opinions are quite insightful, and should give us hope (and some fear) as well.
Undercover police officers who arrested four men on drug charges are under investigation after surveillance video proved the men they arrested committed no crime.
In the 6 months it took to clear the Colon brothers names, they lost their business and their savings.Yeah, Jose and Maximo.
Prosecutors are investigating whether Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon received thousands of dollars in gifts - including fur coats - from a prominent developer whose projects benefited from tax breaks and zoning changes she supported as City Council president, a document obtained by The Sun shows.
French officials were probing Monday an incident that left 17 people injured, including a child in critical condition, when soldiers used live rounds in a weekend visitors day display.
Fifteen civilians, including five children, and two soldiers were injured on Sunday when members of a marines parachute regiment demonstrated a hostage liberation exercise to visitors at their barracks outside the southwestern city of Carcassonne, regional officials said.
"Jessica Simpson might have a right to wear what she wants, but she doesn't have a right to eat what she wants."Oh, really?
Q. Will the ruling allow those who are arrested or convicted on gun charges to challenge their cases?High-court ruling recognizes that gun laws only disarm victims
A. Yes.
I am similarly puzzled by the majority’s list, in Part III of its opinion, of provisions that in its view would survive Second Amendment scrutiny. These consist of (1) “prohibitions on carrying concealed weapons”; (2) “prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons”; (3) “prohibitions on the possession of firearms by . . . the mentally ill”; (4)“laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings”; and (5)government “conditions and qualifications” attached “to the commercial sale of arms.” Ante, at 54. Why these? Is it that similar restrictions existed in the late 18th century? The majority fails to cite any colonial analogues.Bingo. Sometimes your enemy hands you a chair. Don't be afraid to bash with it.
A study has claimed that much of the gun crime on Britain's streets goes unreported.So when they tell us how much more tranquil the UK is, we might not be getting the complete story?
"Contrary to its commitment to be 'tough on crime'... the Government's criminal justice policy has been characterised by a reluctance to acknowledge the causal relation between income inequality and violent crime," it said.In other words, don't remove the vicious elements from society, but implement more wealth-distributing socialism?
After Heller, The Gun Lobby’s “Slippery Slope” Is Gone; Reasonable Regulations Ahead
General Sessions Court Judge Bob Moon said Friday that crime in Chattanooga "has become so rampant that it is no longer possible for the police department to protect our citizens."Aw c'mon, judge--you know an attacker would just take it away and use it against her.
He told a woman who had been pulled from her car and beaten in the head that she or her mother needed to "purchase a weapon, obtain a gun permit and learn to protect yourself."
44-year old Andre Moore is being held at the 18th Police District by the very officers he apparently wanted to kill.For some reason I can't find the complete video, but what I've seen so far disturbs me significantly less than this one. And I fear a state-authorized armed force that will batter in a man's door, drag him to a cell and try to destroy his life with legal charges far more than I fear a frustrated, angry guy ranting on YouTube because he's fed up with the enforcers.
At least that's the message he allegedy sent out to the world in a disturbing, hate filled rant on YouTube.
Despite the nature of Marquez's injuries, which included a broken jaw and bruises over her entire face, law enforcement authorities initially sided with the officer.But she didn't die so she can tell her side, and there are too many witnesses now, and a video, so we need to give up one of ours for the good of the body.
"I've also seen the video, and I know what it shows. But what the video doesn't show is the operation of Wayne Simoes' mind at the time of this incident"...I know what would be going through his mind if this was someone I loved.
In other words, rather than telling gun makers what to do, performance-based regulation would tell them what outcome they must achieve: Reduce deaths by guns. Companies that achieve the target outcomes might receive large financial bonuses; companies that don't would face severe financial penalties. Put simply, gun makers -- whose products kill even when used as directed -- would have to take responsibility for curbing the consequent public health toll.Because carbon offset credits work so well for the environment and indulgences so well for the soul.
Why would gun-makers agree to "performance-based" solutions where a government agency assesses penalty based on a manufacturers "share of the blame" when makers are already immune to civil prosecution from the consequences of a criminal's actions?And they're right when they point out "This is wrong on so many levels..."
Resolved, that thirteen thousand coats be provided as soon as may be, and one thereof given to each non-commissioned officer and soldier in the Massachusetts forces, agreeable to the resolve of Congress...
A narcotics investigator with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department was arrested and charged with two felonies Friday, accused of selling a handgun to a convicted burglar.
Eight-year veteran Jason S. Barber, 32, was the fourth Indianapolis police officer and the third narcotics officer in the department to be arrested on felony charges in the past two weeks. There are 16 officers in the narcotics unit.
But there are "just a few bad apples," right? That's what we keep hearing. Everybody else is a stand-up guy.
If every one of the 16 narco-"Only Ones" didn't know about the corruption, they're too damned oblivious to be detectives. I just wonder how many of them haven't been caught yet.
Top heads should roll. Except they're the ones who set the tone.
"Highest integrity" my ... eye.
[Via Shermlock Shomes]
A federal judge declined on Wednesday to stop Florida's new guns-at-work law from taking effect on Tuesday.Not that such a law would have helped these victims.
Wilmette has suspended enforcement of its 19-year-old ordinance banning handgun possession in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that appears to invalidate such bans.I don't know who would have observed such a lunatic edict anyway, but I learned long ago what a fringe minority people like me belong to.
Repeal the 2nd AmendmentWell, if you can repeal one, why not the other?
re: Your call to repeal the Second Amendment
Provoking a bloody civil war by repealing the Second Amendment is an odd way to secure "public safety." Do you think American gun owners would simply stay quiet and do nothing if our God-given, inalienable rights (which are merely enumerated in the Bill of Rights and not created by it) were "legally" stripped from us? Don't extrapolate from your own cowardice. Just because you would do anything the government told you to do doesn't mean we would. And remember, we're the ones with the firearms.
Democracy, unrestrained by a constitutional republican framework, is three wolves and a sheep sitting down to vote on what, or who, to have for dinner. But by all means, go ahead and repeal the Second Amendment. The "sheep" will pull out a .45 and plug all three of your wolves before they can start drooling.
Geez, did Daley turn on the bullshit today or what?
Second City Cop fights for the right of people to be armed and to defend themselves, and recognizes Bodyguarded Boss Daley for what he is. The "Only Ones" Files would be significantly smaller if more were like him.
[Via DJK]
The English fleet attacked the rude fort on the 28th of June; but the elastic palmetto logs proved an admirable defense, and a terrific bombardment of ten hours did little damage. On the other hand, the American fire was well aimed, and nearly every shot took effect.
...Miller was never convicted -- commentators noted this was pretty suggestive the court hadn't bothered to read Miller before citing it.And this level of judicial incompetence doesn't rise (sink?) to the level of malpractice? Assuming it wasn't "willful"?
...I guess he didn't read the Perpich case, either, let alone verify the dates and who did what.
It is too early to know how much of a constitutional straitjacket the new rule will create.
The "birth certificate" claimed by the Barack Obama campaign is not certified as authentic and appears to be a photoshopped fake.
Look at me, Damien. It's all for you!
Five Summit County sheriff's deputies facing trial in the 2006 death of a county jail inmate were returned to the payroll this week but will not resume their law-enforcement duties until their court cases are resolved, agency officials said Wednesday.
Citing an economic-hardship clause in the agency's contract with the deputies, sheriff's legal counsel Christine Croce said, the deputies charged in the inmate's death submitted letters to the sheriff asking to be reinstated to the payroll.
Ex-Traffic Cop Says He's Jesus
"Jared's teacher covered her ears, trying to block the conversation, and singing 'la la la la.' When asked by another school employee about her odd behavior, the teacher claimed she did not want to hear about the boys and their 'killing.'..."
In ruling out a vote on Pence’s proposed Broadcaster's Freedom Act, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.-CA.) also signaled her strong support for revival of the “Fairness Doctrine” -- which would require radio station owners to provide equal time to radio commentary when it is requested.The ruling Marxists can't allow a marketplace of ideas. It must be controlled and directed.
"There is nothing in terms of first blush to say it will significantly change our business," Michael Sullivan, acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said of the high court's decision.Huh. I haven't seen BATFU blush since I posted some pictures.
An off-duty Chicago police officer was shot and wounded on the city's South Side overnight.But if you're a non-"Only One," Bodyguarded Boss Daley would be "outraged" at your being able to send an attacker fleeing.
The officer was hit in the hand and leg during an exchange of gunfire with his assailant...
The Nahant Public Library wants to sell one of its most valuable possessions: a German machine gun captured by Army Sgt. Alvin C. York during World War I.
...Both Welsh and deStefano said at least two agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) have listened to the story but offered no recommendations, other than to suggest the machine gun be destroyed.
...Negotiations with the ATF have put deStefano in a funk. He described a four-way conference call during which an obviously young ATF agent admitted not knowing the story of Sgt. York or much about WWI. “That’s the person the ATF has making the decision about this machine gun. It’s no wonder we didn’t get very far,” he said.
Dear Mr. Codrea,
Those of us who care about American history should know that the Maxim gun has been placed under agreement between the Nahant Public Library and the Museum of Appalachia, in Tennessee. The Library should receive a monetary gift in consideration of its donation to the museum. The historic relic, which American soldiers fought to capture, will eventually be placed on exhibit for all to appreciate, as the Museum of Appalachia is constructing an exhibition around the machine gun. Transfer to the museum from the Library is awaiting paperwork from the BATFE.
Thank you for your concern. This issue seems to have been settled in favor of history and patriotism.
My Best,
Daniel deStefano
Director
You should understand that many of us gun owners today feel the same way as the Cheyenne and Lakota did about the predatory federal government in 1876 -- especially after the Olofson case proved to all of us who were paying attention that Waco Rules still govern the ATF.
The NRA has it wrong. Guns don't kill people--AK-47s kill people.Kaj Larsen demonstrates his seasoned grasp of cause and effect. If only we were rid of guns, Mogadishu would be a paradise.
This is why there's so much instability in Somalia. It's the proliferation of small arms that creates instability in countries.
The lawsuit about the May 9 incident with Dickson City police over the right to bear arms seems like a way to cash in on this ambiguity.That's Anthony J. Mariano, talking about the Old Country Buffet incident, and revealing the depths of his Second Amendment scholarship as well as the regard he holds for the citizens he works for.
An activist Catholic priest from Chicago is calling for rallies and demonstrations across the country to show public outrage over the Supreme Court decision striking down Washington's handgun ban.I hope you get more people than you did with that "Huge Success" you achieved last time, Snuff-man.
The ruling “will go down as one of the Supreme Court’s most important rulings on behalf of liberty,” says Libertarian Party presidential candidate Bob Barr.Forgive me, Mr. Barr and the LP, if I roll my eyes.
Federal agents raided Blackwater Worldwide this week as part of an investigation into whether the private security company sidestepped federal laws prohibiting the private purchase of automatic assault rifles, the company said Thursday.
...Court documents show that agents seized 22 guns as evidence from a vault dedicated to county authorities.
