Friday Gun Pr0n

Jay has it. :)

Pax,

Newbius

Blogroll Addition- Calvin's Mom

Every time I visit "The Transmogrifier Files", I learn something new. Sometimes I learn about myself. Sometimes I learn about life. Sometimes, I just learn that there are people out there with a slightly-twisted view of life that I really enjoy hearing about.

Calvins' Mom is being added to my daily reading list. She should have been there a long time ago. Enjoy.

Pax,

Newbius

If you are not angry about this, you are not thinking

The DC government is being sued by surviving members of a family that was murdered while the police cowered outside.

The murdered family did not have a gun inside the house.

Legal possession of a functioning gun in DC is made difficult (it was formerly a prosecutable crime) by labyrinthine laws infringing regulating acquisition, transport, storage, and usage (keeping and bearing) of arms in DC. Until the Heller case (and now McDonald), the laws prevented the people from owning functioning tools of defense in DC. The tools are were outlawed, whereas now they are just damned-near impossible to legally obtain for someone without considerable means.

Under existing case law, the District is immune from liability and has no duty to protect an individual citizen from crime (even when the crime is ongoing and the police are on-scene). Current jurisprudence on this matter will likely cause the case to get tossed based upon stare decisis grounds.

This situation is an outrage. The honest, law-abiding citizen cannot reasonably get a gun because the government heavily regulates purchase and possession. Yet, the very same government is immune from liability arising from the consequences of their prohibitions and proscriptions against the citizen's access to these tools. Without the proper "papers please", the citizen is a de facto criminal for acquiring the ability to do what the state refuses to do and cannot be held liable for if they refuse.

Question: At what point do the citizens take the responsibility for self-defense seriously and begin the process of tarring and feathering voting out the scum-sucking political class who have put these poor people into this situation in the first place?

The criminal boyfriend was not deterred by the law. Only the law-abiding were harmed. $60 million is not sufficient penalty to ease this family's suffering. Justice would place every politician, bureaucrat, and policeman who supported these asinine laws on the docket for accessory to murder.

Restore the Second Amendment rights to the people, or the people will do the restoration themselves. At this juncture, it is only a matter of time...

Newbius
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Reminder - B B & Guns Thursday Nights

Listen to Episode 2 of B B & Guns tonight THURSDAY at 6:00 7:00 PM Eastern on BlogTalkRadio. Bonnie and Breda are fun to listen to, and it is an hour well-spent.

Pax,

Newbius

Boring stuff - Remodeling

Yep, my life can be boring at times. :)

Evenings after work right now are being consumed with home remodeling "honey-do's". This week's project is a new kitchen pantry. If all goes well (and I don't cut a hand off with the power saw), I should have a bunch more food storage space by Sunday night.

We demo'd the cabinets and desk in the alcove on Sunday and painted the area yesterday. Tonight's activity is putting up the new shelving. Tomorrow is framing the new doorway, followed by drywall Thursday and Friday. Saturday, the doors get hung and the drywall gets painted. I am really looking forward to having this little project completed.

I hope your Monday went well, and that your Tuesday is even better.

Pax,

Newbius

A Father's Dilemma

Part of me wants to let my children (who are all young-adults) figure it out on their own without intervention from me. Growth requires that they make some mistakes and learn from them.

Another part of me wants to rage and scream at the injustice of a world which sometimes causes them hurt.

And then there is that special part that is the father of a wonderful girl. That part just wants to throw down the gloves and say:

"If you break my little girl's heart, I will break you."

I try not to let that monster out...it scares me too much. Some of you fathers understand.

I wish I did.

Newbius

Reminder: Identity Politics

Whenever you are faced with a story decrying some "-ism", fast forward to the conclusion. Because, the "oppressor" is ALMOST ALWAYS the hated white, heterosexual, male, Capitalist.

Identity Politics is never about equality or justice. It is always about finding ways to tilt the playing field. It is about ways to hamstring people who are not a member of the identity group in order to get an advantage, payback, or handout. Think about the outcry if we had:

National Association for the Advancement of White People
National Organization for Men
New White Panther Party
"Historically White Colleges"
Congressional White Caucus
Straight-rights lobby
White American Legal Defense and Education Fund
National Council of La Raza Blanco

Please do not take the above as anything other than an observation on the state of the nation today. I don't want ANY group to be favored in the distribution of services, or the right to compete. I believe that All Men are Created Equal (yes, women too), and do NOT believe that "some are more equal than others".

All of you race hustlers, interest group panhandlers, and identity hucksters need to go get honest work doing something productive. Leave the rest of us to work out our differences normally without inflaming the rhetoric to suit your ends. The Nation will be better off without you.

Pax,

Newbius

Not read here today

Things I am not blogging about today:

Journolist
Blago corruption
New Black Panther Racism
NAACP Racism
Tea Party Racism
Federal Employee Racism
The destruction of Capitalism by Obama
The destruction of Capitalism by Barney Frank
The destruction of Capitalism by Chris Dodd
The destruction of Capitalism by Nancy Pelosi
The destruction of the rule of law by Liberal Socialists
Elena Kagan (see above)
IRS 1099 kerfluffle
The Health Care takeover
The Bank takeover
The failed economy
The failed job market
The failed housing market
The failed Credit market
The failed Stimulus
The failed TARP bailout
The failed GM takeover
The failed Chrysler takeover
The theft of the automakers by the Unions
The theft of the taxpayers money by the Unions
The thug tactics of the Unions
The tyranny of the Majority in Congress
The tyranny of the Minority in charge of Chicago
The tyranny of pure democracy
The Corrupt Crony Capitalists
George Soros, Jeffrey Immelt, Lloyd Blankfein, Brian Moynihan (see above)
And so on...

Instead, how about a picture of my cat Romeo:


Don't forget to listen to "B B and Guns" tonight at 6:00 PM Eastern!

Pax,

Newbius

Political quizzes

Not surprised by this at all...

My Conservative Identity:

You are an Anti-government Gunslinger, also known as a libertarian conservative or Tea Partier. You believe in smaller government, states’ rights, gun rights, and that, as Reagan once said, "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’"

Take the quiz at
About.com Political Humor

She's Back

My girl got back from a week-long mission trip. She leaves in 2 days for a month-long tour out west. I missed her, and will miss her again.

Have I told you how much in awe I am of her? She has more grit, more compassion, and more talent at age 17 than I had at age 30. I am very proud of her.

Newbius

QOTD - HogDaddy

It saddened me to read that the NRA sold out my First Amendment Rights to ensure that the NRA's First Amendment rights were not infringed. The Second Amendment is supposed to be used to protect the other Nine. Therefore, even though the association's focus is the Second Amendment, it should never agree to stand idly by while other freedoms are infringed upon.

The musings of a 'Big Man" on the NRA sellout over the DISCLOSE Act.

I agree. While the NRA is a "Single issue" organization, their willingness to sell out their principles in order to retain their advocacy has a chilling effect upon those of us who are not as large, nor as powerful. I am still an NRA member, but I recognize their limitations and will do whatever is necessary to preserve, protect, and defend my constitution from all enemies. Even if it is the NRA.

Pax,

Newbius

Everyday Carry

Several other bloggers have posted about this meme. Since I am light on blog fodder today, I thought I would join in and play.

So here is the picture of the "junk on the bunk" when I empty out the pockets and places and things for the day:


"The Junk*"

Keys, Mini MagLite LED (AA), .45ACP pistol in DeSantis IWB holster, spare magazine in BLACKHAWK! carrier, 2 pens, wallet (no cash...I'm married), Kershaw Vapor folder, work and personal cell phones, Ka-Bar folder, iPod, gum, reading glasses, Leatherman multi-tool.

The pistol is an Astra A-100 which weighs 31.1 ounces empty. With a full magazine plus one in the chamber (9+1) the gun weighs 42 ounces fully loaded. The fully loaded spare mag weighs 10.2 ounces. The holster comes in at 7.5 ounces and the mag carrier weighs 1.8. Total carry weight for the system is 61.5 ounces (3 lbs, 13.5 ounces). Since I carry every day, I have gotten used to the weight. Note that I said "system". Any time you are carrying a firearm, you need to consider all of the accessories, and how much they weigh, too in order to have the ability you want.

Everything is a compromise. The above is what I am willing to carry to be prepared for most situations.

Pax,

Newbius



*Note to the FTC: Everything above was bought and paid for by me, some with prices too dear to think about. I am not being compensated for this, so piss off.

Charlie Rangel Proposes Slavery

Rep Charles Rangel (D-NY) has introduced a bill to re-instate the Draft. It will require compulsory service in either a military or civilian capacity during times of war or national emergency. See the text at OPEN CONGRESS or THOMAS.

True to his Statist beliefs (no man is above the State), service to the State is paramount in his view. Charles Rangel never met a tax hike he didn't support, a gun restriction he didn't endorse, or a crime he was above committing. To this we now get to include support for involuntary servitude. You know, SLAVERY.

The last time I checked, my copy of the Constitution had this little note added to it in 1865 called the Thirteenth Amendment. You know, that pesky addition that abolished slavery? Yeah, that one.

Maybe in Charlie Rangel's view, our professional and highly-skilled volunteer army has too many minorities and women in it. Maybe in Charlie Rangel's view, the military is not a proper avenue to escape cyclical poverty and learn valuable life skills while serving your country. Maybe in Charlie Rangel's view, proposing the draft is a back-handed way to ensure that only the rich kids get to serve. I don't know.

I tried to join when I was 18, and failed the physical. I was heart-broken because I really WANTED to serve. The people in our armed forces right now serve because they want to, not because they have to. Our military is better as a result of motivated people striving to do the best job possible. The lying political scum like Rangel, who disdain them, are irrelevant to the esprit d'corps.

Charlie Rangel, you are deceitful, despicable, and corrupt. You are an oxygen thief of the lowest order. I sincerely hope that you get all of the justice you deserve. You will have earned All of the tar and feathers that are your due.

Newbius

Housekeeping

Doing a little of that at home, and also here on the Blog.

On the sidebar you will now find "Eternity Road", a blog with in-depth essays on contemporary topics. Eternity Road is a project by Francis W. Porretto, with contributions from others as well. It is worth making a daily visit.

Also, please enjoy "Day by Day", a political comic strip by Chris Muir. Day by Day is 100% reader funded. If you like it and want to support the strip, toss him a donation.

Finally, I am re-organizing the blog roll. This will happen as soon as I figure out how I want to differentiate Friends and Future Friends. Since I use my side bar as a launching point for my daily reads, I want to have the lists consolidated and sorted by most recent update. Hopefully this will keep the scrolling and such to a minimum because, while I like this particular template, it is slower to load than a simpler theme. I may still change it.

Anyway, that's all for now. Keep your chin up and keep the countdown going. We only have 16 more weeks to go until the election.

Pax,

Newbius

Intellignorance

The ignorance of the intelligentsia.

The crass stereotyping of us "rubes" and "wing-nuts" as "racist hate-mongers" is beginning to wear a little thinly with me. The fact that I am a champion of civil rights for all people makes me unacceptable to them, because I am not sufficiently guilty about being white. That I decry their own policies as racist makes me a target, because reverse-racism is just reparations-lite.

Sorry. Not going to feel guilty.

How about my Pro-Second Amendment stance? Well, in their eyes, that makes me an uneducated, redneck, cousin-humping Neanderthal who wants to give machine guns to pre-schoolers and rocket launchers to high school kids. Because then they can all settle their differences in glorious gunpowder-fueled orgies of lead and destruction.

Seriously. Go read the comments at Politico, The Puffington Whore, or the Daily Kook. If the disdain shown for white, Christian, gun-owning America doesn't scream at you loudly, then you might just be one of them and are blinded to your own bigotry.

You know, when I was young, I was taught that two wrongs do not make a right. I was taught to fight evil whenever I found it. I was taught that the Golden Rule meant we had to do what was right, regardless of who the person was, or their station in life. I was taught that skin color didn't matter, that character mattered. I was taught tolerance for people who were different than I. And, I was taught to look at actions and not listen to words. I was taught Live and Let Live. I was taught that our level of achievement was directly attributable to our level of industry and drive to succeed. I was taught that the American Dream was something that was within the grasp of anybody who was willing to work to make it happen. And, that each person's idea of that dream was their own and not to be defined by any outside party.

In short, I was taught classic Liberalism.

Where has my country gone? Why is my government trying to destroy everything that America once stood for?

Is this the last, best gasp of the 1960's? Are the radicals now in power? Are the Marxist corruptocrats just puppets on a string, controlled by some faceless power-broker behind the curtain? Will we ever know?

One thing is for certain. My views are now belittled by the intellignorant. The MSM conspires to control the narrative. The Polital class seeks to stifle dissent. The Liberal Elite looks down their noses at us poor schlubs in Middle America, and the top 1% uses every trick in the book to ensure that they are favored while they rob us blind.

Are we still in Claire Wolfe's "Awkward phase"? If so, until when?

Will we get another engineered event like Oklahoma City, designed to discredit the Patriots and garner sympathy for the Establishment?

I don't know. I don't have any answers today, only questions. In the meantime, I will keep on doing my best to do what is right. And, I'll keep praying for my country. G_d knows we could use His help.

Pax,

Newbius

Senate Incumbent Rankings Part 2

Fun with Spreadsheets...

The previous rankings were biased in favor of the 3 gun rights scores. The listing below is biased differently, and exposes a small bit of hypocrisy on the part of some Democrats.

The hypocrisy is that these Democrats will pander to the Gun Lobby, while remaining firmly in Statist territory on everything else. The bias in the score weightings is based upon their votes on the major legislation this year. This ranking, unlike the previous list, really highlights the disparity between someone who professes support for gun rights, and someone who is pro-Liberty.

The scoring is as follows:

Gun Rights Composite 0-4
Health Care x5
TARP x3
Sotomayo Confirmation x4
Wall Street Bailout x2
Reciprocity 1
National Park Carry 1
Maximum possible - 20 points

The sort order is still Score, arranged by Seniority. Please take note that the NRA scored both the National Park Carry vote, and National Reciprocity. As you look down-list you will see a lot of "D" and "F"-rated Democrats (1 or 0 in the GR column) who raised their NRA Grades for the 2010 election cycle by voting for these measures (after failure was assured). Like Harry Reid highlighted earlier, they get a PASS from the NRA because they have played the right song on the fiddle, yet all of their other moves are anti-liberty.

SCORE SEN NM P ST GR HC TARP SOTO WS REC NPC
20 4 Orrin Hatch R UT 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
20 6 Thad Cochran R MS 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
20 14 Mitch McConnell R KY 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
20 17 Richard Shelby R AL 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
20 31 Bob Bennett R UT 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
20 32 Kay Bailey Hutchison R TX 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
20 33 Jim Inhofe R OK 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
20 35 Jon Kyl R AZ 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
20 37 Sam Brownback R KS 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
20 38 Pat Roberts R KS 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
20 43 Jeff Sessions R AL 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
20 45 Mike Enzi R WY 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
20 47 Jim Bunning R KY 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
20 48 Mike Crapo R ID 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
20 55 John Ensign R NV 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
20 58 Lisa Murkowski R AK 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
20 60 Saxby Chambliss R GA 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
20 63 John Cornyn R TX 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
20 65 Richard Burr R NC 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
20 66 Jim DeMint R SC 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
20 67 Tom Coburn R OK 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
20 68 John Thune R SD 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
20 69 Johnny Isakson R GA 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
20 70 David Vitter R LA 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
20 77 Bob Corker R TN 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
20 82 John Barrasso R WY 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
20 83 Roger Wicker R MS 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
20 86 Mike Johanns R NE 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
20 89 Jim Risch R ID 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
19 98 George LeMieux R FL 4 1 1 1 1 1 0
18 9 Chuck Grassley R IA 4 1 1 1 0 1 1
18 18 John McCain R AZ 2 1 1 1 1 1 1
16 20 Kit Bond R MO 4 1 1 0 1 1 1
16 61 Lindsey Graham R SC 4 1 1 0 1 1 1
15 62 Lamar Alexander R TN 4 1 1 0 1 1 0
14 28 Judd Gregg R NH 2 1 1 0 1 1 1
12 3 Richard Lugar R IN 1 1 1 0 1 0 1
12 50 George Voinovich R OH 1 1 1 0 1 0 1
11 99 *Scott Brown R MA 4 0 1 1 0 0 0
9 34 Olympia Snowe R ME 2 1 0 0 0 1 1
9 44 Susan Collins R ME 2 1 0 0 0 1 1
6 5 Max Baucus D MT 4 0 0 0 0 1 1
6 19 Harry Reid D NV 4 0 0 0 0 1 1
6 57 Ben Nelson D NE 4 0 0 0 0 1 1
6 92 Mark Begich D AK 4 0 0 0 0 1 1
5 10 Arlen Specter D PA 4 0 0 0 0 0 1
5 29 Russ Feingold D WI 1 0 0 0 1 1 1
5 40 Tim Johnson D SD 4 0 0 0 0 1 0
5 76 Jim Webb D VA 3 0 0 0 0 1 1
5 81 Jon Tester D MT 3 0 0 0 0 1 1
5 88 Mark Warner D VA 3 0 0 0 0 1 1
5 95 Michael Bennet D CO 3 0 0 0 0 1 1
4 42 Mary Landrieu D LA 2 0 0 0 0 1 1
4 64 Mark Pryor D AR 2 0 0 0 0 1 1
4 75 Bob Casey, Jr. D PA 2 0 0 0 0 1 1
4 84 Mark Udall D CO 2 0 0 0 0 1 1
3 21 Kent Conrad D ND 1 0 0 0 0 1 1
3 26 Byron Dorgan D ND 1 0 0 0 0 1 1
3 49 Blanche Lincoln D AR 1 0 0 0 0 1 1
3 51 Evan Bayh D IN 1 0 0 0 0 1 1
3 73 Bernie Sanders I VT 2 0 0 0 0 0 1
3 79 Amy Klobuchar D MN 2 0 0 0 0 0 1
3 85 Tom Udall D NM 2 0 0 0 0 1 0
3 87 Jeanne Shaheen D NH 2 0 0 0 0 0 1
3 91 Jeff Merkley D OR 2 0 0 0 0 0 1
3 97 Al Franken D MN 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
2 2 Patrick Leahy D VT 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
2 52 Bill Nelson D FL 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
2 56 Maria Cantwell D WA 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
2 90 Kay Hagan D NC 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
1 11 Jeff Bingaman D NM 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 13 Tom Harkin D IA 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
1 15 Jay Rockefeller D WV 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 22 Herb Kohl D WI 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
1 36 Ron Wyden D OR 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
1 74 Sherrod Brown D OH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 1 Daniel Inouye D HI 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 7 Carl Levin D MI 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 8 Christopher Dodd D CT 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 12 John Kerry D MA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 16 Barbara Mikulski D MD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 23 Joe Lieberman ID CT 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 24 Daniel Akaka D HI 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 25 Dianne Feinstein D CA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 27 Barbara Boxer D CA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 30 Patty Murray D WA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 39 Richard Durbin D IL 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 41 Jack Reed D RI 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 46 Chuck Schumer D NY 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 53 Tom Carper D DE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 54 Debbie Stabenow D MI 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 59 Frank Lautenberg D NJ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 71 Bob Menendez D NJ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 72 Ben Cardin D MD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 78 Claire McCaskill D MO 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 80 Sheldon Whitehouse D RI 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 93 Roland Burris D IL 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 94 Ted Kaufman D DE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 96 Kirsten Gillibrand D NY 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Pax,

Newbius

*NOTE: Scott Brown is not given credit for his stance on the Health Care vote even though he stated that he was opposed to the measure. Also, he is given no credit for the votes on Reciprocity and Park Carry. Had he been elected in time to cast his vote on Health Care, his score would have been 5 points higher at 16, right above Lamar Alexander. If credited for both gun votes as well, he would place right behind John McCain due to Seniority.

Senate Incumbent Rankings

I have compiled my "Newbius Rankings" of current Senate Incumbents, based upon my view of Liberty and Gun Rights issues. This table lists all current incumbents, their current Seniority, and my ratings based on recent votes and overall history regarding gun rights. The table rates as follows:

Composite Gun Rights grade (expressed as a number 4-0 A-F)
Health Care Vote (For=0, Against =1)
TARP Vote (For=0, Against=1)
Sotomayor Confirmation (For=0, Against=1)
Wall Street Bailout (For=0, Against=1)
National CCW Reciprocity (Against=0, For=1)
National Parks Carry (Against=0, For=1)

The maximum possible score is 10 and the scoring is biased towards Second Amendment freedom.

The data is sorted in order by Score, then by Seniority

SC SN Name GR HC TARP SOTO WS NCR NPC
10 4 Orrin Hatch (R-UT) 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
10 6 Thad Cochran (R-MS) 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
10 14 Mitch McConnell (R-KY) 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
10 17 Richard Shelby (R-AL) 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
10 31 Bob Bennett (R-UT) 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
10 32 Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
10 33 Jim Inhofe (R-OK) 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
10 35 Jon Kyl (R-AZ) 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
10 37 Sam Brownback (R-KS) 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
10 38 Pat Roberts (R-KS) 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
10 43 Jeff Sessions (R-AL) 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
10 45 Mike Enzi (R-WY) 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
10 47 Jim Bunning (R-KY) 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
10 48 Mike Crapo (R-ID) 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
10 55 John Ensign (R-NV) 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
10 58 Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
10 60 Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
10 63 John Cornyn (R-TX) 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
10 65 Richard Burr (R-NC) 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
10 66 Jim DeMint (R-SC) 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
10 67 Tom Coburn (R-OK) 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
10 68 John Thune (R-SD) 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
10 69 Johnny Isakson (R-GA) 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
10 70 David Vitter (R-LA) 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
10 77 Bob Corker (R-TN) 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
10 82 John Barrasso (R-WY) 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
10 83 Roger Wicker (R-MS) 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
10 86 Mike Johanns (R-NE) 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
10 89 Jim Risch (R-ID) 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
9 9 Chuck Grassley (R-IA) 4 1 1 1 0 1 1
9 20 Kit Bond (R-MO) 4 1 1 0 1 1 1
9 61 Lindsey Graham (R-SC) 4 1 1 0 1 1 1
9 98 George LeMieux (R-FL) 4 1 1 1 1 1 0
8 18 John McCain (R-AZ) 2 1 1 1 1 1 1
8 62 Lamar Alexander (R-TN) 4 1 1 0 1 1 0
7 28 Judd Gregg (R-NH) 2 1 1 0 1 1 1
6 5 Max Baucus (D-MT) 4 0 0 0 0 1 1
6 19 Harry Reid (D-NV) 4 0 0 0 0 1 1
6 57 Ben Nelson (D-NE) 4 0 0 0 0 1 1
6 92 Mark Begich (D-AK) 4 0 0 0 0 1 1
6 99 Scott Brown (R-MA) 4 0 1 1 0 0 0
5 3 Richard Lugar (R-IN) 1 1 1 0 1 0 1
5 10 Arlen Specter (D-PA) 4 0 0 0 0 0 1
5 34 Olympia Snowe (R-ME) 2 1 0 0 0 1 1
5 40 Tim Johnson (D-SD) 4 0 0 0 0 1 0
5 44 Susan Collins (R-ME) 2 1 0 0 0 1 1
5 50 George Voinovich (R-OH) 1 1 1 0 1 0 1
5 76 Jim Webb (D-VA) 3 0 0 0 0 1 1
5 81 Jon Tester (D-MT) 3 0 0 0 0 1 1
5 88 Mark Warner (D-VA) 3 0 0 0 0 1 1
5 95 Michael Bennet (D-CO) 3 0 0 0 0 1 1
4 29 Russ Feingold (D-WI) 1 0 0 0 1 1 1
4 42 Mary Landrieu (D-LA) 2 0 0 0 0 1 1
4 64 Mark Pryor (D-AR) 2 0 0 0 0 1 1
4 75 Bob Casey, Jr. (D-PA) 2 0 0 0 0 1 1
4 84 Mark Udall (D-CO) 2 0 0 0 0 1 1
3 21 Kent Conrad (D-ND) 1 0 0 0 0 1 1
3 26 Byron Dorgan (D-ND) 1 0 0 0 0 1 1
3 49 Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) 1 0 0 0 0 1 1
3 51 Evan Bayh (D-IN) 1 0 0 0 0 1 1
3 73 Bernie Sanders (I-VT) 2 0 0 0 0 0 1
3 79 Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) 2 0 0 0 0 0 1
3 85 Tom Udall (D-NM) 2 0 0 0 0 1 0
3 87 Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) 2 0 0 0 0 0 1
3 91 Jeff Merkley (D-OR) 2 0 0 0 0 0 1
2 2 Patrick Leahy (D-VT) 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
2 52 Bill Nelson (D-FL) 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
2 90 Kay Hagan (D-NC) 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
1 11 Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 13 Tom Harkin (D-IA) 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
1 15 Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 22 Herb Kohl (D-WI) 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
1 36 Ron Wyden (D-OR) 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
1 56 Maria Cantwell (D-WA) 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
1 74 Sherrod Brown (D-OH) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 97 Al Franken (D-MN) 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
0 1 Daniel Inouye (D-HI) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 7 Carl Levin (D-MI) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 8 Christopher Dodd (D-CT) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 12 John Kerry (D-MA) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 16 Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 23 Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 24 Daniel Akaka (D-HI) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 25 Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 27 Barbara Boxer (D-CA) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 30 Patty Murray (D-WA) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 39 Richard Durbin (D-IL) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 41 Jack Reed (D-RI) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 46 Chuck Schumer (D-NY) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 53 Tom Carper (D-DE) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 54 Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 59 Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 71 Bob Menendez (D-NJ) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 72 Ben Cardin (D-MD) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 78 Claire McCaskill (D-MO) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 80 Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 93 Roland Burris (D-IL) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 94 Ted Kaufman (D-DE) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 96 Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Sorry about the formatting, I haven't mastered tables in HTML yet and I wanted to get this out. For ease of reading, you might want to dump the table into a spreadsheet.

To decipher, using Orrin Hatch as an example:

10 4 Orrin Hatch (R-UT) 4 1 1 1 1 1 1

Total Score 10, Current Seniority 4, Name (Party Affiliation-ST), Gun Rights 4 (A), Health Care 1 (Against), Tarp 1 (Against), Sotomayor Confirmation 1 (Against), Wall Street Bailout 1 (Against), National Parks Carry 1 (For), National CCW Reciprocity 1 (For).

Using this rating system we see that, on issues important to me, he maxes the grade. His current Overall Seniority is #4 (Republican Seniority #2 behind lower-rated Dick Lugar), and if my decision was between this Senator and an unknown, I would likely vote for him.

I am not a single-issue voter. I view Liberty issues as being intertwined, with the most telling indicator of a politician's support for Liberty being their support for our Second Amendment rights.

Usually, but not always, a politician who supports our gun rights also supports civil liberties. A very telling example of this is Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

6 19 Harry Reid (D-NV) 4 0 0 0 0 1 1

While his overall gun rights score is still a 4 (A), his actual votes on the other key issues were against Liberty. His support for Statist policies manifested in votes for expansion of government with regard to ObamaCare, TARP, Wall Street bailouts, and in his vote to confirm Sotomayor. While Harry Reid might be a friend of the NRA, Harry Reid is not a friend of Liberty.

Please do you own research on the people representing you in Congress. Before you vote, use resources like Open Secrets and Project Vote Smart to discover where a candidate stands and who is funding their campaign. Create tables of your own based upon issues important to you.

Most importantly, get involved.

Pax,

Newbius

QOTD Say Uncle

My gun doesn’t compensate for the size of my penis. It compensates for the fact I cannot throw a rock at 1,200 feet per second.

Amen. Preach it Brother.

Recommended Reading

My book order from Amazon arrived yesterday with the mail. On the advice of people that I trust I had purchased Fighter Pilot, the Stieg Larsson's Milennium Trilogy, and Corpse in Armor. After finishing my work for the day, I started reading Corpse in Armor.

And I couldn't put it down.

Wow.

Martin McPhillips keeps the pace running fast and furiously from the opening scene until the very last page. If you are a fan of the political or action thriller genre; if you like the works of Vince Flynn, Joel Rosenberg, or Tom Clancy, you will enjoy this book as I did.

Go buy it.

Pax,

Newbius

Aroma Therapy

There is a school of thought that says "if you want to alter your mood, make pleasant smells".

For some people, this means essential oils over a candle spewing Jasmine and Juniper. Others grab that new "Choco-Vanilla-Caramel" Yankee Candle. The "stoners" grab some pot...

For me, the mood altering smells of choice are: Gunpowder and Hoppes.

And, I need some right now...

Pax,

Newbius

Not feeling it today

There are a lot of things that need to be said. I am just not the right person to say them today. We still have:

A Congress that is out of control

A President intent on destroying capitalism

A Banking system that robs the sheep daily

A Supreme Court that can't read the Constitution's plain language

A Regulatory structure whose only goal today is self-preservation

State governments "of the unions, by the unions, for the unions"

Enemies of our Constitutional Republic, both Foreign and Domestic

So I am not feeling the muse today.

Until and unless the system begins to respond to the Soap Box, I am not confident that we will have enough impact. The Ballot Box, this time around, may depend entirely on who is doing the counting, not the voting. The Jury box? You have to have "Standing" now to challenge the GOV...being a citizen is no longer enough. May G_d help us if all we have left is the last box.

Pax,

Newbius

Independence Day July 4th, 2010

..."We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness"...

As it was written 234 years ago, and is still the foundation of our Nation. We are a Nation, not of Men or Corporations, but of Law. Justice requires that assurance of equality be found in our dealings with others. That we not sacrifice the unpopular for the popular. That we not render the fruits of prosperity as a crime to be apologized for, nor taken for benefit of those who will not earn it.

The American Dream is that each of us, citizens of the greatest experiment in self-governance, be free to achieve to the level of our industry, innovation, or effort. That each of us has the freedom to pursue our livelihood, without fear of confiscation by arbitrary men with the trappings of power yet no moral basis to exercise it.

We were founded on the principles of Liberty. We broke free of one tyrant three thousand miles away. Did we trade him for three thousand tyrants, one mile away?

On this Independence Day, 2010, take the time between grilling your burgers and dogs and pouring another cold beer to reflect upon the founding idea enshrined in our Declaration of Independence. Take the time to understand that Freedom and Liberty are messy, and yet being Free is the only just way to live one's life.

To all of the Patriots who have sacrificed for my Freedom, all the way back to April 19, 1775 and up through to today: I salute you.

Pax,

Newbius

Qui Bono?

"Who Benefits?"

We are over two months into the Deepwater Horizon incident in the Gulf of Mexico. Still, the Obama Administration displays a stunning lack of ability to manage the problem, while preventing the professionals with experience from engaging. Who Benefits?

When asked about how he would have responded to the oil spill crisis, former President Bill Clinton responded:

"The federal government's position ought to be very straightforward," he said. "The most important thing is to fix the leak -- and anybody that can help us fix the leak, I'm for it. The second most important thing is to keep the oil away from the shores. The third most important thing is to minimize the damage when of the oil that reaches shores.

"The fourth most important thing today is to figure out who did what wrong and hold them accountable -- whether it was somebody in BP or somebody in the U.S. government. I'll do that, but let's do one, two, and three first... What people want is to fix the leak"

Exactly.

So who benefits from the current administration posture?

Is it the environmentalists? Does the environmentalist movement derive more power from the destruction of the gulf shores, in order that they may eliminate our carbon-based energy economy? Is the destruction an "acceptable loss" in the war against capitalism? Is Cap and Trade that big a grail that this spill is worth perpetuating? Is there a market out there that would benefit from carbon limits?

How about the Labor Unions? We have had offers of assistance from 60 countries, many of whom have the specialized equipment and expertise necessary to rapidly and effectively deal with oil spills. There are ships in the Persian Gulf, the North Sea, and all around the United States (even in Louisiana) capable of skimming massive amounts of contaminated water and removing the oil. These sit idle. Why? The Jones Act. A 1920 protectionist measure designed to ensure that only American ships and American (union) labor work in our waters. This is the act that G. W. Bush waived in order to allow outside assistance in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Obama won't waive the act to allow these high-tech skimmers access to work the spill. Instead, they sit idle. Maybe using exclusively unionized labor is more important than getting this disaster resolved?

The incompetence of bureaucracies is on full display with the Army Corps of Engineer's delay in permitting sand berms because "...even under an expedited basis, the dredging project would need to comply with federal environmental regulations."; the Coast Guard's shutdown of skimming/separating operations because of life jackets and fire extinguishers; and the EPA's disapproval of the Costner oil separators because the output "didn't meet water quality standards of 15ppm of oil"

Really.

President Obama's response to this oil spill so far has shown up his executive inexperience, as he owns all of the above agencies. So far, the only thing he has shown any talent at is shakedowns. He got $20 Billion from BP in less than an hour. Money that is not held by a disinterested third party, and has no accountability mechanism or oversight. In my opinion it is just another slush fund like TARP, and it will be abused similarly for political favoritism, vote buying, and graft.

Time for some aphorisms. I give you, in order, Clark's Law, Hanlon's Razor, Occam's Razor, and Emanuel's First Rule:

"Sufficiently advanced incompetence is indistinguishable from malice."
"Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity, but don't rule out malice."
"The simplest explanation is usually the correct one."
“Rule one: Never allow a crisis to go to waste, they are opportunities to do big things.”

So I ask you to make a judgment about the administration's response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Incompetence or Malice?

Qui Bono?

Pax,

Newbius

Vicious Circle 57

Wherein your humble scribe loses Internet connectivity every time he tries to sound intelligent. The topics are bizarre, there is drinking involved, and the "Brazilian" is panned as un-American.

Don't say I didn't warn you. It is only 3 1/2 hours of your life.

Go listen.

Nobody died!

The VCDL held celebrations throughout Virginia last night. Restaurant Carry is now a reality. Hundreds of people attended these events, yet no blood ran into the streets.

No shots were fired.

Nobody died.

Sarah Brady cried...

Pax,

Newbius

July the First

In Virginia, my adopted home state, new laws take effect on July 1st. One of those new laws that takes effect this year is Restaurant Carry.

I didn't go out to eat last night, but intend to do so tonight. Just because I can. I am now another year older, and the state I live in is almost to the point of treating me like an adult. I had the human right to carry in a restaurant for self defense before today. Now I have the legal right to do so as well.

Small steps...take enough of them and your journey is begun.

Pax,

Newbius