Bachmann Exits Presidential Race

Some good news managed to come from Iowa, Michelle Bachmann is dropping out of the race:

Michele Bachmann Wednesday morning announced in Iowa that she would suspend her presidential campaign after a disastrous finish in the first in the nation caucus voting Tuesday, the Associated Press reported in advance of a 10 am press conference.

That’s one less war monger in the race. On one hand I’m glad to see her drop out of the race but on the other hand it’s kind of sad. Bachmann was well aware of her position and was acting like a cornered animal by lashing out at every other candidate. Her commentary made for great entertainment during debates and her status as mostly harmless (in other words she didn’t have a chance in hell of winning) made me OK with her staying in the race.

Unfortunately this news means she’s coming back to Minnesota and it’s possible she’ll run for Congress again meaning we’ll still be dealing with her crazy shit.

Rick Santorum’s Nephew Endorses Ron Paul

Rick Santorum has been my personal punching bag for the last month or so. I can’t get over how much a douche that man is, in fact he’s so bad members of his own family are endorsing competitors:

If you want another big-government politician who supports the status quo to run our country, you should vote for my uncle, Rick Santorum. America is based on a strong belief in individual liberty. My uncle’s interventionist policies, both domestic and foreign, stem from his irrational fear of freedom not working.

[…]

It is because of this inability of status quo politicians to recognize the importance of our individual liberties that I have been drawn to Ron Paul. Unlike my uncle, he does not believe that the American people are incapable of forming decisions. He believes that an individual is more powerful than any group (a notion our founding fathers also believed in).

It’s no secret that I don’t like Romney or any other Republican candidate besides Ron Paul but Rick Santorum holds a special place on my list of people I strongly dislike. Somehow he’s managed to advocate war and hatred of gays more than even Michelle Bachmann, a feat that shouldn’t be matched. Either way when you can’t even get your own family members to endorse you you’ve got major problems.

Ron Paul may not have won Iowa but I think winning Santorum’s family member is a pretty good consolation prize.

The State Protects Its Cronies

Fascism is basically socialism with the facade of private business kept in place. Whereas many claim our country is moving towards socialism I see it as a trip to fascism as we’re enacting many socialist programs but maintaining the appearance of a capitalistic economy. In fascist economies private industries that obey the demands of the state are rewarded while those that resist are punished. Evidence of such activities exists everywhere in the United States with the government’s granting of immunity to telecommunications companies who allow warrantless wiretapping of their customers:

Also today, the court upheld the dismissal of EFF’s other case aimed at ending the illegal spying, Hepting v. AT&T, which was the first lawsuit against a telecom over its participation in the dragnet domestic wiretapping. The court found that the so-called “retroactive immunity” passed by Congress to stop telecommunications customers from suing the companies is constitutional, in part because the claims remained against the government in Jewel v. NSA.

“By passing the retroactive immunity for the telecoms’ complicity in the warrantless wiretapping program, Congress abdicated its duty to the American people,” said EFF Senior Staff Attorney Kurt Opsahl. “It is disappointing that today’s decision endorsed the rights of telecommunications companies over those over their customers.”

Today’s decision comes nearly exactly six years after the first revelations of the warrantless wiretapping program were published in the New York Times on December 16, 2005. EFF will now move forward with the Jewel litigation in the Northern District of California federal court. The government is expected to raise the state secrets privilege as its next line of defense but this argument has already been rejected in other similar cases.

Telecommunications companies are willing to play ball because the state, who controls the courts, said no prosecution will be allowed against said telecommunication companies. On top of the telecommunication companies are unlikely to fight warrantless wiretapping orders in court because they have immunity and therefore no harm can come to them for playing the state’s game.

Remember New York City Isn’t Part of the United States of America

Please standby for this A Geek With Guns Public Service Announcement. All people residing in the United States of American are hereby given notice that the city of New York is not part of the Union. When entering New York City note that privileges you enjoy within the United States may not be exercised. For example if you find yourself exercising your Second Amendment right within New York City you will be arrested:

Ryan Jerome was enjoying his first trip to New York City on business when the former Marine Corps gunner walked up to a security officer at the Empire State Building and asked where he should check his gun.

That was when Jerome’s nightmare began. The security officer called police and Jerome spent the next two days in jail.

The 28-year-old with no criminal history now faces a mandatory minimum sentence of three and a half years in prison. If convicted, his sentence could be as high as fifteen years.

Jerome has a valid concealed carry permit in Indiana and visited New York believing that it was legal to bring his firearm. He was traveling with $15,000 worth of jewelry that he planned to sell.

The online gun-law information Jerome read was inaccurate, however, and his late September arrest initiated what may become a protracted criminal saga. He hasn’t yet been indicted by a grand jury, but there may be little legal wiggle-room if he is.

Please note that if you plan to carry a gun in New York City that you should not alert any authorities of your action. So long as you do not announce you are carrying a gun you will not be arrested unless your method of concealment is less than optimal. A little known fact is that criminals are able to bypass the law by using this very method while law-abiding individuals are left with the options of being disarmed victims or becoming criminals themselves.

ATF Have Similar Approval System to Apple’s App Store

I’m sure most of you have read the horror stories about developers submitting their application to the Apple App Store only to have it rejected based on unpublished requirements that seem arbitrary. Wouldn’t you know it, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) have a very similar system for determining whether or not a manufactured firearm is legal for production:

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is in charge of determining whether a gun model is legal, but the agency won’t say much about its criteria.

Despite overseeing an industry that includes machine guns and other deadly weapons, ATF regulations for the manufacture of weapons are often unclear, leading to reliance on a secretive system by which firearms manufacturers can submit proposed weapons for testing and find out one at a time whether they comply with the law, critics say.

Much like the Apple App Store the ATF is also inconsistent with their rulings:

The ATF recommends that manufacturers voluntarily submit weapons for case-by-case determination. But those judgments are private and, it turns out, sometimes contradictory. Critics say nearly identical prototypes can be approved for one manufacturer but denied for another.

One major difference exists between rulings of Apple App Store reviews and ATF reviewers, if the ATF declares something verboten it is illegal and grants men with guns the power to enforce the decision. Anybody with the capacity to think can also see the huge opportunity for abuse arbitrary regulations grant. A manufacturer not only has to submit to the ATF’s rulings but must remain on their good side for pissing off an agent may lead to every submitted prototype being rejected, which eventually would force the manufacturer into bankruptcy.

It’s My Birthday

It’s my birthday today and all I wanted was to see Ron Paul’s victory in Iowa, instead I got this:

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has narrowly won the first vote by US Republican party supporters in the process to choose a presidential candidate for this year’s election.

He finished just eight votes ahead of former senator Rick Santorum in the rural Midwest state of Iowa.

It’s not too late though because those of you in Iowa who voted for Santorum can make it up to me by killing yourselves.

Rick Santorum Only Wants to Make White People’s Lives Better

Between demanding the Middle East be nuked and gays be rounded up and shipped to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) camps I thought it would be difficult for Santorum to find the time to be even more of a dick. Apparently that man strives for perfection because also found time to hate on blacks:

Speaking to Republicans in Iowa on Monday, former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) said his administration would reform welfare to the point that it would offer no welfare at all.

After suggesting that an expansion of Medicare is really just a plot to make voters more “dependent” on Washington, Santorum added: ”I don’t want to make black people’s lives better by giving them other people’s money.”

I guess he only wants to make white people’s lives better by giving them other people’s money. Of course Santorum, being a perfectionist, isn’t done until his foot is fully inserted into his mouth:

“I want to give them the opportunity to go out and earn their money and provide for themselves and their families,” he added. “The best way to do that is to get the manufacturing sector of the economy rolling.”

Thankfully all the white people have jobs being government cronies on Wall Street and lobbyists in Washington D.C. so they’re set.

Just so we’re all on the same page let’s run through the Rick Santorum Plan for American Success:

  • Nuke the Middle East
  • Roundup the Gays and Put Them in FEMA Camps
  • Put Blacks to Work in Factories

If this is the road to American success I don’t want to live here anymore.

Alaska “Representative” Chris Tuck Informs American Populace of Their Right to Opt Out

Seldom do I ever have cause to say something nice about a “representative” but once in a while one of them gets a spine and actually does something useful. In this case Alaska “Representative” Chris Tuck did something useful by informing people of their right to opt out of Transportation Sexual Assaulters Security Administration (TSA) radiation dosers full body scanners:

It’s too bad he never mentioned the fact that the body scanners have never been independently studied and therefore nobody knows exactly how much radiation they expose a victim to. Yet it’s something and I would like to see more “representatives” informing their constituents of applicable rights. Wouldn’t it be great to see a Public Service Announcement (PSA) by a “representative” explaining how juries have the right to nullify laws they disagree with? I’d also love to see a PSA explaining to the American populace that they are not required to submit to a police search unless a warrant is presented.

That’s OK We Don’t Need Any Oversight

It’s not secret that the Obamessiah has been ordering assassinations of suspected terrorists using drones. A few congress critters decided a little oversight may be required before ordering the murder of untried individuals with drones to which Obama replied, “LOL, no thanks.”

White House officials are rejecting calls by top Congressional leaders for details about the ongoing drone assassination programs around the world, insisting that calls for oversight “don’t hold water.”

This shouldn’t be surprising considering the fact Obama views himself as a king and thus feels he is answerable to no man. Of course if Congress had any balls they would bitch clap Obama with the threat of an impeachment hearing, following by an actual impeachment hearing if he didn’t submit to the call for oversight.