Tag: You’re Doing it Right

Everybody in Minnesota Should Know the Name Willis Carrier

I would like to give a huge middle finger to Minnesota’s weather. We have a dew point that is matched only by the Amazon Jungle.

All I can say is thank Thor for Willis Carrier and his invention of air conditioning. This man should be revered for his great invention that makes living in Minnesota (and many other areas) comfortably livable. Oh, I’d also like to point out that air conditioning isn’t a product of government decree or demand but of a need Mr. Carrier ran across when he witnessed quality issues at Sackett-Wilhelms Lithographing & Publishing Company. Air conditioning, like most inventions that greatly improve the lives of millions, is a products of the free market.

Montana Man to Take On Federal Gun Regulations

Montana was the first state to pass a Firearms Freedom Act. What the Firearms Freedom Act does is exempt any gun manufactured, sold, and used exclusively in one state from federal firearm regulations. The federal government claims the ability to regulate firearms comes from their ability to regulate interstate commerce, but if no business ever crosses state lines then the federal government’s excuse for firearm regulations doesn’t apply. Unfortunately nobody has been willing to use one of these laws to go head to head against the federal government, until now:

With a homemade .22-caliber rifle he calls the Montana Buckaroo, Gary Marbut dreams of taking down the federal regulatory state.

He’s not planning to fire his gun. Instead, he wants to sell it, free from federal laws requiring him to record transactions, pay license fees and open his business to government inspectors.

For years, Mr. Marbut argued that a wide range of federal laws, not just gun regulations, should be invalid because they were based on an erroneous interpretation of Congress’s constitutional power to regulate interstate commerce. In his corner were a handful of conservative lawyers and academics. Now, with the rise of the tea-party movement, the self-employed shooting-range supplier finds himself leading a movement.

Ignore the whole tea party movement comment, this has nothing to do with the tea party movement and everything to do with basic common sense any person living in America should be able to understand. If all business relating to an item stays within the borders of a state then no interstate commerce occurs and the federal government has no legitimate claim to regulating that item.

Mr. Marbut is manufacturing his own brand of .22 rifles in Montana. According to the Firearms Freedom Act any firearm falling under the legislation must be marked to indicate that the firearm is for exclusive use in the state it was manufactured.

Although I’m doubting Mr. Marbut will win (after all if the case gets to the Supreme Court they will likely rule in favor of the federal government as they are an arm of the federal government) but I’m hoping to be wrong. I’m glad somebody has finally come forth and called the federal government on their shenanigans and overreach by abusing the interstate commerce clause of the Constitution.

I Like This Idea, It Should Be Expanded

Although I’ve heard little talk about it I’ve found an interesting bill that I believe promotes a good idea. The H.R. 2411, The Reduce America’s Debt Now Act of 2011, would put a new entry on W-4 forms that would allow employees to voluntarily deduct portions of their paycheck to pay off the national debt.

What I like about this act is the fact it’s voluntary. In fact I like this idea so much I think it should be expanded to the point where all taxation is made voluntary. Do you think the government is doing a good jobs at spending your hard-earned money? Great, you can fork over money to them in order to continue receiving their services. Do you believe the government has done a horrible job at spending your hard-earned money? Great, you can take your money and buy services from a private provider.

I also hope this bill passes because I have an ulterior motive. I’ve mentioned that my circle of friends includes people who always say they would happily pay more taxes. When I point them to the address they can send their checks to I never hear them talk about all the money they voluntarily sent the government. Putting this on the W-4 form would make it easier for my friends to be hypocrites and to me that’s funny.

Larry Correia Brings On The Funny

I really love Larry Correnia’s blog because he has a way with words. It’s almost as though he is an author of some really awesome books or something. Obama warned that New York Times bestselling authors (who he implied are as rich as hedge fund managers) aren’t off the hook when it comes to paying their taxes. Larry finally spills the beans:

Now you know the truth. A secret cabal of bestselling writers has been sabotaging the US economy all this time. Sure, you may have thought that our situation was caused by stuff like out of control government spending, or onerous regulations, or our complete lack of coherent energy policy, or the devaluation of the dollar, or people/companies living beyond their means and then expecting the tax payers to bail them out, or entitlements that are mathematically impossible to pay, or employers being afraid to hire because of fear of ObamaCare and coming taxes, or the quadrupling of our debt over the last couple of years, but NO. That would be silly!

It has been because of us bestselling authors all along.

My favorite quote from his post though is this one:

Michael Crichton was presiding (he’s not really dead, he just didn’t want to fill out his 1040ES for that quarter’s royalties).

So there is hope for a third Jurassic Park! My day has been made and all is good in the world again.

Second Amendment Foundation Wins Another Victory in Chicago

The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and their super weapon, Alan Gura, won yet another gun rights victory in Chicago. SAF, alongside several other groups, filed a suit against the City of Chicago for the city’s ban on gun ranges within city limits:

BELLEVUE, WA – In a 3-0 ruling issued this morning, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has reversed a lower court ruling and ordered that court to issue a preliminary injunction against the City of Chicago on behalf of the Second Amendment Foundation that prevents the city from banning gun ranges inside city limits.

Joining SAF in the original lawsuit were Action Target, Inc., the Illinois State Rifle Association and three Chicago residents, Rhonda Ezell, William Hespen and Joseph Brown. Their attempts to obtain a temporary restraining order against the gun range ban were twice rejected by the district court. The Appeals Court ruling is severely critical of the lower court’s ruling.

One thing that I noticed is the National Rifle Association (NRA) is completely absent from the list of entities helping with the suit. Why do I feel that is important to point out? Because it demonstrates the effectiveness of SAF even through they’re a much smaller organization with fewer available funds. Many people who donate money to the NRA will often avoid sending funds to other organizations such as SAF because they believe those other organizations are too small to be effective. SAF is proving that isn’t true as they win more and more victories in the courtrooms.

I really enjoy SAF’s method of advancing gun rights. Instead of spending money to send lobbyists to Washington D.C. they’re fighting violations of gun owners’ rights in the courtroom. It’s a cheaper method that has proven itself to be incredibly effective, Hell this method got the second amendment incorporated against the states making outright gun bans illegal in the entirety of the United States. That victory was far more important than most previous gun rights victories because it will required a constitutional amendment in order for any state to outright ban the right of firearm ownership (although they’re still doing a damned good job at establishing everything by a blanket ban).

Congratulations goes out to SAF for winning yet another victory for gun owners of the United States.

Wisconsin to Get Legal Concealed Carry in Soon

It seems Governor Walker is set to sign Wisconsin’s carry bill in two days:

Gov. Scott Walker plans to sign a bill allowing Wisconsin residents to carry concealed weapons next week. Walker spokesman Cullen Werwie says Walker will sign the measure at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, July 8, at the Grand Lodge Hotel in Wausau. The bill would take effect on Nov. 1.

I’m glad that the bill will take effect shortly after being passed. This means, given proper reciprocity recognition, I should be able to carry my firearm for the Christmas get togethers I attend in La Crosse.

The State Shutdown

I doubt you noticed this morning but negotiations broke down between the parties last night and Minnesota’s government went into shutdown mode:

Talks imploded Thursday between DFL Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican legislative leaders in the final hours before a midnight deadline, and Minnesota began a historic government shutdown.

“This is a night of deep sorrow for me,” Dayton said in an address at 10 p.m. that was punctuated by jeers and hisses from Republicans, including some lawmakers.

Personally I’m glad the state went into shutdown mode. There are some valuable lessons that people need to learn and the only way to learn them is through experience. One of those lessons is the centralizing services is a bad thing because when the monopoly entity falters and stops providing those services everybody is negatively affected. If there were competition on all markets any single private entity failing would only affect that entity’s customers whom would then be able to go to a competing service.

I firmly believe that this entire shutdown is nothing more than a pissing contest to get votes during the next election. Both parties are blaming each other for the shutdown which has lead to parks and rest stops being closed on the 4th of July, a travel heavy holiday. Having parks and rest stops closed on this holiday ensures the maximum number of people will be negatively impacted in a way that they’ll easily notice (honestly the schools shutting down during the summer doesn’t affect too many people). People will remember the 4th of July where they had to go somewhere besides a state park and take that into consideration come voting time.

Either way the state shut down and all is still well. No riots are occurring in the streets, nobody is being murdered that wouldn’t have been had the state been running, water and electricity still work, and the highways still function.

In Wyoming Permitless Carry Takes Effect Tomorrow

If anybody living in Wyoming is reading this blog note that starting Friday you’ll be able to exercise your right to self-defense by carrying a firearm without first having to beg the state for permission:

Starting Friday, Wyoming will join three other states in allowing individuals to carry a concealed weapon without a permit.

Anyone who meets the same requirements to obtain a Wyoming concealed weapons permit can legally carry a firearm in any place that is not specifically prohibited.

Put Wyoming down as another state that actually respects its citizens’ right to have the best means of self-defense available to them.

How Officers Handle Real Threats

As Uncle aptly points out the police love putting on their SWAT gear and kicking in doors when they’re in pursuit of a criminal who is likely not going to provide much resistance. When federal agents decided to go after James Bulger, a man suspected in 19 murders, the police didn’t storm in his apartment with guns blazing but instead used good old social engineering to lure the man out:

Then, according to people familiar with the case, James “Whitey” Bulger’s 16 years on the run came to an end Wednesday night with a phone call and a lie.

Federal officers arranged for a call to Mr. Bulger in his third-floor apartment to say that his storage locker might have been broken into.

Officers could use similar tactics in many arrests but then they wouldn’t get to toss on the riot gear and play soldier as they kick down your door, run in with guns drawn, and then act surprised that people are appalled at their antics. After all what’s the point of having authority if you don’t get to force people to respect it?

In all seriousness I would appreciate it if police officers would utilize social engineering methods in their arrests instead of brute force. If you trick somebody into coming out so he can be arrested the risk of violence is much lower than kicking in the suspect’s front door during a no-knock raid.

I’m Truly Shocked, California Did Something Right

Holy shit I’m actually surprised by something that happened in California, and it’s a pleasant surprise. I never thought I would actually have something nice to say about that forsaken state but it sounds as though they’re going to stop paying their “representatives” until the state budget is balanced:

It is often said if the state of California was a country it would be the eighth biggest economy in the world.

But with a $10bn deficit to match, and residents fed up of legislators missing the annual budget deadline by months, they voted for a new law.

It is the first time Proposition 25 has been put into effect – and it means all 120 elected members of the State Assembly and Senate will not be paid their wages, or their living allowances, until they pass a balanced budget.

Hell. Fucking. Yes. Obviously the “representatives” are complaining but they have no ground to stand on. Those people were hired to do a job and have failed to do it. As they have failed to do their job it’s only right that they don’t get paid (I’d fire them frankly but alas that’s not an option when government is involved). California should expand on this and refuse to pay their “representatives” until the state debt is paid off as well. Imagine how quickly such a program would accomplish turning California from a the most debt-ridden state into a debt-free state.

For once I can say there is something other states can learn from California, don’t pay the legislature until the budget is balanced.