Right to Opine

Though they do enjoy playing the victim card, Palestinians aren’t at all serious about peace with Israel. Since the IDF withdrew from Gaza a month ago more than 100 rockets have been fired into Israel from Gaza…around 3 a day. Where’s the outcry from the world demanding that the rocket fire cease? Of course you won’t hear any. The liberal media can’t even call this what it is, naming the aggressors “militants” rather than what they are. When you target civilians, as in the latest attack which hit a school, you’re not a militant but a terrorist.

A gun store owner in Phoenix has been brought up on a number of charges related to fraudulently selling guns and helping the buyers smuggle them into Mexico. Looks like the BATFE has the goods on him, including the direct involvement of undercover officers in purchases the owner believed to be fronts for smugglers. If true, this is exactly the kind of operation we honest gun owners want shut down.

The thing that bothers me about this article is its dishonest and misleading use of terminology. For example,

the owner, George Iknadosian, will go on trial on charges he sold hundreds of weapons, mostly AK-47 rifles, to smugglers

This simply is not true. An AK-47 is a fully automatic military weapon and cannot legally be sold in the US to anyone outside the military, law enforcement, or the very few people holding a special license to purchase fully automatic weapons. The rifles in question are semi-automatic rifles, the function and capability of which is no different than many standard hunting rifles. One pull of the trigger gets you a single shot…not the kind of repeated rapid fire of an automatic.

Later in the article we see

the Mexican authorities have seized seven of the Kalashnikov-style rifles from gunmen

This is, again, misleading. A Kalashnikov is a fully automatic rifle. These weren’t, but were designed to look like them. The appearance of a weapon has no relationship to its function. (Just ask anyone who’s ever driven a Pontiac Fiero…looks great, but it’s a pooch.) Elsewhere in the article the meaningless term “assault rifle” is bandied about as if it, too, has a specific meaning. Gun grabbers like to use the term to refer to any rifle that looks like a military grade fully automatic weapon, regardless of its capability. The truth is that no military on earth would use the rifles in question, as they cannot be fired in automatic mode and don’t have the firepower needed for military use. They’re no more “assault rifles” than your uncle’s Winchester 30-30.

At Dobson High School in Mesa (just a few miles from my home) Obama told the crowd about his plan to help borrowers in mortgage crises:

The housing market collapse helped trigger the broader economic decline, the president argued, and so acting “boldly and swiftly” to arrest a wave of foreclosures would have positive effects across the economy and benefit every American.

At this point, over 90% of homeowners are demonstrating personal responsibility, making their payments regardless of whether their mortgages are upside-down. Many, like myself, chose not to upgrade to a newer, bigger home when the market was booming. How, exactly, does it help us to take our money and send it to people who made irresponsible decisions? The only thing it does, in fact, is encourage more bad decisions as people begin to expect the government to bail them out when they screw up. Oh, and punish those of us who are fiscally responsible.

What is this country coming to? A drunk in NY has been awarded almost $2.5 million after losing his leg when he was hit by a subway train. Incredibly, the jury found him only 35% responsible for being hit. Hello out there. If you’re on the tracks, drunk or not, YOU are 100% responsible for being hit by a train.

When I see lunacy like this, though not surprising given the locale, I wonder where our sense of personal responsibility has gone. Then I remember–these are the same folks who are crying about being upside down in a mortgage on a home they couldn’t afford to begin with and want those of us who are responsible to bail them out. Bet every one of those jurors votes 100% Democrat.

A prof at LA City College shut down a class speech by a Christian student, calling him a “fascist bastard” when the student’s speech expressed an opinion critical of gay marriage. A couple students were purportedly offended by Lopez’s statements. This is the left’s idea of free speech. You can say anything whatsoever which is offensive to Christians, but they’re not allowed equal time. Isn’t college supposed to be the place for airing and discussing controversial opinions? Only if you buy the politically correct line.

Think Daniel Pearl-style killings won’t happen here? A Muslim in Buffalo, NY, has beheaded his wife. Lest you think this is just an isolated incident, do a Google search for “Muslim honor killings in America” and browse around.

Two things I don’t get:

How is this guy just being charged with second degree murder? You don’t just happen to behead someone. It takes effort and deliberation.

Why wasn’t this woman safe? After all,

She had an order of protection that had him out of the home as of Friday the 6th.

according to local police. Oh, that’s right. Court orders of protection DON’T WORK! Regardless of what the “authorities” may tell you, you are responsible for your own safety. A nut job who’s bent on decapitation is not going to heed a court order. You. Need. A. Gun.

Folks in rural Alaska are going through some seriously hard times. Due to global warming, their heating bills are approaching $1500/month, leaving little left over for basics…like food. Tip for these folks: move south where it’s warmer and we have food. Seriously. I know you love your native traditions and lifestyle, but you really abandoned those years ago when you adopted the snowmobile. We have plenty to share down here and would welcome you.

Claiming they would save dozens of lives each year, a doctor in the UK recommends mandatory usage of air bag jackets by motorcyclists.

There is a shocking number of deaths of motorcyclists on the roads. I think dozens of lives could be saved if these jackets were made compulsory.

Is this really the biggest health problem in a country where thousands of people die every year due to alcohol (more than 8,700 in 2007)? Suggestion for the UK: have your doctors work on a problem that affects a growing portion of your population and costs your socialized health care system far more than a few hundred motorcycle fatalities annually.

The US Navy has nabbed a group of pirates in the Gulf of Aden after receiving a distress call from the ship they were trying to commandeer. ‘Bout time we had some good news in that arena!

The Dutch MP I wrote about a couple weeks ago has been denied entrance to England because he purportedly poses a threat to public safety. Apparently taking a controversial, albeit legitimate, stand on Islamic terrorism constitutes such a threat. Per the UK’s Home Office:

“The government opposes extremism in all forms,” it said in a statement, adding that it had tightened up rules on excluding those engaging in “unacceptable behaviour” in October.

“It will stop those who want to spread extremism, hatred, and violent messages in our communities from coming to our country.”

Left unexamined is the fact that the UK doesn’t have an official problem with the large number of extremist Muslim imams in England. Nor does it have the stones to bar entrance to more of their ilk. It increasingly appears that the US is fast becoming the last bastion of free speech.