One of the weapons used in the Fort Hood shooting was an FN Five-seveN pistol manufactured by Belgium gun manufacturer FN Herstal. This gun was originally designed for military use, but is also sold on the U.S. civilian gun market. The manufacturer says this gun fires ammunition capable of piercing body armor. Who wears body armor? Law officers. So the FN Five-seveN pistol is for killing cops.
TROTWOOD — Colin Goddard, a 24-year-old Virginia man who survived being shot four times in the bloody 2007 rampage at Virginia Tech, walked into Bill Goodman’s Gun & Knife Show at Hara Arena in August with an Ohio friend and a hidden camera.Bill Goodman's gun show buy underscores loophole
They walked out with an Egyptian-made AK-47 variant and a Tech-9 assault pistol — obtained without a background check and without producing any identification.You mean the mere possession of the firearm didn't turn these guys into homicidal maniacs? I'm shocked.
“We literally walked in and within 20 minutes we walked out with those two guns,” said the friend, Doug Smith, 26, of Columbus. “I was shocked.”
Pennington said the video shows it was Ohio resident Smith, not Goddard, who made the purchases. “We planned this out so no laws would be broken, and none were,” he said.If no laws were broken, where's the story?
The assistant principal who allegedly ordered the strip search of several high school girls in Atlantic has resigned.Granted, he wasn't involved with the actual search, which would be cause for registering as a sex offender, but it looks like he ordered the deed.
The resignation of Paul Croghan, assistant principal and activities director, was announced Tuesday night at the Atlantic Community School District's board meeting.
Croghan, without consulting district policy, ordered a female counselor to search the girls' bras after a classmate claimed $100 had been stolen from her, according to a recent report commissioned by the district.
LEGISLATION: Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks with Michael Wolkowitz, chair of the board from the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, following a press conference Nov. 24 on new legislation against illegal gun trafficking. (Joshua Philipp/The Epoch Times)
The Tiahrt amendments passed by Congress interfere with preserving, sharing and investigating data on gun purchases by terrorist suspects. If that weren't bad enough, Congress has also failed to close a gap in federal law that prevents the FBI from blocking a sale to an individual under investigation for terrorist activity.
As the holiday travel season rolls around again, the government’s terrorism watch list and no-fly list get ever more bizarre. Of course, for starters, the list has always been unconstitutional, because the government does not have probable cause to believe the vast majority of those on the list have committed a crime (otherwise they could arrest them outright instead of just banning them from flying on airplanes).
The FBI’s terrorism watch list, from which the smaller no fly-list is derived, has 1,000,000 people listed, but according to officials, only a mere 400,000 of them are real people—the rest are aliases. Whew, I was getting worried there for an instant. Wait a minute, 400,000 is still a whopping number. An amazing 1,600 people are added to the terrorism list per day, merely on the much lower standard that they present “reasonable suspicion” of being terrorists. The list has been widely criticized for the tenuous and unclear links to terrorism of names included and the numerous cases of mistaken identities. Even the Justice Department’s inspector general noted that 24,000 people were included on the basis of irrelevant or outdated information.
FEMA is the most ineffective, inefficient, unproductive, bloated political cow ever to hit America.
I would not want FEMA on my resume.
"This process is horrible. ... It's broken. It's pretty obvious that's the case," said Gina Hardin, county emergency management coordinator.
At issue are inconsistencies in the mapping process, according to Hardin, who was not alone in her assessment.
Danville Mayor LeRoy Lippert took issue with a flood plain map that failed to identity three tributaries in his community.
"How can we trust that these maps are accurate? This one isn't," he said.
Nearly all the FEMA tenants in Linn County also have case advocates at the Community Recovery Center in northwest Cedar Rapids. Steve Schmitz, the center’s director, said the advocates are frustrated by a lack of detailed information from FEMA on each family’s rental rate.
CEDAR FALLS - Those working through flood buyouts at City Hall have a simple message for people growing impatient with the process: be patient.
Barb Hugi, a planning technician with the city, worked through the flood buyout process in the 1990s, when Cedar Falls bought out 165 properties and removed homes from the flood plain. She said the process has gotten more complicated and costly since then. Part of the difficulty is that the Federal Emergency Management Agency demands more documentation, including title certificates for the properties and cancelled checks for every expense paid by the city. She said fraud and abuse during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina led to more regulations.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Nov 14, 2009 (The Gazette - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The modest circumstances of some flood victims are being driven home by the first wave of buyouts. Perhaps 25 of the first 117 owners whose flooded properties will be bought at pre-flood value will not receive enough money to cover their mortgages or liens. The eye-opening statistic prompted the City Council this week to hire a mediator to help flooded property owners resolve such outstanding debt. Without a resolution between the owners and those they owe, the city would not be able to gain title to the properties.
Annie [Young] has worked hard to gain assistance for her clients. One example is a client, who had, prior to the flood, lived in the same home for nearly 40 years and paid taxes, utilities and insurance on the home for the past eight years. It was discovered after the flooding, the deed to the home was never switched into his name after his mother’s death in 2000. This resulted in an award from FEMA for only $5,100.
Annie pursued all avenues with FEMA to obtain the documentation needed to prove her client was, in fact, the homeowner and not a renter. Annie’s persistence paid off. FEMA awarded him an additional $22,000 to cover his destroyed property’s expenses.
A year later and across the river region, history is repeating itself.Looks like arbitrary decisions also apply to the levee protection.
Still recovering flood victims learned last week their world is literally changing and the levees designed to protect them offer only a provisional safety.
The hitch: a federal requirement that any structure sustaining damage equal to 50 percent or more of its value must be elevated out of the flood plain. If the Federal Emergency Management Agency decides the county isn’t fully enforcing the rule, it could disqualify any county landowner from receiving subsidized flood insurance.FEMA is running these communities, not county and local governments and their arbitrary and ever-changing rules cannot be questioned.
“If we didn’t do it, we’d jeopardize our ability to get flood insurance for the county,” Van Horne said. [Linn County building official]
The people in this country who truly cherish freedom in all of its manifestations (thought, guns, speech, religion, association, private property, etc.) had better darned skippy get used to the idea that we are a cursed minority and will be for the foreseeable future.Read the rest at Repost: Let's Win
The simple formula is this:
- We're screwed
- There's gonna be a fight
- Let's win
-Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty.Please head over there for some more.
-The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.
Go to brownells.com this weekend and use Coupon Code CYB to get 10% off any order over $150! The special savings run through midnight, on “Cyber-Monday”, November 30...Shop Black Rifle Friday at Brownells.com
Brownells is the world’s largest supplier of firearm parts, gunsmithing tools, reloading equipment and accessories. Stocking more than 30,000 items, the company supplies armorers, gunsmiths, and shooters worldwide. All of their products are backed by a 100% satisfaction, unconditional, lifetime guarantee. For more information, or to place an order, call 800-741-0015 or visit Brownells.comA few miles to Montezuma, Iowa.
Omaha police must both protect the public and follow the rules that govern officers’ use of their weapons, Acting Omaha Police Chief Alex Hayes said today after a weekend in which two officers fired at suspects in less than 48 hours.This "officer" was working as a bouncer at a bar and fired at a vehicle while it sped away from him. Nothing about how his or anyone else's life was in danger.
Just got this report from a correspondent who was traveling for work in Chavez’s Venezuela. This is what a country without gun rights is like:Coming to a country near you.
I got to look down the business end of multiple AK knockoffs in Venezuela last week. Chavez's army was stopping every car on the highway looking to confiscate guns. They saw my black Pelican case in the trunk, assumed it contained weapons, and made me open it at gunpoint. They were "nice" enough to let me keep my camera gear, but took my knife. They must have asked me 15 ways what the hell an American journalist was doing in Venezuela right now. I was there on a magazine assignment. They weren't buying it. So, keep up the good work on protecting our gun rights. The only people who have guns in Venezuela now are the army and the gun runners and kidnappers. And the red curtain is coming down fast.
ATLANTIC (WHNS) – The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa wants to know what disciplinary action was taken against the two high school staff members who were involved in the alleged strip search of female students in Atlantic.The girls were accused of taking $100 and despite a state law barring strips searches at schools, a couple of idiots decided to ignore the law. The superintendent ruled it was okay, because "school policy" allows searches. The guy makes up other stuff, too:
The ACLU also has asked the Atlantic Community Schools to specify which employees were disciplined.
The request came in response to an Aug. 21 incident in which five Atlantic High students were asked to remove their clothes or partially disrobe while being searched by a guidance counselor.
Dan Crozier, superintendent of the Atlantic Community Schools, said two staff members had been disciplined in connection with the searches.Medical records aren't as private as you may think.
He did not name the employees or detail the disciplinary measures, citing confidentiality of personnel matters.
“There’s a law that says personnel files are personal,” said Crozier. “It’s like medical records.”
A Sioux Falls student has been arrested and suspended from school for having a firearm on school property.How did this "resource officer" discover the shotgun? With these?
Sioux Falls Police were called to Washington High School over the noon-hour after the school's resource officer discovered a 16-gauge shotgun in the trunk of a student's car. The 17-year-old student said he had gone pheasant-hunting on opening weekend and forgot he had the gun in his car.
"It's unfortunate that he forgot he had it with him, but you have to remember the law is there for a reason. It's there to protect people and he might not of had any intent on using it, but if somebody else found it, they might have some other plans for the weapon" Sioux Falls Police Officer Sam Clemens said.
The shotgun was not loaded, and there was no ammunition in the car. The student was arrested for having a firearm on school property, which calls for a mandatory 12-month expulsion from school.
Bill Smith with the School Falls School District tells KELOLAND News that there is a provision in the law that allows the superintendent to either extend or shorten that 12-month sentence depending on the circumstances.
Drawing reasonable conclusions from what Holder publicly said, we now know:A choice will soon be foisted upon each gun owner in the country, whether to retain their rights or carry a heavier set of chains.
•Holder wants a national, permanent gun registration system administered by law enforcement. A registration of honest citizens that have cleared the federal background check for gun purchases with those records permanently retained by and shared among law enforcement.
•Holder wants new federal authority to prohibit any person on the federal watch list (reported to be 400,000 names) from buying guns and supports confiscating guns from those on the list who possess them.
Attorney General Holder Reveals Aggressive Gun Control In Response to Ft. Hood Terror Attack
He said he’s applying his background in coaching to his campaign — focusing on fundamentals like raising money and building up his campaign team. He notes that his coaching background has taught him how to motivate people and his financial services experience means he knows how to reach and talk to donors and other supporters. He also has TV experience, as a commentator for ESPN, among others.I live in the 3rd district, currently served by Leonard Boswell who should have retired years ago.
“Excessive government spending” is the issue he points to as a priority, although he’s not ready to talk about what federal programs he would cut. He’s a critic of the federal stimulus bill as failing to create or sustain jobs, and he opposes cap and trade.
A federal appeals court has overturned the conviction of a Wisconsin man barred from owning firearms because of his criminal record, ruling the lifetime prohibition may violate Americans' Second Amendment rights and calling into question the future of a 13-year old gun control law.Court: Criminal Record May Not Prevent Gun Ownership
For other constitutional rights such as the First Amendment, it's relatively common to see acts of Congress struck down as going too far, as anyone who's followed the series of cases about Internet pornography or abortion can attest.David Codrea has some thoughts as well Having an Unreasonable FitI have long advocated that if a felon has freedom of religion, speech, etc., then why not have the right to protect themselves with a firearm. My argument is that mere possession of an object such as a gun, should not be a crime. Criminal activity should be. Pointing a gun in a teller's face certainly should bring swift justice and is a good example of a crime, having a gun in your pocket should not be.
That hasn't been the situation with the Second Amendment even after the Heller decision, in part because some judges have not taken constitutional arguments seriously, and in part because the Supreme Court has not provided a road map to follow. The justices now have a chance to remedy that oversight in the case currently before the court, McDonald v. Chicago. If they don't, expect this constitutional confusion to continue.
There is likely no law that can prevent a murder such as this one.True
However, this case is a wake-up call for Iowa to take domestic abuse seriously.Those lawmakers beholden to the dreaded NRA are shackled from doing anything. But Saint Tom will save the day!!
And Iowa lawmakers have refused to do that.
Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller has repeatedly pushed the Legislature to pass a law that would prohibit people convicted of domestic abuse from owning firearms.Please read that point again with "convicted" being the key word. Last time I had to fill out the form 4473 there was a check box if I was "convicted" of a domestic abuse crime. (I haven't been)
In Moore's case, the judge rightly ordered him to turn in firearms. And in Moore's case, even changing Iowa law, as the Attorney General has proposed, wouldn't have applied to Moore. He has never been convicted of domestic abuse.That's right folks "never been convicted". Let's exploit a tragic event for political gain. A new law would not have done a thing if it was in force before this puke murdered his wife. But the legislature must pass something to prove Iowans "take domestic violence seriously".
The Johnson County Sheriff's Office received a call about 5:15 p.m. from a man asking for help for friends whose boat had overturned.I don't want to criticize the county and city fire departments and rescue personnel that do a hell of a job. But sometimes they can't be on the scene right away. They just can't be everywhere all the time.
Another call came from Stephen Schultz, another duck hunter on the water, who said he had located the hunters who had fallen in the water and that they were safe in his boat.The obvious point I want to make is that private citizens are our true First Responders. A fellow hunter rescued these four men before anyone else. I'm sure everyone involved was thankful that the lake had one extra hunter that day.
I did some research in National Archives, into US v. Miller. If anyone wonders how the case wound up so messy... here are a pair of telegrams from Miller's attorney to the clerk of the Court, announced that he won't file a brief, nor argue.View the telegrams
MASON CITY — A billboard on the 600 block of South Federal Avenue berates the Obama administration in a manner that has offended some who have seen it.But not everyone is happy. Someone got their panties in a bind:
Mark Tlusty, who helped organize the “Tea Party” anti-tax protest in Central Park in April, said, “We’re just getting upset at how the government is running things. We wanted to express ourselves and chose this way to do it.”
Kathleen Wild of Mason City contacted the Globe Gazette to express her concerns after seeing the billboard.Last time I checked we live in a nation of Free Speech. (At least it's supposed to be.) I'm guessing Kathleen's version of Mason City has no diversity of thought. Irony, anyone?
“I think it’s a terrible thing to have above Mason City, which is a city of diversity,” she said.
‘While many groups at the state and national level are content to argue over the crumbs given us by our state government IGO is NOT. We are not going to be happy with a small victory on the one hand while losing ground on the other. We are not going to make deals with the powers that be. We will never give one inch on your gun rights!’That says it all for me.
Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller has tried for years to persuade state lawmakers to approve a measure that would prohibit people convicted of domestic abuse from owning firearms.I would contend that the victims were killed by persons not the object they used. Miller doesn't seem to understand that inanimate objects cannot "do" something without an outside force.
This year, the proposal was supported by state and county associations of police and prosecutors, but was opposed by lobbyists for Iowa Gun Owners, Iowa Carry Inc. and the Iowa Sportsmen's Federation.
"Domestic violence homicides account for a major share of Iowa killings each year," Miller said at the beginning of the 2009 legislative session. "Most of the victims are killed by guns."
Scott County special prosecutor Jim Ottesen said that in most states a victim can seek a protective order by demonstrating a reasonable fear, or a credible threat, of danger. But in Iowa, a person also must show evidence of a previous assault.The reason behind this provision is so that one party cannot place an undue burden against the other party by vindictively claiming "abuse" and the person losing all gun rights. Accusations alone should not determine whether someone loses any of their rights.
"If someone is willing to violate a court order and go to jail, to me that is a pretty strong indication he shouldn't be trusted with firearms," Ottesen said.I notice he uses "he" when perpetrators come from both sides, but let's not quibble.
Rep. Clel Baudler, a Greenfield Republican and member of the House Public Safety Committee, argues that if someone is willing to break the law by violating a no-contact order, creating another law to prohibit firearm possession won't help.He probably could have left that last "boohoo" part out, but that's my opinion.
"If people are in a state of mind that they're going to kill someone, another law is not going to prevent that," Baudler said. "Everything that could be done to protect these victims of domestic abuse is already being done. At a certain point, they're going to have to protect themselves."
Baudler said Lynch Moore, an Iraq war veteran, could have taken advantage of gun laws and used one to protect herself from her husband when he attacked her last week.
"And what would have happened then? What would these advocates for domestic abuse victims - and they are very sincere - what would they have said then? Would they have said, 'Good job, young lady,' or would they have said, 'Oh, boohoo'
What We Believe:In our legislature this past year, they brought a Vermont-style carry bill to a tie vote and are working to introduce this bill in the Senate when they convene early next year. They are also working on a "castle-doctrine" bill and to end the permit process.
Iowa Gun Owners was founded on the idea that law abiding citizens should not have to beg the government for permission to own and carry firearms for self-defense.
We believe the at the 2nd Amendment was not given to us to merely protect our right to target shoot and hunt but to protect our right of self-defense against criminals and tyrants.
We believe that these rights are God-given and constitutionally guaranteed.
We believe that a government official should not be able to deny law abiding citizens this right just because he does not like your politics, your religion, or the way you earn a living.
We believe that law abiding citizens should not have to pay fees, pass tests, and prove to a bureaucrat that they can shoot a gun before being allowed to exercise this right.
Randall Moore, accused of shooting and killing his estranged wife this week, was not supposed to possess firearms, according to a protective order issued by a Polk County judge, a review of court records shows.The article gives a history lesson on the Violence Against Women Act and how it's provisions against firearm possession by those under restraining orders from the courts.
In October, Polk County District Judge Karen Romano barred Randall Moore from having contact with his wife and ordered him to surrender all his firearms to county law enforcement by Oct. 26. Moore signed the document, agreeing to comply with the order.
Even if the alleged abuser surrenders firearms, the only type of weapon that requires a background check upon purchase is a handgun. Nothing prevents alleged abusers from borrowing weapons or buying new or used hunting rifles.That's not entirely accurate.
On October 7, just a week after an incident in which an officer was shot with a gun traced back to Badger Guns, a man named Carlos Flores tried to buy a gun at the store, according to court documents. Flores has a domestic abuse injunction barring him from owning a gun.Would the NICS check have uncovered the domestic abuse injunction and then stop the transaction?
An anonymous tipster notified the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department about the purchase, and deputies got in touch with Badger Guns. When Flores returned after the waiting period to obtain his gun, Badger Guns owner contacted police and Flores was arrested.Could all of the venom directed toward Badger Guns be wrong? According to editorialists and the "civic leaders" of Milwaukee, Badger's was THE place to go for felons who didn't want to get caught.
CEDAR FALLS - The University of Northern Iowa is holding a debate on the question, "Should people be permitted to carry loaded and concealed weapons in parks?" from 4:15 to 5:45 p.m. Wednesday in Room 109 of the Curris Business Building.Any bets in whose favor this is going to be set up towards?
The event is part of UNI's series on "Civic Discourse and Opposing Views" organized by the American Democracy Project/Provost's Office to promote civil civic dialogue. The session is in two parts.
Participants will pair up and take turns presenting arguments. Talking points are provided. Then a panel with opposing views will follow.
The victim of a would-be robber turned the tables on him and shot him twice with his own gun.I don't think that is what they meant, though. Bonus points for the criminal's name of Brady.
County police say it happened around 8:30 Sunday night on West Avenue in Holloway Terrace. They say 17-year-old Diamere Brady of Wilmington used a handgun to try to rob a 21-year-old man. The 21-year-old was able to get the gun away from the teen and shoot him twice during a struggle.
The 21-year-old turned the gun over to police, who moments later got a report of a teen being shot. Brady underwent emergency surgery at Christiana Hospital. He will be charged with attempted robbery and possession of a firearm during commission of a felony.
The House passed their healthcare bill by 220-215, which is appalling on dozens of levels. But still more sickening and reprehensible was the final pre-vote speech made to reluctant Democrats by Barack Obama.Disgrace is an understatement.
In order to encourage the (few) conscientious Democrats to vote against the will of their constituents, the president said “sacrifice is not casting a vote that might lose an election for you; it is the sacrifice that someone makes when they wear the uniform of this country and that unfortunately a number of people made this week.”
Yes, the president used the dead and wounded of the brutal Fort Hood massacre to push his own self-serving political agenda.
Officials at Atlantic High School have finished an investigation into an alleged illegal strip-search of several girls at the school, but they did not recommend any action be taken.Assistant principal Paul Croghan ordered a counselor to search the girls and to check their bras. Earlier reports note that one girl was ordered to remove all of her clothing.
District officials now appear to be waiting for the girls and their lawyers to tell them what to do next.I know what I'd be asking for.
"The investigation is complete," Atlantic Superintendent Dan Crozier said Monday. "Steps will be taken. We just have to see what the requests are."
In 2005, Curtis W. McGhee and Terry J. Harrington, both convicted of murder in 1978, sued Pottawattamie County, Iowa, and former county attorneys Joseph Hrvol and David Richter under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging, inter alia, that the Pottawattamie prosecutors coerced false testimony from third party witnesses and then introduced that testimony in their murder trials. The prosecutors argued that they were immune from the lawsuit based on the doctrine of absolute immunity, but both the district court and the Eighth Circuit disagreed. The Supreme Court’s decision will reveal the extent to which prosecutors are immune from liability for their pre-trial misconduct. This clarification may affect the way prosecutors try cases, and will, undoubtedly, influence the degree to which defendants can hold their prosecutors accountable for due process violations.Basically the prosecutors argue that they can do anything they damn well please and there's not a thing mere citizens can do about it.
CEDAR RAPIDS - Police say a call for a bank robbery lead to officers taking a 13-year-old down at gunpoint, but he never robbed the bank.Employees of the credit union panicked.
Instead, police say the boy had found a pellet gun and was walking along Williams Blvd in front of the Dupaco Credit Union while he was playing with the gun.
Dupaco employees locked the doors and called the police, not knowing it was a pellet gun.We have a dumb kid walking around with a pellet gun and the tellers panic leading to a lock down and calling for help.
"We don't have super-ray vision to tell if its a real gun or a fake gun, so we treat them all as if they're real. its a sad thing that we have pellet guns that look so real," said Cristy Hamblin, Cedar Rapids Police Department."Super-ray vision", cute. I'm sure she'd like to outlaw all guns in "civilian" hands, just to be on the safe side.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Gold was modestly higher Thursday, as stocks rallied and investors took a step back following the precious metal's recent push near $1,100 an ounce.Makes one think.
December gold rose $2 to $1,089.30 an ounce after jumping as high as $1,093 an ounce earlier in the session.
Besides promoting and working to pass the REAL Right-to-Carry bill in the upcoming session, Iowa Gun Owners is also working on repealing Iowa’s permit-to-purchase laws as well.It seems like they have the same opinion of Iowa's permit process as I do.
The permit-to-purchase law requires you to seek approval from the government, in the form of a government issued card, before you can purchase a handgun for self-defense. The criteria for this permit are similar to the criteria for a permit-to-carry: you can not be a felon, can not be addicted to drugs or alcohol, you can’t have a history of acts of violence, etc. Should you be approved for the permit, it is good for a period of one year.
Nov. 6-7 in Altoona, held at the Adventureland Park (305 34th Ave NW), from 5-9pm on Friday to 9am-5pm on Saturday.
Nov. 13-14 in Cedar Rapids, held at the Hawkeye Downs Building #1 (4400 6th St SW) same times as above.
Dec. 11-12 in Waterloo, held in the McElroy Auditorium (257 Ansborough St) same times as above.
