Badger Guns lawsuit

David Codrea first alerted us at War on Guns regarding the lawsuit against Badger Guns that was filed last week. The plaintiffs are two Milwaukee police officers and the city of Milwaukee. Read the complaint.

First off, I'm not an attorney but will only look at this through the lens of common sense. Secondly, I have no connection to the defendants, Badger Guns and its predecessor, Badger Outdoors. My only interest in this is that it appears that a FFL dealer has been accused of knowingly engaging in supplying firearms to the felons of Milwaukee and by accusation alone, should be drummed out of business.

A look at Badger Guns over the past year:

I've been posting about Badger Guns for a while now and Kurt Hofmann has done the same.

By all reports in the local Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the ATF is not actively engaged in an investigation of the current business, Badger Guns. However, the ATF had cited Badger Outdoors of numerous violations and recommended their license be revoked. The owner of Badger Outdoors voluntarily turned in his FFL license and sold the business to his son and the name changed to Badger Guns.

Local politicians and newspapers seem to think there is some funny business going on and there could be. But the only thing that happened was a FFL holder gave up his license and his son took over the assets of the business. My understanding of how one obtains an FFL is that background checks are performed and fingerprints taken to identify the licensee in order to conduct an investigation. The ATF granted the new license at some time in 2007.

It would seem to me that if violations were so severe during the Badger Outdoors years, they would not have granted a license to the son of an accused habitual violator. The Journal Sentinel has accused the father of still having ties with the current business, again this seems like a supposition on their part. While it could be true, their logic is that since it was owned by the father and now owned by the son and they are related so there must be a business relationship.

Badger Guns has been accused of knowingly allowing straw purchasers to purchase firearms by not preventing felons into their store through "scanning the identification of everyone coming into the store" and demanding "that anyone who comes into the store to buy a gun or shoot on the range sign a sworn affidavit saying he is not a criminal or committing a crime."

If someone is going to commit a felony by lying on a 4437 form to purchase a firearm, is it really going to be a big deal to sign a "sworn affidavit?"

If Badger Guns was such a profit driven business that it would sell any firearm to anyone, then why did they alert local police of a felon who tried to purchase a handgun at their store?

Authorities had notified the store that the suspect, Carlos Flores, might come in.

Flores did come in and the store called police. West Milwaukee Police arrested Flores.

The cynical among us would say they were trying to save their backsides.

Th vilification of Badger Guns has been ongoing for over a year. Newspapers in both Madison and Milwaukee, local politicians, police chiefs and even a congresswoman have all tried to pile it on to this local FFL holder. Please look at the previous posts by myself and Kurt. They give the history behind this witch hunt.

It has been my contention from the start that if Badger Guns was truly not following the law regarding gun sales, the ATF would have been shutting them down or hauling them off to jail.

In one of the articles by the Journal Sentinel I previously had this thought:

The article goes on about the overworked ATF investigators and the practically non-existent regulations regarding delving into a dealers operation. Something I find hard to believe after having talked to dealers I know.

"In 99.9% of the time, it doesn't need to be adversarial. We are all working toward the same goal," said Sherry Duval, an ATF spokeswoman. "Our business is not to put them out of business."

Tell that to Red's Trading Post.

Taking Ms Duval at her word, it's not the ATF's job to put dealers out of business, it's the Brady Campaign's job.

Iowa candidates on Guns Rights V

Southwestern and Western Iowa:

3 Days Until the Election - Learn Who Supports Your Gun Rights!

Learn which candidates submitted surveys to Iowa Gun Owners

Sunday (not so) funnies, 10/31/10

Brady and Milwaukee sue Badger Guns

In a blatant BS lawsuit against Badger Guns of Milwaukee, the City of Milwaukee (with Brady Campaign assistance) filed a lawsuit alleging the gun store didn't know a purchaser was a felon. As if passing a background check isn't enough, Brady assumes that each FFL possess a crystal ball to predict if a potential buyer will use their purchase in a future crime.

David Codrea has more and the links to Brady's filings.

(Update: corrected the link to David's site, sorry)

David Codrea interviews Larry Pratt

A question and answer from War on Guns' David Codrea: Interview with GOA's Larry Pratt

Iowa candidates on Guns Rights IV

Central Iowa candidates:

4 Days Until the Election - Learn Who Supports Your Gun Rights!

Learn which candidates submitted surveys to Iowa Gun Owners

Blood in the streets

Coming January First, 2011...

While Iowa gun enthusiasts are celebrating a landmark liberalization in state law, Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner and some colleagues are bracing for it.

“The general public is going to freak out when they see people walking down the street with guns strapped to their hip,” Gardner said.

Sheriffs still lobbying to tweak gun-permit law, insist on training standards

Scaring the weak and frail, just in time for Halloween.

It's a bit unclear whether one could open carry with the permit, but current law allows one to open carry in the home or while on your property or place of business and also at the range or while lawfully hunting. Open carry is prohibited otherwise.

“This whole thing’s open to too much interpretation,” Gardner said.

As opposed to 99 different interpretations we have now, subject to change with each new sheriff's election?

There is still some discretion allowed by sheriffs in the law (SF2379), but you can't let that fact get in the way of a good scare.

Indications from the Iowa Department of Public Safety web site point to some leeway regarding live-fire and fingerprinting now used by some, but not all, counties. That may continue come January.

Johnson County Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek reveals something about his leanings towards permit holders:

There are currently 408 non-professional permit holders in Johnson County.

We probably have twice that in my township in a county bordering Johnson.

“Any law enforcement officer has to qualify twice a year,” said Pulkrabek.

I bet Bea shot more rounds than the deputies in Johnson county have to in order to "qualify."

It's the scary season, where these guys are screaming that the sky will fall and radio and TV ads blaring out the evil in their campaign opponent.

Distortion, lies and hyperbole.

Iowa candidates on Gun Rights III

5 Days Until the Election - Learn Who Supports Your Gun Rights!

Learn which candidates submitted surveys to Iowa Gun Owners - Next up are contested races in SE Iowa.

Iowa candidates on Guns Rights II

Second installment on the gun rights issue: 6 Days Until the Election - Learn Who Supports Your Gun Rights!

Learn which candidates submitted surveys to Iowa Gun Owners - Next up are contested races in NE Iowa.

Iowa candidates on Guns Rights I

1 Week Until Elections – Learn Who Supports Your Gun Rights

Learn which candidates submitted surveys to Iowa Gun Owners - First up are contested races in NW Iowa.

Chief Justice begs for job

[Iowa Chief Justice Marsha] Ternus and the other justices have said they will not engage in a campaign to retain their seats and they are not raising money to fund such a campaign. But Ternus is speaking around the state in defense of the court, saying opposition to retention based on a single ruling sets a dangerous precedent.

Targeted chief justice speaks out

In an effort to save her job Marsh (Par-tay) Ternus campaigns for her job while telling everyone she isn't campaigning for her job.

“I do not suggest that Iowans cannot vote their minds in the retention election. … I simply suggest that voters reflect on the wisdom of using the retention election as a referendum on a particular court decision,” Ternus said.

I'm voting NO because I always attempt to get every judge out of there. I'm against the idea that judges have a lifetime appointment.

Build your own biometric gun safe

Using some off-the-shelf diagnostic tools, Greg [Gilmour], who lives in Iowa, found the part that sends a signal to the transmitter of the garage door opener. It sends a signal only when a fingerprint is a positive match. That was perfect. The only hiccup was that the reader also sent a pulse when turned on. That pulse would trigger the lock, meaning a thief would simply have to reset the thing to get the valuables. That's no good.

His solution can be found at: DIY Weekend: Trigger finger opens this gun safe

His website: Building Your Own Biometric Safe

The safe in action:



Interesting and useful for those with little kids around, but who still desire to have a loaded handgun ready. If the opening speed could be shortened, it would make this even better.

Islamist history lesson and why they repeat themselves

Alvie recounts some of the suicide bombings that Islamic terrorists perpetrated against the West.

This high degree of tolerance and restraint has been a green light for power junkies in Washington to strip you of property and liberty. After all, if you'll accept withdrawing in the face of the enemy, then you'll surely accept the 1986 Firearms Act, or Ruby Ridge, or Waco, or Kelo, or TSA, or full-body scans, or outlawing the incandescent light bulb, or stealing several trillion dollars through the mortgage and foreclosure mess, or stealing several billion dollars from Chrysler's secured debt holders, or government takeover of student loans, or government takeover of healthcare, or raiding a family farm for the heinous sin of consuming and selling unpastuerized milk and cheese, or taking newborns away from those who hold inconvenient political opinions.

We are at The Cliffs of Insanity. Which way are you facing?

Something to think about.

The answer is... Hyperbole

What do you get from an uninformed "journalist" and a confused and (possibly) power hungry police chief?

New gun-carrying ordinance

Except that it hasn't passed. Because if it did, it would be voided by state law.

But the Ottumwa police chief and the city attorney obviously know better than the laws of the state.

Another statement for the chief:

“As it is now, there is no way of policing it. We could have 50 people show up with hand guns, sitting in a city council meeting and nothing can be done,” said Chief Clark. “The only thing that anyone can do across the state is wait for something deadly to happen. Someone could pull their coat and flash their handgun at city council members as a way to intimidate them, and there’s nothing we can do about it. All we can do is wait for someone to pull a handgun before we can react.”

According to the chief, it's legal to "menace", "threaten" or "intimidate" another person with a weapon.

The officers of Ottumwa will sit on their ass-ends and do nothing?

I never liked being in that town.

Voting is not a right.

It is a duty, it is a responsibility of the citizens of our county.

Allowing non-citizens the ability to vote?

Via Jeffersonian

Range report: check that barrel

Borepatch has some interesting pictures of what could have been a much more serious incident than ruining a barrel.

New rifle with spendy glass? Check.

Out to the range to sight it in? Check.

Remember to remove the bore sighting device before pressing the LOUD switch? Oops:

Update -
Karl was there! (back in 2006)

Funny thing about the internet: What goes around, goes around again.

Thank you, and I'm glad no one was injured.

Iowa isn't the only state that questions its Supreme Court

Look at Colorado's problems: Fighting the Progressive Takeover of State Courts

Sunday (not so) funnies, 10/24/10

SF2379 Q & A from the Department of Public Safety

SF 2379 of 2010, Frequently Asked Questions / Answers
(PDF format)

Regarding Administrative Rules of the Iowa Department of Public Safety:

The Iowa Administrative Procedure Act, Chapter 17A of the Code of Iowa, provides for the promulgation of administrative rules by state agencies. Administrative rules amplify, clarify, and implement statutory language found in the Code of Iowa. Administrative rules carry the force of law, and are codified in the Iowa Administrative Code.

The Iowa Administrative Code is organized by issuing agency and each agency has an identifying number to uniquely label its rules. The Iowa Department of Public Safety's identifying number is 661. Consequently, Chapter 121 of the Department's administrative rules can be cited as "661 IAC Chapter 122."

Emphasis mine.

As stated in the first document, the rules have not been released yet.

At the debate, Culver eats Branstad for lunch

Rather, Culver eats Branstad's lunch or maybe Branstad himself.


Doesn't Culver look huge next to Branstad?

More women looking to carry guns

And this is a good thing.

MONTROSE –– The first-ever basic gun safety class for women that Mark Vogel and Dave Hunold expected to teach Sunday turned abruptly into a gun safety/concealed carry certification course.

Ready, aim, fire

As noted by Sam more women are going to class to get their needed instruction for the upcoming change in Iowa's concealed carry law.

A couple of details in the article:

Sholl said the new law won’t require demonstration of proficiency with a firearm, but applicants must pass a written test. The sheriff will have 30 days to grant a permit from the time of application.

The Iowa law honors concealed carry permits from Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Vermont. After the first of the year, Iowa will have reciprocal permit agreements with 30 states, Vogel said.

Reciprocity is a good thing. Too bad one couldn't have one with Illinois or Wisconsin. The last two states that prohibit concealed carry.

Sorry, Sam.

But if someone isn't a resident of Iowa, can they still get an Iowa permit? The bill SF2379

Might be worth looking into.

This guy used to teach school

Carl and Mary Holvik, both retirees from Johnston, were also part of the Culver camp. He formerly taught school in West Des Moines and he is worried Republicans want to allow students to bring guns into public schools.

“I don’t want to give a kid a D if he has a permit and he is carrying heat,” said Holvik,

Hyperbole abounds at A wild scene outside Culver-Branstad debate

It's probably a good thing this "teacher" isn't dishing out his philosophical drivel to the little mush heads of the world.

Some of the people I work with

Are kind of like this:


There are no leads. Yep.

That Tom Harkin is at it again

Scaring the poor and widows:

Harkin told reporters on a conference call arranged by the Iowa Democratic Party that personal accounts are the first step in a GOP plan to eliminate the 75-year-old program.

“If Republicans take control of Congress, that’s one of the first things they’ll do,” Harkin said. “They’ll start doing away with Social Security.”

Harkin: GOP-controlled Congress would privatize Social Security

I wish.

Harkin is like a broken record, he replays this tired old argument every election.

In jail, for legally owning firearms

In a bizarro world, a person who follows the law, is convicted and thrown in jail for violating the law.

How can New Jersey imprison a gun owner who broke no laws?

Coming to a state near you?

Yea, it's about the money

Citizens caught on speed cameras will see black marks on credit ratings

Linn county Sheriff, distorts new permit law

Linn County Sheriff, Brian Gardner doesn't know the law. But you be the judge.



According to this KCRG report, Sheriff Brian Gardner gives his "knowledgeable" opinion of the new permit law that will go into effect January 1st:

“We’re going from having some standards, while different, to having no standards whatsoever,” said Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner.

Close, but not quite. There were (still are) 99 standards in Iowa because each sheriff could come up with his/her own criteria and restrictions. That was one of the reasons behind the new law.

“It’s not the concept of the “shall issue” it’s the lack of training session, it’s the lack of discretion from sheriffs whatsoever,” said Gardner.

Bull.

There is a training requirement for issuing and for renewals. Just ask Bea about the new law. She completed a class conducted by the Washington County Sheriff's department in preparation for the upcoming law. (I guess someone in the Washington County actually read the new law (SF2379).)

There are also provisions in the new law that allows a sheriff's discretion. The only difference is that they will now have to list the reasons - and they need to be valid reasons. Not "because we don't like you."

So what's Gardner's solution? Local ordinances.

There is a state code that bans those in this case, but it wouldn't surprise me if they don't pass something and then the courts end up deciding.

You know, the final and best arbiters of our Constitutional rights.

West Burlington is facing a lawsuit from the NRA over their bans, and now Ottumwa is considering a ban, but from the comments on this article, Ottumwa may be backing down. But consider the anti-gun comments from Ottumwa's police chief, Jim Clark:

“It is expected that a large number of people will be acquiring concealed weapon permits in Wapello County, including a number of people who should not be allowed to do so."

I guess Chief Clark knows who should and shouldn't be "allowed" to have a firearm.

There's always that "I support the Second Amendment, but..." moment:

Sheriff Gardner says he’s not against giving out gun permits. This year, he’s only denied 35 permits and approved more than 1,300. Gardner says he asked every legislator to revise the law before it goes into effect on January 1st.

This reiterates my opinion that when you take power away from someone, they will always try to take it back.

Many other sheriff's around the state don't like the new law and from what I've found, only two actually supported it. Here's a few who don't like SF2379.

These LEO's don't think people should be "allowed" to have a firearm or have to justify themselves to carry one. That's how much they think of the citizenry.

Third District candidates spar

Boswell, Zaun race gets hot in IPTV interview

Boswell, Zaun offer stark contrast

Dems will win - so says Ed Rendell

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said Saturday he believes voters will side with Democrats in the coming election when they look at the choices and realize their opponents aren't offering viable alternatives and, in some cases, are "complete wackos."

As opposed to these two?


And a money quote from First District Congressman:

U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Waterloo, who is seeking re-election in Iowa's 1st congressional district, refuted claims this will be a down year for Democrats, saying "in 2006, we gave them hope, in 2008, we gave them change, and in 2010, we're going to give them hell.

Uh, huh.

Billboards are offensive

At least anti-Obama billboards.

Iowa isn't the only place where putting up a billboard will get you into trouble. A Grand Junction business owner received death threats over his connection with this sign:

"He got a lot of calls out of his place of business that he said he was fine with. When things got out of hand and people started calling his wife, that's when he decided to go ahead and take it down," says Blake Brueggeman, owner of Integrity Auto Repair. Brueggeman leases property from the billboard owner.

The sign's artist says it's meant to convey a message. It showed President Obama as a terrorist, gangster, Mexican bandito and a homosexual. "It's got a lot of symbolism in it, in that all of those characters are issues being mishandled by presidency," says creator of the sign, artist Paul Snover.

Ah, the lost art of political satire. It's death is coming soon.

H/T to Concerned American at Western Rifle Shooters Association

A comment that Concerned American left here during the Obama/Hitler/Lenin billboard "controversy":

A bad thing....once bullies have measured you (including the Repubs who shout and then apologize) and found you to be weak, they'll take everything from you, including your ribcage.

That offensive billboard:

Sunday (not so) funnies, 10/17/10

Relying on a piece of paper

I have no intention of making hay on a tragedy from earlier this week, but this is the first time I've read this type of admission from law enforcement:

But in the end, even law enforcement admit, no piece of paper will stop someone intent on breaking the law or harming their partner.

Wisconsin judge dismisses concealed carry charges

This week a Wisconsin judge dismissed charges against a man accused of violating the state's prohibition for carrying a concealed weapon.

Although he was carrying a concealed knife, the argument remains the same.

Please visit Kurt Hofmann's Examiner site for more details and to read the hoplophobes' reactions.

Conservation trust fund gets some press

I've been hearing commercials of a citizen in favor of this bureaucratic hammer saying it wouldn't raise our taxes. As I've posted before, Iowa outdoor trust amendment, that ain't so.

A "yes" vote would create the protected fund, but put no money into it. Supporters hope a future Legislature will take the next step - raising the sales tax. State law would then funnel the equivalent of a three-eighths of 1 percent sales tax into the fund, an estimated $150 million a year. Private donations could be deposited, too.

Conservation trust fund amendment to go before Iowa voters

An unfunded (for now) mandate that will empower a state agency not yet materialized, to bully, coerce, and litigate the landholders in this state.

Not all of us have been good stewards but the changes in last 40 years in reducing soil runoff has improved river quality. Very few farmers even own a plow and no-till is nearly the standard farm practice.

More trees are growing in the state than 80 years ago. I've personally planted hundreds of hardwood trees on my fathers' land and acres owned by my brother.

So what's really at issue?

The groups pushing this seem to have a connection to hunting.

Supporters of the Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund say it would improve water quality, save soil and help restore grasslands needed to return Iowa's shrinking pheasant population to levels that made it a draw for hunters years ago.

Pheasants Forever has been purchasing land in this and the surrounding counties and I applaud their effort as a private organization in doing so.

But in order for this trust fund to be truly effective is to give it club. One that will be used against private land owners. State-wide rural zoning for land use would be in place to use against someone in order to increase game birds.

This is a form of "taking" of one's land without due process and soon you wouldn't be able to build your dream home on that 5 acres your uncle gave you in his will. You might be able to hunt dear on it. That is, if it isn't in a deemed "wetland" and the state removes the levee.

But that would never happen.

The consequences of the Environmental Protection Act is that it gave standing in the courts to animal species and the same will happen here. The ducks, pheasants and maybe the land itself will have a state paid advocate to "protect" them from the evil developer or those rich farmers.

I'm voting against it.

Iowa City police catch armed robber

Good job and a win for our side as Iowa City police nab an armed robber.

But I can't give them all the credit because I don't think the guy planned his crime out very well. He used public transportation as his escape method.

Hmmm...

A couple of things stand out.

First, he had to travel to Chicago to get his revolver of choice. I thought Chi-town was a tough place to purchase a firearm. But I guess all of that changed with the McDonald ruling. Why didn't he go to a gun show, we've had a couple in the area in September?

Secondly, the crook told investigators that "he just got out of prison in Minnesota for attempted murder earlier this summer." And

"He's been incarcerated three times for armed robbery," Iowa City Police Sgt. Denise Brotherton said. "During one, he shot the employee."

Could someone please explain why he was out among the public?

Police fire at cell phone user

Mistaking a cell phone for a firearm, a Des Moines police officer fired at a local TV reporter and luckily missed.

I'm betting that the guy is glad that the officer wasn't a better marksman.

Des Moines Register candidate comparison

Compare the Candidates

U of Iowa homecoming parade

I missed this from a couple of weeks ago.

Pictures of University of Iowa, Hawkeyes homecoming parade.

Governor candidate, Branstad is all smiles:


Gov Chester and his mom, Lt. Gov Patty Judge:


Senatorial candidate, Roxanne Conlin, seems confused by wearing Iowa State colors in the U of I parade:


And these kids were obviously impressed by the pandering politicians:

Emergency declaration on erosion

Governor Chester declares War on sediment.

Apparently having numerous emergency powers that may come in handy in a re-election bid (there I go again with the jaded outlook), our governor can spend money our state doesn't have.

Gov. Chet Culver signed an emergency proclamation Wednesday that will allow remedial work to control erosion from the silt-laden bed of the former Lake Delhi.

Estimated cost of $800,000.

If power of the purse resides in the legislature (or so I was taught), then how can a benevolent and trustworthy public official be questioned by anyone?

He's just trying to control erosion and save the fish.

Erosion never happens in the real world, right?

The poor need not apply

Kurt Hofmann provides the history for the BATFE decision for banning re-importation of M1 Garand and Carbines from South Korea:

Because it would drive the price down.

David Codrea has more details regarding the ban as a "public threat."

Knowing the relative history that could be a part of a historical firearm always affects me.

But not with girly-mamby-boy fear.

Rifles of of the kind once carried by one in defense of his country has always caused me to pause to remember the solder, sailor or marine that might fired said weapon at his enemy.

If for that one moment to honor them in remembrance, it is the least I could do.

I suspect that there are some among us who collect historical arms who are rejoicing at this ruling. It would seem that the value of their collections just went up.

But if these arms are such a threat to public safety that we can't have them imported into the country for the rest of us, how long before the ATF agents come knocking on their doors?

Because that collection is a "threat to public safety."

Look what our Sen Harkin is up to

The planned confiscation of all of our 401K plans.

Democrats in the Senate on Thursday held a recess hearing covering a taxpayer bailout of union pensions and a plan to seize private 401(k) plans to more "fairly" distribute taxpayer-funded pensions to everyone.

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee heard from hand-picked witnesses advocating the infamous "Guaranteed Retirement Account" (GRA) authored by Theresa Guilarducci.

New Lame Duck Threat to Bailout Union Pensions

Confiscate your private pensions, and replace it with a 5% payroll tax (on top of social security) because we are too stupid to take care of ourselves.

In typical Harkin fashion, I can hear him attack anyone who disagrees with this by spouting off the tired old "You hate the elderly?" crap that he retreads every election cycle.

Chains and slavery, coming soon to a country near you...

Via Western Rifle Shooters Association

Debt? What debt?

Congressman Phil Hare is at it again:

To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women!,

And Reduce, Reuse and Recycle....

As Iowa National Guard soldiers train at Fort Irwin, California for their mission to Afghanistan, they create a lot of trash. In the past, that garbage went straight to the landfill.

But now there's a big a effort to protect the environment.

Out in the Mojave Desert, soldiers pick up bags of trash several times a day.

Now, recycling has become a requirement and soldiers consider guarding the earth part of their mission.

Instead of:

Sunday (not so) funnies, 10/10/10

Find more Pres. Lincoln cartoons at: ephemera assemblyman, Abraham Lincoln Political Cartoons

They have a policy

The city of Decorah in northeastern Iowa has adopted a policy for responding to hate incidents.

"I'll buy that for a dollar"

And they did.



Keokuk Buys Historic Rail Depot For $1

The week in review

Yep, my week has kind of been like this.

What takes time to build, lasts a second or a lifetime and can easily be lost?

Trust.

The two engineers from the photo, they trusted the other to not be on the same track. Trusted someone to throw the switch correctly. Trusted themselves that they were headed in the right direction.

I lost trust in someone this week and I'm of the notion that rebuilding trust takes 5 times longer than the first time around. If at all.

Expanding on this, why do we trust professional politicians? Sure they lie and manipulate the voting public for their re-election pleasure, so why do we put them back in office?


Sweep the Congress clean, Clean out the Statehouses - No Incumbents.

Sheriff earns a B-

This has nothing to do with NRA grades or endorsements. Remember the sheriff that denied a resident a carry permit because he was asking questions of the county's finances?

U.S. District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett ruled against Osceola County Sheriff Douglas L. Weber in the suit brought by Paul Dorr. The good judge ordered the sheriff to go back to class to learn a little more about the Constitution.

Sheriff Weber earned a B- from the online University of Phoenix.

Let's hope he learned something.

Nationwide Amtrak terrorist training

In an effort to scare little old ladies and rail passengers anywhere:

Iowans boarding Amtrak trains on Friday should be prepared to see law officers with guns drawn as part of a nationwide “surge” in passenger train security.

The high-security “RailSafe” exercise - which will include local, state, federal and railroad law enforcement agencies - is coincidental to a security alert in Europe in response to fears of a terrorist attack, said Steve Kulm, an Amtrak spokesman in Washington, D.C.

Training is always a good idea, but I'm not keen on law enforcement training with ordinary citizens. People just wanting to get from point A to point B do not deserve to be involved in an exercise.

“We don’t want to give out too many details. We want to maintain some bubble of operational surprise for the bad guys, “ Kulm said.

What "bad guys"? This is an exercise so the bad guys would be fake too, right?

Another bit of news: Lt Gov Patty Judge is homeland security officer for the state. How a former farmer's wife and state secretary of agriculture qualifies for that job would be a good question for her to answer.

She gets to wear cool hats, though:

Semantics - words have meanings

Nebraska Supreme Court is asked to define a chase

A Nebraska trooper is trying to catch up to another car and it's not considered chasing?


Alternate title: Nebraska, where liability meets the road.

NJ governor testing the waters?

New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie, who's probably about the same size as our governor Chester, was in West Des Moines for a fundraiser Monday.

Governor Christie ignoring Republican Gubernatorial candidate Terry Branstad on his way to the buffet. "Nice to meet ya. Where's the prime rib?"

Just kidding. But it does look like Christie is giving him the old campaign glad hand and moving on.

Cedar Rapids: "We're in the money" (over half a million)

Over $600,000 in less than seven months.

Southbound I-380 has yet to go live.

If you want to find out if you've been caught: Cedar Rapids traffic fine database

Cedar Rapids mayor and city council sings! (Along with the dancing police force):

"Hey Buddy, wanna buy a shirt?"

Clothing counterfeiter sentenced to 37 years

In Southeast Iowa, a typical dope peddler gets 10 years with most of it being suspended, so this seems a bit odd to me.

Democratic love-fest in Mt Pleasant

With a whole cast of characters, Democrats gathered in Mt Pleasant, Iowa (home of former Gov Tom Vilsack) to drum up support for the sagging and demoralized campaigns in Iowa.

Vilsack inspires Democrats in home town

Former Governor and current Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack:



Senate Candidate, Roxanne Conlin:



Current Lt Governor, Patty Judge during the Talk like a Pirate Day:



And the always cool, Congressman Dave Loebsack:

Sexting is not for cops

An East St. Louis auxiliary police officer is charged with sending lewd pictures of himself to a 13-year-old girl.

Let's keep it civil out there

Make some internet comments and two women threaten to blow you away. Makes one think doesn't it?

Two KC woman charged in allegedly harassment of Iowa man

Iowa gun shows, October 2010

Oct 1-3 Clarinda, Page Co. Fairgrounds, Fri. 4-9, Sat. 9-5, Sun 9-3

Oct 8-10 Council Bluffs, Westfair

Oct 15-17 Red Oak, Montgomery County Fairgrounds, Fri. 4-9, Sat. 9-5, Sun 9-3

Oct 22-24 Waterloo, McElroy Auditorium

Oct 29-31 Sergeant Bluff, Event Center

*** I get this list from the link below and other searches and I can't guarantee the accuracy of the list. If anyone notices a show that needs to be corrected, please let me know in the comments.

For more details go to Iowa Gun Shows

Sunday (not so) funnies

The endorsements are here, the endorsements are here

For me, as a voter, I don't give a hind's end about endorsements, but others might.

NRA endorsements for Iowa (and I see that Kent Sorenson in District 37 gets the endorsement over Staci (vote on one gun bill) Appel.

Gun Owners of America has a slightly different take on Iowa

Thanks to David Codrea of pointing these resources out.
Gun Owners of America releases 2010 candidate grades
And
NRA ratings

We are all Kulaks now

One of the significant events of the totalitarian regime of Stalin, was the purge of the farmer. The freedom they were "allowed" during the previous decades of communist rule in Soviet Russia, were swept away from the Ukrainian steppes. Stalin starved the poor Kulaks out by confiscating grain supplies and destroying their livestock.

"They had gone over the country like a warm of locusts and taken away everything edible; they had shot or exiled thousands of peasants, sometimes whole villages; they had reduced some of the most fertile gland in the world to a melancholy desert."

Malcolm Muggeridge, quoted in "Death by Gun Control", Aaron Zelman and Richard Stevens

All this was performed under the guise of "Centralized Planning."

Bawb has alerted us to the threat of S. 510, the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2010, (introduced by the slime POS Dick Durbin of Illinois) its full text is here.

Bawb's "Dirty Dozen" summary of the bill gives us such gems as:

#1 All food production facilities in the United States will be required to register with the U.S. government. No food will be allowed to be grown, distributed or sold outside this bureaucratic framework unless the FDA allows it.

#2 Any food that is distributed or sold outside of U.S. government control will be considered illegal smuggling.

Please read more.

Can someone explain to me how this bill is any different than this?

The government, the planners, the leaders who directed the robbery, even the government employees themselves "knew better than the peasants how they should live, and what they should sow and when they should plough."

Page 168, "Death by Gun Control", Zelman and Stevens

Because of the criminal interpretation of Interstate Commerce, this gives a virtual unlimited vista of new laws and regulations to our bureaucratic overlords.

As most of my half-dozen readers are aware, we are at a pivotal time in our nation's history. 250 years ago our ancestors would have been heating up the tar and gathering feathers.

While we still have the ballot box:


Every last one of them.

Southbound and down - Ka-ching

More cameras are scheduled to go up in Cedar Rapids.

Southbound I-380 Camera Could Be Live by Mid-October

Cedar Rapid's new slogan will soon be: "Nearly 3 Billion served."