Global Warming and Pravda

Pravda joins the politically incorrect by reporting that we are on the brink of a coming ice age.

Global warming, anyone?

Obama on the Spike in Gun Sales

According to the Chicago Sun-Times:

As gun sales shoot up around the country, President-elect Barack Obama said Sunday that gun-owning Americans do not need to rush out and stock up before he is sworn in next month.

"I believe in common-sense gun safety laws, and I believe in the second amendment," Obama said at a news conference. "Lawful gun owners have nothing to fear. I said that throughout the campaign. I haven't indicated anything different during the transition. I think people can take me at my word."

Of course, during the campaign, Mr. Obama never said what he considers "common sense gun regulation." I doubt that he and I would agree, or even come close. Common sense gun regulation does not include banning all handguns and requiring safety locks on guns at all times (as the District of Columbia required). That was a "common sense" regulation that Mr. Obama supported before he opposed it. (Pre-Heller versus post-Heller.) That was common nonsense regulation that Attorney General nominee Eric Holder supported in a written brief in the Heller case.

Common sense regulation is not the banning of firearms less powerful than fully automatic assault rifles. (Gun banners have improperly labeled semi-automatic rifles to be assault files -- they aren't. With a fully automatic gun, the gun keeps firing as long as the trigger remains pulled. With a semi-automatic, the trigger must be pulled again for each round fired.)

In my view, common sense regulation is the Castle doctrine by which homeowners are privileged to use deadly force against home invaders. Even better common sense gun regulation can be found in Kennesaw, Georgia.

Obama Birth Certificate

I do not for a minute believe that Barack Obama was born outside Hawaii. Although the issue seems to rise to the same absurdity level as Trutherism (9/11 conspiracy), I see no reason that the Hawaiian officials do not release a copy of the original birth record and put an end to the speculation.

Personally, I suspect that the original record states a religion, specifically: Muslim. So what? I understand that information would be missed during the campaign, but it would make no difference now. The guy got elected.

Mr. Obama is probably very sympathetic to Muslims given his background, but his religion is not Muslim.. He spend 20 years in the Trinity United Methodist Church. While one may argue whether that church is truly theologically Christian, it is certainly not Muslim.

So show the original record already. Demonstrate conclusively that Mr. Obama meets the constitutional birth qualification. The country has to move on to more pressing issues.

Holy Land Foundation Guilty on All Counts

I must have been knee deep in turkey and dressing to miss the news of the conviction of the Holy Land Foundation and the individual defendants as reported in the Dallas News. There were convictions on all 108 counts.

Peter Margulies, a Roger Williams University law professor who studies terrorism financing cases, said, "The government showed in a streamlined case that where special assistance to the families of terrorists is concerned, cash is the moral equivalent of a car bomb."

American Muslims need to hear and understand the message that aid to the families of terrorists, in Palestine and elsewhere, is aid to terrorism. It is NOT an effective argument to justify that aid by claiming Israelis are terrorists, too. That argument would not fly even if true.

One can only wonder what is next for the unindicted co-conspirators such as CAIR. Will the government be emboldened to go after them as well?

Shire Network News

Shire Network News is absolutely the best podcast out there for serious conservative commentary with a humorous tilt. The cast is international and professes to be amateur.

The podcast is available on iTunes and from Shire Network News website.

Highly recommended.
Update:The podcast is on hiatus until January, but back podcasts are still worth checking out. Some of the humor and information is very topical, other information is more long-term. The presentation makes it worth listening to regardless of the currency of the topic.

Ted Strickland Fails

Ted Strickland has announced that he is not firing Helen Kelley-Jones, the $140,000 a year bureaucrat who violated the privacy rights of a private citizen who dared to question Barack Obama's tax plan. Governor Strickland put the miscreant bureaucrat on 30 days unpaid leave.

Sorry, Ted. That does not send enough of a message. This woman is one of your cabinet members. She clearly lacks the impartial judgment necessary to your government of Ohio.

We are all the worse for your decision, Ted.

Dirty Business

The Columbus Dispatch reports: The Ohio Inspector General confirms that Helen Jones-Kelley (and others) improperly accessed Joe the Plumber' confidential data. Will Ted Strickland to the right thing and send a message that this sort of dirty political conduct will not be tolerated by him?