Better minds than mine could rest aside assurances that the United States Senate would never, ever, use the power of government to deprive people of their rights. It would not be difficult in the least to do so either. But? Will they? Based upon the records of people such as Barbara Boxer, Charles Schumer, Frank Lautenberg, and of course Nancy Pelosi I simply cannot believe that.

Nor can I agree with Dave Kopel about Harry Reid. The only thing that I can truly say about the lot of them is that Tar & Feathering would be too good after all the damage that they, collectedly, have done to this nation.

Read about this HERE.

I think this is the shooting that will turn it all around for those who desire a better America. I think that this shooting, even though the boy didn’t die from his wounds, will really be taken to heart by the NRA. After all, when we learn that babies are being killed by defective cribs, we get rid of the cribs through the recall process. We don’t advocate for the purchase of more defective cribs. I’m positive that the NRA will now make the connection between gun ownership and shootings. Sure. Of. It.

This is why we need to have more guns. Most folks don’t know how much fun they are, especially when drunk! They’re just soooo much fun! Oh sure, tens of thousands of Americans are killed every year by them….but guns are soooo much fun! And what’s more American than having ignorant fun!

The forces of totalitarianism continue the march against freedom and liberty here in America as well as abroad. While there has been some good news on the immoral Lautenberg ex post facto domestic violence law, for the most part we are under assault on many fronts.

Most of what follows is from the National Rifle Association. They talk tough, but have a terrible record of caving in to various statist and groups based in sexism and political correctness. Pleas note that I am indeed a Life Member. I’m sure that groups associated with Gun Owners of America will be chiming in soon.

When it comes to rights and Americans I have a single response to the enemies of freedom and liberty; Molan Labe!

Over the last few weeks, we have received many inquiries regarding the UN and the impact of international treaties on our Second Amendment freedom.

The NRA has been engaged at the United Nations and elsewhere internationally in response to anti-small arms initiatives for over 14 years.  In most cases, agendas for the elimination of private ownership of firearms are disguised as calls for international arms control to stem the flow of illicit military weapons.   These instruments are generally promoted by a small group of nations and a large number of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) working in conjunction with departmental bureaucracies in multi-national institutions such as the UN and European Union.

The new U.S. administration, to no one’s surprise, has changed direction in the UN with respect to international small arms control initiatives that were resisted by the previous administration.

The current issue under discussion, the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), is in the early stages of the negotiation process.  There is no actual draft text at this time.  Work on the ATT is scheduled to continue by a consensus process between now and 2012.  It should be noted that any treaty must be approved by two thirds of the U.S. Senate for ratification.

Attempts to thwart our freedoms should be no surprise, given the anti-gun climate of the international community in general, and the current U.S. administration in particular.

More generally, the NRA does not concern itself with foreign policy or arms control initiatives—except to the extent they would directly or indirectly affect Second Amendment rights.

We have been actively opposing transnational efforts that would limit Second Amendment freedoms.  For many years, NRA has been monitoring and actively fighting any credible attempts on the part of the UN to restrict our sovereignty and gun rights.  As a recognized Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) at the United Nations since 1997, NRA gives gun owners a strong voice in the UN’s debate over global “gun control.” As one of over 2,000 NGOs representing everyone from religious groups to the banking industry, NRA has access to UN meetings that are closed to the general public, and is able to distribute informational materials to participants in UN activities.

Most importantly, NRA’s status as an NGO allows us to monitor more closely the internal UN debate over firearm issues and report back to our members.  The role NRA plays within the UN as an NGO is almost identical to the role our registered lobbyists play every day on Capitol Hill and in state capitals across the nation—educating and informing decision-makers of the facts behind the debate, and working to protect the interests of American gun owners and NRA members.

Due to our NGO status, NRA was able to take an active role in thwarting the absurdly titled “UN Conference to Review Progress Made in the Implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects” in 2006, and the previous meeting, the “UN Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons” in the summer of 2001.

The UN Small Arms Conference ended in deadlock with no formal conclusions or recommendations, due in large part to the NRA.  In the final analysis, the complexity of the issue and the concerns of hunters, sport shooters and firearm owners world-wide prevailed.  The failure of the program was total; no recommendations on ammunition, civilian possession or future UN meetings, or for that matter any other subjects, were adopted.

In addition to its UN activities, NRA is a founding member of the World Forum on the Future of Sport Shooting Activities (WFSA).  The WFSA is an association of hunting, shooting, and industry organizations that was founded in 1996.  The WFSA includes over 35 national and international organizations, and represents over 100 million sport shooters worldwide.

NRA members may rest assured that we are actively engaged in international matters.  We have never hesitated, nor will we hesitate, to use the political and other resources available to us to resist any international agreement that could in any way affect our Second Amendment rights.

SOURCE

As we reported last week, on November 16, the NRA filed its brief with the U.S. Supreme Court as Respondent in Support of Petitioner in McDonald v. City of Chicago. The NRA brief asks the U.S. Supreme Court to hold that the Second Amendment applies to state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment.

The McDonald case is one of several that were filed immediately after last year’s decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, in which the Court upheld the Second Amendment as an individual right and invalidated Washington, D.C.’s ban on handgun possession, as well as the capital city’s ban on keeping loaded, operable firearms for self-defense in the home.

In September, the Supreme Court agreed to consider the McDonald case, on appeal from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. That court incorrectly claimed that prior Supreme Court precedent prevented it from holding in favor of incorporation of the Second Amendment. As we argued at the time, the Seventh Circuit should have followed the lead of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Nordyke v. King, which found that Supreme Court precedent does not prevent the Second Amendment from applying to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause.

As a party in McDonald, the NRA is actively involved in this case and we believe our brief makes a clear and strong case in favor of incorporation of the Second Amendment (to see a copy of NRA’s brief, please click here).

Support for incorporation of the Second Amendment is very strong, and numerous additional briefs have recently been filed and signed by both federal and state officials.

This week, an overwhelming, bipartisan majority of members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate signed an amicus curiae, or “friend of the court,” brief supporting the NRA’s position that the Second Amendment is incorporated against the states through the Fourteenth Amendment. The amicus brief bears the signatures of a record 251 Members of Congress and 58 Senators—the most signers of a congressional amicus brief in the history of the Supreme Court (in last year’s historic Heller case, a then-record 55 Senators and 250 Representatives signed an amicus brief supporting the Second Amendment as an individual right).  (To see a copy of this brief, please click here.)

In addition to the federal brief, a large bipartisan group of state legislators and other elected officials from all 50 states, along with more than three-fourths of state attorneys general also filed amicus curiae briefs in the McDonald case this week.  They, too, are supporting the NRA’s position that the Second Amendment is incorporated against the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.

The state legislators’ brief bears the signatures of 891 state legislators and other elected officials—including two governors and three lieutenant governors.  The state attorneys’ general brief was prepared by the office of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott (R) and bears the signatures of attorneys general from 38 states.  Both of these briefs were filed with the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday.  (To see a copy of the state legislators’ brief, please click here.  To see a copy of the state attorneys’ general brief, please click here.)

The NRA is gratified that so many members of Congress along with a large number of state legislators and state attorneys general have joined this historic effort in support of our Second Amendment freedoms.  Along with gun owners everywhere, we are grateful for their participation in ensuring that the Second Amendment applies across the nation, not just in federal enclaves.

“It is our sincere hope that the Supreme Court will follow the Constitution’s true meaning and hold that the Second Amendment applies to all law-abiding Americans, no matter what city or state they call home,” said NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox.

Chicago has had a handgun ban and other restrictive gun laws in place for 27 years. The Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments on McDonald v. the City of Chicago case in February 2010.

SOURCE

Then we have…

In another transparent attempt to undercut the Second Amendment fresh on the heels of his hidden-camera attack on gun shows, Michael Bloomberg’s anti-gun group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, has alleged that the multiple murders that took place on Ft. Hood recently could have been prevented by changes in federal gun laws.

In an ad in the Washington Post on Monday, Bloomberg’s group claimed that the Ft. Hood murder suspect’s “gun purchase could have been key to the FBI’s investigation into his association with terrorists.”

Incredible. It has already been reported that before the suspect purchased the gun allegedly used in the murders, the FBI knew that between December 2008 and June 2009, he had sent 16 emails to a radical Islamic cleric based suspected of having ties to al-Qaeda. In one, he told the cleric that he could not wait to join him in the afterlife.

Nevertheless, after reviewing the e-mails, the FBI and other federal agencies concluded that the suspect was not a threat, and it has since concluded that the crimes of which he is suspected were not part of organized terrorism.

On November 9, the FBI stated “Major Hasan came to the attention of the FBI in December 2008 as part of an unrelated investigation being conducted by one of our Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTFs). JTTFs are FBI-led, multi-agency teams made up of FBI agents, other federal investigators, including those from the Department of Defense, and state and local law enforcement officers. . . . Investigators on the JTTF reviewed certain communications between Major Hasan and the subject of that investigation and assessed that the content of those communications was consistent with research being conducted by Major Hasan in his position as a psychiatrist at the Walter Reed Medical Center. Because the content of the communications was explainable by his research and nothing else derogatory was found, the JTTF concluded that Major Hasan was not involved in terrorist activities or terrorist planning. . . . [T]he investigation to date indicates that the alleged gunman acted alone and was not part of a broader terrorist plot.”

Bloomberg says that if the federal law requiring the FBI to purge the NICS system of records of approved gun purchasers had not been in place, the FBI would have known that Hasan had bought a gun and changed its judgment about him. But while few Americans exchange e-mails with radical clerics suspected of ties to al Qaeda, there are about 12 million NICS firearm checks annually. To Bloomberg, apparently, buying a gun is reason enough to be suspicious.  Bloomberg also says that Congress should approve legislation introduced by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), to allow Americans placed on the FBI’s terror watchlist to be prohibited from buying firearms, but to deny them the right to confront their accusers and the “evidence” against them. Both concepts received a nod from the Obama Administration on November 18. During hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) asked Attorney General Eric Holder whether the administration supported legislation to allow to FBI to retain NICS gun purchase records, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) asked Holder whether the administration supported legislation “closing” the so-called “Terror Gap.” Holder responded in the affirmative on both counts.

You would think that someone who can spend $200 million of his own money to get elected mayor of New York City three times could afford copies of the U.S. Code and the Constitution. Not only does federal law stipulate the specific grounds for denying a person the right to arms, the Fourteenth Amendment states that no one shall be deprived of liberty without due process of law.

And while he is at it, he could buy a copy of another well-known publication, Webster’s Dictionary, and look up the word “obsession.”

To see Bloomberg’s Washington Post ad, and whether your town’s mayor is allied with his group, see www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org/downloads/pdf/terror_gap_ad.pdf.

SOURCE

Which is followed by…

Una historia de los mismos que nos trajeron “Colega, ¿dónde está mi Uzi?”, “Volando los puentes de Madison”, o “Pistolón en Las Vegas”:

Público – La recesión dispara la venta de armas en USA

A nivel personal he de decir que nunca me han desagradado las armas. Sigo considerando que todo depende del uso al que se destinen, y de las manos y contexto en los que se encuentren. Dicen mucho de cómo funcionamos y nos relacionamos en sociedad. El Mundo Real™ aún no es un lugar idílico, ni equilibrado, ni, mal que nos pese, somos Neo.

Acertemos a reconocer las oportunidades y gestionarlas en nuestro favor, o no, es evidente que todo mercado tiene sus drivers, las motivaciones intrísecas, generalmente apegadas a lo más íntimo y emocional de las personas, e insights, las llaves para comprenderlos.

Y el problema esencial es que en el caso de las armas de fuego esas motivaciones tienden a responder, de modo exponencial, al miedo, la irracionalidad primaria, la desconfianza, o la incertidumbre ambiental, política, social o económica (o todas). Poderosos factores por sí mismos, aún más, unidos y acentuados por la crisis.

Las cifras ya no hablan del estereotipado simpatizante de la NRA y admirador de la atlética y jodidamente zumbada pizpireta Palin, sino del tipo más moderado, tal vez hasta liberal, que incluso en la belicosa “Era Bush” llegó a descartar el adquirir una brillante y portatil distribuidora de plomo.

Es a ese nuevo segmento, a ese consumidor, situado en una cultura que favorece la autodefensa y aceptación de las armas, a quien ahora una turbulenta mezcla de sensaciones e informaciones le hace salir del hogar, raúdo y angustiado, a por uno, o varios, relajantes del calibre 38. Ese ciudadano buscará, como todos hacemos al comprar (lo que sea), calmar o satisfacer su necesidad, esa extraña angustia que le ahoga y se acrecienta.

Parece un clima de opinión, y de consumo, que sin duda ciertos medios (¿alguien dijo Fox?) estarán alentando cosa fina (nota profesional: no dudo de que con interesado soporte de potentes y eficaces agencias de RRPP, facilitando datos aportados por sus clientes).

Es curioso, aunque nada contradictorio, constatar cómo las motivaciones que hacen aumentar las ventas a cuidadanos “medios” (no-cazadores) de reconocidas marcas como Smith & Wesson, Glock, Colt, etc., funcionan casi a la inversa de las que suelen favorecer la generación de capitales, empleos o inversión en los mercados, elementos que siempre piden de más tranquilidad y estabilidad para fluir en el mercado y crecer, llevándose así, con sus aparentes bondades, muchas de esas angustias antes mencionadas.

Una firme realidad (no por eso menos inquietante), asociada a aquellos países donde es legal (o semi-legal) y sencillo hacerse con pistracos (o cosas más serias) por un módico precio,  sin licencias o controles más estrictos por medio.

Aún así, para señalar que respecto a las armas hay muchas perspectivas, y que la historia y los hábitos juegan siempre un papel fundamental, recordaré aquella frase “tan USA” que rezaba:

“Dios creó al hombre, Samuel Colt los hizo iguales”.

Christian Files Amicus Brief Supporting NRA in Pivotal Supreme Court Case

November 24, 2009

Center, TX – Today, State Representative Wayne Christian (R-Center) joined a large, bipartisan group of elected officials from all 50 states in filing an amicus curiae, or “friend of the court,” brief supporting the NRA’s position in the U.S. Supreme Court case of McDonald v. City of Chicago.  This brief supports the stance that the Second Amendment is incorporated against the states through the Fourteenth Amendment, and that the handgun ban and other restrictions on rifles and shotguns in Chicago are unconstitutional. The amicus brief bears the signatures of 891 state legislators and other elected officials.

Last week, the NRA filed its brief with the Supreme Court as Respondent in Support of Petitioner in the McDonald case. The NRA brief asks the Court to hold that the Second Amendment applies to state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment.

“All Americans are entitled to the freedoms that our Constitution provides, including the privileges of our Second Amendment,” said Representative Christian.  “Cities should not have the ability to deprive citizens of certain Constitutional rights as they please.  I am proud to provide my support to the NRA and their efforts to restore and protect the gun rights of law-abiding Americans everywhere.”

In September, the Court agreed to consider the McDonald case on appeal from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. That court incorrectly claimed that prior Supreme Court precedent prevented it from ruling in favor of incorporation of the Second Amendment.  Representative Christian supports the NRA in their belief that the Seventh Circuit should have followed the lead of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in Nordyke v. King, which found that Supreme Court precedent does not prevent the Second Amendment from applying to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause. As a party in McDonald, the NRA is actively involved in this case and believes the NRA brief makes a clear and strong case in favor of incorporation of the Second Amendment.

Representative Christian concluded, “This decision will have implications for gun owners across the country.  I am hopeful that the Supreme Court will uphold the Second Amendment and reinstate the right of Americans to keep and bear arms, regardless of where they live.”

Chicago has had a handgun ban and other restrictive gun laws in place for 27 years. The Supreme Court is expected to hear the McDonald case in February 2010.

Help protect our 2nd amendment rights by joining the Texas State Rifle Assoc. and the NRA today!  If you want to get involved with the TSRA lobbying our state legislature and officials contact the TSRA Legislative Director Alice Tripp. // <![CDATA[// // <![CDATA[// <![CDATA[
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Side note:  Governor Perry is a lifetime member of the NRA.

That might win an award for the longest post title I’ve ever written, but it’s for a good cause. As mentioned, over 900 legislators from State houses across the nation have signed on to an amicus brief in the Chicago gun ban case supporting the rights of American citizens to keep and bear arms.  Read the entire brief here at NRA’s website.  For my Indiana readers, here’s a list of our state legislators that signed on to NRA’s brief:

INDIANA
Jim Arnold, State Senate
Kreg Battles, State Representative
Bob Behning, State Representative
Matt Bell, State Representative
Bob Bischoff, State Representative
Sandra Blanton, State Representative
Phil Boots, State Senate
Bruce Borders, State Representative
Randy Borror, State Representative
Brian Bosma, State Representative
Woody Burton, State Representative
Ed Charbonneau, State Senate
David Cheatham, State Representative
Bob Cherry, State Representative
Jacque Clements, State Representative
Ed Clere, State Representative
Bill Davis, State Representative
Richard Dodge, State Representative
Cleo Duncan, State Representative
Sean Eberhart, State Representative
Bill Friend, State Representative
David Frizzell, State Representative
Terry Goodin, State Representative
F. Dale Grubb, State Representative
Brandt Hershman, State Senate
Travis Holdman, State Senate
Clyde Kersey, State Representative
Tom Knollman, State Representative
Eric Koch, State Representative
Dennis Kruse, State Senate
Donald Lehe, State Representative
Matthew Lehman, State Representative
Jean Leising, State Senate
Dan Leonard, State Representative
David Long, State Senate
L. Jack Lutz, State Representative
Rich McClain, State Representative
James Merritt, State Senate
Mark Messmer, State Representative
Patricia Miller, State Senate
Mike Murphy, State Representative
Timothy Neese, State Representative
Cindy Noe, State Representative
Johnny Nugent, State Senate
Allen Paul, State Senate
Scott Pelath, State Representative
Scott Reske, State Representative
Kathy Richardson, State Representative
Bill Ruppel, State Representative
Tom Saunders, State Representative
Scott Schneider, State Senate
Timothy Skinner, State Senate
Ed Soliday, State Representative
Brent Steele, State Senate
Steven Stemler, State Representative
Greg Steuerwald, State Representative
Dan Stevenson, State Representative
Russ Stilwell, State Representative
Marlin Stutzman, State Senate
Jeff Thompson, State Representative
Jerry Torr, State Representative
Randy Truitt, State Representative
P. Eric Turner, State Representative
Dennis Tyler, State Representative
Trent Van Haaften, State Representative
Greg Walker, State Senate
Jackie Walorski, State Representative
Brent Waltz, State Senate
John Waterman, State Senate
Dave Wolkins, State Representative
David Yarde, State Representative

In case you’re counting, that’s 72 legislators from the State of Indiana. If your State Rep or Senator is on that list, give ‘em a call and thank them for supporting the rights of law abiding Americans.

An international crackdown on the use of woods from the world’s rain forests to make musical instruments bubbled over to Music City on Tuesday with a federal raid on Gibson Guitar ’s manufacturing plant, but no arrests.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John Webb said the search warrant was obtained based on information in a sealed affidavit outlining the investigation.

Agents of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service made a midday appearance and served a search warrant on company officials at Gibson’s Massman Drive manufacturing plant, where it makes acoustic and electric guitars.

Some hardwoods traditionally used in making premium guitars, such as rosewood from the rain forests of Madagascar and Brazil, have been banned from commercial trade because of environmental concerns under a recently revised federal law.

Under the U.S. Lacey Act, trading in such banned woods is a federal offense, punishable by civil and criminal penalties or the seizure of property. Last year, the U.S. Congress amended a turn-of-the-century wildlife protection law (the Lacey Act) to extend its reach to endangered timber species and plants. See the next post Where Were You When Wood Became A Felony?

The following is a excerpt from the Classical Values Blog. It is very interesting and I highly recommend you read the entire article at http://www.classicalvalues.com/archives/2009/10/where_were_you_2.html

The 2008 Farm Bill (also known as the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, aka Public Law 110-246).

This amendment [to the Lacey Act] deals with illegal plants — the primary thrust being illegal wood. Henceforth, all wood is to be a federally regulated, suspect substance. Either raw wood, lumber, or anything made of wood, from tables and chairs, to flooring, siding, particle board, to handles on knives, baskets, chopsticks, or even toothpicks has to have a label naming the genus and species of the tree that it came from and the country of origin. Incorrect labeling becomes a federal felony, and the law does not just apply to wood newly entering the country, but any wood that is in interstate commerce within the country. Here are some excerpts from a summary:

The Lacey Act now makes it unlawful to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase in interstate or foreign commerce any plant, with some limited exceptions, taken in violation of the laws of a U.S. State, or any foreign law that protects plants. The Lacey Act also makes it unlawful to make or submit any false record, account or label for, or any false identification of, any plant.

The definition of the term “plant” includes “any wild member of the plant kingdom, including roots, seeds, parts, and products thereof, and including trees from either natural or planted forest stands.”

[...]

Anyone who imports into the United States, or exports out of the United States, illegally harvested plants or products made from illegally harvested plants, including timber, as well as anyone who exports, transports, sells, receives, acquires or purchases such products in the United States, may be prosecuted. In any prosecution under the Lacey Act, the burden of proof of a violation rests on the government.

[...]

Violations of Lacey Act provisions for timber and other plant products, as well as fish and wildlife, may be prosecuted through either civil or criminal enforcement actions. Regardless of any prosecution, the tainted plants may be seized and forfeited.

Everyone means everyone, which includes every reader of this blog.

Obviously, this means that in the future, the Fish and Game guys will be able to accompany SWAT Team raiders to check all wood in homes and businesses for possible violations. Even if they’re wrong in their suspicions about the wood, it can still be confiscated. (Might that be a goal? To beef up employment at Fish and Game?)

Just think about the law enforcement possibilities alone. After kicking through and impounding your illegal wooden door, a federalized army of government termites could literally strip all wood paneling and flooring from every raided house as suspicious contraband, and haul away all the furniture, wood carvings, picture frames, tools, musical instruments! I can’t think of a better harassment tool. The list of potentially regulated items is mind-boggling:

the scope of products that will require a declaration under the Lacey Act is broad and includes certain live plants, plant parts, lumber, wood pulp, paper and paperboard, and products containing certain plant material or products, which may include certain furniture, tools, umbrellas, sporting goods, printed matter, musical instruments, products manufactured from plant-based resins, and textiles.

[...]

After September 30, 2009, based on experience with the implementation of the electronic system for declaration data collection, we will phase in enforcement of the declaration requirements for additional chapters containing plants and plant products covered by the Lacey Act, including (but not limited to) Ch. 12 (oil seeds, misc. grain, seed, fruit, plant, etc.), Ch. 13 (gums, lacs, resins, vegetable saps, extracts, etc.), Ch. 14 (vegetable plaiting materials and products not elsewhere specified or included), Ch. 45 (cork and articles of), Ch. 46 (basket ware and wickerwork), Ch. 66 (umbrellas, walking sticks, riding crops), Ch. 82 (tools), Ch. 93 (guns), Ch. 95 (toys, games and sporting equipment), Ch. 96 (brooms, pencils, and buttons), and Ch. 97 (works of art). We will announce a specific phase-in schedule for those chapters in a subsequent Federal Register notice.

Did they mention shipping pallets and cargo braces? Wood is not only in stuff, it’s in the stuff that the stuff comes in! Nearly everything is regulated.

Oh, and you firearm owners out there, let’s not forget gun handles!

Ch. 93 Headings (arms and ammunition).
9302 — Revolvers and pistols.
93051020 –Parts and accessories for revolvers and pistols.
Ch. 94 Headings (furniture, etc.).
940169 — Seats with wood frames.
Ch. 95 Headings (toys, games, & sporting equipment).
950420 — Articles and accessories for billiards.
Ch. 97 Headings (works of art).
9703 — Sculptures.

Glad I don’t own an art gallery, but my picture frames are not labeled, which means there are probably multiple potential felonies in progress in my home. (Perhaps I should be more careful about what I say.)

And while the NRA might not have noticed the impending crackdown on gun handles, at least IKEA is starting to speak up.

Between Wood Control and the Consumer Product Safety Nazis, I pity anyone in the secondhand business, including all Ebay and Craigslist sellers as well as people holding garage or yard sales.

In short, I pity the American people. This is not their fault, though, for no one has any control over what is going on. Not even the despicable fools we call “legislators” who cannot read the “laws” they pass because they are not meant to be read. As to the enforcers, they are only doing their job. They have to earn a living. And we are supposed to respect them, because they lay their lives on the line, “protecting” the public! From felonious wood!

Obviously, the full implications of this dramatic loss of freedom are beyond the capacity of a single post. After all, I am just one blogger, doing this by myself, without the kind of access to data that media organizations and think tanks might have. So, I cannot possibly hope to analyze everything. As things stand, I became exhausted last night just reading through the Lacey Act Amendment stuff pertaining to wood — and that was one mere fraction of an execrable, unreadable monstrosity. I don’t mean to whine, but slogging through such horrors is not exactly my idea of Saturday night fun. But who the hell else is going to do it? Flooring and furniture industry blogs? Who the hell reads them except people in the business? They’re all greedy tree haters and have no credibility. Besides, all big business is the enemy right now. We need to stand up not only against Big Cereal, but now Big Flooring! Big Siding! Big Furniture! (Is there such an industry as Big Chopstick?)

To read the entire article please go to: http://www.classicalvalues.com/archives/2009/10/where_were_you_2.html

South Carolina shoppers will get a second chance to buy tax-free guns.

The State Revenue Department sent out a reminder Wednesday of the upcoming “Second Amendment Weekend.” The 48-hour tax break begins just after midnight the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Shoppers will pay no state or local sales taxes on handguns, rifles and shotguns, which can tally 9 percent. Taxes still apply to ammunition and accessories.

South Carolina had the nation’s first tax holiday on guns last year, after legislators tacked it on to a tax break on energy-efficient appliances. But the State Supreme Court threw out that law in May because of an unrelated energy amendment. Lawmakers restored the tax break as a one-time event in the budget this year.

Louisiana followed this year with its own sales tax holiday for hunters in September. That break went further, applying to any item that can be used for hunting or fishing, including off-road vehicles, airboats, animal feed and ear plugs.

South Carolina is the only State to designate a tax-free weekend during two of the year’s biggest shopping days.

How much shoppers saved in the gun-friendly state last Thanksgiving weekend is unknown. State economic officials estimated it would cost the state about $15,000.

The National Rifle Association praises the idea.

“It allows gun owners in tough economic times to stock up on the hunting season and holiday season,” said NRA spokeswoman Alexa Fritts.

http://www.katu.com/outdoors/featured/70554207.html

The odds that this was done in self-defense, approximately zero.