Saturday, January 19, 2013

Wilmington man's shotgun fires at gun show, injuring three

Verne Strickland Blogmaster / January 19, 2013

Wilmington gun owner charges in accidental discharge of shotgun at Dixie Gun and Knife Show at N.C. State Fairgrounds in Raleigh.

An injured person is taken from the North Carolina State Fairgrounds after being wounded in a gun accident on Saturday. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Emery P. Dalesio

Published: Saturday, January 19, 2013 at 5:44 p.m.
RALEIGH | A retired sheriff’s deputy and two bystanders were hurt when gunfire erupted at a large gun show at North Carolina’s state fairgrounds on Saturday — a shooting that officials and witnesses are calling accidental.  
A 12-gauge shotgun discharged while its owner removed it from its case at a security checkpoint at the entrance to the Dixie Gun and Knife Show, fairgrounds Police Chief Joel Keith said Saturday. The event draws thousands of people to the fairgrounds, located in Raleigh.
Janet Hoover, 54, of Benson and Linwood Hester, 50, of Durham were hit by shotgun pellets and taken to a hospital, Keith said. Hoover was hit with small, birdshot pellets in her right torso, while Hester was hit in the left hand, Keith said.
Retired Wake County Sheriff’s Deputy Jake Alderman, 54, of Wake Forest, suffered a slight hand injury and was treated and released at a Raleigh hospital, Keith said.
Authorities say the shotgun’s owner, 36-year-old Gary Lynn Wilson of Wilmington, brought the weapon looking for a private buyer. While guns are banned from the fairgrounds during the annual state fair, Keith said he didn’t know if Wilson might face criminal charges for bringing a loaded shotgun onto state property.
Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison, whose agency is investigating the shooting, said his officers would consult with prosecutors but that it was too early to know whether Wilson might be charged.
“What we see is an accident,” Harrison said.
Wilson’s shotgun discharged while he unzipped its case for it to be checked, said Brian Long, a spokesman for the state agriculture department, which operates the fairgrounds.


Hillary talks Algeria crisis from Tokyo. Oh, she's over her immaculate concussion? Well go testify, wench!

Verne Strickland Blogmaster / December 18, 2013

Clinton was meeting Friday with Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan, which has been unusually vocal in its criticism and summoned the Algerian ambassador to demand more information on its nationals. (AFP)
Clinton was meeting Friday with Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan, which has been unusually vocal in its criticism and summoned the Algerian ambassador to demand more information on its nationals. (AFP)
 
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday urged Algeria to prioritize the lives of civilians as she held talks on the “extremely fluid” hostage crisis, her spokeswoman said.


The Secretary of State reportedly looked refreshed and energized, and is obviously over her immaculate concussion, which allowed her to go AWOL on her obligation to testify on Benghazi.

“The situation remains extremely fluid on the ground. We are continuing our work with the government of Algeria and other affected nations to try to resolve this issue,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

Clinton “obviously expressed our concern for our citizens. They had some detailed conversation about that,” Nuland told reporters.

“As we have throughout this, we urged that we minimize loss of civilian life here,” she said.

Nuland appeared to rule out a prisoner swap with the Islamist gunmen, saying: “The United States does not negotiate with terrorists.”

Mauritanian news agency ANI reported that jihadist leader Mohktar Belmokhtar was proposing to swap hostages for prisoners held in the United States on terrorism charges, including Egyptian cleric Omar Abdul Rahman and Pakistani neuroscientist Aafia Siddiqui.

Abdul Rahman was convicted for his role in the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center in New York. Siddiqui was convicted of trying to kill U.S. officers in 2008 after she was detained in Afghanistan.

Clinton also promised to Sellal that the United States would do more to “strengthen Algeria’s capacity against terror” after the crisis unfolds, Nuland said.

Like other U.S. officials, Nuland has said little about the condition and number of Americans who were seized in the largest kidnapping drama the world has experienced in years.

The Algerian army launched a rescue operation at the site but has revealed little about the outcome, prompting criticism from the governments of captives.

Clinton was meeting Friday with Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan, which has been unusually vocal in its criticism and summoned the Algerian ambassador to demand more information on its nationals.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

NRA Slams Obama Gun Control Proposal

NRA Slams Obama Gun Control Proposal

Posted:   |  Updated: 01/16/2013 7:38 pm EST
WASHINGTON -- Following President Obama's announcement on Wednesday of sweeping measures to help prevent gun violence, the National Rifle Association accused the president of "attacking firearms and ignoring children."
In a statement issued Wednesday afternoon, the nation's largest gun rights lobby said, "Attacking firearms and ignoring children is not a solution to the crisis we face as a nation. Only honest, law-abiding gun owners will be affected and our children will remain vulnerable to the inevitability of more tragedy." The group also vowed to "continue to focus on keeping our children safe and securing our schools, fixing our broken mental health system, and prosecuting violent criminals to the fullest extent of the law."
The NRA's response to the president's far-reaching proposals to address the nation's epidemic of gun violence, underscored by the tragic shooting of 26 children and teachers last month at Sandy Hook Elementary School, struck a much different tone than the group's incendiary attack ad, released just a day earlier.
In it, a narrator argued that the Secret Service protection provided to Obama's two daughters, Sasha and Malia, is evidence that the president is an "elitist hypocrite," who wants armed guards for his own daughters, but not for other people's children. The ad was widely panned as soon as it was released, and White House spokesman Jay Carney called it "repugnant and cowardly."
The NRA's response to Obama's Wednesday press conference contained no direct mention of the president or the administration, nor did it address the 23 executive actions Obama signed immediately following his remarks at the White House. Instead, the NRA said it looks "forward to working with Congress on a bi-partisan basis to find real solutions to protecting America’s most valuable asset –- our children."
In many ways, the NRA's tone was similar to Obama's, with its emphasis on protecting children, working with Congress and exploring multiple ways to address factors that may have contributed to the shooting massacres that occurred in now-infamous places -- Newtown, Conn.; Virginia Tech; Tucson, Ariz.; an Aurora, Colo., movie theater; a Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, Wisc., and elsewhere.
But behind the scenes, the NRA is gearing up for a vicious fight against Obama's proposals. An urgent fundraising email sent to NRA members from NRA chief executive Wayne La Pierre Tuesday night accused the administration of telling "a dirty lie" when it invited NRA representatives to be part of White House talks last month. "Barack Obama, Joe Biden and their gun ban allies in Congress only want to BLAME you, VILIFY you, BULLY you, and STRIP you of your Second Amendment freedoms," LaPierre wrote.
"This is the fight of the century and I need you on board with NRA now more than ever," LaPierre said in the email.
In the coming weeks the NRA plans to apply its legendary lobbying pressure to lawmakers on Capitol Hill, in the hopes that any gun regulations in Congress will fail to garner enough votes to pass.
Read the NRA's complete statement below.
Fairfax, Va. –- Throughout its history, the National Rifle Association has led efforts to promote safety and responsible gun ownership. Keeping our children and society safe remains our top priority. The NRA will continue to focus on keeping our children safe and securing our schools, fixing our broken mental health system, and prosecuting violent criminals to the fullest extent of the law. We look forward to working with Congress on a bi-partisan basis to find real solutions to protecting America’s most valuable asset –- our children.
Attacking firearms and ignoring children is not a solution to the crisis we face as a nation. Only honest, law-abiding gun owners will be affected and our children will remain vulnerable to the inevitability of more tragedy.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Oak Creek is in Illinois.
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New-Communism Out of the Closet . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Verne Strickland Blogmaster / Janury 17, 2013

Castro, Ho Chi Minh, Daniel Ortega, Hugo Chavez, Hamas all figure in this version of the post-Communist decades. 

They're all here -- every despicable Communist you could ever want to hate.




Oliver Stone’s Untold History of the United States is a ludicrous encapsulation of the Kremlin’s view of the Cold War, amplified by the Castro, Ho Chi Minh, Daniel Ortega, Hugo Chavez, Hamas version of the post-Communist decades. Indeed, America is portrayed by the Stone-Kuznick author-team as such an evil force in the events of the last 75 years, they evoke overt sympathy for the Germans and the Japanese during World War II, as well as for Stalin himself, and then for really any self-declared enemy of the United States, not excluding Saddam Hussein and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

I consider the reception of this latest Stone travesty to be a significant cultural event signifying a final coming out of the closet of what can only be termed the Communist left. It is the well-known views of the Communist left that undeniably constitute the Stone-Kuznick version of the events of the last seventy years, and their portrait of the United States.

 The fact that Henry Wallace, the hero of their malevolent work, was a Communist and Soviet pawn, is a perfect summary of the pathetic Stalinism that is the heart and soul of the world-view of Oliver Stone’s Untold History of the United States.

Some years ago I made a case for characterizing the progressive, liberal left, including the organizations that form the heart of the Democratic Party  — the government unions, the Soros Shadow Party, the Center for American Progress, and the Netroots activists – as “neo-Communists.”

I made the argument for calling them neo-Communists on the basis of the fact that there was no discernible difference between the view these political actors took of American capitalism – corporations are evil, capitalism is bad, America is the great imperialist Satan – and the view taken by the Communists of the Stalin era.

Of course, time changes everyone somewhat. Even Communists like Khrushchev, who spearheaded Stalin’s purges, came to find it politically wise one day to be anti-Stalinists. So with the progressives. They may decry Communists who have been dead for fifty years but they are busily burnishing the Communists’ ideas and preserving their legacies and passing them on in the curricula of our schools and now on cable TV.

In light of these fairly obvious (if widely unspoken) facts, “neo-Communist” seemed to me an apt term to describe progressives and their liberal fellow-travelers. It seemed just as apt a term as, say, “neo-fascist” and more apt a term than “neo-conservative” (since even Norman Podhoretz says that neo-conservatism is no longer distinguishable from conservatism – although for Paul Gottfried and others that is undoubtedly a controversial statement).

What is striking about the Stone-Kuznick myth-making adventure, and the reason I am making these points once again, is its reception. The Untold History has been widely embraced by the leftwing academic establishment, by the Huffington Post pundits, by the Dissent historian, Michael Kazin, by The Nation and by the progressive culture generally (although not, be it said, the New York Times).

Even more impressive has been the silence of the liberal lambs. This is in striking contrast to their reaction to the appearance of Stone’s equally awful JFK. When that piece of rot appeared twenty years ago, there were thunderous and near hysterical denunciations of its lies from leading Democratic Party figures. No such dissents have greeted Stone’s Stalinist revival, no outcries over the libels committed on the memories of Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, not to mention America.

I read this as concrete evidence that neo-Communism is alive and well and is now the heart of the progressive movement and the Democratic Party, at least its activist center. I would include in this category the president, his likely new Secretary of State, and his chief political advisors.

[After writing the above I sent it to a conservative academic listserv with the following query: I am interested in the list’s thoughts on this. I would ask one favor, however. Please don’t bring up the fact that few people are still talking about the “dictatorship of the proletariat” or “taking over the means of production” in those words, or identifying themselves as card carrying Communists.

First, the left has a history of studied and disciplined mendacity in pursuit of its goals. Second, its goals shift with its accretions of power. Finally, it has been to school with Saul Alinsky (about whom I have written quite a bit) and has absorbed his two main lessons: lie about your agendas; and remember that the end – the destruction of American capitalism – justifies any means.

[There were no responses to my query. I then sent the list this observation: When I posted the question of whether the term "neo-Communist" is not appropriate to describe the current generation of "progressives" I suspected there would be no takers no matter how persuasive the case I made for such an appellation. And that suspicion has been confirmed.

What I conclude from this is that the left -- the neo-Communist left if you will -- has been so successful in its ongoing campaign of political intimidation of any critics of its loyalties, allegiances and endorsement of views that are totalitarian in origin and result --  few are willing to risk even speculative thoughts on this matter. I think this is one of the most significant political problems that confronts anyone who wishes to raise his or her voice against this march to serfdom.]

Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: Click here.  

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

NRA blasts obama gun proposal with both barrels!

  •  

  • Verne Strickland Blogmaster / January 16, 2013 




    WASHINGTON -- Following President Obama's announcement on Wednesday of sweeping measures to help prevent gun violence, the National Rifle Association accused the president of "attacking firearms and ignoring children."

    In a statement issued Wednesday afternoon, the nation's largest gun rights lobby said, "Attacking firearms and ignoring children is not a solution to the crisis we face as a nation. Only honest, law-abiding gun owners will be affected and our children will remain vulnerable to the inevitability of more tragedy."

     The group also vowed to "continue to focus on keeping our children safe and securing our schools, fixing our broken mental health system, and prosecuting violent criminals to the fullest extent of the law."

    The NRA's response to the president's far-reaching proposals to address the nation's epidemic of gun violence, underscored by the tragic shooting of 26 children and teachers last month at Sandy Hook Elementary School, struck a much different tone than the group's incendiary attack ad, released just a day earlier.

    In it, a narrator argued that the Secret Service protection provided to Obama's two daughters, Sasha and Malia, is evidence that the president is an "elitist hypocrite," who wants armed guards for his own daughters, but not for other people's children. The ad was widely panned as soon as it was released, and White House spokesman Jay Carney called it "repugnant and cowardly."

    The NRA's response to Obama's Wednesday press conference contained no direct mention of the president or the administration, nor did it address the 23 executive actions Obama signed immediately following his remarks at the White House. Instead, the NRA said it looks "forward to working with Congress on a bi-partisan basis to find real solutions to protecting America’s most valuable asset –- our children."

    In many ways, the NRA's tone was similar to Obama's, with its emphasis on protecting children, working with Congress and exploring multiple ways to address factors that may have contributed to the shooting massacres that occurred in now-infamous places -- Newtown, Conn.; Virginia Tech; Tucson, Ariz.; an Aurora, Colo., movie theater; a Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, Wisc., and elsewhere.

    But behind the scenes, the NRA is gearing up for a vicious fight against Obama's proposals. An urgent fundraising email sent to NRA members from NRA chief executive Wayne La Pierre Tuesday night accused the administration of telling "a dirty lie" when it invited NRA representatives to be part of White House talks last month.

    "Barack Obama, Joe Biden and their gun ban allies in Congress only want to BLAME you, VILIFY you, BULLY you, and STRIP you of your Second Amendment freedoms," LaPierre wrote.

    "This is the fight of the century and I need you on board with NRA now more than ever," LaPierre said in the email.

    In the coming weeks the NRA plans to apply its legendary lobbying pressure to lawmakers on Capitol Hill, in the hopes that any gun regulations in Congress will fail to garner enough votes to pass.
    Read the NRA's complete statement below.
    Fairfax, Va. –- Throughout its history, the National Rifle Association has led efforts to promote safety and responsible gun ownership. Keeping our children and society safe remains our top priority. The NRA will continue to focus on keeping our children safe and securing our schools, fixing our broken mental health system, and prosecuting violent criminals to the fullest extent of the law. We look forward to working with Congress on a bi-partisan basis to find real solutions to protecting America’s most valuable asset –- our children.
    Attacking firearms and ignoring children is not a solution to the crisis we face as a nation. Only honest, law-abiding gun owners will be affected and our children will remain vulnerable to the inevitability of more tragedy.

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