The Good Liberal

UPDATE: 1-26-25

Apparently, she has had a genuine change of heart. President Trump has placed great faith in her. I hope she has studied the firearms related issues and will fully support the right to keep and bear arms. 

Now we know. Thanks for this from friend David Cole:

The news of the day is that Tulsi Gabbard is officially leaving the Democrat Party. . . . . .

“I can no longer remain in today’s Democratic Party that is now under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness, who divide us by racializing every issue and stoke anti-white racism, actively work to undermine our God-given freedoms enshrined in our Constitution, are hostile to people of faith and spirituality, demonize the police and protect criminals at the expense of law-abiding Americans, believe in open borders, weaponize the national security state to go after political opponents, and above all, are dragging us ever closer to nuclear war.

Here are some of the main reasons I’m leaving the Democratic Party, in brief. I’ll be tackling each of these in more depth in the coming weeks.”

There is much to like about Tulsi Gabbard…she is an intelligent, articulate woman with an exemplary record of military service. She has long presented herself as a reasonable person who is legitimately open to a variety of ideas and opinions, and is respectful even of those she disagrees with. She seems like a person you could sit down with over a cup of coffee and have an honest discussion, and she would listen to what you had to say. In today’s politically divided society, that is extremely appealing. I certainly can’t disagree with her assessment of today’s Democrat Party.

Still, when it comes to the Second Amendment, she fails the test; . . . read the rest at DBC here.

Why isn't capital punishment a deterrent?

The following is adapted and updated from a post I wrote in 2015. 

Capital punishment has been society's means of dealing with particularly heinous crimes since antiquity. In recent decades, the Left has told us that capital punishment is not a deterrent. They are correct, in that they have the courts rigged such that there is much too long a time lapse between the crime and the final adjudication of the case. By the time the condemned criminal is finally executed (if ever), so much time has passed that most people won't even remember the details of the crime.

Even Timothy McVeigh, who detonated a truck bomb in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995, was not executed until June 11, 2001, six years later.

Lately, not only is the death penalty virtually meaningless, but punishment for lesser, yet still serious, crimes has morphed from hard labor in the pen to a sport-fishing catch and release program. Police officers make the collar. Then, between bail and early release, the perp is back on the street in a short time. And while he was in the slammer, he had all his health care needs taken care of by the taxpayers.

We have heard recently of the two convicted killers who escaped from prison in New York.
Had those killers been executed, there would be no escape, and the two murderers would not be on the loose now.

Lest we in Tennessee feel too smug about happenings in New York,

Gun Rights Policy Conference 2022

 The last weekend of September, Second Amendment advocates from all over the nation met in Dallas for the 37th annual Gun Rights Policy Conference (GRPC). 

The conference was hosted by the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) founder Alan Gottlieb and his wife Julianne Versnel. Video of the conference can be found here. The SAF has been at the forefront of litigation to restore the Second Amendment to full honor among the Bill of Rights. This is the first page of a long list of suits, many of which have been won. To quote Alan, "Winning back gun rights, one lawsuit at a time." In actuality, they usually have at least a handful of lawsuits going on at any one time.

Here are a few pictures I took at the conference:

Massad Ayoob, Jim Irvine, Juliannne Versnel, Alan Gottlieb, Stephen Halbrook, Mark Smith

These leaders have amazing resumes. Ayoob has been writing and training for decades. Irvine started the Faster program. (Created by concerned parents, law enforcement, and nationally-recognized safety and medical experts, FASTER is a groundbreaking, nonprofit program that gives educators practical violence response training.) Versnel and Gottlieb? Well, just check out the lawsuits mentioned above. Halbrook has done extensive legal research, providing reams of material for firearms rights lawsuits. His books provide tremendously good reading. Smith is further mentioned below.

With John Petrolino

John and I discussed the state of gun laws in New Jersey. Check out his book Decoding Firearms.

With Barbara and John Richardson, and Shane Thurston

John blogs at No Lawyers, only Guns and Money. Check it out. He Among other things, he keeps updates posted on the NRA legal troubles.

With Kyle Rittenhouse

Kyle was wrongfully prosecuted persecuted for exercising the natural right of self-preservation. Thank the Lord that the jury saw the truth and acquitted him. A nice young man who acted in a very responsible manner. I wish him the best. 

Yehuda Remer

From Yehuda's web site: 'I am a proud Jewish gun owner who believes that Jews should not be afraid nor hide their love of the Second Amendment and gun ownership.  

As I always say, "Never again means nothing if you are not willing to do something about it." '

Yehuda told me he remembers the Nazi's tattoos on his grandfather's arm. Unlike many modern day American Jews, he supports the MEANS to keep from being put in the cattle cars. As his T-shirt, available HERE, says > > > 

Mark Smith

Check out Smith's Four Boxes Diner 2A videos HERE.

Paul Valone of GRNC.ORG with his new book
Rules for Anti-Radicals.

The GRPC is scheduled each year around the end of September. The 2023 location has not been chosen yet. Sign up for emails from SAF to stay updated. Mark your calendar and plan to attend.