Seventy Four Days in the Hole .

2011-12-30T04:49:00.001-08:00

Who links to me?It certainly is well received by my audience. This casual sample might make you say, "We'll NEVER run that!"
but Page Nine is built around ad revenues from clear-thinking mainstream businesses.

PAGE NINE No. 106
2011 Year-End Report

CONTENTS (live links to stories)

Starters (more than usual)

1- Holder's Hubris Stuns
2- Because Walters Says
3- Internet Taxation Promised
4- Hunters Reducing Hunger
5- TrainMeAZ Year-End update
6- Killer's Rights Defended?
7- Illegal Immigration Persists
8- Global Whining Unravels

9- Readers' Comments, &
Bias "Occupies" The Media, &
Too Late for Christmas, &
CounterIntuitive Man and the Search-Engine Snowjob

GOT BUTTONS?
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Author Alan Korwin
as drawn by Pulitzer-prize-winning cartoonist Steve Benson

PAGE NINE No. 106
The Uninvited Ombudsman Report, Dec. 27, 2011
by Alan Korwin, Bloomfield Press

-- Tell your friends -- Permission to circulate granted --

Meet me at the SHOT Show in Las Vegas, Jan 17 to 20, 2011.
I'm staying at the Imperial Palace, where you can leave messages for me,
1-800-351-7400, or leave a note in the NSSF Press Office.

STARTERS

SECRET MEMO NOT FOR RELEASE
Sarah: Halloween is turning into an effective tool for public control,
a change we had hoped for. Even better than we had dreamed.
Forget that it's a willing celebration of evil and devil worship,
we have succeeded in making it the 2nd biggest consumer holiday,
with more than six billion dollars now falling into our hands.
It is yet another method for getting the masses to act in lockstep,
to be "different" by being the same; it will have positive impacts on
future plans. The inner circle commends those responsible. Barry.

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"Now remember, the whole idea is to move as much product as possible."

See explanatory "Note A" near the end of this report.

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Worth repeating: Not a single presidential candidate in any debate so far has mentioned guns. The Second Amendment -- the number one issue for huge numbers of Americans, has been hidden from view, avoided, virtually censored, never raised. Have you noticed, or has the clamor about jobs and the economy blinded you so effectively? None of the reporters ask where the candidates stand on gun rights. No one asks about Fast and Furious, or brings it up. (One independent video channel, Western Free Press, did get one fairly straight answer: http://tinyurl.com/84udko5)
Here's betting that if and when the subject finally comes up in prime time, the wannabees mouth pablum, and the interviewers let them slide without cutting deep. That's an easy prediction -- the lamestream perpetrators (accent on the last two syllables) don't know enough about guns or gun policy to ask incisive questions. OK, I'll suggest one, "So, if you stand in such vigorous support of the Second Amendment, do you support marksmanship training in schools?" Read about all the Qs they never ask --
http://www.gunlaws.com/the%20liberty%20poll.htm

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NEW: GUN SAFETY RULES FOR SELF DEFENSE:

1. If you ever shoot in self defense you must prepare to defend yourself against execution for murder.

2. When you drop the hammer plan to cash in your life savings for your lawyer's retainer. Avoid this unless your life depends on it.

3. Sometimes the innocent get decent treatment, sometimes they don't.

4. It's always better to avoid a gunfight than to win one.

5. If innocent life doesn't immediately depend on it, don't shoot. And if it does, don't miss.

Want more?
After You Shoot: Your gun's hot. The perp's not. Now what?
http://www.gunlaws.com/AYS.htm

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Calls for Eric Holder's resignation have exploded. This report last month indicated 17 members of Congress were calling for his ouster, over the gun smuggling and murders of his Fast and Furious program. The latest reports show 91 members have either called for his removal, or signed a no-confidence resolution introduced by Paul Gosar, a first-term congressman from Arizona.

See the report below (item #1) on what actually happened at his most recent appearance before Congress (not what the media told you, despite the evidence you could have seen with your own eyes -- the public hearing -- which serves as my source).

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Every gun law Congress has put in place, in one volume!
Nothing else like it, many of the laws guarantee your rights, and
"If you knew all your rights you might demand them!"
Gun Laws of America
Word-for-word AND in plain English.
http://www.gunlaws.com/gloa.htm

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Someone's prediction for the New Year, food for thought so to speak:"The food shortages of 2012 may not be real, but the panics will be."

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What can I do, I'm only one person?!

The pocket change trick -- Keep a few copper-jacketed rounds in your pocket change (as long as having ammo is legal where you live). It's the inoculation effect, and a conversation starter. Cashiers see it when you reach for exact change, and either back away in fear, or start a conversation. Either way, you help advance the normalization of gun ownership in a gun-deprived environment.

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In defense of anonymous speech

As often happens during election season, the media has been up in arms about “secret funds” being spent by independent groups on messages meant to support or oppose candidates.

They should get a grip. The First Amendment enshrines freedom of speech, not witch-hunts led by the political establishment under the banner of “transparency.”
Our nation was founded on anonymous free speech by independent groups. Under pseudonyms, the Founders deliberately hid their identities as they engaged in coordinated advocacy, in 85 pamphlets, for the ratification of the Constitution. The pamphlets were crucial to rebutting the arguments of those who opposed the Constitution.

Without anonymity, the arguments advanced by the Founders could have been evaded with ad hominem attacks. Anonymity forced the opposition to grapple with ideas on their merits. This resulted in a better debate, which the Founders won on the strength of their ideas.

The marketplace of ideas is enhanced, not diminished, by the freedom to engage in anonymous speech. Broadside government attacks on anonymous speech threaten to suppress the marketplace of ideas, which ultimately threatens the media as much as any independent group.

--Nick Dranias, Director, The Center for Constitutional Government at the Goldwater Institute.

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Two of the nation's top gun-rights advocates explore
real-life gun confrontations, a tremendous learning experience.
Lessons from Armed America
http://www.gunlaws.com/books19Newer.htm

Co-author Walters is host of nationally syndicated Armed American Radio,
Co-author Jackson is editor of Concealed Carry Magazine.
How do you feel years later after a gun saved your life? Read it and find out.

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Laughter is good therapy time: Tablecloth trick, 14 seconds and worth it --
http://biertijd.com/mediaplayer/?itemid=30018

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"There are people, and then there are people with no business card."

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1- Holder's Hubris Stuns

The lamestream media told you:
The lamestream media told you:

"WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers told Attorney General Eric Holder on Thursday to fire some Justice Department subordinates over the flawed arms-trafficking investigation called Operation Fast and Furious," according to Pete Yost, writing for the Associated Press, about Holder's testimony to Congress in early December. [Democrats, by implication and omission, see no problem here and have asked for no action.)

"Why haven't you terminated the people involved?" asked Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that is investigating the arms-tracking operation.

"The operation's goal was to follow the gun supply chain from small-time gun buyers at a number of Phoenix-area gun shops and make cases against major weapons traffickers," AP writer Yost claims.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

It is widely recognized that the BATFE claims in Fast and Furious do not match the facts. There was a concerted effort NOT "to follow the gun supply chain" which BATFE helped smuggle out of the country. The conclusion, if facts matter, is that the smuggling operation increased the number of U.S.-supplied firearms to drug cartels, which were then found at crime scenes domestically and abroad. This manufactured increase was then used publicly to advance an imaginary threat, to justify increased government power, controls, and infringing on the Second Amendment.

The congressional committee, after an initial flurry of remarks and verbal jousting, stunningly refused to place Holder under oath, since he more than once said, "I'm here to tell the truth," instead of taking an oath. That made my mouth hang open. This helps insulate him from a potential charge of felony perjury before Congress. He failed to testify under oath. The "news" media failed to report this tiny insignificant fact.

What the "news" also failed to report was only the most significant parts of the hearings. Holder, who repeatedly claims he is not stonewalling, performed a "document dump" on Congress, delivering more than 5,000 documents, most of them emails, and not a single one came from or was sent by Mr. Holder, the main unindicted conspirator in the smuggling scheme and the main target of the investigation. Actually no one has been indicted, thanks to Holder's stonewalling.

That became obvious during questioning by Ben Quayle, who happens to be my representative. After noting that many in Congress seek Holder's resignation, Quayle asked, "Will you resign?" Holder said, "No." Naming and asking if the underlings just below him would resign, Holder replied "No." Naming the underlings under them with the same question, Holder said, "No," the three shortest answers he gave in the whole charade. Time ran out for Mr. Quayle, so the Chair of the committee asked the obvious last question, will anyone be forced out, and Holder continued with his terse replies, saying, "No." In the AG's opinion, as delivered to Congress, no one should be held accountable for these gross violations of law and multiple murders. This is hard news, so was unreported for reasons that remain unclear.

Nearly a year after it began, Holder has refused to identify the person who authorized the operation, a very simple task, though it might implicate him or his boss, the current occupant of the White House.

A democrat at the hearing said that "2,000 automatic rifles" had walked. The AG said, "Yes, that's correct." No automatic weapons were involved, since these were retail store purchases. Hey, it's such a small point, what do you expect. A big thank you to Rep. Ted Poe of Texas for asking some really hard-as-nails questions. The AG though ducked every one.

Daryl Issa threatened the AG with Contempt of Congress for failure to turn over documents. Contempt of Congress! This extremely serious development was also not widely reported, though Mr. Sensenbrenner's vague allusion to an impeachment of someone (unnamed) did make the "news." The AG's omitted communiques in the document dump was perhaps dwarfed by the Justice Department's flat refusal to release anything after Feb. 2, 2011, probably the most significant material. A Feb. 4 email which was a blatant lie to Congress, now admitted, has been "withdrawn."

When Holder had previously said his 4-state long-gun registration scheme is a "reasonable requirement," none of the officials challenged him -- on the fact that it's strictly illegal, he is specifically denied authority to do it by law, and in fact such action has been specifically outlawed by Congress. Maybe they didn't know. And he didn't know.

Holder and his department's preposterous position that there is no statute against gun smuggling is a naked power grab without support. Not one official challenged that statement. Making each purchase is a separate federal felony, that's 2,000 right there; lying about the nature of the purchase is a federal felony; delivering the guns to the real buyer is a federal felony; smuggling the guns across state lines is a federal felony; delivering the guns to foreign nationals without an export license is a federal felony; using undeclared income to make the purchases is a federal felony; handling illegal obtained cash is a federal felony; conspiring to do any of this with anyone is a federal felony.

Holder has acknowledged that the mess is a fiasco, inexcusable and a prohibited policy, and of course, people have been murdered as a result. In his opinion, no one pays for it. Prediction: That shall not stand.

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http://www.gunlaws.com/books15Women.htm

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2- Because Walters Says

Armed American Radio talk-show host and author Mark Walters, in the latest issue of Concealed Carry Magazine, asks, "Have you ever heard the statement from someone, maybe a friend, a relative, or someone in the news, 'I support the Second Amendment, but...' ? Sure you have. Don't be fooled."

"No one who supports the right of the people to keep and bear arms ever, and I do mean ever, puts the words 'but' or 'however' in the same sentence. And if you do hear those words together in conversation, as a gun owner and freedom fighter you have a responsibility to confront the speaker or writer and correct them. They need to be called out and you need to be the one to do it. This is not a task to be taken lightly." Mark's mild-mannered approach appeals to me.

I had scoped out the underlying principle here waaaay back and have used it to this day:

A "but" statement openly reveals a person's true intentions.

You know it instinctively: "I really like your boots, but the green is awful."
Now you can know it consciously.
To see through any "but" statement:

Reverse the first phrase, and change "but" to "and."

So the above line becomes "I really don't like your boots, and the green is awful."
In poker this is called a "tell."
In real life, it's just an advantage.

Next time you hear a "but" statement,
and inflection always tells you it's coming, try it --
reverse the first part, and change "but" to "and."
Works like a charm.

Politicians reveal themselves in "but" statements all the time.
Newscasters use "but" statements constantly to reveal their biases.
They don't realize it.
Now, you do.

The books the Founding Fathers read -- and wrote!
You hear about these all the time, here's your chance to own the set.
Eleven books in all, or cherry pick the ones you want.
In print for 200 years, and the reason why is in the pages. Amazing stuff.
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http://www.gunlaws.com/books18packages.htm

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3- Internet Taxation Promised

The lamestream media told you:
The lamestream media told you:

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9Q8TV3O1.htm

Connecticut officials are not giving up on requiring Internet sellers to collect state sales taxes, despite signs from online retailer Amazon.com that it has no immediate plans to abide by the state's new Internet tax law.

National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) estimates that all states are losing $23 billion each year ($152 million in Conn.), a figure that climbs annually as more people shop on the Internet instead of their local stores, according to Neil Osten, director of NCSL's Washington, D.C., office.

"All we have to do is get in the door. Once we get in the door, there are some more opportunities that come," Dept. of Revenue Services Commissioner Kevin Sullivan said.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

The Associated Press, working closely with the state governments for a change, is campaigning to suck more money out of the economy and into government hands, according to a recent report released by AP itself. Freedom from such taxes has contributed to astronomic economic growth in the Internet sales sector.

AP reporter Susan Haigh says, "states are losing $23 billion each year, a figure that climbs each year..." She fails to note that otherwise, the working people who earned that money would be the ones losing it. This way, we the people get to to keep the $23 billion of hard-earned cash, instead of forking it over to ever more hungry government tax czars, and in this case, to states where we don't even live. "If bureaucrats succeed in adding a gigantic new tax on the only vibrant star in the economic universe, the Internet, they will have again succeeded in making everyone poorer, in the name of government growth."

This is how government kills jobs. Economists and morons have long known that if taxes increase, people have less of their own money to spend and are poorer, and that's not rocket science.

The phrase "capture the sales tax revenue that goes uncollected" is how the states frame it, and the reporter parrots. "Keep huge piles of our earned cash in the economy, out of government hands, and let it work for us," is how increasingly disgruntled taxpayers generally see the effort to seize the funds. Reporters appear incapable of seeing this distinction and its huge bias.

Rewrite: "The public is saving $23 billion annually, a figure that climbs each year, by shopping on the Internet, according to information released by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), a lobbying group representing state governments. Government agents, with NCSL backing, are now drawing up plans to take that money by creating a new tax, claiming they are "losing" revenue without the new tax.

According to leading bipartisan experts, increasing taxes at a time when government is already too large and needs to shrink, is exactly the direction you do NOT want to go, according to leading bipartisan experts."

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4- Hunters Reducing Hunger

The lamestream media told you:
The lamestream media told you:

Nothing. But it does frequently refer to the benign life-saving wonderful efforts of environmentally sensitive animal lovers in PETA. Read more about their wonderful exploits in item #6 later.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

"NEWTOWN, Conn. -- When you're feasting on holiday meals and leftovers, here's a story to tell -- one that would not be possible without the thoughtfulness and generosity of hunters.

"A new study commissioned by the National Shooting Sports Foundation and conducted by Mile Creek Communications reveals that last year 11 million meals were provided to the less fortunate through donations of venison by hunters. Nearly 2.8 million pounds of game meat made its way to shelters, food banks and church kitchens and onto the plates of those in need.

" 'Given our challenging economic times, hunters' donations of venison have never been more important to so many people,' said Stephen L. Sanetti, president and CEO of NSSF, the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry. 'These contributions are just one way hunting and hunters are important to our way of life in America. Learning about these impressive figures makes me proud to be a hunter. I have donated game meat during the past year, and I urge my fellow hunters to strongly consider sharing their harvest.' "

" 'These figures are from confirmed sources, but annual donations could easily be double this amount if direct donations from hunters to friends and family are included,' said Jim Curcuruto, NSSF's director of statistics and research."

Often overlooked by animal "rights" radicals is the fact that laws typically make it illegal to let any edible portion of harvested game go to waste. Urban dwellers are often unaware that meat does not come from a foam tray covered in plastic wrap.

New 6th edition, better than ever.
Wall-to-wall coverage on all aspects of staying safely armed.
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5- The TrainMeAZ.com Campaign!

Visit Arizona. See what real freedom feels like.
http://www.trainmeaz.com

Click the billboard and visit the TrainMeAZ state training site.

1. The lawsuit against the city of Phoenix, for censoring 50 of our advertisements at public bus stops (by claiming they are non-public spaces, and our ads don't meet their speech guidelines) is proceeding, but has thrown a wrench into our plans obviously. The suit is going well, fast (as these things go, it's been a year now), and we are cautiously optimistic about a positive outcome.

2. Although the majority of the campaign is on hold while the lawsuit proceeds, trainers who bought ad listings are getting some free "override" time, still posted without an additional fee. The Contributing Sponsors are still standing firm in support of the campaign, which will kick into high gear when the dust settles. http://www.trainmeaz.com
3. THE BIG NEWS is that, as promised, we have developed a tourist map for air travelers who arrive at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport -- they get the billboard shown above smack dab in the middle of the page! We're in good company with other advertisers including Bass Pro Shops and Casino Arizona. Maps are on pads and available from every staffed information kiosk in the airport (all nine), and at both info booths at the car-rental facility. Rental companies are cutting expenses, so the TrainMeAZ map is often the only map everyone uses.

My latest book continues to spark controversy --
you've got guns, plenty of ammo, how do you protect yourself
After You Shoot
Click the image to read about that.
http://www.gunlaws.com/AYS.htm

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6- Killer's Rights Defended?

The lamestream media told you:
The lamestream media told you:

"SAN DIEGO - A federal court is being asked to grant constitutional rights to five killer whales that perform at marine parks - an unprecedented and perhaps quixotic legal action that is nonetheless likely to stoke an ongoing, intense debate at America's law schools over expansion of animal rights," according to the Associated Press. http://tinyurl.com/7zs66cr.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, is accusing the SeaWorld parks of keeping five star-performer whales in conditions that violate the 13th Amendment ban on slavery... PETA relishes engaging in the court of public opinion, as evidenced by its provocative anti-fur and pro-vegan campaigns.

The plaintiffs are the five orcas - Tilikum and Katina, based at SeaWorld in Orlando; and Corky, Kasatka and Ulises at SeaWorld San Diego. Tilikum, a 6-ton male, made national news in February 2010 when he grabbed a trainer at the close of a performance and dragged her underwater until she drowned. PETA's five-member legal team spent 18 months preparing the case.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

Any questions remaining about the U.S. justice system's legitimacy, and willingness to stray from the bounds of reasonable jurisprudence, were put to death today with the acceptance of a slavery lawsuit defending animals -- that belongs instead in an obscure philosophy journal, but I repeat myself.

In days when the justice system would cling vigorously to real law, a case like this would have been summarily dismissed, its perpetrator lawyers disbarred, and the legal community in need of oxygen for laughing so hard. A simple question or two from the bench would have served to sever the nonsense and ridicule the monstrous assault on American courts.

"When did your clients retain you for this action counselor?" "What are your clients' goals?" While those questions expose the silliness, the followup would deserve punishment: "Are you saying your clients don't even know you've decided to represent them, and have not agreed to be party to this suit?" And of course, "Do we need an interpreter for this case, and what language should that person speak?" The courts no longer entertain such inquiry, no matter how bizarre a case they face. In common terms, that's malfeasance, grounds for removal from office, with prejudice.

One of the unwitting so-called plaintiffs committed murder but has not been charged. The parties remained silent on whether the murder charge would apply, if the whales are granted 13th Amendment anti-slavery human rights. The Founding Fathers could not be reached to see if they expected wild animals to be covered by the Bill of Rights or Constitution.

All the new laws are included as an update,
and everything is spelled out in plain English.
The Texas Gun Owner's Guide
http://www.gunlaws.com/tgog.htm

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7- Illegal Immigration Persists

The lamestream media told you:
The lamestream media told you:

According to the AP:
"WASHINGTON — Arrests of illegal immigrants along the U.S. border with Mexico are at the lowest level since the Nixon administration, indicating that fewer people are attempting to cross the border to live or work in the U.S. The development could change the debate on illegal immigration from securing the border to handling the people who are already here. It's the sixth straight year apprehensions have dropped. In the fiscal year that ended Sept.30, the Border Patrol arrested 327,577 people trying to cross the southern U.S. border.

"Arrests of people trying to sneak across the border have been steadily declining since 2006 after an all-time high of more than 1.6 million apprehensions in 2000." [If the all time high was in 2000 but numbers are declining since 2006, does that add up?]

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

1. For the umpteenth time: Decreased border arrests do not equate to fewer border crossers, it simply means authorities are catching fewer people.

2. Catching 327,000 people invading the U.S. is not a good thing, as AP implies. No accounting of the people who snuck in was included in the report because it is not known, could be much larger than the number of captures, as it has been in the past, and is also not a good thing.

3. The AP's suggestion in its second sentence that this, "could change the debate on illegal immigration from securing the border to handling the people who are already here," is blatant editorializing right where the news is supposed to go. A third of a million invaders implies no such suggestion, except perhaps to the AP, a now well-recognized frequent propaganda arm of government.

4. Peak apprehensions of 1.6 million, several years ago (implying that at least an equal number snuck in) does nothing to justify the nearly 1,000 people this year caught trying to sneak in every day.

5. If indeed the lower captures are somehow related to a reduced number of invaders, the most likely explanation has been unmentioned -- after sneaking more than 20 million illegals into the country, they're running out of people to send. Who is "they"? Good question.

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A great twenty bucks worth of insurance.
Armed Response
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8- Global Whining Unravels

The lamestream media told you:
The lamestream media told you:

"Associated Press --DURBAN, South Africa -- Brighten clouds with sea water? Spray aerosols high in the stratosphere? Paint roofs white and plant light-colored crops? How about positioning "sun shades" over the Earth?
"At a time of deep concern over global warming, a group of scientists, philosophers and legal scholars examined whether human intervention could artificially cool the Earth -- and what would happen if it did.
"A report released this month in London and discussed at the U.N. climate conference in South Africa said that, in theory, reflecting a small amount of sunlight back into space before it strikes the Earth's surface would have an immediate and dramatic effect... but no one knows what the side effects would be.
"Within a few years, global temperatures would return to levels of 250 years ago, before the industrial revolution began dumping carbon dioxide into the air, trapping heat and causing temperatures to rise." http://tinyurl.com/7mg6aya

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

Howard Maccabee, Ph.D., M.D., writing for the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, notes, "Allegations of harmful effects of climate warming on health are based on increased deaths observed in heat waves, especially in European cities. Year-round mortality data show, however, that death rates during cold weather are seven to nine times greater than during warm weather.

"If the predictions of the climate modelers based on the hypothesis of anthropogenic warming were true, rising temperatures in the 21st century would save millions of lives and improve human health directly."

Download the article, with its charts and graphs:
http://www.jpands.org/jpands1502.htm

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and they're fun -- breathtaking adventure and political analysis all in one!
Get one, or get our whole set at a good discount.
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"The case that saved the Second Amendment"

I browsed through this again recently and it's invigorating.
The arguments in support of our rights are stupendous, and they're all here --
the Court's full decision with 400 call-out quotes, comments by scores of experts
on both the pro rights and anti rights sides, and all 96 High Court gun cases summarized!
The Heller Case: Gun Rights Affirmed!
Get yours --
http://www.gunlaws.com/hc.htm

----::::----

Please DO NOT Donate To Us

If you want to donate to our efforts, just buy our goods from us;
http://www.gunlaws.com/books.htm
Buy a batch and give them to friends,
ask about cheap wholesale pricing.

You get something, we get something, it's more better.
Self-interest and capitalism -- The American Way

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http://www.gunlaws.com/persafe.htm
Protecting Gun Rights
http://www.gunlaws.com/books3.htm

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USA Carry http://www.usacarry.com
AmmoLand.com http://www.ammoland.com
Armed Females of America http://www.armedfemalesofamerica.com
The Eco-Logic Powerhouse http://www.freedom.org
The Libertarian Enterprise http://www.ncc-1776.org/
The Fifty Caliber Institute http://fiftycaliberinstitute.org
Shotgun Sports http://www.shotgunsportsmagazine.com
The Ryter Report http://www.jonchristianryter.com/RyterReport/headlines.html
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Ed Phillips' Arizona Almanac (Radio) http://www.azalmanac.com
Wilson County News, Floresville, TX http://www.wilsoncountynews.com
NYS Rifle & Pistol Association Newsletter "The Bullet" http://www.nysrpa.org
Buckeye Firearms Association http://www.buckeyefirearms.org
Western Missouri Shooters Alliance http://wmsa.net
Virginia Liberty http://lpva.com/HTML/vaLibertyArchive.htm
Chelsea Rod & Gun Newsletter http://www.chelsearodandgun.org
Read It Here News Prescott http://www.readitnews.com
Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com
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If you're like some folks who ask if they can link to or forward my stuff, the answer is YES! and I'm honored by such interest. You can use the PageNine logo or any art from my site, with my thanks and appreciation.
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http://www.gunlaws.com

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9- Comments, Occupied Bias, Xmas Passed, CounterIntuitive Man

================================
Comments help keep me going. Alan.
================================
"There are two editions that go into the Page 9 Hall of Fame. The report(s) on the DC v Heller case, and this one! (here, the "occupy" rally, #104) Your style of subtle confrontation with these nitwits is spot on." -Garrett H.

"Your summary of the 'occupy' rally made my day. Loved it." Tammy S.

(Regarding media bias that shows in the typesetting of "occupy" and The Tea Party): "That's too funny. I am now repeatedly noticing this in the Yahoo! front page news. Norm."

Regarding the last Page Nine No. 105, from a frequent gadfly:
"Alan, Thanks for helping to drive mainstream voters toward the Democratic candidates for 2012. I read a recent poll that indicated mainstream Republicans approval of the Tea Party has dropped to 50%. Unless I misread what you wrote below it looks like you're advocating a return to racial segregation. It must be really tough on your readers having a negro president who was elected by a majority of Americans. Just when they were getting over black quarterbacks. If they enjoy being angry, they should be thankful for this turn of events. I realize it's your job keeping them stirred up. Keep up the good work. Bill"

[You're a piece of work Bill, and yes, you did misread what I wrote. FWIW, your word "negro" s/b capitalized, but since it's now considered racist and un-PC, it is only used by racists, and should not be used at all. Technically the correct word would be mulatto, but same problem with using real words, per George Orwell.

[Regarding your math, Obama 2008 vote total = 66,862,039. Population = 305,000,000. Not "a majority of Americans" or even a majority of voting-age Americans or even a majority of voters (roughly only 22% of Americans elected the guy -- the "news" media didn't make that point, did they?). Normal for our system, routine error on your part. You misrepresent "informed" as "stirred up," leaving me surprised you didn't say "upitty." Did you find anything inaccurate, or just enjoying blowing off steam. Alan.]

Read. Learn. Grow.

::::

BIAS OCCUPIES THE "NEWS" MEDIA

The final shoe drops in part 4 below... priceless.

PART ONE:

To: Sharon Cohen, Associated Press (and selected media friends)
Subject: Crackdowns by police at camps raise concerns

Ms. Cohen,

Wonderful article about the First Amendment rights at play in the demonstrations at Wall Street and around the country. Fair, even handed, good quotes from experts, explored the issue well.

Use of phrases like this are problematic, however: "...on behalf of Occupy activists..."

Since the AP prefers to refer to the "tea party" in its coverage (in quotes), for consistency, and to avoid an appearance of favoritism or supporting one group over another, the "occupy" movement should always appear in quotes as well, for the slight disparaging effect the quotes bring.

Like the tea party, the occupiers are not an official party, or a proper noun, or anything that would justify capitalization in that use. The inconsistent use of capitals along with the belittling quote marks conveys a bias you should vigorously seek to avoid, but which the public has unfortunately come to expect.

The alternative is to always refer to The Tea Party, but that would give this much larger, longer-standing and law-abiding group an imprimatur of significance, which AP has chosen instead to bestow upon the rowdy, unsanitary and arrest-prone "occupy" people. The public has noticed the disparity in coverage, and it contributes to the lack of confidence the media has been enduring lately.

Just on grammatical grounds, a change, and even a public acknowledgment of the change, is appropriate.

May I expect the courtesy of a reply? Alan.

PART TWO:

"Mr. Korwin: Thanks for your note. Our Standards Center at our NY headquarters will be sending you a note answering your question. Best, Sharon Cohen, National Writer"

From: David Minthorn Associated Press
CC: AP Standards , "Cohen, Sharon" ,
Subject: RE: Crackdowns by police at camps raise concerns

Dear Mr. Korwin,

Your query about Sharon Cohen's story was relayed to me for a response.

AP has been capitalizing Occupy so far to refer to various local protests. The shorthand term comes out of the official name of a specific demonstration, Occupy Wall Street. Many protests focus on local themes while sharing the name, including Occupy Memphis, Occupy LA and other groups.

This is consistent with how AP handled the Million-Man March and Glenn Beck's “Restoring Honor” demonstration in Washington.

After two months of protests, and police actions of recent days, it's uncertain whether Occupy in its various manifestations will endure as a lasting movement. So we're inclined to stick with the shorthand term for the time being.

AP's lowercase spelling of tea party, the political movement, is in line with our spellings of other political philosophies like conservatives and liberals. They share ideas but aren't formed as national parties, like the Republicans and the Democrats.
Where tea party groups are formally organized, AP capitalizes the local name. One example from AP's coverage of the Memphis situation:

Pope and fellow Occupy Memphis protester Tristan Tran had a lively, sometimes strained and confrontational, but mostly civil discussion with members of the Mid-South Tea Party at a municipal meeting hall outside Memphis.

The AP Stylebook guidance:

tea party Populist movement in the United States that opposes the Washington political establishment and espouses conservative and libertarian philosophy, including reduced government spending, lower taxes and reduction of the national debt and the federal budget deficit. Adherents are tea partyers. Formally named groups in the movement are capitalized: Tea Party Express.

Sincerely, David Minthorn, Deputy Standards Editor, The Associated Press

PART THREE:

Mr. Minthorn's rambling excuse, illogic, rationalization, justifications and supplications (carefully selected adjectives) ring hollow. Just like the ones from the local state paper here in my home state, when they were also asked:

Have you noticed that the media capitalizes the phrase "Occupy Wall Street"
in every use, but places the "tea party" in lower case and quote marks
all the time? Does this mean the "occupy" people are real
and the "tea party" people are just a temporary distraction?
Or is it a subtle and effective way to marginalize The Tea Party,
and promote the "occupy" people as hard as possible?

Columnist replies:

"Good point, though I don't suspect any conspiracy to marginalize one group while promoting the other. More likely, it's just an inconsistency that hasn't been considered or has been considered but the explanation hasn't been publicly disseminated. I seem to recall that the tea party thing was an issue because there wasn't one overarching organization (ie: The Tea Party) but rather, it was a series of unconnected groups. I'll forward along your question to the head of our style committee."

[That struck me as a rather baseless effort to rationalize away the obvious -- 'unconnected groups'? What does that make the occupiers?

[It gets more weird from the copy editor, who "imagines" what it must be]:

"Hello, Alan,

"Thank you for your question regarding the styles for "tea party" and Occupy Wall Street. It's a good one. I can't speak for the entire industry, but you've probably noticed similar styles in other publications, and I imagine their thought process was similar to ours. It comes down to the word "party." Since the "tea party" is a grass-roots movement, not an official political party, we lowercase it to make that distinction clear. If the Occupy Wall Street movement instead chose the moniker the "occupy party," we would handle it the same way -- lowercase, with quote marks, to distinguish it from an official political party. Sincerely, Chad Snow, news copy desk manager"

Well naturally I replied (below, but that's the last I heard from him):

While what you "imagine" may or may not be true Chad, the usage has the net effect of glorifying the "occupy" people, while denigrating The Tea Party. Half the nation firmly believes the media plays favorites and behaves this way all the time, and as you know, the media's credibility is in disrepair. This sort of language exacerbates the problem.

The Tea Party has assembled upwards of half a million people on a single occasion, and many millions nationwide on given days, while the "occupy" people are essentially a rag tag youthful bunch without clear goals and social skills that leave some observers aghast. At the huge Tea Party gathering in Washington D.C., not a single arrest occurred, while the "occupiers" have had 2,400 arrests in their very short existence, according to one accounting, and have trashed, vandalized, graffitied, defecated, fought and cursed their way into notoriety.

I say this only to demonstrate to you a different way of writing their names, not to suggest that one group is a massive uprising that changed the face of Congress without being a "party" as you point out, and that the other, a darling of the left if the left-leaning bloggers (or language usage) is any measure, receives, let's at least say, Different treatment by the mainstream media, often accused of being well left-of-center in its coverage and predilections.

Those predilections, sometimes called biases or spin, show clearly, if you wish to look, in coverage of such subjects as: gun rights (my specialty, where I would mildly characterize it as consistently outrageous), religion (apparently a harmful pursuit of the intellectually challenged), taxation (overwhelmingly from the statist perspective of government losing money as perceived by tax recipients, rarely from the view of taxpayers keeping more of their own money), abortion, global warming (now climate change, to cover all bases and deflect criticism), illegal immigration (migrantion in media parlance), diversity and multiculturalism (a firmly adopted media standard, but did you notice what Angela Merkel said about it last year, or what a huge portion of the country sees it as?), islamist jihadis waging war on Western civilization (euphemistically deemed terrorists) and more.

You can find hundreds of individual events analyzed here: http://www.gunlaws.com/PageNineIndex.htm, or better yet, media so-called bias examined in egregious cases here: http://www.gunlaws.com/NewsAccuracy.htm

The paper doesn't have an ombudsman (or at least one that's visible) and your reading public knows it. If you had one, it would attract readership, and have positive impact on your credibility, and maybe even circulation. Try it?

Alan Korwin, The Uninvited Ombudsman, 25-Year Member, SPJ

A friendly reporter tries to get around it this way:

"The differing treatment is a result of AP style, which is the guiding reference for most English-language newspapers. My initial inclination is to think that you are right -- the two should be consistent. But I'd like to withhold judgment until I can learn why the gurus at AP came up with this. I'll ask our style team tomorrow. In the meantime, here are some possibilities:

-- Liberal-pinko-Trilateralist-Free Masons in the media who control AP style want to elevate the Wall Street gang above the tea party crowd because, in their minds, it's just better. [Note: his sarcasm fails to hide the underlying truth of this statement, if you overlook the preposterous conspiracy elements thrown in for laughs. -Alan.]

-- There are hundreds of tea party organizations, each of which has its title capitalized (i.e., Gilbert Tea Party, Mohave County Tea Party, etc.). But there is only one Occupy Wall Street group. (And one Occupy Seattle group, and one Occupy Phoenix group, etc.)

-- If the word "occupy" is lower case in front of "Wall Street," which is always upper case, it looks weird and might create uncertain meaning for readers. For instance, the following is awkward because it is not immediately clear whether you are talking about the movement: "Police encircled the occupy Wall Street crowd and ordered participants to leave." By contrast, there is no similar uncertainty when the words "tea party" appear together.

"I don't entirely buy any of the above explanations, but that's no surprise because I find myself in disagreement with AP style quite often, mostly on issues having nothing to do with politics.
"If I hear of an explanation that seems valid, I'll pass it on."

Another local reporter, who has a brain, made this remark:

"These libtards also capitalize Black when referring to race while leaving white in lower case. They're simply so libtarded, they see nothing wrong with what they do." -Linda B.

An out of town reporter had this to say:

"I would like to address another issue: unfortunately, your bias is clear when you refer to the 'rowdy, unsanitary and arrest-prone 'occupy' people.' Certainly, some unsavory elements camped out with the Occupy activists, but to label them the way you have is narrow-minded." [It's narrow minded, or an inability to detect sarcasm when used to make a point. Which of the adjectives inaccurately portrays the main thread of the movement? -Alan]

PART FOUR -- THE GOOD PART

Why would I go through all this, and how many of you have followed me up to this point? Here's the reward:

As early as Nov. 29, in a story by Geoff Mulvihill of the Associated Press, and Gannett's #2 paper The Arizona Republic began placing "occupy" in quote marks, to match the treatment afforded The Tea Party. Capitalization is being handled in a uniform way as well, removing the appearance of bias that infused these stories earlier. No formal announcement was made. No acknowledgment of The Uninvited Ombudsman's role was noted, and there may have been none. The public likely has not perceived much of a difference. And The Uninvited Ombudsman can take no direct credit or knowing satisfaction, but it do feel good, don't it.

It's a small point, but proof of principle.

::::

"Note A" -- Too late for Christmas

Anonymously received over the web --
Christmas 2011 -- Birth of a New Tradition
Edited

As the holidays approach, the giant Asian factories are kicking into high gear to provide Americans with monstrous piles of cheaply produced goods -- produced at the expense of American labor.

Who says a gift needs to fit in a shirt box, wrapped in communist-Chinese-produced wrapping paper? How about gift certificates from your local American hair salon or barber? Gym membership? It's appropriate for all ages who are thinking about health. Who wouldn't appreciate getting their car detailed? Small, American-owned detail shops and car washes would love to sell you a book of gift certificates.

There are a bazillion owner-run restaurants -- all offering gift certificates. And, if your intended isn't the fancy-eatery sort, what about a half-dozen breakfasts at the local breakfast joint. Folks, this isn't about big national chains -- this is about supporting your hometown Americans with their financial lives on the line. How many people couldn't use an oil change for their car, truck or motorcycle, done at a shop run by the American working guy?

Want a heartfelt gift for Mom? Mom would LOVE the services of a local cleaning person for a day. My computer could use a tune-up, and I KNOW I can find some young guy who is struggling to get his repair business up and running. How about going out to see a play or ballet at your hometown theater. Musicians need love too, so find a venue showcasing local bands.

You see, Christmas should not be about draining American pockets so that communist China can build another glittering city. Christmas is about caring about each other, encouraging Americans to keep plugging away to follow their dreams. And, when we care about other Americans, we care about our communities, and the benefits come back to us in ways we couldn't imagine. THIS is the new American Christmas tradition.

Is it?

End of "Note A"

::::

CounterIntuitive Man Is Back!
And he says --
I think my search engine is snowing me!
My last search found “10,800,000 results in 0.07 seconds”!
There aren't 10 million answers to the question I asked!
Finding that many that fast doesn't pass the sniff test!
Most important, there's no way to check out the supposed answers!
How can I look at even the nine-millionth answer -- I can't!
And they know that. They know that.
I might get to the 36,000th, if I break my hand mousing!
What else am I being snowed on?!

----::::----

Q: How do we make money?
A: Answer

Alan Korwin
Bloomfield Press
"We publish the gun laws."
4848 E. Cactus, #505-440
Scottsdale, AZ 85254
602-996-4020 Phone
602-494-0679 Fax
1-800-707-4020 Orders
http://www.gunlaws.com
alan@gunlaws.com
Call, write, fax or click for our f r e e full-color catalog
If you can read this, thank a teacher.
If you're reading this in English, thank a veteran.
"No one could make a greater mistake
than he who did nothing
because he could do only a little." --Edmund Burke
Guns Save Lives
Guns Stop Crime
Guns Are Why America Is Still F r e e

thanksgiving 2012

2011-11-22T20:30:00.001-08:00

On 11/22/2012 at the Savation Army in Redwood city there will be a Truckey carve off 8 am
between the sherriffs department and redwood city's Police department and the fire department.

Redwood city at it's finest

2011-11-22T20:29:00.001-08:00

Who links to me?11/18/2011

18:46 Commercial Burglary
Incident location was the 1100 block of Cherry Street. Disposition: Report Taken.

11/19/2011

02:32 Violation of Parole
Incident location was the 1700 block of El Camino Real. Douglas Carroll, age 46 was arrested and booked into the San Mateo County Jail on a parole violation.

02:52 Driving Under the Influence
Incident location was Alma/Tamarack. Cameron Cook, age 21 of San Carlos was cited and released for 23152(a) CVC. Disposition: Arrest.

20:54 Warrant Arrest
Incident location was the 1100 block of Old County Road. Ryan Evans, age 32 of Redwood City was arrested and booked into the San Mateo County Jail on a San Mateo County Sheriff's Office warrant for $7,500 for 23152(b) CVC. Disposition: Arrest.

11/20/2011

00:51 Driving Under the Influence/Possession of Stolen Property
Incident location was the 1200 block of Brittan Avenue. Mikel Tabaniag, age 32 of San Carlos was arrested and booked into the San Mateo County Jail for 496(a) PC, 23152(a)(b) CVC. Disposition: Arrest.

01:30 Lost Property
Incident location was the 1200 block of Holly Street. Disposition: Report Taken.

***Please note that the Police Media Bulletin will be on hiatus from November 24th-28th and will resume November 29th***

Help in the Womens Jail

2011-11-17T02:31:00.001-08:00

Who links to me?

Peter Ullman teaches a class on finding a job at the San Mateo County Women’s Correction Center in Redwood City, Calif. The course covers writing a résumé and job interview tips.
Dai Sugano / San Jose Mercury News

Job advice where it’s most needed

One man has helped hundreds of inmates find employment

By Mike Cassidy / San Jose Mercury News

Published: November 16. 2011 4:00AM PST
SAN JOSE, Calif. — If you’re looking for a jobs czar in these times of soaring unemployment, you could do worse than Peter Ullman, a guy who has helped hundreds of long-shot candidates find work.
His target market? One-time shoplifters, batterers, check kiters, identity-stealers, pushers, users and other undesirables. For nearly 25 years now, Ullman has gone into jails in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties and helped a captive audience write résumés, fill out job applications and practice job interview skills. Most of all, he’s helped them learn something about themselves that they might have forgotten: Each of them is worth something.
“I’m not judging you,” Ullman, 85, tells his students. “If I had been in your shoes, I might have done something twice as bad.”
In fact, Ullman, who is Jewish, had his own tough start. He fled Nazi Germany with his parents in 1936. Within six years of settling in the United States, both his parents had committed suicide, apparently unable to cope with being uprooted and replanted in a strange place with a strange culture.
“I think because of what happened to me, it might make me a better teacher,” Ullman said, “particularly with the groups I deal with.” Ullman understands the cruelties that life can present and the brew of difficulties those cruelties bring forth. Indeed, his biggest qualification is that he cares. A lot.
Ullman had already worked one successful career when he went into the jails as a volunteer in 1987. He had been a manufacturing engineer at companies like Fairchild and Hewlett-Packard. He had had a number of jobs and hired more than a few people, so he figured he could teach a thing or two about finding work. Now he spends three days a week teaching job-search skills to prisoners, probationers and the homeless, with no plans to slow down. He even put his advice into book form, though he has had no luck finding a publisher. And he landed himself a job. His prison and probation work shifted from volunteer to paid about eight years ago.
Changing lives

“I tell everybody I hope I do it until I’m 100,” said Ullman, of Palo Alto, Calif. “I enjoy teaching very much.”
Very much. In his two decades of work, most of it in San Mateo County, Ullman figures he has helped 500, maybe more, ex-cons find jobs and a way to potentially turn their lives around.
“He pushes them and says, ‘This is going to change your life. This is going to help your family,’ ” said Stuart Forrest, San Mateo County’s chief probation officer. “He’s very good with that.”
Forrest said Ullman has an uncanny ability to get people who haven’t thought much about the good they’ve done to focus on the positive aspects of their lives. For instance, he said, Ullman once worked with a woman who had very little job experience but who was also a huge pet person. It turned out she knew plenty about pets’ health and nutritional needs. “He helped her put that into a résumé and eventually helped her get a job out of it,” Forrest said.
Most of Ullman’s job-search advice is hardly exotic: Know all about the company where you’re applying. Dress nicely. Address interviewers as Mr., Mrs., Miss, etc. Don’t misspell words or mangle grammar on your résumé or in your cover letter. Follow up an interview with a thank-you note. In jail workshops, however, he does offer a few pointers that you might not hear from a typical career counselor.
Bringing out the best

During a recent session at the San Mateo County Women’s Correctional Center, Ullman sat before 14 inmates who had wrestled with addiction. He wore a casual floral shirt and owlish glasses as he delivered some pointers in his thick German accent. Job interviews, for instance.
“Don’t use the word ‘embezzle,’ ‘steal’ or anything like that,” he told inmates, adding that it’s best for the women to explain what was going on in their lives that led them to break the law. There are some challenges, like the truck driver who’s doing time for multiple DUIs. Ullman has encouraged her to highlight her “crossover skills,” or skills from her old job that might apply to a new career. And there is the new student who is happy, sort of, to see Ullman after all these years. It seems she took his class in 1998 while on probation and landed a job with his help. Now she’s in trouble again and determined to turn things around, again.
The nuts and bolts that Ullman teaches are important, but there is clearly something bigger going on here.
“A lot of us in here, we’re not feeling very good about ourselves,” said Carla Leonardi, 50, the truck driver looking for a career change. “Peter has a way about him that he can bring our best forward. We walk out of here feeling that we can take on the whole world.”
Business surveys increasingly note that employers have job openings they can’t fill.
Many workers have a hard time accepting that. They’re trying hard to land a job, or they know others who have been applying for months.
Unfortunately, there are millions of job hunters — but most lack the precise skills or experience for openings.
According to the Society for Human Resource Management, more than half of 2,280 randomly selected hirers surveyed in eight industries said they couldn’t find the right people they need.
Engineering, high-skill medical, science, information technology and manufacturing firms were most likely to say they’re finding skill gaps between the applicant pool and their requirements.
“It follows logically that if key jobs cannot be filled in organizations, then other less-critical jobs requiring less skill cannot be created either, because the organization’s growth is stunted,” said SHRM Vice President Mark Schmit.
SHRM said the most basic skill gaps were in the ability to write or speak English well, to do basic math and to read with good comprehension.
That is sad information indeed. Workers without those high-school-level skills will have a hard time competing for any job, especially when MBAs and college graduates are vying for work.
What’s harder for many job hunters to understand is why they personally — well-educated and with a solid work history — aren’t getting hired.
The answer lies in the word “precise.” Most employers don’t have the time, money or interest to train someone who is nearly right for the job. They want someone who comes in the door as a perfect fit.
An engineer needs to be the right kind of engineer. An IT specialist needs to be the right kind of IT expert. In this job market, it’s difficult to get a foot in the door to show how one’s skills are transferrable.
It’s yet another reason why networking into smaller and midsize companies may be better for job hunters who want to display their transferrable skills or trainability.

Page Nine

2011-11-16T17:42:00.001-08:00

PAGE NINE No. 105

I've created this special feature for the print media and broadcasters ("Page Nine" regardless of where it runs),
that covers stories afresh, not the way news rooms typically flavor things. It will help reduce the distrust
so many news consumers feel and could be the most avidly followed item you carry -- if you carry it.
It certainly is well received by my audience. This casual sample might make you say, "We'll NEVER run that!"
but Page Nine is built around ad revenues from clear-thinking mainstream businesses.

CONTENTS (live links to stories)
1- BATFE Gun-Smuggling Promo Resurfaces
2- Gun-Free Presidential Debates
3- Birthers vs. Media
4- Hemenway Suffers SugarShock
5- Posse Comitatus Eliminated
6- Illegal Immigration Succeeds
7- Special Guest Columnist Craig Cantoni:
The Fix For America's Problems That No One Is Talking About

GOT BUTTONS?
Can't see this email? Want prior editions? http://www.gunlaws.com/PageNineIndex.htm
Page Nine is a Blog -- Automatic RSS feeds: http://www.pagenine.org
Get Page Nine through Twitter -- http://www.twitter.com/page_nine

Author Alan Korwin
as drawn by Pulitzer-prize-winning cartoonist Steve Benson

PAGE NINE No. 105
The Uninvited Ombudsman Report, Nov. 1, 2011
by Alan Korwin, Bloomfield Press

-- Tell your friends -- Permission to circulate granted --

STARTERS

Theoretical question:
Would a perpetually corrupt, bumbling batch of murderous elitist jack-booted thugs running a bureaucracy like BATFE in charge of anti-rights so-called "gun control" be better for freedom than a highly efficient, well organized, infinitely resourceful J-Edgar-Hoover molded FBI-style federal agency? See the article below about the proposed closure of BATFE, with its duties assumed by the FBI.

::::

Mutliculti Failure:
The Society of Professional Journalists supports unreserved adoption of multicultural principles, in its headlong dash to lead the political-correctness movement (despite its claim to be unbiased and neutral). This is obvious in its routine bean-counter reporting. Most Americans understand multiculturalism and "diversity" are just other names for the failed and discredited government social policies of integration.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told a gathering of young members of her conservative Christian Democratic Union party a year ago that the "multikulti" concept -- where people of different backgrounds would live together happily -- does not work in Germany. "We kidded ourselves... the approach [to build] a multicultural [society] and to live side by side and to enjoy each other ... has failed, utterly failed." The crowd gathered in Potsdam greeted the above remark, delivered from the podium with fervor by Ms. Merkel, with a standing ovation. And her comments come just days after a study by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation think tank (which is affiliated with the center-left Social Democratic Party) found that more than 30 percent of people believed Germany was "overrun by foreigners" who had come to Germany chiefly for its social benefits. [Credit/Link] A year later, SPJ and our "news" media still clings to multicult-ism. The reality is that birds of a feather flock together, that's the natural order of things, and there's nothing wrong with that. To force otherwise is to use social engineering for despicable purpose.

::::

The Gross Domestic Product of all the Arab countries combined is the size of Spain's. Take away oil, and their total exports are the size of Finland.
::::
Alan, We spoke last year about runaway BATFE agents and their terrorizing retail gun shops like ours and others in the lower Southern states as we were supposed to be trafficking guns to Mexico. Sure enough they found no trafficking among the dealers -- but were themselves trafficking firearms to Mexico as has recently come out. I'm sorely pissed. After being treated like a criminal -- we find that we were dealing with the real criminals -- in the form of government agents. Joe B.

::::

Read my latest gun-rights column in American Handgunner Magazine
http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/AmericanHandgunner/AHJA11/?page=47

::::

Orders are shipping -- the new 25th edition has arrived.
"The best gun laws in the United States, and hence the world."
Completely uninfringed carry, robust self-defense law, very tough on criminals,
(despite what the "news" media would have you believe.) Freedom to Carry.
The Arizona Gun Owner's Guide
http://www.gunlaws.com/agog.htm

Visit Arizona. See what real freedom feels like.

Click the billboard and visit the state training site.

After You Shoot: Your gun's hot. The perp's not. Now what?
http://www.gunlaws.com/AYS.htm

New Gun Safety Rule #1:

"If you ever shoot in self defense you must then
defend yourself against execution for murder."
(Page 19)

Read the rest of the rules, protect yourself if you ever face a lethal challenge.
After You Shoot: Your gun's hot. The perp's not. Now what?
http://www.gunlaws.com/AYS.htm

----::::----

1- BATFE Gun-Smuggling Promo Resurfaces

The lamestream media told you:
The lamestream media told you:

Nothing (NBC). Very little (ABC). Nothing lately (CBS).

FOX News presented a one-hour special that all but called the BATFE Fast and Furious gun-smuggling scheme the Watergate for Mr. Obama. Special segment host Sean Hannity directly associated Nixon's illegal activities with this drug-cartel gun-smuggling operation. Comments that, "We will never run any stories like that because it could hurt our beloved president," from the three networks, could not be confirmed.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

A full-color brochure produced by BATFE in March of 2009 at the start of the federal gun-smuggling operation has resurfaced, and seems to implicate BATFE in illegal operations. The brochure clearly outlines known criminal activity, which congressional testimony and other evidence has confirmed BATFE knew about and in fact ran for an extended period of time.

According to the information published by BATFE itself: "Firearm trafficking is the movement of firearms from the legal to the illegal marketplace. It is one of the most pressing problems in the firearms industry today... Firearms originating in the United states have been used to murder U.S. citizens and foreign officials... In response to the violence on the U.S.-Mexican border, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive (BATFE) is committed to denying the tools of the trade to drug trafficking organizations..."

The brochure explicitly acknowledges that what BATFE was doing was strictly illegal, against established policy, and that BATFE was engaging in these specifically known and outlawed acts. BATFE facilitated "the movement of firearms from the legal to the illegal marketplace." BATFE knowingly did this, aware that, "Firearms originating in the United states have been used to murder U.S. citizens and foreign officials." BATFE countermanded their stated policy by supplying, instead of denying, "the tools of the trade to drug trafficking organizations."

In congressional testimony, BATFE agents denied knowing what they were doing, or taking responsibility for their actions, and in fact promoted some of their staff who were directly involved in supplying guns to the cartels, which they knew would be used to commit murders.

Both houses of Congress are investigating the murderous behaviors, and both Rep. Isaa and Sen. Grassley have now demanded information from the FBI, who appears complicit in the operation. Several of the straw purchasers BATFE used could not possibly pass a NICS background check, run by the FBI and required for every purchase made.

In other news, 10 of 15 Arizona Sheriffs have declared their intent to investigate BATFE criminal activity in the federal government gun-smuggling operation:

"A majority of Arizona’s county sheriffs on Friday (10/8/11) called upon President Barack Obama to appoint an independent counsel to investigate the government’s botched gun-smuggling case known as Operation Fast and Furious.

"At a Phoenix news conference, Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said the sting operation, which allowed an estimated 2,000 firearms to reach narcotics cartels in Mexico, was a betrayal that should lead to the removal of Attorney General Eric Holder and possible criminal charges against those responsible.

" 'I believe that this is a much larger scandal than what took place in Watergate,' said Babeu, who is president of the Arizona Sheriff's Association." This according to The Arizona Republic.

Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar said, "When you facilitate that and a murder or a felony occurs, you're called an accessory.". "That means that there's criminal activity." In a letter to Congress AG Holder "said he felt compelled to comment because of 'irresponsible and inflammatory' statements about the case by a House member who said those involved with Fast and Furious should be regarded as 'accessories to murder,'" according to The Arizona Republic state newspaper. The brochure issued by BATFE confirms that the agency was aware its actions were strictly illegal, but does not directly implicate Holder or Obama. Holder's testimony to Congress was replete with contradictions and statements that did not stand up to scrutiny, hence the ongoing investigation.

In other news, it was learned last week that a county attorney within Arizona may be planning a separate action with regard to the illegal smuggling operation, but details will not be released until the plans are settled. After prodding, it was not clear if the state taxing authority would look into tax violations for one of the straw buyers, who spent six-figure money on guns he could not legally buy, with no visible means of support, and hence no paid taxes.

Evidence is almost insurmountable that Eric Holder and Mr. Obama knew in advance about Fast and Furious, let the program run, and used the bogus stats to bolster a case against private gun ownership and for government registration of firearms. They had been promoting the supposed iron-river into Mexico both here and abroad, until it became evident that the numbers they used were false.

In still other news, a document is apparently circulating in the halls of government seeking to eliminate the BATFE. Rumors of such a plan have been circulating for years, and internal scutllebut suggests BATFE is a laughing stock among the rough riders of federal law enforcement.

"Multiple sources, including sources from ATF, DOJ and Congressional offices have said there is a white paper circulating within the Department of Justice, outlining the essential elimination of ATF. According to sources, the paper outlines the firing of at least 450 ATF agents in an effort to conduct damage control as Operation Fast and Furious gets uglier and as election day 2012 gets closer. ATF agents wouldn’t be reassigned to other positions, just simply let go. Current duties of ATF, including the enforcement of explosives and gun laws, would be transferred to other agencies, possibly the FBI and the DEA. According to a congressional source, there have been rumblings about the elimination of ATF for quite sometime, but the move would require major political capital to actually happen.

" 'It’s a serious white paper being circulated, how far they’d get with it I don’t know,' a confidential source said. http://townhall.com/columnists/katiepavlich/2011/09/27/fast_and_furious_using_humans_as_collateral_damage

"After a town hall meeting about Operation Fast and Furious in Tucson, Ariz., ATF Whistleblower Vince Cefalu, who has been key in exposing details about Operation Fast and Furious, confirmed the elimination of ATF has been circulating as a serious idea for sometime now and that a white paper outlining the plan does exist."

"ATF" is an abbreviation of BATFE, which the bureau prefers, since five-letter acronyms are seen as less manly. Since the group now claims jurisdiction over really awesome wild fires, it's acronym perhaps should be BATFERAWF. If you add "And Gun Smuggling" you get BATFERAWFAGS.

According to Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, jpfo.org, which bills itself as America's Most Aggressive Defender of Gun Ownership, having a Keystone Kops organization life BATFE in charge of firearms is far superior to having a massively powerful and invasive group like the FBI take charge of the civil right to arms. "Leave BATFE in place, but replace their badges and guns with business cards and notepads, so it's clear they're just bureaucrats," one member was heard to say.

::::

2- Gun-Free Presidential Debates

The lamestream media told you:
The lamestream media told you:

Look -- over here -- look, it's economic policy, and jobs, and not enough jobs, and economic policy, and the debt, and the deficit, and government waste, and jobs and economics, and, and, and...

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

Not a single presidential candidate in any debate so far has mentioned guns. The Second Amendment -- the number one issue for huge numbers of Americans, has been hidden from view, avoided, virtually censored, never raised. Have you noticed, or has the clamor about economy blinded you so effectively?

None of the reporters ask where the candidates stand on gun rights. No one asks about Fast and Furious, or brings it up. What a great forum for confronting the Obama Administration on flat out malfeasance, and stonewalling, and felony gun smuggling for political ends. Won't somebody raise the issue, just once, and get the nation talking.

By narrowing down the examination of the presidential contenders to a small handful of related issues, the public is being shortchanged, transparency is absent, and, and, and, we haven't gotten a frickin clue where these people stand on the right to keep and bear arms.

Here's betting that if and when the subject finally comes up, the wannabees mouth pablum, and the interviewers let them all slide without cutting deep. That's an easy prediction -- the lamestream perpetrators (accent on the last two syllables) don't know enough about guns or gun policy to ask incisive questions. OK, I'll suggest one, "So, if you stand in such vigorous support of the Second Amendment, do you support marksmanship training in schools?"

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::::

3- "Birthers" vs. Media

The lamestream media told you:
The lamestream media told you:

Right-wing radicals will attack our beloved president in any way they can, and that alone makes their charges ridiculous and not worthy of discussion. Birthers are lunatics. Obama released his birth certificate. Any presidential candidate who questions Mr. Obama's legitimacy deserves derision.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

When presidential contender Rick Perry was asked during a "news" interview if he sides with The Birthers (people who don't believe BHO is a natural born citizen since he failed to prove it), or who question Obama's citizenship, instead of evading the question, the proper response would have been to ask back: All I'm wondering is why the White House would release that birth certificate that every expert who examined it declared was doctored. Why would the White House do that? You news people must have investigated that, right? What did you find, what was your conclusion?

Why did they do it, and where is the real McCoy? Isn't presenting a falsified birth document an offense? Who would be guilty of what in this case? What do you mean you don't know? Can you articulate a reason why the entire national media would fail to investigate a clearly falsified document released by the White House?

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::::

4- Hemenway Suffers SugarShock

The lamestream media told you:
The lamestream media told you:

Soda Causes Gun Carry

Researchers said on Tuesday they had found a "shocking" association -- if only a statistical one -- between violence by teenagers and the amount of soda they drank. High-school students in inner-city Boston who consumed more than five cans of non-diet, fizzy soft drinks every week were between nine- and 15-percent likelier to engage in an aggressive act compared with counterparts who drank less...

"What we found was that there was a strong relationship between how many soft drinks that these inner-city kids consumed and how violent they were," said David Hemenway, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health. The new study was based in the inner Boston area, where Hemenway said crime rates were much higher than in the wealthier suburbs. [See Uninvited Ombudsman report and maps on the geographic, demographic and economic realities of violent crime, http://www.gunlaws.com/GunshotDemographics.htm]. The overwhelming majority of respondents were Hispanic, African-American or mixed; few were Asian or white.

They were also asked whether they drank alcohol or smoked, carried a weapon or showed violence towards peers, family members and partner. What emerged, said Hemenway, was evidence of "dose response," in other words, the more soda was consumed, the likelier the tendency towards violence. Among those who drank one or no cans of soft drink a week, 23 percent carried a gun or a knife; 15 percent perpetrated violence towards a partner; and 35 percent had been violent towards peers. At the other end of the scale, among those who drank 14 cans a week, 43 percent carried a gun or a knife; 27 percent had been violent towards a partner; and more than 58 percent had been violent towards peers.

"This is one of the very first studies to examine" the question, said Hemenway. The study, published in a British journal, Injury Prevention, will revive memories of the "Twinkie Defence," a US legal landmark in which a killer successfully argued that his behaviour had been swayed by eating junk food.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

Gun Carry Causes Soda

In a laughable affront to good science, Harvard's David Hemenway, a widely reviled anti-civil-rights activist, has gathered data and drawn a conclusion that just happens to support his long-time anti-gun-rights political agenda, at the expense of turning research on its head.

Hemenway implies that drinking soda is connected to illegal gun possession by youth. Unfortunately for the man, he has found that young people likely to illegally carry weapons are prone to drinking soda. Drawing a conclusion the other way around, that soda turns kids bad, is unsupportable, but does advance his anti-rights agenda.

" 'Coincidence is not causation,' is a bedrock of scientific inquiry," said one commentator familiar with Harvard. "To ignore this and conclude that soda causes bad behavior, instead of recognizing that kids with bad behavior drink soda, is preposterous." It is unknown whether the test group also drank milk as children, which Hemenway could use to draw other flawed conclusions. It is well known that virtually all U.S. felony prisoners drank milk (and ate bread!) when they were young, pointing out the absurdity of such conclusions.

So-called "science" on the subject of firearms is frequently distorted by "researchers" whose main goal is to "prove" guns are somehow bad. They have completely blocked out any realization that guns save lives, guns protect you, guns stop crime, guns are why America is still free, or that we as a society give guns to police and the military because guns have indispensable social utility.

Blind seething hatred, or mere untreated hoplophobia, is often the driver on such junk-science "studies." A case in point is ASU professor Fabricious (his real name), who, with his 12-year old son, concluded guns are used more often in crime than in self-defense, by counting newspaper stories in a now defunct tabloid called the Mesa Tribune. Though even a cursory check of morgue records showed that far more deaths occurred than any newspaper ever reports, their study, for a high school assignment, was published by a marginal "science" journal, which refused to reject the silly study when confronted with the facts. http://gunlaws.com/FabriciusCase.html

"If gun use was accurately reported, and these agenda-driven so-called studies were scientifically valid, America's perspective on the subject would be totally pro rights," The Uninvited Ombudsman notes. "It shows how damaging the 'news' media is to righteous debate and our rights at this point," he said.

The best studies show that guns are used in legitimate self defense 2.5 million times per year (the 13 best studies are contained in this book, Armed, by Kleck and Kates). The total number of annual "gun" deaths is only in the thousands, with about half of those suicides related to lack of medical care for the impoverished elderly, and most of the rest actually war deaths in the war on some drugs.

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::::

5- Posse Comitatus Elimination

The lamestream media told you:
The lamestream media told you:

“New Post To Help Military Respond To U.S. Disasters” according to Dan Elliott writing for the Associated Press. http://tinyurl.com/3d8xbxe

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

“Effort to Eliminate Posse Comitatus Protection Underway”

This story is so bad I have to pull it apart piece by piece.

Lamestream: “The Defense Dept. is grooming a new type of commander to coordinate the military response to domestic disasters, hoping to save lives by avoiding some of the chaos that plagued the Hurricane Katrina rescue effort.”

Ombudsman: Using FEMA and federal incompetence during the Katrina disaster as an excuse, someone in the chain of military command, probably right at the top, is planning to actually name officers in charge of using military force against the public.

Lamestream: “The officers, called dual-status commanders, would be able to lead both active-duty and National Guard troops -- a power that requires special training and authority because of legal restrictions on the use of the armed forces on U.S. soil.”

Ombudsman: Authorities are claiming that “special training” now allows new armed-forces police called “dual-status commanders” the power to get around the posse comitatus law that for 150 years has forbidden use of the military against the U.S. public.

Lamestream: “No one commander had that authority in the aftermath of Katrina, and military and civilian experts say the lack of coordination contributed to the nightmarish delays, duplications and gaps in the huge rescue effort.”

Ombudsman: Rewriting history, Dan Elliott of the AP claims unnamed “experts” say inadequate government power led to the snafus. However, anyone with a memory recalls it was a grossly incompetent mayor, federal failure to see and respond to the problem, herding mindless thousands from the underwater 9th Ward into a temporary ballpark jail without food, water or sanitation, and thousands of unwanted and unneeded (but paid for) house trailers (now rotting) that caused the problems, not lack of a military commander who could violate our posse comitatus protections and rule over us.

Lamestream: “'It was just like a solid wall was between the two entities,' said Georgia National Guard Col. Michael Scholes, who was part of the Katrina response.”

Ombudsman: A solid wall was wisely placed in front of the U.S. military in the late 1800s to prevent it from enforcing civilian law, and going down the path of every banana republic on the planet. The wall has stood almost rock solid until now.

The wall the Col. is talking about is, as AP puts it: "Active-duty and National Guard troops have distinctly different chains of command. The president is the commander-in-chief of active-duty troops, while the Guard reports through a state chain of command leading to the governor. A dual-status commander would straddle that divide." The wall between parts of the military is nothing compared to the wall needed between the military and the public, which is now being dissolved with AP support.

Lamestream: “'We're going to be able to conduct disaster-response operations on a large scale much more efficiently and effectively than we have in the past,' said Paul Stockton, assistant secretary of Defense for homeland defense.”

Ombudsman: Using a now familiar strategy, "public safety" is being named as the excuse to further destroy laws that protect the public, and increase military and government power.

Lamestream (AP's words): “The dual-status concept is simple, but the execution is not. The active-duty military is limited in what it can do at home...” “...The commanders would get temporary authority to command both types of troops and report up both chains of command...”

Ombudsman: Fulfilling its role as government lapdog and subverter of American values and freedom, the AP supports and cheers on the effort to destroy posse comitatus by saying it's simple. AP goes on to describe how military authorities would gain enormous power, without using the words “enormous” or "power," and rationalizing it by calling it “temporary authority” and only for use during undefined “emergencies.” When “temporary” or “emergency” would end is neither defined nor addressed. Complete lack of any legitimate authority to subvert our system this way is unmentioned.

Lamestream: “The goal is to have at least one officer in each of the 50 states and in four U.S. territories qualified and ready to be a dual-status commander on a moment's notice... The U.S. Northern Command, with headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base near Colorado Springs, began training the commanders last year.”

Ombudsman: By the time AP got hold of a glimmer of this news, it was already a done deal, having begun a year ago without any apparent oversight or defined perpetrator, among the points AP chose to ignore. No state is to be spared the presence of a posse-comitatus overlord who can ignore the ban on use of military against the public ("for the public," as authorities might frame it). The exact office responsible for this proposal, now an operating branch of government, is not revealed. Rumors that we now have a Czar for Civilian Control Procedures (CCCP) could not be confirmed.

The now overruled posse-comitatus law said, in plain English, 'anyone who uses the military to enforce civilian law, shall pay a steep fine and go to prison'. No act of Congress has repealed this law or its provisions, but that doesn't matter, because Congress and its charter, the U.S. Constitution, apparently don't matter any longer to the people in power. The AP was not reached for comment.

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::::

6- Illegal Immigration Succeeds

The lamestream media told you:
The lamestream media told you:

Both parties want a solution to illegal immigration, but they have very different approaches.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

The "news" conjecture that the parties want to end illegal immigration is patently false, since many on the political right, including many businesses, love illegal immigration because it supplies a wonderfully large pool of low-priced labor.

The left is more overt in their support of illegal immigration.

Illegal immigration:

-- Helps fundamentally transform America

-- Serves social justice goals

-- Is fair, because we stole the land, now must give it back, to be fair

-- These people struggled to get here, they ought to have a right to stay

-- How can you be heartless and deny them medical care

-- What about the innocent children who are victims of their parents' abuse

-- Some have served in the military and deserve rewards

-- Some have gone to college, at in-state rates, which helps the colleges

-- Oppressors have to face the music and this is it

-- Americans want non-government drugs, the migrants just supply demand

-- The drug and illigration wars provide job support for thousands of federal workers

-- Those workers support grocers, dry cleaners, car dealers, the entire economy

-- If illegals stop sending cash back to Mexico, it would collapse, and that would be a bad thing

-- Their brethren here support the migration, and they vote

-- The illegal immigrants also vote

-- Legals simply won't pick lettuce

-- Checkpoints help get the public used to unconstitutional police-state tactics for future programs

-- Militarization of the police advances all sorts of federal policies

-- Buckets of money flow into states from the feds for immigration programs, whether it works or not

-- Without constant fear your need for government decreases

-- All the immigration crises are good for advancing multiple agendas

-- If you can keep the Reps and Dems at each others' throats over this, the Bilberbergs and company benefit

-- Controversy helps sell newspapers, though that isn't working very well, is it.

My latest book continues to spark controversy,
click the image to read about that.
After You Shoot
http://www.gunlaws.com/AYS.htm

New Gun Safety Rule #2:

"When you drop the hammer plan to cash in your life savings
for your lawyer’s retainer. Avoid this unless your life depends on it."
(Page 19)

::::

7- Special Guest Columnist Craig Cantoni

The fix for the country that no one is talking about

By Mencken’s Ghost

The USA isn’t bereft of ideas to supposedly fix what ails it: raise taxes or cut spending, raise the debt limit or live within its means, reform Medicare or expand free medical care, invest in public education or offer choice in education, invest in green energy or drill for oil, invade other countries or defend the nation’s shores, pray to God in school or pray to the state in school, salute the flag or burn the flag, vote Democrat or vote Republican, watch CNBC or watch Fox News, and be fixated on Lady Gaga or on Weiner’s weenie.

None of these distractions will fix the country. They won’t fix it because they don’t address the root problem.

The root problem is theft. Theft has become the main activity of the U.S. government (and state governments). Instead of taking some money from all people to pay for the few public goods and services that cannot be provided by free markets and charities, the government now takes a lot of money from a minority of people for the unlimited benefit of a majority of people.

This can’t end in anything but bankruptcy.

The list of larcenies would run for more than 50 pages. Examples include crop subsidies given to farmers, subsidies of every description given to rent-seeking corporations (hello, General Electric), school lunches given to obese kids, handouts beyond imagination given to able-bodied and able-minded slackers, rich pensions given to avaricious public employees, and free medical care given to liars who say they can’t afford medical care as they drive expensive cars, gorge on unhealthy food, and mortgage their futures to buy every new gizmo and gadget.

Then there is the double-theft of Social Security and Medicare. After making phony actuarial assumptions about the programs, the government committed the first theft by confiscating people’s lifetime FICA payments--which were inadequate to pay the promised benefits in retirement--and spending the payments on other things. It is now committing the second theft by sending the bills for its lies and larceny to future generations.

All of this theft has created a feeding frenzy, where the objective is to steal from your neighbor before he steals from you. It’s as if we’re all swimming in shark-infested waters with bloody hams tied to our backs.

The absurd justifications and rationalizations for eating our neighbors are an insult to whatever intelligence and morals are left in the nation. The feeders speak of social justice, fairness, compassion, and, especially, the children, while they devour their neighbors’ hams. And then the media, which never had much intelligence or morals, runs story after story sympathetic to the feeders instead of their victims.

Eggheads in academia teach a similar slant to college kids with yolks for brains, as they enjoy their tenured positions that depend on government grants, student indebtedness, and serf-like graduate assistants who do the work of the pampered professoriate for little pay. Like their fellow egghead in the White House, these feeders despise the bourgeoisie, are steeped in leftist cant, and want to destroy what is left of the market economy that funds their privileged positions.

It’s no surprise, then, to hear students sniveling and demonstrating about the unfairness of tuition increases at state colleges. Because no one has told them where money comes from, and because they have grown up in a kleptomaniac nation, it doesn’t dawn on them that much of their education is paid in taxes by working stiffs who don’t attend college and who earn less then what they will earn after graduation. Nor does it dawn on reporters, who also didn’t learn much in college, to ask the whining students about the fairness of this.

One has to watch voyeuristic shows like “Judge Judy” or “Judge Joe Brown” instead of the mainstream news to know what many of the feeders are like. Ironically, such shows are a big hit with the feeders themselves, probably because they know the truth.

The nation was doomed to bankruptcy the first time that Americans--and thus government--justified the taking of money from some people for the benefit of other people, instead of for the true general welfare. Such original sin, which took place before the Founders had died, set a precedent and led to convoluted court decisions and purposeful misreading of the Constitution to justify an endless succession of theft.

Unless Americans stop all theft, the government will have no choice but to resort to the biggest theft of all times. Unable to cut the federal debt by honest means, politicians will cut it dishonestly. They will debase the dollar even more than they have already, relying on the burglary rings of the Federal Reserve, the Treasury, and the rest of the banking cartel to do the stealing in the middle of the night, unseen by citizens and the media, who will be too distracted by gagas and wieners to notice.

In the meantime, stay out of the water and try to hide your ham and wiener.

“Mencken’s Ghost” is the nom de plume of an Arizona writer who can be reached at ghost@menckensghost.com.

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::::

Left-wing revisionists want to strip God out of our history,
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::::

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Builds to an amazing climax, could actually happen,
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----::::----

After You Shoot: Your gun's hot. The perp's not. Now what?
http://www.gunlaws.com/AYS.htm

New Gun Safety Rule #4:

"It’s always better to avoid a gunfight than to win one."
(Page 19)

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LINK REQUESTERS:
If you're like some folks who ask if they can link to or forward my stuff, the answer is YES! and I'm honored by such interest. You can use the PageNine logo or any art from my site, with my thanks and appreciation.
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http://www.gunlaws.com

================================
Comments help keep me going. Alan.
================================
[I had written that a "speedy trial" can take years of languishing in a cell because defense attorneys (your attorneys) will drag things out hoping witnesses will forget, die, or otherwise improve your chances. A prosecutor friend corrects me, at least in part]:

The prosecution delays cases as well, where they don't have anything upon which to hang the charges. A thin case, they suspect they will lose, they will sit on and drag out. The accused sits in jail until they are utterly destitute, all the while the prosecution trying to get them to take a plea. They “sweat” innocent people into taking pleas all the time.

How do I know? I've been doing this for a living for over 10 years. The worst part is that this is their tactic primarily on people with no criminal history accused of a low level felony (criminal damage, domestic violence, technical weapon violation, possession of a small amount of illegal drugs, or a prescription drug with somebody elses name on it, etc). They (in other words you and your neighbors) are the most vulnerable to this strategy. You have the least tolerance for a long jail stay, and the most to lose by waiting for trial. I've personally seen it more times than I can count. --D.

::::

Milan B., commenting on Page Nine No. 102, correctly notes that: "With all due respect, religion did not build this nation. People of moral philosophy using their cognitive skills of rationale, reason and logic built this country. Any country that was founded on religion has clearly shown a negative development and advancement as a civilization; especially as it pertains to economics, science, and industrialization." [I stand corrected. The error came in a description of one of our latest books, "America's Godly Heritage." It would have been more accurate to say, "this little book documents how devoutly religious people built this nation."] http://www.gunlaws.com/books13history.htm

Then Charlie A. wrote: Maybe religion didn't build this country, but Milan B's attribution to the founding of our country by people of "moral philosophy" is disingenuous. One's moral philosophy is governed by how they view their Creator or views on the theory of evolution. The fact that our Founders were deeply men of faith, admitted their reverence for the scriptures and attribute the words of scripture for giving them guidance cannot be understated. It could also be said that communism was built by "people of a moral philosophy," what matters is what informs your conscience and motivates you. The principles in scripture guided the Founders views on economics, science, and industrialization, which has served our country very well, however when we abandoned some of the core principles, and replaced it with human reasoning we end up with people like Cass Sunstein promoting rights to animals, and justices like Sotomayor.

::::

Subject: Capitalizing occupy wall street & minimizing The Tea Party
To: Alan Korwin
Alan, That's too funny. I am now repeatedly noticing this in the Yahoo! front page news. Norm

::::

Alan, There are 2 editions that go into the Page 9 Hall of Fame. The report(s) on the D.C. v. Heller case, and this one! Your style of subtle confrontation with these nitwits is spot on. --Garrett H.
Heller: http://www.gunlaws.com/supreme.htm
Page Nine No. 104 http://www.gunlaws.com/PageNineIndex.htm

::::

Read. Learn. Grow.

----::::----

Alan Korwin
Bloomfield Press
"We publish the gun laws."
4848 E. Cactus, #505-440
Scottsdale, AZ 85254
602-996-4020 Phone
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2011-11-13T21:56:00.001-08:00

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MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican Interior Minister Francisco Blake was killed in a helicopter crash on Friday, a blow to the government as it fights powerful drug cartels.

Television images showed the scattered wreckage of the helicopter on a green hillside south of the capital where Blake and the seven others on board were killed.

President Felipe Calderon said conditions were cloudy when the helicopter came down so that an accident looked probable.

But in a televised address, he said no explanations for the crash could be ruled out as he paid tribute to Blake, calling him "a great Mexican".
"The investigations will be exhaustive and will consider all the possible hypotheses," Calderon said.

Mexico is locked in a brutal conflict against drug cartels that has killed 45,000 people in the last five years and Blake was a key member of Calderon's security team.

Locals near the crash site, a remote area only accessible by dirt roads, said the weather was poor when Blake's helicopter fell from the sky on Friday morning.
"We could hear the motor, which didn't sound good," said farmer Humberto Ramirez from the village of Caserio de Cortez, about 1.5 km (1 mile) away. "We couldn't see where it came down."

Blake is the second interior minister under Calderon to be killed in an air crash. The previous one three years earlier was declared an accident. Ironically, Blake lauded that very predecessor in the last tweet from his Twitter account.

Another top security official died in a helicopter crash in 2005, prompting one analyst to question security protocols for government aircraft and say the string of deaths could be down to more than just bad luck.
As interior minister, Blake was responsible for helping Calderon implement his strategy against drug gangs, as well as negotiating with opposition parties in Congress. Lawmakers held a minute's silence as a mark of respect for Blake.
LAST TWEET
Mexico's peso and its IPC stock index lost ground after Blake's death, although the peso firmed again after Calderon said an accident looked likely.
Calderon's presidency has been dominated by his decision to send in the army against drug gangs shortly after he took office in December 2006.
He canceled his appointments for the day and called off a planned trip to Hawaii where he was due to take part in an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
U.S. President Barack Obama, himself on the way to Honolulu for APEC, called Calderon from Air Force One to express his shock and sorrow at Blake's death.
The soaring death toll has battered support for the ruling National Action Party (PAN) ahead of a presidential election next July, and this year dragged down Calderon's approval ratings to their lowest levels of his term.
Born in Tijuana on Mexico's border with the United States, Blake trained as a lawyer and served as a deputy for his home state of Baja California. He became interior minister in 2010.
"There is great sadness, firstly for the loss of a great friend, but also because this is a very severe blow in the midst of a war against criminals inside Mexico," said Socrates Bastida, a leader of the PAN in Baja California.
On November 4 2008, then interior minister Juan Camilo Mourino and several others died when their small plane crashed near a major Mexico City boulevard. Investigators concluded the plane was flying too close to a much bigger jet plane ahead of it.

In his last tweet on November 4, Blake said: "Today we remember Juan Camilo Mourino three years after his passing, a human being who worked toward the creation of a better Mexico."

In 2005, Ramon Martin Huerta, public security minister in the previous PAN administration, was killed in a helicopter crash just outside the city. It was declared an accident too.

"Statistically, it is starting to become very difficult to blame these accidents on human error," said Armand Peschard-Sverdrup, a Mexico expert at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"The Mexican government has to review its security protocols for all aircraft and vehicles ... and you have to be open to the idea that this was not a random accident."

The government's website lists a fleet of eight planes and nine helicopters, which are used frequently by officials.

(Additional reporting by Lizbeth Diaz, Michael O'Boyle, Veronica Gomez and Rachel Uranga, writing by Dave Graham, Editing by Kieran Murray and Sandra Maler)

2011-11-11T20:17:00.001-08:00

OK So People get a clue it sucks if your in law Enforcement!
Get a clue NO ONE LIKES COPS!
No one .Get it.even if we need them fu-k them
11/11/11
Every police force on the west coast has gotten out of control .
can't think of a time when they ever helped me out .if you feel different please comment.

U.S.Prison

2011-11-07T23:38:00.001-08:00

Who links to me?

U.S. Prison Population Tops 2 Million

1 in 142 US residents now in prison

By Robert Longley, About.com Guide

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New For Amex MerchantsExpress Merchant Financing: Cash Funding for Small Businesses.americanexpress.com/ExpressFinance

US Government Info Ads

America's prison population topped 2 million inmates for the first time in history on June 30, 2002 according to a new report from the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS).

The 50 states, the District of Columbia and the federal government held 1,355,748 prisoners (two-thirds of the total incarcerated population), and local municipal and county jails held 665,475 inmates.

By midyear 2002, America's jails held 1 in every 142 U.S. residents. Males were incarcerated at the rate of 1,309 inmates per 100,000 U.S. men, while the female incarceration rate was 113 per 100,000 women residents.

Of the 1,200,203 state prisoners, 3,055 were younger than 18 years old. In addition, adult jails held 7,248 inmates under 18.

Federal, state and local prisons see increases
During the 12-month period ending last June 30, the local jail population increased by 34,235 inmates, the largest increase (5.4 percent) since 1997. State prisons added 12,440 inmates (a 1 percent increase) and the federal prison system grew by 8,042 (5.7 percent).

More than 40 percent of the total increase in the number of people incarcerated during the period was accounted for by the growth in the federal prison population. During the year the responsibility for housing sentenced District of Columbia felons was transferred to the federal system and completed on December 31, 2001. This accounted for one-quarter of the federal increase between midyear 2001 and midyear 2002 and contributed to making the federal system the largest prison jurisdiction in the nation.

State prison populations
Twenty states experienced an inmate population increase of 5 percent or more during the 12 months ending June 30, 2002, led by Rhode Island (up 17.4 percent) and New Mexico (11.1 percent). Nine states, including several large states, experienced prison population declines.

Illinois had the largest percentage decrease (down 5.5 percent), followed by Texas (down 3.9 percent), New York (down 2.9 percent), Delaware (down 2.3 percent) and California (down 2.2 percent).

Non-citizen prison population also growing
As of last June 30, state and federal correctional authorities held 88,776 non-citizens, a 1 percent increase from the 87,917 held a year earlier. Sixty-two percent were held in state prisons and 38 percent in federal institutions.

Private prison population drops
Privately operated prisons held 86,626 inmates last June 30, down 6.1 percent from the number held on December 31, 2001. Texas reported the largest decline, from 16,331 to 10,764 prisoners.

More new inmates than new prison beds
For the first time since midyear 1997 the number of additional jail inmates grew faster than the number of new jail beds during the 12 months preceding June 30, 2002. Nonetheless, at midyear 2002 local jails were operating at 7 percent below their officially rated capacities. At the end of 2001, the most recent period for which the data are available, state prisons were operating from 1 to 16 percent above capacity, and federal prisons were at 31 percent above capacity.

The full report, "Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 2002" can be found online at:http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/pjim02.htm

Also See:

Elsewhere on the Web

Robert Longley
US Government Info Guide

Sign up for My Newsletter

2011-11-02T22:32:00.001-07:00

Who links to me?Mexico City (CNN) -- Authorities found eight bodies in a remote area in the Mexican coastal state of Veracruz Tuesday, officials said.

An anonymous tip led investigators to the scene, near a river that is a popular tourist attraction in the municipality of Boca del Rio, the Veracruz state government said in a statement.

Security forces were searching the area for suspects, the statement said.

In recent months, violence has surged in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz, which is the third most populous state in Mexico, with more than 7 million residents.

In September, 35 bodies were abandoned in a roadway during rush-hour traffic in a popular tourist area of Boca del Rio, two days before a meeting of high-ranking state prosecutors and judges there.

In October, Mexican federal authorities announced plans to step up security in the state to help local police fight organized crime.

Several days later, a total of 32 bodies were found in three locations in Boca del Rio.

More than 43,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence in Mexico since President Felipe Calderon began a crackdown on cartels in December 2006, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

2011-11-02T20:40:00.001-07:00

Who links to me?Draper, Utah (CNN) -- Convicted killer Ronnie Lee Gardner was executed early Friday by firing squad, the Utah Department of Corrections said.

Gardner, 49, is only the third person in 33 years to die by firing squad in the United States.

He was killed at 12:20 a.m. MST (2:20 a.m. ET), a Corrections Department spokesman said.

A hood was placed over Gardner's head and a paper target pinned to his chest. He was heavily restrained as a five-person firing squad took aim at the target and shot him, witnesses said.

Journalists who witnessed the shooting said it happend quickly. One reporter said she noticed that Gardner moved after he was shot.

"It was over pretty quickly," said Cheryl Worsley, a local radio reporter. "It was cleaner than I expected. It was fast. But he moved. He moved a little bit, and to some degree that bothers me."

Outside the prison in Draper Utah, there was a candlelight vigil attended by members of Gardner's family.

"He did things bad in the past, but now he realizes what he did and he changed the last couple of years," said his granddaughter Darian Gardner, breaking into tears. "I got to know him the last couple of years. It sucks when you have to say goodbye to someone that is like your best friend."

The execution came after Gardner's last-ditch efforts to save himself had failed.

Video: Execution witness: 'It just happened'

Video: Death row inmate executed

Video: Death by firing squad

RELATED TOPICS

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request Thursday to temporarily stay the execution. Utah Gov. Gary Herbert rejected two appeals by Gardner's attorneys to stop the execution, saying he had every chance to present his case.

Gardner, 49, was convicted for the shooting death of attorney Michael Burdell during a botched escape attempt from custody in 1985 at a Salt Lake City, Utah, courthouse.

Among the claims Gardner raised in his appeals is that he has been a death-row inmate for too long.

"He asserts that executing him now, after nearly 25 years on death-row in Utah, so lacks retributive or deterrent value that it violates the Eighth Amendment," Andrew Parnes, Gardner's lawyer, told the high court.

A federal judge late Tuesday declined to block the execution, after Gardner claimed the procedures related to a two-day commutation hearing held by the state Board of Pardons and Parole last week violated his civil rights. The parole board Monday declined to commute Gardner's sentence to life in prison, and the Utah Supreme Court on Tuesday also denied his request for a stay.

Gardner was the third person to die by rifle fire, all in Utah, since the Supreme Court restored the death penalty in 1976. He had a long history of escapes and was slipped a gun before he fatally shot Burdell on April 2, 1985. He was at the courthouse for a pre-trial hearing in the 1984 slaying of Melvyn Otterstrom, who was killed at the Salt Lake City bar where he was working to earn extra money.

Corrections officials announced Gardner had consumed his last meal Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m., and chose to fast prior to the anticipated execution. His dinner included steak, lobster, 7-Up, apple pie and vanilla ice cream.

2011-10-09T23:10:00.000-07:00

Who links to me?
A corrections officer escorts prison inmates at the Deuel Vocational Institute in Tracy. (AP Photo)

SF Explores Sentencing Panel Ahead Of State Prisoner Influx

Reporting Barbara Taylor

Filed Under

Heard On, Local, News,Syndicated Local

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – The large number of state prison inmates expected to inundate San Francisco county jails has city officials scrambling to reduce the number of prisoners it will have to house.

Starting Oct. 1, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation plans to send thousands of convicted felons back to local jailsin the counties where the crimes were committed.

So Supervisor Scott Weiner introduced legislation to create a sentencing commission tasked with finding more effective ways of sentencing convicted felons so they do not wind up committing even more crimes once they are freed.

“There are some people who need to be incarcerated, and other people who might benefit from other types of responses,” Weiner said.

KCBS’ Barbara Taylor Reports:

SF May Use Sentencing Commission To Handle Influx Of Prison Inmates

The idea was endorsed by District Attorney George Gascon, the former police chief campaigning for a full term after being appointed by Gavin Newsom.

“This is about public safety. I think it’s really important to underline this is not about being soft on crime,” Gascon said.

Gascon said the commissioners faced a huge challenge in devising their policy recommendations since 77 percent of ex-convicts re-offend.

The current police chief, the public defender, and San Francisco probation officials have all backed Weiner’s proposal, which would dissolve the sentencing commission after three years.

The realignment beginning Saturday transfers the state’s responsibility for lower-level drug offenders, thieves and other convicts to county jurisdictions.

It’s designed to save the state money and reduce the number of offenders committing new crimes. But it also might lead to thousands of criminals spending less time behind bars or in the parole office.

Some prosecutors and county sheriffs predict rising crime and other dire outcomes. Others say California’s counties can provide better rehabilitation services that can only improve on the state’s dismal record.

Officials said they had little choice after a federal court ordered California to reduce prison crowding.

2011-10-09T23:07:00.000-07:00

Who links to me?Human trafficking (trafficking) is modern day slavery. It comprises the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion, for the purpose of subjecting that person to involuntary servitude, sexual exploitation, peonage, debt bondage, slavery, or other kinds of exploitation.

Trafficking can take various forms including:
• Forced prostitution
• Forced labor (factories, sweatshops)
• Domestic servitude
• Soldiering
• Organ trade
• Commercial or illegal adoption

According to the U.S. State Department up to 800,000 people are trafficked around the world each year for the purpose of prostitution, forced labor, and other forms of exploitation. This number does not include trafficking within a country's borders. An estimated 17,000 victims are trafficked into the United States each year. The International Organization for Migration estimates there are around 200,000 to 250,000 women and children trafficked every year in Asia. An estimated 27 million slaves still exist today, more than at the height of the Transatlantic slave trade.

Trafficking is the product of many factors including: poverty, lack of education, unemployment, underemployment, feminization of migration, organized crime syndicates, government corruption, and low awareness of trafficking at all levels of society.

trafficking

2011-10-09T23:03:00.000-07:00

Who links to me?Combating Trafficking in Persons: A Handbook for Parliamentarians is a useful step forward for legislators and compiles a significant amount of information. The Handbook lays out the various definitions of human trafficking and the international legal framework for combating trafficking in persons, the criminalization of trafficking, monitoring and reporting on human trafficking and enhancing the role of civil society in fighting human trafficking. This Handbook could be a useful resource in developing a common methodology for monitoring and reporting on human trafficking. Presently, a major problem with human trafficking statistics is that they are no comparable across countries and the standards of data collection vary significantly.

However, it is important to stress that, even when a country enacts stronger anti-trafficking in persons laws, this does not mean much for trafficking victims if these laws are not properly implemented. While Combating Trafficking in Persons: A Handbook for Parliamentarians may ultimately prove to be a useful resource for legislators for basic facts, more must be done to ensure that laws are not only enacted but fully implemented and actualized.

More Bad news for Redwood City California

2011-10-09T21:13:00.000-07:00

Who links to me?Reporting Anna DuckworthFiled UnderHeard On, Local, Syndicated LocalRelated TagsAnna Duckworth, California Prisons, Crime, Prison Realignment, Prisoners, Redwood City Jail, San Mateo County Jail, San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, Tom MersonREDWOOD CITY (KCBS) — The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office is reducing days for inmate visits at the Redwood City jail by one day a week indefinitely as it readies for a new influx of prisoners.Starting October 1, inmates from California’s 33 prisons will be remitted to county jails as part of the state’s public safety realignment plan.The sheriff’s office risk manager Tom Merson said because of budget cuts, the Redwood City facility simply doesn’t have the personnel to keep seven-day a week visiting hours, especially not with state prisoners coming within the next few weeks.“Our jail is already grossly overcrowded,” he said. “We have a capacity in our men’s jail of 688, and on any given day we run roughly around a 1,000.”From now on, no visits will be allowed on Wednesdays except for inmates attorneys, said Merson, as officials have to spare the resources to coordinate more than over 300 daily visitors to the men’s facility.“Visitors have to sign in an hour ahead of time,” Merson said. “Each visit has to be arranged, monitored and then concluded.”The realignment plan calls for the transferring of 33,000 state prison inmates to county jails.

How Fu-ked is this

2011-10-09T21:08:00.000-07:00

Who links to me?The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office is reducing days for inmate visits atthe Redwood City jail by one day a week indefinitely as it readies for anew influx of prisoners.

2011-10-09T20:57:00.000-07:00

Who links to me?

Shutting down prison

2011-08-03T14:23:00.000-07:00

Who links to me?..

Texas to close prison for first time in state history

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.By Liz Goodwin | The Lookout – 3 hrs ago.. .
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Entrance to Sugar Land Prison (Wikimedia Commons)
For the first time in the state's history, Texas is closing down a prison.

Along with the Central Unit in Sugar Land, a century-old prison southwest of Houston, the state is also shuttering three juvenile detention centers, with the goal of focusing more on rehabilitation and crime prevention, and also to save money in the face of a crushing budget deficit.

The Austin-American Statesman's Mike Ward explains why tough-on-crime Texas is doing the once-unthinkable by shuttering a prison:

Texas joins a nationwide trend of shutting expensive state prisons, driven partly by red ink in state budgets, partly by a drop in convict numbers (with the lowest crime rate since 1973) and partly by a policy shift from lock-'em-up justice to rehabilitation programs.

In 2005, Texas began reforming drug sentencing and shifting money to drug rehabilitation and prevention programs, which has saved the state billions and reduced crime, according to The Washington Post. Such reforms have earned the praise of unlikely bedfellows: National Association for Colored People (NAACP) President Ben Jealous and conservative activists like Grover Norquist. The NAACP argues that sending people to jail for nonviolent drug offenses turns young people into hardened criminals and disproportionately affects black people, while Norquist argues that states waste taxpayer money on locking up people who could be rehabilitated more cost-effectively.

According to The Houston Chronicle, shutting down the prison will save $16 million in annual operating costs, as well as bringing in revenue if the state manages to sell the 300-acre plot of land. The song "Midnight Special" was performed by a former Sugar Land inmate, Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter, according to the Fort Bend Star. The Midnight Special was a train that passed by the prison at midnight, and inmates who were illuminated by the its headlights would be set free, according to legend.
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Guns save lives part one

2011-06-12T22:30:00.001-07:00

PAGE NINE -- No. 99

Media Getting Almost Too Bad For Commentary

Guns Locked Up for Biden's Visit

NPR Spin Becomes Incontrovertible

911 Limited-Immunity Law Advances, Stalls

Top Firearm Brands Identified

BATFE Abuse Goes Overboard

No Nuclear News But Lotsa Airtime

Culture, Not Guns, Makes Violence

Government Shutdown Baloney

Will We See Giffords, or Just Gushing Hype?

More

-- New 50-State Guides, and After You Shoot too! --
http://www.gunlaws.com/books.htm
(Look for your state guide too)

by Alan Korwin, Author
Gun Laws of America

Get yours:

http://www.gunlaws.com/books.htm

I've created this special feature for the print media and broadcasters ("Page Nine" regardless of where it runs), that covers stories afresh, not the way news rooms typically flavor things. It will help reduce the distrust so many news consumers feel and could be the most avidly followed item you carry -- if you carry it. It certainly is well received by my audience. This casual sample might make you say, "We'll NEVER run that!" but Page Nine is built around ad revenues from clear-thinking mainstream businesses.

Author Alan Korwin
as drawn by Pulitzer-prize-winning cartoonist Steve Benson

-- Tell your friends --
Permission to circulate granted

PAGE NINE No. 99

The Uninvited Ombudsman Report

No. 99 -- April 28, 2011
by Alan Korwin
Bloomfield Press

Can't see this email? Want prior editions? http://www.gunlaws.com/PageNineIndex.htm
Page Nine is a Blog -- Automatic RSS feeds: http://www.pagenine.org
Get Page Nine through Twitter -- http://www.twitter.com/page_nine

1-

Dept. of Corrections:

Nobody home.

--

The Arizona Gun Map is now in print and available!!
http://www.gunlaws.com/GunMap.htm

::::

The Worldwide Gun Owner's Guide
http://www.gunlaws.com/WGOG.htm

Brand new -- Just released -- Unlike any book you own!

If you want to understand what the gun-rights situation REALLY is,

If you want to see for yourself how the media has shifted the truth,

If you want to know what gun rights are like around the world,
and maybe add a thing or two to your own freedom fight,

Get yourself a copy of The 64-nation Worldwide Gun Owner's Guide
http://www.gunlaws.com/WGOG.htm

Now in stock and available for immediate shipment!
Retailers -- call us for wholesale orders. 1-800-707-4020
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This is a game changer.
America does not stand alone against the forces who would disarm you.

Your image of guns and gun rights will shift when your browse this book.

Is your family from Italy? Poland? China? Ireland? Sixty other nations?
Find out what gun laws are like in your homeland.

Every nation is ranked for gun freedom, from 1 to 64.
Freedom-loving Switzerland is #5 -- four points ahead of the U.S.!!
See the entire list.

Who can have guns
How to obtain firearms
What firearms are legal
Ammunition, suppressors, full-autos
Handloading and special weapons
Where you can shoot
Local color, history, background, even travel tips
Clubs, contacts and the local scene
Pricing and availability too!

A tremendous addition to your library and your knowledge base:
The 64-nation Worldwide Gun Owner's Guide -- 368 pages
Only $19.95 +S&H
http://www.gunlaws.com/WGOG.htm

Learn more:
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::::

OPENING REMARK --

It is getting harder and harder to do Page Nine, because the "news" media is getting so bad there's precious little news to comment on. The cover story in TIME magazine this week -- "What If There Is No Hell?" That's news? It is so far from anything remotely news, what can I say? That's philosophy, or humor, or a heathen anti-God campaign, or a cleverly unanswerable conjecture, or mindless nuttiness designed to, well, what exactly? How do I analyze a story like that?

The networks are beyond hopeless and literally hard to watch at length, and CNN is little more than a commentary box of opinions. FOX is not what it used to be, and no one can say why. The story topics are vapid, the coverage is mindless, self-evident errors are the headlines, any depth or insight into what's really going on in the world is no longer part of the "news" process. The New York Times has a front page story today on atheists lobbying to become chaplains in the military. I'm not making this up. I guess I'm finding it discouraging.

I leave in the morning for the NRA Convention in Pittsburgh. I'll spend four days in tight with the choir. That's a comfortable spot, but I wonder how much it will expand my horizons. The people who hold to those causes are good people, and we certainly know the nation is in trouble. Four days away from the daily grind, I'll be seeking some refreshing perspective and mental space to think things through.

Alan.

P.S. I'm sending this out without my usual thorough edit and re-reads, due to limited time, so please pardon any errors of format, and I won't be able to reply to you for a few days if you decide to write.

::::

1- Biden Disburses Cash

The lamestream media told you:
The lamestream media told you:

CHISINAU, Moldova -- U.S. vice president Joe Biden, fresh off a tough speech on Russian human rights, sided firmly Friday with Moldova's Europe-minded leader over opponents pressing for closer ties to Moscow... As the first U.S. vice president ever to visit Moldova, he pledged $262 million in aid over five years, according to Jonathan Weisman, writing for the Wall Street Journal. The story got coverage from most lamestream outlets in America. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703597804576194534027327912.html

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

An exhaustive study shows that vice president Joe Biden lacks any power or authority whatsoever to promise money to, well, anyone, actually, including tiny Moldova, the poorest country in Europe, which may seek to become a member of the failing European Union.

The U.S. Constitution delegates spending to acts of Congress, and Congress did not act, or reportedly even know about the vice president's plan to abscond with more than a quarter billion dollars of taxpayer funds and give them away. The former communist-dominated nation has untold numbers of former communists still in power, a point which went unmentioned in "news" coverage.

No arrests have been made or are expected, and no investigation is planned because, "He's the vice president for Pete's sake," according to one unnamed co-conspirator, confirming remarks from three bureaucrats who will be writing the checks to Moldova, using your money and mine. Public outrage among U.S. citizens, well, there wasn't any, because it happens so often the public has grown weary.

Time.com reported that: "Anyone living within firing range of Biden's route through the capital city, Chisinau, was ordered to lock up their guns. Manhole covers were soldered shut to make sure no bad guys could spring from the sewers. Volunteers handed out little American flags..." http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2058593,00.html

::::

2- NPR Spin Incontrovertible

The lamestream media told you:

"Embarrassed by video, NPR fears funding cuts: After a conservative activist released a video of a top National Public radio fundraiser maligning "tea party" activists and the republican party, station managers are bracing for the worst," according to the Washington Post. The fundraiser Ron Schiller did not know he was being recorded.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

With the bias at National Public Radio and its parent corporation now blatantly exposed, the Washington Post persists in its non-stop efforts to spin truth to its own taste.

According to the Post: "Conservatives have long targeted federal support for public media, accusing NPR and PBS of having a liberal bent."

The truth is: "Conservatives have long targeted federal support for public media, because NPR and PBS have a liberal bent." The bias is incontrovertible. Anyone "accusing" NPR of being a right-wing stooge, well no one does because it's simply not so. The left-wing slant of the station is present in every fiber of the broadcasts, and is only denied or soft-peddled by its stooges in the lamestream media.

Schiller's comments were only unusual in that they were caught on tape, while he spoke frankly, unaware he was being recorded. Observers have known for years that NPR thinks and acts this way as a group. Also unusual, and reported by the Post but plainly visible in the video, the $5 million in funding Schiller believed he was seeking was from a Muslim Brotherhood front group, described in the set up for the truth sting.

--------

3- Top Firearm Brands

The lamestream media told you:

Nothing.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

While "news" reports are often filled with studies of top brands for consumer items from soft drinks to cars to computer gear, firearms are virtually never covered as a financial matter. This despite the fact that the shooting sports, a term you just don't see in the "news" is the #2 participant sport in the nation (behind exercise equipment and ahead of golf -- a sport you see covered to excess).

Southwick Associates has completed an extensive survey of the top brands in the shooting sports. It is part of a 238-page report that received so much coverage you have never even heard of it. Are you using the top brands? Here they are:

Top rifle brand: Remington (17.5% of all purchases)
Top shotgun brand: Remington & Mossberg (virtual tie with 21.5% of all purchases)
Top muzzleloader brand: Thompson Center (31.9% of all purchases)
Top handgun brand: Sturm Ruger (16.7% of all purchases)
Top scope for firearms: Bushnell (17.1% of all purchases)
Top rifle ammunition brand: Remington (25.3% of all purchases)
Top shotgun ammunition brand: Winchester (31.9% of all purchases)
Top handgun ammunition brand: Winchester (22.0% of all purchases)
Top blackpowder brand: Pyrodex (38.7% of all purchases)
Top balls, bullets, or shot brand: Hornady (28.4% of all purchases)
Top reloading bullet brand: Hornady (31.7% of all purchases)
Top reloading primer brand: CCI (38.2% of all purchases)
Top reloading powder brand: Hodgdon (37.8% of all purchases)
Top binocular brand: Bushnell (33.6% of all purchases)
Top holster brand: Uncle Mikes (19.0% of all purchases)
Top knife brand: Gerber (15.0% of all purchases)

The shooting sports are a significant contributor to the U.S. economy, but you wouldn't know it if you follow lamestream reports. Archery and hunting gear are also covered, see for yourself:
http://southwickassociates.com/node/10972

--------

4- BATFE's Increasingly Rogue

The lamestream media told you:
The lamestream media told you:

Project Gunrunner appears to be turning into Project Gunwalker, as the BATFE seems to have let hundreds and possibly thousands of big deadly black high-capacity assault weapons walk out of U.S. gun stores and directly to Mexican drug cartels. Possibly for as long as a year, the controversial bureau has apparently been getting stores to cooperate, in an upside-down effort to stop guns from getting into Mexico from the U.S. The agency is predictably stonewalling, especially now that one of the walked guns was used to kill a federal agent.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

While this travesty from a rogue federal bureau is getting news, its more serious efforts to ban guns for Americans is operating under the radar. Unmentioned in the "news" reports is the fact that, the stronger the drug cartels get, the more work and job security the heavily armed agency has. No one in a position of authority is suggesting BATFE is arming drug cartels as a way to justify the agency's existence or increase its staff and funding at taxpayer expense.

Although Mr. Obama's fingerprints are nowhere to be found directly, underlings operating under his authority have been incrementally impeding the flow of decent and wholesome firearms to the public. This is something they could not likely do without his approval at some level. The staged, long-term, grand-scale straw purchases the agency has apparently orchestrated have been used to propose costly and time-consuming new regulations on firearms dealers, in the form of multiple sales reports. But that's just a coincidence, agency insiders claim.

Of a more serious nature, the agency has changed operating policies and import definitions without a change in law, regulation or any visible authority to do so. The Firearms Import/Export Roundtable (FAIR) Trade Group has filed suit to stop what appears to be powers exercised without any basis in law. Quoting from FAIR's press release, ATF stands accused of "arbitrarily changing interpretation of federal law regarding the importation of certain firearm barrels." The announcement continues:

"ATF reversed years of statutory interpretation of the Gun Control Act and is acting in conflict with published implementing regulations... ATF chose to reverse course 37 years after the GCA was passed and 18 years after the last amendments to the law. No underlying justification has been offered for ATF's decision to affirmatively reverse a published regulation to the detriment of the industry...

"FAIR is concerned the ATF is increasingly acting without regard to statutory obligations to the detriment of firearms collectors, sport shooters and enthusiasts..." The barrels in question are for sporting firearms and replacements for legally owned firearms. These small steps combine to present an ever tougher situation for firearms owners. FAIR also points out that ATF is fighting, despite its obligation to do the opposite, to allow U.S-issued M1 carbines into the country. More info: FAIR Trade Group at (202) 296-2573.

::::

My newest book, now on press --
watch for it soon.

While everyone's watching the debt, the borders, the fed, the muslims, the climate --
FREE SPEECH is crumbling all around us.
You can go to jail for a joke, get fired for an idle comment,
have your business destroyed for an errant phrase.
The wrong words can get you killed -- officially or otherwise.
There is a way to fight back.
This book will open your eyes.

::::

5- Culture, Not Guns, Control Behavior

The lamestream media told you:
The lamestream media told you:

If America had less guns, then we would have less violence. Just look at Canada, or Japan.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

OK, let's look at Japan. It suffered the most devastating disruption a society can imagine. Look at what the culture there dictates. No looting. No looting! Everything in rubble, people desperately thirsty, hungry, ill dressed, and there's no looting! Does their monolithic, non-diverse, non-multicultural society have anything to do with that, compared with, say, Chicago, or the U.S. as a whole?

People are standing in line for five hours to get meager supplies. There's no pushing, shoving, arguments, line jumping, nothin! Nothing! They quietly behave and follow instructions. Is that because they have no guns? Or is it something else -- like their unilateral cookie-cutter society.

It is the something else factor. Guns have no direct nexus to violence. A society's willingness to engage in violence, with or without guns, is a separate matter. Warlike tribes in Africa wage perpetual war on each other, with primitive weapons. It's not the weapons. It's the people.

And in America, though no one likes to face it or say it, it's not the people. It's the people in the bad neighborhoods. Some parts of town -- shots all night long. Other parts of town -- no shots ever heard. And you know what the bad parts of town look like, but the media will never admit it. These are not neighborhoods filled with Japanese people.

To see where the gunshots are, and what those parts of town look like, check out "Gunshot Demographics."
http://www.gunlaws.com/GunshotDemographics.htm

::::

6- Obama Spins Gun Yarn Expertly

The lamestream media told you:
The lamestream media told you:

Mr. Obama has a message for us about the Tucson atrocity, in the Tucson newspaper editorial section.

"But since that day, we have lost perhaps another 2,000 members of our American family to gun violence...

"Every single day, America is robbed of more futures. It has awful consequences for our society. And as a society, we have a responsibility to do everything we can to put a stop to it.

"Now, like the majority of Americans, I believe that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to bear arms. And the courts have settled that as the law of the land. In this country, we have a strong tradition of gun ownership that's handed from generation to generation. Hunting and shooting are part of our national heritage. And, in fact, my administration has not curtailed the rights of gun owners - it has expanded them, including allowing people to carry their guns in national parks and wildlife refuges.

"The fact is, almost all gun owners in America are highly responsible. They're our friends and neighbors. They buy their guns legally and use them safely, whether for hunting or target shooting, collection or protection. And that's something that gun-safety advocates need to accept. Likewise, advocates for gun owners should accept the awful reality that gun violence affects Americans everywhere, whether on the streets of Chicago or at a supermarket in Tucson."

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

In a nearly perfect use of Alinsky's principles (Rules For Radicals, the socialist play book for modern times), Mr. Obama has reversed the reasoning of both sides in the gun debate, exactly 180 degrees. It is a stunningly clever manipulation of language, for manipulation of thought.

He ascribes to gun haters (what he now coins as "gun-safety advocates," a term you can bet you'll start seeing from the Brady clan) all the values that gun-rights advocates hold, and tells the haters it's something, "you need to accept" such as "gun owners in America are highly responsible. They're our friends and neighbors. They buy their guns legally and use them safely, whether for hunting or target shooting, collection or protection."

Then he tells gun-rights advocates they need to accept what the haters believe: "gun owners should accept the awful reality that gun violence affects Americans everywhere, whether on the streets of Chicago or at a supermarket in Tucson."

That last statement is demonstrably false, despite his earlier assertion that, "we have lost perhaps another 2,000 members of our American family to gun violence." The drug-gang members, illegal immigrants and poverty-stricken victims of government policies who live in bad neighborhoods are a tangent to the American Family. These people don't die in your neighborhoods, and are not victims of guns. They are victims of demographics, geography, poverty and socio-economic conditions no one wants to look at hard. They include a large portion of suicidal elderly who have become destitute, are in pain and have no recourse in a disintegrated medical system, and a moderate number of individuals who are depressed without adequate support.

See the maps and data in Gunshot Demographics, to learn the truth. Find out how, "The Bad Part of Town" and failed social policies are used for sinister attacks on the right to keep and bear arms,
and help justify the law enforcement world and its budgets.
http://www.gunlaws.com/GunshotDemographics.htm

::::

7- No Nuclear News

The lamestream media told you:
The lamestream media told you:

Guns save lives

2011-06-12T22:28:00.000-07:00

Who links to me?Japan has three nuclear reactors in trouble due to the earthquake and tsunami. Japan has three nuclear reactors in trouble due to the earthquake and tsunami. Japan has four nuclear reactors in trouble due to the earthquake and tsunami. Japan has four nuclear reactors in trouble due to the earthquake and tsunami. All five nuclear reactors at the Japanese plant are in trouble due to the earthquake and tsunami. All five nuclear reactors at the Japanese plant are in trouble due to the earthquake and tsunami...

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

Lamestream reports of the nuclear problem in Japan provided perhaps five minutes of news per hour of broadcast, making an ethical error they frequently make. With nothing new to report, they just kept on reporting. B-roll footage, those scenes rolled behind the talking heads and guest speakers, ran dozens of times per hour and sometimes more, because they had no other footage to show. That's known as not good reporting.

In the face of massive devastation, the majors flew their talking heads right into the scene, kept them fed and well dressed, and provided almost no new news. Despite a dire lack of any fresh information, the networks and cable providers virtually blacked-out any other news, of which planet Earth produces a fresh crop constantly. Geraldo Rivera breathlessly consumed two hours of air time at a time.

Government was once again proven to be the suppressor of news, as guest experts attempted to guess what was going on, and complained that "officials" were not cooperating, a fact that surprised no one.

We were treated to endless images of people in white bunny suits, holding what appeared to be Geiger counter sensors up to people, but never once actually saw the meter, heard the clicking, or got any information on whether radiation was detected or how much. Not one reporter on any channel The Uninvited Ombudsman monitored ventured forward to say, "What readings have you got?" which would have been hard news.

The accuracy of anything that comes out in the future about what actually happened will be met with skepticism, SOP. Industry insiders will get real reports, to prepare for the future, but the information is not expected to be reliably made public. Stock discussions of how a nuclear reactor works, which any grade-school child should have been taught, consumed endless hours as well, but at least had colorful cartoons showing the insides of a make-believe reactor.

::::

8- Whose Budget Is It Anyway?

The lamestream media told you:
The lamestream media told you:

Mr. Obama has released his fiscal year budget for 2012, a document of more than 2,000 pages, with an overall cost of $NNN. Congress has not yet commented.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

Does anyone recall when the executive branch began releasing a budget to Congress? Shouldn't it be the other way around? If I recall: "All bills for raising Revenue shall ORIGINATE in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills. (Article I, Section 7, emphasis added).

The office of the president is free to say whatever it wants of course. But the idea that vast monies and efforts are spent to produce 2,000 pages of spending plans, from a branch that lacks authority to act on such plans, strikes The Uninvited Ombudsman as bass ackwards. But what do I know. Finance is not my strong suit. I'm best at reading plain English.

According to the White House (a non-human that cannot make statements, no other author was identified): "The President’s 2012 Budget is a responsible approach..."

A simple review of the main features as described by the non-human white building reveals that few of the items proposed are authorized by the U.S. Constitution, the olden document that no longer controls the nation's rulers. For example, "Reforms K-12 school funding by supporting high standards..." and "Builds a next-generation, wireless broadband network..." and "Establishes 20 new Economic Growth Zones..." and there's a lot more in 2,000 pages... http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/overview

By the numbers, the guy wants Congress to spend $3.7 trillion, but only plans to collect from us taxpayers $2.6 trillion, so he, without any remorse or regret, plans to go in broke tank for $1.1 trillion. A trillion dollars, a number too large for anyone -- even a person with an economics degree -- to comprehend, is a thousand billion dollar bills. A billion dollars, also too large to truly comprehend, is a thousand million dollar bills. In plain English, that's a lot of your money.

Oh, wait. This is about spending, not raising revenue. Do I have that right?

::::

9- Government Shutdown Baloney

The lamestream media told you:
The lamestream media told you:

The government may have to shut down if republicans and democrats can't reach agreement on a budget. At issue are 31 billion in cuts democrats want to make that republcans say are not enough.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

Just when you thought the "news" media could not treat us any more stupidly, they out do themselves with a repeat of a story that was total hogwash last time, and even more baloney this time.

The federal government does not shut down during a media-hyped shutdown.

You cannot shut down a national forest, and the tress and animals are laughing at you.

The troops overseas continue to reload and fire.

Everyone who is supposed to get a paycheck gets it, perhaps a little late.

Many get their paychecks with bonuses and compensation for their discomfort.

Homeland Security, the FBI, CIA, IRS, ATF, FAA, FCC, DEA, and the rest of the alphabet soup bureaucrats and enforcers go to work same as usual. Those who are put on leave get paid time off, which will show up in their next paychecks.

No one loses any money, except the taxpayers who pay for the time off and get no service in return (if you can call some of what they do service).

Threatening the public with government shutdowns is a humiliating insult.

Cutting $100 billion from the budget (the original goal) is such a small amount it is laughable. We have nearly that much waste and fraud just in Medicare, according to the government's own figures.

To get an idea of how small $100 billion is these days to the government, look at this. This fellow uses a penny (one penny) to represent $2 billion dollars. Then he covers a huge table with stacks of five pennies to represent the U.S. budget. Then he takes one penny, cuts it in half, cuts the half in half, and puts three quarters of the penny back on its stack. That's how much money we're talking about removing from the budget. It's nothing.

And it shows you why government has gotten so powerful. By taking money from each of us, they amass an unfathomably large fortune, and then use it against us in innumerable ways, and cry that if they change anything the whole system will shut down.

Meanwhile, out here, we're hoping and praying for a shudown. A day or three without government would be a good thing, don't you think?

--------

We're watching you --

So Gabrielle Giffords is going to be wrapped up and shipped to Cape Kennedy to watch the space shuttle launch. Will we get to see her? Will we see if she is fit? Will anyone who comes in contact with her the entire time tell us what they think? The media has been presenting a non-stop tirade of gushing isn't-she-doing-great stories. What's the truth? Can we hear her speak? Is she really on her way to being a viable candidate, or is she raising those fantastic sums we keep hearing about out of sympathy? Are we witnessing the biggest, most overt, fairyland tripe ever trumped up over a crime vicitm? Curious minds want to know. Surely someone, somewhere in all the retinue, will see her and form a judgment on the only question that really matters, that EVERYONE wants to know... is she whole, or will she ever be? Sure, we share sympathy over the tragedy. And no, the media does not get a pass to pull the wool over our eyes, or fail to report, no matter how tragic it was or how wishful we all are...

Let's just soak the rich!
But, it SO doesn't work --

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=661pi6K-8WQ
(Bill Whittle at his level headed best)

The real muslims,
the ones the media hides from you --

http://vimeo.com/16779150

So they're going to shrink the budget?
Here's what the big numbers really mean.
One-and-a-half minutes that will knock you flat
http://wimp.com/budgetcuts

--------

--------

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::::

This message faces travelers heading north out of
Sky harbor International Airport on 24th Street.

This message faces travelers heading east into Scottsdale
on Indian School Road.

This message faces legislators and other who drive to the state capital
south from Interstate 10, on 19th Avenue. It was of only two boards
available anywhere near the capital, and we have it until the end of
the legislative session.

Now Available!!
Nothing else like it, only $4.95 (plus S&H)

You gotta take a look --

http://www.gunlaws.com/GunMap.htm

::::

2011 Traveler's Guide to the Gun Laws of the 50 States

The 2011 book is now in stock and shipping, the delays and computer problems are over, get yours now. More than 50 changes in this edition, plus it now includes rules for restaurant carry, and greatly expanded front matter with requirements with police during a roadside stop, motorcycles and much more.

We're back on our standard goal of five-to-ten business day delivery. Still only $13.95 +S&H, so much cheaper than a lawyer -- and better than many of them (though it was written by an excellent Kentucky attorney, J. Scott Kappas.) Nearly one million copies in print. http://www.gunlaws.com/travel.htm

The Traveler's Guide provides the only nationwide ranking of gun freedom in the states of the Union. The book has increased the rank of Arizona to 99%, which corresponds closely to the Brady Center to Promote Gun Violence's ranking of freedom suppression, which places Arizona near the bottom of its so-called report card.

Arizonans, proud of the Brady rank of 2 out of 100, are pressing for a perfect zero score, with bills now in the legislative process. To keep up with Arizona's innovative proposed statutes, follow the action at the Arizona Citizens Defense League, http://www.azcdl.org.

Changes to the freedom ranks of other states have been made as well.
http://www.gunlaws.com/travel.htm

::::

The most important facet of our new 64-nation Worldwide Gun Owner's Guide is its exposure of the global firearms-enthusiast market and culture.

Virtually every nation has a gun culture, gun rights, gun stores, shooting ranges, gun buffs -- and they all struggle for their freedoms -- just like us. We are not alone! You'll be amazed when you see how broad it is. The book has now been released -- be among the first to get one!

The 64-nation Worldwide Gun Owner's Guide
http://www.gunlaws.com/WGOG.htm

::::

This is the billboard Arizonans put up as part of
the statewide TrainMeAZ.com campaign
that the city of Phoenix tore down:

Learn more here: http://www.trainmeaz.com

Watch Page Nine soon for our response to the censorship.

TrainMeAZ CONTRIBUTING SPONSORS thus far:

Arizona Citizens Defense League

"Protecting and expanding the rights of law-abiding gun owners."
http://www.azcdl.org

Arizona State Rifle and Pistol Association

"Dedicated to promoting the shooting sports. Established 1909."

http://www.asrpa.com

Caswells

"Mesa's Premier Indoor Shooting Range"

http://www.caswells.com

Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms

"The common sense gun lobby"

http://www.ccrkba.org

Crossroads of the West Gun Shows
"America's Best Gun Shows"
http://www.crossroadsgunshows.com

Front Sight

"The world's premier resort dedicated to self-defense and firearms training."

http://www.frontsight.com

GunLaws.com

"Your source for the gun laws—in plain English and word-for-word"

http://www.gunlaws.com

Gunsite

The world's oldest and largest firearms training facility specializing in self defense. Located in central Arizona.

http://www.gunsite.com

Second Amendment Foundation

"Dedicated to promoting a better understanding about our Constitutional heritage to privately own and possess firearms."

http://www.saf.org

Second Amendment Sisters

"The woman's advocacy group dedicated to the human right of self defense."

http://www.2asisters.net

Wide World of Maps

"The most complete map store in the Southwest --
hunting, fishing, topos, GPS -- it's map heaven."

http://www.maps4u.com

Learn more about the TrainMeAZ Campaign at http://www.trainmeaz.com

Arizona Republic columnist Laurie Roberts blog entry:
http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/LaurieRoberts/102384

Ms. Roberts column (excellent support):
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2010/10/23/20101023roberts1023.html

Examiner coverage by David Codrea:
http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/why-has-phoenix-banned-gun-safety-ads

The issue aired on Armed America Radio
on stations nationwide and archived on the web:
http://armedamericanradio.org

::::::::::

The gaping and dangerous hole
in American Self-Defense Law --

DON'T CONVICT YOURSELF.

After You Shoot: Your gun's hot. The perp's not. Now what?
http://www.gunlaws.com/AYS.htm

Hot new items:
Do you ever leave your home state?
Don't leave home without this:

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556 pages, a stunning achievement, for all gun owners --
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to the others? How can you defend yourself legally and not end up
in more trouble than an attacker? Just look at the Table of Contents.
http://www.gunlaws.com/SelfDefenseLawsOfAll50States.htm

--------
NOW AVAILABLE for immediate shipment (and it's excellent)!!

Works for anyone in any state!

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The Traveler's Gun AND Knife Law Book -- for All 50 States!
Brand new and five times thicker than the original Traveler's Guide (which is still an excellent resource, now new for 2011), this book covers guns AND knives, restaurant carry, park carry, your rights in a traffic stop, do you have to notify officers, much more, with tremendous detail you could not get before! Get 'em both!

PLUS -- If there's no guide available for your specific state, this is the book to own.

Get more info on our website.
http://www.gunlaws.com/TravelersGunAndKnifeLawBook.htm

Available for immediate shipment -- now in stock!

::::::::::

Arizona is rekindling the idea of a nation of marksmen.

TrainMeAZ.com is a non-partisan joint effort by the firearms community to promote voluntary firearms training, replacing the government mandate that came with the state's 1994 CCW-permit law. Trainers, shooting ranges and industry are encouraged to contact the organizers to participate and attract new business. info@TrainMeAZ.com

ARIZONA TRAINERS --
Be sure to get your free listing --
visit the site.
Earlier problems with automated sign-ups have been fixed.
http://www.trainmeaz.com

CATO Institute Chairman Bob Levy (Heller case attorney)
"... TrainMeAZ is a no-lose proposition. It will promote gun safety and marksmanship as an integral component of American citizenship ..."

Special letter from NRA Board of Directors members living in Arizona --

On behalf of the five NRA Board Members who make Arizona their home (including two past presidents), we’re asking you to take a stand on gun rights and support the TrainMeAZ campaign now being organized.

Our new Constitutional Carry law changes everything. Now that any law-abiding adult in Arizona can discreetly carry firearms, Arizona leads the nation in demonstrated support for the Second Amendment. It’s in your interest as Arizonans, and the nation needs to know, what we’ve accomplished.

We have a priceless opportunity to launch “a culture of marksmanship” here in Arizona that can sweep across the country, but it can only happen with your direct involvement. Now that government no longer dictates the training environment, private enterprise and the free market should take advantage and fill that vacuum.

This will help your business, build your customer base, and bolster the right to keep and bear arms. By acting as a state instead of separately, we will present an image to the nation that pushes all our independent interests ahead... Read the rest.

::::::::

The Texas Gun Owner's Guide
http://www.gunlaws.com/tgog.htm
Texas enacted Freedom to Carry for travelers,
an enormous advance for our right to arms.
Will the next step be full Constitutional Carry?
Many Texans think that should be next,
and are working toward that goal. See the link:
http://www.gunlaws.com/ConstitutionalCarryIndex.htm
Read all about your rights and responsibilities.
http://www.gunlaws.com/tgog.htm

--------

::::::::::

A quality gift that really means something

If you like limited constitutional government, you'll love --

The Founders Package:

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Visit this page for clear detailed summaries of these all-time classics
and you won't even need to get the set. But you'll want to!
http://www.gunlaws.com/books8founders.htm

Please Don't Donate To Us
If you want to donate to our efforts, just buy our goods from us;
http://www.gunlaws.com/books.htm
Buy a batch and give them to friends, ask about cheap wholesale pricing.
You get something, we get something, it's more better.
Self-interest and capitalism -- The American Way
info@gunlaws.com

--------

Plain-English state gun-owner guides -- know your laws, stay safe.
http://www.gunlaws.com/books.htm

Plus -- A gun-fight simulator that works on your TV!!

It's part of the Armed Response series of self-defense DVDs, truly excellent, take a look, including the gun-fight simulator that plays on your TV! Buy the simulator separately or as a set.
http://www.gunlaws.com/videos.htm.

You can never know enough about self defense -- the laws, tactics, strategies and real-life stories of people who survived mortal combat. We've got a superb collection of books and DVDs that will advance your skills and knowledge:

Self Defense
http://www.gunlaws.com/persafe.htm

Protecting Gun Rights
http://www.gunlaws.com/books3.htm

Sit back and relax with a really good read --
gun-related novels with a message and perspective
http://www.gunlaws.com/books7novels.htm

Do you want to see what really good gun laws look like?

If you live in Arizona, you need one, especially
if you plan to carry discreetly or openly.
(24th edition, includes the newly enacted laws insert).

If you're out of the state, this is an eye opener.
You will want your state to emulate what we have here.
Only $14.95, or get six at 20% off, or 12 at 40% off.

--------

If this report works for you --
please tell your friends!
Sign up (or off) for email delivery:
alan@gunlaws.com

Our 32-page full-color 2010 catalog is free on request. Send a street address and we'll send you the catalog at no cost, full of cool new stuff -- DVDs, books, even "Disarm Criminals First" buttons you can't get elsewhere. books@gunlaws.com

----------

Thanks for reading!
Alan Korwin
The Uninvited Ombudsman

Now carrying Page Nine!
(Full-time or occasionally, this is a partial list)

Soldier of Fortune
http://www.sofmag.com/news/index.html

Mens News Daily
http://www.mensnewsdaily.com

WorldNetDaily
http://www.worldnetdaily.com

AmericanConservativeDaily
http://www.americanconservativedaily.com

The Libertarian Party
http://www.lp.org

American Daughter
http://frontpage.americandaughter.com/?cat=100

USA Carry
http://www.usacarry.com

AmmoLand.com
http://www.ammoland.com

Armed Females of America
http://www.armedfemalesofamerica.com

The Eco-Logic Powerhouse
http://www.freedom.org

The Libertarian Enterprise
http://www.ncc-1776.org/

The Fifty Caliber Institute
http://fiftycaliberinstitute.org

Shotgun Sports
http://www.shotgunsportsmagazine.com

The Ryter Report
http://www.jonchristianryter.com/RyterReport/headlines.html

Righty Blogs
http://www.rightyblogs.com

Outdoor Life (blog)
www.outdoorlife.blogs.com/thegunshots/

PrisonOfficer.org
http://forums.prisonofficer.org/

The Arizona Conservative
http://www.azconservative.org

Sonoran News Newspaper
http://www.sonorannews.com

The Payson Patriot Newspaper
http://www.paysonpatriot.com

The SanTan Sun
http://www.santansun.com/santan_home.htm

Ed Phillips' Arizona Almanac (Radio)
http://www.azalmanac.com

Wilson County News, Floresville, TX
http://www.wilsoncountynews.com

NYS Rifle & Pistol Association Newsletter "The Bullet"
http://www.nysrpa.org

Buckeye Firearms Association
http://www.buckeyefirearms.org

Western Missouri Shooters Alliance
http://wmsa.net

Virginia Liberty
http://lpva.com/HTML/vaLibertyArchive.htm

Chelsea Rod & Gun Newsletter
http://www.chelsearodandgun.org

Read It Here News Prescott
http://www.readitnews.com

Examiner.com
http://www.examiner.com

The Arizona Republic
http://www.azcentral.com

The Conservative Brotherhood
http://conservativebrotherhood.org

The Power Hour
http://www.thepowerhour.com

Author Alan Korwin
as drawn by Pulitzer-prize-winning cartoonist Steve Benson

LINK REQUESTERS:
If you're like some folks who ask if they can link to or forward my stuff, the answer is YES! and I'm honored by such interest. You can use the PageNine logo or any art from my site, with my thanks and appreciation.
http://www.gunlaws.com/PageNineIndex.htm
http://www.gunlaws.com

================================
Comments help keep me going. Alan.
================================

-------------------------------
Back in print after years!

Better than ever, and
we have it in stock.
Armed and Female
http://www.gunlaws.com/ArmedAndFemale2.htm

GIVE A GIFT TO A WOMAN

This book changed the landscape -- one woman writing for other women, speaking in a voice women could hear, without the macho noise that turns women off. Paxton has been on every newscast you can name. The media hardly knows what to make of a woman who understands guns. Makes a perfect gift for someone you know.

All new current statistics
New information on gun control laws
Additional stories about women using gun to stop an attacker
New recommendations on handguns for women -- Paxton says:
I advocate that women get CCWs where it's legal and carry --
I never said that in the first book!
Updated bibliography
Information on the US Supreme Court Case

----------------------------

Alan Korwin
Bloomfield Press
"We publish the gun laws."
4848 E. Cactus, #505-440
Scottsdale, AZ 85254
602-996-4020 Phone
602-494-0679 Fax
1-800-707-4020 Orders
http://www.gunlaws.com
alan@gunlaws.com
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"No one could make a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little." --Edmund Burke

Guns Save Lives
Guns Stop Crime
Guns Are Why America Is Still F r e e

instantcheck.com

2011-06-06T02:00:00.000-07:00

Who links to me?InstantCheckmate.com

Another really cool link

2011-06-06T01:56:00.000-07:00

Another rally cool link it is called Local Crimes .com

2011-05-16T17:55:00.000-07:00

How many states have said No Guns?

2011

2011-05-10T22:41:00.000-07:00

So Now I have been doing this for 5 years and since then I have learned that.....
A,Jail sucks
B,Prison sucks more
C,Never date a felon
D,People will say anything when they are in jail
E,It takes one to know one as well as catch one.
F,If it seems like it !it's not
G,Everyone lies
H,Have faith
I,First Time nope! Just the begining!
J,If you think your different your not
k,collect calls suck
L,It's all about time
M,Time is slow then way to fast
N,Time is never enough
O,Cops suck to
P,The system is stupid cops and Judges work together(If you think your smarter your not)
Q,Never run you can't hide
R,Take responsbilty for your shit
S,Programs are stupid
T,If you do the crime you will do the time
U,Don't get Caught
V,Nobody is above the law
W,"What the fuck" is a normal way of speaking
X,Don't speak if not spoken to
y,Stay safe

Earthquake

2011-03-31T19:45:00.001-07:00

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By CARI TUNA and TAMARA AUDI

If a 7.8-magnitude quake ripped the earth open along the southern San Andreas Fault this afternoon, it would cut a swath of destruction from the eastern desert to the Los Angeles basin.

It would pull down buildings, kill 1,800 people and ignite 1,600 fires, according to a scenario worked up by a team of scientists and used for the region's emergency-preparedness drills. Major roads, water pipes and power lines around Los Angeles and Orange counties would be severed, cutting off the region and slowing recovery and evacuation efforts.

In quake-prone California, the disaster forensics have begun—again.

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Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
The San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant in north San Diego County in California

The recent earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand have prompted officials in Los Angeles, San Francisco and elsewhere to re-examine their own building codes, disaster-response measures and recovery plans. In particular, the Japanese quake and tsunami have raised fresh concerns about California's two nuclear plants, which sit near fault lines that run though the central and southern parts of the state. The San Andreas is believed to be the most likely source of a big quake in southern California.

Local emergency planners are scouring for more information on Japan's situation so they can update their disaster procedures. "We will learn things, and we will make changes," said Jen Tucker, emergency planning officer for San Clemente, a city three miles from the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. The plant, built to withstand a 7.0-magnitude quake, sits on the Pacific coast within five miles of two fault lines, girdled by a 30-foot-high tsunami wall.

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After each major quake around the world, L.A. sends city officials to assess the disaster response for lessons, said Deputy Mayor Eileen Decker. When they visited Chile after the 2010 earthquake there, they learned that tourists were especially vulnerable because they were unaware of evacuation procedures. As a result, Los Angeles aims more public-service announcements at its own tourists and has beefed up relations with hotel operators.

One immediate lesson from the Japan quake, Ms. Decker said, was how much more prepared the Japanese are than Californians. In Japan, preparedness means having hard hats and flat shoes at work desks and obeying evacuation orders, she said. In Los Angeles, it can be hard to talk people out of "wearing three-inch heels," in case they have to rush down many flights of stairs, Ms. Decker said.

Another common problem: persuading residents to leave their homes during disasters. "Every [wildfire] season we have difficulty with individuals that insist on staying in their residences," she said.

Los Angeles County now will publicize its assessment of the risk to residents from nuclear disasters elsewhere as well, said Jonathan Fielding, director of the county's Department of Public Health. After Japan's damaged nuclear plants spread radiation, some Californians rushed to buy protective iodine tablets for fear the radiation could cross the Pacific.

In the Northern California counties of San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara, too, officials are waiting for information on how well response plans worked in Japan and New Zealand before re-examining their own.

Since the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake in the Bay Area, San Francisco's building code has been updated eight times, incorporating "knowledge obtained from every major seismic event" world-wide, said Vivian Day, director of the city's Department of Building Inspection. Still, an estimated 17% of San Francisco's buildings would be destroyed or made unsafe to occupy by a 7.2-magnitude earthquake, and 200 to 300 people would be killed, according to a 2010 report commissioned by the city.

The report considered a quake of that magnitude because among the "pool of possible large earthquakes that might affect San Francisco in the next 30 years, this is the scenario which gives the strongest amount of shaking," said Jack Boatwright, a U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist. He added that in the most extreme case, a rupture along the San Andreas Fault could cause a quake of up to 8.3 in magnitude—exponentially more powerful than a 7.2.

Of particular concern are thousands of old wood-frame buildings in San Francisco, many of which have significant structural weaknesses because their ground floors have few interior walls and large openings in exterior walls for garage doors and storefronts, according to the report. An effort to mandate seismic retrofits of them lost steam last year after officials failed to determine a way to help property owners finance the work.

Another wake-up call for San Francisco came in a scathing Civil Grand Jury report in 2003 that called the city's emergency planning a "catastrophe." Since then, San Francisco has overhauled its disaster-response plans twice and renovated its emergency operations center, officials said. A 2008 Civil Grand Jury report said the city "has made substantial progress in its preparation for disasters."

But San Francisco officials admit they have undertaken far less planning for what to do after an earthquake to ensure that residents are resettled and buildings are reconstructed quickly. Rob Dudgeon, deputy director of the city's Department of Emergency Management, said the issue was driven home by the slow pace of rebuilding New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, adding "there's not a city in the United States" prepared for such recovery.

In 2008, then-city administrator Edwin Lee, who now is interim San Francisco mayor, began heading an effort to increase the city's focus on recovery planning. Since then, San Francisco has tapped experts at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and the San Francisco Planning & Urban Research Association. "We don't want to lose our people" to other cities by not rebuilding quickly enough, said Sarah Karlinsky, deputy director of the nonprofit think tank.

One aim is to find ways to ease bureaucracy after a catastrophe, such as the city's cumbersome building-permitting process, Mr. Dudgeon said. He said officials also intend to develop proposals that the city's Board of Supervisors could approve immediately after a disaster, to streamline decision making about issues such as whether to demolish the remains of historic buildings and rebuild on unstable land—processes that often take years.

San Francisco, he said, is in the "toddler stages" of that effort.

ICE 2011

2011-03-31T18:52:00.000-07:00

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Low-level criminals get passed to ICE
TAGS: immigration and Customs enforcement sheriff michael hennessey
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By: Brent Begin 09/15/10 12:00 AM
Reporter

BY: COURTESY PHOTO
A recent audit shows that less than 7 percent of those detained in The City’s prisons were turned over to ICE.
San Francisco reported at least 19 suspected illegal immigrants to federal authorities after the suspects were put in jail for low-level crimes such as public intoxication and trespassing in the two months after the implementation of a controversial federal monitoring program.

In July and August of this year, 286 of the 4,198 people booked into jail were referred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement — less than 7 percent, according to a jail audit. Of those reported, 134 were detained by ICE after being released, whether for serving their sentence or for being arrested and then cleared of the crime.

The Police Commission began asking for the information from the Sheriff’s Department in June after a federal program called Secure Communities was implemented in San Francisco. The program allows Immigration and Customs Enforcement to check the fingerprints of jail inmates to determine if they are illegal immigrants.

Critics, including Sheriff Michael Hennessey, have been fighting to opt out of the program because it contradicts The City’s Sanctuary Ordinance, which prevents local law enforcement from assisting federal immigration authorities unless a suspected illegal immigrant has committed a felony.

Among those suspected illegal immigrants were people accused of serious crimes such as armed robbery, assault and rape. Those types of crimes would have been reported before the implementation of the federal program and represented a majority of the referrals, about 55 percent.

In the same two months, 108 illegal immigrants were reported for middle-of-the-road crimes such as dealing drugs, and 19 were reported for committing petty crimes such as public intoxication and trespassing.

A spokeswoman for Hennessey, Eileen Hirst, said that in the time during the audit, the jail population has been increasing.

The Police Commission has gotten involved in the debate because members are concerned that a strict immigration policy will erode trust among the immigrant community and potential witnesses will be loath to help police, Commissioner Angela Chan said.

In August, Hennessey renewed his desire to opt out of the program after being denied by ICE and the state Department of Justice. The next day, ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice said the department would consider discussing the possibility.

That has yet to happen, Hennessey said.

Kice said Tuesday officials are still working to schedule a meeting, and we “don’t have a confirmed date yet.”

Read more at the San Francisco Examiner: http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/low-level-criminals-get-passed-ice#ixzz1IESWdNLn

RADIOS

2011-03-31T18:47:00.000-07:00

BAY AREA

Digital radios to improve communication between San Francisco, San Mateo counties

COMMENTS (0) PRINT

By: Shaun Bishop 03/30/11 7:00 PM
Examiner Staff Writer

Incoming: A San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office official demonstrates how the agency’s current radio system works. For the top 10 San Mateo County agencies by number of radios, click on the photo. (Joseph Schell/Special to The Examiner)

When San Francisco emergency responders headed to the scene of the San Bruno gas pipeline explosion last September, their radios were useless for trying to talk directly to their Peninsula colleagues. The different radio systems used by the two counties forced San Francisco officials to use their cell phones to connect with San Mateo County responders, according to county officials.

The county hopes to improve the link with its northern neighbors starting next month, as tests begin on a new digital radio system that will let sheriff’s deputies, paramedics and other Peninsula officials talk directly with their counterparts in other counties.

But despite the push for the technology, most other Peninsula police agencies are keeping their analog radios amid concerns about the digital systems’ higher cost and questions about reliability. When the Big One hits, the ability to seamlessly connect with authorities from another agency will be a big plus, county officials say.

“If it’s a big enough event, you’re going to need people from outside, and you really need to talk to them,” said Capt. John Quinlan of the Sheriff’s Office.

After two years of work, the county recently completed the project’s roughly $9 million first phase, which involved constructing eight repeater towers throughout the county, said Steve Dupre, the project manager for San Mateo County. Most of the funding has come from federal grants, he said.

The county expects to spend a total of $25 million to $30 million on the system, which upgrades the county’s 10-year-old digital radios to a technology known as P25. San Francisco has already adopted the P25 standard and other counties are moving to it, Dupre said.

It will eventually be rolled out gradually to 1,500 users in the county — including sheriff’s deputies, public works employees, paramedics and others — assuming testing in April and May goes well, Dupre said.

Besides major disasters, the interoperability will be useful in more day-to-day activities, like a police pursuit over the Bay Bridge or gang initiatives involving multiple counties. Currently, officers have to use work-arounds like relaying messages through dispatchers or borrowing a colleague’s radio.

But other agencies say the move to the new technology is premature. Redwood City’s police department switched from analog to digital in 2004, only to go back to analog in 2008 amid concern over coverage gaps and poor performance inside buildings.

“The technology is just not ready for this,” said Capt. Dave Bertini of the Pacifica Police Department. “For the type of work we do, we don’t want to be beta testing things that are going to get people hurt and killed.”

Bertini said Pacifica has heard anecdotal reports that the digital signals degrade more easily and won’t penetrate certain buildings.

But county officials say the county’s digital system has improved since it was installed in 2001, and even analog has coverage gaps.

Library of Congress

2011-03-27T22:56:00.000-07:00

http://nicic.gov/

Another Ten years

2011-01-04T14:23:00.000-08:00

Sure, everybody remembers the year that was 2010. But what about the other years composing the first decade of the 21st century?

Like the rest of the nation, San Mateo County was stunned by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Although the planes targeted New York and Washington, D.C., the West Coast was no less shaken and the following months in 2001 and 2002 were filled with memorial vigils, color-coded alerts, possible attacks, increased anxiety and dozens of headline-grabbing moments at city halls and San Francisco International Airport.

The fears and concerns sparked then continued to color the next decade, as airport security tightened, airlines worried about their bottom line and SFO continued feeling the pinch of travel restrictions and frightened passengers.

Every news outlet and pundit had their take on that Tuesday morning, everything from “bastards” to more eloquent summaries. The Daily Journal opted for “A nation mourns, braces for retaliation.”

In 2003, one word said it all: BALCO. Little did San Mateo County realize that the quiet raid of the Burlingame lab ran by Victor Conte would lead to the largest sports steroid scandal in history, taint San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds’ home run record and tick off years of investigation, grand jury testimony and incarceration for those who refused to participate. BALCO also led to a zero tolerance policy by USA Track and Field for designer drug THG which was also outlawed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

As the nation saw its men and women fight in Iraq during 2003, patriotism tied up controversy back home with one Burlingame mother’s attempts to honor her son and his fellow soldiers nabbing the national limelight. In April 2003, the Burlingame City Council voted unanimously to create a “Yellow Ribbon Week” and allow a number of ribbons to stand on city property. The declaration came after Jagdeep Grewal, a mother of a U.S. Marine, decided to post hundreds of yellow ribbons on street lamps, trees and any other pole that had space. Palo Alto resident Seth Yatovitz protested and said the city should post black ribbons in protest of the war. That created a storm of controversy that spread across the nation. The ribbons came down that summer when Grewel’s son, Apinterjit, came home.

That same year, a piece of coastal history died when Cunha’s Country Store — a staple of Half Moon Bay’s Main Street — burned to the ground in a six-alarm blaze on May 21. The fire raged so strongly billowing smoke was seen as far away as Interstate 280 and drew more than 50 firefighters from throughout the county. The community rallied around the store and it was rebuilt, again providing residents with everything from fresh-baked bread to nails.

In 2003, city of San Mateo ended a 15-year struggle to solve the issue of congregating day laborers on Third Avenue by opening a city-funded center.

The city also opened its 12-screen downtown cinema on B Street in February, ending years of planning, public meetings and lawsuits. The years leading up to the opening saw the city try ameliorating concerns of business owners and visitors during construction with valet parking and a little-used trolley. Despite dire predictions, the cinema did not bring the crime and traffic problems some had anticipated.

In June, after years of construction and delays, the Millbrae BART extension opened in June to much fanfare. The new station, however, was later deemed a disappointment as officials strategized ways to draw people in, even reducing parking rates.

Nancy MacDuckston, a nursery school director, went missing in a still unsolved case that drew national attention. MacDuckston was last seen by her adult daughter on Aug. 11, 2003. Her tan 2001 Mazda MPV minivan was spotted on Highway 101 near Davenport in Santa Cruz County Aug. 12. She was witnessed having lunch earlier in the day with a man who has never been identified.

The ecstasy-linked death of Ralston Middle School student Irma Perez, 14, at a sleepover in Belmont on April 23, 2004 led to criminal charges for the dealer and friends who didn’t seek immediate help. The death also led to school and community meetings about drug use. Three adults and two minors each agreed to plea bargains and received punishments ranging from rehabilitation programs to five years in prison.

Some called it the trial of the century; many in San Mateo County called it a media circus. When the Scott Peterson trial was moved from Modesto to Redwood City in 2004, the case of the fertilizer salesman accused of murdering his pregnant wife on Christmas Eve brought with it scores of media outlets, hundreds of onlookers, a lottery system for a coveted spot in the courtroom and 12 county residents chosen to decide his fate. When the jurors returned verdicts of guilty and the death penalty, reactions erupted in waves outside the county government center. The spotlight was on San Mateo County and even if it looks nothing in real life like the stand-in sets prevalent in the subsequent television movies, it cornered a little piece of criminal history.

Prior to the November 2004 election, developer Glenborough-Pauls spent about $500,000 to promote the passage of Measure Q allowing a 17-tower high-density residential development at Pete’s Harbor along the Redwood City Bayfront. It wasn’t enough. Despite the unanimous support of the City Council, a resounding 12,000 voters came out against the proposal and the plan for Marina Shores Village fizzled.

The county took center stage in the capital punishment debate in early 2005, when Redwood City killer Donald Beardslee was executed on Jan. 19. Beardslee’s death came nearly 24 years after he murdered two young women over a drug deal gone bad and the 61-year-old’s lethal injection was the first in California in three years. Beardslee was the 11th inmate executed in California since the state reinstated the death penalty in 1978.

San Mateo police made a grisly discover Aug. 18, 2005 after receiving a call about a possible homicide and suicide. The found Tony Richards, 53, dead of a self-inflicted bullet wound and his wife and two teenage daughters killed and stuffed in a backyard freezer. A typed note by Richards blamed mounting financial problems.

East Palo Alto police Officer Richard May was fatally shot Jan. 7, 2006 after the officer and a teenage explorer responded to a call for help at a taqueria. In late 2009, a jury would convicted Alberto Alvarez and sentence him to death.

In April 2006, after a two-week trial, a jury convicted former San Carlos mayor Mike King of defrauding what is now known as the Belmont-San Carlos Fire Department by submitting more than $13,000 in false invoices for political consultant Margaret “Peg” Collier. The authority hired Collier at King’s request in fall 2003 to help pass Measure I. The parcel tax was meant to pay firefighters’ salaries. When it failed, seven employees lost their jobs and another three were demoted. The financially limited campaign ended without the funds to repay Collier approximately $17,000 for fliers and postage. King was sentenced to two concurrent 45-day sentences which were stayed for two years while he appealed. The fire department, then known as South County, was dismantled and rebuilt although it now is in the process of being dissolved again.

In July 2006, downtown Redwood City finally said “action” to its newest feature — the 20-screen, 4,200-seat Century Theatres which is the centerpiece of the city’s redevelopment project that began in October 2005. The theater officially opened with a screening of “Cars” and throughout the day screened blockbusters such as “Superman Returns,” “The Devil Wears Prada” and “Miami Vice.”

Property owners whose land was seized by eminent domain sued the city claiming they were not paid the fair market value. Both sides ultimately settled.

On Aug. 19, 2006, a new $108 million San Francisco County Jail opened in San Bruno, replacing a facility cited for having deteriorating conditions including poor food, vermin and inadequate sanitation.

Law enforcement drew a different type of attention after recently elected Sheriff Greg Munks and Undersheriff Carlos Bolanos were discovered at a Las Vegas brothel April 21, 2007 during “Operation Dollhouse,” a series of raids by local and federal authorities that capped off a two-year prostitution investigation. Both men were detained for a short time and released. Neither man was arrested or charged. The men were in town for 120-mile law enforcement run known as the Baker to Vegas Challenge Cup Relay.

Also in April, Redwood City police drew national attention for wrestling and macing “Mr. Natural Universe” Doug Burns, a bodybuilder who went into insulin shock outside the downtown theater. Officer said they thought he was intoxicated; charges of assault and resisting arrest were later dropped.

And if April 2007 wasn’t already newsworthy, David Halberstam, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author who chronicled the Washington press corps, the Vietnam War generation and baseball, was killed in a car crash in Menlo Park. He was being driven to an interview by a 27-year-old journalism student later sentenced to five days jail for misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter.

The journey of Virgin America establishing its headquarters in Burlingame and SFO stretched over several years but the new kid on the airline block finally took off in August 2007 with its inaugural flight. The airline has spent the years since adding routes and treating travelers to massage chairs, leather seats, on-demand snacks and a new appreciation for all things decked out in red.

The next month, Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu surrendered to authorities on a 15-year-old warrant for skipping sentencing on a San Mateo County charge of grand theft. Hsu scammed money from investors, including a Daly City woman, and became a major Democratic fundraiser often photographed with candidates he supported — including presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Her campaign gave back the money.

On Sept. 4, 2007, the famed Burlingame tree known as “Tom” became timber when the eucalyptus was cut down on Easton Drive. The city had been considering removal of the tree since early 2004 but community uproar turned the tree’s plight into a whirlwind, complete with moniker.

Belmont was on the map in October 2007 after the City Council passed what was considered the toughest smoking ban in the United States. The law banned lighting up inside all multi-unit dwellings, all workplaces and 20 feet from any non-smoking areas. The passed law was slightly more lenient than an original proposal to ban smoking on the street and all residences.

In January 2008, 27-year veteran U.S. Rep. Tom Lantos announced he would not seek a 15th term because he had esophageal cancer. Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor in Congress and a top-ranked Democrat who chaired the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, died five weeks later on Feb. 11, just beyond his 80th birthday. Former state senator Jackie Speier had planned to run against Lantos for the office but instead was left later that year running in a special election in April to fill the remainder of his term and a general election in June for the next full term. She won both.

The Devil’s Slide tunnel bearing his name, in honor of his securing $175 million in federal funds, is expected to open in 2012.

On Feb. 14, 2008, the county Probation Department began a year of public scrutiny when teenage murder suspect Josue Orozco, with the help of two others, scaled a wall and fled from the newly opened Youth Services Center. Orozco, 18, was noticed missing Feb. 14 but a countywide alert was not issued for hours, sparking the ire of the community and officials. Orozco, who was 14 when arrested for a July 2005 drive-by shooting in Redwood City, remained at large for eight months until his capture in September by authorities in Texas. His first trial later ended in a hung jury and he is scheduled for retrial in 2010.

The escape also drew increased attention to other walkaways through the year from the county’s other juvenile facilities for which the Probation Department has responsibility. One former ward at Camp Glenwood, a juvenile rehabilitation facility, was arrested and later convicted for murder in Redwood City following his walkaway.

March 2008 was a busy month in San Mateo County. Environmentalists hoping to stunt future Redwood City development filed paperwork to change the city’s charter — a move that pitted the City Council against proponents of the “Open Space Initiative,” led to competing measures on the November ballot and blew through millions of dollars on campaigning. The fight was a smack at the Cargill Saltworks site, approximately the size of the Presidio in San Francisco and the largest untouched land parcel on the Bay. The initiative, renamed Measure W, would have required voters to decide by a two-thirds majority any development on land deemed open space. The city suggested an alternative, changing the city charter so voters only had a say on the Cargill site. In November, both failed, returning the city and the interest groups back to square one.

Mills High School teacher David Joseph Lista, 36, shocked the community after he was discovered to have secretly taped girls using the bathroom and having installed a peephole camera in his desk to look up students’ skirts. In November, he was sentenced to two years prison and ordered to register as a sex offender.

Also in March, a settlement agreement dropped a $41 million federal judgment against the city of Half Moon Bay in exchange for legislation that would allow development on two wetland parcels known as Beachwood and Glenacre. The bill later failed, leaving the city with a $18 million bill it is still struggling to pay.

In April, Charles Schuttloffel of San Gregorio pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter in the 2004 house fire that killed his two young sons, ages 2 and 3, in May 2004. Prosecutors had claimed Schuttloffel was distraught at the possibility of his wife leaving him; the defense argued it was a tragic accident.

In June 2008, San Mateo County joined the rest of the state in granting same-sex marriage licenses. Then it joined the rest of the state in denying them. The county has mimicked the back and forth of this controversial issue throughout the decade, helped in part by the public push by Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder Warren Slocum to allow the issuance and the seemingly never-ending work of San Carlos couple Ramona and Arzu Gatto and their teenage daughter, Marina.

The previous year, members of Slocum’s office had begun an album of photos and comments, chronicling the struggle of couples who trekked there every Feb. 14 annually to the San Mateo County Clerk’s Office to seek a marriage license. The book was to be donated to the San Mateo County Historical Museum when the law finally changed.

One sentiment captured it all: “While I’m proud to make history I wish it wasn’t necessary.”

Bay Meadows race track held its final race in August 2008, ending 74 years of history and years of legal wrangling and readying for demolition and construction of new homes, offices, open space and retail.

As all eyes turned to Wall Street in the fall, the financial turmoil hit home after the Sept. 15 collapse of Lehman Brothers siphoned more than $150 million from the San Mateo County investment pool. Not content to await bankruptcy proceedings, the county sued the company and specific executives, alleging they deliberately misled investors.

Tragedy barreled down a San Mateo street on Sept. 22 when the roofing truck driven by Carlos Humberto Valderrama Siordia lost control on 43rd Avenue and crashed into a string of vehicles outside a Mollie Stone’s grocery store. Tyler Fahy, 9, was killed while his mother and others were seriously injured. Siordia claimed the brakes failed but prosecutors charged him with misdemeanor vehicle manslaughter. A jury would later find him not guilty on one count and hang on another.

San Mateo was also shocked Nov. 25 when a gun-wielding stalker invaded the San Mateo home of Kim Loan Nguyen and killed the 24-year-old mother of two with three shots as she handed her two young children out a second-story window to safety. Shooter Raymond Gee, 22, of Oakland killed himself and Nguyen died shortly after being rescued from the Hobart Avenue home. Police concluded Gee had stalked Nguyen after meeting her at a San Francisco Halloween party and broke into her home by switching off power to the house and opening the garage door.

The June 2, 2008 beating of Albert Korn, 88, during a home invasion rocked the city of Belmont. Korn died two weeks later and transient Tyler Hutchinson was later charged in the murder after being arrested in Yolo County for similar robberies.

What began as an ordinary school day at Hillsdale High School in San Mateo on Aug. 24, 2009 turned into a national media storm, fueled by memories of student attacks and fears of what could have been, after former student Alexander Youshock appeared on campus with pipe bombs, a chain saw, a machete and a plan to kill as many people as possible. Youshock, then 17, set off two pipe bombs that injured no one before being tackled by school staff.

According to prosecutors, Youshock planned the rampage at his alma mater out of a desire for revenge, particularly toward a chemistry teacher whose class he had attended.

Youshock now awaits trial for numerous felonies including attempted murder. He claims not guilty by reason of insanity.

In July, jurors deliberated two weeks before declaring they were hopelessly deadlocked in deciding if former San Mateo child psychiatrist William Hamilton Ayres, 78, abused any of the six former patients prosecutors say were fondled as young boys under the guise of medical exams. He is being retried.

The Ayres case drew wide publicity after his 2007 arrest because he commonly received referrals from the county’s courts, schools and social workers. He also served as president of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry between 1993 to 1995 and developed a controversial sex education program for teenagers called “Time of Your Life.”

The curtain fell on the historic Fox Theatre at the tail end of November, ending three months of attempts by the owners to stave off a foreclosure auction but raising questions about the future of the downtown Redwood City fixture. The theater would later re-open under new owners.

As for 2010? Most of those moments should still be pretty fresh but just in case, recall the murder at Hillsdale Shopping Center of community activist David Lewis, an alternative county jail site purchased, two separate small plane crashes that left six dead, political musical chairs in county and state elections, World Series glory by the San Francisco Giants that seeped south, ongoing battles over high-speed rail, sexual assaults at the county hospital, the complete outsourcing of the San Carlos Police Department to the Sheriff’s Office and financial worries in Half Moon Bay which is still weighed down by the $18 million Beachwood settlement.

And of course, the story dwarfing it all — the Sept. 9 gas pipeline explosion and fire in San Bruno that leveled a neighborhood, killed eight, wounded several and evacuated 271 people form their homes. Like that Sept. 11 in the beginning of the decade, that fateful September evening at the end of it is an unforgettable part of San Mateo County history. Email to the Editor | Email to Friend | Print this Page |

Seventy Four Days in the Hole .

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Another really cool link

2011

Earthquake

ICE 2011

RADIOS

BAY AREA

Digital radios to improve communication between San Francisco, San Mateo counties

Library of Congress

Another Ten years