4 Million Jobs Lost but Taxpayers Fund Gov't Hiring Spree

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced 'good news' this week that 'only 36,000 American workers lost their jobs in February.'

That 'good news' gets even better. Since Barack Obama assumed the Presidency 4.1 million Americans have lost their jobs.

But the good news just keeps on rolling along. As the unemployment figures begin to rival that of the Great Depression (4 million in one year is the biggest jump in unemployment since 1940), the federal government goes on a hiring spree--with your tax dollars.

Conservative Examiner will tell you all about it.

And the icing on the cake is that these taxpayer funded government jobs pay salaries that average $30,000 more per year than comparable jobs in the private sector.

Are you starting to feel all hopeful and warm and fuzzy yet?

VIDEO--The Liberty Sphere Report: Attacks on Conservative Women

Liberals claim that these sorts of attacks are common across the board in politics. I beg to differ. You simply will not find the type of over-the-top, personal, insulting, degrading misogyny that is directed toward conservative women directed also toward liberal women--at least not in the mainstream media or the national news and late-night comedians.

Triumph in London--Free Speech Wins!

Victory is sweet when it comes to the triumph of human liberty over the forces of oppression. Such was the case on Friday as London celebrated the victory of Dutch politician Geert Wilders who was charged with criminal conduct for merely speaking his mind that Europe is in danger of falling to Muslim Jihadists.

Here is the text of Wilder's speech before the House of Lords in Parliament.

Here is a moving pictorial record of the avalanche of support for Wilders in the streets of London. (Scroll to the end of the post to see the photos).

Second Amendment News Roundup for 3/5/2010

Focusing on guns, politics and news that highlight firearms rights, here is today's Second Amendment News Roundup:

Vanderboegh says that Chicago Mayor Richard Daley is having a hissy over the fact that the Supreme Court gave indication they will overturn the city's unconstitutional handgun ban.

Days of our Trailers has more on the whining Mayor Daley.

Kurt Hofmann reports the answers given to a gun rights questionnaire by a candidate for Congress in Missouri.

David Codrea reports that New York gubernatorial candidate Warren Redlick has also answered the gun rights questionnaire.

Tam blogs on pistol competition and notes that keeping score can ruin the fun of it and therefore discourage new shooters from getting involved.

The Wandering Minstrel points to the 'palladium of liberties' regarding the 2nd Amendment.

Walls of the City notes that reality keeps proving the error in the thinking of the anti-gun bigots.

The Rustmeister says it's time to let the Starbucks issue die and allow the antis to make pests of themselves.

Say Uncle presents an excellent reason why citizens should be armed rather than relying on law enforcement to 'protect' us.

Dustin's Gun Blog declares 'open carry deters crime.'

Friday means it's WEASEL TIME! The Ol' Broad has the funniest political cartoons on the Internet. Enjoy...

Fatal Attraction

America is like an adrenaline addict. It is attracted to that which gives it a thrill, even if that thrill is dangerous, even deadly:

Remember that scene from the movie Fatal Attraction? The crazed, psycho-bitch Glenn Close is drowned in the bathtub and we all have this sigh of relief – she’s dead, it’s over, we’re saved. And then she pops up, knife in hand, ready to kill again. Didn’t you feel that same sigh of relief when Scott Brown was elected in Massachusetts – Obama Care is dead, it’s over, we’re saved. But now popping up from the bathtub is Reconciliation. Glenn Close with a butcher knife looks tame by comparison.

Here’s a fun, six-question Health Care Reform survey on Facebook. Check the results when you are done.

Go read the entire thing and follow his links!

Yes, They Know, and No, They Don't Care

WRSA observes that the present occupant of the White House knows full well what his extremist agenda will unleash on the country. But he doesn't care.

From Riehl: This neophyte, this joke we have in the White House has absolutely no idea of the force and the rage he is about to unleash on him and his entire political party...
***

Yes, they do.

They don't care.

Keep your eye on the end game. That's all that matters to these vermin.

Another Leftwing Nutjob--the Pentagon Gunman

Well, guess what???? The Pentagon gunman was a anti-Bush nutjob who is a 9/11 truther.

Go figure.

Texas Fred reports and comments.

They're Watching Us

If you believe that the Obama Administration and the liberals than run Congress are not watching guns-and-liberty bloggers, then you must be living in la-la land. They ARE watching, supposedly to monitor for 'terrorism,' but perhaps for a more sinister purpose.

It seems that this friend of ours is being watched by the U.S. Senate.

Marxists Up in Arms Over Education

The buzz across the country is that the neo-Marxists have now targeted education, seething with rage over budget cuts, in an attempt to use the issue to push the notion that education is a 'human right.'

Education is no human right. It is a commodity, a service, like healthcare. You get it by paying for it. It is not an entitlement. As soon as you force someone to pay for your entitlement, that entitlement is immediately disqualified from being considered a 'right.'

Rights are natural, in-born, and cost nothing except the blood and sweat of those who fight for them.

But here is an example of Marxist rage and the next push toward free everything, from none other than that bastion of neo-Marxists, San Francisco.

"The Unavoidable Progression of Events"

First, there was Liberty.

And then, for the next few generations of Americans, there was the experience of human progress and prosperity the likes of which the world had never seen - and likely will never see again.

Then there were the depredations, visited by a government on its people. Careful at first to maintain the facade - the illusion - of representative government, now increasingly and arrogantly flaunting it's power and utter disdain for the rule of law.

Read the whole thing here.

What is the Definition of a Progressive/Neo-Marxist/Socialist/Liberal Commie?

The answer: A maggot that not only comes to life in human and animal excrement but thrives on living off of ingenuity, hard-work, and earnings of others.

Attacks on Conservative Women: Fair Game for Mainstream Media

Gone are the days when women's advocacy groups and the mainstream media championed the cause for women having an equal place at the table in modern society.

When it comes to conservative women, the gloves come off and it's anything goes when it comes to the attacks.

This issue is examined today at Conservative Examiner.

One would think that we have outgrown this type of crass display, but unfortunately this is the modus operandi of the Leftwing neanderthals when it comes to conservatives.

Free Speech Triumph--Geert Wilders Wins, Islamo-Fascists Lose Big!

The Geert Wilders-Free Speech trial in the Netherlands is officially over. Wilders is the Dutch politicians who created a firestorm of controversy, resulting in criminal prosecution, by merely stating that Europe is in danger from being overrun by extremist Islamo-Fascist Jihadists.

Wilders was then summarily banned from entering the U.K., which, as much of the rest of Europe, has acquiesced to the demands of extremist Jihadist revolutionaries.

But now Wilders has won, and the Islamo-Fascists are on notice that future attacks on free speech, even when it is critical of Islam, are not to be tolerated.

Oh, and by the way, London will hold a victory celebration for Wilders tomorrow.

Second Amendment News Roundup for 3/4/2010

Focusing on guns, politics and news of interest as it pertains to firearms rights, here is today's Second Amendment News Roundup:

Standing By comments on the observation by many gun rights advocates that the case that is now before the Supreme Court may not be the landmark decision we had hoped for.

Way Up North has a word to the wise about carrying a firearm. Take a look.

Brigid muses on traveling, books, writing, and the use of firearms.

Of Arms and the Law provides a transcript of the argument in McDonald vs. Chicago.

Roberta X has a sharp word or two for the anti-gun bigots who want to bash Starbucks.

Alphecca alerts us to the interesting take on the McDonald gun case as penned by the New York times.

Breda provides an interesting and accurate observation concerning the gun rights community.

Kurt Hofmann reports that Illinois' proposed defensive handgun carry bill has cleared its first hurdle. Good.

Conservative Libertarian Outpost reminds us of the countdown to the massive 2A gathering on April 19 in D.C.

Walls of the City has the MUST-read quote of the week from none other than Alan Gura as stated to Justice Sotomayor during the McDonald hearing. I love it!

David Codrea notes that the lamestream media has picked up the hateful rhetoric of the Southern Policy Law Center as directed to gun owners and Tea Party members.

Democrats Confirm They Will Use 'Nuclear Option' on Healthcare

It is now official. Obama and the Dems have confirmed, via Senator Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, that they will use the 'nuclear option' to shove the government takeover of heathcare down the throats of an outraged public.

Expect severe repercussions.

Read the complete story and analysis at Conservative Examiner.

And get ready for massive civil unrest.

The Rage of the Citizenry

Western Rifle Shooters Association notes that the Southern Poverty Law Center is calling attention to the 'rage of the right' as an example of dangerous times involving extremists rightwing militia-types.

However, in actuality it is the rage of the citizenry in general that should give the SPLC panic attacks.

And each time Obama and company doubles down on their extremist agenda, the citizens of the heartland grow even more enraged. In fact, personally I have never witnessed anything like it in my lifetime.

Thus, citizens are getting ready for a show of resistance:

See ya on the Potomac on 19 April -- armed or unarmed.

And by the way, you so-called "intelligence experts": April 19th is also the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

"Incongruence"--the Debate

Paul Davis at the MOWCA blog has quite an in-depth debate going on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights as applied to the states.

Although the article is lengthy and the reasoning meticulous (as is always the case with Paul, who possesses a keen intellect), the issue at hand is worth your time and consideration, if for no other reason than to become even further convinced that modern-day America has strayed far, far away from the intention and principles of the Founders of this nation.

There is room for some disagreement here on some of the finer points, but there is one thing about which there can be no doubt--our government has trampled on the Constitution to the point of rendering it practically worthless. This is not to say that the Constitution is worthless by any stretch of the imagination. Far from it. But in practical terms our politicians do not consider our Founding documents relevant...note, government healthcare, cap and trade, violations of the Second Amendment, and the like.

These are troublesome times for America, and much diligence is needed...and a quiet resolve to do that 'hard work' to snatch our Republic from the jaws of Marxists/Progressives.

Obama Throws Conservatives a Bone, Expects Support

The liar in chief is at it again, giving yet another speech on healthcare that is so full of untruths that Satan himself would be proud.

Read my assessment at Conservative Examiner.

Using the Alinsky method of saying one thing yet doing another, Obama threw conservatives a bone or two while at the same time clinging stubbornly to his 2 trillion dollar government takeover of healthcare.

Is it time for 'Operation Consequence' yet?

Housekeeping Issues

The Liberty Sphere's server is hereby DOWN. I am posting this using contingency plans. Thus, there will be no Roundup today, but I will be posting a couple of other items.

I hope these issues can be resolved by tomorrow. In the meantime, please visit my daily column at Conservative Examiner. And I deeply thank-you.

Report: Recession More Than Just a Subprime Mortgage Crisis

A new report provides the complete story on the global financial meltdown.

Read about it at Conservative Examiner.

Here is an excerpt:

A new report issued today by the National Bureau of Economic Research indicates that the present severe recession is much more than simply a subprime mortgage crisis.

No doubt the government's policy of applying pressure to mortgage lenders via FannieMae and FreddieMac to lend money to those unable to afford mortgages was a major contributor to the financial meltdown.

However, the NBER report indicates that the problem is much deeper.

In order to understand the problem one must become familiar with a little-known entity by the name of REPO--the Renew Sale and Repurchase market for collateralized securities:

Second Amendment News Roundup for 3/2/2010

Focusing on guns, politics and news as it relates to firearms rights, here is the Second Amendment News Roundup:

Brigid refutes the notion that 'the bad guys get all the good stuff,' and she has the firearms to prove it.

Free in Idaho posts Alan Gura's comments on the Supreme Court's hearing in the Chicago gun case.

GunRights4US provides some personal musings concerning the Supreme Court and the Second Amendment.

Speaking of the SCOTUS hearing on the Chicago gun case today, Kurt Hofmann maintains that we shouldn't expect too much.

David Codrea weighs in on this issue and says the Court is likely to extend the right to keep and bear arms.

Gun Nuts says that the topic tonight will be cutting edge firearms training on this edition of Gun Nuts Radio. Click the link for details.

Tam reports that some lies are being told on the guns in parking lots issue.

Conservative Libertarian Outpost reports that the Wyoming bill on carry reform is now headed to the Governor's desk for signature.

The Newbius Papers reports the latest news on gun rights legislation in Virginia.

Sebastian says that he is going to head over to the Supreme Court building to cover the Chicago gun case and will provide continuous updates as they happen via Twitter and his blog.

"Tyranny on the Potomac"

Most Americans believe there is 'tyranny on the Potomac,' and the news was reported by no less than CNN--a liberal bastion of Leftwing bias.

But the big news in the story did not get any media attention and is encapsulated in THIS:

There are a couple things about this poll that I find astonishing. First and foremost is the fact that the polling was done by CNN and that once they got their result -- which must also have astonished them -- they went ahead and reported it instead of burying it.

The second is that the divide is 56 to 44 WITH NO UNDECIDEDS. Every poll in the world I've ever seen has an undecided column in it. Not this one. This bolsters my contention that we are now, and have been for some time, two peoples sharing nothing but a border, a common language and an argument over which is to be the master -- the federal government or the citizenry.

We are in truth more alienated from one another than the Tidewater planter and the Maine lobsterman were in days before the firing on Fort Sumter.

No matter how the final scenario plays out in real life, we are not getting out of this without violence. If nothing else, the experience of human history tells us that. Events have gone too far.

Be sure to read the whole thing at the link above.

Rising Threat of Antibiotic-Resistant Infections

A minor-league pitcher in his younger days, Richard Armbruster kept playing baseball recreationally into his 70s, until his right hip started bothering him. Last February he went to a St. Louis hospital for what was to be a routine hip replacement.

By late March, Mr. Armbruster, then 78, was dead. After a series of postsurgical complications, the final blow was a bloodstream infection that sent him into shock and resisted treatment with antibiotics.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think my dad would walk in for a hip replacement and be dead two months later,” said Amy Fix, one of his daughters.

Apparently this problem is much broader and deeper than we ever imagined. Read the whole thing here.

A Letter to Your Local Chief Law Enforcement Officer

Western Rifle Shooters Association always provides vital reading for guns-and-liberty advocates, reading which is regularly linked here. Today I wish to provide a WRSA article in its entirety. Yes, it is just that important. Of course, I encourage you to visit the blog for all of the latest info.

A Letter To Your Local Chief Law Enforcement Officer

Dear Chief [insert name here]:

I am writing this letter as an extremely-concerned citizen to you in your official capacity as this jurisdiction's chief local law enforcement officer.

As you are likely more aware than I, our state's finances are a shambles, and accordingly, so too are the finances of our community's government. Layoffs, essential service cutbacks, reduced operating hours -- all of these expedients and more will be tried in a likely-futile effort to compensate for the astonishing drop-off in sales, property, and other tax collections in the current edition of the Great Depression.

But that is only the start of our shared problems. On top of the devastating economic collapse across our nation, the current Administration in Washington and its allies in the Congress are attempting to impose an unprecedented level of nanny-state control over every single citizen. Combine that social-control agenda with the equally-unprecedented militarization of local and state police forces over the past twenty years, interpose the pro-freedom Tea Party movement and its allies, overlay all of these ingredients with a historic economic downturn that gets worse with each passing month, and you have a recipe for disaster.

Constitutional activist Mike Vanderboegh attempted to describe the concerns of the active and growing freedom constituency in our nation's politics with his recent essay, "Yeah, but what does that Three Percent thing MEAN?". I commend that essay to you for your background information, but it is another recent Vanderboegh article which is more directly relevant to our discussion today.

In last month's "“Choose this day whom you will serve”: An Open Letter to American Law Enforcement", Mr. Vanderboegh challenged law enforcement executives such as yourself to consider the following scenario:

***
...So ponder that deteriorating social trust that holds civilizations together, and then ponder this: the worst is yet to come.

What will happen when we are faced, God forbid, with some dislocating national disaster -- natural or man-made -- that makes Katrina look like a kindergarten playground? Now, even if you intend to run off like some New Orleans policemen did, to see to the safety of their families rather than keep order in the city, you are still going to need the cooperation of the armed citizenry in your home neighborhood to protect your family.

You -- ALL of you -- law enforcement officers, will then need us, the armed citizenry -- ALL of us willing and competent to muster -- to defend public order against the tide of chaos represented by five or ten million gang members and the tens of millions of panicked unprepared refugees or opportunistic criminals left unrestrained by a breakdown.

Do you seriously think that federal police, all 150,000 of them, will actually help you in that event, beyond issuing orders that they will not be personally endangered with carrying out?

You will then be on your own, and you will have us. At least those of you will who have the sense to plan now to make that happen in the event...
***

Lest you think Mr. Vanderboegh is a lone crackpot scribbler issuing doomed-to-obscurity manifestos from some dank basement, consider the following excerpt from this essay by noted financial writer Karl Denninger, which also came out last month:

***
...Let's face facts: while today we all count on being able to pick up the phone and call "911" if we need an officer to take a report on our stolen stereo, if the bad times come you will need us, not the other way around. We the people will, under such a circumstance, have the luxury of determining whether your oath of office has been faithfully discharged, or whether the only difference at that instant between you and the gangbanger is that you've got a fancy hat and a nicer car.

Most of us, should we determine that you're just the thug with the fancy hat will hide under the desk. We won't shoot at you - that's not our way. We're law-abiding citizens, for the most part, and while we will shoot back, we won't shoot first. But what we won't do is help you, because your time - your opportunity to help us prevent this catastrophe - will have expired. We will protect our neighbors, our friends, our fellow citizens.

But that's all.

You will get to deal with Zombieland, and in the back of your mind as you're literally consumed will ring that old saw you laid on us for the last two decades: "I just follow orders; I don't make the rules."

Be honest with yourselves: Is this where you want to be, or would changing things now be worthwhile? Would regaining the trust of the people be a good thing? Would replacing the large percentage of law-abiding citizens who now would spit on your shoes with those who will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you, weapons facing the oncoming zombie hoard, be a good thing?

If so you have some work to do and there's still time left to accomplish it...
***

It is the cooperative spirit of these two important essays that I offer these suggestions for how you could, with only the inherent authority you already possess as this jurisdiction's chief law enforcement officer, begin to build those soon-to-be-vital bridges to the majority of our community:

1) Immediately make your law enforcement firearms training facilities fully accessible to the public: Currently, only certified LEOs can access both the known-distance pistol and rifle range at the county's training facility, as well as the new tactical "shoot house" constructed with the Federal law enforcement assistance/stimulus grants last year. For all but four days of each month, all of these publicly-funded training facilities lie empty and unused.

You can, with the stroke of a pen, change that policy and allow lawful gun owners to train at the facilities on a cost-fee basis (to cover the incremental additional staffing that the increased hours would require). In addition, I and other members of the community who are certified handgun and rifle instructors would welcome the opportunity to teach other citizens how to safely and accurately use their weapons. Liability issues could be handled on a waiver/indemnification basis.

This single step alone would be a concrete step showing all of our jurisdiction's citizens on which side of the line you will stand should civil unrest develop. However, there are two other concrete actions that you could take -- today -- that would further enhance your reputation as a true public servant, rather than a fully-bought-and-paid-for local stooge for the Federal law enforcement and disaster management apparatus based in Washington:

2) As a senior member of our jurisdiction's emergency management agency, insist that practical medical classes be started immediately for our citizens: As a career public safety officer, you know that in a true emergency, virtually all medical resources in our county will be overwhelmed in the first hour of the crisis. To help our citizens survive until our more-traditional medical infrastructure is repaired/resupplied/augmented, you could persuade your EMA colleagues to initiate realistic practical medical training on a volunteer basis immediately at local schools. The curriculum would begin with basic first aid/CPR (modified appropriately to reflect realistic disaster durations) and would culminate with a course akin to wilderness survival medicine (where the time to obtain traditional medical resources is assumed to be days or possibly longer). Costs could be handled on a fee-basis, and I am confident that students would be willing to waive any future liability in exchange for admittance to the class.

3) Release our jurisdiction's relevant FEMA contingency plans for public review and comment: Simply put, you and your fellow public safety executives know in detail what FEMA and other Federal agencies plan to do in the event of civil unrest or disorder here in our area. It may turn out that those plans are perfectly rational and reasonable, and disclosure of them into broad daylight will serve only to reassure our fellow citizens. On the other hand, there is a significant and growing number of people in our area who have grave misgivings about those plans. Only by embracing disaster contingency transparency and making those plans available for public review will you be able to reassure those of us who doubt both the motivation and the competence of the Federal disaster response mechanism.

Chief, I hope you understand that by "disaster", I am not simply referring to a hurricane, earthquake, or other such natural occurrence. In Part II of this letter, I will explain exactly the kind of man-made disaster that may face us all as the American economy moves into critical condition.

Patriots, this letter is one that needs wide distribution to law enforcement. Will you do your part?

While Your Eyes Fixed on Toyota, Government Motors (GM) Recalls 1.3 Million Vehicles

While Congress, Obama, the mainstream media, and Government Motors (including GM and Chrysler) are busy bashing Toyota over its recall of vehicles, the news about a massive recall for GM was slipped in, tucked away in the back pages.

Government Motors, you see, can do no wrong since they are now controlled by Unions, namely the United Autoworkers Union, compliments of Obama and Congress.

And it is well-known that many Democrats in Congress are in the hip-pocket of the UAW.

But GM has its own problems that are not being addressed although Toyota is hauled before the judge and jury in Congress to receive a tongue-lashing like no other.

Today it was announced that GM is recalling 1.3 million vehicles due to power steering problems that can cause dangerous control lockdowns while the vehicles are in motion.

This comes on the heels of another under-reported story concerning a recall at Chrysler several weeks ago.

But it is Toyota that gets the heat in the news. Could this be due to the fact that Toyota is a union-free corporation? You know the answer to that question.

Breaking...Climategate Researcher Says Hiding Facts 'Standard Procedure'

Breaking news from the U.K. on Climategate:

Professor Phil Jones was grilled in the House of Commons in Parliament concerning the Climategate scandal, during which he admitted that he hid key data concerning the climate and that such behavior was 'standard procedure.'

Conservative Examiner has the story.

Jones was forced to resign as Chair of the Climate Research Unit over his role in the scandal.

Second Amendment News Roundup for 3/1/2010

Focusing on guns, politics and news related to firearms rights, here is today's Second Amendment News Roundup:

Kurt Hofmann reports that the VPC has invented a bizarre new way of justifying assault weapons bans.

John Jacob H posts an interesting video on the Golani .223 Elephant Rifle in reference to a court case and a possible accidental shooting.

Of Arms and the Law has a quote from the LA Times on the Second Amendment as it relates to the McDonald case.

Pax Parabellum reports that Starbucks is still making headlines with gun rights policy.

Say Uncle provides an update on the ATF and the Airsoft controversy.

Tam has an interesting post on the AR firearms she is NOT building.

The Wandering Minstrel muses on the 'mouse gun.'

Way Up North informs us of the next step toward the passage of the Alaska Firearms Freedom Act.

Days of our Trailers posts a highly telling list of Virginia politicians who support gun control and are rabidly anti-self-defense.

Gun Pundit points to news and reminds us to 'remember, these are the guys who took away citizens' guns to keep New Orleans safe.'

Subversion: Soros, Obama, and the Banks

More trouble is brewing with the nation's banks, and, as usual, Obama is engaging in subversion, cavorting with the likes of Leftist billionaire George Soros:

Chicagoland gangsta style racketeering in the White House. We are living in an age of lawlessness by the effete elite while the persecution of common man becomes common place. It's ugly.

And Obama is handing over our national treasure to America hater and self professed nazi, George Soros who was mentored by and a long time associate of Francois Genoud, Hitler and the Grand Mufit's banker:

Genoud is notable for being the executor of last will and testament of Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels, and for reportedly making a fortune from publishing Goebbels' diaries; later he would attain an equal measure of notoriety for bankrolling the legal defenses of Adolf Eichmann and Klaus Barbie.[1] Nazi hunters such as Serge Klarsfeld and Simon Wiesenthal, journalist David Lee Preston and others have asserted that his role as a benefactor for surviving National Socialist interests goes much deeper, offering evidence that Genoud was no less than the principal financial manager of the hidden Swiss assets of the Third Reich after WW II,[2] and would use his banking contacts to set in motion networks that later became known as ODESSA, which sponsored evacuation of key Nazi leaders into Morocco, Spain and Latin America.

In 1958 he founded the Arab Commercial Bank, which would be active in lending money to Arab nationalist groups and as the chief repository for the Algerian National Liberation Front,[3] in Geneva in 1958, and in 1962 was named Director of the Arab People's Bank in Algiers.[4] He is also believed by Swiss authorities to have been the founder of Lugano-based al Taqwa Bank, which was shut down in 2002 for reputed status as a funding conduit for al Qaeda and Hamas.

Read it all here.

"Farther Down the Road to Hell"

The Smallest Minority posts an essay that presents a highly disturbing scenario for the country. Here is an excerpt:

The panel says the police could enter the home - with no suspicion whatsoever - because Lemus's living room "immediately adjoined" the place surrounding the arrest, but Buie only authorizes a suspicionless search when the police make an "in-home arrest" (and then only for a small area near the arrest, not a grand tour of the entire apartment). Here there was no in-home arrest. How do we know this? Because the opinion says so: After making the arrest, Longoria “sent” the patrol officers "in" to Lemus's apartment. Officers who are already inside an apartment don't need to be sent in.

The entire justification Buie gives for a warrantless search is that officers must be able to protect themselves when they perform an "in-home arrest." When an arrest doesn't take the police into a suspect's home, they aren't forced into the "confined setting of unknown configuration" that Buie worries about. They're outside, just the same as in an "on-the-street or roadside investigatory encounter." Yet "[e]ven in high crime areas, where the possibility that any given individual is armed is significant," the Court still requires "reasonable, individualized suspicion" before police can perform a search.

H/t to Western Rifle Shooters Association.

Do you get it yet?

Codrea: NRA Director Candidate Questionaire

This pretty much sums up one of the reasons many gun owners have difficulty with the NRA:

NRA Board of Director elections are once more upon us, although good luck finding out anything about it from their website that requires a video to explain how to find your way around. It's a nice looking site, very high tech, but good luck if you're on dial-up or have an older computer, or just want an intuitive way to navigate around and find things...

Good grief, I sound like I'm ready to start railing against "whippersnappers"...

Fortunately, I have my March 2010 issue of American Rifleman with the enclosed ballot and nominating committee recommendations. Right off, I see they're telling us to vote for, among others, Joaquin Jackson.

Read the whole thing here.

Mainstream Media Going Down; ABC, CBS Imploding

The day of reckoning apparently has arrived for the mainstream media. ABC and CBS have made major announcements today that indicate severe financial woes resulting in major shakeups in their news divisions.

Conservative Examiner has the story.

But as the liberal mainstream media implodes, conservative media explodes in popularity.