Obama, Clinton Implicated in Hsu Pyramid Scheme?

Norman Hsu, the disgraced Democratic fundraiser who was charged last year in a 60 million dollar pyramid or 'Ponzi' scheme, may haunt the careers of both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

As if the corruption scheme revolving around Rod Blagojevich weren't enough for Obama, the Hsu case threatens to further link the President-elect to fraud in the upcoming trial, according to documents obtained by The Smoking Gun.

Obama may be called to testify at Hsu's trial. At issue is a 2005 fundraiser for Obama that Hsu organized in California.

Federal prosecutors maintain that Hsu broke federal law by directing his investors to donate money to specific candidates, and then reimbursing them. Federal campaign laws forbid such a practice.

And before the trial is over, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama may prove to be key figures in Hsu's activity.

Second Amendment News Roundup for 12/4/07

Focusing on guns and politics, here is today's Second Amendment News Roundup:

The Bitch Girls have good news for concealed carry permit holders:
http://www.thebitchgirls.us/?p=7721

Nicki at The Liberty Zone takes the task one of the antis on the Second Amendment:
http://libertyzone.blogspot.com/2007/12/hone-your-own-grammar-lee.html

Armed and Safe contributes his own response to the numbskull mentioned in Nicki's post:
http://armedandsafe.blogspot.com/2007/12/freedom-is-obsolete.html

The War on Guns writes about 'false alternatives':
http://waronguns.blogspot.com/2007/12/false-alternatives.html

Traction Control has the ePostal Match results:
http://tractioncontrol.well-regulatedmilitia.org/?p=828

Tam reports that the Reverend Pat Robertson has attacked Fred Thompson:
http://booksbikesboomsticks.blogspot.com/2007/12/faith-of-our-fred.html

Say Uncle says that the NYT has an article on Robert Levy and the Heller case:
http://www.saysuncle.com/archives/2007/12/04/parkerheller_in_the_news/

Robb Allen at Sharp as a Marble writes about 'freedom parasites':
http://blog.robballen.com/archive/2007/12/04/Freedom-parasites.aspx

Snow Flakes in Hell has a very interesting post on 'cultural chauvinism':
http://www.snowflakesinhell.com/?p=2055

A Keyboard and a .45 blogs about Gibbs Brand firearm lubricant:
http://akeyboardanda45.blogspot.com/2007/12/gibbs-brand-lubricant.html

Alphecca has a post entitled, 'Fisking the San Francisco Chronicle':
http://www.alphecca.com/?p=555

Born Again Redneck provides thorough political commentary and analysis here:
http://bornagainredneck.blogspot.com/2007/12/romney-manchurian-candidate-without.html

Michelle Malkin has the scoop on the federal indictment of Norman Hsu in New York today, and yes, it impacts the Clinton campaign:
http://michellemalkin.com/2007/12/04/norman-hsu-indicted/

Right Wing Sparkle writes about the audacity of the Clinton campaign in claiming that Obama has 'an ethical problem':
http://rightwingsparkle.blogspot.com/2007/12/this-just-in-from-clinton-campaign.html

Fred's $8 Million

Early reports on Monday indicated that Fred Thompson had raised over $8 million dollars for his campaign during the third quarter. This has been confirmed by the Thompson campaign.

Thompson is still running behind his closest rivals, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney, when it comes to campaign cash. Romney continues to benefit from the use of his own private funds which he channels into his campaign.

Both Ron Paul and John McCain came on strong during the third quarter. Mr. Paul raised around $5 million and so did McCain. Yet McCain is reportedly $2 million bucks in the red. With his strong showing in the third quarter, however, he could yet be a force with which to be reckoned in the long run.

The mainstream media are sure to downplay the significance of Thompson's $8 million, just as they did when he announced he had raised $3.5 million before he had even announced as a candidate. After all, Thompson's campaign funds are dwarfed by those of Giuliani and Romney.

However, one must bear in mind that Thompson only announced during the first week of September. Fully two months of the third quarter had passed before he jumped into the race. This means, of course, that the totals Giuliani and Romney have posted for the third quarter include all three months, not just one.

I believe it is fairly safe to say that it is highly doubtful that any Republican candidate has raised $8 million bucks in one month. This makes Thompson's totals all the more impressive.

Impressive, that is, until one begins to look at the totals raised by Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. The Democrats have out-raised the Republicans 2-to-1 so far.

Thompson has some serious catching up to do in order to be competitive in the general election against Hillary or Obama.

But then, let's not forget to bear in mind the all-important question, how much of that money the top two Democrats are raising is 'dirty money' funded by sleazy pyramid schemes in the murky world of corrupt political fundraisers?

And even more importantly than that, when will the mainstream media begin treating Norman Hsu as the Democrats' Jack Abramoff?

Second Amendment News Roundup for 9/27/07

Scroll down for the news:

Images courtesy of A Human Right.

Focusing on guns and politics, here is today's Second Amendment News Roundup:

Mike McCarville is reporting today that U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, R-Oklahoma, is the one who single-handedly stopped H.R. 2640 dead in its tracks. McCarville has the scoop on Coburn's objections to the bill:
http://wwwtmrcom.blogspot.com/2007/09/coburn-stops-gun-control-bill.html

Armed and Safe reports that a store clerk in Chicago successfully defended himself in a robbery, and may well go to jail for it:
http://armedandsafe.blogspot.com/2007/09/chicago-store-clerk-successfully.html

Alphecca posts a few comments on the Democratic snoozer, I mean debate, last evening:
http://www.alphecca.com/?p=450

Blonde Sagacity reports that the Far Left has finally found the perfect anti-war protester--a U.S. serviceman who is returning all his medals:
http://mobyrebuttal.blogspot.com/2007/09/they-far-left-found-their-guy-real-live.html

Cap'n Bob and the Damsel provide interesting commentary on the D.C. gun challenge, via Bob Levy in the Legal Times:
http://capnbob.us/blog/2007/09/27/the-dc-gun-challenge/

Of Arms and the Law has the story of a California councilman who breaks the state's gun laws and then discusses it on the radio:
http://armsandthelaw.com/archives/2007/09/councilman_brea.php

Oscar Poppa provides a very informative post today on concealed carry references:
http://oscarpoppa.us/?p=684

Surrounded by a gang of thugs. When you see the pic of the 'distinguished' Senators gathered around to praise ATF Director Michael Sullivan at his confirmation hearing, then you will agree with Ryan Horsley's assessment that this bodes ill for gun owners:
http://redstradingpost.blogspot.com/2007/09/anti-gun-senators-praise-atf-director.html

Unbelievable. Say Uncle says it is now a felony for residents of Tennessee to cross state lines to buy tobacco to avoid the state's taxes. Buy some smokes, and go to jail. They even have such persons 'under surveillance':
http://www.saysuncle.com/archives/2007/09/27/buy_smokes_go_to_jail/

Sharp as a Marble posts the story of a handicapped man who fends off robbers with a gun:
http://blog.robballen.com/archive/2007/09/27/Come-on.-We-know-the-real-reason-you-have-a.aspx

Home invasions are some of the most frightening events in the world of crime. Victims are often shocked into a frozen state. But Sharp as a Marble posts this story of a man in Florida who defended his home against home invaders:
http://blog.robballen.com/archive/2007/09/27/St.-Petersburg-man-shoots-home-invader.aspx

This is a MUST-read. National Review shows us why biofuels is a dangerous solution to pollution and energy needs:
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YzBlOGRhNmI4MTZjNGE3ZGVhYjViYWI4NzU3OTY3ZDE=

Bob Parks of Black and Right gives this example of how Moveon.org directly influences the mainstream media, in this case MSNBC in an interview with U.S. Representative Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee:
http://blackandright.mensnewsdaily.com/2007/09/27/msnbcs-shuster-hit-by-own-sandbag/

The Captain's Quarters says that the Norman Hsu-Democratic Party-dirty money scandal just keeps getting deeper and deeper. This time Nebraska politician Bob Kerrey, the Democrat who is expected to run for Chuck Hagel's seat, is implicated:
http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/013845.php

You have GOT to see this one! Snow Flakes in Hell perfectly describes how most of us feel on the subject of blogging:
http://www.snowflakesinhell.com/?p=1596

The Bitch Girls blog on the systemic corruption of politics in New Jersey, corruption that has reached epic proportions:
http://www.thebitchgirls.us/?p=7432

The site 'ATF Abuse' has an excellent analysis on institutional perjury within the BATFE. This is well-worth the time and effort to read thoroughly. References are provided at the end of the piece:
http://www.atfabuse.com/atfabuse-1.html

In case you missed it, Mr. Completely has posted the complete schedule of events for the Gun Bloggers Rendezvous in Reno, Nevada coming up beginning Oct. 11:
http://mrcompletely.blogspot.com/2007/09/rendezvous-event-schedule.html

Nicki at The Liberty Zone blogs on the subject of Rudy on guns (along with an 'interesting' pic of Rudy in drag):
http://libertyzone.blogspot.com/2007/09/john-lott-giuliani-bobs-and-weaves-on.html

A Keyboard and a .45 writes about the safe handling of firearms:
http://akeyboardanda45.blogspot.com/2007/09/handling-firearms.html

What If: Thoughts on Dems' Campaigns So Far

To hear the pundits and major politicians call it, one would think the Democratic race for the Party's Presidential nomination is over. Both President Bush and Newt Gingrich, along with countless politicos, have stated definitively that Hillary Clinton will be the nominee.

Certainly this would be the most plausible scenario. From the very start the Democratic nomination has been Hillary's to lose. She has been planning for this moment at least as far back as the end of her husband's second term, and many claim this has been her dream since her days as a lawyer in Arkansas.

While we tend to agree with the conventional wisdom that Hillary will receive her coronation at the Democratic Convention next summer, there are some significant landmines that could blow up her face at any moment, thus sending the conventional wisdom downward in a deathly tailspin.

Several campaign finance scandals lurk just behind her in the shadows, the latest being the Norman Hsu-ponzi scheme to use the illegal 'pyramid' technique to raise millions of dollars that would be donated to Hillary's Senate and Presidential campaigns in the names of thousands of donors who would contribute nothing from their own pockets.

The thing that adds shock-value to the story is that Hsu had been a fugitive from justice for nearly 15 years--a decade and a half during which Hsu played cozy with the Clintons while developing further illegal schemes to pad their pockets with dirty campaign cash.

Further, a man by the name of Peter Franklin Paul, a former crony of Bill and Hillary Clinton, filed a civil fraud lawsuit against the Clintons claiming that both committed felonies in agreeing to a massive $17 million dollar deal in which the Clintons would promote Paul's entertainment company in exchange for stock, cash options, and large contributions to Hillary Clinton's 2000 Senatorial campaign.

Paul introduced a videotape which he claims is evidence that the Clintons engaged in illegal activity, which includes Bill Clinton allegedly destroying Paul's entertainment company in order to get out of the $17 million dollar deal.

The video also allegedly shows that Hillary Clinton had direct knowledge and input into a Hollywood fundraiser organized by Paul at which Hillary was seen and heard engaging in direct solicitation of campaign funds in excess of the $25,000 per person limit--a clear violation of federal campaign finance laws.

This particular case went to trial in the California Court of Appeals, Second Appellate District, two weeks ago. A ruling will be issued in 90 days.

The sleaze factor has always been a ticking time-bomb for Hillary Clinton, as any number of scandals both large and small have the potential for blowing up in her face at any moment in time.

So far she has remained relatively unscathed. If she continues to escape personal culpability in the scandals swirling around her, there is no reason to believe she will not sail to the nomination. The speculation begins at the point that one of these scandals torpedoes the Clinton campaign into oblivion. What then?

It would be much too easy to discount the strength of Barack Obama. While Obama's problems as a candidate begin to multiply if he makes it to the general election, those problems are no problem for most Democratic Party activists, who would likely hand him the nomination in the event that Hillary implodes.

He rings all the right bells for the Party faithful, particularly the powerful leftwing. He is anti-war, pro-abortion, anti-gun, and he has rolled out a trillion dollar tax increase to pay for socialized medicine and a myriad of programs that will vastly expand the scope and size of government.

If Hillary falters, expect the Dems to turn to Obama. If she prevails, he will likely be her running mate.

Cuban Communist dictator Fidel Castro knighted the 'dream ticket' last month as he gave his blessing to such a pairing, stating it would be good for America and good for Cuba.

If, however, Obama turns out to be the nominee, look for someone like Bill Richardson to be chosen as running mate in order to provide balance to the ticket. As it stands now Richardson is a long shot for the nomination, but his stock rises in the event that Hillary is forced to drop out of the race. The Dems could well turn to him instead of Obama, although at this point we do not see that happening.

As for the rest in the Democrats' field of candidates, for all intents and purposes they can fold up their tents and head home. We see no reason for hope at this point for Dodd, Edwards, Biden, Kucinich, or Gravel. And the time is growing short. January 1 will mark the beginning of the primary season in America.

Thus, it is do or die time. Unless one of the dark horses in the race exhibits a miraculous up-surge in support and campaign cash in the final quarter of 2007, we can look for at least five of these candidates to begin dropping by the wayside.

But there is still that nagging question concerning Hillary--what if?

'Hillary the Hutt' Dirty Money Scandal Deepens

We at The Liberty Sphere, missing no opportunity to keep sly and stealthy politicians on their toes, have designated Hillary Clinton as 'Hillary the Hutt,' the female version of the Star Wars character 'Jabba the Hutt.' Hillary's reference to Vice-President Dick Cheney as 'Darth Vader' prompted the designation.

Here is The Liberty Sphere's original article:
http://thelibertysphere.blogspot.com/2007/09/darth-vader-cheney-vs-hillary-hutt.html

With each passing day the dirty money scandal revolving around Hillary the Hutt and Norman Hsu, the Democrats' equivalent to Jack Abramoff, grows deeper. But you would never know it by listening exclusively to mainstream media news sources, which to this day have given only scant attention to the scandal.

This is in stark contrast to the Jack Abramoff scandal involving a few Republican lawmakers, which dominated the mainstream media news outlets for weeks.

Thursday we learned that Norman Hsu, who illegally bankrolled dozens of major Clinton donors, is facing charges in New York in a $60 million dollar 'Ponzi scheme' and engaging in widespread campaign finance violations.

A 'Ponzi scheme' is the practice of setting up a phony business to serve as the engine from which to raise millions of dollars for political campaigns. In Hsu's case, it was a phony apparel business in New York.

Hsu pressured the investors in his business to donate funds to various candidates of his choice, and then asked them to pressure their families and friends to make similar donations.

Another such business set up by Hsu involved a Madison Avenue private equity fund. According to the Wall Street Journal, investors in the fund were asked to make donations to the Presidential campaign of Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Sources close to the case told the Wall Street Journal that, in spite of the fact that the private equity fund was not named specifically in the case against Hsu in New York, the fund is in all likelihood 'Source Financing Investors' which is managed by Joel Rosenman, one of the organizers of the Woodstock Rock Music Festival in 1969.

The Journal also reports that Rosenman and Hsu have a long-term business relationship.

In short, these schemes were set up so that individual contributors could donate to the campaigns of Hillary Clinton and other Democratic candidates without a penny coming out of their pockets. The donors would be reimbursed from Hsu's stash of illegal cash.

According to federal law, it is illegal to donate to a political campaign in someone else's name, which is exactly what Hsu is charged with doing.

It goes without saying that all of this is adding up to one big legal problem for Hillary the Hutt and husband Bill 'Cigars' Clinton.

Second Amendment News Roundup for 9/20/07

Scroll down for the news:

Images courtesy of A Human Right.

Focusing on guns and politics, here is today's Second Amendment News Roundup:

The Bitch Girls blog on the question, when is a gun not a gun?:
http://www.thebitchgirls.us/?p=7405

Say Uncle provides an update on the Colt CCO who was body slammed by a police officer for lawfully carrying a concealed weapon:
http://www.saysuncle.com/archives/2007/09/20/results/

Say Uncle also says that sales of those 'Triangle of Death' t-shirts he had manufactured are not going well, to say the least. Now, get on over there to Say Uncle, buy one of those t-shirts, and wear it proudly:
http://www.saysuncle.com/archives/2007/09/20/disappointing-3/

David Hardy at Of Arms and the Law reports that the Joyce Foundation has been 'buying off' various organizations. Now it seems they have bought the International Association of Chiefs of Police:
http://armsandthelaw.com/archives/2007/09/joyce_foundatio_9.php

Nicki at The Liberty Zone provides a stirring excerpt from her autobiography, which describes how she came to cherish the right to keep and bear arms. My friends, if ever there were something you need to read, it is this:
http://libertyzone.blogspot.com/2007/09/follow-this-logic.html

Nicki also provides this warning concerning the ominous Philadelphia District Attorney, Lynne Abraham:
http://libertyzone.blogspot.com/2007/09/abraham-pleads-for-tougher-gun-laws.html

Wow. The War on Guns is reporting the DC has backed off its position that the 2nd Amendment is not an individual right and is now propounding the concept that a handgun ban does not violate the Amendment so long as citizens can own other guns:
http://waronguns.blogspot.com/2007/09/dc-admitting-2a-individual-right.html

The War on Guns also has this nightmare scenario that shows the consequences of gun free schools:
http://waronguns.blogspot.com/2007/09/another-benefit-of-gun-free-schools.html

In addition, the War on Guns posts a disturbing bit of evidence from the DOJ that documenting gun purchases by persons of Arab descent is a violation of their civil rights, but NOT a violation of others' rights (why am I not surprised?):
http://waronguns.blogspot.com/2007/09/inshallah.html

Snow Flakes in Hell has some great comments today on Rudy Giuliani and the NRA. Read with an open mind and THINK!:
http://www.snowflakesinhell.com/?p=1559

Armed and Safe says that great progress has been made on pro-Second Amendment counties in Illinois (the counties are passing resolutions affirming the 2nd Amendment to counter the Chicago-area gun-grab):
http://armedandsafe.blogspot.com/2007/09/lots-of-progress-on-pro-second.html

Blogonomicon posts a vintage Marlin gun ad from the 1940s....neat!:
http://blogonomicon.blogspot.com/2007/09/wednesday-vintage-gun-ad-1940s-marlin.html

Red's Trading Post has a MUST-read today. Long-time agents of the BATFE, who once may have been 'Mr. Nice Guy' for gun-dealers, are now following orders from above and are seeking to shut down gun shops. Read it all here:
http://redstradingpost.blogspot.com/2007/09/so-much-for-mr-nice-guy.html

Sharp as a Marble writes about a school teacher left defenseless against her abusive husband, on whom she had a restraining order, because of the school's gun-free policy:
http://blog.robballen.com/archive/2007/09/20/Oh-I-didnt-realize-it-was-that-easy.aspx

Traction Control issues an urgent alert to stop the 'Dream Act,' the backdoor, under-the-table method Senators have devised to resurrect the 'Immigration Reform-Amnesty' measure that was defeated:
http://tractioncontrol.well-regulatedmilitia.org/?p=607

Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership has the full scoop on the raid on Red's Trading Post:
http://www.jpfo.org/alert20070919.htm

Mike McCarville reports that a new Zogby-Reuters poll shows that public approval for Congress is down to a mere 11 percent. That's ELEVEN percent...the lowest in history. President Bush's approval stands at 29%:
http://wwwtmrcom.blogspot.com/2007/09/poll-finds-low-approval-for-bush-lower.html

McCarville also says that today U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe, R-Oklahoma, minced no words in ripping into Moveon.org and expressing support for General Petraeus:
http://wwwtmrcom.blogspot.com/2007/09/inhofe-supports-petraeus-rips-moveonorg.html

The editors of National Review, the great publication founded by William F. Buckley, Jr., have an editorial on Hillary Clinton's national healthcare proposal:
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZDAwMWM3MThiMzI3YmQ4OTdmYzY2ZWU2ODU3NDY1MGE=

World Net Daily is reporting that Republican Presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee won a significant straw poll:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=57708

Alphecca points to some common sense concerning gun rights and the state of New Jersey:
http://www.alphecca.com/?p=431

Front Sight, Press gives us a peek into the fantasyland in which many antis live:
http://www.snubnose.info/wordpress/tactics/fantasyland-by-john-farnam/

My friends, it's time to take a break from guns and politics in order to offer a prayer for one of our own. Xavier requests our prayers for him and his son today. His son is having surgery. You got it, buddy!:
http://xavierthoughts.blogspot.com/2007/09/in-family.html

Unbelievable. Simply unbelievable. John Lott says that the Washington Post, in responding to a statement by Fred Thompson, actually claims that the Soviet Union lost more soldiers in fighting for other people's liberty than any other nation on earth. Damn. You wanna run that by me again?:
http://johnrlott.tripod.com/2007/09/soviet-union-lost-more-soilders.html

Michelle Malkin is reporting that the plot thickens in the saga of the Hillary Clinton-Norman Hsu dirty money scandal. Hsu now faces charges in New York:
http://michellemalkin.com/2007/09/20/the-democrats-bundles-of-straw/

Malkin also says that the vote on the so-called 'Dream Act'--another amnesty bill--will take place TOMORROW in the Senate. She also has an update on which side the Senators will vote:
http://michellemalkin.com/2007/09/20/shamnesty-watch-act-on-the-dream-act/

Gun Law News reports an update in the Heller DC case and provides a link to more info. Go check it out:
http://www.gunlawnews.org/News/heller092007-2.html

As most of you know by now, my favorites are Duncan Hunter and Fred Thompson. But this sort of makes me want to vote for Ron Paul. Enjoy:
http://www.blogstitution.com/?p=91

Second Amendment News Roundup for 9/17/07

Focusing on guns and politics, here is today's Second Amendment News Roundup:

Alphecca has news that more Alabamans are arming themselves these days:
http://www.alphecca.com/?p=420

Alphecca also has this to say about Fred Thompson on the subject of gun control:
http://www.alphecca.com/?p=418

In addition, Alphecca reminds us that today is Constitution Day:
http://www.alphecca.com/?p=421

Blonde Sagacity has this to say about gun laws:
http://mobyrebuttal.blogspot.com/2007/09/gun-laws.html

The McCarville Report shows us the evidence that the new mantra of the Democratic Left is that 'all Republicans are crooks':
http://wwwtmrcom.blogspot.com/2007/09/new-mantra-all-republicans-are-crooks.html

Xavier Thoughts has the intriguing saga of a doctor who isn't acting like a doctor. And it points to a major problem in the U.S. in allowing droves of foreign medical students into our schools of medicine:
http://xavierthoughts.blogspot.com/2007/09/what-doesnt-add-up.html

Front Sight, Press posts this interesting read on guns and crime in England:
http://www.snubnose.info/wordpress/rkba/guns-and-crime-in-england/

Front Sight, Press also presents this MUST-read on the new tactics of terrorists:
http://www.snubnose.info/wordpress/rkba/lessons-from-beslan/

JR at A Keyboard and a .45 further sheds light on this new phase of terrorism, that poses great risk for the most defenseless among us:
http://akeyboardanda45.blogspot.com/2007/09/back-in-january-i-commented-on.html

JR also has the link to the new manual on the 2007-2008 Texas Concealed Handgun Laws and Selected Statutes:
http://akeyboardanda45.blogspot.com/2007/09/texas-concealed-handgun-laws-and.html

Speaking of the new tactics of terrorists, I wrote four articles on this back in March and April of this year....scroll down for all the articles, the latest of which is posted first:
http://thelibertysphere.blogspot.com/search?q=school+bus+terrorism

For something a bit off topic, Blogonomicon has a vintage pipe ad from a newspaper in 1934. I like such things, being a connoisseur of the pipe myself, but I admit I have never tried Granger Tobacco. I prefer the smooth tobacco shop blends:
http://blogonomicon.blogspot.com/2007/09/sunday-vintage-pipe-ad-1934-granger.html

And for serious pipe connoisseurs, Cameron Bailey has THIS interesting piece of information:
http://www.cameron-bailey.com/2007/09/naspc.html

The Volokh Conspiracy posts vital information on new updates on the DC handgun and self-defense bans:
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2007_09_16-2007_09_22.shtml#1189997618

The Buckeye Firearms Association has today's update on media misunderstanding of concealed handgun license records:
http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/article3954.html

Buckeye also provides interesting reading on the challenges that lie before us in light of the Clinton Administration's order for the Treasury Department to crack down on federally licensed gun dealers in the early 1990s (and let's not forget that this man's wife has at least a 50-50 chance of becoming President in 2008!):
http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/article3955.html

John Lott gives us the reason why the mainstream media loves campaign finance reform regulations:
http://johnrlott.tripod.com/2007/09/new-op-ed-on-why-press-likes-campaign.html

Ryan Horsley of Red's Trading Post reports some good news. He has received assurances of a high level review of ATF abuses:
http://redstradingpost.blogspot.com/2007/09/spotlighting-atf-abuse.html

Say Uncle says it the way I like it. Yeah, what he said!:
http://www.saysuncle.com/archives/2007/09/17/hang_together/

Sharp as a Marble welcomes a new gun blogger to our ranks:
http://blog.robballen.com/archive/2007/09/17/New-gun-blog.aspx

If you haven't seen it already, Snow Flakes in Hell has a good post on guns in schools:
http://www.snowflakesinhell.com/?p=1527

The Bitch Girls report that Wyoming has a bison problem that calls for some help from hunters:
http://www.thebitchgirls.us/?p=7394

Nicki at The Liberty Zone blogs on the Miami police being given authority to carry 'assault' weapons:
http://libertyzone.blogspot.com/2007/09/only-ones-get-assault-weapons.html

The War on Guns has a news story that not only gets my shorts in a bunch but literally gripes my butt. Read it all here:
http://waronguns.blogspot.com/2007/09/now-this-really-grinds-my-gears.html

Ladies, if you will excuse me for a moment I will need to indulge myself in a bit of exaggerated admiration for the female body, compliments of Traction Control:
http://tractioncontrol.well-regulatedmilitia.org/?p=595

Oscar Poppa opines on the apparent new Attorney-General:
http://oscarpoppa.us/?p=662

Michelle Malkin has the latest update on Norman Hsu's bankrolling of the Hillary Clinton campaign, and just wait till you see what 'daddy warbucks' Norman did for the campaign staff!:
http://michellemalkin.com/2007/09/17/hill-bill-footed-by-hsu/

Evan Bayh Throws Down Gauntlet on '08 Election

U.S. Senator Evan Bayh, D-Indiana, threw down the gauntlet on the 2008 Presidential, Senatorial, and Congressional elections Sunday by stating that 'this will be a referendum on the Iraq War.'

The Senator's brief statement could well sum up the campaign strategy of the Democratic Party in 2008.

Sensing that Americans have assessed the failures of the Democratic Congress in fulfilling campaign promises in 2006, i.e., the shameless pork barrel spending and the failure to do something about earmarks, the corruption and scandal revolving around key Democratic members of Congress, and the failure of Democrats to unite on the subject of Iraq, apparently the Democrats have decided that the only way they can win is to run once again on the weaknesses of the Bush war plan in Iraq.

In describing the campaign strategy envisioned by the Democrats, Mr. Bayh stated that 'Americans want a change of direction and strategy in Iraq, and they sense that if they vote for Republicans they will be voting to continue the course set by President Bush.'

The thing that Mr. Bayh is describing is essentially a replay of the 2006 election strategy employed by the Democrats. They made the 2006 Congressional and Senatorial elections a referendum on the Iraq War, and they won.

They are hoping that lightening will strike twice in the same place.

It is essential, however, to consider one key variable. Despite the Democrats' insistence that the 2006 elections were all about the Iraq War, the 2006 elections were not all about the Iraq War.

The explanation that Republicans lost Congress due to the Iraq War is a rather simplistic one. In actuality, they lost because of several high-level scandals, the last of which occurred just weeks before the election, and because of the failure of Republicans to be real Republicans.

Jack Abramoff and Mark Foley hurt Republicans badly. And the voters decided that Republicans needed to be punished at the polls. This time, however, the Democrats are sorely mistaken if they think the voters will be any kinder to them in light of their own scandals, which are many. Norman Hsu waits in the wings to wreak havoc on any number of key Democrats, and he is only the tip of the iceberg.

Further, the Republican controlled Congress of 2004-06 dug its own grave by refusing to address out-of-control spending, which ran up huge budget deficits. Traditionally Republicans have insisted on balanced budgets and controlled government spending.

The fact that Republicans failed to be real Republicans cost them at the polls. As Republican Presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee states, 'Because of the fact that we did not deliver on our promises, the American people fired us.'

It is already abundantly clear that the Democratic Congress has failed to deliver on its promises. Can they really expect the American people to be any kinder to them than they were to Republicans in 2006?

These are key issues that could well tip the scales in favor of Republicans in 2008.

But the road is fraught with danger at every turn. The Iraq War will be a major issue for good or ill. Republicans cannot win by merely talking about the successes we have had, and it is abundantly clear that we have had many successes. And yes, we love our troops, and they have performed magnificently. However, we must go far beyond that.

Any Republican strategy for victory must acknowledge the failures of the Bush administration in conducting this war from 2002 until the summer of 2007. The surge has worked, but the things we were doing prior to 2007 were a recipe for disaster.

Further, a Republican strategy for victory must include a clearly stated objective with a clearly stated step-by-step plan to win this thing outright, and then gradually get the troops out.

More than likely, a winning Democratic strategy will involve the very same thing, though they would be loathe to admit it. And thus, the Republican and Democratic strategies will be more or less the same, with the expected differences in semantics.

The bottom line? The Republicans can win. And the odds are much more in their favor than Newt Gingrich's prediction of 80-20 odds in favor of the Democrats.

Second Amendment News Roundup for 9/12/07

Scroll down for the news:

Images courtesy of A Human Right.

Focusing on guns and politics, here is today's Second Amendment News Roundup:

The McCarville Report says that U.S. Senator Tom Coburn rips the Democratic-controlled Senate after it rejected his amendments to put bridge safety ahead of ear-marks:
http://wwwtmrcom.blogspot.com/2007/09/coburn-rips-senate-earmarks.html

The Jet Pilot alerts us to a high school in North Carolina that banned the American flag...even on September 11:
http://ajetpilot.blogspot.com/2007/09/high-school-bans-american-flag.html

A Keyboard and a .45 posts a timely reminder that gun owners and gun shop personnel are held to a very high standard of conduct when it comes to handling firearms. The failure to do so can end in tragedy:
http://akeyboardanda45.blogspot.com/2007/09/gun-discharges-in-shop.html

Alphecca has an update on former Broward County, Florida Sheriff Ken Jenne, who is now a convicted felon:
http://www.alphecca.com/?p=407

Cameron Bailey makes the excellent point that many of the terminally ill die in severe pain merely because of our society's irrational fear of narcotic pain killers ('Oh, my, we can't possibly give him THAT! We may make an addict of him before he dies in three days!'):
http://www.cameron-bailey.com/2007/09/fear-over-narcotics.html

Syd at Front Sight, Press, posts a thorough analysis of the microstamping mania in California:
http://www.snubnose.info/wordpress/news/microstamping-mania/

Oscar Poppa has this to say about Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson's gun-grab attempt:
http://oscarpoppa.us/?p=651

Say Uncle's regular segment on 'Chicks and Guns' points to a blog called 'The Hot Momma Revolution':
http://www.saysuncle.com/archives/2007/09/12/chicks_and_guns-10/

Sharp as a Marble blogs today on the subject of open carry:
http://blog.robballen.com/archive/2007/09/12/Open-carry-and-a-hot-ass.aspx

Snow Flakes in Hell has a great pic of what he bought at Red's Trading Post on National Exercise Your Rights Day on Aug. 28:
http://www.snowflakesinhell.com/?p=1515

The Bitch Girls report that Fred Thompson, Rudy Giuliani, Bill Richardson, and John McCain will be on hand for a major upcoming event. Read about it here:
http://www.thebitchgirls.us/?p=7379

Nicki at The Liberty Zone posts some cool photos of her latest ventures in her work for Uncle Sam in Kosovo:
http://libertyzone.blogspot.com/2007/09/some-cool-new-stuff.html

The War on Guns provides some very good reasons why Ted Olsen for Attorney-General bodes ill for gun owners:
http://waronguns.blogspot.com/2007/09/if-olson-is-frontrunner-what-place-will.html

John Lott has a late-breaking update on the debate in Iowa on campus police carrying guns:
http://johnrlott.tripod.com/2007/09/update-on-campus-police-carrying-guns.html

Michelle Malkin reports some EXPLOSIVE new information on the Hillary Clinton-Norman Hsu dirty money deal. It seems Hillary was pre-warned about Hsu, contrary to what she claims:
http://michellemalkin.com/2007/09/12/hillary-was-warned-about-hsu/

Melanie Phillips over in the U.K. posts a MUST-read concerning Britain's denial:
http://www.melaniephillips.com/articles-new/

Fred Suggests Hillary Slow on the Learning Curve

When the story broke last week of Norman Hsu, the Democrats' campaign funds con man and the Democratic equivalent to Jack Abramoff, Hillary Clinton pledged to give back to the donors roughly $25,000 or so in order to wash her hands of the dirty money.

Today, however, we find that Hillary plans to return over three quarters of a million in dirty campaign contributions from individuals who had been bankrolled by Hsu.

It took Hillary nearly a week to decide to return all of the dirty money--this despite the fact that the Hsu-initiated donations are a clear violation of federal campaign finance laws. After all, nearly a million bucks is quite a sum to come out of her campaign war chest, illegal or not.

But according to Republican Presidential candidate Fred Thompson, Hillary may be a bit slow on the learning curve when it comes to dirty money. It would seem that Fred has first-hand knowledge of 'the Clinton clasp' when it comes to questionable campaign funds.

Thompson was the Chair of the Senate investigation into Clinton ties to illegal Asian-American contributions to Bill's 1996 re-election campaign, as well as the Clintons' legal defense fund in 1996.

According to The Examiner, 'In March 1996, Bill and Hillary Clinton's legal defense fund accepted money from straw donors recruited by Yah Lin "Charlie" Trie. The Taiwan-born Democrat hand-delivered hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of checks and money orders in two manila envelopes to the defense fund.'

It was this discovery by Thompson's committee in 1996 that led Thompson to exclaim today, in an obvious rhetorical question to Hillary, 'Didn't you learn anything from Charlie Trie?'

Indeed, Senator. Apparently both Clintons are a bit slow on the learning curve when it comes to dirty campaign money. Even in a very important election campaign for the Clintons, Bill and Hillary are still up to their eyeballs in scandal revolving around questionable fundraising practices (a court case in California opened just this week on this matter) and illegal campaign contribution schemes.

That 'Clinton clasp' must involve a terrible case of sticky fingers, for Bill and Hillary find it awfully difficult to let go of ill-gotten gain that has anything to do with filthy lucre. One would think that, under normal conditions, people as intelligent as the Clintons would have learned their lesson long ago.

But corruption is not always an effective teacher. More often than not, when one heads down the slippery slope of winning at all costs, power-grabs that know no limits or ethical boundaries, and making shady deals with shadowy figures whose hands have shaken hands with the devil, there comes a point where there is no turning back.

One dirty deal leads to another, yet another, and still another, until finally the person involved has lost all contact with moral and ethical reality.

Is Hillary at that point?

No one can know for sure. What we do know, however, is that she has a penchant for associating herself with shady characters in the murky world of corrupt politics. And no matter how many times she comes close to losing it all over those dangerous liaisons, she always manages to do the same thing yet again.

So here we are in 2007 wondering why we are reconsidering the sleaze of 1996. It is all rather simple. Some people never learn.

Second Amendment News Roundup for 9/5/07

Scroll down for the news:

Images courtesy of A Human Right.

Focusing on guns and politics, here is today's Second Amendment News Roundup:

Ryan Horsley at Red's Trading Post says that the ATF has changed Form 4473, which is required for the purchase of a firearm:
http://redstradingpost.blogspot.com/2007/09/evolution-of-4473-form.html

Ryan also gives us some recent updates, including radio interviews where he has been a guest:
http://redstradingpost.blogspot.com/2007/09/interviews-and-updates.html

A Keyboard and a .45 has the story of two illegal aliens who have been arrested in a string of kidnappings in the Fort Worth area:
http://akeyboardanda45.blogspot.com/2007/09/more-attempted-kidnappings-in-fort.html

Sharp as a Marble presents the 'head-scratching' moment of the day concerning a new poll in Canada about gun control laws:
http://blog.robballen.com/archive/2007/09/05/Head-scratching-moment-of-the-day.aspx

The McCarville Report posts the news on a Democratic State Senator in Oklahoma who has now officially declared his candidacy to run against Republican U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe:
http://wwwtmrcom.blogspot.com/2007/09/rice-plans-u-s-senate-race-announcement.html

Alphecca comments on a Christian Science Monitor article about the ongoing feud between the NRA and the Brady gang:
http://www.alphecca.com/?p=388

Of Arms and the Law posts a very interesting study on disarmament during the Nazi period in Germany:
http://armsandthelaw.com/archives/2007/09/steve_halbrook_2.php

Say Uncle has quite a discussion going on the subject of the practice of some bloggers of deleting comments made by anti-gunners:
http://www.saysuncle.com/archives/2007/09/05/why_reasoned_discoursetm_matters/

Nicki at The Liberty Zone has had some surgery on her hand. But she is now back blogging again, albeit with only one 'paw' as she puts it. In this post, she says that the anti-gunners are fearful that the D.C. case being appealed to the Supreme Court will result in Chicago being next:
http://libertyzone.blogspot.com/2007/09/gun-banners-wring-hankies-at-thought-of.html

David Codrea at The War on Guns posts an interesting open letter to the 'Amendment II Democrats':
http://waronguns.blogspot.com/2007/09/open-letter-to-amendment-ii-democrats.html

Snow Flakes in Hell has a great read on the practice of grading politicians based on certain issues:
http://www.snowflakesinhell.com/?p=1475

Traction Control posts this on the upcoming Gun Bloggers' Rendezvous in Reno:
http://tractioncontrol.well-regulatedmilitia.org/?p=578

Michelle Malkin reports that the fugitive who bankrolled Hillary's campaigns failed to show in court for a bail hearing today and is officially MIA:
http://michellemalkin.com/2007/09/05/all-points-bulletin-where-in-the-world-is-norman-hsu-part-ii/

On a related note, John Lott asks the all-important question as to why the mainstream media isn't covering Norman Hsu as the Democrats' Jack Abramoff:
http://johnrlott.tripod.com/2007/09/why-isnt-press-covering-norman-hsu-as.html

The quintessential conservative icon, William F. Buckley, Jr., has this thought-provoking article on jobs, trade, and the Democrats:
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=M2FiNjNlMzk4ZDcwMzlhYjc1ZmZhODA3ZGNkZDhiZjQ=

We have often opined that ethanol is a bad idea because it cuts into the food supply and drives up the costs of everything--food in particular. The Volokh Conspiracy notes that ethanol is also bad for the water supply:
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2007_09_02-2007_09_08.shtml#1189016137

Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership has more on their campaign to repudiate and humiliate gun-grabbers in the U.S. who have patterned their gun control laws on the Nazi practices of 1930s Germany:
http://www.jpfo.org/alert20070905.htm

Gun Owners of America posts a new alert today stating that as the Senate reconvenes there is little hope of relief for gun owners in the new McCarthy-Leahy bill:
http://www.gunowners.org/a090507.htm

The Bitch Girls think they may have solved the D.C. crime problem, and the answer is in this telling photo:
http://www.thebitchgirls.us/?p=7361

Finally, our favorite intellectual, Walter Williams, professor of economics at George Mason University, has this MUST-read on economics and property rights:
http://www.gmu.edu/departments/economics/wew/articles/07/economicsandproperty.htm