California’s Brown has three days left to veto legislation on his desk that would ban the open carry of unloaded handguns. If he doesn’t, the ban becomes law.

I highly recommend that you read this Commencement Address by Steve Jobs given in 2005 at Stanford University. He was a modern day Edison, and I have fond thoughts of my old Apple 2+. Read the whole thing but here is my favorite from the conclusion:

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960′s, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Not one of the protesters on Wall Street — all unemployed and unaccomplished — will understand what Jobs is saying in his speech despite the fact that they are organizing their protests with technology developed by that evil capitalist, Steve Jobs.

As of (as I write this) a few minutes ago, Sarah Palin nixes 2012 run:

After much prayer and serious consideration, I have decided that I will not be seeking the 2012 GOP nomination for President of the United States. As always, my family comes first and obviously Todd and I put great consideration into family life before making this decision. When we serve, we devote ourselves to God, family and country. My decision maintains this order.

My decision is based upon a review of what common sense Conservatives and Independents have accomplished, especially over the last year. I believe that at this time I can be more effective in a decisive role to help elect other true public servants to office – from the nation’s governors to Congressional seats and the Presidency. We need to continue to actively and aggressively help those who will stop the “fundamental transformation” of our nation and instead seek the restoration of our greatness, our goodness and our constitutional republic based on the rule of law.

Good. I like Sarah. I really do. But, right now this country needs a very strong and experienced governor — one with more than a couple of years doing so in a sparsely populated state with few fiscal problems — to adjust the course of our nation and make the right decisions regarding creating a climate that will foster business and job creation. Forget the social issues. It really is the economy, stupid.

Interesting research reported by the National Post.

Georgia law prohibits carrying guns (concealed or not) into a house of worship. One local gun rights group there wants the decision to allow or prohibit guns left up to the individual religious institution. The suit is being brought by Georgia Carry and approaches the issue from a FIRST Amendment viewpoint. From the Atlantic Journal Constitution:

The question before a three-judge panel for the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta Thursday is whether Georgia’s prohibition on firearms in places of worship conflicts with the promise of religious freedom in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

[ . . . ]

GeorgiaCarry.org’s position includes the expected Second Amendment argument but it also cites freedom of religion protections promised in The Bill of Rights. The First Amendment argument is a novel approach to challenging a gun law. Only Georgia, Mississippi, Arkansas and North Dakota specifically prohibit firearms in churches, synagogues and mosques, according to court filings.

Georgia Carry says that the government should not interfere in the affairs of a church, including whether or not they allow the carrying in of firearms. They also point out that a few “church shootings” indicates the need for (or at least the right for) worshipers to be able to defend themselves and others.

I agree that the decision to allow (or not to permit) guns in a church, or business for that matter, should be at the discretion of that church or business.

Strike a blow for gun rights in the District of Columbia. From SFGate:

Washington, D.C.’s ban on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines doesn’t violate the constitutional rights of residents in the U.S. capital, a federal appeals court ruled.

The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington today also upheld registration requirements for handguns put in place after a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2008 ended the city’s almost total ban on firearms. The three-judge panel ordered a lower court to further review other aspects of Washington’s gun control law, such as its limits on multiple purchases.

The three judge panel voted 2-1 in favor of Washington, D.C. Judge Douglas Ginsburg, writing for the majority (PDF file):

“The District has carried its burden of showing a substantial relationship between the prohibition of both semi- automatic rifles and magazines holding more than 10 rounds, and the objectives of protecting police officers and controlling crime.”

I just got home from work and haven’t read the entire ruling to understand their rational. Perhaps — it wouldn’t be the first time — I’m off base here but, what about the objectives of protecting law abiding citizens? Shouldn’t they be able to own a firearm equal to any that someone(s) with criminal intent might assault them with? Even if the victim could reach his cell phone and dial 911, he’d still be a statistic by the time the cops arrived.

The average response time of the D.C. cops to a 911 call? For “Priority One” calls — the highest priority, well, read it for yourself:

The statistics, contained in the department’s fiscal 2005 budget performance report, show that the average response time for the highest-priority calls — Priority 1 — was 8 minutes, 25 seconds in fiscal 2003, up from 7 minutes, 19 seconds in fiscal 2002 and 7 minutes, 47 seconds in fiscal 2001.

That’s the most recent reference I could quickly find. Let us assume that nothing has changed and use the figure of eight minutes response time to an emergency — “Priority One” — call. You’re being attacked in your home, your car, your front yard. The thugs have guns. It’s you against many. We don’t know how any scenario would actually play out until it’s over and the coroner arrives but, would the potential victim be better off with a handgun magazine containing only 10 bullets, or with one containing — for example — 21?

Remember the slogan of the N.Y. Times? “You don’t have to read it all but it’s nice to know that it’s all there.” You hope you never have to use the fire-extinguisher hanging on the wall of your kitchen but isn’t it nice to know it’s there? You don’t have to fire all 21 rounds from your Glock but, isn’t it nice to know that you could, if your life depended upon it?

When a bunch of thugs attack you and each has a gun with at least 10-rounds in it, wouldn’t you like to have more than 10-rounds in your own defensive weapon? The firearm that you are holding is all that defends you and your family from these probably murderous criminals.

Getting back to Ginsburg’s ruling, the objective of the Second Amendment isn’t about protecting police per se but rather about the ability of the citizen to protect him/herself and their family, their property, from thugs in D.C. . . or, an out-of-control federal government also well armed.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

In 2007, Charles Williams was “spotted” by a police officer hiding something in the bushes after “rummaging” through his backpack. The cop found a gun. Williams said he was merrily transporting it from his home to his girlfriend’s home. He was arrested for not having a concealed weapons permit. He lost at the local and State Supreme Court levels despite his (logical to me) claims that Maryland’s CCW permit laws are too restrictive. Anyway, he appealed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. From the CS Monitor:

The US Supreme Court on Monday turned down the appeal of a Maryland man who said the state’s restrictive gun-permit law violated his constitutional right to carry a firearm in public for self defense.

The case, Williams v. Maryland, was being closely followed because it might have set the stage for another potential landmark Second Amendment decision by the high court.

The justices did not explain why they rejected the appeal, but the action does not end the possibility of a gun-rights case reaching the court this term. The Supreme Court is awaiting briefs in at least one other gun case, and several other Second Amendment cases are working their way to the Supreme Court.

More background in the article at the link.

The Russian Army might not be buying them anymore but there are still piles of them in warehouses according to this report:

Both the army’s stockpiles and factory warehouses are overflowing with all versions of the rifles, as are the country’s armories. According to Russian experts, the stockpiles would supply several armies the size of Russia’s in addition to all the world’s armies combined. General Nikolai Makarov, the chief of the General Staff of Russia’s Armed Forces, indirectly corroborated those estimates several days ago.

Well heck, send me one.

I know; that’s redundant. Remember The Coffee Party? Neither do we. Neither does Dionne because yesterday he wrote:

Why hasn’t there been a tea party on the left?

As Politico reported last Spring, the Coffee Party has pretty much fallen apart.

Why? Probably because the Obama administration and (until last January) a Congress completely controlled by liberal Democrats prove to everyone in the Country that liberalism is a failing ideology. It doesn’t work.

Time Magazine has compiled a list of the Top 10 Haunted House Movies.

Bother! I haven’t seen most of these movies but, their first one, actually the hotel in The Shining is a good choice. The others don’t seem all that scary.

Anyway, how could they possibly leave out The House on Haunted Hill starring the camera-mugging Vincent Price? No home is complete without skeletons on guide-wires, a vat of acid in the basement, and ceilings dripping blood.

They didn’t include The Amityville Horror, either.

I also remember a silly horror movie from — the ’60’s? — called The 13 Ghosts, I think. I haven’t seen that movie in a million years but I remember wishing that I lived in that house. I’m weird that way.

The house featured in the original movie version of And Then There Were None by the great mystery author, Agatha Christie — granted not actually a haunted house — was a totally creepy one, isolated on an island off the British coast with the guests being bumped-off one-by-one. Note that the original movie version was very good but did not end as the novel ended. Enjoy the movie and then buy the book and enjoy that as well.

It’s almost just an addendum to his column at Investors.com today about how liberals are finally realizing that Obama is an incompetent fool. It’s what all of us in the pro-2A field have said for some time as the scandal unfolds. But, as always, Steyn has a way with words:

It is alleged that the administration chose to facilitate the sale of American weapons to crime kingpins south of the border in order to support a case for gun control north of the border. Evidence keeps piling up:

The other day, a letter emerged from ATF supervisor David Voth authorizing Special Agent John Dodson to buy Draco pistols to sell directly to known criminals. Over 200 Mexicans are believed to have been killed by “Fast and Furious” weapons — that is to say, they were killed by a U.S. government program.

Doesn’t the New York Times care about dead Mexicans? Doesn’t Newsweek or CBS News? Isn’t Obamaism with a body-count sufficiently eye-catching even for the U.S. press? Or, three years in, are the enablers of Obama still so cynical that they accept it as a necessary price to pay for “change you can believe in”? You can’t make a hopenchange omelette without breaking a couple hundred Mexican eggs?

Naturally — especially since it’s Steyn — read the whole thing.

Update: CBS News has newly released documents that further implicate the White House. As the press used to ask back when a Republican occupied the Oval Office: What did they know and when did they know it?

From NewsMax:

Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry has a new web video out titled “What to Do on a Day Off.” It starts with a little shooting. “I don’t play golf. This is my golf. I come out to LaRue Tactical,” Perry says in the video. He’s referring to shooting sniper rifles at LaRue Tactical, a Texas weapons maker, and the video shows him aiming and firing.

Nothing wrong with that and the fact that it might cause the coastal elitist liberals to piss-their-pants is a bonus.

Over at Fox News, John Lott Jr. castigates the media:

The New York Times even editorialized this month about the Supreme Court’s “unwise” decision that there is a right for people “to keep guns in the home.”

But Armageddon never happened. Newly released data for Chicago shows that, as in Washington, murder and gun crime rates didn’t rise after the bans were eliminated — they plummeted. They have fallen much more than the national crime rate.

Not surprisingly, the national media have been completely silent about this news.

Read the whole op-ed.

Good for them. From Fox News:

Residents had asked for the change, saying no one obeyed the limit anyway, and their widespread disregard for the current limit hastened the bill’s passage.

“Up here, we’re isolated,” said Rick Castonguay, a real estate broker in Presque Isle. “Going down that stretch of the interstate, it’s pretty straight. It’s trees, trees, trees. You can literally sit on that road, set your cruise control and watch the trees go by.”

The new 75 mph zone covers an approximately 110-mile stretch of road between Old Town, which is a few miles north of Bangor, and Houlton. The higher limit sets Maine apart from other eastern states, none of which lets drivers go that fast.

Now, will New Hampshire and Vermont follow suit on 89 and 91? Probably not. Tickets are a valuable source of revenue for both states and the residents (all of whom do 70-75 mph themselves on them) would never gripe about the reality of the situation. Actually, in Vermont, most drivers don’t stray above 70 as the staties are pretty aggressive if you’re over 6-7 mph over the limit.

One thing I love when I go to visit my parents in Massachusetts: My route takes me from 89 to 93/Everett/3 in New Hampshire. On 89, most drivers stay about 70 mph or so (the limit is mostly 65 except in the cities). When you turn onto 93/Everett — gradually accelerate to 75. When you hit the Massachusetts border, where the speed limit drops to 55, just keep the car going at 75 or more if you’re in the right-hand lane or you’ll be run over. And no, you won’t be given a ticket. Mass Cops are clever enough to know better than to ticket someone for keeping up with everyone else and — therefore — by not driving 55, not causing a traffic hazard by forcing everyone else to change lanes and pass you.

Of course, the best of all “breaking the limits” has to be the Cross Bronx Expressway in NYC. Speed limit is 55. Minimum speed for any sane driver is 85. And, no; you won’t get a ticket even when you pass a couple NYPD chatting in the center medium; there’s no place for them (no breakdown lane, solid walls at the edge of the right lanes) to pull you over, and if they dared and actually did, they’d have traffic backed-up into New Jersey or Connecticut. They’re way smarter than that.

Gosh Darn, No! Don’t you dare use that Mastercard Debit Card from your bank (if it’s Bank of America) to actually buy something with your own money since besides making a percentage of the sale of it from the merchant — which is proper — BofA will now charge you for it as well. From Fox News:

Bank of America Corp plans to charge customers who use their debit cards to make purchases a $5 monthly fee beginning early next year, joining other banks scrambling for new sources of revenue.

Read the whole thing and you’ll discover that, yes, the cause of it all is caused by — who else? — the Democrats.

But, will Ontario do the same? Anyway, More on what’s happening North of the border.

The Obama administration just won’t relent in its pursuit of destroying jobs in America and making it nearly impossible for an American company to prosper. From the Nashville Business Journal:

Federal authorities are pressuring Nashville-based Gibson Guitar Gibson Guitar Latest from The Business Journals Feds to Gibson: Hand over more woodGibson cancels press conference on Fiji woodGibson cancels press conference on Fiji wood Follow this company to hand over an additional 25 bundles of Indian wood that the company allegedly planned to use in its famous guitars.

The complaint was filed today in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee and mirrors a 2010 action that sought official forfeiture of wood obtained in a 2009 raid of Gibson facilities. The latter of those cases has been stayed, pending the outcome of the most recent suit.

Is it time for a new Revolution yet?

I’m not really following this but, if you are, here’s the latest:

Glock Inc.’s former general counsel goes to trial Oct. 24 in Cobb County Superior Court on theft and racketeering charges related to allegations that he misappropriated millions of dollars from the international firearms maker.

This is more about embezzlement than anything else.

The White House can deny it all that they want but, they knew about it. Even Mexico is starting to realize that. From the Cypress Times:

President Barack Obama appears to be getting it from all sides regarding a government snafu dubbed Operation Fast and Furious. Besides both houses of the U.S. Congress and a number of public-interest groups investigating what is being characterized as a rogue federal law enforcement operation, Mexico’s attorney general is infuriated over the allegations that the U.S. was behind the smuggling of weapons into Mexico that ended up killing her countrymen.

As blogger-types like me are wont to say, read the whole thing.

It sucks being them:

Despite increases in gun sales, gun crimes continued to decrease in the United States for the fourth straight year in 2010, according to the FBI.

The FBI recently released its Crime in The United States statistics for 2010. Overall, murders in the U.S. have decreased steadily since 2006, dropping from 15,087 to 12,996. Firearms murders — which made up 67 percent of all murders in the U.S. in 2010 — have followed this trend, decreasing by 14 percent.

At the same time that firearms murders were dropping, gun sales were surging. In 2009, FBI background checks for guns increased by 30 percent over the previous year, while firearms sales in large retail outlets increased by almost 40 percent. The number of applications for concealed carry permits jumped across the country as well.

And remember, this is happening at a time when the economy is absolutely terrible, and unemployment is way-up. Which means that there are a lot of desperate folks out there needing food and rent money and yet — they aren’t turning to crime.

Well GOSH, Jeff, why? Firstly, because most people are basically decent and have a sense of morals. Secondly, maybe, and this is just a thought, it’s because those who might be tempted to crime know full well that the odds between the thugs and the law-abiding are becoming equal as more citizens are allowed to enjoy their natural right to self-defense.