Interviewed Gun Control Activist is a Convicted Rapist

Jerome McCorry-- Convicted Rapist and Anti-gun Activist (I wonder when he'll get a Presidential citation...)

Life is now falling completely into the surreal.

From Daniel Greenfield at Frontpagemag.com (h/t Instapundit):

Jerome McCorry organized a protest against a gun show, claiming that the gun show made it too easy to buy guns. Why did that worry him? Perhaps because because the easy availability of guns might have made his career as a rapist more dangerous.

Outside of Bill Goodman’s Gun and Knife Show, people were protesting the sale of assault weapons. Those are the guns which the proposed bill would ban inside Hara Arena.

“We know that guns are being sold on the floor inside Hara Arena illegally” said Jerome McCorry. “No background checks no identification of any kind.”

McCorry said “AK-47s and M16s are not gonna be used for hunting, they’re not going to be used to protect anybody. These are the weapons that are coming back and being used in mass murders and mass killings.”

And Jerome is an expert on what kind of guns can be used to protect someone, since he is the kind of guy that people buy guns to protect against.

But according to him, you don’t need an AK-47 or M16 to stop him from raping you. It’s just overkill. When Jerome bursts into your bedroom, you don’t need that much firepower, says the guy bursting into your bedroom.

Senator Feinstein needs to bring Jerome down to D.C. as an expert witness so he can testify on just how much firepower a woman needs to defend herself from him. And maybe Piers Morgan can have him on too.

Hmm.

Apparently, WHIO who gave Jerome McCorry his press time are aware of his rapist past... but now he's a peace activist or something. Way to go WHIO of Ohio.

Maybe in the interest of fairness they should disclose the fact that McCorry is a convicted rapist. Lemme think here... nah. What would that prove?

GDP Shows "Surprise" Drop in US

"If only the rest of America was as smart as I-- or is it me? Never mind. You know who I mean!"

Another "unexpected" development.

From the AP:

The U.S. economy posted a stunning drop of 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter, defying expectations for slow growth and possibly providing incentive for more Federal Reserve stimulus.
The economy shrank from October through December for the first time since the recession ended, hurt by the biggest cut in defense spending in 40 years, fewer exports and sluggish growth in company stockpiles.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that the economy contracted at an annual rate of 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter. That's a sharp slowdown from the 3.1 percent growth rate in the July-September quarter.

The surprise contraction could raise fears about the economy's ability to handle tax increases that took effect in January and looming spending cuts [emphasis mine].

Gotta love the AP. Hey, this all sets up a great incentive for spendapalooza the sequel. I mean sure the first stimulus was a dismal failure that managed to spend $1 trillion and netted basically a 0% change in unemployment-- if you don't count under employment of course.

The shrinking of the economy is pretty much a surprise for only academic Leftists and people who deny the existence of European and South American economic policies. Congrats Barack!

Pics of the Pro-Gun Rights Rally in Salem OR. January 19, 2013

All of us were right out on the steps of the capitol and the crowd overflowed out across the street. My wife and I arrived about half-an-hour after the rally began, but there were still a lot of people there despite the cold. Both, my wife and I are both pretty bad at estimating crowds, but we both thought there were at least 500 people attending.

The crowd had a very positive feeling about it. People were obviously upset about the recent attacks on the 2nd Amendment and their rights to keep and bear arms, but no one was out-of-control, unreasonable, nor angry. My wife is black, and she, of course, received no ill-treatment of any sort. Not even a questionable look.

I saw only one counter-protester there, although I read on somebody's Facebook page that there were a few more. They must have left early, because I only saw the one and I went through the rally pretty thoroughly. The weather was pretty cold, the temperature hovering around 32 F with freezing fog conditions. But there was no rain!

Click on the pics below to enlarge.




The speakers at the rally were to the right of the white box truck

Lots of people braving the cold out there on Saturday.

Many of the ralliers were ladies. I would guess that least a 1/3 of the crowd were women. Maybe more.

The woman with the dog was the lone anti-gun protester that I saw. There were supposed to have been more there, earlier but they must have left before I arrived. It was very pretty chilly out.

 

The anti-gun protester has a polite debate with pro-gun rights rallier. I was listening to the speakers more than their debate, but I didn't hear any raised voices nor name calling. It seemed quite civil and polite.

I appreciated the passage from the Oregon State Constitution that this man had printed up on his sign. It reads: "The people shall have the right to bear arms for the defense of themselves, and the State, but the Military shall be kept in strict subordination to the civil power."



This was the overflow from the capitol's steps across the street. Most of the cars passing by were honking with support while giving everyone the thumbs up.

My favorite sign. When will people realize that "Gun Free Zones" are completely ineffective against some violent person intent on shooting a bunch of people?

The state police were there (blue uniforms and trooper hats) and were just finished having a conversation about pistol calibers with the two guys in the coats. Oddly (sarc.), a lot of police officers are part of the dreaded gun culture that the Left so despises.

I haven't blacked out any signs. The large rectangular black things in the middle of the pic are speakers.

And this is the where the rally took place two hours afterwards. Notice how clean it is.

Still clean.

It's almost like these people took pride in their state's capitol.

Obama's Stance on Gun Control is Classic American Left: Restrict Citizenry's Rights and Throw Billions of Dollars at Govt. Programs

"Take that Bitter Clingers... plus, the NRA is Evil."

...oh, and incorporate doctors and medical insurance into the effort. Just one more reason why ObamaCare is junk, I guess.

Obama proposes spending more then $4.5 billion for cracking down on Americans' Constitutional rights.

From The Weekly Standard:

The proposal contains a mix of executive actions, regulations, and calls for Congress to act legislatively. The total package will cost at least $4.5 billion in new spending.

 

Among the new spending the president proposed:

 

• $4 billion for the president’s proposal “to help keep 15,000 cops on the streets in cities and towns across the country.” (That is roughly $266,000 per police officer.)

 

• $20 million to “give states stronger incentives to make [relevant] data available [for background checks] … “$50 million for this purpose in FY2014”

 

• “$14 million to help train 14,000 more police officers and other public and private personnel to respond to active shooter situations.”

 

• “$10 million for the Centers for Disease Control to conduct further research, including investigating the relationship between video games, media images, and violence.”

 

• $20 million to expand the National Violent Death Reporting System.

 

• $150 million to “put up to 1,000 new school resource officers and school counselors on the job.”

 

• “$30 million of one-time grants to states to help their school districts develop and implement emergency management plans.”

 

• $50 million to help 8,000 schools “create safer and more nurturing school climates.”

 

• $15 million to “provide “Mental Health First Aid” training for teachers.”

 

• $40 million for school districts to “work with law enforcement, mental health agencies, and other local organizations to assure students with mental health issues or other behavioral issues are referred to the services they need.”

• $25 million for state-based strategies that support “young people ages 16 to 25 with mental health or substance abuse issues.”

 

• $25 million to “offer students mental health services for trauma or anxiety, conflict resolution programs, and other school-based violence prevention strategies.”

 

• $50 million to “train social workers, counselors, psychologists, and other mental health professionals.”

 

The president’s proposals to ban high capacity magazines and “military-style assault weapons” will be costly to implement, if they are passed. Those costs are either unknown or haven’t been released.

Hey, nobody ever said that breaking down the 2nd Amendment would be cheap. And throwing out a little bit of government cash to pay off outragous salaries or embezzle train and implement policy never hurts to popularize these programs with the political and bureaucratic classes.

Of course, tight gun control has proven to be completely counterproductive in reducing crime in Chicago, Australia, and England for starters. And the old U.S. "assault weapons ban" did nothing to curb crime, nor mass killings.

But let us not allow inconvenient facts to stand in the way of Obama's version of progress.

Exactly what is Obama's version of progress? The same that it has been in the past-- to demonize political opponents (like the NRA, but in the past it's been House GOP members, Wall Street, the wealthy, Fox News, the coal industry, Sarah Palin, business owners who didn't build that, insurance companies, etc.) and to punish people he doesn't like, in this instance every one of the millions of law-abiding gun owners in the U.S. as we dash toward some "common sense" utopia that the Left seems reluctant to talk about.

Forward! With ideology and billions (to start) in taxpayer money, forward!

UPDATE: Texas Governor Rick Perry has issued a response. (h/t Douglas at American Power) Best lines are: "In fact, the piling on by the political left, and their cohorts in the media, to use the massacre of little children to advance a pre-existing political agenda that would not have saved those children, disgusts me, personally. The second amendment to the Constitution is a basic right of free people and cannot be nor will it be abridged by the executive power of this or any other president."

Biden: Obama Eyeing 19 Executive Orders on Guns



*The above image is merely a plastic representation, and not the real Obama

And do you think this Constitution ignorant --oh, I'm sorry, this "living" Constitution advocate-- Obama Administration won't ignore Congress and push his fiats?

You know, that's more executive orders than bullets Obama wants in your guns' magazines...

From Politico:

"The White House has identified 19 executive actions for President Barack Obama to move unilaterally on gun control, Vice President Joe Biden told a group of House Democrats on Monday, the administration’s first definitive statements about its response to last month’s mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

"Later this week, Obama will formally announce his proposals to reduce gun violence, which are expected to include renewal of the assault weapons ban, universal background checks and prohibition of high-capacity magazine clips ["magazine clips"?]. But Biden, who has been leading Obama’s task force on the response, spent two hours briefing a small group of sympathetic House Democrats on the road ahead in the latest White House outreach to invested groups.

[...]

"The White House declined to comment on the details of what Obama will propose.

"But Biden did indicate that the remains of the Obama campaign apparatus may be activated in the effort.

"'He said that this has been a real focus on the policy and that the politics of this issue, that a strategy on the politics of the issue hasn’t been undertaken yet,' Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) told POLITICO. 'He did remind us that the campaign infrastructure is still accessible.'

"Obama touched on his expected legislative guns agenda at his own news conference in the East Room on Monday, while stressing the power he has via executive order.

"'How we are gathering data, for example, on guns that fall into the hands of criminals, and how we track that more effectively — there may be some steps that we can take administratively as opposed through legislation,' Obama said. [emphasis mine]"

Huh. I wonder if that tracking the guns falling into criminals' hands will include the 1400+ weapons given to Mexican drug cartels by Holder's Justice Department?

My guess is no.

David Gregory Will Not Be Prosecuted "Despite the Clarity of the Violation of This Important Law"

"Mr. Gregory, who has no criminal record, or any other NBC employee based on the events associated with the December 23,2012 broadcast. OAG has made this determination, despite the clarity of the violation of this important law, because under all of the circumstances here a prosecution would not promote public safety in the District of Columbia nor serve the best interests of the people of the District to whom this office owes its trust."

And with these words, District of Columbia Attorney General Irvin Nathan has proven that there are two laws in this country: one for the elite and politically connected, and then the one for all the little people.

Jacobson at Legal Insurrection has the best summation of this ridiculousness, including the news that David Gregory and wife both know the DC Attorney General Irvin Nathan.

Also included is Jacobson's posting is the story of an injured special forces soldier arrested in upstate NY for possession of high capacity ammunition magazines, and that NBC requested and was denied permission to use high capacity magazine in news segment by the DC police.

Hey, so much for that equal protection under the law thing. That's all passe, now anyway. It's as outdated as the 2nd Amendment, and perhaps the Constitution itself. I mean it gets in the way of Obama's dictates executive orders. Right?

Another Shocker: Red States Show Surpluses, Blue States in Financial Crisis

Weird how that works.

From The Examiner:

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the federal government posted a $293 billion deficit in the first fiscal quarter of 2013, setting the Obama administration up for a record fifth-year of trillion dollar deficits. But while the fiscal condition of the Democratically controlled federal government is still atrocious, Republican controlled states are now swimming in surpluses.

Thanks to a Republican governor committed to developing its natural resources, not punishing entrepreneurs who do, Texas legislators are facing an $8.8 billion surplus over the next two years. To the east, Republican governors Bill Haslam of Tennessee and Rick Scott of Florida have also turned recession deficits into budget surpluses. Moving north, Michigan’s Gov. Rick Snyder, Iowa’s Gov. Terry Brandstad, and Indiana’s out-going-Gov. Mitch Daniels, also can now all boast surpluses in the hundreds of millions of dollars. All of these governors managed to turn their state’s fiscal situation around through spending cuts, not tax hikes. Now their budgets are in the black and their economies are growing.

Things do not look as good in Democrat-controlled states. Illinois, who massively raised taxes on the rich, still has a $5.9 billion stack of unpaid bills. California, who also raised taxes on the rich, was supposed to post a small surplus this year. But tax collections are coming in at 10.8 percent below budget projections. As a result, the state is now projected to be $1.9 billion in the red by the end of this fiscal year.

It does not appear that that Congress and the White House will come to any consensus on how best to solve our fiscal crisis at the federal level. Conservatives and liberals simply have diametrically opposed views on how our fiscal crisis can best be resolved while preserving economic growth. But at the state level, conservative and liberal models of governance are being fully implemented. And it is becoming increasingly clear which of those visions is producing the best results.

Of course it was quite clear as to which vision produced the best results long before now. It was only the mainstream media's unified call to kowtow/promote all things Obama and the Left offered that produced any confusion.

Oh, and California's budget will be more in than $1.9 billion in the red at the end of the fiscal year. An "unexpected" happening, of course.

Wikipedia Has Listing for Fake War Up for Five Years

And yet another reason why I don't use wikipedia as a source very much...

From The Daily Caller (h/t Instapundit):

For the last five years, those who spend their time procrastinating on Wikipedia could read up on a 17th century war between colonial Portugal and India’s Maratham Empire known as the “Bicholim Conflict.”

The problem is that Bicholim Conflict never happened, and that the entire 4,500-word article on the war was nothing more than an elaborate joke.

The Daily Dot, which previously reported on the hoax, says that the writer of the article still hasn’t been identified. But whoever it is, he or she did an outstanding job of fooling the online encyclopedia into believing the “research” was genuine.

It was voted a “good article” by Wikipedia’s readers, and at one point was even nominated to be a “featured article” that would be prominently displayed on the site’s homepage.

“’Featured Article’ status is a bit of a badge of honor on Wikipedia, a recognition bestowed to only the highest quality pieces on the site,” the Daily Dot notes. “Out of more than 4 million English Wikipedia articles, only 3,772 are ‘featured.’”

[...]

Wikipedia owned up to the hoax after it was brought to their attention by ShelfSkewed on Dec. 29, and quickly deleted the piece.

This was not the first time that Wikipedia has been fooled by a hoax. Last July, an article on Gaius Flavius Antoninus — who purportedly conspired in the plot to assassinate Julius Caesar — had to be purged after someone noticed it was a work of fiction.
 

Hmm. I guess history is no longer written by the winners, but just by some screwballs who have the proper backing. Once writing that, it makes me think of academia-- and things like the Zinj Empire.

Iran Supports Chuck Hagel for Sect. of Defense

Well, then he's got my vote.

From Fars News (h/t Gateway Pundit):

q Iran on Tuesday expressed the hope that Washington’s foreign policy will witness practical changes after US officials announced that President Barack Obama will nominate Chuck Hagel as his next defense secretary. 

"We hope that practical changes will be created in the US foreign policy and the US officials' approach will change to respect the nations' rights," Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast told reporters in Tehran on Tuesday.

"We hope that the US officials will favor peace instead of warmongering and recognize the rights of nations instead of interfering in the countries' internal affairs," he said.

"If such a trend is adopted (by the American officials), hatred for the US hostile policies will decrease, although assessment can be made in action," the spokesman said.

Tehran has been under Washington sanctions after the 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled a US-backed monarch in the country.

The United States and Iran broke diplomatic relations in April 1980, after Iranian students seized the United States' espionage center at its embassy in Tehran. The two countries have had tense relations ever since.

If a supporter of terrorism like Iran digs Hagel, then you just know that he's gotta be good.

Shocker: Crime Increases After Ca. Releases Criminals Due to Budget Constraints

"No spending problems here." *sigh*

A sign of things to come?

From Ben Shapiro at Breitbart:

Since October 2011, property crime in the state of California has jumped dramatically; from October 2011 to January 2012, property crime skyrocketed 4.5 percent throughout the state. In the previous nine months, property crime had been down some 2.4%.

So, what happened? Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed a bill that let low-level offenders out of prison to prevent overcrowding in the penitentiary system. Those offenders ended up in the hands of county sheriffs, who quickly released them due to overwork. According to the Wall Street Journal:

While the attorney general doesn't release 2012 data until late this year, localities ranging in size from Sacramento to Santa Rosa in Sonoma County saw property crimes rise last year. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, which hasn't reported 2012 crime data, says property crimes fell 0.5% nationally in 2011 from a year earlier.

This is reason 11,381 as to why I left California.

Meanwhile, even though law breakers are being released due to lack of funds, we should remember that we don't have a spending problem-- so says Obama. I guess we just have a tax problem, or super trillion dollar health care costs or something. Well, that's a load off my mind...

Obama Selling Inauguration Kitsch

Action Hero Obama vs. Darth Vader (Dick Cheney in diguise?)

Does anybody want to bet that these aren't going to sell quite so well as the 2008 bunch?

From the AP: (h/t Gateway Pundit)

"President Barack Obama's inaugural team is opening an online and brick-and-mortar store to sell souvenirs including a commemorative poster by famed artist Chuck Close.

"The Presidential Inaugural Committee launched the online store Thursday. A retail store a few blocks from the White House was scheduled to open Jan. 11. The goods, ranging from $2.50 rulers to $30 champagne flutes to a $7,500 medallion set, also will be sold at some Washington hotels around the Jan. 21 inauguration.

"Close, a long-time Obama supporter, designed the $100 poster in the pixelated photorealistic style he is famous for. Only 2,013 are available."

The real question is will those great Obama action figures be back?

No Surprise: Senate Votes on Fiscal Cliff Bill 3 Minutes After Receiving It

In the new age of passing bloated and intrusive bills in the middle of the night (Obamacare anyone?), this new found minutes of deliberation is almost refreshing.

From CNS News: (h/t Patterico)

The U.S. Senate voted 89-8 to approve legislation to avoid the fiscal cliff despite having only 3 minutes to read the 154-page bill and budget score.

Multiple Senate sources have confirmed to CNSNews.com that senators received the bill at approximately 1:36 AM on Jan. 1, 2013 – a mere three minutes before they voted to approve it at 1:39 AM.

The bill is 154-pages and includes several provisions that are unrelated to the fiscal cliff, including repealing a section of ObamaCare, extending the wind-energy tax credit, and a rum tax subsidy deal for Puerto Rican rum makers.

The bill avoids the fiscal cliff by making permanent the Bush tax cuts for individuals making less than $400,000 per year and couples making less than $450,000 and by putting off the automatic spending cuts (sequestration) from last year’s debt ceiling deal until March.

Ah, deliberation... It's being turned into a new hallmark of both stupidity and conservatism in these current times.