World Examiner

'Bella' Wins Again

If the success is repeated this weekend, all heaven could break loose in Hollywood.

Link: WorldNetDaily: 'Bella' turns in highest per screen performance.

Bella, the movie, was financed and marketed by its makers when major studios passed on the project. But it's already been given the top prize at the Toronto International Film Festival and been honored by the Smithsonian. And now it is reporting a gross of $1.3 million for its first weekend on only 165 screens. On Sunday, the movie generated the highest average box office per screen, and it was No. 2 for the entire weekend, despite competing with other projects that occupied from 3,000-4,000 screens, officials said.

Recent DGU's of Note

Defensive Gun Uses (DGU's) are estimated at 2,500,000 annually in this country (includes mere brandishing).  Even the most conservative government estimates put it at several hundred thousand.  Here are a few of the more notable ones to occur recently:

• Intruder shot after "watch parrot" gives warning
• Blind man shoots intruder
• Man in wheelchair shoots home intruder
• One of two intruders shot
• Two of two intruders shot

CCW Holder Stops Multiple Victim Shooting Despite Rule Against Carry in Restaurants

Link: FreeSpeech.com » Blog Archives » Stupid gun laws in Georgia almost enabled mass murder!.

Witnesses said Ojeda appeared to have been drinking when he drove up to the restaurant around midnight, Norcross Police Detective Jason Carter said. Ojeda joined a group of four other people “other regulars, but not well acquainted with the man” on the patio and became belligerent when one person asked Ojeda not to be obnoxious. After a brief scuffle, Ojeda left, only to return with a gun about 45 minutes later, Carter said. As people on the patio scattered, one of the men he’d been sitting with ran away but drew his own gun, police said. That man, whose name was not released, fired once and hit Ojeda in the head, police said.

Why Armed Teachers are More Important than Armed Guards

Link: John Lott's Website: This is why we need to arm teachers: Glenn Beck deserves a lot of credit for this story.

Glenn's guest, Brad Thor, gets it partially right when he says "You want an armed presence at your school." He then points to armed guards and police. The problem with armed guards and police is that if they are present, they will be the first ones taken out. It is good to have some there, but it is cheaper and much better to allow armed teachers and staff. He makes four points on school security: deter, detect, delay, and destroy. Armed teachers and staff can help with all these four points (even "detect" because they might be more able to successfully detect and alert others if they are armed). The deterrence, delay, and destroy aspects are more obvious. Thor points to Israel, but he doesn't mention that they arm teachers in Israel.

Consider also the astronomical cost (including opportunity cost) of adding armed guards to our schools when we don't have enough police, etc., in an age of terror.

Second Grade Student Suspended for Drawing Stick Figure With Gun

Suspending a kid for drawing guns is child abuse and should be prosecuted as such.

Link: John Lott's Website: Second Grade Student Suspended for Drawing Stick Figure With Gun.

Diluting the Right to Life with the "Social Justice" Agenda

An article recently distributed in our parish bulletin is an example of efforts to wed pro-life Catholics to an anti-life "social justice" agenda.  The article makes an enticing point that there can be no exceptions when it comes to being pro-life, but carries this to a bizarre degree, even to adopting "political structures" for feeding the hungry, etc.  Anyone from Ukraine can tell you it's not a good idea to put the government in charge of food production.  Things are not really all that bad here, as evidenced by the number of people still trying to get in legally (the illegals are already here, although they are fond of traveling back and forth).  The most pernicious anti-life, anti-family threat faced by those who made it out of the womb alive is really the taxation and regulatory cost incurred because of all these silly redistribution schemes.  What really needs to be added to the pro-life discussion is the right of self-defense, which is under assault around the world.  Governments are rarely there to protect you when the criminal appears, and indeed governments have proved quite lethal to their own citizens.  So unreasonable restrictions on the right to self-defense are a violation of the right to life, if anything is.

Parents Warned Against Giving to UNICEF this Halloween - UNICEF Still Promoting Abortion

Link: Parents Warned Against Giving to UNICEF this Halloween - UNICEF Still Promoting Abortion. LifeSiteNews:

Halloween is here again, and with it the fundraising drive for UNICEF the so-called children's fund of the United Nations which has been mired in abortion support for the last twenty years. The organization has not learned from its past and continues to engage in the anti-life agenda.

Gun-Grabber Kucinich Admits to Seeing UFO

Link: UFOs and Alien Life - The Fix.

Asked about the statement by actress Shirley MacLaine that Kucinich had seen a UFO at her house, Kucinich said that he had. He quickly sought to clarify -- an "unidentified flying object" he said holding up his hand -- but man oh man. The big news tonight: DENNIS KUCINICH HAS SEEN A UFO.

Students Strap On Empty Holsters to Protest Gun Restrictions on Campus

Link: FOXNews.com - Students Strap On Empty Holsters to Protest Gun Restrictions on Campus - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News.

College students across the country have been strapping empty holsters around their waists this week to protest laws that prohibit concealed weapons on campus, citing concerns over campus shootings.

More coverage here, here, here, here, and here.  Well-run effort!

LA Times' Homicide Map Graphically Depicts Ethnic Cleansing in LA

This constantly updated "homicide map" identifies victims by race, graphically depicting the current ethnic cleansing in LA.  We recall that gun control had its modern origins with Democrats' KKK and Jim Crow, yet the LA Sheriff still tightly restricts CCW issuance.

Link: The Homicide Report >> Los Angeles County.

Civilian Gun Self-Defense Blog Catalogs DGU's

Link: Civilian Gun Self-Defense Blog.

Where Clayton Cramer, Pete Drum, and "DaveLoneRanger" keep track of civilians using guns in self-defense.

Constitutional Impact Statement: Remedy for Congressional Constitutional Contempt

Officials, high and low, routinely swear allegiance to a constitution they don't really understand.  This might help them come up to speed.

Link: Congressional constitutional contempt - - The Washington Times, America's Newspaper.

In each new Congress since 1995, Rep. John Shadegg, Arizona Republican, has introduced the proposed Enumerated Powers Act (HR 1359). The bill, yet to be enacted into law, reads: "Each Act of Congress shall contain a concise and definite statement of the constitutional authority relied upon for the enactment of each portion of that Act. The failure to comply with this section shall give rise to a point of order in either House of Congress. The availability of this point of order does not affect any other available relief."

Gun-Free Britain Plagued by Increasing Gun Injuries and Gun Crime

Link: BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | Increase in gun-related injuries.

"While knife crime remains much more prevalent in Scotland - and we will not let up on our work to tackle that - we must not and will not allow gun crime to get a grip on any of our communities."

10th Grade PE Class Offers Shooting Instruction

10th grade PE class offers shooting instruction.

Link: Aiming for safety - Roanoke.com.

"In 16 years, I think I've had two complaints from parents," said Sink-Morris, again stressing that the field trip is completely optional for the students.

Wayne LaPierre writes:

The gun banners like to say that kids shouldn't be "exposed" to firearms.  But we don't get to choose what our children are exposed to.  We can't keep an eye on them 24 hours a day.  When you keep that in mind, education is always going to be better than ignorance, and the thousands of students who take part in this program are the literal living proof of that.

Terror watch list swells to more than 755,000 names

You could call this a perfect example of bureaucracy in action.  You could also call it blue helicopter thinking.

Link: Terror watch list swells to more than 755,000 - USATODAY.com.

The government's terrorist watch list has swelled to more than 755,000 names, according to a new government report that has raised worries about the list's effectiveness.

WorldNetDaily: KKK's 1st targets were Republicans

Link: WorldNetDaily: KKK's 1st targets were Republicans.

The original targets of the Ku Klux Klan were Republicans, both black and white, according to a new television program and book, which describe how the Democrats started the KKK and for decades harassed the GOP with lynchings and threats.

The NRA is the nation's oldest civil rights organization, and we know that gun control in this country began mainly as a result of efforts to control blacks.  So this makes sense.

Provision to Prevent Infringement of Second Amendment in National Heritage Areas

Link: Representative Rob Bishop.

The U.S. House of Representatives today passed an amendment sponsored by Congressman Rob Bishop that will ensure there will be no federal infringement of Second Amendment rights on certain public lands. The provision, which came in the form of the Republican Motion to Recommit on H.R. 1483, a bill to expand and create certain National Heritage Areas, stipulates that all designated lands within these areas would be exclusively governed by state and local laws regarding hunting, fishing, and the possession or use of a weapon, trap, or net.

Feds: Latino Gang Targeted Blacks | Newsweek National News | Newsweek.com

Link: Feds: Latino Gang Targeted Blacks | Newsweek National News | Newsweek.com.

A south Los Angeles Latino street gang targeted African-American gang rivals and other blacks in a campaign of neighborhood "cleansing," federal prosecutors say. Alleged leaders and foot soldiers in the Hispanic gang Florencia 13, also called F13, are being arraigned this week on charges stemming from a pair of federal indictments that allege that the gang kept a tight grip on its turf by shooting members of a rival gang—and sometimes random black civilians. The "most disturbing aspect" of the federal charges was that "innocent citizens … ended up being shot simply because of the color of their skin," U.S. Attorney Thomas O'Brien told reporters in announcing the indictments.

NRLC's Capwiz Legislative Action Center

Action alerts, roll call votes, email utility and more info is available here:
Federal Legislation - Legislative Action Center.

New Texas Law: No CCW Permit Required for Concealed Carry in Car

Link: New law allows concealed weapons in car | News for Austin, Texas | kvue.com | State News.

RealChoice: 1947 abortion killed baby, heiress, and doctor

1947 abortion takes three lives, including doctor who poisoned himself six hours after guilty verdict against him.

Link: RealChoice: 1947 abortion killed baby, heiress, and doctor.

Studies Link Previous Abortions to Pre-Term Birth and Cerebral Palsy

Link (LifeSiteNews): Study: Previous Abortions Linked With Pre-Term Birth and Cerebral Palsy.

An article appearing in this month’s edition of the Journal of Reproductive Medicine concludes that nearly 32 per cent of “very preterm” U.S. births, that is, before 32 weeks gestation, are due to the mother having had a prior abortion. This information, combined with previous research in the relation between low birth weight children and cerebral palsy (CP), results in an estimated 1,096 children suffering from CP because of their mother’s prior abortion.

17-year-old disciplined for shotgun shells at school

School equates two unopened boxes of shotgun shells to "dangerous instrument" in suspending Junior Olympic shooter from high school.

Link: 17-year-old disciplined for shotgun shells at school.

Five Citizens Stop Alleged Rape

No gun involved, so it's good there were five to help.

Link: ABC News: Samaritans Foil Alleged Rape in Progress.

Five good Samaritans disrupted the alleged rape of a 22-year-old Oregon woman, chasing down and tackling the suspect until authorities arrived, police said.

Zero Tolerance at Schools Thwarts Gun Safety Education

Link: Allowing gun ranges in schools receives criticism - News.

"We want weapons out of the building. We want weapons as far away from the school as possible because we have so many students under our care...

The school official quoted appears to be making a promise no school official can keep (the deadly utopian and fraudulent promise of a gun-free zone).

Catholic League Warns New Kids' Movie "Golden Compass" is Atheist Indoctrination

The Catholic League warns parents about a new threat of atheist indoctrination from the movie, Golden Compass.  (In the book trilogy, the kids end up killing God so they can do what they want.)

Link: Catholic League: For Religious and Civil Rights.

The Catholic League wants Christians to stay away from this movie precisely because it knows that the film is bait for the books: unsuspecting parents who take their children to see the movie may be impelled to buy the three books as a Christmas present. And no parent who wants to bring their children up in the faith will want any part of these books.

Bella Review: Bella, Bella, Bella!

I saw Bella last night with my family, and this is the review I posted on Fandango (if you order tickets through them, they email you after show time for a review):

More on Bella Movie, Opening October 26

Latest Knights of Columbus email on Bella:

Once in a great while, a movie comes along that has the ability to touch
hearts in a profound way with its positive message. During the pontificate
of Pope John Paul II, the Vatican released a list of such movies as the
Vatican Top 45 movies ever made. Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson, with the
backing of the Order’s Board of Directors, is recommending that Knights
support Bella, a major motion picture to be released this week. Bella,
whose star and producers are Knights, won the Toronto Film Festival’s
People’s Choice Award. “If we can get millions of people to see this film,
we are going to save lives,” Anderson said. “We can get people to
understand what we mean when we talk about a culture of life, or what it
means to live a Catholic life. Our support of this movie can be the start
of something great.”

Knights Leo Severino and Sean Wolfington, and stars Knight Eduardo
Verastegui produced Bella. Eduardo and Leo are members of the California
Jurisdiction.

RKBA in Mexican Constitution

Mexico is one of the few countries in the world with some form of constitutional RKBA.  Unfortunately, regulation of guns is heavy despite this protection.  I think everyone realizes that failing to secure the border will lead to nightmarish politics for RKBA as we know it, but at least we are not completely starting from scratch in assimilation with regard to this essential element of American freedom.

Link: Gun politics in Mexico - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Constitution of 1917 (Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos de 1917), the current constitution in force and heavily-amended, grants Mexican citizens (and, theoretically, perhaps, all inhabitants) the right to possess firearms. However, this right does not include military firearms suitable for use in a militia, unlike in the United States where the Second Amendment is often interpreted as only protecting arms suitable for use in militias.

Children in Gun-Free Britain Increasingly Robbed of Innocence by Guns and Gangs

Link: Children being robbed of their innocence by 'guns, gangs and celebrities' | the Daily Mail.

Children themselves voiced anxieties about strangers, burglars, gang violence, knives and guns. The participants said the culture of respect was disappearing and that the world outside the school gates was becoming increasingly dangerous.

Armenian Christians Disarmed Under Sharia Law Prior to Genocide

Link: Dave Kopel & Paul Gallant, & Joanne D. Eisen on Armenian Genocide on National Review Online.

Hitler reminded his generals that “nobody remembers the Armenians,” and he worked assiduously to disarm his own genocide victims more thoroughly than the Turks had done. When we do remember the Armenians, let us remember that the difference between life and death was often the possession of arms to resist mass murder by government.

Larry Elder: Do "Gun-Free" Zones Encourage School Shootings?

Link: Townhall.com::Do "Gun-Free" Zones Encourage School Shootings?::By Larry Elder.

Offensive Monument to 'Che' destroyed

Link: WorldNetDaily: Monument to 'Che' destroyed.

A monument erected to immortalize the life and death of Ernesto "Che" Guevara, the Argentine revolutionary who fought with Fidel Castro in Cuba and in the Bolivian jungle, was demolished by gunfire in Venezuela, the country presided over by Hugo Chavez, Castro's heir apparent in Latin America.

Schwarzenenegger Signs Microstamping Bill

Link: NRA-ILA :: Legislation.

AB 1471 will require that after a certain date, the make, model, and serial number of a firearm be microstamped onto the interior surface or internal working parts of all handguns in such a manner that those identifiers are imprinted onto the cartridge case upon firing. The manufacture, sale, and transfer of handguns that do not imprint their identifying information on a cartridge case would be a crime.

New Cardinals Appointed by Pope Benedict: Where They Stand on Life

Link: Life and Family Stands of the New Cardinals Appointed by Pope Benedict.

Strong Endorsement From NRA Helps Elect First Non-white La. Guv Since Reconstruction (BONUS: He's Catholic and Pro-Life)

Link: Immigrants' son elected governor of La. - Politics - MSNBC.com.

U.S. Rep. Bobby Jindal easily defeated 11 opponents and became the state’s first nonwhite governor since Reconstruction, decades after his parents moved to the state from India to pursue the American dream.

Jindal received a strong endorsement from NRA:

Wayne LaPierre said, “Bobby Jindal is a doer, not a talker.  He's a true friend of freedom and the second amendment. That's why the NRA Political Victory Fund is endorsing his candidacy for governor of Louisiana. We will urge every NRA member, every hunter, and everyone who believes in freedom to vote Bobby Jindal for governor on Election Day.”

BONUS: Turns out he is Catholic and staunchly pro-life, too:

In an unsuccessful 2003 run for governor of Louisiana, Jindal was specifically targeted for his ardent pro-life positions.  At that time, he unapologetically stated to a local newspaper that he was "100 percent pro-life with no exceptions.  I believe all life is precious."

WorldNetDaily: Are there no Catholic Billy Mitchells?

Link: WorldNetDaily: Are there no Catholic Billy Mitchells?:

Our church is a hierarchal organization, and we are taught and conditioned to respect our superiors. We understand the difficult situations and scorn and contempt that public appeals to Rome will put upon you. But as Christ says, "To whom much is given, much will be expected." We are properly taught reverence and obedience to our superiors just as was Gen. Billy Mitchell. But Mitchell knew that his superior's blindness to the future required his sacrificing all that he had achieved for a greater good – that of his country. So we arrive at the question: Are there any among you, individually or in group, who will now say "Enough is enough" and begin to publicly appeal to Rome for relief from hierarchy and clergy who subject us to the outrages such as occurred in San Francisco on Oct. 7, 2007? Yes, you may lose access to the chancelleries. You may lose prestige among your peers. You may face cancellation of your columns from diocesan publications. You may be dismissed from your board chairs in Catholic charities and organizations. All these may happen. But who else, at this point, can carry our pain to those in the seats of power in our church. Will you accept your commissions in this great battle for the soul of our church?

New Movie "Bella" Respects Life: Go See it on Opening Night

Received the following email about the new movie Bella:

Values Voter 2008 Presidential Debate: No-Shows Not Excused from Grilling

No-Shows (Giuliani, Romney, McCain, Thompson) were grilled in absentia at the Values Voter 2008 Presidential Debate, as this 5-minute excerpt shows:

Full 3-hr debate streamed at: http://www.afa.net/debate/

NRA Responds to Critics: Setting The Record Straight On HR 2640

NRA responds to critics:

In last week's Grassroots Alert, we provided factual information to refute several myths being promulgated by some vocal opponents of the NICS Improvement bill.   

The success of the pro-gun community and the preservation of our Second Amendment rights rely heavily upon a well-informed membership.  In our on-going effort to set the record straight and provide you with the most up-to-date information to help address the confusion and blatant misrepresentations over H.R. 2640 -- the "NICS Improvement Amendments Act" -- below are some links to our NRA-ILA fact sheets and recent articles written to further clarify this important legislation.    

"The NICS Improvement Bill: Myth and Reality"
http://www.nraila.org/Issues/FactSheets/Read.aspx?id=221&issue=018 

H.R. 2640, the "NICS Improvement Amendments Act"
http://www.nraila.org/Issues/FactSheets/Read.aspx?id=219&issue=018 

"Clearing the Air on the Instant Check Bill"
http://www.nraila.org/Issues/Articles/Read.aspx?id=246&issue=018

"H.R. 2640: Sensible Solution or Trojan Horse?"
http://www.claytoncramer.com/PopularMagazines/HR%202640.htm

"Gun Bill Not Anti-Veteran"
http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,151321_1,00.html?wh=wh

"Enough NRA Bashing"
http://www.pgnh.org/enough_nra_bashing

New documentary takes unflinching look at abortion in US

Few issues generate as much heat in the United States as the debate over abortion -- the subject of a powerful and graphic new documentary by controversial British filmmaker Tony Kaye. "Lake of Fire," currently on limited release in the United States, unwinds over more than two and a half hours of interviews with some of the leading figures from the pro-life and pro-choice camps.

Link: New documentary takes unflinching look at abortion in US.

WorldNetDaily: 'Mom' and 'Dad' banished by California

This blog is about "guns and the right to life" and when a post, like this one, appears to have left the rails of relevancy, it is usually a bit of shocking news about the latest cultural attack on the family, the basic unit of capitalism and ordered liberty.

Link: WorldNetDaily: 'Mom' and 'Dad' banished by California.

"Mom and Dad" as well as "husband and wife" have been banned from California schools under a bill signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who with his signature also ordered public schools to allow boys to use girls restrooms and locker rooms, and vice versa, if they choose.

Nobel 'Peace' Prize Awarded to De-Population, Abortion Advocate Al Gore

Regardless of the critical reception of Gore's supposed research by many climate scientists around the world, conservatives were not surprised when global warming became yet another machination of the international population control movement. As early as 1997, Mr. Gore has been asserting that climate change is happening because ``Third World nations are producing too many children too fast... it is time to ignore the controversy over family planning and cut out-of-control population growth...''. Gore has held firm to his belief in a woman's right to murder her unborn child saying in the 2000 election campaign that, "I will defend a woman's right to choose, regardless of her economic circumstances. I will not allow Roe v. Wade to be overturned."

Link: Nobel 'Peace' Prize Awarded to De-Population, Abortion Advocate Al Gore.

Gallup poll: HUGE Drop in Support for Gun Control

Recent Gallup poll shows huge drop in support for gun control, especially among women.  Support for more gun control dropped an average of 11% nationally since May 2000.  Among women it dropped 12%.  Among Easterners it dropped 16%.  Among political independents it dropped 18%.  There was an 11% drop in urban areas.  There was a drop after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, then it increased again briefly, but has dropped to new lows as government grows to fight terror, at the expense of individual rights and privacy, and as local police are increasingly federalized.

Link: Shrunken Majority Now Favors Stricter Gun Laws.

The gap between the proportion of Americans advocating stricter gun laws and those in favor of maintaining or weakening existing gun laws -- once nearly 60 points in favor of stronger gun control, and registering 14 points a year ago -- is just four points in Gallup's latest poll. According to the Oct. 4-7, 2007, survey, 51% of Americans believe the laws governing the sale of firearms should be more strict. When combined, the percentages saying the laws should either be kept as they are or made less strict is nearly as high (47%).
....
Americans' opposition to aggressive gun control is further evident in a question eliciting their attitude about the need to pass new gun laws. Gallup asked respondents whether they would prefer to see the United States enforce current gun laws more strictly and not pass new gun laws, or pass new gun laws in addition to enforcing current laws more strictly. A majority of Americans (58%) opt for focusing exclusively on better enforcement of existing laws -- a position similar to that advocated by the National Rifle Association.

DC Gun Ban Apparently Headed for Supreme Court

Good article on the conflict in the circuits.  Hard to imagine the legitamacy of the Supreme Court could withstand ruling the wrong way on this, with all the scholarship on the Second Amendment (nee 1789) trouncing the collective rights nonsense in vogue since the 1970s.

Link: Star-Telegram.com | 10/11/2007 | THINK TANK.

LaPierre: The Buyback Boondoggle

D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton has a great idea. She wants to spend $50 million of taxpayer money... your money... to fund "gun buybacks" nationwide. But there's a big problem with that old idea: The federal government already tried subsidizing gun buybacks during the Clinton administration. And in 2001, they stopped funding gun buybacks because "the results of gun buybacks are minimal." That's what the Department of Housing and Urban Development said, not me. They don't work.

Link: The Buyback Boondoggle.

Timothy Wheeler on School Shootings (National Review Online)

What is depressingly similar to the mass murders at Virginia Tech and Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania and too many others was the killer’s choice of venue — that steadfastly gun-free zone, the school campus.

Link: Timothy Wheeler on School Shootings on National Review Online.

UNICEF Participates in Conference With 35 Sessions Promoting Abortion

A two-and-a-half day UN-sponsored conference scheduled for next week is billed as addressing maternal and child health but focuses primarily on promoting abortion. The conference schedule shows that out of 98 sessions some 35 of them focus on abortion while only two address newborn health.

Link: UNICEF Participates in Conference With 35 Sessions Promoting Abortion.

Bill of Rights should not be selectively taught

Alert reader takes Massachussetts Newspapers in Education Council to task on omitting the Second Amendment.

Link: READER’S VIEW: Bill of Rights should not be selectively taught.

Latest on UN Attempt to Ban Our Guns

The campaign is aimed at passing an arms trade treaty as part of a process that began in the U.N. General Assembly last year when 153 countries voted in favor, 24 abstained and only the United States voted against starting work on one.
....
"The (treaty) is not about civilian possession as some would have you believe," he said.

Link: News | Africa - Reuters.com.

Oh really?  One of the forces behind the treaty is Rebecca Peters.  See what she has to say in this video of her debate with Wayne LaPierre: