Archive for November, 2007

DC is Murder

Nov 30

Posted by GRIH in Crime, Government Accountability, Miscellaneous | No Comments

Yesterday, we highlighted a piece by Dave Kopel that dealt with the efforts of Washington, DC politicos to maintain their city’s unconstitutional gun ban. Why are they fighting so hard to maintain the ban? Is it because it’s so effective? This bit from The Economist makes one wonder:

“The District’s murder rate will almost certainly be higher in 2007 than in 2006. One-hundred-and-sixty-nine murders were committed in the city in the year to mid-November—as many as in all of 2006 (which had the lowest murder count in DC for over two decades). The city’s police chief, Cathy Lanier, has suggested the rise is due to gang activity and in particular the growing use of high-powered firearms, such as assault rifles.”

Banning Gun Bans

Nov 29

Posted by GRIH in Crime, Miscellaneous | 1 Comment

Dave Kopel at TCS Daily recently wrote about the Washington, DC gun ban and gun bans in general. Some highlights:

“Handgun bans exist in only half a dozen U.S. cities, because while gun control is sometimes popular, gun prohibition is not…. By the early 1990s, local handgun bans had been outlawed almost everywhere in the United States. One of the few states without a preemption law was Wisconsin, which bordered the one state where handgun bans existed. Yet even in left-leaning cities in the state, handgun prohibition was rejected: by 51 percent in Madison in 1993, then by 67 percent in Milwaukee and 73 percent in Kenosha in 1994…. In Europe, almost all nations allow the possession of licensed handguns. Of the exceptions—Russia, Luxembourg, England, Scotland, and Ireland—all but Ireland have murder and violent crime rates much worse than that of their neighbors and other nearby countries which don’t ban handguns…. “

Kopel concludes:

“ Millions of Americans own firearms and use them responsibly, and that right is guaranteed under the Second Amendment. The D.C. handgun ban is a very rare, extreme and unconstitutional prohibition. If the Supreme Court were to affirm the lower court’s decision against the handgun ban, it would end the shame of our nation’s capital city depriving its citizens of a right that legislatures and courts have protected almost everywhere else in the United States.”

Read the entire article here.

Thanksgiving Leftovers

Nov 28

Posted by GRIH in Miscellaneous | No Comments

Now that you’re finishing up that last turkey sandwich, bowl of turkey soup, dish of turkey fried rice, turkey musubi, etc., it seems like a good time to revisit GRIH president Dick Rowland‘s Thanksgiving Day message:

“I guess we have lots to be thankful for. Aw schucks, that came out negative. We DO have a bunch of blessings. For most of them we stand on the shoulders of those that lived and worked so hard to give us a system of government and a free society that has enabled us to produce prosperity. Lots of prosperity. Look around the world. Then look at us. That should be sobering. We have much to lose. And lose it we will if we (that means you… and me) don’t stay alert and active.”

Click here to read more.

Help the OK 3 Stay Free

Nov 27

Posted by GRIH in Miscellaneous | No Comments

Earlier this month, Paul Jacob–member of the GRIH Board of Advisors and Senior Advisor at the Sam Adams Alliance and Foundation–was the featured speaker at the GRIH annual dinner. He is a stalwart fighter for liberty. Alas, all fighters eventually face serious challengers, and Jacob’s efforts have got him in to a bit of trouble. His political opponents are trying to twist the law in an effort to bring him down. Below is his story, and a plea for help.

“I often talk about folks who are unfairly targeted by government. That’s also today’s topic: the so-called Oklahoma Three, three persons who helped organize an initiative drive out in Oklahoma. This was a Taxpayer Bill of Rights or TABOR, a measure to impose limits on the growth of state spending.
The political establishment blocked the TABOR measure from reaching the ballot.
But they didn’t stop there. Now the Oklahoma attorney general, a fellow named Drew Edmondson, has indicted three people for conspiracy against the state. The OK 3 face up to ten years in prison for this alleged crime.
Ten years.
No time right now to give you all the background. But the Oklahoma Three did comply with the state’s residency requirement for circulators, as state officials explained it . . . a requirement now being challenged in federal court for unconstitutionally interfering with the right of citizen initiative. And here’s where the full disclosure comes in: as you may already know, I’m one of the Oklahoma Three. The others are Susan Johnson and Rick Carpenter.
We would rather not go to prison for ten years for supporting democracy.
So I’m asking for your help. Go to freepauljacob.com. Learn more about the case. Sign up for the e-mail updates. Spread the word. Write letters to the editor. Post on political blogs. Call radio shows. Stand up for my rights . . . and your rights, too.”

The 2008 Authoritarian Olympics

Nov 19

Posted by GRIH in Miscellaneous, Pacific Rim Perspective | No Comments

Hitler’s Germany… Soviet Russia… and soon Communist China. The Olympics are continuing their fine tradition of helping to further legitimize anti-freedom regimes. But wait! Economist.com reports that the Chinese Communist government is going to allow dissent and protest during the games… and all you need is police-state approval!

“China’s harsh laws governing marches, demonstrations and large gatherings will be strictly enforced during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The ministry of public security issued a reminder in November that organisers of any such events must apply for approval at least five days in advance, including in their request details concerning the number of participants and the content of any banners to be hoisted or slogans shouted. Violators, including foreign visitors, may face criminal penalties, including fines or detention. Gatherings may be banned if, among other things, they threaten to “instigate divisions among the people” or endanger public safety. Indeed, police approval is rare.”

That Long March to liberty is very long indeed!

No Alternatives?

Nov 13

Posted by GRIH in Global Warming/Climate Change | No Comments

Alternative energy sources don’t seem to live up to the hype:

(From Agence France-Presse)

“Some alternative vehicle fuels such as liquid coal can cause more harmful greenhouse gas emissions than polluters such as petrol or diesel, scientists warned in a US study released Tuesday.

‘Liquid coal, for example, can produce 80 percent more global warming pollution than gasoline,’ said the Union of Concerned Scientists, a non-profit environmental group, in a statement introducing its study.

Liquid coal is viewed as a potential replacement to the oil on which countries rely heavily to fuel vehicles.

‘Corn ethanol, conversely, could be either more polluting or less than gasoline depending on how the corn is grown and the ethanol is produced,’ the report said.

’60s Generation Heads Into Their 60s

Nov 8

Posted by GRIH in Government Accountability | No Comments

Paul Jacob, the featured speaker at the GRIH’s annual dinner on November 3rd, recently took note of a momentous day in the history of the Woodstock Generation:

“On the Ides of October, the first baby boomer applied for Social Security retirement. A Maryland teacher, born a second after midnight on Jan. 1, 1946, will become eligible to receive early retirement benefits next New Year’s Day.
And so begins the next crisis.
When Social Security was set up, its supporters pooh-poohed critics who warned that by not investing the collected funds, the government was setting up a major fiasco. The pooh-poohers were wrong, of course; the skeptics, right.
Now, all those baby boomers whose FICA withholding kept the system afloat for years will begin to drain funds. Soon, the money going to retirees will far exceed money coming in. Hence the crisis.
What to do?”
Read the rest here.

Free Health Care, Sans Government

Nov 6

Posted by GRIH in Health Care | No Comments

This week, the DVD of Michael Moore’s Sicko hits the shelves. To commemorate, the next issue of ‘Grass in Review‘ will take a look at health care, and Moore’s film specifically.

Much talk about health issues in the U.S. focuses on the plight of the uninsured. Connie Marshner at TCS Daily examines one solution to this problem: free charitable clinics.

“The Free Clinic movement is living embodiment of many conservative principles: the principles of subsidiarity and voluntarism, the spirit of enterprise and of community self-reliance. As health care becomes more and more of a national concern, if people are truly concerned about the less fortunate, there should be a population explosion in the number of free clinics around the country.”

Dash of Calabash

Hawaii’s free-market blog