Free Republic

A group of red shirt-wearing Chavista thugs show up at a farm and seize the farm in the name of the government, under the pretext that the 103 hectare farm is “idle land” and that the law allows them to take it over for “food production.” The farmer protests politely, explaining that he’s been raising cattle on his farm for 23 years. He is rebuffed by another guy, who says, “this is not going to be a debate; this is a public act approved by the Venezuelan people. I’m governor and I’m here to ensure public order. There won’t be...

I have no idea if I am doing this correctly but I got this and thought it was important. Now all Guns' must be listed on your next (2010) tax return! As if we didn't have enough to get upset about! If you have a gun, I hope it isn't registered! Senate Bill SB-2099 will require us to put on our 2009 1040 federal tax form all guns that you have or own. It will require fingerprints and a tax of $50 per gun. This bill was introduced on Feb.. 24, 2009, by the Obama staff. BUT . ...this bill...

In my previous article you can see the actual executive order in which U.S. citizens lost the right to own gold. From May 1st 1933 until 1971, U.S. citizens could no longer hold gold as a protection against paper money, which also lost its gold backing at the same time. Foreign central banks could continue to exchange the U.S. dollars that came into their possession [known as Eurodollars for decades] for gold and did so particularly when the $ was devalued and then floated against the gold price in 1971. Why? The ‘why' of it all, is critical to our...

I recently finished reading The Great New Orleans Gun Grab: Descent Into Anarchy by Gordon Hutchinson and Todd Masson. To give you an idea of how interesting this book is, I finished all 190 pages PLUS the Appendix materials in just under three hours. Both Hutchinson and Masson are professional writers, and they do an excellent job conveying a story that is fascinating, frightening, horrifying, and often, beyond belief. I found myself muttering, numerous times, "Certainly this did not happen in the United States." Well, it did happen. And every gun owner owes it to himself to at least know...

We assure you, this is not a fatuous question. Is it possible you may well ask under what circumstances did this happen in 1933? What we can confirm is that in 1933 the U.S. government banned the ownership of gold by U.S. citizens and purchased all but rare gold coins from the U.S. Public

There's a lot of Internet chatter these days about the possibility of the U.S. government seizing its citizens' private gold holdings. What are the chances?

Henry Kissinger tells Russian President Medvedev " by September 2009 we'll have confiscated all privately owned guns.

The ACLU, not exactly known for being sympathetic to the right to keep and bear arms, is going to bat for a New Orleans man who had his gun confiscated. From the Associated Press: The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana filed the federal lawsuit Thursday on behalf of Errol Houston Jr., who was arrested last year following a traffic stop. The lawsuit says the district attorney's office declined to prosecute Houston but has refused to return his .40-caliber firearm. Why? After all: "Mr. Houston has done nothing wrong. There are no criminal charges against him. His firearm, which he...

Massachusetts wants even more tax revenue—from New Hampshire.___ Should New Hampshire businesses have to collect Massachusetts sales taxes from border-crossing shoppers? That’s the issue in Town Fair Tire v. Massachusetts, a case before the Bay State’s Supreme Judicial Court with ramifications for commerce and constitutional law well beyond New England. In 2003, a Massachusetts Department of Revenue audit uncovered invoices from three New Hampshire outlets of the Town Fair Tire company (TFT) to customers with Massachusetts addresses. Because Connecticut-based TFT also has locations in Massachusetts—and therefore benefits from various public services there, from police protection to road maintenance—the Massachusetts Appellate...

Dozens of US cities may have entire neighbourhoods bulldozed as part of drastic "shrink to survive" proposals being considered by the Obama administration to tackle economic decline. The government looking at expanding a pioneering scheme in Flint, one of the poorest US cities, which involves razing entire districts and returning the land to nature. Local politicians believe the city must contract by as much as 40 per cent, concentrating the dwindling population and local services into a more viable area. The radical experiment is the brainchild of Dan Kildee, treasurer of Genesee County, which includes Flint. Having outlined his strategy...

My oldest daughter patted my hand indulgently and said "Dad, I can assure you that nobody is going to come take your guns." We were again discussing gun rights and she cannot fathom my trepidation about the current trend in our federal government. I agree that the current legislation being considered doesn't empower the police to come confiscate our guns, but it does put in place a national permit system to oversee citizens rights to own a gun. That is step one: make it an earned privilege to own a gun. Step two is to raise the bar so high...

Among comments to my last piece, “Lautenberg gun show bill as bad as expected,” several were from well-meaning gun owners who honestly questioned why S. 843 – ostensibly submitted to close the “gun show loophole” – is really so bad. A typical and knowledgeable comment went like this: “I am a very pro-gun person. I own a couple of rifles and I will never support any [‘assault weapon’ ban]. I don't even support the ‘86 [McClure-Volkmer] automatic ban. But background checks should be required for any and every sale. If that means transferring it at the dealer, then fine. "But...

Meeting face-to-face with Mexican President Felipe Calderon, President Obama on Thursday said the U.S. is to blame for much of Mexico's drug violence, and he set up a major congressional gun-control battle by calling on the Senate to ratify a treaty designed to track and cut the flow of guns to other countries. Mr. Obama said he wants to renew a ban on some semiautomatic weapons but that it is not likely to pass Congress. Instead, he called for the Senate to ratify a decade-old hemispherewide treaty that would require nations to mark all weapons produced in the country and...

Henry Hazlitt describes the steps that a government can take to peacefully become a tyranny. It is a very illuminating read and you can download the PDF file for free.

What is the gun show loophole? It is the ability of a person to buy a gun from another attendee at the show, person to person, with no Instacheck to see if the buyer is a felon, or for any other reason should not be able to have a gun. If a person buys a gun from a Federal Fire Arms licensed dealer at the show, they must show ID and get the InstaCheck. On it's surface, this seems like a bad thing. The ABC television show 20/20 last Friday documented the ease with which a man bought lots of...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, announced last week that she wants to register guns. Her next move will be to try to confiscate them. The speaker picked a television show with a viewership of 4.6 million to float the Democrats' coming gun-control push. Questioned on ABC's "Good Morning America" about the prospect of new gun-control laws now that "it's a Democratic president, a Democratic House," she responded, "We don't want to take their guns away. We want them registered." Politicians and bureaucrats routinely claim that registration helps solve crimes. If a registered gun is used in a crime and...

BELLEVUE, Wash., April 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on April 7 acknowledged that gun registration is on her agenda, days after Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters in Mexico that the Second Amendment would not "stand in the way" of administration plans to crack down on alleged gun trafficking to Mexico. "These are alarming remarks from Speaker Pelosi and Attorney General Holder," said Second Amendment Foundation founder Alan Gottlieb. "It appears that the Obama administration and Capitol Hill anti-gunners have dropped all pretences about their plans for gun owners' rights, and it looks like the gloves are...

Most of our nation's great problems, including our economic problems, have as their root decaying moral values. Whether we have the stomach to own up to it or not, we have become an immoral people left with little more than the pretense of morality. You say, "That's a pretty heavy charge, Williams. You'd better be prepared to back it up with evidence!" I'll try with a few questions for you to answer. Do you believe that it is moral and just for one person to be forcibly used to serve the purposes of another? And, if that person does not...

In Wal-Mart, of all places. Army uniform, just minding his own business. I walked up to him and asked if he would answer a "survey question" for me. He said, "Sure." I flat-out asked him, "If you were to recieve an Order to confiscate the weapons of another American, would you obey that order?" Without hesitation, he replied "No way." I followed up with the second question..."Do you know anyone that would follow such an order?" His reply? "Not at all." My question for any Freepers who happen to read this is...Do you have a story about a military member...

Congress' lopsided vote on Thursday to tax AIG executives' bonuses at no less than 90%, and to apply the same to other bailout recipients, undermines Constitutional and contract law and is a clear abuse of power. Americans who applaud this act may want to think twice. If Congress is willing to break the law to confiscate these executives' bonuses, what will stop it from extending legislation to those who receive no government bailout money? You may say that's absurd. This is a special case. Congress is merely recovering taxpayer money from ill-managed and profligate enterprises. But Charles Krauthammer writes: "[T]here...

My dear fellows and you socialists lurking out there. This is not uplifting. I do wish someone could convince me that I am wrong and that there is cause for hope. If you suspect that this is a demoralizing plant by the left you would be wrong. It is however the most heart felt struggle to understand why this has happened to us all i can write. I am not alone. I looked to my Senator, whom I respect very much, to provide some encouragement that this wave of destruction could at least be held back and moderated...he gave no...

In response to Attorney General Eric Holder's comments about reinstating the ban on so-called "assault weapons," the National Shooting Sports Foundation issued a press release reminding Congress and all Americans that such a ban would result in a loss of jobs, have no effect on reducing crime and would deprive millions of law-abiding sportsmen and gun owners of their Constitutional right to own the firearm of their choice...

As President Obama indicated during the campaign, there are just a few gun-related changes that we would like to make, and among them would be to reinstitute the ban on the sale of assault weapons," Holder told reporters. I think closing the gun show loophole, the banning of cop-killer bullets and I also think that making the assault weapons ban permanent, would be something that would be permitted under Heller," Holder said, referring to the Supreme Court ruling in Washington, D.C. v. Heller, which asserted the Second Amendment as an individual's right to own a weapon.

Guardsmen to conduct urban training at Arcadia in April By BUTCH HEMAN Staff Writer The Carroll National Guard unit will train on urban military operations by holding a four-day exercise at Arcadia. The purpose of the April 2-5 drill will be to gather intelligence, then search for and apprehend a suspected weapons dealer, according to Sgt. Mike Kots, readiness NCO for Alpha Company. Citizens, law enforcement, media and other supporters will participate. Troops will spend Thursday, April 2, staging at a forward operations base at Carroll. The next day company leaders will conduct reconnaissance and begin patrolling the streets of...

There may be many things to hope for in the oncoming Obama administration. Investing in the bullion ETF, GLD, is not one of them. 1. I'll start with the opening sentence of the gold ETF itself and work outwards to you. The opening sentence of the November 2004 gold ETF prospectus said, "This ETF is intended to track the performance of the price of gold." Note that it doesn't say it will own gold, or anything so prosaic. This Exchange Traded Fund that promises easy gold ownership for America is only going to track it. You know, like your cat...

02.10.09MARINE VETERAN KICKED OUT OF SCHOOL FOR POSSESSING FIREARMS WOU STUDENT TRIED, CONVICTED AND SENTENCED.The WOU student who was falsely arrested and charged with possession of a firearm in a public building, had all his criminal charges dropped by the Polk County DA tonight.The DA admitted no wrongdoing on his part, or on the part of the police who arrested Jeff Maxwell for a "crime" that does not exist.In a statement released to OFF's attorney, the DA said "I believe the Monmouth Police Department issued the citation in good faith and that there was an arguable violation. However, a careful...

A second unrelated incident occurred Saturday morning when a man entered the airport to pick up his wife, according to LAX officials Police searched his vehicle and found two unregistered and unloaded shotguns (12-gauge and 20-gauge) as well as about 220 rounds of ammunition. The man told officers he recently went to a shooting range to fire the guns and forgot they were in his vehicle. The man was not arrested, but the guns were confiscated and he risks possible prosecution down the line. His name could also become part of a federal "watch list" database of sorts. “While these...

RALEIGH — Democrats in the U.S. House have been conducting hearings on proposals to confiscate workers’ personal retirement accounts — including 401(k)s and IRAs — and convert them to accounts managed by the Social Security Administration. Triggered by the financial crisis the past two months, the hearings reportedly were meant to stem losses incurred by many workers and retirees whose 401(k) and IRA balances have been shrinking rapidly. The testimony of Teresa Ghilarducci, professor of economic policy analysis at the New School for Social Research in New York, in hearings Oct. 7 drew the most attention and criticism. Testifying for...

Senator Barack Obama's presidential campaign slogan, "the audacity of hope," should have instead been "the audacity of deceit." After months of telling the American people that he supports the Second Amendment, and only hours after being declared the president-elect, the Obama transition team website announced an agenda taken straight from the anti-gun lobby--four initiatives designed to ban guns and drive law-abiding firearm manufacturers and dealers out of business: "Making the expired federal assault weapons ban permanent." Perhaps no other firearm issue has been more dishonestly portrayed by gun prohibitionists. Notwithstanding their predictions that the ban's expiration in 2004 would bring...

DO YOU PEOPLE OUT THERE HAVE ANY NOTION OF THE PESTILENCE YOU HAVE CALLED UPON OUR HEADS? ... Bottom line on the obama effect: 1. Israel is now alone: Unless you believe the Israelis will rely on someone who entered Pakistan on an Indonesian passport as an adult for its security. War with Iran by Israelis inevitable. Same will never be approved by the Dalibama. Israel must act alone or accept an Iranian Nuclear presence. I don’t believe an existensial threat of this type will be accepted by the Holocaust survivors, and I can’t blame them for feeling this way....

Hundreds of letters have been sent out advising current permit holders of impending revocation. The Sheriff's Department has begun the process of revoking hundreds of concealed weapon permits across Orange County. This week, department officials confirmed that 146 letters have been sent out advising current license holders that their permits to carry firearms in public – called CCWs – are being revoked. There are currently 1,024 permit holders. "The Department has determined that your identified risk does not meet the good cause threshold as required under the new CCW policy based upon the information you provided. As a result of...

In this letter sent this week to TV station managers from Obama campaign general counsel Bob Bauer, obtained by ABC News, the Obama campaign argues that a TV ad by the National Rifle Association should not air. "Unlike federal candidates, independent political organizations do not have a 'right to command the use of broadcast facilities,'" Bauer writes. "Moreover, you have a duty 'to protect the public from false, misleading or deceptive advertising.'" The Obama campaign takes issue with an ad called "Hunter," pointing out that claims in the ad were called "false" by Factcheck.org, and was given three Pinocchios by...

A licensed gunmaker who has reported retaliatory attacks on his work by federal agents upset over his testimony on behalf of a man sent to prison for having a broken gun has ordered the government to return one of his projects. "You have seized company property without any cause or court order to date. The company firmly demands the return of the firearm in question," Len Savage told John Spencer and other officials at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in a letter, a copy of which was sent to WND and also later posted online at the...

Do you believe the tax system should be used to punish people with unpopular views? One of old Soviet Union's actions that was most heavily and correctly criticized by human-rights activists both left and right was its confiscation of the wealth of those who chose to leave the U.S.S.R. The right to emigrate is considered by civilized people to be a basic human right. Regretfully and embarrassingly, the U.S. Congress has just passed a law that places a higher tax burden (and in some cases wealth confiscation) on those who choose to permanently leave the United States, and may make...

Guns aren't welcome in Toronto May 30, 2008 04:30 AM Re:Targeting the good guys Letters, May 29 It is interesting to note that letters criticizing Toronto City Council for closing down city-run shooting ranges were sent from Mississauga, Halifax, Wellesley, Ont., Pickering and Peterborough. I supported shutting down the shooting ranges because I believe it is hypocritical for city council to call for a total ban on handguns, while supporting and in fact subsidizing gun culture at city-run facilities – especially when recreation programs to keep kids away from the draw of a street culture that too often includes weapons...

Is it just me, or is an AP story about your willingness to garnish peoples wages to force them into your health care plan not exactly the theme you want associated with your name going into Super Tuesday? My guess, people hear garnish and wages and don't really need to read anything else. If this takes off, she'll be playing defense for two days explaining the nuance. WASHINGTON (AP) - Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday she might be willing to garnish the wages of workers who refuse to buy health insurance to achieve coverage for all Americans. The New...

TAKE THIS, TAKE THAT … AND THEN TAKE THE OTHER THING A couple of interesting stories popped off the Internet and into my lap over the weekend. First we have British Prime Minister Gordon Brown suggesting that the law in Great Britain should permit doctors and hospitals to presume that a patient who has taken the eternal celestial dirt nap wanted to donate his organs. The tango uniform patients organs would be seized by the National Health Service unless that person had previously taken his name off a national register or his family members object .. if his family members...

We finished this video to promote the Great New Orleans Gun Grab and I wanted to know what you guys think.

Via the Google Snooze Alerts came this, which notes that Fred Thompson managed to get all of his facts wrong on guns and the UN. It links to this bit by Mark Leon Goldberg which notes things Fred gets wrong. Such as: As you can see, these are pretty broad directives. And as you can see, no country is required to do anything. In fact, the only UN body that can require something of a member state is the Security Council, on which the United States has a veto. Here's the report (via David Hardy) that Fred was referring to....

Smoking a single joint of cannabis has the same impact on breathing capacity as up to five cigarettes, a new study shows. The researchers say this may be because cannabis users tend to inhale more deeply and, because joints are smoked without a filter, the smoke is hotter when it hits the lungs. Researchers from the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand publish their findings online in the journal Thorax. Doctors recruited 339 volunteers who were divided into four categories: those who smoked only cannabis, those who smoked only tobacco, those who smoked both, and those who smoked neither. Cannabis-only...

(2007-7-1) MSP has quietly notified dealers around the state that new restrictions on purchase of regulated firearms (handguns and select long guns) will take effect on August 1. Starting that date, any application to purchase such firearms will be administratively denied if it does not contain a release authorizing police to access medical records which may be on file at any state agency – or at any agency anywhere – in order to decide if the applicant is eligible to possess a gun. MSP will now assess your mental health when it decides whether to approve your purchase. Federal and...

CNSNews.com) - An Ohio newspaper's decision to publish the non-public records of concealed carry permit holders drew a strong response, and one gun rights advocacy group published personal but public information about the newspaper's editor. The Sandusky Register on June 24 published the names, ages and home counties of the almost 2,700 concealed carry permit holders in its circulation area. Ohio gun laws restrict public access to concealed carry records but allow the media to access them. The printing of the names sparked outrage from gun rights groups, including the Ohioans for Concealed Carry and the National Rifle Association. Critics...

Speaking in 2004 to a crowd of wealthy democratic supporters during a fund raising event in San Francisco, Hillary Clinton spoke the very words that illustrate the intentions of the government so very well. "We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good." While those words were spoken three years ago, they are just as important today. They represent not just the Democrat party's strong commitment to the redistribution of wealth rightfully earned by the American people, it provides insight into the focus that our politicians have in running our nation. It highlights the precise...

Tennessee state Sen. Mark Norris of Collierville doesn't want authorities to confiscate your firearm if a major disaster strikes the state. The Senate Republican leader again is sponsoring legislation that says the state does not have the right to suspend, during an emergency, Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms. Maybe Norris has seen too many disaster movies in which a nuclear bomb or some other catastrophe wipes away all vestiges of governing authority, leaving survivors to fend for themselves against looting mobs. While this newspaper supports a person's right to legally own a firearm, we think Norris' proposal...

The rule of law is disappearing in Venezuela Marcel Granier, President of Radio Caracas Television (Inter-American Press Agency) The reaction of President Chavez is verbally violent and crude each time someone dares to have a different opinion. ____________________________________________________ President Chavez verbally announced his decision to close Radio Caracas Television, a channel which for more than 53 years and with the best facilities draws the greater audience, moreover of being the television broadcaster that employs the most people in Venezuela. Thus culminates a long chain of aggressions against journalists, employees, managers, and shareholders of the independent media. He is trying to...

See video for Hillary's plan. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1PfE9K8j0g

SAF, NRA File Motion To Find New Orleans Mayor And Police Superintendent In Contempt Of Court Bellevue, Washington - Frustrated by repeated failures to meet court-appointed deadlines, and a pattern of disregard by the City of New Orleans, the Second Amendment Foundation has filed a motion to hold Mayor Ray Nagin and Police Superintendent Warren Riley in contempt of federal court. A hearing on the motion is scheduled for Jan. 31 in federal district court in New Orleans. The Second Amendment Foundation is suing Nagin and Riley over the confiscation of firearms from law-abiding citizens in the aftermath of Hurricane...

This site gives gun owners a stark and brutal reminder of why we must defend our firearm freedoms with passion and vigilance in Congress, in state legislatures, in the courts... AND ON ELECTION DAY. This site makes it clear why gun owners can never, ever sit on the sidelines during an election. This site is a slap-in-the-face wake up call for every gun owner who thinks anti-gun politicians don't have the nerve or the will to confiscate our guns. And why they must be defeated before they ever get their hands on power. Take a long hard look at the...

PRESIDENT BUSH SIGNS NRA-BACKED "DISASTER RECOVERY PERSONAL PROTECTION" MEASURE INTO LAW President George W. Bush recently signed legislation that included language based on H.R. 5013, the "Disaster Recovery Personal Protection Act," to prohibit the confiscation of legal firearms from law-abiding citizens during states of emergency. Passage of this legislation became a top priority of NRA following confiscations of lawfully-owned firearms by local officials in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Prior to the President's recent action, NRA led the charge in passing "emergency powers" laws in 10 states. This new law was part of the Department of Homeland...

/begin my translation Melodrama Crews Accidentally Filmed Chinese Warships, Clashing with Chinese Navy [Yonhap News 2006-10-03 16:13] (Seoul=Yonhap News) Baek Nari = 'Lovers', produced by director Shin Woo-chul and writer Kim Eun-sook, which follows their past productions, 'Lovers of Paris' and 'Lovers of Prague', was being filmed on location in Hainan Island, China, when film crews accidentally filmed new Chinese warships in the background, and films were confiscated, according to belated reports. According to K-dream(?), the production company, the crews, as well as lead character Kim Jung-eun and Lee suh-jin were filming the pursuit scene over the sea in front...