2am Commentary

The premiere libertarian web journal of news and commentary on politics and culture

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18 hours 40 min ago

November 17, 2009

22:23
“‘In the railway part of the attack, two of the terrorists indiscriminately fired at passengers with AK-47 assault rifles.’ That they retrieved from their checked-in luggage? What? No? They weren’t even passengers on any train? They smuggled themselves, their AK-47s, grenades, etc., into the country on small boats that came ashore from the Arabian Sea? [...]

November 16, 2009

17:34
“Most of us would probably think that a man who found himself being followed down a dark street by two people at midnight and turned to ask, ‘why are you following me?’ while holding a folding pocket knife pointed down along his leg was just being careful. His actions seem especially reasonable when you know [...]

November 15, 2009

20:51
“Hasan reportedly had fired more than 100 rounds, requiring him to change handgun magazines several times — Sgt. Todd said Hasan was reloading again when he shot the suspect. Why didn’t any of the hundreds of Army personnel in the room shoot back, ending his killing spree far sooner? Because they couldn’t. Among President Bill [...]

November 14, 2009

20:49
“Some 15,000 Americans died last year because they didn’t have it. As many as five million more experienced a significant reduction in their quality of life, including mental and emotional trauma as well as diminished health, without it. Although large majorities of those Americans fortunate enough to have it are satisfied with what they have, [...]
20:48
“The title to this commentary was drawn from a 1788 quote by one of our founders, George Mason. Although his quote is more than two hundred years old, it remains as current now as it was then. Some things have simply not changed. Those regimes seeking to assert and maintain absolute control over the citizenry [...]
20:45
“There is little to salvage from last week’s mass murder at Fort Hood, Texas, but there are some stark realizations this heartbreaking horror exposes. One is the wishful but mistaken notion that such incidents can be prevented by laws prohibiting or strictly restricting access to firearms. The Second Amendment not with standing, U.S. military bases [...]
20:36
“I’ve always been a history buff at heart and more recently an avid gun enthusiast, but most importantly, a supporter of Second Amendment rights. There’s a difference between just shooting guns and knowing the vast history behind our right to do so. The United States, as a country and before it was a country, has [...]

November 12, 2009

20:05
“It is hard to believe that we don’t trust soldiers with guns on an army base when we trust these very same men in Iraq and Afghanistan. Shouldn’t an army base be the last place where a terrorist should be able to shoot at people uninterrupted for 10 minutes? After all, an army base is [...]

November 10, 2009

00:39
“If George Washington had learned that soldiers under his command had died from a turncoat attack within an American Fort — not because arms weren’t available for his men to defend themselves but because an American officer didn’t trust American soldiers to bear arms — I’m fairly certain that American officer would have been summarily [...]

November 9, 2009

21:11
“So wait … the ammunition being used is available only to law enforcement and … military? Why, yes it is, according to FN’s own website. You can buy and use a number of different rounds for that pistol for self-defense, target shooting, or whatever legal purpose you wish, and police officers are at no more [...]

November 8, 2009

21:56
“In my last article I described what it’s like on Fort Hood, as well as all U.S. Army installations. It’s like Chicago. The only people armed are the post law enforcement agency such as Military Police or the Federal Police and those intent on criminal activity. Soldiers are not armed with loaded firearms ever, except [...]
21:55
“Yesterday at Fort Hood, disgruntled Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan murdered 12 soldiers and wounded 31 others before being shot and captured. These soldiers were entrusted to carry fully automatic, military assault rifles when deployed to Afghanistan, where the shooter was about to be sent. But in America, these same soldiers are disarmed when on [...]
21:47
“Gun owners take heart. The Constitution is on your side. The right to bear arms is guaranteed by the Second Amendment. Still, the right of citizens to bear arms is often discussed in heated tones and emotional language.Political assassinations, workplace violence and school shootings inevitably spark public outcries for control of firearms. These demands are [...]
21:19
“Writing in the Boston Globe, reporter Susan Milligan noted that the Democratic Party, ‘long identified with gun control, is rethinking its approach to the gun debate, seeking to improve the chances of its candidates in Western states where hunters have been wary of casting votes for a party with a national reputation of being against [...]
21:12
“With the massacre at Ft. Hood, we once again see the consequences of gun control. Remember what the gun controllers say: that once gun control is imposed, would-be murderers will obey the gun-control law by resorting to some other form of murder. At least the killers won’t use a gun, the gun-controllers exclaim, because gun [...]
21:07
“Gun-rights proponents have noted that Amtrak always allowed passengers’ guns on its trains, deciding to ban them only after the 2001 terror attacks. Amtrak and its defenders in Congress have argued that the government-owned passenger line needs more time before it can ‘allow’ firearms onto trains. ‘We don’t think we’ll be able to do that [...]

November 5, 2009

21:43
“Governance in this country is really nothing more than service to the electorate. We govern ourselves by way of executives we hire to do things for us on our authority, and it is nothing more. It is not any greater wisdom of theirs, it is not greater information, and it is not greater knowledge. It [...]
21:12
“The bill (H.R. 3962) is 1,990 pages long and weighs over 20 pounds. And even though a search of the bill will not reveal the word ‘gun’ or ‘firearm,’ that doesn’t mean the bill is neutral in regard to your Second Amendment rights. For starters, this bill will — like all the ObamaCare versions [...]
21:09
“The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms today condemned Washington CeaseFire President Ralph Fascitelli for capitalizing on the murder of Seattle Police Officer Timothy Q. Brenton by announcing a plan to lobby for a ban on so-called ‘assault weapons’ using Brenton’s killing as a launch pad. ‘Over the years,’ said CCRKBA [...]
03:39
“As one might expect of a man so brilliant, Thomas Jefferson had the perfect answer to modern politicians itchy to disarm the ordinary citizen. ‘Laws that forbid the carrying of arms … disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. … Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better [...]