Hooray For Starbucks
Chuck Baldwin
March 2, 2010
The major news media was replete with reports over the weekend that the coffee company, Starbucks, “has no problem with customers packing heat while placing their orders.”
“The coffee giant says it won’t take issue with gun owners who take advantage of ‘open carry’ laws and bring firearms into their restaurant.” (Source: NBC News)
To tell you the truth, I’m not sure why this is even considered “newsworthy.” Perhaps because Starbucks is a Seattle-based company that caters to the “yuppie” crowd? Maybe because the anti-gun national news media is shocked and chagrined at Starbucks’ statement? Who knows? That Starbucks would not want to alienate millions of gun owners (many of whom lawfully carry concealed weapons for personal protection) makes perfectly good sense to me. I’m sure the statement by Starbucks has little to do with guns and everything to do with business. But the fact is, there are tens of thousands of lawfully armed citizens who carry either concealed or open that have been peacefully doing business with thousands of companies around the country for years.
At last glance, 12 states allow unrestricted open carry. Those states are Alaska, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, South Dakota, Vermont, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Virginia. Plus, at least 13 other states allow restricted open carry (meaning a permit is required). I know it infuriates gun-grabbing liberals to admit this, but the facts are absolutely undeniable that an armed citizenry is far and away a more civilized and peaceful citizenry.
Founding Father, author of the Declaration of Independence, and our third President Thomas Jefferson rightly said, “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 for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.”
Founding Father, the man called “the father of the U.S. Constitution, and our 4th President James Madison, agreed with Jefferson. He wrote in Federalist, Number 46, “[The Constitution preserves] the advantage of being armed, which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation . . . [where] the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.”
Founding Father and author of the classic Revolution-era books, “Common Sense” and “Rights of Man,” Thomas Paine concurred. He said, “Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property . . . Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of the use of them.”
And should there be any doubt in the minds of sincere men regarding the advantages and appropriateness of an armed citizenry, the research of John R. Lott, Jr. is more than sufficient to dispel it. Lott is a senior research scientist at the University of Maryland, College Park. He was previously the John M. Olin Visiting Law and Economics Fellow at the University of Chicago Law School. His book, “More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws,” is the most authoritative and thoroughly researched volume on the subject. And the title of his book is exactly what his research proves: More guns, less crime!
Lott’s analysis “is based on data for all 3,054 counties in the United States during 18 years from 1977 to 1994.” Lott said carry laws reduce violent crime because “victims who have guns are in a much better position to defend themselves.” DUH!
See a University of Chicago-sponsored interview with Mr. Lott at:
http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/493636.html
Of course, liberal gun-grabbers love to instill fear into people by saying that citizens carrying guns will result in more incidents of violence. However, the facts just do not substantiate this hysteria. Even our local “mullet wrapper” recently ran a column excoriating the new law that allows concealed carry permit holders to carry his or her sidearm in national parks and forests. The basis of their diatribe? “It’s a risky change that will endanger families, hikers, those who work in these places and the park rangers themselves.”
See the rant at:
http://www.pnj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20102260311
Like all gun-grabbers, however, the fearmongering of the editorial board at the Pensacola, Florida, News Journal just does not square with the facts. As Lott observes, “Criminals are deterred by higher penalties. Just as higher arrest and conviction rates deter crime, so does the risk that someone committing a crime will confront someone able to defend him or herself. There is a strong negative relationship between the number of law-abiding citizens with permits and the crime rate–as more people obtain permits there is a greater decline in violent crime rates. For each additional year that a concealed handgun law is in effect the murder rate declines by 3 percent, rape by 2 percent, and robberies by over 2 percent.”
Accordingly, the new law allowing concealed carry permit holders to carry in national parks and forests serves only to make those parks and forests safer.
I well remember being invited to speak in the rural Montana town of Hamilton last year. Somewhere between 600 and 800 people assembled at the local fairgrounds to hear me speak. It was a terrific rally with some of the most patriotic and enthusiastic people I have ever spoken to. (They have invited me back to speak, this time at the University of Montana in Missoula, to a much larger crowd of probably several thousand later this May.)
Along with the vibrancy, energy, and sheer enthusiasm of that audience I observed that scores of people were openly carrying handguns on their hips. (No telling how many people were carrying concealed. Scores more, I’m sure.) Can one imagine a would-be killer trying to open fire in that meeting? Needless to say, not only did I feel at home, I felt absolutely safe–a whole lot safer than I feel when I travel to Washington, D.C. (or any other city or State restricting gun possession), that is for sure!
Obviously, the executives at Starbucks are wiser and more discerning than a majority of newspaper editors and television news anchors. They have seen several other business establishments that have introduced corporate policies prohibiting lawfully armed citizens from entering their establishments–and they’ve seen their profits and customer bases shrink dramatically! They’ve also, no doubt, seen what happened in Luby’s Cafeteria in Killeen, Texas, when a madman crashed his vehicle into the restaurant and began shooting patrons at will. The total carnage on that horrific day back in 1991 resulted in 23 people dead and 20 more wounded, and the killer eventually killing himself. Some 80 people were in the restaurant when the shooting occurred, but Texas did not have a concealed carry law at the time, so no one was armed and able to fight back.
At this point, I strongly urge readers to watch the eyewitness testimony of former Texas State Representative Dr. Suzanna Gratia-Hupp–whose parents were killed in the Luby’s Cafeteria rampage–given before the US Congress. See her testimony at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WznSA4EU1Gk
Therefore, the sadness and chagrin of liberal gun-grabbers notwithstanding, I say, “Hooray for Starbucks!” And I don’t even like their coffee. Maybe I’ll give them another chance.
URL to article: http://www.infowars.com/hooray-for-starbucks/
Gun case presents quandary for Supreme Court justices
Robert Barnes
Washington Post
March 1, 2010
As a member of the Junior ROTC, teenager Antonin Scalia toted his rifle on the subway ride back and forth to Queens. As a hunter, he speaks lyrically of stalking wild turkeys. And as a justice, he may have reached the pinnacle of his more than two decades on the Supreme Court when he wrote the majority opinion that said the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to own a firearm.
But when the justices on Tuesday confront the question of whether the amendment applies to state and local governments — not just the federal government and its enclaves, such as the District of Columbia — the court’s most prominent gun enthusiast faces something of a constitutional quandary.
The most likely path to recognizing gun ownership as a fundamental right is one that has been heavily criticized by Scalia and other conservative scholars, and it seems inconsistent with his belief that the Constitution should be interpreted in terms of its framers’ “original meaning.”
URL to article: http://www.infowars.com/gun-case-presents-quandary-for-supreme-court-justices/
Man takes Chicago to Supreme Court over handgun ban
Paul Meincke
ABC Local
February 25, 2010
A grandfather is taking his 2nd Amendment fight to the U.S. Supreme Court in what is expected to be a landmark case. Otis McDonald, 76, is suing the city of Chicago over its handgun ban.
McDonald says he wants the right to protect himself from gang members who threaten the Morgan Park neighborhood where he lives.
McDonald’s case will be argued before the nation’s high court next week. ABC 7’s Paul Meincke talked with McDonald.
McDonald is a retired maintenance engineer who moved to Chicago in the early 1950s with $18 in his pocket. At this point in his life, he says, he surely didn’t set out to make history, but that’s clearly where he finds himself.
URL to article: http://www.infowars.com/man-takes-chicago-to-supreme-court-over-handgun-ban/
Newspaper Establishes Registered Gun Database, Equates Gun Owners to Sex Offenders
NRA
December 8, 2009
On November 30, 2009, the Bloomington Herald-Times made the following announcement:
“This week, HeraldTimesOnline.com will launch its new gun permit database. You’ll be able to search gun permit records by county, city or town and street.”
The Herald-Times has begun receiving calls and emails, and their response is a defiant defense of their online gun permit database.
Anyone who visits the newspaper website will be able to search the number of permits on a given street or neighborhood. Although at this point the names and house numbers are not listed, the newspaper’s website treats law-abiding Indiana gun owners like sex offenders on a searchable database.
It is NRA’s firm belief that there is no public good served by the publishing or cataloguing private citizens’ gun ownership information, and that more harm is done by such an action. Law-abiding Hoosiers should not be subjected to the same treatment as sex offenders, and if the newspaper won’t listen to their constituents and customers, then NRA Members and Indiana gun owners should send a financial message by cancelling their subscriptions to the Bloomington Herald-Times.
Please contact the Bloomington Herald-Times to respectfully voice your displeasure at the irresponsible action the newspaper has made.
Scott Schurz, Sunday Hoosier Times/Editor-in-Chief
(812) 331-4250
E. Mayer Maloney Jr., Publisher
(812) 331-4251
Bob Zaltsberg, Editor
(812) 331-4364
URL to article: http://www.infowars.com/newspaper-establishes-registered-gun-database-equates-gun-owners-to-sex-offenders/
Goldman Sachs Bankers Buy Guns to Defend Against “Populist Uprising”
Alice Schroeder
Bloomberg
December 1, 2009
“I just wrote my first reference for a gun permit,” said a friend, who told me of swearing to the good character of a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. banker who applied to the local police for a permit to buy a pistol. The banker had told this friend of mine that senior Goldman people have loaded up on firearms and are now equipped to defend themselves if there is a populist uprising against the bank.
I called Goldman Sachs spokesman Lucas van Praag to ask whether it’s true that Goldman partners feel they need handguns to protect themselves from the angry proletariat. He didn’t call me back. The New York Police Department has told me that “as a preliminary matter” it believes some of the bankers I inquired about do have pistol permits. The NYPD also said it will be a while before it can name names.
While we wait, Goldman has wrapped itself in the flag of Warren Buffett, with whom it will jointly donate $500 million, part of an effort to burnish its image — and gain new Goldman clients. Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein also reversed himself after having previously called Goldman’s greed “God’s work” and apologized earlier this month for having participated in things that were “clearly wrong.”
URL to article: http://www.infowars.com/goldman-sachs-bankers-buy-guns-to-defend-against-populist-uprising/
More Video of LRAD Used Against Demonstrators
Infowars
September 26, 2009
URL to article: http://www.infowars.com/more-video-of-lrad-used-against-demonstrators/
Video: Confronted by LRAD Accoustic Weapons
Infowars
September 26, 2009
Louder than bombs: LRAD ’sonic cannon’ debuts in U.S. at G20 protests
Sam Gustin
Daily Finance
September 26, 2009
Pittsburgh police on Thursday used an audio cannon manufactured by American Technology Corporation (ATCO), a San Diego-based company, to disperse protesters outside the G-20 Summit — the first time its LRAD series device has been used on civilians in the U.S.
An ATC sales representative confirms to DailyFinance that Pittsburgh police used ATC’s Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD). “Yes, we sold one LRAD unit to a government agency — I don’t know which one — which was used in Pittsburgh,” the representative said. American Technology Corp.’s stock was trading up over 15 percent in heavy activity late Friday.
URL to article: http://www.infowars.com/video-confronted-by-lrad-accoustic-weapons/
Military Police Kidnap G20 Protester, Shove Him Into Unmarked Car
Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Friday, September 25, 2009
It’s a shocking scene that wouldn’t have looked out of place on the streets of Nazi Germany or Maoist China in humanity’s darkest historical period – a protester is shoved into an unmarked car by military thugs and driven away to whatever Godforsaken fate awaits him. And yet this is America in 2009, where the First Amendment is now officially a criminal offense and people who dare exercise it are attacked and abducted by military police in broad daylight.
The video shows an unmarked gold Sedan drive up to a side street near Baum Ave & S Millvale Ave. in Pittsburgh. Men in military fatigues wrestle with the protester as other men in cammo exit the vehicle. The protester is shoved forcefully into the car as the military thugs follow him in and the car speeds away.
Watch the clip below.
Protesters scream “what the fuck is wrong with you” as the Sedan disappears into a cloud of tear gas.
In another You Tube clip, the man with the red bandana seen protesting as the other man is abducted is subsequently arrested by riot cops, presumably merely for voicing his displeasure at the disgraceful scenes he witnessed.
“Some guy just got chased down and thrown in a car for no reason,” states the camerawoman before the shot focuses in on the man with the red bandana, who is being manhandled and arrested by three riot cops.
“Why are you doing that, what did he do?” asks the woman.
Other protesters chant “let him go” as media photographers attempt to find out his name. The clip finishes with a another burst of the sound cannon being used against demonstrators.
Another You Tube clip features the image that is re-posted at the top of this story and asks people to try and identify the military police and riot cops who kidnapped the demonstrator.
These videos require no more explanation, they speak for themselves.
Riot cops and military personnel driving around in unmarked cars kidnapping American citizens off the streets for the crime of exercising their First Amendment.
There can be no more debate, America as we knew it is officially dead and buried. The U.S. is more of a police state than Communist China. The only free speech that still exists is on the Internet, in the form of You Tube videos that remind us of what we already knew – the whole country has been hijacked and looted by a criminal gang of globalists who are using their cadre of enforcer thugs to crush any form of opposition to their agenda.
Our only hope is that when the world witnesses scenes like this, it will act as a wake-up call and prevent the planet from sliding once again into tyranny. Only the most deluded and brainwashed individual can now deny the threat that faces us all when police and military show such contempt for the Constitution that they swore an oath to protect and defend.
URL to article: http://www.infowars.com/military-police-kidnap-g20-protester-shove-him-into-unmarked-car/
News Report On Placement of Long Range Acoustic Device at Town Hall Meeting
Infowars
September 16, 2009
In the video here, San Diego cops promise they will not use LRAD (Long Range Acoustic Device) against demonstrators. If that is the case, why was the device placed at a town hall meeting in San Diego?
URL to article: http://www.infowars.com/news-report-on-placement-of-long-range-acoustic-device-at-town-hall-meeting/
PortalScape 