Free Republic

Five congressional seats in three states remain too close to call or undecided. They are: Arizona 2nd: GOP Challenger Martha McSally leads incumbent Ron Barber by 179 votes. California 7th: GOP Challenger Doug Ose leads incumbent Ami Bera by 530 votes. California 16th: GOP Challenger Johnny Tacherra leads incumbent Jim Costa by 741 votes. Louisiana 5th: Single Democrat candidate Jamie Mayo leads with 28% of the total, but has an uphill climb against a crowded GOP field who garnered 69%. The leader was Ralph Abraham with 23%, who seems all but certain to win the December 2nd run-off. Louisiana 6th:...

Oracle Sycamore Canyon Academy, Oracle, AZ was the site for protest, when the feds tried to bus in illegal juveniles, some purported to be members of Central American gangs, like MS-13, as part of the mass relocation of foreign minors. During that dust up, the transport did not happen, but later this summer the transfer was made secretly, and without notice of the press or public. This is my paraphrasing of the interview local conservative talk show host, Garrett Lewis had with Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeau had to update this incident and reflect the changes in the community. http://www.knst.com/media/podcast-morning-ritual-interviews-interviews/paul-babeu-november-11-2014-25552848/...

Leftovers: A roundup of uncalled races By: Kevin Robillard November 6, 2014 02:28 PM EST More than 36 hours after the last polls closed, two statewide races in Alaska, the Virginia Senate race and a slew of West Coast House races have yet to be called.Here’s how things stand:THE HOUSEAZ-2: Highly touted Republican recruit Martha McSally leads Democratic Rep. Ron Barber by just under 1,300 votes. The Arizona Republic reports that only a few thousand votes remain uncounted in Cochise County, while 47,000 votes still need to be counted in Democrat-friendly Pima County.CA-7: Former GOP Rep. Doug Ose has...

I did not have an NRA hat, so I used the Gun Guy hat that I was given at the Shot Show.   No one blinked or so much as suggested that it was inappropriate.   Of course, this was Arizona. If I-594 wins in Washington, we will see an assualt on our rights here by billionaires working hard to buy an election by misinforming low information voters. I have seen it happen before.   If people do not know much about an issue, they can easily be swayed by slick ads. The old media has been a powerful force in moving...

Pro-Second Amendment Congressional candidate Martha McSally (R-AZ-2) leads pro-gun control incumbent Ron Barber (D-AZ-2) by 36 points in Arizona's District 2 race, but a "glitch" in a voting machine has momentarily stalled the vote count.

These Arizona Rangers were gathered together in 1903.  The rifles that I can identify are all 1895 Winchesters.   In 1903 the total ranger force was 26 men.   I count 25 in this picture.   The Ranger Act of 1901 required that every ranger carry an 1895 Winchester and a Colt Single Action Army in .45 Colt.  One Ranger, Private Lonnie McDonald,  had been wounded in February of 1903, and he may not have yet recovered.  I see a few possible gunbelts, but the angle is precisely wrong to see any holstered Colts.   Picture from historynet.com. ©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission...

This is an interesting case.   Jeremy Sweet is not a rookie.   He is 51 years old, close to retirement.  He has been working at the Phoenix Police Department since July of 2007.  He was transporting prisoners at the time of the incident, driving an unmarked police vehicle.    Not only are the prisoners that he was transporting willing to testify to his actions, but at least one bystander called 911.  There may be surveillance video as well.   From azfamily.com: "He did not get on his police radio," Crump continued. "He did not ask for assistance. He did not document this...

A union of federal immigration-law-enforcement workers issued a statement “pleading” for the American people to pressure Congress to block President Obama’s expected executive orders on immigration. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services union president wrote of “constant violations to the Immigrant and Nationality Act” in his letter. “This statement is intended for the public: if you care about your immigration security and your neighborhood security, you must act now to ensure that Congress stops this unilateral amnesty. Let your voice be heard and spread the word to your neighbors,” wrote union president Kenneth Palinkas. “We who serve in our...

On my way back to Yuma, I switched from concealed carry (open carry of modern handguns is illegal in Texas) to open carry.   Just past the New Mexico border, in Arizona, is the San Simon rest stop, at exit 388 on I-10.   I have been to this rest stop many times.   The Rest Area Guide is old and weatherbeaten.    There is no prohibition on the carry of arms, because of open carry activists actions at the Sacaton rest stop in 1998.   No one had a problem with me having a pistol in the rest area.  A friendly truck driver...

After being shot, one robber dropped the stolen money. An armed citizen in Arizona has stopped a bank robbery in a dramatic and effective fashion.   It appears that he determined what was happening, took action, and fired on the armed robbers when they resisted.   One robber was killed, the other is in custody.   It reminds one a bit of the famous Arkansas bank robbery that was thwarted by armed citizens in 1922.  From abc15.com: "He took the keys out of the car because they left the car running. And so he took the keys out of the car and...

A federal judge has struck down Arizona's ban on gay marriage and cleared the way for legally recognized same-sex unions in the state. The ruling Friday by U.S. District Judge John Sedwick bars state officials from enforcing a 1996 state law and a 2008 voter-approved constitutional amendment that outlawed gay marriage. Sedwick ordered the state to "permanently cease" its ban on gay marriage and declined to stay his order. The Arizona decision came after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Oct. 7 that gay marriage prohibitions in Nevada and Idaho violated the equal-protection rights of same-sex couples. Last...

Of all the malfeasant scandals the Clintons have committed, from lying under oath, to Whitewater to the Marc Rich pardon, little compares to the politically craven 1999 clemencies to 16 unrepentant terrorists of the Puerto Rican terrorist group FALN (Armed Forces for National Liberation). Fred DuVal was the co-chair of President Clinton’s White House Interagency Group of Puerto Rico, one of the groups that actively promoted clemency for terrorists. frauncestavernbombingFrom 1974 to 1983, the FALN waged a merciless, bloody war against the United States, attacking civilians mainly in Chicago and New York. On January 24, 1975, the FALN’s most deadly...

I recently posted about taking Joe hunting, and how he is now capable of hunting on his own.   Joe is on the right, Jason is on the left.  Last year, Jason expressed an interest in hunting, but we were not able to make it happen.   This year, I was able to take Jason on his first hunt. I arrived to pick up the young hunters.   A mistake had been made in setting the alarm clock, so no one was up, and I was knocking on the door at 5:15 a.m.   They got up shortly, and we were able to...

.22 rimfire is starting to become more available, as tremendous demand is being met.   From around the country I am hearing reports of more .22 rimfire being available, though supplies are still not sufficient to keep stores stocked. My friend Jerry needed to purchase some shotgun ammunition for dove hunting, as I was taking his son and friend out as beginning hunters.   We drove to Wal Mart.   Shotgun ammunition has never been in short supply.   Wal Mart was out of dove loads!  Shooting dove with duck loads or buck shot is not a good idea.   I should explain that...

I had read about Moms Demanding Action's strident calling for a boycott of Kroger's over MDA's dislike of the exercise of the second amendment.  I had also read the new media's urging to show support for Kroger's polite reply that the MDA's should mind their own business.   Of course, political manipulation is the MDA's business... and that runs exactly contrary to the limits on government that allow for toleration of others. So I stopped at Fry's and filled up the tank.   I was open carrying, as I usually am in Arizona, especially at this time of year.  Opening day...

Tempe, AZ: Luis has been in deportation proceedings as a result of a minor traffic incident. On July 7, 2014, his attorney submitted a request for a stay of removal to keep Luis in the United States with his wife and children, but that request has been denied by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), despite matching the agency’s own “low priority” criteria for removal. He now lives under the threat of immediate deportation. At a press conference at 9:30am, Rev. Eric O. Ledermann will discuss his congregation’s call to stand with and support the Lopez-Acabal family so that they may...

Last year, I wrote about mentoring a new hunter.   It is harder to bring new hunters into the gun culture now than when I was a child.   When I started hunting at age 11, with an air rifle on the farm in northern Wisconsin, I grabbed a gun, stepped out the door, and was hunting.   My father had carefully told me what pests I could hunt.  In  a year, I was using a real rifle,  a .22.  My father taught me to shoot, but most of my early hunting was alone or in the company of one or...

A terrified Arizona widow, armed with a revolver, hid in her bathroom then shot and subdued a robber who broke into her home. Incredible 911 audio captures the courageous 47-year-old woman work her way through the May ordeal, shooting and wounding Michael Lewis, 20. Lewis has since pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary and aggravated assault for breaking into the unidentified woman’s Phoenix home near 67th Ave. and Indian School Road, KPNX-TV reported.

<p>Mary Rose Wilcox is a career politician from Phoenix' South side who runs a Democrat political machine that has been compared to Daley's in Chicago.  She was running in the Democrat primary for a congressional seat in the deep blue "safe seventh" district of Arizona, one of the few Arizona districts that is safe for Democrat candidates.   She had name recognition, organization, and money on her side.   She decided to differentiate herself from her main opposition, Ruben Gallego, by being more willing to chip away at second amendment rights.</p>

In a previous article I wrote about the improper signage at the Meteor Crater rest stop in Arizona.   At the first stop, I failed to obtain a picture. The rest stop is a member of a pair of rest stops as is often seen; one on each side of the freeway.   On the return trip, I stopped at the sister rest area to see if it had the bad signage as well.   It did.  The sign appeared to be identical with the sign that I recalled on the South side of I-40. Note the location of the prohibition on...