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A week ago, a hiker shot and killed a grizzly bear in Denali National Park (in Alaska): A backpacker shot and killed a grizzly bear in Denali National Park and Preserve on Friday after the animal charged toward his hiking companion. This is the first shooting incident since a change in federal law that allows firearms to be carried in many national parks and wildlife refuges went into effect in February. Granted, we have only the hikers' word for it that the shooting was indeed in self-defense, rather than pointless destruction of a magnificent animal, and park authorities are now...

It wasn't quite man-bites-dog, but there were men and there were dogs and there was biting.

ZION NATIONAL PARK — Zion is a unique national park where visitors receive a limited biblical and Book of Mormon education as part of their standard tour — whether they want it or not. That's because Zion is steeped in religious overtones — since the park's essential history and many of its names come from scripture. Ride the Zion shuttle buses and audio recordings recite to all passengers some of this religious history of the park, referring to the Book of Mormon and the Bible. For a few minutes, its reminiscent of a Temple Square tour. You'd be hard-pressed to...

The veiled threats against the Comedy Central show's creators should be taken very seriously. 'South Park" is hilarious, right? Not any more. Last week, Zachary Adam Chesser—a 20-year-old Muslim convert who now goes by the name Abu Talhah Al-Amrikee—posted a warning on the Web site RevolutionMuslim.com following the 200th episode of the show on Comedy Central. The episode, which trotted out many celebrities the show has previously satirized, also "featured" the Prophet Muhammad: He was heard once from within a U-Haul truck and a second time from inside a bear costume.

Baltimore Sun: It's not even that the terrorists have won, it's that wannabe terrorists have won. A group called Revolution Muslim, which by most accounts seems less a terrorist cell than, metaphorically speaking, a couple of guys living in their parents' basements, managed to scare Comedy Central this week into censoring South Park for mocking their religion, or rather, the ban in some quarters of depictions of the prophet Muhammed. The Anti-Defamation League, which has tracked the New York-based Revolution Muslim, says the group has no more than about a dozen members, is known mainly for spouting anti-Semitism, handing...

Participants of the Restore the Constitution rally came to Virginia this week with a long list of grievances. And they came bearing arms. Concerns ranged across the political spectrum, with protesters opposing everything from the federal requirement to purchase health insurance and the surveillance provisions of the Patriot Act to Social Security and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ultimately, their open-carry rally at Fort Hunt Park in Mount Vernon and Gravelly Point Park in Arlington called for less government intrusion and a reduced amount of spending. "Most of us are libertarian, and we have libertarian concerns," said Andrew Graves,...

Arkansas is a beautiful state, blessed with many opportunities to enjoy its scenic splendor and other attractions. However, an Arkansas vacation is not advised for the gun-owning tourist. Following are many reasons why: * The entire Ozark National Forest and all other Wildlife Management Areas are off-limits to firearms of any kind, unless you have an Arkansas-approved gun permit. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission have deemed themselves lords over these lands and have illegally enacted firearms regulations which are stricter than gun-hating California. Southern Arkansas is a confusing patchwork of gun laws due to the Wildlife Management Areas and...

Notes from the Restore the Constitution rally at Ft. Hunt Park in Virginia, 19 April 2010. The sky was a brilliant clear blue, the woods a lovely forest green, and the Potomac the color of the sky as we drove to the open carry rally at Ft. Hunt National Park. We came there to celebrate the renewal of our Constitutional rights and federalism. The long overdue law that stripped the federal bureaucracy of its power to prevent citizens from carrying guns in parks had represented a brilliant political move by Senator Coburn of Oklahoma, and has been a bright spot...

Tuesday, April 6, Great Smoky Mountain National Park Ranger Bill Wright spoke to the monthly meeting of the Knoxville chapter of the Tennessee Firearms Association (TFA). Wright is the chief law enforcement officer in the park. His rangers are responsible for all law enforcement in the park, in both Tennessee and North Carolina, since the Park straddles the state line. Earlier this year, on February 22, a 94 year ban on firearms in National Parks was lifted. Persons with "facially valid" carry permits may now carry firearms in the Park, under the laws of the state they are in. That...

Updated Monday 2pm CHATTANOOGA (WRCB) -- Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield insists the Saturday evening shooting was an isolated incident. Mayor Littlefield told reporters Monday afternoon that the incident was not gang related and the result of a "flash mob" invited to congregate at Coolidge Park by text messaging. Littlefield went on to say that police will increase bike patrol and police presence at Coolidge Park. Updated Monday 11:00 a.m. CHATTANOOGA (WRCB) - Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield has called a news conference for 1:30 p.m. Monday to address the weekend shootings at Coolidge Park. Joining the Mayor to address the public...

Yesterday a federal judge rejected a constitutional challenge to Seattle's ban on guns in city parks, noting that the U.S. Supreme Court has not said that the Second Amendment applies to cities and states as well as the federal government. That will almost certainly change after the Court decides McDonald v. Chicago, the handgun ban case it heard last week. But since McDonald involves a blanket ban rather than restrictions on where guns can be kept or carried, the Court's ruling still will not resolve the question of whether regulations like Seattle's are consistent with the Second Amendment. Even the...

Hi people, I have to visit Los Angeles with my 20month old son in April. My first time in Los Angeles - wondering if anyone has suggestions what to do that can both entertain me an dmy wife and my 20 month old son. Think Disneyland and the theme parks are not suitable as he is too young. Ideas? -where to stay - which is safe neighborhood?

Remember World War I? Few alive today were around when we sent the doughboys off to liberate Europe; meanwhile back home, American citizens were banned from exercising their Second Amendment rights in National Parks, including the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Knoxville. Today, that 94 year old ban is being lifted as a result of Federal legislation enacted last year. One might ask if it is wise to allow handguns to be carried in such places. But, one might also ask, in view of serious violent crimes in parks, if it is wise to not carry a handgun in...

A bill now before the Legislature would restore the decades-old policies regulating guns in Acadia National Park, the St. Croix International Historic Site and the state’s portion of the Appalachian Trail. Specifically, it would require gun owners to keep their weapons unloaded, broken down and stowed away in vehicle trunks, glove boxes or other such compartments. LD 1737 should be passed, and legislators should not allow it to turn into a Second Amendment showdown. The bill would restore the gun policy in place since the Reagan administration; last year, Congress and President Barack Obama enacted a credit card reform bill...

What could a free man hope to accomplish by crossing without permission into North Korea, to ask its rulers to repent, close the prison camps and free the people? Robert Park, a young American of Korean descent made exactly that crossing on Christmas day, walking from China into North Korea across the frozen Tumen River. There are reports that as he crossed, he called out, “I came here to proclaim God’s love.” A manifesto attributed to Park, leader of a Christian group advocating human rights for North Koreans, includes the statement: “All we are asking is for all North Koreans...

"...The charity was the Joyce Foundation on whose board of directors Obama served and which gave nearly $1.1 million in two separate grants that were “instrumental in developing and launching the privately-owned Chicago Climate Exchange, which now calls itself “North America’s only cap and trade system for all six greenhouse gases, with global affiliates and projects worldwide.” And that’s only the beginning of this tawdry tale, Mr. Barnes. The “privately-owned” Chicago Climate Exchange is heavily influenced by Obama cohorts Al Gore and Maurice Strong. For years now Strong and Gore have been cashing in on that lucrative cottage industry known...

Hollywood isn't alone in its anticipation of Armageddon. Writing in the summer issue of World Policy Journal, Maurice Strong - Canada's very own prophet of doom - unequivocally embraces the apocalypse. Straight-forwardly entitled "Facing Down Armageddon: Environment at a Crossroads," Mr. Strong's essay ends with a dire warning. "Human existence is at risk," he says. "We face an Armageddon that is both real and imminent." Yet he implicitly grasps for hope - choosing at any rate not to specify (as the new film 2012 does) the precise day, month and year of the catastrophe. More so than most people who...

Artist and blogger Todd Wilkinson is unhappy about the upcoming rules change which will permit law abiding citizens to carry defensive firearms in National Parks beginning in February. He asks... Always, the first question responsible legislators should ask when writing a law is this: What significant problem is being solved by putting another code on the books? I happen to agree with that particular statement. In this case, the significant problem being solved is that visitors to National Parks, unlike State and local parks, are having their Second Amendment rights taken away from them and are rendered defenseless. Wilkinson doesn't...

Canandaigua, N.Y. - Matt Glowacki, a national speaker on disabilities, will give a talk on “Diversity According to Family Guy and South Park,” on Thursday, Oct. 29, at Finger Lakes Community College. Glowacki will explore how TV shows operating on the fringes of societal acceptance, such as “The Family Guy” and “South Park,” often have a more developed, logical and inclusive view of society. His lecture begins at 1 p.m. in Stage 13 on the second floor of the main campus, 3325 Marvin Sands Drive. Entry is free and open to the public. Visitors should arrive early to leave time...

Given that consumers have been so reluctant to spend lately, the family-run amusement park would seem especially vulnerable. But amusement park owners around the country say the weather, not the housing downturn or job losses, played a bigger role in their fortunes this past summer. “We had a lousy, wet June and a couple of hurricane threats this summer, so that was bad,” said Jack Morey, who with his brother Will, owns and runs three amusement piers along the Wildwood boardwalk. “Then the weather got better in August, and suddenly everyone was there.” If they have sunshine and moderate temperatures,Mr....