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So, you've bought yourself a gun... What are you going to do next? I hope you'll invest the time needed to learn about your firearm, and how to handle it safely. I hope you'll get training with it, so that the tool for self-protection you have will be exactly that, rather than becoming the least touched item in your nightstand drawer. Think about it this way: would you buy a new car without knowing how to use it, or planning to learn how? Would you buy a computer, or any complex tool, and toss it and the owner's manual ...

So, you're thinking of buying a gun. With all the unease in the country since 9-11, that isn't surprising. Many people are buying guns; as this news story reports, they're doing so to be able to protect themselves and loved ones. It's not a bad idea, but before you make that move, you should learn as much as you can about guns so you can make an informed choice. Guns are among the most misunderstood items around. If you listen to some gun control advocates, guns are the embodiment of evil. If you listen to some gun owners, every person ...

The gun control debate has been forced off center stage in the aftermath of the 2000 election and the 9-11 terrorist attacks. This is an excellent time to take a deep breath and see what can be learned from the experience of the last decade. The public dispute over the role of guns in society reached a shrill peak during the decade from 1990 to 2000. Most arguments took the form of slurs and slogans hurled across the airwaves by loyal troops on both sides. But for those who prefer a more thoughtful analysis, this intense period of cultural ...

America, it is said, is faced with a new kind of war -- a type of war that we have never faced in our history -- a war of terror in which the enemy is hidden and faceless. This is true -- but not in the way that the media and our leaders have indicated. Consider these facts. We have chosen to fight only one country, Afghanistan, despite the fact that many different countries, including Iran and Iraq, have supported terrorism, and Bin Laden, for years. We have declared that we will not deliberately hit civilian targets, thus openly ...

Most Kennedys are born with a knack for making headlines, and Kerry Kennedy Cuomo is no exception. On the day President Bush formally named the Justice Department's headquarters after her father, Robert F. Kennedy, she was in the news, accusing the administration of violating basic rights in the war on terrorism. Addressing her 6-year-old daughter in a speech Thursday, Cuomo declared: "Cara, if anyone tries to tell you this is the type of justice your grandpa would embrace, don't you believe it." Her father, she said, was devoted to "protecting civil liberties even when it meant letting the accused ... ...

WASHINGTON -- "It terrifies us," said a national Republican operative, reacting to last Tuesday's special Congressional election. The GOP candidate won in the solidly Republican Arkansas 3rd District. But the campaign signaled that Social Security remains the Third Rail of American politics. The problem is George W. Bush's plan to partially privatize Social Security. For the second straight special House election, Democrats turned a seemingly sure Republican win into a nail biter by accusing the GOP of threatening the national pension plan. For the second straight time, Republicans thanked their lucky stars that the Democratic onslaught was too little, too ...

Public health officials want to shut down roads and airports, herd people into sports stadiums and, if needed, quarantine entire cities in the event of a smallpox attack, according to a plan being forwarded to all 50 governors this week. The plan, drafted at the request of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, could give states sweeping new powers. ``In tough times you have to make tough decisions,'' said Paul Jacobsen, assistant commissioner for the state Department of Public Health, who said he received a copy of the 50-page plan last week. ``There are times when you may have to ...

Recently, the Federal Bureau of Investigation released a psychological profile of the person believed to have sent the three anthrax letters that have killed at least 4, and contaminated our postal system. The authorities have yet to find a culprit. Earlier they had stated, "The culprit doesn't fit the foreign terrorist profile." They are correct. The targets of the anthrax letters make neither sense nor reason for a person even fitting the FBI's profile. We believe we found a logical reason for these letters being sent . To find this culprit - one must think 'out of the box'. That ...

Before Sept. 11, one of the major battlefields in the culture wars was over what to teach our children about the world they live in - not only what they learn, but how they learn it. The controversy was posed in polarities: political correctness vs. tradition; multiculturalism vs. the Great Books written by dead white men ("the DWMs," as they're called in women's studies programs). Arguments raged over types of teaching: touchy-feely exercises vs. old-fashioned book learning, ideology vs. historical narrative, "dumbing down" vs. the discipline of hard work. Given all this, it was possible to get through college with ...

He was the only person making his way into the city; he met hundreds and hundreds who were fleeing, and every one of them seemed to be hurt in some way. The eyebrows of some were burned off and skin hung from their faces and hands. Others, because of pain, held their arms up as if carrying something in both hands. Some were vomiting as they walked. Many were naked or in shreds of clothing. On some undressed bodies, the burns had made patterns ... Almost all had their heads bowed, looked straight ahead, were silent, and showed no expression. ...

So we now have short term interest rates at 40 year lows, and the 30-year bond is history. Both of these moves were designed by our friendly financial engineers at the FED and their partners. The 30-year bond is the best inflation barometer out there...the engineers killed two birds with one stone so to speak by killing the inflation barometer (which would be likely to perk up after billions in new spending) and lowering long-term interest rates (through a lack of supply) in one fell swoop....brilliant....or was it? I read an interesting newspaper article the other day about the new ...

Two key pieces of evidence were missing from the government's dossier on the US attacks, made public last week. Now full details of the case against Bin Laden can be disclosed The proof they did not reveal Evil inspiration from the history books | Britain's network of terror suspects At 6ft 4in he is a big man, with a long black beard and furtive eyes. The price on his head in the FBI wanted poster is also imposing: $5m (£3.36m) is the bounty offered for Muhammad Atef. The Prime Minister's statementTony Blair's October 4 statement to Parliament concerning the ...

Two recent events poignantly illustrate the unmasked hostility some in this nation have toward God. They insist that they are motivated by adherence to lofty constitutional principles, but are they? First, the ACLU has demanded that the Breen Elementary School in Rocklin, Calif., remove a "God Bless America" sign from its marquee. The sign was placed in front of the school after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States. An ACLU staff attorney called the message a "clear violation of the California and United States constitutions, as well as the California Education Code. "It must be replaced ...

The hook on John Lennon's anti-war song was "all we are saying, is give peace a chance." And it was a nice thought, an easy sentiment to sing. But in these days of terror, Lennon's song seems sadly outdated to most Americans as some polls show 90 percent in support of military force against the terrorists and their sponsors. Although the dissenters to military action are small in number, they are loud. Phil Donahue and his brethren passionately advocate a measured response to the attack on America and want the proper "authorities" to handle the matter. Mr. Donahue, for ...

WASHINGTON -- Federal security experts are pressing Congress to adjourn for the year in the interests of security, but the lawmakers won't be hurried and may be in session another six weeks. The FBI, the Secret Service and the Capitol Police have told congressional leaders in secret briefings that since Sept. 11, the Capitol building has become a prime target. Consequently, they are urged to wrap up business for the year and get out of town. Congress has refused. It cannot adjourn until money for the government is appropriated, and none of the 13 appropriations bills has been sent ...

On Sunday, President George W. Bush concluded his announcement of the beginning of the air war (the beginning of the end for Taliban) with, "May God continue to bless America." They say there are no atheists in foxholes -- or on stealth bombers. Since Sept. 11, we've been invoking God more than a Baptist preacher in a Sunday sermon. Irving Berlin's love song to his adopted land has climbed to the top of the charts. But do we understand the implications of asking for God's blessings? (From the fury of the terrorists, oh Lord, protect us!) Or do we ...

As the sun rose on the first day of America’s attack on the Taliban, the debate that will determine whether our nation has any hope of success raged on in the editorial pages. The central question of that debate is whether America’s policy will be dictated by people of courage or Peace Processors.  Peace, like cheese, loses its appeal when processed. The best-case result is a facsimile of the real thing: a scenario that may look peaceful, may even temporarily reflect a calmness, and a cessation of violence. But peace without liberty is the very definition of successful tyranny. ...

Larry Justus, Henderson County’s representative in the state’s legislature, said it appears at least three men investigated by the FBI in its ongoing terrorism probe obtained North Carolina driver’s licenses.Justus, a Republican who led an effort to tighten the state’s requirements to receive a driver’s license, said he and District Attorney Jeff Hunt recently began looking into whether people investigated by the FBI obtained North Carolina driver’s licenses. Hunt was in Raleigh on other business Tuesday and checked a list of 25 names provided by the FBI after meeting with Justus. Justus said it appears three of the 25 people ...

N.B.: The following reflects what the author submitted, and not exactly what was published. To obtain the precise text of what was printed, please check the original place of publication.] The Western confrontation with fundamentalist Islam has in some ways come to resemble the great ideological battle of the twentieth century, that between Marxism-Leninism and liberal democracy. Not only do Americans frame the discussion about Iran and Algeria much as they did the earlier one about the Soviet Union and China, but they also differ among themselves on the question of fundamentalist Islam roughly along the same lines as they ...