Free Republic

If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face -- for ever. 1984, George Orwell It's been over a year since Donald Trump won the presidential election; nearly a year since he was sworn into office. And yet, the American far left is still pitching a fit. Why? It's because of who they see themselves as in that quote from 1984. No, in their minds they're not the human face and Trump isn't the boot. In their version, they are the boot and they were to do the stamping -- for ever.

First, let’s be clear that this is about perceptions. The BLM vs. Cliven Bundy story isn’t about who’s in the right or who’s in control; it’s about who appears  to be in the right and about who appears to be in control.A little background first. Cliven Bundy is a rancher who lives outside of Mesquite, Nevada. His family has been ranching on that land since before Nevada became a State. The Bureau of Land Management, BLM, claims control of the land the Bundys graze their cattle on. Bundy’s position, in a nutshell, is “I was here first”. But like I said, the right or...

Chicago (AFP) - A warmer Arctic could permanently affect the pattern of the high-altitude polar jet stream, resulting in longer and colder winters over North America and northern Europe, US scientists say. The jet stream, a ribbon of high altitude, high-speed wind in northern latitudes that blows from west to east, is formed when the cold Arctic air clashes with warmer air from further south. The greater the difference in temperature, the faster the jet stream moves. According to Jennifer Francis, a climate expert at Rutgers University, the Arctic air has warmed in recent years as a result of melting...

Our Members’ Council spent yesterday at the Angeles Shooting Ranges  hosting some first time shooters. The really cool thing was that we weren't the only ones doing this. There were several groups  of first-timers there being introduced to shooting by friends. More specifically, being introduced to shooting black guns. Those iron plates out at the 100m line were getting the snot beat outta them! The author’s daughter doing her part to beat up that plate out at 100m There has been a trend lately by the anti-gun lobby to claim that there are fewer gun owners in the US and that, somehow, the...

Tony Canales reported from the SHOT show last week that Ruger will be allowing its handguns to fall off of the California "not unsafe" firearms roster. Now we learn that Ruger isn't alone. Smith & Wesson will be allowing its M&P handguns to fall off of the roster as well.

“No news is good news.” That old saying has a counterpart: “Good news is no news.” We gun owners usually notice that one when the dead tree media refuses to report on law abiding citizens using firearms in self defense. <snip> A place where we don’t notice this particular saying in action is when bad gun laws don’t happen. We don’t notice how often NRA lobbyists and volunteers stop a bad bill in its tracks quicker than a mule deer meeting 165 gr of lead and copper at 2500 feet per second. <snip> What caused me to think about this...

...now the crazy knob is getting cranked to 12.Big time Hollywood producer, and big time Democrat donor, Harvey Weinstein is stepping up to the plate with “The Senator’s Wife”, reportedly starring Meryl Streep. The movie will, as Weinstein puts it, make the NRA “wish they weren’t alive after I’m done with them.” The gist of the story, as near as I can tell, is that Harvey’s script will show that the boys and girls of the NRA were very naughty for not letting Barack Obama have his way with his gun law. Very naughty indeed.

“I only needed four…”That’s how Marty Daniels got started. He needed 4 copies of a gun part and he couldn’t find that part offered for sale anywhere. So, he had someone make them for him. However, the machinist did them on a lot purchase basis and the minimum amount he could get was 100 pieces. To get rid of the other 94 pieces, he set up a website and Daniel Defense was born. Now Daniel Defense has been named Manufacturer of the Year for 2013 by BusinessInSavannah.com.

We’ve written before in these pages about the Mainstream News Media’s propensity to keep good news about firearms a closely guarded secret. They haven’t changed. The latest example of their collective tight lips is coverage of this report from The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. The group’s report on police fatalities for 2013 found that 111 officers died in the line of duty; down 8% from 2012 and the lowest since 1959. Of those 111 deaths, only 33 were caused by firearms. Most news outlets did little more than reprint the AP wire story on the report. The Guardian’s...

…but anti-gun lawyers do!Earlier this year, the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence tried to make the claim that “gun violence” in California has dropped 56% since 1993. The well funded group of Bay Area lawyers go on to claim that California’s gun control laws deserve the credit. (Shocking, no?) However, reality and their claims are two entirely different things.California civil right attorney Chuck Michel has dissected the group’s report to find out what the numbers really say. (And by “dissected”, I mean “tossed the report into a woodchipper”.) Gun deaths have dropped by 31% nationally, while California’s gun death...

When the anti-gun crazy gets turned up to 11, it’s amazing what can sound like a good idea during an elevator pitch.And isolation doesn’t make the crazy go away.This should serve as a cautionary tale for any who identify with a particular ideology. There’s always the risk that you will limit yourself to conversations with those who already agree with you. This kind of echo chamber can make you believe that everyone agrees with you since everyone you know agrees with you. ”How could McGovern lose? Everyone I know voted for him” goes the quote attributed to a New York...

Is it sinful to kill in self-defense? This is a topic that I’ve been wanting to write about for a while now and this rant from NEA Vice President Lily Eskelsen Garcia got me thinking about the subject again. At the Netroots Nation conference,  Garcia said of gun rights supporters… “I’m not an ordained minister; I’m not a theologian, but these guys are going to hell.” I’m not an ordained minister or a theologian either, but what does God think of those of us who own firearms? Did He really give us a right to keep and bear arms; to have deadly weapons?Ultimately,...

After some careful consideration, I've decided that I don't like the term "Modern sporting rifle" to describe firearms like the AR-15 or semi-auto versions of the Kalashnikov. Yes, they're modern. Yes, they're rifles. And yes, they can be used for shooting sports. But the 2nd Amendment isn't about sporting goods. Calling these guns "Modern sporting rifles" is like saying that the Founders bled and died to preserve our right to engage in sports; to play games. It would be like saying that they fought to ensure that they and their descendents would forever have the liberty to engage in Pilates...

California Lead Ammunition Ban (AB 711) Goes to Assembly Floor Posted on May 11, 2013 Contact your state Assemblyman IMMEDIATELY Earlier this week, the California Assembly Appropriations Committee voted 11 to 5 to approve a proposed statewide lead ammunition ban for all hunting, Assembly Bill 711.  AB 711 would make California the first state in the nation to prohibit the use of all lead ammunition for hunting.  This bill now goes to the state Assembly floor where it is expected to be brought up for a vote soon.  The NRA urges all hunters, recreational shooters and gun owners to actively oppose AB 711.  We...

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A ban on the possession of large-capacity ammunition clips in the city of Los Angeles was one of two gun control measures the City Council approved Friday. The proposed ordinance – which was passed in an unanimous 11-0 vote – would declare high-capacity ammo clips a public nuisance and allow Los Angeles police to confiscate those firearms.

I would like to ask my fellow FReepers to remember my Mom in prayer this morning. She's about to go to the hospital for cancer surgery. I know that God answers prayer. He's done so plenty of times in our lives already.

Movies often serve as a useful shorthand for how to address some of life’s issues. In the movie Usual Suspects, Keyser Soze is confronted with the fact that his wife and children would be an impediment in dealing with his business competitors. In a way the House GOP finds itself in the same position as Keyser Soze. Our home has been invaded. Our family despoiled. And we are facing a never ending series of ever increasing demands from the criminals who have abused us. Sometimes the only way out of a dilemma is by clearing the table and starting again...

I just got a call from a pollster trying to push me toward supporting Brad Sherman in the Berman/Sherman Celebrity Death Match. I had to suppress my laughter as Sherman was described as a "fiscal conservative" at one point. Most of the questions were of the form: "Do you like Sherman more now that you know that he interfered in the free market on this issue?" I really don't think that they wanted my answers.

Joel is one of the most effective members of the NRA Board currently serving. He deserves votes from every NRA voting member participating in 2012...

A remarkable thing has happened on the way to the supercommittee deadline: Republicans are beating the “we-want-more-revenue” drum. No, congressional Republicans haven’t taken up the mantle of tax increases, but as the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction lurches toward its Nov. 23 deadline to cut $1.2 trillion from the nation’s deficit, GOP lawmakers are talking a lot about how to raise revenue and still stick to their no-tax-increase pledge.