by Katie Pavlich of Townhall.com was on NRA News last night with Cam Edwards discussing the testimony on Tuesday by DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano and FBI Director Robert Mueller.
Month: September 2011
NCGV – Don’t Be Like North Carolina
The Brady Campaign’s North Carolina front group, North Carolinians Against Gun Violence, is opposed to HR 822 – the National Right-To-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011. They just sent out the Tweet seen below:
They don’t want the rest of the country to enjoy the same rights as North Carolinians come December 1st. For on that day, thanks to the passage of HB 650, North Carolina will recognize all out-of-state concealed handgun permits.
SECTION 22.(a) G.S. 14-415.24 reads as rewritten:
Ҥ 14-415.24. Reciprocity; out-of-state handgun permits.
(a) A valid concealed handgun permit or license issued by another state is valid inNorth Carolina if that state grants the same right to residents of North Carolina who have valid concealed handgun permits issued pursuant to this Article in their possession while carrying concealed weapons in that state.North Carolina.
I guess NCGV has their blinders on as they don’t see the hypocrisy in making such a statement.
Was She Really A NRA Operative In Disguise?
Kinde Durkee and her firm are long-time campaign consultants and treasurers for many California Democrats. As the New York Times says,
For almost 15 years, Kinde Durkee has been one of the go-to accountants for Democratic candidates in California. She and her firm kept track of expenditures and contributions and made sure that candidates and party committees’ campaigns complied with California’s tangled election finance laws.
Her firm, Durkee and Associates, proclaims itself an accounting and business management firm specializing in campaign finance.
Durkee and Associates is an accounting and business management firm that specializes in political, non-profit and small business accounting and financial management. Since 1972 we have worked for 5 presidential campaigns, 4 gubernatorial campaigns, numerous senate, congressional, state and local candidates, initiatives, political action committees and many non-profit associations and small businesses. Our proprietary reporting software handles electronic filing to both the Federal Election Commission and the California Secretary of State.
Unfortunately for all these campaigns and candidates that put their money in her hands, she is now the Bernie Madoff of California politics. Durkee was arrested on September 2nd by the FBI for stealing money from the campaign coffers of Assemblyman Jose Solorio (D-Anaheim). It is estimated that she stole almost $700,000 from his campaign accounts to use for personal purposes. Durkee, pictured, below also had control of an estimated 400 campaign accounts.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the FBI complaint included charges that Durkee used campaign money to pay her American Express bill:
one of the checks she paid to American Express was for $16,855, which in turn went to charges at Amazon, Baskin-Robbins, Turners Outdoorsman, Decker Surgical, Ariel’s Grotto at Disneyland, TIVO and Bixby Animal Clinic, among others.
A number of anti-gun politicians may have had their campaign war chests wiped out by Durkee. In addition to Assemblyman Solorio, NRA-rated F and who voted this year to ban unloaded open carry (AB 144), they include such leading California Democrats as Sen. Dianne Feinstein (F-rated), Rep. Susan Davis (F-rated), and Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-rated). To make matters even worse for them according to the San Francisco Chronicle, they don’t know how much she has taken.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s $5.2 million re-election war chest may or may not be “wiped out” by a trusted – and now arrested – treasurer, campaign officials for California’s senior senator suggested Tuesday.
Bill Carrick, Feinstein’s top campaign consultant, said First California Bank, which holds the campaign funds for Feinstein, Reps. Loretta Sanchez and Susan Davis and others involved in Kinde Durkee’s alleged fraud, will not allow anyone access to the accounts without signing a release that indemnifies the bank against lawsuits.
Given the financial harm she has done to leading anti-gun politicians in California, one could only hope that she also handled campaign finances for certain anti-gun politicians in New York, Massachusetts, and Illinois!
Gun Industry Bankrolling The Marines
The Violence Policy Center has this meme that gun rights movement only exists to build sales for the firearms industry. In return, the firearms industry fully funds it. This is, of course, nonsense and they know it.
In their fevered imaginations, any donation made by any firearms company is for the sole purpose of co-opting the recipient and building firearm sales. To think that they would make the contribution out of a sense of patriotism, altruism, or a belief in constitutional rights is unfathomable to their little minds.
Thus, I imagine the headline above is how VPC would respond to this donation made by Glock, Inc.
Smyrna, GA – GLOCK, Inc. will donate a total of $75,000 to two separate organizations during the 2011 Modern Day Marine held in MCB, Quantico, VA, Sep. 27 – 29. GLOCK, Inc., Vice President, Josh Dorsey will present $50,000 to the Young Marines and $25,000 to the Marine Corps League during a presentation held at the Iwo Jima Memorial, Quantico on Wednesday, Sept. 28th, at 2:00PM.
“GLOCK is proud to contribute to organizations such as the Young Marines and the Marine Corps League, which play such a vital role in providing aid to the families of America’s fallen heroes as well as develop the characteristics of our nation’s future leaders,” said GLOCK Vice President, and former Marine, Josh Dorsey. “GLOCK has a long-standing tradition of supporting those that put themselves in harm’s way to protect the freedoms we currently enjoy.”
The organizations who will be receiving the donations include:
Young Marines: This will be the sixth consecutive year that GLOCK, Inc. has made this contribution to the Young Marines totaling $300,000. The Young Marines is a nonprofit youth organization whose mission is to positively impact America’s future by providing programs for youth that promote their mental, moral and physical health through teamwork, self-discipline and a drug-free lifestyle. The program strives to instill core values of “Honor, Courage and Commitment” adopted by each member of the Marine Corps. Scheduled to accept the donation on behalf of the Young Marines will be Lt. Col. Mike Kessler USMC (Ret), National Executive Director of the Young Marines of the Marine Corps League.
Marine Corps League: This is the second year that GLOCK, Inc. has made a contribution to this organization. The Marine Corps League is comprised of retired Marines dedicated to promoting the ideals of American freedom and democracy, voluntarily aiding and rendering assistance to all Marines and former Marines and to the families of fallen Marines as well as perpetuating the history of the United States Marine Corps. The group is active in supporting injured Marines, youth programs, Veterans benefits issues and the National Marine Corps Museum. Scheduled to accept the donation on behalf of the Marine Corps League will be the National Commandant and former Major League Umpire Vic Voltaggio, Executive Director Michael A. Blum, and Past Junior Commandant James A. Laskey.
Good for Glock that they will make this large donation to both of these worthy organizations.
H/T The Outdoor Wire
Joyce Foundation Money At Work
This post is written as part of the Media Matters Gun Facts fellowship. The purpose of the fellowship is to further Media Matters’ mission to comprehensively monitor, analyze, and correct conservative misinformation in the U.S. media Some of the worst misinformation occurs around the issue of guns, gun violence, and extremism, the fellowship program. The fellowship program is designed to fight this misinformation with facts.
Joan “JaPete” Peterson, a board member of the Brady Center, is now funded through the Joyce Foundation.
Not that what she wrote before really mattered but now that it is known that she is paid with Joyce Foundation money funneled through Media Matters it matters even less. Because now she is no longer a grieving sister driven by guilt and anger over her sister’s murder but merely a wholly paid-for shill for gun prohibition.
Quote Of The Day No. 2
Kurt Hofmann, the St. Louis Gun Rights Examiner, takes the mainstream media to task over their continued characterization of Operation Fast and Furious as “botched gun sting”. His article titled, “Let’s be clear–the only thing ‘botched’ in ‘Project Gunwalker’ was the cover-up”, examines why the operation was never about tracking guns. He concludes:
To allow the characterization of “Project Gunwalker” as a “botched sting operation” to go unchallenged is to give the perpetrators near (or at?) the very top of the Obama government a free pass on the utter evil of this monstrosity, and allow “gun control” apologists to blame it on desperation stemming from “weak U.S. gun laws,” because of the “gun lobby.”
Quote Of The Day No. 1
Mayor Bloomberg and his Illegal Mayors are up in arms over the prospect of H.R. 822 – the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011 – passing Congress. So much so that they have started a new website and commissioned another push poll whose results, to be frank, aren’t all that good for the gun prohibitionists.
However, Bob Owens – Confederate Yankee – asks the most pertinent question regarding Bloomberg and MAIG.
Isn’t it interesting that Bloomberg and the largely Democratic MAIG have all the time in the world to disparage lawful citizens, but can’t seem to come together to issue such much as a strongly worded statement again the Obama Administration, elements of which have walked more than 2,000 guns to drug cartels and allowed convicted felons to buy guns in the Midwest?
GRPC 2011 Draft Agenda Released
The Second Amendment Foundation has released their draft agenda for the 2011 Gun Rights Policy Conference.
There will be a lot of notable speakers at this year’s conference including Adam Winkler of UCLA, John Fund of the Wall Street Journal, and Sandy Froman, the former President of the NRA.
Gun bloggers and podcasters will be well represented. Kenn Blanchard of The Black Man with a Gun podcast, David Hardy of the Of Arms and the Law blog, David Codrea of the National Gun Rights Examiner, Dave Workman of the Seattle Gun Rights Examiner, and David Kopel of the Volokh Conspiracy will all be part of various panels in Chicago.
Topics of note will include Supreme Court History, Media Bias, Personal Defense and the Legal System, Operation Fast and Furious, and What ATF and Government Regulations Mean to Gunowners.
Of course, the longest panel discussion will be reserved for Second Amendment litigation. This panel will feature Alan Gura, Donald Kilmer of the Nordyke case, David Jensen, and David Sigale.
I am definitely looking forward to this conference. I will try to blog throughout the conference in an attempt to share some real time information.
Kachalsky v. Cacace Appealed To 2nd Circuit Court Of Appeals
In a move that was expected, Alan Gura filed a notice of appeal with the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in Kachalsky v. Cacace. This is the case challenging New York State’s requirement to show “proper cause” for a pistol carry permit. From the docketing notice:
Date: September 12, 2011
Docket #: 11-3642
Short Title: Kachalsky v. Cacace
DC Docket #: 10-cv-5413
DC Court: SDNY (WHITE PLAINS)
DC Judge: SeibelDOCKETING NOTICE
A notice of appeal filed by Alan Kachalsky, Christina Nikolov, Johnnie Nance, Anna Marcucci-Nance, Eric Detmer in the above referenced case was docketed today as 11-3642. This number must appear on all documents related to this case that are filed in this Court.
The notice of appeal consisted of Judge Seibel’s decision in the case plus the docket history of the case from the District Court.
Witness List For House Judiciary Hearing On HR 822
The House Judiciary Committee has released their witness list for tomorrow’s hearing on HR 822 – the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011. It includes some very familiar names.
Witness List
Ms. Joyce Lee Malcolm
Professor of Law
George Mason UniversityMr. David B. Kopel
Adjunct Professor
Denver University Sturm College of LawCommissioner Charles H. Ramsey
Philadelphia Police Department
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey previously served as head of D.C.’s Metro Police Department. Prior to that he served in the Chicago Police Department for almost 30 years rising to the level of Deputy Superintendent. That background combined with the way the Philly PD has been treating gun owners leads me to believe that Ramsey will be the token witness to testify against HR 822.
Both Joyce Lee Malcolm and Dave Kopel have strong pro-gun credentials.
As Sebastian of Snowflakes in Hell notes today, “Let the hysterics begin.” I think we can fully expect more counter-attacks on H.R. 822 by the likes of Mayor Bloomberg, the Brady Campaign, and VPC.