Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

Law and Order

Island Patrol

When you are on an island, everything you consume has to be barged over from the mainland. In the case of groceries and gasoline, the entire delivery truck is loaded onto the barge and brought to the island and barged back empty. This causes the prices for such commodities to go way up.

While you can’t cut down on groceries and such, you can do something about fuel consumption. In order to cope with 5-dollar-per-gallon-plus gas prices, most Catalina Island residents drive small golf-cart sized vehicles since the town is rather small. You also see motor scooters and we saw a Segway while we were there.

One interesting vehicle we saw was this motorized stand-up three-wheeled solution which the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department uses to patrol the streets of Avalon. Click on the picture below for a large close-up.

laso-patrol.jpg

17 Sep 2007 by California Culture Law and Order Photography

Four Truths About Gun Laws

newspaper.gifI ran across this yesterday as I was checking out the news feeds. Embedded in the article “Media Aim at Gun Rights with Loaded Coverage” published by CNS News, is this description of four things that the media fail to present when covering issues involving the second amendment.

From CNS News:

» Comparisons between countries are not useful. Unfortunately, direct comparisons based solely on crime rates and gun laws tell very little about whether gun control actually works. Social scientists believe that gun control is only one of many factors that influence rates of violence.

» Guns are frequently used to stop crimes. To the Founding Fathers, the right to bear arms for self-protection was essential if citizens were to be truly free, but this essential fact rarely saw the light of day in the mainstream media.

» Most guns used in crimes are illegally acquired. Like it or not, banning guns only takes them out of the hands of law-abiding citizens, making it easier for people with no respect for the law to attack their victims.

» Gun control laws have no proven effect. At worst, gun control laws leave law-abiding citizens defenseless before rapacious criminals, and at best, they may not affect violence at all.”

If your objective is to stop gun crime, then these four facts must be considered. If your objective is to take guns away from law-abiding citizens, then these facts will be ignored. Clearly, the big media’s objective is the latter.

28 Aug 2007 by Firearms Law and Order

Free the Texas Three!

texas-three.gifAnd secure the borders while we’re at it.

Oh, and a pox on illegal alien drug runners.

The Patriot Post has taken the Texas Three‘s plight to heart and arranged a petition to ask that their sentences be commuted, that the borders be secured and that the illegal alien scumbag that got a bullet in his backside be prosecuted for his drug-running offenses.

You should read Mark Alexander’s Article on this issue for all the details.

I think that’s a good cause. Here’s the text that came in the mail:

Make your voice heard TODAY!

Please join fellow Patriots and sign “Free the Texas Three and Secure our Borders” — A citizen petition calling on President Bush to commute the sentences of both former Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean, and their colleague, former Sheriff’s Deputy Guillermo Hernandez; asking Congress to insist that the DEA prosecute Mexican national Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila on felony drug distribution charges; and demanding that Congress and the Bush administration secure our borders.

“It is not honorable to take mere legal advantage, when it happens to be contrary to justice.” -Thomas Jefferson

To sign this petition online, go to — http://PatriotPetitions.US/borders

Please forward this invitation to Patriot family members, friends and associates. In order to encourage serious consideration of this critical issue, we must collect in excess of 100,000 signatures.

Is it just me, or does United States Attorney Johnny Sutton specialize in prosecuting law enforcement officers protecting our international borders? Why does he believe the testimony of degenerates and criminals over that of the officers themselves?

21 Jul 2007 by Congress International Law and Order

How Not To Name An Immigration Bill

Last week the reanimated shamnesty bill finally bit the dust (at least this time around). While pundits analyze the bill’s defeat as being due to this or that reason, I contend that you can’t tack weasel words on the title like a glaring earmark:

Bill before the Senate – S.1639

Title: A bill to provide for comprehensive immigration reform and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Sen Kennedy, Edward M. [MA] (introduced 6/18/2007)

bush-kennedy.jpg“And for other purposes?” What the hell does that mean? Now, if that doesn’t set off alarms in the wheelhouse, I don’t know what would.

In the real world, when you set out to establish a contract with a customer (or the people of America), you must, at the very least, make the intent of the language in the contract abundantly clear and succinct. Tacking words like “and for other purposes” at the end of the title should either cause fear, or uproarious laughter, depending on your position. Ain’t that right Dubya? Teddy?

Thank God that enough Americans got in contact with the Senate and raised enough hell that this bill was soundly rejected. Now, all we need to do is keep an eye on the House of Representatives and make sure that they get the message as well when their own bills emerge.

03 Jul 2007 by Beltway Kabuki Law and Order Whacko Politics

Secure Borders Blog

secure-borders.jpgWith the important issue of immigration reform before the United States Senate, Senator Jim Inhofe and friends have established a new blog, Secure Borders Now. The primary focus of the new blog is to “Secure Our Borders. No Amnesty.”

The Secure Borders Now Petition (link at the top of the left sidebar) has been rather successful over the last several days. The map at the left depicts the signatories in a demographic — red flags are signatures placed on the map at the point of origin.

If you haven’t done so, sign the petition now. Also visit the Secure Borders Now blog.

This is off-topic, but important to point out that Senator Inhofe, as you may or may not know, also has a common-sense, rational approach to Global Warming and Climate issues. The Senate EPW Blog is Senator Inhofe’s official minority website.

25 Jun 2007 by Beltway Kabuki Congress Law and Order

The “Winchester House” Immigration Bill

winchester-house.jpgI’m wondering why the President and an uncomfortable number of Republican Senators want to resurrect one of the most ill-conceived and convoluted bills in the history of the U. S. Senate? The overarching complexity of this legislative monstrosity approaches, or perhaps exceeds, the nonsensical Winchester House in it’s absurdities and untenable construction.

Image: Winchester House near San Jose, California.

I advise the Senators and the President to employ the KISS principle – Keep It Simple, Stupid!

Former Majority Leader Tom Delay had this to say about the bill earlier this week:

Break up the immigration bill into smaller pieces, so that it’s actually understandable and each issue included can receive individual debate and consideration. Passing fence building, guest worker, amnesty, and border patrol increase legislation in one lump makes little sense to me. Let’s bring separate immigration bills out in order of importance and decide their fate one by one…starting with border security.

And a final note to the President of the United States who is enjoying a lunch today on Capitol Hill with Republican congressional leaders to discuss the fate of the immigration bill. I would recommend the President order his meal accordingly; border security first followed by a dessert course which includes a guest worker program not amounting to amnesty. Bon appétit!

I’m tired of these few Republicans telling seventy percent of Americans – those of us who believe this is bad lawmaking – to go to hell.

14 Jun 2007 by Beltway Kabuki Law and Order Whacko Politics

D.C. Gun Grabbers Foiled Again!

Off to the Supreme Court for the Washington D.C. Gun Ban:

A federal appeals court May 8 denied a petition by D.C. officials to reconsider a March ruling that overturned the District`s 30-year-old gun ban. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled 6-4 to deny the District`s request that the entire court review a previous ruling in which a three-judge panel found some of the District`s gun restrictions to be unconstitutional.

What I want to know is Why aren’t D.C. residents allowed to get guns now? Their gun-grabbing law has been declared UNCONSTITUTIONAL! TWICE!

Update: These two articles discuss the next steps for D.C. and the effects on gun owners:

09 May 2007 by Firearms Judiciary Law and Order

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