Nothing to see here, folks (link):

Federal agents hunt for guns, one house at a time
By DANE SCHILLER Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
June 30, 2009, 9:36PM
Houston, federal agents step from a government sedan into 102-degree heat and face a critical question: How can the woman living here buy four high-end handguns in one day?

The house is worth $35,000. A screen dangles by a wall-unit air conditioner. Porch swing slats are smashed, the smattering of grass is flattened by cars and burned yellow by sun.

“I’ll do the talking on this one,” agent Tim Sloan, of South Carolina, told partner Brian Tumiel, of New York.

Success on the front lines of a government blitz on gunrunners supplying Mexican drug cartels with Houston weaponry hinges on logging heavy miles and knocking on countless doors. Dozens of agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - sent here from around the country - are needed to follow what ATF acting director Kenneth Melson described as a “massive number of investigative leads.”

All told, Mexican officials in 2008 asked federal agents to trace the origins of more than 7,500 firearms recovered at crime scenes in Mexico. Most of them were traced back to Texas, California and Arizona.

Among other things, the agents are combing neighborhoods and asking people about suspicious purchases as well as seeking explanations as to how their guns ended up used in murders, kidnappings and other crimes in Mexico.

“Ever turning up the heat on cartels, our law enforcement and military partners in the government of Mexico have been working more closely with the ATF by sharing information and intelligence,” Melson said Tuesday during a firearms-trafficking summit in New Mexico.

Firearms dealers visited
The ATF recently dispatched 100 veteran agents to its Houston division, which reaches to the border.

The mission is especially challenging because, officials say, that while Houston is the number one point of origin for weapons traced back to the United States from Mexico, the government can’t compile databases on gun owners under federal law.

Below is an interesting perspective.  I look at gun-buys like this: the closest city I live a few miles from has 289 Police Officers and 73,000 people, approximately 21% of whom are living under the poverty line (prior to this economic situation), not to mention our proximity to Philadelphia. If the SHTF, I want to be self-reliant (link):

COMMENTARY: Four Reasons Why Gun Sales Are Up
Written by Scott Wagner. Author Archive »

The fear on the street is palpable. Ever since the election of Barack Obama as President of these United States in November 2008, coupled with the election of a democrat party majority in both the U.S. House and Senate, concern for the United States and personal safety has ignited like a fire in dry grass. Sales of guns - black guns, rifles, shotguns and handguns (particularly 9mm) everywhere, have gone through the roof. AR15s have literally flown off of dealer shelves, and only now in the spring of 2009, have I seen the display samples of ARs begin to reappear on the wall of my favorite shooting emporium after the initial post election rush.

Manufacturers of ARs are still working to catch up and some of the major suppliers are as much as 150,000 guns behind. Not only that, ammo is in the shortest supply I have ever seen in the 43 years of my shooting life. Have you recently tried to get 5.56mm, 9mm or even .380 ammo? Supplies of 5.56mm and 9mm ammo are in short supply due to the black gun buying craze; .380ACP because of the rise in people getting concealed carry permits and the resurgence of interest in convenient.380 handguns like the fine Ruger LCP. In fact, in doing a review of the Ruger LCP, my gun store only had a small supply of ONE .380 round on hand, the Winchesters 95-grain SXT, which they had just gotten in.

Unfortunately, I had to do a 30-round review of that pistol. There was none other to be found. The 5.56mm was the first caliber to noticeably be in short supply. This was first due to the war effort, the headlong adoption of 5.56mm rifles by law enforcement agencies ever since the great LAPD bank robbery and shootout, the general shooting public interest in and acceptance of the AR15 weapons system along with a realization that yes, the AR does have sporting purpose, and of course now, this new fear that is on the street. Sales of ARs also went up following 9/11.

What is odd about this new fear is that it is not coming from the average citizen gun owner out there, but it is coming from what to me is an almost shocking source: street cops. Street cops and SWAT cops that I know from various agencies - rural, suburban and metro - in my area are scared. Cops that before November 2008 never gave much thought (that I knew of anyway) to politics or more importantly to gun rights. For the most part, these are the guys that didn’t generally have any interest in shooting or gun ownership beyond keeping track of where their duty gun is, and a few of them didn’t even do that so well.

The guys I am talking about are some of the same guys who used to not even carry off duty on a regular basis- but not anymore. They don’t scare easily, defenders of the Constitution of this State and the United States (as our oath of office reads), have been buying ARs, survival gear, and all the ammo they can lay their hands on. All of them (or I should say “us”) have been discussing and have been acquiring guns to provide a layered perimeter defense.

We want something in .308 (or in my case a superb M1 Garand in .30-06) for covering the outer perimeters, 5.56mm weapons for mid-range use (for some with more limited funds, the AK-47 and 7.62×39 cartridge will suffice), and for the close up stuff shotguns and handguns (love my Benelli M4 Tactical and Beretta 92 9mm).

What are we suddenly so afraid of? Well in our discussions it seems to boil down to four areas. First, fear of federal government intrusion into our lives. Every time I look at or listen to the news, there is something new and intrusive coming out of the Obama administration and this Congress. New tax schemes, government-run Canadian-style healthcare, a volunteer citizen defense force (whatever that is, what happened to the National Guard?) equipped with funding similar to our military, forced voluntary “service” after retirement, a lack of a southern border with hordes of illegal and criminal aliens pouring over our border, the swine flu scare as well as government forced closing of thousands of privately held Chrysler and GM dealerships, which will be the final nail in the coffin for these companies and the list goes on and on.

But these items in the news are just the tip of the iceberg. We can’t see the full impact of these actions yet, but we don’t know what was added into the thousand of pages of stimulus package bills in the dead of night yet. I predict however that when the plans contained in the stimulus packages go into effect, a lot of us are going to be surprised if not shocked by what has suddenly and sweepingly changed.

What also scares us is the second, well-founded fear that there is an assault weapons ban looming, one that would make the Clinton Ban appear like a look of disdain in comparison. I remember well the 1990s and the Clinton years: the rise of militia groups, the “black helicopter” rumors and paranoia, all of which was motivated by the Brady Law and the Assault Weapon’s ban. What if a new ban comes requiring registration or confiscation and turn-in of banned weapons as what happened in Australia?

I watched cops and citizens alike purchase these guns at $900 dollars and more, with custom or tricked out guns easily running into the $2,000 range. Then add on all the accessories, red dots, lights, slings and anything else you can name and you may have up to $3,000 wrapped up in your rig. I saw the looks in their eyes. These purchasers weren’t spending this kind of money just to turn in the guns for no compensation when a government tells them to. I foresee much civil disobedience coming down the road.

Americans are citizens, and not subjects like the British, Canadians or Australians. They just don’t always obey the law blindly and not one officer or citizen that I spoke to said anything like “I hope I get to keep this gun for awhile before they are banned; They are fun to shoot, so I would hate to give it up.” It isn’t going to happen, so the cop on the street and the soldier on the base needs to think now what he will do if the orders come down. I think you all get what I am saying here.

Which leads me to the third fear, that there is a revolution coming, yes, a revolution on the scale of the original American Revolution. You can hear this topic discussed on many of the talk radio shows by even the big name hosts. The possibility of an armed revolution against the U.S. government is being discussed, albeit very gingerly and fleetingly and as something to be avoided, which it is. I never heard this mentioned in the 90s.

One of my quietest, low profile officer friends brought it up the other day. He said that at some point in the near future, he felt there is going to be an armed revolt if things keep going the way they are. Something has got to give. I was shocked. Yes, I had heard this from some of my more radical cop friends in the past, but to hear it from a guy like this was unprecedented for me. Now, these guys are not saying this will happen to foment revolution, preach sedition or to even participate. They just want to be ready if it happens, to at least defend their families, because number four on the fear list is general societal chaos.

Cops fear for their parents, wives, children or grandchildren more now than ever before. Most cops are encouraging their spouses and loved ones to get concealed carry permits. Not only that, but some of these same cops are buying gun mounts for their personal cars so they can carry an AR in the family ride at the ready all the time. They are also strapping on heavier forms of off-duty hardware. I have other friends that are issued ARs or subguns for tactical team use, who always have their gear with them and are planning on just commandeering these weapons for personal use in defending hearth and home.

Final Notes
This is pretty heady and maybe even dangerous stuff. Know fully that I am not advocating anything here. I am reflecting to you what I see and hear going on around me, and maybe saying things that haven’t been said in the open, until now. It is something to think about.

Scott Wagner is a Police Academy Commander and Professor at Columbus State Community College in Columbus Ohio, and Commander of the 727 Counter Terror Training Unit. A 29 year law enforcement veteran, and current Deputy Sheriff, he is the Precision Marksman for the Union County Sheriff’s Office SRT Team.

For me, it’s not necessarily President Obama that has me fearful. It’s the sheer idiocy of those who are consolidating power to their stupid little swamp bubble that they live in. It’s bipartisan- though there are a few good R’s left.  Most are hooked on power and have disdain for their constituents subjects.

Bernard Madoff was sentenced the other day to 150 years in prison for what amounted to a Ponzi scheme costing his hundreds of victims somewhere around $13 Billion and leaving many impoverished.

What did Made-off really do? He promised an unrealistic and unsustainable return on monies his customers put in, and paid out to the ones who got in first. The first customers gave rave reviews to other customers, and happily soaked up unrealistic “profits” on their money, not knowing it was really coming from the newer members of the Ponzi scheme.  As long as no one “called” in their funds, things were ok.

Even though a credible source was willing to stake his own reputation that Madoff’s profits were statistically impossible and something was wrong, the regulators failed to act.

Now you hear people say he didn’t get the full punishment he deserves, for ruining his victims.  I agree that he deserves the severest possible punishment, but he’s done far more damage than he could ever be punished for.

My point is this: how is this any different than the entire nanny state structure?  Our President comes out and says Americans have been guilty of irresponsible borrowing (i.e. borrowing to the hilt unsecured) but then slams his foot on the accelerator (with a willing Congress) of frivolous government spending and largesse down a path that nobody sane can think is sustainable.

Further up the road, just coming into visibility is the reinforced concrete wall of unfunded nanny-state liabilities that will absolutely overwhelm the system if current ones don’t. But we the electorate had to choose between two ruinous politicians in 2008, and we chose the more ruinous one.

There are many credible folks who’ve been out there warning us about this for years and years, but they’re just waypoints on the path to economic ruin.  The people chanting “faster! faster!” (including the large part of the news media) must be ignored, as you would’ve ignored people enthusiastically endorsing Madoff’s “product” if you were omniscient of the truth about his scheme.

I think we all have a responsibility to warn others about what is to come, but if the person refuses to accept it, there’s little that you can do.  The people cheerleading the destruction of our economy will wring their hands just as they do with Madoff, but it will be too late. 

*On a sidenote, using the analogy of hurtling toward oblivion, is there an emergency brake?  What is it?

“As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy” -Abraham Lincoln

This is interesting, but not surprising (link):

By FRANK BAJAK, Associated Press Writer Frank Bajak, Associated Press Writer - Tue Jun 30, 7:11 pm ET
BOGOTA - The regime that ousted Manuel Zelaya in Honduras claimed Tuesday that the deposed president allowed tons of cocaine to be flown into the Central American country on its way to the United States.

“Every night, three or four Venezuelan-registered planes land without the permission of appropriate authorities and bring thousands of pounds … and packages of money that are the fruit of drug trafficking,” its foreign minister, Enrique Ortez, told CNN en Espanol.

“We have proof of all of this. Neighboring governments have it. The DEA has it,” he added.

U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman Rusty Payne in Washington said he could neither confirm nor deny a DEA investigation.

Zelaya was traveling from New York to Washington and could not immediately be reached to respond to the allegations.

Honduras and other Central American nations have become major transshipment points in recent years for Colombian cocaine, particularly as Mexico’s government cracks down on cartels.

The drugs arrive in Honduras on non-commercial aircraft from Venezuela and increasingly in speedboats from Colombia, according to the Key West, Florida-based Joint Interagency Task Force-South, which coordinates drug interdiction in region.

In its most recent report on the illicit narcotics trade, the U.S. State Department said in February of Honduras that “official corruption continues to be an impediment to effective law enforcement and there are press reports of drug trafficking and associated criminal activity among current and former government and military officials.”

The report did not name names.

Who knows, maybe El Presidente Obama and his buddy Joey from Scranton are in on this?  Obama has admitted using coke but not stated when exactly he stopped… and Joey’s daughter has been alleged to have issues by a video that was (alleged to exist and) up for sale.

It was very interesting to see President Obama’s reaction to this compared with his meek response to the Iranian freedom protestors.  Like Jimmy Carter validating Hugo Chavez’s election, he’s enabling a dictatorship to rise by calling Zelaya’s ouster a “coup” and “illegal”. Like when the government starts regulating the byproduct of your breathing, when your government starts agreeing with Chavez and Castro, things have changed.

When this news broke, it was amazing to see the gut reactions and division over what happened.  With the media, it was a knee-jerk “support the leftist” reaction.  Of course, having a president of a country arrested for circumventing his nation’s constitution and other branches of government with the aid a mob of “community activists” (no doubt, some of them Venezuelan/Nicaraguan/Cuban operatives) to consolidate power for that president is understandably frightening to Obama and the media. 

The problem of our nation drifting away from our Constitution did not begin January 20 of this year, but it’s sure gotten worse, and the ground has softened for someone to shred it completely.

By the way, don’t be too surprised when the next terror attack hits and we find out they came over the border with drug smugglers.  It’ll be difficult to prove, but watch Hugo Chavez’s reaction…

Using the late Col Jeff Cooper’s four rules of firearm safety (link), we can derive a lesson as our local news here mentions yet another “some guy shot me in the leg” incident.  These are startingly common in the local cities, but here in PC World we refuse to call them out.  I haven’t seen the entry wounds, but a friend who has (in a few cases) told me that a lot of them could be construed to be self-inflicted by way of negligent discharge (link):

Wilmington police are investigating a shooting on Saturday that injured a 23-year-old city man.

Wilmington police spokesman Master Sgt. Steven Barnes said the shooting occurred about 8:10 p.m. in the 400 block of S. Van Buren St.

The victim was taken by private vehicle to St. Francis Hospital with a gunshot wound to his lower left leg.

Officers who interviewed the victim in the hospital were told that an unknown man pulled out a handgun and shot him in the leg. The victim could provide no other details.

Barnes said the victim was treated at the hospital and released.

The investigation is continuing.

My first question when I read this is did he have on a Plaxico Burress jersey?  I read this as someone fiddling around in their pants putting the finger on the trigger. 

Your first response might be dismissive, but there is something to be learned from this. Think about how combat surgeons have sometimes cross-trained in blood-soaked urban areas to fix gunshot wounds, there is something to learn. If your life/home defense condition suddenly went from (again citing Jeff Cooper’s) Condition Yellow (where you should always be)- :

Yellow - Relaxed alert. No specific threat situation. Your mindset is that “today could be the day I may have to defend myself.” You are simply aware that the world is a potentially unfriendly place and that you are prepared to defend yourself, if necessary. You use your eyes and ears, and realize that “I may have to SHOOT today.” You don’t have to be armed in this state, but if you are armed you should be in Condition Yellow. You should always be in Yellow whenever you are in unfamiliar surroundings or among people you don’t know. You can remain in Yellow for long periods, as long as you are able to “Watch your six.” (In aviation 12 o’clock refers to the direction in front of the aircraft’s nose. Six o’clock is the blind spot behind the pilot.) In Yellow, you are “taking in” surrounding information in a relaxed but alert manner, like a continuous 360 degree radar sweep. As Cooper put it, “I might have to shoot.”

to what some of the worst areas are (and some of it surely is self-imposed by the drug traders), Condition Orange:

Orange - Specific alert. Something is not quite right and has gotten your attention. Your radar has picked up a specific alert. You shift your primary focus to determine if there is a threat (but you do not drop your six). Your mindset shifts to “I may have to shoot HIM today.” In Condition Orange, you set a mental trigger: “If that goblin does ‘x’, I will need to stop him.” Your pistol usually remains holstered in this state. Staying in Orange can be a bit of a mental strain, but you can stay in it for as long as you need to. If the threat proves to be nothing, you shift back to Condition Yellow. Cooper described this as “I might have to shoot HIM,” referring to the specific target which has caused the escalation in alert status.

or even Condition Red:

Red - Condition Red is fight. Your mental trigger (established back in Condition Orange) has been tripped. If “X” happens I will shoot that person.

- firearm safety becomes even more important, especially if, unlike the injured fellow here, your buddies can’t just give you a lift to the hospital.  I’m trying to condition myself to review the four rules in my head each time I touch one of my own firearms, so that it can become as automatic as possible. 

So let’s review:

1. All guns are always loaded. Even if they are not, treat them as if they are.
2. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy. (For those who insist that this particular gun is unloaded, see Rule 1.)
3. Keep your finger off the trigger till your sights are on the target. This is the Golden Rule. Its violation is directly responsible for about 60 percent of inadvertent discharges.
4. Identify your target, and what is behind it. Never shoot at anything that you have not positively identified.

Complacency is your enemy, and his friend fatigue helps his cause.

In the Delaware News Journal, it was difficult to find coverage of the Cap and Trade/ Climate Bill, so I had to go to the “All Green To Me” blog to find this evenly balanced AP piece, posted here in its entirety (link):

Friday, June 26, 2009
Climate bill sent to full House
6/26/2009 11:04:00 AM

Associated Press — House Democrats narrowly won an important test vote today on groundbreaking legislation to combat global warming and usher in a new era of cleaner energy. Republican opponents said it included the largest tax increase ever.

The vote was 217-205 to send the White House-backed legislation to the full House.

Thirty Democrats defected, reflecting the deep divisions over the plan. Supporters and opponents agree it mean higher energy costs, but they disagree widely on the impact on consumers.

The legislation would impose limits, for the first time, on carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas pollution from power plants, factories and refineries. It would force a shift away from coal and other fossil fuels to renewable and more efficient forms of energy.

President Barack Obama has made the measure a top priority of his first year in office. The president, along with White House aides and House Democratic leaders scrambled for the votes to assure passage. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has pledged to pass the bill passed before lawmakers leave on their July 4 vacation.

In the Senate, which has yet to act, a major struggle is expected.

The bill’s fate in the House depended on the decisions of a few dozen fence-sitting Democrats, mainly conservatives and moderates from contested districts who feared the political ramifications of siding with the White House and their leadership on the measure.

“The bill contains provisions to protect consumers, keep costs low, help sensitive industries transition to a clean energy economy and promote domestic emission reduction efforts,” the White House in a statement of support for the legislation.

Republicans saw it differently.

Of course there’s no coverage of Delaware’s lone House vote, Rep Mike Castle (R?). Sounds like he’s voting yes. I called his office yesterday and they said he hadn’t decided how he’d vote.  They didn’t say if he’d read the bill.

If you’re on the fence on this or wondering how to explain it to someone else, think of it this way- the bill will make “clean energy” more cost effective by raising the cost of oil and coal-based energy drastically.  Our economy is so fragile right now that any radical intervention could be the tipping point toward complete collapse.  Instead of “passing a bill to help the climate,” if you look at it through a different lens, the inevitable impacts of this legislation’s passage will be:

1. Killing American domestic coal/oil-based energy production (it’ll ramp up everywhere else, and the Chinese will gain more power because of their massive investment in coal and oil).
2. Raising the cost of food drastically.
3. Raising the cost of heating your home.
4. Raising the cost of building materials (and other fuel-intensive products). Buh-bye privately-funded construction!
5. The transfer of $2 Trillion from the private economy to government (that will go to the general fund).

Killing the economic climate to save the Earth’s climate, right?  Nope, killing it for no reason- whatever supposed good our “cap” does will be replaced by the increases in the world’s current biggest greenhouse gas producer, China.

China has said they won’t cap their climate until at least 2035.  I thought the crisis was so imminent that this couldn’t wait?  Not that imminent in China, who’s commissioning new coal-fired plants monthly.

Folks, if this passes, it’s one of those things I guarantee you will assure that the United States does not survive this century, and we can thank the RINO’s who vote for it by working to ensure that they NEVER HOLD ELECTED OFFICE AGAIN. 

I promise you that if Congressman Castle votes for this POS bill, I will personally devote every free minute next year to campaign against him, even if his opponent were a radical jihadist or communist.  Because we might as well have one of them in the House if we’re giving them this much power over energy.

This morning’s GIN Blood Pressure check-up was sent out by the GIN’s Deacon. Clearly this school needs to do some real education with the real results of applied communism, perhaps these little punks should leave their bubble and go interview some people who lived under communism so that some panels can say “those outside the political class will  starve” (link): 

‘Capitalism Will Fail,’ Marijuana Leaf Part of California School Mosaic
Thursday, June 25, 2009
By Joshua Rhett Miller

Symbols of communism and marijuana and a prediction that “capitalism will fail” aren’t exactly the sort of end-of-year messages you’d expect from an eighth grader.

But that’s precisely what some students at the Black Pine Circle School, a private school in Berkeley, Calif., chose to include in their “Class of 2007″ mosaic.

The symbols, which are prominently displayed outside the school, have prompted questions about the appropriateness of images like a hammer and sickle and a marijuana leaf on school grounds - and have led critics to say they are blatant proof of political indoctrination of young children.

Black Pine Circle bills itself as a day school where students from kindergarten through eighth grade will be “maximally free of all the ‘isms’ which pervade most aspects of the world around them: from racism to sexism to the less obvious forms of discrimination,” according to its Web site.

Capitalism, even if it fails, apparently isn’t one of those: Tuition for a 10-month term costs more than $17,000.

Laura Wolff, assistant director and head of BPCS’s Lower School, told FOXNews.com that each graduating student makes a tile to commemorate his or her time there, sometimes teaming up with other students to make a “dual tile.” She said school officials do not edit or otherwise influence the end products.

It’s called history, and it’s readily available, except to those in Berzerkely.  The dollar with a cross-out reminds me of this passage from Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged (which, by the way, should be moved from the ’fiction’ section to the ‘current events’ in the bookstore) (link):

“So you think that money is the root of all evil?… Have you ever asked what is the root of money? Money is a tool of exchange, which can’t exist unless there are goods produced and men able to produce them. Money is the material shape of the principle that men who wish to deal with one another must deal by trade and give value for value. Money is not the tool of the moochers, who claim your product by tears, or the looters who take it from you by force. Money is made possible only by the men who produce. Is this what you consider evil? … Not an ocean of tears nor all the guns in the world can transform those pieces of paper in your wallet into bread you need to survive tomorrow. … Whenever destroyers appear among men, they start by destroying money, for money is men’s protection and the base of a moral existence. Destroyers seize gold and leave its owners a counterfeit pile of paper. This kills all objective standards and delivers men into the arbitrary power of an arbitrary setter of values… Paper is a mortgage on wealth that does not exist, backed by a gun aimed at those who are expected to produce it. Paper is a check drawn by legal looters upon an account which is not theirs: upon the virtue of the victims. Watch for the day when it becomes marked: ‘Account Overdrawn.

The Future Trustafarians of America club at Black Pine Circle should have a discussion on the question “where does the food I eat come from?” The answer is what some would define as “enterprise” or “capitalism”. 

The Deacon also shared an important spiritual note that all our readers should be aware of regarding the misuse of Timothy 6:10 and the “money is the root of all evil” thing. In his words:

Just a point of clarification. One of the most misquoted/misused scriptures is 1 Timothy 6:10 - “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

The have-nots typically will use this verse to demonize the haves. But they always say “money is the root of all evil” which is missing a very important part of the verse. The Apostle Paul was very clear writing that verse. Money is not the root of all evil - it’s when a person loves money, covets it, and puts it before the Lord that it becomes a problem.

In addition, when “the rich” become a punching bag for statists, it’s covetous behavior to think that we taxpayers know better how to utilize their money than they do.  Remember the commandment that paraphrased says ”You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, wife, or property”?

I know about “render unto Caesar” but I will quickly respond that “our Constitution doesn’t say anything about Caesar or SPQR (, you sniveling little…)”. 

In truth, you can’t kill the human spirit of enterprise no matter what you do. It is this that gives me hope for the future.  Even the communist countries have abandoned Marx (yet somehow our country just has to give it a shot?)  Our desire to want more and better for our offspring and on some levels the spirit of survival will outlive the constructs of Marxism.

I’ve always enjoyed the ”affirmative action bake sales” at colleges. With Pennsylvania’s private Bucknell University, it was a no-go with the administration (link):

Bucknell bake sale sparks First Amendment debate
By Susan Snyder

Inquirer Staff Writer

Bake sales - typically the sweetest and most innocent of displays - again have become a flashpoint for strident political debate and free speech arguments on college campuses, this time at Bucknell University.

The “affirmative-action bake sale,” at which the Bucknell University Conservatives Club charged different prices depending on a customer’s race, was shut down by the administration in April. But it didn’t end there.

Bucknell president Brian C. Mitchell has received about 100 letters, e-mails, and phone calls protesting the administration’s response.

A Philadelphia-based national free-speech group this month blasted the school in a news release that began, “Student rights are under assault at Bucknell University. …”

And a fledgling group of alumni and other interested parties issued a statement of concern last week.

The controversy at Bucknell - a 3,500-student liberal arts university in Lewisburg, Pa., about 75 minutes north of the state capital - is not unique.

College campuses across the country frequently must deal with delicate issues of free speech, political posturing, and race relations.

Affirmative-action bake sales, usually held by conservative groups, have been cropping up on campuses for years, much to the chagrin of many administrators - although Kutztown University a few years ago let one go on and used it as a “teachable moment.”

At Bucknell, the dispute runs even deeper. The conservative club has had conflicts with the administration for years.

In March, the club complained that the administration shut down another of its activities - passing out anti-stimulus handbills that blared “The Socialist State of America” on the front with President Obama’s face. On the back, the fake dollar bills read: “Obama’s stimulus plan makes your money as worthless as Monopoly money.”

I have a stereotype of Bucknell University being the type of “blue-blood” school where a lot of kids who’ve had a lot handed to them in life would become liberal, and we just wouldn’t want anything out there to make them question that. 

Again, it’s a generalization, but this is a good analogy to where a lot of the GOP establishment is with conservatives. Like the Bucknell administration, they’ll gladly accept your funding from tuition (or donations) but they’re very comfortable with the status quo and don’t really want anyone rocking the boat with their crazy views, tea parties, etc.

Saturday I managed to shoot a few targets for the June e-postal match.  I had disappointing scores and ran out of targets, it was a lot more challenging than I expected. Fun, but challenging.

After that I went to the 100 yard range to try out the new 16″ AR rig. The weather held out until the very end, when a really nasty storm rolled in. The picture’s a little blurry, but it is an accurate representation- I could see the 25 and 50 yard targets, but couldn’t even see 100 yards!