Dear Gallup: For WHAT is Obama Most Admired, Exactly?

Gallup has issued the results of its annual poll of Most Admired men and women.

I find the results quite depressing and ominous for the future of the country.

My initial response after reading the list was "who in the hell answered this poll?  Where did they get these people?"  Apparently Gallup says that the respondents are equal parts cell phone users and land lines;  they are supposedly from all 50 states, and are all over age 18.  In short, it seems like a fair poll on the surface.  A total of 1031 adults were polled.

And the best we can do is Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton?  Seriously?

What, exactly, are we admiring Barack Obama for?  I'd be interested in a follow-up question to the Gallup respondents to see if they can cite one thing that these people did that are truly worth admiration.  Or do they just say "Barack Obama" because he's president?  Or Hillary because she's famous (infamous?).  Are these respondents political at all?  Informed on the issues?  Educated? Just breathing?

What is it that we admire about Barack Obama?

His efforts to get to the truth about the massacre in Benghazi?  Ooops, no.  Not so much.  His attempts to protect his Ambassador to Libya while stationed in Benghazi?  Nah.  Can't be that.

How about his program to sell weapons to drug cartels in Mexico?  Was that admirable?  I don't think the family of Brian Terry would think so.

Do we admire him for his absolutely relentless push to pass Obamacare, a law that is still being deciphered, its faults and foibles still revealing themselves, and the inoperable, poorly written website that accompanies it?  Do we admire him for the amateur roll out of this unworkable, giant new entitlement program?

His commitment to keep education at the state level and keep the federal government out of your child's classroom?  Not even close.

Maybe its his ability to relate to the common man, the little guy, the average Joe on the street.  Hmmm, no, it's probably not that either.

I guess it could be that people admire Obama for his commitment to the privacy of American citizens and his adherence to the Fourth Amendment.  Wait, no..., that can't be it.

His protection of the Second Amendment?  Nope, not that either.

Immigration.  That's it - protecting America's borders and saying no to amnesty.  The idea that immigrants need to follow the laws in place and follow the path to citizenship that millions have followed before.  The protection of American values and culture, the belief in American exceptionalism!  Dang it, no.  That's not it either.  Obama has just vowed to fight for amnesty (probably trying to protect the Democratic politicians on the chopping block this cycle.)

His refusal to bow to foreign leaders?  Nah.  He's done that at least eight times, not to mention chumming it up with dictators.

I don't get it.  Maybe we admire him for his golf game, his lavish vacations and White House parties, his general ineptitude and his arrogance.

As far as Hillary Clinton goes, I see nothing admirable there either.  It was on her watch as Secretary of State that four Americans were murdered in Benghazi, a situation that should never have happened given that the consulate there asked repeatedly for increased security and was denied.

On the Gallup poll Barack Obama gets 16% of the vote; runner-up to him is George W. Bush with 4%.  Hillary is at 15% with Oprah Winfrey behind her at 6%.

I just don't get it.  At best it's a dismal sign of things to come.  If we are to assume that the poll respondents are informed, educated Americans (and there's certainly no evidence of that) then all hope for conservative values in this country is lost.

At best these are people that vote.

Scary.

H/T:  Memeorandum

"Doing Fine"

Gun makers, that is:

Gun manufacturing is the one private-sector industry “doing fine” on Mr. Obama’s watch. Sturm, Ruger & Co. sold 1 million firearms in the first quarter of 2012 - an amazing 50 percent increase from the first quarter of 2011. The jump was so steep that the company stopped accepting orders from March to May to catch up with demand for its products. 

Last month, Smith & Wesson announced a firearm-order backlog of approximately $439 million by the end of April, up 135 percent from the same quarter in 2011. Sales in that period were up 28 percent from 2011 and 14 percent over its own predictions to investors. NSSF estimates the industry is responsible for approximately 180,000 jobs and has an annual impact on the U.S. economy of $28 billion.

Shocker.

While Time attributes the boon partially to zombies (no, really), it is also noted that it could have something to do with the upcoming election:

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Olin’s ammunition sales have risen strongly during the first quarter of 2012, increasing 8% overall and 13% among civilians. During an April conference call with analysts, Olin’s CEO said the increase in sales “may be related to the election.”

What do you think?  Are you stocking up on ammo?

At least some portion of the economy is booming.

Loose Thoughts and Roosters

I'm getting sick.  I'm so disappointed.  I wasn't going to mention it for fear of breaking the good luck string, but I missed out on getting the "fall crud" this past fall and up until now I thought I would skate on the "spring crud" too.  I was getting worried that my ENT guy might forget about me.  I guess I'll be visiting him soon.  Meh.

I've been in a funk this week after a local election this week for the schools.  For you non-locals, there were 3 issues on the ballot.  One of the three passed.  The one that passed is designated for building new schools and upgrading existing structures.  My school will benefit from this as every time someone on the first floor turns on their electric heater all the fuses blow and the custodian has to change it out and restore power.  We're long overdue for an electrical upgrade, especially to accommodate all the technology that  is now running through this very old building.  So that was good.

What didn't pass was the five percent teacher pay raise (we haven't had one in seven years; I'm bringing home less now than I did just three years ago) or the technology upgrade.

I'm not going to get into my emotions on all that right now; I'm toying with a post on it but I'm not ready to go there yet.  I'll just say that though there were a lot of people in support of the teachers, there were plenty of nasty comments made that really disheartened me.  One person left a comment on a local news article that suggested teachers should "just eat less and not drive such fancy cars."  He said every teacher he knows is driving a Lexus or some other expensive car.  I'm not even going to go there.  There's an idiot in every crowd.

But, I've been disheartened and discouraged.  Governor Jindal is coming after us with everything he's got and now the local voters have smacked us.  Teacher morale is low low low.  But,  HEY I'm about to get  THE WHOLE SUMMER OFF.  Not.  Anyone who believes that malarky is in need of counseling.

But, what has made me feel better this week is my kids.  I just love my students.  That's another post in itself, too.  But I've had great kids and that's what keeps me going to work every day.  One of my former students took the picture above today outside at lunch of me and her stuffed rooster (kidnapped from the art teacher) Pancho.  I'm not sure if his name is Pancho, but that's what I called him.  We have great kids at my school.  Love!

Elsewhere on the web:

Stacy McCain is following the trail of Trayvon Martin related attacks.  What the hell is wrong with people?  My god.

A Cop's Watch is also on the trail.

Ed Driscoll has an alarming wrap-up on the whole thing.

However, Adrienne has the most compelling story I've seen today in defense of the Second Amendment.

Is the secret to a great presidential legacy all in one's alcohol intake?  Pirate's Cove reports.

In the spirit of Holocaust Remembrance Day, let me again point you to my friend Nico Van Thyn's blog; he is the son of two Holocaust survivors and has been telling their story.  I had the privilege of meeting his parents several times and am glad Nico is recording their history.  Please read.

I'm off to take some cold meds, some allergy meds, and some more vitamins just to cover all my bases.

And There Go the Gun Shows...

Well this will make the anti-gun crowd happy.

From NYC.gov:

The undercover investigation sent professional investigators to seven gun shows in Nevada, Ohio, and Tennessee to determine whether sellers would engage in two types of illegal transactions. The first involves private sellers selling guns to people who they thought could not pass a federal background check. The second involves licensed dealers conducting illegal straw sales, which are sales made to accomplices posing as buyers in order to help the real buyer avoid a criminal background check.

“The gun show loophole is a deadly serious problem – and this undercover operation exposes just how pervasive and serious it is,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “We are sending a copy of our detailed report Gun Show Undercover to every member of the United States Congress. We’ll work with Congressional leaders to pass legislation closing the gun show loophole. This is an issue that has nothing to do with the Second Amendment; it’s about keeping guns from criminals, plain and simple.”

Now the folks at Crooks and Liars are comparing this to the ACORN video sting, because, you know, importing underage girls to use for prostitution is okay and the whole undercover video thing was so unfair.

Most sensible people would agree that criminals shouldn't be allowed to purchase guns at gun shows and that any loophole should be closed. No argument here. In this day and age we ought to be able to do instant background checks which would solve the problem, no? There are a lot of legitimate collectors and dealers at gun shows and such events offer an opportunity for collectors and aficionados to meet.

Bloomberg writes:

Congress should pass legislation requiring that all sales at gun shows be subject to criminal background checks -- a measure that has the support of Sen. John McCain, President Obama and 83% of gun owners. It is also time for Congress to support the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) with the resources it needs to crack down on illegal sales at gun shows.

The vast majority of gun buyers at gun shows are law abiding citizens. Closing the gun show loophole and increasing resources to help ATF enforce the laws will not detract from anyone's Second Amendment rights. What it will do is send the message that criminals are not welcome at gun shows.

But what you will see now is the paranoid left calling for the shut down of all gun shows. Case in point. You want to enter crazyville, just get into a discussion on gun rights with someone. Especially someone on the internet.

No, Bloomberg isn't calling for an end to gun shows, but the moonbats will. Just close the loophole, folks.

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-bloomberg/gun-show-undercover_b_312339.html

(H/T: Memeorandum)

Another Look at CIFTA

Yesterday I posted the CNN video about the CIFTA treaty which Obama is working to get through the Senate. This push is a result of his recent trip to Mexico and an attempt to halt to flow of guns into Mexico.

The initial problem which this logic is that Obama is using faulty statistics when he says that "90% of the guns recovered in Mexico come from the United States." This isn't true; the fact is, nobody really knows. Yes, lots of guns seized in Mexico come from the United States. No question. But that's indicative of a whole other sort of problem; the fact that drug runners can get guns doesn't mean that America should end-run the Second Amendment. Bad logic.

Another point of faulty logic is that 33 nations in the Western Hemisphere have signed on to this treaty, so it must be good, right? Wrong. Those nations do not have a Second Amendment to the Constitution.

So what would ratification of this treaty mean to Americans? Gun Owners of America posted an analysis of the treaty. Here's what they concluded:

* Banning reloading. In Article IV of the treaty, countries commit to adopting “necessary legislative or other measures” to criminalize illicit manufacturing and trafficking in firearms. Remember that “illicit manufacturing” includes reloading and modifying or assembling a firearm in any way. This would mean that the Obama administration could promulgate regulations banning reloading on the basis of this treaty.

* Banning gun clubs. Article IV goes on to state that the criminalized acts should include “association or conspiracy” in connection with said offenses -- which is arguably a term broad enough to allow, by regulation, the criminalization of entire pro-gun organizations or gun clubs, based on the facilities which they provide their membership.

That last one sounds a little paranoid to me, but who knows. I don't think the Obama administration would attempt to disband gun clubs or even the NRA, but lots would disagree with me.

More from Gun Owners of America:

* Extraditing US gun dealers. Article V requires each party to “adopt such measures as may be necessary to establish its jurisdiction over the offenses it has established in accordance with this Convention” under a variety of circumstances. Under Article XXIX, if Mexico demands the extradition of a lawful American gun dealer, the U.S. would be required to resolve the dispute through “other means of peaceful settlement.”

They suggest that gun dealers could be extradited to Mexico for trial - again, overreaction? But, the language is there.

* Microstamping. Article VI requires “appropriate markings” on firearms. And, it is not inconceivable that this provision could be used to require microstamping of firearms and/or ammunition -- a requirement which is clearly intended to impose specifications which are not technologically possible or which are possible only at a prohibitively expensive cost.

* Gun registration. Article XI requires the maintenance of any records, for a “reasonable time,” that the government determines to be necessary to trace firearms. This provision would almost certainly repeal portions of McClure-Volkmer and could arguably be used to require a national registry or database.

Chuck Baldwin wrote what appears to be a pretty rational analysis of the treaty. He wrote:

"Should the Senate ratify CIFTA, Americans who reload ammunition would be required to get a license from the government, and factory guns and ammunition would be priced almost out of existence due to governmental requirements to "mark" each one manufactured. Even the simple act of adding an after-market piece of equipment to a firearm, such as a scope or bipod, or reassembling a gun after cleaning it could fall into the category of "illicit manufacturing" of firearms and require government license and oversight.

"In addition, CIFTA would authorize the U.S. federal government (and open the door to international entities) to supervise and regulate virtually the entire American firearms industry. Making matters worse is the fact that, as a treaty, this Act does not have to be passed by both houses of Congress, nor is it subject to judicial oversight. All Obama needs to do in order to enact this unconstitutional and egregious form of gun control is convince a Democratic-controlled Senate to pass it."

He also writes about H.R. 45, proposed by Bobby Rush, which would "require a federal license for all handguns and semiautomatics, including the ones you already possess. It would require handgun and semi-auto owners to be thumbprinted at a police station and sign a certificate that the gun will not be kept in a place where it could be used for the defense of the gun owner's family."

The bottom line is that this administration is coming after the Second Amendment. They tried and failed with the attempt to eliminate the sale of expended brass, aimed at putting reloaders out of business and manipulating the sale of ammo. There was a huge outcry against this and they backed off.

CIFTA is another attempt at gun control. It's safe to assume that if Mexico can't get guns from the United States, the drug runners and criminals would get them elsewhere. There are plenty of other places where they can (and do) get guns.

Another option would be to close the border, or enforce stronger border security. There's a novel idea for you.

More to the point is that once one of your constitutional rights is taken away from you, how long before the others are? Rather than accusing Bush of "shredding the Constitution," liberals might do well to look at this issue and consider who really is doing just that.

Pilots, Guns, and Public Safety

The Washington Times has a great editorial on Obama's ending the federal firearms program, that is, that pilots may carry guns if they completed federal safety programs.

After 9/11, commercial airline pilots were allowed, once trained, to carry guns in order to help prevent future, similar attacks. There are currently about 12,000 pilots who participate in this program.

The Times suggests that Obama is risking public safety in favor of an anti-gun ideology. The whole thing has done with a bit of stealth in this oh-so-transparent administration. Pilots report that since the election the approval process for the permits has slowed significantly and now has "stalled out." In addition, pilots are worried about speaking out "for fear of retaliation from the Transportation Security Adminsitration." Yikes.

The anti-gun ideology certainly seems to be there as we learned earlier this week of the DoD's new policy on the sale of expended brass. Slowly, but surely, the administration is working on gun control.

The editorial closes with this point:

"Frankly, as a matter of pure politics, we cannot understand what the administration is thinking. Nearly 40 House Democrats are in districts were [sic] the NRA is more popular than House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. We can't find any independent poll in which the public is demanding that pilots disarm. Why does this move make sense?

Only anti-gun extremists and terrorist recruits are worried about armed pilots. So why is the Obama administration catering to this tiny lobby at the expense of public safety?"

A good point.

DOD Eliminates Sale of Expended Brass

This from Gordon Hutchinson, author of The Great New Orleans Gun Grab:

"From now on, remanufacturers of military brass will not be able to buy surplus brass from DOD--actually from Government Liquidators, llc.--the corporation that sells surplus materials for the U.S. government. At least, not in any form recognizable as once-fired brass ammunition. Now all brass ammunition will have to be shredded, and sold as scrap."

Now, to be clear, I'm not a gun enthusiast in that I don't participate in the sport of shooting. I don't own a gun, as I've said. But that doesn't mean I don't believe in the Second Amendment or the right of people to own guns if they want to.

What Hutchinson is telling us is that if the government can't control the sale of guns, which they have had trouble doing, then they CAN control the sale of ammunition.

Hutchinson explains:

"You can expect this to affect every bullet you purchase in the future--with no reloaded ammunition available, the already strained new manufacturers will be unable to meet demand. They are already turning out everything they can build for the military market. The civilian market is stressed to the point even reloading components have become hard to find.

Now, with this hit, ammunition prices will go through the roof in the next year."

Even if you don't own guns or participate in the sport of target shooting this will affect you because it also affects law enforcement. Who pays for the ammo for law enforcement? Taxpayers, maybe? With this market gone, some smaller law enforcement agencies and individual officers will no longer be able to purchase inexpensive reloaded ammunition for practice. Companies such as Georgia Arms, which Mr. Hutchinson writes about, will go out of business.

Not such good news in this economy. Why would the Obama administration take such action as to put more small businesses out of work in this economy? So they can control guns. One of his agenda items.

In addition to putting people out of work, the cost to the taxpayers is compounded by the fact that it reduces the return by 80% on the sale of expended brass. Now the material will be sold as scrap and sold to China at a much lower return.

The nanny-state business of it is disturbing as well, as the letter received by Larry Haynie of Georgia Arms from the DOD suggests that in addition to being unable to sell him anymore brass, they must also come to his place of business and witness the destruction of his already purchased brass: "The new DRMS requirement calls for DOD Surplus personnel to witness the mutilation of the property and sign the Certificate of Destruction. Mutilation of the property can be done at the DRMO, if permitted by the Government, or it may be mutilated at a site chosen by the buyer."

If you visit Mr. Hutchinson's site, linked above, he has written a letter which you can copy and send to your legislators.

Update: Via Instapundit, here is a post about ammunition shortages in Florida.

Update 2: Jonah Goldberg at NRO has picked up the story.

Update 3: Memeorandum has picked up Gordon Hutchinson's post.

Boys, Toys and Gun Control

Steve and his friend went out this week and each purchased a replica of 1858 New Army Texas .44 caliber revolver. I don't know much about guns but he tells me it's a "black powder" revolver. They are both cops and know their way around guns, and both of them like to go shoot targets.

Since the election, gun sales and ammo sales are way up. One Tulsa newspaper reports an 87% increase from February 2008 to February 2009. The owner of a gun shop there says that people are buying and hoarding ammunition in anticipation of potential gun control legislation coming from the Obama administration.

One of the pieces of gun control legislation the NRA is following is H.R. 45: "Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act" which is currently in committee. The bill would require

"all handgun owners to submit to the federal government an application that shall include, among many other things: a photo; an address; a thumbprint; a completed, written firearm safety test; private mental health records; and a fee.

The bill would further require the attorney general to establish a database of every handgun sale, transfer, and owner's address in America. Moreover, the bill would make it illegal to own or possess a "qualifying firearm" -- defined as "any handgun; or any semiautomatic firearm that can accept any detachable ammunition feeding device…" [emphasis added] without one of the proposed licenses.

Additionally, the bill would make it illegal to transfer ownership of a "qualifying firearm" to anyone who is not a licensed gun dealer or collector (with very few exceptions), and would require "qualifying firearm" owners to report all transfers to the attorney general's database. It would also be illegal for a licensed gun owner to fail to record a gun loss or theft within 72 hours, or fail to report a change of address within 60 days. Further, if a minor obtains a firearm and injures someone with it, the owner of the firearm may face a multiple-year jail sentence. "

There is also plenty of talk of not only gun registration, but ammo registration. According to NWV News, such legislation "would provide that, after a specific date, all handgun and 'assault weapon' ammunition manufactured or sold in the state shall be coded by the manufacturer, and would include a list of all calibers covered by the coding requirement. It would mandate the disposal by a certain date of all non-coded ammunition listed, whether owned by private citizens or retail outlets."

Gun enthusiasts are concerned because Obama has stated publicly that he will ban firearms, collect firearms, and tax firearm ammunition over 500 percent, all positions AG Eric Holder shares with BHO.

Personally, I don't shoot guns and I don't own one but I certainly respect the Second Amendment and I respect the rights of people to responsibly own guns. People that are pro-gun-control point to things like the recent shooting in Alabama but as Don Surber pointed out, "A New York Times editorial blames America’s gun lobby for 11 deaths in Alabama — but ignores 16 deaths in “gun free” Germany on the same day."

You have to look at both sides of the story and certainly there are irresponsible people but there are also responsible ones. It's been fairly well documented that strict gun control laws don't really stop criminals from getting guns, or anyone else who wants one for that matter.

Attempting to legislate every aspect of gun control violates the Second Amendment and further turns us into a nanny-state.

Here is the NYTimes editorial Surber mentions.