Friday morning’s on-line Seattle Post-Intelligencer sends the old year out with the kind of swell news that causes Evergreen State gun owners chagrin, because they offer code-cracking revelations that seem always to escape the gun prohibition lobby.
In story No. 1, we’re treated to the tale of an unidentified 28-year-old convicted felon who has been (surprise!) under the supervision of the Department of Corrections since 2005. Over the past five-plus years, he has done two stretches in prison, and his criminal history includes — according to the published account — convictions for assault, drugs and harassment. He has escaped from DOC supervision, and just upped his profile with armed robberies.
Item No. 2 involves a fellow identified as Andres Rene Rodriguez, 25, who is being held on federal drug charges and in connection with a 2008 Seattle homicide. When he was arrested, police found drugs and a .40-caliber pistol from which the serial number had been obliterated. Gun owners would be first to note that scratching the serial number off of a handgun is: a) a No-No under federal law, and b) strong evidence that gun was stolen.
Hell of a way to ring out the old year and ring in the new, eh? (Oh, and readers of my "Top Stories" column the other day should make a note. When the local news outlets reported their top stories for the past year, they ignored one, and you all know which one. If not, look here.)
Is there something that the gun control crowd isn’t getting here? How about other social do-gooders? If the two gents mentioned above had not been free on the streets, the crimes they are now suspected of committing would not have been committed. Still, as this column noted here, Washington is still relatively safe; violent crime is down and gun ownership — and concealed carry — is up.
Certainly it is good to give someone a “second chance” but how many chances are we supposed to give someone who keeps committing crimes? Someone under DOC supervision should not be sitting behind bars facing armed robbery or murder charges. What does that say about the level of “supervision” these characters are under?
Before the Legislature, which convenes in about ten days, considers any measures aimed at tightening down on the firearm civil rights of Washington State citizens, lawmakers need to accept responsibility for a system of laws and a failed bureaucracy that keeps putting recidivist scumbags back out on the streets, where they commit more crimes while they are supposed to be under DOC supervision.
Before anti-gun lawmakers and their supporters over at Washington CeaseFire dream up any more schemes like bans on modern sporting rifles or handguns because criminals have guns, they need to understand the obvious: Criminals get guns because they are criminals, they don’t obey the law, and they have already disobeyed existing laws by having guns in the first place. Get it?
This column will close out the year with some questions that a lot of people lack the honesty and intestinal fortitude to answer. We’ll make it simple. Platitudes and political correctness do not solve problems.
Q. What do we do when the car stops running or gets a flat tire?
Q. What do we do to vicious dogs that keep biting and mauling innocent people?
Q. What do we do about their owners?
If you understand these questions, you’re probably a gun rights activist or soon will be. If you don’t understand these questions, you’re part of the problem, not the solution; we’ve tried it your way and it didn’t work.
Drive safely tonight and throughout 2011. Make it home from your job every day. Get that physical you put off because you didn’t have time. Eat less. Exercise more.
Do the right thing.
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Comments
Happy New Year to you too Dave!
Hopefully the laughing stock of the Nation, can find a few more headlines of government incompentance to save the local democratic party, both in Seattle and Spokane, headquartered at the Governors Mansion, with Patty Murry, and Maria Cantwell, where you always just can't very well find out why the party of the Delerious keep getting elected?
I like last years National Headlines the best, vote imbecile, and you too can go on a field trip to the County Fair!
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2009/09/19/2009-09-19_insane_ki...
Oh, well, jeez! Why didn't they take the whole lot of inmates from ~all~ of the prisons and, well, just let them wander about ...
.
And yes, Dave, Happy New Year to you and yours.
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Now get back to work! ;-)
Good stuff.
The liability incurred by state and local governments for failure to actually "supervise" released convicts doesn't yet exceed the cost to keep criminals locked up, so here we are.
Happy New Year to you too, and thanks for what you do.
I cannot help but wonder where the punishment aspect of the Criminal Code has gone. The current Prison System is not a safe environment to say the least but honestly I have no problem with the Criminals killing off their own kind, and keeping it off of our streets, I do not believe in life in prison under any circumstances, cost way to much for the Citizens to support the scum bags, Capital Punishment should be the result of the Convicted Criminal after one appeal within 90 days, if it fails squirt the juice done deal.
I have a major problem with how many people they are locking up for NON-VIOLENT offenses though.
End the stupid War on Drugs!
End the tyranny of the Police State!
End the Unconstitutional Income Tax, Social Security, Welfare, Medicaid, Medicare, Food stamps and the like.
Long live Individual Freedom and may we return our nation to the Land of the Free. (Hint: we'll need to locate some of those supposedly brave Americans though. They're absence in reality is overwhelming these days. You know, like in, "home of the brave.") Still waiting to see if that phrase remains true. Ain't seen much evidence of it thus far.
Been down to submit to the forced nude scans and sexual assault pat downs lately?
Been stopped at an UNCONSTIUTIONAL "Sobriety checkpoint" lately without protesting loud and energetically?
Good little sheep!
Happy New Year. We'll take more of your freedoms in 2011 of that your can be sure.
As a Jewess in the US, I say it is time for all REAL Americans to put our 2nd Amendment FIRST!! Remember that America wasn't won with a registered gun!!
Better late than never. Happy New Year Dave to you and to all of our friends that support the 2nd Amendment. People seem to forget that without it, the other rights are just so many words on a old piece of paper. As our friend Dave Codrea says, MOLON LABE BABY.
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