The Lone Libertarian

Due to the plea to the DMV by a 60 year old “technology teacher”, who was enlightened by her grandchildren, North Carolina has placed a recall on all license plates with the letters “WTF” on them.  This waste of money will cause the state to reissue close to 10,000 plates.

Way to go “Team Waste Taxpayer Money!”

Geez, they may as well run down the other Internet acronymns while they are at it.

Squeaky has set a time/date for a Memphis area gun blogger meet-up.  Bloggers and readers are encouraged to come to the East End Grill on Highway 64 on Saturday, July 19th at 2pm.

For more information and updates, check her blog.

There are two conservative radio personalities in Memphis I am directing this post at, Mike Fleming and Ben Ferguson.  I know they probably wont answer in kind, but maybe a conservative that thinks like them can explain.

Yesterday, they both exploded over the “nationalization of oil” talk being espoused by House and Senate Democrats.  The talk show hosts went down the long list of reasons why nationalizing the domestic oil industry would introduce inefficiencies, price increases, and supply shortages.  Kudos to them for this, as I agree, government control over anything usually produces a sub-par product that is sometimes lower than even the least common denominator.

However, neither host was able to satisfactorily explain why the city of Memphis should not sell Memphis Light Gas and Water (the local public utility) to private industry.  Why say that one energy industry shouldn’t be nationalized, when you are fighting for a different energy company to stay public?  Kudos to the several liberal and ultra conservatives that called in, exposing this hypocrisy.  Listening to the respective hosts, they both floundered around and mostly let callers duke it out.  Some callers cited areas where public utilities went private and rates went up.  It was all a bunch of he-said, she-said.

I know that the sale of MLGW has been a pet project of Mayor Willie Herenton since he took office, and rears its head at least once a term, but what is so conservative about a government run power company, and not about a government run oil company?  For a Democrat, Mayor Herenton is pretty darn conservative on this issue.

MLGW has been in the news many times over the past several years due to public mishandling, scandal, and unqualified board members.  It would seem to me that removing politics from running a utility company would probably save people money on their energy bills starting on day one.

Someone please explain this “have your cake and eat it too”, unprincipled philosophy.

WMC TV 5 has exclusive video that show a Memphis Police officer beating a transsexual prostitute in the booking area at 201 Poplar.  The incident happened on February 12th of this year.  Duanna Johnson was beaten because she did not want to respond to the word “faggot” when being addressed by the officer.

I wonder if we will see a rise in intolerance and incidents such as this, since applicants to become MPD officers are no longer required to have at least 2 years of college under their belt.

Disgusting.

Fred Hobbs, an executive committee member of the Tennessee Democratic Party, seems to have spoken out of turn on behalf of superdelegate Lincoln Davis (D-US House 4th District).  Davis had not yet pledged his support for Obama.

When asked about the delay, Hobbs stated the following:

“I’m not sure we know enough about him. He’s got some bad connections, and he may be terrorist connected for all I can tell. It sounds kind of like he may be.”

He also stated:

“[Obama] has associates who are connected to terrorism. It does throw a red flag up for me ….I certainly don’t think he’s a terrorist. I’ve just heard he has associates who might have those ties.”

Wow.  That’s pretty damning stuff if you have an executive of a state political party making wild accusations about the national party’s choice for President.

Davis, whom is rumored to be seeking the Governor’s seat in 2010 quickly ran interference.

Mr. Hobbs is neither a constituent, close friend nor political ally of mine,” Davis says. “His statements were wrong, outrageous and unacceptable.”

The Tennessee Democratic Party released a statement on Monday.

The Tennessee Democratic Party is united behind our party’s nominee, Senator Barack Obama. Mr. Hobbs is obviously misinformed, and his statement highlights the perpetual efforts of the Republican Party, especially here in Tennessee, to turn internet smears and highly offensive gossip into their party’s message against Senator Barack Obama as we head into the General Election. Instead of debating the issues, the Tennessee Republican Party continues to rely upon slanderous and salacious tall tales. They are borrowing from the playbook first written by Richard Nixon and employed in the race against Congressman Harold Ford Jr. Tennesseans of every political persuasion are tired of these tactics.

Hobbs then apologized on Tuesday.

I am writing to apologize for my recent remarks about Senator Barack Obama. My statements to various Nashville media were wrong and offensive. I apologize if my remarks in any way hurt any of our great Democratic candidates, including Senator Obama. Also, I apologize if my comments embarrassed our state or my friends at the Tennessee Democratic Party.

I was not as well prepared as I should have been when speaking with reporters, and I should have taken more time to research Senator Obama’s positions. My comments did reflect questions I had after what I had seen reported on Fox News, but I should have taken some time to check the accuracy of what I saw on television before speaking publicly. My statement that Senator Obama “may be terrorist-connected” was incorrect, and I apologize for making it.

As a lifelong Democrat, I believe in the values and ideals of the Democratic Party. I am honored to represent the 13th Senatorial District, and I look forward to working with Senator Obama, each of you, and every Democrat in the 13th District to elect Democrats this November.

Warmest Regards,

Fred Hobbs

As seen above, Hobbs told the Tennessean that his comment was derived based on coverage he had seen on Fox News.

Seriously?  A supposed party executive that hasn’t done his homework on the nominee, blames Fox News for his ineptitude?  I’m sure most liberal bloggers are asking why this guy was watching the “conservative news network” anyhow.

Also, way to deflect your leadership’s obvious lack of knowledge, tact, and interest in the current election by blaming this event on Nixon-era Republican tactics.  Kudos also goes to the party for roping Harold Ford Jr. into the fray as well.  I’m not exactly sure what the purpose was for that.  Maybe they are going for a racial slant?  I guess we’ll never know.

Furthermore, if the Tennessee Republican Party has supposedly peed in the proverbial pool so much that Democrat leaders can be swayed so easily, they may want to just retreat into bunkers underground until the election season is over.

Methinks Mr. Hobbs will be searching for a new job soon.

Furthermore, this incident calls to question; do we Tennesseans want a fence-sitter like Davis as a governor?  Why hasn’t this guy made up his mind yet?  No one is running against Obama now, so the choice is simple.  You either pledge for Obama, or you don’t.  The decision seems pretty simple to me.

Last Thursday night, vandals destroyed the marble idol of Madonna and Child that sits in front of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Germantown, TN.

The 5-foot statue was 1,000 pounds, made of Italian marble, and was decapitated.  The speculation is that someone used an automobile and a tow-cable to topple the statue.

Catholic, Jew, Protestant, Athiest, no matter what you are, you have to agree that this isn’t right.

I always used to gaze at the serenity of that statue as I passed the church on Poplar Avenue.

What a shame.

Leading up to the Democratic National Convention, to be held in Denver, local government has spent $18 million in federal money for security purposes.  The trouble is, the mayor refuses to disclose how the money was spent.  Lawsuits have been filed by the ACLU and private citizens.

Some of the purchases are known, such as an amplification system, and a SWAT vehicle.  Activists speculate the other purchases could be a machine that creates the Brown Note, all the way to the new microwave gun the US military developed.

Is the nation so unstable that a convention would require $18 million of equipment for “protection?”

Give me a break.

It would seem that two members of the Tennessee General Assembly, Senator Reginald Tate (D-Memphis) and Representative Larry Miller (D-Memphis), have decided to make ammunition accountable for itself. That’s right folks, the “Ammunition Accountability Act” HB3245/SB3395, sponsored by the two Memphis legislators, will finally take ammunition to task for its’ dastardly ways.

Ok, I’m sure you can detect the sarcasm directed at the ignorant name of the bill. I haven’t known too many inanimate, non-living things to be held accountable for their actions.

This is yet another bill, in a long line of bills to mandate serial codification on bullets. Starting in January of 2009, manufacturers would be required to print serial numbers on the base of each bullet to be sold in the state of Tennessee.

Basically a case of bullets of any caliber will go up in price, possibly to prohibitive prices for some, in order to place laser stamping on the bottom. A TBI database will be created that will contain the names and information of those who purchase a range of serialized bullets. This will undoubtedly affect Tennessee ranges, ammo manufacturers, and gun retailers. This gun grabbing legislation will make it even more cost prohibitive in Tennessee to protect one’s self. In usual economic fashion, you’ll see people traveling to neighboring states to purchase cheaper, non-stamped ammunition (not to mention avoiding the “big brother effect”).

Also, this will severely reduce the availability of ammunition in the state. People wont be able to protect themselves, and could lose their lives because of this legislation.

Rubbish bills like this have been introduced in several states: Alabama, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington.
Here’s a good laugh from the bill text:

By January 1, 2011, all non-coded ammunition for the calibers listed in this bill, whether owned by private citizens or retail outlets, be disposed of.

I’d love to see them enforce this one. Speaking of enforcement, does this mean that local and state police departments have to use serialized bullets as well? This sounds like a good question for your legislator, but my guess is, they don’t have to play by the same rules.

However, what the esteemed legislators from Memphis may not realize is that per the Tennessee Constitution, the Legislature only has the power to regulate the wearing of arms. The Legislature does not have the power to mandate the destruction/disposal of ammo.

“That the citizens of this State have a right to keep and to bear arms for their common defense; but the Legislature shall have power, by law, to regulate the wearing of arms with a view to prevent crime.”

- Tennessee Constitution, Article I - Declaration of Rights, Section 26

The bills have been shuffled to the Judiciary Committee for now, and since the 105th General Assembly has been adjourned, are in no danger of being voted on. Don’t let that stop you from writing your representative and senator today.

I have a few questions for the sponsors of the bill.

1. Do you think that criminals will buy the laser engraved bullets?
2. Do you think that if criminals do purchase the engraved bullets, that they wont take them apart and remove the numbers?
3. What is to stop people from going to different states to buy ammo (other than the penalties you define in your bill)?
4. Will law enforcement and the State Guard be required to use serialized bullets?
5. Will you enforce rationing of serialized bullets to citizens if law enforcement and military are not able to replenish their supply?
6. What will a law abiding citizen have to go through if someone steals a box of their serialized ammo?
7. Criminals and criminal immigrants are able to purchase black market guns, what makes you think there wont be a thriving market for “illegal” ammo?
8. Can you not see you are emboldening criminals via this legislation, and leaving us law-abiding gun owners high and dry?

I’ll be watching this one closely. Watch my blog to see if you need to make a run for the ammo store in the coming months.

Enough said.

It’s really no wonder that carry permits are on the rise in the Volunteer State. I knew that Memphis was a crime hot-spot, due to my close proximity. Nashville, however, took me by surprise.

Given the current political situation in Memphis, I don’t think it will move down that list much over the next year. Maybe there is hope for Nashville?

From the Commercial Appeal via FBI statistics:

10 Worst Crime Cities

In 2007, Memphis ranked second in violent crime per capita in cities of more than 500,000 people.

1. Detroit: 2,286*

2. Memphis: 1,950

3. Baltimore: 1,631

4. Nashville: 1,509

5. Philadelphia: 1,475

6. Milwaukee: 1,403

7. Indianapolis: 1,234

8. Houston: 1,132

9. Boston: 1,155

10. Dallas: 1,069

* Number of violent crimes per 100,000 people.