by Bill O'Connell on August 19, 2011
John R Lott, Jr. photo by fling93
About a year ago the state of Virginia allowed those who have a permit to carry a concealed weapon to be allowed to carry them into a bar, joining a number of other states. Gun control advocates predicted drunken shootouts like we used to watch on Gunsmoke and in the movies.
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by Bill O'Connell on August 18, 2011
Photo by Sillgwailo
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz wrote an open letter to his fellows CEOs about the current economic situation. (Howard Schultz CEO Letter) In it he calls for action. The letter and Mr. Schultz are interesting both for what they say and what they don’t.
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by Bill O'Connell on August 1, 2011
Photo by Studio08Denver
Amendment XIV, Section 4: The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.
Section 5. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
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by Bill O'Connell on July 20, 2011
National Debt Clock A Long Time Ago When the Debt was Only $6 Trillion
Today the House of Representatives voted on a bill HR 2650, called the Cut, Cap, and Balance bill to get the runaway debt and deficit spending under control. The bill passed the house 234-190, will all but 9 Republicans voting for it and all but 5 Democrats voting against it. Tim Bishop voted no.
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by Bill O'Connell on July 17, 2011

As the brinksmanship over the debt limit heats up, we can still hear the progressives saying that we are in this fix because we cut taxes without “paying” them. Let’s drive a stake through the heart of that one.
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by Bill O'Connell on July 12, 2011

Tim Bishop is in a tough spot. He can’t rely on earmarks to get himself reelected, those have been banned. He has a reputation of strong constituent service but if you peel back that onion you will see that the service is based on helping folks deal with the massive regulatory programs he typically votes for. Run on his record? His record consists of voting with Nancy Pelosi 97% of the time; in return the leadership gave him his share of pork to pass around and “buy” votes.
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by Bill O'Connell on June 30, 2011
As New York’s new governor, Andrew Cuomo, looks longingly toward a four or eight year stay at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue some time in the future he has been getting tough with New York fiscal mess. Good for him. But some recent decisions have me wondering if, instead of being a new kind of Democrat, he is really just more of the same.
by Bill O'Connell on June 20, 2011
Actual Unemployment vs. Stimulus Sales Pitch
It was a very close race, one of the last decided in the country. Out of 180,000 plus votes the final margin of victory was just under 600 votes. In that election Tim Bishop successfully managed to hide from his record and instead he took advantage of a late Republican primary that was hotly contested and pounced with a campaign of personal attacks on his opponent that was just enough to carry the eight weeks until Election Day. His opponent, Randy Altschuler, wants a rematch and it appears the race will be decidedly different.
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by Bill O'Connell on May 29, 2011

California is going through what we might all face. The nebulous definition of assault weapons has been tweaked and changed and each time, it has been used as an excuse to confiscate more guns. Who is left unaffected by all of this? Criminals. They don’t care about the law. Our own government is actively working to make us less safe, taking our property, and then failing to defend us against these criminals, because in a free society, they can’t. They have to wait for the criminal to act and when the criminal acts, the police are rarely on the scene. They have to be called and in the mean time the victims own government has actively worked to disarm them and leave them helpless.
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by Bill O'Connell on May 27, 2011

Gabrielle Giffords’ shooter won’t be going to trial anytime soon. I have a question for Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) and Frank Lautenburg (D-NJ). In the wake of the Tucson shooting, what are you doing about getting mentally impaired people off the street, instead of rendering citizens defenseless?
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