A Shooting You Won't Hear About in the Media

From: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thursday, May 07, 2009

Calvin "C.J." Lavant Jr., 23, formerly of Cordele, died Sunday. Funeral, 3 p.m. Saturday, A.S. Clark School Auditorium; J.W. Williams Funeral Home.

This is just one name that could have been ten had this man's name not appeared in the obituary.
That is because he and Jamal Hill broke into the home of Charles Bailey who was celebrating his birthday with nine other friends. The account is chilling.

Hill and 23-year old Calvin Lavant of College Park allegedly burst into an apartment located in the Southern Lakes apartments on Lakemont Drive in College Park around 3 a.m. Sunday.
The resident of the apartment, Charles Bailey, told police that he thought it was the end of his life. He and ten other people were in his apartment celebrating at a birthday party when two masked gunmen burst through the patio door.
"They just came in and separated the men from the women and demanded wallets and cell phones," said George Williams of the College Park Police Department.
Bailey further informed authorities that the suspects counted their bullets.

What would have ended in a horrifying report of mass muder and rape, talked about in the press everywhere with all the lurid details and calls for more gun regulations, instead has remained a none story except for the local news. All because of one man.

Hill was guarding the men when one of the victims retrieved a gun from a backpack and turned the tables on the situation. Hill reportedly fled the scene.
The victim with the gun then proceeded to the next room where Lavant had watch over the females at the party.
"The guy was apparently was about to rape one of the females," said Bailey. "The guy with the gun called for the girls to get down and he started shooting. The suspect just jumped out of the window."....
...Bailey said if not for the quick thinking of that party goer, it is likely that all the victims would have been killed. "I am thankful that one student risked his life for others."

A good thing they were not in a gun free zone, eh?







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Guns, Constitution,

No Retreat Law in Montana and Florida

There has been a sudden interest in a post I have on the Arizona No Retreat Law. This is a law that allows an individual to defend himself without first having to expend all possibility of escape for those who would rob, injure or kill them.

For too long, jurisdictions have prosecuted citizens who defended their home by attacking an intruder because the law required the victim to reach a dead end in retreat from the criminal before lethal force could be justified. The result being some criminals wining lawsuits against their victims for causing the criminal injury while trying to protect their property from being carried off. So the people eventually found politicians who returned the law to a more common understanding of justice, i.e. that defense of one's self and property is a fundamental right.

This interest could be spurred by the state of Montana passing into law House Bill 228.

House Bill 228 is a broad piece of legislation that provides a number of specific protections for law-abiding citizens. This new law clarifies the ability of law-abiding citizens to carry a firearm in plain view and to present the firearm for defensive purposes when threatened. Additionally, the law puts clearly into statute existing Montana case law providing that, when threatened, a law-abiding citizen has no duty to retreat if the person is in any place he or she has a legal right to be. Other provisions include expanding existing law to allow the use of force in defense of an occupied structure and preventing landlords and hotel operators from restricting self-defense rights.

Or, it could be the report from Florida of a farmer killing one of two people who were engaged in stealing his land cruiser.

Tony Curtis Phillips, 29, didn't fire a single shot. He didn't even know his girlfriend, Nikki McCormick, was dead until police showed him an online news story.
Police said McCormick accompanied Phillips as he attempted to steal the SUV from a barn in an orange grove near Wahneta, Florida, before daylight Tuesday.
Grove owner Ladon "Jamie" Jones opened fire as the SUV approached him, according to an affidavit released by the Polk County Sheriff's Office. Phillips fled; McCormick was shot in the head and later died.
Authorities said Jones is protected by Florida's "no retreat" law, which gives him the right to use lethal force if he reasonably believes his life is in danger. Phillips, however, faces charges because police allege he was committing felony grand theft auto at the time of McCormick's death.
"Because his conduct caused her death, he gets charged with a felony," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.

This is as it should be. Unfortunate that someone had to lose her life for the main perpetrator to learn his lesson but it may serve as an example to others who would otherwise be inclined to do their neighbor ill. The real danger now however is against a thief from whom we have little defense.

Obama said Thursday that Chrysler was forced into bankruptcy because a small group of investors and hedge funds would not go along with a deal to save the iconic automaker.

He said the small group was "hoping that everybody else would make sacrifices and they would have to make none. Some demanded twice the returns that other investors were getting.

"I don't stand with them," he said.

The government in the person of Barack Obama seems to think that it is OK to demonize the bondholders in Chrysler because they refuse to be bullied into a plan to take the company away from the legitimate owners and transfer it to the unions and the government. There are clear laws regarding the order of distribution when a company seeks protection from it's debtors. Obama seems to believe that these laws need not be upheld simply because the government has "loaned" tax money to the company in a futile effort to save it. While the taxpayer's interest in the company has been lost, Obama has required the original investors to give up their rights so the government can justify it's poor decisions.

While states are passing self defense protection laws the citizens need some kind of protection from the looters of their future wealth. A common thief can only steal what one has. The government can steal not only what wealth we have but also that which we have yet to earn.








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Politics, Constitution, Taxes, TeaParty, Chrysler,

Chrysler Bankruptcy and the Nathional Interest

The bond holders of Chrysler refused to be the victims of the government's efforts to sweep the company's problems under the rug. Predictably, Obama chastised them for not being willing to follow the path of destruction taken by the holders of GM's debt.

Earlier Thursday an administration official said the restructuring of Chrysler LLC will go forward even though a handful of hedge funds have refused to accept the Treasury Department's offer to cut the auto maker's debt.

"Their failure to act in either their own economic interest or the national interest does not diminish the accomplishments" by Chrysler, its planned alliance partner Fiat SpA and other stakeholders in the company, the official said, "nor will it impede the new opportunity Chrysler now has to restructure and emerge stronger going forward."

They are acting in their own economic interest. That is what the administration is condemning them for. They did not loan money to Chrysler because they wanted to perform some nationalist service, nor should they now sacrifice by losing even more than they all ready have for that reason. The government's efforts to destroy the bondholder's value will make it impossible for any company to raise capital by selling bonds, for no one will have the confidence that the government will not then steal the value of their investment for the "national interest."

Read this passage from Atlas Shrugged and ask if we are not already there:

...men who apologize for being rich- will not remain rich for long. Hey are the natural bait for the swarms of looters that stay under rocks for centuries, but come crawling out at the first smell of a man who begs to be forgiven for the guilt of owning wealth. They will hasten to relieve him of that guilt - and his life, as he deserves.

Then you will see the rise of the men of the double standard-the men who live by force, yet count on those who live by trade to create the value of their looted money - the men who are the hitchhikers of virtue. In a moral society, these are the criminals, and the statutes are written to protect you against them. But when a society establishes criminals-by-right and looters-by-law - men who use force to seize the wealth of disarmed victims - then money becomes it's creator's avenger. Such looters believe it is safe to rob defenseless men, once they've passed a law to disarm them. But their loot becomes the magnet for other looters, who get it from them as they got it. Then the race goes, not to the ablest at production, but to those most ruthless at brutality. When force is the standard, the murderer wins over the pickpocket. And then that society vanishes, in a spread of ruins and slaughter.

Producers and investors are the right and left hands of prosperity. Our politicians want to cut off the hands of investors and loot the fruit of the producer's labor all in the "national interest." No one will invest and no one will produce if no one but the looters will prosper.

Atlas will shrug.






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Politics, Economics, Taxes, justice,

First Black President Reinstates Slavery

A true irony. By signing the National Service Bill, Barack Obama will institute mandatory "volunteer" service for school children and "opportunities" for older Americans to "give back" to their communities. Of particular interest is these opportunities include "political or legislative advocacy." Just call them Obama Jugen.

"Most people think national service is for young people," said a statement issued by John Gomperts, president of Civic Ventures, a group that promotes opportunities for older people. "And it is. But once President Obama signs this legislation, service will be for people of all ages."

Chains we can Believe in







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Politics, Obama, Slavery,

Not the Best PR Move

Muzzammil Hassan started Bridges TV in 2004 to help dispel the notion that Islam inspired violence.

"Every day on television we are barraged by stories of a 'Muslim extremist, militant, terrorist, or insurgent,'" Hassan said in the 2004 release. "But the stories that are missing are the countless stories of Muslim tolerance, progress, diversity, service and excellence that Bridges TV hopes to tell."

Last Thursday, February 12, 2009, Mr. Hassan called police to inform them that is wife was in his office and she was dead. When police arrived they found Mrs. Hassan had died from decapitation.

DiPirro said the couple had "physical confrontations off and on" for their entire eight-year marriage that had recently escalated to death threats. The grounds for divorce were "cruel and inhuman treatment," DiPirro said, referring to mulitple prior incidents of abuse. She declined to elaborate.

"We were worried about the situation becoming volatile," DiPirro said.

How Mr. Hassan will continue to help fight stereotypes of Muslims as violent killers will be interesting.

As is often the case with domestic violence issues, the victim takes out an order of protection or as it is sometimes referred to, a restraining order or peace bond. These pieces of paper are as helpful in preventing violence as a cease fire agreement is in preventing missile attacks against Israel. In both cases one is better off arming one's self and dealing directly with the problem when it presents itself.

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Islam, guns, justice,

The Honest Politician's Party

While it may seem that there is little opportunity to prosper in the future I don't want anyone to overlook the most dynamic sector in our economy. Now that the politicians have wrecked the economy the only growth industry we are left with is government. It's time for everyone to get on board the gravy train and run for office. It is for that reason I am announcing the formation of the Honest Politician's Party.

In this party there will be no more lying and covering up the reality of politics. All politicians have charitable foundations, political action committees and other nonprofit organizations that they run. They also have numerous agencies such as Fanny Mae and Freedy Mac were they can park their campaign staff and useless in-laws at taxpayer's expense. The irritating part about that it they pretend that these are not schemes for their own enrichment. Here in the Honest Politician's Party" we drop all pretense and openly admit they the object of our effort to be elected is to enhance our own wealth. Our motto is "An honest politician is one who stays bought."

Working for the largest contributor has always been the way things have been done so why not let people know that so they can buy the access they need. So much time and effort is waited by ordinary people by going through channels and dealing with bureaucrats just to see the politically connected waltz away scott free. The only reason politicians spout nonsense about upholding principles of justice and the rule of law because they want people to believe their government is working for the citizen. It's all bologna. The government is there to see to it that politicians and their families get rich. Here at the "Honest Politician's Party" we want to change that. We are willing to give everyone a chance to know they have a politician they can count on by making it simple. You get what you pay for. Even better we want as many people to run for office as we can who will drop the pretense and say it like it is. We are here to get rich and you can too.

This is why we advocate term limits. It doesn't take all that long to suck up tax money and political contributions so grab the cash and then move out so someone new can get rich of the public trough. The "Honest Politicians Party" envisions a country were everyone has a foundation or nonprofit organization to bleed for theirs and their families our benefit not to mention the pork barrel projects that keep the money flowing to the smaller contributors who actually work for a living.

Climb on board people and lets shake up politics in this country. Join with me in the" Honest Politicians Party." Come back for all the details on how to become a member soon. Always remember our motto, "An honest politician is one who stays bought."



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Economics, justice, Politics,

Official Vote Fraud Continues in Ohio

If it was not apparent that Democratic Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner was actively helping voter fraud efforts in her state, her sending the Attorney General to appeal to the US Supreme Court to relieve her of a Tuesday decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit should remove any doubt. All the Sixth Circuit demanded of her was that she do her job. The problem for her is that would result in a loss of many of the fraudulent voter registrations that have been dumped on the state by Obama supporters.

The Sixth Circuit on Tuesday had directed Brunner to give local elections officials ready and direct access by Friday to computerized lists of new voters whose registrations do not match state driver records or Social Security information. A 2002 federal law required states to create a statewide database of voter registration information and to verify new voter information by crossmatching it with the other public records.

Ohio counties do not have an easy way to view their mismatches in the current system, court testimony had shown.

Brunner had said adapting Ohio's voter registration system to accomplish that change would require a few days of work on software programming at a time when a surge of voter registrations also are arriving.

What is this person in office to do? It is stunning that she would go to the Supreme Court to ask that she not have to do a few days work to secure the integrity of the vote in Ohio. How hypocritical for one who holds a Profile in Courage award for her work on election integrity coupled with her law practice focusing on the same.

She needs to be removed from office if she won't do her job.

Update: 10:05 am As I was posting this it has come over the news that there are 200,000 disputed registrations in Ohio.Ms. Brunner needs to get off her but and get to work.








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Obama, Democrats, Politics, justice, Ohio,

Obama and Gun Rights

After the Supreme Court ruling upholding the individual right to own weapons Obama came out with this statement:

"I have always believed that the Second Amendment protects the right of individuals to bear arms, but I also identify with the need for crime-ravaged communities to save their children from the violence that plagues our streets through common-sense, effective safety measures. The Supreme Court has now endorsed that view, and while it ruled that the D.C. gun ban went too far, Justice Scalia himself acknowledged that this right is not absolute and subject to reasonable regulations enacted by local communities to keep their streets safe. Today's ruling, the first clear statement on this issue in 127 years, will provide much-needed guidance to local jurisdictions across the country.

"As President, I will uphold the constitutional rights of law-abiding gun-owners, hunters, and sportsmen. I know that what works in Chicago may not work in Cheyenne. We can work together to enact common-sense laws, like closing the gun show loophole and improving our background check system, so that guns do not fall into the hands of terrorists or criminals. Today's decision reinforces that if we act responsibly, we can both protect the constitutional right to bear arms and keep our communities and our children safe."

Place this against his voting record then check the bologna meter.

FACT: Barack Obama voted to allow reckless lawsuits designed to bankrupt the firearms industry.1

FACT: Barack Obama wants to re-impose the failed and discredited Clinton Gun Ban.2

FACT: Barack Obama voted to ban almost all rifle ammunition commonly used for hunting and sport shooting.3

FACT: Barack Obama has endorsed a complete ban on handgun ownership.2

FACT: Barack Obama supports local gun bans in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and other cities.4

FACT: Barack Obama voted to uphold local gun bans and the criminal prosecution of people who use firearms in self-defense.5

FACT: Barack Obama supports gun owner licensing and gun registration.6

FACT: Barack Obama refused to sign a friend-of-the-court Brief in support of individual Second Amendment rights in the Heller case.

FACT: Barack Obama opposes Right to Carry laws.7

FACT: Barack Obama was a member of the Board of Directors of the Joyce Foundation, the leading source of funds for anti-gun organizations and "research."8

FACT: Barack Obama supported a proposal to ban gun stores within 5 miles of a school or park, which would eliminate almost every gun store in America.9

FACT: Barack Obama voted not to notify gun owners when the state of Illinois did records searches on them.10

FACT: Barack Obama voted against a measure to lower the Firearms Owners Identification card age minimum from 21 to 18, a measure designed to assist young people in the military.11

FACT: Barack Obama favors a ban on standard capacity magazines.12

FACT: Barack Obama supports mandatory micro-stamping.13

FACT: Barack Obama supports mandatory waiting periods.2

FACT: Barack Obama supports repeal of the Tiahrt Amendment, which prohibits information on gun traces collected by the BATFE from being used in reckless lawsuits against firearm dealers and manufacturers.14

FACT: Barack Obama supports one-gun-a-month sales restrictions.9

FACT: Barack Obama supports a ban on inexpensive handguns.9

FACT: Barack Obama supports a ban on the resale of police issued firearms, even if the money is going to police departments for replacement equipment.9

FACT: Barack Obama supports mandatory firearm training requirements for all gun owners and a ban on gun ownership for persons under the age of 21.9

Go to the link for the citations.

Obama is no different than any other liberal politician. He talks freedom while he intends serfdom.

For a liberal's take on Obama's position on gun rights check out TalkLeft.










Technorati tags
Second Amendment, justice, Politics, Obama

Supreme Court Rules on Second Amendment.

In a 5-4 decision the Supreme court has struck down the Wash D.C. Gun ban. In his opinion for the majority Justice Scalia ruled that the second amendment was an individual right. That right includs hunting and self defence.

Kennedy resisted the urge to go with nonsense.

Update 11:10 am: The dissenting opinion called the majority judicial activists. If that isn't the pot calling the kettle black I haven't seen it. What a joke. The ones most routinely legislating from the bench calling the constructionists activists.


Here is the link for the transcript of the decision






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Second Amendment, justice, Politics,

Professor Claims Va. Lottery Misrepresents Prizes

While private lotteries are illegal in Virginia, the State enjoys a monopoly on gambling with the exception of bingo games operated by charitable organization. The reason for this is the state fears it cannot prevent fraud if someone other than the state were to be free to offer lotteries or numbers games, or it would invite the participation of organized crime. As has been found in most government programs however; the lottery as run by the State of Virginia not only offers poor odds but it has been discovered that it sells tickets that have zero possibility of winning.

Monday, a Roanoke law firm announced its intention to sue the lottery on behalf of Scott Hoover, an associate professor at Washington and Lee University who teaches applied business statistics. The letter that lawyer John Fishwick sent to the state claims the lottery has violated its contract with scratch ticket buyers by purposefully selling tickets that have no chance at all of winning a top prize.

"We estimate that since 2003, the state has sold over 26.5 million losing tickets in this way, pocketing an estimated $84.7 million in purchase prices from the shell game," Fishwick said. "The state cannot continue to boost revenues by knowingly selling its citizens defective tickets based on hollow promises of an opportunity that does not exist."

There are severe penalties for individuals who violate the gaming laws of perpetuate such a fraud but the politicians have made quite plain that the State be free from such worries.

Virginia Code
§ 18.2-334.3. Exemptions to article; state lottery.

Nothing in this article shall apply to any lottery conducted by the Commonwealth of Virginia pursuant to Chapter 40 of Title 58.1.

So it is no surprise that this action by the State Lottery Board is intentional. When there is no threat of penalty there is nothing to stop fraud even by the government.

Hoover began tracking the data the lottery posted on its Internet site about how often top prizes were given out in scratch games and realized "the numbers posted online violated basic laws of statistics."

Working with Fishwick's firm, he filed Virginia Freedom of Information Act requests and learned that by July 24, 2007, three days before he bought his tickets, all of the grand prizes had been given out for that particular batch. "When I bought these, there was zero chance to win the $75,000 prize," Hoover said.

Hoover alleges that the state has done the same thing in all its scratch games, leaving batches of tickets on sale after all the grand prizes from the batch are claimed, instead of telling retailers to pull the "stale" tickets and replace them immediately with a new batch.

When a game is popular, the state will in fact print a new batch of tickets, which has a new set of top prizes. Yet it will let the entire first run of tickets sell out, even if all of the top prizes for that run have been claimed, Hoover asserted. Thus it's possible for someone to buy a ticket from the old batch, thinking he's eligible for one of the new prizes, when that ticket has no chance of winning.

The State cannot claim ignorance either. Last year the State of Texas lottery was found to have been doing the very same thing. A State Senator forced the government to stop the practice. It would be a stretch to believe the members of the Virginia State Lottery were not aware of the results of the Texas controversy, yet they continued the fraud believing somehow they would never be caught.









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Virginia, Economics, Politics, justice,

McCain, Obama, Clinton and the Supreme Court

McCain is a difficult candidate to get enthused about because he is such an enigma. He supports a gas tax holiday and defends it by saying the only bridges to suffer from the lost revenue would be the pork barrel projects that go to nowhere, then he shows up a La Raza event to spout nonsense about immigration. Now he has come out to say he would appoint only strict constructionist judges to the bench.

This is not the first time he has said this and his voting record backs it up even though he did get involved in the whole gang of 14 stupidity. What sets him apart on this issue is highlighted by the comments of his counterparts on the Democrat side of the presidential beauty pageant on this subject.

In response, Obama's campaign said McCain would pick judges who would threaten abortion rights as well as McCain's own campaign finance reform bill.

"What's truly elitist is to appoint judges who will protect the powerful and leave ordinary Americans to fend for themselves," Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor said.

Obviously Obama has no problem with judges that use criteria other than the Constitution to decide the cases before them. Does Obama support class or economic status as the determining factors in who receives favor from the law? It appears from the statement of his campaign spokesman that he does. He also seems to think the campaign finance law is unconstitutional. If so, why has he not pressed for its repeal?

Hillary Clinton is no better in her response.

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Clinton's campaign shot back over McCain's charges of partisanship, arguing that he had voted for "extreme conservative judges" including Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

"In an effort to pander to conservative voters, Senator McCain has signaled his intention to appoint right-wing judges who are committed to rolling back women's rights and civil rights, elevating the interests of big business over the rights of workers and consumers, affirming executive branch power grabs, and undermining our common core freedoms," Clinton Campaign Police director Neera Tanden said.

"Senator Clinton has a different vision. She will appoint judges who respect the separation of powers, are steadfast in protecting civil rights and liberties, including the right of privacy, and who cherish equal justice under law."

How do judges who uphold the Constitution threaten "women's rights and civil rights, elevating the interests of big business over the rights of workers and consumers, affirming executive branch power grabs, and undermining our common core freedoms,"? She seems to be agreeing with McCain when she describes the type of judges she would appoint but we know by he rejection of Alito, Thomas and Roberts that she does not.

The Constitution is the contract we have made with those who we ask to govern us. Those who claim it is a "living" document do so to negate those inconvenient clauses that limit the power of our government officials. When one signs a contract for work to be done it is to protect both the parties by defining the work and the compensation for completing it. If such a document was living, i.e. subject to change, it is a fraud and subject to the whim of the more powerful party. If Obama and Clinton are interested in protecting the week and preserving the rule of law that they should be strict constructionist themselves. But then they could not shove their socialist agenda down our throats if they were.








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Obama, Democrats, McCain, Clinton, justice, pro-life,

Blogger Defeats Lawyer's Subpoena

As some of you who know me personally know I have been embroiled in a lawsuit with the former managing member of Ruthless Training Concepts LLC. I have during the past two years only posted once on the issue. That post has generated a host of hits and at least two threats of legal action by people associated with her at the new company that she fled to, Team Ruthless. I plan on posting the results of the lawsuit after the final order is signed. Today I would like to highlight a legal proceeding against another blogger that those people who wish to hide from my revelations about my former colleague with similar action may find enlightening.

Blogger turns attorney, defeats trial lawyer's subpoena
by John O'Brien

PETERBOROUGH, N.H. (Legal Newsline) - When blogger and admitted information-hoarder Kathleen Seidel received a subpoena asking for nearly every piece of data associated with her website, she had two choices -- get mad or get an attorney.

Trial lawyer Clifford Shoemaker of Virginia requested in March, among other things, "documents pertaining to the setup, financing, running, research and maintaining" of her site, which frequently links to articles and features blogs pertaining to Shoemaker's main litigation area.

Not willing to dish out the dollars for defense, Seidel filed her own motion to quash the subpoena. It was granted Monday.

"I wrote that motion on a days-long surge of adrenaline and outrage," Seidel said. "I was served the subpoena on a Wednesday afternoon and began doing my homework Thursday morning. I filed the response on Monday afternoon."...

... The subpoena made 10 separate requests, and was quashed by Magistrate Judge James Muirhead. Muirhead ordered Shoemaker to show cause why he should not be sanctioned for filing a "burdensome" subpoena.

"Hallelujah! That is good news," Seidel said. "My privacy was preserved."

I suggest interested parties go to Ms. Seidel's own blog to read the details. She has posted a link to the judge's order just as I will with my own case. It is nice to see that the old proverb is true, "When you do what is right you have nothing to fear."








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justice, Virginia, Fitness,