Posse Incitatus

World on fire

I picked the wrong week to be away from the computer.

The stock market is dropping like a rock and London is in flames.  The world watches in disbelief as the Leader of the Free World holds dilatory news conferences devoid of anything other than petulant whining. 

I’m generally an optimist, but there’s not a lot of bright spots right now.  Thanks to Michigan’s new governor, Rick Snyder, it looked like our “lost decade” might finally be ending, but the President’s economically self-destructive policies are dragging us back to the hole from whence we came.

The Democrat base is mobilized, but it has nothing to do.  Imagine that their fondest dreams are achieved and that Scott Walker, Rick Snyder and the rest of their current bugbears are driven from office by recalls.  What then?  The public at large has no appetite for massive tax increases nor the means the pay for them.  The S&P downgrade shows that we cannot borrow the money, so there is literally nowhere left for the left to go.

The current talking points about “soaking the rich” are just that – talking points.  Adding surtaxes to corporate jets will merely shatter the aviation industry, adding even more unemployed workers to the dole.

Back in the sunny halcyon days of the late 1990s, I tried to imagine what a world run by liberals would look like – a modern analogue to Atlas Shrugged.  Now I’m living in it.

(I suppose it’s just as well – I didn’t care for Rand’s ultra-verbose writing style and dropped it after a few hundred pages.  You know, Orwell wrote political pieces but he was at least concise.  Maybe people were supposed to read Rand on the train or something.)

Anyhow, I find myself wondering how much food I can grow in my back yard and watching for sales on canned food. 

I know the “experts” in the chattering classes insist that Obama still has a good chance of getting reelected, but at this point the stock market is now lower than it was when he took office.  Ignoring the historically high unemployment, when was the last time the nation rehired someone who destroyed that much wealth?

More to the point, has he at any point showed the ability to learn from his mistakes?  The seismic scandal that is Gunwalker has not yet even begun to register in the mainstream press.  As information continues to flow about just how many guns we sold to drug cartels in Mexico – and how many people were killed with them, I find it impossible to believe that the administration’s standing with the public will increase.

 

The Freep steps up on the gun rights debate

Some weeks ago we mentioned Mlive’s coverage of the 10-year anniversary of Michgian’s concealed carry law.  Now the Detroit Free Press has its own coverage, which I think is a bit better.

The first installment essentially declares the entire debate to have been about nothing.

It contains the usual quotes, but what is interesting is how unrepentant the anti-gun crowd is.  They still oppose the law, of course, but most would rather change the subject.  And of course they want the training standards increased.

It is worth mentioning that one of the article’s authors, Dawson Bell, actually applied for a concealed pistol license and wrote about the experience.  This perhaps explains the scrutiny applied to the Brady Campaign’s propaganda in the second article of the series: 

Some of what passes for research and analysis of the effect of permissive concealed weapons laws on crime and violence is pretty crude.

Take, for instance, the anti-gun Violence Policy Center's Web page called "Concealed Carry Killers." ( www.vpc.org/ccwkillers.htm )

It purports to tally the carnage that results when states, such as Michigan, authorize ordinary citizens under most circumstances to be licensed to carry concealed guns.

Concealed carry licensees "routinely" kill cops, perpetrate mass murders and other gun homicides, writes VPC. The center counted 308 "Private Citizens Killed By Concealed Carry Killer" since 2007. A lot of them -- 78 -- were Michiganders.

A closer look at VPC's data doesn't necessarily confirm a CCW crime nightmare scenario. The overwhelming majority of Michigan victims the center cites (62) were licensees who committed suicide. Michigan's concealed weapons law requires the State Police to report annually on deaths by suicide of license holders.

But the reports contain no information about how the licensee died or whether a firearm was involved.

Several other "victims" in the VPC report appear to have been criminals themselves, shot attempting to rob legally armed citizens. But with 276,000 concealed pistol license holders, even the unscrubbed VPC numbers hardly establish evidence of a crime wave.

As we’ve noted before, this is pretty thin gruel, and the anti-gun lobby has been dishing it for years.  How refreshing to see someone in the mainstream press has finally noticed.

As this blog has been pointing out for years, the question of whether concealed carry reduces violent crime is a complex one and extremely difficult to quantify.

What is not complex, what is not in doubt, is that armed citizens do not cause violent crime.  The decision of whether you could carry a weapon for self-defense is about options, not guaranteed results.

Carrying a small-caliber pistol does not grant immunity from crime, nor does it stop incoming bullets – though anti-gun activists constantly pretend that this is what gun rights supporters believe.

The truth is that carrying a pistol gives one more options to effectively resist violence should it occur.  This is especially important for physically weak people who are especially vulnerable to violent crime.

In an imperfect world, no policy can provide perfect security.  All that shall-issue laws do is offer the possibility of a better outcome to an already unpleasant situation.

 

Summer gun news roundup

I’ve been somewhat silent of late, largely because I’m doing what all right-thinking Michiganders are doing:  Enjoying summer while it lasts.

It may be difficult for folks from warmer climates to understand this, but winter is never far from the mind in Michigan.  From November to March, the state is locked in an icy, overcast tomb.  When spring comes and the weather turns, the whole state essentially celebrates its good luck.

I do not exaggerate by saying that every weekend between Memorial Day and Labor Day is a festival somewhere in the state.  We have the Mint Festival, Highland Festival, and Coast Guard Festival – the list just goes on.

All of which is to explain why I’ve been remiss in following a series fascinating gun rights developments.

On Saturday I visited the Mason Gun Show and was (once again) amazed by how many people were there.  I recall years when that same show over the same weekend was almost deserted – empty tables and just a few milling patrons.  Not any more.  The tables were packed with vendors and despite the heat the aisles were packed with visitors.

I was interested to note that ARs are finally coming down in price – quite a bit, actually.  I saw more than one pre/post-ban AR-15 for less than $800 – in other words an amazing deal just a year ago.  Even the top-end M-4 clones were quite reasonable.

Ammunition is also getting a bit cheaper and certainly was much more plentiful.  The Bullet Bubble hasn’t burst, but it is deflating.  Indeed, I think that, given commodity price inflation, it can’t really burst because the input are still simply too high.  The market may be saturated from all the hoarding of the last two years, but that merely allows manufacturers to reduce production to two shifts from three and save on overtime.

Michigan’s big gun news was the 10th anniversary of it shall-issue concealed carry law.  Mlive had a series of features on it – some well-written, some not – but the unavoidable conclusion was that despite the gun control lobby’s fevered predictions, the streets did not run with blood.  The current system is still a bureaucratic nightmare and we can only hope the permitting process will be streamlined and handed over to the Secretary of State and treated like drivers licenses.

When the law took effect, the applicants were overwhelmingly male.  In recent years the trend has flipped and now CCW classes are dominated by women.  This makes perfect sense – women benefit far more from an equalizer than men do.

Still, this is a pretty momentous shift and one of the more telling details is the fact that East Lansing (aka Ann Arbor North) actually offers concealed carry classes through its Parks and Recreations Department.  Not only that, but it also offers shooting camps for kids at MSU’s new Demmer Center.

If you told someone 15 years ago that this would happen, they would call you insane, but now even in a liberal bastion like East Lansing, guns are becoming normalized.

All of which is to say that the Obama Adminstration’s ill-conceived and horribly executed Operation Fast and Furious may be a political crisis of the highest order.

Also known as Gunwalker, this fiasco allowed Mexican drug cartels to import hundred and perhaps thousands of American firearms through illegal straw purchases with the full knowledge and consent of the US government.  Predictably, those weapons were then used to kill innocent people, including at least two US law enforcement officers.

At first it seemed that ATF would get the blame and trial balloons were floated that Acting Director of ATF Kenneth Melson would be thrown under the bus.

A year ago, Melson may well have fallen on his sword out of loyalty, but it has since become apparent that the Obama administration regards all of its appointees as expendable and has zero loyalty to them.  Not surprisingly, they are beginning to reciprocate.  Melson has chosen to lawyer up and seek Congressional protection.

This bodes poorly for the administration.  The One is supposed to be above, well, everything.  Clinton and Bush could weather scandals because they were just normal politicians like everyone else.  But Obama?  He’s a lightbringer.  Lightbringers don’t smuggle guns to drug lords.

Right now the mainstream press is refusing to cover the story, but when the Attorney General faces a criminal investigation, things may be different.

All of which is to say, lots of things going on, but summer also has its charms.  It's hard to blog when the weather is this nice.

 

The Granholm Straddle

It is a tradition in Michigan for each governor to commission a portrait for display in the Capitol upon leaving office.  These portraits are paid for by the former governor and are consciously used to help shape their legacy.

This past week former Gov. Jennifer Granholm unveiled her own painting.  It's truly awful - much like her time as governor, actually.

Much of the commentary over at the Freep centers on her numerous failings, or the odd collection of junk she decided had to be included:  toy windmill, GM slot car, painting-with-a-painting of the Ford River Rouge plant (WTF???) and so forth.

What I don't get is why she is standing in such an awkward position.  Does she suppose this makes the First Woman Governor in the History of the United States of Michigan look stronger?  More menacing?  More capable?

She is straddling something, but I'm not sure what.  Perhaps she means it to represent the way she wanted to tax the crap out of everyone but after the first tax hike decided it was a bad idea, only to come back to it again?  Maybe it represents the film tax credits, which also had a love/hate relationship with the governor.

I like to think it represents her position on gun rights - bitterly opposed to concealed carry reform as Attorney General, she flip-flopped and signed a bill to create a hunting season for mourning doves once in office.

Whatever the reason, it is an odd pose, and - in contrast with the understated and traditional portraits of Michigan's longest serving governors - will remind future generations that there was just something strange about that woman.

Savor that Canadian bacon

While the rest of the world was hastily rewriting international law to allow death squads learning of Osama Bin Laden's demise, Canada was having an election.

Here in Michigan, we know quite a bit about Canada.  For example, the drinking age over there is 19.  Thus, a common practice for the old-enough-to-fight/not-old-enough-to-drink is to go over and get lit up.  This was much more popular when you didn't need a passport and Canadian dollars were next to worthless.  

Anyhow, they had an election and the Conservatives won.  They did not do this by running on tax hikes, either, but rather on tax cuts, fiscal restraint and exploiting Canada's sizeable energy resources.  

Which is to say, they ran as conservatives.  Hopefully the American wing will get the clue.  Canada still has some problems (gun control, human rights commissions come to mind) but if the super-charged Harper government tackles these, it could bode well for the future.

And having a prosperous Ontario next door might mean Michigan could amount to more than its current status as Toronto's garbage dump.

Concealed carry goes mainstream

One of the more heartening developments in Michigan’s political culture is the acceptance that gun rights pose no threat to public safety – and in fact can enhance it.

I was surprised to see this article over on Mlive about students supporting concealed carry on Michigan’s college campuses.  Not only does it present the supporters as something other than blood-thirsty nut jobs, the reporter couldn’t seem to find anyone in authority willing to recite the usual anti-gun talking points.

In fact, it is hard to argue that Michigan’s concealed carry reform has been anything but a success.  Michigan’s concealed pistol licensees have proven to be safe, law-abiding and responsible.  It is very difficult for gun control opponents to insist that eliminating the last enclaves of gun control in the state will touch off widespread massacres when permit holders have shown themselves to be so safe.

It is hard to remember, but when PA 381 took effect in 2001, then-Attorney General Jennifer Granholm vowed to lead a petition drive to repeal it.  When polling went south on her effort – in part because the predicted massacres didn’t happen – she quietly dropped the project.  Once ensconced in the governor’s office, she proved surprisingly pliable to the gun rights movement, even going so far as signing the infamous mourning dove hunting bill.

The Old Left is throwing a fearful fit right now as it becomes aware that its power is waning.  Whether they will manage to further entrench the unions is an open question, but we can be grateful that even the most doctrinaire liberal Democrats have given up on

MEA goes over the cliff

As noted yesterday, the Michigan Democrats are apparently bent on mass suicide.  I thought their idea of a Constitutional amendment guaranteeing union privilage was stupid, but now here’s the Michigan Education Association president urging its members to support illegal work stoppages to protect their gold-plated retirement and top-of-the-nation wage scale.

The letter advises employees that they could be fired for striking, but reads that:

"It is simply not possible to replace all or most school employees in the state…It is to, say the least, a time-consuming and expensive process for school districts."
The letter also warns "There may be some inconvenience for your students.”

Amazing.  Absolutely amazing.

At the rate these guys are going, all public sector unions will be outlawed by the end of the year – and it will be by popular acclamation, not “dictatorial” Republican governors.

Conservatives have long opposed public sector unions, but most of their arguments were based in theory rather than practice.  For example, when one notes that unionized employees serve their union rather than their employer (the taxpayers) and raised the specter of illegal actions, union supporters could always claim that this was extreme and would never happen.

Now we see that even law enforcement unions are acting more like Mob enforcers than sworn officers of the state.

It is clear that the MEA and other public sector unions care far more about feathering their own nests than serving the public.  Even if the MEA backs down, it is intolerable than an unelected and unaccountable group of people should hold effective veto power over the state of public education in Michigan.

Think about that:  The MEA president is not subject to a statewide popular vote; she is operating above the law.

The unions keep screaming “This is what democracy look like,” but let’s go to the very first section of Michigan’s Constitution, shall we?

1 Political power.

Sec. 1. All political power is inherent in the people. Government is instituted for their equal benefit, security and protection.

What the MEA chief is proposing is in direct opposition to this.  An unelected, unaccountable cartel now holds effective veto power over the state’s school system.  Unless their demands are met, they will shut it down.

Whether one likes or hates Gov. Rick Snyder, he was elected by a majority of the voters in November.  Should he exceed his mandate, he is subject to recall, just like the Legislature.

How do we recall the MEA?  How do we – the people paying the salaries of its members and lining its leadership’s pockets – have any say in what this group of renegades do?

Indeed, this abuse of power is why teacher strikes were outlawed 20 years ago.  That alone is what allowed the MEA to survive.  Should they violate the law, they will have demonstrated that they can no longer be trusted – the danger is simply too great.

If the local unions have any brains at all, they will resoundingly reject this call, as it will result in their utter destruction.  Michigan has double-digit unemployment and many of those workers are highly educated and would jump at the chance to teach.  The MEA has set up a guild system to keep those workers out, to create an artificial labor shortage in order to boost their wages.  A teaching certification now takes five years – but in the face of necessity, those rules will go out the window.

Districts will finally be able to make flexible hiring choices and when the dust has settled, I bet the best and most dedicated teachers will choose to stay with their kids and the families they are helping rather than a corrupt power-hungry cabal.

Death ride of the Michigan Democrats

As my esteemed co-blogger noted below, Michigan's Democrats have taken their pro-union street theater to the next level and now want to amend the state Constitution to guaranteed union privilages for perpetuity.

While Michigan is more pro-union than most other states, its electorate is not completely insane.  Back in 2006, when the one-state recession was only a couple of years old, Democrats and their teacher union allies introduced a ballot initiative to guarantee permanent increases in education funding.  It went down to resounding defeat.

This is why I believe that by throwing their lot in with public sector unions, Michigan Democrats are ultimately digging their own graves.  After a decade of job losses and collapsing home prices coupled with rising taxes, Michigan residents are more than happy to have their public sector workers share their pain.  Indeed, the campaign against such a proposal is laughably easy:  simply point out that taxpayers in well-run townships and counties will be subsidizing the most bloated, corrupt and inefficient governments in the state.

This is why even the reliably liberal Detroit Free Press editorial board supports the supposedly anti-union legislation for emergency financial managers.  In a moment of rare lucidity, they note that the mere existence of the law will force municipal governments and public sector unions to be realistic about their budgeting as there is now a clear price for failure.

In the short run, the infusion of cash and enthusiasm may be reasurring for the paleoliberals.  In the long run, however, it brands them as unserious and unworthy of the responsibility of governing.

Return to the Lansing/Mason Gun and Knife Show

For the first time in a long time, this past Saturday I attended the Lansing area gun show, conveniently located in Mason.  It had been a few years since I was in the market, and while I wasn't planning on buying anything, I did find a deal that was too good to pass up.  More on that in a future post.

My focus today was on the changes since I last frequented the gun show circuit.  Two things stuck out:  The diversity of the crowd, and its size.

There were a lot of young women there.  Not a majority to be sure, but the fact that I saw any at all was noteworthy.

I think this illustrates the fact that despite the best efforts of the gun control lobby, firearms are being normalized.  To own one no longer carries a stigma, indeed many young women in particular find it empowering. 

At my youngest daughter's birthday party some weeks back, we hosted a laser tag game.  Long-time readers will not be surprised that I was not the deadliest participant - a 9-year-old girl took that honor (I came in second.  In my own defense, I was a rather large and conspicuous target).  I remarked on this to one of the other kids' moms and she pulled a pistol target with the center shot out from per pocket and speculated on what she would have been able to accomplish.

Now understand that I've grown up in the Lansing area and take for granted that guns are despised by all respectable folk, yet here was a soccer mom talking about her morning at the range - and she did so with perfect confidence.  Truly, something I was not expecting and a very positive sign.

I haven't verified attendence, but I never recall the county fairgrounds being this crowded before.  It was difficult to move between the tables with all the people there.

I noted with pleasure that the prices for ARs are beginning to fall (I saw a no-frills model for under $800) and that ammunition was plentiful (though still to my mind rather expensive).

I hope to continue this trend of frequenting area shows and if the readers like it, will endeavor to offer photos and other coverage of what is going on.  The Posse used to do a lot more with firearms and based on the quantity of comments, this is an area where we should devote more attention.

 

The left begins rewriting Granholm's history

Apparently some of President Obama's state of the union speech seemed to borrow rhetoric from Michigan's own former Queen Governor Jennifer Granholm.  If that is so, the future of the country is looking mighty dim.

As it happens, Granholm herself has fled the state and taken up refuge in California, apparently to teach a new generation of young people how to fail and blame someone else for it.

Predictably, the left's old flame (remember the burning need to amend the Constitution so she could run for president?) is its new hotness:  The Puffington Host has some dreck that I won't read or link to, but by all accounts they're in full spin mode.

Her apologists are arguing that Michigan's flaws were so deep, so profound, so utterly beyond mortal means to solve that no one could do better.  We've heard this line of reasoning before:  Ex-Wolverine head coach Rich Rodriguez said that same thing before his butt got booted out of Ann Arbor.  To his credit, RichRod is just as correct as Granholm, with this modifier:  After both of these individuals took charge and started to make their imprint, the cause of improving either institution became hopeless.

Granholm's reasoning is typical liberal apologetics:  If something good happens in the future, that was her, but the negative effects of her governance were someone else's fault entirely.  Some folks may buy this.

But those who worked in Michigan politics know otherwise.  Granholm was an ineffective, vain and unreliable executive who never figured out how to work with her colleagues.  She was erratic, changing views on an almost daily basis, randomly reorganizing departments to try to look busy and demanding her will even when it was clear that she had nothing to offer in return.

She was petty to the point of sillyness:  At one time, she refused to put her (auto-pen) signature on tributes for Eagle Scounts, centenarians and other noteworthy citizens if they lived in the legislative district of someone she disliked.  Typical Granholm:  She thought she was harming the legislator, but really she was denying the people she was elected to serve the recognition that they deserved.

That was how she operated, and why she was never able to put together a budget on time.  She convinced herself that if she was just petulant enough, the adults in the Legislature would cave in and give her what she wanted rather than risk a state government shut down.

Though she talked about a new economy, she was entirely beholden to labor interests with no interest in growth. 

Eight years ago, millionaire philanthropist Bob Thompson offered $200 million of his own money to build 15 charter schools in Detroit.  After typical dithering, Granholm killed the offer.  (Funny how New Jersey's Chris Christie didn't.)

Granholm urged "targeted tax credits" rather than wholesale reform, but then she had to keep going back and wondering aloud if everything needed to be changed.  She demanded a tax hike, got it, said she was done, changed her mind, and left Michigan businesses paralysed with fear for what might come next.

And what of her signature initiative, "Cool Cities?"  Anyone remember that?  This boondoggle was based on the premise that what Michigan really needed to succeed was loft apartments and a cool bohemian art scene.  The Great Lakes State was becoming a post-industrial wasteland not because of rapacious unions and onerous government, but because we didn't have enough hipsters running coffeehouses.

Ironically, those hip joints were among the first to close as the Granholm's economic ice age descended on the state.

Both of her predecessors learned to deal with opposition legislators, but she never did.  Indeed, she could barely handle divisions within her own cabinet.  With 20 percent approval, its no wonder she wants to hide in Berkeley.

The signs for new Gov. Rick Snyder are good so far, if only because he's not nearly as screwed up.  Unemployment in falling, and there is a sense on the street that things may actually turn around.

They key point is that if Michigan's economy rebounds, it will be because its citizens did the work.  Once they were assured that they could keep the fruit of their labor, the same spirit that created the fir, timber, iron, copper and auto industries will once more push forward.

Granholm used to go on about creating the "next Google," apparently ignorant that Google's founders fled Michigan for the warm climate of California.  Michigan's great hope is not that Snyder will go, hat in hand, to Japan or Sweden to beg for a new Ikea outlet, but that businesses right here in Michigan will be able to grow and expand on their own - not because they got a grant, but because the economic conditions are no longer so terrible.

If that happens, Granholm's die-hard supporters will try to give her credit, but it will be like trying to make Jimmy Carter seem like Ronald Reagan - utterly divorced from reality.