http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/01/31/exclusive-wikileaks-to-move-servers-offshore-sources-say/

“Once you put yourself outside the realm of law, then you’re outside the realm of law, rules on search warrants and excessive force and all that — the reach of the Constitution — none of that applies,” Dempsey said.

Obama, take note.

I was thinking of these posts by Baron Barnett and considered my own experience about five years ago when I bought my first firearm.

I had moved down to North Carolina from Massachusetts about a year and half earlier and, though I had heard that the gun laws down here were much more permissive than my former location outside of the Free America, I had trouble picturing it in my mind. “You mean, I don’t have to fill out a mountain a of paperwork and hope that the local police chief likes me and isn’t having a bad day in order to get permission to own a gun? Nah, you’re pulling my leg!”

Needless to say, I soon started to make up for lost time. About 40 years of lost time. I had always been pro-gun, but didn’t really get liberty until I left that socialist hell hole up in the Northeast. (Sorry, JayG, I don’t mean to rub it in.) How many? More than I need, not as many as I want. After all, last I checked, the first ten amendments to the Constitution were referred to as the Bill of Rights, not the Bill of Needs.

So in late 2006 or early 2007, I got the news that my sister had been mugged. She lives in another Northeast socialist paradise (New Jersey), and though her husband is a retired police officer and usually carries, I don’t think she has even ever touched a gun. It was dark, but the parking lot wasn’t really poorly lit and she had parked fairly close to the hotel lobby entrance. She had gone back to her car before entering the hotel to retrieve something, and there was this 6-foot plus thug standing right next to her pinning her between him and, the open door of her car, and the car next to hers.

Without a word, he simply grabbed her purse. But my sister, being unwilling to give in so easily, would not let go of the purse. The mugger proceeded to drag her until she let go.

Scrapped up knees and an injured right hand later, she wound up having multiple surgeries to repair damage to her hand. It’s still not 100%, but at least functional.

If I hadn’t already initiated the process to get my NC CHL and buy my first gun, I would have done it right then. In fact, I remember saying out loud to a friend, “that does it, I’m getting my conceal carry license,” even though I had already started in that direction.

My sister was violently attacked, but, fortunately, wasn’t killed. At the moment of her attack, there was no way for her to know whether or not she was going to make it through the ordeal alive. If statists in control of New Jersey hadn’t made it so difficult for her to keep and bear arms, and she was carrying and managed to stop the attack, possibly resulting in the death of her assailant, would CSGV, The Brady Campaign, and company have considered him a victim of gun violence?

Let me be clear. He would not have been a victim. He was the perpetrator, and should he have perished in that encounter, no matter the means, it would have been due to his own actions. And all you have to do is read a week of Sean’s posts to come to the conclusion that he’s likely a multiple law breaker that should have been behind bars, and may soon meet his demise, anyhow. How many victims must he rack up before it’s Too Many Victims? I’m not at all advocating that he should simply be killed, indiscriminantly, but that, one way or another, he should be taken off the streets to prevent him from creating yet more victims.

Alan Korwin is author of several books on state gun laws and, among other writings, the classic article, The Noble Use of Firearms. During a speech at a Gun-Control Symposium at Duquesne University, as the sole (brave, I might add) pro-gun voice, he said:

We can’t get to that world because of what I call the Four Horseman of Human Havoc — Angry, Hungry, Stupid and Wicked. Oh, we might be able to solve Hungry someday, but the other three? And that’s the rub. Until there is a fundamental change in human nature, the good guys need the guns to protect themselves from the bad guys. That’s why you have all those armed people in the room, right? No one disagreed. If guns suddenly disappeared, the good guys would have to invent them all over again. That’s because Guns Protect You.

A gun death is no worse than a non-gun death. A death is a death. And if those who hate guns so much were really concerned about the number of deaths in this country, they ought to be going after automobiles, given that about 50% more people die from their use (even though there are, from many sources, more guns than cars in the US), than do from guns. But even that would be a failed effort. Why? Because it focuses on the object, rather than the operator of the object.

I’m getting this under the wire, but I wanted to wish any readers out there a happy new year, and also expound a little on what I hope for in the new year.

I’ve never been much for new years resolutions, but after reading David’s article on New Year’s gun rights resolutions, and listening to the sermon my pastor gave this morning, I’m going to break with the tradition and make a few commitments.

I’m dividing them into four categories and if I can make progress with at least one of the four every week, I will consider it a success. I will still aim for progress in at least one every day, but I want to make a commitment I’m sure I can keep. So I’ll start with one step of progress a week.

First area I will be working on is what I’m calling Prayer. But I’m really referring to a much more broad topic. What I want to do is deal with some personal demons of mine more seriously. In tough times, which I believe are coming for this country, and this world, having a ball and chain of conscience can be a great hinderance to survival, even if it’s just emotional and spiritual survival we’re talking about. Whatever I write here regarding this will be in general terms, of course, but I think it’s important at least to mention progress and I hope it encourages others, as well.

Second, I want do something for the cause of Liberty in general. A recent is example is my letter to Richard Burr regarding the TSA. Letters to the editors, calling or meeting with congress critters, filling out a contact form to tell a sheriff to stop abusing his power are all important to this effort. Participating in a Tea Party event or even just having a constructive conversation with someone with a bit less understand of what it means to be free. I won’t be cutting off any arms while declaring “Tell Xerces he faces free men here,” Stelios style, but hope to have anecdotes of facing down wannabe tyrants.

Third, though I have been preparing for some form of collapse to some degree, it’s been quite haphazard Preparedness. There’s been no organized thinking to my prepping. I think one of the first things I will do is go buy some waterproof matches, pay in cash, and demand privacy after being asked by a wannabe Judenrat sales dweeb what I’m up to. Face it: we’re all on those much feared lists, anyhow. And besides, hmpf, lists. Why is it that people think the government is the only one with lists?

Lastly, I will step up and organize my efforts at the county, state, and federal level to turn back the tide of infringements on the Human Right to Keep and Bear Arms that has been marching along at least since the Jim Crow era. This also includes some of the ideas presented by David Codrea at the article above and the addendum by Dave Workman: Follow Fast & Furious to the end.

So that’s my list for this year. I’ll do my best to accomplish at least one thing from one of the four categories per week, but will work hard to make that per day.

I have a hunch this year is going to be one hell of a ride.

May you live in interesting times.