April2003

ARMED-M

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The Armed M is a publication of the 2nd Amendment SIG, a special interest group of American Mensa Ltd. Opinions expressed herein are the opinions of the writers, and not of American Mensa, Ltd., which has no opinions. This newsletter is linked to the Mensa web page WWW.Mensa.org as WWW.2Asig.iqhost.net

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April 2003 I have moved and am now in Wilmington North Carolina. My E-Mail address is Smith705@Juno.com. I can always use contributions to the newsletter. If you write something or find something e-mail it to me I'll put it in the newsletter as space and theme allows. Bob Smith -----

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Personally I find North Korea a bigger threat than Iraq, but they don't have much oil. I also don't think this is the wisest of wars in a timing aspect given the state of things in the mid east, but this little info list sent to me helps put another needed perspective on the rhetoric that is, and will continue, to fly about.

>Mike Rector - Graduated high school

>Whose Smarter? By Cindy Osborne

>The Hollywood group is at it again. Holding anti-war rallies, screaming about the Bush Administration, running ads in major newspapers, defaming the President and his Cabinet every chance they get, to anyone and everyone who will listen. They publicly defile them and call them names like "stupid", "morons", and "idiots".

Jessica Lange went so far as to tell a crowd in Spain that she hates President Bush and is embarrassed to be an American.

So, just how ignorant are these people who are running the country?

Let's look at the biographies of these "stupid", "ignorant", "moronic" leaders, and then at the celebrities who are castigating them:

President George W. Bush:

Received a Bachelors Degree from Yale University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He served as an F-102 pilot for the Texas Air National Guard. He began his career in the oil and gas business in Midland in 1975 and worked in the energy industry until 1986. He was elected Governor on November 8, 1994, with 53.5 percent of the vote. In a historic re-election victory, he became the first Texas Governor to be elected to consecutive four-year terms on November 3, 1998 winning 68.6 percent of the vote. In 1998 Governor Bush won 49 percent of the Hispanic vote, 27 percent of the African-American vote, 27 percent of Democrats and 65 percent of women. He won more Texas counties, 240 of 254, than any modern Republican other than Richard Nixon in 1972 and is the first Republican gubernatorial candidate to win the heavily Hispanic and Democratic border counties of El Paso, Cameron and Hidalgo. (Someone began circulating a false story about his I.Q. being lower than any other President. If you believed it, you might want to go to URBANLEGENDS.COM and see the truth.)

Vice President Dick Cheney:

Earned a B.A. in 1965 and an M.A. in 1966, both in political science. Two years later, he won an American Political Science Association congressional fellowship.

One of Vice President Cheney's primary duties is to share with individuals, members of Congress and foreign leaders, President Bush's vision to strengthen our economy, secure our homeland and win the War on Terrorism. In his official role as President of the Senate, Vice President Cheney regularly goes to Capital Hill to meet with Senators and members of the House of Representatives to work on the Administration's legislative goals. In his travels as Vice President, he has seen first hand the great demands the war on terrorism is placing on the men and women of our military, and he is proud of the tremendous job they are doing for the United States of America.

Secretary of State Colin Powell:

Educated in the New York City public schools, graduating from the City College of New York (CCNY), where he earned a Bachelor's Degree in geology. He also participated in ROTC at CCNY and received a commission as an Army second lieutenant upon graduation in June 1958. His further academic achievements include a Master of Business Administration Degree from George Washington University. Secretary Powell is the recipient of numerous U.S. and foreign military awards and decorations. Secretary Powell's civilian awards include two Presidential Medals of Freedom; the President's Citizens Medal, the Congressional Gold Medal, the Secretary of State Distinguished Service Medal, and the Secretary of Energy Distinguished Service Medal. Several schools and other institutions have been named in his honor and he holds honorary degrees from universities and colleges across the country. (Note: He retired as Four Star General in the United States Army)

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld:

Attended Princeton University on Scholarship (AB, 1954) and served in the U.S. Navy (1954-57) as a Naval aviator; Congressional Assistant to Rep. Robert Griffin (R-MI), 1957-59; U.S. Representative, Illinois, 1962-69; Assistant to the President, Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity, Director of the Cost of Living Council, 1969-74; U.S. Ambassador to NATO, 1973-74; Head of Presidential Transition Team, 1974; Assistant to the President, Director of White House Office of Operations, White House Chief of Staff, 1974-77; Secretary of Defense, 1975-77.

Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge:

Raised in a working class family in veterans' public housing in Erie. He earned a scholarship to Harvard, graduating with honors in 1967. After his first year at The Dickinson School of Law, he was drafted into the U.S. Army, where he served as an infantry staff sergeant in Vietnam, earning the Bronze Star for Valor. After returning to Pennsylvania, he earned his Law Degree and was in private practice before becoming Assistant District Attorney in Erie County. He was elected to Congress in 1982. He was the first enlisted Vietnam combat veteran elected to the U.S. House, and was overwhelmingly re-elected six times.

National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice:

Earned her Bachelor's Degree in Political Science, Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Denver in 1974; her Master's from the University of Notre Dame in 1975; and her Ph.D. from the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver in 1981. (Note: Rice enrolled at the University of Denver at the age of 15, graduating at 19 with a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science (Cum Laude). She earned a Master's Degree at the University of Notre Dame and a Doctorate from the University of Denver's Graduate School of International Studies. (Both of her advanced degrees are also in Political Science.) She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has been awarded Honorary Doctorates from Morehouse College in 1991, the University of Alabama in 1994, and the University of Notre Dame in 1995. At Stanford, she has been a member of the Center for International Security and Arms Control, A Senior Fellow of the Institute for International Studies, and a Fellow (by courtesy) of the Hoover Institution. Her books include Germany Unified and Europe Transformed (1995) with Philip Seiko, The Gorbachev Era (1986) with Alexander Dillon and Uncertain Allegiance: The Soviet Union and the Czechoslovak Army (1984). She also has written numerous articles on Soviet and East European foreign and defense policy, and has addressed audiences in settings ranging from the U.S. Ambassador's Residence in Moscow to the Commonwealth Club to the 1992 and 2000 Republican National Conventions. From 1989 through March 1991, the period of German reunification and the final days of the Soviet Union, she served in the Bush Administration as Director, and then Senior Director, of Soviet and East European Affairs in the National Security Council, and a Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. In 1986, while an international affairs fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations, she served as Special Assistant to the Director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In 1997, she served on the Federal Advisory Committee on Gender Integrated Training in the Military. She was a member of the boards of directors for: the Chevron Corporation, the Charles Schwab Corporation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the University of Notre Dame, the International Advisory Council of J.P. Morgan and the San Francisco Symphony Board of Governors. She was a Founding Board member of the Center for a New Generation, an educational support fund for schools in East Palo Alto and East Menlo Park, California and was Vice President of the Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula. In addition, her past board service has encompassed such organizations as: Transamerica Corporation, Hewlett Packard, the Carnegie Corporation, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, The Rand Corporation, the National Council for Soviet and East European Studies, the Mid-Peninsula Urban Coalition and KQED, public broadcasting for San Francisco. Born November 14, 1954 in Birmingham, Alabama, she resides in Washington, D.C.

So who are these celebrities? What is their education? What is their experience in affairs of State or in National Security?

While I will defend to the death their right to express their opinions, I think that if they are going to call into question the intelligence of our leaders, we should also have all the facts on their educations and background:

Barbra Streisand: Completed high school Career: Singing and acting

Cheer: Dropped out of school in 9th grade. Career: Singing and acting

Martin Sheen: Flunked exam to enter University of Dayton. Career: Acting

Jessica Lange: Dropped out college mid-freshman year. Career: Acting

Alec Baldwin: Dropped out of George Washington U. after scandal. Career: Acting

Julia Roberts: Completed high school. Career: Acting

Sean Penn: Completed High school. Career: Acting

Susan Sarandon: Degree in Drama from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Career: Acting

Ed Asner; Completed High school. Career: Acting

George Clooney: Dropped out of University of Kentucky. Career: Acting

Michael Moore: Dropped out first year University of Michigan. Career: Movie Director

Sarah Jessica Parker: Completed High School. Career: Acting

Jennifer Anniston: Completed High School. Career: Acting

Mike Farrell: Completed High school. Career: Acting

Janeane Garofelo: Dropped out of College. Career: Stand up comedienne

Larry Hagman: Attended Bard College for one year. Career: Acting

While comparing the education and experience of these two groups, we should also remember that President Bush and his cabinet are briefed daily, even hourly, on the War on Terror and threats to our security. They are privy to information gathered around the world concerning the Middle East, the threats to America, the intentions of terrorists and terrorist-supporting governments. They are in constant communication with the CIA, the FBI, Interpol, NATO, The United Nations, our own military, and that of our allies around the world.

We cannot simply believe that we have full knowledge of the threats because we watch CNN!! We cannot believe that we are in any way as informed as our leaders.

These celebrities have no intelligence-gathering agents, no fact-finding groups, no insight into the minds of those who would destroy our country. They only have a deep-seated hatred for all things Republican. By nature, and no one knows quite why, the Hollywood elitists detest Conservative views and anything that supports or uplifts the United States of America.

The silence was deafening from the Left when Bill Clinton bombed a pharmaceutical factory outside of Khartoum, or when he attacked the Bosnian Serbs in 1995 and 1999. He bombed Serbia itself to get Slobodan Milosevic out of Kosovo, and not a single peace rally was held. When our Rangers were ambushed in Somalia and 18 young American lives were lost, not a peep was heard from Hollywood. Yet now, after our nation has been attacked on its own soil, after 3,000 Americans were killed, by freedom-hating terrorists, while going about their routine lives, they want to hold rallies against the war. Why the change? Because an honest, God-fearing Republican sits in the White House.

Another irony is that in 1987, when Ronald Reagan was in office, the Hollywood group aligned themselves with disarmament groups like SANE, FREEZE and PEACE ACTION, urging our own government to disarm and freeze the manufacturing of any further nuclear weapons, in order to promote world peace. It is curious that now, even after we have heard all the evidence that Saddam Hussein has chemical, biological and is very close to obtaining nuclear weapons, their is no cry from this group for HIM to disarm.

They believe we should leave him alone in his quest for these weapons of mass destruction, even though it is certain that these deadly weapons will eventually be used against us in our own cities. So why the hype out of Hollywood? Could these celebrities believe that since they draw such astronomical salaries, they are entitled to also determine the course of our Nation?

That they can make viable decisions concerning war and peace? Did Michael Moore have the backing of the Nation when he recently thanked France, on our behalf, for being a "good enough friend to tell us we were wrong"? I know for certain he was not speaking for me.

Does Sean Penn fancy himself a Diplomat, in going to Iraq when we are just weeks away from war? Does he believe that his High School Diploma gives him the knowledge (and the right) to go to a country that is controlled by a maniacal dictator, and speak on behalf of the American people? Or is it the fact that he pulls in more money per year than the average American worker will see in a lifetime? Does his bank account give him clout?

The ultimate irony is that many of these celebrities have made a shambles of their own lives, with drug abuse, alcoholism, numerous marriages and divorces, scrapes with the law, publicized temper tantrums, etc. How dare they pretend to know what is best for an entire nation!

What is even more bizarre is how many people in this country will listen and accept their views, simply because they liked them in a certain movie, or have fond memories of an old television sitcom!

It is time for us, as citizens of the United States, to educate ourselves about the world around us. If future generations are going to enjoy the freedoms that our forefathers bequeathed us, if they are ever to know peace in their own country and their world, to live without fear of terrorism striking in their own cities, we must assure that this nation remains strong.

We must make certain that those who would destroy us are made aware of the severe consequences that will befall them. Yes, it is a wonderful dream to sit down with dictators and terrorists and join hands, singing Cumbaya and talking of world peace. But it is not real.

We did not stop Adolf Hitler from taking over the entire continent of Europe by simply talking to him. We sent our best and brightest, with the strength and determination that this Country is known for, and defeated the Nazi regime.

President John F. Kennedy did not stop the Soviet ships from unloading their nuclear missiles in Cuba in 1962 with mere words. He stopped them with action, and threat of immediate war if the ships did not turn around.

We did not end the Cold War with conferences. It ended with the strong belief of President Ronald Reagan.

Two bills on guns moving forward

AUSTIN - Bills to protect the identity of licensed concealed-handgun owners and allow them to bring their guns into government buildings and other public places are making their way through the Legislature. The proposals, backed by state and national pro-gun groups, are sponsored by Rep. Suzanna Gratia Hupp, a Lampasas Republican who has a license to carry a concealed handgun.

Her bill to prohibit local authorities from banning such weapons from city halls and other public places was headed for a vote by the full House after winning approval Tuesday by the Criminal Jurisprudence Committee.

The measure is opposed by the Texas Municipal League* http://www.TML.org,which represents more than 1,000 Texas cities.*You can contact the TML at http://www.tml.org/contact_info.html

Ms. Hupp's other bill would do away with a provision in the 1995 law that makes public the identity of those licensed to carry. It is pending in the House Committee on Law Enforcement.

At Tuesday's hearing, Ms. Hupp complained that cities across the state arousing a "loophole" in the law to usurp the Legislature's authority to decidewhere license holders may legally carry weapons. That authority, she said, rests solely with the Legislature, which has banned the guns from a number of places, including schools, hospitals, and correctional facilities, polling places and courts.

Many cities have banned firearms - even those of licensed carriers - from governmental buildings, public parking lots and even buses, Ms. Hupp said. As a result, there is no uniformity, confusing licensed holders, she said.

Ms. Hupp also charged that many cities are begging for lawsuits by” discriminating" against inner-city minority women by not allowing them touring handguns on buses, even if they are licensed. "They are telling that nurse that has to go back home in the bad part of town that she can’t protect herself in the middle of the night," she said.

Frank Sturzl, executive director of the Texas Municipal League, said the cities he represents have serious concerns about the proposal. "We are concerned that this bill will force cities to allow handguns in city hall, recreation centers, police stations and even the unsecured areas of airports," he said.

Ms. Hupp said the current law allowing anyone to find out who has a license raises privacy and safety questions. Her proposal would allow only law officers and private investigators to get that information. "Currently, all a burglar has to do is submit a name and address and find out if somebody at that address has a concealed-handgun permit," she said.

Here's a jpg showing the new cartridge and giving muzzle energy figures, compared to other large cartridges:

http://www.smith-wesson.com/products/firearms/images/500_cal_compare.jpg

.357 S&W Magnum 500 ft/lb

.44 Magnum 900 ft/lb

480 Ruger 1315 ft/lb

454 Casull 1900 ft/lb

500 S&W 2600 ft/lb

Here's a press release from ammunition manufacturer Cor-Bon:

http://www.cor-bon.com/pressrelease500sw.htm

Ballistic information

275 gr. 1665fps 1688 ft/lb

400 gr. 1675fps 2500 ft/lb

440 gr. 1625fps 2580 ft/lb

(Notice that those fps figures don't pose a strong challenge to ballistic armor.)

http://www.sunspot.net/news/local/bal-md.guns28feb28,0,5126674.story?coll=bal-local-headlines

Gun control advocates testified that assault-style weapons serve no>purpose other than to kill people, which should lead lawmakers to ban>their use by the general public.

Of course, when the government wants to buy them, they suddenly become” fuzzy bunny projectile pushers" that are kinder and gentler than the standard issue shotgun and "safer for the public":

Campuses to acquire automatic weapons - State OKs new guns for police at Kent State, University of Akron

BY JOEL MORONEY - Special to the Beacon Journal, JAN 25, 2001.

http://www.ohio.com/bj/news/docs/020549.htm

COLUMBUS: Campus police are getting M-16s.

The University of Akron wants 10.

Kent State? Just eight.

On Monday, the state controlling board approved an Ohio Department of Public Safety request to buy about 150 fully automatic M-16 assault rifles for, among others, university and metropolitan park police...

Campus police departments applied to purchase the guns, part of a federal surplus program, because they're cheaper than semiautomatic weapons on the market. ``We applied for the grant because the firearms were available,’ said Newt Engle, deputy chief of the University of Akron Police Department....

Engle said university cruisers currently are armed with AR-15s, which are basically a semiautomatic version of the M-16. Those rifles cost about $800 each compared to a government surplus price of $440 for an M-16...

``I'm not saying the M-16 is an ideal replacement, but other rifles are just so much more expensive.''...

UA, Kent State and Akron police departments all said M-16 rifles can be safer than traditional shotguns, because they are more accurate and less likely to ricochet.

``These weapons are considered assault weapons.'' Engle said. ``The truth of the matter is that this particular cartridge in this particular gun... is actually safer for the public.''--

Ahmad said the Taliban... betrayed the people's trust. "When they took power, they said, 'We only want to disarm people, and then we'll give power to educated people to make this country very good,'" he said. "But then they took power and said their government is very good for Afghanistan."

--TASGOLA KARLA BRUNER, ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION

See http://www.gunlaws.com/GFZ/index.htm . Bills have so far been introduced into the Arizona and Georgia state legislatures that would make the creators of gun-free zones liable for any harm persons might incur as a result of being unable to defend themselves. This is uninteresting line of attack that I proposed several years ago, and that now seems to be getting traction. Might be worth some discussion on how such statutes might work and what effect they would have if enacted.

- Jon

Sacramento -- The U.S. Department of Justice has threatened to criminally prosecute California's top firearms official over the state's continued use of a federal databank to hunt down illegal gun users, The Chronicle has learned.

The threat marks a significant escalation in the war between California law enforcement and U.S. officials over gun control and background checks. State officials said that until John Ashcroft became U.S. attorney general in 2001, California's use of the databank was not questioned.

Federal authorities believe the list of convicted felons, drug dealers, suspected terrorists, spouse beaters, illegal immigrants and others should only be used to help gun dealers determine if someone is allowed to buy a gun, not police investigating other gun-control violations.

Gun-control advocates say it's part of a pattern.

"At a time when Ashcroft is pushing for maximum police powers in almost all areas of our lives, the one exception is guns," said Luis Tolley, Western regional director with the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. "They are going in the opposite direction."

Now, in an unprecedented action, the chief of California's firearms division says he was threatened with federal action for a criminal violation if California continues to use the federal database to search for illegal gun users who violated the law in other states.

"We understood it as a potential criminal action," said Randy Rossi, firearms chief for state Attorney General Bill Lockyer, "and our response back to them was we understand what you are saying and we think public safety is paramount and you take whatever step is necessary."

If U.S. authorities deny access to some of the FBI's computers, state officials believe they will be forced to return guns to violent criminals. Thousands of background checks would be prohibited every year, state officials said.