BERKELEY REPEALS BAN ON POSSESSION OF CERTAIN SEMI-AUTOMATIC RIFLES
May 9, 2010
http://www.calgunlaws.com/index.php/california-law/83-california-proposed-municipal-ordinances/879-faced-with-nra-crpa-foundation-lawsuit-berkeley-repeals-ban-on-possession-of-certain-semi-automatic-rifles.html
FACED WITH NRA / CRPA FOUNDATION LAWSUIT, BERKELEY REPEALS BAN ON POSSESSION OF CERTAIN SEMI-AUTOMATIC RIFLES
In response to a pre-litigation demand letter sent by lawyers for the NRA and CRPA Foundation, on Tuesday, May 4, 2010, the Berkeley City Council voted unanimously to repeal that city’s ban on the possession of certain semiautomatic rifles, which had remained “on the books” as Municipal Code Section 13.47 despite being obviously preempted by state law.
The repeal is the culmination of discussions between attorneys for the NRA and CRPA and the Berkeley City Attorney’s office. The City of Berkeley initially resisted all requests by the NRA and CRPA to repeal this ordinance. But the City Attorney’s report to the City Council makes clear that the motivation to finally repeal the ordinance was the threat of litigation from NRA/CRPA.
One person objected to the repealing of the ordinance during public comment, but the City Attorney quickly corrected him that, as explained by the NRA/CRPA letter, this is a settled legal matter for which the City of Berkeley has no recourse. The City Attorney conceded the preemptive effect of the Fiscal v. City and County of San Francisco, 158 Cal.App.4th 895 (2008) case, and that a court would rule in NRA/CRPA’s favor in a lawsuit in this matter.
This is a victory not only for gun owners who live in or pass through the City of Berkeley and who feared prosecution under this ordinance. The repeal confirms that, contrary to the gun ban lobby’s claims, there are limits to what restrictions cities can place on firearms, and that Fiscal has preemptive effect throughout California. The repeal demand letter and staff report can be read at ww.calgunlaws.com.
The repeal efforts were funded by the NRA / CRPAF Legal Action project. To contribute to the NRA / CRPAF Legal Action Project (LAP) and support Second Amendment cases that directly benefit California gun owners, visit www.crpafoundation.org. LAP is a joint venture between the Nation Rifle Association (NRA) and the California Rifle and Pistol Association (CRPA) to advance the rights of firearms owners in California. Through LAP, NRA/CRPA attorneys fight against ill-conceived gun control laws and ordinances, and educate state and local officials about the programs at their disposal that are effective in reducing accidents and violence without infringing on the rights of law-abiding gun owners.
C.D. Michel
Senior Counsel
Woolsey Gets Worse
April 24, 2010
Knowing that we are broke, Lynn Woolsey had the gall to request $80 million for a salmon restoration project. No Republicans requested earmarks per the promise they have made. Democrats don’t know when to stop. Our only hope is to wipe her out in November and replace her. FedUpNetwork supports Jim Judd for Congress. – Editor
===============================
San Francisco Chronicle:
Thirteen Bay Area members of Congress have requested $2.3 billion for projects in next year’s federal budget, ranging from earthquake retrofits for the Golden Gate Bridge to a bike trail in Bodega Bay. The projects, known as earmarks, would primarily benefit their own constituents.
The members’ requests are among hundreds of such projects submitted for consideration by California members of Congress, and for the first time, House members are required to post their requests on the Appropriations Committee Web site, offering an easy look into their local priorities.
Earmarks have become a flash point in the debate over balancing the federal budget. Fiscal conservatives decry the spending as wasteful, while others say earmarks are necessary to direct federal spending to worthwhile projects.
Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland asked for $587 million, more than any other Bay Area member, including $41 million toward renovating the Lawrence Berkeley National Labratory’s World War II-era buildings and $2.5 million toward a new ferry service between Berkeley and San Francisco.
No GOP requests
An analysis by the California News Service shows that despite pressure to curb earmarks, California Democrats requested roughly $7.5 billion for the coming year, an average of $220 million per member. Some are requested by more than one member, while others address nationwide – not local – needs.
Though not all projects will be approved, the total is 150 percent larger than what California received last year.
The single most expensive Bay Area request is from Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma and Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena: $80 million for salmon restoration in California.
Read more.
Poll: Chuck surges, catching Carly
April 22, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — DeVore for California today responded to the release of the Capitol Weekly/Probolsky Research poll on the Republican race for U.S. Senate in California, in which Chuck DeVore and Carly Fiorina are shown to be in a statistical tie. The poll, with a margin of error of +/-3.7%, showed Tom Campbell with 31%, Carly Fiorina with 17%, and Chuck DeVore with 14%. These numbers continue the polling trend in this race, with Campbell essentially flat, Fiorina continuing her steady decline, and DeVore continuing his steady rise.
Chuck DeVore said, “The story of my campaign has been the story of a slow and steady rise in voter awareness and enthusiasm. California’s Republicans are realizing that I am the only proven conservative in this race — and the only one who can beat Barbara Boxer. With this poll, my rising support finally intersects Carly Fiorina’s falling support. It won’t be the last time we overtake a rival between now and November.”
Leisa Brug Kline, DeVore for California campaign manager, said, “Chuck DeVore continues his climb in the polls first and foremost because he’s a strong candidate with an outstanding record. But he also benefits as Republicans turn away from the failing effort of Carly Fiorina. Her campaign is now in crisis: not only is she tied with us, but her FEC reports from the first quarter of 2010 reveal a financially troubled operation that is — when backing out the Potemkin village of the untouched self-loan and the massive unpaid debts — nearly half a million dollars in the red.
“What’s all that money gotten her? Nothing. That’s an operation that’s crumbling under its own weight; and it’s one that, for all its pretensions of facing Barbara Boxer, won’t make it past June 8th. Rumors are swirling that Fiorina is set to sack many of her high-priced and ineffective consultants, but it’s too late. There’s only one direction left for Carly for California: downward.”
Joshua Treviño, DeVore for California communications director, said, “In November 2009, Carly Fiorina became a conservative for the first time in her life. She insists it’s a genuine conversion, and now she has the opportunity to prove it. If the conservative vote is divided between a surging Chuck DeVore and a foundering Carly Fiorina, California’s Republicans face the real danger of nominating the pro-tax, pro-spending, pro-abortion, pro-gay-marriage Tom Campbell. Conservatives must unify against this threat. In that light, we invite Carly Fiorina to end her candidacy and support a winning conservative: Chuck DeVore.”
Three more things we learned about Obamacare after it passed | Washington Examiner
April 15, 2010
“[W]e have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it,” said Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., as she rushed headlong toward passing President Obama’s health care reform bill.
The idea was to pass something — Anything! Now! — to save the Obama presidency and possibly the Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress.
The predictable result: Weeks after it became law, we’re still finding out what’s in it, just like the speaker said.
Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columns/Three-more-things-we-learned-about-Obamacare-after-it-passed-90776954.html#ixzz0lCygatPv
San Francisco Is Broke, But They Have Money for GreenFinanceSF?
April 14, 2010
Is this nuts or what? San Francisco if broke, but they push on with their lame GREEN agenda. Why should the city pay for people’s toilets and low flow shower heads? – Editor
San Francisco homeowners have a new way of paying for solar panels, energy-efficient appliances and low-flow toilets.
A new city-run program, GreenFinanceSF, will give San Franciscans the money to pay for such projects up front and let them pay it back through installments on their property tax bills. Berkeley pioneered the idea in 2007, and since then, hundreds of cities, counties and states have adopted their own versions.
For more details, visit https://greenfinancesf.org/systems/energy.
- San Francisco Association of Realtors
Beginning of the End or End of the Beginning? – OPINION
April 8, 2010
Recently there was an article posted by Mark Steyn, written by another author, regarding the resurgence of America. It was the topic of discussion over two days on the Rush Limbaugh show.
In the post the author pointed out many of the signs we are seeing today parallel what happened in 1776 before the Revolutionary War. The percentage of people who are in the Tea Party surge today is roughly the same as what it was in those early days of the Republic. Though they were not a majority of the country, these were the great thinkers and founders of the country; the ones who made it work. This gave the author great hope that we will turn this around in the next election. That our best days are ahead of us. Young readers of the story who commented on his post had a different take.
The general feeling from young conservative bloggers was that their peers have turned into an entitlement generation and are more about “what’s in it for me” than what is best for the country. In their minds, sports figures and movie stars are the ones to look up to, and that it’s better to be notorious than invisible. They felt that with abundance their generation had become lazy and willing to accept our young President because he seemed “cool”. The teen bloggers chastised their generation for not knowing about the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence, what they stand for, the greatness of our country; that the freedoms they enjoy are only possible because of these factors, not because of anything they have done for themselves. These are some of the reasons they thought the US is beyond salvation. I think they are dead wrong, and here’s why.
First and foremost, there are still fine young people willing to sign up for military duty and go overseas to protect our country’s ideals in foreign lands. Even if they don’t know what’s in the Constitution, that spirit of freedom and the knowledge of right versus wrong is in their hearts and is a part of them.
The second reason is that government giveaway programs are only possible because of the promise of taxes taken from a hard-working middle class; you and me. We are the people who make the country work by creating jobs and paying taxes. And make no mistake, these are the people now participating in Tea Parties. Without us, the government would have no tax revenue to hand out in entitlements. That is why I believe we will succeed. They need us to pay for the programs and jobs the government creates. And fortunately, we still get to vote!
- FedUpEditor
API Addresses Obama’s 5 Year Plan
April 5, 2010
WASHINGTON, March 31, 2010 – American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Jack Gerard issued the following statement on the Interior Department’s Five-Year Plan:
“The announcement by President Obama and Secretary Salazar is a positive development. We look forward to reviewing the details of the proposal, and we stand ready to work with them to make this a reality. We appreciate the administration’s recognition of the importance of developing our nation’s oil and natural gas resources to create jobs, generate revenues and fuel our nation’s economy.
“Exploring for and developing our nation’s offshore resources could help generate more than a trillion dollars in revenues and create thousands of jobs to add to the already 9.2 million jobs supported by today’s oil and natural gas industry.
“As we move forward, we hope that consideration can be given to other resource-rich regions, such as the Destin Dome area of the Eastern Gulf and areas off the Pacific Coast and Alaska. We also need to ensure that the permitting processes are handled in an expeditious way. The oil and natural gas industry has a proven track record of safe oil and natural gas development and the majority of the American people recognize this by supporting greater offshore development for the benefit of their communities, their states and their nation.”
Slaughter Named Porker of the Month!
March 30, 2010
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) has named House Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) Porker of the Month for conjuring up an eponymous House “rule” that would have allowed House Democrats to ram through the $2.3 trillion healthcare reform bill without directly voting on it. The invocation of the “Slaughter Rule” was one of the last steps in the tortured journey of the bloated, expensive healthcare bill. In an effort to absolve vulnerable House Democrats of having to take an unpopular vote on the Senate version of the bill without an ironclad guarantee that the Senate would later enact corrections to the most toxic provisions, Chairwoman Slaughter jury-rigged a proposed “self-enacting” rule that would allow the House to vote to “deem” the Senate bill as passed without forcing members to cast individual votes up or down. To quote former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, “Last year, the House was passing bills without reading them. This year, they’re passing bills without voting on them.” This mind-boggling disintegration of the legislative process into procedural travesty enabled by Chairwoman Slaughter provoked questions of constitutionality, fairness, and transparency, and in the end was not used to pass the abominable healthcare bill. For her mindless slaughter of the legislative process and leading an assault on the credibility of Congress, House Rules Committee Chairwoman Slaughter is CAGW’s March Porker of the Month. Read more about the Porker of the Month.
We Were Right – Health Care Bill Is Not About Health Care After All!
March 24, 2010
Michael Connelly, Ret. Constitutional Attorney
Well, I have done it! I have read the entire text of: The Affordable Health Care Choices Act of 2009. I studied it with particular emphasis from my area of expertise, constitutional law. I was frankly concerned that parts of the proposed law that were being discussed might be unconstitutional. What I found was far worse than what I had heard or expected.
To begin with, much of what has been said about the law and its implications is in fact true, despite what the Democrats and the media are saying. The law does provide for rationing of health care, particularly where senior citizens and
other classes of citizens are involved, free health care for illegal immigrants, free abortion services, and probably forced participation in abortions by members of the medical profession.
The Bill will also eventually force private insurance companies out of business, and put everyone into a government run system. All decisions about personal health care will ultimately be made by federal bureaucrats, and most of them
will not be health care professionals. Hospital admissions, payments to physicians, and allocations of necessary medical devices will be strictly controlled by the government.
However, as scary as all of that is, it just scratches the surface. In fact, I have concluded that this legislation really has no intention of providing affordable health care choices. Instead it is a convenient cover for the most massive transfer of power to the Executive Branch of government that has ever occurred, or even been contemplated. If this law or a similar one is adopted, major portions of the Constitution of the United States will effectively have been destroyed.
The first thing to go will be the masterfully crafted balance of power between the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of the U.S. Government. The Congress will be transferring to the Obama Administration authority in a number of different areas over the lives of the American people, and the businesses they own.
The irony is that the Congress doesn’t have any authority to legislate in most of those areas to begin with! I defy anyone to read the text of the U.S. Constitution and find any authority granted to the members of Congress to regulate health care.. This legislation also provides for access, by the appointees of the Obama administration, to all of your personal healthcare information, your personal financial information, and the information of your employer, physician, and hospital. All of this is a direct violation to protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. A direct violation of the specific provisions of the 4th Amendment to the Constitution. You can also forget about the right to privacy.
That will have been legislated into oblivion regardless of what the 3rd and 4th Amendments may provide. If you decide not to have healthcare insurance, or if you have private insurance that is not deemed acceptable to the Health Choices Administrator appointed by Obama, there will be a tax imposed on you. It is called a tax instead of a fine
because of the intent to avoid application of the due process clause of the 5th Amendment.. However, that doesn’t work because since there is nothing in the law that allows you to contest or appeal the imposition of the tax, it is definitely depriving someone of property without the due process of law.
So, there are three of those pesky amendments that the far left hate so much, out of the original ten in the Bill of Rights, that are effectively nullified by this law It doesn’t stop there though.
The 9th Amendment that provides: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people; The 10th Amendment states: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are preserved to the States respectively, or to the people. Under the provisions of this piece of Congressional handiwork neither the people nor the states are going to have any
rights or powers at all in many areas that once were theirs to control.
I could write many more pages about this legislation, but I think you get the idea. This is not about health care; it is about seizing power and limiting rights. Article 6 of the Constitution requires the members of both houses of Congress to “be bound by oath or affirmation to support the Constitution.” If I was a member of Congress I would not be able to vote for this legislation or anything like it, without feeling I was violating that sacred oath or affirmation. If I voted for it anyway, I would hope the American people would hold me accountable.
For those who might doubt the nature of this threat, I suggest they consult the source, the US Constitution, and Bill of Rights. There you can see exactly what we are about to have taken from us.
Michael Connelly
Retired attorney,
Constitutional Law Instructor
Carrollton , Texas
With Obamacare Now Law, Democrats Turn Their Attention to Cap-and-Trade Tax
March 23, 2010
Note: There will be an all out sprint to liberalism since Democrats know they are toast in 2010! Their theory is to get it while they can! – Editor
Newsmax: With the battle over healthcare reform won, President Barack Obama’s allies in Congress are turning their attention to climate change legislation — and drawing opposition from both sides of the issue.
Sen. John Kerry, a proponent of Congressional action on climate change, said administration officials can now “pour their energy and attention” into the issue.
“In the wake of healthcare’s passage, we have a strong case to make that this can be the next breakthrough legislative fight,” the Massachusetts Democrat declared.
“Climate legislation is the single best opportunity we have to create jobs, reduce pollution and stop sending billions overseas for foreign oil from countries that would do us harm . . . This can happen.”
In June, the House passed a bill that would approve a “cap-and-trade” system to restrict greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming. The Senate has yet to act on similar legislation.
Kerry hopes to win Republican support and is working with Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina on climate legislation, according to a report from AFP.
But most Republicans oppose climate change legislation, warning that it will harm the economy, and some have sought to take away the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate carbon dioxide emissions.
Some environmentalists also oppose the House bill, which would curb emissions by only 17 percent by 2020 compared to 2005 levels — much less than promised by the European Union and Japan.
They also fear that a Kerry-Graham bill would likely back nuclear energy and offshore oil drilling — “anathema to some environmentalists,” AFP observed — and water down cap-and-trade provisions.
“If the senators feel it’s their job to move from what was one of the biggest corporate giveaways in American history to make something that’s even more friendly to polluting industry, that would be a huge mistake,” said Nick Berning, director of public advocacy at Friends of the Earth.
In a Newsmax interview on Monday, Sen. Kit Bond was asked if passage of the healthcare bill will embolden Obama and the Democrats to forge ahead with cap-and-trade and other items on their agenda.
“I hope it will not,” the Missouri Republican said.
“But as I believe the president has said, passage of this government takeover of healthcare — he didn’t call it that, I did — is a template for how we’re going to deal with the rest of the economy.”
