The real truth is that we’re taxed on our income – when we make money.  We’re taxed on our spending – sales tax.  Now they want to tax us merely when we transfer our money.  Even when we withdraw it from an ATM.

From The Hill:

One idea for raising taxes to pay down the debt is the bill introduced this February by Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.). His “Debt Free America Act” (H.R. 4646) would impose a 1 percent “transaction tax” on every financial transaction — whether paid by cash, credit card or any form of financial transfer, the only exception being transactions involving the purchase or sale of stock. Theoretically, everyone would pay one cent on the dollar for every such transaction in America every day — whether $3 million on a $300 million business acquisition, $300 on the purchase of a $30,000 car, or $5 on a $500 ATM withdrawal.

It should be interesting to see just how creative people get when they avoid paying this tax and how long it is before a Constitutional challenge is raised regarding this issue.  Do a bit of reading through that short document and please tell me if you find somewhere in it where the government is granted the authority to do this to us.  Please share the answer because I have no freaking clue where they think it comes from.

But we all have the right as Citizens to keep and bear arms.  Even the Supreme Court has recognized this right although they somehow decided that there’s such a thing as reasonable regulation.  I still don’t get how that’s supposed to work.  For those not familiar enough with the Second Amendment, let’s review:

From the National Archives:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Mayor Daley (a possible fan of rape by firearm) doesn’t seem to get it.  The new law requires training and licensing and allows for possession of a firearm in the home, but somehow not your garage or your back yard.  It also prohibits shooting ranges and gun stores in the city of Chicago.

From Warner Todd Hudson at Stop the ACLU:

I’ve gotten this great idea from Richard “King” Daley, Mayor of Chicago, who has decided with his newest stab at gun control that we need to institute mandated firearm training classes for every Chicago gun owner as well as costly yearly licensing fees. This is a brilliant idea. So much so that I think we can expand on this idea in order to have a better, more orderly society.

Plainly Daley and his Democrat cohorts need to implement these “training” mandates on a wider basis. Not only will we have a better trained citizenry, but we’ll have billions of dollars flowing into the treasury from the high fees that such classes must invariably entail. And jobs? Why, think of how many jobs will be created by these new policies. We’ll need millions of low-level, perfunctory clerks, classroom instructors, and paper pushers to get this all off the ground. And what could be better than more education and more money in the form of hidden taxes going to fill the pockets of government officials?

So, since we have already decided that citizens observing their Constitutional rights will be forced to pay expensive fees and take costly classes to own a gun, we need to look elsewhere to see where this idea can work as well as it does for the Second Amendment.

How about the First Amendment?

I’d say it’s a home run.  I highly suggest reading the whole thing and thinking on it for a while.

What rights are you willing to have licensed?  The First Amendment?  The Fourth?  How about a license you have to pay for in order to assert your Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination?

What does it mean to you?

One of the benefits of living in Las Vegas is the close proximity to the Moapa Paiute Travel Plaza.  Think of it as a small casino with a truck stop, liquor store, smoke shop and fireworks emporium all rolled into one   They’re not really actually in Nevada since it’s an Indian reservation which means Nevada and Clark County laws on fireworks don’t apply – only federal laws.  That means you can buy things that fly into the air and go BANG!!! Now, that wouldn’t be so great if you had to take them home to light them off – you don’t want to break the law, do you?  I didn’t think so   Well, there’s even a “launch pad” (really a big, open field) out back where you can set off any fireworks you can buy inside.  I had a blast (pun intended ) and I expect this to be my annual destination on Independence Day from now on   Of course, Moapa and the launch pad are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year so I can go play anytime.  It’s just more fun when there’s a few thousand miscreants to share the fun with

Here’s what I wrote on the page for YouTube:

After moving from San Diego to Las Vegas a few years ago, I’ve become a bit more personally involved in some things. Things like lighting my own damn fireworks on Independence Day. Don’t get me wrong – the professional shows are cool, but there’s something special about lighting that fuse myself.

I guess part of it’s a bit of a rebellious streak that I’ve always had. I just have to do things because I can and most people think it’s too dangerous for the “average person” to do so. Another part of that rebelliousness on this particular holiday goes back to the Founding Fathers of the United States of America. These were men who owned cannons and all the other terrible implements of the soldiers. I can only imagine what would happen if someone told them a bottle rocket was too dangerous for them to deal with as Free Citizens and adults. I have the notion that such a discussion might beget a duel…

The fireworks in this video aren’t mine. I was on a meager budget and those were too expensive for me. I made due with some firecrackers, sparklers, and roman candles, but it was worth the trip and the expense. And it was great to see “Joe Sixpack” out shooting off the shells in this video

Some people say I’m a “rabble rouser” and that I have issues with doing what I’m told.  OK, there might be a bit of truth in that

4 July 2010 - The first time I've ever been stuck like this

Alas, the night was not all fun and games.  Yours truly found out that the berm that looked so easy to cross wasn’t.  I knew the there was trouble about when the front tires got just over the top and then they kind of sank.  The dirt was seriously loose and the tires found no purchase – I was high centered.  It was bad enough that I could spin the front wheels by hand.  The floor mat did nothing.

So I did what any intelligent (most of the time) GM vehicle owner would do and pressed the blue OnStar button!  Jan was the person who worked with me and the tow truck arrived within about an hour which is quick for where I was   One of the benefits of the OnStar system is that it sends your GPS coordinates to the people in the call center so they actually know where you are.  OnStar and the tow company weren’t the only groups of people who helped out last night – the Moapa security guys were great and offered moral support when they realized they couldn’t pull me out themselves

Hey, I had a good time overall last night.  I still have all my fingers, toes, both eyes, and my car’s OK.  That’s what I call a happy ending

Have fun everyone

Stay safe everyone

Nevada Shooters had a nice little get together yesterday out in our usual place south of Las Vegas.  I brought quite a few of my guns and everyone else did likewise as usual.  Oh yeah, we had a BLAST

I’m still recovering from yesterday, so I’m going to let the captions do the talking.  Again, big thanks to Infinite Arms and everyone else who made it happen

3 July 2010 - Union Pacific train on the railroad south of Las Vegas, NV

3 July 2010 - Infinite Arms post May '86 dealer sample full auto converted AR-15

3 July 2010 - Infinite Arms firearms brought to the event

3 July 2010 - Infinite Arms firearms brought to the event

3 July 2010 - One of the attendees firing an Infinite Arms post May '86 dealer sample PPSh-41

3 July 2010 - One of the attendees shooting his Mosin Nagant M-44

3 July 2010 - Infinite Arms only charges replacement cost when you shoot their ammo in their guns

3 July 2010 - Going prone for better accuracy at long range

3 July 2010 - This M1A rifle is an awesome tribute to our POW and MIA troops

3 July 2010 - Jim won a gorgeous 91/30 in a fund raising raffle for a local State Senate candidate

3 July 2010 - Yours truly with an awesome Thompson submachine gun

3 July 2010 - Yes, he really was having a good time

3 July 2010 - Lisa shooting a nice AR-15 8)

3 July 2010 - Yours truly with a PPSh-41 from Infinite Arms

3 July 2010 - Your Humble Scribe with a Sterling submachine gun from Infinite Arms

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