my flashpoint

Congressman Parker Griffith (D-AL05) joined with 19 other Democrat Congressmen and 176 Republican Congressmen in voting against President Obama’s $3.5 trillion budget for 2009.  I did not vote for Congressman Griffith, but I appreciate that he understands that increasing spending by 10% is a bad idea, especially when the economy is suffering as it is.

Stephen Gordon of The Next Right had a conversation with 2010 gubernatorial candidate Tim James:

When I had the opportunity, I asked James if I could ask him a quick question.  “Sure,” he replied.  The question I lobbed at him was whether or not he would absolutely commit to not increasing taxes if elected governor. 

 ”No problem,” he responded.  “Got a tougher one?”

I pitched the second question a bit harder, but his response came as quickly as the first one.  I asked if he’d commit to not increasing state spending.  “That’s easy,” he said. “You got a tough one for me, now?”

“Okay,” I responded, and threw him a bit of a curveball.  “Would you mind signing a pledge to this effect?”

“I’d love to…,” he stated.  Later on, we set up a telephone call to deal with speaking arrangements for an upcoming event and the pledge issue.

Read the rest of the article.  Among James, Ivey, and Moore, James is the only one I feel like I can get excited about.  Sounds like we have an actual, real conservative running for Governor!

I didn’t realize that in 2007 when the legislature voted itself a 61% pay raise ,that they included a provision that future cost of living raises would go into effect without the need for a vote. At a time when the State’s financial situation is dire, when thousands of teachers & state employees may be laid off or denied raises and programs are being slashed to the bone, the Legislature will get a 3.8% raise on Aprils Fool Day.

Somehow the date is rather fitting.

Before launching into this, let me give you a little background. When I was 2 weeks old my maternal grandfather bequeathed me one of his most prized possessions, a 12 gauge shotgun (I still have it). I own several of each of shotguns, rifles and pistols. I am a life long hunter. I have a concealed weapon permit and frequently carry. I believe every American has the right to own as many pistols, shotguns and rifles as his wife will allow. In short, I am generally against gun control except as it pertains to hitting your target.

That said however, I do agree that some limited and common sense restrictions are needed. For example, I do not think convicted felons or mentally ill individuals should be allowed to buy or own guns. I do not see a 72 hour waiting period to allow a background check as onerous and I think the waiting period should apply to gun shows.

That brings me to my real subject: assault rifles. These are weapons designed as military arms, fire a mid sized round, have large capacity magazines and a high cyclic rate (i.e. were designed to fire fully automatic). These weapons can easily defeat most “bullet proof” vests unless you insert ceramic or steel plates in the vests. Because of the weight, heat and bulkiness most police do not wear the plates unless they are SWAT operators.

The two most common assault rifles sold in America are the AR-15 (Civilian version of the M16 rifle) and various versions of the Russian AK-47. The latter seem to be the favorite of gangs and thugs everywhere because they are cheap and easy to convert to fully automatic. My law enforcement friends tell me they are facing more and more of these assault rifles every day. Police have responded by equipping officers with assault rifles of their own, however quite frankly, I do not relish the idea of a shootout between Police & thugs with both using assault rifles in crowded cities.

I do not see these as viable hunting weapons or self protection weapons (who would want to spray 30 rounds in their own house where their family is sleeping?). I recognize that some people like to target shoot with them (the same is true of fully automatic weapons).

Therefore I propose we treat these weapons the same as we do fully automatic weapons. make them illegal to own unless you obtain a special license like you must have for fully automatic weapons and prohibit dealers from selling them unless they have Class III licenses and then only to people with the appropriate license.

That would allow those people who really want to sport shoot the weapons to have them (albeit at a high price) while keeping them out of the hands of otherwise petty criminals.

What say you?

It truly pains me to see Sen. Richard Shelby masquerading as a conservative. This ex-democrat is on the appropriations committee and takes full advantage of it, at the expense of the American taxpayer. From supporting protectionism, to thousands in federal dollars to refurbish the Vulcan in Birmingham, Sen. Shelby has for years been prime example of the wasteful politicians in Washington. The Citizens Against Government Waste is a wonderful watchdog group. You can visit their site here for information on any of your favorite politicians and their spending habits.

The Green Movement shifts gears. It’s no longer just the gas-gusseling SUV’s that are having a harmful impact on the enviroment, it’s the drivers! One of the leading green advisers in Great Britain calls for a drastic reduction in population to “build a sustainable society.”

What I’ve been reading.

I was filing our taxes tonight using TurboTax. In past years, I’ve sent our taxes off to an accountant, but I figured I’d give TurboTax a try and save a few bucks. My wife walked by, saw what I was doing, and said: “You’re just trying to prove you’re smarter than Tim Geithner.”

The Alabama PACT program (pre-paid college tuition) has been a hot topic on the news and internet. It sems that the investments of this program have taken a beating in the market and there is not sufficient monies to pay college tuition for all those enrolled.

Although the PACT is not a state agency, the solitications for it, from its inception until 2004, clearly implied that the “full faith and credit” of the State of Alabama was behind the program and that payment of tuition was guaranteed. This illusion concerning the obligation of the State was reinforced by the fact prominent Alabama politicans sat on the Board of Directors.

As an old lawyer, I see lawsuits acoming. Some of them will be for fraud and seek punitive damages. I also foresee some enterprising lawyers naming the Directors as defendants and seeking to hold them personally liable. Now some of those same politicians are talking about the moral obligation of the State and the need for the State (i.e. taxpayers) to guarantee the payments.

That raises a question. These Directors are potentially (I stress potentially)  personally liable and are they using their official positions to urge the State to cover that liability?

I enjoy the hearty discussions that frequently occur here at Flashpoint and I’ve long felt that many regular commenters have much to offer to the debate.  One downside of having a closed blog is that the topics covered and the framing of the discussion is left up to just a few authors (three here).  So I decided to create a section of the site, called My Flashpoint, where users can create their own blog posts.

In addition to bringing in more viewpoints I also hope to attract more authors from across the state who can discuss local politics in their area, if they so desire.  Plus just starting up and maintaining a blog can involve lots of work (trust me, I know what I’m talking about here!).  This relieves you of that burden.

It’s really easy to get started.  Just click here and fill out the registration form.  Once you’re registered you control the content.

Enjoy!