JPFO now backing gun control?

So says David Codrea about the once-noble organization from which TZP sprang. (And for which Codrea, yours truly, and several other TZP volunteers once wrote before JPFO was sold into the hands of a supporter of the Manchin-Toomey-Schumer gun-control bill.)

Even if this is just yet another case where the poor guy handling JPFO’s alerts was left to scramble for material on his own without guidelines or caveats, this does appear as if JPFO endorses the latest “no due process” nonsense that’s coming from both anti-gunners and the more spineless of supposed Second Amendment supporters.

(H/T ML)

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Presumed Guilt

Ran across this little bit about civilians terrified of open-carrying cops cops terrified of open-carrying civilians.

Enough is enough; we must get guns under control
“What is alarming to the police is that they have no power to ascertain the potential criminal background of an armed individual until a crime is committed, and by then it is too late,” said Ladd Everitt, spokesman for the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, an advocacy group.

Oh, noes! They can’t bust people until a crime is committed. How horrible.

Maybe they should consider the possibility that if the person isn’t doing anything wrong… then maybe he isn’t doing anything wrong. I know: it’s a difficult concept for public school-indoctrinated idiots in an age of imaginary microagressions.

Then again, claiming the worst without evidence worked so well for other police states.


Ed. note: This commentary appeared first on TZP’s weekly email alert. If you would like to be among the first to see new commentary (as well as to get notice of new polls and recaps of recent posts), please sign up for our alert list. (See sidebar or, if you’re on a mobile device, scroll down). Be sure to respond when you receive your activation email!

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Poll: Other Self-Defense Means

Those who work in areas where carrying a firearm for self defense is not prohibited, or who are self-employed, are lucky. There are times many of us must go to work, or travel, or simply must live in an area where carrying our firearms is either not practical, or outright prohibited.

So what do we do?

What type of self defense tool do we carry?

Practical and commemorative. Because no one should be left defenseless!
Practical and commemorative. Because no one should be left defenseless!

There are options that should be considered. We here at the Zelman Partisans certainly are considering them. We continue to expand the products we offer to include those that might be useful, not just commemorative.

The knife above is certainly cool, but what else would you carry in lieu of a gun? What’s practical and concealable? What kind of self-defense tool do you carry if you can’t carry a firearm?

Let us know below.

 

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Everybody needs a good pair of binoculars

… And as of today, The Zelman Partisans just happen to have 35 good pairs for our readers and fans. These are perfect for checking your pistol targets without having to walk downrange. Or for keeping in your truck. Or hanging next to the door at your rural home. They’ve got a thousand potential uses. They’re sleek looking, too. Check the photo:

TZP_Binocs_0616

You’ll find a bigger image of them by going to their page at our store and clicking on the thumbnail.

Did I mention they make terrific gifts? Or that you might want a pair and a spare for yourself? 🙂 Consider it mentioned. We’ve got only the limited number of these, and we’d like to see them go to good homes pretty quickly.

Seriously, these are very nice for their moderate price. They’re roof-prism models with independent focus for each eye (very helpful when your vision doesn’t match on each side). They come with their own case. And they’re just $29.00 plus shipping.

How many times have you really, really wished you had binoculars at hand … and didn’t? Now you can have a pair wherever you need them — and fly your TZP colors at the same time.

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Another Place, Another Time

I guess I’ve had a couple trips down memory lane lately. Well, other people’s memory as well as my own.

I saw this iconic picture yesterday hanging on a wall and it started a conversation between me and another lady sitting there. So I looked up the history on it. Far from being faked as has been supposed by some,

Lunch atop a skyscraper
Lunch atop a skyscraper

On September 20, 1932, high above 41st Street in Manhattan, 11 ironworkers took part in a daring publicity stunt. The men were accustomed to walking along the girders of the RCA building (now called the GE building) they were constructing in Rockefeller Center. On this particular day, though, they humored a photographer, who was drumming up excitement about the project’s near completion. Some of the tradesmen tossed a football; a few pretended to nap. But, most famously, all 11 ate lunch on a steel beam, their feet dangling 850 feet above the city’s streets.

For these dudes, eating lunch, having a smoke, reading a paper 850 feet above the ground was not a big deal. Another place, another time. It’s like Sheila, can we take a picture of you feeding your animals?  Business as usual.

Then I got a email from a friend of mine with pictures of tinker toys, drive in movies, Dippity Do, Howdy Doody, saddle oxfords, and many more. All things I certainly remember. Another place, another time.

Then I had a conversation with my Mom today, and we talked about the picture in the course of the conversation. How we were as a people then. Tough, strong, brave, and we wanted to make our own way in the world. We wanted our children to have more and better chances than we did. We wanted to leave the world a better place for them. And often that was in the form of hard work, dangerous work, creative work, and sometimes war. Another place, another time.

And now, our children are “children”. In college they seek counseling from the trauma of seeing a name written in chalk. They need “safe spaces” in college, and college communications professors (fired now at University of Missouri at Columbia) trying to shut down, well, communications. They need the segregated “safe spaces” that the civil rights movement fought against a mere 50 years ago. Those struggles forgotten and dishonored. Another place, another time.

Instead of Mr. Smith Goes To Washington we have the dimocratic toddler time as they enjoy their catered in meals, bathroom breaks and publicity photo ops, rather than working to do right until they collapse. They are pitchin’ a hissy fit as they try to take rights, self-defense, endowed by our creator, not them. Another place, another time.

Dimocrat toddler time
Dimocrat toddler time

Recently a holocaust survivor publicly confronted former London Mayor Ken Livingstone about several statements, one of which was hitler was a Zionist. He made several other erroneous statements and the radio host corrected him. He knew so much that wasn’t true.

“It isn’t so much that liberals are ignorant. It’s just that they know so many things that aren’t so.” ~~Ronald Reagan

But it was the statement of Mala Tribich, survivor of Bergen-Belsen that hit me hard.

“I find them very offensive and hurtful when people belittle the Holocaust. When they use the Holocaust to score a political point,” she said.

“I really can’t see it. They are usually people in high places. I take them as being intelligent and educated. Yet they can stoop so low to use the Holocaust to better their positions. What really bothers me is that they do it whilst there are some survivors still around. What will they do when we’re all gone?”

As anti-Semitic attacks are on the rise world wide, entire political parties are openly anti-Semitic, anti-Israel or both, and it’s accepted or excused. They say things that would have gotten them shunned, kicked out of the political arena or the papers would have been chewing them up with the facts of their lies. Another place, another time.

Our wonderful Nicki and I exchanged some e-mails today talking about Moshe Feiglin, and she nailed it.

I just think it’s a sad state of our world that we actually hold men such as this as heroes. They should be the NORM. They should be the rule, not the exception, ya know?

And they did used to be, in another place, another time.

And so, someday the survivors will be gone, and then what will they (the liberals, the anti-Semites, the anti-Israel people) do? They will be confronted by me. And they will be confronted by Zelman’s Partisans, and they will be confronted by good, strong and brave people everywhere. People that seem to come from another place, another time.

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Their understanding of “compromise”

…is nearly as comprehensive as that of “due process.”

Susan Collins Unveils a Gun-Control Compromise
After the Senate voted down four gun-control bills inspired by the Orlando massacre, the Maine Republican Susan Collins unveiled compromise legislation Tuesday that addresses a bipartisan concern: individuals suspected of terrorist ties being able to purchase guns.
[…]
The New Hampshire Republican Kelly Ayotte emphasized that the legislation protects Americans’ due-process rights, a major concern among Republicans who voted against a Democratic bill restricting sales on Monday.

Collins is the NRA B+ rated fool whose closest approach to being pro-RKBA is that there are only some infringements she’s OK with. Ayotte, you may recall, is one of the turncoats who voted for cloture on the Manchin-Toomey-Gottlieb abomination, allowing it to go to a vote; but then she threw a hissy fit because they wouldn’t let her amend it further to expand mental health prohibitions.

The compromise (PDF) is that both statist parties get the unethical, unworkable, rights-violating additions to the prohibited persons list, and the Republicans can pretend it includes “due process.” The only folks giving anything up are the people they screw over.

“Due process” is not being allowed to beg for reconsideration after you’ve lost a human/civil right by bureaucratic decree by being placed on a secret list that has never resulted in the capture of a terrorist. For pretty much any reason, or none.

To learn what due process actually is, one would have to refer to the Bill of Rights, with which these oathbreakers regard as a to-do list of things to be trashed.

“…nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;”

They have to go through the “process” first,to establish the alleged necessity. An ex post facto “hearing” in which you may not be allowed to challenge or even see supposed evidence against you does not count.

This all sounds terribly familiar.

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Zehut, The Politics of Identity

by Sheila Stokes-Begley

When many people go to Israel, the want to see the historical sights. I do as well, especially military museums. There will most likely be a column on that. A lot of people want to eat the fabulous
food. Yes, me too. They want to shop, I’m SO there, especially when you talk about Yafo. They want to swim, did that. But what I really, really, really, really wanted to do, was interview Moshe Feiglin. At
which most tourist are probably saying “Excuse me?” But that was one of my very highest hopes for this trip. And I was successful.

I first learned about the former MK (Member of Knesset) when in response to something I had written my wonderfully kind team mate Y.B. sent me a portion of a Torah Thought from Mr. Feiglin. I loved it! I asked for more info and Y.B. told me who had written it and who he was. I did online research and signed up for the Manhigut Yehudite newsletter and was soon getting my own copies of Torah Thoughts included with each newsletter which I very much looked
forward to receiving. Each newsletter included Torah and politics. Does it get any better? Well, also a Dry Bones Cartoon. That’s pretty good too.

Last year I got to interview Mr. Feiglin by phone, and it was a great interview. This year it was in person. I feel very blessed.

So why my fascination? My respect first blossomed when he was writing articles calling for the Israeli government to make it easier for everyday Israelis to get weapons permits. Gun Control? Or Citizen Control?

With all that has been going on in Israel, I had a lot of questions for Mr. Feiglin. Especially since he along with the support of a lot of everyday people have founded a new political party. Zehut, which means “Identity”. Zehut is unusual in that they also allow people from places other than Israel to join. And with that I tell you I am a proud card carrying member. Well, I will be when my card gets here, but I am.

My first question was why form Zehut? Was it in response to the betrayal of leadership in politics? They campaign on one platform and then when elected turn and go another direction?

Feiglin: The average Israeli feels disenfranchised from their Jewish identity and the concept of a Jewish state. (I believe he said in a recent poll that 80% of Israelis identify as Jewish first, and as an Israeli second). The disenfranchisement started with the Oslo accords and now takes the form of things like a Judge appointed to the High Court who refused to sing HaTikvah, the Israeli national anthem after being sworn in. It shows in an army which is now refusing to allow soldiers to grow beards, “too much Jewish”. And very sadly when a Yad Vashem guide pointed out that the murder of Gil-Ad Shaer,16, Eyal Yifrah, 19, and Naftali Fraenkel,16 had occurred in Gush Etzion because they were Jewish. (That would seem evident to
me, but I guess political correctness can run amuck anywhere). Israel is a Jewish democratic state, but 10% controls the power and it is eroding Jewish values.

I have a few questions about everyday Israelis being allowed to carry weapons. Why are there areas where people are not allowed to have carry permits? A buddy moved from Jerusalem where he could carry, to Tel Aviv and now he can’t. He’s no less qualified in Tel Aviv. Yafo which suffered a terrorist attack is certainly within walking distance of Tel Aviv, I’ve done so! Why aren’t the military allowed to carry off duty, and why after people are out of the military can they not automatically be allowed to carry a weapon? As it turns out, the answer to all these questions are the same. Mr. Feiglin is very good at seeing the big picture and summing it up.

Feiglin: Because the concept of freedom is wrong. It should be the concept that the right of self- defense is G-d given! In Israel they believe that the right is given by the state. And if the state can give you the right to self defense, they can take that right away. In America they had the right concept, although they are losing the mindset. They believed anyone should be allowed to own guns unless they showed they were not to be trusted with them. (I pointed out that the UN does not believe self defense is a human right at all. Considering how anti-Israel the UN is, that is really not a good
combination). Zehut believes in planting in the Israeli mind the concept of true freedom. That everyone is responsible to defend their life, that of their family and the nation. Of course, there are those that oppose this. When I was in the Knesset I fought for more people to be allowed to carry. There were 150,000 people licensed to carry. But the Knesset wants to decrease that till terrorism decreases. You have the state as “Big Brother”.

What about the shooting in Hevron? (Sheila’s article on this incident) WHY is this soldier being prosecuted? Didn’t the fact that the video came from B’Tselem raise suspicions? This produced a wealth of information. This is so much more to this than a simple case of Katie Couric media malfeasance. I really think you should go read Moshe’s whole article on this topic, but here is what we covered.

Feiglin: This is a war of Israelis and Jews. It’s the soul of the Israeli, for what comes first, a concept of citizen or Jewish state. It’s been going on a long time. For the Israeli (in this comparison, sounds to me like your typical “enlightened” leftist who doesn’t have good sense about how this will play out) it’s the citizen, not Jewish state or identity. It was certainly evident when the Eichmann trial took place in Israel in 1961. A Jewish writer Hannah Arendt wrote a book, “Eichmann In Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil,”with basically the premise that Eichmann was just there, wrong place, wrong time. Can’t blame him, can’t blame anyone but Hitler. Anyone would have acted the same. Apparently some Israeli “intellectuals”
felt the need to agree.
This kind of thinking is evident in the IDF today. The former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon recently said that “If someone rises to kill you, kill him first” is not the IDF’s strategy. The Deputy Chief of Staff equated those who subscribe to that value with Nazis. He would rather lose soldiers who protect citizens than kill terrorists. There is no difference in the value of the life of a person just out doing their shopping and the terrorist that comes to kill them. Certainly had nothing to do with ideology, right? But yet today some Arabs want to kill any Jew, soldier, civilian, man, woman, child or baby, it doesn’t matter. It IS the ideology. When Arafat was sick in Ramallah I had a sign on my car that said Hurry up and kill him before he dies. For someone that had that much blood on his hands to die in his own time is immoral. For terrorists to go to trial is immoral. A healthy Jewish response is you kill the attackers. You kill the terrorists that have
declared their own war on Jews. After the soldier killed the terrorist, the stabbings stopped. He did more than all the speeches.

What about the Temple Mount, Har HaBeit? Why are the Israeli police so quick to remove Jews? One young boy was even recently removed not for saying anything but because he had tears in his eyes. And for those that wonder, yes I did express my opinion of Moshe Dayan’s decision.

Feiglin: It has to do with losing identity. We must let Jews have their identity on the Temple Mount. There are those replacing Jewish identity, and they fear what Israel will become with it’s Jewish identity. Arabs do not really have an identity so much as filled with hatred. It’s in their textbooks, their schools, mosques, social media and how they are raised. If Israel disappeared from the map, there would be no more “Palestinian”. Their reason for being would be gone. The first Zionists were colonialists from Europe, and they just wanted to be one big happy family. They didn’t understand the Arab mindset. Most Israelis are Jews first, Israeli second but they are being led by a minority that doesn’t have that mindset.

What about the Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) or as I call it (BS) movement? Has it had an effect? Is it just plain anti-Semitism in increments?

Feiglin: BDS is about the delegitimizing of Israel. When did the holocaust start? (He did ask me this, and I thought for a second and answered “the night Hitler was conceived”) That was the correct answer. When Hitler spoke again and again against the Jews it had it’s effect. In 1939 or 1940 when Jews ran to their neighbors to hide, they were killed. It was about eliminating the right of Jews to exist. Israel has to attack Iran, there is a real danger of Jewish history being written in Jerusalem. Not Warsaw. It’s needed to make a moral point. There is a correlation between the speeches made in Iran 12 ½ years ago by Ahmadinejad and the delegitimization of Israel, and it’s growing.

My last question to him “We’ve had a possible Kenyan as a president, at least someone not really raised as an American, I think we should try having an Israeli for a President, would you run?”

Feiglin: I’ve been asked about the current election. My answer is it doesn’t matter which one wins. If Israel will do what is best for Israel, then all will be better.

I started this interview by telling him that I felt like I cared more about Israeli lives than some Israeli politicians did.

After talking to him, I am quite certain that is not how it is when it comes to Mr. Feiglin. He has a very sound political platform based on a Jewish identity in THE Jewish state, living by Jewish laws and principles. Laws that will protect the innocent, laws that will allow every citizen living their daily lives be it in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Be’er Sheva, Judea and Samaria to know their lives are worth defending and giving them the means to do so. It will allow the IDF to return to being the fine army it was meant to be and not a social experiment.

Zehut is a party based on knowing who we are, and what we are, and where we belong. And embracing it!

Honestly, I think there is a lesson in this for Americans as well. Because I’m very, very tired of having values that the majority of U.S. believe in being derided and told “that’s not who we are”.
Yeah, it is. And as the politicians and their compatriots in the media crank up to hype another round of gun control tripe, we would do well to remember it. It makes me think so much of “You can live
by G-d’s law or die by man’s.

I want to thank three wonderful people, Aryeh Sonnenberg who is the international director of Zehut and so warmly welcomed me when I joined. He put me in touch with Shmuel Sackett (who I got to talk with on the phone, really) who set the meeting up with Moshe. Shmuel also writes excellent articles. And I very much want to thank Moshe Feiglin for giving me an hour of his very valuable limited time. And since I often like to close with a video, this one is perfect!

(source)

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