Those Bitter Gun-Clinging Jesus Freaks
By Mitch Berg
As every good liberal knows, behind every Second Amendment activist lies someone who’s just dying to shoot a jack-booted federal agent.
And so – as Meredith Turney at Townhall notes – a recent ruling by the Mississippi Circuit Court of Appeals, run by a bunch of paranoid redneck hillbillies, should come as no surprise:
In a state where the judiciary regularly oversteps its constitutional boundaries to advance “progressive” political agendas, it’s remarkable the judiciary acknowledges the necessity of firearms to protect the populace not just from outside threats, but from a tyrannical government:“While the generation of 1789 envisioned the right [to keep and bear arms] as a component of local resistance to centralized tyranny, whether British or federal, the generation of 1868 envisioned the right as safeguard to protect individuals from oppressive or indifferent local governments. But though the source of the threat may have migrated, the antidote remained the same: the individual right to keep and bear arms, a recourse for ‘when the sanctions of society and laws are found insufficient to restrain the violence of oppression.’”
Silly rednecks.
UPDATE: Oops. It was the Ninth Circuit – the most out-of-control lefty court in the country.
I wonder if they’ll end up on Janet Napolitano’s watch list?
April 27th, 2009 at 8:49 am
The only frightening part is that the 9th is the most overridden Circuit in the country.
But at least they’ve finally learned to read history.
April 27th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Do you find the “bait & switch” writing tactic to be successful in making people accept your argument?
April 27th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Making people accept it? Not really.
In some cases – especially when speaking to a group – it can be an extremely effective means of getting people to wonder about their preconceptions. But it takes skill and timing. I’ve made it work. To his credit, Peter Beinart did a great one in his debate with Hugh Hewitt a few years ago.
Otherwise? It’s just an angle.
April 27th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
I don’t think it’s a tactic used to make people accept an argument, discordianstooj, I think it’s a tactic used to make people realize that their beliefs are based on prejudice rather than reason.
In other words, ‘what Mitch said’.
April 27th, 2009 at 5:51 pm
Liberal Fascism 101
Cry “racism” or “bait & switch”… then use that to dismiss the entire argument no matter how accurate… then claim victory regardless of facts.
Stooj, the Obamassiah would be proud.
April 27th, 2009 at 11:28 pm
K-Rod 101 – Make stuff up, or steal it from someone else, and just keep repeating it, often in bold type.
I didn’t cry “racism,” and he did use a bait and switch. I didn’t dismiss the argument, and I didn’t claim victory because he did. I asked a question.
I asked because Mitch uses this tactic so often that it’s obvious when he’s doing it, and I’m wondering if I’m supposed to be fooled by it.
I don’t accept 9th Circuit rulings or reject Mississippi rulings without question anymore than you dismiss everything Al Gore says … well, I might need a better example.
Obviously not all 2nd Amendment defenders hate government agents. About 80% of my co-workers are staunch conservatives, and probably more support 2nd Amendment rights (including me). I sometimes worry about the growing number of “gun-nuts” who are now convinced that government agents are coming right now to take their guns, but that has nothing to do with Amendment 2.
April 28th, 2009 at 10:33 am
Do you find the “bait & switch” writing tactic to be successful in making people accept your argument?
Oh, bullshit- it’s not like Mitch is sending out invitations to his house party just so he can sell us Amway products after we finish our hors’d’oeuvres.
Here are your examples of “bait & switch”:
A Baptist preacher railing against the “war profiteers” in his Memorial Day service invocation.
A Lutheran pastor in Menomonie defending abortion during a baptism of two baby girls.
Academics railing against the Bush administration either before a classical music concert or during a discussion of Medieval Ireland.
In this sense, it’s not necessarily that we right-wingers are more “honest” than you lefty toads- it’s just that we have a better sense of decorum.
April 28th, 2009 at 10:56 am
“I sometimes worry about the growing number of “gun-nuts” who are now convinced that…”
“Make stuff up, or steal it from someone else…”
My Karma just ran over your Dogma
April 28th, 2009 at 11:07 pm
I have no idea what a Baptist minister or Lutheran pastor or academics have to do with me, as I am none of those things. I wasn’t calling Mitch a liar. I was backhandedly calling his little “oops” updates a little tired.
As for k-rod, that’s cute, you saw that on a bumper sticker and wrote it in bold letters.
April 29th, 2009 at 9:08 am
I have no idea what a Baptist minister or Lutheran pastor or academics have to do with me, as I am none of those things.
I wasn’t calling you one.
I wasn’t calling Mitch a liar.
You were accusing Mitch of using “bait and switch”.
I was backhandedly calling his little “oops” updates a little tired.
…and backpedal you should!
April 29th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
In your heart you know I am right.
8)