Gun companies refuse sales, apply same civilian limits to police

In an effort to protest the continued destruction of basic second amendment rights, several gun companies are now restricting sales, or refusing to sell, to police and law enforcement in the same way the state restricts sales to law-abiding citizens.

This means if the state limits magazine capacity to 10 rounds or less, gun companies will apply that same restriction to law enforcement in the state.

Several companies, like Olympic Firearms and LaRue Tactical, have implemented policies that no longer provide exceptions to law enforcement, and many are encouraging other companies to follow suit. LaRue Tactical will only sell firearms to police and law enforcement that comply with state restrictions imposed on civilians.

Olympic takes it one step further. ”Legislation recently passed in the State of New York outlaws the AR15 and many other firearms, and will make it illegal for the good and free citizens of New York to own a large selection of legal and safe firearms and magazines,” wrote Brian Schuetz, the president of Olympic Firearms, who is refusing to sell any firearm to New York state personnel after the passage of its recent gun control law. ”Due the passing of this legislation, Olympic Arms would like to announce that the State of New York, any Law Enforcement Departments, Law Enforcement Officers, First Responders within the State of New York, or any New York State government entity or employee of such an entity – will no longer be served as customers.”

Another seller, York Arms, is refusing to sell any firearm to any New York state government department due to the state’s new restrictions.

Both Cheaper Than Dirt and Spike’s Tactical will limit sales to police and law enforcement in states that limit civilian purchase and use.

Barrett Firearms refuses to sell firearms to California state law enforcement due to the state’s restrictive gun control statutes, arguing the state is in violation of the 2nd and 14th amendments to the United States constitution. The president of Templar Customs issued a strong statement against restrictive gun controls on their Facebook page and announced they will no longer sell firearms to government personnel in the state of New York. EFI, LLC now restricts the sales of firearms to government personnel to match state restrictions to citizens.

These policies come after some states have taken the opportunity after the Sandy Hook school shooting to remove the ability of law-abiding citizens to protect themselves from these very same killers. States like New York, California and Colorado have implemented the strongest controls on guns in recent weeks. Colorado just passed a set of 4 laws that significantly restrict gun purchasing, transfers and magazine capacities.

CBO: 7 million to lose health insurance under Obamacare

Posted by Steve Adcock

Article Highlights

Obamacare to cost 7 million people insurance coverage

Businesses struggle to keep up with new regulations

Obamacare to cost taxpayers $1.165 trillion over 10 years

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the costs required to meet the demands of Obamacare will cost 7 million people their insurance coverage as companies struggle to sift through the new law. This was twice the original estimate.

“CBO said that this year’s tax cuts have changed the incentives for businesses and made it less attractive to pay for insurance, meaning fewer will decide to do so,” wrote the Washington Times. ”Instead, they’ll choose to pay a penalty to the government, totaling $13 billion in higher fees over the next decade.”

Over the next 10 years, the new healthcare law will cost the government an estimated $1.165 trillion.

This comes as several governors, who had previously vowed to oppose the new government mandate, caved to federal pressure and promises of money. Ohio governor John Kasich now supports the measure in his state, along with governor Jan Brewer of Arizona. According to Kasich, his reason to now support the law was to avoid “leaving Ohioans’ federal tax dollars on the table and keeps the federal government from simply giving them away to other states.”

Free money.

More than 100 federal government workers hired each day

Posted by Steve Adcock

Although many in the private sector continue to struggle their way through economic uncertainty, the federal government appears to be thriving. Since Barack Obama’s inauguration, the federal government has hired an average of 101 workers each and every day, totaling 143,000 additional workers drawing taxpayer money as salaries.

This makes for the largest ever federal payroll in history.

According to a report published by the Cato Institute, not only are the number of federal workers increasing, but their compensation is, too, faster – much faster – than their average counterparts working for organizations in the private sector. ”The federal workforce has become an elite island of secure and high-paid workers, separated from the ocean of average American workers competing in the global economy. It is time for some restraint,” the Cato report said.

But that is not all. Let’s take into account health care packages that are provided to federal workers. The report also stated: “When benefits such as health care and pensions are included, the federal compensation advantage over private workers is even larger, according to the BEA data. In 2010, federal worker compensation averaged $126,141, or double the private-sector average of $62,757.”

Embarrassingly enough, earlier in the year it was revealed that more than 30 of Obama’s own highly paid executive aids had over $833,000 in back taxes, and it is estimated that thousands of federal workers are “behind” in their taxes.

In summary, we have a taxpayer-supported public sector that is growing beyond what the economy can demonstrably allow, compensation that blows the private sector out of the water, and top-level government employees who apparently have a hard time paying their taxes.

How about that “fair share” debate again, eh?

Taxpayer money spent on monitoring LED signs

Posted by Steve Adcock

In an interesting story from the Washington Post, a church in Vienna, Virginia was issued a warning letter recently about their LED sign. The problem? Apparently the church changed the text of the sign more than two times in a 24-hour period.

According to Fairfax County law, LED signs cannot be changed more than two times a day; Vienna United Methodist Church’s sign was changed three times. The horror. A letter was sent from the county warning the church to either fix the problem or remove the sign altogether. The two could not reach a compromise during a meeting in late July. The church has filed a lawsuit against the county citing free speech and religious freedom.

Setting aside the rationale and history of the ordinance itself (a topic that county workers will not talk about during the suit), apparently taxpayers in Fairfax County are paying workers to monitor LED signs throughout the day. After the third change of the LED sign, a city worker was on it!

I would imagine the county’s ordinance was designed to prevent a bunch of annoying and distracting LED lights around the county. But seriously, the county needs to use some discretion with how taxpayer money is spent to enforce its laws. Changing an LED sign three times instead of two in a 24-hour period hardly presents a distracting environment for drivers. This should be the least of the county’s worries, and I would expect them to be more respectful of local taxpayers and how their hard-earned money is being spent.

Original story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/vienna-church-says-fairfax-county-sign-rules-violate-first-amendment/2012/08/29/7e06d5f0-f1ee-11e1-adc6-87dfa8eff430_story.html

Feds cannot account for $30m in GSA bonuses

Posted by Steve Adcock

Reported by a CBS affiliate television station in Washington D.C., the federal government apparently cannot account for a whopping $30 million in taxpayer-paid bonuses in fiscal year 2011, proving once again that our federal government is neither prepared nor responsible enough to manage virtually any amount of money.

According to the CBS affiliate, the General Services Administration reported only 1/3rd of its actual bonus payouts and did not respond to interview requests. They did issue a statement that indicated the GSA will look into the matter and how the agency manages compensation – but who actually believes that?

http://www.wusa9.com/news/article/214978/158/WUSA9-Investigation-Finds-30M-GSA-Bonuses-Not-Reported