September 7, 2004
I DON'T THINK THAT WORD MEANS WHAT HE THINKS IT MEANS
Kerry, Kansas City, and the FBI files (Steve Gilbert, American Thinker.com, 9/7/04)
By now you’ve probably heard that John F. Kerry attended a meeting of his Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) group in Kansas City in November 1971, where they considered a proposal to murder top governmental leaders. You have probably even heard that Kerry met at least once in May, 1970, and maybe several times subsequently, with the North Vietnamese and Vietcong Peace Delegation in Paris, and that he went on to aggressively agitate around the country and even before the US Senate for accepting their terms.Mr. Gilbert goes on to excerpt two FBI memos reporting on "negotiations" between the North Vietnamese and VVAW, ties between VVAW and CPUSA and VVAW plans for targeted political assassinations and to promote mutinies among the troops in Vietnam.Not that long ago, the notion that John Kerry could have been involved in such activities was so unthinkable that when I first stumbled upon this information back in January, I could not find any journalists in the news media to take these stories seriously.
Kerry appears to be on the side of the angels (i.e., he opposed assassination as a political tool), but who ever thought it would be ok to run him for President?
MORE: KERRY COSPONSORED BILL BANNING GUN HE WAVES (Drudgereport, 9/7/04)
Dem presidential hopeful John Kerry was seen this weekend waving a gun which would have been banned if legislation he co-sponsored became law!Apparently, after being handed the gun, Kerry made some quip about not being allowed to bring it to the debate. Because, you know, there's absolutely no reason for John Forbes Kerry not to joke about political assassinations. Posted by David Cohen at September 7, 2004 11:22 AMKerry co-sponsored S. 1431 last year (“The Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2003) which would have banned a "semiautomatic shotgun that has a pistol grip.”
Strike up the chorus:
Sit down, John! Sit down, John! For God's sake, John, sit down!
Posted by: Matt Murphy at September 7, 2004 11:43 AMIf Jimmy Carter can't be prosecuted under the Logan Act, why shouldn't Kerry be allowed to run for President?
Posted by: Bart at September 7, 2004 12:00 PMAh, if only anyone took the Logan Act seriously. Only Nixon could go to China, only Clinton could have locked up Carter for running his own foreign policy.
Still, I don't think Kerry should lose his right to run, I'm just amazed that the Democratic Party thought some good could come of it.
Posted by: David Cohen at September 7, 2004 12:11 PMThe gun he has does not have a pistol grip and is not banned by the bill he sponsored. However, he may be engaging in an illegal transfer since he has not arranged for an FFL in his home state to transfer the weapon.
Posted by: SayUncle at September 7, 2004 1:20 PMI'll skip a technical discussion of what a "pistol grip" stock actually is, as compared to an English or "straight" stock, and just go directly to the language of SB 1431, the bill in question.
"The term 'pistol grip' means a grip, a thumbhole stock, or any other characteristic that can function as a grip." Sec 2(b)42
If it can be used to hold the gun, under SB 1431 it's a "pistol grip." Note that ALL grips are "pistol grips" under the definition. And ALL firearms have grips. All semi-auto rifles and shotguns with "pistol grips" as defined in the bill would be banned. That would be all semi-auto rifles and shotguns, period.
Posted by: Tully at September 7, 2004 1:33 PMVolokh.com has a particularly good discussion of whether this shotgun has a "pistol grip." Note, however, that the shotgun can easily be altered to have a clear pistol grip by sawing off the butt along the contours conveniently provided.
Posted by: David Cohen at September 7, 2004 2:00 PMHey looked crazy waving that shotgun around. I guess I mean crazier.
Posted by: carter at September 7, 2004 3:17 PMI thought the Democrats learned in 2000 not to step in the gun-control doo-doo. I guess no one told Kerry about WV and TN.
But seriously, waving a gun around and then joking about it? I wonder if the Secret Service agents at the rally thought about interrogating Kerry for making threats against the President.
Someone should ask Kerry about his opinion on hand grenades - he would probably pose with one.
Posted by: jim hamlen at September 7, 2004 5:07 PM