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City driving behaviors awful

A street near where I live has had a number of complaints from residents about speeding vehicles, most of which continue through to other streets in the area. The city Traffic Engineering Department is now working the issue and is likely to install calming features that narrow the road to slow traffic.

I asked for and received speed data for the street in question. The speed limit is 25 mph. Over a two day period in one lane, only 1.48% of vehicles drove at a speed below the 25 mph limit. Over 61% drove at 35 mph or higher; 33.7% were doing 40 mph or higher. Out of 1,416 vehicles, 121 were clocked at 50 mph or higher; thats two times the limit. Thirty-seven vehicles traveled at 65 mph or higher.

Nobody in his right mind should condone these kinds of driving habits. However, one has to wonder if these same bad behaviors dont also exist on the other streets in our neighborhood that are traveled by the same drivers. Narrowing one street will not likely change driver behaviors on others. To really solve the problem using the tools available to the city would mean narrowing multiple streets, not just the one that is under scrutiny. This doesnt seem practical.

I have long opposed photo enforcement. Im not fond of the thought of being under surveillance wherever I go, and Im not fond of the possibility of being ticketed two weeks after the fact by a machine that cant immediately field questions or points in my defense.

I have now changed my mind. Our driving behaviors are awful; the city cant reasonably make physical changes to every street to slow people down; and the police cannot have an enforcement presence on many streets while also chasing bad guys and clearing accidents.

I realize this is not popular, but it is time for us to bite the bullet and agree to the use of portable photo speed enforcement tools. Such devices can reliably rein in extreme speeders with relative ease and at low cost. To be clear, Im not advocating rigid enforcement of the limit; many well-intending drivers will sometimes find themselves a little bit over the limit before correcting the problem. But, I am saying that we should not tolerate people who do over 40 or 50 mph in a 25 mph zone, and that photo speed enforcement can, and would, solve that problem.

Charles Rollman

Colorado Springs

The Monday Gazette Sports section article by Brent Briggeman briefly recognized the Air Force offensive line. Those down linemen are the reason that Air Force running backs are breaking records this year, but they are never recognized during the game. Why cant announcers say lead block by Ferguson or key blocks by Hattock and Vikupitz just like they announce the runner or receivers names? It might take an extra spotter in the booth, especially with the Falcons complicated blocking schemes, but it would be nice to recognize the guys who are winning the games in the fourth quarter.

Rip Blaisdell

Teller County

Thank you for the article in the Nov. 20 edition of the Gazette: Warm ocean water delays sea ice for Alaska towns and wildlife. The dangers of the climate crisis need to be emphasized by our tireless free press to counteract the constant climate denials of the Trump administration.

(I am a subscriber, but I read it online. Thanks for that, too.)

Susan Permut

Monument

In watching the congressional investigation into possible illegal activities by the present occupant of the White House, the meeting notes between President Donlad Trump and Vladimir Putin in Helsinki were mentioned. If memory serves me, I believe that President Trump took those notes from the meeting secretary with him as he left the meeting with Putin. Have those been published? It would be interesting to know the contents of said notes, dont you think? It might help in clarifying present matters.

Bob Armintor

Colorado Springs

At this time there are nearly a dozen countries protesting their government. Many of these protesters are being shot and killed fighting government soldiers and police. These people only have rocks and wooden clubs to fight with.

What is the common denominator of these countries? The citizens of these countries have no guns to confront a corrupt government. The other common denominator is that these citizens only other alternative is to leave their homeland. This is very evident in the droves of people leaving the Middle East and trying to get into any eastern European country.

The same situation exists at our southern border. These illegal immigrants are lured here and groomed by Democratic politicians. (The Democrats cannot win an election without the illegal votes). Case in point is the 3 million illegal votes from California in the last presidential election. The dream of these Democratic politicians is to disarm American gun owners.

Then they can throw the Constitution in file 13. After that they can make and change laws at their own discretion. These poor people coming across our southern border have no idea that they would be voting for a government just like they one they left.

Be aware that no country in the world would be foolish enough to plan a land invasion of our country with 170 million gun owners.

As a Japanese general once said after Pearl Harbor and the U.S. declaring war. We have made a very bad mistake; The Americans have an armed citizen behind every tree.

The Second Amendment was not designed for personal protection even though that is an added benefit. It was to keep out government under control. (A lesson learned by our forefathers fighting an oppressive British government).

Max Tallent

Colorado Springs

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LETTERS: City driving habits are awful; impact of the Second Amendment - Colorado Springs Gazette

NEWFOUNDLANDS, Penn. Gun control and religious freedom are almost always controversial issues. One group of Americans incorporated the right to bear arms into their Christian faith.

Newfoundland, Pennsylvania is more of a conservative town, tucked away at the edge of the state, 100 miles from the more liberal state, New York.

You have a lot of people leaving liberal areas and Im not making this a conservative or liberal thing thats just the way it is, said Bob Beierle, a resident and publisher of the magazine Our Town. People are moving away from those big cities to live here. And its a different feel here. You have values in a small town.

Newfoundland has a certain respect for both the freedom of speech and religion, and the right to bear arms.

People have more respect for the First and Second Amendment in a place like Newfoundland, Beierle said. The Second Amendment was set up by brilliant men and women because they understood human nature people are corrupt.

Newfoundland is known for God and guns, and the practice of both of those freedoms fall under one roof at the Rod of Iron Ministries.

The World Peace and Unification Sanctuary, also known as the Rod of Iron, is led by Pastor Sean Moon.

We started the church here in Pennsylvania in my brothers basement after my father had passed, Sean said.

Seans brother, Justin, is at his side and is the owner of Kahr Arms near Newfoundland.

Well, I think the right to bear arms is important for most people who come from countries with oppressive governments, Justin said.

They are the sons of late Rev. Sun Myung Moon, a Korean self-proclaimed Messiah, an accused cult leader, and founder of the international Unification Movement.

My father was in a concentration camp for three years, Justin said.

This was in war-torn Korea, Sean said. For us, its very reminiscing of what our family had to deal with in North Korea. But at the same time, my father led international anti-communist movements in Japan and Korea and also the former Soviet Union as well.

When the Moons father passed, Sean was named the heir to the church. But through disagreements with his mother, he broke off and started his own.

His religion has the same philosophies as his fathers, but with a significant tool representing freedom.

In Luke 22, Jesus says sell your cloak and by a sword, Sean said. He tells his disciples to arm themselves. Its the right of self-defense. At this time, we have the Apex technology and its symbolized by the AR-15 in the hands of population of people is a tremendous force of peace to stop tyranny.

Those who follow this religion express it by being armed, with handguns, rifles and many other weapons.

Seans church came into the spotlight when images from its inaugural marriage blessing ceremony showed hundreds of couples wearing bullet crowns and holding AR-15s.

Were used to being called a cult, Sean said. Historically slaves could not own property, did not have rights, and could not own tools for self-defense. We believe God calls us to be kings and priests. Thats why we had crowns and the code of arms. We were celebrating the marriage and blessing of freedom.

On a Sunday, Sean holds a two-hour church service, followed by several hours of training at his brothers shooting range.

Any church, they all form their opinions and beliefs on personal experience, Beierle said. The Moons understands the importance of having a gun.

The fabric of Seans religion is the weaving together of the First and Second Amendment, because for him the gun or Rod of Iron is what makes people free.

When the government fear the people there is freedom, Sean said. When the people fear the government, then there is tyranny. There are people that mock us, hate us, call us a cult all day long. But we pray for them. We arent trying to take away their rights. Were not trying to censor them.

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Guns and God: The church combining the First and Second Amendments - News 5 Cleveland

Garwood, N.J.: Dear Snarky Voice of the People Editor: I take exception to your obnoxious labeling of Voicer Skip Triviginos letter This is a stick up as if it is amusing that we readers are now being presented a lesser Daily News. Even if a lesser News is still light years ahead of that rag across town that Sauron, er, Rupert Murdoch, publishes, Skip rightly cited the ever-shrinking comics section, the letting go of sportswriters, rising price of your paper and the last straw, the axing of the Mutts comic strip. Mutts, featuring Mooch the cat and Earl the dog is quite simply one of the best comic strips of all time. Period. Thats not my opinion, rather its the opinion of the greatest cartoonist of all time, Charles Schulz. And that aint chopped liver. Mooch and Earl have far more heart and insight into the human condition then the person who axed them out of just plain bloody mindedness and lack of a sense of humor. Come on, Daily News, your readers have spoken and we want our Mutts back. As Sonny Liston said after his last fight: I think its time to sit down and reevaluate our philosophy. Mike Gordeuk

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Readers sound off on ad hominem attacks, the Second Amendment, and Mutts (again) - New York Daily News

The survey is published here (as well as on StoppingSocialism.com) publicly for the first time. It will also be published by Rasmussen Reports the week of November 25.

For questions about the survey or to book a Heartland policy expert to discuss the results of the survey, contact Heartland Editorial Director Justin Haskins at Jhaskins@heartland.org.

1* Which is better a free-market economic system or socialism?

69% A free-market economic system12% Socialism18% Not sure

2* Would you vote for a presidential candidate who identifies himself or herself as a socialist?

26% Yes50% No24% Not sure

3* Do you have a very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable or very unfavorable impression of Bernie Sanders?

18% Very favorable29% Somewhat favorable17% Somewhat unfavorable31% Very unfavorable5% Not sure

4* Do you have a very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable or very unfavorable impression of Elizabeth Warren?

17% Very favorable25% Somewhat favorable15% Somewhat unfavorable34% Very unfavorable9% Not sure

5*Do you support legislation that would ban private ownership of assault-style rifles?

49% Yes43% No8% Not sure

6*Do you support repealing the Second Amendment, which currently guarantees Americans right to bear arms?

24% Yes66% No10% Not sure

IMPORTANT Crosstabs and Statistics Related to These Questions

*Note that in the following results, those who answered other when asked for party affiliation are referred to as independents below. Respondents were given three options for party affiliation: Republican, Democrat, and other.

Socialism and views of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren

Assault-Style Rifles

Repealing the Second Amendment

NOTE:Margin of Sampling Error, +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence

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Heartland/Rasmussen Poll: Likely Voters Reject Socialism, Socialist Candidates, Repeal of Second Amendment - The Heartland Institute

The First Amendment is the First Line of Defense, iStock-1006474816

United States -(AmmoLand.com)-When discussing Andrew Cuomo and Elizabeth Warren recently, one thing has been very clear: Both of them have been very open about their desire to silence Second Amendment supporters. Yeah, they say it is just the National Rifle Association, but then again, dont they claim that they dont want to take away guns? Well, they used to say that these days, we know that is a lie.

Cuomo began a campaign of financial blacklisting against the NRA, at the urging of Everytown for Gun Safety, while Warren plans to use the IRS whether it means Lois Lerner comes out of retirement (and her six-figure pension) remains to be seen (and hopefully, we never find out) in conjunction with campaign finance reform that is really aimed at shutting up dissent from her anti-Second Amendment extremism.

Warren and Cuomo are trying to silence the voices of Second Amendment supporters. For good reason when Second Amendment supporters can get a fair hearing from their fellow Americans, they win the argument. The facts often shoot down the pretexts that are used to infringe on our rights. If fellow Americans knew how few people were killed with rifles and shotguns, the bans proposed by many on modern multi-purpose semiautomatics would be dead on arrival, and the politicians responsible for pushing for the bans would find their careers dead in the water.

This is why Second Amendment supporters need to defend the First Amendment with just as much vigor. The First Amendment is the first line of defense for our Second Amendment rights it is with freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and the rights to peaceably assemble and to petition for the redress of grievances that we fight.

With freedom of speech and freedom of the press comes the ability to persuade our fellow Americans, whether one-on-one or to millions at a time via mass media or social media. With the right to peaceably assemble, Second Amendment supporters strengthen their voice by uniting for a common purpose, sometimes through formal organizations like the National Rifle Association, sometimes through more informal groups. The right to petition for redress of grievances can be as simple as a letter, phone call or e-mail to an elected official or it could entail hiring a professional to present the case to elected officials.

Just having these rights, which pre-exist the Constitution and the protection of which is codified in the Bill of Rights, is not enough. They are merely tools. Their effectiveness depends on how skillfully they are used. For the most part, Second Amendment supporters have been skillful enough in their use of their First Amendment rights to preserve our freedoms.

That said, we as Second Amendment supporters have to recognize that there is a need to up our game on this front. Those who seek to deprive us of our rights have adjusted in the wake of their failures, and we need to adjust to the adjustments they have made.

This includes the recognition that the fight for our rights has become a full-spectrum fight, one that has to be fought not just in the political and legislative arena, but also in corporate boardrooms, PTA meetings, and even when it comes to our professional life. Yet even in these new areas where we have to fight for our freedoms, it will be our First Amendment rights that will help save the Second Amendment.

About Harold Hutchison

Writer Harold Hutchison has more than a dozen years of experience covering military affairs, international events, U.S. politics and Second Amendment issues. Harold was consulting senior editor at Soldier of Fortune magazine and is the author of the novel Strike Group Reagan. He has also written for the Daily Caller, National Review, Patriot Post, Strategypage.com, and other national websites.

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The First Amendment is the First Line of Defense - AmmoLand Shooting Sports News