Mark,

Once again our buddy was at it. Speaking out on a subject with out research or facts. But what else is new? The topic was the death penalty and it crossed over into crime in general, particularly violent crimes committed with guns. One caller called an railed Kev that the crime rate in England and other EU nations was higher than that of the US and of course Kev laughed at him and talked down to him as if he was some country bumpkin lacking the divine enlightenment that permeates Kev's soul-something the caller could simply never hope to attain.

Thank goodness Nancy was there to actually do a quick search on the net to inform Kev that the caller was indeed correct and that the EU crime rates have been higher than the US's since about 2002. It is quite true that the crime rate in England (and several other EU nations) is climbing at an unheard of rate. Perhaps one of the best, if not the best, sources of research material here is a book called "More guns, less crime" by John R. Lott. It is to date the most extensive and expansive book of research on the subject and is even being used in college curriculums (at least in institutions that bother to inform students with fact and let them judge for themselves the merit and their own ideals).

John R. Lott was a far left liberal, since vilified and driven from his university (one simply does not counter liberals-this is a sure fire way to be labeled a traitor-"off with his head-better yet pull his tenure") and performed research on EVERY crime committed with a gun in over 3000 counties in the US over a period of 10 years (may have been longer). What he found was incredible evidence that those cities/counties with the most strict handgun laws, have the highest crime rates (Detroit, Miami, NY, Boston, San Francisco, LA), while those counties that have "right to carry laws" have the lowest crime rates. I challenge anyone to read it. The numbers are staggering.

In Kev's world, we should look to the rest of the world to determine the destiny of our own nation. Once again he needs to do his research. China, India, Pakistan, while under totalitarian/communist regimes, have among the LOWEST crime rates on the planet. The reason. They all believe in capital punishment, with one difference. When a person is convicted of a crime that calls for the death penalty, they are put to death in a very timely manner-I believe it is within 90 days in China. In the US a person sits on death row for years and years and in many cases these folks are never put to death and the cost is insanely high to cover all the appeals and appeals and more appeals. One of my best friends in college was from India and he told me there is virtually no crime where he was from because their laws are so strict. We also have the same strict laws in the US however, we do not enforce them, or at best we do not enforce them in a timely manner. It is just to easy to plea bargain in this country-not so in other nations.

If Kevin wants to look at the rest of the world, why would he look to England, Germany, France, which have the highest crime rates, versus looking at China or India which have the lowest rates? Doesn't make much sense. But in his world he only looks at situations that he thinks support his own opinion, and ends up looking foolish when he finds contrary facts, but still dismisses them with, "You simple people just don't understand."

It stands to reason, as Lott explains in his book, that criminals do think twice about committing a crime with a handgun in towns where the local store owner, mechanic, or soccer mom might be packing. Oh well. We the simple and downtrodden will just never understand Kev's intellectual capacity. Thank God Kurt does.

Meanwhile, the majority of the economic news was good, but of course the left was jumping up and down and yelling, "Hey, housing starts were down!! Look, look, more evidence that King George wants to kill your dog and put your children to work in the mines." Yeah, I know-it's winter in much of the US. Housing starts are usually down. But manufacturing remains strong, and my own company is reaping huge rewards here. How about 30-50 new hires? Damn, the economy must really suck…we should be hiring 1000!!!

Haven't done an idiot of the month in a long time, but we've got two potential candidates this month. Robert Byrd and Ward Churchill. I think it is time for Byrd to move on. I mean it's no big deal that he compared the GOP to Hitler's Nazis, in fact I really wasn't all that surprised. This has been the common liberal tactic of choice in recent months. Don't like the politics? Call 'em Nazis! Yeah, that will get us votes. Votes? From where. This tried and true method of taking down your opponents by accusing them of being Nazis, etc has not been working, except in favor of the GOP. I guess they need to do it more and scream it louder.

But I think the best one goes to Ward Churchill, a professor that can't even prove he has the education he says he has. An working in the Ethics Department. Right-that was a smart choice. His world view is that the innocent folks in the twin towers should have been targets…only makes sense. What better way to kill people? And he adds to it by saying the terrorist should be doing more of this, except maybe not on such a grand scale, otherwise it could diminish this great attack. I have never wished ill of my fellow man, but a good case of leprosy comes to mind. Better yet, drop him off with the terrorists and see how they treat one of their "own." How long would it take them to cut off his head for being an American, even if he is one that supports their actions? Five minutes maybe? This is the part that folks like Ward don't understand. The terrorists do not care about our religion, politics, world view, or status. They know we are Americans and that we all must die.

One more funny item of note. I saw a story about how after receiving millions and millions of dollars, MoveOn has accomplished nothing of note. What else is new? Take money. Make absolutely ridiculous commercials. Lose voters. Lose elections. Jump up and down and scream and shout. Then do it all over again. Wheeee.

One item of note: Our Gordon Simmerson has returned to work from his service in Iraq…a true hero. God bless him and his family.

Keep the faith.
Private Sector Dude.