Eeyore's News ans View

Strange they are having problems, in the US i heard that 2%percent rise in people likely to join.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2008-11-18-recruiting_N.htm
Mainly because there is an end in site to the Iraq War and because the economic down turn.
Australia temporarily shuts down navy November 18, 2008 - 8:56am
By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press Writer
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) - Australia's navy gets a big Christmas gift this year: two months paid vacation for most sailors that will ease the effects of a recruiting slump but make the service Down Under look something like a part-time operation.
The navy hopes that by making life on the sea more family-friendly, it will attract the extra 2,000 sailors it needs achieve its target strength of 15,000.
Critics say the so-called shut down, which inspired a front page newspaper headline Tuesday: "Navy Closes For Christmas," will worry Australia's major defense ally, the United States.
"Mothballing your ships for two months sends totally the wrong message to our region and to our allies," opposition defense spokesman David Johnston told The Associated Press. "I've never heard of anything like this. I'm flabbergasted."
All 55 navy ships and submarines that are not on operational deployments have been ordered home for Christmas, and the number of sailors who stay aboard docked ships as sentries will be reduced to skeleton crews.
It is not clear how many how many sailors will take extra time off.
Defense Minister Joel Fitzgibbon told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio that the two months break for sailors, which begins Dec. 3, is "just a way of saying thank you and encouraging them to stay in the service."
Fitzgibbon said a shortage of troops was the biggest challenge facing the Australian Defense Force and making their jobs more family friendly was part of the solution.
"The family-work balance is a very, very important part of the equation," Fitzgibbon said.
Navy Deputy Chief Rear Adm. Davyd Thomas said that the break will not adversely impact national security.
An Australian navy frigate would remain in the Middle East guarding oil wells over Christmas and seven patrol boats would guard Australia's northern waters from illegal fishers and smugglers, he said.
Two ships would also be on standby, one on the east and the other on the west coast, to respond to any emergency at sea, he said.
Thomas said the navy always had a shutdown period over the southern summer, although this one was longer.
"We're trying to become an employer of choice. We want people to want to be in the navy and want to serve here," Thomas told reporters.
Thomas said he expected most naval personnel would take the time off.
Neil James, executive director of the independent security think-tank Australian Defense Association, agreed the shutdown was not radically different from previous years, although it was a few weeks longer and would involve more ships remaining in dock.
He said the length of vacation would vary depending on the individual and some could expect to be recalled at short notice.
He said military chiefs had been considering longer Christmas vacations for years because the navy has the worst retention rate of Australia's three military services.
"The bottom line driving this is the retention problem," James said.
"If you look at the exit surveys of people serving in the defense force, the biggest single cause of dissatisfaction is family-work life balance," he said.
http://wtop.com/?nid=391&sid=1520451

Cherokees accused of racist plot as the sons of slaves cast out
By Tim Reid
Monday March 05 2007
CHEROKEES voted yesterday to expel descendants of black slaves they once owned, a move that has exposed the unsavoury role played by some Native Americans during the Civil War and renewed accusations of racism against the tribe.
Members of the Cherokee Nation, the second largest Native American tribe, voted by 77 per cent to 23 in a special election to amend their constitution and limit citizenship to those listed as "Cherokee by blood."
The move stripped tribal membership from freedmen - those descended from slaves - and blacks who were married to Cherokees. They have enjoyed full citizenship rights for 141 years.
Opponents of the vote denounced it as a racist plot to deny tribal revenue - which includes dollars 22 billion a year from casino takings for all US tribes - to those not deemed full-blood Cherokee, and to block them from claiming a slice of the tribal pie.
Supporters say that it was a long overdue move by Cherokees to determine their own tribal make-up. Freedmen were granted full tribal membership under an 1866 treaty that the tribe was essentially forced to sign with the US Government after the Civil War ended.
The vote has reopened a lesser-known chapter in Native American history - the fact that some of the country's largest tribes sided with the Confederacy during the Civil War - and the intra-tribal racial tensions that have persisted since emancipation.
Cherokees, Choctaws, Chicksaws, Creeks and Seminoles were known as the Five Civilised Tribes because they adopted many of the ways of the Confederate South, including the ownership of black slaves. The election has also highlighted the massive gambling revenues many tribes now enjoy because, as "sovereign nations," they are free to build casinos on tribal lands.
The vote limits citizenship to those who can trace their heritage to a "Cherokee by blood" list, part of the Dawes Rolls census created by Congress in 1906. Under that census, anybody with a trace of African-American blood - even if they were half Cherokee - was placed on the freedmen roll. Those with full Cherokee or mixed white and Cherokee ancestry were put on the "Cherokee by blood" roll.
http://www.independent.ie/world-news/americas/cherokees-accused-of-racist-plot-as-the-sons-of-slaves-cast-out-47967.html

Shrinking wallet, expanding waistlineAnxiety fuels urge to eat Wednesday, November 19, 2008 Lean times and lean bodies? Not at all. The stress from a nose-diving economy gives rise to the urge to eat. "When you feel deprived -- or potentially deprived -- one of the ways to feel safe and secure is to feed yourself," says Diane Barth, a Manhattan-based clinical social worker with a specialty in eating disorders. "From the beginning of time, we've done this: used food to comfort ourselves."According to a recent survey by the American Psychological Association, eight of 10 Americans say the chilling economic climate is causing them stress.Most of those surveyed said they overeat or eat unhealthy foods to manage their stress. (Perhaps telling is that while many other industries are suffering, national candy sales are up 2.2 percent in the past year, according to the National Confectioners Association.)"What we need to look for are solutions that match our problems. But so often we get our arrows crossed," says Cynthia Bulik, professor of eating disorders at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "If you feel anxious, meditation and relaxation are solutions, not food," she says. "Food is the solution for hunger."When we use food to fight stress, we eventually end up with even more stress. In other words, we compound our problems."Food gives us immediate gratification," says Ms. Bulik, who is also the director of the UNC Eating Disorders Program. "Food is in the here and now, and it creates a temporary good feeling."Once that temporary good feeling passes -- essentially when the ice cream or candy is gone -- feelings of guilt and anxiety creep back, sometimes manyfold.Self-medicating by overeating -- or in some cases, drinking too much or overspending -- can cause "a whole host of secondary problems," says Brad Klontz, a psychologist in Kappa, Hawaii."These behaviors can lead to health problems, relationship conflicts, decreased work productivity, and can compound our financial problems," Mr. Klontz says.For people with chronic eating disorders, the problems arguably are even graver during tough economic times."Now they have guilt not only about their eating disorder, but also about literally biting into their family's food budget," Ms. Bulik says.The ways to save money in this economy -- such as buying in bulk at discount big-box and grocery stores -- run contrary to the type of lifestyle and purchasing habits people with eating disorders often need to adopt: buying only what is needed and favoring portion-sized packages.Bulk buying can lead to bulk eating, especially if there are 30 granola bars and 24 muffins in each package.Ms. Bulik hopes there is a silver lining in this messy combination of stress, bad finances and overeating."Maybe this will be yet another motivation for recovery," Ms. Bulik says. "Because now it's not just impacting your health, but it's impacting your pocketbook, too."For the general population, she recommends that people find something over which they can gain control, such as some portion of their personal finances."Control is a great fix for anxiety," Ms. Bulik says. "Find something you can get on top of."Mr. Klontz recommends allowing enough time to recharge mental batteries as a means of fighting anxiety. "Build in some healthy stress-management activities such as going for a walk, taking in a nice sunset or spending more time with supportive family and friends," he says.Ms. Barth agrees that panicking should be avoided, but anxiety itself shouldn't be fought. "Anxiety is totally appropriate at a time like this, but instead of looking for quick fixes, I wish we could just sit still for a moment and observe our feelings and see what they tell us," she says.She calls for a realization that, along with the anxiety of financial markets, personal anxiety, too, will pass. Anxiety, whether on financial markets or in the mind, comes and goes like the ebb and flow of ocean waves."I wish we could learn to ride the wave," she says.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/nov/19/shrinking-wallet-expanding-waistline/

How we became nation of whiners, crybabiesAuthor says solution just might be a good spanking--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Posted: November 18, 20083:14 am Eastern© 2008 WorldNetDaily Are you among the many Americans not surprised by the recent election results?After all, you've been fed up for years with all the lazy, self-centered, whining, entitlement-minded young people in our country. You knew that at some point, these malcontents would eventually find their way to the polls and elect a leader fitting their mentality.Well, now there's a book that proves you were correct in your suspicions, expressing the very thoughts that have been echoing in your mind.It's a book that pulls no punches, and says the solution to America's worsening sickness just might be a good spanking.It's called "Born Liberal, Raised Right: How to Rescue America from Moral Decline – One Family at a Time," and it's the latest release from WND Books.Its author, Reb Bradley, an expert on child rearing, says Rush Limbaugh is right about liberals – they are turning America into a nation of victims, dependent, covetous and incapable of the kind of self-government the nation's founding fathers envisioned.Author of the previous best-selling book, "Child Training Tips," Bradley recalls listening to Limbaugh more than a decade ago and having an epiphany about the societal impact of permissive and indulgent parenting."I noticed that all of the societal ills Rush talked about were really manifestations of people who really never grew up – never matured," he explains. "Ultimately, that is what the worldview of liberalism is all about. And we won't escape its dire ill effects until we learn how to parent."America is increasingly lacking in-self control, explains Bradley. He says adults no longer restrain themselves from destructive actions and behaviors, because they have not been taught to do so as children."A few decades ago, people were just as human as we are in this decade," he writes. "Like us, they got angry, they lusted, they coveted, and they drowned their grief by one means or another. But in one important way, they were different from us – they had greater self-control. Because they were more self-restraining, they did not allow themselves to be ruled by their anger; hence the murder rate was markedly less. They lusted, but they had greater sexual self-restraint, so had sexual contact with fewer people and contracted fewer STDs. They coveted other people's money and possessions, but they had the ability to not act on their covetousness; hence fewer were compelled to steal. In the last 40 years we have lost the virtue of self-control. No longer is our society populated by individuals who can restrain or 'govern' themselves. To lack the capacity to control one's urges or passions is to lack what our nation's Founders called personal 'self-government.'"Bradley contends that liberalism is the natural condition of the human heart and for people to be capable of self-government, they must be trained against their own nature."In this age of technology, one might say that liberalism is our 'default' operating condition," he writes. "Throughout our childhoods, our parents must work hard and change our settings to keep us from operating in our default mode. If parents are successful, we enter adulthood with our new settings fully locked in. Left untrained, all children would grow up liberal in their outlook."Get "Born Liberal, Raised Right: How to Rescue America from Moral Decline – One Family at a Time." If you prefer ordering by phone, call our toll-free order line: 1-800-4-WND-COM (1-800-496-3266).Listening to Rush Limbaugh describe what he saw as the traits of liberals led parenting expert Bradley to his conclusions that liberals were, in effect, children who never really grew up."Liberals are merely inadequately trained children who grew up and now lead using principles they gleaned from their upbringing," he says.All people are born liberal, Bradley writes, meaning they are ruled first by their emotions and passions."We come into the world determined to survive, and we vehemently express ourselves to get what we need: 'Waaa!' and Momma feeds us," he writes. "'Waaa!' and our diaper is changed' 'Waaa!' and we are put down for a nap. As infants, our strong will can keep us comfortable and alive – the more outspoken we are, the more our needs are met. However, as we start to grow, we no longer cry for our necessities – we crave pleasure, too."These ideas are not really new, explains Bradley. They are just in need of rediscovery. He points out that in 1926, Minnesota Gov. Theodore Christianson established a state crime commission. At the end of its research, the commission concluded that criminal tendencies were not the result of poverty, education or environment. Instead, it made the following observation: "Every baby starts life as a little savage. He is completely selfish and self-centered, he wants what he wants when he wants it: his bottle, his mother's attention, his playmate's toys, his uncle's watch, or whatever. Deny him these and he seethes with rage and aggressiveness which would be murderous were he not so helpless. He's dirty, he has no morals, no knowledge, no developed skills. This means that all children, not just certain children but all children, are born delinquent. If permitted to continue in their self-centered world of infancy, given free rein to their impulsive actions to satisfy each want, every child would grow up a criminal, a thief, a killer, a rapist."Bottom line?"Liberals are like teenagers whose will-to-be-gratified was never subdued, and now cannot grasp the simple logic of what is being said to them," Bradley writes. "They are so emotionally obsessed with getting what their hearts want that they are unwilling to listen to reason. That is why liberals resort to personal attacks, name-calling, accusing, yelling, discrediting, or changing the subject. And that is why they use inflammatory and emotionally charged words like 'intolerant,' 'hateful' and 'racist.' Desperation ensues when passion rules. When passion rules, blindness sets in."As a result, Bradley says "America is being governed by adults still in their terrible twos.""Barack Obama is our King Saul," Bradley continues. "Like Saul, he has fooled people on a base, emotional level. And when people can't see beyond their emotions, they are immature and incapable of the kind of self-government that has been the bedrock of America's freedom for the last two centuries." http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=81340

Experts See Security Risks in DownturnGlobal Financial Crisis May Fuel Instability and Weaken U.S. Defenses
By Joby WarrickWashington Post Staff WriterSaturday, November 15, 2008; A01
Intelligence officials are warning that the deepening global financial crisis could weaken fragile governments in the world's most dangerous areas and undermine the ability of the United States and its allies to respond to a new wave of security threats.
U.S. government officials and private analysts say the economic turmoil has heightened the short-term risk of a terrorist attack, as radical groups probe for weakening border protections and new gaps in defenses. A protracted financial crisis could threaten the survival of friendly regimes from Pakistan to the Middle East while forcing Western nations to cut spending on defense, intelligence and foreign aid, the sources said.
The crisis could also accelerate the shift to a more Asia-centric globe, as rising powers such as China gain more leverage over international financial institutions and greater influence in world capitals.
Some of the more troubling and immediate scenarios analysts are weighing involve nuclear-armed Pakistan, which already was being battered by inflation and unemployment before the global financial tsunami hit. Since September, Pakistan has seen its national currency devalued and its hard-currency reserves nearly wiped out.
Analysts also worry about the impact of plummeting crude prices on oil-dependent nations such as Yemen, which has a large population of unemployed youths and a history of support for militant Islamic groups.
The underlying problems and trends -- especially regional instability and the waning influence of the West -- were already well established, but they are now "being accelerated by the current global financial crisis," the nation's top intelligence official, Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell, said in a recent speech. McConnell is among several top U.S. intelligence officials warning that deep cuts in military and intelligence budgets could undermine the country's ability to anticipate and defend against new threats.
Annual spending for U.S. intelligence operations currently totals $47.5 billion, a figure that does not include expensive satellites that fall under the Pentagon's budget. At a recent gathering of geospatial intelligence officials and contractors in Nashville, the outlook for the coming fiscal cycles was uniformly grim: fewer dollars for buying and maintaining sophisticated spy systems.
"I worry where we'll be five or 10 years from now," Charles Allen, intelligence director for the Department of Homeland Security, said in an interview. "I am deeply worried that we will not have the funding necessary to operate and build the systems already approved."
Intelligence officials say they have no hard evidence of a pending terrorist attack, and CIA Director Michael V. Hayden said in a news conference Thursday that his agency has not detected increased al-Qaeda communications or other signs of an imminent strike.
But many government and private terrorism experts say the financial crisis has given al-Qaeda an opening, and judging from public statements and intercepted communications, senior al-Qaeda leaders are elated by the West's economic troubles, which they regard as a vindication of their efforts and a sign of the superpower's weakness.
"Al-Qaeda's propaganda arm is constantly banging the drum saying that the U.S. economy is on the precipice -- and it's the force of the jihadists that's going to push us over the edge," said Bruce Hoffman, a former scholar-in-residence at the CIA and now a professor at Georgetown University.
Whether terrorist leader Osama bin Laden is technically capable of another Sept. 11-style attack is unclear, but U.S. officials say he has traditionally picked times of transition to launch major strikes. The two major al-Qaeda-linked attacks on U.S. soil -- the World Trade Center bombing in 1993 and the 2001 hijackings -- occurred in the early months of new administrations.
This year, the presidential transition is occurring as American households and financial institutions are under severe economic strain, and political leaders are devoting great time and effort to that crisis. Frances Fragos Townsend, who previously served as Bush's homeland security adviser, told a gathering of terrorism experts last month that the confluence of events is "not lost" on bin Laden.
"We know from prior actions that this is a period of vulnerability," Townsend said.
As bad as economic conditions are in the United States and Europe, where outright recessions are expected next year, they are worse in developing countries such as Pakistan, a state that was already struggling with violent insurgencies and widespread poverty. Some analysts warn that a prolonged economic crisis could trigger a period of widespread unrest that could strengthen the hand of extremists and threaten Pakistan's democratically elected government -- with potentially grave consequences for the region and perhaps the planet.
Pakistanis were hit by soaring food and energy prices earlier in the year, and the country's financial problems have multiplied since late summer. Islamabad's currency reserves have nearly evaporated, forcing the new government to seek new foreign loans or risk defaulting on the country's debt. The national currency, the rupee, has been devalued, and inflation is squeezing Pakistan's poor and middle class alike.
Shahid Javed Burki, a native Pakistani and former World Bank official, said job cuts and higher food costs are behind much of the anger and desperation he witnessed during a recent trip. "I'm especially worried about the large urban centers," said Burki, author of several books on Pakistan's economy. "If they are badly hurt, it creates incentives for people to look to the extremists to make things better. It's a very dicey situation."
U.S. officials are following developments with particular concern because of Pakistan's critical role in the campaign against terrorism, as well as the country's arsenal of dozens of nuclear weapons. Al-Qaeda has appealed directly to Pakistanis to overthrow their government, and its Taliban allies have launched multiple suicide bombings, some aimed at economic targets such as the posh Marriott hotel in Islamabad, hit in September.
Economic and social unrest has helped drive recruiting for militant groups that cross into Afghanistan to attack U.S. troops.
The Bush administration has counterpunched by striking unilaterally at al-Qaeda-allied militants in the autonomous tribal region along the Afghan border.
More than 15 such strikes, using unmanned Predator aircraft piloted remotely by the CIA, have killed dozens of suspected insurgents since late August.
The financial crisis has also prompted security concerns about China, though experts are divided over how the country will fare if the recession is long and deep. Already, China's export-driven economy has suffered a major jolt, prompting Beijing to announce an economic stimulus package worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Job losses and shuttered factories have spurred social unrest, prompting some China-watchers to predict a reduction in spending on its armed forces and space programs as the nation turns its focus inward.
In the past month, factory closings have sparked protests and highlighted the growing gap between social classes.
China turned down a request by Pakistan for a $4 billion loan, and its economic stumbles have dampened hopes that it might, by itself, pull the global economy out of its slump.
"We had 30 years of a Chinese success story, but we're now entering uncharted waters," said Adam Segal, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Yet many China scholars also see great opportunity for the communist giant. Even as the global recession cuts into its export markets, the country continues to experience robust growth at home, thanks to the consumption habits of its rapidly growing middle class. A hefty economic stimulus will ensure continued, if modest, growth, even if exports flat line, said Albert Keidel, a former economist for the World Bank and the Treasury Department and now an East Asia expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
China already was on track to surpass the United States as the world's largest economy, perhaps as early as 2030. Now, many experts believe the global recession could help it do so faster.
The implications are enormous for the global economy and for international security, Keidel said.
"If we have a long recession and China catapults itself forward with double-digit growth, those timelines move forward," he said.
China could quickly outpace the United States to become the world's influential economy, while also competing in other areas long dominated by Americans. Even if China chooses to keep its military growth on a modest pace, the country will become a significant competitor in key areas such as space exploration, several experts said.
"It's not about China moving up the ladder as much as it's about us tripping and falling down the ladder," said Derek Scissors, an Asia specialist at the Heritage Foundation, a Washington think tank.
Will the United States be able to retain its edge at a time when its own military spending is threatened with cuts? In recent interviews, several intelligence officials said they anticipate smaller budgets for military hardware and surveillance aircraft because of the economic strain.
"They are expensive programs and some are hard to understand, but they are absolutely invaluable," Allen, the Homeland Security intelligence chief, said of the surveillance systems used in Iraq and along the Afghan-Pakistani border. "The advances we have made are tremendous, but I see a slowing of our technology edge, and that concerns me."
James R. Clapper Jr., the Pentagon's undersecretary of defense for intelligence, said his aides are already looking at ways to consolidate and cut. Since the Sept. 11 attacks, counterterrorism programs have had "a lot of money -- we've been awash in it, frankly," he told the gathering of intelligence officials and defense contractors in Nashville. But in leaner times, intelligence officials will have to make tough choices.
"I always think of the apocryphal statement attributed to the chancellor of the exchequer in the United Kingdom in 1927: 'We are running out of money, so we must begin to think,' " Clapper said. "I think we are going to be in another era like that."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/14/AR2008111403864_pf.html

You need to get them while the getting is good, i would not buy out of fear, i would make a reasoned decision and purchase what i felt was best.
Fears drive gun buyers to stock up IAN DEMSKY; ian.demsky@thenewstribune.com Published: November 15th, 2008 12:04 AM Updated: November 17th, 2008 02:58 PMSince the Nov. 4 election, Mary Davies says her business has tripled. The phone rings constantly and customers of the small South Tacoma gun shop have at times been backed up into the hallway, she said this week.The boom Mary’s Pistols has been seeing has been reported all over the country as buyers stock up on handguns, assault rifles and high-capacity clips that they’re concerned might be banned by an Obama administration and a more heavily Democratic Congress.No nationwide figures on post-election gun sales were available, but a look at local figures comparing fall 2007 to fall 2008 shows an uptick in some categories, bolstering the anecdotal evidence.Pistol sales in Washington during August, September and October rose by 20 percent compared to last year, according to the state Department of Licensing. And the Washington State Patrol has seen a 43 percent jump in background checks the agency has conducted for concealed pistol licenses when comparing September, October and November of last year to this year – and that number is likely to go even higher because data were only available through Nov. 13 this year.When a reporter visited Mary’s on Thursday afternoon, several customers were discussing how President-elect Barack Obama might want to tax ammunition.Davies said business had been steady in the months leading up to the election and that the “summer doldrums” failed to materialize this year. But sales started jumping after the election, she said.“It’s been quite nerve-wracking, actually,” Davies said. “It’s so much work. There are a lot of forms you have to fill out and hoops to jump through.”A pistol purchase for example, requires a lengthy federal form, plus a state form, and has to be entered into a logbook.“Guns are the most tightly controlled substance on the planet,” said her husband, Dan Davies.The shop usually has 350 guns on display, but on Thursday Davies’ stock was down to 265.Davies, who worked at her parents’ gun shop before opening her own store three years ago, is worried that new restrictions could put her out of business.“I had customers come in with Obama T-shirts to get their guns before the laws change,” she said. “They say, ‘I like his economic policies.’ I tell them, ‘It may be your gun, but it’s my job.’”Other local gun stores, such as Bull’s Eye, Welcher’s and Gun & Bow in Tacoma and Marksman Gun Shop in Puyallup either didn’t return calls seeking comment or declined to comment.Obama’s record on gun rights is conflicting enough to give ammunition to either side, the Chicago Tribune reported. He sought to reassure gun owners during the campaign, promising he wasn’t going to take away citizens’ rifles, shotguns and handguns. But as an Illinois state legislator, he voted in favor of a ban on semi-automatic assault weapons and tighter restrictions on all firearms. He has also opposed allowing gun owners to carry concealed weapons.His mention of guns during his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention might signal it’s a high priority for him, Davies said.“The reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than for those plagued by gang violence in Cleveland, but don’t tell me we can’t uphold the Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals,” Obama said in his Aug. 28 speech. But many gun owners see gun restrictions hampering the rights of law-abiding citizens while criminals would just continue to flout the laws.Davies has had to tell some customers seeking military look-alike rifles that her distributors are sold out and that there’s a six- to eight-month wait from the factory.“I tell them they can order it but they may not get it if they’re outlawed right when they get in,” she said. She said the only real difference between a U.S. military-style rifle that she was holding and a semi-automatic hunting rifle is how it looks.The fact that Vice President-elect Joe Biden was an architect of an earlier assault rifle ban that has since expired only adds to Davies’ concerns. The ban made “evil-looking” weapons illegal.“I don’t know how they call this evil,” she said holding up the rifle. “Every one of our soldiers has one of these.”Ian Demsky: 253-597-8872 State gun sales, background checks riseHere’s a look at some Washington figures that back up anecdotal evidence that gun sales are up this year from last year.Pistol sales Month 2007 2008 IncreaseAugust 6,084 6,586 8% September 4,470 6,487 45%October 7,429 8,477 14%Concealed carry permit background checks Month 2007 2008 IncreaseSeptember 1,981 3,096 56%October 2,387 4,291 80%November 1,807 1,495** Through Nov. 13
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/538423.html

Hopefully this is not going to be a weekly occurance in DC, gives gun owners a bad name.
Man With Assault Rifle Wanted To Go To White House BALTIMORE, Md. (CBS) ― Baltimore police arrested a man with a gun Wednesday morning after a cab driver reported the man had made threats and wanted to be driven to the White House. Authorities say the cab driver asked about the location and the man said he "wanted to go to D.C., where the White House was." The driver refused to take the man, instead dropping him off at a MARC train station in West Baltimore before calling police. CBS station WJZ-TV's Adam May reports police were able to talk to the conductor and have them hold the train. The police were able to get on board and they tased the 25-year-old suspect, who uses several aliases. He has used the name Jeffrey Springs and Asa Seeley. Seeley fell 20-feet of the platform and broke his ankle. He is in the hospital and is being monitored by different police agencies. Police say the suspect had a SKS assault rifle wrapped in a sheet and was headed to the White House. Police say he had a loaded magazine and spare ammunition with him. Seeley is from the Washington, D.C. area. He has been arrested for drug offenses and has an open drug warrant against him. He was also the victim of a shooting Aug. 30. Police don't know why he was in Baltimore. http://cbs2.com/watercooler/man.arrested.white.2.868530.html