ACORN's a Bad Nut

In the wake of the 2005 hurricane season, a group of rabid socialists that call themselves "ACORN" (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) got their name in the paper by whining about  ...  socialism's shortcomings.

Notwithstanding their pretense to be all about "social justice" (read: socialism) and "reform" (read: redistribution of property), their complaints to the leading local FEMA bureaucrat were obviously meant to make him a scapegoat for the failure of what has become the US federal government's socialist infrastructure to save hurricane victims from the effects of nature (as if it actually could).

According to their website, ACORN is twenty-five years old, and they actually take pride in having started out as a gaggle of welfare sucklings determined to win an ever greater portion of others' property, coercively confiscated from its original owners by the state.

Singling out Houston FEMA coordinator Tom Costello for what the paper described as "allegedly failed efforts" to help Texas and Louisiana hurricane victims, the ACORN folks celebrated a public conniption over the US federal government's failure to make it all better by giving them more "free" money and goods.

Of course, both parties were careful to avoid any mention of the fact that private charity and non-government organizations provided the bulk -- and the most efficient delivery -- of genuine relief to the storm-shattered areas.  The indiscriminate and unaccountable redistribution of state-extracted plunder by so many FEMA bureacrats was presumed by both parties to be the SOP* response to natural disasters, despite its obvious failure to make a substantial difference.

Sadly, ACORN's ruckus isn't likely to be seen by the general public for what it really is -- a plea for more socialist plunder redistributed as "welfare" by big government, at the expense of all responsible, hard-working Americans.  Instead, it'll probably be a shot-in-the-arm for statism in general, persuading a few more ill-informed people to mindlessly adopt the socialist agenda despite its persistent failure, both here and abroad, throughout history.

Wa-a-a-ah!


*SOP = standard operating procedure

The NRA does it again

I've already pointed out how the NRA cast principle to the wind by endorsing George Bush.  Portraying him as a "pro-gun" hero, they conveniently neglected his vow to renew the purely political Clinton "assault rifle" ban.

And as long as we're talking about constitutional rights, it bears repeating that Mr. Bush signed into law the wholly unconsitutional so-called Campaign Finance "Reform" [read: "incumbent protection"] Act, in which the federal government -- all three branches -- further trampled Americans' free speech and property rights.

Now the NRA is offering further evidence of their contempt for constitutionally protected rights whenever such rights prove inconvenient to gun-owners.

On the surface, an NRA-backed boycott of ConocoPhillips (because they don't allow firearms in employees' vehicles on their employee parking lots) seems like a reasonable strike in defense of the 2nd Amendment.  So does NRA's support of Republican lawmakers' efforts to make it unlawful for Florida employers to adopt such a prohibition.

But what does that say about the NRA's view of property rights?  Does the 2nd Amendment really trump a property owner's right to determine what is allowed on his property?

The answer is no.

Even if it's a stupid policy, a property owner is entitled to prohibit firearms on his property, including in cars, when parked on his parking lot.  If employees dislike the policy (and they should), they can park offsite, or seek employment elsewhere.

I have to give credit to Sheldon Richman, of the Foundation for Economic Education for patiently clarifying this issue for me.  Mr. Richman framed this issue clearly and succinctly:

"Rights can never negate rights.  If you have a case in which you think a right has negated a right, then at least one of the alleged rights is not really a right.  There is no right to use someone else's parking lot in a manner to which he objects, however senseless his reasons."

Would that the folks at the NRA had such a balanced and informed respect for all rights!