You will here crowing from the NRA, but trust me, they joined up at the end, this was lead by the Virginia Citizens Defense Leauge that sent a petition for rule making to the Department of the Interior years ago.  The VCDL was joined by a large number of pro 2A groups representing over 1 million members.  They also were instrumental in getting DEMOCRAT Jim Webb on board.  In fact, 50 US Senators wrote to the Bush Administration in support of the Second Amendment, 9 were Demos.

One might think this is a small thing, but it is not, millions and millions of acres of our country are now respecting the Constitution!  In fact, many people have been unknowingly breaking the law by driving on highways run by the National Park Service.  For Example, if you drive on the GW Parkway in VA, you were breaking the law if you had a concealed handgun, even though Virginia gave you the permit.  There are countless other examples but now the times are a changin’.  There have been all kinds of criminal drug activity and assaults in National parks, but anyone who wanted to visit hand to leave their Constitutional rights behind, finally that has come to and end.

Let me be clear, this rule change states that if you have a right to carry concealed in the state the National Park is located, then you know have a right to carrry concealed in that park.  There is some issue with federal buildings still, so it is up to you to know the law.  Also, this change will not go into affect until a month after it is published in the Federal Registry, this should mean it goes into affect some time in January, again, keep up with the law if you are affected by this.

here are some more links for info

here is the AP report, including whining from the left http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/G/GUNS_NATIONAL_PARKS?SITE=VTBEN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

here is the DOI Press Release http://www.doi.gov/news/08_News_Releases/120508.html

again, it is up to you to know the law, but this is a major win, the only one I can think of during the Bush administration, other than the failure (Thank God) to renew the Clinton Gun Ban but that was done by Tom Delay not Bush.

I have already explained that Russell is an Iraq War Vet and is a conservative Republican. We all know that Murtha gave aide and comfort to our enemies by calling our Marines cold blooded murderers. He also called his own constituentcy racist rednecks. Yet still, particularly with possible voter fraud, this life long Congresman will be re-elected if we as a group do not act. The loss of Murtha would be a dagger in the heart of the left wing nutroots. Need I say more?

here is a link to donate to Russell, any amount will matter this is a Congressional race

btw. I am not involved in the Russell campaign and do not live in PA. We have a shot at taking down the worst of the worst, is that not worth a few clams?

1) I have a serious complaint about RedState Vista..er I mean 2.0 It seems the member posts do not refresh unless I close RedState and reopen it. But, if I close RS, I must log in again with password etc. See what I am getting at? Am I alone in this? Is there a fix for this?

2) Dang, I missed to opening of SNL, I am guessing that is when Palin went on. How did she do?

3) I can not believe McCain went on Letterman and apologized, that was really a bad idea. Letterman has become a hard left hack, with less intelligence than a hack. This was a really, really unflattering thing done by a hero.

Well that is about it, if anyone wants to comment on my comments, or say whatever, here ya go.

But I have noticed that the left wing looney blogs, led by Daily Krud are always pushing their members to send money to Obama. They coordinate these funding drives so that members can watch the dial and accomplish short-term goals. Heck, they use every perceived slight of the Messiah as an excuse to put up another funding post and ticker. If Obama is asked a tough question, up goes another funding drive. If someone asks about his flag pin, up goes another funding goal. If a McCain supporter raises his voice, they will put up a funding drive in his name.

We know Obama has a huge cash advantage. That money did not come out of thin air. Sure, some of it is from questionable sources, but let’s face it, the nutroots are breaking their piggy banks and skipping a few lattes and arugula salads so they can keep the huge funding gap.

My question is obvious, why are we not doing the same thing? What is it about conservative sites that do not seem to cause/allow the community to act as one and force certain issues? I was part of a Second Amendment site that used its collective power to actually get this accomplished. I am not talking, talking, I am talking doing, and it worked!

We know that Obama is buying 30 minute! time slots from the MSM. I am surprised he has to buy them at all; I don’t doubt he is getting a huge discount. Heck, the guy already has his own cable channel! My proposal is that the conservative sites get together and start a fund drive so that McCain can put up his own 30 minute commercial. Think of the impact of a well made argument for McCain that lasts 30 minutes in prime time! His heroic history, his conservative credentials, his reform agenda and great speakers on his behalf such as Rudy and Fred!

If we are going to turn this thing around we have to do something. Just blaming trolls and the regular dialogue is not going to make it this time. Bush had a huge money lead, he had enthusiasm, McCain does not have either by comparison. We must ask ourselves, if an Obama presidency is going to be this damaging to the country, what are WE prepared to do to try to stop it? The clock is ticking…

As far as I am concerned, Redstate 3.0 is a collosal failure. The site is unusable because it is so hard to log in, so hard to post, and so hard to have a conversation/debate. There have been countless posts on the problems with the new site, and even more posts defending the “hard work” of the designer. What it comes down to is this site is no longer reliable and is NOT “the place for important Republicans to post”.

When long term users can’t even log in, how do we expect a Congressman or his LA to spend the time attempting to make a diary? Some say our traffic has increased and that is the problem, if true, I will eat my hat. I have not checked website statistics, but I have seen the absurd amount of time and tenacity it takes to log on, stay logged on, and be able to make any post at all. Just to post this diary I refreshed about 40 times and rebooted my computer three times.

It is sad that for whatever reason, this site has scored an “own goal” prior to the election of our lives. Here is some straight talk, in no way does this site compare to Daily Krud, except for content. The site just does not work. Yes, 2.0 had its problems, but it was also a close community. Erick should have polled the long term users for improvement ideas and then hired a professional to make the site better. Instead, we have lost many regulars who don’t think errors and refreshing are that enjoyable. We have lost our chance to be the conservative opposition to Daily Krud.

I also think the camaraderie of the site is gone. I remember long debates and conversations with the likes of Moe, GC, Mbecker, Jaded, EPU, Haystack, and even Erick Dondero. Now I can’t even log in, stay logged in, or get any help dealing with this site. I guess I was never part of the “in” crowd, but at least there was a group that cared. Now I can’t get help from anyone here or the directors.

But this diary is not about me. Other than the fact that I spent almost three years here and feel now a stranger at my own site. We now have a chat room where 90 percent of my posts are not approved, and half the people with unlimited access I have never even heard of. They certainly were not active even one year ago.

But the main point is not about my personal complaints, my diary is about how this site has regressed. We were never the most trafficked site, but we did have a place of honor, a place where Republcan Reps posted. Now we have a site harder to access than the Whopper of “War Games” fame.

I have a lot more to say but since I doubt this thing will even post, I will let it go. To those who have been “net friends” I say thank you. I have not posted much lately because of the reasons stated. If I am not banned for this diary, I will look forward to seeing you guys again at RedState 4.0. But again, I am flabergasted that we did this to our site on the eve of the most important election of our lives. I will stay involved in Republican politics, but I am not going to sit at my computer and refresh and reboot all night just to make a comment. Maybe someone did “work hard” to make 3.0, but if it was a victory in any sense, it was pyrrhic.

As far as I am concerned, Redstate 3.0 is a collosal failure. The site is unusable because it is so hard to log in, so hard to post, and so hard to have a conversation/debate. There have been countless posts on the problems with the new site, and even more posts defending the “hard work” of the designer. What it comes down to is this site is no longer reliable and is NOT “the place for important Republicans to post”.

When long term users can’t even log in, how do we expect a Congressman or his LA to spend the time attempting to make a diary? Some say our traffic has increased and that is the problem, if true, I will eat my hat. I have not checked website statistics, but I have seen the absurd amount of time and tenacity it takes to log on, stay logged on, and be able to make any post at all. Just to post this diary I refreshed abotu 40 times and rebooted my computer three times.

It is sad that for whatever reason this site has scored an “own goal” prior to the election of our lives. Here is some straight talk, in no way does this site compare to Daily Krud, except for content. The site just does not work. Yes, 2.0 had its problems, but it was also a close community. Erick should have polled the long term users for improvement ideas and then hired a professional to make the site better. Instead, we have lost many regulars who don’t think errors and refreshing are that enjoyable. We have lost our chance to be the conservative opposition to Daily Krud.

I also think the camaraderie of the site is gone. I remember long debates and conversations with the likes of Moe, GC, Mbecker, Jaded, EPU, Haystack, and even Erick Dondero. Now I can’t even log in, stay logged in, or get any help dealing with this site. I guess I was never in the “in” crowd, but at least there was a group that cared. Now I can’t get help from anyone here or the directors.

But this diary is not about me. Other than the fact that I spent almost three years here and feel now a stranger in my own site. We now have a chat room where 90 percent of my posts are not posted, and half the people with unlimited access I have never even heard of. They certainly were not active even one year ago.

But the main point is not about my personal complaints, my diary is about how this site has regressed. We were never the most trafficked site, but we did have a place of honor, a place where Republcan Reps posted. Now we have a site harder to access than the Whopper of “War Games” fame.

I have a lot more to say but since I doubt this thing will even post, I will let it go. To those who have been “net friends” I say thankyou. I have not posted much at all because of the reasons stated. If I am not banned for this diary, I will look forward to seeing you guys again at RedState 4.0. But again, I am flabergasted that we did this to our site on the eve of the most important election of our lives. I will stay involved in Republican politics, but I am not going to sit at my computer and refresh and reboot all night just to make a comment. Maybe someone did “work hard” to make 3.0, but if it was a victory in any sense, it was pyrrhic.