CNN Makes Big Deal Out Of Man LEGALLY Carrying A Weapon

A group of citizens protesting their right to bear arms outside of President Obama's rally, including one man openly caryring a legal assault weapon, made the front page of CNN this morning. Look at this headline:

Man carries assault rifle to Obama protest -- and it's legal

Like it is some sort of unfortunate. surprise. God forbid that carrying a weapon that everyone can see, unloaded, isn't a crime. Additionally, the men were never within close proximity of the President.

In both instances, the men carrying weapons were outside the venues where Obama was speaking.

The Secret Service understood the unimportance of the incident:

Asked whether the individuals carrying weapons jeopardized the safety of the president, Donovan said, "Of course not."

It is unfortunate that, rather than punish the people who commit crimes with guns and keep them out of the hands of felons and mentally disabled, we freak out anytime we see a citizen legally carrying one. The best point is made by the man in question:

"I come from another state where 'open carry' is legal, but no one does it, so the police don't really know about it and they harass people, arrest people falsely," the man, who wasn't identified, said in an interview aired by CNN affiliate KNVX. "I think that people need to get out and do it more so that they get kind of conditioned to it."

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/08/17/obama.protest.rifle/index.html

Jim Clyburn Compares Protestors To Racists

"I have seen this kind of hate before. I have seen this discussion before," he said. "I have seen snarling dogs going after people who were trying to peacefully assemble. I have seen the eyes of people who were being spat upon.

"This is all about activity trying to deny the establishment of a civil right. And I do believe that health care for all is — a civil right," the House Majority Whip argued. "And I think that is why you see this kind of activity. This is an attempt on the part of some to deny the establishment of a civil right."

NRCC spokesman Ken Spain has jumped on Clyburn's comments, saying they "smack of bigotry and elitism."

"When anti-war activists were assembling and comparing the president of the United States to Hitler, it was ‘patriotic,’ but now that middle class Americans are standing up to a government takeover of health care, it is somehow steeped in racism and reminiscent of those who denied civil rights to African-Americans," Spain added.

Disgusting.

Source: http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0809/Clyburn_likens_town_hall_behavior_to_civil_rights_era.html

Whole Foods Customers To Boycott Because CEO Opposes Obamacare

The op-ed piece, which begins with a Margaret Thatcher quote, "The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money," has left some Whole Foods loyalists enraged. Many say Mackey was out of line to opine against the liberal base that has made his fortune possible.

Christine Taylor, a 34-year-old New Jersey shopper, vowed never to step foot in another Whole Foods again.

"I will no longer be shopping at Whole Foods," Taylor told ABCNews.com. "I think a CEO should take care that if he speaks about politics, that his beliefs reflect at least the majority of his clients."

While Mackey reduced his annual salary to one dollar in 2007, after explaining to employees he was "no longer interested in working for money," Mackey is still the head of the 10th largest food and drug store in the U.S.

In his op-ed, "The Whole Foods Alternative to ObamaCare," published Tuesday, Mackey criticized President Barack Obama's health care plan.

Mackey provided eight "reforms" he argued the U.S. can do to improve health care without increasing the deficit. He suggested that tax forms be revised to "make it easier for individuals to make a voluntary, tax-deductible donation to help the millions of people who have no insurance."
In the op-ed, Mackey outlines Whole Foods' employee health insurance policy. According to Mackey, Whole Foods pays 100 percent of the premiums for all employees who work 30 hours or more per week -- about 89 percent of his workforce.

Additionally, the company gives each employee $1,800 per year in "health-care dollars," says Mackey, that they can use at their own discretion for health and wellness expenses. This money can be put toward the $2,500 annual deductible that must be covered before Mackey says the company's "insurance plan kicks in."

It's absolutely their right to boycott, cause that's how the market works and Mackey should have thought that one out...but god forbid somebody has opinions of their own.

It also offends me how these (likely upper-class) "progressives" probably didn't even read the op-ed and see that Mackey, a man who is well-known for coining the term "conscious capitalism" for his progressive views about corporate governance and altruism, has huge plans to fix the health care system.

Baaaaa Baaaaa....

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=8322658&page=1