Jerry Brown's Inaugral speech... am I reading too much into it?

[M. Sage]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/01/09/BAGL3NFCGN1.DTL&hw

It's mostly boring stuff, but some of it caught my eye. It seemed like he was talking to, well, Calgunners...

Specifically this part:

The duties of the state attorney general, which were printed on the back of the program for Brown's swearing-in ceremony, include seeing that the laws of the state "are uniformly and adequately enforced.''

"Adequately'' does not mean excessive or extreme, Brown said.

The Constitution "says adequate, it didn't say stringent,'' he said later. "It's not being overly rigid, but saying 'what are we trying to do and what's the best way to do it?' You need to interpret the law in a reasonable way.''

Is it my imagination, or does that seem to be aimed at our favorite gun-haters in the Firearms Division?

[Can'thavenuthingood]

Too hard to decipher anything there I think, its a wait and see.

Anybody invite him out to shoot yet?

Maybe he'd like to learn how to buildup an OLL for the survivalist in him.

Vick

[Wulf]

I think the fact that he even brings it up in a situation where its not necessary to make a significant statement makes the statement significant. Overall its seems vaguely "helpful" to us cause its contrary to the existing spirit exhibited by the leaders of the Firearms Division. But the bit about "what are we trying to do here", is a little scarry cause it has a bit of a vigilante feel to it.

[kenc9]

I have always got the feeling from what he says that he is for the average guy and he will "Clean House" and completely change the focus of departments he works in.

He will leave no doubt after Aprils DOJ court case gets under way.
I keep telling myself it has to improve after that last guy we had.

-ken

[M. Sage]

I took that in the context of how he's talking about working with the Governator and legislature.

[mblat]

People, the world doesn't revolve around gun laws..... especially in California.

I think he was taliking generalities.

[M. Sage]

I realize the world doesn't (quite) revolve around guns. BUT, the fact that he took time out to specifically state that he wouldn't be over-zealously chasing people, and would actually bother to respect the laws of the land, along with common sense (yes, I'm looking at you, Firearms Division), suggests that he was trying to send a specific message.

The two I can think of having to do with the AG's post would be:

The frivolous lawsuits Locky was so fond of. Greenhouse gases anybody?

Or the Firearms Division's love of trying to go BEYOND what they're supposed to. Their love of persecution of lawful gun owners and dealers, when they should - according to the statement Brown made - step back, apply common sense (oh, and those pesky law things) and say "oh, wait. These people aren't the criminals that we're supposed to be worried about."

I gotta tell you, reading this did make me feel at least a bit more hopeful about Brown.

[xenophobe]

Interpret his broad and unspecific statement however you want. I just don't think you can take what he meant as anything more than rhetoric filled dialogue meant to fill in the time slot of his appointment.

[Wulf]

Interpret his broad and unspecific statement however you want. I just don't think you can take what he meant as anything more than rhetoric filled dialogue meant to fill in the time slot of his appointment.

The whole adequate vs. excessive or extreme thing is decidedly not empty rhetoric IMHO. If he'd said "I'm gratefull the trust the people have placed in me..." "I'll work tirelessly to protect....bring justice, defend the interest of the poeple...etc etc...that that would have been time filling rhetoric. I think its interesting that he's trying to stake out adequate and reasonable instead of stringent.

[grammaton76]

I wouldn't go reading this as him looking straight at the firearms division.

But, he may be interested in correcting an overall tendency of the DOJ itself (not just FD) to get wrapped up in trying to be a legislative body... that outlook could well bleed over to the firearms division, but I really doubt he's focusing on the FD.

[Scarecrow Repair]

He did mention before that they had too many lawsuits. What was it, 60,000? Most likely he meant they had to stop suing so much, that they need to focus on important lawsuits, not every two bit problem. They don't need to be sue happy.

[Glasshat]

Attorney General Brown will reduce the current excessively aggressive prosecution of pot clubs to a lower, more adequate level, and at the same time will increase the totally lax prosecution of gun laws to a much higher, more adequate level.

Come on man, it's MOONBEAM we're talking about here! He is no better than Schumer, Boxer, Pelosi, Feinstein on 2A.

[Anthonysmanifesto]

I wouldn't go reading this as him looking straight at the firearms division.

But, he may be interested in correcting an overall tendency of the DOJ itself (not just FD) to get wrapped up in trying to be a legislative body... that outlook could well bleed over to the firearms division, but I really doubt he's focusing on the FD.

the above post makes sense to me.

there are thousands of employees in the A.G's office. His own father was considered a very fair A.G. while he may not even be aware of , or care much about the Firearms division, I am inclined to go with the above quoted theory until proven otherwise

[Glasshat]

How do you know that? Do you have any concrete evidence? Or is it just your gut-level hatred of all things leftist speaking here?

Please provide some backup for these statements. Until you do, I will ignore them. Thank you.

No "concrete" evidence available. Just years of experience with Moonbeam as governor, mayor, and knucklehead.

Learn from history or ignore it, what ever suits you.

BTW, "gut-level hatred of all things leftist"? A little melodramatic don't you think?!

[chiefcrash]

guys, it's a politician speaking to a mass of bodies. Whenever this happens, what he says really holds no meanings unless it's specific. It's just touchy feely rhetoric to give us and other politicians a warm and fuzzy feeling.

If he said "i'm going to make the Firearms Division stop being such wankers", then that's one thing (not that he'd follow through). But "You need to interpret the law in a reasonable way"? That could mean anything to nothing at all...

[xenophobe]

The whole adequate vs. excessive or extreme thing is decidedly not empty rhetoric IMHO. If he'd said "I'm gratefull the trust the people have placed in me..." "I'll work tirelessly to protect....bring justice, defend the interest of the poeple...etc etc...that that would have been time filling rhetoric. I think its interesting that he's trying to stake out adequate and reasonable instead of stringent.

If he made any real focus of those statements I would agree with you, but I don't. Everyone is just reading too much into everything he's doing and saying at this point.

All the people who are saying Brown will be a nightmare do so with valid facts. The NRA view that Brown may have said and done all that he does (comments to HCI, the BMG commercial, other statements, etc..) but hasn't done anything anti-gun while in office have their valid points as well, but I think both sides are extreme, seeing what they want to see and ignoring the rest. We really don't know what will happen at this point until he makes some direct statements about specific situations.

[xenophobe]

How do you know that? Do you have any concrete evidence? Or is it just your gut-level hatred of all things leftist speaking here?

Please provide some backup for these statements. Until you do, I will ignore them. Thank you.

A commercial stating his support of .50 BMG bans, comments to HCI, and other such tidbits. There is valid support for Glashat's position, just as there is valid reasoning why JB may not be.


there are thousands of employees in the A.G's office. His own father was considered a very fair A.G. while he may not even be aware of , or care much about the Firearms division, I am inclined to go with the above quoted theory until proven otherwise

And that's one of the reasons why I don't see much change to the Firearms Division employee roster or policy...

[kenc9]

J.B. is the most encouraging thing I have seen for gun owners for quite some time in California.

Calling him a name some looser called him in a debate that lost to him for Governor is not a very good tactic nor will it do anything but alienate him from us.

(Moonbeam name because he wanted a satellite communications as a early 30 year old governor for California)

Everyone should give him a chance first, write or email him congratulating him on his victory and asking him to support of our rights and hobby. If we start right off treating him like he is B. L. and with disrespect will most likely hurt us all.

-ken

[xenophobe]

Everyone should give him a chance first, write or email him congratulating him on his victory and asking him to support of our rights and hobby. If we start right off treating him like he is B. L. and with disrespect will most likely hurt us all.

I agree with you, but you have to agree that we'll have to keep a suspicious eye on him as well.

[Sundowner]

Do any of the Brown supporters here remember his days as governor, or were you born yet? I suffered through those years as an adult and I can tell you that he earned the "Moonbeam" moniker for more than the satellite program. If you think he will in any way be friendly to gun rights, you are in for a big surprise. Our only hope is that the lawsuit against his election succeeds and he is summarily booted from office. Oh, and if you think a few anti-Brown posts here will change his basic philosophy, you are naive in the extreme. He is a dyed-in-the-wool leftist. Our hope is in the courts and people like Bill Weise.

P.S. Treelogger: what "things leftist" shouldn't we hate? :)

[Glasshat]

You guys may very well be right about Jerry, and I sincerely hope you are however even if he is pro-2A, or even neutral on 2A and somewhat pro-self defense, do you really think he has the juice to change the culture of the California Department of Justice? Iggy and Alison have stacked the employee roster with their like minded bureaucrats, none of whom are going to fold up their anti-gun tent just because Jerry tells them to tone it down.

I think we're in for a round of Ralph Naderesque legislation, regulation and intimidation.

[kenc9]

Anyone have a good email address that might get to the office of the A.G.?

Is there a A.G. direct email address? Maybe we should politely point out how we have been treated. All the bad firearms memos and the general disrespect to law abiding firearm enthusiasts and gun collectors from the prior Attorney Generals office.

Even a form letter and then each member here make a personal note at the bottom of the page.

This may be our one shot to have a A.G. on our side! Somone draft something for us all to email, fax or snail mail to him.


I keep a close eye on all government!

-ken

[chiefcrash]

i'll say this: i'm not sure how much i trust someone who's said that teachers don't need a pay raise because they get "psycic currency"...

[6172crew]

Do any of the Brown supporters here remember his days as governor, or were you born yet? I suffered through those years as an adult and I can tell you that he earned the "Moonbeam" moniker for more than the satellite program. If you think he will in any way be friendly to gun rights, you are in for a big surprise. Our only hope is that the lawsuit against his election succeeds and he is summarily booted from office. Oh, and if you think a few anti-Brown posts here will change his basic philosophy, you are naive in the extreme. He is a dyed-in-the-wool leftist. Our hope is in the courts and people like Bill Weise.

P.S. Treelogger: what "things leftist" shouldn't we hate? :)

I hope your wrong.

[paradox]

what "things leftist" shouldn't we hate? :)

Women’s suffrage, end of slavery, end of Jim Crow, ending child labor, universal education, eight hour workday, weekends, the vast majority of books good enough to get banned, rock ‘n roll, super-hot mixed race mutts, seat belts, organic food at the local supermarket, cleaner air, rivers that don’t catch on fire, cleaner beaches, the Bill of Rights....

[Sundowner]

Paradox: Since when did those things become leftist? Remember, the Bill of Rights was written by those "establishment, wealthy white men", our Founding Fathers. Human rights are the purvue of all right-thinking people, no matter what their political orientation. Sounds like you need a good course in political science and history.

[paradox]

Paradox: Since when did those things become leftist?

When leftists fought and in many cases died so that we could have all that listed above.

Remember, the Bill of Rights was written by those "establishment, wealthy white men", our Founding Fathers. Human rights are the purvue of all right-thinking people, no matter what their political orientation. Sounds like you need a good course in political science and history.

Right back at you bud. When you're done refreshing, please explain to us how the anti-federalists weren't way left of the federalists.

[Incitatus]

Paradox: Since when did those things become leftist? Remember, the Bill of Rights was written by those "establishment, wealthy white men", our Founding Fathers. Human rights are the purvue of all right-thinking people, no matter what their political orientation. Sounds like you need a good course in political science and history.

He forgot the end of slavery...oops! he already mentioned that...oops!...that was Lincoln. Not a Democrat. Democrats were busy opposing it.

He forgot environmental conservation...oops! he already mentioned that with the clean air...oops!...that was Teddy Roosevelt. Not a Democrat.

He forgot organic foods...oops! he already mentioned that....oops! but as the time passes more and more scientists are exposing the organic foods issue as a money making fraudulent scheme of the food industry:
http://www.consumerfreedom.com/news_detail.cfm/headline/2334
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15158675/from/RS.4/
http://www.consumerfreedom.com/news_detail.cfm/headline/2643


Our liberal colleague is one more example of how messed up our public school system is. Which by the way, is ran by the almighty Teachers Union, a puppet of the Democrat party.

[kenc9]

Paradox: Since when did those things become leftist? Remember, the Bill of Rights was written by those "establishment, wealthy white men", our Founding Fathers. Human rights are the purvue of all right-thinking people, no matter what their political orientation. Sounds like you need a good course in political science and history.

The founding father in their day were not looked at as conservative right wingers. They were very Liberal and the radicals of their day.

Almost every national holiday, the end of sweat shops and the like were of left wing liberals.

Not that Dems are all good but neither are all Reps either.

In fact both partys suck and are a bunch of jerks.

[xenophobe]

What everyone forgets to realize is that political ideologies have swayed back and fourth between both parties over the given distance of recorded US history.

What is one parties stance may be the other's 10 or 20 years later.

[paradox]

He forgot the end of slavery...oops! he already mentioned that...oops!...that was Lincoln. Not a Democrat. Democrats were busy opposing it.

He forgot environmental conservation...oops! he already mentioned that with the clean air...oops!...that was Teddy Roosevelt. Not a Democrat.

He forgot organic foods...oops! he already mentioned that....oops! but as the time passes more and more scientists are exposing the organic foods issue as a money making fraudulent scheme of the food industry:

Our liberal colleague is one more example of how messed up our public school system is. Which by the way, is ran by the almighty Teachers Union, a puppet of the Democrat party.

Ummm, we’re talking “Left v. Right” not “Republican v. Democrat”. The abolitionist movement was very leftist. The environmental movement was and is very leftist. The pure foods movement, going back to “The Jungle”, is very leftist.

Sheesh, you should stop listening to AM hate radio and read some books, it’ll do your mind good.

[kenc9]

Back to what J.B. is about and what we might expect here is a short run down as the Governor.

Strongly opposed to the Vietnam War, Brown had a broad base of support from California's young liberals who dominated the political scene. Upon election, he refused many of the privileges and trappings of the office, forgoing the grand California Governor's Mansion (which was sold under Brown in 1983) and instead rented a modest apartment. Instead of riding as a passenger in chauffeured limousines as previous governors had done, Brown drove himself to work in a compact sedan, a Plymouth Satellite from the state vehicle pool.

Brown often proposed unorthodox ideas, including the establishment of a state space academy and the purchasing of a satellite that would be launched into orbit to provide emergency communications for the state—a proposal similar to one that would indeed be adopted by the state.

In 1978, Chicago Tribune columnist Mike Royko nicknamed Brown "Governor Moonbeam" because of the latter idea. The nickname quickly became associated with his quirky politics, which were considered eccentric by some in California and the rest of the nation. In 1992, almost 15 years later, Royko would disavow the nickname, proclaiming Brown to be "just as serious" as any other politician.

Brown has been subject to a fair share of political criticism in his career, from being labeled "Governor Moonbeam" by Chicago Tribune columnist Mike Royko (who later said he was sorry he did it), to being blamed for amassing, as Governor, a huge surplus in state coffers that led to the infamous tax rebellion, the Jarvis Gann initiative (Proposition 13) which halted increases in property taxes for both homeowners and corporations that held onto their property. Declaring himself a "Born-Again Taxcutter," Brown tried to jump in front of Proposition 13 at the last minute in the election year of 1978.

[Incitatus]

Ummm, we’re talking “Left v. Right” not “Republican v. Democrat”. The abolitionist movement was very leftist. The environmental movement was and is very leftist. The pure foods movement, going back to “The Jungle”, is very leftist.

Sheesh, you should stop listening to AM hate radio and read some books, it’ll do your mind good.


So Abe Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt were leftists...and who else? :rolleyes:

And what authors do you recommend? Noam Chomsky? Jerry Springer? Al Franken?

http://glocktalk.com/images/smilies/abovelol.gif

[paradox]

So Abe Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt were leftists...:rolleyes:

They sure as hell wouldn't be welcomed in the current neo-con dominated Republican party or on AM radio.

And what authors do you recommend? Noam Chomsky? Jerry Springer? Al Franken?


Why don’t you start with both the Federalist Papers as well as the Anti-Federalist Papers.

[Scarecrow Repair]

And what authors do you recommend? Noam Chomsky? Jerry Springer? Al Franken?
Rush Limbaugh? Probably comes 80% colored.

[Incitatus]

They sure as hell wouldn't be welcomed in the current neo-con dominated Republican party or on AM radio.





I bet they would feel warm and cozy among politicians like Feinstein, Boxer, Ted Kennedy, Pelosi etc. who believe the 2nd A refers to side by side hunting shotguns...:D

[Incitatus]

Rush Limbaugh? Probably comes 80% colored.

No, it isn't. But if you are still at the coloring books age, you can try...

:D

[paradox]

I bet they would feel warm and cozy among politicians like Feinstein, Boxer, Ted Kennedy, Pelosi etc. who believe the 2nd A refers to side by side hunting shotguns...:D

I never said that they'd be welcomed in the Democratic party....

[Incitatus]

I never said that they'd be welcomed in the Democratic party....
Welcome back to your senses...;)

[Fjold]

"Organic" means grown in S***. Where do you think E. coli comes from? :D

[Scarecrow Repair]

"Organic" means grown in S***. Where do you think E. coli comes from? :D
Inorganic must then mean grown in pesticides. Where do you think all those chemicals go? Bear in mind that research has shown that washing veggies removes very little of the pesticides.

[paradox]

"Organic" means grown in S***. Where do you think E. coli comes from? :D

Damn straight. I’ve grown, with my own hands, tomatoes, peppers, and other veggies that taste better than even farmer’s market produce. I used only ****, blood and bone. The trick is to know what **** to use and only give ****water to the roots, never to the leaves. Plants are damn good at filtering ****, they’ve been doing it for as long as **** existed.

[M. Sage]

Do any of the Brown supporters here remember his days as governor, or were you born yet?

FWIW, I'm not saying I support Brown, it's just that his statements sounded reasonable and that, as Mike Haas and a few others here have been saying, the guy just might not be as bad as we're making him out to be.

By the by: IMO, the Founding Fathers would probably be shunned as Libertarians nowadays.

But, you want "power to the people?" How about a slogan like "screw your King, we want to vote!?"