He probably wished it was a Gatling gun

They told George Grier: "you're dead."

They said: "I'm gonna kill your family and your babies. You're dead."

He asked them to leave. Even said please.

And this exchange occurred after he'd alerted the authorities. He'd seen five men standing outside his house and he feared (reasonably so, it turns out) that they were members of the famously dangerous MS-13 international thug gang. (In that community, MS-13 has about 2,000 members — and it's just the "most" dangerous of the county's street gangs.) Mr. Grier had become so alarmed at the sight that he went back into his house and told his wife to call the police. Just in case, he also grabbed his AK-47. He probably wished it was a Gatling gun.

They didn't "please" leave. They called in reinforcements: 20 more thugs, hellbent on committing a random act of stupid brutality, appeared on his lawn, behaving as if they were going to rush him and invade his house.

So, after they threatened to murder his wife, after they said they'd kill his children, after they promised to kill him, after they refused to "please" leave his tiny lawn, after the trespassers defiantly dared him to open fire, Mr. Grier did. He fired warning shots.

As far as we can tell, the criminals went unscratched. Not a single complaint of damage to any property has been reported in the news. (Nor have any arrests of the would-be home invaders.)

But Mr. Grier, who has no criminal record and was extremely cooperative with police, was arrested and initially charged with felony reckless endangerment for firing his gun in self defense. (If he's convicted, federal law will prohibit him from owning a gun.)

Leftists swear up one side and down the other that they won't take away our guns. They just support "common sense" restrictions. To protect the children. Things like "assault weapons bans" and "child safety lock" requirements.

I wish I had the power to force every single gun control advocate in the world to read the story about Mr. Grier, the peaceful, polite homeowner who owned an AK-47, which saved his family when 25 crooks threatened to attack.

Actually, I wish I had the power to force them all into Mr. Grier's shoes, for just a few minutes.

A conversation with Haley Barbour

As chairman of the Republican Governor's Association, Haley Barbour is leading the fight to take this country back from the leftists. He's been doing that for years; he was chairman of the Republican National Committee in 1994 when Republicans won majorities in Congress for the first time in generations.

After Hurricane Katrina (which actually hit Mississippi harder than it hit Louisiana), he was one of the few elected officials in the country whose approval ratings did not plummet. In June of 2009 — when Mr. Barbour became chair of the RGA — I predicted the leftist establishment would begin a systematic effort to destroy him because he represents best hope for electing a conservative president. At the time, I really didn't think he had any interest in running. But today I do — and I'm not alone. (Today I make only this prediction: If he decides to run, I think he will win.) Here, one of the best governors in the country talks with Peter Robinson of The Hoover Institution.

Part 1
'The long-term view'



Part 2
'Governor's races count'



Part 3
The Lunatic Fringe



Part 4
'When I say cut spending, I mean cut spending'



Part 5
'I was a lobbyist and a pretty damn good one'