SC: Confiscated gun sales considered

Augusta Chronicle

The Aiken Department of Public Safety wants to start selling some of its confiscated weapons to federally licensed dealers, ending a 10-year practice of destroying them.
---
By selling some confiscated guns, "You might be putting them in the hands of the lady who lives by herself and that's the only way she has to protect her home," he said.
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Aiken officials say the last batch of weapons they sent to SLED for destruction could have netted their department between $15,000 and $20,000 if sold to a licensed gun dealer.
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"If you look at what we destroyed last time you could have easily paid for half of the cost for purchasing weapons for the police officers," he said.

I'm pretty sure they're less concerned with the lady who lives by herself than the revenue but what the hell. It's a damn stupid policy and it should be changed. What surprised me about the story is that there was no wringing of hands and "blood on the streets" quote from the antis. Nice for a change.

You have the right to remain silent...

Michael Ramirez

Flu pandemic morbidity/mortality

Sebastian posted this link from GlobalSecurity.org on Flu Pandemic Morbidity/Mortality. His reason for posting was a claim by The Atlanta-Journal Constitution that gun violence is more serious than the swine flu. On the issue of guns the Atlanta-Journal Constitution has its head up its ass. Fuck 'em. The article on flu pandemic morbidity/mortality however is interesting in and of itself.

The only significance I see...

...to President Obama's first hundred days is that, at best, I only have to put up with him one thousand three hundred and sixty more days.

Michael Caine

Sir Michael Caine AKA Maurice Joseph Micklewhite is quoted in this story about the proposed increase in the UK's tax rates. This bit from Caine is a fracking hoot.

Not everything on his CV since has been beyond reproach: his appearances in The Swarm or Jaws: The Revenge spring to mind. But even on the subject of his bad films he is entertaining. "I have never seen the film," he said of one flop. "But by all accounts it was terrible. However, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific."

Spector goes Dem

FoxNews

Senator Arlen Spector has changed his [R-PA] to a [D-PA] because there was a damn good chance he wouldn't be the GOP nominee his next time up.
I can't say that I really care. As a Republican he was a damn good Democrat. So at least now he's come out of the closet. Even though the NRA gives him an A rating, and his change in party won't change that, I've never trusted him on any issue. He'll support gun rights as long as its to his advantage and when it's not he'll fuck us. No surprises here.

Obama Budget Cuts Visualization

Heh!



H/T to Randy

This is what happens when you let...

...an old fool have pen and paper.

President Carter I'd maybe give you a bit more credit if your argument wasn't derived entirely from Brady Campaign talking points. The half a bit of wit you demonstrated was to compare owners of semi-automatic rifles and handguns to cop killers and deranged school/workplace shooters, and that fell decidedly flat. Sir, there was a reason you were a one term President. You continue to demonstrate it.


H/T to David, the pistolero, and Bob.

Poll: Should Obama push for an Assualt Weapons Ban

Should President Obama push to permanently reinstate a ban on assault weapons?

Go vote.

H/T to David.

NE: Former Bluffs cop hurt in gun accident

From the Omaha World Herald

A former Council Bluffs police officer who once was credited with saving another officer's life accidentally shot himself Friday at a downtown bar.

Guns...alcohol...accidental discharge...ummmm. Whodathunkit.

H/T to Randy

Iraq: US raid 'crime' that breaks security pact

From the Denver Post

I'm curious to see what happens with this...

BAGHDAD—Iraq's prime minister denounced a deadly U.S. raid on Sunday as a "crime" that violated the security pact with Washington and demanded American commanders hand over those responsible to face possible trial in Iraqi courts.
The U.S. military, however, strongly denied that it overstepped its bounds and said it notified Iraqi authorities in advance—in accordance with the rules that took effect this year governing U.S. battlefield conduct.

...and whether our leader backs our soldiers or throws them under the bus. No reason to jump one way or the other just curiosity.

...and another

User Friendly

User Friendly

Here is a old strip form User Friendly that I like.

The more the merrier

David Hardy reports that in the last three months of 2008 American bought enough firearms to supply the Chinese and Indian Armies, combined. That ought to get someones' goat. Hah!

Barak vs. the Pirates

So now a bit of detail has come out on the back story of the Navy's rescue of Captain Philips. Firehand offers commentary here and a link here and here that tell us what was going on behind the scenes. Here is another link and here is the White House's version.

My feeling is that President Obama doesn't understand that sometimes leadership means getting out of the way and letting your people, in this case the military, do their job. In the end, Captain Philips was safe but this incident gives clear indicators of what to expect over the next three and a half years. Welcome to the second Carter Administration

A damn good argument for a tea party

Over in Great Britain the top tax rate is now 50%. In Britain when they raised the top tax rate to 83% thirty five years ago people voted with their feet and the cost the British economy was clear. I sure the Obama Bunch would love to raise our taxes to similar heights. After all they got to soak someone to pay for all their programs and in the end there is only you and me and the rest of the middle class to screw. Those that have money can always vote with their feet. The rest of us got no place to go. What we can do is make our representatives in congress aware of the consequences of their actions. Voting Democrat or Republican ain't gonna get the message across. Starting a Tea Party just might.

One of those must read columns...

...over at David Codrea's Gun Rights Examiner 'Speaking truth to empower'

But then, you don't understand "gun control" had its roots in racism, either, do you? I notice you never talk about the slave codes that could punish a black man for having a dog because it might attack a white man--or the post-Civil War black codes designed to put firearms beyond the economic means of freed blacks--or a key observation in Dredd Scott, that a black man simply CAN'T be a "citizen" because then he'd have the same rights as whites, including the right to keep and bear arms. Yeah, Chief Justice Taney actually wrote that. You'd know if you took the time to do a little learning before presuming yourself authoritative enough to teach.

Go read the whole post.

NC: "Guns Blazing"

Two robbers dressed as police officers kicked in the front door of a house in Franklin County, North Carolina and as they entered yelled "this is a robbery." One of the patrons told them "no it's not" and opened fire. The house was apparently an illicit "poker house". There was a surveillance camera on the front door so the patrons inside had fair warning of what was to come. The robbers fled. Once may have been wounded in the shoulder. A patron standing in the parking lot was shot in the ass and two thousand dollars taken. Only a piece of lead was taken from the interior.

WRAL

Another WTF moment...

...brought to you by the ATF.

So this friend of mine was in a gun shop the other day while two ATF agents were doing an audit. One held up a lever action 30-30 and asked the other “is this a rifle? When she didn't get an answer she asked again. The other, to her credit, finally answered “yes, that’s a rifle.”

You’d think part of the training of an ATF agent would include at least the basics: pistol, rifle, and shotgun?

That's Pelosi

...and from Michael Ramirez...

More on Lautenberg’s gun show bill.

Sebastian has examined Lautenberg’s gun show bill and concludes that it is not so much an attack on private sales as an attack on gun shows themselves.

This law is aimed squarely at making gun shows so legally burdensome that no one in their right mind would organize one, and creating new criminal penalties for dealers who keep bad records. This must be absolutely opposed. It looks like our opponents, rather than going for the whole private sale caboodle, have decided to specifically target gun shows.

Remember, in terms of organization, gun shows are for us what churches are to religious conservatives. If they shut down gun shows, or make them entirely too legally burdensome to operate, they shut down a key locus of our ability to politically organize. That’s exactly what the intent of this bill is. Our opponents may be on the ropes, but they aren’t stupid. It can’t be allowed to pass.

Call your representatives in both the House and Senate and let them know where you stand.

Man in Australia Dies After Being Shot...

...30 Times With Nail Gun.

Detective Inspector Mark Newham said yesterday that post-mortem examination results had showed Liu was shot repeatedly in the head up to 30 times with a high-powered nail gun.

"Similar types of nail guns can fire nails up to 85mm long," Insp Newham said.

Detectives said the nail gun used in the murder was a standard cordless, framing, gas-charged gun, widely available for sale and hire.

High-powered nail gun? Is that like a high-powered assault nail gun?

H/T to FoxNews

Mexico Links Sickness, Deaths...

...to Swine Flu.

Mexico City closed schools across the metropolis of 20 million Friday after at least 16 people died and more than 900 others fall ill from what health officials suspect is a new strain of swine flu. World health officials worried that it could mark the start of a flu pandemic.

What? You mean it not caused by assault weapons, grenades, and rocket launchers bought at U.S. gun shops and gun shows?

FoxNews

Michael Ramirez: 2974 reasons

By Michael Ramirez

NC: SB 782/H892: Repeal Pistol Transfer Permit

SB 782 would repeal the current North Carolina pistol permit system. Currently you apply for a permit from your local Sheriff. They do a background check that may take up to six weeks at which point the Sheriff or his designate decides whether you get the permit. Unlike the concealed carry permit system, it's a may issue, not a shall issue, process. This bill would do away with the permit system and default to National Instant Check. The current system is redundant. Repeal would take the decision out of the hands of the Sheriff and move NC to shall rather than may issue. It would take politics out of the equation. This is a good thing. Whether it has a chance of passage, I don't know. The local gun haters oppose passage. They like the may issue approach which is one damn good reason to pass it. The key is whether the Sheriff's Association cares. This involves revenue [$5 a permit] for the local Sheriff's Departments but also would release resources for other problems. They have a lot of influence in the Legislature, and generally get what they want. I suspect they will oppose. What politician wants to give up power? Call your State Representatives and let them know where you stand. It can't hurt.

A declaration of war

Go read about "cap and trade" at the WSJ and Redstate If you live in areas that use coal to create energy you're about to be fucked. Well, we'll all be fucked but the Midwest, Southern and Plains states will be hit hardest and all in the name of protecting the environment. This bill will force businesses to purchase carbon offsets the cost of which will be passed on to the consumer. This is a national energy tax. The White House sees this as a way to fund their pet projects.

The effect of this massive tax increase will be felt by every American. According to cost analysis of similar cap and tax proposals, the total energy bill for the average American household will increase by more than $3,000 per year. At a time when families across the heartland and across America are hurting, the last thing they need is to be burdened with even more punishing taxes.

Redstate calls this a declaration of war. It is...on you amd me.

An ATF website you gotta go look at...

CleanUpATF

If the people running the ATF are willing to treat their own agents as presented here, is it any surprise they show the contempt they do toward us?

H/T to David

Mike Grell's Warlord

I’m a comic book geek fan and have been since before I learned to read. In the 1970s Mike Grell created the title Warlord for DC. Warlord was the story of an Air Force pilot whose plane goes down over the North Pole and ends up in a land inside the Earth’s core. It’s basically a sword and sorcery comic but the lead does have a .44 Automag. I loved it. Grell eventually left to do Sable Freelance, another fine adventure comic, but I missed Warlord. Since its cancellation, there has been a mini-series written by Grell that didn’t quite work and a botched attempt to re-imagine the series. Now DC has brought the series back again this time with Grell writing it and doing the covers. The interior art is by Joe Prado, and the whole thing works. Some memories are best left in the past. You go back to revisit and the book, movie, TV series and it just doesn’t match that which you remember. Warlord is good. It’s not the original but it has potential. I’m looking forward to the next issue.

And if you are a Sable Freelance fan go check this out. It's amazing what you find when you surf the net.

More International gun control treaties

Go read David Codrea's brief on the DDTC/ITAR threat to guns at his Gun Rights Examiner then get in touch with your Senator.

NC: Hal Crowther Article

Hal Crowther, a long time proponent of gun control presents his latest diatribe on gun owners at the Independent Weekly. He spouts the same old bullshit: the Mexico canard, the NRA is a front for the gun industry and has a stranglehold on Congress, guns in the hands of individuals wouldn't have changed the outcome of mass shootings, assault weapons, or armor piercing "cop killer" bullets. I don't think he misses one Brady talking point. He does acknowledge that mass shooters pick "target rich environments" but his solution is obviously not mine. There is one positive to his screed. It appears in the Independent Weekly, and considering their readership, he's preaching to the choir.

Co-Sponsors of Lautenberg's "Loophole Bill"

Jack Reed (D-RI), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Charles Schumer (D-NY), John Kerry (D-MA), Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Carl Levin (D-MI), Ben Cardin (D-MD) Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) are co-sponsors of the bill.

No surprises here not even the junior Senator from New York.

Earth Abides

To celebrate Earth Day I present the prologue to Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park. Listen to Charlton Heston read it here.

You think man can destroy the planet? What intoxicating vanity. Let me tell you about our planet. Earth is four-and-a-half-billion-years-old. There’s been life on it for nearly that long, 3.8 billion years. Bacteria first; later the first multicellular life, then the first complex creatures in the sea, on the land.

Then finally the great sweeping ages of animals, the amphibians, the dinosaurs, at last the mammals, each one enduring millions on millions of years, great dynasties of creatures rising, flourishing, dying away — all this against a background of continuous and violent upheaval. Mountain ranges thrust up, eroded away, cometary impacts, volcano eruptions, oceans rising and falling, whole continents moving, an endless, constant, violent change, colliding, buckling to make mountains over millions of years.

Earth has survived everything in its time. It will certainly survive us. If all the nuclear weapons in the world went off at once and all the plants, all the animals died and the earth was sizzling hot for a hundred thousand years, life would survive, somewhere: under the soil, frozen in Arctic ice. Sooner or later, when the planet was no longer inhospitable, life would spread again. The evolutionary process would begin again. It might take a few billion years for life to regain its present variety.

Of course, it would be very different from what it is now, but the earth would survive our folly, only we would not. If the ozone layer gets thinner, ultraviolet radiation sears the earth, so what? Ultraviolet radiation is good for life. It’s powerful energy. It promotes mutation, change. Many forms of life will thrive with more UV radiation. Many others will die out. Do you think this is the first time that’s happened? Think about oxygen. Necessary for life now, but oxygen is actually a metabolic poison, a corrosive gas, like fluorine.

When oxygen was first produced as a waste product by certain plant cells some three billion years ago, it created a crisis for all other life on earth. Those plants were polluting the environment, exhaling a lethal gas. Earth eventually had an atmosphere incompatible with life. Nevertheless, life on earth took care of itself. In the thinking of the human being a hundred years is a long time.

A hundred years ago we didn’t have cars, airplanes, computers or vaccines. It was a whole different world, but to the earth, a hundred years is nothing. A million years is nothing. This planet lives and breathes on a much vaster scale. We can’t imagine its slow and powerful rhythms, and we haven’t got the humility to try. We’ve been residents here for the blink of an eye. If we’re gone tomorrow, the earth will not miss us.

Shamelessly swiped from the Oracle.

John Cox: Hold The Crumpets

Lautenberg introduces bill to close the gun show loophole

Senator Lautenberg [D-NJ] has introduced a bill to close the gun show loophole because...

There is no rational reason to oppose closing the loophole. The reason it's still not closed is simple: the continuing power of the special-interest gun lobby in Washington. My legislation would require background checks for every gun purchased at every gun show across America and would keep guns out of the hands of people who should not have them. Without this change in the law, anyone—from felons to fugitives—can buy a gun at a gun show, no questions asked. That needs to change."

This bill won't close a loophole. What it will do is end all private sales of firearms whether they take place at a gun show or in your home. Here's what the NRA had to say about the bill he introduced last year.

In reality, gun shows are large, public events held in convention centers and banquet halls. But S. 2577 defines “gun show” so broadly, that it would include a person’s home. Merely “offering” to “exchange” a firearm at an “event” could be banned. The National Matches at Camp Perry and your local gun club’s Sunday trap shoot would be defined as “events” subject to the bill’s provisions. Even talking about a gun at an “event” could be seen as an illegal “offer” to sell a gun. Even if you are not a dealer, but you display a gun at a gun show, and then months later sell the gun to someone you met at the show, you would be subject to the same requirements as if you completed the sale at the gun show. The restrictions and regulations S. 2577 would impose upon real gun shows, and upon gun owners’ personal activities the bill would preposterously define as “gun shows” and “events,” are unprecedented. Running afoul of S. 2577’s numerous, far-fetched provisions could send you to prison for years.

Contact your Senators and ask them to oppose this bill. While you're at it contact your Representatives and give them the same message because I'm sure we'll get a mirror of this crap introduced in the House by McCarthy.

UPDATE: Sebastian has more on it here.

John Ringo awakes

John Ringo comments on the Somali pirates and 'Rightwing Extremism'. It's worth reading.

Update: Ringo has apparently removed the post on the pirates.

Katrina Pierson

via Michelle Malkin

MR. Fwuffybuns

My kind of children's story.

The most ethical...

...Congress evah!

H/T to David.

Some more ruminations on the ammo shortage...

..by Tam. If you're wondering why you can't find .380 anywhere, read this.

FBI's Newest 'Most Wanted' Terrorist Is American...

...and he's not a right-wing extremist.

FoxNews.com

LA: Self-Defense Shooting

This gives new meaning to the term "Cougar".

News from the PRC (People's Republic of California)

SFGate

Assemblyman Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, is backing a bill to require people who sell handgun ammunition to be licensed. It would also require sellers to conduct business face-to-face, bar Internet or mail order sales and require a thumbprint and other identifying information of people who buy ammunition.
...............
De Leon said the bill would close "dangerous loopholes" in California law. A similar bill that aimed to stop sales of ammunition to prohibited people died in the state Senate last year.

Another bill, introduced by Assemblyman Paul Krekorian, D-Burbank, would establish a new procedure for people who are barred from possessing guns to relinquish those weapons.

Waxman Won’t Compromise on 20% Carbon Cap in Climate Measure

Henry Waxman refused to compromise on the 20% reduction in greenhouse gases over the next decade. Greenhouse gases would include carbon dioxide...right? And humans exhale carbon dioxide...right? Granting, just for argument's sake, that Waxman is human, if he would just shut the fuck up it'd go a long way toward that 20% reduction he's so big on. If he'd hold his breath we might even reach the mark...for a bit.

Take a deep breath...

Sometimes I tend to get a bit Old Testament. Reuters reports that Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the admitted planner of the Sept. 11 attacks, was water boarded 183 times. Two thousand seven hundred and seventy-two times to go. Take a deep breath you pig fucker.

A mechanical question about...

...2000 Chrysler Grand Voyager with a 3.0L 6 cylinder engine. Too late, I already own it.

I ran by work today and when I parked I popped the hood to check the transmission fluid. I looked down to the asphalt and saw a steady stream of green anti freeze flowing downhill from under my van. I turned the engine off and took care of my business. I got back out saw that I had fluid in the overflow reservoir. I decided to try for home and made it. The temperature gage was maxed out as I neared the house so I turned off the motor and coated in. So I let it cool down, checked my Haynes manual, spoke to a mechanic friend and my father in law. FIL thought it was a freeze plug gone bad. Friend said either heater coil or water pump. Once cool I looked inside the radiator and it was dry. Hoses were fine. Floor in front of passenger seat was damp. Looking under the car told me nothing but fluid had splashed everywhere. So I topped of the radiator. Put two quarts of oil and a bit of transmission fluid in it. The oil was not milky. Then I cranked it up. Temperature gage went to center and stayed. Looked under the car. No fluid pouring out. Hoses ok. Radiator looked ok. I drove it around the block and checked it again. No pouring fluid.. Drove to my mechanic and was told it could be a number of things .They need to stress test it and was told to bring it back in the morning.

If there are any gun loving mechanics out there who might have an idea please share.

UPDATE: cracked radiator

A redneck's tale...

I've known Lee for thirty-three years. He is a redneck and makes no bones about it. He's always got my back. He told me a story shortly after we met about his stint as a cashier in a local convenience store. He had the late shift. Once two goblins came in and robbed him. They knocked him down to the floor and one leap into the air with intent of using Lee's head as the landing pad. He never landed. Lee said he looked up and saw the biggest dude he's ever seen holding one goblin by the nap of the neck. The guy asked him "What ya want me to do with him?" The other goblin was "controlled" by the big dude's companion. Maybe it's just a story. Maybe not. I know we have people here in the states that just stand there and do nothing while bad things happen. I'd like to think its happens less here than over the big pond in the UK. I am pretty confident that you won't get arrested in the States for defending yourself against an attacker. That's a claim they can't make. Rachel Lucas offers her take on the matter.

Ten years ago today...

...two worthless gits entered Columbine High School with explosives and guns. We all know how it ended: 12 students and a teacher dead. Twenty–three wounded. The police sat outside waiting for SWAT to prep and enter the school while people died.

As a result police departments in most states have active shooter protocols where police officers enter the building immediately and engage the shooter. That is a positive outcome. There is one thing left to do. It still takes time for police to arrive. In that interval the victims have no protection. Students and teachers are prohibited carrying a firearm for protection. I’m not going to argue for high school students being allowed to carry. College students are another matter. Teachers and adults in the school shouldn’t even be an issue. Laws and policies need to be changed to allow teachers and adults to carry in schools. Opponents argue that it will make matters worse. I don’t see how. Harris and Kiebold killed 12. Cho killed 32. Would more have died if a teacher with a handgun had been able to end the carnage before the police arrived? Everyone that carries understands that if they chose to engage a shooter the police, when they arrive, may not take the time to identify who is and who isn't the good guy. It’s a choice we make...for the children. Crossing your fingers ain’t enough..

A Progressive on the Second

Gun rights are one issue that are neither blue nor red, left nor right, conservative nor liberal. Rady Ananda on the Second Amendment.

H/T to David. Some crow tastes good.

Gillibrand are calls for the repeal of the Tiahrt Amendment

Should'a known. A pro gun Senator out of New York? The clue should have been that Schumer recruited her for her House seat. And now we know.

H/T to Uncle.

Obama Repeats '90 Percent' Stat for U.S. Guns Recovered in Mexico

What's the difference between "recovered" and "traceable" when it comes to firearms seized in Mexico's bloody war against drug cartels?

The White House says none.

I say there is, and President Obama, by all accounts a very bright attorney, knows it. The only reason to use "recovered" when the proper word is "traced" is to mislead the American people into believing the 90% "recovered" he is referring to is the 90% of the 29,000 firearms recovered by the Mexican government rather than the 90% of the 6,000 firearms "traced" by the BATFE to U. S. sources. Ninety percent of 29,000 is much more impressive than 90% of 6,000.

Another fact that is missing from this equation is whether those guns "traced" came from U. S. gun shops or U. S. weapons exports to Mexico. It probably wouldn't help his argument to admit the guns traced to the U. S. came from supplies sold to the Mexican government any more than than it would to admit that the guns traced total only 5,114 or 17.6 of those "recovered".

Update: FactCheck.org, claims the 5114 number used by Fox is a subset of a larger number, and the 17.6% is incorrect. The claim the correct number is 10,347 traced to U. S. sources. That puts the percentage at 36%. That doesn't invalidate my points. Obama is using disinformation to push his agenda and no one has identified whether the U. S. sources are gun shops/shows or exports.

The shot heard 'round the world

1775 – American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Lexington and Concord which began the American Revolutionary War.

If not for the King's soldiers trying to seize the firearms of the King's subjects we'd not be citizens today. Gun Grabbing: What it gets you.

The Federalist Party

Kevin posted an excerpt of this post from Chaos Manor. The entire post bears reprinting any and every where someone will read it.

It was obvious to me at the time DHS and Patriot Act (and TSA!) were bad moves. Aside from the fact that amalgamating many inefficient bureaucracies into one multiplies not divides the inefficiencies - efficient government is not an overriding concern of mine - centralizing power to meet a crisis leaves the centralized power available for abuse long after the crisis is forgotten. The chances that a future Democrat administration would disband DHS and repeal Patriot Act were patently zero even at the time. Expand, politicize, and abuse now are the order of the day, and I am not surprised in the least.

Both major parties seem now irredeemably statist. Many Republicans are starting to say the right things once more, but I doubt 51% will trust the party again soon enough to help. Nor should we, on the record. I attended the public signing of the Contract With America, and I watched as it was abandoned by Republican "realists" who seemed to think that absolute power in *their* hands was kinda neat.

What becomes of the Tea Parties looks crucial to me. "Federalist" might be a good name for the result - small-f federalism would be far better than what we have, and regardless of the details of the history the name has an intrinsic respectability that would make the new alliance somewhat harder to demonize in the bitter political warfare it would instantly face.

Look at what Governor Perry of Texas has been saying in recent days, and at the response. Arguing that Washington has become overlarge in the nation's affairs and that power should flow back to the regions and the people, that the 10th Amendment means what it says, seems as if its time may have arrived as the common ground for a new governing coalition.

It seems highly unlikely that all the factions the Republicans would need to unite to govern from the center-right will ever again simultaneously trust them (or anyone) with the current scale of massively centralized Federal power. Nor should we. Too many Republicans have swallowed far too many contradictions, have met the enemy and become them.

The Federalist Party. It has a certain ring. Jerry Pournelle

The tea parties can and should morph into a political movement. Calling it the Tea Party is just too cute. Now the Federlist Party, that does have a nice ring doesn't it.

Bill Whittle: The Cost of Media Bias

Pissed off at the main stream media? You will be after you watch this.

I've seen links to this in a couple of places but the most recent was at Kevin's

The Washington Times on Gun Registration

Here's a good editorial on why gun registration doesn't work and Nancy Pelosi is a twit. This is news?

Susan Boyle

In my first marriage we attended a few Broadway Shows. Les Miserables was one I really liked. This lady does I dreamed a dream and kicks butt. Go listen. Now.















Oh, the cartoon was swiped from Theo Spark.
Update: the "kicks butt" link is corrected.

This Day in History

1775 – American Revolution: The British advancement by sea begins; Paul Revere and other riders warn the countryside of the troop movements.

1783 – Fighting ceases in the American Revolution, eight years to the day since it began.

NC: David Price

Just so it doesn't appear that I'm willing to comment on politicians from other states and ignore my own I present to you David Price [D-North Carolina]. He presents portions of Wake, Durham, and Orange Counties. He essentially has an gerrymandered district and will in all likelihood stay in office as long as he likes. He has never votes in support of our Second Amendment rights. In the past he's made no bones about his position on that subject. His wife, Lisa Price, until recently, ran North Carolinians Against Gun Violence. I did notice when I went to his website today to gun control. Ii was right there between Foreign Affairs and Health Issues on the "On the Issues" page. Curious? Anyhow, Price is a certified lib and gun anti. Although he is pushing the Mexico meme, unlike Green he ain't a moron. If we make the mistake of taking him for one we will surely regret it.

Al Green [D-Texas]: To stupid to lead

I don't live in Texas and and grant we have our own crosses, like David Price, to bear, but this moron needs to go.

I support the Second Amendment right of the people to bear arms, including handguns, hunting rifles, as well as other arms; however, I believe that some arms such as RPG's (rocket-propelled grenades), hand-held rocket launchers (bazookas), and warfare rifle-type assault weapons can and should be subjected to regulation and prohibition."

Let me give you a hint Representative Green. When you use words like however or but to connect two clauses you negate the first clause. What you said was "I support the Second Amendment right of the people to bear arms; however...". What you meant was either"I pay lip service to the Second Amendment right of the people to bear arms, but I don't really believe in it. OR I support the Second Amendment right of the people to bear arms; however, its not politically advantageous to do so at this moment because my man Obama, whose coat tails I'm riding, is pushing this Mexico meme and I have to lie with him or my constituents, those that I actually give a shit about, will give me holy hell.

H/T to the pistolero

Janeane Garofalo: Brainless Twit

The entertainment industry thrives on caricatures. In her comments on the tea party protests Janeane Garofalo creates another: that of a human being. Offered without further comment.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Ooof...

...that hurts, but the truth often does. Go read.

Thanks Kevin.

Tea Parties

What happens went large numbers of self motivated, freedom loving, big government hating citizens get together to participate in a peaceful grassroots protest of the excesses of our current President? The sheep get scaaared and downright vicious.

Inter-American Convention Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related Materials...”

...better known as CIFTA was signed by that paragon of pro-gun sentiment Bill Clinton but never ratified by the Senate. Now President Obama, with the sure and certain knowledge that he can't get any gun control legislation through the Congress is pushing for CIFTA's ratification. Obama doesn't have the courage for a straight on fight. He is a sneak and pushes to eradicate our second amendment rights from the flank. It's gun control from the edges. This bud needs to be nipped right fracking now.

Apparently much of what CIFTA would require in already in effect here in the US but it requires the implementation of more. There are provisions that require licensing. There are others that could be interpreted as prohibiting reloading ammunition. You build guns at home? No more. If the Congress failed to implement the required provisions there are other provisions that would allow President Obama to implement them by fiat. That scares me enough but putting our rights under the authority of any government outside our own is utterly unacceptable. So we gotta stop this now. Write your Senators. If your's are bought and sold by the gun haters write someone else's. Hell it can't hurt. It will take 2/3s of the Senate to ratify this treaty. That's 67 Senators. It's failed before. We can kill it again. Some Senators might tell you how innocuous this treaty is and how it's just symbolic. Tell them bullshit and that they will be held accountable for their votes. Tell 'em hell no and tell 'em now.
UPDATE: I sent letters to my Senators asking them to oppose this trash. What the hell are you waiting for?

Quote of the Day

The mainstream media seems intent on pasting the label “Republican” and “conservative” on the Tea Parties; my temptation is to label them “libertarian;” the truth, at least from what I saw in St. Louis, is that they’re grass-roots, eclectic, and cut across party and ideological lines … and if even 20 cities in the US matched the St. Louis turnout, “hundreds,” not “tens” of thousands participated - Thomas L. Knapp, Rational Review News Digest

Columbine Revisited

Here is an interesting re-evaluation of the Columbine's shooters: Kiebold and Harris.

H/T to Randy

Quote of the day

From a comment on the Cybersecurity Act of 2009...

Sounds like a great way to convert irate bloggers into rooftop voters en masse.

More Mexico bushwa...

...over at Kevin's and Sebastian's. Look, if I can google 30 calibre machine gun, look at the pictures, and identify the weapon as a Browning M1919 they can. The they here are the Mexican Federales and the newspapers that print this trash without question. Journalism my ass.

Are you a right wing extremist?

Have you been purchasing weapons and ammunition? If you have, according to the Department of Homeland Security, YOU are a right wing extremist.

(//FOUO Proposed imposition of firearms restrictions and weapons bans likely would attract new members into the ranks of rightwing extremist groups, as well as potentially spur some of them to begin planning and training for violence against the government. The high volume of purchases and stockpiling of weapons and ammunition by rightwing extremists in anticipation of restrictions and bans in some parts of the country continue to be a primary concern to law enforcement.

(U//FOUO) Many rightwing extremist groups perceive recent gun control legislation as a threat to their right to bear arms and in response have increased weapons and ammunition stockpiling, as well as renewed participation in paramilitary training exercises. Such activity, combined with a heightened level of extremist paranoia, has the potential to facilitate criminal activity and violence.

According to this report it looks like any one who favors small government, the U. S. Constitution, free market economics, the second amendment, and opposes illegal immigration is a potential conserva..uh libertar... I mean right wing extremist. Frack! I guess I'm a right wing extremist too.

I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice!
Barry Goldwater

Before Arranging Playdates, Ask About Guns

ABC asks suggests to the parent Before Arranging Playdates, Ask About Guns . Parents are responsible for their children and have to make a decision as to whether they want them in a house that does or does not have guns in it. I'd rather have my kids in a home where the adults have accepted responsibility for the safety of my child rather than turfed ot off to the police. But my problem with the piece is this...

Daniel Gross, the CEO and co-founder of PAX, the nation's largest nonpartisan gun violence prevention organization, said that 40 percent of homes with children have a gun.

"Nearly 1.7 million children live in homes with firearms that are loaded and unlocked, and every day eight children die from guns," he said. "These statistics are unacceptable.

Your are right Mr. Gross these statistics are unacceptable. Was it Mark Twain that said lies, damn lies, and statistics? That statistic falls into the damn lies category because of what it doesn't tell you. Child is defined as age 0-19. The stat includes those killed as a result of suicide and criminal violence. It doesn't tell you that most criminal violence in this country is carried out by males age 16-20. Seventy percent are adults age 17-20 engaged in criminal activity.

I don't know how many children die from accidental firearms injuries each day. I don't know how many of those deaths take place in a private home. I do know it is substantially less than eight.

Thanks to Tam

A WTF moment from the UK

So a man and his fiancee come home from a night out and go to sleep. The man is woken up by loud noise outside. He investigates and finds three rowdy thugs outside. He asks them to tone it down. They motion him forward and when he's within reach surround and stab him to death. That was in 2007. His family is still trying to get compensation from the government. You see the board that determines who gets compensation have declined to pay up.

But after applying for a maximum £11,000 in compensation Mr Johnson's family have been told that they do not meet the criteria as he tried to fight off the gang who took his life.

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority has twice rejected John Johnson’s case. They ruled that the demolition worker had 'significantly' contributed to his own death.

He contributed to his own death by trying to defend himself as three shitbirds stabbed him to death. That's not allowed. He should have cooperated with his murderers while he was knifed. Be a good sheep. Good sheep don't fight the butcher. Liberals like to present the UK as a model to be emulated by the US. They're welcome to it. I'm glad I live in the United States with our uncivilized culture of violence where I can shoot the bastards when they try to knife me.

This is neat.

Hubble discovers carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a planet orbiting another star, an important step along the trail of finding the chemical biotracers of extraterrestrial life as we know it. The Jupiter-sized planet, called HD 189733b, is too hot for life. But the Hubble observations are a proof-of-concept demonstration that the basic chemistry for life can be measured on planets orbiting other stars. Organic compounds can also be a by-product of life processes, and their detection on an Earth-like planet may someday provide the first evidence of life beyond Earth.
Credits: NASA, ESA, and M. Swain (Jet Propulsion Lab/Caltech)

By John Cox

The Mexico meme continues

FOXNews.com
Sunday, April 12, 2009

Mexican Envoy Defends Claim That Most Guns in Mexico Come From U.S.

Auturo Sarukhan, the Mexican ambassador to the United States, repeated and defended his claim that 90 percent of the weapons intercepted in Mexico come from the U.S.

During an appearance on CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday, Sarukhan said on the Arizona and Texas borders with Mexico alone, roughly 7,000 licenses for federal firearms had been granted.

"And a lot of the weapons that are being bought by the drug syndicates, either directly or through proxy purchases, are coming from those gun shops," he said.

Sarukhan isn't the only one to cite this myth. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, California Sen. Diane Feinstein and Willliam Hoover, assistant director for field operations at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have all said that 90 percent of weapons used to commit crimes in Mexico come from the U.S.

But in fact, only 17 percent of guns found at Mexican crime scenes have been traced to the U.S.

Nothing surprising here. Even with evidence to the contary anti-gun politicians continue to push the "US gun shops selling to Mexico" meme.

60 Minutes on Gun Shows.

60 Minutes did a hit piece tonight on Gun shows and the "loophole". I started to watch it but got distracted. Here is a post that provides a general synopsis of the segment.

Michael Bane reports that Newsweek is whining about the lack of progress on gun control.

The media chose sides on this issue long ago. With the obvious shift in public opinion, they've now begun a full court press to shape American opinion on gun control back toward the antis. They will use every means, tell every lie, to push their agenda.

H/T to Sebastian

Drunks and Fools

Wenatchee World

The 25-year-old Wenatchee man says he was just falling asleep on his living room couch when "my door flew open and there was a man standing there in the doorway and he said, 'Freeze, police.' "

Ray, who says he is an avid viewer of the television reality show "Cops," was not buying it.

"I kind of got real scared and I jumped in the air and put my hands up but it took me only a couple of seconds to know that this guy's not a cop," Ray said. "I know from watching that show that if police are coming to someone's house, they announce themselves before they boot the door open, not afterwards."

Really? Obviously this fool has never heard of no knock search warrants. If he's curious he should ask Cory Maye. I glad it worked out for him. He's alive and the goblin is wounded and in police custody, but using "COPS" as a primer on police procedure is a sure fire way to end up dead or in police custody yourself.

Navy 3, Pirates 0

American sea Captain Richard Phillips was safely rescued Sunday from four Somali pirates, who had been holding him for days in a lifeboat off the coast of Africa, a U.S. intelligence official said.

Three of the pirates were killed and one was in custody after what appeared to be a swift firefight off the Somali coast, the official said.

Initial reports indicate Phillips jumped overboard for a second time and the military was able to take advantage of the situation.

Pirates

It seems to me that the "civilized" world figured out how to deal with pirates rather well in the 17th century. The fix involved cannon, yardarms and rope. I'm sure our modern navies have the functional equivalent. Jules Crittenden and John Keegan provide a bit more detail on how to deal with this problem.

April 15th: Tea Party Time

There are 26 tea parties planned on April 15th in North Carolina alone. Here's the details on the one in Raleigh.

ABC anti-gun hatchet job on 20/20

This dissection of the 20/20 anti-gun trash which aired last night is so much better than mine. He takes no prisoners. Go read.

Another Mauldin cartoon

Escape From Hell

"And that one?" I pointed to a man up to his chin in boiling blood. He was screaming in agony so his face was distorted, but he looked Oriental.

"New one," Billy said. "Seung, something like that. Went out and shot a bunch of people in the college he was at. Allen, it puzzles me that a man can shoot thirty-two full-grown men and women before the sheriff's men gun him down. You're more his time, maybe you can tell me. Why didn't someone just shoot the son of a bitch?"

I scratched my head. Billy's viewpoint seemed skewed, alien.

"Five of them were teachers," Billy said. "They had to protect their kids. How could they not be armed? It's as if someone has been taking away their guns." He saw my puzzlement. Oh, well. I don't know how long he'll be out that deep, but he needs watchin'. Keeps trying to get ashore."

Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, Escape From Hell, TOR, 2009, p.150-1

No plan I can possibly make...

...survives contact with my wife.

Is death streaming it's way...

...toward us at this very moment? Definitely, but whether it's gonna be an exploding star, some goblin with a piece of shit 9mm, or a falling tree limb is open to question. As some wit once said the only thing sure about life is none of us get out of it alive. Now I plan to as much a fate will allow to go on my own terms but hey that too is a crap shoot.

And with those depressing thoughts I yield the floor.

H/T to Dick

If it were only true..

...you fucking shill.

For purposes of this personal blog, I yield the field in good grace to Wayne LaPierre.

The war continues and we'll be able to rest when we're dead.

H/T to Uncle

20/20 hit piece

The 4/10/09 episode of 20/20 only proves that the media gets the result they seek. The center of this investigative news piece is an experiment at a college. ABC recruited students who where given firearms training using Simunitions. They didn’t say how much training the students got just that it was more than most gun owners or concealed carry permit holders get. Select students are then placed in a classroom under the guise of classroom training in protective gear. The scenarios included one and two shooters with the second shooter hidden among the students.

One or two students in each group are given weapons. A shooter enters and the students react. Five students go through the scenario. Two of the five, both female, get their guns out of their holster and return fire. Another gets his out but is shot without engaging the shooter. The others die, but the key here is the shooter. He’s a police firearms instructor and a member of the Bethlehem Police Department’s Emergency Response Team [ERT]. That translates to someone who practices continuously with the tools of his trade: guns. He made good hits in all cases as you would expect. What I wouldn’t expect would be for the typical shooter to have that level of training. That any of the students managed to perform to the level they did against this shooter is amazing. You get the result you seek in these experiments and I consider the results here engineered. I’d have liked to see the results if the shooter had the same amount of training as the students. The result might have been a bit different.

Valid points were made about the danger to others in the classroom when the good guys shoot at the bad guys. But would those students be in any less danger if the only one shooting was the bad guy? At Virginia Tech would it have been worse if a student had been able to engage the shooter. Maybe they would have died too, but maybe an armed student could have taken the shooter down and fewer would have died.

Valid points were made about the necessity for training. You can’t just buy your gun and then rarely practice. You need to practice with not only static targets but while moving. You have to practice with you holster and your draw. It needs to be constant.

Other segments include the standard hearty stings bits. And of course we get a
“Every other day in America a kid is shot and killed“ claim. Studies that claim this define “kid” broadly and fail to mention that many are killed while engaged in criminal activity. The problem is that doesn’t justify taking guns away from the law abiding.

Valid points were made about irresponsible adults not securing their weapons properly but I’m sorry I can pay much attention to scenarios involving an agent provocateur, a producer, under the guise of peer pressure urging kids to engage in activity they might not normally. Also we get the usual crap implying that guns go off by themselves. With the admitted exception of some cheap models, guns today require that you pull the trigger before they fire. Lot of bad gun handling by kids, but no indication they’ve ever been taught better. Might training be a cure?

Then there is the “how many guns can you buy with $5000 in just one hour” segment. The segment is filmed at a Richmond Virginia gun show. This is a gun show loop hole bit. The buyer’s sister was killed at Virginia Tech. and he’s an activist. Toward the end of the piece we get comments on the failure of politicians to follow through on promises made after Virginia Tech . There is a video clip with a lady asking what we are doing to keep felons from getting guns. Since it’s shown during this segment the clear implication is gun shows are where felons come to buy their guns. No proof. No statistics. It’s just an implied fact. There is no mention that federal law prohibits felons from owning firearms. The segment did say that the Virginia Tech shooter bought his guns from a licensed dealer, but by designing this segment as they have alleged gun shows are at fault.

The buyer gets a Glock, the civilian AK variant [an assault weapon], a pump shotgun, a lever action rifle, an AR [another assault weapon] and two other rifles. The money quote is “It’s that easy”. It’s also, as the former ATF agent on hand says,”perfectly legal” My response, yes and Thank God. These are private sales and in some States we still are allowed to dispose of our property, firearms, as we see fit. If it’s mine I’ll do with it as I please.

As to the question how many guns can you buy in an hour with $5000. I think he got seven. I daresay I could do a bit better than that, but my tastes are a bit more expensive. On the other hand if I wanted to go cheap I could have bought a hell of a lot more than he got. If ABC wants another go at it I’ll volunteer as long as I get to keep the. They gave their up to the local PD. Also we got a comment that the “nation’s mayors” are demanding that something be done about assault weapons.

There was a short segment on what “experts” on self-defense recommend. This advice amounts to call for help on your cell phone, run away, hide or play dead. In short be sheep.

In the end this was an anti-self-defense, anti gun hit piece and about what I’ve come to expect from ABC.

Armed and Dangerous

I found this picture over at Cracked.com. It falls under neat but scary. On the other hand, maybe he's from an alternate universe.

It's sad when the British press has...

...to do the job the American press won't.

Thanks to Confederate Yankee

CNN: Fewer Americans support gun control

Here's another poll, from CNN, that tells us fewer American support gun control.

The poll, based on phone interviews with 1,023 U.S. adults from Friday through Sunday, were conducted after Friday's mass shooting in Binghamton, New York, where 13 people were killed at an immigrant services center.

Hey Paul Helmke, is this one recent enough for you? This has got to irk you. Even after the shooting in New York the numbers dropped.

Security by L. Neil Smith

It's an old essay but maybe one you need to read or read again.

Insurance my ass!

A tax protest ain't a St. Patrick's Day parade. The people have the right to assemble peacefully and present grievances and we don't have to pay for the fucking privilege. If you're not willing to push the issue you've already lost.

Pelosi wants nationwide gun registration

Representative Pelosi, I know you want to pass a new assault weapons ban but are afraid to do so because y'all remember the result last time you did it. The Dems lost both the House and Senate. Here's a hint for you. Gun registration will get you the same result not to mention massive noncompliance. We all know the only reason for you to push for registration is so you can come and take 'em at a later date. Don't bother denying it. We all know you lie when you breathe. Just understand. Ain't gonna happen.

North Carolina: Shitbird Alert!

Fucktard extraordinaire Fred Phelps and his minions are coming to North Carolina to preach their message of hate. They'll be instate on April 19th in Carthage protesting at the Pinelake Health and Rehabilitation Center. According to their webpage they'll be there from 2:00p to 3:00p. This takes a special sort of asshole. People around Carthage need to go give them a good old fashioned North Carolina welcome, toss them and their tar and feathers back into whatever wreck they drove down in, then show their worthless asses back to the State line. Yeah, I know. Even shit like this have first amendment rights, but damnit I can dream.

Helmke on Gallup

Paul Helmke writes that the recently published Gallup poll claiming support for gun control has dropped is...

one of the most misleading I've seen in a long time.

Not only is the information old, but the main question asked and highlighted is not reflective of current efforts by activists around the country to reduce gun violence.

This polling information was collected last October, which Gallup does mention in its third paragraph. Yet it certainly begs the question: Why publish a statement based on data that is almost six months old, in the wake of a string of mass shootings committed over the past month?

He would prefer that we instead lend credence to this poll.

the Brady Campaign commissioned a survey of 1,083 people who voted on Election Day last year to find out their attitudes on a handful of gun law proposals.

The Brady poll shows strong support for increased gun control. Who wants to bet that the Brady Bunch picked a polling place to conduct their poll that insured the end result they desired?

But more to the point, Paul, Gallup carried out their poll in October and your drones carried out yours in November. If I shouldn't pay any attention to theirs because it was conducted six months ago why should I pay any more attention to yours conducted five months ago? Does thirty days make that much difference? We all know the difference between these polls. One was conducted by a company that conducts polls as their business. The other was conducted by a political organization that conducts polls to further their agenda. Maybe Gallup should conduct a poll asking Americans whether they give a fuck what Paul Helmke and the Brady Campaign have to say about gun control? I know how I'd vote.

Thanks to Thirdpower.

An interesting Gallup poll

Gallup has a new poll on support for restricting gun ownership. The good news is that support is dropping. The bad news is that support for restrictions is still too high. Granted if one person supports increased restrictions I tend to consider that too high. And of course Gallup has to call to our attention that this poll was taken before the recent shootings. I sense that it grated on their sensibilities to have to report these findings at all.

H/T to David Hardy

U.S. Crew Regain Control of Hijacked Ship, Negotiate Captain's Release

Naval vessels ... can't be everywhere at one time, just like law enforcement," he said, noting that the U.S. Navy has been protecting the most vulnerable shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean.

Sounds familiar doesn't it. Now stateside I'd say that was a damn good reason to be armed.

"All the crew members are trained in security detail in how to deal with piracy," Maersk CEO John Reinhart told reporters. "As merchant vessels we do not carry arms. We have ways to push back, but we do not carry arms."

Ring Of Power

This ain't far from the truth.

From Sipsey Street

When seconds count...

Mark Steyn comments on the Binghamton Police Department's active shooter response.

By way of Tam

Thugocracy

It's not about fixing the economy and for the current administration it never was. It's about obtaining and keeping power by whatever means necessary.

Which brings me to the Pay for Performance Act, just passed by the House. This is an outstanding example of class warfare. I'm an Englishman. We invented class warfare, and I know it when I see it. This legislation allows the administration to dictate pay for anyone working in any company that takes a dime of TARP money. This is a whip with which to thrash the unpopular bankers, a tool to advance the Obama administration's goal of controlling the financial system.

geekWitha45 calls this Thugocracy.

North Korea Launches Missile Over Japan - Japan, U.S. Just Watch

Big Lizards reports that the North Koreans launched their ballistic missile over Japan as planned. What did we do, other than chatter? Our naval vessels sat there and watched missing the perfect opportunity for a live fire exercise. That's OK instead Japan and the United States verbaly chastised the North Koreans. I'm sure they were suitably impressed.

It's all our fault.

Apparently the spate of mass shootings nationwide are all our fault. No one else has any responsibility. It's all gun owners and us Second Amendment nut jobs. Michelle Malkin has the story here and here.

The gulf grows broader daily between sane and insane, and I'm not talking about the shooters.

Cartoons by Bill Mauldin

I love Bill Mauldin's WW2 era cartoons. I had a collection of his work but loaned it a friend who never returned it. Eventually I'll buy another. This cartoon is one of my favorites and lately I damn well sympathize though not for the same reasons.





















"I feel like a fugitive from th' law of averages."


I also have a copy of Back Home and found this inside.



















With all that's going on lately i needed a laugh and thought I'd share it with you.

They waited an hour?

Police heard no gunfire after they arrived but waited for about an hour before entering the building to make sure it was safe for officers. They then spent two hours searching the building.

In North Carolina when you have an active shooter, police officers are trained to enter the building on arrival, find the fucker, and kill...I mean stop him. That's what happened in Carthage, North Carolina. It may be the officers in Binghamton were following their protocol. If so that protocol is fucked and should be changed now. Police no longer have the luxury of waiting for special weapons teams to show up. If it wasn't protocol then well, Dick said it his way. Me, I think some police officers and a Police Chief need to be looking for other employment.

Gunman 'lying in wait' kills 3 Pittsburgh officers

A gunman wearing a bulletproof vest and "lying in wait" opened fire on officers responding to a domestic disturbance call Saturday, killing three of them and turning a quiet Pittsburgh street into a battlefield, police said.

The shooter was wearing a ballistic vest and is reported to have had...

several guns, including an AK-47 assault-type rifle, a .357 Magnum revolver, a .380-caliber handgun and a .45-caliber handgun.

My prayers go out to the familes of the fallen. Beyond that I'm just going to keep my mouth shut and see how it plays out.

More Lies on Mexico

Now that we have proof that the Mexico meme is a lie you'd think the gun haters would find a different tack. No such luck. I guess they figure if they keep telling the lie people will eventually believe it.

Thanks to David Hardy.

The Cybersecurity Act of 2009

Take a look at this scary piece of legislation.

The Cybersecurity Act of 2009 (PDF) gives the president the ability to "declare a cybersecurity emergency" and shut down or limit Internet traffic in any "critical" information network "in the interest of national security." The bill does not define a critical information network or a cybersecurity emergency. That definition would be left to the president.

The bill does not only add to the power of the president. It also grants the Secretary of Commerce "access to all relevant data concerning [critical] networks without regard to any provision of law, regulation, rule, or policy restricting such access." This means he or she can monitor or access any data on private or public networks without regard to privacy laws.

The bill could undermine the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), says CDT senior counsel Greg Nojeim. That law, enacted in the mid '80s, requires law enforcement seek a warrant before tapping in to data transmissions between computers.

The potential abuse of power here is too great to allow that power in the hands of anyone. It's a matter of trust and I don't trust anyone at that level in the political food chain. The only concern they have is obtaining and keeping power. I am concerned with the protection of my rights. They ain't. Get a warrant or prove exigent circumstances. Otherwise stay the hell out. We need to be calling our Representatives and Senators on this one. I think that this Benjamin Franklin quote is appropriate...

Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.

Archery 101

Go read this. It's fall out of your fricking chair funny.

The trillion dollar question

Thanks to Kevin.

Isn't it ironic?

My administration is the only thing between you and the pitchforks.

So if the bankers don't do what you say they'll have a lynch mob on their doorstep?

We need more sheepdogs

14 dead and four critically injured in Binghamton, New York shooting

I understand the shooter had two handguns, a knife, and lots of ammunition. I was away from the internet today. What I know about this is mostly what I heard on the television and radio. What it apparently boils down to is a disgruntled asshole who recently lost his job decided to take it out on the innocent. The shooter's cowardice was apparent by his choice of targets and the fact that he took his life rather than face the consequences of his actions.

On the tube we got the usual talking heads. At least President Obama didn't use the incident as an opportunity to push an agenda. Vice President Biden on the other hand couldn't resist. He told a crowd of civil rights activists

that Americans must find a way to prevent the kind of bloodshed that erupted in Binghamton.".

I agree, but I suspect our approach would be somewhat different.

Biden, I sure would argue we need more restrictions on private ownership of firearms. Me, I think we need more sheepdogs. We need people armed and willing to put themselves in front of the wolves to defend the sheep. And I don't mean only cops. The sheepdogs are anyone willing to step up and put their lives at risk to defend another. We need to get past this suicidal idea that we as individuals have no responsibility to provide for our own defense, and that the police will do it for us. That what leads to mass shootings like Binghamton and Carthage. We need more sheepdogs.

Another WTF moment..

...brought to you by the TSA. This ought to disturb anyone with an interest in liberty. That is, unless you're one of the just submit crowd.



From the The Agitator

Don't think we're not keeping score, brother

The President Is 'Keeping Score'

I'd expect no less.

Heather Alexander: March of Cambreath

This is another one I read about in one of John Ringo's novels. Ignore the video. Just listen to the music. It puts me in the right frame of mind when I read that gun control trash. Oh and if you like Celtic music go check out Heather Alexander's other stuff.

Winterborn - Subway to Sally Remix

I kept looking and finally found a copy online. This is my favorite version of the Cruxshadows' Winterborn. Hope you enjoy it.

I honestly couldn't tell ya what the post was about, but this image is priceless.















Thanks to Tam

Mexico and US Government Weapons Exports

David Codrea over at his National Gun Rights Examiner provides input as to whether US Government weapons exports have anything to do with the violence in Mexico. I thinks that's a damn clear YES, but that wouldn't help the push to renew the AWB would it?

Here's another piece on the same subject here.

LIE: 90 percent of the weapons used to commit crimes in Mexico come from the United States.

A major news outlet, FoxNews, finally calls a lie a lie.

There's just one problem with the 90 percent "statistic" and it's a big one:

It's just not true.

In fact, it's not even close. The fact is, only 17 percent of guns found at Mexican crime scenes have been traced to the U.S.

Now lets see if any of the other outlets have any integrity.

H/T to Firehand.

Winterborn by the Cruxshadows

I blame John Ringo for getting me hooked on the Cruxshadows. Odd looking? Yes, but I like this song.

Valerie Bertinelli

Valerie Bertinelli at 48. A moment of silence.......YES!

A snowball's chance...

...in hell.

The GOP's Alternative Budget.

For what it's worth, it's got my vote.

A Win for State's Rights?

From Blind Old Dog

White House forced to acknowledge states' rights

Cop Attackers & Their Weapons

New Findings from the FBI about Cop Attackers & Their Weapons
H/T to Firehand

I'd been thinking about writing this for a bit. The article above and the recent shootings in Carthage NC have provided motivation. In North Carolina the state requires police trainees undergo sixty hours [which includes classroom time] of firearms training during Basic Law Enforcement Training. After graduation they have to undergo six hours of in-service annually. This includes day and night qualification on a 50 round course with their duty weapon. A 25 round day combat course and qualification with any long guns carried. Deputies also have to complete a 25 round night combat course. Four hours of the in-service are a use of force class. Some departments require more hands on training but most just do the minimum. Some departments allow access to the range and provide ammunition for practice. Most don't. Of those departments that do, most officers don't take advantage of it. The only time most officers remove their duty weapon from their holster is during the annual training. I'm sure the standards vary from state to state but I'd be surprised if they vary much. This is the level of skill with which most officers walk into any violent incident that might require the use of deadly force. Justin Garner, the Carthage Police officer, who took down the Nursing Home shooter was the exception to the rule.

A new Niven Pournelle novel

Inferno a novel by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle was published in 1976. I must have read it shortly after its release and thought it was a hell of a ride. A science fiction writer dies and wakes up in hell but its a far cry from Dante's version. Why should anyone care about a thirty-two year old book? If you haven't read it you should, and, more importantly, they have finally written a sequel. Escape from Hell came out in February.