This is a bit...

bothersome*. Politics: Chicago rules. Do you get the feeling we're now in a Banana Republic?

* fucked up!

Still waiting

Ordered a Del-Ton AR lower with stock and innards 12 weeks ago. Still waiting. The more I read the happier I am that I went ahead and ordered it even though it will probably take a year or two to put the money together to get the rest.

Two posts on Sotomayor...

...here and here. Different takes. Both interesting. Still don't like her.

Zombie Nazis...

... and machine guns. That may even be worth putting up with subtitles.

H/T to Dick

The National Debt Road Trip

H/T to Michael Flynn

This is proof positive that...

...you can have all the degrees in the world and still be a dumb shit. Kevin, over at The Smallest Minority, does a thorough fisk of a paper by a couple of prime examples that was published over at the New England Journal of Medicine. It meets the usual standard we've come to expect from the NEJM on issues related to firearms.

TN: Gun is Restaurants Bill Vetoed

In North Carolina we have similar stupid laws that prevent permit holders from carrying in restaurants that serve alcohol. Off duty cops in North Carolina can carry where alcohol is served as long as they don't imbibe. What makes sense for one group should make sense for the other. I was interested that in Tennessee they were trying to make a "common sense" change, but I was gonna take a pass on the veto until I read Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen's rationale for vetoing HB962, the "guns in restaurants bill." The bill would have allowed handgun carry permit holders to carry their weapons into "restaurants" that serve alcohol. His "rationale"?

“I remember from the course there was one thing that teacher drove into us day in and day out … that message was guns and alcohol do not mix,” Bredesen said. “That was a common sense proposition back then, and it is every bit as true today.”

What a condescending ass to assume that permit holders are so lacking in "common sense" that they would go to a restaurant and have a drink while they're carrying. What a condescending ass to think that permit holders aren't aware that "alcohol and guns don't mix". This bill was passed with enough votes to override Gov. Bredesen's veto and by his statements he's expecting it. I hope Tennessee's Legislature doesn't disappoint him.

“Let's get it on.”

A Texas Pharmacist confronted a would be robber in his store. The robber, holding a cocked revolver, told him “Let's get it on.” The Pharmacist "got it on," and the end result was a dead robber. Works for me.

Representation

When the government tried to ban the sale of once fired brass I mailed letters to Representative David Price, Senator Kay Hagen, and Senator Richard Burr. Its been over two months since I sent the letters and the situation has been resolved. I got a letter back from Burr explaining how the situation had been resolved. I got jack from my other elected officials. I now know where I stand with all three. No surprises here.

Smart guns?

Good post on smart guns over at Tam's.

But if you look at a firearm as a piece of emergency equipment, then Authorized User technology is a no-go. A cop's partner may need to use her gun; my roommate may need to use mine. It needs to work right the first time, every time. It cannot malfunction or, if it does so, it must "fail-dangerous", in such a way as to leave me the ability to use the gun to defend myself, even if the Authorized User function no longer works.

About everything we do around here is government intrusion in people's lives.

"It is a way to coerce people out of their cars, yeah," LaHood admitted. "Look, people don't like spending an hour and a half getting to work. And people don't like spending an hour going to the grocery store. And all of you who live around here know exactly what I'm talking about.... About everything we do around here is government intrusion in people's lives."

US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is a perfect example of the bureaucratic trash that sees himself not as the public's servant but as our master. I suspect most bureaucrats see matters this way, but most aren't so damn blatant about it. There is at least a pretense that they serve the public and not the other way round. As I see it any intrusion into my life by the government is unnecessary and my behavior isn't yours to modify. LaHood needs to look for career opportunities elsewhere.

H/T to Dick

He missed the dog and hit the bystander

I'd ask how do you miss anything with a shotgun but I suspect the only weapon this cop spends less time "training" with than his shotgun is his duty handgun. That would be par for the course with most police.

H/T to Uncle

The Spoils System 2009

Is the Obama Administration closing Chrysler Dealerships based on political affiliation and campaign donations? Don't have a clue, but considering the political cesspool called Chicago from whince he came, it wouldn't surprise me one damn bit.

Very cool

More cool Lego stuff.

H/T to Tam.

Son of a ...

A drunk off-duty Chicago cop kills a 13 year old bicyclist in a hit and run. He's not given a breathalyzer test until four hours after his arrest. Translation: his cop buddies gave him four hours to sober up before giving him the breath test...and he still blew 0.079. It shit like this that damages the credibility of all police officers. Apparently the local courts aren't buying it. The cop is in jail under a 2 million dollar bond.

H/T to Radley

These are neat.

LEGO is doing Frank Lloyd Wright.

The weekend from hell...

...has morphed into a week of same. Probably going to be light posting for the next few days. Prayers from those of you so inclined would be welcomed.

Figures

David Kopel on Sotomayor and the Second Amendment. She's not our friend. Surprise. surprise, surprise.

Memorial Day 2009

John 15:13 - "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

222 years ago today...

1787 – In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, delegates convene a Constitutional Convention to write a new Constitution for the United States. George Washington presides.

They met to "fix" the Articles of Confederation and we ended up with a new Constitution. Let that be a lesson to those twits calling for a new Constitutional Convention. It's a crap shoot. What we have has served us reasonably well for 222 years. The unintended consequences of a new Constitutional Convention scares the hell out of me.

Weekend from hell

This was one of those weekends from hell. My oldest daughter from my first marriage spent Friday and Saturday in the hospital undergoing tests. Then my second wife spent the day in the Emergency Room. Not a whole lot of blogging or anything else has gotten done. If life allows I'll get more done next week.

He signed it!

President Obama signed the credit card reform bill into law yesterday. In doing so, he also signed into law the amendment that allows you to carry loaded firearms into National Parks if local laws allow you to carry them outside the park. I checked several news stories on the signing and found most make no mention of the amendment. ABC does...

At the Rose Garden ceremony, Obama did not mention one controversial element of the bill – an amendment that gave states the power to allow loaded concealed weapons in national parks and shelve a long-standing National Park Service rule against weapons.

I'm not that surprised Obama signed it. He wanted the credit card bill too much not to. Now I have to wonder what back room bullshit they're going to dredge up to screw us on the amendment?

Those Who Make Us Say 'Oh!'

From the WSJ

For Memorial Day, a bit early, Those Who Make Us Say 'Oh!' by Peggy Noonan. An excellent piece on three warriors.

FCC: Warrantless Searches

You may not know it, but if you have a wireless router, a cordless phone, remote car-door opener, baby monitor or cellphone in your house, the FCC claims the right to enter your home without a warrant at any time of the day or night in order to inspect it.

“Anything using RF energy — we have the right to inspect it to make sure it is not causing interference,” says FCC spokesman David Fiske. That includes devices like Wi-Fi routers that use unlicensed spectrum, Fiske says.

So lets take a law written in 1934 intended to allow the FCC to regulate unlicensed radio sets and use it for a power grab in the now when almost every household has something that emits radio transmissions: wi fi, cellular telephones. Somebody needs to put these guys on a leash.

It's about time to push the reset button.

Amen.

H/T to the Freeholder.

Ya gotta wonder sometimes...

"Hey, did you turn the dashcam off?"

"Dashcam?"

Fired!. These cops shoulda got time. No excuse.



Via Neal Boortz.

Mixed Blessings

The Credit Card bill passed the House yesterday. It's already passed the Senate. I'm not sure how I feel about the credit card portion. When the government sticks it nose into the free market there are usually unintended consequences and those consequences invariably screw the consumer. For that alone, as much as it hurts, I hope the Obamameister vetoes it. The bright side, if he doesn't, and I don't think he will, is that an amendment to allow carry in the National Parks, if local laws allow carry outside the parks, was attached to the bill and there's not a damn thing he can do about it but veto. And this after the Brady Bunch managed to get the Bush rule, that allowed the same thing, canned in the courts. Man, that's gotta hurt.

OK: Burglar craps pants

Woman is checking her email in her garage when she hears a noise and sees an intruder crawling in. Worried for her children she grabs her 9mm and pops off two rounds at the intruder. Intruder promptly flees.

Police do not believe he was hit because they found no blood at the scene. As he was running away, she says she lined up the gun's laser sight on his back, but did not pull the trigger again, most likely sparing his life.

"I just, I couldn't do it," Fitzgerald says. "And it took everything that I had, not to. Seems like you should be able to be in your own garage at night when it's dark and not have to worry about that kind of stuff."

Sluggy Freelance: Battle Royale

Life being what its been of late I hadn't checked in on Sluggy Freelance in a while. I checked in today then flipped back a couple of days and found Bun Bun and Oasis going at each other with blades. Now I've got to go catch up on the last few months.

HR 2401: No Fly, No Buy Act of 2009

The gist of this piece of work is that if your name goes on the no fly list you lose you right to own, possess, or buy a firearm. You get stripped of your rights without being arrested, charged, or convicted of a crime. Rahm Emanuel suggested this in 2007 but Carolyn McCarthy [D-NY] has submitted it to Congress. Didn't figure she was bright enough to come up with it herself. You can get a bit more detail from David Codrea's Gun Rights Examiner column or check here or here. Call or write your Congress Critters

Government Assistance

Submitted without comment. From Firehand.

Educational Toys...

...here and here.

Bring up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6

I got the links from Uncle and Tam.

Piracy: It's just business...

This smacks of ye old argument that if you give the robber or rapist what they want and you'll get out of it with your life and no worse for wear. After all it's only your property or your virtue at stake and if you resist you might be killed. The shipping companies have made the decision that it's more cost effective to pay the occasional ransom than protect their property and personnel. When the occurrences of piracy escalates will they feel the same? This approach doesn't work because the "rules" are subject to change at the whim of the extortionists. Better to deal with them on the front end and make their business unprofitable and fatal.

Voting with your feet, part two

Here's an interesting editorial from the Wall Street Journal on what happens when State governments raise taxes on the rich. They leave of course.

Mitt Romney and the NRA

I say again, I'm amazed how some people get religion when they're speaking at the NRA Convention. Romney got religion when he ran for President, but while he was Governor of Massachusetts, he signed into law legislation that allows shit like this to happen. Now he gives a speech at the NRA Convention where...

Aside from explicitly stating his support for unabated Second-Amendment rights, Romney's thesis of personal-freedom-as-key-to-American-success clearly resonated with NRA ideals. Here's how he ended it: "When we stay true to our principles, and state them forthrightly and fearlessly, they will command a majority in this country--and the freedoms we cherish will always be secure."

...and now he's a "favorite son?"

Why should I trust him to stay bought?

H/T to David.

Where's the crime?

In Massachusetts a man is arrested for possession of 30,000 rounds of ammo. The man claims the ammunition is for target practice.

That is hard to believe, the prosecutor at Garcia's arraignment said, because if he were to fire a gun for eight hours a day, it would take weeks for him to use all of it.

They charged him with "three counts of possession of a high-capacity firearm, illegal possession of ammunition and illegal storage of a firearm." The real reason for this arrest is the ATF and Local Law Enforcement believed he was going to ship the ammo out of the country, or that's the excuse. But 30,000 being too much for target practice? Bullshit. Garcia, the arrestee was doing what so many of us are doing under the Obama Administration: stockpiling against lean times to come.

David Codrea repeats the question asked by Garcia's attorney. "Where's the crime?" It's the People's Republic of Massachusetts, that beacon of enlightened gun control, and that should answer all your questions.

A kick to the head

Take a look at this video over at David Codrea's Gun Rights Examiner. It's a long video so wait for the payoff at the end.

A guy leads the police on a merry car chase placing everyone's lives in danger. He finally crashes the car and takes off on foot. When he realizes he cornered he drops to the ground, belly down, and arms spread obviously surrendering. the first police officer to reach him clearly kicks him in the head. The second officer on the scene delivers several blows to the torso with either a baton or flashlight. the third officer on the scene has the dog which he controls. With the arrival of the fourth officer, the suspect is finally handcuffed. Number one stands up and high fives the K9 officer. This is recorded for posterity by the News helicopter hovering above.

He makes valid points that I agree with. The rationale offered by the police attorney is bullshit. Distraction blow my ass. A kick to the head can kill.

Where I come from that kick would be called a "use of deadly force." Wait a second, since the scumbag on the ground had offered his surrender it would be an "unjustified use of deadly force." I understand the chase placed the lives of all involved at risk, and the cop's anger was justified. That anger doesn't justify that kick to the head or the pummeling with the baton. Police don't get the luxury of letting their emotions control their actions. The scumbag is in jail. The cop ought to be in the next cell down.

All I ask....

...is that they wait until after Biden's term is over to relocate the Vice President's bunker.

Save Journalism: Regulate the Internet

Radley Balko linked to an op-ed in the Washington Post that perports to argue what is needed to "save" journalism. It mostly points to the internet as the problem and restrictions on the internet as the solution. I'd argue that they are not so much intersted in saving journalism as saving the "traditional" content providers, like the New York Times and Washington Post, by regulating the internet so they can successfully charge for content. It didn't work the last time they tried it so they called in markers from their fellow travelors in the Senate to force the issue through regulation. If they were so damned worried about the survival of journalism they might try doing a bit instead of printing bias and calling it journalism. The fact is journalism is alive and well on the interent. It's just not them doing it.

Ironic idnit?

An expedition sailed toward Greenland in a "a 40ft yacht fitted with solar panels and a wind turbine>" Their intent on arrival was to ski across the landmass and "boast of the first carbon-neutral crossing of Greenland." Well, hurricane force storms kicked their ass and "the crew of the Carbon Neutral Expeditions craft had to be rescued 400 miles off Ireland" by a 113,000-ton oil tanker carrying 680,000 barrels of crude.

Ironic idnit?

Yeah I know it's probably old news but I couldn't resist.

Monster Hunter International by Larry Correia

With a opening line like this, I am so gonna buy this book.

On one otherwise normal Tuesday evening I had the chance to live the American dream. I was able to throw my incompetent jackass of a boss from a fourteenth-story window.

Passengers (2008)

The movie was Passengers (2008) with Anne Hathaway. Think a combination of The Sixth Sense (1999) and What Dreams May Come (1998) that telegraphs what's going on long before you reach the end. The acting was OK and Anne Hathaway is always worth looking at but even she couldn't carry me through this.

My Day

Get up and take my mom, age 87, to Urgent Care to check out the stabbing pain in her ear.
Read while I wait [Weber's Storm from the Shadows].
Run by CVS to get drugs for mom.
Take mom by Lowes to get plants.
Take her home and plant plants.
Go home and take trash to dump.
Go home and take the caulking from one window then replace it. Three hours, with constant interruption by my eight year old daughter and two neighbor kids. later one down and ten more to go.
Blog a bit.
I'm tired and I'm gonna watch a movie.
Later.

Buddy the Pit Bull

I saw this and thought of the time I had a pit bull for a roommate. He was found roaming with no tags, and it was take him home or let animal control off him. At the time Durham County wouldn't adopt out pit bulls. I had him for about four months before I by pure chance found his owner. Anyway, I lived in an apartment at the time and would have to leave him there alone while I was at work. I came home one morning to find some of my hardcovers chewed up including a couple of signed and numbered editions. I stared at him over the front sight for about a minute before I holstered and found a newspaper to beat his ass. Wasn't his fault after all. I should have found a sitter. I also blocked the books on the bottom shelf so he wouldn't look there for a chew toy again. By the way, he stared at the .45 and then ran like hell when he saw the newspaper.

An ATF raid in Connecticut

In Connecticut the ATF raid, not investigate, raid a home because a gun owner's son, who is a convicted felon [17 years ago, no trouble since] lives with him. Get the whole story here in today's David Codrea's Examiner column. Me, I'm curious as to what constitutes probable cause for a search warrant before a Federal Magistrate?

I'm amazed how some people get religion....

...when they're speaking at the NRA Convention.
Then...

Q: Should people have access to buy assault weapons?
A: Society should draw lines. What do you need an assault weapon for, if you're going hunting? That's overkill. But I don't think that means you go to a total ban for those who want to use gun for skeet shooting or hunting or things like that But what's the point of passing gun laws if we're not going to enforce them? If you want to talk about gun control, that's where you need to start. We've got 300 gun laws on the books right now. At the end of the day, it's about how we enforce the law.
Source: Washington Post interview Oct 16, 2006

...and now.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said Democrats are using violence reported in the news to frighten the public and push proposals -- such as a revival of the expired assault weapons ban -- that would restrict the gun rights of law-abiding people.
Source: Fox News, May 15, 2009

So tell me why we should trust what he says one damn bit, and what will he do when he's not among the faithful?

Quote of the Day

Michelle Obama has taped an appearance on Sesame Street. That makes sense because Sesame Street is a fantasy world paid for with taxpayer money. - Jodi Miller NewsBusted

...current deficit spending “unsustainable”...

President Barack Obama, calling current deficit spending “unsustainable,” warned of skyrocketing interest rates for consumers if the U.S. continues to finance government by borrowing from other countries.

“We can’t keep on just borrowing from China,” Obama said at a town-hall meeting in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, outside Albuquerque. “We have to pay interest on that debt, and that means we are mortgaging our children’s future with more and more debt.”

This is just the prelude to Obama telling us that as much as he doesn't want to raise taxes under the circumstances he just doesn't have a choice. God forbid recognizing he's been spending money like a teenager with their first credit card. He should call for the repeal of the trillion dollar spending bills he pushed. That would be like "rational" and "fiscally responsible" wouldn't it.

More at Jules' place.
The illustration comes from Attack Cartoons.

Media Bias and the Brady Bunch

What do you call a publication that publishes an organization's press release as if it were a news story? You don't call it a newspaper, and what ever claim Salem-News had to the title just went down the toilet.

Salem-News published a story on Tom Coburn's [R-OK] amendment to the Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights Act of 2009 which would repeal the gun ban on National Park Service and National Wildlife Refuge System land. It says that if local and state laws allow the carrying of firearms and a park is within that locality or state then carry is legal inside that park. Except you would never know this by reading the story in the Salem-News.

The "story" is the equivalent of the blood in the streets arguments pushed by the Brady Bunch when the Florida Legislature originally passed concealed carry. That's not surprising since the "story" was provided by the Brady Bunch. At the bottom of the piece was this: "SENT AS A COURTESY OF THE BRADY CAMPAIGN TO PREVENT GUN VIOLENCE". Maybe that line should have led the story to avoid a conflict of interest? Maybe it should have been clearly labeled as an op-ed? Maybe someone should have done a fact check prior to publication? Maybe the editors at the Salem-News need to look for other work since determining the difference between propaganda and news is clearly beyond them.

H/T to Firehand

NC: A Tea Party in Raleigh

A tea party is scheduled for June 3, 2009 in Raleigh. Details can be found here. It's sponsored by Americans for Prosperity.

Voting with your feet...

So what happens when to increase revenue you raise the tax rate on the wealthy? They leave. At least that's what appears to be happening in Maryland. I'm curious as to how these wealthy emigrants voted in the last election as opposed to how they're voting now...with their feet.

H/T to Uncle.

Where men are men...

...and sheep are...












John Cox's Kirkwood

Mexico: This is news?

Remember the raid by Mexican Police that netted a .30 cal Browning "anti-aircraft machine gun"? This is the raid he raid that took place shortly before the meeting between President Obama and his Mexican equivalent and was touted as proof of the Mexican canard. Well it may be the raid was a set up or hoax carried out by the Mexican government. And this is news to anyone with three gray cells strung together who is not a member of the main stream media?

H/T to David Codrea

George Will: Capitalism Goes Out Of Tune

I'm not really a fan of George Will. He's always struck me as more moderate than true conservative. This editorial on the current direction of our economy is dead on target.

In "Democracy in America," Alexis de Tocqueville anticipated people being governed by "an immense, tutelary power" determined to take "sole charge of assuring their enjoyment and of watching over their fate." It would be a power "absolute, attentive to detail, regular, provident and gentle," aiming for our happiness but wanting "to be the only agent and the sole arbiter of that happiness." It would, Tocqueville said, provide people security, anticipate their needs, direct their industries and divide their inheritances. It would envelop society in "a network of petty regulations — complicated, minute and uniform." But softly: "It does not break wills; it softens them, bends them, and directs them" until people resemble "a herd of timid and industrious animals, of which the government is the shepherd."

You'd think de Tocqueville was looking into a crystal ball. Scary, ain't it? The original quote can be found here in Chapter 6.

Brady Bunch: Criminalize Body Armor

There are no background checks, no federal regulations unless you are a violent offender—and even then you can buy them at gun shows or online..."- Daniel Vice, senior attorney at the Brady Center To Prevent Gun Violence.

Why do you need it if you're not going to commit a crime? - New York State Assemblyman David Koon, the sponsor of legislation to restrict the sale of body armor.

The headline reads Why Criminals Are Buying Body Armor. It's a simple answer: to increase their chances of survival in an armed confrontation with law enforcement or the other predators they interact with daily. It's called self preservation. A normal human trait. Non criminals, or what law enforcement call civilians, buy them and wear them for a similar reason. To increase their chances of survival in an armed confrontation with the criminal predators that prey on them. That prey on us. That, I might add, is also one of the reasons for the increase in firearms sales nationwide; a means of self defense. Another is that people rightfully fear Obama will enact gun control, but I digress. Guns and body armor are tools we can buy to defend ourselves. The worthless gits at the Brady Campaign know this and try, through their cutouts in Congress, to criminalize its ownership because they won't be satisfied until we're all helpless fucking sheep and they'll lie to twist public opinion and demonize gun owners until they get what they want.

Hey, most of us...

...have at least thought it.

H/T to Kathy Shaidle.

Pod People Alert

Last night my son and I watched the pod people invade California in the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Then I saw Nancy Pelosi on the news and realized after fifty years they're still there.

BTW it's a hell of a movie and still better than any of the remakes.

HR 2159: Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act of 2009

... or "the we can take away you guns and keep you from ever buying another on suspicion of nothing if we damn well please and there ain't a thing you can do about it so nah!, act." Sponsered by a Republican no less.

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., has sponsored H.R. 2159, the Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act of 2009, which permits the attorney general to deny transfer of a firearm to any "known or suspected dangerous terrorist." The bill requires only that the potential firearm transferee is "appropriately suspected" of preparing for a terrorist act and that the attorney general "has a reasonable belief" that the gun might be used in connection with terrorism.

The full text is here. These are the sponsers: Rep. Michael Castle [R-DE], Rep. Charles Rangel [D-NY], Rep. Carolyn McCarthy [D-NY], Rep. Mark Kirk [R-IL], Rep. James Moran [D-VA], Rep. Christopher Smith [R-NJ]. The names on this list should tell you all you need to know as to the intent of this bill. If the NRA has a stranglehold on Congress these guys sure haven't gotten the message yet.

Call your representatives and let them known where you stand.

Star Trek (2009)

J. J. Abrams was given the task of kick starting the Star Trek franchise and he's done it. Good story, good acting, good direction, good movie. Now Abrams likes that shaky/jerky image during the action scenes that that become the norm recently. they make my head ache, but that overwhelmed by the good stuff. All the main characters get their bits and this is revisionist but there is a reason for it that works. Well the plot twist works. The other reason is too start fresh you need to kick forty years of history to the curb and this twist allows and does that without dishonoring what has gone before. Hell, I wanted to sit through it again.

Going to the movies...

I'm going to see Star Trek. I'll let you know what I think.

Ignorance, thy name is...

...whoever the fuck made this shit. Bullshit indeed.



Thanks Kevin. I needed the laugh.

P. J. O'Rourke

Go read this piece by P. J. O'Rourke. There are so many examples of the verbal slap down here it's hard to pick a favorite.

Although waiting to see what France does may not be such a bad idea.

Because France is a treasure to mankind. French ideas, French beliefs, and French actions form a sort of lodestone for humanity. Because a moral compass needle needs a butt end.

Whatever direction France is pointing - toward Nazi collaboration, Communism, Existentialism, Jerry Lewis movies, or running for cover in Afghanistan - we can go the other way with a clear conscience.

Thanks Tam

To Paul Helmke with love.

Paul Helmke of the Brady Bunch is "disappointed" that Obama didn't gut the Tiahrt Amendments in the current budget. This to you Paul.






Image shamelessly swiped from A Stream of Conscientiousness.

H/T to Thirdpower for the link.

It's theft even when you call it eminent domain

The passengers of Flight 93 gave their lives to prevent it from reaching its intended target. Their families and the National Park Service are celebrating their sacrifice by stealing the land where the plane crashed for a memorial.

The government will begin taking land from seven property owners so that the Flight 93 memorial can be built in time for the 10th anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks, the National Park Service said.

There is no difference between a robber stealing a pedestrian's wallet at gunpoint and this. It's theft even when the government does it.

H/T to Uncle.

H. Beam Piper (March 23, 1904 – c. November 6, 1964)

Piper is one of my favorite science fiction writers. I like his work almost as much as Heinlein and the attitudes displayed in their works are similar. He was also a gun nut before being a gun nut was cool. Too damn bad he took his own life in 1964. The bits and pieces I read about him over the years indicate he was an individualist and the suicide was a matter of going out on his own terms. Too bad because based on his body of work his best was yet to come.

Here’s the Wikipedia entry on Piper. His novels and stories are available in electronic formats at Project Gutenberg.

UPDATE: Links fixed.

Gay Marriage Opponent Topless Photos Leaked

See pic here.

Shootout in Georgia

Two shooters break into a student apartment during a gathering in College Park GA. They divide the occupants by sex and split them into separate rooms. The shooters are counting bullets to make sure they have enough to take care of witnesses when one of the students pulls a gun from his back pack and opens fire. One shooter dead. One shooter on the run. One female student wounded in the crossfire. She is expected to recover fully. A massacre avoided. Wonder if this one will get incessant national TV coverage. Didn’t thing so.

It's not Fascism...

...when we do it.

Heh!

















From Big Hollywood

A Heinlein Quote

From The Quotable Heinlein

For the first time in my life, I was reading things which had not been approved by the Prophet's censors, and the impact on my mind was devastating. Sometimes I would glance over my shoulder to see who was watching me, frightened in spite of myself. I began to sense faintly that secrecy is the keystone of all tyranny. Not force, but secrecy...censorship. When any government, or any church for that matter, undertakes to say to it's subjects, "This you may not read, this you must not see, this you are forbidden to know," the end result is tyranny and oppression, no matter how holy the motives. Mighty little force is needed to control a man whose mind has been hoodwinked, contrariwise, no amount of force can control a free man, a man whose mind is free. No, not the rack, not fission bombs, not anything---you can't conquer a free man; the most you can do is kill him. - Robert A. Heinlein, If This Goes On--

Denied: the right to a fair trial.

08-2294 U.S. v. Olofson

The 7th Circuit has upheld Olofson’s conviction. So the court can bar your witnesses from the courtroom and the Prosecution can refuse to provide evidence to the defense. This means the FEDS can stack the deck during a trial anyway they please. Please tell me Olofson’s going to push on to the Supreme Court.

H/T to David

UPDATE: Links fixed.

Jon Stewart: Truman not a war criminal.

Jon Stewart apologized for calling Harry Truman a war criminal. OK. Jon, you're still a stupid twit. And for those who missed it the first time around, Bill Whittle tells us why.

Ed Rendell [Gov-PA]: Cops want gun control

...this is what the enemy looks and sounds like. - Thirdpower

Governor Rendell makes a very impassioned argument for gun control. He fills it with lies and Brady Talking Points which is kinda redundant. He's OK with people owning hunting rifles but assault weapons are too powerful and their rounds can penetrate bullet proof vests like the rounds for hunting rifles can...and the only thing assault weapons are good for is killing cops...and if you care about cops you have to support gun control like all police officers do...bullshit. The national organizations for police administrators and Police Chiefs support gun control just like their political masters demand. If you are a Chief of Police in a medium to large city you are beholden to those that hired you. Spout their bullshit or find another job. Then there are the cops who career advancement is dependent on the coat tail on which they sit. Same story. Rank and file cops are split along the same lines as the general population with, I'd say, the gun rights position taking the lead. That estimate is based on personal observation, but then most of the cops I know have more guns than me.

Poll: Pew Research on Gun Control

For the first time in a Pew Research survey, nearly as many people believe it is more important to protect the right of Americans to own guns (45%) than to control gun ownership (49%). As recently as a year ago, 58% said it was more important to control gun ownership while 37% said it was more important to protect the right to own guns.

That "thump thump" you hear is Paul Helmke banging his head on his desk. Thirdpower has commentary.

The Argyle Sweater

I added Scott Hilburn's The Argyle Sweater to my comic list. Go read it and find out why.

Blame the pistolero.

The North Carolina Sheriff's Association...

...supports gun control. According to Paul Valone, Eddie Cadwell, the NCSA's lobbyist, arranged to have SB 782, the repeal of North Carolina's Jim Crow era pistol permit system, pulled from the calender of the committee scheduled to hear it. Opposition to the bill is no more than I expected from the NCSA, but North Carolina Sheriffs are elected officials. Maybe you the voter should contact your Sheriff and let them know how you the gun owner feel about Caldwell's and the NCSA's actions. The NCSA also depends on private donations to operate. Maybe you the gun owner should call the Association and let them know you the gun owner will not be making future donations to an organization that pushes an anti-gun agenda. Maybe it will make a difference.

A Brady Bunch Riff

I only wish that this twit was the worst we had to worry about from the gun haters. What a hoot.

H/T to David

Good News, Bad News

The good news is that, according to the Obama administration, the rich will pay for everything. The bad news is that, according to the Obama administration, you're rich. P. J. O'Rourke

S. 941: The “BATFE Reform and Firearms Modernization Act of 2009”

The NRA-ILA FAct Sheet is here. I'm not sure the BATFE, at least the "F" part, can be reformed short of desolving it and starting over, but if this passes it's a start. The bit that stuck out to me was...

Require BATFE to establish clear investigative guidelines.

Be a nice change wouldn't it.

FL: LEO Shooting

Two Florida deputies answered a call of a suicidal man with a firearm. He opens the door with a cell phone in one hand and the door knob in the other. Tucked under one arm was a .30 cal. carbine. The deputies opened fire shooting the man in the head. Below is a quote from the Sheriff's Department's press release printed in a local paper.

The sheriff's office issued a release March 4 that said, "deputies ordered Adkins to put the weapon down, Adkins refused and fired one shot striking a ballistic shield that a PBSO deputy was holding."

But on Thursday, Stormes said the deputies saw Adkins' doorknob turn as they approached his apartment through a long hallway and "when the door opened, they immediately saw a firearm." They started shooting when they saw Adkins begin to raise the rifle, Stormes said.

The deputies claimed they ordered the man to drop the gun and returned fire when he shot at them. One deputy was struck in his vest. Ballistics showed the bullet that hit the deputy was another officer's. The man didn't fire.

I wasn't there. The man didn't fire. By this account the man could not have fired the way he was carrying the rifle. The officer's did. I don't know what happened, but I do know this. A young officer on edge, adrenalin rushing, who sees a suspect with a gun is not very likely to wait long, if at all, between the challenge and the bang. And memory plays tricks on you once the shooting starts. That's based not on personal experience but on conversations with officers who have been in officer involved shootings. What they remember is very seldom what actually happened. In an officer involved shooting, probably any shooting, no one knows what actually happened until the the investigation is complete. I won't say these officers lied, but that's all the slack I'll cut them. The officers were wrong, and should be held accountable.

H/T to David

Presidents and Twits

Jon Stewart called Harry Truman a war criminal for ordering the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. My father served in the Pacific Theater during World War 2 and fought on Anguar Island and the Philippines. Dad's unit was among those slated to make the initial landings, and there was a damn good chance he would have been killed. Had he died he would not have returned home to my mother to have and raise a daughter and two sons. Had Truman not ordered the dropping of those bombs I might not be here. That's a good enough reason for me.

Bill Whittle breaks it down and takes Stewart apart by the numbers. It is a beautiful thing to behold.

Notes on Training with .22s...

by Michael Bane.

subcaliber practice brings you 99% or more of the benefits of full caliber training. The remaining little bitty slice is handling recoil, which if you have the fundamentals down is less of an issue than you might think...there's not a different set of fundamentals for heavier recoiling guns!

This is my experience also. I bought a Buckmark years ago to work with new shooters. Go read.

H/T to Tam