WATE:

Study: Some Older Drivers More Likely to Get into Crashes

A new study says drivers over 65 are 25 percent more likely to get into auto accidents than their middle-aged counterparts, and the very elderly even more so.

The study by AAA’s Foundation for Traffic Safety finds that people age 85 and up are nearly four times more likely than middle-aged drivers to be killed if they get into a crash.

The study finds that as drivers age, they suffer increasingly from decreased perception and motor skills.

I really wish Tennessee had periodic re-testing of drivers.

He’s challenging the handgun ordinance using privacy rights. Odd.

I just realized I fired off 25 (now, 26 actually) blog entries today. Maybe time to slow down.

I got a reflex holographic scope for my AR15 on Ebay. It’s the thing on top of the carrying handle for you non-gun types.

Pretty neat! Allows target acquisition at greater ranges, while allowing the shooter to keep both eyes open. It also is about the best platform to quickly acquire targets. Put red dot on the target (in my case, that will be little pieces of paper) and shoot. The laser is projected onto a lense so only the shooter sees the laser.

Helen & Harry Highwater rip the TV show Judging Amy a new one. Sample quote:

The producers of Judging Amy abhor freedom. That’s the subtext, virtually every week.

The show revolves around a juvenile court judge (Amy Brenneman) who’s always looking our for the children, and her mother, Maxine (Tyne Daly), a career child-welfare monitor who’s also always looking out for the children. Brenneman’s the star, but the show’s more ominous subplots and Message-with-a-capital-M often revolve around Maxine.

She’s *always* nosing around in other people’s family matters — it’s her job, and she’s really dedicated to doing her job. Charlize Theron got rave reviews for playing a “Monster”, but this woman is a much more believable, everyday monster.

I think something similar of cop dramas on TV. They relay the message that it’s OK to violate civil liberties so long as the cops get their man. I addressed that here in this note to David Caruso. Side-note: What an odd coincidence that that post has a link to the ACLU card that summarizes your rights when detained I mentioned over at Mr. Wage’s site?

And since our kids aren’t being taught their rights, what’s the future going to look like?

To remind everyone to read the comments to this post. There’s some new ones. Traffic on that post has subsided since I am now no longer the #1 google for spiked bracelets. Still, I get the occasional comment and thought I’d pass them on to you. They’re quite hysterical.

A bill introduced in the House is being offered to Allow War Veterans and Heirs to Legally Register War Trophies:

U.S. Congressman Jim Gibbons (R-Nev.) today reintroduced the Veterans’ Heritage Firearms Act which will permit veterans and their heirs to register war-era trophy firearms that the U.S. military had allowed them to take home after their tour of duty. The legislation has bipartisan support with over 50 original cosponsors, including House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-CA) and Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs, Alan Mollohan (D-WV).

“Innocent veterans who possess war relic firearms are in jeopardy of being unjustly convicted of serious felonies,” stated Gibbons. “These veterans fought to secure freedom and preserve our national security. When our servicemen returned home from battle, they focused on reuniting with their family, securing an education, and building a home– not on wading through the burdensome bureaucracy associated with registering a firearm.”

The bill extends amnesty to those who served through 1968. Why can’t our boys overseas bring home some souvenir AK47s? Why can’t anyone own a machine gun made after 1986? Why does someone have to spend $12K on a gun that retails new for $1K? How about amnesty for the population of law abiding citizens?

Update: I’m still angry. How about amnesty for: Hale DeMar, Mark Lancaster, anyone who wants to put a pistol grip on their Springfield M1, people who possess tube fed .22 LRs in New Jersey, handgun owners in DC, people who want to put regular capacity magazines in their guns without paying too much, otherwise law-abiding citizens who have violated some arbitrary standard set forth by some bureaucratic shill at some government agency, etc.

I always look forward to coming home from work and not just because it means I’m done working. I like to come home because once I get all my knickknacks out the car and walk through the garage, I am greeted by two dog butts moving left and right at approximately the speed of sound.

Sometimes, if I’m lucky, the Mrs. even joins in the butt shaking (woohoo!); though more often I get a smooch. Then, after telling the dogs down a couple of times, I make my way to the nightstand to unload my pockets. At this point, Politically Correct Dog has found some toy or treat that he wants to show me. He brings it in, prances around, lays it at my feet, and scurries around for more. I scratch his head and tell him he’s a good boy.

Politically Incorrect Dog loves when I go to the nightstand. This is when he jumps up on the bed then jumps into my arms for a hug. It’s awkward because he weighs over seventy pounds but it is worth it. I realize I could be teaching him bad habits but thankfully he has yet to jump into anyone else’s arms. But how can you turn down dog hugs?

Dean was all like I’m outta here.

Edwards was all like Score!

Kerry was all like Maybe I shoulda been nicer to Dean. His peeps will vote for me, right? What do you mean there’s another John running?

Kucinich was all like Put that weed down, guys. The press might show up. And pass me that hair grease.

Sharpton was all like Can I have that hair grease when you’re done?

I am amazed that in 17 days I have received hits from 176 Googles for Kitchen Fresh Chicken.

Yes, I did.

It’s getting to be baseball season apparently. The only reason I know is that blogs that I like to read are covering it. How long is baseball season? Like 11.5 months? Blah!

Hope it ends soon so these guys can start talking about important and entertaining stuff.

A town in Maine wants to dissolve itself for tax breaks:

“They’ve got absolutely nothing. They don’t have any fire department. They don’t have a police department. No water department. No sewer department. There’s nothing,” said Rep. Jim Annis of neighboring Dover-Foxcroft, who wrote the bill proposing the town’s deorganization.

Roughly half of the state belongs to unorganized territory, bringing an estimated 22,000 accounts when property tax is assessed each year.

Snip

The last time a town dissolved in Maine was in 2001, when Madrid, population 180, won lawmakers’ permission. Centerville, population 25, in Washington County will do so this year. And officials said inquiries have come from other towns, including Cooper in Washington County, in light of Atkinson’s push.

The battle for the Maryland Assault Weapons Ban is heating up:

The battle over a state ban on assault weapons appears to be turning into a partisan showdown between Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. and Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.

Ehrlich (R) has personally lobbied senators to kill the bill, while Miller (D-Dist. 27) of Chesapeake Beach said he wants a ban to pass.

A vote in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee had been planned for last week, but it was postponed with the vote in doubt. Freshman Sen. John A. Giannetti Jr. (D-Dist. 21) of Laurel appears to be the sole swing vote on the committee and is the target of intense lobbying from both sides.

Giannetti acknowledged calls and face-to-face meetings with Ehrlich, but said he has not decided how he will vote.

Miller made the assault weapons ban a partisan issue at the beginning of the legislative session, singling it out in a speech to Democrats in which he sought to tie the governor to former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and congressional Republicans.

He said Tuesday that he would like the General Assembly to at least keep in place the federal ban on semiautomatic Uzis, AK-47s and other assault weapons that is set to expire in September because congressional Republicans refuse to allow a vote to extend it.

My personal favorite:

“I think we should not reward [U.S. House Majority Leader] Tom DeLay and the right wing of the Republican Party, who believe that people ought to be able to bear arms at will and with the weapon of their choice,” Miller said, noting that he is a gun owner. “I don’t own assault weapons, and I don’t want them on the streets I represent.”

Well, what exactly do you think the second amendment means?

This article entitled Dangers of owning pit bulls demand strong regulation made many points that I and other politically incorrect dog enthusiasts have made:

“Burglars who are into meth will have pit bulls around to act as a guard for the house,” said Pierce County sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer.

These people have set their dogs on deputies coming to make arrests. They have let them loose on neighbors and their pets. They fight them against each other.

“We’ve had a dog-fighting problem in the South Puget Sound for quite a while,” Sayre said.

Troyer agreed. Deputies have heard of the fights, and have found dogs that appear to have been injured in them.

“Unfortunately, people buy that breed and train them to do that,” he said.

Meanwhile, the number of pit bulls who end up confiscated or abandoned is rising.

In 2002, the Humane Society for Tacoma & Pierce County took in 910 American pit bull terriers, Staffordshire terriers and predominantly pit bull mixes. Last year, the number was up to 1,142, of which 887 came in as strays. The vast majority were put to death.

The population explosion also shows up in Seattle Purebred Dog Rescue’s statistics. The pit bull heads the animal welfare group’s “Top Most Unwanted Breeds” list. In 1999, the group had 168 pit bull referrals. The numbers climbed to 413 in 2000, 1,023 in 2001 and 1,096 in 2002, the most recent year on the chart. Those dogs were not killed, but they consumed a huge share of the society’s resources.

It’s a dangerous and untenable situation.

However, she concludes with this:

We need a countywide campaign, including animal protection and law enforcement officers, to bring pit bull owners into compliance, educate the public on how to effectively report dangerous dogs, and seize those dogs.

Without it, hundreds of pit bulls will kill other animals and attack people. Without it, thousands of pit bulls will be put to death.

Without it, we’ll have a good case for breed-specific legislation.

BSL is not the answer because dog-fighters and criminals will switch to another breed and train the animals to be aggressive. There is no way to scientifically determine what breed a particular dog is. Owners are responsible for their pets, dogs are just being dogs and are doing what they’re taught to do. It makes criminals out of ordinary pet owners and could lead to the killing of long-time, well-trained family pets.

I told you the media wants Edwards in the race so pundits can keep their jobs a while longer. Miniluv offers proof. Nope, no bias here.

Another supposed Kerry scandal, this time alleging he took contributions from the Chinese.

While I applaud the civil disobedience in SF, I also like Clayton Cramer’s thought experiment on applying it to guns:

If I were the sheriff somewhere like Lassen County or Modoc County, I would be very tempted to just ignore California’s assault weapons law, start ordering them up on department letterhead, and then sell them to any resident of the county who passed the background check for firearms transfers in California. I mean, the sheriff could argue, and with as much accuracy, that the assault weapons law violates Article I, sec. 1 of the California Constitution

Jeff is back. He may not be tanned, but I’m sure he is whatever the Vermont equivalent of tanned is.

Les has blogged Bredesen’s TennCare speech.

Manish has blogged his observations of the SF gay marriages. A thought provoking post.

An update to this from a while back, is in the Tennessean today:

A proposal in the legislature to require that all dogs riding in the back of pickup trucks either be caged or tethered was amended yesterday in an attempt to make it more palatable to opponents.

State Rep. Bill Dunn, R-Knoxville, the sponsor, agreed to apply the law only to trucks on state highways. The first offense would get a violator a warning instead of a fine.

Does it apply to convertibles? Me and the dogs have been out riding around with the top down. Guess we’ll avoid state highways to be safe.

CNS News:

“I am not trying to be petty here,” said one of the two judges who refused to immediately halt the same-sex “marriages” taking place in San Francisco. But, the judge said, “That semicolon is a big deal.” San Francisco Superior Court Judge James Warren told the Proposition 22 Legal Defense and Education Fund that their request for the city to “cease and desist issuing marriage licenses to and/or solemnizing marriages of same-sex couples; to show cause before this court” was incorrectly written, and therefore he could not issue an order immediately halting the controversial marriages. “The way you’ve written this, it has a semicolon where it should have the word ‘or,’” the judge told the plaintiffs. “I don’t have the authority to issue [a temporary restraining order] under these circumstances,” the judge said. The second judge, Ronald Quidachay, said he wouldn’t rule until Friday at the earliest.

Apparently, students who go through our educational system are completely unaware of their civil rights:

Despite crackdowns on underage drinking that have pitted police against students, some students say they still don’t know their rights.

Christopher Carpenter, a media arts freshman, said he wouldn’t know what to do if he was confronted by police, or if his rights were violated.

“I’m not sure the average person would know what to do if an authoritative person violated their rights. They wouldn’t know who to turn to,” he said.

Well, here’s my advice if stopped by police:

1 – Keep your mouth shut. Don’t say anything other than Am I under arrest? or Am I being detained? If the answer to those questions is no, then you’re pretty much free to go.

2 – Be polite and do not act belligerent. In fact, add sir to the sentences above.

3 – Keep your mouth shut. Don’t say anything other than Am I under arrest, sir? or Am I being detained, sir? Notice a trend?

4 – If arrested, keep your mouth shut. The only thing you should say is Sir, I’d like to contact my attorney. You do have an attorney, don’t you? If not, get one.

By the time the cops read you your Miranda rights, they already have enough evidence to book you. This is why you keep your mouth shut.

For the record, I have never been arrested or otherwise detained. And I am not a lawyer.

I find it odd that our educational system doesn’t teach students what their rights are and how to react in situations. Public schools mostly teach children to be sheep, which is unfortunate.

NRAWol again:

The National Rifle Association wants no part of a Rapid-City-based pro-gun group that charged Gov. Mike Rounds with supporting the confiscation of private firearms and drew an angry rebuke from state legislators for its aggressive lobbying tactics.

David Conway of Black Hawk, legislative affairs director for the NRA-affiliated South Dakota Shooting Sports Association, said Monday that the NRA had no connection to the group South Dakota Gun Owners and doesn’t approve of its lobbying style.

“Their methods at the Capitol are not our methods,” Conway said. “We choose to have a working relationship with state officials, whereas they choose to attack.”

No, actually your method is to wait around until some gun bill scares gun owners, act like it scares you, and then support it at the last minute when you realized you’ve lost. How about getting pro-active and attempting to introduce bills that repeal gun laws? Here’s a start: $200 NFA tax, Assault Weapons Ban, and the Hugh’s Amendment. That ought to keep you busy for a while.

It seems I can no longer refer to them as the million err four mom march. Instead, I have to refer to them as the million err 24 mom march. Oh, well.

Papers, please:

One balmy May evening back in 2000, Dudley was standing around minding his own business when all of a sudden, a policeman pulled-up and demanded that Dudley produce his ID. Dudley, having done nothing wrong, declined. He was arrested and charged with “failure to cooperate” for refusing to show ID on demand. And it’s all on video.

On the 22nd of March 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether Dudley and the rest of us live in a free society, or in a country where we must show “the papers” whenever a cop demands them.

Now, they’re going for a state-wide resolution:

A subcommittee of the state House on Tuesday passed a resolution acknowledging God and the exercise of religious freedom as “the foundation of our national and state heritage.”

The resolution passed the House State Government subcommittee on a voice vote with no discussion and was forwarded to the State and Local Government Committee.

Sponsor Rep. Eddie Yokely, D-Greeneville, said the resolution acknowledges “that God has been in our historical foundation and our heritage” throughout history.

The resolution, like many passed by the Legislature, has no practical effect other than to make a statement.

So, if there is no practical effect, why are we wasting our time and money with it? And wasting more money when it gets challenged in court (and it will). Lame.

Edwards did well in Wisconsin. He still didn’t win. Pundits seem happy because this allows them to keep their jobs, so long as they play it up. Edwards should be the nominee if the Dems expect a shot at winning.

It clearly wasn’t me. Do you have a towel?

No matter how many pairs of jeans, hats, hunting boots and guns John Kerry borrows and poses with for photo ops (mind you, the irony of his critiques of Bush’s various photo-ops is likely beyond him), he is no friend to gun owners. Bitter tells us why.

Politburo Diktat. First, for including me in his bestiary. Second for making me laugh outloud at least twice today.

Jeff points out that I will soon be a father and maybe should abandon the name Uncle. Jeff will soon be an uncle, too. So, congrats to soon-to-be Uncle Jeff, who seems to be a rather avuncular sort.

Perusing Yahoo news, I thought I saw this headline:

Condi Rice sales looming in the US.

A quick double take and I saw that it really read:

Condo prices, sales booming in U.S.

Miniluv alerts us that Two Iraqis were arrested Thursday for carrying a barrel of material suspected to be uranium, a high-ranking police officer told AFP Sunday.

Let’s see how this pans out before we jump the gun on this one.

There have been many movie lists, song lists, and album lists that have rocketed across the blogosphere. I’ve decided I’d try to start one. Here goes my submission.

Top five (err, OK 6) songs that suck but you know you like them anyway:

Herbie Hancock – Rockit. I blame Herbie and this song for the creation of that pox on music known as techno. But this song ruled.

Biz Markee – Just a Friend: Who messed up and told him he could sing? Still, you can dance to it and if you sing it in a group of people, they are guaranteed to chime in.

Green Jelloy – Three Little Pigs: Pretty bad tune but it made everyone laugh. Also, that last drum fill before the last chorus rocks.

Alanis Morissette – You oughta know: Decades of pent-up frustration from a former You Can’t Do That on Television star. Angered women; made men scared. Bonus: Flea played bass on the demo version.

Young MC – Bust a move: Speaking of Flea, he played bass on this one too. And everyone has played the drinking game where you do a swig of beer for each oh and yeah.

Lee Greenwood – God Bless the USA: Hokey, campy, just plain not good. But folks get misty-eyed when they hear it. Despite public perception, this is actually not the national anthem.

Update: Ok, 7ish: anything by AC<lightningbolt>DC.

I recall the religious right being up in arms over the movie The Last Temptation of Christ, which I did see and thought was a decent movie. Now, the left is up in arms over antisemitism and appeasing to the religious right.

I guess pissing the religious right off is OK but doing a movie about something they may agree with isn’t?

They’re just movies. Robin Williams said it best when he said: Hey Sparky, no movie’s real.

Mike, who really should update more often, has the details of more boobie exposure on television. Honestly, how advanced is our society if exposed breasts are that big a deal? It does, I guess, prove we’re a nation run by uptight men.

The AP writes:

Dean Insists Run Won’t End in Wisconsin

Here’s a newsflash, Sparky: The run has ended. It’s all over but the please make me veep err piss and vinegar, rile the troops concession speech.

Though the news of a dog attack is never good, I am glad to see the city of Auburn back away from Breed Specific Legislation:

The state’s “dangerous dog” law — under which Roberts was charged yesterday — does not single out any particular breed of dog.

And the city of Auburn, which last month discussed labeling pit bulls as dangerous dogs, has backed away from that breed-specific law, according to the American Canine Foundation, which recently met with council members.

The Bay Area has an unwanted pit bull epidemic:

There is a hidden crisis at animal control shelters around the Bay Area, and dogs are dying because of it.

One day recently, at least ten cages at Oakland’s animal control were holding pit bulls. Some were so aggressive that they were a threat to other dogs, even behind bars.

The fact people would get a dog, encourage it to be aggressive (or at least not socialize it properly, which is essentially the same thing), then get rid of the dog is further proof that some people shouldn’t own dogs no matter the breed.

Ron says that Kerry doesn’t get it, after all he’s making an issue of Bush’s Nascar appearance.

You see, Ron, appealing to Nascar dads is Democrat codespeak for appealing to racism. Heck, if the Republicans supposedly have a Southern Strategy, it makes since that the Democrats do to.

Heh! See how dumb that sounds.

Buddy Don has started a new feature, blog reviews. An excellent idea! I may be saying that because he reviews my site. But I take this as a high compliment:

i half to add mitt, whenever i furst red mr. uncles site, i figgerd twuz one of the one-noters a la sick
of bush or hobbsonline,
them that ye kin almos perdick usin parody on a counta they dont never sprize ye with a new pinion, tho they kin git purty inventive with thar splainayshuns of
thar own orthodocks point of view. taint that thars nuthin wurth readin thar,
but the content tiz kep within sum limitin blinders.

This reminds me. Tom sent an email stating that people at the recent Memphis blogger’s bash discussed my politics. Tom didn’t say, but I’m sure the term wingnut popped up a few times. Tom concluded that I:

1) really like guns

2) really hate taxes

I do like guns but I like gun rights more. I only have three guns. I don’t collect, per se. I have owned many guns but I tend to buy/sell/trade when I get bored of my current guns.

I don’t really hate taxes. I realize that they are necessary and provide valuable services. What I take issue with is the fact that everyone pays too much. The poor get screwed by sales, payroll, and use taxes; and the rich get shafted by income taxes.

One final thing, I am apt to (and quite often do) change my mind about issues. If more info comes to light or I am exposed to a new way of thinking about things, I may change my mind on the issue. Seriously. Some people think that maybe this is inconsistent or disingenuous but I don’t care. It’s my prerogative. I forgot who said it, but a commenter here said something like:

Consistency is a fine trait in house paints. In thinking entities, it is rather useless.

So, there you have it.

Les has his weekly gun links up.

Wow, 2,000 posts! Not counting the 50 or so over at the Carnival.

I’m very disappointed. During this primary season, the Democrats had a chance to revamp their little imploding party. The way I see it, they could have gone one of three directions. With the all but guaranteed victory of Kerry, they chose the worse of those three directions.

If the nominee was Howard Dean, that would have indicated a shift leftward. I would have likely not agreed with Democrats on many policy issues but that would have been respectable for a party in need of change.

If the nominee was Lieberman, the shift would have been a little more to the right. They would be more moderate. Let’s face it, Lieberman is the face of moderate Democrats. That’s why some Democrats don’t like him.

Instead, they opted for politics as usual and look to be going with Kerry. Politics as usual, keep it moving, nothing to see here.

WATE writes:

State homeland security officers say they’re confident Tennesseans are safe from a terrorist attack. But they can’t let their guard down and say you shouldn’t either.

Even with all the increased security and frequent changes to the color-coded national terror alert system, many East Tennesseans have no idea what to do if terrorists actually strike. “My first reaction is panic,” Yvette McDaniel said. “I mean, I think that’s anyone’s reaction.”

The Department of Homeland Security is trying to combat panic with information on developing a plan.

Start by setting up an emergency, out-of-state contact who has all your family phone numbers. If a local terrorist strike happens, it could be impossible to make a local call.

Also, turn on your TV and radio. You’ll need news updates and information in emergency bulletins.

Sure, I think the media and politicians like to play up this fear thing, but it probably is a good idea to prepare for the worst. After all, people do develop plans for a house fire. May as well have a terror plan.

Noticeably absent was a mention of grabbing a gun. It is East Tennessee so that is probably not an issue.

So, the million err four mom march is planning a rally to demand gun violence solutions. They’re calling it the Halt the Assault Weekend. Nice way to tie it into the Assault Weapons Ban. I guess that is a gun violence solution to a gun violence problem that doesn’t exist. By that I mean there is no violent epidemic from assault weapons. They are used in less than 1% of violent crimes.

Why not support the ban?

Hey, it sounds reasonable doesn’t it? Well, I guess it would until you look at the details.

Right off the top, they ban the Avtomat Kalashnikov models made by Poly Technologies, Norinco, and Mitchell. This may sound reasonable unless you understand that the gun spelled out here has never been made by any of the companies listed. They did make a rifle which looked the same but did not have a number of the key military functions (full automatic fire, burst fire, etc) of the Soviet weapon named. But this part of the text in this ban can not be stretched to cover the rifles they made.

Basically this ban’s effect would be like a “Sports Car Ban” which bans the Ford Camaro. Ford did make the Mustang and many people consider the Camaro to have been an attempt by GM to compete with it. But there is no reaonable purpose to ban either a sports car by a make and model combination that does not exist, or a rifle by a name and company combination that does not exist (sic).

The assault weapons ban also proscribes a number of other military rifles which were never allowed in this country in the first place. One might claim this argument to be mere semantics but when it comes to legal issues semantics is all you have.

Then this law bans assault weapons based on some cosmetic features like bayonet lugs (to prevent gangland bayonet charges?), grenade launchers (already banned, along with their ammunition, by volumes of other federal and state laws), and flash suppressors (which generally have little effect with commercial ammunition).

Me and Mrs. are about to embark on another move. Staked it out today and break ground tomorrow. Check out the new pad we designed:

The woman Kerry is alleged to have had an affair with is denying the allegations. The AP reports:

A woman who has been the subject of rumors linking her to Sen. John Kerry denied Monday that she ever had an affair with the Democratic presidential candidate.

Breaking her silence four days after the allegations surfaced on the Internet, Alexandra Polier issued a statement to The Associated Press, saying, “I have never had a relationship with Senator Kerry, and the rumors in the press are completely false.”

Of having children. Thanks, B.

To protest affirmative action, someone created a scholarship for whites only. The United Honkey College Fund could not be reached for comment.

Buddy Don has a hillbilly whiskey review.

A UT student, who painted No War on university buildings, is suing claiming that it is free speech. Caleb Wilson doesn’t understand that free speech does not give him the right to vandalize public property.

As regular readers know, me and the Mrs. are having a girl. We’re very excited. Yesterday, the Mrs. brought up something we have to address at some point. As we’re sitting at lunch, the Mrs. asks me what I thought we should call private parts in front of our child. I, jokingly, said . . . well, think of the most offensive word for it you can and it’s not quite the word I used but is reasonably close (Hint: may or may not rhyme with latch). I was joking, of course. The Mrs. didn’t find that joke funny.

I know a guy who had a severe speech impediment that required therapy up through high school. The doctor’s opinion was that it was caused because his parents baby-talked to him for too long. Here was a 15 year-old kid who called cows moo-moos. I am not making that up. He also struggled with Rs and Ls; he had that whole Fudd thing going. It’s twue. I wouldn’t puw youw weg.

And I hate some degree of baby talk. Any bodily function or part that is referred to by repeating the same syllable just sounds childish. An adult shouldn’t have to say tee-tee, pee-pee, poo-poo, or ka-ka. So, we want to avoid the whole baby talk thing.

Conversely, vagina, defecate, and urinate are all a bit too sterile. They don’t make us future parents comfortable.

It is odd that if we were having a boy, I would have thousands of names for penis (which I won’t list here). Of course, finding a clean sounding name may be a bit tough. As a guy, I also have thousands of names for breasts. None of which I will ever use to refer to my daughter’s breasts.

So, we’re stumped. I figure we got about two years before it comes up. We got some thinking to do. Any suggestions are welcome.

First, Scott McClellan said something dumb about outsourcing. Though what he said is arguably true, it’s not real smart to say during an election year.

I watched the footage of the comment and can say this, Ari Fleischer was better. McClellan seems fidgety whereas Ari, though a prick, was always in control. McClellan isn’t. I predict this to be the end of McClellan’s political career.

In response to this, I received this email from Darren Harrison:

Dear Says Uncle

Thank you for your e-mail in regards to our error [semi-automatic vs.
automatic] in last week’s story “Federal Ban on Assault Weapons Set to
Expire” by John Erzen. We apologize for the mistake and will run your
correction in next week’s paper.

Best Regards,

Managing Editor

I thanked him.

While I am at it, I would like to thank The Sentinel. I have written letters, emailed, and telephoned various media outlets no less than 50 times regarding inaccuracies in reporting on the gun issue. This is the first to respond to me. This may also be the first to issue a correction. For that, they have my respect.

Pop quiz.

Dunno who created it but it is pretty brutal.

Fun with pizza delivery.

Oh boy. During the State of the Union, I dismissed Bush’s silly remarks regarding how steroid use is setting a bad example for kids as soccer mom appeasement. But no, they’re serious:

Four men charged with running a steroid-distribution ring were given until Friday to turn themselves in and make an initial court appearance. If not, warrants were to be issued for their arrest. The ring is accused of providing performance-enhancing drugs to dozens of athletes in the NFL, the major leagues and track and field.

The men accused of providing steroids to dozens of sports stars were meticulous. Federal prosecutors said the men gave their drugs code names, carefully worded e-mails to avoid detection and even provided athletes with cover stories if caught.

Said Ashcroft: We have not limited prosecution in this setting to those who are being prosecuted today.

Drugs continue to win the war on drugs.

It has come to the attention of management that SayUncle’s frequent use of the word Liar is offensive, demeaning, and sometimes just plain old out of line. On occasion, speculation exists that the term is completely unwarranted. The source of contention seems to be that we should substitute One misleads based on manipulation of facts or perception. As such, we will refrain from using the offending word in the future. We also may use words and phrases like:

Moron
Anklebiter
Mental midget non-giant
Dweeb

We apologize for the inconvenience.

Update: The term midget apparently offends, well, midgets. We have replaced the term with non-giant. Again, we regret the error.

I’m all for it. If two people love each other, I could care less if they’re the same sex. With that, I present this:

In an open challenge to California law, city authorities performed scores of same-sex weddings Thursday and issued a stack of marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.

Applause filled the marble passages under City Hall’s ornate gold dome as 87 jubilant same-sex couples breezed through brief ceremonies, promising to be “spouse for life” to partners some had loved without marriage for decades.

Power to the people.

This article addresses where criminals get guns:

Police said they’re seeing a trend of drug users renting out guns in exchange for drugs. Those who buy guns to rent or sell to convicted felons are called straw purchasers. According to the ATF, they account for 75 percent of the guns that get into the hands of criminals.

No mention of gun shows. However, this was disheartening:

Assistant police Chief Richard Mullen said, “If someone purchases nine guns on nine different times and doesn’t file a burglary report, and when we go to find what happened to those guns and he doesn’t know, well that sort of gives us an indication that the individuals (are) purchasing those guns to be used and sold to other individuals for probably criminal activity.”

So, if I collect guns and buy many of them, you’re plan is to visit me?

The swing vote in the proposed Maryland Assault Weapons Ban (that will ban 45 rifles) has came up with a compromise. That compromise is the make the state ban the same as the federal ban. Lame.

Mr. DeMar has launched a legal battle against the village ordinance which outlaws the handgun he believes may have saved his life from a home invader. Good for him.

A policeman in Ohio had a nasty of pointing his gun at other officers. He was just joking around. You don’t do that. He was fired.

No, really. Proving once again that penguins are almost always guaranteed to be funny.

No, really.

You be the judge. John Erzen writes:

In 1994, Congress passed a bill banning the sale of all assault rifles and pistols, an effort which had been gaining momentum for over a decade. The bill targeted 19 weapons like the TEC-9 and the AK-47, fierce weapons that can fire multi rounds with just a squeeze of the trigger.

First, the bill never had real momentum. Gore had to vote it into law. Second, after the House found out the bill was based on lies, the House voted for its repeal. Third, the bill does not target fierce weapons that can fire multi rounds with just a squeeze of the trigger. Those were regulated by the 1934 NFA. The 1994 act only regulates semi-automatics, which fire one shot per pull of the trigger.

Erzen is either misleading or has fallen for the misconception the media spews about the ban.

In fact, let them know their mistake:

Prince George’s Sentinel (301) 306-9500
editor-pg@thesentinel.com

Update: A reader emails that he phoned the managing editor. The editor’s response was that a correction is forthcoming with respect to the confusion of automatic vs. semi-automatic.

Update2: Here is correspondence with the managing editor who will issue a correction.

I am in the blogger bestiary. Thanks to the Commissar.

Let’s see, Kerry could be in trouble. Dean and Edwards are teaming up. Edwards says Clark supporters will help him win Democratic nomination.

The writing on the wall is looking pretty good if you’re Edwards. Looks bad for Bush as I don’t think Kerry would stand a chance against him but Edwards could give him a run.

Update: Rodger is expressing a theory put forth by The Comedian.

Jay offers some info too.

What’s with Drudge and intern sex any way? Drudge is reporting that Kerry had an affair with an intern.

A frantic behind-the-scenes drama is unfolding around Sen. John Kerry and his quest to lockup the Democratic nomination for president, the DRUDGE REPORT can reveal.

Intrigue surrounds a woman who recently fled the country, reportedly at the prodding of Kerry, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

A serious investigation of the woman and the nature of her relationship with Sen. John Kerry has been underway at TIME magazine, ABC NEWS, the WASHINGTON POST, THE HILL and the ASSOCIATED PRESS, where the woman in question once worked.

A close friend of the woman first approached a reporter late last year claiming fantastic stories — stories that now threaten to turn the race for the presidency on its head!

In an off-the-record conversation with a dozen reporters earlier this week, General Wesley Clark plainly stated: “Kerry will implode over an intern issue.” [Three reporters in attendance confirm Clark made the startling comments.]

The Kerry commotion is why Howard Dean has turned increasingly aggressive against Kerry in recent days, and is the key reason why Dean reversed his decision not to drop out of the race after Wisconsin, top campaign sources tell the DRUDGE REPORT.

Will this affect the nomination?

I doubt it. After Clinton penis scandals, I think the American public is really apathetic about sexual exploits. No matter how they played it up, voters were unconcerned with the Lewinsky deal in terms of Clinton’s popularity; it did, however, make some good tabloid news. Sorry for the vulgarity, but a little dick sucking isn’t a big deal.

Update: Good news for Edwards, I imagine.

Ricky shoots and scores!

I am currently getting FireArmNews-lanched.

Anyone know why this site is listed as the top referrer to my site even though I see no link? Or does anyone know how to find out why?

Update: removed link because I am instructed by Chris in my comments that I have been a victim of referrer spam.

There’s an old fable in public accounting that goes something like this:

Accountants dress like their clients. If your client wears a suit, you do to. Care should also be taken not to out-dress your clients. An accounting firm partner and staff went to present a bid to a potential client. The members of the firm wore suits and ties. They arrive at the client’s location and the personnel are all wearing jeans and T-shirts. The presentation goes well and the firm gets the job.

The members of the firm show up for the engagement when work begins. Recalling that they felt overdressed for the presentation, they tone their attire down and wear business casual clothing. They show up and, to their surprise, the client’s personnel are all wearing business suits and professional attire.

Dumbfounded about the dress code, the partner approaches a member of the client’s management and inquires about the dress code:

“When we presented, you were wearing jeans. Now we show up for the work and you’re wearing suits. What gives?”

The client responds:

“When you presented to us, we were buying something. Today, we’re selling something.”

Via Bubba, some new recruits:

FishKite
Oh, Really
Road Warrior
Doug McDaniel

Also, if anyone can confirm if Hacker Mojo and DocB are in Tennessee, that’d be great.

Welcome all!

First, the bill was introduced last week.

Someone actually corrected an error that I’ve chided the media for making on multiple occasions:

The print version of this week’s editorial contained a factual error in suggesting that the proposed assault weapon ban would regulate fully automatic weapons. Those weapons are already regulated, and the bill now before the assembly looks at semi-automatic weapons. We’ve omitted the erroneous statement here, and will be running a correction in next week’s print edition. The Times regrets the error.

Good for them. However, the correction doesn’t change their asinine opinion. The unsigned (yeah, the media is more credible than blogs) editorial states:

But it’s difficult to make the case that assault weapons _ and that’s what’s at issue here _ fill any reasonable need for the average citizen. It’s easier to make the case that the ban has kept them away from criminals.

There is indeed a line in the sand that law-abiding citizens shouldn’t allow the state to cross when it comes to regulating guns or limiting gun ownership. But extending a ban on these assault weapons falls nowhere near that line.

In the coming debate, we hope members of the legislature put blinders on when it comes to rhetoric from both sides – the CeaseFire Maryland folks who want to ban all guns and those who think any gun ban is an affront to freedom.

There is no need to make a case for needs. We have a bill of rights and not a bill of needs. Also, they chide the rhetoric of pro-gun and ant-gun folks but the really sad thing is that the editorial falls for the lies and rhetoric of the anti-gun side. Take your own blinders off.

This article details some good news about groups opposing the proposed ban:

A group of Cecil County gun owners joined the outcry of opposition to a bill to prohibit assault weapon sales in Maryland at a Senate hearing Tuesday.

Buddy Cather of Rising Sun and Norris McMullen of Port Deposit teach Firearm’s Safety and Hunter Education three times a year at American Legion Post 194 in Rising Sun. They are both gun owners and hunters who each own a gun that would be banned if the bill is passed.

“Almost any hunter has a gun that would be banned by this law,” said McMullen. “The wording of the bill is too broad.”

Of course, that assessment is flawed. The bill is flatly a violation of rights.

Not related to Maryland or assault weapons is news from Virginia that they will not pass a law infringing on the right of citizens to engage in lawful commerce. There is no gun show loophole.

Apparently. But what did they hunt? Mice?

I am glad to see the state proposing a ban on

noise to be audible 50 feet from a vehicle

. Some might say this is inconsistent with my libertarian views. I say not at all. Your right to enjoy your music ends when it annoys me.

I was at a convenience store once pumping gas when some low-rider vehicle came in thumping some hideous crap. The guy left the car and radio running while he ran in. It was annoying as Hell. A policeman pulled up, stuck his hand in the car and took the keys. He then waited by the car to confront the owner. On my way in to pay for gas, I thanked the policeman.

A plant that makes ammo for the US is scurrying to keep up with demand. I’d gladly volunteer to send them the 600 rounds of 5.56X45 ammo I have around the house but international law prohibits the use of hollowpoints.

Some guy perusing the web for porn found a video of his wife doing some other dude. I’m surprised this doesn’t happen more often as there is an awful lot of dirty flicks out there.

No, really. Anyone remember the entertainment the Romans had?

No seriously. The city of Dacono is contemplating a pit bull ban. Again, there is no way to scientifically determine what breed of dog a dog is. It’s based on appearances, which are often misleading. This is why I refer to politically incorrect dog as a Chihuahua.

Update: While I am on the subject of BSL, it seems that California is not a wholly evil place.

Both parties are having a time. Disenchanted liberal meet disenchanted conservative.

Mark Koscielski emails The Last Gunshop in Minneapolis:

The gun grabbers have announced their intentions to disarm America, and Now they’re at it again: The City of Minneapolis is trying to force Koscielski’s Guns and Ammo– the only gun shop in the Minneapolis—out of business. For the second time.

In 1995 federal firearms dealer Mark Koscielski opened his store several days before the city council passed a moratorium on gun shops. The city attempted to close down his operation, but a Federal Court judge ordered Minneapolis to allow Koscielski to conduct his business. Mark’s shop was grandfathered in according to that year’s zoning code, which specified no minimum distance requirements.

In 2002, his landlord decided not to renew Mark’s lease, and the zoning board informed him that there were only two zoning areas in which it would be possible to run a firearms dealership. In actuality, the “revised” codes added a further condition: a gun shop must be 500 feet from a church, a school, a park, or a library and 250 feet from a residence. There was no place in the City of Minneapolis where a firearms dealer could exist. However, when a day-care center opened just 8 feet from the gun shop, the zoning and planning board said nothing about the suitability of the site.

Ironically, Minnesota originally had a preemption law excluding firearms dealers from restrictive municipal zoning laws; however, a later state law permitted municipalities to regulate the location of firearms dealers, provided that their zoning ordinances are “reasonable, nondiscriminatory, and nonarbitrary.”

In the summer of 2003, Mark’s lease was finally terminated, and he searched for another location. The restrictive zoning laws forced him to rent a site not in compliance with the zoning code. Mark set up shop and prepared for the inevitable legal battle. Within 24 hours of his hanging up his sign bearing his “Koscielski’s Guns & Ammo” logo, the zoning department appeared on site, demanding that the sign be taken down. To eradicate Second Amendment rights, even the First Amendment can be sacrificed.

Minneapolis backed away from barring the sign, at least until Mark—a disabled veteran—has his day in court to fight for his livelihood. However, the city did shut down Mark’s business for three-and-a-half months, thus cutting off his income and severely restricting his ability to retain
effective legal counsel. A consulting attorney operating pro bono prepared a tentative litigation plan for Koscielski vs. City of Minneapolis, and his arguments are strong and carry potential nationwide application.

1. Minneapolis’s action may violate the Second Amendment rights of Koscielski’s customers, particularly since the adoption of the Minnesota Personal Protection Act of 2003 that sanctions the carrying of concealed handguns with a permit.
2. Minneapolis’s adoption of an impossible-to-legitimate or satisfy ordinance may violate Koscielski’s right to substantive due process under the 14th Amendment.
3. Koscielski has a claim for violation of his right to equal protection.
4. Koscielski, on behalf of his customers, may have a claim under the Minnesota Constitution, which establishes the preservation of hunting and fishing rights.
5. Koscielski should have a claim for the “taking” of his business.
6. Koscielski may have a claim that Minneapolis, by confining such businesses to a zone in which there are no qualifying properties, has gone beyond regulating the location of firearms dealers and has effectively banned firearms sales in the City.

If you believe that the Second Amendment means nothing without access to firearms and ammunition, and if you believe that liberal anti-gunners should not be allowed to fulfill their social agenda by driving federal-government-regulated businesses out of existence, please help us today. Send a donation in any amount to

Koscielski’s Guns & Ammo Legal Defense Fund
c/o TCF Bank
5550 Nicollet Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55419

The clock ticks away on our freedom.

For further information, call, write, or email Mark or Barb at

Koscielski’s Guns & Ammo
2926 Chicago Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55407
(612) 827-3832

Kevin quotes the text of the Federal Marriage Amendment:

Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution or the Constitution of any state, nor state or federal law, shall be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups.

On what I covered here, Kevin has more. Including the VPC admitting to the misinformation I’ve chided them for:

Assault weapons—just like armor-piercing bullets, machine guns, and plastic firearms—are a new topic. The weapons’ menacing looks, coupled with the public’s confusion over fully automatic machine guns versus semi-automatic assault weapons—anything that looks like a machine gun is assumed to be a machine gun—can only increase the chance of public support for restrictions on these weapons.

Gun control isn’t about guns. It’s about control.

I’m flattered. Bubba asks his readers to guess which Roveblogger said something. One of the commentors guessed me.

If I’m annoying some factions of the left wing, I’m doing something right.

The RTB is heavily armed. A few of us (me, Stoney and wife, Les, Rich, and Justin) met at Guncraft last night for some rootin’, tootin’, doggone shootin’ range time. A good time was had by all and, we’re happy to report, no radiation seeped into our brains causing us to kill one another nor innocent passers-by.

Guns fired: Walther P22, Sigarms 220, Sigarms 229 in 9MM, Sigarms 229 in 40S&W, Glock 30, Browning Buckmark, and a few more.

I’d never met Justin before. He was, given the tone of his blog sometimes, a surprisingly calm guy.

Maybe good news:

Two federal appeals court judges on Tuesday repeatedly expressed skepticism about the government’s effort to ban the sale of a book that purports to show people how they can legally stop paying income taxes, a theory that one judge called nonsense.

I’ve blogged about Schiff here, here, and here.

State Rep gets pulled over for DUI and gets a ride home from the police.

George Bush wants line-item veto power. What on Earth for? It’s not like he vetoes anything.

Bitter is not alone in her position on gun rights and voting. The Republicans don’t get it any more.

Update: Clayton Cramer starts being a Bush apologist with respect to guns.

I still hold that Bush will get the NRA endorsement, even though Bush is no friend to gun owners.

Md. lawmakers hear gun-ban testimony:

For state lawmakers, gun-control advocates, police commissioners and even candidates stumping for president, when it comes to the issue of banning assault weapons, 1-in-5 is the magic number.

Democratic presidential primary front-runner Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts uses the statistic. So does the Episcopal Church of America. And in Annapolis, where a Senate committee heard testimony yesterday from all sides on a proposed assault weapons ban, supporters quoted the statistic verbatim: “One in five law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty is killed with an assault weapon.”

There’s just one problem with the ratio, according to gun rights advocates: It isn’t true.

Dozens of them testified before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee yesterday, and a hundred more crammed an antechamber while committee members considered a bill that would give Maryland one of the nation’s strictest bans on semiautomatic firearms by banning 45 named weapons and any subsequent copycats. Though 70 state senators and delegates back the bill, gun shop owners, hunting groups, and assorted police organizations rejected the ban and the statistic.

Lt. Col. Steven. T. Moyer of the Maryland State Police — which opposes prohibiting the sale, transfer and ownership of semi-automatic weapons — told committee members that of the 50 rifle-related deaths in the state over the past decade, none of them were officers.

“The statistics are not here and [don't] support this legislation,” he said.

Roots of the 20-percent figure lie in the Washington-based Violence Policy Center, a nonprofit group that works to curtail gun violence through research, advocacy, education and litigation. The group analyzed unpublished FBI data on fatal police shootings from Jan. 1, 1998, through Dec. 31, 2001. During the period, 211 officers nationwide were killed in the line of duty, 41 of them with weapons the group determined to be assault weapons, such as M1 Carbines, AK-47s, Tec 9s and AR-15s.

“They classified all rifles as assault weapons,” Republican state Sen. Nancy Jacobs, wearing a button with the words “MARYLAND GUNOWNERS VOTE,” complained during the marathon hearing.

The VPC has a long history of lying through its collective teeth. Glad to see it get some media coverage. All rifles are assault weapons. So, my dad’s Remington nylon body 22 is the same as an AR15? The anti-gun folks defend their stat, which has been severely debunked in other ways.

Of course even Kevin is wrong. An insignificant number of the cops (likely zero) were killed with rifles capable of automatic fire that fire medium power cartridges, which is the real definition of assault weapon.

Join together issues a press release:

CeaseFire Maryland, the state’s leading gun violence prevention group, welcomed the results of a survey by Gonzales Research that showed seventy-seven percent of Marylanders favor state legislation banning military-style semiautomatic assault weapons and their copycats. Only 19% oppose a ban on such weapons. Leah Barrett, Executive Director of CeaseFire Maryland, said: “Marylanders have spoken clearly in favor of banning these weapons of war from our streets. I hope the Governor is listening.”

The support for a strong Maryland assault weapons ban including copycat assault weapons encompasses the majority of voters in every demographic sub-group – 68% of Republicans, 75% of men, 75% of voters in the Eastern Shore and Southern Maryland, 74% of voters in the Baltimore suburbs and 71% of western Marylanders. Percentages were higher among women, African American and Baltimore City and Washington suburb voters.

If lies like the one above and others were known to your average citizen, I doubt they’d support it. After all, most people are under the assumption (based on lies and misinformation by groups like Join Together, the Brady Bunch, and the million err Four Mom March) that these are machine guns that are getting banned. That, however, is not the case.

Chicago Sun Times:

The measure, which advanced out of the Senate Judiciary Committee by a 6-4 vote, would allow residents in communities that prohibit handgun ownership to use handguns in their home for self-defense, even though local law may bar them from owning the weapons in the first place.

So, it’s legal to own a gun when you really, really need it. Otherwise, it’s illegal.

A sign our legislators apparently don’t have enough real work to do:

A proposal that would prohibit your dog from roaming free while riding in the back of the family pickup truck drew fire in the legislature yesterday.

The dog bill was offered by Rep. Bill Dunn, R-Knoxville, who said that if dogs ride in a truck bed, they should be harnessed or caged.

Are dogs getting thrown from trucks a real problem?

Some in congress are trying to push legislation that would require disclosure of webmasters’ names, addresses, and phone numbers. If you don’t, you could get fined $150K and get jailed for seven years.

If this law gets passed, I’d be amazed. The fact it’s up for consideration is rather 1984ish.

Why would WATE run these articles on election day as opposed to, you know, before election day when the info would be really helpful?

Privacy Issues for Voters in Tennessee Elections

How Easy is Voter Fraud in Tennessee?

One person in Blount County voted for Lyndon Larouche. Here are Blount County’s results.

Kerry continues his lead. Clark is out.

Kerry won Virginia. I can see that. And he won Tennessee. That I find shocking and disappointing. Good thing I spent the night at the range.

Justin alerts us that if you’re hobby is indoor gardening, you’re likely to be on a TBI watch list. But they’re begonias, officer.