I know there are a few pet owners reading this blog, so here’s a question: what are the pros and cons of various means of securing your dog in a vehicle? In particular, I’m wondering if anybody has used or heard good/bad things about these dog seat belts.

I was going to do the book one a while back, but why anyone would want me type a sentence on calculating bond interest is beyond me. But this one from Tommy seemed fun:

1. Grab the nearest CD.

2. Put it in your CD-Player (or start your mp3-player, I-tunes, etc.).

3. Skip to Song 3 (or load the 3rd song in your 3rd playlist)

4. Post the first verse in your journal along with these instructions. Don’t name the band, nor the album-title.

Speak up – you know what is up
Code of silence Who set you up
Some shit so wrong in this world
It’s all fucked up now you’re gone
Speak up – you know what went on
How could you let it go?
It’s murder you covered up
Stained blood on your soul

Down on my knees
Hands stretched to heaven above
Christ this pain is hard to live with
Don’t fill my heart with love
Engulf my heart with vengeance
You need to see our pain
Don’t fill this heart with love
The truth needs to be told

No Googling allowed. Which performer performed this song on which album?

I have to confess, I couldn’t tell what the words were since I don’t speak death metal and I had to look them up. I’m not 100% sure what the song is about but knowing the lyrics makes me like it more. Regardless, it rocks and that’s what music is about.

Bubba was mentioned in Sports Illustrated!

Via the charming and engaging Mrs. Bubba (who is married to this guy), comes a report about a DEA agent charged with teaching gun safety and it goes a bit badly:

During the speech, the agent drew his .40-caliber duty weapon and removed the magazine, the report said. He then pulled back the slide and asked a man in the audience to look inside the weapon to make sure it was not loaded, the report said.

“The person nodded that it didn’t have ammunition,” Farmer recounted. “The gun was never pointed at anyone.”

Witnesses told police that the agent kept his gun pointed toward the floor and when he released the slide, the weapon fired one shot into the top of his thigh

First, I was taken aback by the fact a newspaper actually displayed some knowledge of the operation of a firearm. Good for them. Too bad our DEA agent didn’t seem to grasp a few things:

First, ejectors can fail and not eject the round when the slide is racked. So he was smart to have it checked.

Second, always check it yourself, something he didn’t do. Maybe the other guy doesn’t know what he’s doing or is careless. Even if I see some one rack a slide and clear a gun before handing it to me, I rack the slide and check myself.

Third, the weapon likely didn’t fire on its own. He likely had his finger on the trigger, which is a no-no unless you’re ready to fire it.

As Mrs. Bubba said: Who is teaching us gun safety? Although I’m sure she is referring to the fact it is odd someone displaying improper firearm handling techniques has a job teaching kids gun safety, I think it’s odd that the DEA is teaching it.

Outside the Beltway has a discussion about the latest iteration of the Chickenhawk flapdoodle. I was especially intrigued by this comment by one Richard Aubrey:

IMO, “Starship Troopers” was the worst movie ever made from a good book. Nevertheless, it got some ink for reminding us of Heinlein’s view that only veterans should have the franchise or public safety jobs. That was thought to be a frightening view of the future, an incipient tyranny. It is, ironically, the easily logical result of following the chickenhawk argument about one more small step.

Any thoughts from our resident Logic Police Department?

On the way home yesterday, there was a vehicle in front of me with a personalized license plate that read:

MURVUL

Oh, for you non East Tennesseans who won’t get it, I live in the city of Maryville. The locals pronounce it Murvul. I thought it was hysterical.

Apparently, scientists and the government are criticizing 10.5, a movie about the big earthquake, as being fantasy.

Go figure, a movie is made up. What were the odds? In other news, Big Trouble In Little China was made up too.

Blake got a Walther. Cool.

Via Oh, That Liberal Media, we have Rummy on liberal bias:

There are two ways, I suppose, one could inform readers of the Geneva Convention stipulation against using places of worship to conduct military attacks. One might be to headline saying that “Terrorists Attack Coalition Forces From Mosques.” That would be one way to present the information.

Another might be to say: “Mosques Targeted in Fallujah.” That was the Los Angeles Times headline this morning.

The press has the Defense Secretary it deserves.

Supposedly, some US soldiers were torturing Iraqi prisoners. Couple of things:

1 – Bear in mind that it was other soldiers who took the pictures and gave them to authorities. You won’t hear much about that in the press.

2 – Also, looking at the alleged torture: a guy with a dirty word written on him; a guy hooked up to non-electrified wires, standing on a box, and lead to believe if he fell from the box he’d be electrocuted; prisoners forced to simulate sex with each other; and a dog attacking a prisoner. The only of these that is physical torture is the dog attack. That is real pain and physically cruel. The other stuff is all mental and may well be designed to force submission or get information without physically harming anyone. The sex one is a bit creepy though.

Update: Barry opines in comments:

I wouldn’t want to be the one known for defending torture of prisoners. None of these looked as if they were intended to get vital information – indeed, they looked more like sport for the soldiers.

To be clear: It’s not my intent to defend torture. Torture is something we shouldn’t do. However, if vital information can be gained by using interrogation techniques designed to crack prisoners who have information via mental exhaustion and learned helplessness (sleep deprivation and climate control come to mind) without resorting to physical pain, then I’m not opposed to it.

As Barry says (and upon further reading) these incidents do look rather like sport for the soldiers and are therefore inexcusable.

Ted Rall said something almost not completely stupid:

Nevertheless, Kerry would be wise to break ranks with his party’s liberal base by declaring his enthusiastic support for the Second Amendment.

But (aside from the fact rights are natural and apply to all persons so waiving them seems impossible), isn’t getting someone to waive their fourth amendment rights in exchange for a plea deal sort of unconstitutional?

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the
persons or things to be seized

After all, the fourth amendment doesn’t grant a right to freedom from unwarranted searches, it forbids the government from doing them.

As a follow up to this post on pending Breed Specific Legislation, comes this report of dog owners protesting the proposed law:

A pack of pit bull owners turned up at City Hall yesterday to bark about a proposed requirement that the infamous dogs be muzzled at all times while on public property in Boston.

But three feisty city councilors and several dog lovers who said their pooches were savagely mauled by pit bulls argued the breed must be restrained before a child is killed.

“Then everybody is going to be falling over themselves wringing their hands saying we should have done something,” City Councilor James Kelly said. “Let’s do something now.”

The proposed ordinance must be adopted by the full council before it can take effect.

And my favorite quote from the article:

“If a child is killed by a German shepherd tomorrow, are you going to be back in here to muzzle all German shepherds?” asked pit bull owner Nina Capozzi.

Ms. Capozzi, don’t you know that’s how government works?

Via C&S, is this handy little site. Essentially, it’s a computer simulated firing range to teach beginning shooters the fundamentals of sight alignment (a task some new shooters struggle with).

Update: And if you’re wondering how I did 58/60:

One thing about this game, I don’t (you probably won’t either) do the same thing as when I shoot. I keep changing my site picture in the game to get closer to center instead of trying for a group.

Guy shouldn’t keep his feelings so bottled up. He should tell us how he really feels.

I get mail (quite a bit) but periodically one leaps out to me. Regarding the recent Tennessee education rants I’ve posted here and here, an anonymous reader writes (note: where indicated by brackets, I have changed identifying information):

Reading your posts about homeschooling in Tennessee and the idea of a homeschool bias, I was struck by how quickly your commenters began flaming each other with such hostility. Very frustrating to read seriously, but still enjoyable. I wonder what each of them has invested in the homeschool argument…more than a little, I imagine.

You should know that you are not alone in your feeling that the state lottery scholarship criteria is unjustly favorable to non-homeschooled students. Off the record, you should also know that I work at [a not so distant Tennessee college]. I’m also a homeschool graduate. I was homeschooled from 3rd grade through graduation.

When the issue of these “standards” for scholarship eligibilty were announced a few months ago, I was livid. I consider myself something of an advocate for homeschooling as a practice and for the fair treatment of those who practice it. I immediately shared my frustration and concern over the issue with two associate directors of [a not so distant Tennessee college], and with a former UT admissions counselor who is now a consultant with the state lottery. The response I received was frustrating; sympathy and vague agreement, but no action. The directors with whom I spoke both agreed that the standard is unfair, but neither felt it would be a problem for many students, since homeschoolers (at least those who apply to [here]) generally score much higher on stadardized tests like the ACT than traditionally educated students.

I certainly agree, as I think everyone does, that there needs to be a standard measuring device for Tennessee high school graduates, homeschooled and other. Thus far, the ACT has been the best indicator. For purposes of evaluating freshman applicants to [a not so distant Tennessee college], we give the most weight to ACT or SAT score. GPA is often falsely inflated and standards vary wildly from county to county and private to public. In fact, the only consideration given to GPA is for a core of [select] courses [... snip...] GPA is discounted almost entirely if it is not consistent with ACT score. When we reach “crunch time” every year (right now, in fact) for making the freshmen class, the general word goes out into the office that we cannot accept any more applications unless the student is exceptional, which is invariably measured as one who has scored 28 or better on the ACT…no regard for GPA.

Certainly, other factors than ACT score are considered when admitting freshman applicants. We want a diverse student body, and one that creates the sort of culture [a not so distant Tennessee college] values. But based upon extensive analysis of student return rates, graduation rates, and [a not so distant Tennessee college] gpa, the best indicator of likely future success at [a not so distant Tennessee college] for incoming freshmen is ACT score. Analysis of how regional groups perform at [a not so distant Tennessee college] is also done (sometimes school by school), but you will not find this data published anywhere. We’re also not *allowed* to use regional bias when evaluating incoming students…why, I’m not sure. Taboo, I guess. Trust me, though, a 3.5 gpa at [poor performing public high school] is nothing like a 3.5 at [good performing private school].

As an “insider” at the university level, I feel compelled to use my position to effect whatever change I can for the fair treatment of homeschoolers. I don’t know if any of this information is of interest to you, but I just wanted you to know, this is an issue I care about a lot, and it’s something I bring up at every opportunity (and we have an ungodly number of meetings here, so I have plenty of chances). Please keep making noise about this issue. Email Robert Biggers [robert.biggers@state.tn.us] (the former UT counselor) and voice your concern.

She has the latest graphics rich Volunteer Tailgate Party.

The AKC alerts us to some potential breed specific legislation pending in Boston:

Attention Boston dog owners! Councillors Rob Consalvo and James Kelly have introduced an ordinance that requires residents to register their “pit bulls” with the city at a cost of $50 annually. Pit bulls are defined as American Pit Bull Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, or any mix of those breeds. The measure also limits residents to two pit bulls and requires owners to leash and muzzle their dogs when in public. Additionally, owners must display a sign on their property stating that a pit bull is located on the premises. Violators will be subject to a $100 fine and the pit bull will be immediately impounded. Exemptions are provided for animals participating in contests, shows or exhibitions within city limits, but animals may not remain for more than two weeks.

The American Kennel Club strongly supports reasonable, enforceable dangerous dog laws designed to keep communities safe for both people and dogs. We believe that dog owners should be responsible for their dogs and that laws should impose appropriate penalties on irresponsible owners. In order to be effective, however, such legislation should judge a dog based on its deed rather than its breed.

What You Can Do:

Immediate help is needed to fight this proposal. Boston dog owners are strongly urged to attend a public hearing on Thursday, April 29th from 11:00 AM-1:00 PM to express their opposition to the ordinance.

Boston City Council
1 City Hall Plaza
5th Floor, Iannella Chamber
Boston, MA 02201
Phone: 617-635-3040

Louisiana is looking to ban hog catching:

A Louisiana state legislator is trying to outlaw a violent spectator sport: fights pitting vicious dogs against wild hogs.

Rep. Warren Triche, a Democrat from Thibodaux, has introduced a bill that would ban the bloodiest forms of “hog-doggin,” as the pig-versus-canine duels are known in the rural corners of his state.

“My motivation is that it is an absolute cruelty, and damned well sadistic,” Triche told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday.

The bill passed the Louisiana House on Tuesday after Triche showed bloody videos of squealing feral hogs being attacked by specially trained dogs. But it must now go the state Senate where Triche fears it may be mired in the mud by opponents friendly to the rural contests.

“This is a hillbilly attitude. You could film ‘Deliverance 2′ and ‘3′ with this kind of attitude,” Triche said, referring to the 1972 film that depicted the ordeal suffered by vacationing city dwellers at the hands of a vicious band of rural residents.

First, it’s probably not a good idea to refer to your constituents as hillbillies, but that’s a separate issue. The article misleads as to what hog catching really is. It’s not a fight. I’ve seen hog catching events. Essentially, a dog runs up to a wild boar that is kept in a pen, grabs it by the ear or nose, and holds it down long enough for the dog’s owner to run up behind the pig and lift it’s back legs. This is done to show that the dog has control of the pig. It’s not a fight. The obvious comparison is a rodeo. Sure, the pigs don’t enjoy it but calves don’t like being hog tied.

The purpose of this is to prepare the dogs to actually go into the wild and hunt feral pigs, which are considered a nuisance. And it has nothing to do with vicious dogs, it has to do with training them to accomplish a task that is arguably brutal.

A humane society was trying to shut one such show down a while back. I’ve never taken Politically Incorrect Dog hog catching, but I’ve seen his parents do it. It’s impressive watching an 80 pound dog tackle a 200 pound pig.

Hunting feral pigs with guns is OK. With dogs, apparently not so much.

Les has his weekly gun links up.

Note to Thibodeaux:

When they’re on their way out, they start making sense.

Via Kim, we learn that the Minnesota Personal Protection Act turns a year old:

Shootings over fender-benders: Zero.

Gunfights in bars between legal permit holders: Zero.

Gallons Traces of blood in gutters put there by legal permit holders: Zero.

Shootings by legal permit holders: Zero.

Percent of lying piece of filth “Senator” Wes Skoglund’s rhetoric that came true: Zero.

Anti-gun lobby wrong: A lot

Turns out that shipment of AK47s illegally being smuggled into the US was, in fact, quite legal:

A U.S.-bound shipment of thousands of AK-47 assault rifles and other combat-type weapons, seized by Italian authorities who suspected they were being smuggled, actually have legal permits to be imported, American officials said Wednesday.

About 7,500 AK-47s, AKM rifles and other weapons worth an estimated $6 million were seized April 20 aboard a Turkish-flagged ship in the port of Gioia Tauro. They were bound for New York from Romania.

At the time, Italian authorities said the guns were hidden aboard the ship.

But Andrew Lluberes, spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said the weapons actually were cleared by U.S. authorities. “The permits are valid,” he said.

A 1994 law prevents the U.S. gun industry from making, importing or selling military-style semiautomatic weapons.

But under ATF regulations, a properly licensed company can ship such weapons to a “custom bonded warehouse” in the United States. There, they are disassembled and their key firing components destroyed. The remaining parts can then be reconfigured into a weapon that will meet the letter of the 1994 law and can be sold legally in the United States.

I had the feeling from the onset that may be the case but I wasn’t familiar enough with the import laws to state that for certain. All that scaremongering about the Assault Weapons Ban and terrorist grade rifles and they turn out to be legal. Since they’re legal, I wonder if the Brady Campaign’s face is red.

Reports that suspects might be wearing body armor are understandably of concern to police, but this is ridiculous:

“I look at the body armor thing as being almost as serious as carrying a gun,” says New Orleans Police Superintendent Edwin Paulcompess.

Body armor: coming soon to a ban near you.

Congressmen Marilyn Musgrave and Virgil Goode (who knew women were congressmen?) announced the formation of a Second Amendment Caucus in the House:

Today, Congressmen Marilyn Musgrave (CO-04) and Virgil Goode (VA-05) announced the creation of the Congressional Second Amendment Caucus. Comprised of 38 Members of Congress, this caucus is solely dedicated to the right of lawful individuals to own firearms as granted in the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

“As lawmakers in our nation’s highest legislative body, we must fight to preserve the Constitutional right for individual citizens to keep and bear arms,” said Musgrave. “While many in our nation’s capital seek to chip away at the right of firearm ownership and possession, the 2nd Amendment Caucus is committed to defending lawful gun owner’s constitutional rights in our nation, without compromise. Their voice will be heard in Congress.”

“In fighting for and protecting our Second Amendment rights, it is important to be vigilant,” said Virgil Goode. “I hope that this caucus will further that goal.”

I hope this is more than a token effort but don’t quite have my hopes up. The House is the last, best hope for gun owners since the judiciary, executive branch and the senate are lost causes.

While my gun porn leaves a lot to be desired compared to others, I figured I’d post my arsenal. What’s more, I prepared a little ditty:

This is my rifle:

This is my gun:

This one belongs to the Mrs:

And this one’s for fun:

The first one is my AR15, that I built. Five high regular capacity magazines (three 30 rounders for plinking and two 20 rounders for the bench), 500 rounds of 62 grain, jacketed hollow points.

The second is my trusty Sigarms P229 in 9MM. I’ve carried this gun for years. Some evil Black Talon ammunition and four high regular capacity magazines.

Next is the Glock 30, which I bought to leave at home with the Mrs. Why a Glock for the Mrs.? Because it has a light trigger pull, is small for her small hands, is a 45ACP, and reliable. Three mags and the official SayUncle 45ACP load is Golden Saber.

Next is the Ruger 10/22. The new plinker I got for my anniversary. 3X9 scope, one post 1994 magazine (got more coming) and 550 rounds of Federal (on sale at Wal-Mart for $8!).

You’ll notice I don’t have my pistol ammo out. That’s because, since the move, I haven’t found it all yet. Trust me though, they’re loaded.

All you other gun bloggers post pix from your arsenals. Or any other readers can email me at the link in the top right of this page, and I’ll post them.

This is the blogging equivalent of thinking out loud. Term limits: good idea or bad? At the Federal level, we already have term limits—for the President. I can’t see that it’s hurt us any. Why (or why not) have limits for Congresscritters and Senators?

I think it’s unlikely to happen, but it might make for interesting discussion.

I’m still contemplating this presidential election thing. As a gun owner/single voter kind of guy, the Bush administration hasn’t really been my friend. The NRA has endorsed him and I’ve never been a fan of the NRA. I voted for Dubya in 2000 in the Anyone But Gore category. People have advocated the following strategeries for us gun owner types:

This Week in Photos was damn funny.

Given that The Daily Probe is on hiatus and The Onion hasn’t updated, I figured I’d try my hand at writing witty headlines. Here goes:

NAACP: Negroponte should change name to Africanamericanponte

Poll: 72% of voters think Kerry more boring than Bush

Friends finale to generate record ad revenue, suck

Report: No one cares about John Kerry’s $1,000 hair cut

Iraq not going so well

Kerry vows to boost investment in US technology, improve worker training, find pixie dust

Cheney: None of your damn business

Looks like Prince George’s County Council is looking to repeal its breed specific legislation that targets pit bulls. Good.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer (which coincidentally may be the stupidest name for a newspaper ever) writes:

One was used to shoot a woman in a domestic-violence assault, another sent multiple rounds flying in a South Seattle neighborhood, a third was found in the possession of a Central District teenager, and a fourth was recovered when officers responded to a report of shots fired.

All four weapons — two Tech-9 semiautomatic handguns, an assault rifle with a collapsible stock and a 12-gauge semiautomatic shotgun dubbed the street sweeper — are illegal under a federal ban on certain assault weapons.

They’re banned but still on the streets? Why is that?

Congrats to Spoons on his trade up.

Apparently, it’s education week among the RTB. South (of) Knox Bubba reports on Faith Based government and schools. He also discusses some other education funding issues.

Les and I address bias against home schooled children.

But check this out. Not only is their a bias against private home schooled children compared to public schools, there is a dramatic bias against home schools compared to home schools operated in association with a church-related school.

I understand that many parents feel that church schools are the way to go so I have no qualm really with laws promoting the idea, after all parents should be able to choose where their kids go. But more discrimination against parents who choose to home school their kids themselves? There is definitely bias mandated by law against private home schoolers. The only question is whether or not it is intentional.

Self,

When purchasing items to operate your methamphetamine lab, buy items separately.

Not only are Tennessee troopers getting AR15s, California police are too:

Outgunned by gang members and facing more crimes involving AK-47s, police are in very early discussions about buying similar assault rifles and donning U.S. Army style vests to better protect themselves in areas, such as the Bayview.

In the aftershock of the murder of police Officer Isaac Espinoza, killed by an alleged gang member with an AK-47, cops are discussing the possible use of the civilianized AR-15 semiautomatic assault rifle and a dense military Kevlar-plated vest manufactured by DuPont, said Commander of Field Operations David Shinn.

“Now that we’ve had Officer Isaac Espinoza’s death due to an assault rifle, that’s what we are looking at now,” Shinn said.

How do these criminals have AK47s? After all, there is an assault weapons ban. Odd how yesterday DiFi and some cronies were stating that we needed to renew the ban when obviously the current ban did not save Mr. Expinoza. The current ban just limits what aesthetic features law abiding gun owners can put on their rifles.

Also, odd how the SF Examiner refers to the police guns as civilianized AR-15 semiautomatic assault rifle today. Yesterday, the referred to all guns as assault weapons without the civilianized distinction.

Good for the paper of generally making up the record:

Contrary to your characterization of them as “fast-fire attack weapons designed for waging war, not hunting” (editorial, April 20), the firearms covered by the 1994 Congressional legislation banning assault-style firearms are technically no different from the semiautomatic or self-loading firearms used for 100 years by millions of Americans for hunting, sport shooting, collecting and personal protection. They fire one round at a time with each pull and release of the trigger.

True military assault weapons are fully automatic machine guns capable of firing multiple rounds with one pull of the trigger. Congress banned the manufacturing and sale of new machine guns in 1986 except for military and law enforcement purposes.

The current law scheduled to sunset in September deals solely with certain types of semiautomatic firearms politically profiled as assault weapons. There is a world of difference between the two.

Via Robert, we see that Investor’s Business Daily writes:

Blogs, short for Web logs, are personal online journals. Individuals post them on Web sites to report or comment on news especially, but also on their personal lives or most any subject.

Some blogs are whimsical and deal with “soft” subjects. Others, though, are cutting edge in delivering information and opinion.

As a result, some analysts say U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials might be starting to track blogs for important bits of information. This interest is a sign of how far Web media such as blogs have come in reshaping the data-collection habits of intelligence professionals and others, even with the knowledge that the accuracy of what’s reported in some blogs is questionable.

Still, a panel of folks who work in the U.S. intelligence field – some of them spies or former spies – discussed this month at a conference in Washington the idea of tracking blogs.

Blogs used for intelligence tracking? I suppose a blogger could have an inside scoop that could prove useful. I think this may be codespeak for investigating bloggers for potential crimes or looking for us troublemakers.

Via Junkyard Blog, who suspects this is the cause of Kerry’s recent WMD nuancing, comes this article which states:

New evidence out of Iraq suggests that the U.S. effort to track down Saddam Hussein’s missing weapons of mass destruction (WMD) is having better success than is being reported. Key assertions by the intelligence community that were widely judged in the media and by critics of President George W. Bush as having been false are turning out to have been true after all. But this stunning news has received little attention from the major media, and the president’s critics continue to insist that “no weapons” have been found.

In virtually every case – chemical, biological, nuclear and ballistic missiles – the United States has found the weapons and the programs that the Iraqi dictator successfully concealed for 12 years from U.N. weapons inspectors.

I am skeptical at this point as (even as the article points out) this is not being widely reported.

Ok, I haven’t blogged much lately, but I swear I have a good excuse! I’ve been reading Neal Stephenson’s Quicksilver. It’s pretty good so far. I haven’t read much of his stuff, but what I have read I liked. I have not read Snowcrash, which kind of hurts my geek-cred.

Anyway, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Colorado’s new dog law has saved its first two lives:

A Staffordshire bull terrier and a pit bull on “doggy death row” were released from the Denver animal pound after Owens signed the new law.

Good. Denver still plans on suing over the law:

The City Council declared it wouldn’t “roll over and play dead” in face of a new state law that has voided its ban on pit bulls.

The council voted unanimously Monday night to authorize the city attorney to sue the state or take other legal action to protect its right to keep the dogs out of the city.

I knew that the history of various bully/mastiff/molosser breeds went back quite a bit. I recall reading stories about the dogs in England in the 1500s and 1800s as bull baiting and fighting dogs.

The other day, I caught on episode of Animal Planet’s Breed All About it and the breed this episode was bulldogs. They spent most of the episode discussing the freak of nature but there was a brief segment on American Bulldogs and how they were more representative of the original English Bulldog (i.e., before it became that deformed freak of nature).

The show stated that the earliest record of bulldogs was 55 B.C. Apparently, the Romans (who were invading England at the time) documented bully type dogs that were trained to run up to cavalry horses, bite down on the horses’ noses, and hang on. I could see this being a real problem for a cavalryman.

Note: In reference to the freak of nature, I just find it sad that years of breeding have caused that poor animal the health problems it has.

I have noticed a severe increase in gas prices but that’s not the spooky part. This is:

From a civilian contractor working in Iraq: “The real reason the Marines had to start their truce/cease-fire strategy is because the coalition forces are running extremely low on fuel right now

Poor planning? Actual shortage?

Update: Kevin reports a general lack of other necessary equipment.

Ravenwood reports a 14 hour armed stand off between the cops and, uhm, nobody. It’d be funny were it not so pathetic.

In a follow up to this, WATE writes:

Tennessee state troopers will soon carry Bushmaster semiautomatic assault rifles on patrol.

The rifles are sniper style weapons, used for long range targets about 300 to 500 yards away.

Huh? Are they semiautomatic assault rifles or sniper rifles? An assault weapon is a rifle that fires a medium powered cartridge in fully automatic fire. A sniper rifle fires a large caliber round long distances and is typically bolt action or semi-automatic.

SF Examiner reports:

When U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein stood up at Espinoza’s funeral and called for support to renew her legislation banning assault weapons nationwide, she was met with a standing ovation from mourning cops.

It would be funny if it went like this:

When U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein stood up at Espinoza’s funeral and called for support to renew her legislation banning assault weapons nationwide, she was met with criticism that the ban was in effect now and didn’t prevent this atrocity.

Oh, what? You mean that makes sense and is a valid criticism. Odd you won’t hear that criticism.

The NRA-ILA has a list of Taxpayer Funded Reckless Lawsuits Against The Firearms Industry.

Donald Sensing reports that Tennessee State Troopers will be carrying hunting rifles.

They aren’t assault rifles because they don’t have telescopic stocks, flash hiders, threaded barrels for flash hiders, grenade launchers or bayonet lugs. The only thing you can hunt in Tennessee with 5.56X45MM ammo is varmints. At least, that’s going by the picture he posts.

However, going to the Bushmaster website, we see that they are clearly being issued assault weapons as defined by law. Yet, the police are calling them hunting rifles.

I just find it amusing. The THP spokesmen is right that they are not assault weapons in the traditional sense of the word because they are not machine guns.

I love The Sopranos. Sadly, this season has really been a re-hash of stories past. Chris loan sharking his AA friend was pretty much the same story (though shorter) of Tony sharking his friend with the sporting goods store.

Steve Buscemi plays the new guy who is upset about the amount of cash he earns. They have one every season and he usually gets killed off after one, maybe two, seasons. The twist this time was that he tried to stay straight for about five episodes. Yawn.

And another sit-down results in someone getting beaten up. And more sexual escapades implied with the psychiatrist. Snore.

I really expected, given the tensions with the Russian mob from a couple of seasons ago, this to be the season for the war with the Russians. But no, just boring divorce stuff.

This season has become a real snorer. But I still watch.

Meanwhile, if you haven’t caught HBO’s Deadwood (right after the Sopranos), you should. It’s pretty good and fairly original. It’s got that kind of libertarian flavor to it in that the main characters elude to the fact it’s not part of the US and are trying to keep it from being annexed. Mind you, that libertarian flavor leads to a few wealthy individuals running the town in that robber baron fashion. Good TV though.

I bet she’s not a member of the Million err 24 Mom March:

An Israeli woman embraces her son during a ceremony marking Israel’s Memorial Day at the cemetery of the Gush Katif block of Jewish settlements, in the Gaza Strip.

Catherine, of the always excellent Dogreader, is back. Her latest article is depressing but insightful. The article is on how dogs mourn the loss of other dogs.

Jeff has the latest on anti-gun bias in the news.

Via Bubba, welcome to the following new Rocky Top Brigadiers:

Nashville files. Blake points us to a study telling us that most of us support less government and cutting spending. Oh, that libertarian revolution.

The Baseball Widow. She lost her hubby to baseball.

And Cas Walker is blogging from beyond. Good stuff there on Knoxville politics. Worth the read.

Welcome all!

Mike is blogging up a storm. Go here and scroll. Lots of good stuff, including links to Tina Fey pics.

Even blind old ladies terrify the cops:

She was 71 years old.

She was blind.

She needed her 94-year-old mother to come to her rescue.

And in the middle of the dogfight — in which Eunice Crowder was pepper-sprayed, Tasered and knocked to the ground by Portland’s courageous men in blue — the poor woman’s fake right eye popped out of its socket and was bouncing around in the dirt.

How vicious and ugly can the Portland police get? Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have a winner. This 2003 case is so blatant, the use of force so excessive, the threat of liability so intimidating that the city just approved a $145,000 settlement.

But all those gung-ho fans of the cops can relax. Nothing has changed. Nothing will upset the status quo.

The cops aren’t apologizing.

The cops aren’t embarrassed.

The cops haven’t been disciplined.

And the cops are still insisting, to the bitter end, that they “reasonably believed” this blind ol’ bat was a threat to their safety and macho culture.

Eunice Crowder, you see, didn’t follow orders. Eunice was uncooperative. Worried a city employee was hauling away a family heirloom, a 90-year-old red toy wagon, she had the nerve to feel her way toward the trailer in which her yard debris was being tossed.

Enter the police. Eunice, who is hard of hearing, ignored the calls of Officers Robert Miller and Eric Zajac to leave the trailer. When she tried, unsuccessfully, to bite the hands that were laid on her, she was knocked to the ground.

When she kicked out at the cops, she was pepper-sprayed in the face with such force that her prosthetic marble eye was dislodged. As she lay on her stomach, she was Tased four times with Zajac’s electric stun gun.

And when Nellie Scott, Eunice’s 94-year-old mother, tried to rinse out her daughter’s eye with water from a two-quart Tupperware bowl, what does Miller do? According to Ernie Warren Jr., Eunice’s lawyer, the cop pushed Nellie up against a fence and accused her of planning to use the water as a weapon.

There is no excuse for that. Those policemen should be jailed for such ludicrousness.

Washington Times:

A survey released last week shows a majority of Americans are in favor of continuing the ban on assault weapons, and in households with National Rifle Association members, the numbers were about evenly split.

The survey, which interviewed 28,446 persons from Oct. 7 to April 19, shows 71 percent of people in households without guns support extending the law, as do 64 percent of those in households with guns.

I have found that a lot of non-gun folks I talk to support the ban. However, when I explain to them how the ban works (i.e., it’s not a ban and it has nothing to do with assault weapons), they usually respond by commenting on how it is a waste.

The problem is that the constant barrage of lies and distortions from anti-gun groups leaves most people who are only minimally knowledgeable of guns with the impression that the law bans machine guns (bullet hoses, spray fire, insert other buzzword designed to mislead people that it targets machine guns). It will take a lot to undo the lies and propaganda of the anti-gun groups.

While everyone else is running stories about how gun owners are shunning Bush and Republicans, FoxNews runs a story that implies gun owners will settle for Bush. Odd.

Lewis Black on HBO (paraphrased):

The Democrat Party is the party of no ideas. The Republican Party is the party of bad ideas.

I thought it was funny. However, I think it should go more like this:

The Republican Party is the party of bad ideas. The Democrat Party is the party of slightly worse ideas.

James, of Hell in a Handbasket, reviews the Bersa 380 and the Tokarev.

Since I got Tivo, I don’t watch commercials. The result is that I have no idea what new movies come out except if they’re advertised on Yahoo or something. I also am probably behind on technology and innovative new products. I figure if something is truly innovative, somebody will blog about them.

I’m also probably missing out on some funny commercials.

You rob someone. They thwart your robbery with a gun. Your defense strategy:

Attorney Scott Brettschnieder thinks the Queens DA’s office should recuse itself from prosecuting the case against client Devon Keitt, who was wounded during his attempted hold up. The reason? They “illegally” let store clerk Edwin Marte “off the hook” for having an unlicensed firearm – the one he used to save himself during the alleged attempted robbery by the defendant.

Ok, that’s a lot funny.

This one is not so funny. A man finds an illegal sawn off shotgun in his son’s room. He contemplates tossing it in a river but does the right thing and takes it to the police:

Hartford police, in turn, showed their appreciation by arresting and cuffing him, taking him on what became a bruising ride to headquarters and then keeping him in a holding cell until they realized their mistake.

Against stupid politicians, that is:

The bill would punish anyone caught wearing low-riding pants with a fine of as much as $500 or as many as six months in jail, or both.

“I’m sick of seeing it,” said Shepherd, a first-term legislator. “The community’s outraged. And if parents can’t do their job, if parents can’t regulate what their children wear, then there should be a law.”

We’re doomed.

Xrlq alerts us that Colorado’s Governor signed a bill into law banning Breed Specific Legislation. Good news!

Denver, content to continue murdering 400 innocent animals per year, is suing to overturn the ban on breeds. Apparently, the change to the law to exempt cities with populations over 400,000 (that I wrote about here) wasn’t added to the bill.

Good for Colorado.

Newsday:

Gun maker Colt Defense is suing competitors Bushmaster and Heckler & Koch for trademark infringement, claiming the companies are trading on Colt’s good name by marketing knockoffs of its popular M-4 military rifle.

Colt’s lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Norfolk, claims the companies have engaged in trademark infringement, trademark dilution, false advertising, unfair competition and deceptive trade practices and seeks unspecified damages.

Colt’s M-4 automatic rifle is its best-selling weapon, sold only to military and law-enforcement agencies.

The lawsuit claims that Bushmaster’s semiautomatic XM-15 E2S rifle _ a very similar model to the high-powered Bushmaster rifle used in the October 2002 D.C. sniper shootings _ is being improperly advertised as an “M-4 type rifle.”

The lawsuit alleges that “Bushmaster has deliberately copied the ‘look’ of Colt’s M4 carbine and has unlawfully used Colt’s federally registered M4 trademark” in its marketing and advertising.

First of all, one thing about Colt is they have a history of buying up the best designs. They bought the designs to the 1911, the AR15 and I think the Browning from the inventors or initial companies that designed them. They bought the AR15 from Armalite and the 1911 and Browning from Browning, if I recall. Problem is, everyone else makes their guns better than they do. I’d take a Kimber or even a Norinco over a Colt model 1911. And I would take a Bushmaster or H&K AR over a Colt any day. It’s not really an issue, as I tend to build my ARs.

Colt also has a history of ignoring the civilian market. This leaves a demand, filled in by the likes of Bushmaster. Sounds like ignoring that market may have cost them.

Resonance is a year old. That’s like 50 in blog years.

WBIR:

The state’s attorney general says there is not a law against the civil union of gays and lesbians in Tennessee.

But Paul Summers also says the unions are not legally recognized.

Summers, the state’s highest-ranking lawyer, said he based his opinion on Tennessee’s 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. The act defines marriage as taking place between one man and one woman.

Tennessee’s constitution also does not allow same-sex civil unions.

Opponents of civil unions say they are worried homosexuals will attempt to sue for rights and have a Tennessee court recognize them.

More lies from the lying liars that tell them:

That there is still strong opposition to extending the weapons ban in spite of its obvious merits speaks to the power of the nation’s gun lobby, which has fought every effort for sensible gun control.

Huh? The NRA supported the gun control laws of 1968 and 1986. And the Brady bill. And the NICS bill.

But none of the rhetoric from the National Rifle Association can stand up to the facts. The percentage of assault weapons used in crimes since the original ban passed has been reduced by two-thirds. There is simply no justification for making military-style assault weapons available to the general public.

This claim has been refuted many times. Actual usage in crime has remained less than 0.25% prior to and after the ban.

Well, the indestructible ball has now survived four hours of almost continuous play without getting destroyed. Cool.

Seemed to light for him at first, as it is hollow hard plastic. I filled it half way with water, which was too heavy. He could move it just not quickly enough for a work out. Now, it’s about 1/8 full and he loves it.

I highly recommend the indestructible ball. Now, if I could get one that threw itself!

Weekly gun links! And Les is right, go with the red head.

State auditors said the TBI’s database is not up to date and this improperly delayed 1,700 from lawfully purchasing firearms:

Auditors said about 2 million arrests have been entered into the database since 1995. But authorities don’t know the outcome in 77 percent of the cases.

This means some people who have been acquitted or had the charges against them dropped or reduced remain in the database.

WATE reports that the University of Tennessee’s new president has been picked.

The UT Board of Trustees has elected Dr. John Petersen as the new president Wednesday.

Petersen, 56, is provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of Connecticut. His previous experience was as a dean and professor of chemistry at Wayne State University, a department head and associate dean at Clemson University and an associate professor at Kansas State University.

After the last president’s issues, why does anyone want that job?

Story from WBIR:

The Knox County Sheriff’s Office arrested a man for allegedly repeatedly pulling out and stopping in front of Rural Metro ambulances.

57-year old, Harrison Turpin is charged with felony reckless endangerment.

Turpin is the father and grandfather of two people killed last July after they pulled out in front of a Rural Metro ambulance on the way to a call.

Rural Metro says a few weeks ago, someone in a black SUV started harrassing paramedics on the road.

They identified Turpin when he allegedly got out of his SUV on Lovell Road and cursed at, and threated, the people in the ambulance.

OhioCCW writes:

The Daily Chief-Union of Upper Sandusky has published a story, informing readers about the dangers of lawn mower usage. According to the Insurance Information Institute, approximately 75,000 people per year require emergency room treatment for injuries caused by lawn mowers. The paper noted that most injuries are the result of human error, and was even kind enough to offer a few safety tips:

* Read the instruction manual before using a lawnmower.
* Be sober.
* Do not remove safety devices, shields or guards on switches and keep hands and feet away from moving parts.
* Add fuel before starting the engine, not when it is running or hot.
* Never let children operate lawnmowers. Keep kids 15 years of age and younger away when lawnmowers are in use.
* Do not leave a lawnmower unattended when it is running.

There’s more, but we’ll stop there, before you loose all interest.

So WHY are we writing a story about 75,000 accidental lawn mower injuries on a website that focuses on self-defense rights?

Because according to the Centers for Disease Control, less than 17,700 people received non-fatal injuries due to a firearms accident in 2001.

Because when you add to that accidental number those injured intentionally, due to violent attack, the total number is still less than those injured by accident with lawn-mowers – 63,000.

I’m not opposed to lawn mowers but I think some serious lawn mower legislation is in order. After all, you don’t need a riding lawn mower nor do you need a self-propelled lawn mower. All you need are those old timer mowers that aren’t gas powered and have the rotary blades. You know, where you have to run it over the same section of your lawn five or six times.

More:

But most of all, we’re writing this story because unlike a firearm, no one’s life has ever been saved with a lawn mower.

I just took the pooch for a walk, and I realized that every single home in my neighborhood has at least one azalea bush in its yard.

My guess is that Frampton Comes Alive must have shipped with a packet of seeds or something.

Xrlq alerts us to a heroic dog who saved her buddy from a gator. That dog looks awful familiar.

Kevin addresses the fact that anti-gun groups press releases are treated as news, an issue I addressed here.

In the last week, google news alerts has alerted me at least three times per day, every day, that some group warns that assault weapons are headed for the streets. These releases are always filled with the same old propaganda about the ban expiring, a sign of desperation from the anti-gunners. Today’s release was actually different in that it talked about the shipment of semi-automatic AK47s that was intercepted.

No wonder the NRA got its own news channel. Anti-gun = news source. Pro-gun = gun lobby.

We used to get those over-sized tennis balls, regular tennis balls, and the occasional basketball for Politically Incorrect Dog™. Problem is, he’d pop them pretty quick. The last leather basketball he got was popped in a record 5 minutes. So, I set out to find an indestructible ball. PetDiscounters offers this model:

Indestructible Dog Balls
The name says it all! These “Gorilla-Tough” balls are virtually indestructible and will not be will not be destroyed by your dog’s teeth & rough playing! Molded from safe, non-toxic polyethylene. They won’t tear, break, or burst open like many other dog toys. Easy screw plug allows 10″ balls to be filled with water, sand or gravel, which makes it ideal for working dogs or for dogs that need to build up a little more muscle. Great exercise for dogs of all sizes. Actual color of product may vary. Made in the U.S.A.

The Mrs. ordered one. I’ll let you know how it goes. If it gets destroyed, I guess I’ll just give him a tire or something.

FoxNews:

A Turkish ship headed for New York — and stuffed with thousands of AK-47s and other Kalashnikov assault rifles — was seized en route in Italy, authorities said Tuesday.

The ship’s deadly hoard of more than 7,500 terrorist-grade rifles and machine guns worth more than $6 million was discovered illegally hidden under piles of properly labeled arms in several massive cargo containers, Italian officials said.

The article then makes many factual errors and intimates the rifles were for terrorists trade. From the boat to the gun show, I guess. These were not machine guns but were rendered semi-automatic. The article ties the discovery to the Assault Weapons Ban too. All around shoddy reporting. Why did I link to it? To illustrate that illegal rifles are still entering the country despite laws aimed at disarming peaceable citizens.

Any readers out there who are contemplating their first NFA purchase (like me) should be aware of this sweet deal: A Walther P22 with a TAC 65 Sound Suppressor and adapter for $398.

With an additional two bills for the illegal tax of a right paid to the Treasury (AKA, the NFA tax), cost is $598 + transfer fees.

I was reading about the eligibility requirements of Tennessee’s HOPE scholarship, which is the scholarship paid for via our new lottery. The FAQ reads:

Question 2: How do I qualify for the Tennessee HOPE Scholarship?

You must meet the following criteria:

[snip]

§ Score at least a 19 ACT (890 SAT) OR

[snip]

§ 2004 Home schooled graduates have two ways to qualify:

Score at least a 23 ACT (1060 SAT)

See that? Home schooled students must outperform public school students (which I’m sure they do anyway). There are two reasons I can think of why this occurs:

1) Our legislators realize that the average parent is a better teacher than the average teacher. This doesn’t sound unreasonable.

2) To make homeschooling that much more difficult (the likely reason, as the NEA wants to do just that).

The fact they would rather make it more difficult on home-schooled children rather odd. I tend to think that the standards should be the same for all children regardless of how they were educated.

HJ Heinz, that company that Kerry’s wife is the heir to, has donated money to Republicans:

Although John F. Kerry’s wife is an heir to the H.J. Heinz Co. fortune, members of the board of the Fortune 500 company and its corporate political action committee have donated thousands of dollars to Republicans in recent years, including contributions to the Bush campaign. The corporate PAC has given nothing to Kerry.

Har har.

Rep. John Hotstettler was briefly detained for carrying a gun into an airport. He does have a permit. A couple things:

If this was a citizen and not a politician, then they would be in jail.

He was headed to Washington (I assume DC), where handguns are banned.

Seems like I never get tired of it. If the VPC decided to ban dangerous automobiles, this is how they’d define “Race Cars”….
Read the rest of this entry »

Jed fisks the Children’s Defense Fund’s ridiculous assertion that the non-existent gun show loophole and the assault weapons ban some how are tied to Columbine.

Via Robert Douglas, Auburn is wanting to tie a dog’s weight to whether it is dangerous or not. The threshold: 30 pounds:

Unlike most dog-control ordinances, Auburn’s proposal would not require a dog to do anything to be listed as “potentially dangerous” except weigh more than 30 pounds — the belief being that larger dogs are inherently more dangerous.

As written, the proposal would require any dog exceeding that weight to be kept on a leash or within a fenced yard or kennel.

Should a 30-pound-plus dog happen to get out of the yard, even inadvertently, its status would be upgraded to dangerous, and its owner would be required to take out a $250,000 insurance policy, available from only one company in the nation — a Florida firm that insures circus animals. Homeowners policies don’t insure dogs labeled as dangerous.

I am of the opinion that all dogs should be properly restrained and not running loose, as are most responsible pet owners.

Weight being a factor is as ludicrous as breed being a factor. Up next, color will be a factor.

More:

Moreover, the owner also could be required to secure a special dangerous-animal permit from the city at a cost of $100.

Yup, the city needs to make some dollars off the deal.

Pat Gang alerts me to the Leitner-Wise LW15.499. It is a 50 caliber, semi-automatic rifle based on the AR15. I’m guessing by the .499 designation, it was made for sale in California. Heh!

Order one today for about $1,500.

Pardon me while I wipe the drool from my keyboard.

Publicola has some fancy new MT digs. About time.

Drug War Rant alerts us to some stupid things done by the DEA that will hopefully result in three lawsuits.

Ok, so I like to read John Derbyshire’s columns on NRO. His latest one discusses two solutions to labor shortage problems: to import labor (as Saudi Arabia does), or to automate (as Japan does). He mentions Japan’s push toward creating machines to care for their aging population: for example, “human-washing” machines.

It’s been a few years since I worked in robotics, but back then it was indeed my impression that the Japanese were serious about developing service robots for assisting the elderly and disabled. It is also my experience that the Japanese make awesome robots, mechanically. Just look at Honda’s Asimo and Sony’s QRIO. The idea of the humanoid robot, besides being just too cool, is that, because it is human-shaped, it could simply step in to any job and take the place of a real person, without requiring changes to tools or the work environment.

The problem is that, while specialized industrial automation has been around for quite some time, making general-purpose robots that are capable and smart enough to be useful is hard. Marvin Minsky thinks that focusing on hardware can actually be a distraction: “Graduate students are wasting 3 years of their lives soldering and repairing robots, instead of making them smart.” I certainly wasted a lot of time repairing robots, that’s for sure.

I’d still like to have one of them Asimos, though.

Self,

Never, ever, ever appear on a talk show. Particularly any show that comes on when most people are at work:

All Ricky Meredith wanted to do was punch his nemesis, “Pimp Daddy,” in the face on national television.

Instead, he lost his prized collection of 2,000 clip-on ties, his 16 “homemade” Western shirts and the big-screen TV he had just finished paying off, all because of a fire prosecutors contend his ex-stepdaughter and her boyfriend set while he was in Chicago for an appearance on the Jerry Springer Show.

“When I came back from the Jerry Springer Show, I couldn’t believe it,” Meredith told jurors in Knox County Criminal Court Monday. “The best TV I had in my whole life, it was history. I had over 2,000 of them snap-on ties I lost in that fire. I had 16 Western shirts that was homemade. You can’t buy them in the store.”

Reaping, sewing, whatever.

Newsmax on Zogby:

Massachusetts senator John Kerry holds a three-point lead (47 percent to 44 percent) over President George W. Bush among likely voters, according to a new Zogby International poll. The poll of 1,049 likely voters was conducted Thursday through Saturday (April 15-17, 2004). Overall results have a margin of sampling error of +/- 3.1.

Foxnews:

As worries about the Iraq war and terrorism have pushed ahead of the economy among the public’s priorities, President Bush has edged ahead of Democratic challenger John Kerry, national polls suggest.

The ABC-Washington Post and CNN-USA Today-Gallup polls, both released Monday, showed Bush with a slight lead over Kerry in a three-way matchup with independent Ralph Nader.

Seems the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy isn’t so vast nor is it particularly conspiratorial. Maybe they should get together?

Buzzflash writes that Cheney supports gun control:

All the NRA gun guys who wanted to hear Mr. Cheney speak about God and Guns and Freedom and the evils of Gun Control had to leave their guns in their hotel rooms and go through metal detectors, among other screening procedures, before they could gain entry to the meeting hall where Cheney addressed them. In short, if you were an NRA member and wanted to hear Cheney, you had to go through gun control. In fact, security screening for Cheney started three hours in advance of his NRA speech.

So, Dick Cheney tells the NRA members gun control is bad for America, but is apparently good enough for him. Excuse us, but we want some of what Cheney gets: you know, the treatment where the gun guys can’t be in the same room with us while packing heat. If it’s good enough for Cheney, it’s good enough for BuzzFlash!

What does it say about politicians that they don’t trust you?

Tomorrow will be the fifth anniversary of the Columbine tragedy and there was an NRA convention this weekend. Chalk one up to poor timing. As such, anti-gun hysteria is reaching levels comparable to that annoying homeland security chart. One article on debating the statistics says:

The two sides in the Senate debate over extending the decade-old ban on assault weapons are convinced of the bill’s value — and both think they have the numbers to prove it.

“We got the bill passed a decade ago, and America has been safer for it, ” argued Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the California Democrat who pushed through the original bill in the face of roaring opposition from the National Rifle Association and its allies.

“In fact, the percentage of assault weapons used in crimes since this bill has passed has diminished by two-thirds,” she added during a Senate debate last month. “That is the good news.”

But Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, an NRA board member, said the 1994 ban was a bust.

“The restrictions imposed by this law make no sense and only create a burden on law-abiding citizens and businesses,” he told the Senate.

Craig had his own statistics, from the Justice Department, to prove his point.

“Before the semiautomatic-firearms ban, less than 2 percent of crimes in this country were semi-auto. After the ban, from 1997 and forward, less than 2 percent were. Same figure,” he said

Either side is prone to finding stats that support its conclusion. Strangely absent from a lot of this debate is the issue of freedom. After all, who are you to tell me (a law abiding citizen with no intent to harm anyone) what my rifle should look like?

Next up is this opinion piece on the ban which is quite short on facts and long on VPC talking points. Don’t even bother to read it unless you just want a refresher on the talking points.

Unsurprisingly, Cheney didn’t mention the Assault Weapons Ban at the NRA convention. Bush has said he supports the ban but he has not actively pursued it. Some argue he’s playing politics for votes by supporting it and keeping votes by not actively pushing it. Cheney has also vowed to protect gun owner rights. I’ll believe it when I see it.

Additionally, there was some emotional blather by the parent of a child killed in the tragedy that outlined the touchy-feeliness of the issue. Even more unfortunate is that other reports suggest that the NRA members were making rather rude comments to the parent.

Spoons concludes Illinois voters are idiots:

I’d like to conduct another poll, and ask my fellow Illinoisans the following questions:

What does the assault weapons ban, ban?

Under what circumstances do you have to have a federal background check when you buy a gun at a gun show?

Under what circumstances do you not have to have a federal background check when you buy a gun elsewhere than a gun show?

Describe how the laws regarding federal background checks differ at gun shows, versus all other locations.

How many U.S. states allow citizens to carry concealed weapons?

How do the crime rates of states with concealed carry compare to the crime rates of states without concealed carry?

How many states that have adopted concealed carry over the past ten years have seen their crime rates go up?

How many have gone down?

One reported bit of good news is that the assault weapons ban is off the legislature’s table until at least spring. The good news is that some gun rights will be restored in September. The bad news is that the 11 high capacity magazines I have at the house will drop in value. A price worth paying.

Looks like Dayton, whose council tried to outlaw homosexuality recently, will be having a gay pride event. This could get ugly.

Yard work has been kicking my butt (although I guess I’m not the only one so kicked), else I would be blogging up a storm, you betcha.

Oh what the heck; it’s just typing. Here we go.

Saturday one of my shootin’ buddies and I went to the range. I wanted to try out the 30-round M1 carbine magazine I had picked up for cheap at the last gun show; I had heard they weren’t no good but I wanted to find out just how not-good they were. My buddy wanted to put a lot of rounds through his Ruger P89.

The 30-round magazine turned out to be more-or-less OK, but the last round didn’t feed properly because the “bump” on the magazine follower is designed hold the bolt open when the magazine is empty, unlike the 15-round magazines.

Les Jones reviewed the Ruger P95, which is probably similar enough to my friend’s (except the one I fired had a manual safety). I think I agree with most of what he said, except that I didn’t quite get the hang of the magazine catch.

Also, I think the pistol seems kind of bulky-feeling. I’m pretty sure I have larger-than-average hands, and while I didn’t have any problems getting a good grip while firing, I did find it awkward to work the slide release and safety with the thumb of my strong hand, especially compared to some other semi-autos I’ve fired. I also don’t think it would be very easy to carry concealed.

It may be that I just needed more time to get used to it, plus the fact that I’m more familiar with revolvers. I did like the sights, and I did like the controllability—recoil was hardly noticeable, although that could be due to the “wussy Europellet” as some people call it. All in all, I’d say it would be a great home-defense handgun.

And then, after we’d fired over 300 rounds, we capped off the testosterone-laden afternoon by taking in a matinee showing of The Punisher. Hoo boy! As my buddy said afterwards, “It was a pretty decent action movie, even though there wasn’t a single thing in it that could have possibly happened in real life.”

But then I had to do yard work the rest of the weekend. At least the weather was pretty!

Veep Cheney has called Kerry a threat to gun owners. The NRA members began shouting four more years. Obviously, the NRA members haven’t been keeping up with Bush’s record on guns:

“John Kerry’s approach to the Second Amendment has been to regulate, regulate and then regulate some more,” Cheney said, citing votes against legislation that would protect gun makers from lawsuits and in favor of allowing federal authorities to randomly inspect gun dealers without notice.

Cheney lauded the NRA for its safety programs and said the best way to prevent gun crimes was to enforce existing laws. Federal prosecutions of crimes committed with guns increased 68 percent under President Bush, he told the crowd.

Bush “has shown you respect, earned your vote and appreciates your support,” Cheney said.

[Snip]

Kerry, in a statement issued before Cheney’s address, said “most voters don’t know that (Bush and Cheney) are standing against major police organizations and breaking their promise to renew the assault weapons ban — which helps keep military-style assault weapons out of the hands of criminals and terrorists.”

Update: Publicola has more.

Half acre lot in the country: $30,000

Sod so your back yard isn’t a mud pit: $3,600

Fence to keep the good guys in and the bad guys out: $3,300

Popping an over-sized tennis ball:

And playing tug with a friend:

Priceless!

Bush, apparently realizing Saturday is not a big news day, is urging congress to renew the Patriot Act, which is set to expire next year:

“Key elements of the Patriot Act are set to expire next year,” Bush said in his weekly radio address. “Some politicians in Washington act as if the threat to America will also expire on that schedule.”

Although it was supported by a large majority of lawmakers when it came up for a vote in Congress in the weeks after the attacks, the Patriot Act has become controversial.

Opponents fear it may give federal agents too much power, for example to invade privacy with provisions such as those that make it easier to tap telephone conversations.

But the president accused those who would allow the law to lapse of having “willful blindness” to the terrorist threat.

I’ve been told I speak with a bit of an accent. I don’t really see it that way myself; it always sounds to me like THEY have the accent. I saw a link to this post by Geitner Simmons (ht: Donald Sensing), that discusses the origins of the Southern accent and dialect, and the long tradition of the entertainment folks getting it wrong:

The movie “Cold Mountain” has given moviegoers new reason to complain about bungled or exaggerated Southern accents in Hollywood films. But I recently ran across a similar gripe voiced way back in 1897, about stage productions. The complainer was Thomas Nelson Page (1853-1922), whose extravagant writings did much to promote a moonlight-and-magnolia romanticizing of the Old South. From Page’s 1897 book “Social Life in Old Virginia: Before the War” (emphasis added):

Quite a large crop of so-called Southern plays, or at least plays in which Southerners have figured, has of late been introduced on the stage, and the supposititious Southerner is as absurd a creation as the wit of ignorance ever devised. The Southern girl is usually an underbred little provincial, whose chief characteristic is to say “reckon” and “real,” with strong emphasis, in every other sentence. And the Southern gentleman is a sloven whose linen has never known starch; who clips the endings of his words; says “Sah” at the end of every sentence, and never uses an “r” except in the last syllable of [the N-word]

This is something that bothers me, too. Movies almost NEVER get Southern accents right. So when I saw Fargo, I had to be skeptical that they got that accent right. I’ve been told they did, but I can’t really say from experience.

Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius vetoed a bill Friday to allow Kansans to carry concealed handguns. There are not enough votes to override.

Sounds like a good way to be a one-termer to me.