I’m contemplating my next rifle purchase. CETME or FAL?

Update: Hmmm, maybe a Saiga as a truck gun too!

He not only misled Congress, the U.N., and the American people, he also misled the new Iraqi Prime Minister! Of course, that guy is probably a puppet anyway, so of course he’s spouting the Bush Line:

Brokaw: Prime minister, I’m surprised that you would make the connection between 9/11 and the war in Iraq. The 9/11 commission in America says there is no evidence of a collaborative relationship between Saddam Hussein and those terrorists of al-Qaida.

Allawi: No. I believe very strongly that Saddam had relations with al-Qaida. And these relations started in Sudan. We know Saddam had relationships with a lot of terrorists and international terrorism. Now, whether he is directly connected to the September — atrocities or not, I can’t — vouch for this. But definitely I know he has connections with extremism and terrorists.

Which is what I said earlier: Saddam connected with 9/11? Probably not. Saddam connected with Al Qaida? Possibly. Saddam connected with terrorists? NO QUESTION.

And by that, I mean there’s no point debating it, so I’ve disabled comments.

Working for Change, which is some sort of “progressive” organization, has a page where you can ask your Senators and Representative to Renew the Assault Weapons Ban. They’re nice enough to let you customize the message:

I urge you NOT to support S. 2109/H.R. 3831, a piece of un-Constitutional legislation that would reauthorize the so-called
“assault weapons” law.

Fortunately, the law will expire in September 2004 unless Congress and the President renew it. One of the most important outcomes of this is that high-capacity ammunition clips will once again be legal; the ban on their manufacture has crippled our armed forces, because of the scarcity of these magazines, making them more vulnerable to terrorist attack.

Anti-rights lobbyists such as the VPC, notorious for its lies and distortions, led the fight for the original assault weapons ban because the guns “look scary,” and they hoped this law would become the precursor to additional gun bans. Of course, the law was useless, because it banned guns based solely on how they looked.

S. 2109 is identical to the amendment offered by Senators Feinstein and Warner that passed the Senate by a vote of 52-47 on March 2. Although that amendment died when the underlying legislation was defeated, Senators Feinstein and Warner will soon try again to renew the assault weapons ban. We must fight this bill also.

If you have already cosponsored S. 2109/H.R. 3831, you are supporting legislation that abrogates our Constitutional rights, but if you have not, we thank you. Please vote AGAINST this anti-rights, anti-military legislation when it comes up for a vote.

Please let me know how you intend to proceed on this issue.

I’ll be the blue guy holding his breath…

UPDATE: In the comments, XRLQ points out that this will probably backfire (no pun intended). Doh. Well, my intentions were, and that’s all that counts, right?

A while back, Bubba asked the question:

All the wingnuts slobbering all over themselves to discredit Michael Moore for criticizing their President on a Mission from God seem to have forgotten about Moore criticizing the Big Dog Bill in 1997.

I watched Moore’s movie, “The Big One”, on the Independent Film Channel last night. It revolves around his book tour promoting “Downsize This”. He goes out of his way to slam Clinton for his welfare policies and NAFTA. I don’t recall any wingnuts calling him a despicable liar for that. Go figure.

I guess my question would be, since I don’t recall any, where was the all-out media blitz regarding that movie?

Oh, that liberal media.

After receiving some grief for this post, I now point you to Exhibit A in what I mean:

Jesse Jackson accused the Republican Party, conservatives and the retailer Wal-Mart of attempting to “push the ideology of the Confederacy” in America.

Jackson made the comments in several speeches he delivered during his 33rd annual Rainbow/PUSH Coalition Conference in Chicago.

“The ideological right in control of our nation knows what it wants,” Jackson said. “The right wing fights for a series of constitutional amendments. They intend to have their ideology protected by law. They intend to push the ideology of the Confederacy and continue to challenge the vision of the Union,” Jackson told conference delegates on Monday.

“In this competing vision of America, we choose the Union over the Confederacy. We chose a simple but comprehensive plan to make America a more perfect union,” Jackson added.

On Tuesday, Jackson applied the Confederate label to the Bush administration’s economic policies and to the retail giant Wal-Mart.

While a prominent black leader engages in useless rhetoric, SayUncle estimates that in America today: 21 black people will commit murder; 22 black people will be murdered; 506 black people will be arrested for drug trafficking crimes; 1,000,000 black people are in prison; and 26,500,000 black people live in poverty. The focus by Jackson is on what keeps black folks down, never what can lift them up.

Some Libertarians are advocating support for John Kerry merely to oust George Bush. Other real conservatives have said for a while that to get the Republicans back on track, Bush needs to lose this one. I’m not sure I disagree. But it will be a cold day in Hell before I pull the lever for Kerry.

When DiFi wants to extend gun control, she’s passionate. But those against it are just the powerful gun lobby:

The NRA and other elements of the powerful gun lobby say the Feinstein’s assault weapons ban has been ineffective and violates what they consider Americans’ Second Amendment rights to own guns. The groups have lobbied vehemently to keep the legislation from reaching the floor.

No, they don’t consider it to be, they know it is. In fact, if someone can find any documents prior to the 1940s that supports the contention that there is not a right to arms, it’d be impressive.

The fight for the Assault Weapons Ban is gearing up. DiFi is looking for a bill to attach it to. The Senate will pass it. Bush will sign it. The only chance for blocking it is the House.

Update: Jeff has more. He rightly calls it an editorial described as a news item.

WATE writes about a judge who removed all references to God from his court. The North Carolina Supreme Court told him he couldn’t do that.

One sign we’ve used a word too much:

North Carolina’s supreme court sided with county officials who argued that District Judge James Honeycutt couldn’t unilaterally change courtroom procedures.

The court ordered Honeycutt to stop using a revised oath omitting the phrase “so help you God,” and administer the oath as required by state law. Honeycutt also was ordered to let bailiffs open court sessions with a proclamation that includes “God save the state and this honorable court.”

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go unilaterally pour myself a cup of coffee.

From the Salisbury, N.C., Post:

Someone fired a shotgun blast and hit a remote-controlled advertising blimp Saturday as it flew in a field next to Team Chevrolet-Cadillac-Geo on South Jake Alexander Boulevard.

The blimp was advertising Cloninger Ford-Toyota.

Good thing he didn’t use an assault weapon.

You would think that when you have a newborn baby, you have one baby. This is not true. Sure, you have a baby but that generally consists only of the head and torso area. Those two areas comprise the baby. But the baby comes with four other entities attached. Two of these entities are mostly harmless and two are downright malevolent.

The two mostly harmless entities are the legs. I say harmless because, even though they act totally independent of the rest of the baby, they don’t actively engage in activities the baby doesn’t want them to. The legs just sort of hang out, literally and figuratively. They don’t do much.

The arms, however, are apparently evil. They are rather like that Bruce Campbell scene where his hand is trying to kill him. They do things that are quite contrary to what the head and torso portion of the baby want to do. See, I know for a fact that the baby wants the pacifier because when I put it in her mouth she latches on and goes to town. Then, suddenly, here comes this hand from nowhere and knocks it from her mouth. This makes her cry. I know she didn’t mean to do it but her hand, acting on it’s own will apparently, is merciless. This happens quite often.

Update: The legs, I have found, serve the nefarious purpose of keeping all items with pant legs off of the baby.

Robert Douglas has more on what an SKS is and what it isn’t.

http://billclintonbookmylife.blogspot.com/

I mean…no way.

Haven’t seen the movie but, in the last few days, I have seen Moore himself on TV refer to his Fahrenheit 911 as satire; as a documentary; as humor; and as a satirical documentary. I have also heard him state the facts in the movie are irrefutable, though some have been refuted.

If his message about his movie is so mixed, how can anyone (even the base he’s trying to rile) take it remotely seriously if they don’t know if it’s satire, humor, or a documentary?

A bill to allow Tennesseans and residents of seven other states to deduct sales tax for federal income tax purposes is hitting snags:

”Senator Frist is a co-sponsor of sales-tax deductibility legislation, and now that the House has acted, he is hopeful that Democrats will support our efforts to go to conference,” Smith said.

Frist and Sen. Lamar Alexander said they would lobby Senate colleagues to accept the deductibility provision.

”This is a matter of simple fairness since citizens in other states are allowed to deduct their state income tax payments,” Alexander said.

Matter of fairness? Doesn’t Tennessee receive more federal funds than it pays? Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for tax cuts of any kind, but this likely doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in Hell of passing.

And can you imagine the record keeping involved? Digging up receipts from the grocery store, gas, etc.?

Via Publicola, we have this article which states:

“The rifle believed used in the recent slayings of three Birmingham police officers would be illegal under a bill now before Congress, a move supported by some of Alabama’s top law officers in the wake of the deaths.”

The Assault Weapons Ban would not ban this rifle. An SKS does not accept a detachable magazine and is not covered by the ban.

Mike may have uncovered some plagiarism from a college professor (that post and the one following it).

I think this editorial meets XRLQ’s criteria for being too stupid to fisk.

Update: Well, Phelps did it any way. Golly, you mean those stats from the BATF didn’t come from the, ya know, BATF?

A particularly horrendous piece of Breed Specific Legislation is on the table in New Jersey:

S1718 Would Allow a Municipality To:

Require a special license for all “pit bulls” ($150-700)-including “American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, Staffordshire Terriers and any dog determined to be a pit bull type.” Licenses may be denied to anyone who has been convicted of a criminal offense or animal cruelty, as well as anyone who lives with someone convicted of those crimes.

Require anyone who owns a dog to prove that it ISN’T a pit bull (municipality will visually inspect the dog to determine whether it is a pit bull). Very few municipalities have staff with any breed identification knowledge or experience.

Require confinement in a permanent enclosure (including a secure pen AND a 6-ft. fence).

Require pit bulls to be muzzled when off owner’s property and leashed (3-feet long or less). Also, the leash must be approved by an animal control officer.

Send an animal control officer to inspect the enclosure and the licensee’s property at least monthly.

Require liability insurance for owners.

Violators are subject to fine up to $1000/day.

Seized dogs will be placed in no-kill shelter until properly adopted or until the dog dies of natural causes.

I’m not surprised that this is an especially bad bill because it’s New Jersey. Visually inspecting dogs is not a valid criteria for establishing breeds. Many boxers, for example, can resemble pit bull type dogs. And those animal control guys are going to be busy inspecting leashes and kennels.

It looks like Iraqi sovereignty has been granted early. Too late to determine if it’s just a token gesture or if it’s for real. The troops aren’t coming home and there’s more work to do but I guess the fact they have a government now can’t be bad.

Just noticed, Smijer is back. Cool.

Jeff has the latest.

Ravenwood reports on life imitating The Simpsons.

Via Robert Douglas, we have another victim of police getting the address wrong. This time, it was the family pet:

A responding officer went to Vanderford’s house, thinking he heard that address over the radio instead of Vanderford’s neighbor, Acosta said.

The two officers saw a garage door open in the back yard and an alarm placard on the house and assumed they had the right house, Acosta said. When they went around the back of the house, the dog came out of the garage and was 5 feet away when the first officer fired his weapon.

“Having no time to react, he didn’t have time to retrieve the pepper spray, he felt the dog was rather large and too close, the officers reacted with their firearms,” he said

It could be worse, she could have just called them house niggers:

Right Wingers will suggest substituting Jesse Lee Peterson, Larry Elder, Clarence Thomas or some other contemporary handkerchief head for Rev. Jackson. Then, it is time for me to say, ‘Gotcha!’ Right Wing African-American ‘leaders’ owe whatever status they have to the white Right. (There really isn’t a colored one.) They are groomed by it, popularized by it and paid by it. Their only connection to other blacks is the one they are being used for — appearance.

Because, after all, none of them worked to get where they are. So, they must be right wing shills. And, of course, it’s impossible that a black person may identify with the right. They’re all just tokens. Unless they’re on the left, they haven’t worked for it. After all, there are no rich white guys on the left to oppress these black upstarts and pay them off.

As for Jackson and his respect, he’ll get it when he seriously places race relations upon a higher pedestal than his own benefit.

While we engage in rhetoric on why blacks should never identify with the right wing, SayUncle estimates that in America today: 21 black people will commit murder; 22 black people will be murdered; 506 black people will be arrested for drug trafficking crimes; 1,000,000 black people are in prison; and 26,500,000 black people live in poverty.

Via Ricky.

Update: P6 did not write what I quoted, this person did. I couldn’t tell as the quote was not blocked, italicized or otherwise made to appear to be a quote. I guess maybe the “…” could have clued me in.

From the New York Daily News:

The valedictorian of a Brooklyn high school was escorted out of the building and denied her diploma yesterday because she trashed the school in a scorching graduation speech.
…
A top student who’s going to Smith College on a full scholarship this fall, Schley was brutally honest about the High School of Legal Studies during Thursday’s graduation ceremonies in Bushwick.

Among her gripes: The school has had four principals in four years, overcrowded classes, a shortage of textbooks and other basic materials, unqualified teachers, unstable staffing and uncaring administrators who refused to meet with students to discuss the school’s problems.
…
When Schley came to school yesterday to pick up her diploma with the rest of her classmates, she and her mother were told they had been disrespectful and were escorted out of the building.

Her mom, Felicia Schley, was furious at the way she and her daughter were treated and remains proud of Tiffany.

“She busted her behind to get there, she kept it clean and she was honest,” her mother said. “Sometimes the truth hurts.”

I’m not sure which side to come down on here. On the one hand, nobody wants controversy at graduation (c.f. reports of Bush-hating keynote speakers at college graduations). On the other hand, my instinct is that the school, like most institutions, is lashing out as it would at any criticism. In the absence of any other information, I’m going to side with the student. It seems like the school could be magnanimous here.

From the Denver Post we have an article about the pervasiveness of Internet Porn. One of the worst sources is, of course, pornographic spam:

Dan Twiggs, a tech industry recruiter, says he deals with porno spam every day as he sorts through the résumés that people e-mail to him. He’s tried various spam filters but found that they invariably spike legitimate e-mails too.

“If someone wrote that they graduated ‘magna cum laude,’ their résumé was deleted,” he said. “I guess it’s better to write that you graduated with honors.”

That cracked me up.

Oh, those weapons of mass destruction.

Looks like the House passed the bill that allows retired off-duty and retired cops to carry in all 50 states. I don’t oppose this legislation but think that laws infringing on the rights of all people should be addressed.

Over at this No Quarters post, the Heartless Libertarian says in this comment:

The GOP generally treats gunowners the same way the Democrats treat blacks. Throw us a few bones, tell us that the other side is super-evil and hates us, ignore us the rest of the time, and take our votes for granted.

Pat Gang has his newest column up on the strategy page.

Doctor: [Explaining the procedure known as an episiotomy to me and the Mrs.]

Me: That don’t sound like it’s appeasing any damn body.

The Mrs.: Just keep your mouth shut.

I’m curious where other people do most of their recreational shooting. I live in the Big City, so I mainly go to an indoor range, which costs about $10 – $15 a session. There are a couple of other indoor facilities, but the only outdoor ones I’m aware of belong to clubs which are kind of pricey to join.

The last place I lived, I went with some guys who knew a guy who had a place in the country where we could blaze away. My parents also live out in the boonies, so when we go there we can pretty much just shoot out in the backyard.

So how about you readers out there? And if you want, feel free to give a plug to your favorite range.

All the stuff Dr. Phil told my wife is a bunch of crap. You don’t introduce the baby to your life, the baby shows up and turns yours upside down. It’s been a hectic week here at casa de SayUncle. Feedings every 3 to 4 hours, interrupted sleep, diaper changes, household chores, ad infinitum make for a tired yours truly and his wife.

Right now, the Mrs. and baby are snoozing, I’m blogging having just finished a glass of bourbon on the back porch with my new ever-present friend: the baby monitor. Things seem normal again and quiet. It won’t last.

It’s worth every minute of it.

The Comedian alerts us to the Matrix:

Thousands of law enforcement bodies now use them; five states have linked their own records with a huge commercial database in a federally funded program known as Matrix.

[snip]

The next minute, he knows who your relatives are, who lives in your house, who your neighbors are, the kind of car you drive or boat you own, whether you’ve been sued and various other tidbits about your life.
Science fiction? Hardly.

A growing number of police departments now have instant access via handheld wireless devices to vast commercial databases that contain details on just about anyone officers encounter on the beat.

I saw something like this in action about 3 years ago. A cop friend of mine showed me how it worked. He entered my name and it listed my relatives, address, other info, and some friends of mine (I didn’t realize one of my friends had a record until then). I was pretty shocked by it and explained to him that crap like that is why people blow up federal buildings. Well, that and craziness.

The Comedian concludes with:

How can anyone now argue against the fact that giving your name is self-incriminatory?

And isn’t tracking crap like this a violation of privacy rights protected by the fourth amendment?

As much as I talk about dogs, no one ever once told me there was a Carnival of the Dogs. Shame on you all!

Regarding this:

It’s probably the only time of the year you can shop for a Rolex watch, a Tommy Hilfiger outfit and a used car all under one rooftop — and it’s happening this Saturday in the parking lot of the Public Safety Center.

Some 700 items — ranging from cars, costume jewelry, designer urban wear, furniture and stereo equipment — will go to the highest bidder at the annual forfeiture auction by area law enforcement. The merchandise, collected from court seizures by the Columbus Police Department, the Columbus Vice and Narcotics Unit and the Metro Narcotics Task Force, will be on hand for viewing from 8 to 10 a.m.

Chuck says:

There used to be a Fourth Amendment

I think the only amendment in the Bill of Rights that hasn’t been perverted is number three. But then, we’ve not had a war on our own turf in a while.

Via Tom, comes this story that involves stuff I post about a lot: guns, dogs, and Canada.

A Canadian man, driving a car packed with weapons and ammunition, was intent on killing as many people as possible in a Toronto neighborhood but gave up the plan at the last minute when he encountered a friendly dog, police said on Thursday.

The middle-aged man, who police said was mentally disturbed, had planned to carry out the shooting spree on Wednesday to ensure he would be put in jail permanently, Toronto police said.

He had set himself up in an east-end park to load his weapons and then planned to drive around shooting. He later told police that a dog then approached and started playing with him.

The encounter melted the man’s heart, and he then went in search of police to give himself up, police said.

“He happens to be a pet lover, and decided that since there was such a nice dog in the area, that people were too nice and he wasn’t going to carry out his plan,” Detective Nick Ashley told reporters.

Police found 6,000 rounds of ammunition, two rifles, a shotgun, a semi-automatic pistol, a revolver and an air rifle in the man’s car, along with a machete and a hunting knife. The car also contained a throwing knife, a camouflage mask and netting.

No point to make. Just thought it was strange.

It’s from Foxnews so it must be a lie:

Al Qaeda-connected terror chief Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and other terrorists are apparently trying to recruit Iraqi weapons of mass destruction experts and resources for possible future attacks against the U.S.-led coalition, the head of the Iraq Survey Group told FOX News Thursday.

In an exclusive interview with FOX News’ Brit Hume, Charles Duelfer — whose ISG is leading the hunt for weapons of mass destruction — said terrorists in Iraq are “trying to tap into the Iraqi WMD intellectual capital.”

And, of course, we know that there are no terrorists operating in Iraq; errr that there is no relationship between terrorists and Iraq; Err, I mean, uhm no, there is no relationship between Saddam and Al Q; err that no significant operational relationship exists between Al Q and Saddam. Yeah, that’s it – that’s the ticket.

Cheney told Leahy to Fuck off! Who wouldn’t want to do that?

This news item from the Brady Campaign:

Since Congress Has Fewer Than 20 Working Days Before Assault Weapons Ban Expires, President Needs to Stop Playing Games.

I think Bush is playing politics on this one. He has said one thing but is not acting on it. He does, after all, have to appeal to Texans too.

Mike Adams:

There has been plenty of talk about the fact that the killer had a gun. There has been little talk about the fact that the victim did not.

Les has his weekly gun links up.

I never thought I’d say that but Spoons reports that the ads for Moore’s new film may violate the incumbent protection act err campaign finance reform:

Michael Moore may be prevented from advertising his controversial new movie, “Fahrenheit 9/11,” on television or radio after July 30 if the Federal Election Commission (FEC) today accepts the legal advice of its general counsel.

I’m no fan of Michael Moore and his looseness with the truth but that is inexcusable.

Update: Mike has moore.

The other biased Washington paper reports:

Lawmakers in Massachusetts have passed a ban on the sale of assault weapons in the state and also made it easier to own legal firearms.

The bill makes it illegal to sell semiautomatic assault weapons and shotguns with certain accessories, the Boston Globe reported Thursday. To win the support of gun-ownership-rights activists, the measure increases the gun license period from four years to six and allows for a grace period for expired firearm identification cards.

The Massachusetts House passed the measure on a voice vote Wednesday and the Senate has also approved the bill, which should be on the governor’s desk within a week, the Boston Globe reported.

Gov. Mitt Romney has not taken a stance on the legislation, but said he supported the federal ban when he ran for the U.S. Senate in 1994, the Globe reported.

Just how important are these certain accessories? They have no effect on the lethality of the weapons.

After a small dog was mauled, the Boston City Council fast-tracked a dangerous dog law:

Under the new ordinance passed 7-4, owners of dangerous dogs must spay or neuter the animals, muzzle them in public and post signs outside their homes warning that there are pit bulls inside. Violation of the restrictions will result in a $100 fine, and the dogs could be impounded.

During the debate, supporters of the ordinance presented statistics showing that pit bulls bit Boston residents 144 times over the past three years – nearly three times more than the next worst culprit, German shepherds.

Animal rights advocates immediately denounced the measure, and said the law would be unenforceable. They also say the law will not stand up in court because it discriminates against a particular breed.

Using breed as the criteria for dangerous doesn’t work. Any breed can be dangerous if not appropriately socialized. The appearance of doing something is more important than doing the right thing, apparently.

Based on a recommendation at Stop the Bleating, I went to the library and got a copy of Goodbye, Darkness by William Manchester. The book describes his experience as a Marine in the Pacific Theater during WWII, intermingled with his present-day (well, late ’70s, when it was written) visits to various battle sites.

I enjoyed the book, and I also enjoyed Manchester’s biographies of Gen. Douglas MacArthur and Winston Churchill. I highly recommend them, although you must remember that I have strange tastes.

it paid off:

Apologies for light blogging and for not responding to people who leave comments but this baby stuff is time consuming. Changing diapers, feeding, swaddling, cleaning, and other chores coupled with a very irregular sleeping pattern makes devoting significant time to anything else difficult.

But I love every minute of it.

An article at The Hill says:

Some Democrats in tight re-election races are opposing a renewal of the assault-weapons ban, despite its overwhelming support from Democratic Party leaders.

The ban, which was enacted in 1994, prohibits the sale of certain assault weapons. With the ban’s expiration looming in September, several lawmakers are rallying to extend it for another 10 years.

However, the often contentious and polarizing issue has pinned some Democrats into an awkward political position of deciding whether to support their leaders or echo what their constituents want.

Emphasis added for those who need to be told that sort of thing. Why is that a tough decision? Your constituents are who you serve.

Regardless, it is good news for opponents of the assault weapons ban.

Via XRLQ, we learn that the Saddam/Osama connection was established a couple of years before Bush took office.

CNN said Saddam offered asylum to Bin Laden. The Guardian says the same thing.

Heh! Nope, no bias there.

A victim of a no-knock warrant has been somewhat vindicated (somewhat because he’s still dead):

A state appeals court threw out search and arrest warrant affidavits used in a December 1999 drug raid that left the son of true-crime writer Barbara Davis dead.

The ruling, released Thursday, states that the no-knock warrants failed to show an informant was reliable, and it states that North Richland Hills police Sgt. Andy Wallace did not corroborate many of the facts passed along by the informant.

The ruling was the result of an appeal by Davis, who pleaded guilty to possession of GHB, a designer drug, found after the raid. Her plea agreement included the right to appeal.

The case could be retried or dismissed, or prosecutors could appeal.

The ruling by the three-judge Court of Appeals 2nd Judicial District of Texas in Fort Worth could also affect a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the Davis family.

The city has maintained that police had probable cause to burst into the house without knocking to search for marijuana plants because Troy Davis, the author’s son, was considered armed and dangerous. Barbara Davis was also in the house at the time.

Read the last paragraph again. They thought it was OK to plan on killing someone because they may have marijuana plants.

The Fraternal Order of Police announced that President Bush has taken a strong stand in supporting the Law Enforcement Officers’ Safety Act. This bill exempts off duty police and retired police from local and state ordinances prohibiting carrying firearms.

I have no issue with not restricting the right of off duty police and retired police to carry firearms. However, all citizens should be allowed to exercise their rights. Special privileges like this one (and the firearm exemptions for politicians) are an affront to liberty. It’s OK for me but not for thee.

The IRS is offering rewards for ratting people out:

Suspect your company is cheating the IRS out of millions in taxes?

Pass along the inside information to the Internal Revenue Service and you stand to collect up to 30 percent of taxes and penalties recovered under whistle-blower legislation aimed at snaring high-dollar tax cheats.

The proposed IRS Whistleblower Office is designed to give tax agents an inside advantage when fighting complicated, often invisible tax shelters developed for and used by wealthy taxpayers and corporations.

It would go after individuals and corporations with more than $200,000 in income who use shelters that hide $20,000 or more.

Informants who blow the whistle on tax evasion stand to win 15 percent to 30 percent of the recovered taxes and penalties if they contribute substantially to the case. Those who make less substantial contributions can win up to 10 percent of recovered money.

Continuing the meme of If you tell the lies often enough, they become true, JoinTogether issued a press release regarding the three police officers killed that I discussed here. At least they waited a couple of days before dancing on their graves. The release says (in part):

CeaseFire Maryland, Along with over 800 Local Police Chiefs and Sheriffs around the Country, Calls on Congress and President Bush to Renew and Strengthen the Federal Assault Weapons Ban that Sunsets Sept. 13th, 2004

Baltimore, MD – Three police officers were shot to death yesterday when they approached a house in Birmingham Alabama to serve warrants. The bullet proof vests the officers were issued were no match for the SKS assault rifle, named by officials as the weapon used in the killing. The SKS rifle is a copycat of the AK 47 assault rifle. It is cited by the ATF as the rifle most frequently used to kill law enforcement officers and is readily available in the US despite the current federal assault weapons ban.

The 1994 Assault Weapons Ban prohibited the manufacture, transfer, and possession of 19 specific semi-automatic assault weapons, such as AK-47s, AR15s, and UZIs. However, the gun industry immediately began to evade the law by making minor cosmetic changes to assault weapons, renaming them, and marketing them as “copycat” models. “Copycat” assault weapons are functionally identical to those banned by the 1994 law, which is why the assault weapons ban must also be strengthened.

Emphasis added. The SKS is not a copycat of the AK47. It is a completely separate Chinese design that takes fixed magazines (i.e., the magazine is not detached from the gun but is loaded by inserting round into the gun itself). Since it doesn’t accept detachable magazines, the SKS is not affected by the ban.

And just to repeat this pearl of wisdom: [the SKS] is cited by the ATF as the rifle most frequently used to kill law enforcement officers and is readily available in the US despite the current federal assault weapons ban. The SKS is popular because it is cheap and plentiful. It is unaffected by the ban. This is akin to saying more people are killed by Hondas because there are a lot Hondas out there.

Update: The SKS is actually a Russian design. It was used in China and in Vietnam.

Via Bubba comes this:

A motorist’s decision to stop a deputy for speeding escalated into a series of incidents than ended with his entire family joining him in jail.

Last week, Lance E. Champion, 23, reportedly pulled in behind Deputy Lt. Stan Hillis across from the local jail and told Hillis he had violated the speed limit. By the end of their conversation, Champion was in custody charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and evading arrest.

Champion called his mother, Janice K. Champion, 48, who arrived with her 17-year-old son. The teen allegedly slapped the hand of a deputy who was gesturing for them to leave the area as Lance Champion’s vehicle was about to be towed.

“If you strike an officer, you’re going to jail 100 percent of the time,” said Sheriff Jackie Matheny.

Mrs. Champion was then taken into custody, charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Officers say she was loud and refused to obey orders.

Her husband Hal Champion, 47, then arrived from church, was shot with a deputy’s Taser and taken into custody on similar charges.

All were later freed on bond.

The whole family is in jail because a policeman violated the law. My cop friends tell me that unless they have lights/sirens on or are headed to an emergency situation, they aren’t allowed to speed. I think the cop should have just apologized.

This year’s incumbent protection act, misnamed campaign finance reform, was a blow to first amendment freedoms by the supreme court. That wasn’t enough because now they have shat upon the fourth and fifth amendments. You have no right to remain silent, no freedom from unwarranted searches, and no right to not incriminate yourself. Ravenwood writes:

By a vote of 5-4, the Supreme Court disagreed. I think Justice Kennedy’s remark pretty much sums it up. (emphasis mine)

“Obtaining a suspect’s name in the course of a Terry stop serves important government interests,” Kennedy wrote.

AUGH! Far be it for a citizen’s Constitutionally protected civil rights to get in the way of “important government interests”.

It used to be that the Constitution protected the rights of individuals. Now it’s seen as an obstacle (albeit a minor one) to “important government interests”.

Government interests should never be placed before individual rights. That is, after all, why we have a Constitution to begin with.

Heh!

Oh, yeah. Jeff has the latest on media gun bias.

Via Publicola comes the tragic event of three police officers being killed with an SKS. The SKS is not an assault weapon in the traditional sense of the word nor is it an assault weapon under the standards of the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban. Regardless, this will be used as one of the sad tales to push for the Ban’s renewal.

Kim du Toit posted a list of “25 People, Places Or Things That Are Popular, For No Apparent Reason”, one of which is Unintended Consequences, by John Ross, and several of his commenters chimed in with “Never read it, never will.”

Now, I happened to enjoy reading that book, quite a bit. I also like Atlas Shrugged, Battlefield Earth, and Tales from Topographic Oceans by Yes.

And I don’t care what you think of me!

UPDATE: Here’s a bloated, self-indulgent work filled with “cardboard charactes” and “kinky sex” that I will NOT be reading…

Politically Incorrect Dog is amazing at detecting poopy diapers. Sometimes, even before they happen or, rather, as they happen.

I did pretty good.

I forgot how I found out about it, but for a few years I’ve been reading a strip called Dykes To Watch Out For. Although lately it’s almost insufferably anti-Bush—I think it was funnier when Clinton was in office—I still find it fairly amusing.

If you’re inclined, check out some of the archives.

But we knew that already, didn’t we?

Baby girl, Six pounds, nine oz. 18.5 inches long. Perfect health. Couldn’t be happier. Mrs. is doing well. Me, I’m the most tired I’ve ever been and it’s not like a I gave birth or anything.

Updates later, after I sleep some.

I think another Floyd tune comes to mind:

“Have a Cigar!”

A biiiiiig cigar!

Blogging may be light for the next 18 to 22 years.

Update: It will be tomorrow but busy, busy.

Barry gives us the play by play about what happened and when it happened on 9/11. Yes, I’d say it is chilling.

In light of all the allegations of goal post moving, I present exactly how they moved (based on a comment I left for Tom):

The left:

First claim: Iraq had no connection to terror. I’m sorry what?

Revised claim: In that case, Iraq had no connection with al Qaeda, they’re secular, ya know. Oh, they do?

Last revision, we promise: Saddam’s regime had no connection with al Qaeda. They met? Are you kidding me?

Ok, here it is for real: Saddam himself had no connection with al Qaeda. Oh, except that one time at band camp, maybe.

Ok really we mean it now, last revision: Saddam himself had no significant connection with al Qaeda.

Yeah, that’s it.

The right:

Assertion one: Saddam and Bin Laden were gay lovers bent on destroying the world together. What do you mean no one will buy that?

Assertion two: Saddam was harboring terrorists.

Assertion three: Iraqi officials met with al Qaeda for some reason.

Assertion four: Saddam wasn’t really harboring them so much as just kind of letting them run willy-nilly through his country, while looking the other way. I think he may have sent them a nice fruit basket once.

Assertion five: We mean it this time, there were numerous contacts between Saddam and al Qaeda.

After getting wiped out in the weblogs.com nonsense, Rex Hammock has returned with spiffier digs. Adjust blogrolls accordingly.

A while back, I told you about the Pentagon spending $100M on plane tickets it never used. Well, CAGW blog has an update:

According to a recent GAO discovery, the Department of Defense threw away $100 million on partially used, totally unused, and fraudulently purchased airline tickets. This is partially because DoD has a week travel voucher system that some say amounts to an “Honors System” similar to the one at my grade school. A prime example is the really smart DoD employee who purchased about 70 airline tickets costing upwards of $60,000. Lucky for him, this guy did not have anywhere to travel and he did not suffer easily from a guilty conscience so he sold the tickets to friends and family at a discounted value, in essence, selling their tax dollars back to them.

When you set up a system where no one is accountable for anything, you can expect this stuff.

This new UI is pretty slick. Just for kicks, I’m going to post a quiz for our readers. See if you can identify this building:

Just to be clear, I’m not asking for the name. Just tell me where you might have seen it before.

The Brady Campaign has issued a press release saying that James and Sarah are personally offended by the NRA’s comments about Reagan. Well, Mr. and Mrs. Brady, I am personally offended that your goal in life is to infringe on the rights of millions of law-abiding Americans.

John Kerry–the Man from Mope. I couldn’t read passed that line, it was too funny.

Should have written this sooner for the benefit of Les Jones, but when it comes to baby names my advice is to keep the names you’re pondering to yourself. When you start telling people what you’re thinking about for names, they all have a story. When we came up with names at first and would mention it to people, they would say things like (and I am not making any of this up):

Les has his weekly gun links up.

Think you’re tough? Try again in 21 years.

Matt smacks the VPC in the pee pee over their various lies, misrepresentations and inconsistencies. Nothing new for the VPC.

If you thought the media were fear-mongering reactionaries about guns, have you read what they say about swords:

Buying a potentially deadly samurai sword is no big deal on the streets of New York.

The razor-sharp swords, some of them as long as 4 feet, can be obtained legally in Chinatown – and all over the Internet, too, no questions asked.

The Daily News bought one yesterday on Mott St. for $150.

It was a modestly sharp sword with a dragon design and 2-foot blade that sliced through a watermelon like butter.

And, to show the effects of the Gun Control Act of 1986 (euphemistically called the Firearm Owners Protection Act – signed into law by Reagan), a 71 year old Thompson will be sold to citizen for between $15 – $18,000. A new one (if they still made them) would probably sell for around $900. The proceeds will be used to equip the police department selling the Thompson several M4s.

Looks the Tennessee Department of Transportation is going to install interstate cameras to monitor traffic. They assure is It’s not big brother.

You probably wouldn’t have noticed that I switched from Moveable Type to Wordpress. I grew tired of the 45 minute rebuilds, the slow speed of posting, and the slow speed of comments. I am very happy with it.

Thanks to Kathy Kinsley for doing it for me. It was a very smooth transition. She did an excellent job. If you’re thinking about the change, drop her a line.

Looks like Maryland lawmakers are debating a bill to get rid of breed specific legislation and replace it with legislation based on dogs actually being dangerous.

Kevin T. Keith asks Where have you gone, Sheriff Taylor?. Aside from the comparison to Bush, it is quite odd compared to cop shows today. Obviously, Andy Griffith was a sitcom.

Blake alerts us that the government is appealing the downward departure given to Mark Lancaster. In other words, the government is not happy he got a light sentence and they want more.

If you’re here, you found it. Have a look around. It don’t cost nothing. Leave a comment or ping something. Gotta check out the bugs.

One word: Sweet!

The VPC, JTO, the Brady Bunch and all these other anti-gun organizations like to drag out their token politician err police chief who says he supports gun control this and that. TriggerFinger tells us that:

Gun Control: With regard to private citizens owning firearms for sport or self-defense, 94 percent of the respondents supported civilian gun-ownership rights. Ninety-six percent of the police chiefs and sheriffs believe criminals obtain firearms from illegal sources and 91 percent revealed they hadn’t arrested anyone for violation of the so-called “waiting period” laws. When asked if they opposed citizens obtaining concealed-weapons permits, only 34 percent said yes.

The geek seems to be blogging more lately. I suppose he’s settled after the move. Lots of good stuff, just go there and read.

Seriously, someone inform Michelle Malkin that (at least in the blogosphere) the phrase Jumped the shark has jumped the shark.

Oh, and since I hadn’t mentioned it, Michelle Malkin has a blog.

The KNS has an article by Georgiana Vines about the recent flurry of emails and releases by both Jamie Hagood and Billy Stokes:

A recent flurry of e-mails and press releases shows the intensity of the state Senate 6th District campaign between state Rep. Jamie Hagood and lawyer Billy Stokes in their efforts to succeed retiring Ben Atchley.

The e-mails include one purportedly from County Mayor Mike Ragsdale that he says he did not send.

The e-mail using his official Knox County address asks to be removed from a list that invited recipients to a reception for Hagood. “I don’t want emails (sic) about jamie (sic),” the e-mail said.

“We’re trying to check out who sent it,” Ragsdale said.

Stokes said he didn’t know who sent it either but said a Web site critical of him had messages with Hagood’s name.

“I’m certain it wasn’t her. Someone knows what they’re doing,” Stokes said.

Now, I am certain that they are referring to the now defunct Cas Walker weblog. It has been speculated that Cas was shut down due to an injunction or some such. Cas lost a lot of credibility with the local media (I am told) when he started editing and deleting comments that were left at his site by the people he was blogging about.

You may also recall when I speculated that local politicians were reading local blogs (and why wouldn’t they?). It turns out that in some cases they are but in some cases there are imposters doing these politicians a disservice by making rather asinine claims. For example, someone alerted me via email that a comment supposedly left by Jamie Hagood over at Cas Walker’s place referred to Jamie admitting to engaging in certain sexual activity. Obviously, the real Jamie Hagood would never say something like that.

Additionally, here at SayUncle, our activity log reveals that in the past couple of weeks there have been a lot of searches using my internal search function for the phrases Jamie Hagood and Billy Stokes. I guess someone in their camps is checking to see if I’m writing about them.

There’s trouble abrewin’!

Just when I think I have that whole smarmy thing down, I read from the master of smarminess.

Ouch.

Today, Yahoo tells me that it’s upping my email storage amount from 4MB to 100MB. Cool, say I. However, this storage space (which I never use, as I keep my email folders empty for the most part) has caused some reliability issues. Check mail, and I get a Cannot find server error about half the time.

A Wisconsin man has been convicted of two crimes: 1) possession of a machine gun and 2) engaging in lawful commerce:

The conviction of a Crivitz man dealing in firearms without a license sends a message to gun sellers that attempt to skirt licensing laws, federal officials said.

Failing to do required buyers? background checks also will not be tolerated, officials said.

Steven Biskupic, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, said a jury Wednesday convicted Steven W. Van Bellinger, 57, on charges of dealing in firearms without a license and possession of a machine gun.

The jury verdict came after a three-day trial before U.S. District Judge William Griesbach.

Biskupic said Van Bellinger faces up to 15 years in prison and fines up to $500,000 when he is sentenced. No sentencing date has been set.

The federal government also will ask the court to order Van Bellinger to forfeit about 60 firearms taken from his home when a search warrant was executed, Biskupic said. He said the charges stem from Van Bellinger?s sale of about 200 firearms, without a required federal firearms license, at gun shows in Wisconsin between 1992 and May 2003.

The machine-gun charge stemmed from guns seized from Van Bellinger, officials said.

The article mentions the machine gun possession only in passing to it’s larger point about the evil unlicensed dealers. However, if I had to guess, I’d say the bulk of the conviction is based on the machine gun. After all, a private citizen is not prevented by law from selling firearms that private individual owns.

The article and the BATFE agent in charge perpetuate the myth that terrorists buy guns at gun shows:

While a majority of the dealers at shows may be licensed dealers who follow rules and conduct required background checks, unlicensed dealers will attract buyers who know they will not pass a background check, Jones said.

?People know if they are not going to pass the background check, they can buy it there,? he said.

?If a person is illegally in the U.S. and they have intentions of doing harm, they are not going to Scheels sporting goods to buy guns. They are going to go to an unlicensed dealer, and they are going to pay cash and not show them ID if they don?t have to.?

And that, he said, can put the guns in the hands of criminals and terrorists.

?It isn?t like selling tennis shoes or anything. These are used in crimes,? Jones said.

First, to be smarmy, I’d say tennis shoes are used in crimes more often than guns (in fact this morning, I used my tennis shoes to speed to work). Second, a private individual may in fact engage in the lawful commerce of selling privately owned guns legally. Third, criminals tend to steal guns and I don’t know of a case where a terrorist has used a gun purchased at a gun show.

More:

But he said many sellers at gun shows who claim they are selling private collections cross the line.

?When a person goes from selling a small private collection to acquiring and selling dozens and dozens of guns for years, now you are in the business,? he said.

Yes, that may well be the case but unless it’s codified in law somewhere, I don’t see how a conviction could pass muster under federal law. I’m guessing the conviction rests mostly on the fact the man had a machine gun.

The man sold roughly 200 guns in an 11 year period. That’s about 18 guns per year. Or 1.5 per month. I don’t think that’s a business in the sense that the man was providing for his livelihood. If you know a lot of gun collectors like I do, many of these collectors go through guns quickly. Buy one, shoot it a few times, trade it away or sell it, and get another one. This man was obviously not moving significant volumes of guns.

Tis a beaut:

It took less time to take Iraq than it took Janet Reno to take the Branch Davidian compound.

Judge orders protesters to get real jobs. No word on a haircut.

Via Ravenwood.

Matt reports that congress is trying to sneak parts of PATRIOT Act 2 through the back door while, as is usual, no one is watching.

Even though I am a pro-gun absolutist, just as I don’t think cops should shoot people in the back when they are fleeing; I also don’t think homeowners should shoot intruders who are fleeing.

There are many fundamental truths in this world. At least two can be verified simply by hitting the Great American Road:

1. They always screw you at the drive-thru

2. Not enough people think “Slower Traffic Keep Right” means them

But it’s not like I’m bitter or anything.

Keeping with its long history of absolutely avoiding the fundamental issues at hand and relying on nitpicky crap no one gives a shit about to make the ultimate decision regarding the fate of things, the Supreme Court ruled that Michael Newdow could not sue to ban the pledge from his daughter’s school and others because he did not have legal authority to speak for her.

Update: XRLQ has more and it’s in far less condescending, smarmy tone than my, uhm, insightful and spot on analysis.

Seriously, this comes from someone who used the word bureaucratese, which coincidentally my spell checker didn’t like. And frequently uses the word apropos.

Some reasons that I live here:

The typical Tennessean pays about 20% less in state taxes than workers in other states, according to a new study by the U.S. Bureau of Census.

And a separate study by the Tax Foundation recently found Tennessee’s state and local tax burdens are the fourth lowest among the 50 states this year. According to the foundation’s Web site, the organization is an independent nonprofit that analyzes data from all levels of government; explores the effect of tax policy on businesses and individuals alike; and channels the information to the public.

The U.S. Bureau of Census found that the typical Tennessee taxpayer paid $1,508 in state taxes during 2003, or $375.24 less than the U.S. average. Only Texas, South Dakota, Alabama and Colorado had lower per-capita state tax burdens.

Tennessee trailed only Alaska, New Hampshire and Delaware in the Tax Foundation rankings of lowest state and local tax states.

But the downside:

However, the state does have the highest sales tax in the nation — ranging as high as 9.25% when local rates are added to the state levy, the foundation says.