C.W. Nevius, who I told you was wrong here, has a follow up to his lame pit bull article:

Beck has dealt with the pit bull fanatics in his studies as an epidemiologist and says he’s observed that, “The arguments and the people strike me as very similar to the gun control people.” First was the question of the overall population of pit bulls. Sure, several readers complained, if the pit bull population is increasing it is obvious there are more bites.

For starters, although pit bulls are being bred (and over bred) wildly, most experts, including Beck and his former student, Randall Lockwood, of the Humane Society of the United States, estimate that pit bulls and pit mixes are no more than 6 percent of the overall dog population.

You mean anti-gun control people like me. Freudian slip? You say it like it’s a bad thing. Consistently, us pro-gun folks tend to have the facts on our side. I would like to see the basis for the 6% number. One thing you fail to account for is that pits, like Rotties, have a tendency to attract owners that shouldn’t own any dog, much less a dog with the gameness of various performance breeds.

For his study Beck used the American Kennel Club registrations by breed. Although the AKC doesn’t register or recognize pit bulls as a breed, Beck included the broad range of dogs, like Staffordshire terriers that fall within the range. Beck stresses that, if anything, his inclusion of dogs with pit bull characteristics was conservative, it was not a wide range of any dog with a square jaw, for instance. And before you fire up your flaming e-mail, Beck reminds you that this is “a representative sample,” not the total of all dogs. But it is certainly larger than the one we use to rate television programs.

So, he excluded all the bully type registries (and there are several like the NKC) which means his numbers are wrong.

Others wrote that it is all those terrible owners who are the real problem. That’s true to a point. The number of backyard breeders is appalling. The dogs are poorly cared for and often end up homeless. That is one reason the percentage of pit bulls killed in shelters, according to studies by animal expert Merritt Clifton, is 93 percent.

“However,” says Beck, “if a very small part of the dog population accounts for 40 to 50 percent of the serious and fatal attacks, ‘pit bull- ness’ is the cause.” Look, we are not surprised when a pointer starts pointing, or when my dachshund starts digging. Everyone accepts that. But if we start talking about a low tolerance for pain and a propensity to attack (with pit bulls) it is wrong.

It gets back to the point of pit bulls attracting the wrong kind of owners. So, he almost gets it. It is the fault of the owners. And your Dachshund has the worst temperament of any dog but you’re a responsible owner, I assume.

We wouldn’t allow this in any other case. If this animal was carrying a disease we’d just say, “You can’t have it.” That’s why you can’t have monkeys. They are too prone to disease. The pit bull has a disease. Now maybe it was us who caused it (over years of breeding), but at this point he does not fit in well in an urban environment.”

It’s a disease now? That may be the dumbest thing I have ever heard said about dogs.

Update: XRLQ (which you should be careful not to misspell) states in comments:

1. Note how comparing anyone to gun advocates is supposed to automatically make them wrong. Frisco’s bad in that way, and the media is worse, so I guess it figures that the Frisco media is as bad as it gets.

2. Last week, pit bulls accounted for “every other” dog in the East Bay shelter. Now they’re down to 6% of the canine population. And we’re supposed to respect that figure because it’s a “conservative” (i.e., probably too low) estimate. Huh?

3. My favorite part was this idiot’s claim that pit bulls have a “low tolerance for pain.” Pits are known, of course, for their high tolerance of pain, which is why two of them go on fighting in the pit long after one of them should have conceded the fight.

The last two I should have gotten around to but the baby started fussing.

By now, you’ve probably already read this story by Annie Jacobsen about what looked like a “dry run” by possible terrorists. If not, give it a read.

Now suppose you found yourself in a similar situation. What do you do about it? I’ve been mulling this one over myself, and I’m still not sure.

Am I blogging about guns too much? If so, what do you want me to blab about?

Well, they weren’t breaking the law so it’s not disobedience. But it’s not obedience either. Turns out, it was a blogger.

It should be noted that I don’t think open carry like this is good for team but I admire the sentiment.

Via Jeff.

When faced with an armed attacker, police say what you need to do is make as much noise as possible to draw attention to yourself.

SayUncle notes that firearms are awesome noisemakers. Fight crime, shoot back.

Smith and Wesson reports handgun sales are up 27%. Good.

Martha Stewart is going to serve jail time for lying about a crime that no one could prove she committed. Lame.

Another unsigned editorial says:

The National Rifle Association and other enemies of firearms regulation claim that the existing assault weapons ban is ineffectual and senseless because it only outlaws cosmetic features of certain guns whose action is identical to that of legal hunting rifles. They are largely right.

The ban outlaws 19 specific guns, plus certain combinations of military-style features, such as folding stocks and detachable magazines. It exempts 670 hunting firearms. But the ban is not more effective because the NRA and its allies have worked hard to make sure that it isn’t, and manufacturers can skirt it.

Again, blame the evil gun manufacturers.

The goal should be to create a new law that not only extends the current ban but strengthens it to accomplish the original intent, which is to ban military-style, semi-automatic weapons that fire many rounds in quick succession.

That sounds a bit familiar:

“In fact, the assault weapons ban will have no significant effect either on the crime rate or on personal security. Nonetheless, it is a good idea . . . . Its only real justification is not to reduce crime but to desensitize the public to the regulation of weapons in preparation for their ultimate confiscation.” – Charles Krauthammer (columnist), Disarm the Citizenry. But Not Yet, Washington Post, Apr. 5, 1996

The seed has been planted and they’re trying to take it further.

Howard Nemerov debunks the Brady Campaign’s talking points about gun-free Australia. Excerpt:

We’ll give the Brady Campaign a half-point for a partial truth: if there are fewer firearms, they cannot be used to commit murder. But claiming that banning guns has had any effect on the actual murder rate is simply molding the facts to fit their agenda.

Les has his weekly gun links up. Particularly interesting to me is the bit about online gun sales.

A PA man told his doctor that he drank more than six beers per day. His doctor reported him to the state, which revoked his license. Matthew has the scoop.

Via HL, we learn that SKS rifles are on sale for $90.

Sorry for you readers in California, no gun rights for you.

Heh!

It seems military personnel returning from active duty are more likely to get concealed carry permits, according to a firearms instructor.

The other biased Washington paper writes:

Mr. Schumer said the bill would pass the House as well if a vote were allowed.

“We are simply asking that a vote be allowed on the House floor … and I would put money on it, that it would,” Mr. Schumer said.

Mr. Bush in the 2000 presidential campaign said he supported the ban and would sign an extension if it got to his desk.

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has said there is no prospect of House passage.

“The House leaders have always been clear: The votes are not there in the House to extend the ban,” Mr. DeLay said last week.

Also, the article says:

Passage of the ban was cited by some analysts as a key factor in Republicans winning a majority in the House in 1994. Nearly every Southern Democrat who voted for the ban was ousted in midterm elections that year.

The National Rifle Association says the ban has done little to protect Americans and has infringed upon the rights of law-abiding gun owners.

The ban does not outlaw the sale of assault weapons; possession of machine guns has been regulated since 1934 by the National Firearms Act.

They were doing so well at reporting what the ban does, then they drop this whopper:

Rather, the 1994 law banned certain semi-automatic replicas that lawmakers said at the time could be easily altered to become fully automatic.

Gunner does some original reporting, which the media had gotten wrong.

Your tax dollars should apparently pay for manslaughter:

A judge ruled Tuesday that former Rep. Bill Janklow was on duty when he caused a deadly traffic accident, meaning taxpayers would have to pay for any civil damages in a wrongful-death lawsuit.

Via CAGW.

It’s true. Today, in a freak accident involving some Cucumber Melon Hand Soap from Bath and Body Works and an electric razor, I traveled a few months into the future. There wasn’t much exciting happening, so I turned on the television and caught the first debate between George W. Bush and John Kerry. Here is the actual transcript of what I saw before being sucked back through the space-time continuum:

Moderator: Mr. President, how do you respond to critics who say that you brought the nation to war under false pretenses?

George Bush: That’s a good question. I inform them that today America is safer from terr… LOOK OVER THERE, FAGS!

Moderator: Senator Kerry, your rebuttal?

John Kerry: Fags, what fags? I don’t see any fags.

Rich Hailey has started his own business. It’s called PHD Publishers. What does he do?:

Welcome to PHD Publishers LLC, a company that exists for one reason; to help you publish your work! New publishing technology has finally brought true micro-publishing to the general public. Print-On-Demand (POD) processes allow small presses to publish more authors by eliminating extensive production costs, allowing them to reach markets that the large publishing houses cannot profitably serve. POD also means that the self-publisher no longer has to shell out thousands of dollars for a garage full of books, relying instead on just-in-time inventory control, resulting in lower costs and greater profits for the author

Heh!

It looks like the senate will engage in some sort of showdown on the gay marriage amendment. There won’t be a showdown just some arguing that results in nothing, which is good. Then:

“I would argue that the future of our country hangs in the balance because the future of marriage hangs in the balance,” said Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa. “…Isn’t that the ultimate homeland security, standing up and defending marriage?”

Are you kidding me? Roundaboutly equating gay marriage with terrorism. That’s abysmal.

Over at Lean Left, there is (in my opinion) a pretty good discussion in the comments about whether or not Bush lied. My conclusion: not this time. The source was spinning it. However, Bush said similar things in the past.

You can see the comments here. Then this genius chimes in with:

Man, the trolls just get worse and worse. Why do you bother feeding them, Kev?

I guess he was evoking rule number #16 on someone else’s blog.

In the event you ever wondered why I read so few lefty blogs, there you go.

Heck, they admit it now:

The media “wants Kerry to win” and so “they’re going to portray Kerry and Edwards as being young and dynamic and optimistic” and “there’s going to be this glow about” them, Evan Thomas, the Assistant Managing Editor of Newsweek, admitted on Inside Washington over the weekend.

Another sign of total desperation:

There are only 13 days left when Congress is in session before the expiration of the Assault Weapons Ban — a law that President Bush pledged he’d renew as a candidate for President in 2000.

Among the many dangerous outcomes of the sunset of the ban is this: In 35 states, the laws governing citizens carrying concealed weapons have been loosened to a ridiculous standard, with police forced to issue concealed handgun permits to virtually anyone who does not have a felony conviction. In many of those states, hidden handguns are allowed in public places like restaurants, bars, sports arenas, supermarkets and even places of worship.

That means that if the assault weapons ban expires, a banned weapon like the Tec-9 assault pistol, equipped with a 36- or 50- round magazine, could be legally carried, concealed, into many workplaces and popular establishments crowded with people.

The desperation is almost comical now.

Another lame poll on the assault weapons ban with some loaded questions designed to get a result says:

The surveys, compiled in a report titled “Unconventional Wisdom,” show that strong majorities of Americans support banning military-style guns such as Uzis and AK-47s, regardless of geographic area, gun ownership, union membership, and even NRA support. The findings are in line with previous national polling conducted by the CFA, as well as the National Annenberg Election Survey. The April 2004 Annenberg study found that 64 percent of gun-owning households and half of NRA-member households support banning assault weapons.

So, did you ask if they supported banning AK47s and Uzis (already regulated by the 1934 NFA Act) or did you ask them if they supported limiting bayonet lugs, flash hiders, grenade launchers, pistol grips and telescopic rifles stocks?

Update: Triggerfinger has more.

KABA reports that the concealed carry law in Minnesota was ruled unconstitutional:

“Minnesota’s conceal and carry gun law was declared unconstitutional today by a Ramsey County District judge.”

“Ruling in a lawsuit brought by several churches, Judge John Finley wrote in his decision that it was unconstitutional for the 2002 Legislature to bundle the conceal and carry gun language with a ‘totally unrelated bill relating to the Department of Natural Resources.’ ”

“He said the state Constitution prohibits laws from embracing more than one subject.”

“Minneapolis attorney David Lillehaug, who represented Adath Jeshurun Congregation in challenging the gun law, said Finley ruled that passage of Minnesota Citizens Personal Protection Act of 2002 … was ‘contrary to Minnesota’s tradition of open government.’”

The decision is here. I like the concept that laws shouldn’t be bundled together but this is clearly a case of using this concept as an excuse to get rid of a law one doesn’t agree with. After all, is every law that was bundled with other laws now void in Minnesota? I tend to doubt it. One hell of a legal precedent, though.

Bruce Kraft opines in the comments at KABA that:

According to a couple of lawyers I know, this was a lousily written and reasoned decision. For instance, Judge Finley said there were no committee hearings on the bill, but according to information given to him by the plaintiff there were no les than 5 committee hearings. He complains about lack of debate, but there were 5 hours of debate in the House and 8 hours of debate (an all time record) in the Senate.(sic)

I’m not linking them, but today my Google News Alerts for Assault Weapons Ban sent me links to five news items err press releases from the VPC, Join Together, etc., that said Bush needed to act or the ban would expire. I guess since they grow more desperate they feel the need to flood the media with their distortions about blood in the streets and AK47s.

A USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll of voters in North Carolina shows Bush leading Kerry 51-44 among registered voters, and 56-41 among likely voters. Margin of error is about 5%.

I find it mildly interesting, since it’s my (current) home state. If I’m not mistaken, North Carolina has voted for the Republican Presidential candidate ever since 1968, except for 1976. It’s also been represented in the Senate by Jesse Helms and Elizabeth Dole….and John Edwards. So you never know.

I wonder if anybody’s ever gone back and checked how well these polls predicted reality?

In the fine tradition of not reading what laws really do, the Virginia legislature passed a law that:

giv(es) Virginia workers Sundays off if they request it and subjecting employers to criminal penalties for forcing someone to toil on the Sabbath.

They have since corrected the embarrassing law, which apparently shouldn’t have been passed in the first place. I thought the Sabbath was Saturday (seventh day and all of that). In my home town, we have a law (or heck, maybe it’s a state law) that says you can’t sell/buy liquor by the bottle on Sundays (by the drink is OK). Could be a church/state separation thing. I think I’ll start my own church that will mandate that buying booze is required on Sunday.

XRLQ catches the LA Times in quite the whopper.

The Heartless Libertarian notes that DiFi is wrong. She states shipments of guns are awaiting to flood the shores on 9/14, when the ban expires. HL notes correctly that:

Senator, importation of these guns is covered by a totally different law. There may be shiploads of parts kits containing such fun doodads as bayonet lugs, rifle grenade launchers, and folding stocks waiting for September 14th, but there aren’t any shiploads of guns. Likewise, companies such as Armalite, Bushmaster, and Olympic Arms may have truckloads of parts and even complete guns ready to ship, but they’re already in this country.

His post and the article I mention here got me to thinking: If the ban sunsets on 9/14, what will be the effect of the gun market?

First, the value of my regular capacity magazines for my Sig will drop from upward of $150 each to about $40. I have like five of them so the market value of my gun safe will decline. The six AR15 magazines I have will drop in price too.

I’d say the value of pre-ban rifles (i.e., rifles made before 1994) will drop. I’d imagine that post-ban rifles values would drop to almost miniscule levels. After all, who wants a rifle without a flash hider when you can buy one with it for the same price?

In essence, this ban will decrease the value of some enthusiasts collections. Older expensive guns will be replaced by newer cheaper ones. I’d predict an initial surge in purchase of these rifles and then a leveling off.

My advice to people would be to sell now.

Quote:

“For us to be different by $140 billion is nothing,” said the director of the Congressional Budget Office, dismissing the controversial discrepancy between his estimate of the prescription drug benefit’s cost and Medicare actuaries’ figure.

As long as us tax payers are picking up the tab, it’s immaterial. I figure the discrepancy costs each of us about $500 ($140B/280M of us). I’d rather have the money, loser.

I realize that, to some people, pit bulls have a reputation as being fierce animals. However, comparing them to lawyers is totally uncalled for.

you’ll get a ticket. A new law fines people $50 (along with a misdemeanor) for having a car stereo that is plainly audible more than 50 feet from the vehicle.

Back when I had the convertible, it really bugged when I’d pull up to a light and along would come some redneck with his thumping stereo system playing some ungodly crap. It really interfered with my enjoyment of my vehicle. Good!

Via Alex Knapp:

“Republicans control the House. Republicans control the Senate. Republicans control the White House. The only thing Republicans cannot control is spending.”
– Rep. Charlie Stenholm

The big story in East Tennessee recently has been that Bush was here for a visit. Nothing to do with what he had to say, just that he was here. In fact, the Maryville paper even chose to mention that Bush landed in our county (that’s where the airport is).

A guy in Maryville (where I live) running for school board is nicknamed Booty. So says our election commission.

It’s a good day for your humble media watchdork. First, the article mentioned below about pit bulls and now this article, which is fairly factual with respect to the assault weapons ban. I share the sentiment of AWBansunset of being surprised at no mentioned of Uzis, AK47s, Rapid-fire, terrorist weapons, drug dealer weapons, etc.:

Gun dealers and manufacturers are anxiously waiting to see if lawmakers vote to extend the federal assault weapons ban set to expire in September, while fielding increasing questions from customers wanting to know what they will be able to buy and when.

For the typical hunter and gun sportsman, it won’t make much difference either way, the local dealers said, because the law mostly impacts professional target shooters and gun collectors.

Even so, most gun owners view the law as an infringement on their constitutional right to bear arms.

Notice it also mentions the elephant in the room, the Constitution, without making gun enthusiasts look like extremists.

Good job, Molly Parker (oh, and you’ll notice someone actually signed their name to it).

Here’s an article about Pit Bulls that isn’t entirely negative:

Moses is a good dog. But the 40-pound pooch with big brown eyes is on doggy death row here in Prince George’s County for one simple reason: He was born a pit bull.

In the seven years since a rash of vicious attacks led Prince George’s to outlaw the breed, the county has seized and euthanized more than 6,100 of the squat, muscular terriers.

But some officials in this densely populated Washington suburb are having second thoughts. A county task force denounced the ban as costly to taxpayers and unfair to responsible dog owners. And the County Council is now considering a repeal, renewing a charged debate over the best defense against dogs that maul.

The dog in the picture doesn’t appear to me to be a pit bull.

A 2 year old was missing for several hours. Cops search the house for hours. And the surrounding cornfields. They even drained the pool. They found her sleeping in her bed.

I, having been dubbed Media Watchdork, wonder if we count up the number of editorials calling for the assault weapons ban to be renewed and counted the number that said let it die (by my guess, it’s roughly 50 to 1), would that indicate a bias? After all, those pro-ban editorials are often short on the facts but trumpet the ban as it though it were a godsend.

Isabel Sanford, who played Weezie on one of the greatest shows of all time The Jeffersons, is dead at the age of 86.

The SKS is evil incarnate. As such, the media hysteria continues to whip into a frenzy. Mention SKS and assault weapon ban in the same sentence to get the desired effect. What’s noticeably absent from these scare stories is that the SKS, which does not accept a detachable magazine, is not affected by the assault weapons ban.

I was surprised that this story actually mentioned that:

The SKS — which federal officials say is the leading assault rifle used in crimes — is common, cheap and not covered by the 1994 assault weapons ban.

Of course, if it’s not covered, then it is not an assault weapon. They get that part right but the story gets plenty wrong:

The May sale to the North Carolina college student was legal as far as the seller was concerned. No background check is required when individual owners sell their guns, nor at gun shows where such weapons routinely sell for less than $200. Peck, who later killed himself, even got a receipt.

That is blatantly false. A private individual selling at a gun show isn’t required to do background checks but a dealer is.

Last November, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, now the likely Democratic nominee for president, cosponsored legislation by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., that would make permanent the 1994 assault weapons ban, tighten control of highcapacity magazines and expand coverage to include the SKS and dozens of other rifles, pistols and shotguns (sic). The bill, which has since languished, would ban manufacture and import of those models and require all sales of those already in circulation to go through licensed dealers, complete with background checks.

Making the one-on-one sale to another Peck would be illegal under such a law.

This bill, like the 1934 NFA, would set up special transfer restrictions on certain guns. This would result in increased prices. And it’s cosponsored by that pro-gun candidate John Kerry.

But Kerry is likely to seek renewal of the existing assault weapons ban rather than advocate an expansion as he reaches out to rural voters with guns, campaign aides said last week. That reflects a broader effort by Democrats to come to political grips with the Second Amendment.

Has he changed his mind since it’s an election year and he might need those southern votes after all?

Strategists for his campaign last week were pushing for a promise in the party platform to “protect Americans’ Second Amendment right to own firearms.”

“It’s a statement of respect for their rights under the Constitution. . . . It’s something that John Kerry, as a believer in the Second Amendment and as a hunter, thinks is important,” said Robert Gordon, director of domestic policy for the Kerry campaign.

Well, you can start by not supporting the ridiculous assault weapons ban. What better way to protect our second amendment rights than by, you know, protecting our second amendment rights?

It looks like the Bush administration was looking for authority to delay November elections in case of a terror attack:

U.S. counterterrorism officials are looking at an emergency proposal on the legal steps needed to postpone the presidential election in case of such an attack, Newsweek reported on Sunday.

“I think it’s excessive based on what we know,” said Rep. Jane Harman of California, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, in a interview on CNN’s “Late Edition.”

Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge warned last week that Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda network want to attack within the United States to try to disrupt the election.

Harman said Ridge’s threat warning “was a bust” because it was based on old information.

Newsweek cited unnamed sources who told it that the Department of Homeland Security asked the Justice Department last week to review what legal steps would be needed to delay the vote if an attack occurred on the day before or on election day.

Now, having a backup plan is probably not a bad idea but this just seems entirely inappropriate. I would hope that such decisions were up to congress or the people.

It really ranks up there with those articles that are too stupid to fisk but I’m linking to it because it’s in a Tennessee paper:

In a time when the nation is trying to erect barriers to terrorism in order to protect the public, the U.S. Congress is about to allow the decade-old assault weapons ban to lapse.

Terrorism card off the bat. Some objective reporting you got there.

The 1994 law bans the sale and manufacture of 19 military-style semiautomatic assault weapons, including the Uzi and the AK-47. As weapons bans go, this is an extremely weak one: The law specifically names 700 types of weapons that are not banned. Still, the ban has helped keep the most deadly weapons — weapons of choice for many terrorists — off American streets.

It doesn’t ban 19 weapons. It bans features weapons can have. And the Uzi and AK47 are in no way affected by the ban. Those weapons are regulated under the 1934 NFA act as machine guns; and the semi-auto versions have been regulated since 1989 under an executive order.

There’s more on the politics of the ban in the article.

Jeff has the latest on gun bias in the media.

Via everybody, go watch this now. And make sure you don’t have a drink in your mouth!

Looks like congress approved the bill allowing cops and former cops to pack heat:

Off-duty and retired police officers would have the right to carry concealed weapons in any state under legislation the Senate approved by voice vote Wednesday and sent to the president.

A right to bear arms? What about us other people? I guess I’ll become a reserve deputy or something so I can carry every where.

The bill, passed by the House last month, would override some states’ prohibitions on carrying concealed firearms. Many states do not recognize other states’ concealed weapons permits.

I support this legislation but I also support the rights of regular people to carry guns as well. On to Dubya for signature.

Via Freedom Sight, we get this bit of good news:

Sen. Dianne Feinstein is fighting an apparently doomed battle to extend her 10-year-old assault-weapons ban past its expiration date of Sept. 13. House Republican Majority Leader Tom Delay has vowed not to call a vote on the ban before Congress adjourns.

Now, I guess I’ll send some money to Delay. Reward good behavior, you know.

An article called First Decade Of Tennessee Handgun Permit Law Shows Very Good Results has some interesting info:

Those child development people tell me, at this stage in her life (3 weeks), that my daughter has spent her time learning the features of the caregivers (i.e., she’s looking at us and has a grasp of what me and her mom look like). Why, then, does she try to suckle the couch?

No, man, it’s Dick. Living up to his name:

State Education Secretary Richard Riordan jokingly told a child her name, Isis, meant ‘’stupid dirty girl,” prompting the head of the California NAACP on Thursday to call for his resignation.

Hmm, wonder if she was white?

*bonus points if you get the reference. And, yes, I am, in fact, so bad I should be in detention.

Update: Not!

Update 2: This is funny:

Democratic state Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally, who had scheduled a protest by civil rights organizations, canceled the demonstration after an apparent mix-up over the girl’s racial background.

Dymally was quoted in the San Jose Mercury News Thursday saying the child was “a little African-American girl. Would he (Riordan) have done that to a white girl?”

The girl is white, with blonde hair.

If you decide to use a new RSS feed, you should warn everyone by announcing it in your old feed so that we can update our feeds and stuff. I’m just saying.

Actual voice-mail message left on my service today from the wife:

Hey Hon, just calling to let you know that we had our first successful booger extraction today.

And this morning my little girl’s umbilical stump came off. No more sponge baths, which she hates.

Looks like there is now a permanent ban on the aesthetic features of rifles in Massachusetts now:

Governor Mitt Romney has signed into law a permanent assault weapons ban that he says will make it harder for criminals to get their hands on these guns.

“Deadly assault weapons have no place in Massachusetts,” Romney said, at a bill signing ceremony on July 1 with legislators, sportsmen’s groups and gun safety advocates. “These guns are not made for recreation or self-defense. They are instruments of destruction with the sole purpose of hunting down and killing people.”

I disagree. They are made for recreational purposes because that’s what I use mine for. I think those Korean shop owners during the LA riots may also disagree about the self-defense thing.

Mitt Romney, another RINO.

Update: Looks like those assault weapons serve a purpose after all since the police departments in Mass. are now getting them.

I went to the DMV today to pay my moving tax err change the address for my drivers license and gun carry permit. $12 to change the address for the drivers license and $5 to change the address on the gun permit. One guy works the counter and you take a number. Another guy actually processes you. And some woman takes your picture. Apparently, the guy can’t just grab a mic and call numbers. They have an automated female voice that says the number after the guy pushes a button.

You go to the counter and are issued a number by guy1. Then guy2 processes your paperwork. The woman hands you your new stuff. Why they can’t have three people doing the entire process is beyond me. It would go so much faster.

Such a waste.

In California, there is a proposal to make it a misdemeanor to crop a dog’s ears. While I personally don’t have my dogs’ tails, ears and dew claws removed, I think if someone wants to do that then it is their right. After all, we alter dogs to prevent them from breeding.

Good thing for dogs they’re not cows because we just kill them.

Via Fark, it has it all:

Man busted for driving five miles per hour down the wrong way of a one way street, naked, watching child pornography downloaded off a stolen WiFi

His weekly gun links are up.

There’s a good discussion of the question I posed here about the criteria for restricting rights to convicted criminals. Here’s a link to the comments.

So, is there really a mass attraction to a woman whose ribs are visible?

Bubba announces what may be the largest Rocky Top Brigade update ever. Welcome to:

The Countertop Chronicles and Closet Extremist, both of which have been on my blogroll for a while.

Shanktified, who blogs about religion and politics.

Deamville, a pop culture sort of blog by a music journalist.

South End Grounds, a policy advisor to the Republican Caucus in the Tennessee House of Representatives.

Radio X-Factor, a radio personality. Maybe he can answer my question: Why do all cities have a radio station entitled The X?

Great Smoky, a former Tennessean.

Thoughts of an average woman, a Knoxvillian who doesn’t seem average at all.

Pink Kitty, which is definitely not a cat blog.

Paisley Dreams, it has that sort of surreal feel to it. And if you want to know, paisley is my favorite color.

Extreme John, who blogs his motorcycle trips.

And two welcome backs to:

Fletch, who is now photoblogging Texas.

And Barry Bozeman, who hopefully can keep it civil this time around.

The story involving Marine Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun is getting strange:

The strange disappearance of Marine Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun, reportedly kidnapped in Iraq nearly three weeks ago, grows even more mysterious.

Senior Pentagon officials tell NBC News, a man claiming to be Hassoun, called his family in Lebanon and the U.S. embassy in Beirut, saying he was — “released by his kidnappers somewhere in Lebanon” and that he was “waiting to be picked up.”

But in Washington, Secretary of State Colin Powell said U.S. officials remain in the dark. “We have received reports that he may be in contact with various individuals and there are other reports that he might be in Lebanon. But we cannot confirm any of these at this time,” said Powell.

Late Wednesday, FBI agents showed up at the Hassoun family home in West Jordan, Utah. And Pentagon officials tell NBC News that the Navy has now launched a criminal investigation into Hassoun’s disappearance, and the possibility that his kidnapping may be part of an elaborate hoax.

A hoax? If that’s the case, it seems like a pretty elaborate plan to go AWOL.

All felons are black? Me neither.

Lame.

The article he linked brings up a question I often ponder:

When it comes to rights, we restrict certain rights if someone commits a crime. For example, the state revokes their right to arms (do we want criminals packing heat?) and (in some cases) their right to vote. Exactly what criteria are involved in deciding which rights to restrict? Do we want convicted felons assembling peaceably or free from unwarranted searches?

The knee jerk libertarian in me thinks that, since the Bill of Rights doesn’t grant rights but limits governmental infringement of rights, it’s a no-no! But if I concede I don’t want criminals packing heat (after all, who wants that?) then should I concede that they also shouldn’t have a right to freedom from self incrimination?

Thoughts? Or am I a space cadet on this one?

The Geek is doing it. Go here and scroll down. He’s watching with the Assault Weapons Ban in mind. He notes, however, that this is the first time Frist has used parliamentary techniques to keep amendments at bay. Good for Frist.

It is possible that the debate is not about the AWB, but I tend to doubt with 13 working days left until blood in the streets and AK47s run amok. Or whatever VPC propaganda you’re partial to.

A while back, I opined that carrying non-lethal weapons could make someone be more inclined to resort to the use of those weapons even though doing so was unnecessary. I got a lot of flack for that. I should point out that the police in Oklahoma have doubled the use of tasers in the last year.

Update: Phelps may be correct in the comments that I should refer to them as less-than-lethal. Actually, I’m thinking the correct term should probably be generally-not-lethal.

You remember when those guys snuck those assault weapons on those planes? Me neither. I thought they used box cutters. But three former presidents are encouraging Bush to renew the assault weapons ban as a terror measure:

Former Presidents Ford, Carter and Clinton are urging President Bush to save the landmark 1994 federal Assault Weapons Act, which is set to expire Sept. 13 unless the President and Congress act.

Saying “at a time when terrorism continues to be a serious threat, it is even more imperative that we renew the Assault Weapons Act and limit access to military-style weapons and high-capacity ammunition clips.” The former Presidents point out that there are few Congressional working days left before the ban expires, and urge President Bush “to make reauthorization of the Assault Weapons Act a top priority for your Administration and spur Congress to action.”

Lame.

Kerry, who opined in the past he didn’t need the South to win, must have received a dose of the truth. Why else would he pick Edwards? I’m just saying, is all.

13 Working Days Left until the Assault Weapons ban expires.

However, the author of that article disagrees and pulls out the same tired lies about AK47s hitting the streets.

The President is coming to visit.

Bush is to fly into the Raleigh-Durham International Airport in the late morning to meet with judicial nominees, according to the White House schedule for the week. He will also attend a private fund-raising luncheon at a home in Raleigh.

The only thing I can think about is: how bad is it going to mess up my commute?

The Mrs. has complained, in the past, that Politically Incorrect Dog (my dog) gets all the air-time. With that, here’s a pic of Politically Correct Dog (the wife’s dog) doing what he does (well, other than eating. He’s getting a little pudgy):

Even though such bans have never survived in court due to that pesky first amendment, look for a ban on video games coming to a state near you:

Lawmakers in at least seven states proposed bills during the most recent legislative session that would restrict the sale of games, part of a wave that began when the 1999 Columbine High School shootings sparked an outcry over games and violence. None of the measures that passed have survived legal challenge.

I’ll take Parental Responsibility for $800, Alex.

Andrew emails a link to a pathetic article on pit bulls entitled Pit bull apologists, wake up. I will not bother addressing the rather emotional screed and its conclusion that begins the article, but further down:

Whenever there is an account of a mauling by a pit bull, there is a howl of protest from those who love the breed. There are no bad dogs, just bad owners, they say. Or they ask how the media reporting the incident knew the dog was a pit bull. Pit bulls, they insist, are no more inherently dangerous than any other breed of dog.

That’s not true.

“What I usually say is that it is not uncommon to spend thousands of dollars breeding a good hunting dog,” says Gamez. “With a good hunting dog, that is not something you teach — he’s got it in his genes. The pit bull is bred for fighting.”

Pit bulls do have fighting in their history and it is unfortunate, which is why responsible owners socialize the animals or do not allow them near other dogs. Pit bulls were also cattle and hog dogs, which is why they shouldn’t be allowed near cows and pigs (unless you want them to catch one).

Read the rest of this entry »

From CNN:

Amid newly minted Kerry-Edwards banners and the cheers of flag-waving supporters, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry formally announced Tuesday that he has chosen John Edwards as his running mate, calling the senator from North Carolina “a man who understands and defends the values of America.”

And so the board is set. Well, I guess it makes sense: Edwards has a reputation for missing votes, just like Sen. Kerry.

Kerry picks Edwards as running mate. This ticket would have a better shot if it were Edwards/Kerry and not Kerry/Edwards.

Update: Or was it Gephardt? Oh my. Imagine what snooze fest it would be if the ticket was Kerry/Gephardt. The good news, to me anyway, is that I think this basically marks the end of Gephardt’s political career.

Edwards is a good choice: All Democrat, without all the crazy.

From this letter to the editor:

The primary reason gun owners want to end the so-called assault weapons ban is because it is a silly piece of feel-good legislation which only inconveniences the law-abiding gun purchaser.

Yes, the NRA has all of the money and influence on its side. Unfortunately for Ms. Huffington, its members have all of the facts and logic on their side too.

I guess it’s sad that we need a law like this:

Making room on the road for emergency vehicles working a crash scene and for police writing tickets used to be just common courtesy.

Now you can get a $50 ticket for not doing so.

I’m still trying to figure out why someone wouldn’t have done so without the threat of a ticket. Some folks are just not too bright.

Well, I just realized I hadn’t posted anything in a while. The wife and I spent the weekend attacking The List of Things to Do before the Baby Comes. I’ve still got to get some cigars. We’ve been taking a class on labor and delivery and stuff; tonight we had a tour of the Birth Center at the hospital. Our instructor was showing us how the rooms have a phone, TV, VCR, etc. I raised my hand and asked, “What about wireless Internet?” As my wife rolled her eyes, one of the other Dads-to-be said, “Yeah, I was going to ask about that.” More eye-rolling.

Hey, they told us to bring something to play relaxing music. The laptop holds lots of Enya, and I figure why not use those extra CPU cycles to blog about the Miracle of Life?

First, he was talking about his butt. Now, his wiener. Geez, get a room.

Regarding this article:

Unless President Bush changes the minds of House Republican leaders, the 10-year-old federal ban on assault weapons will expire on Sept. 13, clearing the way for semiautomatics to enter the country and be sold again.

Uhm, semiautomatics are currently being sold in the country every day. The ban doesn’t affect semiautomatics per se, just what aesthetic features those semiautomatics can have (assuming they accept a detachable magazine and are rifles).

The important part of the article is this:

House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., as well as Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., will put the gun ban extension on the floor for a vote if Bush makes that request, GOP leaders said, and there appear to be bipartisan majorities in both chambers in favor of renewal.

Never mind what your respective constituents want, instead kowtow to the political pressure from higher up.

Frist allowed it on the floor last time it was up without the urging of Bush. The question is whether or not he will allow it again. If he does, The House is the place where this can be defeated.

John Kerry, avid sportsmen when it’s politically expedient, is seen here shooting trap. First, he looks awkward holding it and, as if to prove he has no idea what he’s doing, his finger is on the trigger.

Update: Oh yeah, and he missed.

Illegal searches and seizures in the DC area to increase:

D.C. Police are on pace to collect more guns in one year than in any year since 2000.

The Washington Post reports a big dent is being made by plainclothes officers who stop people for traffic violations and minor offenses, then find weapons in the course of investigating those infractions.

I thought police searches were to be conducted based on probable cause, or something.

Regarding Michael Moore’s latest documentary uhm comedy uhm bit of satire uhm whatever you want to call it:

There is not a single factual error in the movie. I’m thinking of offering a $10,000 reward for anyone that can find a single fact that’s wrong.

Perhaps these 56 deceits qualify?

Oh, that liberal media:

“Our results show a very significant liberal bias,” they write. “One of our measures found that The Drudge Report is the most centrist of all media outlets in our sample. Our other measure found that Fox News’ Special Report is the most centrist.” And all three papers, plus NBC and CBS, “were closer to the average Democrat in Congress than to the median member of the House of Representatives.” Fair and balanced, anyone? To use a simplified example, they say, suppose there were only two think tanks, and The New York Times cited the liberal one twice as often as the conservative one. Then the newspaper’s ADA score would be the same as that of a member of Congress who did the same.

Here’s a direct link to the study.

KABA is reporting that:

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, crimes committed with so-called "assault weapons" actually increased after the ban was implemented. In 1991, 8 percent of criminals admitted to having owned a military-style rifle. Less than 1 percent had used it in the commission of their crime.

In 2001, the Bureau of Justice Statistics revealed that about 2 percent of inmates had a military-style weapon during the commission of their crime.

Looks like Feinstein may try to attach the Assault Weapons Ban renewal to kill a bill. I thought maybe she’d attempt to attach it to a bill that was likely to pass. Gun Owners of America reports:

On Tuesday, the Senate is scheduled to begin consideration of legislation to limit class action lawsuits — a prime candidate for so-called liberal “killer amendments,” including the Feinstein amendment to extend the ban on semiautomatic firearms and magazines.

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has threatened to offer her semi-auto ban to any “appropriate” legislative vehicle, and the class action bill is about as “appropriate” as any on the Senate’s legislative schedule.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) has, at his disposal, a variety of parliamentary techniques to prevent Feinstein from offering the semiautomatic ban. Back in March, he chose NOT to use these parliamentary maneuvers during the debacle over the ill-fated gun makers’ protection act.

The debate over this pro-gun bill resulted in a free-for-all which led to killer amendments being added to the bill — amendments like the Feinstein gun ban.

GOA is urging Frist to learn from his mistakes and to use his leadership office to insure that the Feinstein amendment is not offered to S. 2062. (sic)

Frist also voted against the AWB amendment despite allowing it to move forward. If it makes it for a vote this time, Frist will lose my vote.

So, the party of Selected not elected and Extreme Court has again engaged in dirty political trickery:

In Arizona, supporters of Nader abandoned their effort to get the independent candidate on the presidential ballot after Democrats challenged the validity of thousands of signatures.

Nader’s campaign had submitted more than 22,000 signatures to Arizona election officials June 9 — far more than the 14,694 valid signatures required by state law to compete against President Bush and Kerry.

Two Democratic voters had filed a lawsuit last week, backed by the Arizona Democratic Party, questioning the validity of Nader’s nominating petitions and other documents. The Democrats argued that more than 70 percent of the signatures were invalid.

I love the smell of partisanship in the morning.

Powell sings ‘YMCA’ at Asian security meet:

JAKARTA, Indonesia – U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell (news – web sites) donned a hard hat and tucked a hammer in his belt Friday, performing a version of the Village People’s hit “YMCA” at the conclusion of Asia’s largest security meeting.

Tradition dictates that the meeting wrap up with a night of song and dance, provided by the diplomats themselves.

Wrong on soooo many levels.

Another unsigned editorial, this one calling for the ban of SKS rifles in Alabama:

The Soviet-made SKS rifle is probably the most worthless piece of military equipment ever produced. It isn’t accurate at long ranges, so it isn’t any good as a weapon of war or for a hunting rifle. As designed, it’s only good for one thing — close range killing.

And, so many were made and are available that it can’t even be considered a collector’s item for serious gun collections.

SKS rifles are rather comparable to a Honda. They are a quality rifle at a moderate price, hence their popularity. It is fairly accurate to about 300 yards (at least for me), which is good enough for hunting. Most say that the 7.62X39MM round is balistically equivalent to a 30-30.

The SKS is the rifle believed used in the recent slayings of three Birmingham police officers and two police officers in Athens. It’s powerful enough that a typical protective vest is ineffective.

Any non-rimfire hunting rifle will penetrate a vest as well.

Update: the VPC has its supposed SKS Fact Sheet.

This article is almost too stupid to fisk. Almost:

A ban on certain assault rifles that expires in September should unquestionably be renewed by president Bush.

Nope, no bias there.

How these weapons, developed for the military and capable of inflicting terrible carnage on humans, became available for sale to the general population is mind boggling.

Second amendment sound familiar?

Equally appalling is the possibility that the hard-working men and women in law enforcement could once again face military-style weapons out on the streets if the ban is not renewed by Congress.

These weapons have never been a huge problem for law enforcement. Before and after the ban, these weapons were used in less than one half of one percentage point of violent crime.

It doesn’t take a Harvard math professor to validate the theory that banning certain assault weapons will reduce the frequency with which heinous crimes like the one in 1993 in San Francisco occur. If military-style assault weapons are kept out of circulation, nuts won’t have the opportunity to own them. True, there’s always going to be nuts, but let’s not give them unfettered access to assault weapons with the swipe of a credit card.

Uhm, what year did Columbine occur? Oh, yeah, after this ban was in place.

And we’re Nuts? Nice. Steve Lyon you’re an idiot. Try doing some research instead of just grabbing the latest Brady Center press release. The weapons banned under the 1994 law are indistinguishable, except in appearance, from popular hunting rifles.

My daughter, who is 13 days old, may be the youngest blogger ever. I decided to turn her loose on the keyboard and see what happens. Using mostly her feet, here’s what she had to say:

v vnnbjhtg mjk;lnl’
kjhfstf bn nmb bn n,l m;’ m, m;’
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Ain’t that cute and insightful?

The Pink Pistols, a pro-gun gay and lesbian group, writes about the following incident:

Initially three, then later, four members of the Central Ohio Pink Pistols, a group promoting the safe handling of firearms in the GLBT community, were threatened by the Executive Director of Stonewall Columbus, who wielded a 2-foot club, and up to 30 volunteer security personnel at the Stonewall Columbus Pride Event on Saturday, June 26. The Pink Pistols were repeatedly ordered to surrender their legally-owned and carried firearms by a steadily-growing army of guards. Knowing the law was on their side, the Pink Pistols refused to surrender their property or knuckle under to illegal threats of violence, search, and seizure by Stonewall Columbus personnel. Police were summoned at Pink Pistols request. No firearms were surrendered or confiscated, and no arrests were made, as no laws were broken.

Sounds like some real brown-shirts were thwarted.

It’s rare, so I feel obligated to point it out. NBC13 says of the SKS used to kill three Alabama police officers:

Gun-control advocates say the SKS, a Soviet-made rifle that preceded the AK-47, is the semiautomatic rifle most often used against police officers. Authorities in Birmingham have said it was used in the June 17 killings of officers Robert “Bob” Bennett, Harley Chisholm III and Carlos Owen.

They actually described the SKS correctly. Good for them. However, they bear some bad news:

The SKS and the Bushmaster rifle — a cousin of the U.S. Army’s M-16 used in the January deaths of two Athens officers in north Alabama — both are readily available at gun stores throughout Alabama because they are not among the “assault weapons” banned by Congress in 1994.

That could change soon. A federal bill that would make permanent the ban, which ends later this year, also would broaden the definition of “assault weapon” to include the SKS, Bushmaster and similar models.

A comparable law already is in place in California, said Kristen Rand, legislative director for the Violence Policy Center.

“The beauty of this approach is that we know it’s working in California and the manufacturers haven’t found a way around it,” Rand said.

It’s unclear, though, whether the measure will pass. The Senate in March narrowly approved a 10-year extension of the ban without the broader weapon definition, and Alabama Sens. Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby both voted against that bill.

The two Republicans were traveling Monday and unavailable for comment, but press officers for each noted their opposition to gun control measures in the past.

A spokesman for Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Haleyville, said the congressman opposed the permanent ban but was unavailable for further comment.

Even with a ban, it could prove difficult to eliminate the rifles.

So, the new law will be even tougher. And, they think, there’s no way around it. I’d say otherwise. One effect of the 1994 ban was to flood the market with banned rifles and regular capacity magazines. Manufacturers saw the opportunity and stepped up production. A new ban would result in the same thing, including expanding the importation of more SKS rifles.

AWBSunset has a round up of news articles on the desperation to renew the ban. Click and scroll.

Les has his weekly gun links up.