Some happy new year gun porn follows.

A while back, Kim du Toit posted some gun picks highlighting them as Diversity. He seems to be lacking in the diversity department (but makes up for it in the quantity department) as there’s not enough stuff in the black, plastic and aluminum department. So, I’ll pick up the slack (all pics taken at the Uncle Land Work Bench where he is a devout practitioner of the WECSOG):

Mr. Blasty (version 2.0):

Mr. Plinkie:

This guy has no name, feel free to suggest one:

And the carry department:

Maybe I need to get more diverse too?

John notes some cool gizmos the military is checking out. He also comments:

Speaking of the US – is it me, or are all the new small arms in the US arsenal being designed by Europeans? Beretta (the M92 pistol), Benelli (the M1014), FN (the M240 and M249 and now the SCAR), Heckler and Koch (the XM8). Is the US firearms industry so moribund that we can’t compete? Am I missing something because I’m so much more focused on the old stuff vice the new?

It seems to me that the only real American firm in the military game (aside from a few high dollar custom shops) is Colt. They have been for decades. Colt has pretty much told the civilian rifle market in the US that it doesn’t need them. Other manufacturers in the US are more inclined to cater to us civilians. Some of the larger manufacturers essentially customized their rifles for post ban markets and wrote off the military. This also impacted the military as illustrated by the fact that, prior to the expiration of the assault weapons ban, there was a shortage of regular capacity magazines for US troops.

The non-US firms offer a few items to the civilian market but generally try to score military gigs since they tend to be located in countries that aren’t gun friendly (note to H&K: if you make a civie version of the XM-8, I’ll take a couple). You sell to who will buy, I suppose. If the US military adopts the XM8, Colt will seriously have to change their business model. With the recent trend of police forces in the US essentially becoming militarized, some US firms may start catering their rifles to law enforcement. The fact is, however, that there is no motivation for US firms to get in the military rifle game (particularly designing new ones) because they make their money selling to civilians. Gun bans hamper technology.

In the pistol game, most American pistols suck in my opinion. I don’t like 1911s, or S&Ws, or Rugers. Glocks, Sigs and H&Ks pretty much rule as far as I’m concerned. The Feds and police seem to agree with me since they stock up on Glocks and Sigs.

Yesterday, I called it.

A few nights ago, I was out in the yard playing a game with Politically Incorrect Dog. In this game, PID chases a laser from a laser pointer around the yard. Good exercise for him, minimal effort for me. Now, I may have inadvertently aimed it skyward a couple of times but I had no idea this would happen:

Authorities are investigating a mysterious laser beam that was directed into the cockpit of a commercial jet traveling at more than 8,500 feet.

The beam appeared Monday when the plane was about 15 miles from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, the FBI said.

“It was in there for several seconds like (the plane) was being tracked,” FBI agent Robert Hawk said.

Sorry, guys. We were just playing.

I thought it was supposed to decrease the effect of money on politics. Apparently not:

Lobbyists spent more than $1 billion in the first half of 2004 promoting their positions in front of the president and Congress, putting the nation on track for its first $2 billion lobbying year.

According to an analysis released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Political Money Line campaign finance tracking service, $1.06 billion was spent between January and June on lobbying the executive branch and Congress.

That is an increase over the same time periods in 2003 ($963 million), 2002 ($859 million), 2001 ($791 million) and 2000 ($765 million).

The average spending per month was $176 million. Spending usually increases in the second half of the year, the group said.

I predict this blog will be popular soon.

Given that I practice WECSOG, I am prone to problems. Last night, I (being an idiot) completely disassembled my Crosman 1077 pellet rifle. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Anyone know how to get it back together? These things are more complex than real guns. While it’s apart, if anyone knows of any mods I can make to up the output a bit, that’d be great too.

Heh!

This time, in Kentucky. A city plans to take commercial buildings, vacant lots, and private residences and turn them into more private residences. That is not public use. Apparently, this is also to preserve a historic area. Hats off to Commissioner Moorman:

Commissioner Bernie Moorman agreed the plan was a good one, but voted against it because it will allow the city to force the sale of property using the power of eminent domain — which he described as a “cruel and not necessary process.”

“The plan has good intentions, but it’s an evil process by which to execute the plan,” Moorman said.

Evil, indeed.

This article, which quotes verbatim some thing I got in email about a half dozen times, links to Doctors for Sensible Gun Laws. The Docs published Ten Myths About Gun Control:

The proliferation of guns in this country is responsible for an increase in the violent crime rate

The proliferation of gun ownership in this country is responsible for an alarming increase in fatal gun accidents involving children

The proliferation of guns is responsible for an increase in suicides

Strict gun control laws have been successful in lowering crime in the UK and Canada

Criminals prefer ‘assault weapons’ and cheap handguns sometimes called ‘Saturday Night Specials’

Few people actually use guns for self-defense

Gun control laws take guns out of the hands of criminals and lower violent crime

You, and your family and friends, are 43 times more likely to be shot by a gun kept in the home than is a criminal intruder

Ordinary citizens (non-police, non-military) cannot effectively use firearms for self-defense and are more likely to get injured using a gun for self-defense than not

Law-abiding citizens cannot be trusted to safely carry concealed weapons in public

Follow the link for details. It’s no secret the AMA is anti-gun so it’s good to see some doctors that aren’t.

The site also defines what they mean by sensible gun laws.

A forensic pathologist says that Tasers may not be as safe as the manufacturer and police would have you believe:

“It is my opinion, as a forensic pathologist, that a stun gun (as a device that can deliver an electrical current to the human body) has the potential to contribute to death when there is either significant coexistent natural disease, such as heart disease or drug toxicity of the body, or if the device is used in a manner other than according to manufacturers’ instructions,” wrote Dr. Cameron Snider in a recent letter to The Daily Advertiser.

In other news, another Taser death.

Not that many criminals get their guns from gun shows:

The study noted that the number of criminals who obtained guns from retail outlets was dwarfed by the number of those who picked up their arms through means other than legal purchases. The report was the result of interviews with more than 18,000 state and federal inmates conducted nationwide. It found that nearly 80 percent of those interviewed got their guns from friends or family members, or on the street through illegal purchases.

Less than 9 percent were bought at retail outlets and only seven-tenths of 1 percent came from gun shows. So much for the much-ballyhooed closing of the “gun-show loophole.”

Since this is my last official day of the year at the office, and we know nobody reads/writes blogs unless they’re at work, I wanted to wish everyone a happy new year. We’re trying something different tomorrow night and we’re heading to the aquarium in Gatlinburg to see what their “Dance with the sharks” thing is all about. That ought to be more fun than rolling over at 11:59, watching the clock change to 12, and then going back to sleep.

And then we can come back home, enjoy the rest of the weekend, and make all kinds of resolutions, like I resolve to win the lottery. And more than $4 this time too. Of course, I probably won’t win until I’m 94, like this woman, because it will take me that long to figure out you really do have to play to win.

Holding myself out as a small L libertarian means that I do see the need for some services to be provided by the government. After all, I pay for them. My list isn’t very large. I expect:

Navigable roads

To not be invaded

If my house catches fire, I expect someone to come put it out

My home to not be located next to a bomb factory

If an intruder invades my home, I expect the police to show up, remove the body, and recommend a good method for removing blood from the carpet; or a good cleaning service

You know, the little things. But there are also other services that I specifically pay government and quasi-government agencies for as I use them. One of those services is water. Good ol’ H₂O. I like having water. In an effort to cut costs, the local utility in Blount County has decided to stop fluoridating the water supply. They say it’s for other reasons but word on the street is it’s about money. I can’t imagine it costs that much. Some folks oppose fluoridated water stating that it is medicating the water. Seems odd to me.

Today, Junior went to the pediatrician to get shots. This already horrifying experience was made even more so by the doc telling the Mrs. that Junior needs to take a fluoride supplement since the county no longer fluoridates the water. She has to take these supplements for eight years. Yes, for eight years. Unbelievable.

Bill Hobbs notes that Tennessee will start taxing illegal drugs next year (I’ve mentioned this before). Says Bill:

This actually works – and is a pretty good idea, though it sounds a bit odd at first. The law will require sellers of illegal drugs to pay excise taxes, just legal businesses. Most drug-pushers won’t comply, of course, but the law can be used to assess back taxes on dealers who are caught by law enforcement, adding an additional financial penalty to their crimes while also bringing in a few extra dollars for the state budget.

Depends on what works means. Will it curb illegal drug sales? Nope. Will it generate tax revenue? Unlikely. What will it do? It will give prosecutors another criminal charge (tax evasion) to apply against drug dealers. It will also give the powers that be another justification for seizing assets.

Because I was contemplating getting one of these (still am), I decided to get a new upper receiver for Mr. Blasty. I met a fellow AR guy on AR15.com and traded the 7.62MM upper and mags for a light weight 5.56MM upper and some mags. I dig it. That light weight barrel is amazing. I bet the thing weighs less than 7 pounds. Pics later.

Figures on Government Spending and Debt:

Figures on government spending and debt (last six digits are eliminated). The government’s fiscal year runs Oct. 1 through Sept. 30.
Total public debt subject to limit Dec. 28 7,475,601
Statutory debt limit 8,184,000
Total public debt outstanding Dec. 28 7,536,268
Operating balance Dec. 28 30,513
Interest fiscal 2005 thru Nov. 33,336
Interest same period 2004 32,604
Deficit fiscal 2005 thru Nov. 115,173
Total deficit fiscal 2004 412,284
Receipts fiscal 2005 thru Nov. 271,447
Receipts same period 2004 254,032
Outlays fiscal 2005 thru Nov. 386,620
Outlays same period 2004 366,549
Gold assets in Dec. 11,043

Emphasis added. Of course, these figures are probably useless.

In an update to the Wisconsin hunter murders:

A man accused of opening fire on hunters who confronted him about trespassing, killing six of them and wounding two others, pleaded not guilty to the shootings Wednesday.

Chai Soua Vang, 36, of St. Paul, Minn., waived his right to a preliminary hearing and will stand trial on six counts of murder and three of attempted murder.

Judge Norman Yackel continued bail for Vang, a Hmong immigrant, at $2.5 million. A trial date was tentatively set for Sept. 12.

Sure, I’ve been Instalanched a few times. But this poor guy. Behold the power of a Drudgelanche. He got more hits yesterday then this blog has ever.

You might remember the post I made when I first came to SayUncle. Well, here’s the latest from the FAA. So far, no damage has been done after several attempts, though the FAA claims there’s still a threat. I’ll stand by the Air Force’s claim that it’s just an attempt to cause a panic until more proof is brought forward.

One year and nine days ago (this will be important later – I think it’s called foreshadowing), TiVo changed my life. We got it and it truly is the greatest invention since Al Gore invented err took the initiative in creating the Internet. TiVo is amazing in that the Uncle family has entertainment on its schedule and not the schedule of network television.

Yesterday, TiVo died. The receiver croaked. It was a sad day. We’re having services for it Tuesday (when the new one shows up). We can still watch the stuff it recorded but it won’t receive a satellite signal. TiVo came with a one year warranty. It’s a pity it didn’t die eight days sooner. Now, I am out $50 for a new receiver. The good thing is that we upgraded from 40 hours of recording time to 80 hours.

Even though the repair guy said that in all the time he’d been doing this that only one other TiVo croaked, I wonder if this crash after warranty is a conspiracy.

Same thing happened with both mine and the Mrs. cellular (yes, I know they’re not really cellular anymore) phones. We had contracts for two years on our old phones. Within literally days of the contract expiring, our cell phones would no longer hold a charge for more than a day and the automobile chargers would hardly work at all (the outlet charger would keep the phone going for a day). Also, we lost reception at our house. As good little consumers, we went out and bought new phones (now we have fancy new camera phones with tons of bells and whistles), a new service plan with a different company, and ported our numbers (which was easy to do, I highly recommend it).

And one more example is that the same thing happened with our coffee pot. We had a fancy coffee pot that cost about $150 and had all sorts of electronic timers and brew settings. It did it all. It was a popular name brand and I really liked it. It died shortly after the warranty.

I’m starting to wonder if electronics are programmed to self-destruct shortly after their warranty’s give out.

Via The Trainer, Navy SEALS are suing the Associated Press:

Six Navy SEALs and two of their wives filed a lawsuit against The Associated Press and one of its reporters today for allegedly revealing their identities in photos published in early December, according to a press release from the plaintiffs.

The complaint, filed in California Superior Court, alleges that AP reporter Seth Hettena obtained a photograph in a personal Web site maintained by one of the wives of the Navy SEALs, which contains personal photographs.

[snip]

“There was no need for the AP to publish the faces of the SEALs,” Huston, the Morrison & Foerster partner who is heading the plaintiffs’ legal team, said in a statement. “They added nothing to the value of the story. In fact, the SEALs showed more respect for the insurgents and terrorists that they were apprehending by obscuring their faces than the AP did for the Navy SEALs who were in Iraq risking their lives,” he added.

I’m not sure, but I think SEALS are sort of top secret. Maybe even identifying them at all could be illegal.

Les is asking people what sort of odd (as in unusual) jobs they’ve had. Me personally: professional bungee jumper, worked in a prison, and I used to inventory nukes.

As I’ve said before (specifically regarding helmet laws and seat belt laws), you have a right to be stupid:

It isn’t quite like bootlegging moonshine, but Kate Heidorn, a 41-year-old mother of two, has to keep her supplier a secret when she talks about the illegal liquid she craves and claims she needs.

Because in Tennessee, getting raw, unpasteurized, straight-from-the-cow milk is illegal. And some say harmful.

Heidorn’s source could be fined up to $500 or face a misdemeanor criminal charge if the state Department of Agriculture discovered which farmer was selling her unpasteurized milk.

Apparently, raw milk has been linked to illness and death. I wouldn’t drink it personally but see no need why others shouldn’t be allowed. Farmers do it all the time. If you’ve ever had milk straight from the cow, then you know it’s warm and icky (at least I think so).

I’m not surprised that a moron like James K. Herron would write a letter like this (scroll down to the 7th letter):

We have a well-organized body of arms bearers in the National Rifle Association — 2 million or so dues-payers, according to what I have read about NRA membership. Why not call upon these strong patriots to volunteer to serve in Iraq? They should require minimum training in the use of the arms; no one would argue or contest their use of automatic weapons (or even bigger and more powerful guns —- even rocket launchers). They wouldn’t have to be paid, being pure volunteers, the U.S. manpower problems would be solved and last, but not least, the Pentagon could devote more of its budget to “Star Wars” and no-bid contracts for Halliburton and not have to waste it on armored vehicles for our regular Army.

I am, however, surprised that a newspaper would print such rubbish.

Note to James: if you’re going to write something so asinine, you should probably change to an unlisted phone number.

Looks like the New Jersey Smart Gun works, or so they tell you. What actually happens is:

Sixteen electronic computerized sensors embedded in the gun’s grip distinguished known from unknown users. “We’ve only just begun and we’re pleased to say that we’re getting 90 percent reliability when scanning users,” said Sebastian.

No thanks.

This year, there were fewer murders in the murder capital of the world.

Phelps fisks the rules of fireworks safety. I’ve been there, done that, got the T-Shirt. Me and the buds used to light bottle rockets a gross at a time with a blowtorch. Or drop as many fireworks as possible inside a cinder-block to see if we could blow the block apart. And we’d shoot them at each other. Once we ran out of fireworks, we’d typically bring out firearms. We would not shoot those at each other. Good times. It is a wonder all of us made it to adulthood.

Update: Turns out, the Brady Campaign and the Million err 28 Mom March are on to me.

Me:

When I was a teen, I was a Democrat, mostly to annoy the parents. In college, I was a Republican, mostly to annoy the smelly hippies I had classes with. Now, I am neither, mostly to annoy my readers.

I forgot I said that. Pretty funny, if I do say so myself.

I’ve always been stumped by something. Every time a Republican proposes a tax cut, a helpful Democrat or two will point out that such a tax cut will take money from the poor and give it to the rich.

Well, I finally decided to perform a mathematical analysis, and you know what? It turns out the Democrats are right! Let me show you.

First, we know that Give and Take are opposites. In logical terms,
Give(x) = !Take(x) [1]
Take(x) = !Give(x) [2]

Further, let us denote the proper tax state as the opposite of a Tax Cut:
Taxes = !TaxCut [3]

Of course, we all know that the proper role of taxes is to take from the rich and to give to the poor:
Taxes = Take(Rich) AND Give(Poor)

Now we do a substitution:
!TaxCut = Take(Rich) AND Give(Poor) (using [3])

Finally, we negate each term:
!(!TaxCut) = !Take(Rich) AND !Give(Poor)

And a final substitution:
TaxCut = Give(Rich) AND Take(Poor)

QED.
Read the rest of this entry »

I can’t hardly stand flying anymore these days, especially during a holiday. First of all, you’ve got to get there two hours early because you need a good bit a head start in case your flight is delayed. That and the security screening.

Now, I understand we need security precautions; no doubt about it. But I wonder if they aren’t taking things a little too far. For example, everybody has to take off his shoes before going through the metal detector. That’s fairly new as far as I know; it used to be you could go through with tennis shoes on. No more. So now everybody is barefoot, and they’re giving upper-body pat-downs. I swear, if they don’t develop X-ray vision, by this time next year they’ll have us boarding the plane stark naked.

Once we’re through security, though, it’s all smooth sailing. Unless we get hungry. We got here two hours early, remember? We should have brought a snack, or a pile of money. $8 for a hamburger and drink doesn’t sound too steep, does it? After all, we won’t get anything else to eat (except 5 peanuts) for the next two hours. At least Mama has the baby’s food with her at all times…and the security man kindly gave her a free squeeze check while we waited.

Oh, that’s right: new baby means no more exit row for the Thibodeaux family. Mr. and Mrs. Thibodeaux are both about 6′5″; air travel is frighteningly uncomfortable in the best of seats. At least we get to pre-board. That will give us time to wedge our legs into the seat in front of us, and hopefully find a way to keep it from reclining. It will also give us lots of time to sit in the stifling airplane for an extra 30 minutes while everybody else tries desperately to shove their bags into the overhead bins. I guess they can’t turn on the A/C until the engines get going. Maybe flying naked wouldn’t be so bad after all.

But then that magic moment comes that makes it all worthwhile. We’re clear for takeoff, and we line up on the runway. The pilot throws the throttles forward, unleashing the thunder of a hundred thousand horses, hurling this metal tube down the tarmac at ludicrous speed and into the night sky. We mere ordinary mortals are afforded a delight that the ancients believed could only belong the gods and a select few: to hurtle through the air in a winged chariot.

I look down and see a sparkling web, and marvel—not only have we tamed the sky, we have also caged the night, walling off the darkness with a fence of brilliant glass. See the mighty works wrought by the hand and mind of Man! I recall that good news spoken so long ago, and think, “Yes, let there be peace on Earth, and let me have good will toward Men!”

Then we land and I find out the airline lost my bags. Crikey.

How long will it take the usual suspects to spin this:

Law enforcement organizations reported Tuesday that 154 officers died in the line of duty in 2004, nearly half of them in traffic-related accidents.

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and Concerns of Police Survivors said the statistics for 2004 were compiled from reports through Dec. 24.

Seventy-two local, state and federal officers died from traffic-related accidents while 57, about one-third, died from shootings, the organizations said. A variety of causes led to the other deaths.

Bubba has created a sampler of RTB posts. Neato.

And if you don’t have some sort of feed for your site, you should.

The UN has called the US stingy with respect to the amount of aid that we’re giving.

And, as though you couldn’t guess, global warming is to blame for the 40,000+ dead. They don’t say that outright, of course, but the implication is there.

And I realize that people want info about the tsunami’s impact but do we need the rolling body counters? The number increases almost as quickly as you can hit the refresh button on the Yahoo! homepage.

Heard on the radio: The latest in the Michael Jackson case is that they found hardcore pornography DVDs that had Jackson’s and the child’s fingerprints on it. That’ll teach him to wear both gloves.

In light of the list of the top 10 moments in blogging this year, Publicola notes that gun bloggers should be given props for their hand in the recent pro-gun changes in the political climate. I’m not sure that we gun bloggers had a huge impact on the overall political climate. However, I feel pretty confident with the assertion that gun bloggers are the reason the gun owner protection bill (with its assault weapons ban attachment) did not pass. We made a lot of noise (and so did the various on-line message boards) indicating that gun owners would not trade the assault weapons ban for the immunity bill.

A DVD loyalty oath?

Ravenwood also details gun confiscations in Mass (it’s like the Ravenwood show here today):

On Wednesday, for example, moments after a court placed a woman’s husband under a restraining order, a notice about the order popped up on a new computer terminal at the police station here. Given that information, the Woburn police went to the man’s house and confiscated his guns, all 13 of them.

The criteria for restraining orders are typically pretty weak. No jury, not trial. Just a sympathetic and easily influenced counselor of some sort and a judge is all it takes in a lot of cases. I don’t find that to be a reasonable basis for forcibly entering someone’s home to take anything.

And I’m not defending violence against women and think those that commit it should be, well, shot. However, I think that violence has to be proven without a doubt first.

In light of the San Fran Gun Ban making the news, Ravenwood has the scoop on DC’s homicide rate. Believe it or not, the already high rate of homicide is actually statistically deflated. Go read.

Sure, we all have our opinions about guns so I may catch some flak for this. Head reports that the Army has ordered some Ruger 9mm sidearms. I’m not a fan of Ruger handguns and I’m not a fan of Berettas. However, it is my opinion that Berettas are superior to Rugers. Why the Army is sticking with 9mm is also questionable, but I digress.

You don’t cheat down, fellas. You cheat up.

The California DOJ has released its opinion regarding the Law Enforcement Officers Protection Act (aka, special protections for special people act), which allows retired and off duty police to carry firearms anywhere in the country. It can be found here.

I should get deputized but that would make me like you, only better.

People are actually protesting against Libertarians:

It’s not often that libertarians are enough of a threat to anyone else’s interests that they generate protests. But that is what has been happening in New Hampshire lately. In June, 200 residents showed up at a heated town meeting in tiny Grafton township to challenge a trio of libertarian activists they feared were trying to conquer their community. Less than a week later, a squad of protesters picketed a fund-raising dinner in Plymouth, featuring Republican Governor Craig Benson, sponsored by the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance.

Both protests were triggered by the Free State Project, or FSP, a recently hatched plan for libertarians to roll back the government of New Hampshire and thus create a flagship for a freer America.

And what are they afraid of:

The people I met didn’t seem to be libertarian versions of the Unabomber, desperate to live separated from the ideologically uncongenial like a modern-day Thoreau. They just think contemporary government is too expensive, too intrusive, and too active, and are eager to embrace the most effective way to change that.

Maybe they didn’t get the memo and a bunch of small L libertarians showed up.

I usually won’t link to things from Drudge, but a quote from this article caught my attention:

But U.N. Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland suggested that the United States and other Western nations were being “stingy” with relief funds, saying there would be more available if taxes were raised.

“There are several donors who are less generous than before in a growing world economy,” he said, adding that politicians in the United States and Europe “believe that they are really burdening the taxpayers too much, and the taxpayers want to give less. It’s not true. They want to give more.”

What the hell? So we, the people with our hard-earned money really, really, really want the government to tax us more? What a maroon! Those of us who feel the urge to “give more” (as if taxation were giving), we’ll just donate to charities, thank you very much. I’m not saying providing relief isn’t a noble cause, but his assumption that we aren’t taxed enough is just inane.

So anyway, I was sitting around being bored during my weekend, relaxing and doing what most Americans do when given a little time off. It’s best not for anyone to guess what that is, though you’d probably hit on the second try.

I’ve been doing some research lately, trying to figure out a way around my tactical shotgun problem. The problem, incidentally, is that I have short arms. Well, actually, I’m short all around. I’m looking into doing a bit of wood working with one of these stocks. Cut it down a bit so I can keep the gun setup for slugs with my red dot scope, though it will be in closer to my shoulder and the handgrip may be a tad awkward, it will still be better than not being able to reach the kelly grip in front. For those of you who are wondering, Uncle has Mr. Blasty, and I’ve got ‘Shaft’. Now, that’s not a phallic term, that comes from an old TV show. Yep, Shaft… he’s one bad mutha- (shut your mouth!)… jus’ talkin’ bout Shaft. Figured it was vaguely appropriate. Anyway, I’ll borrow a digital camera and load some appropriate pictures once I finish the stock.

Alternatively, I’m putting a gauge pod in my 2003 Subaru Impreza WRX, and I’ve got a question for you gearheads out there. Regarding a boost gauge, I’ve seen basically two types (not including mechanical versus electronic), so what I want to know is what useful purpose one would have for vacuum pressure information. Or should I just use a standard pressure gauge without a vacuum reading? Opinions?

I just had the strangest sales phone call at 9:30 in the evening, almost sounded like a con to me. My suspicion is that he represented one of those companies that try to get you to subscribe to 5 monthly magazines for 5 years at a “very low rate,” only, he wouldn’t come out and say that. Here’s a sample from our conversation:

Me: Hello?
Caller: Hi. I represent the publisher of the magazines you subscribe to.
Me:What publisher?
Him: The publisher.
Me: Of what magazine?
Him: The magazine you subscribe to.
Me: Which one?
Him: All of them. Due to some error you haven’t been contacted, but the computer selected you for a 60 month extension.
Me: To what?
Him: To your subscription. Apparently there was an error and the computer pulled you out *yawn* to call and let you know, so if anybody else calls, just let them know you’ve been notified.
Me: Ok, but I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. Notified of what?
Him: We represent over 250 quality publications, and you can select five of them.
Me: You don’t represent any magazines I subscribe to. I already subscribe to all the magazines I want and if I don’t already subscribe to them I don’t want them.
Him: Why not?
Me: Because I don’t have time to read them.
Him: Many of us don’t have time to read them, but if you read one article, it’s well worth it.
Me: If I don’t subscribe to it already, I read it online, and anything I subscribe to is a trade magazine and you can’t get it. Thanks for calling though.

I don’t know if the strategy was to confuse me so much that I get conned into giving out credit card information, or if the guy just sucked. The yawn halfway through was really entertaining, and it sounded like a bar behind him. I just did a reverse lookup on the phone number, in Kansas City, and nothing came up…almost tempted to call it back.

I hate having to wait to get our new number on the Do Not Call list. Too bad they couldn’t transfer our old number over here to the new house.

Boy, site stats really let you know it’s the holidays.

Why do so many musicians like to write songs about flying? Talk about your over-used metaphor… My personal Launchcast channel just shat out a new Richard Marx song called “Ready To Fly,” and the lyrics are sooooo freaking cheesey (”I’m ready to fly over the sun like a rocket to heaven?!?”). All these songs like to whine on and on about how somebody always had wings but they never could figure out how to fly, the sorry bastards. I guess it isn’t as poetic to sing about how somebody always had a unicycle but couldn’t get the hang of it, or how somebody always had fins but couldn’t swim.

What are your favorite songs about flying? Neither U2 nor Pink Floyd count (PF’s “Learning to Fly” is actually cool IMHO, and U2’s “The Fly” is about an insect or something).

The word “fly” turned up 22280 matches at CDDB…and that was just on song titles. On the other hand, “crawl” only turned up 1496 matches. “Wings” turned up 11985 times. Sadly, “unicycle” only turned up 15 matches.

Can you tell how hard I’m working today?

A new (to me) site, Defense Review, has the skinny on all sorts of fun toys. Worth the read!

Or has there not been a terror alert nor a change in that stupid little color coded chart since election day? I guess Bush’s re-election really did save us from terra.

It may have changed when I wasn’t looking so I could be wrong, of course.

Update: DHS reports it changed last on 12/20. Funny, I don’t remember that making the news. But I still can’t find any terror alerts since the election.

In other news, Ready.gov is still not giving good advice to citizens.

Looky, y’all. Mr. Mike is back (sorta).

I’m guessing the Knoxville Police Department didn’t get the memo that Project Safe Neighborhoods is unfunded. I’ve seen a variety of billboards around Knoxville that state Gun Crime Means Hard Time and they give a contact number. The logo for PSN appears on these billboards.

Little late posting this (holidays and all) but Bubba alerts us to new Rocky Top Brigade members:

Trying To Write A Book

What it is Today

Rebel Rouser

Lance in Iraq

Scratch My Name On Your Arm

Appalachia Alumni Association

One Reporter’s Opinion

The Ghosts

WhitesCreek

Welcome aboard, all!

That’s a gigantic number of dead. My sympathies and prayers to the people of Asia.

Err, rather the yearly edition. Jeff has it.

Pretty frightening to me:

Shortly after a record number of teens were murdered in the streets of St. Louis, police met with residents to talk about ways to get guns away from juveniles.

One woman offered a simple solution.

“Why don’t you knock on the door and ask that mother if you could search the house?”

That idea 10 years ago spawned a wildly successful partnership between police and the community that led to the seizure of hundreds of guns from teenagers.

These consent to search programs frighten me. It’s amazing how many judges are informed that people who are in their court consented to searches yet the defendant states that they did not. This just seems to be another avenue to cover up abuse, but I digress. The real issue is why the parents themselves can’t do the checking. Walk into your kid’s room and find out for yourself.

Looks like there is a push for state wide ban on guns that look like military rifles in Oregon.

Mostly facts about breed specific legislation in Canada.

I’m taking a break from drilling a 3/4″ hole through masonry block that has been filled solid, to share an observation with you: duct tape is good for anything except being duct tape. If you need to do duct work, you have to use the shiney aluminum stuff with the peel-off paper. If you actually try to use (grey) duct tape on duct, it won’t stick. Odd, isn’t it?

Now where did I put that Big Ass Hammer and Big Ass Iron Bar so I can knock the hole through the block since drilling is going to take all day?

10 – When the in-laws have the baby for the night, your plans include getting lucky. And by getting lucky, you mean getting to bed early and sleeping in.

9 – At least weekly, there is some new gizmo that shows up in your house. You typically don’t remember buying it or what it’s for.

8 – You buy five gallon tubs of OxiClean.

7 – You can use new excuses on your wife like: How many times can I be expected to go into Toys R Us and not buy an XBox? or Yeah, you and I have a rifle but the kid needs one too!

6 – Your pitch for talking your wife into sex includes the phrases I know you’re tired but I’ll get up with the baby tonight and C’mon, it won’t take long.

5 – All other children are measured in relation to your child. As such, all other children are ugly.

4 – No time to finish lists

3 –

2 –

1 –

John G. Tarsikes, Jr.:

Bernard Kerik, President Bush’s first choice to lead the Homeland Security Department, exercised stock options of $6.2 million he received from Taser International, which sold stun guns to the department – and seeks more business with it. It’s all about the money.
Maybe the rush to get the newest technology on the streets is outpacing the ability of public officials to put in place the safeguards necessary to protect the public. Maybe it’s all about the money.

The public, who is paying for these items, is being told that TASERs will be used as a safe, non-lethal alternative to guns. But in reality, they are being used in situations where police would never use lethal force.

Sounds like he’s been reading me. Some interesting stats:

In fact, according to Amnesty International, the data shows that TASERs are used on unarmed suspects in 80% of the cases, including verbal non-compliance (36%), and only 3% of the time in cases involving potential “deadly assault”. Their report details 74 TASER-related deaths that have occurred in the United States and Canada since June 2001. Amnesty International USA will also release information documenting more than 80 TASER-related deaths since 1999.

Some various AK versions worth looking at. I dig the Krebs but no one should pay that kinda bling for an AK.

In Britain, they passed a law for national ID cards. Perry de Havilland says he’s out of there. Good for him. However, though there is a push for national ID cards here and officially we don’t have them, try doing any of the following without a social security card or drivers license:

Get a loan for a house
Take public transportation
Buy a gun at a gun store
Get a job
Vote

Well, it’s a long list.

This month, referral log spam is absolutely out of control. And I’m the only one who sees those logs. Do they really think that by pinging my site 15,000 times that I’m going to click on their link to buy big dick pills (their words, not mine), fake Rolex watches or porn? Who is the marketing genius that figured out that if they hit a site thousands of times per day that they might get one hit out of the deal?

The AP has decided to pull out of the BCS formula. The BCS has become an utter joke.

Santa Claus accused of using steroids. Good for a laugh anyway.

About 2.5 years ago, I got a crazy idea. The wife loves dogs, so why not try to make her happy and get some dogs? Hell, why not get TWO dogs so they can keep themselves company? How bad can dogs really be? So we researched and I found a breed that seemed very un-doglike, and was oftimes described as “catlike,” which is right up my alley. They don’t bark, are gentle, etc.

So we got some puppies. Everything was fine for the first year and a half, then I began to realize that the puppy-ness wasn’t diminishing. So we got them neutered. Still, no calming down. Actually, their destructive behavior began to increase. One even began to routinely mark his territory inside AFTER being neutered. Despite following all the training manuals, providing them ample toys, etc., they were keen to destroy. Not shoes or magazines, no…but electronics. We went on vacation and let her aunt come house sit. While we were away, they ate $300 of electronics.

The dogs were almost 3 years old and could not be left alone for even a minute. They were constantly under foot, constantly needing attention, constantly getting into something, and basically driving me insane. In the meantime, other friends had purchased various mutt-puppies, some even had 3 dogs. Nobody was having our problems, and they didn’t even try to train theirs. I’ve never encountered dogs that required this much maintenance and attention, and so tried to blame it on genetics. We couldn’t leave them outside because they hate hot or cold, they dug constantly, ate their crap, destroyed bushes, uprooted grass for toys (ignoring their stash of provided toys), or tried to get out of the fence. All within the first 20 minutes of being outside.

The dogs were great as long as you were sitting or laying and they were on you. Otherwise, it was a constant battle. Taking them out on a leash was very difficult because they would run circles around you, or pulled until they puked. Being skinny, they could come out of any harness or collar.

And of course, my wife was attached to them.

So I began rereading all the materials I had read beforehand, but this time I had a “hindsight filter” that allowed me to read between the lines.

Breed X needs company and likes being with their people all the time and if given the chance, will want to share your bed as well as the couch. They’re sometimes referred to as “Velcro dogs.” You may have more company than you want in the bathroom, and if you go out to the mailbox, you’ll be greeted just as enthusiastically upon your return as you would be after a two-week absence.

A-ha! Now I know what that REALLY means…

They are mischievous! Clever and cute (but annoying) behavior such as leaping to the kitchen counter and surfing for food or tearing up a sofa cushion to make it softer is common, especially in puppies and young adults.

I think I must have missed that part while doing initial research.

They are not psychologically or physically suited to being kept in a yard and they are not usually happy as kennel dogs. They overheat rather easily and they suffer terribly from the cold.

This didn’t seem important.

While generally not stubborn, they’re independent and not the easiest breed to train. Don’t let that discourage you: They are very intelligent and all can learn house manners easily, like sit, down, and stay. Some do well with more advanced obedience…

Well, they DID learn sit and lay, but were hopeless beyond that. I’ve never considered that learning other commands would be “advanced obedience,” but apparently it is…

They are usually calm in the house but most have spells of running and leaping about in play a few times a day.

Just a FEW times a day??? Tell that to all the potted plants, furniture, flooring, and our legs.

Many dogs will stay around your home nearly all the time if you let them out, but not your Breed X. Something (a cat, a squirrel, a child …) will catch his eye and he’ll be gone, at up to 35 miles-per-hour. Other breeds that run off will usually come back in no more than a few hours if they don’t get hit by a car. Probably not your Breed X: he has a relatively poor sense of direction and once he’s off your property, he’ll soon be lost. Most dogs can be taught to COME when called but very few Breed X dogs ever get 100% reliable.

So, they can never be out of contact with you, can never be left alone, will not come when called, and can’t be trained.

Basically, they’re the perfect dogs for retired people or people who don’t work. Which doesn’t describe us at all. Our daily routine was based on 8-10 hour increments, because we’d have to go home and let them out. No weekend trips, hardly any vacations (added $40/night for boarding), no trips to the mountains, because we had to come home and let them out of their crate. We couldn’t leave them outside due to weather variations and destructive outdoor behavior. We couldn’t leave them alone INSIDE because they’d destroy the house. Did I mention the breed as a whole tends to be carsick? Ours were no exception. They’d puke AND shit in the car, after drooling all over it.

The whole 2.5 years really has given me a much lower opinion of dogs than I ever had before. I am a bit jaded now, but I have learned that I absolutely do not understand the unnatural connection some people make with animals. Like, considering them, no matter how much trouble they cause, to be indispensible family members. You go to someone’s house and their five dogs are jumping all over you, biting you, barking at you, and the house smells so bad you can hardly stand it, but the owners don’t seem to notice, or care if they did.

Being the asshole that I am, I finally had enough after the move to the new house. The dogs were even more uncontrollable than before because the house was larger. Scratches were starting to appear on the big, expensive front door and all over the hardwood floors and steps. I called a rescue and had them picked up. My wife may be mad at me for awhile, but she finally understands I think, that these dogs were causing us more grief than they were worth. The rescuer understood immediately when I said they were a bit more “needy” than we could handle. She also expressed that their breeding was fantastic, thus invalidating my “genetics” theory.

But they’ll be much better off in the long run, I think, and so will we. And hopefully now we’ll be able to get back to our life and get off the damn couch. And I know there are a lot of dog lovers out there, including Mr. Uncle, that will try to formulate what we did wrong. But the problem is that we did everything right except we just picked the wrong breed.

And this really reinforced how much I like cats: completely independent and take care of themselves, only showing up to be rubbed once in awhile. Or better yet, fish.

Ebonics fact or and fiction

Update: Word.

I’m sure the ACLU will take the case.

I didn’t realize until today that Rodger has two sites now. SFW and NSFW. BTW, Rodge, you need to add a feed to the SFW site.

Take Steve’s advice: Don’t argue with cops:

You do not find out the law by reading statutes. Never. It’s a trap. The law is not what the statutes say. The law is what judges say the statutes say.

Read the whole thing. Oh, and keep your mouth shut.

Miami police use a taser on a man in a wheelchair.

In February, the Supreme Court will hear the case of Kelo v. New London. This is an important property rights case that will hopefully restore the public use clause of the fifth amendment. That clause has been bastardized and public use has somehow been interpreted as the public good, which means a government can take your land and give it to someone else to increase tax revenue. Clint Bolick writes that the Bush administration is seriously considering filing a brief opposing property rights:

Ordinarily, an administration weighs in on other people’s cases only where a direct federal government interest is presented. Here, no such interest exists, because the federal government typically uses eminent domain only for public use.

So what is it that is impelling the administration to betray its principles?

Is it succumbing to pressure from federal bureaucrats born of solidarity with state and local power? Is it seeking to shelter big business interests that are beneficiaries of eminent domain abuse?

We can’t know because no one in the administration is saying. Even worse is the brazen disdain with which the administration has dismissed pleas from some of its staunchest allies to stay out of the case.

It is a bit questionable that no information is known as to why the administration would support such a thing but, given the big government Republican government we have, I wouldn’t find it surprising.

Here we go. The basic story here is that some woman was causing a rucus at one Walmart where she had a prescription for anti-psychotic medication, she leaves there, goes to another Walmart and buys a shotgun. Then she shoots herself. So, the mother’s suing Walmart for not knowing about their customers. Basically, it’s all about firearm sales background checks. Once again, another liability lawsuit because the company is supposed to know everything that gun may eventually be used for even though the sale itself is lawful.

Now, I remember the last time I bought a gun, the little form I filled out asked me about mental health. Being the moderately sane individual I am (about the best anyone can expect these days), I haven’t seen any ‘professional’ (we’ll get into that later) help, and so my purchase wasn’t even delayed. Now, this woman had a history of mental health issues and was apparently cleared to purchase the firearm by that background check. Legally, that should clear Walmart automatically, but the woman’s mother is suing because Walmart should have checked their own pharmacy prescription records in her opinion (regardless of the fact that they’re confidential under federal law).

Of course, we get into another issue here, because Texas law doesn’t require the mental health ‘professional’ to inform the government that this person is a potential threat and should not be cleared to purchase a firearm. But, wait, if that’s the case… then why bother asking on the bloody form to begin with? Is it just to make honest people answer honestly? We all know criminals don’t follow laws, so why would a lie on a form be an issue?

Somehow, I think the wrong people are getting sued here… she should be suing the State of Texas if she really wants to change anything. But then, the State of Texas won’t settle out of court either, so she likely just wants money.

Opinions?

Oh looky: numbers. If you’re in Tennessee, roughly one in 25 of us is packing.

Chapelle’s third season delayed.

The GAO has concluded that the Federal government’s accounting and record-keeping is grossly inadequate. It is so inadequate that the GAO can not assert that they comply with generally accepted accounting principles. In English, this means they can not assert that the financial statements are free from material misstatements. The potential for grossly under funded (or unfunded) liabilities exists:

“Proper accounting and financial reporting practices are essential in the public sector,” Comptroller General David M. Walker wrote in a Dec. 14 cover letter to his agency’s audit report on consolidated financial statements for fiscal 2003 and 2004. “The U.S. government is the largest, most diverse, most complex, and arguably the most important entity on earth today. . . . Sound decisions on the current results and future direction of vital federal programs and policies are made more difficult without timely, reliable and useful financial and performance information.”

And then there’s this:

“We believe . . . that we owe the taxpayers no less than a private company would to its investors in being able to account for their money,” Springer said in an interview Friday. “We believe that’s a sign that we’re managing their money properly, if we can account for it and do that in a timely way.”

Governmental accountability would be great. However, the GAO is a governmental entity and, even if it could opine on valid financial data, may not act independently. As for some of the detail:

In their review, GAO auditors found that incomplete documentation and “weaknesses” in financial systems, record-keeping and financial reporting hurt the government’s ability to provide reliable information on assets, liabilities and costs. The greatest challenges are continuing “serious financial management problems” at the Defense Department, auditors reported. The government could not show that property and equipment inventory reports at Defense were correct, nor could it fully account for transactions between agencies.

[snip]

Springer also said financial statements have been completed in a more timely fashion. The 2004 consolidated report was released on Dec. 15, less than three months after the close of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. The 2003 report, in contrast, did not come out until the following February, and the 2002 report was not released until March.

Yawn. Some publicly traded companies, who have independent auditors staffed almost year round, release their report the day their fiscal year ends. In other words, the government’s financial statements are largely useless information that are not presented in a timely manner.

Bubba notes We don’t need no stinkin’ 4th or 5th Amendment. Apparently, the only one we need is the 3rd because, to my knowledge, it hasn’t been bastardized yet. Bubba then details how local law enforcement can’t even be bothered to obey the already unconstitutional state law. Give it a read.

This morning on the local talk radio show, they were having a contest. The folks at Patriotic Historical Documents were giving away posters of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence to anyone who could name where those documents were kept and how they were stored. I almost called in and said As toilet paper at the Capitol Building but I didn’t. It reminded me of this:

But I digress. I knew they were kept at the National Archives. I didn’t know that those documents are stored in a hermetically sealed, bullet proof container that contains helium gas to preserve the paper. Every night, the container is placed underground behind five ton steel and concrete doors. This structure can supposedly withstand a direct nuclear blast.

I found it ironic that so much effort, time and money would be spent to protect what basically is just paper. I found it even more ironic that, while the .gov goes through all this expense and effort to protect that document that restricts the power of the government, that it expends more expense and effort trying to usurp those limitations.

Turns out there’s a term for it:

Briefly stated, the Gell-Mann Amnesia effect is as follows. You open the newspaper to an article on some subject you know well. In Murray’s case, physics. In mine, show business. You read the article and see the journalist has absolutely no understanding of either the facts or the issues. Often, the article is so wrong it actually presents the story backward—reversing cause and effect. I call these the “wet streets cause rain” stories. Paper’s full of them.

In any case, you read with exasperation or amusement the multiple errors in a story, and then turn the page to national or international affairs, and read as if the rest of the newspaper was somehow more accurate about Palestine than the baloney you just read. You turn the page, and forget what you know.

That is the Gell-Mann Amnesia effect.

I doubt it would ever happen but it looks like the push is on. Jeff has the scoop. The bill is here.

In an update to the arrest of Jason, a reader who has been in contact with the Spokane County Sheriff’s department informs me that the department has no idea what he’s talking about.

That’s the title of this piece by Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX). A taste:

We are not yet living in a total police state, but it is fast approaching. The seeds of future tyranny have been sown, and many of our basic protections against government have been undermined. The atmosphere since 2001 has permitted Congress to create whole new departments and agencies that purport to make us safer – always at the expense of our liberty.

Read the whole thing.

Mother Jones, which ordinarily isn’t worth the paper it’s not printed on, has an informative piece on Eminent Domain.

And another cash-strapped city (Daytona) is planning to rob citizens and give their property to developers.

Brian Magnarini:

Take, for example, gun control. People should be outraged that the ban on automatic assault weapons was allowed to expire.

Actually, people should be glad that a bogus ban that outlawed guns that merely look like automatic assault weapons was allowed to expire.

Eeek! For our Christmas present, we found out our company was sold yesterday. And I was just hoping for a gift certificate… So far so good though, looks like we all keep our jobs, just have to move across the parking lot to another building. Ho ho ho!

A Roanoke Times editorial writes:

To put it in terms appropriate to the issue, Americans have been shooting blindly in the gun control/gun rights debate.

Stop with the cutesy puns and get to the point.

And their own government, which blocks collection or access to crucial data on firearms at the behest of gun-rights advocates, tied the blindfold in place. The National Research Council, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences, revealed the nation’s uncertain marksmanship in a study last week. Washington declines to collect gun ownership statistics and bars researchers’ access to Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms data on guns traced to crimes. Other information sources are inadequate.

Well, given that when trace data is available, some people misrepresent what it means, I don’t know that that is a bad idea. And there are valid reasons for not wanting gun trace data publicly available.

Without the necessary database, the study said, it’s impossible to accurately judge the effects of policies ranging from liberal concealed carry rights to tight gun controls.

As an academic observer put it, the study’s fundamental thrust was that “we don’t know anything about anything, and more research is needed.”

Actually, the CDC and NIJ concluded that there is no correlation between gun controls and crime. This report concluded the same thing but put a spin on it so that it could be turned into an issue. Or, as I said before: [anti gun folks] need more information so that they can get the result that they want.

That research won’t be possible until the government lifts its information roadblock.

The privacy concerns of the gun-rights lobby and its allies have always been dubious grounds for suppressing firearms data. Far more sensitive medical and financial information passes through the hands of government officials and researchers every day without repercussion. The denial of data appears instead to be an effort to keep unwelcome realities out of this deeply divisive issue.

Amazing to me how privacy rights are dubious. And just because the government is wrong in handing out other private data that it should also be wrong and pass out this data as well.

Jeff has the latest.

Looks like they’re finally about to make a plasma TV in a size I can be comfortable with. I may have to wait awhile for production to ramp up, but what the heck? I can buy stuff like food in the meantime (since I’d probably not be able to afford any afterward, or much of anything else for that matter).

The panels are capable of a high-definition resolution of 1920 pixels x 1080 pixels, a brightness of 1000 candelas per square meter and a contrast ratio of 2000:1, Sohn says.

Not to mention that 102″ diagonal…I’d better hurry and put it on my Christmas ‘05 list.

First Cooper said it, and now, according to Virginia Postrel, David Hackett Fischer is saying it:

Fischer turns to etymology, establishing a contrast between liberty, whose Latin roots suggest release from bondage, and freedom, which shares Northern European origins with friend. ”The original meanings of freedom and liberty,” he writes, ”were not merely different but opposed. Liberty meant separation. Freedom implied connection.” He makes much of this distinction throughout the book, favoring ”freedom” and often disparaging ”liberty” (associating it, for instance, with Southern racism). Yet he also declares that the creative tension between the two concepts has given English-speaking people ”a distinctive dynamism in their thought about liberty and freedom.”

Not that I’m trying to stir up a controversy or anything.

In what is a hideous incident, Jason and his wife detail what happens when you try to obey gun laws in Spokane, Wa. Give it a read then come back. You back? Are you good and pissed off? If so, contact the sheriff’s department:

Sheriff@SpokaneCounty.org

Or call them:

Crime Check 509-456-2233
Crime Prevention 509-477-2592

And if you know a good lawyer, let Jason know.

It’s amazing to me how a police officer with something to prove can, essentially, ruin somebody’s life.

Lobbygow has the details on (to use his various for euphemisms for dookie):

This Leviathan of a development firm has already shat two indescribably hideous piles of cement excrement into the heart of Brooklyn, Atlantic Center and Atlantic Terminal. Of course, these concrete coprolytes are only a warm-up for the big dump, the much ballyhooed Atlantic Yards Project, an orgy of neighborhood destroying crapola that adds insult to injury by introducing the specter of eminent domain.

Wal-Mart, with its tradition of trying to get politicians to take land, is at it again:

Ogden City wants Fernandez, along with residents of 33 other homes and owners of eight businesses, to move out to make way for a Super Wal-Mart.

“It’s not a palace. But it’s my home. It’s my home!” says Fernandez, a widow who keeps a big garden and lives on a Social Security check.

On summing up the issue:

“I don’t think in America we should ever be forced to do this,” says Hal LaFleur, who owns several of the area’s private parcels, including the 4-year-old building that houses his son-in-law’s welding business. “This is not for public use. This is for Wal-Mart.”

On gun laws in Canada:

“Every illegal gun begins life as a legal gun,” said Wendy Cukier, president of the Coalition for Gun Control.

Via everybody, it seems the Justice Department has decided that most gun laws are illegal:

. . . we conclude that the Second Amendment secures an individual right to keep and to bear arms. Current case law leaves open and unsettled the question of whose right is secured by the Amendment. Although we do not address the scope of the right, our examination of the original meaning of the Amendment provides extensive reasons to conclude that the Second Amendment secures an individual right, and no persuasive basis for either the collective-right or quasi-collective-right views. The text of the Amendment’s operative clause, setting out a “right of the people to keep and bear Arms,” is clear and is reinforced by the Constitution’s structure. The Amendment’s prefatory clause, properly understood, is fully consistent with this interpretation. The broader history of the Anglo-American right of individuals to have and use arms, from England’s Revolution of 1688-1689 to the ratification of the Second Amendment a hundred years later, leads to the same conclusion. Finally, the first hundred years of interpretations of the Amendment, and especially the commentaries and case law in the pre-Civil War period closest to the Amendment’s ratification, confirm what the text and history of the Second Amendment require.

Somebody tell the courts, quick. This isn’t new. The Bush adminstration’s justice department stated that it took an individual rights view to the second amendment pretty early on. However, Bush claimed to support the assault weapons ban. Go figure.

Trust me: don’t click this link.

(Via Dean Esmay’s blog)

It’s almost impossible to fully teach your dog about kids. It’s easier to teach your kids about dogs. Read Catherine’s observations on the issue.

Ok, I have two: Kevin Murphy in the comments section at XRLQ’s:

We don’t ban handguns here. We ban cheap guns, expensive guns, long short guns, short long guns, scary guns, fake guns, large bore guns, unsafe guns, effective guns, and concealed guns, but other than that we allow them.

John Stewart on The Daily Show:

The Bush administration has a real hard-on for abstinence.

Heh:

Senior Army officials told a wire service reporter Wednesday that within 24 hours of a soldier’s complaint to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld about shortages of vehicle armor in Iraq, protective armor had been installed on every vehicle in the soldier’s unit.

The SCOTUS will hear Kelo v. New London on February 22.

Fighting eminent domain abuse has rallied troops from both sides of the political spectrum:

The Institute for Justice has soldered progressive and conservative groups into a surprising coalition that is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to prohibit the taking of private property for economic development.

Twenty-five groups with assorted political views have filed briefs in support of the Fort Trumbull residents who are resisting the city’s effort to take their houses to make way for offices and a hotel that will strengthen the city’s tax base. The Institute for Justice is representing those residents before the high court, which will hear the case on Feb. 22.

The use of eminent domain riles libertarian groups, including the Cato Institute, because it infringes on an individual’s right to hold property. And it vexes progressive groups, including the NAACP and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, because it undermines the strength of community.

The Boston City Council has officially sanctioned the abuse of eminent domain:

The City Council voted yesterday to extend the Boston Redevelopment Authority’s urban renewal powers until 2015, allowing the agency to continue using eminent domain in private development projects.