While I practice WECSOG, I don’t practice do it myself electronics. But if I did, I’d build my own MP3 Player.

Actual headline:

Gun Trade-In Has Town’s Cops in Hot Seat

What really happened is the cop is selling used guns to equip his men with new ones. The result is that the Brady Campaign is crowing in Chicken Little fashion he’s putting guns on the street. So, annoying the Brady Campaign is the hot seat?

And Fox News is supposed to be a hotbed of conservative bias.

Jeff has the latest.

Well, now we know:

Attorney General nominee Alberto Gonzales told the Senate on Tuesday that he supports extending the expired federal assault weapons ban.

Actually, the possibility for extension came and went. Now, a new one would have to be passed. And the Bush administration gets the NRA endorsement?

The assault weapons ban has expired. 36 37 states have shall-issue concealed carry. Nine states have may-issue (i.e., corrupt systems of) carry. And five four states restrict carry completely. I think three of the no issue states could turn at some point in the future. Most of the asinine gun laws seem to be occurring in locations where the gun laws are already asinine anyway. By those measures, it seems that things are going fairly well for us pro-gun, pro-freedom types as long as we stay in one of our red states. However . . .

By all accounts, it looks like the US military will soon adopt the H&K XM8 assault rifle. This should be significant to all pro-gun folks for one reason: This will mark for the first time in the history of the United States that the standard issue military rifle will not be available to the civilian population at all. Think about it for a moment.

Sure, this has been effectively restricted since 1986 with the Hughes Amendment banning transfers of new machine guns to citizens. There are still some registered and transferable M16s. The M4 carbine has never really been available either but citizens, using already transferable receivers, could convert their legally owned M16s into an M4 configuration. The XM8 marks the first military rifle that there is no legal way for a US citizen who is not a dealer in weapons to own.

I find this terribly disconcerting.

update: My original source neglected Ohio, which recently passed shall issue. Hence, on the update to numbers above.

Former VP of the NRA Neal Knox, whose news items I often read to keep abreast of the gun issue, has passed away. His obituary is here.

Toothache turns out to be nail in man’s head.

Volunteer TV has a piece on gun lock legislation, which is pointless:

As Volunteer TV’s Lee Merrit reports, while some state legislators believe new law [requiring gun locks] could help prevent these tragedies, others say it’s not their decision to make.

“Certainly I’d vote for it,” says State Representative Joe Armstrong, (D) Knoxville.

“Laws like that are unenforceable,” says State Senator Tim Burchett, (R) Knoxville.

You can’t enforce it and it makes defensive guns useless.

Also, Shelby County, Alabama officers are getting spray firing from the hip bullet hoses. Actually, the article only mentions that they are getting semiautomatic AR15s. Odd how they’re just semiautomatics when the reporters report that police have them but when a regular Joe gets one, it’s an assault weapon.

A reader emails that the AP has picked up on the MD ballistic fingerprinting failure that I mentioned earlier:

A law requiring Maryland State Police to collect ballistics information from each handgun sold in the state has not aided a single criminal investigation and should be repealed, a state police report has concluded.

About $2.5 million has been spent on the program so far. Col. Thomas E. Hutchins, the state police superintendent, said he would prefer spending the money on proven crime-fighting techniques.

Maryland was the first state to adopt a ballistic fingerprinting law in April 2000. New York is the only other state to have such a database.

The Maryland law requires gun manufacturers to test-fire handguns and send a spent shell casing from each gun sold in the state to police. The casing’s unique markings are entered into a database for future gun tracing.

“The system really is not doing anything,” Hutchins said. “The guns that we find at crime scenes may not necessarily be the ones sold in Maryland, so there’s nothing to compare it to anyway.”

Robert Santiago writes:

Long-time Collier County land owner Jesse James Hardy has a showdown with a state judge early next month to determine whether the government can force him off his 160 acres of mosquito-infested property.

Last year, the state filed court papers for eminent domain to force Hardy to take a lump-sum buy out. Eminent domain allows states to take a person’s property for the public good, giving them fair market value.

Actually, it’s for public use not public good.

For the last three years the government has been trying to get Hardy to sell his land to make room for its $8 billion Everglades restoration project, which will flood land from Lake Okeechobee south to the ocean, artificially turning it into wetlands and, theoretically, restoring a pollution-free water flow.

Having failed, the state filed for eminent domain.

So, they want to take a man’s property and turn it into unusable land? I really don’t think environmentalism constitutes public use. As Hardy says:

”It’s my home and it’s where I run my business and where I raise my family,” said Hardy. “Why should I leave just so the government can conduct its billion-dollar science project?”

Elementary deduction.

Actual Headline: Teen not bitten by pit bull:

A teenager who was bitten by a dog Saturday was not attacked by a pit bull.

Galen Barrett, chief animal control officer for Council Bluffs, said Laura Rocha was bitten by a Laborador-mix (sic) dog at about 5:30 p.m. as she walked in the 100 block of South Ninth Street.

Rocha, 17, received a small laceration on her left buttock, Barrett said.

The dog may have some pit bull in it, but the city’s new pit bull ordinance doesn’t apply unless that is the animal’s primary breed, Barrett said. That means he can’t pursue the owners under the city’s new pit bull ordinance.

“This incident is being handled as a typical bite incident would be handled,” Barrett said.

All dog attacks should be handled the same way. It shouldn’t matter what specific breed did the biting. Aggressive and unrestrained dogs of almost any size are a nuisance if not dangerous. Breed specific legislation that recently passed in Council Bluffs is not only ineffective against pit bulls, it’s ineffective against dog bites.

Apparently, there is a poem entitled Say Uncle.

Via Adam, Sandra Clark confesses to, err, jumping the gun.

With all that’s been going on lately, it’s hard for me to keep up to date, especially with my blog posting. I’m stuck in a cubicle until our office furniture arrives sometime between now and the end of the month. When you’re in a cubicle and your monitor faces into both boss’ offices, you really don’t get to do a lot of blogging or blog reading or news reading or much of anything else. Heh…I actually have to work.

So today I get in and try to catch up on SayUncle’s writings and find that the corporate content blocker has blocked the site, apparently due to some posting on p – o – r – n down below. But I can still get to the editor page. Go figure.

Anyway, the missus and I, after watching Vegas Vacation last night, decided to spend some quality time catching up on the Golden Globes. That’s some quality boring stuff right there, man… But I found it interesting, for some reason, that two of the five men nominated for best actor in a comedy/musical were ex cast members of In Living Color.

Don’t get me wrong. I think this announcement is a good thing:

President George W. Bush will not actively seek to ban gay marriage in the United States during his second term in office — a stance certain to anger the social conservatives who helped re-elect him.

In an interview, The Washington Post daily asked Bush if he would aggressively lobby senators during his second term in office to pass an amendment outlawing marriage in all 50 states.

“I do believe it’s necessary,” Bush said. But he went on to imply that pursuing it in the US Senate, which must approve a constitutional amendment by 67 of its 100 votes, would be futile.

The bad part is that this is a case in which Bush caters to a base and then leaves them out to dry. Sure, he’s hiding behind the fact (and it is fact) that the Constitutional amendment would not pass but if he’s unwilling to act based on what his supporters expected, it’s not a good sign. After all, what other support did he get that he might betray?

Update: Nevermind, he didn’t mean it.

Via Ned:

“The moment an idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.” – John Adams, A Defense of the American Constitutions, 1787

I concur with Lobbygow:

The adoption rate of any new tehnological (sic) gadget, gewgaw or gizmo will be directly proportional to the extent to which it engages the thumb in an intuitive and enjoyable manner. When it comes to navigating content, this effect is even more pronounced.

Hey, I’m sexy. Err, no. Sexist. I get those confused.

Seriously, my post was in jest but you can’t please everybody. It’s not like such accusations haven’t occurred before with a variety of other supposedly women bloggers. When I first predicted her blog would be popular, I did so for a few reasons: she writes well; women tend to draw more traffic; and eventually someone would accuse her of being a dude. It’s happened before.

Conversely, I’ve been accused of being Libertarian Girl. Though apparently I’m not clever enough to pull it off. That is odd how someone would accuse you of it then call you not clever enough to do it.

And, of course, I agree with LG’s assessment that laws apply to everyone. I do, however, think that someone who holds themself out as Libertarian would address the licensing bit.

For the record, I am not Libertarian Girl. And I’m not clever.

My source confirms that the supposed auction of Knoxville Police Department confiscated firearms mentioned earlier was in fact a private collection and not confiscated arms from the KPD.

Been gone for a bit but here are some random gun things worth your time:

CounterTop addresses the newest bogeyman, assault pistols:

“This weapon is particularly worrisome based on its caliber and its ability to pierce armor,” said NYPD Inspector Michael Coan. “Although it may be useful for the military, we see no reason why a civilian should possess such a weapon.”

Of course, this pistol isn’t available to the public. Media hysteria in full effect, yo.

The Geek quotes Farnam on South Africa’s new gun registry:

What was fraudulently marketed as a benign “licensing” proposal has now shown itself to be a plan (and it was from the beginning) for the elimination of the private ownership of all firearms.

Tennessee is (once again) looking at legislation that states:

SB 0026* – Norris
Possession of firearms where alcohol is served. Allows a person with firearm permit to have a firearm in a building that serves alcohol if they themselves are not consuming alcohol and the owner of the establishment has not prohibited firearms on the premises. TCA Secs. 39-17-0000; 39-17-1305
Senate Status: Introduced 1/13/2005

And Les is back to his old tricks with Gun Links.

Reader Peter G, shoot me an email. I’ve lost your email address.

Went to the Evil Gun Show today. While I was there, I realized that I didn’t have the itch to buy anything. It’s not that I have enough guns (good heavens, no!), but I just don’t have anything on my Must Have list. Maybe I’m not thinking hard enough.

I did pass on something that I’m probably going to regret. I saw a Marlin Camp 45 Carbine. Now, I see the 9mm ones all the time, but this is the first one I’d seen in .45 ACP. I wouldn’t have hesitated, but it was a bit over what I had budgeted to spend at this show. Oh well, I’m sure it’ll be there the next time….

Say Uncle’s post on ballistic fingerprinting drew an Instalanche the other day. Kevin of the Smallest Minority follows that up with a comprehensive examination of why “ballistic fingerprinting” won’t work as advertised.

Kevin’s blog is stop #2 on Thibodeaux’s Daily Blogread, right after Say Uncle (of course). Great post, as always.

Mexican people endure quite a bit to come to this great nation of ours. They come here with a dream to work hard and earn a living. In Vegas that dream apparently involves standing on a street corner passing out pamphlets containing hardcore pornography that advertise in room strippers and escorts, which you should know translates as hookers.

I realize that Vegas is not a family oriented sort of town and is more toward the debauchery side of things, like gambling, drinking and nekkid (or partially nekkid) women. I could understand if they passed out a flyer that had a scantily clad lady on it with a phone number but they were passing out flyers with some pretty hard core stuff on it (we’re talking looks like she’d been hit with an axe type of stuff). These flyers litter the streets. You can’t step any where in Vegas without getting porn on your shoes.

A lot of families come to Vegas. You can see the teen and pre-teen boys walking with their families trying to look at the porn on the street while trying not to appear like they’re looking at it. I know, you never thought you’d hear me say it, but there ought to be a law.

BTW, I am blogging this from the Vegas airport which has what is apparently the slowest wifi on Earth.

All, what, one of you, right? My mom sent me a link to The Dead Pelican, which looks like a Louisiana version of The Drudge Report.

Louisiana news. It’s like a train wreck, sometimes. Enjoy!

We took Boudreaux to the doctor recently for his 4-month checkup. The doctor asked us several safety-type questions, including whether or not we had a swimming pool.

Haha, just kidding! She asked us if we had guns in the house. Of course, I understand that she’s only concerned for the boy’s safety.

Afterwards, I did a little research. According to the CDC, 71 children under the age of 5 died from firearm injury in 2002. That’s approximately how many die each year from drowning in the bathtub. She didn’t ask us whether we had a bathtub. According to the CSPC, “about 300″ children under 5 drown in a swimming pool each year, “usually a pool owned by their family.” She didn’t ask us whether we had a swimming pool.

Also (from the CDC link above) in 2002, 32 children under age 5 died from “Adverse effects – Medical care.” So the good news is that doctors are only half as deadly as guns. That’s a relief!

You step away from the blog for a few hours and you get:

Instalanched
Threatened with legal action
And about a hundred comments and emails (no doubt due to the Instalanche)

I’m up $60, though.

Well, Les did. I miss Thursday gun links. Les asks: So, what guns are you buying in the new year?

I’m not sure what I will get this year, however here’s my current wish list:

An AK (this I will definitely get this year). I’m torn between building one like this or converting a Saiga.

I’m also in the market for a pocket gun, though I don’t know which one.

I will also very likely build an AR15 in 6.8MM SPC, like this one from Mid South.

I’m also looking into a plinking pistol, such as a Walther P22.

And I want a suppressor to go with that Walther as well as my Ruger 10/22, like this one from Tactical Inc.

And the Springfield SOCOM looks pretty awesome.

And I want a New England Survivor in 308 Win, available at your friendly neighborhood Wal-Mart.

So, what are you getting?

But you think I am. In WordPress, I can publish a post with a future date/time stamp and it shows up when that date/time occurs. So, all this stuff you’re reading was written yesterday. The real SayUncle is currently at a secure and undisclosed location that may or may not involve gambling.

Non-blogging tomorrow may be light. Or not. I’m not telling.

John discusses the need for a new round. Also, here’s the article he’s talking about:

The 6.8×43mm SPC was conceived by a U.S. Special Operations soldier in a quest to improve the terminal ballistics of the M4 Carbine. The U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit and others assisted the Spec Ops team heading the project. Although the main objective was increased lethality, the new cartridge would go far beyond that in terms of accuracy and performance.

After selecting the .30 Remington as the parent case–a decision that required only slight modification to the M16’s bolt face–the case was shortened, given a new shoulder and blown out to maximum capacity for a new high-performance propellant. After testing a variety of bullets in 5.56mm, 6mm, 6.5mm, 7mm and 7.62mm, a bullet of 6.8mm was selected. This .270-caliber, 115-grain projectile has a ballistic coefficient of .350, offering optimum lethality and range.

Other neat stuff:

I can tell you that it provides one MOA accuracy out to more than 600 meters. It has a flight path almost identical to that of the .308 Winchester, less chamber pressure than the .223 and fits into the M16 magazine envelope. Tests in 10 percent ballistic gelatin show incapacitation as good or better than the .308.

The round is currently available commercially in limited supply. Once the market on it stabilizes, I may build an AR15 chambered in 6.8.

Or, you know, just annoy me.

10 – That 6′5″ black rapping cowboy.

9 – Nothing like heading to the head, having a seat, and realizing the toilet seat was been warmed for you.

8 – A while back, Yahoo’s front page was running an ad for Ellen Degeneres’ show. It featured a flash animation of her dancing. The sight of Degeneres shaking her man ass gives me the willies.

7 – The combination of powdered donuts and pickle juice.

6 – David Caruso

5 – That weird lady from Poltergeist

4 – Whenever someone uses the non-word hisself

3 – Men who, when at the toilet, piss directly into the water as though they’re delighted with the noise it makes. Guys, there is that little section in the bowl just above the water line and below the rim (make sure you keep it below the rim) that silences that sound. Geez, do you do that at a chick’s house when you’re picking her up for a date?

2 – Whenever someone pronounces et cetera as ek cetera. It’s a T not a K.

1 – Gum on sidewalks.

But made for a woman: Bruce emails a link to a gun for women only.

The Brady Campaign releases its annual grading propaganda:

Thirty-one states get a “D” or an “F” in measurements of the gun laws in those states, according to nationwide ratings released today by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence united with the Million Mom March in partnership with state-based gun violence prevention organizations across the nation.

In the eighth year of the release of the grades, only three states actually changed grades, two for the worse and one for the better. But a number of states strengthened laws linking guns and domestic violence, and others defeated the most extreme concealed weapons proposals such as allowing concealed guns in bars and schools. Overall, there is concern gun violence in some states could increase in 2005 because Congress failed to renew the federal assault weapon ban, which expired last fall, and many states with reasonable laws border on states that lack restrictions on assault weapons.

Sounds like a gain to me.

SayUncle is a fictitious name. No person by that name exists. It is an internet pseudonym some anonymous goober uses to post his opinions about life, the universe, and everything. Therefore, there is no PayPal, SunTrust, Ebay, nor any other account associated with an actual person whose name is Say Uncle.

My wife likes that show 24. Last night, we caught the season opener (thanks TiVo). The show takes place in real time. And the end of the episode, some bigwig was kidnapped (with a big shoot out) at the end with about a minute and a half left. Then part two kicks in at the next even hour and kidnapping crime scene is swarmed with uniformed police and EMT types. So, since this is real time, you’re telling me that the authorities got to this subdivision in a minute and a half?

Deb notes that as gun ownership rises, crime drops. Of course, correlation does not equal causation but it does discredit the claim that gun control affects crime.

You’re kidding right:

Here’s a tip for Magalang, JC Watts, Armstrong Williams and the rest of you: quit taking money from rich white guys and berating your own people, and we’ll quit calling you out for the buckrakers that you are. Deal?

That’s from Oliver Willis, who is on the take from other rich white guys. I figured after the election, Willis might stop being such a hypocritical twit (after all, he had an election to lose). Apparently, that’s not the case.

I hope those rich white guys kept the receipt because they’re damn sure not getting any sort of quality for their money.

I found yet another web comic strip yesterday: Piled Higher and Deeper. I’ve been perusing the archives, and it’s bringing back some memories. It’s nice to know that my *mumble mumble* years of grad school weren’t terribly unusual, as grad school years go.

Via Two–Four, we learn this interesting tidbit:

If you’re ticketed by Green Bay police, you’ll get more than a fine. You’ll get fingerprinted, too. It’s a new way police are cracking down on crime.

If you’re caught speeding or playing your music too loud, or other crimes for which you might receive a citation, Green Bay police officers will ask for your drivers license and your finger. You’ll be fingerprinted right there on the spot. The fingerprint appears right next to the amount of the fine.

Police say it’s meant to protect you– in case the person they’re citing isn’t who they claim to be….Police say they want to prevent the identity theft problem that Milwaukee has, where 13 percent of all violators give a false name….Police stress that the prints are just to make sure you are who you claim to be and do not go into any kind of database; they simply stay on the ticket for future reference if the identity is challenged.

Oh well then…since it’s for our own good, I guess it’s all right. After all, they promise not to put it in a database or anything like that.

Like everyone who knew anything about guns predicted all along, the ballistic fingerprinting pipe dream doesn’t work:

A report by the Maryland State Police that recommends repeal of a law requiring collection of ballistic imaging information “shatters one of the favorite myths of gun control extremists,” the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) said today.

In its progress report on the Integrated Ballistics Identification System (IBIS), the Maryland State Police Forensic Sciences Division recommends that “this program be suspended, a repeal of the collection of cartridge cases from current law be enacted and the Laboratory Technicians associated with the program be transferred to the DNA database unit.” So far, Maryland has spent $2.5 million over the past four years, with nothing to show for it. The report admitted, “Guns found to be used in the commission of crime…are not the ones being entered into” the system.

Turns out, that by enforcing the gun laws already on the books, murders decline:

Since February 11, 2002, members of the Memphis Police Department (MPD), Shelby County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office have met weekly to review every arrest involving a firearm that occurs in Shelby County. As a result, 4,305 arrests have been reviewed. This has resulted in some 500 indictments in federal court and more than 150 guilty pleas in state court to “above-range” offers for illegally possessing firearms to avoid the higher federal penalties for firearms related offenses. In addition, since 2002, some 1,500 cases have been prosecuted for murders and robberies involving the use of firearms.

Go have a look.

A while back, I predicted Libertarian Girl would be a popular blog. I decided today to check back in on her. I was right. For a newer blog, she’s doing quite well and I played a small part in that. Kudos to her.

But this isn’t a post about that, this is a post about this:

This post is incredibly dumb.

So Miami Beach has a regulation against roadside vendors (and for purposes of this post their shall be no discussion of whether or not such a regulation is a good idea). Someone calls up and asks how to sell stuff on the roadside. Person answering the phone says you can’t.

But Michelle Malkin says the regulators are “boneheaded” because they should have seen how deserving the caller was of being given an exemption.

Then she calls Malkin a bonehead. I think that, as a Libertarian, her primary concern would be whether or not such a regulation is a good idea. Maybe I’m crazy, but I’m not so certain she’s a Libertarian. Of course, this being the blogosphere and all, I’m not so certain she’s a girl either (coincidentally, the Gender Genie is, though the score is close).

Apparently, somebody recently signed my email address up for these various pro-gun organizations newsletters. While I appreciate the thought, the fact is that I follow the gun issue pretty closely and by the time their newsletters get to me, I’ve probably already blogged about the issues in it.

The VPC has kicked in to full blown hysteria mode on SKS rifles:

SKS assault rifles like the one reported by police to have been used in an ambush shooting on Sunday, January 9, to murder one police officer and critically wound another in Ceres, CA, are a primary threat to law enforcement, the Violence Policy Center (VPC) reported today. In 2004 at least six law enforcement officers were slain by SKSs. In the wake of the shooting, the VPC called on President George W. Bush to use the Administration’s executive authority over firearm imports to ban the import of all foreign-made assault rifles. Such an action would not require Congressional approval. The Bush Administration has specifically authorized the importation of SKS assault rifles made in Albania and the former Yugoslavia.

The VPC notes the SKS was not covered by the recently expired assault weapons ban and say that is why the ban should not only be renewed but strengthened. As a side note, I have been trying to find executive order in the Constitution. It’s not there in case you wanted to know.

Meanwhile, a local shooting involves and SKS rifle as well. The press keeps calling it a cheap AK47 knock off, which is not the case. Of course, the press still thinks Chai Vang used an SKS when he used a Saiga (which actually is an AK47 knock off).

A Murfreesboro paper has an article on Ronnie Barrett who said the 60 Minutes piece on 50 calibers misleads:

“I fear Diaz played ‘60 Minutes’ right down where he wanted them,” said Barrett. “The effect the segment had is it left people thinking there is a dangerous gun out there that legislation needs to be done against.”

In defense of the legality of his product, Barrett cited the media war waged in the 1980s by anti-gun activists bent on banning “Saturday Night Specials,” another term for small, easily concealed pistols. When that failed, they attempted to ban assault-style rifles, which held up in the courts but expired in 2004. Now they have a new target, he said, a rifle that has made headlines for its effectiveness and versatility in Iraq and other combat theaters.

“There’s other cartridges that would blast through half-inch steel plate,” Barrett said, referring to the ability of his rifles to punch through armor at long distances. “What they didn’t tell you on the ‘60 Minutes’ interview is there are cartridges right on the heels of the .50-caliber.”

Michael Bane is all over the 60 Minutes piece. Just keep scrolling.

Also, here’s Alexander Hamilton on gun control.

Sad news. The Council Bluffs pit bull ban will stand:

A Pottawattamie County judge Monday rejected an effort to stop enforcement of a pit bull ban. Dan Curnyn filed the lawsuit in an attempt to stop Council Bluffs’ new ban on pit bulls, saying his dog “Marley” is anything but vicious.

“You’ll get hurt if you trip over her in the middle of the night,” Curnyn said.

Marley is diabetic, blind and crippled, but under the new ordinance, Marley must be licensed and insured for at least $100,000, which she is. Curnyn must have a “beware of dog” sign, and a 6-foot fence around his yard, which he does.

Even though Marley is in compliance, the new law prohibits Curnyn from getting a new pit bull.

In other news, Pit Bulls are mean and sticky:

“It’s just wrong,” said Zachary Straight. “I understand there might be a few viscous ones. I ain’t saying there aren’t some vicious ones. But I don’t understand how they can come up with an ordinance and put all the pit bulls out.”

All is not lost as the bill will be enforced until a final ruling:

Even though the judge denied the temporary restraining order, he did set a trial date to decide whether to permanently enjoin the city from imposing the pit bull ban. It will be heard June 2.

I’ve been watching that TV show Conspiracy? that comes on one of the history channels. It’s pretty entertaining. So far, I’ve seen one that ties Muslim terrorists to the OKC bombing, one on the moon landing being faked and one on the RFK assassination.

I talked about the OKC one before.

The RFK one is pretty interesting. Apparently, there are allegations of an LAPD cover up and there were tapes played of the police investigators telling witnesses who were being interrogated that they didn’t see what they said they saw. What they thought they saw was a woman in a polka dot dress and a man fleeing the scene saying we shot him. Police reports were changed to make the statements say they shot him. One guy was saying that (Sirhan)² was a brainwashed assassin programmed to forget the incident after it happened.

The moon landing one was interesting too. People claim that the flag blowing in the wind is a giveaway since the moon doesn’t have any wind. Also, if you speed up the tapes of the astronauts frolicking on the moon, it looks just like someone running.

The show also presents debunking of the various conspiracy theories. It’s good entertainment.

Looky, y’all. Blake is back.

Completely unrelated but which spelling is correct: Ya’ll or Y’all?

Yes, Chuck, there should be a special place in Hell for people like that.

Tsunamis, mudslides, 80 inches of snow in Nevada, it’s been freakishly warm here in East Tennessee for January (high 60s), sea level rising, and the occasional earthquake. What is up with Mother Nature lately?

Adam Groves emails about this commentary (scroll down):

The city of Knoxville is hard up for money, but does that justify auctioning off more than 100 guns? Check the Web site powellauction.com. You’ll find KPD-confiscated handguns and rifles set to be sold Jan. 15. What’s the background check on bidders? And how many citizens will be injured by these weapons back in circulation?

Victor Ashe and Phil Keith bought back guns. Bill Haslam and Sterling Owen IV are selling them.

Sandra Clark seems a bit upset about it. I don’t know why. Selling guns lawfully to law abiding citizens shouldn’t be an issue. I’m not sure about the background check issue because I don’t know how auctions work but it sounds like a good place to get a good deal.

Here’s (with pics) the auction page and here’s a list of guns for sale. It’s a pity I’ll be out of town this weekend or I’d be there Saturday.

Update: Any Floridians can buy guns from police too!

Update 2: HL notes in comments that auctioneers of firearms must have a Federal Firearms License. The North Carolina Auctioneer Licensing Board guidelines confirm that in a consignment auction (where the auctioneer takes possession of items prior to sale) an FFL is needed and, therefore, background checks would be done. In an estate auction where the auctioneer does not take possession, no FFL is required.

Note to Sandra Clark: that took about one minute of Googling.

Update 3: Michael Silence does some actual reporting and notes:

KPD spokesman Darrell DeBusk notes that the police department is not selling any firearms at the auction, and has not changed its policy on that.

Then I suppose the guns listed at auction (they’re listed as gun collection) may not be from the city but some other collection.

Security is tight for the inauguration. People are trying to guess the gun. I think it’s an H&K G36 chambered for a different caliber (like 308 or maybe 6.8MM). Can’t tell though. By the way, you can convert your SL-8 into a G36 configuration (same operating system). See here.

Oregon is still pushing for a ban.

More myths debunked about supposed assault weapons:

The Justice Department’s interviews also gave lie to the notion that so-called assault weapons in private hands decrease the safety of police officers and citizens. Only about 8 percent of the inmates used one of the models covered in the now-expired assault weapons ban, passed under Bill Clinton in 1994. If the supposed increased firepower of these firearms truly made them attractive to lawbreakers, the percentage would have been much higher.

More on the San Fran Gun Ban:

San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors is up to its old tricks again, trying to control violent crime by penalizing law-abiding citizens. In their infinite wisdom, the supervisors want to ban private citizens from owning handguns, while the very criminals they seek to undermine are free to purchase them on the black market.

Led by Chris Daly and supported by outgoing board president Matt Gonzalez and fellow supervisors Tom Ammiano, Bevan Dufty and Michela Alioto-Pier, the proposal is a disaster in the making. Nevertheless, they plan to put the misguided measure on the ballot in November, and, considering San Franciscans’ propensity for supporting feel-good laws with little thought for the long-term consequences, it could very well pass.

But should this passage occur, the supervisors might find themselves in for a bit of a challenge. Little thought seems to have gone into the practical elements of this drastic ban, such as enforcement and possible ramifications. These are minor considerations for the Board of Supervisors, perhaps, but some of us have more than a few questions.

For instance, because there’s no public gun registry for the City, let alone for California, how will San Francisco start its collection efforts? The ban claims not to “create or require any local license or registration for any firearm,” but how else does the City plan on keeping track of the process? Snooping in federal files? The ban applies “exclusively to residents of the City and County of San Francisco,” but what if a person claims to keep a gun at a friend’s house in the East Bay?

I commented on not knowing various knife laws yesterday. Via Jed who left a comment, there are quite a few.

At first, the gun control bogey man was handguns. In fact, the Brady Campaign used to be Handgun Control, Inc. and they advocated handgun bans. They were unsuccessful. The next bogeyman was invented in the late 1980s and early 1990s, so called assault weapons. Assault weapons are merely regular guns that look like military guns. These guns function like any other semi-automatic but look mean. Both bogeymen were made to be that way through misleading statistics and, in some cases, outright lies. The latest bogeyman is the dreaded 50 caliber.

Jeff’s weekly check on the bias focuses on 50 calibers.

I’ve never really wanted one of these things but now I kind of half way want to buy one just to annoy gun controllers.

Four folks at CBS were fired for the forged memos story. None of them were Dan Rather. CBS says it’s sloppy journalism. I say it’s bias.

I’d bet that, in the future, media outlets will be less likely to put their source documents on the web.

The Supreme Court will not hear an appeal by the gun industry regarding frivolous lawsuits:

The Supreme Court declined Monday to consider dismissing a lawsuit seeking to hold gun manufacturers responsible for the 1999 shooting of a letter carrier by a white supremacist.

Without comment, justices let stand a ruling of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that reinstated a lawsuit against gun manufacturers and distributors. The companies’ weapons were used by Buford Furrow to kill Filipino-American Joseph Ileto and wound five people at a Jewish day care center in a Los Angeles-area rampage.

The high court’s move, which allows the lawsuit to proceed toward trial, is good news for gun-control groups who say increased liability will stop industry sales tactics that put weapons into the hands of criminals. Several cities nationwide have sought to sue gun manufacturers, but with little success.

Seems to be the norm for the SCOTUS and any gun issue.

Abbas elected president of a non-country.

Say Uncle does a fantastic job keeping us apprised of the anti-gun nonsense out there. One thing I’ve noticed is that the gun-grabbers keep re-using the same old tired bromides, so I propose a little game to go along with the articles: Gun Control Poker.

Spades (The Bad Guys)
A - Terrorists are Enemy Number One. Of course, terrorism is the modern-day general purpose trump card; gun-grabbers aren’t the only ones playing it.
K - “K” is for “Koncealed Karry,” bringing Wild West Mayhem and Blood in the Streets to your State!
Q - It was a tough race, but the NRA and the Evil Gun Lobby only came in 3rd place on the enemies list. Keep your eye on them, though!
J - “J” is for “New Jack,” those ’90s criminals. Criminals are well known for being law-abiding, so let’s pass laws that say they can’t have guns.
10 - 10% of police officers killed in the line of duty probably had something in common, so let’s gin up some bogus statistics.

Hearts (Tug at Your Emotions)
A - I believe the children are our future, so let’s teach them well and let them lead the way. Away from guns.
K - “K” is for “Knowledge,” which comes from Reason, which gives us reasonable gun laws.
Q - Here’s a Quiz: what are the 4 rules of gun safety? 1. Ban guns 2. Ban guns 3. Ban guns 4. Ban guns.
J - If somebody “jacks” your gun, you’d want it to be a smart gun and not work for them, right?
10 - If it “saves just one life,” why not 10?

Diamonds (The Crown Jewels of the Gun-Grabbers)
A - The Ace in the Hole of all gun control proponents: “well regulated militia.”
K - Live like a King: get rich suing gun dealers and manufacturers.
Q - The subjects of Her Majesty Elizabeth Regina II can tell you about gun registration. It works! Sorta.
J - Any man Jack can buy guns at a guns show without a background check. Let’s close thoseloopholes.
10 - The X-ring is the goal of sport shooting, and that’s the only legitimate use for guns!

Clubs (Weapons)
A - “A” is for Assault Weapon, and naturally they are at the top of the list of Evil Firearms.
K - As Field Artillery is the King of Battle, so is the .50 caliber rifle the King of Clubs.
Q - Like the Queen on the chess board, a sniper rifle can kill from long range.
J - For all those gang-bangin’ New Jacks, we have the Saturday Night Special.
10 - More than 10 rounds? That’s a high-capacity magazine!

And finally, The Joker – When I hear that Grandpa’s old .30-30 fires armor-piercing ammo, I just have to laugh.

Deal me in!

UPDATE: Changed the Jack of Diamonds to be just loopholes in general.

Two killed at 15-year-old girl’s birthday party.

We have here a party that went wrong. Some of the individuals got into an argument, words were said, bottles were thrown. And finally, guns were drawn. Amazingly, no gun control bias in it so far, but let’s wait and see if they do any follow-up stories.

Barry, my favorite hoplophobe (yes, I know you don’t think that’s funny – but I still do so neener neener) is celebrating his two year blogoversary by doing a year in review.

Also, Barry puts on his punditry/media critic hat and slams a local columnist for spreading info that isn’t sourced. Said columnist happens to think that most Bush voters are awaiting the apocalypse. You know, little stuff.

Cato’s Doug Bandow calls Eminent Domain abuse legal plunder:

Alas, this case was no anomaly. As Steven Greenhut, an editorial writer for the Orange County Register, observes in his timely new book, Abuse of Power: How the Government Misuses Eminent Domain (Seven Locks Press, 311 pages, $17.95), “governments increasingly use eminent domain to take property from one private owner in order to give it to another private owner.” A small home owner or businessman then “must surrender his home or business because a wealthy developer — perhaps a big campaign contributor and mover and shaker in the community, or an out-of-town corporation promising an expanded tax base for the city — has bigger and better plans for it.”

James has an article at the Carnival on the pros and cons of packing in your pocket. By the way, I’m in the market for a pocket gun. I’ve been perusing the articles at Mouseguns. I’m thinking about the Kel-Tec 9MM. Any thoughts, dear reader, on a good mouse gun?

A local man, returning with cash given to him by his dying father, was pulled over. He had $19K in the trunk that he told them about. The police told the man he’d donate that money to the drug task force. He sued to get his money back and won. Read the account of it here. He was carrying a gun without a permit and had a switch blade [I didn't realize those were illegal to carry - Ed.] Said the victim of extortion:

“I don’t want to see them in jail, but they don’t deserve to be left in positions of service and trust,” he said. “Police are supposed to protect and serve. Well, if you can’t trust the police on the road, who can you trust?”

Actually, I think they should go to jail. The officers’ lawyer:

“They’ve done nothing wrong, so there should be no effect on their careers,” said Garrett, who in other cases has represented clients whose property has been seized by police. “And they should not get a criminal conviction out of this.”

They did too. They allegedly lied and tried to extort a man and a jury agreed. They should go to jail. Witt’s account of the incident:

“He had $10,000 laid out on the table,” Witt said. “He told me that I was going to ‘donate’ the rest of the money to their drug fund, and he would give me a receipt for that. He said that a drug dog had hit on the car, and he told me that they could take all of the money and the car, if they was so minded, on grounds of suspicion of drugs.”

Witt said Aikens also told him, falsely, that in Tennessee, it is illegal to carry more than $10,000 in cash.

The officers’ lawyer:

“You need to consider the source of those statements,” said Aikens’ attorney, Scott Jones. “I don’t think your ordinary citizen is going to have a .25 caliber pistol in his back waistband, a switchblade knife in his pocket and $19,000 for which he can offer no plausible explanation as to where it came from. With multiple charges still pending against him, he is likely to say whatever is in his best interest to get a favorable resolution to those charges.”

Carrying a gun while carrying a large amount of cash is perfectly rational (though the man should get a permit) and he had an explanation for the cash (even though he is not required to justify why he’s carrying cash). I would take Mr. Witt’s word over the word of two extortionists, whether they wear a uniform or not. But maybe I’m a little weird.

Here’s a hysterical piece on the 50 caliber rifles:

A .50-caliber sniper rifle can hit a target at 4,500 feet, shatter bulletproof limousines, penetrate sandbags, earth berms, armored vehicles, commercial planes, and drill through the walls (and living rooms) of 10 suburban houses lined up one after another. The Geneva Conventions don’t prohibit .50-caliber weapons’ use against military personnel, and army manuals describe its usefulness in battle. But the weapon’s use on civilians and in civilian areas is prohibited.

Oddly enough — or maybe not so oddly in the twilight zone of Second Amendment zealotry — you can buy a .50-caliber weapon from your friendly mail-order gun dealer. The Barrett line of .50-caliber sniper rifles, patented in 1987, is the “One Shot One Kill” enthusiasts’ gun of choice. After its introduction and wide use in the first Gulf War, it made some famous cameos in the arsenals of infamous separatists in the 1990s (Timothy McVeigh owned one, the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas, had some). The .50-caliber weapon is also used by civilian police forces, although not by the area’s largest forces — the Daytona Beach Police Department and Volusia’s and Flagler’s sheriff’s offices.

Disregarding the hysteria and some of the lies, if a Constitutionally enumerated right is comparable to the Twilight Zone, what about the other rights? But never fear, the unimpeachable 60 minutes is on the case:

With the expiration of the “assault” weapons ban, leftists are looking for other ways to whittle away at the Second Amendment. Liberal mouthpiece 60 Minutes will aid this effort on Sunday as they try to argue that .50 caliber rifles are terrorist weapons. As usual, they interview the highly discredited Violence Policy Center.

Alphie provides some good history on 50 cals. Give it a read. More on 50 caliber lies at KABA.

Update: Jed and Ravenwood have more.

A St. Paul Pioneer Press editorial says police should be allowed to carry guns. They are referring to the like you and me only better err Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act:

To her credit, Wisconsin Attorney General Peggy Lautenschlager has pointed out this statutory discrepancy to the governor and senior legislators and noted that they need to craft legislation giving the Standards Board, which she oversees, the authority to set up state firearms standards for law enforcement officers.

While we typically favor local government control, we think the Wisconsin Legislature would be wise to give the Standards Board the authority to do this. In supporting these legislative changes, we join the Wisconsin Professional Police Association, the state’s largest police organization, with more than 10,000 members in more than 375 agencies.

“Having a uniform standard is better than not having one and letting the court’s ferret out the case law,” WPPA lobbyist Jim Palmer told us in a recent telephone interview.

We agree.

Per Packing.org, Wisconsin is one of only four states that have no carry provisions for citizens. I wonder how the paper feels about private citizen CCW? The St. Paul Press apparently isn’t oppositional to the NRA:

We can save her some time by directing her to the National Rifle Association. While the powerful Washington lobbying group is often pilloried for its efforts to derail the assault-weapon ban and other gun-control legislation, it’s also the largest gun-safety education organization in the country.

“Over 2,000 public and private law enforcement and military instructors received NRA firearms training or attended NRA-organized armorer schools in 2004,” said Ron Kirkland, director of the NRA’s Law Enforcement Activities Division.

Since 1960, the NRA has trained more than 50,000 law enforcement firearm instructors in police departments and the military. Today, more than 12,000 NRA-certified instructors are training police officers nationwide.

In other words, this is the branch of the NRA that everyone should be able to support.

John Lott, whose research is questionable, addresses his somewhat critics of the NAS. Actually, I kid. He doesn’t address his critics but does make a good point about the study (which is the same point made here repeatedly):

The big news is that the academy’s panel couldn’t identify any benefits of the decades-long effort to reduce crime and injury by restricting gun ownership. The only conclusion it could draw was: Let’s study the question some more (presumably, until we find the results we want).

Lott noted some CCW studies (ahem, his) were ignored in the NAS conclusions.

Speaking of studies, apparently no amount of evidence or statistical data is relevant as long as you can find one extremely sad story:

Hunting statistics don’t do much to explain the bullet that smashed Casey Burns’ car window and struck her in the head near her home in North Whitehall Township a little over a month ago. Nor do the civil charges filed against a deer hunter begin to settle the score in a public debate about the safety of using high-powered rifles in populated areas.

This shooting may have been an accident and the result of carelessness, but it demonstrated in graphic terms what can happen when people and development encroach on game lands, and when hunting regulations — specifically the use of shotguns vs. high-powered rifles — lag behind the times. It’s time for the Pennsylvania Game Commission to revisit these rules and see how they apply to Lehigh and Northampton counties, with an eye to make deer hunting safer.

Jess Bravin at the Wall Street Journal has a piece on the recent Justice Department memo that states the second amendment guarantees an individual right to bear arms. Note that the JD concludes this but also concluded that all current federal gun laws are constitutional. Some comments:

Although scholars long have noted the ambiguity of the 27-word amendment, courts generally have interpreted the right to “keep and bear arms” as applying not to individuals but rather to the “well-regulated militia” maintained by each state.

The ambiguity noted by scholars is a recent development. I challenge anyone to find evidence of the collective right interpretation prior to, say, the 1940s. Miller doesn’t count for reasons indicated later. Even if the collective right model was the case (it’s clearly not), then where are these state militias? The National Guard is not it as they are run by the federal government and there was a case where the court ruled that a governor could not overridden federal orders to the Guard.

The new Justice Department memorandum acknowledges that “the question of who possess the right secured by the Second Amendment remains open and unsettled in the courts and among scholars,” but goes on to declare that “extensive reasons” support seeing it as an individual right, while there is “no persuasive basis” for taking another view. The Supreme Court’s 1939 opinion [US v. Miller - ed.], upholding a federal law requiring registration of sawed-off shotguns, found that the amendment didn’t guarantee “the right to keep and bear such an instrument,” because it had no “reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well-regulated militia.” The court didn’t go further to say what firearms rights the Constitution did guarantee, but federal courts subsequently have dismissed challenges to gun-control laws on Second Amendment grounds.

Miller doesn’t say that there is no individual right. And it doesn’t say there is only a state right. If it did, the justices would have asked Is Miller a state? They did not.

The article closes with:

Robert Post, a constitutional-law professor at Yale Law School, said the new memorandum disregarded legal scholarship that conflicted with the administration’s gun-rights views. “This is a Justice Department with a blatantly political agenda which sees its task as translating right-wing ideology into proposed constitutional law,” he said.

Actually, modern legal scholarship disregarded (until very recently) the meaning of the second amendment. This is a justice department reversing a blatantly political agenda that is unsupported in any serious fashion. More on the second amendment from constitutional scholars here and here.

The GAO says that the White House anti-drug videos violate the propaganda ban. DrugWarRant has the scoop.

If you want to see the impact of the tsunami, check out these before and after photos.

Via Catfish.

Tim Lambert links to a piece that asserts the following regarding why Lott still has a job and Bellesiles doesn’t:

The answer briefly is power—especially power wielded by groups outside the history profession. Historians targeted by powerful outside groups can face intense media scrutiny and severe sanctions for transgressions, while historians connected to powerful outside groups can be shielded from the media spotlight as well as from the consequences of malfeasance; in some cases, they have even been rewarded.

Actually, I think it’s a matter of exposure. Lott’s stuff was ineffectual really because the goal had mostly been achieved. It was more like an afterthought to already existing policies. People like to assert that Lott’s highly contested research was the reason for the rash of concealed carry laws. It was not. His book came about in 2000 (if I recall) and most states with CCW laws had those laws on the books prior to that (the trend started in the late 1980s and continued through the mid 1990s). I think a few did after 2000 (Ohio and Missouri come to mind). And Lott’s stuff didn’t get much exposure until recently after such laws were passed.

Bellesiles’ work, however, was discussed in the press rather extensively (and by rather extensively, I mean quite a bit for a supposed history piece). The NY Times and other media outlets praised the book and its fraudulent conclusions about gun ownership in early America. Bellesiles had more exposure and, when it crashed, it crashed harder.

911 Is a Joke in your town . . . or is it? Dave Kopel:

A major new report by National Academies of Science concludes that there is not enough empirical data to determine whether gun control enhances public safety, or whether gun ownership deters crime. The report calls for further data-gathering on firearms injuries. We suggest that gathering a type of related data is equally critical: how often 911 calls result in the interruption of a crime.

The issue is central to the gun debate. The anti-gun lobbies, while sometimes conceding that people can be allowed to have sporting guns, vehemently opposes gun ownership for personal protection. The lobbies insist that crime victims should rely on 911 instead. For a disarmed victim, the police response to 911 can literally be a matter of life or death. If the data show that 911 won’t save your life when you’re attacked by a criminal, then it would be difficult for government to claim the moral authority to disarm victims.

Read the whole thing.

Remember when a bunch of angry blue-staters wanted to secede? Now Maine is looking at becoming two states:

The “Two Maines” debate has shown little sign of fading, however, particularly with the widening economic divide between the two regions revealed in the most recent census numbers.

Sen. Ethan Strimling, D-Portland, said this week that Joy’s secession talk only adds fuel to what amounts to an unproductive debate.

“We need to build bridges between these communities, not walls. We’re all in this together,” said Strimling, noting that Portland – although it is the state’s major economic engine – has not cornered the market on political power.

“I’ve been trying to get gun control through for a long time,” said Strimling, pinning its demise on formidable opposition from rural areas. “I can’t even get an assault weapons ban.”

In the end, splitting the state in two is an unlikely prospect at best, most agree, and Joy himself conceded he hasn’t nailed down all the details involved with introducing another state to the union.

JoinTogether on the Gonzales confirmation:

“Gonzales also should be pressed to explain what he intends to do to follow through on the Bush Administration’s commitment to close the loophole that allows criminals to avoid background checks when buying firearms at gun shows. The Bush Administration claimed to support renewing the assault weapons ban yet stood by in silence as it expired, and Congress deserves to know whether the Justice Department is serious about keeping guns away from criminals.”

I’m curious about Gonzales and gun control. I’m not pleased with his nomination but then anybody who wants to be AG probably shouldn’t be.

A letter to the editor on the meaningless ban.

In New York, the city council upped the penalties for violating the city’s assault weapons ban. In other news, people prone to break that law still don’t care.

This time, Wal-Mart has settled to the tune of $14.5M. Rich Smith connects the dots:

See the connection? In the Bushmaster case, the retailer permitted criminals to gain possession of its guns, and it paid for its mistake. Yesterday, Wal-Mart admitted that it allowed people to take possession of firearms without knowing whether the buyers were criminals.

The dots are plotted. All that’s needed now is to find an instance in which a gun sold by Wal-Mart between 2000 and 2003 was, or eventually is, used in a crime. At that point, I’d expect the trial lawyers to start connecting the dots.

A lot of people don’t like the standard US military rifle cartridge (or the 9MM handgun cartridge either). Maj. Anthony F. Milavic, USMC (Ret.) writes that the cartridge could be killing our troops. I don’t necessarily agree with all of it but it is worth the read. Here’s a taste:

At a Vietnam Special Forces base during 1964, I watched a U. S. soldier fire 15 rounds of .223 caliber ammunition into a tethered goat from an AR-15 rifle; moments after the last round hit, the goat fell over. Looking at the dead goat, I saw many little bullet entry-holes on one side; and when we turned him over, I saw many little bullet exit-holes on the other side. Over time, those observations were confirmed and reconfirmed, revealing that the stories we were told on the lethality of the .223 caliber cartridge were fabrications. Those false reports drove the adoption of the .223 caliber cartridge as the 5.56mm NATO cartridge and, ever since, Americans have been sent to war with a cartridge deficient in combat lethality; a deficiency that has recently caused the deaths of U.S. soldiers in Iraq.

No, not the blog, but warning shots to let someone know you mean business. I say don’t do it. If you have the mental capacity to fire a warning shot, odds are that you are not acting out of fear for your life. As such, discharging a weapon is ill-advised and probably illegal.

Phelps addresses the issue noting that:

Warning shots are always a crime.

I concur with Phelps in that situation. I would have stated clearly one time to leave. Any movement other than a retreat after said warning would result in someone getting shot.

I guess Jeff is off his meds but I kinda like this new angrier gay gun-nut from Vermont thing.

The AP:

Andrea Yates’ capital murder convictions for drowning her children were overturned Thursday by an appeals court, which ruled that a prosecution witness’ erroneous testimony about a nonexistent TV episode could have been crucial.

Yates’ lawyers had argued at a hearing last month before a three-judge panel of the First Court of Appeals in Houston that psychiatrist Park Dietz was wrong when he mentioned an episode of the TV show “Law & Order” involving a woman found innocent by reason of insanity for drowning her children.

After jurors found Yates guilty, attorneys in the case and jurors learned no such episode existed.

First, why the Hell is someone using the TV show Law and Order as expert testimony? The impact of a television show on law seems silly to me. Second, who cares if the show never existed?

Mrs. Du Toit has a piece on policing our own. Do other gun owners have a right to be ass holes, act nuts or say things that make people uncomfortable? Sure. Do us more, uhm, reasonable types have an obligation to tell them to not say things like that because it scares the white people? Sure.

Publicola (no doubt one of those people she’s referring to) responds.

Citing that gay bow tie and abrasive personality as grounds, CNN has fired Carlson and is cutting ties with him.

Man loses 450 pounds, amazingly still big fat ass.

I wrote part one here. And Lobbygow contributed possible part two in comments. Smijer now has part three at his site. It’s more like an alternate ending.

I’m sure it’s been attempted, but can the blogosphere write a book?

The Institute for Justice, which takes on quite a few property rights case, will not defend a group of Tempe, AZ homeowners due to stressed financial resources.

I’m not one who usually pimps for people to donate to causes but if you have an extra nickel or two, consider donating to The Institute for Justice. You can do so here.

A ban on Eminent Domain for redevelopment (you know, the illegal kind of Eminent Domain) has been delayed in Kentucky:

The ordinance, introduced by Commissioner Brian Strow, would have prohibited the city from condemning land for the purpose of turning it over to another private entity, such as a development company. The ongoing plan for the city’s ambitious downtown redevelopment specifically allows that use, citing potential economic development as a worthwhile public purpose.

Toxic waste and Eminent Domain seem to be the only things coming out of New Jersey these days.

Eminent Domain in California put on hold. Good.

California passed a needless ban on 50 caliber rifles.

Chicago is looking at more expansive gun laws:

Mayor Richard Daley on Wednesday pushed for lawmakers to approve a wide range of gun control measures, moving from the court system to the Legislature his campaign to hold gun dealers responsible for the costs to society of handgun violence.

Daley, who has been urging lawmakers to adopt most of the reforms for years with little success, wants them to approve two new proposals that would prevent gun dealers from knowingly selling firearms to criminals and that would allow victims of gun violence to sue dealers who knew the weapon had been sold illegally.

I’m pretty sure it’s already illegal to knowingly sell gun illegally or it wouldn’t be, you know, illegal. What the law really means is license to sue gun makers and dealers who did nothing wrong but their products wound up in the wrong hands.

The Illinois proposal also includes a statewide assault weapons ban, according to the Brady Campaign.

And the same bullshit is happening in New York:

The bill, which is expected to pass the Council today, would allow civil suits to be filed against the manufacturers and dealers unless they voluntarily adopt a “code of conduct.” That code would include restrictions like selling no more than one handgun to a particular person within a 30-day period and requiring background checks of all prospective buyers at gun shows.

If a gun manufacturer or dealer chooses not to adhere to these guidelines, the bill seeks to hold those businesses legally responsible if their firearms result in death or injury to people in New York City.

A code of conduct? Give me a break. Someone will sue them regardless of following this code.

San Fran’s gun ban is still in play. What an absolutely asinine idea.

And, if you were wondering, Arianna Huffington is still an idiot.

Thank God for Red States.

A lot of crime guns are stolen. This time, from the police:

A Second Amendment group is offering a $500 reward for the arrest and conviction of the thief who stole a gun from the Seattle police chief’s parked car, in broad daylight, on the day after Christmas.

The reward money may not lead to a suspect; but it does make the point that the police chief has put more guns on the street than the phase-out of the “assault weapons” ban, said the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

Statistics show that a significant number of guns used in crimes are stolen from law-abiding citizens — a group that now includes Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske, said CCRKBA Executive Director Joe Waldron.

“Whether it’s a firearm stolen in a residential burglary, a rifle taken from a gun shop or a pistol taken from a police chief’s car, the criminal is responsible for any harm caused with that gun, not the victim of the theft,” Waldron said.

Jed has links to some scary tactics they use.

Other victims in the war on drugs*:

Colombian drug traffickers surgically hid heroin in puppies’ bellies in a plan to evade international customs controls, police said on Tuesday.

Acting on a tip-off, police found six puppies with scars on their abdomens at a rural property near the city of Medellin in northern Colombia, the Colombian Police said in a news release.

Ultrasound scans revealed bags of liquid heroin hidden inside the living animals. Police said traffickers planned to retrieve the drug once the dogs had passed customs abroad.

“The lust for money leads criminals to commit acts of great cruelty,” the police said.

The puppies were recovering after the heroin was removed by veterinarians.

I’m sure they weren’t planning on extracting the drugs surgically.

*No, I am not implying that somehow the government is responsible for this. Just that victims in the war on drugs are also victimized by the pushers. Ask any addict or innocent that has been shot by dealers.

Anthony Gregory:

If the Democrats came down hard in favor of the Second Amendment, that alone would probably win them the national elections.

Yup.

Texas snow auctioned on eBay. Heh, I’m from the north, so I just find this funny.

I’m not generally much for sports, personally, but this headline caught my eye. Ute fans angry at police for electrical shocking.

Basically, the home team won the game and the crowd came out into the field to celebrate (hey, it’s a college bowl, so I’ve seen it happen before). In response, the Salt Lake PD used tasers on the crowd.

“If you had a person who was seriously disruptive in that crowd, you might use a Taser to bring that person into custody so you could deal with them,” said Folsom, whose officers carry the devices at Ute games. “You certainly wouldn’t ‘Tase’ people indiscriminately hoping to move an entire crowd back.”

Just wanted to pop in and say hello. This is the second day at the new company (after our little surprise merger announcement a couple days before Christmas). Things are going swell, I suppose. I’m stuck in a cube until the office furniture comes in so have to put the speakers up to my face and crank the volume way down in order to listen to music so I don’t go totally nuts. Most fun things are blocked by the web filters, like Yahoo mail, but at least I can get here and post. The upside is that the company provides free Mountain Dew and other assorted beverages. They apparently understand productivity and programmers. Until next time…

Ok, I’m a little behind the curve here, but I just read this post at the Diplomad and got kind of tickled by it:

[Colonel Garcia], who had been knocking back scotch pretty heavily all evening, came up to a friend and me, fixed us with that patented stare and blurted out, “The American Army . . . it has become homosexual!”
…
“You, you know the 45. The 9mm is for sissies (huecos) with tight pants! Do you know how many times I have shot somebody with a 9mm?” My Embassy colleague and I assumed this either a rhetorical question or one to which he already had an answer, and we did not try to answer it. “Twice. Both times I shoot them and they get up! I have to shoot them again!” He now removed the 45 from my face, holding it in both hands, he looked down at it, “With this gun I only would need to shoot somebody one time! He doesn’t get back up! This is a beautiful gun . . . people see it and they know you are serious. Most of the time I don’t even have to shoot.”

Now, if that doesn’t settle the .45 vs. 9mm argument once and for all, it’ll never be settled!

Not to be a dick or anything, but if you guys are going to ping my site and take up space on my server, your post should link to my site.

So, how many times do you think John Kerry’s been hunting since November? I mean, I’m just asking, him being a sportsman and all.

David Adkins:

“This is unenforceable,” he said. “How can you count 1,000 rounds.”

He’s referring to a proposed ordnance ordinance in Montgomery County that:

. . . restricts citizens to shooting no more than 1,000 rounds per person per day on their land, and firing can only occur between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m.

Update: The answer to Mr. Adkins’ question is 20 at a time.

As a reader of this blog, you know that I can’t. I do wish that I could. I’ve got this idea for a book; or movie; or short story; or, heck, even a song. I’ve never written any of these before (OK, I’ve written contributed to a few songs) and suffer from the fact I can see the forest but not the trees. I’m not a detail-oriented person (you’ve probably noticed that too) but more a big picture kind of person. In other words, I tend to look at the broad overview of something and minimally focus on the small stuff. This creates a problem when, you know, trying to write stuff because books tend to be specific (unless it’s some sort self-help or how-to-succeed-in-business crap). My idea is very libertarian in nature but in that libertarian-as-problematic sort of way. So, here’s the basic plot:

The story starts in the not-so-distant future (let’s say Tuesday). A company that develops computer operating systems, network software, network security and internet related type products is successful at this venture and makes tons of money by bullying/buying competitors, developing cushy corporate partnerships, and integrating all this stuff in convenient packages. The company’s products are extensively ingrained into the fabric of society (they make the buses go, the water flow, manage the big banking institutions, etc.). This company is fictitious and not based on any real company currently operating. Tentatively, the company is called MacroHard.

Because the company is successful, everyone wants a piece of it, including certain regulatory and governmental agencies. However, try as they might, they can’t quite get MacroHard under control. It outsmarts them regularly and is usually way ahead of the various agencies’ ploys. Litigation ensues and MacroHard keeps paying out small settlements to satisfy these agencies (mostly because it’s cheaper than fighting this stuff in court).

One day, the various governmental agencies of the world launch a major legal offensive to reel in this company that is just too big for it’s britches. Said legal offensive would literally ruin the company by making it pay out huge dollars, subdividing it into separate smaller entities, and giving out its technological secrets. The company mounts a glorious legal defense (I sense the book could have some court room drama) but the fix was in. The company loses.

The outrage from the corporate world is astounding. Major executives, feeling their life’s work is in danger from such tactics, are enraged. All major corporations suddenly become quite hostile.

MacroHard, in defiance, basically tells the government No! We’re not going to do that. The government threatens the use of force. MacroHard says We’re still not going to do it. Various law enforcement and military agencies show up at MacroHard’s corporate headquarters ready to launch an offensive. Some intense negotiations ensue with MacroHard still saying No! and the government intent upon enforcing compliance.

The raid commences. Suddenly, the cars don’t go; the radios don’t work; the communications links fail; the internets are down; the phones are dead; various military technologies stop functioning; satellites no longer provide positioning data. The military’s sophisticated hardware and software is basically useless. Using brute force, the corporate HQ is secured by the military only to find that no one was there. MacroHard and its corporate allies have pulled the plug on things electronic and ran (remember, they’re ingrained into society and, as we just found out, they know all the back-doors since they put them there).

MacroHard just launched World War 3 (or maybe 4 depending on who you ask). Corporate America vs. Regulatory Bodies. The effect is widespread. The buses no longer go; the water doesn’t flow; the dams don’t work; deliveries aren’t made; money and banking assets are frozen. The corporations have shut the world down and it’s one giant Mexican standoff. General chaos ensues as Corporate America and the Regulatory Bodies duke it out. The militaries are neutered since they can’t communicate and their nifty gadgets don’t work. Corporate America can’t do much since money is now worthless. Those hardest hit, of course, are the regular Joes, who can’t keep their electricity going or go to the store and get some food.

That’s as far as I get. Don’t know how to conclude or who the major characters would be. What do you think?

Update: Apparently, it’s been done, sort of.

Michael Silence emails a link to this:

A new Gallup Poll shows that the average American owns 1.7 guns, with the average gun owner possessing 4.4 of them. More than half of those living in rural areas (56%) own a gun, compared with 40% of suburbanites and 29% of those living in urban areas.

Excellent. More here:

For one thing, one out of three American women say they own a gun. That’s not much below the overall mark of 40% for all American adults.

As for other elements of the stereotype: More than half (53%) of Republicans own guns, compared with 36% of political independents and 31% of Democrats. Whites are more likely than nonwhites to own (44% and 24%, respectively), according to Gallup.

Residents of the South are significantly more likely than those living in other regions to report owning a gun. More than half of those living in rural areas (56%) own a gun, compared with 40% of suburbanites and 29% of those living in urban areas.

They caught this guy aiming lasers at planes and helicopters. It makes me wonder: how are the authorities figuring out where laser lights are coming from? Seems hard to do. This guy was caught because the pilot gave a general area where the laser come from and the guy was dumb enough to flash the helicopter that was looking for lasers. Seems like that would be hard to do.

In fact, this spin is so bad it may as well be a lie:

According to Iowans for the Prevention of Gun Violence, 90 percent of guns used in crimes can be traced back to where there wasn’t any background check on the purchaser.

This is according to a 2002 federal study, said John Johnson, director of IPGV.

Actually, it’s 80% according to more recent data. But that’s not even the lie I am referring to.

Unlicensed gun sellers are not required to perform background checks on the buyers, he said, and the IPGV wants the Legislature to change that.

See that? The said 90% from unlicensed then immediately talk about gun shows which is to imply that 90% of crime guns come from gun shows. That is a blatantly dishonest fabrication. Of course, we know that 7/10ths of one percent of crime guns are actually bought at gun shows per the same report referenced above.