From Kevin, I learned of terrible news. Reader, commentor and all around good guy Steve Herod (known on blogs as Airboss) passed away.

I never met Steve in person. I’ve spoken with him on the phone a few times and can’t count the number of email exchanges we’ve had. If he needed gun parts, he’d call. When I was looking for hard to find 7.62X39 AR magazines, he had them. And he sold them to me at a price that was more than fair. He was a friend to freedom and stood for what was right. He’d get involved in things that bloggers were writing about. He, though not ever blogging himself, stood by bloggers over freedom of speech. He wrote:

Most of you know each other, all of you know me.
I don’t have a blog, couldn’t write one if I had it.
I do have guns/ammunition and a willingness to stand with you all.
Can’t write, can shoot
Stephen E. Herod
AKA”Airboss”

Jim says good bye. As does Kevin. And the Geek.

Connie du Toit has the details on services and notes that Steve’s wife said to donate to a charity of your choice in lieu of flowers.

You’ll be missed, Airboss.

The Carnival of Cordite is up. Lots of good stuff, including chicks with guns.

I present The Zonkey.

Ron Paul has sponsored a bill to restore the second amendment rights of all Americans. It’s sad that we need a bill but it does one thing that is important: it gets rid of the particularly suited for sporting purposes language from a lot of bills.

Rep. Campfield blogged about Speaker Naifeh subverting the rules of the House to get what he wanted. Now, the Rep notes that Naifeh blinked and blogs played a part:

Steve Gill and Bill Hobbs are really on their game. They have really put heat on Speaker Naifeh for his actions yesterday. The House was abuzz with the news of the NRA hustle that went down yesterday.

Many blogs like Nashville Files are reporting on the situation (and probably many more that I haven’t had time to see). Bloggers have really drawn attention to the incident by sending e-mails, posting comments, and calling legislators.

He also notes Naifeh getting caught with his pants down and being forced to abide by the law. Good.

Bill Hobbs has more

Blake has an updated video of the incident.

Update: Bill Hobbs notes that some local papers, The Sentinel and The Nashville City Paper, are covering the incident. He also notes that neither paper did a very good job. I concur. Neither paper focused on Naifeh subverting the rules of the house.

Update 2: Bill Hobbs is all over this. Just scroll away.

Update 3 (and bump): WATE reports on it as well and gets it wrong.

David Hardy notes that the Arizona Supreme Court links to an anti-gun page as a resource. And the administrative person doesn’t realize that the Assault Weapons Ban is not the Brady Bill.

Seems a lot of property rights issues come out of that state:

The Long Branch City Council took the first steps toward condemnation of properties in the Beachfront North Phase II redevelopment zone at Tuesday’s meeting.

The council approved two resolutions authorizing the city to retain two law firms to “perform services of redevelopment counsel for the Beachfront North Phase II project of the city of Long Branch.”

“[The resolutions] are obviously for acquisition of the property,” city Financial Director Ronald Mehlhorn Sr. said in an interview prior to Tuesday’s meeting.

Another case of taking private property and giving it to a private developer. The SCOTUS needs to get off its ass and rule on Kelo soon, though I don’t have much faith that the SCOTUS will make the right decision.

Matt catches up on RKBA blogging.

Old problem, the Knoxville News Sentinel has a brand new look. Unfortunately, they still have the same problem with the speed their page loads.

And can these guys get an RSS feed? Who do I talk to about that?

They were wrong when they said that Florida enacting CCW in the late 1980s would lead to blood in the street. They were wrong when they said that the assault weapons ban would lead to blood in the street. Now, they are wrong stating the Florida’s law that gets rid of duty to retreat will lead to blood in the streets:

People have a right to defend themselves. But under this law, unless gun owners – there are many in Florida, where carrying a concealed weapon is legal – exercise clear judgment and remarkable restraint, innocent bystanders could become victims. So could people whom an armed citizen wrongly assumes to be a threat. And in the latter case, who will be held liable for the possibly fatal consequences of a faulty judgment?

Now that Florida has given citizens the right to use lethal force in public, the National Rifle Association, not surprisingly, says it will carry this battle to every state. If it succeeds, sooner or later those who argue that an armed society is a safer society are likely to have their dubious theory put to the test.

Actually, this law brings Florida in lines with most other states.

Bridget O’Neill, who was essentially suspended for talking to press, got to tell her side of the story to school officials. Good. The principal needs to be disciplined for this.

She has been been allowed by administrators to return to classes:

The decision to allow her return came Thursday in a disciplinary hearing. The suspension lasted for nine days. O’Neill says she’s extremely behind in her school work but she’ll be allowed to make it up.

O’Neill and her parents say school administrators told them that faculty and staff members had to deal with several concerned parents after her interview aired on 6 News. They were told the time spent talking with those parents disrupted classes.

Faculty and staff are full of crap.

I posted a link the WSJ piece on killing the investigation of Cisneros. Today, I received the following email from a Senate staffer in Coburn’s office urging the quite expensive investigation to continue. It came from a senate.gov email address. Click more for the email.

Read the rest of this entry »

Stacey Campfield, addressing the concealed carry in bars issue, notes some foul play by Naifeh:

Today a bill slipped through that Naifeh didn’t want out of committee. Some legislators did not show up for the vote and a pro-NRA bill (conceal carry) slipped through the sub-committee system.

Speaker Naifeh flipped out! His people did not want to have to vote on this bill. Some might risk losing their perfect NRA voting record (0 for 0).

Speaker Naifeh went to the chairman of the committee to let him know that if he did not ask to move the bill back to the sub-committee where it had passed, it would NOT BE GOOD!

The chairman agreed to make the motion, but not vote for it. These votes are made on the house floor and require a majority of 66 votes to move it back to the subcommittee. The dilemma? How to ram this vote through the legislature without having the legislators on record as a “yes” vote. Answer: Speaker Naifeh held a voice vote.

This is why politicos should have blogs. Kudos to the Rep for exposing this sort of foul play and corruption.

Blake has more as does Bill, who notes:

He (Naifeh) violated House rules in order to kill popular legislation he personally opposed. Some people think Naifeh is the epitome of corrupt good-ol-boy lobbyist-larded politics. I don’t know about that. But I do know that what he did yesterday was pure political corruption of the most dangerous kind.

Update: Commentors to the Rep’s site post a link to the video (it’s at the 21 minute mark). I haven’t watched it yet.

On Rosie O’Donnell:

“And the last thing I want to do is get into a fight with a powerful celebrity who has a blog read by tens of people.”

Gotta love it:

“I punched Saddam in the mouth.”

Why Won’t Hilleary Sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge?

Mostly due to incompetence. David Hardy links to the NFA Owners Association webpage. The page details the incompetence the ATF (who has admitted to perjury with regard to the registry on video) in handling the nation’s only gun registry. It includes:

A case, US v. LeaSure, where the judge dismissed a case, based on evidence that BATFE clerks may have thrown away the registration papers.

Publicola has the scoop on bypassing the .50 caliber ban by getting a .51 caliber. Heh.

They stole my idea.

A pending law in Indiana:

House Bill 1776, which received final legislative approval Monday night, spells out a process to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people and gives judges more authority to order searches of the homes of those believed to pose a threat.

[snip]

Authorities would be able to retain, for up to 14 days, guns seized from someone believed to be dangerous. A prosecutor could petition to extend the time the weapons are held; a court would have to rule on that request.

What about probable cause (which I assume would imply that there is a crime currently going on or has already occurred)? Another slap in the face of the fourth amendment.

Unlikely:

A passenger in a car traveling in Osceola County, Fla., was killed and another woman was seriously injured when a gun in the vehicle accidentally discharged twice, according to Local 6 News.

Guns don’t accidentally discharge twice.

The Minutemen are planning on expanding to the Canadian border:

A controversial civilian patrol group that has been monitoring the Mexican border for illegal immigrants is looking to expand its mission to the Canadian border, organizers said Tuesday.

Minuteman Project leaders said their volunteers this month alerted federal authorities to more than 330 cases of illegal immigrants crossing into the United States over a 23-mile stretch of Arizona’s southern border. Now they plan to extend their patrol along the rest of the border with Mexico and are helping to organize similar efforts in four states that neighbor Canada.

“In the absence of the federal government doing its mandated duty to secure our borders, we will pick up the slack. Reluctantly,” said Chris Simcox, a Minuteman co-organizer who also operates Civil Homeland Defense, another Arizona group that monitors illegal immigrants.

Sure, there have been problems but hats off to the Minutemen who are achieving their goal of drawing attention to our porous borders.

Ravenwood notes that the new version of Windows (or as we say in Tennessee Winders) may have some unwanted features:

The next version of Windows will contain a virtual flight data recorder or “black box” that records everything a user does. The intent is that if programs or the computer crashes, IT professionals will be able to see what the user was doing at the time of the error.

No thanks.

NY Republicans are arguing with each other over eminent domain:

“I would never support the taking of private property by government, for purposes other than obvious public good,” said Blew. “A highway, or a life-saving facility,
perhaps but never for a public park.”

Blew said he believes landowners in the township are the ones who are best able to plan for the future.

In Nevada, a developer-backed bill that limits eminent domain has the approval of the senate:

A developer-backed bill that would limit use of eminent domain powers by government entities to preserve open space won approval on a 16-to-four vote in the state Senate.

[snip]

The bill would help a developer tied up in a lawsuit over plans to build upscale homes on the old Ballardini ranch just south of Reno, but Care says he doesn’t want to interfere with that litigation.

Or maybe not. CNN may have spammed blogs and used search engine manipulation.

Update: Michael Silence, who got some of the spam, was on this back in February.

More consumer blogging.

The other day as I was driving home, the Mrs. rings me on the cell phone to inform me that we need a new washer and dryer as our washer just kicked the bucket. She’s been wanting a new set for a while now but I’ve always figured that the set we had (over ten years old) was good enough until it completely died. It did. I think the Mrs. was happy.

The Mrs. is quite detailed and always has the inside scoop on good deals on stuff. She knew that Home Depot was running a special. If you opened up a charge account there, you get 10% off your initial purchase with six months same as cash. This is more than enough to cover sales tax so we were sold. Now, we just applied for the card to get the 10% discount and will pay this thing off soon. We’re not credit card balance people.

We got one of those Maytag sets that holds 3.5 cubic feet and doesn’t use an agitator but rather sucks water through clothes. It also boasts that, since it is a high efficiency model, it could save us up to $165 per year in water and energy costs. The dryer also claims to dry clothes six times faster. Boy, all this energy efficiency should save the Uncle household some bucks!

As Insty noted, the customer service at Home Depot largely sucks. It took us quite a while to check out, they charged us for a service plan we didn’t agree to and was not discussed with us, and it was a complex transaction. Here’s how it broke down (rounded to dollars):

$999 washer
$699 dryer
$50 charge for delivery of new unit and disposal of old unit
$90 service plan that we don’t want (service plans are for suckers!)
$1,838 subtotal

$170 @ 9.25% sales tax
$2,008 grand total

($184) less 10% for new charge account
$1,824 new grand total

In addition, Home Depot was running free delivery with all appliances. Now, it’s not real free delivery. It’s a mail in rebate for free delivery. I guess they figure that folks will forget to mail it in on time or something. So, I’ll get $50 back (or maybe $45 since delivery was also 10% off). I guess at this point the total is $1,774 but at a future date. I’m not calculating interest. I’m also guessing the rebate won’t include sales tax paid on delivery.

But wait, there’s more: The other special they were running was free gift cards based on the amount you spend (you know, spend more and get more). We, having spent $2,000 (or rather we guessed we spent $2,000, we’re not real sure) qualified for a $150 gift card. So, now the ‘cost’ to us $1,624. Actually, it’s still $1,774 for the set plus other merchandise to be chosen later. I looked at Home Depot’s financials and their average gross margin percent is a respectable 33%. So, on a $150 purchase (the gift card) their cost is about $100. And the set probably cost them about $1,138 (based on their gross margin).

And they’re going to refund the service plan that we never consented to purchasing (with tax) at $98. New total: $1,525 with merchandise; or $1,625 if they’d given us cash instead of product that cost them $100.

Is it just me, or does that seem like an awful lot of excess to complete a simple transaction? An awful lot of special offers to get me to buy stuff. Couldn’t they just sell me the damn things for $1,525 (or $1,625) cash? It wasn’t like I was buying a house or anything. Seriously, I’ve closed on property faster than that.

Can anyone tell me what this washer and dryer really cost me? I mean, other than an hour and a half of time.

Marc, whose office is located between a studio that shoots the show 24 and a porn studio, comments on gun wimps in Kali:

Long before “24″ this building had been used for filming and they’ve shot all sorts of crappie movies there. They have blocked off the streets to traffic, towed cars, disrupted lives and discharged blanks all without notice in the past.

I’m not sure what has changed to make them give notice this time so I’m just guessing that it’s more evidence of the continuing gun-wussification of the Peoples Republic of California.

Via Manish, comes this article:

Legislation that would require handgun ammunition to carry identifying markings that could be used to trace spent rounds at crime scenes back to the person who purchased the bullets passed out of a state Senate committee Tuesday.

This won’t work. As for details of the bill:

It would require handgun manufacturers to mark bullets with unique identifiers, such as serial numbers. Those numbers would be used to track whom the bullets are sold to, including the name and address of the purchaser. The information would be maintained in an electronic database run by the attorney general’s office.

A bullet that travels at, say, 1,200 feet per second and hits the soft tissue of a person will mushroom. I tend to doubt that under those circumstances the tiny serial numbers would be readable since the bullet tends to become misshapen. I think this is really an effort to impose an undue burden on bullet manufacturers who will bear the costs.

I found this interesting too:

Noting that California homicides increased to 2,400 last year from 2,000 the year before — with 45 percent unsolved — law enforcement officials urged senators on the committee to vote for the bill. Nearly three-quarters of the state’s homicides in 2003 were committed with a firearm.

Meanwhile, crime is down in most of the country. Good thing they banned .50 calibers.

Florida Today:

Chances are, a woman you saw today was carrying a gun.

An article on the rise of CCW among women in Florida and a good read.

Jeff has the latest on gun bias in the news.

Blake reports it still has a chance.

Radley Balko has an article in Forbes about the nanny state. Good read:

Lawmakers are also prone to banning trends they don’t understand, or just find icky. Wyoming is debating a regulation that would prohibit facial jewelry in the food service industry, an apparent attempt to keep the alternative girl’s eyebrow ring from dropping into your macchiato, even though its backers couldn’t cite a single such incident. A Texas lawmaker has introduced a bill that would outlaw “sexually suggestive” dance moves in cheerleading routines. California bans tanning beds for kids under 14, citing studies linking tanning beds to skin cancer. No word on whether they’ll bar kids from lying in the sun, too. And the U.S. Supreme Court recently let stand an Alabama ban on sex toys.

What’s wrong with this phrase:

A man fired a semi-automatic machine gun into the air during a fight in the parking lot at the Caribbean Gardens bar in Burlingame early Saturday, according to Burlingame police.

Semi-automatic machine gun? They don’t exist. It is either a semi-automatic (one shot per trigger pull) or fully-automatic (i.e., a machine gun) and keeps firing bullets as long as you hold down the trigger.

Update: It has been changed but the old URL still has the error. The new article is here and does not acknowledge the error.

Its unhealthy fear of sex. Sex sells and it’s the parents’ responsibility to address sex in the media or to restrict its access to children.

A student used profanity on his blog and was disciplined for it:

A New Britain High School drum major has enlisted the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut after he was disciplined for posting a profanity-laced entry in an online journal.

Daniel Gostin, 18, a senior, was stripped of his drum major position, given an in-school suspension and barred from participating in music-related extracurricular activities and performances for the remainder of the year.

Lori Rifkin, an ACLU lawyer who represents Gostin, says the school’s actions violate his free-speech rights. In a letter to schools Superintendent Doris Kurtz on Wednesday, she asked that Gostin be reinstated as drum major, his disciplinary record be expunged and that he resume participating in musical activities.

The posting “contained no threats nor did it contain any other statements which would interfere with the ability of school administrators to maintain order and discipline at the school,” Rifkin wrote.

A girl at William Blount High School was suspended for telling local TeeVee that the race issues at the high school have continued:

On April 18th, Bridget O’Neill, a junior, told 6 News one of her classmates made a racial sign.

Her parents say the next morning, the principal pulled Bridget into the office demanding to know why she talked to the media and who made the sign.

“She was screaming at her she was stupid,” says Bridget’s mother, Diane O’Neill. “They threatened to expel her for the rest of the year because she wouldn’t give the name. Then she threatened to call the police. And she was like, ‘why?’ She said, ‘Well, I’m going to have you arrested for standing in the way of justice.’”

The school sent home a letter about Bridget’s suspension. It never mentioned her interview with 6 News but said she was suspended for disrupting the classroom and providing false information about the sign.

I am as gun-geek as they get. And damn proud of it. If you don’t believe me, I’ll shoot you. But even I don’t buy tactical clothes. Up next, tactical jammies and tactical underoos.

You would think a website that is considered a news source for law enforcement would know something about guns. You’d be wrong. In their defense, it appears to be an AP feed:

The expiration of the nation’s ban on the sale of assault rifles and the appearance of more heavily armed criminals have pushed more than 100 St. Petersburg police officers to order assault rifles of their own for official duty.

Actually, while the ban was in effect, the same rifles were available to the public. Those rifles just didn’t have flash suppressors, folding stocks or bayonet lugs. Sadly, the officers must buy their own:

Police Chief Chuck Harmon approved use of the AR-15s last June with guidelines that took months to develop. Officers who want the weapons must buy them for $1,100.

And this denotes no effort to research the guns:

Critics say that the speed and 300-yard range of the bullets pose a threat to bystanders. Advocates say the assault rifles are vastly better than the standard Glock handguns assigned to officers and are more accurate than the pump-action shotguns that the department makes available.

The effective range of the 5.56 Nato is about 600 yards. And the 5.56 Nato has been shown to display less penetration than 40 S&W ammo that most officers use in their handguns.

Update: Ravenwood found another story on the incident. This is particularly interesting:

“Without a doubt, there are thousands and thousands of departments carrying patrol rifles at this point,” said Emanuel Kapelsohn, vice president of the International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors.

Kapelsohn resists calling them “assault” rifles, saying the word gives a negative connotation. But whatever they are called, the rifles have drawn opposition, nationally and locally.

“Our cities are not combat zones, but when you arm the police with assault rifles, you run the risk of turning them into combat zones,” said Tom Diaz, senior policy analyst at the Violence Policy Center in Washington, D.C. “I doubt there very many communities outside Iraq where you need that kind of firepower.”

See, some police know their guns and recognize the assault weapons ban nonsense was, well, nonsense.

And this time, not from people with Rs after their names. Some background:

Perhaps you remember Henry Cisneros. He’s the former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development who pleaded guilty in 1999 to lying to FBI investigators during his pre-appointment background check about hush payments to a former mistress, on which it also happens he hadn’t paid the requisite taxes.

Well, the special counsel report investigating all this still hasn’t been made public, thanks largely to procedural roadblocks by Mr. Cisneros’s attorneys. And now, all of a sudden, a rash of news stories and editorials are urging Independent Counsel David Barrett to wrap up his investigation forthwith, without releasing his findings.

Then there’s the amendment that North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan and co-sponsors John Kerry and Richard Durbin are trying to attach to the latest supplemental war appropriations bill that would de-fund Mr. Barrett immediately. This would have the practical effect of making sure that Mr. Barrett’s report never sees the light of day. After 10 long years and $21 million, don’t they think taxpayers deserve to see what the special counsel has learned?

And what are they hiding:

So what don’t Democrats want everyone to know? We’re told that early on the Barrett probe moved away from Mr. Cisneros and his mistress and focused on an attempted cover-up by the Clinton Administration, especially involving the IRS.

Back in the early ’90s Mr. Cisneros was considered the rising savior of the Democratic Party in Texas. “So there were people who wanted to save his political future,” a source tells us. To that end, when the IRS began investigating him for tax fraud an extraordinary thing happened: The investigation was taken from the IRS district office that would always handle such an audit and moved to Washington, where it was killed.

“Never in the history of the IRS has a case been pulled out of the regional office and taken directly to Washington,” our source continues. This information was originally provided to Mr. Barrett, some years into his investigation, by a whistleblower in the IRS regional office with 30 years of experience.

Government corruption at its finest.

The Star Tribune is covering the story of Koscielski’s guns:

Mark Koscielski, the owner of the only remaining gun shop in Minneapolis, is entering the final stages of a fight with the city that could shutter his business, at least at its current location.

Koscielski awaits a hearing next month before the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Earlier this month, the city sent Koscielski an order telling him to cease operating the gun shop on the 2900 block of Chicago Av. S. by April 18 because it is out of compliance with zoning laws.

It’s the latest chapter in a 10-year legal battle with the city for Koscielski. The gun store owner, who ran for mayor in 2001, has frequently needled City Hall leaders. He recently printed up new “Murderapolis” T-shirts to sell as a way to criticize what he considers to be the city’s understaffing of the Police Department. He coined the term a decade ago when homicides in the city hit a peak.

Koscielski initially opened a store in 1995, days before the City Council adopted a moratorium on gun shops. The city tried to close his shop down, but federal courts ordered that he be allowed to continue doing business.

As a result, he was given an exemption in the zoning code.

It’s good to see this story getting some press, seemingly favorable press even.

Never heard of it:

Des Moines police on March 28 confiscated a legally purchased AK-47 assault rifle from the home of Patrick Younk, 18.

Police began investigating Younk after they received a complaint about threats made against Roosevelt High School students.

Sgt. Todd Dykstra said Younk did not take the weapon to school or threaten anyone. The gun was shown to Younk’s friends at a tennis court in the 4600 block of Observatory Road on March 5. Younk was not arrested or charged with a crime, police said.

Dykstra said police confiscated the gun because “we just didn’t want to take any chances.”

Dykstra said the case had been turned over to the Polk County attorney’s office for review because the gun was transported in Younk’s car.

First of all, it’s not an assault rifle but a gun that looks like one. Secondly, did the kid actually commit a crime? Now, if transporting the gun in a car is illegal in Des Moines, charge him for that. However, it does not appear he has violated the law.

If he threatened people, that should be investigated, of course. But it should also be subject to due process of law.

Dennis S. Winningstad writes a letter to the editor in which he shames The Oregonian for buying and repeating the lies about the gun manufacturer immunity bill:

Read the legislation yourself. You can find it in a simple Google search for Senate Bill 1805. It’s not about “immunity.” It’s not about “bulletproofing.” It is not all those scary things the Blue Meanies would have you believe. Here’s what it says: “A bill to prohibit civil liability actions from being brought or continued against manufacturers, distributors, dealers, or importers of firearms or ammunition for damages resulting from the misuse of their products by others.”

Alan Korwin of Gunlaws.com was on FoxNews. Here’s the transcript.

Looks like the ethics bill is on its way to Governor Bredesen to be signed into law.

Denver, having been declared its own country apparently, will reinstate its pit bull ban:

Watson is one of 150 Denver residents who were sent a letter from Animal Control this week warning them that the city plans to resume its ban outlawing pit bulls within city limits on May 9, city officials said.

An AR15.com regular has started the Middle Tennessee Carbine Club so other black rifle aficionados can get together, stay in touch, swap stories, and chew the fat. Check it out.

The ban on weapons that looked like assault weapons was a bust. The NY Times with Many Say End of Firearm Ban Changed Little:

Despite dire predictions that the streets would be awash in military-style guns, the expiration of the decade-long assault weapons ban last September has not set off a sustained surge in the weapons’ sales, gun makers and sellers say. It also has not caused any noticeable increase in gun crime in the past seven months, according to several metropolitan police departments.

The uneventful expiration of the assault weapons ban did not surprise gun owners, nor did it surprise some advocates of gun control. Rather, it underscored what many of them had said all along: that the ban was porous – so porous that assault weapons remained widely available throughout their prohibition.

Actually, it wasn’t that the ban was porous, it’s that it was pointless. Banning a gun based on how it looks is asinine. It also acknowledges the NIJ conclusion that the ban could not be shown to have affected crime. The NYT, now after the ban is done, even posts pictures of a gun affected by the ban and one that wasn’t. Odd how this comparison was never shown back when the media was in a hysterical hissy fit over the ban’s pending expiration.

This quote contains an error:

While the 1994 ban prohibited the manufacture and sale of such magazines, it did not outlaw an estimated 25 million of them already in circulation, nor did it stop the importation of millions more into the country.

Actually, it did stop the importation of regular capacity magazines into the country. And the quote of the day, from Colt’s legal counsel:

“People might think it looks less evil,” Mr. Chen said, “but it’s the same weapon. It was a hoax, a Congressional hoax, to ban all these different features.”

The latest bogeyman appears to be the filibuster, the great stall method of babbling. I view congress not accomplishing anything as a success. When congress acts, it usually does so poorly, inefficiently, grandstandingly and unconstitutionally. I prefer them not doing anything and I feel safer when they’re not in session.

Frist, addressing some church group or something, says:

“I don’t think it’s radical to ask senators to vote,” Dr. Frist said. “Now if Senator Reid continues to obstruct the process, we will consider what opponents call the ‘nuclear option.’ Only in the United States Senate could it be considered a devastating option to allow a vote. Most places call that democracy.”

What the jackpot Republican Congress fails to grasp is that they will likely not be in power forever. What goes around comes around.

Michael Silence reports that the effort to tax internet sales has been slowed by opposition. Good. The article:

Plans to allow states such as Tennessee tax Internet sales are still a long way off – good news for online shoppers but bad news for a state losing billions in sales taxes.

They’re not losing money. It’s money that was never earned. Some stats:

In Tennessee alone, nearly $500 million is not collected each year in sales taxes on Internet shopping. That’s almost enough to cover a shortfall in the state’s expanded Medicaid program, which the governor has proposed cutting by 323,000 people.

Across the country, more than $21 billion in sales tax is not being collected, according to a University of Tennessee study.

When the Supreme Court decided 13 years ago to exempt mail-order businesses from the tangled web of various state and local tax codes, no one envisioned Internet commerce exceeding $1 trillion.

I see mentioning TennCare and taxes in the same sentence has started early this year.

David Hardy has the scoop and the video.

Bubba notes that the anti-gay marriage amendment is under fire due to the legislature not following procedures that are, you know, spelled out in law.

The Geek, who doesn’t like giving his info to retailers, tells Best Buy where to go. This is the same reason I don’t shop at Radio Shack. Of course, if I need something from either store that I can’t get elsewhere (which is usually odd sizes of batteries from Radio Shack), I just lie and tell them I’m I.P. Freely and I reside at 123 Any Street.

Day By Day does guns.

Maybe I should get on bARbie-15 for Junior?

Let’s be Blount has the latest on the saga of Sunshyne Video.

A video of police arresting and handcuffing a 5 year-old girl. Her crime? A tantrum.

Resonance turns two.

Particularly to Texas bartenders. When you ask me what I want to drink and I respond with Bourbon, do not look at me and say What would you like? We have Jack Daniels and Crown Royal. Those are not Bourbons.

I swear, two different Texas bartenders did that.

Build your own tactical sling. Sweet!

HL is pondering which evil black rifle he wants. He has limited himself to the RobArm XCR and the Krebs KTR. I also recommend he look into the Fulton Armory Mark 14. That rifle, built from an M1A, is a piece of sex:

From Kim du Toit’s forum:

If I could only have one gun it would be aimed at the guy who said I can only have one gun.

Blake reports that HB 2225 (the guns in bars measure) failed in sub-committee.

Bill Gertz:

Recurrent intelligence reports say al Qaeda terrorist Abu Musab Zarqawi has obtained a nuclear device or is preparing a radiological explosive — or dirty bomb — for an attack, according to U.S. officials, who also say analysts are unable to gauge the reliability of the information’s sources.

Alphie was mentioned on MSNBC. Excellent! Too bad his server didn’t cooperate.

Since November, I don’t recall any stories detailing:

The number of casualties in Iraq.

The Homeland Security Threat Advisory thing being elevated.

Don’t recall many unemployment figures of note.

Stories about John Kerry or George Bush going hunting.

WMDs!

The deficit.

The trade deficit.

And before someone says But Uncle, that media criticism is unfounded, I think it’s worth pointing out that I get most of my news from blogs.

The NRA reports that a host of anti-gun bills are to be voted on in Illinois:

The Illinois House of Representatives will vote this Tuesday, April 26, on two bills that seek to ban firearms. The first, HB 1098, introduced by Representative Elaine Nekritz (D-57), seeks to ban all .50 caliber rifles and ammunition. The second, HB 2414, introduced by Representative Edward Acevedo (D-2), seeks to ban certain semi-automatic rifles and shotguns, as well as .50 caliber rifles. These bills will do nothing to address the problem of violent crime, and would serve only as another attack on our Right to Keep and Bear Arms. Proponents of this legislation have even stooped to exploit our nation`s concerns over terrorism in order to advance their anti-gun agenda.

Doug Grow of the Star Tribune:

Dhennin, a retired Anoka County sheriff’s deputy, and Sinner, a University of Minnesota grad student in public health, proved that you can buy just about anything you want in Minnesota.

Did he get a machine gun?

For Saturday’s excursion, Dhennin and Sinner, shopping on behalf of Citizens for a Safer Minnesota, an organization devoted to sane gun restrictions, were out to buy an assault rifle. Citizens for a Safer Minnesota wanted the rifle for a couple of reasons: 1) to show how available these weapons are; 2) to use the weapon as visual evidence about why it wasn’t such a good idea for the feds to allow a limited ban on assault weapons to fade away in 2004.

No, they are an anti-gun group. I bet they did not buy an assault rifle but probably a gun that looks like an assault rifle.

Dhennin and Sinner had no particular weapon in mind when they went to the Education Building at the State Fairgrounds for the Minnesota Weapons Collectors Association gun show.

“A candy store for terrorists,” is how Dhennin, a hunter and gun lover, described the weaponry available at the show.

They sell box cutters there? Or fertilizer? Or Ryder trucks? No terrorist attack here has been committed with guns that I know of.

Dhennin has been dismayed at the proliferation of assault rifles since the demise of the tepid federal ban.

The proliferation? I’d guess there was an initial spike in sales and then the manufacturers stopped making post ban models.

Dhennin and Sinner didn’t merely want to buy an assault rifle. They wanted to see whether they could make their purchase with no questions asked.

Gun show loophole in 3, 2, 1

Licensed gun dealers must do a background check before selling customers assault rifles or handguns.

Private dealers, though, apparently don’t need to bother with messy red tape.

There is no such thing, legally, as a private dealer. There are individuals who may sell guns in lawful commerce, kind of like if I sold you a handgun.

So, what did they buy?

Dhennin and Sinner approached a so-called private dealer who was displaying a Ruger Mini 14, a .223-caliber rifle, with a fold-up stock, pistol grip and magazines with a 30-round capacity. (According to a video, a expert can go through four magazines — 120 rounds — in 45 seconds with this weapon.)

Dhennin negotiated the price down from $550 to $500 before making the purchase and moving on to what Dhennin described, tongue-in-cheek, as the gun show “library.” This was a display area filled with pamphlets and literature about weaponry.

Kinda funny. See, the ruger mini-14 was specifically excluded from the assault weapons ban. Then, the guy buying the gun bought a book on how to convert it to a machine gun. The article then notes:

Selling fully automatic assault rifles is still illegal

Yes, it is (provided it was made after 1986) but if it’s not fully automatic, then it’s not an assault rifle.

Long time readers know that SayUncle often gets Google News alerts that are nothing more that VPC press releases.

Paul Graham has an essay about a related phenomenon, the “press hit.”

One of the most surprising things I discovered during my brief business career was the existence of the PR industry, lurking like a huge, quiet submarine beneath the news. Of the stories you read in traditional media that aren’t about politics, crimes, or disasters, more than half probably come from PR firms.

Pretty interesting read.

Yes, it happened exactly as Phelps recounts. Heh.

Also, it turns out that the .gov does make some bling bling selling confiscated knives.

On the road so blogging will be limited. But last night I had dinner and a few beverages with The Everlasting Phelps. Talked about guns, libertarians, gizmos, and lots of other stuff. Good guy.

In my early morning stupor to get to the airport, I grabbed my wallet and other stuff I usually carry with me. Since it was 4 in the morning, I wasn’t thinking and also grabbed my pocket knife. Now, it is the newest member of the TSA’s knife shop. The .gov could make a ton selling those things.

And, as with every time I travel, my bag was one of those searched so I got the courtesy your papers and effects have been searched without a warrant, without probable cause, and unreasonably notification in my bag. It’s always a nice surprise to get to the hotel and discover that your constitutional rights were violated.

Also, the TSA folks aren’t too bright. As I approached the line where the metal detectors are, I was handed a yellow piece of paper. This paper indicated that because I was the last person in line, that I would be searched in private. Seems like a made up criteria to me. If you’re a terrorist, get in line first. Any way, I approached the metal detector with my yellow sheet. They had the little plastic bins set out to put your watch, lap top, and other stuff to scan. This is the point where I volunteered the info that I had a pocket knife. Big mistake. They wanted it. I asked if there was a place to store it until I returned and there wasn’t. They suggested I could put it in my car. Of course, I’d miss my flight if I did that. I should have just kept my mouth shut and dropped it in my carry on. They’d have never found it.

Back to the plastic bins. There were three bins set out. I put my lap top in the first; watch and change in the second; yellow piece of paper in the third. They never searched me but the guy behind me (who happened to be standing next to the yellow piece of paper) was pulled into the private cubicle. Poor guy but there’s how to get out of being searched.

Rest assured, had I been pulled into the private cubicle, I’d have told them to fuck right off. If you get the yellow piece of paper, pawn it off on some other poor sap.

I love flying.

Blogging may be light today and tomorrow.

Pretty funny.

Heh.

Via Tom.

The Minutemen project has been, at least to me, interesting. Below is some interesting reading on them.

It resulted in drop in illegal border crossing and the Confederate Yankee notes:

The drop in attempted illegal border crossings and number of volunteer-related apprehensions speaks volumes of the success of the MinuteMan Project, but perhaps the best testimony so far was this two-way radio conversation in Spanish overheard by MMP volunteers between drug dealers in the mountains near Sierra Vista, AZ:

“We’ve got to get down, to get our loads down!” [Meaning drug loads]
Reply: “We can’t, man – those f***ers are everywhere!”.

Obviously, Minuteman Project volunteers are not only succeeding in helping an underappreciated and underfunded Border Patrol, but a besieged Drug Enforcement Agency as well.

Additionally, the government is after the Minutemen:

I have received word via E-Mail from Sandra Miller that The Miracle Valley Bible College in Hereford, Arizona has just been fined $750 per day by James E. Vlahovich (Director, Cochise County Planning Department) for offering and providing housing/camping facilities to volunteers of The Minuteman Project. I am sure this will break soon on more familiar news sites, as MMP Director Jim Gilchrist will surely be discussing this in press interviews today.

The program has been successful but a few incidents have tarnished the effort, such as making a border crosser pose for a picture and some guy pointing a gun at some other border crossers.

There’s other alleged law breaking going on, but not the kind you think:

American Civil Liberties Union activists shadowing the Minuteman Project at the U.S.-Mexican border in Arizona are actively aiding and abetting aliens attempting to enter the country illegally, said a spokesman for the volunteer civilian force.

Grey Deacon told Joseph Farah’s nationally syndicated “WorldNetDaily RadioActive” audience yesterday that ACLU monitors sent to the border to watch Minuteman activity and report civil-liberties abuses to authorities have begun flashing lights, sounding horns and warning off illegals and their “coyote” human smugglers from entering territory patrolled by the volunteers.

And, of course, the pictures of the ACLU volunteers smoking weed.

If the Democrats want an issue for 2008, the lax border security under the Bush administration is it. And Schiavo. And federalism. And big spending. And big government. And the creepy, almost surreal seriousness with which the right is sucking up to those that are farther to the right and ignoring the moderate right (and libertarian right). Ask Der Commissar.

Blogging for Bryant sets the record straight regarding who they are not:

Let me end this rumor right here. No one involved with this blog is associated with the Ed Bryant for U.S. Senate campaign as pointed out in our first post. My name is Jay Bush and I am a former Bryant staffer, but not associated with Ed’s campaign in any capacity (though I do plan on volunteering). I worked in Ed Bryant’s congressional office in Washington for three years. I have also worked on some state campaigns for the Tennessee Republican Party. Currently, I’m a law student and clerking at a small Nashville firm.

Jay Bush sound familiar? You may recognize that name if you’ve ever seen Bush Beans commercials. Roll that beautiful bean footage.

He also notes another political blog that is pushing Van Hilleary for Senate. The blog, View from Here, levels quite a bit of criticism at Bryant and at Blogging For Bryant, most of it unsubstantiated, inflammatory rhetoric (as a bonus, the post references Monica Lewinsky).

B4B notes that the author of this blog is Jennifer Coxe, spokeswoman for Hilleary’s failed 2002 gubernatorial campaign.

If blogs are an indication, the Republican Primary could get a bit ugly. I stand by my endorsement of Not Hilleary.

Adam has more. As does Matthew.

Tennessee political blogs just got more interesting.

WBIR reports that Gov. Bredesen wants to take our revenue surplus and give raises to state employees:

In his budget for fiscal 2006, Bredesen has proposed about $44 million for a one percent pay raise for state employees, and earmarked the same amount for a one time one percent bonus. If state revenue stays strong, the governor would like to double the pay increase.

The governor could give everyone in the state a raise by cutting our ridiculous sales tax of 9.25%. Some quick math based on those numbers:

1%X = $44M
X= 4,400,000,000.00

Ok. Looks like the budget for salaries is (at a SWAG) about $4.4B. Per the Census, the Median salary in TN is about $36K. The article states that state employees earn about 20-25% less than average. So, to be generous since governments tend to be top heavy, we’ll call it $30K. So:

$4.4B / 30,000 = 146,667 state employees.

Seems like a lot to me. Of course, my math was quick and riddled with assumptions.

Anyway, cut the sales tax and we all get raises. Spending this surplus is why Tennessee will (in the future) be crying about fiscal crisis and budget woes. Whoever brings up income tax next time should be sacked.

This weekend marks junior’s start of mobility. She, almost instantly, started to crawl. I mean really crawl. Before, she’d crawl a little, maybe 2 feet to get a toy or something. Now, she’s clearing entire rooms. Had to childproof cabinets and attach things that might fall to walls.

She’s not the fastest thing on the planet so the dogs don’t yet have to worry about being chased. But she is going. Mom and dad were so proud.

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius signed into law a bill that makes it legal to carry a firearm anywhere in the state as long as it’s unloaded and in an enclosed container.

I think the governor is putting on her pro-gun face prior to an election year. She did, after all, veto concealed carry legislation for Kansas.

Per this language quiz, I speak:

50% General American English
45% Dixie
5% Yankee
0% Midwestern
0% Upper Midwestern

I was shocked to learn I speak any Yankee.

Been a bit of back and forth on this issue of whether or not FOID cards actually register anything. Ravenwood notes that the Chicago authorities have already used FOID card information to confiscate guns.

Today 5:43 p.m. EST, Alan Korwin of GunLaws will be on Fox News to discuss Arizona’s new high school marksmanship class.

KOSCIELSKI’S GUNS AND AMMO UPDATE:

Dave reports that the outlook isn’t good. Koscielski’s reports that even gun groups aren’t getting involved in helping them. Their deadline has been extended to May. Try calling the NRA or other pro-gun groups to see if they’ll get involved.

Gunlawnews has the latest on the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.

Also, bought a gun mag this weekend. Barrett had an ad in the magazine and it stated they would not sell to California government agencies. Good for Barrett.

The only thing better than one Virtual Bartender is two Virtual Bartenders.

Here’s a good resource for completing your 80% complete AR15 lower receiver. Good stuff, with pics.

The NRA had a convention this weekend. Let’s look at how the press covered it:

The AP:

While gun-control groups acknowledge the NRA’s influence in government, those activists say the NRA is out of step with most Americans.

“Unfortunately it’s because they have a ton of money and they do a very good job with their propaganda,” said Eric Howard, a spokesman for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

Guess they didn’t get the memo that most Americans have a favorable view of the NRA. And, of course, the Brady Campaign is the king of propaganda and lies. Despite the NRA’s rhetoric on guns, they (unlike the Bradies) have never lied about them to my knowledge.

Houston Chronicle:

With nearly 4 million members and millions of dollars to donate to political campaigns, many lawmakers and other observers say the NRA is the most powerful lobbying group in Washington.

I thought that was the AARP? KVIA comments that Political left verbal target for NRA at convention. The Houston Chronicle notes some jabs at liberals too. Actually, they’re targets are people who are anti-gun. The NRA has supported people like Reid and Dean.

And the latest political bogeyman, Tom DeLay, was there. That’s what everyone is telling us. Apparently, DeLay went there to seek shelter.

DeLay also noted the gun debate is overheated and gun folks should be nice to anti-gun folks. And DeLay went there to duck his ethics controversy. Apparently, this ethics controversy also afflicts every other member of Congress.

Leave our guns alone. This quote’s pretty funny:

But Eric Howard, a spokesman for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said he doesn’t think the NRA speaks for most Americans when it comes to gun control in the United States.

“It’s an organization that refuses to take any reasonable measure to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and children,” he said.

Really? You mean like supporting background checks and hosting a program to teach kids about guns? I think Eddie Eagle has saved more children than the Brady Bunch.

And the LA Times, being surprisingly non-hysterical about the assault weapons ban, notes that the industry has changed a lot since the expiration of the assault weapons ban:

The 60,000 people expected this weekend at the National Rifle Assn. convention will find that a cottage industry has sprung up since they last met.

Gun companies are offering to beef up firearms by adding high-tech accouterments and high-capacity ammunition clips — accessories that were outlawed in certain combinations until Congress let the assault weapons ban expire in the fall.

And this is unbelievable because it appears in the LA Times:

Critics of the gun industry say assault weapons are too powerful to allow civilians to own them. They say they can be deadly in the wrong hands, believe they helped fuel gang violence in recent years and say there is no reason that hunters need to carry such potent firearms.

But thousands are sold each year — there are about 2 million circulating in the United States — and they hold a special allure for some gun aficionados.

That’s partly because of their practical attributes. They are lightweight and increasingly accurate, which helps in shooting competitions. Because many are built to military standards, they are considered durable and able to withstand harsh weather conditions.

NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said the public had no reason to be concerned with changes in the marketplace of weaponry, and he dismissed the devices as cosmetic.

“None of these affect the performance capability of a firearm,” he said. “They only affect the way the firearm looks.”

Irony is sometimes funny:

A state senator sponsoring a constitutional amendment aimed at “solemnizing the relationship of one man and one woman” is accused in a divorce case of cheating on his wife.

He denies the allegations. It’s a good thing because ‘fessing up to it would Sen. Jeff Miller a, you know, hypocrite.

Gunscribe on the city of Lincoln’s recent ban on smoking:

Keno is big business for 30 licensed locations in Lincoln, many of them bars and nightclubs. Keno players are a dedicated lot and do not like to have their games and concentration broken because they have to step outside for a smoke. Under contractual license agreement the city of Lincoln recieves (sic) fourteen cents of every Keno dollar played. Figures for January, the first month of the ban indicate that the gross revenue is down nearly five hundred thousand dollars over the previous January. At fourteen cents on every dollar that represents a one month loss of about a seventy thousand dollars in income the city has come to depend on for Librairies (sic) and Park projects.

That tax revenue is going to neighboring communities. Heh.

M.D. Harmon says Sen. Strimling proves again he needs to find another hobby. This article is well worth the read.

A panel reporting to the President has vowed to revamp the tax code:

Breaux said the recommended options could include an overhaul similar to the sweeping legislation passed in 1986 or perhaps even a “new tax system,” likely featuring a consumption tax, such as a sales tax, or perhaps a flat tax, where all income is taxed at one rate.

The advisory panel issued a strong statement Wednesday calling the current tax code “unstable and unpredictable” and in a “dismal condition,” harming businesses, individuals and the U.S. economy.

“Our tax laws have been compared to an overbuilt and dilapidated house with conflicting architectural styles and a crumbling foundation, a sick patient who is about to expire, and a factory that has been littered with so much garbage that it can no longer operate productively,” the panel said.

The Carnival of Cordite is up.

And my Buy a Gun day purchase is one of these. Yup, a high velocity air rifle for target shooting and suitable for small game hunting. Also, plenty powerful for bunnies, birds, squirrels and other varmints that have messed with my garden.

Not funny ha ha but funny sad:

So let me get this straight: Lawmakers continue to insist on a Byzantine, gordian mess of a tax code that requires us to spend billions annually on tax advice and preparation.

Yet if you call the IRS and ask for advice, not only are you unlikely to get a reply, if you do, there’s a good chance the advice you get will be wrong, and following it could still get you prosecuted?

Happy fun tax fact:

People scurrying to meet Friday’s tax deadline might consider this: It’s taking you and your fellow Americans 6.6 billion hours to do all that paperwork.

The basic tax return — the Form 1040 filed by most people every year — accounts for 1.6 billion hours.

And, here’s a round up of happy fun tax facts past:

Bribes and kickbacks to governmental officials are deductible unless the individual has been convicted of making the bribe or has entered a plea of not guilty or nolo contendre.

In 1999, taxpayers contacted the IRS for assistance approximately 117 million times.

The Internal Revenue Code consists of approximately 1,395,000 words.

There are 693 sections of the Internal Revenue Code that are applicable to individual taxpayers, 1,501 sections applicable to businesses, and 445 sections applicable to tax-exempt organizations, employee plans, and governments.

As of June 2000, the Treasury Department had issued almost 20,000 pages of regulations containing over 8 million words.

In 2000, there were 129,373,500 returns filed. Of which, 96,817,603 were taxable and 32,555,897 were not.

In 2002 individuals, businesses and non-profits will spend an estimated 5.8 billion hours complying with the federal income tax code (henceforth called “compliance costs”), with an estimated compliance cost of over $194 billion

As of 1998, 32% of individual federal income taxes are needed in order to pay the interest on the national debt.

It is estimated that total income tax receipts in 2003 will be $1,211,843,000,000.

The instructions for filing the Easy Tax Form are 32 pages

At least it’s also buy a gun day. Nothing bought yet, still haven’t decided what I want.

Update: Ravenwood reflects on what he pays for.

More: Foxtrot weighs in.

The Entrepreneurial Mind has more too. Via Bill.

Another case of the powers that be using eminent domain to handle zoning and code issues:

Boca Raton city government is taking steps to permanently eliminate problems with a trash-strewn home on Palmetto Park Road.

The City Council this week initiated eminent domain proceedings against Albert Schulz, 57, the owner of a house at 600 W. Palmetto Park Road that city officials say has been a filth problem for about nine years.

Boca cannot foreclose on the house because it has a homestead exemption. So it chose the more aggressive step of taking the dwelling by eminent domain.

I’m not sure what a homestead exemption is but it seems that enforcing zoning ordinances is more appropriate.

Looks like breed specific legislation doesn’t work:

It was our impression that Muskegon Heights’ tough city ordinance limiting pit bulls and dangerous dogs would have been more effective. Yet clearly, more needs to be done and is being done in the wake of several pit bull attacks on children in that city.

The solution propose, of course, is doing more of the same. The particular incident prompting the new crackdown:

Tre’s injuries came from a dog chained up next to his grandmother’s house.

Dogs on chains (of any breed) tend to become aggressive. They’re not fond of being restrained. On some media hysteria:

Pit bulls are not the only dog bred specifically for its ferocity, but it is the chief breed raised for bloody “sporting” matches in which two dogs are pitted against each other in a contest to the death. Some people also keep them around because they “guard” the house.

Pit bulls were not bred for ferocity. They were bred for gameness and dog aggression. They actually make pretty lousy guard dogs.

Xrlqy Wrlqy, comments in this post that the Illinois FOID does not register firearms. It does, however, register firearms owners.

Ethics reform has the support of a local rep. He has a blog and opines on the issue:

A $50.00 fine is a joke for the money some are taking in.

As the late Senator Koella used to say, if we’re going to pass a law, let’s put some teeth into it. Let’s forget about a $50 fine, and instead press real charges.

These criminals should be dealt with as harshly as those they took advantage of. In some cases, a felony charge is not out of the question.

The final piece of reform should be an elected state-wide Attorney General who does not have to tow the line for anyone but the taxpayers. That means not owing his/her job to the Tennessee Supreme Court. If the voters aren’t satisfied, he/she can be voted out and someone who will do the job can be put in. That is accountability–and accountability is sorely lacking.

To combat puppy mills, the Tennessee legislature is proposing (gasp!) taxes:

Pet food would be subject to a new tax and persons selling more than 25 dogs or cats would have to be licensed under legislation debated to a standstill in a Senate committee on Tuesday.

The bill would also mandate inspections and investigations of animal abuse. The tax would pay for that. Bubba opines that it is good legislation. The bill would tax pet food and require a tax license of $75.

Puppy mills are atrocious, horrible things. I think this is a start but I doubt it will be very effective. I tend to think that people operating puppy mills are not inclined to obey the law. However, it does set up another means of prosecuting unethical breeders.

I caught a little bit of Citizen Journalist on Right Talk Radio. It’s internet radio hosted by Bill and Jeff. When speaking, they suffer from the same afflictions I do:

My speech is rather monotonous. I have a deep voice and my voice naturally doesn’t fluctuate in pitch or volume very much. I appear, I’ve been told, rather stoic and sort of unaffected by my environment. This causes me some problems: 1) I am a terrible public speaker because I’m monotonous; 2) I can’t tell jokes (seriously, I am quite deficient in my ability to deliver a punchline)

I appreciate their effort but, like me, they need some sort of voice training. They, like me, have voices made for blogging, which trumps faces made for radio.

The Houston Chronicle:

The NRA’s Eddie Eagle GunSafe program, which has reached an estimated 18 million children nationwide and 1.4 million Texas kids since inception in the early 1990s, visits four Houston-area schools this week.

The program, created in consultation with child psychologists, teachers and law enforcement personnel, is designed for kids in pre-K through third grade and teaches four simple reactions to a gun: Stop. Don’t touch. Leave the area. Tell an adult.

According to a release from the NRA, “fatal firearm accidents in the Eddie Eagle age group have been reduced more than two-thirds nationwide since the program’s inception.”

That same release notes that in Texas, from 1990-2002, the National Center for Health Statistics reports a 79 percent reduction in fatal gun accidents among children.

One note about the article is that I’ve never noticed talking points from anti-gun groups with the qualifier: According to a release from the [insert anti-gun group]. Maybe I’m just being obtuse.

Time it took from me reinstituting trackbacks to the first piece of trackback spam: 30 minutes.

Trackback is turned off, again.

His not so weekly gun links are up.