In what is likely to become a regular act of social resistance another Supreme Court Judge is going to lose some land, if the Libertarian party gets it’s way.

PLAINFIELD, N.H. (AP) – Libertarians upset about a Supreme Court ruling on eminent domain have proposed seizing Justice Stephen G. Breyer’s vacation home and turning it into a park, echoing efforts aimed at another justice who lives in the state.
The state’s Libertarian Party is trying to collect enough signatures to go before the town next spring to ask to use Breyer’s 167-acre property for a “Constitution Park” with stone monuments to commemorate the U.S. and New Hampshire constitutions.

Makes a man almost feel sorry for the modern plight of the soon to be homeless.

Via Eric, comes this:

Walgreen Co. has agreed to pay $1.3 million to settle claims it broke state and federal laws by failing to monitor sales of over-the-counter cold medicine that can be used to make methamphetamine, authorities said Thursday.

The company also agreed to spend $1 million to monitor purchases of this medicine. It did not admit to any wrongdoing.

This was because a few stores were out of compliance. Tennessee just passed such a law recently. How long before they go after stores who make a few oversights? Maybe that’s why Target doesn’t carry baby medicine?

TriggerFinger:

Illinois has decided to close a loophole that doesn’t exist. The governor has signed a law requiring “unlicensed [gun] dealers” to conduct background checks on potential purchasers. The problem is, there’s no such thing as an unlicensed dealer — either you are a dealer (in which case, you should be federally licensed) or you are a private seller (in which case, you need not be). There’s some question as to where the dividing line between those two categories should be, but if the BATFE thinks you’re a dealer and you aren’t licensed, they will try to put you in jail.

The term unlicensed dealer doesn’t have a hard and fast definition and is subject to wiggle room (and abuse, in some cases) by the ATF.

Gun Laws of America is a book that has all the gun laws in the country and translates lawyer into English.

The Carnival of Cordite is up!

James has pics of what is the result of a pit bull vs. porcupine match (pics are not for the squeamish). Somewhere, there is a naked porcupine. James wonders if it’s real. I thought it was possible as bully type dogs aren’t exactly known for giving up.

Jay emails that Snopes says it is real. But it’s a bull terrier.

Junior has the sniffles. The Mrs. called the pediatrician to ask what to do about it and he stated to give her the orange Triaminic. No problem since she was going to Target anyway to pick up other stuff. While there The Mrs. discovers that, because Triaminic is now regulated like Sudafed since someone might use it to make Meth instead of for baby sniffles, Target has stopped carrying it. Too big a hassle.

Is it just me, or is it getting awful stupid in here?

I’m all for it. There are so many stupid laws that need to be struck down. The fact remains that juries are often mislead, lied to, and bullied by the powers that be. Radley Balko addresses jury nullification in this FoxNews piece:

The doctrine of jury nullification (search) rests on two truths about the American criminal justice system: (1) Jurors can never be punished for the verdict they return, and (2) Defendants cannot be retried once a jury has found them not guilty, regardless of the jury’s reasoning. So the juries in both the Rosenthal and Paey cases could have returned a “not guilty” verdict, even though Paey and Rosenthal were undoubtedly guilty of the charges against them.

This may sound radical, perhaps even subversive, but jury nullification serves as an important safeguard against unjust laws, as well as against the unfair application of well-intended laws. It’s also steeped in American and British legal tradition.

Patterico dissents from Balko’s endorsement of jury nullification, noting:

In a competent judge’s courtroom, all jurors are asked if they are willing to follow the law, regardless of whether they agree with it. They must answer this question in the affirmative or they cannot sit as jurors. And they must answer this question under oath.

Rendering a verdict is following the law, though I’m certain he means a juror states they are willing to convict based on the law. I disagree with his conclusion because, at some point, someone has to stand up and state that something is unjust, unfair, or just fucking stupid. And, given that jurors are often kept in the dark regarding lots of things, it’s not like jury nullification is really an issue. Though I do wish it was. I also wish we had Congressional nullification.

Update: Good debate going on in the comments at Patterico’s, if you’re into that sort of thing. Apparently, California lawyers don’t like it.

Gunner reports the story of a single, elderly woman who didn’t think that a policeman at her door acted like a policeman because he was unprofessional and, apparently, stupid. She closed the door on him and called 911. She was charged with misdemeanor obstructing and delaying.

Rob notes the NRA anticipates other amendments to be added to the gun immunity bill, that include banning .50 caliber rifles, certain types of ammunition, gun shows, and semi-automatics. If these amendments are added, the bill should be killed. Depending on how badly the NRA wants the immunity bill, it may not ask to kill the bill. After all, the NRA sold gun owners out in 1994 because it cared more for the NICS than it did for gun rights.

Rob also says:

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has lived up to his word . . .

I thought Frist’s word was an up or down vote on the single bill.

Heh.

More anti-gun wish lists are hitting the immunity bill:

Republican Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., agreed late Thursday to allow debate on amendments to the measure Friday. One, sponsored by Sen. Jon Corzine, D-N.J., would make police officers exceptions to the bill’s restrictions, allowing them to sue. Another, sponsored by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., would do the same for children.

Yes, because frivolous lawsuits should be allowed for the children and police. Simple fact is, the dealers either act within the law or do not.

Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., introduced an amendment that would ban hollow-tipped, “cop killer” bullets. Another, sponsored by Sen. Jack Reed , D-R.I., would allow individuals, but not municipalities, to file such lawsuits.

Uhm, what are hollow-tipped, “cop killer” bullets. I thought the lie about cop-killer bullets was that they penetrate body armor, which hollow points do not. A ban on hollow points would end hunting as most states prohibit full metal jacketed rounds for hunting large game. Coincidentally, handgun ammo designed to pierce vests is already banned. And allowing individuals to file suit is the same as not passing the law.

The RTB page is up and running with many new features. The latest is the old three column aggregator. Check it out.

Also, if you consider yourself a member, please link to the main page or we’ll be forced to give you a ticket.

Cool interview with the author of Bully: It’s the Pits, which is a celebration of everything Pit Bull. Oddly, it ends with:

It got hold of one of his tapes and went crazy. Later that day, his mom went to walk the dog and ended up having to pull 90 minutes of tape out of the dog’s ass.

Knoxville’s local satire site, Knoxpatch, has a lot of funny stuff. Go read. Here’s a taste:

Knoxville school board agrees supplemental pay to coaches more important than education

Sort of neat as I got a media inquiry about Gunbloggers and The Rocky Top Brigade. Having a blog is neat because you don’t really have to come up with anything new as your response can be to shamelessly quote yourself. Well, that’s what I did.

WBIR:

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is creating an Internet registry of people convicted of making the powerful illegal stimulant methamphetamine.

Beginning in September county officials statewide will begin sending the TBI the names and addresses of anyone convicted of making meth. The registry would join the existing online listing of sex offenders.

Judge takes a swipe at Bush:

U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour said the successful prosecution of Ahmed Ressam should serve not only as a warning to terrorists, but as a statement to the Bush administration about its terrorism-fighting tactics.

“We did not need to use a secret military tribunal, detain the defendant indefinitely as an enemy combatant or deny the defendant the right to counsel,” he said Wednesday. “The message to the world from today’s sentencing is that our courts have not abandoned our commitment to the ideals that set our nation apart.”

Les has some history on the town I call home. Interesting reading.

Being a libertarian in spirit I have read many times the comeback that without the laws there would be anarchy and chaos.

But would there be chaos?

Kiev, Ukraine – Ever wonder what would happen if traffic cops were done away with and you could drive any way you wanted?

In Ukraine, less than a month ago, that’s what happened and things are pretty much just fine.
………………
From his subordinates Yushchenko demanded – and received – a plan to dissolve the DAI and by the beginning of July the deed was done, the executive order signed.

Ukraine’s once-feared traffic police ceased to exist.
………………
“If we received $300 or 400 a month we would do our jobs perfectly,” he said, “but now, with no police out there, our roads will become slaughterhouses.”

But that’s not the way it turned out. Drivers in the Ukrainian provincial cities of Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Lviv reported traffic was moving quite normally and most drivers were obeying regulations, even though there were few, if any, traffic cops around to enforce them.

“Just like people have been driving before, breaking the rules when they can, they’re driving now,” said Arnold Shapyro, an Odessa taxi driver.

“The difference is that now the traffic cops aren’t hassling us.”

Give us more money and we would do our job right. The chant heard from police and other public service employees across this country. I never bought it and never will.

Maybe, just maybe, we can rule ourselves. Original idea there people!

A reader emails this link. Note the caption to the pic.

Update: Once you click the link, they do note that it is at the Knob Creek Machine Gun shoot. So maybe they are automatics.

Update 2: The reader, who said it was ignorance and not bias, writes:

DAMMIT, I THOUGHT I HAD SOMETHING THERE! Hahah … Well what’s that one over on the right? [looks like an M1 carbine to me - ed.]

But wait a second, if those really ARE automatics, then it’s not ignorance, it IS bias—because what the hell does a picture of some guys with automatic rifles have to do with a story about requiring safety locks on HANDGUNS, if not to confuse the issue and make people think of “really scary things?”

So whether they are are auto, or semi-auto, it’s bias or ignorance

The AP:

Mulling legislation to shield the gun industry from some lawsuits, the Senate on Thursday approved a provision requiring a separate child safety lock with each handgun purchase.

They all pretty much come with locks anyway but:

Added to the bill 70-30, the language proposed by Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., is the first that majority Republicans have allowed to come to the floor. Senate Republican Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said he might allow others.

I suggest you start calling your Senators now and telling them not to add any gun control riders.

A candidate for sheriff in Memphis, John Harvey, has a blog. His first entry is Why is Memphis the 2nd most dangerous Metro area in the US?

Been a while since I had a science class but what I recall of my elementary school days about magnets is that they have a positive and negative side. A positive will stick to a negative but two same-charged sides won’t stick together. Meaning positive won’t stick to positive and negative won’t stick to negative. At least, that’s how I recall.

Junior has one of those Magna Doodles that has three pieces with one side of a magnet exposed (square, triangle, circle) for imprinting shapes onto the Magna Doodle. I take two magnets each of which only has one side exposed and the other side is covered by plastic (we’ll say circle and square) and they stick together. I conclude that one exposed side must be positive and one exposed side must be negative. However, I touch both exposed sides to the triangle separately, and they both stick to it. This had me understandably puzzled.

Is there some new kind of gay magnet or something?

Update: Edited for clarity. Stupid grammar.

Have you noticed that gas prices are up? I thought we went to war for cheap oil. We’re getting screwed.

Joe has some updates regarding him being fired from PNNL for his pro-gun political views.

Kudos to Tennessee Reps John Tanner, Harold Ford Jr., and John J. Duncan Jr. for voting against the PATRIOT Act. Says Duncan:

“I believe federal prosecutors and law enforcement personnel have more than enough power already. They are spending far too much money with far too little to show for it.”

Ayup.

Via Michael, comes Flex Your Rights, which is a guide for dealing with police searches. Definitely, a must read.

It’s a question we gunnies are often asked. Often, anti-gunnies ask why we need AR-15s, .50 Calibers, regular capacity magazines, etc. My response is usually: What’s need got to do with it? However, Head brings up a very good point. Why do the police need a belt-fed squad automatic weapon? I don’t think they train police to lay down covering fire since they’re trained to minimize the risk of damage to passers-by.

Looks like the schools of my hometown are one step closer to banning the Confederate flag at the school and its sporting events.

When your gun laws aren’t quite working out the way you plan, the best course of action is to blame other people. Eric, who is all over the lies about the gun immunity bill perpetuated by the media, also notes that the South must be to blame for gun crime problems in the north.

Additionally, Ravenwood notes that the recent eruption of gun violence in Toronto is also the fault of America. He also asks: So where are the other half coming from? Greenland?

To RTB’s own Mark for a mention in the WaPo.

The senate is set to pass the gun immunity bill and without attaching riders:

Gun control advocates in the U.S. Senate, unable to halt a bill that would shield the firearms industry from some lawsuits, tried unsuccessfully on Wednesday to put some gun safety measures in the measure.

Those would not have been gun safety measures but would have been gun control measures.

With a clear majority of the Senate backing it, the “Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act” appears set to pass the Senate within the next few days. It is a top priority of the National Rifle Association, the influential gun lobby, and the White House has strongly endorsed it.

We’re winning.

May be the dumbest thing I’ve seen in a while:

An 11-year-old girl who threw a stone at a group of boys pelting her with water balloons is being prosecuted on serious assault charges in California.

Maribel Cuevas was arrested in April in a police operation which involved three police cars and a helicopter.

She has since spent five days in detention, in which she was granted one 30 minute visit by her parents, and has spent a month under house arrest.

Cars, helicopters, arrest and detainment. I’m glad the authorities have taken care of this violent criminal. Seriously, they got nothing better to do?

And it’s a pretty bad one too:

“The president and his right-wing Supreme Court think it is ‘okay’ to have the government take your house if they feel like putting a hotel where your house is,” Dean said, not mentioning that until he nominated John Roberts to the Supreme Court this week, Bush had not appointed anyone to the high court.

Dean’s reference to the “right-wing” court was also erroneous. The four justices who dissented in the Kelo vs. New London case included the three most conservative members of the court – Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Associate Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor was the fourth dissenter.

The court’s liberal coalition of Justices John Paul Stevens, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer combined with Justice Anthony Kennedy to form the majority opinion, allowing the city of New London, Conn., to use eminent domain to seize private properties for commercial development.

The Minutemen have rejected the idea of working under the direction of the .gov and vow to remain independent of government supervision.

No time to go to high power matches? No problem:

The second title in the NRA Shooting Sports Game Series, NRA High Power Competition, was released today by Interactive Sports Entertainment and Marketing, Inc. “ISE”(formerly Speedco Shooting Sports, Inc.). NRA High Power Competition brings all of the fun and competition of one of the most popular forms of military style competitive shooting to the home computer.

A true-to-life simulation of high power rifle shooting, NRA High Power Competition provides valuable resources which teach the rules, procedures and safety of the sport. Grant Ubl, top-ranked, competitive shooter and owner of two major long range shooting websites, long-range.com and nationalmatch.us, states, “Imagine training juniors with this game before they ever fire a live round… Think of how much this will shorten their learning curve!”

Players can shoot highly detailed civilian versions of three military service rifles (M-16, M-14, M-1 Garand) as well as three sophisticated match rifles. The game includes advanced ballistics modeling and true-to-life reloading (hand loading) systems using products from many of the industry’s top manufacturers, a few of which include Springfield Armory and Bushmaster Firearms, as well as leading powder, bullet and accessory companies.

Players can use the career system to track their progress towards becoming High Master in local competitions, state championships and national championships. NRA High Power Competition can also be played against the comprehensive artificial intelligence mode which will pit the player’s individual skills against some of the most competitive shooters in the world, or can be played online for the ultimate challenge. Collect gear and tune your ammunition to your rifle for the ultimate accuracy.

David Codrea on a recent KABA poll that denotes overwhelming support for Judge Roberts:

Can KABA point to any meaningful indicators on Judge Roberts’ sentiments on the Second Amendment? Unless something new has been disclosed that I’m out of the loop on, even NRA, with all its Washington connections and insider information has been mum on the subject of Roberts and guns.

Here’s what we do know:

Hillary is reported to be ready to confirm him. Feinstein is “impressed” with him. Schumer’s only 2A-related concern is whether or not he agrees with a prior high court decision to overturn the “Gun Free School Zones Act.”

I’ve given Jon Stewart grief before for going easy on Kerry, Gillespie, and others. And for lying about guns. Last night, I watched it on the Tivo and Jon Stewart was a total pussy with respect to his interview with Santorum. It was almost painful to watch. You could tell Stewart wanted to lean into him but apparently he lacked the balls to do so.

It’s not often that the local newspaper writes something that gets the SayUncle seal of approval. But this time, the editorial board gets one right:

Seizure laws out of control

It’s probably fitting that extortion charges against two Loudon County deputies were dropped.
After all, they weren’t the extortionists – we were.

The deputies seized $9,649 from a motorist they suspected of being a drug dealer. Forget the fact that no drugs were collected.

Our seizure laws don’t trifle with such details as evidence. They operate on the great American proposition that a citizen is guilty until proven innocent – if the cops say so.

They can take your car, house and money without due process of law and without a jury trial. Glad to see a media outlet point that out.