A comment by Addison over at Xrlq’s on penumbra, living constitution stuff:
Yeah, I don’t hate Shakespeare.
I just hate it when it’s performed by actors with English accents on a stage, exactly as written.
Far better to use the stories as a “guideline” and let the actors “ad lib” – and let the audience interact!
It looks like Alito will be the next US Supreme Court Justice. Despite claims that he’s out of the mainstream (which is code for he may not be pro-choice), claims that he’s a radical right wing judicial activist (again, code for the fact he may not be pro-choice), that he is a gun fanatic in the pocket of the NRA (which means he thinks the commerce clause actually was not written with disappearing ink), claims that he’s a racist, Bible-thumping misogynist (which is code for he belongs to the same country clubs as that paragon of moral certainty Ted Kennedy and he may not be pro-choice) and despite a pretty abysmal attempt at a filibuster, he will likely be confirmed according to, well, every account I’ve seen. What do I think? I’ll tell you:
The claims that he’s libertarian on guns and his GOA endorsement are good things.
The fact he’s a fan of the commerce clause is good too.
However, he seems to be a statist Republican on the surface for most other issues and that’s bad.
I could be wrong on any of those points but, based on what I’ve seen, I have no reason to think otherwise.
Update: He’s confirmed.
Never seen this subgun before. It looks pretty cool.
Via Defense Review who has a lot more info on it and tons of pics.
I’ve had a few readers complain that they occasionally get a 412 Precondition Failed error here in the past. I’d never really gotten it so I could not investigate. Well, this morning, I got one. I hit refresh on the main page while posting an entry and got the error. Once the entry posted, the error went away.
Any ideas?
The local war on porn (covered before here) has had its first terrorist attack:
A man armed with a rifle and gasoline set fire to an adult novelty store early this morning, authorities said.
Shortly after 4 a.m. the man walked into the 24-hour Town and Country Book Den, 7011 Clinton Hwy. and began pouring out gasoline and setting fires, according to the store clerk.
Idiot.
Lawmakers say the veto override is likely to succeed:
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and two Democratic state lawmakers came together Sunday to put up a last-minute fight against a bill that would legalize the carrying of concealed weapons in Wisconsin. But they acknowledged that even with their protests, the legislation would likely become law.
“The possibility is very, very strong that by the end of this week, people will be able to carry concealed guns in Wisconsin,” said Barrett, who spoke outside State Fair Park with Reps. Jon Richards of Milwaukee and Tony Staskunas of West Allis.
Good.
In the past, I often wondered why America had a high murder rate compared to other Westernized nations. I eventually stopped wondering and began assuming that we Americans were just generally prone to killing. After all, this land was taken by killing the natives. Our country’s independence was gained by killing folks. I just figured that’s how Americans were and stopped wondering.
I’ve ruled out access to guns, because other countries with fewer guns have higher murder rights. And other Western countries where gun ownership is generally banned have higher violent crime rates. And some countries with access to more guns (or where owning military weapons is mandated by law) have a lower murder rate.
Then, I read this post by Kim du Toit. He was commenting on Kevin’s homicide stats. Kevin opined:
It suggests that the homicide by firearm problem is concentrated in a small, identifiable group. It suggests that homicide is heavily concentrated in the overall black demographic, and especially in young black men.
Kim stated:
The United States has always had a higher murder rate than other countries, not because there are more guns around, but because we are a nation of immigrants. When people have few or no ties to a community, their propensity towards lawlessness is much higher. (It’s why, for example, small-town sheriffs had a habit of telling strangers to leave town—they were playing the odds.)
I began to think that was nuts. Then, as the day wore on, that thought kept coming back to me. And I realized that it made a sick sort of sense. The nation of immigrants factor is just about the only thing we don’t have in common with other comparable western nations.
But what that doesn’t explain is why, in our country, the homicide rate is heavily comprised of murders of black people by other black people. After all, black people share a heritage and do have ties to the black community. I suppose another factor in that equation is the proximity to drug dealing and concentrated areas of poverty.
It’s very clear that America has a problem with black on black violence. But it will never be given the attention it deserves because examining the cause would be viewed as racist.
H&K is scaling back operations after the XM-8 project was canceled:
When German gunmaker Heckler & Koch showed up in Columbus more than two years ago, it had big plans for becoming one of the city’s major local companies.
On the drawing board was a 100,000-square-foot manufacturing facility, a $25 million capital investment and at least 200 high-paying jobs — maybe more. Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue even visited Columbus to attend a groundbreaking at Muscogee Technology Park, the industrial area off Macon Road where H&K was supposed to construct its large facility.
But Sterling, Va.-based Heckler & Koch (pronounced “coke”) had to scale back its strategy in a major way after learning last October that the U.S. military had canceled competitive bidding for the next-generation assault rifle. H&K was hoping to land a lucrative contract with the government to replace its 40-year-old M4 carbine and M16 rifle.
Now the company is regrouping in Columbus, forgoing construction of a large plant for an existing 13,170-square-foot building near Columbus East Industrial Park off Macon Road. The structure, formerly used by Cessna Aircraft, is the U.S. distribution center for H&K’s 80 models of weapons and accessories.
Peter Simon, H&K executive vice president for programs and government relations, in an interview last week, was cautious in his remarks about the company’s downsized fortunes. He knows offending someone in the military’s supply chain could harm H&K’s chances of landing a huge contract.
Still, he said it has been tough watching the XM8 assault rifle developed by his company — and generally applauded by soldiers testing it in the field — get shot down in the bidding process.
Well, if the project has been shot down, does that mean they’ve selected another rifle? If so, which one? Maybe the FN SCAR? Mmmmm, SCAR.
A good read by Jeff Knox on gun owners and elections:
In the end, Kerry lost no support from the anti’s by claiming to be pro-gun and gained nothing from the pro-gunners or the middle.
Meanwhile, Bush gained nothing from the anti’s or the “mainstream” but lost vital support from gun-rights activists. While the Bush team and the NRA are congratulating themselves, the belief that politicians are all liars who will say anything to be elected has been solidly reinforced and gun owner’s mistrust of the Republican Party has been rightly increased.
Another mistaken belief that has been reinforced is that of Republican strategists that gun-voters will always be with them. Former Republican National Committee Chair, Lee Atwater expressed it bluntly during George H. W. Bush’s reelection campaign when he asked, “Where else are they going to go?”
Though NRA made every effort to bolster the senior Bush in that election, his support of assault weapons bans and his earlier attacks on NRA itself were too much for gun-voting stalwarts and they went to Perot or to Clinton or just went hunting.
Read the whole thing.
It’s 3:00 and Junior’s still in jammies!
Here’s a fairly positive article on machine gun shooting:
After a week of delicately etching out cavities with a laser, dentist Rob Dugger of Wilsonville heads to the target range with his modified M-16.
“If it wasn’t this, it would be hot motorcycles or hot cars,” Dugger said, standing in the cool mist of a Sunday morning at the Albany Pistol and Rifle Club. “I do it to relax.”
Dugger, 49, a married father of four children ages 8 to 18, joined the substantial ranks of Oregon machine gun owners three years ago when he discovered that fully automatic weapons were legal in Oregon, as long as they are properly registered.
It also has some factual info on machine guns (some one alert the Bradies, the truth is getting out), like:
The federal government prohibits private citizens from owning automatic weapons made or imported after 1986. But Oregon — unlike California, Washington and seven other states — has not extended those restrictions to all machine guns. Oregon, in fact, has some of the more liberal weapons laws in the country. In Oregon, you can legally fire a machine gun, shoot a flamethrower, even launch a few grenades as long as you do it safely and with registered equipment.
and
Jim Ebert, a former Oregon City commissioner who has taught machine gun safety and marksmanship for 20 years, bought his first M-16 for $500. It’s now worth about $11,000. Thompson submachine guns — the Tommy guns associated with Al Capone and 1920s gangsters — can fetch $10,000 to $40,000.
Pricey stuff since the transfer of new machine guns to citizens was banned in 1986.
Does your kid have a blog? If so, read this. If they do, you may want to make sure they’re not giving out too much information.
Heh:
How ironic, that of the last two Senators who have lost elections to a sitting President, the one who went on to advertise erectile dysfunction treatments is not the one losing his dignity.
Via James, it looks like the M9 is on its way out and will be replaced by the .45ACP. James thinks it will be a Sig.
Readers of SayUncle already knew about the Joint Combat Pistol (see here and Les’ post here) but I think this is the first report that didn’t come from a gun board.
Update: Tam says Nopers:
The pistol will replace the M9, but only for SOCOM. My money is currently with the USP45, whose dimensions, as it has been pointed out, are suspiciously similar to the max dimensions given in the RFP.
Green Bay Press Gazette says a veto override for the CCW bill is going on.
In a predictical move Senator Chambers has avowed to do everything in his power to kill not only the CCW bill, but the Fetal Assault measure that is before the Unicameral.
Senator Chambers plans to nit pick and filibuster every bill that comes up for debate from now till the end of the short session.
Bummer. The override push has started in Wisconsin though.
Xavier is disappointed in an Airsoft 1911 replica that he bought to practice with. The video he shows is pretty cool but the pistol in no way functions like that. Speaking of, this video (via Marc) of a Japanese IPSC style match is pretty darn neat. Anyone know what sort of pistols they’re using? That’d be pretty cool to do in the garage.
Alphie notes that an Iraqi general claims Saddam’s WMDs were moved to Syria prior to the invasion:
“There are weapons of mass destruction gone out from Iraq to Syria, and they must be found and returned to safe hands,” Mr. Sada said. “I am confident they were taken over.”
Mr. Sada’s comments come just more than a month after Israel’s top general during Operation Iraqi Freedom, Moshe Yaalon, told the Sun that Saddam “transferred the chemical agents from Iraq to Syria.”
They are up over at The Radical Centrist’s joint. He neglected to post my entry. It is here.
I thought Mrs. Wigglebottom was a cat. Aunt B. on Kathy McIntyre’s publishing the names and addresses of pit bulls (which I discussed here):
No, I’m not going to run out and buy a gun. Yes, I will continue to be ill-at-ease about guns. But, god damn if Say Uncle doesn’t remind me of the importance of… well, fuck me, boys, I don’t even know what you call yourselves… guns-rights-advocates (?) and the necessity of throwing props their way every once in a while.
Why, you may ask, am I moved to cheer for guns-rights-advocates? Because when it comes to the silliness and offensiveness of trying to shame people into “proper” behavior, they get it.
I prefer to be called gun nut.
These Wild West short barreled lever guns are pretty neat looking. Those are classified as short barreled rifles and require a $200 tax. However, these mare’s legs are classified by the ATF as pistols. Not sure why.
We Can Do Better than a “Cut and Paste” Senator
It seems Hilleary borrowed heavily from an RNC press release.
In news you probably won’t get anywhere else, Sunshyne video reports that porn starlet Anna Malle has died. Link not safe for work.
For the record, I don’t get paid by anyone to plug their gun stuff. I just like pointing out deals when I see them. Coal Creek Armory has Rock River Arms stripped lowers for $109. That’s a damn fine price. They had Superior Arms lowers for $99 last time I was there too.
The ACLU of Georgia released copies of government files on Wednesday that illustrate the extent to which the FBI, the DeKalb County Division of Homeland Security and other government agencies have gone to compile information on Georgians suspected of being threats simply for expressing controversial opinions.
Two documents relating to anti-war and anti-government protests, and a vegan rally, prove the agencies have been “spying” on Georgia residents unconstitutionally, the ACLU said.
For example, more than two dozen government surveillance photographs show 22-year-old Caitlin Childs of Atlanta, a strict vegetarian, and other vegans picketing against meat eating, in December 2003. They staged their protest outside a HoneyBaked Ham store on Buford Highway in DeKalb County.
An undercover DeKalb County Homeland Security detective was assigned to conduct surveillance of the protest and the protestors, and take the photographs. The detective arrested Childs and another protester after he saw Childs approach him and write down, on a piece of paper, the license plate number of his unmarked government car.
“They told me if I didn’t give over the piece of paper I would go to jail and I refused and I went to jail, and the piece of paper was taken away from me at the jail and the officer who transferred me said that was why I was arrested,” Childs said on Wednesday.
The government file lists anti-war protesters in Atlanta as threats, the ACLU said. The ACLU of Georgia accuses the Bush administration of labeling those who disagree with its policy as disloyal Americans.
Sure, this Childs person is a bit, er, off but she has a right to be. And arrested for writing down a plate number? Give me a break.
Noting that the police really have no need to track other guns, sold by the same dealer when a crime gun is found, Nemerov opines:
Senators Schumer and Clinton wish to manufacture a crisis, using the death of two police officers to promote their own agenda of creating a registration database: the next step necessary to institute a national policy of civilian disarmament.
Some other smart cracker said something similar a while back.
Wal-Mart provides the libertarian ideal where Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms is a store rather than a government agency.
You know, to me Wal-Mart is a lot like George W. Bush. It’s not that I’m that big a fan in the abstract, really, it’s just that the viciousness and stupidity revealed in its enemies tends to make me view it more favorably than I otherwise would.
I shop there on occasion and it’s because they have cheap ammo and I don’t have to carry a dumb little card to get the best price. Actually, the card isn’t to get the best price, it’s just to get a competitive price. And where else can you go grab some ammo, pick up a Ruger 10/22 for less than $120, a Leupold scope for less than $200, a six pack of Guinness, get your oil changed, grab a pack of underwear, sample snacks, get a fishing license, have your pictures developed in less than an hour, review popular brands of HDTV flatscreens, get tax software, and grab a pack of Chiclets?
There was a thread on arfcom where folks were discussing Wal-Marts ammo prices. One of the anti-Wal-Mart contingent said something about supporting China. Well, guess what, if you buy the same product at another store, it’s still made in China.
A while back, I did my AR v AK comparison. Now, Head has done is own comparison. My favorites:
AK – You are able to hit the broad side of a barn from inside
AR – You are able to hit the broad side of a barn from 600m
Mosin – You can hit the farm from two counties over
And:
AK – Your rifle can be used by any two bit nation’s most illiterate conscripts to fight elite forces worldwide
AR – Your rifle is used by elite forces worldwide to fight two bit nations most illiterate conscripts
Mosin – Your rifle has fought against itself and won every time
Heh.
The SCOTUS denied cert. He has a round up and David Hardy has more. Seems you have to actually risk going to jail to challenge the law. I didn’t realize petitioning the government for a redress of grievances had to mean risking time in the slammer.
Bitter tells us the senate there voted to override the veto. I doubt the chamber has the votes but good to see the effort.
Xavier has some rules for scoring stuff at gun shows. One I always forget is:
Carry cash. Carry cash in $20 increments, in several different pockets.
As a willing player in the cashless society, I rarely carry cash. Much less in large quantities. But at a gun show, it’s a good idea.
Kathy McIntyre, of some paper I’ve never heard of, published the names and addresses of 24 pit bull owners in a newspaper for Commerce City, Colorado. Her lame ass reason was for the greater good of the community. Never mind that, like the time the Cleveland Plain Dealer published names of carry permit holders, it’s an unnecessary privacy violation. She assumed that people who owned such dogs were a threat and should be embarrassed or acknowledged so as to be ridiculed, apparently. It also could give some folks the view that the paper is encouraging vigilantism. Blogger Andrea Weckerle recommends that you contact her via the address at the Metro North Chamber.
Well, here’s the address of a real threat to the community:
At work:
Kathy McIntyre
Commerce City Gateway
PO Box 88
Commerce City, CO 80037
(720) 221-7352
(720) 221-7352
kathy@coloradobusinessalliance.com
I also have her home address, phone number, a map to her house, a picture of her house, and know her husband’s first name. I could publish all that but that would make me a dick. Man, Al Gore’s Internets are a scary place.
djuggler emails a link to this:
Cinema-goers around the country will be shocked this week by a new advertisement offering AK47 machine-guns for sale among the ads for cars and soft drinks. They will see presenters talking up the firepower and reliability of the AK47, as a young boy demonstrates how the gun is so easy to use that even a child can fire it. They are even offered free ammunition when they call to place their order with advertisers Teleshop.
You can see the ad here. I don’t use quicktime so I haven’t watched it but I read the scroll bar, which also offers free ammo for a year. Here’s an article on it, which says:
But viewers will be relieved to find that the ad is by Amnesty International, spoofing a TV shopping channel to highlight the ease with which weapons can be bought and sold due to lax controls on the international arms trade.
A final caption reads “The arms trade is out of control” and asks people to text the word “ARMS” and their full name to 84118 to join a petition for tough action to control the sales of deadly weapons.
The ad, of course, is absolutely misleading. More:
“Some people might find our Teleshop advert disturbing. But what’s truly shocking is that one person dies every minute from armed violence. And there is a scandalous lack of controls to stop weapons getting into the wrong hands.
Really? You are aware that it’s illegal in the UK to buy an AK-47, right? And in the US, buying AK-47s has been regulated since 1934 and banned since 1986. Amnesty International is pulling propaganda and scare tactics directly from The Brady Campaign.
Via Keep and Bear Arms, the Brady Bunch is up in arms at no duty to retreat laws that their repeating themselves:
Brady Campaign: New Approach to Law & Order in Alabama — Encourage Everyone to be First to Shoot
Brady Campaign: A New Approach to Law and Order for Alaska — Encourage Everyone to Be First to Shoot
I guess their writer took the day off?
Last night the family was watching Jack’s Big Music Show when this video came on. The wife looks at me and says Man, he is hot.
The guys at The Gun Zone blame Olympic Arms for the import restriction on milsurp steel core ammo which caused the prices to sore in the mid-90s. But what’s up with it lately? Last time I bought a case, it was $99. Now, it’s going for $150.
Campaign Finance Law May Have A Loophole
Some Issue Ads Could Be Exempt, Justices Say
This quote grabbed my attention:
“This is a delaying tactic by the Supreme Court,” said Richard L. Hasen, a professor of election law at Loyola University in Los Angeles. “However, with the Supreme Court changing and the realistic potential that the new justices will be more sympathetic” to critics of campaign finance regulation, yesterday’s decision “could be the opening salvo in a battle to scale back the regulation of campaign finance.”
I’m for getting rid of the 2002 Incumbent Protection Act. Seems more people are figuring out that it’s bad law.
Contestants agreed to live in a “love hotel” with the least attractive being voted out each week.
The remaining two couples then had a race to conceive a child and win the cash.
And it turned out to be a hoax. People would be willing to have a child merely for some minor fame and some cash. Abysmal.
I sang their praises regarding their policy of not loaning to developers who get their property via eminent domain. It’s a good thing. Sadly, they post signs saying you can’t carry weapons in their Virginia branches. I won’t be switching banks after all.
I’m fully aware it’s their right to post such a sign but it’s my right not to patronize their place of business.
The 9th Circuit ruled that Possession of an “Assault Weapon” Isn’t a “Crime of Violence”. But a few notes:
On the other hand, if we know that an object has no lawful uses, we can presume that someone who possesses it intentionally does so for the purpose of using it illicitly. And, if the universe of uses for such an object is largely confined to illegitimate violence, we can infer that the object will be used to intimidate or inflict physical injury during the course of an unlawful transaction. We have thus held that illegal possession of such a weapon — like a silencer or a sawed-off shotgun — is a crime of violence. What distinguishes silencers or sawed-off shotguns from other dangerous firearms isn’t the amount of injury they’re capable of inflicting — there are many weapons that can cause a lot more injury than a silencer. What makes silencers and sawed-off shotguns different from ordinary weapons is that they have few, if any, legitimate uses. Unlike an ordinary firearm, neither is likely to serve any sporting or self-defense purpose. Thus, we have held that they “are inherently dangerous, lack usefulness except for violent and criminal purposes and their possession involves the substantia risk of improper physical force.” We must determine, therefore, whether an assault weapon is more like an ordinary firearm, or more like a silencer or sawed-off shotgun.
Congress requires registration of any silencer, sawed-off shotgun or similar firearm. Failure to register a listed firearm is a crime punishable by up to ten years is prison. The registration requirement reflects Congress’s determination that certain weapons are almost certain to be used for unlawful purposes: “[T]he primary reason that unregistered possession of these particular weapons is a crime is the virtual inevitability that such possession will result in violence.” As the Seventh Circuit put it, “most firearms do not have to be registered — only those that Congress found to be inherently dangerous. If the weapon is not so labeled, mere possession by a felon is not a crime of violence.” Congress has never imposed a blanket registration requirement on semiautomatic weapons, suggesting that they have lawful uses and are less likely to lead to unlawful violence than sawed-off shotguns and silencers.
Suppressors and sawn-off shotguns serve many legitimate uses. Both are still legal to possess, at least at the federal level. Suppressors, for example, are used quite extensively in other countries as effective hearing protection and for varmint control in places where the crack of a gun shot may cause alarm. Additionally, sawn-off shotguns are quite effective home defense weapons. I find their argument unconvincing with respect to those two items.
More interesting, the ninth on the so-called assault weapons ban:
When Serna was convicted of possession of an assault weapon in 2002, possession of some semiautomatic weapons was a federal crime — but no longer. Thus, non-felons can now freely possess assault weapons under federal law. Even before the federal ban was allowed to lapse, it was riddled with exceptions: Congress exempted any firearm lawfully possessed under federal law before the passage of the act, and over 650 specific firearms. Thus, a large number of semiautomatic weapons remained legally in circulation, even during the so-called ban.
In the end, the temporary federal ban on assault weapons is largely a wash. The most plausible inference to be drawn from the evolution of federal law as to assault weapons is that Congress allowed the ban to lapse, having found it unnecessary. Because current federal policy places assault weapons on the same footing as other non-registrable weapons, we see this, on balance, as supporting Serna’s position. We find more significant the fact that, when the federal assault-weapon ban ended, Congress didn’t require previously-banned semiautomatic weapons to be registered. The fact that semiautomatic weapons are not now, nor have ever been, subject to a blanket registration requirement suggests that mere possession of them does not pose the same risk of physical injury as possession of weapons subject to a blanket federal registration requirement — like silencers and sawed-off shotguns.
Supposedly, the most liberal court in the land referred to the expired ban as a so-called ban. And implied it was thought to be unnecessary. Ouchie.
First, I really appreciate and like what TAFKASKB* is doing. But Knoxviews already has a troll infestation. If you do not toe the line, we will annoy you with nonsense, non-sequitur and ad hominem to get you to go away (Not the host, the commenters).
Unfortunate. More unfortunate is that I felt the need to address them, a mistake I don’t mean to duplicate. Some folks over there (like Rikki) are serious about engaging the issues but a few bad apples and all that.
And that doesn’t mean I’ll quit reading or crossposting there because I think it’s an awesome concept for a blog. Just that I’ll stop feeding the trolls. Seriously, there’s a time and place for incivility, when it’s reasoned and shows some thought. I don’t think the various posts I’ve seen there by me and other right leaning folks warrant such annoyance.
* The Artist Formerly Known As South Knox Bubba.
Update: TAFKASKB responds. Thanks! And the word infestation was a bit much. For that, I apologize.
Over at KnoxBlab some people are poking fun at the Take Back Our Government Rally.
One poster wrote, “I heard that the anti wheel tax people are having a rally tomorrow night at the Expo Center on Clinton Highway to take back the government. Anyone know who they are taking it from and what do they want to do with it assuming they get it.”
Another poster wrote, “I don’t know who they want to take it from, but they want to give it to Steve Hall, Gary Sellers, Lumpy Lambert and #9. Apparently their platform espouses bringing the Dark Ages back to Knox County.”
Sounds Medieval doesn’t it?
This is interesting. There appear to be nervous people since the “cats sleeping with dogs” phenomenon that occurred during the Candy Factory fight when conservatives and progressives joined together for a common cause. Now there is a war among the various progressives. Is it a political sin to mix with other groups? Consider how the Haslam administration and various people on KnoxBlab and k2k have maligned the Green Party.
There will be featured speakers at the rally. One of these speakers will be Michael Kaplan of the Green Party. He will be speaking about the Candy Factory and eminent domain.
If the City and County had acted after the Kelo decision would this strange convergence of different political groups have occurred? One thing is certain; the people of Knox County are serious about property rights.
The rally will be held Thursday the 26th from 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM at the Knoxville Expo Center . Michael Silence has said he will try to attend. My guess is many curious people will attend also.
Malkin thinks that some how the qualifiers in a Ben Franklin quote are relevant. I’m going to guess it’s probably because the protesters only had so much poster board and the whole quote wouldn’t fit. It’s not some nefarious plot to hijack Ben Franklin.
If essential is such a key modifier, exactly what liberties are essential? After all, free speech is not essential. Nor is my freedom from unreasonable searches, to not have troops quartered in my home, etc., etc. In short, with the exception of the right to live, not a single liberty I have is actually essential to my life. The qualifier that liberties must be essential in order to be protected basically makes all liberties meaningless. It’s not a bill of essential liberties nor is it a bill of needs.
Seems like a stretch to pick such a nit. And I say that as someone who picks a helluva lot of nits.
Update: And I got a kick out of this:
Take a close look at the protest banner held up by a petulant bunch of Georgetown University kids who disrupted a speech by Attorney General Al Gonzales defending the NSA’s terrorist surveillance program yesterday
Yes. How dare they exercise their non-essential liberty of protesting!
BB&T, a bank that operates locally, says:
BB&T Corporation today said it will not lend to commercial developers that plan to build condominiums, shopping malls and other private projects on land taken from private citizens by government entities using eminent domain.
The commercial lending policy change comes in the wake of Kelo v. City of New London, a controversial Supreme Court decision in June that said governments can seize personal property to make room for private development projects.
The court’s ruling cleared the way for an expansion of eminent domain authority historically used primarily for utilities, rights of way and other public facilities.
“The idea that a citizen’s property can be taken by the government solely for private use is extremely misguided, in fact it’s just plain wrong,” said BB&T Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Allison.
“One of the most basic rights of every citizen is to keep what they own. As an institution dedicated to helping our clients achieve economic success and financial security, we won’t help any entity or company that would undermine that mission and threaten the hard-earned American dream of property ownership.”
Reward good behavior. Seriously. I may just have to switch my banking needs to BB&T. That is awesome. Hats off to them.
In a move supported by Gov. Don Carcieri, the state Economic Development Corporation will discontinue using eminent domain to take people’s property and give them to private developers for economic development.
The policy change came in a vote by the EDC’s board on Monday.
“We’re trying to send a clear message that when it’s owner-occupied we’re respecting those rights,” said Carcieri, who’s chairman of the EDC. He asked the agency last year to revise its eminent domain policy that would protect Rhode Islanders’ homes from eminent domain condemnations for office buildings, hotels and other private uses. Carcieri said earlier this month that he plans to introduce legislation to prevent the use of eminent domain for economic development statewide.
Arthur:
you can’t fight evil with a macaroni duck!
* And by random, I mean in the sense that I just watched the episode. So, not really random at all.
Not sure how they work, but these look neat. I wonder if you can fire shot through them? Seems like they’d strike the baffle. Good for gun clubs that have sound restrictions. And at £98.50 (about $176), I realized that we Americans get screwed when it comes to suppressors.
I’ve been pondering registering an AR-15 lower as a short barreled rifle because they look neat. See:
I discovered here that not only do I have to go through the NFA process, get law enforcement sign off, and pay a $200 tax, I also have to engrave my name, town and state on the receiver. If I build my own lower (which I’m doing), I also have to give it a serial number. If I buy an AR receiver made by another company, when I fill out the paperwork to register it as an SBR, I become the manufacturer. So, even though I may have a Rock River Arms lower receiver, I have to conspicuously engrave my name, city and state somewhere on it because I want the barrel to be shorter than 16 inches.
Man, that seems arbitrary.
Looking at my traffic stats, my traffic dropped from 1,500 visits to about 1,000 (and page views went from 2,700 to about 2,500) in about three days. I find that odd. Wonder what that’s all about?
Update: In comments, readers suggest I’ve been added to restricted site lists in various company servers. You can get around that by using proxy servers. Personally, I blame Google now that all those Chinese folks won’t be able to land here.
Last night, I discovered quite by accident that bourbon mixed with iced green tea is quite a refreshing beverage. As you were.
S. Carpenter on the right’s obsession with stopping dudes from kissing:
CHARACTER COUNTS SO WE MADE IT A LAW
Update: In comments, Les takes issue with my use of the phrase stopping dudes from kissing. Yes, it’s intentionally an oversimplification used to convey that what consenting adults do (whether it’s kiss, diddle each other, or enter into an enforceable legal arrangement that guarantees rights to survivorship and the ability to make decisions for each other out of love or respect or compassion) is really nobody else’s business except the consenting adults involved.
As you were.
Jeff has the latest on anti-gun bias in the media, the international addition.
2nd shot at concealed carry veto override near
State lawmakers could vote as early as this week on overriding Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle’s veto of a bill that would allow people to carry hidden guns and knives.
“I believe the public supports concealed-carry legislation,” said Ed Foral of Green Bay. Fears that the law would spur crime are unwarranted, based on statistics from states that have such legislation, he said.
“I want to see law-abiding responsible adults be able to get a permit,” said Foral, a hunter.
Wisconsin is one of four states that bans concealed weapons, but gun supporters and Republican legislators have been trying to change that for years.
Doyle’s veto of the bill Friday sets up a replay of events two years ago when the Assembly failed by one vote to override his veto of similar concealed-carry legislation.
Here’s hoping.
Looks like they make 100 round Beta C magazines for Glocks. Click for a pic. I wonder if they make a good CCW holster for that?
I said yesterday it was no wonder the NRA spends so much money lobbying, the Bradies get their propaganda for free. Head has another case to illustrate that:
Short version- police raid drug house, no one hme but a legal semiauto “AK-47″. The rifle becomes the criminal. The rest is taken almost verbatim from The Brady Center or VPC.
And my favorites:
The AK-47 bullet is approximately 3 inches in length. A size that is large in comparison to that of an every day ink pen.
Actually, the bullet is only about 3/4 of an inch. The entire cartridge is about three inches.
Police describe the weapon as a hand held machine gun.
It’s not a machine gun, though.
Clueless or complicit? You decide.
The other biased Washington paper writes:
The JAG, we are told, mistakenly thought the open-tip round was the same as hollow-point ammunition, which is banned. The original open-tip was known as Sierra MatchKing and broke all records for accuracy in the past 30 years.
The difference between the open-tip and the hollow point is that the open tip is a design feature that improves accuracy while the hollow point is designed for increasing damage when it hits a target.
About 10 days ago, the Army JAG in Iraq ordered all snipers to stop using the open-tip 175-grain M118LR bullet, claiming, falsely, it was prohibited. Instead of the open-tip, snipers were forced to take M-60 machine gun rounds out of belts and use them instead.
The order upset quite a few people here and in Iraq who said the JAG ignored the basic principle of every military lawyer that there is a presumption of legality for all issued weapons or ammunition that are made at the military service level at the time they are acquired.
“She forced snipers to use less accurate ammunition, thereby placing U.S. forces and Iraqi civilians at greater risk,” a Pentagon official said of the JAG, who was not identified by name. “And she incorrectly issued an order. JAGs may advise a commander, but they cannot issue orders.”
After Army lawyers were finally alerted to the JAG’s action, the order was lifted and the JAG was notified that the open tip was perfectly legal for use by snipers. However, the reversal was followed by the Army officials’ taking retaliation against a sniper who blew the whistle on the bogus order. The sniper lost his job over a security infraction in reporting the JAG.
The open-tip (hollow points with an opening that is not as wide as a hollow point, I’d imagine) probably has more stopping power than a FMJ round used in M60s. Still, the guys out there risking their lives should have what works and that was denied to them. They knew that and it cost one guy his job.
Update: In comments, persimmon notes that open tip is:
It has a tiny opening in the tip because it is manufactured backwards, from base to tip, rather than from tip to base. The manufacturer recommends against using it for hunting because it lacks expansion properties.
He links to this discussion of open tip ammo. Also, in comments, HL tells us the open tip is a result of the manufacturing process and not to make the rounds more deadly.
TriggerFinger’s sources tell him the Supreme Court will deny cert in the Seegar’s case. He says:
the present court is not ready to hear a 2nd Amendment case.
Alito may change that
Here’s hoping.
Update: The court has denied cert. TriggerFinger notes Roberts recusal in the case could be a factor. Publicola thinks gunnies are fooling themselves:
So what I think will happen is SCOTUS will continue it’s 6 decade plus streak of avoiding the issue altogether.
Tennessee’s tax on unauthorized substances such as cocaine and marijuana and some alcoholic beverages brought in more than $1.7 million in its first year, according to revenue officials.
The tax, which is modeled after a 13-year-old North Carolina tax aimed at fighting illegal drugs, has resulted in $1,714,565 in collections and nearly $32 million in assessments.
“Our effective implementation of this tax aids in fulfilling the law’s primary purpose to channel funds collected into local law enforcement agencies to help combat, prevent and reduce drug crimes in Tennessee,” said Tennessee Department of Revenue Commissioner Loren L. Chumley.
Boy, is my face red. See, I predicted the tax would make no money. More:
With the tax, people in possession of illegal drugs must purchase stamps marked with a number to be affixed to packages containing the drugs.
When drugs without the stamp are found, the Tennessee Department of Revenue taxes the alleged drug possessor and gives them an opportunity to pay the tax. If it is not paid, agents may seize and auction anything of value the person owns.
No criminal conviction is needed for the state to enforce the tax, and information obtained from the sale of the drug stamps cannot be used in criminal prosecutions, according to the Revenue Department. At the same time, buying drug stamps does not provide immunity from criminal prosecution.
Oh, never mind. My face isn’t red at all. The purpose of the law was to get rid of due process in drug cases and it did just that, like I said.
I mentioned it yesterday. It looks like they stole footage from a subguns.com regular. He wants to sue.
The push is back there too. The Governor has vetoed it before. I feel her career (like Doyle’s) is soon to be finished. Mark it.
There are only four states without a CCW provision. Three of them are pushing it and one of them is Illinois.
In Tennessee, they card you for O’Doul’s and other non-alcoholic beers? I didn’t. The Mrs. is pregnant and can’t drink but she got the urge to have a beer. Off to the store I go and I was carded for it.
Some people see Knoxville City Councilman Bob Becker as one of the most “progressive” members of City Council. Yet he does things that don’t seem to be very progressive. While many are puzzled on his position to sell the Candy Factory and Victorian houses he now advocates that the oath taken by City Council is too long and he wishes to “trim some of the fat”.
I am so confused about what “progressive” means.
From the Knoxville News Sentinel
By HAYES HICKMAN, hickman@knews.com
January 23, 2006Even the president of the United States swears to less on Inauguration Day, according to Knoxville City Councilman Bob Becker.
Now Becker would like to trim a little fat from the mayor’s and other city officers’ oaths of office.
In fact, he wants to strike nearly the entire second half of the swearing-in script, just short of the “So help me God” ending.
In the section, elected officials, police officers, firefighters and others make a very detailed promise not to have any sort of financial conflict of interest with the city.
“It’s long and I don’t think it’s very helpful,” said Becker, who took the oath himself about two years ago. “There’s a value in brevity.”
CounterTop’s gun blog awards are still going strong. I didn’t see the News Aggregator Category before but I’m nominated there as well. So, head on over and vote. For me, if you like.
Via Adam Groves, we learn there is a push for the restaurant carry bill again:
Tennessee gun rights advocates will continue to push legislation allowing gun permit holders to carry firearms into restaurants that serve alcohol, said James Folkner, founder of the new Chattanooga chapter for the Tennessee Firearms Association.
Under the current law, gun owners can enter an eatery and break the law without knowing the restaurant serves alcohol, he said. The bill’s intent is to keep gun owners “from becoming criminals just when we go out to eat,” said Mr. Folkner, a 21-year-old University of Tennessee at Chattanooga senior.
Yesterday, the Mrs. and I decided we’d clean out the closet. We put a bunch of clothes that neither of us wear anymore in a big, lawn care type trash bag. I was tasked with taking it to Goodwill to make a donation. I arrive at Goodwill at 12:50. I get the fairly heavy bag out of the truck and make my way to the door and notice they’re not open. I see movement inside and a lady comes to the door. I think she’s coming to get my donation. She says to me that they’re not open yet and that I’d have to come back at 1:00.
I say: Ma’am, I’m just dropping these clothes off. I don’t need a receipt or anything.
She says: You’ll have to bring them back at 1:00
I say: I can’t just give these to you now?
She says: We open at 1:00
I was unconvinced that I was hearing her properly and refused to believe she didn’t really understand the concept of Goodwill and I wanted clarification. So, I said: You’re telling me that you’re not going to take this donation because I happen to be here ten minutes before you open?
She says: Sir, you’ll have to bring them back at 1:00.
I take the bag and drop it by the front door. I then say: Well, I’m here trying to make a donation. I’m leaving the bag here. You can throw it away if you want.
I didn’t realize Goodwill was run by the state. I got in my truck and left. What is wrong with people?
Seen at Chaos in Motion:
A U.S. Army sniper set a new distance record (1250 meters) for a kill with a 7.62mm sniper rifle. Staff Sergeant Jim Gilliland made the shot on September 27, 2005, during fighting in Ramadi. The Leupold sight Gilliland used is only accurate out to a thousand meters, so the chest shot was partially guesswork, and luck. Gilliland aimed 12 feet high, to adjust for the drop the bullet would make over that distance. Gilliland later found out that the Iraqi he dropped had just killed a friend of his, Staff Sergeant Jason Benford.
That’s a helluva shot.
A New York Daily News editorial:
Military-style assault weapons of the kind wielded by Henry have been showing up in increasing numbers since Congress and President Bush allowed federal ban on the guns to expire in late 2004. They did the bidding of the National Rifle Association, and it’s all but certain that innocent blood will be spilled because of the blind irresponsibility of the NRA and its agents in Washington.
First, the ban did not affect Military-style assault weapons. It affected guns that happened to look like Military-style assault weapons but functioned like any other semi-automatic weapon. The ban expired well over a year ago and I’m sure all this blood in the streets would have happened by now. But it has not. Henry’s Uzi-style machine pistol sounds made up. It’s either an Uzi or it’s not. I’m betting not and that it was a semi-auto clone of an Uzi, which functions just like any other semi-auto handgun.
I guess that’s why the NRA spends so much money lobbying. The Bradies get their propaganda printed for free.
Having handled Tam’s 9mm AR with a single point sling, I decided I want one for my next AR-15. Even better, I decided I also wanted one for the UltiWasr. Being the cheapskate err do-it-yourself, Wile E. Coyote School of Gun Smithing sort that I am, I decided to build one. If you want to build a two point sling, plans are here. But I wanted a single point and refused to drop $40 on it. I searched the web and found this image of a popular brand of tactical slings and worked from there:
For this project, you will need the following: 60 inches of 1.5 inch think nylon webbing (yeah, it sounds like a lot but it’s better to do too much and cut excess off than to make one too short); 12 inches of 1 inch nylon webbing (note: if your sling swivel is 1.5 inches wide, you can use 1.5 inch webbing); one 1.5 inch buckle; three 1.5 inch slides; one 1 inch slide; you will also need a pair of scissors, a lighter to burn of frayed edges if you have to adjust length, and needle & thread (optional* but you’ll need a fourth 1.5 inch slide if you’re not up to sewing). Here’s a pic of the parts and tools:
You can get all of the parts at Strapworks.com, shipped to your door for $5.38 + $3 shipping. Or, if you must do it today, any fabric store (like Joanne’s) will have the stuff but they probably won’t have the cool looking OD green like I got. I only have two 1.5 inch slides pictured, one didn’t make it into the shot.
This sling consists of two parts, the base and the sling. The base will stay attached to the weapon and the buckle will connect the sling to the base. This is to make it easy to remove and, if you feel froggy, you can put many bases on many weapons and use the same sling. Of course, these slings come in at less than $10 so you could just make as many as you like. Take the 1 inch slide and slide it on the 1 inch nylon webbing and place it through your sling swivel, sling mount as shown:
Place male piece of the buckle opposite the slide. Run the webbing through buckle from both ends, doubling over to add extra support. The best way I can tell you how to tie this not is to show you the picture:
If you can’t do that, you may need to find another way to secure the base. Or I may need to do step by step pictures. Let me know if you have issues. Next, use one 1.5 inch slide and the female end of the buckle. Stitch the webbing together as shown.
*Note: I said the thread and needle were optional. You can use a fourth 1.5 inch slide to secure the female end of the buckle and the loose slide.
On the opposite end of where you just stitched, place the two remaining 1.5 inch slides as shown:
Loop the unstitched end (now with two slides on it) through the first 1.5 inch slide that was stitched as shown:
Insert the unstitched ends through the remaining two slides and tighten. Adjust using the two slides. Here it is all done and compared to the original image I obtained:
Not too bad. Man, I’ve got to get a damn job.
Jed tells us that the .416B by Barrett Rifles is about to enter the market. As he says, Take That, California (who recently banned 50 Calibers):
Rifles chambered for the new .416 Barrett cartridge are now available for legal purchase by all law-abiding US citizens and their state and local law enforcement agencies. Even those of you living in California. The .416 Barrett shoots flatter, faster and is inherently more accurate than even our own .50 BMG rifles.
Apparently, the round is a necked down .50 BMG.
Catfish has a piece on buying your first pistol. He poo-pooed my favorite handgun (Sigs) and we had it out in comments. Go read.
David Hardy has much more on the effort to get shall issue concealed carry here. Some history that I found interesting:
In 1998, Wisconsin voters overwhelmingly passed a constitutional amendment guaranteeing that “the people have the right to keep and bear arms for security, defense, hunting, recreation or any other lawful purpose.”
No wonder there’s an effort to override Doyle’s veto. Uncle predicts that Doyle’s political career is about to go belly up. Mark it.
Mr. Completely reports that the VPC may be stealing video from subgun shoots. They have a history of that.
Speaking of stealing, I should probably come up with a new logo header.
In a state with a motto like Live Free Or Die, it should be a no brainer that no retreat legislation would pass like it did in Florida. Nylarthotep has more.
I caught about 8 minutes of Bill Maher’s I’m Swiss. It was all I could stand because he was wrong and (most importantly) not funny. In those 8 minutes, he blamed the fact the Democrats lost in 2004 on gay marriage. Seriously. Now, if anyone thinks that the Democrats lost because of gay marriage, they’re not paying attention. Remember John President Bush and I have fundamentally the same position on gay marriage. Same position Kerry? The Democrats tried it too. I could have toughed it out if the guy were funny.
In Cali, Bay City News:
More than three months have passed since Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill allowing local governments to regulate the neutering, spaying and breeding of specific dog breeds, but it was only Thursday that the law took effect.
Senate Bill 861, authored by state Sen. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo/San Francisco, would have become effective on Jan. 1, but a referendum drive to overturn the law left it in limbo.
However, the referendum petition failed to garner the 373,000 signatures needed to overturn SB 861, and the bill went into effect today, Speier’s staff director Richard Steffen said.
The “bill allows cities and counties to pass specified breed-specific legislation for mandatory spaying and neutering, and breeding restrictions,” according to California state Senate floor analysis.
It’s now OK to pass ineffective laws to deal with irresponsible pet owners. I guess Cali is no longer not a wholly evil place.
Standard Mischief has more on Google v. .gov. He notes:
Google gives you a cookie with a unique number in it that’s sorta like your Socialist Insecurity number except it’s a lot easer to get, and get rid of. That cookie is sent back to Google every time you interact with Google. Even if your ISP provider changes your IP address. Even if you access Google at a coffeehouse or a friends house. And because Google does not have a “data retention policy”, all of that data presumably gets warehoused, forever, just in case they ever find it useful.
He even tells you how to rid yourself of annoying Google cookies.
Jack McElroy, the editor for The Knoxville News Sentinel, has a blog. Here’s his column on why he started a blog:
Why am I undertaking this commitment to spending even more of my day hunched over a computer screen?
Credibility.
In recent years, the credibility of the news media has suffered mightily.
It’s called the Sentinel’s Sentinel. Via Michael.
Update: Well, I guess they’re not that into criticism since their comments section is heavily moderated.
Countertop has put the first round of the Gunnies up to vote for your favorite gun bloggers. I appreciate the nomination in the category of Best Gun Porn but I have to say, in all honesty, that every other blogger nominated in the category posts more and better gun porn than I do. Go vote.
R. Neal (formerly SKB) has set up a community blogspace at Knoxviews.com. It’s an open forum so even you could post there. Cool. Check it out.
Owen tells us Doyle did veto shall issue concealed carry:
Governor Doyle’s veto message is mostly a bunch of statements that have nothing to do with the bill he vetoed. The statements that are relevant are both lies. Is this the best rationale that he can muster?
Bummer. Let the override begin.
The Mrs. and I were driving down the road yesterday when I relayed to her the tale (from earlier in the day) where I almost saw an auto accident. Some old dude (driving a Buick, naturally) pulled right out it front of a big Ford F 250. The guy in the Ford had to lock his car up to avoid plowing the old fart. He locked it up so bad, his truck was fishtailing two lanes.
The Mrs. says: I think when you reach a certain age, you should have to retake the road portion of the driver’s license test every year.
I reply with: Well, I think everyone should be required to retake the test periodically, like every three or five years. It’s not just old farts that can’t drive.
Junior, noting the street lights were on, said: Light.
I continued: But the whole driver’s license system can’t be about safety. It’s about revenue or else they’d take the sane step of requiring periodic road-testing of all drivers.
The wife concurred that it would probably cost a lot to re-test and agreed with my assessment. So, thoughts? Is the driver’s license thing about revenue or safety? And there should be a law requiring periodic re-testing of drivers?
The City of Knoxville wants to annex the Disc Exchange:
For the past 16 years or so, the city has tried to annex the property but store owner Alan Miller has been fighting it.
Miller, who also has the Chapman Highway Disc Exchange in the city, says there’s no difference in the services he receives, such as water, sewer and police and fire protection.
Miller doesn’t think he should pay more taxes for the same level of service. That’s why he’s been fighting the annexation in court.
It’s not about services, it’s about tax dollars.
Rhymes with Right, on a case where just compensation of 105 acres taken via eminent domain was $1, reports:
the judge allowed no testimony on the value of the land — and then awarded an absurdly low value because there was no evidence in support of the land’s value. Never mind that we know that the land was considered to be worth at least $1.9 million by the special commission. And she added insult to injury by ordering the victim of her obscene ruling to pay back all money he received with interest, plus legal fees to the publicly-owned Port — which means he is paying the Port for the privilege of having his land stolen.
Abysmal. Dan has more. I’m not one to generally advocate violence. But in this case, I’d make an exception. Judge, tar, feathers, some assembly required.
My handgun carry permit expires in a couple of months. For the first time, I can renew it by mail. In the past, I’d always have to waste half a day and head to the Department of Safety, take a money order, a couple of IDs and wait in line. This time, there’s just a form to fill out, put it in the mail, and wait. I would apparently have to go in to the office if my address had changed. Cool. Now, if only I could renew it online. You can renew your driver’s license online but not your carry permit.
Remember, I do this to entertain me, not you.
Uncle Pays the Bills
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