In an editorial that mirrors the Senate race in Connecticut, the NY Times today endorsed Ned Lamont in a piece centered on Lieberman’s failings. They mentioned Lamont’s views and abilities only in passing.
Lieberman’s main crime, according to the Times, is cooperating a little too enthusiastically with the Bush administration. There is too much complicity in his type of loyal opposition. More to the point, Lieberman has bought the Bush line that 9/11 can justify any government action or policy.
At this moment, with a Republican president intent on drastically expanding his powers with the support of the Republican House and Senate, it is critical that the minority party serve as a responsible, but vigorous, watchdog. That does not require shrillness or absolutism. But this is no time for a man with Mr. Lieberman’s ability to command Republicans’ attention to become their enabler, and embrace a role as the president’s defender.
…
If Mr. Lieberman had once stood up and taken the lead in saying that there were some places a president had no right to take his country even during a time of war, neither he nor this page would be where we are today. But by suggesting that there is no principled space for that kind of opposition, he has forfeited his role as a conscience of his party, and has forfeited our support.
The Tennessean endorsed Bob Corker, stating that he is an honest, energetic man. Now, The Tennessean says:
One of Bob Corker’s television ads in his campaign for the U.S. Senate is seriously misleading.
That’s bad, but the Corker campaign turned what should have been a one-day story into a character issue by sticking with the flawed assertion even after it was exposed.
Corker’s original ad claimed that both of his GOP opponents, Van Hilleary and Ed Bryant, voted while in Congress to increase their pay.
That’s not true.
The bill in question was the massive appropriations bill in 2000; Bryant and Hilleary both voted for it. But there was no language in the bill that increased congressional pay.
Jack McElroy, whose paper also endorsed Corky, goes a step further and calls it a lie.
A couple of folks wondered where my link to them went. Well, a bit back, I went from using bloglines to manage my blogroll to WP’s links function. I may have missed some folks. If that’s you, sorry. Let me know.
we don’t encourage people to take that kind of risk, he could have been hurt
That quote is attributed to Memphis Police Public Information Officer Sgt. Vince Higgins. He supposedly said that to the press after an armed individual used his firearm to detain a man who had been stabbing people in a supermarket. Trouble is, he didn’t really say it:
… Sgt. Higgins was quoted completely out of context and not even quoted correctly.
I spoke with the Sarge the day after our Alert came out. He returned my call and was friendly and gracious. He had 15 years as a street cop in a nasty section of town and we swapped some stories on how departments and politics can screw things up and how reporters do a good job of screwing them up all the time.
Here’s what the Sarge really said and did. When the reporters gathered the Sarge took them through the motions of what happened and what Mr. Cobb, a CHP holder did. He praised Mr. Cobb as a genuine hero from start to finish saying he acted in a totally professional manner through-out the entire ordeal. He then continued to say that concealed permit holders were top notch and he’d rather have some of them “…..backing me up than some police officers I know”.
Now, I know you’re wondering where in the heck that reporter got that other part from. Here it comes. The reporter asked the Sarge what he thought of citizens jumping in to help. The Sarge said that he had no problem with permit holders but if it were someone who had no training with firearms, did not know the law and had just grabbed up a gun it might not be a good idea. Guess what the reporter grabbed up and ran with. Yellow journalism at its worst. Or, just what you would expect.
Lots of out of state get Utah carry permits because they’re fairly simple to get and have reciprocity with many states. But Utah is picking up the tab for it:
Utah has become the nation’s bargain basement for permits to carry concealed guns. But it’s no bargain for Utah taxpayers.
As The Tribune reported last Sunday, there has been a dramatic rise in the number of permits issued to out-of-state residents. About 58 percent of the 16,000 projected applicants in 2006 do not live in Utah.
There are two problems with this.
First, the concealed-carry permit program does not pay for itself. The Utah Department of Public Safety, which issues the permits through the Bureau of Criminal Identification, must subsidize the program through other parts of its budget.
The program is expected to raise about $500,000 this year, but it will cost about $610,000. That understates the subsidy because the revenues are deposited in the state’s general fund, and the Legislature only appropriates about $88,000 to run the program.
Program supporters claim that it would be self-supporting if all of its revenues were dedicated to paying expenses. But it appears to us there still would be a shortfall.
Actually, I covered this in last week’s Weekly Report and Cam Edwards & I discussed this on the air. The problem isn’t with the cost of the permits, the state collects over a half-million dollars from them and THAT is the problem: The permit fees go into the general treasury of the state. Then, Utah gives only a fraction of that back to the BCI (Bureau of Criminal Investigations) that actually processes the applications. If the application fees actually went to the BCI in the first place, the fee would (or could) drop to about $25 dollars!
A lawsuit over the killing of several dogs is going forward.
A lawsuit will proceed in U.S. District Court on November 6 over a May 8, 2003 incident where Pennsylvania Constables Richard Seeds, 41, Greg Balliet and Vincent Stahl fired eleven shots killing two dogs and five puppies while serving an arrest warrant for unpaid parking tickets in an Allentown home
What is worth taking note of is the words of the law right before the shootings.
Judge James Knoll Gardner allowed the prosecution to let the jury know that just before the incident, Seeds told his colleagues, “I have to get something to eat or I am going to shoot somebody.”
Federal law prohibits ATF from establishing “any system of registration of firearms, firearms owners, or firearms transactions and dispositions.” Instead, ATF relies upon federal firearms licensee (FFL) records to trace firearms recovered in crimes through its National Tracing Center. Inaccurate or incomplete record keeping makes the tracing of firearms involved in violent crimes virtually impossible.
Isn’t that pretty much a system of registration of firearms, firearms owners, or firearms transactions and dispositions? Just asking.
While House leadership accuses the New Orleans police department of going door to door confiscating guns in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the superintendent of the department states that was not the case. Does anybody really believe that the New Orleans Police Department used its limited resources to harass gun-owners in the hours after the levees broke? Of course not. In the midst of looters and snipers taking aim at rescue workers, police arrested people who were breaking the law on the streets of New Orleans.
Crazy woman, I’ve seen the video. In fact, here it is:
I mentioned it here that Gun Owners of America may have endorsed Ed Bryant. A little birdie emailed me the endorsement of Ed Bryant for US Senate by Gun Owners of America. So, consider it confirmed. Good.
On the side of the road I noticed a campaign sign for Sheriff Tim Hutchison that said “For Safer Neighborhoods”. Nothing unusual in and of itself, but then I thought…shouldn’t they be about as safe as you can make them by now? Sheriff, you’ve been in office for, like, 16 years. Are you implying that you haven’t gotten around to it yet, but if we reelect you, you’ll now get to work on making our neighborhoods safer?
Kim is looking to move and he has criteria that are important to him. Go help him out. A commenter there noted a website called Find Your Spot. You enter your info (including political, weather, economic) and it tells you a place that fits the bill. Turns out, it recommended to me the town that I already live in. The city (my the city) of Maryville, TN. Cool.
The state’s highest court has ruled that Marylanders can lend a gun to a friend without going through the seven-day waiting period and background check required by state law before guns can be transferred or sold to a new owner.
The Court of Appeals, in a 4-3 decision, said lending a gun to another person does not constitute “transfer” of a weapon and therefore is not covered by the gun control law dealing with the waiting period and police background checks of potential buyers.
The ruling came in an appeal filed by a District of Columbia police officer who had lent a handgun to a friend. The friend’s guns had been confiscated by police because he had a Glock pistol in his car but did not have a permit to carry it. The officer was convicted in 2003 of illegally transferring a regulated firearm and was fined 200 dollars.
The Court of Special Appeals had upheld the conviction, but the majority of the state’s highest court disagreed and overturned the conviction.
I’m shocked that the vote was close. But, it is Maryland.
Seems that talk of survival kits and emergency supplies are all the rage these days. Insty, Les and Kim chime in. I’m surprised Glenn doesn’t mention firearms and that Kim only takes a 22 rifle and handgun. A firearm is important, I think. If the SHTF, then you’ll need to protect all the stuff you worked hard to prepare. After all, you don’t want some schmuck like me using his AR-15 to take your crap.
Update: This topic seems to come up on the blogs every once in a while. Must be something in the water.
As Lott and Bane point out, we can no longer buy guns in Wal-Mart or other stores. I remember when a trip to Sears involved a good look at their guns. That’s a thing of the past.
Now, I’m not saying that Wal-Mart or Sears are the best places to buy guns. They’re not–Support your local gun shop and all. But we’ve lost a time when guns were common, ordinary tools to where they’ve become mythologized and demonized.
Michael Bane has more. It is hard to be in the gun business (believe me, I’ve thought about it – too much hassle). Regulations get in the way and, until recently, the threat of being financially ruined through litigation was a major concern.
Federal agents requested and retrieved records from Google concerning a Gmail account that contained threatening speech, Google Watch has learned.
The agents requested the records on June 22nd, 2006 after the National Association of Colored People (NAACP) notified the FBI they had received a threatening e-mail.
It’s not like I didn’t know that was going on as I’m pretty sure the feds snooped in mine recently. But I have to say that, in this case, there’s no foul. Google was served a warrant and they complied with it.
I just learned that on July 26, 2006, the Gun Owners of America (via their GOA Political Victory Fund) announced their endorsement of Ed for the U.S. Senate.
I have been informed that Gun Owners of America, in a letter from the Gun Owners of America Politiical Victory Fund Vice President Tim Macy, has endorsed Ed Bryant in both the GOP primary and the General Election against Harold Ford, Jr. in November.
It’s significant because the GOA is the hardcore pro-gun group. They don’t cater to only the Fudds like the NRA. I can’t find any info about the endorsement on GOA’s site. They did endorse Bryant in 2002 so I’d say it’s a safe bet they did. I also notice they gave Ford an F ranking.
The case made its way to a Nevada court, which found Romm guilty. An appeal of the case went to the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco, which was charged with deciding an important issue: can border patrol agents search laptops without a warrant and without probable cause? The court’s ruling was handed down on Monday, and said that yes, agents can search laptops for any reason.
The court argued that the forensic analysis fell under the “border search exception to the warrant requirement.” This exception was established by United States v. Montoya de Hernandez in 1985, and says that “the government may conduct routine searches of persons entering the United States without probable cause, reasonable suspicion, or a warrant.” The court goes on to note that international airports count as border terminals, even if not physically located on a US border.
Hats off to Charleston Daily Mail’s reporter Justin Anderson who writes:
On the Fourth of July, Raleigh County Sheriff’s deputies killed a man they said was shooting an “AK-47″ off in his neighborhood.
Four years ago, police said a man walked into a Kanawha County school board meeting and shot a teacher with one.
But when police talk about a suspect wielding, possessing or shooting a so-called AK-47, it isn’t the World War II-era Soviet machine gun.
The gun that hits the news is typically a semi-automatic replica. You can buy them from licensed gun shops with a fistful of cash and a relatively clean criminal background.
The original AK-47s, and variations on the originals, are fully automatic and can’t be bought from just any gun shop like their civilian counterparts.
At least one expert estimates West Virginia collectors own only a handful of the originals. They have to be registered with the federal government.
Gun manufacturers trying to capitalize on the true AK-47’s mystique churn out the replicas.
But there’s no reason to fear a proliferation of so-called assault weapons in West Virginia. Even the replicas are rarely used in state gun crimes.
I’ve said all that a thousand times. Good to see someone in the press try to clarify. I am speechless.
Gun laws don’t stop illegal possession of guns. The AP:
Investigators seized 100 firearms including assault rifles, machine guns [there's no difference in the eyes of the law - ed.] and a grenade launcher from homes of two men with previous weapons convictions, authorities said Thursday.
It was unclear how the pair had acquired the weapons, Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said, calling the collection of firepower “a police officer’s worst nightmare.”
Somehow, this will be blamed on rogue gun dealers even though the sale of those three items by gun dealers to civilians is illegal. And I’m sure the other firearms were obtained illegally as well. More:
Acompora’s attorney, Frank Panetta, declined to comment on the specific charges, but said his client has cooperated with investigators and did not believe he was doing anything wrong. Prosecutors did not immediately have information on who represents Brozski.
Acompora was released on $5,000 bail and was due back in court on Friday. Brozski was released on his own recognizance and was due back in court on Aug. 9.
Illinois State Police trooper Gregory Mugge pleaded guilty to one charge of possessing an unregistered machine gun in federal court on Tuesday, according to an announcement from the U.S. attorney’s office.
Mugge, 52, of Jerseyville, was indicted in January, along with Illinois State Police Sgt. James Vest, 39, of O’Fallon, and John Yard, 36, an Illinois State Police special agent assigned to the Collinsville office, each face separate charges of illegal gun possession.
Mugge faces up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and a maximum three years of supervised release.
His sentencing is in October. Twelve local police chiefs and sheriffs, and two state senators asked to give him administrative punishment instead of prosecution. I doubt they’d extend such a courtesy to me or you.
New York City suffers hundreds of gun-related deaths each year, but some weapon manufacturers are bent on boosting the toll in 2006.
But carrying guns is already illegal in NYC, unless you’re well-connected or famous.
And if the last week is any indication, the city’s murder enthusiasts had a lot to be thankful for.
Ah, hateful rhetoric. The mark of any clear thinker.
three men were found in possession of “cop-killer” handguns that are specially engineered to penetrate the protective body armor of police officers.
Er, handguns don’t penetrate anything. The ammo does. The armor piercing ammo for this gun is already illegal for civilian ownership.
While the lives of our friends and neighbors are doubtlessly valuable, you have to sympathize with our nation’s beleaguered artillery merchants. These days, it’s getting harder and harder to make an honest buck selling killing machines.
I am in the process of filling out ATF Form 1, Application to Make and Register a Firearm so that I can turn El Nino into a short barreled rifle. One question on the form is:
State why you intend to make firearm
As such, I present to you the top 10 answers I considered for that question:
10 So it will fit in a pizza box
9 For the hell of it
8 Because I collect tax stamps
7 Because it looks cool
6 To defend against invaders
5 To make Diane Feinstein cry
4 So an angel will get its wings
3 To compensate for the size of my penis
2 To annoy my wife
1 Actually, the real reason I put on there is For any and all lawful purposes.
The State of California, however, required that anyone who had such a rifle prior to the ban undergo a special registration with the California Department of Justice. More recently, California required the registration of 50 BMG rifles by April 30, 2006, after banning their sale and importation.
Surprise! Officers from the Los Angeles County Gun Task Force have now started serving search warrants to residents who are suspected of holding unregistered “Assault Rifles” including 50 BMG target rifles. This “task force” has reportedly confiscated firearms and issued felony charges on at least one individual who was deemed to be out of compliance. If convicted on a felony, that gun owner will never be allowed to legally own any firearms for the rest of his life.
It is beginning to appear that the confiscations in California are the work of a police informant, not the use of recorded sales of weapons to locate unregistered guns among multiple gun owners.
For the forseeable future, I have stricken the terms sock-puppet, Greenwald, and snatch from my vocabulary. The first two, because I’m tired of reading about them. The last one because it may be the ugliest word in the English language. For those of you who know what I’m talking about, pat yourselves on the back. For those who don’t, look, a monkey.
Even though Republican Michael Steele says he probably wouldn’t want President Bush campaigning for him in Maryland and that he considers his party affiliation a scarlet letter, the White House said Wednesday that Bush still is backing Steele in his Senate race.
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, a longtime supporter of Senator Joseph Lieberman, said Tuesday she will not back the Connecticut Democrat’s bid for re-election if he loses their party’s primary.
The beleaguered campaign of Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman is expected to get a lift today from two prominent Democrats, including one former President. Former President Bill Clinton is scheduled to headline an event at the Palace Theater in Waterbury this afternoon designed to shore up support for Lieberman, a three-term incumbent in the political fight of his life.
They illustrate a problem with our two-party political system. Party is first. Always. Second to party is status quo. Lieberman and Steele, as incumbents, take precedent over any in-party upstart. Ideals are last. Good to know where we stand, eh?
Update: Steele isn’t the incumbent. But he still represents party. I think the point stands. Thanks for the corrections.
One more nail in the coffin of “collective rights” comes from the discovery, in the 1980s, of a draft for a bill of rights by Rep. Roger Sherman, who, with Madison, was appointed to the committee which reported out the bill of rights.
The draft reads:
The militia shall be under the government of the laws of the respective States, when not in the actual Service of the United States, but such rules as may be prescribed by Congress for their uniform organization and discipline shall be observed in officering and training them, but military Service shall not be required of person religiously scrupulous of bearing arms.
David notes:
The historical point here is that the members of the First Congress knew how to write a “collective rights” amendment, that would only have safeguard State rights to control the militia, if they’d wanted one.
We hold that although economic factors may be considered in determining whether private property may be appropriated, the fact that the appropriation would provide an economic benefit to the government and community, standing alone, does not satisfy the public-use requirement of Section 19, Article I of the Ohio Constitution.
Update: Another Volokh (I can’t tell them apart) has a lot more.
Fifty-one out of 73 parcels on the 22-acre site “exhibit one or more blight characteristics,” the study found, including buildings that are at least 50 percent vacant or are built to 60 percent or less of their allowable density. The study also noted that, before Forest City came along, 76 parties controlled the land making up the site. Such fragmented ownership, real estate developers say, is what makes large-scale private urban development difficult without government intervention.
A judge ruled Tuesday that a 16-year-old cancer patient who has refused conventional medical treatment does not have to report to a hospital as previously ordered and scheduled a trial to settle the dispute.
This Friday we load up the trucks and convoy the Texas State Rifle Team up to Port Clinton and Camp Perry for the 2006 Civilian Marksmanship Program state team matches.
I’m on the Texas team.
CMP week is all service rifle competition. That means everyone is shooting an 03, a Garand, a M1A, an AR15 or, for the first time this year, an M1 Carbine in the new Carbine Match.
Senator Alexander is THE KEY vote in the Senate and needs to hear from us NOW or he will very likely vote against extending the Internet Tax Freedom Act. Every state will then be free to tax our internet access. We rarely have the opportunity to have this kind of leverage but we can actually stop internet access taxes if we call Senator Alexander TODAY. PLEASE HELP.
The Internet Tax Freedom Act is keeping our Internet Access Tax Free but it will EXPIRE next year. The Senate is considering a permanent extension THIS WEEK and Senator Alexander will vote to increase these taxes if he doesn’t hear from us.
PLEASE take just a moment to call Senator Alexander’s office:
Just tell the Senator’s staff, “My name is _name_ and I live in _city_ and I want my Internet access to be tax free. Please tell the Senator to vote YES on permanently extending the Internet Tax Freedom Act.”
You can reach him at:
Washington Office
302 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-4944
Fax: (202) 228-3398
Marshals: Innocent People Placed On ‘Watch List’ To Meet Quota
Marshals Say They Must File One Surveillance Detection Report, Or SDR, Per Month
You could be on a secret government database or watch list for simply taking a picture on an airplane. Some federal air marshals say they’re reporting your actions to meet a quota, even though some top officials deny it.
The air marshals, whose identities are being concealed, told 7NEWS that they’re required to submit at least one report a month. If they don’t, there’s no raise, no bonus, no awards and no special assignments
Kinda like speeding ticket quotas, only it will fuck you for life.
Nylarthotep notes the housevoted Tuesday to prevent law enforcement officers from confiscating legally owned guns during a national disaster or emergency. The senate approved a similar measure a while back. It seems to me to be similar to the senate version in that it bans funding for confiscations. I’m still searching for the vote record. It’s apparently not as quickly updated as the Senate website.
Yes, thankfully such people–Al Sharpton–are only found on the right. No one on the left–Jesse Jackson–would ever stoop to such depths. I mean, could you ever believe that a liberal–Cynthia McKinney–would try to appeal to anti-semitism for political gain?
You are right. The statistics are wrong and we are removing the story from our website. For what it’s worth, the number were cited by Queens D.A. Richard Brown at his press conference. The other information in the story also came from the D.A. While we tend to give credit to law enforcement sources for knowing what they are talking about, we should have realized that the statistics didn’t make any sense.
Armed game wardens seized 10 exotic fish from the tank of a popular Chinese restaurant, leaving its owner shaken and outraged.
“They treated me like a criminal,” said Cuong Ly, who escaped from Vietnam 25 years ago. “I lived under communism and I felt like I’m back there again.”
Ly, 45, said his pet koi were like family members and their confiscation in what he described as a heavy-handed raid made him “want to explode inside.”
After obtaining a search warrant, two uniformed wardens and a biologist, accompanied by Freeport police, visited China Rose on Wednesday, taking away the 10 fish that ranged in size from 12 to 14 inches.
The koi had been on display since Ly opened the restaurant nearly 15 years ago and he credited them for bringing good luck to the business in a way akin to the arrangement of articles in the ancient Chinese practice of feng shui.
A few years ago, however, Maine outlawed the importation and possession of koi, and Ly was charged with importing freshwater fish without a permit.
[...]
“It looked like they were raiding the place for illegal drugs,” he said. “They made it seem like a crime scene.”
Turns out Schnucks Markets, the place where employees were getting stabbed until a man armed with a gun stopped the assailant, is anti-gun:
Schnucks is also vehemently anti-gun. “No carry” prohibition signs are posted all over their stores, and gun control organizations see large donations both from the corporation itself, and from the Schnuck brothers who own the chain. They also support anti-gun politicians, and anti-gun legislation.
So, it’s kind of ironic that a knife-wielding maniac had his reign of terror ended on Schnucks property, by a man with a gun.
Who knows, if a customer had been carrying his gun in the store, perhaps Knife Boy might have been stopped before he had a chance to wound eight people. Or perhaps he might have been deterred from attacking anyone altogether, knowing that there could be some public-spirited citizen in the store with a gun.
Three police officers were accidentally shot Sunday as one or more officers took aim at a pit bull attacking a member of their crew, police said. All were in stable condition.
Snelgrove, an Emerson College student from East Bridgewater, was killed when she was struck in the eye by a pepper spray pellet fired by a police officer outside Fenway Park in October 2004, after Boston beat the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series.
If you said the police, you’d be wrong:
The city of Boston received $438,500 in a settlement between a pellet gun maker and the family of a college student killed after a Boston policeman fired pepper spray pellets into an unruly crowd celebrating a Red Sox win.
The city was entitled to a portion of the settlement as part of its agreement last year to pay the family of Victoria Snelgrove $5 million, the largest wrongful death settlement in Boston history.
The agreement included a stipulation that the city receive half of any proceeds, up to $2 million, from the family’s $10 million suit against the gun manufacturer, FN Herstal. The city also agreed to cooperate with the family in the suit.
In an update to Politically Correct Dog’s tumor, he went to the emergency vet last night after throwing up several times. That was bad. But the good news is that the ER vet basically said he’d seen this before and the sickness was usually indicative of a benign tumor. He also took additional X-rays and noted that no cancer seemed to have metastasized throughout his chest, which again may be indicative that his tumor is benign. He gave Politically Correct Dog much better odds than the original 25% and that’s a good thing. He has surgery today for removal.
Amendment 1: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Now, if you are a Lautenberg victim, how do you get your gun rights reinstated? By having your record expunged.
For those in Wyoming, a law passed in 2004 allows for expungement of misdemeanor offenses. The purpose of the law was expressly to restore firearm rights taken away by the Lautenberg Amendment.
The BATFE responded by saying that Wyoming had an incorrect definition of ‘expunge’ and that the BATFE would prosecute any Lautenberg victim who possessed a firearm after having their record expunged by Wyoming.
This put Wyoming in the interesting position of issuing concealed carry permits to people that the feds considers prohibited persons.
Obviously this has caused a certain amount of controversy. Christopher Kegler sued the BATFE. Unfortunately for Chris, the judge decided that there was no threat of prosecution for desiring his gun rights back.
I can only conclude that the only way Chris can get his day in court is to violate and face prosecution under Lautenberg. Of course, the judge may then say that the BATFE matter will be resolved in criminal court and not address it. The risk to Chris is that he had a misdemeanor offense expunged and would face felony prosecution. Even victory would come at great, personal expense.
Standing is a complex and chaotic doctrine. When I lectured a CLE seminar on bringing firearm law test cases, I always dealt with it first, with the warning it has a 75-80% kill rate, and you have to really do your preparation on it. Unless they really like your claim, courts are quick to say you have no standing because you aren’t being prosecuted and can only speculate that if you break the law, something would happen. You have to be very creative here.
I think citizens should be allowed to challenge laws without the risk of imprisonment or fines that come with breaking the law. It’s what a conscientious citizen should do. Our system prevents that which makes it more difficult for people to challenge things they view are unjust. They do so at the risk of losing their freedom. And the system is set up that way to prevent that from happening. It’s bullshit. David Hardy recommends in this case that:
I’d suggest here an argument along the following lines: to buy a gun from a dealer he has to get a background check. Now, he can’t really fill out the 4473 and put in NO. That’d make him guilty of a false record, a felony, and it’s pretty much strict liability for that. He must say yes or no, and is guilty if the answer is wrong, even if he thinks it is right.
But… if he did do that, the NICS system would stop the transaction.
So he has an immediate injury, even if ATFE sent him a letter saying that, because he is such a nice person, they will never prosecute him even if he does buy. He can’t buy from an FFL, period. It’s not just that he fears prosecution if he does, the system is so set up that he cannot.
He’s correct, they do lose firearms all the time and they should be held accountable for it. However, he’s an NRA Board Member who is supposed to be helping recruit members and bring more people to the pro-gun side. Hiding behind the issue of losing so many guns is not the way to do that.
At this point, I’m willing to say that Abrams needs to resign from the Board of Directors.
The NRA often pushes the notion that we should enforce existing gun laws and that would entail their members abiding by them. I will note that many violations of Federal firearms law is stuff like writing a Y when the form mandates you write Yes. The WaPo also trots out stats on machine guns being sold without proper records in 2003. Well, I think that’s bullshit. Since 1986, machine guns are sold only to governments. Pre-86 machine guns that are transferred among civilians must go through a fairly extensive check with the ATF. Surely, the ATF didn’t allow botched paperwork through?
Ok, one last thing:
In 1997, he couldn’t account for 45. In 2001, it was 133. In 2003, there were 422 firearms missing — more than a quarter of his inventory — including semiautomatic assault rifles, 12-gauge shotguns and Glock 9mm pistols, according to federal investigators.
I doubt the guns are missing. More likely, the paperwork is missing. Which really ought to not be a problem since the only reason people fill out Form 4473 is for the background check. I mean, if they’re missing, that means there must be some registry to compare the weapons to. And a gun registry is illegal.
Senator Chuck Schumer is among those pushing to have the gun, called the Fabrique Nationale 5.7 outlawed.
It’s the first time that this particular gun has been recovered in New York.
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said the “cop killer” gun has a 20-round magazine, is able to shoot 50 to 100 yards with great accuracy and its bullet can pierce 48 layers of Kevlar.
Brown said that of the 616 police officers killed in the line of duty nationwide between 1994 and 2003, 425 were killed with this handgun.
First, the armor piercing ammo is not available to the public. I’m uncertain if the civilian round can penetrate a vest. Also, the FN is only a few years old (two, I think). So, there is no way it killed police in 1994. Period. And even if it was, I doubt it would be responsible for 425 deaths since the Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that from 1995 to 2004 there were 636 officers killed in the line of duty.
If yo remember, a little while back, I wrote about a court case in Virginia. A 16 year old boy and his parents decided to pursue alternative treatment for his Hodgkin’s Disease after conventional chemo gave only temporary improvement.
A social worker decided that the boy and his parents had no right to decide what was best for their family, and promptly filed suit to have the boy removed from his parents and forced to undergo treatment.
Well, the decision is in.
Juvenile court Judge Jesse E. Demps has ruled that the boy must undergo chemo as prescribed by his doctors, and that his parents were being neglectful by supporting his decision, so they must continue to share custody with the county Social Services bureau.
So, the state decides your child’s medical treatment and not you (but, Uncle, that’s what marriage is all about). I’m not sure the particulars of this case but if the state can decide this issue it’s one Hell of a precedent. As Rich says:
I’ve argued this before, and most folks tend to disagree. Of course, it’s usually religious parents and the alternative therapy is prayer, so the objectors throw out a few buzz words like “fanatic” or “ignorant hicks” and go merrily about their business. I then warn that if the state has the right to interfere, soon, it won’t just be in the case of religious folks.
And here we are.
A 16 year old can be tried as an adult, and sentenced to prison for life, or given the death penalty. If they’re responsible enough for that, then aren’t they responsible enough to make decisions about their health care?
Yesterday, I was tipped off by a few folks that the attacker who stabbed some people in Memphis was detained by an armed citizen. I scoured the news looking for confirmation and found none. Well, today, that has been confirmed:
Eyewitness News just talked to one man who says he saw what was happening, ran to get his gun and held the accused stabber at gunpoint until police arrived.
The stories I read yesterday morning mentioned nothing about it.
Oh glory day, the end is near! If you’re wrapped a little too tight around the cross, the appropriate reaction to Middle East turmoil is all-out celebration. Hooray for the end of the world and the people perverse enough to welcome it.
Praise God! We are chosen to be in these times and also watch and spread the word. Something inside me is exploding to get out, and I don’t know what it is. Its kind of like I want to do cartwheels around the neighborhood.
What’s especially brilliant is that the Rapture Ready website is down. It’s like their own private little end times over there.
Does ground level Ozone contribute to Global Warming?
For the scientists in the audience. Does ground level Ozone contribute to Global Warming? If so, then shouldn’t we do everything we can to reduce ground level Ozone? Sort of a two for one special, help your health and help the planet.
Ozone is a good thing if it is high in the atmosphere. There would be no life without the protective shield of Ozone around the planet. When Ozone is lower near the ground it is one of the chief components of smog. Here in East Tennessee we used to live in one of the best places anywhere on this planet but in the last ten years Knoxville has Ozone concentrations that are in the top ten worst in America.
Michael Silence wrote on February 23, 2005, “”Diesel & Health in America: The Lingering Threat” ranks Knox County in the top 10 percent of counties nationwide in adverse health effects from diesel pollution.”
What has been the response from our elected leaders? The Orange Route and the new Interstate I-3 from Savannah. More ground level Ozone, more sprawl, and of course more ground level Ozone. But what is more important, economic development or your health? When you don’t vote you give your answer by proxy.
Just got bad news from the vet. Looks like Politically Correct Dog has a tumor by his spleen. 75% chance it’s cancerous and, if it is, he only has 3-6 months. Removal will be attempted but it’s not guaranteed. So, if you’re the praying sort (and the praying sort who prays for dogs), we’d appreciate it.
Our system is rigged against independents and third parties. A third party isn’t even allowed to be identified on the ballot. An individual libertarian may not be able to campaign and get his name out but people still know what a libertarian is. If they were listed by party, people would know SOMETHING about that candidate.
He concludes:
Everything — to the two parties. To the people, nothing.
There’s some little political tussle going on in my fair state for Senate. The three Republican candidates are duking it out, while Ford is waiting to see who precisely is going to beat him. Some notes on it:
Corker, with his own cash and support from the Good Ol’ Boy machine, is buying this thing. He gave his campaign about $1.7M yesterday. He can outspend everyone and he will. Corker was the mayor of Chattanooga and made his fortune in development and real estate. It’s amusing to watch his commercials lambasting illegal immigration and telling us that citizens should speak English knowing full well that part of his fortune was amassed on the backs of illegal immigrants because such cheap labor tends to be a mainstay in development, contracting and real estate ventures. I even heard some illegal aliens were arrested on his job sites.
Ed Bryant seems to have a lot of support on Al Gore’s Tubes of Internets. But it kinda seems to end there.
Van seems to be a non-issue other than the fact him being in the race may be the reason Bryant can’t win.
Blogs as political indicators: Quite frankly, they suck at it. If you read the Internets and the blogs, you’d think this race was going to be a close race between Bryant and Ford. But you’d be wrong. It’s going to be Corker with Ford jumping up and down in the background saying pick me, pick me like the slow kid who always gets picked last when choosing dodge ball teams in the fifth grade. I say that based on the backing of the local political machine and who business is backing. I’ll bet a beer on it.
That’s not an endorsement of Corker at all. I don’t care for him. All three Republican candidates spend their time telling the voters exactly why they’re all the same (in case you didn’t know, they’re all against abortion; against gay marriage; against illegal immigration; and for fiscal conservatism). Then, they say things like well I’m more against abortion; against gay marriage; against illegal immigration; and for fiscal conservatism than these other two. Or that the other two are less against abortion; against gay marriage; against illegal immigration; and for fiscal conservatism than I am. Ford’s message is roughly the same, only less believable.
Guys, try telling us how you’re different from each other.
And whenever I see the commercial of Corker on the Arizona border in his flannel shirt and jeans, trying to look all outdoorsy, and yammering about immigrants, I notice that his jeans are pulled up too high on the waist. He walks in an awkward and uncertain manner with his thumbs in his belt loops. And he meanders sans confidence. And I have one thought and it is: Man, this guy’s a pussy. And this pussy will be the next senator from Tennessee.
Update: Oh, yeah. I’m not endorsing anyone but since you guys know that I:
1 – Don’t like Ford because I don’t believe him when it comes to guns; and that he’s too buddy-buddy with Schumer, who is everything I hate in a Senator;
Well, I’ll hold my nose when I do it. Or vote third party.
ETA: Oh, and that’s not to say I’ll hold my nose because I think Bryant is a bad guy or anything like that. He seems to be the most sincere and straight forward candidate. He’s just not someone I can get real excited about.
At some time in the (hopefully) near future I plan on getting a new pistol, so I’m looking for suggestions.
It needs to have the following features:
* Full size
* Minimum capacity 12+1
* Minimum caliber 9mm +P
* Stainless
* Under $500 if possible
* Note: I’m not bashing Rustmeister. I’m just disappointed more folks don’t post material there. I set it up to be a blog that any gunnie could post too and it seems only a few do. So, if you want to blog about guns, head over there; register; and start posting.
U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz ruled that the law violates the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), a federal law that sets minimum standards for pensions and health plans. The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down similar state laws that conflict with the federal law, ruling that ERISA pre-empts any state law related to employee benefit plans.
Or he could have struck it down because Wal-Mart should decide how Wal-Mart spends its money. Insert reference to communism here.
Richard: On June 6th we were raided by the ATF, the FBI, and the Canadian ATF. The search warrant said that they were looking for firearms and other items pertaining to the manufacturer of sale and receipt of such items. They also claimed that we were manufacturing without a license, which obviously isn’t true because we don’t make anything that requires a license. All our products are nonlicensable.
…
Aaron: … Your lawyer, Quentin Roads, has suggested that he thinks this whole raid was really a fishing expedition. Can you comment on that?
Richard: We believe that at the time because of items that they took and things that they didn’t take, questioning me more about militias and that activity, and just the records that they were after, the types of records, my client list and sales receipts to things I purchased and resold to someone else, so we think it was geared on that.
Aaron: So, they wanted to know who your customer base was?
Richard: Right.
…
Richard: Well that is what it comes down to is their interpretation. We have known from previous determination letters that they really don’t mean much even after they issue one. They have issued several letters claiming that the AR15 in such a configuration is not a firearm along with also the 1911s, yet it is arbitrary. You can send in two 80% frames to the ATF at two different times and get two different answers. One time one person will look at it and say it is a firearm and another time another person will look at it and say, no it is not, so there is not much determination on that of what constitutes that, but the general rule of thumb that they go by is that if it cannot be assembled in any manner and fire a single round, it is not a firearm. It would take a considerable amount of time, depending on your skill level; of course, my skill level is above most average people who buy these, so it would take me less time than someone else who would not have my skill level, but still the AR15 style rifle, you can’t assemble it, you can’t put a hammer trigger, you can’t put the buffer tube in, you need to drill and tap. I think it is pretty much about 18 or 20 holes in it before it will work properly and if you don’t do the hammer and trigger hole properly, it will never work. The sear will not engage. So it is not like you just buy something and assemble it and 10 minutes later, you have a working firearm. Most people take an average of between 20 hours to finish one to bring it to 100% receiver.
There’s a lot more but it looks like they are going after the DIY folks.
I won’t buy any Norinco because of the company’s horrendous ethical violations. Those violations are detailed in Norinco’s Wikipedia entry, and include illegally importing and selling 2000 fully automatic weapons to undercover agents posing as Mafia in 1994 (and offering mortars, anti-aircraft missiles, and other weapons) and selling “missile-related goods” to Iran in 2003, which led the Bush administration to impose a two-year ban on Norinco imports. Besides all that, any money spent on Norinco guns goes directly to China’s military industry.
The City Council yesterday passed a series of bills aimed at bolstering gun control and cracking down on gun crime. The measures, introduced jointly by Mayor Bloomberg and the council speaker, Christine Quinn, require any person convicted of a gun crime to register with the city and prohibit a person from buying more than one handgun in a three-month period.
So, like sex offenders, gun criminals are now registered. And one handgun every three months? Remember, they said the one gun per month was just to prevent illegal dealers. This law will only prevent the law-abiding from buying them. Bloomy issues a statement:
These four bills – the first of their kind in the nation – will make it harder and riskier to buy and sell illegal guns in our City, and help make the safest big city in America even safer.
No, they won’t. More:
As I have said many times, the City has no objection to law-abiding citizens who own guns …
Then why do you punish the law-abiding when criminals simply will not obey this law. They don’t obey the others after all.
Attorney and former Congressman Bob Barr announced today that he and the Law Offices of Edwin Marger, of which he is Of Counsel and is located in Jasper, Georgia, will be pursuing legal action against New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on behalf of Adventure Outdoors. Bloomberg, in May of this year, named Adventure Outdoors, a family owned hunting supply business in Smyrna, Georgia, in a federal lawsuit against “rogue gun dealers.”
Bloomberg conspired with others named in the lawsuit to deceive Adventure Outdoors in order to falsely and fraudulently purchase a firearm. By doing so, the conspirators falsified an ATF form which is a clear violation of federal and Georgia laws. Furthermore, Bloomberg then released misleading statements to national news media, which damaged the reputation and business of Adventure Outdoors in this scheme to defame and violate the law.
In his statement, Barr expressed his confidence in a successful outcome for Adventure Outdoors and further stated that “Mayor Bloomberg’s and the other players’ actions were careless, willful and clearly illegal.
