Some stuff since the Republicans decided that we can’t spend our own money on entertainment by banning banks from engaging in transactions with illegal gambling sites. Illegal gambling being undefined.

Up For Poker has an FAQ on the new bill.

Neteller, the last hope for online transactions, pusses out.

David Post says outlines the stupidity of the bill.

The NYT says it could cost the Republicans some seats. I hope so.

Really:

Robert Redford has added a celebrity touch to those urging California voters to reject a sweeping eminent domain initiative.

…

Put on the November ballot by property rights activists, Proposition 90 would amend the state Constitution to make it harder and more costly for governments to condemn property or pass regulations that affect land values.

Well, they don’t take property from the rich and famous.

Lt. Tom Bryski said:

To be honest it’s fairly rare, but occasionally it does pay off to own a gun

Actually, it pays off every day.

Here, I said:

if there’s one sure fire way to make anything worse, it’s to have the government either 1) regulate it or 2) ban it. Guaranteed.

I wrote that in haste and, well, obviously didn’t necessarily mean anything. Tom called me on it and said:

Yes, because lead-based paints are a far more pervasive problem than they ever were before the meddling government got involved…

There are, indeed, some things that the .gov ought to regulate. I think the more correct way to have phrased that would be:

If there’s one sure fire way to make any complex social issue worse, it’s to have the government either 1) regulate it or 2) ban it. Guaranteed.

I present as evidence: The war on civil liberties err drugs and prohibition. Discuss.

Oh, for that:

Senators With Highest and Lowest Reliance on Special Interest Money

Highest: Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.)

States with Highest and Lowest Senatorial Dependence on Special Interest Money:

Highest: Tennessee

Looks like Corker’s lead in the Tennessee Senate race has pulled out of the margin of error:

A new Wall Street Journal/ Zogby Poll released today shows Republican Senate candidate Bob Corker with a 7 point lead over Washington Congressman Harold Ford. The independent poll has a margin of error of 3.3%.

I was to the point where I could taste all that free beer I was bound to get. But AC:

So what do you think this means? Is this poll proof that the Ford campaign has reached its ceiling and that the retooled Corker campaign has reclaimed it’s rightful place atop the heap?

Or is this just one more poll among many others that will swing back and forth right up until election day?

Gonna be down to the wire.

So, I’m pissed at Delta and American. Who else has pissed me off? Well, paypal has. I got a nasty letter from them placing my account on review. If I don’t react in some deadline, they’ll close it. The reason is that, per their dozens of pages long Acceptable Use Policy, it’s forbidden to use their service to buy weapons and other stuff.

Like every other Acceptable Use Policy out there, I hadn’t read it. So, oops. Bad on me. I was going to reply and say oops, sorry and inquire about remedying the situation. Their message stated:

In order to comply with PayPal’s Acceptable Use Policy and bring your account into good standing, you will need to:

1. Provide a detailed explanation about what the payment received on XXXXXXX was for. Please explain the good or service sold, and how you came in contact with the buyer.

Please also provide any documentation or websites to substantiate your claim.

It had a link. I clicked the link to reply and it asks me what sort of business I run. Well, I don’t run one but that wasn’t an option. So, I sent an email to their service department that said:

I don’t understand what you’re asking me to do here. I don’t run a business. I use paypal for private purchases/sales only.

Their response:

Your appeal to lift the limitation on your account has been denied.

In order to comply with PayPal’s Acceptable Use Policy and bring your account into good standing, you will need to:

1. Provide a detailed explanation about what the payment received on XXXXXXX was for. Please explain the good or service sold, and how you came in contact with the buyer.

Please also provide any documentation or websites to substantiate your claim.

Notice, it’s the same email only it references a non-existent appeal. I reply:

I didn’t appeal any thing. I asked a question:

I don’t understand what you want me to do. I don’t run a business. What do you need from me to rectify this?

Their reply:

In order to comply with PayPal’s Acceptable Use Policy and bring your account into good standing, you will need to:

1. Provide a detailed explanation about what the payment received on XXXXXXX was for. Please explain the good or service sold, and how you came in contact with the buyer.

Please also provide any documentation or websites to substantiate your claim.

Err, same thing. A bit frustrating. So, again, I state again:

I don’t understand what you want me to do. I don’t run a business. What do you need from me to rectify this?

Their response (again):

In order to comply with PayPal’s Acceptable Use Policy and bring your account into good standing, you will need to:

1. Provide a detailed explanation about what the payment received on XXXXXXX was for. Please explain the good or service sold, and how you came in contact with the buyer.

Please also provide any documentation or websites to substantiate your claim.

This time, it’s no longer frustrating but amusing. So I reply:

Unbelievable. I’ve asked the same question three times. And got the same non-answer three times. Do
people answer emails or monkeys with typewriters?

Seriously, I’ll ask again:

I don’t run a business. So, what do you need me to do here? Your site asks me about my business, which I
don’t have.

Their response is the same. I try a few more times because it’s funny:

Say Uncle: So, what’s the point of a reply form/email address if no one’s going to read it?

PayPal Monkey With Typewriter: Same exact response

Say Uncle: Whatcha wearing, sexy?

PayPal Monkey With Typewriter: Same exact response

Say Uncle: Are you retarded?

PayPal Monkey With Typewriter: Same exact response

Say Uncle: Booga, booga, booga.

PayPal Monkey With Typewriter: Same exact response

Say Uncle: I like big butts and I cannot lie.

PayPal Monkey With Typewriter: Same exact response

SayUncle: Yea, and God said to Abraham, “you will kill your son, Issak”, and Abraham said, I can’t hear you, you’ll have to speak into the microphone.” “Oh I’m sorry, Is this better? Check, check, check… Jerry, pull the high end out, I’m still getting some hiss back here

PayPal Monkey With Typewriter: Same exact response

SayUncle: Dookie.

PayPal Monkey With Typewriter: Same exact response

I mean, I figure some combination of words (perhaps eventually typed by a monkey with a typewriter) will clue them in that a person needs to review my case? But, I was wrong.

So, I call their 800 number while driving. Their phone system says (paraphrased) Due to unusually high call volume, you’ll have to wait. When a business phone says this, what they really mean is Due to our usual under-staffing of phone lines, you’ll have to wait your turn, bitch. Anyway, the guy answering the phone couldn’t help me but he knew who could. So, transferred again. I reached the nice lady at paypal and she (and I) had a good chuckle about the situation (she thought I was funny). And she, of course, can’t help me either. So, she forwarded my info on to their Acceptable Use Policy people as a work order, which apparently involves a person reviewing my case instead of a monkey with a typewriter.

We’ll see.

Update: I guess in the future, it’s best not to put any details of any transaction in the paypal submit form. They probably have monkeys with typewriters who look for terms like FFL, arms, etc. Corporate big brother is watching.

You may recall they were stupid and took my ammo, despite assurances from their customer service team and the Knoxville agents that it was OK. Well, they basically told me tough tittie. Between this and Delta Airlines being stupid, I’m running out of airlines to fly on.

It’s a voting guide.The volume is so low, I can’t hear it on the laptop.

This morning I caught the debate between Schree Pettigrew and Stacey Campfield for the 18th district in Knoxvegas. Actually, I caught about 20 minutes of commercials and 5 minutes of their debate. Here’s my summary of the debate:

You took money from Hitler.

You took money from Satan.

You return Hitler’s money.

You return Satan’s money.

You return Hitler’s money.

You return Satan’s money.

You return Hitler’s money.

You return Satan’s money.

Ravenwood lists them. Well, here’s their plan:

Ban expensive weapons.

Ban cheap weapons.

Ban the ones in the middle.

And what’s left?

Not the people who left it where a three year old can get it:

WE WERE SHOCKED to learn how little pressure it takes to squeeze the trigger of a Glock .45. The gun’s firing mechanism is so light, even a 3-year-old can shoot it.

And accidentally kill himself.

Tylib Bailey-Henderson’s death this week is tragic and frustrating because it could have been so easily avoided.

A simple, properly attached gun-trigger lock, and Tylib would still be alive -smiling, laughing, playing.

Actually, he’d be alive if he didn’t have access to the gun. The Glock’s trigger pull is about 5.5 pounds. I think a 1911s is about 5. More:

Legislators in Congress and in Harrisburg have so far refused to require that when a gun is sold or transferred to a buyer, it would also have a trigger lock with it.

Really? The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms act requires handguns to be sold with trigger locks. See here. I don’t think the law has been funded, though.

Heh:

An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll taken last July found that while most Americans have positive feelings about the NRA, only 30 percent have “positive feelings” about The New York Times.

But don’t count on The Times to tell you that.

Nor will The Times tell you that in another poll conducted this past summer, the NRA’s favorable rating was higher than the Republican or Democratic parties, even higher than that of the United States Congress.

Anthony Diotaiuto was a 23 year-old with a handgun carry permit (past posts here). Police busted his door in early one morning because he was allegedly dealing drugs. The put 10 rounds of 9mm in his chest and he died. They found less than an ounce of marijuana. Now, the latest:

Seconds after a SWAT team stormed his home, a suspected drug dealer ran to his bedroom closet and emerged pointing a gun at a detective, according to a grand jury report released Tuesday.

Police opened fire, and the man fell back into the closet. But when officers moved closer, they found him still breathing — his finger still on the trigger. Then, the suspect raised his gun again.

This time, he died in a hail of police bullets.

I think this is about the 5th time the story has changed. More:

Based on police testimony, the grand jury found police were right to worry Diotaiuto would fight back using a semiautomatic handgun he had a concealed weapons permit for and justified in shooting him as many as 13 times when faced with the barrel of his gun.

The number of rounds is now 13. He was killed, basically, for having a concealed carry permit. His neighbors have repeatedly testified that the police did not announce themselves when serving the warrant. If they had, he may well be alive.

The officers involved have been exonerated.

If so, does the sidebar on the right stop where my ads should be? If so, that explains why I’ve not sold any blogads in a couple of weeks.

And the dip in traffic, since the sitemeter isn’t loading.

Any ideas how to fix that? I hate technical issues.

An AP wire I received:

NEW YORK (AP) — One of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s personal employees was beaten by thieves who then stole the billionaire’s car Wednesday morning in New Jersey, authorities said.

The employee was driving the 2001 Lexus in Hackensack on an errand for the mayor shortly before 9 a.m. when he was approached by a woman asking for money, police said. As he declined and began to roll up the window, a man got into the passenger seat and punched him in the face.

“They force him out and take off,” said Capt. Frank Lomia of the Hackensack Police Dept. The employee, whose name was not released, was not seriously injured.

The car was found about two hours later, abandoned on the side of the road in Fairlawn. Police were looking for the suspects.

It’s no secret that conservatives and Republicans have been pulling their support for Corker. He’s a subpar candidate with a very not good record. But this surprised me:

After much thought, I have decided that I cannot in good conscience vote for a man [Harold Ford, Jr.] who supports the notion of detaining American citizens without the writ of habeas corpus.

The Democrats have been pretty united over Ford, even though he’s running as, well, a Republican. With all his Jesus-loving, pro-gunning, illegal-immigrant-hating, gay-marriage-hating, rhetoric, he’s speaking like he should have an R after his name.

Via AC.

Bush and the rest of the Republicans have suspended habeas corpus. Are you outraged? You should be.

Ah, those silly bigoted Republicans. They still hate the gays, but now they’re a little conflicted about it. I guess that’s progress.

Some Christians, who are pivotal to the GOP’s get-out-the-vote effort, are charging that gay Republican staffers in Congress may have thwarted their legislative agenda. There even are calls for what some have dubbed a “pink purge” of high-ranking gay Republicans on Capitol Hill and in the administration.

Uncle shoots and maybe scores.

The NRA has picked up my story about Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam being a member of the anti-gun Mayors Alliance that is funded by Joyce Foundation (See here, here, here, here, here, and here). Wayne LaPierre (yes, that Wayne LaPierre) asks What’s going on in Knoxville:

Here’s a suggestion for Mayor Haslam and the citizens of Knoxville.

Ask Mike Bloomberg to take your name off his website and list. Tell Bloomberg that you don’t want New York City style gun control laws in Tennessee!

In other news, Wayne LaPierre read SayUncle? Cool. Terry Frank asks: Did Haslam wake the NRA? I hope so. Since the local press isn’t covering the issue, perhaps the NRA will get word out to its local members.

Somebody tell me why I haven’t been reading Sarcastro (well, other than the fact his name is a rip off of a minor character from The Tick). To wit:

To the 300 millionth new American: We’d like some cheese-dip, a glass of sangria, a top-shelf margarita, the tacos carne asada, and the camarones mojo de aijo. Gracias. Me gustan las nueva bebe americana. P.S. Don’t answer any emails from a guy named Foley.

Heh.

Bono moved his business out of Ireland so as not to pay taxes on it. I don’t blame him.

Public service announcement (in slideshow form) on why it’s important to remove the boresighter before firing. Via Hardy.

Electricity Nazi meet Light Nazi.

Sorry Joe and Bob but, despite everything I try, my spam filter doesn’t like blogspot.com. If that is in your URI, it bans you. Unless I happen to be looking, your comment will get eaten.

Sorry.

WBIR reports that Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale has declared shenanigans as the reason he is being pursued by a renegade group of “troubled” Knox County Commissioners that used to be “young” a long time ago.

What do you think of Mayor Ragsdale’s letter to Knox County Commission?

From WBIR:

Ragsdale says he knows reasons behind Tyler Harber investigation

Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale says he will reveal the “real” reasons behind the push for an investigation of his office.

The Mayor’s office distributed a copy of a letter to all County Commissioners Monday in which he vehemently denies allegations that he had former employee Tyler Harber engage in improper activity.

He also says, “Commissioners Scott Moore, Lumpy Lambert and Ivan Harmon have shared with me and my staff the real reasons for calling for an investigation.”

The Mayor adds that, “My staff and I will be glad to share their comments with you individually or at the County Commission meeting.”

A spokesperson for the Mayor wouldn’t say what the reasons are, but did say “they aren’t honorable or ethical.”

The Mayor’s rebuttal comes after several commissioners requested an investigation into allegations of improper activity made by Harber in an article in the Halls Shopper.

It will take a two-thirds majority – or 13 commissioners voting in favor – for a full investigation to be launched.

Update:

Ace Internet reporter R. Neal posts the affidavits ordered from Knox County employees Mike Arms, Mark Jones, Todd Cook, and Richard Moran by Mayor Mike Ragsdale. In one of these affidavits Richard Moran confirms that caswalker.com was created by Tyler Harber.

I noticed the Brady Campaign is showing up in my Google ads. Thought it was ironic. They are outraged, ya know. But they’re buying me guns, $0.10 at a time.

The Memphis Rag asked Ford and Corker questions. The paper asked them both:

Do you believe the right to bear arms extends to ownership of assault rifles?

Now, yours truly thinks the Memphis rag fudged the question and that it was about the now meaningless arbitrary legal construct known as the assault weapons ban. Assault rifles are machine guns and are already regulated and banned from new transfer to civilians since 1986. First, Corker says:

I am a strong supporter of the second amendment and do not believe we should impose any new restrictions on law-abiding gun owners.

Well, that’s great. But you didn’t answer the question. Says Ford:

I believe in the Second Amendment’s constitutional guarantee to bear arms, and I believe we have enough gun laws on the books. We just need to enforce the ones we have.

And you didn’t answer the question either.

Now, it’s been a while since I’ve discussed abortion on the old blog (and for good reason). So, a refresher of my thoughts on it:

I saw the ads flying around town last week and wrote about it here. Joe says:

Callers to Dave Foulk’s show constantly framed their anti-abortion arguments with false language and false arguments, and an eagerness to control human sexuality. When someone calls abortion “killing children” they present a false claim. Children are not aborted. It also isn’t “infanticide”, as both child and infant are lifeforms outside the womb.

I’d like to have heard some of these comments on controlling human sexuality. Because the crazy-ass contingent of the pro-choice crowd often says that abortion is about controlling women or women’s sexuality. Sorry, crazy-ass contingent but that’s bullshit. People who oppose abortion do so because they take issue with killing babies. Period. Now, we can go all day arguing about when exactly a couple of cells become a baby but it’s a largely pointless semantic exercise. No matter how good anyone’s points are on the issue, it’s really a matter of faith for most folks as to exactly when said cells become a human or life or whatever else. And Joe has, obviously, decided where he stands on that. And so have the pro-lifers.

So, when you start implying that people’s opposition to abortion is to control women and sexuality, you lose me.

Of course, the crazy-ass pro-life contingent has issues as well. I don’t like seeing aborted fetuses flying around in the sky. I also don’t like when these bozos go protest at a clinic.

Via insty, comes: When an AK47 Is Not an AK47. The answer for the US press is usually always. But, the article:

The existence of this manual may be a sign that there are some unexpected strategic benefits to American journalists’ chronically deficient grasp of the basic issues they’re supposed to be covering. The AK-47s that you see Third World soldiers brandishing and the AK-47s you can buy in Seattle are completely different weapons. The former are fully automatic weapons, which have been tightly regulated since the National Firearms Act of 1934. The Gun Control of 1968 outlawed importation of foreign-made fully automatic weapons for sale to civilians, and a 1986 amendment to the Firearm Owners Protection Act banned the domestic manufacture of fully automatic weapons for civilians. It is possible for a civilian to legally obtain a fully automatic AK-47, but it is extremely difficult: Before you can even begin to navigate your way through a maze of state and federal regulations, you’ve got to find someone with a weapon either made in the U.S. before 1986 or imported before 1968.

The AK-47s that you can buy at the average gun store are semiautomatic rifles; you only get one shot per trigger-pull. How did the assault weapons ban that was in effect from 1994 to 2004 affect the availability of these? It didn’t, in any meaningful sense. The differences between the rifles that were legal before the ban, during the ban, and now are entirely cosmetic.

I’ve said that hundreds of times.

Seems that violent crime is on the rise in the past year. So, the Feds want to do something about it:

Nationally, violent crime rose 2.2 percent last year, the first increase since 2001

The article concludes with:

However, Justice officials said Monday that even with the recent surge, the overall national violent crime rate remains lower than any year ever measured except for 2004.

Err, if 2005 is greater than 2004 then how can 2004 be the highest? I’m confused.

Update: Oh, and I blame assault weapons. I mean, I see those bullet-hoses out their walking the streets all the time.

Videos of bullets going through stuff, like bottles of water and apples:

Via David.

In response to the article Get the guns out of your homes by Mary Sanchez, Publicola replies: Personally I try to get the guns out of my homes every month if not more often. They like the fresh air & open spaces of the ranges.

I’ve heard it before but never thought much about it. Was Chicago’s Gun Control Ordinance A Secret Plan By Chicago’s Mob?

Enforce existing law:

THE KNEE-JERK response by some to Philly’s soaring murder rate is to demand More Laws.

Others respond by asking: Why don’t we enforce the 20,000 gun laws currently on the books across the nation?

The current buzz is about “straw buyers” and “straw sellers” and how to stop them. “Straw buyers” and “sellers” are people with clean records who buy guns legally, then pirouette to sell them – illegally. Those illegal guns create much of the chaos on our streets.

“The only way you can legally transfer a firearm in the state of Pennsylvania,” says attorney Jon Mirowitz, a recognized authority on gun laws, “is to go through a licensed dealer, and it’s been that way since the 1930s.”

Enforcement of that law should be mandatory. But that cries for common sense, which we know is rare as a game-show host’s sincerity.

I didn’t realize that about Pennsylvania.

The Carnival of Cordite is up for your gun blogging fix.

Oh, he said lawyer. I thought he was being honest about his dishonesty there for a minute.

I use the phrases retard, retarded, passengers on the little bus, Timmah, and a host of other similar insults all the time. In writing and in the real world. I thought, at first, it was unavoidable since (by my guess as affirmed by South Park), roughly 25% of the population is retarded. And, honestly, have you seen yourself drive?

But no more. I’m going to make an effort not to use such language any more since it apparently offends retards.

Update: And for people who need to be told that sort of thing, I don’t mean the physically/mentally disabled. I mean clueless, blathering morons. Of course, if you had to be told that sort of thing, you’re probably the type of retard I mean. And, yes, I know I’ve already used the word again. Sorry ’bout that.

In Britain:

FOURTEEN-YEAR-OLD girl from north-west London stands accused of conspiracy to supply a machine gun capable of firing 1,000 rounds a minute.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is one of four suspects from the area who appeared at High Barnet magistrates’ court charged with gun-related crimes.

She was charged with possessing two revolvers, a Mach-10 machine gun and a second machine pistol.

I think it’s a Mac-10, though.

I said:

If you want to send a message to the Republicans you don’t do that by voting Democrat. If you vote Democrat, you send a message that you like Democrats.

AC disagrees:

At a certain point, if you have been routinely let down and ignored, you have to remind whatever party you identify with that your vote is not a lock. You have to remind them to earn your vote.

Uncle asserts that the way to do this, the only proper way, is to vote third party for if you vote for the Democrat you are voting to affirm them.

I disagree. In most cases, yes, simply voting for the opposite party out of spite is not advisable. But I think in this specific case, things are different. First of all, Corker is an extremely bad candidate and the Republican party has been grossly negligent in their duties both to conservatism and the country.

They deserve the harshest punishment they can get.

I don’t disagree on punishing them.

GLN says:

I reconnected with an acquantance (sic) recently and it turns out he works for the BATFE. We spoke a bit about H.R.5092, but he was not aware of the bureau’s analyisis (sic) of it. He asked what I thought.

I want to open this up and ask you all what you think of BATFE.

My dealings with them is limited but I will say that they were professional and courteous. But I shouldn’t have even had to deal with them. Anyway, give your thoughts and I’d lay off the kitten-stomping, baby-sniping stuff. Not gonna have much effect.

When even the Chicago liberal, statist, populist contingent recognized the gun vote, it’s a good thing:

But our democracy might work a bit better if we recognized that all of us possess values that are worthy of respect: if liberals at least acknowledged that the recreational hunter feels the same way about his gun as they feel about their library books

Don’t get me wrong, Obama is likely as much a gun-grabber as, say, Schumer. But at least he’s not stupid about it.

So, everyone on both sides is all atwitter about the recent bit of gun violence in schools. Here’s what’s up:

In Utah:

Gun class for Utah teachers

Free concealed-weapons session is offered today

More than a dozen teachers and public school employees will spend part of their UEA weekend in a classroom — learning how to use a gun.

Clark Aposhian is offering a free class today to public school employees seeking to get their concealed- weapons permit.

“It is self-defense,” he told the Deseret Morning News on Thursday. “But because teachers and school administrators and custodians are typically surrounded by students all day, any threat to any individual with a firearm would also be a threat to those students.”

The concealed-weapons instructor’s offer was met with opposition from some teachers and union representatives at the Utah Education Association’s conference in Salt Lake City.

The gun banners chime in:

Get the guns out of your homes

Uh, no. More:

More school shootings, and the inevitable commentary on the evening news: “I didn’t think this sort of thing could happen here.”

The heartfelt, but naive belief that murderous rampages “don’t happen here” begs the question: “Where do you think such things happen?”

Labels exist for the places where shootings occur: urban, inner city; all code for where black and Latino people live and yes, far too often die to senseless gun violence.

But one thing urban folks can tell their scared suburban friends right now is that a good part of the horrendous violence in their communities is due to the proliferation of guns.

Really?

Star Tribune on the school violence conference:

Missing from those discussions, however, were two equally important items: federal budget cuts to school safety programs and access to guns.

The Baltimore Sun:

There seems to be a bipartisan conspiracy to ignore the obvious: Gun violence is so high in this country at least in part because there are so many guns so easily available. The United States is home to more than 200 million firearms, with one or more available in at least a third of American households.

Really? See chart above.

And some common sense breaks out.

Remember, the anti-gun forces don’t want to disarm sportsmen and all that. They just want common-sense, err, something or other:

Because they are once again asking the Redskins to stop having a fundraising event for kids. Why? Because it involves safe and legal activities with shotguns. As they point out in their release announcing their hissy fit, they organized protesters last year (some were kids kept out of school that day) and the Redskins still managed to raise lots of money for good causes.

It’s not April:

Cato’s Tim Lynch notes that the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers recently gave Janet frickin’ Reno its “Champion of Justice” award, complete with standing ovation at the accompanying dinner.

Um. NACDL’s motto is “Liberty’s Last Champion.” It has the phrase “criminal defense” in its title.

You’re kidding, right?

Make it funny:

In Brownsville, he [Former "Apprentice" star and Republican candidate for the House of Representatives in Pennsylvania Raj Peter Bhakta] witnessed half a dozen men swim under one of the international bridges “with complete immunity” which in turn prompted him to take the immigration issue to the next level.

Bhakta decided to see if he could get an elephant accompanied by a six-piece mariachi band across the river. . .

“To my surprise, the band played on, the elephants splashed away, and nobody showed up,” Bhakta said of the stunt. “I’m astounded.”

Heartless Libertarian has links to goodies regarding the SCAR.

Right on:

Youngsters in a suburban Fort Worth school district are being taught not to sit there like good boys and girls with their hands folded if a gunman invades the classroom, but to rush him and hit him with everything they got – books, pencils, legs and arms.

“Getting under desks and praying for rescue from professionals is not a recipe for success,” said Robin Browne, a major in the British Army reserve and an instructor for Response Options, the company providing the training to the Burleson schools.

Indeed. Hiding makes you an easy target. When confronted with violence, your response should be one of two things and those two things only:

1 – Run
2 – Attack

Or fight or flight, if you like. That’s it. Nothing else. It’s the natural thing to do or else we wouldn’t be conditioned to have those two responses.

Do not hide. Do not negotiate. Do not try to soothe. Do not comply. Do not try to ‘understand’ the murderous retard shooting up the place. Period. In a school shooting, if you can leave then get out. If not, don’t cower or hide. Fight enough to get out. Or you’re dead. If you attack, you could die. If you cower under a desk, you will die unless the nutjob runs out of ammo before getting to you.

Via insty.

Over at NSH, I posted this bit about Mayors Against Guns and the Joyce Foundation. In the comment section, a guy claiming to be Bob Ricker (Executive Director of the American Hunters and Shooters Association) says:

I’m the Executive Director of the American Hunters and Shooters Association (AHSA)and AHSA has neither fequested nor received funding from the Joyce Foundation. You need to check your facts and not just regurgitate NRA lies!

And there’s a reason why I used the word supposedly. I’ve heard that claim bandied about but never a cite nor a source. Thanks, Bob, for clearing that up. But I notice he didn’t deny being part of an anti-gun group.

The spam filter is killing some comments. Sorry. If your comment gets eaten, you have to let me know soon. I get about 1,500 spam messages per day. If you don’t tell me quickly, they’re gone. Not much I can do about that. So, sorry gat; sorry deb; sorry ed.

It seems that blogspot.com sets it off for some reason.

I’m in business. Like most businesses, we sell stuff. Whenever you buy our stuff, we’ll take payments from you in, generally, any way you choose to get them to us. Check, cash, carrier pigeon, no problem. Hell, if you attached your cash to a brick and threw it through our window, we’d just consider the replacement window a valid business expense. We like getting your money. It’s why we’re here.

Not so with the .gov. I’m trying to pay taxes. Actually, I’m trying to pay estimated taxes. The won’t take my money. We’ve never paid these particular taxes to this particular bureaucracy before. They’re due Monday. Early last month, I filled out their form to authorize wire transfers. Due to a snafu on their end (i.e., Sorry sir, we, err, lost it) that didn’t go through and we’re looking at another 2 weeks. If I write them a check, they want to charge me a 10% penalty as opposed to if it’s just late and the penalty is interest, which is substantially less than 10%. I’m trying to pay you money. Jebus.

Idiots.

Speaking of liberals and guns, meet Blue Girl in a Red State:

And fair warning now, large-ell liberals – don’t argue guns with me, or I’ll challenge your ass to a duel. Gun Control means that you can hit your flippin’ target. Get rid of that Stupid. Fucking.Gun Control. Plank. and people in Holt County, Missouri and Decatur County, Iowa and Dodge County, Kansas come back to the Democratic Party.

Me:

It’s more a testament to the power of party than anything else. The GOP in TN could probably nominate an adulterous, gay atheist who was caught on tape strangling puppies and still keep it within margin of error.

Heh. I crack me up.

People often ask me Hey Uncle, why is your site www.saysuncle.com and not www.sayuncle.com? Here’s why. It’s not worth $2,788 to me.

A while back, Kos did a bit on Libertarian Democrats. I said:

If you read the comments, quite a few of the Kossacks are pro-gun. I found this surprising and interesting. But, and let me be clear, if Kos is getting it, its impact must be growing to the point that it can’t be ignored. Regardless, I salute these types.

Now (via Pro Gun Progressive), Kos is at it again:

The case against the libertarian Republican is so easy to make that I almost feel compelled to stipulate it and move on. It is the case for the libertarian Democrat that has created much discussion and not a small amount of controversy when I first introduced the notion in what was, in reality, a throwaway blog post on Daily Kos on a slow news day in early June 2006.

It is indeed an easy case to make. More:

there’s a whole swath of Americans who are uncomfortable with Republican/conservative efforts to erode our civil liberties while intruding into our bedrooms and churches; they don’t like unaccountable corporations invading their privacy, holding undue control over their economic fortunes, and despoiling our natural surroundings; yet they also don’t appreciate the nanny state, the over-regulation of small businesses, the knee-jerk distrust of the free market, or the meddlesome intrusions into mundane personal matters.

Well, I fixed it for him. We still like us some capitalism. On guns:

There’s a reason libertarians view the Second Amendment as an absolute right—its abolition would limit one of the most effective ages-old tools against governmental tyranny.

Hence, there was (and is) a natural tension between liberals who see government as a benign force for good, and those who can point to plenty of history showing otherwise. And as long as government remained the greatest threat to our personal liberties, this tension was fated to remain.

Indeed. Read it all. You (like me) may not agree with all of it and that’s OK. I don’t believe that liberals will embrace the libertarian sorts because, well, we scare the shit out of them. But they may reach out to us. Whether or not they reach out to us in the way the Republicans did (i.e., when they need our votes and to Hell with us every other day) remains to be seen. And, there is the fact that we don’t like Democrat party favors like Feinstein, Schumer, Pelosi, Kennedy, etc. It will be tough to convince us. But give it a shot.

Update: Drum spells it out:

Should Democrats court the libertarian vote?

Just the votes, please. And he says:

And let’s face it: Democrats just can’t credibly claim to be on their side.

Ayup.

A spoiler, if you haven’t seen it don’t click more.

Read the rest of this entry »

The concealed weapons holder who shot a man in Seattle was apparently homeless:

The shooter, whose last two known addresses were homeless shelters in Seattle and Federal Way, could not be found for comment Tuesday. His last known address is at the Compass Center, a Seattle shelter and social-services facility for the homeless and low-income people, according to public records.

Hardly, despite the cries of some:

The National Rifle Association has a simple agenda in Washington: protecting gun ownership. But it faces a complex challenge this campaign season: supporting Republican control of Congress while staying loyal to Democratic candidates who supported the gun lobby.

“We will endorse regardless of party,” says Chris Cox, executive director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action. “However, gun owners are very concerned and do not want as speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has been consistently vocal against their rights. They understand the significance of these elections.”

That means the NRA, which sits on a campaign war chest of $20 million, is expecting to endorse as many as 60 Democrats in House and Senate elections, about the same number it endorsed in every national election since 2002 and three times the 20 or so Democrats it supported in races during the early 1990s. At the same time, the NRA wants to make sure Republicans keep control of Congress.

They endorsed Democrat Governors Bill Richardson and Phil Bredesen. And, of course, many liberals are right on guns.

Chris says the local alt-weekly rag didn’t get it right – shocking. And they don’t like blogs. It’s OK because I don’t like alt-weeklies. Well, except when I’m moving or have a new puppy. And I have to say that I don’t get Nemesis Boy either.

He can’t spell (or at least he can’t type)

He’s not funny

He makes an effort to be inflammatory but that effort rivals the intellectual wit of grapefruit that’s been left out in the sun for a day too long.

I don’t get it. Maybe someone could ’splain his appeal to me?

You know, that group that Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam is a part of:

The Mayors Against Guns further claim that they “respect the rights of law abiding citizens to own guns.” No they don’t.

Let’s face it. The City of New York has done just about everything it can do in the form of imposing strict gun control. The only thing Mayor Bloomberg can do to prove his anti-gun worthiness is try to enforce gun control in other cities. Do you think the people of Atlanta, Georgia appreciate Mayor Bloomberg’s influence on their gun laws?

As you peruse through the rest of the Mayors Against Guns website, you will see all the telltale signs of an anti-gun mentality. One example is the number of people killed by firearms each year in America: 30,000. The website won’t tell you that the number of lives saved by firearms each year in America is over TWO MILLION. The website also lists various anti-gun legislation but no legislation that supports concealed carry or Stand Your Ground laws.

If Mayor Bloomberg and other mayors across the country were serious about reducing crime, they’d be looking at the single common denominator in all crimes: Criminals. We know that approximately 60-70% of serious offenders are rearrested within 3 years of release from prison. Enacting more laws for people who already disobey the law is absurd. You can’t reduce crime by keeping guns “off the street”. You have to keep criminals off the street.

Rather than focus on the cause of crime, however, anti-gun mayors prefer to focus on you, the law abiding citizen. Their goal is to enact more laws that make it more difficult for you to own and possess firearms. Anti-gun mayors from New York and Los Angeles are going to show mayors in Anchorage, Denver, and Providence how it’s done.

A teacher in Florida was suspended for having a toy gun to school to be used as a prop in a play.

My ass. Some Republicans are fond of saying that deficits don’t matter. And, generally, they’re correct. The government’s books contain many non-cash items (such as social security liabilities and environmental clean up estimates) that may or may not reflect the true potential costs and that may or may not actually be paid (such as those environmental clean up items – they’ve not cleaned up for years and who thinks they’ll start now?). But it still doesn’t look good for a party that touted fiscal responsibility and accountability (and all those other bilities) to spend like drunken sailors.

David Hardy has all kinds of snippets from the report on the excess at the ATF:

He also created an agency Executive Protection Branch, so that he could have bodyguards. For a time they even stayed with him when he worked out in the gym, until he realized there were several of them working out at the same time as he did, anyway. They escorted him on trips, including his commute to HQ.

Joe Huffman says:

The full report includes such items as demands for remote controlled doors, and wood flooring in the directors office that alone cost over $62,000. The millwork alone for the other wood in the office would cost $243,000. That doesn’t include the executive bathroom which involved telephone, TV flat panel and radio speakers to listen/view news, quartzite tile floor to match the floor in the building atrium, a bench with a water resistant wood seat, tile wall “in horizontal straight stacked layout vs brick,” and sconces. The conference table cost $28,000. Don’t get me started on the bodyguards, motorcades, and the gym.

All this while agents in the field were using expired body armor and complaining of not having enough people, and other safety equipment.

Frank Cagle, an ordinarily conservative guy, endorsed Democrat Harold Ford, Jr. in a rather backhanded way. I disagree. If you want to send a message to the Republicans you don’t do that by voting Democrat. If you vote Democrat, you send a message that you like Democrats. Instead, if you really have to get your protest vote on, either vote for a real conservative or don’t vote. If you vote, for example, for a guy that has no chance of winning and who, honestly, probably scares your average republican instead of the party-backed candidate, that’s a better message than voting for the opposition.

That’s Major Heartless Libertarian to you.

What 1,000,000 rounds per minute looks like.

Michael Bane offers a page from the anti-gunners playbook:

What the movement against alcohol, as well as the movements against abortion and tobacco, managed to do that the movement for gun control didn’t — at least until recently — was figure out a message that would trump the classical liberal assumption that liberty is paramount.

In other news, a gun controller has admitted to being against liberty.

Outside the office just now is a plane flying overhead with a banner behind it. The banner has a picture of an aborted baby and the caption Abortion is Terror. Not a real tasteful way to get converts, there guys.

A friend of mine since middle school emails:

Hey, old man! Sorry I haven’t kept up with you lately. Hope the wife and rugrats are all well.

I was reading your blog this-afternoon and thought I would pass on a couple of quick thoughts while I had the time. I’ve met Mr. Ford and Mr. Corker both this election cycle. Mr. Ford was near the polling place near my son’s karate studio. I stopped and took a moment to see what was going on. He was glad-handing. I met the guy and talked to him for a few minutes. He seemed nice enough.

Next, I met Mr. Corker at the Weigel’s just up the street from my house. He also was campaigning. My first thought after meeting him was “What an asshole!” He’s the kind of guy who looks right through you as though you’re not there. He really didn’t seem very sincere, more like a used-car salesman.

I for one, will be voting for Mr. Ford on the basis of that impression. I’ve ceased listening to campaign ads and political slogans years ago. I’ve checked his records on the voting websites, and while I don’t agree with everything he’s done, he’s hardly the crook/schnook the RNC and Corker portray him as.

You know me, I’m a die-hard conservative, but I swear, I wouldn’t vote for Corker for dogcatcher, much less Congress.

Now, let me be clear: This dude is as conservative as they get, only without all the homo-hating, in-your-face God stuff. He’s my kind of conservative. In high school, he was the President of the Alex P. Keaton Fan Club and (in 19fucking88) was campaigning for (no bullshit) drafting Richard Nixon to run for president. I shit you not.

What do you think would happen if, say tomorrow, China nuked North Korea? I mean, other than the devestating loss of life. It’s not completely out of the realm of possibility. Just asking because that region just got scary and, well, it could get worse before it gets better. And China doesn’t exactly fart around.

In Memphis. Here:

Do you think teachers should be allowed to carry weapons at school?
Yes: If they have a permit to carry a weapon they should be allowed
Yes: I think it will help control violence in school
No: It is dangerous to have a loaded weapon in a school
No: It will only add to the problem

The past year or so has been bad for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. The story so far:

A circuit court smacks them down for their ruling on model rockets;

An agent testified under oath that the NFRTR (the NFA weapons database) was corrupt;

Having budget issues due to mismanagement;

Being investigated for breaking he law at Virginia gun shows.

And they’ve had funds cut for some of their rather, err, dubious programs.

The ATF Director has resigned over excessive and lavish spending.

Now, some more bureaucratic goodness:

The now former head of the ATF ordered staff to do his nephew’s homework.

And there may be somewhat of an internal revolt at the agency. David Hardy posts an email from a group called ATFers United against Mismanagement and Misconduct. I received the same email. I hoped it was true but had my doubts. The group has no webpage, their email address was from Yahoo or something, and the letter was in all caps. But, if true, some guys inside the ATF are unhappy with management. Go read the letter and judge for yourself.

Update: But it may explain the increase various Google searches I’m getting from the ATF. I say increase because the ATF pops in on occasion here all the time. And there are some guys from there reading who are friendlies. Marc’s getting them too.

Frank Cagle, a small government libertarian Republican sort, has endorsed Harold Ford, Jr:

I intend to vote for him in November and urge you to do the same. Do it to save conservatism in America. If you can’t vote for him, abstain. That works as well. Are you worried about not showing party loyalty if you don’t vote for Corker? Don’t. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind Corker’s campaign manager, Tom Ingram, will be voting for Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen in the same election. If it doesn’t bother Corker, it shouldn’t bother you.

Part of the reason why Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam’s participation in Mayors Against Guns is important is because of the group’s ties. The group received $175K from The Joyce Foundation. The Joyce Foundation has funded plenty of anti-gun groups, even the hysterical ones. Here’s a round up of who they have funded and it reads like a who’s who of anti-gunners.

The Joyce Foundation likes to funnel their money to many groups so it appears as though the movement is grassroots. But many of these groups aren’t groups at all but are many websites owned by the same guy. Here’s another listing of anti-gun groups supported by The Joyce Foundation. And supposedly the American Hunters and Shooters Association is funded by them too.

So, likely inadvertently, the mayor has aligned himself with the anti-gun movement whether he likes it or not.

Tam:

Also, it seems that the Norks are busy finding out the hard way that, if it comes to choosing which is the more important trading partner, Beijing is going to pick Bentonville, Arkansas over Pyongyang any day of the week.

Les Jones (in comments):

Tennessee is an amazing place, isn’t it? Here, even liberal Democrats own guns and even conservative Republicans of a certain age have smoked dope.

The Long Haul:

Army: Troops to stay in Iraq until 2010

The U.S. Army has made plans to keep the current level of troops in Iraq for the next four years.

Gun Control NOT on Dem’s Agenda. I don’t believe them.

Kewee has some more photos from the gun blogger gathering.

As does her other half, Mr. C.

With respect to school shootings, gun laws are a hot topic again.

guns aren’t in the president’s vocabulary. More accurately, gun bans aren’t and the WaPo seems to not like that.

The Christian Science Monitor:

In an interview after the conference, Mr. Milonopoulos voiced his dissatisfaction: “I’m grateful to the Bush administration for bringing these issues to light through a national conference, and inviting a wide variety of groups, but there needs to be a new approach beyond the dialogue that we heard [on Tuesday]. The first thing I would do is renew the federal assault weapons ban.” After the Columbine shootings in Littleton, Colo., school-safety experts called for metal detectors to keep weapons out of schools, surveillance cameras, improved school design to reduce potential hiding places – and new laws to curb access to guns.

Really? Well, we had the ban in 1999 and Columbine still happened.

And USA Today has anti-gunner Kristen Rand, who says the US is behind on gun control:

USA TODAY’s editorial “80 years of school killings leave long trail of grief” argued that events such as the execution-style shootings of 10 Amish schoolgirls are probably “unstoppable.” The fact is that such mass shootings are preventable, but the United States lacks the will to do what needs to be done: Ban handguns and semiautomatic assault weapons, and regulate the gun industry to control the firepower available to civilians (Editorial, Thursday).

So much for the whole we want only reasonable restrictions and not bans shtick.

The Nietzsche Family Circus. Not sure why, but it makes me laugh.

Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms illustrated. Or, you know, the contents of my pantry.

Late for Dinner says good for Haslam:

To his credit, Haslam would not back down. He said he doesn’t understand why anyone would not want illegal guns off the street, and invited Gill down to the KPD evidence room to see what they were talking about. Good for Mayor Haslam.

As I said there:

The issue isn’t that he wants to target illegal guns (most politicos do and its not a bad thing). The issue is that he has allied himself with an organization that is clearly anti-gun and has targeted lawful gun dealers.

This was yesterday’s Wizard of Id cartoon:

Did I miss something? I don’t get it.

And some radio.

While perusing around Al Gore’s Tubes of Internets, I discovered that Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam was part of an anti-gun group. I wasn’t happy about it. In East Tennessee, this could be political suicide. So, I hopped back on Al Gore’s Tubes of Internets and wrote about it on my blog and over at No Silence Here, a blog at the local newspaper’s site. See here, here and here. As a result of that and some gratuitous links from Glenn Reynolds, Steve Gill talked to Haslam about it on the radio (audio here) and Haslam was put on the defensive. So, there was a bit of backlash from my effort. I poked the mayor with a stick.

But I’m disappointed. If you don’t read the blogs on Al Gore’s Tubes of Internets or listen to Steve Gill, you have no idea this is happening. I handed the local newspaper the story on a silver platter. I posted the story on their blog. I know that some local TeeVee folks read that blog and my blog. But, not a peep any where in the local press. Your average Knoxvillian (who’d likely not be happy about this) doesn’t know it happened.

But the local newspaper has some hard-hitting stories on beefcake, planting trees, and chainsaw sculpting.

I’m used to the press ignoring gun stories, particularly positive ones. But this lack of coverage seems odd. What’s up with that?

GLN notes that the Violence Policy Center is upset that Bush’s school violence program doesn’t contain any gun control.

Kopel looks at arming teachers:

The good news is that, since Columbine, police tactics in school attacks have dramatically changed. At Columbine, the armed “school resource officer” refused to pursue the killers into the building, and kept himself safe outside while the murders were going on inside. Even after SWAT teams arrived, and while, via an open 911 line, the authorities knew that students were being methodically executed in the library, the police stood idle just a few yards outside the library.

This was touched on at the Gun Blogger Conference by retired law enforcement officer Rivrdog. He noted that the trend in law enforcement is to contain the threat and not confront it. This is bad when people in the threatened area are being killed. Additionally, someone opined that the new officer creed of go home tonight is what has lead to this strategy and to the militarization of police.

My thoughts: tough shit. You signed up for the job knowing what you were getting into. So, get your ass in there and save some kids.

In Nashville, a private donor fronted the money to give teachers a bonus that was tied to performance. The teachers rejected the idea.

Update: In comments, Brittney says:

They’d rather give it to the students

That would be a fine and noble endeavor. But I think the the union rep is full of it:

Marsha Warden, school board chairwoman, said that if giving money directly to the students is something the union membership wants to do, that is an idea it could broach at a later date.

And:

Merritt’s new plan was never mentioned as an option the membership wanted to explore, said Pedro Garcia, Metro schools director.

The tone of the article seems to be Oops, we got bad press. Now, let’s cover out butts. I could be wrong, of course.

Over at Tam’s.

David Hardy has made one and posted a trailer.

Me and AKs v. Les and Glocks.

They tried to research it but:

The MAK 90 — or Mac 90 — which may have been used in the Joplin shooting is a modification of the AK-47 or SKS assault rifle.

It’s the MAK 90 and it is a semi-automatic version of the AK. More:

It is unclear whether the MAK 90 was included in the list of 59 types of modified rifles that were added to the assault-weapons ban

No, it was clear. Did it have two of the following: flash hider, folding stock, threaded barrel, or bayonet lug?

but even if it was banned, any guns already in circulation would remain legal.

That is completely true.

On the air at Steve Gill’s, Mr. Haslam non-explains his participation in the anti-gun Mayor’s Alliance Against Guns. AC has the audio. Short version: they said it was good so I signed up.

He had good talking points but the facts are he’s a member of an anti-gun group. And he was too lazy to check.

Drug War Rant reminds us that among the hidden costs of the drug war is police corruption.

Now you came into this thing a bright eyed, shiny young recruit… You’re a police officer four or five years — you see the wasted energy you spend on this drug war. And now you’re standing in a motel room where a drug arrest has just been made. Laying on the bed is a hundred and some thousand dollars which hasn’t been counted yet in cash… In your back pocket is a thirty-eight hundred dollar bill from the plumber that you didn’t know how you were going to pay… And, it doesn’t make any difference anyway. And you take your first taste. And then you’re gone.

The drug war is a bad policy that serve no constituency except tough-on-crime ideologues and companies that sell black tactical gear to police departments. The drug war makes us less safe and less free. Let your elected representatives know that (a) you oppose the failed prohibition and (b) you vote.

Mayor Haslam was apparently on Steve Gill’s show (thanks for the mention Steve) and was asked about his membership in an anti-gun group (see here and here). I haven’t heard it. AC says:

My main man, Steve Gill, and I just conversated and he relays that Haslam’s people called into his show today and were emphatic that the Mayor was only looking to enforce existing laws and combating illegal guns. He has no interest in making anymore laws or grabbing anyone’s pistola.

Then the mayor has picked the wrong group to join. For example, they oppose H.R. 5092, the BATFE Modernization and Reform Act. The oppose just about every pro-gun bill coming down the pike.

They support microstamping. They support maintaining a registry of gun offenders. They support suing gun dealers.

And it’s headed by Mayor Bloomberg, who you’ll recall:

[Hired] private investigators to conduct a sting on out of state gun dealers that are the source of crime guns in New York

Trouble for Bloomberg is that if this is how it went down, then it’s not necessarily illegal, assuming that the man was not a prohibited person. If the man was a prohibited person, the investigators broke the law. Also, said private investigators from New York have zero law enforcement authority in the states wherein they committed these supposed investigations. They may have also committed felonies by giving false info on ATF Form 4473

Mayor Bloomberg’s decision to hire private investigators to conduct undercover stings at Southern gun shops has potentially jeopardized several criminal cases, law enforcement sources charged.

Four cases were compromised and an additional 14 were put at risk by the six-week sting aimed at gun stores in Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia, the sources said.

ATF has said they will be investigating every aspect of these “sting” sales (and there were ATF people present who repeated that). This may be bad news for the city, since IF the sales were illegal straw sales, their investigators committed felonies

And the Mayor’s Alliance Against Guns has a nice round up of their anti-gun stuff here.

I’m uncertain if Haslam’s membership in the anti-gun Mayors Against Guns Alliance was intentional or an oversight. However, neither option portrays him in a positive light. He is either against guns or doesn’t have any idea what he did. Haslam is tied pretty heavily to the Bob Corker campaign. This little incident may cost Corker some votes. Maybe someone should ask Corker that in his debate tonight?

Heh:

The state is asking for public input on a sign that will be posted at businesses that want to ban handguns.

A public hearing one the subject is scheduled for tomorrow in Topeka.

As of January First, Kansans with a permit will be able to visit nearly any business in the state — unless a sign prohibiting the practice is posted.

I called the Mayor’s office this morning to ask about Mayor Bill Haslam’s involvement in Michael Bloomberg’s Alliance of Mayors Against Guns. The nice lady I talked to had no idea what I was talking about. She transferred me to another nice lady who had no idea what I was talking about. I was then transferred to a communications person and was lost in the telephone hold system.

Had a commenter tell me his comments disappeared. He was right. I looked through my logs and saw the comments come in but now they’re gone. I have no idea why or how that happened. But if it also happened to you, let me know.

I had an epiphany of sorts in Reno. No matter what I do, how hard I try, or what I know: I just don’t like AKs. Period. Can’t help it.

I have a nice AK (see pics here) and I should like it. I just don’t. I know I should like them because:

But I don’t. I don’t like how they feel. I don’t enjoy shooting them. It has nothing to do with them not being fine weapons. I guess, my dislike of it is more aesthetic/ergonomic in nature. I’ll probably unload it at the next gun show.

Update: Sold in three minutes. Maybe I should make this an auction site?

When I went to Reno, I took a couple of guns and some ammo. Been a while since I traveled with firearms so I perused American Airlines‘ rules before hand. They are here. One rule says:

Ammunition must be packed in its original packaging. Loose ammunition or clips will not be accepted.

Being the gun nut that I am, I buy my ammo in bulk. So, said ammo is in its original packaging but it is also loose. So, I call their customer service number and explain that the ammo is both loose and in its original packaging. They tell me that is OK. Cool. I get to the Knoxville airport. I tell the lady at the counter about the ammo and that I talked to customer service and they said it was OK. The nice lady at the counter said that it would be OK too. Cool, again.

Get to Reno and make the mistake of not shooting all the ammo. At the airport in Reno, I check my bags. Then I get paged over the loudspeaker. The dude at the ticket counter says that my ammo cannot be transported loose because it may rattle around and explode (by magic, I suppose). I explain to him that it, according to both their customer service number and the agent in Knoxville, was OK and that’s how I got it here. He then referred me to TSA. I talked to them and they said the airline wasn’t going to let me on the plane. The TSA folks said it didn’t matter to them but the airline made a stink. I asked the TSA folks why the wanker at American Airlines sent me to them. They said they didn’t know and it was between be and American Airlines.

Back to the ticket counter. I thanked the ticket agent for wasting both my time and that of TSA’s. Then, again, I explained to him that I had talked with American Airlines customer service and the lady in Knoxville and both said my method of transport was OK. He again said (like the non-thinking robot he was) that loose ammo was not allowed. So, I asked him if he had a trash can. He said (and I am not making this up) that the ammo had to be sealed in a bag and sent to the police. Fine. I tossed a few pounds of ammo in the bag. And I told him that, thanks to his asshattery, I would probably never fly American Airlines again, which probably explains why they lost my luggage.

I land in Knoxville and discover my luggage is lost. While they were doing the trace on it, I explained to the ticket agent in Knoxville what happened in Reno. He said (and I quote) No offense, but Reno doesn’t have it’s shit together. He again confirmed (for now the third time) that my method of transport was OK. He gave me the number of another line to lodge a complaint. So, I did. We’ll see how that goes.

Denise details some sick people who were out mugging for amusement. They also killed someone. Pretty chilling stuff.

Bitter and David Hardy have some coverage of the event (scroll down as they’ve both done multiple posts).