At the HuffPo. No, not from a blogger there but from the commentators who are addressing Hemke’s usual litany of lies and misrepresentations about guns in America. Some snippets:
The reason gun owners resist these “common sense” proposals stem from two sources:
1.Common Sense – how do otherwise intelligent people not understand that the vast majority of criminals do not buy guns at a gun store or a gun show? They buy from people dealing guns illegally or they steal them. It’s pure ignorance. I go to gun shows. ALL the laws apply and the bulk of the people sitting behind the tables are gun store owners that move their stock to the show. You can purchase or trade from private individuals, but you can do that pretty much anywhere in the country.
…
Virulently anti-gun people are full of it. They want confiscation – they just can’t say it out loud. When you know what the end state is going to be all this jabbering about moderation rings completely hollow. It is our duty as gun owners to not cooperate in any form or fashion.
…
Gun violence, as well as other violent crimes, has decreased by over 30% since the mid-nineties, even though the rate of firearm ownership has dramatically increased, and 40 states passed shall-issue concealed carry laws in that same time period.
…
What I want to know is, in all those polls that say the majority of Americans are for “common sense” gun control, how come they never called me? Who and where did they call?? The Left coast? I could call 10,000 people and get a completely different result.
Uncle adds: Indeed. And how come they never cite these polls? And how come “common sense” is never defined? Remember, The Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Ownership is about preventing gun ownership. Period. They supported the total and complete ban on guns in Washington DC. That’s all you need to know.
Seems there are more pro-gun responses than anti-gun responses.
The far left is not happy with Orson Scott Card. Like others I posted a link to the October 29th 2006 column Mr. Card wrote titiled, “The Only Issue This Election Day”. I thought and still do that it is a well written thoughtful message that should be heard. This column was not received well by the far left.
Mr. Card’s new book, “Empire”, now brings new consternation to the far left. Kevin over at Lean Left has a post today describing Mr. Card’s new novel as extremism. Kevin writes, “In the late eighties, Orson Card was a writer with authoritarian leanings who wrote decent stories. Then came sixteen years of Rush Limbaugh and his ilk’s demonization of the left wing. That demonization only increased after 9/11, turning in some cases to explicitly eliminiationist rhetoric; Dave’s site has the details. And at the end of the time, Orson Card has morphed into full blown right wing lunatic who writes a political polemic flecked with spittle and pours bile on leftists of all stripes.”
And there is this, “The fact that Instapundit loves it is telling.”
Ouch. You would think after the last election that the far left would be pleased but for some reason there is a new defensiveness, a sort of malaise has descended on what should be a happy time. That defensiveness is well shown when Kevin writes, “Leftists, in the world of Limbaugh and Coulter and Malkin, are vile things: anti-Military, closed-minded, smug, superior, elitist, anti-American, violent, incapable of reasoned though, practically traitors. Leftists, in Empire, are vile things: anti-Military, closed-minded, smug, superior, elitist, anti-American, violent, incapable of reasoned though, actually traitors. America, in the world of Limbaugh and Coulter and Malkin, is always right (even when it acts as an Empire it’s not really acting as an Empire) and its correct course of action is always to show the world who is boss.”
I don’t know about all of that but I think most people can detect some Elitism, closed-mindedness, and anti-Military writing coming from the far left. If a book review has the phrase “in the world of Limbaugh and Coulter and Malkin” I think it is safe to say there is some bias.
Thanks for the review Kevin, my copy should arrive soon from Amazon. In the meantime, can’t we all just get along?
I can’t see it because these trees are in the way. AC says:
Rob Huddleston picks me as one of three bloggers he reads that are opposite him politically.
Both hold themselves out as conservative, so I found it odd. Upon reflection, I realized that the difference is that AC is a conservative and Rob is a Republican. While different, I don’t think it remotely qualifies as politically opposite.
I sympathize with respect to teaching little ones about their bodily functions. But we’ve not quite made it to sharts. That post made me laugh out loud. You should read it all but here’s a snippet:
Last week, out of the blue, L’il Fat started crying. Wailing really. She had sharted.
With Junior, we’ve had many ups and downs with the potty training. Lately, it’s mostly downs. She’s almost two and a half now. She was actually peeing in the potty regularly at about 18 months. Then, she made a horrible mistake. She dookied in it. It scared her and she didn’t sit on the potty again for months.
Now, at daycare, she’s catching back on. She will, on occasion, request to use the potty on her own. Otherwise, we try to remind her to go on the potty and not in her diaper or pull up. That’s the other thing, she was wearing pull-ups all day for about two weeks. And, without cause or reason, she started asking for diapers again.
She still won’t doody in the potty. But will pee in it regularly enough but not every time.
So, we’re trying bribery. If she pees in the potty, she gets one of her favorite foods: one gummy bear. If she poops, she gets two. Me and the Mrs. have decided that the terms Number 1 and Number 2 must have come from thousands of years of parents trying the same thing.
Baltimore city police are looking for four gunmen who posed as police officers to force their way into a home downtown.
…
Police said the gunmen also pistol-whipped several occupants before fleeing without any money or property.
Criminals now think (with good cause) that they can bust in, announce they are police, and score some loot without the risk of being shot. Sorry, but in the Uncle house, said announcement does not give you a Get out of being shot free card. That’s just how it is. I can’t help but think that if more people shared my position (well, and my hardware), that there might be a sharp decline in the number of both home invasions and no-knock raids of the wrong house.
Update: People like to use the word Militarization. I don’t because that implies some things; such as training, discipline, and hardware. Those are good things for the police to have. That’s why I use the term Ninjafication, to describe the fact these guys put on their ninja gear, creep up on a house, and get all Tactical Tommy on people. Only criminals and ninjas should have any cause to cover their faces. I think it’s an important distinction.
The Brady’s now will push for restricting sales of military style weapons and the ammunition that’s used in those weapons. Well, let’s see, transfer of military style weapons to citizens has banned since 1986. Unless, of course, Helmke is lying and means weapons that look like assault weapons. And, precisely, what methodology will you use to determine what constitutes military ammo. See, the 5.56X45 that load up in the AR-15 is the same as the ammo that a lot of folks put in their varmint guns.
I have no problem with this. If my life was on the line and I carried a gun as part of my professional duties, I’d want it to be semi-automatic and in a caliber starting with .4 myself. I certainly agree that the .38 Special is not really up to the task, nor is the standard-issue “riot gun” the best long arm an officer might use.
Police in large cities formerly carried revolvers holding six .38-caliber rounds. Nowadays, police carry semi-automatic pistols with 16 high-caliber rounds, shotguns and military assault rifles, weapons once relegated to SWAT teams facing extraordinary circumstances.
A 9mm (the most common caliber for carrying 16 rounds) is roughly the same caliber as a .38. The .38 is a bit more powerful due to having more powder. They typically carry only semi-automatic rifles because of the bad press that can result when someone puts 5 rounds into a suspect instead of one due to an active trigger finger.
Now, here’s the deal: Despite my yammering on about the police and their militarization, I don’t have any issue at all with a street cop carrying a regular capacity, semi-auto pistol. I also don’t have a problem with the police carrying semi-automatic rifles or shotguns in their cars. In fact, they should have them. If something goes down, they need to be able to deal with it in the most effective way possible. Period. My problem is when they cowboy up, put on their ninja outfits, and bust through some 92 year-old lady’s door and shoot her dead over an ounce of weed based on the likely paid for testimony of a crackhead informant (who later said they were asked to lie). Or when they kill a 23 year-old kid because he has an ounce of weed and a handgun carry permit. And my problem is when they put on their ninja outfits and stand guard on the streets.
Sarcastro, on the police who killed a 92 year-old woman, writes:
Sure, you cops fired in self-defense. You and the rest of the SWAT team were just minding your own business terrorizing the elderly when she shot at you.
Update: In comments, Tam sets me straight:
Not to pick nits, but despite the bigger case, .38 Spl uses about the same powder charge as 9mm, and is less powerful, due to the resultant lower operating pressures. 9×19mm is closer to .357 than it is to .38 Spl.
Seems to me that the various civil libertarian groups spend their money on either lawsuits or failed attempts to run for office. In the US, advertising can be a powerful force. I propose that instead of these groups wasting their money on higher office, they buy ads. Ads will deliver the message that your bids for office fail to do. After all, you guys get no press coverage to speak of. Do various commercials highlighting what the .gov is doing. Or put up billboards with slogans like:
The government is watching you. Are you watching your government?
Only criminals and tyrants fear armed citizens*
there ought to be limits to freedom – George W. Bush
Limit powers, not rights
Some pretty powerful ads on TeeVee might wake people up too.
* A reader uses that one a lot, I haven’t looked up who it is though.
A Texas official who receives any sum of cash as a gift can satisfy state disclosure laws by reporting the money simply as “currency” without specifying the amount, the Texas Ethics Commission reiterated Monday.
(Tennessee State) Senator Finney has asked that a bill be prepared to authorize carry in state and national parks in Tennessee. It seems that the only reason it is not allowed is because the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency thinks that citizens who are licensed to carry are incapable of exercising judgement and are a threat to their power, thus they have an “agreement” which makes it unlawful.
After a period where I hailed the renaissance of the Metro Pulse I am saddened to conclude that while some aspects of the paper have improved Barry Henderson continues to be an abject embarrassment. Henderson has had a distinguished newspaper career and is very well respected in East Tennessee. Even the best reporter and writer can get too involved in a story and allow their own personal prejudice to leak into the writing. One thing is clear, Barry Henderson cannot be objective when it comes to recently elected Knox County Commissioner Greg “Lumpy” Lambert.
In today’s Metro Pulse Mr. Henderson writes a Commentary that strongly implies that Greg “Lumpy” Lambert pointed a loaded gun at a WATE Television cameraman. This is a blatant lie and I find it impossible that Barry Henderson could not know as of press time that the gun was unloaded. Henderson states that a “tirade of letters from hither and yon defending him” had been delivered to the Metro Pulse. In typical Metro Pulse fashion only three of those letters were published. I wonder how many of those letters pointed out that the gun was not loaded? Both Uncle and I made a issue of this on KnoxViews and at SayUncle. Gene Patterson also covered it on his blog as did Terry Frank and David Oatney on their blogs.
You might say hold on Number9, Barry Henderson knew that the gun was unloaded and that WATE specifically asked Lumpy Lambert for that demonstration, but it is still a violation of safe gun handling practices. It might encourage some youngster to play with a gun and so on.
Really? They why does Henderson write, “When the media converged on him, Lambert took the opportunity to point his pistol into a TV camera lens, a blatant violation of good gun-handling practices, though he had also passed the pistol safety course required for his state handgun-carrying permit.” It sounds as if Mr. Henderson would be relieved if Mr. Lambert were to lose his handgun-carrying permit.
I was thinking for a while about doing a post on media gun coverage where I take the word they use and translate it into gun nut English. It was on the to-do list but I never got around to it. For example:
When they say High-Powered
They mean regular
Sample usage: The suspect used a high-powered rifle in the commission of a murder.
Translated: The suspect used a regular rifle in a murder.
sniper rifle -> any rifle with a scope, any hunting rifle or any rifle where shooting was from more than 50 yards
assault rifle -> rifle of any sort except an assault rifle, usually something that takes pistol ammo like the Beretta Storm or something with no detachable magazine like the SKS.
sawed-off shotgun -> any shotgun with a pistol grip and no buttstock
AK-47 -> SKS
SKS -> Saiga 7.62×39
And Joe reminds us gun nuts of what words we should use, for example instead assault or lethal weapon of use household firearms.
A strong backer of gun rights, Webb may find himself at odds with many in his party. He expressed support during the campaign for a bill by his opponent, Sen. George Allen (R-Va.), that would allow concealed weapons in national parks. But an aide said this week that Webb will review Allen’s legislation.
I concur with the little devil. The solution to the problem of criminally negligent police raids is definitely local. And those solutions should involve putting the police involved in jail.
Ok, on the study, which posits men use 7,000 words per day and women use 20,000, there is not a man on earth who read this today and didn’t say No shit. Then thought Now, what to use my remaining 6,998 words on?
The gun control lobby is to the left what the anti-stem-cell-research mob is to the right. They’re all anti-fact radicals who drive more people away from their party than they bring in
Pro-gun Democrats face many challenges that make it difficult for them to live up to their campaign promises to gun-voters. Not only do they often have Party Leadership breathing down their necks and their peers pressuring them to double cross us, they typically have dedicated, dyed-in-the-wool, anti-gun Democrats making up their staff. These staffers hold a lot of power and can make a huge difference in how a member of Congress performs.
ACE has some. Via marc, who notes A civilian version, the FS2000, is expected to be available soon. Actually, it’s already out. I’ve personally handled two, both at Coal Creek Armory. By the way, when did CCA get that snazzy new webpage? Now, I can shop without even leaving home.
The system, located in Clarksburg, W.Va., generally receives between 30,000 and 50,000 requests for background checks on a daily basis, peaking on the weekends . . .
Gunny math: Not counting states that have their own instant check systems, that comes out to between 10,950,000 and 18,250,000 per year. That’s a lot of gun buying.
Like abortion-rights groups, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence has used the Republican majority to develop a political strategy with bipartisan appeal that it will continue to pursue. Reinstating the lapsed assault weapons ban, a high priority for many urban Democrats, is outranked on the Brady Campaign agenda by boosting law enforcement funding and strengthening background checks.
I’m not homophobic and I’m not filled with angst against metrosexuals or whatever we’re calling well-groomed men these days. But I’m with this guy. Bonus points because the original article is written by a gay dude. A man should know how to do certain things (like how to operate tools, build a fire, set up a secret bank account that his wife doesn’t know about*, drive a stick, fire a rifle, clean a dead critter for consumption, etc. You know, basic things). Many men lack enough male influence in their lives and don’t learn these skills.
And, ferchrissakes, I can’t stand to see a grown man order a pumpkin spice latte. I don’t care if it is a seasonal blend of holiday goodness.
* I’m kidding. That’s just in there to see if my wife is reading.
In the past few weeks there have been two local events that should give anyone pause regardless of their feelings about firearms. Whether the concern is for the United States Constitution or just plain common sense, the idea that anyone should trust a criminal armed with a gun makes no sense.
The first event was this Metro Pulse Editorial. Boiled down to it’s essence it opines that Knox County Commissioner Greg “Lumpy” Lambert endangered his life by drawing his Kel-Tec .380 pistol to defend himself from 19 year old Kane Stackhouse. The Metro Pulse Editorial had several inflammatory statements such as, “In the process, he has shown himself to be a danger to himself and others” and “First he put himself at risk by drawing his weapon when he says he saw a gun come out of the young man’s pocket.”
So what is the message the Metro Pulse is sending? They are saying that Mr. Lambert should have trusted the criminal. Kane Stackhouse is not your typical 19 year old. Unknown to Mr. Lambert at the time he was looking down the barrel of Mr. Stackhouse’s .25 caliber Beretta, it has now been alleged that Stackhouse murdered David Lindsey in a Walgreens parking lot 10 hours earlier with the same gun he was pointing at Mr. Lambert. Stackhouse has been charged by the Knox County Grand Jury for the crime of murder.
The second local event happened Sunday morning on the “Inside Tennessee” political talk show on WBIR. You can see a clip from the program below. Panelist and local Knoxville attorney Don Bosch made a statement to Lumpy Lambert that defies common sense. Bosch said to Mr. Lambert, “You increased your chances many fold over of being shot by pulling that gun.” So what is attorney Don Bosch saying? He is saying trust the criminal.
There were six shootings in the same 24 hour period with two fatalities. The only firearm event that had a good outcome was the one where an armed citizen protected himself. The idea that armed citizens present a hazard to other citizens has not be proven, in fact in areas where carry permits are allowed violent crime has decreased.
The timing of this “Trust the criminal” mantra is curious. It comes at a time when Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam needs all the help he can get. More charitable people may believe that Mayor Haslam just did not read the fine print on Michael Bloomberg’s Anti-gun movement before he signed on. Mayor Haslam’s slow response to explain the situation causes doubt. 120 Mayors across American have joined Bloomberg. Currently only one Mayor in Tennessee has signed on.
Some people might ask why would anyone be concerned about illegal guns? The logic is only criminals use illegal guns so getting illegal guns off the street makes perfect sense doesn’t it? No, it doesn’t. The hidden trap door of this movement is incrementalism. In the beginning it is more and tougher gun registration laws. Then as time goes on it may be a limit to the number of guns a citizen may possess. Then perhaps an urban ban on handguns. At some point it will be pointed out that most illegal guns come from home burglaries. As the tortured logic unravels then the end game will become clear. The only way to insure there are no illegal guns is to make sure there are no guns period.
What is an illegal gun? Depends on who you ask. If Mr. Bloomberg has his way will the definition expand to include all guns?
Here is my advice, don’t trust the criminal and don’t trust the billionaire Mayor of New York who wishes to disarm law abiding citizens. Read the rest of this entry »
The FBI says its computer system that quickly screens gun buyers’ backgrounds for criminal activity has crashed several times over the past two days.
An FBI spokesman says a technical glitch had the system on the blink for up to a half-hour yesterday and today, potentially allowing buyers to purchase firearms without being screened. He says the problem is being worked on and called it “a performance issue that we’ve never encountered before.”
Tennessee has its own. Any locals have any problems?
If the NYPD starts shooting at people who actually shoot back, they are going to run out of ammunition.
I think it was Carlos Mencia who (jokingly) opined that we should teach gang bangers marksmanship instead of the spray and pray method they tend to use now. That way, the only casualties in their turf wars would be other gang bangers. Well, the police (I hope think) would get that kind of training.
The Gun Nut is also asking you help the NYPD out:
And so I call on you, my fellow gun enthusiasts, to lend a hand to New York’s Finest. If you have a spare box, or a case, of 9mm lying around, send it to people who need it more than you do. The address is:
Commissioner Raymond Kelly
New York City Police Department
One Police Plaza
New York, New York
I was thinking for a while about doing a post on media gun coverage where I take the word they use and translate it into gun nut English. It was on the to-do list but I never got around to it. For example:
When they say High-Powered
They mean regular
Sample usage: The suspect used a high-powered rifle in the commission of a murder.
Translated: The suspect used a regular rifle in a murder.
Les has the skinny on (and pics of) the new slimline Glock. Les thinks it could be Glock’s answer the the Joint Combat Pistol. Regardless, it looks sharp.
Name three bloggers who tend to be the opposite of you politically, yet of whom you remain a fan nevertheless.
There’s more than three. Off the top of my head:
R. Neal: Read him since he was South Knox Bubba. Always insightful and well-researched and thought-provoking writing. We agree more than we disagree but when we disagree, we do so drastically and politely. Some of the other posters at Knoxviews grate me but not Mr. Neal.
Aunt B.: My thoughts on Aunt B. are, I think, very similar to her thoughts on me. For me, she lead to an epiphany I had about feminists. See, I used to think they are all fucking nuts. It’s true, every one. And the reason for that was whenever I read about them it was some whacko who used the word womyn or was screaming at someone to get out of their uterus or some other maniacal horseshit. Aunt B. let me know they weren’t all fucking crazy. Sure, some are but some make sense and present their ideas without all the she-man-men-haters-flannel-shirt-wearing crap. Conversely, I convinced Aunt B. that we gun nuts weren’t all crazy either and that we were right about a lot of shit. Plus, Aunt B. is just damn entertaining reading.
A full 2/3rds of Leanleft: Three flavors of liberal: mild, regular and extra crispy. I have conducted epic rhetorical battle in their comments section taking Tom and Kevin to task for their, err, inconsistencies. They’ve returned the favor by doing the same to me. And we do it civilly.
Now, if you ain’t scared, here’s another meme for you: Name three bloggers who tend to concur with politically, yet you cannot stand them.
Despite what the blogs say, the shit has not hit the fan. The Holy Fuck has hit the fan.
Seems the informant the police relied upon to get a warrant to raid the house where they shot a 92 year-old woman was asked to lieby the police. Or so, the informant claims. I mean, you can’t take the word of an informant is what the police will tell us. But they rely on the loose testimony of paid informants regularly.
Radley Balko, who you’ll recall jumped the gun, says:
At risk of sounding like an arrogant bastard, at this point, every assumption I made about this case at the outset has proven correct. And then some.
I don’t think it’s arrogance. It’s that you pay attention. I thought the same thing. There were inconsistencies in the initial press reports, such as one assertion that she shot them through the door but that police knocked and entered. Now, the police are reviewing their no-knock policy, which is odd since they knocked. Or so they say.
Regardless, it’s going to be a giant shit storm of inconsistency and ass-covering. I think the one good thing that will come of this whole nasty incident is that people will finally start paying attention to questionable police tactics. That tends to happen when something happens to little old ladies.
Update: Conservative apologists jumped the gun. Heh. Remember, kids, the guy who ends up being right in the end can always accuse the other guy of jumping the gun.
Gun nuts seem to like things that aren’t gun related that other people would never really think about, like a good flashlight. A good gift that you can get for your non-gun-nut friends is a quality flashlight (such as the G2 or the Streamlight Twin Task).
Seriously, two of my non-gun-nut friends are getting them this year. And who doesn’t need a good flashlight?
You may remember when Dwight Van de Vate, the Senior Communications Director for Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale, spoke on behalf of the Knox County Mayor saying that the entire Tyler Harber series chronicled in the Halls Shopper News was just tabloid reporting and that concerning the potential for an investigation of the Mayor and his relationship with Tyler Harber that County Mayor Ragsdale said, “Bring it on”.
Here is a clip from the “Ragsdale Players”, a local theater troupe in Knoxville, showing what the Mayor meant when he said “Bring it on”.
The three voices you hear are County Commissioners Mike “Yes Master” Hammond, who presents the Resolution to remove Greg Lambert’s Resolution for the investigation of Mayor Ragsdale from the agenda, the second is from Craig “The Comedian” Leuthold, and the call for the question which prevents any debate is from Phil “We don’t need no stinking debate” Guthe.
See if you can figure out who is Moe, Larry, and Curly.
On the fourth Monday of every month the “Ragsdale Players” can be seen on Knox Community Television at 2:00 PM. Channel 12 on Comcast Cable and Channel 6 on Charter Cable.
Turn in every month for the best in comedy and drama.
I responded via email and offered to re-print anything the mayor had to say without edit. I also asked if he’d answer question about the group.
My inclination on the issue is that Mr. Haslam joined the group not realizing exactly what they were. After all, there are some Republicans in it. But I’d like some clarification.
Some folks have asked me what it would take to clear the air and my answer is I’d like to see him call the group what it is and quit it. Or call the group what it is and work from the inside to enact measures that will actually make a difference in gun crime. Gun control is what politicians do instead of something.
I’ll continue my boycott and encourage others to do the same until the mayor’s office addresses the issue.
One thing that the “powers that be” in Knoxville agree on is that Knox County Commissioner Greg “Lumpy” Lambert has become way to popular with the people. Yet today’s Editorial in the Knoxville News Sentinel titled, “Serious issues shouldn’t be taken lightly” doesn’t go after Lumpy Lambert, it goes after other Commissioners who have an unusual sense of humor. This Editorial is diametrically opposed to an Editorial two weeks ago in the Metro Pulse that claims that Commissioner Lambert “has shown himself to be a danger to himself and others”.
The News Sentinel Editorial admonishes Knox County Commissioners for a supposedly humorous Resolution to “honor” Commissioner Lambert as “Quick Draw Lambert” and to further honor Mr. Lambert with the Annual “Make My Day” award.
Betty Bean has a column today in the Halls Shopper News, “Getting Lumpy”. Betty writes, “Last month, some of Greg Lambert’s County Commission colleagues bragged that they were going to bloody his nose for asking for an investigation of political activities in Mayor Mike Ragsdale’s office.”
In the YouTube video clip below from the November 20th Knox County Commission you can hear one single laugh as the Resolution is read. Is it safe to assume that lone laugh was Commissioner Craig Leuthold, the author of the Resolution? One wonders if Mr. Leuthold learned his comedy skills from Michael Richards?
In comedy timing is everything. After the Resolution is read Chairman Scott Moore intervenes and scolds Commissioner Leuthold telling him the Resolution is not appropriate. Then Chairman Moore asks Knox County Sheriff Tim Hutchison to speak to the Commission about the Kane Stackhouse, the young man that pulled a gun on Commissioner Lambert. The Sheriff stunned the Commission, audience, and Television viewers when he revealed that Kane Stackhouse would be charged the next day for a murder that occurred ten hours earlier and just three miles away. This was the murder of David Lindsey who was murdered in the Walgreen’s parking lot.
If only there was a picture of Craig Leuthold at that moment, do you think he was laughing then? So as long as this is all so jovial and just in good fun, what would a good joke nickname for Commissioner Leuthold be? Lassie Leuthold, an homage to Tyler Harber who claimed he was better trained than a dog? Or perhaps Laughing Leuthold, since he has demonstrated such great comedic skills?
If I have a 50% chance of getting something right by accident that I would not have otherwise known about, there is a 99% chance that I will get it wrong.
Two examples from this weekend:
1 – I was changing out a door knob. Our new door knobs are the handle kind and not the knob kind. It just didn’t occur to me that the handles only matched the mount one way. So, I installed the mount upside down.
2 – I’m pretty handy with woodworking. While building Junior a chalkboard, I was going to put some trim on it. But I’d never done any trim before. I didn’t realize that one side of the trim was fatter than the other side. So, I cut two pieces to mate together and the mated perfectly, other than the fact I mated the fat side with the skinny side.
In both cases, I didn’t know either would be an issue. In both cases, I had a 50% chance of getting it right through no fault of my own. But I didn’t.
Well, I do a lot. But, on the carrying guns in national parks bill, there’s this:
And LASTLY, and probably what jumped out at me the most, is the plea to call Frist and get this “rushed” through the now lame-duck Republican Congress. THIS is how the Republicans are spending their time and energy?
Indeed. The lame ass err duck Congress is trying to get its pro-gun on so in two years they can point out how pro-gun they were when running for office. But why this bill? I don’t really care about it. Most gun owners probably care little about it. Let’s get on something good, like repealing the sporting purposes language or the Hughes Amendment?
And to the NRA: You will be viewed by the press and the left as the extreme gun lobby who causes the .gov to bend to their will no matter what you do. Just look at the coverage you’ve gotten over this rather innocuous bill. You’re gonna be attacked for any pro-gun bill so you may as well push some good ones.
NYT gets 2nd amendment wrong; water still wet; sky still blue
Apparently, the buzz about guns while I was busy not blogging is that the NYT gets a gun issue wrong and that they are (gasp!) biased a smidgen. It’s true, take my word for it. Says the NYT:
America’s confusion about the Second Amendment is now nearly total. An amendment that ensures a collective right to bear arms has been misread in one legislature after another — often in the face of strong public disapproval — as a law guaranteeing an individual’s right to carry a weapon in public.
I don’t really care about carrying in parks. I figure if you’re near some large wildlife capable of hurting you and you’re not armed, you’re stupid. Practice civil disobedience, I do. But the only one confused about the Second Amendment is the NYT. I issue the same challenge to them that I issue to every ignoramus who makes the claim that the second amendment doesn’t mean what it says:
Find one document from the time of the founding that related to the debate and ratification of the Constitution and Bill of Rights that supports this contention.
Wheter (sic) Allen’s bill is good policy should make for robust debate. But is it too much to ask the New York Times to put facts first and mockery second? Probably
Did the libertarians jump the gun? Maybe. But I cannot buy that a small amount of weed justifies busting someone’s door in and shooting them dead. Or that such an amount even justifies busting a door down to begin with. Or that having a small amount of weed and a handgun carry permit justifies busting their door down and putting ten rounds of 9mm into their chest. I’m weird like that. Now, I am not saying that there are not instances in which busting someone’s door down is justifiable but these should be the exception and not the rule. It’s done too often and too many innocent people die as a result. And it doesn’t do a lot for the image the police have these days. And busting people’s doors down should be limited to violent or serious crimes. Maybe the cops were legally justified in their actions. But that don’t make it right.
That, coupled with the fact there too many conflicting bits of info, is probably why folks were so quick to judge.
Some AR porn from Heartless Libertarian who is showing us the new MGI Modular System AR-15. Cool idea to have one lower that can fire 5.56 and you switch out the upper and the mag well to fire 7.62X39 with AK magazines. But with the lower going for five bills and the AK mag well going for $250, I think I’d just get an AK and $350 worth of ammo.
Spent most of the long weekend not doing any. Put up the Christmas lights, ate, watched football, tended to sick kids, shopped, and did a few chores. So, I’ll catch up on the old email and the blog feeds. Did I miss anything important?
Also, on Black Friday, I ran into Late for Dinner and his charming wife, who were also making an emergency Christmas decoration run. I think that’s the first time I’ve been out and heard someone yell Hey, Uncle. But that’s not why I mention it. The reason I do is that about three years ago me and the Mrs. met Mr. and Mrs. Late for Dinner for, err, dinner one night. We said we’d have to do it again. And never got around to it. Seeing them made me realize that. And I thought to myself Self, why is that? Oh, now I remember. I had kids.
about this article. 1) Defense is spelled with and S and not a C; it’s defense not defence. Until the Canadians rectify that gross injustice, there can be no peace between our people. 2) If you’re drunk and walk into the wrong house by mistake because you think it’s your house, you deserve to have the shit beat out of you.
Well, the instalanches brought traffic. And they brought some moonbats. So, to them, yes, it’s all Clinton’s fault, even the fact a Starbuck’s opened in my hometown is his fault somehow; we need more blood for oil; and I am glad our lord and savior George Bush is waging a religious war on them there Godless heathens and doing his best to rid the world of gay cooties. Did I leave anything out?
Seen at PDB’s who notes: at least she’s observing Rule 3.
And my personal favorite, Mr. Big Arms with his Aimpoint weapon sight mounted backwards:
Update: For you non-gun-nut readers, in the first pic, the magazine is in backwards.
Update 2: Also, put your elbows down and put your nose just behind the charging handle. And, though it’s just my preference, in the standing position I prefer to use the magazine-well for support instead of forearm. I can tuck it into my shoulder that way.
A 92-year-old woman was shot to death Tuesday after she fired at three narcotics officers trying to serve a warrant at her house, officials said.
Neighbors and relatives said it must have been a case of mistaken identity. Police said they had the right address.
Police said the woman, whose name was not released, was the only person home at the time, and had lived there for about 17 years.
As the plainclothes Atlanta police officers approached the house about 7 p.m., a woman inside started shooting, striking each of them, said Officer Joe Cobb, a police spokesman. One was hit in the arm, another in a thigh and the third in a shoulder.
The officers were taken to a hospital for treatment, and all three were conscious and alert, police said.
Sarah Dozier, identified as a niece of the woman, told WAGA-TV that there were never any drugs at the house.
“My aunt was in good health. I’m sure she panicked when they kicked that door down,” Dozier said. “There was no reason they had to go in there and shoot her down like a dog.”
Got that? The police likely raided the wrong house and shot dead a 92 year-old woman. Unreal. And, as is standard operating procedure, the wall of silence will go up and no one will be held to account. What others are saying:
Glenn: these raids should only occur when there’s reason to believe that lives are in immediate jeopardy. And police should be liable, civilly and criminally, without any shield of official immunity, in cases where these no-knock raids go wrong.
Radley: You know, watching local news coverage of the shooting, you’d think that the only newsworthy aspect to all of this is that three police officers suffered non-life-threatening wounds. The lack of focus on the fact that a 92-year-old woman is dead is rather appalling.
AC: When police make a mistake — someone can die. I am not saying that a no-knock raid, as this clearly was, should never be authorized but you better be damn sure.
My $0.02: Those involved in this raid should be prosecuted. I’m generally for police having legal protection when doing their job correctly. But when they fuck up that bad, they should lose that protection.
1) The search warrant was in fact a no-knock warrant.
2) Police claim there was an undercover buy at the residence. The seller was apparently a man — obviously not Ms. Johnston.
3) “Suspected narcotics” were seized from the home, and have been sent to a crime lab for analysis. The assistant chief wouldn’t say how much of the suspected narcotics they found.
4) He also wouldn’t speculate if Johnston herself was involved in dealing drugs, or knew if drugs were being dealt from her home, saying only that both were “under investigation.”
5) He maintains that despite the no-knock warrant police still announced themselves before entering, though he acknowledged moments later that the announcement came as police were battering down the door
Countertop, on the local rag’s asinine editorial that borders on fucking retarded due to subsequent events, writes:
is it really that alternative when every city carries generally a similar type of publication with the same format, ad base, editorial views, and hooker ads???
During civil emergencies in the state of Tennessee, the governor (per TSC) may order the discontinuance of selling, distributing, dispensing or giving away any firearms or ammunition of any character whatsoever. Gunner says he’d gladly be a criminal if that were the case.
I concur. In fact, if the shit ever hit the fan and you needed to borrow a weapon or two, I’ll gladly lend you one.
Gun control: Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, says he has seen a list of the top 100 Democratic priorities; reinstating the now-expired ban on military-style assault weapons is “in the 90s.” At least, he says, conservatives can’t weaken gun control laws.
Good. Meanwhile, people say to me: Hey Uncle, I think it’s a bit unfair that you call The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Ownership. And I say: Because that’s their goal. As evidence, let’s look at the gun control utopia that is Massachusetts, which has enacted or came close to enacting everyone of The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Ownership’s pipe dreams. Well, these pipe dreams aren’t enough and more are needed:
“Dan Vice, a staff attorney with the Brady Campaign, which advocates for gun control, said Massachusetts needs to establish a statewide registry of legally owned guns. He also urged the state to restrict gun purchases to one per month.
“The good news is Massachusetts has been a model for the nation, but much more can be done,” he said. “
I got nothing to say, really. Just wanted to use that pun. Story:
Breastfeeding mothers will conduct “nurse-ins” today against Delta Air Lines at more than a dozen U.S. airports.
They are upset because a nursing mother was removed from a Delta commuter flight operated by Freedom Airlines from Burlington, Vermont, to New York last month. A flight attendant asked Emily Gillette to cover up as she was feeding her one-year-old and when she complained, she was asked to get off the plane.
Valerie and others among the estimated 40,000 men, women and children in polygamous communities are part of a new movement to decriminalize bigamy. Consciously taking tactics from the gay-rights movement, polygamists have reframed their struggle, choosing in interviews to de-emphasize their religious beliefs and focus on their desire to live “in freedom,”
Utah’s attorney general has a policy of not prosecuting felony bigamy. Instead, if people are committing real crimes with real victims (rape, spousal abuse, forced underage marriages, etc.), he’ll go after people on those bases. Good for him.
Some idiot wants to reinstate the draft. This prompted a discussion of whether or not the draft is constitutional based on the 13th amendment’s prohibition of involuntary servitude.
Just thinking but Congress can call forth the militia. And:
(a) The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard.
(b) The classes of the militia are—
(1) the organized militia, which consists of the National Guard and the Naval Militia; and
(2) the unorganized militia, which consists of the members of the militia who are not members of the National Guard or the Naval Militia.
And there’s the second amendment and all of that. Thoughts? Or am I just full of it?
Ok, ok, I struggled with this one. Here’s the story:
Former Attorney General Janet Reno and seven other former Justice Department officials filed court papers Nov. 20 that the Bush administration is setting a dangerous precedent by trying a suspected terrorist outside the court system. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales defended the nation’s handling of the detainees. “What is extraordinary, in other words, is how much, not how little, our law protects enemy combatants,” he said.
I couldn’t decide which bit of smarmy commentary to use, so I’ll use both. Which comment should Uncle have made:
1 – Janet Reno criticizing the heavy-handed tactics of the Justice Department is like Michael Richards criticizing me for racial insensitivity.
or:
2 – When someone who set people on fire says you’re setting a dangerous precedent, it may be time for some serious introspection.
Decisions, decisions?
Update: Funny. Seems that since Insty tossed a link, some folks think I’m an idiot for using a bit of duality here. Take for instance, this guy:
The link “SayUncle” references is from the National Rifle Association. These are the same yahoos that were screaming that Clinton was going to take all their guns away while decrying the “jackbooted thugs” who sent Elian back to his biological father. They’re the same flavor of nut that blame the US government for Waco and not the heavily-armed apocalyptic religious cultist David Koresh. Now they yawn at the Bush administration’s illegal wiretapping, torture of US citizens and gutting of habeas corpus, while real conservatives blast them.
The NRA copied text from an AP report, so the source isn’t the evil NRA. One click, and you’d have figured that out there, sparky. The NRA referred to the ATF as Jackbooted thugs during Bush 1’s administration after the Ruby Ridge incident (recall Bush 1 didn’t get their endorsement in 92). Those nuts in Congress also concluded that the government shared the blame for Waco because, well, no matter how nutty someone is (and Koresh was nucking futs), it’s not justification for tossing in some incindiaries and driving a tank through the door. Good post, other than getting substantially all the facts wrong.
Them stoopid gun nutz, they criticize because they’re stoopid and they’re gun nutz. Anyhoo, for the slow of mind: This post is a criticism of the heavy-handed tactics of both the Clinton Justice Department and the Bush Justice Department. In case you haven’t noticed, they both suck.
And it does illustrate one of the problems in dealing with the Waco incident. You cannot criticize the heavy-handed actions of the government without being viewed as one who is defending David Koresh. So, to be clear, Koresh was nuts. Koresh had illegal weapons. Koresh is to blame for the deaths of those people. But none of that excuses the tactics used on the compound. Period. I don’t care how crazy you are, it’s doesn’t justify setting the building you’re in on fire.
Update 2: I called this guy an idiot. Having read his response, I don’t think he’s an idiot. He still gets most of his facts wrong but he’s not an idiot. Disingenuous, sure, but not an idiot. Apologies to the Blue Texan.
Update 3: I rescind my apology. Having read his update in which we learn he cannot write in a manner in which one can determine who he is calling a yahoo; that he says I called Reno a blood-thirsty murderer who did it intentionally; and makes the reference to Clinton-hating (see rule #3); and other misstatements, the term idiot stands.
Last month, a gunmaker friend of mine was audited for two weeks by the BATFE, who found the usual number of small errors and omissions in 20 years’ worth of 4473s, and two rifles that couldn’t be accounted for. Then next week he was informed that his manufacturer’s license, which was up for renewal, would not be renewed. No reason given. His life’s work and his livelihood, and that of a dozen other people, down the toilet without a word why. Our government at work.
I mentioned this to a friend of mine who is an elected official (Republican) and a Bush supporter (though rapidly running out of patience) and asked if this sort of thing wasn’t odd under an administration that is supposedly friendly toward gun owners. After all, smart bureaucrats take their direction from the top, and a high-handed BATFE was something that we expected to see from Bubba Clinton, not from W.
His answer surprised me.
“There’s a lot of that,” he said. “Not only the BATFE, but the Fish & Wildlife Service is refusing to grant CITES permits without giving a reason, and often in contradiction of their local offices. They’re screwing the hunters, too.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because Bush isn’t watching the store. He’s so preoccupied with Iraq that these guys are running amok and no one’s stopping them.”
Really? I thought it just ran in the family since daddy Bush ordered the ATF to restrict the importation certain semi-automatic firearms. At first, I thought daddy Bush was just mad about the whole jack-booted thugs comment. But that occurred after the 1989 executive order to ban ugly weapons. And sonny Bush supports the ban on weapons that look like assault weapons. I think it runs in the family.
As for just reporting the facts, the program was designed to illicit (sic) comments from my guests. I think we succeeded. Mike Cohen, Frank Cagle and Terry Frank each offered their opinions. If you review the segment, you won’t hear me offer my opinion. I’m simply the moderator.
The email he was responding to was this:
The moderator for this program kept referring to Greg Lambert and Tim Burchett (sp?) as ‘taking the law into their own hands.’ Those two men didn’t take anything into their own hands, – they protected their person and their property within the confines of the law. If they had of taken things into their own hands, they’d have shot those scumbags instead of calling the cops and feeding them cookies. I found the anti-gun bias of the moderator disgusting and disingenuous. But the media is SO far left, I should never expect reporting consisting of just the facts without opinion interjected. Shame on you for allowing this!
So, to be clear, Gene will respond to an angry email that alleges left bias and gets the facts wrong (such as kept referring to Greg Lambert and Tim Burchett (sp?) as ‘taking the law into their own hands.’, which was only said once. I suppose it’s easy to respond when the complainant has their facts wrong. However, when the complaints are factually correct, I hear the crickets chirping. For example, still no addressing the issues of:
The state Constitution is a wonderful document, much of which is older than the U.S. Constitution and in many ways superior to the federal one about protecting individual rights and limiting the power of the politicians running state government.
However, the state Supreme Court had been using a small scalpel to judiciously trim this right and that until the current court decided that a chainsaw is better.
“Nationwide, I don’t know any court that has twisted the law like this,” says Bruce Ledewitz, a Duquesne University law professor and constitutional law expert. It’s far worse than the others because this court brazenly bends the law like an obsessive/compulsive contortionist starring in a Mummenschanz stage show.
To wit:
The state Constitution explicitly says, “The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State shall not be questioned.” It’s much better than the Second Amendment. But since the court ignores the text in its rulings in gun cases, it can and has allowed the government to establish rules about gun ownership, Ledewitz says.
And by essentially ignoring the reason for the tax-uniformity clause in the state Constitution (to end favors for special interests), the court says it’s OK to play favorites.
Fight or comply? There’s an article about it herethat got me to thinking. I’ve said before to teach kids to fight back in case of a school shooting. I stand by that. That said, fight back whenever there’s a threat of physical harm (assault, battery, rape, if someone is trying to kill you, if someone is in your house, etc.). But here’s the rub, if it came down to just property, I’d let it go. If someone threatens me for my cash, it’s theirs. If they want my car, it’s theirs. I have insurance. That said, it’d be hard to determine if someone meant me harm or not. But, warranted or not, I would not use force merely to defend material things. It’s not worth it.
While reading your latest posts on the anti-gun antics taking place in Knoxville, I was thinking about our courts, and sent the message below to my correspondents. I discovered something interesting, though; a court decision which appears to invalidate the “Interstate Commerce” justification for licensing firearms dealers. I wonder if any of your readers may have knowledge of this?
Quote: A state may not impose a charge for the enjoyment of a right granted by the federal constitution. Thus, it may not exact a license tax for the privilege of carrying on interstate commerce. McGoldrick v. Berwind-White Co., 309 U.S. 33, 56-58, 60 S.Ct. 388, 397, 398, 128 A.L.R. 876
CarlS
—– Original Message —–
Changing Moral Values and Criminal Courts
Moral relativism is nothing new. The courts have practiced it continuously since about, oh, 1936. How else to explain why the Supreme Court once ruled, repeatedly, that every man has a birthright to own and carry firearms without a license, that a state may not impose a charge, license, or fee for the exercise and enjoyment of a religious or (any) right, versus these craven rulings now which emasculate the First, Second, Fourth, Ninth, and other Amendments? Absent relativism, the courts would have to publicly state that a Court was wrong, either then or now. And once they admit the court is not infallible, why should anyone adhere to their rulings?
We have civil and we have criminal courts. Why is right and wrong judged differently in these venues? Why is it that juries most often interpret the law in civil actions, whereas judges do the interpreting in criminal actions? Why is it that judges refuse to allow the words “jury nullification” to be used in courtrooms? Is there another reason why we have “Criminal” courts? Hence my conclusion that any court which does not hold firm to the written Constitution, any court which “interprets” the Constitution, is itself a criminal court. Q.E.D.
Carl Shires
—– QUOTE TO REMEMBER —–
In philosophy, moral relativism takes the position that moral or ethical propositions do not reflect absolute and universal moral truths, but instead make claims relative to social, cultural, historical or personal circumstances. Moral relativists hold that no universal standard exists by which to assess an ethical proposition’s truth. Relativistic positions often see moral values as applicable only within certain cultural boundaries or in the context of individual preferences. Moral relativism differs from moral pluralism and from value-pluralism — which acknowledges the co-existence of opposing ideas and practices, but accepts limits to differences, such as when vital human needs get violated. Moral relativism, in contrast, grants the possibility of moral judgments that do not such accept such limits.
From Wikipedia
REFERENCE: U.S. SUPREME COURT, MURDOCK V. PENNSYLVANIA 319 US 105 (1942)
………. We have here something quite different, for example, from a tax on the income of one who engages in religious activities or a tax on property used or employed in connection with those activities. It is one thing to impose a tax on the income or property of a preacher. It is quite another thing to exact a tax from him for the privilege of delivering a sermon. The tax imposed by the City of Jeannette is a flat license tax, the payment of which is a condition of the exercise of these constitutional privileges. The power to tax the exercise of a privilege is the power to control or suppress its enjoyment. Magnano Co. v. Hamilton, 292 U.S. 40, 44, 45 S., 54 S.Ct. 599, 601, and cases cited. Those who can tax the exercise of this religious practice can make its exercise so costly as to deprive it of the resources necessary for its maintenance. Those who can tax the privilege of engaging in this form of missionary evangelism can close its doors to all those who do not have a full purse. Spreading religious beliefs in this ancient and honorable manner would thus be denied the needy. Those who can deprive religious groups of their colporteurs can take from them a part of the vital power of the press which has survived from the Reformation. It is contended, however, that the fact that the license tax can suppress or control this activity is unimportant [319 U.S. 105, 113] if it does not do so. But that is to disregard the nature of this tax. It is a license tax – a flat tax imposed on the exercise of a privilege granted by the Bill of Rights. A state may not impose a charge for the enjoyment of a right granted by the federal constitution. Thus, it may not exact a license tax for the privilege of carrying on interstate commerce (McGoldrick v. Berwind-White Co., 309 U.S. 33, 56-58, 60 S.Ct. 388, 397, 398, 128 A.L.R. 876), although it may tax the property used in, or the income derived from, that commerce, so long as those taxes are not discriminatory. Id., 309 U.S. at page 47, 60 S.Ct. at page 392, 128 A.L.R. 876 and cases cited. A license tax applied to activities guaranteed by the First Amendment would have the same destructive effect. It is true that the First Amendment, like the commerce clause, draws no distinction between license taxes, fixed sum taxes, and other kinds of taxes. But that is no reason why we should shut our eyes to the nature of the tax and its destructive influence. The power to impose a license tax on the exercise of these freedoms is indeed as potent as the power of censorship which this Court has repeatedly struck down.
I’m no lawyer but I’m pretty sure taxing a right is illegal (poll taxes, for example). Thoughts?
At this moment almost at midnight on Monday Michael Richards is going through something I can not describe. It is part confessional part testimony and so many things that are difficult to quantify.
Tomorrow afternoon or maybe even early this morning this will be on YouTube. It is an unprecedented development that there is now a digital library available for free and is online in just a few hours.
This extension of instant news and knowledge will have a profound affect on everyone’s lives. There are endless possibilities. The great danger is that any mistake a person makes will be captured in a detail never before possible and will last forever. The world just got several billion new cameras and their owners can have any Television program or live event on the Internet in less than an hour.
Update:
In less than the time it took to write this post the video is up here. It is on the Drudge Report in less than eight minutes.
The video mentioned here is now online here. A few notes:
Gene Patterson acknowledges WATE hasn’t covered Haslam’s involvement in this group.
The general consensus shared by the panel (and Glenn and me) is that Haslam didn’t know all the details about the group he joined.
Apparently, Knoxville has been having gun buybacks. A reader and I plan on attending the next one with a fistful of dollars in protest to such a stupid idea.
Update: Oh, and Frank Cagle said something to the effect of The Kel-Tec is the weapon of choice for about a dozen state legislators. I have one and recommend them. That’d be some cool marketing: Four out of five legislators agree . . .
Breaking News: Stackhouse to be charged with Murder
Betty Bean of the Halls News Shopper has Breaking News on KnoxViews concerning Kane Stackhouse who is the 19 year old that pulled a .25 caliber Beretta Tomcat on Knox County Commissioner Greg “Lumpy” Lambert.
Stackhouse will be charged Tuesday in the Knox County Grand Jury for a murder that occurred ten hours before he drew down on Lumpy Lambert.
This occurred just after Knox County Commissioner Craig Leuthold made a supposedly “humorous” resolution to honor Greg “Lumpy” Lambert as “Quick Draw Lambert” and to make today “Make My Day” day in County Commission.
Knox County Commission Chairman Scott Moore made the comment that Leuthold’s “humorous” resolution was not appropriate.
Wharton will travel to Chicago later this week to meet with Mayor Richard Daley to learn how that city plans to fight its own problems with juvenile crime. “Our kids are not going out into the woods and finding an AK-47 under a brick somewhere,” Wharton said. “Somebody’s bringing those guns in here.”
Mr. Mayor, AK-47s are illegal in Chicago and Chicago still ranks quite high when it comes to murder and violent crime. They’re generally illegal in Memphis too.
It took 15 minutes and two phone calls to 911 to get deputies to respond to an emergency call made by State Sen. Tim Burchett as he broke up a burglary attempt at gunpoint. Now he questions why it took so long for deputies to arrive.
Gene asked Frank Cagle, Mike Cohen, and me if Mayor Haslam’s alliance with Bloomberg might have an effect if Haslam ran for Governor. We all agreed it would. Cagle said something to the effect that he could envision a 30 second spot and he reminded viewers of Al Gore’s problems in Tennessee over his weak Second amendment stance.
I didn’t catch it but, hopefully, they’ll have video of it soon here.
It’s widely rumored that Haslam has his eyes on higher office (Governor, is what I hear). That’s when this will bite him in the rear. His political opponents in heavily pro-gun Tennessee will point out that Haslam is supporting New York style gun control and that he is affiliated with the anti-gun Joyce Foundation.
This is also the first time I’ve seen Mr. Haslam’s membership in the group discussed in the mainstream media. Thanks to Gene and Terry for bringing it up.
Jeff Cooper is viewed as, basically, the gunnie guru, the father of modern firearms technique, and a host of other things. But he occasionally got it wrong. I submit as evidence the concept of the scout rifle. Seriously, that rifle does nothing great and only does some things OK. He also got Glocks wrong. I know, the 1911 die-hards will tell me why their kung-fu is better than mine. But, I don’t care. The 1911 is a fine weapon. The Glock is too. So is the Sig, H&K, and a host of other combat pistols. It’s a matter of preference, really.
My position is that the formation of the Libertarian Party did more to destroy freedom in the United States (and therefore, the world) than any event since. The Libertarian Party acts as a magnet for liberty-minded individuals and has allowed both major parties to drift further from liberty, as the potential Ron Pauls of the world move into a world of endless bickering. The two major parties, freed of liberty-minded voices, move faster towards the ultimate goal.
Throughout the history of 911, problems with 911 have been belligerence of operators, operator skepticism of reporting parties and repeat pranksters, unclear calls without precise locations, various policies on 911 hang-ups, an over-burdening and overwhelming of the system, and general burn-out of operators remaining on the job. As I mentioned in my last piece, some 911 operators have even been found asleep at the console. For many citizens, a placed 911 call simply goes unanswered or is met with a busy signal.
911 is merely a backup, as far as I’m concerned. One should be prepared to deal with things without them but should also be secure in the knowledge that help is on the way. Be prepared because 5 or 10 or 15 minutes of waiting for the cavalry is a lifetime if you happen to be fighting for your life. As evidenced by the examples above, don’t rely on them but use them.
My personal opinion is that the purpose of 911 is to send over some guys to do paperwork and recommend a good carpet cleaner.
They are not of one race, one gender, or one generation.
They are of one mind.
It’s time.
It’s time if they live in a gated community in East Memphis or a poor neighborhood in South Memphis.
It’s time if they’re postal workers or preachers, and it’s time if they’re retirees or entrepreneurs.
It’s time if they’ve had guns pointed in their faces while working in a neighbor’s yard during broad daylight, or while working behind the counter of a convenience store in the middle of the night.
For all of them, it’s time.
“I hate to say it,” says Scott Carroll, owner of the Bullzeye Shooting Range on Lamar Avenue, “but business is good.”
So crime pays. Or at least it does for businesses dedicated to helping people protect themselves in a place rated the second-most violent in America, according to the FBI’s national report for 2005. That report showed the Memphis metro area recorded 1,197 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, trailing only Florence, S.C.
Bullzeye is one of several shooting ranges in the metro area that offer the eight-hour training course required by state law to obtain a handgun carry permit. Classes are typically full, and at Range Master on South Mendenhall classes are booked weeks in advance.
“We’re here because of the increase in crime in the city, and for the safety of our family,” says Sheree Hester, a 29-year-old pharmacist taking the course at Range Master with her husband, Ernest.
Good to see more law-abiding folks arming themselves. There was no discussion of penis size as far as I could tell.
After quitting smoking, I took up Hot Tamales. Like two packs a day. I’ve now gone over a week without them. Withdrawals include no more sugary film over my teeth and people stop coming by the office to steal a handful.
So, watch out if you’re out shopping tomorrow, they may be lots of men out compensating for their own inadequacies at the local gun shop. No doubt they will have travelled there in their big V8.
Yes, the big cars and guns are a sure sign of a man with a tiny pecker. Such original thought. I mean, it hadn’t occurred to me that so much of who I am is due to having a small penis. That explains the gun safe full of evil black rifles and the truck! It’s so obvious now. I clearly want to have weapons so I can kill everyone. And I like big ass cars so I can contribute to global warming thereby furthering my goal of killing everyone. Because I got a have a small nubbin and everyone must have a bigger member than I. If only I had a massive wang, I’d be a pacifist who drives a hybrid, content with the knowledge that I was adequate. Yes, large cocks make you a pussy. Makes perfect sense. Anyhoo:
My thoughts are that gun ownership might actually teach many that they can be far more anti-social with a gun.
Good ol’ hoplophobia. Ok, sparky, inanimate objects don’t teach much of anything. Well, other than through their misuse. Misuse being the key term there for the obviously well-endowed, small-brained guy.
Update: Oh yeah. Google news now does news alerts for blog entries. That’s how I found this thought-non-provoking bit of stupid. It’s amusing to read anti-gun blogs for the sheer nincompoopery.
No, Mr. Spam Man, the number one rule of investing is Don’t buy stocks based on tips you get from spammers via email.
Fucking windows. No, not that kind but same to them. New house has a lot of windows. Blinds and window treatments cost a small fortune.
The wife wants to put up Christmas decorations this weekend. God help me. She’s cool with the rule and I told her any decorations not going out will go to the trash.
A particular company that processes data with whom I deal with regularly sends me so much mail that I cannot possibly read all of it. They charge fees per task. Each particular task results in a bill. They send me a bill, for example, for $4. They’re called statements, guys. Get with the 1990s.
To the annoyed lady in the Buick at the 4 way stop: Yes, I know it was my turn to go. You were impatient and angry with me as I did not go but instead motioned you go go. You see, you’re driving a Buick, which is nature’s way of warning other drivers that you’re a danger to them. That and the blue hair. So, I did realize it was my turn. I did not let you go first because I was nice; rather, I let you because I assumed you couldn’t drive.
Speaking of 4 way stops, let’s just dispatch with the real legal rule about right of way and incorporate the way it really is into law: shittiest car goes first.
Plasma TeeVees: Despite being thinner than regular TeeVees, they sure do seem to weigh a lot more. And, despite being thinner, the manufacturers put them in boxes about four times the size of the TeeVee.
Never, ever pull someone’s finger. No good can come of it.
I am no longer amazed by statistical improbability in poker games. You’ll recall my bad beat here. I had two more at the GBR in Reno that cost me about $600. But, last week, I was dealt pocket kings three hands in a row (won one, lost two but still came out ahead). Tuesday night, I was dealt 7/4 three times in a row. Each is probably as likely (though, I’d say two kings is slightly less likely due the fact that up to 8 cards make 7/4 but only four make KK – I could calculate it but that’s no fun) but only one amazed me.
So, in the 1990s, it appeared that the SUV replaced the station wagon as the family ride. Now, with cars like the Freestyle, Pacifica and XC90, the station wagon is coming back. They still call it an SUV but it’s a wagon.
Regarding my boycott of Pilot Oil due to Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam’s membership in an anti-gun group, I received this comment:
As an employee of the Haslam administration I encourage sayuncle to contact me via email as I may be able to offer a communication venue if he is having trouble connecting with the mayor.
I responded via email and offered to re-print anything the mayor had to say without edit. I also asked if he’d answer question about the group. We’ll see how it goes.
Update: BTW, I applaud the mayor’s office for contacting a blogger.
Update 2: He has responded via email and assures me that, after another matter is addressed, he will be in contact with me. Looks promising.
how pro-gun folks are willing to debate their position any time and any where (often, when we’re not even asked); Yet, the anti-gunners only set up shill blogs without comments, issue press releases, and largely stick to venues in which they will not be challenged and avoid those that will? Yeah, me too.
By the way, if Mr. Haslam’s people are still reading, that first link to a shill blog (which is totally hysterical drivel) is funded by the Joyce Foundation too. They also happen to fund the Alliance of Mayors Against Guns.
Senator George Allen, keeping his word to gun owners, has introduced S 4057, the National Park Second Amendment Restoration and Personal Protection Act of 2006, which will allow gun owners to carry in a National Park as long as the state where the National Park is located allows carry in parks!
Senator Allen needs to get the bill a Floor vote in the Senate and get it off to the House for passage that must happen before the end of the current session of Congress.
We need to do the following things ASAP to help Senator Allen MAKE THIS HAPPEN!:
1. Contact Senator John Warner and ask him to support S. 4057
Regarding whether or not it’s OK to take photos of violations of gun safety, Bitter says:
There are no exceptions when it’s a functional firearm. Even before I became an instructor, I refused to break those rules, even for photographers. When I would come across one that would even make a request for me to break a rule, I would immediately ask them to leave the range and refuse permission to use my image in any way.
If we did that, we wouldn’t have any Bruce Willis movies. I was going to list the ways I personally have violated the four rules of gun safety but Standard Mischief did the work for me in comments:
Who here has not checked the condition of a barrel’s lands and grooves by first verifying that the firearm is unloaded, locking open the action, inserting a finger or a white piece of paper such that light is reflected inside, and sighting down the barrel from the muzzle? Are you not violating rule #2?
How about pointing a gun at your living room floor? I’m pretty sure that’s something that most people are not willing to destroy, although frequently it’s voted as the safest surface to discharge a round into. Usually the floor beats out the TV, the computer, your domestic partner, or that Ming vase on the table over there. It even usually beats out the ceiling, because with a hole in the floor, you don’t have to rush and patch it.
Likewise, waiting to shoot at clays, have you ever seen anyone rest a double shotgun, action broken open, over their shoulder? Aren’t they being a bit careless? I mean they’re not even watching where the muzzle is pointing at, they’ve got their back turned. Another violation of rule #2?
Does dry fire practice violate #3?
Am I being careless when I have the bolt out of the action of my Mauser, and I’ve verified that I can see the follower, and I have the gun clamped down and I’m swabbing out the barrel and just for one brief moment I assume that the gun is not loaded, contrary to rule #1?
I like to hope I’m a safe gun handler. I make sure everyone is following the rules when I’m the range safety officer. I don’t let the nieces or nephews handle firearms until they correctly answer the question “what is the first thing you do when you pick up a firearm?”. I teach them to keep their finger off the trigger and keep the gun unloaded and pointed down range until it’s their turn to shoot.
I teach the four rules. But I realize I violate the rules all the time. And I realize that it would be impossible to rewrite the four rules such that I never violate them, yet still retain their simplicity.
And while practicing the Wile E. Coyote school of gunsmithing, you simply can’t follow all the rules while working on a weapon or bore-sighting or installing a scope or hitting it with a really big hammer or using a Dremel to widen the magazine well of an AK variant. There are exceptions out there but they are necessary exceptions.
A shooters’ rights group has called for Saturday to be a national ‘buy a gun’ day, drawing strong opposition from gun control lobbyists.
The Coalition of Law Abiding Sporting Shooters (CLASS) is promoting the idea of a special day for shooters, arguing that gun ownership teaches individual responsibility and important life skills.
“Participation in Buy a Gun day is simple,” Peter Whelan, president of CLASS said.
“For those who already own a gun, visit your local gun shop and buy another one,” he said in a statement.
“If you have never owned a gun, visit your local shooting club, talk with the members and join up. If you want the full details on getting your firearms licence and purchasing your first gun, just contact the Firearms Registry.”
The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and three Washington State residents have filed a federal lawsuit against a north-central Washington regional library system for denying them access to websites that include information on firearms and publications dealing with guns.
