Cohen sayeth:

The Marshal Dillon Rule is based on common sense, not to mention the law of averages: The more guns you have, the greater the chance they will be used.

Really? You got any actual, you know, statistics and figures and cites to back that up? Because, err, no one else does. And you don’t even seem to buy your own argument:

Mind you, while I subscribe to the Marshal Dillon Rule, I am on record as being sympathetic to those who like to keep a gun in the house. This is because I was burglarized one very dark night by a klutz of a thief who burst though my back door and ran around the first floor making so much noise that I was certain he was coming for me. (This was before the deranged had recourse to e-mail.) I very much wanted a gun — not to whack the intruder but merely to protect my life.

So, about that law of averages? Anyhoo, he chimes in with the non-starter that you don’t give college kids guns. A position I concur with since your average college kid cannot legally buy them anyway. But he doesn’t realize that some college kids aren’t college kids but are adults who are lawfully allowed to carry concealed weapons. Yet that permit is invalid on a campus. And you think maybe they want to protect their lives?

Or put another way: Liberal Washington Post Columnist Attacks Fred Thompson For Being Too Pro-Gun Rights. Shocking!!!

Here’s some more CZs, only without chicks.

The other day, I went outside to fix Junior’s seat on the bike. As I was tightening a bolt, I looked at my leg and there were five mosquitoes bellied up to the buffet. Ugh. I looked at Junior and she had some on her too. Took her inside, I hit myself with some Off and continued working. Anyway, via MCB, we learn that some plants repel the little buggers. Good to know. We have a Rosemary bush (for eating) on the side yard. Now, I’m gonna put a couple by the front and back porches.

So, Macca was found to be a Brady Board Member. You can read about it here. Well, I should be clear. A lot of circumstantial evidence indicated who Macca likely was. And I’m torn between revealing that evidence or not. (ETA: reveal evidence not identity) Sure, I could (with Sebastian’s permission) state how but then others following in Macca’s steps would know how we (ETA: and by we, I mean Sebastian) did it.

Macca has now denied it. Macca claims we’re avoiding the issue by drawing attention Macca’s ties with the Brady Camp. I issued Macca a challenge:

you can post at my blog whenever you want. I’ll set you up as an author. You can make your case. I and my readers will make ours. Comments there will be welcomed.

I doubt Macca will take me up on it. And, boy, would that annoy readers.

Anyway, here’s some thoughts:

Macca may be denying it because Macca’s antics were not sanctioned by (or even known about by) the BC.

We’ve not publicly outed Macca for a few reasons and they are:

The whole reasoned discourse series over at the Brady Blog was the justification for their shutting down comments.

We’ll probably see some press about how those poor, poor souls at the BC had to shut down comments because of the vile rhetoric and threats from the pro-gun side, what with all their facts and sources and stuff. They’ll cite the reasoned discourse series, even though those comments did not appear on the blog.

The BC has figured out how to turn off trackbacks now. Teehee. So much for that reasoned discourse, eh?

Switch roles for a moment and assume it was the NRA shutting down reasoned discourse. It’d get a write up in the NYT and the WaPo.

Update: BTW, in comments, Jared states that:

Kelli [the other anti-gun commenter at the Brady blog - ed] is exactly who she says she is. I’ve verified it through documentation available to me. I will not stand for her arguments but I will personally attest to her honesty in identifying herself to the extent that she has.

Good to know.

I asked about this belt-fed revolver. Looks like I got an answer from SDC in comments:

It’s a Josselyn chain pistol, in 22 rimfire. It was patented January 23, 1866, by Harry Josselyn, in Roxbury, Mass. See “Firearms Curiosa”, by Lewis Winant.

Ferfrans M1A. Sweet looking.

By R. Neal.

Goes to AC.

There will be an article about it:

About a week and a half after Hurricane Katrina ripped through New Orleans, Eddie Compass, the city’s police superintendent, went on national television and promised there would be no guns allowed in the Crescent City. Police, he said, would confiscate all guns.

When the policy was implemented, it set off a hot controversy. Gun owners said the police were violating the Constitution’s second amendment guarantee of the right to bear arms. Some of the gun owners were members of the National Rifle Association and complained to the organization.

The NRA sued, Baton Rouge attorney Dan Holliday representing the organization in the action in U.S. District Court. Federal Judge Jay Zainey agreed with the NRA and ordered the city to stop seizing guns and to start giving the guns they had already taken back to the rightful owners. The city ignored his order.

The city kept taking guns, even though officials denied it. The NRA wasn’t going to let go of the issue. It wasn’t just that it was guns. This was also a property rights issue. Many of the guns were cheap guns, but even those were worth hundreds of dollars each. Other, more expensive guns were also taken. The NRA dogged New Orleans on the issue, filing a contempt of court suit in February 2006 and eventually forced the city to allow them to examine the cache of confiscated weapons. That happened in April 2007.

In the upcoming August cover story for the NRA’s million-circulation magazine, America’s First Freedom, local author and NRA member Gordon Hutchinson and co-author Barb Baird reveal what the NRA observers found: barrels of illegally seized guns, mostly handguns, many damaged or rusted to uselessness.

John B. made some bling selling guns at some gun buy backs in Chicago. Go read. I found this interesting:

Given that Chicago Police reportedly now receive one vacation day and a $300 bonus on their paychecks for each gun they confiscate, I was very cautious.

And:

I had just sold $10 worth of scrap plus maybe a $50 5-shot .22 “affordable” wheel gun for $1000! It seemed too good to be true!

Heh.

So, Rudy Giuliani has accused the Democrats of wanting a nanny government. This came from Rudy Giuliani. Yes, that Rudy Giuliani. You know, broken windows, war on porn, gun control, and supporting questionable domestic surveillance Giuliani? That guy.

Update: Via insty, comes this:

What mayor was it again who installed those hectoring recordings in New York cabs that kept telling you to buckle your seat belt? I forget his name. I think it’s the same guy who cracked down on jaywalkers and street peddlers.

Looks like Ted Stevens home got raided. He might be corrupt? Who knew? Les Jones thinks it was about tubes.

It’s kinda telling that I categorized this post as humor. I guess if I took our political system seriously, it’d be too depressing to deal with.

CZ posters. W00t.

Or you could just buy an air rifle.

Look, no comments. Told ya. We win.

Update: Oops, forgot to turn off trackbacks though.

About Brady Blog commentator macca. Probably. Sebastian says he’s figured out who Macca is. But he ain’t telling. The hints are there so Macca will know. Any way, it once again proves there’s not much grassroots on the other side. Mmm, interesting.

Gunner asks me if I know what this is:

No clue. Bueller?

Here’s more info on the Kwan case:

The ATF did two things here during this case:

1.) ATF examined every gun in his inventory [by flying out a firearms technology branch expert]. Many were forwarded to FTB for further “testing”. The ATF took a semi version of the M-14 and the ATF, not Mr. Kwan and made a machine gun out of it. The ATF claimed it was a machinegun because it was made from a MG, “once a machine gun always a machine gun”, and that it was also “readily restorable” as well, and it only took a small arms expert, in a government research facility about 30 minutes to make it fire full auto.

2.)The ATF later added a superseded charge of an un-registered Short Barrel Rifle because Mr Kwan had a Heckler and Koch VP-70 model M [machine gun], with factory “Holster/Stock” [plastic version of Luger or high power wooden holster/stock], a spare “Holster/Stock”, and a VP-70 model Z [semi only]. All perfectly legal.

I discussed the case before here.

Under Fire ain’t looking too hot anymore either. Via Jacob.

Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale has had a very rough 24 hours. On the Sunday talk shows the County Mayor was the subject of much speculation concerning whether he could finish the remaining three years of his term. On “Inside Tennessee” panelist and prominent local attorney Don Bosch said Ragsdale’s term would be remembered as “The Lobster that ate Knoxville.” If you have not heard the lobster story more about it here and here.

The biggest surprise was when the head of the Tennessee Conservative Union, Lloyd Daugherty, called for Mayor Ragsdale to resign on Gene Patterson’s show “Tennessee This Week.” Frank Cagle, columnist for the Metro Pulse said the Mayor would not step down voluntarily but might not have a choice if the on going audits turned up more fraudulent charges on county credit cards. Those words would be prophetic in less than 12 hours.

In today’s Halls Shopper News Sandra Clark rates the Ragsdale administration and gives a grade of F in the department of “Making Government better every day.” Sandra Clark writes, “Starting with Tyler Harber flashing his badge at the Copper Cellar and ending with disclosures of P-Card spending yet to come … Ragsdale’s management is a casebook study of what not to do. He made bad hires and supervised them poorly. He handed out purchase cards with little oversight. He divided the world into two groups – friends and enemies. Now the town is laughing about lobster lunches, Princess cruises and the liquor fund. In our land of Oz, Ragsdale is not a wizard, just a little fellow behind a curtain with an expensive suit and two press agents.”

Just when it seemed it could not be a worse 24 hour period Sandra Clark breaks a new story that the County Mayor himself used a county credit card for a medical procedure co-pay. For a colonoscopy of all things. This caused the Mayor’s Communications Director Dwight Van de Vate to have to send an emergency memo on a Sunday night to County Commission members explaining the “mistake”. How does anyone use a Knox County credit card for a medical co-pay? What other mistakes are there?

People want to know when we will get to the bottom of this. As the audits turn up new information on almost a daily basis the office of the County Mayor has become a rudderless ship. Who will be the next to call for the County Mayor to stand down?

AR-15. Joe Biden does not approve.

Here’s the site. Seems it may be down for the count. So, here’s some thoughts on that.

What I do know:

What I suspect (i.e., no proof just a guess – could be wrong but probably not):

My prediction (and I’ll bet a beer on it): The blog will continue without comments or be shut down. After all, their views quickly fall apart when there is actually reasoned discourse and there are challenges to their lies. The long and short of it: We win, they lose. But that seems to be the trend for the last 15 years, don’t it? I mean sure, they keep getting victories in places like MA, CA, and NJ but that’s not so much a big deal since those are pretty much lost causes. But that’s it. They can’t even get their AWB pipe dream in Illinois or MD, which I would have bet were sure things.

SM predicted it but got the timing wrong:

What they (The Brady Campaign) haven’t figured out yet is that their particular brand of propaganda requires endless repeats of the same damn lies until people take their claims as the truth. Letting in dissent from just anyone with a browser would ruin the effect. It can’t last. I’ll give it 48 hours, tops, until they put some kind of moderation in place.

More at SM:

With that message, they have closed comments on every active post. It seems pretty clear to everyone what change #1 is going to be. I would imagine that the comments onslaught would continue over on Huffington Post, but I note that Paul’s last two entries have not been crossposted.

PGP says:

As you may have heard, apparently they’re tired of getting shellacked on their own blogsite, so…the solution is turn off the comments! Funny!

Sebastian:

We wish the Brady’s the best of luck with their new and improved blog, that no one will read now.

Bitter’s looking at the Violence Policy Center’s finances and notes their revenue and net assets are dropping. Well, their revenue is likely down because people who donate to a cause expect some results and the VPC has had none. Also, I don’t think the decrease in net assets is indicative of much. After all, people don’t like their causes sitting on cash. They like it spent. Seems they’re having trouble getting contributions. I wonder if Joyce dropped their grant dollars.

Most of their expenses are related to salaries and benefits. And they have quite a few employees that make enough to qualify to be disclosed on their 990. At first, I thought this was odd for a non-profit but, once I thought about it, it is not for activists who don’t really provide any service (of course, the VPC provides nothing but the occasional pants-shitting media quote about how we’re all gonna die at the hands of evil Saturday night special 50 caliber assault sniper weapon rifle handgun automatic semi-automatic bullet hose designed for spray firing from the hip at targets four miles away^tm.

And Mark Karlin is on their board? Where have I heard that name before? Oh, yeah.

At least she’s narrowed it down but go offer some input.

The Olympics are in London. One of the sports is shooting. In Britain, they’re afraid of guns and pointy things. But they decide to let people practice anyway, though they have to do so with armed police standing around them. This is, apparently, still too lax for some:

But anti-gun campaigners reacted furiously to the proposed changes, warning that they represented the “thin end of the wedge”, and that the sport would use it to prise out permanent exemptions from the handgun ban.

Oh, England. What happened to you?

Marlin 336.

Heh.

Update: more here.

John Edwards, also known as Mr. Two Americas and the $1200 haircut man, has declared “they want to shut me up.” Mr. Edwards is referring to his message about ending the war and universalizing health care.

That’s nice. He advocates retreat on the War on Terror and socializing heath care.

No word as to who “they” are, but I am guessing the vast Right Wing Conspiracy.

Read the rest of this entry »

Some suggestions. My fave:

Paul’s “Reasoned Discourse” series will be replaced with “Would you mother-f%^ing gun nuts stop correcting me already?“

They’re gonna have some changes. One of those is, apparently, to shut off comments. I’m guessing that’s because there is no better source for pro-gun information than the Brady Blog itself. And, of course, the pro-gun comments outnumber the anti-gun comments by a ginormous margin. And the trackbacks usually make them look like idiots.

Update: In comments, DMeadows notes he predicted it a bit back:

I guess we’ll see what the BC actually does with the blog, but I speculated back on July 1st, in “Reasoned Discourse? – Part II” on the BC blog:

“I wonder if this “Reasoned Discourse” series is actually a strategy to build a pretext for closing the blog to comments or shutting the blog down itself.

“Think about it. This blog could be perceived by the BC as a failed and embarrassing experiment. Gun rights folks far outnumber gun control proponents. The presenting of facts and attempts at rational argument of POV is done far more by pro-rights people. Most of Paul’s blog posts are either about political/legal setbacks or some other negativity for gun control, and few are about successes or big wins for gun control.”

We’ll see.

Seen at the Brady Blog:

That high-powered handgun came from R&B Guns in Hampton, Va., Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes said yesterday.

Paul also says:

It is vitally important that we continue to ask the source of guns used in crimes. The more we learn about the black market in guns, the better our law enforcement agencies will be able to deal with the dangers enhanced by gun traffickers. Knowing where crime guns come from can expose crime patterns, and help shut off sources of crime guns.

So, again Paul, how did they track that handgun to R&B since you’ve spent all that time implying that cannot be done. It’s unpossible!

Or, you know, typical anti-gun bias at CNN:

I was a bit dismayed and a little surprised to hear a CNN Headline News analyst refer to gun owners and “gun nuts” and “Second Amendment literalists” in an offhand comment during a report on the recent TSA report of suspicious activity.

[...]

This is what I found on CNN.com’s transcript archive (emphasis mine).

[...]

This is not simply a transcription error. This is a blatant attempt to cover up an inconvenient gaff.

CNN has had quite a few anti-gun episodes. Such as:

Their youtube video selection.

Then that time when Nancy Grace may have been in possession of an illegal weapon.

Then there was that time a CNN reporter went out and bought a 50 caliber and then mislead their viewers about it because if what they said happened really happened, it would have been a felony. What’s up with these reporters almost committing gun crimes, Steve Bailey?

And then, of course, that time CNN said assault weapons were more powerful than other weapons with a fabricated video. They did correct that gaffe, though.

Me neither:

Of course, I don’t remember hair either.

In Connecticut, gun sales rose after a brutal home invasion left a man’s wife and two daughters dead.

I’ve addressed before how tragedies tend to lead to increases in gun sales (NOLA & 9-11, notably). But never have I heard of an individual crime leading to that.

David on Fincher:

If every one of us did what Fincher did, there would be no more gun control laws in this country.

I disagree. Look no further than the war on drugs. It continues despite high numbers of drug dealers, high numbers of customers, huge volumes of drugs, and huge amounts of cash. I’m not comparing drug dealers to gun rights folks but noting that volume doesn’t seem to dissuade enforcement types. After all, they have nothing but time and your money to spend. David also notes:

Because we will not stand up en masse, any one of us who does will be cut down.

On that, I agree. Gun owners need to unify a bit more.

Do it for the babies.

Carnaby reads the gun guys so you don’t have to. Here he addresses Gonzo dancing in the blood of the dead. And here he addresses Gonzo’s hysterics over (gasp!) politically incorrect self-loading firearms.

Is this you:

There are two gun owners who VCDL is trying to get in touch with ASAP; both were arrested at a National Park and Philip Van Cleave can’t find their names or email addresses anywhere.

The VCDL is looking for you:

If you are either of those two individuals OR if you have a similar story at a National Park and have not contacted me about it within the last two months, please do so ASAP by emailing president@vcdl.org.

Sebastian on the whining from VPCer Sugarmann:

But Josh, buddy, seriously… take the spin and go with it. I mean, you wouldn’t want to ruin Paul Helmke’s fundraising efforts by getting the notion out there, among yours and Brady’s donors, that HR2640 wasn’t actually a gun control law, would you? If that’s the case, that means you guys haven’t won a victory in, what is it now? 14 years.

Well, nationally. They still have NY, MA, and others.

Seen at Jeff’s:

The bill also carries language backed by the National Rifle Association limiting the sharing of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives data on gun manufacturers, sellers and buyers with local governments and law enforcement.

Gun control critics opted not to challenge the provision offered by Rep Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan., and similar to provisions included in the ATF budget since 2003.

The campaign of lies didn’t work. Good.

Awesome BB gun:

Link since embed goofs up the website.

I’ve pondered buying the Drozd before just because it looks cool. And now it comes with a shoulder stock. It’d be a fun little toy.

Via Mad IT Guy.

Yeah, that’s right. They’re not letting up:

Well, CeaseFire NJ is not letting up with their campaign, “Put the gun down, Elmo!” — which is sure to cause some headaches. The group is calling on Americans to send a letter to Sesame Workshop CEO Gary Knell.

Err, yeah. Because Busch caved to PBS like two weeks ago.

The Gun Guys: Yesterday’s pants-shitting hysteria today!

Like many people in Knox County I was shocked to read the editorial in the Knoxville News Sentinel today. The title is, “Is county mayor’s office out of control?”

How convenient. After five years of being the chief cheerleader for the County Mayor now the editorial staff of the News Sentinel wakes up and smells the coffee. This occurs after some serious investigative journalism from WBIR television in Knoxville which has accounted for the resignations of three people very close to the County Mayor. To the Sentinel’s credit reporter Scott Barker has also followed the story closely.

Better late than never but the question does arise, what took so long? Knox County Commissioner Paul Pinkston spoke with WNOX’s Hallerin Hill Tuesday morning and suggested that the Mayor’s office had wined and dined various members of the local press in Knoxville to gain favor. Pinkston also opined that columns concerning the Mayor written in the Knoxville News Sentinel appeared to have been written by Mayor Ragsdale’s right hand man Dwight Van de Vate, the Communications Director for the Mayor. You can hear Commissioner Pinkston’s interview with Hallerin Hill here.

As everyone awaits the audits of the troubled P-cards there is apprehension about the audits of the privately funded “Hospitality fund” which is used for entertainment. Will this audit prove that there was an effort to garner favor with the local press by expensive meals and drinks?

Much more at Knoxviews here and here.

Today the prosecutor in the Duke rape trial confessed “there is no credible evidence that Mr. Seligmann, Mr. Finnerty or Mr. Evans committed any of the crimes for which they were indicted.”

From Breitbart.com

“We all need to heal,” Nifong said. “It is my hope we can start this process today.”

Nifong’s apology came as a judge began considering whether to hold the former Durham County district attorney in criminal contempt of court for his handling of the case.

Superior Court Judge W. Osmond Smith III has already concluded there is probable cause to believe Nifong “willfully and intentionally made false statements of material fact” to the court during a hearing in the case last fall. If he finds Nifong in contempt after an Aug. 30 hearing, the now-disbarred former prosecutor could face up to 30 days in jail.

The case started with a woman’s allegations that she was raped at a March 2006 lacrosse team party where she was hired as a stripper. Nifong won indictments against three team members, but the charges were later dropped, and state Attorney General Roy Cooper went a step farther by declaring the three men innocent victims of Nifong’s “tragic rush to accuse.”

So the apology comes as Nifong is facing the music. He should serve time.

Move over Mojito, there is a new drink in Knoxville. It is called the Mayor’s Pink Lady.

Whether it was invented at Regas or the Bistro has yet to be determined but the new update on an old drink has taken Knoxville by storm. It is especially popular with those denizens of the sixth floor of the City County Building.

It is one part vodka plus three parts Pepto-Bismol blended and served over crushed ice with a lemon twist.

Earlier, I said:

I’m betting on the man

Should be interesting. I can’t see a computer being bluffed off a hand or slow-played, which is important against a human.

Told ya so:

In a match of wits between man and machine this week, a software program running on an ordinary laptop computer fought a close match, but lost to two well-known professional human poker players.

The contest, which was billed as the “First Man-Machine Poker Championship” and which offered prize money totaling $50,000, pitted two professionals, Phil Laak and Ali Eslami, against a program written by a team of artificial intelligence researchers from the University of Alberta. They gave it a name that probably no gambler would ever choose as a nickname, Polaris.

Poker is thought to be a more difficult challenge for software designers than games like chess and checkers. Computer scientists have to develop different strategies and algorithms to deal with the uncertainties introduced by the hidden cards held by each player as well as difficult-to-quantify risk-taking behaviors such as bluffing.

Heh:

Biden reaches out to ‘gun lover’ guy from CNN/YouTube debate

[...]

In an interview with Reason magazine, Townsend later invited Biden up to Clio to discuss the matter.

Despite questioning whether or not Townsend was mentally qualified to handle his “baby” during the debate, Biden said today that he emailed Townsend and gave him his phone number, saying he would be happy to get together the next time he is in Michigan.

Biden even told The Crypt he would be happy to go hunting with Townsend, though the senator said he couldn’t equal Townsend’s firepower.

“All I have is a 20 gauge and a 10 gauge shot gun. It won’t match his automatic weapon,” Biden said.

Townsend called the Bushmaster “a good varmint rifle” in his interview, saying he uses it to hunt coyotes.

Still, Biden, who helped craft the 1994 assault weapons ban, said Townsend would have to lose the Bushmaster before they went looking for varmints together.

Still got the hoplophobia, huh? The Bushmaster is not an automatic weapon. It’s a semi-automatic.

Via insty.

The story so far: Some dude calls his guns his babies.

This creeps some lefty out.

Gun nut says: people call their nice cars, motorcycles, and the fruits of other expensive hobbies their babies. What’s the big deal?

Lefty says: guns are designed to kill!!!!

Au contraire, mon cracker. A gun is designed to propel a projectile. Said projectile may (or may not) be designed to kill. Most ammo is designed for that. But some ammo is designed for long range accuracy, some for launching other projectiles, some to be quiet, some for target shooting, some for practice, etc. I’m being smarmy for a reason. It is this:

Regardless, the intent to kill rests on the person and not the object.

Now, that is not to minimize guns nor imply they are happy, fluffy bunnies full of happiness. The primary purpose of them is to kill. So, as gun owners, don’t forget that.

Yesterday, millions of guns and their owners didn’t kill anybody.

Seems ATF finds Red’s Trading Post taking pics as a credible threat. That got some press coverage. And a mention at Instapundit.

The ATF’s push is nonsensical but it continues a trend of bad things for the agency in the last few years, like:

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.

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

And employees are coming forward with allegations of mismanagement.

And getting smacked down for disregarding the law.

In case you ever need to launch a golf ball 500 yards, here’s a golf ball launcher attachment for your rifle. Via joe.

Everyone sent me this pic of the three Israeli chicks ordering ice cream. With their evil, spray firing bullet hoses of death on their backs. How do they have those magazines attached to each other?

Want to blog but are afraid the controversial nature of your topics will cause your provider to dump you? Have no fear.

SanFran:

Specifically, they would prohibit the possession or sale of firearms on city property, require firearms in residences to be in a locked container or have trigger locks and require firearm dealers to submit an inventory to the chief of police every six months.

That sounds familiar. Rather like the gun controls in DC that were recently struck down. As to why:

The violence that has been generally confined to more crime-plagued neighborhoods crossed into a major tourist area Monday afternoon, with a shooting that left one person dead and put bullet holes through the front window of a popular restaurant.

Well, you can’t go shooting tourists!

And what’s the point if … new restrictions won’t do much to stop the gun violence escalating on city streets, one sponsor of the new laws said after the vote.

Seems with the recent and many losses of the anti-gunners, they’re pulling out all the pants-shitting hysterics:

The Smoking Gun: NRA Admits it Does Not Support Criminal Background Checks for All Gun Sales

Stop Handgun Violence, a non-profit organization dedicated to the prevention of gun violence, today released on-the-record quotes from a National Rifle Association (NRA) spokesperson confirming that the NRA does not support uniform background checks for all gun purchases or the use of the government’s anti-terror watch list in precluding gun sales.

There’s nothing new there. The NRA has always said private sales are private. Dealers are regulated, not people. And the NRA has also always opposed the terror watchlist nonsense. You know, because of due process of law and innocent until proven guilty and all of that.

The press release lists as a contact John Rosenthal. You know that guy who may or may not have conspired to engage in a straw purchase with the Boston Globe’s alleged journalist Steve Bailey.

Seems the guy who asked Joe Biden about his baby (Jered Townsend) got a bit of a write up:

Townsend called the Biden response “kind of off-kilter,” adding: “I think he hurt himself. A lot of people who are out there said, ‘We are all gun owners. He lost my vote.’”

[...]

“Whatever,” Townsend retorted Tuesday. “I’m not the one on stage trying to get the presidency, making myself look like an idiot. … And if I did make myself look like an idiot, I don’t care.”

While Townsend’s means of asking his question probably shocked your average Democrat, Biden’s response that this guy was crazy and looking at him like he had cooties probably damaged Biden (and Democrats) with gun owners. And they had been making waves lately with shedding their gun banning image. But this ain’t a post about that, it’s a post about this:

Why did CNN choose that video? My understanding was CNN chose the questions to be aired. And do you think there weren’t other people asking about gun control in a much less dramatic way? In a way that might not scare your average liberal? And this is the video they showed?

Well, can’t read too much into it since the also let a snowman ask about global warming.

As Sebastian says: The ATF accusing anyone of intimidation is almost laughable.

But it’s true. The ATF seems to think that keeping tabs on their activities and taking their pictures while they’re investigating whether or not i’s were dotted and t’s were crossed is intimidation.

David has some of the documents and notes:

[ATF] had threatened him that he needed to cease all blogging and keep their agents and inspectors free from being photographed or observed, or they would go to the judge and file a complaint of harassment.

Why are they afraid of being observed?

And a note: seems a few folks radar goes off whenever they get a web visit from ATF or DOJ or Treasury. It’s not a big deal, really. I have a few that read here (hi, guys!) and, while I’m sure some are keeping tabs on me, I know at least a couple who are friendlies.

Don’t get me wrong, there is reason to be alert and to recognize intimidation. I mean, I’ve had them show up at my house (here’s some entries about why). I invited them in, offered them coffee, they made goo-goo faces at my little girl and we had a not entirely unpleasant chat. Of course, that may have had something to do with the fact that I told from the get-go I had consulted three lawyers. But, and this is the important thing, there was no reason for me to be a person of interest. At all. The entire purpose of their visit seemed to be Ha ha, we found you. And my response was Ha ha, so what?

Paul “reasoned discourse” Helmke:

Based on a handwritten legal opinion issued last week by a Judge in Winnebago County, Illinois, the state of Illinois could now allow 10-month old children who get FOID cards to keep 9mm pistols in their baby carriages as long as the holster covers the gun and the ammo clip is in a separate pouch

The only problem is that is made up. The first ruling says that complying with the law is legal. And the second proves that anyone can get a Firearms Owner Identification Card. That’s some fine reasoned discourse you got there Pauly (can I call you that?).

It’s rather odd that Helmke is poking fun at Illinois, since The Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Ownership ranks Illinois with an A-.

Only that’s not true. The Influence Peddler notes: Biden is wrong to claim credit for being the first.

More interesting is that the ban on weapons that look like assault weapons was written (and I am not making this up) by staffers who bought a gun buyer’s guide and picked the weapons that looked mean.

But just in case you wanted to know what happened if you shot a propane tank.

Ooh, Saiga Shottie. Rivrdog wants one.

Shootings with handguns cannot happen in England. Those are banned there.

But I have found a way to improve the world’s greatest sandwich: add a slice of onion.

Terry Frank links a new video from YouTube. What would Patton say?

I see from my logs that the Boston Globe is checking us out. I wonder why that is?

Oh noes! Joe Biden thinks that if you own an evil black rifle, you’re not mentally qualified to own a gun. Wait. So, wanting to own one means you’re not qualified to. We can apply the same not-logic to presidentin’: Biden wants to be president therefore is not mentally qualified to be one. But don’t worry, Joe, the odds of you actually becoming president are about the same as me actually becoming president. Only, I won’t spend millions of someone else’s dollars to figure that out.

And Richardson, ordinarily a friend to gun owners, quickly lost his cool and went on about gun shows.

Update: Glenn notes: The big news isn’t the diminution in Biden’s already microscopic chances of becoming President, but the collateral damage to other candidates and the Democrats’ brand. It’s hard to win swing states if gun owners hate you. Biden just exacerbated a problem the Democrats have been trying, with some success, to ameliorate.

Ayup.

BTW, I must have some serious mental deficiencies:

Update 2: Video:

Any excuse to post pics.

In other news, war is good business when you make ammo.

The Knox County Sheriff’s office is putting video of crimes up on YouTube.

I think so:

Jim Zumbo Has Done More GOOD For ‘BLACK RIFLES’ Then Anyone Else In Modern History

[...]

Jim Zumbo touched off the spark that has allowed black rifles to go mainstream. My guess is that more and more hunters will begin to use these black rifles as they learn about them and see that they are accepted within the hunting community. This wouldn’t be happening if Jim Zumbo had just kept his opinion to himself.

Were it not for Zumbo, I don’t think the NYT nor NBC would have done non-hostile pieces on them.

Hard to see with the naked eye

Yup, that’s me alright:

The NRA and its friends in the “militia movement” are into the same stock-in-trade: Fear. Their target audience: Those people, generally disenfranchised white males with at most a high-school education and middling to piddling income, who suspect they’re being screwed but either have no clue who’s screwing them — or who know but don’t have the guts to fight the real enemy. The NRA and its allies push fear in general, and fear of non-whites in particular, to these white males, telling them that blacks/liberals/Jews/women/unions/etc. (but never ever ever corrupt corporations or businesses) are the cause of the white guys’ problem (and that the problem is crime, not the hyper-rich bleeding everyone below them) — then promptly sell themselves as the solution.

Remember, kids, gun nuts must be racist, violent miscreants with small pee-pees. Else, someone’s worldview is shattered. Say, isn’t Sandy Froman a Joooooooo with no penis? The NRA is sneaky like that.

Via Sebastian.

Chris has a detailed look at the AR-15 Kaboom that I mentioned yesterday.

A few items on the high school in Maryville here and here.

Or why hackers seem to also be gun nuts.

So, I finally spent Sunday catching up on TeeVee. Four months after it aired, I finally caught the season finale of Battlestar Galactica. That is one seriously good show.

Mostly the lying. But it seems that the Second Amendment Foundation is sticking to its guns about alleged journalist Steve Bailey (prior coverage here and here) breaking the law:

Boston Globe columnist Steve Bailey is having a hissy fit about finding himself in the same uncomfortable position he has wished upon so many law-abiding American gun owners; he’s being investigated for violating a federal gun law, when he believes he did nothing wrong.

He thinks it is no big deal that some 20 months ago he accompanied John Rosenthal, head of Stop Handgun Violence in Massachusetts, and two other men, to a New Hampshire gun show, where he admits giving money to one of his companions to buy a handgun. He acknowledged that he asked a gun dealer at the show whether he could personally purchase the gun, and was turned down cold because he lives in Massachusetts.

Bailey handed $240 to a man identified as Walter Belair, a New Hampshire resident, after the dealer allegedly stated it would be legal for Belair to purchase the gun. Bailey then expensed the purchase price to the Globe and wrote about it in November 2005, omitting these important facts. Bailey and Rosenthal made a big deal of this escapade during a July 10 chat on WRKO-AM with talk host Tom Finneran, both contending the dealer knew it was a straw sale.

The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), which I founded more than 30 years ago, and others called for an investigation because what Bailey described was arguably a straw purchase, and that’s a felony. Bailey is miffed because on the day we asked for the investigation, and his dismissal from the Globe for this ethical breach, agents with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and a Manchester police officer tracked down Belair at work, showed him a search warrant and subsequently confiscated the gun.

Bailey complained that “intimidation is the stock in trade of the National Rifle Association and all the NRA knock-offs out there. Dare to say we need fewer, not more guns in this country, dare to say we need a uniform system for monitoring gun sales in this country and you become a target to be hunted down…Count me as a proud member of the gun lobby’s hit list.”

Portraying himself as a martyr for gun control extremism does not trump the fact that Bailey is being investigated for violating a federal gun law. His on-air braggadocio brought that down, and being disingenuous about it is flimsy. The “gun lobby” doesn’t dispatch federal agents to investigate people. The audio of his broadcast provided ATF with probable cause, and SAF doesn’t issue search warrants, judges do.

This is the kind of treatment to which he and Rosenthal think other Americans – those who own firearms and buy or sell them at gun shows – ought to be subjected, but not them. Bailey somehow thinks that just because he’s an anti-gun columnist, he should be immune from the law. Welcome to the world of gun control that people like you created, Steve. Like it so far?

Poor Steve. He’s just a victim of the evil gun lobby. We’re out to get him, you see, what with our demanding the novel idea that existing law be enforced. See, I got up this morning, received my marching orders, and was told to go on the attack. It’s true. We have secret meetings and everything. And a handshake. Next week, we get our decoder rings. Oh, wait. I’ve just been informed I’m actually not a member of the NRA. So, forget all that.

Anyway, here’s the deal. I don’t think Steve really violated the law. Additionally, if he did, it would be very difficult to prove since he is not in possession of the gun. What I do care about is that he egregiously lied. But, as far as he’s concerned, he lied to fight the Righteous Fight^tm so it’s OK. I do hope he gets a slap on the wrist but that is unlikely. It is, however, quite refreshing to know that he’s scared enough to start covering his ass. Welcome to the laws of us little people in fly over country. Hope you enjoyed your stay.

A guy at arfcom bought some cheapy ammo. Then his AR went Kaboom. Pics.

SLTRIB:

Jim Marsh, of Salt Lake City, recently had Lasik surgery, improving his vision to 20-20 and enabling him to get a driver license with no corrective lens requirement for the first time in his adult life.

With doctor’s note in hand, he rushed to the state Driver License Division for his new, unrestricted license. He was issued a temporary paper license and was told the permanent license would arrive in two weeks, which it did.

But shortly after getting his temporary license, he was informed his brother was dying in Missouri and he needed to fly there right away. At Salt Lake City International Airport, he was informed that the temporary license would not qualify as an ID form to clear him to board.

Just when he thought he would miss seeing his brother, guess what came to the rescue?

He produced his trusty Utah Concealed Firearms Permit, which made him a safe enough bet to board the plane.

OMG! You mean a guy asked to produce a government ID did and it worked? Shocker!!

The AP:

Poker champion Phil Laak has a good chance of winning when he sits down this week to play 2,000 hands of Texas Hold’em — against a computer.

It may be the last chance he gets. Computers have gotten a lot better at poker in recent years; they’re good enough now to challenge top professionals like Laak, who won the World Poker Tour invitational in 2004.

But it’s only a matter of time before the machines take a commanding lead in the war for poker supremacy. Just as they already have in backgammon, checkers and chess, computers are expected to surpass even the best human poker players within a decade. They can already beat virtually any amateur player.

“This match is extremely important, because it’s the first time there’s going to be a man-machine event where there’s going to be a scientific component,” said University of Alberta computing science professor Jonathan Schaeffer.

As to details:

The Alberta researchers have endowed the $50,000 contest with an ingenious design, making this the first man-machine contest to eliminate the luck of the draw as much as possible.

Laak will play with a partner, fellow pro Ali Eslami. The two will be in separate rooms, and their games will be mirror images of one another, with Eslami getting the cards that the computer received in its hands against Laak, and vice versa.

That way, a lousy hand for one human player will result in a correspondingly strong hand for his partner in the other room. At the end of the tournament the chips of both humans will be added together and compared to the computer’s.

Should be interesting. I can’t see a computer being bluffed off a hand or slow-played, which is important against a human.

Looks like the Senate has introduced the Long-Range Sniper Rifle Safety Act of 2007. (can’t get the link to work so search for S 1331 at thomas). The bill, as written, adds 50 caliber (and equivalents) to the list of items regulated as NFA weapons, specifically destructive devices (i.e., a 50 caliber will be treated like a machine gun, suppressor, short barreled rifles, etc.).

Fox news (video at link) says the FBI can eavesdrop on you via cell phone. Even if it’s turned off.

Pretty dog. In other news, Joe lives in the town I spent my formative years in.

Liberty Sphere has some questions about recent trends at the ATF.

Joe has an update to his suit. Seems his employers weren’t bigoted but were rather incompetent.

Tagged by Xrlqy Wrlqy: list eight habits or facts about yourself, then tag eight more people.

1 – I have bungee jumped exactly 380 times. Which is two times more than I have seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I have never been sky diving though.

2 – I don’t really own a lot of guns.

3 – My legal name is unusually long. I have two middle names and a suffix. Additionally, due to various degrees and certifications I have an additional four suffixes. Because of (or in spite of) this I always go by the nickname my dad gave me and last name. It’s a lot of names. So, technically, you people who know my name really don’t. Due to two middle names, I received two forms for selective service at age 18 and had to go explain to the .gov that I was not actually two people. It’s also created issues with a couple financial items and for my Q Level security clearance when I did some consulting for a large governmental entity.

4 – I am one of the less than 1% of people who has (had) a nerve that ran over the top of the jaw bone instead of under. This nerve was severed when I had my wisdom teeth removed. I cannot feel the inside right half of my mouth (including the entire right side of my tongue). It explains why I like food that is rather, err, strong. And I’ve made lots of money on bar bets by putting cigarettes out on my tongue.

5 – For a skinny dude, I can drink a whole lot.

6 – I’m the first person in both my mom’s and dad’s family to get a four year college degree. And the first to get a graduate degree. My dad has a two year degree and he was the first in his family to go to college. My mom was the first in her family to finish high school.

7 – My wife proposed to me by spelling Marry Me at a game of Scrabble. Technically, I had a big weekend planned and was going to propose to her on a trip we took. However, I got wind from someone that she somehow knew that. To surprise (and, apparently, frustrate) her I held off. When we returned from the trip, we played the game. When she did that, I got the ring and officially proposed.

8 – I used to take pride in the fact I didn’t kill things. Ever. I never killed bugs. I would instead escort them out. Yeah, big bad gun nut isn’t too keen on killing anything. That changed when I had kids. I will kill any thing that bites or stings on sight (and other nefarious things). I’ve even killed bees by grabbing them out of the air and squeezing them. It hurts. But I can’t imagine Junior or The Second getting stung or bitten. Amazing how kids will change you. And bugs creep me out. I can’t stand to feel a bug crawling on me and will throw a full-blown arachnoleptic fit.

If you wanna play along, consider yourself tagged.

Seems alleged law-breaker and alleged journalist Steve Bailey of the Boston Globe blames all of his ills on the evil gun lobby:

There is an epidemic of handgun violence in Boston’s poorest neighborhoods, and the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is investigating me?

Well, you implied you broke the law. Then went public with it. Why wouldn’t they?

Consider this my confession. I plead guilty to offending the loony gun lobby.

Really? That’s the best you can do? I mean, you implied you broke the law and then failed to mention the involvement of anti-gun group’s president in your, uh, journalistic (term used loosely) practice. And somehow that’s the fault of that evil gun lobby?

Twenty months ago, a lifetime in columnist time, I wrote in this space about going to a gun show in New Hampshire. The idea was to see how easy it would be to buy a handgun just across the border from Massachusetts, which has some of the toughest gun laws in the country. The answer: not very hard at all.

But you had to break the law to do it, right? That’s rather our point: criminals don’t obey the law.

I went with John Rosenthal, the Boston gun-control advocate the gun lobby loves to hate, a cop named Andrew Heggie, and a former prison guard, Walter Belair. I also took my kids, who got in free. The cereal makers may be cutting back on marketing to kids, but the gun industry knows it is never to early to target the next generation.

And would it have been so difficult to disclose that involvement 20 months ago? And there goes that evil gun industry, what with trying to sell their products and all.

Belair could have bought 100 guns in tax-free, no-limit New Hampshire that day, and I could have put them in my trunk and driven (illegally) home. That was exactly the point I was making. That is not what I did. Belair took the gun with him; I’m afraid of guns.

So, you didn’t actually purchase and take possession of the firearm, then? Because in both this column and on a radio show, you implied you had engaged in a straw purchase.

Were you lying then or are you lying now?

More:

Coincidence or not, you decide, two ATF agents and a Manchester, N.H., cop visited Belair at his work the same day. They had a search warrant and a tape of the radio interview. They wanted to know about the gun, Rosenthal, and me. Belair told them the gun was at home; they went there later in the day, and confiscated it. They did give him a receipt.

The ATF investigating a possible gun crime? Shocking!!! I mean, we loony gun types often say that we should enforce existing law.

And, lastly, more on that evil, evil gun lobby (which seems to be what he devotes most of his paragraphs too) in all Bailey’s pant-shitting hysterical glory:

This is how it works. Intimidation is the stock in trade of the National Rifle Association and all the NRA knock-offs out there.

To date, the NRA has not been involved in this case. That I know of. Another little stretch of the truth there Steve?

Anyway, you keep referencing gun types as loony and such. But, you know, at least they’ve not been caught lying about alleged gun crimes.

Update: BTW, the article seems to be engaging in some major ass-covering. After all, we now know that Steve did not take possession of the gun (he’s an admitted hoplophobe, after all) and the guard retained the weapon (assuming we can believe Steve, which is hard to do. But he does claim the ATF took the weapon from the guard). However, if the dealer knowingly sold the weapon aware of the fact that the buyer was buying for someone else, then that is a violation of the law. Of course, we have to again rely on Steve’s word, which is hard to do. So, to conclude: Steve likely did not break the law. He just implied that he did. Journalistic integrity, indeed.

Update 2: Amen:

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think you should go to jail, because I don’t think what you did ought to be against the law. But instead of insulting us, maybe you can wake up and smell the coffee, and admit that perhaps we have a point in our opposition to these laws?

Hee hee.

Still more because it’s fun: Reporter Michael Silence on us loony gun sorts:

Geez, talk about stereotyping. And here all these years of practicing journalism I thought we tried to avoid that.

And in comments Sam reports another whopper by Steve:

BTW, Bailey is lying at some point in this episode. On his previous appearance on WRKO, he admitted he had made a straw purchase and when asked about the location of the gun, he mumbled something about a desk drawer somewhere. Now he says that he had never taken possession of the gun. Who knows which is the truth?

Some prison guard does. And if pressured with going to Club Fed, he’ll talk.

Still more: That’s why they call them stories.

More from Bruce.

Bob Krumm:

One difference I’ve noted between certain elements of America’s two political parties is that Republicans tend to criticize Democratic primary candidates as being “too liberal,” while Democrats criticize the GOP’s potential offerings as not being conservative enough.

Amen.

Heh:

It amuses and gratifies a supporter of the Second Amendment to see the New York Times, the so-called “paper of record,” so constantly reduced to sputtering fools over their constant loss in the battle for draconian gun control measures . . .

High speed X-rays of guns and bullets.

Really? I’d have gone with toilet paper.

If that’s how it went down, heads should roll.

When last we saw ol’ Bill, he was busy pulling some major boners about how it would require an absolute criminal mastermind to figure out how to use a file. That was idiotic. Now, he’s both idiotic and a liar (but don’t rule out just plain stupid):

The NRA et. al. filed lawsuits saying the government did not have the right to do so because of the prohibition of the Second Amendment to the Federal Constitution which establishes the right of the people to keep and bear arms.

The Parker case was brought by Cato and not the NRA.

Back in the 1930’s, the US Supreme Court opinioned (sic) that the “right to keep and bear arms” was a right held by State Militias and not individual citizens.

They did? I’d love to see that case. Oh, you don’t mention the case. Why? Oh, because someone will look up US v. Miller and realize that miller rules no such thing.

For the last 80 years, guns zealots have argued that the Court’s interpretation was wrong – that the Founder’s intent was to protect the gun in each American’s home.

Actually, they do not. They state (correctly) that Miller did not decide whether or not the second amendment applied only to states. After all, the court did not ask Is Miller a state? and then drop it once they determined that some guy was, in fact, not a state.

I didn’t really read the rest since the entire opening is full of lies. I’m sure there’s plenty more stupidity.

In an update to this video, some notes:

I thought they showed some of Oleg’s work and I was right. I don’t know that Oleg targets women but they’re in a lot of his pics.

Also, while I said earlier the article wasn’t full of pant-shitting hysteria, they did pull some real boners. But mostly those boners were the result of taking dictation from the Violence Policy Center. A pistol grip does not facilitate firing from the hip. A standard stock is much more suited to that. But if you’re firing from the hip, you’re also not aiming.

The magazine shown is not a high-capacity mag. It is a regular capacity mag. Here’s a high capacity mag.

And let’s get this out of they way: they’re not known in the trade as black rifles. They’re known as AR-15s. On some gun boards, they started referring to AR-15s as Evil Black Rifles to poke fun of the assault weapons ban, which seemed to target rifles that were black.

I was surprised they got a woman and someone who is a mother/professional as the gun person and not some dude in fatigues.

These weapons are not military style. Military style weapons are machine guns.

The popularity of AR-15s increased during the ban on weapons that looked like assault weapons. The ban only limited the aesthetic features rifles could have and people were still buying them. When the ban sunset, people (of course) wanted no-ban versions.

Kristen Rand lies through her teeth when she says AR-15s are designed for the battlefield. M-16s are but their semi-auto cousin is not. Also, her assertion that these are cop-killers (no doubt based on the VPC’s non-study) has pretty thoroughly been debunked by some smart cracker.

Not too bad. It did use the VPC talking point of military style, which is misleading. And Rand lied (nothing new). But it was mostly devoid of pants-shitting hysterics.

I’ll have more later once I find it on youtube.

Update: Via Les. Here you go:

In an update to the bit on what The Boston Herald left out of the story comes this:

Via Glenn and Tim in comments (whose google-fu is stronger than mine), no disclosure at The Globe either. Why don’t they mention the involvement of an anti-gun group’s president with their reporter? Oops.

Reader Chris emails:

You may want to watch NBC Nightly News tonight with Brian Williams.

There is a segment on black rifles and whether to ban them.

Update: Oh and let’s start a betting pool on how long (measured in seconds) after the segment airs that it’s on youtube. I say 90.

This story (h/t David) notes:

A major pro-gun group took aim at award-winning Boston Globe business columnist Steve Bailey yesterday, saying he violated federal law while researching a 2005 anti-gun column and should be fired.

The Second Amendment Foundation, which is based in Bellevue, Wash., said it sent a letter to Globe Editor Martin Baron yesterday citing previously undisclosed details about the column, which described a gun purchase.

Bailey provided new details of the purchase Tuesday on former House Speaker Tom Finneran’s WRKO AM-680 radio show. Bailey said he gave a New Hampshire man money to buy a gun at a gun show and expensed it to the Globe.

Second Amendment Foundation founder Alan Gottlieb said: “Bailey admitted to committing a federal felony on live radio, and he also involved the Boston Globe in his criminal enterprise by having them reimburse him for the illegal purchase. He claims he gave the gun back to the New Hampshire man, and doesn’t know where it is now. Bailey’s admission is simply outrageous.”

They do not mention in the story that the president of an anti-gun group was also involved in the illegal straw purchase:

During the show a reporter, Steve Bailey of the Boston Globe, explained how he and Rosenthal had attended a gun show in New Hampshire over a year ago. The trip was supposed to prove how easy it was for criminals to buy a handgun in New Hampshire. They actually found that it was not possible to do so without violating several laws.

Rosenthal explained that when he tried to purchase a handgun from a licensed dealer, he was told he could not because he was not a resident of New Hampshire. Bailey and Rosenthal then explained how they brought a New Hampshire resident with them, supposedly a prison guard, who was able to pass the background checks and purchase the gun for them. Bailey even stated on Finneran’s show that the Boston Globe paid for the gun. When asked by the hosts of the show if he had committed a straw purchase, Rosenthal admitted that he had indeed conducted a straw purchase to prove a point.

Might be an important detail.

Update: To be clear, it’s the Boston Herald that did not mention it. I haven’t found the original Globe article yet. In an email to Glenn, I typed Globe instead of Herald. It was a mistake and not an attempt to lambaste the Globe. I notified Glenn of that once I saw that he said The Globe and not The Herald. It’s an important detail to leave out that a paper (even a rival) is rather cushy with an anti-gun group, which was my point. My point was not that The Globe didn’t mention it.

Update 2: Can it be both? A good summary of the story so far.

Update 3: Via Glenn and Tim in comments (whose google-fu is stronger than mine), no disclosure here at The Globe. Why don’t they mention the involvement of an anti-gun group’s president? Oops.

Today we learn that “Producing 2.2lb of beef generates as much greenhouse gas as driving a car non-stop for three hours.”

“Su Taylor, the press officer for the Vegetarian Society, told New Scientist: “Everybody is trying to come up with different ways to reduce carbon footprints, but one of the easiest things you can do is to stop eating meat.”

Hmmm….the Vegetarian Society cares about Global Warming? Who knew?

In other news, we see at the Huffington Puffington Post, Generation Chickenhawk: the Unauthorized College Republican Convention Tour. Max Blumenthal has a video piece on “a vivid portrait of the hypocritical mentality of the next generation of Republican leaders.” The Chickenhawk paradox is one of the great philosophical debates of all time. Perhaps the great philosopher Toby Keith will write a song about the bravery of our protesters. They are the real patriots aren’t they?

Blumenthal makes an interesting point, why should we be fighting them “over there”? Which makes you wonder if Blumenthal would prefer that we fight them “over here”? Whether or not you agree with Max Blumenthal no one can doubt his courage.

Insty is talking Tasers and self defense. And Tasers are for sale on Amazon. I noticed the seller says:

Before activation customer must pass a felony background check with a separate cost of $9.99.

Found it odd.

Update: From the NYT article:

As for people using Tasers while committing crimes, executives have designed an elaborate system to activate the gun, including a required background check over the phone.

Over the phone? Doesn’t seem very effective.

Based on the poll, with 284 votes, seems just over half of you think that the court will take the case, rule there is an individual right subject to reasonable restrictions, and note that DC’s laws are stupid.

In second place, legal wrangling and more of the same.

And a respectable third is they won’t take the case.

Remember the lady cop in Marble Falls who had her AR-15 magazine in backward? Then we argued about whether that was the case or not due to the pic? Well, looks like it was, in fact, backwards. The picture is fairly clear and the video shows how easy it is to do.

Via Joe.