In England, there is almost no distinction between pepper spray and a rocket launcher.

Heh:

That’s what Canada’s gun registry cost. Since its inception:

Canada’s homicide rate and number of gang-related murders has increased since the federal government’s firearms registry and licensing program was implemented, an indication that the program has failed to improve public safety, according to Hubris in the North, The Canadian Firearms Registry, a new report from independent research organization The Fraser Institute.

Shocking. Like Tam Marko said:

When someone asks you about licensing and registration, pick up a pen and a sheet of paper. Tear the paper in half and hand half to your questioner. Say “Okay, this pen is a gun. The paper I’m holding is my license and the paper you’re holding is the registration. Using only these two pieces of paper, explain to me just how you are going to keep me from shooting someone?”

She’s back. And this time, quite helpful.

Diane Sawyer:

You know, I wanted to sit on a jury once and I was taken off the jury. And the judge said to me, ‘Can, you know, can you tell the truth and be fair?’ And I said, ‘That’s what journalists do.’ And everybody in the courtroom laughed. It was the most hurtful moment I think I’ve ever had.

TN Gun Owners reports:

Fobus USA is currently offering a FREE paddle, double mag holder, with the purchase of one of their three, new style paddle holsters. The double mag holders have a list price of $24.00. Buying a $29.95 holster and getting a $24.00 mag holder free sounds like a good deal to me. Check it out at www.fobusholster.com. They say “FOR A LIMITED TIME”.

The WaPo thinks that banning handguns completely and requiring that long guns to be disassembled and otherwise in an unusable state is a reasonable restriction.

SCOTUSBlog:

Washington, D.C., residents who oppose the city’s strict handgun control law urged the Supreme Court on Wednesday to move along, without delay, the city government’s appeal of a federal appeals court striking down that law under the Second Amendment. Invoking the half-century old admonitions of the late Justice Felix Frankfurter, the local citizens told the Court that it should not be difficult for city lawyers to promptly prepare their petition for review.

The challengers to the local law told the Court that they”look forward” to supporting Supreme Court review of the case, but argued that the city’s appeal papers should be filed, as now scheduled, “no later than Aug. 6.”

The city on Monday asked Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., for a 30-day extension of the time to file the city’s petition in the case of District of Columbia, et al., v. Heller, et al. (extension application 07A51). The city argued that it had taken on additional attorneys who needed to become familiar with the issues, and that city officials had only recently decide actually to appeal the case.

Stalling already?

David Hardy notes Parker is off and rolling:

DC’s motion is quite weak. Basically (1) they took two months to decide whether to file, which now leaves them about a month to go, and it’s complex, so give us another month and (2) we’ve taken on some outside attorneys and they need to get up to speed.

Plaintiffs’ response hits hard. A petition for cert. hardly takes the research of a brief on the merits (here it almost writes itself: conflict between 5th and DC Circuits and the other CIrcuits, on a major constitutional issue. Respectfully submitted, (insert your name)).

1920 with a suppressor. Odd.

Ya know, me and metulj have agreed on one issue and that was that Bulleit is good bourbon. Now we agree that Giuliani is an authoritarian prick:

Giuliani is all about cracking down. It doesn’t matter what, who, or how. His MO is the wholesale application of every instrument of the law and he is willing to marshal the minions to make it happen.

It seems that if you repeat anti-gun lies, someone will fall for them. Particularly, teenagers trying to purchases illegal submachine guns on the internet. Why not try? Politicos and anti-gunnies have told them they could do that.

What media bias?

Philly does.

In other news, I thought I was the only one who named their son after the inventor of the first portable machine gun and the mousetrap.

heh.

Xrlqy Wrlqy:

Yes, a Supreme Court ruling that DC’s total handgun ban and extreme “safe” storage law violate the Second Amendment would indeed apply to the entire country, either immediately after Parker or as soon as a substantially identical case from a state made its way through the courts. But think about it: how many states (or cities within states) can you name that take their gun control to anywhere near the level that DC does? I can only think of one major city, Chicago, along with a few of its suburbs. New York City has a rather Byzantine licensing scheme that arguably operates as a de facto ban, so let’s count them too. That’s two whole cities, plus a few suburbs, that DeBonis describes as “the rest of the country.” That could really suck for Fenty later in his career if he moves to New York or Chicago to run for mayor there. Otherwise, not so much.

Countertop:

But its possible, just possible, that he’s going to appeal this only to give DC more time to develop a new gun control measure and then drop the case later on.

Tennessee kids are good at it.

There’s a new (to me) message board/community site called Tennessee Gun Owners. Check it out.

The Amendment II Democrats say no thanks:

Take a look at the Senate, for example. No less than eight of Obama’s fellow Democrats in the Senate are now opposed to any nationwide ban on semi-automatics, thanks to the 2006 elections. And public support for such a ban has been slipping over the years, even among rank-and-file Democratic activists.

If Obama wants to tackle violence against our children, that is a worthwhile project. But restricting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans in order to do so is a deal-breaker.

Australia is calling for citizens to make go-bags.

Chris has a good read on how to deal with potentially violent situations, including seven “danger signs” for homicidal escalation in the commission of a crime.

That really frosted their nads. It’s like they already lost, or something. Some responses from the antis:

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Ownership:

“The Appeals Court decision striking down the District of Columbia handgun law was a highly questionable example of judicial activism. It ignored longstanding U.S. Supreme Court precedent, discounted the express language of the Second Amendment, and substituted the policy preferences of two federal judges for those of local elected officials and the citizens they represent.

“If the U.S. Supreme Court decides to hear this case, it could produce the most significant Second Amendment ruling in our history. If the U.S. Supreme Court follows the words of the U.S. Constitution and the Court’s own precedents, it should reverse the Appeals Court ruling and allow the District’s law to stand.”

So many lies in two paragraphs. Amazing.

Mike DeBonis:

Have you been reading the papers, your honor? You don’t have to be Linda Greenhouse to realize this court will care for the sovereignty of the District about as much as it does for the sovereignty of high-school students to spout vaguely drug-related nonsense.

Not sure who the constitutional-law genius was who had the mayor’s ear on this one. The macho we-gotta-stand-up-for-our-rights talk is admirable, but even Clarence Darrow wouldn’t take this case to a court where it not only probably won’t win, but threatens to impose bad law on the rest of the country, too.

The Violence Policy Center:

“The earlier split decision by the Court of Appeals to overturn the District of Columbia’s handgun ban was not only contrary to the overwhelming weight of legal authority, but would certainly increase gun death and injury among District residents while also increasing the risks faced by the law enforcement personnel who protect all residents and workers in Washington, DC.

“Washington, DC’s ban on handguns in the home has long protected DC’s residents as measured by the District of Columbia’s firearm suicide and overall suicide rate. The District’s handgun ban provides compelling evidence of how strict gun laws save lives by keeping handguns out of homes. The District of Columbia ranks 51st (last) in the country for firearms suicide for 2004, the most recent year for which statistics are available. The District also ranks last for overall suicide. Maintaining the ban will ensure the health and safety of DC residents.

Protected their residents? Err, you read the paper right?

The AP kinda gets it right.

The NRA notes that OSHA is backing down from the ridiculous regulations it was proposing on ammo makers and suppliers. Good.

R. Neal read the same article I did and notes Blount County is getting a Cuban joint. Here’s their website. Excellent.

The people in Philly that are getting shot and doing the shooting are comprised of a good number of folks with court cases pending against them. You mean, criminals are doing the shooting and getting shot? Gasp.

James Rummel:

Murdoc Online asked me to share a few thoughts for a magazine article he is writing, the subject being firearm retailers who moght be asked for advice by a new shooter. I said I’d give him a few hundred words, just one or two things that came up. Unfortunately, I’m a blogger. That means I have a serious case of Runat Themouthitis. 200 words ballooned up to 1,110 by the time I was done. So, instead of wasting all that work, I’m just going to inflict it on you while I cut-n-paste a few sentences and send them off for the article.

Bitter has more on Anheuser-Busch and NRA. Consider my personal boycott revoked.

Breaking news:

A D.C. television station is reporting that Mayor Adrian Fenty will appeal the Parker case to the Supreme Court.  The appeal hasn’t been filed yet, from what it looks like. 

Prior coverage of Parker here.

Update: More at scotusblog.

*Ahem* they’re magazines not clips. In other news, S&W offers free magazines with their M&P pistols.

When I was last at Coal Creek Armory, I saw one of these odd weapons. It’s a bullpup Kalashnikov.

The Gazette:

A quick check of the NRA Web site, admittedly a player with an agenda, tells a different story. For one thing, it provides more information about the two amendments the committee killed. The first would have done away with the Tiahrt language altogether and made BATFE data public record for anyone to see. The second, a so-called compromise, would have allowed access to the data to anyone who filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the feds. The NRA also points out that many police agencies support the Tiahrt language as a way of protecting officers. Those agencies don’t seem to believe opening the database is a good idea.

And this is beautiful:

If Bloomberg has information that dealers are illegally selling guns that end up in his city, he should stop grandstanding, share that information with the BATFE and allow the feds to do their jobs.

We’re not accusing the AP of bias*, but we did want to use the story to illustrate the importance of getting information from various sources. Maybe if Mayor Bloomberg had done that, he would know about the federal government’s role in closing gun shops that don’t follow the law.

* I, however, am.

Saiga Shorty Shotguns.

Keep your booger-hook off the bang-switch.

Seems the passage of the Tiahrt amendment (which always passes) has the gun control folks and editorial boards (but I repeat myself) up in arms.

Times Union:

Gun lobby wins again

It hardly matters that it’s the Democrats who now ostensibly control Congress. On the critical matter of fighting gun crime, it’s still the gun lobby that prevails. The National Rifle Association in particular still controls enough votes, on both sides of the aisle, to stop local governments from making even modest progress in their quest to reduce gun violence.

Really, now, what sensible person would resist legislation that would give local governments and police agencies access to data tracking gun sales? Why can’t they know where guns used in the commission of crimes came from?

You’re a liar. There is no prevention of access to data on tracking gun sales so long as said trace is related to a particular gun crime. The bill prohibits snooping through the data. Don’t take my word for it, though. Take the word of those sensible people at the Fraternal Order of Police and those sensible people at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives who think restricting the access to the data is a good idea.

Courier-Journal:

Guns first, police second

The U.S. House Appropriations Committee has voted to renew the Tiahrt Amendment, which limits local police access to a federal database of gun purchases.

That’s how the cookie crumbles for anyone cheeky enough to challenge the gun lobby.

Note the evil gun lobby theme continues.

Yet, gun traces still work:

The shell casings had barely cooled on a Brooklyn street when federal agents began trying to unwrap a mystery: How did three pistols get in the hands of the men who gunned down two police officers?

At the time, the agents had little to go on. The shooters were still on the loose.

Yet within hours, agents learned that the guns were originally sold by three shops in southern states. Powerful computer databases told them more. Two of the guns were several years old, meaning they had probably changed hands several times. Another was nearly new.

How could that be? Editorial boards are telling me that can’t happen. I. Am. Shocked.

The AP:

The country’s largest gun lobby is no longer offering free tickets to get to Sesame Street.

The National Rifle Association had been giving away free tickets to Sesame Place, an amusement park that caters to children, and other theme parks in return for online donations to its political arm, the Institute for Legislative Action.

Parent company Anheuser-Busch Cos. (nyse: BUD – news – people ) said Sesame Place should not have been included in the promotion, which had drawn the ire of gun-control advocates.

“This was an inadvertent error by Busch Entertainment Corp. and we apologize for any confusion,” the St. Louis-based company said in a statement Friday.

Both the NRA and Anheuser-Busch had initially defended the inclusion of Sesame Place, which is located just northeast of Philadelphia and is based on the children’s TV show “Sesame Street.”

Bryan Miller, executive director of Ceasefire New Jersey, told the Philadelphia Daily News for Friday’s editions that it was “just wrong” for the NRA to raise money by using the name of a theme park catering to small children.

You guys will cave to these losers? Sorry, you’ve lost a customer. No more Bud-lite at my house or Michelob.

Update: In comments, bitter writes:

I don’t think there’s a story here. A-B has always been very, very good with supporting our issues. Sebastian and I were talking about this issue during the weekend as we drove past Sesame Place, and we think it’s likely a licensing issue. We believe that A-B licenses the Sesame Street characters/name/etc. and that PBS may have thrown a small fit.

Is it stupid? Yes. And I really doubt that the vouchers say they aren’t good at Sesame Place, just that NRA has to stop advertising Sesame Place in their emails and materials promoting the donation gift.

From a licensing perspective, whoever ultimate owns the Sesame Street name and rights may have be concerned about it’s name being attached to explicitly political donations. These weren’t gifts for donating to education programs or even general operations, but directly to the lobby outfit.

Point being, I don’t think it’s fair to go after A-B without some serious research into legal issues. They do enough to support us the rest of the time, that I find it hard to believe it was due to some minor complaints from a NJ gun control activist.

Could be.

Update 2: AB does a lot for NRA:

How does continuing to offer passes to seven theme parks in exchange for donations to ILA make A-B anti-gun? How does the continued sponsorship and financial support of pro-gun and pro-hunting organizations make A-B part of the gun control crowd? It doesn’t.

So, continuing the fine tradition in the fight against gun ownership, the proud foot soldiers continue their protests in areas that already have the stringent gun control laws they’re pushing for:

Community and religious leaders marched on a west suburban gun shop Saturday in an effort to stop the violence.

Reverend Jesse Jackson helped organized a rally outside Suburban Sporting Goods Guns and Ammo in Melrose Park. It was the second rally at the shop this month.

More from Jesse:

“They could buy 500 guns and sell them from the back of their car to kids to teenagers.

Yes, they could. But that would be illegal.

So, we want to change the gun culture by convincing people not to buy them, but more on that, to make it more difficult to sell them without accountability,” said Rev. Jackson.

You’re going to change the gun culture. In fact, you’ll probably do quite a bit to increase its numbers.

Sure, these bans have no impact on crime and only affect weapons based on appearance. But they do lead to creativity on the part of gun makers & hobbyists.

Well, I don’t. But it seems to be a good line to use on hippies.

Well, no one should be surprised that a Democrat from Illinois wants to ban guns:

Standing before a church congregation that has witnessed inner-city violence firsthand, Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama said Sunday that more must be done to end a social ill that is “sickening the soul of this nation.”

Obama told churchgoers at the Vernon Park Church of God on Chicago’s South Side that too many young lives are being claimed by violence and more must be done to combat the problem.

“From South Central L.A. to Newark, New Jersey, there’s an epidemic of violence that’s sickening the soul of this nation,” the Illinois senator told the crowd. “The violence is unacceptable and it’s got to stop.”

Nearly three dozen Chicago students have been killed this year, according to Chicago Public Schools. Obama said that figure is higher than the number of Illinois serviceman who’ve died in Iraq in 2007.“We need to express our collective anger through collective action,” Obama said.

He said the government needs to permanently reinstate an assault weapons ban and close regulatory loopholes that protect unscrupulous gun dealers.

The ban on weapons that look like assault weapons did nothing to prevent crime.

Cash game, third position and look down to: J♦J♣.

Woohoo. Raise it up to five times the blind. Guy one off the button minimum raises. I call. Then

Flop: J♥, 3♣ A♥

I bet about the size of the pot. He goes all in. I call:

Turn: 8♦

River: 8♥

He had aces. Blech.

The field behind my house has some. They now have one less.

Brittney emails this link focusing on clothes and mannerisms.

I find I play this game out in public, particularly at gun shops and gun shows, where I guess who’s packing. And I have to state that my rather, err, unconventional methods of carry (i.e., ClipDraw on a Glock or Kel-Tec in the front pocket) make me difficult to make. That’s probably why I’ve never been body slammed by the coppers. That and I don’t wear a shoot me first vest.

How did the ATF trace these weapons? I mean, since you’re telling people they can’t, it must be *cough* true. So, it never happened, right?

And while we’re at it, who are these police against the Tiahrt amendment? After all, the largest police organization in the country is firmly for it.

But let Paul grasp at straws. It’s all he’s got. Been a tough few months for The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Ownership. Say, up for some reasoned discourse?

Update: Teehee, I have a fan. So much for reasoned discourse:

Robb Allen — I’ve read your stupid posts, both here & on “SayUncle’s” nutty blogsite that he tries to link readers to, from the Brady blogs. I sincerely hope that readers are smart enough (which I’m sure they are!) to take what you both say with a grain of salt ~ and also, to realize that neither of you are concerned about other’s safety, when it comes to gun crimes & violence. All you care about are your access to guns ~ and such selfishness comes through loud & clear buddy.

You are sickening,

Kelli

First, Gonzo err young missy, I’ll bet a box of ammo that I send more readers to the brady blog than they send here. Second, I’m gonna guess the most readers of the brady blog play for the other team. Third, I am concerned about violence but gun control is what you do instead of something. Fourth, I wouldn’t be concerned about access to guns if people like you weren’t trying your damnedest to, uh, restrict that right.

The only thing sickening to you is the truth.

Local farmer and stormwater champion James McMillan has used technology to prove a point he has tried to make for years. That Knox County Commission has failed the people of Knox County with ineffective stormwater codes and enforcement. The solution, bring EPA to Knox County.

By using YouTube James McMillan has done just that. You can see the twenty three YouTube videos of stormwater flooding here.

WBIR has more:

Anyone can see muddy water running off the Rushland Park Subdivision on Millertown Pike in East Knox County. Why? Because a nearby farmer discovered the power of the Internet site, “YouTube.”

James McMillan has posted video on the Web of the runoff from the Saddlebrook Development site that’s caused problems for surrounding property owners.

“This creates flooding problems and damage to other people’s property,” James McMillan explained. “Reasonable and responsible development doesn’t damage others.”

McMillan is happy to hear his video also helped the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) come down on Rushland Park and two other developments for violating the Clean Water Act.

Like Les, only I make them up. Today’s word is Perpetual-Wiki-Loop: The process whereby you look something up on Wikipedia and thirty minutes later find yourself reading something else on Wikipedia completely unrelated to the initial thing you looked up and wondering where that thirty minutes just went.

I found myself reading about The Census of Quirinius thirty minutes after I was reading about The Violent Femmes.

I don’t know how it happened.

The Ragsdale comedy express keeps giving. The latest victim to be thrown under the Ragsdale bus is Knox County Finance Director John Werner. At latest count that makes at least three victims under that bus. Tyler Harber, Requitta Bone, and now John Werner.

Mr. Werner has already repaid Knox County $2,256.86. Supposedly many of the charges going toward work-related meals that included the purchase of alcoholic beverages at official events and conferences. As the County Finance Director John Werner was responsible for auditing work related expenses. The buck has to stop somewhere.

But were there outrageous charges to Knox County for food items at local restaurants that had no foundation?

You could say that. In today’s Knoxville News Sentinel Scott Barker reports that Mayor Ragsdale’s executive administrative assistant Margie Loyd, former Knox County Commissioner Diane Jordan and a friend of Diane Jordan’s dined at Regas Restaurant and rang up bill for lunch of $227.56 including a 14.6% tip. The only thing this group was frugal on. One of the three ordered roast turkey and dressing for a relatively modest $10.95 but the other two ordered the lobster. But wait there is more, they also ordered two more lobster tails to go at $37.98 apiece.

Yes, to go.

On Thursday Mayor Ragsdale transferred Margie Loyd to the Community Services Department.

Scott Barker reports on the Werner resignation, “Ragsdale wouldn’t say whether he asked Werner to resign. “I accepted his resignation,” the mayor said twice when directly asked if he demanded that Werner quit.”

It is not known why Werner resigned or was ask to resign. This all happened after Mayor Ragsdale appeared on the Hallerin Hill radio program on WNOX in Knoxville Thursday morning. Mayor Ragsdale seemed especially concerned with a caller who asked pointed questions about whether Knox County performed adequate audits of travel expenses.

More discussion at KnoxViews and WBIR. If you work on the sixth floor of the City County building keep an eye out for that bus.

In case you missed it from the post below:

But Obey lashed out at both the NRA, which failed to endorse him in his most recent race despite his pro-gun rights record, and Bloomberg. He said the mayor’s representatives came to his office and threatened to run television ads attacking him.”

Nice. But what we expect from anti-gun zealots. The mayor denies it:

Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s aides threatened to run negative ads against House Appropriations Committee chairman David Obey if pro-gun legislation opposed by the mayor was passed in that committee, Obey claimed yesterday. The mayor’s office denied the charge.

Speaking during a committee session, Obey (D-Wis.) said Bloomberg aides told his staff that TV ads painting him as anti-law enforcement would be run in his district if the provision, known as the Tiahrt Amendment, restricting police use of federal gun checks, was passed.

“The Mayor’s staff came into my office, and rather than discuss the merits, they simply did what so many bullies do … they threatened to run ads in my district if I didn’t bow to their wishes,” Obey said according to a transcript provided by his staff.

The Fraternal Order of Police supports the Tiahrt amendment. Per Bloomie, for that they are a fringe group.

Someone tell Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam that this is the type of man he has chosen to associate with.

Looks like David is posting, at least semi-regularly again.

Robb:

There is no better source for pro-gun information

Than the Brady Blog itself.

Amen.

Remember those heat seeking, incendiary 50 calibers? Probably not, because that’s made up. But Tam snarks:

Makes you wonder why the U.S. military wastes so much money on big, heavy surface-to-air missiles, doesn’t it?

It does.

The NRA:

The U.S. House Appropriations Committee voted to protect language commonly known as the Tiahrt Amendment, rejecting two separate amendments designed to strike and gut the language, in the Commerce, Justice, and Science appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2008. This language maintains firearm trace information within the law enforcement community and out of the hands of politicians, trial lawyers and special interest groups.

Greg says:

Congress didn’t ignore the Mayors Against Illegal Guns. They (Democrats and Republicans alike) paid close attention to Bloomberg’s ranting and incoherent raving, then told him in no uncertain terms to go to hell.

David Hardy notes that pro-gun Democrats are why:

“The committee chairman, Rep. David Obey _ a liberal Democrat representing a rural Wisconsin district _ said the issue was only marginally related to gun rights. He opposed the efforts to ease the data restrictions.

But Obey lashed out at both the NRA, which failed to endorse him in his most recent race despite his pro-gun rights record, and Bloomberg. He said the mayor’s representatives came to his office and threatened to run television ads attacking him.”

So, to get someone out of Cali and in TN, Tam has offered a lower. I offered an LPK and stock. ParatrooperJJ has offered up an upper. And emdfl has offered up a couple of magazines.

So, what are you waiting on?

The AP:

When criminals need guns, they have plenty of options in a country with nearly 100,000 licensed gun stores. But drug dealers and other crooks don’t shop just anywhere. They have their favorites.

In Compton, Calif., gangsters preferred Boulevard Sales & Service, a shop police said was so felon-friendly, some salesmen offered tips on how to buy a gun despite a criminal record.

In Philadelphia, shady gun buyers sent girlfriends to a suburban pawn shop, Lou’s Loan, where the staff wouldn’t raise a fuss if a young woman came by a few times a month to purchase cheap handguns. [because women don't buy guns, right? - ed]

And on the outskirts of New Orleans, killers-to-be armed themselves at Elliot’s Gun Shop. Over the past five years, the store was the source of 2,300 weapons later linked to crime, including an astonishing 125 homicides, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

In fact, government figures show that an extremely small number of gun shops account for a spectacularly large number of weapons used in crimes.

Is that because those dealers live in high crime areas? But:

“I’ve never run into a situation where a dealer has intentionally violated the law,” said Richard Gardiner, a Virginia lawyer who represents gun dealers. If guns are being bought at these stores by criminals, “it is because they are being exploited by people who know how to beat the system.”

Indeed. Why would a dealer be alarmed if a young lady came in and bought a gun? Is she prohibited and does she have the cash are the only questions that need answering before the dealer sells to them. Gun dealers are not the gun police. That is the ATF’s job. And if a salesman is offering tips on skirting the law, that is a problem.

RangerUp (an advertiser here on the left) wants to get one of their models in Maxim magazine. They need your help. So, go here and read.

It starts. I want this:

To look more like this (note: crappy photoshop):

So, it’s time to begin the NFA process. I stopped by Coal Creek Armory yesterday to figure out where to start. And that start is go get fingerprinted on some government form at a police station (you know, like a criminal). And to also get two 2X2 passport photos of my noggin. I’ll do that next week.

It’s a pity this guy didn’t try this with his, err, dudes. At least then, he’d be out of the gene pool.

Looks like it needs another wheel.

Sweaters are gay.

So, R. Neal reports 15% savings from switching to CFLs. Sounds excellent. So, here’s the deal: Save bedroom lamps, practically every light in my house is a can light. Anyone know of any CFLs made for can lights? I am, of course, some number of years away as the last house had can lights too and we changed maybe two out in two years. They last a while.

I’ll still get some CFLs for the lamps though.

Update: Excellent pointers in comments. And the issue is compounded as my can lights are on dimmer switches. Also, we also have a lot of ceiling fans (at least one per room). I suppose regular CFLs will fit those and look OK?

See? It works.

From the post below:

Think about your neighborhood; think about the use of eminent domain on your house. How do you explain these things to our children?

Indeed.

In the city (my the city) they need more high school. One option was to build a new school and another was to expand the existing school. The trouble with the latter plan is that city would have to take land and homes from about thirty people in the subdivision next to the school and there is apparently some dispute with a local company who has filed suit against the city. So, that, of course, is what they’re considering:

“At some point in time, we have to have land,” said Casteel, who later said some nearby land has been promised to the school system.

Then take the promised land and not that of homeowners. More:

“I don’t ever see us going to a two-high school system,” he said.

This issue was covered at Knoxviews a bit back by Flower71. I assume she also wrote this letter to the editor:

Historic neighborhoods will be destroyed. The environment will be damaged. Trees and homes that have been cherished for nearly 100 years will be taken. You can’t replace historic neighborhoods once they are destroyed.

Think about your neighborhood; think about the use of eminent domain on your house. How do you explain these things to our children? When I explained to my children, who have grown up in this historic neighborhood, about the plans for MHS expansion, do you know what they said? “Mommy, someone needs to call the police!” “They can’t tear down peoples houses.” My other son said, “Mom, lets call the President of the United States!”

Or rather, the repeated, continuous flash in all its cordite scented glory. Excellent.

SAF tells us why.

A whole 2.8 seconds? Bitch, please.

Phelps righteous fisking:

Due to extensive libel, the press shall be regulated more closely. All paper has to be serial numbered and all paper dealers have to keep records of paper purchases. States will have the ability to require people to obtain licenses to possess paper, and municipalities and states will have the right to prohibit the use or possession of paper in their jurisdictions. Anyone who manufactures paper without a license has committed a felony. Because of problems with tracking ink back to individual users, all ink in California is now required to have a unique chemical tracer added. No ink can be manufactured or imported into California until the industry figures out how to do this.

There’s more.

You be the judge. In other news, I need to get me some them heat seeking, incendiary rounds that can cook game.

DC will decide if it wants to appeal Parker v. DC. At first, there was speculation that they would not because of the likelihood of failure and that failure resulting in massive future challenges of other gun laws. If they do not appeal, though, then DC will have to comply and allow its residents to purchase and keep in their homes functional handguns. Both prospects are a failure for the gun control movement.

The third possibility is that they appeal and win. However, the chance of that is fairly remote. It’s not remote due to strong second amendment support in the court, it’s remote because DC’s gun laws are so ridiculous that they can’t stand much of a challenge. You can’t have handguns. If you have a rifle or shotgun, it must be locked up, unloaded, tied to a rock, and thrown in a river. Ok, I made the last two up but the effect is the same. Also, in DC, if a weapon can hold more than 12 rounds, it is a machine gun. So, your lever action, tube fed Winchester is a machine gun.

I can’t help ponder the irony of that.

If they don’t appeal, Sebastian wants to know what options residents really have for getting guns. I said before that:

What say a bunch of us gun bloggers and readers pool our money and open a gun shop in Washington, DC?

But I’m guessing their city council won’t let someone open a shop.

Chris Cox on trace data.

I’m looking for the it ain’t fair and don’t dis me provisions in the constitution and can’t seem to find them. In other news, the only thing more useless at fighting crime than gun control is candlelight vigils.

How to get active for the cause.

Move to TN from Cali, get an (almost) free AR-15. In comments here, Tam told Josh if he moved to TN that she would give him an AR lower. I upped the ante and said I’d throw in a stock and a lower parts kit. So, all he needs is an upper.

Tam as Chamber of Commerce.

The guys at arfcom are offering AR-15 lower receivers marked with the stars from the state flag.

OSHA wants to regulate ammo manufacturing to the point where, well, it’d just be hard to make ammo. OSHA has extended the comment period. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to tell them how stupid that is:

According to OSHA, you may submit comments, identified by Docket No. OSHA-2007- 0032, by any of the following methods:

* Electronically: You may submit comments and attachments electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions on-line for making electronic submissions.
* Fax: If your comments, including attachments, do not exceed 10 pages, you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-1648.
* Mail, hand delivery, express mail, messenger or courier service: You must submit three copies of your comments and attachments to:
OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. OSHA-2007-0032
U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-2625
200 Constitution Avenue, NW.
Washington, DC 20210
telephone (202) 693-2350 (OSHA”s TTY number is (877) 889-5627).

Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and the docket number for this rulemaking (Docket No. OSHA-2007-0032). All comments, including any personal information you provide, are placed in the public docket without change and may be made available online at http://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA cautions you about submitting personal information such as social security numbers and birthdates.

NRA even has a sample letter there.

Now, it’s OK to have extra shoestrings in the house.

Tired of being made fun of for ruling that the shoestring pictured above is a machine gun, the ATF (without any prompting whatsoever) issued a retraction that basically says a part that is designed and intended solely for the purpose of converting a semi-automatic rifle into a machinegun is now *not* a machinegun *until* it is added to a firearm. This ruling is quite odd. You see, federal law defines machine guns as:

Any combination of parts designed and intended for use in converting weapons into machine guns;

Any part designed and intended solely and exclusively for converting a weapon into a machine gun;

Any combination of parts from which a machine gun can be assembled if the parts are in the possession or under the control of a person;

The ruling seems to undercut federal law which does not dictate that a weapon and parts must be assembled to be a machine gun. I am trying to figure out what purpose this serves. I think it’s because they grew tired of being made fun of. But this particular ruling seems to run counter to prior rulings to the point of maybe jeopardizing the ATF’s prior legal strategies for persecuting err prosecuting gun crime.

The ruling was sent to Brian Blakely, who originally brought the shoestring issue up. He has commentary at subguns.com. The ruling is here.

And people say to me Hey Uncle, why are you picking such nits regarding this law? And I say To illustrate how fucking stupid some gun laws are. When it comes to guns, the enthusiast acts at his peril.

That’s funny, right there.

Alphie alerts us to this story (with pics) on how to smuggle salad dressing onto a plane. Short answer: when they throw it in the trash, just take it out. Good thing he didn’t have toenail clippers or he may have taken the plane down.

How stupid is it? Even the local newspaper thinks it’s stupid. The KNS on the ‘card your grandmother’ law:

There is a perception — wishful thinking, perhaps — that the new law will help curb underage drinking. It might do that initially, while there is a lot of emphasis on producing IDs, but both business concerns and the state should monitor this over the long term. If they can show that it does curb underage drinking, it will be a plus in considering renewing the act next year.

Another flaw is the act’s contempt toward local authorities, particularly city and county beer boards that traditionally have punished those caught selling to underage customers. Said Knoxville City Councilman Rob Frost earlier this month, “In my opinion, the best decisions are made on the local level.”

And this is why we need more gun control.

Or, you know, you could move to a free state.

If you believe they’re an alternative to the NRA, you’ve been fooled.

In other news, not only is John Rosenthal (President of American Hunters and Shooters Ass.) disingenuous, he’s also a felon:

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.

See, if you break existing laws you can buy guns. So, we clearly need more laws. To, you know, break.

I’m not big on podcasts, but maybe you are. Here’s someone doing podcasts related to guns.

A to the men:

First off, if you feel that chaining a dog to a tree is acceptable and responsible pet ownership, you don’t need to have a dog. Go breed yourself another ugly kid if you need something to tie to a tree.

Conversely, don’t let your dog run loose in the neighborhood. Have a fence or a house dog or don’t have one.

In other news, notice how when a pit bull does some good, the headline mentions it’s a pooch and not a pit bull.

With extreme prejudice.

From the Washington Post:

China Ex-Food and Drug Chief Executed

By ALEXA OLESEN
The Associated Press
Tuesday, July 10, 2007; 2:24 AM

BEIJING — China on Tuesday executed the former head of its food and drug watchdog who had become a symbol of the country’s wide-ranging problems on product safety.

Zheng Xiaoyu’s execution was confirmed by state television and the official Xinhua News Agency.

“The few corrupt officials of the (State Food and Drug Administration) are the shame of the whole system and their scandals have revealed some very serious problems,” SFDA spokeswoman Yan Jiangying said at a news conference held to highlight efforts to improve China’s track record on food and drug safety.

If you are protecting yourself or your family in self defense, that’s a basic legal right anyway

Answer.

From the Daily Scare:

Then they focused on our second amendment rights. Using classic advertisement schemes they scared us into believing that if we possessed a firearm our children would shoot each other and criminals would shoot us with our own weapon. Instead of respecting firearms and caring for them properly, we have been scared into believing we just can’t handle them.

version 4.2 is up.

If you think all these anti-gun groups seem to just spring up over night, you’re actually right.

And kinda frightening, since it’s coming soon to a PD near you. Chris looks at Taser’s XREP (Extended Range Electronic Projectile).

Another mayor has left Bloomberg’s mayors against gun group. This time, in New Jersey of all places:

Oldsmans Township, NJ Mayor Harry Moore has resigned his membership from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s anti-gun coalition, continuing the trend of mayors jaded by Bloomberg’s focus on gun control rather than crime control.

“I applaud Mayor Harry Moore for having the courage to quit this anti-gun coalition once he recognized Mike Bloomberg true intentions,” said Chris W. Cox, National Rifle Association (NRA)’s chief lobbyist. “Mayors across the country have come to realize the coalition is nothing more than a front group for gun control.”

I think that’s six. Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam could be lucky number seven.

Dear Rep,

It is possible for two people to have the same stupid idea.

-SayUncle

Google maps may have found a secret Chinese sub.

Oh, at 1,000 yards. That is impressive. Via ninth stage.

To Joe and family.

In Texas:

A state lawmaker who opposed a bill giving Texans stronger right to defend themselves with deadly force pulled a gun and shot a man he says was trying to steal copper wiring from a construction site, police said Monday.

And what was the bill he opposed? This one:

Miles, a Democrat, voted against a bill that gives Texans stronger legal right to defend themselves with deadly force in their homes, vehicles, and workplaces. The so-called “castle doctrine,” passed by the Legislature this year, states that a person has no duty to retreat from an intruder before using deadly force. The law goes into effect Sept. 1.

You should have retreated, you know, to be consistent.

Al Gore wrote in the New York Times on July 1st, “This is not a political issue. This is a moral issue, one that affects the survival of human civilization. It is not a question of left versus right; it is a question of right versus wrong. Put simply, it is wrong to destroy the habitability of our planet and ruin the prospects of every generation that follows ours.”

The former Vice President goes on to give a science lesson on Carbon Dioxide and the Planets of the Solar System. He manages to get almost everything wrong.

Mr. Gore’s “facts” are so egregious that a well thought out response titled “Gore: Ignorant or Dishonest?” was written by George Reisman. It is well worth the read.

Read the rest of this entry »

Seems some folks started a new blog called Music City Bloggers keep the Nashville crew together in light of NIT’s uncertain future:

That’s what this site is. Our new home. We’ve grown up and moved out. I say “we” because this is very much a team effort, and very open to all who desire to be a part of our community’s new experiment. Ivy set the ball in motion. A dozen other people are already signed on as contributers–but I’m writing this at 4:30 in the morning and want to clear it with them before I start dropping their names all over the place. But trust me, it’s a good batch.

What you see here today is the beginning. The placeholder. The kickstart. In the next few weeks a few minor details will change as we slap on new coats of paint, hang curtains, design our logo. All of that, though, is window-dressing.

What will happen here is this. There will be a building and fostering of community. We will have political commentary from both sides of the fence. (Think “Crossfire” without the shouting and bowties.) In fact, we’re looking for some conservative partners. I’m more conservative than others, being that I’m a libertarian, but if you ask some conservatives they’ll tell you that Libertarians are nutcases who can’t be trusted. So if anyone is interested in being a non-nutcase conservative, drop us a line in the comments.

Sure Sight: We got triangles!

A Mac converted to a Lage upper before and after pics: here, here and here.

If you’re a brave foot soldier in the war on gun ownership, there’s no better way to show your bravery than by calling for expanding tough gun restrictions in a place where, uh, those restrictions already exist:

The Rev. Jesse Jackson galvanized the members of the Calvary Hill Community Church in San Francisco’s Bayview district Sunday morning with a call to renew urban communities by wiping out gun violence.

[...]

The civil rights leader and two-time presidential candidate said he is specifically focused on reinstating the assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004.

But, uh, California has had a ban on weapons that look like assault weapons since 1989.

Phil Van Cleave on the evil gun show loophole:

Let’s be clear about gun shows: There is nothing that can be done at a gun show that cannot be done legally outside of a gun show.

The terms “gun show loophole” and “unlicensed gun dealer” are fabricated to mislead the public into thinking that gun shows permit gun sales that would be forbidden anywhere else. The intent of this scheme is to villainize gun shows, making the public more receptive to additional restrictions.

This is just the first step in a “private gun-sale registration” scheme.

Funny how those that tell the truth are the opposing view.