Not just for drivers anymore.

The Nuge discusses why gun sales are rising:

One sector of the American economy that is booming with the new administration is the absolute orgy of guns and ammunition sales, although I am certain President Barack Obama won’t say anything about this positive economic news.

I read more than one report of the surge of civilian firepower sales when it appeared that Obama would be elected.

Reason: Freedom lovers do not trust Obama.

Ares-22RCU converts your Ruger pistol into a carbine. Neat. But a 10/22 is cheaper.

The Geek presents his Tax Rage Pie, of which Michelle Obama wants a bigger piece.

Sebastian says he and bitter will be making some:

We are going to line up interviews with some of our endorsed candidates, so readers can judge for themselves.

Seen at Bruce’s: I’d rather be in “racist” Alabama in a Muslim head scarf than in “tolerant” San Francisco in a Bush-Cheney shirt.

Indeed: The Idiocalypse has begun.

So, the stimulus bill is loaded down with all kinds of crap. And includes tax increases on tobacco. Radley runs down the pork.

Also, we should be afraid: But [Barack Obama’s stimulus] bill goes further. One new bureaucracy, the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology, will monitor treatments to make sure your doctor is doing what the federal government deems appropriate and cost effective.

What the PATRIOT Act was to the Bush administration, this stimulus bill will be to the Obama administration.

Glenn digs the Skeletool. My mini-review is here.

Because sometimes, guns blow up.

It’s like they know the University of Washington forbids gun possession, or something.

Seen at Rusty’s:

City of Crossville Capitulating on Right-to-Carry Assault The city of Crossville has postponed a city ordinance that would ban concealed carry on city-owned property. Thanks to your phone calls to voice your concern, the city of Crossville has decided to reconsider this ordinance. Currently they have simply moved the final reading to a later date while they review the proposed legislation one more time. Please continue contacting the members of the City Council to voice your opposition. Contact information can be found here.

Last week, I noted a teacher was suspended from her day job because her facebook page had an image of her holding a gun. Now, the ACLU has taken up the case:

The ACLU of Wisconsin is defending a Beaver Dam teacher who was put on administrative leave after she posted a questionable photo on her Facebook page.

From the ACLU of Wisconsin:

ACLU of Wisconsin: School should allow teacher to pose with rifle on Facebook

A Beaver Dam Middle School teacher, Betsy Ramsdale, should not have been put on administrative leave simply because of a photo on Facebook showing her training a rifle at the camera. While school safety is of paramount importance, public school teachers do not lose their right to free expression when they are not working.

The context of the photo, the whole Facebook page, is important to understand before taking action against a teacher, who happens to be a gun enthusiast.

Well, that’s likely the problem right there. Can’t have gun enthusiasts educating people.

Good for the ACLU.

I was eating in a restaurant at a shopping center in suburban Memphis when this happened. I didn’t hear or see any of it happen, but was around when the cops showed up. On the surface, it sounds ok: person A charges person B, person B warns person A that he has a gun, person A keeps coming, person B shoots person A dead. If that were all there was to it, I’d say it’s pretty cut and dry.

But there are a few things that give me pause. For starters, person B (the shooter) had been drinking in a bar before the incident. Compounding that, according to people on the scene (some of whom I know), person B was told that person A was “messing with his car” (I’m paraphrasing), and person B went out there specifically to confront person A. So while person A was indeed trying to fight person B, it’s unclear who started the fight, and it’s also unclear as to whether person B was justified in being afraid for his life. From what I’ve been able to piece together (admittedly from very limited information), without the shooter’s gun, the chances of anyone ending up dead or even seriously injured as a result of the altercation were pretty close to zero. And in any case, if I’m afraid for my life, I don’t go initiate a confrontation.

The crowd at the bar, many of whom know and like person B, seemed to have mixed opinions about whether or not the shooting was justified. The whole thing is a mess, and it makes me just sick. I’m glad I’ve never been in a situation where I’ve even considered pulling a weapon on someone, and I hope I never am.

UPDATE: There are a lot more details here, and they demonstrate the dangerous nature of rumor and innuendo in such matters. It apppears that my person A above was the one who had been drinking in the bar. And the details about someone charging someone else don’t get any mention. Second-degree murder charges have now been filed against the shooter (H/T: commenter chris).

They found a cache of weapons. Which, in NJ, is apparently four. But this is interesting:

Removed from the home were two handguns, a 15 round magazine, and two rifles, including an imitation M1 Carbine, which is illegal assault weapon in New Jersey, according to the chief.

Now, does imitation mean fake? As in a toy? Are fake guns illegal in NJ?

If you are (as several folks are telling me), then you need to refresh the page. You can do this by holding the ctrl key and hitting the f5 key. That will fix your problem.

I’ve seen my share of flash suppressors. But DeGroat makes a flash enhancer. Ok, then.

Les Jones, who suffers severe flashlight addiction, reviews the Nitecore Defender Infinity flashlight. Bonus: It takes AA batteries!

Past flashlight blogging here, here, and here.

This weekend, I received a copy of Brian Doherty’s Gun Control on Trial: Inside the Supreme Court Battle Over the Second Amendment. A look at gun cases in various courts that leads up to Heller. A good read, so far. I’m only about 20 pages in and one interesting bit that I did not know was that US v. Miller was probably a set up designed to rule that the NFA was constitutional. Seems Miller just plead guilty but the judge (supposedly a gun control advocate) said no and issued him a lawyer. Miller didn’t care, he was a petty crook. Judge ruled NFA violated the second amendment in what was a weak ruling to move up the courts. At the supreme court, the defense never filed a brief and did not show up to argue the case. During all this, Miller went on the lam and was killed. Interesting.

Rich looks at the Springfield XDm .40 and the Crossbreed Holster. That holster looks pretty cool.

Xrlqy Wrlqy says:

drugs have become a religion on both sides. On the one hand, drug prohibitionists have an annoying tendency to ignore the fact that prohibiting a substance causes the price to skyrocket, thereby creating the motive underlying most “drug-related” crime. On the other, legalization and decriminalization advocates have an equally annoying tendency to ignore the fact that repealing the prohibition (or reducing enforcement efforts) on that same substance would cause the price to plummet, thereby causing recreational use (and, inevitably, abuse) to increase.

Probably. But one annoying tendency doesn’t lead to 90 year-old grandmothers being shot dead by police and then the police engage in a cover up. And another does. The religion of peace, I guess.

Seen at MKS:

A bill filed today would specify that blogs can be libelous. Sen. Steve Goss said he wrote the bill over concern that “fast-moving Internet technology” may be outstripping existing libel laws. He wants the law to specifically say that blogs and other online media can be considered libelous.

I would imagine that libelous statements, such as Sen. Steve Goss has a thing for Asian transsexual hookers, are probably actionable no matter the medium in which they are presented. And that non-libelous statements, such as Sen. Steve Goss is an authoritarian douchebag, are protected regardless of the medium in which they are presented. You know, free speech and all. But then, I’m not a lawyer.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation has a new lay out for its Industry News and Media Resources sections. Here’s their media resource for assault weapons. Send that to your local paper.

John Kerry says the trouble with tax cuts is that it gives all the little people freedom to do with that money what they want. Can’t have that. The government should decide what to do with your money.

Good as a truck gun: PUMA M-92 Bounty Hunter, available in .45 Colt, .44-40, and .44 Magnum

Paul has coverage of the events here, here, and here. Lots of pics at the last link.

AP Ammo testing of 5.56, 30-06 and 300 WinMag

Furious George

From Cracked: 5 Real Life Soldiers Who Make Rambo Look Like a Pussy

Make gun bans a number one issue. wants to restrict rights without due process of law.

Hope and change.