Some happy new year gun porn follows.

A while back, Kim du Toit posted some gun picks highlighting them as Diversity. He seems to be lacking in the diversity department (but makes up for it in the quantity department) as there’s not enough stuff in the black, plastic and aluminum department. So, I’ll pick up the slack (all pics taken at the Uncle Land Work Bench where he is a devout practitioner of the WECSOG):

Mr. Blasty (version 2.0):

Mr. Plinkie:

This guy has no name, feel free to suggest one:

And the carry department:

Maybe I need to get more diverse too?

John notes some cool gizmos the military is checking out. He also comments:

Speaking of the US - is it me, or are all the new small arms in the US arsenal being designed by Europeans? Beretta (the M92 pistol), Benelli (the M1014), FN (the M240 and M249 and now the SCAR), Heckler and Koch (the XM8). Is the US firearms industry so moribund that we can’t compete? Am I missing something because I’m so much more focused on the old stuff vice the new?

It seems to me that the only real American firm in the military game (aside from a few high dollar custom shops) is Colt. They have been for decades. Colt has pretty much told the civilian rifle market in the US that it doesn’t need them. Other manufacturers in the US are more inclined to cater to us civilians. Some of the larger manufacturers essentially customized their rifles for post ban markets and wrote off the military. This also impacted the military as illustrated by the fact that, prior to the expiration of the assault weapons ban, there was a shortage of regular capacity magazines for US troops.

The non-US firms offer a few items to the civilian market but generally try to score military gigs since they tend to be located in countries that aren’t gun friendly (note to H&K: if you make a civie version of the XM-8, I’ll take a couple). You sell to who will buy, I suppose. If the US military adopts the XM8, Colt will seriously have to change their business model. With the recent trend of police forces in the US essentially becoming militarized, some US firms may start catering their rifles to law enforcement. The fact is, however, that there is no motivation for US firms to get in the military rifle game (particularly designing new ones) because they make their money selling to civilians. Gun bans hamper technology.

In the pistol game, most American pistols suck in my opinion. I don’t like 1911s, or S&Ws, or Rugers. Glocks, Sigs and H&Ks pretty much rule as far as I’m concerned. The Feds and police seem to agree with me since they stock up on Glocks and Sigs.

Yesterday, I called it.

A few nights ago, I was out in the yard playing a game with Politically Incorrect Dog. In this game, PID chases a laser from a laser pointer around the yard. Good exercise for him, minimal effort for me. Now, I may have inadvertently aimed it skyward a couple of times but I had no idea this would happen:

Authorities are investigating a mysterious laser beam that was directed into the cockpit of a commercial jet traveling at more than 8,500 feet.

The beam appeared Monday when the plane was about 15 miles from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, the FBI said.

“It was in there for several seconds like (the plane) was being tracked,” FBI agent Robert Hawk said.

Sorry, guys. We were just playing.

I thought it was supposed to decrease the effect of money on politics. Apparently not:

Lobbyists spent more than $1 billion in the first half of 2004 promoting their positions in front of the president and Congress, putting the nation on track for its first $2 billion lobbying year.

According to an analysis released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Political Money Line campaign finance tracking service, $1.06 billion was spent between January and June on lobbying the executive branch and Congress.

That is an increase over the same time periods in 2003 ($963 million), 2002 ($859 million), 2001 ($791 million) and 2000 ($765 million).

The average spending per month was $176 million. Spending usually increases in the second half of the year, the group said.

I predict this blog will be popular soon.

Given that I practice WECSOG, I am prone to problems. Last night, I (being an idiot) completely disassembled my Crosman 1077 pellet rifle. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Anyone know how to get it back together? These things are more complex than real guns. While it’s apart, if anyone knows of any mods I can make to up the output a bit, that’d be great too.

Heh!

This time, in Kentucky. A city plans to take commercial buildings, vacant lots, and private residences and turn them into more private residences. That is not public use. Apparently, this is also to preserve a historic area. Hats off to Commissioner Moorman:

Commissioner Bernie Moorman agreed the plan was a good one, but voted against it because it will allow the city to force the sale of property using the power of eminent domain — which he described as a “cruel and not necessary process.”

“The plan has good intentions, but it’s an evil process by which to execute the plan,” Moorman said.

Evil, indeed.

This article, which quotes verbatim some thing I got in email about a half dozen times, links to Doctors for Sensible Gun Laws. The Docs published Ten Myths About Gun Control:

The proliferation of guns in this country is responsible for an increase in the violent crime rate

The proliferation of gun ownership in this country is responsible for an alarming increase in fatal gun accidents involving children

The proliferation of guns is responsible for an increase in suicides

Strict gun control laws have been successful in lowering crime in the UK and Canada

Criminals prefer ‘assault weapons’ and cheap handguns sometimes called ‘Saturday Night Specials’

Few people actually use guns for self-defense

Gun control laws take guns out of the hands of criminals and lower violent crime

You, and your family and friends, are 43 times more likely to be shot by a gun kept in the home than is a criminal intruder

Ordinary citizens (non-police, non-military) cannot effectively use firearms for self-defense and are more likely to get injured using a gun for self-defense than not

Law-abiding citizens cannot be trusted to safely carry concealed weapons in public

Follow the link for details. It’s no secret the AMA is anti-gun so it’s good to see some doctors that aren’t.

The site also defines what they mean by sensible gun laws.

A forensic pathologist says that Tasers may not be as safe as the manufacturer and police would have you believe:

“It is my opinion, as a forensic pathologist, that a stun gun (as a device that can deliver an electrical current to the human body) has the potential to contribute to death when there is either significant coexistent natural disease, such as heart disease or drug toxicity of the body, or if the device is used in a manner other than according to manufacturers’ instructions,” wrote Dr. Cameron Snider in a recent letter to The Daily Advertiser.

In other news, another Taser death.

Not that many criminals get their guns from gun shows:

The study noted that the number of criminals who obtained guns from retail outlets was dwarfed by the number of those who picked up their arms through means other than legal purchases. The report was the result of interviews with more than 18,000 state and federal inmates conducted nationwide. It found that nearly 80 percent of those interviewed got their guns from friends or family members, or on the street through illegal purchases.

Less than 9 percent were bought at retail outlets and only seven-tenths of 1 percent came from gun shows. So much for the much-ballyhooed closing of the “gun-show loophole.”

Since this is my last official day of the year at the office, and we know nobody reads/writes blogs unless they’re at work, I wanted to wish everyone a happy new year. We’re trying something different tomorrow night and we’re heading to the aquarium in Gatlinburg to see what their “Dance with the sharks” thing is all about. That ought to be more fun than rolling over at 11:59, watching the clock change to 12, and then going back to sleep.

And then we can come back home, enjoy the rest of the weekend, and make all kinds of resolutions, like I resolve to win the lottery. And more than $4 this time too. Of course, I probably won’t win until I’m 94, like this woman, because it will take me that long to figure out you really do have to play to win.

Holding myself out as a small L libertarian means that I do see the need for some services to be provided by the government. After all, I pay for them. My list isn’t very large. I expect:

Navigable roads

To not be invaded

If my house catches fire, I expect someone to come put it out

My home to not be located next to a bomb factory

If an intruder invades my home, I expect the police to show up, remove the body, and recommend a good method for removing blood from the carpet; or a good cleaning service

You know, the little things. But there are also other services that I specifically pay government and quasi-government agencies for as I use them. One of those services is water. Good ol’ H₂O. I like having water. In an effort to cut costs, the local utility in Blount County has decided to stop fluoridating the water supply. They say it’s for other reasons but word on the street is it’s about money. I can’t imagine it costs that much. Some folks oppose fluoridated water stating that it is medicating the water. Seems odd to me.

Today, Junior went to the pediatrician to get shots. This already horrifying experience was made even more so by the doc telling the Mrs. that Junior needs to take a fluoride supplement since the county no longer fluoridates the water. She has to take these supplements for eight years. Yes, for eight years. Unbelievable.

Bill Hobbs notes that Tennessee will start taxing illegal drugs next year (I’ve mentioned this before). Says Bill:

This actually works - and is a pretty good idea, though it sounds a bit odd at first. The law will require sellers of illegal drugs to pay excise taxes, just legal businesses. Most drug-pushers won’t comply, of course, but the law can be used to assess back taxes on dealers who are caught by law enforcement, adding an additional financial penalty to their crimes while also bringing in a few extra dollars for the state budget.

Depends on what works means. Will it curb illegal drug sales? Nope. Will it generate tax revenue? Unlikely. What will it do? It will give prosecutors another criminal charge (tax evasion) to apply against drug dealers. It will also give the powers that be another justification for seizing assets.

Because I was contemplating getting one of these (still am), I decided to get a new upper receiver for Mr. Blasty. I met a fellow AR guy on AR15.com and traded the 7.62MM upper and mags for a light weight 5.56MM upper and some mags. I dig it. That light weight barrel is amazing. I bet the thing weighs less than 7 pounds. Pics later.

Figures on Government Spending and Debt:

Figures on government spending and debt (last six digits are eliminated). The government’s fiscal year runs Oct. 1 through Sept. 30.
Total public debt subject to limit Dec. 28 7,475,601
Statutory debt limit 8,184,000
Total public debt outstanding Dec. 28 7,536,268
Operating balance Dec. 28 30,513
Interest fiscal 2005 thru Nov. 33,336
Interest same period 2004 32,604
Deficit fiscal 2005 thru Nov. 115,173
Total deficit fiscal 2004 412,284
Receipts fiscal 2005 thru Nov. 271,447
Receipts same period 2004 254,032
Outlays fiscal 2005 thru Nov. 386,620
Outlays same period 2004 366,549
Gold assets in Dec. 11,043

Emphasis added. Of course, these figures are probably useless.

In an update to the Wisconsin hunter murders:

A man accused of opening fire on hunters who confronted him about trespassing, killing six of them and wounding two others, pleaded not guilty to the shootings Wednesday.

Chai Soua Vang, 36, of St. Paul, Minn., waived his right to a preliminary hearing and will stand trial on six counts of murder and three of attempted murder.

Judge Norman Yackel continued bail for Vang, a Hmong immigrant, at $2.5 million. A trial date was tentatively set for Sept. 12.

Sure, I’ve been Instalanched a few times. But this poor guy. Behold the power of a Drudgelanche. He got more hits yesterday then this blog has ever.

You might remember the post I made when I first came to SayUncle. Well, here’s the latest from the FAA. So far, no damage has been done after several attempts, though the FAA claims there’s still a threat. I’ll stand by the Air Force’s claim that it’s just an attempt to cause a panic until more proof is brought forward.

One year and nine days ago (this will be important later - I think it’s called foreshadowing), TiVo changed my life. We got it and it truly is the greatest invention since Al Gore invented err took the initiative in creating the Internet. TiVo is amazing in that the Uncle family has entertainment on its schedule and not the schedule of network television.

Yesterday, TiVo died. The receiver croaked. It was a sad day. We’re having services for it Tuesday (when the new one shows up). We can still watch the stuff it recorded but it won’t receive a satellite signal. TiVo came with a one year warranty. It’s a pity it didn’t die eight days sooner. Now, I am out $50 for a new receiver. The good thing is that we upgraded from 40 hours of recording time to 80 hours.

Even though the repair guy said that in all the time he’d been doing this that only one other TiVo croaked, I wonder if this crash after warranty is a conspiracy.

Same thing happened with both mine and the Mrs. cellular (yes, I know they’re not really cellular anymore) phones. We had contracts for two years on our old phones. Within literally days of the contract expiring, our cell phones would no longer hold a charge for more than a day and the automobile chargers would hardly work at all (the outlet charger would keep the phone going for a day). Also, we lost reception at our house. As good little consumers, we went out and bought new phones (now we have fancy new camera phones with tons of bells and whistles), a new service plan with a different company, and ported our numbers (which was easy to do, I highly recommend it).

And one more example is that the same thing happened with our coffee pot. We had a fancy coffee pot that cost about $150 and had all sorts of electronic timers and brew settings. It did it all. It was a popular name brand and I really liked it. It died shortly after the warranty.

I’m starting to wonder if electronics are programmed to self-destruct shortly after their warranty’s give out.

Via The Trainer, Navy SEALS are suing the Associated Press:

Six Navy SEALs and two of their wives filed a lawsuit against The Associated Press and one of its reporters today for allegedly revealing their identities in photos published in early December, according to a press release from the plaintiffs.

The complaint, filed in California Superior Court, alleges that AP reporter Seth Hettena obtained a photograph in a personal Web site maintained by one of the wives of the Navy SEALs, which contains personal photographs.

[snip]

“There was no need for the AP to publish the faces of the SEALs,” Huston, the Morrison & Foerster partner who is heading the plaintiffs’ legal team, said in a statement. “They added nothing to the value of the story. In fact, the SEALs showed more respect for the insurgents and terrorists that they were apprehending by obscuring their faces than the AP did for the Navy SEALs who were in Iraq risking their lives,” he added.

I’m not sure, but I think SEALS are sort of top secret. Maybe even identifying them at all could be illegal.

Les is asking people what sort of odd (as in unusual) jobs they’ve had. Me personally: professional bungee jumper, worked in a prison, and I used to inventory nukes.

As I’ve said before (specifically regarding helmet laws and seat belt laws), you have a right to be stupid:

It isn’t quite like bootlegging moonshine, but Kate Heidorn, a 41-year-old mother of two, has to keep her supplier a secret when she talks about the illegal liquid she craves and claims she needs.

Because in Tennessee, getting raw, unpasteurized, straight-from-the-cow milk is illegal. And some say harmful.

Heidorn’s source could be fined up to $500 or face a misdemeanor criminal charge if the state Department of Agriculture discovered which farmer was selling her unpasteurized milk.

Apparently, raw milk has been linked to illness and death. I wouldn’t drink it personally but see no need why others shouldn’t be allowed. Farmers do it all the time. If you’ve ever had milk straight from the cow, then you know it’s warm and icky (at least I think so).

I’m not surprised that a moron like James K. Herron would write a letter like this (scroll down to the 7th letter):

We have a well-organized body of arms bearers in the National Rifle Association — 2 million or so dues-payers, according to what I have read about NRA membership. Why not call upon these strong patriots to volunteer to serve in Iraq? They should require minimum training in the use of the arms; no one would argue or contest their use of automatic weapons (or even bigger and more powerful guns —- even rocket launchers). They wouldn’t have to be paid, being pure volunteers, the U.S. manpower problems would be solved and last, but not least, the Pentagon could devote more of its budget to “Star Wars” and no-bid contracts for Halliburton and not have to waste it on armored vehicles for our regular Army.

I am, however, surprised that a newspaper would print such rubbish.

Note to James: if you’re going to write something so asinine, you should probably change to an unlisted phone number.

Looks like the New Jersey Smart Gun works, or so they tell you. What actually happens is:

Sixteen electronic computerized sensors embedded in the gun’s grip distinguished known from unknown users. “We’ve only just begun and we’re pleased to say that we’re getting 90 percent reliability when scanning users,” said Sebastian.

No thanks.

This year, there were fewer murders in the murder capital of the world.

Phelps fisks the rules of fireworks safety. I’ve been there, done that, got the T-Shirt. Me and the buds used to light bottle rockets a gross at a time with a blowtorch. Or drop as many fireworks as possible inside a cinder-block to see if we could blow the block apart. And we’d shoot them at each other. Once we ran out of fireworks, we’d typically bring out firearms. We would not shoot those at each other. Good times. It is a wonder all of us made it to adulthood.

Update: Turns out, the Brady Campaign and the Million err 28 Mom March are on to me.

Me:

When I was a teen, I was a Democrat, mostly to annoy the parents. In college, I was a Republican, mostly to annoy the smelly hippies I had classes with. Now, I am neither, mostly to annoy my readers.

I forgot I said that. Pretty funny, if I do say so myself.

I’ve always been stumped by something. Every time a Republican proposes a tax cut, a helpful Democrat or two will point out that such a tax cut will take money from the poor and give it to the rich.

Well, I finally decided to perform a mathematical analysis, and you know what? It turns out the Democrats are right! Let me show you.

First, we know that Give and Take are opposites. In logical terms,
Give(x) = !Take(x) [1]
Take(x) = !Give(x) [2]

Further, let us denote the proper tax state as the opposite of a Tax Cut:
Taxes = !TaxCut [3]

Of course, we all know that the proper role of taxes is to take from the rich and to give to the poor:
Taxes = Take(Rich) AND Give(Poor)

Now we do a substitution:
!TaxCut = Take(Rich) AND Give(Poor) (using [3])

Finally, we negate each term:
!(!TaxCut) = !Take(Rich) AND !Give(Poor)

And a final substitution:
TaxCut = Give(Rich) AND Take(Poor)

QED.
Read the rest of this entry »

I can’t hardly stand flying anymore these days, especially during a holiday. First of all, you’ve got to get there two hours early because you need a good bit a head start in case your flight is delayed. That and the security screening.

Now, I understand we need security precautions; no doubt about it. But I wonder if they aren’t taking things a little too far. For example, everybody has to take off his shoes before going through the metal detector. That’s fairly new as far as I know; it used to be you could go through with tennis shoes on. No more. So now everybody is barefoot, and they’re giving upper-body pat-downs. I swear, if they don’t develop X-ray vision, by this time next year they’ll have us boarding the plane stark naked.

Once we’re through security, though, it’s all smooth sailing. Unless we get hungry. We got here two hours early, remember? We should have brought a snack, or a pile of money. $8 for a hamburger and drink doesn’t sound too steep, does it? After all, we won’t get anything else to eat (except 5 peanuts) for the next two hours. At least Mama has the baby’s food with her at all times…and the security man kindly gave her a free squeeze check while we waited.

Oh, that’s right: new baby means no more exit row for the Thibodeaux family. Mr. and Mrs. Thibodeaux are both about 6′5″; air travel is frighteningly uncomfortable in the best of seats. At least we get to pre-board. That will give us time to wedge our legs into the seat in front of us, and hopefully find a way to keep it from reclining. It will also give us lots of time to sit in the stifling airplane for an extra 30 minutes while everybody else tries desperately to shove their bags into the overhead bins. I guess they can’t turn on the A/C until the engines get going. Maybe flying naked wouldn’t be so bad after all.

But then that magic moment comes that makes it all worthwhile. We’re clear for takeoff, and we line up on the runway. The pilot throws the throttles forward, unleashing the thunder of a hundred thousand horses, hurling this metal tube down the tarmac at ludicrous speed and into the night sky. We mere ordinary mortals are afforded a delight that the ancients believed could only belong the gods and a select few: to hurtle through the air in a winged chariot.

I look down and see a sparkling web, and marvel—not only have we tamed the sky, we have also caged the night, walling off the darkness with a fence of brilliant glass. See the mighty works wrought by the hand and mind of Man! I recall that good news spoken so long ago, and think, “Yes, let there be peace on Earth, and let me have good will toward Men!”

Then we land and I find out the airline lost my bags. Crikey.

How long will it take the usual suspects to spin this:

Law enforcement organizations reported Tuesday that 154 officers died in the line of duty in 2004, nearly half of them in traffic-related accidents.

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and Concerns of Police Survivors said the statistics for 2004 were compiled from reports through Dec. 24.

Seventy-two local, state and federal officers died from traffic-related accidents while 57, about one-third, died from shootings, the organizations said. A variety of causes led to the other deaths.

Bubba has created a sampler of RTB posts. Neato.

And if you don’t have some sort of feed for your site, you should.

The UN has called the US stingy with respect to the amount of aid that we’re giving.

And, as though you couldn’t guess, global warming is to blame for the 40,000+ dead. They don’t say that outright, of course, but the implication is there.

And I realize that people want info about the tsunami’s impact but do we need the rolling body counters? The number increases almost as quickly as you can hit the refresh button on the Yahoo! homepage.

Heard on the radio: The latest in the Michael Jackson case is that they found hardcore pornography DVDs that had Jackson’s and the child’s fingerprints on it. That’ll teach him to wear both gloves.

In light of the list of the top 10 moments in blogging this year, Publicola notes that gun bloggers should be given props for their hand in the recent pro-gun changes in the political climate. I’m not sure that we gun bloggers had a huge impact on the overall political climate. However, I feel pretty confident with the assertion that gun bloggers are the reason the gun owner protection bill (with its assault weapons ban attachment) did not pass. We made a lot of noise (and so did the various on-line message boards) indicating that gun owners would not trade the assault weapons ban for the immunity bill.

A DVD loyalty oath?

Ravenwood also details gun confiscations in Mass (it’s like the Ravenwood show here today):

On Wednesday, for example, moments after a court placed a woman’s husband under a restraining order, a notice about the order popped up on a new computer terminal at the police station here. Given that information, the Woburn police went to the man’s house and confiscated his guns, all 13 of them.

The criteria for restraining orders are typically pretty weak. No jury, not trial. Just a sympathetic and easily influenced counselor of some sort and a judge is all it takes in a lot of cases. I don’t find that to be a reasonable basis for forcibly entering someone’s home to take anything.

And I’m not defending violence against women and think those that commit it should be, well, shot. However, I think that violence has to be proven without a doubt first.

In light of the San Fran Gun Ban making the news, Ravenwood has the scoop on DC’s homicide rate. Believe it or not, the already high rate of homicide is actually statistically deflated. Go read.

Sure, we all have our opinions about guns so I may catch some flak for this. Head reports that the Army has ordered some Ruger 9mm sidearms. I’m not a fan of Ruger handguns and I’m not a fan of Berettas. However, it is my opinion that Berettas are superior to Rugers. Why the Army is sticking with 9mm is also questionable, but I digress.

You don’t cheat down, fellas. You cheat up.