Blogging for Bryant notes that Ford, Jr. has raised more money for his campaign outside the state of Tennessee than in. Who’s buying? Odd.

I am having a good laugh right now at the sad quality of the CBS News. Everytime I read about gun related deaths while on the job they seem to be going up and up.

CBS is the latest to throw some numbers out that have little to do with reality.

Listen to the evening news and you’re likely to hear a grizzly story about a disaffected worker or estranged spouse or dissatisfied customer arriving at a workplace and going ballistic. It’s all too common.

About 17 employees are murdered every week in American workplaces by someone with a gun, making gun-related killings the third-biggest safety hazard facing American workers — right after vehicles and machines. In fact, gun-related homicide is the leading cause of death at the workplace for women. “about 17” per week he said.

Lets see if it is correct. Now to err on the side of caution I will use only the number 16.5 to get these numbers. Don’t want to be accused of inflating these would I?

16.5 dead
x52 weeks a year
equals 858

Damn. That’s a lot of dead people. Only problem is it is made up. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics only gives the number of 487. Slightly smaller then the 858 number. The problem is that 487 is even a slightly misleading number when the data is examined.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution tried to use the 487 number in one of their anti-gun screeds but one of my commenters shot it down very fast.

But its accuracy is irrelevant. Notice the editorial’s wording, “487 people were shot to death at work.” That total apparently includes every police officer, cab driver, bank teller, pawnbroker and quicky-mart employee shot and killed “at work,” whether the shooter was a fleeing criminal, disgruntled customer, armed robber — or someone in a more relevant category like “angry employee” or “fed-up manager.”

So the number CBS is giving out is bunko.

But I will say now that I am not surprised at all. Robert B. Reich, the editorial author, is best described as biased. I was surprised when I found what position he held.

As the nation’s 22nd Secretary of Labor, Reich presided over the implementation of the Family and Medical Leave Act; led a national fight against sweatshops in the U.S. and illegal child labor around the world; headed the administration’s successful effort to raise the minimum wage; secured worker’s pensions, and launched job-training programs, one-stop career centers, and school-to-work initiatives. Under his leadership, the Department of Labor earned more than 30 awards for innovation and government reinvention. A 1996 poll of cabinet experts conducted by the Hearst newspapers rated him the most effective cabinet secretary during the Clinton administration.

I would think that a person who was in charge of the department of labor would have better numbers, or at least tell the truth.

The 27th Carnival of Cordite is up.

Egalia is shocked that North Carolina State legislators have apparently concluded that the best way to deal with domestic violence is to give women guns. The only problem, of course, is that statement is made up. What the proposed law actually does is require that women who seek orders of protection be given information on how to apply for a concealed weapon carry permit. It doesn’t give women guns.

Given that:

The Supreme Court recently ruled that domestic restraining orders do not trigger a constitutional right to government protection against harm from private individuals; and

A 2002 Washington state study found that 80 percent of women who requested a restraining order in domestic violence cases reported no repeated partner violence to law officers in the year after the order was issued. (Update: i.e., what happens to the 20%?); and

When a woman was armed with a gun or knife, only 3% of rape attacks are completed, compared to 32% when unarmed.; and

The probability of serious injury from an attack is 2.5 times greater for women offering no resistance than for women resisting with a gun;

It sounds reasonable to me. No one is forcing guns upon the women. She continues:

Does this mean that women will also get a get-out-of-jail-free card just in case there are suddenly a lot of dead and wounded boyfriends and husbands?

If someone is killed as a result of valid use of self-defense, the shooter won’t need a get out of jail free card. She also writes:

So women are to take the law into their own hands because law enforcement agencies are failures, or because this society just can’t figure out how to stop reproducing violent and misogynist men.

Who else should do it since the cops aren’t required to? Also, seems like shooting violent misogynist men engaged in acts of violence is a pretty effective way of dealing with them. And defending yourself is not taking the law into your own hands. It’s what you should do. My protection is my responsibility.

I’ll end with this quote from Women Against Gun Control:

Gun Control: The theory that a woman found dead in an alley, raped and strangled with her panty hose, is somehow morally superior to a woman explaining to police how her attacker got that fatal bullet wound.

Apparently for egalia, that’s the case.

Oddball thought experiment:

By some bizarre set of circumstances, you are the president as of now. Name the first 5 things you’d do. Level of difficulty: it must actually be stuff the president is constitutionally allowed to do. My list:

1 – Issue an executive order rescinding all other executive orders noting that: no such authority is in the constitution; the making of law rests with the legislative branch; and the interpretation of law is up to the judicial branch. Then note the irony of using said means to address said end.

2 – Fire Gonzales

3 – Un-nominate John Roberts and nominate Alex Kozinski

4 – Veto every thing for the foreseeable future.

5 – Call Jacques Chirac on the direct line and ask for Michael Hunt, who goes by Mike. Hang up. Go down list of other people who I have direct line to. Repeat until bored.

Israeli Wives Forcibly Remove Husbands From Gaza Strip Clubs

Alphie asked about feeds showing full text and not excerpts. The solution is to pick a different feed. Here they are:

Feed with just excerpts
Full text feed
RSS 2
Atom
Comments.

Lame:

One of Central Florida’s largest pest control companies has been recruited by police to help fight crime, according to Local 6 News.

Technicians from Truly Nolen Pest Control of America are being trained by local law enforcement to spot anything unusual as they visit customer’s homes.

Via Gunner.

It took 8 tries, but the Blount Commission finally got a wheel tax referendum on the ballot. In August 2006, county residents get to decide if they want to get taxed more:

The referendum resolution, which came from the commission’s Financial Management Committee, passed 12-5, with one commissioner passing.

If the measure is approved, the county would begin collecting the tax in January 2007.

I’ll be voting a hardy Hell no and advise my fellow Blount Countians to do the same. The Daily Times rounds up the votes:

With little discussion, Commissioner Bob Kidd’s motion to approve the referendum passed 12-5 with one commissioner passing and three absent.

Voting for the referendum were Commissioners Bob Arwood, Keith Brock, Dennis Cardin, Joe Everett, David Graham, John Keeble, Kidd, Jeff McCall, Kenneth Melton, Chairman Robert Ramsey, Otto Slater and Mike Walker.

Voting against the referendum were Commissioners Gary Farmer, Steve Hargis, Robby Kirkland, Dan Neubert Sr. and Shirley Townsend.

Commissioner Ernie Tallent passed on the vote, and Commissioners Donna Dowdy, Bob Evans and Steve Gray were absent.

Shame on Tallent for not making a decision. And shame on the absent folks for not showing up to do the job people elected them to do. Also, there was some disagreement from the citizens:

Linda King of Citizens for Blount County’s Future spoke against the wheel tax earlier in the meeting, but said after the vote that she was “glad” the issue was at least going to be in the hands of the voters.

“We hope to get the word out to people that a wheel tax wouldn’t be necessary if commissioners would cut waste from the county,” she said. “If they would be conservative with taxpayers’ money, we would already have money for highways.”

One citizen, however, spoke in favor of the wheel tax.

Robert Sliker told commissioners he had spoken with Highway Superintendent Bill Dunlap about how he could use the $1 million generated by a wheel tax to get an additional $4 million in federal grants.

“I’d rather pay 20 percent than the total cost,” he said, comparing the deal to buying one tire and getting the other three free. “I think it’s a very good use of our taxpayers’ money.”

When you develop Smart Guns that identify the user before allowing the gun to be fired, you may want to eliminate the false positives. The Geek tells us why smart guns are a dumb idea. For me, personally, it’s that the idea is just dumb. Also, as the Geek tells us, they’re not reliable.

or maybe not. I’ve not done a lot of Eminent Domain blogging since the SCOTUS Kelo ruling. That’s mostly because it depresses me at this point. However, there is some good news. It is that battling eminent domain abuse is popping up all over:

In Connecticut:

The Zoning Commission and Board of Selectmen are asking the public to support the proposed ordinance, which requires that property to be taken by eminent domain meet one of the following criteria:

The property is to be owned by the town or an agency of the town, and is to be used or set aside for one or more public facilities, such as, but not limited to, streets, bridges, parkways, sidewalks, rights of way, or other public ways, parks, playgrounds, schools, or public sewer, water or waste disposal or transfer facilities.

The property is to be owned by the town and set aside for permanent open space or drainage or erosion control facilities.

The property poses a danger to public health or safety as a result of physical deterioration, pollution or contamination, and is to be taken by the town for the purpose of remediating such conditions or minimizing danger to the public.

In Missouri:

The governor created the Eminent Domain Task Force after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that government can use eminent domain for economic development. Blunt described the decision at the time as a “terrible ruling.”

In Texas:

Rep. Lois W. Kolkhorst (R-Brenham) praised a measure to restrict government’s power of eminent domain, which won legislative approval and is now headed to the desk of Gov. Rick Perry.

The House version of the Senate bill, joint authored by Kolkhorst with Rep. Beverly Wooley (R-Houston) and Rep. Frank Corte (R-San Antonio), included an amendment by Kolkhorst which added additional limits to state government’s power of eminent domain, including tighter restrictions over state transportation projects in relation to ancillary facilities.

The legislation was passed in order to bar government from seizing land strictly for commercial purposes. Perry, who added the eminent domain issue to the agenda of the special session on school finance, has the power to sign or veto legislation, or to allow it to become law without his signature.

In New Jersey (yes, that New Jersey):

The Borough Council will likely vote tonight to ask residents in November whether to impose stricter limits on the use of eminent domain than allowed by a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision.

Mayor Steve Lonegan proposed the ballot question in response to the top court’s June ruling that allows New London, Conn., to raze homes for private development because it would provide an economic benefit to the town.

In New York (yes, that New York):

A City Council member of Brooklyn, Letitia James, introduced legislation yesterday that would bar city funds from going toward projects that use eminent domain to transfer property from one private landowner to another.

In California (ayup):

State lawmakers launched an effort Wednesday to limit the ability of local government to take private property for private developers’ benefit.

Lawmakers have proposed several bills to try to limit the ability of governments to take property in the wake of a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding that ability in a Connecticut case.

Indiana:

In its earliest form, HB 1063 would have barred local and state entities from condemning private property and then turning it over to private developers for commercial use.

In New Hampshire:

Two panels — one in the House and one in the Senate — are grappling with the issue of eminent domain in the wake of a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing the taking of private land for private development.

In Wisconsin:

In Madison, state Rep. Jeffrey Wood (R-Chippewa Falls) and state Sen. David Zien (R-Eau Claire) are drafting a bill to limit the use of eminent domain.

North Dakota:

City commissioners have voted unanimously to consider an ordinance that would limit the city’s power to seize private property for economic development.

North Carolina:

The Board of Aldermen joined a growing number of government bodies Tuesday in passing a resolution opposing the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on eminent domain and saying the town will not employ eminent domain outside of a true “public use” context.

Tennessee:

Johnson City Commissioner Phil Roe says the Supreme Court’s ruling scares him to death, especially since it only takes three votes to condemn a home here.

“I want to get that power taken away from us as fast as they can do it,” Roe said.

West Virginia:

Capehart said Republican leaders in the state Legislature are currently working on legislation to curb eminent domain powers and that “very soon” they will have a bill or constitutional amendment to present to the Legislature. He also said that this initial petition was part of a statewide petition drive by the West Virginia Republican Party, and that petition forms could be found on the party Web site.

Kansas

State lawmakers to take up the issue this fall

Farm groups and other property rights advocates are pushing lawmakers to protect residents from local governments that want to seize land in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court decision earlier this summer.

We have been heard!

Montgomery Adviser:

Montgomery City Councilman Glen Pruitt is considering proposing a city ordinance that would ban the animals from the city limits.

“I want us to be proactive. I don’t want to open the paper and see where a child or senior citizen has been hurt or injured by one of these dogs,” Pruitt said.

He believes this will eliminate many of these issues and improve public safety.

“Seeing some of the things in the paper lately has brought the issue to light,” Pruitt said. “It is something we probably need to address pretty soon.”

Pit bulls often are linked to people involved in illegal activity such as drugs, dog fighting and hog-dog rodeos, in which the dogs chase, catch and brutalize wild hogs for people’s amusement and gaming.

But, you know, let’s not go after people who do those things, let’s go after the dog. And, regarding the wild hogs, it’s called hunting. People do hunt wild hogs with dogs, the dogs do catch them but brutalize is a misleading term.

I do think Glen Pruitt should maybe refer to the Alabama Supreme Court, which ruled there is no genetic evidence that one breed of dog is more dangerous than another, based on breed alone.

See that line in the upper right (just under Uncle Ben and Monkey’s Uncle). I want it gone. Can’t figure out how to do it. Anyone know?

Stupid Uncle err php.

Update: Done. Thanks to Alphie and David. And I’m working on full posts showing in the feed. I have the option set for that but something is a bit off. Not sure what. Had this issue before and fixed it but the new template has reverted back.

Martha Stewart’s tagline (i.e., her You’re fired) for the new Apprentice TeeVee show is still under wraps. Instead of speculating, I’ll just make some up. Here are the top 9 suggestions for Martha Stewart taglines:

Yes, these lists are usually Top 10 so you can insert your own. I’m lazy.

In Oklahoma:

State Rep. Paul Wesselhoft, R-Moore, bit off a mouthful with his announced intention to seek legislation placing restrictions on pit bull terriers this summer. His initial plan was shot down by Attorney General Drew Edmondson who ruled state law currently prohibits breed-specific bans.

Mr. Wesselhoft, a freshman, plans to push ahead and seek legislative approval to give cities the right to discriminate against certain breeds. He proposed the ban after a June attack on a boy by pit bulls in a neighbor’s yard. The 3-year-old’s left arm had to be amputated at the shoulder following the attack.

Mr. Edmondson said the law provides that local government regulations must focus on “dangerous or potentially dangerous dogs instead of specific breeds.”

The owner of the dogs was fined for having too many animals in his yard. Pit bull breeders and animal rights associations have opposed the efforts, saying the proposal is discriminatory. They rallied at the Moore City Council meeting where Mr. Wesselhoft proposed the ban.

We think any such proposal put forth by Mr. Wesselhoft should not be breed-specific legislation and should be altered to include other vicious animals.

I honestly think that’s the first editorial I’ve seen that opposes breed specific legislation. Hats off to The Norman Transcript.

CounterTop reports:

Just looked over the 2003 990 form for the Brady Bunch.

Of the interesting information conatined (sic) in it, I thought you might enjoy knowing how much these people make to take away your rights.

Michael Barnes earned $224,830 plus another $8,496 in expenses.
Christopher Carr, their Chief of Staff, earned $155,527 plus $6,201 in expenses.
Finally, Sarah Brady earned $140,792 plus $5,632 in expenses.

And Chuck Moose is a director. You may remember reports of Chuck telling officers to go door-to-door to find rifles.

Think I’m done moving stuff around. What do you think about the page size and all? Speak now or forever STFU.

There was one in California. No press coverage, of course, but a blogger covered it.

Turns out the guy the London police shot wasn’t nefarious at all and the police lied about it. Not only did an officer admit to leaving his surveillance post but CCTV contradicts their account:

CCTV footage shows that Mr de Menezes was wearing a thin denim jacket that could not conceal a bomb, and he was not carrying a bag. Far from running from police, he did not realise that anyone was following him and even picked up a free newspaper before using his season ticket to pass through the barrier. He began to run only when he saw his train pull into the station. At the time of the shooting, Scotland Yard said that Mr de Menezes’s “clothing and his behaviour at the station added to their suspicions”. It was only when Mr de Menezes boarded the train that a surveillance officer guided four armed police into the same carriage.

Abysmal.

Ricky lays out the ground rules for the right-of-center male:

Deep Six the DU/Glennfy stuff – Democratic Underground is akin to fish in a barrel. The mainstream left wing of the blogosphere, which is marketedly further let than the Democratic party itself, doesn’t even take DU seriously. New baseline: Reacting to DU postings is an acknowledgment that it’s a slow news day and you’re looking for some easy cannon fodder for your site. Go on, admit it’s true.

I’d also add Oliver Willis to the list. Poor Ollie, he’s such an easy target because he’s so inconsistent and, God help him, just not the sharpest knife in the drawer. I have to admit that I pop over there about once every two weeks to marvel at the asininity of O’Dub.

I mentioned that Oregon politicos were pondering requiring prescriptions for cough medicine to prevent the meth epidemic (EPIDEMIC, AARRGGHH!). Well, they did it:

Oregonians just got “safer” today (and don’t worry, YOU’RE next!) with the passage of a new law to make “certain cough medicines” (“certain”, as in the ones that actually WORK that have pseudoephedrine in them) available by prescription ONLY. This should stop the meth labs and the meth pushers in their tracks, if only it were true that criminals obeyed laws.

Armed robbery of pharmacies in Oregon just became more appealing. Other states shall follow. Can’t I just get a note from my mommy?

Russian’s are increasingly supportive of liberalizing gun laws:

As a result, the public in Russia is increasingly leaning towards a more liberal law on weapons. For the last half a year the State Duma has been discussing the possibility of giving the people real firearms, as is done in the United States, for one.

American statistics are the main argument of Russian firearms advocates. According to the U.S. Justice Department, 34% of all criminals were wounded or detained by armed civilians, while 40% have altogether given up an idea of an attack for fear of reciprocal fire. In those states that allow citizens to carry concealed arms, the level of murders is lower by 33 %, and of robberies by 37%.

Advocates of legalizing firearms in Russia often refer to the experience of neighboring Latvia: After the relevant law was adopted, street crime dropped by 80%, and the Latvian police force has been cut.

The author bought a Saiga for about $430, which I find odd since you can get complete AK kits exported for about $130. And I would like to see those Justice Department Statistics. If they exist, we know our press would report it (wink, wink).

And not just because I haven’t used that meme in a while but because they found some, though they may be new.

More drug war stupidity. You have to read it to believe it.

Bill Hobbs reports that Tennessee’s YTD revenue exceeds budget by $260.8M. Further, he comments:

Still, taxpayers shouldn’t bother getting too excited by the big surplus. There are no plans for a tax rebate or reducing the sales tax or removing the sales tax from groceries.

Instead, the Bredesen administration plans to spend the excess revenue.

Exceeding your budget is not technically a surplus. It just means you’re over your budget. A surplus occurs when revenues exceed expenses. So, if there is (using Bill’s term) an expense surplus (which I’d bet there is) that exceeds the revenue surplus, then Tennessee is still in the red. If the state is in the red, there won’t (and shouldn’t) be a rebate. They do have bills to pay. All this means is that they were off budget. Heck, who isn’t?

To put it in perspective, imagine your company having a good year. You’re over budget in sales by about $260M. Now, you’re not going to turn down sales and state that would mess up your budget. Assume your margin is about 10%, so you also have costs of about $235M. Your surplus compared to budgeted surplus is really only $25M.

While I’ve said before that one thing that could help the Democrats is being friendly (as opposed to hostile) to gun owners, I didn’t mean they should lie:

The guys at Raising Kaine are now talking about a new 2nd Amendment group, Sportsmen for Deeds that has formed in support of Democratic Attorney General Candidate Creigh Deeds.

If you read the post, or the Deed’s press release, one would get the impression that this is some sort of grassroots group that isn’t owned and operated out of campaign HQ.

One would be wrong.

There is hope as Deeds does seem to get guns.

The UT Vols are losing one of their mascots: Davey Crockett, who also has a gun.

Also, Disney:

For Herbie: Fully Loaded, they used classic rock songs covered by modern bands – like Caleigh Peters singing the Beach Boys’ “Fun, Fun, Fun”, the Donnas singing BTO’s “Roll on Down the Highway”, and the Mooney Suzuki singing Steppenwolf’s “Born to Be Wild.”

But if you listen closely, the motorcycle anthem’s lyrics have been changed to eliminate a reference to firearms. Yeah, gonna make it happen…

“…Take the world in a love embrace.
Fire all your en-gines at once, and
explode into space.”

It used to be “Fire all of your guns at once.”

Update: Davey Crockett will still appear at UT games. UT’s decision appears to be a marketing thing and not an anti-gun thing. Duh, it’s Tennessee.

I like the new template but it’s a lot of wasted space, too much white on the left and right. Searched through the template files and haven’t figured out how to make the main area where posts appear wider. Anyone have a clue?

Update: All better now. Thanks Ravenwood.

Et tu, Mexico (see post below):

Mexico’s strict gun control laws are contributing to an illegal gun market and easier access to weapons, according to U.S. law enforcement officials that are close observers of a recent upswing in border violence.

Since January, more than 600 people have been killed in an ongoing war between rival drug cartels using high-powered handguns and assault rifles fighting for control of drug smuggling routes on the Texas-Mexico border.

Federal gun seizures show that a majority of weapons used in violent crimes in Mexico were smuggled into the country from the United States or bought through other sources in a lucrative black market.

The folks doing the blaming this time are Americans. I was rather curious about gun laws in Mexico. The story notes:

Mexican law requires its citizens to apply for a permit from the Secretary of National Defense (SEDENA) before they can buy a handgun or rifle for hunting or self-defense.

SEDENA officials could not be reached for comment. The agency’s Web site shows applicants must submit to a background check as well as provide verification of employment and several references.

Federal agents that asked not to be identified for security reasons said the permitting process in Mexico is expensive and approval to buy a handgun or rifle (that must be .22-caliber or smaller) can take up to a year.

In the United States, the Brady law requires federally licensed gun dealers to run background checks on all buyers; the process usually takes seven days or less.

At the same time, Mexican law also prohibits gun owners from carrying their weapons in public. Texas gun owners can carry weapons if they have a concealed handgun permit.

According to SEDENA, Mexico has only two licensed gun manufacturers, compared to almost 200 in the United States.

Seriously:

Gun owners in Toronto may soon be prohibited from keeping their firearms at home even if they are properly licensed and registered, Mayor David Miller said yesterday.

“There’s no reason to own a gun in Toronto — collector or not. If you are a collector and you have a permit, the guns need to be stored in a way that they can’t be stolen. And perhaps a centralized facility of some kind could accomplish that goal,” Mr. Miller told the National Post. “The law requires gun owners to have proper storage, but obviously not everyone adheres to that.”

The other culprit blamed in this case is, of course, lax US gun laws:

The Mayor has repeatedly blamed lax gun laws in the United States for some of Toronto’s violence, saying half of the firearms in the city originated in the United States.

Then where do the other half come from? More importantly, where are the crime guns coming from?