Apparently (and I don’t have all the details), co-blogger #9 was banned from posting at Nashville Is Talking About Anything Other Than Stuff That Might Be Controversial To The Pseudo Indy Kinda Urban Hipster Crowd That Are Probably Also Vegetarians. I don’t know why nor do I particularly care. They have also deleted all his posts. I suppose annoying hippies brings on the admin. Couple things:

1 – I am SayUncle. Not #9. He does post here on occasion. We’re two separate people. So, let’s get that straight. If you’re gonna insult me, fine. I can take it. But at least insult me for something I did.

2 – You can be controversial over at Nashville’s Blog Community Is In The Shitter so long as, you know, you’re a left wing loon and not a right wing loon.

3 – This number is here just because I like to do that on lists preceded by the word couple.

4 – See, I did it again.

5 – Nashville Is Yammering is deader than disco and 1960s counterculture.

And, no, this is not a slight to all the folks posting there but it is a slight to whoever is running the show. Jebus, what the Hell is going on over there?

Update: Oh, and no I don’t think Nashville’s Blog Community Is In The Shitter. It’s doing quite well. It just moved to new digs.

Discovered this recipe this weekend and love it. Thought I’d share. It’s a Korean dish and it is a very light soup. You’ll need:

1 clove of minced garlic
5 green onions chopped – white and thick green part only
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1/4 cup of rice wine vinegar (cooking sherry will do in a pinch)
4 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
5 or so cups of chicken stock
1 pound of fresh, clean spinach
2 cans of chopped clams – drained (you can use fresh but they weren’t in season)

In a pot, add the oil and saute the garlic for a minute or two. Add four of the five green onions and saute another minute. Add the rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, and the sesame oil. Stir until it’s adequately mixed. Add the stock and bring to a low boil. Add clams and spinach and cook until spinach is cooked (about 10 minutes).

Garnish with your remaining chopped onions.

Mmm, tasty and fast.

Update: disagreement on using sherry in lieu of rice wine vinegar. It’s what I’ve heard but I always have the rice wine at home. Also, you can make it without the clams or substituting a variety of greens. Still, yummy.

Readers of this site know that I’m a fairly animal/dog friendly kinda guy. And that I advocate responsible dog ownership. However, I do not tolerate from any dog (mine or yours) aggression toward people.

A few nights a week, I go for a bike ride for some exercise. I have one of those carriers so that Junior or The Second can make my ride much harder tag along. Last night, the wife was running errands and I got home before her and the kids. I figured I’d run into them in the subdivision, so I grabbed Junior’s helmet so that if I did run into them, she could ride with me. On my ride, one of the neighbor’s dogs was (as it always is) running loose (midsized mutt probably about 35-40 pounds). And he comes running up to my bike and acting aggressively. He was pretty close and looked as though he’d do what dogs do which is bite the tires. I still haven’t figured out why dogs bite tires. And as he does, the bike kinda weaves out into the main street. So, I kicked him real hard in the face. And he tumbled.

I make a lap and here comes the Mrs. Mobile. I stop and show Junior I brought her helmet and she’s excited about the ride. The Mrs. gets out to strap Junior in and sees the dog in the field by the car leering at us. She says: That dog looks mean. I don’t like him staring at us. And I say: He’s much more agreeable since I kicked him in the face.

If that dog had done that while I had one of the kids on the bike, I’d have been livid. It’s one thing to endanger me (I’m a big boy) but if my kids are threatened, I get a little grumpy.

People, please restrain your dogs. It’s safer for other people and for the dog.

Against assault dogs.

Seen at GLN: On Friday, the Court is scheduled to hold its first conference of the October 2007 term. Friday is also the deadline for District of Columbia gun rights advocates to file its brief its opposition to the petition for certiorari in District of Columbia v. Heller (07-290), which seeks to revive the city handgun ban struck down by the D.C. Circuit Court.

Sandy Froman:

The candidates who took part understand that the gun vote is important. They get it. How things have changed.

When I was first elected to the NRA board of directors in 1992, I could not have imagined that an exclusively Second Amendment event would draw personal appearances by major presidential candidates like Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, John McCain and Fred Thompson. Even candidates with whom the NRA has disagreed came, looking for common ground and to start a respectful and productive dialogue.

The evil gun lobby is pretty powerful these days.

Seems the Florida news folks having an AK-47 marathon. And, seriously, their gun expert doesn’t know how to use a barrel shroud err hand guard? See the pic there.

But not so fast. Seems most of the weapons in use may be SKS rifles, which (like the MAK-90) were actually not covered by the ban on weapons that look like assault weapons. As I said, if you can get an AK for $200, I’ll take all you got.

And if these spray-firing bullet hoses serve no purpose other than killing as many people in a short amount of time, why are the police getting them?

A 1911 based on Jeff Cooper’s personal notes.

Chris continues his So, you want to write about guns series. Pack a lunch.

It’s not that bad, Tom. My wife has me watching Don’t Forget The Lyrics.

I feel today the way I did when Calvin and Hobbes put the pen down.

Today John Cox and Allen Forkum end their great run producing some of the best political cartoons of a generation.

I learned of this reading Chris Muir’s fine cartoon “Day by Day”.

Thanks for everything you did, you will be missed.

I am watching on television the Sunshine lawsuit closing from Herb Moncier. Moncier is using a computer with pictures of Knox County Commissioners and former Commissioners. Each photo has been photoshopped to show cartoon balloons filed with quotes from prior testimony.

I am surprised that Chancellor Fansler has allowed this. It makes his court look like a farce. But on the other hand it is a powerful tool for Moncier to humiliate those Commissioners. These are still photos so some of the facial expressions really make these people look dumb.

Moncier has just made the claim, “They stole your government.” Moncier is even making the Knoxville News Sentinel reporters look foolish. I am surprised Rick Hollow doesn’t have a problem with this cute tactic. It must be difficult to be on the same side of the table with Herb Moncier.

This is on now on Comcast cable channel 21 and Charter cable channel 10.

Les and Sean remind me that, effective today, there will be a substantial increase in littering.

Seems the UN is pushing this global arms bogeyman again:

Britain, Japan, Australia and others are pushing for an unprecedented treaty regulating the arms trade worldwide, in a campaign sure to last years and to pit them against a determined American foe, the National Rifle Association.

In what U.N. officials say is an “overwhelming” response, almost 100 governments have submitted ideas for such a treaty, to be reviewed over the next year. There’s an “extremely urgent” need for controls on the international gun trade, says Kenya, echoing the sentiment in much of guns-besieged Africa.

But in the U.S., the NRA says it sees a creeping attempt to limit civilian gun ownership within nations — even though the focus now is on setting standards for arms exports and imports.

To the Detroit Free Press for writing an article on castle doctrine without PSH: Gun law helping victims of crimes.

Laura Washington responding to Linoge:

It’s very interesting and it reinforces my point that the pro-gun folks are much more savvy than their opponents.

I was about to do the happy dance but it seems the Geek fell for bad reporting.

Light on trigger, heavy on safety.

Oh dear:

I’ve received the attached pdf file (small, 134K) from someone in the know. It details ATF agents’ complaints regarding how managers are conducting themselves. Here are a few snippets:

” Field agents have attempted to challenge the un-ethical, and illegal actions of field managers through various means in recent years only to meet with retaliation so destructive it almost inevitably results in the challenges or allegations being withdrawn.”

There’s more. The ATF continues its troubled times:

Lying in court and getting slapped for it.

Bullying bloggers

Lying (or time-traveling) to make a case that one of their auditees is harassing them.

A circuit court smacks them down for their ruling on model rockets;

An agent testified under oath that the NFRTR (the NFA weapons database) was corrupt;

Having budget issues due to mismanagement;

Being investigated for breaking he law at Virginia gun shows.

And they’ve had funds cut for some of their rather, err, dubious programs.

The ATF Director has resigned over excessive and lavish spending.

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

And employees are coming forward with allegations of mismanagement.

And getting smacked down for disregarding the law.

Seems a police officer was killed on the third anniversary of the expiration of the ban on weapons that look like assault weapons. Cue dancing in the blood of the dead:

Miami-Dade Police Sergeant Jose Somohano was killed with an AK-47 three years to the day after the Federal Assault Weapons ban expired. Today, he will be laid to rest. The death of Sgt. Somohano is in addition to the deaths of 53 other police officers who have been killed by a firearm in the line of duty so far this year.

“Sgt. Somohano was killed with a previously outlawed weapon that was made legal by the United States Congress three years ago to the day of his death,” said Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. “Those who blocked renewal of that should consider the consequences of their actions, and particularly what the Miami Chief of Police has called an ‘arms race’ between criminals and the police. Our police and the public are paying a terrible price for the easy availability of dangerous weapons.”

The press noted that the officer was killed with a MAK-90. That, of course, makes Paul Helmke a liar. For a couple of reasons. All MAK-90s imported into the US were imported in the late 1980s through early 1990s. That alone exempts them from the ban on weapons that look like assault weapons. MAK-90s look like this. Note that lack of a pistol grip, bayonet lug, flash hider, grenade launcher. I can’t tell if the barrel is threaded. If it were, that would mean that it only had one of two evil features banned by the ban on weapons that look like assault weapons. So, no dice. MAK-90s were not covered by the ban.

Update: A correction from the Miami Herald:

Miami-Dade Officer Jose Somohano was killed by a Mak-90. A previous story on MiamiHerald.com incorrectly reported that sale of the Mak-90 was prohibited by the assault weapons ban that expired in September 2004.

Don’t tell Paul Reasoned Discourse^tm Helmke. Via gattsuru in comments.

I’m not the only one. Joe Huffman notes similar dealings with Google and their unclear policies. And Chris had the same problem as me last year. It’s like they don’t support free speech and civil rights, or something.

Don’t be evil.

Ahab asks:

Are black powder firearms subject to the NFA laws?

You’ll recall that muzzle loaders aren’t even firearms, per federal firearms law. As such, a non-firearm can’t be subject to firearms laws. Seems the guys at subguns.com say he can get his hacksaw ready. As do most folks in comments there.

Now, where do I get a cheap one?

Man, these gun laws are needlessly complex.

One of the things I find odd about the gun culture is how we embrace the supposedly derogatory terms used to describe us. We happily refer to ourselves as gun nuts, people of the gun, evil gun lobby, knuckle-dragging rednecks, and others that are probably worse. It rolls off of us like nothing. We like it. I wonder why that is?

Send us $25, or felons, wife beaters and crazy people will shoot up YOUR school tomorrow!

Like you and me only better:

The city’s red-light camera program is supposed to increase safety at intersections, police say, by prompting “behavior modifications” in motorists.
City of Houston

Clearly, some government workers aren’t getting the message.

We reported [free reg.] last spring that more than 100 public vehicles, including police cruisers and school buses, were nabbed during the first five months the cameras were operational.

Not much has changed, according to records we’ve received under the Texas Public Information Act.

In the camera system’s first year, more than 520 such vehicles have been cited, resulting in about $40,000 in fines, the records show. City vehicles were responsible for $16,425 of that. The Houston Police Department, whose officers monitor the program, had the most citations: 103.

Mr. C. notes our special visitors. No mention of wheelbarrows full of cash to be thrown at us.

Also, strapped in Reno: Nevada now recognizes a few more handgun carry permits, including Tennessee’s. A summary of NV carry laws can be found here. A quick read shows some areas that are off limits, including: schools, airports, and where signs are posted indicating no weapons.

Gonna have to get my rēsumē ready. The Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Ownership is hiring a Legal and Policy Assistant.

Pics!

No guns. But hookers are no problem.

Google is anti-gun. Received a message from Google Adsense:

While reviewing your account, we noticed that you are currently displaying Google ads in a manner that is not compliant with our policies. For instance, we found violations of AdSense policies on pages such as thegunblogs.com.

As stated in our program policies, AdSense publishers are not permitted to place Google ads on sites with content related to certain weapons and weapon accessories, such as firearms, balisongs, butterfly knives, and brass knuckles.

As a result, we have disabled ad serving to the site.

Your AdSense account remains active. However, we strongly suggest that you take the time to review our program policies to ensure that all of your remaining pages are in compliance.

Please note that we may disable your account if further violations are found in the future.

Sincerely,

The Google AdSense Team

I reply with:

To my knowledge, my site is in compliance as your policy states:

“Sales or promotion of weapons or ammunition (e.g., firearms, fighting knives, stun guns)”

There are no sales occuring at thegunblogs that I am aware of.

They reply (after a week):

Hello,

Thanks for your email. We feel that, because the content of your site is largely focused on firearms, the site is not a good fit for the AdSense program. We appreciate your understanding.

Sincerely,

Scott
The Google AdSense Team

I reply:

You should specify that in your policy then. I and other reasonable people are unable to determine how you ‘feel.’

I note, however, you’ve had no issue selling gun related items on my site via your ads*.

Don’t be evil.

* Note: for evidence, look to your left.