Some neighbors of ours held a garage sale. They told us about it and asked if we wanted to sell any thing. We had some junk in the basement that we wanted to get rid of so I loaded up the truck and took it over.

On sale day, about half way through the day, the police show up. They inform my neighbor that there is a fee and permit required to have a garage sale. And you’re limited to two sales per year (my neighbor was in no trouble of violating that one). Officer friendly let just told him to remember that next time. No harm, no foul. I did some research (i.e., talked to some people who would know) to find out why the limit; why there’s a fee; and why there’s a form to fill out. Turns out, it’s a law that has been on the books for a long time but it was never enforced. Until Ebay. Seems a lot of folks run Ebay based businesses out of their homes. Whenever stuff wasn’t selling on Ebay, they’d have garage sales. And, apparently, people started complaining that certain other people were having garage sales every couple of weeks and were basically operating a trafficked business from their homes. And these sales caused traffic problems and, generally, made life hard on their fellow subdivision denizens.

Anyway, the garage sale was a success. So much so that the Mrs. wants to have one in our yard because we’ve found all sorts of other stuff that, at one time, we absolutely had to have but we now no longer need. Like my robot (looks like this). So, being the law-abiding sorts we are, she wants to pay the fee and get the permit. She called. Turns out, there is no fee. But there is an application and it is designed just to ensure you limit your sales to two per year.

Also, she was googling up yard sales and fees and Maryville and her first result was Les Jones. Small internet.

But guns are effectively banned in Chicago?

Fenty makes his case for appealing Parker. And leads off with a whopper:

The central meaning of the Second Amendment has long been settled in the courts.

Err, no. It hasn’t. We currently have a split among the various circuits. More:

The last time the Supreme Court directly addressed the provision — which reads, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed” — was in 1939, in a case called United States v. Miller. The court said that the Second Amendment’s “obvious purpose” is to ensure the effectiveness and continuation of state military forces (the militia mentioned in the amendment), not to provide a private right to own weapons for one’s own purposes.

Also, incorrect. The court asked for clarification regarding Miller’s weapon (a short barreled shotgun) and never addressed the issue.

For decades, the lower courts followed that pronouncement. They repeatedly rejected claims that the Second Amendment provides a defense against laws regulating gun possession and use that have no connection with service in a state militia. Although gun proponents vigorously insisted that the Second Amendment protects their right to possess and use guns for private purposes, the courts recognized that their view lacks support in its language and history.

Again, depends on the courts. Two courts hold the individual rights view. And:

The handgun ban has saved countless lives

I dunno. Have you checked out your murder rate? And the last bit:

The next step in the court’s analysis was also extraordinary and wrong. On the basis of Supreme Court precedent, even this court agreed that the Second Amendment, however one reads it, is not infringed on by “reasonable restrictions” on gun possession and use. The court ruled, though, that banning any “type” of weapon is never reasonable. The idea that the Constitution forbids a government to ban any type of weapon regardless of the reasons is unsupportable. It is plainly relevant that the District allows residents to possess other perfectly effective firearms, especially given how much more death and misery handguns have caused than those other firearms.

A total ban on handguns and requiring weapons in the home be unloaded and locked up is a reasonable restriction?

So, I read that the Chinese military hacked into the Pentagon. Wow. Ballsy. I wonder what our response will be? How do you respond to cyber attacks? Cyber diplomacy?

At the Federalist Society. Interesting to me that Glenn Reynolds predicts the court will deny cert. noting:

If I’m right, a denial of certioriari is the only way for the Court to avoid a very difficult situation.

That would make them cowards, in my book.

Equally funny is Saul Cornell, which the society notes: This debate has mostly been conducted on a high level. Regrettably, Saul Cornell’s final post has stooped to ad hominem attacks, barefaced attempts to promote Cornell’s book, and reliance on a quote for which Cornell inexplicably provides no source. Well, that’s what I expect from Cornell.

And Henigan sticks to the collective right mythology.

Legal Bitch has more.

Norrell Shotty.

Here’s another one. Can’t swing a dead cat without hitting one.

This just in, criminals kill other criminals:

A spike in murders in many cities is claiming a startling number of victims with criminal records, police say, suggesting that drug and gang wars are behind the escalating violence.

[…]

In Baltimore, about 91 percent of murder victims this year had criminal records, up from 74 percent a decade ago, police reported. In many cases, says Frederick Bealefeld III, Baltimore’s interim police commissioner, victims’ rap sheets provide critical links to potential suspects in botched drug deals or violent territorial disputes.

Philadelphia Police Capt. Ben Naish says the Baltimore numbers are “shocking.” But Philadelphia also has seen the number of victims with criminal pasts inch up, to 75 percent this year from 71 percent in 2005, department statistics show.

In Milwaukee, the homicide commission was created after a spike in violence led to a 39 percent increase in homicides in 2005.

The commission, which compiled statistics on victims’ criminal histories for the first time, found that 77 percent of murder victims in the past two years had an average of nearly 12 arrests.

And in Newark, N.J., roughly 85 percent of homicide victims killed in the first six months of this year had criminal records, according to police statistics.

Clearly, it’s because of guns.

Via David.

What is it with all these gun blogs in Tennessee?

Keep lining them up, and we’ll keep knocking them down:

This is a tiny event in the overall scheme of things, but the pattern appears to be holding:

1. Anti-gun blog announced amid much fanfare.
2. Anti-gun blog filled with embarrassingly misinformed misinformation.
3. Anti-gun blog closed for comments.

Lather, rinse, repeat. I guess they thought these swarms of anti-gunners would flock to the new sites and there would be this united front on which to engage. Sadly for them, there aren’t swarms of anti-gunners and they are incapable of engaging. Poor Robyn Ringler will only be left to write for the four anti-gun folks who read her blog.

Clint in comments at Snow Flakes In Hell regarding the blog’s author Sebastian:

After reading the various cross-links, I felt I should comment as a more or less passive observer of the 2nd Amendment battles. I was hoping to come up with a profound statement to summarize the conflict Sebastian has brought to the spotlight of examination. My first thought is: the monkey’s flinging pooh.

However, I would encourage you, Sebastian, to continue the real “reasoned discourse” to which you contribute. I appreciate your efforts to keep us unified as a true activists’ “community.” Likewise, I praise your efforts to remain unconfrontational when addressing the gun grabbers. You are a great example of the difference between “assertive” and “aggressive.” Your civility speaks volumes about your character. You even refer to your fellow gun owners as “family.” Your approach is spot on. I commend you and am proud to have you as one of our represenatives.

Your summary of the real fight being to win over “Suzie Soccer Mom” is indeed where the real battle lies. Suzie likely doesn’t dig it when the monkey flings pooh. Contrawise, civility and proper demeanor shows Suzie who the true champion is.

In other news, maybe I should stop calling people idiots? It would be hard as there are so many out there.

Gun Blogger Ahab has moved to fancy new WordPress digs.

Reader Rick emails the following in response to this anti-gun column (long, grab your coffee):

THERE IS NO OTHER WAY TO SAY IT, OUR CURRENT GUN CULTURE IS LEADING THE COUNTRY DOWN A PATH TO MAYHEM.

My gun has lead no one anywhere. It merely sits in the drawer until I use it. And I don’t see too many hunters in tree stands sitting over the streets of Oakland, bagging the trophy sized gangbanger who wanders by looking for a watering hole.
Perhaps it is a “people” culture who is causing the problems?

ACCORDING TO THE SMALL ARMS SURVEY 2007 BY THE GRADUATE INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, U.S. CITIZENS OWN 270 MILLION OF THE WORLD’S 875 MILLION KNOWN FIREARMS – THAT TRANSLATES TO ROUGHLY 90 GUNS FOR EVERY 100 AMERICANS. MOREOVER, THE SURVEY ESTIMATES THAT 4.5 MILLION OF THE 8 MILLION NEW GUNS MANUFACTURED WORLDWIDE EACH YEAR ARE PURCHASED IN THE UNITED STATES.

270 Million firearms in American hands. Remember that because it’s going to be important later on.
Read the rest of this entry »

Things I’ve learned about blogging

Update: BTW, people are offering to pay for Tam’s trip to the Gun Blogger Rendezvous.

Well, I suppose if she’d been shot, then there’s no suicide:

Houston police SWAT officers responded to two separate incidents early today, spending five hours outside an empty home after a soldier in Iraq reported by telephone his wife might be suicidal, police said.

The woman later returned to her home on Feland Field in southwest Houston and was taken to a Harris County psychiatric facility for evaluation, police said. Police received the husband’s call around 12:30 a.m. and officers entered the empty home at about 6:30 a.m.

And a fast reaction time to boot.

From Bill Hobbs.

In Australia, the gun controllers claim:

Gun Control Australia said a surge in young shooters could lead to a rise in violent crime.

“Guns and puberty are a dangerous mix,” said president John Crook.

“Targeting juniors increases the likelihood of gun addiction.

“The trouble with kids is that they may think that violence is a way of solving problems.”

The exact opposite is the case:

The study was conducted from 1993-1995 by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Child psychologists tracked 4,000 boys and girls aged 6 to 15 in Denver, Pittsburgh, and Rochester, N.Y. Their findings?

– Children who get guns from their parents don’t commit gun crimes (0 percent) while children who get guns illegally are quite likely to do so (21 percent).

– Children who get guns from parents are less likely to commit any kind of street crime (14 percent) than children who have no gun in the house (24 percent) — and are dramatically less likely to do so than children who acquire an illegal gun (74 percent.)

– Children who get guns from parents are less likely to use banned drugs (13 percent) than children who get illegal guns (41 percent.)

– Most strikingly, the study found: “Boys who own legal firearms have much lower rates of delinquency and drug use (than boys who own illegal guns) and are even slightly less delinquent than non-owners of guns.”

Take a kid shooting.

A must read.

Without the pro-gunnies, who’s going to read poor Robyn? I’m guessing no one.

More here and here.

A guy stationed in Iraq wants a personal handgun. He’s started researching them and has started a blog detailing his research. Check it, yo.

Robyn Ringler says uncle. We win.

If what she was saying were not clouded by the fact she deleted several non threatening comments, I might buy her hysteria. But she never was interested in discourse, just repeating things proven to be false.

More here and here.

a member of The Triangle of Death

ATF arrests man for stockpiling ammunition

More anti-gunners and their money troubles

* Flip Flops Per Minute:

The Daily Times:

Three local former Marine friends want to open an indoor firing range and retail gun store in Maryville.

David Perry, Johnny Anderson and David Stone want to purchase the old Waters Grocery building at 2208 Old Knoxville Highway, Maryville.

Currently the structure, owned by Dwight Price and Lyman and McDaniels Builders, is occupied by a consignment antique business.

Perry said that the firing range would be located in the basement of the building and would be surrounded by dirt on three sides.

He said handgun carrying and personal protection classes would be available.
The plan would be to have a retail business selling guns and accessories, such as holsters and belts, on the upper floor that fronts Old Knoxville Highway.

Before the business can become a reality, operators must get permission from Maryville City Council.

Just booked my flight to the Gun Blogger Rendezvous in Reno, NV. It’s organized by Mr. Completely and last year, a good time was had by all. It’s open to gun bloggers and commenters. So, head to the link to get info on the shindig and I hope to see you there.

Update: BTW, who plans on going?

By now most people in Knox County and the surrounding counties have learned of the incredible turnaround that happened in the Knox County Commission meeting on Monday. Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale gave his best Bill Clinton “I have a tear” speech complete with pained emotion and the carefully picked words, “Let’s pull it back together. Let’s get some things done. We’ll work with you. We’ll work with Mr. Cosby. We’ll do the best we can.”

Mayor Ragsdale then inexplicably took all of the good will he had just made and forever destroyed it with one word. As concerned taxpayer Lewis Cosby was speaking at the podium in the Public Forum Mayor Ragsdale turned his head to Cosby and softly said, “Showboat.” Cosby and the audience was stunned. Cosby turned to Ragsdale and asked, “A showboat, what did you just say?” Then Cosby shook his head in disgust and said “Incredible.”

You can see the entire episode on YouTube Channel Nine or on the WBIR website. Most people believe it is not possible for Mayor Ragsdale to run for Governor. Yet three years is a long time.

Does insincerity disqualify a politician from higher office? Some people think so.

Liar, pants-shitter and troll Jadegold:

I would count SayUncle as one of those sites which censors and threatens those who do not ‘toe’ the party line. I was banned there while another poster who advocated violence was not.

Really? News to me. I don’t recall threatening anyone. To date, per my software package, I have banned two IPs . One is 71.246.154.207, which is the server for that horrible University Update spam site. And the other IP was 64.88.86.3 because some students at Macomb Intermediate School District were banned from myspace and decided to turn my comments section into their own little chat page. Heck, I even invited Macca (a sock puppet for a Brady Campaign Director) to post here.

Jade has left the following comments here all from IP 68.34.69.162:

Kevin’s afraid of debate. – A lie.

You’re afraid, Kevin. It’s not against the law to live in fear of having your worldview sliced and diced. But it’s kind of hypocritical to pretend you aren’t. It explains your..eerr..fascinations. – Ad hominem.

Kevin’s afraid of debate. – same lie repeated (familiar theme, no?).

All in one post. No threats, no bans, nothing.

Lying to win is par for the course among the antis, though.

In Knoxville, the police shot a dog. Over at KnoxViews, CBT says:

This matter seems to warrant some discussion. It involves pit bulls, which have been the subject in a number of cities. I sometimes feel sorry for responsible pit bull breeders and owners who treat their dogs with proper care. These dogs are more aggressive by nature, but so are other breeds.

Sorta yes, mostly no. Dogs commonly referred to as pit bulls (pit bull is not a breed but a class of dogs) have it in their nature to more aggressive to other dogs. They are less inclined to be aggressive toward humans unless such aggression is encouraged in the animal. The dogs have a history in dog fighting (hence their aggression to dogs) and, in a fight, the humans had to maintain control so the dogs were bred to be tolerant of humans.

Also, and I hate to break it to folks, but bully type dogs often make horrible watchdogs. Their curiosity will probably get the better of them (assuming they awake from their slumber) and they’ll often sneak around to investigate things. That’s what my dog does. True story from a friend is that someone was trying to come through the window of his house. The dog, apparently, sat patiently and quietly by the window waiting for the intruder to enter. Once the intruder did enter, there wasn’t a sound other than the intruder trying to get out and cussing because a dog had clamped on his heiny. Said burglar was later caught at a hospital when he was getting his tail stitched up. The dog never barked. Watchdogs alert by barking more than defending their castle with force. A poodle makes a fine watch dog.

My politically incorrect dog is probably scary looking:

And he’s got big gnarly teeth. But watchdog, he is not. That’s what the alarm is for. However, if there was any escalation of violence in my home, rest-assured he’d be there doing his damnedest to put an end to it. I have no doubt he’d take a bullet for anyone in the family but, barring a physical altercation, he’d probably just watch. Anyway, enough of that. A few things of note about the incident:

Unsurprisingly, the dog was an unaltered male (which is the case in most dog bites, particularly fatal ones)

The dog was tethered, which, in addition to being bad pet ownership, also tends to make dogs more aggressive.

Why did the police get so close to the restrained dog? Seems to me it could have been avoided by simply not going near the dog. Other than that, I tend to concur with Aunt B:

If your dog bites a police officer, chances are that your dog is going to get shot. That’s unfortunate, but that’s a fact of life. If you don’t want your dog to get shot by the police or you want to have a credible way to dispute the police officer’s account of what happened, keep your dogs in the house where you can control them and witness the police’s behavior.