A third mayor has quit Michael Bloomberg’s anti-gun group:

A third mayor has bowed out of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s anti-gun mayors’ coalition, saying he is in favor of disarming criminals, but “not at the risk of losing our Constitutional freedom.”

SAF learned from the staff at Gun Week that Rio Rancho, NM Mayor Kevin Jackson has withdrawn from Mayors Against Illegal Guns, without having attended a single meeting of the group, which now reportedly involves more than 150 mayors.

You locals may want to call Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam and point this out to him. He can be reached at:

Phone: 865-215-2040
Fax: 865-215-2085
mayor@cityofknoxville.org

Does anyone know if Bill Haslam has attended any of the meetings?

You know the caterwauling from the anti-gun groups that goes something like no one should have guns but police because they’re, like, all trained and stuff. And regular Joes lack that training.

Well, for comparison, in the last 28 months SayUncle has lost zero guns. The FBI has lost 354.

Glockity.

Via Jeff.

Blogitude feels snubbed. Though I met him, I couldn’t recall the blog name when I got home. Sorry about that.

I prefer the term propaganda but it’s the same thing. William R. Tonso has some phrases anti-gunners like to use and the origin of those phrases.

Couldn’t have said it better myself.

SayUncle says: Let’s not hot link.

Little swamped, hence the late start. Blogging to be sporadic for a bit.

Local bloggers got together for some discussion and drinks. Mostly drinks. Some thoughts:

Barry has the top 10 surprised from the evening.

Mountain publican, who as far as I know drove the farthest to get there, says it was like the Star Wars bar. Han shot first.

Dr. Helen notes that no violence erupted.

It’s news to me has more.

Pics and more pics.

CE Petro has thoughts.

Update: I can’t read the whole internet every day but here’s some more:

Michael Silence has a nice recap.

Doug has a lot to say.

No one believes you when you use the verb organize to describe an action by Libertarians.

A long time commenter has a blog called An Idiot’s Blog. Look, Cetme porn.

The anti-gun groups vilified Barrett saying that their rifles could be used to shoot down planes, nevermind that said task would be damn near impossible. Now it seems that a man of middle-eastern decent tried to get into Barrett’s facilities:

A statewide alert was issued Thursday for subjects who asked questions of Barrett Firearms Manufacturing employees and tried to enter the facility, according to the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Department.

According to a release issued today, the subjects trying to enter the facility were described as being of Middle Eastern descent.

The sheriff’s department is working with the manufacturer and the Department of Homeland Security concerning the situation. Extra patrol of the facility is underway.

Deputies were called to the plant, which manufactures the military’s M107 .50-caliber sniper system, Thursday morning to gather information about the Wednesday afternoon incident.

Junior has apparently discovered she has lungs. She likes to scream now, often for no reason. It’s a bit annoying for us and for the dog it’s excruciating. So, the other night she starts screaming. I say to her: Let’s not scream inside. We use our quiet voices in the house. She says outside. I said she could go outside and scream all she wanted. So, she did. She was standing on the front porch screaming at random intervals while me and the Mrs. were watching from the door having a good laugh. So, if you see a child outside screaming, that’s probably why.

I’m no rock star. I appreciate the accolades from Glenn. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Dr. Helen was a fan. Would it kill you to leave a comment, or something? One of the things about this blog is that I have a lot of readers who comment. But I have a lot who do not. And if you guys would leave the occasional comment, I’d appreciate it. I just like to know a little about who’s reading and what they think. Even if they think I’m wrong.

The good doctor asked me how I chose topics to blog about. Fact is, I have a short attention span (look, a monkey). I blog about whatever is in front of me at the time I sit down to blog. I don’t say to myself Self, you need to blog about trade relations with Mozambique and then do so. I just decide that I want to blog and I write about whatever happens to be there. And I’m usually reading gun stuff when that happens.

A few things on meeting other bloggers:

There were no laptops (that shocked me).

There was very little discussion of politics.

Every few seconds, someone’s camera flashed.

Dr. Helen doesn’t like to be called Dr. Helen.

I was only called crazy once.

Glenn writes a lot, quickly. I pull in my driveway and the dude’s already posted like five entries. We left at the same time.

And when you have the blog fest on the west side of town, there are substantially fewer hippies.

Blount County Mayor Jerry Cunningham continues to be uninterested in what the citizens have to say. And has, in fact, been outright hostile:

Mayor Jerry Cunningham apparently believes he must vilify those who disagrees with him. This kind of arrogance towards citizens is inexcusable and can not be tolerated by the citizens.

Here’s a letter that was written to the local paper about the mayor’s antics:

Our Mayor, Sheriff Berrong, Deputy Ledford and Ron Dunn of the Sheriff’s Office have said that our citizens’ group turns facts into fiction. They degrade our complaints by calling them “dishonest and disgusting.” Citizens for Blount County’s Future has never demeaned our duty officers. Our criticism has been directed at top management for excessive expenditures. According to the state of Tennessee’s Annual Audit Report ending June, 2006, well over $80,000 was spent by the Sheriff on travel. Couldn’t some of this have been used for raises for deputies? Couldn’t drug fund money be spent on various purchases, again freeing up budget money for payroll increases? The taxpayers are not to blame for underpaid law enforcement. We do not control our tax money once it’s been turned over to the Sheriff. Now, is that fact or fiction?

I still think a bunch of people should show up with Sharpies at the mayor’s office and ask to look at the budget.

Update at their site. They’re asking the ATF to reconsider and have cited the ATF’s own rulings. They are also asking for you to write a letter (and they have a sample letter).

Background info here.

Update: BTW, I hope the ATF reconsiders. I really want one of these things.

Update 2: The law says single function of trigger makes a machine gun. The ATF has changed that to single function of trigger finger.

Also, if you write a letter, send a copy to your congressmonkey.

Cam Edwards has a piece up at Townhall.com:

According to the Daily News, none of the gun dealers Bloomberg is suing broke federal law and took part in straw purchase transactions. The letter also took Bloomberg to task for conducting these stings “without proper law enforcement authority,” though there is no indication that BATFE or the Justice Department would seek to file charges against Bloomberg or his civilian private investigators. Instead, the letter warns that Bloomberg’s operations could put the city at risk of legal action.

Stirring piece:

Like me you will remember vividly the horror we all felt back in 1996 when 16 children and a teacher were shot dead at a school in Dunblane by a deranged man with a gun. Politicians reacted in haste to the call for ‘something to be done’. A partial ban on hand guns was implemented immediately, followed by a total ban as one of the first measures taken by the new Labour Government in 1997.
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As I am sure your officials will tell you, there was absolutely no evidence to suggest that by banning legally-licensed cartridge pistols and closing legally-operating shooting clubs, we would all sleep safer in our beds. Yet today there are more hand guns on our streets than 10 years ago.

Seems a Tennessee Senator is wanting to liberalize our liquor laws and wants to allow gambling establishments. I’m all for it. There’s likely a lot of Tennessee dollars that go to casinos in Tunica and to the casino at Cherokee, NC.

Says Braisted:

Legalize it, regulate it, and tax it…the liberal philospy(sic) of life

Actually, I thought it was If you can’t tax it or ban it, fuck it up to the point where no one wants it anyway.

Well, I always said Kit has a nice can.

This just in:

The federal government will not file criminal charges against any of the 15 out-of-state gun dealers accused by Mayor Bloomberg in a federal lawsuit of selling guns illegally, the Daily News has learned.

In a stern rebuke to the city’s high-profile crusade against illegal guns, the feds warned the Bloomberg administration that it could face “potential legal liabilities” if it continues to conduct sting operations that fall within the jurisdiction of federal agents.

Only if it continues? The law has already been broken. Charge the dude. More:

According to a letter sent to City Hall, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and various U.S. attorneys’ offices have determined the city’s findings against the 15 dealers “do not rise to a level that would support a criminal prosecution.”

The letter – sent Tuesday by Michael Battle, director of the executive office for United States Attorneys at the Department of Justice – also scolded City Hall for engaging in sting operations involving persons “without proper law enforcement authority,” saying that could put the city in legal jeopardy. Battle added that City Hall could “unintentionally interrupt or jeopardize” criminal probes.

Asked if the Bloomberg administration plans to stop conducting the sting operations, Deputy Mayor Ed Skyler said, “Not necessarily.”

“The city hasn’t violated any laws,” Skyler said defiantly, adding that the city will continue to pursue its civil lawsuits against the gun dealers.

Yes, it has.

Anna Nicole Smith has died.

Last night, the Mrs. says she’s going to take the kids with her to the in-laws for dinner and for me to have some alone time. Cool. She tells me to take it easy and enjoy myself. So, I get in and plop my skinny ass on the couch. And stay there for about two hours, catching up on some TeeVee.

The Mrs. and the kids return. She says: I took out the trash.

Me: Oh, is trash day tomorrow. I forgot.

She says: Did you make the kids’ lunches for tomorrow?

Me: Err, no.

Her: [groans].

Me: Obviously, our definitions of take it easy and enjoy myself are different.

The US government has seized $55M from NETeller:

NETeller execs have announced that the U.S. government has seized “not more than $55 million” in U.S. funds and that those seizures will result in ongoing delays in repaying customers what they are owed.

While NETeller continues to make efforts to find a way to repay its U.S. customer base, there is no timetable for payment.

NETeller’s Ron Martin said, “The return of funds for our U.S. customers is a top priority for NETeller.”

This guy has withdrawn his money.

I mentioned how the mayor of DC may have put down the crack pipe and said the DC should drop its gun ban. In comments there, folks have opined that this is a trap and serves to either:

1) get everyone who unlawfully has a gun to register them so that the police can come get them later.

or

2) trying to invalidate Parker v. DC as being moot.

Could be.

Seen at Insty’s:

The Fulton County district attorney will seek felony murder charges against at least one of the Atlanta police officers involved in a botched drug raid that resulted in the shooting death of an elderly woman, said the officer’s attorney. . . .

On Nov. 21, narcotics officers went to the home of Kathryn Johnston in southwest Atlanta to execute a “no knock” search warrant. Johnston was killed and the three officers were injured in a ensuing shootout.

“No knock” warrants are frequently issued so police can get inside before suspects can destroy or dispose of drugs. When the officers kicked in the door, the elderly woman apparently fired five shots from her own revolver.

Johnston’s friends and family members contended the woman, who kept the gun for her protection, was a feeble and frightened woman who rarely ventured outside after dark. And they say that she was never involved in any drug activity. Her family says she was 92, while authorities say she was 88.

Junnier later told federal investigators that officers had lied to a magistrate judge about sending a confidential informant to Johnston’s house to purchase drugs in order to get the warrant.

Good.

Hillary Clinton on all those profits big, evil oil is pulling down:

I want to take those profits and I want to put them into a strategic energy fund that will begin to fund alternative, smart energy; alternatives and technology that will begin to actually move us toward the direction of independence.

Now, I’m all for energy independence. But I love me some capitalism more. And if you take those profits, they’ll just shut down.

A first production run AK in a museum. In other news, the AK has its own museum?

Chris has a good piece on Who’s at fault for the M16? Snippet:

There are a hell of a lot of people who REALLY hate the AR family of weapons, the 5.56 nato round, and the M16 in particular.

I’ve addressed this hatred before; and there are some valid issues, some not so valid issues, and some issues that were once valid, but aren’t anymore.

Data retention bill in congress:

All Internet service providers would need to track their customers’ online activities to aid police in future investigations under legislation introduced Tuesday as part of a Republican “law and order agenda.”

Employees of any Internet provider who fail to store that information face fines and prison terms of up to one year, the bill says. The U.S. Justice Department could order the companies to store those records forever.

You are assumed to be up to something and we must watch! More:

Details about data retention requirements would be left to Gonzales. At a minimum, the bill says, the regulations must require storing records “such as the name and address of the subscriber or registered user to whom an Internet Protocol address, user identification or telephone number was assigned, in order to permit compliance with court orders.”Because there is no limit on how broad the rules can be, Gonzales would be permitted to force Internet providers to keep logs of Web browsing, instant message exchanges, or e-mail conversations indefinitely. (The bill does not, however, explicitly cover search engines or Web hosting companies, which officials have talked about before as targets of regulation.)

No offense, but you’re not anonymous out there. If the feds want to find you, they will. Hell, they showed up at my house based on posting to Al Gore’s Internets.

Mayor Barry says drop the DC handgun ban. No, really.