Newswatch50 on a home invasion:

Meanwhile, Mrs. Papin, age 74, retrieved a shotgun from the bedroom area and confronted the two intruders, demanding that they leave, which they did.

On my blog I posted about some ammo my brother was given. This is the followup post on the subject.

——

I went to {edited to protect the dumb} in {edited to protect the dumb} Tn, and using calipers and such, they identified it as .308

Now a small gun rant.

When the smith told me it was a .308 he also said it was steel cased and that could be damaging to a firearm. I had read that before, but never have come across the situation, so had not gave it much thought. We talked about the brass wash/gilding then he said it.

I said “I thought at first it was a 7.62 × 51 mm. I got pretty close.”

Then he said “Well they’re the same thing”.

The problem is that they are not.

One of the better writeups on the issue can be found at Say Uncle’s Shooting Carnival, and even The Gun Zone has a good post on the subject.

While the 7.62mm NATO cartridge has a maximum chamber pressure of approximately 50,000 pounds per square inch (psi), in the SAAMI book the .308 Winchester has a MAP (maximum average product) pressure of approximately 62,000 psi* (each by conformal transducer measurements, and therefore comparable). This is not to say that all .308 Winchester loads will develop such pressures, merely that they would be within manufacturing tolerances if they did so. Firing .308 Winchester ammunition in a firearm specifically chambered for the 7.62mm NATO risks damage to the firearm and injury to the shooter.

When even gun smiths are giving out bad information how can newbies to the shooting field figure it all out? I’ve never shot a .308 or a 7.62X51mm, yet I know the basics of the issue on size and preasure.

Take a moment and verify all information you get over the counter. You get second opinions with doctors, why not gunsmiths?

Anyone who believes in the collective rights (or as it should be called the ‘no rights’) model of the second amendment is either clueless or a disingenuous hack. I think it was insty who referred to the ‘no rights’ model once as creation science, wherein the goal is developed first and worked back from there to obtain that result. He’s right. For those of you wishing to have that argument again, go to Aunt B.’s place.

To Nintendo: Seriously, guys, make more Wiis. I want one but I’m not standing in a line or calling Wal-Mart every day to get one. I got money. Get me a Wii.

To Illness: Go away. I swear, ’tis the season for sick kids with winter and daycare. Can we get at least a week’s break? I’d like to sleep for more than two hours at a stretch.

Sweaters: They’re scratchy and fit too snuggly for me. I hate them. But, every year, the wife buys me one. Stop.

The dude up the street: get on the Scott’s lawn-care program or something. Your lawn looks like a cross between a desert and the jungle. Some parts of it are solid dirt and other parts are bushier that Madonna’s pits from her 1980s Playboy spread.

To hypersensitive, politically-correct twits: Don’t you have better shit to do?

To Sanford: Do you just not make erasers for my 0.9MM mechanical pencil anymore?

To Windows Rescue & Recovery: You’re useless. Backing up my hard drive on, err, my hard drive is real fucking smart.

To proprietors of link farms and sites that just re-post feeds: I don’t care that you copy entire posts from me but please stop sending trackbacks and pingbacks. You’re just noise on Al Gore’s Internets and I have no use for you. Buy an ad if you want a link back.

Glenn Reynolds: Dude, every time I post over at No Silence Here, you link to it. It’s clear you like reading what I say so just go ahead and add SayUncle to your reading list and send a few more links my way. I could use the increase in ad revenue.

To random bloggers: Somehow, your feeds update every hour or so. And all it shows me is the same post over and over. Either your blogging software automatically re-sends your feed every hour, or you’re updating spelling/grammar throughout the day. Well, stop. I only want to read a post once unless it’s updated.

To Sean Braisted: Dunno what you’re doing, but every time you post a new entry, your feed updates the last 20 posts. So, I think you’ve written a few essays. But, instead, there’s one new post and 19 old ones.

Coming up with shit to write every day is hard. Hence, more linky than thinky lately.

In addition to Terms of Use and an Email Policy, I need to come up with both a linking policy (long and short: I link to who I read) and a privacy policy (I won’t give out any info unless it’s on request of a lawful court order).

I still don’t care about your cat.

It’s frightening that using the phrase small dicks in a blog post will lead to a significant increase in traffic.

To Verizon: don’t advertise that your phone/mp3 player holds 2 gig of music. You should advertise that it takes MicroSD chips that can hold 2 gig of music.

To anyone who has ever developed a program that requires passwords: I realize it’s not good security for me to use the same password over and over. Or even for me to use the same two or three passwords over and over. But for fuck’s sake, I can only come up with so many nonsense words that I can remember. I think I’m up to about 12 now and I still can’t fucking keep up.

To MS Outlook: Why do you even have a default font setting for email when you’re just going to create everything in 10 Arial any fucking way?

To MS Excel: Seriously, make that review toolbar go away. I don’t like it. I don’t use it. Every time I get rid of it, it comes back. I even installed a fucking macro to get rid of it and it still comes back.

To Paypal: I told you to leave me alone. Our relationship is through. Stop sending me email; stop contacting me; and cancel my account. You’re like a clingy old girlfriend who can’t take the hint. I know, your monkeys with keyboards tell me they can’t cancel the account and must keep it open for 7 years but I don’t care. You’ve wasted enough of my time and I will not devote any more time to resolving the issue. In fact, I’m tempted to ask my readers to paypal me $0.01 with the phrase Semi-Automatic Assault Weapon in the subject line. Though it’d be funny, you’d make money from it.

Whoever designed and timed the red-light structure from about Northshore Drive west needs to be taken out and shot.

To all the drivers on I140, you’re dumb asses. Every morning, at about the Westland Avenue exit, traffic comes to a complete stop. Once I travel the additional couple of miles to my exit, I see there’s no problem. There’s no wreck, no stall, no anything. You just stop at random. It’s like there’s a collective cloud of dumbass that covers the area and you breath it deeply. And it looks like all you retards in the left lane need to be in the right lane. Here’s a clue: Get in the right lane sooner.

To the .gov: Despite the fact that studies concluded that red light cameras either increased accidents or had no effect on accidents, you voted to install them any way. I guess the pocketbook is more important than the lives of your constituents, who hopefully vote your sorry asses out soon. I think I’ll open a store that just sells Photoblocker.

To all executives or producer or whoever the Hell decides formatting:

I appreciate the fact that you guys want to get your logo and stuff out there but here’s the deal: I own a plasma TeeVee. So, whenever you leave your gay little logo on the bottom right of the screen, I risk it permanently burning into my TeeVee screen. I had to run the screen restore stuff this weekend because a ghost image of the Noggin logo kept showing up.

You guys should fire everyone who writes for you now and go hire some random chump off the street. TeeVee people are completely devoid of original thought these days. There’s always my idea, if you’re desperate. And you are.

I’m starting Festivus early this year and will be airing grievances for the rest of the day. So, politics:

To the Republicans: You’re all fucking retarded. I’m not sure what happened or exactly where you guys lost your way, but everything about the last six years (except one tax break) has been a colossal disappointment. You didn’t make the government smaller (in fact, you made it the biggest it has ever been); you didn’t bring accountability to the government; you didn’t do, well, anything you promised.

To the Democrats: Let’s be honest, I don’t like you and you don’t like me. But congrats on your recent win. It took you a while. In 2004, I honestly figured a retarded monkey could have beaten anyone with an R after their name. Yet, you guys couldn’t. You finally figured out that if you kept your mouths shut for a little bit, tried not to do anything stupid, and kept McKinney out from in front of a camera, that the Republicans would lose. Good job, for a retarded monkey.

Rich says: One article with little information vs a dozen or more detailed articles. That’s the blogosphere.

The drug war in the US:

A member of the Durham Police Department Selective Enforcement Team escorts a child to use the bathroom after serving a search warrant at a suspected drug house. Working closely with the police department’s Gang Units, SET is responsible for making high-risk entries into dwellings to serve search warrants. Gang Unit Two made two controlled buys, or drug purchases, from the home with the help of an informant, giving them probable cause for a search warrant.

Yes, a ninjafied officer is watching a little boy go tinkle.

Drugs are winning the war on drugs.

Via Pete.

The AP:

A woman staying at a northeast Georgia motel this week shot herself while trying to light a cigarette with a pistol she mistook for a cigarette lighter, police said.

All this time we thought it was humans that caused Global Warming. It turns out it is mostly humans that eat cattle. I feel so superior now.

Actually I don’t eat much tofu, but it makes a good title. My smugness will probably be diminished after the UN calculates all the fish and chicken farts. And I eat a lot of black beans. That can’t be good.

Thank heaven for the UN.

How did that happen? Handguns are banned in Chicago.

Very annotated transcript by K-Romulus who made it to the appellate argument.

Via David.

I wrote about Orson Scott Card’s new novel “Empire” and commented on how this book has confounded the far left. The premise of the book is a second American Civil War between the Blue States and the Red States.

Is there an issue that could spark a shooting Civil War between Blue State America and Red State America?

I see only one issue that could ignite the country and that would be a mandatory federal government issued disarmament of the American citizen. This has happened in some degree in England and to a lesser degree in Australia.

Astute readers will note that in both England and Australia it is not total disarmament. Rifles, shotguns, and “antique handguns” are allowed to some degree in England and to a greater degree in Australia. The great concern is the “slippery slope” argument.

Should the Supreme Court strike down the Second Amendment as antiquated via the logic that “well regulated militias” are no longer a viable legal construct and that the militia component of the Second Amendment is the primary clause, then local communities could enact legislation to prohibit handguns and certain types of long arms if not all firearms. This could serve as a catalyst to dramatically polarize Blue State and Red State America.

Would Blue State America cheer such a Supreme Court ruling striking down the Second Amendment? A ruling is one thing, the day the law comes to the door of Red State America to confiscate certain if not all firearms is another matter.

Would Red State America turn in their firearms ammo first and create a shooting Civil War? The right to self defense is considered in almost all societies as sacrosanct. How could any court rule in a way that would put citizens at the mercy of criminals that have no regard for the rule of law?

I’ve been emailing with some friends about the 2nd Amendment. I just got done explaining the incorporation doctrine and how there are a couple post civil-war cases that say the doctrine does not apply to the 2nd Amendment. This lead to a question I couldn’t answer off the top of my head. Being lazy and all, I thought I’d ask you folks:

Has the Supreme Court ever applied any 2nd Amendment protection to a state law? I’m aware they never reversed the decision not to incorporate, but have they slid around it at all?

Joe says to be careful what we wish for:

If they prevail and if the Supreme Court agrees, it’s all over. Who would have thought the Supreme Court would trash the 1st Amendment — _seriously_ trash it — by criminalizing “political” speech? But, they did. If they can trivialize the 1st, imagine how unimportant they think the 2nd is.

Read it all and come back. I think Joe is right. Being the establishment, they are not inclined to change decades old laws no matter how unconstitutional they are. And that is bad. I would love to see the case go our way and pull a win for civil rights. But that’s unlikely. Also unlikely is that they take the case and find that the second amendment doesn’t mean what it says. If they did, there’d probably be a lot of angry gun nuts out there who will, honestly, start shooting politicians. The court will simply not hear the case and bypass all of that. And for that, they are cowards.

I hope Joe and I are wrong but I don’t expect that we are. So, assuming we’re right, what next?

Update: Related is, Stephen Halbrook on the second amendment and the Supreme Court. Via GLN.

Update 2: Insty weighs in.

Our house has been invaded by monsters. And bumblebees. At about 2 to 3 in the morning, Junior starts screaming because either monsters or bumblebees are in her room. Me or the wife then has to go and tell her there are no monsters or bumblebees. And that monsters aren’t real but bumblebees are, only there still aren’t bumblebees in your room. Because it’s cold outside. This is confusing to a two-year-old. And it’s a difficult conversation to have in the middle of the night when you’re not at your best. I’m personally of the opinion it’s a trap by Junior to get in our bed and the Mrs. falls for it every time.

I’m not sure where she picked up monsters. And I sure don’t know where the bumblebee thing is coming from. So, last night I asked. I asked Junior if it was one of the kids at school and she said No. Instead, she blames her teacher. I’m sure the teacher isn’t trying to scare her with monsters or bumblebees but there’s probably been a story or two told about them in class.

She doesn’t believe me when I say there’s no such thing as a monster. So, now we tell her that some combination of the dog, her teddy bears, and the pastel-colored butterflies painted on her walls repels the monsters. Somehow, the fact there are no monsters isn’t believable but that they are repelled by paint, fabric and an uninterested dog is. Well, when you’re two.

Braisted reports that a bunch of governors are not running for president, including Tennessee’s. I think it’s unfortunate. I like Bredesen and would likely vote for him, particularly if the Republicans are looking to run a McCain, Bloomberg, or Giuliani. Those three come with all the bad of the Republican party and absolutely none of the good.

Joe makes an appearance in the press as a bomb-making expert.

And this is why I said before that I generally do not entertain inquiries from the press.

Aunt B. wants to start one. I don’t think any dog should be treated any differently just because it’s a pit bull. All dogs should be treated like, well, dogs.

Seen at Radley’s:

It was Fabian Sheats’ third felony drug arrest in four months. But on the afternoon of Nov. 21, according to a police report, he was looking to curry favor, so he told officers they could find a kilogram of cocaine in a house at 933 Neal Street N.W.

That encounter led police to the home of Kathryn Johnston, an elderly woman who lived alone behind burglar bars and kept a rusty revolver. When officers burst into the house just three hours after talking to Sheats, a shootout ensued that left the woman dead and three officers wounded. No cocaine was found.

Sheats’ arrest report, made public Thursday, sheds new light on why officers targeted Johnston’s home.

Police say they used Sheats’ tip to direct a confidential informant to the Neal Street house, where he made a drug buy, leading them to conduct the raid. A man named Alexis White later came forward to say he is a longtime informant and police asked him to lie after the shootings and say he bought drugs at the address. Police will not say who the informant was.

The fecal matter has hit the oscillating cooling device.

Went to the dentist this morning. Told you before how I get the gas ’cause my girly teeth are all sensitive. Anyhoo, had the MP3 player and it was kind of cool to listen to Five Minutes Alone and The Color of Money with a huge gas buzz.

Oh, and the title of this post is a combination of the title of Pantera’s album and the brand of light I stared at for 30 minutes.

The point: I dig the MP3 player.

NYC.gov:

MAYOR BLOOMBERG ANNOUNCES THE FILING OF SECOND FEDERAL LAWSUIT AGAINST IRRESPONSIBLE GUN DEALERS

12 Gun Dealers in Five States Are Named in Second Federal Lawsuit Following Sting Operation

Six of the 15 Gun Dealers Named in the First Lawsuit Have Reached Settlements with the City; Court Appointed Special Master is Named for Three of the Six Gun Dealers

City Launches Subway Ads Warning of New Mandatory Minimum Sentencing for Illegal Possession of a Loaded Handgun Passed Earlier This Year

I wonder if Bloomberg’s investigators broke the law again this time by lying on federal paperwork? More:

Earlier this year, investigators from the James Mintz Group, a private investigative firm employed by the City, traveled to five states to establish whether these gun dealers were violating federal laws governing firearms sales. The investigators, in teams of two, entered gun stores and followed a scenario commonly known as “straw purchasing” – where one individual makes all of the inquiries into purchasing the gun, and then the other individual, completely uninvolved in the sale process, fills out the required federal forms to pass the background check. Federal law prohibits licensed dealers from selling firearms to individuals when they have a reasonable belief that the firearm being sold is not for the person who purports to be the purchaser.

All 12 dealers named in the suit sold a gun to a team of undercover investigators, who wore hidden cameras during their sting operations. Even in the face of obvious “red lights” that should have immediately ended the discussion between dealer and customer, including that the straw purchaser did not participate in the transaction until the time came to fill out the federal forms and did not pay for the gun.

Actually, the form 4473 that you fill out when purchasing a firearm asks if you’re the purchaser. The law-breaking done here was by the investigators.

Update: Jeff asks:

When is the Mayor and his undercover team going to be arrested and thrown in jail by the BATF?

Uh, never. It’s OK to break the law if you’re rich and in politics. Will not happen.

Interesting read on a reporter going through a Tennessee handgun carry permit course.

This time, in Seattle:

Seattle Police Department Chief Gil Kerlikowske has made closing the state’s gun-show loophole and passing an assault-weapons ban (as many states have already done since the federal ban expired in 2004) two of Seattle’s top legislative items for the upcoming session in Olympia. Unfortunately, Democratic house leadership, which is nervous about alienating moderates and Republicans, told the city that pushing gun control isn’t going to fly.

Police chiefs pass laws? And by many states, name one. Illinois tried and failed. Maryland tried and failed. All other state bans that I know of were in effect either before or during the federal ban. Could be wrong, of course.

In Ohio, the house has overridden Taft’s veto of the preemption law. On to the senate.

Regarding the recent trigger-happiness of the NYPD, the Village Voice ran this cover:

What media bias? Discuss.

The WaPo:

In a case that could shape firearms laws nationwide, attorneys for the District of Columbia argued Thursday that the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms applies only to militias, not individuals.

The city defended as constitutional its long-standing ban on handguns, a law that some gun opponents have advocated elsewhere. Civil liberties groups and pro-gun organizations say the ban in unconstitutional.

Kudos to the WaPo for not referring to the good guys as the powerful gun lobby. More:

At issue in the case before a federal appeals court is whether the 2nd Amendment right to “keep and bear arms” applies to all people or only to “a well regulated militia.” The Bush administration has endorsed individual gun-ownership rights but the Supreme Court has never settled the issue.

If the dispute makes it to the high court, it would be the first case in nearly 70 years to address the amendment’s scope. The court disappointed gun owner groups in 2003 when it refused to take up a challenge to California’s ban on high-powered weapons.

In the Washington, D.C. case, a lower-court judge told six city residents in 2004 that they did not have a constitutional right to own handguns. The plaintiffs include residents of high-crime neighborhoods who want guns for protection.

There’s more. I have to day, and I don’t do this often, it’s a fairly balanced piece from the other liberal Washington paper. Balanced or not, this should scare you:

Silberman and Judge Thomas B. Griffith seemed to wrestle, however, with the meaning of the amendment’s language about militias. If a well-regulated militia is no longer needed, they asked, is the right to bear arms still necessary?

“That’s quite a task for any court to decide that a right is no longer necessary,” Alan Gura, an attorney for the plaintiffs, replied. “If we decide that it’s no longer necessary, can we erase any part of the Constitution?”

This will be an interesting case to watch.