Saturday, April 30, 2011

3 People Shot in 2 Minneapolis Incidents - and Remember, Minnesota is one of the SAFER states

This is from the Mpls STrib, again.  I'm finding that by posting these, my awareness of just how many stupid, hurtful, dangerous shootings in a supposedly safer than average place there really are:


Minneapolis police responded to two separate shootings early Saturday that left two people hospitalized.
About 2 a.m. Saturday, a large crowd of people was leaving downtown bars when gunshots rang out at 1st Avenue N. and 3rd Street N., outside Karma Nightclub. Police stationed nearby responded to the scene, and found one man, Jamaal Dionte Brown, 23, of Minneapolis, wounded. He was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center, where he was in critical condition.
No arrests were made in connection to the shooting, but police said the suspect was likely firing at adversaries nearby and not randomly into the crowd.
In a statement, police said the Warehouse District is safe for the thousands of people who flock to the entertainment area every night. Police heavily patrol the area and in the last year, the downtown region saw a 7 percent drop in violent crime. However, police have been called continually to Karma Nightclub, and police said they'll work with the city to remedy issues continuing with the bar.
About 15 minutes before the downtown shooting, officers responded to another shooting in Minneapolis.
Two people were shot at the Old Colony gas station at 1624 Washington Avenue N., said police spokesman Sgt. Steve McCarty. One person was shot in the neck and taken to HCMC and was in stable condition. The other victim was not seriously injured.
In July 2010, three men were shot near the Old Colony station, one of them fatally.
Both of Saturday's shootings remain under investigation.

If You Liked Trump, You're Gonna Love Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin

Ann Barnhardt posted a bizarre and fascinating question for Obama on her blog on April 27th about this guy. Fascinating because in subsequent posts she "proves" that the long form birth certificate is a fake, but in this one she says Obama could have avoided the need for Lakin's Court Martial if he'd released it earlier. Ann's frothing-at-the-mouth style continues to amaze and entertain.

The Viagra Draw


Lawful Gun Owner in New Hampshire Enters the Gray Area

Reference is made to the Famous Venn Diagram.

I'm sure a little charge of reckless conduct won't result in any permanent restrictions or anything.

UnionLeader.com reports.

A local man who allegedly fired a gun that sent a bullet into a neighboring apartment was charged Saturday by Laconia police with reckless conduct.

Police said E. Bruce Boone, 62, of 515 Endicott North St., fired the gun about 3:40 p.m. Saturday. The bullet went through his apartment's wall, through a hallway and into the bedroom of a neighboring apartment, police said.

"That bedroom was occupied by two people at the time of the incident," police said in a release. Nobody was injured.
What's your opinion? Why should someone who negligently discharges his gun and accidently shoots someone be punished so much more than someone lucky enough to only shoot the wall? Isn't the offense the same? Isn't the negligent action exactly the same in both cases.

The pro-gun voices don't like people even talking about holding them responsible for such behavior. They want lots of leeway. Accidents can happen to anyone, they cry.

I say one strike you're out, period. Any less-than-responsible gun activity should be taken very seriously, regardless of the damage inflicted. In this way, many future tragedies would be averted.

What do you think? Please leave a comment.

Felony Murder Trial in the Oklahoma Pharmacy Case

NewsOK has the report of the felony murder trial associated with the Oklahoma pharmacist's supposed DGU.

The recordings show a masked robber, Jevontai Ingram, then 14, pointing a gun at two female employees while an accomplice, Antwun “Speedy” Parker, pulls on a mask.

The recordings then show pharmacist Jerome Jay Ersland shoot Parker in the head and chase Ingram out of the store.

The pharmacist then comes back inside the store, gets a second gun and shoots Parker, who had fallen, five more times. Doctors determined the last shots were the fatal ones. Parker was 16.
The pharmacist, Jerome Jay Ersland, is going on trial next month. The guys charged in this case with felony murder are the accomplices who supposedly planned the robbery. But, the incredible thing is, the only death that took place is the one dealt out by Ersland, not by the robbers.

What's your opinion? Do you think the concept of "felony murder" is a good one? And should it apply regardless of how someone ends up dead?

Doesn't it seem that, if Ersland murdered one of the robbers, which seems pretty clear, then the dead robber and his friends should not be blamed for that murder. That one is on Ersland, period.

Let's fact it, this is Oklahoma and anything is possible. I'll say it right now. if these guys are convicted of felony murder and Ersland gets off, I'm going to submit Oklahoma for The Crown. How's that sound?

Please leave a comment.

Oklahoma City Shooting - One Dead



Capt. Dee Patty said they arrived to find a male shot to death. Investigators are talking to multiple witnesses, hoping someone will help them figure out what happened.

Oklahoma City Police spokesman Gary Knight said investigators learned that the victim and 22-year-old Jerdavion Ronell Knox began arguing and the argument escalated into a fight. Knox produced a pistol and shot the victim, killing him, Knight said, and then fled the scene.

Shortly after 1 a.m. on Friday, Knox was found at a home in the 10600 block of North Council Road, police said. He was arrested and booked into the Oklahoma County Jail on one count of first-degree murder. The identity of the man shot has not been released.
The "argument escalated into a fight," so how do they get 1st Degree Murder out of that?

Oh, well, this is Oklahoma where they make guns easily available and then punish the criminals but good.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Friday, April 29, 2011

Demonstration at the NRA Convention


We would like to invite you to attend an extraordinary event. On Saturday, April 30, victims and survivors of gun violence and concerned citizens will march to the NRA Annual Convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and call on the gun lobby to acknowledge the problem of illegal guns in our society. Participants will ask the NRA to work with them—as opposed to against them—to make sure that guns don't end up in the hands of the violent and deranged.
Remember what Jules said about Amsterdam?

Walmart Stops Biting the Bullet, and Goes Back to Selling Them

Let me share one of my guilty pleasures with MikeB readers: peopleofwalmart.com.

You can't beat looking at these photos for a laugh on any day you're feeling a bit sad.  They are a guaranteed laugh.  Maybe not so much though, at the idea of some of these people buying guns and ammo.....

Wal-Mart brings back gun sales

The move is just the latest sign that executives are returning to the company's roots after recent failed efforts to appear more upscale.
By InvestorPlace on Fri, Apr 29, 2011 By Jeff Reeves, editor of InvestorPlace.com
Wal-Mart (WMT) may be the world's biggest retailer, but that doesn't mean it has given up on growing. From planned grocery deliveries to inner-city residents to its recent purchase of a social-media company, there always seems to be something new in store.

The latest news, according to The Wall Street Journal, is that Wal-Mart will reload gun sales by cutting back on electronics floor space to make room for rifles, shotguns and ammunition at hundreds of U.S. stores.

But unlike previous failed efforts and some recent quirky initiatives, the return of guns and ammo is a return to Wal-Mart's roots -- something the company may sorely need.

Before you go making gun sales at Wal-Mart a political issue, remember that the bottom line is always the bottom line for the King of Retail. And that bottom line hasn't been very impressive lately. The company's stock is down slightly over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 has tacked on 11%. This is no surprise, given seven straight quarters of same-store-sales declines in the U.S.

Wal-Mart stopped selling guns and ammo at most of its U.S. stores five years ago but is now stocking up on firearms and nearly half of its 3,600 U.S. locations. Spin doctors at the corporation claim this is part of a larger focus on "heritage categories" -- fishing rods and bolts of sewing fabric that were cut out of aisles as the discounter tried to appear more upscale.

Upscale obviously didn't work. A few of years ago, Wal-Mart eliminated thousands of items to de-clutter its stores, but it suffered more customer complaints than anything else. In September, managers made an about-face and began restocking the shelves as Wal-Mart added thousands of new products. And just a few weeks ago, it announced an ad campaign in which Wal-Mart reasserts its low-price roots. That, essentially, leaves the company right back where it started a few years ago.

That isn't a very heartening sign for shareholders. After all, businesses are meant to grow and seize more opportunities, not just put it in neutral.

But in Wal-Mart's case, it may be wise to simplify and return to the mission that made this store a retail powerhouse. Sprawling rural and suburban SuperCenters offering guns and ammo and cheap clothes, food and furnishings made the franchise what it is today. Why tinker with the model if it was so darn profitable?

In Wal-Mart's case, a return to previous business success could be the best move, especially after some new ideas that have fallen flat.

Because the Conservatives Don't Really Want Us to Be A Safer State

They have approved an expansion of violence which is not warranted or justified.  Does anyone else remembre the lies that the Republicans and Tea Partiers were going to be focusing on the economy, and this time - THIS TIME  - they weren't going to be waging their stupid, ill conceived, and unpopular culture wars?

This goes against everything I was taught in gun safety and combat pistol training.  It is wrong. It is stupid, and it risks escalating violence above current levels on both sides of crime - the victim and the perpetrators.  Never mind what this is going to do to insurance costs.

I agree with the people interviewed in this article that the legislation presents in effect a moral hazard, while improving NOTHING.

From the KARE11.com:
House panel approves deadly force expansion

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- A bill expanding the legal use of deadly force in Minnesota passed the House public safety committee Thursday. The hearing drew a sizable crowd of spectators on both sides of the firearms issue.

The proposal aims to spell out the circumstances in which otherwise law abiding citizens can kill with impunity. It would create the presumption that anyone who enters a home without permission poses a deadly threat.

"It says you can meet force with superior force," Hamline Law School professor Joseph Olson, who heads a group known as the Gun Owners for Civil Rights Alliance.

"It says that you can go one step further or move up the continuum of force. That's exactly what police officers are taught to do."
Police officers are given extensive training, they are given continuing training.  They have legal authority that exceeds that of the average gun owner and home owner - for a good reason!  This reflects the inherently more fearful, authoritarian, and violence prone traits that are associated with far right wing politics in academic research.
Rep. Tony Cornish, R - Good Thunder, who formally authored H.F. 1467 in the House, couldn't name any examples of homeowners going to prison in Minnesota for shooting someone in self-defense.
We have those who claim to be against intrusive government, against bigger government, consistently expanding laws and government where no basis, no justification, no legitimate problem or cause exists to do so.  That is NOT smaller government.  What this does is make it easier for people to shoot other people.  It improves nothing.  If there were examples in Minnesota of home owners being treated unfairly, this would make some sense.  Not good sense, but it would have a basis in reality that this lacks.  But we have no such problem in need of a solution.

Currently use of deadly force, even inside one's own home, must be justified by the threat of eminent bodily harm. Under the Cornish bill, those who kill intruders will be shielded from prosecution regardless of the what kind of threat they pose.

The definition of a "dwelling" is also expanded in the Cornish proposal to include the home, garages, porches, walkways, driveways, decks, yards, hotel rooms, campers, boats and tents.
 
"Do we really want the law to presume that a homeowner will have the right to shoot and kill and unarmed teenager who has entered the garage to steal a bicycle or other personal property?" Dakota County Attorney Jim Backstrom asked the committee.
Jim Backstrom has been the Dakota County Attorney for many years; he is very good at his job.  By no stretch is he some liberal politician, nor has he ever been soft on crime.  Rather he is a pragmatic, level headed man who gets things done in his office, and does them very well.  The legislature would do well to listen to him.
"Do we really want to allow a driver who believes he's being threatened with substantial harm  in a road rage incident to shoot and kill the other driver, rather than calling 9-1-1 or simply driving away?"
Opponents said the language is subject to many interpretations by homeowners trying to make split second decisions about defending themselves against intruders.
"The danger is that the language is so confusing and so ambiguous that it could open up all kinds of ways in which people could shoot another person and get away with murder," Joan Peterson of Duluth told KARE.
What is sometimes referred to as a moral hazard, a situation which encourages people to do something wrong or makes it easier for them to do so successfully.
Peterson heads Protect Minnesota, an organization that works against gun violence. She's also heads the North Star Chapter of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. She said currently a jury can decide whether lethal force was justified.
"If this becomes law some people will not ever have a jury trial. They will be allowed to go free and the victims and the victims' families will not have justice," she remarked. Peterson's own sister, Barbara Lund and boyfriend Kevin Kelly, were shot to death in 1992 in the basement of Lund's estranged husband.
Mankato's top law enforcement officer, Public Safety Director Todd Miller, spoke in support of the bill. He argued that private citizens need to be empowered to protect themselves when police can't be there.
"I do not fear a law abiding citizen, a law-abiding gun owner," Miller told lawmakers.
"What I'm concerned about are the gang members, the drug dealers, especially coming out of the state of Texas; the people who, whenever an incident occurs, people say, 'How did that person get a gun'?"
Most of the police officers who appeared at the hearing testified in opposition to the bill. Ken Reed, an assistant chief in the St. Paul Police Department, called the idea a "recipe for disaster."
He noted that plain clothes officers, meter readers, delivery persons and other innocent citizens often enter property without permission.
"As an ex-homicide detective, to put the burden on me to try to investigate something like that with the language in this provision is darned near impossible."
If the police are against this, who are committed to pursuit of criminals and the greatest possible reduction in all kinds of violence ------- how good an idea IS this? It's a terrible idea.
Rep. Cornish, who has spent his career in law enforcement, said police expressed some of the same worries about the Personal Protection Act in 2003 which made it legal for citizens to carry concealed weapons in Minnesota, if they quality for a permit.
"A year or two from now we'll sit back and wonder what was all the fuss about," Cornish told fellow lawmakers.
The bill moves next to the House Judiciary Committee. There was no companion bill in the Senate as of April 28th.

The Norwegianity Prediction for 2012


They had him by the balls but, being teabaggers, they just had to go from licking to sucking. Call them the original Lollipop Twins, call them southern-fried crackheads, but don’t call them the future of this country because thanks to their antics, we’ve got another four years of Obama looming before us in all its glory holed Wall Streeted splendor.

Fuck us all, each and every one of us because this was our best case outcome.
My feelings exactly. What are yours?

Please leave a comment.

Pittsburgh Gun Battle

via The Post Gazette. Too bad this didn't happen tomorrow, we could blame it on the convention.

At least two people were shot early this morning in a Uniontown gun battle that erupted over a dispute about a missing jacket and money, according to Uniontown police.

The shooting occurred at about 3:30 a.m. near Fayette Street and Feathers Avenue, outside Splash Bar, Capt. David Rutter said.

A man and a woman were flown by helicopter to local hospitals, both shot in the lower torso, he said.

Investigators believe multiple people fired guns, and they are searching for one or two shooters who fled the scene. Police are unsure if any shooters who fled were wounded as well, Capt. Rutter said.

The dispute had started earlier at the bar, then erupted into a fight, he said.

"Apparently it started over an argument over a missing jacket and money," he said. Numerous shots were fired, and several cars and businesses were struck by bullets.
Actually, it's an interesting story, several shooters involved, they started out in a bar, it's got a little bit of everything.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Superior Gun


The pro gun crowd says that teaching kids to use real guns is good. I think it's sick. At times it seems like a form of child abuse. But what about toy guns? Are they bad for kids? I read an article once which said if you don't give little boys toy guns to play with they make their own out of sticks. And if you take the sticks away they use their fingers.

What do you think is the best way to handle this? Please leave a comment.

The NRA Fundraising Campaign

theday.com posted an op-ed from a man who mistakenly received the NRA pitch. After describing the contents of the fund raiser and referring to some of Wayne's hysterics, the author summed it up like this.

This media elitist doesn't see how the Second Amendment is subverted by registration or requiring people to store guns so kids can't get at them and I wanted the Connecticut legislature to pass a bill banning one of those "commonly owned firearm accessories."

The accessory is a magazine clip of the kind the Tucson accessorizer Jared Loughner used in January when he tried to assassinate Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and managed to kill six people, including a 9-year-old girl. In a matter of seconds Loughner was also able to wound 12 others without reloading his Glock.

But the bill died in the Judiciary Committee, thanks to 200 NRA "sportsmen" who showed up at a public hearing and scared the legislators.

Wayne, I'm afraid you guys have too much power already, so I'll have to pass on the membership and petition, although I was tempted by the handsome duffel bag. It would be useful if I'm ever called up by the militia.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

For Los Angeles Cops It's Like Shootin' Fish in a Barrel

The Los Angeles Times reports on two police shootings in a single day, both dead..

A woman was killed in an officer-involved shooting Wednesday night in Watts -- the area's second fatal shooting of the day involving police, authorities said.

The slaying occurred about 7:20 p.m. after patrol officers responded to a "shots fired" call in the 10000 block of Anzac Avenue, the Los Angeles Police Department said.

The name of the woman was not released. Investigators were going to the scene.

[Updated 9:08 p.m: Officers responded to reports that the woman was shooting at her daughter and her grandchildren, according to LAPD Officer Karen Rayner.]

Meanwhile, police identified a man killed Wednesday morning by officers as Jose Solario Abraham, 46. He allegedly confronted officers in the 1700 block of East 115th Street with a shotgun and knife and refused commands to drop the weapons. Officers opened fire after he pointed the shotgun at them, according to the LAPD.
It's rough out there, huh? Lots o' guns.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Close the Terror Loophole

via Opinione from Yahoo News

The 247 people who were allowed to buy weapons did so after going through required background checks as required by federal law.

It is not illegal for people listed on the government's terror watch list to buy weapons. For years, that has bothered Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., who is trying again to change the law to keep weapons out of the hands of terrorists.

The secret, fluid nature of the terror watch list has made closing what Lautenberg calls a "terror gap" in the nation's gun laws a challenge. About the same number of people suspected of ties to terrorism also successfully purchased guns in the U.S. in 2009. The FBI provided the new numbers to the Government Accountability Office, Congress' investigative arm, and the figures were obtained by The Associated Press.

The government can only prevent people from buying guns for any of 11 reasons. Convicted felons and illegal immigrants, for example, cannot buy weapons. But the terrorist watch list is different. People become convicted felons only after a court process and an opportunity to defend themselves. The watch list is secret and generated at the government's discretion. It is not a list of people convicted of terrorism crimes.

The list of about 450,000 people includes suspected members of al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations, terror financiers, terror recruiters and people who attended training camps. People's names are added to and removed from the watch list every day, and most people never know whether they're on it.
If I were a gun control advocate (ha-ha), I wouldn't even mention this silly stuff. Think about it, 247 people out of 450,000 bought guns, or did they mean AT LEAST 247 out of 450,000?  Either way, it's a small number.

And worse yet, not one mention of any of the 247 having committed a crime.

No, this one goes in the same category as magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, or should I call them "assault clips?" I call that categoy, "of minor interest with limited potential to help the problem."

We have bigger fish to fry, and spending time and effort on these initiatives takes away from that.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Can you tell which one is 'the Donald'?

Does it matter who is the bigger clown?

 

There is another possibility, that they are one and the same....they were both born in 1946.  Coincidence?

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=93063&page=1
"It's time to set the record straight. The Father of Bozo Speaks
If Bozo has a father, that man is Alan Livingston, former president of Capital Records, who created Bozo at the Circus in 1946. It was the first read-along record — a milestone in children's entertainment — and it sold more than a million copies.
It was so successful, Livingston branched out into TV in 1949. The show debuted on KTTV, Channel 11 in Los Angeles."
All of the silly conservatives who still have a problem with the origins of the lawful President of the United States should climb back into the clown car with the Donald, and drive off into the sunset. Beep beep, beep beep!

JG on Birtherism, Trump

The Donald

Let's examine this.

First, one should understand the entire issue of "birtherism" has nothing to do with where Obama was or wasn't born.  It has nothing to do with eligibilty to be President.  It has everything to with Obama's skin color and that he has a foreign-sounding name.
Second, producing this birth certificate or any other evidence will do nothing to change the fact of Obama's skin color and name. Birthers are not going to go, "well, I was wrong and now I support the President."
Not gonna happen.

Third, Obama producing this birth certificate was a tactical and strategic blunder.  Here's why: the only people who are "birthers" are extreme wingnuts/Tea Party cranks.  There is nothing Obama could do to sway these folks--so why bother? OTOH, moderates and independents tend to view "birtherism" with the same jaundiced eye as Big Foot sightings and the Hale-Bopp cult.  Thus, every time a GOP politico or candidate is asked about "birtherism," they face a very uncomfortable situation.  They can align themselves with the TeaParty/tinfoil hat crowd and risk losing moderates and indpendents or they could renounce bitherism and lose the TeaParty extremists or they could try to weasel out of the question and piss off everyone.
IOW, birtherism hurts the GOP and presents them with a "no-win" situation.  Rove and a number of GOP strategists understand this; in fact, Rove so hates the issue, he has accused Obama of creating it.

Further, if I'm a Dem strategist, I *want* fringe kooks like Trump and Bachmann and other birther candidates out there sucking oxygen and air-time away from more moderate GOP candidates.  I *want* these folks out there as the 'face' of the GOP.  Why on earth would Obama want to stop this circular firing squad?

Re Trump:  liberals need not worry about him.  In fact, we should encourage his candidacy.  Why?  First, he's not going to run; he's done this twice before. He does this for free publicity.  The first time he ran for Prez he was promoting his first book.  This time, he's using a phony run to keep his TV show's numbers up.  Second, the longer he remains a GOP frontrunner helps Dems because it points out exactly how weak and useless the real GOP field is.

Who on earth thinks Trump will actually run?  I don't think the Donald is the brightest bulb out there but I give him credit for not being completely retarded.  Does anyone think Trump wants his finances scrutinized?  His personal life?  He's already shown that when he moves off issues unrelated to birtherism, he's way out of his league.  No, the Donald loves the publicity but he doesn't want the job.

Florida Concealed Carry Gone Bad




Police have not charged anyone with a crime in the incident, but the man, who police said has a concealed weapons permit and lawfully owned the gun, seems to admit he made a mistake by leaving the gun out.
Yeah, why would they charge anyone with a crime. In Florida that's just the way things go.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Carl Everett - Abusive Bully with a Gun


His "being held without bond" sounds a bit excessive to me, but he should certainly forfeit his god-given natural human right to own guns.

Maybe he could have a career in comedy when this is all over.

He also said he doubted whether man ever walked on the moon and famously questioned whether dinosaurs ever existed.

"Nobody ever saw a dinosaur," he said. "The Bible doesn't say anything about them."

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Oakland Shooting Rampage - 2 Dead Several Wounded

SFGate has the report.

David Ward, the operator of Sweet Jimmie's at 311 Broadway, said witnesses had told police that Williams and the other man ran into the restaurant to try to find safety.

The gunman opened fire near the front door, killing Williams and Jenkins, who was inside Sweet Jimmie's playing video games, Ward said.

Two other men, including a friend of Williams', sustained life-threatening wounds, and two women were shot but are expected to survive, police said.

The gunman fled with three other men in a white, four-door Dodge Avenger. Police described them as black men in their late teens or early 20s.
The pro-gun defenders are always trying to separate themselves from the criminal gun owners, and who can blame them? Unfortunately for them, as my Venn Diagram points out, it is an impossibility. Easy access to guns is what ties them together like first cousins with a strong family resemblance.

It doesn't matter if the shooter is a white guy with a history of mental instability who shoots up a Tucson political rally, or if he's, like in this case, a young black gangster trying to rob people who decides to wreak havoc.

All of the guns flow from the good guys to the bad guys. It's a law of nature, like gravity.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

More on the Gun flow from Virginia to New Jersey


We've heard about this case before. Now we get some more info from Mr. Beasley.

The leader of a gunrunning crew responsible for putting at least 50 weapons into the hands of city gangsters -- including the gun that killed 13-year-old Tamrah Leonard at a city block party in 2009 -- pleaded guilty yesterday.

Beasley admitted before Superior Court Judge Pedro Jimenez that he purchased guns in his childhood state of Virginia and sold them to drug dealers and gang members in Trenton.

He was certainly an enterprising young man.  In the report last year it said he liked to deal in revolvers becuase they didn't leave spent cartridges all over the place.  That's smart.

"Seventy-five percent of the crime guns in New Jersey come from out of state, and Virginia is the second biggest source state," state Director of Criminal Justice Stephen J. Taylor said. "Trayle Beasley is precisely the type of defendant we are seeking to take off the street through our efforts to fight illicit gun trafficking."
Don't you just love it when they talk percentages like that? I do.

What's your opinion? Do you think the gun laws are too lax in Virginia? I do.

Please leave a comment.

No Wonder the Cops are So Trigger Happy


The fatal shooting of Eugene police officer Chris Kilcullen on Friday is part of an emerging national trend indicating that gun-related violence against police is on the rise.

As of Monday, gunfire had killed 32 law enforcement officers in the United States — compared with 17 nationwide last year through April 25, according to data compiled by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

A total of 61 on-duty officers in the United States died after being shot in 2010, up from 49 in 2009.

“What it shows is that our officers are at a higher risk than ever before,” said Rich Roberts, a spokesman for the National Union of Police Officers.

In each of the past 13 years, traffic fatalities have been the leading cause of on-duty officer deaths. But the uptick in shooting attacks on police threatens to change that in 2011.
You know what one of the major factors in this is? Gun availability.

You know who's to blame for that? The NRA and their supporters who have succeeded in maintaining gun control laws that are easily circumvented and inneffectual.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Aiding and Abetting Gun Thieves in Michigan


We reported on this one the other day, but here's Uncle Jer himself.



In the previous report I didn't catch the little fact that he'd been robbed before. He should have been closed down at that point for making the theft so easy. I'll bet he promised to install a securtiy system then too.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Shoot First - Call 911 Later

The Wichita Eagle has the report.

Two men were shot by a homeowner on his property in the Sumner County town of Milton early Monday, authorities said.

The 46-year-old homeowner awoke about 2:45 a.m. and thought he heard intruders in his house, Sumner County sheriff's Capt. Mike Yoder said. The man got up, grabbed a rifle and went to investigate.

He saw four men on his property, including in a detached shop, Yoder said. He opened fire on them, and they began to run before fleeing in two vehicles from the town, which is in northwest Sumner County south of Suppesville.

The homeowner then called 911.

The County Sherrif summed it up perfectly.

The homeowner was booked into jail on suspicion of aggravated battery, Yoder said.

"Obviously, you have the right to protect your property, but you can't go overboard with it," Yoder said.
What's your opinion? Do they go a bit too far with this castle-doctrine mentality? I say yes.

Please leave a comment.

Gov. Jan Brewer on the Birthers



Combined with her other veto, I starting to think she's not so bad.

What do you think? Please leave a comment.

Gunloons on Dope (Part Deux)

Frequent commenter "P" often throws out whoppers such as:

This despite DOJ findings that gunowners as a social group are one of the most law abiding groups they trace?

This despite evidence that permit holders offend at a rate 25 times less often than police?

This despite evidence that legal gun owners are 2200 times less likely to kill or injure you than your Doctor?

Ask any ER doc, he or she will tell you the truth, knivfe attacks are more lethal than gun attacks. Harder to fix too.

Notice what's missing?  Right, no evidence for such claims.

But, we here at MikeB, not only point out the lies and misconceptions--we also show why they're lies and misconceptions.  In coming posts, I will demonstrate why "P" is wrong--although the burden of proof for his assertions is on him.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Another Drunk Indiana Gun Owner Acting Up



An intoxicated man aggitated over a text converstation Sunday evening grabbed a sword and a pistol, then fired the gun at the ceiling, police said. That bullet went through a kitchen window a quarter of a mile away, police said.

A woman said she had left the kitchen just moments before the bullet shot through the window of the home in the 1300 block of Cottage Avenue.
There must have been some kind of shift in the plate tectonics. I swear Indiana belongs right down there between Alabama and Mississippi.

What do you think? Please leave a comment.

The Venn Diagram of Gun Owners


A = criminal gun owners
B = law-abiding gunowners
AUB =all of the in-between guys, including but not limited to the following.

1. anyone who has ever violated a gun-law but has never been convicted of a felony.
2. anyone who abuses his wife or children in any way but has never been convicted of it.
3. anyone who is addicted to drugs and/or alcohol but has not yet been disqualified. 
4. anyone who has ever dropped a gun or caused a negligent discharge.
5. anyone who has become elderly or otherwise physically incapacitated.


I realize there are others, please feel free to mention them in the comments.  And I apologize for the disproportionate diagram.  The AUB section should be much, much larger.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

The Divisiveness of the NRA and Its Followers


(click to make bigger)

Liberal Viewer on Donald Trump

"I can see Roe v. Wade from my house."

Kalamazoo Gunplay - 1 Dead, 1 Injured

on more gun violence in Kalamazoo where just a few days ago a cop was killed and the shooter committed suicide.
Police say a Kalamazoo man, 35, was killed and another injured in a shooting Sunday night on the city's north side and a suspect is being sought, area TV stations are reporting.

Kalamazoo Public Safety Department officers responded around 9:10 p.m. to a call of shots being fired in the 600 block of Mable Street, according to wwmt.com and woodtv.com.

Police found a badly injured man at the scene. He was transported to Bronson Hospital where he died. The second victim, 51, refused treatment for what police called minor injuries.
What's your opinion? Do you think there's too much gun availability to unfit people up there?

Please leave a comment.

Philadelphia Exports Trouble to New Jersey

Philly.com reports on how out-of-state thugs give New Jersey a bad name.

A shooting at an Egg Harbor Township motel led to the arrests of two Philadelphia men and the victim, a South Carolina man wanted in a slaying in his home state.

Egg Harbor Township police responded to the motel around 12:30 p.m. Saturday and found Deonte Nathan Williams, 26, of Florence, S.C., wounded in the right arm. Police later learned he was wanted on a fugitive warrant.

The alleged shooter, Christopher J. Robinson, 19, was arrested at the motel. Darius Covington, 21, ran off but was captured an hour later.

Robinson and Covington face charges that include aggravated assault. All three men remained in the Atlantic County Jail on Sunday.
It's not just about the guns that come over from PA, it's the gun owners. Those inanimate objects wouldn't do any harm at all if it weren't for their flawed owners. And you can bet when those flawed young men want to get guns they don't come over to NJ to do it. Their counterparts in Camden and Trenton hop over to The Keystone State to arm up, but there's no reciprocal activity.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Wichita Teenagers with Guns

The Kansas City Star reports.

Police said a 16-year-old boy shot his 17-year-old sister and a 17-year-old boy just before 1 a.m. Sunday in the 2500 block of East Shadybrook, near 21st and Grove.

The 17-year-old boy was pronounced dead at the scene.

Sgt. Jesse Boomer said the girl reported that the boy shot her and her boyfriend because he was upset about their relationship.
Where do teenagers get guns in Wichita? Who do you think was the last legal owner of the gun used in this tragic scene? Shouldn't that guy bear some of the responsibility? I say yes.

Please leave a comment.

Gunloons on Dope

Real Mugshot
Oregon soon will see gunfights over Cheetos:
A retired school bus driver, Willis volunteers at a Medford smoke shop that helps medical marijuana patients find growers, and teaches how to get the most medical benefit out of the pound-and-a-half of pot that card carriers are allowed to possess. She believes that her marijuana oils, cookies and joints should be treated no differently than any other prescribed medicines. She said she doesn't use them when she plans to drive, or carry her gun.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Zorroy Deigns to Visit

Our old friend Zorry, whom speaking personally, I've missed tremendously around here, has deigned to drop us a comment on an old post.

Zorroy, You're gonna have to modernize your links. That one which you've been touting lately is almost a generation old. For all the good that information does us, the New London cops might all be geniuses now.

I decided a while ago that my time can be better spent than watching the forcible citizen disarmament circle-jerk that this site has become, but you wanted an update.


The Dayton Police Department is lowering its testing standards for recruits.

It's a move required by the U.S. Department of Justice after it says not enough African-Americans passed the exam.

Dayton is in desperate need of officers to replace dozens of retirees. The hiring process was postponed for months because the D.O.J. rejected the original scores provided by the Dayton Civil Service Board, which administers the test.

Under the previous requirements, candidates had to get a 66% on part one of the exam and a 72% on part two.

The D.O.J. approved new scoring policy only requires potential police officers to get a 58% and a 63%. That's the equivalent of an ‘F’ and a ‘D’.

Gotta love political correctness, doncha? Just as it's now politically incorrect to refer to someone as "mentally retarded," so we have to call them "progressive," now it's apparently "racist" to demand that cops be smarter than owl shit, and the dumb-as-owl-shit standard is to be mandated by the federal government.

Attorney General Eric Holder needs a Handicapper General working under him, though. Where's Diana Moon Glampers when you need her?
Is Zorroy as fun to read as ever? I found him so. What obout this evidence that the police departments are lowering their standards? Do you see that as a problem? I certainly do.

Please leave a comment.

More on Gun Shops Making Theft Easy


Like breaking into someone's garage where nothing of value is kept, thieves broke into Jerry's Gun Shop. His response:

“I feel like someone hit me with a truck,” said Gerald Richmond, who has owned the rural gun shop for decades. “He could use those guns to hold someone up, or shoot someone.”

Richmond says he plans to buy a new high tech surveillance system to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
I don't think that's enough. This is nothing short of negligence. Gun owners, especially gun shop owners, who make theft easy by the short-sighted denial which says it won't happen to me, should have to pay for their crime. The thieves alone are guilty of theft. The gun owners are guilty of negligence and aiding and abetting the theft.

How's that sound? Please leave a comment.

The Luckiest Criminal in the World

Actually we've already named one guy that. Maybe there's a trend beginning of police restraint.

News Channel 5 has the report.

A convicted burglar is back behind bars after police say he pulled a loaded gun on the wrong people.

Two detectives tried to Arrest 25 year old Stephen Ammons near Smith Springs Recreation Area. But instead of complying, they say Ammons started running, and threatened them with a pistol.

Ammons eventually put the gun down and the detectives arrested him. Police say the gun was cocked with a round in the chamber.
What does police restraint mean, in the exact same circumstances which are so often used as justification for killing the suspect? I think it means that some of those other cases are not so justified. What's your opinion?

Please leave a comment.

New London Shooting


The basics are that a man was shot, he'll live, two guys were arrested one of whom confessed.

After responding to the call that shots were fired at 11:20 p.m., New London police were led to the second-floor apartment at 21 Wightman Road. Police say a search warrant for the residence was obtained, and a search turned up a firearm, ammunition, several ounces of marijuana, about $1,000 in cash and at least five marijuana plants. All items were seized.
You know what it means? Every nickel-and-dime pot dealer can get a gun. The availability is such that guys who sell ounces and handle small amounts of money have guns now, as tools of the trade. It didn't used to be like that, it's a bad trend.

This is the direct result of the gun policies and inneffective gun control laws we've been forced to accept. And those are the direct result of NRA lobbying, political corruption and grass-roots support from gun fanatics.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Gunloonery Roundup

Ardmore, AL:

Brooks said some adults at at Easter gathering went outside to shoot at a cardboard target set up at the edge of the woods. The group thought the little boy was in the front yard, Brooks said, but he was actually playing in the woods behind the target.
What happened to the traditional egg hunt as opposed to the hunting of children with firearms? 

WV:


The authorities said he shot his wife, Amie, in the chest early Saturday morning. Smith's attorney disputed the malicious wounding charge, stating his client didn't intend to shoot anyone but himself.
Don't you hate when you're exercising your God-given, NRA rights to shoot yourself and you pop the wife instead?

MN:
According to the Pine County Sheriff’s Department a family member was target shooting outside when the gun malfunctioned.
The person brought the gun inside the house to fix the problem and while attempting to do this the gun went off inside the home striking the 11 year old girl.

Obviously an NRA certified instructor.

WI:

 A five year old boy is recovering tonight after being shot by a hunter who thought the little boy was a turkey.
A turkey? 

The HoneyBadger

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Texas sheriff: Deputy killed; suspect shot dead and investigation continues

From the AP:
VENUS, Texas - A North Texas deputy has died after being shot in the line of duty in a small town south of Dallas-Fort Worth and a suspect also was fatally shot, authorities said.
Johnson County Sheriff Bob Alford said in a statement that the shooting erupted Saturday afternoon near Venus and that a suspect was shot dead by deputies.
Alford didn't identify the suspect or the officer in his release, but local media outlets said Alford later spoke to reporters outside a Fort Worth hospital where the deputy had been rushed and identified him as Clifton Taylor, 31.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram said Taylor, who had been with the department for little more than three years, had been shot three times — in his neck, side, and back.
"I can't say enough what a fine officer Clifton Taylor was," Alford was quoted as telling the newspaper. "He will be missed."
A supervisor at the John Peter Smith Hospital, Anthony Vargas, told The Associated Press early Sunday that a man identified as Clifton Taylor was pronounced dead at the Fort Worth hospital on Saturday evening. Vargas said the man had at least one gunshot wound but he declined to release further information.
Alford had said earlier no further information would be released as the investigation continues.
Tim Jones, the agency's spokesman, said in the statement that the sheriff's office "requests your support and prayers during this very trying time in our agency."
Venus is a town of less than 2,000 people, located about 30 miles south of Dallas-Fort Worth. Local reports said Texas Rangers would take part in the investigation as is customary when an officer is shot.
Video footage after the shooting showed law enforcement officers pacing about a shed in a yard while an ambulance stood by and a crime scene photographer worked at the site.

St. Paul police asking for information after man hospitalized in shooting

from the STrib:

St. Paul police are investigating a shooting on the city's West Side that hospitalized an 18-year-old man late Saturday.
According to police:
Officers responded about 11 p.m. Saturday to a report of a fight in the 400 block of Clinton Av. While on the way, police received reports of gunfire near the scene.
When they arrived, officers found the victim inside a home with a gunshot wound in his upper body..

Police have not established a motive for the shooting, but early investigation points to several fights that broke out during a party at the home where the victim was found.
Because, nothing says party like a little shooting; nothing says Happy Easter weekend (or, Passover Weekend) like the discharge of a fire arm.  What pro-gun advocates like to claim is about a gift from god.

In St. Paul, Minnesota, one of the supposedly safest 10% of the states in this country - where most people are even less safe from gun violence than this.

Peace.

The Kooky World of Gun Flow

via The Detroit Free Press


The gist of the story is this. The Detroit Police department switched from Glocks to Smith and Wessons. The old Glocks became the property of Smith and Wesson in Indianapolis, I suppose it was like trading in your old car. One of the Glocks was found on a dead criminal in Tulsa.

In that famous gesture of throwing up the hands and proclaiming, "It's not our fault," The Detroit Police Department points to Smith and Wesson.

In a statement, Detroit police said the Glock was previously assigned to the department, but was turned in to the Firearms Inventory Unit on Oct. 27, 2010 as part of the weapon transition from Glocks to Smith and Wesson firearms.

According to an April 30, 2009 news release issued by Smith and Wesson, DPD placed an order for 5,000 pistols and 350 tactical rifles.
“All of the turned in department Glocks became the property of the Smith and Wesson Company as part of the weapons transition,” the statement said. “This company is located in Indianapolis, Ind. The DPD stamp and serial number on firearms were not removed because it is against the law to deface a firearm.”
Do you think someone should ask Smith and Wesson to explain? Robert Farago does that kind of investigative reporting sometime, doesn't he? Maybe he'd like to pick up the story.

The sad reality is all too clear, though. The so called draconian gun laws in the US are practically useless. We need proper gun control.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Gun Shops Making Theft Easy


A Marysville gun shop was broken into and 15 handguns and hundreds of dollars were stolen early this morning, state police out of Newport say.

A window of the West Shore Gun Shop, in the 200 block of Verbeke Street in Marysville, was broken with a brick around 3:45 a.m., police say, and 15 handguns were stolen from display cases and $400 to $500 was taken from the cash register. Police say an alarm in the building was tripped and the burglars fled the scene.

State police arrived on the scene minutes after the alarm went off, but were unable to find any suspects.
A brick through a window is all it took. Why do you think jewelry stores and banks put their merchandise and cash away at night? Why do you think jewelry stores and banks don't allow a simple pane of glass to be the only barrier between them and the thieves? Why can't gun shops be required to take some of the same common-sense precautions? And finally, why is my questioning these things considered blaming the victims?

Any ideas? Please leave a comment.

2nd Amendment Protection of the Right to Bear Tasers

via David Koppel writing on The Volokh Conspiracy.

So rules a state judge in Bay City, Michigan. According to the ruling, the regulation of stun guns would be constitutional, but not their prohibition. Other than Michigan, the only states that prohibit stun guns are New Jersey and Rhode Island.

Eugene Volokh’s Stanford Law Review article, Nonlethal Self-Defense examines the Second Amendment issues involving stun guns, chemical sprays, and the like, concluding that they are protected by the Second Amendment.
Perhaps a better idea of what Prof. Volokh is talking about is seen in the full title of his article for the law review.

Nonlethal Self-Defense, (Almost Entirely) Nonlethal Weapons, and the Rights to Keep and Bear Arms, Defend Life, and Practice Religion

What do you think that "defend life, and practice religion" part means. I guess somebody's gonna have to read the thing and tell me about it. Any volunteers?

Please leave a comment.

Philly Teen Accidentally Shoots Himself While Fleeing Police

An 18-year-old man fleeing police was fatally shot with his own gun when police tackled him in North Philadelphia early Friday, authorities said.

Khalil Burton, whose last known address was the 500 block of McKinley Street in the Crescentville section, died at Temple University Hospital about 5 a.m.

Just after midnight, police responded to a call about a person with a gun at 13th and Cambria Streets. They saw Burton nearby, police said.

Burton fled and the officers gave chase, tackling him on the 2900 block of North Broad Street, police said. When Burton fell, his gun went off, wounding him in the groin.
That's one fleet-footed officer of the law. Maybe that's the problem with the others who shoot fleeing suspects in the back, they eat too many donuts. Not this guy though. He ran the street dealer down and tackled him. Does that sound credible to you?

Other than that, taking the story as reported (I hate to add too much of my own), I'd say this Philadelphia cop is to be commended. Too bad for the suspect who has no more chance of turning his life around, admittedly there may not have been much chance before, but sudden death is always a tragic waste.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Update on the 11 Year Old Girl Accidentally Shot by Her Father

From the Minneapolis, MN STrib:

Girl remains in critical condition after being accidentally shot by father article by: KELLY SMITH , Star Tribune

"It's a traumatic, tragic situation,"Maddy Montanye's uncle said Saturday.

An 11 year-old Pine County girl remained in a medically induced coma Saturday after being accidentally shot by her father two days before.
Maddy Montanye was in critical condition at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis after doctors removed the bullet lodged in her brain and extracted parts of her skull Friday to relieve pressure.
"It's a traumatic, tragic situation," said her uncle, Jason Montanye. "She's a strong-willed girl. We're very optimistic things will work out."
She was shot Thursday night when her father's gun went off at their rural Braham, Minn., home.
the article goes on to say:
Cole said the Sheriff's Department is still investigating the accident and will refer its findings to the Pine County attorney's office. It's unclear until the investigation concludes whether charges will be filed, he added. "Obviously a young girl was severely injured. If there was negligence or something ... we'll go from there," he said.
Cole said it's been "some time" since an accidental shooting has occurred in Pine County.
Statewide, about 300 to 400 unintentional firearm injuries have been reported by Minnesota hospitals each year, according to state Health Department data. The age group that most often falls victim: 10- to 19-year-olds.
In 2009, 710 firearm injuries were reported by Minnesota hospitals and of those, nearly half -- 332 incidents -- were unintentional. Of unintentional firearm injuries, most were teens or pre-teens; 86 15- to 19-year-olds were injured, followed by 56 10- to 14-year-olds.
That seems a lot of shootings, to me, in a state that is supposed to be one of the safer of the 50; can you imagine what the numbers must be in those which are worse? The STrib concludes:
Richard Stock teaches firearm safety classes in the metro through the state Department of Natural Resources. When he hears of accidental shootings, "it almost always boils down to you're not following the fundamentals of firearm safety," he said. "Always know where your gun is pointing and always treat is like it's loaded."
Jason Montanye said the family is focused on Maddy, and appreciates the support from the community and others on their CaringBridge site. "You always hear about it [incidents like this]; it's never supposed to happen to you," he said. "We're still optimistic about everything."
While it is great that this is a strong willed girl, I don't have a lot of faith that is enough to overcome a bullet.  We can only hope and pray that excellent medical care and a good trauma unit will help even more.  I can't help but feel the statement "it's never supposed to happen to you" and "We're still optimistic about everything" seems to suggest, at least to me, a certain lack of thoughtfulness that some of the choices they take for granted contributed to this tragedy.