Saturday, August 6, 2011

JG's Official Goal

1. To spit upon each and every teabagger I encounter.*
2.  To keep gunloons where they are: considered the lunatic fringe.
* Interesting point: The recent teabagger-sponsored debt ceiling crisis cost US citizens over $100B.  That's about $322 for every man, woman, and child in the US.  So, be sure to thank a teabagger--like Jon C. Sullivan--for the bill.

Follow This Interview to the Sales of Guns, Ammo and Providing Gun Repair Trade

I would point out that this is the 3rd known law suit that has been given the go-ahead by federal courts against former Sec.of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld for torturing U.S. citizens.  There is serious and credible reason to believe there  may be more.

I believe Mr. Vance is a hero, and a true patriot, for the risks he took, and the pain he underwent, in addressing the illegal sale of firearms, ammo, and firearm repair.

Squirrel Shooter Hits Woman in Yard Swing - this is just NUTS!

I have written here about the importance of not shooting a firearm without being absolutely sure you know where the bullets might go and having a clear line of sight that confirms you won't hit someone.  It is a safety issue.  It is an equally important consideration for anyone whether shooting during hunting or acting in self defense.  This is a perfect example of what I am describing.  I would point out that in this part of  Minnesota, people aren't airlifted to metro (St. Paul/Mpls. area) hospitals, unless the injuries are very serious.  There are excellent local hospitals.
From MSNBC,  by way of  metro NBC station KARE 11:

By
KARE11.com
2 hours 28 minutes ago
LITTLE FALLS, Minn. - Morrison County authorities say a 17-year-old boy shooting at a squirrel shot and wounded a woman sitting in her yard.
Witnesses say the woman was in a yard swing near Peavey Lake when she heard a shot nearby and felt a pain in her side.
Deputies were called about 5 p.m. Thursday and found first responders treating the woman for an apparent gunshot wound to her left side.
The deputies found the teen who said he had been shooting at a squirrel. The boy fired a .22-caliber rifle, and the round apparently passed through some shrubbery and struck the victim about 140 feet away.
The woman was airlifted to a Twin Cities hospital. Her condition is unknown.
Sheriff Michel Wetzel says the case will be sent to prosecutors for review.

Speaking of Parenting and Gunloonery

One of the most impressive things about Linoge aka Jon C. Sullivan is that he never allows his complete ignorance of things interfere with his ability to pontificate endlessly about them.

Take parenting and gunloonery, f'r'instance.

Praise Jeebus, Jon C. Sullivan has yet to procreate.  Can I hear someone say, 'Praise Jeebus!??'

After all, procreation is difficult if your time is taken up by writing 80,000 word blog posts and comments--on an hourly basis-- which make no sense, as well as fondling, stroking, touching, rubbing and gently oiling the hard surfaces of your firearm collection.  That and watching Firefly reruns, over and over and over...

But that doesn't stop Jon C. Sullivan from knowing all there is to know about parenting; even though it's quite unlikely he and Mrs. Linoge have ever..well, you get the idea.

Gun Enthusiasts and Parenting

Wonderful picture spotted at Support Your Local Gunfighter, where I hasten to add, Wyatt did not seem to be supportive of this type of parenting.

For the Semper Paratus Crowd



How many guns and how much ammo do you think this guy owns?

Broadcasting from the Gun Range



The Bizarre Paranoia of Gun Owners

Of course it's not average gun owners, and it certainly doesn't start with them, but whether from the NRA or the GOA, as in this case, the marching orders go out and they are to be afraid.

Andrew Breitbart's Big Government published an article, opinion piece I suppose you could call it, although the dissemination of marching orders is never maligned with the title op-ed. It comes off more like an announcement.

No wonder Gun Owners of America (GOA) was sounding an alarm as the debt bill moved toward a final vote on Tuesday. They warned us that the “Super Congress” could pass gun control where there is neither filibuster nor Speaker of the House to intervene, and then “22 liberal Republicans can join the Congressional Democrats and the President in closing the gun show ‘loophole,’ banning semi-automatic weapons, creating a national handgun registration, or ordering state gun laws moot.” (Keep in mind there are plenty of John McCain’s out there in the Republican Party who’d cross the aisle in a heartbeat to shut down gun shows.)
Can you believe these guys? The U.S. economy is on the brink of imploding, we're engaged in four foreign wars, the oceans are dying and what are they concerned with? Congress COULD pass gun control.

It often seems the gun folks want to be persecuted.  When persecution doesn't exist, they pretend it does. They say it COULD happen.  I believe the gun manufacturers are behind all this, all the nonsense of stocking up on guns and ammo when Obama got elected, all the exaggerated claims about the UN small Arms Treaty, and now it's this, the Super Congress.

I figure it's the gun manufacturers even more than the gun rights organizations because the manufacturers have more to gain.  It's simple.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Those Detroit Strip Clubs

The Detroit News reports on the second incident this week at a strip club. This one's got an interesting angle.

"According to our preliminary investigation, a man refused to be searched and was escorted out of the club by security," Stephens said. "Shots were fired, and the club manager, age 36, was killed. A second man, age 36, was wounded. He also worked at the club."

Police are looking for the shooter who is described as a male, 5-foot-5 and 150 pounds.
Now, did you ever see the guys who work at strip clubs? They're big, right, to say the least. But this shooter wasn't afraid of them.

Isn't that what it's all about, not having to be afraid any more. Responsible people don't pick fights with 300-pound bouncers and therefore don't need guns. But that fear is still there, isn't it? "What if" this happens and "what if" that happens. So the fearful and insecure carry guns, more and more of them with the blessing of the State.

The result: more of these incidents than we would otherwise have.

What do you think? Please leave a comment.

Jon Stewart on the Atheists

Kids, Guns, Massacre Plans - Where Did They Get Guns?

What is persuading anyone, much less students this age, that doing things like this makes any sense whatsoever, that it is in any way something they should aspire to do?  Kids can be wonderfully idealistic; this is the opposite of that.  It marks a very serious failure, on that goes beyond just the gun violence.  That this was prevented, yes, that is a tremendous success.  But that this was ever contemplated, that these young men ever had such ideas, and tried to act on them?  That is a gun violence cultural failure.

From MSNBC and the AP:

3 teens held in 'Day Zero' plot for school massacre

'They made no attempt to deny' intentions, police say of 15-year-olds near New Orleans


Authorities in suburban New Orleans said Friday they uncovered a plot by three teen boys to shoot fellow high school students during the first day of classes this coming Monday.
The 15-year-olds, who called themselves "Day Zero", identified a student and a faculty member whom they planned to kill, Sheriff Jack Strain said in a conference call with reporters.
They also planned indiscriminate shooting, as well as firing at any sheriff's deputies or other officers they saw and taking their weapons, said Capt. George Bonnett, a spokesman for the sheriff.
"Like many other cases similar to this, they fully intended to end this episode with taking their own lives," the sheriff said.
Schools start Monday in St. Tammany Parish.
Schools Superintendent Trey Folse said other students at Lakeshore High School told school officials about the plan on July 17, and the officials immediately notified him and the sheriff's office.
"These kids ... were planning to carry out an incredible and devastating attack on a school. To me, the bigger story is this office worked with school authorities to make sure this didn't occur," Strain said.
Principals talk at least once a week with sheriff's office supervisors and Folse talks at least once a week with him, Strain said.
Most schools stepped up security in the aftermath of the 1999 tragedy at Columbine High School near Denver, Colo., where two students fatally shot 13 people and themselves.
The three suspects were being held at a juvenile detention center on charges of conspiracy to commit terrorism and more charges were possible, the sheriff said. Conviction on the conspiracy charge could keep them in detention until they turn 21, Bonnett said.
"They made no attempt to deny their involvement with the plan and admitted their intentions," police said in a news release. "All three were cooperative with investigators."
Strain said he did not know whether the students had problems at school. He said he did not know of any prior arrest record.
Because the boys are juveniles, their names have not been released by authorities. Strain said he did not know if they had attorneys.
Judging from the amount of material confiscated and the detail of the plans, Strain said, the boys apparently had been planning the attack throughout the summer. He didn't know if the targets were chosen because of something that happened last school year.
He would not say whether they already had guns or where they planned to get them, nor would he comment about a possible motive. But Bonnet said it wasn't race, because the arrested boys are of different races.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Not Only Am I Always Correct...

..I drink better beer than you.

Winning.

NRA School Event Cancelled in LA

NRA Life Members visit cafeteria
Covington, Louisiana:
Authorities in suburban New Orleans said Friday they uncovered three teenagers' plot to shoot fellow high school students on campus during the first day of classes.


School officials became aware of a group calling themselves Day Zero last month when other students contacted administrators. The teens had targeted specific students, but part of the plan was also indiscriminate shooting, said St. Tammany Parish Cpl. George Bonnett.


"Investigators learned the students had a detailed plan for procuring weapons and bringing them to school Monday. They intended to kill any law enforcement officials at the school who tried to stop them and then collect their weapons," police said.


Shot Themselves in the Foot, Eventually

from MSNBC, and the AP breaking news:

Jury convicts 5 officers in Katrina shootings

Charges stem from the cover-up of the slayings on a New Orleans bridge

By
updated 6 minutes ago 2011-08-05T17:11:27
A federal jury convicted five current or former police officers Friday of civil rights violations in the deadly shootings on a New Orleans bridge after Hurricane Katrina, but decided they were not guilty of murder.
All five officers were convicted Friday of charges stemming from the cover-up of the shootings. The four who had been charged with civil rights violations in the shootings were convicted on all counts.
However, the jury decided that neither fatal shooting was a murder.
Prosecutors said police shot six unarmed people, killing two, on the Danziger Bridge less than a week after the 2005 storm. Officers also were charged with participating in a cover-up to make the shootings appear justified.
Defense attorneys said the officers were shot at before they returned fire and acted reasonably in the face of a deadly threat.
Jurors decided the fate of former officer Robert Faulcon, Sgts. Robert Gisevius and Kenneth Bowen, Officer Anthony Villavaso and retired Sgt. Arthur Kaufman. Faulcon, Gisevius, Bowen and Villavaso were charged in the shootings and with taking part in the alleged cover-up. Kaufman, who investigated the shootings, was charged only in the alleged cover-up.
The trial was a high-profile test of the Justice Department's effort to clean up a police department marred by a reputation for corruption and brutality. A total of 20 current or former New Orleans police officers were charged last year in a series of federal probes. Most of the cases center on actions during the aftermath of the Aug. 29, 2005, storm, which plunged the flooded city into a state of lawlessness and desperation.

The Slap Hat Self Defense System



This standard baseball cap is one the most simple, least noticeable, and efficient personal defense items on the market. The secret of this hat is a pocket of unique impact material that is 100% the density of lead and which is sewn into the cap. Simply use the bill as the handle and the cap becomes an instant impact weapon to be used against a threat. Simple, fast, and effective! The cap includes Velcro adjustment to fit all sizes.
I'm gettin' one for Farago's birthday. Does anyone know when that is?

George Who?

via Democratic Underground

My Official Goal

Extremely strict gun control laws enforced nationally which would disqualify about half the present gun owners. Since that half, although legal under today's rules, is responsible for much of the trouble including gun flow into the criminal world, the results would be tremendous.

Playing Cowboys and Indians


When the sight of kids playing...
Causes enough stupid people to get their collective panties in a wad....

More on Michigan Concealed Carry


With nearly 276,000 Michiganders now licensed to carry concealed weapons, there has been no epidemic of bloodshed and violence; only 2% of license holders have been sanctioned for any kind of misbehavior.

Still, these encouraging statistics and trends do not mean that Michigan should loosen its laws on carrying concealed weapons -- or, for that matter, not consider reasonable restrictions on the current law. While the law has not demonstrably made Michigan more dangerous, neither has it conclusively made it safer. There is no way of knowing even how many people with concealed weapons permits actually carry guns.
We've already pointed out why that 2% figure is bogus, namely that the police records are incomplete due to counties in Michigan that don't report. But this article brings up another. To get an accurate picture of how many guys who carry guns are committing crimes, you have to first determine how many are carrying guns.

In other words, the 2% figure was reached by using an too-small number for the crimes and a too-big number for the gun carriers.

One thing we can agree on is that biased and close-minded pro-gun arguments are ofetn made up of exaggerations and distortions.   This is just the latest example.

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

Reporting Multiple Sales


The new regulation imposed by the ATF would require gun stores in Arizona, New Mexico, California and Texas to report multiple sales of semi-automatic rifles in an effort to halt to flow of firearms into Mexico. The regulation was a direct outcome of the agency's failed "Operation Fast and Furious" and would go into effect on August 14.



All the whining and whinging about this requirement provides us with one of the best glimpses into the warped minds of gun-rights folks. Yes, indeed, it will cost the gun shops money because starting in ten days, gun smugglers and straw pruchasers are going to have to limit the number of guns they buy.  So the monetary loss will be the dirty money the FFL guy would have made from criminals.

And all the while they keep telling us how respectable and responsible they are. The fact is, many of the gun dealers along the border have been making a killing on the booming illegal business there, simply because they've been able to get away with it. Of course they're going to squawk, mercenary dealers in death that they are.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Vermont Again!

The Burlington Free Press reports on the continuing spate of violent gun activity in that most paradisiacal of states.

A Bristol couple were arrested on criminal charges following a drug-related drive-by shooting of a car in Hinesburg early Wednesday, Vermont State Police said.

A car driven by Shawn Holbrook, 34, of Hinesburg was shot at near Vermont 116 and Mechanicsville Road at about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, police said. They said two bullet holes were discovered in the driver's side door. Troopers from the Williston barracks were able to determine the location of the shooting and recovered evidence.
I guess they were right about me, I have to admit these Vermont stories make me very happy. It's a type of schadenfreude, I suppose, or maybe it's just the more basic, "I told you so. Guns are bad news. There are no exceptions."

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Criminals Are Getting Guns Too Easily

It's been a morning where post content is practically falling into my lap.

I could not get the video to embed, but it is worth following the link to the website to view it.  It again, raises that all-important question, why are guns so accessible to criminals under our current system?

 From the Atlanta station WSBTV:

Video Shows Slow Response To Jail Shooting


The video shows an inmate removing the gun from a hidden location behind a ceiling tile. The time-stamped video also shows a full two hours passed before the SWAT team arrived to secure that inmate.
Channel 2 investigative reporter Jodie Fleischer started filing open records requests for the reports and videos from the shooting the day it happened.
The sheriff's office has yet to provide any materials, saying it's still under federal investigation. But a source gave Fleischer the video, hoping to show what happened, and how easily that shooting happened.
According to the video, inmate Kortez Hurt's cell was unlocked so he could take a shower. After he returned to his cell and got dressed, he wandered past other cells talking to several inmates. He repeatedly climbed up and down the stairs.
When officers walked away from the area at 10:58 a.m., the video shows Hurt reached up into a ceiling panel to remove a small gun stuffed inside a roll of toilet paper.

Also From the BBC World Service, on Guns, Drug Cartels and the U.S.


Assault rifles on sale in a shop in Houston, Texas Mexico says drugs cartels get much of their weaponry from the US

Related Stories

A US woman has been arrested at the Mexican border for allegedly trying to smuggle 3,500 rounds of ammunition. Security officials said Gwendolyn Marrufo Sanchez had hidden the ammunition under tins of food in a shopping bag on wheels.
The soldiers said they had become suspicious when they noticed the extreme weight of the trolley.
They said she confessed to planning to sell the cartridges in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico's most violent city.
Ms Marrufo Sanchez was crossing into Mexico at the Ciudad Juarez border post on a public bus from El Paso, Texas, when soldiers conducted a routine search.
Under some clothes and tinned food, they found 50 boxes of cartridges for AK-47 rifles and 45 boxes of ammunition for various calibre weapons.
She is being held at a detention centre in northern Chihuahua state.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon has repeatedly urged the US government to tighten laws regulating the sale of guns and ammunition in the US to prevent high-powered weapons being smuggled into Mexico.
In June, a US Congressional report suggested some 70% of firearms recovered from Mexican crime scenes in 2009 and 2010 and submitted for tracing came from the US.

From other news sites

In Juxtaposition, from the BBC World News Service:


Breaking news
Virginia Tech university, site of the 2007 shooting that killed 32 people, has been put on lockdown after the possible sighting of a gunman on campus.
An alert was issued on the university website at 09:37 (13:37GMT) warning students and staff to stay indoors.
"Person with a gun reported near Dietrick. Stay inside. Secure doors," the school alert said.
There are no reports of any shots having been fired.
In April 2007, Cho Seung-hui shot dead 32 people on a two-and-a-half-hour rampage before killing himself.
Three children attending a camp at the university reported on Thursday morning seeing a white male with brown hair outside New Residence Hall East, holding what "may have been a handgun", Virginia Tech said.
"They [the children] say the weapon was covered by a cloth or covering of some sort. He was walking fast in the direction of the volleyball courts," the statement added.
The group said the man was wearing a blue-and-white striped shirt and sandals.
Police from Virginia Tech and the towns of Blacksburg and Christiansburg are currently searching for the man, the university website said.
No other witnesses have reported seeing the man or anything suspicious

Current TV, "Fully Automatic America" / Guns in America documentary

This is worth watching.  It is part of  larger documentary series that ranges across a wide spectrum of topics.

If you don't have cable, you can also watch it here online.

Or, right here.

Road Rage in Arizona - 1 Dead

News 13 reports

They're from Tucson Arizona where anybody who wants to carry a gun can do so with no training, no waiting and no background screening, in other words, no fuss and no muss, except when there is.

Alex Jones - for Those Who Thought Glenn Beck was too Reserved

Practical Use for a Toy Gun

according to kestrell9000, one of the true believers over at DKos.

17-Year-Old Pennsylvania Girl Dead


The friends were drinking malt liquor, playing cards and listening to music, Mr. Chaney later told Clairton police, and at some point Mr. Chaney pulled out a semiautomatic handgun he had hidden on a shelf in the garage.

Mr. Chaney told police he removed the handgun's clip, pulled back the slide to make sure there were no rounds inside, then passed the gun to one of the other young men. He looked at the gun for a few minutes, then passed it to Karrie, according to a criminal complaint against Mr. Chaney, who stated that "we were passing it around and playing with the gun and looking at it."

Karrie gave the gun back to Mr. Chaney, who inserted the clip back into the gun and "cocked" the slide to the rear, the complaint states.

"He said the next thing he knows the gun went off, striking the victim in the right side of the chest."
These kids grow up with guns. They know more about guns than most. Yet, this is what happens. Some folks say what's missing is traing and education, but I honestly don't see it. All the gun tragedy these kids have been exposed to in their short lives did not sufficiently curtail their curiosity and desire to "play with the gun." Those impulses in many teenagers are too strong to be overcome by the lessons of older brothers in jail or by the Eddie Eagle training which insists on not playing with guns.

The only hope for kids like these is a comprehensive, national system of gun control legislation.  Only this will make guns unavailable to young people who don't have the good sense to responsibly handle guns.

What's your opinion?

Trouble in Gun Paradise Vermont

The Bennington Banner reports on the most convoluted story you've erver read. Here are a couple of excerpts, but I'll let you try to sort it out.

Bolivar A. Roura, 31, of Cedar Rock Road, was charged with a misdemeanor count of reckless endangerment and released on the condition that he not have contact with Joseph Thompson.

According to an affidavit by Trooper Travis Hess of the Vermont State Police, on July 27 at 7 p.m., he responded to East Arlington Road to a report of a male pointing a gun at someone. Hess wrote that the male with the gun was seen heading east on East Arlington Road in a white car.

Griffis also pleaded not guilty Monday to violating conditions of release. Griffis has an aggravated domestic assault charge pending against him. One of his conditions is that he not consume alcohol. According to another police affidavit, Griffis told Manchester police that he'd consumed between four and five beers that day.
I'm not entirely sure who's who, but the raw elements are interesting. You've got a guy allegedly pointing a gun at another during an argument. You've got drinking and carrying guns in the permit-free gun paradise of Vermont. You've got domestic violence guys who, I suppose, are allowed to continue carrying as long as they don't drink. And, of course, you've got plenty of people saying it was all a big misunderstanding and there was really nothing to it.

What's your opinion? Is Vermont really the gun paradise it's cracked up to be?

Please leave a comment.

Good Move - Smart Cop


A man suspected of tending an illegal marijuana grow Tuesday morning near Highway 70 reportedly tried to remove a handgun from the holster of a deputy taking him into custody.

The suspect, Humberto Lepe-Cervantes, 25, of Jalisco, Mexico, grabbed the firearm, but was quickly subdued, a press release stated.

No other suspects were located. The deputy wasn't immediately identified.

A total of 6,018 mature marijuana plants and 550 pounds of processed marijuana was removed.
We've certainly seen cases in which "grabbing for the cops gun" received a harsher treatment than being "subdued." Congratulations to the unidentified officer for doing the right thing.

Or, I should say for not killing the stupid gun grabber (you see, this is the proper use of that expression). Being involved in a marijuana raid, of course, is not the right thing. This is waste of everybody's time and money.

What's your opinion?  Why do some cops subdue the criminals and get their hands dirty, so to speak, while others just blow them away?  Does it depend more on the circumstances or the temperment of the police involved?

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Smart Cop - Good Move

The incident unfolded about 6:15 a.m. Monday after Officer Nicholas J. DiCicco headed to 42 Rodney St. for a report of a person with a gun. Officer DiCicco was told that a white man wearing shorts and a blue shirt and carrying a blue bag had taken out a gun and placed it in his waistband, police said in a news release.

Officer DiCicco approached a man lying on the ground at Belmont and Rodney streets. A box cutter was near the man’s right hand. Officer DiCicco instructed the man not to move.

“When the officer said this to the man he immediately jumped up to his feet, lifted up his shirt and reached for the handle grip of what appeared to be a black handgun,” police said. “The officer was approximately three feet from the man so he tackled the suspect to the ground before he could get his hand on the gun.”

Police said the man tried to grab the box cutter, but other officers arrived and subdued him, and Officer DiCicco grabbed the gun from the man’s waistband. It turned out to be a BB gun.
Congratulations to Officer DiCicco who could have gotten away with murder but instead did the right thing.

I offer this story as a contrast, an exeption that proves the rule, to all those quick-on-the-draw cops who shoot first and sort it out later.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Joe Huffman on Carolyn McCarthy

Joe used a line from Congresswoman McCarthy on his Quote of the Day post. You know the one where he usually takes some reasonable gun control idea and mocks the person for saying it. His commenters always in unanimous agreement, applaud. I don't know why he bothers.

I don’t understand why people can’t have common sense. Large magazines do not need to be part of it. The large manufacturers, they should even take a moral point of view in not selling them to ordinary citizens through the gun stores. The police and military can still use them. But I just morally think they should not look to sell them to the average citizen.

Carolyn McCarthy
July 28, 2011

Joe said:

Yes, it’s “the shoulder thing that goes up” Carolyn McCarthy demonstrating her ignorance and bigotry again.

I commented:

That's not the result of ignorance and bias, not at all. In fact she's absolutely right. The only problem I see with it is the magazine capacity limit is way down the line of things we should be fighting for.

1. Background checks on all gun transfers (you call it the private sale ban, I suppose)
2. Licensing of all gun owners requiring criminal and mental health background checks
3. Registraion of every gun sold to a licensed individual
4. Safe storage requirements for the home.

After those we can talk about college campuses and suppressors and magazine size and whatever else comes up.
Why is the Congresswoman so insistent on the magazine capacity limitation when we have begger fish to fry?

Why is Joe Huffman still talking about the "shoulder thing that goes up?" You'd think he and his friends were hard up for stupid things that politicians say, since they keep reminding us of this particular one. I have to admit it was a good one, but enough is enough. Besides, the ignorance demonstrated in that famous description of a barrel shroud doesn't necessarily mean she's ignorant about the magazine business, which seems to be what Joe is saying.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Preaching Fear to Justify Gun Ownership

Mike W. is preaching the fear doctrine again.  I can't figure him out really.  Is he actually this fearful and paranoid, or is it all an elaborate justification for the gun ownership and concealed carry activity.  What do you think?  It seems to me that many of these guys originally get guns because of some unreasonable fear or insecurity, then convince themselves of the necessity.  As time goes by, it's hard to see what came first.

We are always told that certain places are "safe places" and are hammered with the inane question, "why would anyone need to carry a gun in insert place here?"

The reality is that there are no safe places.  A man tried to rob two women on the sidewalk in front of a police station.  The man threatened to kill them but was unarmed.  If he hadn't been bluffing and had decided to make good on his threat the police sitting inside a few yards away wouldn't have stopped him.

You are on your own.  You and you alone are responsible for your own safety.  When the shit hits the fan make sure the person with a gun & capable of stopping the poo is you. Remember, there are no safe places.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Keith Says It Best


Cenk on Lieberman and Obama

The Problem With Toy Guns

These kids should be home playing Mortal Kombat on the computer. What the hell's wrong with the parents.

The boys, ages 13-16, were arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and causing a public alarm when they were found playing with five assault-type rifles, a shotgun, and five handguns in the woods behind Horizon School on Old Road, according to Det. Sgt. Anthony Dippold.
Gun-rights people like to mock all attempts at addressing this problem, but it does exist. Realistic-looking toy guns are used in crimes, they're blamed for police shootings, and what good are they anyway? Do kids gain anything useful by pretending to shoot each other with toys?

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

101-Year-Old Virginia Woman Shot


The Washington Post reports

A 101-year-old Virginia woman was shot and wounded as she tried to break up a family dispute, authorities and a neighbor said Monday.


The woman, who was not identified, was struck in the neck and taken to a hospital after the shooting, which occurred over the weekend in Richmond, police there said.

Michael Haskell, a longtime friend of the woman’s, said a gun went off as she tried to intervene in the dispute. He said the woman was in stable condition after successful surgery.

Police said they were called at about midnight Saturday to a house for a reported shooting. They said investigators have determined that two of the woman’s grandsons were arguing over money, and that they began shooting at each other.
Now, you know how I hate to generalize, it's completely clear to me that any single incident cannot be considered characteristic of a particular state. Yet, when those single incidents become frequent enough, as with Arizona and Florida, it is reasonable to draw certain conclusions.

Virginia is one of those states. There are too many guns, too many unqualified people with guns, there is too much 2nd Amendment pseudo-patriotism and when they start shooting their centenarian grandmothers, I cannot remain silent any longer.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment

Tom Waits - Everything Goes to Hell Anyway

Sturm, Ruger Contributes to Norwegian Undertaking Industry

MikeB. pointed out Sturm, Rugur & Co. is donating money to the NRA.

Seems Anders Breivik is a fan.

Fat, Drunk, GOP and an NRA Life Member Is No way to Go Through Life, Son

"..and then you add a half gallon of tequila..."
NRA Life Member Jarrod Martin (R-OH) was sagely profiled by moi several days back.

But I missed a key point.

No, not the fact he was found passed out drunk on the OH Speaker of the House's car  ('Mom...the fat NRA life member is passed out on my car...AGAIN!!'.)

But this tidbit:
On May 16, 2010, the night manager at the Residence Inn in Beavercreek called police about guests yelling and fighting on the fifth floor at 4:30 a.m. Officers found Martin and six other men “highly intoxicated” at a bachelor party. The men said they weren’t fighting; just having a “friendly wrestling match in their hotel room,” a Beavercreek police report said.
Martin’s parents were called to pick up the men and their belongings, according to the police report. Police noted that the room was tidied up and not damaged.
IOW, NRA Life Member Martin (R-OH) was 31 years old when police had his parents called to pick him and his buddies up from their drunken, purely-hetero, manly 'rasslin' match.

31.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Michigan Concealed Carry

The Detroit Free Press has published a two-part article about how well the Concealed Carry Permit laws are working out for Michigan.

Ten years after Michigan made it much easier for its citizens to get a license to carry a concealed gun, predictions of widespread lawless behavior and bloodshed have failed to materialize.

Today, nearly 276,000 -- or about four out of every 100 eligible adult Michiganders -- are licensed.

But violent crimes have been rare among carrying a concealed weapon license holders. Only 2% of license holders have been sanctioned for any kind of misbehavior, State Police records show.
I have two problems with that.

First, I don't believe the "Police records" that show this statistic are reliable or comprehensive. There are often problems in communicating between cities and counties, people who commit crimes in one district, continue to enjoy gun rights in another. So, the percentage is much higher.

Second, who decided that 2% is low? Even if it were an accurate number, which I've already shown is unlikely, it's HIGH.  Did you do the math?  2% of 276,000 is 5,520. To me that's not acceptable.

Consider another thing. The 5,520 are concealed carry permit holders whom we KNOW have committed crimes. Imagine how many have not been caught. It's hard to guess, but what would you think, another 2% only?  I'd say the percentage of hidden criminals among the 276,000 CCW guys  is much higher than that.  Let's use a universally accepted standard, the Famous 10%.  That would give us another 27,000 dangerous people with carry permits.

Needless to say, I disagree strongly with the article's attempt to spin the Michigan situation.  But, did we really even have to go through all that.  Michigan is the proud home of Detroit. 'Nuff said.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Domestic Violence - Woman Dead

The local news reports that no one saw it coming. But, I did.


Monday, August 1, 2011

America's Own Taliban

Incredible picture of idiots with guns spotted at the Immoral Minority.

via Al Jazeera, a fascinating op-ed.


Prior to 9/11, the Taliban government in Afghanistan did not register very much on American radar screens, with one notable exception: when it blew up two colossal images of the Buddha in Bamiyan province in early 2001. But destruction of treasured artifacts isn't just limited to the Taliban.

There's a right-wing politico-religious presence centred in the US, but with a global reach, engaging in similar practises, destroying religious and cultural artifacts as a key aspect of its ideology of "strategic level spiritual warfare" (SLSW).

Until recently a fringe evangelical movement, warned against as deviant, "spiritual warfare" is rapidly positioning itself within America's mainstream political right. It's well past time for political journalists to start covering what this movement is up to.

As an example, leaders have bragged online about the destruction of Native American religious artifacts, which their twisted ideology somehow sees as a liberating act, promoting "reconciliation" between estranged groups of people. Critics, however, see it as reflecting an eliminationist mindset, while traditional conservative evangelicals have denounced the ideology as un-biblical. Some even claim it is actually a form of pagan practice dressed up in Christian clothes, according such artifacts a spiritual power that the Bible itself denies.

Cremated Ashes into Bullets





A bizarre new service that allows you to lock and load your loved one’s ashes is blowing up on the internet.

Holy Smoke, based in Stockton, Alabama, boasts a 'tribute to your outdoorsman or woman like no other,' according to their website.

The company offers a means to 'continue to protect your home and family even after you are gone,' by turning ashes into fully-functioning bullets.
Senilebiker suggested that this serivce to the bereaved family members of gun lovers is evidence that they (some of them) are "stark raving mad."

What do you think? Does he have a point?

Please leave a comment.

Sturm, Ruger and Company Pledge $1M to the NRA




Sturm, Ruger and Company, Inc. (NYSE: RGR) is proud to announce that it has donated $279,600.00 to the NRA as part of Ruger’s “Million Gun Challenge to Benefit the NRA” campaign.

Ruger is trying to make history by selling one million firearms to the commercial market in a 12-month period, and is pledging to give the NRA one dollar for every gun sold during that time period with the goal of donating $1,000,000.

At the close of the first quarter of the challenge, Ruger has already achieved nearly 28% of its one million gun goal.

“With the help of our loyal Ruger customers, we are helping to preserve our second amendment rights by donating up to $1,000,000 to the NRA. We appreciate the support of every gun buyer that has chosen to buy an American-made Ruger firearm; together we are making a difference in the effort to protect our right to bear arms,” [Ruger President and CEO Mike] Fifer concluded.
In order to achieve their lofty goal, the Sturm Ruger Co. is depending on "the help of [our] loyal Ruger customers." Does anyone think that's limited to lawful and responsible people? I don't. I would expect that the market-savvy sales managers at the company know very well that many of their guns end up in criminal hands. Not only do they know this, they encourage and facilitate if by supporting the NRA, who in turn lobbies for gun policies that ensure this terrible cycle.

Who benefits? Individual gun owners benefit by having the least possible restrictions, criminals benefit by the inexhaustable source of guns flowing from the manufacturer through the legitimate owners and into the black market, and last but not least, the gun manufacturers benefit by making record sales.

Responsible people would be ashamed to participate in this cycle of death.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Concealed Carry - Medical Marijuana Case Goes to Washington


Ryan Kirchoff, an attorney for Jackson County, said the Gun Control Act is designed to keep guns out of the hands of people Congress considered potentially dangerous or irresponsible, such as those who use a controlled substance.

Because marijuana is a controlled substance, the county argues gun ownership would be barred under the Gun Control Act, he said. But the state statute concerning concealed weapons doesn't explicitly address it.
That sounds like a pretty good argument. When it comes to defending gun rights, you know how they pick and choose, applying what works for them and ignoring the rest. This one they want to ignore.

I have a simpler defense. People who use medical marijuana should not own guns, let alone carry them around, because pot interferes with your motor skills, your thinking, your sensory perception, all of which are indispensible for responsible gun management.

Besides, medical marijuana patients fall into two categories. Most are people who like to get high and are scamming the system, of course they should be disqualified from gun ownership. The minority is people who really need relief from extremely severe physical symptoms of various diseases, which unfortunately, must disqualify them too.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Detroit Police Commander Brian Davis Goes Back to Work


When this story first broke, I didn't know the story of Detroit Police Commander Brian Davis which has now appeared in the Detroit papers with his return to duty. I consider him a great hero, although I'm afraid Ann Barnhardt would not approve of all that scrambling and cowering for his lives.

If I EVER encounter a gunman or gunmen situation as we saw yesterday in Norway, or as in the Giffords shooter in Arizona, or as in musloid Mumbai-syle attacks I will NOT seek cover.



My first impressions still work for me. Crazy killers don't particularly select gun-free zones. And the gun rich environment is not what prevented this from being a mass murder. The shooter was simply a lousy shot. What do you think?

Please leave a comment.

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Aurora Colorado Police and Their License to Kill


It was the fifth fatal shooting by Aurora officers this year. Officers were cleared by district attorneys in the previous four cases.
Life must be good out there in Aurora. Can you imagine if someone reported such a thing to the Chicago or Baltimore police. The incident was little more than a squabble over lost keys and a greedy guy who wanted to make a couple quick bucks. But in Aurora, the quick-drawing cops come to the rescue even over such mundane matters.

Then, as often happens, the good-samaritan cop found himself facing THAT decision. Did he do the right thing? No, I don't think so. The scammin' key-finder got defensive, of course, he got physical, he supposedly "reached for a knife," and then he got dead.

Under-trained and ill-prepared cops are to blame for the frequency of these incidents in which petty criminals end up dead. Something could be done about it, on TTAG I read an interesting discussion about how much training cops should have. Here's my contribution.

About the training, I say every work day, one hour. Some of that can be practicing techniques like someone said above and some of it can be actual shooting.
Just like anyone else who wants to carry a gun, they need to be practiced and qualified, even more so since, as cops, that’s their job.

What's your opinion? Shouldn't the police invest more time in training their people than they do in covering up their mistakes?

Please leave a comment.

Chicago Shooting Takes Place Right in Front of the Police


Two people died after being shot Friday afternoon by a gunman who then exchanged fire with Chicago police officers in the South Side's Chatham community, officials said.

Neither the officers nor the gunman was wounded. The gunman and an alleged accomplice were both being questioned Friday night by detectives, but no charges have been filed.

The shooting occurred around 3:30 p.m. near 82nd Street and Cottage Grove Avenue. As many as three beat patrol officers were talking outside a bank near 83rd and Cottage when they saw a man shoot a woman, then open fire on a man she was with, officials said.

The gunman then shot at the officers, but missed, authorities said. The officers pursued the gunman, who fled with another man in a vehicle that then crashed at 82nd Street and Drexel Avenue, authorities said.
Where do you think that gun came from? Please leave a comment.

Jon Stewart on the Debt Ceiling Debate