The Reincarnation of Seth Bullock

The Chicago Tribune published an article about the new TV series called Justified.

"Justified" has many things going for it, but its primary asset is Timothy Olyphant, who played Sheriff Seth Bullock in "Deadwood" and also appeared in Season 2 of "Damages." In "Justified," Olyphant plays Raylan Givens, a US Marshal who ends up back in his home state of Kentucky, where he doesn't really want to be. Yet Givens doesn't really fit in anywhere else.

There is something of the proper, repressed Bullock in Givens: Without coming out and saying so, both men communicate their disappointment at the lack of restraint and decorum they see in the world. Like the heroes of many classic Westerns, Givens is a man with a strong sense of right and wrong, and a tendency to enforce his ideas with the business end of a gun. This hat-wearing lawman isn't one of cable TV's anti-heroes; he's the hero-as-pariah, a man whose personal code makes him unable or unwilling to go with the flow.

There's a video on the Chicago Trib site, which contains the shocking declaration that sometimes the line between good and evil blurs.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Racial Profiling and Gun Sales

Phuck Politics sent me the link to a fascinating story on the site called Your Story.

Law-abiding African Americans and Hispanics would take it on the chin under a bill now moving through the Illinois General Assembly. Sponsored by Rep. Harry Osterman (D-14), HB6123 would prohibit any person or entity from selling a firearm to a so-called "street gang member." This prohibition applies even if the individual has passed a Brady Law FBI background check. Making a prohibited sale would result in Class 1 felony charges and possible jail time for the seller. Although the ISRA supports genuine efforts to curb criminal violence, the organization is strongly opposed to HB6123 as the bill's provisions are arbitrary and pose an unreasonable intrusion on the rights of law-abiding Illinois citizens.

"HB6123 promotes racial profiling at its worst," commented ISRA Executive Director, Richard Pearson. "Popular culture has branded urban minorities with the 'gangsta' stereotype that is pervasive well beyond the confines of actual criminal enterprises. Today's fashion, music, slang and lifestyle are all heavily influenced by the urban experience. Given that the provisions of HB6123 establish no test for determining 'street gang' membership, and given the harsh penalties for violating the proposed law, it is understandable that retailers would shy away from selling firearms to persons whose speech, dress, mannerisms, or taste in music reflect the urban lifestyle."

Now, c'mon. Are they trying to say there is such a thing as a law-abiding citizen who wears baggy pants and cornrows? Is there something wrong with identifying the "gangsta stereotype" and declaring them prohibited persons?

Those were jokes. Those were examples of the sometimes elusive Mikeb humor.

The only thing good about a law like this is it finally gives me an opportunity to point out a gun control law that I don't support.

What's your opinion? Is this an example of the racism inherent in the gun control movement? That's interestingly ironic since we often point the racist stick at the pro-gun folks.

What do you think? Please leave a comment.

More Texas Justice

Tobaccoland.us reports on the latest law-and-order initiative in the Lone Star State.

Texas jury jails man 35 years for marijuana possession | Raw Story: "For being caught with just over a quarter pound of pot, 54-year-old Henry Walter Wooten will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars, thanks to a jury in Tyler, Texas.

His prosecutor, Smith County Assistant District Attorney Richard Vance, originally sought a sentence of 99 years over the 4.6 ounces of marijuana police found in Wooten's vehicle, according to published reports."

Texas (except for the 14th Congressional District) please hurray up and leave the Union.

What do you think? Is there any excuse for this?

Please leave a comment.

Georgia Guns Going to California

MercuryNews.com reports on the other "iron pipeline."

ATLANTA—Four people have been sentenced in federal court in Atlanta for their roles in a gun trafficking ring that operated in Georgia and California.

U.S. Attorney Sally Yates on Friday announced the sentencing of 26-year-old Jeffrey Martin Colon Moore, his girlfriend 26-year-old Crystal Davis, her father 56-year-old Danny Bill Davis, all of Canton, Ga., and 36-year-old Alexander Quinn of Oakland, Calif.

Prosecutors say Moore recruited the Davises to buy at least 65 guns at dealers and gun shows in the Atlanta area. He then shipped the guns to Quinn.

Yates says several guns sold in this case were recovered in the San Francisco area in the possession of convicted criminals.

Moore and Quinn were both sentenced to jail to be followed by probation, while the Davises were sentenced to home confinement followed by probation.

I guess that explains why the strict gun laws in California don't seem to work very well. It also clearly points to the solution.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Mudrake on the Threepers and Oath Keepers

Man with the Muckrake posted an article the other day about the Threepers and Oath Keepers. The post included a picture of an American military man with patches on his uniform. We've talked about these guys before.

What I think is that this soldier and many of his comrades in arms were easily duped into believing the propaganda that the Bush White House and the Pentagon fed them. Simply, they were victims of an excellent and pernicious propaganda campaign foisted upon them by a knot of political ideologues who gathered together in the White House: the Neocons. It was the Neocons and the PNAC group who had, not the interest of the American people in mind, but rather a narrow self-serving political agenda and used the Armed Forces of this nation to complete their cunning plan.

In fact, this political agenda is exactly what the Three Percenters and Oath Keepers rail against in their credos. Amazing! Absolutely amazing, yet it is clear that propaganda techniques, when wrapped around the flag and Patriotism, will move many to, in fact, obey orders that are clearly not in the interest of this nation at all.

What's your opinion? How could these so-called patriots accept the lies and chicanery which got us into Iraq in the first place? Isn't that contrary to their beliefs, as Mudrake asks?

Please leave a comment.

Starbucks Trying to Stay Out of the Controversy

The Seattle Times reports on the attempts of Starbucks to stay out of the gun debate.

The big example is Starbucks, which has been selected by advocates of the "open carry" movement as a place to show up with unconcealed firearms. Open carriers and gun-control advocates (peacefully) confronted one another recently at the Starbucks in Pike Place Market.

Starbucks says it will follow the law; thus, in states where it's legal to openly carry a firearm, those customers are welcome. "The political, policy and legal debates around these issues belong in the legislatures and courts, not in our stores," the Seattle-based coffee company said in a statement.

That might be an artful way to avoid controversy. Unfortunately, it probably won't work. With Starbucks' size and iconic place in corporate America, it was the perfect way for the Virginia-based group OpenCarry.org to gain international exposure for its cause.

It also received a backlash from gun-control proponents. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence has an online petition urging Starbucks to keep guns out.

I found it interesting that several pro-gun writers blamed the Brady campaign for putting Starbucks on the spot. This article says, "The big example is Starbucks, which has been selected by advocates of the "open carry" movement as a place to show up with unconcealed firearms."

I was wondering though if the statement by the famous coffee chain was in fact an attempt to stay out of it. Couldn't it be construed as supportive of the gun movement? Saying they'll follow the local laws is in effect siding with the gun folks, is it not?

Where do you think this is heading? What's next?

Please leave a comment.

Maryland's Missing Guns

The Washington Post reports on a case of missing guns which took place in Prince George county Maryland.

More than 20 guns seized by a state-run firearms task force in Prince George's County are unaccounted for, and investigators believe that one of the weapons was used in the shooting of an off-duty police officer late last year, according to law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation.

All the missing guns apparently had been seized by the Prince George's narcotics detective who was assigned to the task force, the sources said. The detective, Juan Carter, was suspended late last year during the investigation but has not been charged with any crimes, sources said.

I just read in another article the reason the one-gun-a-month law in Virginia makes no sense is because the black market street price for guns is lower than the retail price. I suppose this is an attempt to say there are no straw purchasers at all since they wouldn't be able to sell the expensive guns.

The obvious fact is, stolen guns like these from Maryland can sell for much less than retail price, while guns bought one at a time through straw purchasers would fetch a higher than retail price. There's a market for both.

What's your opinion? Which do you think accounts for more, stolen guns or straw-bought ones?

Please leave a comment.