Talkin' to Aaron Zelman

I just completed an interview with Aaron Zelman of Jews for the Preservation fo Firearms Ownership for their "Talkin' to America" podcast program. We discussed, among other things, the Wayne Fincher case, the recent controversy broken by WarOnGuns about the FAA asserting a "collective rights" interpretation of the Second Amendment, this blog, my GUNS Magazine columns, the BIDS System, my Domestic Enemies review, and a whole bunch of other cool and groovy things.

I'll put up a link and announcement when he's got the finished product posted.
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We ran out of time and did not get to the FAA story. I think it went well, but you can judge for yourself when the podcast goes up on the JPFO site.

Many thanks, Aaron--you're a gracious host.

We're the Only Ones Suicidal Enough

Last year, the CHP had eight suicides among its 7,200 officers - a rate five times the national average for law enforcement. Experts are calling the suicide cluster - 13 total since September 2003 - the most serious among law enforcement agencies nationwide...

There doesn't seem to be a common theme nor precipitating stress aside from the victims being mostly men and using firearms to kill themselves...

The comparable suicide rates: CHP has had an average 45 per 100,000 annually over the past four years, spiking to 111 per 100,000 last year; versus an annual average at LAPD of 17 per 100,000, and the Sheriff's Department at 3.4 per 100,000.

National law enforcement suicide rates run between 18 and 22 per 100,000. The suicide rate for the general population is about 11 per 100,000. [More]

So the CHP (incidentally, the group sent to New Orleans to help disarm citizens wanting to protect themselves) has a suicide rate over four times that of the general population, and LEOs in general have a rate up to twice that of "the whole people."

Remember that the next time some asinine "study" says gun suicides will be reduced by disarming you and me, and limiting the firepower to the "clustered" hands of "The Only Ones."

A Letter from Wayne Fincher

I just received the following from Hollis Wayne Fincher. It looks like he received my letter. He has given me permission to share his (click on graphic, then you should be able to enlarge it from that page):

"Two offers by gov. to plea. I say no deal!"

In a related development, Barb McCutcheon informs us:

Just to let you know the books we sent to Wayne Fincher for Christmas were returned yesterday. The jail explanation was that the book on Jefferson and the Constitution was too heavy.

Don’t we all feel safer now?

[More from WarOnGuns]

UPDATE: I have receive notice that Wayne is still having health issues and anti-nausea medication has taken over 31 hours to be provided. My source tells me his attorney must get a court order before his medical records will be released to him--this is raw info, so I have no independent means to verify. Let me just say that if medicines were being withheld from war prisoners at Gitmo, the "authorized journalists" would be all over this story. I'll follow up on this later tonight to see if there are any new developments.

This Day in History: January 5

American traitor and British Brigadier General Benedict Arnold enjoys his greatest success as a British commander on this day in 1781. Arnold’s 1,600 largely Loyalist troops sailed up the James River at the beginning of January, eventually landing in Westover, Virginia. Leaving Westover on the afternoon of January 4, Arnold and his men arrived at the virtually undefended capital city of Richmond the next afternoon.

Technical Difficulties

We had high winds last night in SoCal and it knocked out my cable/internet access. I'm doing this from a public library. I have some posts I prepared that I'll put up now. We'll see if I can get back on this evening...