The Flood That Never Happened

Sen. John McCain spoke to the National Rifle Association in Louisville last Friday, and the reaction seemed mixed.

If you click on the word "reaction," you'll see Paul Helmke is linking to The War on Guns.

"Neat," I thought. I'd wondered why "Handgun Control" was lurking here yesterday morning. But having this appear on both the Brady Blog and especially The Huffington Post ought to really drive some traffic my way, and that never hurts.

And then a funny thing happened. Nothing.

I noticed the link under the word "mixed" went to Snowflakes in Hell, so I emailed Sebastian:

I'm sure you've noticed by now we've both been linked to by Helmke's Brady blog/HuffPo.

Thing is, I'm getting zero hits from them in the past few hours, a couple max all day, and it's been up for a while.

Conversely, the few times I've gotten links from InstaPundit, it was like someone put a solid rocket booster on my site meter, generating 3 to 4 times normal visitors.

If the same thing is happening with you, I think we can legitimately extrapolate that they may not be as influential as they make themselves appear to be--from their comments, pro-gunners are their biggest audience. I'm not surprised by that conclusion, but I am a bit surprised at how little of an impact this has had on traffic--I would have thought it would at least result in several dozen if not hundreds of extra visits. I got nothin'.

Just thinking out loud. I'll probably say something about it tomorrow.

He indicated he had noticed the same thing and was collecting metrics.

To China and Back

David Codrea’s post attacking the NRA and individual staffers is one of the most over the top pieces of defamtory bullshit I’ve ever seen on the internet and if I was the NRA or said staffer (who really is good guy), I’d sue his ass to china and back.

The long knives are out for David Olofson, and people who generally dismiss guys like me as "divisive" are using words like "moron" and "idiot" and other "reasoned discourse" techniques to throw him under the bus.

I stand by what I've written to date, and I'll let David and Len Savage deal with correcting misconceptions if they feel it necessary. What I'd like to do here is give Countertop a chance to make his case. If a self-described "fairly well-connected lobbyist [and] former trial attorney" weighs in not only on the merits of Olofson's case, but also on my committing apparent libel, I owe it to myself--and to anyone my opinions may have influenced--to see how credible his opinions are.

This is evidently the post he was referring to. It was an email exchange I'd received from Len Savage, copied to a distribution list that included two national gun rights organizations, a major cable network reporter, a magazine publisher, an author, some others I don't recognize....

As WoG regulars know, and as the Olofson link above demonstrates, I've been one of the few following this case with any regularity, because I believe the matters at hand can profoundly affect all gun owners. As Len Savage is not only a nationally-recognized firearms designer but also the expert witness in this case, what he says is of interest to my readers and I'm going to give his opinions an airing--especially since none of the other "gun bloggers" do.

So let's look at my "attack on NRA and individual staffers" or at least my part in this.

I posted a title quoting said staffer, followed with a question mark. That means I'm asking. And I then posted the following inflammatory words:

Here's an exchange you may find interesting. Let's hope it's discussed in detail at the Annual Meeting.

That's it. In short:
There's an important case.
There's a controversy involving NRA.
Here's what I have from both sides.
Let's hope people talk about it.

And that's what Sebastian has done by the way. I don't agree with some of his conclusions or interpretations, but he brought back info from the meeting that we didn't have before. I'll not fault him for the post--we need to know everything, even stuff we might prefer not to hear. Nobody ever gained an advantage by covering their ears.

But if this is Countertop's professional opinion of actionable defamation, I must say I'm not convinced. Make of it what you will, but I think my "ass" is safe and I won't be going to China any time soon.

He's free, of course, to weigh in here if he likes, and speak for himself. I'll listen. Or, he could just continue doing what he's doing, enjoying all the benefits anonymity gives him. For what it's worth, I'm sure more people on the sites he frequents agree with him and probably always will.

We're the Only Ones "Bottoms Up!" Enough

The police then strip-searched Clement, and made him squat in front of them. The claimed to have seen white powder on his anus So they took him to a hospital. Without his consent, they then administered drugs to sedate him, induced him to vomit, put a camera up his rectum, and took x-rays of him.

I guess it's understandable why these particular "Only Ones" were preoccupied with that part of the anatomy--there had to be a strong sense of affinity bordering on kinship.

As Agitator comment poster JJH2 noted, this is rape. It should be treated that way.

[Via Dan K]

Olofson on Live Fire with Larry Pratt

From David R. Olofson:

Did the recording for the show at 9AM CT this morning. Seemed to go well. Mr. Pratt did most of the talking so I didn’t have to chew on my foot at all...It should be there no later than Monday of next week.

And, of course, I'll pass along a podcast link when it's up.

Lessons Learned the Hard Way

Because some times, as much as we'd prefer otherwise, there is no choice but to fight or die. How prepared are you?

[Via Plug Nickel Times]

We're the Only Ones Instructive Enough

A firearms instructor in southern Massachusetts has been assigned to other duties after his gun accidentally went off while he was teaching a class on weapons safety.

Officials say the Glock handgun discharged while Maj. Donald Lamar was demonstrating to Bristol County deputy sheriffs how to safely holster the weapon.

Evidently he was "The Only One" professional enough in this room...

Like the story said, it was the gun's doing.

[Via Jeffersonian]

Another Law Abiding Gun Owner Goes to Jail

Family Crest Catering, owned by David Crest of Hanover, Massachusetts had been robbed four times. Approximately $3,000 worth of goods and equipment had been stolen and an additional $4,000 had been embezzled.

After the fourth robbery, it became apparent to Mr. Crest that the police could not prevent future robberies and future robberies seemed imminent. Since Mr. Crest could not reasonably continue to support his family while being robbed all the time, he decided to guard his store with his Mossberg 500 shotgun by his side. Sure enough, the robber came back.

I confess I am new to this story and "know" nothing more about it than the link tells us, so I'm not going to second-guess this man's immediate actions.

I will say with the state of edict overflow we all live under, I prefer the term "peaceable" or some such over "law-abiding."

I'll also say that at this point, none of us should know that shots fired were intended as warnings. At most, I'd have said "I was in fear for my life. I want to talk to a lawyer."

Do not talk to the nice officer who only wants to find out what happened. He is not interested in clearing your good name. And while you're dragged through a system draining your life savings, and facing total ruin, the loss of your freedom, and everything your family will suffer, the only time you'll be on his mind is when he's preparing to testify and answering questions under oath. All the while waiting for the shift to end so he can go back to his home and his family and not give you and yours another thought...

Bring a Gun to School Day

Bring a Gun to School Day tells the story of an individual finding strength and defeating his oppressors. The day after a major school shooting fills the news, seventeen-year-old Erik Shylding is harassed by people who claim he is just like the shooter. To express himself and mess with the system, he puts up posters in school that declare April 19 "Bring a Gun to School Day." Erik has a feeling that he won't get away with it.

Author Darian Worden sent me an advance copy some time ago and I've been holding off on telling you about it until the official release, which just happened yesterday. It's a unique story with an interesting premise, and it's an easy, often entertaining read.

Always Think Deception

U.S. Rep. Bill Sali accused the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms of offering a misleading account of how the federal agency ended its use of a training slogan that angered some gun owners.

What, BATFU's obfuscating? Who would have guessed?

I think Rep. Sali ought to file that FOIA demand we talked about. Although why one would be required over something like this is more an indication of agency arrogance and resistance to oversight standards than anything else.

The Chicago Alderman Loophole

Mayor Daley said today he's all for the idea of temporarily re-opening gun registration in Chicago -- not as a favor to Ald. Richard Mell (33rd), but to get a realistic handle on the number of guns in Chicago.

Yeah, OK, I'll buy that. And how much for the bridge?

Hey, this is Chicago. What's a little "L'État, c'est moi" among cronies?

Many of you sent me links to various accounts of this in-your-face hypocrisy, and it's being covered like crazy everywhere else in the gun blog universe, so I'm probably going to reserve most of what I have to say for a magazine article--this one is a natural.

I do wonder why Snuffy hasn't made an apearance, though...

I Think I've Just Been Insulted...

Conversely, people looking to say that new media and citizen contributions to news-gathering are of little value point to some ramblings on 'Have Your Say', blogs about kittens, crackpot conspiracy theorists and angry gun freaks.

And guess where he's got "angry gun freaks" linked to?

It appears self-impressed Martin Belam still doesn't grasp things--or if he does, you and I probably don't even want to know about it...

Marathon Man

An act of bravery to defend a co-worker has cost a Minnesota gas-station attendant his job.

Mark Beverly, an overnight shift supervisor at a SuperAmerica in Roseville, Minn., was fired in March after he jumped on a masked robber who he believed was attacking a fellow employee.

SuperAmerica said he violated company policy when he came to his colleague's aid in the early morning of March 26. So instead of accolades, Beverly got the boot.

Hey, the company handbook is clear: "cooperate: don't argue, resist or attack the robber."

I mean, the guy even took "a computer-based training program." How much more does a company need to do?

I'm sure "Marathon spokeswoman" Linda Casey and her bosses have all kinds of formal expert training on safe practices to employ during violent physical attacks--from the time honored "cower and cringe" method to the more interactive "pleading, blubbering and howling" technique. Besides, we've seen time and again if gas station attendants just give attackers what they want, all will usually end well. Right?

If you'd like to tell the ironically named "SuperAmerica" (also branded under "Speedway") or its Marathon parent anything about your future gas purchases, here's a link.

This Day in History: May 21

On May 21, 1775 the Palatine Committee of Correspondence, later to be known as the Committee of Safety and to govern the valley in their own way until a stable government was finally formed in 1777, met at the home of Philip Fox opposite old Palatine Church and adopted the following resolution:

"As we abhor a state of slavery we do join and unite together under all the ties of religion, honor, justice and love of our country, never to become slaves and to defend our freedom with our lives and fortunes."