Nicki's Secret Admirer

I'd comment, but Napoleon XIV has pretty much said it all.

Then check out Nicki Fellenzer's blogs, The Liberty Zone and Nicki's Asylum. I think she needs to clear out a room in the latter for her pinheaded cyberstalker.

"Remember New Orleans!"

Wayne LaPierre thinks that ought to be our new slogan when confronted with citizen disarmament proposals, and he gives some examples where it would be a good rejoinder.

I agree. But here's one Wayne forgot to mention:

Imagine you're a teacher, and you hear gun shots and kids screaming. You have a roomful of children entrusted to your care, but you're pretty much helpless to do anything except lock the door, order everyone on the floor behind their chairs, and hope the attacker passes you by.

Remember New Orleans!

[KABA Newslinks]

Just Say "No" to Self-Defense

...Stephen Hargarten, co-director of the Firearm Injury Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin, raises questions that should prompt all legislators to look skeptically at a proposal that would allow average Wisconsinites to carry concealed weapons.

(Translation: Another agenda-driven ivory-tower egghead finds no correlation between being armed and being able to defend yourself, and wants more money to expand his influence.)

But youth in Wisconsin are committing suicide at a statistically higher rate than the national average, and if more people are carrying more people might (yeah, the editorial actually says "might") be "killed with their own guns that have been taken from them."

Forget that "youth" won't be in the population eligible for concealed carry. Forget that "Japan, which prohibits handguns, has a suicide rate of more than twice the U.S. level." Forget that the suicide rate in Los Angeles County Jails--where disarmed inmates are monitored 24/7--was documented to be about five times higher than that of the general population.

See, here's the thing. Hargarten and the National Academy of Sciences (the anti-gun collective that recently came out with the massive study that couldn't find any correlation between citizen disarmament laws and reduced violence) depend on continued funding. So it's hardly surprising that their conclusion--when they can't find facts to support their thesis--is they need to ponder some more, and they need more money with which to ponder.

Think of squawking chicks in a nest, maws gaping, shrieking for more regurgitated nourishment. You wouldn't let those determine your defensive options, either.

The actual Hargarten journal article is here. Amazingly it is even stupider and more agenda-driven than the Journal Sentinel editorial. He apparently can't help whining hysterically about a Ruger Blackhawk model that was engineered to include a transfer bar to address the problem of misfires over three decades ago. He demands mandatory (and conveniently non-existent) "personalized handguns," and deliberately misleads his readers with statistics about police officers and takeaway incidents, knowing full well they will be exempted from having to use them.

Bottom line: Hargarten is not acting as a scientist. He is acting as a propagandist. So expect the Brady Campaign and their fellow travelers to hold this dishonest opinion piece masked as scientific literature up like it's the Ten Commandments handed down from God.

And no, I haven't changed my opinions about permitting/licensing of unalienable rights. But that's a different debate.

[Thanks to Dan Gifford]

No Charges For Gun Death Officers

Two policemen who shot a man carrying a table leg they mistook for a sawn-off shotgun will not be charged over his death.

No, of course they won't.

Huge SoCal Gun Possession Case Dismissed

I'm not sure what this is about--this is the only story in the news and I don't know any other background details--but it sounds like the guy was a gun dealer trying to comply with legal edicts by reporting his inventory to BATFU, and the state somehow improperly got ahold of the information.

Gee, who would ever think the feds would stoop to illegally leaking info to state agencies?

Gun Slips From Sticky Fingaz

US rapper Sticky Fingaz has been arrested after allegedly leaving an unlicensed gun in a hotel room.

Well, on the one hand, that's a really stupid thang to do, and a check of the guy's lyrics makes him sound like the kind of thug you'd want a gun to protect yourself against.

But funny thing about liberty--it doesn't just apply to people I approve of, and in the absence of committing a criminal act with the gun, the hotel's response should have been to call him and let him know they had his property in the front desk safe.

Suspended For Paper Gun: Zero-Tolerance Insanity

I am speechless. I literally cannot believe this is not an elaborate sick hoax.

So far, I've managed to keep obscene words out of my (public) commentaries. I've got to walk away from this for a while, before I post something I'll regret.

Trouble in Paradise: "The Rules"

Here's an update on the doings at R-Ranch, and the tangled web they're attempting to weave:

Proposed Gun Rules
R-Ranch

These rules apply to all owners and guests of owners as well as employees and their quests, however the Board of Directors may make exceptions for safety and security.

1. All federal, state and county laws must be complied with, as well as forest service rules.

2. No shooting is allowed on the ranch with any type of weapon with the following exceptions:
A. The gun range, or Archery Range.
B. Organize staged gunfights using blank ammunition, approved by the Board of Directors. The Board may delegate this authority.

3. No loaded guns on the ranch. With the following exceptions:
A. The Gun range
B. Organized staged gunfights using blank ammunition.
C. Undeveloped areas of the ranch
D. Board may make future exceptions.

4. No concealed guns are allowed on the ranch. With the exception of law enforcement officers and those who have a valid permit to carry.

5. If transporting fire arms in your vehicle all Federal, State and county laws apply.

6. Handguns if carried must be unloaded and in a holster pointed toward the ground.

7. Rifles and shotguns if carried must be carried in a safe manner either point up in the air or down at the ground.

8. Intentionally pointing any weapon of any kind at anyone is forbidden.

9. Organized staged gunfights using blank ammunition must have the permission of The Board of Director and be announced far enough in advance so as not alarm anyone.

10. Paint ball guns are not to be fired on ranch property.

11. All weapons must be secured when not in use. Cabins are not a safe place to leave a weapon of any kind. All weapons must be secured in your vehicle and out of sight when not in use.

12. Weapons are but not limited to anything that that fires a projectile, such as rifles, pistols, shotguns, B.B. guns, pellet guns, sling shots bows, crossbows etc. Large knifes, swords, spears, axes, anything that can be thrown or has sharp edges.

Without getting into a detailed analysis, these rules are stupid and unenforceable. They result from pure irrational fear that some have when seeing am armed man not in an official state uniform.

If someone is carrying concealed, they will never know. If someone is carrying openly, how will they know if the gun is loaded or not? If they ask to inspect it and are refused, what will they do? More to the point, on what authority would a sheriff's deputy be authorized to conduct an arrest, since no California law will have been violated?

But what really illustrates how this is utter nonsense is the prohibition against carrying loaded firearms except in "undeveloped areas of the Ranch."

The trash bins are all in developed areas.

Guess where the bears are attracted to go?

Guess what Security is passing out at the check-in booth?

I like to think of this as "EXHIBIT A":



"BEARS ARE BACK! Do not feed them! Please be careful when out at night."

In other words, our Board has known for years that there is a very real potential danger to the lives and safety of Ranch vistors. They know there is nothing they do about it. And they insist on creating conditions so there will be nothing anyone can do about it should an attack occur.

I'm not going to reveal my hand here, but I am definitely exploring options on this--beginning with ignoring any stupid rules that endanger my life or the lives of anyone I care about.

RELATED READING:
Trouble in Paradise
A Gathering Storm
Heaven Forbid! More Trouble in Paradise

Toilet Gun Found

Here's an update to Monday's post.

It appears The Mirror doesn't just report the news--they rat out citizens...uhh...subjects to the cops so they'll have something to write about.

I don't get the "theft by finding" charge if the guy phoned in an anonymous tip.

I do agree with the bloke's dad that he is "stupid." The idiot could have liberated a Sig Sauer

"They Made Us Look Like Stooges"

Last night's Boston Legal episode was every bit the liberal polemic I thought it would be.

The statistics mouthed by the actors were right out of the Brady Campaign playbook. The urbane distaste for guns was unmasked. The arguments opposing gun control were vapid, showing the writers never even attempted to understand the true reasons one might do so--and the only character opposed to gun control was a head case and buffoon.

Add to that ridiculously implausible scenarios--like bringing a loaded musket into a Boston courtroom--and the obligatory incompetent handling/accidental shots fired whenever Denny Crane gets his hands on a gun--and you have what we all should have expected.

My oldest boy said it best. They made us look like stooges.

WARNING: Following Post Contains Obscene Material

With all the critical issues on the national agenda, from the Iraq war to hurricane recovery, the House's eagerness is obscene as the gun lobby herds lawmakers from both parties behind a bill to deny victimized families their fair day in court.

No, what's obscene is The New York Times continued advocacy of citizen disarmament while its Chairman Emeritus, "Punch" Sulzberger, has used his elite influence to obtain a concealed carry permit unavailable to the masses.

Boston Legal

Forced by a client to put Denny Crane on the case, Shirley Schmidt reluctantly enlists his help to defend a Democratic Congressman being sued for not keeping a campaign promise to pass a ban on assault weapons. The right-wing Crane is an unlikely defender from the start, but Schmidt really wonders if she made the right decision when he goes missing the day of his closing.

Right. "The right-wing Crane" portrayed by the left-wing Shatner. And we know how skillful media liberals are at not portraying conservatives as stereotypical caricatures.

From the Boston Legal website's "Crane, Poole & Schmidt" General Office Folder, filed under "Announcements":

No Guns Allowed in the Office

All Partners and Associates are reminded that guns are prohibited in the office. Even though recent visits from armed ex-clients have alarmed some CP+S employees, carrying weapons within the confines of Crane, Poole and Schmidt is strictly forbidden (Accept [sic] for Denny Crane who was a Marine Sharpshooter, or a Navy Seal, but either way is trained in the use of firearms and has shown reasonable restraint when discharging them in the office.)

I've never seen the program, but I understand it's popular and many think it's funny. I guess I'll need to watch it tonight (ABC, Tuesdays, 10/9c) to do a propaganda check.

PD Safe Despite Loaded Gun

That is, if you define "safe" as whistling through a graveyard or pulling the covers over your head.

I wonder how the Student Crime Stoppers would stop an actual violent crime in progress against students.

Oh well, at least the gun-free school zone crowd agrees with Sandra Froman and Wayne LaPierre. So that should be seen as a victory of sorts for gun owners, right?

Right?

Spotting Shots

The quick response - within seconds - came because a nearby sensor picked up the sound of the muzzle blast, pinpointed the shooter's location to within 10 feet and alerted police dispatchers of the address...The ShotSpotter system is only triggered by gunfire and it can discern the type of weapon (rifle, shotgun or handgun) being used. The software in the sensors also commands the surveillance cameras to rotate and focus on the spot where the shot was fired.

Shades of "The Black Arrow."

I wonder what would happen if someone played some of these through loudspeakers...

[Via KABA Newslinks]

Flush That Gun Goodbye

A soldier's weapon has been missing for two days after it was left in a supermarket toilet during a military exercise...

A supermarket toilet? Were they on maneuvers to practice looting stores?

Looks like here's another one for the "We're the only ones professional enough" files...

Anyone with information of the pistol's whereabouts is urged not to touch it but to contact police immediately...

Right-o.

We Have Been SO Blind

Dear kindly social worker,
They say go earn a buck.
Like be a soda jerker,
Which means like be a schumck.
It's not I'm anti-social,
I'm only anti-work.
Gloryosky! That's why I'm a jerk!*

And to think that the problem all along has been anomie!

*GEE, OFFICER KRUPKE: Music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.
© 1956, 1957 Amberson Holdings LLC and Stephen Sondheim. Copyright renewed.
Leonard Bernstein Music Publishing Company LLC, Publisher.

"Gun Czar" Needs More Power

Leave it to the "Watchdog Press" to complain that government doesn't have enough authoritah.

How come they never say "Gun Führer "?

Correct Definition of "Assault Weapon"

Police found a knife believed to be the assault weapon inside the apartment, Moran said.

Finally the establishment media gets it right.

The WarOnGuns Bedwetter of the Week Award...

...goes to Mark Medford, Chairman of the York County, VA School Board, who wants state law rewritten to ban the means of self defense at public meetings.

"We're not infringing upon people's rights to bear arms," Medford newspeaks. "[I]f someone decided to snap or got angry about a decision we make, we don't want the worst-case scenario."

Not much trust in your constituents there, eh, Medford?

Not quite. We learn the board "made arrangements to have two deputies present" when they learned they were going to be visited by a free man.

Terrified of the possibility, they needed the assurance of uniforms and badges, because as we have seen time and again, the police are the only ones professional, moral, wise, trained and rational enough to keep and bear arms.

Now Raise Your Right Hoof and Repeat After Me

Baaa, baaaa, baaaaa...

""The value of this pledge can be taught at home," Sparks said.

Huff agreed, and said parents need to pay attention if their child doesn't want to sign the pledge.

That's just plain evil.

The gun court, organized in 1995, is a nationally recognized model hailed by former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft.

Why does that not surprise me?