HCA Update

I caused a bit of discussion when I urged people to check out the Handgun Club of America.

Their website now addresses some of the concerns raised in that thread. They have added a page addressing their stand on the Second Amendment, a page of related quotes, and a thoughtful analysis on why rights aren't subject to licensing.

It appears these folks get it.

"The Only Reason You Have a Handgun is to Shoot Someone"

More anti-defense lunacy from north of the border.

No, it's not the only reason. But it certainly is one of them.

Toronto Mayor David Miller's solution?

"We know what works but we need the money to support it. We need the federal government to commit much more strongly to job training and funding actual employment for young people. That will require significant resources."

Spend money on government programs! What else would you expect from a bureaucrat and tyrant who wants to rule people and ensure that they're disarmed?

Is this where I launch into "Gee, Officer Krupke"?

I also like how the vacuous reporterette helps perpetuate hysteria using "straight news" catchphrases like "killings caused by firearms..."

And here I thought killings were caused by killers.

Excuse Me While I Whip This Out

I want my Twinkie.

What Would YOU Use on a T-Rex?

Comment poster Sean reminded me of something when, in response to The 2005 Hardyville Freedom Festival, he nominated "Jurassic Park 2 as the most asinine, corrupt, and contradictory movie [he's] ever seen."

In his musings about how totally ineffectual armed men were portrayed as being, he reminded me of a discussion that took place over a couple issues of my favorite gun magazine.

Andy Breglia shared his thoughts on which ammunition would be most effective against a T-Rex.

His conclusion: "[T]he .30-06 is a true do-all cartridge and, when loaded with the appropriate bullets, will take anything that walks on, or used to walk on, this planet."

The editor was skeptical, and countered "I believe the minimum T-Rex blaster would be an M2 .50 Browning Machine Gun mounted on something faster than a rex. Something with so little brain would take a lot of bleeding out or would need to have its pelvis shot to doll rags and fall before sinking his teeth or weight on you."

Breglia came back with "More Rex Whacks" in a later issue, leading the editor to speculate that "[a] brain shot would have that thing doin' the dead chicken dance all over you."

In fact, as evidenced by Mike the Headless Chicken, it might not even kill the thing.

I think it's an interesting discussion and would like to hear more opinions on this.

Which gun/ammo would be the best to use to effect a quick T-Rex kill, and why?

And we should probably eliminate long-range sniping, as that assumes the thing doesn't know you're there and is stationary. For the purposes of this exercise, let's assume it's a dynamic situation where you and the Rex are both aware of each other and facing off to kill or be killed.

They Never EVER Stop

Kevin gives a gungrabbing bedwetter electroshock therapy.

It won't cure the guy, but it sure is fun to watch it being administered.

Denver Argues to Become Constitution-Free Zone

[T]he Colorado Supreme Court...[will]hear arguments on the city of Denver's right to adopt stricter gun laws than the rest of the state. Assistant City Attorney David Broadwell will base his argument on the city's home-rule authority.

So Broadwell's arguing they can overturn the entire Bill of Rights if they want to?

Lord of War: "Anti-Gun Diatribe"

"War" is a film in which the story takes a backseat to the subject, the characters on-screen serving primarily as agents by which to deliver an anti-gun diatribe.

And of course the solution is to sign the UN small arms treaty.

Guns in the Workplace: An Enuretic's View

Someone who didn't know the basics of gun safety accidentally kills himself.

The conclusion? Obviously, guns don't belong in the workplace, and are more of a danger than a defense.

So why not ban guns in police stations?

Oh, because it's been well established that LEOs are better trained than us mere mortals.

So it's not like the answer just might be providing workplace defense training, is it?

Isn't Running From Predators What PREY Does?

"The scariest part is that you're removing the duty to retreat. That's really there to preserve life."

Unless by retreating instead of acting, you give the advantage to your attacker.

That's the problem with these dolts--they think one size fits all. They don't want people to consider that, just perhaps, the person on scene has a better grasp of what they neeed to do to preserve their safety than the MMM herd of inane cud-chewers. Not a one is qualified to offer tactical defense instruction, but the media presents them as authorities.

Freedom Films

Go vote in The 2005 Hardyville Freedom Film Festival.

I do have one beef--"The Iron Giant" is blatantly anti-hunting. Oh, shoot, I have other beefs--I don't see "The Scarlet Pimpernel." I don't see "Brazil."

I know what I don't see: I don't see the ability to cast write-in votes.

I also respectfully suggest one more category: Made for TV films. We shouldn't overlook this all-pervasive and important medium. After all, it probably has more daily influence on most Americans' lives than any other.

With that in mind, I nominate "Vanishing Point."

Oh, and I don't see a category for documentaries...Oh well, if it gets people thinking about liberty and maybe going out and renting something they haven't seen before...

I'll shut up now. This is still worthwhile and fun, despite my grousing.

[Via End the War on Freedom]

OK, You Can Stay

Just days since they were being urged, sometimes at gunpoint, to leave their homes, the hardy band of residents who sat tight in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina are now being encouraged to stay put and help to restart the city.

In a remarkable U-turn, the authorities - who had previously reviled, goaded and even threatened force against the few hundred remaining "holdouts" - are hailing them as examples of the indomitable spirit needed to rebuild the "Big Easy".

What the "authorities" won't tell us is what part citizens being armed played in this decision.

To Build a Fire

Apparently, you can start a fire with a soda can and a chocolate bar. I couldn't find anything debunking this on urban legends sites, and Tracker Trail seems pretty authoritative and credible.

Maybe I'll have a race with the boys this afternoon--although more than an hour polishing some damn can seems a bit of an investment--especially with the undone chores around this joint.

I'm not sure how useful this info will turn out to be. I can't recall ever being in a situation where I had a Coke and a candy bar (why does that remind me of a priest joke?) but not the means to make a fire--at least not in the wilderness.

[Thanks to Jim Peel.]

The Counter is Closed

Pity. Good site.

Perhaps Countertop will return some day. He offers us some hope:

"I expect that after a break I will return, refreshed and re-energized. When that time will be, I do not know."

It's not exactly like gun blogging is a profitable venture. The only reason I do it is to force myself to keep on top of issues and to write a little every day. I don't know if that will ever pay off enough to allow me to do it full time--I did get two checks in today's mail for articles sold, along with an impersonal form rejection letter that couldn't even say why my submission wasn't wanted. That's better than most days--two steps forward and only one step back.

We Don't Need No Stinkin' Posse Comitatus Act

"President Bush's push to give the military a bigger role in responding to major disasters like Hurricane Katrina could lead to a loosening of legal limits on the use of federal troops on U.S. soil."

Repeat after me: "Vote Freedom First"!

Now If I Could Just Find a Good Recipe For a Fetus Smoothie...

"A British newspaper said that a Chinese cosmetics company was using skin harvested from the corpses of executed convicts to develop beauty products for sale in Europe."

And remember, if you commit a felony in China--say, bringing in an unauthorized shipment of Bibles or the like, "conservative" justices Scalia and Thomas think your Second Amendment-recognized right should be terminated in the US.

[Story found via Hellblazer.]

Catching the Idiots

A reader writes to GUNS Magazine to take me to task over my May Rights Watch column.

Kevin Makes a Difference

Good job!

It's OK, He's a Cop

"Haymarket's acting police chief, Sgt. Gregory Breeden, got his gun back yesterday.

"Breeden had lost his right to carry a weapon two weeks ago after his wife accused him of breaking down their kitchen door with an ax and was granted a temporary restraining order. "

Who among us hasn't taken an ax (Stipulation, Your Honor--it was a sledgehammer) to a door from time to time?

The point here isn't to judge the guy's actions, though. We all know how restraining orders can be used as tools of vengeance, and how our rkba can be denied without any finding of guilt.

The point here is, if the guy wasn't a cop with connections, what do you think the chances for this outcome would have been?

GUNS Magazine: "The Black Arrow" Review

We hear the Second Amendment is the ultimate guarantor of liberty, but how many of us take those abstract words and comprehend their ultimate consequences? If the time comes when Americans must again take up arms against tyranny, how many will be able to set aside a lifetime of conditioning and initiate force against those in power?

This is the world of The Black Arrow, the first novel by syndicated columnist Vin Suprynowicz.

My review from the Sept. 2005 issue of GUNS is now online. Click here to read it.

It's For the Children

"The Dutch government plans to open an electronic file on every child at birth as a tool to spot and protect the troubled kids of the future.

"Beginning Jan. 1, 2007, all citizens will be tracked from cradle to grave in a single database — including health, education, family and police records — the health ministry said Tuesday."

Yeah, it's being done to everyone now so they can "protect the troubled kids of the future."

Right.

[Thanks to John Schaefer]