As You Can See, I'm Back

I see the place is still standing. Aside from a pirate-coddling troll, everything appears in order. To an anonymous commenter: I do agree that the wording on the poll should have had the words "the law" in quotation marks, because you're right--no one carrying concealed without a permit would be violating the "supreme law of the land' or the "laws of Nature's God."

Now I'm knockin' off for the night. I'm awful tired and want to snuggle with some loved ones. I hate being away, even for a couple days.

Journalistes Autorisé

The French Constitutional Council has approved a law that criminalizes the filming or broadcasting of acts of violence by people other than professional journalists. The law could lead to the imprisonment of eyewitnesses who film acts of police violence, or operators of Web sites publishing the images, one French civil liberties group warned on Tuesday.

"Authorized journalists" are the same the world over, it would seem...

I can't wait to see them try and enforce this one.

NJ to Consider Unalienable Rights Ban

New Jersey is looking to become the second state to outlaw a powerful gun that critics say can be used by terrorists to shoot down an airliner.

Anybody think we can win this one "democratically"?

[Via 45superman]

We're the Former Only Ones Who Didn't Know We Were Doing Anything Wrong Enough

Five hundred one guns, tied to one man - 36-year-old Mark Nelson, a former Columbus cop who masterminded a conspiracy that flooded the streets with weapons.

Nelson insists he didn't knowingly do anything wrong. But prosecutors say he enlisted his family and others (including a drug dealer) to illegally acquire 501 guns, then directly - or indirectly - sold many of them.

Lest you think I've gone soft, I think any free adult ought to be able to sell guns to any other free adult. But I do think this former "Only One" pleading that he's a misunderstood man who just had no idea is a crock, and wouldn't be the least surprised to find he put others away during his career for firearms "offenses." If people have demonstrated they can't be trusted with one, they need to be in custodial care--or exiled.

[Via HZ]

This Day in History: March 6

A committee of the New York Provincial Congress instructs Major William Malcolm to dismantle the Sandy Hook lighthouse in the then-disputed territory of Sandy Hook, now in New Jersey, on this day in 1776, telling him to "use your best discretion to render the light-house entirely useless."

On the Road Again

I'm posting from a hotel in Fresno, CA. The connection sucks and it's right in the main hall, so there's no privacy. Gotta go in to an all-day meeting in a minute.

I really need to upgrade to a laptop that I can connect to anywhere.

Light posting ahead. I'm back tomorrow night.

This Day in History: March 5

On the cold, snowy night of March 5, 1770, a mob of angry colonists gathers at the Customs House in Boston and begins tossing snowballs and rocks at the lone British soldier guarding the building. The protesters opposed the occupation of their city by British troops, who were sent to Boston in 1768 to enforce unpopular taxation measures passed by a British parliament without direct American representation.

No Excuses, BUT...

Suljo Talovic said he would not make excuses for his son, but did not understand how a teenager could buy a gun in the United States.

"The authorities are guilty for not alerting us that he bought a gun. In the U.S., you cannot buy cigarettes if you are underaged, but you can buy a gun," he said.

I feel for you, Mr. Talovic. I really do. I can only imagine the hell you and your wife are going through, and I pray I will never experience the loss of a child.

But you're not going in a direction with this that will do anyone any good.

[Via HZ]

New WarOnGuns Poll: Would You Carry Concealed Without a Permit?

See the new poll in the left margin.

Here are the results of last week's poll (click on image to enlarge):

A Pirate's Life Redux

Pirates hijacked a cargo ship delivering UN food aid to north-eastern Somalia yesterday, according to officials...

The pirates use speedboats equipped with satellite phones and GPS equipment. They are typically armed with automatic weapons, anti-tank rocket launchers and grenades, according to the UN Monitoring Group on Somalia.

As I wrote in "A Pirate's Life for Me!" (GUNS & AMMO, April 2002):

Aye, pirates there still be. But the blackest tale o' treachery on the Seven Seas comes not from cutthroats. It comes from anti-defense globalists, that is, the people reporting the increase and chartered to do something about it-- the scurvy knaves at the IMO and the privateers who follow in their wake.

Crossed anchors over a UN logo on the IMO ensign evoke nothing so much as a Jolly Roger, and despite their objective of "improving maritime safety," the world agency could be considered a buccaneer's best friend. Not only are they powerless to help victims of piracy in progress, but they actively oppose the only proven deterrent, armed defense.

Is this where I say "Harrr"?

We're the Only Ones Harassing Enough

Lately, the talk around the bar, on street corners and at the strip club on Route 12 has turned to Plainfield’s embattled police chief, Gary L. Sousa, a 26-year veteran of the force who was recently suspended because of accusations that he sexually harassed three women: two current town hall employees and one former town employee.

Hey, baby, wanna touch my baton?

Am I going to have to hold another Leoerotica Convention?

[Via Declan]

[More from "The Only Ones" files...]

We're the Only Ones Exposed Enough

The Federal Security Director for the Transportation Security Administration in Boise resigned today, after charges surfaced that he exposed himself to a number of people at an Idaho Falls hotel early last week...

Police reports indicate Melvin entered the swimming area, removed his clothing and walked around naked – exposing himself to staff and hotel guests.

The police report indicates Melvin was masturbating in front of a window at the hotel, in view of an elevator.

He was probably fantasizing about patting down bodies and making people take their shoes off...

[Via joefm]

[More from "The Only Ones" files...]

We're the Only Ones Permissive Enough

Quincy Police Chief Robert Crowley, for instance, said shortly after taking the job in 2004 that his style in issuing permits would be more restrictive than his predecessors.

Crowley’s policy requires that people applying for a handgun license have some reason more than self-defense. The policy has triggered intense criticism from gun-rights activists from across the state, as well as legal challenges, but he has never backed away from it.

‘‘I have not budged. I still believe what I said originally. I want a good reason, and a need, then I will give you a license to carry a firearm,’’ Crowley said this week.

If someone, for instance, says he needs to carry a firearm because he walks at night, and would feel more protected if he was licensed to carry a firearm, ‘‘well, my mother used to walk at night, and she never carried a firearm,’’ Crowley said.

‘‘If someone says ‘I carry large sums of money,’ well nobody ever said what a large sum of money is,’’ Crowley said in explaining why that person might be denied.

On the other hand, if a person owns a restaurant or other business that necessitates making nightly cash deposits, ‘‘to me, that is reasonable,’’ Crowley said.

‘‘I do not deny a person a permit because I do not like them. I deny them for a specific reason,’’ he said.

My rights, Chief Crowley, are not subject to your inane opinions, and are certainly not going to be held hostage waiting for your permission.

The thing is, if someone did get caught "illegally" carrying concealed, there would be no shortage of self-styled forum warrior "gun rights activists" complaining how "that makes us all look bad."

[Via Declan]

[More from "The Only Ones" files...]

This Day in History: March 4

Under the cover of constant bombing from American artillery, Brigadier General John Thomas slips 2,000 troops, cannons and artillery into position at Dorchester Heights, just south of Boston, on this day in 1776. Under orders from General George Washington, Thomas and his troops worked through the night digging trenches, positioning cannons and completing their occupation of Dorchester Heights.

Where Your Opinion Counts

I'm not sure if it really does, but these will only take a minute and you really have nothing to lose:

First, via Say Uncle, we have the No to HR 1022, "Assault Weapons Ban" Petition. Hey, look: That's me!



Next, via 1894C, we can go over to the Brady's house and play. (Yeah, they get your email--I gave 'em my Hotmail account--you can then either relegate it to your "Junk" folder or accept them to keep up with the latest lies from the enemy camp.)

And last but not least, you have weighed in on this week's WarOnGuns poll over in the left margin, right?

Defending the Indefensible

In Boyne's version of Utopia, there would be two kinds of people--police and military on the one hand, and helpless, cowering sheep on the other. The good news for him is that such places can be found in the world. The bad news is that there are quite a few people who, like me, will fight to the death before we see the United States become such a place.

Kurt Hofmann takes on a treasonous fool.

Underkill

The New York Times weighs in on the Zumbo affair with their typical sleight of mind:

“Assault rifle” is a much touchier term. It is generally understood to be the kind of gun that soldiers use in wars and terrorists use on the evening news. But the gun lobby despises “assault rifle,” considering it a false, scary label tacked onto perfectly legitimate weapons by people who want to take away others’ rights.

That is a debate for another day.

There's no debate about it. Straight from ther head of the Violence Policy Center:

The weapons' menacing looks, coupled with the public's confusion over fully automatic machine guns versus semi-automatic assault weapons—anything that looks like a machine gun is assumed to be a machine gun—can only increase the chance of public support for restrictions on these weapons.

The Times goes on to perform a sin of omission:

“Excuse me, maybe I’m a traditionalist,” he wrote, “but I see no place for these weapons among our hunting fraternity.” He added: “To most of the public, an assault rifle is a terrifying thing. Let’s divorce ourselves from them. I say game departments should ban them from the prairies and woods.”

Until he wrote that, Mr. Zumbo was one of the most admired hunters in America...

It seems our integrity-saturated Times editorialist failed to mention the most inflammatory declaration Mr. Zumbo made:

I'll go so far as to call them "terrorist" rifles.

So after dismissing the designed confusion over firearm functionality created and exploited by their allies, and intentionally withholding Zumbo's most offensive statement from their readers, The Times goes on with this accusation:

The paranoia and gloating that Mr. Zumbo’s name has evoked on gun discussion boards like ar15.com and freerepublic.com speak for themselves.

For The New York Times, which has consistently fear-mongered over private gun ownership to call anyone else paranoid takes a lot of damn gall. But just for the record, yes, a gun ban here, a gun ban there, and a pattern for an agenda does emerge, and it's not all that hard to find the master plan--straight from "The Newspaper of Record's" co-conpirators.

[Via Tom M]

An Answer of Sorts

The reporter who wrote about the SWAT machine gun stolen from a car while the "Only One" it was assigned to "relaxed" at a sports bar has responded to my inquiry:

That’s a good question and one we discussed before the story aired.

I certainly see your point.

In the end, we decided that since this deputy did not violate any department policy, has not been placed on leave or reprimanded or charged with anything, the most relevant point was, hey, there’s this really dangerous gun and other serious SWAT gear out on the street. Watch for it.

But I’m glad you sent the e-mail.

I forwarded it onto a contact at the sheriff’s department.

It’s always worth re-examining things like this.

Thanks for watching.

And remember we need story ideas literally every day.

Tyler Lopez

That kind of begs the question as to why the "Only Ones" are the only ones who have the judgment and temperance to have machine guns available to respond to emergencies after they've been "relaxing" in bars, doesn't it? Or why the inequity of treatment: if it had been a non-"Only One," charges would have been filed, and we damn sure would know their name.

"Authorized journalists" are a lot like horses. You can lead them to water...

Kennedy Consorts with Child Molester

That's the slobbering murderer schmoozing at a Million Maoists Subversive Soirée with democrat darling Peter Yarrow on the right.

From "A Judgment Call," my Rights Watch column in the March 2005 issue of GUNS Magazine:

Folksinger Peter Yarrow of Peter Paul & Mary believes we need more gun laws. Performing at the 2004 Million Morn March rally urging Congress to renew the federal "assault weapon" ban, Yarrow's main emphasis in the gun control movement has been to protect children.

It's too bad he wasn't thinking about protecting them when he was convicted of a sex offense for molesting a 14-year-old girl--but perhaps it explains why he wouldn't want to make it easy for parents to own a gun.

These are the predatory misfits who think we should be disarmed?

We're known by the company we keep, right Bradyites?

Vol* is Angry

I am displeased with all the citizen disarmement proponents and enforcement thugs, and the fools who demand their existence.

To demonstrate my wrath, I will make the moon disappear tonight.

Beware--and repent.

And make sure you watch the skies tonight.

*