Anniversary

So which of these is the anniversary of the Waco raid? Celebration? Consecration? Commemoration? Perhaps, you may come to understand as I do, that it is a little bit of all three.

Mike Vanderboegh has written another gem, this time about an anniversary we discussed yesterday.

I have not been able to break away to do the formatting needed to post it, but see that Chris Horton has saved me the trouble.

Go on over and give it a read.

Cavalry Arms Assistance Plan

There's nothing new in the news, and still no word from the Cavalry Arms website on what is going down, but activists on AR15.com are being proactive about helping out. Follow the title link to see what the plan is, and how you can get involved.

A Utah BATFU Wannabe?

However, Van Wagenen and his attorney, James "Mitch" D. Vilos, believe that any errors discovered through the October 2006 audit by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives are innocent mistakes, not a deliberate disregard for rules.

"The Van Wagenen Finance Company has ... had hundreds of thousands of gun sales," Vilos said. "As far as I know, the vast majority have been absolutely legal and perfectly maintained. We're looking at the allegations closely, trying to figure out how some of those records were less than perfect."

Oh, you mean what BATFU calls "willful violations"?

"In order for us to pursue this charge, we need to establish that his conduct was done willfully and intentionally," Grunander said. "We are confident that we can prove this case at trial."

How predictable was that?

It looks like the Utah Deputy Attorney is tag-teaming with the feds on this.

With everything else going on, I don't see anyone else keeping an eye on this, so why don't we?

A False Alternative

No, you from "The Winning Team" may end up registering your guns, and you may even aid and abet the enemy in encouraging your countrymen to turn themselves in.

And what next?

What will you do when they order you to get their permission to own your registered guns in the form of paid licenses with arbitrary and mutable qualifying standards?

What will you do when they tell you that your license application has been rejected, that your registered guns have been banned, that you must turn them in or face arrest and imprisonment?

We know what "The Winning Team's" answer is: Surrender them, like "any honest, law-abiding American would do."

So register to vote and then do what?

Vote McCain?

You go right ahead if you want to. I'm sure some can even convince themselves they're being fierce and pragmatic freedom fighters doing so.

I'm taking a different route. If more did, we wouldn't even be having this discussion.

I will not register.

I will lose my rights only if I surrender them.

And I will not disarm.

I'll leave that to the men with nice offices and thousand dollar suits who have convinced so many followers that they are their leaders.

Shriek hysterically about losing and then stampede the cattle.

Let them lead, that is, herd you to surrender. I want no part of it and will lead myself.

It Is the Economy...

Clay tells us why.

Wayne to the Rescue

The day a gunman killed five students at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, it was more than an hour before Dr. Connie Catellani knew that her son Tony Skelton, an NIU senior, was safe.

So she's used her new-found indignation to presume to dictate on our right to keep and bear arms, and the ignorance, hysteria and distrust she employs are straight out of the Brady playbook.

And because she's a doctor, the media accords her more "authority" on the subject than they would if she were, say, a sex worker. Not (completely) meaning to be facetious, but would either of those professions be consulted for meaningful input if your TV was on the fritz, or your car had a funny noise coming from the transmission?

But because this person is an MD, we're supposed to listen to her on RKBA? Couldn't using that as a credential to give her voice special credibility be considered malpractice of sorts?

Someone who does have credentials, John Lott, was given the opportunity to present a rational alternative to "gun free zones." But what I found disturbing was that Dr. Catellani's most damaging argument against him, at least as far as the general public is concerned, came from someone ostensibly on "our side." Listen at 25 minutes 50 seconds into the recording (access via link on Lott's post--it's a big file, so those of you on dial up will need patience), and who does she cite? Not Paul Helmke, Peter Hamm or Sarah Brady, not Josh Sugarmann, but the biggest name in "gun rights."

And what does she cite?

This:

First, we believe in absolutely gun-free, zero-tolerance, totally safe schools. That means no guns in America's schools, period ... with the rare exception of law enforcement officers or trained security personnel.

We believe America's schools should be as safe as America's airports. You can't talk about, much less take, bombs and guns onto airplanes. Such behavior in our schools should be prosecuted just as certainly as such behavior in our airports is prosecuted.

[Via HZ]

We're the Only Ones Inadvertant Enough

A federal trial for a man accused of taking a police officer’s handgun ended in a hung jury this week.

What was this, another "takeaway" incident?

Authorities said the officer inadvertently left his duty belt under a street bench near Matt Talbot Kitchen at 19th and R streets the evening of Oct. 7. The belt included a police radio, a .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun and .45-caliber magazines. Police got a phone call a few hours later from someone who said Livings had a police officer’s weapon. Authorities found him the next morning with the gun and magazines at an apartment near 23rd and Q streets.

"Inadvertantly."

So the homeless guy is "The Only One" who faced charges? And the only one the "Authorized Journalists" chose to name?

[Via Blackshirt]

Nudging Northland News

Russ Stewart a former Duluth city councilor and gun owner says the new law is needed to give people adequate right to self defense.

Be sure and watch the video, as the narrative is a bit sloppy (misspelling "conscience," etc.), and yeah, I got the "give" part...

This is a follow-up to this and this, and I want to use it as an object lesson on how you, as an individual, can affect information the public sees and hears on RKBA--all by your own self, without any direction from anybody else.

When you see something grossly unfair in the media, take the time to contact them, challenge them on it, appeal to their sense of journalistic ethics and professional pride, give them correct information and press for a follow-up with their audience. We're always complaining we don't get equal time and reports are biased, but very few of us take personal action to fight back, or to do so effectively.

Here's a case where all Minnesotans would have seen on this is the "gun control" side unless someone took the time to do this. In this case, it happened to be me, and I was fortunate that Mr. Stewart then stepped up to the plate.

I'd also been in contact with Joel Rosenberg, one of the most knowledgeable authorities on Minnesota gun laws this side of Joseph Olson (who I'm told is up to his neck in things, because I tried tapping him, too) and the reporter spoke with Mr. Rosenberg at length, so we'll see if anything results from that interview. I suspect because it was over the phone she used it for background and to understand the issues, then opted for the guy who could give her face time with a camera.

My point is, every gun owner ought to be acting as a leader, and ought to be banding with his friends as force multipliers. Take it on yourself to take the intiative and challenge your local media when you see something that isn't right. Because if you're going to wait for some guy in a different state to get the ball rolling, it rarely will.

Good job, Russ. I know you had a lot more to say that was edited, and your time was limited by the format, but you not only made an important counterpoint to the original report, both you and Joel have established the credibility with these people to communicate with them on future stories. Both the reporter and her news manager now have a new awareness that this issue requires balance, and they now know where to get it. Plus, it's coming from local citizens, not from a funded lobby group that can be dismissed as a special interest.

Thank you both for speaking out on this. We all benefited from it.

This Day in History: March 1

The Articles of Confederation

...ratified and in force, March 1, 1781.

The 1% Solution

For the first time in U.S. history, more than one of every 100 adults is in jail or prison, according to a new report documenting America's rank as the world's No. 1 incarcerator.

And remember: They hate us because we're free.

We're the Only Ones Returning to the Scene of the Crime Enough

Today marks 15 years since the Branch Davidian standoff began at Mount Carmel when the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms attempted to execute a search warrant at the compound. Gunfire was exchanged, resulting in the deaths of four ATF agents and six Davidians.

...[F]our carloads of federal agents left the compound this morning after paying their respects to the ATF agents who died a decade and a half ago.

I guess the bright side is, while "four carloads" of BATFUers are giving themselves a paid day off on the taxpayers' dime, they're not out there victimizing anyone. I also notice there's nothing about paying respects for the 76 people, including two pregnant women and 21 children, 12 under five, who weren't "Only Ones."

Cavalry Arms Update

As of right now, there are no new headlines to link to, nothing on the Cavalry Arms website and no BATFU braggadocio on their site.

From AR15.com comments:

innocent_bystander

Just talked to Russ.

The comments on the KTAR website are completely foreign to them.

Posted :: 2/28/2008 8:16:56 PM

Those would be the comments by "Rose J".

As disclaimed before, everything that's coming out about this is raw. In the absence of any real investigative work with credible sources (and we've seen how ignorant, shallow, easily distracted and hysterical the "Authorized Journalists" on scene have already been with this story), treat everything as just information gathering, with very little that's verifiable.

Expect the business to be circumspect. With this hanging over my head, I'd be inclined to not say anything to anybody unless through my attorney.

If you're new to this story, here are the WarOnGuns posts to date:
The BATFU Horse and Pony Show
Cavalry Arms Update: "Seize Everything"

We're the Only Ones Going Up/Going Down Enough

Ocean City police have obtained an arrest warrant for a deputy sheriff from Virginia in connection with an alleged rape.

Police say 31-year-old Zachary Taylor of Ruther Glen, Va., met a 22-year-old woman Sunday at a night club. Taylor is accused of taking the intoxicated woman to his hotel room, raping her, then leaving her in an elevator.

Forgive me for committing the chauvenistic heresy of entertaining questions, but after reading this excellent expose by Heather Mac Donald and looking at the circumstances of this story, I'm left wondering if he is truly "The Only One" whose behavior needs to be examined here...

[Via Ben R]

We're the Only Ones Beating Our Meat Rap Enough

Here's an update on a story from my neck of the woods. Last December, a Cop...got pissed at the owner of a meat market for not putting hot pepper flake in his jerky. The argument escalated until the Cop pulled his gun on the store owner.

We discussed this jerk...uh...jerky a while back.

And naturally, his fellow investigating "Only Ones" wanted to clear their trained professional and file charges against the guy who brought a box of venison to a gun fight.

[Via xilch2004]

A Bright Idea

Despite a congressional mandate banning the sale of common incandescent light bulbs by 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is warning that their compact fluorescent replacements are not safe to use everywhere.

The EPA says breakage of the energy-saving, mercury-containing CFLs can cause health hazards, especially for children and pregnant women, suggesting use of the bulbs over carpeted areas should be avoided. If bulbs break over carpeted areas, the cleanup may require cutting out pieces of the carpet to avoid toxic exposures.

I know it's not gun-related, but it certainly is freedom-related, bowing to the globalist ManBearPig alarmists.

Joe Farah at WorldNetDaily suggests the way to fight this is with a bumpersticker campaign.

Not me. I'm wondering what would happen if someone took one of these beasties, broke it into pieces, stuck it in an envelope and mailed it to his representative who voted for it, along with a note telling him they don't know how to legally dispose of it, so since he supports the law, he can deal with it.

What, it would not only be dangerous unless done in a very carefully controlled manner, plus it would violate postal regulations, and hazardous materials/waste regulations, and probably anti-terrorist laws? Gee, then in my fantasy scenario, I'd better make sure the protagonist does this with safety precautions and anonymously. For the same six bucks Farah wants for his bumpersticker, my fictitious character could probably-- in a speculative fantasy scenario that's not actually being proposed--come close to buying a bulb, a bubble wrap envelope and postage. And in this fictional speculation, they'd probably need latex gloves to keep fingerprints off everything, and make sure the enevelope and stamps weren't licked to leave DNA traces, plus figure out a way to address the note and envelope so they wouldn't be traced back to their printer or handwriting...

Good thing this is all an exercise in fantasy. But it does make you wonder--if it's a threat to the government why is it not a threat to the people they're forcing this on?

Look for American businesses to get closed down with massive noncompliance fines once this monstrosity--which is really a forced purchase from China deal--is implemented.

And please--nobody act out the fiction speculated on here: It would really be an impossible-to-ignore protest if people started doing this by the hundreds or even thousands, so the government would do its best to come down heavily and with full force on anyone they caught.

Off We Go Into a Wild Blue Blunder

[T]he Air Force is “tightening restrictions on which blogs its troops can read, cutting off access to just about any independent site with the word ‘blog’ in its web address.” ...Sites like The New York Times, however, will be allowed because they are “established, reputable media outlet[s].”

See, that's because the USAF is a government entity and The Times, well, they're "Authorized Journalists," so it's not like they have an agenda or anything.

Best to keep 'em unquestioning, I guess.

On the off chance this might work, here's the TinyURL address for WarOnGuns--perhaps that'll help bypass this.

In the mean time, let's do some asking around. We've learned from past experience, just because Reuters (an "established, reputable media outlet") says something is true doesn't necessarily make it so.

[Via 45superman]

This Day in History: February 29

The commanding Officers of brigades are to order all the Spears, in the several posts, and redoubts, to be examined, clean'd and collected in the proper places, and make a Return of the number fit for service in each brigade, and where deposited.

Cavalry Arms Update: "Seize Everything"

Comment poster Stephen asked:

David, do you have any contacts at Cavalry? If you do, can you get a copy of the search warrant and post it please?

I don't, but I've been corresponding behind the scenes and know Nicki is in contact with Oleg Volk, whose work is featured on the Cavalry Arms website, and Nicki tells me she and he have been in touch about this matter.

So I asked her to ask him, and just got this back:

Confirmed: nothing on the warrant other then: "Firearm law violations. Seize everything."

Does this sound like "particularly describing" to anybody?

I also found the following comment on the Newstalk KTAR Community Board. Treat it as raw information with no established credibility, meaning it may or may not be true, or parts of it may or may not be, and the poster may or may not have an agenda, and if so, we don't know what that is. For now though, it's important that we have as many pieces of the puzzle as we can find to try and picture what's going on:

More to this story!
Rose J. @ 10:11am - Thu Feb 28th, 2008

With regard to the recent ATF raid on Cavalry Arms, you might want to look into the connection between Cavalry Arms and the Phoenix Rod & Gun Club at 915 W. Olney Dr., Phoenix. Specifically, an employee by the name of Darrell “Bubba” Fretwell” who is also employed by PR&GC as their full time Range Master, President Don Reed, Treasurer Drew Pringle, and Practical Fire Arms Director Debra Fretwell (yes Darrell and Debra are related. Son and Mother), and how Cavalry Arms weapons were transferred through third party purchases intended to be door prizes for the Arizona State Action Shooting Championships and South Mountain Shoot-Out while laundering of the receipts to Cavalry Arms through the treasury of PR&GC to cover up the identity of the original buyer.

Posting this comment does not imply that I believe anything said about above-named groups or individuals is true. It's too soon to believe anything without further information.

Finally, the place where much discussion and the introduction of some original information appears to be AR15.com. I suggest those interested in breaking developments also keep an eye on that thread.

Downes' Syndrome

The criminal killing of an elk underscores the need to restrict the use of loaded guns in national parks, Chief U.S. District Judge William Downes said Tuesday.

Let's apply the same logic everywhere. If one criminal with a firearm breaks the law anywhere, the rest of us must be banned from having them everywhere.

At least according to this subversive nitwit.

A Strong Supporter of the Second Amendment

In a case now pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis filed a brief in favor of the draconian District of Columbia gun ban. What is odd is that Dumanis is a strong supporter of the Second Amendment. We know this is true because she says so!

In other words, she's a liar.