A Pastor's Wife is Not a Happy One

We're accustomed to "A Policeman's Lot Is Not A Happy One"  (Pirates of Penzance)

... but this is a new twist on an old theme.

A pastor's wife in West Virginia has been charged with reckless endangerment after allegedly firing a gun in a church parking lot.
Melinda Frye Toney, 44, is accused of pulling out a pistol that accidentally discharged during an argument with another pastor's wife at New Life Apostolic Church in Oak Hill on May 11.

We would be excused for assuming that a clergyman's wife would be the epitome of decorum and social responsibility, but we would be wrong ... in this case, at least.

It would be safer to assume that the pastoral spouse has lost her CHL, her handgun, and her freedom for a long time.   "Assault with a Deadly Weapon" would lead the list of offenses.

As much as we cherish and defend the Second Amendment rights of all Americans, there are admittedly a number of citizens who are obviously incompetent to accept the responsibilities which accompany these rights.   Just as the First Amendment does not grant the "right" to shout FIRE in a theater (classic example), the Second Amendment does not grant the "right" to wave a tun at a stranger because they have offended us.

All those who are unclear on this (not too difficult) ethical point may be assumed to have voluntarily waived that right.

The Constitution does not protect Idiots.  It protects responsible citizens.

(Hat Tip: Tam)

6 Underreported Reasons Why The NRA Are Just The Worst

I really enjoy reading CRACKED.com

Not that I do so often, but when I do, there's never a dull moment between conspiracy theories and a tongue-in-cheek version of current controversy.

Here's a CRACKED.com version of the news, along with the occasional geeky comment:

6 Underreported Reasons Why The NRA Are Just The Worst:

With AR-15s in the news because of [insert this week's horribly depressing reason here], there's a chance you might be feeling rather peeved at the organization making sure guns are plentiful and easy to purchase in America, the National Rifle Association. But regardless of your politics, you've got to give the NRA some credit for their skill at hiding horrifying stories that would kill any other organization. Their feats range from preventing any real attempts at studying firearm violence to, well ...

(6) Campaigning To Re-Legalize Silencers Because Of "Hearing Safety"

I've been shooting guns for over 60 years.

I've fired "silenced" pistols.  Silencers don't STOP the sound of a shot; they just filter out the sound to the point where it's a "CRACK!" instead of a "BOOM!"   they lower the decibel level; they don't eliminate it.  So it's not as if you can shoot a silenced gun and nobody can hear it ... except in the movies.

Have you ever looked at the muffler on your car?  It's a couple of feet long and several inches wide, and weigh several pounds.   They're MUCH more effective than the silencer you can put on the end of the barrel of a gun.

Silencers are a boon to competitive shooters; they have nothing at all to do with sneaky shooting people so nobody knows you just killed them ... which is the scenario suggested by the CRACKED author who obviously doesn't know SHIT from SHINOLA when he tries to shine on readers who expect a knowledgeable analysis from a trusted source.


(5) Promoting Dumbass (And Dangerous) Conspiracy Theories

"The above-referenced piece of scarelore about the United States’ having already entered into a such a treaty — one which supposedly provides a “legal way around the 2nd Amendment” and will result in a “complete ban on all weapons for US citizens” — is erroneous in all its particulars ..."

Actually,  had Clinton been elected president, she would most likely have imposed draconian restrictions on the private ownership of firearms in America.   Note her comment:  "The Australian Solution is worth looking into".

The Australian Solution was to ban private ownership of most firearms, and to confiscate all but a very few "special license" firearms.   The reason Hillary felt safe in suggesting that it might be a viable solution in America is that the Australians "repurchased" the guns ... for pennies on the dollar.  And BTW ... you can't "repurchase" something you didn't own before.

It's all smoke and mirrors with Hillary, and it's all a great big joke for CRACKED!

For Americans, it's a violation of our Constitutional Rights.

Check out the actual text of the UN Arms Trade Treaty and tell me if you find verbiage which exempts private civilians from the extreme restraints imposed upon terrorists.  (You can't, because they cannot define the difference between a terrorist ans a home-owner.)

So ... yes, there IS a "Conspiracy" against Firearms Freedoms.  It' publically known as The Democratic Party, and privately know as Hillary Clinton .. who has been open in disavowing the validity of the Second Amendment.


(4) Screwing With Police Investigations By Not Allowing A Database Of Firearm Owners

Actually, the reason why Americans are against a Universal Database of Firearms owners is three-fold:
     *(A) Registration of all firearms provides a handy list of owners and guns when they come to confiscate your guns.  YOU may think this is a "Conspiracy Theory" on the part of legal firearms owners, but that's the current trend in Democratic Politics.   Yes, they DO want to "take your guns away" ... and they don't care how responsible you, as an individual, may be; they just want your guns.

    *(B)  Those states which have pushed, and/or are pushing for the legislation, are typically NE Seaboard states (NY, NJ, etc.) which are liberal and "citified".  *Also California*   They don't usually have a lot of gun owners, in part because of the cultural differences between themselves and more "rural" states.   City folks tend to be Liberal ... and vote that way!   It's significant that of all those states have been allowed to pass restrictive firearms laws as a tool to 'reduce gun violence' and "make it easier to resolve crime".  It's worth mentioning that not one state cited has solved a gun crime because of registration.

    *(C) Also, firearms owners are generally independent persons who do not care to be part of a "database".  Ownership of a gun is a private thing, just as is your sexual orientation and your religion.
It's significant that while your sexual orientation is not a Constitutional Right, Religion and Guns ARE!



(3) Exploiting Hurricane Harvey To Sell Guns To People Afraid Of Looters

Natural Disasters are an excellent example of exactly WHY we need out Second Amendment rights.
When the local infrastructure is INOPERATIVE because all communications lines are substantially  inoperative, police and emergency medical and fire protection resources are typically overwhelmed by all the calls for help.

South Eastern American disasters over the past few years have demonstrated that looters have been able to have their way with honest citizens, their persons and their property, when law enforcement is overloaded by the volume of calls for help.

When seconds count, Emergency Responders are weeks away; the best they can do is to (a) confiscate privately owned firearms and (b) pick up the corpses.   Oh, did I mention that the phones don't work?  Who you gonna call  .. Ghost Busters?

Police in these situations have as part of their "game plan" to confiscate privately owned firearms.  This does nothing to ensure the safety of their citizens, but it DOES ensure that marauders, thieves, rapist and killers are assured that all of their would-be victims are unable to protect themselves against those bad boys who didn't register their guns  (and never would).

(2) Endorsing The Work Of The World's Hackiest Researcher

John Lott.     The author of "More Guns/Less Crime", is a world renowned researcher who has written many scholarly articles, and has recently focused his attention on the firearm as a necessary took when seconds count and the police are minutes away.

Op-eds by Lott have appeared in such places as the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and the Chicago Tribune. Since 2008, he has been a columnist for Fox News, initially weekly.^[

Typifying Lott as "The World's Hackiest Researcher" is not only dismissive, but ignorant.   Just because the accuser refuses to acknowledge the experience and expertise of DOCTOR Lott doesn't reliably dismiss his experience and scholarly contributions to the issue of firearms ownership.   The accusation deserves less attention than it has already received.
And I would like to know when the accuser was awarded his PHD, and in what  area of expertise.

No?

I didn't think so.  Cheap shot, dude!


(1) Sabotaging A Deal Between Smith &Wesson And The Government To Make Guns Safer After Columbine

 S&W developed a whole bunch of measures that they thought they  could implement to make their products safer. These included a commitment to researching and developing "smart guns" that could be locked to a specific person, plans to install safety devices on all new handguns that could lock them when not in use, and other less sci-fi-sounding but equally interesting ideas.

Actually, a lot of firearms manufacturers worked diligently to develop "Smart Guns" which would meet the requirements of ... basically ... prohibit access the the firing mechanism of a pistol by anyone except the registered owner(s).

The problem was, that when S&W offered firearms with "personal identifiers" to prevent non-authorized folks to use the gun ... the authorized folks couldn't use the guns, either.

You may be focused on preventing unauthorized usage of guns, but the folks who will BUY THEM want to make sure that when THEY pull a gun, it's going to work.  And S&W were unable to buile a reliable "Safe" gun.

In the final analysis, people who buy guns only want their car to start when they turn the key, their cell phone to connect every call, anti-biotics to cure their ills, and guns to work when they really really need to shoot someone who threatens them.

ULTIMATELY ... WHEN IT COMES TO FIREARMS, "CRACKED" DOESN'T KNOW WHAT IT'S TALKING ABOUT!1!

Shooting at high school in Parkland, Fla.

Live updates: Shooting at high school in Parkland, Fla.; multiple injuries reported:

America has a gun problem and the blood it on the hands of NRA and GOP.

That's the news, and that's the tenor of accusations flowing across America today.

It's the kind of thing that happens with a Republican controlled congress, and with the active intervention of the National Rifle Association because .... you know, the gun rights thingie.

At least, that's the twist the Democratic sooth-sayers are touting.

No word yet on where he got the gun, what kind of gun etc. 
Best guess: he stole the inadequately secured firearm from his parents.

There's enough blame to go around, though; pundits are bound to blame it on the NRA (that has already started, although there is no evidence that the kid was a member of the NRA) ... but there's enough "wrong" to spread it around to the parents, teachers, legislators, etc.

Nobody has thought to blame the kid for being a total ass-hole.

Yet.

Probably, nobody ever will.

When you look at the historic mass murderers ... channeling that guy who shot Lincoln (I still refuse to name him, or other murderers) ... there is one thing they have in common:

RAGE!

They have a "My Life Sucks!" attitude, and rather than accept their own faults ... they decide to take their rage out on the people around them.  Unfortunately, when the person is a teen-ager, the people around them are other adolescents.

Kids.   Just a bunch of other "Lonely Teen-Agers".

The victims are children who are so wrapped up in their own adolescent crisis that they can't recognize one of their own who has gone "over the top".

Well, nobody who has survived their own teen-age angst can tell the difference between someone who is a 'lonely teenager" and a "mass murderer", either.  They all look, talk, walk and act the same.

All the blame that has been, is and will be spread around is probably just bullshit, anyway.

NOBODY can tell the difference between adolescent angst and the rage to kill.   It all looks the same, from the outside (you and me) and from the inside (the teenager's school-mates). 

And was the kid a loner?  Christ, at that age, half the kids in High School are "Loners".
If you're not one of the "elites", you're an "outsider". 

Hell, I was an outsider in High School.  My nickname was "The Zipper" ... or "The Shadow", because I was so skinny that when I turned sideways to the sun, nobody could see me.   (

I took a little pride in that; at least I had an identity; perhaps this kid didn't even have THAT; he might have benefited if he had a sense of belonging ... and a bunch of people might be alive today)

Hell, maybe the kid just wanted to go home, where he belonged.



Dion: "Lonely Teenager"

PS: No, I'm not going to make any "PRO" or "CON" statements about Gun Control here, other than to observe that in the mood that kid was in, he could as reado;u used a knife, machete, or a club to attack his victims.

Oh, Crap!

When "The Economist" weighs in on a subject, it's a signal that we're so f*cking tired that anybody can have an opinion ... even if it's bullshit.   Which it is. (Nothing new here; move on!)

A minority of gun owners have a veto over gun laws - More mass shootings:
The NRA’s membership is relatively small. It should be less powerful than it is.

That's it?

That's all "The Economist" has to say about that?

Okay, I'm officially NOT blogging about the Texas Chainsaw Madman With A Gun Massacre any more. 

Nobody doesn't understand what happened there, nobody is any more or less upset.

But when the Mainstream Media (The "Economist", for Crissakes?) weighs in with nothing new to say except "GUNS BAD!"  you can be pretty sure that they no longer give a shit about the people who died there

follow-up!

Confiscation: "There Ought To Be A Law ...

What's old is new again.

NRA-ILA | Anti-Gun Congresswoman Introduces Magazine Ban, Aims Slippery Slope at the Gun on Your Hip:

Last week Rep. Elizabeth Esty (D-CT) introduced H.R. 4052, a ban on what she is calling “large capacity ammunition feeding devices.”
 Esty’s bill would ban any “magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar device that has a capacity of, or that can be readily restored or converted to accept, more than 10 rounds of ammunition … .” It exempts firearms with “an attached tubular device designed to accept, and capable of operating only with, .22 caliber rimfire ammunition.” Mere possession, as well as import or transfer, would be prohibited by the bill.

Did you see what she did there?

She is requiring that legal devices be disposed of ... or confiscated, certainly not with the hope of compensation.  (And if they have to come get them, you can expect to pay the penalty.)

What other personal possession (with the possible exception of Drugs)  is subject to such draconian illegality?   Especially those possessions which were entirely legal when purchased.

She didn't even offer to kiss you.  (I'm given to understand that 'her kind' never kiss their 'clients'.)\

Gun Laws in Connecticut are already strict:

"Eat It!"

Termed the "Keep Americans Safe Act",  co-signed by at least 57 Members of Congress, the bill prohibits simple possession "or transfer" of a "large capacity feeding device" (etc. etc. etc.).  Terminology prohibits, you will note, selling the magazines.  Should the bill pass (chance are somewhere between SLIM and NONE, considering that the bill is unconstitutional in light of recent Supreme Court decisions), law-abiding Americans would have no choice but to destroy or "lose" said infernal devices.

Or have them confiscated ... and serve hard time for simple possession!

See ... this is why Firearms owners voted unanimously (or near enough to make no-nevermind) against the Hillary-Beast last November.

Elizabeth is equally anti-gun.  She has a reason.   From her House biography:

Elizabeth also serves as Vice Chair for the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. As the Representative for Newtown, CT, Elizabeth believes it is critical for our country to address gun violence and make a strong commitment to keeping families safe. That means sensible gun policies – expanded criminal background checks on all commercial gun sales, stricter penalties for illegal gun trafficking and straw purchases, a ban on high-capacity magazines, and a firm and lasting commitment to mental health services.

Gun Laws in Connecticut are already strict, and their Representative Esty seems determined to impose them on the rest of the country:

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Location of Connecticut in the United States

Gun laws in Connecticut regulate the sale, possession, and use of firearms and ammunition in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Connecticut requires training, background check and permitting requirements for the purchase of firearms and ammunition; and a ban (with exceptions) on certain semi-automatic firearms defined as "assault weapons" and magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds. Connecticut's licensing system for open and concealed carry is relatively permissive.

That red dot in the upper right hand corner of the map of America (continental U.S.) is the tiny state of Connecticut.

It's a weekend get-away for denizens of NYC ... when folks want to escape America for a couple of days but don't feel like driving all the way to Canada.

I'm sorry.  I'm sure it's a wonderful part of the country and the folks who live there love it, and are equally wonderful. Perhaps they don't feel they're "stuck with Esty".   They keep electing her.


My own home state continues to elect the Insufferable Earl Blumenaur to Congress.  Old Earl knocked on my front door one day about 30 years ago and asked me for my vote for him as one of Oregon's representatives.  He had been a council member in Portland, where I lived at the time.  I told him I wouldn't vote for him for the office of dog catcher, because I didn't dislike dogs that much.  My friends and neighbors have continued to keep him in office ever since ... GOD ONLY KNOWS WHY!

And yes, Ol' Earl is a co-sponsor of this bill.

And no, I have STILL never voted for him; yet he gets elected every year.

The world is full of Insufferable Twits; these are only two of them.

There ought to be a law ...

"Oh, Lah ... See How Diverse We Are?"

London Police Chief: Terror Victims Show How Diverse We Are | The Daily Caller:

London Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick touted the diversity of the London attack victims in a Saturday interview with the Associated Press. “It’s desperately sad and poignant but among those who died is someone who’s British, there are French, Australian, Canadian, Spanish,” Dick declared.“We believe of course that that’s what makes our city so great,” she continued, adding “It’s a place where the vast majority of time it’s incredibly integrated and that diversity gives us strength.”

Yes, well, your vaunted diversity includes terrorist bombers, doesn't it?

You know what would make your city really great, Ms Dick?

If you could protect your citizens from these unknown and undocumented murdering asshats  your country admits EVERY DAY!

You won't even arm your First Responders, you blathering blob of British Political Correctness!

PC should stand for Police Constable.   Or hasn't anyone bothered to explain that to you yet?


(H/T: IRONS)

Take my computer ... please!

House IT Workers Fear Members Are Being Blackmailed | The Daily Caller:

The Awans “had [members] in their pocket,” and “there are a lot of members who could go down over this.”

We didn't elect them because they were the smartest kids on the block.

Note to Pols:
You got to ask yourself ... do you feel lucky?

No guns for you, no guns for you ... go away kid, you bother me1

California Assemblyman Kevin McCarty (D-7) is pushing legislation to take away school administrators’ power to allow teachers with a Carry Concealed Weapon license (CCW) to be armed in classrooms for self-defense.

Sez it makes him nervous.

He doesn't spend a lot of time on high-school grounds (note: "NO GUN ZONE" ... duh!)

Well, it's not as if maniacal gunmen waste their time shooting kid on school campiii ...

What's the worst that could happen?

Dem. Assemblyman Pushes Bill to Guarantee Teachers Cannot Shoot Back if Attackers Strike - Breitbart:

They were asking for it!

UPDATE: Open carry activists who walked into police dept.with AR-15 due in court - WXYZ.com: DEARBORN, Mich. (WXYZ) - 

Two open carry activists who walked into the Dearborn Police Department armed with guns, body armor and video cameras last month were due in court Friday morning for a probable cause hearing.
 Surveillance video captured the men walking into the building last month, while police are seen and heard telling them to put down their weapons. "Dude, put that on the ground. Put it on the ground... Or you are dead," an officer, with guns drawn is heard screaming.

Dude, they were lucky!

 I would have shot them on sight.
They apparently showed up "ready for action".

"Just because you can, doesn't mean you should!"

(The Dearborn Police deserve two thumbs down a medal  for their willingness to allow these IDIOTS to pollute the Gene Pool.)

click the link to see the video

Washington: "Unsecured Firearm Law" proposed

What IS it with Washington State this week?

Unsecured firearm law would hold gun owners accountable:

...  Washington state doesn’t have a law to punish gun owners whose weapons get in the hands of the wrong people. Democratic state Senator Guy Palumbo is trying to change that. Palumbo introduced a bill that would make unsafe storage of a gun a crime. “It’s basically to keep the guns we do have out of the hands of dangerous people,” he said.

Anyone with a firearm can be described as "dangerous people".  That's the whole point of a firearm.

 As the bill is currently written, a gun owner would either get a misdemeanor or felony — depending on how the gun was used — if their unsecured firearm was used illegally by someone. “

Which is to say, YOU can be penalized on a 'sliding scale' depending on what some OTHER person does ... and does without either your consent or your knowledge, never mind your active participation.

This is going to be a great year to be a Lawyer in Washington State!

You can never guarantee those wouldn’t happen — those tragedies — but certainly in those cases, this all would have had ramifications for the people’s whose guns were used in those tragedies.” Palumbo, a gun owner himself, says it is just “common sense” to lock up firearms. “I’m a gun owner, but it’s unfair to keep them unlocked,” he said. 

What's unfair is to require people to make their personal defense firearms inaccessible to the owners.
Which is another way of saying: "that's the whole point of a firearm".

 He admits he is not sure how well the bill will do.

In a sane society, it would be laughed out of the house.  On The Left Coast, we never know what the idiots in office will do.

They amputated the wrong finger ...

They should have amputated the trigger finger, because THAT is the finger that pulled the trigger.

Judge dismisses personal injury case against Smith & Wesson:

 A Tennessee couple, Randy and Vicki McNeal, sued the Massachusetts’ gun maker for more than $75,000 in January. According to their complaint, Randy McNeal was shot in the finger as he attempted to make the gun safe inside a gun store in Murfreesboro, a town just outside of Nashville. They claimed a loose screw on the built-in laser sight of their Bodyguard .380 pistol prevented the slide from locking in position. 

 The couple’s lawsuit says McNeal dropped the gun as he tried to lock the slide back, which he was having trouble because the screw obstructed the locking mechanism, and the gun discharged when he tried to catch it. Afterward, he needed the small finger on his left hand amputated.

I have just a few comments about this "unsafe firearm injury incident":

(A) ... He was handling a gun in gun store, and he obviously didn't understand the controls.
(B) ... Who allows anyone to load a gun in a gun store?   NOBODY!
(C) ... Sounds as if it was his own gun, which he brought into the store.   Why?  Had he tried to disassemble it at home, and put it back together wrong? Inquiring people want to know.
(D) ... A "Loose Screw"?  Ignoring the personal obvious slam, why did he need to lock the slide?
(E) ... If it was, in fact, his own pistol, he should have been aware of the problem; that's the crux of the question (and a question which was never addressed in the article).
(F) ... I'm looking at the Bodyguard 380 on the S&W website, and I don't see any screw.  Do you?          (Note: a view of the pistol is included at the bottom of this article)
(G) ... the complainant is a jerk, an idiot and incompetent.  He's one of those people who should never touch a gun because ... well, mere incompetence is sufficient reason.  What do you want to bet that he has never sought a class in "Basic Firearms Safety"?
(H) ... basic firearms safety: (1) don't bring a loaded gun into a gun store, and (2) don't try to catch a dropped gun.

Need we mention that this is a DAO ("Double Action Only") design, and you have to squeeze the trigger REALLY HARD to make it fire?   We're not talking "hair-trigger" here; merely "Hare-Brained Owner".

This "DICKWAD" (I'm not sure what this word means, but it seem appropriate under the circumstances ... where was I?  Oh, yes) ... this DICKWAD not only proved his own incompetence to possess a firearm, but compounded his own error by suing the manufacturer.  I ask you, does this sound like someone who has a legitimate grievance?  Or is it that pathetic attempt by an IDIOT to not only excuse his own incompetence,  but to compound the error he attempts to sue the manufacturer for building an "unsafe" weapon.

He violated the three rules of gun safety: according to the NRA;
He violated the four rules of gun safety: according to Concealed Carry;
He violated the five rules of gun safety: according to Generation Wild:
He violated the six rules of gun safety: according to Facebook!

(I do not like a lot of those rules, because they often make your firearm unavailable for personal defense.)

Lots of people have various versions of Gun Safety Rules, but one thing is clear:
He screwed up!

Himself.  It wasn't the gun, it was the man with the gun in his hand (or in this case, the man who dropped the gun.  Which presupposes another rule of gun safety ... Do Not Drop The Gun and perhaps also Do Not Attempt To Catch A Dropped Gun!

What is that ... seven rules of gun safety?   Eight?  Never mind; he didn't do ANYTHING that a responsible gun owner should do!   But he blamed the gun.


PERSONAL NOTE TO Randy and Vicki McNeal ... get rid of your guns.  Buy a guard dog.  Let him pee on the carpet.  It will be cheaper, and less embarrassing.  Also, less likely to hurt innocent gun dealers who foolishly allowed you to handle a loaded pistol in their shop.  (Apparently, there is no end to the proliferation of idiocy in America!)

S&W Bodyguard .380

BY THE WAY .... I'm looking at a LOT of controls on this pistol.

The button behind the trigger is obviously the magazine release.

Among the controls just under the slide, I'm guessing that the most forward is the slide lock; the second (middle) is the safety, and the rear-most is the de-cocker.   I have to admit that the plethora of thumb-activated controls can be confusing for a new shooter.   But with a lot of practice, the manipulation of controls should become second-nature for someone who has used the gun enough to become so familiar with them so that they are activated appropriately without conscious thought.

THE TRIGGER IS OBVIOUS, and one which our Dear Friend, Randy, has not yet quite become familiar with.

Children At Play

DNC 2016: Lights over Oregon delegation cut after chants of 'No More War' | OregonLive.com:

And we PAY them to do this?

McKelvey said tension over that difference of opinion hit new heights Wednesday when the arena cut the lights over the Oregon delegation as they chanted, "No More War," during former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's speech. "It's a theme of the convention," McKelvey said, "that Bernie Sanders' supporters are supposed to be quiet and sit down and take it."...
After the lights were cut, the California delegation shined their cell phone lights toward the Oregon group and started chanting, "Lights," McKelvey recalled. Oregon delegates responded by turning on their cell phone lights and waving them as well.
"It's not an awesome look for the DNC," he said. "I understand aesthetically why they would want to turn the lights off so we couldn't be seen doing what we were doing."
Officials at the Democratic National Convention did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
LaFleur said she's been in Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center "from gavel to gavel, everyday" and nothing like this has happened before.
It's not the first time Oregon delegates have protested during the convention. When Clinton was named the official nominee, many of the state's pledged Sanders delegates walked out of the convention.

If this goes on, pretty soon we'll see Democratic Congresspersons staging a sit-down strike!

(Huh?  What's that?       Really?)

Never mind.

NO PLANTS FOR LAWYERS!

Georgia police: Chattanooga attorney shot after breaking into elderly couple's house, throwing plants at them | Times Free Press:

Anybody want to bet me that the lawyer is NOT a Democrat?

Okay, this is a legitimate argument for Plant Control!

(Alternate title:  "Just Because You Say His Gun Isn't Loaded Doesn't Make It So!")

Limit 'Ammunition Clips'

The really charming thing about Professional Politicians (aka: "Those Sucking On The Public Teat") is that they feel free to state broad generalizations for publicity, but they're not so good on details.

During the June 26 broadcast of Meet the Press, Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) said the U.S. needs to put stricter limits on the capacity of “ammunition clips.”

Host Chuck Todd initiated the focus on gun control by asking, “Are you in favor of an assault weapons ban?” Kaine responded, “I have voted for it, but I think there’s a better way to go at the problem–and that is limitations on the size of magazines and ammunition clips.”
Kaine said the way to undercut manufacturers’ ability to skirt bans is to say, “You can’t sell an ammunition clip or a magazine that would have more than 10 or 12 rounds, that is a very strict [ban].”

Problem?

There is a problem?

I wasn't aware of it.  Just what 'problem' would be 'gone at' by limitations on the "size of magazines and ammunition clips"?  (Ignore the awkward and semi-literate phraseology of the Democratic Senator from Virginia.  We all know he's talking about how many rounds may be loaded into a firearm before it must be reloaded.)

So, it's a 'very strict ban' to SELL (not possess, not import, not manufacture)  "magazines and ammunition clips" which would have more than "10 or 12 rounds".

In what way is this "a very strict ban"?   What should it be, TEN or TWELVE rounds?  Why is one number 'better' than another?  Why not Six, or Seven?  Why not Thirty rounds?  Where do you draw the line, and what should be the penalty if your TEN ROUND MAGAZINE (for example) is proven to accept ELEVEN ROUNDS if you push hard enough ... even though it may not feed reliably?

The question may sound ... facetious.  But it's actually a point of law.  It's only that the 'limit' is so arbitrary, and proposed as a law which will be enforced (fine or jail time???) that People Want To Know!

Would this make a felon of an honest citizen?  Are the people who propose these laws actually aware of the harm which they potentially do?  

Do they even care?  Or is all just a media event?  (Which doesn't mean they won't enact that, or a similar, law; they have done that before !)

(My "Ten Round" .40 cal/10mm magazines can be converted with a vise or a pair of pliers to accept and feed 11 or more rounds of 9mm ammunition ... or I can just put the magazine on the concrete garage floor and stomp on it until the feed lips are close enough to single-feed 9mm ammo.  Does this make me a felon?)

The point is .. this is all arbitrary, there is no justification for these proposed magazine limits, and these people are making it up as they go along; but you and I are the ones who face penalty, confication, prison time if we break these unreasonable and arbitrary "laws"!

No idea where The Honerable (if ignorant) Gentleman from Virginia pulled that number ... probably someone in a Gentlemen's Lounge brought it up in casual conversation, and the Honerable (if ignorant) Gentleman from Virginia though to himself:  "Hey, this is a headline grabber!"

WHAT PROBLEM?

One of the things that Effective Problem Solvers do is follow a Six Step Process:

STEP ONE:  Define the Problem
STEP TWO: Propose a solution; define the aims of the solution
STEP THREE: Define the alternatives, and possible consequences, of the solution
STEP FOUR: Test the solution
STEP FIVE:  Refine the solution; retest until (if necessary) discard it
STEP SIX: If not discarded, implement the solution

The Honerable (if ignorant) Gentleman from Virginia skipped Step One, went DIRECTLY to Step Two, and ignored everything else.

Just like a politician.

Here are just a couple of questions which one wishes that 'real reporters' would have asked:

• Why would "limiting ammunition clips" solve A problem?
• What is "The Problem" that this measure is intended to resolve?
• Why does The Honerable (if ignorant) Gentleman from Virginia think that this measure would solve ANY problems?
• How did this idiot get elected

Here's the BAD news:  Senator Kaine is on the "Short List" for Vice Presidential Candidate under prospective Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton.

God Preserve America, because this composit list of IDIOTS political incompetents certainly will not.

Just saying ...

God Protect America and Americans, because our lawmakers are idiots who know not what they do ............ not do they really give a damn as long as it looks good in the newspapers.

Murphy's Law

Denver police to fire guns Friday night to test ShotSpotter system | FOX31 Denver:

DENVER -- Don't be alarmed if you hear gunfire in Denver on Friday night because the city will be testing its high-tech ShotSpotter system. 
It's a crime-fighting tool designed to notify police when gunfire breaks out. ShotSpotter uses cameras and microphones to alert police the second a gun goes off. The system being tested is in District 2 and District 4, in the northeast and southwest parts of the city. And police stress there will be no danger to the public.
 “I  know the testing will be safe," said Marcus Fountain with the Denver Police Department. "We will be capturing all the rounds in a trap. We also have a shield behind the trap."

[emphasis added]

Have any of you ever heard of "Muphy's Law"?

You probably think it's just: "If Anything Can Go Wrong, It Will."

Right?

It's more complicated than that.

Murphy's law is a popular adage that states that "things will go wrong in any given situation, if you give them a chance," or more commonly, "whatever can go wrong, will go wrong." A number of variants on the rule have been formulated, as have several corollaries,

.. so before you go shooting around the city, for the very best purposes and with the highest possible safety precautions, please allow us to offer this tiny bit of advice:

Be Afraid!
Be VERY Afraid!

Senior Incompetence: Sorry NRA, you're full of sh*t. I quit!

(Because the NRA doesn't have an "unsubscribe with comments" option (and now I know why), I'm posting this on my own blog page.  With any luck, it will eventually filter back to the NRA.  You know them; that bunch of paternalistic losers?       Yeah, that's them!)

Dear NRA:  I quit!


In response to the recent snide comment that "Sorry Old People, you're incompetent" (or words to that effect), the NRA chose to defend what I suppose it considers its' Senior Membership by offering tips on"techniques." that members (feeble old farts that we are) can use when trying to remember how to shoot a firearm .. with supposedly limited success sans coaching ... rather than refer to the "Experience" or "Competence" which shooters learn over the years.

America's 1st Freedom | Carry Life | Senior Competence:
We also believe that genuine maturity—as opposed to patronizing intolerance, however glib—illuminates a larger front in the fight against such sneering. Those of us living in some part of a second half-century of liberty know nothing will preserve and strengthen the Second Amendment like the calm, confident, competent practice of same. The willed ignorance that frames every subjugational flavor of the “you’re incompetent to defend yourself!” argument cannot withstand the radiance of this uniquely American truth.

NRA, you bunch of  nanny doofus nerds.   why the f**k do you choose to "defend" us against an idiot?  You rail against 'patronizing intolerance' and 'sneering', and then on your website you patronize your members and sneer at the concept that we might just might be competent.  WT?  By your words, you have painted us with the broad brush of incompetence. 

Again, please excuse the word "IDIOT" in the ensuing monologue.  I'm trying to be polite, but sometimes it's just a helluva lot easier to say the work I'm thinking than to try to conjure up a more "politically acceptable" word.  Like .. Fuck and Idiot are really hard to avoid.  Y'know?

We don't need to be 'defended'.  Just f**k off and leave us alone.  If we were offended by that pimple-faced IDIOT, we would have smacked the little douche-bag down ourselves.  But he wasn't worth the effort, so we were willing to allow him to die a lingering death of indifference.

When you 'choose' to "defend us', you made "Senior Citizen" look like the synonym for "Alzheimer"!   And you made HIM look like someone whose opinion mattered.

Cheeze and Rice, who asked you?  This response from YOU makes it seem as if you believe the jerk-off's screed that "old people are incompetent", and somebody ought to be taking care of them so they don't forget to eat every day, or maybe they might shoot themselves in the foot.

Thank you VERY much for telling US how we should rack the slide on a pistol.  My guess is that I've racked more slides, cleared more jams, and fired more shots downrange in the past 30 years than your top three Senior Staffers have. 

 And you think it's 'a nice thing to do' when you DEIGN to tell me how to shoot a f&cking (sic) 1911?  You ... ********************* (well, never mind.  I'll calm down real soon now. Maybe.  Or not.  But I still think you should take shooting lessons from Tex Graber.)

I would bet my annual social security against your NRA annual paycheck (take me up on it .. please .. I need a new refrigerator Rolls Royce!) that I can perform any malfunction-response better and quicker than you can.  And I've done it more often than you have, in my 30+ years of IPSC competition.

... ask rather what you can do TO your country ....

Senator Wants To Avoid 'Constitutional Arguments' On Guns | The Daily Caller:

Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski said at a Senate hearing Wednesday that she wanted to avoid getting “involved in constitutional arguments.” The only problem is that the hearing in question dealt with President Obama’s recent executive actions on guns, which many believe infringes on Americans’ Second Amendment rights.

“I look forward to…listening to the attorney general and listening to this wonderful panel that you’ve invited to participate today,” Mikulski, a Democrat and ardent supporter of gun control, said in her opening remarks ahead of a Senate Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing, which heard testimony from Attorney General Loretta Lynch. “So let’s solve the problem,” Mikuski urged. “Let’s not get involved in constitutional arguments, and let’s help our American people be safe and secure in their home, their neighborhood, their school and their house of worship.” Earlier this month, Obama announced that his administration will force more gun sellers — even low-volume sellers — to obtain licenses and to conduct background checks. The initiative, which was developed in part by Lynch, expands the category of gun sellers considered to be “in the business” of selling firearms.

UNADDRESSED ISSUES:

• SECOND AMENDMENT A KEY ITEM IN THE CONSTITUTION
• DIFFICULTY OF NON-DEALERS TO OBTAIN DEALER LICENSES UNDER BATF RULES
• "DEALER" AN IMPERFECTLY DEFINED TERMINOLOGY
• IDIOTS IN CONGRESS 
• EXECUTIVE ACTIONS
• DEFINING "THE PROBLEM" WHICH NEEDS TO BE "SOLVED"

Darwinian Solutions

Sweet Suffering Jehovah, has it been only one day since I posted this article about people pointing toy guns at people carrying real guns?

Now we hear that "merry pranksters" are similarly risking their lives with "toy" bombs:

No, The Fake-bomb Tossing Jalal Brothers Didn't Get Shot:

Videos from three Arab-Australian brothers have been shared everywhere on social media in recent days as they’ve turned fears of terrorism into fodder for pranks.  They dress up in “traditional” Arab dress, walk up on unsuspecting citizens, and throw backpack “bombs” at random citizens before running away, capturing the victim’s desperate attempts at escaping on hidden cameras.

Apparently there is even a sham element where one or more of these fun-loving adolescents (?) is reported to have been shot during such an ill-considered act of sophomoric japery.

These heckle-and-jeckle idiots have so far got away with their shenanigans in Australia because that country's citizens has been emasculated disarmed by their government.

But even if there is little danger of being shot, some people won't tolerate rude behavior.

America has a "Masculinity Problem"? Who knew?

America’s gun problem has everything to do with America’s masculinity problem - Quartz:

And for many men today, it’s an identity in particular need of cementing. In this May 2015 op-ed for The Los Angeles Times, sociologist Jennifer Carlson argues that men are clinging to guns as a way to address a broad range of social insecurities. Author of a book on the social practice of gun-carrying in America, Carlson found that gun owners often characterized their fathers’ generation as an era when men had important roles to play as providers and breadwinners.

I'm not sure of the definition of ".. a Masculinity Problem".  It sounds to me like the definition of "Assault Rifle".  It's left up to the people who care what either is, to define it.

Me?  I've been shooting for fun and competition for sixty years now, and I still don't know what an Assault Rifle is.  (I may or may not have carried one in Viet Nam .. if you consider an M70 Grenade Launcher an "Assault Rifle".)

Frankly, I don't give a damn.

I don't currently own a magazine-fed semi-automatic rifle unless you include the nifty little gizmo which takes the 1911 lower and allows me to shoot .45acp through a carbine.  So maybe that's an Assault Rifle .. except I always thought that the term "Rifle" included a rifle-caliber cartridge.

But what do I know?

And what do "they" know, the fine folks at "QUARTZ"  (see the link at the top of the page).

Masculinity?  I've always been a string-bean ... tall and skinny.  Except now I've got this pot belly that suggests if I quit eating past and drinking cheap Canadian whisky, I could get back to my preferred weight of "under 220 pounds".

Oh, and nobody has bothered to define the term "Gun Problem", either.

It's like the old joke:
"Drinking Problem?  I drink, I get drunk, I fall down and go to sleep.  No problem!"

Oh .. wait!  I'm getting a vibe from Moms Demanding Attention.

I see ... that means that people with guns are shooting people who don't have guns.


Well, that's not a problem.
Except for the people who don't have guns.

I'm not going to suggest a solution for them; it's a free country, and you're all adults, so you can decide for yourself what you should do if you fear that someone would shoot you with a gun.

As for "masculinity problems" ... I don't know what to say about that, except that I assume that the category of "men" includes the presence of a penis.

No, I wouldn't know how to advise men on what to do with their guns.   And I neither know, nor care, nor WANT to know what their "masculinity problem" might be.

America!   It's time to Man Up!

QUARTZ says so, so it must be true.

Talking Points.

WHEN DID WE GET TO THE POINT that we care what a bunch of East-Coast Media-whores think about the Second Amendment?

I do understand the relative importance of public figures like Sean Hannity and Michelle Malkin making statements in support of the Second Amendment.

Truly, I do.

Hannity Exposes Obama's Secret Plan to Confiscate Guns - YouTube:

But it's all just "talking points" to them.

To me, it's a way of life.

It's MY way of life .. and they hold it in their un-calloused lily white hands.
These people who know that whatever happens, they will always be protected.  What do they know?

Talking Points.
That's all it is to me.  Talking points.  And I'm not listening.  I know what I know.

Media coverage, face time, they get in front of the most convenient camera and just let it flow.  Good for you ... absolutely meaningless to me.

I'm SO tired of all this business.  They said, we said, she/he said ... it comes to a point where we who are only members of "fly-over country" realize we are nothing more than pawns to the 'greater' political controversy.

I don't want to HEAR what Hannity thinks. I don't care any more what he thinks than what that crazy-eyed wench from California who "Mister and Missus America, turn them all in" thinks.

All of those public figures are just figure-heads.  They are not real people, to me.

I don't know these New York Cosmopolitans REALLY think.   Their opinions aren't worth a bucket of spit to me.

I want to know what the people I spend my weekends with ... what they think.  Because I have watched them fire HUNDREDS of Thousands of rounds "down-range" over the past 50 years, and none of them have ever pointed a gun at me.

Sure, they could threaten me with their guns and all their ammunition ... and zillions of East Coast folks are aghast (if they were paying attention) at the amazing concept that people who have live guns in their hands are not automatically transformed into homicidal maniacs.

What a concept!

So I have only one thing to say to all those frightened people who are unable to understand that folks who have guns are not a threat to them, or to anyone who isn't trying to impose their wills on them:

Just go away and don't bother me, 

I promise I won't shoot you, one way or the other.

(Even if you are all a bunch of Idiots!)