Mississippi has 2nd highest rate of gun deaths

Mississippi has 2nd highest rate of gun deaths:

In addition to hospitality and humidity, Mississippi also is among the leaders in the nation for gun deaths, according to a report issued by a crime prevention advocacy group.
 In fact, the Magnolia State has the second highest rate of gun deaths – at nearly 18 deaths per 100,000 residents – in the country, following neighbor Louisiana perched at the top of the list compiled by the Violence Policy Center.

Do these studies include suicides?
I ask because I have driven through Mississippi .. this is the only state where I saw a man plowing a field behind a mule.  If that was my only choice, I would be sorely tempted to suicide.

 The study found that states with weak gun violence prevention law and higher rates of gun ownership tend to have more gun deaths, while states with stricter laws and lower ownership, such as Rhode Island, have much lower rates of gun-related deaths.

Do these studies include Chicago and Washington, D.C.?  I thought not.   These are among the municipalities with the highest murder rates in the nation .. and with the most strict gun-control laws.

It isn't the laws, it's the society.

Personal to Josh Sugarman:
When you insist that more laws are needed, you're not paying attention to reality.  The laws only work for the people who are inclined to obey the laws.  When the people ignore the laws .. the law-abiding have no 'fall-back' options.  And it is this option which you are attempting to remove.

I would call you a stupid f**king Son-of-a-Bitch, but I'm pretty sure you know exactly what you are doing.  You don't care about the people; you only care about the laws.  Well, that and promoting a sinecure by which you can profit from the misery of millions.  It's not being Socially Responsible, but (given certain mendacious criteria) one cannot call it "Stupid".

I take back the "stupid" part.
The "F**king Son-of-a-Bitch" part, however, seems entirely appropriate.

 In Mississippi, more than half of its residents own guns. 

Where are the statistics? I don't trust the VPC (agenda-driven at best) and any time they make a bold statement such as this .. without showing supportive sources AND without referencing death rates by cause by state ... it sounds just like a LIE to me.

There are Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics.  In your case, you don't even bother with Statistics.

That shows how believable you are, doesn't it?

"Gun violence is preventable, and states can pass effective laws that will dramatically reduce gun death and injury," states VPC Executive Director Josh Sugarmann. "Our analysis also shows that states with weak gun violence prevention laws and easy access to guns pay a severe price with gun death rates far above the national average."

Yes gun violence IS preventable; but states can NOT legislate "...the rate of gun deaths and injury".   That's just so much hogwash; you and VPC know it. There was never a law which would not be broken; and every time a death results from a broken law, VPC and their (your) agenda-driven cronies are first to announce that: "We Need tougher Laws!"

As if firearms are not the most highly regulated retail product in the world.  Pthaaaa!

[end personal]

VPC is a hope-and-dream organization, hiding their propaganda behind un-cited statistics in pursuit of their hidden agenda; to totally eliminate firearms from the American culture.

And if their dream is realized, then this country is reduced to Rule By Brute Force.
Anyone who is bigger and stronger, and able to intimidate the weak, can dominate the American public.

At least, those who cannot afford to hire armed body-guards is subject to Rule by  Brute Force.

VPC, the Brady Bunch ... they seem comfortable with taking away YOUR means of self-defense.  When they go out in public, they and their lackeys are invariably accompanied by armed guards.

(See, for example, here, and here.) (But also see here.)

That is just how comfortable they are, in their elitist/well-funded status.

A pox on both your houses!

Lock Up Your Gun!

McManus to Gun Owners: Lock Up Your Gun Every Time You Get Home!:

 Following the deaths of two children in San Antonio after they got their hands on guns that had been left lying around the house, Police Chief William McManus is issuing a heartfelt appeal to holders of Concealed Handgun Licenses---lock up your guns!

Um ... no, I don't think so.

Any 'children' who break into my LOCKED house (I live alone) and find my guns, and shoot themselves?  Or their play friends?

Darwin Moment.

Most of my guns reside in the gun safe; those that do not, are stashed where they are 'difficult to access' unless you already know where they are .. and sometimes even then, if you're a child.

Children are not welcome in my home, for that reason.  Any parent who allows his child to roam free, to the extend of breaking through locked doors and ransacking my house?

You're the criminal.  You are responsible.

Parents: teach your children about guns, even if you hate guns and wouldn't have one in your home .... teach your children.  Listen to Eddie Eagle, if it helps.

STOP!  DON\'T TOUCH! WALK AWAY!  TELL AN ADULT! etc.

If you don't teach your children about guns, they'll find out themselves.  The hard way.

They're not MY children; I can live with that.

Can you?

NOTE:  This is not intended to suggest that I am indifferent to mishaps which may endanger the health or life of a child; the intent is to impress upon parents that THEY are singularly responsible for teaching their offspring the knowledge, wisdom and forbearance which will enable their brats to grow up to be Progressive Parents who believe that a child's search for knowledge and experience should not be hindered by parental admonitions.

The 3.5 Rules of Gun Safety:

Deputies: Man shoots stranger in leg while trying to sell gun | HeraldTribune.com:

 Masotti took the gun out of a lock-box and “racked the slide,” which involves manually moving the gun's slide so a gun can load the first round of ammunition from a magazine into its chamber. As he tried to adjust the gun, it fired a round into the stranger's right thigh. Masotti tried to give the handgun to a friend, who arrived just after the shooting, to hide, but Masotti's friend refused to hide the gun and instead stayed in the parking lot with the victim. 

Things to remember:

1. ALWAYS keep the gun pointed in a safe direction;
2. ALWAYS keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to shoot;
3. ALWAYS keep the gun unloaded until ready to shoot.
4. The Florida Rule: "Hey, Y'all!  Watch THIS!"

Showing The Results Of Gun Control

Chicago Homicide Rate 1960-2012; Showing The Results Of Gun Control | Extrano's Alley, a gun blog:

The effects of the State of Illinois FOID law, the Gun Control Act of 1968; Fred Roti’s gun ban bill Mayor Jane Byrne signed into law, and other hindrances to private gun ownership have all done their part to drive Chicago’s violent crime and murder rates sky high.

Here's a novel suggestion: Chicago should make it illegal for cops to carry guns.
Everybody else?  Knock yourself out, go buy whatever makes you feel comfortable.

What?  They could do worse?

OOPS! My Bad ....

Investigation Underway After Officer Fired Gun In Courthouse  CBS Miami:

"I'm the ONLY ONE here who is qualified to carry this gun".

Yeah, well ....

Court interpreter Peter Fleitas says he worries every day about the weapons in the family law courthouse. “These accidents happen. They should not allow anyone in the building with a gun. That’s definite. They should have other means to restrain people,” said Fleitas.

What he said.

Tips On Staying Alive When the Bullets Start to Fly

Tips On Staying Alive When the Bullets Start to Fly:

For the past couple months, shootings seem to be all I see on the news. Violence is running rampant, and though the people doing the shootings seem to definitely have mental illnesses or grudges, you can’t help but wonder if this is the new status quo for our country. With all the attention and media hype given to the subject, (I’d go so far as to bet that if the media stopped reporting and sensationalizing this violence, the number of shootings would drop – but what do I know?) as well as the always present debates of gun control and help for the mentally ill, it seems to me that these acts of violence are becoming more and more prevalent in society today as a way to “show the world” what your problems are, what your beliefs are, and how far you’ll go to show what a martyr you’ll be for your own cause. It’s appalling and frightening – and a reason to be prepared.

Geek Advice:

RUN!   

Run away as fast as you can, and find something solid to hide behind!

If you do anything else, you will either get shot, or find yourself searching for an affordable lawyer because ... let's face it ... your friendly neighborhood GOVERNMENT has no interest in protecting someone who carries a gun for 'self-defense'.

Or for any other reason, except perhaps to rob a liquor store.

Drone Alert!

Oregon Company To Create Drone-Detecting Devices | The Daily Caller:

An Oregon company is developing drone-detecting devices because of peoples’ concerns about privacy and drone use. Domestic Drone Countermeasure has started a Kickstarter campaign to develop these sensors. And according to The Verge, DDC has been working on this technology for over a year. Their desktop sensor system will be able to identify when a drone is within 50 feet*. “There are legitimate uses for domestic drones, but there are still concerns about privacy and surveillance by various entities,” said Amy Ciesielka, founder of DDC.

* That's just SILLY!

Your Government's drones can spy on you from much higher altitudes!

5 Dead, 19 Wounded in Weekend Chicago Violence | NBC Chicago

5 Dead, 19 Wounded in Weekend Chicago Violence | NBC Chicago: Latest homicide took place around 7:30 p.m. near 55th Street and Lake Shore Drive

So, it was a relatively quiet weekend in Chicago?

Mayor Rahm: Has it occurred to you that "Hope and Change" isn't working for you?  Maybe you should .. I don't know .. actually DO something more than merely HOPING that things will CHANGE! Has that proved to be an inadequate method of leadership?

Just believing really HARD in Fairies isn't going to keep Tinker Bell alive.

Just thought I would mention that; feel free to ignore my hopeful wishes.  You've ignored your constituents, so this shouldn't prove very difficult for you.

After all, you're only responsible for the welfare the entire city of Chicago.  You managed to ignore the welfare of a Nation for years.   This should be a slam-DUNK for you!

Dear Carlolyn B. Maloney ....

You're an idiot ... you know that, don't you?

Oh, you're a politician, and so I repeat myself.

Sorry.

(PS: So are your friends, the editors of the New York Times who give you free column inches to say absolutely nothing ... illiterately ... operating within a Hidden Agenda?   Has it occurred to you that they are giving you space to make a fool of yourself in public because they are laughing at you behind your back?  No, I suppose not.)

Congress and Guns - NYTimes.com:

“Legislating Ignorance About Guns” (editorial, June 17) rightly points out the shocking lack of research into the causes of gun violence and what might be done to lessen the toll. That is why I have introduced legislation in the House (H.R. 4707) to fund critical gun violence research.

"I'll be blamed for this!"

[Video] WHY I CARRY: Suspect Brutally Beats Pregnant Clerk During Robbery:
(June 21, 2014)

The video shows the suspect enter the store, mill around for a few moments and then brutally punch the pregnant clerk in the face before taking money out of the register. Now, a gun would obviously not have helped the woman as she was sucker punched, but she certainly could have drawn it before the suspect got around the counter and been ready.

THIS is how "Non-Firearms" violence looks.  It isn't pretty.

Note to Robber:  We're better off without you.

(H/T: "Guns Save Lives")

Note the detachment of the assailant/robber.  He just wants the money; he doesn't care about anyone or anything else.

Where are you "more safe" than clerking in a Cell Phone Store?

This happened in Florida, but it could happen any where.

The sheer brutality ... I've watched people die, I've done worse.

But not worse than this.

I don't think that the outcome would have changed if this woman was carrying a firearm; she was completely brutalized by a single punch.

I disagree; being armed would not have changed a single moment.  If I was the victim, and I were armed, I would probably acted in exactly the same way .. including her dismay at discovering that the cash drawer had been emptied; her first thought was probably:

"I'll be blamed for this!"

This is probably close to what a "Home Invasion" looks like, if anyone videotaped one.  Complete and immediate domination by the invader(s) and the "resident" completely unprepared for "The Worse Thing That Can Happen".

Except nobody got killed.  That's A Good Thing ... and isn't that a Sad Thing to say?

Could be worse: they could have stayed in Minnesota

Somali-Americans leave homes, friends in Minnesota to fight alongside ISIS jihadis | Fox News:
(June 22, 2014)

 As many as 15 Somali-American men have left their homes in Minnesota in recent months to travel to the Middle East and join up with ISIS, the jihadist army at war with Syria and Iraq, according to Minnesota Public Radio.
 The fighters appear to have made the decision to go fight with Islamic State of Iraq and Syria/Levant while the terror group was fighting to overthrow Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, but some may now be in Iraq, where the marauding group is seeking to topple Baghdad.
 "A Muslim has to stand up for [what's] right," Abdirahmaan Muhumed told MPR News through a series of Facebook messages dating back to the beginning of the year. "I give up this worldly life for Allah." 

It's just a short step from leaving America for the sake of committing Jihad in the Middle East, to deciding to stay in Minnesota for the same purpose:

Overthrowing a political entity which holds goals and values with which the "Jihadists" do not agree.

Well.  Americans did the same thing in the 18th Century, and for much the same reason.  Is that the same thing?

Possibly.

Bookworm’s 5-Point Gun Manifesto; or why I believe in gun rights

Bookworm’s 5-Point Gun Manifesto; or why I believe in gun rights:
(June 15, 2014)

God forgive me, but I used to be so anti-gun that I donated to The Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence. I know. Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. 

This is how "BookWorn" starts her Manifesto ... and it is perhaps probably the best single exposition I have ever read which thoroughly describes the process of rejecting the philosophy of "Gun Grabbers" in favor of embracing the values of the Second Amendment.

Pour a cup of your favorite beverage, keep the pot warm, and settle back to an hour of nodding in agreement.  Expect to hear yourself  murmer "yeah, what she said" from time to time.

A Magnificent Manifesto, an excellent exposition, and the ONE place to go when you feel the need to defend your constitutional rights but just don't quite know how to SAY it!

Five Thumbs Up!

Hat Tips:
Gunbloggers.com
The Smallest Minority

Statement from USPSA President

(Email from USPSA President -- June 21, 2014 @ 10:55 PDT)

USPSA will make an official announcement when our investigation is finished and we reach a decision. To do so before that would be pre-mature.
The Area 1 Director and myself have responded to concerned Facebook users to let them know we are looking into it on the same channels that the original comments were made.
With that said, we hope to have our investigation concluded and decisions made by this week.

Say it ain't so! (USPSA Range Officer Collusion?)

Range Officer Cheating Scandal in United States Practical Shooting Association | Gun Nuts Media:

 (June 18, 2014)

Why cheat at USPSA?

I've just read the article (via Gunwire ... probably rotated out by the time you read this) and you can click the link at the top of the page to read it for yourself.

I will not name names ... which are clearly shown in the referenced link ... because so far there are only accusations and I haven't found anything on the USPSA website (even as a "News Flash") which suggests that the accusations have been officially confirmed by the Regional Autority.   And by now *(1730 on Friday) the office is closed, so I can't even call to ask for a statement.

The entire weekend remains for rumor and inuendo to proliferate.  I won't be a party to assuming guilt without hearing from 'the other side'; I encourage you to wait, also, before you assume anything about the reports.

Essentially, a trained and experienced CRO (Chief Range Officer) has been accused of reporting stage times at Level II or Level III USPSA matches to influence the outcome of the match.  For one competitor, the stage-time reported by the RO to the person writing the figures on the score-sheet were faster than the actual time taken; for (some) other competitors, the times were slower.

Thus, the RO is accused of both means of cheating:

1. biasing reported stage time in favor of one competitor
2. biasing reported stage time to the detriment of other competitors

Not Smarter than the Average Bear

Colorado governor tries to apologize for gun control measures, blames staff, then curses | Fox News: WASHINGTON –
(June 19, 2014)

So assume you're the governor of a State in the most prestigious nation in the world, and you want to push Gun Control upon an unwilling populace ....

... would YOU be smokin' and jokin' with the sheriffs who are (reluctantly) charged with enforcing anti-constitutional laws on your constituents?

Of course not!  These guys carry guns and aren't afraid to use them.

But this clue-challenged hodad is dancing as fast as he can:

 Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper’s awkward attempt to patch things up with his state’s sheriffs over his support of controversial gun control legislation isn’t going as planned. The governor, a Democrat, offered a series of unusual explanations during a meeting he held last Friday with a group of Colorado sheriffs for why he signed legislation that restricts the sale of ammunition magazines of more than 15 rounds. First, Hickenlooper blamed his staff for not anticipating the opposition on gun control. He then apologized for his staff’s inability to effectively communicate and promised to do better in the future. When Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith pressed the issue, Hickenlooper snapped back, “What the f---? I apologized!” He apparently was kidding around, as the sheriffs could be heard laughing. But on his Facebook page, Smith said he was surprised by the governor’s choice of words ...

Considering that a couple of his most ardent supporters have been canned by these same constituents for SUPPORTING this bill, a reasonable politician man would be backpedaling like a bear on a tricycle.

But then, the bear probably wouldn't be a Liberal Democrat.

Bears are too smart for that.

*(Assume the usual rant)*


PS: Any executive who blames his staff (extra-credit test:  Who Hired Them?) for discontinuities in policy has already served notice that he is not only incompetent, but a raving lunitic who MUST be driven out of office "Most Rikki-Tikki!"

I know you're tired of firing Politicians, Colorado, but it's time to serve the coup d'gras on this imbicile.

You say "Potato" and I say "Patawtoe" ....

David Codrea of WAR ON GUNS (and the editor for the "GUNS" department on The Examiner).. famous for the phrase "We're the only ones ...") and Larry Correia (of the "Monster Hunter Nation" series of books).

Am I the only one who gets them confused?

Or am I just the only one who knows about and reads them both?

What he said!

Texas Sponsors of OC Bill Say Flat Out: Rifle OC Ain’t Helping | Shall Not Be Questioned:

As I mentioned in an post yesterday, if you give skittish lawmakers more excuses to drag their feet, it won’t help anything. This article outlines the trouble that’s being created in Texas for the open carry bill from the sponsors themselves ....

Open Carry Texas demonstrators ... you look like a bunch of buffoons.  

Many of  us who read this sort of blogarticle understand what you are trying to do (introduce fellow Texans to the concept that just because somebody walks into a restaurant with a rifle slung over his shoulder doesn't mean that they're all going to die!)

But ....

... take a chill pill, okay?  You may teach your dog not to puddle on the carpet by rubbing his nose it it, but people are a bit more complicated.

People THINK.

You should, too.

Home Invasions: "THE FEAR IS OUT OF PROPORTION TO THE THREAT"

Two Home Invaders Shoot Mother and Son, Dad Grabs His Gun and Shoots Them Both:
(June 18, 2014: Guns Save Lives)

It must have been a terrifying scene in the Valdosta, GA home. A 56 year old mother and her 15 year old son were home for the night when two men kicked in their front door.
One of the men was wielding a rifle, the other carrying a handgun. They opened fire on the pair, striking the son in the leg and the mother in the arm as she tried to run towards the back of the house.
Hearing the commotion, the father, who was in the back of the house, armed himself and went to investigate. When he got to the front of the house, he opened fire on the home invaders, striking them both and sending them fleeing

Of course, this is impossible.  We know it never happened because the Gun Control Advocates tell us that the whole concept of "Good Guy With Gun Stops Bad Guy With Gun" never happens.

While the NRA claims that a more armed population can prevent these types of mass killings, we know this is not true...  (NY DAILY NEWS, June 15, 2014)

Also, Gun Control Advocates reassure us that "Home Invasions" are so rare as to be statistically meaningless:

Professor Harold Pollack, who (among other things) co-directs the University of Chicago's Crime Lab was kind of enough to send along the following note:
I enjoyed your conversation on Up with Chris Hayes. You mentioned the risk of home invasion, and the realistic fear that the cops just wouldn't get there in time. That's obviously a primeval  motive to have a gun by the bedside or whatever.  [My note: "primeval"?  As in "outdated" or "Neanderthal"?]  But the fear is also easily out of proportion to the threat. I had the Chicago police run the number on homicides. In 2011, precisely one homicide listed "burglary" as the motive ... [My note; perhaps true in Chicago, where  they shoot each other on the street and on their porch]  ... Nationwide, there are about 100 burglary-homicides every year. When you compare that to more than 18,000 gun suicides, the conclusions seem pretty obvious.

"Gun Violence and the Irrational Fear of Home Invasion":
            (The Atlantic, December 23, 2012:  by Ta-Nehisi Coates)

We are all grateful for their reassurance that, if we just give up our fears and give up our guns, or at least stop TRYING to stop random shootings or protect ourselves, our family and our home with guns, all would be peaceful and beautiful here in Never-Never-Land.

After all .... "the conclusions are pretty obvious"!

(Unless, perhaps, you are one of the unfortunate victims of "... about 100 burglary-homicides...).

Anthrax exposure at CDC

CDC lab workers might have been exposed to anthrax | www.palmbeachpost.com:
(June 19, 2014)

Some workers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may have been accidentally exposed to dangerous anthrax bacteria earlier this month because of a safety problem at some of its labs in Atlanta, the federal agency said Thursday.

While trying to find ways to detect the deadly disease, the research people at Atlanta did a bit "oopsie!" today.

They're jumping the shark, but who knows how dangerous the situation might really be, or whether or how far the infection might spread:

CDC officials say the risk of infection seems very low, but that about 75 staff members were being monitored or given antibiotics as a precaution.
"Based on the investigation to date, CDC believes that other CDC staff, family members, and the general public are not at risk of exposure and do not need to take any protective action," a statement from the agency says.

Yeah, right.
NIMBY!

The Armed Citizen Blog - American Rifleman

My father ("Pop"), was a Life Member in the NRA.  He was such a "gun nut" that he purchased those goofy-looking binders where you could store a year's issues of the NRA magazine "The American Rifleman" (which was the only publication they had, and came automatically with your membership).

I remember as a teenager going into the "den" at home and taking an annual volume of American Rifleman down for 'casual reading'.

Actually, it wasn't all that casual.  I was fascinated by the articles, the stories ... and the columns.

My favorite column was "The Armed Citizen".  Looking back, it seems like "Surfing The Net" for interesting news stories relating to --- well, an appreciation for stories which told how common, ordinary people were able to protect themselves, their families and their homes.

The stories were presented in a consistent format ... pithy, terse, they were like the first paragraph of a well-written newspaper article.   The only downside was that there was no means to get (as Paul Harvey use to say) "The Rest Of The Story".

I've only just now discovered that same format and collection of stories (including 'archived' stories) is available online, with three stories published daily.

The Armed Citizen Blog - American Rifleman: Read three more amazing stories of self-defense in the latest online edition of The Armed Citizen.

The format remains the same.  The good news, there are now links to the publication; bad news, there are no links to the actuall story.  boo hoo.

So I've been looking through the stories, and my appreciation for the rawest national inforation on what is, essentially 'raw data' hasn't changed.

Thanks, NRA, for continuing with your traditional format and for making it available online.

PS:  My father had about 50 years of magazines when he died.  I inherited them, but one day I had to move and rather than haul a trailer load of binders, I sold them to a book store for a buck a year ... and while the time I was glad to have the cash, I've always regretted my short-sighteness.

Guns For Me, No Guns For You - Part 2

Anti-Gun Group Moms Demand Action Marches on the Brooklyn Bridge With Armed Security | Right Wing News:
(June 19, 2014)

Moms Demand Action is the notorious anti-gun group made up of loons who say ridiculous things like, a good guy with a gun has never, ever stopped a bad guy with a gun. Makes you wonder, then, why they would feel the need to have security guards armed with big, bad guns accompany them on their anti-gun march over the Brooklyn Bridge...

Go, look;  they have pictures!

Have I ever mentioned my disgust of the Hypocracy of Liberals?

Oh.  Right.  I have.

Last Month, it was "The Brady Campaign" and "Washington Ceasefire" who doubted the credibility of the "NO FIREARMS ALLOWED" sign on the door of Town Hall Seattle building.

The only guns allowed there were carried by the armed security hired to protect Gross and Fascitelli.

One might almost believe that this cognitive dissonance is endemic to the Liberal Left.   It's certainly characteristic of peope who arbitrarily want to take away the rights of others.

Are Police Better Shots Than You?

200 Rounds, About All The Average Policeman Shoots In A Year: 

(June 13, 2014)

David Cole at AmmoLand has an interesting observation about the Liberal-vaunted accuracy of police:

This summer, I’ll be accompanying my sister (a teacher, by the way) to her first real gun class since she took her concealed carry course. It’s a one-day class with a top-notch instructor. The course description says students should bring 300-400 rounds of ammunition, and tuition is $150.
In that one day, my sister and I will each expend at least twice the amount of ammo an average cop shoots in a year, doing productive skills training under the supervision of a pro instructor.

 I’ve been a police officer, and I understand the conditions of the job. I give them full marks for the dangerous, difficult job they do. They work hard and the vast majority will do their very best to help you in your time of need, risking their own lives in the process.

 But you are deluded if you think that they are capable of responding to your emergency with any more speed or skill than you. Do not allow gun prohibitionists to convince you that you are better off waiting for a “professional” to bring you a gun, than to have one with you right now. That is an outright lie told by politicians who wish to see you disarmed.

Journalist's Guide to Firearms Identification

77d3d70b.jpg Photo by theweaselking | Photobucket

(More seriously: see this:)

The Journalist's Guide to Gun Policy Scholars and Second Amendment Scholars

What do Alan Gottlieb and I have in common?

Neither of us have ever heard this song before.

Bloomberg's Anti-Gun Head Admits Defeat

Blunt candor from Bloomberg’s departing gun control advocate - Seattle gun rights | Examiner.com:
(June 17, 2014)

Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal featured a stunning display of candor from the man it described as “the face of the gun-control movement” for billionaire anti-gunner Michael Bloomberg, who acknowledged as he stepped down Friday as head of the ex-mayor’s gun control effort that, “when a mass shooting happens…nothing that we have to offer would have stopped that mass shooting.”

It takes a big man to admit that everything he has worked for has been "Full of Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing"!

Perhaps Mark Glaze should apply for an internship with the NRA?

(Be sure to read the Comments Section of the article.)

My Cell Phone is Smarter Than I am. I hate that!

At random intervals .. from once a day to once every two weeks .. my cell phone BEEPs me.

There are never any incoming emails.  No Text Messages. A total dearth of input.  But the phone BEEPs me, anyway.

The GEEK explanation is that I don't  understand the power of the Smart Phone, which is true.  But am I the Only One who is arbitrarily harassed by his Android?


The PSYCHOTIC  explanation is that the phone doesn't BEEP me; I'm just depressed because nobody else seems to call, or write, and I imagine it BEEPs me because I'm Too hungry!

My PERSONAL explanation is that it's lonely, because  I neither get nor give traffic;  I detest phones, which (in my opinion) are present for my convenience, not for the convenience of others.  Which is probably wrong, because most of my actual calls are from strange people whom I've never met.

So I'm wondering ... is a Smart Phone like one of those electronic key-chain games, which you have to 'feed' regularly or it will 'die'?   Thereby laying a great burden of guilt because you aren't a good parent?

And I wouldn't mind the BEEPs which come at 3:15 am if there was some other insomniac idiot on the line who just needs someone to talk to.  (I'm pretty good about ignoring people, as my ex-wife would confirm.)  but answering a BEEP when I don't even get to hear the anonymous white-noise which I was accustomed to --- that's a bit scary.


Maybe my Smart Phone knows that I hate it.  Is this Revenge ON The Nerds?

"Last night I met a man upon the stair,
A Little Man who was not there.
He was not there again today;
Oh how I wish he'd stay away!"

I connected my Smart Phone to my computer the other day, to download some pictures.  Apparantly, I completed the data transmission  quickly enough (using google+) that my SmartPhone wasn't able to hand-shake my connection.  Otherwise, this article I'm writing woudn't be able to be intercept when I started talking about the really EVIL things that my smartph.... [!BEEP!]

Nekulturny Americans

nekulturny is Russian for "uncultured."

Only Americans have been charged of this on Wiki. Please explain this prejudice instead of indulging in DisagreeByDeleting.At the least, please don't deprive us curious Americans of the opportunity to learn a few Russian words.In Russian, it would be nekulturnyj amerikanec, Nekulturny American is Slovak.

So, Russians consider Americans to be nekulturny.

As it happens, many Americans (aka 'them funny-talking Easterners', aka 'Liberals') agree with the Russians.

Here's an example of that attitude, snidely insinuated in this June 17, 2014 article  in WAPO.
(H/T: Gunwire.com)

Where gun stores outnumber museums and libraries - The Washington Post:

Just last week, a Pew Research Center survey found that liberals are much more attached to their museums than conservatives are: 73 percent of "consistently liberal" Americans say that being near museums and theaters is an important factor in choosing where to live. Only 23 percent of consistently conservative Americans say the same. 

 Considering that divide, I thought it might be useful to map museums and libraries against an institution that conservatives might be more fond of: gun stores. The inspiration here was Nathan Yau's recent map of where bars outnumber grocery stores. I took the IMLS' museum counts from last week and added to their count of libraries. The idea here is that museums and libraries play similar roles, as institutions of informal learning where students and adults can go to learn more about their communities and the world around them.

Completely ignoring the demographics of the crowded Colony States as compared to states which have more room between people and more of them live in rural areas, the implication is Conservatives (most of whom don't live in  DC or NYC or Boston or ... whatever megalopolis one might choose to name) really have little interest in either museums for the culture, or libraries for the knowledge.

Which boils down to this: Conservatives are Nekulturny.

Hence, the map which displays the proportion of gun stores to museums and libraries.

Which can be quite dramatically demonstrated in the original article, which you might find especially interesting.  If sometimes misleading.   For example, in my small community of 40,000 (when the University has its usual 30,000+ students attending during the school year) there are three libraries and three museums.   There are zero gun stores in this, the County Seat.  However, there is one gun store in a nearby community of about 1,000 permanent population, which has two museums and one library.

However, I do live in Oregon, and ...

But the most gun-heavy county is in Oregon.
Gun stores outnumber museums and libraries by nearly seven-to-one in Deschutes County, Ore., giving it the most lopsided ratio in favor of gun stores among counties with at least 10 of each.

 Hmmm .... Deschutes County.  Located dead center in Oregon.  Elevation 3600 feet, annual rainfall TWELVE INCHES; it's high desert country. They have four towns and a bunch of ranches. Population in 2011 less than 160,000 spread over 3000 square miles about 55 people per square mile.  There are only four incorporated towns in the entire county.     Industries?  Tourism and Timber. Culture? One museum, and at least one library.

Folks don't 'go to town' all that often.  But what they can do is step outside their door and hunt or plink at targets any time they want to, and the neighbors won't call the police in blind panic at the sound of gunfire because ... "Hey Maybelle ... sounds like Hank is practing for that SAS match over at Bend next weekend".

Keep in mind that these two quantities aren't diametrically opposed— there's no reason you can't be a fan of both guns and museums (there is in fact a National Firearms Museum run by the NRA in Fairfax, VA.). But viewed in relation to each other guns and museums give some sense of a community's values. As my colleague Emily Badger wrote the other day, we live in places that reflect our values, and many of us are sorting ourselves into communities that share our political views.

Yes, Mister Wonkette.  We Oregonian may be nekulturny, but at least we're not condescending snots.

Don't mess with Oregon.

Obama-isms: 40%: Presidential Clue-Bat on "Universial Background Checks"

I spent last Christmas (December 25, 2013) with my son the Squid Kid and his family.  I gave cash to my grandchildren, family heirlooms (Edison Lamp, Crystal Pitcher) to my daughter-in-law), and firearms (revolver and rifle) to my son.  All of my gifts were part of my inheritance which I received from my mother; I wanted my children to benefit from my progeny.

I could do this, because there were no laws which restricted my freedom.

Yet.

Can't "ban" guns? Let's mandate INSURANCE - and tax it!

In 1993, NY Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan proposed a graduated Federal tax ranging from 55% to 10,000% on ammunition.  This wasn't a fiscal measure; it was a punitative imposition on the Second Amendment.  Did it 'infringe' on your right to own a firearm?  No, it did not; only on your ability to buy ammunition.

It's a funny thing, how when the government becomes involved in the private lives of its citizens, the first thing that happens is that they RESTRICT your rights.  Have you noticed that all laws either deny your right to do something, or the government benefits financially from your exercise of your rights?  There's a reason, and it's not what you might immediately assume:

It's not about violence.  It's about money, control, and the growth of government.

Here is a good CURRENT example of that abuse of power:  proposed by a purported Gun Owner.

Let's remove all 'restrictions' from guns; but let's make gun owners buy "insurance" depending on how powerful the gun is, how many bullets it can hold, and a bunch of other things that maybe we haven't thought of yet.  Make gun owners pay through the nose for their noxious toys, and use the money to fund 'free' Mental Health.

Not a direct quote, but rather the gist of a June 14, 2014 editorial opinion article from a small-town newspaper in (surprise!) New York.  (See a quote and citation at the bottom of this page).   He wants gun owners to pay a mandatory 'insurance' for all guns and all magazines that he or she owns.  Presumably, with annual premiums

He's wrong, you know ...

Somebody isn't reading the right newspapers.

It's either Bush's fault, or we're all dupes of the EVIL NRA!

What are we suppose to do?  ENFORCE our Immigration laws?


Honduran President Says U.S. Weak Laws To Blame For Child Migration Crisis | Fox News Latino:
(June 13, 2014)

Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernndez, on a visit to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Friday, said the U.S. has to strengthen efforts to control the humanitarian crisis that both nations face with unaccompanied migrant children crossing the U.S. Southwest border.
 At the end of his speech to the chamber, where the Honduran head of state discussed his nation’s short- and long-term investment projects with U.S. businesses, Hernndez seemed to blame the U.S. for the crisis – saying a lack of immigration reform and weak drug laws has contributed to the problem.
 It is unfair, he said, for his nation to tackle the surge of migrant unaccompanied children alone.

And what will you do for an encore? Tap dance?

Hundreds to march over Brooklyn Bridge to call for tougher gun control laws | Fox News:

 Hundreds of demonstrators are planning to march across the Brooklyn Bridge to call for tougher gun control laws. Saturday's demonstration comes after a wave of mass shootings across the U.S.  It is being underwritten by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, one of the nation's most visible gun control advocates. The marchers will include relatives of some of those slain in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. They will gather in downtown Brooklyn and then march across the bridge to City Hall. The group will then hold a demonstration outside the building's gates to call for tougher federal firearms regulations.

(And they thought OCT demonstrations looked like a bunch of performing seals!)

Surviving the CHRONOGRAPH Stage At A Major Match

Traditional Ammo Is Fundamentally Flawed

USPSA match scoring is based on three factors: Speed, Power and Accuracy.

The ACCURACY is based on the points you score on each target .. less penalties.
The SPEED is based on the time you take to complete the stage. ("Timed Fire" is judged a little differently, but still ....)
The POWER factor is based on your declared power factor, except at a Major Match when they actually determine the power factor of the ammunition you are using, on that day, at that place.

And if your ammunition doesn't actually perform to the level that you have expected, it can ruin your whole day.

What I want to talk about is one of the points that I include in my "Introduction to USPSA" Safety Class, when we start to talk about "POWER FACTOR" in the segment about Scoring Your Target.

This is A True Story, and I tell it once every month when I give a class

Don't be Naive

Naivety! | Defense Training International:
Naivety! Posted by John S. Farnam on 9 Jun 2014 9 June 14 CCW Naivety:

The vast majority of state CCW licensees are genuinely “good” people, but many have had precious little relevant training, and much of it fraught with errors and unrealistic expectations. For example, many naively believe:
1) When they see “bad things” happening in public places (which don’t involve them directly) that they should step forward and “get involved” and “do some good.”
2) VCAs will do what they are told to do, because they’re intimidated by the gun in the hands of the righteous CCW holder.
 3) The CCW holder will be thanked and congratulated for his courageous intervention and good intentions ...

[go, read the whole thing]

This goes directly against many of the opinions that I talked about earlier today in "VPC: It's The NRA's Fault!".

I yield to the man who knows what he is talking about.


With the possible exception of the VPC accusing Wilcox of being a dupe of the NRA.

The problem isn't with the concept of "willingness", it's about "readiness".

Maybe we should all attend John Farnham's Defensive Training classes!\.

VPC: It's The NRA's Fault!

We shouldn't --- and don't --- expect unbiased reportage from the San Francisco "GATE";  their articles are written to reflect the political opinions of their community.   They cater to their market.

They slant their 'news' articles by selecting the quotes which reinforce the political message they wish to send.

And in this SFGATE follow-up article on the Las Vegas killings, they don't disappointed their market.

The "Hero or Victim" article spends less time discussing whether Joseph Wilcox was a "Hero or Victim" then it does whether he was a "Victim or Dupe".

The Violence Policy Center leans toward "Dupe":

Vegas conceal carry permit holder: Hero or victim? - SFGate:
(June 12, 2014)

Gun control advocates said the death of Wilcox was a black eye for the NRA and its promotion of gun ownership and carrying as a solution to a rising tide of mass shootings. "From its magazines to Wayne LaPierre’s statements after Newtown, the NRA routinely argues that concealed carry is a simple [emphasis added] solution to complex situations including mass shootings," said Kristen Rand, legislative director of the Violence Policy Center. "In his own way, Joseph Wilcox was as much a victim of the NRA’s language and marketing as the two law enforcement officers who were killed."

Simple?
Who said it would be "simple"?
Or Easy?
Or Painless?
NRA only suggested it would be better to fight back, than to allow murder to continue without resistance..

Oregon's Blue-menauer capitalizes on School Shooting for political gain

Oregon Dem hopes school shooting 'will inspire action' on gun control | TheHill:
(June 10, 2014)

An Oregon lawmaker said he hoped a school shooting that took place Tuesday morning in a town he represents would spur action in Congress on gun control. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D), who represents Oregon's 3rd District, made a call for universal background checks on gun buyers after reports that a gunman killed at least one student at Reynolds High School in the city of Troutdale. 

One day in the 1980's, when I lived in Portland (Oregon's largest city), Blumenauer knocked at my door during a neighborhood campaign for ... I think it was a state-political position election.  He currently held a municiple office in Portland.

I told him that not only would I not allow him to put a sign on my front yard, but in any campaign he presented I would always vote for "The Other Guy", no matter who he was.

(I was polite; I didn't tell him to get the HELL off my porch!)

Earl thanked me for my time and moved on.

Unfortunately, there are too many Oregonians in Portland who will vote for any Democrat, so my only satisfaction was that I got to tell him what I thought of his politics, to his face.

His satisfaction was that he was "Electable in Oregon".

Earl?  He don't stop by my house no more.   It works out better all around that way.

It is better to have tried, and failed, then never to have tried at all

Blogging Blue | If citizens carrying guns help prevent crime, what happened in Las Vegas?:
(June 10, 2014)

One of the most common talking points I’ve seen and heard from conservatives who support concealed carry laws is that allowing citizens to “pack heat” will serve as both a deterrent and a means for citizens to “fight crime” on their own, but it seems pretty clear that wasn’t the case in Las Vegas. While many conservatives (fueled no doubt by the radical National Rifle Association) seem to feel we need to arm the citizenry with more guns, it would certainly seem to me that’s not the solution, given how the number of mass shootings that have plagued our nation.

Police who are killed while trying to stop murderers are lauded as "hero", even by the Left.
Well, that's the job of police: "To Protect And to Serve".

But when a civilian, who carries a firearm, accepts as his duty to his fellow citizens to stop murderers?   He is mocked as (supposedly) incompetent, inept.  His moral flaw is assuming that he can make a difference.  His actions are dismissed, and counted "fueled ... by the radical National Rifle Association".  Not the actions of a hero at all; merely a misguided buffoon who should be held in contempt.

The private citizen, Joseph Robert Wilcox. was not a buffoon.  He was ambushed by the murderers as surely as were LVPD officers Alyn Beck and Igor Soldo, he was taken by surprise and murdered even as he tried to keep armed people from killing innocents.  Wilcox was probably unaware of the killing of the two LVPD officers, but he saw his duty and he did his best to follow his conscience.  He did so suspecting he was risking his life, and he paid the ultimate price.

I give you The Montrose Quote:

He either fears his fate too much, 

Or his deserts are small,  

That dares not put it to the touch, 

To gain or lose it all. 

Had Wilcox been aware of the details of the previous killings, he might have realized that there were TWO shooters ... and he might have been realized that there was a second shooter on the scene ... one of them behind him.

There are two kinds of people who react to violence:  those who run away, and those who go to the sound of the guns.

Joseph Robert Wilcox was the second kind of person.  Regardless of the outcome, his attempt to serve his community should be hailed as the act of a hero.

It is better to have tried, and failed, then never to have tried at all.

Gentlmen-Rankers

Rudyard Kipling's poetry is often difficult for the Modern Man.

But when it is examined by a Military Man, it exhibits haunting memories of a time when "things" were dire, and you never expected to live to see your 23'rd birthday.

Kipling, in "Gentleman Rankers", speaks of the low-caste (low esteem, little experience) Officer in the British army.

In modern parlance:  A Lieutenant in Viet Nam, or Iraq, or  ... we come full circle ... Afghanistan.

So, if you choose to take the time to read this "poem" (although I would call it "An Ode To The Dead"), remember that this is not quite so much as a poem, as a Psalm.  you will recognize the verses from the song "Gentleman Rankers".  If you have ever seen the movie "Dawn Patrol" (with Errol Flynn) from WWI, you would recognize the song they sing around the piano at the Officer's club.

It is called The Whiffenpoof Song.
Lyrics: here
A Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong  version here (jazzed up)

Poetry Lovers' Page - Rudyard Kipling: Gentlmen-Rankers:


I do realize that this is a "Less Than Entirely Interesting" subject, but for military veterans it's important that the antecedents be remembered.  I'm I'm feeling nostalgic tonight.

Thank you, Mister President

SayUncle � Obama likes gun confiscation:

Yup, he just praised a forced disarmament of civilians.

DRILL DOWN:

Say Uncle linked to a "National Review Online/The Corner" article (June 10, 2014) in which the author, Charles C.W. Cooke, averred:

Speaking to users of the blogging platform Tumblr, President Obama today praised Australia’s confiscation of firearms. Obama said:
(")Couple of decades ago, Australia had a mass shooting, similar to Columbine or Newtown. And Australia just said, well, that’s it, we’re not doing, we’re not seeing that again, and basically imposed very severe, tough gun laws, and they haven’t had a mass shooting since.
Our levels of gun violence are off the charts. There’s no advanced, developed country that would put up with this.(")
In other words, the president of the United States just praised a government for forcefully removing all semi-automatic firearms (i.e. a remarkable number of the guns in America and the majority of those sold today) from its citizenry. 

(Note this Presidential statement seems to have been spoken in the same statement cited here yesterday in this Geekish article.)

At the risk of seeming hard-hearted (by ignoring the tragedy of the Oregon/Troutdale School Shooting) it seems clear that the long-touted Obama assertion the "I am not going to take your guns away from you, that just ain't true" is just one more lie from our President.

IS that an 'agenda item' for the President?

I don't know.

(Related Article from "Shall Not Be Questioned":

Gunman in fatal Oregon high school shooting likely killed self, police say | Fox News

Gunman in fatal Oregon high school shooting likely killed self, police say | Fox News:
(June 10, 2014)

A teenage gunman armed with a rifle entered a high school outside of Portland, Oregon Tuesday morning and fatally shot a student and injured a teacher before he likely killed himself, police said. The gunman, whom police have not publicly identified, was found dead in a bathroom at Reynolds High School in Troutdale. It was not clear how he died.

Another school shooting.   Students "locked down" in classrooms.  One brave (or just unlucky) teacher wounded, but continued to chivy students into classrooms.  Teenage boy with a rifle smokes himself in the boys room.

It wasn't quite a "massacre" this time, which leads one to wonder whether the murderer targeted his victim specifically, or just ran out of nerve.  Or ammunition.  At least he saved one bullet for himself, although we could wish he would have used that one first and saved the rest of us a lot of grief.

Follow-up (June 11, 2014)

Obama: Gun Law Inaction My Biggest Frustration
(Politico, June 10, 2014)

President Barack Obama said Tuesday [in reaction the Oregon School shooting - Ed.]  that it was “stunning to me” that Congress did not take real action to tighten gun laws following the late 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
"My biggest frustration so far is that this society has not been willing to take some basic steps to keep guns out of the hands of people who can do just unbelievable damage,” Obama said during a question-and-answer session hosted by microblogging platform Tumblr that came hours after a school shooting in Oregon.
He added that shortcomings in mental health care failed to account for the unusually high number of U.S. mass shootings relative to other nations. “The United States does not have a monopoly on crazy people,” he said.
The president said he supports the Second Amendment but still sees a need for tighter rules. “I respect gun rights but the idea that, for example, we couldn’t get a background check bill in — it makes no sense,” he said.

30 shot in Chicago in 2 days; Ho Hum, what's new?

Crime: 29 shot in Chicago in weekend violence includes two officers - Mesa Top News | Examiner.com:
(June 09, 2014)

There were at least 29 shot in Chicago over the weekend [according to NBC Chicago] -, and some of those were fatal gun shots. Chicago had another weekend of violence. The first fatal shooting of the weekend was back on Friday afternoon. An 18-year-old was found by police in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. He was one of four that died of gun shot wounds during the weekend. NBC Chicago reported on the violent weekend on June 8.

.... and more chillingly .......

The shootings did not only involve civilians though. Two officers were also shot [emphasis added] over the weekend, according to NBC Chicago. Malik Shabazz has been charged with five counts of first degree murder after shooting two officers during a routine traffic stop on Friday night. The officers pulled over Shabazz around 11:30 p.m. on Friday night. When the officers stepped out of their vehicle to approach, the man opened fire on the officers. The officers returned fire, and the man and woman inside the vehicle were wounded.
One officer was wounded during the incident. A 38-year-old officer was shot in the knee, and he was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center. He will recover from his injury. The second officer at the scene took the bullet in his bullet proof vest, and he was released from the hospital after treatment. Shabazz was still in the hospital for his injuries on Sunday. The woman that was with him in the car was shot in the shoulder. She was taken to Little Company of Mary Hospital for treatment.

That Chicago has become America's Shooting Gallery is not news.  Apparently, the shooting of CPD officers is also not news.

Where else have you read about this?

Compare the lack of reportage of CPD shootings with the shootings of two Las Vegas officers, which as been WIDELY reported.  

You might think that Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel would find it significant that 30 people being shot over a weekend would NOT cause a furor in the national press.

Only in California

Nearly 300,000 Californians vote for gun smuggling candidate | Fox News:
(June 04, 2014)

State Sen. Leland Yee might have officially dropped out of the race to become California’s next secretary of state in March, but that did little to diminish his numbers on election night Tuesday.  Yee, who was arrested back in March on gun smuggling charges, finished astoundingly well, with nearly 300,000 people checking his name on the ballot Tuesday – despite not campaigning at all since his arrest, allegedly plotting to deal weapons with a radical Islamic group in the Philippines, and maintaining a close connection with a powerful Chinese gangster who was also arrested in the sting.
 When Yee pulled out of the race shortly after being charged and arrested for his connection in a federal sting, he was polling only at eight percent. After all the results had been counted Wednesday morning, Lee had earned 11 percent of the vote and finished second among Democratic candidates.

Wait a minute!

What part of "knowingly selling guns to Terrorists" wasn't clear to California voters?

That truly surprises me.

Hypocrisy?   Lying?  Using his office for personal gain?

That doesn't surprise me.

California Democrats have demonstrated repeatedly that this sort of shenanigans is only to be expected from their own "Favorite Sons and Daughters".

There are a couple of other high-profile Democrats in California, including at least one Representative and one Senator (at the Federal level) who have also made a career out of using Gun Control as a political tool to get re-elected year after year.

Maybe the FBI should take a closer look at them, as well?

Sad, Sad News ...

Director Michael Moore enmeshed in vicious divorce | Fox News:
(June 08, 2014)

 “Fahrenheit 9/11” director Michael Moore plans to bring his superagents, Ari Emanuel and Mort Janklow, into a Michigan courtroom to help in his divorce reports The New York Post.
 Emanuel is the William Morris Endeavor chief who inspired the Ari Gold character in “Entourage.” Janklow is the literary agent who made the deals for Moore’s books: “Dude, Where’s My Country?” “Stupid White Men,” and “Downsize This! Random Threats from an Unarmed American.”
 Both men are on Moore’s witness list for next month’s trial to determine how to split the tens of millions of dollars worth of assets amassed during Moore’s 23-year marriage to Kathleen Glynn, a fellow native of Flint, Mich., who produced some of the roly-poly provocateur’s documentaries.
 The agents can testify about Moore’s earnings, his unique niche in the media and how badly he was damaged when Glynn “unilaterally wasted a large percentage of the marital funds” building a mansion on northern Michigan’s Torch Lake.
 Court documents posted on The Smoking Gun list nearly 300 exhibits, including six stories from 2011 that mocked the Occupy Wall Street supporter over the luxurious vacation mansion, which one story called “Moore’s $2M hypocrite house.”
 The couple owns eight other properties in Michigan and New York, including a Manhattan condo created by joining three separate units.

Take him for everything he's got, Kathleen.  Anybody who sticks with this pontificating panderer of political porn for 23 years deserves a reward ... if only for being able to hold her breath, or breath through her mouth for that long.

Schadenfreude!

Eric Zoen, Chicago Trib, on child murders

Change of Subject | 
Eric Zoen, Chicago Trib, on child murders:

Almost as shocking as the accusation that two 12-year-old girls from near Milwaukee stabbed a friend nearly to death Saturday was the news that authorities are charging the girls as adults. Adults?
Anyone who has ever lived with 12-year-olds — and my wife and I have reared three — knows that they're impulsive, naive and malleable by nature. Delightful as they can be, you wouldn't trust them to vote, drive, carry guns, have sex or drink alcohol responsibly. You wouldn't leave them home alone for a weekend.
 Because they're children. "

Kipling:

  WHEN the Himalayan peasant meets the he-bear in his pride, 
    He shouts to scare the monster, who will often turn aside. 
    But the she-bear thus accosted rends the peasant tooth and nail. 
    For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.



Should girl-children be forgiven their crimes, no matter how abysmal, because "they're children?"

How about boy-children of the same age ... who are often given guns and sent out to murder, because their gang members know that they will be given minimal sentences, because "they're children"?

You and I are not part of their culture; can we legitimately condemn them for murder?

After all .. they're children.

Even though older children have imposed this onus upon them.

The Lamest Anti-Gun Article EVER!

Google Glass Guns=Disaster - The Daily Beast:

If you've ever seen an inexperienced "sportsman" try to shoot a sitting bird ... and miss .. then you will appreciate the total gigglement elation I felt upon reading this very inexpert attempt to criticize an industry, a culture and sporting venue which seems ENTIRELY outside her experiential background.

TrackingPoint, a company manufacturing precision-guided firearms—or firearms designed to turn even mediocre shooters into the best of crack shots with the help of embedded digital technology—is apparently ushering in a “new era in augmented marksman ability,” according to their concept video. In the video, a bearded man wearing Google Glass combines the nerdy with the deadly by shooting with a massive firearm at orange targets, while making it a point not to look at them.

Um ... okay.

Originally, I started a lengthy rejoinder based on what I though was the point of the original article.

And I realized .. the article had no point.  None at all!

The Author (one "Jamelle Dumalaon" ... which was not attributed on the article,  but in a sidebar which will probably have been deleted when you read this) managed to write a 500+ word article which had no point, but only a theme:  anything having to do with guns is "bad".

How can we tell?  Let me quote, briefly:

Unsurprisingly, gun control advocates are not amused—and it’s not just because deliberately not looking while shooting is in itself a very uncomfortable concept, and not just because it might be too soon to introduce ideas on how to make guns cooler. Rather, some say gun manufacturers apply a double standard when it comes to applying technology to guns.

("... uncomfortable concept; make guns cooler"... wait, it gets better!)

then .. no segue at all, the next paragraph reads:

“Gun companies have no problem with 21st-century technology if it’s used to enhance the lethality of their products,” says Ladd Everitt, communications director at the Washington, D.C.-based Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. “But if you try compel them to use technology to improve gun safety, they turn around and sue you.”

WTF?
We have no idea what point the author is trying to make, but she does  (somehow) work in the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.whom she manages to depict as being more concerned about being sued, than Stopping Gun Violence!

[You Go, Girl!]

The two next paragraphs cite the NSSF (bad!) lawsuit against Microstamping laws in California, and then that "... smart handguns ... have been criticized as well".

You'll have to work it out for yourselves, because I couldn't manage to determine which issues the author determined were GOOD or Bad:

• Microstamping  (whatever that is)
• Smart Handguns
• Criticing Smart Handguns

I have never heard of this writer before (and why do I think I'll never hear of her again?) ... but please, Daily Beast ... do keep her on staff.

I need a reason to continue reading your stuff, and she is the most refreshing writer I've ever seen there.

Who's Sorry Now?

American Soldiers on Omaha Beach ... D-Day, 1946:

"Tank Man" ....Tianamen Square, June 7, 1989:

The President of the United States of America, June 6, 2014:

Barack Obama at D-Day 70th Anniversary Ceremony 

Shooting in "The Zone"

What can be more boring than watching someone else shooting at Bullseye Targets?

The USOC (United States Olympic Committee) recently ran a study of alpha-wave vs beta-wave activities of a member of the US Olympic Pistol Team, and they found some relationship between the shots fired when (in the words of the shooter) "... it just happened the way it was suppose to".

This video is also available under "Isogora muscle and brain wave activity during shooting" and on YouTube under "Muscle and Brain-wave Activity while Shooting". (Published on May 22, 2013Pistol athlete Teresa Chambers works with USOC Psychologist Lindsay Thornton who is measuring her muscle and brainwave activity during shooting.  It's an 18 minute video.)

[H/T: BOREPATCH]

(I don't claim to understand the relationship between "Alpha Waves" and "Beta Waves", but I do think I understand that your body talks to you in ways that your mind doesn't.)

Surprisingly, the best circumstances didn't necessarily focus on the highest-scoring shots; in fact, it pretty much focused on the shooter's very personal "feelings" about each individual shot.

Which means ... what?

Essentially: when you feel good about a shot ... when you know that you did everything right even though your sights might not have been perfectly aimed at the 10-ring or the A-zone ... your body works with you so you 'feel' that you have performed well.  Even though you didn't necessarily achieve your goal of a perfect hit, your brain may know that you didn't aim perfectly, your body knows that you did what you trained it to do, perfectly.

And it rewards you.  Positive feedback is necessary to encourage you to come back another day to continue your quest for perfection, whether you can get all the parts together or not.

(Which may be the reason why only 5% of IPSC shooters are Grandmasters, and the rest of us continue to "feed the kitty" even though we know we may never win a match!)

This requires some background information, to establish a context:

It's worse than even *_I_* had thought

Shock Medical Notice: We Need to Have a "Short 5 Minute PRIVATE Conversation With Your Child":
(June 05, 2014)

Do the government and its ancillaries have ownership over your child? Do they have the power to detain and question a child without parental permission? Apparently they think they do according to a new Michigan medical records access law which reportedly requires doctors to have a private conversation with minors when their parents bring them in for medical care.

Mac Slavo over at SHTF presents this story of a woman who brings her teen-age daughter into a medical facility for Immediate Care for an injury, only to discover that she must allow her child to be "privately interviewed".

The mother objects. Vehemently.

You will recall that I have talked about young children being quizzed by pediatricians about 'guns in the home", without the parent being present (Pediatricians vs Family Rights).   I'm not surprised that adolescents are also being "counselled" by medical personnel, sans parental consideration or consent,   Although the questions asked of teenagers are presumably about sexual situations and related health issues, rather than firearms, the principles are similar.

I'm aware that teen-agers may have concerns about sexual situations, and that they may be reluctant to discuss them in the presence of their parents.   That reluctance may lead to important health issues not being addressed.

I get that.

But to make it a state law?

There must be a middle-ground which is acceptable to parents, their children, and the medical professionals whose priority is presumably to provide the best health-care for their patients.

I say "presumably";  we don't know, really.

I don't blame parents for being concerned ... reluctant ... in these circumstances.  A State Law enforces the distrust between the State and the Citizen.

There must be a better solution, or parents will seek other resources.   There are people who love our country, but fear our government.  When the government intercedes between Parent and Child, the mutual distrust is iniated by the government, not by the people.

Billary, Junior

Michelle Obama for Senate? Speculation Rages - Minutemen News:
(June 06, 2014)

With more than two years remaining as first lady, there’s speculation Michelle Obama may seek election as a U.S. senator, according to Keith Koffler, editor of the website White House Dossier.

“She’s raised her profile a lot, she’ll have pressure from Democrats to get in and pick up a GOP seat, and her own strong commitment to left wing values will help impel her to make the race — to continue to ‘make a difference’” he wrote in a June 5 post on the website.

[groan!]

This will be the SECOND time she has been proud of her country, right?

I don't think I could bear another Obama continuing to make a difference.   How's that "make a difference" thingie working for us so far?

Given her husband's lackluster record in the Senate, and Barry's disgraceful record in the Executive Branch  (broken promises, lies, lack of transparencies, etc. ad nauseum) ... America couldn't hope for a less bright future than with the First Lady making her husband the First Gentleman.

To have BO followed into the congressional milieu by MO would the ultimate degradation of our electoral system.  It would be following inexperienced incompetence with ... well, even more inexperienced incompetence.

The good news?  She has a snowball's chance in hell of "picking up a GOP seat".   The Democrats must be hurting for candidates in the next Illinois Senatorial election, if they're putting out feelers like this.

The bad news?

Everything else, including and especially that Democrats have allowed even these tentative 'feelers' to be published.

Remember all those Democrats who promised to leave the country if Bush was elected (or re-elected)?

Now I know how they felt.   It bodes ill for an sort of coalition between the two warring parties.

Aren't we TIRED of both parties proposing idiots for national office?  Where have all the good men gone?  If our country is so devoid of viable candidates (and I can't think of one in either party, for any national office), we might as well phone in our votes for "None of the Above"  (see "Brewster's Millions").

Oh!  There's an idea?  How about a write-in vote for Richard Pryor for Illinois Senator?

Why I still object to OCT tactics

Lagniappe's Lair: Open Carry Texas demonstrates why THEY are not qualified to carry rifles in public places.:

These clowns have to be paid anti-gunners trying to discredit the rest of us...they just have to be.

The NRA is still taking heat about their criticisms of the techniques of Open Carry Texas (OCT) manner of making their point ... whatever it is.

The most recent OCT protest rally (if that's really who they are, and what it is) SEEMS to be just one more of the continuing series of NSFW events in which they specialize.

IF I (and other gun bloggers ... I wasn't there, I only see the photos and read the comments) am/are correct, the ongoing efforts of OCT to prove that they are legal, responsible examples of gun-owners in public...


it ain't working for you, Fellas.

Get a job, get a life, but mostly get out of the "Second Amendment Movement" which you so proudly propose to represent.

I've got guns and I believe that Open Carry is a reasonable expectation, for most of us.

But if you are as lame as you seem; if you are as casual about gun safety as you seem; if you are as arrogant as you seem, I can only echo the lament of other gun bloggers than me:


PLEASE don't represent us!

You make everybody look bad.


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BAN ALL GUNS, (Gun Free Zones are GOOD, dammit!)

Am I the only one who is getting tired of presenting arguments opposing "Reasonable, Common-Sense" Gun Restrictions?

Why do I even bother?

I give up.  I quit being a Conservative, Opinionated, Scary Gun-owner.

I have decided to become an anti-gun Liberal Democrat.