Carnival of Cordite is UP!

Technogypsy

What is this? Is it the 14th or the 15th Carnival of Cordite?

Never mind. Read this.

Excellent links to bloggers involved in both RKBA and shooting sports are included. Gullyborg has special content for Oregon readers regarding the latest bill from Ginny Burdick.

Weapons Retention

As an ostensibly IPSC Competition-related website, its necessary from time to time for me to host firearms-related context.

Join with me now as we examine the consequences of failure to demonstrate basic firearms-handling skills in a real-world scenario.

June Cooper-isms

Jeff Cooper's Commentaries for June, 2005, are ...
UP!

I'm delighted to report that this month The Colonel discusses the current state of IPSC competition.

---

It seems that the practical element in Practical Marksmanship has suffered drastically due to the lack of variation in the types of courses used in competition, both here and abroad. When the program was started back in California in the 60s, we insisted on each course of fire being radically different from that held during the previous month or session. This called for distinct variation in ranges, firing positions, conditions of readiness and all such matters. However when the movement took off abroad, it turned out that too many jurisdictions called for artificial consistency in course type or course design. In certain places this meant that ranges would always be about the same, the condition of readiness would be the same, and scoring systems would be the same. Note that in Europe today, most major contests require the shooter to start with his weapon resting on a table just within reach, and that spare magazines be presented in specific fashion for each firing string. This means, of course, that speed on the draw has ceased to be a significant element in performance. It is possible that draw speed was overemphasized in the early days, but that does not mean that the idea should be abandoned.

---

The matter of power, of course, has been lost completely, largely due to the fact that pistol power is very difficult to measure. The Europeans insist that the 9mm Parabellum cartridge of 1908 has all the power which may be called for, whereas time has proved that this cartridge is distinctly inferior as a means of stopping fights.

The upshot is that practical pistol shooting in the competitive sense has pretty much lost sight of the element of practicality. If a given course of fire did not replicate the conditions of an actual pistol confrontation, it was not a measure of practical skill. Over here and abroad, however, practicality is now viewed askance by a lot of people who really ought to know better. If the show gets too close to an actual street fight, it becomes sort of "antisocial" and thus should be disallowed in polite competition.

All is not lost, however. Competitive practical pistol shooting may not be everything that it should be, but it is immensely better than it was half a century ago. By better I mean more useful. The service handgun is a fight-stopping device, and its practice should reflect its fight-stopping capacity. A serious pistolero must commence with the proper attitude, and build both his equipment and his annual skill upon that. There are those who might ask what need there is for a serious pistolero, and I cannot answer that question. If one does not know why anyone should be able to defend his life and family and property against felonious aggression, he should move to Britain where self-defense is now illegal.

---

After 85 years, he may not be able to hunt but he has lost none of his Vinegar.

The Case for Curling Iron Control

Armed robber gets extreme makeover

The old adage about the First Rule of a Gunfight use to be: "Bring A Gun".

That's old school.

Today, if you're in Shreveport LA, be sure you have a curling iron handy.

An armed robber brandishing a revolver and some tough talk entered Blalock's Beauty College demanding money Tuesday afternoon.

He left crying, bleeding and under arrest, after Dianne Mitchell, her students and employees attacked the suspect, beating him into submission.

They didn't resist when he cursed them, threatened them, made them lay down on the floor, or when he stole their money. But when he started to take one of them into the back room, they decided they had had enough.

The owner of the beauty shop tripped him, causing him to lose his gun. When she yelled "Get That Sucker!" they attacked him with curling irons, chairs, a table leg ... anything can be a weapon when you're determined to defend yourself.

Blood and urine splattered from the victim; stains adorned the white paints worn by many of the beauty school students.

Crying in pain, the robber tried to crawl away from the students, Mitchell said.

"I grabbed his legs and wouldn't let him go. I pulled him back. He wasn't going to get up out of here and tell everyone he robbed us. When he came in here, he knocked down a beehive and sent the bees flying all over."
(...)
Sharon Blalock, owner of the school, said she couldn't be prouder of her students and employees. "They just whooped the hell out of him."
(...)
"It's like we were saying in class, we have to stay together as a team," Mitchell said. "You can tell any prospective students, Blalock's Beauty College has got your back."

(Geek Note:
Rumors that I plan to move to Louisiana and start a new career as a hairdresser have been exagerated.)

Massachusetts Eighth-Graders Told Science Project Involving BB Gun Too Dangerous

Massachusetts Eighth-Graders Told Science Project Involving BB Gun Too Dangerous

What IS it with these liberal air-head PC-based 'educators' today?

AMHERST, Mass. (AP) - Two eighth-graders who spent months working on a science project to prove how dangerous BB guns can be were disqualified from the state middle school science fair. The reason for the dismissal: BB guns are too dangerous.

Uh .... well, that was sort of the point of the project.

Nathan C. Woodard and Nathaniel A. Gorlin-Crenshaw spent seven months researching and testing their hypothesis that BB guns can be deadly and should not be used by children.

It's not as if their project was a simple matter of putting a couple of BB guns on a board for people to view. They actually tested the penetrating power of BBs as a means of demonstrating that they COULD cause harm. And they ponied up the money so they could perform scientific testing under controlled conditions to prove the point of their thesis.

The students spent about $200 on ballistics gelatin, which has the same density and consistency as human flesh, to use during their tests.

How can a display of tests results be dangerous?

Nancy G. Degon, vice president of Massachusetts State Science Fair Inc. and co-chair of the middle-school fair, said fair rules prohibit hazardous substances and devices.

"The scientific review committee does not consider science projects involving firearms to be safe for middle school students," Degon said.

Excuse me ... "firearms"? A BB gun isn't a firearm. Where's the fire? Don't these pedantic pedagogues understand the English Language?

<>

These are firearms:



This is a BB gun:




Or is it that they are so desperate to cleave to the letter of the law that they are willing to ignore the spirit of the event, which is to give young people the opportunity to learn by performing their own scientific research?

The boys were invited to present their findings to some judges and receive a certificate of accomplishment, but they rejected the offer because they were not allowed to compete.

"I was really disappointed," Woodard said. "We had a good point to prove.

I think they did, too. This is especially surprising in that the point is entirely in line with the political bias of the silly-putty education system.

I'm not the only one who was outraged by this news story.
Our friend Jeff sent me a copy of the letter which he sent to the Science Fair board and the editor of the largest paper in Massachusetts ... The Boston Globe. I'm not sure they'll recognize satire when they read it, but I thought Jeff made his point clear.

Massachusetts State Science Fair Folk:

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You for disqualifying those
two young miscreants, Nathan C. Woodard and Nathaniel A.
Gorlin-Crenshaw from the Massachusetts Middle School State
Science Fair!

As you know, in the 1960s (when I grew up), only 58% of
all elementary students and 31% of all Junior High
School students survived the dangerously permissive
official education policies of the day.

Several of my fellow students were killed daily from
shooting BB guns, carrying pocket knives, having photographs
of firearms in school, taking aspirins brought from home
without the supervision of a Board-certified Registered
Nurse, unsupervised play in woodlands, listening to radios
that plugged into the dangerous AC mains, and wearing
T-shirts expressing controversial ideas. The bodies
littered the gym floor. It's a miracle that any of us
lived to reproduce!

Thank God that today there are people like you to protect
the children from parent- and police-supervised study of
BB guns!

By the way, I see an oversight in your official rules.
While you state that the Middle Schoolers may not do a
project that involves "Nonhuman vertebrate animals", the
rules do not prohibit projects involving "Human (presumably
vertebrate) animals". I can see a project involving Human
Sexuality, in which two Middle-schoolers have sex in
alternate weeks and determine the exact moment of conception,
with video documentation. (A second pair of students will
use condoms, perhaps, as a control). This doesn't seem to
violate your published rules: perhaps a "no sex" rule is
called-for? Of course, you'll need to define what "sex" is,
in very explicit terms, so that the children will know what
you are prohibiting.

http://www.scifair.com/middle/manual.pdf

Please enhance your protection of the children, and keep
up the good work!


(By the way, please tell Nancy G. Degon that a BB gun is *not*
a firearm. She sounds stupid when she says that.)

Jeff M. [last name deleted by the Geek]
Powell OH

middleschool@scifair.com
mmroth@scifair.com
editor@boston.com

NOTE:
If you aren't convinced, you can read the Massachusetts State Science Fair rules.

The only mention of "firearms" is included in this section:

Controlled Substances

Controlled substances, including DEA-classed substances, prescription drugs, alcohol and tobacco, must be acquired and used according to existing local, state and federal laws. Student researchers must adhere to all regulations governing controlled substances. Production of alcohol is federally regulated and students must contact the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for regulations and permission. Students under 21 years of age are prohibited by federal laws from purchasing and or handling smokeless powder or black powder for science projects.

This obviously does not apply.

Why was this project rejected?

Could it be that the Ms Degon had her own political agenda?

We can only wonder what 'the children' learned from this, other than that people who have authority often abuse their authority.

Kalifornia Bullet-Coding Scheme IV: Citizens Revolt!

In response to bills which were introduced this year to both the California Assembly and the California Senate, which would impose unworkable and unreasonable restrictions on both firearms and ammunition, a California gun club has banned use of their range facilities for training purposes to staff of the California Department of Justice which support these proposed laws.

The Folsom Shooting Club (FSC), owners/operators of the Sacramento Valley Shooting Center (SVSC), on June 5, 2005, sent a letter to Bill Lockyer (Attorney General of the state of California) stating that ...

"... the Department of Justice staff, while acting in their official capacity, are suspended from using the Sacramento Valley Shooting Center. The (Board of Directors of the Folsom Shooting Club) is concerned that your staff will further your efforts regarding AB352 and SB357 while using our facility...."

As has mentioned earlier in this Blog, SB357 would require that every bullet sold in the state of California, whether sold as an individual reloading component as part of a complete pistol ammunition cartridge, would be engraved with a serial number which is consistent within every other bullet or cartridge within the 50-round package in which the component is purchased.

We previously reported (June 8) on the AG's endorsement of the bill, and before that (on June 5) on the California Senate's approval, and before that (on April 27) on the bill's preliminary discussion and advancement through the Senate. In fact, the bill was originally introduced in early February of 2005.

Another bill, AB352 (not previously mentioned here), would require that new firearms sold in California after a certain date would automatically stamp each cartridge case with the serial number unique to this firearm. Parenthetically, we should note that this constitutes ipso facto registration of every new pistol sold in California, because the purported purpose of this measure is to aid in criminal investigations whenever a firearm is used in the commission of a crime.

In order for '... (automatic stamping of) ... each cartridge case with the serial number unique to this firearm..." to be effective, ALL applicable firearms must be registered.

So much for the 2nd amendment.

---

In response, and in protest to these bills, FSC has retaliated in the only meaningful manner they could enforce: they refused access to their private property for the AG office agents.

Here's how it looks in the press, as interpreted by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence:

U.S. Newswire : Releases : "Gun Enthusiasts Get Ugly in California Legislative..."

To: National Desk

Contact: Amanda Wilcox of the Million Mom March, 530-432-2171, Peter Hamm of the Brady Campaign, 202-898-0792

SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 8 /U.S. Newswire/ -- A shooting range here has announced a ban on use of its shooting facilities by employees of the California Department of Justice because the Department is supporting two bills in the State legislature that the club opposes.

The bills represent groundbreaking new ballistic identification systems which would give police new crime solving tools. Each would set up systems for markings on gun ammunition in California that would help law enforcement investigators track down the perpetrators of shootings that might otherwise remain unsolved. One bill (AB 352) would require handguns to include a device that stamps a specific number on bullets that are fired by that handgun, while the other (SB 357) would require that ammunition manufacturers mark ammunition with a serial number for potential tracking.

The bills have the support of the California DOJ. No California law enforcement organizations oppose the measures. In a letter to California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, Thomas S. Hause, President of the Folsom Shooting Club, which operates the Sacramento Valley Shooting Center outside Sacramento, wrote "The Board of Directors of the Folsom Shooting Club (FSC) has directed me to advise you, in writing, that Department of Justice staff, while acting in their official capacity, are suspended from using the Sacramento Valley Shooting Center (SVSC). The FSC is concerned that your staff will further your efforts regarding AB 352 and SB 357 while using our facility."

("Gun Enthusiasts Get Ugly" ????)

And The Brady Campaign thinks this is A Bad Thing ... why?

Leaders of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Million Mom March are urging the club to drop the policy immediately. "It is offensive that the owners of this shooting range would rather side with criminals than with law enforcement and victims, not to mention that they are discriminating against people simply because they have a different view on legislation," said Amanda Wilcox, State Council Leader of the Million Mom March. "It is also very troubling when it is law enforcement agents who are using the facility for training purposes."

"What's next - should police who support sensible gun laws have their firearms taken away? This is un-American, and these guys ought to have their heads examined," said Jim Brady, chair of the Brady Campaign.

The Brady Bunch wouldn't want a bunch of ignorant private citizens to protest against governmental intrusion into their Second Amendment Rights because it may offend a government agency. They consider the action to be "(siding) with criminals", and apparently think that the private club should accomodate governmental agencies rather than to exercise their right to protest publically, and to refuse governmental agencies to occupy their property whether or not the owners wish to host them.

There go the First and the Third amendments.

Brady has no respect for the constitution. They have their own agenda, and it is NOT about the rights of private citizens.

They characterize the actions of private citizens as "ugly", but probably would not accept that their own propaganda is "ugly" in the eyes of the same private citizens.

They publically question the sanity of anyone who does not agree with their agenda.

Those of us who respect the constitution, and view it as our protection against intrusive Federal govenmental actions, consider such intrusions as are suggested by the Brady Campaign to be repugnant and anti-constitutional.

If you would like to protest the Brady Campaign's attempted infringements of our private rights, and their vile censorship of reasonable and legitimate protests, you can contact them directly via their website.

Further news and comments on this intrusion upon American rights are available across the Internet, including:
The Keep and Bear Arms Gun Owners page

120 rounds: Part II

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > State -- 13 L.A. sheriff's deputies to be punished for wild assault on car

On May 15, 2005, we talked about the incident where a baker's dozen L.A. Sheriff's Deputies engaged in a "Blue-On-Blue" * firefight with the results of turning a SUV into a cheese grater, and an innocent man into a marginal statistic.
Consequences:

• Initially, one thoroughly wasted SUV
• Four D-zone hits
• One potential lawsuit (watch this space)
• One Deputy hit by 'friendly fire' .. hardcover hit, he was vested
• The Wrong Guy arrested (the SUV driver was apparently NOT a participant in the 'drive-by' shooting)

Now we have another consequence:

• 13 L.A. Sheriff's Deputies disciplined
• 2 deputy suspended for 15 days
• Other deputies off duty for lesser periods
• some deputies receive written reprimands

Interesting comments from the outcome:

The sheriff also praised the deputies, saying they "are dedicated and have great passion and concern for the people of Compton."

The announcement drew a mixed reaction.

Activist Morris Griffin hugged Baca after the news conference. "We never expected the police to police themselves," Griffin said.

Swell. The Sheriff praises the deputies for their 'dedication', 'activists' hug the Sheriff, and NOBODY talks about the Tactical Officer.

It's not all negative:

(L.A. County Sheriff) Baca on Thursday announced changes in the department's shooting policy. The changes toughen language designed to restrict deputies from shooting at moving vehicles except under "extraordinary" circumstances, Baca said.

The old policy warned deputies to get out of the path of a moving vehicle and allowed them to fire at it if they believed the driver could kill or seriously injure someone.

The new language instructs deputies to take cover from a safe distance, train a weapon on the suspect and give specific commands to surrender before considering shooting.

Deputies can still fire when they feel the vehicle is an immediate threat of death or serious injury to deputies or bystanders.

However, each deputy must now use his or her own "independent reasoning for using deadly force," according to the policy.

That was an effort to prevent "contagious fire," in which deputies shoot because other deputies are doing so.

"We want and will have increased public confidence," Baca said. "The Sheriff's Department can do better and it will do better."

"Contagious Fire" seems to be, well, "contagious" in Los Angeles County. Probably no different in most other counties in America. The thing is, I experiences two "Blue-on-Blue" situations in Vietnam, and while I was getting the platoon to shut it DOWN, I saw that only a few excitable individuals were emotionally overwhelmed to the point where they were shooting regardless of the fact that they didn't have a clearly enemy target.

My personal opinion is that the involved deputies were under-trained, and over-reacted to the real situation.

As I stated in my original May 15 article:

Their deputies should be flagellated by their tactical officers because nobody can accept that this is the way they have been trained; their tactical officers should be flagellated by the Sheriff because nobody can accept that these tactics have been trained 'out of them'; and the Sheriff should be flagellated by the people who elected him, because he obviously hasn't insisted on proper training for his deputies.

Sheriff Baca skated out of harm's way on this one. If he is re-elected based on his performance, I will not only be surprised, but disappointed. This is one incident which deserves NOT to be swept under the carpet.

Any leader who survives such a miserable boondoggle as this ... represents the "electors get the politician they deserve" judgement.

I'm glad that I don't live in L.A. County. But if I did, I would do everything within my power to see that he never held public office again ... especially one which involved the supervision of Law Enforcement Officers.


* "Blue-on-Blue":
"Friendly forces" are typically designated on color-coded military maps as "Blue Forces". (Enemy forces are designated as "Red Forces", which perhaps explains why Republicans objects to political maps depicting "predominantly Republican" states in the color Red.)

When, usually due to the 'fog of war', American troops begin shooting at another unit which turns out to be 'friendly forces', the situation is subsequently referred to as a "Blue-On-Blue" firefight.

Jeff Cooper's Commentaries

Jeff Cooper's Commentaries

Volume 13, #4 (April, 2005)

I'm sorry to report that Col. Cooper is two months 'behind' in his Commentaries. I hope this is due to his being too busy to pay appropriate attention to maintaining the contributions, rather than that ill-health precludes the effort.

Nevertheless, Jeff Cooper continues to provide us with thought-provoking commentary.

Here is one such contribution; consider it a 'teaser' and go read the whole article:

This letter comes from a distinguished Gunsite graduate now serving as an assistant division commander in Iraq. It may clear up our national position now somewhat obscured by our news media. It is not an official communication, but rather a private letter.

"Dear Friends,

"It isn't over yet, but today there was a resounding victory for freedom and democracy here in Baghdad. Having been here for a while now, many of us have grown weary of the hand-wringers, worriers, pessimists, whiners, and host of others who have been telling us for so long that all is lost in Iraq. Today we witnessed just how courageous the Iraqi people can be and how much they love their new-found freedom.

"After listening to the pundits tell us how terrible the Iraqi Security Forces are, today I watched the Iraqi Security Forces stand tall. They protected, 1,188 polling sites in Baghdad. Although there were a number of suicide bombers who attacked today, not a single one penetrated the perimeter of a polling site. There were several Iraqi policemen, and several Iraqi soldiers who lost their lives today. But they did not lose their honor or their courage; none of the 30,000 plus Iraqi Security Forces on duty in Baghdad ran away from danger today.

"At the site of our first suicide bombing of the day, voters did not lose their courage either. They quickly lined back up at the same site, spitting on the body of the suicide bomber as they passed by in line to vote. A woman came out of line and took the shoe of the bomber and put it on his face - a great insult to an Arab. The same was true at any polling site that had violence. Voters immediately lined up again to cast their vote. How many Americans value their privilege to vote enough to show that kind of courage?

"We have listened to many experts talk about how the Sunnis would not participate in the election. Polling sites in Abu Guyreb were moved to Gasaliya because the Iraqi Election Commission was concerned about security in Abu Guyreb. We watched thousands walk down the highway - Sunni Moslems - on the 7 mile round trip to the polling sites so they could vote. All under the threat that terrorists had been making that they would kill anyone who voted. How many Americans would do that?

"All over Baghdad the story was the same and I could tell a dozen stories of great courage and determination. Despite the enemy's campaign of terror, despite danger, threats, intimidation, and the sporadic incidents of violence and terror today, Iraqis turned out in determined, large numbers to vote. The excitement was moving. Even though the terrorists have said they will kill anyone with a "marked finger" (when you voted your finger was dipped in ink to keep people from voting a second time), voters paraded down the street holding their fingers up in joy and overwhelming pride.

"When I told one Iraqi I was sorry that people had died or been wounded today, he just said `freedom has a price, and this is the price that we must pay.' And every Iraqi I talked to said thank you to the United States for this opportunity, for this freedom, and how grateful they were for our help.

"I am sure it will only be hours until you start hearing all the `experts,' most of which have never been to Iraq, start trying to convince us that today was flawed, failed, or somehow less than a wonderful day and a blow for freedom. They are the same people who say we are failing here, that you couldn't do an election on the 30th of January, and on and on. It is true we haven't `won' here yet. It is not predetermined that we will win, and it will take continued sacrifice and determination on our part. Those who hate freedom and democracy will still fight, many to the death, to try to stop this march to freedom and prosperity by the Iraqis with our help. They are terrified of the thought of a free and democratic Iraq that leads this whole region to a democratic future.

"But despite this, I encourage you from here in Baghdad, for at least one day, to ignore the pundits and experts, to enjoy a day where a blow for freedom was struck. Know that somewhere in the world, because of the sacrifice of your friends, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, and countrymen; good won over evil, freedom over terror, and democracy over despotism.

"Last June 30, Iraq was given its sovereignty. Today, they earned their freedom. And we should all be joyful for that."

Not all of his comments are so politically (or patriotically) oriented. He continues to offer more 'practical' observations:

I have as yet no valid opinion about the 45 short cartridge. This should take about a year's worth of field evaluation.

Let us hope that he is able to complete this evaluation.

Kalifornia Bullet-Coding Scheme III: AG Approves!

Lockyer, Dunn and Perata Introduce New Legislation to Solve Gun Crimes

It may not come as a big surprise to you that California Attorney General Bill Lockyer approves of the recent "Serialization" of bullets scheme.

We've talked about how this proposition would not only make it fiscally impossible for ammunition manufacturers to provide affordable ammunition to citizens of California, but also that the bill has 'hidden' clauses which include fees, penalties (including jail terms) and registration not once, but twice.

AG Locklyer, that egrigious politician, goes along with the leftist fantasy that this bill is intended to help solve shootings; he never mentions that it essentially circumvents the Second Amendment by making it impractical for most citizens to possess ammunition which makes the defensive handgun WORK!

Locklyer has nothing new to say. His website makes typical comments such as this:

Lockyer, Dunn and Perata Introduce New Legislation to Solve Gun Crimes Measure Would Put Unique Identifiers on Each Bullet Made and Sold in California April 26, 2005 05-028 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (916) 324-5500 (SACRAMENTO) - Attorney General Bill Lockyer, Sen. Joe Dunn and Senate President pro Tem Don Perata today unveiled legislation to help law enforcement personnel solve firearms-related homicide investigations. SB 357, authored by Dunn, co-authored by Perata and sponsored by the Attorney General would create a new "bullet serialization" system that will allow investigating officers to trace bullets recovered from crime scenes to the person who purchased the ammunition. "Gang-related gun violence is one of the fastest growing concerns for communities throughout California," Lockyer said. "We are losing too many of our young people to seemingly random shootings and anonymous killers. SB 357 will strip criminals of their anonymity and give law enforcement evidence it can use to quickly and effectively solve more gun crimes." The new system would require every bullet sold or manufactured in California to be affixed with an identifier. When an ammunition vendor sells handgun bullets to a purchaser, the vendor would match the identifier on the ammunition with the purchaser, and then log the match into an electronic database run by the Attorney General's Office. When a bullet is recovered from a crime scene where a firearm is used, law enforcement investigators will be able to check the bullet for the identifier and match it with a purchaser. "With the passage of SB 357, California will bring law enforcement investigative tools into the modern age," Dunn said. "This system will be an important new tool to help law enforcement personnel identify and convict violent felons and murderers." In 2003, over 72 percent (1,733) of California homicides were committed with a firearm. Almost 45 percent of these homicides were unsolved. Additionally, 63,597 robberies were reported in 2003, with armed robbery accounting for 53.9 percent (34,252) of these crimes. A firearm was used in 64.7 percent (22,161) of all armed robberies. Only 27.1 percent of robberies were solved in 2003. "SB 357 offers crime scene investigators a valuable new tool to help solve and deter crimes," Perata said. "Numbers on bullets mean criminals off streets." Specifically, SB 357 does the following: Requires all handgun ammunition manufactured or sold in California to be marked with a unique identifier. The identifier would then be associated with the purchaser of the handgun ammunition at the point of sale and maintained in an electronic database run by the Attorney General's Office. Requires all vendors and manufacturers who conduct handgun ammunition sales in the state to register with the Attorney General's Office. Assesses vendor and end-user fees to pay for the costs of the program. Creates criminal and civil penalties for individuals and corporations who circumvent the requirements of SB 357. A graphic representation of how bullet serialization works and photos of serialized bullets fired into car doors can be found here.

The one NEW thing is the link provided in the quote, which takes you to a PDF (which loads VERY slowly!) and shows us his view of a "serialized" bullet. I've included the essential view here.



Perhaps the most interesting thing we see here is that the demonstration bullet has purportedly been fired against a hard surface, deformed by the impact, yet the serial number is still readily readable.

The information he does NOT provide includes:

• the caliber of the bullet (hence, the surface area shown)
• any management of he number of digits in the serial, which would need to be much longer in order to be practical considering the large number of ammunition manufacturers in this country ... assuming that more than, say TWO of them still try to market ammunition in this state!
• the technology, and the production process changes, which ammunition manufacturers would have to adopt in order to effect the "serialization".
• the REAL cost of serialized bullets
• the 'hidden' clauses in the law which allow the AG office to retain firearms sales records

It's redundant to continue this list. Most of the objections have already been listed in excruciating detail on this forum, and you can go back to earlier comments to read them. (Note that this announcement by the AG is dated April 26, 2005.)

The REAL danger in this state law is that if California can fool their voters into thinking that it's reasonable, there's no reason to expect that otherGunGrabber states won't adopt the same or similar law.

It's not a California problem. It's a National problem.
If YOU live in California, I urge you to tell your State Assemblyman that this is a BAD law, and it will not accomplish the goals it purports to address.

They won't listen to a Geek from Oregon.

Kipling: Macdonough's Song

I spent so much time dealing with unimportant technical stuff (such as software upgrades and blog errors) that I almost forgot Kipling Night!

Thankfully, I have on tap a timely poem, because I'm hoping to get to bed before midnight tonite. The data entry is easy, because I found this already transcribed on an Australian website called Whitewolf.newcastle.edu.au (click on the article title above to go directly to the original).

I found this poem in the forepage of a Tom Clancy novel: The Teeth of the Tiger. The book is about terrorism, the poem is about terrorism, and unfortunately our current era is all too much about terrorism. This poem was written sometime between 1899 and his death in 1936. Kipling is writing about 'coersive collectivism', but here he demonstrates Cassandra's gift, fortelling issues which we now face in our daily lives and fears.

Interestingly, this can be interpreted in more than one way. Who are the Holy People? Are they the Radical Islaamists, or are they the Evangelistic Christians in America? Your answer to this question fairly defines who YOU are.

Macdonough’s Song

Rudyard Kipling

---

WHETHER the State can loose and bind
In Heaven as well as on Earth:
If it be wiser to kill mankind
Before or after the birth—
These are matters of high concern
Where State-kept schoolmen are;
But Holy State (we have lived to learn)
Endeth in Holy War.

Whether The People be led by The Lord,
Or lured by the loudest throat:
If it be quicker to die by the sword
Or cheaper to die by vote—
These are things we have dealt with once,
(And they will not rise from their grave)
For Holy People, however it runs,
Endeth in wholly Slave.

Whatsoever, for any cause,
Seeketh to take or give,
Power above or beyond the Laws,
Suffer it not to live!
Holy State or Holy King—
Or Holy People’s Will—
Have no truck with the senseless thing.
Order the guns and kill!
Saying—after—me:—

Once there was The People—Terror gave it birth;
Once there was The People and it made a Hell of Earth.
Earth arose and crushed it. Listen, O ye slain!
Once there was The People—it shall never be again!

The Smallest Minority

Sunday, as I was reading my email, I noticed that Kevin Baker had commented on my article about internet browsers (This Blog Condemned)

Later, while surfing through my links, I hit on kevin's website and saw that he had included a link to Cogito Ergo Geek.

I can do no less than to elevate his link to "Links To Me" from "Visit Frequently".
It's a courtesy thing, of course: you link to me, I link to you.

But I'm happy to provide him the highest accolade possible in Blogdom, because of the inherent quality of his contributions.

Go look at Kevin's blog; The Smallest Minority. Everything he writes about is meticulously researched, and supportive links abound.

This is truly a "Geek-Length" blog. I hope you visit him often and enjoy his contributions to general knowledge as much as do I.

AGS - One Hand Clapping

On April 14, 2005, Americans for Gun Safety applauded the efforts of the notorious anti-RKBA Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich to undermine the constitutional rights of gun owners. Of course, they don't express their agenda in such clear terms:

AGS - Press Release Detail:

Illinois Governor Announces Groundbreaking Gun Trafficking Program

Americans for Gun Safety Praises Governor Blagojevich’s Efforts to Stem the Tide of Crime Guns

WASHINGTON – Today, Governor Rod Blagojevich announced the formation of a groundbreaking effort designed to stop the flow of illegal weapons into the hands of criminals in his state, of Illinois. This program addresses the central, yet ignored, aspect of the gun debate, the methods by which criminals arm themselves.

“Americans for Gun Safety has worked very closely with Governor Blagojevich on this program, and we are very pleased to see him take these crucial steps,” said John Lacey, Communications Director for Americans for Gun Safety, a centrist gun policy group. “The Governor has studied Illinois’ gun problem and formulated a response which we are confident will keep guns out of the hands of dangerous criminals. We urge all communities affected by gun violence to follow the Governor’s lead.”

This program is designed to go after the sources of guns used in Illinois crime before criminals have a chance to use them. The majority of crime guns in Illinois come from states with weaker gun laws. More crime guns flow into Illinois from Indiana and Mississippi than from any other state. According to recent data, 777 crime guns from Indiana and 532 crime guns from Mississippi were located in Illinois. Crime guns from these two states alone nearly equal the total number of crime guns from the next 10 states combined.

Nationwide, close to 90 percent of guns used in crimes are trafficked.

That sounds fairly 'centrist' (previous quote's emphasis is mine) , doesn't it? All they want to do is to get prevent guns, which are 'trafficked' from 'states with weaker gun laws', from falling into the hands of criminals. To do that, Blagovijevich has announced a 'program' ... but I don't see a reference to a law. I'll have to look that up ... more later. (Without legislation, this is nothing but smoke and mirrors.)

So far, this is a disengenuous attempt to restrict 'trafficked' guns from being imported into the state.
(Note that there are already federal laws which prohibit the purchase of guns out-of-state. )


Then, on May 18, AGS addressed the question of 'criminals with guns' in the state of Pennsylvania:

AGS: PA Gun Commission Moves Beyond Divisive Gun Politics to Address Problem

Report Includes Key Recommends Made by Americans for Gun Safety

WASHINGTON – Americans for Gun Safety applauds the Pennsylvania Commission on Gun Violence’s report outlining a comprehensive approach to the problem of gun violence. The Commission’s report, released yesterday, represents an honest look at the problem of gun violence and gun policy, and includes solutions that can taken at the local level.

“With this report, the Commission was able to accomplish something rarely seen when it comes to guns” said John Lacey, Communications Director for Americans for Gun Safety, a centrist gun policy group. “They moved beyond the traditional divisive politics of guns to focus on the real problem: criminals and the ease with which they can access firearms.”

The report highlights law enforcement, legislative, and public education recommendations submitted to commission by Americans for Gun Safety. These recommendations include: increased use of gun tracing by all levels of law enforcement; legislative steps designed to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and children; and, the Felon Warning Project, a public education initiative designed by Americans for Gun Safety Foundation in partnership with the American Probation and Parole Association to warn felons they are prohibited from possessing a firearm.

The report also recognizes the local nature of Pennsylvania’s gun problem, and proposes local solutions.

“The vast majority of guns used in Pennsylvania crime come from Pennsylvania,” said Lacey. “Gun violence solutions need to address the local aspect of this problem, otherwise criminals will continue arming themselves unabated.”

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives data show that the majority of firearms in Pennsylvania are first purchased at retail within 10 miles of where they are used in a crime. While the firearm may changes hands several times between retail sale and crime, the close proximity of the two events clearly indicates the local nature of Pennsylvania’s crime gun problem and the key role local Pennsylvania officials should play.

Apparently, in Pennsylvania, the problem isn't with gun 'trafficking' from other states. The problem is that guns are purchased in-state.
So the problem is either that guns are available from other states, or that guns are available locally.

Ultimately, according to that great 'centrist' organization Americans for Gun Safety', the problem isn't where the guns come from. The problem is that guns exist.

There's nothing 'centrist' about that, folks. This may come as a surprise, but AGS puts up a front about being 'centrist' (or 'moderate') but the truth is that they are 100% totally anti-gun. They adopt the camoflauge of a group of people who just want to get along, but their agenda isn't very cleverly hidden.

They want to remove firearms from American Society. It doesn't matter whether they take guns from criminals, or from immigrants, or from you. They want them OUT.

The truth is, of course, that Criminals will ALWAYS have guns. Ultimately, they aren't campaigning to remove firearms from the hands of criminals. They're campaigning to deprive you of your right to defend yourself, or to hunt, or to engage in shooting competition, or just to have guns because it's no damn business of the AGS whether you have firearms and they don't LIKE that!

.........

In another unrelated incident, Pittsburgh (Pa) police were recently involved in a shooting in which nobody was injured. One hundred three rounds were expended, but nobody was hit.

Sounds like a reasonable argument for Gun Control. As in: the police need to learn how to control their guns.

.........

On the other hand, here's an anecdotal report from a member of the Unofficial IPSC List:

Well.....after all the reports of Law Enforcement having itchy trigger fingers and expelling a few more than req'd amounts of ammo, our local sheriff came into the gun shop the other day and said " before I tell you anything else....I only took 2 shots!!" (smiling)

Then he proceeded to tell us how he was called out to dispatch 2 cows that were unning thru and raising hell in a near by town and the owner refused to do anything about it. He shot them both with his .308, dropped them on the spot and the meat went to the local food shelf. He wanted to make sure that we knew this irst, before it made the newspaper ... of course ... it never did.

The Americans for Gun Safety would be proud of him. Of course, PETA thinks he exercised undue force.

This is the one time when I may be inclined to side with PETA.

What do YOU think?

This Blog UN-condemned!

A few days ago I wrote an article describing how Internet Explorer (IE)was a 'bad browser', and simultaneously extolled the virtues of NetScape.

Today I received my NetScape Version 8.0 Update Disk, and loaded it.

NetScape displayed my weblog in the same demented way as did IE.

I was outraged. NetScape has Let The Side Down!
Then I calmed down a little, and started checking out the webpage. I found a banner in my AirAmerica article which extended across the page. The old version of NetScape (7.2) overlayed the sidebar, which was sloppy but I didn't care.

The new version of NetScape (8.0) apparently allowed this to force the width of the text area to conform to the banner settings, and resulted in an 'ugly webpage'.

It's my fault. I was sloppy, the old NetScape version let me get away with it. Now the new version of NetScape will NOT let me get away with sloppy page design.

I suppose this is an improvement, and I'm sure that it will result in more careful construction on my part.

But I have to admit, I kinda miss the old NetScape. I only switched to the new version to ensure that the software vendor would continue to support it.

The good news here is that IE will now display the Cogito Ergo Geek website a neatly as does NetScape.

The bad news (if you're an IE afficianado) is that IE still loads slower, and MS still announces an average of one security breach every month.

I won't switch to IE as my primary browser ... ever! ... but you should be aware of some problems which I have encountered tonight after upgrading NetScape from version 7.2 to version 8.0.

The worst of them (I expect to find more) is that the upgrade process does NOT bring your password files to the new version. Therefore, if you plan to upgrade NetScape, be sure that you have ALL of your passwords (and user IDs) for EVERY website you commonly visit logged in a hardcopy file somewhere. I'm genetically paranoid, so I have all of my passwords logged on paper and I can build a new 'DataCard' (NetScape's new password file device) for each website as I visit it. It's a slow, laborious process and I can't imagine why NetScape wouldn't choose to transfer the password manager data to the new version ... but I can live with it.

Still, I can continue to use my new browser, and I'm sure I will become more comfortable with it as I go along. There ARE some very good features in the new NetScape browser version, but I'll let you discover them the same way I do.

This isn't easy for a guy who resists change as vehemently as I. Just ask anyone who suffered through my invective when USPSA issued a new competition Rule Book last year!

UPDATE: June 7, 2005

Life's too short to spend weeks trying to work around obvious new-release software bugs. Version 8.0 of NetScape has many more problems than I had originally perceived. One of them is that, when several windows are open, it activates windows I'm not currently trying to work in. Another is that it's difficult to access the Windows toolbar from NetScape 8.0.

Instead of reporting problems to NetScape (which doesn't have an obvious error-dialogue path) and waiting for them to release a patch, I restored my system to a previous date. This doesn't say much good about NetScape 8.0, but it speaks volumes for Windows XP.

BROADBAND:IDF Releases video of missle hitting HAMAS terrorists

No comment, except that I've viewed the video several times, and I can't think of a more approriate response.

Although I'm inclined to wish that the IDF gunner had moved his cursur just a little to the left, to insure that he included in his blast-area the folks who had already dumped their mortar load on Israeli civilians.

Note: this is VERY broadband-friendly, not modem-friendly. The Bad Guys look like ants in either version, but at least you can keep track of the ant-ish movement in broadband.

Kalilfornia Bullet-Coding Scheme II: Senate approves!

Senate approves bullet-coding measure

(Another Hat Tip to John H. of The Unofficial IPSC List)

You may recall that last April, Cogito Ergo Geek fisked this bill and described several of the provisions which would make it impossible for any ammunition manufacturer to offer for sale any except custom-loaded pistol ammunition at great expense to the consumer.

Essentially, this is nothing more than a transparent attempt to impose gun control by making the purchase of ammunition economically infeasible to 99.9% of the population. The production controls would be so stringent, and the fines for failure of petty quality-control measures so unacceptable, no manufacturer would willingly accept the limitations.

The California State Senate approved this bill last week, with few modifications, and passed it on to the State Assembly for consideration. If passed by the State Assembly, California private citizens might as well throw their handguns into the San Francisco Bay because only Criminals will have ammunition after mid-2007.

Here is the Legislative Counsel's Digest of the bill, as modified May 18, 2005:

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 357, as amended, Dunn. Ammunition: serialized handgun ammunition.
Existing law generally regulates the sale of ammunition.
This bill would establish a program requiring serialization of handgun ammunition, as defined, to be enforced by the Department of Justice. The bill would require, commencing July 1, 2007, that handgun ammunition be serialized. The bill would specify the nature of the serialization and provide various exceptions to certain prohibitions in the bill. Manufacture, transfer, and possession, as specified, of nonserialized handgun ammunition after that date would be an offense, as specified. The bill would require ammunition vendors and manufacturers to register with the Department of Justice, as specified. The bill would require specified information in connection with handgun ammunition transactions be recorded and maintained by the vendor and manufacturer. Willful failure to comply with certain record requirements by a vendor would be an offense.
Provision of false information to a vendor by a prospective ammunition purchaser would be an offense.

The bill would impose a fee of $.005 per bullet or round of ammunition, and a $50 annual registration fee for handgun ammunition vendors. The Department of Justice would be authorized to adopt regulations relating to assessing and collecting those fees. The fees would be deposited in the Serialize Handgun Ammunition Fund, which would be established by the bill. Manufacturers who fail to comply with certain registry and recordkeeping requirements would be liable for civil penalties, as specified. Persons who obliterate the serialization on assembled ammunition or bullets would be guilty of an offense. By creating new crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.

You can figure out for yourself that this would essentially make ammunition too expensive for most people, when every bullet in a box of pistol ammunition must contain an unique serial number ... and many ammunition manufacturers don't make their own bullets.

The 'digest' provided doesn't mention some of the more subtle provisions which have been cunningly slipped into the bill. (The format of the bill, as published on the Internet, makes it difficult to follow the sections and sub-sections, paragraphs and sub-paragraphs. I have modified the text of the bill into a msWord document, and can also provide a *.txt version, which shows the true organization of the bill. I will be glad to provide these files to anyone who is willing and able to host them.)

First, while there are exemptions for "members of the California National Guard during the discharge of their official duties ...", and for "...peace officers from other states during the discharge of their official duties in California", there are no exemptions forCalifornia Law Enforcement Officers during the normal performance of their duties. However, the bill DOES require the state to reimburse local departments for expenses added because of the requirements of this bill:

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

In other words, if you are a citizen of California, your state taxes would be used to pay for the ammunition used by all Law Enforcement Officers (and perhaps Rent-A-Cops private security agencies) during performance of their duties, which includes the hundreds or thousands of cases of ammunition used every month for training across the state! No exemptions are specified for members of federal agencies in the performance of their duties, such as the FBI, DEA, or Army Reserve. We assume that the outrageous cost of ammunition used by these agencies in California would be paid by federal taxes.

Next, the California State Attorney General's Office may require registration of handguns (based on dealer sales records per Section 1[b]), with the following restrictions.

(2) A peace officer, the Attorney General, a Department of Justice employee designated by the Attorney General, or any authorized local law enforcement employee shall not retain or compile any information from a firearms transaction record, as defined in paragraph (5) of subdivision (c) of Section 12071, for firearms that are not handguns unless retention or compilation is necessary for use in a criminal prosecution or in a proceeding to revoke a license issued pursuant to Section 12071.

(All italicized emhpasis added)
The State of California is permitted to determine when registration is 'necessary'.

If a California agency decides that such registration is 'necessary', does the registration disappear after the period of necessity (eg: a criminal investigation) is completed?

No. Also included in Section 1:

(c)

(1) The Attorney General shall permanently keep and properly file and maintain all information reported to the Department of Justice pursuant to Sections 12071, 12072, 12078, 12082, and 12084 or any other law, as to handguns and maintain a registry thereof.

This applies, apparently, whether or not the original registry occurs in accordance with federally mandated guidelines.

What is included in this registry?

(2) The registry shall consist of all of the following:

(A) The name, address, identification of, place of birth (state or country), complete telephone number, occupation, sex,description, and all legal names and aliases ever used by the owner or person being loaned the particular handgun as listed on the information provided to the department on the Dealers' Record of Sale, the Law Enforcement Firearms Transfer (LEFT), as defined in Section 12084, or reports made to the department pursuant to Section 12078 or any other law.

(B) The name and address of, and other information about, any person (whether a dealer or a private party) from whom the owner acquired or the person being loaned the particular handgun and when the firearm was acquired or loaned as listed on the information provided to the department on the Dealers' Record of Sale, the LEFT, or reports made to the department pursuant to Section 12078 or any other law.

(C) Any waiting period exemption applicable to the transaction which resulted in the owner of or the person being loaned the particular handgun acquiring or being loaned that firearm.

(D) The manufacturer's name if stamped on the firearm, model name or number if stamped on the firearm, and, if applicable, the serial number, other number (if more than one serial number is stamped on the firearm), caliber, type of firearm, if the firearm is new or used, barrel length, and color of the firearm.

This is registration, pure and simple, and it will NEVER go away. If you (whether or not you are a California citizen) loan a firearm to anyone who is a California citizen, both you and the person to whom you loaned the firearm, and the firearm itself, WILL be registered.

And what if an appelate court should decide that the state erred in determination of such necessity?

(3) A violation of this subdivision is a misdemeanor.

This implies a fine on the order of $500 or less, imposed upn the state ... not upon an individual, even if he or she is acting within his or her assigned duties as a state employee.

On the other hand, what are the penalties for a private citizen who is found to possess non-serialized ammunition after June 1, 2007?

SEC. 3. Section 12314 is added to the Penal Code, to read: 12314.

(a) Commencing July 1, 2007, and except as provided in subdivision (g), any person who manufactures, causes to be manufactured, imports into the state for sale or personal use, keeps for sale, offers or exposes for sale, or who gives or lends any handgun ammunition that is not serialized pursuant to this section is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one year or in the state prison.

Here are some of the implications of this law:

I, for example, a California citizen offers (or "exposes for sale", as in a display when the item is not specifically identified as "NOT FOR SALE!") ammunition from the Civil War (not from a muzzle-loader) in a yard-sale, he or she may be incarcerated in a county jail or state prison for one year.

If YOU are at a shooting match, and a friend runs out of ammunition, if you loan your friend a handful of ammunition which is is NOT in a package marked with the serial number of the ammunition involved, you are arguably subject to similar punishment. In fact, even if you provide the ammunition in an appropriately marked package, you may be subject to punishment ... the law is not clear on that point because you are not a registered retailer of ammunition and you may have not have registered as, nor paid the $50 registration fee required of, an 'ammunition retailer'. This may or may not apply even though you do not receive recompensation in ANY form as a result of 'loaning' ammunition.

If you are NOT a California resident, and are attending at match in California; if you use ammunition which you brought with you (and which is therefore not 'serialized' according to California law), you are also subject to punishment consistent with a 'misdemeanor' infraction of the law. This applies whether or not you make this ammunition available to any other person, whether or not that person is a California resident.

On the other hand, if the California State Attorney General keeps your firearms purchase information ("Dealer Sales") whether or not it is related to an 'ongoing investigation', then the STATE (not the individual) is subject to fines appropriate to a 'misdemeanor' (about $500). The individual is not necessarily responsible for this fine; it may be payed by the State, which means it comes out of YOUR taxes.

Please, go to the link which describes the details of the bill. Decide for yourself whether it is economically possible to possess pistol ammunition in California and avoid incarceration, or whether it is possible to understand what is 'right' and 'wrong' under this law.

I'll say it again: this is nothing less than an attempt to impose gun control by making ammunition impossible to attain.

This is a transparent copy of Daniel Patrick Moynihan's attempt in 1999 to impose a 1000% tax on amunition, for similar and obvious reasons.

It has, surprisingly, been improved by the California State Senate. It will pass in the California State Assembly unless every California resident opposes the bill at the State Assembly level.

As nearly as I can tell (too soon after the June 2, 2005, Senate vote which moved the bill to the State Assembly for a State Assembly Bill to have been assigned?) this may have been designated as AB352. You can track the bill using this link.

Here are some links to discussions of this egregious bill:

1911 Forum
Free Republic
S&W Forum
officer.com
packing.com
AR15.com
NRA: CA Legislative Councl (AB352)l
Gun Owners of California
North County (California) Times
KCAL Channel 9 in Los Angeles

(Here are some interesting quotes from KCAL9)

``With a simple magnifying glass (police) can read that identifying number ... and determine who purchased that ammunition,'' said Sen. Joseph Dunn, D-Garden Grove, who is carrying the Senate version. ``This is a tremendous benefit for law enforcement.''

The Senate sent the measure to the Assembly on a 21-14 vote, while the Assembly proposal by Assemblyman Paul Koretz, D-West Hollywood, passed 41-37 despite heavy opposition from gun groups. Both passed by one vote.

Ammunition manufacturers said that Dunn's bill will either force them to abandon the lucrative California market or force them to install unaffordable technology to mark the 8 billion bullets they make each year.

The bill would punish anyone possessing unmarked ammunition outside their home after July 2007, though Dunn said he is working with law enforcement to amend the bill so owners could use older bullets at firing ranges.

"A law abiding citizen has nothing to fear,'' said Sen. Jack Scott, D-Pasadena, comparing the markings to the use of fingerprints or DNA in crime solving.

Dunn's bill would require purchasers to pay up to a halfpenny per bullet to fund record-keeping by the state Department of Justice on every handgun-caliber bullet made or sold in California. Vendors would pay up to $50 a year to register. Rifle ammunition would be exempted, though some calibers are used in both handguns and long guns.

Opponents of Koretz's bill said criminals could file down the guns to remove the microstamping or use revolvers, which don't eject shell casings.

Assemblyman Todd Spitzer, R-Orange, said Koretz' bill would make it easier to frame someone by spreading cartridges around a crime scene that hadn't come from the shooter's gun.

Just so you remember, you Californians: Jack Scott, Joe Dunn, and Assembly sponsor Paul Koretz (D-West Hollywood). Also, remember the opponent Todd Spitzer ... well, he's a Republican named Spitzer; he should be expected to have a more rational perspective, because of his political affiliation and also because of his last name.

This Blog Condemned!

Our friend Barsoom notes that the Cogito Ergo Geek looks really really UGLY when using Internet Explorer (IE) as your browser.

Didn't use to be like that, until BLOGSPOT had a spot of trouble with their hardware last month. Since then, if you try to view this blog with IE, it spreads across two pages ... or more, if your display settings aren't fixed at 1024 x 768 pixels.

Funny about that. If you look at an individual article it shows up just fine.
(*click on the permalink, which is a timestamp at the end of each article on this blog.*)

But if you look at the jerrydgeek.blogspot.com whole-blog URL, IE can't handle it.

I'm working with blogspot.com to resolve this problem, but I have to say that IE is the only browser so far identified that has a problem with it.

If you don't like it, I don't blame you. However, there are things you can do about your browser environment to avoid the problem entirely. (No, I'm not telling you that your browser sucks, even if it does; I'm just saying there are alternatives.)

This blog, and all other websites I've viewed, show up just fine if you're using a Mozilla-based browser.

I would like to recommend Netscape. I've been using it for years, and among its advantages is the ability to open new webpages in a new 'tab', instead of a new window.

If you're interested, Netscape version 8.0 can be downloaded for free here. Or, you can spend less than ten bucks and they will send you the CD for version 8.0, which has just been released. (I pre-ordered the CD-only for $6.95 last month.)

In the movie "U.S. Marshalls", Tommy Lee Jones told Robert Downey Jr.

Get yourself a Glock, and get rid of that nickel-plated sissy-pistol. Put that back in your suit and don't take it out unless I tell you to.

I would never give that advice about pistols, but let me say this about browsers:

Get yourself a Netscape browser, and get rid of the nickel-plated sissy-browser. Put that back in your suit and don't take it out unless I tell you to.

I won't be telling you to use Microsoft products when there is a better software product available. And there is usually a better software product available.

But don't get me started.

Evil Amerika

Do you have the stomach for one more disgusting article?

Neither do I. But I find 'em, I share 'em with you.

This one from (surprise!) The Moscow Times. It's an 'opinion' article:


CONTEXT - This Week in Arts and Ideas from The Moscow Times

("Arts and Ideas"? Give me a break!)

The author's name is cited as "Chris Floyd", and you wonder what someone with such an anglicized name is doing writing to the Moscow Times. Well, it ain't Glasnost!

Seymour Hersh, chronicler of madness from the My Lai massacre to Abu Ghraib, tells a chilling story of the lingering aftermath of atrocity.

As the revelations of brutal torture by the victors were first spilling from conquered Iraq, Hersh was contacted by a family member of a young U.S. woman who had served in a unit policing Abu Ghraib, the Guardian reports. The young soldier had "come back a different person," the relative said: distraught and angry, turning her back on her family.

The relative retrieved a computer she'd lent the soldier to use in Iraq -- and found there a file crammed with torture porn: photo after photo of a naked Iraqi prisoner writhing before the onslaught of fierce police dogs. One of the pictures was later published and became an emblem of the dehumanizing brutality of the U.S. occupation.

The young soldier thought she'd been sent to fight for democracy and freedom, the relative told Hersh, but it was a lie. Instead she found herself in Hell, committing crimes, violating her own nature, her sense of duty perverted by leaders who twisted it into a weapon to serve aggressive war. Since her return, said the relative, the young soldier keeps getting black tattoos, more and more of them, slowly covering her entire body -- literally trying to change her skin.

The fate of this soul-broken, tormented daughter of America embodies the nation itself under the malevolent reign of President George W. Bush. The whole country is changing its skin, trying to cloak its complicity and shame with a wilful disfigurement. Who could look on the hideous form of Bush's America -- the snarling faces belching rancor on Fox News; the rabid partisans oozing bile through the halls of Congress; the money-glutting religious extremists relentlessly pushing ignorance, intolerance and theocratic dominion; the corporate beasts devouring the landscape, destroying communities, writing their own laws, gorging on unprecedented profits wrung from global sweatshops, corruption and war; the somnolent, silent, acquiescent public, blankly countenancing torture, deceit, military aggression and the destruction of their constitutional order -- and not see in all this a body politic in profound psychological crisis: traumatized, guilt-ridden, turning itself inside out in a frantic attempt to escape the truth?


And this desperation only grows as the truth piles up, fragment by fragment, dug out from Bush's slagheap of lies. In the past month, there has been a barrage of "smoking guns" outlining the Regime's criminality in such stark and blatant terms that even the U.S. corporate media -- those cringing enablers of atrocity -- have been forced to take some notice.

Take a break, Pal.
In 1970, I came back from Vietnam "distraught and angry" and found myself turning my back on my family.

But it wasn't because I had been leading naked VietCong around on a leash; it was because I had seen too many friends killed by the VietCong. It took me a while to regain my perspective, and to realize that my grief was alienating me from civilized society. It's a thing that happens, and stable people learn to (a) not sucumb to savagery in the midst of war, and (b) not assume that everyone is your enemy.

The young woman in question apparently didn't have sufficient moral guidance to make the simple step from the Senior Prom to (a). That, or the entire article is based on lies. Either is possible.

I find it interesting that no names, no second sources, are cited. I'm inclined to believe that the author is engaging in a flight of America-hating fantasy.

"The fate of this soul-broken, tormented daughter of America embodies the nation itself under the malevolent reign of President George W. Bush."

Was this written by Teddy Kennedy? This guy has a real boner for Bush and America, doesn't he?

... the hideous form of Bush's America ...

This guy is from out-of-town. He may or may not be a charter subscriber to "Le Figaro" (the French magazine which is too arrogant to provide an english edition on the internet), but he is surely getting his information from some America-hating source.

Well, even the French can't be all bad. They rejected the EU constitution, didn't they?

Okay, I'm about burned out on this puppy. You can go read the whole thing by clicking on the link at the top of the page, but here's the last gasp from the guy who apparently did what Alex Baldwin didn't have the guts to do ... move to a country which really appreciated him:

We have reported here in great detail on the voluminous evidence establishing that the endemic, systematic torture in Bush's gulag was instigated by the White House, sanctioned by Bush's appointed "legal experts" who ruled that as commander in chief, he is not constrained by laws against torture -- or, indeed, by any law whatsoever. Equally copious evidence establishes that Rumsfeld and selected Pentagon officials eagerly implemented the torture regimen -- then systematically worked to block or limit investigations once the truth began leaking out. For example, one of the low-ranking "bad apples" finally convicted in the Afghan murders -- after extended Pentagon cover-ups -- was sentenced to just three months in jail by a military court this week, The Associated Press reports. Three months for helping beat a chained, helpless man to death.

Oh, wait. One more thing. The webpage (disengenuously) invites you to write to them if you are 'startled' by the contents:

To Our Readers

Has something you've read here startled you? Are you angry, excited, puzzled or pleased? Do you have ideas to improve our coverage?
Then please write to us.
All we ask is that you include your full name, the name of the city from which you are writing and a contact telephone number in case we need to get in touch.
We look forward to hearing from you.

Yeah, right. Like I'm going to give you my name, address and phone number, Ivan.
Sheesh!

Danegeld, by Rudyard Kipling - A.D. 980-1016

It's Kipling Night!

This time, I'm not typing the whole poem because I've found someone else who has done the 'data entry' thingie for me.


Danegeld, by Rudyard Kipling - A.D. 980-1016

IT IS always a temptation to an armed and agile nation,
To call upon a neighbour and to say:
"We invaded you last night - we are quite prepared to fight,
Unless you pay us cash to go away."

And that is called asking for Dane-geld,
And the people who ask it explain
That you’ve only to pay ’em the Dane-geld
And then you’ll get rid of the Dane!

It is always a temptation to a rich and lazy nation,
To puff and look important and to say:
"Though we know we should defeat you, we have not the time to meet you.
We will therefore pay you cash to go away."

And that is called paying the Dane-geld;
But we’ve proved it again and again,
That if once you have paid him the Dane-geld
You never get rid of the Dane.

It is wrong to put temptation in the path of any nation,
For fear they should succumb and go astray,
So when you are requested to pay up or be molested,
You will find it better policy to say:

"We never pay any one Dane-geld,
No matter how trifling the cost,
For the end of that game is oppression and shame,
And the nation that plays it is lost!"

It's easy to apply this lesson to RealPolitiks in today's world. Think of the Iraqi war, the War on Terrorism, and you will know that the question is not one which was ultimately resolved in the past millenium ... or the one before that. It's a problem which will haunt us forever: Whether it is better to pay the Danegeld, and learn to live with the Danes; or to fight the 'Danes' at every opportunity.

The 'Danes' are those vandals who predate innocents. One thousand years ago it was the Danes (the Vikings, coastal raiders, whomever). We in America dealt with the Barbary Pirates in the Mediterranean two centurys ago, because we then refused to pay them tribute ... DaneGeld.

But there's a much more recent example of the problem with paying DaneGeld. It is the slaying of innocents in Isreal. Can the Israelis ... can we ... afford to buy off terrorists by giving in to their demands for territory?

Here are two victims of terrorism. Let's give the victim a face, and put a name to the act.



Daniel Pipes supports the concept that there is no reasonable alternative to fighting the Danes. Or, as our modern world names it, Jihad.

"... if once you have paid him the Dane-geld
You never get rid of the Dane."

Guests From Hell!

WFTV.com - News - Man Lights His Own Home On Fire To Make Guests Leave

Didja ever have days like this?

GENEVA, Ill. -- Some people will do just about anything to get unwanted house guests to leave. But police say Dean Craig went too far.

Craig, 46, was charged with felony arson after allegedly splashing rubbing alcohol on the floor of his home and igniting it with a lighter early Sunday, the Kane County Sheriff's office said.

Nobody was injured. Police say Craig had asked two unwanted visitors to leave, but they refused. Then he allegedly carried out a threat to light the house on fire.

Craig was being held on $25,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on June 9.

I'll bet my friend Randomly Hitten' felt like this when we stretched his BBQ out for seven hours last weekend.

The BBQ, and the Irish Dance Troupe

One of our IPSC group of Olde Fogies (known locally as "The Usual Suspects") who typically squad together at matches has been pursuing 'other interests' for the past several months, and consequently we have missed his company at matches.

Accordingly, Randomly Hittin' Witten decided to host a BBQ at his home on Sunday, May 29. He chose this day, I presume, because it fell during a 3-day weekend. It was only a coincidence of timing the the weekend was Memorial Day Weekend, and a further coincidence that most couples included at least one veteran. Still, we were glad to spend the day in the company of friends with similar backgrounds and experiences, and values, which may partially explain why we were originally drawn to each other and established fast friendships. Weekend BBQ gatherings are not unusual for this group, and over the years we have also discovered a common appreciation for the finest things in life ... not the least is a liking of Jamisons Irish Whiskey, since Randomly Hittin' and "The O'shea" share an Irish Heritage, and I pride my self on being one-quarter on my father's side.

(My paternal grandmother was born a Dildine, and while I have no idea what was the County of her origin, there's enough Irish here to appreciate all things Irish. Especially the whiskey, and especially while I can be assured that I'm not the only participant who will arrive at any BBQ with a green bottle in hand.)

In celebration of the partial Celtic origins of our group, Randomly arranged some entertainment. One of his neighbors was a member of an Irish Dance Troupe, and he asked if she could schedule a performance at the BBQ. Mary, a charming leprechaun of many years experience, was happy to oblige. The BBQ started at noon ... I was a half hour late.

The Irish Dance Troupe was scheduled for 2pm, after the end of the meal. They were a half hour late. The only reasonable conclusion to tardiness is that it is an Irish national trait. It's not my fault I'm always late. I find some comfort in that cultural abrogation of my inherently bad sense of time, and the fact that The O'Shea showed up on time fails to disuade me from my comfortable conclusion.

There were four members of the troup in attendance. There are about 20 members of the troupe, but everyone else had other things to do (including one selfish individual who reportedly was getting married and chose this weekend to go back to The Olde Sod to meet the family of his prospective wive.) However, they had a fifth person with them; "Bob" was from Dublin, and while we had no idea how he had come to join the troupe for this event, we were glad to see him.
Bob brought his wife. A married couple in the troupe brought their son Patric (all of the regular troupe members were wearing emerald green kilts), Mary brought two of her grand-daughters, and there were a couple of other people who were not clearly identified. No matter, we were glad to have them, plenty of food available but we only had two bottles of Jamisons, which we hid. You can't be too careful with fine whiskey around the Irish.



Oh, and one of them brought their dog ... a bob-tailed German Shepherd named Mariah. More on Mariah in a minute.

The troupe brought a Karaoke machine, and they set it up on the back porch. The porch would be their stage, and we the audience were arrayed around the porch were we could relax comfortably in our patio chairs while they performed.

Unfortunately, there were no chairs available for the troupe members while various of them performed, so they generally sat on the low brick retaining wall ... next to the fish pond.

One of the first acts was Bob from Dublin quoting a very sad poem by the great Irish poet, Keats. In the middle of the act, Mariah chased a ball into the fish pond. Mariah is a water dog, we learned, and she very much enjoyed thrashing around the pond. We watched while the idle troupe members solemnly sponged water and duck-weed off the emerald green kilt of the lone costumed regular member of the troupe and Bob from Dublin continued his morose poetry. Hearing a choking sound beside me, I turned to see Randomly cramming his hand into his mouth, up to the wrist, in a solemn and respectful effort to resist the nearly overwhelming impulse to laugh. Bravo to Randomly for his appreciation for the solemnity of the moment.

The troupe demonstrated Jigs, Reels, and various other dance routines. Unfortunately, there were only the four regular (costumed) troupe members, and Bob from Dublin, so they were forced to draft on-hand family members to fill out the tradition six-person routines. Usually, they called upon one of Mary's grand-daughters who was invariably cast as 'a man'. I understand that there are to be 3 women and 3 men in the dances, and she graciously accepted the role of 'a man'. There was some discussion of who was 'a man' and who was 'a woman'. Bob from Dublin asserted that he was pretty sure he was a man, and as nobody present was willing to challenge the assertion, he danced in that role during the entire performance.

Someone suggested that Mary sing. Mary's granddaughter objected vociferously, stating that "I've heard her sing since I was this big, and believe me you do NOT want to hear Grandmother sing!" Later, Mary presented a short explanation about why she wasn't allowed to sing. When she was in High School, she was in Choir. During one recital, her teacher approached her and said "Mary, if you'll just mouth the words without singing, I'll give you a 'C' for the year. Mary responded: "A 'C'? No deal. You'll give me an 'A' for the year, or I'm singin'!"

Lydia, the high-stepper of the group (and who apparently was an instructor of Irish dancing) played a piece on the tin whistle. I had never seen an actual 'tin whistle', and I was surprised at the range which she was able to find in the one-and-a-half octaves available.



Taking requests, the troupe attempted to sing "Danny Boy". They couldn't remember the words, so after a minute they quit. Too bad; I thought they were doing just fine. I don't remember the words either, but if they had continued I was going to request "Who Threw The Overalls In Mrs Murphy's Chowder", some of the words to which I DO know (if not the tune). I bet they knew the words too, but were too dignified to suggest it themselves.



As the last act of the performance, the troupe declared that they were going to teach the audience an Irish circle dance. Being the designated photographer (designated by myself), I remained behind. I have 2:44 minutes of film depicting my friends dancing an Irish Reel. It is for sale to the highest bidder, which I assume will be one of the friends I photographed.



The performance ended far too soon.

We still had some Jamison's left.