I want my kids to grow up in a society that is more free than the one in which I grew up.

Anyone agree, or do you believe we are still not restricted enough?

Today we have this:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.billofrights.html

This:
http://arepublic.blogspot.com/2007/02/hr-1022.html

This:
http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW_by_State.shtml

This:
http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/faq/oaths.htm

And this:
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/crim/242fin.htm

...all at the same time.  One may connect the dots in any order.

Peter showed these to me on his camera a few seconds after I pulled the trigger that initiated the explosion. All the other pictures I have seen missed a lot of the fireball because the fireball left the top of the frame so quickly. Peter captured it with this sequence. Probably 20 seconds prior Peter asked if we were too close. In response I asked, "You are wearing sunscreen, right?" As I knew from experience four gallons of gas being burned in the space of a couple seconds it was going to be very warm for the observers.

Here is my favorite of the sequence:

For scale notice the sticks, some of them on fire, some falling from the sky and others attempting to achieve orbit. Those are all 18 inches long.

That was a fireball. Not some wimpy fire spread around on the grass like some years. This was a true fireball. As Ben said, "The morning fireball was amazing. A-MAZE-ING." Thanks Ry.

Thanks to Peter for sharing.

Thanks to David at Random Nuclear Strikes for finding Peter's pictures.

I hadn't fired (or cleaned) my pistol since last November. I did both on Sunday. I came in fifth out of twenty people. My only complaint is that I showed Adam what I thought was the best way to shoot "Secret Agent Double-Oh-Spud". Then he was the only person to beat me on that stage.

I'll work to make the event so painful and expensive that nobody returns... I've already put out enough ideas about how to make a 1000 yard shoot hard; we'll see how moderate they are when Joe rejects all of them.

Remember, Joe wanted a berm to shoot from, I wanted a trench full of mud. spectators would get paintball guns to distract the shooters. Joe's no fun!

Ry Jones
May 9, 2007
You love me! You really love me!
[He forgot to mention that after Boomershoot 2006 he also suggested the entry fee be raised to $4000. And don't forget that at Boomershoot 2007 it was his creation of the fireball target that resulted in flaming sticks falling from the sky. I love Ry's ideas. I just don't always implement them as originally proposed.--Joe]

If every person has the right to defend--even by force--his person, his liberty, and his property, then it follows that a group of men have the right to organize and support a common force to protect these rights constantly. Thus the principle of collective right — its reason for existing, its lawfulness — is based on individual right. And the common force that protects this collective right cannot logically have any other purpose or any other mission than that for which it acts as a substitute. Thus, since an individual cannot lawfully use force against the person, liberty, or property of another individual, then the common force — for the same reason — cannot lawfully be used to destroy the person, liberty, or property of individuals or groups.

Frédéric Bastiat
The Law -- What is Law?
1850

As Ry mentioned he pitched an idea to me today. For Boomershoot 2008 he suggested two things:

1. We dispose of the farce known as "cleanup" where people shoot the "leftover" targets from 25 yards away. In actuality I hold back 150 to 200 targets just so people get a chance to do that. Instead we do that in a more formal manner on a different day and give people more targets especially for that.
2. We do a 1000 yard event for the few, the arrogant, those that say the existing Boomershoot is too easy. Utilizing the existing targets, four and seven inches square boxes, we separate the "men from the boys" by separating the targets from the shooters by 1000 yards. We do this on a different day and perhaps a different location. It could be called 1000 yard Monday or some such thing.

I'm interested. It could work. And as Ry pointed out, it's in keeping with my original intent for Boomershoot. I need to find 1000 yards that can handle five or ten shooters. And I need to confirm my potential new supplier of ammonium nitrate. We'll be making and using more HE.

Jason has posted some of the best Boomershoot 2007 video I have seen so far. In the opening fireball "ceremony" notice the flaming sticks falling from the sky. Ummm... that wasn't what we planned. As software developers we should have known better than to ship product that Test hadn't even tried to install. It was sort of, "It compiles, it links, let's ship it."

For the people in government, rather than the people who pester it, Washington is an early-rising, hard-working city. It is a popular delusion that the government wastes vast amounts of money through inefficiency and sloth. Enormous effort and elaborate planning are required to waste this much money.

P. J. O'Rourke
Parliament of Whores
[Adhering to the enumerated powers granted the government would resolve this problem. But of course most people really don't want this problem solved. They keep telling each other that if just given enough money and power government can solve nearly any problem. Of course most people teach their kids there really is a Santa Claus, an Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy too.--Joe]

Xenia is polling people about their sex education. If you have a Live Journal account you can participate. Even if you don't you can still view most of the results.

BUUURRRRRP!

Bet you've never seen a fairy do that.

Xenia Huffman-Scott
May 5, 2007
[She's 18. It's too late to teach her manners now.--Joe]

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.

Abraham Lincoln
[This is why we have a constitution that enumerates the powers of government. Because power is so tempting to abuse.--Joe]

Excluding my blog, here are all the blog reports I have been able to find about Boomershoot 2007. They are in chronological order starting a few days before the actual event:

• BAG Day purchases and Range Report April 16, 2007 via Phil at Random Nuclear Strikes.
• Boomershoot Prep, Continued April 22, 2007 via David at Random Nuclear Strikes.
• RNS Quote of the Day: 04/23/07 April 23, 2007 via Phil at Random Nuclear Strikes.
• I'll have to go one of these years April 26, 2007 via SayUncle at SayUncle.
• RNS Quote of the Day: 04/26/07 April 26, 2007 via Phil at Random Nuclear Strikes.
• Boomershoot! April 27, 2007 via Jeff Soyer at Alphecca.
• Boomershoot Weekend April 28, 2007 via Fodder at Ride Fast & Shoot Straight.
• I heart explosives April 29, 2007 via Ben at Periodic Journal of my wanderings.
• Boomershoot 2007 wrapup April 30, 2007 via Ry at Outrageous Malfunction.
• Opening fireball May 1, 2007 via Ry at Outrageous Malfunction.
• Weeee'rrre Back! May 1, 2007 via Phil at Random Nuclear Strikes
• .30 Carbine Order May 1, 2007 via Benjamin at Reasonablenut.
• Boomershoot 2007 May 1, 2007 via Ben at Periodic Journal of my wanderings.
• Anvil altitude May 2, 2007 via Ry at Outrageous Malfunction.
• It's Almost Too Much Fun May 2, 2007 via Phil at Random Nuclear Strikes.
• RNS Quote of the Day: 05/02/2007 May 2, 2007 via Phil at Random Nuclear Strikes.
• Boomershoot Videos May 3, 2007 via Mr. Completely at Mr. Completely.
• Boomershoot Equipment AAR (At least most of it) May 3, 2007 via Phil at Random Nuclear Strikes. Includes video of the opening fireball and the anvil launch.
• Boomershoot 2007 May 3, 2007 via Ben at Periodic Journal of my wanderings. Good chronology of the event and some great pictures if you follow the link.
• Boomershoot 2007 May 4, 2007 via Ben at Periodic Journal of my wanderings. Includes some movies made from his still camera on full auto.
• More big booms May 4, 2007 via SayUncle at SayUncle.
• Boomershoot AAR (The rest of it) May 4, 2007 via Phil at Random Nuclear Strikes. I love the clean up video!
• Boomershoot 2007 May 4, 2007 via Xenia at A Celebration of Contemplation. Complete with video of her and others working and goofing off at the event.

The morning fireball was amazing. A-MAZE-ING.

Benjamin Kaufman
Boomershoot 2007
See also these posts by Ben about Boomershoot 2007:
http://leroy-brown242.livejournal.com/209809.html
http://leroy-brown242.livejournal.com/207943.html
http://leroy-brown242.livejournal.com/207746.html
[And yes, the morning fireball was really, really good.--Joe]

From a Second Amendment Foundation news release:

The bill, S. 1237, was introduced last week at the Justice Department’s request by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), one of the most extreme anti-gunners in Congress. Called the “Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act of 2007,” this legislation would give the Attorney General discretionary authority to deny the purchase of a firearm or the issuance of a firearm license or permit because of some vague suspicion that an American citizen may be up to no good.

“This bill,” said SAF founder Alan Gottlieb, “raises serious concerns about how someone becomes a ‘suspected terrorist.’ Nobody has explained how one gets their name on such a list, and worse, nobody knows how to get one’s name off such a list.

“The process by which someone may appeal the Attorney General’s arbitrary denial seems weak at best,” Gottlieb suggested, “and there is a greater concern. When did we decide as a nation that it is a good idea to give a cabinet member the power to deny someone’s constitutional right simply on suspicion, without a trial or anything approaching due process?

It's not surprising of course. The infamous Lautenberg Amendment is notable in part because of it's lack of due process as well.

It makes me laugh to see hypocrisy exposed:

Marriage controllers assert that “society has a right” to control marriage, that “democracy” justifies infringing Individuals’ rights for the supposed good of the people.   They frantically purport that society is imperiled without marriage control.   Yet the Constitution’s Ninth and Tenth Amendments say that, unless any authority is specifically delegated to the federal government in the Constitution itself, the right is always reserved to the States or to “the People” (codified or not).   Marriage is – appropriately – nowhere in the Constitution.   Thereby, government is banned from marriage.   Moreover, both federal and state governments are additionally prohibited by the First Amendment (freedoms of assembly, religion, and speech).   Yet marriage controllers cry, “Let the People choose” the re-definition of marriage through majoritiarian collectivism.   Hence, their re-definition of “the People” means a constitutional absurdity that the government – not the Individuals - has the supposed right to determine marriage.    

But there is no such thing as “society’s rights” – a collectivist idea premised in Marxism.   America is not a “democracy.”   And constitutionally, “the People” only means the Individuals.   America is a Constitutional Republic of limited government to protect Individuals’ rights.   The founding principle is that Individuals are endowed by their Creator with inalienable God-given rights.   Accordingly, Individual Rights are neither “granted” nor overturnable by government – precisely because they are God-given. 

Gun control infringes the God-given right of the Individuals.   The issue is not about the guns, hunting, or sports.   It is about the Individuals’ God-given right to protect themselves – from psychotic murderers to even a tyrannical government gone amok (as was necessary in America’s Revolutionary War for Independence).    

Marriage control equally infringes the God-given right of the Individuals.   Marriage pre-dates the invention of government.   Ironically, marriage controllers cite Adam and Eve from the Biblical book of Genesis.   Yet that very story never involved government.   In fact, no one in the Bible was ever married “by government.”   Plus, the author of that Genesis story married two wives himself.   Yes, polygamy - Moses was a polygamist.   Therefore, even the Adam and Eve account proves that marriage is an inalienable God-given right of the Individuals.   This is true even if the godless choose it or otherwise personally invent foolish re-definitions for their own imaginations.

Gun controllers believe that “society has a right” as a “democracy” to protect “the (collective) People” from the supposed dangers of law-abiding citizens choosing responsible firearm ownership.   And marriage controllers believe that “society has a right” as a “democracy” to protect “the (collective) People” from the supposed dangers of law-abiding citizens choosing real or imaginary marriage. 
 
In both debates, it comes down to big government control versus Individual Rights. 

Because gun controllers argue Individuals Rights during the marriage control debates, and because marriage controllers argue Individual Rights during the gun control debates, the solution is to mutually embrace the Constitutionalism of Individual Rights.  

Constitutionalists have always known this answer.   But will gun controllers and marriage controllers honor the Virginia Tech victims and now apply this solution together? 

From the Times Online (UK):

The Islamic State of Iraq was declared last autumn by a coalition of al-Qaeda-linked and hardcore Sunni insurgent groups. It is focused on Diyala province to the northeast of Baghdad, although it lays claim to six other governorates including Baghdad.

The aim of the “state” is to recreate a Sunni land in the image of Arabia at the time of the Prophet Muhammad, turning back the clock in a way that the Taleban tried to do in Afghanistan.

The puritanical movement enforces a rigorous version of Salafist Islam, banning men from shaving their beards, having short hair like American soldiers or even smoking. Men caught repeatedly smoking have their index fingers rammed into metal pipes and then snapped, while cigarette shops have been torched.

The rules have often been taken to absurd extremes. Greengrocers in the Caliphate told The Times they had been ordered not to sell bananas in public because they were deemed obscene, while for similar reasons cucumbers could not be sold next to tomatoes, which are deemed to represent femininity.

At the most extreme level, shepherds have even been ordered to cover the nether regions of their goats to avoid offending strict Salafist sensibilities. A doctor from Baquba who recently spoke to The Times said he always written off such absurd tales as rumours. But driving in a shared taxi through a village near the provincial capital of Diyala he saw a goat wearing boxer shorts and started laughing.

“The other passengers told me to shut up, or it could cost me my life,” he said.

Edicts have also been issued banning the use of ice, as the Prophet would not have had access to chilled water. While seemingly ridiculous, the rules are often enforced by brutal extremists who fail to see the absurd side of their regime.

So where in the U.S. media do we find these reports? Don't let anyone tell you that the American "Religious Right" is "just as a bad" as the Islamic extremists. And it's the leftists in this country that want to use force to stop people from smoking in this country.

The NRA should be banned as a terrorist organization. They have contributed to more deaths in the United States than any other terrorist group.

Charlie
Your Thoughts on How to Stop the Gun Lobby
Freedom State Alliance
[How ironic. The "Freedom State Alliance" endorsing the suppression of free speech, free association, and other freedoms. They have mental problems.--Joe]

In some ways the camera motion in this picture adds to the realism of the event:

There were 50 to 75 people shooting at 150 or so high explosive targets from 25 yards away. The rapid detonations at such close range gave my chest a real pounding.

It was all over within a minute or two. But then there was the fire...

Notice the burning flare just right of center in the picture above? That was one of four used to ignite the gasoline from the fireball targets.

The fire required two fire extinguishers and several gallons of water to extinguish. Even though there was no smoke or detectable hot spots two hours later I wasn't satisfied and persuaded my brother Doug to bring out the water truck and we put another 100 to 200 gallons of water on the stump and ashes. We turned the area into a muddy, ugly, soup.

Boomershoot 2007 cleanup--It was work for me but it was fun for others.

All photos are from Xenia Joy.

So however much some people might yearn for gun control, it seems unlikely that it would have prevented Cho from achieving his ends. He had substitutes available, he had more than one means available to achieve his ends, and he plotted long enough to hit upon other means — especially since those other means are described in detail on TV, in the newspapers, and on the internet every day.

Scott A. Kjar
May 2, 2007
Why Economists Tend to Oppose Gun Control Laws
[With the doors chained shut even a crude sword would have been a sufficient substitute against the victims disarmed by the bigoted politicians. And as others (Was it Ry? Or was it son James?) have pointed out, "You don't have to reload your edged weapon." A few gallons of gasoline and a book of matches would have been rather effective in that environment as well.--Joe]

I got lots of praise for Boomershoot 2007. The emails are still coming in. I also received lots of compliments received during the event. Even daughter Xenia had people come up to her and thank her for putting on the event.

It went really well. I had some great help. Scott arrived on Thursday before I did and stayed almost as long as I did on Sunday night. Tim, Ben, Sean, Rolf, Jason, Ry, Xenia, Kim, Caleb, and John also put in lots of hours to make the event great. My brothers and my parents both contributed to making the event a success too. Then there were the groupies that helped--Barb and Jennifer. They want jackets with the dates of all the events they attended.

Kim and Caleb made nearly all of the 1300 to 1400 pounds of Boomerite we used. And it was done in record time. This was in part because of what great workers they are but also because Kim came up with a great innovation in the manufacturing process. I thought I had it all optimized and was feeling pretty clever when I showed Kim how to prepare the Potassium Chlorate. About 15 minutes later she said, "Hey Dad! Watch this." Wow! I'm sure she doubled production with that little twist on things.

The fireball target that Ry built was wonderful. I just love the way that ball of fire rises up into the sky with clear air underneath it.

Gene and his crew put on the Precision Rifle Clinic and several people came up to me and told me how much they learned from taking the class and what a great value it was. One guy drove up from Arizona--mostly for the class which would have cost more to take closer to home. Which is kind of ironic because one of the instructors also drove from Arizona.

We did have a fire get a little out of control at the end of the day. No harm done. It burned an old stump and some dead branches that needed to be cleaned up anyway. We used up two fire extinguishers to put it out. Then used several gallons of water to quench the hot coals. I wasn't entirely comfortable with the end result even though I couldn't find any hot spots or smell smoke a couple hours later. I convinced my brother Doug to bring over the water truck and we put another 100 to 200 gallons of water on the burned area and turned the ashes, sticks, and dirt into a thin ugly soup.

About 900 targets were consumed in the three days. Over 700 of those were on Sunday.

And it is my claim I had the best shooting record of anyone there. I fired four shots, connecting with four boomers, using an AR-15 carbine with Wolf ammo, iron sights, and from a kneeling position.

Of course all my boomers were less than 25 yards away. Most everyone else had to shoot the majority of theirs from at least 375 yards away.

I expect I'll open up entry for Boomershoot 2008 by the end of the month. Prices will remain the same as 2007. The date will be a weekend near the end of April or the first of May. Expect it to fill up sometime in June or July of 2007.

Heavy sigh. Barb cried watching it. I felt my eyes getting moist.

Xenia's senior prom video.

I had two old computer hard drives that needed to be disposed of and James had another. I had deleted everything on mine then overwrote the free space with random data and wasn't too concerned about someone getting their hands on it. But James hard drive failed in a strange manner. He could read from it just fine but couldn't write to it. He transfered all the data to his new drive but couldn't delete the data off of the old drive. "Dad", he said, "I think this is something for you to take care of. Boomershoot is next weekend, right?"

The two cardboard boxes on the sides each contain about two pounds of Boomerite (a impact sensitive high explosive manufactured by FlashTek). The cardboard box on the top contains another pound of Boomerite. We call this stress testing.

Here I am about to initiate the stress test with a shot to the top cardboard box.

The stress test is completed in microseconds.

This is where the hard disks used to be. That is my size 14 boot for comparison purposes.

Although there are lots of smaller pieces in the crater this is the majority of the mass we were able to recover from the three hard disks.

Les Baer Custom is Illinois' garbage. Assault weapons manufacturers in Illinois are getting kicked to the curb. And for good reason.

Leah Woodward
April 30, 2007
Executive director of Iowans for the Prevention of Gun Violence
LeClaire council holds off vote on Les Baer Custom Inc.
[Bigots. Imagine the uproar if it were blacks or gays moving out of a place where the laws were hostile to them and at the proposed destination people called them garbage.--Joe]