The View From North Central Idaho

I'm spending New Years Eve reading Gun Control On Trial by Brian Doherty. I previously mentioned a direct reference to me in the book from a quick scan I made. A few minutes ago I found another reference on page 53 which almost for certain is about me (and others) and Boomershoot:

I talked to lots of people in the "pro-gun" community, from those who enjoy detonating explosives with semiautomatic rife fire to dealers in highly regulated states like California.

I find it interesting that I am placed on the extreme end of the spectrum. I suppose it is fitting. And it reminds me of two quotes:

Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice.

Thomas Paine

And:

I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.

Barry Goldwater

Update (23:15): I finished the book a few minutes ago. I found my name in the index too.

Also of possible interest to some is that my friend and Boomershoot promoter Stephanie Sailor was mentioned in the acknowledgments. It was via her encouragement that Doherty contacted me.

I'll have more on the book tomorrow. And I have a great quote for the first day of the new year from the book.

If you wants to get elected president, you'se got to think up some memoraboble homily so's school kids can be pestered into memorizin' it, even if they don't know what it means.

Walt Kelly
The Pogo Party
[Apparently, with todays public education, the memorization task has been simplified to remembering just two words; "hope" and "change".--Joe]

I've posted some of Howard's letters in the past.  He's a journalist living in Israel, a lawyer, an IDF sniper trainer and counterterrorism specialist.  Here's a list of his communications from the last several days.  I'll preface them by pointing out that the Kassam rockets, mortars and etc., have been fired into Israel from the Gaza strip ever since it was ceded to the Palestinians, "ceasefire" or no "ceasefire".  This makes the news only when the Israelis get around to shooting back.

Dec. 17, 2008

Friends:
 
What isn't reported are the Kassams that continue to rain on my daughter's college down south despite the fake cease-fire about to end (sorry, very sorry not a joke) in 48 hours.
 
Howard

===========================

Dec. 21, 2008

Friends:
 
We are in the Christmas and New Year's home stretch.  Hanukah starts tonight.
 
My friends in local ERT units have been ordered to turn there IDF issued M16s back to the IDF.  They were given something like 72 hour notice.  The Israeli government only arms Fatah and allows Hamas and Hezbollah to arm themselves unhindered.
 
Have a good week.
 
Howard

===========================

Dec. 22, 2008

Friends:
 
Here is the latest.  So far still no significant effort to stop the rain of rockets!
 
\\\\\\\Howard

===========================

Dec. 24, 2008

Friends:
 
Traffic around the Old City and in the direction of Bethlehem was already clogged at 13:30 despite the cold, raw weather.
 
Down south the Gaza terrorists are setting a new record for the number of Kassam, Grad and mortar bombs being fired into Israel.  The reach of the rockets get farther and farther.  Only heaven knows if the Israeli government will act to stop the attacks.
 
Have a Merry Holiday.
 
Howard

===========================

Dec. 25, 2008

Season's Greetings

=========================

Dec. 27, 2008

It has started.
 
Howard
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Saturday, December 27, 2008 12:23 PM

Subject: CORRECTION: IDF SPOX ANN: IDF Targets Hamas Government Terroris Infrastructure In The Gaza Strip 

Dec 26^th, 2008

IDF SPOKESPERSON ANNOUNCEMENT

Israeli Air Force aircraft, attacked a short while ago, a series of Hamas targets and infrastructure facilities, in the Gaza Strip. All Israeli pilots returned safely to their bases. The IDF will continue its operations against terror in accordance with constant state assessments held be the IDF Chief of General Staff. This operation will be continued, expanded and intensified as much as will be required.

The Air Force activity came as a result of the continuation of terror activity by Hamas terror organization from the Gaza Strip, and the duration of rocket launching and targeting Israeli civilians.

The targets that were attacked were located by intelligence gathered during the last months and include Hamas terror operatives that operated from the organization's headquarters, training camps and weaponry storage warehouses.

The Hamas government leaders and operatives, which activate terror from within civilian population centers, are the sole bearers of responsibility for Israel's military response. This response is crucial for preserving Israel's security interests.

The IDF Spokesperson wishes to emphasize that anyone sponsoring terror, hosting terror in his house, housing terror in his basement and sending his wives and children to serve as human shields- is considered a terrorist.

The IDF will continue its activity against terror activities according to operational assessments held by the Chief of the General Staff.

The IDF is ready to widen and deepen its activity against all terror organizations in the Gaza Strip, as long as it is necessary.

In addition, the Homefront Command and emergency authorities, took all necessary measures for preparing the civilian population.

=========================

Dec. 29, 2008

Friends:
 
Israel only hit the terrorists after they fired 60 rockets into Israel proper in one day.  No one, the UN included said a word. 
 
Thousands of calls are placed to the cellular telephone of the civilians in the area of an impending strike before it takes place telling then to get out of harm's way!!!
 
So far today (16:10) approximately 35 rockets have been fired into Israel.
 
Howard

==========================

Dec. 30, 2008

Friends:
 
Israel already has its back to the wall being attacked in the media worldwide.  Hamas is never mentioned.
The phone calls I told you about, being placed to civilians to get out of harm's way, was reported on Israel radio network "B" at 06:00 today as having reached 90,000.  I called the IDF Spokesman's Office and asked for confirmation of the report.  Rather than answering my question I was challenged as to who I was and for who I reported.  Send an Email I was told.  That was 6 hours ago.  So far no response.  And they can't figure out how  winning the fighting on the ground doesn't result in winning the war.
 
Howard

==========================

Dec. 31, 2008

Friends:
 
Not reported is today's Israeli Supreme Court decision in favor of the Foreign Press Association permitting reporters access to Gaza.  It was forbidden since Nov. 24th. 
 
"What are you hiding," was on the lips of those whose written and broadcast words and images[.  They] lose Israel its war despite victory on the battlefield.  How to make friends and influence people. 
 
Howard

==========================

I find the whole thing surreal.  I recently heard U.S. reporters haranguing one of Bush's people in Crawford, demanding to know when Israel was going to stop the violence.  No matter how many times he told them that it depended on Hamas stopping their rocket and mortar attacks, they kept asking the same questions, over and over, merely rephrasing them.

Jenny Block is looking for questions to answer for her sex column.

I considered, and still might, submitting some questions. But the obtaining the answers would probably entail graduate level research studies.

ATF Special Agent in Charge Jim Needles explains "Weapons of Choice" for the Mexican drug cartels.

ATF Special Agent in Charge Jim Needles

See also this news story built around the video interview above.

"Weapons of choice" include semi-auto FN FALs (a popular sport and hunting rifle), AK-47's, and 1911 style handguns. It appears the news reporters also visited a gun shop and took pictures of AR-15's as well.

The demonization of ordinary firearms for the next "assault weapon" ban is picking up steam with the help of the ATF.

Someone wants to know if a .50 caliber round can penetrate a Mercedes Guard Pullman:

Domain Name		swbell.net ? (Network)
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ISP		SBC Internet Services
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Visit Entry Page		http://blog.joehuffman.org/default,month,2005-03.aspx
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Out Click
Time Zone		UTC-6:00
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The answer is yes.

The Mercedes Guard Pullman is built to level B6/B7:

High-Protection vehicles, engineered to the European B4 resistance level, resist large-calibre revolver ammunition and offer particularly good protection against the increasing threat of drug-related and violent street crime.

Highest-Protection vehicles, engineered to resistance level B6/B7, provide effective protection against the threat posed by terrorist attacks. Their armour is designed to resist rifle-launched projectiles from military weapons which have a velocity almost twice that of bullets fired from a revolver. They also offer resistance to shrapnel from hand grenades and explosive charges.

According to this page the resistance levels are as follows:

• B1 rifle .22 lr RN/Lead 10m
• B2 hand gun 9mm Para FJ2)/RN/SC 5m
• B3 hand gun .357 Magnum FJ3)/CB/SC 5m
• B4 hand gun .44 Magnum FJ4)/FN/SCP 5m
• B5 rifle 5.56mm x 45 FJ4)/PB/SC 10m
• B6 rifle 7.62mm x 51 FJ2)/PB/SC 10m
• B7 rifle 7.62mm x 51 FJ4)/PB/BC 10m*

The 7.62mm x 51 is .308 Winchester equivalent. Which means that even a .300 Win Mag (a common hunting rifle for those people in the Brady Campaign reading this) is not something they designed for. A .50 BMG should be able to punch through as well.

Thanks.

As predicted here the Brady Campaign is suing to stop the implementation of the new rule on carrying in National Parks. Unfortunately we won't have (vice) President Palin in office next month to direct the Justice Department to arrest and prosecute the offenders.

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence sued the Bush administration Tuesday in hopes of stopping a new policy that would allow people to carry concealed, loaded guns in most national parks and wildlife refuges.

...

The lawsuit said members of the Brady Campaign will no longer visit national parks and refuges "out of fear for their personal safety from those who will now be permitted to carry loaded and concealed weapons in such areas."

If they were consistent they would stay out of states (and even countries) where concealed carry were allowed. I'd would be much happier if they did.

But if they were consistent that might mean they had the capacity to use logic and data for the basis of their actions. And we all know that would be the end of their organization and they would have to get real jobs rather than being professional bigots.

I may not be God. But I tell you what, I'm the closest damn thing to it.

Ellie Nesler
Ellie Nesler, famed for killing accused molester, is dead
[She, essentially, got away with it. I'm not so sure I would have given her the pass she got. Even the most generous of those judging her would have to admit she did at least a couple things wrong. She should have waited for the verdict and she shouldn't have gotten caught. Gun people will tell you she probably should have used a larger caliber gun. The .25 ACP has a lot of kills but it just isn't very reliable on man sized predators.--Joe]

She is so creative.

She forgot to turn the laser off before she put it back in the case however. I lost a few hours of battery life but it wasn't that big of a deal.

One has to wonder why someone wants the answer to the search query posed below ("best ammunition for penetrating body armor").

Domain Name		verizon.net ? (Network)
IP Address		68.160.179.# (Verizon Internet Services)
ISP		Verizon Internet Services
Location		Continent  :  North America Country  :  United States  (Facts) State  :  Massachusetts City  :  Boston Lat/Long  :  42.3425, -71.0677 (Map) Distance  :  2,249 miles
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Out Click
Time Zone		UTC-8:00
Visitor's Time		Dec 29 2008 10:27:49 am
Visit Number		408,429

It is from within the People Republic of Massachusetts so I can see why it might be a legitimate question.

It is salutary to train oneself to be no more affected by censure than by praise.

W. Somerset Maugham
[While I agree it appears to me that most people don't have the philosophical background and/or brain power to make decisions on their own. Sometimes I wish we could just let Darwin settle the issues.--Joe]

If there is anything in the theory of survival of the fittest, a lot of the people we know must have been overlooked.

Col. William C. Hunter
[I'm a little bit annoyed they canceled the steel match scheduled for today. People should be practicing under adverse conditions as well as when the environment is accommodating. Otherwise they are just enabling themselves to be culled when failure to perform under some hardship means non-survival.

I'd call them a bunch of wimps (actually I already did, but I didn't mean it) except there wouldn't be any place to park vehicles. With all the snow on the ground people couldn't have driven up the road to the parking area.--Joe]

A handgun is a gun that police use, that the military use but ordinary people do not use unless they’re out to kill somebody. There’s no reason to have a handgun.

...

The police should be able to, they see this guy standing in the street and they you know, looking at whatever, they should be able to frisk them and if they have a gun, that gun should be removed and they should go to jail.

Susan Martin
December 26, 2008
A conversation on gun control with Susan Martin, Mario Elia, Karen Ellis-Elia and Sean Daly
[Ignorant of the millions of incidents each year in the U.S. where handguns were used to protect innocent life Ms. Martin imagines a police state as being a better place to live. She lives in Canada where they already have censorship and a (never mind it has failed) gun registry. With those already in place she may get her wish sooner than she thinks. I think she should be careful what she wishes for.--Joe]

Update: They let my comment go through (comments were moderated):

I have a great deal of sympathy for those who have suffered such losses but there is Just One Question (blog.joehuffman.org/.../JustOneQuestion.aspx) that needs to be asked before advocating more restrictions on firearms. That question is: "Can you demonstrate one time or place, throughout all history, where the average person was made safer by restricting access to handheld weapons?"

Until that question can be answered in the affirmative those that advocate for more restrictions on firearms are actually advocating for an unjustified taking of freedom.

Update2: I left another comment (12/30/2008):

I find it very telling that those advocating for more gun control claim it will reduce "gun violence". This claim is doubtful (the counter example of the U.K. experience is just one reason to doubt it) but furthermore they do not claim it will reduce violent crime. But by carefully choosing their words they lump praiseworthy violence in defense of innocent live in the same category as criminal acts. Those same carefully chosen words also overlook that the total violent crime rate can (and frequently does) increase when people are prevented from using firearms for self defense.

And also telling is the same advocates for gun control repeatedly refuse to answer Just One Question, "Can you demonstrate one time or place, throughout all history, where the average person was made safer by restricting access to handheld weapons?"

Because they cannot answer this one question it shows that safety is not the objective of their advocating for increased restrictions on firearms. They have some other agenda which they are not sharing.

In the U.K. they have banned handguns, some long guns, have heavy restrictions on all long guns, and restrictions on knives. There should be no surprise there are now calls for the banning of air guns:

A POLICE chief has backed stricter controls on selling BB guns after a teenager was shot in the eye at close range with one of the replica firearms.

Angry mum Lynn Colley called for a ban on the weapons after her daughter Paige, 14, was left temporarily blind by a ball bearing fired at her face.

I have come to the conclusion that politics is too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.

Charles De Gaulle
[Okay... but what is the alternative? Anarchy? I just don't see a better alternative.--Joe]

Xenia is the artist of the family and does good work:

Barbara's Christmas Present from Xenia

Merry Christmas to you all.  Let’s all enjoy it.  The Grinch is coming to town on January 20th, and we don’t yet know which presents he’s going to try to take away.

Sebastian of Snowflakes in Hell
December 25, 2008
Merry Christmas
[I was tempted to use something I got in email which was more in line with my true feelings, but little overdone, about Christmas:

Having returned from my customary drive around the neighborhood shouting "Bah, Humbug" at everyone, with a reindeer dummy strapped to the car, Merry Christmas to all!

But I didn't want to go through the bother of sending an email to get permission to use their name and Sebastain captures my mood a little bit better.--Joe]

This reading of the Bill of Rights is potentially a very dangerous thing.

The government is not likely to take kindly to direct threats to its powers -- which the Bill of Rights specifically represents -- especially as it is held in hand by an angered people. The very idea that the people would take it upon themselves to examine government's abuses, usurpations of powers, abuses of authority, and contraventions of the very Bill that is meant to constrain government actions, is inflammatory.

At what point do the people, oppressed and incensed by the abuses of government, act directly to limit and yes punish those responsible? When are "public servants," feigning to guard us against infringements, brought to justice?

Alan Korwin
December 23, 2008
Bill of Rights Day
[Read the whole thing. Especially the part about heads on pikes.--Joe]

Did anyone else with the ParaUSA 2009 calendar notice that the March pinup is non-functional?

Here is the picture:

If you don't see the problem click on the picture for a close up. People not familiar with 1911's will be at a slight disadvantage in discovering the blocking issue.

Update: In response to comments and Tam's post I present the following pictures from my Para Gun Blog 45 and what I think is Caleb's Gun Blog 9 (I stole the picture from the header on his blog):

Para Gun Blog 45 safety.

Para Gun Blog 9 safety.

I admit I could still be wrong on this point. I do not think the safety on March pinup has been modified as seen in either of the two pictures immediately above. Therefore in order for the Para SX745S pictured on the March calendar to be function one or more of three things would have to be true:

1. The safety is mounted in a slightly different place
2. The safety requires less travel
3. The grips mount in a slightly different location

I think each of the above are very unlikely to be true. Therefore I stand by my claim the safety in this picture is unusable and the gun was for display purposes only.

Anyone want to make bets on the topic?

Update2: Kerby Smith from Para Public Relations says:

From the camera angle you can not see that the safety is relieved on the bottom side. The SX745S which is the March 2009 Special Edition pistol can be ordered with or without the Crimson Trace Laser grips. The ones that are ordered with the Crimson Trace Laser grips will have the right bottom side of the safety modified. And that is why the Crimson Trace Laser grips are coming factory installed as an option so we can make sure the safety works with them.

Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under Communism, it's just the opposite.

John Kenneth Galbraith
[While true this overlooks the net result of the people living under the two different systems. Under capitalism there exists a wider disparity between the richest and the poorest. But the poorest of the poor is no worse off than if they were living under a communist regime. And the average person is far, far better off living in a capitalist system. But many people don't make it this far in the logic chain. Their is a strong tendency to stop after reaching the point about there being a wide disparity between the richest and poorest. As near as I can determine their is a belief that this is "not fair". Pointing out to them that "life is not fair" does not remedy the situation. Apparently there is some deep seated belief that things can be made to be "fair". I think the problem must be attacked at a lower level--that is the definition of "fair". It is not "fair" that the government should take (at the point of a gun) the property and/or services of one and give it to another. That "unfairness" can only be reduced by reducing the size of government and the taxes paid.

I'm reminded of this quote by Phil who posted about Arianna Huffington saying Capitalism should be as dead as Communism. I'm tempted to say something comparing the status the brains of both Huffington and Marx but most people should be able to draw the obvious conclusion without me leading them there.--Joe]

For all ages, the fatal gun accident rate is at an all-time low, even as the per capita gun supply is at an all-time high. The annual risk level for a fatal gun accident is 0.22 per 100,000 population--about the risk level for taking two airplane trips a year, or for a whooping cough vaccination.

David B. Kopel
Brief of The International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association (ILEETA), The International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors (IALEFI), Maryland State Lodge, Fraternal Order of Police, Southern States Police Benevolent Association, 29 Elected California District Attorneys, San Francisco Veteran Police Officers Association, Long Beach Police Officers Association, Texas Police Chiefs Association, Texas Municipal Police Association, New York State Association of Auxiliary Police, Mendocino County, Calif., Sheriff Thomas D. Allman, Oregon State Rep. Andy Olson, National Police Defense Foundation, Law Enforcement Alliance of America, and The Independence Institute as amici curiae in support of respondent. D.C. v. Heller

The implications of the existence of this computer program are disturbing. There must be something else going on other than what the author is saying:

SHELBY- No suspects. No leads. Just a gun found at a crime scene.
While some law-enforcement agencies scratch their heads wondering how to start investigating the case, the Shelby Police Department uses their own investigative tool to solve the crime.
An Electronic Tracing System, or "E-trace," is a free Internet-based system which allows authorities to create or look at the criminal history of a gun used in a crime.
"It gives me added information on a weapon," said Lt. Tim Walker with the department's vice and narcotics unit. "It gives me somewhere to start and gives the past actions of the weapon."
Walker said E-trace has made a world of difference when investigating and solving crimes.
"It is comparable to a person's criminal history," he said.
Once the criminal history is created on the gun, it can always be traced in the system, Walker said.
"If a gun is being continually used in criminal activity, we can see who is using the same weapons over and over," he said.
Walker said it also helps with "straw purchase" cases, when convicted felons who are unable to purchase guns rely on people who can.
Walker said if felons have someone to purchase the gun and a crime is then committed, they can track the person who is buying the guns.
"It starts to create a link between the person and the gun," he said.
The program is provided through Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) and is free to any police agency. Shelby officers say it is a part of their daily routine.
"When any weapon is submitted to evidence, it prompts us to trace the weapon," he said.
In recent weeks, police used E-trace to help with with local cases. One gun taken into evidence showed just 60 days from time of purchase to the time of the crime, Walker said.
In the past, if police found a gun at a crime scene, they would lock it up and wait on fingerprints or any information pertaining to the gun.
Last year, the program expanded and is now used in every division of the department.
"It's just one more trick in my bag," he said.

For those unfamiliar with U.S. gun laws. It is illegal for the Federal Government to have a gun registry. Without a gun registry how can this program work? How can they "look at the criminal history of a gun"? It's not like the criminal that used it updated the registry when they were done with it and sold it to the next criminal. What is the world is this about?

Ahhh... more research has revealed some disturbing information:

• Governor Announces Historic Partnership with ATF to Trace Illegal Firearms
  E-trace is a nationwide database maintained by the ATF that lists a firearm's first purchaser, date of purchase and the retailer from which it was purchased. The information is compiled from police records of gun purchases provided by local departments, but until today was only accessible by the ATF and the police department that provided it.
  ...
  "Partnering with the ATF, the New Jersey State Police will now have direct access to national firearms purchasing data. This will streamline the tracing of illegal firearms back to the source, giving us a better shot at finding and arresting the person who pulled the trigger," said Colonel Rick Fuentes.
• Seven Central American Countries to get eTrace
• Background Paper: Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Program on Tracing Illegal Small Arms (June 2, 2001)
  Of particular interest is Access 2000, a computerized link between the NTC and firearms manufacturers and wholesalers. This nexus allows the NTB instant access to the computerized records maintained by cooperating FFLs in order to complete traces more efficiently. Currently, 12 FFLs are online. ATF is continuing this working partnership with the firearms industry in order to facilitate the tracing of crime guns by use of a standardized automated system. Instant access allows NTB employees to query the history of an individual serial number, thus speeding up the tracing process and reducing the trace-related cost to industry. Of course, 24-hour access allows NTB employees to query the history of firearms as necessary.

As of February 2000 there were five manufactures and distributors using Access 2000: RSR Wholesale; H&R, 1871; Smith & Wesson; Davidson Wholesale; and Taurus International Firearms.

What appears to have happened was that the ATF came up with an Internet based system for the distributors and manufactures to make their sales records available to the ATF to save the businesses in the supply chain time and money in complying with trace requests. This did not give the ATF access to individual purchase records. It merely gave the ATF more immediate access to the FFL who would still have to look up the 4473 to get the sales record for the ATF. It appears this original functionality was extended, perhaps in an illegal manner.

The enhanced functionality which I question the legality of is that it appears some states have records of individual firearm sales which they are sharing, in an online way, with the ATF.

I will be sending out emails to lawyers familiar with gun laws I know to get clarification of the law on this point. I'll let you know what I find out.

The conclusion is not: 'Gosh isn't this a horrible commentary on human nature,' or 'these people were so sadistic. It shows the opposite — that there are situational forces that have a much greater impact on our behavior than most people recognize.

Jerry M. Burger
December 20, 2008
Shocking revelation: Santa Clara University professor mirrors famous torture study
[This is a reproduction of the infamous Milgram Experiments. I must conclude that this is either a facet of human psychology or at least a facet of multiple cultures. These results have tremendous impact on everything from the Holocaust, Jonestown, and civil rights to gun confiscation. Do not count on people to "do the right thing" if they are given the option of using the excuse "I was just following orders".--Joe]

Position 64 will become available today, Saturday December 20, at about 12:00 noon Pacific Standard Time.

Sign up here.

It is on the Berm which means shooting benches are discouraged.

I'll be on the road traveling from the Seattle area to Moscow at the time so it will depend on cell phone coverage the exact moment I open up the position. Just keep refreshing the web page to get the first available opportunity for the spot.

Update: Due to an error in my blogging software this post did not appear at 9:35 AM like I thought it did. The position was made available at 12:00 noon as planned and it was filled 21 minutes later.

Self-defense classes, particularly those involving training women to use handguns, often help to provide women the sense of self-worth necessary for them to feel equals in civil society. See Martha McCaughey, Real Knockouts: The Physical Feminism of Women’s Self-Defense (N.Y. Univ. Press 1997). Women who take such classes no longer see themselves as powerless potential victims, but as individuals who may demand that their rights be respected. There is some evidence that men recognize this transformation and alter their conduct toward those women. As one study noted, "[t]he knowledge that one can defend oneself - and that the self is valuable enough to merit defending - changes everything." Jocelyn A. Hollander, "I Can Take Care of Myself": The Impact of Self-Defense Training on Women’s Lives, 10 Violence Against Women 205, at 226-227 (2004). Therefore, even if women are never placed in a position to defend themselves with a firearm or their own bodies, there are less material but no less compelling justifications for allowing them that ability. E.g., Mary Zeiss Stange, From Domestic Terrorism to Armed Revolution: Women’s Right to Self-Defense as an Essential Human Right, 2 J. L. Econ. & Pol’y 385-391 (2006).

M. Carol Bambery
Brief of amicae curiae 126 women state legislators and academics in support of respondent in D.C. versus Heller.

Primarily this is about the Atlanta chapter of the Pink Pistols. But would I find particularily interesting is that the writer included the point of view of a group that is opposed to the Pink Pistols. This group says:

"...we say no to the use of weapons — we are anti-violence,” she said.  “If someone from the Pink Pistols feels they have to arm themselves to be safe … we can’t agree. Most often, we find, their weapons are used against them.”

Maybe it's just my bias but my reading of it is the statements of this anti-violence group are so weak it actually makes the Pink Pistol's position stronger.

A few days ago I posted about a blogger that anticipated great changes in this countries gun laws with the incoming Obama administration.

He noticed the traffic from my blog to his and "clarified" his position on my blog saying he respected the Second Amendment only wanted "reasonable" changes in our gun laws.

Today he tells us what he thinks are reasonable changes:

1. Ban assault weapons from private possession
2. Ban .50 caliber (armor piercing) weapons from private possession
3. Allow local communities to determine what is appropriate for their circumstances. If cities such as Philadelphia and Washington D.C. feel that stricter gun control laws are needed than state or federal law provides, they should be allowed to govern their particular situation. The view (and conditions) from Idaho can be significantly different from major urban centers such as Chicago, LA, and NYC.
4. Improve oversight of corrupt gun dealers
5. Limit the number of guns an individual can purchase in a month. This will reduce the number of guns purchased with the intent to sell them illegally on the street, also known as straw purchases.
6. Mandate that sales at gun shows include criminal background checks. This is a major loophole in current law.

Yes. His ignorance is showing. Please play nice as you introduce him to the realities of guns and gun law. His comments are open. Here is my first lesson:

1. The definition of "assault weapon" is so ill defined and nearly always is based merely on cosmetic features, not function, that any such ban boils down to bans on guns that someone thought looked "evil" or "ugly". Beyond that the percent of crimes committed with guns that met the definition of "assault weapon" as defined by the 1994 Federal ban was so small that the weapons "feet" and "hands" are used to commit more murders each year than the banned firearms. Even if the criminal intent on using such a gun in a crime failed to find a substitute weapon and did not commit the crime that would have been enabled had they had such a weapon the drop in the crime rate would have been less than 1%. Hence any claim for an "assault weapon" ban as being reasonable must be with a goal other than crime reduction. So I ask, Mr. Weinstein, what is your goal with such a proposed ban? What is it that makes such a proposal "reasonable"?
2. To the best of my knowledge only one .50 BMG gun has been used in the commission of a crime in the last 30 years. Hence any claim for a .50 caliber ban as being reasonable must be with a goal other than crime reduction. So I ask, Mr. Weinstein, what is your goal with such a proposed ban? What is it that makes such a proposal "reasonable"?
3. You appear to acknowledge the 2^nd Amendment guarantees a right to keep and bear arms. I presume you also support the 13^th Amendment. It then would appear the two amendments should be treated in a similar manner in their application. Hence I must conclude that you would also advocate the states and cities determine what is appropriate for their circumstances in regards application of the 13th Amendment. If I am in error on this point please correct my misunderstanding. Once we are clear on this point then I can better respond to your "reasonable" suggestion.
4. I wasn't aware there was a list of corrupt gun dealers that were lacking in oversight. If some gun dealers are known to be corrupt then they must already be in violation of some law or rule. It would seem to me that prosecution, pulling their license, or fines for violations would be more appropriate rather than "oversight". But no matter, I am skeptical there is some large problem with gun dealers in this country. What evidence do you have that would tend to indicate I am wrong?
5. Straw purchases are already illegal. How would this help? This type of law has been passed in numerous jurisdictions. Can you demonstrate any reduction in the crime rate from these restrictions?
6. Sales at gun shows are no different than sales at gun dealers. Background checks are always required when you purchase from license dealers. There is no loophole. The Brady Campaign has been telling this lie for years to the point most people believe it. It is not true.
7. In my first post I suggested you study and answer Just One Question before proposing more restrictions on a specific enumerated right. You do not appear to have done this. Please do so. I think the answer will dramatically affect your response.

I'll be making another Boomershoot 2009 position available sometime this weekend. Probably about noon on Saturday. I'll post the details when it's actually available.

In closely related news I got an email from someone today who, in part, said:

i have my countdown clock on my desk and it is 124 days and 13 hours till i leave for the boomershoot...

I probably should feel the weight on my shoulders with so many people making this a big event. But except for a few days of the year I have fun doing this.

I swear that they must have an IQ limit to enter public office these days or something.

Phil @ Random Nuclear Strikes
December 19, 2008
I’d say “He’s giving it to them”
[I think of it as politics being the free market at work. If someone has any brains and/or integrity they avoid politics. The effect is the same however.--Joe]

Quote me. I said something clever earlier today.

Xenia Huffman-Scott
December 18, 2008

• Complete video (nearly 115 minutes, Kristen Comer of Washington Ceasefire is on at 19:15, I come on screen at 99:20)
• King5 news
• Komo News (text version here)
• Nathan Johnson testimony

Listen to the Washington Ceasefire representative. A partial transcript of her testimony:

We vigorously support this cities efforts to reduce gun violence through this common sense regulation. We think that firearms don't have a place in our parks or city events. We think that our parks and city events will be safer without firearms. And we think those of us who feel safer that way have a right to our own personal feelings of safety just like someone who has a right to have a firearm has a right to own their firearm. And we feel like this is a good rule that has been adopted by jurisdictions across the state that is designed to balance both our interest in public safety and our interest in the right to bear arms. And we believe this sort of policy will help keep our parks and city events safe places for us to be.

Emphasis on "feel" in her verbal testimony. No facts--it's all about feelings. If she felt safer if dark skinned people had a dusk curfew would that make it a "common sense regulation"? Would that be "designed to balance both our interest in public safety and our interest in minority rights"?

Kristen Comer, as well as Mayor Nickels, need to answer Just One Question as well as read the Washington State Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Apparently they think feelings are more important than facts and specifically enumerated inalienable and guaranteed rights.

I just discovered some posts I made in previous months were not made public (stupid blog software...). Which explains why I didn't get any comments or links to one that I thought was really important...

• Spying on the enemy (this is the important one)
• Brainstorming Boomershoot 2010
• Quote of the day--Diane Feinstein
• Spinning
• Quote of the day--Milton Friedman

Why be rational, when you can stoke fear instead?

Bruce Schneier
December 16, 2008
Buying Fake Nintendo Consoles Helps Terrorists
[This applies to so many things.--Joe]

Borrowing a concept from daughter Xenia I present Timewarp Tuesday:

My parents, myself, and my two younger brothers.

That has a nice ring to it, don't you think?  I say five people in black robes should declare it a part of the U.S. Constitution.  In his piece entitled, "Ignorance Reigns Supreme" Walter E. Williams gives us the reasons why separation of education and state should be an important goal, though he never actually comes to that conclusion.  That's my own inference, and I hold it up as a self-evident truth.

With limited thinking abilities and knowledge of our heritage, we Americans set ourselves up as easy prey for charlatans, hustlers and quacks. If we don't know the constitutional limits placed on Congress and the White House, politicians can do just about anything they wish to control our lives, from deciding what kind of light bulbs we can use to whether the government can take over our health care system or bailout failing businesses. We just think Congress can do anything upon which they can get a majority vote.

Yup.  That would seem to explain pretty much everything happening in government today.

I've often (OK, virtually always) had to go back to the very, very basics of the meaning of liberty, so as to have any hope of a meaningful conversation on the subject.  Hardly anyone knows what it means.  Most people think it means you can do whatever you want, and, "Oh, but we couldn't have that now, could we?"

Basically, the default (i.e. massively ignorant) argument can be summarized in one sentence; "Because you can't fraudulently yell 'fire' in a crowded theatre (or because the Earth's climate has been in a state of constant change for billions of years, or because someone didn't pay their mortgage on time, et al) the government has the authority to run every aspect of your life. QED."

That's what wholesale ignorance, nurtured at the state level, has done to us.  That is why we need a constitutional separation of education and state-- so as to prevent the establishment of a state education system; "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of education, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."  It should have been written right there in Amendment the First, as equally important to freedom of religion, of the press, and of free assembly, and for exactly the same reasons.

I walked across the street to the cafeteria in building 117 and noticed there was a fire alarm going off in building 118 and lots of people were standing around. Microsoft security was parked outside and I thought it might be a fire drill. It was a little odd because usually they do those in the morning.

When I came back with food in hand there were three firetrucks and a "Battalion Chief" SUV parked outside. Then I saw the water shooting out from the front door. A sprinkler?

Something unusually is definitely going on but there isn't any smoke and I didn't see hoses going inside the building so it probably isn't too serious.

Notice the water shooting out from above the door?

From the Second Amendment Foundation yesterday:

For Immediate Release:   12/15/2008

BELLEVUE, WA – Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels is asserting that he has the authority to skirt Washington State’s long-standing firearms preemption statute, but in a 2006 letter to House Speaker Frank Chopp, he admitted that state law prevents him from taking any such action.

The letter is being made public at tonight’s special hearing at City Hall by Alan M. Gottlieb, founder of the Bellevue-based Second Amendment Foundation.

In his letter to Speaker Chopp, dated May 4, 2006, Mayor Nickels acknowledged that “State law preempts any and all local regulations related to firearms. Our hands are tied at the local level and we are unable to adopt any local laws to protect our residents from gun crime.”

“This is what Attorney General Rob McKenna’s office told Mayor Nickels in October,” Gottlieb noted. “Despite all of his bluster over the past six months, it is evident now that Mayor Nickels has known all along he cannot ban legally-carried firearms, by executive order, by ordinance or by wishing upon a star. He knew this in 2006 and he was reminded of it two months ago by McKenna’s office.

“Mayor Nickels has tried to capitalize on a single unfortunate incident at the Seattle Center,” he continued, “in order to push his long-standing anti-rights agenda. More than 20 years ago, the state legislature wisely enacted our common-sense preemption law that is now preventing the mayor from acting like a monarch, answerable to nobody. Essentially, he wants to use executive authority as though it were a royal decree, to not only defy state statute, but also to violate our state constitutional right-to-bear-arms provision.

“The May 2006 letter to Speaker Chopp clearly proves that the mayor knows he cannot legally do this,” Gottlieb said. “If Mayor Nickels goes forward with this ban, he will leave the Second Amendment Foundation no alternative than to take immediate legal action to stop him.”

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nations oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 600,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and an amicus brief and fund for the Emerson case holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

And today:

For Immediate Release:   12/16/2008

BELLEVUE, WA – When a cross-section of firearms owners gathered at Seattle City Hall Monday night to oppose Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels’ gun ban scheme, the mayor was nowhere in sight to defend his plan, and the Second Amendment Foundation wonders why.

“If ever an audience reflected the kind of diversity that elitists like Greg Nickels normally rave about, Monday night’s turnout of gun owners certainly measured up,” said SAF founder Alan Gottlieb. “There were gays, straights, men and women, including one self-described feminist Democrat party activist. I was proud of the broad spectrum represented by the firearms community.

“Under any other circumstances,” he continued, “Mayor Nickels and other Seattle establishment insiders would be drawn to such a group like moths to a flame. But these were law-abiding gun owners, outraged over the mayor’s arrogant plan to ignore state statute and advice from the state attorney general. In short, it was an audience of citizens that Nickels and his ilk claim to represent, saying that he doesn’t. The mayor wanted no part of such a public embarrassment.

“Mayor Nickels started this controversy by proposing the gun ban,” Gottlieb observed, “yet he lacked the intestinal fortitude to defend his scheme before the very people who would suffer. Elitists like Nickels are always quick to sneer about ‘cowardly gun owners,’ but when he had the chance to face them, he vanished.

“Many department heads were there to take the heat,” Gottlieb added, “except for Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske. It is not clear whether he skipped the meeting because he doesn’t care for armed citizens, or because he was still out looking for his stolen pistol, which is more of a threat to public safety than anybody who testified at Monday night’s hearing.

“This proposed gun ban is nonsense,” he concluded. “It will not prevent a single crime. It will only leave citizens more vulnerable. As usual, Mayor Nickels chooses symbolism over safety, and he is clearly afraid to face the people whose rights he plans to abrogate.”

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nations oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 600,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and an amicus brief and fund for the Emerson case holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

Son James picked me up at work a little after 1700 and we drove down the street to Ry's office to get that critical third person so we could drive in the car pool lane on highway 520 into Seattle.

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels has proposed a rule that would ban firearms from nearly all city property. This is despite the State Attorney General telling him that he clearly does not have the authority to do so. Last night there was a public hearing to give Mayor Nickels feedback on his proposal. There were nearly 200 people in attendance. At most 20 or 30 of them were in favor of the proposal. I and numerous others found it extremely telling that Mayor Nickels was not in attendance.

Ry took pictures and has his own comments on the meeting. See also the Seattle PI (best) and the Seattle Times articles.

As soon as we walked in we were offered a button that identified us as opposed to the rule--as if our Boomershoot coats and my Para USA shirt weren't enough:

Supplied by the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms this was good thinking on their part. I really appreciate their professional contribution.

I saw many familiar faces, Alan Gottlieb and Joe Waldron (who testified) from CCRKBA, Gay Cynic (who also testified), Boyd Kneeland (Boyd does an amazing amount of volunteer work on this topic), and Michael Thyng (frequent Boomershoot attendee).

We signed in at the door as either in favor or opposed to the proposed rule and indicated whether we wanted to speak. I indicated I wanted to speak and was one of the last speakers. We were each given 90 seconds which was strictly enforced. They called our names and alternated between pro and anti-gun speakers. They ran out of anti-gun speakers long before pro-gun activists. To see the entire meeting watch for the video here later today or tomorrow (Update: video is here).

Based on previous testimony and further thought I modified my testimony some what I had planned. I ran out of time and dropped the last paragraph from the following which I composed while at the meeting using One Note on my Windows Mobile Pocket PC. It didn't matter much because several others had already called out Nickels behavior as violating WA State law which qualified him for a misdemeanor conviction.

As usual when public speaking I left at least 20 I.Q. points in my chair when I stood up to speak and I'm sure my voice raised at least one octave. Picture from Ry.

My name is Joe Huffman and I am from Kirkland.

I represent myself and my 22 year old daughter. We both have concealed pistol licenses and carry a pistol wherever we can legally do so.

I find it very telling the people providing the number of dollars spent and people injured do not tell us how many of those people were legally shot by the police or a private citizen defending innocent life. By this omission they imply guns are only used for evil.

I’m shocked that a city that prides itself on tolerance would engage in such Jim Crow like tactics to discriminate against gun owners. I’m certain the mayor and his staff cannot answer just one question which should have been their first step before going down this path. That question is, "Can you demonstrate one time or place, throughout all history, where the average person was made safer by restricting access to handheld weapons?"

With such clear guidance from the State Attorney General the mayor has a tremendous amount of gall to push forward with such an attack on an essential civic right. If his plan were to ban the presence of Christian crosses, the star of David, or burqa from city facilities there would be a public outcry that would be heard worldwide and calls would be made for his resignation if not his arrest. And the same outcry should be made for this encroachment upon a specific enumerated right guaranteed by both the Washington State Constitution and the U.S. Bill of Rights.

I’m not a lawyer but it appears to me that such egregious behavior warrants investigation by Federal Prosecutors into the possibility of prosecution under 18 USC 242, the statute covering the deprivation of rights under the color of law.

I was very pleased there were numerous non-stereotypical gun owners testified in opposition. I think there were three self identified gay men. Several women testified including one that identified herself as a gun carrying tree-hugger, another that identified herself as a rape victim, and another that said she had spent the last several months working on the Obama campaign. Their point in identifying as such was that Nickels was pissing off people that would normally support him.

As the meeting closed the moderator informed us we can continue to leave comments until January 21^st.

After the meeting several people I did not recognized came up to me and identified themselves as blog readers and thanked me for testifying. I was surprised, "What? People actually read what I have to say?" You guys know that only encourages me to further pollute the bit-stream with noise, right?

After we left the meeting Ry and I had a burger at Dairy Queen and did an after action review. Our conclusion was that since the Mayor did not attend the meeting our input was irrelevant to him. He was merely going through the formality of the process. The eight people from the city listening (see Ry's post for more) were probably sent by him for appearances and to allow us to feel good about "doing something" in opposition to the Mayor's attempted power grab. The only thing that will stop him is a lawsuit which I'm sure will be waiting for the City when they implement the rule.

Hence I concluded the primary result of the meeting was we got buttons.

Update: Video of the meeting is here.

From email:

Dear Joe,

With the help of many wonderful people committed to Second Amendment rights, we are closing in on reaching our goal for the SECOND AMENDMENT BOOK BOMB!

As an update, our book THE FOUNDERS' SECOND AMENDMENT: Origins of the Rights to Bear Arms, by Independent Institute Research Fellow Stephen P. Halbrook, has skyrocketed to the following rankings at Amazon.com:

#1: Law
#1: Civil Rights and Liberties
#1: Constitutions
#1: Constitutional Law
#1: Revolutionary and Founding History
#12: History
#11: Professional and Technical
#26: Nonfiction (all)

The book has soared to an overall ranking of #140 at Amazon.com and #105 at Barnes&Noble.com. (With the enormous response, Amazon.com temporarily sold out of the book and is now being restocked.)

Begun on Bill of Rights Day (December 15), the SECOND AMENDMENT BOOK BOMB is urging people to pledge to purchase copies of the book ASAP and launch constitutional rights to the top of national book bestseller lists in order to communicate the importance of the Bill of Rights' Second Amendment for the protection of liberty. So far, we have received 784 pledges!

With your further help in urging others to join with us now, we can make Second Amendment history by pushing the book to #1.

I am adding below further details and here again is the SECOND AMENDMENT BOOK BOMB website.
http://www.secondamendmentbook.com/

Please advise me with any questions.

Thank you for your marvelous support of our Second Amendment rights!

Best regards,

David
--
David J. Theroux
Founder and President
The Independent Institute
100 Swan Way
Oakland, CA 94621
(510) 632-1366 Phone
(510) 568-6040 Fax
DTheroux@independent.org
http://www.independent.org

***********************

The SECOND AMENDMENT BOOK BOMB Hits #1 in Law, #12 in History, #26 in Nonfiction at Amazon.com!
http://www.secondamendmentbook.com/

Beginning on America's Bill of Rights Day (December 15), the SECOND AMENDMENT BOOK BOMB was launched to communicate the importance of the Bill of Rights' Second Amendment for the protection of liberty. With your help, we are pushing constitutional rights to the top of national book bestseller lists, making a loud and clear statement that Second Amendment rights are unalienable!

A truly historic victory was won on June 26, 2008 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the landmark case of District of Columbia v. Heller that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to own and bear arms.
However, the Heller ruling was immediately attacked and efforts continue on the national level and across the country to undermine gun rights. (In this regard, President-elect Barack Obama's choice of Eric Holder for U.S.
Attorney General is an ominous sign.) Therefore, to secure the Second Amendment now and for the future the American public must be made aware of the reasons why the Founders sought to protect this right.

And now we have the tool to do so -- the fascinating, seminal, and inspiring, new book, THE FOUNDERS' SECOND AMENDMENT: Origins of the Right to Bear Arms, by Dr. Stephen P. Halbrook* -- the perfect way both to educate ourselves and to reach friends and family who don't yet understand Second Amendment rights. Our goal is to reach one million Americans with Dr.
Halbrook's book during the Holiday Season and throughout the New Year ahead.

As a result, we are rapidly closing in on reaching our goal and with your further help, we can make Dr. Halbrook's book #1 on the bestseller lists.

Already, THE FOUNDERS' SECOND AMENDMENT has skyrocketed to the following rankings at Amazon.com:

#1: Law
#1: Civil Rights and Liberties
#1: Constitutions
#1: Constitutional Law
#1: Revolutionary and Founding History
#12: History
#11: Professional and Technical
#26: Nonfiction (all)

With 799 pledges, the book has climbed to an overall ranking of #138 at Amazon.com and #105 at Barnes&Noble.com.

Hence, please urge everyone you know to make their pledge ASAP here:
http://www.secondamendmentbook.com/

*Stephen P. Halbrook is a Research Fellow at the Independent Institute and author of THE FOUNDERS' SECOND AMENDMENT: Origins of the Right to Bear Arms.
Having won three cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, he filed an Amici Curiae Brief in District of Columbia v. Heller on behalf of 55 members of the Senate, the Senate President, and 250 members of the House of Representatives.

It was 803 pledges after I made mine.

Update: I just ordered the book via Amazon.

First, when you hit a home run, quit; even though you have 90 seconds, you don’t have to fill it all. Several speakers hit home runs, waited for the applause to die down, and finished with a pop fly. Don’t be that guy (or girl).

Secondly, be on topic; the topic tonight was “Seattle ban on firearms on Seattle-owned property”. I don’t care what you think the queers are doing to the soil, keep to the point.

Thirdly, if you have nothing to say, don’t say it. Who got the first big applause of the night? The guy who said “Everything I was going to say has been said, so I’ll not bore you”. Be that guy.

Fourthly, practice. You don’t have to memorize your speech; you should, though, read it aloud a few times. Use a clock and see if you’re in the ballpark for the time allotted.

Lastly, if you are a god damn idiot, stay at home... Several of the speakers went right out in front of God and everybody and confirmed that they were idiots. The three I’m thinking of (one pro, two con) I knew were god damn idiots as soon as I saw them step to the mic.

Ry Jones
December 15, 2008
On public speaking from our visit to the Seattle City Hall meeting where Mayor Nickels sought public comment on his illegal proposal to ban firearms from city property. Pictures here.
[I'll have more on the meeting later.--Joe]

The mistakes made by Congress wouldn't be so bad if the next Congress didn't keep trying to correct them.

Cullen Hightower
[And instead of undoing what they did in the previous session they add to the previous mistakes.--Joe]

My trip from Moscow Idaho back to my hardened underground bunker in Kirkland today took 75 minutes longer than usual. There were some very slick roads in eastern Washington. It got better and I was able to go normal speeds from Washtucna until Vantage when I-90 had a broken snow floor again. Here are pictures of just some of the incidents I witnessed:

At Dusty. Traffic was rerouted around the accident.

Close up of the Dusty incident.

All people of the gun in the Seattle area should be converging Monday evening. From Joe Waldron on the WA-CCW email list:

SEATTLE MAYOR GREG NICKELS PLANS TO BAN YOUR GUNS

Mayor Nickels plans to ban your guns with NO REGARD for your right of self defense. ANd he's doing it in defiance of state law -- RCW 9.41.290, which clearly prohibits counties, cities and towns from enacting gun control ordinances more prohibitive than state law.

This ban will infringe on your right to carry or possess a firearm in: All city-owned property All city parks The Seattle Public Library The Seattle Center

A PUBLIC HEARING WILL BE HELD MONDAY, DECEMBER 15th at 6:30 p.m. (doors open for sign-in at 5:30 p.m.) IN THE BERTHA KNIGHT LANDES ROOM AT SEATTLE CITY HALL, 600 FOURTH AVENUE

YOUR ATTENDANCE IS CRITICAL

LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD

PLEASE ATTEND THIS IMPORTANT HEARING

For further information, call the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, (425) 454-4911

Son James and I plan to attend. We will be leaving from the Microsoft Campus in Redmond around 1700. Another rider would be nice so we can use the carpool lanes on 520.

You can also leave comments on the Seattle city website here.

Update: I left the following comment on the website and plan to deliver it in person tomorrow if allowed:

I’m shocked that a city that prides itself on tolerance would engage in such Jim Crow like tactics to discriminate against gun owners. I’m certain the mayor and his staff cannot answer just one question which should have been their first step before going down this path. That question is, "Can you demonstrate one time or place, throughout all history, where the average person was made safer by restricting access to handheld weapons?"

Despite clear guidance from the State Attorney General the mayor has a tremendous amount of gall to push forward with such tactics. If his plan were to ban the presence of blacks, Jews, or gays from city facilities there would be a public outcry that would be heard worldwide and calls would be made for his resignation if not his arrest. And the same should be made for this encroachment upon a specific enumerated rights guaranteed by both the Washington State constitution and the U.S. Bill of Rights.

I’m not a lawyer but it appears to me that such egregious behavior warrants investigation by Federal Prosecutors into the possibility of prosecution under 18 USC 242, the statute covering the deprivation of rights under the color of law.

Budget:  A mythical beanbag.  Congress votes mythical beans into it, and then tries to reach in and pull beans out.

Will Rogers
[Something to keep in mind as our government debates what to do about the economic situation.--Joe]

Position 65 for Boomershoot 2009 just opened up. It’s on the shooting berm near the west end. On the berm means shooting benches are discouraged.

Sign up here.

Do it fast. I expect it will be gone within a few minutes.

Update: Gone in four minutes, 45 seconds.

Yes, it was a bitter election and we gun owners are disappointed and worried about the future under an Obama administration. But that doesn't mean we should engage in riotous or criminal behavior like some countries do after elections or regime changes. We have more class than that.

With that in mind I present the following which I received via email from Bruce (The Squirrel Hunter) regarding the epitome of class, despite what her detractors claim, Sarah Palin:

The rest of the world cannot understand how after such bitter election campaigns, American politicians can return to reality. For instance Sarah Palin, has invited to her great state of Alaska the men who defeated her, Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

She has provided a moose hunting trip for their enjoyment and has hired two other prominent men to assist them.

Dick Cheney will instruct them in safe gun handling and Ted Kennedy will drive them back to their cabins in the evening.

What a gal, that Sarah is such a sport and thinks of everything.

I'm nearly certan we are about to enter into an epic political battle for liberty, and gun rights in specific, starting next month. But just because we engage in battle does not mean we will lose. I hope this guy is wrong:

Our country is about to change many approaches as to how it thinks and does business and that includes its viewpoint towards guns. It is well-beyond time the canard about Second Amendment rights for citizens to bear arms be put to rest. This amendment was instituted centuries ago when militias were an important element in the defense of the U.S. The number of guns that exist in our country, governed by archaic laws and control, is absurd. No other western industrialized society allows for such a condition. When an organization such as the NRA lobbies for assault weapons to be owned by private citizens, what more does one need to know?

I would like to suggest that before spouting his bigoted beliefs about guns again he attempt to answer Just One Question.

Update: Check out the comments here. He made some clarifications.

Becky Ackers has the TSA's number:

But none of these facts seem to matter to the TSA. It needs something to justify its existence: Despite six years of patting down passengers, it hasn't reported uncovering a single terrorist. No wonder it latched onto the nonsense about liquid bombs. Ferreting out and confiscating everyday substances not only makes work for 43,000 screeners, it also fools us into thinking this protects us.

The TSA has always been a political, not practical, response to 9/11. It hassles us at checkpoints not because of penetrating insights on security or some brilliant breakthrough, but because politicians handed it power. Specialists in security didn't invent the TSA; the Bush administration imposed it on us. So we might hope the incoming president would abolish this absurd agency.

Unfortunately, Barack Obama wants to improve the TSA rather than send it packing. His suggestions for that improvement? Passengers still aren't screened against a comprehensive terrorist watch list, his website proclaims. Such a list must be developed.

Why? The watch list has already kept Rep. John Lewis (D) of Georgia and Sen. Ted Kennedy (D) of Massachusetts off planes: Will a comprehensive list bar Republican congressmen, too? That'll protect us about as well as unionizing screeners will – another change the campaigning Obama said he favors.

And the best part:

Becky Akers, a freelance writer and historian, is finishing a book about the TSA.

Remember what TSA stands for.

Crime does not pay ... as well as politics.

A. E. Newman
[Apparently Rod (Pocket Rocket) Blagojevich was trying to capitalize on this assertion.--Joe]

Forecasts were that I would have to drive 200+ miles in heavy snow between Redmond and Home.

It wasn't too bad. About 20 miles of compact snow and ice with the rest of the trip bare and wet. West bound I-90 was closed for a while with vehicles backed up for about 20 miles but I was headed east and wasn't really affected.

I also talked to a man named Joe Huffman about his use of guns. Huffman is more unusual in his dedication to the shooting arts. He runs a yearly event called Boomershoot in Idaho, at which people shoot hundreds of yards at four-inch square targets to set off high explosives.

It's wild fun, of course--an intense experience most shooters don't get to have. It attracts a lot of media attention for that reason. Like Hughes, when I pressed Huffman on the subject, he explained that more than just pleasure and amusement lies at the heart of his gun ownership. He thinks it's important to cultivate arcane, high-skilled shooting arts in people he knows because a time may come, as the Founding Fathers knew, when such skills might be useful for more than just outré amusement.

Brian Doherty
Gun Control on Trial--Inside the Supreme Court Battle Over the Second Amendment
Copyright 2008
ISBN 978-1-933995-25-0
[I admire myself for my modesty.

See also Interview about the gun culture.

Numerous other gun bloggers should also be receiving a free copy of this book soon. You're welcome.--Joe]

I had an email exchange today:

From: "Disobey"
To: Joe

Hi Joe,

I am at that point. I am looking for ideas on how I as an individual can stage a peaceful, non-violent, but dramatic protest. I am willing to go to jail to make my point, but not unnecessarily or with unnecessary punishment if it can be avoided. I bet somebody has a laundry list of really good ideas with the legal implications well thought out. I was hoping you might be able to point me in the right direction?

Thanks,

"Disobey"

From: Joe
To: "Disobey"

Hmmm… I don’t have any such list or know of any. But if you want I will be glad to post the request on my blog and see what others have in mind.,

What aspects of our society do you want to protest against? It makes a big difference…,

-joe-

From: "Disobey"
To: Joe

Hi Joe,

Thanks for the reply. Please put it out on your blog, maybe it's time to create such a list. In a nutshell, I want to raise public discourse on our disfunctional local school district and the elected officials who do nothing. I suppose that if I mention that I am in California you will just say I am screwed. I am still willing to keep fighting for justice and fairness.

"Disobey"

I keep thinking of Gandhi's march to the sea to make salt. But I can't seem to translate it into our time and situation except with respect to making machine guns or something--which has already been tried.

Any ideas?

Update: I don't have anything for the disfunctional school situation but it seems to me that publicly putting flash hiders or folding stocks on your rifles making them "assault weapons" might be something worthwhile. It's not nearly as scary as making machine guns.

From the door on Wades Eastside Guns tonight:

No man is good enough to govern another man without that other's consent.

Abraham Lincoln
[Additional justification for Roberta X's position in the first line of the second paragraph that I quoted from yesterday.--Joe]

They may be acting like they don't care but they are watching the reaction. My blog entry showed up on page four at #45:

Domain Name		bhfc.net ? (Network)
IP Address		209.159.243.# (PrairieWave Telecommunications)
ISP		PrairieWave Telecommunications
Location		Continent  :  North America Country  :  United States  (Facts) State  :  South Dakota City  :  Rapid City Lat/Long  :  44.035, -103.3782 (Map) Distance  :  685 miles
Language		English (U.S.) en-us
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Javascript		version 1.3
Monitor		Resolution  :  1024 x 768 Color Depth  :  32 bits
Time of Visit		Dec 10 2008 4:57:17 pm
Last Page View		Dec 10 2008 4:57:17 pm
Visit Length		0 seconds
Page Views		1
Referring URL		http://www.google.co...cision&start=30&sa=N
Search Engine		google.com
Search Words		hs precision
Visit Entry Page		http://blog.joehuffm...boutHSPrecision.aspx
Visit Exit Page		http://blog.joehuffm...boutHSPrecision.aspx
Out Click
Time Zone		UTC-7:00
Visitor's Time		Dec 10 2008 5:57:17 pm
Visit Number		398,570

I'd express it more forcibly, but the sentiment is right.

As far as I'm concerned, all governments cross my "line" on Day One. But governments are not like a single baddie confronting one in an alley; you cannot simply shoot them when they try to do you harm. Life can become very inconvenient for you if you even try.

Roberta X
December 10, 2008
Governments, Sandlines And Me
[Roberta hasn't said anything previously in the "Three Percenter" vs. "Pragmatist" debate and I have said very little. She explains why for both of us.--Joe]

In another gift to gun owners before leaving office the adminstration arrested Illinios Governor Rod (Pocket Rocket) Blagojevich today.

Now instead of restricting access to guns which he mixed up with a popular sex toy there is a chance he might well become a sex toy himself while visiting Club Fed. After working so hard for so many years to screw gun owners we can only hope he discovers what it's like to be on the receiving end for a few years.

The company that owns the anti-gun Chicago Tribune, the anti-gun LA Times, 10 other newspapers, and 23 television stations is filing for bankruptcy. They have 13 billion in debt.

They will continue to operate but the future isn't bright and I'm hoping they will at least fade away into obscurity.

There still remains the anti-gun New York Times and Washington Post but it's a pretty good start.

Of course the terrorists used Google Earth. They also used boats, and ate at restaurants. Don't even get me started about the fact that they breathed air and drank water.

Bruce Schneier
December 8, 2008
Mumbai Terrorists Used Google Earth, Boats, Food
[Apparently some people are making sounds about how bad it is that Google Earth exists. Essentially, because something can be used for evil purposes the "government should do something". It's the same mindset that has lead them to restricting knives (for all the good it has done) and banning fire extinguishers in the UK. It's not guns, knives, or Google Earth that are the problem yet some people continue to push forward with their brain set to "11" on the insanity scale. As near as I can tell there are few explanations:

1. The people "in charge" are unwilling to use rational thought when addressing the situation.
2. The people "in charge" are unable to use rational thought when addressing the situation.
3. The people "in charge" have ulterior motives for increasing government control of society.
4. Some combination of the above.

Regardless of the pathology these people have no business receiving a government paycheck let alone making decisions that adversely affect the lives of millions of people.-Joe]

Ah, yes, the three great lies:

The Mercedes is paid for;
the mortgage check is in the mail, and
"Lawful gun owners have nothing to fear."

Joe Waldron
8:44 AM, December 8, 2008
Washington state CCW email list

Well, duh!  You dry out your guns, of course.  If they stay wet, all kinds of corrosion can happen, which is bad.  The Remington 700 at the top has already been disassembled, dried and reassembled.  The Daewoo pistol and the Colt rife are still airing out.

I took my nephew, Ben, into the Idaho mountains to try some "long range" shooting on Sunday.  After 4-wheeling it through several miles of snow, we found a nice place to shoot.  Ben had never fired at anying more than 100 yards distant, and had only fired pistols and carbines. Shooting a sub two-inch group on the first try at 200 meters was something he was pretty sure he couldn't manage.  He did that much easily, shivering in the rain, firing over the hood of my pickup using the Remington with its "deep space telescope" and heavy barrel.  Ben did some 25 yard work with the pistol and I worked out a preliminary zero on the Colt AR-15 HBAR's new tritium sights at 25, 200 and 300 meters.  Ben made some comment about being "all wet and cold, and stuff" but I'm not sure what point he was trying to make.  It is December and we're in the mountains, so?  By then it was getting too dark to shoot so we had to pack up.  There never seems to be enough time in the day.

I frequently get comments from envious guys who when finding out I'm married to a physical therapist say something about "the massages". I just smile and let them believe what they want to believe. More about those "massages" later.

I don't believe I've posted about this before but when I had lunch with her last Saturday at her office I saw a sign on the wall above her desk. It brought the whole issue into sharp focus.

The sign said:

The Ten "NEVERS"
in
Physical Therapy

1. Never say you can't, because you'll do it anyway.
2. Never say, "It's easy", because we'll just make it hard.
3. Never say, "I want to go home", because you'll just stay longer.
4. Never lose count because you'll start at one again.
5. Never complain because we never listen.
6. Never argue because you'll never win.
7. Never scream or cry because it only encourages us.
8. Never look like you're enjoying it because we'll put a stop to it.
9. Never hold your breath because if you pass out and die, we have to fill out the paperwork.
10. Never lie or cheat because we know the truth, and you'll live to regret it.

For most people that is just a hint. You don't really understand what it means until you have been married to one for a few years. Here is another hint; when asked what the P.T. stands for on their badges they frequently give one of two answers:

• Physical Terrorist
• Pain and Torture

Now we go into the specifics of being married to one.

If you think of "massage" when you think of a physical therapist then you obviously don't know what friction massage (also called Cross Friction Massage-CFM) is. The previous link says:

Where most massage methods use some form of skin lubrication, CFM uses none so that the finger (usually one, but sometimes two) doing the massage is not sliding across the skin, but rather is taking the skin with it, allowing for the force to be transmitted directly to the deep tissue being treated. The motion is small, maybe an inch or so, back and forth "across the grain" of the tissue, so you have to have some idea which direction the structure normally runs. The amount of pressure should be moderate, which will often cause some amount of discomfort, but this should never be too painful.

"Too painful" is a technical term which means the patient's adrenaline reaches a level such they can break out of the restraints. Furthermore what they do is push you right up to the edge of "too painful" and hold you at a plateau until the area starts to goes numb. They keep asking if it has gone numb yet and as it starts feeling a little bit better they press harder to keep the pain at the same level. They claim this is just to "treat the deeper tissue". The veracity of this claim depends upon what your definition of "treatment" is. All observable data indicates that "treatment" consists of destroying your pain receptors through over stimulation.

You might ask how I know all this. Good question. It turns out that in order to keep her Pain and Torture license up to date your local friendly Physical Terrorist has to take classes on a regular basis. Guess who she experiments on before she starts charging money for practicing her evil trade. It's me. In the early years of our marriage she would come home from a class and coyly ask something like, "Didn't you say your shoulder was a little sore last week?" I would answer truthful -- and regret it. Since then I learned the wisdom of Oscar Wilde when he said, "The one charm of marriage is that it makes a life of deception a necessity."

A contest with a thinking being is never over and a little white lie about all my body parts being in perfect working order was only a minor speed bump to someone who has made their career P/T. One time when she came home from class she had a little box with wires coming out of it she wanted to experiment with me as the subject. I have a couple degrees in electrical engineering and I know what can be done with a box with wires coming out of it. I also hate electricity going through my body. I mean just a little bit of it which most people think of as "I can barely feel it" makes me very irritated. If someone else were to describe the sensation as "a little tingle" it will infuriate me. I asked if the box had batteries or plugged into the wall outlet. She informed me that it had "little batteries". Apparently she didn't realize the only word I needed to hear was "battery" and "little" was superfluous unless she was talking "little" on a microscopic scale. I mean, I could make a device that would kill a horse with a watch battery if I wanted to and her trying to downplay the part about electricity being involved was only increasing my suspicion.

When her telling me how much it didn't hurt when it was used on her, and how it felt "kind of strange" only caused my teeth to grind she broke out the sad eyes and looked like she was about to cry. I softened a little bit and she said she would put it at the lowest level and slowly increase the intensity and as soon as I wanted to stop she would immediately stop. I said I wanted to stop now, but she brought back the sad eyes and I let her attach the electrodes to my leg.

She slowly turned the knob clockwise repeatedly asking, "Can you feel it yet?" "I don't want to hurt you, let me know if it hurts." I told her I didn't feel a thing and she continued to turn the knob. Her face grew more and more puzzled and I started to smirk. Her little box was broken and I was going to get away with not being shocked! She finally stopped and announced that the intensity was at the maximum setting and that I "should feel something." I assured her that I didn't and repressed my satisfaction as best I could. She looked her little box all over and said, "Oh! I see!" and before I could twitch a muscle she turned the switch she found from "Off" to "On" and muscle twitches were generated without any conscious effort on my part. I levitated off the bed and roared in anger. Before I came back down I had torn the wires off my leg and when I landed was facing her like a lion in a crouch and ready to pounce. She instantly brought back the sad eyes, froze absolutely still, and mouthed the words, "I'm sorry." This saved our marriage but not from her from being very vocally reminded that I do NOT like electricity going through my body.

Another time she came back from a class and told me she had learned how to test for "bone spurs". She explained that you pushed with your thumb in various places and watch for a "chandelier sign". I politely asked about bone spurs and she explained they usually go unnoticed until the person gets up years a ways. At my age, then in my mid twenties, I might have some but wouldn't notice them at all. Even with testing she probably wouldn't be able to find them. But she wanted to practice the tests anyway.

I should have paid more attention during the part about what a positive test result indicator was rather than the part about "probably wouldn't be able to find them". I took off my shoes and socks and she started pressing her thumb into the flesh around my heel. She pressed harder and harder and I could hear her grunting with the effort required to probe deep into the tissue of my feet which were nearly armored with strong muscles from playing tennis almost every day. It felt kind of nice. Basically I was getting my feet massaged which I considered a real treat. It was what I had expected when before we got married she said she wanted to become a physical therapist. I was relaxing and enjoying it and I could tell she was getting a little frustrated (see rule 8 above). I was sympathetic and asked, "What is it you are trying to get to happen again?" Between grunts she growled out, "A chandelier sign". I started to ask what that was when she said, "Maybe it's over here" and she pressed deep into my flesh. We didn't have a chandelier in our bedroom and hence I returned to floor level after bouncing off the ceiling. I do remember looking down at Barb still in position as if my foot was still cradled in her hands with her thumb mashing as hard as she could on that hidden button in my foot which should have been labeled, "DANGER! DO NOT PRESS UPON THE PAIN OF DEATH". She had a big smile on her face and after I stopped bouncing I demanded to know why she was so happy. Her glee was totally oblivious to my state of mind and she told me, "Because I found it! I couldn't find it in class but I found it with you! That was the chandelier sign. It was just like they said it would be." Her moments of happiness are somewhat rare with me around and since I had not warned her I did not like chandelier sign I didn't do anything but glare at her and resolved to listen more carefully and think things through in the future.

Surely, you might ask, there are some "benefits" (nudge, nudge) to being married to a physical therapist. My response to that is, "Do you know why physical therapists make such poor lovers? It's because they use ice to take the swelling down."

Lest you think my life is miserable or even uncomfortable I need to point out that I'm not only married to the physical therapist named Barbara, I'm also married to Barbara the woman. I'm not going to go into all the details but the card below is a hint. I get cards of a similar nature for my birthday, Valentine's Day, and our anniversary (click to see the inside):

Barb explained, "It really should say, 'You win', rather than 'You lose'". But it's close enough. I've been with her for 34 years now and most of the time I know how to read between the lines with her.

Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.

Thomas Paine
[Which is why every effort should be made to keep government at the smallest size necessary to accomplish its necessary and authorized functions.--Joe]

Richard Mundy spells it out for them in the Times Online. I just wonder if anyone is listening:

The firearms massacres that have periodically caused shock and horror around the world have been dwarfed by the Mumbai shootings, in which a handful of gunmen left some 500 people killed or wounded.

For anybody who still believed in it, the Mumbai shootings exposed the myth of “gun control”. India had some of the strictest firearms laws in the world, going back to the Indian Arms Act of 1878, by which Britain had sought to prevent a recurrence of the Indian Mutiny.

The guns used in last week’s Bombay massacre were all “prohibited weapons” under Indian law, just as they are in Britain. In this country we have seen the irrelevance of such bans (handgun crime, for instance, doubled here within five years of the prohibition of legal pistol ownership), but the largely drug-related nature of most extreme violence here has left most of us with a sheltered awareness of the threat. We have not yet faced a determined and broad-based attack.

The Mumbai massacre also exposed the myth that arming the police force guarantees security. Sebastian D’Souza, a picture editor on the Mumbai Mirror who took some of the dramatic pictures of the assault on the Chhatrapati Shivaji railway station, was angered to find India’s armed police taking cover and apparently failing to engage the gunmen.

...

In Britain we are not yet ready to recall the final liberty of the subject listed by William Blackstone in his Commentaries on the Laws of England as underpinning all others: “The right of having and using arms for self-preservation and defence.” We would still not be ready to do so were the Mumbai massacre to happen in London tomorrow.

“Among the many misdeeds of British rule in India,” Mahatma Gandhi said, “history will look upon the act depriving a whole nation of arms as the blackest.” The Mumbai massacre is a bitter postscript to Gandhi’s comment. D’Souza now laments his own helplessness in the face of the killers: “I only wish I had had a gun rather than a camera.”

So, since I know how to use machine guns, automatic weapons, submachine guns, rifles, pistols, explosives and other such - like I know how to find the proper place and time to defecate so as not to upset the public nor my friends and family - I don't need the regulations, laws and infringement on my rights to be armed and dangerous. I also don't advocate destruction of my community, government nor world to make it my way - but then I do think there are more good people in the world than bad - but the bad ones tell lies, cheat and dishonor their ancestors for personal gain and general stupidity. I remain, armed and dangerous, but then that is all in my mind and not in yours, you never think about me - just the old man in the back of the room.

William Earl Dungey
December 6, 2008
One issue people, arise and think.... it matters

This touches close to home for me, since our now WA state gubnuh "found" enough votes after recount after recount, to turn a loss into a victory.  Ann Coulter gives us more detail from the Minnesota senatorial race than you'll find anywhere in the Old Media;

According to Michael Barone, an examination of King County [Washington State] records showed that nearly 2,000 more mail-in ballots had been "cast" in King County than had been requested.

I was immediately suspicious when WA state went to an all mail-in voting system.  Now I'm not suspicious-- I know.

But Gregoire got to be governor — having done unusually well among the imaginary voters of King County.

The head of the Washington State Democratic Party orchestrating this ballot theft was Paul Berendt. Guess who is advising Al Franken on the Minnesota recount right now? That's right: Paul Berendt.

Surprise, surprise.  We now have evidence of an interstate rent-a-cheat.  Coulter adds;

And, per usual, the Republicans clearly haven't the vaguest notion what is about to hit them.

Clearly.  The Republicans are too busy trying to appear nice, and can't be bothered with vague abstractions like the rule of law, or the state and federal Constitutions.  I never could, and can never refer to them as the Grand Old Party.  For now, it's the Party of the Perpetually Clueless, or PPC.  The trouble with the clueless is that they never know they're clueless, and cowards always have a perfectly good rationale for doing nothing.

Uhhhh.... WOW!

Awesome picture Xenia.

Way too little:

To Our Valued Customers:

H-S Precision has received comments relating to individual testimonials in our 2008 catalog. All of the testimonials focused on the quality, accuracy and customer service provided by H-S Precision.

The management of H-S Precision did not intend to offend anyone or create any type of controversy. We are revising our 2009 catalog and removing all product testimonials.

Sincerely,

The Management of H-S Precision

As I said before McMillan makes excellent stocks and when I have another precision rifle built it will have anything but a H-S Precsion stock.

Via David.

Update: I agree with the Queen of Snark's last line on the topic.

We are still making progress even with the Obama adminstration gearing up for a take over. If we can only hold our ground for the next election or two we should be able to make progress again after the current set of bigots are thrown out of office.

Via the Triangle of Death:

Fairfax, Va. - The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), through the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, has announced the final amended version of its changes to rules on carrying of firearms in national parks and wildlife refuges. DOI’s move will restore the rights of law-abiding gun owners who wish to transport and carry firearms for lawful purposes on most DOI lands, and will make federal law consistent with the state law in which these public lands are located. The National Rifle Association (NRA) led the effort to amend the existing policy regarding the carrying and transportation of firearms on these federal lands.

Can anyone here imagine a group of ten ordinary American police officers standing, cowed, behind building corners and simply watching such a slaughter? I doubt it. There may be tactical considerations, and some reasonable self-preservation making a degree of caution possible, but a two-man team with AKs and grenades would not last long even in a place like Los Angeles. Transplant that same situation into most of the rest of America, that beyond the deep-urban elites, and the conclusion of the attack would be swift, brutal, and total, and not in favor of the attackers.

Let those same terrorists figuratively come ashore in a place like Pennsylvania, Texas, or Wyoming, and the police would be arriving only in time to distribute body bags and take pictures.

Cherry River Blog
December 4, 2008
Mumbai
Via David Hardy.
[As pointed out in the comments to the post: one word, "Columbine". But from both Columbine and 9/11 (flight 93) the police and private citizens learned valuable lessons. Sometimes fighting back NOW is the proper course of action. As long as people have the tools to fight I think the proper mindset will surface when the situation presents itself--even if it is somewhat repressed by modern society.--Joe]

David reports on what Remington says about HS Precision. Good on Remington. I hope things continue to go along the current path.

My only Remington gun is fitted to a HS Precision stock. Except for HS Precision thinking a government thug is a good endorsement I'm very pleased with the combination.

Just as studies showing the dangers of prejudice and error in jury trials should not undermine a criminal defendant’s Sixth Amendment rights, neither should studies purporting to show the dangers of private gun ownership undermine law-abiding individuals’ Second Amendment rights.

Richard K. Willard
D.C. versus Heller--brief Amicus Curiae Of The Heartland Institute in support of respondent.

Via Bruce Schneier:

They both say there are organized rings of thieves, who identify valuables in your checked luggage by looking at the TSA x-ray screens, then communicate with baggage handlers by text or cell phone, telling them exactly what to look for.

"This is a laptop here, VCR here and it's located in this area of the bag. Here's the color of the bag. They give them all the information they need to know."

"He was going through the bag like he was searching it? Yeah searching it."

Sky Nguyen knows firsthand. He took this picture of a TSA screener with his camera phone after he saw the agent steal his iPod.

"You saw the Nano in here? Yeah inside here between the glove and palm."

With 20/20 hindsight it makes perfect sense. With 10's of thousands of low paid people having access to property you normally have locked you have a huge attack surface (please excuse the geek talk).

As Bruce said:

Someone should investigate the extent to which the TSA's security measures facilitate crime.

TSA is a crime. It's government searching without a warrant. It's also nothing but A Security Theater.

In formerly Great Britain they banned nearly all guns, they have essentially banned self defense, and they are talking about registering and banning knives. With that sort of mindset it follows perfectly well that they have banned fire extinguishers as well.

Via Ry.

Why some choose to disarm in the face of a violent enemy is easily explained. Insanity. It's really no different than fighting a fire by throwing away an extinguisher. Or treating an infection with a Chinese fire drill. It does look like they're doing something, but I call it surrender.

There are times when negotiation is pointless and accommodation is only seen as weakness. Open carry of legally owned arms would go a long way toward throttling a criminal at the "thinking about it" stage of a violent crime.

Why the good people of Scotland and California continue to elect cowards that codify their fear into law is beyond me.

Ride Fast
December 2, 2008
Gun Control in Scotland
[My outrage is not easily translated into words and probably would be incriminating as well. I think I'm sexist because seeing injured females creates a visceral reaction unmatched by similar injuries to men. And you really don't want to know what I'm thinking right now.--Joe]

Tonight on Gun Nuts Radio will be a discussion about HS Precision and the "coveted Horiuchi endorsement".

I was planning on being at the range at that time but I may delay my range session just to listen in and chat live.

I've been playing "catch up" with all the Gun Nut Radio shows. I listened to about eight hours of them on my Zune in the last few days. I have a few more hours to go before I've finished all of them but I"ve been impressed.

It's interesting to see the development of the hosts over time. At the first things were a little "rough around the edges" but with Breda doing the research and Caleb being better prepared and more experienced it's smoothed out a bunch. And even with the rough spots, except for a few times when they corrected themselves very quickly, I never caught any instances where they got their facts wrong.

I never would have guessed. So someone didn't and commissioned a survey:

More than a third of Britons rank sexual activity at the top of their list of freetime activities, according to the YouGov survey conducted over the Internet.

That was more than the next three highest options combined - gossiping with friends (18 per cent), window shopping (9 per cent) and going to a museum (6 per cent). According to the poll, however, women preferred gossiping with friends, while men tended to rank sex as number one.

At least it was a private charity that did the research rather than using taxpayer money.

Better a cruel truth than a comfortable delusion.

Edward Abbey
[This is something the gun banners apparently cannot and/or will not understand. They refuse to answer Just One Question.--Joe]

Sebastian had a contest (which I intended to link to but never got around to in time) and the results are in. It is a very deserving entry. Congratulations Tim.

We now have a source of anti-matter.

The new information tools symbolized by the Internet are radically changing the possibility of how we can organize large-scale human efforts.

For most of human history, people have lived in small tribes where everything they did was known by everyone they knew. In some sense we’re becoming a global village. Privacy may turn out to have become an anomaly.

Thomas W. Malone
Director of the M.I.T. Center for Collective Intelligence
November 29, 2008
You’re Leaving a Digital Trail. What About Privacy?
[I am concerned that our shrinking privacy are just one component in an increasingly socialist and tyrannical world and the associated lowered standard of living.

Let me explain.

Capitalism was coincident with the greatest advancement in the human standard of living. I have to wonder if privacy is an essential part of capitalism and what the consequences of no privacy of association will be. If your business competition is friends with "big brother" any business deal you try to work on can be torpedoed. It won't be the market that decides which company is the most successful. It will be who has the best connections to the watchers. And socialism apologists are all for government watching.

And certainly lack of privacy means a lack of freedom. Your ability to escape an abusive relationship or government will be severely impacted.

See also this QOTD.--Joe]