With the Heller decision we successfully landed on the beach and are now advancing.
The Apex of the Triangle of Death reports on the latest victory in Morton Grove Illinois where they surrendered without firing a shot.
Monthly Archives: July 2008
Google Juice
Uncle points out that gun bloggers can change the perception of the world. By providing more links to the viewpoint we want presented we move the ranking of web pages up the chart on Google and other search engines.
Our next target is Carry Permit Holders.
Gun selection for our mercenary training
The top ten gun bloggers (it was a rigged election–I know it must be because I won) are going to Blackwater USA next month for some training with Todd Jarrett all sponsored by Para.
We aren’t being trained as mercs but I figure it’s a good story to tell people and I love the shock value.
Para is supplying the guns and has asked each of us what caliber we want. I asked for .40 because that is the pistol caliber I most frequently reload. Sorry, that wasn’t an option. My options were 9mm and .45. I have all the components and equipment for 9mm so I initially asked for that. Then a minute or so later I asked what the capacity on that gun was. It is 9 + 1. Arghh! 9mm and it’s not even a reasonably high capacity? I carry 18 + 1 in my .40! Okay, so if I’m going to be stuck with a low capacity gun I might as well go with the larger caliber. So it’s the .45. It’s a 1911 style gun and I can use it in the Single Stack division (I currently shoot Limited) for USPSA competition.
Now I find out that this isn’t exactly a 1911 style as I think of it. It’s a “Light Double Action” trigger instead of a single action trigger! The 9mm they offered has a single action trigger. Hmmmm… It’s looking like we’re talking the lesser of two evils here.
Okay. I’ll give them chance. I’ll still go with the .45 but this might be putting me at a disadvantage with the bet I have with Caleb. He’s going with the 9mm and he is spending a lot of time practicing.
Uncle is doing a survey to resolve his similar quandary.
Interview about the gun culture
I knew the call was coming, he called right on time and we talked for nearly 50 minutes.
Brian Doherty is writing a book that is primarily on the Heller case. It’s title is Gun Control on Trial: Inside the Supreme Court Battle Over the Second Amendment. I’m not sure how it came about but Stephanie, who has done a lot of PR work for Boomershoot, referred him to me. Mostly as a side note Doherty wanted information on the gun culture and how this great clash of ideas culminated in the Heller case.
After Doherty and I exchanged email and agreed on a time for the interview Stephanie called me and said I should send him a link to a blog post of mine from several years ago. She doesn’t like to talk about certain things on the phone and did a lot of hinting without coming out and saying things. It went something like, “That blog post about Boomershoot, the one that might get you fired, the one that is sort of extreme, but is what guns are all about.” I knew which one she meant–Why Boomershoot. I sent it and, as Stephanie suggested, it was a good conversation starter.
The interview went well. Where did I grow up and did I grow up with weapons as part of my daily life? Was the political viewpoint espoused in the post part of my growing up? Have things changed in the last decade or so? The sub-title to your blog is “Ramblings of a red-necked, knuckle-dragging, Neanderthal.” Do you think people, including those around where you live, actually think of you as that? How did you arrive at your political viewpoint on guns? How many people attend Boomershoot? Did you have a lot of regulatory hurdles to overcome for Boomershoot? Do the people that attend share your political views as expressed in the blog post? Do you talk about that sort of stuff a lot at Boomershoot? When the media shows up do you give them that side of event? “No”, I told him, “That would scare the white people.”
Once I answered all his questions I had a few questions for him.
Had he read Unintended Consequences by John Ross? Nope he hadn’t. I gave him my two minute overview of it with a slant toward what I figured Doherty’s interest would be in it–the gun culture and the revolution. I told him that I had talked to Ross, he was approachable, and that he probably would be a good person to interview as well.
What did he think of Boomershoot? He said he was planning to attend this year and something came up. He really wants to attend next year. I offered to put on a private party for him if he wanted to show up sometime before next April.
During the conversation I sent him several links that gave more thoughtful answers and background to our conversation:
Published by Cato Institute he expects the book to be released in late October but Amazon says, “November 25, 2008”.
I’ll be buying a copy.
Quote of the day–Gay Cynic
For many of us, the *only* position we agree with Barack Hussein Obama on even somewhat is LGBT civil rights, and even then, many of us have reservations about issues such as hate crimes legislation. For example, I truly don’t care *why* someone is having the crud kicked out of them by a band of thugs, I merely desire that it stop immediately and that very bad and consistent things happen to the thugs regardless of the reason for the beating, excepting self-defense (and I have great difficulty imagining 5:1 as self-defense).
For us, it is the *act* that offends far more than the reason – at least partially because telepathy is not required to ascertain most criminal acts, where divining the reason for misbehavior is much more treacherous.
Blessed with lawful carry, we are in a position to choose defend ourselves and our loved ones against the bullies, bigots, and generally bad persons that would harass, assault, maim, or kill us.
Gay Cynic
June 15, 2008
The Endless Contest
[On why the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans-sexual (LGBT) crowd should hold their noses and vote for McCain this fall.–Joe]
Bigotry examples
The other day I provided a link to a blog post Sebastian had found. The post and particularily the comments were filled with some of the most vile bigotry toward gun owners, particularily women, I have ever seen. Tonight I stumbled across more bigotry examples. These were about some of the pictures in the book Armed America:
Krapulator
March 14th, 2008 – 11:40 am
HAHAHA What a bunch of nut jobs! No wonder there are so many shootings in America
Hillbillies
March 14th, 2008 – 12:48 pm
Freaks!!!!!!!! What a bunch of nut jobs!!!!!
Redneck Hillbillies!!!!!!!!!
Thats “the bible belt” in pictures!!!!
amigo
March 14th, 2008 – 1:30 pm
WOW … now i see true face of democracy. long live moronity!
Harl
March 14th, 2008 – 1:54 pm
A lot of small cocks. no?
I have a brain…
March 14th, 2008 – 2:08 pm
Poor America ! Why do you need all these toys ? Is it that difficult to defend yourself with words ? Is violence the only language you understand ?
I like the pictures of the kids holding the guns… Bowling for Columbine… remember ??? Are you, americans (lowercase) shocked when a riffle occurs ? Well… you now know how it is so easily possible !
Dear americans, don’t be sad when you’re shot… America provides you with the guns !!!
NRA can be proud, they have made a good brainwashing ! And they make a good money on your back…
A European with a brain !
AMAZING
March 14th, 2008 – 2:33 pm
Conservative Muslim Redneck hillbilly gun owner.
Different Regions. Different Cultures. Different Background.
!!!!But they look just the same!!!!!!!! It’s amazing!!!!!
Happy not being American
March 14th, 2008 – 3:01 pm
yet more American ego macho wank. No wonder you kill yourselves so frequently… fucking retards.
Nice pictures.
Spitz R. S. Wallows
March 14th, 2008 – 3:28 pm
Anyone that would pose their child with a gun needs their testicles cut out.
Is there any doubt why most of the world considers Americans freaks?
Some of the most disturbing pictures I have ever seen.
America is phucked.
They aren’t all bad. But my friend Ry (14th pic) is singled out in one of the nicer comments:
Ken
March 14th, 2008 – 3:33 pm
Most of the people in the photos are just collectors. You have to admit it beats the hell out of beanie babies. The guy in the 14th pic is a little scary though.
Americans were given the right to own guns as a way to keep the government from screwing them. (A fat lot of good it did!)
It makes me feel like I was back in grade school when I would explain something to the teacher or to the class and I got called names and was picked on by some of the other kids. The truth does not matter. All that matters is that the attackers find a way to feel superior to their victims. I had no way, no language, no words, no physical acts to rectify the situation. These people do not want to face reality and therefore they cannot be forced to face reality. Perhaps that is a major component to most bigotry.
‘We Can’t Drill Our Way Out of This Problem’
We’ve all heard it. That’s the current mantra of the Left, and if there’s anything we have for certain all heard a thousand times, it’s a Leftist mantra.
There are two camps on this issue. In one camp, the people suck it right up, fully accept it, and repeat it any time the discussion comes up.
The other camp is incredulous. “How could anyone be so stupid..” they might ask, “..to believe we can’t drill for more oil, increase the future supply, send a message to the market that lots more oil is on the way, and thereby bring down the price?”
That’s a perfectly sensible question. To say that we can’t drill our way out of an impending oil shortage is of course exactly like saying you can’t eat your way out of hunger, you can’t warm your way out of hypothermia, and you can’t drink your way out of thirst.
It’s just plain incomprehensible that anyone would make such a claim, so why do the Leftists keep saying it? They seem all to understand it, and they all seem to embrace it, so what’s going on?
The problem, as always, is in the use of the language. We are assuming that by “this problem” the Left means, “the combination of high demand and restricted supply that results in a high price”. We’ve been wrong about this the whole time, however. What the Left means by “this problem” is actually, “human success” particularly “American success”. Translated properly into Left-Speak then, the phrase, “We can’t drill our way out of this problem” make perfect sense. It would read something like, “We can’t drill our way out of American success” which is of course perfectly true and obvious. We could drill and pump and drill and pump, and still we’d be a vibrant, successful, creative and productive nation. For the Left, that outcome would of course be insufferable.
Now you understand.
Carry on.
Quote of the day–Adam Winkler
The court says, for instance, that the Heller decision does not mean to cast doubt on longstanding bans on felons having possession of firearms, or bans on the mentally incompetent having possession of weapons, bans on weapons in sensitive places and restrictions on the sale and purchase of weapons. But to say you’re not casting into doubt those things is not the same thing as to say that those laws are all constitutionally permissible. And indeed, if the court was saying those are all constitutionally permissible laws, there’s certainly no argument in the opinion or justification for why those laws are constitutional and the D.C. handgun ban is not constitutional.
Adam Winkler
July 17, 2008
Heller’s Fallout The Court’s Decision Raises More Legal Questions Than It Answers
[Excellent point! I had been annoyed that the Brady Bunch and other have been saying all these various restrictions were constitutional and I couldn’t find it in the Heller decision. All I could find was that the Heller decision didn’t apply to those restriction. I presumed that was because those weren’t at issue in the Heller case. I’m glad someone with more legal expertise agrees with my reading of this. Hence my reading of Heller is that the court is inviting challenges to those restrictions.–Joe]
Talking point
Sebastian points us to this piece of extreme bigotry.
I think the good guys have a better response to the demand for one gun a month restrictions. The background details are here but the one line response we need to hit these guys with is:
How do you propose to enforce one gun a month?
Quote of the day–Mike Brown
Which do I have to check at the door, my Fourth Amendment rights, my First Amendment rights or my Second Amendment rights?
Mike Brown
Troy Idaho Attorney
July 16, 2008
Borne arms
[This was on the topic of guns being carried to city council meetings, inside the state capital, and other public meeting places. Mike is the founder of Idaho Sport Shooters Alliance. He is also a top notch handgun shooter.–Joe]
We have a winner!
Don Gwinn of The Armed School Teacher has just announced he got the 11th position at the Gun Blogger Summer Camp. Congratulations Don!
I’ll see you in a few weeks.
H/T to Tam (who will also be attending) for the link to Gwinn’s announcement post.
No surprise here
I had said before that even with the Heller win the gun bigots will scream and yell, and refuse to obey the law as long as they can. They are doing just that:
The proposal, which maintains some of the city’s strict gun ownership rules and adds more regulations, was immediately criticized by gun rights advocates threatening more legal action.
Handguns will still be banned, except for self-defense in the home, city officials said at a noon news conference. Sawed-off shotguns, machine guns and short-barreled rifles are still prohibited.
Keep in mind that their definition of a “machine gun” is any gun that holds 12 or more rounds.
And the difference between what was declared unconstitutional and what they are proposing is minimal. Imagine if some Jim Crow law was declared unconstitutional and the bigot revised their laws in a similar manner:
Police will register one handgun per person for the first 90 days after the legislation becomes law, city officials said. A six-month amnesty period will be set up during which residents can register guns already in their possession.
…
“We have crafted what I believe to be a model for the nation in terms of complying with the Supreme Court’s Second Amendment decision and at the same time protecting our citizens,” interim Attorney General Peter Nickles said.
…
The new legislation also modifies existing law to clarify that firearms must be stored unloaded and either disassembled or secured with a trigger lock, gun safe or similar device, officials said. There would be an exception for guns in the home that are being used against the “reasonably perceived threat of immediate harm.”
…
D.C. residents who want to register handguns must complete an application from MPD’s firearms registration section, pass a written firearms test and provide photos, proof of residency and proof of good vision. They also will be fingerprinted
A model for the nation?
I think the Supreme Court should issue varmint licenses and put a bounty on these bigots heads. That should be the model for the nation.
Quote of the day–Caleb of Call Me Ahab
I have had a tendency in my young life to occasionally run my mouth with abandon (my wife is shaking her head at that); however I have been fortunate in the majority of this situations to be able to back up my mouth with skill or plain old dumb luck.
The more I read Joe’s archives, the more I realize I’m going to need a lot of the latter to win our friendly wager.
Caleb of Call Me Ahab
July 15, 2008
Pride goeth…
[Caleb will be at Gun Blogger Summer Camp with me next month. In a long email thread among some of the bloggers with the subject “My dad can beat up your dad” Caleb ended up challenging me to a bet on our shooting abilities. I can only recall accepting two bets in the last 35 years (I won both). I just don’t bet unless I’m pretty close to certain that I’m going to win. This was the most risky bet I have accepted in the last 35 years. Based on the cards face up on the table I’ve got a better hand but one never knows until all the cards are turned over. That will occur on August 24th.–Joe]
Only if I can buy tags
New Jersey is so repressive toward gun owners that the only way I would willingly go into that hell hole is if I could buy tags, or preferably a license for varmints, to harvest politicians:
The 20-year-old sales clerk at a shop at Menlo Park Mall and former Middlesex County College student had a pellet handgun in the car, according to an indictment filed last week in Superior Court, New Brunswick.
…
Under a new state law, Narciso’s possession of the weapon qualifies as a Graves Act offense. Narciso could face what prosecutors and criminal defense attorneys call a “hard three,” meaning three years with no prospect of parole.
Personality test
This wasn’t some cheesy Internet quiz of some sort. This was something that my company paid big dollars for and followed up with a nearly full day of “training” to explain the results to us. Everyone in our organization had to participate. Mandatory training they said. Okay, whatever.
I was surprised. They really nailed a bunch of things for me. View the results for yourself here.
During the training they gave us these four little soft plastic blocks that looked very much like Lego’s. They were a training tool and as the training started people were sort of playing with them as the instructor talked. Then someone had the blocks fly apart and scatter across one of the tables. “A block explosion!”, the instructor announced. Her assistant went to the white board and recorded the explosion. Someone asked, “What does it mean?” The instructor said they didn’t know for certain but they keep track of them to see if we can figure something out. There were no more block explosions all day.
The one person to have a block explosion was also the only person in the room with a ATF license to manufacture high explosives. You should have heard the people in my group laugh when instructor called it a block explosion. No one else in the room understood the significance like they did.
I’m glad we went the other way
England took a wrong turn. The evidence is so glaring obvious that I’m sure most of them, at some level, realize it as well:
In May this year, the Met launched Operation Blunt 2, another high-profile initiative to tackle knife crime – again using special stop and search powers in high-risk areas and airport-style metal detectors. The home secretary, Jacqui Smith, announced a £5m package to tackle violent crime. Since then, 27,000 people have been searched, 1,200 arrested and 500 knives seized. Of those arrested, 95% have since been charged with weapons offences, the Met said.
Uncle has more evidence.
The problem is, even with the overwhelming evidence, they have too much invested in the decision. It’s too psychologically uncomfortable to admit they were wrong. It takes a great deal of character strength to admit you were wrong when you have invested 100’s of millions (billions?) of pounds and who knows how many lives lost in a scheme that was counter productive to your stated goal. They don’t have the strength of character to do that. Very few people would. It’s particularly difficult when you have social support for your conviction. There will be more and more proselyting for this failed belief system until they hit a very firm and undeniable dead end. That will likely be a exceedingly repressive police state. Getting themselves out of that will not be easy or pretty.
I’m so glad we managed to avoid that path into the abyss.
Quote of the day–Steve Chapman
Presumptuous paternalists argue that Americans should be deprived of guns because gun owners are their own worst enemies. A lot of Americans would reply: We can’t trust ourselves, but we can trust you?
Steve Chapman
July 13, 2008
Is buying a gun a suicidal act?
[Nice! The other day Sebastian said we need to be ready to counter the suicide angle. I think this is excellent response.–Joe]
They are giving up
Don Kaul has written dozens of columns supporting gun restrictions. He now says he has given up:
I’ve given up on gun control. That battle is over. We’ve lost. I no longer think it’s an achievable goal and if I were a politician I wouldn’t lose an election over it.
It sounds as if he is still a bigot. He just isn’t going to advocate for legislation to support his bigotry. That’s good enough for now. Someone in his neighborhood should offer to take him to the range and offer him a chance to join the winning team.
Boomershoot in the newspaper
As I mentioned the other day I expected something in todays Idaho Statesman about anvil launching (like we do at Boomershoot). The story is here.
Quote of the day–Doug Huffman
One of the more serious problems with our modern society is that the evolution of man has changed directions. The lesser intelligent people multiply much faster than the more intelligent people.
Doug Huffman
[This is something my brother told me over 20 years ago and I put in my collection of quotes. Today he sent his kids and me this link on a related topic.–Joe]