Monthly Archives: May 2009

Nuke ’em from orbit

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A few weeks ago I piled on James Kelly with Kevin over the usual topic of gun control. I left the debate when Kelly admitted facts were irrelevant to his beliefs.

Yesterday Kevin dropped a nuke on him and Kelly responded, in part, with:

Secondly, if as Kevin earnestly believes, he has ‘statistically proved’ that more liberal gun laws actually make people safer, why can’t he show that the level of violence has not just fallen, but fallen to a lower level than in a comparable country that has had stringent gun laws for a prolonged period? As I’ve said repeatedly, that’s the kind of ‘statistical proof’ that would impress me, and it’s distinct absence is one of the reasons why most people in this country are secure in the knowledge that, at least on this one issue, we’ve got it right and countries like the US have got it disastrously wrong.

But Kevin showed that the U.K. violent crime rate dramatically increased after stringent gun laws were passed while U.S. gun laws remained “lax” and the supply increased while the violent crime rate went down. And if current trends continue it will only be a couple years before the official reports will show U.K. has more violent crime than the U.S. I say “official reports” because the U.K. government recently admitted they have been under reporting the numbers for years.

And furthermore Kevin pointed out numerous studies, including ones done in the U.K. that showed gun control laws, at best, did no good.

And what does Kelly say about Kevin’s post?

I will obviously never convince Kevin that those benefits exist, and he will doubtless continue to try to disprove their existence by resorting to a barrage of voodoo statistics, but I remain more than content that I am on the right side of this argument.

…the vast bulk of Kevin’s dissertation genuinely makes no sense to me at all.

He claims something would “impress me” then when given just that he says it is “voodoo statistics” and “makes no sense to me at all”.

He also takes the time to say that he didn’t read one of my posts because he didn’t like the title of the post:

I was also concerned at Joe Huffman’s semi-abusive blog post title, directed toward me personally. (Joe, incidentally, seemed astonished that I didn’t bother reading the contents of that post – did he seriously expect me to consciously choose to read a post entitled ‘What Was It That James Said That ****** Me Off’?) No-one with an ounce of self-respect would persevere with a ‘debate’ that had descended to that level.

That was “semi-abusive”? That was the reason he didn’t bother to read it? And he got the title wrong! It was actually “What did James say that pissed you off so much?”. Typical. He hears/reads what he expects/wants to hear/read rather than what was actually said.

And of course he refused to answer Just One Question with anything other than numbers that were easily demonstrated as wrong at which point he ignored it.

Kevin’s nuke from orbit was overkill for the pointy sticks and stones defense Kelly put up but it’s a great to have that post in the arsenal for next time.

How’s that gun licensing working out for you?

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Most people know that massive numbers of gun owners in Canada ignored the licensing requirements for long guns. And after spending about $2 Billion the Feds have been giving serious thought to scrapping the registry. Similar results are occurring in New Zealand:



Thousands of firearms remain potentially unaccounted for despite a police campaign for lifetime gun licence owners to renew or hand weapons in.


Police national manager operations Tony McLeod said nearly 50,000 people had not responded by the end of a campaign targeting lifetime gun licence holders to renew or surrender their weapons in 2002.


The Government scrapped the lifetime licences in 1992 for 10-year licences after David Gray killed 13 people in Aramoana in 1990.


Mr McLeod, who said there were about 225,000 licensed firearm owners with about 1.2 million guns in New Zealand, could not confirm how many weapons had since been retrieved.


He said police still actively pursued expired lifetime gun licence holders, but there was “also a process of natural attrition in relation to these”.


50K people who had originally registered with the state as gun owners are now openly defying the law. That is about 22% of the known gun owners defying the law. I wonder how many originally defied the law to register.


Μολὼν λαβέ

Due process? Who needs it?

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H. R. 2159 would allow the U.S. Attorney General deny people an ATF license for firearms or explosives without due process:

The Attorney General may deny a license application if the Attorney General determines that the applicant (including any responsible person) is known (or appropriately suspected) to be or have been engaged in conduct constituting, in preparation for, in aid of, or related to terrorism, or providing material support thereof, and the Attorney General has a reasonable belief that the applicant may use a firearm in connection with terrorism.’.

“Appropriately suspected”? Yeah, right. Like I donated money to his bosses opponent in the last election? Or he read Why Boomershoot?

Surely it there must be some sort of hearing and you are given a chance to see or respond to the evidence they used to arrive at the decision, right?

by striking ‘The Attorney General may, after notice and opportunity for hearing, revoke’ and insert ‘(2)’;
…
(1) in the 1st sentence of paragraph (1), by inserting ‘, except that if the denial or revocation is pursuant to subsection (d)(1)(H) or (e)(3), then any information on which the Attorney General relied for this determination may be withheld from the petitioner if the Attorney General determines that disclosure of the information would likely compromise national security’ before the period;
…
‘(b) In any case in which the Attorney General has denied the transfer of a firearm to a prospective transferee pursuant to section 922A or has made a determination regarding a firearm permit applicant pursuant to section 922B, an action challenging the determination may be brought against the United States. The petition must be filed not later than 60 days after the petitioner has received actual notice of the Attorney General’s determination made pursuant to section 922A or 922B. The court shall sustain the Attorney General’s determination on a showing by the United States by a preponderance of evidence that the Attorney General’s determination satisfied the requirements of section 922A or 922B. To make this showing, the United States may submit, and the court may rely on, summaries or redacted versions of documents containing information the disclosure of which the Attorney General has determined would likely compromise national security. On request of the petitioner or the court’s own motion, the court may review the full, undisclosed documents ex parte and in camera. The court shall determine whether the summaries or redacted versions, as the case may be, are fair and accurate representations of the underlying documents. The court shall not consider the full, undisclosed documents in deciding whether the Attorney General’s determination satisfies the requirements of section 922A or 922B.’.

No crime need be committed. The AG just has to have a bad feeling about you and you don’t get to see or respond to the evidence being used against you.

What Henry Kissinger said comes to mind.

Paintball and laser tag are next

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You can be pretty sure no one has been killed or injured with a gun used for laser tag and permanent injuries with paintball guns are exceedingly rare. But that isn’t really relevant is it? It’s the thought that counts:



The Christian Democratic Union and the Social Democrat Party agreed on Tuesday evening to reforms to Germany’s gun laws, which include a controversial ban on war games like paintball or laser-tag.


…


The draft law would also bar youths under the age of 18 from shooting high-caliber firearms at target practice.


…


The plan also contains provisions to impose hefty fines on the operators of war games like paintball, a game in which players use air-guns to shoot paint-filled ammunition at opponents. Lawmakers say the sport “simulates killing” and should be outlawed.

Quote of the day–Ben Franklin

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God grant that not only the love of liberty but a thorough knowledge of the rights of man may pervade all the nations of the earth, so that a philosopher may set his foot anywhere on its surface and say: This is my country.


Ben Franklin
[Unfortunately just the opposite has happened. Anywhere I may set my foot on this planet is oppressed and there is no place that I can say I want to live with this system of government. Now that Cheerios are being considered a drug (and here) will the fields in which we raise the oats for them be treated like fields of opium poppies?–Joe]

Progress at the Federal level–amazing

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This afternoon I watched with fascination on my cell phone as I got Twitter updates from bitterb on the amendment to a Senate bill that would allow guns in National Parks. It was debated and passed 67-29.


Can it pass in the House? Will Obama veto it if it reaches his desk?


Last November I could not have imagined any pro-gun bill passing by a 2/3s majority in either house at the Federal level.

Quote of the day–Alex Levine

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If President Obama has ruled out a revival of the Assault Weapons Ban, he should at least use his political capital to redefine the issue of gun control. As a Chicago resident, he must be acutely aware of the toll of reckless gun use. As a party leader, Obama may be keen to renew an old party tenet through an electorally important lens. Perhaps even the term, “gun control,” should be overhauled. Democracies and, ultimately, the people, thrive on adversarial conversations on public policy. Despite disagreements on the efficacy or constitutionality of such restrictions, the nation is being done a disservice if at least one party doesn’t question the role of non-sporting guns in our society and their limited state of regulation. At the very least, the families of the thousands of dead due to gun violence deserve an honest debate.

Alex Levine
May 12, 2009
The gun control debate must be re-framed as a pro-security issue
[There are at least three things which Mr. Levine fails to recognize. 1) The anti-gun people lose big time from that view point as well; 2) The anti-gun people lose big time in any honest debate; and 3) The anti-gun people have been renaming their objectives, their names, and “reframing” the debate for decades and each time they were identified for what they were–wolves in sheep’s clothing and anti-gun bigots.

In my comment I asked Just One Question, but I don’t expect an honest answer.–Joe]

I have to laugh

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Socialism. It’s made of FAIL:



The state budget deficit has nearly doubled in the past two months, climbing past $15 billion, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger disclosed Monday.


The sober news comes a week before a May 19 statewide vote on a set of ballot budget-related measures that, if defeated, would push the deficit past $21 billion, Schwarzenegger warned in a letter to legislative leaders.


It was Socialism that brought about the collapse of the U.S.S.R. It will be socialism that brings about the collapse of the California government. And I’ll not be surprised if it brings down the U.S. government as well.


And as painful as it will be to most people I’ll still laugh because I’m not above saying “I told you so.” And I’ll have all the food, clean water, and the guns and ammo to defend it while the socialist “intellectuals” are unable to find a way to dispose of their own waste in a sanitary manner let alone find water or food fit for consumption. They can tell me, again, how important, how right, how justified they are in their cities as they cry themselves to sleep with an empty stomach, in their own filth, in the dark.

Quote of the day–ErnestThing

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This is what America is all about. Regular, hard working people, getting together to have fun in whatever way pleased them. There aren’t very many other countries in the world that would let their citizens own, essentially, the same guns their military uses, practice shooting at what could be considered head-sized targets at hundreds of yards, and mix explosives in a shed for fun.

Boomershoot was a celebration of our freedoms.
A celebration of trust between a government and its citizens.
A celebration of challenge and skill.
A celebration of us.


ErnestThing
May 11, 2009
Boomershoot 2009
[Awesome post. But then I’m exceedingly biased. He’s giving praise to my “baby”.–Joe]

I wish

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Full disclosure and disclaimer time. I work for Microsoft. The following opinion is my personal opinion and does not represent, to the best of my knowledge, the opinion of anyone in MS management.


The EU is about to fine Intel:



Microsoft and Intel are taking it on the chin in Europe these days. On Wednesday, the EU is expected to bring down a heavy fine on Intel for its myriad anticompetitive activities at the expense of AMD. The Wall Street Journal reports it will be one of the biggest fines in the EU’s history.


The anticompetetition commissioner can fine Intel as much as 10 percent of its annual revenue. That would be a $3.8 billion fine based on 2008 revenue, more than triple the $1.16 billion charged to Microsoft for noncompliance in the EU’s long-running antitrust action against Redmond.


One has to wonder what percentage of the EU income is based on fines and what percentage is based on taxes. But most of all I wonder how long the EU would last without Intel and Microsoft products. I’m sure Intel and Microsoft could do without the EU a lot better than the EU could do without Microsoft and Intel.


I just wish Microsoft and Intel had the gumption and the means to demonstrate that to those commies.

Mother’s Day thoughts

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Via Joe D. on an email list:

A Mother’s Love
Normally I don’t send or forward a lot of these, but even by my standards, it was a bit touching. I want all of my friends to feel what I felt when I read it. Hope it touches your heart like it did mine.
This is so beautiful…..


A little boy says to his mother, “Mommy, how come I’m black and you’re white?”
His mother replied, “Don’t even go there! From what I can remember about that party, you’re lucky you don’t bark!“

This reminds me of the wise-ass response I used to give after our son James was born. It used to go something like this:

[Barb and I meet some friend or relative with our new-born son. They smile and look at him, then the smile fades to a look of confusion.]

Friend: Why does he have blond hair and blue eyes when both of you have dark hair and hazel eyes?

Joe: We don’t know for sure. We are just glad he didn’t turn out black or Asian.

Barb: Joseph! That’s not funny! We both have a sibling with blond hair and blue eyes and both of his grandfathers have light colored hair and blue eyes.

After a few occurrences the exchange changed. It then went something like this:

Friend: Why does he have blond hair and blue eyes when both of you have dark hair and hazel eyes?

Joe: We don’t [thump] You hit me!

Barb: You deserved it.

Quote of the day–Lewis Mumford

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The way people in democracies think of the government as something different from themselves is a real handicap. And, of course, sometimes the government confirms their opinion.


Lewis Mumford
[It seems to me that most people don’t really realize what government is. Some people think of government as a replacement for god(s). Some people think of it as a replacement for parents. These people are wrong and, if they weren’t allowed to vote, their delusions would be mostly harmless. But they enable the ever growing power and danger of governments. I just wish everyone didn’t have to suffer through the lessons of what government really is when so many of us have been trying to explain it, to deaf ears, for so long. But it appears the lesson is coming whether we already knew it or not. I just hope this lesson sticks this time.–Joe]

Boomershoot bloggers

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This year I decided to have a Boomershoot Gun Blogger Day. If you were a gun blogger you could show up on Thursday and get a behind the scenes tour and help (with the proper ATF paperwork) or watch the explosives being made. As it turned out most of it consisted of me standing around and telling stories. I had hoped they would have some fun ideas for doing things with the explosives like putting them in the water and/or mud, making craters, or blowing holes in old logs or some such thing. But everyone seemed to have a good time anyway, even after putting out the fire from the fireball demo.


Here is the list of Boomershoot Gun Bloggers and their posts about the event who were in attendence for at least part of Boomershoot (arranged by their shooting position on the line):



Thanks to all the bloggers that attended, posted wonderful stuff, and took thousands of pictures.


If I’ve overlooked a blogger or some posts let me know and I’ll make the corrections. Thanks.


Update: I’ve made a couple updates since the original posting. I added a section for Kris and another post to Aaron’s list.


Update2: I added a link to ErnestThing’s (#25) post.


Update3: I added some more links from Matthew (#61).


Update4 (May 18): Another link to Aaron Neal’s list of posts (#50).

Quote of the day–Traction Control

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As the “Right Wing” is now being singled out by the Janet Nepolitano’s DHS as “extremists” and taxation is inevitably being prepared to bankrupt generations to come, perhaps we should realize that War has already been declared on American Values, Heritage, Birthright and Prosperity.


I say we prepare to designate households, then neighborhoods, towns, cities, counties, States, Regions and eventually the whole country as “Hell No” zones.  Starting with the refusal to pay ANY TAXES, and showing up en masse to prevent the lawyers from enforcing any individual seizure of private property in a self-proclaimed “Hell No“ zone.


Rolling back every law enacted since the Constitution was ratified would be a good start, too.


I hereby declare ALL Taxes are against my consent.  And pledge to defend any other household to declare itself a “Hell No” zone. 


Beginning with mine.


ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ!


Traction Control
May 2, 2009
Democracy Overrun in Pakistan. In the US? Hell No!
[I admit to getting a warm pleasant feeling from the thought. But most of my taxes are paid without my control via payroll deductions and as part of the purchase price as in sales and gas taxes. It will take people “unplugging from the grid” to even to begin to accomplish this on a wide scale. That doesn’t mean I might not support others that can establish a “Hell No” zone but I’m not sure how much that would help.–Joe]

Socialism isn’t creeping

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Sometimes I will read about “creeping socialism”. No one with a room temperature IQ, half functional news sources, and at least one foot outside the nearest mental hospital can avoid the conclusion socialism is in high gear and about to shift into overdrive at full throttle. GM, Chrysler, and the banking industry in this country are already being crushed by the socialists. Our path leads to Venezuela:




Venezuelan soldiers at an event presided over by President Hugo Chávez on Friday celebrating the seizure of contractors’ assets.


President Hugo Chávez asserted greater control over the country’s energy industry on Friday by seizing the assets of some foreign and domestic oil contractors while his government grapples with a sharp decline in oil revenue and mounting debts.


…


Venezuela, which relies on oil for about 93 percent of its export earnings, has not paid some of the oil contractors since late last year, according to filings by companies like Williams Companies, based in Tulsa, Okla., which said last month that it did not expect to receive $241 million it was owed here. Petróleos de Venezuela had been seeking a reduction of about 40 percent in its overall debt to the companies, which is estimated by industry analysts to be about $10 billion.


Our “people will never again be anyone’s slave,” Mr. Chávez said Friday.


Industry representatives in the oil-producing state of Zulia said uniformed soldiers had begun occupying oil installations on Thursday, shortly before the National Assembly approved a measure allowing the takeovers. The move deepens Mr. Chávez’s control of the oil industry, following the imposition of higher royalties on foreign oil companies, raids on their offices by tax authorities and the nationalization of large oil-producing projects in recent years.


“…never again be anyone’s slave”? Really? What do you call it when someone claiming superiority over you takes the results of your work for their own use without compensation? It seems pretty clear to me the oil contractors are being treated like slaves. And as things continue to deteriorate both in Venezuela and the U.S. expect more and more slaves to be created.


I’d ask my cousin who used to work in the Venezuela oil industry what he thought of the situation but I can’t. He died while in Venezuela a while back under suspicious circumstances.

Quote of the day–Steven M. Simpson

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The nature of the right as understood and incorporated by the Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment also affects the type of protection implied by that right. Being an individual right against all levels of government, the degree of scrutiny should be heightened and governmental justifications viewed with skepticism. Furthermore, given the self-defense justifications of the right, any competing claim that seeks to deny the right of or need for self defense would be inconsistent with the embedded purpose and assumptions of the right to bear arms and hence invalid on its face. Finally, while there certainly are some restrictions on arms that even the Framers understood to be permissible — use only for lawful purpose, for example — any restrictions supposedly advancing permissible interests cannot be allowed to prevent ordinary citizens from exercising the core of the right and owning a weapon capable of protecting themselves, their families, and their communities if necessary, in the very circumstances where such protection would be necessary.


Steven M. Simpson
D.C. versus Heller, Brief for the Institute for Justice as Amicus Curiae in support of respondent.
[Basically, if the government is going to claim a restriction on weapons they cannot do so in a manner which would restrict self-defense. Hence prohibitions on weapons in certain cities, such as Chicago, should be considered unconstitutional.–Joe]

Allegedly Suspected Victim or Alleged Victim Suspected?

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I heard a local news report on the radio today.  It seems a couple of innocent young men were minding their own business, you know, urinating on someone’s car, when the man in the car stepped out and set about beating the two “urinators” with a golf club.


Nothing out of the ordinary for a college town, except that the report referred to the car owner as the “suspect” and the urinators as the “victims”.


Oh yeah– nothing out of the ordinary there either.


How does that saying go; “While I don’t condone the action [of beating them with a golf club] I can certainly understand it”?


Tip: If you don’t actually want to have yourself beaten with a golf club, it would be a good idea to refrain from urinating on other people’s possessions.  Just sayin’.

Is that what you call it?

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From the New York Times:



Two weeks ago, Mr. Schumer, a prominent gun control advocate, invited Ms. Gillibrand to a news conference in Manhattan to unveil a gun control plan.


When it was her turn to speak, Ms. Gillibrand faced skepticism, given her past support for gun owners’ rights. “How much of this is political expediency?” one reporter asked.


Eventually, Mr. Schumer, stepped in, saying he, too, made adjustments when he went from a House seat to the Senate. “When you start representing a new area, you learn, you meet other people and you grow,” he explained.


Then the news conference came to an end and the two senators strolled off to lunch.


Would you call it “growth” if a defender of equal rights for blacks started praising George Wallace’s segregation policies? For Gillibrand to support a gun control plan and “stroll off to lunch” with Schumer is like a NAACP supporter going to lunch with David Duke. Gillibrand is just another politician without principles.