Chicago people are slow learners

9 people killed in 36 shootings over the weekend in Chicago:

Nine people were killed in 36 shootings over the weekend in Chicago, reflecting what some community leaders say is a deadly breakdown in discipline among gang members after a crackdown over the past few years put many of their leaders behind bars.

[…]

The shootings included drive-by attacks, and one case in which someone shot up a plumbing supply store with an AK-47. At least 14 of the shootings were gang-related, according to police. As for the rest, the only thing they can say for sure is that three had nothing to do with gangs.

[…]

Around the country, a number of cities, including Boston, New York, Los Angeles and Dallas, are not reporting surges in gang violence.

So, Mayor Daley, how is that handgun ban working out for you?

You would think the lessons of alcohol prohibition would not have to be retaught for recreation drug and gun prohibition. But for some reason that isn’t the case and Chicago appears to be the natural epicenter of demonstrating this lesson. What seems so odd to me is that it is taking so much longer to learn the lesson this time. I guess people in Chicago are just slow learners.

You are doing it wrong

Wrong search terms, wrong location, on the wrong website, with a webmaster that watches his log files. I’m filling out the police report now.

Greensboro is just 90 miles from Chesterfield (have you sees the news lately?):

Domain Name (Unknown) 
IP Address 216.79.193.# (BellSouth.net)
ISP BellSouth.net
Location
Continent  : North America
Country  : United States  (Facts)
State  : North Carolina
City  : Greensboro
Lat/Long  : 36.0844, -79.8209 (Map)
Distance  : 2,038 miles
Language English (U.S.)
en-us
Operating System Microsoft WinXP
Browser Internet Explorer 6.0
Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1; .NET CLR 1.1.4322; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; .NET CLR 3.0.04506.30; InfoPath.2; .NET CLR 3.0.04506.648)
Javascript version 1.3
Monitor
Resolution  :  1024 x 768
Color Depth  :  16 bits
Time of Visit   Apr 22 2008 10:34:38 am
Last Page View Apr 22 2008 10:34:53 am
Visit Length 15 seconds
Page Views   1
Referring URL http://www.google.co…w to bomb a building
Search Engine google.com
Search Words how to bomb a building
Visit Entry Page http://blog.joehuffm…ombBuildingHelp.aspx
Visit Exit Page http://blog.joehuffm…ombBuildingHelp.aspx
Out Click http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=how to make a small bomb
http://www.google.co…to make a small bomb
Time Zone UTC-5:00
Visitor’s Time Apr 22 2008 1:34:38 pm
Visit Number 288,609

Quote of the day–Sue McFadden

Our neighbours are so snobby – they call us the ‘Shameless’ family and say that we ought to go out to work. But how can we work when we have all these children to look after?

Sue McFadden
March 2008
Grandmother in a family where not one member has worked in three generations.
Raised on welfare, the ‘Why Bother?’ generation that doesn’t want to work
[H/T to Ben Cunningham and Say Uncle. My answer to her question would be that no one would eat if they didn’t work and the problem of “all these children” would be solved. Either they would never have been born or they would be adopted by someone who was able to feed them.

My personal experience with welfare recipients is congruent with the article. Most people accepting handouts do so because of the choices they made and continue to make. They become experts in the field of public assistance.–Joe]

Quote of the day–Ben LaBolt

Obama’s eight years on the board of the Joyce Foundation, which paid him more than $70,000 in directors fees, do not in any way conflict with his campaign-trail support for the rights of gun owners.

Ben LaBolt
April 2008
Obama linked to gun control efforts
Spokesman for Obama’s presidential campaign in a statement issued to Politico this week.
[I say Wayne LaPierre’s years as the Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the NRA would not in any way conflict with support of a national ban on handguns. And David Duke’s time as a Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan and his founding of the National Association for the Advancement of White People do not in any way conflict with his support for the rights of blacks.

I can only think of two alternatives:

  1. LaBolt thinks people will believe this even though he knows it isn’t true
  2. LaBolt believes this himself

Either way he has crap for brains.–Joe]

Quote of the day–New York State Assembly

The 50-caliber weapon is one of the most dangerous weapons in the U.S. military’s arsenal.

New York State Assembly
BILL NO A02772A
[As they have defined 50-caliber weapons this wasn’t true even 200 years ago, long before AC-130s, B-52s, cruise missiles, ICBMs, and tactical nukes. I can’t imagine what alternate reality these people live in. I can only conclude they have mental problems. How did these mental cases get elected to office? Are the majority of people in New York State suffering from some sort of mass delusion?–Joe]

Too stupid for explosives

From my Bomb Help email folder:

From: Peter 
Sent: Tuesday, April 15, 2008 7:47 AM
To: joeh@boomershoot.org
Subject: let make thing happen

 

Hello…

My name is peter and i am really sad because the mothers in my hood simple told thier daughters to stay away from me because i am too bad a science and i may use their daughter for lab. experiment so i want you to help me do some thing really loud to disturb the peaceful sleep of the hood and blow up some cars that they never ride…..i like bombs from watchs and home appliances but let the procedure be simple so i will never get confused durung the process for safety

reasons…….http://www.boomershoot.org

Cheers

Peter…

  between 0000-00-00 and 9999-99-99

I wouldn’t even consider him for suicide bomber mission:

From: Joe Huffman
Sent: Tuesday, April 15, 2008 10:16 AM
To: ‘Peter’
Subject: RE: let make thing happen

 

If you are easily confused and bad at science then you sound like you are far too stupid to be let anywhere close to explosives.

The complete message header will be made available upon legitimate request from law enforcement.

Another example of futility of the TSA

The TSA should just give it up and let congress spend that money on something that would do some good.

Also note that in this video the morons interviewed think that somehow outlawing the “glass knuckles” will make society safer. Do they think banning sharp sticks will make society safer? These things are so easy to make anyone with a room temperature I.Q. could be taught how to make them. But then maybe the media morons and the people they interviewed should be given a pass because they don’t have a room temperature I.Q.

Facts? We don’t need no stinking facts!

Via John, Xenia’s boyfriend in Iraq I received a link to this site. [Side note, it is John’s birthday tomorrow and he is in Iraq away from his family and girlfriend working to keep us safe.]

It was like stepping through the looking glass into a fact free zone. Here are some examples:

The National Rifle Association in the United States of America has very few female members, but those that are members claim that guns empower them, protect them and give them more freedom in a country marked by the highest crime rate in the world.

“Very few”? I’ll agree it’s a minority but won’t spend the effort on slapping them down other than to point out the NRA has had two women presidents, Sandra Froman and Marion Hammer and Tany Metaksa was the NRA’s top lobbyist for a while.

Highest crime rate in the world? Not even close. Even England and Wales have higher crime rates than the US.

Actually much of the effort has been to keep guns and weapons that are considered “too dangerous” off the streets. Things like rocket launchers, grenades and other items usable by terrorists. Besides, who carries a grenade or an automatic sub-machinegun like a Mac 10 around for self-defense?

Shall we talk about handgun bans in Chicago, Washington D.C. (about to be thrown out), and San Francisco (thrown out)?

I have NEVER heard of any laws trying to prohibit shotguns, which is primarily a weapon for hunting deer, elk, bears.

Apparently they have never heard of NFA ’34. And I’ve never heard of a shotgun being considered appropriate for elk.

Magazine clips that contain 10 bullets are more useful to people who carry automatic weapons (which are illegal in most states). You just hold down the trigger and the handgun keeps firing, a bit like a machine gun, which means the criminal in question has the ability to fire many rounds at a police officer quickly and easily, and is more likely to hit the target as a result. Thanks to the 10 bullet limit the person runs out of bullets a lot faster. Since that law has been in place officers in many American states have seen a dramatic drop in the death of police officers due to automatic weapons.

Ignoring the ignorance of saying “magazine clips”… The full auto versus semi-auto game has been played many times with the semi-auto shooter getting more bullets on target than the full-auto in nearly all circumstances. The last sentence is total fabrication. The DOJ study found no such benefits to the “Assault Weapon Ban”.

The following is in regard the 10 round restriction for guns designed for full capacity magazines:

Those changes were only less reliable for people using automatic weapons. The new magazines were designed specifically to jam up frequently when used in an automatic gun.

Wow! This person is in total la-la land. There is no need to continue further until they start taking their Thorazine again.

Thanks John. Thanks for everything.

Quote of the day–Anonymous

You have a right to your own opinions, but you don’t have a right to your own facts.

Anonymous
[I have found attributions to Churchill, read an instance where Bloomberg said that, and heard one radio personality attribute Daniel Moynihan. If someone has better results in finding the originator please let me know.

What I like about this quote is that it applies so well to many of the anti-gun bigots. Their sloppy thinking confuses opinions and facts in so many ways. A post demonstrating this is forthcoming.–Joe]

What were they thinking?

I thought everyone knew that self-defense was illegal in the U.K.

They should know they would get complaints if they came out with a product like this:

Gun control groups have condemned a new bullet-proof “hoody” which claims to protect against all bullets except those fired by high-velocity rifles.

Bladerunner, the London company which sells the £300 Defender hoodie, says it is responding to demand from undercover police officers and concerned parents.

Raymond Stevenson, a spokesman for Don’t Trigger, an international antigun campaign based in Brixton, London, said: “It’s not helping kids to provide them with bullet-proof armoury. and will encourage more aggressive behaviour.”

Quote of the day–William James

A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.

William James
[Look around. You will see it nearly everywhere.–Joe]

Send the teachers to the reeducation camps

Via an email from Kirby I get this link and story:

LARP fans at Bowling Green State University may have to contend with a crippled game of Zombies vs. Humans after the University banned Nerf guns on campus.

Nerf guns are banned???

I started poking around the University website to try and figure out what sort of place this is. I found this scary:

Established in 1910 to educate teachers, BGSU is the 14th largest producer of teachers in the country

They pride themselves on producing teachers and they think 18 year olds should not be allowed to have Nerf guns? I think some teachers of teachers need to be taught something. Perhaps some time at a reeducation camp would help. I suggest they start with the U.S. Consitution and the basics of a free society.

I blame global warming

Seattle and surrounding areas in the Puget Sound are now getting heavy snow. Visibility is only a few blocks as I look out the window of our building here in Redmond.

I’m fairly certain Al Gore would agree with me, and I know Phil does. It’s all because of man caused global warming climate change.

Update: The storm forecast for the Boomershoot site:

OROFINO/GRANGEVILLE REGION-LOWER HELLS CANYON/SALMON RIVER REGION-

132 PM PDT FRI MAR 28 2008

…SNOW ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 5 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 5 AM PDT SATURDAY…

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MISSOULA HAS ISSUED A SNOW ADVISORY…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 5 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 5 AM PDT SATURDAY.

2 TO 5 INCHES OF SNOW ARE EXPECTED FROM LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING AS A COLD FRONT PASSES THROUGH THE AREA TONIGHT. QUICK BURSTS OF MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOWFALL WILL BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE FRONTAL PASSAGE.

Quote of the day–Wendell Phillips

To hear some men talk of the government, you would suppose that Congress was the law of gravitation, and kept the planets in their places.

Wendell Phillips
[I was reminded of this one by BillH’s Hillary Is Delusional post.–Joe]

Who is Fascist?

I’ve written about this several times over the years, but it takes a true scholar to do a superior job of it.  A while back, Jonah Goldberg did just that, and Thomas Sowell did a review on Goldgerg’s book:

Fascism, initially recognized as a kindred ideology of the left, has since come down to us defined as being on “the right” — indeed, as representing the farthest right, supposedly further extensions of conservatism.

The next time you hear Leftists throwing the word “Fascist” about like a general epithet, and then hanging it around the necks of capitalists or Jeffersonian liberals, you can correct their rather silly (and I have to think willfully ignorant) error.

You’re doing it wrong

Just go to Boomershoot. Don’t set off dynamite on the sundeck of the hotel you are staying in. Not only do we do it legally and cheaper (considering all the damage they did, let alone the cost of the lawyers), we will detonate about 1000 times more explosives.

[H/T to Sean, Ry, and Glenn Reynolds.]

Self-parody

I had seen the graphics below before but just shook my head and went on. Reader Rob sent them to me today and pointed out it’s self-parodying. They are from the main page of the Brady Campaign website.

In the first graphic they actually say guns murdered people. It seems to me if that is the case all those biologists trying to create and/or modify life in a “test tube” should be redirected to study common metals, charcoal forges, hammers, and drills. Apparently the secret to life was discovered with the invention of the first firearms four or five hundred years ago.

Okay, so maybe I was taking them a little too literally. But my point is they twist the meanings of words to achieve their goals. It is only by telling half-truths and sometimes outright lies that they can achieve political traction. We need to rub their noses in it in a very public manner.

In the second graphic they try to take advantage of a negative stereotype of the gun owner as a vandal who shoots up a sign. They also imply that disallowing guns makes a workplace safer. To test that hypothesis answer this question, “Which is a safer workplace, a maximum security prison or a police station?” Nearly no one has a gun in the prison (including the guards who are in contact with the prisoners) and almost everyone has a gun in the police station. Of course the police station is safer–because the people there are much more likely to be trustworthy people. It’s the people, not the guns, that make the difference.

In the world view of the Brady bunch the concept of there being more than one variable that contributes to personal safety is too difficult of a concept. Guns have no will of their own and are tools that can be used for good or evil but making the intellectual leap from the gun to the person pulling the trigger is just asking too much of their feeble brains.

Either that or they have mental problems.

Aren’t They Going to Hate it

What if DC citizens get to exercise their right to keep a functional, loaded firearm in the home for self defense, and the crime rate drops?  What if at some point DC gets legal concealed carry, and crime rates drop even more?

Won’t the antis just hate that?

Yes, I think it is reasonable to assume they would see that as a defeat and absolutely hate it (it’s exactly how they viewed all other defeats, where crime has dropped after a new concealed carry shall-issue law) which points to the utter depravity of these people, and the lie they’ve been telling us when they claim that what they’re doing is about “safety“.

Correlation is not causation

If I were a peer reviewing this piece of work I would ask the “researcher”, “Please repeat after me, ‘correlation is not causation’. Again, ‘correlation is not causation’. Good, keep doing that until you can remember it when you are writing your papers.”

It looks to me like this guy has staked his career on something and is looking for evidence to support his hypothesis. And of course if that is all you are looking for and you ignore contradictory evidence you can probably convince yourself your hypothesis is valid.

Here is a sample of his conclusions:

Straus analyzed the results of four studies and found that spanking and other corporal punishment by parents is associated with an increased probability of three sexual problems as a teen or adult:
• Verbally and physically coercing a dating partner to have sex.
• Risky sex such as premarital sex without a condom.
• Masochistic sex such as being aroused by being spanked when having sex.

“These results, together with the results of more than 100 other studies, suggest that spanking is one of the roots of relationship violence and mental health problems. Because there is 93 percent agreement between studies that investigated harmful side effects of spanking, and because over 90 percent of U.S. parents spank toddlers, the potential benefits for prevention of sexual and relationship violence is large,” Straus says.

I haven’t read all his papers so it’s possible he has considered an alternate hypothesis but I could find no evidence of that in the web pages I viewed this morning. The alternate hypothesis that is just “screaming at me” is that children with behavioral problems are more likely to behavioral problems as adults. And if they have more behavioral problems as children then they are more likely to get spanked.

Political actors?

I think there is a little bit of projection going on here:

Politics also factors heavily into D.C. v. Heller, according to Henigan.

He said some state attorneys general — who are elected in 43 states — likely sided with Heller as a way to show constituents they support an individual-rights reading of the Second Amendment, even as they seek to preserve their own state statutes regulating guns.

“These are political actors. They don’t want to appear to be endorsing a handgun ban,” Henigan said.