Quote of the day—Mark Kelly

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More people in Washington die each year from gun shot wounds than in automobile accidents. And 30 percent of them are kids … All of them were robbed — robbed of the chance to grow up.

Mark Kelly
May 11, 2016
Wounded ex-member of Congress appeals for new Washington gun safety law
[H/T to Andrew Benghazi.

Washington State reports that in 2013 (most recent year with data), firearms were involved in 10 deaths by accident, 476 by suicide, and 114 by homicide (total of 600). Motor vehicle accidents, including pedestrians, motorcycles, etc. accounted for 412 deaths.

So in order for the first sentence to be true Kelly had to include suicides. And what “gun safety law” does he think will reduce suicides? He knows better than to claim such a thing exists and doesn’t make such a claim. He implies his proposed law does this in order to further his cause. This is a deliberate deception.

The 30 percent number is a blatant lie. If you assume “kids” includes ages 0 to 17 there were three unintentional deaths, five suicides, and four homicides for a total of 12 firearms related deaths. If you include up to ages 19 (not really “kids”) you can add another 22 for a total of 34. Which, of course, still doesn’t add up to 30 percent of the number of deaths.

He claims they are set on “doing this in a way that does not infringe on the rights of gun owners.” But as Benghazi points out the proposed law is all about confiscating firearms. And Brian Judy (NRA) and Alan Gottlieb (SAF) both point out the proposed confiscation is without due process. So we have here still another lie.

Deception and blatant lies. It’s the best they have to offer. It is an integral part of the anti-gun culture.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Bruce Schneier

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If you ask amateurs to act as front-line security personnel, you shouldn’t be surprised when you get amateur security.

Bruce Schneier
May 9, 2016
Economist Detained for Doing Math on an Airplane
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Ilya Shapiro

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Roberts essentially told would-be Trumpistas not to bother the courts with important issues, that if you want to beat Obama you have to get your own strongman—complete with pen, phone, and contempt for the Constitution. So they did.

Ilya Shapiro
May 5, 2016
How John Roberts Begat Donald Trump
[H/T to Glenn Reynolds.

As others have said, the political left created Trump. Roberts isn’t generally considered a leftist, but he let stand a clearly unconstitutional law which was only supported by the political left.—Joe]

Deliberate deception or crap for brains?

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I know mainstream media reporters get a lot of things wrong through ignorance and laziness. But this seems like a tough one to mess up on without being deliberate. The Washington Post headline is After the Pacific Ocean swallows villages and five Solomon Islands, a study blames climate change:

In a recent paper in the journal Environmental Research Letters, the scientists link the destructive sea level rise to anthropogenic — that is, human-caused — climate change. The study marks the first time anyone has concretely analyzed the loss of Solomon Island shoreline in the context of global warming, they say.

…

the sea-level rise observed in this study — at about a fourth to two-fifths of an inch a year — is triple the global average.

Really? So they believe the water just got piled up in the South Pacific? Do they have crap for brains? Or do they just believe their readers do?

So… I read the original paper, Interactions between sea-level rise and wave exposure on reef island dynamics in the Solomon Islands. Abstract:

Low-lying reef islands in the Solomon Islands provide a valuable window into the future impacts of global sea-level rise. Sea-level rise has been predicted to cause widespread erosion and inundation of low-lying atolls in the central Pacific. However, the limited research on reef islands in the western Pacific indicates the majority of shoreline changes and inundation to date result from extreme events, seawalls and inappropriate development rather than sea-level rise alone. Here, we present the first analysis of coastal dynamics from a sea-level rise hotspot in the Solomon Islands. Using time series aerial and satellite imagery from 1947 to 2014 of 33 islands, along with historical insight from local knowledge, we have identified five vegetated reef islands that have vanished over this time period and a further six islands experiencing severe shoreline recession. Shoreline recession at two sites has destroyed villages that have existed since at least 1935, leading to community relocations. Rates of shoreline recession are substantially higher in areas exposed to high wave energy, indicating a synergistic interaction between sea-level rise and waves. Understanding these local factors that increase the susceptibility of islands to coastal erosion is critical to guide adaptation responses for these remote Pacific communities.

Nothing about climate change.

Here is the conclusion of the paper:

This study represents the first assessment of shoreline change from the Solomon Islands, a global sea-level rise hotspot. We have documented five vegetated reef islands (1–5 ha in size) that have recently vanished and a further six islands experiencing severe shoreline recession. Shoreline recession at two sites has destroyed villages that have existed since at least 1935, leading to community relocations. The large range of erosion severity on the islands in this study highlights the critical need to understand the complex interplay between the projected accelerating sea-level rise, other changes in global climate such as winds and waves, and local tectonics, to guide future adaptation planning and minimise social impacts.

The paper mentions concerns about changes in climate which may affect the islands, but they do not attribute the changes they have seen to climate change. And, in fact, the paper mentions something the Washington Post conveniently doesn’t mention (emphasis added):

Change in the twelve islands in Roviana was mixed with six islands growing slightly (<20%) and six islands declining slightly (<20%).

Some islands are growing in size. Apparently that doesn’t fit the narrative so the general public doesn’t need to see it.

My conclusion: The Washington Post is deliberately deceiving the general public and has crap for brains for believing their readers are too stupid or lazy to read the original paper when they even give us a link to the original paper.

What conditions your conditions are in

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I had a nice place to shoot, nice and close to home, but there’s now a house sitting on it. Someone else’s house.

I found a new spot, not too far away, but it’s only good for 30 yards and in the late afternoons the sun is in your face while shooting. Oh well. It’s better than driving 20 miles to do a little pistol shooting or whatnot.

It happened that one of my older brothers was in the area, and one of our employees at the music store wanted to try the Marlin ’94 in 44 Mag that he’d brought. Late afternoon yesterday, as it turned out, we had a chance for her to try out the lever gun.

Continue reading →

Washington State ISSA steel championship 2016

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I just signed up for the Washington State ISSA steel championship 2016.

For those of you who might considering participating here are the details:

Match starts: June 18, 2016 @ 8:00 AM · Match ends: June 18, 2016 @ 6:00 PM

Location: Ephrata,WA,98848

The annual steel shoot is here! Come join us for 8 stages of steel targets that will be set in arrays that will entertain and challenge you. As in previous years this will be a trophy match with trophies through at least third in each category and division. Lunch will be catered in and is included in the match fee.
Shooters fees are $60 for the first gun and $20 for the second. Juniors (under 18) shoot for $30 for the first gun and $20 for the second.
Register early, we sold out last year!

General match, with the following divisions:
Ladies, Juniors, Senior(55-64), super senior(65+), defender

Price:

$60

Here is some video from last years event.

Mother’s Day dinner

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With both kids away at college and unable to do something in person for Mother’s Day I decided to help by taking Barb to dinner. I told her to pick anything she wanted within an hours drive. She suggested Red Robin and I frowned. I told her I was thinking of something more like the Space Needle or a nice steak house.

After considerable thought and my repeated insistence that she should not be concerned about the price she came up with I Love Sushi on Lake Bellevue.

It was very nice. The food was good and we had a nice view of the lake.

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Quote of the day—Audrey Kline‏@AKlineinCO

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@BoreGuru That’s not what I saiiiiiid. Go display your peni-I mean- brain size elsewhere, troll. #copolitics

Audrey Kline‏@AKlineinCO
Tweeted on December 8, 2015
[It’s another Markley’s Law Monday!

Via a tweet from Linoge.—Joe]

Joe and Barb’s unexpected bonus

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Barb and I went on a walk to Poo Poo Point via Chirico Trail yesterday.It was a little more elevation gain than we wanted (1760 ft.). But it was supposed to have a nice view at the top. The weather was nice so we decided to go for it. We figured we should leave the house before 9:00 AM to be able to get parking easily.

We arrived at the parking lot about 8:15 to find the lot full and the sides of the road filled with cars. “What’s going on?” [Grumble, grumble] We found a place a couple hundred yards away that let us park for $5.00. [Grumble, grumble]

We were at the trail head at 8:27 and saw people with radios who explained this was the landing zone for paragliders and to not dilly-dally around as we cross the zone. [Grumble, grumble]

The hike was more than I was really prepared for. I got winded easily and sweat profusely even though the temperature was in the low 60s. There were a lot of people on the trail. [Grumble, grumble.] It was a nice trail though:

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We stopped to rest many times and it took us an hour and 45 minutes to make it to the top.

It was a nice view. It was a very nice view:

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But there were all these people:

IMG_5594

Oh. They were launching paragliders from here! Cool! No more grumbling.

This was an unexpected bonus. More pictures below the fold:

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End times

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Stop the plane! Calculus is threating.

When math becomes something to raise a terrorist alert over the end times must be near.

See also what Say Uncle has to say.

Quote of the day—Carlo Di Falco

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Our gun laws completely miss the mark when you realise the chance of any one of Australia’s 800,000 licensed gun owners committing murder are so minuscule that you are more likely to die from a bee sting.

Carlo Di Falco
May 5, 2016
Talking Point: Gun control laws the biggest con job in our nation’s history
[Even aside from the violation of the natural right to defend yourself, the anti-freedom side doesn’t have sufficient data to support a plausible argument for public safety.—Joe]

Heterogeneous cultures

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Reading through the comments on this post, which has a reference to a Fred blurb, I came across a very astute summary of the problem.

Reading Fred, I see by the very questions the culture shock.

Cargo culture shock. They want the cargo only produced by high-trust, long time preference, but not change their culture or virtue. DNA might deal them a bad hand, but human beings can bluff. Simply think a moment. So they build totem towers.

Both liberals and libertarians don’t realize the experiments in law will fail. The 55 page iPhone ToS isn’t read, and at some point Tim will be Cooked because law and force are the opposite of trust. The libertarians too design elaborate replacements – DROs, arbitration, etc. not realizing in a trust/posterity/K society they aren’t needed, and in a suspicion/me-now/r society they won’t work.

And that is the crux of the problem when trying to mix heterogeneous cultures. Cargo Cult culture cannot contribute to creation-of-cargo culture anything other than consumers. What is the term in biology for an organism that only consumes of its host and contributes nothing back?

Quote of the day—HIDIPUS BAN THEM ALL

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BACKGROUND CHECKS or ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN hasnt worked so far , you can tell by everyday shootings and increasing gun deaths ,theres only one way to deal with it ,BAN THEM ALL there aint no time for HALF-MEASURES ,RADICAL LAWS AND CHANGES NEED TO BE MADE

HIDIPUS BAN THEM ALL
May 6, 2016
Bill Clinton Recalls Enacting Gun Control Measures as a Proud Moment at Celebrity-Filled Gala
[Don’t ever let anyone get away with telling you that no one wants to take your guns.—Joe]

Minor errors in defensive gun use

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In the Seattle area where self defense use of guns is still legal:

The drama unfolded at about 2:50 a.m. when the 44-year-old husband, his wife and two daughters, age 19 and 11, were awakened by the noises of someone yelling and kicking at the front door of their home in the 100 block of NE 174th Street, according to Shoreline police.

The homeowner grabbed his 9-mm handgun as his oldest daughter called 911 and the family locked themselves in a back bedroom of the house, said Sgt. Jason Houck of the King County Sheriff’s Office.

…

The husband, hearing the breaking glass, left the bedroom with his gun. He went to the front of the home, where he saw the suspect standing just outside the front window and door, which were broken out by lawn furniture that the suspect had thrown through.

As the suspect began advancing toward the homeowner from just outside the smashed-out door and windows, the homeowner fired two rounds, hitting the suspect once in the upper right thigh, Houck said.

…

Police say the homeowner and his family were shaken up by the ordeal. No charges of any kind are expected to be filed against the homeowner.

While things turned out okay, unless there is more to the store, I would tend to say the husband should not have left the bedroom. He put himself at greater and unnecessary risk by advancing toward the bad guy. Let them come to you through the “funnel” of the door. This give the cops more time to arrive and deal with the situation as a team and possibly end the situation without shots being fired. Also, it might be said, his accuracy could use some improvement.

They did do some things really well. They moved, as a group, to a back bedroom. One person called 911 while another deployed the gun. Most importantly, they had a gun and it was accessible.

Think through possible scenarios ahead of time. If you do this you are more likely to have a plan that only needs minor changes should the real thing come down.

Thinking skills test: 0/10

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Mike Volkerding asks this question for five points:

Please tell me how many of these violent criminals are members of the NRA…thanks.

Williem Stone answers a question requiring a number with a statement instead:

All of them, since having a gun means being in the NRA.

Later, with another five points available, Stone explains why looking at data is irrelevant in determining the level of violence in Australia:

Guns=violence. No guns, no violence. It’s simple.

Stone gets another zero for a total of 0/10 on the test.

That is the type of “thinking” our opponents engage in. Rational thought and data is irrelevant to their world view. When their world view does not intersect with real world data and rational thought you have fewer good options in dealing with them. But recognizing what options are available is useful because you now know to not waste time on other options.

Quote of the day—John Charles Lemr

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The only real solution would be to ban the sale of all semi-automatic rifles. All rifle purchases should be relegated to single shot, bolt-action receivers.

John Charles Lemr
April 24, 2016
California’s half-measures on guns and ammo clips won’t work
[H/T to Sebastian.

Don’t ever let anyone get away with telling you that no one wants to take your guns.—Joe]

Deception and trickery

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From Firearms Policy Coalition in California:

Earlier this morning, Senate and Assembly Democrats “gutted and amended” 4 bills that were stalled and changed them into 4 brand new, ANTI-GUN measures.

“Gutting and amending” is the controversial practice of stripping out a measure’s contents and replacing it with entirely new language, for a new issue, well into the legislative process.

Here is a list of the new bills and what they will do:

  • AB 156: Formerly dealt with global warming, but now places restrictions on ammunition and will be authored by Asm. Kevin McCarty and Sen. Kevin deLeón.
  • AB 857: Formerly addressed greenhouse gasses, but now restricts curios, relics, and home-built firearms. It will be authored my Asm. Jim Cooper and Sen. Kevin de Leon.
  • AB 1135: Formerly centered around creating the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency, but is now a broad gun ban. This will now be authored by Assemblymembers Marc Levine and Phil Ting.
  • AB 1511: Formerly dealt with energy conservation, but now criminalizes loaning firearms. It is now authored by Asm. Miguel Santiago.

In doing this, they have totally skirted the legislative process. It is shameful that elitist politicians would invoke such secretive procedures in an effort to shove even more gun control down our throats.

But it is not surprising.

Correct. This sort of thing is what we have come to expect. I watched with shock and incredible anger as the Speaker of the House keep the voting open for an extra 10 or 15 minutes past the vote expiration time to get enough votes for the Federal “Assault Weapon” ban in 1994. The Hughes Amendment, banning new sales of machine guns, was “passed” on a voice vote in the early morning hours despite requests for a recorded vote. The anti-gun people have a long and sordid history lies and deception. It is just how they do business.

I can overlook the ignorance of the average “person on the street” who is anti-gun. But I know the politician and anti-gun groups continuously engage in deception and trickery to get their way. I do not forgive them. They should be prosecuted.

Quote of the day—Sebastian

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I’m becoming more convinced that free people need a frontier, because without one, eventually, the meddlers, swindlers, and sycophants of the world catch-up to us.

Sebastian
April 25, 2016
Science Nerd Post: Reactionless Drive
[I’m in general agreement but things will have to get a lot worse here before living on a distant rock under a dome with a huge portion of your economic output consumed just to stay alive. And without an industrial base to produce medicine, electronics, vehicles, buildings, I can’t see it being able to be independent and have anything approaching the quality of life we have here.

If there were a terraformed planet with a population of a million or more with incredibly accessible natural resources I could see it being plausible. But it becomes a chicken and egg problem. Terraforming and industry building robots might be the answer. I remain a skeptic for now and believe the better, at least short-term, option is to fix things on our existing rock.—Joe]

The political currency of the left

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As everyone expects May 1st is a day of violence in Seattle:

Hurling rocks, bricks and even Molotov cocktails, anti-capitalist protesters clashed with police in downtown Seattle Sunday, as May Day mayhem erupted again following a peaceful march.

By 10:30 p.m., at least five officers had been injured and at least nine people had been arrested, Seattle police reported. One injured officer suffered a gash to his head when he was struck by a rock.

Police said Monday that all five officers were at home recovering from their injuries.

The city unleashed a massive deployment of police officers in riot gear — on foot, on bicycles, on horseback and in vehicles — to control the crowd of dozens of masked-protesters who began massing in Westlake Park for the unpermitted march shortly after 5 p.m.

This is across the street from where I used to work. I’m glad I don’t work there anymore.

As soon as they started lighting up the Molotov cocktails I would have given the green light to the snipers. But this is Seattle and they like communists.

Notice they call them “anti-capitalists”? They want to avoid associating lawless, violent, behavior with their political leanings.

These people can’t win a debate with ideas. The can’t demonstrate a better way of life in the places their ideas have been implemented. What do they have left? Violence. It’s the political currency of the left. And it’s why we need our guns.

Quote of the day—Jay Caruso

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Harriet Tubman was an American hero. A gun-toting, no nonsense, devout Christian spy who fought during her retirement to obtain better treatment for African-American soldiers. She was a remarkable woman and totally deserves a place on our currency.

Jay Caruso
April 22, 2016
What You Might Not Know About Harriet Tubman, Gun-Toting Slave Liberator
[I’m good with Tubman replacing Jackson on the $20. I would have rather it been Ayn Rand and dumping Hamilton, but Rand isn’t going to get serious consideration anytime soon. And I’m not a huge fan of Jackson either.—Joe]