No matter what other nations may say about the United States, immigration is still the sincerest form of flattery.
Quote of the day–ErnestThing
This was a lot of fun. Joe had said that some people like to blow up Boomers at long range, while others prefer to “pick grass and dirt out of their teeth.” I could understand why. By the end, my cheeks hurt from smiling so severely.
ErnestThing
May 11, 2009
Boomershoot 2009
[This was referring to the High Intensity close range shoot. I’m thinking of doing it both Friday and Saturday evening in 2010.–Joe]
Safety Shmafety
We in the pro-freedom camp (Americans) spend too much time arguing about safety. Or rather, we argue safety far too often in the terms laid down by our enemies– the enemies of liberty. Though the statistics are often on our side, we’re granting the basis for the argument (that government exists to promote the physical safety of the individual) to the enemy.
Wrong premise.
Too many police departments, for example, call themselves Departments of Public Safety and the like. That’s not their function, per se. Their proper function is to enforce the law and the primary purpose of law, in the uniquely American sense at least, is to promote and protect your rights. That this function has been corrupted over the years does not change the original intent.
The American Revolution was indeed fought for safety, but the safety so dearly bought therein was a rather different kind of safety from that promoted by the neo-Fascists. It wasn’t the kind of safety taught at your local public school. It wasn’t the kind of safety we’re training for in a fire drill or in a drivers’ education class. That kind of safety is properly the responsibility of the individual or of private interests.
The kind of safety for which the Revolution was fought and for which the constitution was written is safety from government interference– safety from the enemies of liberty both foreign and domestic.
Historically, out-of-control governments have presented a danger to public safety far greater than all common criminal activity and standard physical danger combined. Some government or left-wing hack asserting that we need more government intrusion as a means of promoting “safety” is a bit like advocating mass sex orgies for the promotion of abstinence.
When we’re arguing safety and public policy then, we need to make it clear beforehand which particular kind of safety we’re discussing– the safety of subjects owned by the government (the safety of tyrants and sycophants) or the safety of a free people. They are near polar opposites.
Guns in national parks goes to the house
The credit card bill with the amendment for restoring our rights to keep and bear arms in national parks passed the Senate a few minutes ago:
_ Includes unrelated provision that would allow people to carry loaded guns in national parks and wildlife refuges.
It’s not a sure thing it will get passed into law yet but the chances aren’t too bad:
The 90-5 vote, following a 357-to-70 vote in the House on April 30, made it likely that President Obama will have a measure on his desk before the Memorial Day recess. The differences between the House and Senate versions will have to be worked out, but given the political atmosphere it seems likely that the House-Senate negotiations will move quickly.
Amazing. And this bill is much better for us than the ruling change the Brady Campaign shot down with the bogus “no environmental assessment study was done” lawsuit.
The Brady Campaign may have not only wasted their money but they may get a worse result for their efforts.
Be on the lookout for more Sad Pandas.
Buffers take a beating
In the U.K. the Speaker of the Lower House of Parliament has several duties. Some of these have been hazardous to their health:
The Speaker sets the agenda for debate in parliament, calls on members of parliament to speak, can limit question time and decide whether amendments should be voted on.
They also traditionally serve as a liaison with the monarch, acting as a buffer between the Commons and the sovereign.
In the past, when relations between the two were not always so good, Speakers had a deadly job. In fact, nine Speakers, all prior to 1560, died a violent death, one murdered, one killed in battle and seven beheaded, two on the same day.
I’m all for our Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi resigning because of her scandal (as the U.K. speaker is) but being beheaded seems a little over the top (as well was being a little off the top).
Things could be worse
I complain about the lack of freedom and the almost daily new encroachments on our freedoms but things could be worse. We could be living in China where things like this happen–apparently without even a hearing or any sort of due process:
This investment turned out to be as risky as it was risque. A sex theme park that featured explicit exhibits of genitalia and sexual culture is being demolished before it can even open, a government spokesman in southwestern China said Monday.
The park, christened “Love Land” by its owners, went under the wrecking ball over the weekend in the city of Chongqing, said the spokesman, who like many Chinese bureaucrats would give only his surname, Yang.
Yang refused to give the reason for the demolition or other details. However, photographs of the adult-only park had circulated widely on the Internet over the weekend, prompting widespread mockery and condemnation.
Exhibits had included giant-sized reproductions of male and female anatomy, dissertations on how the topic of sex is treated in various cultures and what the official China Daily newspaper called “sex technique workshops.”
The park’s main investor, Lu Xiaoqing, had earlier claimed that the attractions sought only to boost sexual awareness and improve people’s sex-lives.
The demolition highlights conflicted views on sex in modern China, where a prudish attitude toward discussion of sexuality is paired with an almost clinical approach to its physical aspects.
It was just day before yesterday I said I might want to visit.
[sarcasm] Nice [/sarcasm]
The U.S. Treasury Department has taken an interest in my hardened underground bunker. Given the mention of our V.P. in the post it probably was the Secret Service just doing their job this time:
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They visited the post directly rather than through a referring link from a search engine web page. This frequently means a click on a link in an email.
Heavy sigh… I need to go through my log files with a fine toothed comb again…
It’s about control
If the intent of the Gun Control Act of 1998 was to discourage the sport of hunting and competitive target shooting and to disarm Massachusetts citizens, it must be considered a howling success. In 10 years since its passage, the number of licensed gun owners has decreased from 1,500,000 to 220,000, an 85 percent drop, according to figures provided by the by the House Post Audit and Oversight Committee. Well done!
If the intent was to reduce crime, then that law must be considered a miserable failure. Based on incidents per 100,000, gun-related homicides are up 68 percent, assault related gun injuries up 72 percent, assault related hospital discharges up 160 percent, gun assault Emergency Dept visits up 222 percent and gun assault outpatient observations up 538 percent. Keep in mind that these increases occurred when there were 1,280,000 fewer licensed gun owners in the state.
In addition to not curbing gun crime, the legal gun owners have had to bear the brunt of additional costs and inconvenience, not to mention the constant character assignation that licensed gun owners receive. There appears to be a misconception that has been instilled into the public that everyone who owns a gun is suspect and is one to be feared.
Well, duh! It’s about government control not citizen safety. It always has been. It makes people feel safer. And for most people perception is reality. That and people will enthusiastically accept statements like, Just because something is irrational doesn’t mean you don’t have to believe in it. I’m with James on this.
Another attack on the anti-gun bigots
The NRA just filed suit in San Francisco:
The City is being sued by gun owners and gun-advocacy groups because of a local law that says firearms have to be locked up or kept disabled.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court Friday afternoon, challenges a local restriction that forces handgun owners to either store their guns in a locked container or disable them with trigger locks. Mayor Gavin Newsom signed the law into effect in August 2007.
National Rifle Association attorney Chuck Michel, who filed the case, said the locking restriction interferes with citizens’ rights to immediately defend their families.
Plaintiffs include a group of San Francisco gun owners, retired police officers and the NRA.
“These are all people who recognize the right to self-defense is a fundamental civil right that needs to be protected as well,” Michel said.
The suit also tackles The City’s ban on the sale of fragmenting bullets, which break apart upon impact, and names Newsom and police Chief Heather Fong.
Newsom spokesman Nathan Ballard said locking up one’s guns is a matter of common sense.
“If even one life can be saved by this sensible law, it’s worth it,” he said.
Good! Keep attacking. Let’s see how many fronts the Brady Campaign can fight on compared to the good guys. The NRA alone is acquiring 100K new members a month. That doesn’t include CCRKBA, SAF, JPFO, GOA, Calguns, etc.
Mr. Ballard, as Jeff points out, needs to consider the lives lost because of the law as well as the lives saved.
Quote of the day–Mikeb302000
Why do pro-gun folks refuse to accept obvious facts like these? Couldn’t they accept this data and still maintain their position on the 2nd Amendment? Why is it necessary to also deny the obvious? More guns means more gun deaths.
Mikeb302000
May 18, 2009
Gun Availability
[In answer to his questions–it’s because the “facts” he quotes ignores certain data points, such as Washington D.C. and Chicago, and because they are only measuring “gun deaths”. Justified (and praiseworthy) homicide are included and murder rate and violent crime rates are ignored.
It’s an anti-gun blog with open comments. I wonder how long that will last…–Joe]
In another alternate reality situation…
One of the people participating at Boomershoot this year was a U.K. citizen. Via Facebook I found out the following:
I Got a call from the cops at 2300 last night, suggesting that I haven’t been shooting my guns enough.
It was the UK police on the phone, calling my US cel number. I have a UK firearms certificate – one of the requirements to keep my UK firearms certificate is that I must shoot every 12 months, and my UK rifle club just reported that I hadn’t done so… I told them that I’ve definitely shot in the past 12 months, so now I need to send them proof. This is, actually, the least surreal part of this experience.
So… in the land where handguns are banned and long guns are severely restricted the cops will call you and threaten to take away your firearms certificate if you haven’t been shooting enough.
Since I knew he had been shooting three inch square boxes filled with explosives dangling from paracord nearly 700 yards away just a three weeks ago I offered to confirm his story. He said if he needed my help he would let me know.
Living in an alternate reality
At times I think they just have a lot of gall, like a “group” (actually only one or two guys) calling themselves the Freedom States Alliance and advocating anti-freedom laws against gun owners. And other times I have to believe they are just totally off in la-la land:
The Parker Heller cases were a devastating defeat for gun rights ideologies [in part because those decisions affirmed that a wide range of gun control regulation is both constitutional and permissible and because they refused to adopt a strict scrutiny standard for future regulations]. If the gun lobby does not accept the opinions of the courts, the constitutional challenge to them is to launch a campaign for a constitutional amendment. The cynical business of defeating legislation does not secure a constitutional right.
…
The Federal Government need do little more. That goal can only be accomplished by registration of ownership and reporting of private sales…
[The solution] is very simple: Resurrect the original militia concept and practices as manifest in the “Militia Act of 1792.” Registration for militia call-up—regardless that a call-up ever takes place—is a matter of military preparedness. It can have the added benefit of controlling the illegal traffic [in firearms]. We can call it the “Homeland Security Militia Reserve Act.”
The constitutional authority for such a national firearms policy is not the much overused Commerce Clause, but the militia clauses and the Second Amendment. Militia duty was conscript duty. Privately owned weapons were a public resource [used for] public duty. They were placed on inventories and reported to the president of the United States … Can the Judiciary Committee conduct a badly needed national civics lesson? There are no libertarian individual rights in a conscript military organization. After the Parker/Heller opinions there can be no constitutional objections.
Apparently they didn’t read the Heller decision. From pages 1 and 2:
Held:
1. The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home. Pp. 2–53.
(a) The Amendment’s prefatory clause announces a purpose, but does not limit or expand the scope of the second part, the operative clause. The operative clause’s text and history demonstrate that it connotes an individual right to keep and bear arms.
(b) The prefatory clause comports with the Court’s interpretation of the operative clause. The “militia” comprised all males physically capable of acting in concert for the common defense. The Antifederalists feared that the Federal Government would disarm the people in order to disable this citizens’ militia, enabling a politicized standing army or a select militia to rule. The response was to deny Congress power to abridge the ancient right of individuals to keep and bear arms, so that the ideal of a citizens’ militia would be preserved. Pp. 22–28.
It’s amazing, absolutely amazing, what these people will convince themselves is reality.
Ahhh… how cute!
Quote of the day–David Hardy
The new president announced, among other things, that membership was increasing by 100,000 a month, and that over 10,000 new members had signed up during the convention.
David Hardy
May 18, 2009
Referring to the membership of the NRA.
Some notes from the NRA Board meeting
[100,000 new members in a month is probably more than the total money paying membership in any given year of all the anti-gun groups combined. What I want to know is how the side that only has about 2 to 3 percent as many members as the larger group can imagine the larger group are the “extremists”. I guess it comes with the territory. These are the same people that declare themselves to be “gun safety” advocates and have never even taken, let alone taught, a gun safety course.–Joe]
The hardened underground bunker
I’m not the only Joe with a hardened underground bunker (as Lyle calls it). Joe Biden has one too:
Vice President Joe Biden, well-known for his verbal gaffes, may have finally outdone himself, divulging potentially classified information meant to save the life of a sitting vice president.
According to a report, while recently attending the Gridiron Club dinner in Washington, an annual event where powerful politicians and media elite get a chance to cozy up to one another, Biden told his dinnermates about the existence of a secret bunker under the old U.S. Naval Observatory, which is now the home of the vice president.
…
According to the report, Biden “said a young naval officer giving him a tour of the residence showed him the hideaway, which is behind a massive steel door secured by an elaborate lock with a narrow connecting hallway lined with shelves filled with communications equipment.”
A theme park I almost want to visit
It looks like this is a step in the right direction:
Naked human sculptures, giant replica genitals, a photo exhibition about sex history and sex technique workshops.
China’s first sex-themed park has not even opened yet, but the controversial project has already got some people hot under the collar.
Love Land will open in October in the entertainment zone near the Yangtze River in Chongqing.
Lu Xiaoqing, park manager, said Love Land would be useful for sex education and help adults “enjoy a harmonious sex life”.
It will contain an exhibition about sex, including its history and practice in other countries, anti-AIDS measures and the proper use of condoms.
“We are building the park for the good of the public,” Lu said.
But it sounds a little too tame for my interests. Where are the rides?
Comment to the Christian Science Monitor article
I made a comment on the CSM article about gun bloggers from yesterday. It hasn’t made it through the moderation process yet so I’m posting here as well:
Here is a blatant example of [what] mostly genius is talking about. At the end of the story, which is presented as a news article, is a notice that it was written by the Brady Campaign.
Susan Gill, it’s a logical hypothesis that more gun control would result in a safer society but the facts don’t support it. This is the basis of my Just One Question post. Before you advocate for more restrictions on firearms you need 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?”
We have many, many examples of gun control in every state and in every country. You would think that with all those experiments in gun control that social scientists and criminologists would have data showing some benefits to gun control. No such reliable data exists.
As constitutional lawyer and criminologist Don Kates said, “The gun control debate is not really about criminology but rather about bigotry.”
Susan, I’ll bet you have never fired a gun and perhaps don’t even think you know anyone who owns a firearm. I work in the Seattle area and would be glad to take you to the range to see what guns are all about. I’m a certified NRA firearms instructor and about 70% of my students have been women. See for yourself what the gun culture is all about rather than what you imagine it to be. Base your opinion on first hand facts rather “news articles” from organizations that are the 21st century equivalent of the KKK advocating for the elimination of a specific enumerated right.
Contact me via my blog (voted one of the top ten gun blogs of 2008) and I’ll supply the guns, ammo, and range fees.
Update May 18, 2009: There are 79 comments to the CSM article now. Mine has not shown up but I only counted two that are anti-gun and the rest are pro-gun so I cannot claim my comment was blocked because of the nature of my viewpoint. Perhaps there was a technical problem or it simply got lost in the flood of comments.
Quote of the day–Kurt Hofmann
The citizen disarmament advocates may indeed eventually get their “terrorist” incident. The question is this: are they trying to forestall that, or to provoke it? At some point, some concerned patriot is going to wonder if it’s time to paraphrase Patrick Henry (one of the original “right-wing extremists”): “If this be terrorism, make the most of it.”
Kurt Hofmann
May 15, 3:56 AM
How to disarm the citizenry in 3 easy steps
[Patrick Henry may not have actually said this, but Hofmann does ask a good question.–Joe]
I don’t think I want to know
As James said when I showed him, “That’s just sort of creepy.”
Check out the search words:
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Taj Mahal maintenance
Two weeks ago Kim, Caleb, and I went back to the Boomershoot site to do some maintenance, inventory, and clean up.
I did most of the clean up and inventory.
Kim folded most of the target boxes you see (still flat) on the ground in the picture below:
Caleb spent most of his time building better stairs:
The plan is to purchase all the stakes, chemicals, and target boxes we need for Boomershoot 2010 and take them out to the Taj sometime this summer so I don’t worry about it being two muddy to get the materials out there next spring. We will fold all the target boxes and put them in crates this summer saving time next spring.
We still need to do some more work on the stairs, fix the “well”, improve the shooters berm and fold more boxes. If we have lots of time we might build another foundation for the bridge across the creek for the shooters to use when visiting the target area.
