I know that guy!

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Ry points out a great article on the evolution of sniping gear and deployment in the last few years.


The article was written by Michael Haugen who attended two Boomershoots. Michael also wrote three articles which are posted on the Boomershoot website:



If you have ever heard me tell the story about shooting on the 1000 yard range at Fort Lewis–Michael was the guy next to me with Eugene Econ spotting for both Michael and me.


Michael was the guy that referred to watching me build reactive targets on the tailgate of my pickup as “Bomb Building 101“.


I’m glad to hear he is still in the sniping business and apparently is well. I was impressed with his brains, seriousness, and dedication to our country and constitution.


And, as Ry said, I’m happy he calls out American Snipers as Good Thing. I donate money to them which Microsoft matches dollar for dollar.

Quote of the day–Barrett Tillman

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Tell me why you think a woman should ‘lie back and enjoy being raped’ instead of shooting a rapist dead with the handgun in her handbag.


Tell me why black Americans should submit to being lynched instead of shooting the lynch mob dead.


Tell me why homophobes should be free to beat up homosexuals without the risk of being shot.


Watch Schindler’s List and tell me again why only the police and military should have guns.


Tell me why you think police should be able to shoot an attacker to save their lives but I shouldn’t.


Tell me why I shouldn’t have the best means of defending myself — a semiauto firearm with a standard capacity magazine.


Tell me why a woman’s right to choose should not include weapon, mag size and ammunition.


Tell me why you think I shouldn’t be able to defend my life or my freedom.


More than that, tell me why you should not have that right!


Barrett Tillman
Via Alan Korwin October 25, 2008 — Liberty Poll Grows

Seattle area blog meet

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The plan for the next gun blogger meet is for us to get together at the Mexican restaurant on Beacon Hill called La Cabana Cafe:



2532 Beacon Ave S
Seattle, WA 98144
(206) 322-9643


1800 on November 9th.

Quote of the day–Albert Einstein

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My political ideal is democracy. Let every man be respected as an individual and no man idolized.


Albert Einstein
[Idolized? Does that remind you of someone? Perhaps Einstein, like me, would have voted against Barack Obama.–Joe]

Because Criminals Have Rights Too…

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…We must advocate tougher gun restrictions.  I found this on Oleg’s blog.




 


and part two, “The Carjackers”;




 


That’s the way to do it!  Humor.  Blistering sarcasm actually– illustrating absurdity by being absurd.  There is no other proper response to the anti-rights movement.  Not at the moment.

Muggers for Obama

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I doubt this is part of their official campaign:




A knife-wielding man robbed a McCain-Palin campaign volunteer and etched a “B” into her face after he saw a McCain bumper sticker on the woman’s car, Pittsburgh police said.


But socialism does inspire and in fact outright demand (read Karl Marx) violence to achieve Utopia.


So I’m not surprised.

In 2004 there were hundreds of reports of Republican campaign offices being vandalized and worse. There was something like 10 or 20 Democrat campaign offices damaged in the same time frame.

In the big scheme of things–think about willingness of Stalin, Hitler, Chairman Mao, Pol Pot, etc. and their followers to use force to implement socialism. Barack Obama and his followers come from a long line of violent political ancestors. That doesn’t even count the “white collar” crime activities they engage in like the governor’s election in Washington state last time where in King County (Seattle area) there were more votes counted than there were registered voters.


Democrats and crime? Typical. Who do you think some of the most dependable democrat voters are? Why do you think democrats want to register people to vote in prison and those with criminal records?


And the gun bans? If you wanted to get put on your tin-foil hat you could hypothesis they want to enable criminals so the political “leaders” can acquire more power to “protect the little guy”. Hitler sent his goons out to break things then claimed he needed more power to “protect the people”. What Schumer, Feinstein, Obama, and the others are doing is just a low level, indirect means of accomplishing the same thing. That they have supporters taking it to the next level is just showing us the trend and their roots more clearly.


They hate us and they hate freedom and they are certain they are right. That gives them justification for anything they do that furthers their cause. Think I’m exaggerating? Then read this. Here is a sample:



If a kid in a red state finds his daddy’s handgun and blows his head off, we’ll feel terrible (we’re like that), but we’ll try to look on the bright side: At least he won’t grow up to vote like his dad.


This is the mindset of the socialists. This is the mindset that resulted in socialist governments murdering tens of millions of their own citizens in the 20th century. This is the mindset of muggers for Obama.


Update: The attack on the girl was probably a hoax (H/T to Sebastian).

Headstamp help?

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I received an email from someone today asking for information on the military surplus ammo he recently purchased. Here is a picture of the headstamp:



I could make some guesses, but they would be just stuff I pulled out of the air. I’m sure someone can tell me a lot more. Send me an email or leave a comment.


Thanks.

Quote of the day–Alex Stone Dale

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The only reason that Democrats push gun control is that nothing scares them more than the thought of a black man with a gun. All the loudest proponents of gun control laws either have ‘carry permits’ or they surround themselves with armed bodyguards. They don’t push gun control laws to keep guns out of their own hands – because they know that they’ll always be able to get them – they push gun control laws to keep guns out of your hands.


I’m a Republican. I want to see a gun in the hand of every African American in the entire country – including you.


Alex Stone Dale
October 14, 2008
Former cab driver
Manhattan NY (Republican)
http://observers.france24.com/profile/20080707-alexander-dale

Spreading the Wealth Around

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When I heard BO talking to Joe The Plumber, saying that when we spread the wealth around, everyone benefits, I agreed with his words.  Any time you help to produce or deliver products or services, you are “spreading the wealth around”.  Anytime you trade products or service with another person, both parties in the transaction are “spreading the wealth around”.  Any time you buy stock in a company, you help finance that company and you’re spreading the wealth around.  Any time you put money in a savings plan, you’re helping to finance others, and you’re spreading the wealth around.  If you hire someone, you’re spreading the wealth around. If you go to work for someone else, you’re spreading the wealth around.  Even if you’re a miser and you buy gold to bury in your back yard, you’re supporting the gold mining and processing industry and all the people they employ throughout the supply chain, and you’re spreading the wealth around.


But we all know that Obama wasn’t talking about peaceable, voluntary exchange of goods and services between free citizens.  He was talking about spreading the wealth around using force and the threat of force.  To put it another way, Obama, and all who think similarly, does not trust you to produce they way HE thinks you should produce, so he wants to tell you how to do it.  He doesn’t trust you to make your own purchasing and financing decisions, so he’s going to do more of that for you.


Obama and socialists everywhere are jealous of your abilities to produce and they’re jealous of the freedom you’ve had in spreading your wealth around.  Make no mistake about it– that jealousy leads to anger and hatred.


We can look at the political struggle in this country in this way; Either you favor spreading the wealth around through peaceable, voluntary exchange, or you favor spreading the wealth around through the use of force and the threat of force.


Lest you be tempted to demand a look at history to find which method of spreading the wealth has a better record of success, I would warn you that the two sides (socialists and capitalists) have incompatible measures of “success”.  You may think that success means more people living at higher standards, with more choices in life, more mobility, a better life span and so on.  You’d be wrong if you think socialists will see that as a desirable outcome.


Update; Of course there is a whole lot more to participation in a free market beside “spreading” wealth.  In fact you are creating wealth– something the socialists have never been able to comprehend.  In the mind of a socialist, to become rich is to deprive someone else.  In fact, and as with virtually all socialist beliefs, the opposite is true.  In the process of building your own wealth in a capitalist market, and in the process of using it in a capitalist market, you are invariably benefiting others.

Turn it over so it can’t be stolen

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Wendy Cukier is at it again:



It’s one of the many measures that can help,” Ryerson professor and gun control advocate Wendy Cukier said yesterday. “When guns are removed from homes, it reduces the chance they are misused or stolen … That can have an impact on public safety.”


The amnesty program, Pixels for Pistols, is a joint endeavour with the 26-store Henry’s camera chain, based on Church St. in Toronto. For four weeks, Toronto residents who hand over a gun, legal or not, will receive a digital camera, either a Nikon Coolpix S52 or a Coolpix P60, listed at $230 and $190 on the Henry’s website. The offer includes photography lessons.


I find odd she doesn’t recommend turning over your car and money to the government too. Those might be misused as well. Oh, wait, the Democrats in this country are saying that. 


Jeff has other comments on the plan.

I’m honored

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Peter uses something I wrote over three years ago as he QOTD. Nice.

Quote of the day–Tamara K.

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…[W]hen I get to the moon I’d like a choice of food other than Happy Family Pork Seafood Rice #5. I was kinda hoping for a Big Mac rather than some soy & curry concoction, though. If we want to get back in the game, I say we tell Americans that anything that happens over a hundred miles up is tax-free, and then stand the hell back.


Tamara K.
October 22, 2008
The space race goes on…
[I’d prefer a little lower altitude, like five miles, but we’re just quibbling over details at that point.–Joe]

It’s the government–we can trust them

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Remember the post from last week? In the article I linked to they said:



It’s not an image people would find invasive.


And:



It’s not possible to save an image or get it out of the machine, it’s physically not possible.


That was in Australia and this is the same technology being tested in Europe:



I wonder why the picture they share with us to demonstrate their technology is cut off the just below the breasts–NOT!


They are arguing about it now but I fully expect arguments that it is “for the children” or “the good of everyone” will prevail and within a year or so it will be back to normal Security Theater as usual with most everyone thinking they are safer when in fact they are not. But maybe it will save the little old ladies from getting their feet broken by TSA quite so often.


Update: Via a comment from Barron we now have more of the picture:



Nice, huh?

Nanny is tightening her grip down under

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Via my Aussie friend at work I found out Australians are going to be prevented from viewing Internet materials their Nanny state deems “illegal”. As he put it, “North Korea, China and now Australia all have something in common. Content filtering.”

Details here, here, and here:

Details have begun to come out about Australia’s Cyber-Safety Plan, which aims to block “illegal” content from being accessed within the country, as well as pornographic material inappropriate for children. Right now, the system is in the testing stages, but network engineers are now saying that there’s no way to opt out entirely from content filtering.

It was “for the children” and now it’s for everyone.

As pointed out in the articles the concern is what will be considered “illegal”. This blog and my Boomershoot web site are blocked by many schools and businesses. I wouldn’t be surprised if there aren’t some countries it is blocked in as well. Just firearms training videos could be blocked in countries that have repressive gun laws. Even the concept of being responsible for yourself and fighting back when attacked is already essentially illegal in the U.K. Will just talk of the right to self defense soon be considered a thought crime there and other formerly free countries?

As they were getting their guns taken away I kept wondering why they didn’t start shooting the politicians then. I can’t help but think they are probably now wondering the same thing.

Mayor Greg Nickels needs things “clarified”

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Via Dave Hardy (from last week–I’m still getting caught up from being on vacation) I discovered someone has a serious comprehension problem:



Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels says he’s hoping for “further clarity” on his authority to ban guns on city property.


He said Wednesday the city has a “moral responsibility” to pursue what he calls common sense gun laws.


Attorney General Rob McKenna issued a nonbinding opinion Monday that says cities lack the authority to ban guns because local laws would conflict with state regulations.


One would think the mayor would have hear of D.C. v. Heller. And if that wasn’t enough, in case you forgot, the AG said, using the plain and simple words, “The answer to your question is no.”


Perhaps Nickels needs a “clue by four” to assist him in comprehending simple sentences. If so, The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms says they are ready to supply the necessary clarification in the form of a lawsuit.

Anything you video can be used against you

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The first thing I thought of when I read this was the gun bloggers who went to summer camp at Blackwater a couple months ago. The critical portion is this (emphasis added):



The video that spurred the investigation of five men accused of plotting an attack on soldiers on New Jersey’s Fort Dix shows some of them in camouflage clothing, firing rapid-fire weapons on a snowy driving range.


An investigator who was on the case from the beginning testified Tuesday that the way the men were firing was unusual.


“They were actually advancing toward a target,” said Fred Lang, a member of an FBI anti-terrorism task force who was previously in the military. “Through my years as a firearms instructor, I’ve never seen that done.”


“There’s only one reason for that,” Lang said. “It’s a fire-and-maneuver tactic.”


We did that at summer camp (see the video here). We do that in USPSA matches all the time. Yet this is being used against these guys as if it were something essentially unheard of.


It may in fact be these guys were training to kill U.S. soldiers and should be sent to prison for a long time. But this one thing in and of itself should not be conclusive proof of evil intent. I am concerned of precedent being set.

Random Obama facts

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In the right column of this blog in the “Politics” section is a new addition I found at The Peoples Cube–“Random Obama Facts”. Each time you refresh the page a random “fact” will be displayed. Some of my favorites:



Obama visited Benjamin Franklin in a dream and told him how to live his life serving the community, but all that Franklin could remember was, how to fly a kite.


Any sentence containing the name “Obama” and ending in a question mark has been determined to be racist.  The only exceptions are rhetorical sentences such as “Is there any way that Obama could be more perfect?”


Obama can calculate your guilt just by looking at the numbers in your checkbook.


Big government is like a thousand foot fishing line with a hook, but efficiency is always an inch beyond the hook. Every time you realize this, Obama wants you to believe that the government must grow an inch bigger.


Obama smokes so you don’t have to.


Obama always overpays his taxes because he believes that the government will find a better use for his money than he ever could.

I’m not that brave

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Jeffrey Goldberg tests TSA and finds it full of fail.


He does, and writes about it, all kinds of things that I knew were possible but didn’t have the courage to do. Read it and laugh–or maybe cry.


TSA–A Security Theater.

Federal judges critical of Heller ruling

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This seems so odd to me. How can they possibly make such a claim?



Judge Richard A. Posner, in an article in The New Republic in August, wrote that Heller’s failure to allow the political process to work out varying approaches to gun control that were suited to local conditions “was the mistake that the Supreme Court made when it nationalized abortion rights in Roe v. Wade.”


Would he say the same about the right to a trial by jury, freedom of religion, or freedom of speech? The RKBA, is a specific, enumerated right. Yet Posner thinks it should be subject to “the political process”? If that were the case then what does he think a right really is?


And if you read his article in The New Republic you will find he misstates facts and overlooks things like the state constitutions at nearly the same time as the U.S. Constitution that specifically spelled out the RKBA as an individual right.


How can someone like this be considered fit to be a judge?


Or what about this?



“In both Roe and Heller,” Judge Wilkinson wrote, “the court claimed to find in the Constitution the authority to overrule the wishes of the people’s representatives. In both cases, the constitutional text did not clearly mandate the result, and the court had discretion to decide the case either way.”


What about the wishes of the people’s representatives in Alabama, Mississippi, and the other deep south states of 50 years ago. Should have they been respected?


It seems to me that these judges are unable or unwilling to embrace the concept of inalienable rights.


If I were able to change the structure of our government one of the changes I would make is there would be specific provisions for a small minority to overthrow any law which plausibly granted to the government powers beyond those enumerated in the constitution. It seems too many people are unable to think of there being a problem that would not benefit from a government solution. And what I think of when government tries to solve problems is best described by the picture here.

Quote of the day–Massad Ayoob

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It ain’t about Osama Bin Laden.


It’s about Obama Been Lyin’.


Massad Ayoob
October 19, 2008
BRADY ORGANIZATION “OUTS” OBAMA
[In regards to what Barrack Obama says about guns.–Joe]