The Apex of the Triangle of Death is selling signs to advertise your bitterness:
They have other signs available too.
Akins Accelerator lawsuit
There is an interesting article on the status of Akins and his accelerator in the Tampa Tribune.
I hope the ATF gets kicked in the teeth by the judge and jury.
Quote of the day–M. Carol Bambery
Violent criminals who may view women as easy targets find their jobs far less taxing in communities such as Washington, D.C. Researchers conducting the Institute of Justice Felon Survey confirm the common-sense notion that those wishing to do harm often think closely before confronting an individual who may be armed.
M. Carol Bambery
Brief of amicae curiae 126 women state legislators and academics in support of respondent.
[I found 10 quotes to add to my database in this brief. I’m proud to say that of those 126 women state legislators 12 of them were from Idaho.–Joe]
Quote of the day–David B. Kopel
Petitioners implicitly claim that a typical citizen of the District who can pass a criminal records and mental records background check (such as the National Instant Check System) is at serious risk of committing murder. It is hard to imagine how such a population could be considered fit for home rule.
David B. Kopel
D.C. v. Heller
Brief of The International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association (ILEETA), The International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors (IALEFI), Maryland State Lodge, Fraternal Order of Police, Southern States Police Benevolent Association, 29 Elected California District Attorneys, San Francisco Veteran Police Officers Association, Long Beach Police Officers Association, Texas Police Chiefs Association, Texas Municipal Police Association, New York State Association of Auxiliary Police, Mendocino County, Calif., Sheriff Thomas D. Allman, Oregon State Rep. Andy Olson, National Police Defense Foundation, Law Enforcement Alliance of America, and The Independence Institute as amici curiae in support of respondent.
News from Israel. The Anatomy of a Ceasefire
From our friend Howard in Israel, we get news.
Friends:
What really is a tactical ceasefire?
I’ll answer my own question.
It is a 1,000% increased police presence downtown for fear of Hamas terror shifting from Gaza to Israel proper. Of course we cannot hit back at Hamas in Gaza if there is an attack, say in Jerusalem. Hitting back would violate the ceasefire.
Now armed terrorists are on the Gaza border, literally next to the fence building defensive positions and planting explosives. Prior to 06:00 a terrorist near the border would be shot.
Howard
At 06:00 the ceasefire took effect, thus giving Hamas a chance to regroup, rearm, and entrench in preparation for their next string of attacks. Meanwhile, the missiles have been coming in daily. Imagine what we would do if, say, the Canadian government had been launching daily missile attacks into the U.S. for the last several years.
“Why can’t we all just get along?” you might ask. Answer; because we’re unwilling to face the fact that some people have no interest in getting along. When we try to get along with them, we’re encouraging them to take advantage of our weakness as they will see it. There should be peace talks alright, after the enemy has been defeated beyond all hope. The “peace talks” that actually amount to peace are the ones that take place as part of the surrender agreement. It’s all been said before of course, but the True Believers in Washington will discount it as the ravings of the unfaithful.
“All we are saying is give peace a chance” seems to be the motto of the day, borrowing a lyric from John & Yoko. This form of “giving peace a chance” is in reality nothing more than “giving the enemy a chance” to kill you.
Why females are so noisy during sex
In case you ever wondered.
Scientists have more data and another hypothesis as to why female primates make noise during sex:
Female chimps often cry out during sex to attract nearby males, but they keep quiet when other females are around so they don’t alert their competition, a new study finds.
The function of copulation calls made by female primates (a group that includes lemurs, monkeys, and apes, such as humans and chimpanzees, our closest relatives) has been debated for years.
Interesting… so if your female partner is noisy during sex it means she wants more males to join in the fun. I’ll bet that is going to make for some interesting pillow talk.
Quote of the day–Daniel G. Jarcho
The District’s handgun ban is a reasonable and constitutional restriction because handguns are less effective than other firearms for self-defense. Although they are designed to be more lethal than other firearms, handguns are smaller and harder to shoot accurately.
Daniel G. Jarcho
Brief of Violence Policy Center and the police chiefs for the cities of Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and Seattle as amici curiae in support of petitioners.
[Yes, several police chiefs publicly announced their bigotry, ignorance of guns, and stupidly signed on to the brief from the VPC. If not for the seriousness of the matter and that some people might actually believe them the entire brief would be entertaining. Just the two sentences above are open for fisking on the following points:
- There is no constitutional exemption for protection for “less effective” arms.
- Handguns are not designed to be more lethal than other firearms (I thought the VPC wanted .50-caliber/”assault-weapons”/semi-autos/normal-capacity-magazines/”Saturday-Night-Specials” banned because it they were the most lethal).
- Handguns are carried by virtually all law enforcement officers in the U.S. because they are effective for self-defense.
Reading the brief I just have to shake my head in wonder at nearly every sentence. They are ignorant of the history firearm technology or hope their revision of it will not be noticed by others. Sometimes consecutive sentences contradict each other. They live in an alternate reality and/or they have mental problems.–Joe]
Quote of the day–Earl Byrd
“We don’t appreciate being heels,” Clark* said, pointing out the pain it takes to tell an elderly widow who is living alone “that even though your husband bought the gun legally and registered it properly, you can’t keep it. Why that makes an innocent citizen a crook.”
It was a theme heard often in D.C. today, and surprisingly, it seems to gall policemen more than anybody else.
“You’re not controlling guns, you’re controlling people,” said Sgt. Jimmy King, a veteran robbery squad investigator.
“Honest citizens, the little old lady who’s not hurting anybody anyway is the real victim. We’re not stopping these bums killing each other, us, or committing armed robberies.”
…
Like most officers, King believes the court is the real answer.
“The court is not enforcing the laws we already have on the books,” he said, explaining: “There’s a law on the books today which allows a five-year additional sentence for any crime committed while armed, but it’s not enforced.”
King’s sentiments were echoed throughout police headquarters and by officers on the streets.
“I don’t know why they bother to make new laws, they don’t enforce the old ones,” said Fourth District Officer Andrew Way as he wrote a parking ticket yesterday.
Earl Byrd
D.C.’s Gun Registration
Wash. Star
Dec. 2, 1976
*Officer David Clark, one of two officers in charge of registration for the Gun Control Section of the D.C. police.
Brief of The International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association (ILEETA), The International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors (IALEFI), Maryland State Lodge, Fraternal Order of Police, Southern States Police Benevolent Association, 29 Elected California District Attorneys, San Francisco Veteran Police Officers Association, Long Beach Police Officers Association, Texas Police Chiefs Association, Texas Municipal Police Association, New York State Association of Auxiliary Police, Mendocino County, Calif., Sheriff Thomas D. Allman, Oregon State Rep. Andy Olson, National Police Defense Foundation, Law Enforcement Alliance of America, and The Independence Institute as amici curiae in support of respondent in D.C. v. Heller.
[The police in D.C. were not always parroting what the Mayor told them to say.–Joe]
In Response To The Left
In response to this (re: The Left)
“Ideological descendants of Marx and Rousseau now lead the Democratic Party and they have turned it into a disloyal opposition to an increasingly accommodating GOP.
…a pseudo-intellectual sinkhole filled with perverse, tried-and-failed ideas repulsive to the majority of Americans.”
“Tried-and-failed”… I must remember to use that one the next time I have to explain to some Lefty puke why socialism is a really bad idea.”
It won’t work. History will not touch a socialist. All past failures happened because the wrong people were in charge. It’s like trying to convince someone that his perpetual motion generator will never, ever work. He knows, from direct observation, that it came extremely close on his last try.
That no one else ever made it work is proof of nothing. There is a first time for everything, and our inventor knows, deep down, that he has the right idea. The right idea will work. Somehow it will work. It must. Then the major problems of the ages will be solved. Just… need…. to keep… tweaking.
The problem with the socialist and with the perpetual motion inventor is they both fail to understand basic laws of nature. Their theories violate those laws. End of story.
The perpetual motion inventor I can tolerate– he stays out of my face. I can laugh at him from a distance and he’ll leave me alone.
Quote of the day–Steven M. Simpson
A critical step in interpreting the Fourteenth Amendment’s protection of the privileges and immunities of national citizens and of life, liberty, and property is to understand the evils its Framers sought to remedy. Among the many evils those Framers sought to cure, the systematic violation of the freedmen’s constitutional right to keep and bear arms was prominent.
The evidence of such concern is extensive. While Congress was drafting and considering the proposed Fourteenth Amendment and two pieces of interim legislation — the Freedmen’s Bureau Bill and the Civil Rights Bill — it received considerable testimony and evidence regarding the disarming of freedmen by state and local governments and militias.
Steven M. Simpson
D.C. versus Heller
Brief for the Institute for Justice as Amicus Curiae in support of respondent.
All power flows from the barrel of a gun
In this country the people have the guns. This gives them the ultimate power. And this is likely to be confirmed on Friday by the SCOTUS. That isn’t the case in some places:
Robert Mugabe gave warning yesterday that he would not cede power if he loses next week’s election to the Opposition in his most explicit statement yet of his refusal to respect the result.
State-controlled media reported his comments to supporters at an election rally, the latest in a series of increasingly menacing threats as Zimbabwe counts down to the June 27 presidential run-off poll. Mr Mugabe’s military-backed regime has been carrying out a campaign of violence aimed at wiping out the opposition vote.
“We fought for this country, and a lot of blood was shed,” Mr Mugabe told his supporters. “We are not going to give up our country because of a mere X. How can a ballpoint fight with a gun?”
Good question. Ask that the next time someone tells you that we don’t need the 2nd Amendment because we have the 1st Amendment.
Dealing with Mayor Nickels
Phil and to a certain extent I have been reporting (and here) on the bigoted Seattle Mayor Nickels who wants to defy state law and ban concealed carry on city owned property.
The Apex of the Triangle of Death (aka the NRA) is giving some attention to this guy. Jump on their suggestions. Do what you can to put an end to this kind of intolerance.
Jenny Block
A few months ago I made something I received via a Google alert on sex my QOTD because it applied to not only to sex but to many other things as well. Ms. Block had her own Google alert, noticed my post, and commented on my post. Cool!
I sent her an email thanking her for stopping by for a visit and I ended up on her email list for notifications of things such as her book (Open: Love, Sex, and Life in an Open Marriage) signing yesterday afternoon in Seattle. I decided to go because the kids were attending a play (a musical–I seldom like musicals) and the Father’s Day activities weren’t happening until the evening. Barb was unavailable being at work in Moscow Idaho so I went alone.
I found Ms. Block to be very energetic, funny, and quick witted. It was a real pleasure to hear her talk. I added a few comments which seemed to be well accepted. One was in regard to a book that discussed sex and the evolution of women. Here is more information on that book, Sex Time and Power. This was a great book. A lot of it was speculation which has the high probability of being wrong but it was very intriguing speculation.
Some links to Ms. Block’s web presence:
http://www.open-marriage.blogspot.com/
http://www.jennyonthepage.com/
She also writes on the blog The Huffington Post such as this post.
I’ve added her blog to my blogroll but it appears she is only blogging to promote her books and other writings and not so much about the psychology and sociology of sex in our society which is more of my interest. But at least I will get links to that sort of material.
Quote of the day–Richard K. Willard
The Miller court’s approach, which focused only on the relationship between the regulated arms at issue and the Second Amendment’s militia purpose was flawed because that approach would only allow individuals to possess arms suited for military use. Such an approach is obviously troublesome if it would allow private ownership of modern military arms.
Richard K. Willard
D.C. versus Heller
Brief amicus curiae Of The Heartland Institute in support of respondent.
[Indeed! Miller should be expanded to include arms suitable for private self-defense. That isn’t what Willard has in mind but that is what I’m hoping the SCOTUS concludes. Of course Willard, in supporting D.C., is also troubled that individuals should have the right to defend themselves against anything. One can only conclude the relationship between the state and the individual is that of a rancher and his cattle. The rancher dehorns the cattle so they cannot easily defend themselves or seriously injury each other. The rancher takes it upon himself to defend the cattle from predators, provide their food, care for the sick, and to slaughter them as it may suit him.–Joe]
Quote of the day–Jeffrey A. Lamken
For the Framers, the lesson of such uprisings was that “the rebellion of a people against a government established by themselves is not justifiable, even in an extreme case, and can only result in dishonor to the state, and calamity and disgrace to those who participate in it.” 1 Josiah Holland, History of Western Massachusetts 299-300 (Springfield, Bowles & Co. 1855) (emphasis added). Thus, in the Framers’ experience, it was not the possession of arms for personal uses apart from militia service (or against the government) that preserved ordered liberty. It was the States’ access to militias and similar state-controlled forces to protect their citizens that was essential. Modern experience confirms that view.
Jeffrey A. Lamken
January 2008
Brief supporting petitioners of amici curiae American Jewish Committee, Anti-Defamation League, Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America, Ceasefire NJ, Central Conference of American Rabbis, Citizens for a Safer Minnesota, Methodist Federation for Social Action, Clifton Kirkpatrick in his capacity as the stated Clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Educational Fund to stop Gun Violence, Freedom States Alliance, American Jewish Congress, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Gray Panthers, Gunfreekids.org, Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence, Illinoisvictims.org, Iowans for the Prevention of Gun Violence, Jenna Foundation for Nonviolence, inc., Karla Zimmerman Memorial Foundation, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Council of Jewish Women, New England Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence, New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, DC Statehood Green Party, North Carolinians Against Gun Violence Education Fund, Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence, Renée Olumbuni Rondeau Peace Foundation, Root (Reaching Out to Others Together) Inc., Union for Reform Judaism, Virginia Center for Public Safety, Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort, and certain individual victims and families of victims of gun violence.
[I suppose they are forced to believe that if they hope to remain consistent. But I’m appalled so many Jewish organizations could sign on to such a belief system. Hitler was elected. The government of Germany of the 1930’s and early 1940’s was established by the people of Germany. Don’t the people that advocate the above doctrine realize what they are saying? There is no case in which the state should be forceably overthrown. Whatever the state decides is also moral and acceptable. They are saying the German Jews, the millions of Russians, Chinese, Laotians, etc. who were murdered by their own government had no right to defend themselves. It was their duty to passively accept their own annihilation. These people have mental problems and must be defeated.–Joe]
Math lesson
Some people are “math challenged”. I tend to agree with Heinlein on the topic but regardless I am of the opinion that nearly all people can learn simple arithmetic if they are given the lesson in practical everyday terms. One such lesson came to my attention via email and I have duplicated it below:
To My Dear Wife,
You will surely understand that I have certain needs that you, being 54 years old, can no longer satisfy. I am very happy with you & I value you as a good wife. Therefore, after reading this letter, I hope that you will not wrongly interpret the fact that I will be spending the evening with my 18 year old secretary at the Comfort Inn Hotel.
Please don’t be upset – I shall be home before midnight.
When the man came home late that night, he found the following letter on the dining room table:
My Dear Husband,
I received your letter and thank you for your honesty about my being 54 years old. I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that you are also 54 years old. As you know, I am a Math teacher at our local college. I would like to inform you that while you read this, I will be at the Marriott Hotel with Michael, one of my students, who is also on the tennis team. He is young, virile, and like your secretary, is 18 years old. As a successful businessman who has an excellent knowledge of Math, you will understand although it may appear that we are in the same situation, there is one mathematical difference: 18 goes into 54 a lot more times than 54 goes into 18.
Therefore, I will not be home until sometime tomorrow!
Joe’s bus service for girls
Just outside of Seattle last night I picked up Robin (age 12), the daughter of a friend of ours (Karen pictured below), and gave her a ride to Moscow so she could visit a friend of hers for a couple weeks. She wasn’t very talkative but she was bright and friendly. It was a five hour trip and except for the first 90 minutes we each listened to our own iPods.
Daughter Kim, friend Karen, and Ry’s daughter Arden at Boomershoot 2008.
Photo from David who has proclaimed June to be Boomershoot 2008 Photo Month.
Tomorrow morning I have to get up much, much too early, take daughter Kim to work by 6:30, go back to the house to pick up daughter Xenia, then pick up both Ry’s daughters Arden (above) and Anna at 7:15, then pick up Kim at 7:30. The four girls and I then attempt to drive back to Seattle in time for Kim and Xenia to attend a play that starts at 1:00 PM that is a gift from their brother James. The other girls then go back to the east side of the lake to Ry’s fortified compound. Protected with, among other things, a .50 BMG, and I don’t know how many AR-15s, some of which are supressed.
I realize four beautiful girls protected only by one middle-aged, slightly overweight guy with a bum leg is a tempting target but these girls aren’t the helpless types. Ry and I reared these children in Idaho, not one of those sissy places where other people rear their children.
Kim has applied for her concealed carry permit but hasn’t received it yet. That doesn’t mean she won’t have access to or be able to use a firearm should she need one on the trip. The others aren’t quite old enough to get their concealed pistol permits but that doesn’t mean they don’t know what to do with a gun.
The following pictures illustrate my point.
Kim preparing for a steel match.
Xenia celebrates diversity.
Arden practicing with an AR-15.
Photo from Ry.
Ry helps stabilize the rifle while Anna fires off the shot that detonates the explosive target.
Photo from Ry.
Quote of the day–William H. Neukom
Revisiting the basic premise of the Second Amendment and striking down gun legislation for the first time in 216 years would have ripple effects through this entire network of state and local regulation. Although the Court ruled in Presser v. Illinois, 116 U.S. 252 (1886), that the Second Amendment limits the power only of the federal government, the decision relied on the importance of militias as a check on federal power. Separating the right to bear arms from the maintenance of a well regulated militia would cast doubt on the authority of state and local governments to regulate firearms. Such a ruling would thus invite challenges to hundreds of state and local restrictions, thrusting upon the courts difficult policy judgments about the reasonableness of individual regulations.
William H. Neukom
January 11, 2008
President American Bar Association
Brief of the American Bar Association as amicus curiae supporting petitioners.
[Would Neukon have expressed the same concerns if the case under consideration had been freeing the slaves, granting minorities equal access to the law, or allowing women access to abortion? Besides I don’t see there being any difficulty in judging the reasonableness of individual regulations when the wording of the Second Amendment is so clear, “… the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” Hence, if the regulation impedes, rather than assists, the people in keeping and bearing arms the regulation is unreasonable. Next case please.–Joe]
Environmentalists’ wild predictions
Furthering the discussion prompted in Joe’s post here (read the comments) I point you to a must-read (and a real knee-slapper IMO)– a recent piece by Williams, in which he catalogs just a few highlights from the never-ending string of end-of-the-world predictions coming from “authorities” on climate and economics.
(And we gun owners are often called paranoid)
I grew up hearing many of these prophecies of doom, and what’s a kid to do other than believe them in a time when there was no opposition in the media, and a time (then as now) when the public schools were parroting them as gospel? What’s a kid to do with a mind full of such doom and gloom, other than become cynical about the world, fearful and somewhat hopeless about the future?
Those who perpetrate such idiocy, besides being liars and scoundrels, are practicing child abuse. Most of the people so abused will never realize that they’re being abused– they’ll just live in fear of the world and in hatred of their fellow (“Earth destroying”) human beings. I finally figured it out, and it’s part of why I’m now in such vociferous opposition to the lefty-loon-cultists who spread this trash. I can’t get my childhood back, but I can help fight the continuing abuse.
“Oh, but can we afford to ignore these dire predictions?” you might say. OK. Can we afford to ignore the fact that you may be a child rapist? Do we have to wait for you to actually rape a child in front of witnesses before we incarcerate you? Wouldn’t that be unfair to your potential victim(s)? Shouldn’t we save your potential victims in advance?
Stupid, isn’t it? This country was founded to protect human rights– not save the planet from dwindling resources, or to control the weather, etc.. With our freedom protected– our ability to act in our own interests, unimpeded and un-harassed, we will have the best chance of successfully overcoming life’s challenges.
Quote of the day–Gura, Levy, Neily
The Bill of Rights was never thought necessary by the Federalists, other than as a tool to placate Anti-Federalist resistance to the new constitution. While rejection of militia-powers amendments demonstrates that the Bill of Rights did not address each and every Anti-Federalist concern, the Second Amendment did at least address a different concern: the individual right to arms.
Demands for a bill of rights prevailed in five of seven constitutional ratifying conventions. The only provisions common to all were freedom of religion and the right to arms. New Hampshire’s convention demanded recognition that “Congress shall never disarm any citizen, unless such as are or have been in actual rebellion.”
Alan Gura
Robert A. Levy
Clark M. Neily III
February 24, 2008
Respondent’s brief on Writ Of Certiorari to the United States Court Of Appeals for the District Of Columbia Circuit.