I’m away at an office at a secure and undisclosed location. I have a large window. All day, two stupid birds are repeatedly flying into said window. Every 8 seconds or so there are two thuds.
View the rest of the articleIt’s kinda SKSy around here.
View the rest of the articleThe merits of CCW v. terrorist attacks.
Update: Related: Don’t train in vain.
View the rest of the articlepFine… I’ll do it /pp1. strongStarted your own blog. (duh)/strongbr /2. strongSlept under the stars. (and rain. Thanks USMC!)/strongbr /3. strongPlayed in a band./strongbr /4. Visited Hawaii.br /5. strongWatched a meteor shower.br //strong6. strongGiven more than you can afford to charity.br //strong7. strongBeen to Disneyland.br //strong8. strongClimbed a mountain.br //strong9. strongHeld a praying mantis.br //strong10. Sang a solo.br /11. Bungee jumped.br /12. Visited Paris.br /13. strongWatched a lightning storm at sea.br //strong14. strongTaught yourself an art from scratch. (see #3)br //strong15. Adopted a child.br /16. strongHad food poisoning./strongbr /17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.br /18. strongGrown your own vegetables.br //strong19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.br…
View the rest of the articlepa href=”http://madrocketsci.blogspot.com/” target=”_blank”Mad Rocket Scientist/a emailed me last night with a a href=”http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/12/lessons_from_mu.html” target=”_blank”link to this story regarding the Mumbai terrorist attacks/a. Speaking of the comments, MRS says/p blockquote pA common debate, played out in a predictable fashion/p/blockquote pThe article itself was primarily about the emactual/em rarity of terrorist attacks (24×7 news coverage amplifies the effect, yet terrorist attacks are still rare) and the security measures that fail to prevent them. However, the comments took on a life of their own./p pLet me summarize/p blockquote pstrongJohnMcLane- /strongThis happened because India is a gun free zone. Had civilians been allowed to carry guns, someone with an HK USP could have laid…
View the rest of the articleMichael Bane suggest the Brady Campaign might be having a good Christmas:
Brady is listing their hoped for Number Uno Christmas present as “closing the gunshow loophole” big time, as in ending private sales period…might also be a good time to do your shopping at a gunshow (if you state still allows private gunshow sales, which CO doesn’t) or from classifed ads or f-t-f locally.
I agree with him that this is the most likely direction of attack. It’s much harder to fight than a lot of other possibilities.
View the rest of the articleDave Kopel has coauthored a working paper with Nelson Lund that counters Judge Wilkinson’s notion that Heller was overreaching, just like Roe. We should be thankful we have academic folks willing to step up and counter these notions once they are floated. Now that gun rights has entered the courts as well as the legislatures, it’ll be important for influencing legal opinioin on these matters.
View the rest of the articleLooks like Obama’s home state isn’t immune from the surge in gun sales either. I thought Obama told us sportsmen back home would tell us what a great guy he was?
View the rest of the articleOff to a two hour doc’s appointment. A bald 7/8s caucasian was not designed for the Sonoran Desert, and so they have to attack diffuse solar kerotoses on my top-knot with something that I gather isn’t chemo, but is somewhat like it. Cover your scalp with a chemical that is taken up more rapidly by the abnormal cells, then expose scalp to bright light, which activates the chemical and kills them. (It also leaves you very photosensitive for days). Probably not the most fun thing I’ll do this week.
View the rest of the articleThe Great Falls Tribune printed an editorial that criticized the National Rifle Association, and then would not even offer the courtesy of printing a reply. It’s hard to get our message out there when the media is actively conspiring to keep it out of the public light. And they wonder why the print media is contracting faster than a neutron star.
View the rest of the articleNew Jersey is overrun with bears. More dangerously, they are losing their fear of humans. It’s really only a matter of time before there’s a horrible incident. Some politicians in New Jersey are beginning to criticize Jon Corzine, who’s caved to the animal rights folks on having a bear hunt:
“The Governor’s bear management policies are based on little more than a reflexive opposition to hunting, disregard of science and a dose of wishful thinking,” said Oroho. “The numbers compiled by the Division of Fish and Wildlife demonstrate a different approach is adamantly necessary.”
We’ll see how cute the animal rights people think the bears are when they end up preying on…
View the rest of the articleThis anti-NRA piece appeared in the Great Falls Tribune. It notes the typical anti-NRA talking points that we’re used to and know to be incorrect. As such, NRA’s Chris Cox wrote a letter to address the concerns (the letter appears below). But this isn’t really a post about the letter. Rather, it’s a post about how the paper’s personnel responded to the letter and, apparently, refused to run it.
The NRA person told me that the woman in the letters department was unhelpful, uninterested and she was unwilling to go so far as to say whether they would even try to get our response published. Additionally, she wouldn’t give her last…
View the rest of the articleCam rounds up national cases of teh st00pid. I mean, the new visitors’ center in DC got our national motto wrong.
View the rest of the articleA look at permit revocations.
View the rest of the articleScott Bach looks at gun rationing proposals in New Jersey. Another gun law that targets only the law-abiding.
View the rest of the articleAnd bonus gun porn.
All these reports of folks buying guns prior to the ascension. Some bloggers chime in on their acquisitions:
Rich gets a new XDM.
Sam and Denise get three rifles.
View the rest of the articleOccasionally, a case of teh st00pid. Unfortunately, this was not one of those cases:
View the rest of the articlePolice say Haggins put his pistol on a table, walked over to the man and snatched the bracelet. But while Haggins was taking the bracelet, police say another victim grabbed the gun and pointed it at Haggins.
Manufacturers Invited to Attend SHOT Show BSA Meeting
NSSF, NRA and the Boy Scouts of America will be holding a meeting at the SHOT Show to inform manufacturers about what’s in store during the BSA’s 100th Anniversary and how manufacturers can support the efforts being made to introduce more youths to the shooting sports. Learn more about the meeting.
Topics include the 2010 BSA Jamboree, council shooting sports changes, high adventure base advanced shooting sports programs and new shooting programs geared towards retaining youth in the shooting sports.
Murdoc may actually check this out if he gets a chance.
AR57 PDW Upper on Standard AR Lower
The Firearm Blog has the goods:
The AR Five Seven is a one piece 5.7×28mm upper that attaches to a AR-15 lower and uses the 50 round FN P90 magazines.
Also see his earlier post on the subject, which includes a reader comment about turning an AR magazine body into a brass catcher.
–cross-posted from MO.
The D.C. City Council continues its herky-jerky reactions to the Supreme Court’s Heller decision overturning its ban on usable guns in the home.
To what extent complicated or demanding registration processes impinge on the Second Amendmend right declared in Heller will doubtless be a topic in many future lawsuits.
If there’s a lesson to be gleaned from the India massacre, it’s that individuals ultimately are responsible for their personal safety. India has strict gun control laws that make it virtually impossible for private citizens to arm themselves, so they rely on armed professionals to protect them.
View the rest of the article“All we’re asking is that you allow us to make that choice. If I can legally carry somewhere else, allow me to make the decision whether or not I want to carry here on campus,” said Matthew Rogers, founder of Texas AM’s chapter of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus.
At least one person in the Texas Legislature agrees. State Senator Jeff Wentworth of San Antonio, an Aggie himself, has promised to propose a bill that would allow those with a permit to pack heat on campus.
A bill pending in the State Senate and up for committee vote 12/8 (S1774) is a bad dose of old medicine. It’s a proposal to ration the Constitutional right of law abiding citizens to own handguns beyond the existing regulatory thicket, which already slows exercise of those rights to a trickle. It ignores violent behavior and known sources of illegal trafficking, instead restricting only persons investigated and pre certified as acceptable to own firearms.
View the rest of the articleWe hear, over and over again, that West Virginia’s deer hunting seasons contribute mightily to the state’s economy.
The latest survey, issued in 2006, shows just how important hunting is in the Mountain State.
The bottom line? Hunters pump $285 million a year into merchants’ pockets.
I live in Illinois, which is one of only 2 states that has a complete ban on the carrying of a concealed firearm for self defense. That means that while the criminals in Chicago are armed, I am unarmed. It also means that many of my fellow Illinois residents are unaware of the benefits of [...]img src=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LearnAboutGuns/~4/474343218″ height=”1″ width=”1″/
View the rest of the articleFrom Blackfork on reloading your own ammo:
You have to handload to shoot serious rifle match scores. You just can’t get good enough ammo cheap enough without doing it yourself.
I am not nearly the shooter that Blackfork is, but I can tell you this is true. There is definitely a difference between what you carefully hand load for yourself, and what you can buy for any reasonable price commercially. Even using my primitive equipment, and skills, I do better with my own hand loads than I do with commerical ammo. In these Obama days, handloading is a skill we should all master.
View the rest of the articleLooks like Tom McClintock managed to pull it out in California’s 4th. McClintock is a great friend of the Second Amendment, and of conservative causes in general. Unlike a lot of other politicians, he walks the walk. So this is also a nice silver lining to an otherwise ominous dark cloud.
View the rest of the articleBe sure of your target and what’s behind it:
The Vermont Supreme Court has ruled that a hunter who shoots and injures someone because he or she didn’t properly identify the target can face an aggravated assault charge.
In a case arising out of Lamoille County, the court upheld the aggravated assault conviction of Eric Patch, who was out partridge hunting in November of 2006 when he saw movement in a tree, fired his 12-gauge shotgun and hit a deer hunter.
Jeff Soyer agrees with the ruling. So does Murdoc.
“Three Percenters” are self-righteous, anarchist, egotistical, self-centered, solipsistic, incorrigible asses, and are appropriately full of shit.
*takes a deep breath* There, I said it, and I will be damned if I do not stand by it. If the previous actions and words of those “three percenters” has been any indication for it, I am going to suffer for it , however, strangely, I am comfortable with that.
And now for the explanation to go along with my opening comments. A while ago, I stumbled across the previously-linked letter to the editor, quoted below:
View the rest of the articleDear Editor:
Joe Bialek from Cleveland proposes the licensing and registration of all weapons currently in civilian hands.…
Bear Hunters Harvest Stands at Fifth Highest So Far
Pennsylvania Game Commission preliminary bear harvest figures show that 2,946 bears were taken during the recently completed three-day season (Nov. 24-26), and an additional 68 bears were harvested during the two-day archery bear harvest (Nov. 19-20).
That’s a lot of bears. The largest was a male that weighed in at 716 pounds.
I was amused by these reviews for various prepared and canned foods. For those of us on the go, it’s a good look at what’s good and what sucks. How can you beat reviews that go like this:
Boulder Ice Cream – Super Premium Vanilla
Says “produced with milk from cows not treated with rBGH.” Well maybe they should be. Cuz this ice cream sucks. Horrible consistency (too globby). The flavor may or may not have been okay, but it doesn’t matter. As the great philosopher Carrito once said, “Ice cream should not be like taffy.”
I will have to reference this before I restock my office Emergency Lunch Survival Kit. What prompted me to…
View the rest of the articlep / pa href=”http://www.gregandbeth.com/blog/index.php?id=1874″ target=”_blank”Greg points out some interesting statistics for CCW here in Florida/a/p blockquote pAdditional stats from 10/1/1987 (when shall issue licensing was passed) to 10/31/2008 (the last full month of data available): /pli1,408,907 licenses have been issued. /lili533,181 of those are current and active. /lili166 have been revoked due to a gun-related crime. …/li/blockquote pIn further conversations, he discovered that 3,716 permits were revoked due to crime. So let’s use the bigger number for grits and shins./p pstrong”AHA!”/strong say the anti-gun people. “See! Over emthree thousand/em emso called ‘law abiding citizens’ are criminals!!!1!eleven!!/em”/p pNot so fast. A little math is in order. 3,716 / 1,408,907 * 100…
View the rest of the articleAs I#8217;ve mentioned before, Oak Park, IL has a handgun ban. People such as Frank Vozak, who chairs Oak Park#8217;s health board, erroneously think that that handgun ban somehow makes Oak Park #8220;gun free.#8221; Just as having a law against murder doesn#8217;t make the state of Illinois #8220;murder free,#8221; Oak Park#8217;s handgun ban doesn#8217;t prevent [...]img src=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LearnAboutGuns/~4/473818421″ height=”1″ width=”1″/
View the rest of the articleFirst of all, listen to the
911 call (2.4 MB mp3) about the dual shooting at a Toys R Us store in Palm Desert, California last Friday. The tape is 2:39 long, and the authorities arrive at the very end. Honestly, that’s not half bad. Considering all of the problems the dispatcher had getting the address and name of the location, I was surprised they were able to respond that quickly.
It’s good that the two guys shot each other. If one or both of them would have decided to shoot others, that would have been a long two and a half minutes.
The women each of the two dead guys were with started…
View the rest of the articleI wonder if Al Gore is using his carbon credit money to fund all these recent pirate attacks we’re seeing?
View the rest of the articlePittsburgh City Council virtually assured yesterday that the city will follow Philadelphia in requiring gun owners to tell police when their firearms are lost or stolen.
Council members voted 6-1 for an ordinance that would give gun owners 24 hours to call police after they notice that a firearm is missing. It would subject them to a $500 fine if they don’t report such a loss, and a $1,000 fine plus possible prison time for a second such failure.
View the rest of the articleWyatt is once more a father, and Clayton Cramer is now a grandfather. Congrats to both.
View the rest of the articlepDoubleTapper emailed me the other day about a href=”http://doubletapper.blogspot.com/2008/11/idf-sniper-rifles.html” target=”_blank”a great post of his on IDF snipers/a. I totally failed to link to it (sorry DT) but I just read a href=”http://doubletapper.blogspot.com/2008/12/idf-sniper-training.html” target=”_blank”another sniper post/a this time on training, and thought I’d make up for it by linking to ‘em both here./p pDoubleTapper is a great read for Israeli related gun and military information, so if he’s not on your blogroll or in your blog reader, he should be!/pimg src=”http://blog.robballen.com/aggbug/7038.aspx” width=”1″ height=”1″ /
View the rest of the articleI can’t believe we elected this guy … twice.
View the rest of the articleOver at War on Guns. I think that response might be from Tommy Millner, who is the CEO. I’m glad to hear Remington will be applying pressure where pressure is due. We have still heard nothing from H-S Precision.
View the rest of the articleIt’s up for a committe vote in New Jersey on December 8th. Scott Bach has this to say:
Unfortunately, a bill pending in the State Senate and up for committee vote 12/8 (S1774) is a bad dose of old medicine. It’s a proposal to ration the Constitutional right of law-abiding citizens to own handguns beyond the existing regulatory thicket, which already slows exercise of those rights to a trickle. It ignores violent behavior and known sources of illegal trafficking, instead restricting only persons investigated and pre-certified as acceptable to own firearms. Even mainstream media recognize the ineffectiveness of this approach.
He goes on to describe how utterly worthless this law is going…
View the rest of the articleScott Bach discusses it. As he points out, NJ already requires a permit for each handgun purchase, which can take months to obtain. Why add one-gun-a-month? Is there any claim that criminal “straw men” are out there getting a dozen permits a month so they can resell?
View the rest of the articleEarlier this week, the Pittsburgh City Council took a final vote and passed an ordinance that would require gun owners to report the loss or theft of firearm within a 72-hour period or face fines and possible imprisonment. The measure will now go to the Mayor for his signature or veto.
View the rest of the articleEugene Volokh offers some excellent criticism to the New York Times for the Brady Campaign inspired editorial from yesterday. I don’t think they really want to get into specifics too much at this point. They are mostly interested in getting the public used to hearing “reasonable” and “gun laws” in the same sentence, in the hopes that they’ll, by default, assume that all gun control laws are reasonable. The real sorry side to this story is that the New York Times chooses to do the heavy lifting for The Brady Campaign, rather than seriously think about the issues.
View the rest of the articlepIf you look back on this blog just two years ago, you’ll notice I rarely posted about guns. Heck, a few years before that and it was all politics (ah… the salad days of 2000+ daily hits), then I simply was aimless for a while./p pHowever, I began to realize that it was in my best interest to be able to defend myself if need be. Now I am 6′3″, two hundred and something pounds, walk with a purpose and make eye contact with people, so I don’t project “EASY TARGET”, but that doesn’t preclude me from being selected by the dumb criminals. So, I looked at my options and…
View the rest of the articleThe Palm Pistol was criticized for possibly being an AOW. Now, not only is it not an AOW, but a medical device:
View the rest of the articleI thought you might be interested to learn that the FDA has completed its Device/Not a Device determination and concluded the Palm Pistol will be listed as a Class I Medical Device, exempt from 510(k) Pre-Market Notification in accordance with 21 CFR 890.5050 Daily Activity Assist Device.
I just got word from Matt Carmel, inventor of the Palm Pistol:
I thought you might be interested to learn that the FDA has completed its “Device/Not a Device” determination and concluded the Palm Pistol will be listed as a Class I Medical Device, exempt from 510(k) Pre-Market Notification in accordance with 21 CFR 890.5050 “Daily Activity Assist Device.”
I have now submitted an application to the CMS contractor Noridian for a DME (Durable Medical Equipment) Coding Verification in order to be assigned an HCPCS code. Once assigned , physicians will be able to prescribe the Palm Pistol for qualified patients who may seek reimbursement through Medicare or private health insurance companies.
Matt…
View the rest of the articleSt. Louis City Leader Says Police Ineffective, Tells Residents to Get Armed
View the rest of the articleThe 2009 SHOT Show in Orlando, Florida, was going to be split between two halls at the Orange County Convention Center. Overflow has been common for the past several years as the number of exhibitors has outpaced the available floor space. Pressurized tents, outbuilding, and temporary structures have all served to house the extras, and both vendors and attendees have suffered for it.
The announcement was just made, however, that there has been a change in plans:
View the rest of the articleBecause of persistent negotiating, creative planning and the cooperation of the Orange County Convention Center, all of the exhibitors scheduled to display in two separate buildings, North-South and West, instead will be in one central location.
By…
This is really bad news. Thoughts and Prayers from us all. Let’s hope he’ll be on the mend soon.
View the rest of the articleThe city council there continues to push gun laws:
The D.C. Council voted unanimously yesterday to give preliminary approval to legislation that would require gun owners to renew their registrations every three years and to notify police annually whether they still own guns.
The Fire Arms Registration Amendment, which would also ban assault weapons, was described as building on legislation passed by the council in September to adhere to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning the city’s 32-year handgun ban.
I’m thinking someone should once again urge congress to step in.
View the rest of the articleLooks like DC is, once again, doing its level best to skirt the Supreme Court’s ruling in Heller:
The D.C. Council voted unanimously yesterday to give preliminary approval to legislation that would require gun owners to renew their registrations every three years and to notify police annually whether they still own guns.
The Fire Arms Registration Amendment, which would also ban assault weapons, was described as building on legislation passed by the council in September to adhere to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning the city’s 32-year handgun ban.
The new legislation also mandates Microstamping, a practice that’s not common in the firearms industry. It also requires training, submission to a background check every six…
View the rest of the articleA wearable sniper detection system
View the rest of the articleAside from, say, the coming zombie apocalypse or just to scare the crap out of a gun-fearing wussy, I don’t really know what the point of a chainsaw mounted to a rifle would be. With videos.
Update: It is apparently inspired by a video game. Ok, then.
View the rest of the articleOver at the National Shooting Sports Foundation Blog, Bill Brassard notes that the Boston Globe printed an article full of crap and John Rosenthal, but I repeat myself. Shouldn’t surprise anyone, really. After all, John Rosenthal took one of the Globe’s alleged reporters, Steve Bailey, across state lines where they allegedly proceeded to violate federal firearms laws.
Update: More from Bruce.
View the rest of the articleSaxby Chambliss wins. Assuming the Republicans find the balls they’ve been missing for the last six years, they can at least stall.
Update: More from SIH.
View the rest of the articleMarkos talks smack about your particular favorite gun. Heh. What, no FAL?
View the rest of the articleYou remember all that time before the election when the press was trying to convince us bitter clingers that Obama didn’t want to take our guns? And how the DLC set up that fake pro-gun group to further alleviate our fears?
Well, unsurprisingly, they didn’t mean it. Here they are now:
The Paper of Making Up The Record giddy at the prospect of new gun laws.
At the WaPo: It would be nice if President-elect Obama had the time to focus his energies on repeal of the Second Amendment
And the trend seems to be to spin it as the NRA not mattering much. Yeah, right. Then why so much time spent by the DLC, the…
View the rest of the articleSebastian: Calling Bryan Miller a moderate on gun control is like calling Fred Phelps a moderate on gay rights.
View the rest of the articleYou know what you need for all those pink guns? Pink Laser Grips from Crimson Trace.
View the rest of the articleMan says he shot wife during sex
Husband: it was an accident
Urbana, Ohio:
An Urbana Township woman is listed in critical after a strange accident. Investigators say 38-year-old Carolyn Havens was shot in the chest by her husband, Timothy Havens…
Havens told authorities he was reaching for something on a night stand while they were being intimate, when the .38 caliber pistol went off, striking his wife in the upper chest.
That seems ridiculously unbelievable.
This story says he’s been arrested and goes into some detail about a history of domestic violence, restraining orders, and broken restraining orders.
The woman is in critical condition. It doesn’t say whether she was able to make a statement of any…
View the rest of the articlePolice in India were criticized for not shooting back. Now, we know why:
View the rest of the articleCops just had 577 rifles, hadn’t fired in 10 yrs
The state constabulary was grossly unprepared to deal with the worst-ever terror attacks on the metropolis because of an acute shortage
of weapons and ammunition.
Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery.
View the rest of the articleNot that a little thing like the constitution would get in the way anyway.
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I really wish that Obama’s goal was not to take our gun rights away, but the facts seem to indicate otherwise: |
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Anyway. I wanted to just sign in and note that I too am having issues with a delayed FOID card application. I was a FOID card holder previously, but since I hadn’t owned any firearms for some time, I let the card expire. That was several years ago. Recently I’ve… |
