Happy Halloween

I am off to go trick or treating with grand kids and extended grand kids.

Here is a little something to get you into the Halloween spirit:

Glock vs 1911, 1000 round match

There was a "shoot 'til you fail" 1000 round match that pitted Glocks against 1911 style pistols held in Oklahoma recently. Nine Glocks and seven 1911's started the match, one of each finished. The Glock won on time.

For more information from a thread on The High Road, go here.

A local range held these matches for a couple of years, and I missed out on shooting one. From the comments on the THR thread, it appears that there will be a match in North Texas early next Spring, hopefully I will be able to shoot it.

Hey Fits, you can stay at my place if you want to join us!

H/T to Say Uncle

Update: A date has been set for the Spring North Texas match. April 26th. I'm in like Flynn. More info here.

Gun Free Zone

H/T Xavier

Report calls for fewer reports

From the Star Telegram:

Report calls for fewer reports

The Texas State Library and Archives Commission is declaring that there are too many state reports. It says so in a 668-page report.

The report on reports took 18 months and included canvassing more than 170 agencies, and public colleges and universities, checking on all the reports they are assigned to do.

A part of me is pissed that my tax dollars paid 18 months worth of salaries for these folks to get this report done, another part wonders how to get on this gravy train.

Tonight's Game

Tonight the San Jose Sharks make it in to town to play the Stars.

VS

V and I will be there.

This will be the first game of the season that we attend in person, and there really is nothing like a live hockey game. We went to the very first game in the American Airlines Center. When we got there we had to wait to take our seats, our section had not yet been bolted down.

Tonight we will be going with Coach Mark and his wife from "My Weekly Thoughts". The Sharks and Stars always put on a good game, and it is mini-bobblehead night, what more could you ask?

The Best Laid Plans...

H/T to Say Uncle

Day at The Range

Yesterday was the monthly Defensive Pistol Match put on by Cross Timbers IDPA at our range. CTIDPA puts on a weekly match at the Winchester Gallery Range in Fort Worth, and a monthly one with us. I shot my very first Defensive Pistol Match last month, and really enjoyed it. Since then I have joined the IDPA and Cross Timbers. Today was my second match.

Well... I should say my second and third match. Before, and after, the regular match they had a "Classifier" match. I shot the afternoon classifier and am now an officially classified IDPA member.

Between the two matches I put 195 rounds of Fiocchi 230gr FMJ through my Kimber. 194 of those rounds cycled flawlessly, one failed to feed. I had a failure to feed, and it caught me by surprise. I was shooting from behind a barricade during the regular match when it happened.

Sights on target, pull trigger, bang.

Sights back on target, pull trigger, no bang.

Note that slide did not return to battery, assist slides return, be so focused on the failure that the S.O.'s warning that I was no longer behind cover goes not just ignored, but totally unheard.

I got the malfunction remedied quickly, but am bothered by the fact that I was affected by tunnel vision while doing so. I am also bothered by the failure to feed, I am pretty sure it was due to a poor grip but we will see.

Things I have learned so far in my foray into IDPA match shooting:

1. I'm not as good as I thought I was.

2. My training routine needs to become much more dynamic, and I need to spend more time with dry-fire practice.

3. These matches are one heck of a lot of fun, and the folks shooting them are a good group of folks to shoot with.

Got home from the range and had just enough time to shower and get ready to head out to dinner at Matt's Rancho Martinez with a group of friends. Dinner was very good, and the service was great. There were 16 of us, and the wait staff did a very good job of keeping us all happy. I had the Pork Carnitas and V had their #1 Dinner (enchilada, crispy beef taco and tamale).

After dinner we all headed next door to the Lakewood Theater to help "The Big Beats" celebrate their 50th anniversary together as a band.

These guys have been playing music for longer than I have been alive, and they can still get after it.

A day at the range, followed by an evening out with friends. That's what weekends are for.

H.R. 1022 is Still Alive and Well

Last time I commented on H.R. 1022, the bill had 49 cosponsors. I had not been keeping much of an eye on it as the general consensus amongst those who have more experience in these issues than I consider it a non issue.

A quick check today (prompted by 45superman's report "More about Biden's "Crime Control and Prevention Act of 2007" ) found that there are now 59 cosponsors to H.R. 1022. 59 is a good percentage of the 435 members of our House of Representatives, and 4 of the cosponsors are on the sub committee where the bill currently resides.

H.R. 1022 has 59 cosponsors, two of which signed on just this past week. Representative Hastings signed on the 22nd, and Kucinich on the 25th.

So here we have Biden introducing a bill in the Senate that would "simply" renew the '94 AWB on one hand, and H.R. 1022 in the House on the other.

Gun control is still a very high priority for the Democrat Party.

For more on H.R. 1022, go here.

UNT Students Participate in the National Collegiate Empty Holster Protest

Earlier this month I commented on the planned National Collegiate Empty Holster Protest. It seems that this protest has gained quite a bit of momentum. Fox News is reporting on it, Fits is participating in it, and it has even made our local news.

From NBC5i.com:

UNT Students To Protest Concealed Gun Ban

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Several students at the University of North Texas will be wearing empty gun holsters this week to protest a Texas law that prohibits concealed handgun owners from taking guns on campus.

The protest is organized by a group called the Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, who theorize that an armed student body could respond to a gunman faster than campus or city police.

In addition to the empty gun holsters, students taking part in the protest will also wear T-shirts with phrases such as "What you don't see ... can save your life."

Good on the students for participating in, and the news agency for reporting on this protest. It is very important to get the message out there.

One problem though. NBC5i ended the report with -

In Texas, it is illegal for a person with a concealed handgun license to take their firearm into a school or any business that sells alcohol.

An email was sent schooling them on Texas CHL law concerning businesses that sell alcohol.

Update: Received a nice email from the Managing Editor of NBC5i.com thanking me for pointing out the error. They have corrected the report. It now states:

In Texas, it is illegal for a person with a concealed handgun license to take their firearm onto a school campus.

That is kind of cool. Now all we have to do is get that law changed.

More From Jodi Foster

You know, I really like Jodi Foster as an actress. I have enjoyed many of her movies, and was planning on going to see "The Brave One". Comments she made after the release of this movie ("I don't believe that any gun should be in the hand of a thinking, feeling, and breathing human being") convinced me that my money could be better spent elsewhere.

Now she is in Japan, continuing her twisted rhetoric about firearm ownership.

From the Daily Yomiuri Online:

By Ikuko Kitagawa

Power corrupts and gun power corrupts violently

Jodie Foster, star of The Brave One, said it all at a recent Tokyo press conference when she summed up her latest suspense thriller, in which a desperate woman winds up as a vigilante gunning down criminals and outlaws while seeking revenge for the murder of her boyfriend.

"When you put a gun in your pocket, it changes everything. It changes how you walk, it changes how you see, it changes your confidence, it changes the experiences that you allow yourself to have. In some ways, that can be quite beautiful because it gives you this false sense of power...It's quite beautiful as she finds herself as a human being. She finds strength in herself," Foster said about the gun-wielding woman she portrays.

"And then of course the flip side is the monstrous side, because when you depend on the power of the gun...the consequences of that is that someone has to die.

Jodi, you have problems. There is something wrong in your head and you should see about getting it fixed. Allowing an inanimate object to control your emotions like that is just plain wrong. Please do not assume that rational human beings are as deranged as you seem to be. Millions of Americans own guns. The number of these gun owners who feel as you do are so insignificant at to be an statistical anomaly.

Stick to the script honey, leave real life to those of us who live it.

Counterfeit Leupold Riflescope Warning

From the Leupold website:

Counterfeit Leupold Riflescope Warning

Leupold® is issuing a customer alert to purchasers of products, particularly via Internet sales, in regards to bogus Leupold products that are apparently being illegally imported from the People’s Republic of China. These products bear many of the marks and trade dress of current Leupold & Stevens riflescopes making them very hard to distinguish externally from authentic Leupold products.

In recent months, counterfeited Leupold Mark 4® riflescopes have begun to arrive with increasing regularity at the firm’s Beaverton, Oregon, headquarters for service. These products are not manufactured by Leupold and are not covered by the Leupold Full Lifetime Guarantee.

Leupold employs serial number tracking for all its riflescopes, so if a customer finds a scope that is suspect, he or she can simply write down the serial number and call 1-800-LEUPOLD to confirm if it is indeed authentic.

In general, most of the scopes appear to originate from Hong Kong (People’s Republic of China), and have “Leupold Mark 4” laser engraved on the bottom of the turret in a silver etch, while the black ring on the objective is etched in white and does not include the name “Leupold.” The scopes also do not bear the Leupold medallion, a mark all Leupold scopes will always possess. An authentic Mark 4 riflescope will always be engraved black on black and have the name “Leupold” engraved on the black ring.

For more on how to tell if that scope on the gun show table is real, go to the Leupold page on Identifying Marks

Thanks to Oscar Poppa

A Friendly Reminder

It's getting on to deer season.

Just a friendly reminder to sight in your rifle.

A clearer video can be found here.

The "Only Ones" Losing Fringe Benefits

From Yahoo News:

Belgian police told no brothels or booze during work hours

Now that's going to affect recruitment for the Brussels Department of "Only Ones".

BRUSSELS (AFP) - A Brussels police chief has warned his officers to abstain from visiting brothels and drinking alcohol during working hours, Belgium's La Derniere-Heure newspaper has reported.

In an office note dated May 28, reprinted by La Derniere-Heure, police chief Erwin Renard reminded staff of "certain ethical rules" that had apparently been ignored while he was on sick leave.

He wrote: "These staff think that working hours are for drinking alcohol when no other drinks are available, playing sport, frequenting 'brothels' or other massage parlours, developing intimate relationships with residents of their neighbourhood or during their patrols...".

It's all fun and games until the chief gets back.

The Latest Advance in The War on Terror

I could only wish that this were a joke.

H/T to Sondra K.

Another "Gun" Victim Dead in the Streets

You know, these guns can be pretty vicious critters... um... beasts? No, that's not it. Robots maybe? What the heck do you call an inanimate object that can attack a person?

Just to be safe I only feed my guns the very best in ammo, and clean them religiously with Hoppes #9, CLP or Gibbs (depending on their preferences). I don't want something like this happening to me.

From the Boston Herald:

By Michele McPhee

Gun Victim Believed to be Funeral Guest

I wonder what set the gun off, why did it attack an innocent like this? Maybe our industrious reporter will explain all in her report.

A funeral yesterday for a slain reputed gang banger led to yet another shooting in Dorchester, authorities believe, after police found a man suffering from a life-threatening gunshot wound and wearing a black suit and a button emblazoned with the name and face of the deceased.

The 18-year-old victim, identified by sources as David Johnson, was “lying on the sidewalk” outside a store at 140 Harvard St. in Dorchester. He was wearing black pants, a black dress shirt and a button commemorating murder victim Charles Bunch, police said yesterday. He was in critical condition last night, and was not expected to survive, police said.

The suspect was a “black male dressed in black pants, a black dress shirt and wearing a memorial button on his shirt,” said BPD spokeswoman, Elaine Driscoll.

The suspect fled on foot and remained at large last night. A source told the Herald he was wearing the same button as his victim.

Wait a second, now I am confused. There is a human suspect in this incident? Not quite what the headline would lead one to believe is it?

One short paragraph in the middle of the report is a bit of genius on the part of our reporter.

Bunch had a rap sheet that included two arrests for shootings, sources said. Of the 284 shooting incidents that have left Bostonians wounded or killed this year, 75 percent have been linked to gang violence, according to BPD Commissioner Edward Davis.

Gangs and the revolving door justice system working hand in hand to make Boston a better place for gang members and goblins. If someone were to focus on those two issues, maybe Boston could get a handle on it's violent crime rate.

The last sentence of the report:

...a man survived a nighttime gun attack.

There go those dastardly guns, again.

A Bit Busy This Evening

Today is our wedding anniversary. I am an extremely lucky man to have V in my life and feel that our relationship is truly blessed. Dinner this evening will start with Oysters Rockefeller (I had to get a refresher course in shucking oysters this afternoon) followed with Broiled Swordfish, Steamed Asparagus Spears and Fresh Sliced Pears. The wine I have chosen for this dinner is a White Bordeaux, Montesquieu's "Constitution Reserve". Hopefully this will complement both the richness of the Oysters Rockefeller and the Broiled Swordfish equally well. A touch of melted butter on the Swordfish should help to make this work. Desert... well it involves Champagne, Chambord and bubbles. I'll leave the rest to your imagination.

I have got some cooking to get to, so I will leave you until tomorrow.

Day at the Range

Today was the monthly .22 rifle long range silhouette match out at the range. It was a good day for a match. Sunny, in the '80's, and gusting wind. The wind was swirling and making a mess of things if you were not patient. I was paired with a great spotter who kept me out of the gusts and kept me focused. I shot my best match ever and moved up a classification. Have I mentioned how much I enjoy knocking down rams at 200 meters with a .22?

These matches are based on the Black Powder Cartridge Rifle Silhouette matches. The match consists of shooting at steel silhouette chickens at 80 meters, pigs at 120 meters, turkeys at 154 meters and rams way out there at 200 meters. Chickens are shot in the standing off-hand position. All other animals may be shot from a prone or sitting position with the aid of cross sticks. The targets (and the ranges) are 2/5th scale of the BPCR Silhouette Matches.

If you are at all interested in competing in one of these matches, let me know. They are a lot of fun and you will meet some great people.

Ambush Reporter Update

In the comments section of my post "Better Late Than Never", concerning the verbal assault of Mr. Walton by Fox 4 News reporter Rebecca Aguilar, tony3dogs wondered how many readers of this blog attempted to contact Fox 4 and/or Ms Aguilar to express their thoughts about about what happened.

I know that a couple of folks who read this blog on occasion have left voice and emails for Ms Aguilar and various members of the Fox 4 News staff. Response has pretty much been non existent.

There is one response that has been attributed to Ms Aguilar posted on My Fox DFW. If you read her response, after watching the video, you will find her to be a bit fuzzy with the truth.

I do know that Fox 4 received one heck of a response to this interview, that Ms Aguilar has been suspended "indefinitely", and that more internal disciplinary action may follow for others involved with airing this piece.

Ms Aguilar does have her supporters. Remember the National Association of Hispanic Journalists? If not, they are the ones who awarded Ms Aguilar with ""Broadcast Journalist of the Year". NAHJ has written the Fox 4 News Station Manager requesting that Ms Aguilar be reinstated.

NAHJ Backs Reporter Accused of Callous Interview

NAHJ wrote the station manager late Thursday urging that Rebecca Aguilar be reinstated "for the sake of good journalism and maintaining your newscasts' credibility in the local community and national journalism community."...

...NAHJ disagreed. "What she did was obtain an exclusive interview for your station in a professional manner. This is far from the 'ambush' that has been portrayed in the blogosphere," Rafael Olmeda, NAHJ president, wrote to Kathy Saunders, vice president and general manager of the station.

"Her suspension certainly mystifies us. The only explanation we can think of is that the news director, Maria Barrs, let herself be unduly influenced by the emails being received at the station from a certain segment of the viewers who apparently have other agendas and not journalism principles as their main concern.

This "journalist" has yet to be fired. Granted, her suspension will most likely end with her leaving the station, but she should be terminated. Fox 4 had been very proactive in getting video and images from this interview removed from sites that have posted them. They can be just as proactive in getting rid of this yellow journalist and making things right for Mr. Walton.

Speaking of making things right for Mr. Walton. I have his address if you would like to send him a note of support, or even a few boxes of quality shotgun ammunition. I'll be stopping by next week to say "Hi" and see if there is anything he may need.

An interesting aside. Fox 4 usually has a "Viewers Views" segment during the 9:00 newscast. That segment has also been suspended indefinitely.

This Month's E-Postal Match...

...is being hosted by USCitizen over at Traction Control

ePostal Match: Handgun Golf Returns

The Mexican Consulate Offers to Help

In an earlier post, Good Job to Irving Texas, I commented on the cities policy of screening the immigration status of anyone who is arrested and turning illegals over to ICE. The police are not doing anything other than their job. If an individual is arrested, their immigration/citizenship status is verified. The Irving Police Department is not going out and looking for illegals, but are properly turning over to the federal .gov those they find during routine traffic stops and criminal investigations.

At the time of that post, Irving had identified almost 1400 illegals and turned them over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. Needless to say, the usual folks who support the invasion of the United States by illegal immigrants were up in arms. They were marching in the streets and protesting left, right and sideways. They feel that it is not fair for police to arrest people who are driving without drivers licenses or other forms of proper ID. Heck, they think it is okay for these illegals to be driving on our streets with our licensing or insurance. Those minor laws are just not applicable to illegals, the should have "special" status.

The Mexican Consulate has an idea, they are going to help remedy this situation.

From the Star Telegram:

By Patrick McGee

Consulate seeks to issue IDs to help reduce arrests

Yep, you did read that correctly. Instead of assisting us with returning Mexican citizens to their home country, they want to issue ID cards to illegals so they do not get arrested during routine traffic stops.

DALLAS -- The Mexican Consulate wants to send mobile units to Irving to issue identification cards to illegal immigrants to try to save them from arrest and deportation...

...Urrea said he wants to send consulate officials to Irving to issue ID cards directly to Mexicans living there. No schedule or location has been chosen.

"If they have the card, their chances of not being arrested would improve dramatically," he said. Police can arrest motorists for not having a driver's license or issue a citation if the person's other identification appears valid.

Gears said the consular ID card might prevent the arrest of people whom police need to identify, but it will not exempt them from arrest for any other crime.

They have absolutely no shame at all.

I can think of an easy assignment for a couple of ICE agents with a camera and couple of hours.

Better Late Than Never

I take a day off from blogging to hit the range then watch the Stars win with V, and a local story makes national news.

So here I am, a day late and a dollar short posting an update on "Two Out of Three... ", my commentary on a Dallas business owner who shot, and killed, two separate burglars in a three week time period. Following each incident, the Dallas police confiscated Mr. Walton's shotgun as is routine procedure in cases like this. While Mr. Walton was out shopping for a new shotgun, he was ambushed by Fox 4 news reporter Rebecca Aguilar.

If you have not yet seen it, here is the interview. You need to watch it before continuing on:

Edit: It seems that Youtube has pulled the video. You can see it on Liveleak here.

I hope that interview angers you as much as it did me.

D Magazine's blog, "Front Burner", has some great commentary in the post "Rebecca Aguilar Misses the Target on Shooting Story".

Here is a man who protected his house and place of business from goblins, not just once, but twice, and this low rent "authorized journalist" has the audacity to ask him is he is "a trigger happy kind of person?" Where does she get off with her holier than thou attitude with this senior citizen, this veteran, this man who was forced to make a life or death decision?

Not only is Mz Aguilar an "authorized journalist", she is an award winning journalist. She recently has been chosen by the National Association of Hispanic Journalists to receive one of the group’s 2007 ñ Broadcast Journalist of the Year awards. She received the award for:

...her “sound and consistent reporting that gives voices to people who usually don’t have voices on the air,” adding that her work showed she was “capable of separating yourself from the stories while maintaining integrity and credibility” brought together with strong writing, good delivery and good use of sound bites and natural sound.”

What a load of crud. On top of being cruel and heartless, her "on the spot" interview with Mr. Walton was amateurish and sloppy. She did okay when she was just a talking head reading the teleprompter. Maybe she would be good at producing books on tape for ESL students. That is one potential opportunity for her as she considers new employment. It seems that the uproar created by her lack of professionalism has affected her employment status.

From the Dallas Observer:

KDFW Suspends Rebecca Aguilar After Controversial "Ambush"

It does not quite make up for what she did, but it is good to see that she is getting a lesson in the fact that a persons actions do have consequences.

Also commenting:

The pistolero with "...We love to cut you down to size, we love dirty laundry..."

Say Uncle wonders What media bias against guns?

Fred reports KDFW-FOX4 Suspends Reporter Rebecca Aguilar After Controversial “Ambush” Reporting as does JR of Texican Tattler.

Existing Thing watches the video and states I want to throw up.

Xavier goes long with Ambush in Mesquite Texas.

Afternoon at the Range

After work yesterday I headed out to the range and met up with a couple of guys off of one of the gun boards. They were interested in checking out the range, and I was interested in shooting so off we went. Any excuse to head out to the range is a good one.

Between the three of us, we had our very own little Evil Black Rifle convention. My Mixmaster Dissipator looked a little plain next to a heavy barrel varmint rig with a Leupold scope, or the carbines with EOTech's and other optics. I can pass on the glass for my AR, but after firing the varmint rifle with the nice trigger, a new trigger may be in order.

As far as pistols go, there were several 1911's and 1911 style pistols and a couple of Glocks. I finally got to shoot a Glock 21. I did not like the sights on that pistol at all. For some reason I had a hard time focusing on the front sight, and it took too much thinking to get good groups. I also had the opportunity to shoot a couple of magazines through a Glock 17. Now that one I enjoyed. Good sights, excellent trigger reset, and accurate. Basically tore one ragged hole out of the center of my target at 15 yards shooting as fast I could get the sights back on target. That was a fun gun to shoot.

The sun was starting to set when we made it over to the 200 yard range, so did not get enough time at that distance. This just means we have a good excuse for another mid-week trip.

Now you know why there was no post last night. Too busy shooting, then the Stars were on when I got home.

California's New Micro-stamping Law

California Assembly Bill 1471 (requiring micro-stamping of identifying information on spent cartridges from a pistol) has been signed in to law. As of January 1st, 2010, no new semiautomatic pistols may be sold in California without micro-stamping technology as an integral part of the firearm.

The applicable text of the bill:

(7) Commencing January 1, 2010, for all semiautomatic pistols that are not already listed on the roster pursuant to Section 12131, it is not designed and equipped with a microscopic array of characters that identify the make, model, and serial number of the pistol, etched or otherwise imprinted onto the interior surface or internal working parts of the pistol, and that are transferred by imprinting on each cartridge case when the firearm is fired.

This verbiage has been incorporated into California Penal Code 12126 (Unsafe Handguns).

Many of the fine folks listed on the sidebar have commented upon the utter idiocy of this bill as it pertains to crime prevention and crime solving. This is a gun ban/registration bill, pure and simple. What many folks have been asking about this bill is "Does it pertain to LEO's?" The answer to that is... No.

From California Penal Code 12125:

12125(b) This section shall not apply to any of the following:

12125(b)(4) The sale or purchase of any pistol, revolver or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person, if the pistol, revolver, or other firearm is sold to, or purchased by, the Department of Justice, any police department, any sheriff's official, any marshal's office, the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency, the California Highway Patrol, any district attorney's office, or the military or naval forces of this state or of the United States for use in the discharge of their official duties. Nor shall anything in this section prohibit the sale to, or purchase by, sworn members of these agencies of any pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person.

As you can see, what is good for the goose is not quite good for the gander.

The Crime Lobby

Over on Fit's site, Shooting The Messenger, TJH left a comment on a post that is worth highlighting. The post commented on a NY Daily News article "Outrage grows as bullets fly in city and children are hit". Fits did his usual straight forward job of pointing out where the politicians continue to ignore facts and blame inanimate objects and the law abiding. In the comments, TJH defined the "Crime Lobby".

The Crime Lobby:

Just remember that the Crime Lobby includes nearly every disarmer out there. For those that wonder who is part of the Crime Lobby, it's anyone that holds these views:

* The people may not defend their lives, their family's lives or their property, but instead must surrender

* That no one may use a weapon (any weapon!) to defend life, limb or property

* That a citizen's privilege to defend his life, body or property varies depending on his location

* ...but, a criminal carries with him all his rights, and also equivalent rights to your property while he is in or on your private property, (otherwise you'd be justified in defending it!)

* That every convicted criminal should be incarcerated for less than the current average for his crime; that probation is preferable to confinement

* That there are no amount of convictions of any crime that warrant a long incarceration

* That the job of the police is to implement whatever faddish social or environmental agenda is on the books

* That the law books should be flooded with worthless legislation restricting pistol magazine capacity or cell phone use, because those crimes are so much more important than theft, assault, forcible rape, arson, burglary, armed robbery and murder.

The Crime Lobby, they have a name, they can be identified and defeated.

Two Out of Three...

From the Dallas Morning News:

By marissa Alanis

West Dallas business owner kills 2 suspected burglars in 3 weeks

A Ledbetter-area business owner fatally shot a suspected burglar Sunday morning – the second time in three weeks that he killed an intruder, Dallas police said.

James Walton, owner of Able Walton Machine & Welding in the 2000 block of Chalk Hill Road in West Dallas, was alerted to the intruder when his motion sensor system activated about 9 a.m. Sunday, police said.

Mr. Walton, who also lives at his business, went downstairs with a shotgun and fired at a man who had broken in. The intruder was later identified by police as Jimmy Gannon of Ferris.

Police said Mr. Walton also noticed another man outside Sunday. Mr. Walton shot and wounded that man. He escaped, but a witness eventually led police to him. The man, whom police did not immediately identify, was questioned by officers Sunday afternoon.

Mr. Gannon, 37, was taken to Methodist Dallas Medical Center, where he died...

...On Sept. 22, Mr. Walton shot and killed a man he saw climbing through a pried-open window of his business, police said. The intruder was later identified as Raul Laureles.

Maybe now the bad guys will get the memo, that is one business to leave alone.

What did the police have to say about this incident?

Police said Mr. Walton is allowed to protect his property. No charges were filed against him Sunday, though the case will be referred to a grand jury, police said.

"He's got a right to defend his property. What gives a stranger the right to go in and vandalize or burglarize his business?" said Dallas police Sgt. Gene Reyes. "He's within every legal right to do this."

The North Texas Chapter of The Brady Bunch has yet to comment.

Is There Something in the Water?

Sometimes you have to wonder about what is wrong with folks these days. There are so many things going sideways, that just do not make any sense and are antithetic to rational thought.

One phenomenon that appears to be happening at an ever increasing rate is the brutal slaying of children by parent or parental figure.

Three recent incidents in North Texas:

From the Dallas Morning News:

Mother hangs herself, 4 children; infant found alive

From Fox News:

Texas Mom Arrested for Allegedly Setting 3 Daughters on Fire

From the Star Telegram:

'There was something that made him go over the hill'

Man shoots estranged wife and two step children.

Every time I attempt to wrap my brain around incidents such as these, I hit a brick wall. I keep thinking of the children's last thoughts. The terrible confusion of a little girl who still loves her mommy with her dieing breath as she struggles on the end of a rope. The terror as darkness bursts into flames as mommy strikes the match, the betrayal voiced as a charred 7 year old little girl screams, "Why mommy? Why mommy? Why did you do this to me?" after she and her sisters were pulled out of their burning house. The horror and confusion as a little girl watches Daddy shoot Mommy, Brother and Sister. This 3 year old was dropped off at a church, covered in her families blood.

What goes through a parent's mind to make it okay to perform such atrocities against their children?

Goblins I can understand, this form of evil, I can not.

Off Camping

It is a beautiful weekend, so V and I are off camping at Lake Ray Roberts.

Enjoy your weekend everyone.

Law Abiding, or Groveling?

45Superman has made a very significant point on his blog, "Armed and Safe", he takes a position that I agree with 100%. It really is disheartening that when we gun owners are law abiding, we bow to unconstitutional laws.

Read what he has to say here.

Safety Tips For Women

Here in North Texas we have at least two, and maybe three, active serial rapists on the prowl. One that has been in the news quite a bit has raped, molested, brutalized 19 different women, killing one.

This is what he is supposed to look like:

CBS 11 reported on some recommendations a local police department gave to help keep our women safe.

By Jack Fink

Frisco PD Gives Safety Tips After Rapist Attacks

Hundreds of residents of the Vineyards Apartment complex, where the attack took place, showed up for a crime watch meeting to learn how to stay safe.

Residents were encouraged to leave their porch lights on at night.

They were also told to call police if they see or hear any suspicious activity.

I'll bet those women felt much safer after that little meeting. This was back in April, the goblin has struck again and again. One of his earlier victims offers up some advice of her own (also reported on CBS 11).

By Stephanie Lucero

Rape Victim Delivers Message To Other Women

North Texas police detectives say there's no new information about a serial rapist who has terrorized 19 victims.

One of the women attacked is making sure her attacker knows she's taking steps to make sure it never happens again.

Kathy Smith knows she's not a typical rape victim. She's soft-spoken, but she has a bold message.

"I don't want to ever let myself be in that position again," said Smith. "The only one who can really protect me, is me."

"The only one who can really protect me, is me" That is it in a nutshell.

I thought he was about to spread my brains all over my bedroom wall, and I just did what I could to get out of there alive," Smith said.

Since then, she's experience nightmares, post traumatic stress and she has been angry at the man who raped her.

But Smith has not been silent. She's now applying for her license to carry a concealed handgun, and she encourages others do the same.

"If someone were to break into my home again, they wouldn't find someone pulling the covers up and screaming. They would find a gun pointed at them," said Smith.

Smith says she knows the serial rapist could strike again. She wants to warn other women not to let their guard down.

Take responsibility for your own safety, do not be a victim. Follow the generic safety advice. Park in well lighted areas, go out with friends, keep your porch light on, be aware of your surroundings. These practices will help avoid, but not prevent a violent attack. A firearm is a force equalizer. 100+ grains of copper jacketed lead applied liberally to the chest of a goblin will give even the most petite of women the advantage over a goblin intent on violence.

A firearm is not a magic talisman, it is a tool. It takes a bit of training to effectively use this tool. Once you make the decision to provide for your own safety, I highly recommend you seek out instruction on the safe and efficient use of your handgun.

Thanks to Tony for the story.

The War on Guns has also commented on this article.

Newt Gingrich on Violence

Newt was a guest on today's "Your World with Neil Cavuto". The discussion was supposed to be about gun violence, but Newt brought it to the point. Violence is violence, and we are going to have to make some major changes in the way we bring up our children if we want a reduction in youth violence.

From Fox News:

Newt Gingrich on Solutions to Gun Violence

GINGRICH: Yes. And we don't use the right language.

Somebody who walks up to kill you is a predator. Somebody who kills you for the purpose of taking your money is a predator. Philadelphia, which has been the most lax city — the judges is Philadelphia are so unwilling to lock up violent — violent criminals, that the district attorney has actually said there's no point in arresting them, because the judges won't put them in jail.

Philadelphia has suffered 3,000 murders since 1988, just in that one city. And, so, we really have a problem of predatory behavior, where we tolerate levels of violence we shouldn't be tolerating.

And some of this, by the way — and then the third point I want to make is about the culture. We have created this weird adolescent culture. We saw it — I saw it last night on FOX, film of girls beating up a girl on a playground in a way that would have been unthinkable when you and I were young.

We have tolerated the growth, whether it's on MTV or it's in a variety of other sources. We have tolerated a language. We have tolerated a kind of rap music. All of these things have been a coarsening, degrading process of saying to people, it is OK to ignore authority. It's OK to be brutal. It's OK to do really bad things.

And I think we have got to really come to grips at some point that trapping children, trapping young people into those kind of cultural settings, has consequences that are very bad for the society.

The interview was brief (but much more than I clipped) and did not go into solutions. We know that blaming tools and restricting liberty is not the answer, but how do we put an end to this cycle of violence? How do we re-introduce some understanding of what is right or wrong, good or evil into communities where violence is the norm? A start to fixing the problem seems easy. Lock up the goblins, lock them up and keep them locked up. Where do we go from there?

Arlington anesthesiologist's other car is a British tank

One day while I was leaving my Pulmonologist's office, I noticed this mini tank sitting over in the next parking lot. I had to go over and check it out. There was another guy looking it over, and neither one of us knew what the heck it was. Well, now we know.

From the Star Telegram:

By O.K. Carter

Arlington anesthesiologist's other car is a British tank

On the rare occasions that Michael Henderson gets in a hurry and motors his street-legal tank onto a local interstate, the outcome is inevitable. The vehicle, technically a rubber-wheeled, tanklike armored car called a Ferret Scout, draws a crowd of motorized gawkers.

"Next thing I know, they're in tight all around me checking out the tank, and I can't change lanes to make my exit," says Henderson, an Arlington resident and a staff anesthesiologist at Arlington Memorial Hospital. "I learned pretty early that I better stay in the right lane."

Now that is to cool.

Medellin and the Second Amendment

From The Volokh Conspiracy

By David Kopel

Medellin and the Second Amendment

The Supreme Court's oral argument today in Medellin v. Texas has interesting implications for Second Amendment rights. The rationale promoted by the Bush administration, and which apparently has support from at least some of the Supreme Court, offers a roadmap for how a future U.S. President could evade Congress to impose highly restrictive gun controls.

The implications of this case are staggering. The Executive Branch could end up with powers that would have torn an earlier United States to shreds. Go and give it a read, it is chilling.

Patience pays in Hooters license fight

A local Hooters Restaurant has won a major legal battle. Good for Hooters, not so good for customers.

From the Star Telegram:

By Cynthia Neff

Patience pays in Hooters license fight

ARLINGTON -- Patrons of Hooters were greeted with good and bad news Monday: The southwest Arlington restaurant finally won its liquor license but will no longer be giving away beer.

That's the rub of it, no more free beer at Hooters.

The restaurant has given away approximately $2,200,000 (400,000 beers) while working through the courts to get their license.

The restaurant, at Interstate 20 and Little Road, has faced opposition to obtaining a permit to serve alcohol since before it opened in 2002. A local group called the Partnership for Community Values has argued that the restaurant uses sex appeal to sell food and merchandise and objected to its proximity to Martin High School, churches and residential areas.

While this group held up the license to sell beer, Hooters has been giving away two free beers with each meal, not a bad deal and quite the unintended consequence for the Partnership for Community Values.

Slideshow

Alandp of Blogonomicon has developed a great slide show that shows the results of thinking that "The government must have a monopoly on force".

Force

I encourage you to head on over and check it out.

Armed for first day of school

Now this is a "common sense" gun regulation.

From Aftenposten:

Armed for first day of school

Students on the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard aren't allowed to leave their village without a shotgun and ammunition. That's because hungry polar bears can be behind every swing on the island.

Although no one wants to shoot a polar bear, and they're indeed protected by national law, the huge white animals can quickly outrun a human. And humans don't have a chance if confronted by an aggressive bear.

So everyone on Svalbard needs to be able to defend him- or herself, and students undergo weapons training every year.

"We feel more secure and look forward to learn a lot more," said Helga Therese Tilley Tajet of Moelv. She's studying meteorology at the University of Oslo and will concentrate on the Arctic marine climate for the next six months at the university on Svalbard, UNIS.

The students are also trained in Arctic survival techniques in addition to how to use a weapon. "It's absolutely necessary,"

Helga Therese Tilley Tajet (from left) Eliza Harris and Helene Birkelund Erlandsen started their school year with a course on weapon use and survival in the Arctic.

Now, if you take out the references to bears, and add "crack head", "gang banger", or "serial rapist" instead, you come up with a good rational for encouraging our college students to protect themselves.

H/T to The War on Guns and Tony for this story.

Day at The Range

V and I headed out to the range to work on some basics. Grip, sight picture and trigger control for V, drawing from concealment and double taps for me. I also wanted to get some time in with the AR. It was a beautiful day, partly cloudy with a little breeze with the temperature in the high 80's.

This was the first time at the range for V since her class, and she started out just a bit rusty, but by the end of the day she was very happy with her improvement. I think that a little work on hand and wrist strength will do wonders for her.

I am changing my draw from concealment routine a bit. I have been using my strong hand thumb to hook under the edge of my shirt, lift the shirt over my sidearm, and then grasp the pistol. I am now working on using my weak hand to grasp and lift my shirt to help clear the pistol, this keeps the shirt out of the way of my draw. This also places my weak hand in a better position for completing my two handed grip and seems to make the movement from the draw to getting my sights on target smoother. The next Defensive Pistol Match is the 27th, there will be a lot of dry fire practice between now and then.

Anybody Want a Kitten?

Look what V found when she got back from the store this morning!


When she got out of her Jeep, she heard mewing coming from our boat. It took us at least a half an hour to get these five little kitties out of the bilges, they can get into the tiniest spot.

Needless to say, resident head bird in charge of everything was not pleased to have a box full of kitties on the kitchen floor.


I really dislike the cats that are allowed to run loose in the neighborhood. They eat the baby birds, the geckos and pretty much all the other small critters that are kind of cool to have around. I wish cat owners would keep their cats inside.

National Collegiate Empty Holster Protest

As you have probably seen on other blogs (Say Uncle, and The War on Guns to name a couple), the Student Government Association of MTSU (Middle Tennessee State University) has voted against a proposal to allow students to carry firearms on campus. If this is new to you, there is more information here.

The push for concealed carry on college campuses is being taken up by students across the country. More and more folks are making the decision to provide for their own protection and see "victim disarmament zones" to be nothing more than ridiculous feel good policy/legislation that accomplishes nothing towards making our institutions of higher learning safer.

One organization that is working towards this end is the Students for Concealed Carry on Campus. This group is attempting to organize a nation wide campus protest to raise awareness of this issue.

National Collegiate Empty Holster Protest

During the week of October 22-26, 2007, college students throughout America, organized under the banner of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, will attend classes wearing empty holsters, in protest of state laws and campus policies that stack the odds in favor of armed killers by disarming law abiding citizens licensed to carry concealed handguns virtually everywhere else.

In 39 U.S. states, thousands of collegiate students and faculty—age 21 and above—are licensed to carry concealed handguns throughout their day-to-day lives. And they do so without incident. However, despite the absence of any compelling evidence that these licensed individuals would pose any more threat to college campuses than they currently do to office buildings, shopping malls, movie theaters, grocery stores, banks, etc., they are prohibited, either by state law or school policy, from carrying their firearms onto most college campuses...

For more information, visit the website here.

Outdoors: Youngsters vs. targets

Long time readers of A Keyboard and a .45 know that daughter #3 was a 4H shooter. One of the most exciting events of her teen years was the State 4H match held in San Antonio. It is always a pleasure to pass along articles dealing with youth shooting sports in general, and the 4H in particular.

From the Star Tribune:

Outdoors: Youngsters vs. targets

More than 700 young shooters -- some only 9 years old -- gathered Saturday at Beaverbrook Tri-County Sportsman's Club near Cedar, Minn., just north of the Twin Cities.

The event was the 2007 Minnesota 4-H Shooting Sports Wildlife Invitational. Kids from throughout Minnesota competed with air rifles, shotguns (trap), .22 rifles, bows, black powder firearms and air pistols.

That just has to warm your heart. 700 young shooters on the firing line and sharing a very special weekend together.

This is the king of news I like to see.

If you live in Texas, and are interested in the 4H shooting sports for your children, you can find information here. Outside of Texas you can find information at the national website here.

A Defensive Use of a Carbine

This mess was just clearing up when I got to work this morning.

From the Star Telegram:

By Bill Miller

2 robbers die when guard fights back

Two teens are dead following a botched robbery of a 20-year-old security guard who fought back early Thursday in southwest Dallas, police said.

The dead are Detavias Davis, 17, and Sergio Vann, 19, according to the Dallas County medical examiner's office.

The incident happened 12:30 a.m. outside a Family Dollar store on Redbird Lane, south of Dallas Executive Airport, formerly Red Bird Airport.

The guard, Dedrick Howard, was using a laptop computer in his vehicle when he was approached by three young men, said Sgt. Ray Beaudreault, a homicide detective.

They ordered him out of the vehicle, and one of the robbers, later identified as Vann, had a handgun, Beaudreault said.

Not looking good for the security guard here. Oh dark thirty and three armed goblins seem to have the tactical advantage. From the title of this post, you know it is not going to end well for the goblins. They may have the advantage...

But Howard grabbed an semiautomatic SKS carbine and opened fire, killing Vann, Beaudreault said.

Davis, Beaudreault added, tried to flee in white car, but Howard was worried the teen might also have a gun.

"So, fearing for his life, (Howard) fired again and struck the driver,'' Beaudreault said. "(Davis) drove off, but because of his injuries, he wrecked."

Davis was taken to the hospital from the crash scene on nearby U.S. 67, also called the Marvin D. Love Freeway, but he died later, Beaudreault said.

The third robber, age 17, ran from the parking lot to the wrecked car and he tried to retrieve some personal property from the white car, but police arrested him, Beaudrealt said.

The teen is expected to be charged with aggravated robbery, Beaudreault said.

This shopping center is fairly close to where I work, and this is not the first shooting to occur here. However, this may be the first defensive shooting on the property. As this was close to work, it was the water fountain subject of the day. During the day I checked several different news sources to find out if the guard was going to be charged or not. It turns out that he will be going before the Grand Jury, but will probably not be charged. There was one interesting thing I noted in all the other coverage of this incident that thankfully was absent in Mr. Miller's report.

Let us see if you can pick up on it.

From the Dallas Morning News:

Police: Security guard with assault rifle kills 2 suspected robbers

From CBS11 TV:

Dallas Robbery Gone Wrong Ends With 2 Dead

The security guard had an assault rifle and shot at the group. Two people were shot. One of them was taken to the hospital, where he later died.

From WFAA Channel 8:

Two dead in strip mall shooting

DALLAS — Dallas police said an Oak Cliff security guard armed with an assault rifle shot two suspected robbers Wednesday night in a strip mall near Executive Airport.

They just can not seem to help themselves can they?

This is why the Star Telegram is my paper of choice.

It's Hockey Time!

The season for the Dallas Stars starts tonight, and I am ready for it.

Out of the last 6 years, I may have missed watching 5 or 6 Stars games. V is a Stars fan, and she has been a large factor in my conversion from an Avs fan to a Stars fan (although the 'Wings are still #1). A little known JR fact. Grandson #2 is partially named after Patrick Roy, the greatest goalie to protect a net.

Tonight it is Stars vs. Avs in Colorado. Life will continue after the game.

Neighbor, 83, shoots burglar

Talk about being neighborly...

From the Wilson County News:

By Gabriel Valdez

Neighbor, 83, shoots burglar

LA VERNIA — Raymond Charles Bunte, 83, shot and killed a burglar who broke into his neighbor’s house at approximately 1:30 p.m. on Sept. 28.

He told deputies from the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office that he heard a loud noise from his neighbor’s house on F.M. 1346, Sheriff Joe Tackitt Jr. said. Since he knew his neighbor was at work, Bunte drove his vehicle around his neighbor’s home.

Bunte saw a ve-hicle he knew shouldn’t be there and blocked it in with his own. He saw that the front door was kicked in and, with 12-gauge shotgun in hand, shouted for the burglars to come outside, Tackitt said.

One suspect ran, but the other, 23-year-old Dustin Brandon Houston, got into his vehicle and tried to run over Bunte.

Bunte fired once, hitting Houston in the head and killing him instantly, Tackitt said. Bunte’s wife flagged a passerby down on the road, who made a call to the police at 1:52 p.m.

And the one that got away?

Bexar County law-enforcement units and the Texas Rangers assisted Wilson County deputies in the search for the other suspect, identified as Steven Christopher Muniz, 24. Texas Rangers arrested Muniz at 10 p.m. at his home on the south side of San Antonio. He was arrested on outstanding San Antonio warrants for burglary of a habitation. Wilson County has yet to charge him, Tackitt said.

Houston and Muniz had told friends earlier that day they were on their way to commit burglaries in Wilson County, according to Tackitt.

That is one crime spree that came to a quick and decisive ending.

This is One Goblin That Needs Killing

The Supreme Court of The United States has agreed to consider whether a method of execution, lethal injection, is cruel and unusual punishment.

In some cases, I would argue that lethal injection is not nearly cruel enough. This is such a case.

'I killed her. ... She deserved it,' suspect says in taped confession

Travis County seeks death penalty for Selwyn Davis in killing of Regina Lara.

By Patrick George , Claire Osborn

What has this goblin done to deserve a painful death? More than enough.

Selwyn P. Davis, 25, made a chilling confession during his interview with Austin police, according to videotape played on Monday, the first day of his capital murder trial.

"I killed her. And I ain't glad I did it, but I did it because she deserved it," Davis said in the video, in which police asked him about the death of his girlfriend's mother, 57-year-old Regina Lara. "I left the knife at the house, didn't I? You gonna find the prints."

Davis is accused of killing Lara on Aug. 22, 2006, at her apartment on 38½ Street.

He murdered his girlfriends mother. If proven guilty, that in and of itself would be grounds for the death penalty, but that is not the extent of his evil.

According to court documents, Lara's killing was part of a two-day crime spree during which Davis broke his ex-girlfriend's jaw, sliced his uncle with a knife and sexually assaulted a teenager.

The brief details.

Shortly before the killing, Davis beat Martinez so badly that she was hospitalized with a broken jaw and a crushed eye socket, she testified. She told the court: "He said if I left him, he'd kill my mom."

Davis also is accused of raping a teenager at Lara's home shortly before Lara was killed. "He said, 'If you cry, I will beat you up,' " the girl testified. "He told me, 'Now, you're gonna have my baby.' "

This goblin has absolutely no remorse for his actions, and feels he has done nothing wrong. What possible benefit to society would be gained by allowing him to live out his full life behind bars?

There is none.

It is a blessing that we live in a society in which folks have the luxury of being able to look for causes such as abolishing the death penalty to champion. There are many places in this world where the fight to stay alive takes priority over everything else. The fact that we do have this luxury should not blind us to the fact that goblins are amongst us, and these goblins deserve to be put down when caught and convicted.

Gander Mountain Goes Pink

Daughters are to old, and granddaughters are to young... darn.

Remington® 870™ Junior 20-Ga. Pink Shotgun

Gander Mountain Exclusive pump action shotgun with true youth stock and 12½” length of pull. Features a 3” chamber

Christmas is rapidly approaching, and I will bet dimes for dollars that they push this pretty hard through the holidays.

H/T to KBCraig, who found this here.

FCI's Best Fundraiser Yet

I am sure that you have noticed this logo on the top of my sidebar:

Hopefully you have even clicked on it to enter the Fifty Caliber Institutes latest drawing. If not, what the heck are you waiting for?

Up for grabs is a Cobb Manufacturing BA50TR. This is a bolt action, .50BMG target rifle

Caliber - .50 BMG (12.7 X 99mm).

Operation - conventional bolt action.

Barrel Length - 30 inches.

Magazine Capacity - 10 rounds. (Comes with 2 magazines)

Rifling Twist - 1 turn in 15 inches.

MIL-STD-1913 rail at 12'o clock position on the Hand Guard.

ERGO pistol grip and Rail covers.

Steel Bipod.

Hard Case with wheels.

Rifle Weight - 30 lbs.

Overall Length - 58 inches.

Along with the chance at the rifle package, each ticket purchased also has a chance at a S&W Performance Center MDL .500 Caliber Handgun designed by John Ross (John Ross is the author of Unintended Consequences) The winner will receive Serial # 005 of 500 handguns created.

5” half-lug barrel for GREAT balance and ballistics—you’ll love the way it looks, feels, carries, and shoots

Faster 1:10” twist button-rifled barrel—stabilizes bullets up to 725 grains at long range or at lower velocities, and gives deepest penetration. Gun is shipped sighted in for the powerful 500 grain Hornady long-nose factory load.

Tensioned barrel with muzzle nut—allows a tight .0035” cylinder gap for greater velocity

Interchangeable Millet front sight blade--be on target with ANY load

No unsightly markings—just my initials for the serial number prefix to let you know you’ve got the real thing, built with Performance Center dedication to detail. Elmer Keith (and Henry Bowman) would have loved it…

For an interesting read on the development of this handgun, go here.

Each ticket purchased for this raffle will be used in both drawings. So if you buy one ticket, you get a chance to win either of these two fine firearms OR BOTH OF THEM. Tickets are $25 each, but FCI is also continuing its policy of giving away 5 tickets for every $100 contribution.

To enter the drawing, or to find out more information about the Fifty Caliber Institute, click here.