What's Wrong With This Picture?

Okay folks, it is time to play "What's Wrong With This Picture?"



I'm not going to comment on the image until you all get a chance to have your fun. I am, however, going to post a couple of interesting tid bits from the associated news article.

From the News Journal:

By Jimmy Isaac, image by Les Hassell

Push grows for guns on campus

Utah became the first state to allow concealed weapons on state-supported colleges in 2007. At least a dozen states are considering such bills, and state Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, said he will introduce a similar bill when the Legislature convenes in January.

Sen. Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler, and Rep. Tommy Merritt, R-Longview, agree with the idea and said they will likely support Wentworth's bill.

This is the first I have see of names introducing a bill. I had thought Representative Driver was introducing a campus carry bill, he may still be. It is possible that several bills could get introduced this next session. I'll try to dig up some more specifics.

Oh, one bit of hysteria from the Kilgore College campus Police Chief. Bill Lewis.

Lewis said he would oppose letting students carry concealed weapons on campus.

"We're a small college — about 5,000 students," Lewis said, "but could you imagine if just a tenth of our student body — 500 people — were carrying weapons?"

Hey Chief, are 10% of your students over the age of 21? Can they pass the local, state and federal background checks currently required to obtain a Texas CHL? Would they be interested in jumping through the hoops to get a CHL? If so, then I can imagine that you would probably have the most mature and responsible student body of any small town college in Texas. Y'all should be proud of yourselves.

Now, back to the image of the college police officer who is there to protect our kids, just how effective do you think she will be?

The Tools of Free Men

Any editorial that starts out with...

Oil is the fuel of free nations, guns and speech the tools of free men. Thus the three have freedom in common. Ironically, oil, guns, and free speech have something else in common as well: all three are scorned by the Left.

A.W.R. Hawkins has written The Tools of Free Men, an editorial for Human Events that is well worth your time.

The World's Oldest Jokes

Things haven't changed much in the past few millenia.

From Dave

The world's ten oldest jokes

The Dave Historical Humour Study - World's oldest jokes:

1. Something which has never occurred since time immemorial: a young woman did not fart in her husband's lap (1900 BC – 1600 BC Sumerian Proverb Collection 1.12-1.13)

2. How do you entertain a bored pharaoh? You sail a boatload of young women dressed only in fishing nets down the Nile and urge the pharaoh to go catch a fish (An abridged version first found in 1600 BC on the Westcar Papryus)

3. Three ox drivers from Adab were thirsty: one owned the ox, the other owned the cow and the other owned the wagon's load. The owner of the ox refused to get water because he feared his ox would be eaten by a lion; the owner of the cow refused because he thought his cow might wander off into the desert; the owner of the wagon refused because he feared his load would be stolen. So they all went. In their absence the ox made love to the cow which gave birth to a calf which ate the wagon's load. Problem: Who owns the calf?! (1200 BC)

4. A woman who was blind in one eye has been married to a man for 20 years. When he found another woman he said to her, "I shall divorce you because you are said to be blind in one eye." And she answered him: "Have you just discovered that after 20 years of marriage!?" (Egyptian circa 1100 BC)

5. Odysseus tells the Cyclops that his real name is nobody. When Odysseus instructs his men to attack the Cyclops, the Cyclops shouts: "Help, nobody is attacking me!" No one comes to help. (Homer. The Odyssey 800 BC)

6. Question: What animal walks on four feet in the morning, two at noon and three at evening? Answer: Man. He goes on all fours as a baby, on two feet as a man and uses a cane in old age (Appears in Oedipus Tyrannus and first performed in 429 BC)

7. Man is even more eager to copulate than a donkey - his purse is what restrains him (Egyptian, Ptolemaic Period 304 BC – 30 BC)

8. Augustus was touring his Empire and noticed a man in the crowd who bore a striking resemblance to himself. Intrigued he asked: "Was your mother at one time in service at the Palace?" "No your Highness," he replied, "but my father was." (Credited to the Emporer Augustus 63 BC – 29 AD)

9. Wishing to teach his donkey not to eat, a pedant did not offer him any food. When the donkey died of hunger, he said "I've had a great loss. Just when he had learned not to eat, he died." (Dated to the Philogelos 4th /5th Century AD)

10. Asked by the court barber how he wanted his hair cut, the king replied: "In silence." (Collected in the Philogelos or "Laughter-Lover" the oldest extant jest book and compiled in the 4th/5th Century AD)

Now you get to learn my youngests daughter's favorite joke from when she was three:

What does the snail say when it is riding on the turtle's back?


Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bennigan's Closes

Bennigan's is one of my favorite "casual" type restaurants. The food is decent and the wait staff are usually pleasant. They just opened on up the road from us, and it is always packed. As a matter of fact, the Bennigan's that we have been to are usually full of customers. It was quite a surprise to see this news today.

From the Star Telegram:

By Barry Shlachter

Bennigan's parent files for bankruptcy, closes restaurants

Bennigan’s restaurants across North Texas were closed today after the Plano-based parent corporation of Bennigan’s, Steak & Ale and Tavern restaurants said it had filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

This has to be due to mismanagement. These places were always busy.

Employees reporting to work at Bennigan’s were greeted with signs saying the location was closed.

That is just not right. There are many more honorable ways of letting employees know that the company was kaput.

Wife Slayer Sentenced

This audio is of a 911 call made by a man who had just shot his wife. The shooting happened back in March and this audio made the national news.

From the Star Telegram (original video here)

Today Freddie Willhite was sentenced.

North Richland Hills man gets 30 years for killing wife

FORT WORTH -- A retired ironworker who told a 911 dispatcher last year that he had shot his wife because she had ridiculed him all of his life was sentenced to 30 years in prison Monday morning for murder.

Freddie Willhite, 69, must serve 15 years before he is eligible for parole.

At 69, that's pretty much a life sentence.

The Four Rules, A Refresher

Leadchuckerette reminds us of the Four Rules.

Day at the Gun Show

This weekend's North Texas Gun Show was the Big Town Gun Show in Mesquite. I arrived fairly early, and there was already a nice crowd. The hall was filled wall to wall with vendors, maybe a few too many. I understand that the promoters of our gun shows are out to make some money, and selling table space is money in their pockets. A few non-firearm related tables at a gun show is one thing, but I think the Big Town promoters are getting close to overdoing it, especially when you have guys like the one selling the trick poker cards acting like he was working the State Fair.

Don't get me wrong. Big Town is a very good show with a large variety of firearm and firearm related vendors, there just seems to be more and more superfluous stuff working it's way onto the hall floor.

One reason I go to so many gun shows is that I get the opportunity to see firearms that just are not carried in the local gun stores. This morning was no exception. One of the vendors had a M1941 Johnson out on his table.

The image is not the actual rifle at this show, but it is the best I could find. Note the stripper clip guide on the side of the rotary magazine. This rifle can be loaded with the bolt open or closed, with stripper clips or loose ammo. It has a 10 round rotary magazine and feels good in my hands. The one available at the show is in excellent condition and has the price tag to match, $5000. For the right person, that might be a good deal.

What were not a good deal at this show were the Ruger LCP's. I was half way expecting to come home with an LCP in my pocket. The MSRP on this little pistol is $330. The local Academy Sports and Outdoors has them for $299, as does Cabela's. Imagine my sticker shock when I saw the first LCP at the show listed for $390, yep, $90 more than Academy. The second was a little better, $370. Guys, I know there is a demand for these little pistols, but I did see several people cringe when they saw the price tags.

Another firearm that I found interesting was a Vector PTR .308 pistol. That's right, a .308 calibre pistol.

At North of $2000, this was another over priced firearm. The above image is from a GunsAmerica sale that is a bit more reasonable.

There were some good deals at this show, I just didn't think to write any of them down. As the morning went on, the chairs were filling with folks filling out their paperwork. People were spending, and making, money. I picked up a sling stud for my AR so I can attach the Ching Sling to it, and a few cleaning supplies.

Now for my mini rant:

Bringing your kids to a gun show is an excellent idea. My girls can tell you a story or two about going to gun shows when they were kids. The kids can learn about the many different types of firearms that are available, they can see the large variety of folks who share an interest in guns, and this is an excellent time to reinforce safe gun handling practices.

If you are the guy who let his boys walk down the isle picking up handguns and pull the trigger on each one they picked up, who allowed them to point a revolver at me and pull the trigger, you deserve to be beat severely about the head and shoulders with whatever I happen to have at hand.

If you let your kids get away with chit like that at a gun show, what the heck are they going to do when they go over to a friends house and their friend shows them Daddy's hand gun? If you let them get away with behavior like this at a gun show, what do you think they are doing with your guns when you are not home? By not correcting this conduct at a gun show, you are teaching them that it is okay to just pick up any firearm that they happen to see and play with it like a toy. You are not fulfilling your responsibility as a gun owning parent and you are not raising up your children to understand the importance of safe gun handling.

I take my 8 year old grandson to the occasional gun show, I even allow him to handle firearms he finds interesting. If he wants to touch a firearm, he knows he has to do two things. First he has to ask my permission, then he has to ask the person working the table's permission. When he picks it up I am right there with him, making sure of his trigger finger and helping him keep from sweeping anyone with the barrel. What I do is nothing out of the ordinary, it is what is required of a responsible adult who takes a child to a gun show. If you can't do the same, it would be best if you just left your kids home.

For more on kids and firearm safety, go here.

A Gun Blog Dust Up

Earlier this week Mike Vanderboegh had a letter published by The Capital Times of Madison WI. This letter has caused quite the stir in the gun blogging community, and a bit of heated discussion has followed. For anyone who may not have seen Mike's letter to the editor, here it is:

Mike Vanderboegh: More gun laws would mean civil war

Dear Editor:

Joe Bialek from Cleveland proposes the licensing and registration of all weapons currently in civilian hands. My question is, how exactly do you propose to do that, Joe?

There are some of us "cold dead hands" types, perhaps 3 percent of gun owners, who would kill anyone who tried to further restrict our God-given liberty. Don't extrapolate from your own cowardice and assume that just because you would do anything the government told you to do that we would.

Are you proposing to come yourself, or do you want someone else's son or daughter in federal service to take the risk? Are you truly prepared to stack up the bodies necessary to accomplish your plan? Seems a strange way to make a "safer society." More to the point, are you willing to risk your sorry hide to do it? No? I thought not.

Then quit proposing the next American civil war. We're done being pushed back from our natural rights without a fight. Be careful what you wish for.

Mike Vanderboegh

Pinson, Ala.

I have been following Mike Vanderboegh's writings via The War on Guns for quite some time now and have linked to a couple of them on this blog. Mike has a way of making you look in the mirror and take an accounting of yourself. Most of Mike's writings are "in house" so to speak, posted on blogs and gun forums. The controversy over this particular letter arose due to the fact that it was published outside the community, some found fault in that.

I think it started when Sebastian posted "Could we please …" and stated "Could we please not do stupid shit like this to fuck it up? Thank you." That one post has over 200 comments, many of them full of vitriol and venom from both sides. Sebastian followed up with "A Poll About Revolution", a "Quote of the Day", "The Myth of the Clean Revolution" and "It’s the 1930s All Over Again?". Sebastian was joined by Bitter with "How to Effectively Write a Letter to the Editor", Chest beating, and "Wanted - More Like Him or Her".

I am sure that most of you who read this blog also read others who have already commented on this controversy, on the name calling and on the personal attacks. I think some of the best commentary posted so far is by Kevin with "Frightening the White People" and "The Four Boxes". Both of those are well worth your time, as is David's commentary in "Principle Freaks Need Not Apply" where David states:

But what happened the other day was uncalled for, hysterical and ugly. And it points to a greater issue that must be addressed and faced--the widening gulf between majority "pragmatists" and we happy few "principles freaks."

So where, you may ask, am I going with this?

I am not going to jump on the bandwagon for either side of this issue, I'm just going to highlight a different type of firearm supporter who happened to make the news today.

From KVUE News:

A report on the open carry movement in Texas by Jessica Vess.

Fight over open carry gun policy in Texas

Imagine walking down the street and next to someone with a gun strapped to their hip. It's an image a group of Texans are hoping to turn into reality and they're gaining support by the thousands every day.

“This is a basic right,” said former state Legislator, Suzanna Hupp.

In Texas you can fire a gun, you can buy a gun, and you can walk around with a gun, but only if you have a concealed carry permit and the gun is out of sight.

Suzanna Hupp is a very effective proponent of gun rights in Texas. She was the driving force behind our shall issue CHL law and she has been strong supporter of pretty much any pro gun legislation that gets introduced. She goes on to say:

“We should allow people to carry. That means in their pocket, in their purse, on their forehead, on their hip. I don't care how they carry. If they can legally own a gun I think they should be able to carry it in public,” said Hupp.

She's not alone. An open carry petition online is gaining popularity by the thousands every day. More than 21,000 people have already signed the petition online.

Suzanna Hupp is a hero of the gun rights movement in Texas.

Then there are these guys:

Texas is just one of six states on record that completely bans open carry. However, to some the idea of seeing people with guns, doesn't sit well. Even some gun owners are worried an open carry policy could lead to more crime.

“It might just turn into the wild, wild west,” said Minter.

Those Wild West images where it seemed like everyone had a gun.

Guns in Texas though are pretty much kept to the range.

“I come here to shoot. I don't carry around on the street,” said gun owner, Steven Cui.

Cui is one of many gun owners that think owning a firearm is a privilege, not a right.

“If it's open then everybody's going to be walking around with a gun now. I think it's only for the cops and people that are licensed,” said gun owner, Kyle Ramirez.

Others worry open carry will get out of hand.

“You don't want to use a gun just because somebody called you or your mother a bad name. You only want to use a gun when you're in fear for your life,” said gun owner, and owner of the Astro Shooting Range in Florence, TX, L.E. Williams.

“People don't know what they're doing,” added firearms trainer Mike Nellis.

Nellis is a former state officer and now is a firearms trainer for the Texas Department of Public Safety. He supports gun rights; he even had a gun strapped to his belt the entire time we talked, but you couldn't tell by looking at him that he was armed. Nellis says that's the advantage of concealed carry.

This Austin news outlet didn't even have to look up the Brady Bunch or other antis for anti gun drivel, they just went to the range.

Head on over and watch the video of this news report and then come back and tell me who hurts our efforts more, Mike Vanderboegh with his in your face editorializing, or these Quislings who fear liberty in the hands of others as much as any Brady Bunch staffer?

The Suzanna Hupp's and the Bitter Bitch's are an effective and valuable force behind the pro rights movement. They have access to the legislators and they speak the lingo. They put a pretty face on the movement and use logic and reason to overcome doubts and ignorance. We need them, they get things done.

We also need the Mike Vanderboegh's of our time. When major news papers (Chicago Trib) and college professors are calling for a repeal of the Second Amendment and other papers call for the forcible disarmament of America, we need folks who are willing to state the truth and hopefully give the enemies of liberty pause.

We can, and should, air our disagreements. None of us are Koolaid drinkers and healthy debate within the community will make us stronger. But we need to remember that healthy debate requires a bit of decorum.

Every body and their mother has chimed in on this, and I just do not have time to chase down all the links (A couple King Salmon steaks are waiting for the grill). If you want me to list your post, just mention it in the comments.

Blood Dancing in San Francisco

Last Sunday, Anthony Bologna and his two sons, Michael and Matthew, were murdered during the mid afternoon in what is being touted as a "road rage" shooting. This incident happened at 3:00 in the afternoon, in San Francisco. San Francisco is the most anti gun city in one of the most anti gun states in the US. San Francisco is also a sanctuary city for illegal aliens, and has a District Attorney who was elected on an anti capitol punishment platform.

From what I can gather from news sources, Mr. Bologna stuck in bumper to bumper traffic at an intersection and blocked traffic. The goblin took offense and killed Anthony and his sons with what has been reported to be an AK 47.

This is what the Mayor of San Francisco has to say about the incident:

We have a term for people like Mayor Newsom, they are the "Blood Dancers". The blood of innocent victims is still warm when the "dancers" come out to play. The Brady Bunch sending out mass mailing fundraisers and politicians submitting draconian legislation within hours of a tragedy. Watch Gavin in the video, his is the face of the Blood Dancers. Notice the smile, the sparkle in his eye, he can barely contain his excitement at the opportunity provided by the slaughter of three people. He dances in the warm blood of his victims.

Oh, did I say "his" victims? Yes, I most certainly did.

You see, the goblin who murdered Anthony and his sons was on the streets of San Francisco courtesy of Mayor Newsom and San Francisco's District Attorney, Kamala Harris.

The goblin is Edwin Ramos. Edwin Ramos is a citizen of El Salvador and is in the United States illegally. Edwin Ramos, the illegal alien, is a beneficiary of Mayor Newsom's sanctuary policy for illegal aliens in San Francisco. Edwin, the illegal alien, was convicted of a felony in 2003, and another in 2004.

From the AP:

The victims' family learned that Ramos had been arrested at least three times before the shooting and evaded deportation, largely because of San Francisco's sanctuary status.

The policy, adopted in 1989 by the city's elected Board of Supervisors, bars local officials from cooperating with federal authorities in their efforts to deport illegal immigrants.

Officials in the juvenile offenders agency interpreted the law to also shield underage felons from deportation by refusing to report undocumented ones. Mayor Gavin Newsom said he rescinded the policy regarding juvenile offenders after learning about it in May.

Edwin's third arrest was just last March. He was arrested when police found a gun that was used in a double murder in the car he was driving. The District Attorney made the decision to not charge Edwin and released him even though the DA's office knew he was under a deportation order. The DA's office also understood that Edwin is a member of MS-13, the most violent and brutal of the South American street gangs.

So Mr. Mayor, just what is it you are smiling about in that video? Pretty much everything you said was a lie. This goblin was on the street due to your policies and the policies of the San Francisco District Attorney's office. You, Mayor Gavin, and District Attorney Harris are directly responsible for this violent criminal's freedom. You gave him the opportunity to kill, and you should be held responsible.

The firearm used in this crime is illegal in the State of California. Edwin Ramos is a felon, prohibited from owning a firearm. Current litigation against the city of San Francisco that is supported by the NRA would not change these facts. It is not the NRA's policies or goals that put this goblin on the streets, but your policies Mayor Newsom. You put him on the street.

I am late getting to this story.

Conservative 247 has San Francisco Mayor Blames NRA for Triple Homicide

Sebastian figured Newsom had the Quote of the Day

The video of Mayor Newsom came from CBS5 - DA Charges Suspect In SF Road Rage Murders. The complete video is worth your while.

Yuri did the editing of the video for me, thanks man.

ETA Thirdpower who proves the equation Criminal Empowerment + Unenforced Laws = Murder

Update on The ParaUSA Weekend with Todd Jarrett

Travel arrangements are complete and I am good to go. I am very thankful for all of you who voted for me, and who even went so far as to ask their friends to vote for me. The competition was stiff and I am very fortunate to have won this weekend of training with Todd Jarrett. Very fortunate indeed.

For the weekend's training, ParaUSA is providing everything. Guns, ammo, bunks and food. Did I mention ammo? We're talking somewhere near 1500 rounds for the weekend. That is way cool.

We were given the choice of either 9mm or .45ACP for the weekends activities. I, of course, chose the .45ACP.

This is what I get to shoot:

PXT LDA Single Stack Tac-S

That is one nice looking sidearm. The LDA in the model nomenclature stands for "Light Double Action". From the ParaUSA website:

While many people in the industry have tried to create a double-action autoloading pistol, they have always had to struggle against the heavy trigger pull that was required to cock and release the hammer. But it was the genius of Para that finally broke through the old way of thinking. Para refused to accept that a double-action trigger had to be long and heavy, making it hard to hit your target.

Para’s light double-action (LDA) trigger system gives you the smoothest trigger you have ever felt on a double- action handgun of any kind, whether it is a revolver or an autoloader.

The LDA was not invented to replace the single-action trigger on the 1911 pistol. We could have put the LDA trigger into any style of pistol. We consider the ergonomics of the 1911-type pistol to be the best in the world for an autoloading pistol.

For those who must have a hammer-down carry, or just prefer a double-action trigger, we give you the LDA with its natural stroke that is consistent every pull. It is the sweetest trigger you have ever tried!

As you know, my choice of a carry gun is a 1911 type pistol carried in Condition 1. I like the single action trigger and the 1911 frame just fits me. A double action only pistol that also has thumb and grip safety's just seems excessively redundant to me.

That being said, if I were to ever open carry, carrying a pistol that felt and operated like a 1911 but did not have the exposed cocked hammer might be a tad more "socially acceptable".

I am excited about the opportunity to put this pistol through it's paces and see how it holds up.

ParaUSA deserves one heck of a lot of credit for giving this opportunity to bloggers. We are not paid writers for magazines that depend on Para's advertising dollars. Heck, there is at least one blogger on this trip who is decidedly not a fan of ParaUSA firearms. They have no idea how this is going to turn out, yet they have the gumption to give it a try. Good on them.

How do You...

...edit RealPlayer video?

I have just spent the last three hours trying to figure out how to edit RealPlayer video to no avail.

It sure would be handy to cut out snippets of long video.

I Hate it...

...when I get home from the store and open the box of whatever it was that I purchased only to find that it is not right.

On the way home from seeing my daughter off at the airport, I stopped by the dealership to pick up a set Sport Utility Bars that V had ordered for her Jeep. I get home, open the box, and find that it is a mismatched set. One bar is more than 6" longer than the other. Off I go, back to the dealership to return the bars and now we have to wait for another set to come in. With all the quality standards that automotive suppliers have to maintain, it is kind of surprising to find a screw up like this. In the grand scheme of things it is no big deal, just a project I wanted to get completed on this day off.

On a bright note, today is Gorgeous Grandma Day. Seeing as how I'm married to one gorgeous grandma, I can use this day off to take her out to lunch!

Evil

David notes that Evil Is: And It's Coming for You.

I Should Apologize...

...for the sparsity of posts lately. My daughter is heading back to Delaware tomorrow and I most likely won't see her again until next summer. A month a year isn't quite long enough.

Later this evening we are going to go see "The Dark Knight" at the Studio Movie Grill. Dinner and a movie with out changing seats, gotta love it.

Bob Barr Poster Contest Finalists

David Codrea of "The War on Guns" is hosting a Bob Barr poster contest.

Head on over and vote for your favorite from the Bob Barr Poster Contest Finalists.

Sunday's Blog of The Week

It has been quite awhile since I have posted a "Sunday's Blog of the Week". There was a point where I was not running across blogs that I wanted to highlight, but having to search for them. That was more work than I wanted to be doing on a Sunday.

Now that I have a long list of blogs that have not been highlighted in previous posts, the blog of the week is back on.

This weeks "Sunday's Blog of the Week" is a local man who is new to blogging. Let me introduce you to the...

Cowtown Cop

The Cowtown Cop's post that first caught my attention was "CCW permits from a law enforcement perspective".

I hope this Cowtown Cop keeps at it and continues to comment on guns and being an LEO in Fort Worth.

Everything you ever wanted to know...

...about Hornady .223 ammo can be found here. This is good stuff.

Ronnie's Girls

H/T to RideFast

Day at the Range

This is my youngest daughter's last weekend in Texas 'til next year, so off to the range we went. Miss Roo got to choose what we were taking with us so we ended up with her .22 revolver, a Ruger Mark 1, the Erma Werke EM1, the AR-15 and the new Savage Scout rifle.

I'm thinking her favorite was the Scout. I hung my gong out at the 200 yard berm and she was ringing it left, right and sideways with .308 goodness. That was the biggest I've seen her smile this entire trip. Of course my camera was left sitting on the kitchen table.

We did find something very interesting this trip, cartridges that appear to be some kind of blank fire cartridge for an AR type rifle.

I threw an empty 5.56 case in for reference. As you can see, the cartridges have the capability to expand, the base slides in and out to a hard stop. The mouth of the case is is blocked off and there is a .22 cartridge that appears to have been used as the primer.

You can click on the images for a larger view.

I do not see an easy way to remove the spent .22 casings.

Seems to be an awful expensive way to run an AR with blanks, like maybe something the movie studios would do.

Update: Mystery solved.

The cartridges are a UTM (Ultimate Training Munitions) product. These are most likely the "Man Marker Round".

Man Marker Round: UTM MMR/5.56mm

The MMR (Man Marker Round) fires a composite 7.5 grain Aluminium jacketed bullet containing a marking wax which leaves a clear coloured mark on any surface it strikes. 5 standard colours are available.

The projectile is not required to break upon impact, which enables glancing blows on soft surfaces to be properly recorded. The cartridge system gives a fail safe impact energy of not more than 3.4 Joule (2ft/lbs.).

Typical accuracy: 125mm group at 25 meters dependent on the weapon (twist rate and barrel length).

Thanks to the guys at AR15.com for helping to solve this mystery.

Carry Permit Holders

I know that I am a bit late to the game, but thought I should join in anyway.

It seems the Brady Bunch held the #1 spot in the Google search for "carry permit holders". Well, that is no longer the case. SayUncle took umbrage at the fact that the antis was at the top of a list that should be filled by gunnies, so he set about correcting the issue. SayUncle tested his Google Juice with Carry permit holders, and was successful.

Robb Allen chimed in to the delight of carry permit holders by proving "The Google Fu is Strong
With This One."

Sebastian also jumped in on the side of Carry Permit Holders, adding one more voice for the googlebots to discover.

Carry permit holders were also promoted by linoge of Walls of the City. Walls of the City currently holds top spot for this Google search.

Xavier shares his thoughts on Concealed Carry Permit Holders, helping to push the Brady Bunch down to the fourth position. It won't be long before they are off the first page.

Father / Daughter Project

My youngest daughter is visiting from Delaware and I have her .22 single action revolver that I had given her for her birthday. Today we replaced the grips and extractor.

This is before:

And after:


We had a good time taking it apart and Miss Roo got to learn a bit about how it works.

For next Summer's project I'm thinking DuraCoat.

Tomorrow we are off to the range.

Traction Control Has It

“That is the best solution in the world.”

Give it a click, you know you want to.

Cheaper Than Dirt on nbc5i.com

nbc5i interviewed Michael Tenney, CEO of Cheaper than Dirt, for today's news broadcasts.

The subject of the interview is CTD's new free online classified ads.

The interview was pretty well done. Other than a couple misstatements due to ignorance of the internet based firearm business, Cheaper Than Dirt was portrayed in a fairly positive light.

To see the interview, go here.

Update on the Rifle Postal Match

Sebastian has published a stand alone web site for the Gun Blog Rifle League. It is The Gun Blog Rifles and it has all the information necessary to get started competing in this postal league.

This should be fun.

Sale at Honeyville Food Products

Honeyville is a great resource for folks who like to put a little something away for a rainy day. Their food storage products include a wide variety of foods that would fit very well in any food storage program. The powdered eggs and instant milk substitute are definitely worth a look. They also have high quality freeze dried fruits and vegetables to add a bit of flavor (and nutrition) to your menu if you have to dig into your food stores for any reason.

Honeyville's main focus has been grains and flour for the baking industry, so of course their selection of these items is going to be top notch.

Why am I mentioning Honeyville? Well, today I received my sales flier in the email:

10% OFF of your Entire Order!

We're offering our valued newsletter subscribers 10% off your entire order* from July 17th through July 22nd. This is an exciting time at Honeyville as we're updating our cans with a new fresh look and rolling out some new products in the cans and in the smaller bags. We continue to grow and innovate as a company. Our production facilities run 24 hours a day to ensure that we have plenty of product in the warehouse for immediate shipment. Be sure to stock up on your favorites while they're on sale. They're in stock and ready to ship. Hurry, you only have until Tuesday, July 22nd at 6:00PM PST to get 10% off of your entire order. Just use the discount code "PIONEER" when you check out.

Well there you have it. 10% off and shipping is always just $4.49.

One of the new products they are bringing out is a powdered butter. I may have to give that a try.

Rifle Postal Match Scheduled

Sebastian of Snowflakes in Hell is starting a Gun Blog Rifle League. This is basically a postal match for folks who read gun blogs. The match rules loosely follow those of the CMP Hi Power matches and can be found here.

If interested, go ahead and Sign Up for the Gun Blog Rifle League.

This should be fun. If you need a place in the DFW Metroplex to shoot this match, give me a holler and we can shoot it together out at JCSSA.

#11 Has Been Announced

We have a winner.

The 11th shooter attending the "Weekend at Blackwater with Todd Jarrett" is Don Gwinn of The Armed School Teacher fame.

Head on over and offer your congratulations in his post "The Last Golden Ticket!"

Just Another Dumb Crook

The following is a very good example of how not to behave while getting arrested.

From the Star Telegram:

By Alex Branch

Man arrested after fighting with off-duty Fort Worth officer

A manager of the Texaco station in the 5300 block of Mansfield Highway approached the officer outside the store about 3 p.m. and told him a customer inside was trying to fight him, according to a police report.

As the officer called for assistance on his cell phone, Crawford came outside and punched the manager and a witness in the face, the report stated. Crawford swung his elbows at the officer, who took him to the ground and identified himself a police officer.

The store manager said the altercation started after he saw the man identified as Crawford put $7 worth of bandannas in his backpack and try to leave.

Those must have been some mighty fine cheap bandannas to be worth all that.

This is the best part:

The man told the officer, "You have to let me go. Theft is just a ticket in Texas," the report stated.

Too funny, and the guy just keeps on digging his hole.

After uniformed officers arrived at the store and placed the suspect in a patrol car, the man spit and kicked at officers, the report stated. A department-issued "spit sock" was placed on his head to prevent him from spitting.

The man continued to kick and fight until he was tasered, the report stated.

Looks like maybe he is finally starting to figure it out.


He must have really needed those bandannas.

Embarrassing Childhood Moments

Oh my goodness. This story just gets better and better every day.

Yesterday I posted a video of a pizza joint robber getting a serious smack down by an employee of the eatery. It turns out that the robber was the father of one of the servers.

From the Star Telegram Crime Time Blog:

Police: Pizza restaurant robbery was a family affair

...But a clerk at a Denton pizza restaurant may have the embarrassing moment to top all embarrassing moments.

Police there say the clerk's parents and her husband have been arrested and charged with robbing the restaurant where she was working. The clerk won't be charged, police said, because she was unaware of the plan.

To add to the clerk's child-parent issues, she discovered that her father was the robber when he was roundly clocked during the robbery by one of her co-workers, sending dad's wig and sunglasses flying and knocking him unconscious, police said. Mom, dad, and the clerk's husband were caught a short time later in a vehicle, police said.

Updated video can be found here.

More details from the Star Telegram can be found at "Father robs pizza restaurant where daughter works".

That is one messed up family.

"That Was a Good Knockout"

From CBS 2

Original video here.

H/T to SondraK

Optic fantasies

Robb has posted about his lust affair with a Trijicon ACOG in "Now why did I go and do that?" From his description (and the price tag) I'd say his optic wet dream is the TA11-3.5x35, nice. Robb's got nice taste.

A couple dealers at the local gun shows sell a Trijicon that has been calling my name since it first came out. The RX01-10: Trijicon® Reflex RX01-10 – 6.5 MOA Amber Dot with M16 Handle Mount is just what the doctor ordered for my Mixmaster Dissipator.

Each show brings me closer to taking one of these home with me.

This is how it looks mounted:

The above image is from UltiMAK

One of these days...

Day at the Range

Today's IDSA match was hot, 95°F in the shade kind of hot, and it was a blast.

The match director did a great job of setting up the eight stages we shot today. The first four were taken from the movies, and the later stages got us moving a bit.

The stage that had the most no-shoot targets and required the most concentration was the last stage of the day. This stage required two magazine changes for the 1911 shooters and I ended up dropping a full mag on the ground. I did end up clearing the stage clean, but recovering from the fumbled mag change killed me time wise.

This was the first time that I wore my Woolrich Elite Four Pocket Discreet Short-Sleeve Shirt to a match. This shirt provides excellent concealment for my Kimber and I do wear it often. It is a bit heavy for a hot day at the range, but very comfortable for just about every where else. The bottom button of this shirt is a false button and the shirt is held closed with a magnet. The magnet is strong enough to hold the shirt closed during normal activities and makes drawing a firearm from concealment much easier than with standard button down shirts. One lesson learned today concerns the lower pockets. On a couple of stages I dropped my top off magazine in the weak side lower pocket. The extra weight just forward of my spare mags did interfere with mag changes during the stage. Other than that, this shirt is a much better choice for concealed carry than a silk Hawaiian shirt. Speaking of Hawaiian shirts, my eldest grandson just came into the house with V and his mom. He had to hurry back to the office to show off his first Hawaiian shirt. He wanted to dress like Papa J.

Overall I did well in this match. I only received one 10 sec. time penalty for failing to neutralize a target. The Kimber ran 100%, but I did blow two reloads. The Wilson ETM and the Tripp Research Cobra Mag that I am testing also ran 100%. If I could do as well as my equipment, I would be tearing this game up.

The upcoming weekend with Todd Jarrett should really help me improve.

Now This is Too Funny

After updating my post on tomorrow's Barbecue, I found this ad on my sidebar.

Umm... I really doubt you are finding your target audience here.

Getting Ready for the Weekend

A good friend of mine is leaving Texas to be closer to his grandchildren. It is a shame, I know, but I can understand his desire to be a larger part of their life. I have two in New Mexico, three in Colorado and two more here in North Texas.

Well, to get back on topic, tomorrow I am throwing a going away party for him. I'll be firing up the pit about 5 or 5:30 in the morning and will be barbeque'n a Boston Butt, Chicken and Jalapeno/Cheddar pork sausage. V's making her world famous potato salad and there will be a pot of beans on the stove from the stores that are ready to be rotated out. The rest is pot luck. It should be a good time.

Sunday is an IDSA match out at JCSSA and you all are invited to shoot if you wish. It generally is a lot of fun. It is going to be hot this weekend, so if you do come, dress for hot weather.

I have some work to get to. I'll catch up with the news as I can.

Update: The lawn is mowed, house chores are completed and the pit is ready to go. More importantly, the butt is rubbed and the hens pasted. Lump charcoal and pecan wood are standing by and I am ready for some smoke. Too bad I don't have a quality Texas BBQ gun and rig to go with the festivities. Hey V...

Update #2: 0600 and the pork is in the pit!

Update #3: 1400 and the chicken is sharing some smoke with the pork. It is a great day for a barbecue.

Update #4: 1620 and the sausage finally gets to join it's little friends in the pit. About half the guests have arrived and the party is officially started.

Final update: Dinner was a success. Sixteen pounds of smoked meat is gone, zero leftovers in the meat department. There is, however, a bit of buttermilk pie left in the fridge. Um, ummm...

It was a good sendoff for one of my best friends.

Aspirations

Breda of "The Breda Fallacy" has a couple simple aspirations that I think we can help achieve. The Breda Fallacy is a well written and very fun read. Give it a shot, you might like it.

DirtCrashr has more on Breda with "Bread, Breda, I can Haz Breda"

Best accolade yet: "Obama is a Breda wannabee in drag". That started off my day with a snort.

Fun and Black Holes in Dallas County

There are times when observing politics in Dallas at both the city and county level, you have to laugh just to keep from groaning in disgust.

This is one of those times.

From the Dallas City Hall Blog of the Dallas Morning News:

Posted by Kevin Krause

Dallas County officials spar over 'black hole' comment

A special meeting about Dallas County traffic tickets turned tense and bizarre this afternoon.

County commissioners were discussing problems with the central collections office that is used to process traffic ticket payments and handle other paperwork normally done by the JP Courts.

Commissioner Kenneth Mayfield, who is white, said it seemed that central collections "has become a black hole" because paperwork reportedly has become lost in the office.

Commissioner John Wiley Price, who is black, interrupted him with a loud "Excuse me!" He then corrected his colleague, saying the office has become a "white hole."

That prompted Judge Thomas Jones, who is black, to demand an apology from Mayfield for his racially insensitive analogy.

Commissioner Price, put on your big boy pants and do what you were elected to do. Race baiting is not in the job description.

Judge Jones... now where have I heard that name before?

Oh yeah, seems Judge Jones has a problem or two of his own:

Justice of the Peace Thomas Jones is getting a new, more expensive lawyer to represent him before the State Commission on Judicial Conduct – to be paid for by Dallas County taxpayers.

In December, the Commissioners Court approved a $200 an hour contract for former Justice of the Peace Cleophas Steele to represent Judge Jones. On Tuesday, commissioners voted to hire Marc Richmond at a rate of $250 an hour.

Judge Jones is the subject of about six misconduct complaints. The allegations include people not being notified of court hearings and an instance in which a ruling was changed after court was over.

Y'all need to quit your whining, quit your race baiting, and quit making North Texas look stupid. Get on with what you were elected to do.

Catfish and SondraK also commented on this.

Update: Commissioner Price responds here. If that hole gets any deeper, he is going to be needing a bigger shovel.

Update to the update: It gets even better here. "Price also says language such as "angel food cake" and "devil's food cake" are also racially insensitive."

Ride Fast chimes in with Racist Singularities. Head on over and give it a read, maybe I can get back on this "top ten refering sites" list. I have fallen off of late.

Pistol in the Park

Maybe it is because I carry my pistol inside my waistband, or maybe it is that my alloy frame Kimber is extra heavy loaded with 9 rounds of 230 gr. Federal HST's, maybe I just pay attention. I can not imagine misplacing my firearm, and not knowing that I had misplaced it for several hours.

But then again, I'm not an "only one".

From KEYE 42:

With Judy Maggio and Ron Oliveira

Keith Elkins also covers this incident with "Mother, Children Find Officer's Loaded Gun In Park".

So what do you think the reaction would have been had it been a CHL holders firearm found in that park?

Thanks to Tony 3 Dogs for the heads up on this story.

Also commenting is David with "We're the Only Ones Parking Our Pieces Enough".

eta: Rustmeister chims in with "The "Only Ones"... "

Hypocrites at the Violence Policy Center

J.R. Labbe wrote a very good editorial for the Star Telegram on Heller's victory in the DC v Heller case.

Labbe: State laws still a question after Supreme Court ruling

The divide between gun-rights advocates and those who think every firearm in the United States should be smelted down into a giant pile of molten mush wasn’t narrowed by much with the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Washington, D.C., gun ban..

A 9-0 vote one way or the other couldn’t do that.

The gun-rights folks did have more to celebrate after last month’s decision was announced. Finally, Americans have a bright-line answer of "yes" to the question of whether the Second Amendment outlines an individual right to keep a firearm, at least in one’s home.

Of course, residents of the District of Columbia may still be out of luck when it comes to buying a handgun for the home because they would have to cross a state line to buy one, and that’s still a no-no.

It is a good article and explains some of the issues the antis are still trying to push. There is one fact that Ms. Labbe misstated.

There is a Federal Firearm License (FFL) holder in Washington D.C. Joshua Alan Sugerman of the very anti gun Violence Policy Center holds an FFL.

That is right folks, the same group that lobbies so hard to take away all of our firearms is one of the very few FFL's in Washington DC. There are quite a few questions about how they happen to have qualified for an FFL seeing as how one of the requirements is to be actively purchasing and selling firearms. These hypocrites have an FFL, so if you live in DC, give them a call and see what they charge for a transfer.

H/T to The War on Guns for the heads on on the VPC FFL

We Didn't Make the Dallas Morning News This Week

Today was the last day of my daughter's visit from New Mexico. L and her two children spent the last two weeks at Casa JR, and I'm thinking we had a pretty good time. The kids are 2 and 3 and they got to see fireworks from a sailboat on Lake Arlington, swam a bit, played with chalk, found favorite bugs and just got to hang around with Papa J and V. These times are too few and far between. I was sorry to watch them go through security at the airport this afternoon.

Do you know what did not happen at this law abiding gun owner's house? The kids did not discover an unattended handgun and hurt themselves. My daughters were not drawn to commit suicide (one is still visiting from Delaware), and my firearms were not used against us. Pretty amazing isn't it?

Actually, no, it is not. This scenario is played over and over again, thousands of times each week. Children visit the homes of responsible gun owners, and nothing happens. Imagine that.

Sorry DMN, nothing to report here.

And the Winners Are....

The winners of the ParaUSA sponsored weekend of training with Todd Jarrett at Blackwater are:

Sayuncle

Caleb

Robb Allen

John D

JR

Kevin

Tam

Joe Huffman

Armed Citizen

Rumors are that number 10 is David Hardy.

Yep, I did just grap the list from Uncle's place.

No word yet on the 11th winner, the individual chosen from the voters.

A Surge in Texas Concealed Handgun Licenses

It seems that every couple of months now, there is an article written about an increase in Texas CHL applications.

Image by Rex C. Curry.

Here is the latest from the Dallas Morning News:

By Daniel Monteverde

Texans' demand for concealed handgun licenses rises

...Mrs. Denman is one of more than 52,000 people in the state who have submitted an application for a first-time concealed handgun license or renewal since the beginning of the year, according to figures from the Texas Department of Public Safety. That is an almost 5 percent increase over the first six months of 2007.

The crunch – which some say is spurred by concerns about rising crime, the state's new castle law and uncertainty about future gun laws – has created a ballooning backlog of applications for the department and angered gun proponents.

"Can you imagine if it was a driver's license and someone says you just can't drive?" said Alice Tripp, legislative director for the Texas State Rifle Association.

The Dallas Morning News is an unabashedly anti gun news rag, and it must really be chapping their arses to see trends like this. More and more law abiding gun owners applying for CHL's.

There is one thing about people who take the time and effort to obtain a CHL that I know our legislators are taking into account. An individual with a CHL is an individual who is very likely to vote, and even get others to vote.

Also commenting is Robb with Look at all those law-abiding gun owners.

This Just In

From ParaUSA

Dear JR,

Congratulations, you were one of the top ten bloggers in the Para Gun Bloggers Contest.

I get to go train with Todd Jarrett!

And it was all of your votes that are sending me there. I do not think I can adequately express just how appreciative I am of your support.

All I can say is...

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!

Guns may be allowed at Texas colleges

Removing restrictions on licensed concealed carry at state funded college campuses will be a priority during the next legislative session.

Guns may be allowed at Texas colleges

By Anna M. Tinsley

Texans might soon be able to pack heat on college campuses.

That is just one of several proposals that could reach lawmakers next year as they — and legislators nationwide — explore broadening some gun laws.

"It addresses personal protection," said state Rep. Joe Driver, R-Garland, who heads the House committee that considers gun bills. "People who do things [like the Virginia Tech shooting] basically know they are walking into a gun-free zone.

"They are cowards . . . facing people not allowed to fight back."

Lawmakers could set their sights on several proposals next year in the wake of the recent historic Supreme Court ruling that determined that Americans have a right to own guns for hunting and self-defense.

This article in the Star Telegram pretty much outlines the gun rights legislation that will be taken up during this next session.

Painting the Nation's Arms Neon

When I saw the cover of the May issue of Law Enforcement Technology, I thought I had hit pay dirt. I thought I had found an easily fiskable article on the evils of brightly colored firearms.

I was wrong. What I found instead was a very well written article on the details and history of all the hoopla over brightly colored firearms. Of course Steve Lauer (Bloomberg v. Lauer Custom Weaponry) was quoted in the article, Bloomberg failed to respond to the author's request for an interview.

PAINTING the nation's arms neon
Are brightly colored firearms putting officers in danger?

Most of us can be fairly certain that Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City doesn't know us from Adam. We could bet our bottom dollar that the politically unaffiliated, 6-year Big Apple mayor has never even heard our names before, and prior to June 2006, if Steve Lauer were a betting man; he'd have done the same.

However, in an elaborately put together press junket in NYC, thousands of miles from Lauer at his business in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, Bloomberg not only called him out by name, but also insulted his business, telling the crowd of news reporters and politicians he believes there to be malice behind the firearm finishing market, which includes the innovative product Lauer makes, DuraCoat. Further, Bloomberg predicted tragedy would result if firearms were not prohibited in certain bright colors.

In essence, Bloomberg's position on the fluorescent guns was two-pronged: He alleged that by design, brightly colored firearms appeal to children because they resemble toys; and in addition, they are detrimental to law enforcement officers, who may hesitate to react when faced with a citizen holding one of the candy-colored guns.

Head over and give the article a read, it is good stuff.

Now if This Does Not Tickle Your Funny Bone

I don't know what will.

The LawDog describes a citizen's arrest with Ohhh, that's gotta suck.

A New Era in Gun Freedom This 4th of July

One highlight of the NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits was the opportunity to meet and spend some time with Paul Helinski, the force behind GunsAmerica.

Paul has a message for gunnies on Independence Day:

Hi Everyone,

Today we celebrate our country, The United States of America. We are the greatest nation that has ever been, period. We stand for freedom.

Freedom isn't free. We owe the freedom that we live in to the brave men and women in uniform here and abroad who protect what others would take away from us. Please remember to thank them in the midst of your 4th celebrations.

This past week the United States Constitution spoke, and yes, our 2nd Amendment Right reached a new stature when the United States Supreme Court said very plainly that guns are an individual right. If you went to the NRA show you probably came home with one of our bumper stickers declaring this.

But the Constitution did not speak by itself. The NRA, Gun Owners of America, the state gun owner groups, individual gun clubs, JFPO and other smaller gun rights groups made this happen. For years they have not only pushed for pro-gun justices, pro-gun politicians and paid for pro-gun lobbyists, they have also helped to educate the next generation of shooters. These people will grow to be the next generation of voters, campaign coffers, politicians and even media people.

Already the gun grabbers have a next plan of attack. We surmised long ago (the Heller case was un-losable) that it would be taxing and regulating gun dealers, and of course, getting rid of gun shows.

For that reason we feel that as a gun community we should all support our stocking dealers. I am personally a lifetime customer of Kittery Trading Post in Maine and I buy my guns at retail, mostly from them (and no they don't have a history of being big GA advertisers). We have created a whole suite of services for stocking dealers and we urge you to share them with your favorite gun shop. Without these tools to connect them to the next generation of gun buyers we feel that the next wave of taxes and hoops to jump through will make many of them close down. Help them, and by helping them you will help gun freedom survive in our country. You can't own guns if you don't have a place to buy them. http://www.gunsamerica.com/stockingdealers

We also ask you to post a note at your gun club or range about posting events into our local ads. All shooting and training events are free. There is no membership level required. It is really free. The events show up automatically next to the search results and on the individual ad pages. If you know a gun show and there are CCW classes there, even that is free to advertise! http://www.gunsamerica.com/advertising

And lastly, please vote, at least once, this November. As a hardcore conservative I have my reservations about John McCain, but the alternative is communist anarchy at the highest level of our Government. Barak Obama considers gun nuts to be freaks who are angry at something or someone. Clearly he has never held a fine doublegun in his hands, or cranked a 73 Winchester empty, or shot bottles off fence posts with a Beretta 92. And he certainly is not a man I would trust with my back in a fight. The gun grabbers are excited because they think the right wingers are going to stay away from the polls. They are wrong! We are going to vote, and we are going to vote for John McCain.

Don't forget your state races too. There are some great people out there in trouble, like John Sununu from my native NH. He lived not ten miles from me for many years and he's a good guy we always can count on as gun owners. Show up this November, pay attention, and make sure your NRA membership is up to date (I am a life member).

Our gun freedom won an important battle this past week, but the fight will never be over.

-ph

Paul (Shlomo) Helinski
GunsAmerica
Where America Buys and Sells Guns
http://www.gunsamerica.com

All you have to do is read the editorials in your local paper for proof that the Antis are going to be hard at it. We won a major battle with DC v Heller, but the war goes on. Learn all you can about your candidates, contact them with questions about the issues that are important to you, and vote this November. It is important.

There is a New Addition...

...to the JR family.

Ryan Vaughn arrived this morning at 0600 hours. Momma was trying for a 4th of July baby, but little Ryan had his own ideas. Ryan is #3 daughter's first baby, and our 7th grand child.

Happy Birthday Ryan!

America The Beautiful

David has...

...An Independence Day Message from the Olofson's

Happy 4th of July

Firearms, fireworks and sharp objects. How did those early 20th century kids survive without all the nanny state ordinances to protect them?

One local firework show was held last night over Lake Arlington. A good friend took us out on his 22' sail boat to watch the display from the water. You know all is good in the world when you are holding your three year old grand daughter in your lap and are able to share in her amazement at the fireworks exploding over the water.

For more early 4th of July post cards, click here.

The Latest Assault Weapon Ban Legislation

In mid June, Armed and Safe alerted us to the introduction of a new Assault Weapons Ban (AWB) bill in the House of Representatives with " Yet another bill to ban so-called 'assault weapons'".

This Bill is HR 6257, the Assault Weapons Ban Re-authorization Act of 2008. HR 6257 is basically a word for word copy of the original AWB that was allowed to sunset in September of 2004.

HR 6257 is a much less restrictive ban than HR 1022. HR 6257 only has 4 cosponsors where HR 1022 has 66. HR 1022 is obviously the greater threat and I have spent a good deal of time commenting on it.

So why am I taking time away from my grand children to comment on HR 6257?

The answer is simple. While the author, sponsors and cosponsors of HR 1022 are Democrats, HR 6257 was introduced, and is cosponsored by, Republicans. Yes, you did read that correctly. Republicans have introduced an Assault Weapon Ban on Capitol Hill.

Congressman Mark Steven Kirk, a Republican from the 10th District of Illinois introduced this bill to the House on June 12th of this year.

Cosponsors are:

Mike Castle, Republican from Delaware.

Mike Ferguson, Republican representing New Jersey's 7th District.

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Republican representing Florida's 18th District

and

Christopher Shays, a Republican representing Connecticut's 4th District.

If any of these Quislings represent you, contact them and let them know how disappointed you are that they would spend time and money supporting failed legislation that has been proven to do nothing to deter violent criminals. Banning firearms based on cosmetic features is just plain stupid, period. The fact that these congress critters are supporting such legislation shows just how stupid they believe their constituents really are. If they get reelected, maybe they are right.

It is a good thing that none of my representatives would support an Assault Weapons Ban...

Oh...

Forgot about our Senior Senator from Texas. In "We Need to Educate a Senator", I pointed out that while addressing the Heritage Foundation, Senator Hutchison indicated that she supports an assault weapons ban. She went so far as to compare folks who own EBRs to idiots who yell "fire" in a crowded theatre.

Not long after 45superman posted his alert on HR 6257, I wrote Senator Hutchison asking if she would support HR 6257. I have yet to receive a reply. Sometimes it takes awhile, but I usually do get a reply from her office. I most likely will get a letter in the mail soon, but today was my deadline for commenting on this issue.

Here is my letter to the Senator:

Senator Hutchison;

Towards the end of your presentation at the Heritage Foundation on DC v Heller and the Congressional Amicus Brief that you sponsored, you were asked about your views of an Assault Weapons Ban.

You stated:

"I support the Assault Weapons Ban and I think that has been clarified just as shouting fire in a crowded theatre clarifies the right of free speech..."

There are currently two proposed Assault Weapons Bans in the House of Representatives. HR 1022 and HR 6257. HR 6257 was introduced by Congressman Mark Kirk, a Republican from IL. HR 6257 is pretty much identical to the Assault Weapons Ban that expired in 2004.

If either one of these bills were to make it out of the House, would you give it your support in the Senate? I would appreciate a fairly in depth explanation as to why or why not.

As always. Thank you very much for your time.

Now back to Representatives Kirk and company. These "Republicans" need to be slapped, and slapped hard. Several of them are up for reelection, and they deserve to lose. Not only do they deserve to lose, but they need to have their Republican constituents leading the way in seeing them unseated. I know that Congressman Kirk has a strong Independent running against him, I would hope that Republicans would dump Kirk for Allan Stevo.

David over at the War on Guns has been covering Quisling Kirk for awhile.

Our representatives need to know that if Republicans are going to act like Democrats, then we will turn our backs on the party and on the individual Republicans that seem to think they can dismiss us out of hand.

Messages From Iraq

Thanks to the Dallas Morning News for publishing this video

It's 10:00 PM, Do You Know Where Your Blogger Is?

xkcd - A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language should come with a warning banner. "Warning, once you start clicking you will lose all track of time and you will not get a post done before the grand kids wake up from their naps".

H/T to To Which I Replied...

Spree Killer Caught

Every day there is something in the news that illustrates the importance of being able to defend yourself, your family and those close to you. Today's news offers up an example that should make all but the most deranged hopolophobe at least consider the necessity of carrying a firearm for self protection.

From Fox News:

Authorities Capture Suspect in String of Midwest Killings

GRANITE CITY, Ill. — Police and FBI agents captured an ex-convict suspected of killing eight people in two states as he smoked a cigarette outside of a southwestern Illinois bar Tuesday night, a bar employee said.

Nicholas T. Sheley, who was the subject of a multistate manhunt after authorities linked him to the deaths of eight people in Illinois and Missouri, was arrested around 7 p.m. outside of Bindy's, a Granite City bar, said bartender Katie Ronk...

Another goblin off the streets.

A bit of the grisly details:

Sheley has only been charged in the death of one of the eight. He faces charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery and vehicular hijacking in the death of Ronald Randall, whose body was found Monday behind a grocery store in Galesburg, in northwestern Illinois, police said. An autopsy showed the 65-year-old died from blunt force trauma to the head, likely on Saturday...

...Authorities said the killings began with the beating death of 93-year-old Russell Reed, a Sterling man whose body was found stuffed in the trunk of a car Thursday. Sheley also is from Sterling, a town of 15,000 about 100 miles west of Chicago.

On Monday, police discovered the bodies of two men, a woman and a child in an apartment on a street of single-family homes in nearby Rock Falls. Investigators believe they likely died late Saturday or early Sunday.

Sheley was acquainted with the male victims, Brock Branson and Kenneth Ulvey, both in their 20s, said Illinois State Police Region Two Commander Mark Maton. Police did not identify the woman or child.

More than 250 miles, the bodies of Tom and Jill Estes of Sherwood, Ark., were found Monday behind a gas station in Festus, said Bill Baker, with the St. Louis Area Major Case Squad.

The couple had checked into a Comfort Inn in Festus on Friday and were last seen late Sunday. Their dogs were found in the hotel parking lot, unharmed but covered with blood...

All eight of these people were beaten to death, all died at the hands of a goblin who happened to be on drugs. At least half of these victims were chosen at random, killed because they happened to cross paths with a psychopath. Not a one of the victims woke up in the morning expecting to come face to face with a psychotic predator. None of them were armed.

Why do I carry? Take a look into the eyes of that goblin, go read the article, and then come back and tell me why you do not.

Oh... I expected to find these statements, and was not disappointed.

Public records show Sheley has multiple convictions for robbery, drugs and weapons charges and has spent three years in prison...

...and his rap sheet includes arrests for home invasion.

I propose that victims of violent crimes be allowed the opportunity to sue prosecutors, judges and parole boards who allow vermin such as this to walk our streets.

Garland police arrest man accused of shooting at motorists

A spree of apparently random shootings started last Sunday. Someone has been shooting at motorist, usually at stop lights. There were six shootings in four North Texas cities over these past few days and we are very lucky that no one was seriously injured.

The police may have the shooter in custody.

From the Dallas Morning News:

Garland police arrest man accused of shooting at motorists

A 22-year-old man who may be responsible for shooting at motorists in Garland, Mesquite, Richardson and Plano was in custody this morning, Garland police said.

Locations of six shootings in North Texas over three days Garland police did not release the man's name but said he would face charges of aggravated assault, endangering a child and deadly conduct. Bond had not been set as of late Tuesday when he was arrested.

Police said a gunman who shot at three groups of motorists on Sunday and one person on Monday struck again in Plano on Tuesday on the Bush Turnpike. Witnesses told police shots were fired from a black Honda Prelude with an oversized chrome exhaust.

At about 9 p.m. Tuesday, a Honda pulled into the parking lot of a restauarant in the 4500 block of West Walnut Street in Garland. The driver got out of his car, walked to the restaurant and fired into a wall just below the windows. He then returned to his car and drove away. No one was injured, police said.

About 90 minutes later, a Garland officer saw a Honda Prelude about a half mile from the restaurant and made a traffic stop. Police said a pistol, believed to be used in the shootings, was found inside the car. The driver, who matched the description of the shooter at the restaurant, was taken into custody without incident.

The article goes into a bit more detail about the shootings if you are interested.

I hope they have the right guy, and I hope they put him away forever. This is behaviour unacceptable to a free society, and the individual responsible for these shootings should no longer be a part of any free society.

I'm on Pins and Needles...

...waiting for the results of the ParaUSA gun blogger contest to spend a weekend at Blackwater training with Todd Jarrett.

Thank you very much to all who took the time to vote for "A Keyboard and a .45". Win or lose, I appreciate your effort.

There Has to be an Aggie Joke in Here Somewhere

It is good to see that Texas A&M is focusing it's research on the betterment of mankind.

From the Star Telegram:

By Barry Shlachter

Watermelon may one day have Viagra-like qualities

Someday watermelons might have Viagra-like properties, researchers at Texas A&M University predicted Monday.

That said, much study and much breeding remain.

One problem is that the beneficial ingredient in good-eating varieties — citrulline — is now mainly found in the rind.

Researchers such as A&M's Steve King are trying to find melon with citrulline in the fruit's flesh.

"We will have to screen thousands and thousands of watermelon until we find it," King said in a call from College Station. "And when we do, it might not be good eating. So through crossbreeding, we will have to move it into melons that are."

Slices or juice would then have to be fed to human volunteers for rounds of tests. And frankly, millions in yet-to-be-unearthed funding would be needed.

No wonder Grandma always put up a few jars of pickled watermelon rind.

Storm Water Fees = Pretty Flower Pots?

Dallas Texas has a very comprehensive and restrictive Storm Water Management program. I have been told that it is one of the most restrictive in the country, I know that it is much more restrictive than other areas where I have worked. Companies involved in manufacturing are routinely inspected for potential storm water issues. Storm water related regulations vary depending upon what it is the company happens to be manufacturing. The company I work for "enjoys" fairly in depth inspections and we have invested several tens of thousands of dollars over the past few years to ensure complience.

Here is the mission statement of the Dallas Storm Water management program:

To educate the public, school children, and businesses (construction and other industries) on storm water pollution prevention related issues and permitting requirements respective to protecting our creeks, lakes, and rivers to improve our lifestyle, natural environment, and water resource use. In addition, the Program includes enforcement inspections to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local storm water regulations as well as water sampling to detect and correct water pollution in Dallas’ lakes and creeks and the Trinity River.

I wonder how this expenditure follows that mission statement?

From the Dallas Morning News:

By Dave Levinthal

Program helps Dallas residents fight for their neighborhoods

Maria Gaona's wishes for her west Oak Cliff neighborhood are these: less nuisance crime, fewer robberies and more places for children to safely play.

Cindy Leon, 3, paints a flower pot during Dallas' Pride in your Neighborhood on Saturday at Arcadia Recreation Center in Dallas. Cindy and other residents of seven Dallas neighborhoods are working to improve their communities by making them better to look at and live in.
View larger More photos Photo store "But we need more organization and education in the community to get this done," Ms. Gaona said.

The newly initiated Pride in Your Neighborhood program, a joint venture of Dallas City Hall's Sanitation Services department and the nonprofit Keep Dallas Beautiful, is intended to fill that void.

Funding the program with $453,000 in city storm water fees, organizers aim to empower the residents of seven struggling Dallas neighborhoods – Arcadia Park, Arlington Park, Beverly Hills, Cedar Oaks, Dixon Circle, Fordham Road and Singing Hills – with tools to combat crime and blight.

Umm... If the storm water program has all this excess cash laying around, maybe the fees are to high. Maybe if Dallas did not make it such a pain in the rear for industry to do business there, more jobs and investment dollars would be available in neighborhoods like these. I have a stack of books at least six feet tall that just cover code complience, city, and state regulations. Fun stuff.

Word of The Day

Trollphylactic