Gun Contest

One of the merry crew at Samizdata has proposed a contest. Not so much a gun contest as such, but rather a contest relating to information regarding guns:

I’d like to launch the Llamas Challenge Cup – a case of Laphroaig for the person who can get the most outrageously-untrue story about guns and gun ownership in the US printed in a UK newspaper, winners to be judged by a panel of S’data editors. I predict equal parts hilarity and amazement will ensue.

For a case of Laphroaig, I believe even I might put something together. It would be easy for example, to equate the draconian gun laws in Illinois to the relatively low statewide murder rate. It would help if one ignored last years bumper crop, citing global warming or something as being responsible for the uptick, and never mentioned that most of the murders in Illinois occur in only one county.  Or one could simply leave the 2012 numbers out. After all, they're too new to be accurately considered.

Update: Suggested media outlets include the Guardian, the Daily Mail, and the Daily Mirror. Typos don't count so no 22mm handguns.

Write A Letter, Get a Response?

A friend sent me this:

On Thu, Apr 25, 2013 at 3:35 PM, Anthony D. Romero, ACLU Action wrote:

We are all greatly saddened by the tragedy of the Boston bombings, from the loss of life and physical injuries to the emotional toll it has taken on the nation. 

That's why it's so troubling that some people are trying to draw a link between the tragedy in Boston and the issue of immigration reform.

As members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have said, that is false and counterproductive. We cannot afford to condemn groups based on their skin color, ethnicity, immigration status, national origin, ideology or religion; nor can we allow fear or prejudice to derail the potential offered by the historic immigration reform bill released last week in the Senate.
. . .
This email was sent by: American Civil Liberties Union 125 Broad Street, 18th Floor New York, NY, 10004, USA

To which the recipient responded:

Dear Mr. Romero,  

I have been on the ACLU e-mail list for as long as I can remember. However, I did not receive your e-mail that you sent sometime in December 2012, stating that :  

"We are all greatly saddened by the tragedy of the Sandy Hook shooting, from the loss of life and physical injuries to the emotional toll it has taken on the nation.  

That's why it's so troubling that some people are trying to draw a link between the tragedy in Newton and the issue of private gun ownership.  

As members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have said, that is false and counterproductive. We cannot afford to condemn an entire group of people based on which rights they exercise or what they own ; nor can we allow fear or prejudice to derail the Second Amendment or the rest of the Bill of Rights." 

 etc. etc. etc.  

Please re-send that e-mail to me, as I would like very much to read it. 

 Thank you. 

Gun Show Observations

At the Tanner gun Show last weekend, here's the score. The guns are back, for the most part although anything "tactical" tends to be overpriced still. At least now they are at 2X normal instead of 3X, which is an improvement.

Ammo is back as well if you don't mind free-market capitalism smacking the hoarders up site the head. $.80/round for .223 and 9mm pistol is ridiculous, but it's down from $.90 at the previous show.

People were asking $80/550 brick for .22. Don't know if they were getting it, but I was happy to point out that I had just bought 3 half-bricks (333) for about $14/ea so there is light at the end of that tunnel at least.

The solution to high prices is to boycott the product. It won't take long.

Who Should We Fear?

Lots of things out there that go bump in the night, but recently I've found two observations that seem to fit fairly well. One should probably be a QOTD:

"The surveillance state is part of the state. Where surveillance is a

priority — say, when political enemies are concerned — it’ll be

ruthlessly efficient. The rest of the time, like when it involves

protecting Americans from terrorists, it’s just another government

job."

- Glenn Reynolds

So the government can be expected to watch you very closely, but only if you pose a threat to the government, which even a well-organized band of terrorists do not. Think about it. In a worst-case scenario, terrorists or hostile foreign agents plant a nuke in lower Manhattan, and detonate it during the week. The U.S. economy is crippled, and the death toll is into six figures, but from the point of view of Washington, so what? Government regulation will be expanded, taxes will certainly rise, and fundamental freedoms will be abridged, for the public welfare of course.

Interestingly, people are recognizing this.

“Which worries you more,” the Post asked, “that the government will not go far enough to investigate terrorism because of concerns about constitutional rights, or that it will go too far in compromising constitutional rights in order to investigate terrorism?”
The poll found 48 percent of respondents worry the government will go too far, compared to 41 percent who worry it won’t go far enough.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Dems were more inclined to give up liberties for a promise of security than Republicans.  Independents were the least willing to give the government more power.

To carry this over into the gun debates, and given that the country divides itself approximately equally between the three groups, it would suggest that 2/3 of the population is inherently skeptical that anything the government proposes regarding "gun violence" will actually accomplish anything beyond curbing the rights of the citizens.

Who Are The Terrorists?

According to Dave Perry, editor of the Aurora Sentinel, it's the NRA.Kidnappers we are, among other things:

No more due process in the clear-cut case of insidious terrorism. When the facts are so clearly before all Americans, for the whole world to see, why bother with this country’s odious and cumbersome system of justice? Send the guilty monsters directly to Guantanamo Bay for all eternity and let them rot in their own mental squalor.
No, no, no. Not the wannabe sick kid who blew up the Boston marathon or the freak that’s mailing ricin-laced letters to the president. I’m talking about the real terrorist threat here in America: the National Rifle Association.

The left has always had mixed opinions regarding due process. Even elective democracy is suspect when the desired results are not forthcoming:

By using the weapon of choice for all terrorist organizations, extortion, the NRA has forced the action of about 45 ineffectual U.S. senators, a clear act of terrorism and treason.

Here I had thought that while terrorists preferred WMDs and automatic weapons, extortion was the preferred weapon of organized crime and the Chicago municipal government. But I repeat myself.

RTWT. It's the whine of a liberal not satisfied that a busybody from New York has bought the loyalty of the Colorado Democratic party without actually spending a dime in Colorado, but that he was unable to buy the U.S. Senate in the same manner.

Reach Editor Dave Perry at 303-750-7555 or dperry@aurorasentinel.com

Defensive Pistol

Went to the club defensive pistol match today and discovered that I've developed a bit of a flinch. Thinking about it it unfortunately makes sense. Before the match I remembered to take painkillers, and had noticeably less trouble, but this morning when I got up my hands hurt so bad I'm sure I was flinching just thinking about picking up a gun.

Here it is 5 PM and the pills have worn off. It hurts to type. I don't mind getting old, what I mind is the constant nagging reminders.

Viking Philosophy

Back in the early 80's several of us founded the First Church of the Orthodox Viking. We believe everything is O.K. as long as it's done to excess. As I get older, this becomes harder and harder to do, and one of these days the younger bucks will kill me and eat me but hey, that's life in the wolf pack. In the meantime old age and treachery will defeat youth and enthusiasm every time.

Remember, the best way to get someones opinion is by reading their entrails.

Here's some more of the same over-the-top thinking.

Gun Law - Everywhere Else

Here in Colorado we enjoy the benefits of one-party rule and the ruling party has given up listening to constituents as passé. In Washington DC there was a march to occupy the NRA to show the evil gunnies who has clout. Some 10 groups plus a contingent of media types participated, and turned a grand total estimated to be near to 100 souls.

You would think that in such a hotbed of liberalism as DC that turnout would have been better. You'd be wrong. Any politician with his or her ear to the ground would look at this and quickly decide which side of that particular bagel has the cream cheese on it.

Here, I suppose, the promise of bales of Bloomberg money coupled with legalized vote fraud will insulate wayward pols from the wrath of the voters. We'll see, I guess.

Update: Here it comes:

 H/T to Gateway for the story.

Don't Mess With Aunt Tillie...

When she's been drinking, goes the punchline to a joke from the Iraq war. So here we have life imitating art in a way that ultimately worked out well for our "aunt Tillie" and will probably work out very poorly for the bus driver.

Sequester Analogy

The way to view the sequester fiasco is to imagine the president as a small child, lying on the supermarket floor in the candy aisle, screaming his head off because his mother won't put his favorite bag of candy in the cart.

The correct response is to simply leave him there and proceed with the shopping which lets the kid know that no, he's not getting the candy, and no, mommy is not going to let herself be embarrassed by being associated with him.

The Republican response is to pass legislation forbidding the FAA from doing something flashy, noisy, and incredibly stupid.

At this point even the Democrats are beginning to be embarrassed.

Best News Reporting

Natalie Solent of Samizdata is a candidate for a Pulitzer if I've ever seen one:

Crisis for that last amorphous blight of nethermost confusion which blasphemes and bubbles at the centre of all infinity as trust hits record low, the Guardian reports.

RTWT. For you Lovecraft fans, it's pure gold.

Colorado Gun Law - Must Own

A motion will be introduced to the town council in Craig, CO tonight to mandate ownership of a Modern Sporting Rifle in whatever pattern by every household. As is usual with these sorts of things, there is no penalty for non-compliance.

Sorry, no link.

I have no idea how this might fare as Craig is a long ways away from Littleton, physically and philosophically. Still it would be nice to see a Colorado town join with the likes of Kennesaw GA.

Boston Bombings

Tim Blair notes that the Sydny Morning Hearald had completely solved the bombings in Boston is nearly no time at all:

I'm a Tea Party sympathizer at minimum, and I like the graphic. You just need the right point of view.

Note that a real bomb has already exploded, off to the right somewhere. Think of the teapot as a metaphor for the American public. Think 2014.

Happy Anniversary

One thing I missed over the weekend. April 19, in addition to being Patriots day and a couple other things, is my 5th blogversary.

Still ranting after all these years.

Colorado Gun Law

The Colorado Senate has 2 more gun bills up, one to correct an old oversight, and one a feel-good bill which will more likely aggravate the situation it was intended to address. At this point I think we all understand that they will pass and be signed into law because the legislature can do whatever they want. They won.

SB-195 - When you apply for a hunting license here you can take part of the hunter safety course on line but part of it is taken in person at the Department of Wildlife. This saves time and money all around. When applying for a CCW, it is now required that the gun handling part of the course be conducted at the instructors site. This actually makes sense although I'm finding it hard to believe that Colorado law permitted a 100% online training course to be considered sufficient. Colorado has been a shall-issue state for some time and I had never heard of anyone being able to satisfy the course requirement with an on-line course.

SB-197 states that anyone who gets a restraining order in a domestic/divorce situation is required to surrender any and all guns he or she may own to either the police, an FFL, or their buddy Bubba,. Everyone will provide a receipt for whatever was turned over which will be sent back to the court, and Bubba will have to get a background check. Swell.

There is no way to insure that any guns surrendered represent all the guns in the persons possession, and there is a 48 hour time frame allotted to do this unless the RO comes out on a Friday in which case the person served has until Monday. ROs are handed out like Kleenex in the courts, and have about the same value as regards to protecting any one. The addition of a disarming order will seem like rubbing someones nose in the proceedings so I'm thinking that this will have the effect of telling the recipient that they have 48 hours in which to deal with their ex.

If the RO target is a LEO, as happens frequently enough, enforcing the order will render the LEO unable to work, unless the courts decide to make an exception. Agents of the state are frequently excepted from the law. I'll ask, since my Senator seems to be one of the sponsors.

I'm Back!

Well Hi everybody, I'm back. Anything happen last weekend? No? Good. I'd hate to think I missed anything of any importance.

 I just had a relaxing (1) 3-day vacation in scenic Ramah(2), Colorado, where I participated in an Appleseed event. This is sort of like attending a warm-up party for the Gun Blogger Rendevous later this year, only without the glittery casinos, scantily clad women, and a bar.

Actually there probably is a bar in Ramah. Possibly even two of them. I don't know. The Ben Lomand Gun Club is about 10 miles north of Ramah and I never actually got into town.

The Ben Lomand facility is very nice with everything anyone could want from a separate training area for youth and special events, to a western town front for cowboy action. I'm not sure how far the rifle ranges extend to, but the last backstops are way out there.

Took advantage of the spring weather Colorado is famous for, with 4-8 inches of snow last week all melted off, and 3-7 expected tonight and tomorrow. Ben Lomand was actually dry and mild.

I learned a good deal there, about myself and my trusty rifle. First the rifle. It's a Remington Nylon 66, a real bit of history, one of the first mostly plastic firearms ever mass produced. It will shoot dime-sized groups all day. Unfortunately the scope is mounted on a metal shroud which is attached to the plastic underpinnings, into which the metal bits are seated. As the day goes on, the scope is prone to move slightly which puts those dime-sized groups in a new location about 3/4 of an inch away from where they started in some random direction. If this was a slow creep, I wouldn't mind as I can compensate for this, but it happens all at once when I put the gun down, and no, I'm not dropping it. I put it down very gently onto a padded surface.

Note: You may decide that one screw or another might be loose during a match. NEVER tighten a screw during a match. Your point of impact will reappear somewhere off the paper. In another county.

The Appleseed rifleman qualifier involves 4 stages, shot in 3 positions, 2 of which involve starting with 2 rounds, then reloading the remaining 8. By preparing the right number of rounds into plastic tubes(3) reloading a tube-fed rifle is almost as fast as reloading a magazine-fed one although the gymnastics are akin to trying to reload a revolutionary war musket from the prone position. One of those stages is fast-paced and timed. Get a mag-fed rifle and practice changing mags before the event. It sucks when they start yelling "cease fire!" just as you finish reloading and get back into position, although sometimes they let us "tubers" load all 10 rounds and skip the reload.

With a 60 mile drive out to the range, 9 hours of shooting and instruction, and 60 miles back, I found that on Sunday my shooting was noticeably worse due to fatigue. In the future I think I'll stick to Saturdays only.

(1) Ignore my Shooting Buddy calling me Mr. Cranky-pants on the way back. I'm almost always that cheerful.

(2) Look it up on Google maps

(3) I am told that McDonalds and only McDonalds has large diameter red straws that neatly hold 10-12 rounds of .22. Permanently plug one end, put a removable cap in the other, and fill the space between with the right number of rounds. Observe correct orientation. Voila! Instant speedloader.

More Background Checks

I was right, and it only took 3 days. Sen Lautenburg is fronting legislation to require a background check on the purchase of a pound of reloading powder.

There is also whining about how the lack of taggants in reloading powders is preventing law enforcement from immediately arresting the culprits.

Somehow I suspect that even with all the obstacles, before too long we will have someone in custody. In the meantime here's a chance to add a $10-$35 "tax" on a $20 pound of powder. It's the kind of safety issue that will make large purchases more economical. Right now gun club members make bulk purchases of things like primers and powder to spread the $20 haz-mat fee across 15-20 people.

I suppose people could start groups like the "Tite-Group Users Co-Op" and have one member order several one pound cans of powder for the group or maybe one 8 pound keg and refill the members one-pound cans.

I suppose it would be incumbent on us to fill in the low-information legislators as to how easy making low-level explosives actually is and see if he wants to extend the background check requirement to tree stump remover and anti-freeze.

Attitudes On Guns

Found this graphic on Gun Watch, referenced to a piece at Cato Institute regarding peoples evolving attitudes on guns:

Over the years people are noticing that the police cannot be everywhere and protect everyone. Your first line of defense is you.

I suspect this also influenced the mails sent to congressmen this week. Good.

A Way With Words

Some people just seem to have it:

Drudge, for example.

Next Skirmish

At the beginning of WWII, Hitler was poised with his army to overrun Belgium and sweep into France. All that held him back was the weather. Spring rains had turned the roads to mud, temporarily at least holding him back. Every day past his originally scheduled kickoff made him angrier and angrier. He would hear the morning report, and without a word would turn and stalk off, furious at being denied France on his schedule.

 Today I saw Obama speak about his failure in the Senate, and I believe I have seen a petulant ghost along side him. Obama has a bit less than 4 years left.

I expect that the remainder of his term will be as trying as the last 4 months have been.

The next skirmish will be the immigration bill currently being championed by Marco Rubio. Given only a day or two to peruse an 844 page bill, it seems unlikely that all the Easter eggs will be discovered before the voting begins.

Keep the heat turned up.

Senate Fails, Women And Minorities* Hardest Hit

*If by women you mean Dianne Feinstein and Barbra Boxer, and by minorities you mean President Obama and Atty General Eric Holder.

The Manchin-Toomey gun grab went down in defeat in spite of 4 Republicans voting for is as five Dems voted against it.

In a televised appearance today the President vowed to soldier on alone to accomplish by himself what the legislature refused to touch with the proverbial 10-foot pole. As someone else* once remarked: When you bring a problem to a bipartisan legislature, all you get is bipartisan bickering. A benevolent dictator will find a solution that serves the greatest good of the greatest number and immediately move on to the next issue.

The president will now presumably issue some more executive orders and move on to the next most important issue facing the country today, gay marriage.

This skirmish is won. If you think the battle is over, please offer to share your stash. There are other bills in the pipeline, some good, most bad, and the makeup of the legislature will not change until January of 2015. Keep the pressure on.

*Benito Mussolini

The Larger Battle

Watching the battle for gun rights expand locally and nationally, then watching the follow up actions, I’m struck by the way it looks like a coordinated operation. Here in Colorado the gun bills fell into two categories, the local, including Sen Morse’s ham-fisted effort to feed the trial lawyers by ignoring federal law, and the imported, which included the big four laws that got passed. Rammed through actually in spite of massive evidence that almost no one wanted them and that they had been written by someone from far out of state.

The effort was such an affront to the people of Colorado that it’s hard to envision very many Democrats getting reelected downstream. This is where the secondary operations crop up. First off timing is everything. The next elections are nearly 2 years out, and the low information voters and even the mid-information ones can forget a lot in that length of time. Secondarily is the promise of outside influence. Mayor Bloomberg has promised financial support to any Dem needing it in 2014 and has an established record of providing it to his favored candidates. In this state $2M/candidate is a lot of money.

Following up on the favorable timing and generous infusion of money, is a bill to revise the way elections are conducted in Colorado that should insure that no Republican ever gets elected again except in certain very safe districts.. Unlimited mail-in ballots, which will be sent to whatever address the newly registered voter puts down will insure that the home addresses of Democratic precinct captains have a lot of registered voters there. All registered Democrats too, just like in Washington state. Election day registration will make it possible to flood polling places with volunteers armed with receipts for things like utilities, rent, or school tuition, all voting on election day and departing like the proverbial fart in the wind.

Using the Colorado model at the national level, the Manchin-Toomy bill is being pushed in the Senate, while people who have had a chance to actually read it have been warning that there’s more there than is being advertised. I realize that the Dems would like to claim that they passed something, anything at all, but that the likes of Chuck Schumer is willing to vote for it at all tells me that this should probably be killed as soon as possible. If it passes the Senate, expect to see a massive lobbying effort in the form of pet pork projects offered to wavering Republicans in the house. It’s how they got Obamacare through after all.

The follow up to Manchin-Toomy  as far as insuring the Dems don’t lose too many seats is the Gang-of-Eight immigration bill. In return for a modest payoff of $500/head, illegals will be granted amnesty and be allowed to remain here for 10 years after which they can become citizens. Absent the threat of deportation, getting them to register should be a snap. In England a similar program by the Labor party boosted the Labor rolls sufficiently to insure them of parliamentary majorities for the foreseeable future.

Interestingly it appears that the Colorado model may not be working out quite as planned. Bloomberg can deliver enough money to re-elect a state house member or even buy the entire Dem contingent of the Colorado legislature, but re-electing multiple U.S. senators may prove to be beyond even his bankroll.

Jobs For Veterans

Don't know anything about this except the notice I got, but jobs are scarce and any lead might help.

Don’t forget about the Opportunity Expo in Denver in two days!

Event Details:

• Sports Authority Field at Mile High
• Denver, CO
• Thursday, April 18, 2013
• 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM (stay as long as you need)

Click here for more information

* FREE parking is available in Lot C. Please enter through Gate 2.

Spread the word to other veterans by sharing news about this event on Facebook or Twitter.

We’ll see you there!

Any vets looking for work?

Boston Bombing

As of right now, no one knows anything, pretty much. The White House is making a connection to Patriots Day. I expect to hear that Sara Palin is wanted for questioning any time now.

That didn't take long.

It appears that the bombs themselves were pressure cooker bombs made from directions available on the Al-Quaida magazine "Inspire". These things are common in Pakistan where they get used in electioneering campaigns. The essential components are one 6-liter pressure cooker, 6 lb of smokeless powder generally extracted from unfired munitions which are common enough in the middle east, and whatever small bits of junk may be found lying about to be used as shrapnel.

In Israel, small nuts are popular, and certainly cheaper than ball bearings.

Smokeless powder for reloading and shotgun shells which contain larger quantities of powder per shell to hit the banned list in 3....2....1....

Update: Washington is banning trash cans.

Legalizing Vote Fraud

Noting that a lot of Dems are in political trouble for ramming through Mayor Mike'a gun bills, we have some legislation coming up that would convert Colorado to a mostly-mail-in voting state. In Washington, dozens of people like Mike the Mendicant and Pete the Panhandler are registered to vote absentee with addresses at the local precinct chairman's house. The absentee ballots go there and are sent back from there. The state courts have ruled that as long as the ballot is secret, the votes are good to go.

With same day registration one needs a power bill or rent receipt from someone who does not intend to vote, and in you go. Visit all your friends and collect the whole set.

To make an effective rebuttal to this legislation we should work out a step-by-step methodology for a person to vote several times using same-day registration and publish the methods with instructions that while the GOP does not advocate illegal actions, we would like to point out the methods we expect to be used by the opposition. The Dems of course will denounce this and deny they would ever do such a thing, but the thought of the bill encouraging and facilitating this, and being a Dem bill, should be enough to get the offending provisions dropped.

If they want to pass a bill encouraging fraud, we should make it quite clear that we are willing to play by their rules. As Bill Cosby famously pointed out, once you've won the toss and get to make the rules, the outcome is seldom in doubt.

The practice could be discouraged by taking a picture of every voter holding a placard with the voters name on it, much like a police mug shot. Facial recognition software would then be used to sort out the duplicates. Or we could ask for a state issued photo ID, but that, I understand, would be racist.

Range Day

It's cold, it's windy, but it's clear, so off to the range. One last shot (!) at the e-postal and one last tune-up before the Appleseed next weekend.

Keep those positive thoughts coming. Getting the rifleman's badge the first time out seldom happens.

Crazy People II

Rep. McCann has apparently been hearing from people about her bill to separate guns from people judged to be mentally unfit to have them. The input must have been positively earth shaking and unanimous as to my experience trying to influence a legislator is like talking to a fence post.

Legislation to address the problem is certainly needed, but the inherent complexity of the issue will make writing it without including a raft of unintended consequences extremely difficult. To this end, the original bill has been withdrawn and replaced by a call for a study by a panel of folks to be named later with recommendations due to be submitted in January of 2015.

Hopefully 18 months will be enough time to produce something that doesn't look like it was written by members of the High School Psychology club.

In possibly related news, the National Brotherhood of Shrinks is working on DSM-5, the updated list of all the possible mental disorders a person could possible have. The new and improved version is reportedly limited to 500 disorders. This is achieved by sweeping multiple old disorders into subsets of higher level problems. Clever. As a result, some 50% of the population will be placed into one general category or another with only the matter of degree separating the merely eccentric from the barking moonbats.

Rep. McCann's efforts here mark the first time I've seen a legislator effectively admit that they might not be the omnicient lawgiver

Lawgiver

they think of themselves as and defer to someone who might be knowledgeable on a topic for advice.

Background Checks

Clayton Cramer has a paper on the effect of background checks on the murder rate.

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2249317

It's a pdf of 9 pages so is not a tough read. The conclusion is that they don't have any detectable effect.

The interesting stat is that 47% of crime guns were straw purchases which checks don't stop, 26% were stolen, and another 8% were "retail diversion" whatever that is. The remaining 19% were presumably come by legitimately which raises questions as to the exact nature of the crime committed with them by seemingly otherwise law-abiding gun owners.

Observation: Modern statistics is what changed Witch Doctory into modern psychology. Make of that what you will.

QOTD - Gun Control

Colorado governor Hickenlooper went on a local talk radio show the other day and produced this gem:

"In a way, this is an urban issue which is going to require some inconvenience from rural people."

If be rural people you mean anyone living outside the Denver city limits, including pretty much all of the suburbs, then yes. Sen. Brophy noted the comment and added his own:

We call it "getting Hicked" when rural people have to suck it up because Denver wants something.

Or in this case, because the Denver government has no idea how to run a medium sized city.  OTOH if you can warm the Mayors chair for 4 years without a major scandal breaking out, you're qualified to warm the Governors chair. Just sign whatever lands on your desk, and look forward to the big chair in Washington.

Illegal Drivers Licenses

Or yet another write-a-letter post.

Colorado is currently considering legislation that would create a special drivers license for illegal aliens. No word as to weather this will have some special marking to distinguish it. Colorado being something of a sanctuary state, it's unlikely that anything like this will be included.

It's up before the Senate Judiciary committee today where I'm sure it will pass on a party-line vote like everything else this year. So write the Senator and ask the questions:
-----------------
Dear Sen. Newell:

I have some questions about the proposed drivers licenses to be created for illegal aliens.
1. Can a student from Kansas apply for such a license and thus be eligible for in-state tuition at the University of Colorado? The financial incentives would be considerable.
2. Will the Colorado motor-voter program remain in full effect at the granting of these licenses? The future of one-party rule in this state depends on it.
3. Will this document be sufficient identification at a polling place or will identification remain not required?

Thank you for your consideration on this matter.
Billll
-----------------------

I don't expect an answer.

UPDATE!: I have to say I'm impressed. Same day service no less.

Hi Billll

 

Thank you for your writing in about these questions. I spoke with the bill drafter of SB 251, and he says the following: This bill does not affect the first couple questions. As for your third question, the bill does not change this situation so yes, identification will remain not required.

 

Hopefully this helps! If you would like further clarification on the specifics of the bill, please contact the bill sponsor as they will be able to get you the answers.

 

Thanks!
Andrea
Legislative Aide

Crazy People

Having passed Mayor Bloombergs boxed set of gun bills over the objections of constituents, the legislature is now going to address the actual problem. Crazy prople with guns.

Rep Beth McAnn had a bill all ready to go when her fellow legislators began pointing out some problems with it. Alas, the text is not yet available as it has been withdrawn for a major rewrite. Those who have seen it suggest that it would give those in the mental health biz, from the receptionist to the actual doctor, the authority to place a person on the prohibited list, which would result in a no-pass on a background check, to some sort of order allowing the police to confiscate their firearms and anyone elses that might be in reach.

If this doesn't sound like welfare for tort lawyers, I can't imagine what might. Ban someone because they seemed a little off? Sue for abuse of authority. Toss in hate crime if you can.

Someone went out and did a no-no with a gun after an evaluation? This time the victime get to sue. If he seemed a little off, why didn't you prohibit him?  Either way the mental health folks lose. The folks in the mental health biz might be crazy, but they're not stupid. They generally oppose the bill as written.

Statistically you'd be best off asking the subject if he or she is registered to vote, and if so, for what party. If the subject is a registered Democrat, then put 'em on the prohibited list. As most Dems are hoplophobic, and wouldn't own a gun in the first place, this will be no inconvienience to them. As most homicidal maniacs are registered Dems, if a search turns up guns, you can pat yourself on the back for thwarting another Sandy Hook. Win-win.

Ammo Shortage

Folks, if you haven't seen this by now, take a minute to take a look at this piece on Breitbart.

It seems the great ammo shortage of 2013 is not being driven by the FBI, CIA, DHS, the war in wherever or anything else. It's simply panic buying by a modest number of citizens inspired, I guess by the proliferation of prepper shows on TV.

So calm down, kick back, pop one of those beers you were planning to trade for a chicken, post apocalypse, and let the manufacturers catch up. It will only take a month or so.

What Statistics Tell You

This graphic has been circulating around for a couple weeks now and I believe I see what it's telling us:

White people are more independent and stand-offish, and for the most part, kill themselves.

Black people are more community oriented and mutually helpful and therefore kill each other.

See? It all makes sense.

Further exposition at Wizbang.

QOTD Chicago Style

From Radio Free New Jersey:

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, in reaction to the murder of 6 month old Jonylah Watkins, said he would not rest until every Republican in the country has to surrender their guns.

Emphasis mine. And here I thought the gangs were mostly Obama voters. Who knew?.

H/T Oleg Volk, in whose home country disarming the political opposition has a long and colorful history.

Marketing 101

Let's say you're the marketing guru for a national chain of fast-food joints that aren't particularly known for doing breakfast. In fact, you're better known for your late night hours.

In an effort to expand your market share, you decide to introduce some tasty sounding breakfast items. Good. Send out coupons. Good.

Now let's say you forget to notify your regional stores that for most people breakfast means sometime between 5:30 and 8 AM, and your stores maintain their normal opening hours of 9 AM when most everyone has had breakfast and is busily at work.

A statistical analysis would probably tell you that your offerings were not well received and were selling poorly. You'd be smart to drop them.

Not Registration

Of course not. Registration would be illegal. OTOH, Harry Reids latest gun bill requiring universal background checks requires something else:

In a departure from section 103(i) of Public Law 103-159, section 122(a)(4) of the Reid bill enacts a new section 922(t)(4)(B)(ii) of title 18 of the U.S. Code to direct Attorney General Eric Holder to issue regulations “requiring a record of transaction of any transfer that occurred between an unlicensed transferor and an unlicensed transferee.” The legislation does not define the term “record of transaction,” does not specify any limitations on who creates and who keeps the record of transaction, and does not explicitly incorporate the existing prohibition on a national firearms registry.

So it's not registration of your firearms, it's a record of the transaction, transferring the firearm from one person to another with both names being recorded.

Sure, Harry, I feel better already.

H/T to Gateway Pundit and Heritage for the detailed article.

QOTD - Guns

This from Colo Representative Diana DeGette:

 "I will tell you these are ammunition, they’re bullets, so the people who have those now they’re going to shoot them, so if you ban them in the future, the number of these high capacity magazines is going to decrease dramatically over time because the bullets will have been shot and there won’t be any more available."
                                                    CO State Rep. Diana DeGette (D)

The problem, as others have observed, is not that our elected officials seem to be able to count the neuron population of their brains on the fingers of one hand, but that there are people out there who vote for them.

Of course if you think of everything including your constituents as being disposable, I suppose the mindset expands to include the entire universe at some point.

UPDATE: It gets even better. After the obvious gaffe above, a spokesperson for Rep. DeGette was quick to offer some spin:

“The Congresswoman has been working on a high-capacity assault magazine ban for years, and has been deeply involved in the issue; she simply misspoke in referring to ‘magazines’ when she should have referred to ‘clips,’ which cannot be reused because they don’t have a feeding mechanism,"

I'm glad we got that straightened out.

PSA - Presidential Spiking Of The Football

From the NRA site:

Tomorrow, April 3, President Obama and Governor Hickenlooper will be promoting gun control at the Police Academy in Denver beginning at 2:30 pm.  We ask all Second Amendment supporters to join the NRA in protesting this event, and to stand and fight for the Second Amendment.

Although this event is closed to the public, we are asking that you attend and protest this event in Denver and respectfully let President Obama and Governor Hickenlooper know that you are strongly opposed to their anti-gun agenda.  Take a stand for the Second Amendment and let your voice be heard tomorrow.

Details for this event are provided below:

 Stand Up for the 2nd Amendment

 Date:  Wednesday, April 3

Time:  2:30 PM

Place: Denver Police Academy

           2155 North Akron Way

          Denver, CO 80238-3087 

Send a clear message to President Obama and Governor Hickenlooper that we will stand and fight for the Second Amendment!

Please spread this message to family, friend and fellow gun owners.  You are also encouraged to bring signs.

Finding Ammo

By using the technique of calling the stocking manager at 6:15 AM to find out if any ammo had arrived, then rushing across town to get in line just before 7 AM to be able to buy up to 3 boxes of whatever was available when it became available at 8 AM, I managed to score 3 boxes of .22LR, 333 count. I now have enough .22 to get through the year with e-postal matches, an Appleseed, and a trip to GBR this year.

It could be worse. Conneticut is enacting legislation that makes the state the final arbitrator of who gets to buy anything, including ammo:

Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, a Republican whose district includes Newtown, called the proposal "the most comprehensive package in the country because of its breadth".

It would create a registry of weapons offenders and require a new state eligibility certificate for the purchase a rifle, shotgun or ammunition.
Such a certificate would be issued after the buyer was fingerprinted, took a firearms training course and passed both a criminal background check and checks to see whether the person had been committed to a psychiatric hospital.
Criminal background checks would now be required of all prospective gun purchasers. Currently, federal law exempts so-called private transactions, which can include online sales and sales at gun shows.

Notwithstanding what Federal law may or may not allow, I seriously doubt if you can buy any gun at all at a Connecticut gun show without a background check. The lie just keeps being repeated.

The SCOTUS has ruled that if you are a disqualified person, you are not required to register your guns with the state as this would be self incrimination, so thugs and whack jobs can relax, the law only applies to the law-abiding.

Ammo Available

For those of you participating in the Special E-Postal match, Lucky Gunner has the ammo you need to make those long range, hard hitting shots:

I bet the recoil is ferocious.

April E-Postal

With the warmer weather, the insect life emerges from wherever its been hiding, and needs to be dealt with. This months e-postal is sponsored by the Conservative UAW guy and features that old standard, the fly shooter:

Go to the site and get the full-sized target. All the usual classes, plus class 7 for whatever you want. This target is a 20 round limit which should keep your total ammo bill down to under $100, depending on what you're shooting.

BTW: 20 rounds means 20 holes in the paper, so you can make up a clean miss, not that anyone would ever have such an occurrence.

Now all I have to do is find 20 rounds of .22LR.

Three Engineers Walk Into A Bar....

Good times and Hilarity ensue as Kevin the electrical engineer of Smallest Minority, Rich of Combs Spouts Off, Jed of Freedom Frontsight, (hope I got that right, it's currently inactive.), Carlos the non-blogging Civil Engineer and myself, mechanical engineer, walk into Baker Street Pub for English-themed food and beer.

Documentation being a strong point among engineers, no one thought to take any pictures, probably to maintain plausible deniability.

We'll be back tonight. Maybe there will be some evidence.

Poll Taxes and Black Codes

Cook County is proposing a $25 per gun tax on the purchase of firearms within Cook County to alegedly pay for the death, destruction, and mayhem they cause there. Frankly anyone who would be able to purchase a gun in Cook county is probably not going to use it to commit a crime.

This is not to say they might be buying it for someone who will, bit nobody's crystal ball is that good.

Here is Colorado we're going to get pretty much the same thing as private purchases now require a background check at a minimum cost of $10 to be paid to the CBI, who then uses the NICS system for free and relays the info back eventually. No word yet as to how much the gun shops will be allowed to add to this to cover their costs, but I'm guessing between $20 and $35 on top of the $10.

The purpose of gun laws has historically been to keep firearms out of the hands of undesirables, namely the poor blacks and  whites. Tacking on a stiff tax is an easy way to do this without appearing to single out any one group. Just the ones on the bottom of the food chain who probably need the protection the most.