The Gun Control Debate

Using the word "debate" rather charitably here, here's a clip of S.E. Cupp debating with 4 antis on a TV news show. As was noted, 4:1 odds seem a bit steep, and keeping abreast of the arguments and countering them as they come up is very difficult.

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The lead man for the antis is Dan Gross, current front man for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Ownership Violence. His position is that for an extra $12 added to the price of  any newly manufactured gun, shell casings and bullets can then be quickly traced back to the guns registered owner.See? Registered guns, and the owners pick up the tab for the registration.

The point being missed here is the bit about registration of the gun to a specific owner. One might as well suggest that if you buy a gun, the gun would not only be registered to you, but the guns serial number be tattooed on your arm. Should you give up your gun, the number would be struck through, showing that you're probably unarmed, but nevertheless a person of interest.

Mr Gross denies that he favors confiscation, but if you go back to the previous incarnation of his group, Handgun Control, the founders there were forthright about their desire to confiscate every gun in the country. Their idea of compromise was to grab the hand guns first.

The other item not touched on was the follow-up to registration, which is the annual renewal that would be required, and the ever-increasing cost of said renewal. Some states have this already.

The Future Of Transportation - Toys

Toyota is experimenting with a plastic-bodied electric car aimed at the child market in the hopes that it will inspire the incipient drivers to buy the real thing when they get old enough for a drivers license.

 

An interesting marketing ploy. The vehicle seats 3 and goes 25 mph. I'd want at least an acre before I'd let a kid drive something like that around, especially with 2 other kids in the back seats.The styling shown here must be something uniquely appealing to Japanese sensabilities.

 Over here one can purchase street legal golf carts with the styling of anything from a CJ Jeep to a Rolls Royce. I have seen 2 dealerships for them, but have yet to see one tootling down the street.

Gun Control

Why is Chicago more dangerous than Mogadishu? Because they have better gun control. Actually if Moga City has any gun control laws at all, it would seem they are roundly ignored.

Why does Detroit have the highest justifiable homicide rate in the country? Because it has the highest population of people who need killin' I guess. Also somewhat more lenient gun control laws.

Note that in Chicago where no one's allowed to have a gun, it's thug-on thug shooting with associated collateral damage. In Detroit, it's the citizens defending themselves from the thugs.

Gun control: It's not about guns, it's about control.

Aerospace Workers Union to Organize the Unemployed

An offshoot of the International Aerospace Workers union has announced it will be organizing the unemployed. Don't take these folks threats to stay off the job idly, they surely mean business.

I imagine the structure thusly:
The unemployed unionize, and the union bosses threaten that if their demands are not met, they will fail to show up at the polls this November.
Frightened pols accede to the demand that unemployment benefits be raised by an amount equal to the union dues. The unemployed are told of the increase.
The deal stipulates that the dues will be paid directly to the union by the government. The unemployed will see no change in their check sizes.
The union will spread the money around among friendly pols who promise to raise the unemployment benefits. Dues, which are based on a percentage of the bennies, increase as well, but since no one sees them except the union, no one will miss them.

Both the union and the pols benefit from having high unemployment.

Indiana To Allow Shooting Of Politicians

That's the good news. The bad news is that the law was apparently written by the same pack of bozos who write all the rest of them. From AlGov:

Police officers in Indiana are upset over a new law allowing residents to use deadly force against public servants, including law enforcement officers, who unlawfully enter their homes. It was signed by Republican Governor Mitch Daniels in March.

Now I don't advocate shooting cops without a really good reason, and getting pulled over for 40 over in a school zone is not a good reason, no matter how many beers you've had. What probably happened here is that a perfectly good law allowing citizens to shoot politicians ran afoul of the equal protection clause of the constitution which forbids giving anyone special privileges.

Update: The law addresses a bad state Supreme Court decision and sets things back the way they were. Radly Balko has the details.

Nature, Red in Tooth and Claw

Nothing like a good video of the fanged predator running down the fleet, but doomed cute furry prey right?

O.K. it's not a cheetah pulling down a Gazelle, but you've seen that one a million times already.

Early Polls

Given that polls this far in advance of an election can afford to produce whatever answer the person or group paying for it desires, bring a dab of salt along but here's one that has Romney carrying the nations biggest bastion of union voters, Michigan.

Of course it's possible that the loyal UAW guys were thinking of Mitt's father, George, who made American Motors the jobs powerhouse it is today.

QOTD

You know it will happen, because any interaction with government wherein a civilian says, "No" eventually ends with guns in the civilian's face.

Silicone Graybeard

SWATting Flies

Referencing the post below, the feds probably can't do anything about the practice unless the fake phone call came from across a state line. In any other case, the crime is strictly a local beef like filing a false report. Still, if it draws attention to the practice, that's probably a good thing and might encourage some of your local Reps and Sens to sponsor legislation making the practice a big-time felony.

Dropping them a line or a note suggesting this is a good start.

Going Postal

Saxby Chandlis has asked the Holder DOJ to investigate the practice of SWATing conservative bloggers, faking a phone call describing a shooting at the bloggers home. The practice brings out the SWAT team, guns drawn, looking for a shooter.

I expect the DOJ to pursue this with the same enthusiasm as they did the NBPP voter intimidation action in Pennsylvania, or the busing of Michiganders into Wisconsin for the Walker recall.

Meantime, the first entry in the 2012 e-Postal match seems to be shaping up:

This from Day-by-Day.

Update: The Broxton Bridge Plantation has 3 points so far, and Damon from Day by Day seems to have 1150 points in the fantasy division.

Urban Farming

The peaches are now easily noticeable from the back porch, and there is a noticeable absence of once-bitten green peaches on the ground. The squirrel trap has netted me somewhat more than 20 of the tree rats in the last 3 weeks, and the big problem is what to do with the bodies when you're looking at 6 very hot days between offing one and trash day.

Indispensable addition to the trap is a 5-gallon bucket with a lid in which a kitchen bag will hold your weekly catch and keep the odor down. Squirt a little insecticide in it and you're good to go.

Election Day

In Wisconsin, where the outcome isn't in all that much doubt, at least at the top of the ticket. Still, with the polls open a bare 4 hours, the Dems are crying in their beer over alleged phone calls telling Dems that if they signed the recall petition, they don't need to actually vote in the election.

This is right up there with telling them that Republicans will be voting today, and Dems will be voting tomorrow. Paying for a recall election: $60M. Having constituents too stupid to vote: Priceless.

Still, despite squeals about voter suppression, Madison claims to be on track to show 119% turnout. Shades of Baghdad, but up there, the game actually permits this.

If you can't provide leadership, at least provide entertainment.

Update: It gets better, The Unions were bringing in busloads of Michigan residents to inflate the vote for their side. One of the bus riders ratted them out to a radio show.  No word on weather the plot was foiled or if the union police sided with the Dems.

Meanwhile the buses must be behind schedule as the Dems have sued to have the polls in heavily Dem areas kept open late.

Vote fraud? Sure! And not even subtle.

On the other hand, if the margin is big enough, even the best cheating doesn't carry the day.

Headline Fun

What if America had a queen?

Dude, we've got thousands of them.

Gun Show

 Worked today's gun show on behalf of the Colorado Shooting Sports Association, mostly selling raffle tickets for an M1 Garand. Chat with the people, and pass on information.

Shooting buddy stopped by wearing a well-worn "shoot-me-first" vest which we kidded him about and Booth Partner showed off his own sartorial contribution, a vest long enough to be worn in public by a devout mullah, and containing, by his count, 23 pockets, at least two of which were clear plastic fronted so as to show off your hidden I.D. card.

There was a pocket specifically for a pen, containing a pen, one that nicely held a speedloader, 5 rounds, to a gun he wasn't carrying, and at least one which at one time held a magazine to a .45, which he was carrying, but which had transferred the magazine to the lower parts of the vest lining through a hole he could not find.

Manipulating the vest, we could see the magazine through the mesh liner but couldn't figure out how the thing had gotten in there. Perhaps the vest maker should consider a zip-in liner. Booth buddy was advised by several people not to use the vest as a magazine holder for IDPA shooting. A fairly amusing time was had by all.

Gosh, this is a whole lot more fun than kvetching about politics!

Gun Fun - E-Postal

2-fers weekend this weekend. You can shoot the Milles Bourne match from Sand Castle Scrolls, and you can shoot some billiards over at Random Nuclear Strikes.

This one is tiny, just like you'd see it at 7 yards. Go over to RNS and download the real one, which is slightly larger.

Sand Castle has extended the deadline on account of the month ending so close to a weekend, and RNS has already done the same so if you like to procrastinate, you'll be able to shoot the pool balls plus whatever the July match is on July 7th

The billiards match is a "shoot until you miss" match with a maximum score of 7 since you get to shoot odds or evens. This is a great ammo saver as I'll miss on the first shot, get lucky and hit the second, then miss the third, rendering the target UN-submittable as you're only allowed one miss. Kinkos, on the other hand, will love this as I'll have to put up about a dozen targets to get one I can send in for each gun.