The Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth

Ridefast points out this bit of bigoted folks writing for the SF Chronically Incorrect getting all giggly in the wiggly about Barry Bonds becoming a spokesperson for Christiansen Arms.

Yesterday seems to have been a hayday for bigots to come out of the woodwork.

Paul “No Balls” Helmke blathers here about the Plaxico Burress incident. Want a couple excerpts? Too bad, I’m posting them anyway

What these incidents show is that some people who we’re led to believe are responsible, law-abiding gun owners – people like Plaxico Burress – can still exhibit dangerous behavior with firearms in public every day.

…..

Hopefully, we can all learn a lesson from this – guns are dangerous and gun ownership is a serious responsibility. Any one of us has the potential to make a mistake, get angry, or get drunk, which makes carrying loaded guns in public all the more dangerous for all of us. We all need to understand the risks and responsibilities that go with guns.

And I’m sure Helmke wants to be the one to tell us exactly what needs to be understood, with no other opinions allowed.

Even the NYT Editorial Board decided to step onto their soapbox for some slapping around of your Constitutional rights

The gun lobby has long intimidated politicians with its war chest and its trumpeted ability to deliver single-issue voters, especially in tight races. After this year’s election, those politicians should be far less afraid and far more willing to vote for sensible gun-control laws.

The National Rifle Association directed much money and bile against Barack Obama. In false, misleading and, fortunately, ineffective ads, fliers, mailers and Web postings, the group said that Mr. Obama posed a “clear and present danger” to Second Amendment rights and that his election would mean a gun ban.

Despite that harsh barrage, Mr. Obama won states with heavy gun ownership, including Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania. That success should send a signal to other politicians: consistency matters.

…..

And the N.R.A.’s poor showing was not just a single isolated event. A useful election analysis prepared by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence shows that its 2006 campaign effort also was a big flop.

We hope the trend continues. To fight crime and keep Americans safe, this country needs sound gun-control laws. To pass those laws as president, Mr. Obama will need strong Congressional support.

Ahh, yes! A new type of “Reasoned Discourse”. Where only your failed political opposites get to grade your performance.

As for that last paragraph, someone might want to ask St. Louis, MO Alderman, Charles Quincey Troupe, his opinion as to how folks should keep themselves safe

A city alderman frustrated with the police response to rising crime called Tuesday on residents to arm themselves to protect their lives and property.

Alderman Charles Quincy Troupe said police are ineffective, outnumbered or don’t care about the increase in crime in his north St. Louis ward. St. Louis has had 157 homicides in 2008, 33 more than last year at this time.

“The community has to be ready to defend itself, because it’s clear the economy is going to get worse, and criminals are getting more bold,” Troupe, 72, said Tuesday.

Troupe said that when he and residents approached a district police commander last year, they were told “there was nothing he could do to protect us and the community … that he didn’t have the manpower.”

Police did not immediately return requests for comment. Chief Dan Isom told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he understands Troupe’s frustration but doesn’t support citizens arming themselves.

Carrying guns, he said, is not a “recipe for a less violent community.”

Hey Chief, just you wait until a handful of dirtbags get hosed by homeowners. A couple more handfuls of dead dirtbags and you could be be out of a job.

Posted in Have Gun, Will Travel | 3 Comments

RNS Quote of the Day: 12/03/08

The final paragraph in a well written post

So in a show of good faith, I would like to see our federal leaders take the lead in fiscal accountability by refusing to accept a salary until, as they’ve demanded of the automakers seeking a bailout, they can demonstrate a plan to bring their enterprise into the black and repay their debt. Until then, Congress should just be grateful that, like the fat cat executives that they castigate, their pay is not determined by their performance, and avoid drawing undue attention to the fact with their hypocrisy.

Patrick Mulligan

RTWT

Posted in Quote of the Day | 2 Comments

Umm, what?

Michelle Malkin had a post up yesterday about this jackass-tivist in Miami who is moving vagrants into homes he knows to unoccupied because they are either under foreclosure or just for sale.

In the article, they quote a spokesperson for the City of Miami

There are no actions on the city’s part to stop this. It is important to note that if people trespass into private property, it is up to the property owner to take action to remove those individuals.

Now, I understand that the police don’t have time to go around neighborhoods checking to make sure that squatters aren’t holing up in unoccupied houses. And because government can fuck up a whorehouse, I wouldn’t want them to do that.

However, if a homeowner makes a complaint of squatters invading their unoccupied structure, and states that no one other than they, or in the case of a bank owned home, their employees, are allowed to be there, then surely the local precinct can pass this information on to their patrol officers. These guys keep lists of plate numbers posted to their visor, how about a list of addresses that have been reported to have had squatters?
Every address has its interactions with the police recorded in a database. The dispatch department has access to this database, or if the officer has a laptop in their cruiser, they can access it themselves.

Really, just how damn hard can it be to get this situation under control?

And if it is just that damn hard, how much force is a property owner allowed to use in Miami to evict these squatters? Does the City of Miami think it is easier to just wait for some homeowner to go too far so that they can arrest the property owner and not have to worry about complaints from that address any longer?

Posted in Color me confused | 4 Comments

Neato Burrito

Just a few quick links here.

Bob Owens fills us in on his six-month journey being a private citizen who CCW’s daily.

On May 13, I was awarded my concealed carry permit and decided to carry a handgun as often as I was legally allowed, where I was legally allowed, for as long as I felt like doing it. I was interested in finding out what it felt like to carry a gun, what was the best way to carry, and if the various legal hurdles would make it so impractical that I’d simply give up.

I was also curious about how carrying a gun might change the way I looked at the world. Did the mere act of carrying a gun mean I was paranoid? Would carrying a gun make me paranoid?

I was about to find out the answers to all these questions, but first I needed equipment in the form of guns, holsters, and ammunition. I contacted Smith & Wesson and told them of my plans, and they generously arranged to ship me a pair of handguns for a lengthy testing and evaluation period.

Damn! I wish I’d have thought of that. I’d start talks with STI.

———-

For you Californian gunnies, finally a plus!

Professor Eugene Volokh will be taking part in a gun policy debate opposite Charles Blek of The Brady Bunch this Friday at the Spark Wood Fire Grill on Peco Blvd. in L.A.

It is at noon, but I think it’d be well worth burning a day of sick leave for.

———-

And lastly, it appears that the Lakota People have gone and opened their own bank and are issuing metals backed currency.

If I hadn’t just bought a house I’d be snatching up as much of their very well priced silver coinage as I could possibly afford.

On a side note, is there anyone who can riddle me this:

Why haven’t the tribes opened up sporting goods stores? I’m of the idea that they could do without an FFL so long as the shop was on Nation property and that any BATFE bozos who wanted to write down the license plates for future harassment of the palefaces avoiding the federal registration process could be arrested.

At least, that is the way the tribes around here work their liquor and smokes business.

Posted in Color me confused, Kewel!, Uncategorized | 5 Comments

The Absurd File

Part 1: US National Absurdity

The Capitol Visitors Center

Plenty of critics have accused Congress of forgetting the Constitution from time to time.

But a constitutional scholar who has toured the new Capitol Visitor Center, a monument Congress built to itself which is to be dedicated Tuesday, goes even further, with exhibits that mangle the founding document by claiming constitutional backing for powers that are still very much in dispute.

Matthew Spalding, Director of the Center for American Studies at the Heritage Foundation, says the visitor center selectively cuts passages from the Constitution, weighing in on a long-running debate about the scope and limits of federal power by taking the liberal side of that debate, envisioning broad congressional powers that the founding fathers never intended.

“I started looking at this stuff and it’s just patently absurd,” he said. “The dominant message when you walk though the doors in this exhibit you’re hit with is the role of Congress is to fulfill our greatest aspirations. So the message you’re teaching these millions of visitors each year is the Constitution really isn’t what we thought it was, it’s the open-ended thing that’s up to Congress to decide what it means.”

The top leaders from each party in the House and Senate are expected to host an opening ceremony Tuesday morning for the new center.

Part 2: Global Absurdity

The International Court of Environmental Justice

Stephen Hockman QC is proposing a body similar to the International Court of Justice in The Hague to be the supreme legal authority on issues regarding the environment.

The first role of the new body would be to enforce international agreements on cutting greenhouse gas emissions set to be agreed next year.

But the court would also fine countries or companies that fail to protect endangered species or degrade the natural environment and enforce the “right to a healthy environment”.

The innovative idea is being presented to an audience of politicians, scientists and public figures for the first time at a symposium at the British Library.

Mr Hockman, a deputy High Court judge, said that the threat of climate change means it is more important than ever for the law to protect the environment.

Feel the dumb!

Posted in Dare To Be Stupid | 1 Comment

What looked good then

Doesn’t look so good now.

First, a little background on recycling: Someone picks up your recyclables from your curb. Said “Collector” takes them to a sorting plant (in some areas you are lucky enough to be able to just drop them off directly at said plant).

The plant sorts them into different grades of whatever commodity. Newspaper goes in a different pile than, say, your cereal box or your corrugated cardboard. Then there are the plastics, aluminum and other metals and glass (we won’t go into the recycling of concrete, wallboard/drywall, wood or other metals here to save space).

These commodities are then bundled into standardized bales, weighed and warehoused for sale. The metals are usually (though not always) kept local. Plastics and glass are usually regional (Gallo wines uses a lot of recycled glass). Paper and cardboard, on the other hand, usually get loaded into shipping containers for shipment to Asia so that your new DVD player can arrive in the US a box (we Americans are picky about that shit).

Like everything else, the prices for these commodities fluctuate with supply and demand.

Currently, the prices do sucketh.

Demand for new products is down and with communities across America instigating recycling programs, or in Seattle’s case, mandating recycling, the supply of the materials has risen exponentially.

Because government has decided that it is solely their job to figure out how the trash and recycle gets picked up, the local municipalities either have their own Solid Waste division or they contract out the work.

If said municipalities do their own collection, then they get the monies from the people willing to buy, sort and sell them (aka: the sorting plant folks). If the municipalities contract out the work, the collector then gets the money. Nearly always, the municipalities who contract out the collection work demand part of the proceeds from the collector as part of the contract. Some of them are even high minded enough to use part of those new dollars to offset the cost of collection.

Smart contractors set guidelines for a set amount of that commodities money. The municipalities get anything over the set amount. But if there is a fall in the market and the contractor cannot get that minimum amount for the commodity, the municipality has to pay the difference. Smart municipalities set aside money for those lean times.

Seattle is not one of those municipalities.

All the recycling that Seattle residents bent over and willingly let get mandated upon them “For Free!!!1!” is now going to cost each and every resident of the city.

Not much. Yet. Just a couple bucks a month for now.

But you know and I know that even when the recycled commodities markets pick up again, it’ll be a cold day in hell before those charges disappear. And for the rest of their lives as residents of the City of Seattle they will pay for the privilege of being forced to recycle at the point of a gun.

I’m so glad I don’t live in King County any more.

Posted in Freaks, Mutants, and Morons | 2 Comments

The Price for Power?

Just give up most of what you believe in.

Nominee would lead ID program she opposed

As governor of Arizona, Janet Napolitano, President-elect Barack Obama’s choice for homeland security secretary, pledged that her state would not cooperate with a major domestic security initiative, the Real ID drivers’ license program.

The program, which she would direct if confirmed as secretary, imposes stringent requirements on states for confirming the identity and legal residency of people who want drivers’ licenses. Ms. Napolitano said the law would impose huge costs on the states without reimbursement from Washington.

I’m sure that she will “see the light” of the program once behind the desk.

Posted in Useful Idiots | 1 Comment

You might be an idiot if….

You are an atheist resident of Washington State who thought that this was the best thing you could post in your state sponsored area of the capitol Christmas holiday display

There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.

Being a devout nihilist, I believe that that statement is true. I also believe it is an absolute insult to believers of any religion, and I damn sure wouldn’t demand space on a Christmas display so that I could say it.

I wonder, if there were a Mawlid al-Nabi (Birth of Muhammad) display, would this group of cheesedicks have the balls to: 1. Sue to get their “equal time”, and 2. Put something that insulting up?

Methinks not. Best for them to stick with insulting believers of a faith the preaches “Turn the other cheek.”

Posted in Too Stupid to Live | Leave a comment

Home Improvement

Three bedrooms and a Family Room later, I’ve had just about enough of painting. Unfortunately, I still have two stairways and a living room to go. I did discover that I don’t need a ladder to mask a ceiling and that I’m grateful my push-broom handle also threads into a paint roller handle.

The Wife’s dad and I also wired up three new electrical outlets in the garage for the Beer Fridge and other zap-juice needing items, and then installed one of them thar fancy designer faucets with the pull down nozzle in the kitchen for the missus. I’ll be moving stuff over every morning after work and after blogging, so if you only get two or three posts a day somedays, don’t be insulted; I’m just busy with homelife.

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Posted in Life in the Atomic Age | 1 Comment

Lies and Drivel

Those are the only two words I can think of to describe this OpEd from John Rosenthal of the ASHA in the Boston Herald

With the historic election of Barack Obama, the nation finally has an opportunity to enact sensible national gun policy. Obama should look to big cities, especially Boston, for guidance.

And it doesn’t get any more sensible or honest from there.

And with the terrorists attacks Mumbai, it makes his point even more insipid.

One of Glenn Reynolds’ readers had the temerity to suggest that a couple/few civilians with firearms would not have made any difference in the outcome.

Apparently he doesn’t know that the terrorists were committing their sick acts in groups of two to four, with unaimed fire from AK’s. Anyone with thirty seconds of warning and an ounce of practical firearms training who could spot and use hard cover to their advantage could have at least slowed the terrorists down enough to let more civilians escape the slaughter.

And if that person had just half the ability to control their emotions that this Marine showed, they could have stopped the bastards at that location.

I mean what person with any decent amount of practice wouldn’t be able to make this shot?

m03_17178483.jpg

Left first, then right.

Note: That is why you practice your weakside barricade shots.

Even a media professional was able to figure it out

Sebastian D’Souza, a picture editor at the Mumbai Mirror, whose offices are just opposite the city’s Chhatrapati Shivaji station, heard the gunfire erupt and ran towards the terminus. “I ran into the first carriage of one of the trains on the platform to try and get a shot but couldn’t get a good angle, so I moved to the second carriage and waited for the gunmen to walk by,” he said. “They were shooting from waist height and fired at anything that moved. I briefly had time to take a couple of frames using a telephoto lens. I think they saw me taking photographs but theydidn’t seem to care.”

…..

The militants returned inside the station and headed towards a rear exit towards Chowpatty Beach. Mr D’Souza added: “I told some policemen the gunmen had moved towards the rear of the station but they refused to follow them. What is the point if having policemen with guns if they refuse to use them? I only wish I had a gun rather than a camera.”

Which is probably the reason I can’t stop wondering why Mr. Rosenthal keeps asking for more gun control and not for terrorist control.

Both ideas are about equal in idiocy, except that the latter idea isn’t trying to lend a personality and motive to an inanimate object.

Posted in By Ourselves, For Ourselves, Have Gun, Will Travel | 6 Comments