People who shoot large caliber rounds need to grok that those rounds can travel great distances and still remain dangerous. We don’t need stories like this. Especially with Obama looking to crap on gun owners.
Year: 2008
Quote of the Day
Via Instapundit, on the markets tanking, and China’s fear of a retreat from free trade principles:
If even the Communists worry about Obama’s violation of free trade principles, I think it’s reasonable to put failure to assuage the fears of those who expect and rely upon a free market squarely on his shoulders.
Even the communists are nervous :)Â Â Strange times indeed.
Price Signals
I wonder if this was the kind of “price signal” Obama was talking about. I would like to get a few AR lowers, but I doubt I’ll be able to find any. For the most part, I have what I want. I’d like something in .308 at some point. I suppose I should start thinking about that very soon. For now, I’m going to wait out the panic buying. I doubt we’ll see a new AWB at the top of The Lightworker’s agenda. Pretty clearly we’re on the list of right-wing loons to be gored, but I think economic issues will dominate his first 100 days.
We Knew This Was Coming
Is the NRA still relevant? They couldn’t defeat Barack, so clearly they must be. They point out that sportsmen turned out for McCain at the same rate they turned out for Bush in 2004. Here’s what the politicians need to understand: no gun control. Unless they want us to turn out in 2010 like we did in 1994. There won’t be any Lightworker driving Democrat turnout then.
It’s Change You Can Believe In
Already on his transition platform:
Address Gun Violence in Cities: As president, Barack Obama would repeal the Tiahrt Amendment, which restricts the ability of local law enforcement to access important gun trace information, and give police officers across the nation the tools they need to solve gun crimes and fight the illegal arms trade. Obama and Biden also favor commonsense measures that respect the Second Amendment rights of gun owners, while keeping guns away from children and from criminals who shouldn’t have them. They support closing the gun show loophole and making guns in this country childproof. They also support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent, as such weapons belong on foreign battlefields and not on our streets.
Pretty much the Brady agenda. Elections have consequences folks. It won’t have a sunset this time.
UPDATE: The old version disappeared for a while. The new version is here.
Last Minute Housekeeping?
Looks like Bush might be fixing the National Park issue for us on the way out the door. Pity it’ll probably get undone by Obama, but hey, elections have consequences.
Looking Ahead
The time to start thinking about 2010 is now. Dr. Helen is off to a good start. Sadly, her commenters are decending into a fever swamp. Dr. Helen asks:
Perhaps if conservatives and libertarians work together to defeat a few Democrats and keep Republicans in place, 2010 will be a more welcoming place for us. Anyone out there with any concrete ideas on how to go about doing this–other than the obvious such as putting up and running websites like EvanBayhwatch.com etc?
I think most of the Democrats up for Senate are pretty safe, unless the next two years are an unmitigated disaster (which they could be). We should probably focus our energies on The House. What libertarian/conservative folks need to be doing is getting the two magic keys to relevance in politics: money and votes. There has been talk about growing a “Rightroots” movement. I will have more thoughts on this later. I do think the blogosphere needs to get more involved in political action. If all the right blogosphere ever does is highlight news, and bounce ideas around between ourselves, we’ll just be chattering while the progressives are destroying the country.
If we want people to listen, if we want to be relevant, then we have to work. No one will listen to you if all you can offer are ideas. Ideas are like assholes, everybody has one. Votes and money are a different thing. If you can bring those to the table, politicians will listen.
Gun Nutty Election Night
I don’t care who you are, this is hilarious.
History News Network on the NRA
This is a pretty good article on why the National Rifle Association was founded:
To him, what counted was accuracy: Soldiers needed to learn how to hit their targets with the minimum number of bullets. This wasn’t just about being able to hit a bullseye at 300 yards with a rifle. Such marksmanship went hand-in-hand with other typically American virtues. Good shots required coolness under fire; steely self-discipline; familiarity with such high-tech implements as telescopic sights, windage indicators, and ballistic instruments; a determination to improve themselves by constant training; and independence of thought and action. In Europe, where the ideology of mass-firepower had long held sway, soldiers were still treated as dull, disposable automatons and subjected to fearsome discipline to flog out any remnants of individual initiative. Civil War generals had fallen beneath the European spell; Church wanted to “re-Americanize” warfare.
Yes. This is still a gun blog :)  Read the whole thing.
Where McCain Went Wrong
McCain did himself a favor when he selected Palin as his running mate. The base immediately fell in love with her, but the subsequent media lynching, I think, subdued the enthusiasm, particularly on the heels of some poorly thought out interviews she pretty clearly wasn’t ready for. I think the base still adores Palin, but she needs to gain a bit more expeirence under her belt before she returns to national politics.
You can blame Bush for this one, but Republicans, and center-right Independents have spent the last eight years having to carry the White House’s water on the Iraq War, because the White House was not able to competently handle mistakes, missteps, and difficulties. We also spent the past eight years watching a President not only fail to articulate and make the case for conservative values, but one who wouldn’t deliver them either.
But McCain’s biggest gaffe, I think, was in the debates. The debates were all scripted talking points, which tended to work in Obama’s favor. Obama is comfortable when he’s able to work off of talking points. Conservatives wanted to see McCain go after Obama, articulate against his policies, and make the case for conservatism. I think McCain largely failed on that count, and not in a small way. Conservatives, faced with the prospect of another soft, inarticulate candidate, seem to have decided to stay home in relatively large numbers this election. The next Republican candidate will need to be able to carry the message. Obama is popular among the left and center-left because he can do that with great skill. Reagan was popular for largely similar reasons. I have to wonder how many conservatives actually saw McCain as just another inarticulate non-conservative, and decided to stay home.