Caleb is wrapping things up with Bianchi Cup, and looks like he might be on NRA News tonight. I will be sure to tune in. I’ll see if I can confirm with Cam whether he’ll be able to fit Caleb in, and if so, what segment he’ll be on. Looks like women shooters are pretty well represented at The Cup, and hey, Caleb did pretty well on the mover.
Month: May 2009
Notice What’s Missing?
The President is speaking about signing the Credit Card Bill that’s on his desk this morning.  Here’s the excerpt from the speech:
And later this afternoon, I’ll sign bipartisan legislation that protects consumers from the unfair rate hikes and abusive fees levied by many credit card companies.
This is, by his past record, the most anti-gun president in our nation’s history. Will the Bradys even get a signing statement out of him?  An acknowledgment that there’s at least something in this bill that doesn’t meet with his approval?
This might be a two bottle three day weekend for the Brady folks if his statement here is any indication of what he might say when he signs it. Because as someone in the comments over at SayUncle pointed out, the Brady’s would have been better off if they had just left the existing rule alone. Now it’s legislation, and more liberal than the original rule. That’s much harder to undo.
More Smoking Bans
Looks like Wisconsin is the latest state to jump on the smoking ban bandwagon. Pennsylvania has one now too, but at least there’s exceptions for bars, and other places people can expect people would be smoking, like Cigar shops.
Wisconsin’s bill is a lot worse, but it does exempt Indian reservations, so take your wampum to your local Indian Casino and smoke all you want while you gamble. I knew this issue was pretty much lost when North Carolina passed a smoking ban. North Carolina!?!? Hello!
Local Coverage of NRA Meeting
Dave Adams has a video of some of the local news coverage of NRA’s event in Phoenix. Local coverage, I’m told, was almost universally positive. Phoenix has been particularly hard hit by the economic downturn, and I think they are happy just to have the money.
The Sad Panda Tour Continues
Paul Helmke is talking to the Akron Beacon Journal:
Helmke said President Obama’s administration has been supportive of his group’s calls for reform.
”We need activists. I have 30 employees, the NRA [National Rifle Association] has 600,” Helmke said.
We’ll have to see how supported he feels when President Obama signs the Credit Card Bill with the National Park concealed carry reforms in it. I am very confident the President will sign. The thing to bet on is whether the signing statement mentions the carry issue at all. I’d put my money on no. He’ll want to play down his own party forcing him to sign a bill expanding concealed carry.
Another thing is, NRA has a lot of employees, yes, but Helmke should remember that NRA has shooting sport programs to run. Not to mention a working museum, and thousand of clubs and associations to interact with. NRA-ILA does not constitute all 600 of those employees. I’d wager they don’t constitute 1/3rd of total employees.
There is no sport of protesting guns, no mater how much the Paul Helmke wishes it were so. Wouldn’t it be amusing though? Perhaps his sad panda demeanor is the reason he’s adopting our own rhetoric:
”This is a public-safety issue and a public-health issue,” Helmke said. ”Guns don’t kill people. People kill people. Guns don’t fire by themselves.”
That one is so old, it’s risen to the level of cliche by this point, but I’m glad that Paul has at least come around to this.
The Pie Bill Continues in Pennsylvania
Lawmakers here are continuing to push a bill tha twould exempt non-profits from food inspection requirements.
“Food prepared in a private home can only be used if that facility is licensed/registered and inspected by the department,” state regulations say. The department adopted retail food rules in 2003 to keep pace with changing food science.
“One-third of all food-borne illnesses come from private fundraisers,” said Bill Chirdon, director of the Bureau of Food Safety and Laboratory Services at Agriculture.
No mention of how many people each year become ill through interactions with overzealous bureaucrats.
As word of the pie bust at St. Cecilia spread, a Pittsburgh nun who has used bake sales to raise money “from Connecticut to Harlem to Ohio” said she was prepared to show inspectors what they could do with the rule book if they show up at her church.
I’m going to bet if state health inspectors went to Catholic school, and in this state there’s a good chance they did, they are going to take a pass on St. Cecilia. In fact, if you get the nun up to the Capitol to lobby for the bill, I’m going to bet it passes post haste.
Specter Getting Snubbed on Dem Endorsements?
Arlen Specter has to be a sad panda too these days:
After fiercely lobbying Specter to make the switch, Rendell himself has been uncharacteristically silent on the issue. He issued a relatively tepid statement more than a day after Specter made his announcement, and has yet to appear publicly with the Senator.
Fast Eddie is going to want to see whether the horse has any life in him before he bets on it. If the grassroot dems keep demanding a competitive primary, that might be a wise move. Surely Rendell understands Specter’s value in holding a seat for Democrats, but Rendell surely would prefer someone in the seat that’s more left too.
Steele Outraising Democrats
The Republicans seem to have a pretty good fundraising advantage. Now if only they can find a message that will actually make people want to vote for them.
Front Sight Update
Looks like Dr. Iggy has seven days to pony up 600 large from his wallet, to avoid the federal courts seizing Front Sight.
Government Looking to Regulate Blogs
The FTC says we have a credibility problem, and clearly they must do something. Apparently other bloggers are being given free stuff to review. I think the bigger problem is I’m not getting nearly enough free stuff to review.