2011 – Page 156 – Shall Not Be Questioned

Transformative Technologies

I was quite interested to see this article that British engineers want to try to print an entire aircraft wing, rather than fabricating it through traditional methods. This is a technology that should revolutionize industries where the products being made don’t need to be produced in huge quantities. Aircraft manufacturing could be among those industries. But another is firearms manufacturing. I’m particularly fascinated by selective laser sintering technology, which has the ability to lay down metal, ceramic and glass, in addition to plastics.

A friend of mine just got one of these 3D printers that lays down ABS plastic:

The cost of these printers is under $1000 bucks. If you’re looking for objects to print for your personal 3D printer you can go to the Thingiverse. Obviously home 3D printing is in its very infancy, but these products are bound to get cheaper and more sophisticated. Commercial printers can already lay down different types of material at the same time.

So why do I bring this up? Because to the extent that CNC technology has made gun control an unworkable pipe dream, 3D printing technology makes it laughable. When anyone with four to five figures worth of machinery can download plans for a gun and mill/print it, there is no controls you will create that’s going to stop determined people from getting their hands on firearms in a world where you can print them in your basement, unless the Brady Campaign wants to campaign for control of CNC milling machines and 3D printer. And yes, once you can print and mill guns, you can print and mill ammunition and magazines too. We already know we can have polymer ammo cases.

If Airbus can produce an aircraft wing using this technology, the Brady Campaign’s only “faster and cheaper” away from having their positions about banning this or banning that being a laughable mockery.

My NRA News Interview

I have not listened to it myself, because it’s like when you were a kid, and talked into the tape recorder, played it back, and thought “That doesn’t sound like me, that sounds awful.” I wonder what kids today talk into. Though it looks like the old style machines are still around.

Nobody Get Thrown Off The Lifeboat

I think sometimes it bears reminding, that this is a core tenet of protecting the Second Amendment. What does that mean? It means even though I do not shoot bullseye pistol, I respect people who participate in that sport and their right to do it. I believe their firearms are just as protected as mine. It means even though I do not hunt, I will support hunting and the right for individuals to own firearms for that purpose. And yes, even if I am personally wary of Open Carry as a method of activism, it means I support everyone’s right to do it legally, and will fight tooth and nail any bill to restrict it, and will support bills that repeal those restrictions. This means I will expend energy even fighting restrictions on shotguns in libraries. My appeal to those folks who are pushing that is, please don’t make me expend energy fighting restrictions on shotguns in libraries. We have better things to do than fight battles we don’t have to as a movement.

It’s fine for us to disagree about what is and what isn’t effective, but remember that nobody gets thrown off the lifeboat. As soon as we start advocating for laws that restrain each other, we’ve already lost.

Getting Your Wookie Suit On and Riding the Drama Llama

Robb has some worthwhile thoughts on the latest OC dustup:

ThereÂ is a big difference though in carrying a firearm and going about your business and carrying a firearm becauseÂ Dagnabbit! I want people to SEE ME! Riding on back of the Drama Llama does not help. Really. In my line of activism, the two results I want are people to see the pistol, but not become alarmed, or to miss it completely. What doesnâ€™t help is having too many people getting upset. Our actions are cumulative. Upset enough people enough times, and eventually you can turn someone who was at best ambivalent toward us hostile.

The real concern should be that there are OC bills currently in Florida, Texas, and Oklahoma, all of which are jeopardized when our opponents are able to point out that passage is going to mean people showing up to the local library with a 12 gauge. It’s one thing for them to throw that out there hysterically, it’s quite another when they can point out examples to legislators.

We need these bills. If I ever go visit Everglades National Park, or Big Bend National Park, I don’t really want to have to conceal if I’m walking the trails. I doubt I’m the only one who feels the same way.

Criminal Cartoons

I’m sorry, but this made me laugh out loud:

A wise reader wonders if the appearance of the PBS childrenâ€™s-series character â€œArthurâ€ at a press conference with House Democrats runs afoul of the Hatch Act. …

If the â€œArthurâ€ is a federal employee, the Hatch Act permits federal employees to â€œattend and be active at political rallies and meetings,â€ so that would seem to cover it. But the Hatch Act also prohibits â€engaging in political activity while in official uniform.â€ Obviously, this provision is most frequently applied to military personnel.

This sounds like the kind of discussion I would get into with friends after a few drinks. It’s silly to ponder on one hand, but as Geraghty points out, it still represents a problem of taxpayer-funded employees being used to lobby for more taxpayer funds. It happens all the time.

The Numbers Landscape for 2012

We have another US Senate race in Pennsylvania. With the incumbent Bob Casey being a fairly mild fellow, it could go either way. However, he should probably rethink his political brand just a bit with these numbers coming out today:

Sen. Bob Casey Jr. has a 44 – 24 percent approval rating, but even after four years in office, 31 percent of the state’s voters are undecided about him.

I guess the fact that nearly 1/3 of the electorate has no opinion on him after 4 years is not a completely bad thing. At the 7 month mark, not even his own staff knew if he was alive.

The True Cause of Gun Violence

It’s time for the Brady Campaign to close up shop. The Violence Policy Center can stop Googling their “research.” CeaseFire PA doesn’t need to put in the miles to drive to Harrisburg anymore. Why? Thanks to the insights of a teenager, we have identified the root problem of irresponsible & criminal behavior with guns.

A Super Bowl party being thrown by teenagers got out of hand in Brookline after fights broke out and a shot was fired, police said.

The juvenile who threw the party at his Creedmore Avenue home on Feb. 6 told Channel 11 News alcohol was being consumed at the party, but that it shouldnâ€™t have been there. …

â€œIf only the Steelers had won, none of this probably would have happened,â€ said the teen who threw the party.

That’s right, we can solve the problem of violence by making the Steelers win every single game. The shooting couldn’t possibly be blamed on teens who shouldn’t have been having a Super Bowl party with drinks to begin with. It’s also impossible to believe that the teen who fired the gun already had a warrant out for his arrest. A bunch of juvenile delinquents who won’t accept responsibility for any of their actions & view fighting as a reasonable solution to problems – nah, that couldn’t be to blame. It’s all on the Steelers.

Steven Hunter Interview on NPR

Author and journalist Steven Hunter appeared on Talk of the Nation to speak about the subject of magazine restrictions post-Tucson shooting.

Felonyspy

Find out who are the convicted felons in your neighborhood. I have no idea how accurate this data is, but I am not at all opposed to felony convictions being public record. I support efforts like this. The only thing that gives me pause is that many felonies shouldn’t be. But this site seems to show the charge, so I can decide whether or not I care whether my neighbor was convicted of importing lobsters in the wrong type of bag, or whether he molested ten year old girls in another state.

Apparently bogus.

Five Too Many

New Jersey already limits magazine capacity to fifteen rounds in magazines. Apparently some lawmakers think that having those five extra rounds is just too wild and crazy, and are proposing to reduce the arbitrary and ridiculous limit to ten.

Truth is, New Jersey is in the middle of the pack. Maryland is 20 rounds. New York is 10. New Jersey was in the middle. The even greater truth is these lines are totally arbitrary, and have nothing to do with public safety. This is just another opportunity for our opponents to get more law abiding un owners behind bars where they think we belong.