Dick’s Will Probably Exit the Gun Business

Dick’s Earnings are interesting, but it shows our boycott is having an effect.

Dick’s earnings weren’t as bad as expected, even thought their gun and hunting business is hurting. My guess is that Dick’s will leave that line of business as sales in that area continues to flounder. I’d note that earnings beat expectations, which were low. Their earnings are the same as they were in Q1 of 2016 on about the same revenue. I’m wondering how much of their surprise has to do with online sales, which grew quickly, and may have prevented a loss. Same store sales being down means our boycott is having an effect, and Dick’s admits that’s a result of a decline in sales of our items.

I’m not sure this is the story their CEO and the media are making it out to be. Certainly I’m not going to spin this as good for us: Dick’s doesn’t have a history of beating Q1 expectations. It’s interesting that analysts lowballed them by 9 cents a share over the previous year. Q1 estimates for Dick’s have, generally speaking, been pretty spot on. Anyone have any idea how these earnings estimates get decided? How many people are involved? How much influence would someone like Bloomberg and his associates have on the process? I’m not ready to put my tin foil hat on yet, but I’m curious. Because setting up low expectations for Dick’s on purpose to achieve a PR coup would be something I’d do if I were Bloomberg and could pull it off. Just sayin’.

If same store sales keeps dropping, that will hurt Dick’s in the long run. So get the word out.

More Radical Proposals from Democrats

Eric Swalwell on Tucker Carlson says he doesn’t want to confiscate your guns, just force you to surrender them in a mandatory buyback, or keep them at your gun club, which no doubt you all belong to, and which no doubt has plenty of secure space to store thousands of guns …

Eric Swalwell on Tucker Carlson:

I’m not calling for a confiscation. What I’m saying is we should invest in buyback, that we should restrict any weapons that aren’t bought back to gun clubs, hunting clubs, shooting ranges. Keep them there, where it’s safe. Not on our streets. And if you were caught, just like you were caught, you know, with drugs, or anything else, or they have probable cause to go in your home and you have one of these weapons, yeah. You’d be prosecuted. I’ve never suggested sending troops out and collecting and confiscating–

If we just call it a buy back, and make it mandatory, it’s not confiscation! Sure, we’ll “criminally prosecute all — criminally prosecute any who refuse — choose to defy it by keeping their weapons,” but you gun nuts are crazy to think anyone here is talking about taking your guns.

And where are all these gun and hunting club that clearly all shooters and hunters must belong to? And clearly they are all set up to store thousands of firearms? He doesn’t have a clue. My club is starting to get inundated with requests from New Jersey members who would like the club to provide storage so that they can keep all their soon to be illegal stuff in Pennsylvania. But we don’t have the resources or security level to provide for on-site storage of firearms. Neither do most other clubs. I’ve heard this from people before who assume it’s practical. They don’t know anything about the culture and even less about guns.

And I trust the American people are law-abiding, that their weapons can be bought back or keep them at a gun club. You don’t have to give them up. Just keep them at a gun club.

No. That won’t work. Even if we were willing, which we are not. Absolutely 100% non-negotiable. This is basically saying you can have guns, but only if you never use them for self-defense.

Good Guy With a Gun

Our opponents have argued and would argue that this guy didn’t stop a mass killing, because it was stopped before it reached the definition of mass killing …

Our opponents have argued and would argue that this guy didn’t stop a mass killing, because it was stopped before it reached the definition of mass killing. But that hardly matters, since the headline is going around, and people know better. The quickest way to stop a mass shooting in progress is well-placed return fire.

Thursday News Dump

All the news that’s fit to link…

I’ve been very busy, so please forgive the light posting. On top of being busy with a project at work, it’s dues time for my club, and I’ve been dealing with banks to get ready for online invoicing and payment by credit cards for the first time. It’s not as bad as closing on a house, but it’s easier to buy a new car. Banks want you to sign over your first born for all this stuff. In fact, if they put that in some of the fine print, I might not notice.

I need to clean my tabs out though, so here goes:

Jimmy Kimmel called out for “White Privilege” on gun control. Make them live up to their own rules. And yes, gun control disadvantages poor minorities more than it disadvantages middle class white people. In the past, and arguably still today, that’s been its primary purpose.

Canada doesn’t have enough gun control, according to the people who advocate for gun control.

Tam: “Misunderstanding Self-Defense: Practical

Clayton Cramer has some video of Bloomberg Bloomberging. Smartest strategic move Everytown has made is pushing him into the background and using him as a wallet rather than a face. What we need to do, conversely, is make sure everyone knows Everytown is Mike Bloomberg. I won’t mention them without his name if I can help it.

Minneapolis Star Tribune: “Liberal Maplewood millennial isn’t your typical gun rights advocate: ‘We’re normal people’” Note: “She left the NRA when it created ads she felt were polarizing, alienating and ‘extreme right wing.'” I’m not convinced that NRA is going to rethink the Angry Dana strategy, as long as their membership keeps growing. I think that has more to do with the shrillness of our opponents, but it’s hard to convince a civic organization to change course when they aren’t hurting for members.

Well, this will certainly harsh some narratives. The FBI: “Armed and unarmed citizens engaged the shooter in 10 incidents. They safely and successfully ended the shootings in eight of those incidents … Their selfless actions likely saved many lives.”

Boulder passed an assault weapons ban, and are now being sued in federal court. Colorado seems to have preemption, but my understanding is that the courts there have weakened it severely.

Reason has a pretty good article on “Assault Weapons,” most of it old hat to most of us, but some interesting bits I hadn’t heard, but are hardly surprising: “According to a Reason-Rupe survey conducted around the time that Feinstein introduced her 2013 bill, about two-thirds of Americans mistakenly thought ‘assault weapons’ fire faster than other guns, hold more rounds, or use higher-caliber ammunition. The respondents who harbored these misconceptions were especially likely to say such guns should be banned.”

It was disappointing to see a lot of assholes on our side of the issue giving this reporter shit in the comments: “Shooting an ‘assault weapon’ helped me understand the gun debate

The Detroit News: “Dick’s walks risky line on guns.” I’m not big on boycotting as a tactic, but I’ll never set foot in another Dick’s again. I’ll cheer when they finally finish circling the bowl.

The Federalist: “Our rights aren’t contingent on a cost-benefit analysis. Whether guns are risky isn’t the point, but whether guns are a reasonable means of self-defense.

The Swedes are preparing for war, with Ivan getting frisky again: “[W]e will never give up. All information to the effect that resistance is to cease is false.” There’s an old story, maybe it’s true, that during WWII the German Ambassador said to the Swiss Ambassador: “You have half a million men under arms. We could send a million men over the pass into your country, and what would you do then?” The Swiss Ambassador responded: “We’d tell our men to shoot two Germans before going home.”

Professor Pleads Guilty to Vandalism of Chris Cox’s House

I remember reading about the Cox residence getting vandalized, and reading this professor saying “People need to stop treating these predatory, sick people like they’re just a neighbor.” while also state she never did anything illegal. Well, I guess not …

I remember reading about the Cox residence getting vandalized, and reading this professor saying “People need to stop treating these predatory, sick people like they’re just a neighbor.” while also state she never did anything illegal. Well, I guess not. From the Cox’s attorney:

“We are pleased that today Ms. Hill was criminally convicted of vandalism for her January attack on the Cox’s home, that she was charged with a second count of vandalism for an attack on the Cox family home in October 2017, and that a restraining order was entered against her. The Cox family is grateful to the Commonwealth Attorney’s office and the Alexandria Police Department for their role in holding Ms. Hill accountable for her criminal conduct. We look forward a second conviction for Ms. Hill at her next criminal trial.”

What a loon. I think that “red gel-like substance” has gone to her brain.

Taking Back Vermont

Can gun owners take back Vermont? If the answer is yes, the first step is to sink Phil Scott’s political career …

Can Gun Owners Take Back Vermont? Vermonters really really need to make sure Phil Scott is punished:

Dick Wobby, one of Scott’s closest friends and political advisers, recognizes the similarities and concedes that if conservatives revolt and moderates stay home, the governor could lose a primary challenge. But he’s skeptical that gun-rights activists, whom he characterizes as “a bunch of radical, gun-toting individuals,” are as potent a political force as they appear.

“They’ve got a base of what? One hundred people? One hundred fifty people?” Wobby said. “When you really look at it, their rallies and groups are not growing. They’re diminishing rapidly.”

This is utter betrayal. Bloomberg talking points, through and through. This is what Everytown has been trying to convince politicians. And you know what? If we sit on our asses and do nothing; just sit back and lament how awful they all are, Bloomberg will be proven right. It’s vitally important to vote against Scott every chance you get. Help out his opponents. This is one of those situations: “I don’t care how you do it, you must sink the Bismarck.” Phil Scott’s political career is the Bismarck. He can’t win re-election. If Vermonters want to save their state, you need to start here.

The Final Indignity for the Departing New Jersey Gun Owner

I had no idea this was a requirement. New Jersey screws you as a gun owner even if you leave!

From Evan Nappen, foremost authority on New Jersey gun laws:

Moving out of New Jersey? You still must do a “Change of Address” on your NJ Firearms Purchaser ID Card within 30 days of moving to your new out-of-state residence. (Jersey issues non-resident FPICs.) You may also choose to voluntarily surrender your FPIC. Failure to take action is a crime of the 3rd Degree. Max of 5 years in NJ State Prison for non-compliance. You can be criminally charged and extradited back to NJ.

The bridge tolls to get out are hella expensive too.

Privacy Policy

The European Union’s deadline for GDPR compliance are fast approaching. This is the regulation where they claim if you’re storing data about EU citizens, they get to dictate your policies, or else. So I decided it was time to ensure this web site had an appropriate privacy policy.

I Prefer a Straight Fight to All This Sneaking Around

From Esquire Magazine:

So now I’m angry. Now I’m finished trying to reason with you. So now I, a guy who was ambivalent about guns just a few years ago, want to take your guns away. All of them. I want to take them all and melt them down and shape them into a giant sphere and then push it at you so you have to run away from it like Indiana Jones for the rest of your lives. I want Ted Nugent to roam the halls of his gunless house, sighing wearily until he dies. I want to end this thing once and for all, so that all of you who have prioritized the sale of guns over the lives of children have to sit quietly and think about what you’ve done. God help me, I want to take all of your guns out of your hands, by myself, right now.

Well, what are you waiting for skippy?

Down the Memory Hole?

It was looking like the school shooting in Texas had all the hallmarks of going down the memory hole. I have a policy of not mentioning the killer’s name, but I’m just going to say, if you plan to shoot your way to the top of the news cycle and become a household name, don’t have some Greek name that no one can spell or pronounce, unless you live in Greece. If that kid planned to become a household name, he failed out of the gate with that name. Also, Royal Wedding the next day.

The killer used a shotgun and revolver, not an evil AR-15. Of course, USA Today notes that the killer used “less lethal” firearms, even going so far as, without a hint of irony, noting that “less lethal” weapons were used at Virginia Tech to kill 32 people. We got some narratives to preserve here!

In truth, against unarmored individuals, there’s hardly anything more deadly than a 12 gauge shotgun. Well, maybe a 10 gauge shotgun. I believe our opponents aren’t going to go whole hog on this one, for a couple of reasons:

  • As I mentioned, the news cycle isn’t good for them. You have a lot of things competing for headlines.
  • The weapons used don’t fit the narrative. Their use reinforces our point that the firearms few want to ban are still quite deadly. We keep saying, banning AR-15s won’t stop mass shootings. This shows that’s true. Even if you banned all semi-automatic firearms, you’ll still have school shootings, as this kid shows.
  • People’s emotional batteries haven’t had a chance to recharge after Parkland. You can’t keep people jacked up to 11 all the time. Social media has definitely made that easier, but most people who are soft allies don’t have the energy to keep it up all the time.
  • Didn’t happen in a swing state.

Glenn Reynolds asks, “After Texas school shooting, how can we inoculate ourselves against the next one?

But the school shootings are just a warning. In his novel Rainbows End, science fiction writer Vernor Vinge writes about “research trends that could ultimately put world-killer weapons into the hands of anyone having a bad hair day.”

That novel is set in 2025, and we’re already not so far from the scenario of someone cooking up a nasty plague in his or her garage. We need to think about what causes people to behave in violent and destructive ways, and how to fix it, while there’s still time.

Read the whole thing.

Speaking of not going whole hog, I’m also seeing evidence that the gun control movement is trying to hook David “Camera” Hogg off the stage and replace him with a more affable Parkland Kid. I’m sure Everytown and the Hollywood people who were managing Hogg probably realized what a liability that kid was almost from the moment they pulled the trigger and realized there was no recalling that particular bullet. I would not have wanted their jobs. You want kids that are comfortable in the spotlight, but not ones that serve up megalomania, with a healthy dose of Hitlerjunge imagery on the side. But you have play the cards you’re dealt, and while they had to play Hogg, we have Ted Nugent. So I suppose it’s even.