Author: Sebastian

Gun Trafficking in New Jersey

Thanks to reader Chuck, who sent me this while I was in Virginia, and I am not just getting around to posting, we have a look into the world of black market gun trafficking in New Jersey:

Milgram said Kinston, who was out on parole on an eluding conviction, managed to lead hundreds of gang members across the state despite being monitored with a locator bracelet as a condition of his prison release in January.

However, on Aug. 16, state police with the help of 16 different law enforcement agencies learned that a shipment of stolen handguns would be arriving from North Carolina at Kinston’s residence in Burlington City, Milgram said.

So the guy was out on parole, had a locator bracelet on, and yet somehow was managing to run an elaborate gun and drug trafficking network.  Would Bryan Miller care to come on here to describe how exactly other states are to blame for the fact that New Jersey can’t keep its violent gang members in prison where they belong?  It’s a simple equation.  Gang members who are in prison have a harder time running a black market gun business.  But somehow the gun control crowd thinks trying their failed policies everywhere else is the answer.

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Quote of the Day

From Chuck Heath, Sarah Palin’s father:

She started shooting a gun when she was eight and shot her first animal when she was ten. It was something small, possibly a rabbit. She is a really good shot. I taught her to shoot a moose and dress it, to fish and hunt for game. We raised our family to be able to support ourselves — 90 per cent of our meat and fish we get ourselves.

Obama can make fun of it all he wants, but Sarah is the real deal.

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A Female Teddy Roosevelt?

Firearms and Freedom notices that Sarah Palin looks like an ordinary person.  I think it’s interesting, but if you look at some of the parallels, she’s not completely unlike Teddy Roosevelt.  TR overshadowed McKinley on the ticket.  Given McCain’s age, it’s not out of the realm of possibility she could end up assuming the presidency.  She’s about the same age TR was.  She has a reputation as a reformer.  She’s an outdoorswoman.  There would be more than a few people in Washington who’d be rather unhappy to see her ascend to the highest office.  I doubt she’ll be giving a speech with a gunshot wound to the chest any time soon, but she just might be the same kind of political personality.  TR defined the presidency for the 20th century.  Could Sarah Palin do the same thing for the 21st?  Hard to say.  Reality doesn’t quite live up to the reputaiton, but the same charge could have been leveled at TR.  Legend matters, and Sarah Palin’s story has the potential to be that kind of legend.

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Almost Cool

The airforce seems to be getting closer to having a workable chemical laser system.  This is good, but a key feature of a useable defense system will have to include a laser that can refire in a short amount of time.  These types of COIL lasers aren’t really of that variety.

Of course, we have come quite a long way since the days of Ronald Reagan’s “Star Wars,” which at the time really was science fiction.  Back then researchers were happy to test x-ray lasers that used nuclear weapons as a pumping mechanism.  Needless to say, you don’t get much repeatability out of that.  Of course, these days we’re pretty close to useful x-ray lasers.

Having a workable laser weapon would be transformative on the battlefield, so I support these kinds of programs.  Plus, as we’ve seen with x-ray lasers, you never know what other useful things you’ll be able to do with the concepts and technology.

UPDATE: Looks like they are also working on high power solid state laser systems.  We’re probably still a long ways off a laser rifle, at least with currently battery technology.

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Obligation to Be Informed?

I’m glad Ilya Somin has clarified that he’s sympathetic to the idea that voters do have a moral duty to be informed, even if they are, as he has suggested, rationally ignorant of politics.  I think voters do have some obligation to be informed, but my bar is not set very high.  When I think about a voter’s moral obligations, I have to take into account the fact that I don’t believe the the single issue voter is shirking his civil responsibilities.

If someone is, for instance, well informed on the gun issue, and vote specifically on that issue, I have no issue with their going to the polls and casting a ballot.  But how far is someone obligated to be informed on their single issue?  I tend to take the position “trust, but verify.”  Don’t just vote a certain way because your buddy told you candidate X would take all your guns.  Do some research.  See if other people are saying that too.  Check with organizations who advocate on behalf of your issue and see what they say.

I think there’s little problem with general political ignorance provided that the voter is reasonably informed on the issues that bring him or her into the voting booth.  They don’t have to be experts, but they should be well enough informed and engaged as to make up their own mind.

I view my job as an activist for this issue to be making sure gun owners have the right information and are asking the right questions.  I won’t hide McCain’s record on guns, but nor will I exaggerate it.  I’ve heard way too many other activists claiming there’s no difference between McCain and Obama, which just isn’t true.

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Media Bias?

ABC News edited key parts of Charlie Gibson’s interview with Sarah Palin.  Now, I’m not a professional journalist, but I would think if you need to edit a segment for length, you cut out questions, along with the answers.  It appears to me that all the answers that reflected the depth of her understanding of issues ended up on the cutting room floor.

But hey, ABC News has an election to win.  All is fair in politics right?

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Headed Home

I’m in the car on the way home from the NRA Board Meeting.  Bitter and I didn’t stay for the whole meeting.  We decided to head over to The Nations Gun Show in Chantilly, VA to meet up with reader AughtSix.  I bought some primer, powder, and bullets while I was there, and then AughtSix was gracious enough to treat Bitter and I to some BBQ.

It’s good for us to go to the meeting to represent bloggers.  NRA has really put themselves out there with the outreach, and there’s a lot of interest in bloggers and blogging among staff and board members.  They have shown themselves to be serious in reaching out to us, and I think it’s important for us to show we’re serious about being part of the NRA.  It helps validate NRA’s effort in this for board members and staff to see us there.  Hopefully this is a relationship that will continue to develop.  The NRA/Blogger relationship has come a long way since the 2007 Fall Board Meeting when Chris Cox and I sat down to figure out how we could work together.

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