“All I could think about was this bear is so close to me I can see its teeth. I could have kissed it. I wished I had a gun.”
Some bear spray would be a prudent addition to her kit as well.
Author: Sebastian
No Knock Gone Wrong
Cops knock on the wrong house, a man answers with a gun, and the man ends up dead. I feel fortunate to live in a good neighborhood where SWAT raids are not a regular occurrence, because if someone breaks down my door early in the morning, without announcing their intentions, I’d probably be found in the same position: SWAT team in the living room with me visibly armed. I’d likely suffer the same fate unless I can ascertain they are indeed police officers quickly enough.
I would point out, if it wasn’t for the War on Drugs, we’d have relatively little need for this kind of military tactic. No knock warrants are generally used to prevent destruction of evidence, which if you’re going to do, you had better be sure the crime warrants putting people’s lives at risk. I don’t think preventing people from getting high is worth that, personally.
Camel’s Nose in Wisconsin Carry Requirements
The DOJ in Wisconsin is busy adding on more requirements to obtain a concealed carry license. Having this be in the hands of bureaucrats is certainly not a good thing. While training is a good idea, I’ve never been convinced states that mandate training have measurably better results than states that do not mandate training. A moron is going to be a moron no matter how much you train them, and someone who isn’t a moron is going to seek out information and training on their own. Given that we can’t have moron tests for exercising rights, I tend to think mandated training only serves to discourage people from exercising their rights, rather than serve any serious public safety purpose.
Stratfor Analyst on Fast and Furious
The premium prices Mexican cartels are paying for guns mean that even if the U.S.-Mexican border could somehow magically be sealed tomorrow, arms merchants from elsewhere would be able to fill the void. Indeed, there are some weapons that the cartels simply cannot buy from the United States due to a lack of availability. Such weapons include hand grenades, 40 mm grenades, M60 machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and M-72 anti-tank rockets. Instead, the cartels buy such items from members of the Mexican military, militaries in countries such as Guatemala and El Salvador, or international arms dealers.
Interesting note in the article that cartels are apparently using 80 lower receivers. How far do you go before you’re legally regulating blocks of aluminum? As we have demonstrated, it’s not hard to make a gun, so it’s not surprising the cartels are machining their own from 80 stock.
Impending Hard Drive Failure
One of the disks on our server is acting up and will have to be swapped out at some point. I do keep both onsite and offsite backups, so there is no real danger. But if you notice the blog being slow, it’s because we’re having intermittent disk problems on the mirrored pair. Once I have some time, I’ll go deal with it.
UPDATE: I have swapped out the old drive and put in a new one. The mirrored pair is rebuilding.
Floridians Still Support SYG
From the polling firm McClatchy:
Nearly 65 percent say the 2005 law — which allows people who believe they are in grave danger to use deadly force to defend themselves
[…]
The 2005 law — which eliminates the so-called “duty to retreat†during a confrontation in a public place — remains popular in Florida, with only 18 percent saying it should be repealed.
Too bad for our opponents.
King Bloomberg: NYCLU as Bad as NRA
We documented here that King Bloomberg is no fan of American Constitutional liberties, since they get in the way of his being able to run his kingdom as he sees fit. Now he’s suggesting that the New York Civil Liberties Union is as bad as the NRA:
One group views the Second Amendment in absolutist terms; the other group views the Fourth Amendment in absolutist terms. Both groups, I think, are dangerously wrong on the Constitution,†he added. “The right to bear arms and the right to privacy do not trump the right of citizens to walk down their own street, or walk down their own hallway, without getting blown away.
I must have missed that part in my pocket constitution, where there’s a constitutional right to be absolutely free of crime. The Bill of Rights absolutely trumps rights that King Bloomberg makes up. Whether he likes it or not, New York is still part of the United States, and we will be soon teaching him that lesson in federal court.
Update on the Arms Trade Treaty
Heritage is really doing an excellent job of covering the proceedings, without a lot of hysteria. He speaks of potential dangers in the treaty, some of which I share:
Second, most major U.S. arms manufacturers have an international financing, insurance, and parts and components chain. The ATT could become a means for foreign countries to pressure U.S. firms to exit the market, reducing the ability of Americans to make effective use of their firearms rights.
[…]
Just because the ATT is not a “gun grab†treaty does not mean it raises no domestic concerns: “Gun grabs†are less plausible than “death by a thousand cuts.â€
Go read the whole thing. Extrano’s alley is pointing out that Graham and McCain are signaling weakness, and might need some encouragement. I suspect they just want to have specifics to base any opposition on, and we do not yet have a draft, but a friendly reminder to the Senators would probably help if you are one of their respective constituents.
A Tiger? In Africa?
Three men were murdered in Springfield Gardens Saturday morning in a drive-by shooting with an AK-47 assault rifle. At least 63 shots were fired, and questions are still looming over the incident, including why such a serious weapon was on the streets. The submachine gun was developed in Russia to be used as a military weapon. The 11-pound weapon can fire 600 rounds per minute, or 10 rounds per second.
The ignorance — it burns!
The Assault Weapons Ban, enacted by Bill Clinton during his presidency in 1994, banned automatic and some semiautomatic guns, including AK-47s.
This reporter has clearly been living in a hole when it comes to the gun issue, but yet is writing about it. Unfortunately for us, that hole is New York City. For those who think New Yorkers are these world sophisticated people, no. You will struggle to find people more provincial than you will find in New York City. Many people who live there have hardly ever left.
Romney – Rice 2012: Not Gonna Happen
I have to admit, I’d be pretty stoked if Romney picked Condi. But it’s not going to happen. If Mitt nominates a pro-choice, pro-gay-marriage, pro-gun candidate, I’ll eat my hat. Mitt has enough troubles with the SoCos, given that he used to be pro-choice, and once engaged in platitudes about gay rights when he was Governor of Massachusetts. They’ll string him up if it’s Condi.