Sebastian – Page 438 – Shall Not Be Questioned

Brady Denying the Boycotters?

It’s a shame Peter Hamm is no longer with the Brady folks, because I could totally make a great joke here, but several people have informed me of the fact that the Brady folks are denying the boycott. This is perhaps an indication that Dan Gross is bringing some semblance of sensibility back to the Brady organization. Brady would now, at least, seem to know a lost cause when they see one.

In the mean time, the Brady discontents who have spun off into NGVAC are sadly reduced to begging celebritiesÂ for a retweet, and failing that even begging their own friends for some Twitter love, only to encounter crickets.

If they weren’t attempting to shred the Bill of Rights, I’d really feel sorry for them. I honestly question the mental stability of the proprietor of NGVAC, given the behavior today. I know when I’ve been beaten, and hope in that instance I’d have more grace and dignity than has been displayed today by some of our opponents.

For those not keeping track of Facebook, the event has passed 24,000 and is closing on 25,000. If you haven’t been to Starbucks today, it’s not too late!

UPDATE: When will the Coffee lobby come clean about their sales figures!

The Justification For Toys

There are a few toys that are on my “maybe I should get, but can’t quite justify the cost” list. The first is the graphic attached to this post. It’s a 1 watt laser that can do cool shit like light fires and cut through plastic. I could perhaps justify it as an important survival implement, since after all, being able to start fires is an important survival skill. Plus, it can double as a pretty good signal beacon. But the real justification? “A 1W handheld laser that can start fires? I just need to have it!”

In that same space, I’ve been watching my friend Jason run off a couple of un-papered firearms on his CNC mill (more posts to come there later tonight or tomorrow) and I’m thinking I could stand to have a few of these myself. I can’t exactly get him to run one off for me, because you get questionably legal when you’re not just making them for yourself, and I also would like the machining experience. So I’m looking at mills like this one. A hefty price tag for a toy, and I don’t really have the space for one in this house. I’d have to get my dad to play along and let me use his basement to house the mill. Fortunately, my dad moved back Pennsylvania, which conveniently eliminates one legal obstacle to being able to mill myself an AR lower in his basement.

Alas, I can’t justify spending that kind of money for a couple of guns. I’d have to have some other use for it. Jason uses his mill for other things. Maybe I need to follow Mr. C’s lead and come up with some kind of nifty gun accessory to turn out on a mill to justify the cost of buying and maintaining one of these things.

Interesting Fact from the Lucky Gunner Shoot

I had no idea that we had a TV star among us at last May’s Lucky Gunner machine gun shoot. That’s probably because I vaguely recognize that “The Bachelor” is some kind of TV show, and even if they had told me that the girl over there was “Kacie B,” my response would have been “Oh… Well, Kacie is a nice name.” I guess if you’re a TV celebrity, hanging around geeks like me is probably the safest way to escape your celebrity status. This is what I get for not having Cable, I guess, or even a good antenna.

UPDATE: I am informed that Kacie B. is a current and active contestant on “The Bachelor.” Goes to show you how much attention I pay to TV :)

Boycott Fail

The media is started to pick up on the utter failure of the anti-gun Boycott of Starbucks, with articles appearing in the Hawaii Reporter and Loudoun Times about our BUYcott. What I find very telling here is this:

That article hasn’t been up that long and it already has close to 20,000 likes. The numbers don’t lie. The anti-gun Boycott has accomplished nothing but driving more sales to Starbucks then they otherwise would have had. For those not following along on Twitter, I can report to you that the other side is becoming positively unhinged, prompting one person to win the Internets:

In the mean time, our opponents are resorting to the only argument they have left:Â dick jokes. More of the same over at Joe’s.

Double Standards

Weer’d has discovered one of our opponents in the Gun Control movement is into swordsmanship. A perfectly fine hobby, as far as I’m concerned, but Weer’d notes:

Donâ€™t see a lot of swords around these days. One reason is many places restrict the carry of them. Another big reason is theyâ€™re really good for only one thing, killing. Back in the day swords in a similar design to his were issued to ARMIES!

Worth noting that the entirely of the Western world, and a good part of the Eastern world, was largely conquered with this:

This was the most sophisticated killing machine known to man up until he dawn of the gunpowder age. It is as much meant to kill as any firearm, and it is unambiguously a weapon of war. I find it amazing that an advocate of gun control, who practices swordsmanship, can’t understand why people who practice another martial art, shooting, get a little upset when you demean them, ridicule them, and try to limit their access and freedom to exercise their chosen hobby.

Federal Lawsuit Over Philly Open Carry Incident

The federal complaint can be found here. The media story about the lawsuit is here. I’ve read over the complaint. In addition to suing over the February 2011 incident last year, he’s also suing over two prior incidents with the Philadelphia police. He’s suing up the chain of command to reach Ramsey, the Philadelphia Police Commissioner. Section 1983 doesn’t just allow you to sue the individual officers, you can sue all the way up the chain to anyone responsible for overseeing and training officers. The agents of the PPD are being sued in their individual capacities, which means the plaintiff here needs to overcome qualified immunity. If successful, he will be able to recover damages. This is looking like it’ll be an easy case here:

60. During discussions with PPD Internal Affairs Sergeant Maria Cianfrani (BadgeÂ #8704), which occurred after Mr. Fiorino filed a written complaint with Internal Affairs relating to the Second Incident, Sergeant Cianfrani specifically stated to Mr. Fiorino that what happened to him with regard to the First and Second Incidents was â€œoutright illegal.â€

61. Sergeant Cianfrani also admitted to Mr. Fiorino that the Policy was illegal, and admitted that the officers involved in the First and Second Incidents were following the Policy when they detained Mr. Fiorino and when they confiscated his firearm, magazines and ammunition.

Even better:

Furthermore, in a May 18, 2011 radio interview with Michael Smerconish, which aired live on 1210 AM WPHT Philadelphia, Commissioner Ramsey admitted that at the time of the three aforementioned incidents, PPD officers were not aware that open carry was legal with a valid LTCF and that training on the issue was necessary and would be given to all officers.

The lawsuit asks the court to enjoin the city from confiscating firearms unless a crime is committed, and unless it’s necessary for an investigation. It would be a huge victory for everyone if such an injunction is forthcoming from the court. It also asks for damages and attorneys fees from each of the defendants. The complaint is rooted in the 4th Amendment rather than the 2nd. That’s a good thing here. His 4th Amendment rights are what was violated.

A Little Starbucks Appreciation

Bitter I went today. I was going to post my receipt, but I forgot to ask for one. Oops. Either way, we pumped 15 dollars into the Starbucks economy today. If Facebook is to be believed, there will be around 23,000 people that will join me.

Feel free to post a link or picture of your appreciation today, and don’t forget to let Starbucks Corporate know that you appreciate them staying out of the great gun debate. I’d also like to note that while the red velvet whoopee pies are good, they are no substitute for the full size red velvet cupcake, which I miss.

Tomorrow is Starbucks Appreciation Day

Don’t forget that tomorrow is Starbucks Appreciation Day. So far we’re up to about 18,500 people who are confirmed to spend a little money at Starbucks tomorrow. It would be really nice to get that number to tip 20,000. If everyone spends just 10 bucks for coffee, and a pastry or two, that’s a noticeable uptick in daily sales. Meanwhile, our opponents have hidden their number from public view, because at last count it was utterly embarrassing for them.

Congrats to VFTP

For playing a large role in keeping Santorum off the ballot in Indiana. It’s like the ghost of 1994 around this election, between Newt and Rick. It’s highly doubtful Santorum could even carry his own state (Pennsylvania, I mean, because it’s been long believed he actually lived in Virginia, but I’m doubtful he could carry Virginia either). I don’t like Mitt, but given Newt’s penchant for self-destructing, and Santorum’s penchant for wanting the government in everyone’s bedrooms, I’m not seeing too many other alternatives.

And don’t give me the Ron Paul crap. Paul is finished in this race. He never had a chance. I’m just hoping libertarians can find a better standard bearer; someone who can actually win. I’d take Rand Paul, if we really want a Paul. I’d also take Gary Johnson, if anyone knew who he was anymore.

On Guns Becoming More Popular and Mainstream

This weekend I had planned to go to the gun show in Oaks, just to see what there was to see. I’ve been wanting to grab a Ruger LCP for some time, but having been unemployed for several months, and worried about my job for a year leading up to the dissolution of my former employer, I haven’t really been doing much gun wise. This was my first gun show in more than a year. I was worried when a reader sent me a picture of the line waiting to get in Saturday morning:

I decided I’d wait until Sunday. Sunday crowds are usually thinner, but with the downside that the show has been relatively picked over by that time, because collectors usually have snatched up all the interesting pieces by then. I wasn’t really looking for a collector piece, however, so that didn’t concern me. I walked in about 2:00PM Sunday, which would have been two hours before the show closed.

“Holy crap!” I exclaimed to Bitter, “I’ve never seen this many people at a gun show in my life, and it’s Sunday, two hours before the show closes.” It was extremely difficult to get around the floor, and were I not taller than most people, spotting guns through the herd was going to be impossible. The LCP is generally going for about $325-$350 at most gun stores I’ve been to, but sometimes at shows you can find dealers coming down from central and northern Pennsylvania, where prices are cheaper, and who don’t mark their inventory up to Philadelphia area price levels. I counted six LCPs left in the show, and one of them was an even $300, from a Columbia, PA based gun store. I was hoping to find a little lower, but getting to go to a gun show and beating the cheapest price in the area by $25 is enough to satisfy me. It took a while to get the dealer’s attention through the crowds of people surrounding his tables, but fortunately they were a well oiled machine about processing people through paperwork and NICS. They had at least four people there processing paperwork, and they needed them. While slowly moving my way through the herd, I was listening carefully to what dealers were telling people, and observing the makeup of the crowd. Some observations:

People were crowding around pistol displays. I don’t think folks are buying too many rifles right now.
There were far far more women there than at any gun show I’ve been at in the past. There were also more people bringing the whole family, including the kids.
A lot more African-Americans and other minority groups than I’ve seen at past shows, and Philadelphia area shows have never been lilly white.
Lots more gawkers than I’ve ever noticed at a show. I don’t mean gun people coming to look, but people who probably have no gun experience coming for, well, the experience. Noticed a couple of, what sounded like Hindi speaking 20 somethings, who’s booger hooks went immediately on the bang switch when handed a suppressed .22, with a wide-eyed look on their face like they had never seen anything like this before in their lives. I was relatively amused until the kid turned the gun sideways to muzzle Bitter and me with it, but after that they proceeded on like kids seeing Disneyland for the first time.
Overheard one conversation between a woman and a Class III dealer, where the woman expressed a desire to try shooting a machine gun, for which the dealer happily invited her up to his range to try anything he had to shoot, including something belt fed if she liked. Her response to his invitation was rather enthusiastic, and I didn’t get the impression she had been doing this gun thing for a while.

So our opponents in the gun control movement can be in denial all the want; there’s a sea change that’s happened in this issue in the past several years, and now I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Guns aren’t just for fat old white guys anymore, and apparently neither are gun shows. The political implications of this will play out over the next decade, and it should be very interesting.