Corzine’s prospects are looking increasingly dim. Smart politics for the Dems would be the old switcheroo, but I don’t think Corzine’s ego will let it happen. We’ll see. In a battle between the Democratic Party machine in New Jersey and Corzine’s ego, I’m not honestly sure which one wins.
Author: Sebastian
More Facts in Schuylkyll River Trail Shooting Case
Looks like more details are emerging in the Schuylkyll River Trail shooting, and the Montgomery County DA is dropping the most serious charges:
As DePaul tried to get onto the bike trail in Conshohocken around 8:30 p.m., two juveniles on bikes reportedly blocked his path, officials said. Though DePaul was able to get around them, both juveniles followed him, according to the district attorney’s office.
After the teens passed the 27-year-old cyclist, the juveniles collided with each other, and as DePaul rode by them, they “exchanged words†with him.
Soon after, the 17-year-old got back on his BMX bike and chased DePaul, police said. After catching up to him, the teen kicked DePaul, causing him to nearly lose control of his bike and hit a fence, police said.
DePaul admitted that he drew his Keltec .380-caliber handgun and fired six shots in the direction of the teen who had kicked him. One bullet struck and flattened the rear tire of the fleeing bicycle.
The juvenile was about 200 to 250 feet away at the time, authorities said. At the time of the incident, DePaul had a legal permit to carry the weapon.
So, the facts would appear to be that the kids were in the process of trying to rob DePaul of his bicycle, he attempted to flee, and they continued chase, then assaulted him. He drew a pistol, and they fled. Still not a clean shoot, but considerably more justifiable than the previous narrative. In essence, given multiple attackers, he was justified up until the point he fired. Had they not fled, I would argue the jury should walk him if the DA were bold enough to press charges.
I think this incident has cemented for me the utility of pepper spray, as this incident would be a really good example of a situation that it was useful. Had he sprayed them instead of fired, he would have been home that night drinking a beer on his patio, thinking about how good it felt to send the punks home crying to mommy, rather than trying to explain to police and DA why the shooting was justified.
Domestic Abuse
Call Frank Lautenberg, because tonight, Bitter beat me. Twice. Last week she attended our Thursday silhouette league, and did pretty well. This week she shot a AAA score of 24 air pistol, open sights. I did not even manage to shoot a AAA score with Mata Gallina. If you start shooting competitively, you’ll start getting very good at making excuses for shooting badly. For tonight, here are the excuses I thought up.
- I let her win, because I like to encourage new shooters, you know.
- I gave her the gun that I did a trigger job on, whereas mine is still shooting right from the factory, and Crosman triggers right from the factory are pretty appalling.
- I wasn’t wearing my favorite shoes. The shoes I was wearing have a springy air cushion in the heel, which pushes me forward onto my toes, and I don’t get a good stable balance.  Bitter was wearing platform shoes, so this excuse is particularly lame, which is why I’m proud to have thought of it.
- Red dot sights on Mata Gallina I got yesterday still aren’t quite where I would like them to be, whereas the sight settings on my open sight gun are about as good as I can get them.
- It was very hot and humid out, and Bitter being from Oklahoma has an unfair advantage.
I could probably think of a few more if I had enough time. But the fact is she beat me, fair and square. Naturally this means I need to transfer my pellet trap to the car so she can’t practice while I’m at work.
Business Climate Fail
Pennsylvania ranks the 17th worst state in the United States to do business in. Before there was hope and change, there was Fast Eddie, who rode into office promising to do something about this, but proceeded to do nothing of the sort, and instead went about raising our tax burden by 49%. You can see the whole ranking here. Even California beat us!
Not Good Enough
Republicans had better watch it, because considering I’ve seen more action out of Harry Reid’s overwhelmingly Democratic Senate, than I ever saw in 12 years of Republican control, I’m not pleased to see this:
The Brady Campaign, the anti-gun group that had experienced a rather tough run during the Bush administration, is pointing out that three Republican senators who were endorsed by the National Rifle Association in their last campaigns have committed to supporting Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.), and Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) have all come out for Sotomayor, as has Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.), who ran for re-election in 2004 as a Republican.
Considering some of Alexander’s other votes, maybe it’s time for the people of Tennessee to send him packing.
Research Much?
Article lamenting NRA’s political power:
The NRA won that fight. My candidate lost. And it’s hard to think of a fight the NRA hasn’t lost over the past 30 or so years. Because of the NRA, it’s okay for people in the U.S. to buy automatic assault weapons, to circumvent permit laws, to carry concealed weapons, to be armed at bars, schools and churches, and essentially to buy, sell, do or use any weapon. The purchaser’s mental health doesn’t seem to matter. Neither does past criminal activity. Nor does the opinion of law enforcement officers who face the real threat of being outgunned by law breakers.
Automatic assault weapons? Circumvent permit laws? Armed at schools? Buy sell or use any weapon? No mental health or background check? This isn’t the gun laws I live under.
No one should fear these days that their right to own guns is in jeopardy. Rather, the big fear should be that people are carrying guns everywhere, and that many people have serious arsenals of weapons, including grenades and other explosive weapons, legally purchased.
I don’t think we’re afraid of that anymore, although we know some will still try for it. No, now the goal is to make the Second Amendment mean something, and yes, that means I can “bear arms” for personal protection, without undue interference by government.
Pay Pal’s Gun Policies
PayPal has long had a problem with people using their service to buy guns, or even gun related parts or items. I avoid using PayPal as much as possible, which ends up being that I only have to use it (because I want something, and that’s all they take) once or twice a year. PayPal, even aside from the gun issue, is pure unadulterated evil. See here.
Kevin has quite the story about how PayPal treats gun owners, and publishes their customer service number for people to complain about their policy. Personally, I just wouldn’t use it. The sad part is, there aren’t a lot of services out there which are a reasonable substitute for what PayPal offers.
Not Good News
Nordyke is going En Banc, meaning it will be heard by the entire circuit. This usually indicates that the consensus of the circuit is that the decision was wrong, and it likely means Nordyke will be overturned. This would remove the circuit split, but as Eugene Volokh points out, having two third of state Attorneys Generals speaks loudly, and the other circuit decisions are inconsistent with the Court’s modern incorporation doctrine. So we might still be going to the Supreme Court with incorporation, but this isn’t a welcome development by any means.
But hey, the 9th is the most reversed appeals court of all the federal circuits. Maybe this puts us in a better position if the Supreme Court does take up the issue.
Picking a Fight the Other Side Can’t Afford
We know from various sources around the Internet that it’s not the best of times to be a gun control group from a fundraising standpoint. If you look at the issue strategically, the National Reciprocity bill is really quite the master stroke, considering how much in the way of resources the other side is going to have to try to marshal to defeat it. Now we have evidence that Coalition to Stop Gun Violence is fronting ads on behalf of Tom Mauser (ironic having a gun control fanatic named Mauser) to target Bennet and Udall for their vote on the Thune Amendment. Keep spending, gun control people. Keep spending. Having them on defense is a good thing.
Sliding Head First Off the Water Slide of Reality
When I was a kid, I remember playing with something like this, and thinking it was the coolest water pistol I had ever seen. But in our modern society, which seems to be entirely ruled by hysterical and fearful people, such things aren’t sold anymore. There’s no better example than in New York, where their hysterics has descended into this:
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said his office has sent letters to more than 100 retailers ordering them to halt sales of look-a-likes that violate the ban.
State law requires toy guns to either be made from materials that couldn’t possibly be confused with an actual weapon, or carry colorful markings including a big orange stripe.
Inspectors with Cuomo’s office said they conducted spot checks and found plenty of toys on sale that didn’t follow those rules.
Imagine where we’d be if instead of policing toy stores for improperly painted toys, the authorites were, call me crazy here, out trying to catch actual criminals. But that’s not all. We have yet another example of New York City slipping head first off the water slide of reality here too:
The Revolutionary War buff charges the Bloomberg administration with tyranny for trying to seize his handmade flintlock rifle – a dead ringer for the weapon once used against the redcoats.
“This is the last legal gun that you can have without registration in New York,” Littlejohn said. “And yet Mayor Bloomberg is driven crazy by my flintlock gun – the one that won the American Revolution.”
I’d like to buy this guy a beer for standing up to Bloomberg over this. The police say he can end all this if he just complies with the non-law.
A police source says the war could end peacefully if Littlejohn applied for a permit with the NYPD handgun license division.
Littlejohn would rather fight. The Brooklynite says he’s willing to sue for his rifle rights.
I hope he does, but thanks to Sonya Sotomayor, there is no Second Amendment for New York residents, and if she has her way on the Supreme Court, there never will be. That might be of little consequence though, because he is within his legal rights. No license is required in New York City for the possession of a long gun which does not fire fixed ammunition. The law is clear on that. If Bloomberg wants to press this, he’ll be acting under color of law, and I hope Mr. Littlejohn sues him.