Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Birthday!!

Big day has come and gone, and we now have a new baby CTone! He was born on the 25th, but I had an all out epic electronic failure, so I'm just getting the word out.

Blogging will be light for a few days.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Their own personal Thermopylae

“I didn’t realize how many bad guys there were until we had broken through the enemies’ lines and forced them to retreat. It was roughly 250 insurgents against 30 of us,” the corporal said. “It was a good day for the Marine Corps. We killed a lot of bad guys, and none of our guys were seriously injured.”
This is the kind of stuff that makes me want to go back on active duty.

Found over at Ace's

Now he wants to do something

I posted yesterday about that scumbag District Attorney for DC, Peter Nickles, who just couldn't be bothered with addressing the desperate concerns of the citizens of the city that he represents. The citizens who were bombarding his office with emails and letters because his incompetent ass was letting a violent robber off the hook for the third time; a violent robber who has struck 21 times thus far, and will continue beating and stealing from defenseless citizens now that he has been released yet again.

Who does Nickles blame for this?

Nickles says he’s “very unhappy and outraged” that Richardson is back on the street, and he criticized the federal prosecutors for not pursuing charges.
That's right, he blames someone else. It's not my fault!! Coward!

But wait:
Channing Phillips, a spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office, defends that decision. “In our view, there was insufficient evidence to go forward. We were obliged to not go forward,” he says. “I will add, though, if the Office of the Attorney General disagreed … they were free to charge the person themselves.”
So while Nickles was busy bitching yesterday about the people who pay his paycheck - the people he swore to protect - he wasn't doing his job by keeping Michael Richardson in police custody. It's not like they didn't try to tell him.

Why does this man still have a job?

Laws and restraining orders fail to stop killer

In a church in New Jersey.

The killer had a restraining order against him by his estranged wife, and earlier by his own father. He lived in California and drove to NJ where his wife was, entered the church where she attended, and opened fire, killing two and wounding another.

I don't even think this guy is a US citizen, which begs the questions of how he managed to get a gun in one of the most anti-gun states in the US, drive to another state which has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the US, violate his restraining order and the law saying he can't bring a gun into a church, and then murder two people, which is also against the law?

I would have to say that laws and regulations don't work all that well, and anything you can do to protect yourself when such things happen is recommended. Or you could just run, or get down on the ground and place your forehead against the carpet. Your choice.

Peace, be still

How do I know that my teething toddler is going to grow up to be a firearms enthusiast? Well, if this morning is any indicator, then I would have to say it's because when I got her out of bed at 0500 this morning she was pretty inconsolable from the pain, and when I started rocking her back to sleep in the recliner while watching the LaRue Tactical Screensaver on my laptop, she was at the most peace that I have ever seen her.

I'm so proud!

Monday, November 24, 2008

DC DA Peter Nickels is a dirtbag

When you need the District Attorney to step it up for the sake of the community, he just can't be bothered:

"I don't mind getting 20 e-mails about a particular problem that reflects the unique perspective of people in the community, but I don't approve of an organized campaign to send me 50 e-mails," he told the paper.

"I haven't touched them," he said. "I told my secretary to put them in a pile."

All of this because DC Metro police decided that if they were going to arrest this guy again that they wanted his ass to stay in jail, and not be let loose to assault people. Unfortunately, even if he is put in jail for a lengthy sentence he will eventually be unleashed again on the community where he will put his new found prison skills to the test. Let's hope he doesn't kill somebody.

This is the reason for the insane level of crime in the District, and you can't blame citizens for wanting to defend themselves from this mess. Lock this bastard up, and when he strikes again - put him away for ever.

As for District Attorney Peter Nickels: he needs to be thrown out on his ass. As long as he, or others like him, stays in office you will have rampant crime with no hope in sight. Why we did away with tarring and feathering people like this is the question of the day.

Mass gun buying in Northern VA

The Dulles Expo gun show had a big turnout this weekend.

Violent weekend

While I was busy sanding drywall this weekend, gangbangers were shooting each other at a shopping mall in Washington, and a sword swinging man was gunned down in Hollywood, CA.

I know it's shocking to think that criminals actually don't obey mall rules and decide to bring a firearm anyways, but for some reason nobody is shocked that they would shoot each other. On the other hand, it should be noted that these criminal things happen from time to time, and are the reason that peaceable citizens sometimes tuck a little pistol in their waistbands. Be prepared.
As for the sword guy, he was shot and killed by a security guard because he was swinging two samurai swords and the guard "defend[ed] [his] safety." Maybe we should ban swords since they're only made for killing babies and the elderly, and especially samurai swords which of course are only made for the brutal dispatching of the samurai. They qualify as "assault swords," so to speak, because they are overly sharp - unnecessarily so - and usually have a handguard of some sort (think of the handguard as the "barrel shroud"). The federal government should also make a 'one sword a month' law so that crazy people like this guy can't have two assault swords at the same time. Common sense, folks.

Do keep in mind that the security guard is allowed to carry a gun, unlike Californian citizens, because his tactical ninja skills are much more developed. Those patches on his neat black uniform mean that he alone has the mental capacity to understand that a man coming at him while wielding two swords qualifies as a deadly threat that can be taken out with deadly force. You need training to be able to understand that threat, and quite frankly Californians just don't have it. So get some patches.

Update: Here's a picture and more information on the sword guy. Funny, he doesn't look like the kind of guy who would do such a thing, does he? The security guard that shot him must have overwhelming powers of perception! It's a good thing that he was entrusted with a license to carry a weapon, and not some mere mortal citizen.

Back now

The big day hasn't happened yet due to over population in my town. Blogging will be sporadic.

Carry on

Friday, November 21, 2008

In absentia

I've got something big going on for the next couple of days, so I won't be on my soapbox for awhile.

Have fun without me!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Activism that makes you blow your coffee thru your nose

I read The War on Guns everyday because David Codrea actually sends stuff like this to politicians, police chiefs, and other elected creatures.

That's awesome!

Destructive device

DC law bars citizens from even carrying stun guns, because obviously they are too stupid to use them. Someone should have told this poor guy that before he got arrested trying to sell them:

An 81-year-old D.C. news stand owner has been arrested and charged after investigators say they found 36 stun guns for sale at his downtown store.

****

Owner Walter Riggin turned himself in to police last week and was charged with 36 counts of possession of a destructive device.

Stun guns are deemed a "destructive device" and are generally banned under D.C. law.


Perfect!! Not only are you barred from carrying the most effective self defense tool available, you can't carry anything!

If this is not tyranny, than I don't know what is.

Update: Here is another article on the same story with some PSH mixed in:
The stun guns, three of which were of the “cattle prod type,” ranged from 1.9 million to 2.7 million volts.
DC will now probably pass some stupid law aimed at limiting stun guns to less than 100k volts, despite the devices being illegal already. I would expect no less from the retards that lead that city.

DC cabbies want guns

This is a month old, and I don't know how I missed it, but cab drivers in DC want to carry guns for protection:
After the Supreme Court's decision to overturn a ban on handguns, D.C. residents are allowed to keep registered weapons in their place of business. But police and city officials say the workplace must be a "fixed location," making it illegal for taxicab drivers to carry weapons.
How about some common sense legislation to give cabbies their rights back?

A little late to the party, guys

CNN is reporting on the rise in gun sales in Nebraska.

Sheriff Capt. Gary Juilfs said permits have already surpassed the combined totals from 2006 and 2007. Douglas County officials said they are seeing the same spike.

****

The evidence a local sporting goods store supports the statistic.

Empty hooks abound in the firearms display. Ammunition shelves are wiped out.

Quick! Get to Lancaster County! They still have two Remington ARs on the shelf!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

The truth finally comes out

I got this story from WCPO.com from the latest VCDL ALERT message, and it's straight from the horses mouth. I'm going to post it in its entirety:

When Seconds Count: Stopping Active Killers

Reported by: Brendan Keefe Email: Brendan.Keefe@wcpo.com Last Update: 11/14 1:22 am


There have been so many school shootings over the last 40 years that researchers have been able to develop a profile of the typical mass murderer.

They're called "active shooters" or "active killers" and their crimes play out in a matter of minutes.

After the Columbine High School massacre in 1999, police changed their tactics.

The two student gunmen killed 15 people and themselves before the SWAT team was in position.

Commanders realized that it simply takes too long to assemble a tactical team in time to stop an active killer.

The new tactics developed in response to Columbine involved creating an ad-hoc tactical team using the first four or five patrol officers on the scene.

They would enter the shooting scene in a diamond formation with guns pointing in all directions.

This technique was employed by police departments around the country. Then 32 people were killed by a lone gunman at Virginia Tech in April 2007.

Seung Hui Cho shot 47 people, 30 fatally, in the university's Norris Hall in just 11 minutes.

That means every minute he killed more than three people and shot a total of four.

Once again, the gunman continued shooting until a four-officer team made entry and then he killed himself.

Law enforcement reviewed its tactics.

Based on the Virginia Tech data, experts determined the first officer on scene should make entry immediately with an aggressive attack on the shooter.

Every minute the officer waits for back-up, another three or more people could die.

In other words, while it was once considered suicide for a lone officer to take on an active killer, it is now considered statistical homicide for him not to do so.

Tactical Defense Institute in Adams County, Ohio developed one of the first "single officer response" programs in the nation.

TDI was teaching the tactic even before Virginia Tech. Now the National School Resource Officer Organization (NSRO) is using TDI instructors to teach school resource officers how to confront a gunman immediately.

Locally, all Blue Ash police officers are trained in these new tactics in large part because their chief, Col. Chris Wallace, is also a TDI instructor.

The other statistic that emerged from a study of active killers is that they almost exclusively seek out "gun free" zones for their attacks.

In most states, concealed handguns are prohibited at schools and on college campuses even for those with permits.

Many malls and workplaces also place signs at their entrances prohibiting firearms on the premises.

Now tacticians believe the signs themselves may be an invitation to the active killers.

The psychological profile of a mass murderer indicates he is looking to inflict the most casualties as quickly as possible.

Also, the data show most active killers have no intention of surviving the
event.

They may select schools and shopping malls because of the large number of defenseless victims and the virtual guarantee no on the scene one is armed.

As soon as they're confronted by any armed resistance, the shooters typically turn the gun on themselves.

Copyright 2008 The E.W. Scripps Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

To finish this point off, go to the link and watch the video. It's worth your time.

A legitimate concern

So, we have gun grabbers President-elect Barack Obama, Vice President-elect Joe Biden, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, and now your new Attorney General Eric Holder:
MR. HOLDER: Yeah, you know, actually there's something floating around in my mind about something that I read about that. I'm not exactly sure where I've read that or what study that I've seen. But I don't think -- I'm not sure that is actually factually a legitimate concern. But I think that the numbers -- for whatever reason, I'm remembering, tend to show that the benefits of these gun control measures far outweigh the costs that might be paid that you've talked about.
Tell me again, why shouldn't gun owners be paranoid?

Via Ace

Movie Guns XXX

So here it is! Another Movie Guns for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy it while you can cos' I won't be able to get in a post this weekend for sure.

This particular post is a request from Hell in a Handbasket, who is responsible for most of my site traffic. I appreciate him linking to me week after week, and so to show my gratitude I have taken over fifty frames for this post, and that's after passing up a ton of other frames because the movie is so dark that the weapons are hard to see.

This week's Movie Guns is on the film Underworld. I have watched this movie dozens of times, but never from the beginning. If you like vampire movies, than this one is for you. If you don't care for werewolves or vampires, than you might be interested in a skin tight, patent leather clad Kate Beckinsale running around with a brace of automatic handguns! This movie no doubt encouraged untold numbers of middle school boys to put on makeup, paint their fingernails black, and don a white ruffled shirt with black leather pants before heading out to the mall, and even if you're not interested in plot (yes, there is a plot) than the amount of deadly hardware wielded in this film will fit the bill.

The plot revolves around a vampire named Selene (Kate Beckinsale) who's career as a "Death Dealer" involves killing Lycans (the werewolves). I'm going in rough order as there are lots of pictures, and I had to skip around a bit. If you want the whole gist of the film than you would be better off watching it first.

The first picture is from the scene at the begining in a subway. The Lycans are chasing a human, and the vampires are chasing the Lycans. A gunbattle breaks out between them, and a large Lycan named Raze (Kevin Grevioux) pulls out a pair of Steyr TMPs and starts firing:
1st Shot Low

He's definitely right handed as the pistol in his left hand is firing at the ground.
Not Left Handed

He does a not-so-quick reload, showing the hand-finds-hand concept of why modern handguns are engineered with the magazine in the grip:
Hand Finds Hand

Selene responds with some machine pistol fire of her own with this brace of Berettas that look like compensated 92Fs, but may actually be 93Rs that have been built to look like 92Fs:
Twin Berettas
Hollywood High Ready

It has to be said that Kate Beckinsale must have had extensive training for this film as she doesn't flinch a bit. With some of the huge fireballs that come out of the muzzle later on, she squints a little, but for most of the movie she has the guns up at eye level and keeps her eyes open, showing no emotion - like Todd Jarrett in that Crimson Trace commercial on the Outdoor Channel (yes, I'm a dork).

At one point she reloads the Berettas, although I'm not sure anyone can do it that easily:
Berettas Reload

Here, another Death Dealer is blasting away with a H&K USP Compact, and he quickly gets cut down by a Lycan with a Desert Eagle:
H&K USP Compact
All Bow To The Mighty Desert Eagle
Flaming Eagle
No word on why this guy decided to bring a compact pistol to a fight where everyone else is either firing two weapons on full auto, or are firing rounds that are a half an inch in diameter.

A no-name Death Dealer is seen here reloading his Walther P99:
Walther P99

When Selene runs her Berettas dry, she reaches behind her back and draws a brace of two-tone Walther P99s, which is odd because during the entire film I didn't see one single holster on anyone. Of note is that these pistols are select fire, but I'm not aware of Walther ever making select fire handguns, or any full auto weapons at that:
Brace of Walther P99s

Here she's doing an decent reload with the Walthers:
Decent Reload

And a close up:
Walther P99 Close
Notice the distinct decocker just in front of the rear sight, and I have no idea what that thingie is on the dust cover.

When Raze closes in on her, she throws these ninja star looking things at him and hits him square in the chest:
Vampire Ninja Stars

If you use an extravagant type of weapon, it pays to at least be good with them!

Well, that battle ends, and Selene and Raze live on. Selene heads back to the mansion where she and all the other vampires live, and goes straight to the chief Death Dealer, Kahn (Robbie Gee), at the arms room.

As she's walking in you can get a glimpse of a MG42 LMG and a M134 minigun on the shelves behind Kahn:
MG42
M134

Moments later, you can see a H&K PSG1 in between Selene and Kahn, and a few AMD-65s over Kahn's right shoulder:
H&K PSG1
Gun Collection
There is a Steyr TMP, and an H&K MP5 and MP5K on the table.

The whole reason Selene went to see Kahn is to show him the ammunition that the Lycans were using against her in the subway, which have bullets that contain some glowing ultra violet light:
Glowing Boooolits

Selene decides to take her angst out at the indoor shooting range, that for some reason has safety glass separating the dudes on the left from stray rounds. Yikes!!
Dangerous

After her range time, she retires to her room and disassembles her Berettas, one of which is shown here next to a Desert Eagle, the two Walthers, and a Benchmade rescue hook:
Disassembled Beretta 92F
Benchmade Rescue Hook

Later on, Selene takes the human that the Lycans were chasing earlier, named Corvin (Scott Speedman), to a safehouse. The safehouse turns out to not be so safe when Selene returns to pick him up, and finds out that the Lycans have followed her there.

The Lycans don't bother to stack up next to the door, or even take cover for that matter, and Selene shoots through the door and guns them all down with one of her auto Berettas:
Full Auto Beretta
Stop Flagging Your Friend
Check out the guy at the extreme right flagging his buddy with a pistol!

She runs out of the room, only to see a bunch of werewolves coming at her down the hallway:
Werewolves!!

I think blasting zombies would be cool, but werewolves are way bigger and much stronger, so I don't think I'd be as confident as Selene when in this sort of situation. She handles it well with some more automatic fire from her twin Berettas:
Big Flame

The no-freaking-way award comes when, without reloading, she fires both pistols into the floor in order to cut an escape route to the floor below:
Floor Shootin
Impossible

It sure looks cool though! Look close in the top pic (click to make large) and you can see eight 9mm shell casings in the air!

Selene covers Corvin while he escapes, but not before he was bit by the chief Lycan, named Lucian (Michael Sheen), seen here holding a Franchi SPAS 12 shotgun while talking to his fellow Lycans:
Franchi SPAS12

He's planning to use the guy to make a vampire/werewolf hybrid.

Selene is back at the mansion where Kahn is showing here the new anti-Lycan ammunition that is filled with liquid silver, seen here in a H&K USP Match 9mm that he hands her:
H&K USPs
Ghetto H&K USP
Ghetto H&K Front
Real Silver Bullet
You can see in the first picture her Walther P99, as well as a H&K USP. How that bullet is supposed to stay intact while being forced down a steel tube under pressure from an explosion is the question of the day.

Getting toward the end battle, the Lycans are arming themselves with AK47s, H&K G36Ks and H&K G36KEs:
AK47
H&K G36KE

In the back of an armored van, the Lycans have a whole rack of AK47s:
Lots of AKs

The vampires seem to prefer H&K MP5s, like these MP5Ks and MP5K PDWs:
H&K MP5Ks H&K MP5K

Kahn is in his armory holding his weapon of choice: a Colt M4 varient with an unknown optic and a big-ass red lens flashlight:
M4gery

On the gunrack in the vampire safehouse is a Colt M16A2, a L85A2, and a Steyr AUG, as well as a whole rack of AK47s:
M16A2 SA80 Steyr AUG

I'd love to have an arms room like that!!! Wow!

In the end shootout, one of the vampires pulls out a shiny hand grenade of unknown type, and blows him up some Lycans:
Vampire Grenade

Selene is kicking ass with her select fire Walther P99s:
Kate Beckinsale in Skin Tight Patent Leather With Twin Walthers
Twin Full Auto Walthers

Everyone else is busy dying because they don't use the sights, fire one handed, hip fire, or run out from behind cover and stand in the middle of the room where everyone can take a shot at them:
Hip Fire
USE THE SIGHTS!!
One Handed Fire
H&K MP5

There is no possible way anyone can fire a H&K MP5K one handed with any degree of accuracy. Maybe that's why they don't hit anyone in the fight! Something cool I noticed though is that the Lycans taped Surefire flashlights to the front of their H&K G36KEs:
Taped Surefires

Lucian loads up his Desert Eagle with glowing boooolits, which from the looks of it is the .44 Magnum version, if the magazine is any indicator:
Loading Desert Eagle

The last fight is between the Head vampire, Viktor (Bill Nighy), and Selene and Corvin.

Selene slices Viktor up nice with his own sword that he dropped while fighting with Corvin, and before he even notices that he's dead, he pulls out two knives from under his faux leather cape:
Cool Sword
Sword Violence
Twin Blades

I won't spoil what happens next because it's really cool, so you will just have to check it out yourself. And that's the show, folks!

Again, Kate Beckinsale was impressive during this movie for her gun handling skills, among other things. She keeps the gun at eye level and maintains a correct grip on the pistol. I do realize that there is no way she could control a full auto pistol firing real ammunition, and I'm not a subscriber to the gun-in-each-hand theory of gunfighting either. It does make for good TV though!

Something I wondered about though was why did the Lycans even bother to arm themselves at the end if they're so much more deadly when they transform into werewolves?

Strange.

Enjoy the post, and thanks again to James form Hell in a Handbasket!