Whoa, stop the press!!

Asked Sunday about criticism of the increased surveillance, Mr. Bloomberg said: “We live in a world where we have to have a balance. We can’t just say everybody can go everyplace and do anything they want.”

Really? But I thought this was the land of the free??

Apparently this man thinks that it's the home of the surveilled, and that it's totally cool to go about your day as long as there's an underpaid goon in a room somewhere suspiciously watching your every move; all while on your dime.

This form of thinking is a startling reality that has smitten one too many Americans. You can't be trusted to live in society without someone watching you suspiciously because it's just too dangerous now, as opposed to, say, anytime last century or the one before, or even five or six hundred years ago. Things are only now getting out of hand.

He added, “Do you really want to work in a building that doesn’t have security?”

Yes, douchebag, I do. I'm pretty sure that the majority of Americans feel that way too; although, admittedly, probably not as many on your end.

It's crazy to me that this guy has risen to such prominence. How do people like this get attention? Do Americans really feel like they need someone to take care of them at every step?

Morally righteous DC citizen thwarts carjackers with a firearm

I blame the NRA for this senseless violence:

In Sunday's incident, the D.C. officer, whose name was not released, had just parked his vehicle on Brooks Drive about 6:20 a.m. As he got out, he was approached by two people, county police said.

One showed a gun and demanded the officer's keys. The officer got his service weapon and fired, police said. As the two people ran, one fired back, police said.

What?? He stood his ground and used a portable hand held device created only for killing masses of innocents to ward off highly trained and armed criminals?!?! And they fled?!?

That defies all logic! Someone could have been hurt; or even worse, they could have taken his gun from him and stole his car!! Why the officer didn't wip out his rat tailed comb and vomit is anyone's guess.

Me personally, anytime someone gets a little too close to my automobile I poop my britches, vomit, and then scream "Get away!!! I'm pregnant!!" while pointing to my crotch indicating my rampant STDs. Sure, you may laugh, but nobody. . .and I mean NOBODY. . .approaches too close to my car. Can't be too safe.

Update: More police recklessness; this time in Texas! Why the officer didn't just let the robber have what he wanted. And what was he thinking using a gun against him when he was holding a hostage? YOUR COMB!!! USE YOUR RAT TAILED COMB!!!

Omaha beach today

Check out Omaha: 65 Years over at Blackfive for pictures of what the beach looks like today.

Enough of this "sniper" stuff!!

SNIPER!! It's a SNIPER!! OOOooooohh, look y'all, it's a SNIPER!!

SSSNNNNIIIPPPPEEEERR!!

I wish reporters like Stephanie Barish and Chris Glorioso weren't so childish. This business of calling any gunman or pellet gunman (remember who coined that term folks) a sniper makes me roll my eyes; even as I realize that all lowlife journalists use scare words to scare viewers into reading their trash.

Maybe it's because I respect the sniper profession and the few men and women who earn that title, or maybe it's because I admire accuracy and despise the disingenuous crap that is considered journalism these days, but man do I hate the SNIPER theme that emanates from the cesspool of big box news.

So do me a favor guys and grow the hell up. Stop insulting snipers with your silly fantasies of pellet gunman and broken glass.

With that said, shooting people with a BB gun is a serious crime that should land someone a healthy punishment. Even if they're teens, a slap on the wrist just won't cut it.

Why such urgency?

"This is one we wanted to solve with the utmost urgency!" Peskin exclaimed. According to police, the alleged thief is John Prentis.

So when crooks rob the citizens you're sworn to protect, it's not considered the "utmost urgency?" It's only when a crook steals from the king that things get serious?

That's not the best attitude.

I will hand it to the police chief though that he admits error on the police department, though not up to the point of taking personal responsibility.

And why wouldn't a scumbag want to steal from a police station? They're well known to have large amounts of cash (like here), drugs, guns, and other random stuff that has been confiscated. It's the perfect place to steal from.

What would be a better place to steal from? Target? Borders?

Second Amendment in the Supreme Court again

At issue is whether the constitutional "right of the people to keep and bear arms" applies to local gun control ordinances, or only to federal restrictions. The basic question has remained unanswered for decades, and gives the conservative majority on the high court another chance to allow individuals expanded weapon ownership rights.

Overall it's a pretty informative article on the issue, but curiously the writer notes the "larger issue" being whether gun ownership is an individual vs collective right; that of course was decided by the Supreme Court last year with the Heller case, which the article does go on to explain.

A hero's return

BOISE - After four decades, an Idaho soldier is finally home.

Chief Warrant Officer Jesse Phelps was flying a helicopter in December 1965, when it was shot down in the highlands of Vietnam.

DoD sent a team to track down the man who shot his helo down, and then confirm that it was indeed CWO Phelps remains. Now his wife and family finally find closure.

Welcome home sir!

Global warming is the source of all my problems

Apparently all I need to fight my kidney stone affliction is a Prius, some pot, and some hemp clothing. Good to know.

Using published data to determine the temperature-dependence of stone disease, researchers applied predictions of temperature increase to determine the impact of global warming on the incidence and cost of stone disease in the United States.

I don't wish kidney stones on anyone, but if these "predictions" are true (sarcasm folks) then two million Americans are screwed.

At this point, these damn things are no longer just causing me physical pain, or making my work days a living hell, but they're somehow causing me family grief as well. It's not like I can keep this shit secret, so everyone knows about it, and many people, now including family members, have approached me with home remedies because they care.

I sincerely appreciate it; and believe me, I will try them all, but I cannot abandon tried, tested, and experienced tactics from doctors and hospitals for untested stuff. They may help in the long haul, which I'm in for, but taking herbal stuff will not cause the immediate cessation of agonizing pain in which the human body was clearly not designed to cope with. High doses of opiates will.

Particular herbal stuff may dissolve particular types of stones in particular types of people with particular types of body chemistry, or they may not, but they definitely will not stop a large stone from lodging in my pipes causing my kidney to swell in crippling pain. Plastic tubes surgically placed in my pipes will.

On the other hand, there is a high likelihood that my stupid body is the kind that likes to collect and covet these stupid stones like some sort of retarded Gollum creature, and hospital meds will not stop that from happening.

So, I am very much open to home remedies. However, being the established realist that everyone knows that I am, I know for a bonafide fact that there is not one single "I'm telling you, this shit will definitely work!" strategy for defeating one of mankind's oldest medical problems when thousands of years of medical research and treatment still haven't pinned it down, and there are so many types and bodily factors that impact it. So don't be offended by that.

It's not completely known why rock doesn't beat paper, it's impossible to know how much wood a woodchuck chucks, and marshmallow root, more/less vitamin C, and/or sleeping with my feet facing North/Northeast while laying on a mat woven from the foreskin of a thousand virgin squirrels may or may not help cure kidney stones. There is no definitive way to tell. That's it; it's that simple.

But that doesn't mean that I won't try. . . .

Delusional paranoid barkeep terrified of patrons

AP News finds the most unsettled and irrational bar owners in the entire state to interview about Arizona's new "Guns in Bars bill." This guy takes the cake:

PHOENIX — Bartender Randy Shields was serving British brews and Arizona ambers as usual at Shady's bar in east Phoenix when he saw a customer walk in with a hunting knife strapped to his hip.

A disturbing image flashed through his mind — "that knife sliding between my ribs."

That's all it would take for me to never visit a place like that again. Even if I was blood related to this psychotic man I would steer clear of him. That sort of crazy ass talk is projection; if he's so overtaken by thoughts of blood at the mere sight of a knife (or stick??), to the point where he screens his very own silverware because he doesn't trust his fellow man to eat a steak with it, I would avoid him because he's really the dangerous one. Seriously. That man is about to snap.

Here's another irrational bar owner:

"Somebody can pull the trigger, then a bullet comes out, and people get hurt and killed," said Brad Henrich, owner of Shady's, a popular neighborhood bar that sees occasional minor scuffles.

That's the whole concept there, sport.

"The idea of anyone coming in with guns in a place that serves alcohol just seems ludicrous."

I disagree; but think about how ludicrous your idea is that people don't illegally carry guns into your bar because there hasn't been a law or a sign to stop them. Do you think that they haven't been doing that all along, you just didn't know? Do you think those same people are going to give a moments pause at your silly little sign telling them you don't want anyone in your establishment armed? You will succeed at keeping the non-criminal element out of your place as they are the folks who will honor your sign. In all actuality you're filtering the good element out, which is indirectly letting the bad element in. Think about that.

And another:

"I hate to have to put them up," Mark DeSimone, owner of the Hidden House Cocktail Lounge in central Phoenix, said of the signs. "It looks scary. It looks to somebody like, should I go in this place because they obviously have a problem with people bringing weapons in."

Perhaps it will stop somebody who has an extreme case of paranoia like Randy Shields, which is not at all a bad thing considering what we know about the guy. Or, you could consider my witty pencil change of your quote: "it looks to some degenerate scumbag like, I should go in this place because they obviously have a problem with people bringing weapons in."

Think that's ludicrous? Try Googling "Gun Free Zones." Now, try Googling "Lawfully Armed Citizen" (hey look, I'm number five!).

And finally, at the very bottom of the article, AP News has thoughtfully allowed a dissenting voice to break through the ludicrousness. How thoughtful:

Marc Peagler, owner of the Silver Spur Saloon Restaurant in Cave Creek outside Phoenix, said he will allow people with concealed weapons permits to carry in his business, and Silver Spur will be safer because of it.

"It's a deterrent," he said. "In the criminal element, there is some logic that says when people look at a place that they might want to rob, the ones that have big signs up that say 'We do not permit firearms' would be the first target.

Marc Peagler mentions logic, which is noticeably absent from mention of the last three guys in the article.

Logic is like fresh air. Don't be afraid of it guys.

What is it about Colorado?

PALISADE, Colo. — Mesa County prosecutors say an 18-year-old man was plotting a "profoundly disturbing" attack on his high school with weapons and explosives.

Man, y'all have some screwed up teens! I've known kids with bully problems and daddy issues in my day; but jeez guys, take your kids to a frickin' ball game sometime or something. They need some healthy stress relief!

Futility of the inbred mind

Umm, someone forgot to tell this jackass and his inbred accomplices that the Marine Corps is not afraid of a few dipshits with automatic weapons.

A bombing would certainly suck, but the Sergeant of the Guard and his trained killers at the gate are not at all intimidated by crazed jihadists ridin' dirty.

Considering that most of these Marines spent multiple seven month tours wandering a desert actively hunting the most dangerous jihadis the world has to offer, a daring but futile attack may actually break up the boredom.

"You might not believe it but under fire Animal Mother is one of the finest human beings in the world. All he needs is someone to throw hand grenades at him for the rest of his life." - Full Metal Jacket

Damn, this slope sure is slippery!

Councilman Phil Mendelson said the 25-foot ban option targets wild packs of smokers loitering outside office buildings -- human blight.

"Wild packs of smokers?" How mature.

Then again, this is Phil we're talking about.

Demonizing a group of citizens whom you happen to disagree with is all part of a days work for this douchebag.

How to not win a war

Ignoring generals will not win the day.

Gen. Stanley McChrystal says he's talked to President Obama only once since taking command of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan over the summer, a revelation that drew swift criticism from some who are concerned that the president is putting off McChrystal's request for more troops.

Hell, we've got more pressing things to do folks! The Olympics are right around the corner fer' peetsakes!!

Kinda reminds me of another general who was totally ignored by his leadership. I think the outcome may be the same.

How do you solve Chicago's murder problem?

"More government at every level."

Something tells me that more government won't do the job there. Here we have crowds of kids beating other kids to death with two-by-fours for nothing more than being at the wrong bus stop that day, all started by a teenage gang shooting. Really nice.

How long has Chicago had a functioning government? You're saying that maybe now they need to step up? What have they been up to this whole time?

I guess it's debatable whether or not you could consider Chicago to have a "functioning" government, and I freely admit that I don't have a solution to recommend, but at some point people are going to have to realize that the G-man isn't going to just step in and make all the pain go away. The citizens need to do their part, which is not happening right now.

Gun owning manliness, Abe Lincoln's arrest, violent protests. . .

Check it out at MilitaryPhotos.net.

Interesting how lefties can smash windows with hammers, throw rocks at cops, and make an overall nasty appearance at a protest over the weekend with pretty much no coverage from our broken news agencies.

Awesomeness of the highest magnitude

VALLEY FALLS -- The young man was given three choices: get turned over to the police, go one-on-one in a fight with a seasoned war veteran, or be duct-taped to a flagpole for six hours with a sign around his neck identifying his alleged crime: flag burning.

Damn, I love me some veterans!! That's Corporal punishment at its finest! Way to go guys!

(H/T Ace)

Upstanding California citizen shoots knife wielding madman

And by upstanding citizen, I actually mean a police officer:

The residents in the bedroom were told to move away from the bedroom door, but the man with the knife opened the door and raised the knife over his head. The officer, who perceived a threat, shot the man several times, police said.

Police Chief Louis Fetherolf said the shooting appears to be justified.

What powers of perception! I sure wish I had such powers; to be able to tell that the residents of a home were cowering in a corner from a lunatic with a big ass knife. Must be some sort of special training that mere California citizens can't possibly understand.

Powerful. Powerful.

Oh, and there's this:

It is currently unknown why the man had the large knife.

I'm sure it was for something especially nefarious. But what do I know; I don't possess the secret madman perception decoder ring.

And with that out of the way: I do appreciate the good guy defeating the bad guy. That's how it should be. It would just be nice for California citizens to be included in the good guy category every once in awhile, instead of being the cowering helpless victims who can't survive an attack unless someone saves them.

Testing. . . testing

Hi there!

A couple of weeks ago my son spilled my drink into the keyboard of the computer, which is why blogging has been light.

We're hell on computers here in the CTone household. I managed to take the thing apart and massage some rubbing alcohol into the sensitive bits until this baby works like it's supposed to.

Stuff should return to normal here soon.

There's a term that gets thrown around a lot

Weapon of Mass Destruction:

Rachelle Lynette Carlock admitted to using a pipe bomb — a weapon of mass destruction — to commit a crime, along with co-defendants Eric Reginald Robinson and Ella Louise Sanders, FOX 5 San Diego reported.

Destructive device is a far better term, noting that they are labeled that as well. As far as being capable of mass destruction, this is usually what comes to mind when one considers destruction on a massive scale.

A pipe bomb may be used to cause injury/death to several, but a "WMD" (stupid term) is used to cause injury/death to several thousand or more. There's no comparison.

However, since the California prosecutor is not hesitant to label them as such, and this woman freely admits to actually detonating several of such a devices in a public place, one has to wonder why she only gets 30 years. I mean, the U.S. attorney actually thinks this is a tough sentence:

"This prosecution serves as a reminder that the law imposes very stern penalties for the unlawful use of bombs, explosives or other destructive devices."

A wopping 30 years?!?! Really?! If you think I'm just a little too harsh, think about this: next time you're standing in line at DMV with your kids, look to the 57 year old lady standing behind you and imagine her as the gal recently paroled from prison for detonating three bombs in a public building, and plotting to detonate several more.

Would you still trust someone like that to walk about freely in society? She would be prohibited by federal law from legally purchasing a firearm - not that she wouldn't be able to get one, mind you - but there is nothing to stop someone from buying or making bomb making equipment.

It's not possible; although I wouldn't put it past California lawmakers to try.

Dangerous people like this shouldn't get a second chance. Piss poor sentences ensure that they get released back into the wild while politicians, prosecutors, and citizens bitch when they get ahold of a weapon and kill a bunch of people.

Stop letting them out!

National ammo shortage

Hey, now even the Associated Press is calling us "gun enthusiasts" instead of "gun extremists."

That's progress folks.

AR build slideshow

Fantastic sideshow of a NM AR build at Captain of a Crew of One.

NBC 4 writers are now gun policy experts

The VRE overturned their ban on the lawful carry of firearms on trains, and, not knowing how to deal with this news or even what it means, NBC 4 writer Mike Tunison writes this steaming pile of poo:

"VRE Operations Board members were less than thrilled with having to make the change, partially because many riders will run afoul of the differing rules across jurisdictions, but also because guns plus big crowds equals disaster."

And Mike would know this not because of the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, or from knowledgeable experience, but from his expert opinion forged by years of writing for a liberal rag, as well as (I presume) an indoctrination in one of those totally unbiased higher learning institutions.

Think I'm full of it? Check out how he closes this piece:

"Meanwhile, the VRE has nixed discounts to children and the elderly. Probably just as well to get the frail folks who might not be able to take a bullet off the train with all the guns that might be coming aboard."

Pretty disgusting, I'd say. Then again, NBC 4 does have a way of hiring bigoted idiots.

A new tag for my hunting license?

And a new species for animal activists to get bent out of shape over:

The study, outlined in the latest issue of Royal Society Biology Letters, reveals that some of the largest specimens were indeed coyote and wolf hybrids.

Given where these animals came from and the degree of documented genetic diversity, the researchers can tell that a few coyote females mated with male wolves north of the Great Lakes.

Sweeeeet. I've been slowly gearing up for predator hunting, which is why I have modified my DPMS AP4 rifle to fit that need. A small handy carbine with an attached light is perfect for the job; now all I need is the time.

The coyote population seems to be growing here in Virginia, but they mostly eat small critters. At this point it probably wouldn't hurt to have a predator around that's big enough to eat the abundance of deer that are now displaced from all the freaking houses and Linens N Things that have sprouted up over the Old Dominion.

Seriously.

I don't know whether the deer population is any larger than it was ten years ago, but now instead of the "hey, look. . . a deer" on my way to work, I have to swerve around herds of them in the road.

A coywolf would also look fantastic mounted on my mantle. I'm not speaking for anybody else, but I'm all about some coywolves making their way down here!

Ummmm. . . creepy!

NORTH VERSAILLES, Pa. -- A 71-year-old woman was shot and killed Sunday night by a police officer in North Versailles where, police said, she may have been lying in wait outside an ex-boyfriend's home with a gun.

Whoa! This story is disturbing for a number of reasons, like that it went down on Shady Lane.

Armed grandmas are dangerous too!

And another city racked by gun wielding criminals

BALTIMORE -- Baltimore city police are responding to an outbreak of violence that saw 10 shootings and three deaths from Friday night to Sunday night.

Most major cities have a scumbag problem, but Baltimore is particularly loathsome considering they expect their citizens to be easy targets. I just like to point them out.

The counter argument is that cities like Baltimore would be even more violent if the citizens were not prohibited from being armed, but stuff like this kinda shoots down that logic.

A society of criminals

What's up with all the criminals wielding guns in LA these days? Damned NRA extremists and their gun clingy ideology.

The nerve of these people breaking perfectly good laws to take advantage of those who respect it.

You would think that with California pulling funding for police that the number of shootings by cops would go down.

Who would've ever seen this coming?

There's not a lot of interesting stuff in the news today, but I did find this story about an escaped violent criminal in Chicago that is something that will be made into a movie some day.

I mean it has everything; a violent bank robbing scumbag escaping from restraints, taking police hostages, taking weapons, carjacking, SWAT teams. . . . this one is chock full.

Here's the part that gets me though. This man has a long and violent history that includes a successful escape attempt. Why on earth is he still going through the court system? Why even have him outside of prison walls in the first place? Are you telling me his 20+ years of bank robbing sprees, kidnapping, and a whole host of other crazy activities really not enough to do it; not enough to put him away for life to the point where he has to be bounced around from state to federal courthouses and back again in order to rack up enough time to take him away from society for good? WTF?

Hell, why did anyone even bother to spend taxpayer dollars locking him up in the first place then; just let him have his way until he finally kills someone and gets his life sentence or death penalty. That very well may be the case here.

Hopefully the clown show quits screwing around and can catch him before he hurts another citizen. Bag his ass and lock him up for the rest of his life.

Update: The scumbag was caught (same link as above). But not until after he robbed another bank.

Another 308 problem

Soon I'll test and see if the gas block problem is solved, but this post is about the bullet setback that I had talked about. Last night I tried to chamber some factory ammo so that I could take some measurements of the before and after. The I've written a post on it at Practical Riflery Forums, but I'll post it here:

As far as the factory loads, I measured three of them before loading them in the magazine to see if the depth is affected by chambering the rounds. I dropped the bolt on the first one and here is what I got:

The factory 150 grain Remington Cor-Lokt is stuck on the feed ramp. I realize that I'm getting off topic, and I intend to shoot these rounds this weekend and post a range report, but for right now what in the world do I do about this? I've already polished the feedramps; should I wallow them out with a Dremel and bring them down to where they will feed from the magazine? This is not at all what I expected from a Fulton Armory barrel.

What do y'all think? Should I take a Dremel to my barrel extension?

Ax violence

In Germany.

Seems the ax man was throwing molotov cocktails as well. Fortunately nobody died.

This leads to the obvious question: should axes and flammables be illegal in schools? Why this hasn't been addressed with comprehensive legislation is anyone's guess.

Let's close the ax loophole.

Swordsman kills intruder

In Baltimore of all places.

Hmmm. Can one get a sword permit in Maryland? Seems like it worked out well as a self defense tool.

Calling all AR ninja

I have a problem with my 308.

Copied from my post on AR15.com last night:

I am having problems with the bolt in my DPMS LR-308 short stroking on occasion and catching the next round in the middle of the case. Details and pictures here.

I noticed that there was some carbon and soot on the barrel in front of my gas block (PRI low profile) so I took the hand guard and the gas block off to have a looksee. The carbon was about 1/8th inch from the forward edge of the gas block, and underneath there was a thin coating of carbon/soot everywhere the gas block covered. I cleaned off the surfaces and put it back on, taking care to torque the two set screws down to 30 inch lbs this time with a bit of loc-tight.

My question is: will that little bit of a leak cause the bolt to short stroke (about one in twenty rounds)?

Nobody has responded about the gas block question. I'm pretty sure that there's no possible way to stop all of the gas from leaking out. How much is too much?

When I first put the rifle together, I didn't have the fantastic Wheeler FAT Wrench, so I just kinda tightened the set screws a bit thinking that they seemed a little frail. This time I put the FAT Wrench on it and cranked them down to 30 inch pounds. I'll try to shoot it this weekend and see if that helps, but I won't start out shooting my handloads.

I bought some Remington 150 grain Cor-Lokt ammo last night that I'm going to send down range to see if they feed properly. I'm also going to chamber and eject them first to see if the bullet gets jammed down into the case neck like they have been doing with my handloads. This is also a problem with the Black Hills 185 grain hollow points that I shoot in my Kimber. I need reliable ammo for that gun too, but there is still a lack of .45 ACP on the shelves in my town.

Why I don't live in DC

In 1995 Stove lost her first son Clarence to murder. In 1999 she says her husband was beaten to death in a robbery and now this.

Her other son was gunned down in a drive by shooting yesterday. I could never imagine what this woman has gone through or what she is feeling right now. Watch the video and have your heartstrings pulled on.

I will never live in a major city; especially DC. My father worked there for years and has too many stories to tell. This type of violence is so common place that is it is almost expected.

As for this article, Writer Paul Wagner throws this in there:

The District’s homicide rate is still very low.

Uh huh. Compared to what? Afghanistan? That's not very helpful Paul.

DC needs some new leadership that doesn't promote violence and victimhood. I wonder when the citizens are going to wake up and make that happen.

Update: Another Gun Blog points out that DC's crime rate in 2007 was 1,414.3 per 100,000; not anywhere close to being low. I mean, holy smokes! To compare, Virginia's was 269.7 per 100k in 2007. Virginia has 13 times the population, is 629 times the size, and doesn't even have twice as many murders.

Support your pro-gun McDonalds!!

WCSC-TV reports that along with two bags containing food, the teen said he was given a third bag containing a handgun and bags of pot at a McDonald's on Savannah Highway on Aug. 29.

Now that's what I'm talking about! I'll make sure to get one with each Happy Meal from now on: "ahh, yes, I'd like to get two Chicken McNugget happy meals. . . .apple juice. . . . .yes please, a handgun for a boy and for a girl. Thank you!!

Back to the story, here's the best part:

Police said the bag with the gun and pot were meant for the car behind the teen at the drive-through. The people followed the teen to a gas station and demanded that the teen give them the bag.

Ooops! I bet he feels like a jackass.

A violent, black home intruder attacks man

In Colorado.

This is why you should never carry anything smaller than .44 Magnum around in your home. For the record, I'm going straight to the gunstore after work for a .454 Casull so that this doesn't happen to me.

Preparedness folks!

Well respected and lawfully armed DC citizen guns down potential car thief

Alright, I made up the well respected part. You should know better; DC residents can't carry their firearms, silly!

But wouldn't it be nice to hear about a really real DC citizen stopping a criminal sometime?

DC Police to crack down on illegal NRA members

DC Police want another "All Hands on Deck" this weekend to stop the blood from flowing in the streets due to the handguns registered in the wake of the Heller decision.

OK, I may be fibbing there a little bit.

Chief Lanier claims that they always work, but I have my doubts.

We must ban it all for the children

First up we have a story from beautiful Long Island, NY where a cab driver was attacked, stabbed, and carjacked by several men; one of whom wielded a deadly blade that is not over the allotted deadly length necessary for prosecution. Fortunately, the cabbie was unarmed because he followed the letter of the law, so no scumbags were hurt in the incident.

A simple common sense law changing the legal blade length to a much less deadly 2 - 15/16ths inches would prevent this type of "gangsterism" because the criminals, in order to avoid the hefty 60 day jail sentence for criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, would then be forced to rely on less deadly instruments for their trade. . . .like pipe bombs or something. Think about it: how would a criminal extort money from the innocent with a pipe bomb? Can't happen. Problem solved.

Next, we have a bank robber wielding a pistol while holding a girl hostage. What makes this otherwise insignificant story especially frightening is that the robber had specifically chosen a handgun "trimmed in pink accents," which leads me to point the blame for this crime squarely at the NRA and women. There is just no place in civil society for pink trimmings on deadly assault weapons.

By forcing criminals to use standard black trimmings on their firearms with comprehensive laws reinforced with long probation sentences, instances of this kind of abuse with pink trimmings will be a thing of the past.

I think I will run for some sort of high office in New York in the near future. Just think of all the problems I could solve!

Tom Clancy is a homo

No offense to homos, but how in the hell did a nobody like Tom Clancy get the chance to make military themed video games? Especially ones that suck as bad as Rainbow Six? How did they become so popular?

See, I haven't bought an X-Box 360 or a Playstation 3 because, quite frankly, anything that I pay $400+ dollars on is going to make a hell of a lot more noise than one of those things. Therefor, I have been using one of the dinosaur 'regular' X-Boxes, and thought that I would cruise through some of the first person shooters that I have around, like Rainbow Six: Black Arrow.

I have to admit it: I've been a Tom Clancy hater for at least a decade. I have written him much hate mail over the years. How someone with absolutely zero military experience could come to such prominence within the military arena is beyond me. When is someone going to recruit a real veteran to make video games? I think Larry Vickers would be on the top of that list.

First off, Ghost Recon is fucking retarded, and it got worse as the sequels kept coming. I mean, a bad ass speshool farces unit with stupid looking facepaint that gets killed as easily as those morons? Are you kidding me?

Next, we have a "multi-national elite counter terrorist unit" with pansy-ass, non-shooting idiots like the three stooges you've stuck us with. They're worthless! I guess with a name like "Rainbow" you can't expect too much. Funny how ol' Tommy boy conjured up that name for the fictional unit of his dreams. Makes me wonder. . .

And why call them "Rainbow Six" in the first place? There's four of them.

Hey Tom, let me put it down for you plain and simple. Special Operations units, as well as conventional forces, don't need to choose between taking grenades, a pistol, claymore mines, or extra ammo. They're not pussies like you, so they can carry more than 20 pounds of gear for a fifteen minute mission. They frequently carry all of the above with nary a whimper, and accomplish far more than you could ever imagine. And for Pete's sake Tom, as well as you pimply faced gaming programmers that have never seen the light of day outside your mother's basement, how about designing some competent Soldiers that can actually fucking shoot!! It would be nice for once to have three of your "elite" guys that can cover a room and not get wiped the fuck out by one third world terrorist twenty feet away with a rusted ass AK.

It's such an insult to those of us who have carried a rifle, and a pistol for that matter, into harms way.

A question for you Tom: were you aware that 7.62mm rounds in every imaginable cartridge have no chance of penetrating two foot thick concrete walls? Did you know that a M67 hand grenade won't sent fragmentation through said two foot thick walls and kill a hostage thirty feet away? It's an insult to those of us who have thrown hand grenades and fire 7.62mm rounds to suggest such things. Really.

One more thing. If a "Rainbow" or "Ghost" sniper is so super secret squirrel that he can make it into one of your imagined looser outfits, then riddle me how it is that the very moment one of these painted faced and guillied ninjas fires a shot they get fired on by every third world idiot and their brother from five hundred yards away? Aren't snipers in the wild supposed to be able to fire from concealment?

I'm not a sniper. I'm not Special Forces. But I do know that on top of carrying a primary weapon, a Soldier/Marine/Sailor/Airman often carries a sidearm, grenades, a pack full of shit, maybe a claymore or two, possibly an AT rocket launcher, and other stuff like extra ammo. Ask a Soldier sometime what they carry. I'm sure some 82nd Airborne trooper or RCT Marine will set you straight, and then you can make games that don't suck.

I want my two hours back Tom!! I've been robbed!!

Looks like it's Jaws Unleashed from now on. I can pretend that it's you on that frail sailboat, dreaming about Mu1t!C@m! and operators and H&K M9000H&K,H&K.

Sorry about the rant folks, but I'm hung up on a kidney stone, and my friend Gentleman Jack is helping me deal with the pain of it all while I play stupid assed games made by stupid ass people.

Life can be like that sometimes.

Atlantis found!!

Well, not quite; but there's an artist's idea of what it will look like.

"It will help us hold meetings," Secretary Janet Napolitano said. "It will help us build that culture of 'One DHS.'"

Wow. That's a hell of a city to build in order to hold meetings. Or an army of one.

With that 'green' roof, it aught to keep the hippies at bay.

Ever wanted to know how to assemble your grandpappy's M1 Garand?

Head on over to Captain of a Crew of One for an illustrated step-by-step guide. There's even a post on disassembly if you're interested. SailorCurt put in a ton of effort into making those posts, and they are quite detailed.

Unfortunately, I don't own an M1. . . yet.

A laughing matter

I might be struck by lightning for this, but read this article about a man getting set on fire.

Crazy, right? But nothing too unusual from a city like Detroit. I mean, it's what you'd expect from that place.

Now, scroll down and read the comments.

Really, I laughed myself to tears. I admit it. The content of the article is nowhere near funny, but somehow reading about what Detroit residents think of a fellow citizen getting set on fire during an argument, and also taking in their mastery of the English language, made me laugh to no end. Such compassion. That makes me wonder about the comments that were deleted. . . .

Thanks for that y'all!

Kids these days

They have no respect for the law:

Taylor says the party was full of 14-year-old kids. She says gun fire erupted after some kids became angry while getting pushed as they were dancing.

"They were angry because one of the kids got hit by another person, and he got knocked out. So, they got mad and started shooting, and one of them backfired on me," said Taylor.

Dammit!! Why doesn't someone make guns illegal for teenagers to carry in the city? It's common sense!! Jeez.

Getting backfired on sucks people! Guns is not the answer!

And I absolutely love how this comment, from "ihatevernonandtheentirehumanrace55," sums up everything I think about major cities like Chicago:

"crazy men from the north side come south and done this."

Read the name of the poster again, and then read what he/she said. Seriously, that made my morning right there.

Notice the "55" at the end of that handle? Raise your hand if you think it's hilarious knowing that out there somewhere there are 55 other morons who are stupid enough to use that jacked up name!

Update: Man, you've just gotta watch the video. There's a sign there on the street right next to the house that clearly says NO to things like "playing ball" and "dealing drugs." Take a wild guess what's not on the sign. . . .NO GUNS!! Well all this silliness can now be fixed with the quick change of the sign. Problem solved.

AAAAaaaaggghhh!!!! BB Gun SNIPER on the loose!!

Did I mention the SNIPER?!?! OMFG SNIPER, it's a fucking SNIPER y'all!! SNIPER!!!!

Writer Hemery Ferreira belittles snipers everywhere with this short piece of trash that is obviously only intended to scare people. I guess that's what writers do these days. Take a look in the lower right hand corner:


I was cruising the news this morning, reading a tragic article about a girl gunned down in "Gun Free" NY, when I saw the steaming poo festering down there in the corner. Too bad there's no place for comments.

Mouse gun accuracy

Went to a local indoor range for some handgun shooting yesterday. My wife has a Kahr PM9 that hasn't been fully broken in yet, and I thought I would put a hundred rounds or so through it to finish the job.

At one point I decided to see how it would group at ten yards. I was running Winchester White Box 115 grainers through it and and turned out this 3/4" five shot group offhand:


There are six holes there as my aiming point was the 9mm bullet hole second from the left. If you take out the far left flyer, which I called due to a rushed shot, the group is about 11mm in circumference. Not bad for a 3" barrel!!

I also put a few rounds out of my wife's post war Walther PPK that acts as my pocket carry gun. I found some Cor-Bon 60 grain rounds in 32 Auto that I wanted to give a try. At ten yards I put five rounds into the X-ring with ease despite the teeny tiny sights. Point of aim is point of impact. The accuracy of that little gun is exceptional as well.

I have no qualms carrying a .32 Auto if I can place rounds exactly where I want them to go. The little blaster is as reliable as a brick too, and I'll take it.

Also, the saga of my 308 tuning is almost complete. Go over to Practical Riflery Forums for my latest post on those efforts. I highly recommend the OCW method of finding the right load for your rifle. It has worked out well for me.

DC's youth to learn their place

Nothing like indoctrinating the youngins early on as to who owns the place.

Now, Gates said, young people will get written warnings for minor offenses as long as they comply with police and show identification proving they are under 18. If they don't, they can then be arrested, she said.

What could possibly go wrong? That city has a violence problem that stems from a social disorder; putting a boot in the necks of the next generation to take over is not the way to change that.

I'm all about citizens being safe in their day to day travels, and I do recognize that teenagers can be scumbags from time to time, but do you really think that putting up a snitch line for passengers to call is going to stop any sort of crime? What do you think is going to happen from all of this? The article already list one screwup from this sort of thing; who wants to hear about more?

Never let a crisis go to waste

A "pandemic response bill" currently making its way through the Massachusetts state legislature would allow authorities to forcefully quarantine citizens in the event of a health emergency, compel health providers to vaccinate citizens, authorize forceful entry into private dwellings and destruction of citizen property and impose fines on citizens for noncompliance.

This sort of stuff is not just coming from Massachusetts. And I don't care how well intentioned you think your political party is, they are experts at using fear or other human emotions to help pass laws they think may be beneficial to society.

The prospect of a Biological threat, whether natural or not, or any other Weapon of Mass Destruction/Man Made Disaster/OMFG Terrorist ATTACK!!! is a new found hobby horse for politicos to ride down their well intentioned road to hell. I don't plan on coming along for the ride.

I point this out as somewhat of an insider, and I ask you to pay a-freaking-attention to what your congresscritter is up to because many of them think that this sort of thing is warranted in such cases. They take it as common sense that you would want to surrender your rights as a sovereign citizen to "authorities" in a CBRN/WMD event because how the hell are you going to know what to do. If you think that everything is going to be A-OK, that your friendly Jack Bauer federal agent will lead you to the well orchestrated high tech decon site where yellow suited guys will make the bad thing stop, then I'm here to tell you you've lost your mind.

How convenient

"After reviewing and analyzing all of the evidence in the case, we do not believe the essential elements of the crime of carrying a pistol without a license can be proved beyond a reasonable doubt," said U.S. Attorney Jeff Taylor, top prosecutor in the District of Columbia.

Let's review. Thompson carried a loaded handgun into the security checkpoint at the Senate building in "Gun Free" DC. The gun did not belong to him, and he was arrested for his troubles. Now he is deemed innocent of the charges without having to fight a moment in court.

Color of law has favorable shades. The only difference between Thompson and us mere mortals is that he works for a Noble and is protected by that nobility. Nobles are often beyond reproach simply because of they have these shades, and apparently that extends down to aides to Nobles.

This wouldn't be the first time.

Methinks the outcome of this "investigation" would have been different if you or I got caught carrying in DC, not to mention taking the cursed pistol into the halls of the Senate. My question is do you think that the wheels of justice put a bit of delay on this to give Sir Webb enough time to get out of the spotlight lest it darken his favorable shade?

Personally, I think the silly law banning commoners from carrying any firearm anywhere are ghey. But there is no "reasonable doubt" that Webb's aide got the special treatment just because his boss is a Noble.

I sense a newfound lack of trust

Amongst these two Chicago cops.

Would you trust your partner after he shot you accidentally.

And I'm not throwing rocks at how the situation went down or how they handled it. I'm just saying that once your buddy puts a round in your vest, you may not want to hang out with him anymore.

Kids these days

They have the audacity to break clearly written laws.

The comments are more interesting than the story. Notice the burning desire to revert back to "the good ol' days." Apparently adults these days are pussies for not handling their bidness with fists. Because beating someone's face in is so much of a safer alternative than the non-confrontation that is so common place amongst those who carry a firearm. I'll take pacifism over brawling any day.

Home again

I am done with driving up to Fairfax county every day. It will take me a day or two to get my shit together, and once that happens my blogging will go back up.

Unfortunately, I'm still battling kidney stones, so my overall disposition is not so good. Pain has a way of keeping people bitter.

State of the Union

Mrs. CTone went to the beach with the kiddees and left me all alone to attend classes in Northern Virginia for the last two weeks.

Ah, beautiful Fairfax county: the San Francisco of Virginia. The four and a half to five hours of driving time added to a nine hour day would be why I haven't been around. Virginia is known for incompetent and highly dangerous drivers, and it gets worse the further North you go. I pull into the driveway in the evenings and my hands are shaking from road raging madness and outright post traumatic stress.

I honestly felt safer driving through Ramadi.

On a happier note, last Sahrrdee [Appalachian Ebonics] I made my way to the coolest place in all of Virginia: Greentop Sporting Goods. Upon entry of this divine establishment, guests are treated to the enchanting emanation of Culprit worms, as well as the soothing burble of the baitfish livewells. I remember this transcendental embrace of my senses from when I was still in diapers. The smell of Culprit worms still sedates me. It reminds me of my youthful pond fishing days.

I love this place.

I first went to the firearms counter, nervously looking around before I slipped the clerk a twenty with a wink, and softly asked for large pistol primers. A young lad was he, and must have started working there recently cause' he looked at me curiously and pointed to the shelf in the back right next to all the other reloading components where primers had been lovingly stacked since waaaaay back before November of 2008. I walked back and found primers aplenty in every shape and size. Weird.

I got 2k large pistol and 500 CCI BR2 primers. Hells yes!

Next up I made my way to the factory ammunition shelf where .45 ACP in primo brands were available, but admittedly weren't in the amounts that are typical for a store of this magnitude. But lo and behold I saw two boxes of Federal Hydra-shok in .380 Auto; rare beasts these days. A wide eyed gentleman snatched them up so fast like he was saving me from the maw of a cobra. A few minutes later I found a treasure trove of about ten boxes of Hornady Critical Defense, again in .380 Auto, and I grabbed a box for a friend as I don't have a .380. But alas, they still didn't have .32 ACP which I haven't seen much of in awhile.

The powder locker was filled to the brim with affordable powders of every kind, and bullets were available in just about anything you would desire. I was in a good mood.

Yesterday I was in my local Ganderous Mountainous and spotted many boxes of Remington and Cor-Bon .32 ACP for a bizzilian dollars each, and I declined. I hate that store. A half a mile down the road, Dick's Sporting Goods had many 50 round boxes of CCI Blazer in .380 Auto for a reasonable $1,899 - I mean $18.99 - and even had plinking ammo in .45 ACP and 9 millimetah.

I think the ammo nightmare is about over my friends.

I did get some shooting in with the big bad .308, and boy was that interesting. I was tesing some new loads at a hundred yards, and it was as hot as the hinges of hell. Humid too. I was prone behind the gun shooting off Harris bi-pods and a sand sock, and I would wipe my sweat soaked face with a wife beater, and then wipe off the stock before quickly getting on the scope. Before I could break a shot in that seven seconds, I would loose my cheekweld from the slime and sweat would fill my eye. I didn't shoot too well with the 165 grain Sierra Game Kings.

Fortunately mother nature reared her childish head and cranked out a thunderstorm about ten minutes after the last shot of my first loads, just like she always does Every. Single. Time. Too bad for her her whorelike plans failed and I was able to successfully use the hatch of my Xterra to shield me from the onslaught long enough to shoot some three round groups with some 155 grain loads. I got a .333" group out of one of em', and I've got similar groups with this load before. Enough to know that it's not a fluke anyways.

I'll post a pic when I have a camera available. It's currently taking shots of my kids frolicking in the sea. Without me. One day I will get a vacation, and I'm sure my levels of bitterness will go down to normal levels.

Liberty and Justice for none

Eleanor Holmes Norton. Is there anything she can't do?

Stand back citizen!! Do not impede her selfless efforts to stop a pre-mitigated non problem before it doesn't start!

You guys seriously check her name on the ballot box? Think about that.

The media sock puppets are quick to come to her aid as well, facts and elementary logic be damned.

Anyways, citizens can't carry any firearms in DC as it is, so it's already illegal. The Secret Service already creates not only a "Gun Free Zone" around the president, but make it weapon free to the point of silliness. On top of that, these people were no where near the president, and every stupid law on the books will not stop terrorists or "crazies," but that mindless woman knows that much.

That only leaves the freedom of non DC citizens for the taking. I just wish she would say it outright instead of acting like she cares.

Chainsaw Free Zones

So the little hooligan thought he would be slick:

"All the while that the teachers and principal are confronting this kid, holding him down and tackling him, he's got eight live pipe bombs attached to his person," Brunicardi said.

No one was hurt in the explosion and no gun was found, according to Manheimer.

Thank goodness the youthful bastard saw the signs out front and didn't bring a gun. Someone could have been hurt.

But just to make sure that this sort of thing doesn't happen again, I took the liberty of saving the California gov't some of their hard earned I.O.U.s and designed the latest in school safety signage:




Be safe citizens!

Hateful New Begginings

"The union has decided they are opposed to the type of unique, quality programs that we provide for young people," Muhammad said.

Well, when your unique quality program is "transform[ing] objects of hate into works of functional beauty and a symbol of change," then I can see why it's opposed. Calling an inanimate object that is routinely used for so much good an object of hate does bring that kind of reaction; especially considering that that's the kind of logic one would expect from a child.

Oh, you mean that the facility is designed to hold children? That really paints the whole picture now doesn't it. And considering the kind of problems that have plagued the detention center in its short existence, that doesn't surprise me a whole lot.

How about that program title? Just the kind of stupidity that has long been considered the norm in DC. With a name like "anti-prison', would you expect anything different?

And here this whole time I thought "anti-prison" was freedom and liberty.

Silly me.

Charred

I absolutely positively was not out on a boat on the Potomac all day yesterday. No sirrrreeeeeyy.

I am burned to a crisp. I used a friends sunblock instead of my own, and found out yet again why you should buy new sunblock every year. I have splotches like a cheetah.

I also will have a range report in the next day or so; I just haven't had time to post lately.

BLACK MAN WITH A ASSAULT THINGY

In Arizona.

OMFG It's LEEEEEEGAL!!!

"What's this guy's motivation?"

"It was a group interested in exercising the right to bear arms," said police spokesman Sgt. Andy Hill.

Weird. A guy was carrying a gun in a group interested in 2nd Amendment rights.

Oh, and for the record, the gun isn't an assault weapon. It's a AR15. Semi-automatic. Facts are so hard to come by these days.

BLACK MAN WITH A ASSAULT THIN

The AP weighs in on GUNS IN PARKS!!!

And it's really stupid. They did spare us from the much of the ignorant rhetoric, but then again they did quote Paul Helmke.

"There is still time for Congress and the president to take steps to keep loaded firearms away from the valleys of Yellowstone, the cliffs of Yosemite, and the Statue of Liberty -- but they need to act quickly," said Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

It won't take long after the enactment of this law that nothing will happen. There won't be blood in the streets or anything of the sort, but sometime years down the road some poor citizen will gun down a violent scumbag or starving diseased animal and it will have been worth it. If it saves one life!!

On another note, it is fully presumed that the first family was protected by at least two dozen guys with guns during their trip to Yosemite this weekend.

In other news, seven people were shot in the "Gun Free" bastion of our nation this weekend. The Metro police are no doubt scouring their new gun registration for the whodunnit, as well as talking with local NRA members.

Sunday shooting shows

I love Sunday mornings. I get to sit here drinking coffee (if I'm not fixing the house) and watch shooting and outdoor shows.

As I write this, I'm watching a recorded episode of Tom Gresham's Guns & Gear on Versus HD. This is the first time I've watched it and I'm impressed. Good to freaking go!

Another one that I've just started watching Tactical Arms on the Sportsman's Guide. If you are military, a shooter, or just an aspiring mall ninja, then you will love this show. The first episode that I saw was on the M1911. Oh yes!

Next up this morning I have some Ted Nugent Spirit of the Wild on the Outdoor Channel. This show isn't new, but it sure makes me laugh. That, and the fact that I'm lucky to get into the woods for one day each season.

My kids would rather be watching Noggin right now, but that's tough. Maybe they won't mind some recorded Shark Week!

Shooting tip of the day

I normally don't have a chance to post on weekends, but this one is the exception.

I was doing a little reloading this morning and decided to snap a picture of my ghetto fabulous powder trickler with my cell phone as I thought somebody may find it useful.


Despite having an automatic withdraw account with MidwayUSA and Brownell's, I can be a cheap bastard. I didn't see the need to spend money on a powder trickler, so I made one with the clear body of a Bic pen. It works great.

Just fill it up using your powder funnel, and tap tap tap your way to the powder charge of your dreams. I can easily drop single pieces of Hodgdon H335 using this pen body. Give it a try. The medicine bottles work great for handling smaller amounts of powder, and I use the Lee powder scoop for dumping charges right onto the scale when I'm measuring each charge.

Many people are getting into reloading and are trying to get the most equipment to start with, and perhaps skip some of the fluff until several years down the road when they can get the not so critical stuff. It takes years and years to gather all the crap that you will end up using, but there's no reason why you can't get started with the basics.

Liberty is getting into reloading and looking for some advise. Anyone out there who has some shortcuts to offer, drop by Fighting For Liberty and leave a comment.

Free HK MP5 with a case of ammo!

Courtesy of Jacksonville Beach Police!

At least the awestruck news anchors got the legal stuff right.

(H/T Seth)

Got PPsH-41?

How about 88 of em' mounted in the belly of a bomber?

Only at MilitaryPhotos.net.

Mind your heater

I'm all about the success that this man had in stopping a nightime thief, but tell me what's wrong with this story.

Here's a couple of lines to get you interested:

"Lay down. Lay down or I'm going to knock you down boy," you can hear Brown telling the suspect.

****

"I got my flashlight in this hand, and my heater in this hand, and bang, I put one shot in the ground," Brown said.

Very strange.

Personally, I wouldn't have engaged in any physical contact while I had a gun in my hand. But that's just me.

The great unbiased NBC 4 news

So unbiased that their writers now insist that angry citizens at town halls are displaying "manufactured meltdowns." It's all fake you see, like professional wrestling. There's absolutely no way that citizens on both sides of the isle can actually be pissed off at their representatives on their own will without influence by someone with money.

Really?

I smell projection.

And nothing brackets writer Sarah K. Smith as a pompous opinionated beast quite like this quote:

"So things got shouty and most folks just stayed at home and watched the protests on their televisions, where they'd be safe from gun-wielding nuts."

Hey, has anyone seen anyone "wielding" a gun at a townhall event? Anyone? How about nuts? Anyone seen any nuts at townhall events?

Sarah, where are these gun wielding nuts of which you speak? I would like to meet them and possibly ask them to be my friend.

Seriously, these days I push all modern news outlets like CNN, ABC, NBC, FOX, MSNBC, and local newspapers into the same shitcan grocery store tabloid "news" sources like Sun, Us Weekly, and The National Examiner. The people that write anything we consider news these days are just a bunch of sensationalist kooks.

All of em'.

My morning laugh

So I was on my way to work this morning while rocking some Disturbed when their cover of Land of Confusion by Phil Collins came on. I was just noting how appropriate the song was in today's political climate - right up until the line "I Won't Be Coming Home Tonight / My Generation Will Put It Right / We're Not Just Making Promises / That We Know We'll Never Keep" where I laughed coffee out both nostrils.

Somehow I always knew that my generation wouldn't really grow up to be responsible.

Thinking about the meaning of the song, I wonder if the author is looking at his TV set right now and doing a forehead smack at the greed and corruption that is going on; maybe even longing for some of the fiscal responsibility and decisiveness from the Reagan years, even for a moment.

Can't you see this is a land of confusion?

MMMmmmmm. . . .mustard!!

But it's no grey poupon.

Finding a beaker full of mustard (HD) is not encouraging to a population who just wants the nightmare to end.

Back in the day we (the U.S., not me) were a little too cavalier about giving access of chemical and biological weapons to whomever, and these days we seem to be forgetting the lessons learned from the past.

The results will probably be the same.

The scientific DHS "right wing terrorist" report

My jaw just dropped.

To think that the data of the entire report was pulled not from solid reputable sources, but online news articles.

Just, wow. . . .

DC councilman Phil Mendelson is a tool

But we already knew that. I just wanted to affirm it yet again.

"In the nation's capital, carrying is perhaps the greatest concern to law enforcement because it makes it very hard for law enforcement to distinguish between a person who is carrying a firearm legally and a potential assassin."

Um, it's my understanding that DC police don't catch assassins all-the-doo-dah-day, but they sure do catch them some good citizens who happen to wander across city lines. That's really all Phil (can I call you Phil?) cares about anyways. If he was concerned at all with actually lowering crime then he would be pushing the boundaries of the law in keeping violent criminals locked up instead of letting them out or giving them pathetic sentences.

For those who haven't clicked over to the article, it talks about how attorney Alan Gura - referred to as "Gun-Happy Attorney" in the title by the totally non biased and completely objective writers Brett Zongker and Matthew Stabley - is pressing on with changing DC gun law to allow citizens to carry firearms by representing three individuals who have had their rights infringed.

One of them, 46-year-old Amy McVey, was the first person to register a handgun after the ban was lifted, the Times reported. She said she might carry her gun"everywhere it's legal."

Another plaintiff from Maryland applied to carry his gun for self-defense while visiting D.C. after he was stopped for speeding in the city and was charged with carrying a loaded handgun in his car.

This shitty piece of journalism is peppered with all the usual stupidity that one would expect from modern day writers talking about firearms issues; including calling the plaintiffs "gun lovers," using words like "strapped," and quoting the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Ownership. I mean this piece has it all. They even quote DC Attorney General Peter Nickles; you know the same guy who doesn't like getting emails from angry citizens outraged that he would let a three time violent criminal back on the street.

Keep up the work their guys. I'm counting on you. Really.

Sword and steak knife violence

Jonathan Rummel's arrest warrant claims he attacked his wife with a steak knife and a samurai sword.

The couple has only been married for three weeks.

Such deadly weaponry should not be owned by the general public and are best left to trained officers.

Give me fuel, give me fire, give me that which I desire

"Assault weapons, as we now know here in Mexico, are helping to fuel extraordinary violence," he said. "Having said that none of us are under any illusion that reinstating that ban would be easy."

So it's the Mexican drug cartels that are driving up AR15 prices, not your stupid reputation and cabinet/Sureme Court Justice picks? That's not what the douchebag is implying, but that would be the case if he weren't really lying through his teeth.

I love how Obama's ignorance inadvertantly placed blame on a federal agency, when he was trying to blame US gun laws:

The camcorder shakes as it films the thud of thick .50 caliber bullets ripping through a steel plate target in the heat of the Arizona desert. Panning across the jagged rocks and cacti, the camera then focuses on the shooter: a smiling Mexican sitting down on the dust as he uses both hands to fire the huge state-of-the-art weapon that can tear through tank armor. He was the happy customer, having bought the killing machine from an Arizona gun shop for about $21,000.

That's a smokin deal on a Browning M2 machine gun! Too bad that it has been regulated by the ATF since 1934! Oooops!

For a Mexican cartel scumbag to be able to buy it from a gun store in the US, he would have had to go through the tedious and lengthy machine gun buying process that is run by the BATFE.

So president Obama, who really fucked up? Was it US gun law, or the ATF?

There is so much more in this article to fisk, but I don't have the time.

Soldiers' Angels is taking orders!

The Smallest Minority reports that Soldiers' Angels is taking phone orders for the Project Valor-IT raffle for the Gunblogger Rendezvous.

Good stuff!

I won't be there because I suck, but I can still spread the word!

The stupidity has begun

Three of the four guns found with Sodini were traced back to him, and authorities are in the process of tracing the fourth, Moffatt said. They were two 9 mm semi-automatics, a .45-caliber revolver and a .38 in his pocket. Sodini also had 30-round ammunition clips that were illegal before the assault weapons ban was lifted in 2004, police said.

Here we have CNN's Susan Candiotti typing off at the mouth without doing a simple search for the facts.

From an exhaustive 38 second Wikipedia search on "Federal Assault Weapons Ban":

"The law prohibited newly-manufactured detachable magazines with a capacity of more than ten rounds manufactured after enactment of the law from sale, transfer, or importation. One effect was the increased importation from other countries of large quantities of magazines manufactured before the ban."

My emphasis. The magazine that the scumbag used was not "illegal before the assault weapons ban was lifted," it is perfectly legal then as it is now.

I'm not seeing as to how it makes one bit of difference either way; the guy had four handguns on him. Where it does make a difference is to what the public knows as the truth. It's my understanding that journalists have a responsibility to show the truth, and that means that they have to verify the correctness of what they're writing about.

Obviously that's too hard for just about anyone in the media these days.

Where there's a will there's a way

James at Hell in a Handbasket shares a personal experience of how even the most unlikely person can be prepared to protect themselves. Included is a true account of a home intrusion that went better than most, and how the victim decided that against the odds, she would not be in a defenseless position again.

It's definitely worth a read.

Another Bladetech holster review

Now that I have a government sized 1911, I wanted a good all around holster for it that would take care of as many needs as possible. I have a ton of holsters for half a dozen different types of handguns, and they all have a purpose, but sometimes you just want one that does it all.

I searched and searched the vast depths of the internet; consulted with Google-The-Wise; read every holster forum I could find, and finally settled on the Ultimate Concealment Holster by Bladetech.



I am still impressed with the excellent quality of the Bladetech IWB that I have for my Glock 17, so I was fairly certain that the UCH would be well made also. I was right.

The holster features a single offset belt clip to secure it for IWB carry. This has an advantage of making the holster more thin overall, as your belt doesn't have to wrap around the holster body and the securing straps like on most IWB holsters. The clip is a "S-Hook" 1.5" that secures over the top edge of the pants and wraps under the belt and back up over the top. There's no chance that the holster is going to come off during the draw, and I was pleasantly surprised at how well it keeps the holster from sliding or shifting. The clip is adjustable for cant: you can have it set for a straight up draw or a FBI cant. It connects at the bottom of the holster with two open ended Chicago screws with a rubber grommet in between the holster body and the long end of the clip. This allows the shirt to be tucked in with the pistol holstered.

The tension on the pistol is adjustable with two Chicago screws, and I note that this holster holds with friction on the slide like most holsters do. There is no snicketty-snick like with the Bladetech IWB for my Glock 17, which isn't a bad thing, just different. I like to crank down on the tension for a very secure fit, and that's no problem here. When it comes time for me to draw, the extra foot pounds are not going to stand in my way.

Overall I have to say that this holster is by far the most comfortable IWB holster that I have ever tried, and that is saying a lot. IWB holsters for me are the exception to the carry solution, not the rule, and I normally use a belt holster for all day carry like the Galco Concealment holster that I use for the Glock 17. IWB holsters are for running to the store for a pack of smokes, or for maximum concealment with a T-shirt. I have to say that my mind is changed.

I have read that the MTAC and CTAC holsters from Comptac are all day comfortable, and they also have the thinness from keeping the clips out and away from the holster body. I was looking for something a little more svelte. I got that in spades - check out how thin this baby is:


It keeps the pistol in tight, and the high guard at the top keeps the safety from digging in to my side. I am still amazed to this day of how well 1911s conceal. I've never had a tuckable hoster before, and I'm going to have to explore the benefits of that type of carry.

I got a matching single mag pouch for it that has adjustable tension via two Chicago screws, and secures with a easy to use clip:



It holds tight to the body like the holster, and I think it will serve well.

Here is a picture of the beast with a tucked in shirt:



I am happy as a clam. If anything changes, I'll be sure to let y'all know.

Unstoppable

There are very few details out there on the shooting at the fitness center in Pennsylvania, and I'm not the armchair warrior type, so I'm not going to dance in blood. I will, however, point out a few things that I found about all of this.

First is that psychos can strike anywhere. Life is just too complicated to assume that crazed madmen only attack from a seedy looking alleyway at night in a known dangerous part of a rundown city.

During a conversation with my father a few days ago, he made a remark along those lines, that attacks mainly happen at night, and that that's really the only time you need to concern yourself with self defense. I disagreed, but not entirely. Most attacks do happen at night, but sometimes life throws curve balls. Plan accordingly. Your greatest weapon for self defense is not a gun, but your mind. As Col Jeff Cooper so famously noted, a proper mindset will protect you far better than anything, and it shouldn't be on a timetable. Always keep your mindset.

With that, some of the people in the fitness center recognized the danger for what it was, and made their way out safely. Some didn't recognize the danger, and were injured or killed, and some may or may not have recognized anything, and it didn't matter one way or the other. There are no guarantees.

This statement stood out:

"I don't think anyone could have stopped him,"

That's probably true.

I'm sure there are folks out there scouring the internet to see if the building had a "Gun Free Zone" sign at the door, and ridicule of such instruments may be warranted in due time, but I don't think it matters one bit. Tell me that even you most hardcore tactical types would be carrying in a gym? I'm sure that a select few of you who workout in gyms may carry a little pistol in a fanny pack or such, but be honest, you wouldn't be wearing it in a dance class would you? How about if you were taking a boxing or martial arts class?

You can't always be armed, or be in a position to stop something like this. Sometimes stuff happens.

The last thing I notice is that the shooting took "about a minute," which was not enough time for the cops to show up and stop the gunman. A minute is not really enough time for anyone to have done anything under the circumstances, other than haul ass out the door. It doesn't appear that the gunman encountered any resistance, so I think it's unusual that he killed himself when he did. Normally scumbags shoot themselves when the cops show up.

I'm sure that there will be lots and lots of stupid conversation amongst the media in the wake of this attack. Really, I don't see how it could have been prevented before or during the attack. It was one of life's curve balls.

Update: It seems that the lunatic gunman had been telegraphing his intent for many months on his blog. Go check out David Codrea's Gun Rights Examiner for a look at the kind of stuff the man was writing about, if you're interested.

I am still solidly convinced that some well intentioned law would not have done anything to stop this. Perhaps if somebody had read his blog and recognized that the guy was a violent psycho than maybe there would have been a chance.

Why not register guns?

Because it's stupid!

Problem solved!

If you would like to know more about why it's stupid, than head on over to Armed Canadian for a fantastic write up about this very subject.

Activism at its finest!

That's some serious penetration we're talkin about

Here's looking at you, North Korea and Iran.

And when a Boeing built Massive Ordnance Penetrator comes into your silo, you're going to get more than just the tip.

I apologize; it's just that I have a soft spot for conventional weapons of mass destruction.

A fitting title

"A gathering of gun collectors."

That's what the author of the NBC4 article, Greg Wilson, referred to the gun show that Sarah Palin attended in Alaska.

It's pretty refreshing to hear such things from the media these days.

Justification for deadly force

I have to say that stealing my truck with my kid(s) in it definitely warrants it, not that the woman had the choice considering she lives in California.

The thought of some scumbag driving off in my truck with my kids is terrifying. I would hardly care at all if it was just my truck. The cops will find it before too long, and if it's all jacked up then it's no big deal. It's just a truck.

Kids are a different matter, and change my outlook entirely.

Words fail me

This stupidity in this article is simply amazing.

First up, we have Belgium's finest flexing his mental might as to why the escaped violent criminal may have gone on a robbing spree:

"In two hours they did four robberies," said the officer, who declined to give his name. "We think they need money."

You think they needed money? You don't say? My first thought was that maybe Sekkaki was just under a tremendous amount of peer pressure, like maybe the other guys just double dog dared him or something.

"Hey dog, if you're the real deal an shit, then I like, dare you or some shit to go steal the cash from that old man behind the counter. And get me a moon pie to, yo. . ."

No wonder the cop declined to give his name.

The next target of my criticism is Sekkaki himself:

The escapees, who include a man considered to be one of the country's most dangerous criminals, robbed a bank, a gas station and two storage facilities, said the Bruges police spokesman Sunday.

So if Sekkaki is such a bad ass scumbag, then why would he bother robbing gas stations and storage facilities after robbing a bank? What do you think he got from them, a couple of hundred dollars? One would think that the bank would have had all the money that they needed. I don't see Sekkaki as being the brightest crook out there, which explains how he got caught to begin with.

And finally, I have to laugh at the sheer stupidity of this poor bastard:

A 22-year-old man of Moroccan origin was an accomplice to the group but had to stay behind because the helicopter couldn't carry everyone, the Belga news agency reported.

HAHAHAHA!! So you hijack a helicopter to bust your friend out of prison, but instead you had to replace him in the prison because you were too stupid take to the time to consider how much room there was in the cockpit. Awesome criminals they breed in Belgium!! Seriously, how many scumbags does it take to put a gun to the head of a helicopter pilot and force him to land in the yard?

Everyone in this article is dumber than a box of rocks.

Never leave a man behind

U.S. Navy Capt. Michael "Scott" Speicher was shot down in an F/A-18 Hornet on January 17, 1991, the first night of the war.

****

An Iraqi civilian told U.S. forces in Iraq in early July about the location of the crash that killed Speicher, according to Navy Secretary Ray Mabus. U.S. Marines in Anbar province went to the site and spoke to another Iraqi who told them he witnessed Bedouins burying Speicher's remains in the desert after the crash, the statement said.

A search uncovered the remains, which were flown to Dover Air Base last week and positively identified as Speicher's by the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, the statement said.

Captain Speicher's fate has long been a puzzle for the US. I'm glad that he is found and returned to his family.

Welcome home brother.

Anti-gun Paypal hates the military

I've known for awhile now that Paypal is anti-gun, but I had no idea that they would let their bigotry hurt our nations Heroes.

Go over to The Smallest Minority and check out what the big deal is. There is even a phone number posted so that you can conveniently shame Paypal for their stupidity.

Someone should pull their firearm registration!

A 44-year-old District man and his 25-year-old nephew from Clinton have been accused of robbing four banks in the D.C. suburbs over the past year, along with a Dunkin Donuts location.

****

Proctor said Waddle participated in all six, brandishing the gun at the donut shop and driving the getaway car at the bank robberies.

Isn't that why DC residents have to register their guns? So that when they kill people or rob banks that the police know where to find them and take away the gun?

I thought it was as simple as that.

Wierd.