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Deep Thinking On The Austin Gun Show Debacle

So a question.

Assuming the "agreement" between law enforcement authorities, BATF and the show promoter agreeing to prohibit private transfers are true, under what authority, local ordinances, or code (state or federal) does law enforcement have a right to enforce a PRIVATE AGREEMENT?

You can't get police to take a police report on a private parking lot if there is a car accident.

At worse, I think all they could do would be eject you from the show. I'm not an attorney, but I cannot think of a single precedent that would allow BATFE or Austin Police to be the enforcers of a promoter's new "rule."

Thoughts anyone????

Quote Of The Day

"I don't think its only those of us who shoot in the city who realize how much freedom we have lost. But its amplified and seen in our anger, our frustration and hopelessness about gun rights. Anger, fear and hopelessness are three of the reasons that people like you and me fall for the crap we read about. And our neighbors hear about. About gun violence, which always allows those terrible laws to be passed. We are conditioned to believe this crap. Conditioned, like a baby elephant in the circus. Did you know that if you chain up an african bull elephant at birth to an extremely large chain, that after a while this full adult, the largest animal in the jungle, will be conditioned not to pull on its tether. That after time it can be tethered to a dog leash? That it will not resist? Conditioned. Thats what Americans are becoming. Conditioned."

-- Kenn Blanchard, host of the Urban Shooter Podcast and the author of Black Man With A Gun

In Austin, Texas Of All Places, Private Party Transfers Banned (For Now)

In case you didn't know it, there is much fur flying in Austin, Texas these days.

What gives? What at first appeared to be a flagrant violation of the law by the BATFE and the Austin, Texas police department arbitrarily banning the transfer of private property between one person and another in the Lone Star State. That private property being the lowly firearm, and the new "restriction" taking place at the long-running Austin Gun Show?

Now comes word that the ban on private transfers is the apparent result of an agreement between BATFE, Austin PD, certain "property owners" and the operators/managers of the gun show.

Are they nuts? My question is what did the PD or BATFE have on the gun show promoters to have the latter enter into such a ridiculous agreement to begin with?

A Day Out With The Governor

. . . the governor of Texas that is!

Texas Gov. Rick Perry hosted a Texas blogger meet-up in Austin, Texas this past weekend. And on Friday night, 20 of the 90 or so attendees met at Red's Gun Range with the Governor. He spent a lot of time chatting, and showed a handful of bloggers how to shoot his personal laser-sighted Ruger LCP .380.

Guess what? There's video, courtesy of PJTV. What could be better than to spend a few hours at the range with a gun friendly governor?

I am envious . . .

Ohio's Attorney General Mess

I hate it when the political parties move candidates around like so many chess pieces. But then politics -- and policy -- is a giant chess game. What you are doing today and tomorrow is based on the five or six moves you planned out months ago.

While it may be for the good of the party, and perhaps the people of a given state, it just looks bad. Even if the motivations are well intentioned.

Case in point. Yesterday, pro-gun Ohio attorney general candidate David Yost, a prosecutor in Delaware County, announced he is dropping his candidacy for that post to run for state auditor. He is a former county auditor and would do well in that post. But he was asked to move because GOP gubernatorial candidate John Kasich -- squishy on the 2A (when in Congress he enthusiastically voted FOR the 10-year, 1994 ban on so-called "assault weapons) -- has tapped current Ohio Auditor of State Mary Taylor as his Lt. Gov. running mate.

Dave Yost (for disclosure reasons I once again note that he and I have known each other since college) would have been an excellent attorney general. But he is doing something good for the party, if not the state. But the way it was orchestrated . . . . well? . . . . it all kind of starts out with an aftertaste.

Which leaves the Buckeye State attorney general's race one of concern. The incumbent, democrat Richard Cordray, was anti-gun for years, then suddenly changed stripes when he ran for Ohio treasurer, claiming his rural upbringing and his love of hunting made him a solid pro-gun choice for voters. He signed on as a co-sponsor of statewide outdoor sports and shooting-related events. He was elected, then tapped to fill the remaining term of disgraced former attorney general Marc Dann. Cordray since has been mostly silent on the gun issue, and he raised even more eyebrows when he chose not to join in a letter with 23 other state Attorney Generals asking the Federal government not to re-impose the “assault” weapons ban.

So where does Cordray stand on the Second Amendment? When he screened for office with various groups some 20 years ago, he was unhesitatingly hostile to private gun ownership. In an interview with RightOhio last year, however, Cordray said he would not support a new ban on competition rifles. Will he go farther with such thinking? Perhaps he truly has changed his position on civilian ownership of firearms. I hope so.

Cordray's republican opponent is none other than anti-gun Mike DeWine, the only republican U.S. senator ever to be endorsed by the Brady Campaign (formerly Handgun Control Inc.) He has never renounced this endorsement. And his milquetoast, timid, unassertive, wishy-washiness on most issues, combined with his lack of support for conservative causes is what led to his defeat in his last re-election bid by democrat Sherrod Brown, who is just as anti gun as DeWine, and generally, just as liberal.

There are some who suggest DeWine was endorsed by the Bradys in a strategic effort by the left to cause him to lose his seat. If so, and he knew it could be damaging, why didn't he decline the endorsement? Why didn't he say he does not agree with them? Because he does, that's why! Most likely, conservatives in Ohio decided to make an example of DeWine, to send a message, and he lost his seat. While Sherrod Brown became part of the new majority of The Left, Ohio republicans (we had thought) learned a valuable lesson. But with the push for DeWine toward AG, and Yost being "asked" to switch races, I wonder if the lesson was lost . . .

DeWine is highly poisonous to most right-leaning and many moderate voters. Many on the right were stunned when republican John McCain (not my first choice of prez candidates) had Sarah Palin on a bus criss-crossing Ohio, and her chaperone/tour guide was none other than Mike DeWine. I wrote a letter to Palin and her campaign telling her what mistake it was to be touring with DeWine, who is distrusted by pretty much any thinking voter who incorporates the 2A into their decision process.

One might wonder why a former U.S. senator would want to run for state attorney general. Its easy. What he really wants is the governor's chair. But DeWine is a poor candidate for such, and the party knows it. Today, DeWine has noted in a couple of interviews that he believes he should not be judged by votes that appeal to the the Brady Campaign, or Violence Policy Center, but that voters should look at his entire record. I have looked at it. DeWine did little of import during his tenure in the U.S. Senate. But I firmly believe his anti-gun actions, and left-leaning voting record cost him his seat in that most exclusive of clubs.

So the AG's race here in Ohio pits someone who is virulently anti gun, vs. someone who used to be and seems to have become informed, even enlightened, on the issue. For those readers outside Ohio, adding to the points that make you shake your head is the fact that the head of the Ohio GOP, Kevin DeWine, is a second cousin to Mike DeWine. Some are saying its about family. While moving Yost over to the auditor's race helps the republicans have a better shot at influencing the State Apportionment Board, for policy wonks like myself who watch this stuff every day it more than smacks of nepotism

Of course, Buckeye State voters will be electing or re-electing a governor this fall. Solidly pro-gun incumbent Ted Strickland, a democrat, had a commanding lead last summer in early polling but has lost much of that momentum due to the lousy economy. Now, to be intellectually honest, he inherited much of the mess, which worsened due to national influences, from anti-gun republican Gov. Bob Taft who left office three years ago at the end of his term due to numerous ethics violations. But Taft was wishy-washy as governor, did nothing to improve the business climate or grow jobs, and was incredibly anti self defense. Taft went so far to veto a CCW improvement bill, only to have his veto overturned by the members of the Ohio General Assembly.

So Strickland inherits troubles, and they multiply through no fault of his. Strickland's opponent is republican John Kasich, who, wisely, is using the economy and jobs issues to beat up Mr. Strickland.

Kasich, as I mentioned before, was instrumental in getting the 1994 "assault weapons" ban passed while he was in the U.S. House of Representatives. While in the Ohio Statehouse, he was largely counted as being one of the least effective members of the legislature. Further, I find it strangely curious that Mr. Kasich says the state's problems, which he lays at the feet of Strickland, are a plague of higher taxes and unemployment. Missing from his argument is that his own party, the republicans, were in charge of state government for the vast majority of the past 25 years.

Have I mentioned that I am a conservative who has often (not always) voted with the republicans, and this is stuff with the potential to make one's brain explode?

In what is viewed as "a wash," Gov. Strickland's current Lt. Gov will not be running with him the second time around. Lee Fisher, a former national board member of Handgun Control Inc., was just a heartbeat away from the Big Chair, which is why I wrote several years ago that I hoped Ted and family were eating healthy foods, thereby keeping the governor's stress, cholesterol and blood pressure in check. Of course, pro-gun Strickland was forced by his party machine to add the anti-gun Fisher, a proven vote getter in northeast Ohio, to his ticket.

Replacing Fisher on the dem ticket this time around is Yvette McGee Brown, an equally anti-gun former domestic relations judge from Franklin County. She currently is a child and family advocacy executive with a central Ohio foundation. Instead of recognizing firearms' place as a defender of families, Judge Brown views guns and so-called "gun violence" as a scourge of families. So no change there. If Gov. Strickland is re-elected, I urge him to continue to eat the high-fiber, low-fat diet, ensuring he isn't replaced with someone far less self defense friendly.

Thankfully, though we started with a horrible CCW law in the beginning, it has been improved dramatically over the years. But Ohio gun owners, at the polls in November, will face these many tough choices.

Questions are being asked of all these candidates by a number of 2A entities. Politics, once again, is trumping statesmanship.

With the possible exception of Messrs. Strickland and Yost (the latter of whom is begrudgingly being a team player, despite his likely (I have not talked to him about it) disgust at this turn of events , it appears all the players -- left and right -- are political pawns and playing a game. Whichever the way the wind blows, they blow with it.

Yost at the AG post would have been a refreshing change, for Ohio republicans at the executive branch have not been firearms friendly (Voinovich, Taft, et al). Just last summer, Voinovich, who blocked CCW legislation the entire eight years he was Ohio's governor, cast a vote against national CCW reciprocity in one of his final important votes in the U.S. Senate.

Even Ken Blackwell, an effective Ohio secretary of state, stubbed his toe when he took for granted with voters his life membership in the National Rifle Association. Democrat Strickland sent out teams to local conservation clubs, shooting clubs and gun shows to drum up support for the candidate, who when he was in Congress, the Ohio legislature, and now as Ohio's chief executive has been a staunch defender of the rights of moms, grandmas, dads, uncles, and you and me, to possess and use a firearm for all lawful purposes.

Firearms owners, and supporters of the basic human right to self defense, have a lot at stake in this November's general elections.

More to come . . .

Gun Definitions For The Pessimist

I don't know who wrote this but it is a howler. Everyone has their particular favorite when it comes to shooting tools. And we all have our biases when it comes to those firearms we don't care for.

Someone took some time to craft bugaboos about many popular handguns and long guns. I'm thinking it was a Barrett 50 fan, since that big boomstick is not mentioned. Bottom line: there is something to offend everyone here.

On a serious note, as a fan of John Browning I take offense at the description of the 1911. On that one the writer is just stupid. I'm just sayin' . . .

Gun Definitions

M14/M1A: Clunky, heavy, and overpowered. Essentially a Garand tarted up with a removable magazine, in a half-baked attempt to adapt a 19th century rifle design philosophy to the mid-20th century. Most often named as favorite infantry rifle by people who never had to hump a 10-pound wood-stocked rifle with lots of sharp protrusions and no collapsible anything on a three day exercise, or try to make it through a firefight with the standard battle load of five 20-round magazines.

AK-47: Crude and inaccurate bullet thrower designed by and for illiterate peasants. Chambered in a caliber that manages to cut the ballistics of a proper .30-caliber battle rifle in half without passing on any weight savings to the grunt. Ergonomics only suitable for Russian midgets. Archaic cable trigger spring, crummy sights, no sight radius to speak of, no bolt hold-open device, and a clumsy safety. Favorite infantry rifle of Middle Eastern goat herders, guys named Abdullah, and backwoods militia types who like the fact that it shoots cheap ammo and has ballistics like their
familiar .30-30.

H&K G-3/HK-91: Ergonomics of a railroad tie. No bolt release, and a locking system that requires three men and a mule to work the cocking handle. Fluted chamber that mauls brass, and violent bolt motion that dings the brass that didn't get mauled too badly by the chamber. Stamped sheet metal construction, yet just as heavy as a milled steel M14. Safety lever that requires unnaturally long thumbs, and a trigger pull that feels like dragging a piano across a gravel road with your index finger. Favorite infantry rifle of Cold War nostalgics and third world commandos.

M-16/AR-15: Underpowered varmint rifle burdened by a crummy magazine design. Nasty direct-impingement gas system that poops where it eats. High sight line, flimsy alloy-and-plastic construction. Generally favored by range commandos, tactical disciples, military vets who have never fired anything else for comparison, and Brownells addicts who a.) enjoy spending three times the cost on the rifle on bolt-on accouterments, and b.) never have to use their rifle away from a dry, sunny
range.

G-36: Flimsy plastic rifle with non-user adjustable fair-weather optics that fog up when a gnat breaks wind in front of them. Magazines that take up twice as much pouch space than others in the same caliber because of the "clever" coupling nubs on the magazine housing. Skeleton folding stock that is about as suitable for butt-stroking as a plastic mess spork. Twice as expensive as other rifles in its class because of the "HK" logo on the receiver. Preferred infantry rifle of SWAT cops, and soldiers whose militaries haven't been in shooting conflicts since the 1940s.

Glock: Butt-ugly plastic shooting appliance with the ergonomics of a caulking gun. Five-pound trigger with no external safety makes it ill-suited for its target market (cops who shoot a hundred rounds a year for qualification). Favored by gangbangers because the product name is short and rhymes with other short, rap-friendly words.

Beretta 92F/M9: Clunky and overweight rip-off of a clunky and overweight German design from the 1930s. Shear-happy locking block, ergonomics that are only
suited for linebackers, barely adequate sights that are partially non-replaceable, and low capacity for its size. Favored by Eighties action movie fanatics and John Woo freaks.

1911: Overweight and overly complex piece of late 19th century technology. Low capacity, useless sights in stock form, and a field-stripping procedure that requires three hands. Favored by people who are at the cutting edge of handgun technology and combat shooting . . . of the 1960s.

H&K P7: Wildly overpriced, heavy for its size, low capacity in most iterations, and blessed with a finish that rusts if you give the gun a moist glance. Gas tube has a tendency to roast the trigger finger after a box or two of ammo at the range. Favored by gun snobs who think that paying twice as much for half the rounds means four times the fighting skill.

SIG Sauer: Top-heavy bricks with the rust resistance of an untreated iron nail
at the bottom of a bucket of saltwater. Ergonomically sound, if you have size
XXL mitts. Some minor parts made in Germany, so the manufacturer can charge 75% Teutonic Gnome Magic premium. Favored by Jack Bauer fans and wannabe Sky Marshals/Secret Service agents.

S&W Revolvers: Archaic hand weapons from a bygone era, the missing link between flintlocks and autoloaders. Low capacity, and reloading requires a lunch break. Heavy for their capacity, unless you're talking about airweight snubbies, which hurt as much on the giving end as they do on the receiving end. Rare stoppages, but few malfunctions that don't require gunsmith services, which are hard to come by in a gunfight. Favored by crusty old farts who just now got around to trusting newfangled smokeless powder, and Dirty Harry fans with unrealistic ideas about the power of Magnum rounds vs. engine blocks.

SMLE/Enfield: Refinement of a 19th century blackpowder design. Weapon of choice for militaries who either couldn't afford Mausers, or had ideological hangups about Kraut rifles. Rimlock-prone cartridge that only barely classifies as a battle rifle round because of blackpowder derivation and insufficient lock strength of the platform. Favored by Canadians with WWII nostalgia, and people who think that semi-auto rifles are a passing fad.

Browning HP: Fragile frame designed around a popgun round. Near-useless safety in stock form that's only suitable for the thumbs of elementary schoolers. Strangest and most circuitous way to trip a sear ever put into a handgun. Favored by wannabe SAS commandos, wannabe mercenaries, and Anglophiles who think that hammer-down, chamber-empty carry is the most appropriate way to carry a defensive sidearm.

Benelli shotguns: Plastic boutique scatterguns made by people with the martial acumen of dairy cows. Hideously expensive, and therefore popular with police agencies that get their equipment financed by tax dollars.

FN FAL: Long and lightweight receiver that's impossible to scope properly. Overpowered round, twenty-round magazines that run dry in a blink, and an overall weapon length that's only suitable for Napoleonic line infantry, but utterly useless for airborne and armored infantry. Made by Belgians, a nation with a military history that is limited to waving German divisions through at the border. Favored by Falklands veterans, Commonwealth fanboys, and people who think that dial-a-recoil gas systems are the epitome of infantry technology.

9mm Luger: European popgun round that's only popular because the ammo is cheap for a centerfire cartridge. Cheap ammo is a good thing for 9mm aficionados,
because anything bigger and more dangerous than a cranky raccoon will likely require multiple well-placed hits. Wildly popular all over the world, mostly in
countries where people don't carry guns, and cops don't have to actually shoot
people with theirs.

.45ACP: Chunky low-pressure cartridge that hogs magazine space and requires a low-capacity design (if the gun needs to fit human hands) or a grip with the circumference of a two-liter soda bottle (if the gun needs to hold more than seven rounds). Disturbingly prone to bullet setback, expensive to reload, fits only into big and clunky guns, and a recoil that has an inversely proportionate relationship with muzzle energy.

.40S&W: Neutered compromise version of a compromise cartridge. Even more setback-happy than the .45ACP, and setbacks are much more dangerous because of higher pressure and smaller case volume. Manages to sacrifice both the capacity of the 9mm and the bullet diameter of the .45. Twice the recoil of the 9mm for 10% more muzzle energy.

.357SIG: Highly overpriced boutique round that does the .40S&W one worse: it manages to share the capacity penalty of the .40 while retaining the small bullet diameter of the 9mm. Noisy, sharp recoil, and 100% cost penalty for ballistics that can be matched by a good 9mm +P+ load. Penetrates like the dickens, which means that the Air Marshals just had to adopt it...only to load their guns with frangible bullets to make sure they don't penetrate like the dickens.

.38 Special: Legacy design with a case length that's 75% longer than necessary for the mediocre ballistics of the round due to its blackpowder heritage. On the plus side, the case length makes it easy to handle when reloading the gun. This is a good thing because anyone using their .38 in self-defense against a 250-pound attacker hopped up on crack will need to empty the gun multiple times.

.32ACP: Inadequate for anything more thick-skinned than Northeastern squirrels or inbred Austrian archdukes. Semi-rimmed cartridge that is rimlock-happy in modern lightweight autoloaders. Doesn't go fast enough to expand a hollowpoint bullet, and it wouldn't matter even if it did, because the bullet would only expand from tiny to small-ish.

.44 Magnum: Overpowered round that generates manageable recoil and muzzle blast...if you're a 300-pound linebacker with wrists like steel girders. Often loaded to "Lite" levels that turn it into a noisy .44 Special while retaining the ego-preserving Magnum headstamp. Considered the "most powerful handgun cartridge in the world" by people whose gun knowledge is either stuck in 1960, or who get their expertise in ballistics from Dirty Harry movies.

10mm Auto: Super-high pressure cartridge that beats up gun and shooter alike. Very brisk recoil in anything other than all-steel S&W boat anchors, with a shot recovery that's measured in geological epochs for most handgun platforms. Often underloaded to wimpy levels (see ".40 S&W"), which then gives it 9mm ballistics while requiring .45ACP magazine real estate.

.380ACP/9mm Kurz: Designed by people who thought the 9mm Luger was a bit too brisk and snappy, which is pretty much all that needs to be said here. Great round if you expect to only ever be attacked by people less than seven inches thick from front to back.

.357 Magnum: Lots of recoil, muzzle blast, and noise to drive a 9mm bullet to reckless speeds in an attempt to make up for its low mass and diameter. Explosive fragmentation and insufficient penetration with light bullets; excessive penetration and insufficient expansion with heavy ones. Still makes only 9mm holes in the
target.

5.7×28mm: Ingenious way to make a centerfire .22 Magnum and then charge quadruple price for the same ballistics. Awesome chambering for a police firearm . . . if you're the park ranger in charge of the chipmunk exhibit at the zoo, and you want to make sure you can take one down if it turns rabid on you.

.25ACP: Direct violation of the maxim "Never do an enemy a minor injury." Designed by folks who wanted to retain the bullet diameter of the .22 rimfire round, but take a bit of the excessive lethality out of it. Favored by people who don't feel comfortable carrying anything more dangerous than the neighbor kid's rusty Red Ryder pellet gun.

h/t to Jonathan O'Conner via Randy Van Fossan

California School Board Expulsion Over Shotguns Overturned

Gary Tudesko will be finishing his junior year in high school. He had been duck hunting. He had left shotguns in his pickup truck parked on a public street on the other side side of tennis courts away from his high school.

The school principal got word that the firearms were in the automobile, brought it to the attention of the Willows Joint Union School District in California. Tudesko was expelled late in October last year. This week, the Tudesko family and the Willows community got their wish. The Glenn County Board of Education voted unanimously to overturn the school board's expulsion order after a coalition of firearms rights groups sued.

Though the principal of the school disagrees with the decision, but the community is relieved. The judge also ordered that the school district needs to expunge his record so that it does not reflect the incident.

IMHO, the principal is a wuss. Afraid of his own shadow. He fears for the safety of the community, the safety of the school kids and his own safety? He and the school board overstepped what authority they have . . . and he doesn't seem to care!

Idiocy. At least the system worked this time.

ATF Stubs Its Toe -- Again

Hmmm . . . fighting crime by committing crime?

The Associated Press reports that the BATF has funneled more than 250 million cigarettes onto the nation’s streets in the past three years through black market sales targeting smugglers.

Righttttt . . . .

A Big Day For Free Speech In The U.S.

The United States Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision yesterday, struck down a number of provision of the McCain-Feingold Act, a law which was intended, say its authors, to restrict the amount of money coming into political campaigns from corporations, organizations, unions and other advocacy groups.

A majority of the justices on Supreme Court, rightfully, said without question the provisions overturned are clearly an unconstitutional violation of free speech.

To that, NY Sen. Chuck Shumer said the justices who favored free speech were unpatriotic. WTF?

He is all about stifling speech of ordinary Americans, most of whom only have a voice through unions and organizations like the National Rifle Association.

More frightening are details from two sessions of oral arguments held before the high court. In each case, a justice asked the Solicitor General if the content had been in a book, instead of a movie, would they still have moved to ban its distribution. The answer was yes. Every court watcher has said you could have heard a pin drop at that point, for the Obama administration representative had just admitted -- whether or not she intended to -- that it was okay for the government to ban books.

In a subsequent and unprecedented second oral argument before the Court on the same subject, Justice Ginsburg gave the Solicitor General a chance to recant. She noted that the Court had been troubled by the statement about movies vs. books and asked if the administration still held by the same standard, the same opinion. The Solicitor General answered "yes."

That, in essence, is what put the nail in the coffin of most of McCain-Feingold.

Justice Kennedy, far from being a conservative but probably the most vigorous defender of free speech, authored the opinion for the majority. But there lies a far larger worry -- and disgust on my part. Specifically, that four of the justices to the United States Supreme Court think its okay to ban a book. THAT, in essence, is part of what they are saying with their dissent, IMHO. What should be equally frightening to most Americans is that Justice Stevens, in his dissent, argues that corporations should have sharply reduced constitutional rights regarding free speech, at least when it comes to speech about political candidates.

Sadly, President Obama is seeking legislation in Congress that would undermine -- nay, undercut -- the opinion of the Supreme Court. Interestingly, in his remarks yesterday about how outraged he was, he made special note of his belief that banks, financial giants and other ginormous (my word) corporations that make obscene profits would have a hayday turning our elections upside down with their unfettered financial power to donate. Nowhere did he mention that unions, by far his largest supporters, also greatly benefited from the High Court decision.

This is no over. Just as when the District of Columbia hurriedly passed new draconian restrictions on firearms ownership, just after the Supreme Court ordered them to reverse their ban on owning handguns, Obama seems poised to try to prod Congress to pass laws similar to McCain Feingold that will stifle speech -- even though a slim majority of the Court said "you can't do that."

Is he thinking that because it wasn't an overwhelming majority he can cajole, browbeat, guilt, force or otherwise blackmail members of Congress into supporting such legislation? I don't think so. This time, especially after the disastrous week the Left has had in the U.S.:

-- The dems loss of its supermajority due to the upset senatorial election in Massachusetts;
-- The bankruptcy of Air America;
-- The revelation that the Copenhagen Environmental Accord is going down the drain;
-- The Supreme Court decision overturning supression of free speech via campaign finance restrictions; and
-- The death (for now) of plans to turn the best healthcare system in the world upside down.

All in one week.

Americans are worried about the economy and jobs. Not punishing insurance companies over healthcare, not listening to global warming Chicken Littles touting what we now all know is junk science, not ). To continue an assault on speech by usurping our rights will be an uphill battle. At least for now . . .

Our Brothers And Sisters In The Massachusetts Wilderness Are Rejoicing Today

You have to visit Jay G. over at Marooned.

He has MUCH to say about his new senator, Sen. Scott Brown,, and the newly lonely Sen. John Kerry.

That Sound You Hear Is Ted Kennedy Spinning In His Grave

If Massachusetts democrats only could have channeled Ted Kennedy's thoughts from wherever he is, they might have heard him saying "Knock it off!"

As arrogant as he could be, he also was an astute . . . nay, brilliant politician. And though he wanted nationalized healthcare as much as anyone on the left, as watered down as the ridiculous bills had become (they were ridiculous to begin with: our healthcare system is not broken and is no danger to our economy, unlike the children running the U.S. Treasury and the White House), he could have sensed the mood in the country. And he would have said "slow down . . . don't endanger our huge majority."

But no. The children went after what they wanted, instead of what the American people wanted.

Tonight, like the days of Lexington and Concord more than 200 years ago, there was a shot heard from coast to coast. An election upset in a state where democrats outnumber republicans 3:1. Where independents and many dems turned against the democrat candidate Coakley in favor of Scott Brown.

The "progressives" playing the blame game are, privately, quite nervous. They don't understand why America just doesn't get it. Why the help they bring isn't being embraced. Why Americans aren't endorsing every last thing President Obama suggests.

It is, perhaps, because all hope is not lost. There are those Americans who think, who reason, who learn, and don't just do what they're told.

The left is already posturing about who did what wrong, and the efficacy of the campaign's strategy and tactics. But if they were to be intellectually honest -- which they won't -- they would admit that the liberal agenda being pushed from the top down in Washington DC, and from the bottom up by the MoveOns of the world, not not only not in the best interest of the American public, they are overwhelmingly being rejected by Main Street. Far left and left-leaning pols across the U.S, particularly on the two coasts, cannot feel their seats in Congress are safe after tonight.

Everything is in play.

Gun control didn't work, and it is no longer openly talked about by the Left. Healthcare "reform" was to be the big winner. But moms and dads, grandmas and granddads are seeing through the smoke and mirrors. My own mother, who has had health problems over the years, has said she is convinced she would be dead under a nationalized healthcare system.

As of now, while there is anti-gun legislation percolating in Congress, there has been no push to ram it through. At least with the stranglehold democrats have had in the U.S. Senate broken, level-headed people from either side of the aisle now can filibuster to slow down or stop bad legislative proposals.

And any gun control measure, is bad medicine for the American people. Just as this nationalized healthcare fiasco has been recognized as not anything the doctor ordered.

Do you know what a "bellwether" is? If not, look it up. Massachusetts tonight, IMHO, is just such an animal.

Republican Scott Brown Leading Polls To Assume Seat of 'Liberal Lion'

With Ted Kennedy's death in Massachusetts, anyone who like the occasional wager would have questioned even a longshot bet on a republican candidate. But we are about to see an upset most never saw coming.

Anger over so-called healthcare "reform" being pushed against the will of the American people by the far left, anger over claiming that the seat was "Ted Kennedy's" seat, instead of a seat that belonged to the people of Massachusetts, anger over the ineptitude of a candidate when she was a prosecutor, all have contributed to voter dissatisfaction with the candidate put up by democrats -- particularly amazing in a state comprised of voters who are 3:1 registered democrats.

Scott Brown has been a strong challenger. On the firearms issue he favors concealed carry as long as background checks and licensing take place. But problematic, in my eyes, is his past support of background checks between private sellers of firearms at gun shows.

Time will tell, both in the outcome of the election, and where the eventual winner stands on the Second Amendment.

Philadelphia Newspaper Paints Family Event As Sinister Affair

We all know gun shows are the quintessential family event in America.

But leave it to the Inquirer, one of many newspapers across the United States trying desperately to remain relevant, to vainly attempt a smear on a gun show held in Lebanon, Pa.

Sebastian has a great write up and analysis of both the event, and media coverage that just goes to show you that journalism schools aren't what they used to be. Or at least the product being being evacuated from j-schools these days is something akin to that from a bowel movement.

Read it for yourself. The errors-of-fact being too many to mention, you wonder if anyone hiding inside these once respected news offices even cares about their profession (once my profession many, many years ago). Credibility already waning, this just makes things far worse.

Again, I ask . . . as do so many others . . . do metro daily newspaper editors and publishers in Philadelphia and elsewhere still not have a clue why their circulation continues to drop faster than bowling balls tossed off the top of the Comcast Center or One Liberty Place?

Harol Ford Jr. Resurrects Discredited 'Gun Safety' Propoganda

Harold Ford Jr., the Tennessee politician, was once praised by democrats as a shining new star on the political playing field.

He left the Volunteer State and is in New York now, and weighing a bid to challenge Kristen Gillibrand, the NY senator who assume Hillary Clinton's U.S. Senate seat when the latter left to take the post as Secretary of State in the Obama administration. Ford, once the wunderkind of the dems, now is a target for the institutional powers that consider him a carpet bagger (they didn't think the same of Hillary, but then the liberal/progressive movement is consistently inconsistent).

NOW, Ford is making noises about gun safety. As you know, that that message -- a smokescreen for gun control -- didn't work the first time. I can't help but wonder why he would thinks it will fly this time. Gillibrand has been pro-gun in the past but since she assumed the U.S. Senate post she has, sadly, been a little bit more friendly toward the whole gun control message. Ford is making big noise about working with NYC Mayor Bloomberg

More interestingly, Tam notes that when Harold Ford was courting Tennessee voters some years back he made of big deal of reaching out to firearms owners. And she witnessed it first hand. Seeing whats happening now, she's hung a new name on him -- "Weathervane Ford."

Heh . . . anything to woo New York voters I guess. Sad, very very sad.

Excuse Me?

John Nolte, editor in chief of Big Hollywood, suggests the new blockbuster Avatar movie is anti-military. Moreover, the writer of the blockbuster film -- James Cameron (I think there is a rule somewhere that whenever you place Cameron's name you must also use the word "blockbuster" -- has no love for the National Rifle Association.

From the script. Not actor dialogue but text written to set up each scene, to describe the visuals that are occurring, to set a feeling for the action that is to happen.

"The miners lock and load like the redblooded redneck NRA supporters they are."

The things that make you go "hmmmmm . . . "

BTW, I've never been to or taught a "lock and load" class. Can someone tell me who is teaching those? Maybe they are only taught in Hollywood?

Report: 'Risk Of Homegrown Terror Exaggerated'

According to USA Today, a new report out from Duke University says the risk of homegrown terror plots in the United States has been exaggerated, and that the risk is low due mostly to self-policing among the Muslim community in the U.S.

It is an issue that bears watching, but I have long suspected that the fear-mongering coming from the political left on this issue is not designed to clamp down on potential domestic terrorism incidents, but to go after firearms owners.

The usual "shut down the gun shows" or "limit gun purchases" or "eliminate private sales between friends" in order to reduce the terror threat has been a red-herring from Day One. Of course, the "do-gooders" will innocently say they have no beef with the Second Amendment. Of course not! But then gun shows are not about the Second Amendment. They are about the FIRST Amendment -- the freedom to assemble -- and eliminating a natural place where firearms aficianados gather to toss around ideas about politics, the latest "toys" coming on the market, buy books, outdoor gear, etc.

The Brady Campaign Is Hard Up

Strapped.

Needs Cash.

Looking For Donors.

In A Bind.

Hurting.

Or, at least, if you look at their pleas of late, that is the impression one would glean . . .

Joe Huffman has the details.

'I Like Guns'

Aussie Steve Lee LOOOOOVVVEESSSSSSS guns!

And he's cut a single on a CD to tell the world how much he loves the artistry, the mechanics, the fun, the BOOM of firearms.




Click here to go to his website. Australian gun stores are stocking his CD now.

Spam Frustration

The autobots are working on overtime these days. I clear more spam out of my comments folder each day than I can ever remember. Which is why I have always moderated comments. I knew the day would come when it would get out of hand.

Half of it I can't read since its in a language other than english, spanish or french.

Anyway, I haven't posted in a while, or as frequently, because I'm getting sick of signing on and having to spent several minutes deleting bizarre advertisements, most of which I am going to assume have some sort of virus attached if you dare touch the hot link.

ARGH!

Gang-Bangers . . .Er, Uh, Role-Model Athletes Give Lawful Firearms Owners A Bad Name

Can we say "bad" role models?

Just wonderful. Professional athletes pulling guns on each other in the locker room over gambling debts.

THIS is the kind of stuff the media thrives on. Oh, that and (gang) kids killing (gang) kids.

Mayor Bloomberg, Sarah Brady, Toby Hoover, et al -- THESE ARE NOT typical firearms owners. They are spoiled, pompous, arrogant street-brawlers (excuse me, I mean street "ballers") who somehow were born with enough talent to put on a uniform and "entertain" professional basketball fans. Its too bad they weren't born with more brains.

And in of all places. Anti-gun Washington DC.

Tinkering With The 2A

An important question. We don't let states experiment with the First Amendment. So why should they be allowed to tinker with the Second Amendment?

So asks Damon Root in a very good piece written for Reason Magazine. He refers to some states attempts to mess with the Bill of Rights as "laboratories of repression." Actually, the "laboratory" reference comes from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brandeis, who wrote in the 1930s that it is a "happy incident" of the federal system that states can monkey with laws and not impact the rest of the nation.

Mr. Root has a very good piece discussing the upcoming case against the reperessive city of Chicago and its draconian laws against armed self defense.

Read it and pass it on.