22 September 2010

Cleveland Announces 'Voluntary' Gun Registration

I have no words for this.

Other than to say that the only explanation is that the Cuyahoga River has caught on fire again and the elite politicos are breathing the fumes. Their latest statements are entirely, totally, wholly, without shame. They are woefully out of touch with the mainstream, and their constituents. Please let it be river fumes!

Read Chad Baus' excellent essay on this matter over at Buckeye Firearms Association.

Like I said, the proposal itself leaves me mostly speechless.

18 September 2010

Debunking Firearms Myths and Whoppers

ITS Tactical has a great piece on debunking 9 classic myths and whoppers about guns. Everything from stopping power to experts, from dryfiring to how police and military are supposedly better shots than private citizens, and so on.

A good read. Check it out here.

17 September 2010

What Of Fictional DNA Police?

So here is a discussion from out of Left Field.

Not so many years ago I did some consulting work in the Deep South. I keep in touch with a number of my contacts there, including one colorful sheriff who said if I ever needed anything -- ANYTHING -- to call him.


Now as you readers know, I have a number of LEOs throughout Ohio and other states who are readers. Among these are many I now count as good friends, and we do favors for each other as the need arises.


But there is something to be said about actions of a so-called "DNA Police." The idea that certain elements without our society, who are a blight on the population -- often predators themselves -- should just disappear has intrigued writers for decades. Of course the "DNA" moniker is a more recent addition to the storyline. Right or wrong? We all have our opinions, to be sure.


Recently I saw a commercial touting for sale DVDs of the cable television character, Dexter. This is a guy who is a police "blood spatter expert" in Miami, Fla. But he is also a serial killer, unknown (of course) to his co-workers. What better place for a killer to hide but in plain site? Delicious irony to be sure, and I do love me some irony. When the show made the move from cable to sampling on network television some years ago, I wrote in these pages how I found fault in the way it glorified serial killers. But I have to admit, it was an interesting show. And the public loves it. If you've not seen the program, Dexter justifies his "compulsion" by only removing from society the scum of the earth: those individuals who prey on others. Killers, rapists, perverts and other users. For viewers, Dexter is an "anti-hero," someone who uses distateful methods, who isn't the nicest of guys, but who does good works. Many in society would say he does more good than harm.

Yeah, ironic, isn't it?


So when I saw the Dexter DVDs ads recently, I couldn't help but draw a parallel between that storyline and a colleague in Louisiana. You see, in the show, Dexter takes his victims out in his boat into the Atlantic ocean and "drops off" his victims. My mind flashed back to the individual, a LEO, who more than once suggested that if I ever needed someone to disappear that I should drop him a line. "People get lost in the bayous all the time and are never heard from again!" A pretty ostentatious statement I thought. And yet his buddy, another LEO, is sitting there, stone-faced, nodding his head at the statement.


The things you learn over crawfish and alligator etouffee, chickory coffee and beignets.

Can someone change? Child molesters live their entire lives under the microscope. The only way it is known whether they have been successful not to harm a child again is to die without having done so. Because they are always suspect. What about serial predators? Preying on the weak in society? Should DNA police take a role? There are those who would advocate that such actions are a help to the police, though the law says it is vigilantism. Maybe just the suggestion of such an outcome makes someone take a different look at their life.

The spector of jail does not keep people from hurting others. The spector of the death penalty does not keep people from murdering others. But what about the unknown?


Was my sheriff friend's tongue firmly planted in his cheek? Who knows? I only once ran it by a handful of buddies at an area county SWAT unit. We had finished shooting and were taking a break. I ran the idea by them, purely as a hypothetical (we do that a lot). They just -- collectively -- raise their eyebrows. And there it was! Two of them nodding their heads in unison. Bobbleheads, but both commenting in the non-verbal affirmative.

For full disclosure purposes I have never taken advantage of that southern gentleman's most interesting offer. LOL. At least not yet . . .

But as a close friend, ChiefofD's M.B., likes to say, "for all things there is a first time." That raised MY eyebrows.

Frankly, citing that particular quote . . . I think the latter watches too much Star Trek.

14 September 2010

This Is All You Need To Know

Headline: Violent Crime Continues to Decrease While Gun Ownership Skyrockets . . .

So much for the merchants of doom and gloom, who link every pro-self defense argument with the spector of blood in the football stands, or on a park bench, etc. Such intellectual dishonesty is rampant among the anti-2A cabal, but never have their arguments been proven without a reasonable doubt to resemble shrunken cancer tumors being radiated under health-causing chemicals. In this case, the arguments shrink under, well . . . the Truth!

So here is the latest headline that can be drawn from new Federal Bureau of Investigation stats regarding violent crime in the United States in 2009. It shows crime continues to drop -- even while during an economic upheaval that conventional wisdom would suggests breeds more violent crime.

Could it be because more and more law-abiding Americans own, or are even carrying, firearms?

The things that make you go hmmm . . . .

11 September 2010

Never Forget . . .


An image that symbolizes of the need for Eternal Vigilence . . .

"Every time our country stands in the path of danger, an instinct seems to summon her finest first. Those who truly understand her. When freedom shivers in the cold shadow of true peril, it is always the patriots who first hear the call." -- Charlton Heston.
Never Forget.
Today, I am attending 9-11 remembrance services taking place on the green in Worthington, Ohio. I hope you will find a moment to remember how you felt on September 12, 2001, and reflect upon those, and honor those who have gone before us in the fight for freedom.



My How Times Have Changed: Upcoming Senate Hearing on Firearm Regs Not What You Think

From all reports coming in now, next week's hearing in front of a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee appears to have to do with protecting firearms dealers. Specifically, giving the BATF more latitude in dealing with dealers who have minor paperwork violations. Currently, there is no "justice" when a minor error is found. Today's agency rules require that a dealer be thrown into the depths of hell, metaphorically speaking, if even a comma is out of place, or if someone writes the word meaning a number, instead of using a numeral.

Of course, all eyes will be watching. The Committee will be reviewing bills that are supported by the National Rifle Association and National Shooting Sports Foundation.

09 September 2010

A Little Candlelight . . .


Way cool! Announcing shotgun shell candles!

Check out the "how-to" by clicking here!

08 September 2010

U.S. Senate Judiciary Schedules 'Firearms In Commerce: Assessing the Need for Reform in the Federal Regulatory Process'

Heads up folks, the Senate has scheduled an ambiguous hearing for next week, titled "Firearms In Commerce: Assessing the Need for Reform In The Regulatory Process."

At first glance I want to think this is some sort of landmine being planted for down the road, something that will be a danger to the firearms rights of all Americans. But if you understand the political process, it would be legislative suicide for the ruling democrat party and President Obama to blatantly attempt to further curtail the Second Amendment. Though . . . ahem. . . that has not stopped the dems from plans to implement a series of new taxes at a time when the economy desperately needs an infusion of capital from the private sector. Something no same businessperson would advocate considering the moving target that is the U.S. tax code at this date.

For more on the hearing next week, Hot Air speculates.

This bears watching. Stay tune . . .

Been Away For A While . . .

Well I haven't actually been away. Just preoccupied with events that, incredibly, hit closer to home than the 2A. Family member embezzled more than a half million dollars from another family member, and I have been at ground zero since March 2009 trying to sort out and clean up the mess. Guilty party pleaded out and faces prison, though he denies he did anything wrong. He even tried to hide behind legal documents saying, "yes I took the money, but I was allowed to." A three-day scheduled trial that was resolved about four-and-a-half hours after it started. Victim has only a few thousand dollars left, and her real estate holdings are for sale to raise funds. A few avenues available to recoup monies, but likely she will never be made whole. At 83, she is distraught but her resignation has turned to resolve that she will find a way to survive.

More than the money, her anguish today is mostly about betrayal.

So I am back, though posting will be limited for a while until I get ramped up again. I am also ramping back up on activities at work.