As of June 2000, the Treasury Department had issued almost 20,000 pages of regulations containing over 8 million words.

I stated here that if the Cleveland Plain Dealer stuck to its promise to publish a list of permit holders in Ohio that I would publish the names, home addresses, and home numbers of their staff here. I encouraged others to do the same. Some other bloggers are jumping the gun and posting the editor’s information.

Could be jumping the gun on this one guys but I don’t quite disapprove yet. It’s a preemptive strike, I suppose.

I reviewed the ClipDraw and Saf-T-Blok earlier here. This is a follow up to that post:

I went to the range yesterday with Rich and we fired the Glock 30 with the ClipDraw. The ClipDraw made the slide difficult to rack because it covers the serrations on the slide. It was difficult to rack because you couldn’t get a grip. This problem could be solved if the folks at ClipDraw would put serrations on the outer edge of the device. We had to rack the slide by gripping it at the front. This is only a minor nuisance and I still stand by the product.

The other issue is that to disassemble the gun for cleaning, the ClipDraw had to be removed. This fact is not illustrated in the literature accompanying the product. I am still very happy with the ClipDraw in terms of providing an incredible means of carrying a gun with the utmost in concealability. Do not let this be a factor if you’re contemplating buying one. The benefits in concealability make up for this minor inconvenience.

Jeff has the weekly gun bias post up.

Apparently, politicos send it to the nice folks that write them letters.

When I graduated high school, my dad invited Bush1 to my graduation. I got a nice letter stating he regretted that he was unable to attend my wedding.

Since Sharpton is irrelevant, he recently relied on the one thing guaranteed to get him attention: Race Bating:

Howard Dean, a former governor of mostly white Vermont, was put on the defensive on his record on race in the last debate before Democratic presidential campaign voting kicks off in a week.
Civil rights activist Al Sharpton forced Dean to acknowledge Sunday that no blacks or Hispanics served in his cabinet during 12 years as governor.

“While I respect the fact you brought race into this campaign, you ought to talk freely and openly about whether you went out of the box to try to do something about race in your home state and have experience with working with blacks and browns at peer level, not as just friends you might have had in college,” Sharpton said.

Dean responded, “I will take a back seat to no one in my commitment to civil rights in the United States of America.”

If Sharpton is dissatisfied with his press, someone’s got to be a racist. While we ponder the important issue of how many minorities Dean had on staff, SayUncle estimates that in America today: 21 black people will commit murder; 22 black people will be murdered; 506 black people will be arrested for drug trafficking crimes; 1,000,000 black people are in prison; and 26,500,000 black people live in poverty.

A proposal is kicking off for statewide breed specific legislation in Colorado. Here’s an account of one man’s bite:

Larry Oliver knew something wasn’t right with Roz, his daughter’s pit bull.

For four years Roz acted like a sweet dog, but suddenly Roz was acting bizarre. She growled for no reason, with a sneer that showed her sharp incisors. She didn’t scamper around like the happy-go-lucky dog she had been. A few days after he noticed the change, on a Sunday afternoon two years ago, Roz attacked Oliver.

Oliver was outside in the yard when the dog ran out, knocked him to the ground and bit him on the left leg. The puncture wounds drew blood. That’s when, Oliver says, Roz went nuts.

She tore into his right leg next, ripping through his blue jeans. Then she bit his right arm. Then the dog latched onto his left forearm and chewed so deep, with such viciousness, that Roz ripped tendons and muscles and even snapped bones.

Given what I know of dogs, I’d say it is unlikely the dog just snapped one day (though it is possible, I suppose). Something triggered it. He was perceived as a threat or maybe the dog was subjected to abuse (not necessarily from family members).

More:

For two years, Oliver waged a private campaign against pit bulls. He’d tell friends or friends of friends to steer clear of them. If someone had one, he cautioned them with his tale.

But after the death of Jennifer Brooke, the Elbert County woman who was mauled to death by three pit bulls in November, Oliver decided that he had to go public.

Oliver, 57, of Clifton announced last week that he is poised to launch a signature petition to get a statewide anti-pit bull initiative on the November ballot.

He needs 67,829 signatures of registered Colorado voters for Secretary of State Donetta Davidson to approve it.

I hope the residents of Colorado will not sign this. Obviously, I oppose BSL.

The Tennesseean reports the following is on the legislature’s agenda:

But first, I like Bredesen’s quote about the budet: about $22 billion worth of stuff.

Proposal for TennCare.

There are other major issues, including rewriting state law on workers’ compensation partly to reduce employer insurance premiums, equalizing rural-urban teacher pay, capping punitive damages at $250,000 in medical malpractice lawsuits, requiring sprinklers in nursing homes, removing the lottery board’s absolute authority to decide when its meetings should be open to the public, returning to a system where local school superintendents are elected directly by the voters and combating identity theft by requiring those seeking vital records, such as birth certificates, to identify themselves.

Relaxing concelaed carry laws.

WATE writes:

CHATTANOOGA (AP) — The Tennessee lottery’s budget includes no money for gambling addiction education or treatment. And some critics say that could cause problems down the line.

Legislators didn’t earmark money for such programs, but lottery officials say they will be committed to promoting safe gaming among players.

Spokesman Will Pinkston says the lottery will use the words “Play Responsibly” on a lot of information, and will put links to national gambling addiction programs and resources on its Web site when it launches next week.

But the director of the National Council on Problem Gambling calls the state’s attitude a travesty, saying the Tennessee lottery is going “backward in time” by not promoting gambling education.

So, someone is upset that we’re not funding help for gambling addiction?

Yup:

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Danish troops have found dozens of mortar rounds buried in Iraq which initial tests show could contain blister gas, the Danish army says.

The tests were taken after Danish troops found 36 120mm mortar rounds on Friday in southern Iraq. The Danish army said they had been buried for at least 10 years.

“All the instruments showed indications of the same type of chemical compound, namely blister gas,” the Danish Army Operational Command said on its Web site on Saturday, cautioning that further tests were needed.

Blister gases, such as mustard gas, are used in chemical weapons.

Blister gas, an illegal weapon which former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein said he had destroyed, was extensively used against the Iranians during the 1980 to 1988 war.

Although it can kill if it enters the lungs, its use is primarily to debilitate infantry by causing the skin to break out in excruciatingly painful blisters.

The United States launched its war to oust Saddam on March 20 saying the Iraqi leader violated U.N. resolutions by developing weapons of mass destruction, including chemical and biological weapons.

Teams of international weapons inspectors however have so far been unable to locate those weapons.

One more lefty talking point goes poop.

Update: Tests by Danish and American experts indicate there is no chemical warfare agent in mortar shells unearthed last week in southern Iraq (news – web sites), but more testing is needed to confirm the findings, the Danish military reported Wednesday.

I used to love The Daily Show, back when Craig hosted it. Not a fan of John Stewart. Apparently, Stewart has actually (after several years) become funny. A recent episode discussing the new automated system for fingerprinting visitors to the US and checking prints to a database went like this:

Civil libertarians decry the system as Orwellian. Of course, civil libertarians decry license plates as Orwellian.

As Homer says: It’s funny ’cause it’s true.

Kevin and Mike are interviewed in a local paper. And Mike is back from hiatus with lots of good stuff.

Bigwig compares what the left is experiencing to the dot com bust.

A part of Vermont wants to secede and join New Hampshire:

Officials in the popular ski resort area of Killington want the town to secede from Vermont and join neighboring New Hampshire in a dispute over taxes.

They say the town’s restaurants, inns and other businesses send $10 million a year to the state capital in sales, room and meal taxes, but the state returns just $1 million in state aid to Killington.

Even more galling to the town is a statewide property tax imposed in 1997 to fund schools. The town of 1,092 won a Superior Court order that called the state’s method of assessing local properties “arbitrary and capricious,” but the state Supreme Court reversed that decision.

“It kind of reminds us of Colonial days,” Town Manager David Lewis said Thursday. “The Colonies were being faced with the Stamp Act, the Tea Act, the Sugar Act. England wasn’t giving them any rights. They were treating the Colonies as just a revenue source.”

New Hampshire, just 25 miles east, has no income tax or sales tax.

Love the last line, maybe I should move.

Seems they’d fit right in with the Live Free Or Die state, though one of the Volokh’s doesn’t think New Hampshire would welcome it.

My favorite hoplophobe is a year old!

I remember him when he was just a commentor. Congrats and here’s to many more!

Wilmette Police Chief George Carpenter:

“We want to give good information to Wilmette residents about what we advise them to do if they ever find themselves in this situation [burglar breaks into home]. Lock the bedroom door and call 911. Protect yourselves and your children first,” Carpenter said.

Mr. Carpenter, you are a complete and utter moron.

Anyone know of a good online people finder (to find home addresses and phone numbers)? Preferably a free one (of course). You do a web search for this stuff and you get so much crap (spam, registration, blah blah blah) that it’s not useful at all.

Per this Dean Tax Calculator, Dean’s tax plan would cost me $3,338.12.

Clark’s plan would save me $488.

Via Bill Hobbs.

Oh, and here’s your happy fun tax fact for the day:

There are 693 sections of the Internal Revenue Code that are applicable to individual taxpayers, 1,501 sections applicable to businesses, and 445 sections applicable to tax-exempt organizations, employee plans, and governments

WaPo:

Two Democratic senators asked the U.S. occupation authority in Iraq to explain its intended purchase of up to 50,000 AK-47 assault rifles for Iraq security forces, when they said the country is filled with such weapons. The September solicitation to contractors sought prices for up to 50,000 “brand new, never fired, fixed stock” weapons made in 1987 or later.

“We question whether this is an efficient use of U.S. taxpayer dollars in a country already awash with AK-47s, many of which have been confiscated by coalition forces and are sitting in stockpiles,” Democratic Sens. Byron L. Dorgan (N.D.) and Ron Wyden (Ore.) wrote to L. Paul Bremer, head of the U.S. governing authority. The senators cited news reports that the captured weapons are in excellent condition and said there would be little cost to distribute them to security forces.

Hey, you guys could send some of those stateside too.

Trumping up charges to jail the innocent:

One recent case brought to light by Ellen Podgor and Paul Rosenzweig is that of three Americans sentenced in federal court to eight years in prison for importing lobster tails from Honduras in plastic bags instead of cardboard boxes. Why this matters, no one knows. Moreover the importers of the lobster tails have no responsibility for how the seafood was packed in Honduras.

Federal prosecutors decided that Honduran law was violated by the shipment because a few tails (3% of the shipment) were less than 5.5 inches in length.

The Honduran government objects to this interpretation of its law and filed a brief in behalf of the defendants, but federal judges nevertheless convicted their fellow citizens for violating the Lacey Act by importing “fish or wildlife taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of any foreign law.”

To insure a harsh sentence the prosecutors loaded up charges against the defendants by bringing indictments for smuggling, money laundering and conspiracy. Smuggling is inferred from a few of the tails allegedly being undersized and illegal. Money laundering is charged because the lobster purchase and sale required money to be deposited in a bank. Conspiracy is charged on the basis that more than one person was involved.

In other words, these are totally trumped-up crimes.

How much will it cost to jail these dangerous criminals for eight years?

Marc is back with lots of good stuff. Particularly, how to holster a weapon so you don’t shoot your ding ding.

Bush came to Knoxville and there were some protests. These protests were limited to First Amendment Zones. While I’m no fan of Bush, I’m typically less of a fan of these protester types (blood for oil, Bush lied – people died, and all form of other hippie tree-hugging crap) but they still have a right to protest to their heart’s content.

WATE’s coverage.
WBIR’s Coverage.
KNS Coverage
InstaPundit Commentary.
Bill Hobbs unsuccessfully defends First Amendment Zones. Sorry Bill, you’re wrong on this one.
And Bubba says almost everyone is wrong.
And Bubba has pictures from the protest.

Note to self: Self, go to next Bush protest and set up a Second Amendment Zone just to draw the ire of the secret service and the protesters. Muhahaha.

Journal Times:

Larry Ryan Dunkerly was acting in self-defense when he shot a deputy in the foot last month, his lawyer said at a preliminary hearing Thursday.

Dunkerly, 22, 1703 Erie St. upper, didn’t know that Racine County Sheriff’s deputies were executing a search warrant at his apartment when he opened fire shortly before 6 a.m. on Dec. 12. Instead, Dunkerly thought he was being robbed, lawyer Eric P. Guttenberg said.

Racine Police Investigator George Wanggaard, who interviewed Dunkerly after the shooting, said basically the same thing in his testimony.

“He indicated that he believed he was being robbed,” Wanggaard said. “He armed himself and fired from the doorway.”

Dunkerly was in bed in his apartment when a Racine County Sheriff’s Department SWAT team charged up the stairs to his apartment. Deputies were serving a no-knock search warrant to look for drugs in Dunkerly’s apartment.

Hmmm, seems this could have been avoided by knocking on the door.

Since Taft signed the CCW law into effect that mandates the list of permit holders be public information, The Cleveland Plain Dealer says:

Since Taft chooses to hide behind journalists on this vital public-records matter, it is this newspaper’s intention to obtain this information and publish it. Our readers deserve to know the identities of those who obtain permits to carry their guns in public. We hope other news organizations will do the same in their communities.

In response, KABA has vowed:

The editors of this newspaper can expect a taste of their own medicine.

As soon as they publish permit holders’ names, we’ll publish the names, phone numbers and home addresses of every single person on staff at the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Same goes for any other newspaper that singles out gun owners in this way.

And we will distribute that data as far and wide as we can, throughout the State of Ohio, through all channels of our influence — just like these Gun Bigots are threatening to do.

I will publish that list here too. I advise all pro-gun bloggers to do the same.

In light of the recent declaration of Free Speech Zones, be it resolved that all SayUncle property can now be considered:

Right to bear arms zones
Freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures zones.

Thank you.

I’ve stated that I didn’t think Clark could beat Dean, as Dean as energized a portion of Democrat loyalists. I could be wrong:

Former NATO Gen. Wesley Clark’s campaign is gaining ground in the latest New Hampshire poll and Howard Dean is slipping among Democratic supporters, according to the latest poll out Wednesday.

The Granite State’s primary takes place on Jan. 27. Recent poll numbers show that Dean, the former Vermont governor, remains on top there, but new developments have emerged in the battle for second place. Whereas Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry had been in the lead for second and was once a favorite to win that state, Clark has surpassed him for that position, according to the American Research Group poll released Wednesday.

Dean does maintain a rather significant lead (20 points) though so I’m not quite wrong yet. And Dean is potentially toast in the south.

Dean does do one thing for the Democrats, he makes Clark look moderate.

Me and the Mrs. have been getting as gifts lots of baby clothes. These clothes are decorated with things such as dinosaurs, boats, baseball stuff, Pooh, and a variety of other cutesy stuff. Some things on these clothes are designed so parents can illustrate their hobbies on their child (such as the baseball stuff). I am rather disappointed that I can’t find a Sigarms, Glock or AR15 onesie.

Another thing I’d like to see are adult sizes. We got a flannel onesie that covers from toe to neck (it even has a hood). It looks darn comfortable and I’d personally like to have one (that fits a six foot one inch tall guy) to lounge around the house in on cold nights.

Getting a lot of hits to the site for the SUV tax deduction. It’s gearing up to be tax season. Today’s fun tax fact:

The Internal Revenue Code consists of approximately 1,395,000 words.

It appears some protestors broke free of the free speech zone which prompted Bush to change his mind. No, really.

Another arrest of home grown terrorists goes largely under-reported:

In the East Texas hamlet of Noonday — known for onions, not anarchy — federal agents arrested a common-law couple last April. They were hiding a weapons cache, including, as CBS News Correspondent Bob McNamara reports, the makings of a sophisticated sodium cyanide bomb capable of killing thousands.

William Krar, 62, with ties to white supremacist groups, pleaded guilty to possessing a chemical weapon and faces life in prison, while 54-year-old Judith Bruey could get five years. She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess illegal weapons.

“They certainly had the capacity to be extremely dangerous,” says U.S. assistant attorney Wes Rivers.

What agents found at a storage facility shocked them.

Photographs obtained by Dallas CBS station KTVT show illegal machine guns, boxes filled with 500,000 rounds of ammunition, homemade bombs, bomb-making instructions, antidotes for nerve agents and a Ku Klux Klan calling card.