Nicki tells us about a British reporter who has threatened to sick his lawyers on Keep and Bear Arms. The reason is because KABA uses his (and other) British gun crime stories published to illustrate what a miserable failure British gun laws are.

So, in the spirit of telling Mr. Truscott (whom you can email here) to piss off, here goes:

Shot in cold blood
Mar 30 2004
By Greg Truscott, South London Press
“A 50-YEAR-OLD man has been gunned down outside a popular Brixton nightclub.”

Jailed for shooting drug dealer
March 30, 2004
South London Press
“TWO gunmen have been jailed for life after shooting a Vietnamese drug dealer in a plot to steal a stash of cannabis.”

Toddler hands over £10 to save mum’s life
March 24, 2004
South London Press
“A TODDLER was forced to hand over her £10 savings to armed robbers – to buy her mum’s life.”

12-strong gang targeting jewelers, using guns to prey on unarmed people
March 16, 2004
South London Press
“David Mayer, 21, Justin Philip, 25, and Sherome Blair, 22, all from South London, were with a 12-strong gang targeting jewellers on superbikes. … Two men sat on each bike wearing sprayed-black crash helmets, balaclavas and gloves wielding sledgehammers and guns.”

Gun threat to woman over phone
March 12, 2004
By Greg Truscott, South London Press
“A WOMAN was thrown across the bonnet of a car and had a handgun put to her neck when she left a Brixton nightclub.”

Talented musician shot dead, suspect at large
March 12, 2004
South London Press
“LEON Forbes was murdered in cold blood on a quiet Clapham estate, aged just 21. His family are determined to see his killers brought to justice, writes GREG TRUSCOTT. LEON Forbes was a talented music producer with a promising life ahead of him.”

Don’t you feel safe in gun-free England?

Back home in Louisiana, we like to tell (Texas) Aggie jokes. You know: How do you get a one-armed Aggie out of a tree? Wave at him!

I have a feeling this pattern is repeated in most regions. I have been told that in Kentucky, they tell Hoosier jokes, and in Michigan, Yooper jokes. An Egyptian friend of mine said they tell “Saidi” jokes (IIRC, a Saidi is someone from southern Egypt). Anybody know of other examples?

There’s another similar pattern, where instead of generic people, names are used. For example, in Louisiana we tell jokes about a pair of buffoons named Boudreaux and…well, Thibodeaux. I heard a whole bunch of Ole and Lena jokes on The Prairie Home Companion once. Who’s got other examples?

Bob Edwards finally loses it!

Update: Fine, geez. My technological knowledge is apparently dated. Link updated to not point to NPR and not set off everyone’s virus scanners. You people and your technology ruined a perfectly mediocre joke.

On the drive to work, I usually listen to local radio station that has a typical morning two-man shock-jock kind of show. These guys are pretty notorious for their April Fool’s Day pranks. For example, a couple of years ago the local post offices got mobbed because these guys announced that the USPS was issuing a 3-cent Dale Earnhardt commemorative stamp.

This year, they were talking about a program called Arm the Homeless, in which homeless people would be given free firearms (I missed the part where they gave the motivation for this; I assume it’s because the homeless can’t afford to buy their own guns). They took some calls from some pretty irate people who apparently didn’t realize it was a joke. Most objected to the program because they thought that homeless people might be more likely to commit crimes if armed.

Now, it’s my understanding that there’s a rather high rate of mental health problems among the homeless. Suppose we assume that the NICS check would disqualify those individuals (as well as the ones with criminal records). Do you, our loyal readers, think it would be unwise to arm the sane-yet-homeless non-felons?

Les has his weekly gun links up. I dig the AR15 X-Ray.

Barry err some midget has the latest VTP.

After an on-again, off-again hiatus, Bjorn is blogging up a storm. No word from Brehd, however.

CAGW has named Ted Kennedy as Porker of the Month. Heh!

Coyotes are apparently moving to the Knoxville suburbs. The article gives advice on what to do about them. What is noticeably absent is that coyotes are considered varmints and can be hunted year round in Tennessee, in case you wanted to know.

For all your coyote dispatching needs, I suggest one of these or one of these.

A Cocke County man had his pet lion cub taken from him by authorities. It’s illegal to own such animals without a permit.

Now, I don’t know much about lions because I don’t like cats. As with other animals, I’m sure they can be appropriately socialized. However, domesticated dogs and cats have been domesticated for thousands of years and some of that social behavior is ingrained in them. I don’t know if that is the case for a lion (or any other sort of animal).

So long as the animal is appropriately restrained and can’t wonder the streets, I really have no problem with the concept of owning big cats. However, I don’t want one.

The Colorado legislature is looking at a bill that forbids cities (such as Denver) from banning certain breeds. The bill also provides one strike and you’re out rule regarding dog bites.