Another lame editorial that opens with:

You don’t need an assault weapon to defend your home and family against an intruder. Neither do you need one to go duck or deer hunting. What you need an assault weapon for is to commit murder and mayhem on a massive scale.

Which means you don’t need one at all. President Bush recognizes that, or at least he used to. “It makes no sense for assault weapons to be around our society,” he said while campaigning for the presidency four years ago.

What does need have to do with it? My AR15 does commit murder and mayhem on a massive scale to little pieces of paper. Then, it repeats the lies:

A more wrong-headed decision is hard to imagine. These weapons account for an extremely disproportionate percentage of gun violence because of their firepower and macho appeal. They are the weapon of choice in one of every five fatal shootings of police officers. They have no legitimate uses for private citizens and should have no place in civil society.

Wrong. They are used in less than 1% of crime (the most common weapons used in crime being 9mm semi-automatics and 357 revolvers, both handguns) and the one of every five fatal shootings of police officers has been debunked. Both of these facts come from the Violence Policy Center.

Do some actual reporting instead of repeating the talking points of an anti gun organization.

This article opens with:

The recent killing of Indianapolis police officer Jake Laird has pushed to the forefront the dangers created by the manufacturing and dissemination of assault weapons to civilians.

Kenneth Anderson killed Laird with an assault rifle after purchasing the military-style semiautomatic a year ago in what was defined as a legal transaction.

Anderson first killed his mother, then shot four officers who responded to the shooting spree.

The incident caused law enforcement personnel to push for training on similar weapons. Fighting fire with fire is an understandable response. Most metropolitan police forces already are trained on assault weapons.

But the ultimate solution should be to extinguish the fire.

A federal law in 1994 banned the sale of specific assault weapons, but it didn’t take gun manufacturers long to circumvent a law that features as many loopholes as our disgusting tax code.

The federal ban is set to expire Sept. 13.

Huh? If the purchase was defined as a legal transaction, then it was not an assault weapon as those are currently banned. It is not defined as a legal transaction, it is a legal transaction.

On September 9, the Brady Campaign will have a phone-a-thon to call the White House and demand Bush push for the assault weapons ban renewal. Pro gun folks need to call too. Here’s the number: (202) 456-1111.

Long, long ago when the web was young, I used my university Unix account to set up a “home page.” Back then, it was all the rage to have a bunch of links to other cool home pages (well, I guess that’s still all the rage).

One of the cool links I had was to something called (IIRC) “Brian Yoder’s Art Page.” He had tons of images of paintings by late 19th Century artists—I forget if there was any name for the movement, but I would call it Romantic/Realist/Humanist. The site also seemed to have sort of an Objectivist orientation. If I had known how to automate downloading everything from a website back then, I would have done it with this one.

As the years went by, I had less time to revisit this site, and eventually the link I had went the way of all links, and was no more. I was a little disappointed, but these things happen. I would have googled for some of the artists, but I wasn’t sure of the names, and anyway, there was bloggin’ to get done (and other stuff).

Now Dean Esmay has a post about female beauty, and he focuses on the paintings of one William Bouguereau (heh..that guy needs an “x” on the end of his name). When I saw the pictures, I knew in an instant that this must have been one of the artists from Brian Yoder’s page. At the end of the post, Dean had a link to a site called the Art Renewal Center, which hosts tons of images of various artists—many of which looked familiar. I clicked around on some articles, and lo-and-behold: there’s Brian Yoder!

Turns out he’s on the Board of Trustees of the ARC, and he has an art blog which also has some of the old site’s pages as archives! Sweet! Thanks, Dean, for hooking me up with an old favorite.

PS: As always, with art, De gustibus non est disputandum.

Company is coming. I’m smoking a Boston Butt and we’re mopping it up with Mango Barbecue Sauce (recipe later, if you want it). Trying these for the first time today as an appetizer. Ingredients:

12 Jalapeño Peppers, cut long ways, stemmed and seeded.
12 pieces of bacon
Cream cheese
Cumin
Garlic powder
Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper

After cutting the peppers long ways (you will have 24 halves, fill 12 of the halves with a dollop of cream cheese. Put a dash of garlic powder and cumin on the cream cheese. Put the peppers back together. Wrap each pepper with a slice of bacon (Everything is better with bacon). Use a toothpick to hold them together. Salt and pepper the bacon. Grill until bacon is done.

I’ll let you know how they are.

Update: Quite tasty. The peppers I used (which I grew myself) are possibly the hottest Jalapeños I’ve ever had. I can eat hot stuff with the best of them and these got a bit too hot for me. I only ate three and no one else would try them. Milder peppers are a must. I do recommend them because they have good flavor but these peppers were damn hot.

Jed has The Weekly Fusillade, #4 up.

By now you’ve seen this horrendous act of media bias where a reporter totally makes up that a crowd attending a Bush event booed when Bush, referring to Bill Clinton’s pending heart surgery, said He’s is in our thoughts and prayers.

Powerline says it best:

Is this the most astonishing example of media bias I can remember? Offhand, yes. It is sheer, malicious fabrication and slander–of President Bush and of Republicans generally–in what purports to be a brief, factual account of Bush’s speech.

Someone needs to get fired. Turns out the reporter, Scott Lindlaw, has done other stupid, biased things in the past.

My thoughts and prayers to the Russians who have endured a terrifying few weeks including plane crashes, bombings, and the recent school massacre. 200 dead and many were children. It truly shows how sickening these terrorists are.

Remember that it can happen here. As Phelps says When, not if:

It will happen here. This was effective. Too effective. The next one will be here, and it will be even more effective. The people who plan this sort of thing will use better explosives with a better system to detonate it when the assault begins.

Do you know why they picked a school? Body mass. They knew that any amount of gas like the Russians used in the Moscow Theater episode that would put down the terrorists would be a deadly dose for the children.

Sadly, I think he’s right. I only wonder why it hasn’t happened yet.

Kyer has much more and some powerful images.

Reuters reports Clinton checked into a hospital and will undergo a quadruple bypass. Best wishes, Bill.

I wonder how long before someone questions the timing of this?

The Brady Campaign released this:

We need your help! Please contact President Bush on Thursday, September 9th, 2004, and tell him to renew the assault weapons ban.

There are only a few days until the assault weapons ban expires on September 13, and our nation will face a new era of criminal and terrorist attacks with assault weapons unless President Bush keeps his campaign promise and gets the law renewed. During his campaign in 2000, President Bush pledged to renew this law. But so far he has done nothing to prevent military style weapons like AK-47s and UZIs from flooding back into our neighborhoods.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

STEP 1: CALL
On Thursday, September 9th, 2004, call the White House between the hours of 9am and 5pm ET (6am-2pm PT) at 202-456-1111. Tell the President to listen to law enforcement and renew the ban on assault weapons before it expires on Monday, September 13th.

STEP 2: EMAIL
Please forward this action alert to everyone in your email address book! We must spread the word to make this work! (Because of the Labor Day weekend, you may want to send out reminders next Tuesday or Wednesday as well.)

I think we pro gun folks should do the same thing. Start calling and tell Bush to oppose extending the ban.

The latest is up. Note to self: Send something next time.

Gunner lists some contests you can enter to win everything from a shotgun to a 50 caliber rifle. Excellent.

Tim’s post on Kellermann, which I mentioned here, is back. Tim, regarding my objection to Kellermann, notes:

Kellermann clearly notes this problem in his 1986 study, which also discounts gun misuse that does not result in death. This was one of the reasons why he did the 1993 study which does measure self-protection that does not result in death.

I have not read the 1993 study and am unable to look for it right now. I will do it later. But, to be clear, the 1986 study was creation science. Kellermann knew the conclusion he wanted and worked the data to get those results. He can, of course, fall back on the fact his claims are technically correct (they are) while his supporters and detractors misrepresent the results. Gun control types make the incorrect claim and pro gun people debunk the bogus claim (because it’s easy). Or has XRLQ says in comments:

In any event, I do think there is something wrong with studying an issue almost no one cares about, but which is likely to be mistaken for a different issue people really do care about. Any potential gun owner wishing to weigh the pros and cons of gun ownership for self defense will be ill served by the study. Come to think of it, even the rare sicko who dreams of “bagging a burglar” will be, as the study does not control for the fact that most gun owners don’t think (or act) that way.

Assuming that the data was sound and the methodology was impeccable, the most Dr. Kellermann may have accomplished is to prove once and for all that if you ask a stupid question, you really will get a stupid answer.

Tennesse Ruck and wife are slated to leave China. Congrats. It’s wonderful news.

Good speech for people who want the government to give them stuff. Dubya is leading the Republican party to rival the Democrat party in terms of growing the leviathan. Grants, home loans, pooling insurance, job training, healthcare, gimme, gimme, gimme, etc. There is now no party of small government (well, excluding third parties).

On a positive, he wants to simplify the tax code. Even though I’m an accountant, I’m all for it. He didn’t say anything about dissolving the IRS so don’t get your hopes up. When the government says simplify, it usually means make more confusing.

Update: Oh yeah. How could I forget fighting terror? Another positive as far as I’m concerned.

Headline: Man Stopped With Rocket Launchers In Downtown Denver

What he really had were two rocket launchers that were decommissioned. They didn’t work. Once fired, they are mostly harmless. Yet:

The man was taking them to his son in Chicago, but police confiscated them, even though they are legal. Officers were worried the sight of the rocket launchers might cause panic among those who didn’t know they were already used.

Huh? They took his legally owned property? Hell, just put them in his trunk.

How many times have we heard that one from Kerry and his supporters. Yet, in a flip flop, Kerry now has lashed out at Bush and Cheney’s lack of service:

I will not have my commitment to defend this country questioned by those who refused to serve when they could have and who misled America into Iraq

And then there is this quote:

For the past week, they attacked my patriotism and my fitness to serve as commander in chief

At the convention, they did attack your fitness to serve as commander in chief. However, the first bit is pretty much a lie. Kerry has exaggerated (or made up) the claim that they attacked his patriotism at the convention. When you exaggerate your opponents’ arguments, they are easy to refute.

Here’s a short and fairly accurate article on the assault weapons ban that actually addresses the fact that there isn’t much difference between pre and post ban weapons:

Some see the military style AR 15 as an assault weapon, while others claim it is only a varmint rifle. Either way the AR 15 is legal in Oregon. “They’re very popular,” says Marvin Loy, owner of SM Gunshop in North Eugene.

He explains that this semi-automatic firearm (one shot at a time) does not face restrictions under the federal assault weapons ban because of a few minor differences that some say are only cosmetic. “They said that this firearm here could have a couple items but it couldn’t have three,” explains Loy. “It couldn’t have a flash hider on the end, it couldn’t have a bayonet lug if it had a pistol grip. So they took these two off and left the pistol grip. That’s the same gun.”

The law limits new ammunition magazines to 10 bullets, but even 50 round magazines that were made before the ban went into effect are still legal. Loy says despite its appearance, the destructiveness of the AR 15 does not come close to that of a more acceptable hunting rifle, which is also semi-automatic. “It all comes down to appearance,” he says. “This is why they stopped it, because they look bad.” And at about $700, the military style rifle is available to anyone who is over 18 and passes a federal background check.

No mention of machine guns, AK47s, the children or blood in the streets.

Council Bluffs, Iowa has been contemplating breed specific legislation for a while. Here’s my entries about it. It was defeated. However, it looks like the city council is at it again:

For a second time, the Council Bluffs City Council will consider a proposed city ordinance that would ban pit bull terriers.

The proposed ordinance failed on a two-two vote at the council’s August 9th meeting. It will be considered again October 11th.

Councilman Chad Primmer, who was absent from the August 9th meeting, says he is for the ban.

Mayor Tom Hanafan can veto the ordinance if approved.

There have been 19 pit bull attacks in the Council Bluffs this year.

We’ve seen land taken via eminent domain to build a Wal-Mart before, but in a new twist, someone is trying to take land from Wal-Mart for a university:

Rowan University plans to take developers involved in a project to build a Wal-Mart in Harrison Township back to court in an effort to take 115 acres slated for the shopping center by eminent domain.

In a lawsuit filed in Superior Court last week, Rowan University claims it has offered $8.38 million for two rural properties near the interchange of routes 55 and 322 where the developers have proposed building the shopping plaza.

The documents seek to condemn the property and to allow the state university to acquire the land through eminent domain.

Rowan’s suit is the latest development in a legal battle between the Wal-Mart developers and Rowan University over the farmland that has drawn on for more than two years.

Last year, Superior Court Assignment Judge George H. Stanger Jr. denied a similar request by Rowan to condemn the property –then owned by a local farmer who had contracted to sell the land to the Turnersville-based American Continental Properties. Stanger ruled that the state university had failed to adequately negotiate for the land.

That’s how long Junior slept last night. All the way through the night. 10:00 to 7:00. Her first time sleeping through the night. Excellent.

Yes, two. I watched RepubliCon for the first time tonight. Pataki on Kerry:

Here’s a candidate who has to Google his own name to see where he stands.

Ouch!

Mrs. Uncle on the Republican National Convention:

If they didn’t have September 11th, what would they talk about?

So, all the criticism of Moore’s, ahem, documentaries and their looseness with the facts goes under-reported in most mainstream media outlets (the criticisms I have read come from blogs and other websites). Yet, when some one calls him a fat pig, it gets some coverage?

What gives?

No weekly check on gun bias?

No weekly gun links?

What is SayUncle to read? Screw you guys and your politics.

Well, for all your Ruger 10/22 modification, check out Ruger22. Scroll down to the bottom left for a guide on mods. The pictures make it particularly user friendly. I made a few to mine and it helped performance considerably.

Need to know how to keep your short-barreled, civilian AK cheap and legal? Robert Douglas to the rescue.

A while back, I told you how I built an AR15 and assembled the lower receiver. The guys at AR15 tell you how to assemble the upper receiver.

If you want to know the ins and outs of Class 3 weapons, check out this guide.

The ATF has an FAQ on keeping in compliance with gun laws and how the ATF interprets gun laws.

Update: Oh, and a public service announcement from me based on my home gun tinkering from last night:

If you purchase a scope with a 50MM objective to mount on your AR15 carry handle scope mount, bear in mind you will need to get extended or raised scope rings. Otherwise, that bigger scope objective totally covers the front sight. A 40MM works fine with the front site.

While I agree that animals are essentially property and resources, excusing the abuse of them is horrendous:

Although I think it’s mean and pointless to hurt a helpless creature, I don’t really care what people do to their own animals. There shouldn’t be any criminal punishment for hurting an animal you own, and if you hurt someone else’s animal you should be prosecuted similarly to any other form of property crime.

Sorry, Michael, but that is wrong. Yes, we slaughter cattle. However, we don’t do so by torturing them and we do so for a purpose (leather, burgers, etc.). Conversely, from the property standpoint, your non-living property doesn’t feel pain nor does it suffer.

I for one welcome our new alien overlords:

This radio signal, now seen on three separate occasions, is an enigma. It could be generated by a previously unknown astronomical phenomenon. Or it could be something much more mundane, maybe an artefact of the telescope itself.

But it also happens to be the best candidate yet for a contact by intelligent aliens in the nearly six-year history of the SETI@home project, which uses programs running as screensavers on millions of personal computers worldwide to sift through signals picked up by the Arecibo telescope.

Via the geek.

Update: The beeb says no.

Update 2: Apparently, aliens would prefer email to radio.

A good letter to the editor that attempts to debunk the fears of the ban. One note: Machine guns weren’t banned in the 1930s, they were just taxed and regulated.

More hysteria from the antigunners. This one has it all: the children, cops getting killed, blood in the streets, Uzis, AK47s, etc. It then lists some of the tragic shootings of recent memory.

And, some good news, the gun industry is gearing up for the expiration of the ban. This article intimates that gun makers are going to crank out new rifles. Actually, they’re just going to make the same rifles but those rifles will be equipped with bayonet lugs, flash hiders and folding stocks.

The NRA at RepubliCon:

With the national assault weapons ban set to expire in less than two weeks, nobody expected the gun lobby to ignore the Republican National Convention. And it didn’t.

Its leading organization, the National Rifle Association, has sponsored several receptions this week. Wednesday night it co-sponsored a bash for House Speaker Dennis Hastert, who could either help or hinder efforts to extend the ban. The bash featured Isaac Hayes and Kid Rock and lasted into the wee hours.

To remind Republicans gathered here to re-nominate President Bush of its national grass-roots clout, the NRA also took out a full-page advertisement in a national publication, opposite a widely read schedule of events and parties.

In typical, bare-knuckle NRA style, there is nothing subtle about the ad. It quotes former President Bill Clinton repeatedly giving the NRA credit for delivering several key states to George W. Bush in his paper-thin victory over Al Gore in 2000. And there’s a clear warning in the final excerpt from the Clinton archives – “The fight for the assault weapons ban cost 20 members their seats in Congress,” he told the Cleveland Plain Dealer in 1995.

Four years ago, in the aftermath of the Columbine High School massacre, a raging national debate over gun control played a prominent role in the presidential race. Afterward, a frustrated Clinton said in a series of interviews that he believed it pushed as many as five swing states into Bush’s column.

The NRA has withheld its endorsement of Bush. I think if the ban does expire, they will endorse him.

Here’s a good piece on the pending pit bull ban in Canada. Sadly, it details how some people are abusing the dogs as they’re out in public:

But now, Reid is more afraid for her dogs than we should be of them. Last Sunday while walking George and Fred near their Riverdale home, Darlene and her daughter were assaulted by two men.

It’s just the latest attack. Two years ago, while the dogs were tethered outside a Danforth café, a man beat them with a stick. Last summer, some guy stubbed out his smoke on George’s back.

“It’s terrifying, and it’s terrorizing my daughter,” Reid says.

In each instance, George and Freddy stayed calm. Why? Because, even though they’ve been drafted as fighters, pit bulls and their cousins, the American Staffordshire and Staffordshire bull terriers, have been bred to be gentle to humans. Their handlers had to be able to safely stay in the pits and stop fights.

So, someone is out in public with their dog and someone puts a cigarette out on it or beats it with a stick? Dear lord.

Also, the article mentions this fun little game that you can play called Find the Pit Bull.

Some more snippets:

“I am much more afraid of a cocker spaniel than I ever am of a pit bull,” says Mychelle Blake, an animal behaviourist and pit bull owner in Lancaster, Penn. (http://www.AllEarsDogs.com).

According to the American Temperament Test Society (http://www.atts.org), beagles, border collies and bloodhounds, to name just three much loved breeds, score worse than pits.

But pits have the bad luck of being the most popular breed in urban North America, mostly because of backyard breeders out for a quick buck.

“If you looked at the sheer number of these dogs, if they were really that dangerous there would be attacks every day,” observes Blake.

She says that you can’t trust statistics such as that cited in Tuesday’s Star, which claim pit bulls account for “almost half of all dog attacks … yet they make up less than 1 per cent of the canine population.”

That’s because pit bulls are not registered with the American Kennel Club. And backyard breeders don’t keep books.

And, on identifying the real problem, there’s this:

“It all has to do with ownership,” says Barclay, who advocates education and licensing for owners. “I train people; I don’t train dogs.”

As Darlene says, “Look up the leash. See who is attached to it. Then judge the dog.”

Jay Leno (paraphrased):

Did you see the pictures of John Kerry windsurfing? Even his hobbies depend on which way the wind blows.