I wish they’d stop using the word carnival for these things. But (via Jed) comes The Carnival of the Cordite, which should be coming soon.

Don’t forget that there is already a Shooters’ Carnival (the name wasn’t my idea).

Point and counter point.

The ATF now offers FFL EZ check so that if you need a firearm transferred from another state, the seller can verify that the buyer’s FFL holder is legit. The problem is that nobody I’ve ever used to transfer firearms is willing to transfer based on the FFL EZ check. They still want a signed copy sent to them via snail mail. Even that ATF site says that the EZ Check is no substitute for a copy. I can’t figure out the point of the system.

Via Drudge, we learn that in 1928, people had black and white cameras.

Why does the baby smell like beer?

From: Montana House of Representatives
To: Congress

STFU.

Here’s the text of the bill. The bill basically exempts people in the state of Montana from federal regulations pertaining to driver’s licenses and firearms (machine guns and suppressors are excluded for you people pondering moving there just for such a reason). Apparently, someone has heard of the Tenth Amendment. The bill passed the house by an amazing 94-6.

It looks like the media actually do know the difference between an assault rifle and a rifle that looks like an assault rifle:

A complaint said Gilbert had sold AK-47 assault rifles and other weapons to a confidential informant working with the federal government over the past two years. He was charged with five counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession of a machine gun and possession of an unregistered gun.

Oh, no they don’t. Sorry.

The TN legislature has started pushing a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage:

A proposed constitutional ban on gay marriage in Tennessee is moving forward again.

The Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee approved the legislation 7-2 Tuesday. It will now be scheduled for debate in the full Senate.

Tennessee law already defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman, but Republicans say they are trying to prevent courts from allowing gay marriages in other states from being recognized in Tennessee.

The Legislature approved the ban last session by a simple majority, and now it needs a two-thirds majority this session before the question can be put to voters on a gubernatorial ballot.

Sadly, this will likely pass in Tennessee.

Ronald Ziol:

I read John Tsolakos’ opinion on why the ban on assault weapons should remain in effect. Since then, I have been rereading the federal Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, thinking I must have missed something. I now am certain I haven’t.

The bill defines “assault weapon” as a semi-automatic rifle that has an ability to accept a detachable magazine and has at least two of these: a folding or telescoping stock; a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon; a bayonet mount; a flash suppresser (sic) or threaded barrel designed to accommodate a flash suppresser; and a grenade launcher. Nowhere is this firearm described as “continuous-fire,” as Tsolakos has stated.

Continuous-fire weapons are governed under the National Firearms Act of 1934.

Insurance companies have been doing this for a while:

The Pattens thought they were insurance-savvy, avoiding homeowner’s claims by paying for repairs and household accidents.

But a month ago, Mathew Patten and Wiccan York-Patten discovered that they had been dropped by their insurer two months earlier because of the family pet, an aging German shepherd named Allison.

Allison had never hurt anybody, but the insurance company deemed her an “unacceptable liability exposure.”

Not only because she is a dog, but because she is a German shepherd.

Some insurers have prohibited homeowners from harboring dangerous dogs for years. But in the past five years, some companies have developed lists of breeds they restrict from coverage based on their potential for danger.

The push is on for an assault weapons ban in NY, even though they already have one:

They are asking the governor and the state legislature to quickly pass an assault weapons ban on the state level. They said the gun that was used in Sunday’s shooting was a Model 47, which is a copy-cat of an AK-47. Model 47s are legal, but activists said they are equivalent in strength to banned AK-47s.

Actually, there’s a huge difference. The AK-47 is a machine gun that shoots 600 or so rounds per minute. The Model 47 is a sporterized version of the AK that is semi-automatic and fires one round per pull of the trigger.

Andy Pelosi of New Yorkers Against Guns said, “The shooter is reported having two 30-round magazines. New York law says that your limited to a 10-round magazine.”

Actually, I think the law says you’re limited to 10 round magazines if they were made after 1994. Those made before that date are perfectly legal.

You ever been to a Japanese steak house and had the hibachi sauce? It’s sort of tastes like it’s based on mayo. Anyone know how to make it?

Guess away:

Bonelli is accused of spraying assault weapon fire through the mall Sunday afternoon, firing off about 60 rounds before surrendering.

Hit more for answer.

Read the rest of this entry »

Heh!

I was reading this piece by Eric Margolis which started to detail some seemingly frightful stuff:

The film Seven Days In May is one of my all-time favourites. The gripping 1964 drama, starring Burt Lancaster, depicts an attempted coup by far rightists in Washington using a top-secret Pentagon anti-terrorist unit called something like “Contelinpro.”

Life imitates art. This week, former military intelligence analyst William Arkin revealed a hitherto unknown directive, with the Orwellian name “JCS Conplan 0300-97,” authorizing the Pentagon to employ special, ultra-secret “anti-terrorist” military units on American soil for what the author claims are “extra-legal missions.”

In other words, using U.S. soldiers to kill or arrest Americans, acts that have been illegal since the U.S. Civil War.

I’m was all like uh-oh, spooky. Then the next paragraph:

This frightening news comes as Washington is gripped by reborn, Cold-War-style paranoia, ominous threats of war against Iran from the real president, Dick Cheney, and a titanic bureaucratic battle just won by Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. – emphasis added for people who need to be told that sort of thing

At that point, I can’t read any further. If you’re going to wear your tinfoil hat proudly in a publication, don’t expect to be taken seriously.

We’re gonna tax ya:

So Just bought a fuel efficient hybrid and said goodbye to his gas-guzzling BMW.

[snip]

And that saves him almost $300 a month in gas. It’s great for Just but bad for the roads he’s driving on, because he also pays a lot less in gasoline taxes which fund highway projects and road repairs. As more and more hybrids hit the road, cash-strapped states are warning of rough roads ahead.

Officials in car-clogged California are so worried they may be considering a replacement for the gas tax altogether, replacing it with something called “tax by the mile.”

Jeff has the latest.

Spent the last few days working on my taxes. Bastards. This year, we Tennesseans can deduct sales tax (which was particularly helpful since I bought a new ride this year) so the sting is slightly less than I thought it would be. Still, they’re bastards.

The light at the end of the tunnel is that April 15 is also buy a gun day for Schumer, Feinstein, The IRS, Michael Moore, ad infinitum. The point is to buy a gun because it annoys some people. So, plan accordingly.

CounterTop, noting Aaron is gone, has taken up the reigns to promote it.

Jacqueline Mackie Paisley Passey, who has a very long name and I say that as someone who also has four names (and like three suffixes), notes some real libertarian girl bloggers.

He’s voting for it before voting against it:

Democratic Sen. John Kerry , whose baffling explanation of votes on Iraq war funding hurt his 2004 White House bid, said on Tuesday he would back President Bush ‘s new $81.9 billion request for Iraq and Afghanistan .

It’s the same strategery as before. He’s planning his run in 2008. You heard it here first.

Ravenwood emails that trackback isn’t working. Until further notice, I’ve disabled them due to spam.

Robert Bonelli mall shooting update. First, police said it was an AK. Then it wasn’t. Now, it is again:

Police say Bonelli used a Hesse Model 47 semiautomatic rifle to terrorize patrons Sunday at the Hudson Valley Mall.

The fact it’s a Hesse may explain why he didn’t hit many people. Additionally, the Hesse was not covered as part of the 1994 assault weapons ban but that doesn’t keep our trusty pals in the media from trying to lead you to the conclusion that it would have been:

Sources said Bonelli, 24, from Glasco, bought the gun in October, a month after a federal 10-year ban on assault weapons expired.

Also, New York state has its own ban which identically mimics the expired federal ban. And he bought it at an evil gun show loophole:

A background check was done at the time the gun was purchased from a dealer at the gun show, federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms officials said. ATF officials are assisting in the investigation.

Wait! I thought they didn’t do background checks at evil gun show loopholes? What’s up with that? Doesn’t he know he could have just walked out with it as our friends in the media so often point out?

Additionally, our friends in the media note that the guy also didn’t have something that he wasn’t required to have anyway:

Bonelli didn’t have a gun permit, Ulster police said. But Tony Tantillo, former owner of a Lloyd gun shop, said a permit isn’t needed to own such a weapon.

Huh?

In one week, the Supreme Court will hear Kelo v. New London, arguably the most important property rights case of our time. With a week left, the seven families are preparing to go before the Supreme Court and plead their case. A recent account:

Fifteen houses are all that remain of Fort Trumbull, a once vibrant immigrant neighborhood on the southeastern Connecticut shore. For years, bulldozers have been leveling houses to make way for a city’s high hopes: a hotel and convention center, office space and upscale condominiums.

The homes, surrounded now by swaths of rutted grass and gravel, stand in defiance to the project. Refusing to sell or leave, seven families will go before the U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 22, arguing their city has no right to take property solely in the name of economic development.

At issue is whether the government can take land from one private entity and turn it over to another private entity. To exercise Eminent Domain, the Constitution requires that the land be for public use and that the owners be given just compensation. The city will likely argue that it’s for the public good and that the projected increase in tax revenues are for public use.

Justin, of Elephant Rants, was wanting an AR15 and emailed me about it. Told him (like I’ll tell any of you local folks) that if he wanted to save a few bucks, he could buy a kit and receiver then I’d put it together for him. So, met him at the gun show (and apparently just missed Les, who is sporting an SKS from the same show) where he bought a J&T Light Weight Flattop kit and a Stag lower receiver. So, here it is before we got to work:

And here it is after:

Justin has already emailed me about accessories and notes that AR15s are addictive and he already wants a second one. Tell me about it:

Justin has more and a pic. And he’s talking all fancy with his gun talk.

Feel bad for the guy:

What was supposed to be a magical moment at Sunday night’s Orlando Magic basketball game instead turned into an embarrassing memory for one man, according to Local 6 News.

The unidentified man asked his girlfriend to marry him in front of thousands of fans at the Magic’s 97-94 victory over the New Orleans Hornets at the TD Waterhouse Centre.

The man, who was standing on the court, dropped to a knee and asked the woman to marry him.

Instead of answering, the woman turned and ran off the court with her face in her hands.

Damn.

Update: It was a hoax:

Local 6 News reported Tuesday that the proposal was a hoax — an Orlando Magic marketing ploy to spice up the NBA experience, according to the report.

Some scientist is predicting humans will be immortal in about twenty years:

The famed inventor and computer scientist is serious about his health because if it fails him he might not live long enough to see humanity achieve immortality, a seismic development he predicts in his new book is no more than 20 years away.

It’s a blink of an eye in history, but long enough for the 56-year-old Kurzweil to pay close heed to his fitness. He urges others to do the same in “Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever.”

The book is partly a health guide so people can live to benefit from a coming explosion in technology he predicts will make infinite life spans possible.

How?

Kurzweil writes of millions of blood cell-sized robots, which he calls “nanobots,” that will keep us forever young by swarming through the body, repairing bones, muscles, arteries and brain cells. Improvements to our genetic coding will be downloaded via the Internet. We won’t even need a heart.

So, we’ll be immortal until these nanobots revolt like in Terminator 3 and start killing us off. Somehow, a nano-Schwarzenegger isn’t as scary.

In an update to this, New York has an assault weapons ban that mirrors the expired Federal ban. This article (sent by Robert) notes:

Police said the gunman, armed with an assault-type rifle that’s legal to own in New York state, entered the Best Buy store from the parking lot of the U.S. Route 9W mall shortly after 3 p.m., fired his way through the store and continued to shoot as he walked into the mall’s corridors, striking two people before running out of ammunition near center court.

So, was it a pre-ban AK like mine pictured at the link above? Not likely:

Authorities did not specify what type of weapon was used but denied reports that it was an AK-47.

I’d bet one cold beer he used an SKS, which is not covered by the NY ban nor was it covered by the expired federal ban. Any takers?

Any chance the media outlets who report this as an AK47 will retract those statements?

Update: This one could be ripe for retraction:

The shooting spree might have been prevented had Congress and President Bush re-enacted the Assault Weapons Ban that expired last September, US Senator Charles Schumer said today. The senator renewed his call to pass the law, which he drafted as a congressman and passed on the heels of LIRR incident, and which had succeeded in slashing the rate of banned assault weapons used in crime by nearly two-thirds.

When the ban expired last year, gun manufacturers were once again able to produce and sell 19 types of military-style assault weapons including TEC-9s, and AK-47s that have only one purpose – to kill human beings. Yesterday’s shooting is believed to have been promulgated by the use of a military-style assault weapon. Schumer said the type of weapon used in yesterday’s shooting would have been included under the assault weapons ban.

I’ll hold my breath. I really don’t understand why it’s such a chore for the press to figure out what gun was used by Robert Bonelli. Of course, they did the same thing with Chai Vang.

I’m a brown-bagger. I pack a lunch and take it to work. This may impact my career choice a bit as going out to eat is a ritual. I used to eat out every day and then realized (after I got married because my wife told me) that a $7 meal, five times a week, for 50 weeks out of the year is a hefty chunk of change ($1,750 for you slower people). Money better spent on, say, guns.

My wife is rather anal about the contents of our refrigerator. She constantly works to maximize the available space in the fridge. She will actually, and I’m not making this up, take the contents of a larger bowl and put them into a smaller bowl. I won’t do that. I figure that just creates one more dish to wash. She packs my lunch, and I’m thankful for that. She doesn’t do it because she wants to make sure I eat well. She does it because, if she doesn’t, I’ll just go out for lunch.

Her determination to get rid of everything in the fridge combined with packing my lunch has resulted in the suffering of yours truly. I get the oddest food combinations for lunch. For example, a few days back I had in my lunch box: Ramen noodles, Stove Top Stuffing and a small block of mild cheddar cheese. I’ve also had chili, rice-a-roni, and a yogurt.

The other thing about this situation is that we have four lunch boxes, one of which is a rather sissy-looking teal color. Carrying that lunch box makes me look like someone you’d want to beat up. If someone were to take this lunch box to school, they’d probably get their asses kicked. This lunch box is, of course, her first choice when it comes to packing lunch for me.

A man walks into a mall with a rifle and starts shooting up the mall. He runs out of ammo and is tackled after injuring one person. Foxnews apparently went into terror mode over the incident. While that bout of hysteria is asinine, the misinformation continues:

A gunman opened fire with an AK-47 assault rifle Sunday inside a crowded mall in upstate New York, wounding one person before running out of ammunition and being subdued by employees, authorities said. Initial reports stated that there were up to three gunmen, but it later became clear that the shooter was acting alone.

The man did not open fire with an AK-47 assault rifle (can’t blame Fox here, that’s what the police chief told them). An AK-47 assault rifle is a select-fire, automatic machine gun that fires hundreds of rounds per minute. The man likely used a semi-automatic rifle that looked like an AK-47 assault rifle, like mine:

I wonder how this happened? I mean, New York has an assault weapons ban.

Patterico has a guest column in the LA Times. Unsurprisingly, it is called The Correct Way to Fix Mistakes.