Honestly, I’m not really familiar with the Schiavo case. My understanding is that she’s been in a coma for about seven years; her friends and husband say she probably wouldn’t want to go on living; and most doctors testify that her reactions to stimuli are random and often can’t be reproduced. All that said, I’m not sure if pulling the plug is warranted or not.

What I am sure of is that this case not a federal issue. Congress and the president rushed to pass a law to let the woman’s parents ask a federal judge to prolong Schiavo’s life by reinserting her feeding tube. Seems to me, they’ve overstepped their bounds on this one. Is this regulating commerce? Providing for defense and general welfare?

That aside, this should serve as a reminder to get your living will in order. A decent lawyer and a few hundred bucks could save you and your family some heartache. I have one and trust the Mrs. to make that decision on my behalf. Of course, I also have a backup plan which consists of one of my friends who agreed to put two 230 grain jacketed slugs into my noggin in the event I’m in a vegetative state. I agreed to do the same for him.

Update: The starving her to death thing seems a bit cruel and painful. Surely, there would be a better way if it comes to that?

Regarding the DEA agent who shot himself while giving kids a gun safety class, David Codrea asks:

Why does he still have a job?

Why hasn’t he been prosecuted for reckless child endangerment and negligent discharge of a firearm, as would you or I be, save for the fact that we’re not dumb, incompetent and irresponsible enough to pull such a bone-headed move?

Who’s the jihadi in the ski mask? Dont’cha feel safer knowing guys like him are kicking in doors across the land?

And why is there an investigation to determine who “leaked” what is being described as a “home video”?

Also, Gunner notes that there’s an investigation into how the guy shot himself. No, I kid. Instead of investigating that, there is an investigation regarding who leaked the home video. It turns out, he’s an undercover sort of guy (the dreadlocks clued me in) and this video may blow his cover. You know what else may blow his cover? Giving improperly conducted gun safety classes at a high school. I’m just saying. He’s also been suspended but maybe for the wrong reasons.

Or rather, like you and me but pushing to be better:

When U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow discovered the bodies of her husband and mother in her home last month, she was alone — without bodyguards or a police officer keeping watch over her from a car nearby.

Yet every day, politicians, from governors and mayors down to California’s school superintendent and Chicago’s city treasurer, routinely travel with protection provided by the taxpayers.

It is a disparity that is getting more attention after the killings of Lefkow’s family members by a man upset over a malpractice case and the recent shooting rampage that began in an Atlanta courthouse and left a judge and three others dead.

What about regular citizens? They are, after all, more likely to be the victims of violent crime that politicians and judges. I want my state funded protection too!

Tyler Harber has resigned his job. Anyway, his lengthy resignation letter is here. He notes:

Over the past few days the safety and well being of my friends, family and I have been compromised by the vengeful and illegal actions of the Knox County Sheriff’s Office. Last night, after I was followed by undercover officers and then forcefully removed from my vehicle, I was handcuffed and confined in the back of a Knox County Sheriffs vehicle, officers refused to show proper identification, read me my rights, or notify me of why an illegal search of my vehicle was conducted, or why I was taken into custody. I decided that I could no longer endanger myself and my loved ones.

Shortly before my incident, Knox County Sheriff Officers invaded my close friend, Adam Groves’ house and conducted an illegal search and seizure of his computer and illegally and forcefully interrogated him while showing no warrant, receipt of property confiscation, and without demonstrating due cause.

Adam Groves is a local blogger. His website says nothing of the incident but that may be because he doesn’t have a computer. If the facts are as Tyler Harber says (which is quite questionable since, you know, it’s Tyler Harber) then heads should roll at the Sheriff’s Department.

And, for what it’s worth, I’ve heard speculation from many folks that Tyler Harber (and maybe Adam) was behind CasWalker.com and there’s been some speculation regarding their affiliation with Communists for TennCare.

Bubba has more. As does Michael Silence. Barry is on it too.

And, Adam, if you’re reading and would like to comment, do so. Or shoot me an email

Heartless Libertarian notes that Lautenberg has introduced another assault weapons ban. Thankfully, it can’t make it through The House. The bill, in addition to banning based on one of the evil features provisions of the expired assault weapons ban as opposed to two, it would also prohibit the transfer of such weapons with a large regular capacity feeding device. Also, it would leave it up to the AG to track crimes committed with such weapons

Here’s the house bill.

does creating black hole in a laboratory seem a bit dangerous?

Michael Silence reports another local politico is getting in on the blog game. Knoxville City Councilman Chris Woodhull’s blog is here.

Jed has posted a good round up of gun stuff and it was on Thursday.

Wadcutter also has an excellent piece on energy and momentum.

A junior in print journalism, Matthew Werlein, proves he needs to spend some more time learning how to fact check:

These founding fathers had in mind that each individual had the right to own their rifles or pistols, and, while they never specifically clarified what type of arms these are, I really cannot fathom that AK-47s and semi-automatic machine guns were what they had in mind.

A semi-automatic is not a machine gun. A semi-automatic fires one round per pull of the trigger. A machine gun fires multiple rounds per pull of the trigger. Continuing with his idiocy:

However, and please someone correct me if I’m wrong here (I will, don’t worry – Ed.), I’ve never known a hunter who needed to use a machine gun to bag a deer.

So, that raises the question of why are we allowing citizens to buy them?

Citizens have been denied by an act of congress the right to purchase new machine guns since 1986. In almost every state, it is illegal to hunt with machine guns (even those made prior to 1986). But, as you said before genius, the amendment was about the founding fathers wanting us to repel invaders and not about hunting.

For example, I will use the case of the shootings Saturday in Brookfield.

The accused suspect, Terry Ratzmann, walked into the Sheraton Hotel and sprayed the crowd with his 9 mm gun, killing seven and injuring several more.

He shot 22 rounds in a matter of seconds.

Would he have been able to shoot off as many rounds as he did if he was using a rifle or a regular handgun?

Uhm, he used a regular handgun. You’re really not too bright are you, Mr. Werlein?

You can go there and leave a comment, if you want.

Gun violence on the decline despite the crying from the antis. The data is from the Justice Department. I found this statistic interesting:

Firearms Violence 200% Higher for Blacks Than For Whites

Using the logic of the anti-gun crowd, we clearly need to ban blacks.

Update: David Codrea adds:

There are more guns in circulation now than at the start of the study period. If guns were truly responsible for violent crime, such a reduction would be impossible.

Patterico has a round up of people taking the free speech pledge. If I knew I was going to be quoted, I’d have said something more astute.

Continuing the blog meme, Tom volunteered. CounterTop also volunteered, which means I need three more people to ask random questions to. If you want to be chosen, leave a comment. CounterTop‘s questions are coming later. Update: Jay committed as well, still need two more. Tom asked first, so here’s his:

Here’s his questions:

1 – Got a gun yet? If so, what? If no, why not and what are you considering?

2 – A while back, one of your co-bloggers tilted at windmills err defended CBS over the now completely substantiated memogate scandal. You were, for the most part, silent on the issue. What do you think now and what did you think then?

3 – What do you call those little things on the ends of shoelaces?

4 – You claimed to vote straight-line Republican up until 2000 (if I recall), what event changed that trend?

5 – Kevin T. Keith: Real or made up?

Well, not a US Senator. An Australian Senator.

Bjorn has returned to blogging.

So has my favorite gun-toting moonbat lefty, The Mullet.

It’s up over at TechnoGypsy. Lots of gun stuff.

Mark reports that Tennessee’s taxes on illegal drugs are working as expected:

A Bloomington Springs house and the land it sits on yesterday became the first real estate in Tennessee to be seized for unpaid tax on illegal drugs. The property belongs to Jerry [redacted], and the tax is for the marijuana crop that law officers found growing inside an unoccupied house there last month — 80 marijuana plants three to four feet tall.

No due process. Unchecked confiscation. Drugs continue to win the war. More:

The taxing of the marijuana there and the seizing of the property to force payment of that tax are not connected to the criminal charges that are pending against [redacted] in the case.

The tax, a civil matter handled by the Tennessee Dept. of Revenue, comes from a new state law which, in effect, says to drug dealers: “The tax man is coming.”

The tax, the total amount of which is not publicly disclosed in individual cases, is levied under a new law which went into effect this January taxing “unauthorized substances,” namely marijuana, cocaine, crack, meth, and untaxed liquors and spirits.

And, as reported here, even if you try to pay the tax, they won’t take your money. It’s purpose is an additional civil issue and the taking of property.

This is just priceless:

Tighter gun ownership laws are pushing South Africans to buy crossbows, spears, swords, knives and pepper sprays to protect themselves from violent crime.

“We’ve had to build an entirely new shop because the demand from people is so great,” Justin Willmers, owner of Durban Guns and Ammo, told Reuters. “It can be anything from a Zulu fighting spear, battle axes, swords, crossbows.”

Crime is a bit high there. It’s a pity they can’t get the best tools for defense.

A local couple outsmarted a Nigerian scam and that makes the news? I outsmart it like 12 times a day by adding it to my spam software.

Proving they don’t know guns, the folks at Reuters:

Greek prison guards will go on strike next week demanding a change of their American-made weapons that date back to the U.S. wars in central America almost a century ago.

While antique shops would be eager to get their hands on them, prison guards just want to get rid of their obsolete 1911 U.S. Cavalry revolvers. The guns do not scare inmates any more as safety experts have advised guards not to fire them.

I guess they could mean either the old 38 revolvers or the Colt 1911. Surely with all its glory, they don’t mean the 1911?

the question:

Who out there will make this pledge:

If the FEC makes rules that limit my First Amendment right to express my opinion on core political issues, I will not obey those rules.

Absolutely.

At some point today, the old Sitemeter will roll over to the 500,000 mark. Good for me.

It has taken me 2.5 years to get the traffic this guy gets in three days. Other fun stats:

4,990 Total Posts
597,212 Total Words
742,040 Total Words in Comments
12,633 Total Comments

Head has a round up of AK47 links.

Without understanding what it entails, I agreed to participate in a blog meme. I assume after I answer Xrlq’s five questions, I have to get five other bloggers to agree to be interviewed by me and answer 5 questions. If you want to be asked some questions, leave a comment. Xrlqy Wrlqy asks, I answer:

1 What’s your take on the proposal to arm judges in Illinois? Support as a baby step in the right direction, or oppose under the time-honored legal doctrine of tu et me similis autem melior?

I don’t understand your crazy, moon language. But I figure from high school Latin (actually, a friend who took high school Latin) that means Like you and me, only better. Not a legal doctrine but a catch-phrase. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned following politics, it’s that catch-phrases are better than actually, you know, having substance.

Update: I thought by picking the catch-phrase, that would imply I opposed it. However, Xrlq doesn’t think I answered. So, I oppose packing judges, unless everyone else can pack too.

2 What to do about the regulation of blogs? Sign the petition, or “don’t just do something, stand there?”

I have not signed the petition because petitions are about as useful as 10,000 hippies gathering in a square to protest oil/war/blood/SUVs/Tibet/etc. Like Seagulls, they come in, make a lot of noise, crap all over everything and leave. Hippies, not petitions. But petitions don’t accomplish much. I’m much more inclined to call my representatives and bitch. I did add blogs (along with dogs and guns) to My Cold Dead Hands list. Good thing I didn’t add money or I’d be dead.

3 Do all peeple from Knocksvill spel krappyly, or jist the wons yall eleckta publick offus?

Shore do seem lack it. Jus aks dis feller.

4 ANWR drilling – good or bad?

Anything that kills off caribou is good. What have they done for us? And I hear there’s oil there.

5 How about that bankruptcy reform?

Do you mean actual bankruptcy reform or the corporate benefit version? Long and short: If you wanna play, you gotta pay. People who are capable of paying their debts should pay them. Or they should be sued senseless. If you’ve ever been paid pennies on the dollar, you know how much it sucks.

Conversely, predatory lending is also a problem. These stupid credit companies that intentionally loan to high risk people should not be rewarded for engaging in the high risk = high return game. If you loan to someone who can’t pay, you’re a dumbass. You can’t take the risk part out of the game.

The current bill only addresses one side of the equation.

Update: I didn’t answer this one good enough either. I would say the reform of making people who can pay actually pay is good. However, it should be accompanied by a crackdown on predatory lenders.

My concern would be that po’ folk or until recently affluent folk who suffer some sort of financial setback (like illness) and are now effectively po’ folk could be forced to file under Chapter 13 when Chapter 7 is more appropriate. I would not put it passed some overzealous attorney or bureaucrat.

Donald Sensing and Kim du Toit weigh in on the pending military adoption of something new. The adoption of a military arm consists of two primary issues: Caliber and Operating System.

The standard military handgun and rifle rounds (9MM and 5.56 Nato, respectively) leave a lot to be desired. The problem with both rounds is that they are underpowered as currently configured. The military is limited to ball ammo and cannot employ hollow point rounds, which would aid both rounds in terms of stopping power. The solution is to up the calibers to something with more oompf!

For pistols, the return of the 45ACP has been kicked around as this round does have proven stopping power. It’s weakness is that it is less effective at penetrating light armored targets. The 45 is a bigger, slower bullet than the 9MM. While 9MM offers penetration, its lightweight and high speed make it an ineffective people stopper compared to the 45ACP. A bigger bullet with more power behind it may be in order. As such, some folks suggest the 10MM, which, IIRC, is basically a long 40S&W (what most police departments use). A friend of mine even brought up the return of the 45 Long Colt.

For rifles, some folks long for the return of the 308 Winchester. While a more than adequate round, it is not suited to assault rifles as it is powerful and heavy. It’s safe to say that the US won’t adopt the 7.62X39 because it’s a commie round. The new 6.8MM SPC was designed to fill the void. The 6.8MM will fit in AR15 lower receivers and has essentially the same ballistics as a 308 out to about 500 or 600 yards. The 6.8MM would be, in my opinion, the logical choice if the military chose to keep its current operating system, the AR15 family of rifles.

For both rifles and pistols, the issue would be re-training soldiers to acclimate them to the new rounds. The 9MM and 5.56MM both have minimal recoil compared to, say, a 10MM and a 308 Winchester. Troops would essentially have to re-familiarize themselves with shooting. I do not know what the recoil on the 6.8MM round is like.

As for the operating system of the rifle, the schools of thought seem to be 1) change the AR caliber and address a few issues it has; 2) scrap the AR for something new, like the XM8; or 3) go back to an older gun. The military will not go back to an older gun and I don’t understand why some people advocate this (or why they advocate going back to older 1911s for handguns) as the newer designs are better. The new designs (like the XM8) are lighter, mostly plastic and cheaper to make new. Configuring existing ARs for a new round would be cheaper as you only need to swap out bolts, barrels and magazine followers in the case of the 6.8MM. While they’re at it, they should move to a gas piston system as opposed to a gas tube system (Armstech already makes one!) because the AR eats where it shits. This isn’t a problem if you keep it clean but, in combat, cleaning may not be an option.

My opinion is that the military should change caliber first, weapon later.

No one, it seems, likes the current pistol or its caliber. I personally think that hands down the military should adopt the Glock 20 or 21 (10MM and 45ACP, respectively). The Glock is easy to operate, durable, long-lasting, and reliable. Some folks have a real love of the 1911. I think it’s a fine gun but there’s so much on the market that is better (Sigs, H&Ks, and Glocks). 1911s are not user friendly for cleaning, they’re clunky, and their controls are hard to operate.

There, that ought to annoy some readers.

Elmer Smith:

And, with the repeal of the assault weapons ban last year, there is no limit on the amount of automatic weapons or ammunition a “known or suspected” terrorist can buy in America as long as he or she is not a felon, mental patient or illegal alien.

The ban was not repealed, it expired as part of a sunset provision. The ban did not cover automatic weapons nor did it cover ammunition. It covered semi-automatic weapons that had certain cosmetic features. In other words, it banned guns based on what they looked like.

Chris Byrne on why he likes the AR:

The point is that the AR is a great system, versatile, reliable, accurate, lightweight and packable.

Read the whole thing.

Council Bluffs banned dogs based on appearance and nothing that is objectively provable. Now, they’re sending out registration notices:

Council Bluffs animal control officers will send out letters next week to pit bull owners.

The letters will tell owners they need to register the dog or surrender the animal. The letters come after Council Bluffs passed a pit bull ban in November.

If owners fail to comply with next week’s letters, a citation with a $550 fine will be issued.

Boston.com:

Known on the street as the cop killer, the Five-seveN is easily concealable and is designed to shoot ammunition that can pierce 48 layers of Kevlar, the material in bulletproof vests.

The .50-caliber rifle can accurately shoot a target up to 2,000 yards away and can potentially shoot down commercial airplanes during takeoff, supporters of the bill said. The rifle is not covered by the state assault weapons ban.

No mention that the likelihood of hitting a moving aircraft is about zero. And no mention that the armor piercing ammunition is not available for sale to the public.

I have like 50 Gmail invites. If you’re one of the last two people on earth without an account, leave a comment. What’s gmail good for anyway? I prefer Yahoo!

Security Door Blocks Overweight Officers

To quote Uncle, “Just like you and me, only better.”

It’s definately not local, unless you live in Sweden, but I’m fairly certain it applies everywhere. The police had a scale built into the door to determine if more than one person was trying to gain entry at a time, and some of their overweight officers aren’t able to open the door. The door greets them with the simple phrase “Stop! One at a time!”