The latest RINO Sightings, a group of secular conservative sorts, is up. Go read.

It’s also lucrative for the state. The Tennessean reports:

Tennessee modeled its program to collect taxes on illegal drugs after North Carolina’s, but early returns indicate that the Volunteer State’s 6-month-old effort has been more successful.

A report released yesterday showed that Tennessee had collected about six times more taxes on controlled substances as did its neighbor to the east in its first six months. Substances taxed include cocaine, crack, methamphetamine and marijuana.

The 10-person unit of the Tennessee Department of Revenue reported that it had collected $606,687 and assessed more than $15 million. The department has spent $376,400 since the program began in January.

You regular readers knew that already. But it looks like the tax is finally getting some form of scrutiny in the press (even if it is toward the end of the article):

Despite Tennessee’s success with the new tax, some defense attorneys think that some people being taxed are not guilty of drug possession.

“I don’t have a problem with money being taken from people who are proven to be involved in some sort of illegal conduct,” said Erik Herbert, a Nashville defense attorney. “The issue that I have are these liens and monies being taken before it’s proven people have done anything wrong.”

Herbert represented Michael Garcia, who was ordered to pay $17,592 in taxes in April after being stopped as he followed a vehicle going through Springfield. Authorities said the other vehicle was carrying 10 pounds of marijuana, and police said they suspected that Garcia was running interference for a drug dealer.

Garcia was never arrested or charged.

Last week a state revenue department lawyer waived the assessment, saying there wasn’t enough evidence to prove Garcia possessed the drugs.

Herbert said Garcia probably isn’t the only innocent person who was assessed the tax.

Innocent or not, such a practice does not involve due process of law and is the abuse of a tax structure.

A message board dedicated to the Uzi. So, is there a form for every gun out there?

Looks like the police chief in Madison wants to ban Rottweilers and Pit Bulls.

Here’s a decent piece on pit bulls, which notes:

Would you have a pit bull in your home?

For many dog lovers, this question is becoming increasingly difficult to answer. Reports of dogs attacking humans often involve the American pit bull terrier, a strong breed originally bred for human companionship and later for fighting with other dogs. As the pit, which is also called an American Staffordshire terrier, has become more trendy as a guard or protection dog, it has been increasingly misbred for aggressive tendencies, rather than good temperament.

As a society, we’ve seen this happen before. Rottweilers, Dobermans and German shepherds have been labeled the “most dangerous breed” in past decades, mostly due to poor breeding and owners that value having a tough, aggressive dog over having a pet that can fit into the family and the community.

Let’s look at the good news: Pit bulls can be bred and raised to be wonderful dogs. Even dogs that are not well-bred can be good pets in the right household. Do you remember the case last year of former Trail Blazer Qyntel Woods owning and abusing fighting dogs? According to a KGW News report, the two dogs were placed with experienced dog owners — one in the Bend area and one in the Portland area — and have become good family members. The dog in Bend even lives with two cats and does very well.

Most professionals in the animal care field don’t see pit bulls as being more aggressive toward humans than other breeds. In fact, a pit bull that has gone through strict temperament evaluations may be one of the best breeds for a family with small children, because they are sturdy dogs that tolerate a lot of handling, grabbing, and attention without reacting negatively.

It seems that the pattern for local media is:

1 – Wait for national incident

2 – Find local connection to that incident

Just seems odd to me that what is newsworthy is a degree of Kevin Bacon to some other event.

Lame:

For motorists wondering whether police are working on a quota system, an answer can be found in Montana.

A new policy requires state troopers to stop at least one vehicle an hour, whether the driver has done anything wrong or not. But the driver doesn’t have to be ticketed, so police officials say it’s not a quota system.

Lately, I haven’t noticed a lot of media criticism or, specifically, fisking going on in blogland. What’s up with that? I thought maybe the media were being more careful with the facts. Then, I realized that’s not the case. Are we bored of fisking? No longer the in thing?

The 21^st Carnival of Cordite is up, a round up of gun blogs.

Maddox on blogs. Truly hysterical.

Via Adam.

A while back, I changed my style sheet because I thought the blockquotes were odd looking. Anyway, today the CSS reverted back to what it was before I made changes, which was like a month ago. Any clues?

Switched addresses. I can now be reached at:

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales:

“I’ve been asked since 2001 whether or not I’d consider going on the court, and I’ve consistently said, ‘I’m not a candidate for the Supreme Court‘ – and that remains true today,” Gonzales said. “I love being attorney general. My job, currently, is to help the president make this decision.”

I hope it’s true.

Kiddies and Carbines:

Samantha Tibbetts, 5, wears a pink T shirt with a lady on it carrying a sparkly purse. She squirms in her chair. Tibbetts, with big blue eyes and long blonde hair, is sitting in a classroom. But it’s a classroom whose walls are cinder block, and her teacher, Paul, has a rifle cradled in his lap. Paul asks the nine kids, ages 5 to 16, to name the parts of the gun. “Can you say ‘trigger?'”

More:

Front Sight teaches kids to “trust their feelings” around “tricky” people. It also preaches firearms safety. Children memorize what they must do when and if they encounter a gun:”Stop. Don’t touch. Leave the area and tell an adult.”

On the firing range, under an unforgiving sun, Samantha presses up against her cheek the stock of a Chipmunk 22 by Rogue Rifle Co. She shoots at a square paper target. Older kids fire submachine guns, shotguns or handguns. James Minner, 14, was visiting Front Sight with his sister Sheila, 17, and parents, Gary and Sherry Minner of Delavan, Ill. We asked James if he had any previous shooting experience. “Yes,” he said.

Via KABA.

Radley notes there are more and more ways for the .gov to take your car. My favorite: frequenting a bawdy place.

Some guns, propane tanks, oxygen, and gas soaked fabric. What could possibly go wrong? Nothing went wrong and that’s a mighty impressive fireball.

Bill Hobbs notes that The Tennessean swallowed a press release hook, line and sinker. Bill notes the drug tax is costing more than it’s making (something I’ve already pointed out here many times). However . . .

Bill also says:

The Tennessean editorialized in favor of the tax on illegal drugs on April 14, 2004, and again on Jan. 1, 2005.

Back in December, before the law went into effect, Bill supported the idea and editorialized in favor of it:

This actually works – and is a pretty good idea, though it sounds a bit odd at first. The law will require sellers of illegal drugs to pay excise taxes, just legal businesses. Most drug-pushers won’t comply, of course, but the law can be used to assess back taxes on dealers who are caught by law enforcement, adding an additional financial penalty to their crimes while also bringing in a few extra dollars for the state budget.

In his comments, I told him it wouldn’t work. I was right.

Went to Wal-Mart yesterday to get some stuff. The Mrs. was trying to return something so Junior and I went to grab some diapers and dog food. I passed sporting goods and noticed they had 100 rounds of Winchester 230 grain .45ACP ammo for $19. And they had 100 rounds Winchester 115 grain 9MM for $11. I told the guy to give me two of each. He looks at Junior and asked if she was going shooting. I said she would in about five or six years. He said make it four. Then, out of the blue, he said something to effect of You don’t think the terrorists are coming here do you? Obviously referencing the tragedy in London.

I said No, just think it’s a good deal.

Then he said that he had sold a ton of ammo that day. I’m as pro-gun as they get but, unless you actually catch someone planting a bomb, I’m not sure your handgun is an effective bomb stopper.

U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett on the Supreme Court Nom:

The rumor mill says it’s Gonzalez (sic)

Rob puts it best:

Of course, the only filibuster that Gonzales would face would be from conservatives.

At this point, I wonder if talking up Gonzales is a distraction from who will be the real nominee. At least, I fucking hope so.

Abysmal:

In a ruling issued Friday, Wickham said the comments and activities by KVI-AM (570) hosts Kirby Wilbur and John Carlson on behalf of the Initiative 912 campaign are in-kind contributions that must be reported to the Public Disclosure Commission.

Initiative 912 is an effort to repeal the legislatively enacted increase in the state gasoline tax. The deadline for submitting at least 225,000 signatures to qualify the initiative for the November ballot is tomorrow.

Support for a measure is a political contribution? I think someone is unclear on the concept. So, should I fill out some form to report this post?

Figured I’d post a pic of the AR lowers that my friend sent:

To be engraved with: For civilian use only.

Wired has a piece on why it’s smart to disobey authority during emergencies:

For nearly four years – steadily, seriously, and with the unsentimental rigor for which we love them – civil engineers have been studying the destruction of the World Trade Center towers, sifting the tragedy for its lessons. And it turns out that one of the lessons is: Disobey authority. In a connected world, ordinary people often have access to better information than officials do.

Proof can be found in the 298-page draft report issued in April by the National Institute on Standards and Technology called Occupant Behavior, Egress, and Emergency Communications. (In layman’s terms, that’s who got out of the buildings, how they got out, and why.) It’s an eloquent document, in many ways. The report confirms a chilling fact that was widely covered in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. After both buildings were burning, many calls to 911 resulted in advice to stay put and wait for rescue. Also, occupants of the towers had been trained to use the stairs, not the elevators, in case of evacuation.

I concur. The title official does not necessarily denote the sharpest knife in the drawer. Dave Newman knew that.

I’m with Chuck, infra-red grills take the fun out of grilling. May as well microwave it. As a bonus, here’s a Korean barbecue marinade recipe I use on beef ribs:

1 cup of soy sauce
1/2 cup of rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons minced garlic
splash of powdered ginger
Korean red pepper powder (to taste – I use a tablespoon or two)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 chopped green onions
1 tablespoon sesame seed oil

Mix together and marinate your beef short ribs for a few hours before grilling. Yummy.

Alan Korwin says public access to federal shooting ranges is preserved in law.

I think I’ll just stroll up to Oak Ridge’s Y-12, where they have a shooting range, with my AR-15. What could possibly go wrong?

Those terrified that the Bush SCOTUS nominee will put an end to abortion rights enumerated in our constitution (have they not been paying attention? – Ed.) are already lying.

I realize that abortion is an important issue to people (not to me, sure it’s bad but making it illegal would be worse). But it is not the issue. As with most things, people have to cheat to win. So be it. Imagine how much worse it will be when we know who the nominee is. Rob Huddleston, who apparently has not seen it fit to address my response to his assertion of my ultra-libertarianism, has a good round up of nominees.

If you haven’t heard, the news was reporting (at last count) 7 explosions throughout London. Some formerly unknown group claiming ties with Al Qaeda has said it was responsible.

My thoughts are with the Brits.

Headline: Incensed on gun law, Washington steps up call for rights:

Bitter about efforts to loosen gun restrictions in the US capital, Washington’s mayor yesterday told Congress to stay out of the District of Columbia’s business and contrasted the fight for democracy abroad with the lack of rights for the city’s residents.

Uhm, what about the right of the people to keep and bear arms?

A winner, of sorts. Though it’s not a logo as specified in the contest I’m having, I do like Robert’s idea for a slogan. SayUncle lower receivers will contain the slogan:

For Civilian Use Only

A reader sent me a scan of the Tennessee Department of Revenue Unauthorized Substances Stamp (note: Background on Tennessee’s Illegal Drug Tax can be found here). Here it is:

It has a what I assume is a serial number. I also assume that means this is only the 127th one they sold. It costs the reader $0.50 and a price list can be found here.

I think I may use this as the logo on my AR15 Lower receivers since I only received three entries in my contest (David, Tom, and Cube). Maybe not, that’s probably illegal. Guess none of the readers are photoshoppers.

Update: Say, I wonder if that serial number is tied to anything that could later be used to identify the purchaser? Maybe the security system cameras?

Update 2: Huh?

Tennessee’s unauthorized substances tax has generated more than $600,000 in collections and $15 million in assessments since it took effect Jan. 1.

I assume by collections they mean property seized without due process. Because $600K divided by 127 is about $4,700 per stamp. That is, of course, assuming that the stamps are sequentially issued.

Update 3: The Tennessee Center for Policy research disagrees. A press release I got states:

Read the rest of this entry »

Michael Silence reports that Knox County Commission this month will consider an ordinance requiring a two-thirds vote for the 19-member body to condemn land for “economic development.” It’s a start but how about eliminating taking private property from one person to give to another completely?

Bill Quick:

I don’t have a major opinion about the necessity to immediately overturn Roe v. Wade, but I can never support a Supreme Court nominee who thinks the Second Amendment doesn’t exist.

Well, a crappy, politically-motivated AG would only be a crappy, politically-motivated judge.