Today is the day when Knox County Commission decides whether to grant Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale permanent control over the Knox County Library System or to go back to the library Board of Trustees like all of the other cities in the state.

So why should the temporary control granted to the County Mayor be made permanent? The Knoxville News Sentinel and Metro Pulse make the case but to save you a little time I can say it in fewer words. New Downtown Library. There that wasn’t so difficult was it?

Putting on my “Karnac the Magnificent” prediction hat I predict that Knox County Commission will ignore any common sense oratory from County Commissioner Mike McMillian and will vote for permanent control of the Library System to be granted to the County Mayor. Soon after the drum will beat for the new Downtown Library which according to the “Friends of the Knox County Public Library” is desperately needed. Is it? I guess it depends who you ask.

I am not sure exactly why, but this is a brilliant political move. One thought is that is will occupy the entire political mind share coming into the 2006 election sucking up the oxygen from other issues. Another thought is that it guarantees the urban vote to the County Mayor and all County Commissioners that vote with him.

Some might ask why a new $40 to 65 million dollar library with daring architecture should be built downtown when the branch libraries cost only around $5 to 7 million. The “Friends of the Knox County Public Library” have plenty of answers. That is a great name for a special interest group. There may be a clash with the “Friends of Knox County Taxpayers” group otherwise know as the rest of the Knox County. Isn’t it great sport when politicians pit City people versus County people? Red state or blue state?

Is there another issue that is on the political horizon that savvy political types would like to see suppressed. Oh there is, it is the dreaded and looming discussion of impact fees. The genie is out of the bottle as the little town of Farragut is underway with a full debate of impact fees. Knox County will have to follow. That is one discussion the Home Builders Association of Knoxville does not want to have in an election year.

The latest round up of secular conservatives is up at Louisiana Libertarian.

David Codrea notes:

While Nevadans without such permits have to pay $25 to have an FBI criminal background check run each time they purchase a firearm, serious gun owners and shooters were told that as a fringe benefit of acquiring the concealed carry permit we’d be allowed to buy firearms without undergoing (and paying for) a new $25 “Brady” check each time.

Guess what?

In an Oct. 13 letter, Maj. Robert Wideman of the division of the Nevada Department of Public Safety (state police) advises Nevada gun dealers that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has determined that will no longer be the case beginning Oct. 23.

$25 seems steep. It’s $10 here in Tennessee, though CCW permits do not exempt you from background checks. Someone is working on that though.

The impact in Nevada will be a drop in gun sales and a rise in the number of background checks. The reason for this change is that not all entities that issue permits conduct background checks. I find it odd that a sheriff any where would issue a permit and not conduct a background check. Something isn’t right.

Update: So, the directive for this is coming from the ATF. Seems the feds are overriding state law. Not sure if that’s a constitutional issue or not. Someone enlighten me.

No, not here but in England.

Pete notes that technology has bitten a cop on the butt:

Investigator Joseph W. Brown of the Massena village Police Department testified that he stopped the car the driver was using a cell phone. The judge rejected the testimony because account records for the men’s phones showed neither of their phones had been used between the time they received the marijuana and the time they were stopped. As a result, he ruled neither the marijuana or any other evidence gathered as a result of the traffic stop can be used against the men.

Now, I respect cops and most are decent people. But when they have to lie to try to get a conviction, they are no better than criminals.

Isn’t that perjury?

Eight days and no update? Hope all is well.

From the department of no kidding, WBIR:

Tennessee Senator Bill Frist says an investigation into his sale of stock in a family-founded hospital chain will affect whether he will seek the presidency in 2008.

But the Senate Majority Leader says he has not lost the public’s trust and hopes people wait for the results of the investigation before making any decisions about him. Advertisement

Frist says he did not use inside information in deciding to sell millions of dollars in HCA stock. The sale came two weeks before the stock price dipped by 9 percent.

There could be nothing to his stock sale but if it’s found out there’s a problem, he is done for and he knows it. So, let’s see here:

Frist under investigation
DeLay under investigation
Plame/Miller/Rove/insert name of someone else investigation

Not looking too good for Republicans these days. It’s like there’s a witch hunt or something. Or, you know, shenanigans.

Today, Chuck Schumer said that Miers lacked confirmation votes. In the even the Senate goes Nuclear over the Miers’ confirmation, all hope for the Republican party is lost.

BTW, on spell check suggestions that are ironic: For Schumer, we have schemer.

Owen has the skinny on a reporter who took the Minnesota CCW class.

Too funny.

David Kopel reports that the citizens of Brazil rejected by a pretty good margin a measure to prohibit the commercial sale or manufacture of all firearms and ammunition. Excellent. This 64% to 36% vote will damage the international gun prohibition movement. Initially, it looked like Brazil would pass it but an effective campaign quelled it. Good!

A VEPR in bull pup configuration. That’s one ugly AK.

I’m having a sale. The Uncle household is about to move so, as with moves past, we’re discovering a lot of stuff we have that we don’t need. There’s a garage sale in the works. I have a few gun items that I realize I don’t really need anymore and they’re for sale but probably wouldn’t sell at a garage sale. If interested in any of the following, make an offer. I’ve included pics and prices I know I’ll take. May go lower, make an offer.
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Because TTLB asked bloggers to take a stand.

The other biased Washington paper writes:

The White House has begun making contingency plans for the withdrawal of Harriet Miers as President Bush’s choice to fill a seat on the Supreme Court, conservative sources said yesterday.

“White House senior staff are starting to ask outside people, saying, ‘We’re not discussing pulling out her nomination, but if we were to, do you have any advice as to how we should do it?’ ” a conservative Republican with ties to the White House told The Washington Times.

The White House denies it, though.

Chris Kromm reports that Agents detained about 100 illegal immigrants working for a Halliburton subcontractor hired to do Hurricane Katrina recovery work. I would think that if the administration wanted us to believe DHS claims of deporting illegal immigrants, this would be a good pace to start.

Update: to be clear (based on comments), yes it is a subcontractor. Still, it is bad news for a company with such close ties to the administration. And it still would be a good idea to start cleaning up entities violating illegal immigrant laws regardless of how many degrees of separation there are.

David Hardy on the Brady Campaign:

(1) Once again, Brady shows its only real agenda is “anything that restricts gun ownership” — including in this case complete or near-complete bans on rifles and (2) in light of this, its support for the DC ban, etc., Brady will find it harder and harder to argue that it only favors “reasonable limitations” on handguns.

Ayup. We just want to close the gun show loophole, this week.

SayUncle interviewed David Anderson, the owner of Sunshyne Video – a local adult video store. David’s business has been under attack by local authorities and I’ve covered this issue many times before. On to the questions (and some of the links are not safe for work):

Let’s get the free plug out of the way, tell me about your business, where you’re located, business hours, and contact info.

Ok great! I love free plugs. Just helps to brand Sunshyne Video even further as household name. Sunshyne Video is located in Maryville at 3531 HWY 411 South and can be reached at 865-983-9705 or 865-982-6662. We are open 6 days a week and the main hours are 9 Am to 11 PM. Closed Sundays and holidays.
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The Carnival of Cordite is up!

Miers failed to pay her dues a couple of times and had her license suspended twice. She can’t run a spell check on her questionnaire. And her grammar may be less than stellar. I would think a Supreme Court judge may need to pay attention to details.

Marc is auctioning off his business in California and returning to Tennessee. Wish him luck!

Perusing the text of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, this leapt out at me:

(a) Findings- Congress finds the following:

(1) The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

(2) The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the rights of individuals, including those who are not members of a militia or engaged in military service or training, to keep and bear arms.

(3) Lawsuits have been commenced against manufacturers, distributors, dealers, and importers of firearms that operate as designed and intended, which seek money damages and other relief for the harm caused by the misuse of firearms by third parties, including criminals.

(4) The manufacture, importation, possession, sale, and use of firearms and ammunition in the United States are heavily regulated by Federal, State, and local laws. Such Federal laws include the Gun Control Act of 1968, the National Firearms Act, and the Arms Export Control Act.

So, for the second time that I know of, congress has explicitly recognized an individual right to arms. Additionally, congress has recognized that the firearms industry is heavily regulated. Quick, someone tell Kristen Rand, director of lying for the Violence Policy Center.

Der Commissar notes that Tradesports’ odds on Miers being confirmed dropped. A lot. Some Senators with Rs after their names are breaking with colleagues too.

Via Les, comes this list of blog design mistakes. I may need to address 1, 2, and 5 since I’m guilty of those. On number 2, I doubt I’ll put a photo up.

Looks like somebody forgot to renew their domain name.

I really have a hard time getting too bent out of shape over the predicament that Tom DeLay is in. See, campaign finance laws are, in my opinion, like tax, gun and environmental laws. All are so arbitrary and complex that they are so easy to violate without meaning to. If evidence comes to light that DeLay intentionally skirted the law, I may take issue with that.

Speaking of scandals: On the Plame case, I still stand by my original prediction:

Rove is, once again, poking liberals and the media with a pointy stick. When it’s all said and done, the media and those on the left hollering will, once again, look like imbeciles and be forced to kind of acknowledge a little oops. Rove will light up a cigar, have a drink, and giggle like a school girl.

Could be wrong, though.

Radley Balko details three instances in which cops on drug raids hit the wrong houses. Oops, wrong house:

A police SWAT team paid a surprise visit to Paul Foley and his family late Wednesday evening, bursting through his front door, yelling and screaming at everyone in his house, and then apologizing for the disturbance.

Oops, wrong house part 2:

Henry County police making a drug raid last week burst into the wrong house, roused a couple from bed and handcuffed the man.

“We dropped the ball,” Henry Police Chief Russ Abernathy said Wednesday. “It was inexcusable, not acceptable. Things like this do happen, but it is not supposed to happen to us.”

Oops, wrong house part 3:

A longtime Bel Aire resident has presented a petition calling for the police chief’s dismissal, and the mayor has launched an investigation of what went wrong when police raided a couple’s home searching for marijuana and instead found sunflowers growing in the back yard.

Fortunately in these three cases, no one died.

Local Internet Porn Star, Bekah, looks at (WARNING: Link not safe for work) porn and the law over at the Sunshyne Video blog. A taste:

In the past when I have read other comments and quasi-informative publishing’s on the concept ‘porn and law’ it seemed to mean: Porn – acts depicted that are there for the sole purpose of sexually arousing the viewer or consumer and the obedience or interpretations of the law. What opinion and perception that was not addressed was; should law be there at all, and if Porn is any form of a way for one to gain resources to survive, then is Porn not a job and not some abstract thing that lessens society or brings society to an uncivilized state? I choose to approach this Porn and Law opinion in the perception from an Anarchist and a Porn Star.

John Tierney on media bias:

The problem isn’t so much the stories that appear as the ones that no one thinks to do. Journalists naturally tend to pursue questions that interest them. So when you have a press corps that’s heavily Democratic — more than 80 percent, according to some surveys of Washington journalists — they tend to do stories that reflect Democrats’ interests.

When they see a problem, their instinct is to ask what the government can do to solve it.

You see this all the time, the most recent example was Katrina and what shoulda/coulda been done and what the .gov can do to fix it.

I’ve also said that I don’t think there’s a liberal bias in the media, per se, but that there’s an issue bias. See, media stories tend to be pro-abortion, anti-death penalty, anti-gun, pro-establishment and pro-government. I think the latter two are merely so that the press can maintain their access to the powers that be. Throw in issue bias and a bit of sensationalism, and that is the modern media.

Over in the comments at Cathy’s that I linked yesterday, Barry says:

Opposed to the use of guns…opposed, too, to the somewhat “awe” of guns some folks have that approaches a kind of hyper-hobby, almost a worship.

I think the issue (though I promised not to mention the specific incident ever again) is that the anti-gun folks are the ones who display awe at guns. There’s this irrational awe or abhorrence of guns from those who either fear them or are against them. Barry, based on prior comments I can’t mention again, fears them. I think his fear of them is why he views someone who is into guns as one who worships them. There are gun owners (like me) who like them, collect them, shoot them, and buy accessories for them. Just like there are people with an obsession with, say, Disney. The reason people are passionate about their gun hobby is because it’s under attack. Maybe if we attacked Disney, Barry would then understand. There are also gun owners who own them to hunt. And gun owners who own them for protection, though they’re not really into guns.

Here’s the deal, guns are a tool and are inherently neutral. Guns do not kill on their own. They don’t have magical powers. And, truthfully, nobody fears (nor should they) gun nuts. They fear criminals, who happen to have guns or bats or knives. No one walks down the street saying Man, I hope there’s no gun nuts out today. They keep an eye out for criminals. If someone were to encounter a criminal who was doing them harm, they’d probably be glad if one of us gun nuts showed up.

If you saw me on the street, I’m a clean-cut, thirty-something who is probably wearing khaki pants and a collared shirt (business casual looking). But I also have a Glock 30 and 34 rounds of 45ACP on my person. There’s no need to fear me, I’m one of the good guys.