Thank God for Harold Ford, Sr. He’s solved the crime about those dead people voting. Turns out, it was Evil Republican Operatives from the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy trying to sabotage his son’s Senate bid. No, really:

The former congressman said he’s talked to several poll workers and voters and can link the scandal back to a 71-year-old Republican election judge and a plot to sabotage son Harold Ford Jr.’s bid for the U.S. Senate.

Team GOP says:

Yeah…that has to be it…as the former Congressman conducts his own investigation from Miami into this latest Ford scandal.

B4B says: It was the One-Armed Man! Heh.

And Blake says odd searches for Ford are showing up in his referral logs. Heh.

Update: B4B says that Ford, Jr. doesn’t agree with dad.

A. C. Kleinheider on Bush being a conservative:

What’s the case for Bush as more conservative? His folksy affectations, his dropping the Lord’s name every now and again, a court appointment or two, a bit of a tax rebate? He has both houses of Congress. This is the conservative revolution? Please.

Yeah, for a bit there, I’d vote straight Republican. It’s true. My reasoning was, that even though there were some bad aspects to the party (like catering to the religious right), the positives outweighed that more so than the positives outweighed the negatives for Democrats. But with the Bush administration, all the positives went away except for tax cuts. And the positives I mean are pro-gun, small government, cut spending, fiscal conservatism, and more. And this administration has pretty much shot all those in the ass. So, let me be clear:

If the Democrats actually get their collective shit together over this whole gun issue (which they appear to be trying to do), I’ll vote for them because the parties are the same except for that and taxes. And I’d pay more in taxes for gun rights guarantees. Or, as I said before, I’m willing to buy my freedom.

Update: But it’d have to be some pretty damn convincing evidence that they were really pro-gun. As soon as they mention the AWB (and they will) it’d be over.

Update 2: Speaking of Republicans and guns, I guess it’s more of a regional thing than a party line toeing sort of thing. Feh.

Gun Law News:

Parental commitment as a minor does not make you a prohibited person at the federal level. So, Aubrey seems safe at this point. She did not violate any laws related to firearm possession. The only question remaining relates to the nuances of Colorado law.

Der Commissar notes that Congress is mandating all digital TeeVee by 2009. Good to see that with all that’s going on these days about alleged illegal wiretapping and wars and stuff that they can make time for this.

Also, I’ve searched my copy of the Constitution for where that authority lies and can’t quite find it. Any help?

By Zephoria:

All too often we blame the technology for problematic human behaviors. We fail to recognize that technology makes them more visible but the human behaviors are rooted in larger issues. In turn, we treat the symptoms rather than the disease. The solution is not to bandaid the problems by taking away or limiting the technologies, but to make the world a better place from the inside out.

Well, ok, he’s talking about Wikipedia, not guns. It’s still a great quote, even out of context.

Start your timers for spin:

The nation’s murder rate jumped 2 percent during the first six months of this year, with the highest increases in small towns and the Midwest, the FBI said Monday. Crime fell nationwide for other significant offenses, including rape, arson and assault.

After a dramatic decline in the number of murders last year, when the murder rate fell 5.7 percent, it ticked upward 2.1 percent between January and June. Citing figures collected under its uniform crime reports, the FBI said cities with fewer than 10,000 people saw the largest increases, of 13 percent.

The raw data is here.

Several months ago I wrote about the Candy Factory. I asked the question how the Candy Factory was different from a City Park. The City of Knoxville spends over 10 million dollars per year on parks and recreation. The third rail of politics in Knoxville is that a City Park would never be sold to a developer to build condos but isn’t that exactly what is happening with the Candy Factory?

Isn’t the Candy Factory just an urban vertical park?

A new group in Knoxville has formed named “Save the Candy Factory”. This past Sunday on the WBIR Channel 10 program “Inside Tennessee” one of the new group’s representatives Donna Doyle joined the panel with City of Knoxville Policy Development Director Bill Lyons to discuss the next steps for the Candy Factory.

WBIR guest host Mark Schnyder asked Donna Doyle what the goals of her group were. Doyle said, “The main concern is loss of meeting space for community groups for the last twenty years. None of the alternatives listed by the City provide what the Candy Factory does in terms of hours, availability, or space. We would like to see alternative meeting spaces that work for the users of the Candy Factory”. Doyle felt the city’s website addressed mostly the art users of the Candy Factory and neglected the other users. Doyle went on to say, “200 groups have used the Candy Factory in the past year and the biggest percentage is community groups. If you look at the listing on the City website all but two locations charge a fee. Fees are twenty to twenty five dollars per hour. Many groups are small and don’t have the funds.”

“Inside Tennessee” panelist and local attorney Don Bosch then asked, “What is the TIF?” Bill Lyons responded with a basic definition and then smoothly moved into the City’s defense of why the Candy Factory had to be sold. Lyons said that the City could not afford to keep the Candy Factory open. He referenced the 4 million dollars in repairs to fix structural problems and address code issues. This and the annual $200,000 required to operate the Candy Factory. That amounts to two percent of the City annual budget for parks and recreation.

Lyons then said, “Estimates from the PBA (Knoxville Public Building Authority) are that over ten years ten million dollars will be required to keep the Candy Factory open.” Lyons also said “no one in any of the City council workshops challenged these numbers.” Someone needs a new calculator. These figures should be challenged because they are not correct. Ten years of operating expense at $200,000 are 2 million dollars. You add that to the 4 million dollars for “alleged” repairs and you have six million dollars. Where is the missing 4 million dollars from the PBA estimate? More importantly why has the City or the PBA not made public what repairs are needed for the Candy Factory? Does a private citizen have to go to the PBA and request this information? It should have been disclosed in the workshops in City Council meetings. The Knoxville Convention Center, Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, Universe Knoxville, and the Market Square re-development project all had this same kind of fudge factor mathematics.

This happens far too often in Knoxville and it needs to stop.

Lyons continued and said that the City has provided adequate alternatives for meeting space on the City website. He also said that public libraries and schools could be used and suggested that people also use Panera Bread as a public meeting place. I am not joking he actually said that.

Panelist and local attorney Dennis Francis asked, “Why can’t we use the Convention Center?” Lyons responded, “There are significant expenses to keep the KCC open and the City feels there are other spaces the community groups can use. It is just not cost effective to keep the KCC open for after hours use.”

Donna Doyle was asked by panelist and local PR consultant Susan Williams, “The City doesn’t have ten million dollars to save the Candy Factory. Why didn’t you start your group earlier?” Doyle answered that many people had spoken out in defense of the Candy Factory as a civic center in the City Council workshops but they felt time was running out to make their position clear so the group was formed. Doyle said, “The community groups need a spokesperson just like the Art Groups.” Williams then asked if Doyle was a member of any other groups and Doyle respond she was a member of the Knoxville Green Party. Williams softly said, “I see, the Green Party.”

Bill Lyons spoke of how the City had negotiated with the developer Kinsey Probasco to have $200,000 added to the deal that would be used to rent a floor at the Emporium for the displaced dancers to use. Donna Doyle said, “Why not tell the arts groups to use Panera Bread or the library? The arts groups think it is important to have an Arts Center. We think it is important to have a civic center and not have people dispersed throughout the City.”

In closing Donna Doyle said, “It is about social capital. We have been meeting with City council members requesting that they vote against the TIF. We want Council to consider the impact on community groups. Discuss the idea with the developers to have one floor set aside for public space. Meetings are in the works with the developer.”

As time grows near for the final vote on the TIF for the Candy Factory several questions remain. Why should the City negotiate a $200,000 deal with Kinsey Probasco to lease the Emporium for the first floor for the dancers but then tell the community groups that they must find libraries, schools, churches, or Panera Bread to hold their meetings? Is there a double standard at play here in Knoxville?

After so much discussion about how Knoxville is a progressive City and is sensitive to the needs of allowing people to assemble how is it that only the Arts Groups have been given any special consideration by the City?

Wasn’t a social contract with the people of Knoxville established by the 20-year use of the Candy Factory as a civic meeting center? Shouldn’t this social contract of twenty years be honored?

MLive reports:

Kent County gun owners won’t have to get a doctor’s note attesting to their mental fitness when they file for a concealed weapons permit, a court ruling held this week.

The ruling, by Kent County Circuit Court Judge Paul Sullivan, called mental status verification forms “void and unenforceable” and negated Kent County’s requirement that applicants disclose name or address changes for the past eight years.

The ruling was a victory for Rockford resident Steven Pikaart, who brought a lawsuit against Kent County for denying him a permit after he refused to answer questions about his mental fitness. Pikaart likely will receive his permit now, said his attorney, David Bieganowski.

“Kent County was the only county doing this ridiculous thing (requiring doctor’s notes on mental fitness),” Bieganowski said. “Kent County was more adamant than others, so it just took this long to get along with the program and get on board with everyone else.”

And it’s also worth pointing out that the National Instant Check System doesn’t really contain much accurate info in terms of mental health records:

After a prospective gun buyer completes the federal and state gun-purchase applications, the gun dealer normally picks up the phone and calls the FBI or the state police. He requests that the gun purchaser’s name be checked against the data contained in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). While the NICS criminal-record database is considered to be reasonably accurate and up to date, the same cannot be said for the NICS records of involuntary mental hospital commitments.

(Guns and Ammo link via Gun Law News)

The latest is up at Kesher Talk. So, head on over and hear what secular conservatives have to say.

I highly recommend reading The Puzzle Palace (No, I don’t have an Amazon account thingy so I’m not trying to make any cash here) in light of recent events that the Bush administration authorized monitoring of international communications. The reason is that this stuff is in no way at all new. Been going on since the NSA was created.

Update: Gonzales says Congress should maybe read the laws it passes.

The Roanoke Times:

Behind a table bearing shotguns and revolvers, and next to a hand-written sign that read “Private Sale; No Paperwork!,” Mike Smith sat waiting for business.

Smith’s gun sale was private in one sense. But it was held in a very public place — the Salem Civic Center, where hundreds of gun lovers browsed through thousands of shotguns, rifles and handguns at a recent gun show.

If someone lingered at Smith’s table long enough to strike a deal, the transaction was fast and simple.

A Virginia law that requires potential gun customers to pass a criminal background check does not apply to transactions by unlicensed vendors such as Smith, whose occasional sales don’t generate enough business to subject them to government scrutiny.

Mr. Smith is not an unlicensed dealer. He’s a citizen engaging in lawful commerce. However, if he did enough volume, the ATF could attempt to prosecute him for being an unlicensed dealer and that would lead to quite a few years in the pokie.

Resized the columns a bit. Any viewing issues? Some folks with Firefox said the sidebars were at the bottom. Still the case?

Update: How about now?

Apparently, the news flying through blogland this weekend was this study by a UCLA political scientist, which says, shockingly, there’s a bit of a leftward slant to the media. Even though there is such a slant, it’s merely a lean to the left.

My take on the media is pretty simple. I don’t find them to generally sway left or right per se. My impression is that, first, they’re motivated by selling ads and that means getting your attention. Hence, stories like Can Your Dog Spontaneously Catch Fire? News at 11. Secondly, I find they are generally pro-establishment but this gets back to the first point. See, if they’re not, they can lose access and that means they can’t sell ad spots. The third point is that I think media bias is issue specific and not necessarily left or right leaning. In very general (yet issue specific) terms, I find their slant breaks down like this:

Death penalty: Slant against
Abortion: Slant for
Guns: Heavily slanted against but probably because they’re ignorant
Crime: Tough on crime (including drug war stuff)
Establishment: for it
Pork: For it
Taxes: Split down the middle
War in Iraq: Against
Israel: Sympathetic to the palestinians

And on and on. But that’s just one guy’s opinion.

Jed reports that Congress is looking to create a fertilizer registry:

A Homeland Security Prevention of Nuclear and Biological Attacks Subcommittee Wednesday approved a bill that would regulate production and sale of ammonium nitrate, which is typically used by farmers as a fertilizer, but could be used to create a bomb.

[snip]

The measure calls for any individual who produces, sells or buys ammonium nitrate to register with the Homeland Security Department.

I have two large dogs so I can make my own.

Seen at Alphecca:

The U.S. attorney for New Hampshire is firing back against charges that lax gun control laws in northern New England are partly responsible for an increase in gun crimes in Boston.

U.S. Attorney Thomas Colantuono told Foster’s Sunday Citizen that’s an “urban myth” that doesn’t stand up to the facts.

Tam has a pic of some sharp looking AR-15s.

Kevin at The Smallest Minority notes:

They’re [NPR – ed.] going to do a piece on gun control early next year, and they’re looking for questions from their audience. The site is WeekendAmerica.org, and if you look over at the right-hand column, you’ll find this link to click

So, head on over and make yourself heard. I like Kevin’s question but think it needs some specific examples, like the press lying to/about Barrett; or CNN breaking the law by transferring a rifle over state lines (though the fact they didn’t do it willfully means no prosecution but they did, in fact, assert that what they did was legal); or that time they lied and said a Glock was a plastic gun that could beat metal detectors at the Capitol Building; Or that one time at band camp . . .

Update: And, of course, Joe Huffman’s One Question:

Can you demonstrate just one time, one place, throughout all of human history, where restricting the access of handheld weapons to the average person made them safer?

No, really, a round up of Earls.

Good:

The Democratic Party, long identified with gun control, is rethinking its approach to the gun debate, seeking to improve the chances of its candidates in Western states where hunters have been wary of casting votes for a party with a national reputation of being against guns.

The Democrats’ effort to soften their rhetoric on gun control is similar to the party’s recent efforts to recast its message on abortion, maintaining their support of abortion rights but welcoming more Democrats who favor restrictions on the procedure.

Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean, who had been a critic of some forms of gun control during his tenure as governor of Vermont, has urged candidates to view gun control laws as state issues, allowing those in rural states to reflect the values of hunters and others hostile to gun control, while supporting restrictions in urban areas with serious crime problems.

And this quote from the Montana Governor (a Democrat) is worth pointing out:

”I guess I kind of believe in gun control: You control your gun, and I’ll control mine,” Schweitzer said.

Update: Coincidentally, this is why I like Bredesen. Any Democrat who signs Shall Issue NFA Approval into law can’t be all that bad.

Xrlq has more on Aubrey Ellen Shomo, who may have violated the law by taking a CCW class. I discussed her here.

Note to George W. Bush: Interrupting The Family Guy will not win you any hearts or minds.

Messing with the template so if things look goofy you know why.

Again, cool:

The Senate on Friday rejected attempts to reauthorize several provisions of the USA Patriot Act as infringing too much on Americans’ privacy and liberty, dealing a huge defeat to the Bush administration and Republican leaders.

In a crucial vote early Friday, the bill’s Senate supporters were not able to get the 60 votes needed to overcome a threatened filibuster by Sens. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., and Larry Craig, R-Idaho, and their allies. The final vote was 52-47.

Jason at Fish Or Man:

Oh, boy… ok… the bottom line is I WON MY APPEAL against the conviction of “warranting alarm” for open carrying a handgun in the city of Ellensburg.

Yeah, that’s right. The Ellensburg case is dismissed, conviction over-turned. The city code was ruled inconsistent with the state version and preemption applied. The law was repealed!

Good job and congrats. Lesser folks would have crumbled.

Mark Twain once said, “Nothing so needs reforming as other people’s habits”.

He hit the nail on the head didn’t he? Today we learn that well-meaning totalitarian type folks have decided that you should not be allowed to smoke a cigarette in your own home if you have children. Soon other well-meaning totalitarian type folks will decide that you shouldn’t smoke anywhere.

You may remember that back in 1920 some well-meaning totalitarian type folks decided that people shouldn’t drink alcohol. That went over well. The day smoking is prohibited is the day to buy stock in organized crime. Here is a novel idea, if you don’t want to smoke then don’t.

First it will be smoking in your own home. Then what? Will well-meaning totalitarian type folks decide that you really shouldn’t have that piece of chocolate cake for desert? I am sure there will be good reasons for these intrusions. “For the children” or “to combat the growing obesity epidemic” or “to keep insurance rates affordable for less fortunate people”. Just say no to well-meaning totalitarian type folks.

God help us from those trying to save us. The world would be a better place if people would mind their own business. Since that is not going to happen you will need to stand up for your rights. If you elect not to you may lose those rights.

Last night, me and the Mrs. were watching Live at Five and they were reading kids’ letters to Santa. One letter stated:

And my brother wants a Big Woody

You know, from Toy Story, you pervert. The host could not quite regain his composure. But he continued:

And a Big Buzz.

Wow:

Iraqi security forces caught terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in the Fallujah area last year but released him because they didn’t realize who he was, the deputy interior minister said in an interview broadcast Friday.

The deputy minister, Maj. Gen. Hussein Kamal, told the Lebanese Broadcasting Corp., that Iraqi police “suspected this man” and detained him “along with other members” of his group.

“Afterward, he was released because we did not know the identity of this criminal,” Kamal told LBC. The station said the remarks were made Wednesday but were aired Friday.

Oopsie.

On a piece in the Chicago Tribune that instead of, for once, blaming guns blames bullets, Tom Dunson points out:

It’s not until the 10th paragraph of the article that anyone even mentions the shooters.

I think that sums up the last 15 years of media coverage of guns.

And more importantly, he’s healthy and has all appendages and digits!!!

Since I call the girl Junior, guess I need a name for him.

Oops: I got excited and typed that real fast. I should point out that we just had the ultrasound and determined the gender. The Second hasn’t been born yet.

JJ says:

Okay, in the next few months, I’d like to spend a little money and get a weapon. I’m also going to try to spend a little money to get an alarm system.

First, how much money? Second, forget the alarm and get a pooch. I have an alarm and only use it when on vacation. And I’m posting my other answers here because your comment system is a pain in the ass.

Further, he wants info on other stuff and I’ll give my $0.02 here:

caliber to stop an invader

Any .4X caliber would be adequate. I personally favor the 45 ACP with Golden Saber 230 grain jacketed hollow points. Enough oomph to stop someone but big, slow and hollow points means the odds of it penetrating a few walls are lessened.

# rounds in the clip to handle a home invasion (I’m a superior marksman in the .45, or I was in the Navy)

First, having been in the Navy, you should know that it’s called a magazine and not a clip. Since your Navy training probably was with the 1911, I’d recommend one since you know how it works. They hold 7 or 8 rounds. There’s also the various 45s by Glock, H&K, and Sig. All are fine weapons. But they’re also among the more pricey (expect to pay a minimum of $550). But, with guns more than most other things, you get what you pay for.

weight, in case the Mrs. has to use it

I wouldn’t be concerned about weight. She should be able to handle any handgun. I would be concerned about trigger pull weight and grip size. My wife has trouble pulling the trigger on my double action Sig. It’s one of the reasons I opted for my second handgun to be a Glock. The trigger pull is 5.5ish pounds as opposed to the Sig which has 12 pounds on the first pull and each subsequent pull is 4.5 pounds. She has to cock the Sig before firing. For women, a Glock or 1911 trigger pull should be more than manageable. However, the double stack magazine of the Glock (while offering more rounds) may be a bit thick for girly hands.

type of ammo most appropriate to stop a home-invasion scenario

Any jacketed hollow point round (see above).

the name of a good shooting range to bone up

Coal Creek Armory has a good indoor range.

location of a good training class, perhaps with a CCW class

Again, Coal Creek Armory who is also running a special.

information on trigger locks, such as pros and cons

I use my trigger locks as targets or on the gate to my fence. They are useless.

some good gun cases to prevent little hands from touching the gun

I keep my handgun out of reach (top shelf or in a drawer, depending). As she gets older, that will get more difficult but, as she gets older, she’ll understand more and we’ll talk about guns. I’d recommend one of those quick release, PIN activated gun safes (like this one). An invader will not wait for you to remember the combination and dial the little knobs.

Head on over and leave a comment. Or leave it here if you find his comment system to be a pain in ass too.