Who cares? I don’t go to movies much and don’t care. There was a poll I saw over at one of the gun boards on how many nominated movies had the readers there seen. Most common answer was 0-1. I saw Crash and didn’t care for it. Didn’t see the others and probably won’t.

Oh, and I didn’t watch the Oscars either.

David has another update on the jailing and release of the founder of keepandbeararms.com.

The Globe and Mail:

In a decision hailed as a victory for religious freedom, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled yesterday that Sikh students can carry ceremonial daggers to class, and that doing so poses no real danger to others.

The top court overturned a Quebec Court of Appeal ruling that had effectively banned the kirpan from schools in the province. The Quebec court said a limit on religious freedom was reasonable given the safety concerns.

Guy tells us about his environment friendly Jeep.

Guy at arfcom posted a video of a friend of his who used his gun to stop a robbery. The video is here. Guy says three shots fired and three shots hit the robber. Also, no charges filed against the guy who shot the robber. A few notes:

That happened way fast.
That was one hella draw, obviously this dude practices.
Point of aim and muzzle were awful damn close to the kid, who probably suffered some hearing damage.
The robber was shot while fleeing and that could have been bad for the guy who shot him. But it likely happened way too fast to consider that.
Not sure it’s a great idea to add a soundtrack and post it on Al Gore’s Internets.
And the pic at the end reinforces this notion that some gun nut is happy he shot someone.

Take it all with huge grains of salt because hindsight is always 20/20.

Update: Wesley, in comments, tells us that on page 7 of that thread, the shooter comments. He says the camera angle makes it look like the kid was in danger but actually was not.

The Simpsons intro, in live action.

I’ve had at least two people tell me that, shockingly, they use Netscape. More importantly, in the last week or so the colors of hyperlinks on this blog are strange and clicking on links doesn’t cause them to open. One person said middle clicking seemed to work. Any ideas on that one?

Update: May be fixed now, thanks to reader David. Let me know.

David reports that Angel Shamaya is now out of jail.

A successful gun rights activist in Ohio died of a heart attack. While he was dying, someone stole his gun. Shameful and despicable.

Keep and Bear Arms is asking for your help:

Angel Shamaya, founder of KeepAndBearArms.com is in jail in Michigan, having been arrested for possession of firearms not properly registered under Michigan law.

Angel’s friends are working to help him with this problem, but we need your help, right now!

We need character references from you for Angel.

Update: David has more.

The 50th Carnival of Cordite is up at The AnarchAngel. I didn’t get the memo so no posts there from from me.

Word is the new PATRIOT Act contains a provision that the head of the ATF must be approved by Congress. Haven’t gotten any confirmation yet. Anyone know?

The TFA has a list of gun laws that have been introduced in Tennessee. Some that leap out at me:

Gun Law News is a year old.

I reported before that the ATF ruled that SBRs that you make out of existing weapons do not need to be engraved. The ATF has now backtracked err clarified that you, in fact, are required to do so. Here’s the letter.

Also via Carl, comes this:

Because it is legal in most states to carry a handgun if properly licensed, a report that an individual possesses a handgun, without any additional information suggesting criminal activity, might not create reasonable suspicion that a crime is being or will be committed.1 Where simply carrying a handgun is not in itself illegal and does not constitute probable cause to arrest,2 it follows that carrying a handgun, in and of itself, does not furnish reasonable suspicion justifying a Terry stop. The same applies to persons in motor vehicles. An investigatory stop is only justified when the police have “a reasonable suspicion, based on specific, articulable facts and reasonable inferences there from,” that the subject “had committed, was committing, or was about to commit a crime.”3

Good information there. Read it all.

Reader Carl emails this bit:

Google’s recent legal spat with the U.S. Department of Justice highlights not only what information search engines record about us but also the shortcomings in a federal law that’s supposed to protect online privacy.

It’s only a matter of time before other attorneys realize that a person’s entire search history is available for the asking, and the subpoenas begin to fly. This could happen in civil lawsuits or criminal prosecutions.

That type of fishing expedition is not legally permitted for Web mail providers. But because search engines are not fully shielded by the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act–concocted back in the era of CompuServe and bulletin board systems–their users don’t enjoy the same level of privacy.

There’s also an FAQ on stuff Google does.

If you engage in unusual financial transactions (as loosely defined), your financial institution freezes your funds until the .gov gives the OK. You’re put on the list. Example:

They paid down some debt. The balance on their JCPenney Platinum MasterCard had gotten to an unhealthy level. So they sent in a large payment, a check for $6,522.

And an alarm went off. A red flag went up. The Soehnges’ behavior was found questionable.

And all they did was pay down their debt. They didn’t call a suspected terrorist on their cell phone. They didn’t try to sneak a machine gun through customs.

They just paid a hefty chunk of their credit card balance. And they learned how frighteningly wide the net of suspicion has been cast.

After sending in the check, they checked online to see if their account had been duly credited. They learned that the check had arrived, but the amount available for credit on their account hadn’t changed.

So Deana Soehnge called the credit-card company. Then Walter called.

“When you mess with my money, I want to know why,” he said.

They both learned the same astounding piece of information about the little things that can set the threat sensors to beeping and blinking.

They were told, as they moved up the managerial ladder at the call center, that the amount they had sent in was much larger than their normal monthly payment. And if the increase hits a certain percentage higher than that normal payment, Homeland Security has to be notified. And the money doesn’t move until the threat alert is lifted.

So, pull out some cash to remodel the kitchen, you could be on the list. Deposit a bonus check, you could be on the list.

And this nonsense is likely to continue with the pending renewal of the PATRIOT Act.

As I was typing this, Michael Silence beat me to it. He discusses some more security issues.

I’ve done my share. And, as I’ve said before, TiVo is the greatest invention since Al Gore invented the Internets. Via Les, Katherine Coble suggests TiVo incorporate imdb.com so you can find out info on actors. Well, I have more suggestions for TiVo, in no particular order:

I should be able to watch TiVo in every room in my house but I can’t. All TiVo is in the den. They say that to do that, I’d have to put a receiver in each room. I have TeeVees in the den, my bedroom, and two guests rooms. The problem with multiple receivers is that I’d have to set up identical season passes on each receiver. If I watch part of a show in one room, I’d have to go to the other room and fast forward to the part I was at in the previous room. When I’m done, I’d have to delete the show four times from four receivers. Not worth it in terms of effort. I want to be able to access all my shows from any room and have TiVo remember what I watched and deleted.

TiVo should be portable. Back when I traveled, I thought it’d be cool to take TiVo with me. Technically, I could have put my shows on a DVD and watched them on my laptop but that’s a pain and discs are easily damaged. A nice little USB port in the TiVo to hook a computer up to so you can copy shows (on a computer or even a video Ipod) would be nice when you’re on the road.

Something needs to be done about the suggestions. When I’m watching TV, it will invariably pop up and tell me it’d like to record some suggestion. If I’m watching TV, it shouldn’t bug my. Even more annoying is when it pops up to say it needs to record a show that you want it to record while it’s recording a suggestion. If I’m watching live TV, suggestions should be turned off.

Change the remote control. When the lights are off, the remote feels the same when facing forward as when facing backwards due to its design. Change it so I can feel where the front is. I’ve hit the number 8 instead of play a lot of times.

And I’m willing to pay more for this stuff. Heck, it only costs me an extra $5 a month now. I’d pay more.

Update: Well, silly me. Apparently, most of my suggestions are already in place. See comments

Thanks Phelps.

KDT reports that more women are taking up shooting sports. Good. He even has a rebuttal to critics of the claim that is well worth the read.

Dr. Strangegun has returned. He also points out a potentially cool website called Firearm Wiki. Like Wikipedia but for guns.

An ISRA presser says:

The very foundations of the gun control movement were rocked today by the results of a survey taken by the National Association of Chiefs of Police (NACOP). In a nutshell, the survey shows that the nation’s top law enforcement officers believe that average citizens can be trusted to responsibly own firearms; that criminals ignore gun control laws; and that concealed carry laws reduce crime.

These revelations come as a stark contrast to gun control movement propaganda that asserts that police officials feel that our streets would be safer if law-abiding citizens were disarmed.

Specifically, the survey revealed that 93 percent of chiefs and sheriffs felt that citizens should be able to purchase firearms for sport and self defense; 73 percent opposed so-called “one gun a month” laws; 96 percent believed that criminals ignore gun control laws and; 63 percent supported laws that allow citizens to carry defensive firearms as a means to control crime.

Also, it’s pretty much common knowledge to gun folks that the rank and file police tend to support gun rights.

Ya know, I’m as gun nut as they get but I don’t write poetry about guns.

Blogger Adam Groves interviews State Rep. Stacey Campfield.

Gun makers in Illinois say they’ll leave the state if their ban on weapons that look like assault weapons passes. Good.

It’s always funny to peruse 6 Investigates section of WATE to see what they’re trying to scare people with these days. You may recall the time when their crack team of investigative journalists went to hotels in Knoxville and used a black light look for streaks and booty juice on the sheets. And, shock, the black light showed some substances. None of which were actually booty juice and the results were declared to be inconclusive. We here at SayUncle discovered that detergent shows up quite well under a black light and the only thing local hotels were likely guilty of was washing bedding.

Then, the time R. Neal thought one of their investigative pieces was basically a commercial for a local realtor.

Now, comes the latest:

Will locksmiths help you in a car without checking ID?

If you’ve ever been locked out of your car, you may have called a locksmith. But how easy could it be for a stranger to get into your car with a story about being locked out?

Using a locksmith is like using the honor system. All companies have a code of ethics but few check for identification.

6 News intern Sarah Rook called a locksmith recently, asking for help. Her vehicle, a Mercury Mariner belonging to 6 News, was parked at a local shopping plaza. When the locksmith arrived, she said the keys were in her purse in the front seat.

Within 15 minutes, a locksmith from Outlet Key Shop arrived and in another five minutes, he was in the car.

Once the door was opened, 6 On Your Side waited a few minutes to see if he would ask Sarah for verification of ownership. He never did. When the rest of the crew showed up, he was giving Sarah change for the $35 charge.

That may be an issue in this specific situation. Think about it. In this one particular case where her ID is locked in the car, it may indicate ownership of the vehicle. Generally, ID does not in any way indicate that a person owns a car. Do you think that locksmiths should call the TDOT? Do you think they’ll do that at, say, 4 in the morning? Also, anyone who wants in your car bad enough would just smash the window and grab stuff. Not call someone who can be a witness.

Sorry, but that’s just a bunch of scare-mongering crap created out of thin air when no real problem exists. I wonder if they sit in a board room and actually sit there and think of ways to scare gullible people? Shameful scare-mongering.

WBIR:

IN BRIEF: Teen dies when SUV runs over go-cart

A young Nashville man has been killed when a sport utility vehicle ran over his go-cart.

Police say 19-year-old Michael Robinson pulled from a side road into the path of a Ford Expedition yesterday afternoon. The big vehicle ran over the cart and dragged it about 50 feet.

No charges are anticipated against the driver.

Only in the last sentence is it mentioned that this potentially sentient SUV is actually not acting of its own volition. Meanwhile, the golf cart is not the subject of such ire.

And unlike last time, I ordered them already so you goobers don’t run them out of stock. Harbor Freight has electronic ear muffs for $20 ($28 with shipping). It protects about 15db less than Pro-Ears but is only about $200 less. For $28, I’m willing to check them out.

CounterTop has made a convert of a San Fran liberal to gun fun. Only problem:

This injustice, of course, was driven home even further when I noticed M2 had taken a variety of cartridges with him – for momentos, he said. I of course had no problem, but did feel obligated to tell him ammo – even empty cases – were banned in DC and each cartridge was a separate 5 year sentence.

So, today I signed up for one of those online poker sites. I’ve been playing the free tables since the last thing an unemployed person needs to do is take up a new hobby that costs money. Well, I’ve turned my fake $1,000 into fake $45,474. This tells me one of two things: Either I am a good poker player or the types that play on free tables are bad poker players. I’m betting the latter.