You may recall Paypal and their typing monkeys being, well, not helpful. Here’s their latest email:

Thank you for reporting this email to PayPal. You received a fraudulent email that was designed to mislead you into divulging your PayPal account password. Emails initiated by PayPal will always address you by your first and last name or the name of the business associated with your PayPal account.

If you clicked on any link contained in the email and then typed in your PayPal account password, your password may be compromised. Please change your PayPal account password and security questions. Also, please review your most recent transactions for any discrepancies.

Err, no it wasn’t. Stupid people.

Times Dispatch:

Airline officials told the two Richmond bounty hunters it was OK to bring their weapons aboard.

Then, they had the two arrested.

Now, an Arizona jury has told Southwest Airlines to pay Thomas Hudgins and Leroy DeVore a total of $9 million in damages.

More:

They checked with airline officials over the phone, at the ticket counter and at the jetway about their weapons, showing them papers that made clear they were not government officials, and were told they should bring the guns with them in their carry-on baggage, their lawyer, Richard Gerry, said.

But as the plane approached Phoenix, the captain radioed that he had two men with weapons on board, though adding that they had not threatened the flight, Gerry said.

I know from experience not to listen to customer service or the ticket people.

Marc went to the Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot. He has video and pics.

The Carnival of Cordite is up!

So is the Second Amendent Carnival!

And RINO Sightings, for your non-gun-blogging needs.

In comments here, a reader posted his email exchange with the mayor Haslam’s office about his membership in Mayors Against Guns. It’s reprinted here (read from bottom up):

To: Mayor
Cc: cchesney@cityofknoxville.org
Subject: Still really disappointed
Date: Oct 11, 2006 2:57 PM
Nice try Cathy Chesney but you didn’t come close to touching on the issue which was about Haslam JOINING Mayor Bllomberg’s “Alliance of Mayors Against Guns.” Mayor Bloomberg is a very virulent anti gun person and supports all kinds of anti gun legislation. While the “Statement of Principle” leaves something to be desired, I am more concerned that Mayor Haslam has JOINED Bloomberg’s anti gun AMAG.

Michael Silence had these observations on his web blog and I have to agree with him:
Then the mayor has picked the wrong group to join. For example, they oppose H.R. 5092, the BATFE Modernization and Reform Act. The oppose just about every pro-gun bill coming down the pike.
They support microstamping. They support maintaining a registry of gun offenders. They support suing gun dealers.

HR 5092 was a bill to reform the BATFE, formerly known as BATF or “Burn All Toddlers First,” after their PR scheme at the Branch Davidian;s home in Waco Texas was burned to the ground, killing some 80 women and children. Micro stamping would drive the cost of ammunition out of sight as it calls for EACH individual bullet to be stamped with a unique number. President Bush has already signed the bill to prevent Bloomberg and his cronies from filing frivilous lawsuits against gun manufacturers and FFL dealers. Nobody sues General Motors when their cars are involved in a deadly accident, and suing gun manufacturers for misuse of their products by criminal doesn’t make any sense either’ however, Mayor Bloomberg supports these ideas.

The “Statement of Principles” is nothing more than a piece of “feel good” legislation but the major problem is Haslam JOINING Bloomberg’s “Alliance.” It would also be intersting to know what Mayor Haslam’s definition of an “illegal gun” is. Guns are inantimate objects and cannot in and of themselves break any laws. It takes a criminal to misue a gun.

Your response did nothing to allay my concerns. I just can’t fathom why Mayor Haslam would join an anti gun alliance. This certainly won’t sit well with many of us in Knoxville or Tennessee.

Sincerely,

William Noll

—–Original Message—–
From: Mayor
Sent: Oct 11, 2006 10:12 AM
To: wsnoll@peoplepc.com
Subject: Fwd: really disappointed

The Mayor signed a Statement of Principles against illegal guns. This is an effort to protect our citizens and our neighborhoods from violence as a result of illegal activities including possession of illegal firearms. I have attached the Statement of Principles for your review. The U.S. Conference of Mayors is working to help Mayors across the country with problems in our cities and this is just one of those initiatives.

Thank you for your interest,
Cathy Chesney
Office of Policy Development
215-2029
cchesney@cityofknoxville.org

>>> Bill Noll 10/10/2006 12:54 AM >>>

Dear Mayor Haslam:

I realize that you and Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York are both republicans but it seems a dumb stunt to join his “Alliance of Mayors against Guns.” We expect New Yorkers to be anti gun but not those in Tennessee. Bloomberg has waged war against legitimate gun dealers to include his infamous “sting” to entrap law abiding gun dealers. To support such a violation of our second amendment rights is a travesty. If Bloomberg would spend more time and money chasing down criminals as opposed to law abiding gun dealer, the crime rate in NYC would go down. To sum it up, it’s not the gun, it’s the criminals. Of course I suppose it is asking too much for you not to follow in the anti gun footsteps of Mayor Victor Ashe who sponsored a number of “gun buybacks” in Knoxville. You’re a smart guy but joining Bloomberg’s Alliance against Guns is not the smartest thing you have done recently. It’s still the criminals, not the guns. I’m quite disappointed to learn you have this anti gun bias.

William Noll

Moving. Busy. Not much blogging. I’m not saying I won’t. I mean, I might if I get the chance. But don’t bet on it.

Meanwhile, here’s some AR porn.

And it’s a good idea to brush up. So, go read Volokh’s testimony on the second amendment. You may be quizzed.

And, of course, for those times when that pesky constitutional stuff isn’t cutting it, check out gunfacts for all your hoplophobe-lie-dispelling needs.

Preparedness: Are you ready?

Blink and you’re dead:

Minutes ago, I talked about the divide between hunters and shooters. Maybe this will wake the hunters up:

Installing more metal detectors and locking school doors is all well and good, but it’s not enough. Unless our leaders also examine the hunting culture in rural America—where most mass school shootings take place—and its role in these disturbing incidents, little will change.

That’s right, guys, you’re one of us now.

Update: Kim has more. So does bitter.

Lest ye doubt this is an important issue, check out the anti-gun American Hunters and Shooters Association.

I criticized the local news for not covering the fact that the Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam belongs to an anti-gun group. Rich, who happened to be at the News Sentinel when I had my panties all bunched up, says:

On the day in question, both the A and B sections of the paper were running long, and stories were getting bumped and trimmed to fit. I sat in on the final budget meeting of the day, and while Uncle’s story never came up, it was clear that there simply wasn’t room for another story. Add that to the balancing issues I discussed earlier, and you can understand more about how the story about Knoxville’s top bachelor made the cut.

It’s not a perfect business; there’s always going to be compromise.

So, what about the next day? Or the day after that? Or, say, today? Or tomorrow? Remember, your average Knoxvillian still likely has no idea. Further, Rich says:

But here’s the thing that Uncle is forgetting; the KNS did publish a story about it. They published Uncle’s story via Michael’s blog. And assuming that the blogs are archived just like the rest of the online content, any searches on Haslam and Bloomberg will pull up Uncle’s post. Think about that for a second. A private citizen, writing anonymously, can publish a hard news story on a MSM website.

While I applaud Knoxnews for allowing anonymous folks to publish news, it is a matter of distribution. I don’t know what the Sentinel’s distribution is. Nor do I know how much traffic their website gets. But I’d say more Knoxvillians read the dead tree version and main website than read Michael’s blog. Their site has a Google rank of 7. Michael’s blog has a Google rank of 6. So does my site. Their main page is read much more and I know this because when their main page links to me, I get more traffic than when Michael’s blog links to me.

So, my original point remains: The average Knoxvillian has no idea that their mayor belongs to an anti-gun group funded by the Joyce Foundation.

CATO is going after ATF abuses:

When the Republicans took control of the Congress in 1995, there was talk of abolishing the ATF for its appalling role in the Waco incident. (For background, read this and/or watch this). But the GOP “grew in office” as they say, and steadily expanded the budget of the ATF and then approved the construction of a fancy new headquarters. There is still oversight, mind you. The ATF director wanted a $65,000 conference table and the Bush administration put a stop to that. Bush’s people cracked down and said “You guys have to make do with a $33,000 table!”

It’s about time someone did. Via Bitter.

Bane on hunters v. shooters:

I believe the hunting and shooting markets, long considered a single entity, have been diverging, which would be no big deal except that the firearms industry has 100% allied itself with the hunting side of the market to the exclusion of the shooters. As the markets have diverged, so have the things in our best interest split. In some cases, those interests are in direct conflict; for example increasing hunting access versus building shooting ranges. More troubling is the fact that the hunting side of the industry focuses on traditional hunting arm, rifles and shotguns, while the shooting side of the industry is overwhelming interested in self-defense handguns, “black” rifles and competition firearms.

Or, as I like to call it, Me v. The Fudds.

Some stuff since the Republicans decided that we can’t spend our own money on entertainment by banning banks from engaging in transactions with illegal gambling sites. Illegal gambling being undefined.

Up For Poker has an FAQ on the new bill.

Neteller, the last hope for online transactions, pusses out.

David Post says outlines the stupidity of the bill.

The NYT says it could cost the Republicans some seats. I hope so.

Really:

Robert Redford has added a celebrity touch to those urging California voters to reject a sweeping eminent domain initiative.

…

Put on the November ballot by property rights activists, Proposition 90 would amend the state Constitution to make it harder and more costly for governments to condemn property or pass regulations that affect land values.

Well, they don’t take property from the rich and famous.

Lt. Tom Bryski said:

To be honest it’s fairly rare, but occasionally it does pay off to own a gun

Actually, it pays off every day.

Here, I said:

if there’s one sure fire way to make anything worse, it’s to have the government either 1) regulate it or 2) ban it. Guaranteed.

I wrote that in haste and, well, obviously didn’t necessarily mean anything. Tom called me on it and said:

Yes, because lead-based paints are a far more pervasive problem than they ever were before the meddling government got involved…

There are, indeed, some things that the .gov ought to regulate. I think the more correct way to have phrased that would be:

If there’s one sure fire way to make any complex social issue worse, it’s to have the government either 1) regulate it or 2) ban it. Guaranteed.

I present as evidence: The war on civil liberties err drugs and prohibition. Discuss.

Oh, for that:

Senators With Highest and Lowest Reliance on Special Interest Money

Highest: Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.)

States with Highest and Lowest Senatorial Dependence on Special Interest Money:

Highest: Tennessee

Looks like Corker’s lead in the Tennessee Senate race has pulled out of the margin of error:

A new Wall Street Journal/ Zogby Poll released today shows Republican Senate candidate Bob Corker with a 7 point lead over Washington Congressman Harold Ford. The independent poll has a margin of error of 3.3%.

I was to the point where I could taste all that free beer I was bound to get. But AC:

So what do you think this means? Is this poll proof that the Ford campaign has reached its ceiling and that the retooled Corker campaign has reclaimed it’s rightful place atop the heap?

Or is this just one more poll among many others that will swing back and forth right up until election day?

Gonna be down to the wire.

So, I’m pissed at Delta and American. Who else has pissed me off? Well, paypal has. I got a nasty letter from them placing my account on review. If I don’t react in some deadline, they’ll close it. The reason is that, per their dozens of pages long Acceptable Use Policy, it’s forbidden to use their service to buy weapons and other stuff.

Like every other Acceptable Use Policy out there, I hadn’t read it. So, oops. Bad on me. I was going to reply and say oops, sorry and inquire about remedying the situation. Their message stated:

In order to comply with PayPal’s Acceptable Use Policy and bring your account into good standing, you will need to:

1. Provide a detailed explanation about what the payment received on XXXXXXX was for. Please explain the good or service sold, and how you came in contact with the buyer.

Please also provide any documentation or websites to substantiate your claim.

It had a link. I clicked the link to reply and it asks me what sort of business I run. Well, I don’t run one but that wasn’t an option. So, I sent an email to their service department that said:

I don’t understand what you’re asking me to do here. I don’t run a business. I use paypal for private purchases/sales only.

Their response:

Your appeal to lift the limitation on your account has been denied.

In order to comply with PayPal’s Acceptable Use Policy and bring your account into good standing, you will need to:

1. Provide a detailed explanation about what the payment received on XXXXXXX was for. Please explain the good or service sold, and how you came in contact with the buyer.

Please also provide any documentation or websites to substantiate your claim.

Notice, it’s the same email only it references a non-existent appeal. I reply:

I didn’t appeal any thing. I asked a question:

I don’t understand what you want me to do. I don’t run a business. What do you need from me to rectify this?

Their reply:

In order to comply with PayPal’s Acceptable Use Policy and bring your account into good standing, you will need to:

1. Provide a detailed explanation about what the payment received on XXXXXXX was for. Please explain the good or service sold, and how you came in contact with the buyer.

Please also provide any documentation or websites to substantiate your claim.

Err, same thing. A bit frustrating. So, again, I state again:

I don’t understand what you want me to do. I don’t run a business. What do you need from me to rectify this?

Their response (again):

In order to comply with PayPal’s Acceptable Use Policy and bring your account into good standing, you will need to:

1. Provide a detailed explanation about what the payment received on XXXXXXX was for. Please explain the good or service sold, and how you came in contact with the buyer.

Please also provide any documentation or websites to substantiate your claim.

This time, it’s no longer frustrating but amusing. So I reply:

Unbelievable. I’ve asked the same question three times. And got the same non-answer three times. Do
people answer emails or monkeys with typewriters?

Seriously, I’ll ask again:

I don’t run a business. So, what do you need me to do here? Your site asks me about my business, which I
don’t have.

Their response is the same. I try a few more times because it’s funny:

Say Uncle: So, what’s the point of a reply form/email address if no one’s going to read it?

PayPal Monkey With Typewriter: Same exact response

Say Uncle: Whatcha wearing, sexy?

PayPal Monkey With Typewriter: Same exact response

Say Uncle: Are you retarded?

PayPal Monkey With Typewriter: Same exact response

Say Uncle: Booga, booga, booga.

PayPal Monkey With Typewriter: Same exact response

Say Uncle: I like big butts and I cannot lie.

PayPal Monkey With Typewriter: Same exact response

SayUncle: Yea, and God said to Abraham, “you will kill your son, Issak”, and Abraham said, I can’t hear you, you’ll have to speak into the microphone.” “Oh I’m sorry, Is this better? Check, check, check… Jerry, pull the high end out, I’m still getting some hiss back here

PayPal Monkey With Typewriter: Same exact response

SayUncle: Dookie.

PayPal Monkey With Typewriter: Same exact response

I mean, I figure some combination of words (perhaps eventually typed by a monkey with a typewriter) will clue them in that a person needs to review my case? But, I was wrong.

So, I call their 800 number while driving. Their phone system says (paraphrased) Due to unusually high call volume, you’ll have to wait. When a business phone says this, what they really mean is Due to our usual under-staffing of phone lines, you’ll have to wait your turn, bitch. Anyway, the guy answering the phone couldn’t help me but he knew who could. So, transferred again. I reached the nice lady at paypal and she (and I) had a good chuckle about the situation (she thought I was funny). And she, of course, can’t help me either. So, she forwarded my info on to their Acceptable Use Policy people as a work order, which apparently involves a person reviewing my case instead of a monkey with a typewriter.

We’ll see.

Update: I guess in the future, it’s best not to put any details of any transaction in the paypal submit form. They probably have monkeys with typewriters who look for terms like FFL, arms, etc. Corporate big brother is watching.

You may recall they were stupid and took my ammo, despite assurances from their customer service team and the Knoxville agents that it was OK. Well, they basically told me tough tittie. Between this and Delta Airlines being stupid, I’m running out of airlines to fly on.

It’s a voting guide.The volume is so low, I can’t hear it on the laptop.

This morning I caught the debate between Schree Pettigrew and Stacey Campfield for the 18th district in Knoxvegas. Actually, I caught about 20 minutes of commercials and 5 minutes of their debate. Here’s my summary of the debate:

You took money from Hitler.

You took money from Satan.

You return Hitler’s money.

You return Satan’s money.

You return Hitler’s money.

You return Satan’s money.

You return Hitler’s money.

You return Satan’s money.

Ravenwood lists them. Well, here’s their plan:

Ban expensive weapons.

Ban cheap weapons.

Ban the ones in the middle.

And what’s left?

Not the people who left it where a three year old can get it:

WE WERE SHOCKED to learn how little pressure it takes to squeeze the trigger of a Glock .45. The gun’s firing mechanism is so light, even a 3-year-old can shoot it.

And accidentally kill himself.

Tylib Bailey-Henderson’s death this week is tragic and frustrating because it could have been so easily avoided.

A simple, properly attached gun-trigger lock, and Tylib would still be alive -smiling, laughing, playing.

Actually, he’d be alive if he didn’t have access to the gun. The Glock’s trigger pull is about 5.5 pounds. I think a 1911s is about 5. More:

Legislators in Congress and in Harrisburg have so far refused to require that when a gun is sold or transferred to a buyer, it would also have a trigger lock with it.

Really? The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms act requires handguns to be sold with trigger locks. See here. I don’t think the law has been funded, though.

Heh:

An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll taken last July found that while most Americans have positive feelings about the NRA, only 30 percent have “positive feelings” about The New York Times.

But don’t count on The Times to tell you that.

Nor will The Times tell you that in another poll conducted this past summer, the NRA’s favorable rating was higher than the Republican or Democratic parties, even higher than that of the United States Congress.

Anthony Diotaiuto was a 23 year-old with a handgun carry permit (past posts here). Police busted his door in early one morning because he was allegedly dealing drugs. The put 10 rounds of 9mm in his chest and he died. They found less than an ounce of marijuana. Now, the latest:

Seconds after a SWAT team stormed his home, a suspected drug dealer ran to his bedroom closet and emerged pointing a gun at a detective, according to a grand jury report released Tuesday.

Police opened fire, and the man fell back into the closet. But when officers moved closer, they found him still breathing — his finger still on the trigger. Then, the suspect raised his gun again.

This time, he died in a hail of police bullets.

I think this is about the 5th time the story has changed. More:

Based on police testimony, the grand jury found police were right to worry Diotaiuto would fight back using a semiautomatic handgun he had a concealed weapons permit for and justified in shooting him as many as 13 times when faced with the barrel of his gun.

The number of rounds is now 13. He was killed, basically, for having a concealed carry permit. His neighbors have repeatedly testified that the police did not announce themselves when serving the warrant. If they had, he may well be alive.

The officers involved have been exonerated.

If so, does the sidebar on the right stop where my ads should be? If so, that explains why I’ve not sold any blogads in a couple of weeks.

And the dip in traffic, since the sitemeter isn’t loading.

Any ideas how to fix that? I hate technical issues.

An AP wire I received:

NEW YORK (AP) — One of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s personal employees was beaten by thieves who then stole the billionaire’s car Wednesday morning in New Jersey, authorities said.

The employee was driving the 2001 Lexus in Hackensack on an errand for the mayor shortly before 9 a.m. when he was approached by a woman asking for money, police said. As he declined and began to roll up the window, a man got into the passenger seat and punched him in the face.

“They force him out and take off,” said Capt. Frank Lomia of the Hackensack Police Dept. The employee, whose name was not released, was not seriously injured.

The car was found about two hours later, abandoned on the side of the road in Fairlawn. Police were looking for the suspects.

It’s no secret that conservatives and Republicans have been pulling their support for Corker. He’s a subpar candidate with a very not good record. But this surprised me:

After much thought, I have decided that I cannot in good conscience vote for a man [Harold Ford, Jr.] who supports the notion of detaining American citizens without the writ of habeas corpus.

The Democrats have been pretty united over Ford, even though he’s running as, well, a Republican. With all his Jesus-loving, pro-gunning, illegal-immigrant-hating, gay-marriage-hating, rhetoric, he’s speaking like he should have an R after his name.

Via AC.

Bush and the rest of the Republicans have suspended habeas corpus. Are you outraged? You should be.

Ah, those silly bigoted Republicans. They still hate the gays, but now they’re a little conflicted about it. I guess that’s progress.

Some Christians, who are pivotal to the GOP’s get-out-the-vote effort, are charging that gay Republican staffers in Congress may have thwarted their legislative agenda. There even are calls for what some have dubbed a “pink purge” of high-ranking gay Republicans on Capitol Hill and in the administration.

Uncle shoots and maybe scores.

The NRA has picked up my story about Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam being a member of the anti-gun Mayors Alliance that is funded by Joyce Foundation (See here, here, here, here, here, and here). Wayne LaPierre (yes, that Wayne LaPierre) asks What’s going on in Knoxville:

Here’s a suggestion for Mayor Haslam and the citizens of Knoxville.

Ask Mike Bloomberg to take your name off his website and list. Tell Bloomberg that you don’t want New York City style gun control laws in Tennessee!

In other news, Wayne LaPierre read SayUncle? Cool. Terry Frank asks: Did Haslam wake the NRA? I hope so. Since the local press isn’t covering the issue, perhaps the NRA will get word out to its local members.