Their new graphic:

Heh.

In Chicago this weekend, 32 people were shot. Which is odd because of all that gun control they have, including a ban on the guns that were likely used in all the shootings.

Ok, he’s not really a chick but he looks like one.

One crime = four charges.

WSJ’s Arthur Brooks:

According to the 2006 General Social Survey, which has tracked gun ownership since 1973, 34% of American homes have guns in them. This statistic is sure to surprise many people in cities like San Francisco – as it did me when I first encountered it. (Growing up in Seattle, I knew nobody who owned a gun.)

Who are all these gun owners? Are they the uneducated poor, left behind? It turns out they have the same level of formal education as nongun owners, on average. Furthermore, they earn 32% more per year than nonowners. Americans with guns are neither a small nor downtrodden group.

Nor are they “bitter.” In 2006, 36% of gun owners said they were “very happy,” while 9% were “not too happy.” Meanwhile, only 30% of people without guns were very happy, and 16% were not too happy.

In 1996, gun owners spent about 15% less of their time than nonowners feeling “outraged at something somebody had done.” It’s easy enough in certain precincts to caricature armed Americans as an angry and miserable fringe group. But it just isn’t true. The data say that the people in the approximately 40 million American households with guns are generally happier than those people in households that don’t have guns.

The gun-owning happiness gap exists on both sides of the political aisle. Gun-owning Republicans are more likely than nonowning Republicans to be very happy (46% to 37%). Democrats with guns are slightly likelier than Democrats without guns to be very happy as well (32% to 29%). Similarly, holding income constant, one still finds that gun owners are happiest.

Why are gun owners so happy? One plausible reason is a sense of self-reliance, in terms of self-defense or even in terms of the ability to hunt their own dinner.

Many studies over the years have shown that a belief in one’s control over the environment dramatically adds to happiness. Example: a famous study of elderly nursing home patients in the 1970s. It showed dramatic improvements in life satisfaction from elements of control as seemingly insignificant as being able to care for one’s plants.

A bit of evidence that self-reliance is at work among gun owners comes from the General Social Survey. It asked whether one agrees with the statement, “Those in need have to take care of themselves.” In 2004, gun owners were 10 percentage points more likely than nonowners to agree (60% to 50%).

I knew gun owners spent a lot of money (guns aren’t cheap) but I was unaware that we were so darn happy.

Via Ben.

The pipsqueak’s blog turned 1.

Ouch!

More from the past.

AC is back!

The pilot whose weapon discharged on an airplane is about to be fired.

He’s going to be fired because TSA’s asinine policy that requires a pilot to unnecessarily handle a gun and insert an object near the trigger. See here, here and here.

If I understand all the yammering on the blogs, it seems those who vote Democrat are upset over the recent Hillsy v. Barack 867-5309 Obama debate. It seems (and, once again, I did not watch) that the moderators focused on issues such as whether or not Hillary Clinton is a liar because she misspoke about taking sniper fire; and whether or not Barack A-Wop-bop-a-loo-op a-lop-bam-boo Obama really looks down on gun-toting, religious crackers (one blog, and I forgot where, called it Crackerquiddick – heh). You know, unimportant things.

See, they did this instead of focusing on the issues. Which is apparently code for repeat prepared statements about diversity and hope and change and compassion and Free Health Care that we’ve all heard at least 17 times already this week. You know, real debate! At this point, the two differ on their views about as much as two guys on death row have differing opinions about the death penalty.

Apparently, there’s a more sophisticated way to say vote for me, you cousin-humping rednecks.

In the country of California, Mark Vargas installed some solar panels. Trouble is that, in a colossal case of failure to plan, his solar panels were installed in the shade of his neighbors’ redwood trees. But get this:

Richard Treanor and Carolynn Bissett of Sunnyvale, Calif., were criminally prosecuted because redwood trees in their backyard cast shadows over their neighbor’s solar panels.

A judge ordered in December that two of the trees be trimmed back. The couple have had one trimmed, hoping that will satisfy the judge.

Criminally prosecuted and threatened with fines of $1,000/day because their neighbors put solar panels in the shade of their trees. Wow. And, seriously, there’s a law that covers that. Governor Moonbeam signed it back in 1978. Mark Vargas was rewarded by the state despite being stupid enough to install solar panels in the shade. More:

“I still think it is sad that we couldn’t have figured it out between neighbors,” Vargas said. “I offered to pay to remove the trees.”

There’s no figure it out you want X and your neighbors wanted exactly the opposite of X. There’s no figuring that out. Unfortunately for your neighbors, there’s also no shortage of stupid in California law.

Update: I think I’d go find one of those spotted owls and let it live in the trees.

I’ve said before that, on a handgun, I don’t want one that has a magazine disconnect safety. I think California and Massachusetts require them on guns (police excepted, of course). Well, here’s one reason why:

The officer was struck with the bat as he walked out of his office and fell backward in a daze, Dyer said.

As the officer tried to draw his firearm, the weapon’s magazine clattered to the floor, Dyer said.

The student with the bat approached the officer again, the chief said, prompting the officer to reach for a second firearm attached to his ankle.

I want it to go bang when I pull the trigger, whether there’s a magazine in it or not.

Here’s a livejournal from a guy who everyone thought was the Virginia Tech shooter (I’ve linked him before). They thought it was him because he’s 1) Asian (they all look the same, you know) and 2) he was a gun owner (we’re all crazy and shoot things all the time, you know). Anyway, a year later, he goes back through some things from that time, including his place getting raided and various press interviews. Interesting stuff:

Interview

Now, congress is calling for an investigation into Big Football!

You can feel safe or, you know, be safe.

GunPundit interviews Kyle Cassidy on his book Armed America: Portraits of Gun Owners in Their Homes.

Barack Lollapalooza Obama’s appeal summarized.

Judge to Mayor: Knock that shit off.

If they enforce the illegal laws anyway, remember TITLE 18, U.S.C., SECTION 242

Over at the NYT, David from war on guns continues to do battle though he’s surrounded by anti-gunners.

My move to a new server is now complete. If you’re seeing this, then you’re here. If you’re not, well there’s no point in me talking to you.

No, I kid. But it wouldn’t surprise me.

BTW, the new Wal-Marts don’t sell guns, I don’t think. And the new one in Maryville definitely does not.

Too much to list!

I mentioned before how the site seems to go down in the afternoons and it’s due to referrer spam. Well, my host provider (the wonderful people at HostMatters) are moving me to a new server. So, access to the site may occur or may not. You’ve been warned so if you type a long comment telling me I’m wrong, you may want to save it somewhere before hitting submit.

Cool but scary at the same time. With video.

Technology: Stop it before it kills someone!!!

If you weren’t paying attention, then you didn’t notice all the racism. See, we’re not a post racism society*. Part of the reason is that everyone sits around with their racist decoder rings looking for racism. Even when it may or may not be there. But accusations of racism these days are rather like car alarms. You hear both so much that you don’t even pay attention to the noise anymore. A few examples:

If you call Barack Chirac Obama an elitist, you’re a racist! Seriously?

Bill Hobbs did a post reminding Barack Tiberius Obama who is boss was. That boss quite clearly from the link meant the people. Then ZOMFG it’s a slave reference!

And ZOMFG! someone called Barack Gwen Stefani Obama a boy! But, you say I call people boy sometimes and I don’t mean nothing racist by it. I looked at my wife last night and said ‘that boy ain’t right’ and he was a white dude trying to push a rope. Doesn’t matter because Boy, in that context, is a racist remark, period. We don’t have to give you a reason, it just is! Dammit. And this is great:

The GOP clearly intends to yell “n*gger, n*gger” or “b*tch, b*tch” for the entire campaign in a desperate attempt to divert attention away from the complete mess they have made of the country.

Not really since the Dems are doing it for the GOP. I mean, I keep reading lefty blogs that say if you don’t vote for Hillsy, it’s ’cause you’re a misogynist. And if you don’t vote for Barack a² + b² = c² Obama, it’s ’cause you’re a racist.

In other news, years of pandering to identity politics is biting the Dems on the ass.

* Note: there really is real racism but none of this is it.

I often wonder how some people can look themselves in the mirror. One of those people is Janet Reno. In her case, it might be a bit harder since she always sees Ernest Borgnine looking back at her.

But, buck up little camper, at least you weren’t set on fire.

Let’s make it more illegaler. That’ll show ’em!

So, from my referral logs last night, I learn that the anti-gun Democratic Leadership Council’s shill group diguised as a pro-gun group American Hunters And Shooters Association has endorsed Barack Machine Wash Warm Obama for President. Gasp! Swoon! Of course they did. That’s what they were created for.

Update: A reminder from Sebastian:

Let’s remember how Obama supports the shooting community again:

• Advocating that handguns be banned
• Advocating a comprehensive ban on all semi-automatic firearms
• Sponsoring legislation that makes it harder to get a license to possess a firearm, which is required under Illinois law.
• Voting against a measure as US Senator that prevents firearms manufacturers being sued out of existence because their products can be used by criminals.
• Banning any ammunition that could be used in an “assault weapon” which would include many sporting cartridges.
• Banning all firearms sale within five miles of a school or park, meaning there would be very few places in the United States where guns could be sold.

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of the VT tragedy. The Brady Campaign used the opportunity to beg for money. Of course, on the day of the shooting, they had a donate button complete with new graphics before the bodies were cold.

And it seems the Brady Campaign’s political stunt on the anniversary was not well-received.

And for whatever reason, the Brady Camp is trying to associate the non-existent gun show loophole with VT?