Ya know, trying to cheer Kevin up is an almost impossible task. Then you realize it’s made even worse because they really are out to get him.

And congrats on the anniversary, I think.

To R. Neal who will be covering the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

down your spine.

Your government at work:

The Senate held a voice vote on whether to turn down the air conditioning after Sen. John Wilder, a Mason Democrat who has served in the upper chamber for more than four decades, said that the room was too cold.

It wasn’t clear which side prevailed on the vote but Speaker Ron Ramsey, a Blountville Republican, brokered a compromise by instructing the clerk to turn the thermostat up by 3 degrees.

In Georgia, concealed carry laws have been greatly expanded. In TN, they would be too if Naifeh wasn’t speaker.

Gun crime up in Britain.

Our local newspaper has some blogs now. I’ve read this sentence now like four times:

Today I spent an extra free thought time to consider knowing as I prepared to lead a discussion on ideas tonight.

They speak English in what?

They don’t give a shit.

An essay on a recurring theme here at SayUncle: Why won’t those dumb, cousin-humping rednecks vote for Obama?

Is it the racism? The elitism. Who knows, really?

Personally, I think the answer is much simpler than all the pixel-waxing done these days over such a question: we don’t like him.

In Nashville.

David is pretty upset over the McCain thing. And David tells us that McCain is not exactly a great ally to gun owners. True. He’s not what I’d call a stellar gun rights supporter. However, he is not openly hostile to gun owners like Hillary and Barack Obama. And the significance of his attendance at the NRA meeting shows that, if nothing else. After all, who is lining up to speak at Brady Campaign events? And who had to go through all the trouble of creating a fake grassroots group that appears pro-gun to endorse Democrats?

McCain is far from perfect. Hell, guns aside, conservatives are not happy:

We should probably consider ourselves lucky, because McCain is giving us a taste of what’s going to happen when he gets to the White House. This, in other words, is what is in store for us conservatives: daily disappointments, frequent betrayals, and constant regret for having voted for him.

Well, that’s what we’ve been getting for the last eight years anyway. So, I don’t exactly understand why I should be that much more pissed about it now.

Meanwhile, Robb notes the Democrats are having similar issues:

Over the past few weeks, I’ve gotten quite an earful on the upcoming elections and it pains me to say even the Democrats don’t appear to be happy with their choices. Many of them are talking about voting McCain since Hillary! and Barrack Whatchootalkinaboutwillis Obama do not represent their views. There’s the typical “If my candidate doesn’t get the nod I’m voting McCain” shtick, but there’s a lot of general unhappiness with both of them overall.

Could be. But conservatives are doing it too. This morning’s local talk radio host asked for a McCain supporter to call. The host stipulated he wanted a real supporter and not just someone who was going to hold their nose and vote; nor did he want someone who was voting against the Democrats. He wanted and honest to God McCain supporter.

For the 35 minutes I listened, one guy called in and he wasn’t convincing. He talked entirely about McCain’s military record and said not one word about his policy positions.

Facts are that our current political system just generates shitty candidates. And we have to deal with that.

So, lost in all the outrage over being called bitter by Barack Rock to the Planet Rock Don’t Stop Obama, we missed out on the fact he supposedly gave us gun owners props just hours before:

“We need sensible gun laws,” said the Senator. “I just got back from Montana where just about everyone has guns. In that culture, fathers and sons bond over hunting. You can’t take that away from rural America. But the inner city is different, and we should tighten the laws on gun purchases and close the loopholes in gun show sales to unscrupulous buyers. The gun control people and the right to bear arms people are talking past each other about disconnected topics.”

I was unaware that there was an inner city exemption to the right to bear arms. Who knew? And isn’t that kinda, you know, racist?

Knoxpatch is back!

Really.

Denise has more on exploding civil war cannonballs and other things.

Jeff has a gunny bleg.

Stephen Colbert to Paul Helmke: Name a situation where you don’t need a gun.

That’s how many members The American Hunters and Shooters Association is claiming in this article where NRA members are called terrorists.

I dunno if terrorist is a step up from whacko and extremist.

So tell me Paul, which presidential candidates are lining up to speak at your events?

Received via email in answer to prior questions about whether you could carry while McCain was there:

This came down from the Secret Service–it was not our call (nor McCain’s).

NOTICE: By mandate of the U. S. Secret Service, no firearms will be allowed in Hall A of the Kentucky Exposition Center, the location of the Celebration of American Values Leadership Forum, on Friday, May 16. Please be prepared to go through security screening to enter the venue. We look forward to seeing you at this outstanding event!

If you can post at all, we’re trying to alert everyone so people aren’t caught off-guard.

David Levdansky:

NRA’s opposition is misguided

Requiring the reporting of lost guns would hurt only criminals.

You see, your bill is just stupid. It puts a burden on a gun owner where one did not exist before. Your bill merely has potential to turn the law-abiding into criminals and nothing more. Try a bill that targets those who break the law not those who abide by it.

And your bill won’t accomplish anything.

Fusil MAS-49/56

Seems like everyone is making a 50 these days!

We’re all gun nuts now:

With both contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination evading the gun control issue as if it were sniper fire, you couldn’t blame gun control advocates for feeling bitter. Yet Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence–the pro-gun control counterweight to the National Rifle Association–says Obama and Clinton are “coming fairly close to delivering the message we’d like.” On licensing and registering guns, Helmke says, they are “being realistic” in recognizing “there’s no support for pushing that forward at this stage.” His thoughts on the candidates’ ducking questions on the D.C. gun ban? “They’re politicians, and most politicians on tough calls do not answer.”

The reason Helmke doesn’t feel abandoned on licensing, registration, and the D.C. gun ban is that the Brady Campaign has shelved those goals, in favor of a more modest, incrementalist strategy. Though licensing and registration remain official Brady Campaign policy, Helmke says he hasn’t even talked about them with anyone on staff since he became president in 2006.

And by shelved, he means given up.

David Codrea interviews David E. Young.

Even when you go out of your way to cooperate with them, they’ll still throw you under the bus.

To Doctor Stickwick.

Oh, yeah, we spent it all on an armored personnel carrier for Dellview, North Carolina.

The WaPo:

Violent crime has increased in some cities in recent years in part because local police are too cash-strapped to fight it, the ATF chief said Monday.

The comments by Michael J. Sullivan, acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, echo pleas by mayors across the country for more federal dollars to combat crime.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Sullivan called battling violent crime the No. 1 priority of ATF and said the agency is trying to help cities with federal task forces and technology.

And that is why ATF is targeting gun dealers who make clerical mistakes on onerous government forms; shutting down dealers who acted in good faith on ATF’s written opinion that products were lawful; and prosecuting people whose firearms malfunction.

Go to 1:35 and watch the fireworks.

140+ Year Old Cannonball Kills Civil War Collector

Update: Aunt B. has an open letter to gun nuts:

Why would he have been trying to “restore” something he surely should have called the bomb squad in to deal with?

I dunno. Probably the same reason I rewired Junior’s little riding car so it goes faster. Because we can.

If you’re gonna be speaking at the NRA convention, you probably shouldn’t joke about shooting people.