Well, the Democrats look to be successfully stealing a senate seat.

Via Glenn.

Looks like the Tennessee Gubernatorial race is getting underway with the two contenders on the Republican side looking to be Zach Wamp and Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam. AC doesn’t see Wamp getting too far because of money. You’ll recall that Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam is a member of the Joyce Foundation funded, anti-gun group Mayors Against Illegal Guns, headed up by Bloomberg.

His membership in an anti-gun group will play a part in his run for governor, assuming the local press decides to cover it. To my knowledge, they have not.

A look at cartridge naming conventions.

I guess because the 30 Ass Kicker, Name Taker isn’t a good marketing gimmick?

From Michael Bane, comes The Shooting Wire:

Democratic insiders are telling us the firearms industry will be used as an object lesson to both sides of the aisle.

To the left, it’s the always-popular smackdown of a group of right-wing loonies (that’s you and me, by the way) who want gunfights on the streets of our hometowns.

To the right, it will represent a little payback for the rhetoric that was taken very personally by the incoming administration. In other words, a little taste of the whip should keep both sides nicely in line.

In other words, last year’s unquestioned gun salesman of the year -Barack Hussein Obama – will turn his attention toward a group that has been unrelenting in opposing him throughout his political career.

When that happens, a billion-dollar industry will take another body blow.

Despite the new administration’s insistence that jobs and the economy will be the top priority beginning January 20, insiders say payback to the NRA and other pro-Second Amendment groups is high on the agenda. Democratic advisors say the Republican party is “disorganized, disheartened, and dissolving” and it’s a good time for the incoming administration to take them on in a core issue – the assault weapons ban is one of three topics they’re evaluating.

If the AWB is chosen, everyone expects a pitched battle with no quarter given.

If the attempt to pass this drastically-expanded AWB succeeds, the administration will have proven itself virtually unbeatable in matters of policy. They will also further fracture the Republican party and simultaneously serve notice on any pro-gun Democrats that they’d better get with the new program, too.

Last week, I spent a significant amount of time on the phone speaking with industry leaders about the word on the grapevine from Washington. There were mixed responses. One leader said his political advisors were hearing exactly the opposite- that the AWB was being pushed back to the “second Obama administration”. Another said his advisors were getting both reports, but considered an assault on firearms “inevitable” whether now, 2010 or later.

In other words, industry leaders see the fight in terms of “when” and not “if”.

I’ve been hearing mutterings about this from folks in the know. Seems the plan is to 1) cater to the left, which thus far Obama has abandoned now that he has won (doesn’t make much sense since ‘the left’ is not inherently anti-gun); and 2) teach us gun nuts a lesson for daring to oppose Obama for being anti-gun. Additional reasons include that the new administration will need some sort of dog and pony show since their only plan for dealing with the economy is to hope the press starts talking it up instead of down in late January. And the perception that the gun lobby is weak right now, coupled with the weakened Republican party, is bad for gun owners.

I’m thinking there are some Democrats who remember 1994 and will opt not to play along. Could be something, could be nothing. We’ll see. But call your reps.

Michael Bane has more.

Remember when Republicans were the party of smaller, more limited government? Me neither.

A custom Desert Eagle for the Wii.

The WaPo:

The Maryland State Police surveillance of advocacy groups was far more extensive than previously acknowledged, with records showing that troopers monitored — and labeled as terrorists — activists devoted to such wide-ranging causes as promoting human rights and establishing bike lanes.

Also, reminds me of this.

Buy, buy, buy.

A tricked out Luger. Man, we kids with our AR-15s have nothing on those guys.

The treasury has exceeded the bail out amount authorized by congress. And can’t (or won’t) tell us where the money went.

That’s pretty funny. A bit back, I used the phrase pre-Obama administration gun dollars.

Joe looks at where the bullet goes. He also has updated Modern Ballistics for the Field, a ballistics program for cell phones and PDAs.

In Australia, THE NSW Police Force will spend about $2 million on a virtual reality shooting range as senior officers blame a lack of training for recruits being frightened of firearms.

Looks like Frist saying he will not run for governor.

Are here. Heh: buttbuttinate.

A call for disunity.

I am remiss in mentioning that Bitter is now a food blogger. Mmmm, corned beef and cabbage.

North Dakota experienced only two murders in 2008. Both were stabbings. Not a single firearm murder in the state. Meanwhile, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Ownership has ranked North Dakota 44 out of 50 in gun control.

Update: Similar trend in gun-friendly New Hampshire:

Two murders non-justifiable homicides (10% of all homicides) committed with a gun in the entire state of New Hampshire (population 1.32 million).

Governor Rod Blagojevich has selected Roland Burris to fill Obama’s senate seat. I guess he got the winning bid. An interesting bit on Mr. Burris:

A longtime advocate of a national handgun ban, Burris organized Chicago’s first Gun Turn-in Day in 1993. But when he ran for governor the following year, he admitted that he owned a handgun (“for protection,”) and did not hand it over to police as he urged others to do.

Owning that gun would likely be illegal in Chicago, unless you’re a politico. And, of course, gun turn ins are only for the little people. Or folks who want to destroy evidence.

And his anti-gun hypocrisy gets better.

Revenue from hunting licenses declines in Tennessee. Yet gun ownership is up in the state.

It’s kinda funny how alleged journalists deal with the gun issue. They’re like seagulls. They come in, make a lot of noise, shit all over everything, and leave once it looks frightening. Latest seagull journalist: Facts don’t matter so please don’t present them if they don’t fit my worldview.

Not an actual quote but may as well be.

Five knife deaths per week.

Congrats to Squeaky.

Well, not this kind anyway. Obama’s pick for Secretary of Education has a failing graduation rate in the city of Chicago. He’s also a bit of an anti-gun activist. That’s change you can believe in.

Chris looks back at 1989, the year I graduated high school.

Hope you had a happy and safe one:

Entreprise FAL. And it’s for sale.

Ruger AC 556.

Bullpup airgun.

Guns for a day at the range.

New S&W.