Raccoon? I have never had it.

Very bad behavior in Knoxville. News Sentinel Editor Jack McElroy will have a lot to say for weeks if not months. Yet bad behavior occurs every day on the highways and very few want to ban cars. It could have been a knife or a hammer. Even a two by four piece of lumber. But this is special elixir to the Editor of the News Sentinel.

Will this become a political ploy for the Bloomberg Bunch? Governor hopeful Bill Haslam needs some cover and this is timely. Never mind it doesn’t meet the criteria for the Bloomberg Bunch. It doesn’t have to.

In light of recent events, MKS has a reminder:

We have just witnessed the result of government conducted in secret. The state’s “open meetings” provisions do not apply to the Tennessee General Assembly. It exempted itself. Legislators elected the speaker of the House in private!

And they’re pretty good at playing dirty. They did it today. They’ve done it before. And if they have no compunction about doing that to one another, imagine what they can do to you.

Well, Naifeh is gone. But it seems Mumpower got the shaft and Kent Williams is now the the speaker of the house. Interesting. Don’t know much about the guy.

Update: Zing: I’m a Republican, probably for not much longer because you guys are going to kick me out.

I wonder what the details of this deal were.

ETA: And by details, I know how it went down. I’m wondering what the backroom shady stuff was that lead to this.

Update: Interesting that the various Democrat bloggers seem to be reveling in the fact that their guys are dirtier than the opposition. Odd since the Republicans are still in charge.

My opinion? Meet the new boss, as corrupt, weaselly and self-serving as the old boss.

More from Abramson.

The bill looks particularly nasty. Some bits:

1. Require licensing for anybody that owns a gun.

2. Would require photographs and a thumbprint

3. Would require passage of a test that covers:

(A) the safe storage of firearms, particularly in the vicinity of persons who have not attained 18 years of age;

(B) the safe handling of firearms;

(C) the use of firearms in the home and the risks associated with such use;

(D) the legal responsibilities of firearms owners, including Federal, State, and local laws relating to requirements for the possession and storage of firearms, and relating to reporting requirements with respect to firearms; and

(E) any other subjects, as the Attorney General determines to be appropriate;

Sebastian highlights some other gems in this bill:

mandates licensing, registration and safe storage for handguns and semi-automatic rifles with detachable magazines. It also provides for inspection, so you surrender your fourth amendment rights by being licensed. It also requires reporting of Lost and Stolen firearms, and you must inform the federal government if you change addresses.

In Indiana, they’ve never heard of it.

Via SIH.

Flashlight blogging.

As Les said: A Maglite is a gateway drug to a serious flashlight addiction.

I have two flashlights. One is for the home and one is for the truck. For home use, I like the Surefire G2 Nitrolon. It’s lightweight and has a conveniently located on button on the rear. Push on and push off. This light is exceptionally bright and is capable of temporarily blinding and disorienting someone. So, don’t point at your face. Should something go bump in the night, however, it’s a good go to flashlight. It also has a very wide coverage area. I’ve used it to light up half my backyard before. The only downside is that the battery life is only about an hour and a half. Not usually a problem but not a light you want if you’re going to need a light for a long time. For that, we have the flashlight I keep in the truck.

For use in the truck, I like the Streamlight Twintask. It’s a good flashlight compromise. It’s small and fits easily in a pocket. And it has two modes. One for a decent, long lasting LED light for when you need a light for a while. Run time is about 40 hours, I hear. And one mode for the brighter non LED light. The brighter light is good enough for lighting up a decent sized area. And the LED light is fine more most uses. And the button location is not the most convenient.

Unlike other fancy flashlights, both of these are reasonably priced.

You got any recommendations?

Update: As noted before, a handy tip for gun nuts: Your non-gun-nut friends will dig your flashlights. I’ve given away each as Christmas presents and both were well received.

Gun sales up. NSSF looks at December 2008 Data.

So, you’re a bunch of drug police. You get the idea to run around in plain clothes and armed in a state that has a fairly high number of lawful handgun carry permit holders? What could possibly go wrong? Oh, yeah: Adolf Grimes was shot 14 times, including 12 times in the back, according to Orleans Parish Coroner Frank Minyard.

A 22 year-old is dead. Tam wonders:

One can’t help but wonder how this would be playing out in the press if the vacationer that got shot up had been an off-duty Texas cop instead of a CCW permit holder.

In WI:

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has a simple, blunt message for hunters in Wisconsin: When a DNR warden asks you to give up your legal firearm, do so, plain and simple, no matter what.

What’s more, that goes for all citizens, the agency has asserted. Citizens with firearms, the DNR argues, should always do exactly what law enforcement officers tell them to do, regardless of the circumstances of the situation.

To which one former hunter education instructor for the department has an equally simple and blunt response: The agency’s directive is unconstitutional, plain and simple, and citizens don’t have to hand over their firearms without any probable cause.

I have to admit I’ve never much seen the point in a full auto handgun. Look difficult to control and seem impractical. Still, pretty cool (and turn the volume down – the music sounds like it came from the final scene of a 1970s porn flick):

ColtCCO has had a run of bad luck. You’ll recall a bit back an incompetent policeman body-slammed him for lawfully carrying a firearm because (and I am not making this up) said policeman thought he was in Ohio.

Then, he’s traveling. Gets pulled over and finds out the his handgun carry permit was revoked. He gets his gun taken. And is charged with carrying a gun with intent to go armed. Turns out, his revocation was a mistake and he has to work extra hard to get his gun back.

Well, in a continuation on the theme of the bureaucracies continuing to screw things up, he’s had his handgun carry permit revoked for, and I am not making this up, that charge for carrying a gun with intent to go armed that was supposedly cleared up.

Some guys have no luck at all.

A sneak peak of the fourth generation Glock?

I’ve confirmed the rumors before. Though there was some question as to whether the crosshatched serrations would make the final cut.

Countertop finds a bright spot in the Obama administration.

In an effort to show the world how bitchin’ hydrogen fuel cell cars are, a rep decided to drive one to DC. Too bad he has a case of teh st00pid:

Massa drove one fuel cell car while a hybrid SUV towing an additional SUV followed along. Once he got half way, he switched to new fuel cell car. The empty fuel cell was then towed back by the first SUV. As he continued on his journey, the second SUV followed. Once Massa arrived in DC, the second SUV then towed the second fuel cell car back to NY.

Fit right in in congress.

Gunpundit:

After the savage 2007 home invasion in Cheshire, CT, that left a prominent doctor’s wife and two daughters dead, an expert on ABC’s Good Morning America suggested that wind chimes and cactus on window sills would deter criminals.

BTW, there’s a great punchline over there. Get the hence for the funny.

Looks like Colt and Umarex have partnered to bring about a 22LR M4.

Post-Heller Case Holding a Gun Control Law Unconstitutional:

Accordingly, the Adam Walsh Amendments [the name of the statute involved here -EV] violate due process by requiring that, as a condition of release on bail, an accused person be required to surrender his Second Amendment right to possess a firearm without giving that person an opportunity to contest whether such a condition is reasonably necessary in his case to secure the safety of the community. Because the Amendments do not permit an individualized determination, they are unconstitutional on their face. The Government’s application to impose as a condition of bail that Mr. Arzberger not possess a firearm is therefore denied

Also, lack of due process is an issue with orders of protection.

They’ve written a letter expressing their concerns. Which is odd. After all, I read on the internets they weren’t doing anything.

Because I didn’t. But Massad Ayoob has a blog. Via Greg.

He’ll be covering SHOT.

Manuel Lora:

Every so often one one of the “major” broadcast networks airs a report on home safety. A security expert will go on and on about locking doors and windows, installing alarm systems, using motion detectors and a bunch of other things that a home owner might do including, of course, calling the police. But what about that useful, portable, concealable, reusable and affordable equalizer and tool of last resort? In fact, when have we ever been told not to rely on the state for anything?

They’re not the only ones. Go to ready.gov, FEMA’s disaster preparedness website. Search for gun or firearm.

Nothing there about having a gun.

Little Scary:

Bloggers: If you suddenly find Air Force officers leaving barbed comments after one of your posts, don’t be surprised. They’re just following the service’s new “counter-blogging” flow chart. In a twelve-point plan, put together by the emerging technology division of the Air Force’s public affairs arm, airmen are given guidance on how to handle “trolls,” “ragers” — and even well-informed online writers, too. It’s all part of an Air Force push to “counter the people out there in the blogosphere who have negative opinions about the U.S. government and the Air Force,” Captain David Faggard says.

Linoge ponders shotguns.

So what’s the big problem with misnamed gun buybacks anyway?

Well, let’s see: Free evidence destruction. Ineffective. Cost taxpayers money. Often illegal (a church in NYC is not a federal licensed firearms dealer). Waste of police resources. If the guns are stolen, the original owner is screwed.

And that’s just for starters.

Rich Hailey:

I’m writing an article for the News Sentinel discussing the idea of allowing teachers with Handgun Carry Permits to carry their weapons on school grounds. I’d like to get reactions from community parents for the story.

Seen at David’s:

To protect the right to obtain firearms for security, and to use firearms in defense of self, family, or home, and to provide for the enforcement of such right.

Not sure it stands much of a shot with the incoming administration and congress. We’ll see.

Jeff has more on Roland Burris’ gun hypocrisy. An item I addressed here.

Randy Barnett on Lund’s criticism of dicta in the Heller Case and originalism.

There’s a lot in the Heller case. Not sure how much will be a factor moving forward.

Over at the Firearm Blog, Steve has made some.

One more mayor from Mayors Against Guns is indicted. I wonder what the tally is now? Several have quit the organization after discovering that it is a gun control group. And quite a few have been charged with various crimes.