test results negative.

Today is a good day.

Phelps is correct: Obama has a pop quiz. And there are reports that the security forces in Iran have opened fire on protesters. Also, the little tyrant in North Korea is waving is nuclear arms in the air.

Will there be hope or change?

I did a mini-review of it here. I also said I’d let them know about the issue. I did. And I received the following today:

Thank you for those pictures and input – we have entered a new order today and will hopefully get it shipped out to you today – along with a SASE to send that defective holster back. We appreciate you bringing this issue to our attention and apologize for any inconvenience. Thanks and have a great day!

I continue to be impressed with their customer service.

Chattanoogan notes the Democrat Party Chairman Asks Local Action To Keep Guns From Parks, Restaurants. Good thing we have preemption in the state. Letters to the editor here.

A police officer reader gives us the skinny on Tasers here. Worth the read.

And takes me to task for being anti-LEO. Which I am not. I do, however, frequently criticize their techniques and judgment. And I simply think Tasers are overused and are often used when unnecessary (some times with deadly consequences). That’s not being anti-LEO.

Buying socks.

It’s something I’ve discussed before. In recent years, both houses of congress, justice department, SCOTUS, etc. affirmed the second amendment. More states have concealed carry than don’t. AWB not renewed. And quite a few other pro-gun victories. People seem more friendly to gun owners. And people who have never shot before want to go shooting. Issuance of handgun carry permits is at a record high.

I’ve often attributed it to grassroots activists who, with Al Gore’s internets, seem to have gained a knack for working together. But I’ve also realized something else is having an influence. Cable/satellite TeeVee. In a recent episode of Mythbusters (posted earlier about some safety concerns), Jamie was pulling out a .50 caliber and made a comment about how if you were a gun enthusiast, the 50 caliber was awesome. Then, the show Timewarp did an episode on automatic weapons.

All kinds of educational programs on cable TeeVee deal with weapons and guns. Mail Call, Timewarp, Mythbusters, Tales of the Gun, and there are even hour long shows devoted to the history of a particular gun. People didn’t have this stuff piped into their homes 30 years ago. Now, they do. People became acclimated to guns instead of afraid of them. And people see them and realize what gun nuts knew all along: guns are fucking cool. And when handled appropriately, they’re safe.

I caught the Mythbusters episode this weekend wherein they test if you can bend the trajectory of a bullet after it was done in some Angelina Jolie flick. Seemed quite unsafe to me, even though they did take additional steps. But more importantly, Kari don’t go shooting when you’re six months pregnant. Lead, noise, and other things that likely aren’t good for baby.

Famous last words: What are you going to do?

That’s the headline. Except that the gun in the pic is actually a Streetsweeper.

Where Great Britain used to be, comes the anti-stab knife:

The first “anti-stab” knife is to go on sale in Britain, designed to work as normal in the kitchen but to be ineffective as a weapon.

Ok, then.

In Tennessee:

More Tennesseans are applying for handgun carry permits than at any other time since the state began issuing licenses for concealed weapons.

From the first quarter of 2008 to the first quarter of this year, the Department of Safety has seen a 120% increase in the number of applications.

Handgun permit manager Lisa Knight says her 8-person office has been so overwhelmed, she’s brought on seven temporary employees to answer the phones.

That would explain the complaints I’ve heard of their slow turnaround time.

If we cared about international standards, we’d be metric.

The Firearm Blog reports that the MIL-STD 1913 (the Picatinny rail) is about to retire and be replaced by STANAG 4694 (Nato Accessory Rail).

The NYT cries in its beer over the fact that gun rights activists keep winning.

An air rifle based on the AR-15 platform. I like it but at $2K, I can buy two ARs and some ammo.

James Rummel: Real Men Carry Nylon

LaRue IronDot AK

EAA Witness Elite Match .38 Super.

Suppressed Kel-Tec RFB.

At the walk-in clinic.

I’ve said many times that drugs are winning the war on drugs. Nicholas Kristof agrees:

This year marks the 40th anniversary of President Richard Nixon’s start of the war on drugs, and it now appears that drugs have won.

At GBR2, we met Larry Weeks and he gave us a nice presentation on Brownell’s AR-15 magazines. The Shooting Wire says that Brownells is set to start shipping their magazines to the US military as part of a contract. Cool.

A meme from Xrlq. The letter C and I picked stuff on my MP3 player since I doubt I could even find a CD now:

Cake
Captain and Tenille
Carrie Underwood
Cavalera Conspiracy
Candiria
Chess
Christmas Classics
Cindi Lauper
Clutch
Coal Chamber
Collective Soul
Coolio
Counting Crows
Cracker
Crash Test Dummies
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Cypress Hill
The Cardigans
The Clash
The Corrs
The Cult
The Cure

But a gun helps too.

In Cleveland, TN:

The sheriff in Bradley County has 10 new special deputies who will have guns at church services they attend to protect the congregations.

[…]

Gobble said “there are those who target churches to vent their frustration and rage over moral and religious issues.” He said church violence is a reality.

The sheriff organized the church deputy program after reading about church attacks around the country, including one in Knoxville.

John Lott: Only nine states still ban carrying a concealed handgun in restaurants that serve alcohol

I checked out the map he cited and it’s not right. Both GA and SC permit carry in restaurants that serve. Perhaps the issue is that it’s an open carry site?

Various Barbecue recipes.

Here’s mine.

A look at the utter bastardization of the commerce clause. There may as well not even be a commerce clause.

Guy is drunk. Cops show up and guy gets in his car. Cops tell him to stop. Then Tazer him. While being tazed, the engine revs and car lurches forward. Cop puts six rounds into the drunk as his car lurching is seen as aggressive. I’m no expert but I can imagine that the engine revving was caused by muscle spasms from being tazed. And I can’t imagine that someone in the act of being tazed is a threat to anything other than upholstery.

Looks like they taught one of their candidates he had better toe the line. Or else. Else being a lot of whining.

Man with Glock goes to recycling center. Drops of glass, aluminum, assorted paper products to keep the Earth a bit nicer. Mingles with hippies. Hippies don’t notice gun. No hippies harmed.

Ok then:

Moreover, many mental health professionals have concluded that the official version of 9/11 is false, and that those who believe the official version suffer from emotional problems or defense mechanisms.

Many Chicagoans Carry Handguns Illegally. No way. That’s illegal. Also, sometimes the man is on your side:

Chicago police who responded did what officers often do in the city’s toughest neighborhoods. They pretended that the victim had not broken the law by defending himself with an illegal handgun.

“Nothing was said about the gun going off,” he said. “The police come over to make a report. The guy said to me, ‘Well, you’re lucky you weren’t killed. You should’ve had a gun with you. If you had killed the guy, then you would have had to say you took the gun off him.'”