Quote of the Day.... Surprise Edition.

Okay let's start with the quote first.

When objects transcend from their objective description and function (e.g. a fork) and are elevated to the status of symbols, with subjective values assigned them (e.g. a firearm) they seem to enter a realm where logic is easily surrendered to emotion, and rationality is occluded by passion. From that point on, the management of such objects becomes less about what they objectively do, and more about how people emotionally relate to them as an idea. Good luck regulating emotions.

Hmmm.... someone talking about how too much emotions cloud judgement about firearms law?

Well, the reference to "management" might mean the person is for gun control.  However, the last line is pretty sarcastic about the folly of it.

Okay so it could go either way. I mean both the antis and gun rights people think the other side imbues guns with totemic powers and agency.

Hmm...  well  here's a hint.    This is in comment to a pro-gun control comic where in the last panel there literally is a gun whispering corruptive sweet nothings into the ear of an unwitting man.  And the narration outright blames the guns themselves.

Well, most gun law are passed in an emotional rush and are more about "feeling good" or "punishing the other" than stopping "crime".  Just look at how Assault Weapons are defined.   Is that logical and rational or just surrendering to emotion and passion?

Well for another hint, the comic was posted in Daily Kos.  Link from the always funny Tam

Hmmm so...   sarcastic trolling by a gunnie? Or gun grabber who is so deluded that they ended up coming out the other side as to be profound?


Sorry to announce that user gunnergoz is actually a died in the wool anti, complete with "interviews" with frothing evil righties clinging to their guns.

Well it's not exactly a Mr A story....

Sorry for not posting in a while.   Have had holiday stuff.

To make up for it here's a rambling story.

Interestingly, I don't have very many Mr. A stories.

It seems that given the immense failure of Obamacare, Mr. A has not been at his normal levels of progressive bravado.

It helps that Mr. A is very into programming and thus has a personal measure of how inept and "Faith Based Legislation" the ACA ended up being.

But I do have some stories of a mutual associate of ours.

Let's call this fellow Tom  (I may have mentioned him before, but I can't quite recall).

Tom is also a progressive.

Now while Mr. A is of the wanna-be Limonene Liberal social climber of the "professional" class,   Tom is more blue collar and of the "Eat the Rich"  style.

On multiple occasions he's gone into rhetoric revolution and class warfare.  And I always needle him by asking "Oh? And will this be the one time the bastards at the vanguard *don't* put the useful idiots against the wall and enrich themselves while grinding the poor worse than even the previous regime?"

Here's an example of Tom's thinking.  He describes this as a very influential moment in his life. As a student he had an ethics class.  There was an exam with the bonus question of "Is Teacher X your favorite teacher?"

The teacher expected everyone to answer Yes.  And got angry when Tom answered No. And he was the only student to not get the extra credit

"I think all of the important things I learned from there were things they didn't intend to teach. There are two sets of rules, one for the rich one for the poor. Never trust anyone in authority, especially when they say they looking out for your best interests."

Keep in mind.  This is a progressive with faith in the state.  Sure he's suspect of evil corporations and their profits, but take a giant corporate monopoly that can throw you in prison and... well maybe you can get some gravy out of it...

Further, he's very suspicious of the police, and wary of police power.   Totally sensible.

Save for one blind-spot.  Tom is also anti-gun. Not in the way that he'd do anything about it, but he doesn't like guns and sees May Issue as being sensible.

Yes, let's connect the dots.

The guy that bemoans "two sets of rules"  and the power of the police, supports laws that empower the police to literally keep the poor disarmed while allowing the rich to carry guns.

Then again Tom isn't alone in having bizarre political views.   Mr. A, as mentioned before, hates Feminists, Greens, and Blood-Dancing Gun Grabbers (Mr. A says they're as bad as pro-lifers, a big ding in his book) despite him being a big Champagne Socialist.

Mr. A is no pro-gunner, he just sees the Gun Grabbers having counter-productive tactics.  For example Mr. A also supports May Issue because "There are some people that the police just know are scumbags even if they don't have enough proof to charge 'em."

Party of the little guy!

Now onto the next story.    Tom has a second job as a convenience store clerk (He's also made jokes about guns and getting shot, but OTOH notes that at least one of his co-workers carries on the job).

And working a convenience store does introduce you to many of the...  low points of society.

Tom's particular bane is when people go in for lotto tickets, specifically those who get scratchers and spend hours on them and are clearly addicted.

Recently, Tom was talking about how disheartening it was that people who were "mentally retarded" would come in and buy cigarettes and lotto tickets.

To which Mr. A snarked "Land of the FREE!"

(I should note that Tom is a former smoker and isn't against people smoking.  And Mr. A smokes pot and is a legalization advocate of that)

This is where I came in and asked: "Well, what would you do about it?"

And Mr. A replied. "Well I'd ban the use of accelerants in cigarettes."

Accelerants are the chemicals in cigarettes that keep a cigarettes burning even when no one is puffing on it.  Unlike pipes and cigars which will go out if you put them down.

To which I went "Well, what does that have to do with Tom's problem?"

And Mr. A then got huffy on how the tobacco companies profit off of these things (unlike his pot suppliers)  and how the accelerants make the smokes more harmful to inhale and are just a fire hazard and do you want people to burn?

And I replied: "Well, those latter points are a could be an argument for banning the addition of those chemicals and one I might be convinced on. But, again, what does that have to do with Tom's problem?"

And Mr. A eventually admitted that the problem Tom pointed out "People who are deemed* to not be of full mental capacity being able to buy harmful products" is not one that is easily solvable.

*Deemed by who?   And doesn't that sound a lot like literacy tests for voting?

I mention this because of how familiar it is.

Person 1 has Complaint X

Person A presents Plan Y.

Plan Y would not solve Complaint X  or even address it.

This is pointed out.  Person A gets angry and defensive.

Oh, as a bonus.  I asked Mr. A that given it was bad for big tobacco to profit off of their addictive product is it not also bad for the government to profit, by a larger margin, from the tax revenue on said smokes?

Or what about the lotto tickets.  That's entirely government profit.  And in progressive terms a direct manipulation of people with poor judgment or an inborn addiction.

But see, that's okay... for some reason.

Some more Framing work.

Well, when we moved offices there was a pile of old posters and such.

And one caught my eye. It was pretty damaged but I thought it could work. Course then I had to make a frame for it.

I'm okay with the job I did staining it. It wasn't as even as I liked, but it came out in a nice aged style

Squeak or Treat Prizes.

So I made out real good in the Squeak or Treat raffle to help Bonnie.

That includes a new rifle sling from Echo Slings (which I've paired with a *new* gun that's over 60 years old) and a custom windchime made by Mark of Rimfire Designs.


But today I'm talking about the other batch of prizes. Four drawings by Ezra Hinson.  Originally I was planning on getting the con-artist brothers  but Erin convinced me to pickup the whole set.


Even a basic picture frame can do work if you use a sharp scalpel to shape the border and use a bit of beeswax rub on the wood.   Just make sure you get a frame that isn't painted and is at least realish wood.

Not bad for charity work.

The key is to know how to improvise....

So I sent Erin a gift earlier this week.

And when I was wrapping it, I was unable to find my ribbon.

So I improvised.   I'm quite happy with how it came out and the reception it got.


How was it done?   Well there's two ways.   Both involve wrapping the paracord around a dowel/pencil/braid of cord.

The longer, but better way, is to wrap it, tighten, and then leave it be for a week or so.

The quicker is to wrap and then gently wave a lighter (or heat gun) over it to get it to set in position.

ATTN Florida and Illinois Gunnies

Robb Allen has some info on the Florida State House making noises to drastically weaken self defense law.

And in Illinois there's movement on some very nasty mandatory minimum sentence laws.
Funny how certain parties get all "tough on crime" when guns come up, but for any other issue are adamantly against minimum sentencing (Like how showing voter ID is racist but that same logic doesn't apply to Universal Background Checks).

ATTN: Virginia Gunnies

Bloomberg's decided to give over a million dollars to McAuliffe for ad buys in the final two weeks of the race.

Add in  Gabby Gifford's PAC constantly sending out mailer and McAuliffe  saying he want to ban magazines, ban private sales, and limit people to one gun a month...

well, you're looking at a big, big gun grabber reaching for that brass ring.

What's interesting is that McAuliffe  as a more than comfortable lead,  given his war-on-women push and that Cuccinelli is a woeful candidate.   One wouldn't think he'd want to let the cat out of the bag on him being a gun grabber,  then again he's a DC fixer from NY so those Bloomberg bucks are appealing.

Then again, what better way for Bloomberg to puff up his ego then come long near the finish line and gloat about how he "saved'  McAuliffe.

Edit:  Read the comments to get an idea that it's not Cuccinelli-boostering.   As it's more god-what-an-insufferable-nanny  Bloomberg is.

ATTN Illinois Gunnies: Some Gun Bills up.

Thirdpower has the list from the ISRA

Ruger Single-Ten and Wolff Spring kit

Okay.  The Wolff 30oz spring kit worked wonders for my Ruger Single-Ten.    If you have one or any of the Ruger Single-Six family (or any Ruger single action) I'd strongly recommend you look into it.

The range officers at Iggle Crik agreed too.   Had a funny conversation too.

Range Officer 1:  Normally when I see someone roll their shoulders and knees and do the little "range" dance before they shoot they end up all over the place, but you were shooting real good, just one ragged hole.

Range Officer 2: *points to my 1911s*  Someone who bothers to put in custom 10-8 and Caspian flat triggers and puts the same trigger on their 45 carry gun and their 22 plinker gun and doesn't put in any other taticool crap tends to know what they're doing.

Range Officer 3: Yeah, haven't you seen him at the range before?

Course a bit before this conversation RO2 and I were talking about 1911  external versus internal extractors,  the fall of Kimber and trigger design.

Then RO1 had got behind the trigger of my Ruger and was impressed with the trigger pull.  That said, I'm real happy with the Ruger Single-Ten.  If you want a 22 single-action plinker revolver it will do.

It doesn't take much to really improve a gun. Mostly it's practice and working the shooter,   but there are a some mods and tricks that work.

1911 Magazine Holders.

It's come up *cough*  as to what I use to carry my spare mags for my 1911.

Well...   flashlight holsters.   No seriously.  I use these.

They're the right size for a 1911 mags and the belt holders can rotate 360 degrees.   This makes them very comfortable when they're slung on your belt.

They're also a great length for the magazines, provided you do a mod to the bottom.

As you can see in the attached I sewed some matching material on the bottom to seal the sleeve up.

It's interesting that of my mag holders I don't have any that are stock.  And most of them have been modified via sewing in some way.

"Squeak or Treat."

Good , Bad  and Awesome News time.

The good: Squeaky has her surgery scheduled.

The bad:  She needs around $1800 more.

The Awsome:   Erin has worked in secret to build a truly epic raffle.   There's something for everyone.


Edit:  You may recognize one of the prizes.   It's about time I put my jerking and meat making skills to good use.  Man... everything about the art of preserving meat sounds dirty.

Open Carry: Casual vs Activist and Handgun vs Longgun.

An interesting discussion going on in the comments here.

Well if you ignore the "All OC bad trolling."

This bit from Chris from AK is very interesting.

And I'll give a taste on Sebastian's thoughtful reply.

I have no problem with OC as a tactic in the right circumstances, and I have no problem with people who casually open carry as part of their normal routine. The problem is that I think the circumstances where it’s beneficial as a tactic are much much more narrow than most people open carrying are willing to admit. A lot of the benefits you mention an come about from mere casual OC, and don’t require putting activism or organization behind it, or open carrying some place just to make a point, or to get attention.

As always if you're going to do an activity as a political activist one should have a goal as to what your activity will result in.

Attn Virginia Gunnies: Terry McAuliffe is after your guns.

He put up a big statement today about his plans if elected governor:

Support common sense gun control measures As Governor, Terry will support mainstream and majority supported gun control measures like universal background checks, limiting the size of magazines, and a return to the 1-gun-per-month rule. These measures respect Virginians’ right to bear arms while reducing gun violence.

He calls it Colorado-style but Colorado didn't have a one-gun-a-month limit.  In fact none of the gun control this year went to that well.

Do I need to mention that Terry's good buddies with Bloomberg?

That might put into context why Terry McAuliffe bothered to say this.  You'd think if you were in the lead of a race in a purple state with a strong 2nd amendment history you'd play down the gun control rhetoric.

Especially if you're a New Yorker transplant who is chummy with Bloomberg and the Democrat-Fundraiser-Party complex.

Points for honesty I guess.

Starbucks wants out.

So Starbucks decided to make a carefully, weaselly worded memo on how they don't want people carrying guns in their stores and using them for protests.   But they won't actually do any pat-downs, put up any signage, or say anything if they see a person carrying.

For something so legal-speak they did step in it with how they're well...  offending gun owners with the "No Irish" mentality.   Sebastian has more.


Robb Allen talks about how this is a self inflicted loss, largely done by "in your face OC" tactics.  Give him a read given he's an expert on smart OC tactics.

Weerd has some comments too.  Basically how it's not an overt changing.  Starbucks didn't want to be dragged into a political fight or used as a prop.   And Weerd brings up a good point

I personally have one Starbucks gift card I’ll need to use up, and then I’ll be done. I wasn’t a Starbucks Customer before this political side came to light, I won’t be a customer after. No harm, no foul. No offense, but I’m not a fan of their products or prices, but I was willing to overpay for mediocre tea, or down right terrible coffee to support them, and offset alleged “boycotts”.
I will cease and desist, and will do so with no hard feelings. They are not an anti-gun company like other groups are that directly ban firearms on premises, and support anti-rights politics with corporate monies. They simply don’t appreciate us bringing politics into their shops, and I can fully respect that."

I don't like coffee or tea so without any motivation to go Starbucks has lost another customer.  And I'm thinking there's gonna be quite a few of those.

Of course this isn't enough for the Anti;s

Now some truth:

Starbucks’ new policy stops short of a ban, and Moms Demand Action will continue to pressure the company if there are additional instances of accidental shootings and open carry rallies inside stores.

Sorry Starbucks, I think the gunnies will be more than willing to acquiesce to your request, but the other side isn’t as willing.  

Best wishes to you.

Now If Starbucks is more worried about negative publicity from people OCing rifles and using them as a protest stage, then this works.  If they're worried about negative press from gun-grabbers, then they've just encouraged them.

JayG has some thoughts on the "don't be a dick" rule.  With this reminder:

It's the sad predictability of the "in-your-face" factions that carry rifles around (Tam's comment about "'Battle of Fallujah' reenactors' club meeting" hits the mark perfectly IMHO) and the response that has me shaking my head. What did y'all think was going to happen when you walked into a trendy urban coffee shop full of hipsters with a rifle on your back? Did you think the latte-sipping Apple fanboi was suddenly going to be seized by divine inspiration, tear up his Brady membership, and suddenly convert to the Church of John Moses Browning (PBUH)? 

Those in the OPEN CARRY BECAUSE 'MURICA camp sometimes use the "Gay Pride" analogy - that it took waaaay over-the-top marches in order to focus the conversation on gay rights and acceptance; that those "in the closet" would have remained so their entire lives if not for brave members of their ranks who were willing to risk ridicule, personal danger, and worse to shine light on the inequality of treatment they received by society. There's a fair amount of truth to this line of thinking, however there's one very important piece missing: the media - who still shape opinions in this country - were 100% behind the gay-rights campaign. 

Aircover is very helpful.

And this bit on Free Beacon about who the CEO of Starbucks Feared more "People with guns or People on the left"  But the author is ignorant of the long term memory gun owners have for grudges. (The tell is that he thinks Open-Carry Permits exist).  See he thinks in a few months gun owners will have forgotten about this.

Naw, gun activists tend to be vindictive and love nothing more than stabbing "traitors" in the back.

As for my thoughts?

What'll really make the leftists heads spin is if a gay couple asked to do an open-carry wedding at a Starbucks.

Primary Lesson learnt:  Do not confuse tolerance with approval.
Or as Stuart the Viking said on Robb Allen's:  "please quit setting up your soapbox in our lobby"

Just because a vendor does not *object* to X does not mean that they support you using their facility, their brand, as an endorsement of X.

This can be hard to grasp because today's overculture demands this of many vendors (when it comes to "trendy" issues).

Another is: Don't sell past the close.

Starbucks was already allowing OC and CC et al.  Tactically, what goal was staging protests at Starbucks intended to acomplish?  Showing up with a gun on your hip for a cup of Joe to normalize carry well... that normalizes carry.

But going in a group with slung rifles is not exactly normal.  Ignoring the legal issues, what was the intended goal of such an action?

Oh and this from Tam wins.  Just wins.  And here's her thoughts.

I'll end with this preview:

 When I am politely asked to not give someone my money, it would be rude of me to ignore their request. 

This is why you wait...

So it turns out that the Naval Yard shooter was one man and not three.  And furthermore instead of getting an assault rifle and a plastic glock from a private sale through the internet...   he bought a Biden-approved shotgun from a plain-Jane gun shop.

But don't let the utter lack of an AR15's use in this tragedy stop the media and gun grabbers.  The New York Daily News had a particularly ghoulish cover today.

But hey, don't let that stop them from telling you they only want common sense laws that won't infringe on your gun rights and will stop mass murders like this.

*coughs*

Why yes,  my url does contain fourtens in it.

And that's terrible.

Screw you; I got Mine! (Drug legalization edition)

Often I've praised Cracked for giving some real counter-culture messaging.

But today they'e got a post on why Legalizing Marijuana might be *bad*.

Reading this I got the vibe of someone with a May Issue card clutching their pearls about Shall Issue or someone wit a Machine Gun ranting about how Repealing Hughes is a bad idea.  It was very much in the "We can't let the commoners into our clubhouse!"

With such lines like: "Don't let the words "medicinal use" lead you to believe otherwise. If you can't get a weed card in a medical marijuana state, you just plain don't want to get high."

And moaning that if weed isn't "Medicine" then it'll be restricted like tobacco and seen as a recreational drug like booze. 

And then weed will get all commercial with obnoxious ads and profits going to big corporations! And it'll be like beer.... with a bunch of giant conglomerates making crap but a lot of selection of good stuff. Which the author readily admits,  but is, apparently, not good enough for him.

And oh yeah, full legalization would avoid the whole "This requires me to commit medical fraud."
 
Nevermind that in the current medical pot setup many places operate with a supplier monopoly...  And that many of the big corporate growers are actually fighting to *fight* full legalization.


And really, you don't want people to be able to pick what they want because the commercials will be inane and you might be treated like those other dirty recreational drug users?


Well hey, you got your .gov permit card. Screw those who can't get 'em.

Colorado that much closer.

So both goons were recalled.

Giron by a very impressive margin.  It was high risk, and they threw everything they had into it.

And now...  they're pretending it didn't happen.  Or that it doesn't count because the control of the Senate didn't flip  or that the laws are still active (wow legislation wasn't removed due to a recall vote!).

Sebastian has a roundup. 

Dave Kopel also points out what really struck a nerve.   More than pushing for gun control it was how they treated the opposition:

As it turns out, Morse and Giron sealed their fates on March 4, the day that the anti-gun bills were heard in Senate committees. At Morse’s instruction, only 90 minutes of testimony per side were allowed on each of the gun bills. As a result, hundreds of Colorado citizens were prevented from testifying even briefly. Many of them had driven hours to come to the Capitol, traveling from all over the state.

Rushing and squelching dissident is not the mark of someone confident in their laws.

Well, at least they didn't try to pass the law at midnight and after the Governor had falsely declared a state of emergency.   (Why?  Because New York has a waiting period for legislation, and Cuomo wanted to bypass it. Gee, waiting periods are dandy for guns but not laws eh?)

Also if Cuomo was really confidence he would have let the bill stand for the legally required time,  but he didn't.

Why it's like these goons are scared of people finding out what they're up to?

Course things are getting "interesting"  in NY.  With many Sheriffs saying they won't enforce SAFE.

ATTN: Colorado Gunnies: Recall is TODAY

If you live in Colorado check to see if you are in one of the two recall districts.

If you are:  VOTE.  Bring as many friends as you can.

A successful recall today will devalue the promises of Bloomberg's money and Obama's support.

ATTN Colorado Gunnies.

The recall effort is a week away.

If you live in the state you should look to the get out the vote effort on the districts where a recall is happening.

It seems the dems are suddenly very interested in this.

Erin's Reveal.

Most of you have probably already learned of Erin's secret.
If not it's best you can learn it from her yourself.
I believe I first met her from her comments at Weerd's and then followed her back to her blog where I learned about her interest in guns, ponies, and RPGs.  I've gammed with her, shot with her, and helped her with dev work.  


I'll have to join Michael in saying that this secret was "not all that big a secret". Not to me it was. Erin did not change in my eyes.  Not when I met her, she played with my dog, not when we shared a hotel room, not when we went shooting.

That in no way diminishes Erin's fear or her challenges. Her fears are legitimate and society does not look kindly on those of us who are different.  But we're gunnies.  There's also her own struggles with the face that looks back at her in the mirror is not her own.

We're know what it is like for the self righteous to react with fear and horror. The situation is different, but maybe this will bring some measure of perspective.

I remember the strength and bravery Erin took to drive halfway across the country to the Bidet shoot to visit myself, Wenthe, Oddball and others for the first time. And it worked. She took a tremendous leap of faith on our character. I'd like to think that helped, that it helped confirm to Erin that she did have friends she could count on.

Her strength of character did not change.  Erin has shown her bravery and her willingness to do whatever it takes to help a friend.

I'll link to some other friends who are more eloquent than I have been tonight.

I'll end with what Jennifer had to say:

You see, I have the advantage of looking like my image of myself. It’s me looking back from the mirror. When you see me, it’s me. Sure, it’s not everything. I’m sure you see the confident woman I am always striving to be. You see the brown eyes, the olive skin, the dark hair. The same olive skin and dark eyes that meant my elementary school best friend wasn’t allowed to come to my house because I was one of ‘those people’ to her mother. Her mother couldn’t see me. You all saw Erin long before you ever saw her face, and Erin is beautiful.  I am proud to stand by her side and call her my friend.

When I first started school I was considered a "slow child" and put in the special classes. The school administrators and all the "experts" thought I could not amount to anything.  Because I learned differently, because I seemed slow, it was assumed that I could not learn, that putting me in regular classes would be a waste of time. (I should note that I have a Master's Degree in Engineering, graduated with honors,  have been published in research journals,  have presented at conferences, and so on).

What you see in a person is not who they are. I got to know Erin, became her friend, then saw her face.

"Hi, I'm a blogger!".

That's what people may be saying in a couple hundred years at the future equivalent of Renaissance Fests.

Or as Brigid recounts on her blogmeet post:

And finally,  what people would wear, if a hundred years from now folks went to some futuristic version of a Renaissance Fest type activity and the attendees were dressed up like us. (Picture it, someone in the future finds all the really awful tactical gear you somehow got and didn't use and will wear it because it LOOKS authentic.)
Future attendee:  "What are you?"
The Jack - "Hi, I'm a blogger!".

Why yes. I did quote myself, in a report on a blogmeet that I attended...  on Sunday.

Roberta also wrote a good post on it.

And now I may lay down.  It's too hot.

Squeaky Needs Help.

She's getting it from both ends.  I'll let Erin introduce things.

I just got a panicked email from Squeaky, which I am sharing with her permission. She thinks it puts her in a bad light, like she's crazy and money-grubbing (I told her that "crazy and grubbing for money is MY job in all this, goddammit"). I think this is truly authentic fear and worry from someone with a life-threatening condition who has gotten shafted by bureaucratic incompetence.

More of the story at the link.

We've all been shafted by that, but (hopefully) not when our lives are on the line.   The donation site has been updated. 

Mr. A rides again.

Been a while since we've had a quote from Mr. A.
(Been a while since I've posted period...)

Anyway one of my European coworkers was grousing about the US's habit of backing out of funding international science projects midway through.

To which  Mr. A replied : "We're trying to teach you bums to stop accepting handouts."

Yes, because science funding is just like welfare. Well...   depending on if it's "science" or science.

And speaking of welfare...  When Welfare Pays Better than Work.

Good thing incentives only effect certain government projects.

ATTN PA, Cali, and Other Gunnies.

So OFA is planning a bunch of rallies in Pennsylvanian.  Both to get more Reps to sign onto their gun control agenda AND to hassle those that have already taken a bite of the gun control apple.

Bitter has more, plus info on other locations the gun grabbers will be going.


And as for California... well the Antis have dropped their mask. After being confronted with the "Well what IS an Assault Weapon anyway?" They've decided to just ban all semi-auto rifles.

That Ruger 10/22 you have?  It don't matter what kind of stock you have, it's now totally banned.  Oh and they'll create an ammunition registry and background checks to by ammo.

Common sense!   Sebastian also muses on how post-Heller  the antis aren't going after pistols (remember when they wanted to ban all handguns?) but now they're going to try to ban rifles.

Ponder that, a handgun would be legal in Cali... but if you had the exact same gun but with a fixed stock and a 20 inch barrel it would suddenly be illegal.     Yeah.

Squeaky could use some more help

She's getting through some... interesting medical work.   Any support and help would be much appreciated.  On the upside while there's a lot of trouble, it does look fixable.

I'm not sure Erin needs the help but...

It can't hurt for Squeaky.

Erin came up with some amazing goals to help get Squeaky funded and then some.  (For reference full funding came in 36 hours)

I missed the boat on posting about this but funds are still coming in.  I guess those stretch goals are really enticing.

If you can't walk...

If you've been wondering how Bonnie of Squeaky Wheel has been going well...

Life isn't fair.   And on the balance that's a good thing because Bonnie has done nothing to deserve what's been happening to her.

That said, we can do more than just bemoan the uncaring universe or demand that some god-state come in and "fix" things.    Jennifer's decided to sweeten the pot for those that want to help Bonnie.

And Erin's cooking up another care package and donations and suggestions would be appreciated too.

ATTN Mass Gunnies.

Insert the joke about things in Massachusetts being too quiet.

Well it's been over half a year, but maybe the antis are hoping to catch the gunnies asleep because this Friday they're going to have a hearing on a bunch of gun control.

Information on where and when it'll be done can be found here.

ATTN Illinois Gunnies. (More Local Gun Bans ahead)

A bunch of towns are going to try to get their gun ban on before State-level Preemption hits.


Check to see if your town is up.  More info and locations here.

Go if you don't have anything urgent,  bring a friend.  These goobers don't give up.

Illinois Shall Issue.

Welp,  it's a bad and stupid law, but it is shall issue and it keeps Chicago from making their own NYC carve out.

And it was nice to see Quinn's petulant whine go down in flames. Though Illinois gunnies aren't out of the woods yet.  They're still trying to screw gun owners in Illinois.

And thus the Overton Window inches more in our direction.

Check the above map to see the changes since 1986.    And note how many of the remaining May Issue states were already May Issue.  Why it's like they were... grandfathered.

That's the next fight, and like we saw with Illinois it's gonna take pressure from the Federal Courts.

Gunnies Helping Gunnies.

Erin has a list of some people that could really use your help.

Go and do what you can,  even if it's only a couple bucks. It really can add up, and if we can't help friends of friends when they need it what's the point?   What goes around comes around... or stops.




And meanwhile the Gov of Illinois is showing imperial tendencies, by basically rewriting laws as he sees fit. All while being a sanctimonious, nannying prick about it.  If you live in Illinois you need to get on the horn with your legislators to ensure this veto gets overridden.  Some say it's DOA.  Hopefully, but stranger things have gotten through.  And it does show the level of contempt these clowns have for us.

It sounds like they aren't even going to consider Quin's  amendatory veto bill, but this is Illinois.

Civil Disobedience

Each of person in that circle is guilty of a Class B Misdemeanor of magazine transfer punishable by $1k and up to a year in jail.

Tell me again how gun control is common sense?  Or will reduce crime?  Or is even enforceable.

But hey,  it's another law the State can selectively enforce to punish it's enemies.

Kinda like this... Obama Admin to Delay implementation of the Health care Mandate until 2015

Yeah... so they unilaterally say they won't enforce part of a law that they defended before the Supreme Court.    Oh gee... look at the calendar.

Update:  For clarity.  The individual mandate will still be enforced.  It's the employer mandate that won't.  That's right  YOU will be punished for not getting insurance,  your employer... doesn't have to offer it.  Hope you like those state exchanges suckers!

Attention Illinois Gunnies: Chicagoland Preemptive Gun Ban Meetings & Amendatory Veto

First up a bunch of towns around Chicago are holding meetings to talk about new gun bans (to get in before the CCW legislation is enacted).

Check out the list here and see if you live in the area and attend if you can.

And speaking of the CCW legislation...   Governor Quinn has announced what he'll do.   He'll take a CCW SHall issue bill and try to turn it into an NYC style May Issue bill complete with a ban on most all pistols, rifles, and shotguns.

The governor is fond of saying “let the will of the people be the law of the land”.  Well, governor, when 85 representatives and forty-some senators vote on a bi-partisan compromise measure, that would seem to be the overwhelming will of the people.

Our prediction:  Quinn’s amendatory veto will be over-ridden, most lickety-split.
We’ll even predict when it will happen:  July 9, 2013 or July 10th at the latest.  The only wildcard, so to speak, is whether or not Senate President Cullerton will call the bill for a vote on the veto.  Three weeks ago, the talk was that Cullerton might be reluctant to call the bill.  Today, there’s talk that even Kwame Raoul might vote for an over-ride.

This governor is incredibly unpopular even among his former allies.  Nobody wants to stand with Quinn on this, aside from his also unpopular Lt. Governor Sheila Simon who is Quinn’s intellectual match.

You're gonna want to contact your legislators to kill this.   Fortunately there needs to be a vote to support the veto.  Unfortunately there would need to be a vote to override it.   Fortunately again, there was enough votes the first time around to override... so call and give pressure so it can happen again.

Bidet Shoot ARR....

That was a great time!  There's too... too much to talk about in one post so I'll hit a few notes.

It's a shame so many people canceled (especially since some of the reasons were tragic), but the upside was that the group was small enough to make managing the firing line easy.


Well there's first the Birthday Boy Oddball for organizing this (for a given value of organized...)  and for doing some epic things with a 50bmg.  And the tannerite. Also toilets blow up nicely,  while bidets are very tough.

Also to wizardpc  for all his camera work.  (He got some vid of the "closing salute"). And I can't forget Roadkill either.  It's weird not being the tallest or hairiest guy at an event.  Also among other things Wenthe proved that an icecream cake can get too cold.


And of course Erin for getting me involved.  As I hardly knew Oddball before all this. And gave me a chance for some light bribery. (I had some extra ammo that she could use, always a positive for you GM).


And interestingly Freiheit  was there and has started  blogging.  Starting with a review of a familiar gun.

And mustn't forget James Cook and his father Jim for arranging and hosting the range. 

Attn Illinois gunnies.

You're not out of the woods yet.

They're pushing for another extension on the Court ruling and fishing for an appeal. 

Meanwhile they're using the current extension to allow various cities to "Home Rule" their own gun bans.
(Check to see if your town is up to any shenanigans).

And they might just use the special state legislative  session for yet more mischief.

Meanwhile here's an FAQ on the carry bill.

Note how they keep kicking and screaming and drawing this process out.   Some reasonable gun control eh?

Book Review over at Erin's

Erin's hosting a review I did of Ernest Cline's Ready Player One.

Go and read.   And then go read her musings on the link between Christmas and zombie movies.

ATTN: Nevada Gunnies

This time it's a private sale ban that's moving along.   Contact here.

Blog Meet!

Had a good blogmeet yesterday hosted by RobertaX and got to see some friends that I haven't seen in a while.  Had good conversations ranging from European history (and the repetition of)  to the MSDS of decades old mystery chemicals you find in the back of the lab to the (im)proper use of radios and other equipment.

A good time was had by all,  Roberta's report can be read here.

Sorry for the slacking off on the blog posting,  I just completed the last bits of a move and am not settled in.   Though I should have more to report with a certain Land Between the Lakes event in a couple more weeks, plus some other bits 'o news.

ATT Illinois Gunnies: State Senate Ed

State Senate President Cullerton is in a pissing match with State House Speaker Maigan.

Cullerton is going kicking and screaming and not letting Maigan's bill advance.  Instead he's pushing his own even worse crap of law.  This is despite Maigan telling him no and an angry fight in Cullerton's own caucus.

So if you live in Illinois you really should contact your Senator and tell them No on HB 183, no on any magazine bans and yes on 2193 (see earlier arguments about the cliff and the like).

What the Senate wants to do is remove the good things that Maigan's bill had, especially the preemption.

Now those of you unfamiliar with Ill's machine politics may not grasp what Cullerton is doing.

Cullerton stormed out of the meeting a very unhappy camper, but when you’re going up against the guy who has been Speaker of the House for decades and rules with a pragmatic iron fist, it’s difficult to thwart the Speaker’s will.  Defying Madigan can be very “painful” for those who elect to do so.  In fact, speaking of elections, those who don’t follow Madigan’s wishes without a “pass” from him might face a difficult time at the next election.

That's the level of their hate.   As Sebastian points out in his own post.

Apparently, like Darth Vader, they appear to be altering the deal. I would work to kill anything worse than what they offered. What’s likely happening is they realized that while the previous offer wasn’t everything we wanted, it was strategically beneficial to us over the long term. They likely don’t find that acceptable. If you live in Illinois, call your Senators, and make sure they understand that you are not at all happy with this crap. Tell them to oppose Amendment 4 to HB183.

It’s been instructive watching this unfold, because it shows you how committed these people are to the hate. From a political standpoint, they’ve been backed into the corner by the federal courts, and not by us. You can always go back to constituents and tell them your hands were tied, and the court forced us to make those changes. Additionally, you can use weak gun laws forced on you by the courts to deflect blame for your own failures, as Philly politicians are expert at doing. Politically, this wouldn’t really hurt them, yet the obstinance continues. Why? Because they hate us.

 These are not the actions of a rational political player.   Even one that hates guns should bow to outside reality.   See Madigan for some semblance of that.

ATTN: Illinois Gunnies II

If you live in Illinois you'll need to turn up the heat even more.

As some Republicans are thinking they can be "moderate"  with a magazine ban and help vote it out of Exec committee.  Details here.

ATTN: Illinois Gunnies

They're at it again.  This time with a magazine ban and a crappy may issue carry bill.

And as a special bonus the State Sen that's pushing this has a history of siccing the state police after people that dare call and complain to him. Especially if they're not in his distinct.

Meanwhile it's perfectly okay to fly in folks from Sandy Hook 

Another chance to help Squeaky.

It looks like Squeaky will be needing surgery.

So any help you can give would be appreciated.

Via Erin.

ATTN Illinois and New Jersey Gunnies.

It looks like Illinois is at it again with trying to push a magazine ban.

Contact at the link.

Meanwhile New Jersey is doing what New Jersey does.  Sebastian has the raft of anti-gun bills they're eyeballing.

ATTN: Arizona Gunnies II

It looks like Jeff Flake is staying with us.

It was reported by some media outlets today that I am changing my vote on Manchin-Toomey, and that I am somehow linking this vote to a vote on the internet sales tax.

Neither is true. I am not changing my vote on Manchin-Toomey (I voted against it). I voted against the internet sales tax as well. There is no connection between these two votes.

Via Bitter at Shall Not Be Questioned.  And who gives a bit of advice that you should take:  "Arizona gun owners should definitely let his office know that they appreciate his stance."

Contact him if you live in Az.

ATTN: Arizona Gunnies.

Looks like Senator Flake is living up to his name.

Right now he's hinting that next time he'll vote for a private sale ban in exchange for some "compromise" on an  internet sales tax... you know the sales tax that already passed the Senate.

You're gonna want to drop him a line.  Hell you should contact your senators regardless of where you live.

The antis are clamoring for another push, and the squishes are doing what they do best.  I said before: we can't go back to sleep.

Meanwhile the gov is doing the best it can to "hide the decline".

Boosting the Signal.

Want to help a family that lost all their possessions (but thankfully not their lives) in a fire?

A Girl of A Girl and Her Gun has the story.

Don't Fall Asleep: Keep Writing and Calling your Senator and Rep

In the Daily Beast Michael Tomasky is banging the drum of "Next time Gadget NRA, next time!"

And he's got a point in that Senators are notorious and if another private sale ban is waved under their noses enough may vote for it again.

There's also a lot of hurt ego, anger, and dissatisfaction at work.

Here Allahpundit looks at the mish mash of poling results.

People think gun laws should be more strict, they’re disappointed/angry about the Senate votes … and yet, when push comes to shove, they trust the Republicans who voted down those stricter laws more than they do The One himself. Hmmm. Here’s a theory: Although most of the public disagrees with the GOP position on Toomey/Manchin specifically, they’re so suspicious of the Democrats’ plans for more aggressive gun control (starting with an assault-weapons ban) that they prefer Republicans’ judgment on this issue generally — even at a moment when they’re on the other side of a particular gun-control proposal. 

Which is why it's important and vital for us to keep on our Senators.  Both with the carrot and the stick depending on how they voted.

There's a lot of factors at work for the antis talk of another gun control push:

• As is his wont, Obama feels personally slighted. He demanded gun control and him not getting anything (even out of the Senate) is well...  just lookup Lèse-majesté
• Punishment. The gun grabbers are working from a morality-play framework.  And gun owners, in general, and the NRA, in specific, need to be punished. That the law would be ineffective is irrelevant  That they go unpunished is another affront.
• Stepping stones. Without a new Private Sale Ban / Background Registry there's no new set of exceptions to become the next set of loopholes.
• And that ties to the Slippery Slope. Because a private sale ban wouldn't stop the next mass shooting, there will be another mass shooting. Thus the gun control law after the next one is already in the wings.
• Closure.  Many people just want the government to "Do Something!"  They want the problem to go away, and if accepting the promises of liars in nice suits is what it takes to pretend that the problem has been solved than so be it.
• It's what they do.  The statist desire to render the common man disarmed is evergreen.

So make sure your rep and Senators still know who you are.   

We're not out of the woods yet, and to be honest, we're still be in the badlands for a while.

Busy busy

Have had some meatspace stuff taking up my time.

Good news is that the end is in sight.  Bad news is that that means I've gotta move a bunch of crap.

So... today was a good day.

I'll let Sebastian say it:

While we are not out of the woods yes, I think we can all give ourselves a big pat on the back for winning round one. They will be back for more, and there will be 2014, which will be critical. We cannot allow the gun community to return to their slumber. The gun rights machine is fired up and engaged, and it’s important to keep everyone involved so that we can not only push our opponents back, as we have done today, but drive them to political extinction. We came very close, once again, to achieving National Reciprocity in the Senate. We won today because millions of gun owners woke up and did something. Let’s hope we can keep that up.

No vote on either gun bans or magazine bans cracked a bare majority of a Democratically controlled Senate, with the full weight of the White House and Bloomberg driving the anti-gun effort. We have succeeded in moving the center of this issue to the point where gun bans are practically a third rail. That is a great victory.

After all he and Bitter did tremendous work on running herd over the gun rights community.

Stay active stay engaged.  Find out how your senators voted today.  And contact them to either praise or punish them.

We can't go back to sleep.  Our opponents sure won't.

Also perhaps take Tam's advice and give the NRA's tip jar a bit of  love.  They deserve it too.

Call your Senators... there's still time

Sebastian watches CSPAN so you don't have too.

The arm twisting continues.   Maybe you can add a little twist on your own and call.

Again a phone call is a very simple thing.  Even if they don't listen it's the least you as a gunnie can do.

Edit:  No vote today.   And it's 6pm now.  So write tonight. Call tomorrow. Hell call now can get voicemail too.

Call your Senators

Might as well give them a call.  Even if you get voice mail.

It turns out the Toomey-Manchin Amendment is vague and unclear as to what is and is not a prohibited private transfer.

I am of the opinion that the Toomey-Manchin Amendment doesn’t honestly give us enough to justify the vague language, and what we’re being asked to give up. I think it would be difficult for an ordinary gun owner to know what’s legal and what’s not legal, so the smart advice would be to run all sales to someone you do not know, or who is a cop, through an FFL. I think there are probably also quite a lot in here we’re missing. I don’t trust what the courts and the DOJ are going to do with it. Also, today’s exceptions will be tomorrow’s loopholes. I think this Toomey-Manchin deal needs to be opposed, and people need to call their Senators.

So there's an angle if you have a senator that is "friendly" to this mess.   Keep calling and writing. It's cheap and easy.

Write and Call your Senators.

Might as well.  

Here's a letter the NRA already has drafted up at www.nraila.org/writeyourreps and a phone contactl 202-224-3121.

Also way to make Toomey look like Bloomberg has bought and paid for him.   You'd think there'd be some subtly  then again it's rush, rush, rush.

The Devil is in the Details.

Who lotta stuff today about Toomey-Manchin's little pow wow.

Complete with Schumer playing ref.  Apparently he's the one that killed the National Reciprocity part of the bill

No language of the bill itself but there's a press release.  That's close enough right?

"- Closes the gun show and other loopholes while exempting temporary transfers and transfers between family members."

There's your private sale ban.

With these exemptions

"- Authorizes use of a state concealed carry permit instead of a background check when purchasing a firearm from a dealer.

- Family transfers and some private sales (friends, neighbors, other individuals) are exempt from background checks"

How the hell will friend be legally defined?  The actual language of the bill is critical on how bad of a hosing this is.  Conceivably it could be a ban on private sales at gun shows (how's that defined?) and on "teh internet" (Again define an internet sale). Conceivably it could be the full private sale and casual transfer ban.


There are some more positive parts.  If they actually get implemented.  Like a CCW permit can exempt you from a background check (though they'll still record it). Or a ban on a registry that supposedly has "teeth".

But without the actual language who knows.  The NRA doesn't like it.

There's also what amendments Senate Republicans put on it.  There's poison pills going both ways.

Update: here's some more of those devilish details.  Bloomberg extortion working,  Schumer hiding his involvement, and doctors having the power to yank someone on NICS.


My view.  It's a bad bill.   It's *probably* less bad than what Schumer came up with by himself, but without actually seeing the text I have no idea.

Still it can't hurt to lodge your complaints to your rep and Senators.  Why not.

ATTN PA Gunnies: Contact Pat Toomey on his Gun Control Bill

Republican Senator Pat Toomey has "negotiated" a deal with Sen. Joe Manchin and has not given any details.

Bitter urges you to call and call again.

I doubt a flood of calls will truly change his mind at this point, but the debate isn’t over and there have been no votes cast, so the message that gun owners are not happy needs to be sent loud and clear.

I’m just baffled. I would not agree with a vote on a bill, but I can at least understand the pressure to cast a vote will be an issue for some senators on both sides of the aisle. But, this, this is just politically stupid. Now the narrative is that Sen. Toomey is writing gun control bills. He isn’t just under pressure to vote in this case, he went out of his way to write a bill.

As a reader on Twitter noted, Pat Toomey just gave a political victory to Obama, and I would argue that we just lost at least two House GOP votes from Pennsylvania on this issue, if not three to four votes. (Toomey’s support now makes it damn near politically impossible for Representatives Fitzpatrick and Meehan to oppose the bill. It makes it very tough for Gerlach and, perhaps, Dent.)

 And not only that but as a commenter notes this is:

Remember folks, this is closing the gun show loophole. That term fell out of favor, but here we have a conservative Republican from PA writing a bill to close the gun show loophole.

Donnelly's going for Private Sale Bans.

So I got an email from the Senator.

And he's still trying to split the difference:

I also support exemptions to background check procedures for certain situations. Current legislation under consideration would not require a background check and explicitly allow for gifts between family members, for licensed hunting or sporting purposes, and for transfers in legal wills. This legislation also reaffirms the long-established prohibition on any system for the registration of firearms and records of a transfer.

It's best to drop him a line.   On the upside it does show that the bills are being watered down (which is a negotiating tactic on their part as they try to gin up votes.

I'd wonder if he would really vote against a bill that would maintain records as the rest of his Party is eager to do.

And note that the ACLU itself is against these bills for this exact reason.

Gunnies Helping Gunnies helping...

So I heard on the grapevine  about  Sam, six year old boy battling brain cancer,  and is father Hutch.

Naturally there's a donation link.

6 year old. Brain Cancer. 

THere's enough talked about that, but I'm gonna look at the boy's father Hutch.

Last time I talked to Hutch was after Sam's surgery. He talked to me about the chemo and stuff.

As usual, Hutch was upbeat and confident. He talked about all the weapons at their disposal, and how they were going to use them to whup this cancer bitch's ass and send it running home to momma and crying.I gotta be honest with y'all. If that was my son, I'd be a blubbering fucking idiot.

So here's the kicker. Hutch is going to shave that fucking mustache off his face to help raise some money. He's had that damn caterpillar on his face since before High School, seriously, I've never seen him without it.

His target is only $500, I think he should be getting a lot more than that

I've said it before, but I'll say it again. There is a lot to complain about on this crummy world, but that doesn't mean there's nothing that we can do.   Especially when you can do something, anything, without doing much.


In short, you can be a cynical pessimistic bastard, but you better earn it *first*.

The Gun Grabber's ignorance is amazing.

And what's also amazing is that a non-Fox journalist has spoke up about it.

It's like the they think even learning about guns is beneath them.

Well, the alternative is that they know the difference and are lying to scare people.

At least we can be pretty sure that some of them are genuine morons.  And remember in the preceding  Miss-I-don't-know-that-magazines-can-be-reloaded  made gun control, specifically magazine bans  a specialty of hers.

That's why it's important to have your own facts very straight, and to point these things out to friends and family.     Nothing helps quite like a bemused mockery.

Because if they don't even know *what* they're banning...