Upcoming Posts

Amidst the business of life, the being sick, the lighting a new set at church, the getting the car back after I was hit on the highway, and everything else that has been happening, I did manage to get my hands on a new holster.
I will have a full review with pictures and such shortly.  I have one minor issue with it which I'm going to attempt to contact the maker to see what he can do about it for me.  A friend of mine ordered one, had a 'customer ordered something then realized he should have ordered it differently' moment, and this guy had the customer service priority to get it resolved for him.
So, I'm hoping he can help out with my 'Huh, because I'm built like so, and want to wear my gun here, this is awkward, can you adjust it?'
Also, first deer-hunting event in many years for me coming up on Monday, so I'm gearing up for that.  I'll write that up as well next week after it's all said and done.
In the mean time, I hope you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving, and get to spend some time relaxing with your loved ones.

Be safe, and as Weer'd says, Carry your guns!

Bullet Hit the White House

Source:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28fB_kWmumM

So according to the Secret Service the round which hit the glass is 'not associated with Friday's incident.'  This tells me it's two different happenings.  I've been nosing around on the web, and I'm unable to find any sort of ballistic information regarding the round which was found, or casings, or anything else.  If any has any info, or knows of any useful sources, please share!

Highway Shakedowns in TN - 4th Amendment is History

Sources:

News Channel 5

http://www.newschannel5.com/story/14673883/policing-for-profit-summary-of-dice-activities-2010

I'm not the first to write about this, nor will I be the last.  In fact, this isn't even my first post on the topic.  Cemetery had his car searched for no reason, and is left with little recourse.  The governments are finding more and more ways to get around the protections we have of our rights, and it is costing us dearly.  

And clearly, if you watch the video, you can see that they do not care one iota about actually stopping the drugs.  They are focused on the cash.  If this really was about the drugs, there would be many more instances on the East bound side, and the officers would be facing that direction, looking for the contraband.  

The war on drugs has done more to damage this country than most people realize.  Daily it's costing us more and more, not just financially, but in far more important ways.  

But some people have hired lawyers after their cash was taken and, sometimes after months and months of litigation, judges have ruled that the money that was taken from them really had nothing to do with drug dealing at all.

Moral of that story is that if you want your money, you need to hire a lawyer to get it back.  They will keep it until you take legal action.  That is outright THEFT from civilians, especially when those civilians are charged with no crime, and have done nothing to justify that seizure of their property.

When do we draw a line in the sand which shall not be crossed?  To allow them to continue to trample our rights is to invite tyranny into our nation, not just turn a blind eye to it, and pour it a nightcap before we go to bed, ignorant of the schemes of tyrants.

Taxation without representation!

Source:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11307/1187126-68-0.stm

Pennsylvania is at it again.  There has been talk about this, and I understand why.  However, any tax added without it being passed through the legislative and executive branches is unenforceable.  I'll be curious to see if they do start attempting to enforce this, how well it holds up in court when the population of PA objects, and files suit.

We're already in a bad economy, and some nitwit bureaucrat thinks it's a good idea to increase the tax burden on the citizenry.  When will they grasp that this form of idiocy is NOT the answer?

Which wrong(s) make a man guilty?

Source:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/oregon-man-found-with-gun-sniper-book-after-football-game-held-without-bail/2011/10/31/gIQA0Q8LaM_story.html

In my perusing of news reports, I came across this gem.  Clearly this individual was 'up to something' in this scenario, but what justified the move by police to intercept him in the first place?  Also, notice on which events the Washington Post places more weight.  It isn't the fact that he's already committing a crime by possessing a controlled substance.  It's not even the fact that he had a firearm on school property.  No, they mention and emphasize FIRST his activities as a 13 and 15 year old kid.

His age at time of arrest?  26.  That's 11 years.  11 years of no (mentioned) charges.  11 years of being a productive member of society.  (Or at least not being a drain on the system, from what we're able to tell.)

From the story:

Magistrate Judge Mark D. Clarke said the weapons and the books, each by themselves, did not make Amoroso a danger. But taken together — along with his arrest at age 15 for shooting a pellet gun at a passing boat filled with tourists on the Rogue River, and writing on a classroom desk at 13 that he wanted to kill teachers and students — there was enough evidence to show he posed a danger.

Is it really that difficult a concept to consider that someone participating in a sport is going to take it seriously, do research, purchase equipment, and the like?  I know hunters who consume sniper-related material like water, simply because it's a passion for them.  The challenge of learning how to make shots which seem impossible, the tricks and tools used to calculate the ballistics, and other factors readily turn this into an exciting hobby for many.  

So the magistrate judge and the post both look to this person's past.  What makes it so hard to believe that a 13 year old boy would feel anger toward other students and teachers?  Perhaps he was bullied, or had bad grades and was frustrated.  Perhaps he was just a normal kid, who made the mistake of writing what he was thinking.  And that was half his life ago.  

So let's move up a few years, find something more recent.  He was a 15 year old with a toy pellet gun.  15 year old kids aren't known for making the best choices across the board.  It might have been beneficial to him to have had somewhat 'closer adult supervision' than he had that day.  But again, once incident, shooting pellets at a boat, and years later it's being brought up as a sign of how dangerous he is.

It's not until they go through all this that they bother to discuss the crimes he was ACTUALLY COMMITTING at the time of his arrest.  These are plenty reason to lock him up for a while, and press charges.  While I absolutely understand the logic behind eliminating the war on drugs, and legalizing them for various reasons, that isn't the reality in which we live.  As such, his possession of drugs is a viable, legitimate charge.  As is his possessing a weapon on school property.  Again, I understand the reasons for wanting that foolish law repealed as well, and I whole-heartedly support that movement.  But that's not reality.  The law is still there, so it is still a crime.  But they still can't, in their biased minds, differentiate between the actual crimes, and perceived crimes:

Police found a loaded pistol, hundreds of rounds of rifle ammunition, marijuana, a camouflage jacket, and a novel about a sniper attack on a football game in his car.

What about having rifle ammo in his car is so bad, especially when the only firearm found in the vehicle is a handgun?  What about a jacket that happens to be a certain color scheme is so terrible?  Why is possessing a book so evil?  Should we burn all books that mention the word 'sniper' or 'gun' to protect people?  Are we really at that point?

I get that adding all this up, the guy looks suspicious, and frankly he's a bit of an idiot for his behavior, but let's not start a witch hunt over perceived wrongs.  Let's focus on what he ACTUALLY did, and let the justice system do it's job.  There are enough straw men around, we don't need to be building more out of excessive paranoia.

Theif or Victim to blame?

Sources:
http://snarkybytes.com/2011/10/31/just-stop-right-there/
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8367794

Alan is exactly right.  The blame for guns being stolen lies with no one but the criminal performing the act of theft.  That would be like saying someone who had their car stolen is to blame for not putting their car in a safe.  Someone who had their jewelery stolen is to blame for not wearing all of their jewelery all the time.  This makes no logical sense whatsoever.  

Anytime you hear anyone suggest that there is any fault whatsoever with a gun owner for a theft of their weapon, remind them of the first rules of logic, and direct them to understanding that the victim is the victim, and the criminal is the criminal, not the other way around.

Bear in mind this is Australia, and their numbers are different than ours.  Specifically they are more alarming, and look worse.  And that's with the excess rules, laws, and regulations regarding firearms ownership.