'Disparity of force' update

Seems that the DA isn't going to charge the man with the broken neck:

No charges will be filed against an elderly man whose neck was broken by an Orlando police officer during a parking dispute, the Orange-Osceola State Attorney's Office said Wednesday.

Minutes later, an attorney for the injured man, Daniel Daley Jr., 84, called for a grand jury investigation of the police officer and said a lawsuit would be filed seeking "the absolute maximum damages under the law."

But he sub-title says that 'police want him charged'.

Of course they do - if he's not charged with something, it lends credence to his claims that police used way too much force.

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Good (not to mention, Unpossible!).

The headline says is all - Woman who shot 12-yr-old won't face charges, but boy will:

Police say no charges will be filed against a 68-year-old woman who shot a 12-year-old boy after he and a 13-year-old friend broke the windows of her South Shore neighborhood home, then shouted obscenities and threw bricks at her.

The boys, however, have been charged as juveniles with aggravated assault of a person over the age of 60 and have been released to their parents, police said.

And this happened in Chicago?

Where have I heard Chicago and firearm ownership before? Oh, that's right ...

Notice that the police in Chicago have gone on a string of we're-not-going-to-press-charges against citizens who use a firearm to defend themselves.

Maybe the lights are coming on.

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In a perfect world ...

... this officer would be asked to resign:

An Army judge has made it "impossible" for a career medical officer to get a fair hearing on charges he refused to deploy to Afghanistan because of concern that obeying orders in the chain of command under an ineligible commander in chief would be illegal, his attorney says.

The rulings came today from Col. Denise Lind, who, in effect, told Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin to pound sand. Rocks actually. He faces up to four years at hard labor if convicted in his case.

If I were the CIC, I'd ask for Col Linds resignation, effective immediately.

See, the military shouldn't concern itself with whether the president is 'embarassed' or not.

Besides, Obama can't be embarassed - he has no shame.

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It's time ....

... that the CIC do something about shit like this:

"Commanders and leaders inquire about access to weapons as part of the health and welfare inspection. This is in accordance with Army Regulation 600-20, Army Command Policy dated March 18, 2008," he said.

But a soldier on base who contacted WND regarding the demand for information about off-base weapons said that's not the way it was presented to soldiers.

"At the end of the day formation … we were all required to state whether we owned a firearm. Then those that owned firearms were required to have their names put on a watch list that included registration status of the firearms and where the firearms were kept," wrote the soldier, who asked for anonymity to avoid retaliation.

"The list included those … who live off post in privately owned homes," the soldier confirmed.

Oh, that's right ... this CIC won't lift a finger to help 2A issues.

Now, I've had my own run-ins about military policies in the past. When the military started cataloguing DNA profiles on service members, I had concerns. I brought these concerns to my CO, and he explained it to me, telling me the 'carrot' before he mentioned the 'stick'.

But regarding this ... someone needs to tell the base commander that service members won't be telling anyone about what weapopns they own in off-base housing.

And in my opinion, a higher-level enlisted man (E7 or above) needs to tell the base CO that no information about his weapons will be forthcoming, and if he wants to start court martial proceedings, then bring it.

'Cause I know I would.

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The most awesomest!

An article about every scientific event you've ever read:

In the standfirst I will make a fairly obvious pun about the subject matter before posing an inane question I have no intention of really answering: is this an important scientific finding?

I have nothing more to add!

Good

Wiretapping charges against Anthony Graber have been thrown out:

"Those of us who are public officials and are entrusted with the power of the state are ultimately accountable to the public. When we exercise that power in public fora, we should not expect our actions to be shielded from public observation." - Judge Emory A Pitt, Jr

Radley Balko plays a little game of what if in the article.

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Now, who's violent again?

Seen on the blogs today.



Pretty soon, these fuckers are going to end up in a pool of their own blood.

And it can't happen soon enough for me.

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Just desserts ...

Don't know if it's real, but it's funny as hell if it is!

Another dog bites the dust

This time in Prince George County, Landover, MD:

Barlow said, "One grabs me in the head lock and starts punching me in the face."

Mother Dwana Barlow said, "The police officer wouldn't even let me go to the bathroom... and held me hostage in my own house."

While being wrestled to the ground by five different cops, Barlow and witnesses in the neighborhood tell us a female Prince George's County officer shot the dog in the head.

Note that Barlow was the one needing help from the police, that after two thugs tried to 'jack his car.

So of course, the po-po got scared of a dog and shot it.

And I almost forgot ... Barlow was charged with "insulting an officer". Fucking pigs.

I reiterate .... don't call the police unless you have a body to have picked up.

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Yet more on Erik Scott

Vox Day has scathing commentary, quoting just a part of a post by Confederate Yankee:

So it would appear that the prosecutors and the police are indeed on the same page in this case. Whatever animosity they might bear toward each other is being put aside and a common front presented. What is the significance of the apparent approach of the police and prosecutors to date? Even if one accepts their theory that Scott was a drug addict and an aggressive gun nut intent on carrying a gun wherever he wanted, who, through gross drug-induced impairment, brought about his own death, all of this should rightfully be nothing more than mitigating evidence that might have some bearing on the severity of a charge to be brought against the officers, or to be considered only after a potential future conviction as mitigating factors relating to sentencing.

What still remains is what the officers knew or reasonably could have known or inferred at the time they confronted Scott at the main entrance of Costco and made the decision to pull the trigger. It is this event, compressed in time, that should be the prosecutor’s foremost concern. Scott’s life history and his physical and mental health status could have, in at least some way, put him on a collision course with the police that day. But the ultimate question is whether they, knowing nothing about Scott but what they heard on the radio on the way to Costco, and apparently finding themselves surprised when a Costco employee suddenly pointed out a man they had never before seen, were justified under the law by his actions in the handful of seconds before they fired at least seven rounds into him. Under this, the only standard that truly matters, the evidence presented at the Inquest does not yet tend to favor or conclusively exonerate the police.

There is more, much more at Confederate Yankee.

One of Vox's commenters also links a post by Vin Suprynowicz, who tried to attend the 'open-to-the-public' inquest, that morphed into an 'invitation-only' inquest.

The officers involved will, predictably, be cleared of any wrong-doing. Be the citizenry is watching, and taking notes.

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Man with a Gun

Sebastian has a good post up about a situation up in Wisconsin where 5 gentlemen were openly carrying (which is the only option in that state, and constitutionally protected). A woman called 911 to report that 2 men were carrying weapons. Listening the the call (available here), it becomes obvious that no one is in danger, the caller simply doesn't know that carrying a sidearm openly is legal, and ultimately apologizes to the dispatcher that now she's set into motion actions with the police when the 2 gents were not violating the law.

But one of the comments set my mind to working (and yes, it hurt!).

I think it's time that we show, however possible, that 'man with a gun' is not an actionable thing for police to get all worked up over. It's time that dispatchers learned to ask probing questions, because 'man with a gun' isn't enough. The police need to respond to 'man trying to rob woman', or 'man beating another man', or 'man doing something illegal'. Until a man starts doing something illegal, he's just a man with a gun.

And especially in a state where open carry is the only option, and you don't need a permit, I can't see where the police have anything more to do than confirm that the suspect is behaving normally.

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Did you hear the one about the definition of insanity?

The ATF is trying something new in the fight to rid Mexico of illegal guns; target US FFL's!

Labeled “law enforcement sensitive,” it calls for ATF agents to put more emphasis on monitoring the activities of U.S. guns stores and other federally licensed firearms dealers who may be assisting or turning a blind eye to gun purchases by drug cartel operatives. The report describes such “corrupt” U.S. firearms dealers as “high value targets” -- a phrase that could rile gun rights groups and their supporters in Congress who charge ATF is already too aggressive in regulating the firearms industry.

But I thought the problem was the gun show "loophole"? No?

It's a case of same shit, different day.

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JPFO alert

Please tell us what you think.

Condition Red

Michael Bane thinks you should be in it if you're ever confronted by store personnel, a la Erik Scott, and explains it all on a recent podcast.

h/t Robb Allen

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Support your county sheriff

Mike V brings us a look at a sheriff who wants to 'devolve' law enforcement back to peacekeeping. A tasty bit:

Now if we add to this line of reasoning the fact that US Federal and State courts have consistently ruled police powers (such as the usual law enforcement, fire protection or other public safety duties) are a Reserved power of the states, basing their argument on the 10th Amendment, one is left with this finding: state and local police powers are vested by the people in state and local law enforcement, and such power remains with the states and the people as a part of the checks and balances set in place by the Founding Fathers to curtail usurpation of power by the federal government. If you add to this reasoning the fact that your County Sheriff is the only law enforcement officer elected through the Constitutionally-defined process of a General Election, you will come to this inescapable conclusion: The County Sheriff, as the direct representative of the people, having sworn an oath to support the Constitution and vested by the people with the authority to enforce law and keep the peace, exercises a level of authority second to only one other group – the people themselves. The federal government exercises no authority over them whatsoever. On the contrary, it is the duty of the County Sheriff to allow or refuse to permit federal activities within his jurisdiction based on the constitutionality of such actions, because his primary purpose is to defend the people’s rights and keep the peace.

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Open carry and the public

David has a post up about some gentlemen in Wisconsin who recently had a bit of a run-in with the po-po:

A 62-year-old woman visiting a local Culver's sees several restaurant patrons with guns on holsters in plain view.

She doesn't know that Wisconsin law allows people to openly carry a firearm, so she notifies authorities, later telling them, "I didn't want to be that one person that saw guns and didn't call and something horrible happens.

Yep ... and nobody bothered to ask her any pertinent questions like 'What are the men doing?' or 'Are they threatening anyone?' or any other kind of question hat might help the responding officers. If someone had asked those kinds of questions, the police-citizen interaction might have gone something like this:

Officer - Hey, guys ... how's it going?

5 armed men - (variations of) Just fine officer, how about you?

Officer - I'm doing well today, thank you. Listen, we just got a call about 5 armed men in Culver's, and I'm just checking it out. Did you fellows eat at Culver's?

5 armed men - Yes, sir ... we meet there some times right before we go shopping.

Officer - So you gentlemen aren't up to anything nefarious?!

5 armed men - No sir, just having a bite to eat and doing some shopping.

Officer - Ok, sounds fair to me. You gents have a nice day, and be safe.

5 armed men - You too, officer ... and thanks!

I mean, how hard is it? The men weren't doing anything illegal, it probably didn't appear like they were going to, it's legal to carry openly in the state, and if they haven't violated a store owners' property rights, why escalate things?

It's my opinion that Erik Scott was killed primarily because the 911 call greatly exaggerated what Erik was doing in side the Costco that day. But since we as the general public don't seem capable of holding the police accountable for what they do, I don't guess we can expect things to improve.

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Reasoned Discourse

Sebastian at Snowflakes in Hell has an outstanding post today about some Reasoned Discourse that has actually broken out with a Brady Campaign board member.

Sebastian answers her 20 posed questions in fine fashion, but the last one is the kicker:

20. Will you continue a reasonable discussion towards an end that might lead somewhere or is this an exercise in futility?

It’s probably an exercise in futility. We’re starting from vastly different assumptions about our fellow citizens, and about our constitutional structure. You’ve also had a loved one murdered with a firearm, whereas I have not.

The more I read on this womans' blog, the less I wanted to answer the questions myself, and Sebastian nails it as to why.

The two sides of the firearms debate are starting from vastly differing views of how things should be, at least with regards to firearms, but I think it goes much deeper than that.

Those on the side of available firearms believe, fundamentally, in freedom; those on the side of gun control don't.

And unfortunately, I don't see any way to bridge the gap.

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Long time comin' ...

The GOP starts to crack the whip:

“The tea party activists get involved in Republican primaries, play by the rules, and then the Republican establishment candidate proves that he was never a loyal Republican in the first place and goes rogue,” said Matt Kibbe, president of the tea party-aligned group FreedomWorks. “That’s frustrating, but it’s part of the process of disciplining the Republican establishment. They’re coming around"

There's not a good quote to summarize the article, but the title does a pretty good job, and that the senate GOP is stripping Murkowski of her seniority on the Energy committee is a great start.

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Dirty politics?

Some might say so:

The Florida Democratic Party has offered to pay to protect Republican congressional candidate Allen West from identity theft because it sent out a mailer featuring his Social Security number.

That's LtCol Allen West.

Sounds like it's time for a little ass-whoopin'!

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Can you say 'Disparity of force?'

I thought you could:

Police said the war veteran committed a crime when he grabbed Officer Travis Lamont and officials said they will press charges against him.

Not everyone believes the officer did the right thing. Eyewitnesses said Daniel Daley might have stumbled into the officer, but they never saw him grab the officer around the neck, pull back his fist, or threaten to knock down the officer.

So, once again, eye witnesses directly dispute the officer's account (just like with Erik Scott).

The link has a copy of the arrest report, and I think it gives more clues about what happened ... RTWT.

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See, your mind is the weapon ...

... what you use is just a tool:

With Graham toting a Swiffer WetJet in one hand and a Dustbuster in the other, a man wearing a ski mask who appeared to be carrying a pistol walked into Graham's Tucker Road home through the back door and ordered Graham to the ground.

“I'm not sure that it was a gun, but he intended for it to look like a gun,” Graham said, “and when he said, ‘Get down,' that just flew all over me. I thought to myself, ‘You ain't coming in this house, son. I'm going to see to it that you don't get in this house.' ”

The intruder didn't stay for long. Graham said he grabbed the Swiffer and started prodding the suspect “like a cattle prod.”

Caleb thwarted a robber with a cup of coffee, even though he was armed.

Be prepared and don't give in!

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This is too good!

So it seems that Obama supporters are openly antagonistic:

"I'm one of your middle class Americans. And quite frankly, I'm exhausted. Exhausted of defending you, defending your administration, defending the mantle of change that I voted for," a woman told President Obama at a town hall.

Watch the video.

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I can't say I'm surprised.

You can skip ahead to the really good parts, but you owe it to yourself to listen to the whole thing.

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*I can't remember where I got this .... sorry!

Re: Erik Scott

I don't know if I've blogged about this event before, but it's raised its' head again:

Erik Scott was a West Point graduate, Army veteran, MBA graduate of Duke University, and a medical sales rep for Boston Scientific. He was gunned down by three Las Vegas police officers after they responded to a 911 call by Costco store employees reporting a man with a gun, possibly on narcotics, behaving erratically.

There are lots of site who have discussed this; Vox Day takes a look at how psychologically deficient law enforcement must be, and he makes a good point.

And since police won't release the 911 call of the surveillance video's that Costco made, we have to take their word on how things went so pear-shaped.

But here's what I would predict: The 911 tapes (once they're released) will show that the police were waiting for a deranged, drug-induced, gun-wielding psychopath, because that's what the feeble-minded Costco security guard told the dispatcher.

The police will be exonerated; but Costco will be sued for lots of money, because their incompetence set the stage for a good man to lose his life. And if I were the family, I would not accept a settlement.

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About time ...

... someone started challenging these laws:

Lawyer Mel L. Greenberg, who represents Raymond J. Holden, filed an amended petition in Central District Court Sept. 10 appealing Chief Gemme’s 2005 revocation of Mr. Holden’s firearm’s license based on a determination that Mr. Holden was not a “suitable person” to carry a gun.

This action stems from his wifes' allegations of abuse, charges that were dismissed after she recanted. So the judge orders the chief of police, one schmuck named Gary J Gemme, to reinstate Holden's carry license.

Gemme says 'Fuck you, judge', claiming that he can use 'underlying facts' not evident int he court procedings to deny reinstatement.

Trouble is, a second judge looked at that claim and said 'No, you've got to reinstate the license'.

Gemme says 'Fuck you, too!'

First, this case needs to go on to federal court (and maybe to SCOTUS, with Alan Gura ... hee hee!).

Second, someone needs to drop off a bucket of tar and a feather pillow on Chief Gemme's front porch. Some assembly required.

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Political roundup

Just a couple of things I saw ...

Businesses fearful Tea Party will ruin their pet benefits - this is the most glaring example that the Republicans are as bad as the Democrats. If corn subsidies stopped, then we'd all see that ethanol is a farce!

About time: Bill calls for 2 weeks of federal furloughs - hey, my wife has to take furlough days with the state, why not the ATF? We'd all be 2 weeks' safer!

And in the you don't say department: Was politics involved with GM bailout? - By the WaPo, no less!

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Money quote

"The technical difference between a SWAT raid and a home invasion is razor thin"



Word.

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I was almost speechless

After hearing about this incident, hearing about police conduct in this incident left me speechless:

local cops wasted more than half an hour assessing the Connecticut home invasion and setting up a vehicle perimeter -- time the two attackers used to strangle the mother in her living room and set the fire that claimed the lives of the two girls upstairs, according to shocking testimony today.

Now, I could go on and on about all of the things that the police did wrong, or not quite right ... but that would do no good.

What I will do is make note of the fact that the police are never where you need them, nor are they required to be. And though I have immense respect for most cops, they can't protect you in the here and now.

Only you can do that.

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I want ... no, I need!

Via Ace's headline sidebar:



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Yeah, this is government at it's finest

Via Snarkybytes, comes this bit of news:

Rock Hill officials plan to turn off utility taps of county residents who refuse annexation by today's noon deadline despite being asked for an extension, city officials confirmed Tuesday.

Starting Monday the city plans to phase out service to residents who do not agree to annexation. Those who agree to annexation will not be affected, city officials said.

Now see, that kind of thing wouldn't happen here in rural GA because I believe you'd see water company officials star showing up at room temperature.

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GOP vs Tea party

So, Christine O'Donnell has won the Republican nomination for the Delaware senate race, but the 'establishment' has decided that she's not going to get any support from the establishment.

Now, I'm a libertarian, so there's not much sympathy for the GOP on my end. But if the GOP expects to become relevant again, they need to understand how to win, not how to not lose.

I have little hope.

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"Tits" McCain

I've not got a lot of love to lose over Meghan McCain, but apparently her book really rubs some the wrong way:

And after subjecting myself to 194 continuous pages of her “writing,” it became clear that none of the above-described works truly plumbed the depths of mental vacuity in which Ms. McCain aimlessly and cluelessly drifts.

And that's just the start!

h/t Darleen @ protein wisdom

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Yeah, this is good

I'll bet the Marines could do it faster though ...



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Here's what I can live with right now

I just finished reading Brian Doherty's excellent article on the next battleground in firearms rights.

And listening to various Vicious Circles, I've heard a few paths to take on the subject of NFA arms. So here's what I can live with regarding the NFA.

I can live with having to fill out a glorified 4473 (Form 4) and the companion anal exam by the ATF (or FBI, or whoever), but precedent dictates that enumerated rights cannot be taxed (as in poll taxes, reporters' fees and the like). So to me, the $200 tax stamp goes away as unconstitutional.

And I can live with this level of scrutiny since SCOTUS has left the door open for "reasonable regulation" of firearms, but not an outright ban. Having the feds clear me to own NFA items is as "reasonable" as I can stand.

And since in US v Miller the court took 8 pages to remand the case, ruling only that a short-barreled shotgun had no use as a militia weapon (that because there was no one for Miller to argue that short-barreled shotguns were indeed used in the military), one can infer that military weapons would be protected by the 2A.

Like M-16/4's, AK-47's, select-fire FN-FAL's, M240's and on and on.

So would the Hughes amendment not now violate an enumerated right, banning a whole class of weapons?

So here's what I see as "reasonable": I am able to go to my local class III dealer and buy a new select-fire rifle or machine gun (maybe limited to .50 cal and below), fill out the form 4, and take my weapon home when it's approved (and I don't see why it takes more than a couple of weeks).

N0 keeping up with a tax stamp (the registry goes away).

No paying $200 (can't tax or require fees for an enumerated right).

No buying from existing legal stocks of registered NFA full auto weapons (Hughes amendment goes away).

Now that would be "reasonable" to me.

Point out where I've made a mistake in my thinking.

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I want someone ...

... to stop and think about this for a moment:

Rotenberg says the machines could be effective weapons against potential adversaries if there are legal safeguards.

Now this guy's talking about mobile deployments of the body scanning technology by law enforcement. And he says that such deployments will be ok if we have "legal safeguards" on their use.

I now point you to David Codrea's "Only Ones" series.

Any questions?

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Common courtesy ...

... isn't:

After an Associated Press article hit the news wires about a sign in her restaurant's window that says, “Screaming children will NOT be tolerated!,” the owner of Olde Salty on the Carolina Beach boardwalk has been bombarded with phone calls from television and newspaper reporters, as well as from random citizens.

“I think people like it,” she said.

For proof, Armes walked over to the restaurant's answering machine and pushed a button. Of the 40 or so messages, she said, two are negative.

When our daughter was born, we wouldn't have dared to inflict her crying jags on fellow restaurant-goers. We never had to leave, but were fully prepared to do so.

It was all about being courteous.

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Neon-clad rolling senses of entitlement

The comments here are classic!

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The new battleground?

Kids accuse woman of pointing a gun; police find no gun; woman issued warrant anyway:

Judson ISD police searched the woman's home and vehicle and did not find a gun, the spokesperson said.

That's when authorities decided to re-interview the students and found some inconsistencies.

Investigators reviewing the surveillance video could not positively determine whether or not an actual gun was involved in the altercation.

The woman was not arrested, but JISD officials say she has been issued a criminal trespass warrant which will prohibit her from stepping on Judson ISD property for the next year.

This is crap ..... if you've done nothing wrong, you should suffer no consequences.

Expect to see other, organized attempts to portray gun owners as loose cannons.

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JPFO alert

The JPFO has finished it's documentary called No Guns for Jews, and it's a winner. You owe it to yourself to download the movie (yes, it's free) and watch, over and over.

Then pass it around!

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Never forget

Hee hee hee

I can't imagine:

Everyone knows hybrids get better fuel economy and emit less CO2 than their conventional counterparts, but they also cost more because of the added technology. And that makes them a lousy value because you won’t recoup that added cost in fuel savings.

So say the car gurus at CarGurus.com, who repeat a common argument against hybrids but back it up with some stats. They examined the purchase price and operating costs of 45 popular hybrid models and discovered the average gas-electric automobiles costs 25 percent more to own and operate than its gasoline-only sibling.

Hybrids ..... so leftists can say they're doing something for the environment.

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I'm not sure ...

... if this is supposed to be serious or not:

This isn’t to suggest that voters chose the wrong candidate in 2008. John McCain didn’t have much in the way of executive experience either. Rather, it is possible that Barack Obama’s unique talents are actually wasted on the White House.

Sooooo, Obama is too smart, too talented, too ... awesome to be president? And he needs instead to be the mayor of Chicago?

Ok, I'll go along ...

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Maybe I spoke too soon

Wow:

Kyler Robertson's father was stabbed to death Sunday afternoon during an argument, a tragedy that the 16-year-old boy has struggled to understand.

On Tuesday, still grieving, Kyler decided he would rather go to Byron Nelson High School and be around his friends than stay home.

When he arrived at the Trophy Club school, his eyes were bloodshot and watery. He was accused of being under the influence of marijuana, according to a Northwest school district document provided to the Star-Telegram. Kyler was suspended for three days and was told that beginning Friday, he would be placed in the district's alternative education program until Jan. 14, 2011.

The mother wants an apology ..... I say she should sue the bastards.

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How about that

Maybe now someone will start thinking:

A federal court judge in Georgia has ruled a former college president is financially liable for his expulsion of a student.

Because he was using student funds to build a parking garage, and the student was making noise.

Now maybe they'll think about things before they act.

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About that Koran burning ...

Someone gets it:

I believe the Qurans are being burnt because we, as Muslims, haven't dealt sincerely and intellectually with very serious issues that certain Quranic passages raise, particularly in the West. These include verses—when literally read—that say that disobedient wives can be beaten “lightly,” that Muslims can't be friends with the Jews and the Christians, and that it's OK to kill converts from Islam.

Imagine that ..... moderate Muslims haven't done anything enough to discourage Islamists.

And until they do, they're nothing but a bunch of goat-roping camel-humpers.

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Hmmm ...

I was exercising my Google-fu, and came upon this article in Reason online:

Feldman asserted that a fundamental right to self-defense might exist, but that right was not infringed fundamentally by the banning of any specific variety of weapon, as Chicago did with handguns.

Soooooo, Chicago is saying that Chicagoans should start carrying long arms?

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Only 25?

I guess you have to draw the line somewhere.

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Pivot

The president has decided that maybe tax cuts for some might just be good for the economy. And of course, Republicans are hemming and hawing about it, since it wasn't invented there.

First, why don't the Republicans one-up the president, making the point that if a 10% tax cut is good, then 20% has to be better and let him explain why 10% is just fine.

Second, I actually know the answer to the first point. Our legislators consider the taxes we are assessed to be 'pledged'; that is why they always talk about tax cuts having to be 'paid for'.

And there's no incentive for legislators to start viewing taxes as they ought - as theft.

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I'm stealing again .....

... straight from Mr Codrea:

"People in Arizona carry guns," said Detective David Ramer, a Chandler police spokesman. "You better be careful about who you are picking on."

Because sometimes you can't do any better! And I don't have any problem with that being the general state of things.

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But will his replacement be better?

David Westin, the man who turned George Stephanopolous from a high-level left-wing political operative into a 'journalist', is resigning from ABC.

At least George started where all the other journalists want to be ...

h/t Ace and rdbrewer

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Range troubles?

Uncle has a post about a man who claims to have been struck by an errant bullet from a range 1.2 miles away.

A couple of commenters call bull shit.

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General Betray-Us after all?

Gen Petraeus thinks all you bitter clingers down in FL are going to incite the Tally-wacker-ban:

Gen. David Petraeus said the Taliban would exploit the demonstration for propaganda purposes, drumming up anger toward the U.S. and making it harder for allied troops to carry out their mission of protecting Afghan civilians.

Ok .... Earth to Gen Petraeus. In case you hadn't noticed, the Tally-wacker-ban hasn't needed anything approaching this level of blasphemy to recruit their idiot suicide bombers.

Whether any Korans ( or Q'urans or however the stupid goat-fuckers spell it) get burned or not, I'm sure the Tally-goatfuckers will have plenty of bomb-fodder with which to continue their idiotic bomb campaign.

Case in point:

The crowd in Kabul, numbering as many as 500, chanted "Long live Islam" and "Death to America" as they listened to fiery speeches from members of parliament, provincial council deputies and Islamic clerics who criticized the United States and demanded the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country.

This could have been written on any given day for the last 10 years, no matter what we do.

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JPFO alert

Yes, I'm behind .....

Can the 2nd amendment and Islam co-exist?

Want to abolish gun registration in America?

Inoculate yourself against Schumeritis!

Yeah, we knew that ...

Take extremist green theory to it's logical conclusion, and you get ..... James Lee:

Heavily influenced by Al Gore's apocalyptic film "An Inconvenient Truth," Lee saw mankind itself as the biggest threat to planetary survival. Lee logically concluded that reducing the number of human beings represented the only certain means of ending that threat.

Sometimes, logic sucks.

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Uh oh ...

Seems like Mr Holder is having trouble finding that pesky incriminating evidence against Sheriff Joe:

When the Department first informed Arpaio that a probe was under way, back in March 2009, it sent a letter saying the investigation would focus on "alleged patterns or practices of discriminatory police practices and unconstitutional searches and seizures." But now we learn that just six months before that, in September 2008, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, known as ICE, did its own investigation of Arpaio's office -- and gave it a clean bill of health.

CE investigators also interviewed top federal officials involved in illegal immigrant cases in Arizona. They found an "excellent" working relationship between the sheriff's office and the feds. ICE talked as well to federal prosecutors in Phoenix, who described the cases brought by Maricopa County as "high quality."

Oops, indeed.

You think that Holder will be under the bus in January?

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Think the NRA will help?

Probably not:

In Federal District Court on July 20, 2010, the ATF won a conviction from an Austin jury that defies logic and reason. In a trial before Federal Judge Sam Sparks, government lawyers conceded Texas resident Paul Copeland did not know his buyer was an illegal alien, but the jury they should convict him anyway because he "had reasonable cause to believe" he was selling to an illegal alien because the two men and a boy who were present at his table at the time of the sale: 1) were Hispanic, 2) spoke Spanish, and 3) wore cowboy clothing. And the jury did as asked.

So now it's ok to racially discriminate?

RTWT, because the questions asked at the end are very good ones, ones I'm sure no one wants to answer.

I'd recommend writing letters to someone, anyone, but I'm sure it wouldn't do any good.

h/t Mike at Sipsey Street

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Fair winds ...

... and following seas, LtCol Chessani!

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Conundrum

Uncle has the link to here, where we get a look at the suppressor design that uses an automotive oil filter for the expansion chamber. Note that a couple of commenters have decided that this device is nothing more than a modified AN fitting(s).

Conundrum time: Will it be considered constructive possession to have an oil filter and an un-modified AN fitting in your garage?

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Some thoughts

Ian Argent (who is helping Sebastian out while he's on vacation) had an interesting comment on a post about a reasonable firearm law:

Make it easier to sue and punish “oppression under color of law” and you solve the problem.

I don't see that as the problem, since an individual can sue anyone for most anything. The problem I see is that judges won't allow those cases to go to trial, where authorities excesses are exposed in court.

There are police officers (as an example) who are found not to have followed department policy and are terminated due to some incident or excess. These folks need to be brought into court for civil suits at the least.

When an officer has been found to have followed policy, the policy needs to be questioned.

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Another Only Ones incident?

The crime the man was shot over?

Whittling:

Police said an officer was on patrol when he spotted a man sitting on the sidewalk, whittling, and approached him.

The officer told the man to drop the knife several times, police said, but instead of doing so, he stood up. When the man refused to heed to his commands, the officer opened fire and hit the man.

I haven't whittled in a long time, but it is a time-honored way of passing the time.

However, it's disconcerting that the officer saw the man and immediately ordered him to disarm, when he had done nothing wrong.

Again, I understand the concept of 'officer safety', but look ..... you're a police officer. You wanted the job. You knew you would have to be around criminals. If' you're so concerned about your own safety that you would shoot a man who was minding his own fucking business, you need to find another job!

h/t Uncle

This is too good!

Seen at Uncles ...

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Comrade Smith ...

... report to the camps:

Sebelius said “misinformation given on a 24/7 basis” has led to the enduring opposition nearly six months after the lengthy debate ended in Congress.

“So, we have a lot of reeducation to do,” Sebelius said.

I'm not going to get into the specter of re-education camps they way I've seen it couched on the interwebz. Rather I'll point out the inherent arrogance of the Left's position: You proles haven't learned what we're doing correctly, so we'll try again, and again, until you get it right.

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Imagine that

Nothing happened in TN.

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Discovery

I'll not link anyone, because I'd have to link a bunch of folks (but they're the usual suspects!).

Hopefully no one is hurt in the Discovery Channel hostage crisis, but the MSM narrative has appeared.

When a nut-job can be, no matter how tenuously, tied to a right-wing cause, then that's what the MSM will do.

But if the nut-job's a liberal, well then .... his is a passionate cause!

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Collectivists ...

... will always find a way:

The end game in Montgomery, however, is obvious. The city wants to clear and ultimately sell-off the property of lower-income, mostly black Alabamans to higher-income developers, but it can’t do that through the state’s eminent domain law. So it found a backdoor, which also incidentally does not require the city to compensate property owners for their loss, but instead charges them.

I'm going to say this once again: Until these beurocrats start winding up with bullets in their brains, they will not stop.

Will. Not. Stop.

Ever

h/t Uncle

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NRA and Harry Reid

Say Uncle has a good post, and I'll pontificate in a second:

The ugly: Reid kept a lot of anti-gun bills from ever seeing the light of day. And Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

A lot of credit has been given to H Reid for keeping a lot of anti-gun legislation from ever getting to the floor of the senate; I wonder ... how much of that is him actually being pro-gun and how much of it is in protecting fellow senators from a resounding defeat at the hands of the NRA?

Not that I tend to give a lot of credit to the NRA (yes, I've got a chip on my shoulder), but is it possible that they really do have that much influence over the political process?

And if they do, shouldn't the NRA start grading politicians on what they do for firearms owners, rather than what they don't do against firearms owners?

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