Happy New Year!

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Be safe, and be ready for the coming year!

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Regulating ...

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... the militia:

“Gun advocates will be hard-pressed to explain why the average American citizen needs an assault weapon with a high-capacity magazine other than for recreational purposes.” The answer to this question is straightforward: The purpose of having citizens armed with paramilitary weapons is to allow them to engage in paramilitary actions. The Second Amendment is not about Bambi and burglars — whatever a well-regulated militia is, it is not a hunting party or a sport-clays club.

Oh, that the NRA had the balls to articulate that position.

I know it's hard to get folks to understand that the state is not our friend because not everyone reads Radley and David's every word, but when you do you find that there's a whole lot of mischief that goes on that's not reported.

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JPFO alert

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Applying technical analysis to gun control
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I can only hope ... (Update)

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... this guy is right:

When you argue for a living, you can tell how an argument is going for you. The evidence and my gut both tell me that the liberals have lost control of the gun control narrative. 

Not for lack of trying – it was almost as if they were poised to leap into action across the political, media and cultural spectrum the second the next semi-human creep shot up another “gun free zone.” This was their big opening to shift the debate and now it’s closing. They’ve lost, and they are going nuts. 

Mr Schlichter details several reasons for his assertion that the gun grabbers have lost. RTWT

As far as individual action, I've sent emails to all of my national reps, and I've emailed my state reps letting them know that at the least I favor allowing teachers who are permitted to carry while at school. After all, if you can't be trusted with a firearm you shouldn't be loose in polite company.

Update: I saw that Sebastian has a post on this and it caused me to think. If and when this gets introduced by Sen Feinstein, do we as firearm enthusiasts have the nuts to call for a vote on the full bill immediately?

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Blogging ...

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... will be light from here through Christmas.

I've got most, if not all my Christmas shopping done (thank you Amazon Prime!) but it's crunch time and I'm taking the family to visit my dad and his new wife, so I'll have lile time to surf and find things to steal post and comment about.

If I don't hear from any of you, stay safe ... be careful and enjoy the holidays!

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I think ...

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... that we're using the wrong metric when we talk about rate of gun violence. Let me explain.

Back in the 80's, Harley Davidson pushed for tariffs on imported (Japanese) motorcycles above a certain displacement. Of course, part of the propoganda was that these motorcycles were more likely to be involved in an accident and were therefore dangerous and there's no need to have a motorcycle that goes that fast and besides, most imported motorcycle owners are Republicans.

Yeah, lots of hysteria.

But then, some actual statisticians mentioned that the metric should be accidents per mile traveled, noting that most Hardley owners bought their bikes to be seen on, while Japanese bike owners actually rode their bikes ... a lot. So when looked at it that way, crotch rockets had a much lower accident rate than Harley Davidson.

In much the same way, I think that the firearms rights community should accept the gun grabbers argument that we have so many guns, and then ask them why we have such a low incidence of gun crime relative to the physical number of guns? It's the same thing with ammo ... there are literally billions of rounds purchased in the US each year (enough to surely cause the rivers of blood that are so often predicted) and yet, there is not a corresponding loss of life.

We desperately need to stop playing the gun grabbers' game. Let's take the language back.

We also need to be policing our own. I saw a news report this morning that a local firearms dealer sold 36 assault rifles in the last three days, apparently oblivious to the mistake. Not only can we do better, we must do better.

If the media comes to you and asks how many assault weapons you've sold recently (and you don't deal in Title II weapons) then tell them none. 'But I see that gentleman walking out the store with one right now!' says the breathless reporter. Oh, you mean the semi-auto rifle that was on the market before the US militarized it? Well, yes, the market on those is being helped by the President right now! And we thank him.

'But, but ... but ...'

The media are not our friends, local or not, and they can't be counted on to get anything right when it comes to firearms ... even when you use little words. If you are interviewed you need to answer questions factually and not volunteer anything. Any, any mistake in terminology absolutely must be corrected and never agreed to.

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JPFO alert

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Gran'pa Jack comics for kids

"Stop Guns with Guns", "Gun Control is evil misspelled" and "Gun lobbyist ready to give up

 

Radley says ...

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... it's one of the best things he's seen yet on the Sandy Hook shooting. I agree:

America's periodic school shootings, I think, fill a similar psychological space for the Left as Islamic terror does for the Right. The horrific images and the unnerving out-of-a-clear-blue-sky nature of the attacks make them terrifying, out of all proportion to the absolute risks, and the political narrative of preventability and blame is easily framed: "fewer guns (for school shootings), or more, say, ethnic profiling of terror suspects (for terror attacks), would have prevented this tragedy".

RTWT. A little sense about irearms,but a whole lotta sense about looking at the problem rationally! h/t Radley

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JPFO alert

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Post-Sandy Hook thoughts

If this is what Lanza was taking ...

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... then these are some of the side effects of Fanapt:

Psychiatric

Psychiatric side effects including restlessness, aggression, and delusion have been reported frequently. Hostility, decreased libido, paranoia, anorgasmia, confusional state, mania, catatonia, mood swings, panic attack, obsessive-compulsive disorder, bulimia nervosa, delirium, polydipsia psychogenic, impulse-control disorder, and major depression have been reported infrequently.

Seems like Lanza was on the short end on trying to be normal ... his meds were working against him.

But the problem is the easy availability of machine guns or something, not that we're trying to fix everyone with another pill.

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So ...

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... how is it that an authorized journalist gets kidnapped in the Middle East and no one hears about it?

Could it be that the network didn't want to further inflame the situation? Not encourage others to do the same? Maybe they wanted to get all of the information before they reported (or even announced) anything?

Or maybe they didn't have a political axe to grind, like they do with the Sandy Hook shooting?

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Wow ...

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... so permit-holders really aren't mindless:

The break in gunfire allowed Meli to pull out his own gun, but he never took his eyes off the shooter.

"As I was going down to pull, I saw someone in the back of the Charlotte move, and I knew if I fired and missed, I could hit them," he said.

Good adherence to Rule 4 .

I wonder if his timeline (regarding when the cretin offed himself) can be verified, because it would be yet another instance where as soon as an active shooter is met with force in kind (or even the possibility of) they can't turn their weapons on themselves fast enough.

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You know, one day ...

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... someone's gonna snap:

Conservative columnist Matt Lewis asked, “If tea party activists punched a liberal on video, how would the media respond?”

Even Brent Bozell, president of the Media Research Center, gets into the subjunctive mood: “If a Tea Partier had physically assaulted a liberal journalist or ripped down a structure occupied by a liberal organization all on video, the footage would be broadcast on an endless loop.”

This regarding the assault on Steven Crowder while at the union protests in MI earlier this week. And to be sure, if the political affiliations had been reversed, there would be a great wailing and gnashing of teeth by the Left.

But conservatives need to be prepared for when it does happen, and be ready to hold the MSM accountable* when the coverage is exactly opposite from when Crowder got assaulted. And don't be afraid when it inevitably happens.

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*I'd suggest putting the phone #'s of your local MSM affiliates in your phone (and make sure that you're 'friends' with them on Facebook) - and make sure you know the name of the news director.

Finally ...

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... someone besides me saying it:

Last night, he told Greta van Susteren on Fox News that House Republicans should pass a bill with their specific plan to cut spending and fix the tax code to address the fiscal-cliff issues, and dare the Senate to take it up. If Democrats refuse, then Paul wants the House to hold a vote on the Democratic plan, with Republicans voting “present” to allow Democrats to pass the bill. That way, the economic damage from tax hikes will be totally owned by Democrats, and Republicans will have kept their hands clean:

Republicans will get blamed by the MSM no matter what they do; might as well have a credible defense that they didn't vote for higher taxes.

Let the Dems own the economy they desire or Let It Burn!

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You need to read this ...

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... the idiocy and subterfuge of the MSM knows no bounds:

This update explores several interesting developments, most notably, the suit filed on George’s Zimmerman’s behalf against NBC and the continued unraveling of the special prosecutor’s case against Zimmerman.

 Reading Mike is very illuminating, because he brings an expert's take on things. I hope Zimmerman takes this to trial and has lots of zero's in mind.

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Drew M ...

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... nails it:

Let It Burn isn’t an option, it’s an eventuality. The questions are will we be complicit in it any longer and do we want to delay it? I say no. Let the liberals own it. Very few things are made better by delaying the day of inevitable reckoning. 

RTWT.

Me, I've been in the LIB camp for a while now.  And the really interesting bit is that there is no shortage of pundits who argue in any way that what we're doing is sustainable.

Republicans need to start voting 'Present' until the Dems start compromising (which they won't). Until then, let them own the mess they've created.

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Yeah, when I hear the term 'conservative libertarian'...

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... I immediately think of Justice Anthony Kennedy:

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy is a libertarian conservative who believes the Constitution protects the freedom of individuals to "make personal decisions relating to marriage, procreation, contraception, family relationships, child rearing and education."

And conservatives everywhere will let the moniker stand.

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Aaron's ...

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... monthly giveaway opportunity.

Go. Enter. Maybe win!

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we are so screwed ...

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... has the best comment on this thread:

I don't think the GOP is salvageable anymore. Which is fine since our only options with the federal government is let it burn or bitch about it as it burns (while hand wringing).

It hasn't been salvageable for quite a few years ... and that's becoming more and more apparent.

Let it burn!

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I won't embed the video ...

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... because you really need to read the whole thing:

“Something just went wrong,” said a still visibly shaken organizer of the
protest. “Something just went horribly, horribly, wrong.” Yes, it did. What went wrong is that, at some point in your life, you became horribly, horribly stupid.

Nope ... no hints!

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Nooo no no no ......

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... no need for a firearm in church:

 An elementary school music teacher walked into a church in the middle of Sunday services and shot and killed his ex-wife as she sat in a pew, police said.

Bad things happen everywhere ...

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One of the best things ...

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... I've heard regarding woodworking.

'Measuring is the enemy of precision.' - Chris Schwartz on the WoodWrights' Shop

Don't know if I've ever mentioned it, but I'm an amateur woodhacker. I've not done much of anything in my life, but I aspire to, one day. My grandfather was an avid woodworker, specializing in his later life on grandfather clocks (he primarily worked in walnut ... his favorite).

And being an anal process freak, I enjoy the Woodwrights' Shop. Not that I'm averse to using power equipment, I just enjoy the process of working wood.

I'm in the process of building a Roubo book stand (of some nice curly maple) for my dad and his new bride for Christmas, and I need to construct a router plane to use when I attempt to build my daughter a 3/4-sized Les Paul (take that, Robb!) and yes, it will have a carved top using the templates that Scott so graciously developed for the luthier community (if you're into it, check out his LP builds ... they're things of beauty).

Anyhoo, I just thought that someone, comewhere might be interseted in what I find amusing!

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Regarding those pencil dicks ...

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... Bob Costas and Jason Whitlock:

Gentlemen: I see that you have chosen to use the horrific crime of the murder of Kasandra Perkins to express your belief that guns are the problem, not the men who wield them. I am utterly certain that you believe that you have the moral high ground on this matter. I am equally certain that such a belief is appallingly wrong, not to mention terribly misogynistic. Why do I say this? Because had your desires on gun control been in place, I would not be alive to be writing this now. 

Alexthechick is a frequent commentor at Ace of Spades HQ  ... glad to know she gets around!

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In California?

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Really?

Taking stock of the fact that San Bernardino’s murder rate has jumped 50 percent over the last year, that the city has been cutting its police force by about 80 officers, and that there is no good news in sight, [City Attorney of San Bernardino] Penman stated, “lock your doors and load your guns.”

But then he doesn't advise anyone actually, you know ... getting a gun. And he graduated college ... h/t WND

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