Which Sci-Fi Crew Should I Belong To?

I followed the link at Heartless Libertarian and took the quiz, and like many others, I suppose, it named the crew of Serenity. No surprises here, either.

But if I got to choose which crew to be a part of there could be only one (well, maybe two, the crew of Farscape wouldn't be bad).

It would have to be the crew of the Lexx.

Sure, it would be really cool to be on a ship that eats planets for fuel, and having an undead assassin watching my back should help keep me from getting killed. But of course of those are not the reasons.

Here's the reason: Xenia Seeberg. Need I say more?

Good thing it was only a .22

And not a stick of dynamite tied to an arrow or something:

A Massachusetts man was shot while using the outhouse at his family's camp by a boy who was target shooting.

Chris Flanagan, 41, of Holliston, Mass., was standing in the outhouse on Saturday morning when he was hit in the chest by a bullet that came through the door.

He's a hero in my book

Brendan McKown has regained consciousness and has this to say:

'I really don't know what I did, when I did that,' McKown said Monday. 'Because the fact is, he had an AK. Those shots that were firing were thunderously loud.'

McKown said that if he had acted differently, more people might have gotten hurt.

'He was walking by. I could have ducked behind cover and shot him from behind, if he took another shot at somebody,' he said. 'But if I did that, he would have shot at somebody.'

I hope, and sometimes pray, that I am never put in that kind of situation.

I also have decided that I have to revise my carry method. I can't get it out fast enough either.

The Cthulhu Circus

Found this link to The Cthulhu Circus, graphics from The Family Circus comic re-captioned with Lovecraftian phrases. Very humorous for this Lovecraft fan.

I gotta say...

It's still very odd to me to see this blog grouped in amongst "actual" news sources on certain news aggregator websites. I still don't know how or why it keeps happening.

C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Toklien, and...George MacDonald?

WorldNetDaily has published a very good article about Christianity and fantasy/sci-fi:

The Christian foundation of the other famous Inkling's work is less blatant, yet almost as obvious to all but the most willfully blind. While there have been a few brave souls foolhardy enough to attempt to deny the self-evident, even those with no discernible Christian agenda freely acknowledge the powerful religious elements integral to 'The Lord of the Rings.' For the Secret Fire of which Gandalf is a servant, as Tolkien explained for the benefit of those too unfamiliar of the book of Acts to recognize the symbolism, is nothing less than the Holy Spirit whose flames were first seen at Pentecost, and in case things were not perfectly clear, the author once described his landmark trilogy as 'a fundamentally religious and Catholic work.'

Thus, it is not the fantasy elements--which are actually not very similar in the particulars--but the Christian themes running through both that tie Lewis' and Tolkien's works together in our minds. Nor are these themes the only relationship. Tolkien, Lewis and Williams were all influenced to varying degrees by the same literary and spiritual mentor, a Scottish minister and prolific author by the name of George MacDonald. MacDonald is largely forgotten now, but he was a well-known author of the late 19th century--among other things, he corresponded regularly with a certain American writer he had befriended by the name of Samuel Clemens. In one letter, Clemens even mentioned to MacDonald how his daughter Susy had worn out her copy of MacDonald's 'At the Back of the North Wind' and requested that MacDonald send her a replacement.

I have to admit, I've never heard of MacDonald. Looks like I have some reading to do.

A couple of notable articles from NRA-ILA

Both of these tnx to NRA-ILA.

First, an opinion piece with some good points from The Sheboygan Press:

Recently, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported that the city had recorded 113 homicides, and there are still six weeks to go in the year.

That's a grim statistic in a city of approximately 583,600 residents. So, it might appear understandable that people like Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, Democrats in the Legislature and some police officials are not too keen about legislation that would make it possible for Wisconsin citizens to carry concealed handguns.

That is, until one does a quick comparison with another city of roughly the same size and social makeup. Welcome to Seattle, Wash., a city of approximately 571,500 people. At the same time Milwaukee had posted a body count of 113 homicides, Seattle had logged a mere 27.

Aside from the vast disparity in the number of homicides in Milwaukee and Seattle, there is one more big difference. Washington residents can carry concealed handguns, and a lot of them do, more than 230,000 at last count. The Evergreen State has had a concealed carry statute for more than 50 years and a state constitutional right to bear arms that is rock solid. An armed Washington citizen might wonder why Wisconsin's citizens are not allowed the means to defend themselves.

At the risk of sounding like someone else, I might just say--indeed.

Second is this report from The Huntsville Times that State Rep. Albert Hall (D-Gurley) has filed a "no retreat" bill based on, but not the same as, Florida's law:

The Florida law says, "A person does not have a duty to retreat if the person is in a place where he or she has a right to be."

The Alabama bill says the person does not have to retreat if they are in a store, or any place used for "public use, lodging or the storage of goods," including boats, tents and cars.

I prefer the Florida wording, myself.

Not this time, Bubba

This time a federal professional in San Antonio gets busted:

A federal agent booked for drunk driving Sunday refused to submit to a breath test because he said a lawyer couldn't win his case with the results, a San Antonio police report said.

[...]

Serna, who told the officer he was a federal agent with the Department of Homeland Security, said he couldn't perform any "walk and turn" sobriety tests because he suffered a leg injury in January, according to the report.

The agent's story about his destination changed several times. Serna finally told the officer he was en route to his girlfriend's home after leaving a nightclub where he said he drank three beers from 11 p.m. until last call, the report said.

Serna advised the officer to let him go but agreed to give him his keys so he couldn't drive intoxicated. He also told the officer he had family who worked for the San Antonio Police Department and that "he was to be released," the report said.

He later asked the officer to charge him with public intoxication so he wouldn't lose his job, the report said. The officer instructed him not to drink and drive. He also ticketed Serna for speeding, no insurance and a driver's license violation.

Maybe they'll still let him drive the golf cart at Walmart, but I wouldn't count on it.

Remember this?

For some reason I was thinking about this old show today. I used to catch reruns of it on Saturday afternoons when I was a kid--they would squeeze one in between Roy Rogers and Hopalong Cassidy--back when they actually showed stuff worth watching on Saturday afternoons. This was one of the greatest TV shows of all time, in my opinion, and certainly one of the really good westerns--possibly the best half-hour western series ever. Unfortunately, according to what I have been able to find online, only the first two seasons are available on DVD, although it ran for six seasons. When people think of old west heroes, many at first think of the Lone Ranger. But for me, the ultimate old west hero was always Paladin. I'm talking, of course, about Have Gun - Will Travel.

However, there were a couple of problems with his gun that I must mention. His revolver was "handcrafted to [his] specifications." Two things, at least, were supposed to set this gun apart.

1) The barrel was rifled--"a rarity in a hand weapon." Rifled barrels were actually the standard by the 1870's. I have never heard of a smoothbore revolver, Colt or otherwise. A revolver without a rifled barrel would certainly be the exception, and be pretty much worthless compared to all the revolvers carried by everyone else.

2) His revolver had a trigger pull of one ounce. To intentionally create a gun with a trigger pull this light would seem to me to be the height of stupidity. To begin with, I think that the trigger itself would weigh at least an ounce, if not more. With a trigger pull this light, it means that if you bundled about 30 paper clips together with a rubber band and tied them to the trigger, it would be enough weight to pull the trigger.

Both of these assertions were obviously the creation of some Hollywood goofball who knew nothing about guns.

It's still one of my favorite shows, and I wish they'd re-run it on the Encore Westerns channel, or TVLand, or somewhere. And with all the bad movies made from old TV shows, this one certainly seems ripe for exploitation.

Here is a link to a good fan site for the show.

Richard Boone, who played Paladin, was also the voice of Smaug in The Hobbit.

Citizens taking over for police in Albania

Apparently the Albanians are so disgusted with the ineptitude of their own police that they no longer call them to report stolen cars. They just handle it themselves:

When a big new Mercedes was stolen at gunpoint earlier this month from a Tirana parking lot, the lot owner immediately called in his friends from the capital and around the country instead of dialing the local police precinct.

Using mobile phones, three cars homed in on the late-model limousine from different directions while an unofficial road block was set up near the northern town of Lezhe.

The car-jackers saw the private roadblock, got out and took off, the Gazeta Shqiptare newspaper said.

The Mercedes owner got his car back so fast he did not believe it had ever been stolen, until the parking lot owners showed him damage to the car radio, it added.
The paper said statistics showed 'you could count on the fingers of one hand' the number of stolen car cases solved by police, while private recovery appeared to be highly effective.

Of course, if this happened here, I'm sure they would all be called "vigilantes" by the press.

Bloglines appears to be down

Bloglines hasn't been aggregating posts since this morning sometime. This is a bummer, because today is also a holiday for me, and I'm simply at home with the kids, and nothing is working.

Oh well. We played outside for several hours today, which was probably more worthwhile. I also burned some brush--a little at a time so as not to cause a fire hazard--sat outside in the coolness of a November morning, read for a while and smoked a few pipes. Not a bad day off, at all.

Unsurprising News from Gary, IN

This should infuriate anyone. In a way, it fills me with rage, but in another way, I am not surprised. It did happen, after all, in Gary, Indiana:

A woman who was robbed at knifepoint while pumping gas into her church's van couldn't believe it when the gas station attendant refused to call police for help.

'I ran, of course, to the nearest place,' Gary resident Rosetta Heffner said, recounting Sunday's robbery.

Her request to call 911 was met with silence from the other side of the Citgo station's counter.

She tried again.

The clerk's response?

'Use your cell phone.'

Heffner couldn't believe it.

'I thought it would be a safe haven, anything could have happened, and he told me to use my cell phone,' Heffner told the Post-Tribune of Merrillville.
The gas station's manager said he was sorry about the robbery, but clerks at the station do not make emergency calls from the front counter, fearing retaliation for [sic] criminals.

'We have to be careful,' he said. 'If we call, then there are problems. They can hear. So we use the back phone. We are always helpful to the customer, but we have to protect ourselves.'

When I was a truck driver, I had the extreme misfortune to pass through that godforsaken hellhole a few times, and the place is like a roadside outhouse for criminals to gather. We all hear about crime problems in Chicago, well, Gary is the evil bastard son of Chicago. I have had the opportunity to speak with several people who live in the area, and when I ask them if they'd ever been to Gary, their answer is usually something like "Hell no, I'm not stupid."

The church which this lady attends has stated that they will take their business elsewhere from now on. Good for them. I have no doubt that they are vastly outnumbered by the sub-human scum who have taken over that town, and who will now gladly frequent this Citgo station which has now effectively advertised itself as a safe haven for criminals.

By the way, I have no way of knowing which Citgo station this is. There are twelve such stations listed in Yahoo Yellow Pages. My guess is, it's the one at 2993 W 11th Ave., based on its proximity to the church.

If I were them, I'd boycott them all.

UPDATE: David Codrea has typed up a letter and provided contact information for anyone wanting to notify Citgo of their displeasure over this incident.

Random Rambles

Another Thanksgiving come and gone. I have plenty to be thankful for, but I don't like to talk about it much. My family is kind of like the Sacketts in the Louis L'Amour books. We are spread around some, and we don't see each other very often, but if someone needs help, relatives start showing up that may not have been seen in years. I have very few relatives with whom I can find a common ground anyway. To my actual family, who are used to me, they know that I'm not going to speak often, and when I do it will probably be a fairly off-the-wall observation, or perhaps a clarification with one of those pedantic little factoids that like to stick in my head. With in-laws it's different. Sometimes I think they see me as some sort of alien life form. I'm just agoraphobic enough not to truly enjoy traveling and visiting, unless I'm going to my dad's house, which is only about 4 miles away and I see him all the time anyway. His usual question is something like, "So...what's new in the world of guns?"

I think it was due to a small "Alphecca-lanche" that this week, for a couple of days, I was actually a small, hairy rat in the TTLB Ecosystem. I saved a screenshot for posterity.

The food is always good no matter where I go, no matter if it's at relatives or in-laws. The only unfortunate part is that my German in-laws don't seem to have assimilated as well as my German relations, because the in-laws never have tamales for the holidays. There are certain foods that the holidays just wouldn't be right without: turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and tamales. This may sound odd to people in northern climes, but in south Texas, tamales are standard holiday fare.

Back in the olden days, when Germans were coming to this country and settling in Texas, we brought polka music and the accordion. The people of Mexican ancestry who were already here thought this was some great music, so they got their own accordions and started playing polka, except they called it conjunto. In return, they gave us some great food, like tamales and enchiladas, and revealed to us the wonders of the jalapeno, habanero, and the ubiquitous chili petine. Personally, I think we got the better end of the deal.

P.S. I know there is supposed to be a tilde over the "n" in jalapeno. But if I put in the html code for that, Blogger will just mung it up and spit out some odd nonsense characters. So I'm just using a regular "n."

Read this blog

I happened to check the list of sites in the Gunblogs Webring today and saw that a new site has just been added. This blog was begun on Nov 5, and the six posts so far have covered sexual abuse, drug addiction, and overcoming the fear of firearms. I've never just jumped in and recommended a blog like this before (nobody listens to my opinion anyway), but I think this one is very compelling and definitely worth checking out.

Go read Words. And I hope there is much more to come.

Another non-Senator arrested with gun at airport

In Peoria, IL, a man who is a urologist but not, unfortunately for him, a Texas state senator, tried to carry a gun through an airport security checkpoint:

Joseph Banno was arrested shortly before 8 a.m. by airport police as he tried to pass through the security checkpoint on his way to catch a flight to Florida. The gun, a .380-caliber handgun, showed up as his carry-on bag was sent through the X-ray machine.

When called at home later, Banno, a partner in Urological Associates, said he forgot the gun was in his bag.

'It was an honest mistake, and it was not brought there on purpose,' he said.

Mary DeVries, the Airport Authority's interim supervisor, said when confronted about the gun, Banno 'was very cooperative.'

The doctor was booked into the Peoria County Jail on charges of possessing a concealed gun and boarding a plane with a weapon. He was released three hours later after posting $100 bail. A court appearance is set for Dec. 27.

Marshall Stone, a spokesman with the FBI in Springfield, confirmed his office was called to the airport, since it is a federal crime to try to bring a weapon past airport security checkpoints.

The matter remains under investigation, both Stone and DeVries said.

Previous posts (in chronological order) on this subject here, here, here, and here. You might notice that in this instance, as well as in the occurrence in Nebraska, the FBI was also involved, because, you know, it's a federal crime. Unless I missed it, in none of the reports regarding Senator Hinojosa is the FBI even mentioned. So Dr. Banno now has a court date, whereas the good senator walked away because, well, it's just silly to apply the same laws to him as are applied to everyone else. He's a senator, after all.

Bring your tourist dollars to Texas

Five more unilateral proclamations were issued on November 18, granting reciprocation with Washington, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, and California. Since I've heard pretty much nothing about CCW in Washington, I assume it's not an especially anti-gun state. The other four, however, are just about impossible for any common folk to legally carry concealed. So, why the proclamations?

Is the rest of the state just like San Antonio? I continue to feel quite fortunate that I do not live in that city--I just work there, and when the day is over I get out as fast as possible. But I know that the S.A. city council and various bigwigs will do anything they can, and step on anyone who gets in their way, to further the cause of the almighty "tourist dollar." Somehow they seem to think that tourism is the answer to all woes, and I just don't get it. More tourism means more jobs, they say, but they neglect to mention that those are service industry jobs, almost entirely only part-time, with poor hourly wages and pretty much zero in the way of health insurance or other benefits.

So, are these unilateral proclamations only an honest and unrequited way of somehow furthering Second Amendment rights? My cynical side says no, it's just a way of telling some rich, well-connected snobs to come to Texas, feel free to carry a gun, and leave a bunch of money here.

My apologies to anyone from those states who does have the equivalent of a CHL and who is not a rich, well-connected snob.

Reference: Texas Department of Public Safety - CHL Reciprocity

That's good shootin', Matt!

This Florida police officer claims it was an accident, but I think he is only being modest. I am of the opinion that this is one police officer who knows how to shoot a Taser:

Jeremy Miljour is charged with indecent exposure, resisting an officer and criminal damage.

Police said he was found naked, breaking windows and accosting women. When he didn't stop as ordered by arriving deputies, he was shot with a Taser gun.

Cpl. Matt Chitwood said one of the Taser prongs accidentally hit Miljour in a tender area and got stuck. He said officers are taught to aim for the torso, but that it was difficult to aim because Miljour was moving.

And at a moving target, no less!

tnx to The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns

As long as I'm on the subject...

Here's another H&R that I wouldn't mind getting my hands on.

32" barrel
46" OAL
.45-70 Government

The Buffalo Classic Rifle. Yeah.

The "Tactical" Handi-Rifle

First, a disclaimer: I don't own one of these so I can comment on it's performance.

I have a thing for single-shot guns. I grew up dove hunting with a single-shot 16-gauge. I spent a lot of time squirrel (and other varmint) hunting with a single-shot .22. One of my favorite fun guns is a .50 caliber Hawken replica. The idea of making that one shot count has a very strong appeal for me.

I'm sure that most people who read this already know of the Handi-Rifle. An affordable--and from what I've heard about it--accurate, reliable single-shot made by H&R/NEF. Some models have interchangeable barrels, and models are available in just about anything you want from .22 Hornet to .45-70, including shotguns.

I recently learned that Advanced Technology has a system to turn your Handi-Rifle into...well, it's still a Handi-Rifle, but with extras.

What was this...




...can be become this...



I could go deer hunting with that.

Church Sign

I've been seeing these things around for a long time, but a recent post by Xavier made me want to make my own. So here it is:

It's already an international incident

The War on Guns pointed to this article in WorldNetDaily. I also found it reported in the Austin American-Statesman:

A marijuana-laden dump truck got stuck in the Rio Grande between Texas and Mexico until men who looked like Mexican troops yanked the truck into Mexico, according to authorities.

Hudspeth County Chief Deputy Mike Doyal told the El Paso Times: 'Everyone had the presence of mind not to cause an international incident or start shooting.'

Thursday evening, Border Patrol agents tried to stop the dump truck on Interstate 10, sheriff's officials said. The truck fled to Mexico in the Neely's Crossing area.

The truck got stuck in the riverbed, and the driver took off running. Doyal said the driver returned with armed men, including men who arrived in official-looking vehicles with overhead lights and what appeared to be Mexican soldiers in uniform and with military-style rifles.

The standoff ended when the "soldiers" used a bulldozer to pull the dump truck into Mexico, sheriff's department officials said.

Officials with the Mexican army, used in anti-narcotics operations, could not be reached for comment.

This is already an international incident. Armed personnel--if they are Mexican cops or not is irrelevant--crossed the border and seized illegal drugs in the presence of United States law enforcement. I don't blame them for not starting shooting. They probably knew they were outnumbered and outgunned and decided they'd rather go home to their families than be dead. But this is something that is not going to go away. This is something that is only going to get worse.

I don't expect our government to do anything about it. I expect some citizens to eventually get so fed up that they do something about it, they will be branded "vigilantes" by the MSM and the government, and if any of them survive their encounter with Federale drug-runners they will be hunted down by "authorities" on this side of the border. Meanwhile, the "incidents" will continue.

The "international incident" is ongoing.

UPDATE: Michelle Malkin also reports on this, with several other pertinent links.

Dirty Bomb, Anyone?

Some radioactive antimony has mysteriously vanished:

It made stops in Abilene, Austin, Dallas and Tyler and somewhere along the way radioactive material came up missing before it got to East Texas. A New Mexico agency is hoping that someone in Texas can help them solve a mystery of some missing radio active material, that did not reach its destination in Kilgore.

Workers at ProTechnics in Kilgore were immediately alarmed when earlier this month a military style ammo box that contained radio-active material, turned up missing on a shipment from New Mexico.

The FBI is investigating the theft of the shipment. Investigators believe two vials of antimony-124, a radioactive material used in the oil and gas industry, were stolen before the truck got to Kilgore.

The vials were transported in a military style ammo box, but it was not marked and that's a problem according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. According to TxDOT, any vehicle transporting radio-active material must be marked accordingly, and any container holding the material. The material is also sometimes used for chemo-therapy in humans. The material is not considered a terrorist threat because of the small amount involved.

That makes me feel so much better.

Ouch!

The Smallest Minority reports on a kaboomed Colt Anaconda in .44 Magnum, and has a photo of what's left of the gun. Fortunately, the shooter was uninjured. But wow, what a mess.

Ammo Day Purchase

I went to Walmart because I had to do some grocery shopping also, and unfortunately, H.E.B. doesn't carry ammo. They had two boxes of Winchester white box .40 S&W on the shelf and I bought them both. They didn't have any buckshot. They had an enormous stock of bird shot, and even had several cases of 16-gauge. No buckshot or rifled slugs, though.

I could have made two stops, yes, but when I have to drag the kids around with me I want to get everything done in one place.

That had no copies, either DVD or VCR, of Red Dawn. No Death Wish, either. I did find a copy of Romper Stomper, but passed it up. I was halfway hoping to find The Boondock Saints, but no luck there, either.

Carnival of Cordite #39 @ Resistance is Futile!

Carnival of Cordite #39 is now online at Resistance is Futile! Lots of good gun stuff to be found.

Random Rambles

Last March or so, when I actually started to use this blog regularly, I figured it would only be a go if I focused on something that that I deeply cared about, that is, self-defense and Second Amendment rights. It is now several months later and I've been able to stick to it this time. Not only that, but I'm looking forward to doing this for some time to come. However, I would not be honest to myself or anyone who reads this if I used this blog for such a narrow focus. Which is why lately I have been attempting some more or less "humorous" posts, usually when something strikes me as being very absurd. The "humor" stuff may seem to some to be a little odd (like the thing about vampires protesting white phosphorus). But, this mix of serious and funny (if I can go so far as to call it that) is how my mind really works, and is a more accurate reflection of what I'm thinking about and what I think is important, or in some cases, just silly. And since this is my blog and no one can stop me from writing something stupid, I will most likely continue to use it to sharpen my writing chops.

In other news, Christmas came early this year, or something. I got home from work today to find I had been gifted with a fancy new digital camera that does movies as well as still photos. So I may be able to take decent photos of things for a change (it even has a "macro" mode). My wife is an Avon representative, and she is sometimes able to get things a little cheaper than the regular price by buying them as "demo models." Avon doesn't just sell makeup these days, you know.

As I'm sure everyone knows, tomorrow is Ammo Day, and I plan to participate, although I don't think I'll wait until 3:30 in the afternoon. I don't know about buying a copy of Red Dawn, though. I saw it when it was first released in the theater and I never really expected to go out of my way to see it again. I might get a copy of Death Wish instead.

Heh.

And with all the lame sequels that have been made, why wasn't there a sequel to Red Dawn? When the girl narrating it made a reference to "the opening days of world war three" near the end of the movie, I was sure that they were leaving room for a sequel. But then, they never made a sequel to Buckaroo Bonzai either.

Gas prices in San Antonio

This post at Michelle Malkin's blog reminded me that I had just wanted to say that gas in the northeast areas of the city are below $2.00/gallon. I got it for $1.97 this week. The cheapest places I've found are the Pilot and Petro truck stops at IH10 and Ackerman Road. There's a little hole-in-the-wall Shamrock Valero also on Ackerman just north of the big highway that was also $1.97. Several other stations in that general area are about the same.

I drive a lot in my job, and since I buy fuel for two vehicles (my own and the company truck), I always watch gas prices. I don't have to pay for the company fuel with my own money, but I figure it won't do any harm to try and get the cheapest gas possible.

There was also a Citgo station at S. Alamo and Johnson (I think that's where it was) that had it for $1.97.

Singapore police to keep close watch on Sexpo 2005

I can't make this stuff up:

Singapore opened its first sex exhibition on Friday with police saying they will also attend to make sure organizers and exhibitors comply with the city-state's strict laws.

Police and the Singapore's media watchdog have reminded event organizers of rules restricting the display of adult toys such as vibrators and warned them not to promote homosexuality.

'Organizers must not promote objectionable sexual behaviors or lifestyle, such as sado-masochism, bestiality, homosexuality, paedophilia and promiscuity,' police spokesman Victor Keong said.

Titled Sexpo 2005, the three-day event will feature erotic dance competitions, an array of sex toys and sex-friendly furniture, as well as a series of seminars on sexual health.

Keong said police will visit the exhibition site to ensure that the rules are not breached.

Uh-huh. Good story, guys.

I am somewhat curious as to how big a vibrator has to be before they consider it "oversized."

I've actually been waiting for this...

It's about time. From NRA-ILA:

Last week, DPS announced that, effective November 30, the new rules will take effect and New Mexico will grant reciprocity to the following 20 states: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming.

Next vacation: Albuquerque. And other points of interest.

More people see the light in Montgomery

News from Montgomery, Alabama:

About two months ago, Griffin heard comments Montgomery Mayor Bobby Bright made suggesting that residents buy a gun and learn how to use it to protect themselves.

[...]

Since the mayor's statements, the class has doubled in size, applications for gun permits are up, and at least one gun store owner has seen more customers.

At the sheriff's office, where applicants file for permits to carry concealed handguns, there were 499 new permits issued in the county in the two months following the mayor's Sept. 16 comments.

In the two months before Bright's comments, there were 427 new gun permits.

What is this "permit" which you speak of? Is there, perhaps, city revenue involved? Still, it's good news from where I'm sitting.

The term "target of opportunity" comes to mind...

From Reuters via Yahoo News:

Iran's volunteer Islamic militiamen are vowing to form a human chain along the length of the country's borders as a show of force against international pressure on Tehran's atomic program.

Iran faces referral to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions after failing to convince the world its nuclear fuel program is intended for power stations rather than warheads.
Mohammad Hejazi, head of the volunteer basij militia, swore he had enough people to girdle the country.

'Nine million basij will form a human chain around Iran on November 26 in support of the country's right to peaceful nuclear energy,' he told state television Wednesday.

Kindred Clans Unite to Condemn White Phosphorus Use

Spokes-beings from the stunningly attractive Ventrue, the scruffy-but-loyal Gangrel, and the compellingly grotesque Nosferatu clans met just after sunset today with a member of the ruggedly handsome but belligerent Bruja for a formal press conference to condemn the use of white phosphorus as a weapon. All four Kindred refrained from publicizing their names, for fear of "reprisals against their bloodlines," but were united in their stand against the incendiary chemical.

"White phosphorus is an evil and an abomination," said the Ventrue. "It is one of the few things that can kill us, and for that, we are opposed to its use under any circumstances."

The Bruja spokes-being then added, "Even I, of the most ancient and noble Bruja clan, agree with this verminous Ventrue regarding white phosphorus. Although I may not be opposed to its use as an eradicator of vile pests such as these," he finished, indicating the Gangrel.

The Gangrel then demonstrated the effectiveness of white phosphorus by firing a single shot into the Bruja, which left him a smoldering heap of bones and non-functioning organs on the ground.

The Nosferatu spokes-being then smiled and quietly stated, "We speak only the truth, you see."

The conference ended with the member of Gangrel clan stating, "If the cattle ever figure out how we make these bullets, we're toast."

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan issued a short statement on behalf of the President: "Although the President is not against vampirism per se, as a true patriotic American he is opposed to the use of innocent Americans as a food source for these unclean legions of the living dead." He further stated that white phosphorus may still be used to "briefly illuminate their foul, blood-encrusted dens of feeding" for tactical purposes.

Vice President Dick Cheney also issued a rare, but pointed, public statement: "In the name of God, impure souls of the living dead shall be banished into eternal damnation. Amen."

A comment on the comments

Okay, I've fixed it so that on the individual post pages, the old Blogger comments are still displayed. So to everyone who left comments before I switched to Haloscan: your comments are still there! Woo hoo!

On new posts beginning yesterday only Haloscan comments are shown.

The professionals will protect us

Professionals like Denny Gulla:

Buckley Officer Ryan Boyle wrote in his report that he asked Gulla the reason for the stop. He got no answer, and noticed that Gulla was upset, so he went to speak with Kelly.

As they talked, Gulla came over, leaned into Kelly's window and began to yell at Kelly and Johnston. According to Boyle's report, Gulla screamed, 'You looking for my house mother-f---er? You better not be. If you're looking for my house I will kill you.'

Boyle would later tell his chief that Gulla repeatedly said, 'I will blow your f---ing brains out, do you understand me? I will take my pistol and I will shoot you in the f---ing head.'

Spit was flying from Gulla's mouth onto Kelly's face.

Kelly -- 6 feet 4 inches and 235 pounds -- was so terrified that the 5-foot 9-inch Gulla would shoot him that he wet his pants.

Gulla said he had a gun in his trunk seized from a crack head, 'a nobody, and that's what he'd use to shoot me in my mother f---ing face. And these two cops here will collaborate (sic) whatever story he says and I'll be gone,' according to Kelly.

Then, as Boyle watched, Gulla took Kelly out of the vehicle with his hands behind his back as though he was arresting him.

'I'm standing there with my fingers interlocked behind my back ... and he's just trying to get me to do something,' Kelly told investigators. 'He's making comments on my wife, just all kinds of garbage. He said something about, yeah, I'm the one f---ing your wife. ... He's just on and on about my kids, you're never gonna see your kids again. He was trying to get me to make a move or something. He wanted an excuse and he wanted it bad. I really felt like he was trying to get me to talk back. I thought he was gonna shoot me right there. I honest to God thought that this is it, I'm done.'

UPDATE: Welcome to Alphecca readers. I wanted to note that although this quote is long (longer than my usual excerpt anyway), it is only about one-third of the full article, so be sure and read the whole thing. Also note that these reports were not only from someone this officer had allegedly harrassed--part of it is also from another police officer, who undoubtedly operates under a much higher standard than this scum.

Newsflash: "Blue Press" catalog arrives with seals intact

In a startling turn of events, The Blue Press, catalog of Dillon Precision, arrived today in this blogger's mailbox with both seals completely intact and unbroken.

Since the seals were still intact, the catalog did not automatically fall open at certain opportune pages. Nor did it have the corners of certain pages turned down as if someone had marked them for further reference. Nor, especially, was it afflicted with disturbingly mysterious smudges.

One can only speculate that the regular mailman is on vacation, requiring the weekend mail-woman to fill in for him during the week. Possibly the mail-woman is interested in neither firearms accessories nor with comely, well-proportioned women. Another possibility is that the regular mailman has finally figured out that The Blue Press is indeed a catalog of firearms accessories and not a catalog of scanty clothing modeled by comely, well-proportioned women.

This blogger must also note that the cover photo of the December issue of The Blue Press does, in fact, feature a comely and well-proportioned lever-action rifle, brandished by an especially comely and well-proportioned woman.

Second Amendment Sunday at RHOG

A few weeks ago the guys at Right Hand of God began posting a specifically 2nd Amendment related article every Sunday. This week's installment is a real jewel. Go read it. You'll probably want to bookmark it, or save the quotes anyway, for future use.

Giraffe looking for love--anyplace, anytime--species unimportant

In Monterrey, Mexico:

Keepers of a small menagerie at a Mexican park are looking for a mate for a lovesick giraffe after the 15-foot-tall beast tried to make love to a tree and a garden shed.

The director of Central Park in Ciudad Juarez, south of the border from El Paso, Texas, said on Friday they have been looking since last month for a mate for the five-year-old giraffe, named Modesto.

'He's driving us crazy,' Juan Aragones told Reuters in a telephone interview. 'He's mounted a tree, a fence and even a shed.'

Aragones said Central Park had begun contacting animal dealers in Mexico to find a mate for Modesto, who was born in captivity and has lived alone at the recreational park for three years. He has never had a sexual partner.

The park is home only to Modesto and a few ducks.

Which are currently giving Modesto a very wide berth, I daresay.

"More Women Pack Pistols?" ABC asks incredulously

Yes, from ABC News:

"I refuse to be a victim, so basically that's why I got interested," said Dutko who is in her 50s. "Most people will go through their life and never have a problem but if you're prepared, then you can take care of a situation."

The retired history teacher is part of what appears to be a growing number of women who view carrying a weapon as an essential part of their safety, which has led the firearms industry to offer women only training classes, magazines and clothing for female gun owners.

"We get calls from women who didn't grow up around firearms...yet they have an interest in their personal safety...and it kind of goes from there. We've seen such an increase in participation in our programs," said NRA spokesperson Kelly Hobbs. "It does seem to at least stem from that interest in protecting their families and themselves."

Although, critics claim guns may not improve your safety.

According to the Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence, if you have a gun at home, it's at least 20 times more likely to end up accidentally shooting you than it is to protect you from an intruder.

Still, women like Dutko feel safer with a firearm.

While there is no one statistic regarding female gun ownership nationwide, just look at the product racks in an outdoor sports store and it's apparent women are shopping.

"I have a holster purse," said Dutko. "They're very sharp. I don't want to look masculine I don't want to wear fatigues, plus I don't even hunt … but there is more and more out there for women."

Of course they had to include some Brady vomitus but overall this is a good article. There's lots more besides just what I quoted, and even a mention of Second Amendment Sisters.

Talk about "fair chase" hunting...

The Pennsylvania state Game Commission is thinking about adding the atlatl to the list of legal hunting weapons:

To use an atlatl, throwers hook arrowlike hunting darts into the end of the atlatl, which is generally a wooden piece about 2 feet long. The leverage of the atlatl allows them to throw the 5- to 8-foot darts much farther than they could throw a spear.

At BPS Engineering in Manhattan, Mont., a leading manufacturer of atlatls, sales have averaged about 450 in recent years, said owner Bob Perkins. Customers pay $140 for his company's 2-foot maple production-line model, the Warrior, along with a set of five 5 1/2-foot aluminum darts.

Perkins has killed two deer with atlatls and, a couple weeks ago, got his first buffalo.

'Atlatls were the first true weapon system developed by the human race,' he said. 'They were used longer than any other weapon. Comparatively speaking, the bow and arrow was a recent development in projectile technology.'

There is evidence that the weapons were used more than 8,000 years ago in Pennsylvania, said Kurt Carr, an archaeologist with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

Prehistoric atlatls have a distinctive counterweight feature called a winged banner stone that has helped confirm their existence at digs in Huntingdon and Bucks counties, among other places, said Carr. Atlatl use goes back far as 12,000 years elsewhere in North America and far longer in Europe.

And I'm sure that the atlatl has just moved into 728th place on the list of items that certain groups will want to ban.

A quick Google shows their website to be at Atlatl Bob - Precision Atlatl & Dart Systems. As mentioned in the article, a hunting atlatl with 5 darts can be yours (or mine) for $140.

Have you ever wondered what a hurdy-gurdy sounds like?

I have. I've seen pictures of them. I knew they were a very old instrument with a crank handle that used drones similar to the way a bagpipe uses drones. But I had never actually heard a good example of the hurdy-gurdy.

Interesting Thing of the Day gives us an article chock full of information about the hurdy-gurdy, and points us to a site with several hurdy-gurdy sound samples. I recommend the one called The Dining Table. At 2.32 megs, it won't take long to download even if you're cursed with a dial-up connection such as I am.

I love medieval music. Those modal scales that fall somewhere in between pure major and pure minor just give me the chills.

A small personal mystery solved

Earlier this, month, I noticed a flag flying at half-staff, and couldn't figure out why. Now, after catching up on all kinds of news from my newsfeed subscriptions, I have found it:

Texas flags on state property will be lowered to half-staff tomorrow in memory of Rosa Parks.

Governor Rick Perry says the flags will be lowered as a mark of respect for Parks and the pivotal role she played in the civil rights movement. Perry says it seems fitting that all Texas flags be flown at half-staff on the day she is laid to rest.

Flags will be lowered at the state Capitol, Capitol complex, Governor`s Mansion and all state office buildings and facilities across Texas tomorrow.

My job requires me to drive all over the San Antonio area. The one flag that I saw flying at half-staff was at the Chevron convenience store in China Grove. It was kept lowered for several days.

Utter Stupidity

He may be a law enforcement officer for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, but he should stick to law enforcement and try not to reveal his complete ignorance of basic anatomy:

Lee Ellington, a law enforcement officer for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, said it is illegal to buy or sell a non-game species. Penalties could include a maximum $5,000 fine, five days in jail and suspension of hunting and fishing privileges.

Municipal court clerk Cecilia Bland said putting a snake in a commercial freezer also could violate health codes, but she added that police have had trouble getting the health department to investigate.

Ellington said the businessman could have put his customers at risk by selling the meat.

"There are some Texas farmers that do serve rattlesnake, but they are professionals in detoxing the snake," Ellington said. "Odds are that this man is not a professional."

What are you, stupid? We aren't professionals in "detoxing" anything. The venom sacs of rattlesnakes as well as cottonmouths are located in the top of the mouth, so that when the snake bites, the sacs are crushed compressed and the venom is injected into the prey. There isn't any venom in the snake's body, you moron. If there was, it would die.

The only true statement in this report is "The snake 'was gonna get me so I had to get him first,' he said." That's no joke. Cottonmouths are extremely aggressive and, unlike many other venomous snakes, prefer attack as a first resort instead of as a last resort.

UPDATE: Boy, you just never can tell what's going to set me off next, can you? I never thought I'd be doing any snakeblogging.

Blogging Comments

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Auto-install didn't work. Sheesh.

UPDATE: I installed Haloscan because I wanted real trackbacks instead of Blogger's "backlinks" thing. I was under the impression that the old Blogger comments would not be destroyed in the switch, but apparently I was wrong. Just wanted to say I'm sorry to those who have left comments which have now all disappeared.

I apparently evolved one more rung up the ladder on TTLB Ecosystem last night, and I thought I was getting big enough that maybe I should have trackbacks.

Robertson invokes wrath of God, stray cow wanders onto Main Street

In what may have been the result of this small Pennsylvania town's voting their school board out of office for supporting "intelligent design," a stray dairy cow wandered onto Main Street near the intersection with Stony Lane in Dover this week, disrupting traffic for several minutes and even allegedly causing one driver to "swerve slightly." The cow was described by local experts as "probably a Holstein with maybe some Jersey or Guernsey in her." At one point, Mable Osgood, proprietor of "Mabel's Beauty Salon," confronted the aimless bovine as it stood belligerent and refusing to move in the middle of the street, and allegedly "swatted it's tail with her broom." The cow was consequently driven from the thoroughfare, after which it found a small patch of grass in a nearby vacant lot and, according to bystanders, "stopped to eat."

It is suspected by many 700 Club members that this was indeed nothing short of the wrath of God warned of by televangelist Pat Robertson, described by some as "a modern-day Jonah, but without the fish." Robertson himself was not available for comment.

In a related story, some residents of Dover have complained this past week that the town's single stoplight at the intersection of Main Street and Canal Road "has been running a little long." Further evidence of God's wrath? This reporter will refrain from editorializing.

The bastardization of a historical firearm

Alphecca points us to this interesting commentary on what I like to refer to as bastard guns.

Although I must admit, if someone were to give me one for free, I'd definitely take it. Then I'd see what I could do about trading it for a nice .36 caliber squirrel rifle.

Surprise! Senator Hinojosa won't be facing charges

DA dismisses gun charges against Senator Hinojosa:

State Senator Juan Hinojosa won't be facing gun charges after he was arrested at an airport carrying a handgun.

[...]

Hinojosa released the following statement:

"I am relieved that the Grand Jury chose not to prosecute in this unfortunate incident where I absent-mindedly carried a licensed, concealed weapon through airport security. I am well aware, however, that many will see this as special treatment. I have read, and listened, to the many letters to the editors and comments on talk radio, and I understand where people are coming from. I have, though, heard from ordinary citizens, people I did not know personally, that they believe the system worked as it should — and that our heightened national security efforts were effective and the judicial system took its time in looking at the incident and making their judgment. I want to thank the citizens of South Texas for their understanding and patience during this unfortunate incident."

Yeah, sure, Juan. Whatever.

Previous:
Must be nice to be one of the ruling elite
"Nobody in their right mind"

Alucard Goes South Park

That was the biggest pistol they had.

Thanks to Planearium via The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns

The folks at Ruger knew what they were doing...

...when they created the Super Redhawk Alaskan.

Hungry Horse, Montana:

Olaf Ervin came face to face with a black bear last Tuesday (Nov. 1), but luckily there was a door between him and the bruin.

At about 9 p.m. he had been leaving his grandparents', Chuck and Marion Fisher, home on the North Fork Road just outside Columbia Falls.

He walked out their door holding his 15-month-old daughter, Emma. Just as they got to the final step of the porch he heard a woofing sound.

That's when the sow came rushing up from behind them.

Yikes.

tnx to NRA-ILA

Shameless Flog

In what may be a new milestone for this blogger, I have a short tongue-in-cheek article guest-blogged at The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns. Go there, and give her site some referrals from this site, for a change.

A note on the previous post

The PETA article came about while I was doing some research to try and write a satirical-type thing about them. I just couldn't do it. So it turned into this.

PETA: Masters of Hypocrisy

In July of this year, the small south Texas town of Jourdanton was rocked, yes rocked with scandal because the acting city manager was apparently having dogs "euthanized" by drowning them at the sewer plant. He said he did it to "save money," although money had been budgeted for this purpose.

PETA lost no time in issuing a formal protest:

August 11, 2005
Jourdanton, Texas--- This morning, PETA sent an urgent plea to District Attorney Rene Pena in Floresville, urging him to vigorously prosecute animal control officer Chantan Morin and other Jourdanton city workers who are reportedly being investigated for cruelty to animals. The city employees allegedly drowned at least five dogs on July 11 at the city's sewage treatment plant. According to news sources, one witness alleges that the animals were confined to cages and then lowered into the water. Those who escaped were evidently strangled with noose poles and then held under water, struggling and flailing, until they died.

"Animal care workers are trusted to protect animals from abuse, which makes the alleged actions of Morin and the others all the more troubling," says PETA Animal Sheltering Advisor Teresa Chagrin. "Mental health professionals and top law enforcement officials consider cruelty to animals to be a red flag."

I must say that I do not approve of "euthanizing" dogs by drowning them at a sewer plant. But if you want to talk red flags, I got your red flag right here (emphasis mine, as usual):

PETA has given tens of thousands of dollars to convicted arsonists and other violent criminals. This includes a 2001 donation of $1,500 to the North American Earth Liberation Front (ELF), an FBI-certified "domestic terrorist" group responsible for dozens of firebombs and death threats. During the 1990s, PETA paid $70,200 to an Animal Liberation Front (ALF) activist convicted of burning down a Michigan State University research laboratory. In his sentencing recommendation, a federal prosecutor implicated PETA president Ingrid Newkirk in that crime. And PETA vegetarian campaign coordinator Bruce Friedrich told an animal rights convention in 2001 that "blowing stuff up and smashing windows" is "a great way to bring about animal liberation."

There are lots of ways that PETA can be called for their hypocrisy. Some of their people have killed animals, probably with drugs that they weren't legally allowed to possess, and then disposed of the bodies in dumpsters that were not their property. According to some reports, very few of the animals that PETA accepts to be put up for adoption actually survive to be adopted.

I usually use the sledgehammer of sarcasm to state my position, but this time I'll just say it flat out.

PETA advocates and supports vandals, arsonists, and others who issue death threats. As far as I'm concerned, this makes them accessories, perhaps after the fact, but accessories in crime, nevertheless. They are nothing more than criminals, and should be treated as such.

Student kills one, injures two in official "Gun Free Zone"

Yahoo News reports on a school shooting in Tennessee:

An assistant principal was killed and two other administrators remained in serious condition after a 15-year-old student opened fire with a handgun concealed under a napkin in a Tennessee high school.

I thought somebody had declared school grounds to be "gun free zones." Didn't this guy see the sign?

Bummer

Due to a spat between DishNetwork and the Outdoor Life Network, I can no longer see a couple of my favorite shows: Shooting USA and Sighting in with Shooting USA. Bummer.

This is weird

Blogger has a setting for "Show this blog on our listings?" which I had set to "NO" for a long time. I wanted to try and get more accurate hit counts, so setting this to no would keep it from being included in the list when someone hit the "next blog" button and got sent to a random blog. Unfortunately, I had discovered that this setting also prevents many search engines, including Google, from being able to index the site. Last week I set it back to "YES" so that I could use Google to search my own blog, and yesterday it appears that this blog has somehow been included as an actual news source by Topix.net. I guess it's time to turn the switch back to "NO."

Does state law offer enough self-defense?

An article (or opinion piece) from the The Janesville Gazette in Wisconsin regarding an incident I mentioned previously:

Unfortunately, Wisconsin law offers Rainiero no protection from a civil lawsuit. So besides the emotional trauma the invasion and shooting has caused Rainiero and his family, he may yet become a victim in a court of law.

That's too bad.

Conservative lawmakers are pushing to enact a concealed carry gun law in Wisconsin. They also may want to take a second look at laws pertaining to use of force for home invasions. We might not want to go as far as Colorado or Florida, but perhaps some middle ground is available to give homeowners more rights.

I wonder where the NRA is on this. Seems like they should really be pushing for protection from this kind of b.s. civil lawsuit. Somebody should be.

The safest counties in Florida, unless you're a criminal

WFTV.com reports that Orange County tops the list:

More than 55,000 Central Floridians are licensed to carry a concealed weapon. Orange County has the most, followed by Brevard and Volusia.

Orange County has 14,942; Brevard County is next with 11,527; Volusia County has 10,631; Lake County follows with 6,401; Seminole County has 6,330; Osceola County has 3,701; and Flagler County has 1,864.

First they gave us "high-powered rifles"...

...and now we have a "high-powered defense attorney". What next?

They'll just never get it

Regarding concealed carry in Missouri:

Jon Russell drove to work and punched in at the usual time for his third-shift job at Modine Manufacturing Co.

Then he pulled out a handgun and started firing at people around him. He killed three fellow employees and seriously wounded five others. Shortly after that, he turned the gun on himself, bringing the death toll that night to four.

And...

"Modine's company policy prohibits its employees from possessing weapons anywhere on Modine's property" including its parking lots, Kelsey told legislators.

"The act before you would take away our right - and indeed the right of all private employers in Wisconsin - from enforcing what we consider to be a reasonable, common-sense policy," she said.

Under the bill as written, Modine could still prohibit concealed weapons from being brought into its buildings. But it could not prevent employees from bringing them onto Modine property in their own vehicles, Kelsey noted.

"With this bill, you take away one opportunity we believe we now have to keep our workplace safe."

And the existing law prevented the specified workplace violence in what way?

As of right now, there is a single comment following this article. The commentor stated:

It is ignorant to think that anyone with the lack of humanity, moral fiber, and common sense that would prevent them from killing in cold blood would be deterred from bringing a firearm to the workplace because a sign instructed them it was against company policy

Seems like a very logical conclusion, to me.

Largely Irrelevant Information

Nothing to say today, so I'll just mention that I have enjoyed attempting satire a couple of times lately, and will probably be trying it more in the future, since this is my blog and no one can stop me from saying something stupid. These faux-articles will be in Courier font, and will also be labeled with a little button of some sort so it's obvious. I guess this is a hazard if one tries to mix serious rants with humor in the same blog. I am currently trying to write such an article about PETA, but they tick me off so much it's hard to try and be funny about it.

Quote of the day: "It's too hot to go deer hunting." I never thought I'd hear my dad say such a thing, but sheesh, it's just no fun wearing a t-shirt to go deer hunting, sitting in the shade, and sweating anyway. Good grief. The deer don't move much in this kind of weather, anyway.

New "Come and Take It" Flags

Welcome Alphecca readers!

Here's some more stuff I worked on today, in honor of many of our Hallowed Leaders deciding we hoi polloi aren't worthy enough to freely express our opinions.





These flags were made by stealing from various other sources and patching them together into what you see here. Click for larger versions, and use them as you wish, if you wish.

UPDATE: Comment noted. How's this:



Related post: Come and Take It

I watched a really atrocious movie tonight...

I mean bad. Ella Enchanted is so stupid on so many levels I can't even begin to go into it.

But I never get tired of seeing Anne Hathaway.

It's the eyebrows. Really.

Senior Citizens Handle Guns for the First Time

From SouthofBoston.com:

Susan Chapman has been afraid of guns her whole life. At 64, she decided to do something about it. Now, Chapman is one of 12 seniors in Hanover's senior citizen police academy. Together, they tour local jails, patrol the town in a police cruiser, collect tips on scams and theft, and learn to shoot.

"I hope it will teach me how to protect myself," Chapman, of Hanover, said of the once-a-year class. "A lot of people prey on the elderly, I don't want to be one of these gullable [sic] people. I hope it will make me a little more aware of the world and what we have to look out for."

This kind of report just warms my heart. Here's another quote:

They even get to aim and shoot a rifle. "It's very heavy in your hands," Anne Hill of Duxbury said of the rifle she shot at Marshfield's Rod and Gun club this week, part of Duxbury's senior citizen academy.

"When it shoots, it kind of pushes you back a little," Hill, 69, said. "I feel more empowered."

Heh.

PETA

Today I spent quite some time--more time than I wanted to--doing research on things that are wrong about PETA. I found this interesting website that I wanted to mention: PETA Kills Animals. All kinds of stuff that people hate about PETA in one handy place. A good resource if you need something to get riled up about.

Professional Enough For You?

From KSAT:

A San Antonio Police Department officer was arrested and charged Sunday with sexually assaulting a woman while he was on duty.

[...]

Saenz is the second SAPD officer charged with rape this year.

Officer Dean Gutierrez was charged in June with sexually assaulting a transsexual.

More here:

A San Antonio police officer accused of forcing a woman to have sex with him while on duty was released from jail Tuesday and fitted with an electronic monitoring device.

[...]

Saenz will be on desk duty. If he is indicted by a grand jury, the San Antonio Police Department will more than likely suspend him.

Well, that's nice to know.

A Divorce, a Protective Order, and a 9mm Glock

From the Salt Lake Tribune:

Until Christmas Eve 1996, she had never contemplated carrying a gun.

Then her husband beat her.

The woman, of Salt Lake City, promptly got a divorce and a protective order - and a 9mm Glock pistol.

'I was always terrified of guns. But my fear of my ex-husband became far greater than my fear of guns. I saw what he was capable of,' said the woman.

This is a great story. Just read it. Comes with pictures of a man checking out a photo-realistic thug target and a young lady shooting her gun. Last quote:

"When I do pick up my gun to do target practice or whatever, I just feel like, 'Wow, this is empowering,' " she said. "I never thought I would get over [being afraid of guns] and it's nice to know a little lady like me can protect myself."

This guy got so lucky...

Janesville, Wisconsin:

Rainiero told police he went back to his bedroom and told his wife to call police. Rainiero retrieved a .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol from the closet, went to the master bathroom, removed the gun lock, loaded the weapon and then returned to the hallway.

Wow. His gun was in the closet, unloaded, with a gun lock, and the intruder actually allowed him to retrieve, re-able, and load his gun. Not to mention he made a disabling one-shot stop with a .380.

This is the bad part:

Although O'Leary has cleared Rainiero of criminal wrongdoing, that does not affect Rainiero's civil liability.

"There's always exposure civilly," O'Leary said. "Anybody can sue anybody civilly. The question is, 'Would he win?'"

O'Leary doesn't think so.

"It would be a difficult task to try and prove that Dr. Rainiero is more at fault than the individual breaking into the home for the resulting consequences," O'Leary said.

This is why there needs to be national protection from b.s. civil lawsuits. If self-defensive shooting is found to be justified, dragging someone through court and wrecking their finances should not be allowed.

In this case, he would probably not be found "more at fault than the individual breaking into the home," but he would still be punished with the stress and expense of a court case that shouldn't ever have happened. The very idea that the good Doctor might be found "more at fault" than the thug who actually broke into his home is repugnant to me. But I know that's how some idiots think.

Dispute Over Dice Becomes 3-round Melee

Von Ormy, TX -- Fisticuffs erupted today in the Castle of Olgar, known to some as Jimmy's mom's garage. What began as a discussion over using a d20 or a d10 turned swiftly to violence among this hardy band of adventurers.

Aralon the Magnificent (fighter--neutral good), proponent of using a d20 for the tens place and a d10 for the ones place, found his wishes thwarted by Alagorn the Strong (ranger--chaotic good), who stated that using two differently-colored d10 dice was the superior way. At one point, Aralon allegedly threw all available dice at Alagorn, commanding, "Roll this!" After which, the alleged fisticuffs did occur.

Also on the scene were Garan the Devious (thief--neutral) and Mogh the Subtle (druid--neutral). After witnessing the alleged incident, both Garan and Mogh remarked to this reporter that they "just rolled a d10 twice in a row and didn't worry too much about it." Garan further went on the state, "Most of the time you already know the answer on the first roll, so rolling another die is pretty much pointless." Mogh, who was in agreement, then stated, "Yeah." They then took part in a simple but arcane ritual of mutual congratulation known among adventurers as "Ye Five High."

Asked to describe the incident, Garan the Devious remarked that Aralon as well as Alagorn did not look so much like fighters, as they did "like a couple of happy-slappin' pixies." Mogh, who is said to be of half-elven ancestry, smiled politely but declined to offer wholehearty agreement.

Jimmy, also known as "The Dungeonmaster," sat idly by in quiet amusement and, as he put it, "let my pawns have their little argument." While Aralon and Alagorn were engaged in their struggle, the Dungeonmaster explained to this reporter that it didn't matter, because he had "already predestined their horrendous fates, anyway."

All parties present later agreed that "they don't make Mountain Dew like they used to."

Sometimes I wish I got Showtime

This weekend's Masters of Horror installment:

The episode is adapted from the H.P. Lovecraft classic short story about a college student who discovers a book of ancient evil called the Necronomicon - in its pages he finds horrifying connections between his own studies in advanced mathematics with the legends of black magic.

On of the highlights of episode is the human-faced rat named Brown Jenkins, one of Gordon's favorite Lovecraftian characters. As the director revealed recently at the Chillers convention, Showtime at first balked about having the rodent in the episode, thinking that the digital effects would be too expensive. But since KNB was already providing the practical effects, Gordon simply had a friend of his - an uncredited Ukrainian mime - go into makeup. Blended with footage of a real trained rat, and sometimes an animatronic rodent, Brown Jenkins is brought to life.

This one is directed by Stuart Gordon, who also made Re-Animator, one of my favorite movies. I suppose it will be on DVD eventually.

Lame excuses from the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office

They claim they're not gun grabbers:

Some of your readers have expressed concern at the Sheriff's Office's position relative to guns in Federal Emergency Management Agency facilities. As a life member of the National Rifle Association, I, too, grow extremely concerned when government attempts new ways to abridge responsible firearms ownership. However, I do not think it is appropriate to find fault with the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office for this position, as it is nothing terribly new or flagrantly unconstitutional.

First, there are long-standing federal laws which prohibit firearms on federal property, which include all or part of the FEMA operation.

This is as far as I could get before my eyes glazed over.

Lots of stuff to gripe about here, but that last paragraph just killed me. A disaster has occured. FEMA moves in. Every square inch of ground which requires emergency management magically becomes federal property. All guns become immediately illegal. You're full of it, Randy, and you know it. You screwed up, and you know it. You're probably serving your last term as sheriff, and you know it. Get ready to drive the golf cart at Walmart.

tnx to FirearmNews.com

And now I'm gonna quote 'em...

Ignert Redneck comments on white supremacy:

Next, they say they proud of bein' white. How in the hell can you be proud of somethin' you ain't gone and did? Now they Mama might be proud they white ifn' she been a sleepin' around, but saying I'm proud of bein white? Hell that's like saying I'm proud I got toenails. Unless of course you done lost some toenails to them yeller fellers that crawl up under them and go a diggin' like on the TV. The only person who can be proud of being white is Michel Jackison. That's becuz he didn't used to be white. He gone and become white, and if that is what he was a wantin' to do, then he can be proud. He ain't tho, he says it's a skin conditshun.Impitiger or sumptin'.

Man, I wish I could write like that.

New to Blogroll

I have somehow merited being included in the "Good Blogs Fer Menfolk" at Ignert Redneck. I have been reading this blog for several days, and am happy to now add it to my roll.

"Whatever that is!" Heh.

Self-Defense Bigotry in Florida

From the Miami-Dade Herald:

A recent marketing push by a stun gun manufacturer, aimed at boosting its share of what the industry calls ''home self defense,'' has sparked consternation among some Miami-Dade commissioners who fear the devices will end up in criminal hands or be used against police officers.

Five of the 13 commissioners have signed on as backers of a proposed rule to regulate the sale of stun guns with restrictions similar to gun purchases -- requiring a five-day waiting period and background checks on buyers.

Retailers would be banned from selling stun guns to minors or anyone convicted of a felony.

Buyers also would be required to undergo safety training offered by manufacturers.

Commissioners are scheduled to vote on the proposal at today's meeting.

''I hope it will have a chilling effect,'' said Commissioner Sally Heyman, a co-sponsor of the proposed ordinance.

So now we get to meet Commissioner Sally Heyman, who feels better as a potential victim and wants to make sure that everyone else has as few options to defend themselves as possible.

I'll skip pointing out this time that there's a big difference between a Taser and a stun gun. Oops, maybe not.

I like the "chilling effect" quote. A chilling effect on who? Someone who is starting to realize that they must take responsibility for protecting him/herself and their families. Someone who is beginning to realize that they can't depend on law enforcement to save them when they are attacked. Someone who probably didn't grow up handling firearms, have never handled a firearm, and are therefore understandably still somewhat shy when it comes to firearms. Someone who starts thinking about alternative, "less lethal" means of defense. Someone who goes to buy a stun gun or a Taser and suddenly runs into a five day waiting period and background checks. Someone who gets spooked by all these laws because if the government requires these restrictions, there must be something "wrong" with these means of defense. Someone who gets scared back into the cult of victimhood, just as she/he was beginning to emerge into the light.

That's who.

Justified -- but they confiscated his gun anyway

Youngstown, OH:

The most recent case of turning the tables is 83-year-old Walter Swita of South Avenue, who killed an intruder last week with a German Luger war souvenir more than 60 years old. The prosecutor said Swita represents a 'classic case' of self-defense, and no charge will be filed by her office. The case will be presented to the county prosecutor for review.

Almasy said Swita must petition the court to get his vintage firearm back. The gun was confiscated Friday night by police after Swita shot Benjamin Brooks, 44, of East Philadelphia Avenue, in the head and chest. Brooks died Sunday.

Lt. Robin Lees, police department spokesman, said Brooks' death will not be counted as a criminal homicide. Lees said the situation is similar to when a police officer kills in the line of duty.

Except that a police officer won't have to file a petition with the court to get his firearm back. I would not be surprised if this weapon disappears. A real Luger, still in working condition? Those are worth some money.

"She was resisting, big time"

Here is a gripping account of an attempted abduction, probably attempted murder, from The Waterloo Cedar-Falls Courier in Iowa:

'If I get into the car with him, either way, I'm going to die or he's going to shoot me there. I decided to try to save myself,' Deery said.

This young lady lived to tell the tale, and her split-second decision has taught her that she doesn't have to be a victim.

Some Illinois Gun Owners Have a Definite Advantage

According to Giacomo "Jack" Pecoraro, executive director of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, some Illinois gun owners have phenomenal gun-handling abilities:

"If you've seen tourists with the small bags, you can have the firearm in the bag over here and the clip or the necessary rounds. It takes a mere second to load it," he said. "And that's allowable, and this is what we're trying to stop."

They can remove an unloaded weapon and it's accompanying magazine from a fanny pack and load the gun in only one second! And apparently even tourists to Illinois have this ability! I wish I could move that fast.

I've said it before...

This is why there can never be any "discussion," any compromise with these people:

'There isn't really any middle ground on this issue,' State Police Director Larry Trent said at a news conference Tuesday. 'You either stand with the gun lobby or you stand with law enforcement.'

The battle centers on how guns are transported, tracked and traded. Gov. Rod Blagojevich vetoed three bills on the issue, and lawmakers must decide whether to override the vetoes when they return to the Capitol Wednesday.

Blagojevich says the measures would create more dangers for Illinois citizens and law enforcement by loosening gun restrictions. The Democratic governor is calling undecided lawmakers, or those who might be persuaded to switch, and asking for their support, Trent said.

Gun control groups are joining Blagojevich in framing the issue as a stark choice for lawmakers.

'Those who oppose the veto of the governor are upholding crime,' Jennifer Bishop of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence said at the news conference with Trent. 'They are advocating for criminals and against victims.'

It is nice that the Illinois governor has finally brought it all out in the open and admitted that some members of Illinois government and law enforcement are nothing more than a bunch of facist thugs.

tnx to The War On Guns

I have to get this book

Michelle Malkin has a new book out, and it looks like a humdinger.