Wednesday, March 31, 2004
Another American and His Battle Rifle
“This is my battle rifle. There are many just like it, and this one is mine. As an American, it is my absolute, unquestionable right to have this; it is my birthright. I will go to any length necessary to ensure that this rifle remains in my hands, the hands of my countrymen, and to ensure that the hands of our posterity may go freely to the most fearsome arms the future has to offer. ”
geekWithA.45
Timbeaux stands to be counted.
(And...I think that's one of the more pimped out commie rifles I've seen)
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Posted By: geekWithA.45  
Desecrating Bodies....
You'd think they'd learn, huh?
Bush isn't Clinton, and the days of running from people who revel in this sort of thing (graphic photos) are OVER.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Tuesday, March 30, 2004
Bill Whittle Posts Chapter 2!
It's a trap!
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Busy Days...
Light blogging for a day or so, as I attend to "life" (tm).
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Sunday, March 28, 2004
Victor David Hansen In The X-Ring, Again...
Read this op-ed piece, which is an amazing summation of where we are, what we've achieved, and where we're going with respect to the WOT.
There are too many great quotes to cherry pick, so just click the link, wouldja?
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
More on 5th Circuit/4th Amendment
{via Says Uncle}
I have real heartburn with this
Quote:
------------
This isn't a case of 'If you haven't done anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about," Aside from the fact that's a specious argument that sets the stage for the argument that you should allow (even welcome) LE and State inspections of your property and lifestyle all the time, because only people who are going wrongs things will get in trouble - and boy is that BS.
------------
He generously concludes:
-------------
LEO comes to my door, I'm coming out onto the porch and closing the door. Any LEO business they need to conduct with me will be conducted in a nice safe environment for them - their offices or my porch, or in the squad car. I would not want to make any LEO uncomfortable about his safety, so we'll go to his bunker.
-------------
Not everyone is willing to be that generous.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Saturday, March 27, 2004
YELLOW ALERT!
Shields Up.
This is the most chilling thing I've read in a long time.
The only reason I'm not declaring an outright red alert is that I suspect this might be the result of crappy reporting on the part of the news source.
Nonetheless, I offer the article in it's entirety:
Quote: {emphasis mine, as is the stuff in curly braces}
------------------
Court Opens Door To Searches Without Warrants
POSTED: 3:55 pm CST March 26, 2004
UPDATED: 4:36 pm CST March 26, 2004
NEW ORLEANS -- It's a groundbreaking court decision that legal experts say will affect everyone: Police officers in Louisiana no longer need a search or arrest warrant to conduct a brief search of your home or business.
Leaders in law enforcement say it will provide safety to officers, but others argue it's a privilege that could be abused.
The decision was made by the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. Two dissenting judges called it the "road to Hell."
The ruiling stems from a lawsuit filed in Denham Springs in 2000.
New Orleans Police Department spokesman Capt. Marlon Defillo said the new power will go into effect immediately and won't be abused.
"We have to have a legitimate problem to be there in the first place, and if we don't, we can't conduct the search," Defillo said.
But former U.S. Attorney Julian Murray has big problems with the ruling.
"I think it goes way too far," Murray said, noting that the searches can be performed if an officer fears for his safety -- a subjective condition.
Defillo said he doesn't envision any problems in New Orleans, but if there are, they will be handled.
"There are checks and balances to make sure the criminal justce system works in an effective manor," Defillo said. {yeah, right}
------------------
I am assuming that this is related to a recent 5th Circuit court ruling that allowed certain evidence that was found subsequent to a "protective sweep" after the officers had been admitted by a third party. You might recall that similair logic was used to allow similiar searches of cars and people NOT in their homes.
IF the reporting is accurate, the State of Lousiana has decided to capitalize on this ruling to effectively cripple the 4th ammendment.
Previously, the few exceptions to 4A as related to the home were narrowly construed to so as leave leeway for cases when imminent harm was probable, and to allow the police to effect a rescue, or when blatant evidence of a crime was in "plain view".
This wedge was widened during the war on (some) drugs, and the slippery slope has clearly accellerated.
There are lines that need to be drawn, and if you can't draw them at your front door, you can't draw them anywhere.
God help us, people.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Friday, March 26, 2004
Haunting And Mesmerising....
This link drew me in for long enough for me to forget how I found it. {Thanks, whoever y'are}
Pripyat Ghost Town, 1970-1896
Join an unnamed Russian biker girl as she rides the "dead zone" of Cherynobyl.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Smallest Minority On A Roll...
It's short and sweet.
Quote:
------------
(Kerry's) positions seem more like probabilistic clouds, ruled by the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle - you can't know where he stands, and the act of trying to determine his position Ii>affects his position. I want someone in office I can trust, with positions I understand - even if I may disagree with some of his positions on some issues.
------------
Kerry's position ruled by Hiesenberg! What an inspired insight!
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Ring....
"Hi, this is X from Children's Hospital, we're calling to confirm {Pookie's}appointment for next week, and to confirm our records.
Your address is {x}?"
"yep"
"Your phone number is {Y}?"
"yep"
"Your employers is...?"
"None of your business." (The kids are insured through geeketteWithA9mm's employer)
"Oh, sorry."
Realizing I had come off harsher than was warranted, I backed off a bit.
"Geez, I'm sorry, that came out harsher than I meant it to, and I didn't mean to be rude. My employer isn't relevant"
"OK, no problem. The emergency contact is {Z} at {Z's phone #}?
"Yep"
"Your social security number is...?"
"Can't have it. That's not relevant either."
"What's {Pookie's} social security number?"
"Well, it's neither relevant, nor exists. She doesn't have one."
"Okay, no problem. Well, that's it, thank you, and we'll see you next week!"
I've written before about vigilantly not giving out irrelevant information, and this was yet another example of it.
I think the continued good news is that enough folks are with holding information that others have no right to that it's no longer an unusual thing. It is simply accepted.
Back in the day, it would get you sidetracked into explanations and administrative grief. In the past, folks would insist that their systems required the SSN, but after enough folks have refused, it seems that the mechanisms for accepting this decision are now in place, thus allieviating the grief that the clerk experiences.
Another update on the miniGeek's lack of SSN. Some time ago, I had estimated that not claiming them would cost about $200. According to my tax accountant, the cost is actually closer to $1700 this year.
This is offensive. The .gov has $1700, which it implicitly acknowledges as mine, but refuses to refund it because I choose to excercise the option not to get the miniGeeks entangled in the SSN system, which is currently scheduled to achieve financial insolvency in 2019.
grrr...
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Finally! A Good Reason To Buy A Shotgun!
IDF unveils new miniature surveillance planes
I suppose they'll be fluzzing through our backyards soon enough.
Sidebar:
-----------
It seems to me that Israel has a fairly solid lead on commercial and military electronics and robotics, a fact that never seems to make the papers...
-----------
Fair Warning:
I consider the airspace over my property sacrosanct. Trespassing robotica will be shot down on sight, and their owners charged a stiff property rental fee.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
A Reminder...
There's nothing I hate more than shambling out to my office in the morning and reading a reminder that (most of) the circuit courts are not our friends.
Jed got wind of a 10th Circuit court 2A ruling (PDF) that repeats the errors derived from tortured readings of Miller et al, and comes down in favor of the collectivist fantasy, which seems to hold sway only at the level of the circuit courts, and the hearts and hopes of the gun bigots.
While there is really nothing new in this ruling, the deepest danger is of course, that each reaffirmation of these errors etches them more deeply into the legal stone works.
Equally vile is their ruling on 10A standing based on the *Costle case, holding that
"private plaintiffs do not have standing to bring Tenth Amendment
claims when their interests are not aligned with the state’s interests",
which essentially eleminates the phrase " or to the people" from that amendment, interpreting 10A as being entirely about state soveriegnty, with the interests of the people rendered moot in the face of the interest of the state.
Finally, there is a weak dissension by Judge Kelley, which is better than no dissent at all. He concludes that the case at hand could have, and therefore ought to have been concluded narrowly so as to avoid prematurely diluting 2A.
That the other justices choose to rule broadly rather than narrowly tells us pretty clearly where their heads are.
I've said this before, and I sadly see nothing here to change my mind:
Activist Judges who wish to support an agenda can always do so by misconnecting the dots, or by scrutinizing documents for stray punctuation. Each time they do this, they etch that misconnected path into the stone, and create the path of least resistance for subsequent rulings, until it becomes well worn. Eventually, you'll need a true hero of a Judge who will buck the path of least resistance and sandblast the rock clean.
Despite the progress and victories being made, it's a rude slap in the face too early in the morning to remind us that the situation remains dire.
---------------
*This appears to be another of those tortured precedents. In Costle, a private citizen wanted to raise an issue, and the State did not want that issue raised. The state filed a brief to that effect, and the courts said "fine", the State had more standing in that case than the citizen to raise the issue, and if the State doesn't want to argue it, that's hunky dory. Subsequently, this has morphed into this sort of bizarre "default" assertion that a citizen must therefore show how their interests align with the states interest before having standing. What this discounts, of course, are cases where the interest of the Person and the state diverge.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Thursday, March 25, 2004
After Action Report:
Scott Bach (ANJRPC/NRA) vs Bryan Miller (Ceasefire NJ) Cage Match on CN8
Summary:
It was a blowout in our favor.
Main Participants:
Mary Amoroso:
(Hostess) Did a fair and well reasonably balanced job. I sorta get the impression she wanted to knee jerk into the gun bigot's side, but resisted admirably.
Bryan Miller: (Ceasefire NJ)
To be honest, he simply looked idiotic and sad. He score no points. In fact, throughout the entire show, he really only had a few minor phrases that he could offer.
-Guns are bad
-The NRA lies
-People with guns, CCW, AW, etc are "ridiculous".
In fact, all he could do was just keep repeating how "ridiculous" the progun side was, while not offering anything substantial to back it up.
In the final segment of the show, he realized how badly he'd been beaten, and chose to play for sympathy by playing the "my brother and two other FBI guys were killed by a criminal with an evil assault weapon card".
I think he got a little sympathy, but ultimately, I think the play backfired, because it gave Scott an opportunity to show some decency and restraint, while at the same time providing the viewer with a complete explanation for exactly who Bryan Miller is, and why.
Scott Bach: (ANJRPC/NRA)
Scott did a solid job representing our side, grade: B+/A-. He did some minor and forgiveable fumbles, and scored many solid points along the way. To his credit, he abstained from scoring some eminently scoreable points when Miller played the "My brother was killed with an evil gun" card. I understand his reticence, and concede that as satisfying as gaining the points might have been, the ruthlessness needed to get them would be seen as kicking a man in his grief.
Scott is a Northern New Jerseyan, and should not be confused with the Southern Duckhunter variety. Based on his performance here, he should probably be re-elected to the NRA board the next time he's up, unlike certain other candidates from NJ.
The Callers:
Charles: {The first caller was none other than The Mighty and Egregious Charles!}
Charles did a standup job simply getting the fact that normal, responsible people carry guns plainly and immediately on the table, that there isn't a damned thing wrong with it, and that the Dark & Fascist State of NJ is a problem because he can go to jail for 50 years for forgetting to clean his ammo out of his trunk when he goes to visit his parents. He gave Scott a perfect opening that he capitalized on to state that guns are a choice, they're not for everybody, but they are for any honest person to choose.
BOOYA, MIGHTY AND EGREGIOUS ONE!
Inarticulate Caller: duh...I think people should pass a mental test.
Another gun carrier from PA: Stressed need for education about guns, responsible storage, and that guns were part of his family history.
Woman From Massachussetts: Pointed out that MA preposterously treats sprays as firearms, reiterated normality of carriage of arms and benefits of such to women.
The Online Poll: is here. The last time I checked, it was 95% in our favor.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
John R. Lott's Latest
A Weapon Surrendered
Gun-control groups concede the frivolity of the “assault-weapons ban.
Quote:
-------------
Despite gun-control organizations' finally agreeing that the semi-automatic gun ban now doesn't matter, too much has been made of the importance of this legislation for too many years. Somehow, the obvious failure of the semi-automatic-gun ban will be a fitting epitaph for one of the gun-control movement's hallmark pieces of legislation. It would have been nice if gun-control organizations had been honest and told us all of this a decade ago.
-------------
Yup, it sure would have.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Kim's Comments On the 9/11 Commission
Can be found here, and I'm in general agreement with his sentiments.
I would like to amplify one point, however:
Quote:
------------
I think that both the Clinton- and Bush administrations are at fault.
------------
I can't fault that. Who's at fault is less significant than what the assorted presidents DID about it.
Clinton "sent a message" in the form of 60 sea launched cruise missiles, to no good effect.
Bush "sent a message" in the form of the US Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force, crushing two despotic regimes, allowing their citizens victims to awaken from their long nightmare.
As a result, suddenly, no one wants to piss us off.
Libya drops their WMD like hot potatos. North Korea gulps and steps back from their nuke program. Hamas has a change of heart about attacking US interests after Sharon whacks their hate infested demonic"spiritual" leader.
The list goes on.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
A Handy Guide To Clarke's Self Immolation
{via Instapundit}
I don't normally even wipe my butt with the NY Post, but this Op-ed piece puts key factors together in one place:
CLARKE'S COLLAPSE
Quote:
--------------
This is just the beginning of the contradictions and mistakes.
* In his testimony yesterday, Clarke said that the Clinton administration had "no higher priority" than fighting terror. No. In his own book, he says trying to force a Middle East peace agreement was more important to Clinton than retaliating for the attack against USS Cole.
* Clarke says in his book that Bush asked him to look into a possible Iraq connection to 9/11 in an "intimidating" way. No. Two other witnesses say there was nothing intimidating about Bush's manner.
* Clarke says Condi Rice appeared as if she hadn't heard of al Qaeda before he mentioned it to her in early 2001. No. Rice made public statements in late 2000 noting the threat from bin Laden.
Given all of this, it's hard to believe that anyone takes Richard Clarke seriously - including himself.
--------------
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Photos From Iraq
A friend sent me this link, which I'm sharing with y'all.
Photos From The War In Iraq
As an amateur photographer of some modest talent, I must say that this is an impressive collection.
David Leeson, Ben Ballad, Columbus Ledger, I salute and thank you.
Enjoy.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Fort Wayne Paper Repents!
A newspaper in Fort Wayne, Indiana was threatening to "out" CCW holders in that state, "for the children".
They've since seen the light.
My guess is that they realized the foolishness of their position on its own lack of merits, but the extra motivation provided by a "loose coalition of 2A Bloggers" with an "International Readership that exceeds theirs by an order of magnitude" working behind the scenes wondering out loud if "returning the favor" from public records was also in the public interest was probably a consideration.
{Wicked Evil Laugh}
Kudos to the to the feller who took the lead on that, and all those who contributed to the effort. Y'all know who you are ;)
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
NYC At It Again...
It's becomming formulaic....Bad guy performs and armed robbery, Good guy defends self, Good guy goes to jail because his paperwork's not in order.
What are we, Britian?
Publicola's done all the legwork on this one, to which I can add very little.
The last time this happened, we gunnies flooded the DA with mail, and the charges IIRC were reduced/dropped.
Methinks we need to do it again, now, and everytime till they give up.
As soon as we get contact info, we'll post it up.
And oh, yeah: this guy gets the traditional $50 contribution to his legal defense. (As soon as I figure out how to get it to him)
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Wednesday, March 24, 2004
NJ Gunnies: Scott Bach vs Bryan Miller Cage Match!
{Via Ray WoodrowIII @ NJCSD}
-------------------------
N.J. Gunners, Scott Bach VS Bryan Miller
SCOTT BACH WILL DEBATE GUN CONTROL ADVOCATE BRYAN MILLER ON CN8 THURSDAY AT 6:30 PM
ANJRPC Executive Vice President and NRA Board Member Scott Bach will face CeaseFire NJ Executive Director Bryan Miller in a live debate on gun control on Thursday, March 25 from 6:30-7:00 p.m. E.S.T. on Comcast televisions CN8 program Real Life with host Mary Amoroso.
The program will include live viewer call-ins. Anti-gunners are expected to try to flood the lines, so please spread the word and call or write-in to make your voice heard. To ask a question during the show call: 1-877-CN8-LIVE.
Also, make sure to take CN8's online poll during the show. Got to: www.cn8.tv/reallife
CN8s broadcast area includes New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Check your local listings or http://www.cn8.tv for details.
The show may also appear on live webcast at:
http://www.cn8.tv/channel/article.a...subhead=cn8live
-------------------------
For those of you fortunate enough not to live in this Dark & Fascist place, the ANJRPC (Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs) has about 3000 members, a boatload of money in the bank, and are completely legislatively inept-slash-complicit in the awful situation in this state.
Can you say Duckhunters? Good, I knew you could!
Bryan Miller is as rabid a gun bigot as they come, in his two bit, local notoriety kinda way.
This oughta be interesting.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
What an Outrageous Crock of Shit!
Ex-Adviser: Terrorism Not Urgent for Bush
Quote:
--------------
The government's former top counterterrorism adviser {Richard Clarke} testified Wednesday that the Clinton administration had "no higher priority" than combatting terrorists while the Bush administration made it "an important issue but not an urgent issue."
--------------
Contrast with:
Quote:
---------------
Clinton’s second term national security advisor, Sandy Berger, described the official White House position towards these attacks as "a little bit like a Whack-A-Mole game at the circus. They bop up and you whack ‘em down, and if they bop up again, you bop ‘em back, down again."
...
The disarray that characterized the Clinton security policy flowed from the "Administration’s growing inability to tell the world—and itself—the truth." It was the signature problem of the Clinton years.
---------------
Moving right along:
Quote:
----------------
The white-haired former government official spoke after the commission released a written report saying that confusion about the scope of the CIA (news - web sites)'s authority to kill Osama bin Laden (news - web sites) had hampered efforts to eliminate the man who heads al-Qaida.
----------------
Oh, confusion within the CIA that the Clinton administration eviscerated?
FEH. I am so fed up with Democrats right now.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Holy Wow.
David Horowitz writes a lengthy and well researched article on How the Left Undermined America's Security Before 9/11.
I'm only a third of the way through it, but I'm gonna recommend it to people NOW.
The quotes are too numerous to mention, but here's one to pique your interest:
Quote:
------------------
The idea that terrorism has "root causes" in social conditions whose primary author is the United States is, in fact, an organizing theme of the contemporary political left.
...
During the Clinton years the idea that America was somehow responsible for global distress had become an all too familiar refrain among leftwing elites. It had particular resonance in the institutions that shaped American culture and policy—universities, the mainstream media and the Oval Office. In March 1998, two months after Monica Lewinsky became a White House thorn and a household name, Clinton embarked on a presidential hand-wringing expedition to Africa.
------------------
Quote:
------------------
On January 20, 2001, George W. Bush was sworn in as the 43rd president of the United States. Within months of taking office, he ordered a new strategy for combating terrorism that would be more than just "swatting at flies," as he described Clinton’s policy. The new plan reached the President’s desk on September 10, 2001. It was "too late," as columnist Andrew Sullivan wrote, "But it remains a fact that the new administration had devised in eight months a strategy that Bill Clinton had delayed for eight years.
-------------------
Update:
I just finished reading the article, and I've got to go out back and chill.
The only two words that are appropriate are "Titanic Fury"
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
What say we go bust him out?
Readers have been sending me this link outlining yet another Brit who dared successfully defend himself against armed home invasion who is now sentenced to 8 years in jail.
Did I say JAIL?
Jail, because he faced down a gang of thugs armed with guns with a sword and won?
Yep. I said jail.
Perhaps the most disturbing thing about this story is that presumably, the right of trial by jury still exists in the UK, and they're so brainwashed that 12 allegedly sapient human being considered that 8 years in the slam was appropriate for defending yourself.
Back in the old days, you couldn't find 12 guys to convict in a case like this, and even if you bribed them, you could easily find 12 other guys to bust him out.
The spectacularly grouchy Kim duToit had an excellent insight:
Quote:
----------
I have an idea: why don't we set up a "refugee" plan for Brits who face imprisonment for the "crime" of self-defense?
I'm being serious, here. If we can offer political asylum for people in other countries who are being harassed by their governments for exercising their natural rights (eg. speaking out against foul bastards like ZimPres Robert Mugabe, or Christian Iranians), why shouldn't we do the same for, say, Brits, who are being persecuted by their government for exercising their natural right to self-defense?
----------
Political asylum sounds like just the ticket, for people who wish to escape a society thats on the verge of going batshit fucking insane.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Preserving The American Heritage
Readers, I give you a worthy essay on preserving the future by teaching in the present.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
The "Is This News?" Reaction
It's been a long time since I watched network TV news as a method of obtaining knowledge of what's new in the world. All too often, with weighty and significant things going on, the talking heads would be prattling on and on about someone's cat stuck in a tree.
I'd shake my head and ask geeketteWithA9mm "Is this news?", to which she would reply, "What a waste of airtime."
Back when I was in college, we did a media analysis class, in which we....analysed the content of media. That meant buying newspapers, and counting up square inches of hard and soft news stories vs editorials and advertising, and logging network news shows with a stopwatch.
I don't recall the exact timings on the news, but the basic breakdown and sequence of a 1/2 hour news show was like this:
Intro: 15-30 seconds
Top news stories: 2-3 minutes
Pseudo News: 10 minutes (Local BS, Human interest, etc)
Sports: 7 minutes
Total averate time: 17-20 minutes
Advertising time: 10-13 minutes
In other words, if you tuned in at 3 minutes after the hour, you might as well turn off the TV.
You've missed whatever they had that was of significance.
I shit you not.
As you might guess, those first 3 golden minutes would have anywhere from 4 to 8 significant stories crammed into it, which of course left zero time for any sort of critical analysis or thinking.
It's all simply crap, crap, crap. If you're interested in giving yourself a lobotomy, put the drill back in the toolbox, and just allow CNN to define reality for you. It'll do just as good a job, and not hurt nearly as much.
Even online, we need to pay attention. Keep an eye both on the headlines, and the editorial priority assigned to them as revealed by their sequence.
Here's the "Top News Stories" from several major news organizations, you know, the kind exempted from McCain-Fiengold's trashing of 1A:
Fox:
-----------------
-High Court to Take Up 'Under God'
-Europe Fines Microsoft $613M
-'Specific Threat' Closes U.S. Embassy
-Kobe Accuser to Testify Today
-Hamas Head Backs Off U.S. Threat
-U.S. Patrol Attacked in Fallujah
-Funeral held for 190 Madrid victims
-Spanish PM Defends Focus on ETA
-Prosecutors Detail Nichols' Fake IDs
-----------------
Headlines: 9
Fluff Pieces of limited significance: 3
CNN:
------------
-Victims of Spain terror bombings mourned | Gallery | Video
-Microsoft hit by $613 million fine in Europe
-Supreme Court to hear pledge case | Timeline
-Bryant accuser to testify about her sex life
-Divers to check on trapped cavers
-Five states searched for missing plane carrying six
-'Frasier' tapes final episode
{note: I eliminated from consideration links to "All Election Coverage" and "9/11 Commission" as they weren't real stories}
------------
Headlines: 7 {9 if you count the omitted items}
Fluff Pieces of limited significance: 4
MSNBC:
------------
New Hamas chief: Group won't target U.S.
Microsoft ordered to pay $613 million fine
'Specific threat' closes U.S. embassy in UAE
Insurgents ambush U.S. patrol in Fallujah
Supreme Court to hear 'under God' argument
Bryant to face accuser in court Wednesday
------------
Headlines: 6
Fluff Pieces of limited significance: 2
Grumble.
There's a hell of a lot of stuff going on in the world that has a lot of impact on us, but you'd never know it reading the news.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
John Lott's Excercise in Sarcasm
Weapons bans miss the mark
Quote:
---------------
AUSTRALIANS are a dangerous lot. Weapons that would hardly cause a second thought in the hands of a citizen in another country generate concern when held by an Australian.
Fortunately, some Australian state governments have understood the dangers of letting ordinary Australians get access to weapons such as laser pointers, a popular device for making business and academic presentations in countries such as the US.
---------------
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Tuesday, March 23, 2004
Attention NJ Gunnies: Public Service Message
I'm passing this one along on behalf of my colleagues over @ NJCSD.
Quote:
---------------
First Field Op. for N.J. Gun Owners
N.J. Gun owners,
I want us as a group to pick somebody out of the flock of legiscritters and have everybody "hand write" and send letters to them and mail them on the same day. Don't put a return address on the envelope and the legiscritter will not know from where you live and it might make them take heed.
Let's finalize on someone and write our letters and send them off this Sunday the 28th. Lets ask them where they stand on bill
"S1195 Revises procedures for securing a permit to carry a handgun."
We will start with writing to, as the bad guys:
1) Senator Diane B. Allen, Republican
District Office: 2313 Burlington-Mt. Holly Road, Burlington, NJ 08016
2) Assemblyman Jack Conners, Democrat
District Office: Delran Professional Center, Suite 125, 8008 Route 130 North, Delran, NJ 08075
3) Assemblyman Herb Conaway, Democrat
District Office: Delran Professional Center, Suite 125, 8008 Route 130 North, Delran, NJ 08075
Ask the above three why they will not co-sponsor, support, or sponsor;
"S1195 Revises procedures for securing a permit to carry a handgun."
As the good guy, write to:
4) Senator Gerald Cardinale, Republican
District Office: 350 Madison Avenue, Cresskill, NJ 07626
For sponsoring:
S1195 Revises procedures for securing a permit to carry a handgun.
Have all 4 letters hand written and mail them on this Sunday the 28th. If you do so, answer up on the NJCSD thread "Field Operations - Burlington"
Go to:
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bills/BillsByNumber.asp
to check out the bill.
Who else is in?
Check out the bill, do your research, and write those letters NOW so you don’t forget (mail them this Sunday the 28th).
If you will not take the time and stand up, then who?
Ray Woodrow 3rd
www.njcsd.org
---------------
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Politically Correct Toys
I distictly remember some of the cool prizes I got out of boxes of Captain Crunch in the early 70's.
One of them was a plastic pocket knife, which you'd fold and snap together. IIRC, it came with a knife, a spoon, and a fork, and you'd collect all 4 colors. I still have the red and blue one knocking around in a memorabilia box in the attic.
I smiled with pleasure when I saw the "Agent Cody Banks 2" prize packed in plastic that came with the miniGeek's Wendy's happy meal. It's in my hand now. Clearly, it's a plastic pocket knife, done in silver and black, a handsome piece.
"Cool!" I thought to myself, until I got it open.
Despite being clearly a pocket knife, there is nothing even vaguely knifish among the blades.
Kids will have to make do with a ruler, a mirror, and a decoder slide rule.
I shit you not.
They're not fooling anyone though. 7 year old boys and girls all over America are either pretending they're knives, or declaring them stupid.
Where, oh, where, did we go wrong?
Quote:
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"Game Over, Man!"
-Cpl Hicks, Colonial Marine
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
A Light Goes On In Geneva
(via Instapundit)
Voting Bloc
The article discusses the emergence of a "Democracy Caucus" within the UN.
Quote:
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To understand the significance of what is happening here, a little background.
The United Nations' credibility and effectiveness are tattered, a fact that is not news to Americans. According to polling by the Gallup Organization, 60 percent of Americans rate the U.N. as doing a "poor job in trying to solve the problems it has had to face." The reasons for disenchantment go deeper than last year's tiff over the Iraq war. The most fundamental is that the United Nations is built on an obsolete premise: that countries governed by their people and countries governed by thugs, thieves, or tyrants should meet on equal terms, one vote each.
In 1945, when the U.N. was born, most of the world was non-democratic, and so a "league of democracies" would have been a rump group. Today, however, more than 60 percent of the world's countries are electoral democracies. Today it is absurd for Burma to vote as the moral and legal equivalent of Belgium; more absurd for Cuba and Zimbabwe to be members in good standing of the U.N. Human Rights Commission; and more absurd still for Libya to chair that commission, as it did last year.
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Interesting, interesting. As much as I'd like the UN to go down in flames, I must admit the desirability of a well recognized stage upon which to act out the various international dramas.
While a caucus of democracies is preferable to a caucus of tyrants, I remind readers that even some of the strongest non US democracies, such as the UK, Germany, France, and pals are well on their way down the path of socialism and decline, and in 10 years, the correllation of democracy with personal liberty may no longer be apparent.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Kerry Whitewash.
I've been monitoring this one, to see if it's going to go anywhere, and it appears that is is.
It appears that John Kerry, as a member of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War, attended a VVAW meeting in which the assassination of several pro-war elected officials, including Senators John Stennis, John Tower, and Strom Thurmond was discussed.
It seems that Kerry argued against, and resigned the VVAW as a result of it, but subsequently kept his mouth shut on the issue, and recently denied he was present at the meeting.
Apparently, FBI Surveillance and a transcript of the meeting are showing him to be a liar, and the media is keeping their mouth shut about the whole thing.
Places to read about this:
Junkyard Blog
Captain's Quarters
Instapundit
Keep an eye on this one, folks, and don't let it die.
The FACTS MUST COME OUT.
We need a positive outcome on this, and not just a media whitewash followed by a short trip down the memory hole.
Either Kerry must be fully and completely exhonerated of the charges of participating in the meeting and subsequently keeping his mouth shut, or he should resign from the race, the Senate, and public life in disgrace.
There's already a million reasons why Kerry should be denied access to the Oval Office, but these charges must be answered to the complete satisfaction of a skeptical American public.
Under No Circumstances Should He Be Elected.
Furthermore, we will need to examine the role of the media's complicity in this, in detail. If the supposedly "free and unbiased" yeah right press can be credibly shown to be complicit, heads should figuratively roll. A great heaping lot of them.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
A Good Review...
It's been a while since I've gone over some of the basics regarding the abject failure, fraud and immorality that is gun control, and I've been thinking I might need to retool a rant into something suitable for beginners.
Just as my mind starts working in those grooves, Reader Airboss tosses this essay, The Tragedy of Gun Control, over the transom.
It fits neatly with my recent theme that "gun crime" is making the transition from "rapist/murderer/robber with a gun" to "Joe Normal with a gun, but no piece of paper Inscribed with Mystical Runes and Sigils of State Approval"
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Monday, March 22, 2004
M1A Scope Mounts...
I'm getting a fair number of comments and email asking about mounting a scope on an M1A.
Here's what I use for the main scope:
It's the Springfield Armory 3rd Generation Scope Mount, for $139
I've heard a lot of people pooh pooh them online, but I'll tell you the truth: Mine's Rock Solid.
I suspect that people who complain about this mount don't RTFM and simply screw it on thumbtight, which is guaranteed to fail. If they did RTFM, they'd realize that there's a fitting step, wherein you repeatedly whang the mount with a rubber mallet and tighten the screw with a screwdriver, which mates the metal together.
The scope mount is made of softer metal than the receiver, and the end result it that it the oversized alignment notches on the mount take on the shape of the alignment grooves on the receiver.
The mount will hold zero, even after repeated mounts and dismounts, as long as you tighten with a screwdriver. Thumb tight won't cut it.
The downside to this type of scope mount is that you must replace the clip guide with a replacement block into which the rear thumbscrew locks, and you wind up losing the ability to recharge your rifle from stripper clips, even when the scope is dismounted.
BTW, you can still use the iron sights with the scope mounted.
If I had the money to blow on it, I'd consider evaluating this mount:
 , which has a claw that locks INTO the clip guide rather than requiring its removal.
Finally, the arms #18 mount also comes highly regarded:
$174 from Cal's Sporting Armory
Anyway, a lot of people asked, so there's my .02 on the topic.
Sidebar:
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I'm still going to give the EOtech another chance at bat with the M1A, but I am rethinking my motivation, and realizing that in trying to cram too many gadgets on it, I'm not paying homage to the KISS principle.
The original motivation was straightforward. I wanted the main scope on the rifle for the long distances, but I wanted something credible for a CQB role. I had envisioned that I'd simply bypass the scope and use the iron sights, but I found that the default rear peep sight was hard for me to pick up in a hurry.
My original thought, before I became enamored of the holosight, was to simply replace the rear peep with a ghost ring, and the front sight with a tritium stripe from ExpressSights.
I still may end up doing that.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
More Commentary On The Demise of S.1805
From Krauss & Levy @ NRO
Quote:
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"Public Choice," or the science of legislative action, predicts that the interplay of special interests will often result in passage of the worst kinds of legislation. Here, the opposite happened. Supporters of the legislation were trapped. They loved the tort-suit immunity favored by one special-interest group. But they hated even more the gun-control amendments offered by another special-interest group. The result: a legislative outcome that ultimately respected both federalism and Second Amendment rights. Few if any senators wanted that result. But from our perspective, two cheers for the demise of S. 1805.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Oh, Geez, Here We Go Again...
Al-Q Threatens the U.S. for something that Israel did. (Which in this case was smashing the founder of Hamas to jelly.)
This is the same group that claimed they blew up Madrid for what WE did to Iraq.
Apparently, they can't figure out who to shoot at for what.
In a world where the good 'ol USA is gonna get the blame no matter what happens, we might as well take names and split wigs.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Dang, Missed It...
South Jersey quake rattles some, harms none
2.2 on the Richter scale. Yawn. Didn't even phase Corbin T. Dog.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Sunday, March 21, 2004
EOTech Holosight Range Report
Summary:
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Disappointing, due to unsolved mysteries.
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Readers of this blog know that my longarm of choice is an SA Scout Squad M1A, with black furniture.
This rifle normally sports an SA 6x40 gov't model scope, mounted on the SA 2nd generation scope mount. The rifle, the scope, and the mount have all proven to be rock solid, 100% reliable and accurate. When shooting slow fire from a supported position using the scope, I can normally group a 5 shot string at around 3/4 and inch @ 25 yards, and when using the iron sights, the group opens up a little to about an inch.
This afternoon, I went to the range, dismounted the gov't scope, and mounted the EOTech on the scout rail, following the instructions, and torqued the rig as specified.
Using my normal ammo (portugese milsurp), I then proceeded to zero the sight, using 3 shot strings. The first group was sub 1 inch, albeit a foot high and six inches right, as was the second group. By the third group, I was getting in the 3 inch gross targetting ring, but the group had opened up pretty wildly, to about 3 inches.
I changed the target to one more appropriate for fine sight adjustments, reloaded, and carried on. The next group was as tight as ever, but the one after that was wide open. I checked the torque to see if the sight was working loose, but it was as tight as ever.
The rest of the session was like that, tight and loose groups, without rhyme or reason.
Wanting to reality check myself, I dismounted the EOTech and remounted the main scope, to see if my baseline had somehow shifted. It hadn't, and I easily shot my norm.
For grins, I remounted the EOTech, wondering how well the zero, such that it was, would survive the remounting process, and to my suprise, it held just fine.
{Scratches head}
There's a couple of possibilities.
Having eliminated the shooter and rifle as a problem it would seem that the EOTech itself might be bad, but I'm going to leave that as the last possibility.
The other possibilities are that there might be some unusual interaction between the EOTech and the rifle itself, and two possible sources of problem come to mind.
The first is that the scout rail is clamped directly to the barrel, and it struck me as possible that the presence of the holosight alters the barrel harmonics in some way.
If that were the case though, I'd expect consistently wide groups, rather than tight and wide strings randomly interspersed with each other.
This leads me to my second hypothesis, which is that barrel heat is somehow a factor. Because the scout rail is clamped directly to the barrel, it gets pretty hot. The EOTech, by its design, hugs the rail, rather than being hoisted above it by ring mounts, as a normal red dot scope would be.
It's possible that despite it's military hardening, the heat is having an effect on the holosight.
The jury's still out on this. I'm going to give it another session or two, and a call to EOTech, but if there's still this strange rifle/scope interaction, I'm going to have to demote the EOTech to AR-15 XM-15 duty, which would be a shame.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
ROFLMAO!
Triticale, while linking to the funding maps below, mused out loud:
Quote:
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The Geek with a .45 (does this mean he shoots the heads off chickens instead of biting them?) linked to the main page....
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Which made me laugh. Although one of my several mottoes is:
Quote:
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Chickens fear me, for I have eaten many of their kind.
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I had never considered the original meaning of "geek" in that context, nor the possibility that I might use them for target practice.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Saturday, March 20, 2004
I thought I'd pass this along...
A Gun Rights Reply to the Bush-Cheney 2004 Fundraising Letter
In this article, Angel Shamaya, of KABA, succinctly and damningly enumerates GWB's many shortcomings on Constitutional and 2A issues.
I'm still ruminating to see if I fully concur with Angel or not, but I will say this much:
GWB Needs To Take The Criticisms Of This Letter Very Seriously. He may not get a "free pass" from gunnies this time around.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Kerry vs Reality...
One handy characteristic of a US President is the ability to correctly grasp and process reality.
Quote: {Via Drudge}
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KERRY CALLED SECRET SERVICE AGENT 'SON OF A B*TCH' AFTER SLOPE SPILL
Dem presidential candidate John Kerry called his secret service agent a "son of a bitch" after the agent inadvertently moved into his path during a ski mishap in Idaho, sending Kerry falling into the snow.
When asked a moment later about the incident by a reporter on the ski run, Kerry said sharply, "I don't fall down," the "son of a b*itch knocked me over."
The Secret Service agent in question has complained about Kerry's treatment, top sources tell the DRUDGE REPORT.
Last month, Kerry began receiving Secret Service protection.
"Obviously, the complications and burden of being monitored 24-hours a day is not just an a simple inconvenience," a government source explained Friday. "But Senator Kerry should understand agents are working for his safety and well-being."
On Friday, Kerry, his snowboard strapped to his back, hiked past 9,000 feet on Durrance Peak, then snowboarded down the mountain, taking repeated tumbles. Reporters counted six falls, although Kerry was out of sight for part of the descent.
Developing...
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So, Kerry a crappy snowboarder, and doesn't seem to know the rules of the road. (The downhill guy has right of way) Not too big a deal, after all, snowboard competence is an optional feature in a US President.
Character, however, is NOT and optional feature. Denial of reality, blaming someone else for your own faults, and cursing out a man sworn to take a bullet for you is NOT a sign of character.
I wonder if it would be innapropriate to suggest that the Secret Service guys pass on taking a bullet for Kerry's worthless hide? Good SS agents are hard to come by, and worthless politicians are a dime a dozen.
It seems to me that every 2nd or 3rd day, some new piece of news comes out to further demonstrate Kerry's innadequacy for the office he seeks.
I don't know how so many Americans can still be so deluded that he's fit for office.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Friday, March 19, 2004
Now THIS is Fascinating!
A View of Red & Blue America, as measured by campaign contributions!
And by Cities:
Go Play! They've got a lot of nifty neato tools, including the Neighbor search.
Updated!
My bad, I should have explained the colors.
Traditionally, Red is for Republican, and Blue is for Democrat. The deeper the shade of Red or Blue, the more concentrated the majority of that party's contributions are in that area.
Whites and greys are the neutral, contested areas.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45 | |
