DC Begging for Contempt of Court?

Can the District be held in contempt of a Supreme Court ruling? If so, I'd say they're well on their way to doing so.

Here we have two articles from NBC4 and the Washington Post on what DC plans to do in the wake of Heller. It appears to be "business as usual" for the gang of petty tinpot tyrants that rule the District Council. Phil Mendelson, a DC council member, is planning to introduce legislation to meet the requirements of the Supreme Court ruling.

He is doing anything but. If you are a District resident looking to own a gun, I hope you will find this information useful. I am using the WP article. Here's the opener...

District gun owners would be able to keep weapons in their homes, loaded and without trigger locks, for "immediate self-defense" under legislation being introduced in the D.C. Council today.

This is only half-true. You'll see why. This type of language is so typical of lawyers. Here's why...

Technically, the legislation would still require that firearms be kept unloaded and disabled, but it would provide a broad exception for guns that are present in the home for the purpose of "immediate self-defense." The exception is intended to address the high court's objection to a requirement that all guns be kept unloaded and either disassembled or outfitted with trigger locks.

Everything hinges on that "broad exception". "Technically" is lawyer codespeak for "a clever phrasing in the law we can prosecute you under".

If the exception is written that guns must be locked, disassembled or unloaded until needed, then it is in violation of the Supreme Court ruling. An exception for self-defense is worthless if it requires any steps to render a firearm operable. It may not sound like much but think about it. What if they require the gun to have a trigger lock if it is stored loaded? Or requires the gun to be stored unloaded (with the assumption the District would define unloaded as no ammunition in the gun)? Or requires a loaded gun to be stored in a locked safe until needed?

There are all kinds of ways they can carve the exception to make it appear they allow handguns for self-defense but really won't. If you as a private citizen are not permitted to keep a loaded gun in your nightstand or under your pillow as you see fit, then the exception flies in the face of what the Court ruled.

The Court ruled that requiring a firearm in the home to be rendered inoperable and not available for immediate use is Unconstitutional. The District cannot and must not require you to store a gun intended for self-defense in any form of disabled state.

Recommending that you store the gun unloaded or locked when not around or not needing it is different. That is a recommendation. It should not and must not be the law. How they write this exception will be very important.

The question I would ask the DC Council would be plain as day: "Under your proposed exception, can I leave a loaded handgun unsecured in my dresser drawer for immediate self-defense?". If the answer to that is anything other than "Yes.", they are trying to pull a fast one. Don't let them.

They try to justify it with this...

The exception would extend to firearms at the owner's "place of business, or . . . being used for lawful recreational purposes within the District of Columbia," according to the draft.

Sorry. Fail. That exception for place of business and lawful recreational purposes already exists for rifles/shotguns. Extending that exception for handguns is insufficient because that was one of the laws that was struck down by the Supreme Court! The Court ruled an implied exception for self-defense was insufficient and because they failed to identify such a need explicitly (especially given they had gone to the trouble to do so for places of business), the lack of a self-defense option in the home amount to a total prohibition on lawful use for self-defense.

See how clever the District is trying to be? Simply adding "handguns" to the existing Unconstitutional exception is not sufficient. This is the most important aspect to them squirming over trying to rework the law to let District residents have handguns in theory but make it all but impossible in practice.

The District must be required to spell out an explicit self-defense exception for in the home within the law without condition for handguns. Otherwise, they are trying to avoid complying with the ruling.

Here's more:

Interim Attorney General Peter J. Nickles, who has said he wants a strong trigger lock requirement, said he will request that the council delay any action until the administration of Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) can review the bill and offer comment.

How much stronger can he possibly want it? Peter Nickles had better give Justice Scalia a call for clarification. If he demands any requirement that a gun be stored with a trigger lock before being needed, he will be in direct contradiction to the ruling.

Trigger locks are off-the-table as a legal requirement, Peter. The Court said so. You cannot force District residents to lock up self-defense arms prior to immediate use. You don't get to decide that; the gun owner does. The most I would be willing to concede is a requirement to lock the firearm when no one was in the house. Although that goes against my sense of personal rights to decide the manner in which I choose to make a self-defense gun available, it would be a huge step forward for a District resident who's had none for 32 years.

And then there's this:

The legislation would require a ballistics record for registered handguns and a waiting period for registration. The length of the waiting period would be determined by the D.C. police chief.

The police chief had better make that registration period really short. And it better be "shall issue" and better be consistent for everyone lest she run afoul of the Court admonition that such licensing not be done in "a arbitrary or capricious" fashion.

The ballistics requirement is the really sneaky bit here. By introducing that requirement, they are trying to torpedo the ability of anyone to register a handgun in the District. For one simple reason:

Where are you going to get the ballistics information from?

The State of Maryland requires every handgun sold in the state to be sold with a fired cartridge casing provided by the manufacturer. That casing is turned over by the dealer to the State Police for its (theoretical) inclusion into the ballistics database.

There haven't been handguns legally sold in the District for 32 years. Where on earth are you going to get ballistics information from? I suspect they threw this in there out of pure spite. Ballistics databases do not work. The one in Maryland has been around for over decade, costs over 2 million dollars per year and has solved exactly zero crimes in that entire time.

Want to bet they'll either ask for you to give them the gun to get the ballistics from beforehand and held on to for whatever arbitrary period they decide is necessary or require you to send the gun back to the manufacturer to get it? At your expense.

Don't tell me this isn't a way to reduce the number of gun registrations to near zero. I wonder what they're going to do with Dick Heller regarding this? Fortunately, his lawyer is involved in "helping" the District with their new law:

Lawyer Alan Gura, who successfully argued against the handgun ban before the Supreme Court, said in an interview that the waiting period for the city's legal firearms -- rifles and shotguns -- is already "onerous and kind of odd."

"It can take months and months," he said. "You have to submit a picture. They fingerprint people. . . . I don't believe it should take five or six months to purchase a gun."

An instant background check should be incorporated into the city's new laws, he said.

After looking at the draft yesterday, Gura said in an e-mail, "It's a good start, but there are other issues with the code."

In particular, he is concerned about the city's decision to continue a ban on semiautomatic weapons, which he said is unconstitutional.

I hope he keeps on them. If you're a District resident looking to obtain or register a handgun in the future, the hearing is tomorrow at 12:00 p.m., in Room 412 of the John A. Wilson Building. Be there and put their feet to the fire on this and make sure they don't try anything to pull the wool over your eyes.

You have a Constitutional right to own a loaded, unlocked, ready-to-use rifle, shotgun or handgun in your home. Make sure you remind them of that and help to take back your rights.

How Gun Control Lost

There is a great article on RealClearPolitics by Steve Chapman summarizing exactly how the gun control movement managed to lose. He lists three factors which should serve as any lesson to an anti-gunner on why they will continue to lose:

1. Gun control didn't work
2. Laws allowing concealed weapons proliferated -- with no ill effects
3. The Second Amendment got a second look

Those three forces finally collided on June 26, 2008 with Heller vs. DC.

Mr. Chapman sums it up best:

Instead, the right to keep and bear arms has finally taken its rightful place with our other fundamental liberties. It may be the natural course of things for government control to expand and freedom to shrink. But as Jefferson knew, America was founded to reverse that process.

Damn right!

Pride Goeth Before the Fall

I would like to raise a toast to District Mayor Adrian Fenty. Salute him, folks, because without him we wouldn't be here today.

I am thankful for Mayor Fenty's actions. It was because he could not stand to see those he sees himself as a ruler over actually, gasp, demanding rights did he act. Mayors of the District of Columbia don't see themselves as elected leaders; they see themselves as appointed kings. And because Fenty was so blindly enraged by mere peons challenging his power did he lead us to where we are today.

I, for one, would like to shake his hand and thank him for his hubris. Without it, we would not have prevailed.

Hindsight is 20/20. If only he had known where his pride would have led, he would never had taken this path. There have been commentaries that Mayor Fenty could have prevented all of this. That feeling has to be like ground glass in his mouth today. All he had to do was comply with the lower court's ruling and eased off handgun restrictions just enough to pass judicial muster. Had he done that, none of this could have happened.

But he didn't. He saw it as a direct challenge to his authority and that simply could not stand. And with men of power, they act in the defense of that power by exercising to it to extremes. No mere peasant would be permitted to challenge His Honor, the Mayor! No one! Once that kicked in, Fenty was doomed. Aided and abetted by the Witches stiring the Gun Control Cauldron whispering siren songs and sweet promises into his ear only stiffened his resolve.

So, raise a glass, ladies and gentleman to the Man of the Hour, Mayor Adrian Fenty! We owe him so much. For his pride and hubris, we are forever grateful.

Alas, it will be a short toast because like with all tyrants, targeted vengeance is the usual result of personal humiliation. The best way to make sure your serfs don't see you as weak is make them suffer twice as hard. They'll be too busy avoiding the lash to notice your weakness.

His Honor has already announced all manner of restrictions in the exercise of 2nd Amendment rights by District citzens. He will do anything in his power to skirt the Supreme Court's ruling. Expect ammo storage requirements, testing, registration on odd hours and only on cloudy days, marksmanship qualification that Neo himself couldn't meet and on and on. Anything short of pissing in the judge's coffee. It is my hope in private discussions that the Court will lay into him and make it clear exactly what will not be tolerated.

Unfortunately, District citizens, your freedom to bear arms will take time. For those of you with existing rifles and shotguns, rejoice! Cast those trigger locks into the street! Load those cartridges and shells! Cycle your actions for the first time as free men and women.

For those of you without arms, your road is harder. You can buy rifles and shotguns. So find yourselves a willing gun shop in either ajoining state and have at it! Stick to bolt/pump action rifles and pump shotguns. There are still DC laws that consider semi-automatics "machine guns" and they will prosecute you.

As to handguns, Mayor Fenty so aptly pointed out, there are no guns shops in DC. He has indicated that establishing one will be quite difficult. In fact, I can see him "persuading" the DC Council to engage in protracted zoning discusssions. And I seriously doubt Josh Sugarman will be opening the VPC Gun Connection anytime soon. And because DC law says you can't buy a handgun outside of the District, you can't go to Maryland or Virginia to buy one either.

So handgun registration and licensing will be open but for District residents, you have no options at the present time to register one unless you already own it stored outside the District like Dick Heller does.

I think it is time for Congress to pass a bill specifically allowing District residents to purchase handguns in Virginia and Maryland.

Or, allow me to suggest an annoying but effective way to skirt the lack of a gun shop in DC. Unfortunately, this doesn't help the poorest in the District who might need one. It's simple really...

Move to Maryland or Virginia temporarily and establish residency. Once you do that, you can purchase a handgun there and then move back to the District, registering your out-of-state, legally owned firearm. Since you acquired it as a Virginia or Maryland resident, you aren't breaking the laws in DC that say DC residents can't purchase handguns outside the District.

This, however, requires one to have sufficient means to maintain two residences long enough to establish residency elsewhere along with all the paperwork and tax hassles that will result for you.

Or if you don't mind older handguns and want a simpler approach, get a C&R license in the District as Uncle suggests. In fact, I would welcome an opportunity to work with community groups and provide workshops on how to do this.

To think, a few days ago we wouldn't even have been able to suggest such things. And all of it thanks to His Majesty Honor Adrian Fenty.

Salut!

Heller Victory! Backlash Begins.

Well, the DC Attorney General wasted no time piling on what constitutes "reasonable restrictions" for handgun ownership in the District.

Among the likely regulations: Gun owners would have to be 18 or older and could not have been convicted of a felony or any weapon-related charge or have been in a mental hospital for the past five years. Registrants also will be finger-printed and required to pass a written test to be sure they understand the city's gun laws, Nickles said.

At least initially, he added, residents would be limited to one handgun apiece. The city will set up a hotline for firearm registrations.

A written test sounds dangerously close to a poll tax to me. And here they go with allowing only a single handgun registration for life. Tell me that isn't a fucking infringement on the individual right to keep and bear arms?

These people never, ever stop.

One major question, he said, was whether the court would undo the city's trigger lock requirement that all shotguns in homes remain unloaded with locks on the triggers. If the court overturns that provision, Nickles said, the mayor's office likely would propose new legislation to the D.C. Council that would require that guns remain unloaded in the home expect in the case of self-defense.

And if the Mayor's office does this, he is in violation of the ruling! A requirement to keep a firearm unloaded until needed is exactly the same thing as required it to be kept locked until needed. Mayor Fenty is splitting hairs here. Expect him to define unloaded as no ammunition near the gun, readily accessible for use in a gun and must be held in a separate, locked container. A magazine in a handgun but no round chambered he would define as "loaded".

Does he seriously want to spend another 5 years in court battles over semantics?

The District lost, Fenty! Get over it! For once in your life, do your duty to the Constitution and don't fight District residents' desire to own functional firearms.

Read the comments. A lot of people are absolutely losing their minds over the prospect of an out-of-control murder rate now that law-abiding citizens can legally own handguns. Talk about cognitive dissonance!

I'm still digesting the ruling. It's good and it's bad. We are going to need future cases to determine whether Heller's acceptance at receiving a license as a reasonable outcome in the event of his victory serves as guidance indicating the licensing of 2nd Amendment rights, provided they are not done in an "arbitrary or capricious manner", would be considered Constitutional. This above all scares the crap out of me going forward.

Hopefully, the decision of Heller to accept a license is limited to the outcome of this case only and will not serve as a model of acceptable behavior for the exercise of 2nd Amendment rights.

Still, it is a good day. I'm not going to have to post the essay I had been writing in the event we had lost.

Our freedom has been upgraded from critical and getting off life-support. I'll take that.

Waiting For Heller

Tomorrow is it. Finally.

This wait has been like a teenager trying to get to second base and having his hand constantly shoved away.

At least we know the Justices won't be teasing us tomorrow and let us have the real thing.

Do 0.192 Inches Really Matter?

Does size matter? According to the anti-gun crowd, absolutely! To them, everything is about size. Guns are all about enhancement. Either to compensate for a lack of or to increase lethality, I've figured out their obsession with guns all boils down to size. Either too small or too big, you can see the pattern in their behavior. I don't know why I haven't clicked into it before.

There is no "just right" for them. Goldilocks would never pass muster as a gun controller since she clearly had settled on a "reasonable regulation" she could live with.

So from Jacksonville, Florida comes this story about an Interstate shooter taking pot shots at trucks. Hopefully this criminal will be caught soon and punished harshly. No one should have to deal with what this person is putting people through.

Bring up the screen capture below and take a good look at the picture in the center at the top:

That's fuel shooting out of the side of a tanker. According to the article, this damage was believed to be caused by a high-powered rifle. In shooting circles, that generally refers to rifles of roughly .30 caliber. The .308 being a common size.

The media without realizing it has provided us a wonderful, factual, visual counterpoint to useless idiots like the Gun Guys. You know them, the ones with the Freedom States Alliance and .50 Caliber Terror who go on about how a .50 caliber weapon can destroy oil cars, fuel tankers and cause chemical plants to go up in flames with a single shot?

Isn't it amazing what a mere extra 0.192 inches can accomplish? Not likely as this picture clearly demonstrates. For all we know, this truck could have been shot with a .50. These incidents demonstrate the shrill screams of the gun banner as useless emotional noise. Why would a .50 inch hole cause destruction and mayhem but a .308 inch hole causes fuel to shoot out of the side of a tanker? The fuel leak is no laughing matter but they can't serious argue to any rational person that 0.192 inches is the difference between a hazmat team and a massive fireball.

It would just be a bigger leak.

So thanks to News 4 Jacksonville for showing us that perhaps size really doesn't matter.

Here's hoping they catch the guy.

For King and Country

Monday's are always predictable around any office in Western world. Co-workers gather and chat, coming down off their two days off and discussing casually what they did this weekend. You know the conversation:

"What did you do this weekend?"

"Mowed the lawn." or "Went to a dinner and a movie." or "Just hung around the house".

What did I do this weekend?

I joined His Majesty's Marines.

I was referred to this Revolutionary War re-enactment group by a fellow on the Maryland Shooters Forum. I contacted them and the financial director of the group was enthusiastic about having a new recruit come out and drill with them. So I did and had a fabulous time.

The Lobsterback's are a different type of re-enactment group. First off, they take it seriously. A lot of re-enactment groups tend to be casual on the field and don't really adhere to any form of discipline or structure. Not here! I was warned up front that I would be drilled by a Sergeant in the way the Marines would have and would learn the manual-at-arms and drill properly. This is where a few years in the Royal Canadian Air Cadets on the Color Guard helped immensely. Nice to know the drill hasn't changed all that much over the centuries.

The second and more impressive thing about the Lobsterback's is you don't bring your own gear; they issue it to you. Virtually every other re-enactment group, regardless of period, generally requires a potential re-enactor to provide their own equipment. This can be and often is a serious outlay of money. Generally, it will cost between $1500 and $2500 for a Revolutionary War or Civil War re-enactor to get the necessary gear including their musket just to allow them to participate. Those costs can and often do go higher.

The Lobsterback Society prides themselves on providing the gear to the recruits from your uniform to your musket. You simply pay an event fee of $30-$50 for each event you attend and there is no minimum or commitment. Show up or not, the choice is yours. The more you show, over time they'll tailor the equipment to you.

This is a huge deal and dramatically reduces the cost of entry. If you want to try and see what it is was like for a British Marine for a day, you can. This more than anything sets the Lobsterback's into a league of their own.

With my induction on Sunday, I was issued my standard kit as a new recruit private. My Corporal, Joe, showed me how to put it on and within 10 minutes, I was dressed in His Majesty's finest ready to deal with those traitorous colonials.

A Marine receives in addition to his breeches, neckstrap and waistcoat, a standard issue of kit. Here is mine fresh from our Quartermaster:


On the top of the chair, my haversack for rations and supplies. To the left is the famous cocked hat. Under the hat is the symbol of British power and righteousness, the wool regimental redcoat. Under coat, the yellow knapsack with my issue blanket within. Bottom left is the vitally important cartridge box and to the right is the standard issue canteen. This is what every Marine or soldier in His Majesty's service went into the field with and it is what we went into the field with today.

I would like to point out the cartridge box. This is where we hold the cartridges for our muskets. Here is a close-up:

You can see the cartridges in place. They are paper with powder and ball on the top. Except these are blanks.

There were a total of five of us at this event, aptly named King's Balls II. The reason is because today, we would be handling the King's Balls. Specifically, his musket balls.

We got in formation and were taught the basic manual-at-arms. Within an hour, we were able to march, get in formation and had been shown the parts of our musket and how to prepare it for firing. After firing some blank rounds, we were sworn in as Marine privates, permitted to carry arms in His Majesty's service and ready and able to serve at his pleasure.

Here is your's truly guarding the horse:

We did a great deal through the day. After blanks, we proceeded to live rounds. I'm here to say I've gained a real appreciation for how much technology has changed. The experience of firing muskets based on centuries old technology was illuminating. This is our weapon, the .75 caliber smoothbore "Brown Bess" Sea Service pattern musket:

Our Corporal Joe, pointing out the details of this fine weapon. I would note the Brown Bess makes a fine club as evidenced by its length and the fact it weighs a ton:

It is in formation with the musket where the weight of that history comes alive. It is in this period (and long before) where some catch-phrases we use today came about. The expression "lock, stock and barrel", for example. We use it today to refer to the clinching of a deal. But it really refers to the three major parts of the firearm of that period and had been by that point for centuries. The lock (what we call the fire control group today), the stock and the barrel.

Firearms terminology is pervasive in our culture and most people don't realize it. Want another example? "Going off half-cocked.". Well, this too is a term specific to the period. The lock on these muskets has three positions: fired, half-cock and full-cock. These are flintlocks, which is the type of lock. Previous generations were matchlock and wheellock. The lock (consider it a hammer today) contains a flint, when fired strikes a steel over the pan, showering it with sparks and igniting the powder to fire the musket.

To use a flintlock, you first have to prime it by putting powder in the flash pan. To do this, you have to pull the lock back to the half-cock position. You then sprinkle the powder in and close the pan. The half-cock is a basic safety. When half-cocked, the trigger cannot function. The expression "to go off half-cocked" means that the lock flings forward when it shouldn't have, possibly igniting the powder and you having a really bad day.

A flintlock going off half-cocked is a malfunction, a bad and dangerous one. Especially given that you prime first and then load the powder down the barrel. So you can imagine what going off half-cocked is like if you were ramming a ball down the barrel at that moment.

Another example is "flash in the pan". This I got to see first-hand. It is literally that. You pull the trigger, the flint sparks, there is a big "fooosh!" in the pan and no corresponding bang from your musket. All the powder burned up but failed to ignite the charge in the barrel.

I have gained a true appreciation for the weapons of the time. There are things the history books don't go into detail on. You have to experience them for yourself. Using modern firearms, have you ever had a hangfire? This is where you pull the trigger and nothing happens. Then, seconds later, the gun actually fires. This is an extremely rare thing today. I've never had a hangfire. But I saw a couple. The delay is such you can watch it happen. You see the powder in the pan ignite, the main charge start to burn and one..two...BANG! It's incredible. We just don't think of it today.

Much of the military drill we have today arose as a result of having to train troops armed with such "primitive" firearms in their use on the field. It follows a rhythm and a strict process. With every series of commands, it is a step in the process of being effective in a line of men casting lead death at our enemies.

We did much of this.

You don't hear about the reality of battle using flintlocks. Did you know you get black powder everywhere? Take a look at some of the King's finest during some target practice:

Note the right hands on the two men to the right. Those aren't shadows. It is the powder from handling and firing our weapons. After a few volleys, our hands and our clothes look like we are handling coal. You do get quite dirty about this. Movies set in the Revolutionary War such as "The Patriot" usually don't illustrate what a real soldier would look like mid-battle. Black powder on the hands and clothes is pretty common. A grimy soldier is a fighting soldier.

They also don't tell you about this:

This is His Majesty's balls marinating in bacon grease. Where else can you go and tell someone with a straight face you need insert the King's greasy ball into your barrel? Or handle His Majesty's slippery ball and ram it home? Such is the talk of a Royal Marine.

These are .73 caliber musket balls ready for use. We have them in a pan of grease so they will be well-lubricated when we need to insert them into our muskets. The grease is as good as any lubricant in helping ram the ball to the bottom of the barrel. Over time with the staggeringly rapid fire of three rounds a minute (now you know where the term 'round' comes from in military circles), the bore of the .75 caliber musket can shrink as the barrel expands. A little grease goes a long way in helping get a sticky ball down the bore.

With our practice done and us qualified, it was time for us to charge into battle and deal with those rebel traitors to King George. In His Majesty's Navy, such traitors must be dealt with by sending His Majesty's balls forth to decimate their ranks. Such rebels appeared to us, challenging our authority and dominion over this land:

With a call by our Sergeant, we took up ranks, spread our skirmish line and fired massed volleys at these scurvy cowards. One minute of rapid-fire at our hand and we had cleared the field, with the inevitable results of those who challenge the Crown:

Only one of these men walked away minus a leg. Two we left on the field as a reminder to those who challenge the King's Navy.

With battle complete, we headed off on patrol down the road to sweep away any surviving Rebel elements:

In step all the way. We are the pride of the Royal Navy and looking ever inch the part. In the end, we stopped for a break having kept Virginia free from seditious elements against Great Britain. Here we stand after a job well done:


I've done things as a Royal Marine most of us have never done. I learned more about British life during this period than any book could ever teach. You don't get the smell or taste of gun powder from yellowed pages. Or the purple bruise from the kick of ol' Bess. Or hear the sound of musket balls whizzing downrange. That was a big first. I've never deliberately placed myself downrange (albeit well off the firing line) during live fire. Or fired a weapon over the heads of my fellow Marines. Or ever heard the phrase "place the cock against the nipple" spoken as an order. If you want to learn what that means, you'll have to come out to King's Balls III.

And done all for the pride of His Majesty and sweeping the Dominion free of traitors, sympathizers and those less-than-loyal to the Crown. It's hard duty and not for every man.

Perhaps you have the fortitude to join us? Please do. All able-bodied men are welcome in the ranks of the King's service.

I'd like to thank Joe, Will (our Sergeant of the day), Elmer (our quartermaster), James, Mike and all of the other recruits, whose names I can't remember, whom I had the pleasure of serving with this fine day. I will serve with you again at Yorktown, demanding Oaths of Loyalty to His Majesty King George and putting the colonials in their proper place.

For King and Country, I serve proudly.

Bite Me, Brady! #5

One of the more entertaining segments of the gun control population are those that promote the notion of strict adherence to the Constitution and the period it was written in with regard to the 2nd Amendment. You've probably encountered them. They often fall into the category of what many refer to as "left-wing barking moonbat".

Their belief is that you can have guns. But just the guns that existed at the time the Constitution was written since that is the type of guns the Founders had and meant. They argue the Constitution with regard to the 2nd, and only the 2nd, is frozen in that time. It's a very strict Constructionist approach but it only applies here. These same people will then go on engage in the "living, breathing Constitution" approach for everything else.

Most of us just chuckle at them. This view is so ignorant and misguided that is serves as nothing more than noise to be ignored. Where it gets fun is when you agree with them and say "Ok. That means I can have as many of those old weapons as I want and the Government can't do a thing about it.". Then they sputter and scream about there needing to be "reasonable regulations" on them too since, gasp, you were actually serious about taking their views at face-value.

They can't have it both ways. Then again, since when has gun control ever been about consistency? It's never about guns and always about control and this argument about what arms are protected under their view of the Constitution always reveals that fact. They'll never admit it but the moment they argue about regulations on what is supposed to be a protected item by their own definition, they just have.

Gun control people, with few exceptions, operate on what they believe to be true and not what is true. They don't know firearms laws or how the existing system works. They just latch on to soundbites like "Guns laws are too lax!" put out by groups they already agree with and will not accept facts even when given independent sources not from the "right-wing". Hell, they won't even bother to look at links to US Government sites containing the law itself!

This edition of "Bite Me, Brady!" is dedicated to this segment of the gun-hating population.

I've talked about loopholes in the past and how gun-controllers view them. If the law doesn't explicitly permit something, to them it has to be a loophole. To them, the absence of permission creates the necessity for restriction. It makes sense in that worldview where rights are granted rather than implied.

However, sometimes the Government is explicit. Rarely, not only are they explicit in allowing something but also extremely clear in saying where the law does and does not apply so there is no ambiguity, no wiggle room, no loophole. The law is crystal clear from both sides of the mirror.

Such a law is 18 USC 921(a)(16). This is a law that makes gun controllers like Paul Helmke foam at the mouth because there is no wiggle room. So you ask, "What is 18 USC 921(a)(16)?".

It is the law, unless overridden by State or local law, that covers black powder firearms and muzzleloaders. The very arms that our liberal Strict Construction gun controllers support wholeheartedly. I wonder if they will after they finish reading this.

There are a couple of fun aspects to this little section of firearms law. It is very clear on what it covers and how it applies. 18 USC 921 provides the definition of what a "firearm" is and how it is to be handled. Specifically, how the law applies to the transfer, sale, manufacture and possession of firearms. We all know about how you need a Federal Firearms License to manufacture or sell firearms to the public and how the public needs to utilize the services of such a licensee in order to purchase firearms. These are the laws gun controllers refer to as being "lax".

These laws apply to what is defined as "firearms". If it is a "firearm" under the law, you need to do all that background check stuff, have a license to sell them and so on. With me so far?

Here's the kicker: 18 USC 921(a)(16) and all of the laws in 18 USC 922 apply to firearms only. Under the law, black powder, muzzleloading firearms are not "firearms" under the law!

Hang on to your panties, gun banners! What this means is if you sell an "antique firearm", it is not subject to any of the firearms laws you think are lax. In fact, you can buy these guns cash-and-carry and through the mail without a background check or any Government intervention whatsoever! Have as many as you want mailed to your doorstop with just a signature to the UPS driver.

And it doesn't matter, unless your State law says otherwise, if you're a convicted felon or not. Yes, this is the one class of "firearm" with few exceptions that a convicted felon can legally own!

You have to be asking yourself at this point, "You have to be kidding! No one will allow a convicted felon to own a gun!".

I'm not. Because Federal law says "antique firearms" and their modern replicas aren't guns at all as defined in the law. Legally, they are no different than a BB gun!

So when I hear our liberal Strict Constructionist, Constitutional scholars say you can have all the muzzleloaders that the Founders say you can have since that is what they really meant, all I need to do is smile and nod. Because in this one instance they are absolutely, 100 percent correct. I can have them and there isn't a damn thing any of them or the Government can do about!

So with that, I present to you the subject of this edition of Bite Me, Brady:

This non-gun is a Pietta Colt 1851 Navy Marshall cap-and-ball revolver. It is a modern replica of pistols of that era and would be considered the rapid-firing, "assault weapon" of its day. It is a six-shot revolver that fires a .44 caliber lead ball or bullet.

This non-gun is an oddball in my collection. It is presently the only black powder weapon I own. And I bought for the most banal of reasons a gun owner can give for buying something...

I liked how it looked.

It is a very pretty non-gun. It wasn't something I was looking to add to my collection for any particular reason. I just found the engraving, brass and wood grips nice to look at. At the time, my gun dealer was having a "Cowboy Action" sale and had a lot of their replica and Action Shooting guns on sale. In this case, a 2-for-1 discount sale. So in a moment of "What the hell?", I picked this gun up along with a cowboy single-action .22 revolver. I certainly couldn't argue with the price.

This type of non-gun is known as a "cap-and-ball" revolver. In the picture above, notice the nipples at the back of the rotating cylinder. Each of these nipples is hollow and leads to the firing chamber. Each chamber is loaded with black powder, some wadding and a lead ball, all packed down towards the back. To make the chamber fire, you affix a percussion cap over each nipple. When the nipple is struck by the hammer, the cap creates a spark that is sent into the chamber and ignites the black powder. Our non-gun goes "Bang!" and hurls its old fashioned lead ball down its rifled barrel.

This firing mechanism came about prior to the American Civil War and rapidly displaced flintlock muskets from the Revolutionary War era. The percussion cap is smaller, easier to use and safer overall for the shooter (no free powder in a flash pan like with a flintlock). The percussion cap muzzleloader represents the pinacle of this technology. Only the introduction of the breech loading cartridge rendered them obsolete.

This non-gun has many nice features and a bit of trivia associated with it. The photo above gives you a good feel for its design. That big, wide .44 caliber bore. That is one big lead ball coming at you! You can see the built-in ramrod to assist in loading each cylinder. Integrated mechanical ramrods like this are a staple feature on all revolvers of this type. This is 150 year old technology too.

Despite its appearance, this gun is not nickel-plated. It is, in fact, polished stainless steel. As you might imagine, this pistol has a bit of heft to it. It isn't that large as the next picture shows with it in my hand:

Not too bad for obsolete, 150+ year old technology, eh?

Because the law says black powder muzzleloading guns are not guns, you can order these non-guns through the mail from many online retailers. Or do cash-and-carry at your local sporting goods store. Unless your State law says otherwise that is. And if you're otherwise disqualified from owning a modern firearm as defined under the law, you might be able to own these. Admittedly not ideal but if you have a choice between some gun and no gun, you could do a lot worse than a Civil War-era six shooter.

History shows despite their antique nature by modern standards, such non-guns were effective in the hands of their users. A .44 inch lead ball weighing 128 grains or more can be pretty nasty. And they won't overpenetrate. If you're in the situation of being a convicted felon and would like a gun for personal protection, check your local laws. You just might have the option via this route.

There have been attempts over the past year by a few states, notably New York and New Jersey, to either outright ban these non-guns or regulate them much in the same way modern firearms are. These attempts reveal the nature of the gun controller as simply a controller. They argue that you have a Constitutional right to have what the Founders would have used (or its direct lineal descendant as in this case) and when you have the gall to actually acquire and use these arms absent regulation, they turn around and try to ban and control them! Hell, they'd probably have the Founding Fathers doing background checks and many of them would fail under the definition of "reasonable regulations" they are trying to foist on us.

I'd imagine a few gun controllers are looking for a change of underwear at this point. Unrestricted, unregulated firearms ownership! Of the real variety! This cannot stand!

Except in this case, the law says my engraved replica is a modern firearm. Huh? I'm about to contradict myself here after getting the gun banners to wet themselves? No.

In turns out in 18 USC 921(a)(16) there is a one and only one exception for the lack of regulation of this type of non-gun. The exception is when there is the ability to convert such a non-gun to fire modern ammunition by replacing parts on it. When you do that, legally speaking, the non-gun 1851 six-shooter becomes a Glock in the eyes of the law. Mine is one of those cases.

This particular model of revolver can accept a replacement cylinder that instead of black powder balls can accept .44 Magnum cartridges and replaces the nipples with individual firing pins. Talk about a kick! But you can with this non-gun.

So I had to do NICS paperwork on this non-gun. I guess it really is a gun after all.

But the majority of the black powder revolvers out there cannot be converted in this way so they are totally unregulated. Same goes for the black powder itself in quantities under 25 pounds and the ammunition. You can even avoid ammunition issue by casting your own lead bullets! Alas, you won't be able to shoot your non-guns in many places in California in order to Save the Condor!

I guess it really isn't "For the Children!" after all. It's for the birds.

These guns represent a class of firearms that is only starting to get horrified attention from the gun control groups. Of course, to them, anything that fires a projectile should be regulated and controlled. Don't think for a second that if they managed to achieve their ultimate fantasy of getting modern cartridge breech loaders banned that they wouldn't be going after Civil War replicas like this just to make sure. They'll simply move the goalposts back to 1861 and start from there.

Because these aren't "guns" under the law, most people tend to write them off as unworthy of serious use. And to a point, they're right. But they do what guns do which is go "Bang!" and send a projectile in a specific direction. You just don't hear about them because you don't see drug dealers packing these revolvers like they were a Union cavalryman or Gangster Disciples sniping at innocents from a high-rise with a .58 caliber muzzleloading rifle.

Especially given that not even the mighty, balloon downing .75 caliber Brown Bess musket of the Revolutionary War can penetrate modern police body armor. So I guess the gun banner's "armor piecing, high powered Minie ball" argument goes right out the window. We won't even go into the fact that you can likewise own muzzleloading artillery and mortars without regulation either. There aren't exactly a high number of drive-by cannon strikes from limbered guns towed behind snazzy low-riders nowadays.

These non-guns represent an alternate avenue into the shooting sports that is inexpensive (a real consideration these days), requires skill to use and safe when proper safety rules are followed. Black powder receives an exemption under the law because the Government doesn't see them as a threat and I think to a point because we owe so much of our heritage to these weapons. Both in our Founding and in the restoration of a sundered Union. Perhaps we should be free to own the weapons that freed this nation twice over without oversight.

Which is something Paul Helmke just hates. Bite my Minie ball, Paul!

Free Press Will Keep Us Free

The next time I hear something along the lines that we don't need guns because we have free speech and freedom of the press will conquer whatever evil may need defeating, I will use this quote:

“We fought for this country, and a lot of blood was shed. We are not going to give up our country because of a mere X. How can a ballpoint fight with a gun?”
- Robert Mugabe

Thanks to Joe for reminding me of this.

Keep those words in mind when the dictator smashes your soap box, stuffs the ballot box, nullifies the jury box and has taken your cartridge box. The pen won't save you then.

This really does happen. Remember that. Perhaps some leftist just needs to remind Mugabe that peace and talking can solve all problems like the 10,000 percent inflation he created after nationalizing a vibrant, free market economy. Apparently, he didn't try hard enough.

The Very Definition of Insanity: H.R. 6257

Here they go again...

It's called H.R. 6257 and it appears to be a straight re-enactment of the 1994 Assault Weapon Ban.

Don't these people ever learn?!?

Only has 3 co-sponsors at this point but this was introduced by an Illinois Republican, Mark Steven Kirk. What's interesting is all the co-sponsors are all Republicans. Just goes to show that the far Right is no different than the Left in wanting gun control. They just want it for different reasons.

Sharpen up your pens and keyboards and let's stop this before it gains any traction.

Thanks

Thanks to everyone who has linked to my post on the $29.95 .50BMG sniper rifle debacle with the GAO and the Brady Campaign. That is the single highest traffic day I have ever seen on this blog. I would be immensely proud to have those as daily traffic figures.

Today, thanks to David Codrea for his link to my post. I receiving a number of hits from his site. Like those from the Friday Unclelanche, welcome first-time readers and thank you for stopping by!

I have received links from a wide variety of places regarding this posting. Including my first ever Digg posting. I consider that a rubicon of sorts. So I would link to express my thanks to the following referrers. This may not be a complete list as this is what I was able to cull from my logs.

Digg
Survivalist Boards
Florida Shooter's Network
Maryland Shooters
Need 2 Speed
Another Gun Blog

On Friday, I promised I would explain. Guns and history are a bad combination. They can get you into all kinds of trouble because when curiosity starts, your wallet is sure to follow. I made a bad mistake and I've discovered the world of Civil War skirmishing.

I'll get into more detail on this as time goes on but all I have to say is: This looks like so much fun! Fundamentally, this is adults playing dress-up and shooting guns of the period. A lot of people already do this in the form of Cowboy Action Shooting. Civil War Skirmishing goes back further and focuses on the weapons and uniforms of the period.

To the outsider, this has to seem like a weird hobby. I'm no stranger to it. Just ask anyone who has been serious about Airsoft skirmishing. That is adults playing G.I. Joe using airgun replicas of modern arms and the equipment to boot. I've never had to worry about mustering for the militia because I own enough uniforms and their associated load-bearing equipment, vests, etc, to outfit a platoon. Just choose what country's uniform you'd like me to appear in.

But airsoft is nothing more than militarized paintball, only cheaper. This appears to be a whole different animal.

I've been interested in pursing competitive shooting. Any competitive shooting. There are two problems: cost and distance. Really cost. I'd love to do service rifle since I already have the equipment but the main driver to be competitive is the ammo. Match-grade ammo for .223, even bought in bulk, hovers between $0.50 and $1.00 per shot. And given the need to practice in addition to the competition course of fire and that cost can become staggering. Especially now with ammo prices going the way they have.

I bought a smallbore target rifle to do that but too entails significant cost. The ammo is cheaper but the matches are somewhat scattered. It is just really hard to get a good list of matches and the necessary information to show up and compete. It's almost like a barrier to entry. If you can't find us, we don't want you shooting. I won't go into discussing High Power. I simply cannot afford it.

The skirmishing looks very interesting. One, because I can be a little eccentric and play dress up. Two, because it lets me experience history. I've commented to others that is one thing to stand on an empty battlefield and imagine where the combatants were and what it might have been like. It's another thing entirely to be standing on that field as a re-enactor or a skirmish line and be looking down those sights, feeling the recoil and peering through the smoke. Even with blanks, I'd argue that re-enacting on an actual battlefield has to be a great experience for a history buff.

Skirmishing follows similar lines but focuses on the weaponry of the period and their usage in a group. You need to learn the skills at arms that existed back then and have been forgotten in our modern day of semi-automatics and brass cartridges. It lets you live a past era and gain insight by doing what past soldiers might have done. Since skirmishing desires to be historically accurate with regard to equipment used, this is the closest you can likely get. And it's live fire.

I'd argue developing the skill to be accurate with a muzzleloader with black powder and lead ball or Minie bullets has to be harder and more interesting overall. Not to mention cheaper. Other than the cost of the musket itself, a pound of black powder and the ammunition is dirt cheaper. Given the costs of shooting now, I'd say this looks like a decent route to go.

Plus, there's a certain beauty in a rifle musket.

Worse ways to spend a weekend. Besides, where else can you get to fire your own personal mortars and artillery?

Unclelanche!

Thanks to Uncle for what I am receiving. My traffic logs look like the IPCC "hockey stick" graph right now. Except mine represents reality. Sometimes I do good and I am thankful for the linky love. For all the first-time visitors, I hope you like it. Thanks for stopping by!

On a gun note, I'm in deep now. I've lost my mind. I'm going to be checking out some different firearms related activities this weekend. I'm going to make my mother sorry she ever taught me to read. History and guns leads you in strange directions. I'll explain, don't worry.

Have a good weekend everyone!

$29.95 Worth of Ineptitude

No lie, no deception or misdirection is too low for the Brady Campaign. Especially when it comes from a Government report. If the Government prints it then it must be true. From their standpoint, I can understand that. A lie, no matter how egregious or incredible, but stated by the Government automatically instills a sense of truth and credibility in any who hear it. After all, it's the Government! The Government never makes mistakes.

It should come as no surprise to you that the Brady Campaign doesn't do research beyond acquiring the soundbites and snippets it needs to get its "message" out. It is the narrative that matters. Anything that interferes with that is simply ignored. After all, we can let facts interfere with good propaganda and get in the way of the message.

From them, we call it sad and pathetic. I've never understood how or why they've never hired a well-meaning but ignorant kid with decent intelligence and sent them forth to research firearms. At least armed with some rudimentary facts, I am sure you could twist them in a much more effective message than we see from them now. I know I could if I worked for them.

From the Government, though, this type of thing should have never seen the light of day. This just goes to show that politicians and many of the people who work for Government aren't the brightest bulbs in the box.

Especially with what I'm about to show you. This is a classic case of both sides getting totally suckered.

Here we have the following GAO report: Long-Range Fifty Caliber Sniper Weapons. It's an old report published in May 1999. The fact it is nine years old has never stopped the Brady Campaign. They'd quote homicide figures in colonial children if they had the data to manipulate to their own ends.

And here we have the Brady Campaign's page on the deadly, plane-downing, terrorist weapon system know as the .50BMG rifle. Just to make sure they don't change the narrative, here is a screen capture of the page in question:


What I want you to focus on is the end of that paragraph right in the middle. Here is the sentence:

A government study found that a used .50 caliber BMG sniper rifle can be purchased online for just $29.95

When you finish snorting your Coke, notice they provided a footnote. It is the very report I just told you you about. At this point you have to thinking, "That has to be a typo! No one will actually go to the report and check the Brady Campaign's 'facts' since we all know they're lying. They have to be making that up!".

They're not.

If you open the GAO report and go to the top of page 5, you will see the paragraph as plain as day:

C. Costs of the Weapon

The cost of a new fifty caliber sniper rifle can range from about $4,000 to $7,000. The retail price for a new Barrett model 82A1 with two ten round magazines and an air and watertight case is approximately $6,800. On the other hand, the cost of a modern second-hand fifty caliber rifle is only about $3,000. An Internet search conducted by the minority staff revealed the sale of one used fifty caliber sniper rifle for only $29.95.

Emphasis mine.

I would love to know who that minority staffer was who did that search because they are an idiot. Because, folks, here is the ad they found that led to them putting this idiocy into a GAO report:


Yes, some intern or civil servant in Washington DC was let out of their padded room, allowed to do research and never had their work vetted by someone higher-up. As a result, this parody made it into an official GAO report as certified fact on the cheap cost and availability of the deadly .50 caliber sniper rifle.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

I have but one request to any Deity listening: Please let me be testifying at a hearing for banning the .50 when the Brady Campaign brings up the $29.95 Internet price for these guns. I've never seen a man physically shrink to the size of a mouse in humiliation and whipping out this ad along with the GAO report before a committee to demonstrate the out-and-out lies of the Brady Campaign would so, so worth it. I think that is a modest request.

I can't believe the Brady Campaign fell for it.

On second thought, I can. Alas, I can believe in this type of ineptitude from the Government.

Snort.

Even the Government Agrees!

Found this on a couple of other forums. Click the image to enlarge it.

Note the reason for why the applicant wants to make an NFA firearm. It seems the Government agrees on the seriousness of the threat we face.

It was approved.

P.S: If I thought I could get away with it on the Maryland Collector's Affidavit, I'd put that down in a heartbeat.

I Can Vote!

Alas, I can't vote in the National Election this fall but I can vote for something much more important...

Which Blogger Am I Going to Help Send to Blackwater?

So far, Robb, Sebastian, Uncle and Kevin all have blegs up. I will admit that there has been some backroom attempts at trying to influence my vote. The way I see it guys and gals is I am the swing vote on the panel here. Since I wasn't able to attend Louisville, my vote isn't being wasted on voting for myself so my influence is far greater.

I have power! I can be a decider!

I can be bought. But not with cheap offers like ammo, accessories, books or bangsticks. That so low and tawdry. So, fellow gun bloggers, here's the deal. We can have some fun and see how creative you can get or I can simply vote anonymously.

But if you want to play a little, here's the deal: Send me an e-mail of 100 words or less explaining why I should vote for you. At the bottom of that e-mail and not included in your word count, indicate whether or not you think I should post your attempt at influence for the world to read and chuckle at. If the majority of the submitters agree to play along, I post all of the personal appeals to me here on the blog. If not, I have them for my own personal amusement and I vote anonymously without anyone being the wiser.

At the end, you still won't know who I voted for since anyone can lie when they leave the polling booth. But I can lie, whisper sweet nothings across the Internet and tell you it was you I pulled the lever for.

If nothing else, we can have some fun. Besides, I want to be the 11th man to attend and I am quite sure some of my favorite bloggers will be there to share it with!

So sharpen those quills and warm up the electrons. Buy my vote! I'm for sale like a cheap politician in a three-piece suit. Only better armed.

On Policy

I work with a bunch of folks from a variety of countries. It's fairly typical in information technology. One of the thing that's interesting in such an environment is the differing views people from other nations have towards government and its role, duty and powers.

It shouldn't come as a shock that folks from other countries tend to have either a rabid hatred of government or have a European view of government. By "European", I mean they tend to see government as the arbiter and controller of their lives and all of their rights, freedoms and values flow to them from the government. The government is expected to do things and government interference and control in their lives is considered the natural order.

I understand that view rather well since I was raised in it. Yes, at one time I was a liberal socialist. I believed in all of the "social justice" ideas and that the Government was benevolent and here to help you if you needed help. And that is was ok for the Government to take a little from that person over there who had more and give some of it (after taking their cut) to that person over there in the interest of fairness. I bet it certainly seemed fair to the guy or gal on the receiving end. We were taught not to question what the person on the taking end thought of the whole deal.

After figuring all of this out, I came to the conclusion that "social justice" is the adult version of "share and share alike" we were taught as kids but hopelessly dysfunctional. Idealistic childhood concepts do not scale well. I guess too many adults forget just how goddamn vicious children can be to each other when discussing appealing to "one's better nature". Studying childhood social interactions is a good way to see bad government in action. Just minus heavy weapons.

But I digress.

This view of government produces some rather interesting interactions in the work sphere. Especially given that I am an American trapped in a Canadian body. Recently, this produced a jaw-dropper on the part of one of my co-workers when in the course of a casual, end of workday conversation he opined that Barack Obama was a good man and wouldn't be bad for the country.

There is no way I could let that slide but being mindful of the fact that I do work with folks on the left side of the spectrum, I asked him why. My attitude is "Go ahead, support Obama if you want. Just tell me why and if we disagree, no skin off my back.".

The answer: "Because his policies sound pretty good.".

Further inquiry on my part expanded on this and the end result was that my co-worker felt that Obama's policies would do some good for the country. On this, I nodded agreement that they might and retorted with: "And how exactly will he enact them?".

Now, to my co-worker's credit, he did not know the answer. He is a US permanent resident like myself. The only difference between he and I is the fact that I am more deeply involved in learning about the American political and government process than he is. This is by no means a slight on him. In fact, I think my interest in the topic might even be considered unusual and obsessive by some.

But he did stare at me blankly when I asked that question before giving me an answer along the lines of because that is what he wants. In this, he has an excuse. He's a foreigner like me. Us foreigners who are not yet citizens and haven't applied to become one aren't expected to understand the great nuances and edifices that form the American Way of Government. We are expected to know it by the time we take out citizenship tests and pass our multiple choice exam on who Martin Luther King was and when the Civil War took place. But until then, we can rightly claim ignorance.

So he was quite shocked when I told him "The President cannot do a single thing unless Congress passes it first.".

"What do you mean?" he asked, "Doesn't Congress have to do what the President tells them?".

"Uh, no.".

Lawdog sums up this issue quite nicely. I think I should print it out and give him a copy. In fact, I think about half of this country needs to have this mailed to them for handy reference.

The President's desired policy goals mean exactly two things, jack and shit, if Congress doesn't wish to act upon them. And jack left town.*

Which leaves the President no options. We are not electing a King here.

Once I explained this, he backed off his position on Obama with that behind him.

Such ignorance can be understood from someone new to this country and finding their way. It is wholly inexcusable for someone born and raised here and someone, especially a supposedly thinking, rational adult, who should know how things work. I don't understand where people get this view as the President being the King of the Country and both Houses are meant to enact his will.

The frightening part is people vote with this misconception in mind, honestly believing the President to have this power.

All a President can do is tell Congress, "I would like you to pass law X". That's it. If Congress doesn't do so, there is nothing in the power of the Presidency to make their desires come true.

Allow me to use a relevant example to gun owners: President Bush's desire to renew the 1994 Federal Assault Weapon ban. He stated publicly that he would sign it if Congress presented him with the bill. Alas, too many people, especially liberal Democrats, only focus the failure of the ban to be renewed as some great policy failure and forget that all-important second half of Bush's intention: "if Congress presents it to him.".

The President here knows more than the People about how the Government works. And despite telling the absolute truth regarding the renewal of that law, people still vilified President Bush for failing to do so.

What kind of inverted misguided anger is that?

Gun owners across the political spectrum were pissed at President Bush for articulating his desire. Especially conservatives and independents who voted for him in the belief that he was, if not friendly, at least neutral towards gun rights. And in one fell swoop, he destroyed that belief.

But we were only pissed at him for saying it. He was never actually able to do it.

Too many people forget the Congress angle in this game. President Bush had no skin in the game and he knew it. As a second-term President, what could the electorate do to him? Not a damn thing. But I am sure when he asked various Representatives why they weren't pursuing his preferred policy initiative through he got a very clear answer along the lines of "The People may not be able to hurt you but they sure as Hell can hurt us!". Ten years prior was still firmly set in their minds.

Why can't Americans who are supposed to know and understand how this process works fail to grasp how policy gets accomplished here? The reigns of power do not reside solely in the President. All his or her wishing in the world will not make it so if Congress tells him to get stuffed on those wishes.

Want another example? Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

Look what happened there. You had both Houses and the President all pushing the same direction with a desire to enact that particular policy. Sure, the Senate was shakier than the House but by and large, they had all the pieces in places to enact it. And given the President was wholeheartedly supporting it, it should have been easy to pass.

But it didn't. It just suddenly disappeared off the airwaves and quickly at that. Why?

Because later polls showed that 78% of the American public did not approve of the Government's attempt at passing this and were apparently expressing that displeasure quite keenly to both sets of their elected representatives. Rumor has it the Senate switchboard was overwhelmed with angry calls from all around the country. The President may have been wondering what happened but Senators and Congressmen alike were working as fast as possible to make this particular nightmare disappear lest their constituents develop really long political memories again.

When you have tripartite support across the board for a policy the public strongly disagrees with, don't be surprised if the public turns on you likes a pack of rabid badgers high on angel dust.

It's just our elected "leaders" sometimes need a reminder about who puts their hands on the levers of power and how tenuous their grasp really is at times.

Given this, I fail to understand why people are getting all excited about Obama's policy positions or pissed off at McCain for his. They can promise the moon and the stars to whomever votes for them but that is all those promises are: hot air being released to space. Meaningless. Ephemeral.

If Congress doesn't want to enact the President's desired policy, that policy fails to happen. Obama can promise everyone a living wage, universal healthcare, hope for alternative energy, change in gun laws and the audacity to think he believes he can actually give you all of that but it all comes crashing down if Congress says "No.".

And if he believes otherwise, I would like to welcome you now to "The Next American Revolution, Reality Edition". Because he would have to essentially destroy the system of government we have today to make it happen. Why do you think Obama favors gun control so much? Because he knows the American People have the Armed Forces and police out-numbered and out-gunned by a factor of at least 8 to 1. He has to get those numbers way, way down. And don't tell me he doesn't know it. I am sure the discussion of the number of bitter, angry, God-fearing, gun clinging rednecks that needed to be disarmed "for the common good" came up at one of his many Joyce Foundation board meetings.

Alas, too many American voters believe in this "President is King" view of politics. I guess it is easier to accept that since it fits nicely in a 30 second soundbite of "As your President, I will do Y for you!" than it is to actually, you know, teach basic government and civics in school as part of growing up to be a productive citizen. Hell, bring back Schoolhouse Rock! It would be an improvement over the general level of knowledge we have now. The scary part of this is many of the people that believe Obama's rhetoric on what he can do for you are the same ones who were raised on "I am a bill, just a lonely ol' bill...".

How far we have fallen.

Pull your heads out of your ass, America and wake up! You are being bribed by empty promises and your own tax dollars. Just like every other election. The power of Government does not lie with the President. He can state policy until he is blue in the face but only Congress can make his dreams a reality. If Congress fails to act, you're getting mad at the wrong person.

The true power to get things done lies with Congress. Congress is what makes the wheels of Government turn. All the President can do is help turn the crank once in a while. The Courts exist to keep the machine in balance.

Unless that is what America wants: to tear the machine down and replace it with a single, shiny new one. If the Government Americans want is a king to rule, lead and dominate, by all means, make it happen. Call for a Constitutional Convention and make it happen. Insert a clause creating a monarchy, an Emperor, a Council of Twelve, whatever you want. If you can get 3/4ths of the States and 2/3rds of both Houses to agree, have at it.

Just don't be surprised when you get the Government you no longer vote for and your freedom disappears under the tyranny you traded your security to create. Because then you'll have no recourse.

We deserve better than that. Think about it when you vote this November.

It's "President", not "King". Keep them straight.

* One of my favorite lines from Army of Darkness by Bruce Campbell: "You ain't leading but two things right now: Jack and Shit. And Jack left town.".

"In the Right Hands"

This is for all your liberal Democrats out there.

There is a lot of complaining among the left (but certainly not confined to it) about George W. Bush's abuse of executive authority. That his use of "signing statements" as a "clarifier" or "exclusion" to the applicability of a bill that winds up on his desk. Or his abuse of FISA in the warrantless wiretapping program in the interest of national security. In the end, there is agreement among many that this goes beyond his authority and is an extra-Constitutional power grab on the part of the Right.

With this in mind, I ask you this: If Barack Hussein Obama wins the election in November, do you think he'll reign in this abuse of executive authority?

While you consider it, here's my answer:

I'll wager money that if BHO gets into office, not only will he not act to restore "signing statements" to their intended purpose (Presidential opinion only on the law but not legally binding) but will, in fact, use that authority in order to "correct" those abuses by using that power "the right way".

Since the Left feels that if the "right people" (meaning them) are in power, such Government power will not be abused. Which means the Democrats will feel just fine availing themselves of this power since it is them, the right ones, in charge rather than those evil, war-mongering, illegal, oil-grabbing right-wing thugs.

Now, liberal Democrats, tell me I'm wrong and that BHO won't do that because he is all in favor of curtailing Government power and that he will correct a wrong because it is the right thing to do. If you truly believe that, ask yourself how many Governments throughout history have EVER relinquished power once taken? The answer should be pretty much close to zero.

Go ahead, tell me I'm wrong and this won't happen.

For Robb

Since Robb likes the idea of custom AR lowers, here are a couple of pics from the Maryland Shooters Forum of some extremely sweet custom lowers. You may drool...

I would love to have the "Safe-Dead-Undead" on my selector. Perhaps Anvil Arms would do a custom run? I'm sure an AR lower manufacturer will do custom engraving on the selector, serial number, etc with enough money involved.

Education will be the End of the Republic

Kevin has an incredible uberpost up on the education in this country. If you read one thing today, read this. This man has some stamina when it comes to stuff like this.

One of the things that he did mention in it was the American Civics Literacy Quiz. So I took it and scored 81.97%. The mean score from seniors at Harvard was 69.59%.

Let that sink in for a moment. One of the best schools in this country that most of us literally cannot afford to send our kids to can't even produce a B grade on civics and the history of this country with people who live here!

I'm a foreigner born and raised in Canada. I voluntarily took a year of early American History (up to the start of the Revolution) and I scored better than what is taught at Harvard. If I was a senior coming out of any school in this country with these scores, I'd be asking for refund.

It is things like this that kick in the pessimistic side of me and convince me the Republic is doomed. It is only a question of when. Alas, when it happens we won't know it until the moment has slipped us by. This Republic will not die in a cacophony of violence; it will creep away over the horizon driven out by the forces of ignorance, bureaucracy and self-entitlement. And when it does, there will be too few of us left that realize it is gone, raise the cry and too many who simply will not listen and not care. We will see it in our lifetime.

I can even see its epitaph:

Here lies the Republic.
It failed to conform and confirm so it had to be conquered by consensus.
Fairly forgotten.

On a lighter note, today is the 64th anniversary of the moment when a downtrodden member of an Ost battalion asked himself "How can this get any worse?" and then made the mistake of looking towards the sea. A change of underwear was promptly required at that point. He would be lucky at the end of the day to have the opportunity to change said soiled briefs.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Duty and Honor

I can't believe CNN posted this. I think they did it more with an eye towards illustrating the horrible weather than rolled through here yesterday but in doing so, they presented an enduring image of the meaning of honor and duty.

Here are some screen caps from the video:

The video does this justice. Those of us in the Metro DC area watched this storm roll through. The winds you are seeing are moving at speeds up to 80MPH. The rain is horizontal. That small black object floating in front of the main line of soldiers in the second image is one of their caps being blow off. Yet, these men stood their post.

Read the comments at the link provided. Of course, there is always one asshat:

	failure // 33 minutes ago
	What is an "Air force soldier"? Not enough sense to come out of the rain? Hopefully, more sense not to attend an unlawful war.

Fucking tool. It had nothing to do with sense, you encephalic moron. They were doing their duty for a fallen comrade by rendering him a deserved final honor. You don't get it, do you? Were these men in danger? No, unless they were witnessing ground lightning strikes in the nearby trees. Was it uncomfortable? I'd say so. But a little personal discomfort means nothing compared to what they were doing. The fact they stood against the fury of the storm, solid and unmoving in a tribute to a man who will never come home, means more than you can possibly understand. And you go forth and spit on that.

Their commander could have ordered them inside. But he didn't. I suspect he didn't have to because I am certain every single one of those men would have willingly stood there for as long as necessary to render their honors as their duty demanded and not complain one iota about it.

And, of course, this liberal fucktard (whose name is most appropriate here but not for the reasons he thinks) has to drag in his view of the war.

You know something, there was a time people could honor the service of another even if they disagreed with their politics. Duty as a soldier transcends such issues. Plus, microbrain here operates under the delusion that soldiers somehow have a choice about which conflict they wish to fight in. I hate simpletons like this. No appreciation at all.

This type of thing moves me. It should move you. Too bad too many people out there can't appreciate this or what it means. I would be proud and honored to serve alongside any one of these men.

Down Day

Having trouble getting things in order. I have some reader submitted material I want to comment on but it dovetails with some stuff I've been working on for a while. It's one of those times where my thoughts are jumbled and I can't get them fully organized.

For those of you with technical interests, I'd like to offer you some interesting reading material. I'm a fan of history and not just regular and military history. Being a computer geek, I also study the history of the technology I work with on a day-to-day basis. I'm of the opinion, like many students of history, that understanding our past makes us better understand and appreciate the future.

One area that I find fascinating and that has had direct impacts on current and future computer generations is spaceflight. When they talk about high-availability computing with fault-tolerance and automatic health monitoring, they aren't new ideas. NASA has been dealing with such issues since the inception of spaceflight.

One of my favorite online books is Computers In Spaceflight: The NASA Experience. It will only have appeal to fans of spaceflight and those interested in the intracasies of how computers on spacecraft where built and functioned. This book details the Gemini, Apollo, Shuttle, Ranger, Mariner, Viking, Voyager and Galileo systems worked.

If you're interested in computer history or space, check it out. NASA has several free books available online. I'd like to see this one updated to cover the systems in Hubble, Mars Pathfinder, the Mars orbiters, Cassini, The Mars Exploration Rovers and the New Horizons Pluto Express. Heck, I wouldn't mind writing it if they don't want to.

Enjoy!

Q&A: Is Form 4473 Sent to the Government?

I had the search term "form 4473" is it sent to the government appear in my logs. I guess someone is curious so I will try to answer for them.

The answer is: Yes and No.

Generally, no. The law requires that any ATF Form 4473 remain with the dealer that sold the firearm. The ATF is permitted to inspect the forms as part of normal auditing procedures and during criminal investigations. But as long as the dealer remains in business, the forms stay with the dealer for 20 years. I believe that forms older than 20 years can be destroyed. However, the firearms transfer log (aka "Bound Book") maintained by the dealer is never destroyed and generally contains most of the information found on the 4473..

However, should a dealer go out of business, their "Bound Book" and Form 4473s in their possession revert to the ATF for archiving. Under current law, the ATF is NOT permitted to create a database out of these records. It is believed by many that the ATF has done so anyway and is maintaining an illegal, if limited, firearms registry. That is the "Yes" portion of this answer.

In general sales to you from an FFL, you need not have any worry that the forms you filed out are going to the Federal government. State level is a different thing. Many states have their own state transaction forms and record retention requirements vary widely. Some states retain them permanently and some do maintain firearm registries with them. Others retain them for a short period of time (months to a couple of years) and then destroy them. In such states after the state retention period has expired, the only information the state has that you have purchased a firearm lies with the dealer.

Also note that the approval information from NICS background check is only retained for 24 hours and is destroyed. This is likewise required by law and only some limited, random records may be retained for auditing purposes and then likewise destroyed.

If your concern is one of the government maintaining a national firearms registry, take comfort in the fact they probably aren't. And if they are, it isn't complete. At best, an illegal national registry would only contain information for guns sold theoretically since 1968 and then only if records between 1968 and 1988 haven't been destroyed. It also won't contain information about guns made before 1968 that lack serial numbers nor for any guns sold via private transfers since no records are kept in either case.

Also take comfort in the fact there are a LOT of guns out there. Current estimates peg the value at between 240-270 million. Even if the government had a registry, that's a lot of noise and searching for a specific gun might become a search for a needle in a haystack. Assuming that you have all the hay in the first place. Databases with minimal errors are very hard to maintain. Just ask the ATF (NFRTR) and the Canadian Government (Long Gun Registry) about their successes in this area.

Hope this helps.