OK, So Where Do I Get Magazines?

Today’s hunt was successful:


So any suggestions on where I can get good magazines for it?

According to the serial number, my example was manufactured in 1973. It is blued, it is beautiful, it still has the magazine disconnect, and the trigger pull is heavy but not creepy, with a clean break. The sights are rudimentary. I think this will be going to Cylinder & Slide for some work.

After I get the M14.

Quote of the Day

There is a very strong possibility that the Court of Appeals will rule against us, not on the merits of the case (which is very strong), but because finding that the Second Amendment is incorporated through the Fourteenth Amendment against the states is a decision above their pay grade. – Clayton Cramer in his post Chicago Gun Case

And I think he’s more than probably right. I’m reminded of 9th Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski’s dissent in the denial to re-hear en banc the Silveira v. Lockyer case, specifically this part:

As an inferior court, we may not tell the Supreme Court it was out to lunch when it last visited a constitutional provision.

Even when it was.

There exists Supreme Court precedent that says that the right of ‘bearing arms for a lawful purpose’ is not protected against state infringement, but only against infringement by Congress – i.e.: the Federal government (U.S. v. Cruikshank, 1875). Cruikshank was decided after ratification of the 14th Amendment, and while it violates the specific, written intent of that amendment, it has never been overturned by the Supreme Court, and it has been used as precedent in an 1886 case, Presser v. Illinois.

And inferior courts may not tell the Supreme Court it was out to lunch when it last visited a constitutional provision.

So don’t be surprised if the 7th Circuit finds against us; be stunned if they don’t. Because that will force the Supreme Court to revisit Cruikshank, and I doubt seriously the 7th Circuit has the testicular fortitude to do that.

Quote of the Day

Quote of the Day

15. Where would you retire to? Retire? I will probably get killed in the early battles of the coming revolution. – Dale at Mostly Cajun from his post Potpourri

There were a lot of good ones to choose from, but that was the winner.

Challenger

On the cold, crisp, clear morning of January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger lifted off from launch complex 39A at Cape Canaveral, and exploded one minute and thirteen seconds into its flight. I first wrote about my recollection of that event here in 2005 in my post This is Why I Read Blogs. Here’s the pertinent part, edited for accuracy:

As some of you may know, I grew up on Florida’s Space Coast. My father was a Quality Control engineer for IBM, working on the Instrument Unit (guidance system) for the Saturn V rocket. I got to see all of the manned missions up through Skylab launch from just across the Indian River, except for Apollo XVII – the only night launch. I watched that one from my front yard in Titusville.

There were two dawns that day.

Consequently, I’ve been a space exploration enthusiast from a young age. I try to watch all the launches, or at least listen to them on the radio. I remember listening to the launch of the Challenger early in the morning here in Tucson, and thinking – as the station broke for a commercial – “At least this one didn’t blow up on the pad.”

Morbid, I know, but I’m also an engineer. I wasn’t then – I had just graduated from college in December and didn’t have a job yet – but that’s been my orientation for most of my life. I knew that each manned launch was a roll of the dice, a spin of the cylinder in a big game of Russian Roulette, and that NASA had become just another government bureaucracy. (And I also knew just how close we had come to losing three men in Apollo 13 because a series of small, innocuous errors had cascaded into a catastrophic failure in a system that was almost neurotic in its quest for safety.)

It was just a matter of time.

Still, I was shocked when they came back from commercial to announce that Challenger had been destroyed in a launch accident just a minute after liftoff. I knew that all seven of the astronauts were dead. I knew that the “teacher in space” wasn’t going to get there, and that a classroom of students had to be devastated by that realization. Many, many classrooms, but one in particular.

I watched the footage of the liftoff, now splayed in endless grisly loops on every network – all of which had previously declined to show the launch live and interrupt really important stuff like “Good Morning America.” I watched as the flame bloomed out from a Solid Rocket Booster joint, impinging on the huge external fuel tank, and said, “That’s what killed them. What the hell caused that failure?” I watched the Satan’s horns of the SRB exhaust tracks as they trailed up and away from the epicenter of the blast. And then I watched it all again.

Over and over.

Later I discovered that the engineers at Morton Thiokol had tried to get the launch scrubbed, knowing the problems that cold weather caused in the O-ring joint seals of the SRBs, but they had been told to “take off their engineer hats and put on their manager hats” in order to make a launch decision. The launch had been delayed too many times, and President Reagan would be making his State of the Union address that night, with a call to Crista McAuliffe – Teacher in Space.

I decided right then that I didn’t ever want to be a goddamned manager.

I still don’t. (No offense, boss! Somebody has to be, just not me!)

Here’s seven reasons not to “take off your engineer hat”:


Never forget them.

Here’s a Shocker

Here’s a Shocker

An op-ed from the Richmond Times-Dispatch (via Instapundit):

Richmond Times-Dispatch
Published: January 24, 2009

Recently, the state Crime Commission deadlocked over whether to recommend closing the so-called gun-show loophole. The issue has become a perennial at the General Assembly, which is considering the matter once again this year. Once again, legislators should vote no.

Licensed firearms dealers — those who buy and sell guns as a business — are required to conduct background checks on prospective buyers.

The “loophole” in question refers to the fact that individuals selling guns from their own private collection do not have to — either within gun-show venues, or in the parking lot, or in their own homes.

Which is no “loophole” at all, but . . .

Gun-control advocates often muddy the issue by referring to “unlicensed dealers” at gun shows, of which there are indeed many. They sell holsters, flashlights, hunting knives, T-shirts, books, gun safes — even jewelry. But an unlicensed dealer who sold guns as a business would invite felony charges under federal law.

And some have. That’s part of the BATFE’s job – and one they don’t seem to do very well.

Gun-control advocates also suggest, albeit with scant evidence, that gun shows supply a significant share of the weapons used in crime.

Federal data indicate otherwise. (My emphasis.) According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics report, “Firearm Use by Offenders,” only about 1 percent of guns used in crimes come from gun shows. (Again.) In fact, most crime guns — 57 percent — come from just 1 percent of licensed dealers. Federal and state law-enforcement agencies should come down on those renegade dealers like a ton of bricks.

It would appear. Another thing the BATFE is tasked with, but they’d rather pursue companies like CavArms for technical violations that were A-OK on Wednesday, but verboten on Thursday. This is another topic unto itself, but to continue:

Another study, by the FBI concerning attacks on law-enforcement officials, found that 97 percent of the offenders had procured their weapons through illegal means. (Again, my emphasis.)

Private sales among the hunters and target-shooting enthusiasts who frequent gun shows are simply not a significant source of weapons used in crimes. Gun shows, then, are not the real issue — except to those who recoil viscerally at the sight of large numbers of firearms in one place.

Referring to a “gun-show loophole” muddies the issue by implying, falsely, that individuals can sell or buy guns freely and without background checks only at gun shows. In fact, they can do so many places.

The real issue, in fact, is incidental firearms sales by private individuals — whether at gun shows or anywhere else.

Now there is an argument to be made that any such sales should be more tightly regulated, perhaps even recorded and reported to the authorities — just as home and car sales are. Over time, that would amount to de facto firearm registration. Some gun-control advocates say that is not their wish.

But given the weaknesses in the case for closing the gun-show loophole, one has to wonder.

No we don’t. Not any more.

Remaining emphasis is also mine. And there’s your QotD in bright red. Kinda shocking to read in an MSM outlet, but it is Richmond, VA.

Quote of the Day

Quote of the Day

From Thomas Sowell:

What are the Beltway politicians buying with all the hundreds of billions of dollars they are spending?

They are buying what politicians are most interested in — power.

In the name of protecting the taxpayers’ investment, they are buying the power to tell General Motors how to make cars, banks how to bank and, before it is all over with, all sorts of other people how to do the work they specialize in, and for which members of Congress have no competence, much less expertise.

There’s much more at the link. Go read.

RKBA Event Announcement

RKBA Event Announcement

Do you live in North Carolina? (I used to.) A group of gun rights supporters will be holding a gathering on the afternoon of February 4 from 2-6PM in front of the legislature building in Raleigh. (I used to live in a suburb of Raleigh.) From their information page:

Join with hundreds of fellow Americans, peaceably assembled to seek a redress of grievances from government officials who are not respecting our Constitutional Civil Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

As American citizens, We have a responsibility to protect and preserve ALL of the rights, freedoms and protections guaranteed ALL Americans by the Bill of Rights and the 13th, 14th, 15th and 19th Amendments. These are our Constitutional civil rights and liberties, they are a birth right of ALL Americans extended to all naturalized citizens.

Call them Constitutional Rights, Civil Rights or Civil Liberties they are one and the same and mean as much to tens of millions of gun owners, conservatives and Constitutionalists as do other Civil Rights to other groups of people.

And, though I’m sure they’ll be seen as sell-outs by some, they understand that frightening the (*ahem*) is counterproductive:

Rules of Engagement
In order to maintain compliance with applicable regulations, some “Rules of Engagement” will be in effect.

1 – Firearms: No firearms will be present, concealed or otherwise.
2 – Dress code: No paramilitary style clothing, no uniforms, no hunting gear. Dress normally. Remember that the media usually tries to portray pro-gun advocates as dangerous kooks. Don’t give them anything to work with.
3 – Signage: Some signs will be made available, but you are welcome to bring your own. Keep them clean – you know what I mean. I have no intentions of having signs printed or manufactured. Hand made signs are more effective and personal. So the number of signs available will depend on how many I can personally make in the time available. I will have blank posters and markers/pens for anyone who wishes to make their sign on location. Verbage can be stern and blunt but not provocative. Again, remember the media will be looking for something to highlite on their reports that reinforce the bigotry against gun owners.
4 – Flags: American flags are always appropriate so bring them large and small. Gadsden flags are also appropriate. Do not bring any others. Do not bring any American flags that have been descecrated with symbols, words or imagery. American flags will be flown right-side-up.
5 – Press Spokesman We will have at least one designated press spokesman present. I ask that no one speak with media reporters but to refer them to the spokesman. Once again, dont give media the opportunity to use you and your words in a negative manner.

I wish them all the luck in the world. There’s a lot more at the site, so I recommend you spend some time there and perhaps consider setting up one of these things if you live in the capital city of your particular state.

This was brought to my attention by one of the organizers, Bubba of What Bubba Knows – one of the few really good aggregator sites out there, and one that has sent me a ton of hits over the last couple of years. Help him spread the word.

Quote(s) of the Day

From the comments to this post, the Geek with a .45 layeth the smack down:

And then I think of General Clark’s quote.

“If ordinary citizens want to carry assault weapons, then they can come and see me. I have a job for them.”

I’ll see your Genl. Clark quote, and raise you three:

———————
They {Obama and Biden} also support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent.

-Whitehouse.gov

————–
There is no right to have access to the weapons of war in the streets of America.

For those who want to wield those weapons, we have a place for them. It is the U.S. military. And we welcome them.

-John Kerry, Senate Floor, 3/5/2004

———–

And Finally:
———–
“Germans who wish to use firearms should join the SS or the SA — ordinary citizens don’t need guns, as their having guns doesn’t serve the state.”

— Heinrich Himmler, WWII

—But here’s the big whopper quote of them all:

Quote:
———-
The problem I have with this one is not the guns…it’s Americans.

Markadelphia

And I’ll see you, Geek, and raise you one Rev. Donald Sensing:

More than anything else, big-government activism is the New Deal’s legacy, and IMO, has come to define the governing philosophy of both parties today. The rising tide of big government has swamped us, held only temporarily at bay by the levees of the Reagan years. (And not really even then, since non-defense spending rose during the Reagan administration.)

Because the present-day Republicans and Democrats are both big-government activists, they have a foundational philosophy that is the same:

America is a problem to be fixed, and Americans are a people to be managed.

There are a lot of great comments in that thread, but the Geek’s takes the prize.