Author: Kevin

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Another Example of “…But Not THAT!“
Or, “The People Have Spoken, the Bastards.”

Reuters reports that Brazil’s referendum on banning gun sales has gone down in flaming defeat:

Brazilian voters strongly reject gun ban

24 Oct 2005 00:31:51 GMT
Source: Reuters
(Updates vote count, adds interviews)

By Terry Wade and Todd Benson

SAO PAULO, Brazil, Oct 23 (Reuters) – From sprawling cities plagued by violence to the backwaters of the Amazon, Brazilians voted decisively on Sunday to keep gun sales legal in the country with the world’s highest death toll from firearms.

About 64 percent rejected banning arms sales in the nationwide referendum, the electoral court said, with more than 90 percent of the expected 122 million votes counted.

Only 36 percent supported the ban, even though some 36,000 people were killed by guns last year in Latin America’s largest country. Full results were expected on Monday.

“We didn’t lose because Brazilians like guns. We lost because people don’t have confidence in the government or the police,” said Denis Mizne of anti-violence group Sou da Paz.

Many voters had expressed concern before the vote that a ban would leave them defenseless against heavily armed criminals. Public confidence is low in a police force widely seen as inefficient, abusive and corrupt.

“This referendum … is not going to end violence,” said Assis Augusto Pires, 60, who voted against the ban in Sao Paulo’s wealthy Jardim Paulistano district, where high walls, electrified fences and private guards protect residents.

In Rio de Janeiro’s Rocinha shantytown, scene of a raging gangland turf war, Carlos Eduardo Ferreira, a 40-year-old electrician, said he was voting for the ban.

“I am for the ban; I am for life. I’ve already seen kids hit by bullets here,” he said.

Spotlighting the issue, a young girl was wounded by a stray bullet as police clashed with drug traffickers in Rio de Janeiro’s Dende slum on Saturday night, police said.

In Minas Gerais state, a supporter of gun sales shot and wounded a ban backer during a bar argument on Friday.

The ban failed in all 26 states and the federal district of Brasilia. Rural areas rejected it overwhelmingly.

“This region is very isolated. If you don’t have a gun here you don’t have protection,” said Igor Dedea, a logger in the rainforest state of Para.

There’s more. Read the whole thing. The Brady Campaign and other gun ban control safety organizations were hoping this law would pass so that Brazil could serve as a shining beacon of how gun ban control safety laws make societies safer. The ballot question read: “Should the sale of firearms and munitions be prohibited in Brazil?” Apparently the gun ban control safety organizations have conveniently forgotten about the UK, where the law regarding legal gun and ammunition possession is quite draconian, yet violent crime – including murder – has increased since the banning of full-auto weapons, semi-auto weapons, and finally all handguns.

I’d really like to read the entire content of this Financial Times piece from prior to the vote, but the opening paragraphs are just too rich to pass up:

As an exercise in participative democracy, it seems badly flawed. Brazilians will vote in a mandatory referendum tomorrow to decide the question, “Should the sale of firearms and ammunition be prohibited in Brazil?”

There should be little doubt about the answer. Gunshot wounds kill more than 107 Brazilians every day, more than traffic accidents and fewer only than heart and brain disorders.

“You shouldn’t dare ask the peons what they think! We, their betters, should dictate to them that only we should be allowed to have arms! (After all, it is through our leadership that they’ve gotten to this state!)”

What hubris.

A point I was previously unaware of, voting in Brazil is mandatory for those between the ages of 18 and 70. This isn’t a matter of a small turnout dominated by Brazilian equivalent of NRA members – it’s a poll of the opinion of the entire nation, and nearly two thirds understand that disarming the law-abiding won’t make the country safer.

This is yet another example of public reaction to misguided philosophies. Yes, I’m certain that Brazilians want their nation to be a safer place, but when presented with a law like this, their reaction, like the reaction of voters here in America is, understandably, “Not THAT!“

I wonder if my Brazilian commenter “Tupiniquim” is still reading TSM and what he thinks of the vote.

KevinLeave a comment

Words Mean Things…

You want to know one reason Chicago keeps trading places with Washington D.C. for “murder capital of the U.S.”? Reader Fabio from England emailed me this link to the City of Chicago’s Gun Safety/Violence Reduction page, and here is what it says:

The principal cause of violent crime in the City of Chicago is the use of firearms by criminal street gangs. Although Chicago has among the toughest gun control laws in the country, street gangs have been able to arm themselves with increasingly deadly firearms with little apparent problem. Although Congress and the Administration appear unwilling to make further gun safety legislation a high priority, the City urges increased attention to these issues in Washington.

The City remains deeply concerned about a last minute provision enacted as part of the FY03 Omnibus Appropriations bill that derailed the City’s Supreme Court argument regarding the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) restricting the availability of public information for litigation purposes. Furthermore, Congress has included other last minute provisions in the FY04 Omnibus Appropriations bill that put in place additional limitations on BATF’s accountability for, and ability to collect and distribute, what should otherwise be public information on firearms purchases. In addition, Congress is considering legislation to provide unprecedented limits on liability focused solely on the firearms industry. These enormously misguided efforts are a direct threat to general public safety and will greatly undermine the efforts of state and local governments to combat illegal firearms trafficking.

Let’s parse this, shall we?

The principal cause of violent crime in the City of Chicago is the use of firearms by criminal street gangs.

Bang! (No pun intended.) Right out of the gate we have an outright falsehood. The principal cause of violent crime is the use of firearms. Um, what?

No, the principal crime IS the improper, illegal use of firearms. (Since the City of Chicago prohibits the use of firearms for legitimate self-defense, that’s about the only kind of firearm use you’re going to see there.) The CAUSE of this is something else entirely. But I have absolutely no doubt that the powers-that-be see the situation precisely as that first sentence is written. The cause to them is the “use of firearms.” That makes the solution simple, no?

Eliminate the firearms and the “cause” is eliminated.

And here we have a textbook example of my favorite gun-control meme, “cognitive dissonance” – described most eloquently by Steven Den Beste:

When someone tries to use a strategy which is dictated by their ideology, and that strategy doesn’t seem to work, then they are caught in something of a cognitive bind. If they acknowledge the failure of the strategy, then they would be forced to question their ideology. If questioning the ideology is unthinkable, then the only possible conclusion is that the strategy failed because it wasn’t executed sufficiently well. They respond by turning up the power, rather than by considering alternatives. (This is sometimes referred to as “escalation of failure”.)

Or as I put it, “Do it again, only harder! To wit:

Although Chicago has among the toughest gun control laws in the country, street gangs have been able to arm themselves with increasingly deadly firearms with little apparent problem.

In other words, “Our efforts to control the cause of violent crime, have failed. But the ideology cannot be wrong! The only possible conclusion is that the strategy failed because it wasn’t executed sufficiently well, so…”

Although Congress and the Administration appear unwilling to make further gun safety legislation a high priority, the City urges increased attention to these issues in Washington.

“We must try again only harder!” (And note the use of the phrase “gun safety” and not “gun control” – though we are told endlessly that “gun safety” isn’t “gun control.”) And since they cannot acheive the ends their philosophy dictates through legislation, they must then pursue it through the courts:

The City remains deeply concerned about a last minute provision enacted as part of the FY03 Omnibus Appropriations bill that derailed the City’s Supreme Court argument regarding the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) restricting the availability of public information for litigation purposes.

I’ll bet the City of Chicago will be joining the Brady Center in its legal challenge to the recently passed Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, since it shuts down the nuisance lawsuits Chicago and other cities have been pursuing. They say as much in the last two sentences:

In addition, Congress is considering legislation to provide unprecedented limits on liability focused solely on the firearms industry. These enormously misguided efforts are a direct threat to general public safety and will greatly undermine the efforts of state and local governments to combat illegal firearms trafficking.

Efforts pursued thorough tort law, not legislation. But on top of that, read this again:

Furthermore, Congress has included other last minute provisions in the FY04 Omnibus Appropriations bill that put in place additional limitations on BATF’s accountability for, and ability to collect and distribute, what should otherwise be public information on firearms purchases.

No, I don’t think so. While the BATF has been moved from the Treasury Department to the Department of Justice, the BATF is still a tax collection agency. The information the BATF gathers isn’t “public information,” it’s protected tax information, as the state of California recently learned to its displeasure when charges against licensed FFL dealer Andy Sun were thrown out when the judge determined the search warrant was obtained based on “protected information” obtained from the BATF:

(Judge Frank P.) Briseno ruled that the search warrant was based on mandatory information Sun was required to submit to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives during an administrative inspection.

Not public information – protected information.

So it appears that the City of Chicago is quite willing to break Federal law to achieve its ends. My only question is this: Why doesn’t Chicago look around the rest of the country and figure out why its violent crime rate is so much higher than other cities of similar size that don’t have “the toughest gun control laws in the country”?

Oh, right. Because the philosophy cannot be wrong!

Fabio concluded in his email to me, “They don’t get it and never will.” Sadly, I’m pretty sure he’s right.

KevinLeave a comment

What a GREAT DAY!.

First, Gunny Burghardt is back in action:

Defiant Marine back disposing of bombs

BY C. DAVID KOTOK
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

RAMADI, Iraq – The sight of Marine Gunnery Sgt. Michael Burghardt scrambling and poking through a dirt mound searching for explosives drew smiles Tuesday from Sgt. Joe Dunlap of Lincoln and other Nebraska Army National Guard soldiers.

A month ago today, Dunlap had driven to Burghardt’s aid after the Marine explosives expert wasn’t able to disarm the last of three improvised explosive devices.

Two things amazed those who were there that day:

• Burghardt survived the explosion and would return to duty in less than a month.

• A World-Herald photograph showing Burghardt standing on his own two feet, pants cut off, legs bandaged and directing a single-digit salute of defiance at his attackers, has transformed him into one of the most famous Marines of the Iraq war.

The photo appeared on numerous Marine-related Internet weblogs. Burghardt received more than 100 e-mails within days of the picture’s publication. It has become a screensaver on soldiers’ and Marines’ computers across Iraq.

“I don’t know how my anger turned into a motivational picture,” Burghardt said.

Dunlap and the others with the 1st Platoon, Troop A of Nebraska Guard’s 167th Cavalry didn’t think about motivation when the IED exploded, engulfing Burghardt in debris, shrapnel and dirt.

“I thought he bought it,” Dunlap said. “Then I saw his legs kicking.”

When Dunlap reached Burghardt, the wounded Marine kept saying, “Just tell me I’m all right.”

Don’t lie, Burghardt told Dunlap, “Just tell me I’m all right.”

The Marine Explosive Ordnance Disposal units are assigned to locate, identify, disarm and dispose of IEDs, which have become a favored weapon of the Iraqi insurgents. The Nebraskans accompanying those units provide security at the scene, guarding the perimeter while the EOD teams work.

Even wounded, the one thing Burghardt made sure he kept in his possession was his special-issue EOD unit Shrade knife with its 7-inch blade. He has carried it since 1994.

The knife came out of its sheath again Tuesday, as Burghardt searched in vain for a wire or explosives in a dirt pile previously used as a hiding place for bombs.

His first day back out was Oct. 13. But Tuesday was his most active, handling three missions with the CAV’s 1st Platoon.

Burghardt said the three-plus weeks he spent recuperating at his unit’s headquarters, unable to go on missions, were among the most difficult of his career. However, he joked that he did enjoy going to the base medical center to have his bandages around his thighs and wounds to his rear attended.

Sitting remains a problem, and his calves occasionally are sore. But Burghardt’s not looking for a ticket out of Iraq. This is his third deployment to the country, and he expects more.

The 35-year-old Burghardt, of Huntington Beach, Calif., has been in the Marine Corps for 18 years, the last 15 in bomb disposal.

He’s not looking to put in 20 years and then move into a lucrative civilian job, either.

“I’ll do 30 years, as long as I’m having fun,” Burghardt said. “Unless I die.”

Burghardt was having fun just before dusk Tuesday, during his third mission with the CAV’s 1st Platoon. They were called out onto the main highway east of Ramadi because of a suspicious inner tube spotted alongside a bridge.

“Gunny,” as everyone calls Burghardt, moved off the highway and onto a berm, where he found a wire. The scissors came off the front of his body armor, and he snipped the wire.

That did not mean all was safe.

There were dangers of a booby trap or an alternate detonation source. So the EOD unit used a robot to check it out. It found two large artillery shells bound up in the inner tube.

Burghardt and his men removed the shells, which were large enough to destroy a Bradley Fighting Vehicle or Abrams tank. The shells were safely taken to a nearby field and detonated, sending debris skyward.

Just the kind of end to a day that Gunny Burghardt likes.

Second, the House has passed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, and President Bush has said he’d sign it.

Third, David Hardy reports that Michael Barnes, president of the Brady Center has resigned citing the stress of losses – like the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.

Ah, what a great day!

Today’s Post

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This is sort of a two-parter. Part I is at another blog. If you’ve read The Smallest Minority for any length of time, you know I tend toward the long-winded, and I’m not afraid to quote others in full, either. But this time, I’d like you to read a really excellent piece over at Circa Bellum. I’d read it somewhere before, but he has the piece in its entirety, and everyone ought to read it: Davy Crockett vs. Welfare. Go read.

I’m serious.

Finished? Excellent. Now, read this email I recently received from Congressman Kolbe’s office, in its entirety:

Dear Mr. Baker:

I am writing to let you know about some important recent developments in Congress related to border security in southern Arizona.

Last week, the Homeland Security Appropriations House-Senate conference committee, of which I was a part, met and finalized the nation’s border security appropriations for fiscal year 2006. I am pleased the final resolution provides the resources needed to secure our border, including more than $56 million that I specifically designated for the Border Patrol Tucson Sector. In addition to the $21 million requested by the Border Patrol for patrol stations, fencing, lighting, vehicle barriers, and roads, the final agreement includes an additional $35 million specifically for the Tucson Sector to help them protect the border. This money can be used at the Border Patrol’s discretion to ensure it has the resources it needs to do its job. The conference report has been adopted by the House and Senate and has been sent to the President’s to be signed into law.

We must secure the border. From additional agents, detention space, airplanes, helicopters and UAVs, to better technology for securing and facilitating travel into the US by land, air and sea, this bill has everything that is needed to protect our homeland. I am especially pleased to almost triple the construction funding for the Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector. Border Patrol will now have increased financial resources to protect our borders beyond their original plans. The additional $35 million provides the Border Patrol the flexibility to use the money as it sees fit either on new projects or to expedite current projects.

Funding benefiting southern Arizona includes:

Construction Projects ($12.7 million total)
* Willcox Border Patrol Station — $10 million for a new 120 agent station
* Sonoita Border Patrol Station — $2.7 million for a new 150 agent station

Tactical Infrastructure ($8.5 million total)
* Douglas Roadway Project — $975,000 for 16 miles of all weather patrol roads with associated pedestrian fence and vehicle barriers to improve Border Patrol access and restrict cross border access.
* Douglas Fencing Project — $2 million for international ditch reconstruction in an earth channel parallel to the border that is failing and allowing erosion to undermine border fence.
* Naco Roadway Project — $543,000 to build all weather patrol road beginning from a location from 2.5 miles west of the Naco Port of Entry and continuing 6 miles west; and beginning from a location 2.5 miles east of the Port of Entry and continuing 4 miles east.
* Tucson/Yuma Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge Vehicle Barrier Project — $5 million to provide all environmental documentation, engineering, and construction of vehicle barriers and patrol roads in the Cabeza Prieta NWR and Barry M. Goldwater Range.

Overall, the bill provides $30.8 billion for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which includes $19.1 billion for border protection and immigration enforcement. That is a $1.2 billion increase over last year.

Other highlights of the bill include:

* $1.8 billion for border security and control, funding an additional 1,000 Border Patrol Agents. When combined with the fiscal year 2005 Supplemental, 1,500 new agents will be hired in fiscal year 2006;
* $3.4 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, funding an additional 250 criminal investigators and 100 Immigration Enforcement agents; when combined with the fiscal year 2005 Supplemental, 568 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and officers will be hired in fiscal year 2006;
* $41 million for border security technology, including surveillance and unmanned aerial vehicles;
* $562 million for Customs and Border Patrol Air and Marine Operations for border and airspace security;
* $45 million for increased intelligence and targeting for cargo and passengers;
* $138.8 million for the Container Security Initiative, supporting efforts in 48 foreign ports;
* $21 million for FAST/SENTRI/NEXUS to maintain security & facilitate travel on our land borders;
* $2.9 billion for the Coast Guard’s homeland security missions;
* $4 million to continue and expand an immigration security pilot project at foreign airports;
* $1 billion for immigration detention custody operations;
* $135 million for transportation and removal of illegal immigrants;
* $94 million for the Institutional Removal Program,
including an additional 100 agents;
* $40 million for implementation of the REAL ID Act;
* A requirement that DHS submit a comprehensive immigration enforcement strategy that reduces the number of undocumented aliens by 10 percent per year and a requirement that DHS and ICE develop a national detention plan for undocumented aliens;
* $3.3 billion for first responders, including grants to high threat areas, firefighters; and emergency management;
* $2.5 billion for passenger and baggage screeners;
* $88 million for the training of airport screeners;
* $443 million to procure, install, maintain and integrate in-line explosive detection systems;
* $1 billion for aviation direction and enforcement activities;
* $85 million for air cargo security, including 100 new inspectors, funding to fast track pending air cargo regulations; and research and development of next generation technologies;
* $8 million for rail security inspectors and explosive detection canines;
* $5 million for trucking security and $4 million for HAZMAT truck tracking and training;
* $686 million for Federal Air Marshals, ensuring mission coverage on both domestic and international flights, including $2 million for secure communications;
* A requirement to develop and implement improved air cargo security standards and protocols, as well as the use of EDS equipment to screen air cargo at airports;
* $538 million to develop radiological, nuclear, chemical, biological, and high explosives countermeasures;
* $35 million for rapid prototyping of homeland security technologies;
* $110 million for research, development, and testing of antimissile devices for commercial aircraft;
* $20 million for container security research;
* $318 million to start-up the new Domestic Nuclear Detection Office and its help coordinate global nuclear detection and tracking;
* $63 million for university-based centers of excellence and fellowships;
* $180 million for critical infrastructure identification and evaluation, and outreach and partnerships with industry;
* $14 million to identify and characterize potential bio-terrorist attacks;
* $39.6 million for U.S. Secret Service’s Electronic Crimes Task Forces (ECTFs), including an additional 50 people devoted to combating electronic crime and identity theft;
* $93.3 million for cyber-security;
* $255 million for enhancing secure communications with State and local governments;
* $2.6 billion for traditional Coast Guard operating activities, including maritime safety, drug interdiction, and fisheries, environmental, and humanitarian missions;
* $487 million for the Federal Protective Service to protect over 8,800 federal facilities nationwide;
* $25 million to enforce laws related to forced child labor, intellectual property rights, and textile transshipment;
* $7.9 million to support investigations related to missing and exploited children; and
* $1.9 billion for citizenship and immigration services.

I am pleased to see that Congress is acting so broadly to secure our nation’s borders, and I hope that we will also vote on a comprehensive border security and immigration reform bill in the coming months. I will continue to keep you informed as legislation is considered, or other events occur that effect border security.

Sincerely,

Jim Kolbe
Member of Congress

Yep, that’s our Congress at work. When the only tool you have on your belt is a hammer, every problem begins to look like a nail.

Two Hours in the Dentist’s Chair

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Actually, a bit more than that. Two molars that already had pretty big fillings, #18 & 19, back two on the left side, lower jaw. (The wisdom teeth came out at age 18.) Now they are two molars with temporary crowns. The novocaine hasn’t worn off yet, at least not completely. I think I’m going to be pretty sore when it does.

I put the appointment off twice because of work, but not today!

Damn. That money could have gone to another gun, more ammunition, or a nice kitchen appliance. (The remodeling work begins in November.)

I have had better days.

“…Reason to Suspect ‘It is Drug Related’ “

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Are you going to join in the Great Wal*Mart Ammo Day Buy? Well, I said we wanted to see what happened. This might give some of us a clue. (Check the date – 11/5/2002) Reader Carl sent me this news story (link appears to be broken due to age, but the players are real – see below):

Who bought 1,000 rounds of 9 mm ammo?

Mary Jo Denton
Herald-Citizen Staff

November 05, 2002
When someone bought 1,000 rounds of 9 mm ammunition at a Cookeville store recently, clerks became suspicious.

So did police after they received information about the purchase.

The ammo appeared to be headed for use in drug related crimes, according to Capt. Nathan Honeycutt of the Cookeville Police Department.

That was last week, and investigation into the matter continues today, with one man under arrest so far, but not for having the large quantity of powerful bullets.

A thousand 9mm rounds? That’s a decent weekend for some of us.

Last Friday, federal, regional, and local officers executed a search warrant and arrested Vernon Thomas Mendoza, 25, of Buffalo Valley Road, Cookeville.

He is facing “a variety of federal charges, including possession of a handgun by a convicted felon and possession of methamphetamine for resale,” Capt. Honeycutt said.

Well good on ’em, then. But how did they know about Mr. Mendoza?

Meanwhile, the search for where the ammunition wound up continues, and detectives are hot on the trail, he said.

With the information they first received last week about the ammo purchase, police detectives set up an undercover investigation which included the federal Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms agency, working with the 13th District Drug Task Force, and Detective Lt. Doyle McClain and Detective Sgt. Carl Sells.

“We are still trying to find out where this much ammunition was going, and we have some very good leads now,” Capt. Honeycutt said today. “In fact, we have a pretty good idea of where it is and more arrests are pending.”

He said 9 mm ammunition of the type bought “is the most likely thing that goes into automatic weapons commonly used by criminals.”

Wait… I thought automatic weapons were strictly regulated by the 1934 National Firearms Act? And that kept them out of the hands of criminals. But now they’re “commonly used by criminals”?

Oh. You mean semi-automatic weapons. Well why didn’t you say so?

“And to buy that much at one time is very unusual, so that is why it raised the suspicions of the store and of the police,” Honeycutt said.

It might be unusual in Cookeville, but it’s pretty damned common most places. When I buy .45ACP it’s by the thousand round case. I guess these guys would have had little kittens if they’d found out about my recent purchase of 768 rounds of .30-06, in Garand clips on bandoleers, shipped in evil .50 caliber ammo cans!

While it is not necessarily illegal to possess such ammunition in that quantity, detectives working this case have reason to suspect “it is drug related,” he said.

Not necessarily illegal! How nice! I guess my cabinet full of reloaded ammo isn’t necessarily illegal either? Or all the loose projectiles, various powders, primers and empty cases?

He said the “behavior” of the buyer, as well as the quantity of the purchase figured into the suspicion raised.

I can imagine what bothered the clerks. The guy comes up and says “I need a thousand rounds of 9mm and six cases of Sudafed. And hurry up, I’ve got things to do!”

“Our detectives did not wait for somebody to get hurt, but took a proactive stance and moved to track down this ammunition,” Honeycutt said.

The arrest of Mendoza was the first result, and more arrests are expected, he said.

When the officers and DTF and ATF agents arrived at Mendoza’s residence last Friday about 11 a.m., they found him there with his girlfriend, and he was arrested without incident, Honeycutt said.

But he made no statements, Honeycutt said.

Allegedly, he had a handgun and methamphetamine, and his arrest was based on those items.

But the officers did not find the 1,000 rounds of ammunition.

“So it is still a very, very active investigation,” Honeycutt said this morning.

He praised the work of the Cookeville Police detectives and the “excellent cooperation” of the ATF and the Drug Task Force.

Mendoza was taken to Nashville, where he will be arraigned in federal court.

Published November 05, 2002 12:12 PM CST

I didn’t find any follow-ups on this story, but in checking, I did find this golden oldie:

Killing of family dog unfolds on videotape

By LEON ALLIGOOD
Staff Writer

Review finds officers acted properly in stopping car

Three minutes and seven seconds tells the story of a dog named Patton.

The dog, which was shot at close range Jan. 1 by a Cookeville policeman during a felony traffic stop, belonged to the James Smoak family of Saluda, N.C. At the time, the Tennessee Highway Patrol suspected the Smoaks — James, his wife, Pamela, and his stepson, Brandon Hayden — were involved in a Nashville-area robbery.

Yesterday, the Tennessee Highway Patrol acknowledged there was no robbery, just a calamitous mix-up in communications between dispatchers working for two separate patrol offices. This failure to communicate led to the shooting of the Smoaks’ dog, an incident that was preserved on videotape by a dashboard camera in a patrol car.

Even so, the THP officers did not act inappropriately by making the felony stop, according to an internal investigation.

“Our investigation has found that our troopers on the scene that night — Trooper David Bush, Trooper Jerry Phann and Lt. Jerry Andrews — did have probable cause to conduct what in police terms is called a ‘felony stop’ of a motorist,” said Beth Tucker Womack, spokeswoman for the Department of Safety. The THP is part of the Safety Department.

A felony stop is ordered when the occupants of a car are thought to have been involved in a crime.

Likewise, the Cookeville Police Department’s internal investigation determined that its officers, who were providing backup for the troopers, “performed their duties according to training and policy,” said department spokesman Capt. Nathan Honeycutt.

You can read the rest at the link.

I wonder how many BATF agents are going to be tied up investigating a nearly-simultaneous purchase of tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition of various calibers? Or how long it will take Wal*Mart to shut down ammo sales on Nov. 19?

KevinLeave a comment

National Ammo Day Approacheth.

And the guys at AR15.com have come up with an amusing twist. On the afternoon of Nov. 19, at 3:30PM Central time or as close as practicable, a bunch of us (me included) are going to go to our local WalMart and buy as much of the Winchester white-box or Remington value-packs of ammo as we can afford – preferably every bit in stock, in our preferred caliber(s). We’re kind of interested to see if it rings any bells anywhere.

Someone else suggested picking up a copy of Red Dawn on DVD at the same time.

I just might do that, too.

UPDATE, 10/17. The High Road forum has picked up on this, too!

KevinLeave a comment

I Can’t Stop Now! More Validation!.

Again, sorry for the lack of posting. Work has been… consuming. And I’m in the middle of a lot of stuff having to do with my house. Anyway, I got this email today:

Just wanted to let you know that your message is getting through, and being spread.

We recently had an eight year old in the community shot by a fourteen year old with a handgun. Not much info on who owned the gun, why the kids weren’t in school or who was supervising them, but an unfortunate accident none the less. The local liberal paper took the opportunity to parrot the gun control lies with a front page article saying how child shootings are not uncommon because there are “eight per day in the US”. Followed by an editorial with the same BS and suggestions for getting trigger locks and asking the question “do you really need a gun?”

I knew I had read relevant material on your site, so looked up some info and sent them the following letter.

http://www.al.com/search/index.ssf?/base/opinion/112919501214480.xml?huntsvilletimes?olet&coll=1

Look about half way down.

I had a lot more to say, but they limit us to 250 words.

Regards

Louis Barraza

And here’s that letter-to-the-editor:

Teach your kids

The shooting death of the Huntsville boy this week was a tragic occurrence, but there was no need by The Times to sensationalize it (“A deadly mixture,” Oct. 7) by misquoting Centers for Disease Control statistics.

The actual number of children ages 0 to 14 killed by accidental gunshot in the United States was 60, per the CDC report for 2002 published this year. Not “eight per day” as The Times claimed.

The numbers quoted are for “children” up to age 24, the vast majority of which were killed in drug, illegal activity or gang- related homicides.

While everyone agrees that 60 deaths are surely 60 too many, some perspective is in order. In the same age range, 95 died from falls and 838 drowned.

Complications from doctors and medical mistakes killed 69, making firearms just a little less likely to kill than a mistake by a doctor.

The Times’ suggestions are a good start in reducing tragedies, but the most important – education – was left out.

Guns are not uncommon, and all children should be taught safe practices whether they live in a home with any or not.

Children are naturally curious and must be taught about the dangers and uses of firearms, just like they are taught about the danger and uses of the poison under the sink or the power tools in the garage.

Louis G. Barraza

Thank you, Louis. It encourages me to know that all of the time I put into the blog actually has a payback.

KevinLeave a comment

That’s What I Figured. Dammit.

Rob Smith reports that he’s dying. Someone wrote jokingly once that “perfect health is just the slowest possible rate of dying.” There’s a difference though, I think, when The End is staring you in the face, and the only question is “Days, months, or a couple more years?” For those of you not familiar with Rob’s site Gutrumbles, or his (appropriate) persona of Acidman, Rob started his blog after life hit him in the balls. With a 10 pound sledghammer. Repeatedly. Blogging is Rob’s version of therapy. Sometimes reading his posts is much like watching an all-day plane crash, but he’s usually entertaining, never boring, and he’s often very insightful. Getting a huge dose of reality forced down your throat tends to strip away the bullshit, and Rob’s been stripped raw.

I hope he stays with it as long as he can, and Rob? I’m gonna miss you when you’re gone.

KevinLeave a comment

On the Dearth of Posting.

Sorry about that. I’ve been busy both at work and with personal stuff, and honestly I haven’t been all that inspired to post, even when I find articles that would normally pique my interest.

Hopefully this won’t last all that long, but bear with me. I haven’t quit, just slowed down.