Category: Uncategorized

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Joke of the Day

A minister was seated next to an U.S. Army Ranger Officer on a flight to Fort Benning, Georgia. After the plane was airborne, drink orders were taken. The Officer asked for a whiskey and soda, which was brought and placed before him. The flight attendant then asked the minister if he would like a drink.

He replied in disgust, “I’d rather be savagely raped by brazen whores than let liquor touch my lips.”

The Officer then handed his drink back to the attendant and said, “Me too. I didn’t know we had a choice.”

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It’s Official!

Ralph “Unsafe at Any Speed” Nader is out to spoil any chance the Democrats thought they had. Again. He’s running for President as an independent. He got a whopping 2.7% of the vote in 2000, but in more than one race his totals were more than the difference between Bush and Gore. I hope the race this year won’t be so tight as to make a Nader candidacy important, but you never know.

“It is an offence to deny millions of people who might want to vote for our candidacy an opportunity to vote,” he said

Well, he might generate “millions” of new “protest” voters, but he’s more likely to draw the Deaniacs and the PETApeople and their ilk who would be inclined to hold their noses and vote DEM.

Meanwhile, I and many like me will hold our noses and vote for Bush, because as James Lileks wrote

Bush is serious about the war. The Democrats are serious about the war against Bush.

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First Alaska, then Colorado, now New Hampshire?

According to this story the New Hampshire Senate on Thursday passed a “Vermont Carry*” bill which now proceeds to the House. Colorado’s legislature is debating such a measure (though I think it’ll die on the vine) and Alaska passed “Vermont Carry” last year.

Now New Hampshire?

Did some elected officials get replaced with reasoning beings when no one was looking?

(*For those of you new to this blog, “Vermont carry” is legal, permitless carry of a concealed weapon. i.e: You don’t have to prove to the state that you’re worthy, they have to prove you’re not.)

One Before I Resume Programming

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Via KeepandBearArms.com

David Codrea, professional writer for gun magazines, wrote this excellent letter to San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, acting Chief of Police Heather Fong, and Judge James L. Warren, which I will reproduce here in whole:

Dear Mayor Newsom , Judge Warren and Acting Chief Fong,

Mayor, I see you are authorizing city employees to perform homosexual marriages, Judge Warren, you are allowing them to proceed, and Chief Fong, you are allowing California law, as enacted by a vote of the people, to be publicly and repeatedly broken without making any arrests.

I’m not commenting on that issue, per se, so much as observing that you are all three instigating and abetting the violation of that law.

Judge Warren, you went so far as to state that you couldn’t issue a restraining order to halt the marriages because, as Reuters reported, “there was not enough evidence presented showing that immediate damage would be done by allowing them.”

Which leaves me with an interesting dilemma.

You see, I also belong to a group that is forced by social prejudices to keep a low profile—often times to hide my choices and practices lest I suffer disapproval and ultimately, life-threatening persecution by the state.

I am a gun owner and I live a gun owner life style.

I don’t know if I was born with a tendency to be this way, or if it was an acquired disposition. All I know is, I don’t see why I should be forced to change. Truth be known, I like owning guns, and am happy with who I am. I hope I suffer no repercussions by “coming out of the safe,” but I just can’t hide the truth any longer.

We gun owners have been living and working among you. Our kids go to school with yours. We may be your doctor, or minister, or your child’s teacher. We may even work in city administration, or the courts, or on the police force. And we are sick of being abused for simply being who we are, all because of hoplophobic* prejudice and fear. We don’t see any reason why we should have to put up with it any more.

Which brings me back to my dilemma and the reason I am writing you.

You have shown progressive thinking and tolerance for that which the majority condemns. So I was thinking of coming up to San Francisco and exercising my right to keep and bear arms, maybe showing up at City Hall with a state-banned AR-15 and a couple 30-round magazines, and also carrying several pistols concealed without a permit.

Yes, I know, it will be a violation of California laws, but you’ve shown that you’re willing to disregard those when it serves your goals. And because I am a peaceable citizen, I should easily meet Judge Warren’s criterion that no immediate damage would be done by allowing this.

So what do you think, if I visit your city and proudly display my lifestyle choices, can I count on your support? As a private citizen, don’t I have as much right to disregard laws I find reprehensible as you public officials? Isn’t that what equality is supposed to be all about, where no class of citizen enjoys privileges and immunities not extended to all?

How about it? You wouldn’t have me arrested, would you?

Please let me know if I have your support.

Sincerely,
David Codrea

* Credit and gratitude to the peerless Col. Jeff Cooper for coining this term.

The response to this excercise of freedom of speech? An investigation by the San Francisco Police Department because the letter was perceived as threatening. David received a phone call from a Inspector Peter Walsh of the SFPD who conducted an interview. Read David’s account of whole thing, but these are the parts that I think are important here:

He explained several times that it was just routine to follow up on things like this, that his job was apolitical, and they just have to investigate. I told him I understood that, and hoped he also understood what a chilling effect a police response to political speech created.

He indicated I did not sound like a threat and sounded “intelligent”.

I was left with the impression that they were probably not going to put much more energy into it — although I would be surprised if they haven’t checked my background, records and gun purchases, and wouldn’t be surprised if a judge didn’t consider the circumstances probable cause to tap into my phone and internet. But anyone who is an activist is an automatic target, especially if it’s about something that scares the hell out of civil authority (people with guns!!!), and I’ve felt there’s probably a good chance the government has been doing that for some time.

He told me he had also asked the Redondo Beach Police to drop a message off at my home as backup to the message he left on my machine, so to just ignore the message they delivered. We then said our goodbyes.

—

I do find it bizarre that civil authority is so fearful of an armed citizenry that if they feel there is any chance of it happening, their response is to send armed men. It also confirms my opinion of the corrupt gangsters in charge of San Francisco’s city government — ready to use the force of law to advance their agenda, but publicly flout the law when it doesn’t.

But of course. They’re the government. That puts them above the law.

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STOP THE PRESSES!

Fox News reports:

Nader to Jump in Presidential Race

Ralph Nader, the consumer advocate who ran for president in 2000 as a Green Party candidate, will enter the 2004 race for the White House as an independent candidate, advisers told Fox News on Friday.

A formal announcement by Nader is expected this weekend.

“He’s felt there is a role for an independent candidate to play,” Linda Schade, a spokeswoman for Nader’s presidential exploratory committee.

Yeah – spoiler of any hope the Democrats have.

Run Ralphy, RUN!

(Return nose to grindstone, shoulder to wheel, and ear to ground. How am I supposed to get any work done in this position?)

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Last One for a While

And it’s a doozy! Via Instapundit comes a Reason piece about a recent Arizona gathering of morons racists idiots um…. Oh! Yeah! “White Supremacists.” It seems that Arizona was the home of “Aryanfest 2004” (doesn’t that sound like a real good time – sheesh!). However, one of the attendees didn’t quite get the idea:

Aryanfest’s gates opened at noon, and about an hour later, the gathering assemblage gradually hushed as all eyes turned upon the young man who had just paid his entrance fee and was casually perusing the hate-rock compact discs, swastika flags and white power watch caps at Panzerfaust Records’ merchandise booth.

He was in his late teens or early 20s, had a shaved head and sported Nazi and white power tattoos on both arms, in addition to wearing the white tee shirt with bold, black script.

He would have fit in just fine, except for one thing: He wasn’t white. Not even close. There was at least half a cup of Kahlúa in his cream.

He was also wearing a “WHITE POWER!” T-shirt. Read the whole thing. And the comments. And read the link to the original Phoenix New Times story that covers “Aryanfest 2004” in more detail. (Why does “Aryanfest” make me think of beer in steins and fat men in lederhosen?) Man, those are some sad, sad people.

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Well, I’m not Posting Much,

But Ravenwood is, and in his typical brief and wickedly pointed way. Go thus and read. Start with “GOP becoming the Tax and Spend party” on Virginia’s “limited government” party wanting to raise taxes more than $2 billion more than their Democrat counterparts, then 1984: NM House approves mandatory car breathalyzer (self-explanatory). Keep working your way down, but monitor your blood pressure. You don’t want to blow a major artery.

Now, where did I put my tar and feathers?

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The Only Redeeming Feature of the LATimes – Mike Ramirez

Mike Ramirez is a Pulitzer-prize winning (and one of my favorite) political cartoonist. Here are five of his most recent. You can see why:



Photorealism is so hard, but Mike nails it.



Reason does seem to be AWOL here.



The treatment seems to be working, though.

And I think this is precisely why Kerry shouldn’t have a chance to win in November. His position hasn’t wavered much since the 70’s – the use of force and the American military is, to Kerry, a great evil. His words and his actions since returning from Vietnam demonstrate his unfitness to be Commander in Chief.

And today’s pièce de résistance:

That’s it from me for a while. I have more work to do than there are hours to get it done in. The economy (at least here) has recovered. Boy, has it recovered!

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More on InterOrdnance

Though this will have to be quick. I found this message board thread on InterOrdnance (and other “parts kit” vendors), which indicates that, at best, the people who sell “parts kits” aren’t all that reliable. (I wouldn’t know, I’ve never bought one.) But this post was the one that got my attention:

(Subject)ppsh 41 (Author)grandpawoo (Date)8/11/03

I can’t believe that so many of you are bitching about the condition of your Inter Ordnance ppsh 41 kits. The real issue is that Inter Ordnance sold us a ppsh 41 parts kit that does NOT meet BATF requirements. How do I know, you might ask? Well on 08/07/03 Agent Brooks Jacobsen of the BATF and his partner showed up at my door step with orders to confiscate it. After showing me all the paper work from BATF as to why they are taking them (none of which made any sense), I was given the option of signing a “Notice of Abandonment of Property” or going to jail. BATF now owns my parts kit and said they would be destroying it (as if all those torch cuts weren’t enough), and those cuts aren’t enough. Each Inter Ordnance ppsh 41 kit has at least 4 cuts. BATF requires 3 cuts through the receiver. You might note that none of these 4 cuts are through the main receiver. They are through the cooling jacket, barrel (sometimes) and upper receiver. None of these cuts count. Oh, by the way, it gets better. BATF is in the process of inditing (sic) Inter Ordnance for selling illegal firearms and neither Inter Ordnance nor BATF will reimburse you when your ppsh 41 is taken from you. One last thing. How did BATF get my name and address? They went to Inter Ordnance with a warrant and told them to hand over a copy of all sales invoices for ppsh 41 sales. When agent Jacabsen arrived, the first document he handed me was a copy of the Inter Ordnance invoice. I am one very unhappy former ppsh 41 owner and you need to be very careful.

Then there’s this one:

(Subject)ATF and Law Suit (Author)gunwriter (Date)8/26/03

I too got a call from the ATF (at my parents house)… not pleasant… and I ordered the kit for a friend… He wanted some parts and I sold the others off at a gun show … I may or may not have the torch cut receiver parts… but I think I threw them out. Unfortunately all my firearms related stuff is in storage while I’m stationed overseas…

I’m not too happy with Inter Ordnance… and as for the ATF — how does a receiver chopped into junk constitute an illegal weapon?

Sounds like InterOrdnance is a very shady business, but did they sell machineguns? Only if you accept the premise that a receiver chopped up with a saw or a torch – just not to the BATFE’s exacting specifications – is a “machinegun.” For those of you wondering, this is a PPSh 41, the original Soviet “burp-gun”: