Strange divergence

For gold and silver in February, demand climbed while prices fell.

Is New York's SAFE Act constitutional?

The New York Supreme Court tells the state to prove its new gun ban law is constitutional. 

Is this Gov. Cuomo's back door escape? He dare not seek repeal, nor does he want to face the politically crippling mass resistance likely to come when implementation time rolls around.

Having the law nullified or struck down by the court may be exactly what the governor and New York lawmakers want to keep the peace while somewhat saving face.

You had opportunity

I came across an ad for Brownells as I was purging old emails last night.

Courtesy: Brownells

It's from October 2012, and bulk ammo packed in cans was among the items it pitched.

How many gun owners who saw the ad (or others like it) simply shrugged it off? How many now wish they'd given it further consideration?

Here's another goody gleaned from my old emails: Part of a September 2012 ad from another ammo seller offered a thousand rounds of FMJ 9mm ammo for $197.



Things sure have changed in the last four or five months.

What about the oath they took to defend the Constitution?

We now have "generals and admirals" demanding civilian gun bans.

These people represent a threat the founders warned of.


"Paid for by the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Action Plan"

The Pentagon has long been gearing up toward some ambiguous role in homeland security.

Do these generals and admirals simply want a softer target if the military is tasked with imposing government's will on an unwilling people?

"A standing military force, with an overgrown Executive will not long be safe companions to liberty." - James Madison, addressing the Constitutional Convention, 1787


Update: These "generals and admirals" may be taking some heat. The video has been edited to refer viewers to an official version where the speakers are recast as "retired military leaders." The new official version appears to have been posted a day after the original via the same YouTube account (maigcoalition).

Gun grabbers lament

As the emotional exploitation of Newtown fades, governors who championed gun bans are apparently starting to sweat bullets.

Politico.com notes:

Democratic governors fault Washington lawmakers for not acting more aggressively but, more strikingly, some even point a finger at Americans themselves for not keeping up the pressure on elected officials.

Dear Dem governors, maybe it's just that, given time to think things through, the American people (and even some DC lawmakers) realized what you wanted to ram through ran counter to the nation's best interests.

Operation Mountain Standard

"Flooding Colorado with firearm magazines."

From Max Slowik at Guns.com:

Upon hearing the now-confirmed rumors that Magpul will flood Colorado with magazines before any legislation will be voted on, the redditors started their own campaign to round up magazines from around the country and ship them to Colorado, where they will be given away to people who make a donation to the state’s gun rights organization, Rocky Mountain Gun Owners.

The project is getting MSM attention including a newspaper article picked up by the Denver Post.com:

"We recognize that the current Colorado legislative body is most likely going to pass what we feel are constitutionally infringing laws soon," (organizer Savant) Suykerbuyk said. "We want to get as many of these magazines that will be banned into Colorado gun owners' hands as possible, thereby grandfathering them if/when such a ban is enacted."

Operation Mountain Standard also has a Facebook page.

Report: DHS claims budget woes while hoarding huge cash stash

From the Washington Examiner:

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano claims that sequestration will undermine DHS’s “core critical mission,” but the White House projects that her department will have $9 billion in unspent funding at the end of the year.

It's a "customer surplus"

Lay aside conspiracy theories. The current ammo shortages is as simple as demand overwhelming supply:

As these words are penned we are experiencing the largest customer surplus in the ammunition market in my lifetime.  More people are buying more ammunition than at any time in recorded history.  It’s not that the ammunition manufacturers slowed or stopped production; they are operating at maximum capacity.  There is a customer surplus, just as you will see before a hurricane makes landfall or when a major snow storm is predicted.  Well, there is a storm brewing in this nation and gun owners who haven’t purchased a box of ammo in a year ran out and bought a thousand rounds last month.

The excerpt is from an article by Paul Markel at Officer.com, a website targeting a police audience. Interesting the article speaks of a storm brewing in the U.S. On the practical side, it also goes on to give training tips for those who want to stay proficient in their shooting skills in times of limited ammo supply.

For those who don't believe ammo is flowing to buyers, check out gunbot.net. Many items sell out just minutes after being listed.

Spineless GOP

Politico reports:

Days before the March 1 deadline, Senate Republicans are circulating a draft bill that would cancel $85 billion in across-the-board spending cuts and instead turn over authority to President Barack Obama to achieve the same level of savings under a plan to be filed by March 8. 

The five- page document, which has the tacit support of Senate GOP leaders, represents a remarkable shift for the party. Having railed against Senate Democrats for not passing a budget, Republicans are now proposing that Congress surrender an important piece of its Constitutional “power of the purse” for the last seven months of this fiscal year

Unbelievably naive, or an intentional step by willing co-conspirators in Obama's fundamental transformation of America?

Feinstein's ongoing disinformation campaign

As even MSNBC appears skeptical of her ability to push a new assault weapons ban through Congress, Senator Diane Feinstein indulges in pure fabrication as she claims all police and all mayors support the bill.



In the broader interview, Feinstein claims America's current laws are "virtually non existent" regarding firearms. These are the same gun laws that are apparently so numerous that Vice president Joe Biden admits government doesn't devote time or manpower to enforce much of what's already on the books.

Does this senator really think anyone believes half of what she says?

Previous post

Does Warren Buffett see inflation coming?

A recent purchase by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway would likely be a strong asset in inflationary times.

Magpul ups its protest

As Colorado lawmakers continue pushing a bill that would ban the sale of many Magpul products in the  state, the Colorado-based (at least for now) rifle magazine maker posts an update on Facebook:

We are proud to announce that within a matter of days we will be going live with a new program. Due to a bill currently moving through the Colorado legislature, there is the possibility that Colorado residents' ability to purchase standard capacity magazines will soon be infringed. Before that happens, and Magpul is forced to leave the state in order to keep to our principles, we will be doing our best to get standard capacity PMAGs into the hands of any Colorado resident that wants them. 

Verified Colorado residents will be able to purchase up to ten (10) standard capacity AR/M4 magazines directly from Magpul, and will be given immediate flat-rate $5 shipping, bypassing our current order queue. 

Our customers outside of Colorado, please know that our PMAG production will continue at an ever-increasing rate until we do relocate, shipments to our distributors in other states will continue, and that we do not expect relocation to significantly impact PMAG production. We are also aware that Colorado is not the only state with existing or pending magazine capacity restrictions; we are working on programs for other affected states as well. 

Full details and instructions will be announced when we are able to go live; please watch here for the coming announcement.

H/T: Sipsey Street Irregulars 

This or that

"We’re rapidly approaching a point where Americans are going to have to make a choice to gut the power of the federal government, or the federal government is going to gut us." ~ Bob Owens

"Separation"

Just one chunk out this week's offering from Ol' Remus:

DC has separated itself from the people, and it shows. Public funds equal to that which built the interstate simply disappear with nothing in return. Literally nothing. While the populace is being relieved of firearms it "doesn't need" even the Department of Education has its own SWAT-style police units. Surveillance once used against gangsters and foreign agents is now used against shoe salesmen and librarians. The unalienable rights DC is charged with defending have become grounds for prosecution . DC has grown fond of writing laws in secret and enacting them in the middle of the night. They get away with this because they've created a favored client-electorate using corrupt dispensations, and they aren't the voters who work hard, live responsibly and stay right with the law. When Americans speak of "the government"—what used to be our government—they mean our would-be masters in DC and their captive electorate, the activist misfits who run their agencies and schools, and their fawning news media.

No escape...

Another example of Soviet propaganda art.







"No escape from the people's revenge!"

This Russian poster is by artist I. Rabichev from 1941 during what the Russians called The Great Patriotic War.

Insatiable ammo appetites

December's talk of gun grabbing ignited a panic that hasn't subsided. And it looks to me like  ammunition may be selling as fast or faster than it was even a week or two ago. And much faster than when the gun control alarm was first sounded.

Around 11:40 am,  I received an email alert from an online ammo seller stating that it was offering a small supply of Speer Lawman brand 9mm ammo. The advisory also stated:

only 200 boxes of this available and 204 email notifications are going out, it will probably be sold out by the time yo read this email

Over 40 minutes later, I still had trouble accessing the seller's site:  Too many people trying to get in at once are causing guys like me to be shut out. I did manage to get in once. They were right, the ammo's long gone.

I'm not looking to buy. Just digging to see how much and how often stuff pops up, and how long it takes before its gone.

Until a couple weeks ago, getting ammo at relatively obscure, indy sellers could be done with regularity.  Windows of opportunity might last from 30 minutes to a couple hours. But as more sellers offer email alert functions, or have their sites scanned by ammo-seeking bots, you gotta move even faster if you're looking to score at prices near what would have been considered normal just two or three months ago.

And yes, if you want to pay three to five times as much for premium ammo, you can find that stuff without much trouble. So it's not total panic in the current buying. There are price points where demand drops significantly.

Obama warns of swarming illegal aliens. Seriously?

Illegal immigration is suddenly a serious concern of the Obama administration. At least as far as sequestration talking points are concerned. The Washington Times reports:

President Obama has framed the choice as one between higher taxes or lower security, bolstered by Homeland Security Secretary Janet A. Napolitano’s warning Monday that the U.S. Border Patrol will be forced to furlough agents, costing nearly a quarter of the workforce.

So, why target border security? Why not cut elsewhere - or shift other resources to fill the security gap?

Why not park the MRAPs, and use fewer SWAT-like teams to serve everyday warrants?

How about disbanding those VIPR teams waiting in the wings to set up domestic roadside checkpoints to delay motor vehicle travelers or frisk people at bus stations?

Would Big Sis have to cut border agents if DHS hadn't spent 2012 committing to contracts to acquire a billion rounds (or more) of ammo? 

Sequester

Alas, the people outside the government don't seem to be in panic. Wonder why?

H/T: Ace of Spades HQ

It's not about gun control, it's about people control

"We live in a society of wolves. You do not fight back by creating more sheep."

Dan Bongino is a former Secret Service agent who ran unsuccessfully for the senate last year.




The Blaze

UN arms trade treaty talks resume in March

March 18th, according to The Hill. 

This is a crisis?

The Marietta Daily Journal says the threat of sequestration puts artillery demonstrations at risk at a nearby national park. Kayaking may be interrupted at another. Restrooms may be closed as well.

Closed restrooms. In other words, curtail a service that most directly impacts user comfort.

My friend Don asks why not make up any park budget cuts by reducing scheduled grounds maintenance? Skipping a mowing or two over the course of a season would save money. As Don says, allowing parts of a park to look more like a meadow instead of a golf course wouldn't ruin the visitors' experience.

But it also wouldn't allow for the maximum level of public pain the folks in Washington want you feel.

Another manufactured crisis

Over at ABC News, they offer this analysis: Americans are yawning as sequestration looms:

“Here’s yet another deadline, and everyone’s telling us everything will be destroyed if we go past it,” said Michael Dimock, director of the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, which conducted the poll. “It’s very hard to get the same sense of urgency for a third time in a row, just two months after the last one.”

Too much manufactured crisis in too short a time span. The people are simply tuning out.

Is this good or bad?

Whatever it is, we may be witnessing repeat of a proven political strategy noted in the 1930s:

"What happened here was the gradual habituation of the people, little by little, to being governed by surprise; to receiving decisions deliberated in secret; to believing that the situation was so complicated that the government had to act on information which the people could not understand, or so dangerous that, even if the people could not understand it, it could not be released because of national security. And their sense of identification with Hitler, their trust in him, made it easier to widen this gap and reassured those who would otherwise have worried about it. 

"This separation of government from people, this widening of the gap, took place so gradually and so insensibly, each step disguised (perhaps not even intentionally) as a temporary emergency measure or associated with true patriotic allegiance or with real social purposes. And all the crises and reforms (real reforms, too) so occupied the people that they did not see the slow motion underneath, of the whole process of government growing remoter and remoter.

The words come from Milton Mayer in They Thought They Were Free, and chronicle a strategy that led Germany into something called National Socialism, the rise of a totalitarian state.

While I'm encouraged we Americans may be moving past manipulated panic, I'd feel better about things if more people condemned today's attempts at manipulation for what they are.

Merely growing fatigued, tuning out the ploy and politics while reengaging in everyday distractions, only risks allowing government to move at an ever faster pace in delivering what the president calls a fundamental transformation of America.

Sign of the times

Michelle Obama presenting the award for best picture on last night's Oscars telecast.

Official White House//U.S. government photo

A sure sign that the Hollywood establishment is in bed with the administration as far as agenda and propaganda go.

Or perhaps more an indication that presidential leadership has been traded for a president and first lady who crave inserting themselves as pop culture icons over all else.

Or a little (probably a lot) of each?

Manufactured hysteria

Sequestration is merely "panic over pennies" says George Will. 

Turning the tables

From the Alaskia Dispatch:

"Firearms-makers vow to close 'police loophole' if gun control enacted"


H/T: TheGunWire.com

Have you written to Washington?

If you haven't done so already, now's the time to write your Congressman and Senators expressing opposition to more gun control.

Sunday's New York Times notes:

After weeks of sometimes wrenching debate over gun safety, Congress will begin to consider legislation this week that is likely to include expanded background checks for gun buyers and increased penalties for those who purchase guns for criminals...

If you have already written, now might be the time for a followup.

Discontinued?

Law Enforcement Targets, Inc says it will no longer be selling certain images as law enforcement training tools:

Law Enforcement Targets, Inc.

Previous post

Update:  Confession. I may have been too hasty in my reading of this statement. David Codrea at War on Guns notes that LET only says it's taking the posters "offline." Does this mean the posters will be be produced and sold, but just done so in a more stealthy manner?

Rape is serious. Why do some "progressives" seem to shrug it off?

The topic of rape has made the rounds in progressive political circles in the last week or so. And the emphasis seemed to be on making light of women who find themselves targeted.

From: Oleg Volk's blog

Representative Joe Salazar may have issued an apology for his stupid comments (an apology that many found lacking), but he's not the only one who's expressed concern about women overreacting.

If you haven't seen it, check out the video of Bob Beckel on Fox News, who doesn't seem to think date rape is cause for a woman to defend herself:



Beckel later offered something billed a clarification. But even Huffington Post seemed less than satisfied.

Day of Reisistance

Some of the early MSM accounts of rallies on 2/23:

Sacramento, California

Asheville, North Carolina

Eau Gallie, Florida

Sarasota, Florida

Bluffton, Indiana

Florence, Kentucky

Ozark, Missouri

Court: Concealed carry not constitutionally protected

A federal appeals court in Denver rules carrying a concealed weapon is not protected by the Second Amendment.

By golly, it happened as promised

America has been fundamentally changed. 

"Shooting his mouth off"

From Hope n' Change Cartoons:

Teacher triggers backlash

Seems a teacher refused to accept a student's report because the subject matter dealt with guns.

KDFW reports the teacher in Denton, Texas has since accepted the paper after the student's mother laumched a round of protests.

Tearing apart the myth of a recovering economy

Peter Schiff does more than just lay out a case for gold, he once again tears apart the false sense of economic recovery that has so many swooning right now. Schiff warns of being taken in by so-called improvements that are nothing more than the results of monetary stimulus, zero interest rates and quantitative easing.

Schiff posts his comments in a video at his Official Gold Blog.

Why do we put up with this?

"It is always cliffs, ceilings and looming catastrophes with Barack Obama. It is always government by freakout." ~ Peggy Noonan in the Wall Street Journal

Another data point on elusive .22 Long Rifle ammo

From the Civilian Marksmanship Program:

AGUILA .22LR AMMO.  As is the case with many other sellers of .22LR ammo, the CMP has been sold out. We had posted information that we were expecting a resupply in April or May. The distributor has just informed us that the manufacturer "maybe" will deliver 200-300 cases by the end of May, but the remainder of our order will not be delivered until "maybe" October. Many of our customers have already ordered from us and we will fill the orders as the ammo arrives, oldest order to newest order. Thank you for your understanding of what is currently happening to the ammo market in the US.

Friday, Feburary 22, with Don and Doug

Coming up on Friday's program, we'll dig into the ammo shortage. We've added a few data points this week, and have our updated assessment.

We'll have more tips on resupply.

And here's something else to think about: If consumer demand is driving today's ammo shortages, what happens with other commodities as signs of an unstable or unsustainable economy loom larger?

Friday's show starts at 1pm EST on TalkSouthRadio.com or tap into the audio stream directly by clicking here.


Update: The February 22nd program is available from start to finish through the TalkSouth  On Demand player.

Do years of ammo shortages loom ahead?

Noting there's been little to no substantial analysis in the media, my friend Don Dickinson takes a stab at calculating how long some of our current ammunition shortages may last:

I do not think I am on the same page with most of you as to what is going on with the ammo shortage. I am going to do a bit of back of the envelope quality math to try to clear things up. I am using .22 as an example because it is the most extreme shortage and we have some facts about supply.  

Many ammo shelves remain empty

A documentary on ammo maker CCI (available on YouTube in parts one and two) said they produce 4,000,000 rounds a day. Other big .22 producers include Federal, Remington and Winchester so call it 16,000,000 per day. Yes, there are other companies but I believe CCI is largest or near largest supplier so the average is certainly in the ball park.  

Assume a five day week to account for maintenance and we get 80,000,000 per week. 

Assume a 50 work week year and we get 4,000,000,000 per year.  

Assume that was the equilibrium level of production to keep the supply chain full and supply the new demand in terms of rounds fired. In other words, the users were firing 4,000,000,000 rounds per year before the unpleasantness and all was in balance.  

Assume 100,000,000 .22 owners (probably conservative) and that means the average user was consuming 40 rounds per year. Assume 2,000,000,000 rounds in the supply chain and 2,000,000,000 in the hands of the gun owners.  

If the average user, due to his recent “awakening,” decided to buy one extra box of 50 rounds (probably conservative), that would increase the annual demand to 90 rounds per .22 owner or 9,000,000,000 rounds per year.  

That kind of demand would take down the 2,000,000,000 rounds in the supply chain in a few weeks which is what we observed.  

It would also leave a 7,000,000,000 unfilled demand.  

If this math is even approximately right, it will take the ammo makers almost two full years to catch up with present demand.  

They have probably increased production you say? Yes, and demand has probably far outstripped my very conservative numbers.  

The part of the 100,000,000 .22 owners who had small amounts of ammo and shot a few times a year probably decided to dust ole Betsy off and do some refamiliarization. Those who had little or no ammo and had not shot in years probably decided to buy some ammo and do the same. By the time the people who generally had a little ammo were done practicing and went to buy more, they discovered that the new buyers had already cleaned out the stocks.  

The experience of not having enough ammo has been very disquieting to lots of .22 owners. Let us quite conservatively (I think from some field observations) assume that the new standard for having some ammo on hand is 500 rounds. That demand would add to the 90 rounds already developed so that the new demand for usage and to stock up is 590,000,000,000 rounds.  

At 4,000,000,000 per year and without increasing production it will take a little over 147 years for the ammo companies to catch up.  

Obviously something is going to give in supply or demand long before that much time but my point is made, do not look for the .22 shortage to get over any time soon.  

Tell me where I am wrong.

Thank God John Kerry wasn't elected president

He's already showing he's in way over his head as Secretary of State.

You heard the Vice President...

Ladies, get a shotgun.

Photo credit: Oleg Volk

Does Joe Biden even know these exist?

Here's a photo that's probably more in line with the kind of self-defense option Mr. Biden envisions for the modern American woman...

Miss M.V. Lannan,  Shooting Trap, April 1914
George Grantham Bain Collection, Library of Congress

Seems to me Mr. Biden is trying to turn back the clock.

More Obamacare victims

As reported in the Orlando Sentinel:

Universal Orlando plans to stop offering medical insurance to part-time employees beginning next year, a move the resort says has been forced by the federal government's health-care overhaul.

Ammo search engine

I'm not affiliated with this site, and don't know anything of its history - but it seems to give near real time updates on available ammunition at popular online sellers:

http://www.gunbot.net/ammo/

Ammo recall!

From Olin Corporation, makers of Winchester ammunition:

Symbol Number: ZGQ3308
Lot Number: WCC10M106-004 

Through extensive evaluation Winchester has determined the above lot of 5.56mm M855 ammunition may contain incorrect propellant. Incorrect propellant in this ammunition may cause firearm damage, rendering the firearm inoperable, and subject the shooter or bystanders to a risk of serious personal injury when fired. 

DO NOT USE WINCHESTER® SYMBOL NUMBER ZGQ3308 LOT NUMBER WCC10M106-004 5.56mm M855 62 GRAIN PENE AMMUNITION. The ammunition Symbol Number and Lot Number are ink stamped on the outside of the 900-round shipping container, and on the outside of the 30-round carton as indicated here: 

To determine if your ammunition is subject to this notice, review the Symbol Number and Lot Number. If it is Symbol Number ZGQ3308 and Lot Number WCC10M106-004 immediately discontinue use and contact Winchester toll-free at 866-423-5224 for free UPS pick-up of the recalled ammunition. Upon receipt of your recalled ammunition, Winchester will ship replacement ammunition directly to you.

H/T: Sipsey Street

Ammo, ammo. What's up with ammo?

I have seen no serious journalistic effort to explain why many types of ammunition are scarce and can't be found on store shelves.

There's been some anecdotal reporting, yes. But nothing to explained or analyze what's being manufactured, what's being placed into supply chains, or who gets prioritized as far was resupply. 

How much ammo are formerly high volume big box sellers getting now? If they're not getting previous allotments, who is? If empty shelves are due to consumers who are buying up all they can, surely these buyers will reach saturation at some point.

I've been able to find ammo simply by doing retail analysis based on data provided by sellers' websites. I've scored additional purchases at reasonable prices by surfing sellers during rhythmic windows when resupply gets listed. But I have no clue what kind of mechanics are in play at the manufacturing or early distribution levels. Or if the sporadic resupply I've seen is truly new stock, or stuff that's been held back by sellers to even out work flows.

I would have thought at least the shooting sports media would have pried back the curtain by now.

I'm not talking about rehashing speculative conspiracy theories. Somebody out there has the hard data I'm looking for, but so far, it hasn't made its way into the public domain. Not that I've seen, anyway.

What we were... And what we're becoming

Gun Control and the Changing American Character

Some of us remember living in a free country. Do we really want to shut the door to that kind of America?

If you've tried to buy ammo recently....

... then you know this story doesn't begin to explain how scarce or expensive most popular calibers have become.

The new look of national security threats

Looks like the law enforcement community is widening its training to include "domestic terrorists" of differing profiles.

Inforwars.com has come across an odd assortment of "non traditional threat" targets produced by a company that supplies training targets to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other agencies.

How many young expectant moms do DHS and other LEOs plan to confront in their babies' home nurseries?

From: Infoiwars.com

With today's standard operational tactic leaning toward no-knock raids in even the most mundane of investigations - how many innocents will be gunned down thinking they're reacting to a criminal home invasion?

Americans used to fret over a so-called Military-Industrial Complex. Perhaps we now live in the midst of a Homeland Security-Industrial Complex.

Welcome to a fundamentally changed America.. It's a shift Barack Obama promised promised to make happen.

Free Men

"The people don't like to be conquered, sir, and so they will not be. Free men cannot start a war, but once it is started, they can fight on in defeat.  Herd men, followers of a leader, cannot do that, and so it is always the herd men who win battles and the free men who win wars.  You will find that is so, sir."
~ Mayor Orden, a central character in the John Steinbeck novel The Moon is Down

A "new" old bike

We piled a load of old stuff into the minivan for a run to Goodwill on Saturday. But once there, we couldn't resist going inside to look around.

I'm not sure who's eye it caught first, mine or my 11 year old daughter's, but we spotted a bike near the front of the store. It was an oldie. A Huffy 10 speed with 24 inch wheels that looks to be from the late '70s or early '80s. No "Made in China" label, just one that says "Huffy" then "Dayton, Ohio."

I'd call our find in near showroom condition. The tires look original, gum walls and all. The brake pads show no sign of wear.

Okay. I was hooked. We brought it home for about forty bucks.

Amazingly, the tires hold air. The gear changers are properly adjusted. The only thing that needs attention are the brakes: The pads are so old the rubber's gone hard. A new set of original style pads are on the way via eBay.

"The Pilgrims were illegal aliens"

This is the kind of indoctrination the government spends our money on to reeducate the federal work force. The audience here consists of employees at the U.S. Department of Agriculture:



Judicial Watch outed this gem. It has more in a report available here.

Update, Feburary 24, 2013: Interesting that the USDA and its "diversity training" contractor now hide behind copyright laws to prevent you from seeing the kind of propaganda and brainwashing federal workers are subjected to. Judicial Watch links to the videos through another venue (at least for now).

A thought to ponder

It's lifted from an essay from Sarah Hoyt:

Being me, and being a student of history I think it’s less dangerous to leave the care of those truly indigent to private charity.  The reason I think this is that private charity can’t put to death those who have become too burdensome: a national government can. 

If you look way down in this news story....

A Florida TV station reports medical evacuation by helicopter for a house fire burn victim was delayed by airspace restrictions put in place to protect Obama's Florida vacation.

From WPBF in a report from Fort Pierce:

Andrews' 72-year-old grandmother was flown by helicopter to Orlando Regional Hospital, and the 8-year-old boy was flown to Arnold Palmer Medical Center, also in Orlando. One of those helicopter departures was delayed because of the no-fly issue in place due to President Barack Obama's visit to town this weekend. Both of those victims are in critical condition, O'Toole reported.

Update: The president returns to DC.

Dem: Can't trust women with guns

Colorado Representative Joe Salazar, a Democrat, seems to think women who carry guns are dangerous. Salazar talks like he thinks women walk around obsessed with being raped, and are prone to irrational impulses to shoot someone.


H/T: The Right Scoop

Update: Salazar has issued an apology, though not everyone is satisfied with it.

Countering the lunacy of the Left

The Illinois State Rifle Association takes issue with very strange weekend comments uttered by Chicago's top cop. The ISRA has issued a retort that says, in part:

Chicago's embattled police superintendent dug himself deeper into a pit of controversy today by claiming that lawful firearm owners are agents of political corruption.  Appearing on a Chicago Sunday morning talk show, superintendent Garry McCarthy expressed his conviction that firearm owners who lobby their elected representatives or who donate money to political campaigns are engaged in corruption that endangers public safety.   

McCarthy went on to express his belief that judges and legislators should rely on public opinion polls when interpreting our Constitution. 

After totally dismissing the citizen's right to redress grievances, McCarthy trained his constitutional wisdom on the 2nd Amendment.  Despite recent court decisions to the contrary, McCarthy opined that the 2nd Amendment limits citizens to owning smooth-bore muskets.  McCarthy went on to say that he believes that the 2nd Amendment supports mandatory liability insurance for firearm owners and the mandatory application of GPS tracking devices to civilian owned firearms. 

"Garry McCarthy 's understanding of our Constitution barely qualifies him as a meter maid, never mind the chief of the nation's third largest police department," commented ISRA Executive Director Richard Pearson .  "What on earth would possess McCarthy to assert that constitutional rights should be meted out based on public opinion polls?  Let's not forget that public opinion polls once opposed a woman's right to vote while it would be a safe bet that, at one time, polls would have shown lynching as an acceptable form of justice.  It has been said that our Constitution exists to protect the minority from the tyranny of the majority.  McCarthy's view of our Constitution is dangerous and unbecoming of a civil servant."

Trust me, it's 223

Noted something on Twitter I had to respond to:

Details from rally organizers are posted here.

And yes, I should proof my tweets better. I also know better than to attempt posts of any type without the appropriate reading glasses. I burn myself every time I break these rules.

Home inspection clause in gun control bill

Proposed gun control legislation in Washington State would give sheriffs the power to inspect gun owners' storage site once a year. Danny Westneat notes in the Seattle Times:

As Orwellian as that sounds, it isn’t hypothetical. The notion of police home inspections was introduced in a bill last week in Olympia.

Of course, now that the provision has been outed in the media, sponsors are saying it was a mistake. One even admits he didn't read the bill thoroughly before signing on.


Update: The inspection provision has been dropped. But it didn't happen until being outed in MSM.

More gun rights vilification

Out of Chicago, as reported by Joe Newby at Examiner.com:

During Sunday's pre-recorded edition of "Connected to Chicago," Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said law-abiding gun owners who lobby elected officials through organizations like the NRA and the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) are corrupt and endanger public safety...

February 16 gun show report

Don Dickinson made another trek to a gun show this weekend. The following observations and opinions are his own:

The show was an Eastman Show at the North Atlanta Trade Center. This is one of the two biggest Atlanta area gun shows, the other being the RK Show on the south side at the Atlanta Expo Center. This show was very different from the much smaller Farmer’s Market show on the south side of Atlanta that I reported on two weeks ago.

The show opens at 0900 and when I got to the parking area at 0820 the line already extended two to three abreast for 100 yards from the door. By the time the show opened, the line was at least 400 yards long. When I left at noon, the line was still stretched out for 100 yards from the door. This was the most crowded gun show I have ever attended and people were definitely buying in significant numbers.

Most of the usual gun dealers were present and all had large inventories of guns for sale. Prices were high but slightly off the extreme highs of two to four months ago.

If you were looking for a specific AR or self-defense type pistol you were very likely to be disappointed but if you just wanted something in either of those categories, you had plenty to choose from. There was a very wide range of prices being asked. One big dealer held up a DPMS AR in .223 and shouted that he would sell it for $980 and his tables were immediately crowded with prospective buyers. Other places in dealer and private sales, similar weapons were being offered for $1,200 to $2,500. The relative pricing of the myriad types of AR weapons is an arcane pseudoscience and clearly many of the new panic buyers are getting taken because of their lack of AR knowledge.

Defensive pistols seemed to be generally offered at about $200 to $300 more than they were priced before the present phase of the gun and ammo buying panic began. One dealer was offering a new Glock 21 without night sights in .45 ACP with four 13 round magazines for $1,500 and managing to not only keep a straight face but point out that it had “special stippling” on the frame. In former times, such could have been had in great quantity for $550 or less.

I saw only one fellow with old Commie-made Mosin Nagant rifles. He had six and was asking $159 each. Two months ago the same kind of rifles were typically being offered with hundreds on hand at $100 to $120.

For the first time in at least two months, I did see some .30 caliber and above heavy barreled super accurate rifles being offered for sale. There we not more than 10 at the show, spread about as singles, and they were priced at least $1,000 higher than was the norm before the current unpleasantness. If there was a single quality high power tactical rifle scope at the show, at any price, I did not see it.

Second hand center fire revolvers, shotguns, and lever action rifles continue to be offered at formerly normal to slightly elevated prices. If someone just wants to get themselves minimally armed with such a weapon they can still do so with the expenditure of $350 to $500, including enough ammunition for test firing and one tactical engagement. It is now slightly more expensive to get a good .22 rifle or pistol and a small supply of ammunition than it is to get a more capable center fire weapon.

All the considerable amount of .22LR ammo that I saw was offered by private sellers. I witnessed one man of about 75 years ask such a seller the price of the 325 round bulk packs he was offering and then quickly use cash to buy two of the packs for $90 in cash. Many other sellers were offering .22LR at even higher prices. The 325 round packs had probably not cost the seller more than $10 each so there was significant profit to have been had by having made ammo purchases early in the present regime. Whether the seller can ever renew his stocks at a lower price is a matter of conjecture.

The Georgia Arms loaded ammo and reloading components tables were literally surrounded three deep for the entire morning of the show. They had quite a bit of loaded ammo but no small pistol primers and by the time I left at noon, they were out of half the items they brought and severely depleted in more obscure stock but people were still buying frantically. They were the only dealers offering powder and the less than 100 pounds of assorted powders they started with were gone by noon. There was one other loaded ammo dealer who had considerable stocks and who was buried in buyers.

I did not see a single small pistol primer at the show. There were large pistol and small rifle primers in very small quantities and large rifle and large magnum rifle primers in slightly larger quantities. I don't think there were more than 30,000 primers at the show and they were mostly gone by the time I left at noon.

I saw no sign of new loaded ammunition or components entering dealer supplies. Four reloading component dealers who were regulars at this show were absent. Two regular loaded ammo dealers were absent.
High capacity magazines of nearly all types were in vast supply but still at high asking prices.

Conclusions:
- Prices for ARs are stable to slightly declining and supply is keeping up with demand at current price levels.
- Big gun dealers are still getting some high demand weapons in but the supply is spotty and they are asking and getting much higher prices than were the norm three months ago.
- The gun shows are now the being held up financially and supply wise by the private sales folks, especially in the area of bulk military caliber and .22LR ammunition. A lot of these private sellers are also hauling out their old center fire revolvers, shotguns, and lever action rifles to try to get a little profit from the current excitement. So far, they are more than meeting demand.
- Some clearly knowledgeable former hold outs from buying at today’s high prices are clearly complaining but apprehensive enough to buy.
- Many inexperienced buyers are still confused by the whole situation and holding off or making very minor purchases.
- In the very unlikely event that the federal regime backs off gun control efforts, the current prices of guns, ammo, and components will collapse.
- If the federals or some blue states like New York, Missouri, Minnesota, or California keep pushing, the current uneasy supply and demand equilibrium will be broken to the up side and prices will take another leap higher the magnitude of which will be dependent on the perceived threat to 2nd Amendment rights and liberty in general.
- It has still not occurred to the overwhelming majority of the dumb masses that the current unpleasantness may last well past, and get much worse than, whatever they were anticipating when they bought a minimalist weapon and 100 or less rounds of ammo.
- Thus far, the latest leftist gun control efforts have been as dismal a failure as all other leftist initiatives in world history. The net effect has been the exact opposite of their intentions and has only served to drive millions more weapons, millions more high capacity magazines, and perhaps billions more rounds of ammunition into the hands of the bitter clingers to guns and religion that the left so deeply despises.

"The Last Round"

A couple panels from today's (Feb 17, 2013) Day by Day Cartoon:

:
The whole thing is available at the link (above).

MoveOn has a "gun owner" pitchman for gun control

Seriously? If this is supposed to be a gun owner who values his Second Amendment rights, he comes across more like a modern day  Lord Haw-Haw.



How long before MoveOn.org Civic Action adds a gun banning female equivalent of Tokyo Rose?

H/T: David Codrea at Examiner.com

Dems seek to ban hunting ammo in Wisconsin

Media Trackers reports a bill drafted in Wisconsin would, if passed, have the effect of banning deer and bear hunting in Wisconsin.

Possession of a common hollow point hunting round would be punishable by a $10,000 fine and/or six years in prison, under the proposal being circulated by some Democrat state lawmakers.

The bill doesn't state the intent is to ban hunting, but Media Trackers points out that Wisconsin hunting regs requires expanding bullets when hunting certain game.

Few progressives are this honest

What do the progressive elites mean when they say "common sense gun control"?

A post at Daily Kos may open some eyes:

The only way we can truly be safe and prevent further gun violence is to ban civilian ownership of all guns. That means everything. No pistols, no revolvers, no semiautomatic or automatic rifles. No bolt action. No breaking actions or falling blocks. Nothing... 

So registration is the first step. Now that the vast majority are registered, we can do what we will. One good first step would be to close the registry to new registrations. This would, in effect, prevent new guns from being made or imported. This would put the murder machine corporations out of business for good, and cut the money supply to the NRA/GOA. As money dries up, the political capital needed for new controls will be greatly reduced.

The post dates from December, when progressive Democrats thought the emotional wave from Newtown could be exploited far and wide. But the emotion of December has cooled. For now, on the national scene, many Democrats have seemingly retreated from their initial overreach. 

Their big push right now appears to be to establish gun banning beachheads in progressive states like New York, Missouri, Minnesota and California.

They may not be as open as they were in December, but those who want to ban guns have not forsaken their long term aspirations. They've likely just retreated to a more stealthy strategy.

But perhaps December's overreach was a good thing. Because of it, we have a written record regarding the end-game they seek.

Finding ammo online

I've been watching online ammunition sellers. As we talked about on today's Don and Doug program, here's my analysis:

Product is flowing. But plinking ammo sells out in minutes. Higher priced stuff may last a couple hours to a day or so after being listed.

If you're looking to buy, late morning to early afternoon is a good time to check the websites of small to medium size dealers. This time frame is apparently after product arrives, and gets logged into the system. I've found a couple sellers that still have what I call exceptional pricing (at, or not much higher than would have been expected in November). The small mom and pop sellers have a smaller customer base, this allows you a better chance of scoring a purchase.

If you're only shopping in the evening, you'd get the impression supplies have dried up. If you shop midday, you can see inventory counters at some sellers do real time countdowns as just listed items are swiftly depleted.

You'll likely have better luck finding ammo at sellers that didn't take backorders. Without backorders to worry about, what comes in the door is available to list and sell to people like you.

If you see something you want and it's in stock, don't dawdle. Place your order in and pay immediately. This advice is most practical if you are buying in bulk. Makes little sense to buy a box or two when shipping's going to cost about the same for ten boxes or a case. But if you spend too much time surfing a website for something to round out a shipment, keep in mind your initial selection may sell out while you're looking.

We spent the first forty minutes of today's (February 15th) show talking about these and other strategies for finding ammunition in this time of national scarcity  You can tap directly into the show's On Demand player by clicking here.

If you're new to buying ammo online, beware some states and local jurisdictions have restrictions. Most online sellers have these noted on their websites. Get familiar with them in advance and comply. Ammunition when shipped is clearly marked as such.

Gun access for the politically connected

Access to a concealed carry permit in Los Angeles may depend on one's willingness to support the local sheriff. LA Weekly reports:

In L.A. County, records show, most of the permits go to judges and reserve deputies. But there is another group that seems to have better luck than most in obtaining permits: friends of Lee Baca. Those who've given the sheriff gifts or donated to his campaign are disproportionately represented on the roster of permit holders.

Reports: Russian meteorite causes damage and injuries

The Daily Mail reports 500 people injured, and windows were shattered as a meteor exploded over Russia.

Didn't take long for videos to surface on YouTube:



Update: Russia Today now reports 900 injuries. More details and additional video here.

Meanwhile, up in space: An asteroid will make a close pass to Earth later today.

From NASA:

PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA Television will provide commentary starting at 11 a.m. PST (2 p.m. EST) on Friday, Feb. 15, during the close, but safe, flyby of a small near-Earth asteroid named 2012 DA14. NASA places a high priority on tracking asteroids and protecting our home planet from them. This flyby will provide a unique opportunity for researchers to study a near-Earth object up close.

A piecemeal approach to gun control. Finding ammo. And other matters.

Coming up on  today's (February 15)  Don and  Doug::

We saw the first sign weeks ago. On gun control, Democrats go for Plan B: A state-by-state strategy.

Having trouble finding ammo? We'll have some insights and suggestions for those seeking resupply.

It's probably old news by now, but behind the lofty words, Obama's State of the Union address was full of policies and priorities that will only put more drag on America and its economy. Are we entering the final stages of a national unraveling?

The live program starts at 1pm EST. You can listen via TalkSouthRadio.com or go straight to the audio stream by clicking here.

Gov't memo: Assault weapon ban meaningless without confiscation

From a National Institute of Justice memo citing strategies to combat "gun violence":

Since assault weapons are not a major contributor to US gun homicide and the existing stock of guns is large, an assault weapon ban is unlikely to have an impact on gun violence. If coupled with a gun buyback and no exemptions then it could be effective. 

Got that? Mandatory buy-backs. No exceptions.

Registration would be a big step in that direction.

H/T: Kurt Hofmann

Michigan gun control poll

A poll in the Detroit Free Press reflects opposition to President Obama's push for new gun control laws.

The poll shows only 42 percent of Michiganders support changes in current law as presented by the president. 

But the Free Press graphic reports the poll, conducted by Epic-MRA, shows support for aspects of the president's wish list.

I suspect the phrasing of questions that elicited support for gun control brought the responses they did due to bias or ignorance of the to their phrasing. For instance, the gun show question seems especially flawed.

Detroit Free Press

The question asked: 

Do you favor or oppose a low that would require background checks before anyone, including gun dealers could buy gun at gun shows?

Eighty-six percent of those responding answered in the affirmative.

Backgrounds checks are already required for buyers who purchase from a licensed dealer - at a gun show or anywhere else. And does the pollster suggest a licensed gun dealer be required to undergo a background check for every firearm they purchase to re-sell? Licensed dealers are already heavily screened and regulated, and must keep a detailed log of every firearm they buy or sell.

And new background checks proposed by the administration reach far beyond the confines of gun shows. They would also require checks (prior federal permission) before guns could be sold between friends or other private parties. Based on how it's been described, the proposed call for wider checks would also required federal screening before a family's legacy firearm could be passed down to child or grandchild as a gift. 

Does this explain the DHS ammo obsession?

From Hope N' Change Cartoons:

Obama and the Dems work to widen the gap

The Left keeps pushing its transformation agenda - at the expense of any remaining shred of national unity.

From Chris Muir's Day by Day Cartoon:

The domestic arms race

Last April, Vin Suprynowicz of the Last Vegas Review Journal authored a piece called "This Time The Arms Race is Domestic.". In it, Suprynowicz said, in part:

One thing should be obvious, however. In little more than a decade since the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center, the federal government has created a vast new domestic police force, massively armed and busily working to get us accustomed to what looks more and more like an army of domestic occupation. 

And because American civilians are simultaneously gunning up in unprecedented numbers, in part out of concern that the gun grabbers' agenda may be back on the front burner in any Obama second term, could this be considered an arms race?

How many billions of dollars have been been spent on arms and ammo by both the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and by private U.S. citizens since that was written?

Who's entitled to Second Amendment rights?

Eric Holder says he's been instructed by the president to look at expanding the list of those who should be deprived of their Second Amendment right to bear arms.

Holder's comment was made in Atlanta in an appearance at Clark Atlanta University. There's video of the bite at Breitbart.com.

Any guesses who they'd like to add to the exclusion list they're cooking up? Is this something the Constitution empowers the  Executive Branch to do?

New California fashion trend?

From Zero Hedge

Will your favorite sellers survive?

If the current shortage of guns and ammo persists, at what point do your favorite sellers of such things become an endangered species?

I ordered a small amount of ammo online yesterday from one of the few sellers that had anything close to what I wanted. Less than two hours later, I got an email saying the order had been processed. In late December, processing would have likely taken days, maybe a week.

On a visit to a gun store yesterday, the owner and his staff were discussing whether it was worth it to keep the store open six days a week under current conditions. They're simply not getting enough inbound product to cover six days of commerce.

The other chilling data point is that national or regional big box retailers don't have the clout to get inventory either. In addition to the stores I checked over the weekend, I hit another big box sporting goods store yesterday. Its rifle and handgun ammo stock was depleted to the point of just three boxes of specialty .22 LR (priced at over ten bucks for what appeared to be a box of 50) and another three boxes of .243 Winchester. At one chain location, shelf space formerly allocated to handgun ammo has been reallocated to other merchandise.

It was reported last week that gun purchase background checks dropped by ten percent in January, in part because of inventory outages. Southeastern states were especially hard hit.

Big box stores have other products to cover their bottom line. Many independent sellers of guns and ammo, both brick and mortar and online sellers, don't. For them, the exhilaration of December sales has long ago faded. Empty shelves and out of stock notices tell me they're facing hard times if supply doesn't catch up soon.

"Out of the mouths of Leftists..."

Revealing excerpts from a gun control debate in North Carolina are available on YouTube:


H/T: Ammoland.com

Part of Holder's once touted brainwashing?

We've read the stories about kids being suspended from school for doing something as innocent as sketching a gun, or making a hand gesture some say looks like a gun.

On the other hand, it's apparently okay for students to sketch a gun if the message is politically correct, and commissioned by the U.S. Department of Justice.

David Codrea found an example in South Carolina where the U.S. Attorney sponsors a contest where students are encouraged to sketch guns in a negative light in school "safety" posters.

No, I'm not advocating kids bring guns to school. But is it fair for government to censor messages so that kids are only exposed to anti-gun propaganda, and that if the message isn't state sponsored and anti-gun, it is met with swift retaliatory action by government schools?


Eric Holder as U.S. Attorney in Washington DC, 1995:

While we drown in Bernanke bucks...

Putin's Russia is loading up on gold. 

Obama's fundamentally transformed military

Something's missing

Does the Obama administration not trust the military?

Or is it deliberately seeking to project an impotent military image?

From David Codrea at Examiner.com:

Disabled Marine rifles at inauguration signal shift in administration policy

Taking stock of ammo inventories

If this was a typical run on ammo, I thought we'd be seeing it ease by now.

We're now nearly two months into this episode of short inventories. But a walk through some retailers and some checks online indicate the American ammo shortage may be getting worse, not lessening.

A mix of rifle calibers were available at one big box sporting specialty store on Atlanta's northside tonight, but some popular calibers were out. Handgun ammo, on the other hand, was frightfully depleted. A few boxes of .380, a few boxes of .45 acp +P were about all I recall seeing.

No stripped shelves at the next major sporting goods retailer I popped into. But then I realized they'd eliminated space for most handgun calibers nor was there space reserved for some popular rifle rounds. The shelves looked fuller because space dedicated to shotgun shells looks like it had been doubled, maybe tripled. I wanted to ask the sales guys where the pistol ammo was, but they had five or six customers at the handgun case (I hope they're holding back something to go with those new guns going out the door, a handgun without ammo is no better than a rock).

On my way out the door, I noticed this second store did have some of the more popular calibers behind the customer service desk at the front of the store: Three 20 round boxes of .38 special, and a few boxes each of .223 and .308. The .223 was of the more expensive varieties, and started at 29 bucks a box. The store now has a one box per day per customer limit for certain high demand calibers, so I guess it makes sense to dole it out up front to better police the policy.

Like the brick and mortar counterparts, online sellers are showing stripped inventories. I spot checked about a dozen sites today, and found only a few had any 9mm to offer. And what little I found was priced way above what was considered market in November. I have a hard time coming to grips with 80 cents a round for run of the mill 9mm when the same stuff was 20 cents a round last fall. But if that's what you need, you might be happy to find it at any price, and even be grateful the seller set a higher threshold to make sure something was still left to sell.

Keep in mind, I did these spot checks on a Saturday afternoon and evening. Friday night and Saturday shoppers had likely taken their toll on inventories. It's very hit and miss, but I've had better luck spotting the more popular calibers being in stock when I shop weekday mornings. Holds true for both brick and mortar and online retailers.

I still wish I had a better handle on how much of the current ammo shortage is still being caused by panic buying or hoarding, or if there are others factors limiting the flow of product from maker to marketplace right now. It's kind of disconcerting to walk into store on February 9, and see out of stock notices that indicate resupply was expected twenty to thirty days ago but for one reason or another, it apparently didn't happen.

Maxine Waters: Obama's database knows everything about everyone

It really is creepy how some Democrats brag on Obama. Makes him sound more like Orwell's Big Brother than anyone imagined.

Guns in church

Baptist Press looks at the subject of whether people should be allowed to carry a gun in church.

MSM coverage of the Atlanta rally

The Atlanta Journal Constitution has posted its own series of photos from today's Second Amendment rally at the Georgia capitol.

Early pics from today's 2nd Amendment rally in Atlanta

A few photos shot at the gun rights rally on the state capitol grounds:

These were shot shortly after 10:00 am. The rally is scheduled to run until three o'clock this afternoon.

Update: Additional photos:

Manhunt continues for ex-LA cop

And the guy they're looking for, suspected of being on a killing spree, reportedly left a manifesto demanding more gun control.

Greece raised taxes...

... And tax revenues fell.

High tax state planners fail to acknowledge people revise behavior to escape taxation.

Update on the gunned-up Georgia Capitol

Jim Galloway at the Atlanta Journal Constitution followed up this week on the new semi-automatic carbines now being carried at the state capitol in Atlanta. News of capitol-assigned state troopers getting AR style rifles was first reports in December by WSB-TV.

Two paragraphs in Galloway's update article caught my eye.

First, there's this:

State cops want to make sure bad guys know the Capitol isn’t a soft target.

If state security planners think soft targets draw evil-doers, what's that say about gun-free school zones?

And then there's this, quoting Col. Mark McDonough, commissioner of the state Department of Public Safety, about an event outside the capitol tomorrow, February 8th:

Purely as a matter of coincidence, Second Amendment enthusiasts plan to hold an “armed rally” on the steps of the state Capitol this Friday. “I’m sure they’ll have their long guns,” McDonough said. “And we’ll have ours.”

Carbine equipped troopers were out for last month's gun rights rally at the capitol. And, as McDonough expects for tomorrow's event, there were also armed demonstrators. Nothing appeared edgy last month. Neither troopers nor rally attendees outwardly expressed any heightened sense of alarm to due the presence of firearms.

From my photos of last month's event

By the way, Galloway's AJC column is the only MSM mention I've seen thus far regarding tomorrow's planned gun rights rally, which is scheduled to run from 10:00 am until 3:00 pm.

Those organizing tomorrow's rally have a Facebook page, but it appears you have to be a group member to get full access. The Georgia rally is scheduled to run from 10:00 am until 3:00, and is apparently just one of many planned around the country.

Gun control lies and double speak

New St. Louis police chief refers to the right to bear arms as a belief, not a right.

And Chief Sam Dotson, sworn in just last week, is quoted at River Front Times as saying you don't have a right to pull the trigger:

"I understand the Second Amendment, and I understand everyone's right, or their belief that they have a right to bear arms," he says. "It doesn't give them a right to use that weapon."

Left-wing gun control fanatics will say anything they can think of to jawbone the ignorant public out of their rights. Perhaps the chief would like to show us where in the Constitution the same founders who  intended us to have arms forbade us use of them.


H/T: Kurt Hofmann

Chris Rock sees the prez as Daddy O

Move over Jamie Foxx, you have some company.

Foxx  may have called  Barack Obama "our lord and savior" during an awards show last year, but now fellow comedian Chris Rock has also come up with some adoring yet authoritative terms of his own to describe the president.

Rock's comments came Wednesday in Washington DC at a gun control event:

I’m just here to support the president of the United States. The president of the United States is, you know, our boss. But he’s also, you know, the president and the first lady are kind of like the mom and the dad of the country. And when your dad says something, you listen. And when you don’t, it usually bites you in the ass later on. So, I’m here to support the president.

Lord and savior, boss and dad?

What's next? Some other lame celeb gonna step up next and tell us Obama is our Dear Leader?

On a recent Sunday morning talk show, former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm referred to Mr. Obama as the Protector in Chief. It had an eerie ring, especially to those who know history.

These glowing labels may just be terms of adoration, allegiance and respect to those who utter them, but they may also be warning us something more ominous lies ahead. There are limits to the role government should play in our lives. Seems to me, making the president our country's lord, savior, boss, or dad goes beyond an acceptable threshold.

"Now this is awkward...

"One agency of the federal government is suing a company for fraud while another agency continues to endorse it."

That's how the Wall Street Journal sees it.

Shhh...

Be verwy, verwy quiet. We're shelling cities.

 Have you seen this? It's an artillery silencer.

Suspended for pretending to save the world

The story out of Loveland, Colorado says a seven year old was suspended from school for throwing an imaginary grenade. But it sounds more like the young super-hero wannabe was ridding the playground of an imaginary package bomb, perhaps a WMD.

Sad to say, schools now have policies that forbid saving the world. Even when it's only pretend.

KDVR in Denver has details, and talks with the boy who doesn't understand why he's  been "dispended."

There's nothing noble about indoctrinating kids to be passive victims.

Obamacare prescribes more change, less hope

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