Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Government corruption is to blame, not US gun sellers

Good commentary from David Codrea
Who in their right mind believes Mexican police and military personnel rely on "straw purchasers" at U.S. gun shops and gun shows to obtain military-grade firepower? Who in their right mind does not believe these corrupt LEOs and soldiers haven't exploited their access to state-procured weapons--to the advantage of their drug cartel patrons?
I sometimes think the reason Obama dropped his push for repeal of the Tihart Amendment is the data would reveal just how many of the guns seized from the cartels were originally from DOJ approved sales or DOD "gifts" to the Mexican government.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Guilty until Proven Guilty

Court Upholds States in DNA Testing of Convicts
"A criminal defendant proved guilty after a fair trial does not have the same liberty interests as a free man," Chief Justice Roberts wrote, adding that it remains an "open question"whether "proof of 'actual innocence'" is enough to overturn a conviction after a fair trial.

WTH? If proof of innocence isn't enough to overturn a conviction then what is?

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

My Car is Private Property

Or so I thought. Apparently Clark Neily disagrees

The bills in question do not prevent a business owner from forbidding guns on his property only that he post it for all to see. Otherwise how are people to know? It switches the default from "no" to "yes" where it should have been all the time.

A corporation is not a person. It is a creation of the state and every "right" it has is really a privilege granted by that creator. By applying to the state for special powers and immunities, a corporation becomes an extension of the state. Whatever the purported rights of a state created fictional person are they do not trump the natural of rights of a real person.

Immigration Codex

Speaking in code words to disguise what they really mean

I agree with Vin that unregulated immigration is not necessarily a good thing. I also admit he says it better than I can.

How Far can the English Fall?

Ben Kinsella's murderers 'face retribution' during life jail term.
Earlier, lawyers for the three killers confirmed that they had received letters warning them they may be under threat from members of a notorious crime family.

I have no sympathy whatsoever for the killers. However, I think it is instructive that the only justice that may be done will come from ".. a notorious crime family." When the state fails in its duty then another gang will move in on the territory. That is lesson Americans should learn.

Evil Kitchen Knife

First 'anti-stab' knife to go on sale in Britain.
The first “anti-stab” knife is to go on sale in Britain, designed to work as normal in the kitchen but to be ineffective as a weapon.

The knife has a rounded edge instead of a point and will snag on clothing and skin to make it more difficult to stab someone.

Okay... Maybe women stabbing their husbands is epidemic in England.

Monday, June 15, 2009

New Use for Gitmo?

Bonnie Erbe wants to round up anyone who promotes hate.

It's not enough to prosecute these murders as murders. They are hate-motivated crimes and each of these men had been under some sort of police surveillance prior to their actions. Isn't it time we started rounding up promoters of hate before they kill?


Billy Beck in his usual acerbically honest manner sums it up:

Well, Bonnie, that makes as much sense to me as rounding up journalists before they lie and act like fulminant retards in the public prints.

Friday, June 12, 2009

Wild Animals are Called "Wild" for a Reason.



Haverhill woman says she was surrounded by coyotes

June 11, 2009 05:03 PM

By Stewart Bishop, Globe Correspondent

A Haverhill woman says she had a harrowing brush with the wild, when she was surrounded by coyotes while walking her dogs in a wooded area.

Mary Burke, 47, was out walking her four Labrador retrievers at around 7 a.m. Monday in an area off Groveland Road in the town of Groveland, which is adjacent to Haverhill, when she looked up and saw a coyote staring her down.

"I was talking on the phone to a friend when all of a sudden there was one, then there was four, and they surrounded me," Burke said today. As I turned around, I started crying, I said to my friend, 'Oh my God, I'm not going to make it out of here.' "

Burke called 911.

"We got a call that a woman was being aggressively followed by coyotes," said Groveland Police Chief Robert Kirmelewicz. "She had four good-sized dogs with her, but [the coyotes] weren't backing down."

The police were able to locate Burke's exact position using their enhanced 911 system, which pinpointed Burke's cellphone, said Kirmelewicz.

"The GPS feature proved to be a great tool in this instance," Kirmelewicz said. "If we hadn't been able to locate her, who knows what could have happened?"

The dispatcher was able to guide Burke out of the woods as officers rushed to help, but the coyotes kept pursuing.

"They followed me all the way out of the woods," Burke said. "All the while I was talking to my dogs, telling them to stay with me."

As Burke reached the edge of the wooded area, Groveland police cruisers arrived on scene, sirens blaring, and the coyotes fled.

"It was the most scary experience of my life, and I'm a cancer survivor twice over," Burke said.

"They were so close, I could've touched them with a pool cue."

Chief Kirmelewicz said the officers didn't see the coyotes when they arrived.

Burke said this experience has made her think that more should be done to control the coyote population.

"We used to do controlled hunts for coyotes," she said. "But that's not the case anymore, and the population is out of control."

Kirmelewicz said that while coyote sightings are not uncommon, it's unusual for them to act this way, and he urged people to take certain precautions when out in rural, wooded areas.

"I would suggest the best thing to do, if you're approached by coyotes, is to make a lot of noise to try and scare them off," he said. "And always carry a cellphone."



Reading the comments I have to wonder at the ignorance of some people. Real life is not a Disney movie. Wild animal are opportunists and will eat when and what they can.

About 30 years ago, when I was in college the first time around, a girl from the apartment complex I lived in went missing. Several of us from the college hiking club volunteered to help search the area where a witness claimed to have seen her the day before she disappeared. This was a more civilized time when the police welcomed help from "unorganized militia".

I was one of the three that found her body. It was pretty badly chewed up and the medical examiner later determined she bad been shot with a 22 caliber but the bullet didn't kill her. Cause of death was blood loss and trauma from animal bites.

Some of the dried blood on a rock originally suspected as the "murder" weapon was from coyotes. She apparently tried to fight back so was still alive and conscious when the coyotes came out that night for a free meal.

Don't tell me coyotes don't attack and kill humans. I know better.

The poor excuse for man who shot her and left her to die eventually turned himself in. He was convicted but I don't remember the exact charges.

Hat Tip to The War on Guns: Coyote Ugly

Thursday, June 11, 2009

I Need This

A T-shirt for the 21st Century. Perfect for my next trip to the rifle range.

Hat tip to Billy Beck

Seventy Three Percenter

Geek That is...

73% Geek
This is lower than previous tests. I guess the medication is working.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Abortion is Still the Issue the Left Uses to Divide Us.

Mike Vanderboegh has some commentary on an article by Julia Duin of the Washington Time which contains an incredibly stupid quote from Dr. LeRoy Carhart:

"This is the equivalent of Martin Luther King being assassinated," he said of the killing of one of the nation's best known late-term abortion doctors. "This is the equivalent of Pearl Harbor, the sinking of the Lusitania and any other major historic event where we've tolerated the intolerable for too long."

Read the Comments section then read this excerpt from Hope by by Aaron Zelman and L. Neil Smith.

Edited to add:

After reading some of the comments on Sipsey Street Irregulars all I have to say is be careful what you wish for.

If you outlaw a thing you must have enforcement to insure that people don't do it. The Pregnancy Enforcement Administration (PEA) can be staffed with people hired out of BATFE. They have the experience to oversee the licensing of shops that sell knitting needles and chopsticks. Make sure every one is properly serialized and registered. Of course a background check will be required to purchase abortion tools but it'll be an "instant" check.

Congress will have to take up the issue of the "Craft Show Loophole."

Because women can go to other countries that still allow abortion all nubile women leaving the country will have to be checked for pregnancy. The TSA can mandate fetal heartbeat monitors in all the airports and border crossing so any women leaving the the country can be checked for pregnancy and their passports appropriately tagged. On returning they can be checked to make sure the pregnancy hasn't been terminated.

Then there is the problem of Fetal Abuse. If the fetus is a person then it must be protected from dangerous chemicals that cross the placenta. Any pregnant woman caught smoking or drinking will be prosecuted. For a first offense, imprisonment or maybe house arrest until the baby is born. For the second, a lobotomy and life support until parturition.

It's for the children!

The Left may fight this legislation but if it gets passed they will exploit it. Some states will pass parental licensing laws giving the local medical chief the power to decide who can have a child. Some states will have shall-issue licensing allowing a license if you pay a fee, pass a background check and attend an approved parenting class. Unlicensed babies will be taken and raised in creches.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Golfers arrested after fighting off gang attempting to steal clubs

Link

Despite the group threatening to attack them if they did not hand over their golfing equipment, the golfers apparently fought back. An eyewitness, who did not wish to be named, said: "Everyone had a weapon and they were just trading blows."

I had to read the above paragraph several time to be sure I was seeing what I was seeing. Can it be true that when threatened by thugs in England the intended victims are not supposed to fight back?

If so, it's official. The English have finally gone completely around the bend.

Hat tip to David Codrea