Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Even a two-year-old can be a killer

Some of this story sounds a little suspect to me but I'm not an expert. Can a two-year-old really pull the trigger on a Glock?

In any case it is a shitty deal for the kid.

911 Call Reveals How Toddler Reportedly Shot, Killed Mom
A 911 call released by Florida police reveals how a toddler allegedly shot and killed his mother when he picked up a loaded gun, wsvn.com reports.

According to Miramar Police, Troy Bailey Sr. called 911 late Wednesday and said that his 2-year-old son grabbed his gun and shot his mother, 33-year-old Julia Bennett.

"Oh God, I can’t believe this," Bailey is heard saying on the recording. "He shot his mom. God in heaven, help me please."

When the 911 operator asked who shot Bennet, Bailey Sr. said, “I was taking the gun from him. I was trying to take it from him…from my son, from my son. He’s right here.”

Bailey Sr. goes on to say how he tried to take the gun from Troy Bailey Jr. when it went off.
"Jesus Christ, God. Why did you put my son in this spot?" he said over the phone. "Oh, God, no. He's my life. I've never gone through something like this."

Miramar Police investigators say the child’s father told them he left the .9 mm Glock semi-automatic, for which he has a concealed weapons permit, in the reach of the child who some how got a hold of the gun.

A judge has placed Bailey Jr. in the care of one of his maternal aunts and maternal great-grandmother. His father is not allowed contact with Bennet’s family without state permission.

At the custody hearing last week, the child's advocate said the Broward Sheriff's Office was not able to locate the father in order to notify him about the hearing. At the dependency court hearing, Lisa Glick of Children's Legal Services, said, "BSO has been unable to reach the father at this time and does not currently know where he his."

Miramar Police, however, insisted Bailey Sr. was never missing and is cooperating with the investigation, which remains on-going.

Bailey Sr. was initially questioned by police at the scene but has not been charged. At minimum, he could be charged with negligence for leaving the gun in the boy's reach.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Man Shot Dead in Brady Paradise

Hard as it may be to believe, a man who broke up a fight at a MacDonalds in London -- where handguns are very illegal -- was shot to death by one of the would be combatants. No good deed goes unpunished and in a Sarah Brady Paradise where the do-gooder is also a disarmed victim-in-waiting, the penalty can be death.

From the UK Mirror
Dad who split up fight in McDonald's shot dead

A DAD-of-four who split up a fight in a McDonald’s was shot dead moments after being told he wouldn’t see the morning.

Raymond Mitchell, 34, had only popped into the restaurant to buy a hot chocolate.

But he apparently caused offence after splitting up two men fighting in the queue.

One of them, who had several gold teeth, shouted at Raymond: “You are gonna die tonight, you are not gonna see the morning.”

The thug is then said to have phoned an accomplice to fetch a gun, yelling into his mobile: “Bring me that thing.”

Raymond left the 24-hour McDonald’s but was chased into a cul-de-sac. The gun was then delivered and Mr Mitchell was beaten and pistol-whipped before being shot three times in an alley in Brixton, South London, at 6.50am on Sunday. Raymond, nicknamed Brown, was taken to hospital but died hours later.

One neighbour, who saw the shooting but was too terrified to be named, said: “He was begging, literally begging for his life. I didn’t dare look out my window in case they saw me. I heard them laughing and swearing at him, calling him a ‘b***h’. I heard them laughing afterwards as well.”

Raymond’s partner, who asked not to be named, said: “I’m terrified. They’re still out there and they’ve not been caught. I’ve been told how they were laughing, actually laughing after they beat him and shot him. How could anybody do something like that?”

She had been out drinking with Raymond on Saturday night before he went into the West End to meet some friends for drinks.

She said: “Everybody loved him. He was well known around Brixton. Just a friendly guy.”

His family left tributes and flowers at the murder scene. One of his sons, Raquan Mitchell-Perry, 11, described as a “brilliant dad” in a poem. The Met’s Trident unit is investigating the murder.
H/T to SipseyStreetIrregulars

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Memories of Mach

Once upon a time there was a cat named Niccolo Machiavelli.

He was cat in every way and loyal as only a cat can be. He had his share of annoying behaviors such using the cat door to leave but refusing to use it to come back in. He always insisted I open the front door for him.

Like all cats he was a hunter. When some less than cleanly neighbors were evicted all of their roaches spread to the neighboring houses. For several months afterwards I often I came home from work (I worked the night shift then) to hear Mach crunching on cockroaches. I guess it was better than dragging in small birds, mice and lizards and it served to keep my house from becoming infested.

About his only really peculiar behavior was he liked to play in paper bags. I have no idea why. Nevertheless, while he was alive, I brought my groceries home in paper bags whenever possible so he would have a playhouse or whatever is was his feline mind imagined the bags to be.

His end came in the street in front of his home. I don't know how it happened but I found him dead one afternoon. From the available evidence, I am guessing he was hit by a car. I buried him in a paper bag.

I still miss the bastard sometimes.

It was these photos that reminded me of that damned cat.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

The Testicle Lockbox

This has to be one of the creepiest videos I have seen in a long while. I actually felt a little ill listening to a parade of castrati vomiting embarrassing "apologies" just for being male. I suppose I should spend a page or two (or more!) writing about sexual selection and evolutionary psychology but I have to get back to work so I'll give you the short version.
  1. Without women, men would not be civilized.
  2. Without men, civilization would last only until the oil needs changing.

Now you should get out the Barf Bag and don't say I didn't warn you.



H/T to Amy Alkon

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Clip on a Cartridge of Bullets

The Contra Costa Times published a letter from a reader on Apr 4 advocating an end to open carry.
End open carry

According to the California Penal Code, "Every person who "... carries upon his or her person "... a switchblade knife having a blade two or more inches in length is guilty of a misdemeanor."

Yet there is no section of the California Penal Code that specifically prohibits open carry of an unloaded handgun, and carrying a loaded magazine separate from the handgun, as in a pocket, also is not prohibited under the penal code.

How many people can one crazed lunatic kill with a switch blade in under a minute? Two, three at the most? Yet that same lunatic can clip on a cartridge of bullets and mow down up to a dozen innocents in that same period of time using a gun that is legally worn at the hip.

Maybe our restrictions against lethal guns should be just as strong as they are against lethal knives. Maybe it is time to outlaw open carry.

Beth Jersey

Concord
How many can a knife weilding maniac kill in a minute? I don"t know and do not intend to find out. Some recent examples from the news indicate it is not as hard as Beth thinks it is.

In June of 2008 Tomohiro Kato injured 10 and killed seven in Tokyo in under three minutes.

Seven die in Tokyo knife attack rampage

Two weeks ago, Zheng Minsheng killed eight and wounded five in an early morning knife attack directed at elementary school students.

Man kills 8 pupils in China

How many people have UOCer's killed in California?

Zero.

Maybe it is time to outlaw Open Stupidity.