The New Zealand Army has a flash marksmanship game on their YouTube page. The game is based upon their recruit training. You “fire” a Steyr Aug at ranges from 25 meters to 600 meters. You have to adjust for heart rate, wind, distance, and your breathing. It is a lot harder than most of these type of games.
The game is located here. Below is a screen shot of it.
Today is National Medal of Honor Day. Congress has designated March 25th as the day we honor those brave individuals who have been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. This day was chosen as March 25th was the day the first Medals of Honor were presented in 1863.
A number of years ago I noticed an elderly gentleman parking his car at a local grocery store. What caught my eye was his license plate. It was a specialized plate from the State of North Carolina and it said “Congressional Medal of Honor”.
The gentleman in question was Max Thompson who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions in battle near Haaren, Germany. I regret that I didn’t stop to speak with Sgt. Thompson and thank him but I wanted to respect his privacy while he was doing the mundane chore of grocery shopping. His citation is below:
On 18 October 1944, Company K, 18th Infantry, occupying a position on a hill near Haaren, Germany, was attacked by an enemy infantry battalion supported by tanks. The assault was preceded by an artillery concentration, lasting an hour, which inflicted heavy casualties on the company. While engaged in moving wounded men to cover, Sgt. Thompson observed that the enemy had overrun the positions of the 3d Platoon. He immediately attempted to stem the enemy’s advance single-handedly. He manned an abandoned machinegun and fired on the enemy until a direct hit from a hostile tank destroyed the gun. Shaken and dazed, Sgt. Thompson picked up an automatic rifle and although alone against the enemy force which was pouring into the gap in our lines, he ??fired burst after burst, halting the leading elements of the attack and dispersing those following. Throwing aside his automatic rifle, which had jammed, he took up a rocket gun, fired on a light tank, setting it on fire. By evening the enemy had been driven from the greater part of the captured position but still held 3 pillboxes. Sgt. Thompson’s squad was assigned the task of dislodging the enemy from these emplacements. Darkness having fallen and finding that fire of his squad was ineffective from a distance, Sgt. Thompson crawled forward alone to within 20 yards of 1 of the pillboxes and fired grenades into it. The Germans holding the emplacement concentrated their fire upon him. Though wounded, he held his position fearlessly, continued his grenade fire, and finally forced the enemy to abandon the blockhouse. Sgt. Thompson’s courageous leadership inspired his men and materially contributed to the clearing of the enemy from his last remaining hold on this important hill position.
Sgt. Thompson passed away in 1996 at the age of 74. So on this day we should remember the bravery and sacrifice of men like Sgt. Thompson and living recipients like Staff Sgt. Sal Giunta. This country would not be what it is without men like them.
Sharyl Attkisson of CBS News has posted a second video of her interview with former ATF Attache to Mexico, Darren Gil. While a bit shorter, it goes deeper.
Darren Gil served as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Attache in the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City. He was recalled to Washington late in 2010 after he started asking questions about Operation Fast and Furious.Gil subsequently retired in December 2010. His replacement was the former Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix Field Division William Newell who’s actions are at the center of Operation Fast and Furious (aka Project Gunwalker).
Mr. Gil hasn’t spoken out publicly about the gun walking. That is, until now. Sharyl Attkisson of CBS News has just published an interview with him in which he says that knowledge of the gunwalking went higher than ATF Acting Director Kenneth Melson.
In an exclusive interview with CBS News, the lead ATF official in Mexico at the time Darren Gil says somebody in the Justice Department did know about the case. Gil says his supervisor at ATF’s Washington D.C. headquarters told him point-blank the operation was approved even higher than ATF Director Kenneth Melson.
“Is the director aware of this,” Gil asked the supervisor. Gil says his supervisor answered “Yes, the director’s aware of it. Not only is the director aware of it, D.O.J.’s aware of it… Department of Justice was aware of it.”
Gil goes on to say senior Justice official Lanny Breuer and several of his deputies visited Mexico amid the controversy last summer, and spoke to ATF staff generally about a big trafficking case that they claimed was “getting good results.” Gil says Melson, ATF’s Acting Director, also visited Mexico City. Gil’s Deputy Attache and his Analyst questioned Melson about the case that surrounding all the weapons showing up in Mexico. “His response was ‘it’s a good case, it’s still going on,'” recalls Gil, “and we’ll close it down as soon as we possibly can.”
One of the reasons that Gil is speaking out is because Mexican politicians are threatening to bring charges against ATF agents in Mexico. Gil says that would be wrong because the ATF agents in Mexico were specifically excluded from having knowledge of the gunwalking. They were frozen out of their normal computer access to case files. He notes that some of his conversations with officials in Washington became “screaming and shouting matches” over this lack of access. He did note that many of their serial number traces went back to the Phoenix area – where SAC William Newell was running Operation Fast and Furious.
Mike Vanderboegh has mentioned Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer, head of the Criminal Division at DOJ, many times on his blog Sipsey Street Irregulars as involved in Project Gunwalker. Gil’s interview is confirmation that Breuer was probably up to his neck in it. The question now is whether he or Melson will be thrown under the bus to protect Attorney General Eric Holder.
As mentioned a few days ago, ATF Acting Director Kenneth Melson will be appearing before the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps, and Global Narcotics Affairs. Now that Darren Gil has gone on the record with CBS’s Sharyl Attkisson about higher-ups being involved, it would be a shame if the screws weren’t put to Melson to testify under oath on just how high it went.
UPDATE: Video of the interview is now available.
Senator Chuck Grassley is asking more questions regarding Operation Fast and Furious (aka Project Gunwalker). This time he is asking the questions of the head of Customs and Border Protection. He wants if they knowingly let Jaime Avila and two of those arrested in Columbus, NM “walk” with firearms even though Border Patrol agents had stopped all three.
Grassley Presses for More Answers on Operation Fast and Furious, Allowing Guns to “Walk”
WASHINGTON – Senator Chuck Grassley continues to press the administration for answers about the policy that allowed guns to “walk” over the Mexican border. Grassley began questioning the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in January. His requests for information about the involvement of various agencies, including ATF, the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection have been stonewalled by the administration.
Grassley is now asking Customs and Border Protection for information about reportedly stopping Blas Gutierrez and Miguel Carrillo near the Mexican border. The two were recently indicted as part of a gun trafficking operation involving the mayor of Columbus, New Mexico. Additionally, Grassley is asking about allegations that Customs and Border Protection stopped Jaime Avila, who was recently indicted as the straw purchaser of weapons found at the scene of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry’s murder. In both instances, Border Patrol agents allegedly found the gun runners to be in possession of multiple weapons, but let the suspects proceed for unknown reasons.
“No longer can this administration stand idly by and answer every question by saying that the Justice Department Inspector General is investigating. There is too much at stake. U.S. agents may have been killed because of a tragically ill-advised policy,” Grassley said. “The President said a serious mistake may have been made here, and that, if so, he would hold someone accountable. It is clearer every day that serious mistakes were made. Now it’s time for accountability.”
Grassley’s letter to Customs and Border Protection (March 16, 2011) made a specific request for officials knowledgeable about the agency’s involvement in Operation Fast and Furious be made available at a briefing that was already scheduled to take place with Grassley staff. Customs and Border Protection did not make officials available and there have been no attempts by the agency to schedule a subsequent briefing when officials would be available to answer the questions in Grassley’s letter.
Senator Grassley’s letter to Alan Bersin, Comissioner of Customs and Border Protection, can be found here.
Jeff Muller was kidnapped from his pet foods store in Newton, New Jersey last year. The five kidnappers from Missouri thought Muller was the man who had swindled one of their friends. The only problem is that they had the wrong Jeff Muller.
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| Photo by Lake Ozark Police Department |
Fortunately, Mr. Muller was able to escape his kidnappers in Missouri when their car broke down. After his return to New Jersey, he applied for a concealed carry permit in New Jersey as, at the time, some of the kidnappers were still at large. While approved for it by the NJ State Police, he was turned down by Judge Philip Maenza. This denial is at the heart of the Second Amendment Foundation case brought challenging NJ’s concealed carry laws.
Fast forward to today. In Morris County Superior Court, Judge David Ironson denied Mr. Muller’s appeal of his permit denial saying that “failed to provide ‘proof of justifiable need’ to carry a handgun and said he should take his case to a state appeals court.” Currently, four of the five kidnappers are in jail awaiting trial in Sussex County, NJ. However, the fifth kidnapper, Roy Slates, has served his time and is now out of prison.
As Mr. Muller said:
In an interview after the hearing, Muller said he needs to carry a handgun because “there’s the potential” of the five kidnappers’ family members “coming after me to get revenge.”
“They could send anybody out after me,” Muller said, noting that “the way we live has changed” since the ordeal. “Everything’s locked,” he said.
“I think about it every day,” Muller said. “I look at everybody who comes in my store.”
If anyone has ever met the definition of “justifiable need” for the State of New Jersey to approve a concealed carry permit it is Jeff Muller.
Judge Ironson has been on the bench since 2008. Before his being named a Superior Court judge, David Ironson was a personal injury lawyer. You would think that even a pond-scum sucking ambulance chaser might recognize that the concept of “justifiable need” applied in Jeff Muller’s case.
Independence. Integrity. Fairness. Quality Service. Those words are emblazoned under the logo of the New Jersey Court system. Judge Ironson just made a mockery of at least two of them.
The NRA just sent out this release thanking Governor Terry Bransted for signing the bill the allows dove hunting in the state of Iowa. With all their grain fields, I’d wager that Iowa will be a great place for this!
Dove Hunting Ban Lifted in Iowa
Fairfax, Va. – Today, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad signed legislation into law authorizing a mourning dove hunting season. This National Rifle Association-backed legislation passed both houses of the state legislature with broad bi-partisan support despite the heavy opposition of anti-hunting groups such as the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). With this historic expansion of hunter opportunity, the Governor has further exemplified his steadfast commitment to sportsmen and gun owners.
“The time has come that Iowa’s hunters are afforded the same hunting opportunities as hunters in all six of its border states,” said Chris W. Cox, executive director for NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action. “Because of dove hunting, millions of additional dollars will now go to fund wildlife and habitat conservation in Iowa and thousands of new hunters will be recruited to the state’s fields and forests.”
Originally sponsored by state Senator Dick Dearden (D-34), and managed on the House floor by Representative Rich Arnold (R-72), SF 464 authorizes the Natural Resource Commission to add Iowa to the list of 40 other states whose conservation and local economies are benefited by recognizing this type of hunting. Doves are the most popular and abundant game bird hunted in America and there is no biological justification to continue to deny Iowans the right to hunt them if they choose to do so.
”On behalf of NRA’s 4 million members, I’d like to thank Gov. Branstad and the legislative supporters of this important bill for ensuring scientific wildlife management trumped the emotion of the opposition,” concluded Cox. “Resurrecting dove hunting in Iowa is a great step in continuing to preserve Iowa’s proud hunting heritage.”
Thanks to Rachel Parsons of the NRA for sending me this.
Mishaga v. Monken, the challenge to Illinois’s FOID Card regulation brought by the Mountain States Legal Foundation, has been reassigned from Chief District Court Judge Michael McCuskey to newly confirmed District Court Judge Sue E. Myersclough. It is a common occurance for new judges to have cases reassigned to them.
I am not sure how this will impact the case. If you will remember, back in November Judge McCuskey denied the state’s motion to dismiss the case. His decison seemed to portend good things for this case as it went to trial.
Judge Myersclough served from 1998 until her confirmation as a judge on the Illinois Appellate Court, Fourth District. From 1990 to 1998, Myersclough was a Circuit Judge for the Circuit Court of Illinois, Seventh Judicial Circuit. Both of these courts meet in Springfield. She was nominated by President Obama in July 2010 and confirmed by the Senate in February 2011. Myersclough was nominated back in 1995 by President Bill Clinton for a District Court Judgeship but was not confirmed.
Myersclough is a graduate of Southern Illinois University taking her B.A. from there in 1973 and her J.D. from its law school in 1980. According to the public questionnaire submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee, she also did graduate study at both Southern Illinois and the University of Chicago before attending law school.
As to her political leanings, she is a Democrat as would be expected. She had won a few awards from state and local Democratic committees for service over the years. She did run – but lost – for the Illinois Supreme Court back in 2002.
The important thing for us is how she would deal with Second Amendment rights. She did get a couple of questions for the record on Second Amendment issues from Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK).
From Sessions with her response:
Do you believe that the Second Amendment is an individual right or a collective right? Please explain your answer.
Response: The Supreme Court decisions in District of Columbia v. Heller, 128 S. Ct. 2783 (2008) and McDonald v. City of Chicago, 130 S. Ct. 3020 (2010) hold that the Second Amendment confers an individual right.a. What standard of scrutiny do you believe is appropriate in a Second Amendment challenge against a Federal or State gun law?
Response: In Heller and McDonald, the Supreme Court found a right under the
Second Amendment must be treated in the same manner as any fundamental right identified in the Bill of Rights. The Second Amendment right to bear arms should therefore not be treated as a “watered down right” subject to “judicial interest balancing.” See Heller, 128 S. C. at 2821; McDonald, 130 S. Ct. at 3047.
From Coburn with her response:
What limitations remain on the individual Second Amendment right now that it has been incorporated against the States?
Response: What limits remain on the Second Amendment remain open but for those limits expressly set forth by the Supreme Court as presumptively lawful regulations in District of Columbia v. Heller, 128 S. Ct. 2783 (2008). “[N]othing in our opinion should be taken to cast doubt on the longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms.” Heller, 128 S. Ct. at 2816-17.a. Is it limited only to possession of a handgun for self-defense in the home, since both Heller and McDonald involved cases of handgun possession for self-defense in the home?
Response: Both Heller and McDonald specifically found city ordinances unconstitutional that prohibited handgun possession in the home. The Supreme Court has left open for future evaluations examples of other limits on the Second Amendment. But the Supreme Court made clear that core protections are conferred by the Second Amendment. “In Heller, however, we expressly rejected the argument that the scope of the Second Amendment right should be determined by judicial interest balancing, [citation] and this Court decades ago abandoned ‘the notion that the Fourteenth Amendment applies to the States only a watereddown, subjective version of the individual guarantees of the Bill of Rights.’[Citation.]” McDonald, 130 S. Ct. at 3047.
I guess that is the best one could hope to hear from any nominee for a District Court judgeship. She does note that it is a “fundamental right”.
Now that she has taken over Mishaga, Myersclough has set the Final Pretrial Conference for December 19, 2011 and the Bench Trial is set to start January 3, 2012. I’m sure both of these dates could change over the coming months. In any event, it will be almost a year before any decision is rendered on whether the denial of Ellen Mishaga’s application for a FOID Card is unconstitutional or not.
The Connecticut General Assembly is considering SB 1094, An Act Banning Large Capacity Ammunition Magazines. This bill would not only ban any magazine with a capacity greater than 10 rounds but would give owners of these magazines 90 days within which they must turn them in to the police. Failure to do so would be a felony. There would be no grandfathering of magazines that were possessed prior to the enactment of the bill. As usual in these bans, the ban would only apply to the general public and not to law enforcement officers.
The Joint Judiciary Committee of the General Assembly held hearings yesterday on SB 1094. As reported in the Hartford Courant, the hearings drew a great number of people both for and against the bill. Unlike in the old Bill Ruger days, the current President of Ruger Firearms, Michael Fifer came out strongly against the bill. James Debney, President of the Firearms Division of Smith and Wesson, reminded the legislature of the number of jobs that could be lost if the bill passed. He made special note that the state had a number of magazine manufacturers including C Products and MecGar.
However, it is the testimony in support of the bill which contains the wild statements, willful ignorance, and hyperbole. As I noted earlier, SB 1094 does not apply to law enforcement who would continue to have standard capacity magazines.
From Bridgeport Police Chief Joseph Gaudett:
Just as you correctly realized there is NO REASON for the general public to possess Assault Weapons, that same basic logic must be applied to the large capacity magazines.
There is no reason whatsoever that hunters or sportsmen or collectors or the public at large should have large capacity magazines. Their purpose is singular and deadly, and makes no sense at all for general public use.
From State Senator Gary LeBeau, Deputy President Pro Tempore of the Senate:
High capacity magazines are designed to enable shooting mass numbers of people quickly and efficiently without reloading. They have been used in numerous mass shootings, including Tucson, Virginia Tech, Fort Hood, Columbine and last summer, Manchester, Connecticut. These high capacity magazines are simply not useful for hunting or self-defense
And from the mayors of Bridgeport (Bill Finch), Hartford (Pedro Segarra), and New Haven (John DeStefano) comes this screed. I should note that all three are members of Mayor Bloomberg’s Illegal Mayors group.
Large capacity ammunition magazines are designed to enable shooting mass numbers of people quickly and efficiently without reloading.
As our work is not done, we must continue our efforts to keep these high-capacity magazines out of the hands of the general public.
The two phrases that come up continually in their testimony are “general public” and “enable shooting mass numbers of people”. When they say “general public”, it tells me the political class – and I add the police chief in this category – does not trust the people of their state. A political class that has so little respect for the people needs to be replaced.
The “enable shooting mass numbers of people” is just hyperbole and willful ignorance. It is right up there with saying a standard capacity magazine is not needed for self-defense because the only reason you need more is that you can’t shoot straight. If that was the case, then why do trained law enforcement officers need standard capacity magazines? Presumably they are trained and must pass marksmanship qualifications on a regular basis.
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