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Lighting The Man Cave

March 3, 2012 by 4 Comments

You’ve retreated to the man cave. You can’t take any more of the garbage that passes for entertainment on TV nowadays and have decided to read a good book. But a cave being a cave, it needs some lighting as it gets to be bothersome using night-vision goggles for reading.

Fortunately, a company called Tactical Lamp Worx has the solution. Since not just any lamp will do for the man cave they have created lamps out of AR-15 parts.

 

All the lamps are custom-made. The prices begin at $400 but you can lower the price somewhat by providing some of your own parts. While not cheap, I’m guessing this would comparable to what you would pay for a “designer” lamp. I doubt anyone else will ever have a lamp just like yours.

I love the motto of Tactical Lamp Worx – Pissing off liberals, one lamp at a time!

H/T Soldiers Systems

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More “Insurrectionists” Than I Imagined -#EFAD Is Number Two

March 2, 2012 by 4 Comments

The favorite epithet that the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (sic) and their leaders love to throw at gunnies is “insurrectionist”. It doesn’t matter which end of the political spectrum you are on, if you believe the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to keep and bear arms then you are labeled an “insurrectionist”.

Imagine their consternation to see that the number two book on the Top 100 Free Kindle books is none other than Matthew Bracken’s Enemies Foreign and Domestic. That is because in their worldview this is one of the classic insurrectionist novels for its portrayal of an out-of-control ATF and the armed response from Ranya Bardiwell, Brad Fallon, and friends. It ranks right up there with John Ross’ Unintended Consequences as subversive literature in their narrow-minded opinion.

Matthew Bracken is making this book available for free in Kindle format until March 5th. Frankly, he is hoping the attention given the book will start a discussion and has penned an essay called “Gangster Government, and Sakarov’s Immunity” that should serve as a basis for discussion. I would suggest downloading that as well.

I have all three books in Bracken’s EFAD triology and I paid full price. You can get the first volume for free if you go to Amazon.com and download it. Here is the link to make it even easier.

I’ve been re-reading it today and I had forgotten how engrossing the book really is. It will keep you hooked. Now pass on the link to friends and family and encourage them to download it so we can continue irritating Josh, Ladd, and others of their ilk.

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Astroturfing In Syracuse?

March 2, 2012 by

A letter appeared in the Syracuse (NY) Post-Standard’s Opinion Blog Reader’s Page today concerning Operation Fast and Furious. The letter was signed by a “J. Wagner” of Solvay, New York which is a suburb of Syracuse. The letter accused the Republicans of being hypocrites and said Obama inherited Operation Fast and Furious from George W. Bush.

To the Editor:

The Grand Old Party should change its name to the Grand Old Party of Hypocrisy, and I was a Republican.

The Grand Old Party’s attack on Operation Fast and Furious shows their hypocrisy. It was started by George W. Bush and his attorney general as Operation Rolling Thunder. Every Republican on the hill supported it. They don’t want the hard-core supporters to know they started it. The Republicans and their attorney general are responsible for Fast and Furious; Obama inherited it, just like the war, the bad economy and the cost of the two wars they didn’t carry on the books.

I was a registered Republican for 40 years; no more. I’m changing my registration to Independent.

Operation Rolling Thunder? Even Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) and the Minority on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee never found an “Operation Rolling Thunder” in their attempt to blame gunwalking on the Bush Administration. The only Operation Rolling Thunder than I am familiar with is the bombing campaign over North Vietnam during the 1960s. A Internet search finds the local law enforcement agencies in Syracuse did have a program called Rolling Thunder that was aimed at area criminals with open warrants for their arrest.

As to whether “J. Wagner” is really a Republican, I don’t know. However, he or she does have a number of letters to the editor over the past year that were scathing in their condemnation of Republicans. For example in a letter from June 2011, he or she says “I’m sick of the Republicans in Congress lying about the president’s stimulus plan.” In another letter from August 2011, he or she says “The GOP wants to destroy our democracy and replace it with a country run by oligarchs, like the Koch brothers.” Finally, in a letter from March 2011, he or she writes “If you voted Republican, you have no business complaining about gas prices. You got what you voted for.”

I’m sorry but these are not the statements one would make if he or she were really a “registered Republican for 40 years” as J. Wagner claims. It makes you wonder if the Carrier Dome is missing some of its Astroturf.

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Quote Of The Day No. 2

March 2, 2012 by

Bob Owens has a good point. You’d think that organizations who are ostensibly dedicated to ending “gun violence” would be leading the charge against Operation Fast and Furious. After all, it was a gun running scheme that has lead to hundreds of dead Mexicans and at least two Federal law enforcement officers. If that doesn’t meet the definition of “gun violence”, then what does.

I’ll let Bob continue from here.

Both CSGV and Brady claim to be organizations dedicated to stamping out gun violence, but a search of both of their web sites show that neither seems to have the slightest problem with Operation Fast and Furious. The gun-walking plot is the deadliest political scandal in American political and Presidential history, costing the lives of 300+ Mexican nationals and only came to light after three U.S. federal agents were gunned down using walked weapons from separate gun-walking operations in Arizona and Texas.

If the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence and the Brady Campaign really represented sincere efforts to end gun violence, then they should have been two of the organizations leading the charge for accountability here. Brady and CSGV should wage a public relations war, helping the House and Senate investigators, and demanding answers and accountability from the Obama Administration…

These organizations remain graveyard silent as the bodies continue to fall. Far from fighting gun violence, they use their silence to enable it.

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And In Local News…

March 1, 2012 by 3 Comments

Cities and counties in North Carolina have been trying to evade the changes wrought by the General Assembly since it passed HB 650. Particularly, they are bent out of shape over not being allowed to prohibit concealed carry by legal concealed carry permit holders in parks with the exception of clearly defined recreational facilities. Those include specifically “a playground, an athletic field, a swimming pool, and an athletic facility.”

Now the debate has come to the Town of Waynesville or, to paraphrase SayUncle, The Town (My The Town).

Town leaders including Mayor Gavin Brown and Town Manager Lee Galloway are working to amend Waynesville’s ordinance that prohibits concealed carry in all parks to one that would only ban it in recreational facilities.

The law passed last year prevents concealed guns from being carried in recreational and athletic facilities and schools. And, under the law, weapons are legally allowed in some formerly prohibited places such as bars and state parks. While the state tried to be specific where guns are banned, however, the verbiage is ambiguous in some respects.

“There are a lot of questions in our mind, ‘what is an athletic facility? Is a dog park an athletic facility?’” said Town Manager Lee Galloway during a meeting with town leaders earlier this month.

The town’s recreation center on Vance Street and the nearby baseball and soccer fields could be classified as athletic facilities and still ban weapons. The dog park, which is completely surrounded by athletic facilities, would also remain gun free.

With all due respect to Lee Galloway whom I’ve known well and liked for many a year, I don’t think a dog park was exactly what the General Assembly meant by a “recreational facility” nor do I think “greenways” were included as the title of the article suggests.

The article by reporter Caitlin Bowling of the Smoky Mountain News (a free paper) contains many errors including saying that HB 650 allowed firearms in bars and that the law “prevents concealed guns from being carried in recreational and athletic facilities and schools.” Concealed carry in eating establishments and restaurants (HB 111) has passed the State House but still not the State Senate. Moreover, HB 650 allows but does not mandate that concealed carry be prohibited in recreational facilities. As to schools, it was never on the agenda.

The Town Attorney has been instructed by the Mayor “to draft an ordinance even though a likely court battle over the legislation would leave a final outcome up in the air.” The court battle referred to seems to be an anticipated challenge by cities and counties to Section 21 of HB 650. Given that North Carolina state law preempts cities and counties from enacting their own firearms regulations, I don’t think it will go far.

The most telling point of the debate comes from Police Chief Bill Hollingshed when asked if there had been any problems with those Concealed Handgun Permits.

Police Chief Bill Hollingsed said he could not find incidents involving a permitted carrier using a gun at a sporting event or in a park.

“I can’t say that we have a big problem with this; we can’t find any city in the state that has a problem with this,” Hollingsed said.

The people that the town and police need to be concerned about are those who do not have permits but carry a weapon anyway, the town board agreed. The law will not prevent that individual from committing a crime.

“You worry about the people who are going to carry a concealed weapon no matter what the law is,” Hollingsed said.

I think Chief Hollingshed has the correct perspective on the matter. Moreover, given that there have been no problems with those of us with Concealed Handgun Permits, I think the Town of Waynesville Aldermen would do well to do like the City of Hickory and not put any additional restrictions in place.

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Quote Of The Day

March 1, 2012 by 1 Comment

The quote of the day comes from Jim Shepherd of The Outdoor Wire. As I noted a while back, Dan Richards, President of the California Fish and Game Commission, is the target of a jihad by Humane Society US for his successful mountain lion hunt in Idaho. Now they have gotten 40 Democrats in the State Assembly to join in their call for his resignation.

Forty legislators (all Democrats) have sent Walters a letter telling him he should resign. The letter says “Your actions raise serious questions about whether you respect the laws of the people of California, and whether you are fit to adequately enforce those laws.”

Seriously, guys, are you serious? This is the same gang of legislators that has effectively run California’s finances into the ground while passing enough dopey feel-good, eyewash legislation to keep succeeding legislators (and litigators) busy for the next millennium trying to restore some sort of fiscal sanity.

The photo that started a firestorm. Courtesy Western Outdoor News.
But Richards’ trip to another Idaho has, as they say, “offended the sensibilities” of these forty moral stackpoles of the people.

Remember, the hunt was completely legal.

I’m certain they’ve also called for the resignation of all the members of the State Assembly who have ever traveled to Las Vegas or Reno to go gambling (or gamboling with the occasional lady or gentleman of the evening). Not to mention the legislator who said she had a brain tumor that made her shoplift, or the Lieutenant Governor who had a little error in his personal moral compass.

If the same standard of scrutiny this gang of 40 moral compasses applied to Richards, a guy who went hunting-legally, were applied to the all government officials, the Assembly of California (and most others) would dismiss for the lack of a quorum (not to be confused with a Quram – we wouldn’t want to offend anyone).

What is that old saying about people in glass houses and rock…

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Committee Hearings Today On HR 4089 – Sportsman’s Heritage Act Of 2012

February 29, 2012 by 2 Comments

The House Natural Resources Committee is holding hearings today on H.R. 4089, the Sportman’s Heritage Act. Included in the bill are significant protections for access to Federally-owned public land for the purposes of recreational shooting.

The NSSF is asking people to contact the committee and urge the passage of this bill out of committee.

The U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources is expected to vote later TODAY on the “Sportsmen’s Heritage Act of 2012″ (H.R. 4089).

The bill combines four legislative priorities that will expand recreational hunting, shooting and fishing opportunities while also protecting the firearms and ammunition industries from detrimental regulations under the Environmental Protection Agency.

NSSF urges that you call the House Natural Resources Committee IMMEDIATELY and urge members of the committee to support H.R. 4089. Call the Republican Committee Staff at 202-225-2761. Call the Democrat Committee Staff at 202-225-6065. Readers can also help by sharing this blog post on Twitter, Facebook and other social media outlets.

Included in H.R. 4089 is the Hunting, Fishing, and Recreational Shooting Protection Act, which is the firearms industry’s top legislative priority. The bill amends the Toxic Substances Control Act to clarify the original intent of Congress to exclude traditional ammunition with lead components from regulation by the EPA, and also excludes fishing tackle from the EPA’s jurisdiction. The bill is a response to anti-hunting and fishing organizations, as well as extreme environmental groups, that are actively seeking to ban these products even though wildlife populations have not been negatively impacted by their use. Banning traditional ammunition will drive the cost of ammunition up by as much as 190 percent and curtail wildlife conservation funding supported by the sale of ammunition. For more information about the critical importance of this bill, click here.

H.R. 4089 includes other key legislative priorities of the sportsmen’s community:

The Recreational Fishing and Hunting Heritage Opportunities Act, which requires federal land managers to support and facilitate use and access for hunting, fishing and recreational shooting.
The Recreational Shooting Protection Act, which requires National Monument land to be open to access and use for recreational shooting.
The Polar Bear Conservation and Fairness Act, which will allow the importation of polar bear parts taken in a sport hunt in Canada, if legally harvested before certain dates.

In addition to calling the staff on both sides of the House Natural Resources Committee, it is important that you also call your Congressman/woman (202-224-3121) to urge them to support H.R. 4089.

My congressman, Rep. Heath Shuler (D-NC-11), is one of the co-sponsors of the bill. While there are a number of things I disagree with Heath about, he has always stood solid on Second Amendment issues as well as hunting and fishing. He is not going to seek reelection and I just hope the Republican contenders will be as solid on the Second Amendment as he has been.

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So Absurd I Don’t Know Where To Start

February 28, 2012 by 3 Comments

Yesterday afternoon, Edward McClelland, the Ward Room blogger for NBC Chicago, had a post entitled “Let’s Follow the Entire Second Amendment.” The post was so absurd, I really don’t know where to begin.

McClelland starts by attacking what he calls Second Amendment Absolutists.

Frequently, I hear gun owners describe themselves as “Second Amendment Absolutists.” By this, they mean they should be able to own any gun they want — a potato gun, a .22-caliber pistol, an elephant gun, a bazooka — and take it anywhere they want, hidden inside their pants. As justification, they point to a clause in the Second Amendment, declaring “the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

McClelland says “Second Amendment Absolutists” cited this language in the McDonald case and in the suits against the State of Illinois concerning concealed carry. He accuses gun rights supporters of ignoring the complete language of the Second Amendment by leaving out the prefatory clause, “A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state”, regularly. He then goes on to state his understanding (or misunderstanding) of the Second Amendment.

As I read it, the amendment guarantees Americans the right to keep and bear arms so they can form a militia. Yet very few Second Amendment Absolutists belong to militias, or even look as though they’re in shape for combat.

He then takes this a step further and makes a proposal to Gov. Pat Quinn and Attorney General Lisa Madigan regarding carry laws in the State of Illinois.

if the Second Amendment Absolutists are going to hold you to the second half of the Second Amendment, hold them to the first half: tell them they can carry any gun they want, anywhere they want, as long as they join the state’s militia, the Illinois National Guard. It would require one weekend a month of training, plus the possibility of active duty if the United States becomes involved in a war.

McClelland undoubtedly thinks he is being smart. Or a smart ass. He even calls it a win-win for the State of Illinois as the “National Guard could solve both its manpower shortage and its firepower shortage. The new recruits would all bring their own guns. “
Of course, he ignores 10 USC § 311 which defines the militia – both organized and unorganized.

(a) The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard.
(b) The classes of the militia are—
(1) the organized militia, which consists of the National Guard and the Naval Militia; and
(2) the unorganized militia, which consists of the members of the militia who are not members of the National Guard or the Naval Militia.

It also ignores the holding of the majority in District of Columbia v. Heller which found that the Second Amendment was an individual right and that the prefatory clause neither limited nor expanded the right in the operative clause.

Held:
1. The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a
firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for
traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.
Pp. 2–53.
(a) The Amendment’s prefatory clause announces a purpose, but
does not limit or expand the scope of the second part, the operative
clause. The operative clause’s text and history demonstrate that it
connotes an individual right to keep and bear arms. Pp. 2–22.

Fortunately, these is not one comment to the entire post that agrees with McClelland’s so-called interpretation of the Second Amendment. Yet, I can imagine some people who do read it will be shaking their heads in agreement and that is sad.

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Glock Is First Gold Level Sponsor Of SAF

February 27, 2012 by

Glock, Inc. has stepped up and become the first Gold Level Sponsor in the Second Amendment Foundation’s corporate sponsorship program. Unlike the Joyce Foundation who continues to throw their money away on the gun prohibitionists, Glock’s money is going to an organization that is actually winning. Of course VPC (and others) will be quick to call this “blood money” but I think Alan Gottlieb will be equally as quick to just laugh in their face over that claim.

From the SAF news release:

GLOCK FIRST GOLD LEVEL SPONSOR IN NEW SAF CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM

For Immediate Release: 2/24/2012

BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation today announced that Glock, Inc. has joined the SAF’s new corporate sponsorship program at the Gold level. Glock’s continuing support of the Second Amendment Foundation and of SAF’s on-going litigation efforts in defense of firearms civil rights is rapidly becoming legendary.

SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb made the announcement, noting that Glock remains the largest corporate contributor to the Foundation – largely in recognition of the important legal efforts SAF has mounted and will continue to pursue.

“The generosity and dedication of management and ownership at Glock continue to impress me, and I want to thank them and all the Glock employees who make our partnership with Glock possible,” said Gottlieb.

“SAF’s victory in McDonald v. Chicago opened up many legal opportunities for us to move forward against a wide variety of unreasonable and often unconstitutional limits on firearms rights,” he continued, “and we must continue to expand our legal challenges with all possible speed. The substantial support of our corporate sponsors significantly broadens our ability to respond quickly and effectively to legal opportunity.”

“Glock’s latest support comes at an important time,” Gottlieb added. “Most of our members and supporters make contributions in the $10 to $25 range, and Glock’s significant additional support as a sponsor makes a major difference in our efforts to win back firearms freedoms one lawsuit at a time.”

Gottlieb urged SAF supporters and all Americans who are concerned about firearms freedoms to support Glock and other companies that support their Second Amendment rights.

“There are times in the history of any movement, and in the lives of every person, when it is important to stand up and be counted,” Gottlieb said. “Glock has, more than once, stepped up to the plate when it really does count, and we will be eternally grateful for their generosity and their unwavering dedication to the Second Amendment.”