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More Than A High Priced Toy

December 2, 2011 by 6 Comments

I received a press release the other day for a new thermal imaging weapon sight released for the civilian market by ATN. Given the MSRP of $6,599, I at first thought this was a bit much even for the most ardent mall ninja. Then I started thinking about it.

For the average person, it is a bit much. However, for a farmer who loses thousands of dollars in an evening to crop damage by feral hogs, it might be worth its weight in gold. Given that it doesn’t need available light to work nor is the image altered by ground fog, it would allow the farmer to see and shoot the feral hogs in all conditions. So long as the state allows night hunting for feral hogs – or coyotes in the case of livestock ranchers – this plus a suppressed rifle could be just the tool needed to take out that sounder of hogs eating his crops.

I would think contractors who have a crop depredation permit and provide their services to farmers could pay for this in short order from their increased effectiveness.

Of course, if you are just planning for the Zombie Apocalypse and want the ultimate night scope, this might be it. However, I’m unsure about the thermal signature of the living dead so you just might want to stay with your normal red dot sight.

Details on the ATN ThOR-320 Thermal Imaging Weapon Sight from the press release:

South San Francisco, CA – American Technologies Network, makers of military, law enforcement, security and outdoor night vision and thermal applications, is introducing the latest product in their ThOR series of thermal optical rifle scopes; the ATN ThOR-320. The ATN ThOR series of thermal imaging scopes are based on the same 320 x 240 high resolution microbolometer core technology used by the US Military and law enforcement agencies. The new ATN ThOR-320 is the smallest, most compact and lightweight in the ThOR series. The ThOR-320 uses forward-looking infrared (FLIR) that detects heat to create the visible image. The ThOR-320 provides extremely clear images through total darkness, fog or smoke. Nothing affects the sensitivity of these mini scopes, neither darkness, camouflage nor bright lights.

The ATN ThOR-320 is available in three different optical powers to suit the mission; 1x, 2x or 3x. The digital zoom option doubles the magnification. The ATN ThOR-320 thermal imaging sight is easy to use with digital controls and menu buttons that provide the user with a variety of aiming reticles, allow for the change in polarity and adjustment of image brightness of optimal image view. The scope also comes with precision digital windage and elevation adjustments and a MIL-STD-1913 Picatinny Rail quick release mount. The multipurpose ThOR-320 can also be converted into a compact handheld viewer by removing the mount and adding a hand-strap (included).

ATN ThOR-320 Features:
• 320 x 240 resolution
• Uncooled VOx Microbolometer technology
• 800 x 600 OLED display
• High resolution OLED Microdisplay
• Available in 30hz Fast Image frame rate and 60hz Enhanced Image frame rate
• Easy to use digital controls
• Interchangeable reticle patterns with push of the button
• Digital brightness control
• Video output
• Precision digital windage and elevation adjustments
• Rapid start up in 3 seconds
• Up to 6 hours of operation with two 3V lithium batteries
• Quick release Picatinny mounting system
• One-Year Warranty
• MSRP $6,599.00 for the ThOR 320-2x

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Castle Doctrine Comes To North Carolina

December 1, 2011 by 3 Comments

The provisions of the omnibus firearms bill, HB 650, passed by the North Carolina General Assembly and signed by Gov. Bev Perdue earlier this year go into effect today.

This means that as of today, North Carolina has a castle doctrine that extends to not only to your home but to your vehicle and to your business. Moreover, if you are a visitor to North Carolina and you have a concealed carry permit from ANY state, it is honored here.

Sean at An NC Gun Blog has probably the best summary of all the provisions of the bill and it can be found here.

Just because we now have the castle doctrine doesn’t mean the fight for gun rights is won in North Carolina.

The right to carry in eating establishments and restaurants that serve alcohol (HB 111) has passed the House but not the Senate. It appears that the Republican leadership of the State Senate is dragging its feet on this one. The rumor is that they saw the results of some poorly worded opinion poll showing voters against it. The one word I’d have for the wavering senators is Lubys.

Carry in state, municipal, and county parks is now legal except for athletic facilities. The problem has come in how many towns and cities are broadly defining athletic facilities to include virtually the entire park including walking trails, greenways, and lakes. I’m afraid it is going to take a court challenge to cities such as Winston-Salem who have passed such broad ordinances to force cities to comply with both the letter and spirit of the law.

Nonetheless, this is a new day for North Carolina and those who worked so hard for so many years should be proud of what they have accomplished.

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No Retaliation Against Whistleblowers? Sure There Wasn’t

November 30, 2011 by

William LaJeunesse of FoxNews reports today on the lives of those brave ATF agents who stood up and told the truth. He compares it with what happened to managers like Newell, Voth, McMahon, and Melson. It isn’t pretty.

The managers either got promotions or supposedly lateral transfers with paid moving expenses plus the cost of living bonus that comes with being assigned to Washington, DC and headquarters. The agents?

  • Agent Larry Alt took a transfer to Florida and has unresolved retaliation claims against the ATF.
  • Agent Pete Forcelli was demoted to a desk job. Forcelli is a respected investigator, with years as a detective with the New York City Police Department. He has requested an internal investigation to address the retaliation against him.
  • Agent James Casa also took a transfer to Florida.
  • Agent Carlos Canino, once the deputy attache in Mexico City, was moved to Tucson.
  • Agent Jose Wall, formerly assigned to Tijuana, was moved to Phoenix.
  • Agent Darren Gil, formerly the attache to Mexico, retired.

Perhaps the most courageous of all the whistleblowers is Senior Agent John Dodson. He was the first to come out publicly, the first to agree to have his name mentioned, and the first to go on-air with Sharyl Attkisson of CBS without a hidden identity. As might be expected given the management culture of ATF, Dodson’s life since then has been hell.

Dodson was told he was toxic and could no longer work in Phoenix. With sole custody of two teenagers and under water on his house mortgage, Dodson found himself with no place to be and nowhere to go.

A supervisor suggested he’d be treated fairly at an office in South Carolina. Wanting to keep his job, protect his pension and pay the mortgage, Dodson had no other choice. He and his family now live in a small apartment, facing financial troubles, still labeled persona non grata by the very agency he carries a badge for, and regularly assaulted by leaks from “ATF sources at headquarters.”

This was after he moved his family from Virginia to take the Phoenix position. Before his transfer to South Carolina, managers openly retaliated against Dodson by giving him the worst duty and even going so far as to turn off his building badge.

If there was a fund to help Agent Dodson get through this period, I’d donate in a heartbeat. If there isn’t a fund, there should be one. Moreover, in an entirely just world, Bill Newell and David Voth would be Federal inmates and their assets sold so as to compensate the victims of Project Gunwalker.

Watch the latest video at <a href=”http://video.foxnews.com”>video.foxnews.com</a>

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These Students Understand

November 30, 2011 by 1 Comment

The Complementary Spouse’s nephew, Aaron Elam, is a freshman at the University of Kentucky. As part of a team project for an English class, he and his team submitted the video below arguing for concealed carry on campus. I think they not only did a good job but they understand just how defenseless they really are in so-called gun-free zones.

Congratulations to Aaron and the rest of his team for a job well done. Feel free to pass this video on as part of their assignment is to distribute it. Let’s see if it can go viral.

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Operation Fast And Furious Has Kept The Numbers Game Alive

November 30, 2011 by

Ginny Simone of NRA News interviewed Ed Head yesterday about the varying estimates of firearms that have been traced from the United States to Mexico. Head, who is currently the rangemaster and an instructor at Gunsite Academy, was a Field Operations Supervisor with the Border Patrol prior to his retirement in 2001.

Head made the point that just because a firearm is “sourced” to the United States does not mean it entered Mexico illegally. He pointed out that the United States sells weapons to the Mexican Army along with those of a number of other Central American nations. Head pointed out that many American-made weapons in the hands of the cartels are being stolen or diverted from the Mexican Army. Moreover, other weapons in the cartel’s hands were legally sent to the militaries of such Central American countries as Guatemala. To blame border state gun dealers for this is wrong, Head said.

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“You Guys Are Behind It” – Attorney General Eric Holder

November 30, 2011 by

In a scene reminiscent of the Nixon Administration during the Watergate Scandal, Attorney General Eric Holder lashed out at a reporter for The Daily Caller. The reporter asked Holder for his response to the growing calls in Congress for his resignation over his role in Operation Fast and Furious. Holder’s response?

Holder was at the White House to help launch the Intellectual Property Theft Campaign when he made his demand that The Daily Caller stop running articles about members of Congress asking for Holder’s resignation.

Methinks the pressure is starting to get to the “cool guys” in the Obama Administration.

UPDATE: The Joyce Foundation funded hacks at Media Matters are applauding Holder’s response to the reporter from The Daily Caller.

Either way, Holder is right: This isn’t a grassroots movement of conservatives calling for Holder to step down, it’s a concerted effort by a supposed media organization to push him out.

This reminds me of Baghdad Bob – Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf – who would insist that Saddam’s army was winning as American tanks were rolling into the city. There are plenty of us in the grassroots who would like to see Holder gone. The reason the hacks at Media Matters don’t recognize it is they don’t know what real grass looks like. All they know is Astro-Turf.

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Sen. Chuck Grassley: Facts Are Stubborn Things

November 30, 2011 by

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is taking exception to statements made by Attorney General Eric Holder and his apologists who are saying mistakes made during Operation Fast and Furious did not directly lead to the death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. In a release sent out today by his office, he says:

Setting the Record Straight on the Department of Justice Oversight Hearing

“Facts are STUBBORN Things”
“…and whatever our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” – John Adams, December 1770

Senate Judiciary Committee Oversight Hearing with Attorney General Eric Holder, Nov. 8, 2011

Connection Between Fast and Furious and Agent Terry’s Death

Attorney General Holder to Senator Cornyn: “It is not fair, however, to assume that the mistakes that happened in Fast and Furious led directly to the death of Agent Terry.”

FACT
According to the FBI, two weapons were found at the murder scene of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. The bullet removed from Agent Terry matched the caliber of those two weapons, not the caliber of the weapons in possession of the Border Patrol agents, so it appears he did not die from friendly fire. Congressional investigators have asked the FBI to explain its theory of the case, since if there was no third gun at the scene and the bullet didn’t come from the Border Patrol, there must still be an unknown third gun which law enforcement has not yet recovered. It is possible that that third gun is not related to Fast and Furious. However, since two guns walked in Fast and Furious were present, it is possible that a third may have been as well. The two found at the scene were both part of a lot of three weapons purchased by known straw buyer Jaime Avila on the same day in January 2010.

Prior to the purchase of the weapons found at the Terry murder scene, Avila had already been identified by the ATF as a likely straw purchaser at least two-and-a-half months earlier. In November 2009 Uriel Patino, the largest purchasing target in Operation Fast and Furious, brought Avila into a cooperating gun dealer to buy five weapons. ATF received real-time notice from the gun dealer and knew the purchases were significant enough that agents rushed to the store to follow them. However, they arrived too late. Yet rather than going to Avila’s address to question him, ATF opted to sit back. Avila continued to purchase through December 2009 and into January 2010.

When the weapons found at the Terry murder scene were bought by Avila on January 16, 2010, the cooperating gun dealer gave the ATF same-day notice via fax. One business day later, the ATF entered the purchases in their Suspect Gun Database. Nevertheless, the ATF still failed to question Avila the day of the purchase, the day the purchase was entered into the Suspect Gun Database—or at all, until Avila was arrested 11 months later in direct response to Agent Terry’s death. The falsification of forms charge for which Avila was arrested on December 15 could have been made months earlier.

Regardless, by using the word ‘directly,’ Holder seems to be echoing the statement of Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer: “The tragic truth is that if those criminals who killed Agent Terry had not gotten the guns from this one source, they would have gotten the gun from another source.” That is hardly an excuse for federal law enforcement to watch criminals collect more than a thousand firearms without acting to stop them.

 The link to all the supporting documents can be found here.

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Supreme Court Says No To Sean Masciandaro’s Appeal

November 29, 2011 by 10 Comments

In their orders released today, the Supreme Court denied Sean Masciandaro’s writ of certiorari without any comment. He had appealed to the Supreme Court from the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals which had punted the case.

Mr. Masciandaro was originally convicted of possessing a firearm on National Park Service property when he had stopped to take a nap before continuing his drive home. At the time of his arrest this was illegal but the law changed before he went to trial. Nonetheless, under existing precedent, this was valid even though it was no longer illegal.

As the Christian Science Monitor noted about this denial of certiorari:

Lawyers for a Virginia man had asked the justices to examine a question left largely unresolved in the high court’s two prior landmark rulings identifying the scope and substance of Second Amendment protections. The question is: Does the Second Amendment guarantee a right to bear arms in public for personal protection?

The court dismissed the case in a one-line order without comment. The action leaves lower court rulings intact and postpones the prospect of high court clarification on a key gun rights issue.

On one hand, I am sorry that the Supreme Court did not take this opportunity to clarify their rulings in Heller and McDonald. On the other hand, this opens the door for the Supreme Court to consider some of the cleaner cases working their way through the lowers courts.

By cleaner I mean ones that do not involve a criminal conviction but rather deal with the denial of permits or state laws that deal with carry. Some of these better cases include Woollard v. Sheridan in Maryland, Bateman v. Perdue in North Carolina, and  Kachalsky v. Cacace in New York. These three, I should note, are all Second Amendment Foundation cases with Alan Gura as the lead attorney.

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NRA’s Illinois Rep On “Snuffy” Pfleger

November 28, 2011 by

Todd Vandermyde, the NRA-ILA representative for the state of Illinois, was interviewed by Cam Edwards of NRA News on Fr. Michael “Snuffy” Pfleger’s recent press conference objecting to concealed carry in Illinois. As Vandermyde said, things are getting tough even in Illinois for the gun prohibitionists if they have to trot out Fr. Pfleger for a press conference during Thanksgiving Week.

As to the why he is called Snuffy, Fr. Pfleger called for snuffing out gun dealers in the Chicago area a few years ago. He, of course, denies he meant for any harm to come to them.

Pfleger’s sacramental faculties – the right to celebrate Mass, consecrate the Eucharist, etc. – were suspended earlier this year by Francis Cardinal George of the Chicago Archdiocese. It is my understanding that Pfleger is now back in the good graces of the Church after making his amends with Cardinal George.