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ANZAC Day

April 25, 2011 by 1 Comment

April 25th is ANZAC Day. The day is a national day of rememberance in both Australia and New Zealand. It commemorates the sacrifice of the Australia New Zealand Army Corps in the Battle of Gallipoli during World War I. The date of April 25th stems from the day the battle began in 1915.

ANZAC Day is considered the most important national occasion in both countries. It is like Memorial Day and Veterans Days rolled into one and celebrated with greater reverence than either is in the United States.

The day starts with a Dawn Service to mark the time of day that the Australian and New Zealand soldiers landed on Gallipoli. A Day Ceremony is held with marches, laying of wreathes, prayers, and a bugler play The Last Post (similar in composition to Taps). Families then traditionally put red poppies on the graves of those lost in battle.

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Comparison Of Them And Us

April 24, 2011 by 3 Comments

The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence lives for hyperbole. This afternoon they posted the following:

CSGV
PHOTOS of large Heeding God’s Call protest in front of Mike & Kate Sport’s Shop in Philly. #PA #politics #faith #peace http://fb.me/MdC2SsLF

Being the skeptical sort, I looked up the “large Heeding God’s Call protest” from yesterday. By my count, they have about 35 people standing out in front of Mike & Kate’s Sports Shop blocking the entrance.The rest of the pictures can be found here.

If that is large, what would they consider the picture below from ISRA’s IGOLD Day.

Courtesy of Days of our Trailers.

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95 Years Ago Today

April 24, 2011 by 1 Comment
 

95 years ago today, in what has become known as the Easter Rising, the Irish Republican Brotherhood, the Irish Citizens Army, and the Irish Volunteers occupied key buildings and locations in Dublin. These included the GPO (General Post Office), the Four Courts, St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin City Hall, and other locations. However, they failed to capture the center of British rule, Dublin Castle, despite an attack on it.

While the British were caught by surprise by the Easter Rising, they regrouped and crushed it over the next few days. Patrick Pearse, who was acting commander at the GPO, ordered a surrender on Saturday, April 29th. The remaining rebel held locations surrendered as well.

Between May 3rd and May 12th, the seven men who had signed the proclamation of the Irish Republic were executed by British firing squads along with another 8 Irish republicans. Another 1480 men were interned in England and Wales until December 1916. These internment camps became known as the University of Revolution as many of those interned would later become leading figures in the Irish War of Independence (1919-1921).

The Easter Rising was a premature act met with ambivalence – and even hostility – by many Irishmen. The over-reaction of the British government after the rebellion was crushed helped to swing the public mood in Ireland from ambivalence and hostility towards the Easter Rising to increased support for Irish Nationalism. The Irish Free State came into existence in 1922 after the Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed to end the hostilities of the Irish War of Independence. Thus, the proclamation of an Irish Republic in the Easter Rising did lead to the establishment of an independent Ireland.

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Quote Of The Day

April 23, 2011 by 2 Comments

Wildfires have raged around the state of Texas for weeks now. It is estimated that these fires have burned over 1.8 million acres of land.

One of the hardest hit spots in terms of homes lost is the weekend and resort community of Possum Kingdom Lake west of Forth Worth. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that 159 house and 2 churches have burned in this fire. Residents have been told during the last week to pack those things they want to save in their cars because of the speed with which the fire has moved.

From this order to pack what you want to save comes the quote of the day.

“We’re in Texas, so we pack guns and knives,” said Ted Lewellen, a real-estate agent.

God Bless Texas!

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NSSF On Threat Of Mexican Lawsuit

April 22, 2011 by 1 Comment

The National Shooting Sports Foundation responded to reports that the Mexican government will seek to sue American gun manufacturers for the violence in Mexico. The NSSF says, in essence, not so fast amigo – but politely. They remind President Calderon that the overwhelming majority of the firearms seized in Mexico do not come from the United States.

This week a Mexican official confirmed that President Felipe Calderon’s government has hired U.S. trial lawyers to investigate possible litigation against U.S. gun manufacturers and firearms retailers, seeking to hold these lawful companies responsible for the criminal misuse of firearms in Mexico. Though the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, signed into law in 2005 by then President George W. Bush, prevents such frivolous lawsuits, the mere threat demands a response.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the trade association for the firearms industry, respects the work of President Calderon to willingly take on his country’s powerful drug cartels; however, we are disappointed that he would seek to hold law-abiding American companies responsible for crime in Mexico. This is especially troubling given investigative reports that show more than 80 percent of the firearms recovered in Mexico do not come from the United States. The most recent of these reports, from the independent research group STRATFOR, determined that less than 12 percent of the guns Mexico seized in 2008 came from the United States.

Furthermore, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), firearms traced in Mexico were originally sold at retail not recently, but, on average, 14 years earlier. This is completely inconsistent with any notion that a flood of newly purchased firearms are being illegally smuggled over the border. And let’s not forget that no retail firearm sale can be made in the U.S. until after an FBI criminal background check of the purchaser has been completed.

Exacerbating misconceptions about the firearms used by Mexican drug cartels, even mainstream publications such as the Washington Post, repeat erroneous information. For example, in today’s editorial the paper stated that Mexican drug cartels are “snapping up the military-style machine guns available in U.S. gun shops.” The fact is that machine guns are heavily regulated and virtually never sold at retail in the United States.

Still, in response to concerns over the violence in Mexico, ATF conducted more than 2,000 inspections of firearms dealers along the border. The result? Not a single dealer was charged with committing any crime and only two (or 0.01%) had their licenses revoked for unknown reasons that could have nothing to do with the cartels illegally obtaining firearms from retailers in the United States.

While these ATF inspections were clearing the law-abiding retailers’ good names, which were being smeared by many in the mainstream press and anti-gun officials in both the United States and Mexico, as many as 150,000 Mexican soldiers defected to work for the drug cartels, bringing their American-made service-issued firearms with them.

Perhaps the Mexican government should seek to file suit against their military personnel actively engaged in such illegal conduct.

Members of the firearms industry take seriously the criminal acquisition and misuse of their products. This is why our industry has for more than a decade partnered with the ATF in a national campaign to make the public aware that it is a serious crime to straw purchase a firearm. The program, called Don’t Lie for the Other Guy, is now funded completely by members of the firearms industry and also helps ATF to educate firearms retailers – whom ATF considers the first line of defense – to better detect and prevent illegal straw purchases.

The firearms industry is one of America’s oldest and most-storied entities. We played a prominent role in America’s westward expansion, continue to serve as the Arsenal for Democracy and support the conservation of America’s wildlife and great outdoors. We are also one of the most regulated industries in the world. From production to distribution, distribution to sale, everything we as an industry do is overseen by the United States government.

Again, we applaud President Calderon for taking steps to stop the cartels when past Mexican administrations paid only lip service and allowed rampant corruption to fester. Still, it is wrong for anyone to blame America’s firearms industry for the problems Mexico is currently facing.

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Crossbow Permit Repeal Passes NC General Assembly

April 22, 2011 by

Senate Bill 406 which repeals the requirement to get a permit from your local sheriff’s office to purchase a crossbow passed the North Carolina House on Wednesday and was presented to the Governor yesterday.

The North Carolina Senate had passed the repeal bill on March 30th with a 50-0 vote.

It ran into some trouble in the State House. According to a newsletter sent out this morning by Rep. Ray Rapp (D-Madison), Rep. Frank McGuirt led the opposition to the bill. McGuirt, who was formerly the Sheriff of Union County, opposed the bill because a criminal in Union County used a crossbow to murder someone when he was “unable to obtain a license to purchase a gun.” Supposedly that led to the addition of crossbows to the pistol purchase law. The only problem with that story is that North Carolina only requires a license (or more properly, a permit) for purchases of handguns.

Nonetheless, SB 406 passed the State House 69-48 on Wednesday. It has now been sent to the Governor for her signature.

The bill as ratified can be found here.

Provided Bev Perdue signs the bill, this will open up crossbow sales significantly. You will now be able to purchase them locally, on-line, or by mail order. I think we will be seeing a growth in their sales here in NC due to the repeal of the permit requirement combined with the NC Wildlife Resources Commission’s approval of crossbows for big game hunting for everyone. Prior to this past season, you had to be disabled and have a special permit in order to use a crossbow for big game hunting.

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“It Was Disturbing”

April 22, 2011 by 3 Comments

“It was disturbing” was one of the comments regarding a group of Open Carry proponents in Pasadena protesting attempts to ban open carry in California.

A Brady Campaign spokeswoman agreed.

“I believe the open carry movement is very intimidating,” said Suzanne Verge of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. “I think as a citizen I should be able to go along Colorado Boulevard and shop where I want to shop and not have to worry about running into somebody with a loaded weapon.”

Substitute “Negro” for “loaded weapon” and I’m sure that either of those comments could have been also said by certain white people in Birmingham about seeing Rosa Parks sitting in the front – as opposed to the back – of the bus.

One of the major reasons Judge Irma Gonzalez gave for dismissing the challenge to California’s requirement to show good cause for a concealed carry permit was that California allowed unloaded open carry along with loaded open carry in certain rural areas. Because the state did provide that alternative, the good cause requirement passed constitutional muster.

You have to wonder which the gun prohibitionists fear most: unloaded open carry or shall issue concealed carry.

H/T Brandon Combs

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SigSauer – Pre-NRA Releases

April 21, 2011 by

The major gun manufacturers are starting let out the new guns that they will be introducing at the NRA Annual Meeting. Monday was Ruger’s day with its introduction of the SR1911. Today is SigSauer’s day.  Nothing is really new – more like variation on existing models – but they are bringing back the Sig P210.

SIG SAUER – NRA SHOW NEWS

2011 SIG SAUER® New Products – Pistols

ADDITIONS TO THE CLASSIC LINE OF PISTOLS
The P226 Extreme Series pistol features a Nitron®-coated, machined stainless steel slide and a hard coat anodize aluminum frame, SIGLITE® night sights, a built-in accessory rail, front cocking serrations and a reversible magazine catch. Aggressive styling is provided by Hogue® Extreme Series grips.

The Enhanced Elite models boast the same features as all Elite series pistols, with the addition of ergonomic, one-piece reduced reach grips used in our E2 pistols. Available in both P226 and the updated P229.

NEW 1911 MODELS
The 1911 Traditional Reverse Two-Tone is a full-size 1911 featuring a natural stainless steel frame and Nitron-coated stainless slide. Black control levers, low profile SIGLITE® night sights, and Hogue® Black Diamondwood checkered grips round out the sleek look.

The 1911 Traditional Ultra Compact features a natural stainless, officers-length slide and frame. White controls, custom wood checkered grips, and low profile SIGLITE night sights are standard.

P210 – THE LEGEND RETURNS
The SIG SAUER P210, the timeless pistol of the Swiss Army, is once again in production by SIG SAUER GmbH in Germany. This historic gun features the same precision and reliability as its ancestors, but also offers a number of modern improvements. The carbon steel slide, machined from solid billet steel, now features a durable Nitron coating, and the improved beavertail adorns the Nitron-coated, heavy-style, carbon steel frame. The P210 Legend also offers an improved manual safety, internal drop safety, side magazine release, and custom wood grips. Limited quantities available.

P290 – THE PERFECT DEFENSE
The P290 offers superior ergonomics, flawless reliability and deep concealment, while still providing the defensive capability of the 9mm. Despite its small size and weight the P290 offers ergonomic features to fit a wide variety of shooters. Interchangeable grip panels allow for personalization as well as a custom fit. In addition to the standard polymer inserts, optional panels will be available in aluminum, G10 and wood. An optional Integrated Laser Module (ILM) is custom designed for the P290 pistol’s frame. Lightweight and compact, the ILM seamlessly blends with the lines of the pistol.

2011 SIG SAUER® New Products – Rifles

SIG SAUER Offers SIG556R in 7.62x39mm
The first SIG556® to be offered in a caliber other than 5.56mm NATO, the SIG556R is chambered in the legendary intermediate Russian cartridge. Most often linked to the AK-series of rifles, 7.62x39mm power is now available in the very accurate, highly dependable SIG556 platform.

The SIG522 Commando for Realistic Training
The Commando features an inert training suppressor mounted by standard ½ x 28 TPI threads. The inert tactical trainer can be removed and the Commando used in the patrol rifle configuration. The threaded barrel also accepts many of the most popular flash suppressors and sound suppressor mounts on the market.

SIG516 PATROL
The fulfilled potential of The AR-15/M16. One of the most tested and proven weapons systems in the world achieves ultimate refinement with the introduction of the SIG516 rifle. With its chrome-lined, phosphate finished, military grade barrel and adjustable, four-position gas valve, the SIG516 incorporates all of the most desirable mechanical improvements. Add to these a free-floating quad rail fore-end and barrel, and you have the most advanced, versatile AR-based rifle available.

Sig also announced their schedule for demos and presentations at the show. Many of these will showcase Max Michel, Team SIG Captain.

FRIDAY APRIL 29TH
10:00 AM Max Michel Shooting Tips
11:00 AM Concealed Carry Tips and Techniques
12:00 PM Max Michel Shooting Tips
1:00 PM SIG Principles
2:00 PM Max Michel Shooting Tips
3:00 PM NEW Pistols Presentation
4:00 PM Max Michel Shooting Tips
5:00 PM NEW Rifles Presentation

SATURDAY APRIL 30TH
10:00 AM Concealed Carry Tips and Techniques
11:00 AM Max Michel Shooting Tips
12:00 PM NEW Pistols Presentation
1:00 PM Max Michel Shooting Tips
2:00 PM NEW Rifles Presentation
3:00 PM Max Michel Shooting Tips
4:00 PM SIG Principles
5:00 PM Max Michel Shooting Tips

SUNDAY MAY 1ST
11:00 AM Max Michel Shooting Tips
12:00 PM NEW Pistols Presentation
1:00 PM Max Michel Shooting Tips
2:00 PM NEW Rifles Presentation
3:00 PM Max Michel Shooting Tips

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Electronic Tracking Revisited

April 21, 2011 by 5 Comments

Earlier in the month I speculated about the ATF, Project Gunrunner, and GPS tracking chips. My thoughts on the subject were spurred by comments made by Michael Bane in his Down Range Radio podcast.

Today, while looking for reaction to the threat of a Contempt of Congress cititation made by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), I came across an article in The Daily Caller which gave a bare-bones outline of Project Gunrunner. The article by Michael Boyle was entitled What we know about Project Gunrunner. Contained in the article was this about its origins:

The project began during the Bush administration in Laredo, Texas, in 2005 as a trial, morphing into a national program in 2006. The guns were sold and tracked electronically, giving law enforcement agents valuable intelligence on where the weapons went and who had them.

During the Bush years, no guns were allowed to cross the border into Mexico. When President Obama took office in 2009, things changed. Obama’s ATF continued Project Gunrunner, but made a crucial decision to allow guns to be “walked” into Mexico, eventually ending up in the hands of Mexican drug cartels.

If this article is indeed correct about firearms being electronically tagged and tracked as far back as 2005 during the Bush Administration, then a number of questions immediately come to mind.

First, if the guns sold out of Laredo in 2005 were electronically tagged and tracked, did ATF continue this method of electronically tagging and tracking the firearms sold later in Project Gunrunner?

Second, if they stopped the electronic tracking, this leads to the question why? Was it too expensive, too unreliable, or what? Did someone in the Obama Administration make the decision to discontinue the electronic tagging and tracking? Again, why?

Third, if the ATF did continue electronically tagging and tracking the straw purchases of firearms, then how did they lose track of these guns and let them cross the border into Mexico? It didn’t happen during the Bush Administration (according the Daily Caller) so who made the conscious decision to allow tagged guns to cross the border.

Finally, if the guns were still tagged electronically, who was responsible for tracking them once they crossed the border into Mexico?

I don’t know the answers to any of these questions nor do I have some inside source feeding me leaks. I’m just going on what was said was done during the Bush Administration by The Daily Caller and from what I’ve seen and read happened in the period since. It raises questions that should be answered in any investigation of Project Gunrunner or Operation Fast and Furious.