Regulators Force a “Good Neighbor” out of Florida
On January 27, State Farm Florida Insurance Company, the largest provider of homeowners insurance in the Sunshine State, gave formal notice to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) that it intends to withdraw completely from the state. This action will leave more than one million policyholders, including many in the riskiest areas, searching for coverage.
Via email. Go here for more detail (emphasis mine):
Senate Joint Resolution 30, sponsored by State Senator Doug Jackson (R- 25), proposes an amendment to the Tennessee Constitution recognizing citizens’ right to hunt and fish. ... SJR 30 has passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee and has moved to the Fish and Wildlife Committee where it is expected to be voted on in the coming weeks.
Senate Bill 264, sponsored by State Senator Doug Jackson (D-25), would authorize Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency (TWRA) to issue sport fishing and hunting licenses at no cost to Tennessee residents who are 100 percent disabled and receive social security disability. SB 264 has been referred to the Senate Environment, Conservation and Tourism Committee.
House Bill 569, sponsored by State Representative David Shepard (D-69), is the companion bill to SB 264. HB 569 still resides in the House Committee on Conservation and Environment.
Senate Bill 576, sponsored by State Senator Doug Jackson (R- 25), would allow a person who has a valid Right-to-Carry permit to carry a firearm into restaurants where alcohol may be served, as long as the permit holder is not consuming alcohol or is not otherwise prohibited by posting provisions. SB 576 was taken off notice in the Senate Judiciary sub-committee on Wednesday, March 25. Please contact Senator Jackson and ask him to amend Senate Bill 576 to include no additional restrictions on permittees carrying in restaurants other than a prohibition on alcohol consumption. SB 576 is expected to be heard on Wednesday, April 8 in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
House Bill 1807, sponsored by State Representative Ben West (D-60), is the companion bill to SB 576. HB 1807 is currently in the House Subcommittee on Criminal Practice and Procedure and is expected to be heard on Wednesday, April 1.
Senate Bill 842, sponsored by State Senator Doug Jackson (R- 25), would authorize persons with handgun permits to carry a handgun while hunting big game during bow-hunting deer season. SB 842 has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee and is expected to be heard on Wednesday, April 8.
House Bill 770, sponsored by State Representative Mike Turner (D-51), is the companion bill to SB 842. HB 770 is currently in the House Subcommittee on Criminal Practice and Procedure and is expected to be heard on Wednesday, April 1. Please contact the bill sponsors and ask them to expand this bill to include muzzle-loading season.
Senate Bill 1129, sponsored by State Senator Mark Norris (R-32), is Right-to-Carry reform legislation that allows persons with valid handgun carry permit to carry in public parks, public postsecondary institutions, and places where alcoholic beverages are being served so long as that individual is not consuming alcohol. It also allows judges to carry firearms where law enforcement can carry if they have a permit or appropriate training.
House Bill 724, sponsored by State Representative Brian Kelsey (R-83) is the companion bill to SB 1129 and is expected to be heard in the House Judiciary Criminal Practice Subcommittee on Wednesday, April 1.
Senate Bill 1261, sponsored by State Senator Dewayne Bunch (R-9), authorizes all full-time faculty and staff at any public postsecondary institution in the state who have a valid handgun carry permit to carry handguns at all times upon the premises of the institution at which they are employed. SB 1261 is in the Senate Judiciary Committee and is expected to be heard on Wednesday, April 8.
House Bill 798 is the companion bill to SB 1261 and is sponsored by State Representative Stacey Campfield (R-18). HB 798 is expected to be heard in the House Judiciary Criminal and Practice Subcommittee on Wednesday, April 1.
Senate Bill 1403, sponsored by State Senator Doug Jackson (R- 25), would allow a person who has received voluntary inpatient mental health care to apply for a handgun carry permit if the hospitalization occurred at least five years earlier, and the applicant attaches a statement from a doctor that he/she does not pose an immediate risk of serious harm due to mental illness. SB 1403 has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
House Bill 1748, sponsored by State Representative Eddie Bass (D-65), is the companion bill to SB 1403. HB 1748 is currently in the House Subcommittee on Criminal Practice and Procedure and is expected to be heard on Wednesday, April 8.
Senate Bill 1607 sponsored by State Senator Mae Beavers (R-17), allows the transportation and storage of a firearm in a locked vehicle and prohibits employers and nongovernmental entities from prohibiting persons possessing a handgun carry permit from transporting and storing a firearm out of sight, in a locked vehicle, on any property set aside for vehicles. SB 1607 has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee and is expected to be heard on Wednesday, April 8.
House Bill 1793 is the companion bill to SB 1607 and is sponsored by State Representative Ben West (D-70). HB 1793 is expected to be heard in the House Judiciary Criminal Practice Subcommittee on Wednesday, April 1.
Senate Bill 1908, the “Second Amendment Protection Act,” sponsored by State Senator Doug Jackson (R- 25), would prohibit the sale of micro-stamped firearms or ammunition in Tennessee. This preventive measure is currently in the Senate Judiciary Committee and is expected to be heard on Wednesday, April 8.
House Bill 1924 sponsored by State Representative Henry Fincher (D-42) is the companion bill to SB 1908 and has been referred to the House Judiciary’s Sub-committee on Criminal Practice and Procedure and is expected to be heard on Wednesday, April 1.
House Bill 46, sponsored by State Representative Joshua Evans (R-66), prohibits the Department of Safety or any department-approved handgun safety employee from requiring an applicant for a carry permit to furnish any identifying information concerning any handgun the applicant owns or possesses. HB 46 passed the House 88-2 on Thursday, March 19, and now heads to the Senate for consideration.
Senate Bill 32, sponsored by State Senator Jim Tracy (R-16), is the companion bill to HB 46 and is currently in the Senate Judiciary Committee. SB 32 is now expected to be heard on Wednesday, April 1.
House Bill 70, sponsored by State Representative Henry Fincher (D-42), removes the prohibition against using deadly force in protection of property. HB 70 passed the House 89-1 on Thursday, March 19, and will next be considered by the Senate.
Senate Bill 474, sponsored by State Senator Andy Berke (D-10) is the companion bill to HB 70. SB 474 is expected to be heard on Wednesday, April 8.
House Bill 82, sponsored by State Representative Johnny Shaw (D-80), authorizes current and retired judges who possess a handgun carry permit to carry a firearm under the same circumstances and conditions as law enforcement officers and correctional officers. HB 82 has been placed on the House calendar for Thursday, April 2.
Senate Bill 19, sponsored by State Senator Dolores Gresham (R-26), is the companion bill to HB 82 and is expected to be heard in the Senate Judiciary on Wednesday, April 8.
House Bill 112, sponsored by State Representative Mike Bell (R-23), authorizes the carrying of handguns by persons with a handgun carry permit on public hunting areas and wildlife management areas and subjects such persons to all wildlife laws, rules, and regulations. HB 112 is currently in the House Subcommittee on Criminal Practice and Procedure and is expected to be heard on Wednesday, April 1.
Senate Bill 40, sponsored by State Senator Dewayne Bunch (R-9) is the companion bill to HB 112. SB 40 has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee and is expected to be heard on Wednesday, April 8.
House Bill 254, sponsored by State Representative Glen Casada (R-63), would delete the requirement to give a thumbprint as part of the background check process when purchasing a firearm. HB 254 passed the House 82-11 on Thursday, March 12. It has been referred to the Senate.
Senate Bill 554, sponsored by State Senator Mark Norris (R-32), is the companion bill to HB 254 and is expected to be voted on favorably, by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, April 1.
House Bill 390, sponsored by State Representative Henry Fincher (D-42), would allow handgun carry permit holders to possess or carry a loaded rifle, loaded shotgun, or loaded magazine or clip while in a motor vehicle. HB 390 passed the House 82-10 on Thursday, March 19, and will next be considered by the Senate.
Senate Bill 578, sponsored by Senator Doug Jackson, is the companion bill to HB 390. SB 578 is currently in the Senate Judiciary and is expected to be heard on Wednesday, April 8.
House Bill 716, sponsored by State Representative Frank Niceley (R-17), would allow any resident who has a valid handgun carry permit to possess a handgun while within the boundaries of any state park. HB 716 has been referred to the Finance Ways and Means Budget sub-committee. Please contact members of the sub-committee and ask them to support an amendment that removes the fiscal note requiring new signage. Existing materials can be used to fix any signage. [trying the old 'new signage' maneuver again I see - ed.]
Senate Bill 976, sponsored by State Senator Tim Burchett (R-7), is the companion bill to HB 716. SB 976 is currently in the Senate Judiciary Committee and is expected to be heard on Wednesday, April 8.
House Bill 959, sponsored by State Representative Eddie Bass (D-65), would ensure the privacy of handgun permit holders by making records of permit applications and renewals confidential. HB 959 was amended to allow for the sharing only of statistical information. HB 959 passed the House Judiciary Committee by a 6-4 vote on Wednesday, March 18. This important privacy measure did move to the Calendar and Rules Committee, but was then re-referred to Finance Ways and Means Budget sub-committee and will not be heard until Wednesday, April 1.
Senate Bill 1126, sponsored by State Senator Mark Norris (R-32), is the companion bill to HB 959 and is currently in the Senate Judiciary Committee. SB 1126 is expected to be heard on Wednesday, April 1.
House Bill 960, sponsored by State Representative Harry Tindell (D-13), would authorize a person with a handgun carry permit to possess a firearm while in local, state or federal parks. HB 960 has been amended to allow for a local government body to maintain control of carry within the local parks. Please contact your Representative and express your opposition to this amendment that will create a confusing patchwork of carry laws across the state. Please also contact Speaker Kent Williams (Carter County R- 4) and thank him for speaking in the House Judiciary Committee against the local parks amendment. HB 960 passed out of the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, March 25 and has now been referred to the Finance Ways and Means Budget sub-committee where it is expected to be heard on Wednesday, April 1.
Senate Bill 1518, sponsored by State Senator Mae Beavers (R-17), is the companion bill to HB 960, and is currently in the Senate Judiciary Committee and is expected to be heard on Wednesday, April 8.
House Bill 961, sponsored by State Representative Mike Bell (R-26), would authorize a person with a handgun carry permit to possess a firearm in a refuge, public hunting area, wildlife management area, or on national forest land. HB 961 has an amendment that contains specific language that negates the effect of the bill and then provides additional language that may even be argued to restrict access to certain areas. Please contact your Representative and ask them to remove the restricting language. HB 961 has been referred to the House Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee on Budget and is expected to be heard on Wednesday, April 1.
Senate Bill 1519, sponsored by State Senator Tim Burchett (R-7), is the companion bill to HB 961 and is expected to be heard by the Senate Judiciary on Wednesday, April 8.
House Bill 2313, sponsored by State Representative Eddie Bass (D-65), would authorize the Department of Safety to present a law enforcement officer’s service weapon to the spouse or child of an officer killed in the line of duty. HB 2313 has been referred to the State and Local Government Committee and is expected to be heard on Wednesday, April 1.
Senate Bill 2276, sponsored by State Senator Jim Kyle (D-28), is the companion bill to HB 2313 and has been referred to the Senate Transportation Committee and is expected to be heard on Tuesday, March 31.
House Bill 2376, sponsored by State Representative David Shepard (D-69), would modify the methods of disposing of certain confiscated firearms, and would prohibit the destruction of confiscated firearms, instead requiring them to be auctioned or sold to federally licensed firearms dealers. Proceeds from the sale of these firearms would be used to benefit law enforcement agencies. HB 2376 is expected to be heard on Wednesday, April 1 in the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Criminal Practice and Procedure.
Senate Bill 2334, sponsored by State Senator Doug Jackson (R- 25), is the companion bill to HB 2376, and is currently in the Senate Judiciary and is expected to be heard on Wednesday, April 8.
All in all, things are looking good for Tennessee gun owners.
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He ain't Scooby-Doo, but Conservative Scalawag is reporting that the mystery rifle used in the Oakland killings wasn't an AK at all, it was an SKS.
Police have yet to determine how Lovelle Mixon, a parolee with a lengthy criminal record, got his hands on the handgun and the SKS rifle he used to kill four Oakland police officers on that grim Saturday afternoon just over a week ago.Then again, as much as media types know about firearms, it could have been anything.
With just a click of your mouse.
All I ask is that you click on the links each day to my daily column. And get others to do the same. This will be of tremendous help and encouragement.So, what are you waiting for? Get clicking!
Comes to us via Tam:
How do you tell somebody "Sorry, civilization is retreating, and unless you want to be left outside the fence, you need to move."Go read it, it's more scary than sad, really.
When helping your S.O. with the gardening and overhearing her telling the newly planted tomato plant "You get big and give us lots of children", telling said tomato plant "We're going to eat your babies!" will not get you dismissed from the garden.
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A crusty old biker, on a summer ride in the country, walks into a tavern and sees a sign hanging over the bar, which reads:
CHEESEBURGER: $1.50
CHICKEN SANDWICH: $2.50
HAND JOB: $100.00
Checking his wallet for the necessary payment, he walks up to the bar and beckons to the exceptionally attractive female bartender serving drinks to a meager looking group of farmers.
'Yes?' she inquires with a knowing smile, 'can I help you?'
'I was wondering,' whispers the old biker, 'are you the young lady who gives the hand-jobs?'
'Yes, she smiles and purrs, I sure am.'
The old biker replies, 'Well wash your hands. I want a cheeseburger.'
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Got this in my inbox yesterday:.
James Bond ain't got nothing on reality.
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I've put a link on the sidebar (under "links", strangely enough) to Battle of the Bilge, a site dedicated to clarifying bullshit emails concerning military and veteran related matters.
Kinda like Snopes, but without the liberal bias.
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For (formerly) Great Britian:
I got this via email, with the comment "Someone needs to airlift this guy from Britain over here, pronto, to the U.S. Congress and drop him straight into Nancy Pelosi's lap."
Damn skippy. I think ol' Maggie had a kid we didn't know about....
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In the various places on the Intertubes where a user name is required, (the comment section of the Commercial Appeal, for example) you can count on anyone with a username containing the word "brains" or "smart" to have none and be anything but.
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Better yet, a contest with free stuff:
Murdoc ended up with an extra hardcover copy of Inside Gitmo: The True Story Behind the Myths of Guantanamo Bay by Lt. Col. Gordon Cucullu
So let’s give it away!
Leave a comment here if you’d like to be entered in the drawing.
... why the VPC (no link for them, screw 'em) has a FFL:
Yeah, that would explain why the VPC would have a FFL; so they can use it to legally buy firearms and then lie about how 'easy' it is to get them for a private citizen.
Mike Vanderboegh, our favorite malcontent, gets the Kos treatment.
Way to go, Mike.
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In a follow-on to my post here, we hear from the Outdoor Wire:
Springfield Armory Changing, Not Closing
I can report the rumors of the impending demise of the Springfield Armory collection appear to have been greatly exaggerated.
Shamalama has been spotlighting Oath Keepers.
Who are the Oath Keepers?
Click here or here to read more.Oath Keepers is a non-partisan association of currently serving military, reserves, National Guard, peace officers, and veterans who swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic … and meant it.
Our oath is to the Constitution, not to the politicians, and that oath will be kept. We won’t “just follow orders.”
Recognizing that we each swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and affirming that we are guardians of the Republic, of the principles in our Declaration of Independence, and of the rights of our people, we affirm and declare the following:
Mr. Completely has a list of stimulus projects by state.
I see neither Memphis or Nashville have any projects. Dunno if that's good or bad.
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Remember the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)? The organization that has nothing to do whatsoever with your local animal shelter?
They're up to something:
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the most radical animal "rights" and anti-hunting organization in the country, has been quietly trying to get Carrie Underwood voted Entertainer of the Year via the Academy of Country Music. The problem is, a large percentage of country music fans are also gun owners and hunters who do not like Carrie Underwood's active support for HSUS. And HSUS knows it.
[snip]
In an e-mail sent out to supporters by Kathy Bauch, the HSUS Senior Director for Corporate Relations & Promotions, she asked people to vote for Underwood, but added, "Feel free to distribute this to friends and family, but please don't post to lists, twitter, etc.--anything that would identify that HSUS is urging people to vote for her, or it could just breathe life into the opposition."
Oops, too late!
I think it's still out riding the motorcycle.
It ain't here, that's for sure.
On a side note, giving up burgers for Lent becomes a lot more challenging once you get folks out barbecuing.
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This never should have seen the light of day. Originally found here.
My poor, tender little eyes....
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First it was disarming airline pilots, now the administration may be shutting down the Springfield Armory. Michael Bane has the scoop:
the Springfield Armory is quietly being disassembled.
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Again, according to the information we received, the curator has been removed, the huge arms library has been closed and the new administrator is in the process of locking up the arms collections.
The key word in this is may, but keep your eyes open.
Yes, I've created a new tag labeled "Shenanigans". Sadly, I think it will see regular use over the next few years.
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Via email:
NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre was a guest on the Glenn Beck program on Fox News, Wednesday, March 18, 2009. Wayne and Glenn discussed Attorney General Holder's recent announcement that he wants to resurrect the failed semi-automatic firearm and magazine bans. They also talked about the preposterous claim being made by gun control congressmen and senators that our Second Amendment, and not the corruption within the Mexican government, is the cause for the violent crime caused by Mexican drug lords.
The ones our President gave English PM Gordon Brown?
They don't work:
The films only worked in DVD players made in North America and the words "wrong region" came up on his screen.So, do I laugh, or cry?
I've heard of all-you-can-eat catfish, but this one looks like it could eat you:
Ok, it's actually a whale shark, but it sure looks like a catfish.
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And an excellent point by Murdoc, while talking about training Afghans to use American weapons:
That M240 (or the M249, for that matter) would not be affected by a new Federal AWB.Ain't that the truth.
Looks like Mr. President has (temporarily) halted his advance toward the Kerry Line:
Under withering criticism from veterans and Congress, President Obama on Wednesday abandoned a proposal that would have required veterans to use their private health insurance to pay for the treatment of combat-related injuries.No props coming from me, just putting such an asinine idea on the table should be grounds for removal.
Via Conservative Scalawag, we find a union filing a grievance - against a union:
I had to emphasize the name, it's funny as hell.The Service Employees International Union, considered the most influential union in the nation, has notified the union that represents about 220 of the SEIU's national field staff members and organizers that it is laying off 75 of the employees.
In return, the workers union, which goes by the somewhat postmodern name of the Union of Union Representatives, has filed charges of unfair labor practices against the SEIU with the National Labor Relations Board. The workers union's leaders say that the SEIU is engaging in the same kind of practices that some businesses use:
Sebastian reaches out to the Brady Bunch in light of their recent setbacks. I, too, can be classy. I know where the Bradys can find all the sympathy they need.
It's in the dictionary, between shit and syphilis.
In the spirit of full disclosure, my old First Sergeant used that phrase years before this guy
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Via NRA-ILA's Rachel:
Today in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, 65 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives, led by Congressman Mike Ross (D-AR), expressed their opposition to the reinstatement of the failed 1994 ban on semi-automatic firearms and ammunition magazines.
In answer to my post below, Chris Cox 'splains it all:
As DLA explained to Senators Baucus and Tester, and to NRA-ILA, DoD officials responsible for the demilitarization of military property temporarily halted the release of the cartridge cases last week, pending review of a policy change issued last year by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, which, in the interest of national security, halted the sale of items within a broad category of government property including, but not limited to, surplus small arms cartridge cases.Good deal.
To make cartridge cases eligible for sale once again, DoD demilitarization officials verified that the cases could be appropriately placed in a category of government property allowing for their release for use within the United States, and then executed the recategorization. Whereas during the brief suspension, fired cartridge cases would have been releaseable only if the purchaser crushed or smelted them, now the cases may be sold as before, intact and reloadable.
Traction Control has a great roundup on this subject.
What I'm not clear on is - was this a reversal, as most people are saying, or was the policy only for brass 50mm and larger to begin with?
Seems to be a mighty quick reversal for a government agency. Not that I'm complaining, of course.
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According to Gary Stein, Nothing good ever comes from a gun.
I, of course, beg to differ.
There's a very simple reason I hate guns.Ok, first off, you're declaring your hatred for an inanimate object. Not a good start. Hatred is usually a byproduct of fear, by the way. From there, you say "I can't remember the last time it happened". I can believe that, because those kinds of things rarely get reported by the legacy media.
For every one story I ever see or hear about somebody actually defending themselves with a gun - to be honest, I can't remember the last time that happened -- I hear several dozen about some whack job going nuts with a gun, or somebody terrorizing his family or girl friend with a gun, or somebody who's gun accidently[sic] goes off in the house and causes a horrible tragedy.
Yeah, I know, all the stories about gun violence are just a huge conspiracy from the liberal, gun-hating media. Please.Hmmm. I don't see a lot of people saying that. Stories of gun violence is a direct result of the media axiom "If it bleeds, it leads". They use those stories to sell papers, get ratings, etc.
Guns, you see, serve just one purpose. To kill.No, their purpose is to hurl a projectile. Like it or not, millions of the rounds of ammunition expended every year do nothing more than make a hole in paper. Can they kill? Absolutely. So can an arrow, spear, or rock, if it has enough force behind it. It's more about the person in control of the weapon than the weapon itself. Personal responsibility and all that.
They are a tragedy or a murder waiting to happen.Or a tragedy, assault, rape, robbery, burglary, or murder waiting to be foiled. Depends on if the glass is half full or half empty, I guess.
Nobody needs a gun for self-defense, because nobody ever uses a gun for self-defense.At this point, I usually just say "See blog referenced above", but this time I have to say, your head-in-the-sand outlook is amazing! Do you really think guns are never used for self defense? Why do law enforcement officers go around armed then? Newsflash, sparky. They aren't the only ones in our society exposed to a criminal element on a daily basis.
And if you need a gun for a hobby, hey, take up stamp collecting or origami instead.It's too easy to put a stamp inside the ten ring, bud. Much more challenging to do it with a bullet from distance. And origami is for sissies.
Of course, the gun lovers can justify the object of their desire. Every time you hear about somebody like the lunatic in Alabama who went on a shooting spree last week that left 10 dead, the gun lovers will tell you that the gun had nothing to do with it, it's the gunman at fault. So blame him, not the gun. Of course, such a rampage would have been impossible if the guy weren't using a gun, but the gun lovers don't want to hear that.Wrong again, junior. Well, the last sentence was wrong, the first part (where you paraphrase gun lovers) is absolutely correct.
And when the gun lovers hear about something like Columbine, or Virginia Tech or Northern Illinois, or a massacre in a mall, or elsewhere, they'll just say if more people had guns to defend themselves with, you'd have less violence. If you can figure out the logic in that one, let me know.It's a simple concept, really. An armed person could respond to a shooter successfully, where an unarmed person would likely have little chance for success. It ain't rocket science.
And don't get me started on the folks who say they have a right to own an assault weapon. Why? So they can hunt squirrels with an AK-47 while blathering about their second amendment rights?You don't hunt much, do you? You also don't know the difference between military weapons and their civilian counterparts, the so-called "assault weapon". Rather than try to explain it here, please go here and watch the video.
I grew up in a tough area of Chicago, there was never a gun in my house, and I never felt defenseless or vulnerable. Shockingly, I even slept well.There will never be a gun in any house that I live in. That's because nothing good ever comes from a gun.I am truly glad violence has never invaded your life, you're lucky.
The day where the first batch of Tennessee's new gun laws come up for a vote.
Proposals to allow loaded shotguns and rifles to be transported in vehicles and for people to respond to carjacking attempts with deadly force are among several gun-related bills headed for floor votes in the Tennessee House.Expect the CA and others to be in full PSH mode by the end of tomorrow, unless shenanigans take place.
Other gun bills that cleared the House Calendar Committee today include measures to give current and retired judges the right to carry guns wherever law enforcement officers can, and to prohibit the state Safety Department from collecting information about weapons used in handgun training courses.
Not if you're holding Smith and Wesson or Ruger stocks (emphasis mine):
Smith & Wesson, one of the iconic names in American weapons making, is up more than 112 percent this year in the wake of its recent strong earnings report. Strum, Ruger, maker of Ruger firearms, is up more than 60 percent.Funny how we never hear about this on the evening news. Calling Katie Couric!
It's something I alluded to here, which I'm going to start using on a regular basis. A person or group crossing the Kerry line means they:
top John Kerry as the Most Despicable Asswipe in the country.Why do I think John Kerry is the most despicable asswipe in the country? If you have to ask....
Obama secretly ends program that let pilots carry gunsJust roll us over and expose our soft white underbelly, Barry. They won't bite. Promise.
FYI, the proper short form is St. Paddy's Day, not St. Patty's Day, which is August 25th.
That's how the local news was displaying it this morning.
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... and Toby Maguire was playing the wayward kid.
How cool is that?
Very cool, if I say so myself.
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How do you fix a lesbian in South Africa? Rape them, of course.
Human rights campaigners say it is characterised by what they call "corrective rape" committed by men behind the guise of trying to "cure" lesbian women of their sexual orientation.What I want to know is, what do they do to "cure" the gay guys in South Africa?
In honor of my first Instalanche:
Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show - "On the Cover of the Rolling Stone".
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I heard this on the radio this morning, and thought it would be a great follow on to Coffee Filters:
21 things to do with dryer sheets:
1. All this time you’ve just been putting Bounce in the dryer! It will chase ants away when you lay a sheet near them.There ya go, again.
2. It also repels mice. Spread sheets around foundation areas, or in trailers, or cars that are sitting and it keeps mice from entering your vehicle.
3. It takes the odor out of books and photo albums that don’t get opened very often.
4. It repels mosquitoes. Tie a sheet of Bounce through a belt loop when outdoors during mosquito season.
5. Eliminate static electricity from your television (or computer) screen.
6. Since Bounce is designed to help eliminate static cling, wipe your television screen with a used sheet of Bounce to keep dust from resettling.
7. Dissolve soap scum from shower doors. Clean with a sheet of Bounce.
8. To freshen the air in your home - place an individual sheet of Bounce in a drawer or hang in the closet.
9. Put a Bounce sheet in vacuum cleaner.
10. Prevent thread from tangling. Run a threaded needle through a sheet of Bounce before beginning to sew.
11. Prevent musty suitcases. Place an individual sheet of Bounce inside empty luggage before storing.
12. To freshen the air in your car - place a sheet of Bounce under the front seat.
13. Clean baked-on foods from a cooking pan. Put a sheet in a pan, fill with water, let sit overnight, and sponge clean. The anti-static agent apparently weakens the bond between the food and the pan.
14. Eliminate odors in wastebaskets. Place a sheet of Bounce at the bottom of the wastebasket.
15. Collect cat hair. Rubbing the area with a sheet of Bounce will magnetically attract all the loose hairs.
16. Eliminate static electricity from Venetian blinds. Wipe the blinds with a sheet of Bounce to prevent dust from resettling.
17. Wipe up sawdust from drilling or sand papering. A used sheet of Bounce will collect sawdust like a tack cloth.
18. Eliminate odors in dirty laundry. Place an individual sheet of Bounce at the bottom of a laundry bag or hamper.
19. Deodorize shoes or sneakers. Place a sheet of Bounce in your shoes or sneakers overnight.
20. Golfers put a Bounce sheet in their back pocket to keep the bees away.
21. Put a Bounce sheet in your sleeping bag and tent before folding and storing them. It will keep them smelling fresh
Ok, so I find myself at this report on sea levels rising. I read the following:
Ok, so let's do the math the way I learned it back in the day.Recent data shows that waters have been rising by 3 millimetres a year since 1993.
Church says this is above any of the rates forecast by the IPCC models. By 2100, sea levels could be 1 metre or more above current levels, he says.
Is getting up to the top of my shit list anyway, but if this happens, they* will individually top John Kerry as the Most Despicable Asswipe in the country. (emphasis mine)
Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki confirmed Tuesday that the Obama administration is considering a controversial plan to make veterans pay for treatment of service-related injuries with private insurance. …I'm beyond words, but if they ever do come out, Emperor Misha would be embarrassed by what he would read here.
And the Commercial Appeal poops themselves:
Less than 24 hours after a man armed with two assault weapons, a shotgun and a handgun killed 11 in Alabama, a Tennessee legislative committee today approved a bill allowing handgun-carry licensees to carry loaded rifles and shotguns in their vehicles.Gotta hand it to them, they never back away from Pants Shitting Hysteria.
... than anything else, Jim Scoutten says national coverage of Boomershoot wouldn't be a Good Thing.
I, like most other bloggers talking about this, disagree.
I'd bet Boomershoot coverage would be a huge success. Last year, at the Blog Bash in Louisville, while talking with Michael Bane, I mentioned how much I enjoyed his Knob Creek episodes of Shooting Gallery. He responded that those were his only shows nominated for an award (turns out, he won).
If a show with nothing but machine guns, artillery pieces and flamethrowers can win an award, I'm sure Boomershoot wouldn't scare too many people, and might get a nomination to boot.
I wonder if Michael would be interested in another Telly ....
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In this case, it's getting support for its posting of HCP holders from that nationally known second amendment authority comedian Stephen Colbert.
If that's the best support you can garner, you're better off listening to your detractors.
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That one day little black XDs and little bi-tone XDs can be carried interchangeably from California to our nations capitol; where an XD will be judged not by the color of its' slide, but by the content of its' owners character.
I have a dream today.
Thanks to SayUncle for the pointer.
And apologies to Dr. King for the parody, but this whole judging things by how they look has got to stop.
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Update -
Bartlett police have scheduled a press conference this morning to give an update in their investigation into the death of Lisa Renee Davis.
Tuesday, a man shot himself to death as Bartlett police were about to question him about the disappearance of Davis.
It's easy when you all print the same content:
a loose agreement by Tennessee’s four major daily papers, The Chattanooga Times-Free Press, the Nashville Tennessean, The Memphis Commercial Appeal and the [Knoxville News] Sentinel to share content.That way, all four can publish stupid shit at the same time (Knoxville, Chattanooga, you're slacking).
Welcome Instapundit readers, to my very first Instalanche! Y'all come on back anytime.
Welcome, all you readers of IMAO. Contrary to what you might have heard, Frank J is funnier than I am. Just a little.
A quick rundown follows. To see more detail, click here (emphasis mine).
Via an email from the ILA, it looks like our countries' educators aren't waiting till college to start the anti-gun indoctrination:
Education or Indoctrination? Another Outrage
This next outrage comes to us from North Dakota, where we find a General Educational Development (GED) practice test showing blatant anti-gun bias.
The GED tests, sometimes referred to as a "General Equivalency Diploma" or "General Education(al) Diploma," are used to certify that an individual who passes the test has high school-level skills. The tests were originally created to help veterans after World War II. The tests were never intended to be a vehicle for advancing a political agenda. But one North Dakota practice test is attempting to do so.
On page three of the test, under the heading "Government Comprehension" there is a political cartoon featuring a caricature of Uncle Sam with a shovel in his hand and a fat man wearing a shirt that says, "GUN LOBBY." The two are standing in a cemetery in front of an open grave. Dirt is falling from Uncle Sam's shovel. The grave's headstone reads, "Another Victim Of A Senseless Shooting Spree." The figure representing the gun lobby, with his hand on Uncle Sam's back, is stating, " No One Ever Said Preserving The American Way Of Life Would Be Easy…"
Many of our friends died far from home. Ask us about the feeling of "American soil" upon returning to the land we loved. Ask those returning soldiers about America.Go read the rest to find out.
Remember the old, faintly humorous band of American Legionnaires, wearing out-dated military uniforms straining at the buttons. But, God how proudly they marched. Grinning, waving to friends and families, and always, always "The Flag!" Ask them if the flag is mere cloth, I dare you.
See the elderly lady sitting in a lawn chair watching the fourth of July parade. Three flags carefully folded some forty years ago into triangles now rest in her lap - one for each lost son. Ask her if those flags are mere cloth, I dare you.
Look at the old man quietly crying, leaning against the Iwo Jiima Memorial at Arlington Cemetery. As he turns to you, smiles with some embarrassment, and says in a choked whisper, "I was there." Ask him, "Is it just metal and clay?" Ask him. I dare you.
The Wall. My God, the Wall. See the young man lightly tracing the name of his father there inscribed. Ask him if its just rock. Ask him. I dare you.
My guns? They’re of little real value compared to my family and my home. They are toys, or tools, or both. But what those guns represent to me is greater than all of us, greater than myself, my family, indeed greater than our entire generation. What could be of such value?
"It's Too Late" by Derek and the Dominoes, joined by Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash for "Matchbox".
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Via email, here are some uses for coffee filters, other than filtering coffee:
1. Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave. Coffee filters make excellent covers.
2. Clean windows and mirrors. Coffee filters are lint-free so they'll leave windows sparkling.
3. Protect China. Separate your good dishes by putting a coffee filter between each dish.
4. Filter broken cork from wine. If you break the cork when opening a wine bottle, filter the wine through a coffee filter.
5. Protect a cast-iron skillet. Place a coffee filter in the skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust.
6. Apply shoe polish. Ball up a lint-free coffee filter.
7. Recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.
8. Weigh chopped foods. Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a kitchen scale.
9. Hold tacos. Coffee filters make convenient wrappers for messy foods.
10. Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line a plant pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through the drainage holes.
11. Prevent a Popsicle from dripping. Poke one or two holes as needed in a coffee filter.
12. Do you think we used expensive strips to wax eyebrows? Use strips of coffee filters.
13. Put a few in a plate and put your fried bacon, French fries, chicken fingers, etc on them. Soaks out all the grease.
14. Keep in the bathroom. They make great "razor nick fixers."
There ya go.
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Herm Edwards says (ex-Cowboy) TO should go to the Titans.
I'm not gonna question Herm's possible consumption of controlled substances judgement on this, I'm just gonna say put down the pipe I think it's highly unlikely we'll let TO anywhere near VY see TO in Titans blue this season.
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... and an assembly line required:
545 PEOPLEHead over and see Kevin Baker for more.
Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.
Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are really against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?
Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are really against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?
You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.
You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of representatives does.
You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.
You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.
You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.
One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices. 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.
Vi email:
We have a winner of the Ultimate AR-15/.22.
It wasn't me. Congrats to the winner.
Now, this is the next giveaway.
Cool.This Combat Pack includes:
- The M6X with the Rail Grabber interface for optimum boresight retention
- A rifle remote
- A shotgun remote
- A rocker switch pistol backplate.
- It also comes with batteries and a replacement bulb.The suggested retail value of the total package is $566.97.
That's what Ann Coulter says:
Never liked Olbermann. He is one smug bastard.I wouldn't mention it, except that Olbermann savages anyone who didn't go to an impressive college. As it happens, he didn't go to an impressive college, either.
[snip]
Keith went to an affiliated state college at Cornell, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (average SAT: about that of pulling guards at the University of South Carolina; acceptance rate: 1 of every 1.01 applicants).
Olbermann's incessant lying about having an "Ivy League education" when he went to the non-Ivy League ag school at Cornell would be like a graduate of the Yale locksmithing school boasting about being a "Yale man."
JR has a great training aid/illustration of the importance of shot placement. In comments, Existing Thing mentions the Tueller Drill, which was a new term to me.
While the drills described are good, the reason for doing them is the point I want to highlight (emphasis mine):
A cushion of .2 seconds.A common test of handgun skill was to start with one’s hands at shoulder level with a holstered gun and place two shots on a target 7 yards (6.4 m) away within 1.5 seconds. Typically, those trained with handguns can complete the drill in 1.3–1.4 seconds, although some have managed the task in less than one second.
Tueller wondered how quickly an attacker with a knife could cover those same 21 feet (6.4 m). So he measured as volunteers raced to stab the target. He determined that it could be done in 1.5 seconds.
Talking about the proposed Tennessee gun laws and getting it wrong:
All four of the bills are dangerous — three to public safety, the fourth to the public’s right to know who has a state concealed-carrying of weapons permit. Each should be vigorously opposed.Sounds logical, doesn't it? At least, until you know that that law specifically does not apply to bars where there is a minimum age to enter. That's about every real bar in the state.
The safety issues should be readily apparent. Carrying concealed weapons into bars that serve alcohol could not be more casually enticing to violence. Bars already are among the most frequent venues for volatile conflict.
So what? People who visit bars, whether or not they drink, may be no less subject to reckless behavior.What constitutes "Reckless behavior", anyway? Just because a person is in a place that serves alcohol, it doesn't mean they have to surrender their right to self-defense.
Carrying concealed weapons into parks and wildlife refuges is inherently detrimental to public safety because of the remoteness of protected lands. All related studies compiled for the recent report on the Bush administration’s proposal to allow gun-carrying in national parks, demonstrated the superior safety of parks where guns are not allowed.
The bill to close public CCW permit records is misguided for several reasons. Thorough studies have shown that criminals and prior felons often are able to obtain CCW permits because of inadequate background checks and record-keeping. Revocation processes are similarly leaky, where they exist at all, for people convicted of crimes after they have obtained CCW permits.More unreferenced "studies". Here's something that doesn't take a study to understand: criminals and felons obtain firearms illegally, permit or no permit. And, revocations are rare. The Commercial Appeal says a whopping 99 revocations went out last year, as of that report. That's 99 out of 219,236. You do the math.
Tennessee is already far out on the path of negligent access to use of guns. In 24 of the 25 key areas of public gun safety policy tracked by the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, the Tennessee is on the wrong side of public safety.This shows me exactly where your ultimate goal lies. Not safety. Control.
This one from Les Jones:
I’m sure that banning guns would make them as completely unavailable to criminals as marijuana, as unknown as cocaine, as unfamiliar as heroin, as unobtainable as PCP, as unheard of as LSD, as unbeknownest as ecstasy, as uncommon as crack, and as unfamiliar to readers of newspapers as crystal meth.Besides, it's not like those drug dealers could afford a bunch of guns, anyway....
I got this in an email from MOAA. There's some good news in the President's budget:
Budget to Expand Concurrent ReceiptAll in all, that's pretty good news.
The blueprint released this week for President Obama's FY2010 budget is making headlines across the country for its $3.6 trillion size and sweeping health care and tax initiatives.
But let's talk about the budget provisions affecting members of the military and veterans community that you may not find in your local newspaper or TV coverage.
Concurrent Receipt. For the first time in history, the FY2010 budget includes an initiative to help ease the disability offset to military retired pay. According to the president's budget release, it would expand coverage to currently ineligible medically retired members who are highly disabled. No specifics are available yet, but that could mean authorizing concurrent receipt for medical retirees with less than 20 years and at least a 50% VA rating. We'll need the details to be sure, but any expansion is terrific news for the disabled retiree community.
Military Manpower Levels. The budget proposes a 15,000 increase for the Army and 8,000 for the Marine Corps. MOAA strongly supports these increases. We're concerned that some in Congress have talked about rolling them back in order to free more funding for weapons programs. These force increases are the only real way to ease deployment stresses on troops and families, and MOAA will ardently oppose any effort to backtrack on them.
Military Pay Raise. The budget proposes a 2.9% raise for active duty, Guard and Reserve troops. That's the same raise as the average American's, as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Employment Cost Index (ECI). MOAA is pushing for a 3.4% raise, to continue Congress's 9-year effort to restore full military pay comparability. Throughout the 1980s and '90s, military raises were capped below private sector pay growth, causing a 13.5% pay gap and significant retention problems by 1998-99. Every year since then, Congress has plussed up military raises by at least .5% per year above the ECI to progressively reduce the gap, which now stands at 2.9%. Full pay comparability is a fundamental underpinning of the all-volunteer force, and MOAA believes we shouldn't stop working to get back to it, especially given the terrible wartime stresses our military families have endured for most of this decade.
TRICARE Fees. The budget information made public so far is silent on this issue, and we take that as a positive sign. There's no healthcare-related budget reduction indicated for the defense budget in either the discretionary or mandatory spending categories, as there was in the last several budgets of the Bush Administration. We'll await the final budget details in April to be sure, but what we've seen so far leaves us cautiously optimistic.
VA Budget. The budget includes $55.9 billion for "discretionary" VA programs (mostly health care) - almost an 11% increase from FY2009. Including "mandatory" spending programs like VA disability compensation, survivor benefits, and the GI Bill, the total is about $113 billion. It includes funds for a gradual expansion of the number of "priority group 8" vets (nondisabled vets with incomes above certain locality-based thresholds) in the VA health system. The plan is to open care to about 500,000 more category 8 vets over the next four years. Among other things, the added funds would expand mental health care, promote electronic health records, and cover implementation of the new GI Bill benefits.
From the New York Times (emphasis mine):
Tennessee is one of 19 states that allow the public to have access to gun permit information, according to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. At least 21 states keep such information confidential.
Please welcome Tom's Journal to the mighty fine blogroll. If you want to read something troubling, check this out. Here's a little bit:
1796 - Edward Jenner injects healthy eight-year-old James Phillips first with cowpox then three months later with smallpox and is hailed as discoverer of smallpox vaccine.
1896 - Dr. Arthur Wentworth performs spinal taps on 29 children at Children's Hospital in Boston to determine if procedure is harmful.
1900 - Walter Reed injects 22 Spanish immigrant workers in Cuba with the agent for yellow fever paying them $100 if they survive and $200 if they contract the disease.
1935 - The Pellagra Incident. After millions of individuals die from Pellagra over a span of two decades, the U.S. Public Health Service finally acts to stem the disease. The director of the agency admits it had known for at least 20 years that Pellagra is caused by a niacin deficiency but failed to act since most of the deaths occurred within poverty-stricken black populations.
Reading an editorial in the Jackson Sun, I ran across the following (emphasis mine):
Handgun permit records have long been public records, and they should stay that way. Closing them would unfairly inhibit the news media from doing its job in protecting the public.Huh? Protecting the public? Since when? Listen, mister (or mizz) anonymous editorial writer person, I'll take care of my own protection. Having my name out there as a carry permit holder has a negative impact on that ability.
Via email, here's the whole thing:
LATEST CMP SALES NEWS:
ORDER BACKLOG. Normally, we average receiving 2,000 - 3,000 sales orders per month and ship an order in 2-3 weeks. However, these are not normal times. Since October, 2008 we have been receiving 5,000 - 10,000 orders per month, which is several times normal. As a result, we are very backlogged and running several weeks behind on processing orders. Our staff is working up to 12 hours per day 7 days a week, and only today finished the 4,000 orders we received on 1 December alone (except for those 1 Dec orders with credit card or other problems). Customers with outstanding orders should expect orders to ship approximately 100 days from the date the order was received by CMP. We expect to recover from this surge in another 3-4 months (assuming the number of orders being received drops somewhat).
COMMUNICATION RESPONSE DELAYS. CMP is receiving hundreds of calls a day, as well as hundreds of emails. Each morning there are dozens of voicemails from the night before. Because of the large volume of constant calls in the daytime, it may take a few days for response. We have a state of the art phone system for a company our size, but the volume of calls is causing the system to do unexpected things. We apologize for any delay in responding to emails or telephone calls.
CMP STORES CLOSED 15-31 MARCH, 2009. In addition to the heavy volume of mail and estore orders, the shopping activity at both stores has been significantly higher than last year. As a result, we have had to divert more sales staff than planned from processing mail orders on the days the store is open. Both CMP stores will be closed 15-31 March. The Sales staff at both locations will work on processing mail orders in an effort to quickly reduce the backlog and shorten delivery time.
ORDERS OUT OF SEQUENCE. In normal times, CMP processes sales orders in date sequence as received, regardless of item being ordered. To help reduce the mountain of orders, we are separating the rifle orders from non-rifle orders. We have dedicated two of our staff to process the non-rifle orders without regard to dates of rifle orders still in the queue. This will result in an out of sequence delivery time for many orders, but will reduce the amount of pending orders quickly.
BUY NOW FEATURE ON CMP AUCTION. We have started using the "buy now" feature for selected items on the CMP Auction site. We are listing the M1A1 carbine, one at a time with this feature. Buy now price is $3,000. We will also list some M1A1 carbines for the regular bidding process.
LAKE CITY. .30-06 SOLD OUT. On 20 February, we posted the Lake City .30-06 ammunition as sold out. We fully expect to be able to fill all orders already in house and those in the mail on 20 February. It may take another 100 days to ship some of the orders just received.
NEW CMP DISCUSSION FORUM COMING SOON. CMP has purchased new forum software.
We plan to transition to it in April, 2009. Current member registrations and discussion topics will not be transferred to the new forum. Everyone wishing to post on the new forum will have to register again. Anyone wishing to save any information from the current forum should do so now.
ATTENTION HIGHPOWER AND AIR RIFLE SHOOTERS IN THE SOUTHEAST! The CMP will conduct its second test match for its new National Match Air Rifle discipline at the CMP Competition Center in Anniston, Alabama on 14 March.
If you live in the Southeast U. S. and are interested in an off-season event for highpower rifle shooters or are interested in finding a new recreation-oriented shooting game that is easy to start and promises to be a lot of fun, you are invited to come to Anniston on 14 March.
National Match Air Rifle features two courses of fire similar to the highpower rifle standing and John C. Garand courses of fire. It is shot on reduced highpower 200 and 600-yard targets on 10-meter ranges with air rifles. Provisional rules provide for three rifle classes, sporter, match/precision and AR-type air rifles. The CMP invites both experienced highpower shooters and recreational air gun shooters to try the 14 March test match to learn more about this new rifle discipline and provide feedback to help finalize the rules. The CMP has produced 10-bull paper AR-SR and AR-MR targets that will be used in this match and will be available to shooting clubs. Industry prototype AR style air rifles from Pilkington Competition Equipment and Creedmoor-Anschütz will be available for examination and testing at the match.
o For program and registration information, visit
http://www.odcmp.com/Programs/AirRifle/NMARTestProgram_AN.pdf.
o Register on line for this match
http://clubs.odcmp.com/cgi-bin/matchInfo.cgi?matchID=4281.
· A First Shot On-Line article on the first National Match Air Rifle Test
Match is posted at http://www.odcmp.org/1208/default.asp?page-NMAIR.
Thank you for your support of the CMP in these historic times.
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