Good-Will Gesture: Let's see if we can dispense with the weekly
reminders not to forward me the hysterical e-mails about "SB 2099" and
HR 45 this year. Oh, yeah, also about the nine-year-old failed Vermont
bill to tax non-gun-owners.
---
Big Brother, Healthcare and the RKBA: Members of Gun Owners of America
are claiming a skirmish victory in the fight over nationalized health
care, dubbed "Obamacare" by critics, because of Senate Majority Leader
Harry Reid's "manager's amendment" to the plan. The issue long has been
festering over whether an all-powerful government health management
system would consider gun ownership a "health care" issue and whether
such language could be used to further tighten limits on gun ownership.
The concern seems legitimate since federal officials already use
veterans' medical records regarding post-traumatic stress syndrome and
other factors to determine whether they should be allowed to purchase
weapons... There have been other gun-related issues already, too, under
President Obama. Obama's attorney general, Eric Holder, supported
Washington, D.C.'s ban on handguns before it was overturned by the U.S.
Supreme Court. And since Obama has been in office, he's already
advocated for a treaty that would require a federal license for hunters
to reload their ammunition, has expressed a desire to ban "assault"
weapons, has seen a plan to require handgun owners to submit to mental
health evaluations and sparked a rush on ammunition purchases with his
history of anti-gun positions... Further, WND reported on the nomination
of David Michaels, the chief of a George-Soros-funded Project on
Scientific Knowledge and Public Policy, as the next head of the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. As WND reported, Second
Amendment advocates sounded an alarm over Michaels, warning the most
significant attack on gun rights in years soon could come in the form of
workplace "safety" regulations...
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=120547
---
No Problems at New Mexico Protest: There were plenty of handguns and
rifles displayed at a tea party protest attended by several hundred
people Saturday in Alamogordo, but no violence. The demonstration
against the Obama administration and its policies was staged by the
Otero Tea Party Patriots and a newly formed organization: the Alamogordo
Second Amendment Task Force, which conducted a simultaneous open-carry
event. "I don't like what the Democrats are doing to our country," said
Jim Kizer, of Alamogordo, who carried a .444 Marlin and a holstered .41
Smith and Wesson Magnum. "I'm a Korean vet and I grew up in Alaska
during World War II. I've fought Communists all my life, and now our
government is being taken over by them. That's why I'm here." Kizer said
his weapons weren't loaded. New Mexico law states that anyone over the
age of 19 can openly carry a holstered firearm in most places... (I'm
curious as to why Mr. Kizer left his firearms unloaded when it would at
least have been legal for his handgun to be loaded; I'm not sure about
New Mexico law on rifles.)
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jan/03/tea-partiers-protest-obama-new-mexico/?feat=home_cube_position2
---
Virginia Faces RKBA Battle: Gun control opponents in Virginia's
legislature are proposing what would amount to a vast roll-back of
handgun regulations, hoping to capitalize on a friendlier administration
in Richmond to undo long-standing firearms restrictions. Conservative
lawmakers have filed a flurry of bills including abolishing the state's
one-handgun-per-month rule and allowing college faculty to carry a
concealed weapon on campus. Despite the arrival of Republican Gov.-elect
Bob McDonnell, who has an A rating from the National Rifle Association
and campaigned on a pro-Second Amendment platform, none of the bills
necessarily will have an easy time getting passed when the General
Assembly goes into session later this month. Proponents of stronger gun
laws have become much more vocal and focused since the 2007 Virginia
Tech massacre and are likely to oppose the measures alongside many
legislators...
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/Gun-control-opponents-hope-to-reshape-handgun-laws-8697689-80433647.html
---
Georgia to Debate Church Carry: Firearms have no place in church, says
the Rev. Dean Taylor of Dalton's St. Mark's Episcopal Church. "To arm
ourselves in a place of worship, whether it is church or mosque or
synagogue, is an insult to all that we believe about God's kingdom and
ultimately an insult to God," he said. "Of all places, churches should
be the closest that we come to the kingdom of God, in which we are at
peace with one another." But the Georgia General Assembly may consider
legislation in the upcoming session that would allow those who have
concealed carry permits to take their guns into places that are
currently off limits, such as churches, school zones, bars and college
campuses. The General Assembly passed a bill in 2009 allowing those with
concealed carry permits to take their weapons into state parks and
restaurants that serve alcohol, among other places, but some said that
bill didn't go far enough. "Some of the things that have happened this
year might make us think about allowing guns in churches," said state
Sen. Don Thomas, R-Dalton. There were a number of church shootings in
2009, in Arkansas, Kansas and Illinois, among other states. Some gun
rights advocates say that allowing those with carry permits to bring
them to work might discourage such shootings... (What about the insults
by those who attack churches or clergy due to mental illness or those
who target churches for robbery for the collection plate? Is it a
greater honor to the believe in God's gift of life to remain defenseless
during worship or to protect that life?)
http://www.northwestgeorgia.com/local/local_story_002222323.html
---
Here's a Switch: Chiappa Firearms debuts a new production revolver and
concept at the MKS Supply 2010 SHOT Show display (booth 15549). Called
the Rhino (sort of resembles one too) you will first notice that the
barrel is actually at the bottom of the cylinder. The gun is designed to
fire from the bottom chamber of the cylinder (6:00 position not 12:00 as
with other revolvers). The new design resulted in improvements of the
internal mechanisms over conventional revolver designs yielding up
incredible reliability, a super-smooth action and improved safety. The
Rhino's low barrel design ergonomically shifts recoil energy into the
center of the palm of the hand and in line with the forearm thus greatly
reducing the effects of felt recoil. Traditional revolver design
(semi-autos too) place the barrel above the hand. When the [traditional]
gun is fired the leverage applied by that design forces the recoil into
the web area of the hand between the thumb and trigger finger causing
significant muzzle snap. Not the Rhino! Due to this new design a shooter
can now fire very fast and accurate repeat shots. The Rhino is designed
reduce its carry profile. This design is even carried into the hexagonal
shaped cylinder making for a flatter profile when carried (especially
handy for legal concealed carry)... (There is a dictum in science that
fact is the greatest enemy of theory. I fully understand the theory
behind this concept but will be very surprised if I ever see a student
bring one of these for training. A while back Smith & Wesson offered a
line of inexpensive .22 pistols [422, 622] in which the barrel was
located below the recoil spring, as it had been on their Escort pistol.
While still placing the bore axis slightly above the web of the shooting
hand, placing it as low as possible produced a felt recoil comparable
with that of a .22 pistol of twice its weight. Kahr similarly reduces
felt recoil by using a slightly offset feed ramp to lower the bore axes
of their pistols. )
http://www.ammoland.com/2009/12/31/chiappa-firearms-rhino-357-magnum-revolver/
---
A Lesson from an Earlier Generation: If you're looking to burn some
time, here's a WWII cartoon intended to impress on our troops the need
for proper maintenance and care for weapons and equipment.
http://toonheads.tv/view/269/fighting-tools/
---
A Useful Tool: Ammo Engine is a free search site that appears to search
a wide variety of online vendors for availability and price for
ammunition in the caliber you select. It does appear to search
http://www.ammunitiontogo.com/, which I have found to discount that
CorBon ammunition they can keep in stock, but does not appear to search
http://www.ammoman.com/, which is often a good source for case quantities.
http://www.ammoengine.com/
---
From John Farnam:
28 Dec 09
In today's issue of a Boston newspaper there is a Letter to the Editor,
from a local high-school teacher:
"... current school security procedures lock down school populations in
the event of armed assault. Some advocate abandoning this practice as it
holds everyone in place, allowing a shooter easily to find victims. An
alternative is immediate exodus, via announcement. Although this removes
potential hostages... it unfairly rewards resourceful children who move
to safety... more shrewdly and efficiently than others. Schools should
level playing fields, not intrinsically reward those more resourceful..."
It gets even better:
"... some propose overturning laws that make schools gun-free zones...
they argue that barring licensed-carry only ensures a defenseless,
target-rich environment. But, as a Progressive, I would sooner lay my
child to rest than succumb to the belief that the use of a gun for
self-defense is somehow not in itself a gun crime."
The Communist apotheosis that no one should be allowed to enjoy the
natural benefits of their own resourcefulness, that identical outcomes
need to be guaranteed for all, no matter what any of us do as
individuals to help ourselves, is starkly repugnant to any real
American! Calling it "fairness" is a contemptible lie. It is enforced
mediocrity.
Any so-called "teacher" who will stand idly by and allow innocent
children in his charge to be murdered in front of him, rather than
protect them with a gun or another weapon, is a craven coward, a
collaborator with evil, unworthy and unfit, a currish disgrace to his
family and his profession!
This "teacher," for whom blind obedience to his Communist Ideals is held
above the lives of innocent children, needs leave America without delay,
move to North Korea or some other "Workers' Paradise," and forever get
out of our sight!
/John
(It seems to take a "Progressive" with a capital "P" to turn a
legitimate act of self-defense or defense of another into a crime simply
because it involves the use of a firearm. In the language of his chosen
ideology, such people are known as "useful idiots.")
28 Dec 09
On the Lakewood, WA Shooting, from a colleague and LEO:
"I fear this murder spree was abetted by the 'Community-Policing' frenzy
that has plagued our profession for over two decades.
The craze has been to set up numerous, out-posted 'sub-stations,' in
convenience stores and other small retail businesses. The theory is to
keep officers out of precinct stations and 'in the community' while they
perform administrative duties, such as report writing.
We now all see the downside to this! In a precinct station, while
you're concentrating on composing detailed reports about which you will
have to testify years later, you can relax (at least a little), because
you are in a relatively secure facility, surrounded with fences and
secured access-doors. Doing the same thing in a 'community
sub-station,' involves a quantum-leap in risk-exposure, as we see!
'Community-Policing' must always be subordinated to officer safety.
Since this flawed philosophy is now so ingrained in our profession, it
will take a while, and a few more fatal attacks, for upper-management to
make necessary procedural changes.
In the interim, the only one looking out for you is you, so think
tactically before glibly, naively taking part in someone else's
feel-good fluff!"
Comment: In these dangerous times, we all have to be able to respond
swiftly and effectively to changes in our environment. We all know that
the bigger the institution, the slower it advances. Accordingly, as
individuals, we have to take complete, personal command of our own
safety, never delegating that responsibility to a "system," "gadget,"
nor "policy."
Never expect someone else to care more about you than you care about
yourself!
/John
(A small proportion of list members are employed in law enforcement.
When I share material from that community, I generally do so because I
feel that it has broader value. In this case, those who do not enjoy the
security of the equivalent of a police station also need to be mindful
of the hazards conducting business in public venues, which they are more
likely to be forced to do. We should not assume that our workplaces are
secure, particularly when they require us to disarm. For the years I
volunteered in an L.A. Sheriff's station, I wondered why the detectives
routinely placed their handguns in a drawer upon arrival at their desks.
Years later I learned that this practice was established in the FBI by
"Jelly" Bryce, after an incident in which a subject being interviewed
disarmed an agent working in shirt sleeves. Bryce's policy was either to
leave your handgun concealed by your coat or to secure it when you
removed your coat. LASD and LAPD both received a major infusion of FBI
doctrine when each department was headed, respectively, by Eugene
Biscailuz and William Parker, each of whom came out of the FBI.)
31 Dec 09
Latest Trend in SA [South Africa], from friends there:
"We're experiencing Mall robberies here!
A large group of armed men, at least a dozen, all with Kalashnikovs,
storm a mall and hit high-end merchandise shops. They do not hesitate to
fire their weapons, and most of these incidents end up with shots fired
and multiple injuries. No mall is exempt. In fact, our largest and most
'secure' malls have all been hit more than once.
Jewelry stores are typically located in the center of malls for maximum
insulation from robberies, but these gangs bypass peripheral shops and
go directly for such places, because they have lots of cash and
high-density merchandise on hand.
Our largest local mall, the biggest in the Western Cape, has responded
with laughable 'extra security measures,' which include (even more)
cameras and highly-visible, but unarmed, security guards. As any idiot
could have predicted, these window-dressing measures do not represent
any species of deterrent, as robbers blithely ignore them, and the
guards themselves instantly run away, dropping their metal-detecting
wands (their only 'weapon') in the process!
Once again, management and government alike dither around like the Three
Stooges, doing everything imaginable, except something that has any
chance of actually working!
Typical Western Civilization!"
Comment:
All too typical! When this plague hits the USA, our "response" will
predictably be identical, and identically ineffective!
Weak, window-dressing responses to real safety issues are symptomatic of
declining civilizations, where everyone cares only about appearances,
and little genuine problem-solving ever sees the light of day.
Effective problem-solving always begins with the abrupt removal of
rose-colored glasses!
I love the way John Henry "Doc" Holliday put it:
"Play to win, or don't bother. Check friendship at the door. A
'friendly game' is a contradiction of terms. When looking for
entertainment, there is the theater. When camaraderie is your need,
there is the bar. For companionship, you've only to seek out any number
of likely whores."
/John
(I recall a period of months in L.A. County in which I began noticing
armored-car guards day-dreaming or reading newspapers when they should
have been watching their partners' backs. By coincidence, a series of
armored-car robberies began shortly afterward. Some will recall that
they culminated in the deaths of the perpetrators in the infamous North
Hollywood bank robbery on February 28, 1997. While many in law
enforcement argued that this was an atypical incident, of the sort that
might only occur once a decade, it can happen here and is even more
likely to happen in the current era of homegrown jihad.)
---
And a Joke, to Wrap Things Up: A Sunday school teacher was discussing
the Ten Commandments with a class of 6-year-olds. After explaining the
Commandment to "Honor thy father and thy mother," she asked, "Is there a
Commandment that teaches us how to treat our brothers and sisters?"
Without missing a beat one little boy answered, "Thou shall not kill."
--
Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
The tactics and skills to use a firearm
in self-defense don't come naturally
with the right to keep and bear arms.
http://www.spw-duf.info
