Monday Morning Red Haze

Just after cleaning up from my Shep’s overnight barf-a-thon (wrong – I had missed one of his better efforts under the foot of the bed), Miggy, of the excellent Gun-Free Zone blog, posts a Facedbook link which made my early Monday morning ever so much better. Jaime Franchi, she of the Pulitzer candidate 8 Factoids to Help You Sound Smart at a Party (two of which involve chocolate bunnies), drops a real steamer: Redefine the NRA as a Terrorist/Lobby Organization

Writing in the “Strictly Digital” (not even to be seen in birdcages) Long Island Press, that fine purveyor of “sports and alternative political news”, Ms. Franchi barfs out an impassioned editorial. The LIP incredibly miscategorizes her dreck as news. Actually, it’s not even much of an editorial, as it contains all the logic and cohesive thought of a bum’s screaming fit with his shoe.    

No, I’m not going to link to that steaming pile of vomitus. I’ve made the proper attributions: if you feel you must abuse your frontal lobes, Google it yourself.

Her editorial is largely a series of declarative statements, organized together by -- as far as I can tell -- commas, periods, spaces and proximity. Her thoughts skitter across the page like a drop of oil on too hot of a skillet. I tried to decipher several of her sentences and only got closer to putting rum in my coffee. Many of her statements are obviously incorrect or wild-eyed stretches of the vernacular. She even invokes bloody-shirt mouthpiece Richard Martinez, and “his simple(minded) plea of #notonemore.”  The parenthetical is mine. 

I subjected myself to Franchi’s derp in order to better understand the opposition’s thoughts and motivations. She's an insignificant player, but typical of the breed. I’m left wondering; “How do these people dress themselves in the morning?”

Franchi ends her frothing diatribe with “I think Richard Martinez would agree.” No, toots, I’m pretty sure Martinez isn’t that dumb. 

Wither the R51 - And Remington?

The Tam at View From The Porch reports that Remington has erased any reference of the promising R51 pistol from their website.

The R51 is/was a neat little single-stack 9mm pistol well targeted at the CCW community. It was announced with considerable fanfare just before this year's SHOT Show. Reaction from the shooting community was immediate and positive. Press releases and the first gun writer reviews indicated that Remington had hit the sweet spot of size, capacity, performance, shootability, style and price. Many (including your humbled scribe) expressed a barely suppressed desire for the pistol. It didn't hurt that the R51 was coming from one of the industry's icons.

Almost immediately, Remington stumbled badly. There were no R51s at the important SHOT Show Media Day shoot. Remington offered no official explanation. At SHOT, the display R51s  were criticized for a "gritty - clunky" feel. And later, pistols sold over the counter had plenty of well YouTube'd problems. 

Remington has been remarkably silent on the R51's issues. Now, the R51 has vanished from the website like a Stalinesc airbrushing of a nonperson.

Remington's problems seem much greater than the R51. They've serially fumbled the Marlin Rifle acquisition and the R700 recall remains a fiasco. Now there's concern that the iconic 870's quality is being short-cut, and some ammunition brands are having noticeable amounts of failures. Worse, Remington is apparently discounting the essential relationship with their customers by being largely silent or disingenuous about the many problems.

This is an absolute shame. Remington has a long, storied history as one of the World's preeminent firearm manufacturers. My safe is stuffed with Remingtons; many are the Clan's heritage firearms. it would be a tremendous loss if this American legend is driven into the ground -- and erased.

Fix the R51... and fix Remington. 

Your thoughts? 

"Hell, I Was There!" Free eBook

Elmer Keith is an absolute legend in the shooting community. He just about personally ushered in the pre-modern (post-WWII to pre-Glock) handgun era with his books, Guns and Ammo columns, and the development of the iconic .357, .41 and .44 Magnum revolver cartridges and the Winchester Model 70 rifle. He even found the time to design the semiwadcutter bullet, now called the Keith bullet in his honor. His "Been there. Done that. Got the scars." autobiography "Hell, I Was There": Elmer Keith, His Life Story is a must read for anyone interested in the history of the firearm arts.

Unfortunately, the book is long out of print, with copies going for as much as $400+. I despaired of ever reading it, as my inner Scot howled at the mere thought of such extravagance. Fortunately, the intrawebz has again come to our rescue. The good folks at archive.org are offering the public domain book electronically, for freeeeeeeee.

Several e-formats are provided, including online, PDF and Kindle. Cackling madly, I downloaded the Kindle version to my Fire. The formatting is pretty good, with just a few of the understandable OCR errors. The book is nicely illustrated with many period pictures. However, the captions are somewhat whimsically tossed throughout the text, but its not all that distracting. After one late night, I'm about a sixth of the way through Keith's book. So far, it's an engaging look into the Missouri and Montana frontiers at the turn of the 19th Century. It was a hard life, forging the hard man Keith was to become.

BTW: Keith uses some descriptive racial terms that are quite raw to the modern eye. 

Archive.org also boasts some other classics, such as Bolt Actions of the World 3rd Ed and Grossman's On Killing. Highly recommended. If your interest in Keith's writings has been whetted, you can find his Guns and Ammo columns here http://www.elmerkeithshoot.org/GA.  I lub me sum intranet.        

Hat Tip to SthWestVictoria of the excellent GunNation.us forum.

Why Do You Need That?

Those words are probably the public’s most common challenge to gun owners. Driven by the media’s hyperbolic reporting, it is nonetheless usually an honest, heartfelt question; “Why do you need the 30 mag clips, high powered, pistoled, collapsed, shoulder thing that goes up, collapsed, black, scary, fully-automatic military death machine guns?!?”

Welcome to my Family’s Christmas parties. <sigh>

Gunnies often directly respond to the question by correcting, educating, arguing and defending. Knowledge falls like rain upon the parched soil – where it quickly evaporates. The questioners simply don’t care about the details – if they did, well, they’d likely be gunnies. Magazines, reloading, training, semi auto, Tueller Drills, hot robberies, self-defense, militia, tyranny, etc. are just uncomfortable details of a subject the questioners don’t want to know about. Trying to argue the details and statistics simply legitimizes the question, freeing the questioner to continue to hold their opinions -- and to support outright bans.

There may be a better way.

Question the questioner.

“That question is absolutely the wrong one to ask in nation that values freedom. It’s not how little freedom we are allowed, but how much we are due. The Constitution recognizes the individual’s fundamental right to arms. That means there should be no arbitrarily restrictions, no hasty bans, no jingoistic laws that don’t solve any problem.   

Let’s hear your thoughts!

Comments Fully Enabled

I’m new to this Blogspot thingy. I’ve already developed a deep and abiding hatred dislike for the tool.   

The latest irritation revolves around the Comments. I envision this blog as effort in two way communications – to hopefully increase the community’s - and my - overall understanding. The comments are a poor tool – but the best we have for now. I was frankly concerned about the few comments – but happy about their quality.   

Poking around the default settings of Blogspot (seemingly hidden in about a hundred locations) I found the Comment setup section. The damn thing defaults to limiting comments from “members”. Commenting has now been opened to all. If you were unable to comment in the past, you have my humble apology. 

However, if we suddenly start getting spam from Russian Brides or Nigerian Princes…     

Wholly Carp - A Shall Not Be Questioned Blog Mention!

Oh... wow.

This fledgling blob gets a mention in the uberblog "Shall Not Be Questioned".

I've been reading Sebastian and Bitter for years. They are simply two of the best. They write with unparallelled vision, clarity, conciseness, and at least in Bitter's case, a healthy does of snark. They're also one of the most enjoyable reads on the Wild, Wild, Wild Web and important commentators on the Right To Keep and Bear Arms. 

To be mentioned in their blog, well... I'm Not Worthy!

To "Shall Not Be Questioned" readers: Welcome!

Apologies

As I make my first halting steps with this blog thingy, I’m finding out all sorts of stuff. Typically, as is my wont, by blundering right through them.

For the last week I’ve been unsuccessfully bludgeoning a post on Abramski vs. United States, the Supreme Court's recent ruling on straw purchases. Beyond its support of portions of the 1993 Brady Bill, I thought the SCOTUS opinion was an important illustration of the nature of laws, their costs, unintended consequences, and the unwarranted criminalization of everyday acts. 

As I developed my thesis, issues kept poking their noses under the tent. Most were eagerly welcome expansions, some were not, all required additional research, thought, and bloviating. I ended up with a Gordian’s Knot of analysis paralysis and writer’s bowel block. What was emerging was exactly what I did not want in this blog: an overlong, nuanced, multipart, dense magnum opus.   

Abramski vs. United States has been put aside. I’ll probably pull the meatiest portions apart for future blog posts. However, Blogging. Will. Restart.

Correia Warning

Pursuant to California's Proposition 65,The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, I am now posting warning language to notify all readers of the potential toxic nature of this blog. This language is known as the Correia Warning:

WARNING: I’m going to talk about body parts, there will be lots of profanity, it is going to get very crude, and I’ll probably hurt some feelings. Most people who aren’t total pussies will be fine.

Like Prop 65's warning signs, the above notice signifies nothing. But, it could help keep away the lawyers. And, the elephants. But, mostly the lawyers. And, Larry Correia, best selling author and International Lord of Hate, is freakin' brilliant; in an unrepentant cisgender normative male way.

Laws Are For The Little People

Incredible:

IRS Source: Lerner’s Hard Drive Likely Destroyed

Mein Gott. This is brazen: the illegal destruction of evidence that might well have proven the IRS was used to target the Administration's enemies.  

A cornerstone of Western Civilization since the Magna Carta requires the rulers to be bound by laws. With this blatant thumb in the eye of the Congressional committee, the Obama Administration has given notice that they are no longer required to observe the Nation's  laws .

HT: Drudge Report

Making Up Facts About Guns: The Obama Legacy

Making Up Facts About Guns

From the excellent Dr. John Lott, who should well know.  

We Interrupt this Message...

Blogging may be light, as Larry (International Lord of Hate) Corriea's latest installment of his best-selling Monster Hunter series: Nemesis, has been released in e-book two weeks early.

Gotta get my violence on! Fantasy wise.

Mandated Firearms Training?

Oh, Hell, NO!

Government Mandated Firearms Training?

Mandating training before firearm ownership would negate the Constitutionally recognized Unalienable Right to Keep and Bear Arms. If there is a government check box to be filled before a Right can be exercised, it isn't a Right. If it isn't a Right, it's subject to all the "reasonable" restrictions busy politicians and career bureaucrats can throw at it. 

Let's try a Gedankenexperiment: With preemptive firearms training classes the law of the land, Michelle Obama becomes the first modern 3rd (she includes her husband's) term president. Just how many hours of training, how much cost, how stringent will the final exams be in order to get a year-long permit to own a firearm? 

That being said, I strongly believe in firearms safety training, and back it with my NRA Instructor Certification and donated time and ammo. Firearms training simply cannot be government mandated and controlled, lest we loose another Right.

Bandying statistics and trends with the emotionally driven will not protect that Right, the argument must be simple and direct and powerful. This is a Fundamental, Enumerated Right, and it is best defended in that context.  
 

HT:  Rachel Malone via Texas Firearms Freedom

Couple Responsible For Vegas Shooting Spree Were Occupy Anarchists

As suspected, they were garden-variety freaks, not the extreme right-wingers the media longed for.

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/06/10/couple-responsible-for-vegas-shooting-spree-recently-lived-in-indiana/. 

HT: Instapundit

Ruminations on Tools

"It’s the poor craftsman who blames his tools" - usually.

Take the common screwdriver: It’s used as a chisel, paint stirrer, pry bar, door stop, table leveler, scratcher for that itch between the shoulder blades: right there -- ahhhh -- and, of course, a hammer. Occasionally, it drives a screw. In the hands of a 10-thumbed homeowner, the screwdriver can do horrific damage. In the hands of predators, it can kill.

Same tool.

The use depends on the user. It's a process dependent on the user’s intention, vision, and planning. There are always many alternatives; the user must choose a suitable tool. Finally, it's the skills and craftsmanship of the user which determine the end result. The user is in control.

Stop blaming the tool.

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day, Dad! 

I've been a poor student, but you've always been a great teacher!

Turn In Your Neighbor Bill

With the failure of the mental health, gun, knife, hammer and car laws to prevent the Isla Vista tragedies, the usual suspects have proposed additional laws that are breathtaking in their negation of Constitutional Rights. US Senators Feinstein and Boxer, as well as state politicians, are proposing "Pause for Safety Acts" in order to easily strip the Rights from law-abiding citizens. 

Mr. and Mrs. America, turn 'em all in.

These bills would allow families and ”others” to get a gun-violence restraining order against an allegedly unstable person. There would be no requirement for a professional determination of a mental illness. The judicial order would require the surrender of all weapons (knives and BB guns included) to the police for an undeterminant (read: permanent) period. It would also prohibit the purchase of any firearm. States would be “incentivized” through grants to “ensure that law enforcement makes full use of all existing gun registries when assessing a tip, warning or request from a concerned family member or other close associate.”  It would pay the state to act upon every allegation, regardless of merit. A state official, after reviewing internet traffic, could be the accuser; a nice, tidy package.  
     
The threat to individual liberties is blatantly obvious. Anger a coworker, annoy a neighbor, worry a hypersensitive relative, question a government bureaucrat? The next step might well be the courtroom. And just who will determine what behaviors are suspicious? Here in Cali, a man was held for psychiatric evaluation partly because he had an "insane" amount of ammunition: 5,000 rounds. In our world, that's a good day at a gun show. And we've had really good days before. Dang those deals on .22LR; wish I had been more "insane".

Backers state that the proposed law would work like the existing domestic violence restraining orders. That is NOT a good precedence, as unfounded allegations of domestic and child abuse have become the standard tools of divorce attorneys. A judge's Order of Protection is all but a certainty, regardless of the evidence or the lack of same. There is little protection for the accused; a perjury charge for false allegations is almost unknown. Similar abuses could be expected for gun restraining orders. 
   
If you value your freedoms, don’t want to be subject to a J’accuse! from any direction, or put at the mercy of an increasingly politicized legal system and judiciary, these bills should be opposed NOW!

Ahem

HT: bulkammo.com

A Baaaad Day For a Baaaad Decision

As this is a Full Moon Friday the Thirteenth, It seems perfect for announcing a bad decision:

My foray into gun blogging: Not One More Gun Law

This effort was inspired by Richard Martinez, the feckless father of a murdered UCSB student. We all grieved for the students and their families, but Martinez' actions were unsupportable. He waved the bloody shirt of his son in an emotion laden rant against millions of gun owners; completely ignoring the true killer and his enablers. He screeched out the vapid, impossible demand of "Not One More!" The performance looked out of place, over the top and perhaps... staged. And it was totally reflective of the message of the media and the elite.

I think that this situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid gesture be done on somebody's part. And I am just the guy to do it. Hence, the Not One More Gun Law blog. As the tagline "The Philosophy Behind the Trigger" implies, I hope to examine the deeper issues of self defense, an armed people, an active populace, the 2nd Amendment, and perhaps counter a few of the shallow thoughts that rattle around the head of the  body politic. The discussions are intended to be short and focused. I find many times these discussion stretch out to pages of text, and frankly, few have time for that.

I invite you to take a look at the blog. Be vicious with your criticism. If it sucks, point it out! (Well, we know it sucks -- now.) If it irredeemably sucks, point it out! Provide your recommendations. If my time would be better spent cataloging belly button lint, say it! 

In Memoriam: Joseph Robert Wilcox

A Concealed Carry Weapon permit holder was killed in a Las Vegas Walmart in a rampage by two deranged criminals. He lost his life responding to the highest calling of a citizen. "Joseph died attempting to protect others." said Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie, who also praised him as a hero.  

Mr. Wilcox "...immediately and heroically moved toward the position...", related Assistant Sheriff Kevin McMahill. He did so selflessly, likely understanding his chances weren't good, as he was facing a crazy who had already fired a gun in a crowded store. Wilcox's chances were worse than he knew; his opponent had an accomplice who cowardly shot him in the back.  

Our civilization is rich with selfless acts in the protection of others: men running into burning buildings, mothers successfully facing down impossible odds, strangers giving their lives to help those they could never know.  Common people doing extraordinary things. Mr. Wilcox is an example of the best of an ethos that binds us together as a society.

Godspeed, Joseph. Rest in Peace. Well done, well done indeed.

Those who wish to contribute to the Joseph R. Wilcox Memorial Fund can do so by using the Wells Fargo account number 8485852688. Donations to honor the police officers killed in this tragedy can be given via the Injured Police Officers Fund at http://www.injuredpoliceofficers.com.  Las Vegas Review-Journal

Still here

Involved in the kerfuffle surrounding the LV and Troutdale shootings. New content soonest.  

D-Day 70th Anniversary

On the 6th of June 1944, Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Forces blew apart the gates of Festung Europa. Through their incredible bravery and sacrifice, the scourge of Nazi tyranny would be lifted from the World.       

Failure of Laws

After the Isla Vista, CA tragedy, there was the usual klaxon cry for more gun laws such as enhanced and universal background checks, mental health holds, waiting periods, reduced magazine capacity, one gun a month limits, handgun restrictions, etc. All laws that California had at the time of the shootings. Those laws simply didn’t work. They failed despite all the expense, aggravation, and law enforcement and legal system attention. They failed because someone didn't care a whit that they broke those laws.

A determined psychopath, planning for years, was able to fulfill his sick imperative. He planned around all the restrictions; methodically assembling the knives, hammers, guns, magazines, and ammo of his dark fantasy. What he didn’t get was the institutional treatment he desperately needed.

Twenty Thousand Gun Laws Later

Twenty thousand gun laws have done nothing to reduce crime; instead, they have made the lives of honest citizens more dangerous. It is long past the time to stop blaming inanimate objects, and end the criminalization of Constitutionally protected behavior and stay the wholesale destruction of the Rights of the law-abiding.