Oh for Four

Don Surber nails it on Obama's failure to rise to the occasion.

Wrong Kenneth Starr - Ooops, Sorry!

From ProfessorBainbridge.com:

Defamation by Stupidity

You just knew that when a Kenneth Starr was charged with running a Ponzi scheme on rich investors that some "journalist" would get it confused. I wonder what he'll do when he finds out the North Carolina Department of Revenue is run by Kenneth Lay.

Hell has Frozen Over

Rush is right...say Chris Matthews

Teaching the Pig to Dance

Fred lays out some thoughts on personal responsibility. It is is a shame he didn't get further in the 2008 Republican primaries. I think he'd be a damn sight better President than the one we have now.

America's Favorite Journey

In honor of the 75th anniversary of the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Smoky Mountain News is running a series of articles about the Parkway. This article describes how the young landscape architect Stanley Abbott laid out the Parkway.

AC360 on BATFE, Part 2

The second part of CNN's AC360 report on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

Advanced Rifle Scope for Soldiers in Development

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/news/press_releases/2010/052610_LM_DARPA_rifle-scope.html

DARPA Awards Lockheed Martin $3.9M Contract to Develop Advanced Rifle Scope for Soldiers

AKRON, Ohio, May 26th, 2010 -- The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] a $3.93 million contract to develop a rifle-scope attachment to enhance soldiers’ marksmanship capabilities.

The Dynamic Image Gunsight Optic or DInGO system will enable soldiers to accurately view targets at varying distances without changing scopes or suffering a decrease in optical resolution. The system will enhance soldiers’ ability to accurately hit targets at a range of between three and 600 meters.

DInGO automatically calculates the range with a low power laser rangefinder, digitally zooms in on it and accounts for environmental conditions such as wind using sensors built into the scope. It then projects the bullet’s point-of-impact calculated from the embedded ballistics computer.

“Current scopes are optimized for a single target range, impacting soldiers’ effectiveness and survivability when engaging targets at different distances during a single mission,” said Dan Schultz, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin’s Mission Systems & Sensors Ship & Aviation Systems business. “DInGO will solve this problem, significantly increasing soldiers’ ability to rapidly reconfigure optics for use from short to long ranges and improving marksmanship capabilities for all soldiers.”

DInGO is based on Lockheed Martin’s One Shot Advanced Sighting System, which utilizes similar precision engagement technology to automatically transmit crosswind information to a long-range sniper’s scope and modify the crosshairs to display exactly where the bullet will strike.

DARPA awarded Lockheed Martin an 18-month, $9.7 million contract in 2008 to integrate One Shot’s new crosswind measurement technology into a prototype spotter scope – a small telescope that is carried by sniper teams and is used to bring far-away objects into close view. During tactical field tests in December 2009, snipers were able to engage targets twice as quickly and increase their probability of a first-round hit by a factor of two using the One Shot technology at distances beyond 1,000 meters.

The nine-month Phase 1 contract, with options for additional phases, calls for Lockheed Martin to develop the DInGO system for use on the M-4 and M-16 automatic rifles. Work will be performed at Lockheed Martin’s Akron, Ohio, site, which has a strong track record for developing laser technology for ship and airborne infrared countermeasures, communications, wind correction and active sensing.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 136,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation reported 2009 sales of $45.2 billion.

AC360 on BATFE

CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 reports on a dysfunctional BATFE here.

Obama Finds Use for Bitter Gun-Clingers

http://rob.neppell.org/2010/05/19/bitter-gun-clingers-finally-demonstrate-usefulness-to-obama-administration/

There is some speculation on the weapon in question. While some say it is a Mannlicher-Carcano, I'm going with an Argentine Mauser Modelo 1891 Cavalry carbine.

Don't Mess with old Korean War Vets

In Chicago this morning, an 80 year old Korean War vet, his 83 year old wife, and 12 year old great-grandson were awoken by a thug shooting into their bedroom.

But just as the man got off a second round, the homeowner, who had a handgun of his own, fired a single shot, killing the intruder, a police source said.

"He missed, (but) my daddy didn't," said the 80-year-old's son, (name deleted), who lives upstairs in the two-flat in the 600 block of North Sawyer Avenue.

Anthony Nelson, 29, whose street name was Big Ant, had a 13 page rap sheet for drug and weapons convictions.

In a news conference held later in the day, Hizzoner, Mayor Richard Daley refused to say if the homeowner would be charge with violating Chicago's handgun ban.

The man has been hailed as a hero by his family and neighbors, but Daley cautioned that "guns is not the answer to the problems that we see in a home, in the streets of America. It's as simple as that."

Unlike the Mayor, I would say that a gun saved the lives of two elderly people who have been married almost 60 years and their great-grandson. Big Ant was a violent criminal actor who was intent on doing harm to these good people and needed to be stopped. And was.

A use for Al Gore

Keyword: NRA

Lexicalist.com is a website that analyzes word usage on the Internet and then breaks it down by demographics. The three demographics analyzed are age, gender, and geography.

Even two weeks after the NRA Annual Meeting, North Carolina is still buzzing about the NRA coming to Charlotte as seen by this map from Lexicalist.com.


Demographics of "nra" on May 26, 2010 (from Lexicalist.com).

I used the keyword "NRA" to generate this map. As you can see, people are still buzzing more about the NRA today than they were a month ago. Lexicalist.com estimates that it is up 128%.

Go here for the full breakdown.

Winning not only in the courts

Days of our Trailers: Handgun Ban Support Collapsing

NRA convention underscores anti-gun camp's irrelevancy

Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and Dave Workman, senior editor of Gun Week had this op-ed last week in the Charlotte Observer.

Adhering to a pattern of behavior that has developed over the years, a tiny contingent of gun prohibitionists paraded outside of the Charlotte Convention Center while the National Rifle Association was hosting its record-breaking members' meeting, but they remained only long enough to get some camera time with local news crews.

Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, came to Charlotte to grab some face time and get his name in the local media. Where the NRA can pull more than 70,000 members, the Brady bunch could barely muster two dozen protesters to parade around for perhaps an hour, then leave satisfied that the 5 o'clock news would carry their images.

The Complementary Spouse, her brother, two of her nephews, and I all attended the NRA Annual Meeting in Charlotte. I didn't even know there had been a protest until I saw pictures of it posted on The Breda Fallacy.

State-run Media

In another sign that the Obama Administration is all about controlling the message, Robert Gibbs privately lectures members of the press for asking too many questions regarding BP according to a post on theblogprof.



And to think the taxpayers of North Carolina spent thousands of dollars over the amount of tuition he paid to educate Robert Gibbs at NC State University. We need to ask for a refund.

A Cold Civil War?

Jennifer III at the I'll Take Liberty blog has a very thought provoking post about what she calls the Cold Civil War. She says that we now live in a mass society where you may have more in common with someone a thousand miles away than with your next door neighbor. This has led to a breakdown in communications and it is especially evident in politics.

Without shared assumptions it’s completely impossible to communicate verbally. And without communication, politics can’t work peacefully. And when politics don’t work peacefully for this reason, each side wonders why the other doesn’t just get with the program. Where debate once aired, name-calling prevails. It’s the end of intelligent discourse.

It doesn’t go to violence immediately. Interaction must pass through every shade of gray until it reaches those shades of black. It starts with what happened in the 20th century. The progressives in both political parties neutered the Constitution because they assumed it had no meaning. They preferred the rule of men over the rule of law. Now people who want the rule of law are labeled as ‘extremists’.

Read the rest of her post.

Personal Security versus Personal Defense

Dave Spaulding is a well-known law enforcement and firearms trainer. Indeed, he was named the 2010 Law Officer Trainer of the Year. He was a police officer in Ohio for 30 years as well as a Federal Security contractor.

He gave a presentation on personal security and developing the combative mindset at the NRA Annual Meeting in Charlotte. Spaulding said he doesn't call it personal defense because "defense is kind of like losing slowly." Rather the aim of the combative mindset is to keep you from being the victim of criminals.

Watch these three part videos of Dave's presentation and learn. Indeed, have your family watch the videos so they can learn how to protect themselves by avoiding trouble.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Alien and Sedition Acts - Act 3

While most of the original Alien and Sedition Acts passed into blessed oblivion in 1801 and the Sedition Acts of 1918 were repealed in 1920, this has not stopped Democrats of President Obama from proclaiming that opposition to his policies by Republicans and the Tea Party Movement is seditious.

Now we have Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts chiming in during a law school forum. Patrick now says it was merely a "rhetorical flourish."

Frankly, with regard to aliens and sedition, we'd be a whole lot better off if we didn't have the President of Mexico making insulting remarks before Congress about Arizona's Illegal Aliens Law and our gun laws as well as not having the Governor of Massachusetts casting aspersions on the President's political opponents.

Ford Fiesta - Beach Assault Vehicle?

Jeremy Clarkson, auto journalist and TV personality, reviews the British version of the Ford Fiesta for the BBC TV program Top Gear. And it seems he likes it.

The best comment? “The smoke grenades fit perfectly in the cup holders.”

The video is a bit long so skip to the fun parts - a car chase in a mall and the Royal Marines assaulting a beach along with the Fiesta.

Classy guy - not!

John Kass in his column about Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, Jr.'s news conference accuses Hizzoner of embarrassing the City of Chicago. He's right. Watch the video.



Kurt Hoffman, in the St. Louis Gun Rights Examiner, goes a bit further and wonders if Daley is making "terroristic threats" when hoping some of the more conservative Justices on the Supreme Court end up getting shot before they can rule on the Chicago gun case, McDonald v. Chicago.

If it had been me or you saying that, you can be sure we'd be getting a visit from the authorities. Bullies like Daley need to be taken down a peg or two.

Bison Bull

While strolling the aisles of the NRA Annual Meeting, we came across Single Six Ltd. and their Bison Bull single-action revolver in .45-70 Government. The revolver was massive as you would expect for something that is firing the .45-70 Government cartridge. It truly was a hand cannon.

The version that I am holding is scoped and has a sling post on the barrel that can be used to mount a bipod. A revolver that weighs around 7 pounds empty is going to need either a good rest or a bipod if you want to hit anything. I don’t know many people that could shoot this revolver single-handed a’ la Clint Eastwood in “Dirty Harry”. Even with a two-handed grip, it would be hard to steady this gun shooting offhand.

The Bison Bull should appeal to those wanting something more than a single-shot for big-game hunting. The cartridge has enough oomph to take virtually any North American large game.

Single Six Ltd. lists the MRSP for the Bison Bull as $1,495 (without scope.)

Obama - Do as I say, Not as I do.

From Instapundit:

Juxtaposition

Don't Know Much About Geography

The Wall Street Journal in today’s “Heard on the Street” page reports this little gem from Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) on the new financial regulations and the role of countries like Greece.

We’ve now come to the clear recognition that we no longer live in a isolated place, that events that happen in small countries in the Caribbean can have a huge impact on the global economy.

Mr. Dodd must be living in Sam Cooke’s “Wonderful World”

A rat leaving a sinking ship?

Sgt Dick Blumenthal, USMCR, wannabe-Vietnam Vet

As I noted in an earlier post, my Dad was an Army veteran of both WWII and Vietnam. He served two tours of duty in South Vietnam as a Master Sgt with the Corps of Engineers.

The first tour was in 1967-68 at Cam Ranh Bay. I have pictures of him somewhere dressed up in tiger-stripe camo with white facings playing Santa Claus to Vietnamese kids. They chose him because he had white hair. He was 48 when he left to go to Vietnam. His second tour was in 1969-70 and he was with a road building batallion in both the Central Highlands and the Mekong Delta region.

When your Dad is gone for two years of your childhood serving in a war zone and then some slimey politician fraudulently claims to have served in Vietnam to burnish his credentials, you can understand my anger and disgust with Connecticut AG and US Senate candidate Richard Blumenthal.

William Saletan in the online magazine Slate has a blistering critique of Blumenthal. James Taranto, in his Best of the Web column for the Wall Street Journal, nails it better than I could.

He'll fight for Connecticut's families just like he fought back in his Marine days, when he led the glorious Toys for Tots campaign during Vietnam.

Not that I have anything against Toys for Tots but as the Virtual Stepdaughter always says, "Just saying".

Marinestan

Though my Dad served 28 years on active duty with the U.S. Army and was a veteran of both WWII and Vietnam, I’m sure he’d agree with Victor Davis Hanson on this one.

http://patriotpost.us/opinion/victor-davis-hanson/2010/05/20/marinestan/

The U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, retired three-star Army General Karl W. Eikenberry, reportedly made a comment about there being 41 nations serving in Afghanistan -- and a 42nd composed of the Marine Corps. One unnamed Obama administration official was quoted by the Washington Post as saying, "We have better operational coherence with virtually all of our NATO allies than we have with the U.S. Marine Corps."

Some officials call the new Marine enclave in Nimruz Province "Marinestan" -- as if, out of a Kipling or Conrad novel, the Marines have gone rogue to set up their own independent province of operations.

First Impressions of the NRA Annual Meeting

We attended the NRA Annual Meeting this past weekend in Charlotte. When the Complementary Spouse asked what I wanted for my birthday, I said I wanted her to go with me to Charlotte. Being the good woman that she is, she agreed.

Even though this was my first NRA show, I had an idea of what to expect in the Charlotte Convention Center since I had attended the 1996 SHOT Show in Dallas. I was working for a knife company then and helped to work their booth.

My first impression is that the NRA show was smaller but friendlier. There were less “booth babes” than at a SHOT Show which given the family-oriented composition of the crowd was probably a smart thing. The vendors seemed more willing to take the time to explain their products than I expected. That was nice feature of the show.

We were met in Charlotte by the Complementary Spouse’s brother Larry and two of his sons. The boys were more interested in the Bushmaster ACR, the FN SCAR, and the Barrett Model 82A1 than anything else. Larry and I were more interested in the higher end 1911’s, the exquisite wood of the Dakota Arms rifles, and other stuff of that ilk. Blame Call of Duty Modern Warfare and other video games!

The Complementary Spouse is not of the Gun Culture. Her father did collect guns and she has shot skeet with her late dad many years ago. The one thing that really stood out for her is how polite everyone was. You saw Mom and Pop Kettle, bikers, servicemen, cops, hippies, old people, young kids, etc. People didn’t jostle in line, they held doors for one another, they said “excuse me” and “please”, and they were just nice to one another. When you have more than 70,000 people in one place this is a rare thing. Robert Heinlein was right – an armed society is a polite society – even when you aren’t allowed to carry your arms like in Charlotte.

The origins of No Lawyers – Only Guns and Money

After years of reading other people’s blogs, I thought it was time for me to start my own. I wanted to have a blog that would cover my interests in firearms and politics.

I’m not a lawyer so I couldn’t ethically use the whole phrase “lawyers, guns and money” from Warren Zevon. Besides, someone else had already used it. However, I hold an industry designation in a highly regulate industry which shall not be named and I do have my Curios and Relics FFL. Thus, the title was born.

I want this blog to cover my interest in firearms and politics. I may even throw in a bit on fly fishing and other topics as the spirit moves me. I did go to a Quaker college so I know a little bit about being moved by the spirit – even though I’m Catholic and not Quaker.