It Can Still Be Done

The film Assaulted: Civil Rights Under Fire still needs funding to get it off the ground. As of this afternoon, Kris Koenig is still $37,750 short of the needed $65,000 to conduct the initial interviews and there are only four more days to raise it on Kickstarter.

I had the opportunity to meet Kris and his assistant Anita this weekend at the Gun Rights Policy Conference. They are good people and they are dedicated to the Second Amendment. Kris conducted a number of filmed interviews for the film this weekend and is off to a good start.

Kris has the contacts and the commitment from public television to get this program on the air. However, as I said in the opening paragraph, he needs money to finish the project. Personally, I have raised my own pledge four-fold because I believe in this project.

The readers of this blog are backers of gun rights or they wouldn't be reading my blog. Here is my challenge: if everyone who reads my blog in next couple of days would only pledge $5 it would put this project over the top.

Let me put $5 into perspective. Five bucks is:

• 4 softdrinks at $1.25 each, or
• 1 fancy coffee drink at Starbucks plus the tip, or
• Less than the cost of a Big Mac meal at McDonalds
• The change scattered on the top of your dresser, or
• The cost of a big box of popcorn at the movies, or
• Less than the cost of a movie ticket.

I think you get the idea. Five bucks isn't a lot of money in and of itself but if enough people donate five bucks it begins to add up. 

So please, consider making a pledge to this project. You can make your pledge here.

Update On Otis McDonald's Condition

Colleen and David Lawson, co-plaintiffs in McDonald v. Chicago, gave me an update on Otis McDonald's condition and well as the circumstances that put him the hospital. This update is made with the permission of Mr. McDonald and his family.

He was standing at home and felt dizzy and did not fall, just let himself crumple to the floor. After ten minutes, he felt well enough to rise and out himself to bed, tho it was mid-afternoon. His kids found him like that and rushed him to the hospital, where it was determined that he had blood on his brain and put him in ICU. Subsequent tests determined that surgery is not indicated at this point, and that it discontinuing his blood pressure meds may be efficacious in relieving that pressure. The docs felt he had been on them too long and didn't need them, and he reports a marked increase in feeling better this morning, following discontinuance of the blood pressure meds. As of last night, he was moved out of ICU and into a regular room. Although visits are discouraged without prior consent of the family, Otis welcomes your cards and has given permission for this status update to be shared with any interested persons.

Cards and well wishes may be sent to:

Christ Community Hospital, 4440 W 95th St
Oak Lawn, IL 60453.

Otis McDonald sends his love and gratitude for your inquiries, prayers, and well-wishes.

Keep Otis McDonald In Your Prayers

Pastor Kenn Blanchard let me know earlier today that Second Amendment hero Otis McDonald was admitted to the ICU at a Chicago hospital. He was admitted for a cerebral blood clot.  Mr. McDonald has been a fighter all of his life but this may be his toughest battle.

Kenn didn't know Mr. McDonald's current condition but requested prayers for him. I second that and would add that we need to keep his family in our prayers as well.

If I hear anything more about his condition, I'll update this as soon as possible.

UPDATE: Mr. McDonald's cerebral blood clot is a result of a fall at the airport in which he hit his head. He was on his way to the Gun Rights Policy Conference when he had his accident.    I was informed by Colleen and David Lawson that this happened at home and he was feeling faint. He didn't fall but merely lowered himself to the floor. He was brought to the hospital a little later that day.

UPDATE II: Julie Versnel reported at the Gun Rights Policy Conference that Mr. McDonald is on the mend. That's good news!

A Question To Ponder

The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence (sic) is holding their gala event in New York City on Thursday, October 4th. They plan to honor B-list actors who've made public service announcements for them as well as highlight "men and women whose lives have been forever altered by gun violence."

Included in the list of those "whose lives have been forever altered" was this:

Aurora theater shooting victims Ethan Rodriguez-Torrent (who escaped without physical injury) and his friend Stephen Barton (who was shot in the neck and shoulders), who had stopped in Denver to visit a friend during their cross-country cycling trip;

How is Ethan Rodriguez-Torrent a "theater shooting victim" if he had no physical injuries? Is the Brady Center claiming the Mr. Rodriguez-Torrent has PTSD or other mental disorders other than hoplophobia, that is? Was just being in the theater enough to be able to claim victimhood?

I can understand calling the friend a victim as he was actually shot by the deranged student but I'm having a hard time accepting that Mr. Rodriguez-Torrent is a victim. By extension, if you've ever witnessed a hostile encounter, in person or on TV, then you are a shooting victim. I've watched the Zapruder film of JFK being assassinated in Dallas as well as have vague memories of watching Jack Ruby kill Lee Harvey Oswald on TV so does that make me a shooting victim?

By the dumbed-down standards of the Brady Center, I guess it does. I'm a victim, you're a victim, we're all victims now. Victim of what I'm still not sure but victims nonetheless.

Important Update On CCW At GRPC In Orlando - It's Legal In The Hotel

Thanks to the industrious work of Miko Tempski, Board Member of the CCRKBA, we have the definitive answer on whether the Hyatt Regency Orlando Airport is considered a part of the airport for concealed carry purposes.

It is not!

Miko receved the following from the Orlando Police Department's airport division a few minutes ago:

 From: John O'Grady
Subject: Fwd: Airport Firearms Carry and attached hotel
To: miko.temski

Mr. Tempski, I am in receipt of the below email request. In short you are correct in your interpretation of the FSS. The Hyatt Hotel is it's own property so legally carrying a weapon is OK. Carrying a firearm in the terminal is prohibited. If you have any other questions or concerns please contact me directly.

Regards, John O'Grady Orlando Police Department Division Commander Orlando International Airport

Thus while you can't legally carry within the airport terminal, you can carry in the hotel itself. I just confirmed with the hotel that it can be accessed without entering the terminal.

Thanks again to Miko for getting a definitive answer from law enforcement. I should know not to trust public affairs and marketing!

UPDATE: Thanks to Markofafreeman in the comments below we have some directions on how to enter the hotel if you are driving without entering the terminal: If you drive, go up to the 4th floor parking, following the signs for the Hyatt. As advertised, the entrance is right there and you don't need to enter via the terminal.

Ryan Cleckner On Cleaning Your Bolt Action Rifle

The National Shooting Sports Foundation has just released another in its series of YouTube videos featuring rifle shooting with Ryan Cleckner. In this video, he discusses how to properly clean your bolt action rifle along with the proper tools and solvents. After watching this video, I'm buying one of those Parker-Hale jags! They look like they make things a whole lot easier.

Carrying Concealed At The Gun Rights Policy Conference

A comment to a post by Miguel at GunFreeZone.net started me looking into Florida's concealed carry laws and prohibited locations. The Gun Rights Policy Conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency Orlando Airport which is located in the main terminal of the Orlando Airport. I confirmed with the Hyatt that they are actually considered part of the airport terminal (or so the Front Desk said).

According to Florida Statue Section 790.06 (12)a, you are prohibited from carrying in the following locations:

(12)(a) A license issued under this section does not authorize any person to openly carry a handgun or carry a concealed weapon or firearm into:

1. Any place of nuisance as defined in s. 823.05;

2. Any police, sheriff, or highway patrol station;

3. Any detention facility, prison, or jail;

4. Any courthouse;

5. Any courtroom, except that nothing in this section would preclude a judge from carrying a concealed weapon or determining who will carry a concealed weapon in his or her courtroom;

6. Any polling place;

7. Any meeting of the governing body of a county, public school district, municipality, or special district;

8. Any meeting of the Legislature or a committee thereof;

9. Any school, college, or professional athletic event not related to firearms;

10. Any elementary or secondary school facility or administration building;

11. Any career center;

12. Any portion of an establishment licensed to dispense alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises, which portion of the establishment is primarily devoted to such purpose;

13. Any college or university facility unless the licensee is a registered student, employee, or faculty member of such college or university and the weapon is a stun gun or nonlethal electric weapon or device designed solely for defensive purposes and the weapon does not fire a dart or projectile;

14. The inside of the passenger terminal and sterile area of any airport, provided that no person shall be prohibited from carrying any legal firearm into the terminal, which firearm is encased for shipment for purposes of checking such firearm as baggage to be lawfully transported on any aircraft; or

15. Any place where the carrying of firearms is prohibited by federal law.

If the Hyatt Regency is legally part of the terminal at the Orlando Airport, carrying concealed even with the proper license/permit is forbidden. People traveling to the conference who would normally be carrying should be aware of this. I knew you couldn't carry in the bar portion of restaurants but I didn't know about the airport portion of the law.

If you have any different information as to the status of the Hyatt Regency Orlando Airport, please share it in the comments below.

UPDATE: I just spoke with Vera of the Public Affairs Department of the Orlando International Airport regarding this issue. I asked specifically whether the Hyatt Regency was considered part of the main terminal for the purposes of concealed carry. She replied, "It is in the airport." Unless we hear differently from the Orlando Police Department, I would operate under the presumption that concealed carry is not allowed at the Hyatt Regency.  See my separate update - the Orlando PD, airport division says the hotel is a private holding and is NOT part of the airport for CCW purposes.

One More Day Until GRPC!

We are getting excited. It is only one more day before we board a Delta jet to Orlando for the Gun Rights Policy Conference. There will be old friends to see, new friends to make, and a chance finally to meet people you only know from the Interwebs.

The Complementary Spouse is making lists of stuff we shouldn't forget while I'm trying to figure out which Hawaiian shirts to pack. We all have our priorities!

You can read the agenda here.

As I've said before, if you live anywhere in the area you should attend for at least Saturday. It's free to attend, you'll get tons of free books on Second Amendment topics, and you'll learn a lot. Plus Madison Rising will be playing the National Anthem!

Quote Of The Day

California Senator Leland Yee's SB249 has officially died for this session of the California legislature. The finger pointing has begun between Senator Yee and Attorney General Kamala Harris. The so-called investigative journalists at KCBS who did the original story that let Senator Yee think he could ride the issue to fame and glory have more on it here.

The quote of the day comes from Senator Yee bemoaning the fact that people let their voice be heard:

State Senator Leland Yee, who sponsored the bill, said the campaign became ugly fast. “We got emails, we got phone calls. We even had billboards along 101,” he said.

Dude, that's the way it is supposed to happen in America. Citizens can and should make their voices heard. I imagine that is one of the reason's Sen. Yee's family (including him) emigrated in 1951or '52 to America from Red China.

As to the billboards, props to the gun rights activists in California!

A Reminder For NC Hunters

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission is reminding hunters of the requirement to wear blaze orange during certain hunting seasons. As an aside, I wonder if this requirement will ever be expanded to include the safety yellow that you see so many highway workers and public safety personnel wearing nowadays.

RALEIGH, N.C. - The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission's Home From The Hunt™ safety campaign is reminding hunters to follow blaze orange requirements.

In North Carolina, hunters are required to wear a cap, hat or an outer garment in blaze orange that is visible from all sides when hunting bear, feral hogs, deer, rabbit, squirrel, grouse, pheasant or quail with a firearm. Hunters are also required to wear blaze orange while hunting with a bow on Sunday during the muzzleloader or gun season.

"Blaze orange, sometimes known as hunter orange, fluorescent orange or, by some old-timers, as 10-mile cloth, is instantly recognizable and signals caution to the viewer," said Travis Casper, state hunter education coordinator.

The Wildlife Commission recommends everyone wear blaze orange if they are going to be outdoors in areas shared with hunters. Blaze orange clothing stands out against an outdoor background and studies have proven it increases visibility of the wearer in low light situations. Blaze orange also can be helpful in locating someone lost or injured.

"Throughout the various hunting seasons, the majority of folks are responsible and safe," Casper said. "This state has an excellent hunting safety record, which improves every year. But it isn't perfect and we want to eliminate preventable incidents."

All first-time hunting license buyers in North Carolina must complete a hunter education course successfully. Classroom courses are offered free across the state by the Wildlife Commission, with locations and schedules listed online at www.ncwildlife.org.

For information on hunting seasons and rules, consult the 2012-13 N.C. Inland Fishing, Hunting and Trapping Regulations Digest, also available online at www.ncwildlife.org.

Banning The Tool And Not The Act In NJ

The New Jersey General Assembly has passed a bill out of the Consumer Affairs Committee that would ban the sale of laser pointers that generate more than one milliwatt output. The ostensible reason behind this ban is that law enforcement authorities say people have been shining laser pointers at plane cockpits.

Earlier this month, state and federal law enforcement authorities warned of the dangers of pointing lasers at planes, an increasingly common occurrence that can temporarily blind pilots and put the crew and passengers at risk.

There were 269 reported laser "strikes" in New Jersey airspace last year, authorities said, as compared to just four in 2007.

"Laser pointers can serve a legitimate need in the classroom and in business settings, but clearly in those cases we don’t need super-powered laser pointers that can put people at risk," the sponsor of the bill, Assemblyman Nelson Albano (D-Cumberland) said.

The bill would impose fines of not more than $500 for the first offense and not more than $1,000 for each subsequent offense. An identical bill passed the Senate in June.
people at risk.”

The bill, A3169, doesn't just impact those laser pointers used in making presentations. From the text of the bill:

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

     1.    a. No person shall sell or offer to sell a laser pointer that exceeds one milliwatt in output power.

     b.    For the purposes of this section, "laser pointer" means any device that emits laser light to project a beam that may be used for aiming, targeting, or pointing out features.

     c.     Nothing in this section shall apply to the sale of a laser pointer intended to be used by, or under the supervision of, a health care practitioner licensed under the laws of the State of New Jersey.

By this definition, the sale of the laser products sold by Crimson Trace, Viridian, and LaserMax would all be outlawed.  Their peak output is 5 milliwatts.

This is a bill that needs to go nowhere. It will end up banning a self-defense tool that can help in stressful situations. It is so typical of politicians that rather severely punishing the transgression they think it is easier to just ban something.

Agenda For 2012 GRPC

The agenda for the 2012 Gun Rights Policy Conference has been released and I've posted it below. The Second Amendment band Madison Rising will be doing the National Anthem as well as playing at both the Friday and Saturday night receptions. How cool is that!

27th Annual Gun Rights Policy Conference
September 28-30, 2012
Hyatt Regency Orlando, Florida, Airport

FRIDAY, September 28, 2012—Regency Ballroom
7:00 p.m. Registration Table Opens
7:00–9:00 p.m. Reception with Cash Bar
Co-hosted by Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) and Second Amendment Foundation (SAF)
Music by the patriot rock band Madison Rising

SATURDAY, September 29, 2012—Intercontinental Ballroom
7:30 a.m. Registration Table Opens
Beverages hosted by Women & Guns Magazine

8:00 a.m. CALL TO ORDER
Moderator—Julianne Versnel, publisher, Journal on Firearms & Public Policy, director of operations, SAF
Color Guard—University of Central Florida, Air Force ROTC
National Anthem performed by Madison Rising
Invocation—Rev. Anthony Winfield, chaplain, Elmhurst Hospital Center, New York City

8:10 a.m. State of the Gun Rights Battle
Welcoming Remarks
The Road Traveled—Joseph P. Tartaro, executive editor, TheGunMag.com, president, SAF
The Road Ahead—Alan M. Gottlieb, chairman, CCRKBA and founder, SAF

8:30 a.m. The Most Dangerous Election of Our Lifetime
Maria Heil, board member and spokesperson, National Rifle Association

8:45 a.m. Federal Affairs Briefing
Mark Barnes, president, Mark Barnes and Associates
Jeff Knox, managing director, Firearms Coalition, gun issues columnist
Larry Pratt, executive director, Gun Owners of America
Joe Waldron, legislative director, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms

9:15 a.m. State Legislative Affairs Briefing I
Hon. Sam Slom, Minority Leader Hawaii Senate, trustee of the Second Amendment Foundation
Sandra Barreras, Puerto Rico, Damas de la Segunda Enmienda
Jim Irvine, president, Buckeye Firearms Association
Richard Nascak, co-executive director, Florida Carry.org.
Patrick Shomo, president, Maryland Shall Issue Inc.

9:45 a.m. Beverage break hosted IAPCAR

10:00 a.m. State Legislative Affairs Briefing II
Stephen Aldstadt, president, Shooters Committee on Political Education (SCOPE, Inc.) NY
Thomas Bolioli, secretary, Commonwealth Second Amendment, Inc.
Don Moran, president, Illinois State Rifle Association
Tony Montanarella, president, California Rifle & Pistol Association
Philip Van Cleave, president, Virginia Citizens Defense League

10:30 a.m. Global Gun Control: Down but Not Out
Gary Burris, founder, Lone Star Shooting Association
Sheldon Clare, president, National Firearms Association of Canada
Julianne Versnel, publisher, Women & Guns, director of operations, Second Amendment Foundation
Maj. Gen. Allen Youngman, USA (ret.), executive director, Defense Small Arms Advisory Council

11:00 a.m. “Stand Your Ground” Laws under Fire
Eric Friday, Esq., counsel for Florida Carry
Jon Gutmacher, Esq., firearms instructor, attorney and author of Florida Firearms -- Law, Use & Ownership

11:20 a.m. Protecting the Right to Protect
Mark O’Mara, Esq., defense attorney for George Zimmerman

11:45 a.m. Q & A on Morning Panels

12:00 Noon Recess and break to prepare for box luncheon

12:15 p.m. Awards Luncheon Hosted by CCRKBA and SAF
Speakers:
U.S. Representative. Joe Barton (R-Texas 6th Dist.)
Ambassador Donald A. Mahley
Otis McDonald, lead plaintiff, McDonald v. City of Chicago
Awards presentations

1:30 p.m. Recess Break

1:45 p.m. Fine-Tuning Arms Rights in the Courts
David Jensen, Esq., SAF counsel in Kwong vs. Bloomberg, Moore v. Madigan and Piszczatoski v. Maenza
Donald Kilmer, Esq., counsel to CalGuns Foundation and SAF
David Kopel, Esq., research director, Independence Institute, co-author, Firearms Law & the Second Amendment
Dan Schmutter, Esq., legal counsel, Association of NJ Rifle & Pistol Clubs

2:15 p.m. The Second Amendment and the Legal Community
Bobbie K. Ross, Esq., Chair, Second Amendment Civil Rights Litigation Subcommittee, American Bar Association

2:30 p.m. The Realities of Self-Defense in Washington, DC
Emily Miller, senior editorial page editor, The Washington Times and author of Emily Gets a Gun

2:45 p.m. The “Fast and Furious” Fiasco
David Workman, senior editor, TheGunMag.com, Seattle Gun Rights Examiner

3:00 p.m. Beverage service hosted by KeepAndBearArms.com

3:15 p.m. Those Dangerous Gun-Free Zones
John Lott, PhD, commentator for FoxNews.com and Wall Street Journal

3:30 p.m. Breaking the Establishment Media’s Stranglehold
Robert Farago, publisher, TheTruthAboutGuns.com
Bob Harvey, host, Bullseye Radio Talk Show
Fredy Riehl, editor and press coordinator, Ammoland.com
Mark Vanderberg, Gun Rights Radio Network

4:00 p.m. How Gun Rights Are Really at Risk if They Steal the Election First
John Fund, senior editor The American Spectator and columnist for National Review Online

4:15 p.m. The 2012 Elections: A Nation at the Crossroads
Alan Gottlieb, chairman, AmeriPAC, chairman, CCRKBA
Stephani Scruggs, president, Unite in Action and national chair, The 912 Project
Kirby Wilbur, chairman, Republican Party of Washington, SAF trustee

4:45 p.m. Growing State Gun Rights Networks
Gene Hoffman, chairman, CalGuns Foundation
Brent Carlton, president, Commonwealth Second Amendment Inc.
Sean Caranna, co-executive director, Florida Carry.org

5:15 p.m. Which Case Will Be the Next RKBA Case to Go to SCOTUS?
Alan Gura, SAF chief counsel and lead attorney, D.C. v. Heller, McDonald v. Chicago and Ezell v. Chicago

5:30 p.m. Q & A on afternoon panels

6:00 p.m. Announcements and Adjournment

6:30-9:30 p.m. Reception with Cash Bar—Regency Ballroom
Hosted by Second Amendment Foundation and National Shooting Sports Foundation
Entertainment by patriotic rock band Madison Rising


SUNDAY, September 30, 2012—Intercontinental Ballroom
8:30 a.m. Registration Table Opens
Beverage service hosted by TheGunMag.com

8:50 a.m. CALL TO ORDER
Moderator: Peggy Tartaro, editor of Women & Guns, board member CCRKBA

9:00 a.m. Growing the Gunowner Base in the Popular Culture War
Alan Korwin, author, After You Shoot, Bloomfield Press Richard Mgrdechian, president, Madison Rising
Neil Schulman, screenwriter, journalist, filmmaker
Peggy Tartaro, editor, Women & Guns magazine, board member, CCRKBA

9:35 a.m. The Supreme Court: A Majority of One
David Kopel, Esq., adjunct professor of Advanced Constitutional Law, Sturm College of Law, University of Denver
Joseph P. Tartaro, executive editor, TheGunMag.com, president, SAF

10:00 a.m. The Many Faces of the Second Amendment
Rev. Kenneth V. Blanchard, pastor, firearms instructor, blogger
Doug Ritter, founder and chairman, KnifeRights.org
Erik Royce, founder, TruckerGuns Foundation
Linda Walker, board member, National Rifle Association<

10:30 a.m. Is Patient Privacy Dead after Florida Court Ruling?
Timothy Wheeler, MD, director, Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership, a project of the SAF

10:45 a.m. The Academic Front in the Gun Rights Battle
David Burnett, Students for Concealed Carry
Brian Patrick, associate professor of communications, University of Toledo

11:05 a.m. The Anti-Gunners’ Homeland Security Gambit
Charles Heller, executive director, Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership
Benjamin Smith, director of Strategic Affairs, Unite in Action, and contributor to Breitbart and Fox News

11:25 a.m. Countering Media Bias
Don Irvine, president, Accuracy in Media
Malia Zimmerman, editor, Hawaii Reporter, director, Hawaii Rifle Association

11:45 a.m. Q & A on Morning Session

12:00 Noon Report of the Resolutions Committee
Genie Jennings, W&G columnist
Stephen Aldstadt, president, SCOPE, Inc.
Linda Farmer, Georgia gun rights activist
Jeff Knox, managing director, Firearms Coalition, gun issue columnist
Don Moran, president, Illinois State Rifle Association
Herb Stupp, Vice Chairman CCRKBA
Miko Tempski, director, CCRKBA
Linda Walker, board member, National Rifle Association
Robert Wiest, SAF board of trustees, Tennessee activist

1:00 p.m. Closing remarks and adjournment
Alan M. Gottlieb and Joseph P. Tartaro

PETA Can't Leave Well Enough Alone

Brasstown, North Carolina is a small little town in the far southwestern corner of the state. It is home to the John C. Campbell Folk School where they teach everything from woodworking to quilting to story-telling.

The Cherokee County town is also home to a quaint New Year's Eve tradition called the Possum Drop. Held at Clay's Corner, the Possum Drop actually involves the lowering -not dropping -of a live possum (oppossum, if you are a stickler for spelling) starting around 10pm. It is Brasstown's answer to the dropping of the ball in Times Square. This event is unique enough to have caught the eye of CBS's Bill Geist who did a story on it for CBS Sunday Morning.

Unfortunately, it has also caught the attention of the busybodies at the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. They are now taking the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission to court for issuing a permit to the organizer of the Possum Drop, Clay Logan.

From WRAL-TV:

PETA attorney Martina Bernstein said possums are timid animals and can actually die from the stress. She likened the New Year's Eve event to torture for the animal.

"It is something you wouldn't do to your own dog or cat – have them hoisted up on a Plexiglas contraption for several hours with fireworks going off you know swinging in in the cold air," Bernstein said.

She argued that the state permit for the event was improperly issued because North Carolina law doesn't allow wild animals to be kept captive unless it's for rehabilitation – and that requires a captive animal permit.

"There are very strict rules for that. It's not a free-for-all," she said. "But apparently the agency believes, if you don't fit into these permits, we're just going to make up something."

Norman Young, the assistant attorney general representing the Wildlife Resources Commission, said the permit was legal. New Year's Eve falls during possum season in the state, so Logan's hunting license allows him to trap one for the drop, he said.

"(This is) an event that does not show any particular harm to the opossum and I might add doesn't meet the elements of the animal cruelty statute," Young said.

Senior Administrative Law Judge Fred Morrison Jr. refused the state's motion for the case to be dismissed which means that the case will live for another month.

The last time that PETA threatened a suit over this Mr. Logan resorted to using a roadkill 'possum which didn't thrill the New Year's Eve revelers. If PETA does win, the state's assistant attorney general says it would be entirely legal for Mr. Logan to kill a oppossum, keep it in his freezer, and then put the frozen carcass in the plexiglass box on New Year's Eve.

My suggestion to PETA and one that I think at least the men in the Brasstown community would appreciate is for them to volunteer one of their brainless - but attractive - starlet backers to be put in the box and lowered on New Year's Eve.  Naked, of course, since wearing any fur would be against their principles which we couldn't have.

Request For DOJ IG To Investigate Zapata Murder

Sharyl Attkisson of CBS News is reporting this afternoon that Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) have sent a letter to Michael Horowitz, the Department of Justice Inspector General, requesting that he investigate the murder of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent Jaime Zapata. The murder weapons used in Zapata's death have been traced to guns that ATF allowed to be walked.

According to the letter, ATF may have had probable cause to arrest two firearms dealers before they bought and trafficked a weapon used to murder Zapata, who was on assignment in Mexico. "Only after Agent Zapata was murdered...and one of the weapons was traced back" to suspect Otilio Osorio "did ATF finally arrest Otilio, his brother and a third suspect for their gun trafficking activity," reads the letter.

Congressional investigators say ATF had earlier witnessed the Osorio brothers in a Walmart parking lot providing 40 weapons with obliterated serial numbers to be trafficked to Mexico. It was what's known as a "controlled delivery," meaning law enforcement officials were monitoring the sale. In this case it was part of a joint investigation with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). But "ATF failed to confront the two individuals" leaving them to continue to allegedly traffic weapons, including one used in Zapata's killing, according to the letter.

The DOJ IG's office is said to be reviewing the request.

"Four More Years of Obama: Gun Control 'Under the Radar' No More"

Cam Edwards interviewed Dr. A.M.R. Hawkins of Breitbart's Big Government yesterday. They discuss Obama's history of support for gun control and how he has the ability to seriously impact gun owners through court appointments, regulatory changes, and executive orders. It does not take action by Congress for him to do things like that.

Hawkins' full article, Four More Years of Obama: Gun Control 'Under the Radar' No More, can be found here.

I'm Going To Need Some Eye Bleach!

Aging pop star Madonna is a big supporter of Barack Obama. So much so that she stripped to her underwear at a concert last night in Washington, DC to show everyone her fake tramp stamp that says Obama in large letters. She also entertained them with political commentary.

  The 54-year-old Material Girl roused the crowd in Washington, D.C. Monday night with her political commentary, telling concertgoers, "Y'all better vote for f***ing Obama, OK? For better or for worse, all right? We have a black Muslim in the White House!

Does the former Mrs. Sean Penn know something that we don't?  Unless I am grossly mistaken, President Obama and his supporters have always insisted that he is a Christian. Given his comments today about "the prophet of Islam" at the United Nations she may be on to something.

And lest I forget, here is Madonna. Don't say I didn't warn you.

It's Crunch Time For Second Amendment Film Project

October 5th is the deadline for pledges of support to Dead Patriot Films and their project Assaulted: Civil Rights Under Fire. I received this email from the producer Kris Koenig today:

We're at the bottom of the seventh and it's not looking good for us, but this is America and we never give up.  I still believe we can reach our goal by Oct 5th. Why? We each know three friends that can join this campaign.  We just need our friends to match our pledges to reach the target.

Please email, Facebook and tweet this project (http://kck.st/OllEYn) to everyone you know.  Let them know why this is important to you and why getting this film made should be important to them.  Remember, if each of us bring three of our buddies to this campaign, we'll easily round the bases and launch this film.

Thank you,

Kris

They have a goal of raising $65,000. As of a few minutes ago, they've received a bit over $23,000 from 317 backers. I've made a pledge and would encourage you to do so as well.

In his email, Kris states that he'll be at the Gun Rights Policy Conference this coming weekend in Orlando. I hope to meet up with him and learn more about this project.

And if you haven't registered for the conference, it isn't too late! While pre-registration is officially closed, you can still register at the door. This will make my third GRPC and I can barely wait until Friday. If you live within driving distance and have an interest in Second Amendment rights, you owe it to yourself to attend.

Since All The Cool Kids Are Doing It..

Since all the cool kids are posting either their Top 20 from their iPod or a screen cap of their desktop, I thought I'd play as well. I tend to use my iPod Classic for listening to podcasts more than anything else. When I checked my top played songs, the list was dominated by Christmas music! Blue Oyster Cult's Don't Fear the Reaper was number one so it wasn't all bad.

I think I'll just go with the screen cap instead. My wallpaper is from the FX show Justified. As you can tell, I'm a fan of the show.

Now For The Real AK Cleaning Video

Greg Hickok - Hickok45 - had people going with his spoof video on cleaning an AK-47/AK-74. Now he has released the real video below on cleaning an AK.

One thing Greg makes clear in this video is that you are often dealing with corrosive ammo. He refers to using Windex but prefers using Ballistol. I've used Windex myself in the past but anything that dissolve the corrosive salts will work. If I remember correctly, the British had a special funnel for pouring boiling soapy water down the barrels of their Enfield rifles which would work as well.

Small Gun Shows

The Complementary Spouse and I trekked up to Micaville to attend the High Country Gun Show. Micaville is about 45 minutes north of Asheville in the shadow of Mount Mitchell which is the highest peak in the eastern United States. It was just the right distance for a Sunday drive.

There is something to said for the smaller gun shows. They are less crowded, the vendors have more time to spend with you, and everything and everybody is just friendlier.

I had a short list of things I was seeking. I was looking for 5.56 and 7.62 stripper clips and spoons, AK-47 steel magazines, and paracord for the Complementary Spouse. I did end up buying 4 AK mags, a handful of 5.56 stripper clips for a nickel each, a box of small rifle magnum primers, a couple of boxes of Yugoslavian 7.62x39 ammo, and 2 Rite in the Rain notebooks. We couldn't find any paracord other than already made-up survival bracelets or any spoons for the stripper clips.

I can't speak for all smaller shows but at least at this one vendors were happy to send you to a competitor if they didn't have what you wanted. That's how I ended up with the AK mags and ammo.

While the High Country Gun Show had lots of handguns, they also had a lot more hunting rifles and shotguns than other shows I've been to recently. They also had some rifles in more unusual calibers such as a gorgeous Winchester Model 70 in .300 Holland and Holland and a Remington 700 in .416 Rem Mag (or maybe .416 Rigby). I also came across a Browning Citori O/U shotgun in 16 gauge. I love 16 gauges and this was a nice one at a good price.

To sum it up, if you get a chance to go to a smaller gun show, take it. I think you'll have a good time.

The Virgina Tech Grad You Don't Hear About

When you mix the words guns and Virginia Tech grads together in the media, you are mostly likely to hear about Colin Goddard of the Brady Campaign or his movie Living for 32. The other alternative usually is Omar Samaha of MAIG's Fix Gun Checks. If you are in Texas you might also hear about doctoral student John O. Woods and his campaign against guns at the University of Texas-Austin.

I'd like to add another name to that list - Dr. Ken Stanton who earned his Ph.D. from Virginia Tech in 2010 and who is now a Research Scientist in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Colorado State. He was on campus in Blacksburg on that day in 2007 when the madman killed 32 students and faculty. He, too, lost a good friend to the madman (whose name I choose not to publicize). However, as Stanton explained to a reporter for the Wall Street Journal for an article on campus carry published yesterday, he took a different lesson from the shootings than did Goodard, Samaha, and Woods.

But Ken Stanton, a Virginia Tech Ph.D. student at the time of the shooting, said he decided to become a research scientist at Colorado State University because he wanted to be on a campus where he could legally carry a gun to class. The Virginia shooting, which killed one of his friends, left him convinced that concealed weapons should be permitted on campuses to allow people to defend themselves.

"It is not a force field, but it just means that if something bad does happen, we can fight back," said Mr. Stanton, an advocate for gun rights on campus. "At Virginia Tech, no one had a chance."

Dr. Stanton decided not to be a victim. I'm sure there are many other Virginia Tech grads who were on campus that fateful day in 2007 who have made the same decision and of whom we will never read about in the mainstream media. That Dr. Stanton was even mentioned is an aberration because when the media has to choose between promoting self-defense or victim-hood, it is almost inevitable that victim-hood wins.

What It Takes To Keep An AK Running

Greg Hickok - Hickok45 - has a new YouTube video out on how to clean an AK-47/AK-74 and keep it running. It is a short video but contains good info - in a funny sort of way!

GRPC 2012 - Who's Going?

The 2012 Gun Rights Policy Conference kicks off this coming Friday evening in Orlando.

I am trying organize a little get-together for gun bloggers and podcasters. It will probably be Saturday evening after the reception. I've contacted a few bloggers that I knew were going to attend the conference but I'm sure I've missed others.

So, if you are going to GRPC 2012 and are a gun blogger or podcaster, either leave a comment or contact me at jpr9 AT earthlink DOT net. I'll be back in touch with you with more details.

But Only Ones...

David Codrea often refers to law enforcement officers as "only ones". It is a riff on the claim by many gun prohibitionists that the only ones who should have guns are law enforcement (and military) as they are the "only ones" properly trained and responsible enough to have guns.

Given the recent shooting at the Empire State Building in New York City where all the wounded were caused by errant shots fired by NYPD officers, the shooting skills of many police officers was exposed to be less than optimal. Indeed, most non-only ones shoot more on a regular basis than they do.

Joe Huffman and his local gun club decided to do an objective test. They ran a USPSA club shoot using the Los Angles Police Department qualification test. However, to meet USPSA rules they actually had to make it a bit harder. Nonetheless, they had a 79% pass rate on a tougher course of fire.

Barron Barnett of The-Minuteman blog provides a video explanation below:





H/T Sebastian

Its For The Children

The constant refrain of the gun prohibitionists is that guns or standard-capacity magazines or ammunition must be banned because "its for the children".

I came across the picture below in today's Wall Street Journal in a book review. The Cage deals with Sri Lanka and how the country's marginalization of their Tamil minority lead to a 26-year civil war which only ended when the Tamil Tigers were annihilated in 2009.

While I don't approve of the tactics used by the Tamil Tigers or the official repression of the Tamils by the Sri Lankan government, it still looks to me like those kids are enjoying that see-saw. I guess you could say it is for the children, too.

"Unavailable To Civvies"

As anyone who has been paying attention to the gun world recently knows, the former editor of RECOIL Magazine, Jerry Tsai, channeled his inner-Zumbo and made stupid comments about who should or shouldn't be allowed to have the HK MP7A1. I'm not going to rehash the controversy or his comments.

However, this video is for Jerry and those who only think only guns with "sporting purposes" are appropriate for the great unwashed like you and me.

Even The Deer In Texas Are Conservative

A couple in Austin, Texas was frustrated that their yard sign touting Obama was continually getting destroyed. After staking it out one morning, they found to their amazement that it wasn't some dastardly Republican but rather a whitetail deer.

Even the deer in Texas have the good sense to know that Obama and his policies are just not right for America.

Deer doesn't dig this dude's display

Another New #GunVote Video

The National Shooting Sports Foundation has released another of their #GunVote videos. This one features a number of quotes from the gun prohibitionists regarding their plans for more gun control and more bans.

This video has a great ending tagline - "one vote stands between your and your gun rights - your vote." These YouTube ads from NSSF are in a league of their own.

Sen. Chuck Grassley On IG Report And Hearings

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) was interviewed on Fox News this afternoon about the Inspector General's report and the hearings into them. He said the report was fairly good. He attacked the Obama Administration's claim of executive privilege. He noted that there was a lot of stuff covered under executive privilege that wasn't even shared with the DOJ IG even though they are both in the executive branch. However, he said that the IG's report did provide an opening as over 300 pages of documents previously sealed by the claim of executive privilege were used in the production of this report.

Grassley nails Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer over what he knew or should have known of Operation Fast and Furious and is disappointed that the report absolved Breuer.

The Oversight Committee Hearings Today

I was tied up with work all day and wasn't able to break away to watch the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing. They held a hearing today on DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz's report on Operation Fast and Furious.

If you were like me, you had to work as well. Fortunately, the Committee has made the video available of the hearings. You can see them below:

Katie Pavlich On The IG's Report

Katie Pavlich of Townhall.com was a guest of Cam Edward's on NRA News last night. She discussed Inspector General Michael Horowitz's report on Operation Fast and Furious. She makes a number of good points including how Eric Holder was claiming to be totally exonerated within minutes after the report was released.

Katie is always a good interview and she knows her stuff with regard to Project Gunwalker.

It was interesting to see the local news here in western North Carolina last night. The Inspector General's report and Operation Fast and Furious were actually the subject of a report!

On Mil-Spec And Cop-Spec

Revolversmith extraordinaire and trainer Grant Cunningham had an excellent post up yesterday on the failure of logic associated with aspirational marketing. In this case, people who buy firearms and firearm accessories because it is "used" by the LAPD SWAT Team or SpecWarDevGru.

You need to make your purchasing decisions based on an honest assessment of your needs and the product's suitability for your purpose, not internet loudmouths going by names like Geck045 who drone on about how their gun "must" be the best because "LAPD don't buy junk!"

Yes, they do. Very often.

Read the whole post. Grant makes a lot of sense.

Assaulted: Civil Rights Under Fire

Dead Patriot Films is using Kickstarter to raise funds for a new pro-Second Amendment film production called "Assaulted: Civil Rights Under Fire." In the last 15 days the producers have raised over $15,000 for the film. This includes contributions of $5,000 each from the Second Amendment Foundation and the CalGuns Foundation.

I have made a contribution and would urge you to consider doing so as well.  Getting this message out to what is not a traditional Second Amendment audience is important.


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The producers have posted this description of the film which they intend to distribute through Southern Oregon Public TV.

Assaulted - The Fight To Bear Arms

When the subject of California’s gun control laws are discussed, rarely are they associated with the civil rights movement and the quest for equal rights for all. This film will compare the historical aspects of gun control targeting the indigenous tribes of North America and emancipated slaves through the Jim Crow era to today’s laws that favor elitists and denies the rights guaranteed by the 2nd Amendment to the most vulnerable in our society.

The film takes a critical look at the original intent of the current California guns laws in contrast with crime and murder statistics before and since their implementation; and compares these laws to those of the adjacent states. Story threads also look at the myriad of concealed carry permitting processes across the state to illustrate that not all residents are treated equal.

A Few Threads of the Film

The threads below will be woven with current events in California and Nationally that are creating demands for new assault weapons legislation and ammunition sales restrictions. Are these law in the best interest of public safety or infringement of our civil rights?

We will seek out interviews with leading constitutional historians, anti-violence leaders, gun rights activists, law makers and gun owners to create a film that will start a meaningful conversation, not add to rhetoric.

Battle of Athens

When the 2nd Amendment is discussed, the concept of the citizens’ rights to defend themselves against a corrupt or tyrannical government is sure to be included. The idea of the people rising up against the government here in the USA seems farfetched. Just the stuff of a Hollywood film, but it has happened.

In 1946, returning GIs from WWII faced off with a corrupt county sheriff and his cronies in McMinn County, Tennessee. The film will look at the causes of the conflict, and how the soldiers and the citizens restored the rule of law to their county by the applied use of the 2nd Amendment.

Deacons for Defense

The civil rights movement of the 1960’s is always associated with the nonviolent actions of Martin Luther King, Jr. and civil rights workers that spread out across the South. Rarely mentioned are the “Deacons for Defense” and how a handful of armed black men protected the civil rights workers, broke the stranglehold of the Ku Klux Klan in Louisiana and secured civil rights for all citizens in the South.

Guns for the White Man only

Gun laws from the beginning of the United States of America have always favored the wealthy white man. The first laws written barred Native Americans and Blacks (freed or enslaved) from possessing firearms and continued through the Jim Crow era.

World War II saw gun confiscations precede forced interment of Japanese-American citizens just because of the fear of war empowered the white man to do so. The fact that no German-Americans or Italian-Americans had their firearms taken just supports that gun laws have been written for the white majority.

The California Gun Control Act of 1968 has been said to be a knee-jerk reaction to the Black Panther’s use of loaded rifles in peaceful protest to bring attention to white bigotry in the Oakland police department and abuses by its white police officers against black citizens. Even today, the majority of Concealed Carry Weapons (CCW) permits issued in California are given to white males.

This racial trend in gun control has also jumped the color barrier to only favor the rich who can financially afford their 2nd Amendment right to bear arms and secure self-defense CCW permits through political campaign donations while the single mother in the inner city can’t legally acquire an affordable gun to protect her family.

Preparing For That "Cold Bore" Shot

The US Army Marksmanship Unit has produced some useful YouTube videos for the average shooter. In the video below, Sgt. Joe Hein, an International Rifle competitor, discusses how to prepare for the first shot from a cold bore. That is, the first shot of the day which for many hunters may be the only shot of the day.

Sgt. Hein illustrates the difference in grouping for a cold rifle with a clean bore versus one with a somewhat dirty bore. You tend to get more consistent groups from a cold rifle with a dirty bore.

It's a short video but I learned something.

Grassley Statement On OIG Report

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) issued a statement today regarding the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General's report on Operation Fast and Furious. He notes that much of what was contained in the report had already been reported by Sen. Grassley and Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Grassley noted that the wire tap applications still have not been made public nor have much of what was hidden under President Obama's claim of executive privilege. Grassley called Obama's actions "merely thumbing his nose" at Congress.

The full statement is below:

Senator Chuck Grassley, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, which has jurisdiction over the Justice Department, made the following comment after the Inspector General for the Justice Department released its long awaited report on Operation Fast and Furious.  Grassley first began investigating alleged gunwalking in January 2011 after whistleblowers came forward to alert Congress about gunwalking in Arizona.  The Justice Department and Attorney General Eric Holder initially denied gunwalking occurred.

“At first glance, the Inspector General’s report reaffirms virtually everything that Congressman Issa and I have already reported.  Operation Fast and Furious was the height of irresponsibility on the part of a number of people from the ATF Phoenix field office all the way up to the Justice Department headquarters.  And, we still don’t know the full extent of any White House involvement because they refused to be transparent and provide documents requested by the Inspector General.  

“It’s clear that both the ATF and the Justice Department failed to provide meaningful oversight of Operation Fast and Furious.  They ignored warnings from employees, and frankly, failed to do their jobs.  It took the death of our own Border Patrol Agent, action by a courageous whistleblower, and intense scrutiny from Congress before they even took note of what was happening under their own eyes.  Even then, they wouldn’t come clean with how bad it really was until after they had sent a false letter and retracted it eight months later.

“It’s particularly discouraging that this all could have been stopped early on if people had just read the wiretap applications.  The Inspector General noted that anybody reading those documents should have seen the red flags. The law requires that certain senior officials authorize those applications, and the Inspector General found that they did so without reading them.  I’m glad that the OIG is joining me and Chairman Issa in urging the Justice Department to move to unseal the wiretap applications so that the American people can read them and make up their own minds.

“The President also appears to be abusing his authority to exert executive privilege.  The White House rightly allowed the Inspector General to make public a small subset of the documents withheld from Congress under his claim of Executive Privilege, but it continues to shut out Congress’ access to the rest of the documents.  It proves that this subset of documents could have been released earlier, and the President was merely thumbing his nose at Congress by claiming Executive Privilege on the eve of the contempt vote against Attorney General Holder for withholding the documents.

“It’s time to hold people accountable.  Attorney General Holder is out of excuses for action.

“We’ll be reading the report in more detail.  We’ve already noticed that the report contains a factual error that lets Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer off the hook.  The report accepts Breuer’s version of events, claiming that he hadn’t “proposed edits, commented on the drafts or otherwise indicated he had read them.”  In fact, emails show that he received drafts of the February 4 letter and commented on them before it was sent, which he later denied to Congress. 

“Last but not least, I hope the report helps answer questions for the Terry family.  They deserve more answers than they’ve received up to this point from their government.”

Sharyl Attkisson On The DOJ OIG Report

Sharyl Attkisson of CBS News, one of the few journalists to take Project Gunwalker seriously, had a story this evening on the DOJ Inspector General's report. Her story notes that both former ATF Acting Director Kenneth Melson and Assistant Deputy Attorney General Jason Weinstein disagreed with the findings of the report.

In all, the inspector general faults 18 officials from the Justice Department, to the U.S. Attorney's office on Arizona, on down to the Phoenix ATF agents who oversaw Fast and Furious.

The report says Holder was in essence let down by his deputies. Although he received numerous briefings on Fast and Furious, they didn't specifically mention gunwalking and Holder said doesn't recall reading them anyway.

I'm Sure They're Consistent, Mr. Attorney General

Attorney General Eric Holder released a statement today on the Office of Inspector General's report on Operation Fast and Furious. He said the key conclusions were "consistent" with what he had been saying "for months now".

Oh, Eric, you live in such a fantasy land if you think a report by your appointed Inspector General which was delayed for months and months is enough to get you off the hook. As Mike Vanderboegh so rightly called it, it is a whitewash. I think Katie Pavlich is probably correct that you are "spiking the football" and doing a victory dance.

Kenneth Melson has "retired", Phoenix ATF and USAO personnel are likely to be terminated, and Deputy Assistant Attorney General Jason Weinstein was, as the Instapundit put it, "GoatScaped".

You can read the full statement below provided you don't have a weak gag reflex.

Attorney General Eric Holder released the following statement today on the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General’s report on Operation Fast and Furious:

“I have reviewed the Office of the Inspector General’s report on Operation Fast and Furious and the key conclusions are consistent with what I, and other Justice Department officials, have said for many months now:

• The inappropriate strategy and tactics employed were field-driven and date back to 2006;
• The leadership of the Department did not know about or authorize the use of the flawed strategy and tactics; and
• The Department’s leadership did not attempt to cover up information or mislead Congress about it.

“Beginning in 2011 - shortly after public concerns were first raised about Operation Fast and Furious – I referred this matter to the Office of the Inspector General (OIG). Throughout the next several months, I instituted significant policy reforms, stronger internal controls and made key personnel changes to prevent the flaws that plagued this investigation, as well as the earlier investigation, Operation Wide Receiver, from recurring. I’m pleased that the OIG report appropriately recognizes these reforms.

“Based upon the information in the OIG report and other related information, I am also announcing additional personnel changes today.

“First, Kenneth Melson, the former Acting Director at ATF, has retired from the Department, effective immediately. Ken has served the Department in several important roles for over thirty years, including as a United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia and more recently as an advisor on forensic science issues. I want to thank him for his dedication and service to the Department over the last three decades.

“Second, those individuals within ATF and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona, whom the OIG report found to have been responsible for designing, implementing or supervising Operation Fast and Furious have been referred to the appropriate entities for review and consideration of potential personnel actions. Consistent with the requirements of the Privacy Act, the Department is prohibited from revealing any additional information about these referrals at this time.

“Finally, I have accepted the resignation of Deputy Assistant Attorney General Jason Weinstein, a longtime career prosecutor who most recently served in the Criminal Division where he led our violent and organized crime, computer crimes and intellectual property enforcement efforts. Jason has dedicated much of his career to fighting violent crime and has led highly successful efforts around the country in this effort. The American people are safer because of his work. His commitment to the Department has been unwavering, and I deeply appreciate his 15 years of distinguished service here at Main Justice as well as in Baltimore and New York.

“It is unfortunate that some were so quick to make baseless accusations before they possessed the facts about these operations – accusations that turned out to be without foundation and that have caused a great deal of unnecessary harm and confusion. I hope today’s report acts as a reminder of the dangers of adopting as fact unsubstantiated conclusions before an investigation of the circumstances is completed.

“I want to assure the American people that I, and my colleagues at the Department, will continue to focus on our mission of protecting their rights and their security, and doing so in a manner that is consistent with the high standards of the Department of Justice. This includes continuing to seek justice on behalf of Agent Brian Terry and his loved ones.

“The FBI and the United States Attorney from the Southern District of California have been working for many months with Mexican authorities to identify and apprehend the fugitives involved in the murder of Agent Terry, who made the ultimate sacrifice in serving his country. We now have two men in custody and we will continue to aggressively pursue the remaining fugitives to ensure justice for Agent Terry, his family and his fellow law enforcement agents who put their lives on the line each day to keep this country safe.”

Happy Birthday, USAF

Today is the 65th birthday of the United States Air Force. They were formed from the Army Air Corps on this day in 1947when the National Security Act of 1947 established them as a separate branch of the military.

In one of those odd coincidences, today is also the Complementary Spouse's birthday whose father was a serving Air Force officer when she was born and who went on to serve the Air Force as a civilian with the AF Environmental Technical Applications Center. To take the Air Force connection even further, the Complementary Spouse's brother Larry served as an EF-111 pilot.

So Happy 65th, USAF!

Crimson Trace Releases Infra-Red Lasers

Crimson Trace is now offering infra-red lasers to the commercial market. According to their release (see below), they'll be offering LaserGrips for the 1911 and Glocks, their RailMaster, and their vertical foregrip for rifles with Picatinny rails.

At first I was a little unsure how much use they would get in the commercial marketplace until they mentioned nighttime predator and hog hunting. It most certainly makes sense now.

Affordable InfraRed Laser Sights from Crimson Trace® – Available Now

(Wilsonville, OR) Drawing heavily on technology developed in support of America’s warfighters by its defense division, Crimson Trace is proud to introduce a line of InfraRed (IR) laser sights for the civilian market. Observable only through night vision equipment, these laser sights offer the user the ability to mark a target invisibly, which is a boon for predator control, security personnel or anyone involved in the growing sport of hog hunting. Due to ITAR restrictions, these new IR sights are available through select distributors, online retailers and direct from www.crimsontrace.com and are the most cost-effective solution for anyone who seeks to add a covert night sighting solution to their firearm, listing at MSRPs of between $299 and $599.

In order to assure the widest possible number of gun fitments, the IR lasers available include the award-wining MVF-515 vertical foregrip and the hugely popular Rail Master™ mini laser. The Rail Master fits almost any firearm with a Picatinny rail and adds less than 2oz to the overall weight, while incorporating the most powerful laser available by law. The MVF-515 has an incredibly long run time and offers the additional benefit of a blinding, 200 lumen white light to enable the use of daytime optics as well as night vision devices. Crimson Trace also introduces IR versions of its patented Instinctive Activation Lasergrips® for the 1911 and Glock pistols, assuring the same night vision compatible performance for sidearms.

The company subjected the new IR sights to the same rigorous testing protocols as their standard products, but in this instance went a little further. “Listening to our customers and the marketplace, adding these IR platforms to our commercial line up address consistent requests we receive as the market leader,“ said Kent Thomas, Director of Marketing for Crimson Trace. “In preparation for the launch, we field-tested the Rail Master’s performance on two Texas hog hunts this spring. In both cases, they turned in outstanding performances and surpassed our already high expectations on multiple weapon platforms in complete darkness.”

All Crimson Trace products are proudly designed, engineered and built in the USA. For further information contact;


Contact:

Iain Harrison
iainh@crimsontrace.com
1-800-442-2406 x1303

On Judicial Watch's Suit Against DOJ For Fast And Furious Documents

This past Friday, Ginny Simone of NRA News interviewed Chris Farrell of Judicial Watch. They are suing the Department of Justice to try and force them to release more documents related to Operation Fast and Furious.

Farrell said that President Obama has personalized this by bringing it into the White House through his claim of executive privilege. He says the only way to resolve this is to bring it before a judge through a lawsuit. He says that Judicial Watch is using the courts to force the issue.




From Judicial Watch's press release:

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit (Judicial Watch, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:12-cv-01510)) against the Obama Department of Justice (DOJ) seeking access to Operation Fast and Furious records withheld from Congress by President Obama under executive privilege on June 20, 2012. Judicial Watch seeks the following records pursuant to a June 22, 2012, FOIA request filed with the Office of Information Policy (OIP), a component of the DOJ:

All records subject to the claim of executive privilege invoked by President Barack Obama on or about June 20, 2012, as referenced in the letter of Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole to the Honorable Darrell E. Issa, Chairman, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the U.S. House of Representatives, dated June 20, 2012. More specifically, the records requested herein are those records described by Deputy Attorney General Cole in his June 20, 2012 letter as “the relevant post-February, 2011, documents” over which “the President has asserted executive privilege.”

The lawsuit was filed yesterday, on September 12, 2012.

On August 6, 2012, OIP informed Judicial Watch that the Offices of the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General had determined that the documents responsive to Judicial Watch’s FOIA request should be withheld in full pursuant to FOIA Exemption 5 which protects “inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums or letters which would not be available by law to a party other than an agency in litigation with the agency.” Judicial Watch appealed the determination. By law, a response was due September 11, 2012. However, as of the date of Judicial Watch’s lawsuit, the DOJ had failed to respond.

Be Careful Jogging

Be careful if you go jogging. That is, at least, if you are a woman in metro Vancouver, British Columbia and you have a ponytail.

In a scene reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, Elena Vinarskaia was swooped down upon repeatedly for half an hour by a pair of owls. Evidently, they confused her ponytail with a squirrel's tail.

Vinarskaia felt something was flying close to her head but, because owls make little or no noise in flight, she didn’t know they were there until she looked up.

“They were circling high above my head and then would swoop down to about a metre above me,” she said, adding that the owls were all white underneath.

“I just kept running with my head up, screaming, for about half an hour. I was terrified.

“I kept looking at the sky and they kept coming at me.”

Vinarskaia said the attacks only stopped when she finally reached some houses.

“I looked back and the owls had finally settled on a tree,” she said.

“I was so relieved because I know that once these owls get their claws onto something, it’s almost impossible to get free.”

According to a Canadian wildlife rehab specialist this is not unusual. The specialist said that owls fixate on their prey and only realize that its not a squirrel after they've hit their target. Her advice was to wear a hat to avoid being mistaken for prey.

Fortunately, Ms. Vinarskaia was not injured by the confused owls. There is no word whether she plans to confine her next jog to a treadmill at the gym.

CSGV Is Having A Conniption Fit About Now

While watching one of the NFL games this afternoon, an advertisement came on for the release of the new video game Borderlands 2. I don't know anything about this game but I do know that the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (sic) will have a conniption fit when they see the ad.

Why? Because as part of the ad it says, "Bazillions of guns".

I love it!

Desparate For Money

The fundraising ideas that come out of the Obama for America camp are "interesting" to say the least.

First, we had the suggestion for June brides that they suggest people donate what they would have spent on a gift for the newlyweds to the Obama campaign.

Then, we had the haute couture fundraiser with Sarah Jessica Parker and Anna Wintour. It was suggested that you donate $3 to get a chance at attending this event of the season with the reminder "Don't be late".

Now, we see that next weekend is National Yard Sale for Obama in which people are being urged to hold yard and garage sales to raise money for the Obama campaign.



At the rate this is going the next fundraising idea will be Pimp Your Daughters For Obama. After all, he did give an interview to Pimp with the Limp which just happened to air on the morning of September 11th.

Wall Street Journal Notices Impact Of Election On Gun Sales

Today's Wall Street Journal has an article looking at the impact of the upcoming Presidential election on gun sales. The article by Shelly Banjo examines retailers' stocking plans, the rise in both NICS checks and excise tax collections, and manufacturers' backlogs.

Cabela's has two stocking strategies for this fall and winter season - one if Obama is re-elected and one if Mitt is elected.

The Sidney, Neb.-based retailer and other companies in the guns-and-ammo business say if Mr. Obama wins a second term they are preparing for a surge in sales—the same as they saw after he was elected in 2008—from buyers fearful the president would back policies to make buying a gun more difficult. If Republican challenger Mitt Romney wins, though, the chain plans to stock more items such as waterproof boots and camouflage hunting gear.

"If Mitt Romney is elected and there's no perceived threat on the freedom to own guns, people might decide to spend disposable income on things like outerwear instead," said Joe Arterburn, a Cabela's spokesman.

The article notes that Cabela's is offering to pay suppliers so as to go to the head of the line for the distribution of limited inventory. Their normal payment cycle is as long as 120 days from receipt of the merchandise. To get guns and ammo for their stores, they are moving this up to 15 days. From a business and accounting standpoint, this is very significant.

When the respective presidential campaigns were asked for comment, the Obama campaign responded with the usual platitudes about President Obama respecting the Second Amendment. The Romney campaign declined to comment. In my opinion, this was a lost opportunity on their part. They should have responded that voters obviously don't trust Obama to protect their Second Amendment rights and are voting with their pocketbooks. Like I said, a lost opportunity.

Quote Of The Day

Sickened by the groveling response from the White House and the State Department to the murder of the US Ambassador to Libya and to the wave of Arab violence in the Middle East, Kirsten Powers in an opinion piece for Fox News said this:

Apparently our foreign policy is now being run by Dr. Phil. Someone needs to explain to the White House that our Constitution protects freedom of religion from government interference, not the protection from people who say mean, critical or offensive things about one's religion.

 I have severely criticized Kirsten Powers in the past for her comments on Project Gunwalker. Nonetheless, I think she hits the nail on the head here. - and with flair!

Tweet Of The Day

The Tweet of the Day comes from Iowahawk commenting on how much of the professional leftwing is willing to sacrifice the Free Speech rights of the satirical movie that is "causing" the Islamofascists to kill ambassadors and burn consulates among other things.

Yep, I think he nailed it.

A Tale Of Two Hands

Pictures are oft times much more powerful than words in conveying a message. Compare the two pictures below. They are both from the Middle East. One was from a time where we didn't believe in appeasement of Islamofascists and the other is from now where we are sending more mixed messages than an awkward teen-aged boy on his first real date.



After voting in 2005 Iraqi parliamentary election




Bloody handprints left as diplomats in Libya were dragged out of Consulate.

I agree with Bob Owens when he said the handprints above define a failed presidency.

I remember all too well how our enemies in the Middle East reacted in 1979 to a weak President who may have been well-meaning but was ineffectual. Fifty-plus Americans were kept in captivity for 444 days as a result.

I never want to see that again. While this election is, and should be, primarily about the abysmal domestic economy, it is also about foreign affairs and the Obama Administration has shown an amazing and disturbing level of naivete. Hillary Clinton campaigned on that 3am call and who would be ready for it. It has become all too obvious that neither Barack nor Hillary were ready for it.

Mitt's forte might be business and economics and not international relations. Nonetheless, I can be damn sure he wouldn't be skipping his national security briefings to campaign or play golf. I also know he isn't a narcissist with a pathological need to be "loved" by even our enemies.