Why I Always Carry to Church

12/29/19 CBS Dallas:

Two people are dead and another person is critically injured after a shooting at a church in the Tarrant County city of White Settlement, officials said.

Authorities responded to the shooting Sunday morning just before 10 a.m. at the West Freeway Church of Christ on Las Vegas Trail.

A witness told CBS 11 News the gunman walked up to a server during communion with a shotgun and then opened fire. According to the witness, another church member shot the suspect.

12/29/19 WFAA:

A live stream of the worship service shows a person wearing a large coat stand up and then pull out what appears to be a rifle or a shotgun as communion was finishing. The shooter appears to fire twice before another person appears to shoot back.

Many people in the congregation ducked under church pews while others rushed toward the shooter, holding up handguns, the video shows.

A church leader starts telling people to quiet down and be seated.

"Everything is under control. Our security team did everything they needed to do," the person said.

Video of the event.  So many men drew on this guy!  Six?

Examining Illinois CCL Incidents

I mentioned a few days ago that the Chicago Tribune had a list of incidents that they could find involving CCLs (the Illinois license for concealed carry).  I went through the list: 64 in all.  Of those 46 were lawful defense (some not even self-defense, but defense of others); 2 were assault with deadly weapon, 2 charged as aggravated assaults; 2 murders, 6 reckless uses (one by a judge who shot a hole in a neighbor's wall); 1 aggravated battery; 1 attempted murder; 2 accidental shootings.  Many of these incidents took place in homes or business places of CCL; are CCLs required to carry concealed at home or your business in Illinois.  Not sure; need to know. 

The murders were premeditated and unlikely to have been prevented by lacking a CCL.

Curious and odd: one of the lawful defenses was by a convicted felon who obtained a CCL under an alias.  One lawful defense was in front of a police station; one incident a CCL shot what appeared to be a burglar, but actually a good Samaritan helping a woman who had locked herself out of her home; bad guys shot during home invasion claimed that they thought it was a relative's house;
"but then Lee took the gun away and beat him [the CCL] with it until it broke" (What gun can't be used for beating someone?)

Why Trump Should Easily Win Re-Election

And why the left hates him so much.  12/27/19 Fox News:

Wages for rank-and-file workers are rising at the fastest pace in more than a decade, a sign that one of the tightest labor markets in recent history is beginning to incentivize employers to increase pay.

Pay for the bottom 25 percent of wage earners, who account for 82 percent of the population, rose 4.5 percent in November from the year-ago period, according to data published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. That’s the highest since July 2008. Wages for top earners, meanwhile, rose just 2.9 percent last month.

Overall, wages have accelerated this year by an average of 3.6 percent, as unemployment dropped, once again, to a half-century low. For employers, low employment means fewer people are looking for a job, limiting the supply of available employees and increasing competition to get the best workers.

Mandatory Firearms Insurance

Bill in N.J.

 1.   (New section)  a.  No person shall possess a firearm unless the person has first obtained a policy of firearm liability insurance in an amount of not less than $50,000, specifically covering any damages resulting from any negligent or willful acts involving the use of that firearm while it is owned by that person.

Willful? Presumably including murder or robbery? Are there any insurers that will write that coverage?  It turns out that insurance companies exclude damages that are the result of criminal acts.  Even something as trivial as this crime enabled Progressive to get off the hook for liability:

When Luallen saw the van coming up beside Tillett's truck, he noticed a couple of girls. (Luallen Dep. at 18). Tillett's truck was in motion and traveling in the left-hand lane, and the van was in the right-hand lane. (Id. at 17). Luallen then decided to stand up in the backseat of the truck and "moon" the girls. (Id.)

When the cars reached the Third Street exit, and while both were moving, the girls saw Luallen "mooning" them through the back window of Tillett's truck. (K.S. Dep. at 17-21). The van then immediately veered off the exit ramp and flipped. (Id. 832*832 at 20-22). K.S. was thrown out an open window and was pinned underneath the vehicle. (Id. at 23-24).

Pretty clearly, gangbangers aren't going to be buying coverage, and even if they do, their insurer will not cover costs except for perhaps an accidental injury.  Insurers do cover losses caused as a result of theft of a gun from the owner, but again, it is hard to see why the insurer of a victim of a theft should be liable.

A Minor Machining Success Story

I think that I mentioned buying a very nice toolmaker's mill vise from Little Machine Shop.  It is a bit bigger than the 2" Sherline mill vise, and clamps very solidly, but the question was, "how to mount it to the table?"

The mounting slots were just a bit too high and too far forward for the Sherline toe clamps.  So, I made a set, starting with angle bracket.

I trimmed one leg to .52" height, which clamps parallel to the mill vise's mounting slot and still is square to the table, then I drilled .203" holes to run 10-32 screws to the T-nuts in the T-slots.  I was at first concerned that only having two attachment points would fail to adequately secure it, but it appears that two are enough, at least for the depth of cuts that I can take with this level of power.  I might make longer top clamps that can screw into T-nuts in both T-slots.  This is slightly harder to do because the most back part of the vise's mounting slot is ahead of the back T-slot.  I will probably use a 1" angle piece, and remove 1/2" on the top leg, to allow a 10-32 screw hole for the back T-slot.

A learning experience: you really do want to use a 4-flute end mill on steel.  I have mostly used 2-flute end mills until now, which work well in aluminum and acetal; not so fast in steel.  This 4-flute mill was also a roughing mill which I am sure helped.

And I will make those extended toe clamps.  I can feel a few thousandths of an inch of misalignment where the back of the vise matches the mill table.  This is after milling a number of .001" depth of cut on acetal at 10 inches/min.  This is not a very heavy demand.  Using four clamps will enable me to spread locking force across twice as much area.

That Slide Stop Spring for the Colt Government Model .380 That I Lost....

I opened up several empty pistol rugs (yes, I know having any in that state is sacrilege).  Suddenly, in the carpet there was something shiny.  There it was.  When it did its jailbreak, it ended up in the rug.  And I think in the rug in which I took the pistol to Precision Gunsmithing.  I added it to the two I ordered from Jack First Inc., purveyor of obsolete and hard to find gun parts.  Now I am guaranteed to never lose this spring from either of my Colt .380s!

It Sounds Like a Nasty Anti-French Joke

A bipod-mounted sniper revolver for French GIGN (siort of FBI HRT equivalent):

The Headline Tells the Whole Story

12/19/19 Fox News channel 10:

Wanted man was already in jail when agents raided his former home and shot woman inside

Why the government needs a monopoly on deadly force.

How Has the Illinois Shall-Issue Law Worked Out?

The Chicago Tribune has been recording incidents.  Some are what you would expect:

FEB. 26, 2018

100 block of Harbor Drive, Oswego

Assailant armed.

Some time on Feb. 26, Dave Thomas heard screams in his Oswego apartment building, grabbed his AR-15 rifle and ran down the hall. He confronted a man who was stabbing another man and scared him off. Thomas is a gun instructor with a CCL.

» Read original coverage.

JAN. 8, 2018, 5:45 P.M.

5500 block of West Thomas Street, Chicago

Fatal shooting.

Assailant armed.

About 5:45 p.m. on Jan. 8, a man walked up to three people in Austin and said, "This is a stick-up, give me everything," according to police. He started going through their pockets and taking a cellphone and money before one of the men, a CCL holder, drew his gun and fired, killing the robber.

DEC. 19, 2017, 5:30 P.M.

0-100 block of South Western Avenue, Chicago

About 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 19, 2017, officers were called to a West Side cellphone store where a naked man was acting "aggressively and threateningly." Before they could reach him, the store owner fired at the man, hitting him in the leg. The man fell, then got up, broke the store windows and grabbed a shard of glass before the officers used a Taser to subdue him. The owner, a CCL owner, told police the man had knocked computers off a display case. No charges were filed.

» Read original coverage.

DEC. 12, 2017, 2 A.M.

9100 block of South Blackstone Avenue, Chicago

Assailant armed.

About 2 a.m. on Dec. 12, 2017, a man pulled into a lot on the Far South Side. A person standing nearby pointed a gun at him and tried to rob the man, who held a CCL. The man drew his own gun, and shot and seriously wounded the robber, officials said.

» Read original coverage.

Some are not:

MARCH 24, 2018, 9:21 P.M.

3400 block of North Kedzie Avenue, Chicago

About 9:20 p.m on March 24, a man with a concealed carry license was showing his gun to a group of friends in Avondale when he accidentally shot one of them in the head, according to police. The victim was taken to a hospital in good condition.

» Read original coverage.

Poverty in America

A DW documentary about poverty in America, largely focused on California, of course.  Most of those interviewed in San Diego are amazingly positive.  That California is the sort of welfare state that Europeans pretend is humane is never mentioned.  I know a couple who moved from renting one room in San Diego to Boise last year.  Now they own a home.

Centrally Planned Economies

This is a few years old, but shows all the problems of a centrally planned economy.


Yes, 64 million unoccupied homes, built just to pump up the GDP numbers.

Burning the American Flag is Protected Free Speech

But there is a flag whre burning it is not protected.  12/19/19 Des Moines Register:

An Ames man was sentenced Wednesday to about 16 years in prison after he set fire to a church's LGBTQ flag in June. 

Adolfo Martinez, 30, of Ames, was found guilty last month of third-degree arson in violation of individual rights — hate crime, third-degree harassment, and reckless use of fire as a habitual offender. ...

Story County Attorney Jessica Reynolds said the hate crime charges were added because Martinez is suspected of criminal mischief against someone's property because of "what it represents as far as sexual orientation."

Watched a Charlie Brown Christmas With the Grandkids Last Night

Okay, Charlie Brown, I'm dating myself.

We Knew They Were Ignorant

It appears many leftists are tweeting in the belief that the House passing an impeachment bill means Trump is no longer President.  What happened to teaching American government in high school?

Child Gun Deaths

The gun control groups like to include all deaths through age 19 as children.  Here are the 2016 breakdowns by category and age.  Click to enlarge.  Accidental deaths (all firearms types)

Homicides (all firearms)

Suicides (all firearms)

None of these are wonderful, but notice that mostly these include the gang member age range: 15-19

When CBS News Reports It...

12/18/19 CBS News:

A Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) judge published an unusual and harsh rebuke of the FBI over its handling of wiretap applications and demanded that the bureau respond to the court by next month with a plan to ensure that the information in its surveillance applications is true and reliable.

"The frequency with which representations made by FBI personnel turned out to be unsupported or contradicted by information in their possession, and with which they withheld information detrimental to their case, calls into question whether information contained in other FBI applications is reliable," Judge Rosemary Collyer wrote in an order published Tuesday.

I have long suspected the FBI is a more subtle form of the KGB.  This is major news, and even the presstitutes are covering it.

We're All Going to Drown!

It's man's doing!  From NASA:

Puerto Rico Goes Shall-Issue

and recognizes all other state carry permits.  If you know anything about Puerto Rico gun laws, this is a lightning bolt.

Read more: https://www.ammoland.com/2019/12/gun-law-in-puerto-rico-to-respect-the-second-amendment-as-of-1-january-2020/#ixzz68EJjwAiA 

Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Follow us: @Ammoland on Twitter | Ammoland on FacebookThe most sweeping change in Act No. 168 is to eliminate the restrictive and burdensome requirements of the old law in obtaining a permit to purchase, own, or carry firearms. The new law enacts a shall-issue system that requires a permit to be issued if the applicant meets the legal requirements. The legal requirements are essentially the same as in the United States for firearms ownership; except for a uniform minimum age of 21. This was likely influenced by recent legislation in California, Washington, and Florida.
Costs under the old system were upwards from $1,500, with no guarantee of obtaining a permit to own a gun at the end of the long process. Under the new law, costs are about $200, with a guarantee of a permit, if the applicant does not fall into one of the prohibited categories. The permit is valid for five years. The renewal fee is $100.
Under the new law, a permit to own includes the right to carry a firearm for defense in public, if the firearm is concealed. Obtaining a permit to carry, under the old system, was even more difficult and costly than obtaining a permit to own a firearm. The government has a limit of 45 days in which to investigate and issue a permit. After a year, the limit is reduced to 30 days.

I worked with a Puerto Rican law professor some months ago on a proposal of his to reform their gun laws.  I hope that I was part of this.

Too Stupid to Stay Out of Jail

12/14/19 NBC channel 2:

CNN - A bank employee in Charlotte, North Carolina, allegedly stole $88,000 from the bank's vault, according to a release from the United States Attorney's Office Western District of North Carolina.
And he wasn't bashful about advertising to his social media followers the life of luxury he was funding.

Twitter as Tool of Self-Disembowelment

Los Angeles passed an ordinance requiring contractors to disclose any ties to the NRA.  Contractor John Doe filed suit, alleging that this required disclosure would impair his ability to get contracts and force speech--a First Amendment violation.  The decision granting preliminary injunction against Los Angeles is here and includes this self-disembowelment:

In this context, O’Farrell’s off-the-record statements further confirm an overwhelming intent to suppress the message of the NRA.6 Through his verified Twitter account, O’Farrell wrote: “The @NRA “assault weapons everywhere” agenda can and will be challenged in the City of Los Angeles. It’s time for action. @WAGV @MomsDemand @Bradybuzz @eqca @shannonrwatts” Mitch O’Farrell (@MitchOFarrell), Twitter (Mar. 28, 2018, 2:20 PM), https://twitter.com/MitchOFarrell/status/979105947632123904. “My #NRA disclosure motion passed unanimously in Budget & Finance committee today. TY Chair @PaulKrekorian for your partnership. Next up; full City Council to draft the Ordinance. @WAGV @Bradybuzz @Everytown @MomsDemand @sandyhook.” Mitch O’Farrell (@MitchOFarrell), Twitter (Oct. 1, 2018, 6:27 PM), https://twitter.com/MitchOFarrell/status/1046934711761850368. “And by the way, @amazonprimenow @AppleTV @Google -isn’t it time to end your relationship with @NRATV & stop aiding and abetting their violent, extremist rhetoric?” Mitch O’Farrell (@MitchOFarrell), Twitter (Oct. 24, 2018, 11:19 AM), https://twitter.com/MitchOFarrell/status/1055161837224783872. “I told @FedEx executives earlier this year, ‘there is no high road in doing business with the @NRA.” Mitch O’Farrell (@MitchOFarrell), Twitter (Oct. 31, 2018, 11:35 AM), https://twitter.com/MitchOFarrell/status/1057702716045058048. 

See also Dkt. 1-3 at 2–32. O’Farrell’s statements reinforce an already robust record of anti-NRA animus. The face of the Ordinance, the legislative history of its passage, and the statements of its primary legislative advocate all demonstrate an intent to suppress the political speech of the NRA. 

Background Check Failure

"Comprehensive background check policy and firearm background checks in three US states" in Injury Prevention:

Results Background check rates increased in Delaware, by 22%–34% depending on the type of firearm, following enactment of its CBC law. No overall changes were observed in Washington and Colorado. Our results were robust to changes in the comparison group and statistical methods.

Wintemue, long-time gun ban advocate, is one of the authors.

AutoDesk Fusion 360: Do Not Install It

I installed it hoping that I could use it for CAD/CAM but decided that it was easier to write my own gCode instead of learning how to use it.  There are gobs of AutoDesk authored YouTube videos, but they are all for older versions and are not useful. I tried to uninstall it but it will not: python errors.  There are instructions from AutoDesk about how to remove it with a special cleaner; it does not work.  Nor do the manual uninstall directions.

The DOJ Inspector General Report

12/10/19 Rolling Stone (of all places) describes all the crap the FBI claimed and the news media uncritically published as crap.

Spearfishing Done Very Well

It claimed to be from Fidelity where my IRA keeps me very well off.  It listed a recent transaction of sales of small quantities of mutual funds.  Once the panic subside, but after hitting the View This Order button, I realized that many of those mutual funds are not in my portfolio.  Fortunately, I could not remember my password.  By this point I had noticed the domain was fidelitymanagement.com.  Fidelity has 401k.com for their domain.  Nothing lost, but read carefully panic-inducing emails and make sure the domain you are going to is actually for your institution.

St. Louis Mass Murder Averted in the Last Two Years

Does anyone remember the details?  Some ribs restaurant.

Assault Umbrella

12/8/19 San Francisco Chronicle:

A Santa Rosa police officer responding to reports of a suspicious man with a gun Saturday afternoon fired three rounds at the individual before discovering that the long, black object police believed to be a rifle was actually an umbrella.

What size magazine?

More Trump Damage

12/4/19 Wall Street Journal:

HICKORY, N.C—Here’s the good news: There are now more reasons to make furniture in the U.S. than at any point since the financial crisis. Crate & Barrel and Williams-Sonoma Inc. are expanding manufacturing in the U.S., and the factories of longtime furniture makers are humming.
Here’s the bad news: There aren’t enough skilled workers available to support the renaissance.
Manufacturers across the country are struggling to fill open slots in a tight U.S. labor market. Furniture companies, which for decades have been hit by competition from China, face special challenges after years of shrinking. A generation of prospective sewers and upholsterers have steered clear of the industry, leaving it heavily reliant on an aging workforce.

Shortage of workers can and must be fixed by paying better.

More Evidence of Trump's Corruption!

12/6/19 Business Insider reports that Trump uses larger salt and pepper shakers than his guests.  Another "high crime and misdemeanor" I guess.

because you never have enough early automatic weapons from the Founding Era

I found this while treadmilling. 
Flintlock volley gun: 240 rounds in two minutes.  The Navy bought and used them in the War of 1812.  Apparently, the one from the USS Constitution is in the U.S. Navy Museum.

Great Ironic Headlines

California — capital of gun control — sees three mass shootings in four days

Like A Really Bad Joke

12/3/19 Forbes:

Leo Lech’s home was destroyed. The windows and doors were all blown out, glass strewn inside and outside. But it wasn’t an act of God, it was an act of the local police department.

Mind you, no one in the household had committed a crime. Instead, a suspect on the run fled there randomly. He’d been chased by police for miles after stealing a shirt and two belts from a local Walmart.

With the suspect armed and ignoring police communications, the SWAT team of the Greenwood Village Police Department in Colorado started systematically taking out windows and doors using explosives and an armored vehicle. They fired tear gas canisters into the home. At one point they used a robot to throw a cell phone to the suspect. After 15 hours, they entered the house to find the shoplifter holed up in the bathroom with a stash of drugs.

 The occupants of the home were Leo Lech’s son, the son’s girlfriend, and her 9-year old son, who now found themselves homeless. In apprehending a suspect wanted for a few dollars’ worth of goods, the police did damage costing Lech $400,000. While insurance covered some of the home repairs, it didn’t cover the full amount of the value of the home or personal possessions, and today, nearly five years later, Lech is still paying the loans he had to take out to repair the massive damage done by the local police department. And just recently, a federal appeals court ruled that he couldn’t be compensated for his loss under the Fifth Amendment’s takings clause: “nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”

The city's press release gives a rather different picture that makes Lech sound like someone trying to take advantage of a bad situation for financial gain.  The Institute for Justice is a libertarian organization that tends to portray "bad government" in situations that might look a bit different if viewed from a less ideological perspective.

Why Soros Backs Marijuana Decriminalization?

Conclusions and Relevance  Low-strength evidence suggests that smoking marijuana is associated with developing TGCT; its association with other cancers and the consequences of higher levels of use are unclear. Long-term studies in marijuana-only smokers would improve understanding of marijuana’s association with lung, oral, and other cancers.

TGCT: testicular germ cell tumor.