As I Sagely Suspected

It's not an isolated occurrence.

The Catholic Church on Gun Control

From Catholic News Service.

"As bishops, we support measures that control the sale and use of firearms and make them safer -- especially efforts that prevent their unsupervised use by children or anyone other than the owner -- and we reiterate our call for sensible regulation of handguns."

That's followed by a footnote that states: "However, we believe that in the long run and with few exceptions -- i.e. police officers, military use -- handguns should be eliminated from our society."

All right, I guess I have to stop saying no one wants to eliminate guns completely.

Please leave a comment.

Kalishnikov

via Mudrake.

Bill Maher Stole My Line

"Just admit it, you like guns."

Ray Stern on the Gun Issue in AZ

This op-ed is a riot. If the argument for guns were sound, why would the author have to resort to anecdotal incidents and generalizations?

The other side: Sort of metrosexual. Unwilling to take their own security seriously. The anti-gun culture doesn't fear guns in the way that members of the gun culture fear guns. Their fear is more irrational, phobic - almost superstitious, as if the very presence of guns invites death.

People who don't own or know much about guns -- we imagine that these are often the same type of people who, during a sudden electricity blackout, are initially baffled about what to do. They may not have fire extinguishers in their homes, or, if they do, they're so buried behind stuff in a cabinet that they'd be useless in a fire.

The best part is the comment by Dennis Gilman.

Here is my own statistic or observation:

At every protest I've ever attended in Az, those with the biggest insecurities, mentally disturbed, lowest self esteem, most dishonest and cowardly were the ones strappin guns.

Guns and losers seem to go hand in hand. Why is that Ray? Answer later. I'm on my way out the door.

I'll be taking a walk...at night....Alone...without the need to pack heat. Don't hate me because I'm beautiful Ray. Us "Metrosexuals" get all the pussy. We did in High School and College and some things never change. But you can always sleep with your gun.

UPDATE - My comment was removed over there, you know that thing the pro-gun guys keep accusing us of doing. It's really no never mind, it was just calling him out on this stuff I posted about.

Photos of NRA Hero Loughner

Cops: Photos Show Loughner Wearing Red G-String, Holding Glock

Before he allegedly went on a mass killing spree Saturday, Jared Lee Loughner had photos of himself developed at a local Walgreens that showed him dressed in a bright red g-string, a Glock 9mm gun next to his naked buttocks, the New York Times reports

Something tells me a lot of gunloons do this....

Crime in the UK

Jim, in comments, raises the old gunloon canard that the UK is a far more violent place than the US, South Africa, and most EU countries.

He cites this article.  In a nutshell, The Daily Mail argues that the UK has a violent crime rate of 2,034 per 100,000 citizens, the US has 466 per 100K and South Africa has 1,677 per 100K.

Now, if I were a gunloon, I'd attack the messenger.  I might point out The Daily Mail was big champion of Adolf Hitler, in particular, and fascism, in general. I might point out The Daily Mail has lost a number of libel suits to various people, including Elton John, Diana Rigg, and Kate Winslet to mention a few.

But I won't.

Instead, I"ll point out The Daily Mail fails to note crime statistics vary from nation to nation, both in the way they're categorized and the way they're tabulated.  For instance, playing one's stereo too loud is counted as a violent crime in the UK--in most other countries, it may not even rate a misdemeanor charge.  Similarly, the UK has what is called an affray which consists of 2 or more people fighting/arguing in a public place--this, too, is categorized as a violent crime.  In the US, such an instance might rate a misdemeanor.

It's very easy to see The Daily Mail piece doesn't pass the smell test.  We know homide rates in, say South Africa are about 10 times higher than the US and nearly 40 times higher than the UK.

Gunloons in Tennessee Have Brief Moment of Sanity

From the state that encourges Gunloons to drink and carry guns:
KNOXVILLE - A Kingston gun shop that planned to host a bobble-head shooting day based on ex-Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin's abrupt departure last year, has changed up Saturday's fundraiser.

Instead of shooting bobbleheads of Kiffin and his father, University of Southern California defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, Frontier Firearms on Gallagher Road plans to adopt them out.

Closing Those Loopholes

Of all the news lately of new legislation which is being suggested, Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.) and  Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) are the only ones making sense, that's my opinion.  Ackerman is working on the "fire-sale loophole" and Quigley is working on the old standby, the "gun-show loophole."

Sponsored by Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.), the proposal would prevent recently unlicensed gun dealers from selling their stock fire-sale-style without first performing background checks on the buyers.

It's not the only gun-law loophole Democrats are targeting in the wake of Saturday's shootings. Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) this week said the shooting is clear indication that Congress should close the so-called "gun-show loophole” as well. That's a reference to the hobbyists and other unlicensed gun sellers who have no obligation to perform background checks at gun shows or other venues.

That loophole, Quigley said Tuesday, makes the screening process required by licensed dealers all but futile.

"Whatever rules are on the books aren't enforced if there's a gun-show loophole," Quigley said in a phone interview.

What's your opinion? Is there any question that these measures would prevent gun deaths? Don't you think it's time that even the gun-rights people got behind these initiatives?

Please leave a comment.

Jon Stewart on the Shooting

Battle of the Bans

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
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Gun Control Doesn't Work

So says the Chicago Tribune editorial board member, Steve Chapman. via Fat White Man.

The first idea came from Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., who wants to ban all ammunition magazines holding more than 10 rounds — which was the rule under the assault weapons law. Her rationale is that the rampage ended when the shooter exhausted a clip that held at least 30 rounds and tried to reload, at which point he was subdued. With a 10-round clip, he could have been stopped sooner.

A measure offered by Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., offers even less promise. He wants to make it a crime to knowingly carry a firearm within 1,000 feet of a president, vice president, member of Congress or federal judge.

That would punish law-abiding citizens who have no aggressive intentions — say, someone who parks a block away from a campaign rally on his way to the target range. But it would have been only a paper barrier to Loughner, who ignored a host of laws on his way to shoot Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

I admit those do sound like ineffectual additions to what passes for gun control in America. The problem is we don't have gun control, we have a mish-mash of ineffectual laws, all of which can be easily circumvented.

I say it's time to clamp down. Involuntary commitment to a mental hospital cannot be the only criterion for determining disqualification on those grounds. An entire system of mental health screening needs to be put in place.

In addition, licensing every gun owner, only after they pass the mental health screening and undergo written and practical tests, is essential. Registration of every firearm to a particular licensed owner with periodic renewal of that registration must be required.  Any transfer, which would necessitate a change in the registration records would be accompanied by a background check, every time.

A number of other things, like safe storage laws and one-gun-a-month laws would complete the picture.

Then we'd have gun control, and then we'd see the reduction in gun violence that supposedly we all want.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a  comment.

Gohmert's Reaction to the Shooting

via Mike Licht via Politico

Texas Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert says his office is drafting a measure to allow members of Congress to carry guns in the District of Columbia, including in the Capitol and on the House floor.

This is one way to react, I guess. Folks who believe more guns equals less crime would naturally want to go this way.

I disagree. What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Not So Good Timing in Tucson

Is Brad Kozak Always Wrong?

Internet huckster, gunloon and Truther John Bradford Kozak can't help but always be wrong. Example: Kozak predicts FaceBook's demise.

He's also a big fan of Sarah Palin's. Who managed to jump most every shark this week.

Anyhoo, JBK claims Robert "Marry Our Fortunes Together" Farago was responsible for my banning at the Truther Site. Hmmm. Maybe, but not according To Bobby F:
From: "ROBERT FARAGO" Add sender to ContactsTo: "Jade Gold" I'm sorry but you've been banned. You hijacked the site and trolled. Brad and the rest if the crew were adamant.
A post is going up soon. Again, I'm sorry it came to this.

Sent from my iPhone

New Blog - New Trajectory

We're still outnumbered, but this guy will help.

Baldr Odinson.

I am an activist for reducing gun violence in the Eugene, Oregon area, and all of Oregon. Join me! nogundeaths@gmail.com

Rachel Maddow on the Shooting

via Laci.




"integrated databases," that's what we need.

Glock Sales

via Il Principe.

What Gunloons Heard Sarah Palin Say

Arizona is for Gunloons

There are about 14 or 15 black GOPers in the known universe.  Usually, a black GOPer is treated with  deep reverence by Repugs in order to hold him up as an example of GOP "diversity."

Except in Arizona:

In an e-mail sent a few hours after Saturday's massacre in Tucson that killed six and injured 13, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Miller told state Republican Party Chairman Randy Pullen he was quitting: "Today my wife of 20 yrs ask (sic) me do I think that my PCs (Precinct Committee members) will shoot at our home? So with this being said I am stepping down from LD20GOP Chairman...I will make a full statement on Monday."

Sarah Palin on the Shooting

Sarah Palin: "America's Enduring Strength" from Sarah Palin on Vimeo.

I agree that each person is responsible for his or her actions. Loughner is responsible for what he did and Palin is responsible for what she did. Loughner killed and wounded people with a gun. Palin delivered tremendous amounts of inciteful rhetoric which she knew damn well could push some of these numbskulls over the edge.

Both are guilty,

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Sheriff Clarence Dupnik on the Shooting

"Arizona is the Mecca."

Bloomberg on the Shooting

As if in response to Robert Farago's video message to the nation, Mayor Bloomberg had this to say.

It should be clear to everyone that the system is broken and it is time for our leaders in Washington to step up and fix it.

The article lists three suggestions for the federal government, the first of which is "Fix the Background Check Gaps."

What's your opinion? Does it make sense what Bloomberg says?

Please leave a comment.

The Deadliest Gun States

The Daily Beast Reports, and includes an interesting quote from Eugene.

"I am generally skeptical of gun laws," says Eugene Volokh, a law professor at UCLA. "The theory is that gun laws may prevent crimes of passion—domestic crimes, altercations over traffic incidents, or committed by someone who is otherwise law-abiding but has an anger problem… gun-control laws can potentially do something, but the kind of crime by which they can do the least is a mass shooting."

#1, Mississippi Gun deaths per 100,000: 18.3 Permissive gun laws: 4th out of 50

#2, Arizona Gun deaths per 100,000: 15 Permissive gun laws: 1st out of 50

#3, Alaska Gun deaths per 100,000: 17.6 Permissive gun laws: 11th out of 50

#4, Arkansas Gun deaths per 100,000: 15.1 Permissive gun laws: 7th out of 50

#5, Louisiana Gun deaths per 100,000: 19.9 Permissive gun laws: 23rd out of 50

#6, New Mexico Gun deaths per 100,000: 15 Permissive gun laws: 6th out of 50

#7, Alabama Gun deaths per 100,000: 17.6 Permissive gun laws: 27th out of 50

#8, Nevada Gun deaths per 100,000: 16.2 Permissive gun laws: 22nd out of 50

#9, Montana Gun deaths per 100,000: 14.5 Permissive gun laws: 10th out of 50

#10, Wyoming Gun deaths per 100,000: 14.5 Permissive gun laws: 8th out of 50

It doesn't take a scientist to draw some obvious conclusions from this list. The only question is how can pro-gun folks deny the obvious. Do some of them actually believe what they say. It's hard to imagine.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

MA Machine Gunloon Tragedy

Can you count the errors?

#%!& Brad Kozak Says

Apparently,  Brad Kozak was a bit hurt at being exposed as something of a kook on his site, so he did what all authoritarians do when exposed-- he went into full censorship mode and banned me.

I really think it was my comments to this article that did me in.  In this article, Brad Kozak attempted to argue that a CCW holder, arriving late to the aftermath of the Giffords shooting, played some admirable role by somehow restraining himself and not pumping a few rounds into the chaotic scene.  I noted quite sagely that:

[by the same] logic, I should be commended as I was 2500 miles away and didn’t climb into my car and drive through a mall at high speeds. I also didn’t take my chainsaw and try to juggle it among small children.

Naturally, this upset Brad Kozak's delicate sensibilities who promptly channeled his dead father, referenced a Tom Cruise movie I've never seen, and accused me of wanting to ban all guns and turn the US into Australia(???).

Good times, good times.


For accuracy's sake, it must be noted that Brad Kozak's story was wrong.

GOPer Doesn't Want Guns Near Him

Bwahahahahahhha:

The chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security Peter King, R-New York, announced today that he will introduce a bill that would ban knowingly carrying a firearm within 1,000 feet of certain high-profile government officials.

What Does Beck Have to Say?

via Rumproast.

“...I said Sarah as you know, peace is always the answer. I know you’re feeling the same heat,  if not much more on this. I want you to know you have my support, but please look into protection for your family. An attempt on you could bring the republic down.”

The rest of it is absolutely hysterical, in that sick way.

3 Dead in San Jose

Over the weekend in San Jose, California some people couldn't care less about the events in Arizona.  It was business as usual there, just like it was in many other major, and some minor, cities throughout America.

There are 100 gun deaths a day, every single one a tragedy. Just like many of the murders are preventable, so are many of the suicides. Gun availability plays a part in all of them.

In a way, I agree with Robert Farago's brazen attempt to spin the Arizona massacre into the rare event it really is, something we need not overreact to. Things like that don't happen every day, says he.  The part I agree with is that there is an overemphasis on it, there's a disproportionate focus of attention on it and a total failure to look at the day-in and day-out gun violence, like what happened in San Jose over the same weekend.  My conclusion is the opposite of Robert's.

What's your opinion?  Robert says if it ain't broke, don't fix it.  I say it's so broken, it's time we decided to fix it..

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Jon Stewart on the Shooting

By the time he was done, I thought there really wasn't all that much difference between what he said and and what Keith Olbermann and the rest of the lefties said. Jon just said it more softly.

What do you think? Please leave a comment.

Josh Horwitz on the Shooting

From his official statement.

Sadly, Saturday’s tragedy was both predictable and inevitable. Insurrectionist rhetoric—which posits that the Second Amendment gives individuals the right to take violent action when they believe that our government has become “tyrannical”—was once confined to the dark corners of gun shows and the Internet. In today’s America, however, it has become a “mainstream” idea that is widely promoted by movement conservatives, high-profile media figures, and even elected officials and candidates. Tucson was not unique—since the conservative wing of the Supreme Court embraced the insurrectionist idea in the D.C. v. Heller decision in 2008, there have been numerous threats and acts of violence against government officials.  

I guess it's all how you look at it. Robert Farago feels these incidents are infrequent to the point of actually saying "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." I asked him if he was out of his mind.

What do you think? Please leave a comment.

Don't Blame the Guns!

Via Salon:

Some Great Tweets

Via The Far Left Side:

If a Detroit Muslim put a map on the web with crosshairs on 20 pols, then 1 of them got shot, where would he be sitting right now? Just asking. - Michael Moore

A Plea For Sanity

So, Who is at Fault Then?

After rejecting all the overtures of blame we've been reading lately, The Fishing Musician has this to suggest, which I kinda like.

So who is at fault? Well, we are. All of us. We don't have a mental health system in this country that reports individuals like this to some sort of clearinghouse, to be interfaced with the ATF and FBI and whoever else controls the sale of firearms in various states. Had the Junior College Police Department in this case had some place where his name as a prospective mental patient could have been reported, with no liability to them for doing so, then perhaps he could have been prohibited from buying this pistol new from a lawful dealer.

What do you think? There is a great difficulty in identifying the mental defectives among us. The system needs to be strengthened in some way.

What do you think? Please leave a comment.

Keith Olbermann's Special Comment

Keith on the Shooting

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Stupid People Tend to Be Conservative

via Laci

That's a pretty slick saying when you think about it. But is it true? What do you think?

Even Don Knows the Problem

via Laci from Indystar.com

Citing his success and his multimillionaire status, Davis makes no apologies for his lofty ranking in a recent Washington Post survey, which follows a gun-control organization's study from the 1990s that placed him second in the country. "The problem is with Indiana law," he told The Star's John Tuohy. "Once people leave here, they can sell to anyone they want."

I like that Don. He admits what the rest of the double-talkers deny.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Watch NRA Grifter Sarah Palin Backpedal

Remember this Sarah Palin PAC ad?

Today, Palin is saying the ad didn't have gun sights on them.

Ummm..wonder why Palin tweeted that they were?

More on Latest NRA Hero, Jared Loughner

Couldn't enlist in Army, but could buy a gun.

Classmate, Professor feared Loughner had a gun in class

We Mustn't Mention the NRA*Update*

As usual, whenever we have a high-profile case of gun terrorism, the usual suspects emerge to blame the situation on anything but the ridiculously easy access to firearms by anybody.  In comments, the recent attempt is to blame the shootings on liberalism.

Even if we suppose Jared Loughner is the head of the DNC and the largest donor to the Democrats in history, it still doesn't address the fact he was able to get a gun and shoot 18 people, killing 6.  What does address that fact is that a lobbying group, the NRA, and a small fringe group of fetishists enabled Jared Loughner to accomplish yet another mass killing.

I fully expect the gunloon community to ratchet up the rhetoric about Loughner reading Marx and smoking pot as proof positive he is a liberal while ignoring the fact he rambled about putting the nation's money on the gold standard and the problems with immigration (both popular ideas in GOP circles).  Ultimately, of course, the goal is to protect the NRA.

Update: A link between Loughner and American Renaissance possible.

The Origin of "Son of a Gun"

From The Grammarphohia Blog.

“Son of a gun, an epithet conveying contempt in a slight degree, and originally applied to boys born afloat, when women were permitted to accompany their husbands to sea; one admiral declared he literally was thus cradled, under the breast of a gun-carriage.”

Although Smyth was an admiral and should have known about naval language, his lexicon didn’t appear until nearly 160 years after the expression first showed up in print.

Women did sometimes travel on British warships during the seafaring age.

In Jane Austen’s 1817 novel Persuasion, for example, we learn that Admiral Croft was regularly accompanied by his wife. (Austen knew about naval life since two of her brothers were admirals.)

So, yes, there’s a little evidence to support the naval origin of the expression, but we think “son of a gun” is simply a rhyming euphemism for “son of a bitch.”

Edward Fleury Trial Continues

As a big believer in shared responsibility, as apparently the courts in MA are, I'm enjoying the arguments in the trial of Edward Fleury.  He's been charged with manslaughter because he sponsored the event and is considered by some to be ultimately responsible for the safety.  The two guys who owned the machine guns have been charged.  The teenager who supervised the actual shooting and proved to be unfit for that very important job, has not been charged but is a witness at trial.  And finally there's Mr. Charles Bizilj, father of the dead boy, who's not been charged either.

[Fleury's lawyer Rosemary] Scapicchio has repeatedly argued that some of the responsibility for Christopher's death falls on his father. Prosecutors have said that Charles Bizilj was not charged because he based his decision to allow his sons to fire the gun on information from others who should have known it was too dangerous.

Bizilj testified Thursday he thought the event would be safe and well-supervised. When asked by prosecutor William Bennett if he had thought about safety, Bizilj said, "You can imagine this has gone through my head a thousand times."

Bizilj acknowledged under cross-examination that he signed a liability waiver before the shooting and told reporters shortly afterward he believed it was a tragic accident. Bizilj later filed a lawsuit for negligence against the Westfield Sportsman's Club, Fleury and two others. It was settled last month for about $700,000, but Fleury wasn't part of the settlement, Scapicchio said.

Michael Spano also said under cross-examination Thursday that several police officers saw children shooting machine guns at the event and never told anyone to stop or that it was illegal.

The boy was 8 years old. Surely, even the most stubborn individual-responsibility believer must admit someone else was responsible.  Wouldn't you say?

I say they're all to blame, even the ones who saw it and said nothing.  How long are we going to tolerate pro-gun folks who mind their own business and turn a blind eye to things or who insist it was the other guy's fault? 

What do you say? Where do you draw the responsibility line?

Please leave a comment.

Murder Suicide in Small Town Michigan

The hits just keep on coming, don't they. This is the story of another unfit gun owner, a former member of the Famous 10% club, now deceased of course.

I already can hear the pro-gun cry, "But what law could have prevented this?"

I'm not proposing any law. I proposing that the legitimate gun owners quit trying to paint themselves as all, or nearly all, responsible and safe people. I'm not the one painting with a broad brush, they are.

The fact is, the world of lawful gun owners is generously sprinkled with all types of unfit characters. As the population goes up, so does the number of hidden time-bombs. It's simple math. You don't need a Linoge-type chart to understand what I'm saying.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Another "Accidental" Shooting

In this case the shooter happened to be an Iraq War veteran, which was part of the reason he was out on bail awaiting sentencing for an extremely vicious assault on a homeless man.


That was a mistake.

A former soldier convicted of beating up a homeless man has been arrested on reckless homicide and weapons charges in a woman's fatal shooting in suburban Cincinnati.

Riley Feller, 25, was arrested late Thursday night in Norwood. Feller was waving a 9mm handgun around when it went off and struck Janice Svajda, 26, of Troy, in the chest at an apartment where Svajda was living with her boyfriend.

This is one area where most of us are in agreement. Violent offenders need to be in jail not out one the street. But one thing we may not all agree upon is that when a violent person is released, their guns need to be confiscated.

You can quote me on that. In a case like this I favor gun confiscation. In other words,it's not sufficient to label a person disqualified to own guns if you don't send the stormtroopers to his house and ensure that he's complying.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.