February 2009 – Page 6 – Shall Not Be Questioned

I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means

Lots of talk around the blogosphere about this training exercise out in Iowa where the military is training to go door to door searching for a “weapons dealer” and cordoning off the search area.Â Participation in the exercise is on a volunteer basis.Â Rumor going around now says that the exercise is canceled.

I think they likely are training to search for weapons, but I’m going to agree with SayUncle’s take on this that it’s training for Iraq, not here.Â Most of the past five years our soldiers have been looking for caches of weapons and explosives over in the sandbox.Â The rule was (at least until the Iraqi Government nixed it) was that families could keep one Kalashnikov or other firearm for self-defense.Â Heavy weapons, explosives, or caches of weapons were contraband.

Given that training exercises generally take a while to plan, I wouldn’t be shocked if this drill was planned under Bush.Â Â If Obama and the Democratic Congress had a secret plan to pass a gun ban and confiscation bill, why would the Iowa National Guard be in on the secret, but no one else?Â One reason I don’t believe in broad conspiracies is because people talk.Â Sure, I suppose it’s possible the order came down from on high to conduct this training making it look like it was for Iraq, but if it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck.

UPDATE: I should clarify that I don’t believe this training exercise should be conducted, and it ought to be opposed, but that is out of a general principle that the military should not be using civilian communities in military exercises.Â Even if they are getting volunteers, not all in the community will be pleased with the disruption from the military presence.Â I have no problem with the military conducting these exercises on base with civilian volunteers, but taking over a community is extreme.

You Got That Right Arlen

Arlen Specter encountered some unhappy people over his stimulus vote, and says:

Specter, 79, acknowledges his run for re-election will be tough. […] Specter acknowledges the Republican Party’s conservative wing will attempt to unseat him in next year’s primary race.

I’m absolutely counting on it.Â This time, he won’t have Santorum and Bush to pull his ass out of the fire.Â There’s on issue he can make this up to me on, and the vote is likely coming.

The Damage

Tree guy came by today to talk about the removal.Â $2500 to remove it.Â The tree guy felt pretty bad the insurance company denied our claim, but he had to bring in a 30 ton crane to hoist the tree out over my other trees and get the tree off the neighbor’s house.Â That doesn’t come cheap.

The insurance company said my house and property are insured for damage.Â Acts of God are covered only if said act causes damage to my property.Â Isn’t the tree my property?Â Â To me, the Act of God was the wind, and the wind caused damage to my property (the tree).Â But apparently the tree is not covered by the policy unless it falls on something of mine and damages it.Â Any damage to my neighbor’s property is on their insurance.

The half of the tree that fell on my property fell into another tree.Â I had the tree guy come out all quick because I was afraid of it falling and damaging something.Â Apparently the smart, but perhaps not proper course of action would have been to let it fall, and smash into my deck.Â Then the insurance company would have paid for a new deck, and to remove the tree.

Essentially the insurance company was betting the tree wasn’t going to fall and damage something, and I was betting it would by removing it.Â I didn’t give the insurance company the chance to lose the bet.

Lead Bullets in National Parks

Les Jones reports on lead concerns in regards to allowing carry in National Parks.Â The bullets in my carry load contain no lead, but that’s another matter.Â If National Parks are really as safe as all the critics say they are, this is not really an issue.Â The number of discharges for self-defense should yearly, amount to less than a dozen.Â I’m sure there’s more lead in the paint on the walls of some buildings in National Parks than we’re talking about here.Â We’re talking about concealed carry here, not opening the parks up to random gunfire, though you’d imagine that’s what some think.

Restaurant Carry in Virginia Update

Virginia Shooting Sports Assocation is reporting:

SB 1035 – Repeal of the Restaurant Ban for concealed carry. Reported with amendment (removed the requirement to notify a member of the restaurant staff that you are carrying concealed) 17-Y 5-N

That was silly to begin with, and I’m glad someone in the Virginia Senate realized it.Â You should never tell someone you’re carrying who’s not a law enforcement officer approaching you in an official capacity.Â Definitely not the host or hostess of a restaurant.Â People carrying a pistol with a license still are not permitted to drink alcohol under this rule, and no doubt critics will point out that this relies on the honor system.Â All concealed carry relies on the honor system, since the gun is, you know, concealed.

More Media Coverage of Gillibrand’s Rifles

I like this article by Fred Lebrun on Gillibrand’s supposed gaffe telling most of Long Island about how she defends her home:

Then again, this little flap has nothing to do with home protection and everything to do with perception politics, tarnishing the rash upstater. Gillibrand has been targeted by a number of individuals and institutions offended she got the job, and determined to take it away from her. Gillibrand has to bob and weave if she hopes to keep it, and not set herself up as a sitting duck.

For contrast, here’s Newsday’s latest jab at her.Â I really think the opposition to her boils down to not wanting to have some upstate rube representing urbane and sophisticated downstaters.Â That is certainly the image media outlets like Newsday are promoting.

How Philadelphia’s Media Treats Guns

In a stark contrast to the last post from Central Pennsylvania, we have this bit of pant shitting hysterics from our local media market here in Philly:

It’s an unrelenting plague, and its agent of death is – guns.

And the horrifying fact is that more guns than ever are being purchased in this country as uneasy people arm themselves in fear: Fear of a reversal of gun rights under President Obama. Fear for their safety in an economy that drives people to desperation.

Sure, I know: many are legal guns, bought by responsible gun owners who don’t kill people, blah blah blah.

But my math is simple: The more guns in circulation, the more that find their way to the dregs of society who casually assassinate cops.

And there are more guns in circulation than ever.

I challenge Ms. Porter to look at the cop killer’s criminal record, and tell me the problem is with guns.Â This guy committed dozens of violations of this commonwealth’s gun laws, and didn’t receive so much as a slap on the wrist for it.Â You want to do an article that will make a difference, Ms. Porter?Â Talk about this.Â The problem is not guns, it’s a disastrously broken criminal justice system in Philadelphia.Â Jill Porter is doing the citizens of Philadelphia a disservice by focusing the blame on inaminate objects rather than the violent thugs that are being allowed to roam the streets with impunity.

Teen Shooting

I’ve always been happy the media in other parts of Pennsylvania are willing to cover the shooting sports in a positive light, like this article about a kid who is quickly becoming an accomplished sporting clay shooter:

A ninth-grader at Hershey High School, he’s ranked 25th in the nation in the sub-junior category of the National Sporting Clays Association (NSCA). Sub-junior encompasses shooters ages 16 and under. Kisthardt added to his list of accomplishments by recently making the NSCA All-American team.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest this kid won’t be shooting up his high school anytime soon, like the media around here would probably be concerned about.

Yet Another Blue Trail Range Safety Study

I think by the time Blue Trail Shooting Range puts this nightmare behind them, it might well be one of the most studied range in the country.Â The town of Durham is now harassing them funding a new safety study of the range.

Blue Trail is the only public outdoor shooting range left in all of New England.Â It would be a shame for it to close.

Completed Pin Collection

I have finally completed my pin collection for Thursday night indoor metallic silhouette with rifle.Â I have gotten pigs and rams and chickens a few times over, come close to turkeys a few times, but last week finally got 10 of them:

I am starting my collection for pistol now, since I got ten chickens with the Ruger Mk.III Hunter 22/45 with a red dot sight on it.Â I’ve been pleased I’ve been able to improve this year on pistol, but my rifle game is kind of going nowhere.Â I attribute this to lack of practice.Â Last year when I started indoor silhouette, I managed to improve shooting rifle offhand with some extra practice.Â This year I just don’t have as much time, and I’m not really improving over the course of the season.

What helped improve the pistol shooting was two things, really.Â Â One is when we learned a few things with Todd Jarrett this summer, he offered several suggestions for improving grip, and suggested gripping tighter.Â It wasn’t a complex suggestion, but it improved my pistol shooting dramatically.Â The grip advice transferred nicely from action shooting to silhouette shooting.Â The second is working on trigger control.Â This is the skill I find I lose the fastest if I don’t practice, or if I swich guns.Â Starting out tonight on pistol, I was jerking the trigger too much.Â I also really need to work on follow through. Air gun shooting is really useful for working on follow through, since it seems to be particularly important for air gun.