January 2011 – Page 5 – Shall Not Be Questioned

Like Vultures

Looks like MAIG has been busy trying to recruit from the victims of Tucson. This is a classic tactic of gun control groups, because without victims, where would they be?

If your mayor is on this WaPo ad, e-mail him or print him out a copy, and ask why he’s appearing in a major national newspaper supporting new gun control.Â I’d bet money that Bloomberg never got their approval to use their names. Let’s turn the pressure back up on this weasel group. There are a LOT of Pennsylvania mayors on this list, and no politician liked being used this way.

Doesn’t Add Up

ATF made a major bust, and like most bureaucrats looking for a larger budget, makes a nice display of some of the guns they supposedly captured. Is it just me or are there cans on some of those rifles? Where’d they come from? And is it just me, or does one of those look like it’s clicked into the full auto position on the receiver? And what’s with the Ma Deuce in the background? Did they buy that at a gun show or dealer too?

More pictures here. Definitely suppressors on those AKs. Another angle here. We really need to give news photographers lessons in how to take pictures of guns so experts can evaluate the evidence floated. Video here. Pretty clearly there’s equipment in this spread that’s not ordinary, and not available at your average gun dealer.

UPDATE: Tam points out in the comments that they are likely kinks with fake suppressors welded to the barrel to meet the overall length and barrel length requirement of the National Firearms Act. So fake suppressors are the rage among drug cartels these days?

UPDATE: More from Tam:

Theyâ€™re not paying retail for these things; theyâ€™re probably trading dope to somebody here in the states. I donâ€™t think they get too wound up over whether somethingâ€™s full auto or not. These guns arenâ€™t for firefights; theyâ€™re for ambushing opponents, intimidating locals, and shooting witnesses. Cyclic rate isnâ€™t all that important.

Also, not every foot soldier of the cartels gets an autorifle from el patron. In those pictures from that border shootout there were clearly a few thumbhole stocks.

The majority of the guns down there (at least once you get far enough from the border) are probably walking off army bases or coming up from South and Central America. But for us to claim that No Guns No How are coming from the US civilian market makes us look a bit naive.

UPDATE: I think Tam wins the internets on this thread. If you look at this picture, I’m pretty sure I recognize the Century Arms tags that come with the firearm, that they attach to the trigger guard.

Millions Spent, And Nothing Gained

If I had access to the kind of money that Bloomberg has flushed down the toilet on his MAIG project, I could probably cure, or find a fairly good treatment for a few diseases that kill a lot more people than guns do. I’m not kidding on that count either, for those of you who know what industry I work in.

But yet he keeps trying, and even the New York Times notes it doesn’t amount to much. They note these fights are long, and they are. Expensive too. It’s a waste what both side spend on this issue. I think what really pisses me off, when you look at the numbers, if they were really interested in saving lives, there are many other ways this money could be better spent. Adam Smith said there was “a lot of ruin in a nation,” and that’s certainly true in this issue.

Whatever you may say about Bill Gates, he’s at least trying to find a way to help the developing world deal with the scourge of malaria. What’s Bloomberg doing? Spending millions trying to remove the freedoms of Americans. Whether that’s the constitutional right to keep and bear arms, or put salt on their food. When it comes to spending money where it counts, Bill Gates has the right idea. Bloomberg is a self-serving demogauge, and a disgusting creature. I’ll cheer the day his term is up and he departs the national stage.

Gun Control Speech Coming?

The real question here is whether they intend to follow through, and in what context? And how soon? After Obama is hopefully not re-elected? Allahpundit notes:

Lots of lip service to the Second Amendment and Americaâ€™s fine hunting tradition, plenty of upfront concessions about not wanting to ban handguns, etc. He canâ€™t afford to be aggressive on this issue, after all: Even knowing that nothing will pass the House and end up on his desk, he has to be careful about alienating the sort of rural Democrats he needs to win states like Pennsylvania.

And it’s not just Pennsylvania on that count either. Though I take exception to this, quoted by Allahpundit:

He just doesnâ€™t have a big problem among the kinds of voters who support gun control: minorities, urbanites and white liberals. What he does have is a serious problem with gun control opponents, who are disproportionately white, male non-college educated and rural. They are, in other words, exactly the people with whom Barack Obama struggles, even compared to other Democrats. Thatâ€™s why Hillary Clinton beat him by ten points in the Pennsylvania and Ohio primaries and almost 40 points in the West Virginia primary.

Hillary beat him on guns? Really? What do you people smoke? And for the record, I’m suburban and college educated. I work in a knowledge industry doing what many working class Democratic families around here would not consider “real work.” It’s not like I’m a rarity in my field either. Allapundit closes with:

Maybe he was just telling Tingles what he wanted to hear?

I think this is the case. He might talk about it in later speeches. He certainly tiptoed around the issue in the memorial service a few weeks ago. I just don’t think Obama wants to ride this tiger before the 2012 elections.

Live SOTU Coverage

Cam Edwards will be covering the event live at NRA News. Since I unplugged my cable, this is where I’m going to be watching.

UPDATE: So far not a lot of applause… it makes it go faster. Always rip the band aid off quickly.

UPDATE: Politicians love to talk about math and science, but we’re laying off people in math and science right now. If we have a shortage of people gifted in this, why is this the case?

UPDATE: Cam Edwards notes “Investment = SPEND!”

UPDATE: He’s talking Sputnik. Time for another Manhattan. He’s basically talking about how we need the government to spur innovation. Because, you know, there was never any innovation without government.

UPDATE: Oh god, now it’s green energy. Green energy is a scam if we’re not talking nuclear energy. Blah blah blah, evil oil companies. Blah blah blah. Does anyone believe green jobs is going to save the economy anymore?

UPDATE: He wants everyone to be teachers. The NRA News folks are joking because that means they’ll all be on the government dime, and the Democratic Party can get more donations from the NRA.

UPDATE: Obama says he wants to solve the problem of “undocumented workers.” How? I want a Cessna Citation Mustang too, you know.

UPDATE: Now he’s talking high speed rail, which means thousands of lefties across the country are suddenly becoming aroused. High speed rail is just like that for the left.

UPDATE: He wants to double our exports by 2014. This must by we’re debasing the dollar.

UPDATE: I think a Unicorn just farted a rainbow.

UPDATE: Now Health Care. This is where I really need another Manhattan.

UPDATE: Obama talking about controlling our national debt is like Jeffry Dahmer lecturing us on keeping Kosher. He wants a spending freeze. The freeze will apparently require painful cuts. *boggle* What? I should have made this a double.

UPDATE: We have to cut social security, apparently, without cutting social security.

UPDATE: Now talk of Salmon. Cam Edwards says “A Lox on both your houses.”

UPDATE: Apparently we’re beating the Towlieban. A terrorist version ofÂ this?

UPDATE: Obama endorses gays in the military. Good for him. This is something I support him on.

UPDATE: This speech read a lot better than Obama delivered it. Which is really surprising to me. The magic is gone. This guy is a much more talented candidate than he is a President. He is no Bill Clinton. He’s not even in the same universe.

SOTU Before it Happens

National Journal has a leak of the State of the Union address tonight. There is no talk of gun control in it whatsoever. Not even a platitude. It’s actually not a bad speech. This is probably as close as I’m going to get to wanting to give Barry O a high-five. As for the Brady Campaign and MAIG? Yeah, it’s that time again:

Drink up guys! You deserve it. Don’t fret over getting stiffed by the President too much. After all, if he had gotten behind new gun control, it would have fired up our base and made a fool of a number of Senate candidates who are up in 2012.

Crack Research From New York Times

I think I’m supposed to be horrified by this, but it actually makes me proud to be an NRA member. And if the Times wonders why we’ve prevented “research” into this, they answered their own question right here. It’s quite easy to make statistics say things they really don’t, and to draw inappropriate conclusions based on them.

I only use statistics for arguments sake. I could care less what the true causation is, because my rights aren’t subject to the outcome of any scientific paper, or statistical regression. If NRA is preventing my tax dollars from going to politically charged “research” ultimately aimed at undermining my constitutional rights, they are doing exactly what I want them to do.

Would we tolerate studies that show certain kinds of speech are dangerous, and contribute to crime, who’s conclusions implicate limitations on First Amendment rights? No. We shouldn’t tolerate it for the Second Amendment either.

More on the 28 Gauge Raging Judge

Mark Keefe of American Rifleman suggest that the 28 Gauge Raging Judge is not the target of the upcoming ATF announcement. I’m betting you can’t find a Saiga for sale anywhere currently.

UPDATE: I should mention I still don’t get how this isn’t a Title II firearm, given that it looks to have an overall length less than 26 inches, and the 28 gauge has a bore diameter of 0.550 inches. If it has a rifled barrel that large, it’s a destructive device. If it has a smooth barrel, even one that tapers down to under 0.5 inches, then it would still be an AOW. It would need a rifled bore that’s less than 0.5 inches. Can you get 28 gauge down that small?

No Truck With Gun Control

Patrik Jonsson of the Christian Science Monitor reports on gun control measures not really getting traction, and points out we’re continuing to advance, especially in states. The danger is still not over, however, since we don’t know what Congress is going to do with McCarthy’s bill.

Full Page MAIG Ad Appears in WaPo

From today’s Washington Post. Click for a closer look:

They are counting very heavily on Obama giving a shout out to gun control efforts in the State of the Union. So heavily, MAIG spent a sizable amount to buy this full page ad. They need him to do it. I’m crossing my fingers and hope they are left high and dry.

As I said, I think if Obama announces support for new gun control tonight, it’ll benefit us more than it’ll benefit our opponents. But if he mentions nothing, it’ll be devastating to gun control advocates. Can Obama rise above this divisive issue? We shall see.