April 2011 – Page 8 – Shall Not Be Questioned

Performance Art That Will Get You Killed

SayUncle has an interesting story from New York:

Once the door shuts, he starts screaming to the top of his lungs to the people in the car about about something, some sort of pre-robbery speech. Then says itâ€™s a robbery and pulls out his hand and itâ€™s in a brown paper bag. I was a bit surprised that I stayed calm but I did. I discretely pulled my Cold Steel AK47 out of my pocket and stood between the guy and my wife evaluating what I was going to do and when. It was a pretty intense few seconds. Then the robber decides to inform us that heâ€™s not a robber and itâ€™s actually some sort of scare-tactic fundraising pitch for a homeless shelter.

Whoever thought this was a good idea ought to be slapped around. If Bloomberg’s subjects are this foolish, no wonder he doesn’t want people going about armed. In a lot of cities, this guy would be shot, and to be honest, he would have deserved it. Legally, it would have been self-defense. This is foolish beyond belief, even in New York, where there are still people walking around with deadly weapons.

Some Debate with Colin Goddard

Thirdpower has the details of a Twitter debate that’s been going on this Friday between Colin Goddard and a few gun rights people. Debating on Twitter is kind of like dueling haiku, so it’s impossible to discuss complex topics. The topic at hand is background checks. Goddard’s position can be accurately paraphrased as “The innocent have nothing to fear.” But that misses what drives our opposition by a mile.

I think the background check requirement is about as useful for lowering violent crime as pissing out your car window. But if done with respect for the core right at hand, I’m not sure it’s a serious enough impediment to its exercise to rise to the level of unconstitutionality. That said, the proposals by the Brady Campaign are almost certainly not open for debate, largely because they target gun shows with onerous requirements, and impose a significant tax on the transfer of firearms by forcing transfers through FFLs. So we fight it.

Pennsylvania currently bans private transfers of handguns. You have two choices here for transferring a handgun to someone who isn’t your spouse, son, grandson, father, or grandfather. You can pay an FFL to do it, which around here costs a minimum of 32 dollars at some of the smaller, out of the way shops, or drive forty minutes to theÂ county seat, and have the Sheriff’s Office do it. No doubt many gun control advocates don’t really appreciate bringing cost into the equation, but when it comes to exercising rights, costs imposed by government are a serious issue that can’t be lightly dismissed. Especially when the effectiveness of the measures is dubious at best.Â Despite the fact that Pennsylvania prohibits private transfers of handguns, straw purchasing has become a big enough problem, we’re told we need to acquiesce to a whole host of other controls. The Brady Campaign supports rationing gun purchases in order to deal with this problem in my state, just to name one proposal on the table.

Negotiations on this issue are a non-starter unless something I otherwise could not get is also on the table. Most of that is going to be unacceptable to Colin’s employer, if not Colin himself. Politics is a process of compromise, but compromise is what happens when either both sides are unable to move forward without concessions to the other, or when one side begins to fear his opponent might be able to move an issue forward despite opposition.Â The gun control movement has never been interested in that kind of compromise. If the Brady Campaign really wanted universal background checks, they could probably get them. Ask how many gun owners here would trade a universal background check you could do with a driver’s license and a cell phone for, say, a repeal of the Hughes Amendment. I think you’d find takers. Ask how many would trade the same for easing restrictions on short barreled rifles/shotguns, and suppressors? National concealed carry? I’d bet you’d get takers just giving up the 4473.

Could Brady make that deal? Are background checks that important? If they answer that question honestly, you’ll see why this goes nowhere. Background checks are a political hobby horse Colin’s side is riding as a gateway to other issues which are more important to them. This was never about the background checks, and I think Colin knows that as well as I do.

Comm2A and SAF File Suit in Massachusetts

They are challenging the ban on firearms possession by lawfully admitted aliens, and the ban on firearms and ammunition purchase by lawful resident aliens. There is very strong case law that will support getting the ban overturned for lawful resident aliens. If I understand the first aspect of the lawsuit correctly, this challenges the ban mere possession, meaning challenging the fact that it’s a crime to take you friend visiting from overseas to a shooting range. Given the Supreme Court has said plainly this is a fundamental right, that probably plays strongly that a blanket ban on possession is unconstitutional, though it may be constitutional to restrict lawful admitted aliens from purchasing a gun under the Heller dicta that permits some degree of qualification on commercial sales of firearms.

Lucky The Blog is Still Running

Bitter and I have been noticing an odd odor in the house every time we run the dish washer. It was kind of a putrid, cat urine kind of smell. I had figured maybe a mouse had decided to make a home in the insulation and had died. I intended to yank the thing at some point. Wednesday night that odor was considerably stronger, enough for me to identify it as an electrical smell. Checked around the house and couldn’t find anything that was the culprit. I figured the dishwasher might be on its last leg, so told Bitter to stop using it. Came home last night and she said some lights weren’t working. Crap. Go check the breakers and they are all in the on position. So I start tripping them, until I hit one that just rocks back and fourth like there’s nothing in there:

Two, completely dead. Judging from how discolored and soft the blade on the bus bar is, my guess is that over the years, it’s become something less than pure aluminum, causing it to heat excessively. Some of the plastic cladding holding the bus bar in place melted down. The two breakers below it function, but their cases took some damage too. The whole panel needs replacement. That normally would be no problem, except when the doofuses who owned the house previously replaced the boiler, they completely blocked access. I can reach it enough to work on it, but it’ll be difficult and tiring. Bitter can’t reach the thing to even trip breakers back.

The other problem is PECO won’t pull the meter and reconnect without confirmation that I’ve met code, which means permits. This probably means a licensed electrician. Because of the boiler, one with exceptionally long arms. Or I have to pull the boiler out and reconfigure it so there’s room to work. I accept permitting for major work or renovation, but by this standard I’d need a permit to swap out a faulty main breaker. That’s not safety, that’s extortion. And how am I supposed to function while I wait, without any power, for the township’s code enforcement to show up to inspect the work?

Help a Fellow Out

Robb over at Sharp as a Marble is hitting the unemployment lines. If you’re in the Tampa area, and want to hire a .Net developer, I’m sure he’d be happy to send a resume. Speaking of resumes, there’s a chance I might be joining Robb in a week or so. I should get mine ready too. To some degree I’m relatively calm, because right now I’ve done all I can do to save the company. The decision as to whether to continue operating, and if so in what form, is out of my hands, and in a strange way that takes the pressure off. The past year has been a marathon to produce something of value we can partner with someone who can bring cash to the table. I am happy that we have achieved that goal. The question is whether we have something interesting enough, and with enough potential upside, to keep our tired investors at the table. We shall soon see.

Based on what I’ve seen, the market for tech people isn’t really that bad, and while my ten years of experience is primary in high-performance computing (HPC), cheminformatics and bioinformatics systems, there isn’t a whole lot that involves a computer that I haven’t done. If I have to go to the dark side and do software, I can do that. I could probably even go back to pure hardware engineering if I could convince someone I could un-rust those skills in a short amount of time. Database admin? I probably could swing it. General IT? Can do it in my sleep. Network engineer? Been a while for some aspects, but it’s not rocket science. The big thing on my mind right now is what to do next. But I’m hoping next will be continuing to do what I’m doing now, where I’m doing it now. I have my fingers crossed.

Tastykake Finds a Buyer

Possibly as revenge for burning Atlanta, the rebs now own Tastykake. Great work Philadelphia! It won’t be too long before the North will have no hope of winning if the South does indeed rise again, because everything will be made there, and nothing here. I will definitely join the side with Tastykakes. Add this to my affection for Chick-fil-a, and they’d really have me over a barrel if they tore up all the railroads heading north.

Tragedies That Don’t Get Exploited

Tam notes that a New York mother who drowned her kids when she drove her minivan into the Hudson won’t be attracting any activists looking to ban minivans, boat ramps or motherhood. This is a pretty serious question our opponents should ask themselves. Obviously this is a tragedy, but why isn’t anyone demanding the government do something, for the children. Because doing nothing isn’t an answer.

In this case, we universally accept the mother snapped, and nothing much else is to blame. At most people might murmur a bit about more funding for counseling and women’s service. We don’t blame access to cars, or boat ramps. Why? Because none of these objects carry the same spiritual power as the gun. To the extent the other side likes to suggest the gun is our god, if that is true, it is most certainly their devil. I stand by my assertion that the other side is acting in an elaborate passion play. Otherwise, why is the car not to blame? Or the boat ramp?

Assault Clips

We have some pretty good submissions. My favorite two are these:


Submitted by Robert	Submitted by ctdonath

Hard to say which one I like better, but both are certainly better than my very bad joke about Dassault Clips from the other day.

UPDATE: Also check out Miguel’s submission. Plus, anyone who’s anybody these days has a Twitter account, and that’s true of Assault Clip too.

Quote of the Day

From Gray Peterson:

So Zimmerman’s fiance says ten rounds is enough. Has this woman ever confronted 5 or 6 dedicated people wantin’ to “beat up a fag?” I have.

Tough question that deserves an answer. You can bet he won’t get one.

Bullies and Victims

Don’t forget to check out some of the commentary at CSGV’s Facebook page. You have Andrew Goddard, who’s Colin’s dad saying “they will all come back as cockroaches – if they are lucky.” Andy Pelosi thanks Joan for the work she does in the “face of cowards.” Another person suggests “never give into a bully.” I think it’s time to cut out the niceties for the moment, and have a little frank discussion, so that both sides may better understand each other.

I am not unsympathetic to your grief. I’ve lost people close to me, some agonizingly over time and others suddenly. I can relate to the pain of loss, and learning how to cope and continue with life.Â I truly am sorry for what you have gone through, and may be still going through. If I had a time machine at my disposal, I’d go back and undo everything so it never happened. I have no wish to see you continuously hurting.

But you folks have a lot of nerve calling other people cowards and bullies. Let me explain to you why you elicit such “underhanded hate and misguided personal attacks” from some of the people on my side. It’s important for your side to understand. We want nothing more than to stay out of your business, leave you alone, let you heal and get on with your lives. By the same token, we expect the same courtesy in return. That is the fundamental violation you are committing in our eyes, and it’s a serious one.

There is nothing more personal, when it comes to ones own business, than his or her personal security measures. That is not a topic I take kindly to other people poking their noses into, or demanding politicians do the same. This is going to sound cold, but whatever happened in your lives isÂ your tragedy, and not mine. I am not responsible for it. So when you stick your noses in our very personal business, then demand we tolerate that because of your special status as “victims,” don’t then then act surprised and indignant when some of us rhetorically punch you in it. We would all gladly leave you alone. But it seems that your happiness and sense of well being involves trying to take away ours. Are we just supposed to roll over quietly in that case?