Bitter – Page 95 – Shall Not Be Questioned

Gun Sales Up

I love the headlines about increased gun sales from Tulsa, OK; Bakersfield, CA; New York; and Roanoke, VA.

Are any readers buying a gun for a gift for either themselves or a loved one for the holidays this year? Sebastian has bought guns for me twice – once for Christmas and the other for my birthday. They always go over well.

This year, I don’t think Santa will be leaving any for us. Instead, Santa is delivering some knives. We have become spoiled to our new high-end knife, and I casually suggested that Sebastian might order a block so we can start a proper collection of quality knives. At least if we have more than one, we won’t fight over who gets to slice the homemade bread.

Why Iowa Really Shouldn’t Matter

Jim Geraghty is on a roll this morning looking at the truth behind the Iowa caucus numbers and why they should be no more relevant than any other small state. I can understand the sentiment because I know many gun owners never felt like they had a say in the GOP nominating process in 2008 once some contenders dropped out after fairly early primary runs. With the ups and downs of various candidates in the last few weeks, it’s a shame Tim Pawlenty called it quits after a freakin’ straw poll.

Putting aside the quirkiness of Iowa, caucuses are an awful method for picking candidates for a variety of reasons — suddenly the secret ballot doesn’t matter anymore? — and high among them is low participation. The turnout at the 2008 Iowa GOP caucus: 119,000. Turnout at the 2000 caucus: 87,000. Turnout in 1996: About 96,000. Turnout in 1988: About 109,000.

Turnout has never surpassed 23 percent of all eligible Republicans, and even that low threshold was last met back in 1988. The GOP frontrunner is determined by a group roughly the size of the crowd at a University of Michigan football game. If the Iowa caucus turnout matches its 2008 level (though it could be higher), it will equal 16 percent of the average population of one congressional district.

At least in primaries, many more Republicans (and in open primaries, independents) get to weigh in. In 2008, 234,000 Republicans and independents voted in New Hampshire, and 445,000 Republicans and independents voted in South Carolina.

In his morning newsletter, he also notes that a certain segment of the few caucus-goers will make up their mind based on these last minute polls released showing candidates they like not doing so well or candidates they hate doing too well. This is particularly relevant as some may be responding to the perceived swell of Ron Paul support and flocking to Romney out of fear of a Paul win. That’s the same kind of motivation that drove some states to vote for Huckabee in 2008 – he was the only alternative to McCain at a certain point in the game. It didn’t mean those states actually like Huckabee, they just didn’t want to vote for McCain.

UPDATE: Someone questioned what an ideal map would look like for Geraghty, and he responds with a plan that sounds quite feasible. My only issue is that he left Oklahoma off the calendar.

Blaming the Victims

There’s a fine line between teaching someone to be smart to avoid being a victim and actually blaming them for the crimes committed. But it looks like Harrisburg, Pennsylvania has not only crossed that line, it’s not even visible in their rearview mirror anymore. They actually criminalize potential victimhood.

Meanwhile, police have issued several citations to people who left vehicles running and unattended in the city during the past week, police Chief Pierre Ritter said.

Motorists are not allowed to leave cars running in Harrisburg if they are not in them, even out front of homes to prevent vehicle theft, Ritter said. Drivers with cars left idling and unattended will receive $90 fines.

Get that? It’s a crime to leave your car in a manner in which it could be stolen by a criminal. You will be punished because someone else might come along and make you a victim.

By this logic, what is Harrisburg’s next big idea to cut down on car theft? Fining those who buy nice cars. If they wouldn’t drive nice cars, then criminals wouldn’t be tempted to take them.

The next big crime fighting law proposed by Chief Ritter will be to cut down on rape. If we follow his justification above, he plans on fining women with vaginas in order to prevent rape. We can’t have those women with vaginas tempting potential rapists.

Signs, Signs, Everywhere There’s Signs

The mayor of bankrupt Harrisburg, PA has unveiled a brand new gun crime fighting tool – signs. But not just any signs, signs with a phone number. It was announced with a press conference bragging about how these signs would convince people to turn in guns used in crimes.

The signs list a phone number people who want to turn guns in can call or anonymous tipsters can call to report illegal guns on the street and other related crimes to police, Mayor Linda Thompson said this afternoon during a weekly crime prevention press conference.

Of course, this program has the standard promise that police won’t ask questions when guns are turned in through her pet project.

I’m sure that will solve all of the crime in Harrisburg if we just put up more signs. Perhaps Philly can just put up lots of signs and solve their city problems.

What’s Missing from the Brady Candle Lighting Ceremony?

Besides candles, what’s missing from their “big” announcement of a candle-lighting ceremony? Joe Huffman caught it.

They list a number of locations where you can join in a â€œNational Candlelight Vigilâ€. The interesting thing is they only list 28 locations in 15 states. There are no events in many of the cities and states where they claim to have chapters. This includes the supposed chapter in Arizona! This state in particular is significant because the event date, January 8th, was chosen as the anniversary of the Tucson, Arizona shooting in which Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) was severely wounded and six people were killed.

He includes the full list of Brady “chapters” who are not participating in their event, and you might be surprised at those who are sitting out. Delaware, the home “chapter” of Sarah Brady, is sitting this one out. Three-quarters of their chapters in New Jersey are planning on skipping this event. In the area surrounding their headquarters, the Maryland chapter and three of the four Virginia chapters are passing on the big day. Their chapter in Wisconsin must be demoralized after losing on concealed carry since they are also shying away from the event. There are more, those are just the highlights.

Candlelight Vigils without the Candles

I swear, the Brady Campaign “big announcement” candlelight vigil actually falls into the category of sad the more you look into it. People have been joking about how they are advocating use of an item that’s actually pretty dangerous.

I noticed that several of their events in Pennsylvania, Texas, and California demand that you leave your candles at home when attending the candlelight vigil. Instead, it is mandatory that you only use flameless candles. For the California event with the restriction, the mandate is for LED lights only.

There is nothing they won’t try to control in your life – even your use of a candle at a candlelight vigil.

The Big Brady Announcement…

There was some speculation about the big announcement being teased by the Brady Campaign today. With quite possibly the most ~~danceable~~ modern video ever produced by the anti-gun group, some wondered if it would be epic.

Did they secure Gabby Giffords as a new spokeswoman so they could re-launch as the Giffords Campaign? Did they snag a president that someone has actually heard of before today? Were they launching a rival campaign to Bloomberg’s efforts that continually rip the attention, headlines, and support away from their group?

I didn’t post about it because I had a gut feeling that it wasn’t terribly exciting. I figured that it would be a repackaged legislative initiative at best. I was so wrong. It was even less interesting than that.

The Brady Campaign wants you to light a candle.

Yes, they want you to light a candle. Because candles will stop violence. Their new webpage about candles says that lighting a candle will stop a bullet. What? You think I’m kidding?

Imagine stopping a bullet before it kills a child.
Impossible? Not with your help! All across America people are coming together to save lives from preventable gun violence. Will you join them, and the Brady Campaign, as we host a nationwide candlelight vigil to honor victims of gun violence?

Perhaps the candles will also inject some personality into Dennis Henigan as he reads his script. The candles might also buy them some new audio equipment. If candles can stop bullets, then they can do anything in this season of holiday miracles, right?

Something You Don’t See Everyday

A Democratic Congressman asks his constituents to seriously question the authenticity of Second Amendment support of a Republican candidate he’s not even running against. The Congressman? Leonard Boswell. The candidate? Mitt Romney.

Speculate as to the motivation behind this piece to your heart’s desire.

Defining a School “Gun Threat”

One reason I react so strongly to the lack of common sense in school administrators is because I had a personal experience with an expulsion threat over the issue when I was in high school. Yes, the “Goody Two-Shoes” honor student was called in to the principal’s office and threatened with expulsion over an issue regarding guns. It didn’t happen because I knew enough to know that I wasn’t breaking any rules; the situation that sparked the “report” to the administrator was a clear case of protected speech. The fear of a lawsuit and enough bad PR to cost the new principal his job was enough to convince him that he really didn’t want to go down that path.

What was my crime? It was having a discussion about a fairly new (only a couple of years old at the time) concealed carry law enacted in Oklahoma after I was asked to give a speech in class on the topic of gun control. In other words, I was having a reasonable, non-threatening discussion with peers in the library (our “class” for those of us in the academic competition programs) on a timely political topic relevant to assigned school work. (For the record, I read my first Dave Kopel article in preparation for that speech.) Yeah, try throwing me out of school for that.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad he came to his senses. Regardless, I still get pissy over the incident because shouldn’t he have come to his senses when the “report” was made? Common sense would tell a person to ask some probing questions about the incident, especially since the report was coming from a student with some issues getting along with others against one of the top students who had literally never been punished in her entire time at the school.

It bothers me because if the principal had threatened any of the other people at the table in my discussion group, some of them may not have known to fight back. They would not have known that such speech did not give them the right to kick you out of a public school. I don’t believe he would have expelled them, but I do think he would have tried to hold the threat over their heads and left them believing that he was doing them a favor. That bothers me, especially in a public school we were required to attend. It shouldn’t be up to students to stand up to administrative bullying.

Pizza Punishment

Since when it did it become a requirement that school administrators check common sense at the door? Do the job postings state that they prefer candidates consistently overreact and then lie to cover up said reactions when parents respond?

A Tennessee boy has been punished for eating the pizza served at lunch. His friend apparently told him it looked like a gun, and they played with the pizza slice for a bit. The school officials claim he was not punished for actually eating the pizza into the shape of a gun, rather for supposed threats he made to other children. However, the boy’s mother has been told that if his pizza ever takes a shape someone might consider to look like a gun again, he will be suspended. So, the school says they won’t punish kids over how they eat their pizza, yet they also threaten to suspend kids who eat their pizza into certain shapes. Either the school system taking heat from the media is lying now or they lied to his mother with threats of punishments they don’t actually intend to enforce. Again, common sense, where have you gone?

I think what’s appalling about the threats from the school is that most school pizzas I recall were served as rectangles. That means if this child even eats his slice bite-by-bite along one half of the long end, it will end up looking like a gun again at some point during the lunch, and he will face suspension. For eating pizza.