Apparently they find the traditional firing of blanks out its cannons to be annoying. As one commenter on Fark put it “Perhaps they should stop firing blanks.”
Category: Boneheads
Off the Deep End
HSUS to Regulate Rodent Control
No longer will lethal rodent control be allowed in DC homes – that is, unless you can prove that the public safety is in jeopardy. You would also have to develop a strategy to “preserve family units” of pests. If you find bats on your property in winter, you cannot disturb them until they come out of hibernation in the spring. Should there be 10 bats, you’ll need a special permit to be rid of them.
No, I am not joking. This is the new standard being drafted by HSUS in the District.
Lame Commentary on the Stevens Case
A TV host and columnist, Bonnie Erbe, is upset that the Supreme Court seems willing to come down on the side of the First Amendment in the Stevens case, which had oral arguments earlier this week. She’s upset, because she obviously did not listen to the oral arguments, nor did she bother researching the case before mouthing off about it.
The biggest fear Justice Antonin Scalia registered was that the law could be used to ban hunting videos. When one reads the language of the statute, it seems to say that hunting (or making or selling videos of same) is not the kind of activity it was enacted to ban. Is hunting illegal under federal or state law? Of course not! State law regulates and licenses hunting, but does not make it illegal.
Except hunting certain kinds of animals is illegal in some states and not in others. For instance, Michigan and a few other states ban hunting of morning doves, but which are popular game birds in the South. By plain reading of the statute, it would be illegal to make a hunting video depicting morning dove hunting in Texas, and sell it to someone in Michigan, where dove hunting is illegal. The video doesn’t have to be cruel, it just has to depict someone killing an animal. It would be unlawful to put a dove hunting web site up, because someone in Michigan might read it. If Ms. Erbe had done research, she would have realized this, but it gets better:
My concern regarding Justice Breyer’s question extends beyond the plain language of the law. When he asks whether Congress can just go ahead and pass another law, he underestimates the enormity of such a task. It can take decades to re-enact a law the Supreme Court strikes down willy-nilly.
I’m sorry that Ms. Erbe is upset that we live in a Constitutional Republic that has limits on the power of government, and makes it difficult for Congress to pass laws that touch on important constitutional rights. I really am. Utterly distraught.
When I think of free speech I think of political protest or whistle-blowing or espousing unpopular positions. I don’t think of a constitutional right to make and sell violent, bloody videos of animals maiming and killing each other in a way that is designed to appeal to the lowest human instincts.
So you’re OK with banning nude art then? Certain types of dancing that people find appeal to the lowest human instincts? Depictions of violence in movies and video games? I’m sorry we have a First Amendment that protects these things, but we do. If Ms. Erbe is so upset by this concept of broad protections on freedom of speech and expression, perhaps she should consider relocating to a country where such rights are not taken seriously, like China, Russia, or Canada.
I’m Glad One Of Us Can Still Get Orders
I’m really glad that Caleb’s Blackwater code book still works. Â I had to burn mine over the winter when the patriots started to zero in on my position. Â I’m glad one of us can still decode the signal! Otherwise the truth would be sure to come out.
Yes folks, we’re all in constant communication with Blackwater/Xe, trying to lull gun owning Americans into a sense of security, so that the Blackwater/Xe mercs can make the rounds disarming everyone. Â Everyone else was clearly too blind to see it, but the true patriots were able to find the truth. Â The truth that our week there was a lot more than just Para paying for a place to shoot, and one Blackwater senior , former Navy Seal and Virginia Beach Police Officer, giving us a 15 minute tour. Â They never let us wander around the facility freely, and take pictures of pretty much whatever we wanted to. Â Every week we get a bunch of marching orders, but without the code book, I’m screwed. Â I guess it will be a FEMA camp for me when they end up going door to door.
But while we’re all being water boarded by the Blackwater torture division in the FEMA camps, we can rest easily knowing their are true patriots out there standing up for our paintball rights, with a bold and daring flashing of the shocker, sure to send any Blackwater/Xe merc running, or at least tricked into believing he’s missed his mark and shot off a finger.
Just because you have the right …
… doesn’t mean you’re not an attention whore. Again, this is not a good public face for political opposition. Once again, context matters. The people getting hysterical about this might be wrong, but I would point out that I got this from an anti-gun twitter feed. They know a public relations mistake when they see one, and this is.
You Can’t Remake Red Dawn
Some movies are totally a product of their time. Red Dawn is one of those movies. It can’t be remade. But Hollywood is sure going to try.
Revocation OK, but Durante Confused About Law
Back when I was biking more regularly, one of my favorite bike trails was the Schukyll Trail. I would rarely ride the whole thing, but the parts that go through Norristown can get a bit sketchy. I’ve seen kids throw rocks at bikers on the trail. Not like big rocks that are going to knock someone out, but bad enough behavior. Apparently things have gone downhill, and there have been actual attacks. This guy would make a pretty good poster boy for Brillianter’s pepper spray argument:
According to court records, DePaul told police he was riding his bike on the trail and almost crashed into a fence after a boy kicked him in the ribs near the 900 block of Conshohocken Road. DePaul said the boy had a BMX bicycle. Upset, DePaul fired all six rounds at the boy from a distance of 200 to 250 feet, the records say he told officers.
Facing these kinds of charges, the Sheriff is definitely within his legal rights to revoke his License to Carry. It’s hard to make a self-defense argument for a threat that was almost a football field away from you. It’s quite likely, if the news releases are true, that he’s going to go to prison, and he’ll deserve it. He’ll be unable to own, let alone carry a firearm if convicted, and I won’t shed a tear for him.
But the reaction of the Sheriff of Montgomery County concerns me, especially since I carry on that trail when I bike it:
Sheriff Durante once again reminds the public that carrying a firearm on the trail or in any county park, regardless of whether or not one has a concealed carry permit, is illegal and a violation of the rules and regulations of the Montgomery County park system. Anyone caught in possession of a firearm in violation of these rules and regulations will immediately lose their concealed carry permit and will be turned over to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
It is entirely and unambiguously unalwful for Montgomery County to enforce this ordinance, and I can promise Durante a giant lawsuit if he tries. As a violation of statewide preemption, it couldn’t be any clearer. Furthermore, I’m rather outraged that Durante chose to focus on it (not) being illegal to carry in a county park, rather than mentioning this jackass’ LTC was revoked because he drew his hog leg and started shooting up the place like it was high-noon at the OK corral.
If you have a License to Carry a firearm, this ordinance does not apply to you. Carry on the trail if you feel inclined, and if you get in trouble, contact an attorney and fight it. The rest of us shouldn’t be punished because of one jackass.
Toy Gun Scare
Princeton instituted it’s super secure, extra careful campus lock down procedure, with “Stay inside and do not go outside to travel to another building. Close and lock the doors and windows.” instructions to students, because they thought there might be someone on campus with some sort of weapon. Turns out it was a water gun. Whew. Can you just imagine what might have happened if it had been an actual weapon?
Any bets on whether you could walk across campus carrying a packet of matches and a gallon of gasoline?
Firearms Safety in Russia
I wonder if this was preceded by a couple of liters of vodka, just for good measure.