Snowflakes in Hell

According to Scalawag, who links to a BBC article, it is.

This article has convinced me that the media is not any longer the guardians of freedom and liberty, shining the light on those in power, and asking difficult questions of those who wield power over us.  No, not anymore folks.  Maybe they never really were.   It’s pretty clear now they are part of the chorus who will tell you that freedom is no good for you, and that having reduced choices is really for the best.

Congress has banned light bulbs folks.  Seriously.  Freedom doesn’t seem to matter to anyone anymore.   Is there any serious lobby for consumer freedom out there today?   If so, they need our support.

I’m hearing that the bills HR5005 and HR5092 are being combined and reintroduced into The House of Representatives as a single bill. Don’t have details about the new bill just yet. They will be introduced by Reps. Steve King (R-Iowa) and Zack Space (D-Ohio).

This is very good news folks. It means ATF reform is not dead in the water in this democratic controlled Congress. Hopefully we can keep this moving forward and get it passed, because these much needed reforms of the ATF are critical to ensuring the future of your neighborhood gun shop.

UPDATE: Countertop says in the comments:

Politically, we stand a better chance now. in the last one, Republican eyes were largely on other issues and when it came time to throw us a bone, the Dems wouldn’t let them have an easy victory.

Now, in control based largely on the election of rural red state freshman (who are all VERY vulnerable in 2008 and hence make Democratic power vulnerable) and with the gunbigots showing no benfit to Dems at the poll (and likely to lose big in the Supreme Court) this becomes a no brainer.

Read his whole comment.  I hope he’s right.

In a move that’s sure to enrage a lot of other pro-gun groups, The NICS Improvement Act has passed the senate with some good policy improvements over the House version of the bill, HR2640:

• Requires incorrect or outdated records to be purged from the system within 30 days after the Attorney General learns of the need for correction.
• Requires agencies to create “relief from disabilities” programs within 120 days, to prevent bureaucratic foot-dragging.
• Provides that if a person applies for relief from disabilities and the agency fails to act on the application within a year—for any reason, including lack of funds—the applicant can seek immediate review of his application in federal court.
• Allows awards of attorney’s fees to applicants who successfully challenge a federal agency’s denial of relief in court.
• Requires that federal agencies notify all people being subjected to a mental health “adjudication” or commitment process about the consequences to their firearm ownership rights, and the availability of future relief.
• Earmarks 3-10% of federal implementation grants for use in operating state “relief from disabilities” programs.
• Elimination of all references to Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives regulations defining adjudications, commitments, or determinations related to Americans’ mental health. Instead, the bill uses terms previously adopted by the Congress.

As I said before in numerous other posts, I think on balance this is a good deal for gun owners. This makes it a better deal. Good.

UPDATE: Had to modify the bullet items. Looks like the link changed on me.

UPDATE: It’s passed the house with the senate amendments. HR2640 is now on Bush’s desk. I would expect a signature.

UPDATE: Carolyn McCarthy says, “Together, we have crafted a bill that will prevent gun violence, but maintain the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.” To which Dave Hardy remarks: “Uh … Second Amendment rights of individuals? Law abiding citizens? I didn’t antigunners were allowed to use terms like that.” They are when they are trying to spin what is actually a defeat as a victory. The VPC isn’t afraid to take a look in this horse’s mouth:

Kristen Rand, legislative director of the Violence Policy Center, states, “This bill was intended to be Congress’ response to the mass shooting at Virginia Tech that left 32 people murdered. But rather than focusing on improving the current laws prohibiting people with certain mental health disabilities from buying guns, the bill is now nothing more than a gun lobby wish list. It will waste millions of taxpayer dollars restoring the gun privileges of persons previously determined to present a danger to themselves or others. Once a solution, the bill is now part of the problem.”

Well, I guess VPC could always convince Bush not to sign it. Good luck with that.

Here are some of the many ways that hunters impact our state’s economy, according to the Congressional Sportsman’s Foundation.

Pennsylvania’s 1.4 million hunters and anglers are among the most prominent and influential of all demographic groups, spending more than $3.5 billion a year on hunting and fishing, according to a new report.

That’s quite a lot.  Other interesting facts:

• Sportsmen support more jobs in Pennsylvania than Penn State University and the Philadelphia Airport combined (51,000 jobs vs. 45,000).
• Annual spending by Pennsylvania sportsmen is more than the revenues of York-based BonTon Stores ($3.5 billion vs. $3.1 billion).
• Annual spending by Pennsylvania sportsmen is more than the cash receipts from dairy products, cattle, greenhouse/nursery, mushrooms and broilers - the state’s top five grossing agricultural commodities ($3.5 billion vs. $3.1 billion).
• Pennsylvania sportsmen spend $104 million anually on outboard boats and engines to get out on the water and around the rivers for fishing and hunting.
• Pennsylvania sportsmen outnumber the combined populations of Allentown, Erie, Pittsburgh, Reading, and Scranton, two to one (1.4 million vs. 680,297).
• More Pennsylvania residents hunt and fish each year than attend Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia 76ers games combined (1.4 million vs. 1.3 million).
• The economic stimulus of hunting and fishing equates to an astounding $9.6 million a day being pumped into the state’s economy.

Certainly nothing to sneeze at.

“Don’t worry, I have a gun, and I’ll take them out with me” was overheard by a woman in a Wal-Mart, which was enough to prompt a SWAT response and complete evacuation of the store.  I guess Wal-Mart figures you can’t be too careful these days, but I’m guessing here, just guessing, that the guy was talking about going shooting, or hunting, which might have something to do with why he was in a Wal-Mart perhaps?   Either way, careful what you say in public these days, you might scare the sheep.

While Congress is trying to solve our energy problems by banning light bulbs, Pennsylvania Power and Light says it plans to file an application with the NRC to build a new reactor unit on its Susquehanna site.   Building more nuclear power plants seems to me to be a preferable way to produce more emission-free power, rather than having Congress meddle in what kind of lighting I’m allowed to have in my house.

Here’s a pretty good editorial talking bout Philadelphia’s problems, and unlike most of their politicians, looking for real solutions:

Access to family sustaining blue collar jobs is the first step toward economic empowerment for any community.  If the black and other minority populations of Philadelphia are shut out of such jobs they have little hope of improving their quality of life.  Such hopelessness is a breeding ground for despair and ultimately violence.  To overcome that two things must occur: Philadelphia’s unions must become more open and accessible to black members, and non-union shops – clearly most hospitable to minority employees – must be given a level playing field to compete for government contracts.

Racism in unions is one of those not talked about practices that’s gone on in the northeast for a long time.  Blacks and other minorities have been systematically kept out of many skilled trades, and it’s contributed a lot of the kinds of inner city poverty you see in the large northeastern cities.  It’s one thing that City Council actually deserves some credit for addressing.

Keyboard and a .45 has an interesting post about answering the door. I have a pretty simple solution to this problem, I just don’t answer my door if I’m not expecting someone. Chances are, if I didn’t invite them, I don’t want to talk to them. Maybe it’s rude, but I figure anyone I know who is outside my door and I’m not answering, is going to call the cell.

Pennsylvania and Arkansas now have reciprocity. The agreement can be found here.

… when they pry them from my cold dead hands. And you can thank president Bush for signing this piece of garbage.

“In this bill, we ban by 2012 the famously inefficient 100-watt incandescent bulb,” said Rep. Jane Harman, a California Democrat who co-sponsored that provision.

You can go fuck yourself Jane Harman. Seriously.

The bill requires a fivefold increase - to 36 billion gallons - in the amount of alternative home-grown fuels, such as ethanol, that must be added to the nation’s gasoline supply by 2022.

Good to see the corn farmers got their hands in this. Corn farmers can go fuck themselves too! [No offense intended to any corn farmers who read this, and aren't actively participating in the conspiracy to force their product onto the American consumer]

Folks, our government is out of control, and pretty clearly George W. Bush and the Republicans aren’t going to do a thing about it. I have no problem with compact florescent bulbs, but if they didn’t have problems, they wouldn’t need government intervention to beat standard incandescents in the marketplace. The government has banned toilets that actually flush decently, and now light bulbs that are actually…. bright. Am I the only one who is tired of this bullshit?

UPDATE: Joe has more to say here.

UPDATE: Ride Fast & Shoot Straight too.

Primers are important components of ammunition.  But what are they made of?  How do they work?  Basically, a primer is some shock sensitive explosive mixed with other fuels, oxidizers, abrasives and binders.

The most common compound used to initiate the explosion is lead styphnate. Needless to say, it’s pretty toxic, which is why people say to wash your hands after shooting or handling ammunition.  Primers made from this compound are considered to be non-corrosive.

The original compound used for priming was mercury fulminate.  Its main disadvantage is that it produces elemental mercury, which readily forms an amalgam with brass, substantially weaken brass casings.  In more modern corrosive ammunition, it was combined with potassium chlorate, which when ignited would coat parts of the firearm in potassium salts, which attract moisture and promote corrosion very rapidly if not removed.

According to Ahab, they are going to restrict them.