Snowflakes in Hell

I’m guessing we won’t be seeing Clayton at the Gun Blogger Rendezvous any time soon.  Say what you will about Reno, but Washoe County has a hell of a shooting range.  I’m not much of a gambler either, so that aspect of the city is no attraction to me.  I did find the automobile museum to be worthwhile, as I’m assuming Clayton did as well.

I’m hoping this means we can finally start having a serious discussion about violence in Philadelphia.  It’s long overdue.

Hat Tip to Dave Hardy

Dale Carpenter takes on a rather odd notion that technology will make Heller obsolete. I think it is correct to note that the second amendment isn’t limited merely to firearms technology, but to many things as well.  In fact, I think the door is open for a Second Amendment challenge to many state and local laws that regulate or prohibit the carrying or possession of less-than-lethal weapons.

I am also doubtful that less-than-lethal weapons will supplant firearms, rather than merely supplementing them, which is how they are used in modern police work.  Anything that’s effective at disrupting a person’s physiology or central nervous system enough to stop them in their tracks is probably going to be very likely to kill that person.  Most critters, including humans, are tough to stop quickly without bringing them very close to death.

Apparently DeCosta and Franklin were both served papers, during a press conference, for the federal lawsuit surrounding the Atlanta Airport showdown.  Excellent!

VPCBlog is demanding a retraction of some inaccuracies by the New York Times.

Anti-gun folks continue to pronounce that the sky is falling because of Heller.  I have to admit, it’s fun to watch.

Richard Fernandez links to an interesting article in The New York Post, describing Al-Qaeda’s Plan C:

In a notable departure from past al Qaeda strategy, Naji recommends “countless small operations” that render daily life unbearable, rather than a few spectacular attacks such as 9/11: The “infidel,” leaving his home every morning, should be unsure whether he’ll return in the evening. Naji recommends kidnappings, the holding of hostages, the use of women and children as human shields, exhibition killings to terrorize the enemy, suicide bombings and countless gestures that make normal life impossible for the “infidel” and Muslim collaborators.

Try this crap here, and we’ll get the 72 Virgins Dating Service doing a brisk business faster than you can say Allah Akbar.

I have to agree with Countertop about the episode of 30 days that Bitter and I watched last night, where they sent a Brady Campaign member to live with a gun nut for a month.  I thought it was presented very fairly, and factually, without a whole lot of distortion.  The pro-gun guy was normal and reasonable, had a teenage son, and was generally presented as a fine upstanding citizen.  I give the Brady chick a lot of credit for having an open mind, and I agree with Bitter that the members of CeaseFire from Toledo were the only real bitter ones in the whole episode.  While I don’t think the Brady chick will be joining the NRA any time soon, I have little doubt she’ll never be able to look at the gun issue quite the same way again.

Reporter Fran Wood manages to write a good article about Heller that is not full of hysterics and inaccuracies.  That’s more than I can say for The Chicago Tribune, the ACLU, and the Associated Press.