Snowflakes in Hell

Apparently even the top criminal prosecutor for the DOJ is on the list.  Too bad Mayor Bloomberg’s group of gun hating mayors thinks this mystery list is good enough due process to deny people basic constitutional rights.

No second amendment in Onodaga County New York:

Walsh wrote that the ability of New York residents to keep and bear arms is a privilege granted by statute. The state’s constitution contains no such guarantee, he added.

Hat tip to Jacob

It takes a real talent to contradict yourself in your own op-ed.  In Today’s New York Times, Barack They Call It Mellow Yellow Obama talks about his plan in Iraq.  In one paragraph:

Since then, more than 4,000 Americans have died and we have spent nearly $1 trillion. Our military is overstretched. Nearly every threat we face — from Afghanistan to Al Qaeda to Iran — has grown.

Then the next paragraph:

[Surge] tactics have protected the Iraqi population, and the Sunni tribes have rejected Al Qaeda — greatly weakening its effectiveness.

So which is it?  Is Al-Quaeda getting stronger or weaker?  Are we winning or losing?  Perhaps my chief problem with Obama is that 9/11 didn’t really have anything to do with either Afghanistan or Iraq.  We were not attacked by the Taliban government either, they were just sheltering Al-Qaeda.  But we’re not at war with a country, we’re at war with an ideology.  I still stand by Steven Den Beste’s analysis of the situation from 5 years ago.  Even if Al-Qaeda didn’t exist in Iraq before we invaded, and there’s evidence that it did in some measure, I don’t think, if you’re battling an ideology rather than a nation, that it’s a horrible idea to enter the heart of the region of the world that spurned that ideology, and fight anyone who wants to adhere to it.  If Iraq is soundly rejecting Al-Qaeda, because they have been shown for the butchers that they are, I think that’s a good outcome.

UPDATE: Richard Fernandez has more.

On having three Instalaunches in a single day, plus one yesterday.  Currently, SayUncle has four links off Instapundit’s main page.  When Glenn sends so many eyeballs into the Gun Blogosphere, it’s good for all of us.

Governor Deval Patrick, in a move to ensure that his state ends up being the perfect test case to challenge the constitutionality of licensing the second amendment, is looking at increasing fees on gun licenses to more than double the current rate.

Keep in mind that Governor Patrick is also a close friend of one Barack Wouldn’t You Like to Be a Pepper Too Obama.  It would be interesting to hear whether Obama’s newly found enthusiasm for the second amendment extends to opposing taxing the individual right to death, as has been done through licensing in Massachusetts.

Also, not to escape blame in all this, is Governor Mitt Romney, who invented the idea of extorting money from citizens in order that they may exercise constitutional rights.  But by all means Massachusetts, keep it up, you’re just making our eventual court challenge against licensing that much easier.

Apparently McCain voted for the eventual passage of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act after it had the assault weapons language attached to it.  I hadn’t seen that one before.  I knew he voted against the assault weapons ban amendment, but because he managed to get his gun show language on the bill, he voted for its eventual passage.  I guess his gun show bill was important enough to him to overcome his principles on assault weapons.

This is another reason to not be excited about McCain, but as I said in the comments, I have to play the cards that came out of the deck, and it’s a crap hand.  I’ll take the guy who’s with me half the time to the guy who will never be with me.  Sure, there is a point where even I’m going to stay home, or vote third party, but McCain doesn’t quite get there for me (though, he’s precipitously close — his veep choice is important)

Remember folks, we got 5-4 on a .38 revolver.  If we want that to be the extent of the right recognized by the courts, letting Obama remake the federal courts is a great way to get there.  McCain might nominate bad judges too, but he might get some good ones.  His selection committee has a lot of quality conservative legal minds on it, and I have a lot more faith that we’ll get better judges out of McCain than Obama, and to me, that’s the most important thing this time around on the domestic front.

Another Gun Blog points out another instance where Progressive Democrats for Delaware is crapping on gun owners in the First State.  It’s rather pointless arguing with folks on the Internet, especially when they don’t know what they are talking about, don’t want to accept they don’t know what they are talking about, and are mostly interested in looking down and spitting on you.  It’s a small mind that can’t make his case without resorting to personal attacks.

There’s a positive article about kids and the shooting sports in the Baltimore Sun, and the Chicago Tribune asks whether the whole suicide angle presented by the gun control groups might be crap.

… can you be 56 and still be competitive at the Olympic level?

This one in Pittsburgh.  He was charged with receiving stolen property.  Notably, a gun.  Also had some drug convictions too.  He’s being charged with being a felon-in-posession and is raising a second amendment claim to get the charges dismissed.

Like I said a few days ago, The Court did us a favor by keeping these types of cases out of the running for serious consideration by The Court.  We don’t want unsymapthetic defendants deciding what the bounds of our second amendment rights will be.

Those of us who like power tools, will love this AR.

Joe spoints out that some anti-gunners are just giving up.  Good!

Last month, we brought up the topic of pigeon shoots, which is a sport which is still practiced in Pennsylvania.  Though I would not take part in a pigeon shoot myself (I have enough trouble hitting clay birds, let alone real ones), I have no problem with the sport.  You see, pigeons are vermin.  In urban and suburban environments, they are trapped and killed, or poisoned, because they are filthy and spread disease.  Poisoning is less humane than shooting them.

This weekend Jeff Soyer wrote a post that was unfavorable toward pigeon shoots.  Bitter immediately took exception to it, pointing out that the sport might be politically incorrect, the tactic that HSUS is using pigeon shoots and dove hunting for is exactly the same tactic anti-gunners have used to go after assault weapons.  As Countertop pointed out in the comments, the proposed ban on pigeon shoots would also have the unintended (intended on the part of HSUS) consequence of banning dog training.

I will be honest here, I think HSUS will succeed in destroying hunting in North America. Why?  Because hunters show a complete willingness to throw other hunters off the lifeboat when the animal rights nut-jobs come knocking, because they personally don’t participate in their sport and don’t think highly of it.  I will agree that pigeon shoots aren’t the best public face of our sport, and I kind of wish the people who organize these things would stop.  But I’m not going to join HSUS in calling for it to be outlawed.  Apply all the shame and social pressure you want, but I’m not going to stand with HSUS on destroying any type of hunting or shooting.  They have an agenda, and a tactic.  Their tactic is to divide and conquer.  It’s the same tactic the Brady Campaign and VPC used with shooters when they went after assault rifles.  It didn’t work with shooters.  I don’t see any indication why it’s not going to work with hunters.  You’re going to lose your sport guys, and you’ll only have yourselves to blame.

They came first for the pigeon shooters, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a pigeon shooter.

Then they came for the dove hunters, and I didn’t speak up, because I don’t hunt dove.

Then they came for the bear hunters, and I said not a word, for I do not hunt bear.

Then they came for the deer hunters.  I am a deer hunter, but when they came, there weren’t enough hunters left to speak up.

Join or die.

There does seem to be some interest in a gun blog rifle league, both in small bore and big bore, so I thought I’d start out outlining some rules, and seeing what people think.  First the league is open to anyone.  It’s just we’ll coordinate through blogs.  Second, I won’t be too picky about equipment, since this is mostly for fun and bragging rights.  But let’s get down to the nitty gritty:

Center-Fire Rifle

Any rifle capable of rapid fire qualifies.  Rapid fire is ten shots in sixty seconds.  If you can do this with a bolt action rifle, knock yourself out.  I would suggest a semi-auto though, with a magazine capacity of at least ten.

Other than being more lax on equipment.  Target will be the SR-1 target.  You can buy them at MidwayUSA here.

You will need a shot timer.  A kitchen timer would work fine for this.  Just as long as you have something that will beep when you hit your time limit.

Course of fire will be identical to NRA high power, but we’ll modify it a bit so we only have to use the SR-1 target:

1. Slow fire, standing, unsupported - 10 rounds in 10 minutes, at single SR-1 target @ 100 yards.
2. Rapid fire, sitting or kneeling - 10 rounds in 60 70 seconds, at single SR-1 target @ 100 yards.
3. Rapid fire, prone - 10 rounds in 60 70 seconds, at single SR-1 target @ 100 yards.
4. Slow fire, prone - 10 rounds in 10 minutes, at single SR-1 target @ 100 yards.

We will have two classes for center fire rifle.  One class for open sights, and one class for optical sights.  Participants can enter in either or both classes, and results will be scored separately.  Participants may make multiple entries in each class, provided a different gun is used.

Smallbore Rifle

Any rimfire rifle of .22 caliber or less.  Rapid fire is not necessary for small bore competitors.  Small bore competition will have three courses of fire.  We’ll be using the NRA A-23/3 50 yard targets.  Match will be 30 shots.

1. Standing, 10 rounds in 10 minutes at 50 yards.
2. Kneeling or sitting, 10 rounds in 10 minutes at 50 yards.
3. Prone, 10 rounds in 10 minutes at 50 yards.

Again, one class for open sights, and one class for scoped rifles.  Multiple entries can be made in a single class if different guns are used.

For both smallbore and center fire, we will generally follow NRA rules, though, I’m not going to get as picky about your rifle or scope.  If your AR has a free floating barrel and a tricked out trigger, fine.  But let’s try to keep it traditional in regards to positions, and equipment other than the gun.  You’ll be able to use slings that are approved for NRA matches in positions for which slings are approved.  Things that help artificially support a position would be out, such as arm braces, wrist braces, and the like.  No bipods in the prone position, etc.  We’re going to depend on the honor system, since this is meant to be fun, and help sharpen our skills.  I’ll trust everyone will keep in the spirit of fair play and good sportsmanship.

I will propose the first match end the last day of summer on Sunday September 21st, 2008, with results being due in by midnight on that day.  Thereafter, seasonal matches will end on the first Sunday after the end of each season.

Let me know what you think of my proposed plan.  We’ll hash it out in the comments, and I’ll start taking info down for people who want to be part of the league.  Perhaps I will make a seperate part of the site to track everything.

Linoge has moved out of California to escape the insanity.  I certainly don’t blame him, but some advice that Cam Edwards always offers, and I think it’s good advice, is to stay a member of your former home state’s association, and stay active fighting there as best you can.  Someone has to fight the good fight.  I’m a member of both the Pennsylvania and New Jersey state associations.

We wish him luck in his new pro-gun home of Tennessee, which I think it might actually be legal to punch hippies, rather than be ruled by them.