Much Ado

I'd commented on a post by David Codrea regarding the ATF open-bolt decision and the recent semi-furor that one of the "Threepers" is trying to stir up.  To be honest, I still don't get what the big deal is all of a sudden, as we've lived with this ruling for like 20 years.  Well, other than as Mr. Codrea states, the discussion of "shall not be infringed" being chucked out the window.  But I felt special that Mr. Codrea responded to my scrawl!

Hi, I also commented on Mr. Vanderboegh's blog post in a similar vein to note that it seems that the critical distinction is that the disconnector and "trip" must be modified. From the ATF ruling that you quote:

"The disconnector and trip are designed in the SM10 and SM11A1 pistols and in the SAC carbine (firearms) in such a way that a simple modification to them, such as cutting, filing, or grinding, allows the firearms to operate automatically. Thus, this simple modification to the disconnector or trip together with the configuration of the above design features (blowback operation, firing from the open bolt position, and fixed firing pin) in the SM10 and SM11A1pistols and in the SAC carbine, permits the firearms to shoot automatically, more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger. The above combination of design features as employed in the SM10 and SM11A1 pistols and the SAC carbine are normally not found in the typical sporting firearm."

So the guns in question aren't MGs out of the box any more than an AR-15. I mean, I can easily REMOVE the disconnector from my AR-15 and I'd have an unregistered MG according to the ATF: with one pull of the trigger, it'd dump the mag. (And poor engagement surfaces on the disconnector is what screwed David Olofson and landed him in the pen.) Now I'm not one of the prags arguing for compromise or restraint. However, with regard to the last statement of the ruling ("The above combination of design features as employed...are normally not found in the typical sporting firearm."), I could see the Brady bunch using the existing ATF ruling to attack semi-automatic weapons of any kind, particularly "evil" black rifles. Or is forcing their hand what Mr. Vanderboegh had in mind?

Someone else had posted this excellent quote from Frederick Douglass. The dude knew what he was talking about.

"FIND OUT JUST WHAT THE PEOPLE WILL SUBMIT TO AND YOU HAVE FOUND OUT THE EXACT AMOUNT OF INJUSTICE AND WRONG WHICH WILL BE IMPOSED UPON THEM; AND THESE WILL CONTINUE UNTIL THEY ARE RESISTED WITH EITHER WORDS OR BLOWS, OR WITH BOTH. THE LIMITS OF TYRANTS ARE PRESCRIBED BY THE ENDURANCE OF THOSE WHOM THEY OPPRESS." — FREDERICK DOUGLASS, AUG. 4, 1857

Claire Wolfe

I don't know why I didn't find this sooner, but Claire Wolfe has a blog.  At Backwoods Home, no less.

I'd searched a year ago.  Apparently she only started that particular blog this year.

Emergency Funds vs. Debt Payoff

This doesn't really apply to me per se, since I have a cash cushion, but some folks I know would do well to consider the points in the article.  I would argue for building up an emergency fund at the same time as paying off debt.  True, there is an impact due to the cost of the loaned money that's not being paid off, but there's no guarantee that the credit line won't be cut off, so the emergency allocation needs to be there.  Similarly, it doesn't make sense to put all your available capital into payments on a house loan because there's no guarantee that you'll be able to get a home equity line of credit when you need it.  "A bird in hand is worth two in a bush," as they say.

Barry isn't a lawyer?

An article came up in my reader about Sarah Palin considering a run for president in 2012 (ugh).  One of the comments was the following:

Consider this:

1. President Barack Obama, former editor of the Harvard Law Review, is no longer a "lawyer". He surrendered his license back in 2008 in order to escape charges he lied on his bar application. A "Voluntary Surrender" is not something where you decide "Gee, a license is not really something I need anymore, is it?" and forget to renew your license. No, a "Voluntary Surrender" is something you do when you've been accused of something, and you "voluntarily surrender" your license five seconds before the state suspends you.

2. Michelle Obama "voluntarily surrendered" her law license in 1993.

3. So, we have the first black President and First Lady - who don't actually have licenses to practice law. Facts. Source: http://jdlong.wordpress.com/2009/05/15/pres-barack-obama-editor-of-the-Harvard-law-review-has-no-law-license/

4. A senior lecturer is one thing. A fully ranked law professor is another. Barack Obama was NOT a Constitutional Law professor at the University of Chicago.

5. The University of Chicago released a statement in March, 2008 saying Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) "served as a professor" in the law school-but that is a title Obama, who taught courses there part-time, never held, a spokesman for the school confirmed in 2008.

6. "He did not hold the title of professor of law," said Marsha Ferziger Nagorsky, an Assistant Dean for Communications and Lecturer in Law at the University of Chicago School of Law. Source: http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2008/03/sweet_obama_did_hold_the_title.html ;

7. The former Constitutional senior lecturer cited the US Constitution the other night during his State of the Union Address. Unfortunately, the quote he cited was from the Declaration of Independence . not the Constitution.

8. The B-Cast posted the video: http://www.breitbart.tv/did-obama-confuse-the-constitution-with-the-declaration-of-independence/

9. Free Republic: In the State of the Union Address, President Obama said: "We find unity in our incredible diversity, drawing on the promise enshrined in our Constitution: the notion that we are all created equal..

10. Um, wrong citing, wrong founding document there Champ, I mean Mr. President. By the way, the promises are not a notion, our founders named them unalienable rights. The document is our Declaration of Independence and it reads: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

11. And this is the same guy who lectured the Supreme Court moments later in the same speech??? When you are a phony it's hard to keep facts straight. The only ones that haven't seen through this clown and the band of idiots that surrounds him are those that are fleecing this Country for all it's worth. I hope and pray that common sense will prevail in the next election or this great Nation is finished! This is amazing! I checked the Illinois Bar site and this is absolutely true. Both voluntarily gave up their licenses. How in the HADES did the media not report on this?

Other than the goofy numbering of the points, whoa. I'm not at all surprised that the media didn't report on his surrendered law license.

Edit: Ah, it sounded too good to be true.

Dot Torture and Reasons to Own Guns

Tamara's blog had a couple interesting posts yesterday.  One was a pointer [her blog] to a pointer [Guns & Coffee?!] to a funky course of fire called "Dot Torture".  3 yards, 50 shots, some one-handed including some weak-hand, some from the holster.  I'd love to try it, but my range doesn't allow presentation from the holster (argh).

Then there was a vector to a thread, circa 2000, on The Firing Line that lists 23 reasons to own guns.  I'll reproduce the list here, 'cause it's awesome!

1. So that you can call yourself a "collector" instead of a gun nut.

2. Because the notion of "the right gun for the job" can be interpreted any way you see fit.

3. Because each of your great-great-great-great-grandchildren should have something to remember you by.

4. Because when Armaggedon strikes, and you rush to the gunstore, and the only box of ammo they have left is 6.5 x 55 mm, and you have nothing to shoot it out of… well, aren't you going to feel pretty darn foolish.

5. Because diversity is our greatest strength.

6. Because you owe it to your fellow gun nuts to make them look reasonable by comparison.

7. Because every gun teaches you something.

8. Because you can.

9. Because every time you buy a gun, you're keeping it out of the hands of a bad person.

10. Because you want to be able to identify with the hero in any action flick.

11. Because Elvis would.

12. Because if time travel is ever perfected, and you can bring all of them back to the Alamo, Davy Crockett, Bill Travis and Jim Bowie are going to think YOU THE MAN!

13. Because one day, when you're famous, every gun you ever owned will be worth a fortune.

14. Because when the government makes a list of every kind of gun you're not allowed to own anymore, you'll have a few that they never even thought of.

15. Because when the cops lay all your stuff out on a sheet, take a picture of it, and publish it in the local paper, you want all the other gun nuts to be envious.

16. Because .25 autos need love too.

17. Because owning at least one of everything is the only known cure for that woozy feeling you get when you stare into the cases at the gun store.

18. Because the more guns you keep in your safe, the harder it'll be for a crackhead to load it onto a handtruck and cart it out the door.

19. Because your dot-com stocks may crater but you'll always be able to swap a Glock for airfare out of any Third World hellhole on the face of the earth.

20. Because unlike computers, the guns you buy now are not going to be available cheaper and more powerful in six months.

21. Because "number of deadly weapons owned" is an extra credit question on the entrance examination to Valhalla.

22. Because you don't want to be "out of it" when the merits of the Nambu Type 14 are discussed on the API list.

23. Because Bill Clinton doesn't want you to.

I'm rather partial to 5, 18, 19, and 20.  As for 4, well, I've got that covered....

Uncalled For

Brent at work sent me a link to a Post-Bulletin article detailing an exchange from one of the councilmen who I despise and a builder.  Since the P-B flushes articles over a certain age, here's the text:

A testy exchange between a Rochester City Council member and a spokesman for the Rochester Area Builders organization at a recent public hearing prompted a demand for a public apology.

"I feel that was uncalled for," said Jay Burke of the Nov. 1 exchange between council member Michael Wojcik and Tony Lehrman, who represents the builders group.

Lehrman had told the city council about the builders group's opposition to a proposed ordinance requiring streetside trees be planted in new developments. Wojcik peppered Lehrman with pointed questions for a few minutes before council President Dennis Hanson put a stop to the exchange. The ordinance eventually passed on a 4-3 council vote.

Burke, who owns a building company, Heartwood Homes, and has served on the city's Planning and Zoning Commission and Energy Commission, described Wojcik's actions as violating "proper decorum" for public officials. He sent a letter to the city Friday and spoke to the city council Monday.

Burke said the exchange left several audience members, and even a few city council members he said confided in him, feeling uncomfortable and embarrassed. Read about it in Tuesday's print edition.

Shooting Liability

In looking up info on police training, I came across a page that mentions two legal cases that shaped thinking on police training.  The cases were Popow v. City of Margate and Zuchel v. Denver.

EMS response time as reported by USA Today ("call-to-shock") was pretty lousy.  Rochester is mentioned in conjunction with a study of the survival rates based on "call-to-shock".  That's something of a guide to how long the cops would take to arrive.  Minneapolis apparently had an 8-minute police response time to 911 calls.

ATF Form 4590

I'd read that although Glock offers a pistol in .380 ACP that due to some law they can't import it into the U.S.  Well, apparently the limiting factor is an idiotic point system shown on ATF Form 4590.

Rhino .357

Guns & Ammo has an issue featuring the Chiappa Firearms Rhino revolver.  I skimmed the article at Wally World when I went to buy some ammo, but it had very little on the gun itself, particularly pricing.  So I did a search online and found a press release that mentions the U.S. distributor, MKS Supply.  Apparently they're based out of Dayton, Ohio.  Go figure!

The designer is the guy who came up with the Mateba autorevolver, Emilio Ghisoni.

Edit [2010.12.18]: There are some pictures on a thread on GlockTalk's forums.

LCP Upgrades

I found a forum thread discussing improved sights for the Ruger LCP, from an outfit called Innovative Arms.  The sights are raised, with the front sight being a Tritium dot and the rear sight being a plain notch with cocking serrations on the front.  $140 + $8 S&H.  They also make a .32 NAA barrel for $270 (almost as much as the LCP itself).  Apparently there's a .32 NAA barrel available for Makarovs as well.

There's also a dedicated LCP site called Elsie Pea Forum.  Cute.

At Elsie Pea there's a thread about a +1 mag extension from Impact Guns.  Sounds like the Wolff +10% spring for the Kel-Tec P3AT is a good idea for the larger capacity.

Rejection Therapy

Twittered by Ray G.:

"We are all stopping ourselves from great opportunities when we're too afraid to ask for what we want." http://ow.ly/37W2y

I could've used "rejection therapy" way back in high school! [article] [site]

お米の保存法

嫁は米を保存する方法を探してリンクを送ってくれた。だいたい当たり前のことなんだけど。

Grain Mills

I found a couple of human-powered grain mills, for grinding grain into flour without the benefit of electricity.

One is the Wonder Junior Deluxe, which has the benefit of coming with both stainless steel burr heads and stone heads.  This sells for about $200; unfortunately, the place of manufacture isn't listed.

The other is the Country Living grain mill, which supposedly requires less work to grind grains, but only comes with stainless steel heads.  While it costs $400, it's also made in the USA.

I'll probably go with the cheaper solution, but if it turns out we use it a lot, I may upgrade.  The Ready Store and USA Emergency Supply carry various useful items.


Additions [11/13]: SG pointed me to the Family Grain Mill, which is a modular unit that has grain mill, flaker, food processor, and meat grinder attachments on interchangeable hand-grind and electric bases.  Apparently the base is Lexan, however.  I also couldn't find a website for the manufacturer, which is apparently German.  Pleasant Hill Grain also sells the Country Living mill.

Lehman's also sells the FGM and Country Living mills, as well as another hand mill made in Ohio.  Their made in USA page is interesting as well.

為せば成る

昨日の朝、「にほんごであそぼ」を見ていたらこの詩をやっていた：

為せば成る
為さねば成らぬ
何事も
成らぬは人の
為さぬなりけり

調べたら上杉治憲が書いたことが分かった。大名の時から、名前を上杉鷹山に変えたらしい。しかし、他の人がそれより早く、似たような詩を書いたようだ：

為せば成る
為さねば成らぬ
成る業を
成らぬと捨つる
人の儚き

鷹山がぱくったか、別で同じ発想をもったか。調べようがないね。