Month: October 2011

The Firearms Interstate Commerce Reform Act

One of the biggest cluster fucks in United States law regards the sale of firearms between individual states. Basically the only legal way to sell a firearm to a person residing in another state is by doing a transfer through a federally licensed dealer. Well it appears as though some congress critters have finally had enough of this stupidity and introduced H.R. 58, The Firearms Interstate Commerce Reform Act. The National Rifle Association (NRA) has a good rundown of the bill:

In the 1980s, the Congress revisited these restrictions during the debate over the Firearms Owners` Protection Act (FOPA). As the Senate Judiciary Committee’s report on FOPA put it, the 1968 interstate sales provisions were “so cumbersome that they [were] rarely used.”2 When the Congress passed FOPA in 1986, it did away with the state authorization, notification and waiting period requirements. Federal law now allows dealers to make interstate rifle and shotgun sales, as long as (a) the buyer meets in person with the dealer, and (b) the transaction complies with the laws of both the buyer’s and the seller’s states.3

Since 1998, however, all people buying firearms from dealers in the U.S. have been subject to computerized background checks under the FBI`s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), either by the dealer contacting NICS (directly or through a state “point of contact” agency) or by the buyer presenting a state firearms permit issued after a NICS check. Any of these systems are far more advanced than anything available in 1968.

H.R. 58 are common sense measures that would take advantage of these technological improvements to further reduce restrictions on law-abiding citizens. Under H.R. 58:

Individuals could buy handguns, as well as rifles or shotguns, from licensed dealers in another state, subject to the background check requirement. The buyer and dealer would still have to meet in person and comply with the laws of both states.

[…]

Finally, H.R. 58 would reduce theft and loss of firearms during shipment between dealers. BATFE’s longstanding interpretation of the Gun Control Act generally forbids licensed dealers from transferring firearms directly to other licensed dealers, face to face, away from their licensed premises.5 Even though the dealers have already had a thorough background check, under the current interpretation, dealers who agree on a sale are forced to return to their business premises and ship firearms to each other by common carrier, which always involves some risk of theft or loss. H.R. 58 would allow a face-to-face exchange instead.

I could never figure out why I’m forbidden from buying a handgun in a neighboring state when all federally licensed dealers, regardless of the state they’re in, are required to perform the same National Criminal Instant Background Check System (NICS) check on me. Before the anti-gunners start shitting their pants lets just get this out of the way; this bill will not allow somebody to bypass stricter laws in their state of residence by purchasing a firearm in another state. H.R. 58 only affects federal laws and will not prevent states like Illinois from requiring stupid things like Firearm Owner Identification (FOID) card before being able to legally own a firearm. An Illinois resident who purchases a firearm in Wisconsin will still be a criminal unless he has a FOID card in hand when he gets back to his home state.

This is What You Pay Bureaucrats to Do

Bureaucrats exist for one reason and one reason only; they exist to suck money out of the economy that could have otherwise been put to productive use. For instance a bunch of bureaucrats decided that an umbrella is simply a mechanism to keep one’s self dry during a rain storm… unless you put it on the ground and sit under it, then your umbrella is a structure:

This evening, Seattle police notified the 70 or so hearty souls sleeping downtown that if they weren’t actually holding their umbrellas then they couldn’t lay or sit underneath them.

Because to the city, an unattended umbrella is technically a “structure.” And structures, like the tents that were taken down earlier in the week, aren’t allowed in city parks.

This type of absurd decision is similar to the one in Minneapolis that state you can seek shelter under a tarp during a rainstorm unless that tarp is tied to something or otherwise propped up, then it’s a structure. What’s most offensive about this decision though is that taxpayer money was used to pay these assholes while they debated this absolutely pointless topic.

Seriously, who the fuck even cares? I understand why many people don’t want tents being pitched in public areas but does it matter if somebody decides to sit under their umbrella? By Thor in Valhalla how have we allowed our society to degrade to such a point that we’re willing to pay some asshole in a suit large amounts of money to decide these minor and pointless things?

The Failure of Consensus

One of the common events taking place at the various occupations throughout the country are general assemblies. These general assemblies are basically a collectivist’s wet dream come true. As an individualist I look at them as completely unproductive wastes of time and after sitting through a couple I still hold that belief. Apparently I’m not the only one:

For the past three hours the crowd had been debating the creation of a new working group called Urban Youth. The process was laborious: While the facilitator had a microphone, it didn’t carry far, and each comment had to be repeated through Occupy’s elaborate Human Microphone system. The process was reminiscent of New England bureaucracy and legislative officialdom, procedures I’ve often panned as a local. Things were said like: “We need to see everyone’s hands in the air, because if we don’t have a quorum of people voting it won’t be considered consensus.”

At one point it looked like a decision was about to be reached. After hours of legislative meandering, the facilitator’s excitement was palpable. “Are there any points of information? No points of information. How about strong objections? I’m not seeing any strong objections. Are there any friendly amendments?” There was a long pause. An individual raised his hand, which indicated an amendment proposal. A moan rumbled through the crowd. The facilitator chuckled. “This is democracy,” he said. “Everyone has a voice.” The crowd began to cheer. “This is why we do this. Because we all have a voice!” You could feel the sense of frustration, of fatigue giving way to elation. I thought: Perhaps the essence of democracy is somehow entwined with the procedural humdrum of a Cambridge zoning board.

The biggest failures of general assemblies is the fact everything must be decided, and I mean everything. Each general assembly I viewed started with a discussion on how votes were going to be handled for that general assembly. I shit you not, an hour was spent discussing a vote on how voting was going to be done. These discussions usually revolved around whether or not 99% agreement was truly consensus or if 100% of the people present had to agree on everything.

Have you ever been in a meeting where 100% of the participants had to agree on something? If you have then you understand the impossibility of such a requirement. Have you ever stopped to wonder why a huge majority of businesses usually have a set hierarchy of power and why the military doesn’t both worrying about getting consensus of soldiers? It’s because getting such consensus takes for-fucking-ever.

Even apparently minor topics of discussion can take hours to debate before consensus within the group is reached. Ask a group of friends where you should go to eat sometimes, you won’t be out the door for an hour in all likelihood. The requirement of consensus is what ultimately paralyzes collectivist movements. Those of us who are individualists have it much easier because we simply say, “Hey I’m going to go do this, if you want to join me you’re welcome to and if you don’t that’s fine.” The only opinion an individualist worries about is his or her own and that’s why they can get things done (you can bet Albert Einstein, Henry Ford, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and most other successful people never asked for consensus of those they were working with before doing their thing).

During the general assemblies I bore witness to you could see fatigue spreading throughout the attendees fairly quickly. Consensus was often reach simply because those who opposed whatever measure was being put forth were sick of debating and wanted to move on so they voted in favor. While the organizers and collectivists praised this democracy in action my friends and I simply stood there with small smiles as we watched the biggest failure of collectivism in action. After all if we wanted to do something we never worry about group consensus, we just go do whatever the Hell we want to go do.

Thankfully there is no way to make people abide by the decisions of those general assemblies. If everybody had to abide by the decisions of the entire group nothing would get done.

Misleading Titles are Misleading

I love reading through Think Progress because so much of what they post is blatantly wrong. It’s kind of like Fox News except for progressives in that they’ll do and say anything in order to attack their opposition, Republicans. A person I know, who adamantly hates Ron Paul, posted the following story which is titled, “Ron Paul: Greater Access To Birth Control Makes A ‘Mockery’ Of Christians.”

When reading the title you’re obviously lead to believe Ron Pauls stated that greater access to birth control makes a mockery of Christians. Here’s what he actually said:

Not all Americans are comfortable with the Obama administration’s decision to mandate coverage of birth control and morning-after pills, and the considerations of these people, many of them Christian conservatives, are worthy of careful consideration — not mockery.

While the title leads you to believe he said one thing what he actually said was the arguments against birth control brought forth by Christians should be considered instead of mocked. I know a great number of people who simply hate anything to do with religion and if a person makes an argument based on religious beliefs they instantly reject it as false and start up the old mockery engine. Although I don’t believe religious arguments should be the basis of any policy besides religious ones, there is absolutely no reason to completely ignore an argument simply because somebody is making it based on religious beliefs.

I’m sure we can all agree that murder is wrong and most religions have some kind of dogma against the act of murder. Whether you claim an all powerful deity in the sky told humans not to murder each other or that reason lead most people to the understanding that dying sucks and thus killing each other isn’t productive is irrelevant. The bottom line is murder is bad for society and thus we’ve implemented various rules against the act.

Truer Words Have Seldom Been Spoken

Whenever the subject of sport shooting comes up around the tacticool friends they inevitably start ranting about how United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) and/or International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) aren’t realistic. I think Miguel’s posts covering such criticisms expresses my feeling perfectly:

“But IDPA is not Real Life!”
But it is more useful than your whining.

While USPSA and IPSC are games they do offer useful practice for skills that are good to have in a self-defense situation. The biggest of which is operating your firearm under the influence of adrenaline. All the standing range practice in the world isn’t going to help you deal with elements involved in a self-defense situation such as a pounding heart, adrenaline, tunnel vision, selective hearing, or firing on the move. Both USPSA and IPSC allow you to understand the affects of these elements and practice under their influence.

Sure it’s unlikely that I’m going be sitting on the shitter when a cadre of thugs comes busting down my door requiring me to grab my conveniently place and loaded gun but the adrenaline rush is going to be similar regardless of the scenario’s likelihood. The first time I shot a USPSA match I was shocked how poor my shooting became when outside stresses such as a timer and audience were introduced. I’m not done with my second season of USPSA (along with several three-gun competitions) and my shooting under stress has greatly improved. I don’t even want to know how poorly my shooting in a self-defense situation may have been had I not fired under stressful conditions before.

Sure USPSA and IPSC may not be real but they’re far more useful than any number of statements regarding that fact.

Top Ten Reasons Why the Mafia is Better Than the State

I often compare the state to the mafia but as this document [PDF] written by Emily Sandblad points out, the mafia is actually better than the state:

Reason Number 10: The Mafia has a sense of honor. If they say that they will do something, they stick to it. Nobody in the government has a clue what a sense of honor is. If they say that they will do something, you can count on it only if you’re getting screwed.

Reason Number 9: The Mafia code of conduct is simple and clear, and unfettered by legal doublespeak and millions of regulations.

Reason Number 8: When competing Mafia families go to war, they don’t kill hundreds of thousands of civilians as “collateral damage.” War is the health of the state, but for the Mafia, it’s bad for business.

Reason Number 7: Instead of conducting the war on drugs and the American people, the Mafia is perfectly happy to peacefully provide high-quality products to those who desire them.

Reason Number 6: When you buy protection from the Mafia, you get protection. The Mafia has a good track record for limiting violent crime in the areas that they protect. When you buy protection from the state, you can dial 911 and die.

Reason Number 5: The Mafia’s protection is much less expensive than the state’s. The Mafia wants ten or fifteen percent of your profits, while the various levels of government will try to snatch at least 40 to 50 percent of your profits.

Reason Number 4: Unlike the state, the Mafia wants your business to succeed. They know that ruining your business means that you can’t pay for protection. The Mafia imposes almost no regulatory overhead, nor do they require that you waste your time filling out zillions of self-incriminating tax forms.

Reason Number 3: The Mafia won’t keep you from having a gun to protect yourself and your property. The state prefers that you be disarmed. The Mafia will gladly sell you the means to protect yourself and they won’t bother with a Brady check, either.

Reason Number 2: The state wants to regulate what you do in your bedroom. The Mafia not only does not want to regulate what you do in your bedroom, they will gladly sell you whatever you need to enhance your enjoyment.

And the number one reason why the Mafia should replace the state:

Members of the Mafia have a great sense of style, dress far better than government bureaucrats, and are much easier on the eyes.

So there you have it. The next time that somebody argues that anarchy results in an increase in organized crime, smile sweetly and tell that person it would be a real improvement over the state.

Heh.

A Terror Plot of Convenience

While I’m a cynical guy I’m generally not what you would consider conspiratorial. Yet when news like this sprouts up at an overly convenient time it’s hard to consider it a coincidence:

The US says it has broken up a plot by agents linked to Iran to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington using explosives.

Two men originally from Iran – one a naturalised US citizen – have been charged with counts of conspiracy, Attorney General Eric Holder said.

[…]

The two accused were named as Manssor Arbabsiar, a 56-year-old naturalised US citizen with dual Iranian and US passports, and Gholam Shakuri, based in Iran and said to be a member of Iran’s Quds Force.

Mr Arbabsiar, who was arrested at New York’s John F Kennedy airport on 29 September, has confessed to his involvement in the alleged plot, Mr Holder said.

Mr Shakuri was said to be in Iran.

US officials said that on 24 May 2011, Mr Arbabsiar made contact with an informant for the US Drug Enforcement Agency, who was posing as a Mexican drug cartel member.

Over a series of meetings, it is said that details emerged of a conspiracy involving members of the Iranian government paying $1.5m (£960,000) for the assassination of Saudi ambassador Adel al-Jubeir on US soil.

Let’s just link up all the memes in this story. Iran hired a member of a Mexican drug cartel to kill a Saudi ambassador in the United States. Somehow the United States was able to swoop in, stop this supposed plot, and hand Eric Holder the credit by having him announce the miraculous work of the United States government. This single story is so convenient that I honestly don’t believe it’s true.

It’s no secret that the United States government wants to go to war with Iran and is simply looking for an excuse that it can feed the American public. Eric Holder is in some very hot water right now due to his knowledge of operation Fast and Furious, which involved the United States government smuggling guns into the hands of Mexican drug cartels . Finally the drug cartels are becoming more of a problem as their violence spills across the American-Mexican border and we’re looking for an excuse to march in after them (mostly so the government can continue it’s war on drugs).

Basically this story creates propaganda against Iran and the Mexican drug cartels while it boosts the image of Eric Holder and America’s anti-terrorist initiative. I’m sorry but this pill is a little hard to swallow. Hell if you’ve ever seen the movie Wag the Dog this is basically the same idea.

Where’s Darwin When You Need Him

Why is it when we need the ghost of Charles Darwin the most it’s nowhere to be found:

Getting lost in a corn maze is supposed to be fun.

But it turned into a nightmare for a Massachusetts couple who got so lost that they had to be rescued by the police.

It all started late Monday afternoon, when the couple entered a corn maze at Connors Farm in Danvers, Mass., about 23 miles north of Boston.

After about an hour in the maze, darkness began to fall. The couple, who were there with their 3-week-old baby, were unable to find a way out. As the mosquitoes started to descend, they placed a desperate call to 911 asking to be rescued.

The Danvers police released audio of the call.

Here’s an edited transcript:

Woman in tears: Hi, I just called. I’m still stuck at Connors Farms. I don’t see anybody. I’m really scared. It’s really dark and we’ve got a 3-week-old.

Police officer: Your husband is with you?

Woman: Yes. But my baby…

Police officer: A police officer is on the way. Can you put your husband on the phone?

Husband: I see lights over there at the place, but we can’t get there, we’re smack right in the middle of the corn field.

Woman: I don’t know what made us do this, it was daytime when we came in, we thought if we came in someone would come in and find us… We can hear [the police officers]… Oh, my goodness. The mosquitoes are eating us alive, and I never took my daughter out, this is the first time. Never again.

Woman: This is embarrassing.

The family was lost in a corn maze so they decided to call 911… how fucking stupid can somebody be? I’m actually shocked that this lady remember to breathe. Just stop and think about this for a moment, between the woman and her husband the couple didn’t have enough brain cells between the two of them to determine the best way out of the corn maze would have been to pick a direction and start walking straight. Corn isn’t concrete, it doesn’t form a solid barrier you are unable to pass through.

Eric Holder Subpoenaed

Things are not looking too swell for Attorney General Eric Holder. Documents were released a little while ago suggesting Holder was lying when he claimed to know nothing about the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’s (ATF) gun smuggling operation known simply as Fast and Furious. Now the top law enforcer in the United States is being subpoenaed:

House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) announced Wednesday that he has issued a subpoena to Attorney General Eric Holder for Justice Department documents related to the failed “Fast and Furious” gun-running operation.

The subpoena requests all of Holder’s communications on the Fast and Furious operation. It also requests any communications between the White House and DoJ relating to Operation Fast and Furious.

[…]

The 22-point subpoena also lists 15 other high-ranking Justice Department officials by name and requests any communications from them on the operation.

This entire operation seems to be blowing up more and more by the week. Isn’t it amazing what happens when we hand practically unlimited power to a government agency? It’s almost as if somebody could have predicted that this type of power abuse performed by the ATF during Fast and Furious.

I’m just happy that the media has started reporting more heavily on this event because if it remained in the shadows there is a high likelihood that it could have been used to demand further restrictions on our right to keep and bear arms. Now that everything is out in the open it’s kind of hard to sweep it all back under the government’s massive rug.

Dennis Ritchie Died

This is just a bad week honestly between the death of Steve Jobs, Pete Franzen (a well-known and respected member of MNGunTalk and the Minnesota shooting community), and now Dennis Ritchie.

For those who don’t know, Dennis Ritchie was one of the creators of UNIX and the man who designed the C programming language. The contributions those two things made to the computer science field is incalculable. If you’re sitting at a machine running OS X you’re running UNIX and regardless of what you’re running chances are at least parts of it were written in C.

The legacy of UNIX and C can only be described as astronomical. UNIX’s design philosophy can be found in everything ranging from the various flavors of BSD to Linux and all of them are written in C. It’s rare for a technology to last more than a few scant years but both of Ritchie’s well-known contributions are not only used to this day but they’re pervasive. I would argue that this man’s contribution to the computer field surpasses that of Steve Jobs but being Ritchie’s contributions were all behind the scenes they remain less known.

So long Dennis Ritchie, you’ll be missed. Your contributions to the field of computer science quite literally changed the world for the better.