Protect the Children with Talking Points

Snowflakes in Hell points out Michigan senator Carl Levin knows how to use talking points. The senator sent a letter to the president titled, “Guns Hurt Our Children The Most.” It’s full of such great arguments as:

Mr. President, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 3,184 children and teens died from a firearm in the United States in 2006, a six percent increase from 2005. This breaks down to the life of an American child being taken every two hours and 45 minutes by someone wielding a gun. More than five times as many, or nearly 17,500 children and teens suffered a non-fatal gun injury that year, a seven percent increase from the previous year.

Senator Levin’s solution? It’s this:

They also recommend passage of such common sense gun safety legislation as closing the gun show loophole, strengthening the Brady background check system and reauthorizing the assault weapons ban.

I highly doubt senator Levin knows what the gun show “loophole” actually is. It’s no a loophole at all but a fact of constitutional law that states congress can only regulate interstate commerce and dealings with foreign countries. If two people in the same state make a transaction congress can’t do shit about it.

Likewise how can you strengthen the Brady background check? The system can already single handedly deny a person their right to bear arms. How can you get much stronger? Allow a denial from a background check to land somebody in prison? Seriously I wish representatives would think before they talk.

Finally what the Hell is banning “assault” weapons going to accomplish? Most murders and accidents are done with handguns not long arms. You would think that anti-gunners would be going after handguns instead. And this is one of their fatal flaws they don’t use logic in their crusade against our rights and the truth.

Amtrak Shenanigans

So recently an amendment to Amtrak’s appropriation bill states that they will lose a huge chunk of money unless they allow passengers to transport firearms on board in a manner similar to airliners. Great idea! Ever since 9/11 Amtrak has had a zero guns in any form policy on their trains. Well now Amtrak is crying that they can’t meet the deadline for this policy change:

Amtrak and its defenders in Congress have argued that the government-owned train company needs more time and resources before it could allow firearms onto trains.

“We don’t think we’ll be able to do that March 31 deadline, and, of course, finding the funding to make all of that happening,” said Amtrak spokesman Steve Kulm. Failing to meet that deadline and missing out $1.5 billion in appropriated funds, its entire funding request for 2010, would bring a “cessation of train service nationwide,” Amtrak Chairman Thomas Carper wrote to appropriators last month.

So they are saying they can’t meet the deadline to do something they used to do before 9/11? Really? It seems to me they just have to do the exact same thing they used to and nothing else will need to change.

I Know I’m Nitpicking But…

OK I know I nitpick on things, especially things I’m semi-knowledgable in. But I saw this link on the BBC today and instantly rolled my eyes:

The link leads to this article about an aquatic reptile fossil being discovered. So what’s wrong with this? Well none of the aquatic reptiles were dinosaurs nor even close. Yes I have an interest in paleontology so this really is nothing more than me expressing a pet peeve of mine, inaccuracy.

Very Convenient

So provisions in the illegal PATRIOT Act are up for renewal and all of the sudden terrorists are being found left and right here in America. In fact two people in Chicago have been arrested under suspicion of terrorism. It’s almost like law enforcement wants to give our leaders a reason to renew provisions in a law that hasn’t done shit to fight terror but certainly did a great job at shitting on our rights.

Education is Key During the Zompocalypse

Breda has a story that reflects the sad state of intelligence in this country. The story states:

Iowa City police are investigating an early morning assault in which a man accused another of being a zombie, then punched him twice

Do you see what’s wrong with this? Obviously the assailant was mentally disturbed. Everybody knows you don’t PUNCH a fucking zombie. You want to keep your body as far away from their mouths as possible.

Man some people are dumb asses.

Loaded Chamber Indicators

Tam has a post mostly talking about how loaded chamber indicators are a bad idea. I agree with what is said, what purpose does a loaded chamber indicator serve other than a false sense of security. I carry an XD which is a gun equipped with a loaded chamber indicator and still physically check the chamber when I want to see if the gun is unloaded (Dry fire practice and cleaning).

I guess I don’t care that it’s on the gun since if it breaks it doesn’t dampen the reliability of the gun. It’ll shoot with or without it.

Quote of the Day

Although I’m usually not a fan of quote of the day type posts I couldn’t pass this one up:

Forged in the fires of Mount Doom by the hands of Sauron himself, the HK is the greatest implement of destruction known to man. HK’s plastic frame isn’t made from petroleum that came from inferior plants millions of years ago, rather the petroleum used for HK’s advanced polymers comes only from the fiercest of T-Rexes.

If You Carry Always Carry

Well Caleb over a Gun Nuts had an encounter with the knife wielding criminal kind. His method of self defense was quite good in that there was the use of a projectile weapon that persuaded the criminal to stop. The projectile weapon in this case was coffee followed by a Beretta aimed at the would be mugger now a coffee soaked running man.

This happened in broad daylight in a parking lot which goes to show bad guys can appear anywhere at any time. If you carry always carry (unless you legally can’t or will get fired for doing it).