90%

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Weerd Beard

Jake has a great little number game in this comment:

If the anti’s claims that 90% of Americans support universal background checks were true, and only 0.1% of that part of the population of Houston* cared enough to protest, they would have had over 1800 people show up. Note that that’s just Houston. I’m not counting anyone in the surrounding areas, or the rest of the country that might have cared enough to make the trip.

If you assume – because TEXAS! – that only 25% of Houston supported universal background checks, and only 0.1% cared enough to protest, they still could have had over 500 people.

What they had, instead, was 0.003% of their “90%”. Only 3/1000 of one percent.

But they wonder why they can’t get the votes in Congress to support their agenda.

* The pop. of Houston is approximately 2.1 million.

85,000 Americans FLEW across the country to go to the NRA Annual meeting. At every airport I was in I saw people with NRA Convention badges, and people checking firearms and oddly flying to Houston with me out of Boston. Meanwhile the antis claim 90% of America opposes us, but they could only manage about 40 people in a city of 2.1 Million.

Still they can get more if they lie!

Yesterday, the Northland Chapter of Protect Minnesota/Brady Campaign held a March to End Gun Violence along our Lakewalk. Over 100 people came to show support for common sense gun laws. If it wasn’t for the more sobering end to the event, when many people came forward to ring our bell at the Memorial Bell Garden in memory of a lost loved one, it was almost festive.

It the news DID show up!

There are a few shots in that video that MAYBE show 50 people…tho its hard to tell who’s with the anti-gun group and who is gawking or enjoying the park. Certainly most of the clear shots show UNDER 30 people….which is almost 100…I guess.

Hey but they’re popular! We’re the fringe group! *snicker*

Posted in Freedom, Guns, Politics | Leave a comment

Images of the Antis

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Weerd Beard

Joan has uploaded some new images to her pintrest account. I’ll be picking at them as I see fit:

In really enjoy these images because it shows how smug and clever they THINK they are. I’ve yet to meet a stupid person who didn’t think they were at LEAST of above average intelligence, and I know of several people who are severely limited in intellect who think they are the smartest mind in the room.

This image is a prime example of that. Obviously the person had to dig and stretch a LOT to populate their list…of course they wouldn’t do the same for guns. Of course I could split hairs and point out that there are things like disconnectors, and cross-block safeties, Firing pin return springs, as well as relief cuts to vent gasses in the event of a head separation, to go all the stuff added to make guns safer.

Still who cares? I could cite the classic urban legend of NASA spending billions making a space pen when the Ruskies just brought pencils. Of course that’s a smug stupid story, as there were dangers bringing pencils into space, so we had good reason to develop a space pen. Either way, my point is, just because something is simple doesn’t mean its bad. I still ate my dinner with a knife and fork, no different than my grandparents did. On a similar note I found and old picture of my Grandfather on his Destroyer during WWII and he had an M1911A1 pistol in his holster. My daily carry gun is also a 1911…ironically for this discussion, the big difference between my gun and my grandfather’s is mine is of a different metal alloy, and it has a few extra safety features on it.

When something works you don’t feel the need to fix it. Further, just look at gun ACCIDENTS vs. Traffic Accidents (all I could find was overall death rate, and even when you include intentional acts of murder guns are still safer than cars), seems those extra safety features still aren’t able to keep up with the guns.

Oh and lastly the little bit about guns being “Designed to Kill People”. I’ll stick to my usual retort. THEY SURE ARE! We have in our laws the right to defend our lives from danger, and that includes lethal force in justified incidents.

I hope I never need to kill another human being to protect my life, or the lives of others, I also know that choice is in the hands of my attacker, not myself. If I ever DO need to defend myself I sure do want a tool suited for that job.

Why wouldn’t you?

Oh and the final tag on the picture on Joan’s account is:

Ask Congress to do something about this.

We did, Joan, did you notice how those crappy anti-rights bills didn’t get passed?

Posted in Freedom, Guns, Safety, Self Defense | 11 Comments

Something the “Progressives” are Incapable of Understanding

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Weerd Beard

Abortion Doctor may face the death penalty:

Philadelphia abortion provider Dr. Kermit Gosnell, 72, was found guilty Monday of three of four counts of first-degree murder. Gosnell, the jury found, cut the spinal cords of babies born alive.

Gosnell faced more than 200 criminal charges. The first-degree murder verdicts make Gosnell eligible for execution.

I’ve seen numerous “Progressives” attempt to call hypocrisy for people being anti-abortion, but pro death penalty, or supportive of lethal force for self defense.

They will never understand the difference of somebody killing a human life because it was a mere inconvenience, and killing somebody to save your life from a violent attack. Or having a judge and jury, in a recognized court of law call for the punishment of death for a serious crime. Also note that death row inmates get to appeal their appeal their sentence.

I could go on a long-winded post on WHY these instances of a human heart being silenced at the hand of another are different…but let’s face it, you either understand it…or you understand it but choose to ignore it because of your bent political ideology.

I know some VERY stupid “Progressives”, I don’t know ANY so stupid that they couldn’t grasp this simple concept.

Posted in Freedom, Politics, Safety | 3 Comments

IRS: The Whitehouse’s Private Hatchet-Man

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Weerd Beard

Looks like the IRS has been intentionally auditing groups based on their political affiliation.

Have a look at the questions being asked of groups that had “Conservative” or “Tea Party” ties!

Why is it every time I turn around the current White House is being compared to the Presidency of Nixon…except for the whole “being held accountable” for crimes part….

Posted in Bad Justice, Freedom, Politics | 1 Comment

“Gun Death” Drown in the Street

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Weerd Beard

Wow, this is freaky!

A musician drowned after he became trapped in a drain while trying to retrieve his car keys, an inquest has heard….Fire crews spent 40 minutes attempting to free him before he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The court heard how Mr Banks had removed the drain cover and the water level was a foot below the street surface at the time.

Wow, my street occasionally floods in heavy rain. What’s more dangerous, my street, or my guns?

h/t Bob

Posted in Gun Death? | 1 Comment

Book Review: Guide To Gun Holsters

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Weerd Beard

A few months ago Tom McHale of My Gun Culture let me know he was writing a book, the Insanely Practical Guide to Gun Holsters. I downloaded it on my Kindle and started reading immediately.

Now first up, I was really reading this book for sport and curiosity more than anything. I’ve been carrying for about 6 years, and overall my carry methods have been pretty solid for all of that. You can see my own carry guns and holsters here.

Tom Talks about his “Box of Holsters”, I know Jay has one of those too. I don’t. Overall I did my research and bought the guns and holsters I wanted, and stuck with them, and have been very happy with the results.

So given my background I didn’t think I’d gain much knowledge about guns and holsters. Hey but I’m a gun nut, so reading a gun book would be fun.

Well for starters it WAS fun. Tom is very funny, and loads the book with light-hearted, and silly humor. I mentioned to him while I was reading that many of his jokes reminded me of books by Dave Barry. Tom replied that Barry was one of his favorite Authors. It really shows, and shows well.

Also Tom heads off chapters with some of his “Half Cocked” comics, makes for a good start to a chapter.

OK well while funny, it isn’t a comedy book. How is it on Holsters and holster talk?

Damn good, it appears that Tom’s “Box o Holsters” is bigger than most I’ve seen, also most of the holster boxes I’ve seen are filled with no-name cheap garbage, but Tom reviews many reputable brands I know of, and several I haven’t heard of before. Nothing he reviews is “junk”, so you aren’t wasting your time reading about items that are unsafe, or impractical. Also his reviews are broken up in topics, like Off-body carry, Belt Carry, Belts, Holsters for Women, etc. He explores many methods of carry and holsters I hadn’t thought of.

Now granted I’m happy and comfortable with how I carry every day, still I found some new holsters and methods that might be useful.

So even if you’re pretty well-read on holsters, there still some new materiel here.

Overall I was VERY impressed with this book, and despite my late review (sorry Tom), it was a quick read.

Give it a read!

Posted in Guns, product review | 6 Comments

For Squirrel Report Fans with iOS devices

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Weerd Beard

Turns out the streaming aplet on the Squirrel Report Website does not play well with iOS devices like iPhones, iPads, and iPods. Alan has a nice walkthrough on how to listen through Tune In. I have Tune In on my phone, and its also the streaming software that my Sonos stereo system uses.

Its good stuff, and I guess the URL for the stream is: http://www.serverroom.us/asx/listen275227.pls

So type that into Tune In and then…well tune in at 9pm EST every Thursday for THE SQUIRREL REPORT!!!

PlayPlay

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Posted in Podcast, Technology | 3 Comments

“Gun Death” Extension Cord

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Weerd Beard

Know your electrical safety:

An extension cord hooked to an electric grill on a porch shorted out and started a house fire that killed five people Saturday morning, a northern Idaho fire official says.

Orofino Fire Chief Mike Lee said the house was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived after a neighbor reported the fire at 1:38 a.m.

He said smoke inhalation likely killed the two adults and three teens whose bodies were also badly burned in the blaze. He said the dead were a family of four plus a teenage friend who was sleeping over to help celebrate a birthday. He said he didn’t know the genders of the teens who died.

Sad story. Every time I buy an extension cord I drop a little extra and buy the contractor-grade cord. Of course I have a box full of cheapos that I’ve acquired in my travels. Don’t hook anything serious up to those cords…it could save your life.

Still, we live in a world where only “Gun Death” counts…

h/t Janelle

Posted in Gun Death? | 5 Comments

Sling It!

Posted on May 11, 2013 by Weerd Beard

Some say shooting with a sling is a Lost Art.

Hard to say its lost with so many people doing good work to teach its use!

I learned how to first shoot a rifle with a sling, and I never went back.

Posted in Guns | 2 Comments

Windfarms for Lobsters!

Posted on May 11, 2013 by Weerd Beard

From C-90

Biologists at the Alfred-Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research are breeding 3,000 lobsters to be released next year into the Borkum Riffgat offshore wind farm near the island 70 km off the German-Dutch coast….”The new wind parks mean lobsters may settle in a new habitat, because the stony foundations offer a favorable environment,” project leader Heinz-Dieter Franke said.

The 700,000 euro ($923,500) scheme is funded by compensation paid to the state of Lower Saxony by utility EWE for any potential ecological damage caused by the construction of its wind park. The money will fund breeding, reintroduction and monitoring of the lobsters for roughly two years.

Seems a bit spendy for a bunch of bugs. Also interesting to see WHY the population took a dump:

Scandinavian and Mediterranean lobster stocks have collapsed in the past few decades from a combination of environmental factors.

But some scientists cite British explosives as one reason for the decimation of the lobster population around Heligoland.

In one of the biggest bombing runs on Heligoland during the war, the Allied air force destroyed almost every building on the island, raining down 7,000 bombs in a two-hour raid on April 18, 1945.

For five years after the war, Britain used Heligoland for target practice, and in 1947 it set off some 7,000 metric tons worth of explosives to blow up U-boat pens in one of the biggest non-nuclear detonations on record.

Britain released the crater-scarred island for resettlement in 1952, but scientists say that was too late for the lobsters.

The toxins from the bombs may have hurt the crustaceans’ sense of smell, which is essential in finding a sexual partner and so damaged their ability to reproduce, Franke said.

I also suspect the shock wave from the explosions didn’t do them any favors.

Interesting story!

Posted in Biology | Leave a comment