While I never condone violence, someone shooting at a lawyer doesn't really surprise me very much. I'm not going to comment too much on this story, but I will make two observations.

First, had one of these bystanders (or the lawyer himself) not been denied by the California government the right to carry a concealed firearm this shooting might have been avoided. (Technically, current law allows it but selective application effectively denies concealed carry, except for Diane Feinstein or the Hollywood elite.)

Second, this comment by a media still photographer ("At first I thought it was a joke because there was no smoke") shows just how ignorant the media is when it comes to firearms. I mean, we've only been using smokeless powder now for more than 100 years. The photographer, Steve Grayson, went on to say, "But the shots were really, really loud. It was very scary." [cannot help but roll my eyes] Don't get me wrong, I realize that random gunshots are quite startling, but his description makes him sound like a 12-year old.

I'm off to Blacksburg this weekend for the VT-Miami game. My sister took my tickets so I scalped a pair on the 50 yard line (very close in) just to make her and her husband jealous. The game isn't until 7:45, so I've got a long day of drinking and tailgating before the game. The rest of you saps will have to settle for watching it on TV. Muahahaha...

When I first read this, I thought it was a joke.

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor predicts that the U.S. Supreme Court will increasingly base its decisions on international law rather than the U.S. Constitution, according to an article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. By doing so, the court will make a good impression among people from other countries, she said.

"The impressions we create in this world are important and they can leave their mark," Justice O'Connor said [...]

"I suspect," Justice O'Connor said, "that over time we will rely increasingly - or take notice, at least - increasingly on international and foreign courts in examining domestic issues."

I still can hardly believe that a United States Supreme Court Justice could even think such a thing. How could she take such a cavalier attitude about the U.S. Constitution, especially given the position she's in. This is a far stretch from the woman, who back on September 25, 1981, had this to say:

"I, Sandra Day O'Connor, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God."

O'Connor took this oath on a Bible, and it is her sworn duty to uphold the Constitution of the United States no matter what her personal political position is. If she cannot bring herself to comply with her sworn oath, she should have no choice but to resign.

Ok, so this is really old news. Still it is nice to see that other communities are following Kennesaw's lead and enacting ordinances mandating firearms ownership. Virgin, Utah passed a law similar to the one Kennesaw Georgia passed in 1982, and the wording is almost the same. Both ordinances require the head of a household to own and maintain a firearm. Exempted are those precluded from owning firearms, gun fearing wussies conscientious objectors, and those who cannot afford it.

Sadly, most of the people that I tell about the Kennesaw ordinance think that I'm making it up. Actually, had I not lived in East Cobb (just outside incorporated Kennesaw), I probably never would have heard of it myself. For all you non-believers out there, Kennesaw offers the ordinance on their web site, and backs it up with crime statistics. Notice that although population has grown from 5,000 to 20,000 people the literal number of crimes (not just per capita) is still lower than what it was prior to the ordinance. Also, debunking the myth that guns corrupt people just by being available, statistics show that less than 2% of "part 1 crime" (violent crime, theft, and arson) in Kennesaw involves firearms.

The Virginia Citizen's Defense League issued a release on a pro-gun win in Virginia Beach. They don't have the alert online, and I was unable to find an article, so I have reprinted the alert in it's entirety.

Under pressure from VCDL activists, Virginia Beach drops handgun permit requirement!

Virginia Beach has dropped its ordinance requiring anyone purchasing a handgun in Virginia Beach to get a permit to do so from the
police!!! According to the letter I am looking at from the City of Virginia Beach to Virginia Beach gun dealers, the change became
effective yesterday.

This is not only great news for gun owners, but it is also wonderful news for the gun stores and gun shows in Virginia Beach.

VCDL member Steve Haynes has been working hard on three issues in Virginia Beach:

* Virginia Beach's handgun permit applications *require* you to provide your social security number and a reason for wanting to
purchase the handgun - neither authorized by state law

* Virginia Beach's handgun permit is not necessary now that NICS is being used statewide anyhow

* Virginia Beach's refusal to allow a citizen into their police stations if that citizen is lawfully carrying a handgun. The sign in
front of the police station asking citizens to not bring in any handguns also states that compliance is *voluntary*. Under state law the police cannot ban lawfully carried handguns from their buildings.

Steve started the ball rolling 3 months ago on his own and has done most of the heavy-lifting. He tirelessly wrote letters, had meeting with the police, talked to city council members and the Mayor, and carefully document everything. This victory once again shows the raw power of grass-roots activism, knowing your stuff, and sheer determination.

Steve kept me apprised of the situation as he continued his fight. I contacted Delegate Welch's office in Virginia Beach to get additional assistance for Steve. Robert Rummels, Delegate Welch's aide, was very helpful in this matter and did a conference call between himself, a city council member, and myself. VCDL Executive member John Fenter also jumped in to work the issue, retracing some of Steve's steps by having a meeting with the police leadership.

Steve wanted time to work the system behind the scenes and VCDL agreed, keeping the issue low on the radar scope. (Eventually we would have asked our members to start contacting city council and to attend city council meetings if these issues were not resolved.)

The police leadership confirmed to John Fenter that they are NOT requiring that a person lawfully carrying a handgun leave that gun in their car. Some VCDL members have said they will test that statement over time as they go to the police station to conduct business. If you experience any problems, be sure and let us know.

This is a big win in more than one way. I think that Richmond wants to get rid of its own firearms licensing / waiting period ordinance. This move by Virginia Beach may make that easier to do now. We also want to get Norfolk to drop their ordinance. Sorry, you Tidewater members are probably not off the hook yet - we will probably have to head down to Norfolk city council to ask them to do so.

Great work - thank you Steve, John, and Robert/Delegate Welch!

Chocolate is better than raisins and granola bars.

Kindly neighbors may think they're doing kids a favor by tossing granola bars or boxed raisins into trick-or-treaters' bags, but these "candies in costume" can be more harmful to teeth than chocolate bars.

Four out of five overweight dentists agree.

Neal Boortz reminds us that at Halloween, many of our nation's children will go door to door collecting money for the U.N. Keep in mind the U.N.'s record on Iraq, Kyoto, U.S. sovereignty, and any number of issues, before you give your money to Unicef. These people would take our money and use it to better their own image while dragging the U.S. name through the mud.

Reuters reports that a Harvard Study shows that having more white people around leads to binge drinking. Well, they do make an attempt to spin it as pro-diversity, but when you read things like this, you have to wonder what's wrong with these "scholars".

"If you have younger white males together to the exclusion of other groups, you're going to have fewer role models for lighter or nondrinking behavior," Henry Wechsler, the study's lead author, told Reuters. "That may explain why fraternities have had such a high level of drinking problems."

So white people don't make good role models. We are beer guzzling frat boys just out for some trouble and a piece of ass. Throw some minorities into the mix and all of a sudden everyone gets a lot more civil. That's quite an interesting theory. It also seems to be a tad bit racist and elitist.

Imagine if someone had put together a study that shows diversity leads to increased crime. What would be the reaction if we had a professor making the claim that a bunch of white people sitting around is quite boring and uneventful, but throw some minorities in there and all of a sudden you get a crime spree? My guess is that the findings would be almost as welcome as Klan night at a Knicks game.

I understand that group dynamics are bound to change based on the make up of the group. That is still a far cry from a causal relationship between binge drinking and behavior. The assertion that white people don't make good role models is just plain bigotry. What is really sad is that Harvard professors don't even realize how inherently racist they are acting. Here is an alleged institute of higher learning looking for predesposed behavioral patterns based on race, and somehow concluding that binge drinking is a white problem.

George Skelton of the Los Angeles Times is shamelessly using the burning wildfires, thousands of homes destroyed, and score of deaths in California to call for a tax increase. The L.A. Times had campaigned for keeping tax and spend liberal Gray Davis as governor in the form of targeted Schwarzenegger hit pieces in the 11th hour prior to the election. Now the embers haven't even been doused; the houses haven't even been extinguished; and the bodies of the dead haven't even been laid to rest and the Times is calling for billions of dollars in new taxes.

Here are some old suggestions: a half-cent sales tax increase raises around $2.4 billion annually. Upping the highest income tax rate to 10.3% from 9.3% for couples earning $300,000-plus picks up $1.3 billion. Boosting the cigarette tax by 40 cents a pack generates $675 million.

Socking smokers is cowardly, but there is some logic to taxing cigarette butts for firefighting.

You have to love that backhanded jab at smokers. Skelton all but blames them for setting the wildfires themselves. Taxing cigarettes for firefighting is a bit like taxing McDonalds because of the problem with littering. And, it would seem as though there is no problem the L.A. Times cannot solve without higher taxes on the rich.

Another frivolous gun lawsuit is tossed out of court like yesterday's garbage.

In a five-page opinion, [St. Louis County Judge Emmett] O'Brien wrote that such lawsuits would open "a floodgate to additional litigation." He also said that "issues of both logic and fairness" favored dismissing the case.

Since we don't have a loser pays legal system, the defendants should sue for legal fees from the plaintiffs. Judges have the authority to grant legal fees in cases like this, however since most judges were former trial lawyers, it pretty much never happens.

The Dept. of Housing and Urban Development is requiring people that receive public housing aid to volunteer some of their time in return, reports Fox News. The new HUD rules would require residents to contribute 8 hours per month to community service projects in return for all those government services and money they receive. Naturally, some people are not very enthusiastic about the program.

"I live my life just like everybody else, you know?" said Regina Morgan, a resident of public housing and mother of four. "The fact that you are tying it into my lease, that is inhumane."

Boo hoo hoo. Imagine having to work a mind-boggling 8 hours per month for taxpayer subsidized housing. How inhumane!

The Democrat Presidential candidates got some bad news today, and the headline reads GDP Jumps 7.2 Percent, Biggest Increase in Nearly 20 Years. By the way, just who was it that was in the White House 20 years ago?

The economy grew at a scorching 7.2 percent annual rate in the third quarter in the strongest pace in nearly two decades. Consumers spent with abandon and businesses ramped up investment, compelling new evidence of an economic resurgence.

It's hard not to point out that good economic news is bad for Democrats, when you read money quotes like this one:

Democrats, however, argue that the tax cuts contributed to a record budget deficit in the recently ended 2003 fiscal year and have done little to spur significant job growth.

That's Democrats for you, we get wonderful economic news and they try to tamper it with stories of doom and despair.

This can't be good.

A Social Security Administration spokesman said U.S. and Mexican officials are continuing "informal discussions" about a potential agreement that would allow millions of Mexicans working here to collect U.S. Social Security benefits in Mexico.

The controversial proposal has riled Republican lawmakers. They worry that it could reward scores of undocumented Mexican immigrants with a U.S. pension, draining the country's Social Security trust fund at a time when its future solvency is in doubt.

Also notice the mention of the mythical "Social Security trust fund".

Would someone tell me just what is so bad about hunting dolphins? I'm sure I'm not going to have too much support here, but the animal rights movement seems sort of two-faced in that they only want to save animals that are smart or cute. I cannot help but think that if this had not been dolphins or whales, there would be a lot less outrage.

(Photo via Ananova)

And don't give me that "they are so intelligent" bull shit. Obviously they weren't intelligent enough to keep themselves from being led to slaughter.

I don't think this will help Kobe's case.

(Photo via Allah)

AUGH!

Is it me, or didn't this girl used to be on this show. I realize that she's no longer on the show, but IMDb seems to have erased the fact that she ever was.

UPDATE: I get results. They seem to have fixed it.

I offer this up with no comment.

Roughly 40,000 poor people have been dropped from the Oregon Health Plan this year because of their failure to make monthly premium payments, some as low as $6 a month.

The departure of more than one-third of the 88,000 poor people from the state-subsidized Oregon Health Plan Standard program has far exceeded the expectations of many state officials.

Advocates for the poor say the premiums are too expensive for some people and the government may have overestimated the ability of people to mail a check.

"It's an enormous barrier," said Ellen Pinney, director of the Oregon Health Action Committee. "Let alone the $6, there is the whole issue of writing a check or getting a money order, putting it in an envelope with a stamp and putting it in the mail to this place in Portland that must receive it by the due date."

Michael Moore seems to be getting into hot water over his faux-documentary, Bowling for Columbine, reports the AP.

James Nichols, the brother of Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols, says he was tricked into appearing in the documentary "Bowling for Columbine," according to a federal lawsuit filed against filmmaker Michael Moore.

Nichols also alleges in the lawsuit, filed Monday in Detroit, that Moore libeled him by linking him to the terrorist act. Nichols accuses Moore of libel, defamation of character, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Nichols isn't alone in claiming that Moore was deceptive in filming his documentary. David T. Hardy has pretty much debunked the entire film, noting numerous references to staged scenes, creative edits, and people that were duped into giving misrepresented interviews.

In other Michael Moore news, World Net Daily reports that he gave out a conservative radio host's home and mobile telephone numbers in a publicity stunt. Moore claims to have wanted to talk to the radio host, but subsequent calls from the radio station to Michael Moore appear to have gone unanswered.

Porphyrogenitus asks where have all the human shields gone?

Of course, they left Iraq after the fighting (some left during the war). But of course now they should be planning on returning to Iraq, right? Out of the same interest for the well-being of the Iraqi people. I mean, sure, they don't like Bush's policies, but they claimed they didn't like Saddam, either.

Interesting that the same people that wanted to protect the Iraqi people from the invading United States, aren't interested in protecting those being murdered by the insurgents.

I originally left this as a comment, but I wrote so much I decided to clean it up a bit and give it the full monty. Even though I'm a non-smoker, I disagree with the assertion that a patron's comfort should be of paramount importance with regards to smoking. While every business owner tries to appeal to the majority of customers, and while prohibiting smoking might please more than 50% of patrons, that doesn't necessarily translate into increased profits, for reasons that I'll explain.

When it comes to smoking, it is true that non-smokers may be more comfortable in a non-smoking environment. However, smokers seem to be more uncomfortable in a non-smoking environment than non-smokers are in a non-smoking environment. That is, smokers seem to be more fickle. (Addiction to nicotine may just have something to do with that.) In simple terms, that means that financially, you may be worse off appealing to a majority of customers (non smokers) if you're completely losing the minority (smokers). The reason being that although non-smokers prefer a non-smoking environment they aren't as likely to get up and leave as addiction-prone smokers are who barred from smoking.

That said, regardless of how the numbers work out, it should always be up to the business owner to decide which way he wants to cater his business. Having the government decide (or the majority) is tyranny. Even if the business owner wants to make a poor financial decision and cater to a niche (outside the mainstream) market, that's his business, not that of the government.

England is following the socialists in New York and California, and considering a smoke ban in restaurants and bars. Just like in the U.S., anti-smokers and their willing accomplices are not even considering private property rights.

The London Health Commission is running the Big Smoke Debate and will report back to mayor Ken Livingston early next year.

The initiative follows a recent Mori poll which showed 71% of Londoners were bothered by smoke in enclosed public places.

Another 35% said they had left or avoided eating somewhere because of tobacco smoke.

Organisers say the survey is not about whether people should smoke, but where smoking should be allowed.

Those "public places" they speak of are actually private businesses, and it's quite interesting that the government doesn't think twice about telling people where smoking should be allowed, even if it treads on the rights of others. In their mind, it is perfectly legitimate to tell people what they can and cannot do with their property, especially if it is for the children.

Remember the Big Lake Pastor, Phillip Mielke, who was charged for shooting two armed thugs who were breaking into his church? Well, it would appear that justice has prevailed and Pastor Mielke has been acquitted on all charges. This has to be driving the GFW anti-self-defense crowed nuts. If this were England where defending yourself, your home, and your property is illegal, he would have served at least 5 years in prison just for raising a hand to an attacking goblin. Thankfully there are still some people in this country that recognize that security and self defense are basic human rights, no matter what the government says.

Naturally the family members of the perpetrators were upset. The mother of one of the men who was killed tried to paint her son as a victim.

"People are going to think it's OK to take the law into their own hands," she said.

Her son was wrong to break into the church, but so was the pastor wrong to go armed into the building.

Prosecutors were also upset at the verdict. They recommend that people leave their protection in the hands of government officials who, incidentally, have no legal responsibility to protect you.

Other people questioned the pastor's use of deadly force. Prosecutor Bob Collins noted Mielke could have shot a couple of kids as easily as Palmer and Jones. He never got a good look at the intruders before firing and then continued to fire at one man as he ran away.

Collins said Mielke should have called troopers when he saw a car idling outside the church instead of grabbing a .44-caliber handgun and taking matters into his own hands.

The only thing Collins is right about is that it could have been kids that were shot and killed. It could also have been kids that discovered Pastor Mielke walking the grounds of his own property and brutally murdered him had he been unarmed. I guess it never occurred to Collins that people under the age of 18 are just as capable of murder, battery, or rape.

What bugs me most is that Collins and the family of the perps are acting as apologists, and trying to play off these guys as victims. While a lot of energy was spent trying to prove that the burglars had no ill intent, the fact remained that they were breaking and entering someone else's property. It does not matter whether they were just looking for food, or giving communion. They still made a decision to break the law and for that, they paid the ultimate price. As my daddy always told me, "you pays your nickel, you takes your chance." They took their chance and lost.

(Hat tip to reader Tom, and Kevin for the link)

Apparently Berkeley's "living wage" laws that are designed to help the "working poor" are killing off the non-profits. Owen notes that some non-profits are unable to comply because they don't have the funds to boost minimum wages up to the $10.76 per hour that the law requires.

Conservative economists have long known that minimum wages actually take jobs away from the very people they are supposed to help. Dr. Williams covered this years ago.

...Let's go back several decades and pretend you produced automatic dishwashing machines. Your salesmen put on a sales pitch, but restaurant owners say: "Why should we buy your costly machines when we can hire people to wash dishes for $2.00 per hour? It isn't worth it." You would benefit from Congress raising the minimum wage to say $4.00 per hour. Why? It raises the cost of restaurant owners using people to wash dishes. Thus, they'd have greater financial incentive to buy dishwashing machines from you.
[...]

The real problem for low-skilled workers is not that they're underpaid, but that they're underproductive. The solution is to improve their skills and education. One of the ways to do this is to have a climate where youngsters can have early work experiences. The little bit of money a youngster can earn after school and weekends is nice but not nearly as beneficial as the lessons learned, such as: proper work attitudes, promptness, and respect for supervisors.

In short, the pay should match what the market will bear. If you pay your neighbor kid $20 to mow your lawn, the benefit is mutual, or you wouldn't do it. To you, you'd rather pay $20 for the chance to lounge around inside and watch football while your lawn gets mowed, and the neighbor kid would rather give up a few hours to get your $20 so he can take his sweetheart out this weekend. If the government came along and told you that you had to pay a "living wage" of $50 to mow your lawn, you probably wouldn't hire the neighborhood. For $50 you could hire a professional lawn service, and get someone that shows up on time, does the edging, and blows off the sidewalks after he's done. All the "living wage" has done is put the neighbor kid out of work.

The same premise holds true for so-called, sweatshops.

Last week, Fox News noted that there is a growing trend among celebrities to surround themselves with beefy overbearing body guards. That's right, while many of these celebs are out speaking out against your right to carry a firearm, they are surrounding themselves with lots of hired muscle. Apparently it has become almost cliche, and stars are going on a bit of a power trip watching fans get manhandled.

All of this begs the question: How much security do celebrities really need and how much of it is just power tripping?

Former bodyguard-to-the-stars Michael Francis, author of the soon-to-be-published "Star Man: The Right Hand Man of Rock 'n' Roll," said even the brightest stars need only one good guard.

"It's an accessory now, that you have to have four or five guys who weigh 400 pounds. The big stars should have one good one that they trust," said Francis, who has worked with celebrities including Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Cher, Led Zeppelin, Bon Jovi and Paul McCartney.

Autograph Collector magazine editor Jeff Woolf, who recently ranked the best and worst stars at doing "the write thing," said Spears and Christina Aguilera are known for their gangs of goons.

"The celebrities play innocent while Big Bubba is throwing you up against the wall. With Britney it is a well-known thing - she gets a kick out of it."

In many cases, celebrities really do have a need for some hired muscle. But when your protection becomes more of a status symbol, how effective is it?

"Especially Britney and Christina, they're pretty young girls and you don't want some nut-job coming up to them," said Woolf. "John Lennon probably should have had a bodyguard. But the guards focus so much on people with a camera and a pen when they should be looking out for someone who could really hurt the celebrities."

It's one thing to have some muscle present to handle a threat. It's altogether different to act like you own the sidewalk and start pushing people around.

You ever wonder what forest fires look like from space?

(Click to supersize)

How many people saw this one coming. Tom Daschle, sure did, which is why he insisted on nationalizing the proletariat security screeners.

Ananova has an interesting story about Tony Blair's recent heart ailment. Blair claims the condition is new and that he's never had trouble with the ticker before. Bill Clinton claims that Blair confided with him in the past, and that he's known about the heart condition for years.

Mr Blair's spokesman insisted that his irregular heart beat, which caused him to be hospitalised briefly last week, had never happened before.

But ex-US President Clinton was quoted in the Sunday Mirror as saying: "I've known about this for a long time. He told me about it quite a few years ago.

Not that it is a very big deal, but someone appears to be lying, or to give the benefit of the doubt, is "mistaken". Now, which person in this story seems to have a history of not being able to tell the truth? Hmm.

According to Robert Novak, the GOP is going to get tough on Democrat filibusters. I'll believe it when I see it. Novak lays out three phases of GOP toughness. Phase one is to get a cloture vote on the Pickering nomination. Phase two is to order a cloture vote for the Pryor nomination. Phase three is to attempt to get a cloture vote on the three female nominees, Owen, Kuhl, and Brown.

Perhaps I'm unfamiliar with Frist's tactics, but I fail to see where this will work. As long as democrats have 41 votes to hold the filibuster, there isn't much the GOP can do. Novak claims that is when the "nuclear" option, a change of Senate rules, comes in.

Failure to reach 60 votes for cloture on each of these three women is scheduled to be followed by consideration of the bill co-sponsored by Frist and conservative Democratic Sen. Zell Miller of Georgia. That measure would reduce the number of votes needed to end filibusters on nominations. That, too, will be filibustered in order to defeat it.

All this refocusing is intended to set the scene for a bitter battle in next year's session of Congress. At that time, an effort may be made to rule out of order a filibuster against judicial nominations -- the "so-called" nuclear solution. This would require only 51 votes, but Frist does not even have that many today because of reluctance to tamper with the traditions of the Senate.

Not only do I think the GOP will fail, I don't even think they have the guts to try to use the "nuclear" option. (not that it seems all that nuclear.)

Even if they do have the cahones to try such a move, I don't think it is the smartest one available. Using the "nuclear" option seems to paint the GOP as the bad guys. They aren't getting what they want, so they are going to try to change the rules. I think a better option would be for the Republicans to enforce the rules they have now. Filibusters should be actual filibusters. Democrats should be forced to hold the floor for the duration of their filibuster. They should have to get up there and read the phone book, the unabridged version of War and Peace, or whatever. A filibuster used to mean marathon debates, holding the floor until one side caved in to the other's demand. All Senate business would stop until the filibuster situation was resolved.

If the GOP is really serious about getting these nominations a vote, they'll force the democrats to hold a real filibuster and not these lazy half-assed obstructionist measures they are taking right now. Let the American people watch the tomfoolery that goes on in our nation's Capitol. Perhaps then the democrats will pay the real price for their unprecedented tactics.

Fox News has been covering the wildfires burning out in California. Embedded in their story of all the homes in the Santa Ana and Rancho Cucamonga area that are going up in flames, is this advertisement which just seems cruel.

Now, I realize that this is a rotating ad that is probably driven by computer scripts, but it still seems a bit out of place. I would liken it to the time Yahoo's (search) feature gave numerous links for Madonna the singer, embedded in an article about Madonna the Catholic holy figure. (second story from bottom)

"An Icelandic fishing captain, known as "the Iceman" for his tough character, grabbed a 660-pound shark with his bare hands as it swam in shallow water toward his crew," reports Reuters.

The skipper of the trawler "Erik the Red" was on a beach in Kuummiit, east Greenland, watching his crew processing a catch when he saw the shark swimming toward the fish blood and guts -- and his men.

Captain Sigurdur Petursson, known to locals as "the Iceman," ran into the shallow water and grabbed the shark by its tail. He dragged it off to dry land and killed it with his knife.

The seaside town of Solana Beach in Californiastan has banned smoking on it's 1.4 miles of beaches, reports the AP. Not to be outdone, pleasure police in L.A. have decided to propose their own beach smoking ban, which helps prove the theory that total prohibition is not very far away.

Smoking bans started on airplanes and have spread to restaurants, parks, and entire communities. Lately there have been movements to ban smoking in private automobiles when children are present, and it won't be long before smoking is banned in homes as well. I can hardly wait for the Waco-style standoffs government sanctioned firebombings, when the police come to arrest people for smoking on their own property.

In other anti-smoking news, Bloomberg's smoking ban almost burned down a tavern full of World Series watchers.

Virginia Tech's "Big Mac" supercomputer is likely to rank at #4 on the list of the world's most powerful supercomputers, reports CNET. What is really remarkable is that the computer array that uses 1100 dual processor G5 Mac computers was put together for a fraction of the cost of normal supercomputers.

In a world where the top machines traditionally cost $100 million to $250 million, and take several years to build, the Mac-based system cost just over $5 million, and was put together in about a month.

The array is also not done being tweaked, so they will likely be able to improve on the peformance of the 8.1 teraflop machine. Currently they are at only 48% of the theoretical maximum whereas other machines utilize 67% to 87% of their theoretical maximums.

Democrats court black votes in debate

Later changed from "court black votes" to "attack Bush". Still nothing new.

I don't watch a lot of VH1, but they were doing these 1980s Strikes Back specials, so I turned off the v-chip and tuned in. During the course of the program, VH1 is interviewing several celebrities about their take on the 80s. Naturally when dealing with celebs and 1980s pop culture, there is some swearing and nudity, which VH1 bleeps over or censors for regular TV. But, I could not help but notice that they bleeped over the word "retarded". To put it in context, an actress was discussing the TV show LA Law, and she commented that her favorite character "was the retarded man".

I almost missed the fact that they had bleeped over "retarded", so I tivo'd it back, and sure enough they bleeped the word retarded. Did retarded become a slur and nobody told me? Apparently it is a gray area, or at least according to the second definition by Miriam-Webster which lists retard as "often offensive". Still, to describe someone as retarded, which is the short version of "mentally retarded" shouldn't be considered offensive, and indeed M-W makes no mention of it.

Still, it sounds like they are trying to wean people onto the "mentally challenged" terminology, or worse, "differently abled". It appears to be yet another case of using more syllables to make something sound better than it really is. For instance, to borrow from George Carlin, "shell shock" became "battle fatigue" became "post traumatic stress disorder".

I have to hand it to Michele for doing the play by play on the anti-American protest rally in D.C.. I thought about heading across the river to get some photos of the tin foil hat crowd, but I've got too much other stuff to do today. The 10th Annual Halloween Party is tonight and I had a few things to do around the house before tonight. Besides, there is only so much ignorance I can take.

Watching morons go on national television, with their Soviet flags and communist propaganda, to complain that their free speech rights are being stifled just isn't my cup of tea. I vividly remember watching students face down tanks (and lose) in Tiananmen Square. The claim that these wackos own unpopularity is somehow a form of oppression, is an insult to all those in the world that are suffering from real government repression.

UPDATE: OK, I cannot help but laugh when after all the anti-capitalist rhetoric being spewed in the speeches, they brought out the collection barrels and started begging people for donations. These mindless followers are like sheep, I say, sheep.

Reuters reports that chopsticks may cause arthritis, which means it won't be long before California bans them in Chinese restaurants. I would imagine that forks and knives can also cause arthritis or perhaps even repetitive motion injuries. I cannot wait to join the class action lawsuit against eating utensil manufacturers, after which we'll all have to eat with our hands.

It's one thing to neglect your weblog, but this is just sad. If he wasn't family, I wouldn't admit that I know him.

UPDATE: Of course, now that I pointed it out, he went and posted something on his previously blank page just to make me look silly.

A frustrated reader, Sam, wrote to complain about the lack of backward compatibility of this site with older browsers. Specifically, IE 5.01 and earlier compatible browsers don't handle the CSS code very well (or at all) and the site shows up very jumbled. For Sam and Heather and the other 3% of readers that try to use IE 5.01 or earlier browsers, I have uploaded the old tables template for you to use. You can read the page on this alternate version, by clicking here.

(It may show up rather plain looking until you select a style sheet.)

Fine for speeding ~ $75
Fine for violating HOV lane = $500
Fine for littering = $1000

"The law is the law." -- E.U. spokesman commenting on a man that faces prison time for illegally labeling "jam" as "marmalade".

According to a European Union ruling, marmalade can contain only citrus fruits like lemons, limes and oranges. It can't be made out of apricots or other soft fruits. Such produce has to be labelled as jam.

See what happens when you subvert your national sovereignty to a bunch of bureaucratic busy-bodies. Nothing says homeland security like clamping down on crime involving canned fruit and preserves.

You've heard of those gun buyback programs, where the government spends taxpayer seized funds to buy guns from criminals with no questions asked. In Indiana, anti-gunners are targeting children's toys.

The Toy Gun Buy-Back concept is simple: Children will bring in a toy gun, and in return, receive a toy store gift certificate valued at $15.00 to purchase a non-violent toy.

Supporting a program like this means accepting the premise that toys somehow mysteriously corrupt children's behavior.

This story is both tragic and sad.

Eight St. Louis area collectors were indicted Sept. 28 for "engaging in the gun business" without a Federal Firearms License. They are the latest victims in the 40-year battle over the fuzzy definition of who must have an FFL.

Vaguely defined "unlicensed dealing" carries more severe punishment than some willful violations by licensed dealers - plus the potential forfeiture of every gun in a collection, and the loss of gun ownership rights, firearms hunting rights, and often even voting rights - for life.

In addition to the ruinous legal costs of fighting a felony offense punishable by up to five years imprisonment and $250,000 fine, the St. Louis collectors - five of them 60 to 79 years old - have had 572 firearms seized.

The BATF is picking on senior citizens who sell a few firearms out of their collection, and profiting from it to boot. Claiming that someone need to be a licensed dealer to sell a firearm is akin to not letting people sell their car without permission from the almighty government. How many cars are sold by private owners through classified ads, and how many of those cars are used in crimes? But even that isn't really the point. The BATF is still on the Clinton mission of actively discouraging federal licensure of dealers, which means that private collectors are left with few options to divest their collection, and that a huge gray area is opened up between licensed dealers and private sellers. The BATF has even fought efforts to make the law less ambiguous, preferring instead to use the gray area as a tool for both gun control and to line their own pockets.

Gotta love union thugs.

The AP notes that the Senate approved the fifth straight pay raise; for themselves. Actually, they didn't approve it because they are automatic. What they did was defeat an amendment to suspend the pay raise. The vote was 60-34 in favor of giving themselves a pay increase; something that Tom Daschle called "not a raise" just last year.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, parroted Daschle's rationale by claiming, "This is not a pay raise. This is an increase that's required by law." It must be nice to be able to use the police power of the government to enrich yourself.

I would assume that those Senators voting for this pay raise won't be bitching and griping about the budget deficit.

A shutout in a basketball game? That's a new one.

Feds: Wal-Mart sweep nets 250 illegal workers

Federal officials say they arrested about 250 illegal immigrants working at 61 Wal-Mart stores in 21 states. Agents picked up undocumented workers employed by several janitorial contractors used by Wal-Mart. Many were coming off night cleaning shifts at the stores.

You know what this means, Wal-Mart stores are going to be plagued with trash and litter cluttering up the aisles so much you can hardly walk down them. Oh, wait.. [/sarcasm]

Sorry about the lack of posting today, but my boss kept me out very late last night. While I'm nursing my hangover, you might want to mosy on over to Right Wing News if you haven't already. Hawk has a bunch of good essays that he has written, plus a treasure trove of news stories.

Here is a sampling:

Defending America Is Now A Partisan Issue -- Democrats feel more secure with "free" health care than with defending our borders.

The Neocon Myth -- Tin foil hat alert.

French Weapons Dated 2001 Found in Iraq -- Some Ruskie ones too. Gee, weren't they also against the idea of the U.S. liberating Iraq?

PETA Thinks Rodeo Not PC, Asks Town To Change Its Name -- Yet another PETA publicity stunt. The more they push the issue, the more I'm glad to be an omnivore.

The Families Of Two People Whose Cars Were Shot At By Teenage Fans Of Grand Theft Auto III Have Filed A Lawsuit Against Sony, Take-Two, Rockstar Games, And Wal-Mart -- They're suing everyone but the shooter.

A Canadian Football League Player Is Suing TSN And Three Of Its Commentators, Alleging Their On-Air Comments Damaged His Reputation -- I wonder if McNabb will sue Limbaugh for calling him overrated.

Go, read, enjoy, learn.

Augh. Drinky drinky too much tonight. Pissed off about this as well. I refuse to blame the #3 ranking curse (USC, OSU, Michigan, VT all lost at #3), their looking ahead to Miami, lack of offensive touchdowns, the three interceptions and four fumbles, or the 13 penalties for 116 yards. They played shitty all around and deserved to lose because of it.

Any way, I have to get up in 4 hours for work. Don't count on me being too chatty today.

I don't usually comment on celebrity deaths, but Jack Elam was one of my favorites, and he will be sorely missed. I was watching one of his movies this weekend, and wondering about where he was and what he was doing. Now I don't have to wonder any more.

(Photo via AP)

Italy's Mt. Vesuvius hasn't erupted since the 1940s. It has a "major" eruption every 200 or so years, and it has been 2000 years since the famous city of Pompeii was wiped out. With all of the post-WWII urban sprawl, government officials are worried about people encroaching on the still active volcano. USA Today reports that so great is the concern for a repeat of the Pompeii disaster, that Italy actually wants to pay people not to live near it.

Authorities hope to thin the ranks of residents so they can be evacuated when Mount Vesuvius erupts again. They are doing this by offering cash incentives to move, demolishing the illegal buildings that have sprouted on its flanks and establishing a national park at its top.

It's only a matter of time before it does erupt, scientists say.

As someone who used to live in Naples and has toured Mt. Vesuvius and Pompeii, I fail to see the imminent threat. As a libertarian, I don't see where people's encroachment on the volcano should be a big government concern. If residents want to take the chance by living on the side of an active volcano, that is their business. It should be the same amount of care and concern for those people that live in areas prone to hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, tornadoes and all the other natural disasters out there. Using taxpayer funds to coerce people to move away from a volcano is just silly. Ironically, these are probably the same type of people who think that liberating Iraq is a waste of money because there was no immanent threat.

On another note, the article also contained this curious notion: "So quiet [is the volcano], in fact, that Pope John Paul II visited Pompeii Oct. 7 to pray for peace at a shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary." I guess that compared to the daily eruptions of Kilauea in Hawaii (which has been erupting since 1983) Vesuvius is quite dormant. Still, they make it seem as though the Pope visiting a volcano that hasn't erupted in 60 years to be extraordinary, while at the same time saying that the volcano is very quiet.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that a school board member is defending his remarks following the assault of a teacher. A teacher tried to take a phone from a student, which sparked off a savage and brutal beating. Rather than holding the student (who as been charged with aggravated assault) accountable, school board member Reginald Malone blamed the victim.

Malone was quoted in Saturday's Times-Dispatch as saying the student's behavior was inappropriate. He also said, "You've got to be careful who you take the phone from," and suggested the teacher could have headed off a violent confrontation.

Teachers should try to figure out what they do to make the students hate them so much. Perhaps rather than be confrontational in taking the phone away, the teacher should have used 12 years of sanctions and U.N. inspectors to try to get the student to comply with school rules.

The Recording Industry Ass. of America (RIAA) has thus far refused to embrace technology and new media formats. Instead, they have resorted to suing customers to preserve the outdated and obsolete CD format. Wharton legal studies professor G. Richard Shell notes that this is not the first time an industry has resorted to suing their customers to prevent them from adopting new, cheaper technology. The automobile industry tried it 100 years ago, and it took Henry Ford 6 years to blaze a trail.

In 1903, when Henry Ford launched the Ford Motor Company, his third attempt at making cars, automobiles were high-priced, custom-made playthings for the rich. What's more, the major manufacturers had figured out a way to keep it that way. They had acquired a strategic property right very much like the recording industry's copyrights on recorded songs. It was called the Selden Patent and it gave its owners the exclusive right to sell a very basic invention: self-propelled vehicles powered by internal combustion engines. Many people in the car business thought this patent was an outrage. . . But the U.S. Patent Office had issued the Selden Patent and a group of powerful incumbents had purchased it and formed an association to enforce it. Litigation, then as now, was very expensive - especially for start-up companies with limited working capital. Nearly every car company fell into line to pay royalties to the Association for the privilege of making and selling cars.

Except Henry Ford. The association did not want another competitor in Detroit and it did not like his idea of driving prices down to where average people could afford a car. So it refused to license him. For Ford, it was either exit the industry or fight the Selden Patent in court. He decided to raise a legal war chest and fight the incumbents. The litigation lasted from 1903 until 1911 and along the way, the association launched hundreds of lawsuits against Ford's customers to scare them away from his showrooms for buying "unlicensed vehicles."

Most ordinary people of Ford's era had been content to stand by and watch the automobile makers slug it out over the Selden Patent. It was just an industry cat fight. But when the big "money men" started suing ordinary people who were just trying to buy a cheap car, public sympathy shifted against the incumbents. People rallied to Ford's side against the bullies. Editorials weighed in against the industry's heavy-handed lawsuits, and Ford helped his own case by purchasing litigation insurance for his customers. By the time the patent litigation was over - Ford won on appeal in 1911 when the court ruled that the Selden Patent covered only cars made with a special type of engine nobody was using anymore - Ford was a hero, and the largest car manufacturer in America.

The RIAA has adopted a similar strategy of trying to scare people away from file sharing. That they have backed off of suits and resorted to warnings, is a sign that they may fear losing public support. People already view file sharing with a somewhat non-chalant attitude. If they continue to sue 12 year-olds and grandmothers for billions of dollars, they are risking a major public backlash.

Tommy "the commie" Daschle once said, "You don't professionalize unless you federalize." That line became the Democrat calling card when it came to airline security, and helped create a multi-billion dollar federal bureaucracy called the TSA.

Democrats, however, have abandoned federalization when it comes to class action lawsuits when they cross state lines, reports Fox News.

But most of the 48 Senate Democrats oppose the legislation to place all national class action lawsuits into the federal system, enough to filibuster if necessary, Democratic leaders say.
[...]

The federal courts already are overwhelmed with cases, which means that class action lawsuits would receive the lowest priority, said Jamie Court, executive director of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights.

But the bill's supporters say trial lawyers currently seek the most sympathetic venues around the nation, and target judges known for multimillion dollar verdicts, forcing businesses into unjustified settlements.

Trial lawyers own the democrats, so it comes as no surprise that they would be willing to go to the mat to help save their base.

If you want to know what is wrong with the BCS, you have to look no further than the Northern Illinois computer rankings. Their computer average has them at 9.00, ranked above Wash. State, Nebraska, LSU, and Mich. State. Northern Illinois is having a good year, and they even have an upset under their belt. But lets be honest, do they really deserve to be ranked 6th on two computer polls, 7th on one, and 8th on two more? Are the sports writers and coaches all wrong about NIU? Are the computers right, by ranking them as a Top 10 team?

Of course none of this matters right now, because the only BCS poll that counts is the last one. Still it's nice to know just how bad the BCS is going to screw things up this year.

For a peek into the cowardly mind of gun fearing wussies, check out this letter to a Florida newspaper.

I too have always admired the Publix TV commercials until the new one of the little girl making breakfast for her policeman father. It disturbs me deeply.

I am sure that even the National Rifle Association would agree that the policeman father walking in the door and hanging his pistol belt (presumably with a loaded weapon) on a hook in plain sight just inside the door is not only irresponsible but verges on criminal. The weapon is accessible to the little girl and all her friends and siblings, not to mention a "smash and grab" burglar.

For the record, Publix notes that the holster was empty, which is proof that even an empty holster in a fictional world is enough to scare gun grabbers.

I rue the thought of ninnies like this being elected to public office. It disturbs me deeply.

The AP reports that the South Carolina Democrat party is short on cash for throwing the presidential primary just months away. While that is all pretty interesing and would be great fodder for some good ol' fashioned schadenfreude, it's a passage at the end of the article that really stands out.

Other county officials are reluctant to open all 2,000 polling sites, saying they want to combine precincts where there are relatively few Democrats if such a plan passes legal muster. However, in 2000, Democrats sued Republicans to open all primary polling sites.

So, the Democrats pitched a hissy fit when Republicans only wanted to open polls in heavily Republican areas, and now they want to do the same. Regardless of whether or not you believe that all polls should be open during the primary (I do) the irony is delicious.

When I worked in retail, people used to bring electronics in for repair. A few smart ass co-workers would be a little too accurate when transcribing the problems that the customers were saying they had. On more than one occasion, electronics were sent to the repair shop for problems like "brone fruse" or "smoke exscaped when turned on". The repair technicians usually got a chuckle out of it, and would even play along; sending it back with comments like "refilled with smoke". For those involved, it all seemed rather silly.

Recently on Tongue Tied, Scott Norvell noted that the Denver Police have been caught playing the same gag.

Denver police are unnecessarily driving a wedge into an already divided community by accurately transcribing their interviews with African-American witnesses, reports columnist Jim Spencer of the Denver Post.

Denver Police records routinely have phrases like "aks" instead of "ask," "sumpin'" for "something" and "baf'room" for "bathroom."

You can imagine the reaction.

It should come as no surprise that bigotry abounds in the Congressional Black Caucus. Senate democrats, with support of the CBC, stand to filibuster a third minority judge. After blocking the nomination of Miguel Estrada because he wasn't "Hispanic enough", the Dems plan to block the nomination of Janice Rogers Brown, because she isn't black enough, or as one member of the CBC put it, she is "cut from the same cloth as Clarence Thomas" and should be kept off a federal appellate court.

Many bigoted Democrats view Justice Thomas as an "Uncle Tom", because he does not rule the way they think a black man should. Justice Thomas is a staunch supporter of the Constitution and the rule of law, and Senate Democrats fear that Judge Brown will be as well.

Related articles:
Affirmative Inaction - 09/05/2003
Dems to filibuster third minority judicial nominee - 06/17/2003
Daschle Tries to Filibuster Hispanic TV Merger - 05/30/2003
Dems continue to block minority judges - 05/06/2003
Schumer: Bush shouldn't nominate judges - 05/01/2003
Democrats vow to filibuster another minority nominee - 04/30/2003
Dems Improve Constitutional Judicial Process - 03/06/2003
¿Como Se Dice "Liar"? - 02/17/2003

It never ceases to amaze me that so called institutions of higher learning are the first ones to quell freedoms. Many universities ban residents from owning firearms, and many also ban freedom of speech. Plenty of universities have "free speech zones", or areas where freedom of speech is allowed. This of course, implies that the basic human right is banned elsewhere on campus. Andrew Grossman reports on one college that bans freedom of speech out right, all in the name of political correctness.

Students at Bucknell, in Pennsylvania, are prohibited from engaging in "bias-related behavior," that is, "any action that discriminates against, ridicules, humiliates, or otherwise creates a hostile environment for another individual or group because of race, religion, ethnic identity, sexual orientation, gender, language, or beliefs."
[...]

Although especially stringent, Bucknell's speech code is hardly unusual. Hundreds of universities and colleges have in place restrictions on what their students, faculty, and staff may say to one another or in public forums.

Why would universities have a speech code to begin with? We've gone from "Congress shall make no law..." to institutions of the state (and those that rely on federal and state funds) telling students what they can and cannot say, and where. Given that anyone can find anything offensive for any reason, it's amazing that students can say anything at all.

Apparently Kim is giving up his daily weblog. It's a shame, but I understand his reasoning. He has a pretty full plate and after all, this is just a hobby to most of us.

Take care buddy. You'll be missed.

"I don't know if we'll marry, I find it romantic bearing his illegitimate child and living next door." -- Helena Bonham Carter, commenting (fourth item) on the birth of her baby boy with next door neighbor and director Tim Burton.

The Toledo Blade has a good article on the open carry walks going on in Ohio. I notice a few funny looking hats in that line of marchers. The Blade reports:

Sheriff Beck, whose wife and children also walked the seven-block march, said he is personally aware of gun owners who are carrying concealed weapons for protection - many of them victims of stalkers or in an abusive situation. He said his department won't mess with them although they are technically breaking the law.

It's a shame that Ohio has to resort to selective and inconsistent law enforcement because the legislature cannot pass decent legislation.

Also notice that it's not all guys either.

Gun grabbers do a good job of convincing women that they are incapable of handling complicated devices like firearms.
They teach women to leave their fate in the hands of the 9-1-1 emergency system, even though response times are only quick enough 5% of the time. As usual, I'll post a gratuitous link to the Independent Women's Forum article on the disarming of women in America. This should be required reading of all women.

This sounds about right, although I'd never wear such a goofy hat.

(Click for some quizeration)

(Link via The Accidental Jedi).

The AP gives a quick update on the California freshman student, Lisa McClelland, at the ironically Freedom High who proposed starting the "Caucasian Club". Apparently she is being picked on and harassed so much that she is thinking of transferring schools.

Some people would say things like 'We already have a club like that, it's called the KKK, you racist,"' the 15-year-old girl told the Contra Costa Times for a story Sunday. "I'd walk into the auditorium and people would start whispering."

Hang in there Lisa. Perhaps this amnesty gift will help out.

Guess who's coming back to Washington. Anti-war protesters will be out in full force next Saturday, reports the Washington Post. Whether or not they make demands to turn Iraq back over to the brutal dictator Saddam Hussein, remains to be seen. The march will coincide with a similar rally in San Francisco. Both will probably be ripe with commie pinkos and anti-American/anti-Bush protesters. I wonder if they'll loot the city like they did at the pro-Saddam rallies in San Francisco earlier this year.

If you run out of cranberries on December 25th, you might be out of luck if you live in the U.K. Sky News reports that the British government is planning on forcing supermarket stores to close their doors this Christmas. Apparently most stores are closed anyway, but there have been a few who are bucking the trend.

Ministers at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) want all large stores to remain closed on December 25 to ensure staff get a break.

At least one supermarket chain opened its doors on Christmas Day last year and the departments is worried others will follow suit.

Why is this about what the DTI wants? Talk about forcing your views on people, government bureaucrats apparently have no problem with using the threat of lethal force against people who have the gall to go to work on December 25th. That should teach those non-Christians.

Now, me being a Christian myself, I have no plans to work on Christmas day. But then I used my individual freedom of choice to select a job that allowed me the day off. That really is what it is all about, is freedom. British business have been opening their doors on December 25th and the government thinks they should be at home playing with all the toys Santa brought. How dare they actually want to leave their homes after all the wrapping paper has been picked up.

Of course, not everyone wants to stay at home on Christmas. When I worked in retail, my Jewish friend and boss wanted to open our store on Christmas day just to sell batteries. He probably could have made a bundle, but our boss wouldn't hear of it, so we couldn't do it. Still, it's nice to know that business owners have the freedom to make those decisions without having to worry about the government sticking guns in their face. But then what would a nation that still has royal monarchs know about freedom?

Dennis Miller is none too happy about Malvo's insanity defense in the case of the "D.C. Sniper".

We're about to enter the morass of the D.C. sniper trial, a trial in which one of the snipers, John Lee Malvo, told an interrogator that he shot a sixth grader in the chest to see how the chief of police would react on the nightly news. Now he's going to plead insanity. Well you know something? That's just not good enough, pal.

Why does insanity always get you off the hook? It's like a "Get Out Of Reality Free Card." All you have to do is say you were a little cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs, and all of a sudden caring people with zero regard for the victim's loved ones will convert some of their Delta miles and fly in to attend an anti-death penalty candlelight-vigil in your honor. All of a sudden people are feeling sorry for you, because you killed someone, because you were crazy! Of course you were crazy! That's the point!

I share Miller's frustrations, but I don't share his belief that defense lawyers should walk away from the case, or are somehow sleazy for defending this bum. Sure, from the perspective of the defense, Malvo deserves representation in court and someone looking out for his interests.

At the same time, it is that defense attorney's responsibility to make sure the trial is not a complete railroading. His job includes making sure that the prosecution does their job in proving the case. Any confession that Malvo gives should be a true confession and not the one the cops beat or coerce out of him. If the defense attorney doesn't put up a valid defense, the case could be overturned on appeal. Even worse, it would really be a travesty of justice if the guy makes it all the way to execution without having had a truly fair trial. While I wholeheartedly believe in capital punishment, I also believe in making damned sure the government does their job in proving this guy is worthy of capital punishment. Anything less would be dictatorial.

The back of his T-shirt read: "If you can read this, the bitch fell off"

A while back I purchased an AR-15 stripped lower receiver. For you gun novices, that means that all you get is a serialized hunk of metal that looks like this. Well, today I drove down to the Richmond gun show, and got a good price on a complete A2 flat top parts kit. Again for you gun novices, that means you get all the rest of the parts, (minus the stripped lower) and once you assemble them you get a gun that looks somewhat like this.

Now, you may be asking yourself just why anyone would do such a thing. Well, the stripped lower is the serialized part, so you can pick those up for between $100 and $200 depending on the make. That is the part the ATF considers a gun, and the one for which they do a NICS check. (Instant background check.) The rest of the gun is just parts and can be picked up anywhere with no restrictions. Basically that means you can take advantage of the internet and purchase across state lines without having to go through an FFL. In short, you can save a few hundred dollars.

So, I spent the better part of today greasing up gun parts and assembling my AR-15. I figure I saved about $250 by putting it together myself, and I'm starting to wonder if it was worth it. First of all the thing was a bear to put together. It only took about 3 hours, but it still needs more lubing and oiling. I never thought the thing would be this dry. I don't have the specialized tools to assemble the upper, so I had the smithy do it for me while I waited. I put the lower together using tools I had laying around the house. They have specialized tools available, but they aren't necessary if you are willing to put up with the pain in the ass factor.

I really only ran into two snags. First, the bolt catch plunger pin is too stiff. It doesn't flow very freely, and I'm wondering how that will impact performance. Also, the damned selector switch (safe-fire thingy) was milled out too far, so it will not switch from safe to fire. There is a detent that slips too far into the selector, so once you set the safety, it aint coming off unless you disassemble the rifle. That means I still need to go out tomorrow and find a new one, and then strip the gun down a bit to install it. I don't want to drive all the way back to Richmond for a $5 part, so I'll see if I can find one here locally.

After I get that final piece, and have it properly oiled, I'll be ready to test fire it. That is where I'll see if my hard work paid off, or if it blows up in my face. Wish me luck.