Archive for February, 2008
I THINK it worked for real this time.
*Crosses fingers*
I think I have the new URL set up properly, the 301 redirect working, the feeds redirected (save LJ)…
The good:
- I was able to import all my old entries, pages, and comments.
- I got the key images redirected, and they’re working so far.
- I got threaded comments working on new entries.
The bad:
- Something is wonky with my LJ-crosspost plugin, so I don’t think that’s going to work for a while. Fixed!
- I don’t really have a good way to import my past tags, and I don’t care enough to try very hard. (The silver lining to this is I can now switch to using the integrated WP tag system rather than the plugin I was using.) Anyway, tags start over as of this post.
- I didn’t have a way to import the thread structure of past comments. That kind of sucks - it will make entries with a lot of replied comments look pretty scattered. Again, don’t care enough to lose sleep over it, especially since they’ll be working fine on all new posts.
- I still have to hunt down other images I’ve posted and change the URLs.
- I have to get all y’all to cooperate with changing your bookmarks, address books, and feeds. *bats eyelashes*
Anyway - I think we’re in business at www.politicsgunsandbeer.com!
Put on yer hard hats!
I finally decided to work on moving PGB over to www.politicsgunsandbeer.com.
Love it or hate it, it’s gonna happen. Bear with me if construction kicks my ass for a bit.
If all goes well, the current domain will redirect to the new domain for a long time - but keep an eye out for when the new domain is up and running, ’cause you will want to update your links eventually.
Thanks, all!
The BATFE is at it again.
Backstory: Cavalry Arms is a well-respected AR manufacturer. They make several AR variants, including molded lowers, where the buttstock and lower receiver are all one piece. I’ve heard good things, and they’ve gotten great reviews on AR15.com. Cav Arms, as a company, is reputed to be one of the best in the business - great customer service, totally on the up-and-up, etc.
Not good enough for the BATFE. Here’s the Arfcom thread about it.
To spare you reading 45 pages and counting, the BATFE raided Cav Arms’ warehouse. They drug out thousands of pieces of merchandise and threw them on tables to make sure a big spectacle of it for the media. Then they confiscated a large portion of it.
The evening it happened, somebody updated with this:
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Minor update
Russ just called me.
No one is in custody and no charges have been filed.
ATF is apparently looking for something but no one has any idea what.
The shop is trashed from what they can see. They have not been allowed back in yet. ATF is still there taking inventory.
—-
Then again from yesterday:
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Brief conversation with Russ this morning.
They were let back in the shop late last night.
Russ said the warrant they saw did not give any specifics.
All the complete firearms, lowers, computers and documents have been removed.
They are still in business (if you can call it that).
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And one more:
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UPDATE: Just Spoke with Cav!
They are Still Here, and Still Running!
I am placing a cash order for handguards, slings, and other non firearms items that they still have left, and I’m doing my part to help them in their time of need.
I suggest that everyone call and do the same.
They are Hurting, and being targeted HARD by the Media.
BTW, does anyone have the link in GD about the Group Buy on Lowers? I’m intererested!!
-Jason
—-
Nobody really knows what this is all about, including Cav Arms themselves, though the ATF is alleging “fraud” and “money laundering.” (You’d think the IRS might show up in that case - but I didn’t hear about any IRS agents being there?) Keep in mind we’re talking about the agency trying to shut down Red’s over writing “Y” or “N” instead of “Yes” or “No,” and who have effectively shut down KT Ordnance through a confiscation of their business materials - so no, I don’t believe a damn word they say.
Anyway, Cav Arms is still in business, and in the interest of helping them out financially, lowers engraved with “Cav-Aid 2008″ are going on sale, available here.
100% of the proceeds will go to Cav Arms, to help keep their business afloat and pay the sure-to-arise legal costs.
This reeks of another BATFE fishing expedition designed to hit a smallish business hard enough to shut it down permanently. And on that note, I looked up the definition of domestic terrorism in US code, and I think a good case could be made for the BATFE fitting the description. More on that later. :)
We’ve lost another great one.
William F. Buckley, Jr. - dead at 82.
Dear Sir,
Rest in peace. We shall continue to renew our own goddamn subscription.
Cordially,
LJG
Okay Barack, you totally lost me.
Things you should know about Barack Obama (and assorted commentary from your host):
- Only major candidate who opposed Iraq war from the beginning; pledges to end it
Okay… I can get behind that. - Pledges to cut tens of billions of dollars in wasteful spending
I’m always one for cutting spending! - Pledges to cut investments in unproven missile defense systems
Ehrm… like the missile defense system we just used to shoot down that satellite? Not making a value judgment, just saying that’s pretty prove-tastic, I think… - Will not weaponize space
Err… okay… - Will slow our development of future combat systems
Okay, WTF? Why? I can understand cutting wasteful spending - I can even understand scaling back the standing military. I cannot understand the idea of deliberately inhibiting the advancement of technology. That is flat-out stupid. - Will institute an independent defense priorities board to ensure the quadrennial defense review is not used to justify unnecessary spending
Okay, again, I’m all about responsible spending… - Will set a goal of a world without nuclear weapons
WHAT? Moonbat alert!? Newsflash, Barack: They’ve already been invented. You ain’t un-inventing them. This is the same stupid Fluffy Bunny Rainbow Unicorn Land argument the anti-gun crowd makes for getting rid of guns - and it is simply. not. possible. Nuclear weapons exist. You’re not making them all go away. Either the good guys have ‘em to hopefully temper the bad guys with, or the good guys get screwed because they fail to recognize reality. - Will not develop new nuclear weapons
Again, just because he slows technology in the USA doesn’t mean it’s slowing or stopping everywhere. - Will seek a global ban on the production of
missilefissile material (*I mis-heard originally, good catch, Heffelfinger007*)
Good luck with that. Srsly. EDIT:Okay, so he said fissile, not missile, which makes this dream-ban even more stupid. There are plenty of quite legitimate, peaceful uses for fissile material, as Heffelfinger007 points out in the comments. Apparently, Barack Obama simply hates technology. - Will negotiate with Russia to take our ICBMs off hair-trigger alert and to achieve deep cuts in our nuclear arsenals
Mmkay. I’m sure Putin will be all for you doing just that.
But don’t take my word for it:
Is this simple naiveté or something more sinister? I really don’t know. I find it hard to believe a leading candidate for President of the United States could be that ignorant in the ways of world affairs, but… who knows.
Clearing out my FireFox tabs
I tend to accumulate stacks of links I intend to share here. Every once in a while I just need to do a random dump to get ‘em all out. Here goes:
This site is freaking hilarious.
If you’re interested in helping out Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, go here to bid on a donated FrontSight certificate.
Here’s an interesting link to a page about one of our Canadian brethren, a gentleman named Bruce Montague, who is challenging Canadian gun control laws. (H/T Oleg Volk.)
Montana is pissed off about the possibility of Heller not going “our” way. They’ve admonished the US Government to keep in mind the compact with which Montana joined the union, which absolutely guarantees firearms rights as individual rights. (Read more here.) I’m telling you, folks: the Rocky Mountain states are WHERE IT’S AT.
Here’s a feel-good piece about a Marine saving an Iraqi dog. Awww.
Mike and I have gone from wanting a yurt to wanting to build a straw bale house. Yes, you’ve just caught me exposing my crunchy side. Actually, it’s more my cheap/off-the-grid side talking - they’re relatively inexpensive to construct and can reduce energy costs by something like 75%. The stucco look is not my #1 favorite, but I think I could make it my own with the right trim and whatnot. Land needs to come first, though… I’d rather buy some healthy acreage and live in a trailer for a while than buy a house in town.
Walk with a BUDDY!?!?
This just in from the University:
This is to advise the Moscow campus community and visitors to campus that a sexual assault on a female University student is alleged to have occurred on or near the Central Campus Mall, some time before 4:30 this morning. The suspect is described as a white male, approximately 5′ 10″, medium build, wearing tan pants and a dark hooded sweatshirt. Moscow Police Department is investigating. The community and campus guests are asked to call 208-882-COPS (2677) with any information. Be alert to the people and environment around you, and walk with a buddy after dark.
This is a University of Idaho informational alert; replies to this email may not be monitored. Please call the number above to report information.
WALK WITH A BUDDY!?
They will disarm us to make us ready victims, then tell us the solution is the buddy system?
I want a shirt that says “Victim of disarmament. What next?” or something to that effect.
*fumes*
P.S. I like how the description of the perp matches oh, 80% of the males on campus.
NRA Certified Instructor
I keep offering to teach people about firearms as a layperson, so it finally dawned on me I ought to just go ahead and get NRA certified. I might as well be able to actually teach classes that can actually count for CCW requirements and whatnot. Have any of you gone through this process?
University of Argonaut: Fair and Balanced, Baby!
From today’s Argonaut:
Attendees raise their hands to signify they would feel uncomfortable surrounded by gunbearers. UI political science major Kristin Caldwell stands at the mic at the new gun legislation debate Wednesday. Eric Petersen/ArgonautStudents speak out about guns
Revised bill no longer includes regulations of university campuses, issue likely to reappear
Idaho Senate Bill 1381, which would allow students with concealed weapons licenses to carry on campus has gone back to revision. An open forum was held on Wednesday for the public to voice their opinion on the bill.
According to senior Jimmy Fox, a lobbyist for ASUI in Boise, the revised bill will not contain any language regarding carrying concealed weapons on a university campus. Another bill addressing the issue will most likely appear sometime later this session, he said.
ASUI hosted an open forum Wednesday to discuss students carrying concealed weapons on campus. A panel, which consisted of two students and law professor James MacDonald, was there to answer questions.
And my response to the editors:
Editors,
The caption on the photo on the front page of Friday’s Argonaut reads, “Attendees raise their hands to signify they would feel uncomfortable surrounded by gunbearers. UI political science major Kristin Caldwell stands at the mic at the new gun legislation debate Wednesday.”
The question Kristin Caldwell actually asked was how many attendees would feel uncomfortable if a gun fell out of a backpack on the floor next to them in class. This is not a minor semantic distinction. There’s a big difference between students feeling uncomfortable knowing they’re in the presence of licensed concealed carriers, and students feeling uncomfortable because a firearm falls out of a backpack next to them.
I am not made uncomfortable in the least by the idea of concealed carry on campus. I am - as a gun owner, frequent shooter, and advocate of firearm safety and responsible use - likely to be concerned about a gun falling out of a backpack. Such an event would indicate the bearer of the firearm was not carrying his or her weapon safely. Firearms should always be handled in a manner consistent with the four rules of gun safety:
1) Treat every gun as if it loaded.
2) Never point a gun at something you do not intend to destroy. (For those who insist that this particular gun is unloaded, see Rule 1.)
3) Keep your finger straight and off the trigger until your sights are on the target.
4) Identify your target, and what is behind it. Never shoot at anything that you have not positively identified.
Most gun owners are fanatics about gun safety. We police our own very well - safety rules are enforced during trips to the shooting range with friends, while handling firearms in our homes, etc. I do not know a single person who carries a firearm who has experienced their gun falling out of a backpack or holster. I have never seen a firearm simply plop out on the floor next to me in a movie theater, shopping mall, or restaurant.
Back to the photo on the front page of the Argonaut. When Kristin Caldwell asked her question, I didn’t raise my hand. I felt the question was loaded, and that the visual image of attendees raising their hands would be misconstrued and possibly misreported as those attendees being uncomfortable with gun carry in general - rather than the actual topic at hand, which was unsafe carry practices. Unfortunately, the Argonaut completely validated my concerns by mis-captioning the photo.
[me]
BIKINI WEATHER!!!
Bikini, and shooting, and scooter weather!
Seriously! There’s little suns (ignore the clouds) for the next five days! And I don’t have school on four of the five! And I don’t work on at least two of those four!
Okay, maybe I’m a little over-ambitious with the bikini. But shooting and scooter? Hells yeah. In fact, I rode the scooter today. My ears didn’t even go numb!