Seen at the Gun Show – 01/24/10

I had the pleasure of attending the local gun show this past weekend.  It was well stocked and attended, and as a bonus, I was able to visit with a long time friend in from out of town.  All in all I had a good day.

However, what I wanted to share with you is this:

I have a love for historic guns, particularly for those from the Old West.  Furthermore, I have a weakness for curiosities; the classic book Firearms Curiosa has been a favorite of mine since I was a very young.   So when I happened across the sawed-off buffalo rifle seen above, I had to grab a picture of it.

The gun is a Sharps carbine chambered in .50-70 Government that has had the barrel cut down to about 12 inches.  Whoever cut it down went through the trouble to reinstall a front sight (more of a bead actually).  Also, it even has the original sling attached.

Most of us at one time or another have wished that a firearm (or other piece of history) could tell its story.  I really wish I knew how the odd Sharps Shorty came to be and how it was used.

Was the barrel cut back because it was damaged or was it meant to be concealed?  Who carried it and were they a ‘white hat’ or a ‘black hat’?   Just how much flame comes out when something like that it touched off?  [Did Matthew Quigley have a cousin that was an Oompa-Loompa?]

O.K. maybe not the last one.

Of course, I’ll never know the real story behind it but I consider it a real treat just to happen upon something so unusual.

More on the .50-70 Govt cartridge here

Is Scott Brown a Friend to Gun Owners?

He is.  A lot more so than Kennedy was, but he’s no TEA Party candidate.

I spent the day rejoicing that Brown won and the Dems got served a heaping pile of rebuke.  Heh.

Hugh Hewitt remarked that it was The Most Significant Non-Presidential Election of my Lifetime, and the Most Surprising Result Period (and that’s not an understatement).

Then I saw a Drudge headline asking if Scott Brown will seek the Presidency next.

Whoa. Let’s just wait a moment….

First off let me say that I am tickled pink that Scott Brown won.  I even donated to his campaign in the hopes of breaking the Senate’s 60 seat super-majority (Alliteration: Yea!).  But, even as shock and fear grind through the Democrat party like tectonic tremors as the ramifications of Brown’s win sink into the minds of the non-celebrity Dems and their coming elections, let’s pause for a moment to reflect on whether Brown is ‘our guy’.

Brown is the guy that took Ted Kennedy’s seat* away from the Dems (in Massachusetts, no less!).   However, Massachusetts already has a ‘universal health care’ system and it seems their opposition to a national single-payer plan is largely based on the idea that they don’t want to pay for anybody else’s health care but their own.

Also if you missed Scott Brown’s victory speech (like I did), apparently he thanked his new friend and colleague for helping nurture and guide his campaign.  That friend is Sen. John “Reach Across the Aisle” McCain.

But to the meat of the matter: David Codrea has a piece today that reveals some of Sen. Brown’s views on our 2nd Amendment rights, which for someone from Massachusetts, is actually not too bad (supports concealed carry).  His view however are not so much in line for what the Founding Fathers believed (Brown supports ending private sales between individuals and some other things I don’t care for.)

So, we’ll have to keep looking for the next Reagan-to-follow-Carter for the time being.

Still….

The Dems lost Kennedy’s seat*!    Nah Na Na Na Nah!
The Dems lost Kennedy’s seat*!    Nah Na Na Na Nah!
PBPBPBPBPPPPBBBLT!!

(A little schadenfreude every now and then is OK ).

Now let’s all throw a few bucks to Tark and see what happens.

[*Yes, I know it's the People's Seat]

The Real Problem with Obama Jokes…

…is that his followers don’t think they’re funny and no one else thinks they’re jokes.

(via uncredited email)

Feds move to seize four U.S. mosques + account of visit to Houston mosque

This story just broke; from the Houston Chronicle:

Federal prosecutors Thursday took steps to seize four U.S. mosques, including one in Houston, and a Fifth Avenue skyscraper owned by a nonprofit Muslim organization long suspected of being secretly controlled by the Iranian government.

Startlingly, less than a half hour after this news broke, I received the following email from a lady who recounts her recent visit to the Houston mosque mentioned in the story:

A few minutes ago I turned on the news and saw a mosque on tv. It is one of 4 in the USA being seized by our government. It has been under surveillance by the feds for some time, I learned.

This mosque was familiar to me because a couple of years ago I went there with a group of parents and children (confirmation candidates) from our church. Our goal was to learn differences in the two religions, ours being Christianity, of course. Entering, we all had to take off our shoes and put on slippers. That was OK with me, since we were told it is a sign of respect. However, that was the end of good feeling for me in that place. I don’t think any of us felt comfortable there, adults or children. There was not a feeling of love, peace, joy or welcome in that place. It felt cold and threatening and I felt increasingly worried. The females in our group, old and young, were separated from the males going into the worship area and most felt insulted by the attitude of the muslim leader. I realized this was a good experience for the young girls. I was proud that the girls were the ones who spoke up first – not the adult women – when we were allowed to ask questions about the religion. I could tell the girls felt devalued. They had been brought up believing, and rightly so, that girls and boys are equal in God’s eyes and He loves us all the same.

As we toured the building (mosque and school) we passed a table full of religious texts and books by Ayatolla Khomeni! The table was right outside the entrance to the men’s side of the worship area. It was all I could do to keep from saying, “OK, that’s enough, let’s go home now.” It was like seeing books by the devil himself on that table. I couldn’t wait  to get out of there. I really felt an evil force in that place and was so glad to drive thru the gates and go home.

I don’t think I need to remind you to pray for our country, our leaders, and our soldiers every day.

I am glad that the Feds are showing some decisive action here but with the Ft. Hood attack last week and now this, I have to wonder:

What do you call an “Overseas Contingency Operation” that’s not overseas?

 

Why Obama won’t call Ft. Hood Killer a Terrorist

Because if he (or the Lapdog Media) does, it’s an admission that the first terrorist attack on U.S. soil since 9/11/01 happened on his watch.

Pro-Gun Texas Police Dept Teaches Concealed Carry for $10

How’s this for a slice of AWESOME?

Due to a backlog of applicants waiting to take the Texas state required Concealed Handgun License (CHL) course, the Oak Ridge North Police Department (just North of Houston) was given permission by the City Council to teach the class.   God Bless Texas!

From The Courier of Montgomery County:

The demand for concealed handgun licenses is on the upswing, and a local police department is meeting the need to teach people how to exercise their right responsibly.

The trend is widespread across Texas, and most people are attributing the increase to the presidential election of Barack Obama because people started fearing their right to bear arms may be limited under the new administration.

…

Montgomery County is no different than the rest of the state. The state granted 1,892 CHLs to county residents between Sept. 1, 2007, and Aug. 31, 2008. For the same period from 2008 to 2009, with two months to go, 2,464 have been granted to residents, which is a 30 percent increase.

The Oak Ridge North Police Department started receiving questions from residents earlier this year about where they could receive CHL classes. In an effort to help them exercise their right, the ORN City Council gave the Police Department permission to begin classes.Four residents attended the September class, and 10 completed the October class. The next class runs Nov. 12-14 and costs $10. Students are required to provide their own handgun and be familiar with gun safety, maintenance and operation.

Oak Ridge North Police Chief Andy Walters recognizes that offering the course is not common practice among police departments, but to him, it makes perfect sense.

“I have a deep-seated belief that people should exercise their right responsibly, and who better to help them do it than the police department?” Walters said.

A city council gives their pro-gun police chief and his department the go ahead to teach concealed carry to the public for $10?  Where else in the world will you hear that?!

Anyone supporting this just might want to send a ‘Thank You’ note to the Oak Ridge North City Council and Police Department (click the links for contact info).

Pocket Knife Ban Stopped! (latest news 10/20/09)

Just received this from Doug Ritter:

WE STOPPED CUSTOMS Pocket Knife Grab! The Senate has passed the conference report for the fiscal year 2010 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill with our amendment to the Federal Switchblade Act intact. The bill will now be sent to the President for signature. There is no indication that he would veto the bill.

This is the culmination of an incredible effort on the part of Knife Rights, American Knife and Tool Institute, NRA, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and many other organizations who contributed.  Each organization made key contributions to the effort, without which the end result might not have turned out so well. Not many folks gave us much hope of succeeding when Customs first proposed revoking their rulings and redefining what is a switchblade back in May.  At a time when bipartisanship is rare as hen’s teeth in Washington, we garnered support from both sides of the aisle.

We succeeded because the coalition of groups that came together to fight Customs represented a broad swath of American industry and grassroots.  We succeeded in large part because of YOUR contributions, letters and calls in support of our efforts. You can give yourself a pat on the back for your effort and a job well done against all odds.  It is time to pop the cork on that bottle of champagne and celebrate a victory for your knife rights and for all America.

To help you celebrate and commemorate this incredible victory, please purchase one of our collectable “WE STOPPED Customs Pocket Knife Grab” coffee mugs, t-shirts or sweatshirts, available for a limited time only: www.cafepress.com/KnifeRights

Proceeds will help pay off the incredibly high cost of accomplishing this victory.

Knife Rights has quickly grown to become America’s largest grassroots knife owners organization. This latest fight against Customs Pocket Knife Grab has validated the power and importance of a dedicated grass roots organization in defending your knife rights. Now we have to finish paying pay for this effort. It took a great deal of money to accomplish all this.  Carrying a fight like this to Washington cannot be done without lots of cash. The victory isn’t complete until we pay the bills. PLEASE DONATE TO SUPPORT THIS FIGHT FOR YOUR KNIFE RIGHTS!  http://bit.ly/Scvp9

In addition to all those who wrote and called their reps to get to this point, we owe www.KnifeRights.org a huge ‘Thank You’ for having the foresight to organize beforehand and therefore be in place in order to beat back the attempted restrictions of liberty our own government would seek to impose on us.

Slow blogging explanation = New Job!

Thank goodness, too.

I’ve been quite busy with the steep ramp up of my new position but hope to be back to regular blogging soon.

Thanks to all who check in from time to time.

Will ObamaCare Ban Guns?

Via the Gun Owners of America:

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus has something to say to gun owners:  “Own a gun; lose your coverage!”

Baucus’ socialized health care bill comes up for a Finance Committee vote on Tuesday.  We have waited and waited and waited for the shifty Baucus to release legislative language.  But he has refused to release anything but a summary — and we will never have a Congressional Budget Office cost assessment based on actual legislation.  Even the summary was kept secret for a long time.

But, on the basis of the summary, the Baucus bill (which is still unnumbered) tells us virtually nothing about what kind of policy Americans will be required to purchase under penalty of law — nor the consequences.  It simply says:

* “all U.S. citizens and legal residents would be required to purchase coverage through (1) the individual market…”;

* “individuals would be required to report on their federal income tax return the months for which they maintain the required minimum health coverage…”;

* in addition to an extensive list of statutorily mandated coverage, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius would be empowered to “define and update the categories of treatments, items, and services…” within an insurance plan which would be covered in a policy constituting “required minimum health coverage.”

ObamaCare and gun control

It is nearly certain that coverage prescribed by the administration will, to control costs, exclude coverage for what it regards as excessively dangerous activities.  And, given Sebelius’ well-established antipathy to the Second Amendment — she vetoed concealed carry legislation as governor of Kansas — we presume she will define these dangerous activities to include hunting and self-defense using a firearm.  It is even possible that the Obama-prescribed policy could preclude reimbursement of any kind in a household which keeps a loaded firearm for self-defense.

Please read the rest and then call your Senators to strongly oppose the Baucus Bill.

Geek Fix: Amphibious Car Showcase (with Videos)

Over at HowStuffWorks, Marshall Brain’s latest blog entry introduces us to the WaterCar Python Edition.  He also takes us through a multi-video tour of other amphibious car designs, including the original Amphicar, the Aquada, and the Rinspeed Splash hydrofoil.  I watched them all.

[Be sure to watch til the end of the Aquada video.... WANT!]