It seems that a Secret Service agent's weapon just up and fired all by itself. At least, that's the way the media is reporting the incident.

See, it's the gun's fault. Always. This proves it. (I'm being facetious, for those who can't tell.) Expect more of this kind of reporting as the push for extended gun control gathers steam.

-=[ Grant ]=-

At first, I wasn't going to comment on the sad crime perpetrated on the campus of Virginia Tech this week. I figured that everyone, everywhere, was going to do so (with varying degrees of erudition and insight.) I decided there wasn't anything I could add. Until...

Listening to the news on the radio, I heard an interview with two students who said that they were in "the room where he was shooting." According to these people, students and faculty were hiding under and behind anything in the room that they felt would provide them some protection, or flat on the floor in the absence of same.

It's what they said next that prompted me to comment: as the gunman shot, he naturally ran out of ammunition, and had to stop to refill his magazines. After taking the time to refill then reload his weapon, he continued his unfettered spree.

He was out of ammunition, and had stopped to reload - why didn't someone, anyone, in the room take that golden opportunity to tackle the murderer? At that point the criminal couldn't shoot anyone, and the risk even to the person who would choose that course of action would have been relatively minor compared to letting him get his firearm back up and running.

The answer is as obvious as it is sad: our society has fully inculcated the victimhood and helplessness mentalities into the last several generations of people. They didn't do anything because they have been taught their entire lives to rely on someone - anyone - else for their safety and well being.

This is what the nanny state has given us. This is what our Founding Fathers, I think, understood when they listed the natural right to keep and bear arms in their Constitution: yes, it's about the ability to resist tyrannical governments. More importantly, though, is the choice inherent in the right.

You see, it's not the exercise of the right in and of itself that matters; it's the existence of the choice to exercise the right that is so very important. Even if one chooses not to exercise the right, in making the choice one has experienced the self-actualization that leads to great inner strength and a heightened sense of self-worth. The very personal decision - no matter what the decision itself is - is what makes for citizens who are self reliant, who can think for themselves, and cannot be corralled like sheep.

When the "transaction cost" of the individual choice is raised - when the ability to decide for oneself is restricted or controlled in any manner - the choice is made not by the individual, but by someone else. The benefits of making the decision are denied the individual, and he/she learns (bit by bit) how to be a subject rather than a sovereign individual. Given long enough, an entire people is conditioned to be subordinate themselves to authority figures; when the "badge" of "authority" is the firearm, the people will prostrate themselves to anyone who wields one. Even a crazed killer.

Milton Friedman was right.

-=[ Grant ]=-

Everyone else rants on their blog, why not me? I generally I find ranting to be unseemly, but sometimes I run across something so unbelievably stupid that I just can't help myself!

After all, Straka has his "Grrrrs", and Andy Rooney has made a virtual industry of ranting; heck, there's one gunsmith who has a half-dozen blogs, each of which is a gigantic, incoherent rant! So I think it's not too much to ask to be allowed an occasional "harrumph!"

Our inaugural item comes from one of my "daily reads", the Uncommon Business blog. This is a great blog, chock-full of examples of businesses that you wouldn't normally think of as being viable, yet somehow have found a successful niche. (One could argue that revolversmithing is such a business!)

Their latest entry is for OpenX, a device that was designed to open that annoying plastic clamshell packaging. Go check out the article, then come back and read the rest of my rant.

I'll wait right here. (Cue "Jeopardy" theme...)

Back already? Did you read the whole thing? Good!

When I read the article, I was immediately struck with the thought "man, that's stupid." Don't get me wrong - I'm sure that the engineering is good and the construction quality is more than acceptable; I'm sure it opens clamshell packaging in a most efficient manner, with great aplomb and no doubt accompanied by heavenly choirs.

What I can't understand is why the heck this guy needed to invent the thing in the first place!

You see, I always carry a pocket knife - usually a couple. I've carried a pocket knife since (probably) the 3rd grade. (Back then every kid carried a pocket knife to school. For those born after 1980, I'm not kidding.) Every male I know carries a pocket knife. My wife carries a pocket knife, and has her own collection from which to choose.

When I need to open a clamshell package, I simply reach into my pocket, pull out my trusty pocket knife (a Victorinox Swisschamp, in most cases) and proceed to open the package with a minimum of fuss, bother, and anguish.

Apparently, that's not how everyone does it. There are ill-equipped people out there, just waiting to be frustrated by product packaging!

How is it this guy didn't have a pocket knife?!? Is he afraid of them? Does his social station eliminate the need to carry his own implements? ("Jeeves, please open this package for me.") Do his peers look down on someone who carries such an essential implement? ("I say, Muffy, he is acting positively blue-collar these days! The boys at the club will be absolutely aghast!")

Follow me here: he didn't have a knife with him, which made him conceive of the idea of a package opener; he invented a knife substitute to have with him, in place of that which he didn't have with him in the first place! So, this solves the problem how, exactly? What happens the next time he's presented with a gift that he can't open, because he doesn't have his opener with him, just as he didn't have a knife with him?

(Hmmm....wonder if the OpenX comes in a clamshell package? If so, how is one to open it?? The Helplessness Brigade would be stymied once more!)

Rant off. Until next time!

-=[ Grant ]=-

This from an article in the Frederick News-Post in Maryland:

Seized from Vaisman's residence were a broad range of weapons including assault handguns. Among the weapons were at least one Colt Cobra and at least one Colt Diamondback.

If a Cobra and a Diamondback are "assault handguns", what does that make a Python?? It seems that the old saw about stupidity and hydrogen being the most common things in the universe has been proven true in what used to be known as the "Free State."

Thanks to SaysUncle for the heads-up.

-=[ Grant ]=-

Some random news bits to round out the year...

So, according to Fox News, last Thanksgiving a man breaks into a barn, spray paints some goats, and leaves some porno behind. Guess he didn't have cable...(I'd comment on this story's interesting similarity to the town I grew up in, but thankfully I've managed to suppress those memories!)

In a story out of Russia - one that literally begs for a Yaakov Smirnoff joke - we learn that a pack of squirrels has attacked and killed a dog. What happens if they get guns? THIS:



Finally, in North Carolina they just aren't making desperate criminals like they used to. And "they" say that kids aren't affected by television!

Have a safe and sane New Year's celebration!

-=[ Grant ]=-

Our big wind storm came and went, and I'm still here!

Winds in my area gusted to just a tad over 60mph; while our lights flickered (and we were treated to a transformer blowing up down the block), we never lost power. Guess the power company has hardened their distribution system in the last few years!

The storm did have a good effect: my neighbor, who has a tree trimming and removal company, is swamped with work. Judging from the number of downed trees just in our area, he's going to have plenty on his plate for the next week or so.

-=[ Grant ]=-

The Navy retired the F-14 "Tomcat" fighter last month. The F-14, one of the premier fighter aircraft of all time, is being replaced by the F/A-18.

The F-14 grew out of a failure. In the 1960s Defense Secretary Robert McNamara was on a mission to standardize all kinds of equipment across the various military services - everything from boots to rifles to aircraft. He decided that the Navy (who, remember, operates airplanes off of short aircraft carriers) could use the same fighter as the Air Force (who operate from nice, long runways.) He decreed that the Navy should adopt a variant of the Air Force F-111A, to be designated the F-111B.

The F-111 wasn't exactly a rousing success in its original role, and despite throwing huge amounts of money at the modification project it never did make any of the Navy's goals. It remained grossly overweight, had extremely poor visibility for carrier landings, and at the medium speeds the Navy anticipated it to operate it had less than stellar maneuverability. It proved to be less suitable for the role than the plane it was to replace, the F-4 Phantom II.

It should go without saying that F-111B project died a horrible death, and the F-14 project was initiated. What the Navy got was one of the premier fighter aircraft ever made, and also one of the most visually striking. After giving yeoman service for 34 years, the Tomcat received a heartfelt farewell from the Navy.



F-14 FAQ
Tomcat Alley: The F-14 Site

-=[ Grant ]=-

A while back, I told you about the Brits tracing the source of the illegal guns in their country to a ring operating out of New Jersey. Sounded a bit fishy to me...

Well, now we learn that the problem isn't people from New Jersey - it's their own soldiers bringing back stolen guns from Iraq! Of course, this won't matter to the Europeans who belong to the Blame America First Club, but I find it ironic.

Note to Tony Blair: you worry about your mess, we'll worry about ours. Heaven knows that we both have enough to deal with...

-=[ Grant ]=-

It's all over except the wailing and gnashing of teeth.

In case you haven't heard - and I don't see how one couldn't have - Winchester has closed its doors permanently. The auction of the remainder of their manufacturing facility is September 27 & 28.

Another sad day in firearms history.

-=[ Grant ]=-

The Carnival of Cordite is a regular collection of up-to-the-minute links to current gun topics and discussions. No matter what your shooting interest, you're likely to find something that you just have to read!

-=[ Grant ]=-

Here in Oregon, we once had a thriving retail enterprise known as Meier & Frank. M&F, as their logo appeared, was a department store in the grand old tradition - think of what a Nordstrom department store would look like, and you have Meier & Frank. The store expanded to several stores here in the northwest, but never got really "big"; many years ago the family sold out to a corporation, and the circus began.

Since then, the small but elegant little chain has had several owners (and bad management teams), culminating in their recent acquisition by Macy's.

We should have sensed that this behemoth from the east was up to no good, in the way that RiteAid (another large eastern corporation that purchased another homegrown chain, Payless Drugs) proved to be. Sure enough, Macy's announced that they would eliminate the venerable Meier & Frank name and paste their own (far less stylish) moniker on their buildings.

It is the end of a fond era.

But why "Friday Surprise"? Back in the good old pre-corporate-takeover days, Meier & Frank had a tradition of having some special sale or event every Friday. It was never advertised, but everyone knew about the Friday Surprise. So, to keep the memory of an Oregon institution alive, I'm inaugurating my own version of the Friday Surprise. This is where I hope to share all of the wilder (non-gun related) stories that I come across, pictures, events, personal stuff, and so on.

I hope you enjoy it!

-=[ Grant ]=-

This last weekend was the large wedding of one of my close relatives. Since we're known as the "Second Amendment Family", the day would not be complete without some sort of ballistic celebration. What we came up with fit the occasion perfectly.

One of my cousins handloaded some special 12ga shotgun shells with birdseed. (That's right, SEED, not SHOT!) He used a 100% cotton wadding for biodegradability, and a very small amount of powder. (We had originally thought that primers alone would be sufficient to propel the lightweight charge out of the barrel, but that proved to not be the case.) The resulting rounds sent their payload out of a vertical barrel some 25 to 30 feet, and the sound level was approximately that of a .22 Short - just enough to attract attention but not so much that anyone's hearing would be in jeopardy.

After thoroughly checking the shotguns for non-approved ammo, and making sure that no one had any such ammunition on their person, our little Matrimony Militia (a grand total of 4 people) met the happy couple at the entrance of the reception area. We announced them, and (with the best military precision that a bunch of civilians could muster) fired our rounds straight into the air - muzzles held high, well above anyone's head, of course.

The effect was perfect - the birdseed rained down and thoroughly covered the bride and groom, who were surprised and greatly amused at their "shotgun wedding." Their photographer even stifled her laughter enough to thoroughly document the prank, and I'm quite certain that this was a first for her too!

If you are moved to try this, remember SAFETY FIRST. We made sure that everyone involved behaved in a safe manner, from the loading of the rounds to the storage of arms afterwards. The rounds were completely biodegradable (save for the hulls, naturally) and we made sure that all of the standard safety rules were obeyed. Of course, this was well before the bar was opened and absolutely no alcohol was permitted until after the arms were stored in locked trunks. (The fact that this event was held outdoors on private property made the whole thing possible. DO NOT try this at a church or indoors!)

-=[ Grant ]=-

NASA maintains a great website called "Astronomy Picture of the Day". As the name implies, they put up a new picture each day, along with a plain-language explanation by an astronomer.

Be sure to check out their archives - there are some terrific pictures in their collection. Sure to pique anyone's curiosity about what is beyond our little world!

Here's one of my favorites: The Eskimo Nebula.



Sometimes my wildest imaginings pale in comparison to reality. This is one of those times.

-=[ Grant ]=-

Pardon my bashing of the French (after all, they do manufacture the superb Manurhin MR-73 revolver), but from James Taranto at the WSJ comes this gem:

"Tour de France winner Floyd Landis denied on Thursday taking performance-enhancing drugs during the race and said he would fight to clear his name after testing positive for the male sex hormone testosterone," Reuters reports.

Only the French would consider the presence of testosterone in a man's system suspicious.



-=[Grant ]=-

Remember the story I posted a while back about the Washington state police officer who couldn't tell the difference between a Taser and a loaded pistol (wherein the Taser was a bad choice for the circumstance, let alone a firearm)?

Well, the Northwest thankfully does not have a lock on civil servants with sub-par intellects: three New York officers caught in their own crossfire.

What part of "make sure of your target, and what is beyond" didn't these people understand? "Here's your sign!"

-=[ Grant ]=-

Found on the "pdb" blog:

Blind man fatally shoots wife while trying to handle gun, food

MORGANTON - AP

A legally blind man fatally shot his wife while trying to balance a plate of fried chicken and a pistol, authorities said.

Kelly Honeycutt of Morganton was holding a .38-caliber pistol he found in a box while he and his wife were moving into a new home Monday night, said Burke County Sheriff's Sgt. Robert Beall said. He accidentally shot his wife Norita in the head after she handed her wheelchair-bound husband a plate of chicken, Beall said.

Beall said no charges were filed by investigators, but the case was sent to the county prosecutor's office for a final determination.

Beall said the husband was more than 50 percent blind, had limited movement and was in advanced stages of multiple sclerosis. His wife was his caretaker.

"They had a storybook marriage," Beall said. "No history of domestic violence, no indication of alcohol abuse. It just looks like a case of bad timing while handling a gun."

-=[ Grant ]=-

The New York Times ran this article on getting a concealed weapons permit in Texas. What's surprising is the relative lack (for the NYT, of course) of fear-mongering, class bigotry, or gratuitous put-downs.

Does this mean they've come over to our side? Nawww, but maybe some of their on-the-fence readers will!

-=[ Grant ]=-

Famous dead castrato brought out of retirement.

No further comment!

-=[ Grant ]=-

Have you been following the story of Kyle MacDonald? He started a year ago with a single red paperclip, with the stated goal of trading up in a series of transactions to a house. It was an ambitious plan, and this week he achieves his goal.

Now, I just wonder; could I use the same idea to trade my way into one of those juicy Korth revolvers? Hmmmm.......

-=[ Grant ]=-

Seems that former 'Baywatch' babe - and little else of consequence - Carmen Electra is promoting a new investment opportunity.

She'll undoubtedly "convince" a few people to invest - and odds are that all of them will be males under the age of 35.

Hey, sex sells. Just don't expect me to don a Speedo for any advertisement

-=[ Grant ]=-

...and better pre-hire screening.

Scenario: admittedly bizarre individual is 30 feet up in a tree. Deputy, who according to the article "wanted to get him down before he hurt himself or others", decides that the appropriate response is to use a Taser. Trouble is, the deputy draws pistol instead of Taser and shoots the man in the leg!

Aside from the obvious stupidity, think about this: the man is up in a tree, approximately the height of a two-story house roof. The deputy decides that the way to get him down is to use a device that disrupts one's motor control. If the deputy had used the Taser, the man would quite probably have fallen 30 feet to the ground!

What outcome did the deputy expect - that the guy would suffer a fall from that height with no injuries? How does this square with the quote about not allowing the man to hurt himself? It doesn't, and that's the problem.

The deputy made two egregious errors - one in judgment, and one in performance. This is someone who should really be doing something else for a living...."you want fries with that??"

-=[ Grant ]=-

Sheeple are afraid of flashing red lights.

The short story: a bartender lost his grip on reality when he saw a flashing red light on a window display for Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. Apparently convinced that this was a bomb, he called the police - who, rather than using their heads, evacuated the hotel.

Why is this important to you? Because the people now taking the reigns of power and influence in this country have had their world view shaped by prime time television - where all bombs have flashing red lights and all guns are bad, and giving up a little freedom for some safety is perfectly acceptable. See the connection?

These are the people who vote for anti-freedom politicians; they sit on juries and award ridiculous "pain and suffering" judgments; they go to town meetings and, no matter what the topic, scream hackneyed phrases such as "won't someone please think of the children?" They do these things because they live in a permanent fantasy, where all bombs have flashing red lights, and they have no clue that the real world isn't like what they see on "The West Wing."

It would be funny if their actions weren't so onerous...

-=[ Grant ]=-

It's easy to believe that we aren't like other countries; it's hard to imagine that something as horrific as the trafficking of human beings occurs right under our very noses. But it does, and police are having a hard time combatting the problem.

This report details some of the fight against the sub-humans who engage in this "business."

-=[ Grant ]=-

A friend pointed out this article to me. Seems that the total number of legally owned firearms in America is now approaching 290 million, while our population is right around 298 million. We're close to having one firearm for every person in America! (If only they were all revolvers...)

While you're reading that article at Say Uncle, subscribe to their RSS feed. Lots of good gun news comes out of that site!

-=[ Grant ]=-

Maybe you shouldn't be...

Seems that BofA is shipping some of their jobs to India (where else?) Not only are they displacing workers, tearing apart lives and contributing to the outflow of jobs from this country, they're adding insult to injury by requiring the to-be-fired workers to train their Indian replacements - under threat of not receiving a severance package!

Read the whole nasty story here.

I'm not a BofA customer, but if I was I'd pull my money out in a heartbeat.

-=[ Grant ]=-

It seems that the stolen data from a misbehaving VA employee's laptop covers more people than originally thought: it now includes 2.2 million current U.S. military personnel.

But don't think that this is unique - there have been a huge number of data leaks like this in the last year, most of which you never heard about. Check this list of recent data security breaches, then go check your credit report.

-=[ Grant ]=-

Remember Lee Paige, the DEA agent who shot himself in the foot in front of a class of school kids - not to mention a video camera? Well, he's back - and suing the government because, well, because it's a sure way to get rich.

Favorite quote: "He also notes that he is no longer permitted or able to give educational motivational speeches and presentations."

No kidding?!?

-=[ Grant ]=-