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WISE FWOM YOUR GWAVE!!!! [Dec. 15th, 2009|09:49 pm]
[mood | stressed]

Yep, still here. Revising for an exam, but I thought I'd actually write some things I mentioned I'd do a few posts ago. Uni and sleep kept me busy (got into the course, yay), so I'm sorry if anyone still reading this thought I'd died.

Anyways, politics. A combination of poly, meaning many, and ticks, which are bloodsucking insects. If you look at the current political bullshit, it's easy to see how apt the wortd is.

A while ago, I stumbled onto a number of blogs for the Libertarian Party UK, about the only party around that supports restoring freedoms that other political parties have happily removed from the country. They're also about the only party that supports sensible gun laws, but the whole freedom and civil liberties thing appealed to me.

So, first two links are the LPUK homepage and their blog, which some members post copies of their own blog articles relating to their views:

http://www.lpuk.org/
http://lpuk.blogspot.com/

Next is Devil's Kitchen, one of the two Libertarian blogs I read from time to time. DK posts to his own blog and LPUK, so there might be a few repeats. DK is more than a little passionate about politics, as is evident by his swearing.

http://www.devilskitchen.me.uk/

The other blog is Old Holborn's blog. To be honest, I love his views on improving the political scene in our country (usually involving lampposts and rope), but he does have a number of good discussions on the go usually.

http://bastardoldholborn.blogspot.com/

Last, this isn't a Libertarian blog, but a Labour one, with discussions started by the members of the Labour party. I mainly read this to see what they're saying. They value input from anyone, but tend to belittle any of the other parties who come in to speak.

http://www.labourlist.org/

Anyway, that's the political blogs I read, next up is the gun blogs.
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It's that time again... [Jun. 16th, 2009|10:46 pm]
[mood | pissed off]

Yes, it's Showtime.

For those of you who aren't in my town, it's like Chicago, without the size, the glamour or.... any of the good stuff. We've got the crime though. The guy who runs the Motor Museum is currently facing extradition because the American DEA found he was using his chemistry supply company to help make crystal meth. Yay us.

Anyway, this week is the local High School's annual musical, one week before our Town Fair. As part of the local operatic society, I can lend my skills to them if needed. Hardly saying much as I only run a spotlight, but they appreciate it anyway.

The end of this year's show comes with a brilliant dance number, the end of which seems to lend itself to the lighting/effects department's favourite toy, the Pyrotechnics.

Now, the Pyro we used to use was a small one, that we always took precautions to use. However, the chief told me why we can't use them, the reason for yet another long and incoherent rant.

Health and Safety.

Or, to give it the "proper" title, as their victims use, HAFS (Health and Fucking Safety).

Okay, so I might be a little unfair here. A lot of HAFS regulations make sense, mainly the ones that involve manual labour and such. However, from what I see, there's three types of HAFS regulations. There's the reasonable, the ones you don't know why they made them, and then there's the pants-on-head retarded. I mean, the type of stupidity that just makes you feel the need to take a blunt object and cram it up the nearest covered orifice.

Guess what one I mean?

There's the anecdote about them wanting kids to wear goggles while playing conkers "just in case", which is silly, but then I thought of one that I know actually happened:

About two years ago, the HAFS people of the local council decided that the balcony of our town hall was dangerous to kids, who might fall off it, or to people who trip on the stairs on the balcony seating area, so they had a "safety" rail installed.

Now, I wasn't sure if I should mention the railing, so I asked my Mum, who this year got her 35 Year medal from the operatic society. From what she tells me, they've never had any kind of accident like that.

I'd say this is a "just in case" measure, but then I saw them install the railing in the middle of the Society's last rehearsal before that week's performance. They had months before that to put it up. So, despite the fact that it might interfere with a few angles of our lighting, I thought it might be a good idea.

Then I saw it. The fucking thing is way too big. There's a space between the railing and the actual balcony large enough for a kid or even someone falling just right, to go through without pausing. Hell, I can fit through it and I'm a lardarse.

I can see where both arguments come from (railing and pyros), but given the safety measures taken using the pyro, not to mention the ill-planned railing, makes me think that a number of HAFS regulations are made just because they think that it makes a sensible idea. As the Brady Campaign constantly shows us however, one person's sensible idea is a majority's idea of bullshit.

Anyway, rant over, just thought I'd rag on a few show-related things that I had to get off my chest.
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I live.... again. [May. 1st, 2009|02:54 am]
[mood | frustrated]

No, I'm not dead. Been busy with college and some other stuff. Programming's hard, but when you're asked to program an interface using methods you've never been taught...

Not to mention the course I was applying for got abruptly cancelled for no apparent reason. Seriously, one of the largest colleges in Scotland, and the highest up people are fucking idiots, cancelling a course with no warning, especially since so many people registered interest. But I digress.

To be honest, there's a hell of a lot going on, and by the time I get my lazy arse to post on a subject, it's already been said, far more eloquently and with less cursing.

Anyways, I'll try and post something in a week or so. I just found out about the UK Libertarian Party, so I might post on that, and I'd like to post about my favourite gun rights and political blogs, so we'll see how that goes.

Oh, and a way too late Happy New Year to anyone who still reads this.
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Who watches the (Media)Watchers? [Nov. 23rd, 2008|11:19 pm]
[mood | moody]

As anyone who reads this blog will know, I really dislike groups like the PTC and the Brady Campaign. Groups that claim to want to make the world better, by forcing their viewpoints on people via irresponsible and unjustifiable laws. Well, there's a group over here called MediaWatch-uk, which has taken it on themselves to go after videogames.

MediaWatch is an organization that claims to "(provide) an independent voice for those concerned about issues of taste and decency in the media." In other words, they're another moral advocacy group.

If anyone's been bothered to read as far back as 2006, not that I've posted much since then, then they'll see that I've mentioned MediaWatch before, talking about how they blamed a violent game for the death of a teenager, an accusation that was soon after, proven to be false by the police investigators. An accusation that MediaWatch has still not apologised for (Not so moral after all, it seems).

Well, they're at it again.

A few months back, Sega announced a new game for the Nintendo Wii, called Madworld. The game involves a lot of violence, including chainsaw evisceration, impaling people with roadsigns, and ripping out hearts.

Now, the Wii has had it's share of violent games. Resident Evil, The House of The Dead series, hell, they're even getting a version of the 360's Dead Rising. You'd think that this one would be no different, right?


John Beyer, the Head of MediaWatch, claimed that "It seems a shame that the game's manufacturer have decided to exclusively release this game on the Wii. I believe it will spoil the family fun image of the Wii."

He also said "I hope the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) will view this with concern and decide it should not be granted a classification. Without that it cannot be marketed in Britain. ...We need to ensure that modern and civilized values take priority rather than killing and maiming people."

First of all, the Wii has a number of violent games, some of which I've already listed, and none of which MediaWatch has complained about.

Second, the availability of violent games on a console does not remove a family friendly or "family fun" image. All three of the current-gen consoles have parental locks and instructions on how to use them, making them more than family friendly.

One thing I'd like to know is, who the hell does Beyer think he is? Unless I've missed something, this game is intended for (and will be marketed to) adults. There's no reason it should be denied any classification, preventing adults from making their own choice whether to play it or not.

So, as you can imagine, MediaWatch got bombarded by emails from gamers exhibiting righteous fury. From the MediaWatch autumn newsletter:

"Within hours of these remarks being published a rain of hostile emails from gamers poured into our office telling us to "shut the f*** up", suggesting that we have "got our knickers in a twist", demanding, as though we were on trial for an heinous crime, to know what right we had to impose our "narrow minded bigotry" on them and stopping them playing an "adult" game of their choice."

Now, I'm not condoning the abuse. As for the second part, their demand to circumvent adult's right to choose to play this game, even before all the facts of the game are known, might as well be a "heinous crime".

The fact is, games are played more by adults than kids. Most research shows that the average gamer is in his 20s-30s, adult age. If such a person wants to play this game, that should be their right.

MediaWatch seems to jump at games for no reason, as in the Manhunt case. Now, when they are confronted by people who want them to justify their bullying, they claim to be the victims.

I'd rather wait until more is known about Madworld before jumping to conclusions. But that's me.
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The McFate of gun control [Nov. 23rd, 2008|09:09 pm]
[mood | contemplative]

Hey. Long time no see. I did say I'd post something, about three months back on this, but had a few problems. I'll post something about that after the two I promised. First off, here's the first one I promised:

In July, a website called Mother Jones posted An article, exposing a "spy" inside the anti-gun movement.

Mary McFate, a member of anti-gun groups, was in fact Mary Lou Sapone, a "research consultant" who once worked for the NRA.

Yep, there was a shitstorm that day. The robes and flaming crosses came out for the NRA. There's been statements to the effect that Sapone was the "face of the NRA", a face of deception and underhanded moves.

Now, this has been done to death by people who are closer to this than I am, and by people who know more about this than I am. I'd just like to focus on two things.

First off, one of the statements by Bryan Miller, head of one of the Ceasefire groups. Talking about the whole thing, he claimed that "In the battle of ideas with the gun lobby, we're at a constant disadvantage because we're honest".

SHITE!!!

My last post mentioned one of his more emotional outbursts. In addition, there's his treatment of gun owners in general:

A few months back, a lady called Meleanie Hain had her CCW permit unfairly revoked for open-carry at a football game. She was on a show, debating with Miller. I'll let her words for their first meeting tell the tale:

"When Bryan Miller walked into the green room I was in there with one of the staff members who introduced us. The first thing out of Bryan's mouth was "did you bring your gun?" and I said "yes of course". He said "what a jerk!" I said "why thank you Bryan for bringing your true colors to share with us today." Steve (staff member) says "what? what did you say to her?" and he says "I called her a jerk! She's a jerk!" and Steve said "there's no reason for that. it's her right" and Bryan cuts him off and starts YELLING "what right? she has no right! There is NO SUCH RIGHT!""

It's kind of a shame he didn't go off that way during the show. Would have been nice for people to see what kind of bigot he really is.

Oh, I forgot, This link to the video should work. Sorry if it doesn't, I'll look for another.

During this "debate", a woman was introduced who had defended herself from a violent assault by use of, yep, a gun. Miller, being the "honest" person he is, congratulated her and offered his symapthies.

Whoops, sorry. He actually stuck up for the attacker and hurled insults at her. He rejected any right she had to defend her self, but fully supported her right to "scream for help".

Wow. What a guy.

I'll say this about Bryan Miller. I find it disgusting that he can in one place, claim to be honest, and in another, all but support an individual who was stopped from attacking and possibly raping a woman in a bathroom, simply because he was stopped by a gun. That's not honesty, that's bigotry, no two ways about it. "because we're honest?" Gun control advocacy is a position that requires someone to be totally dishonest. I should know, having agreed with such an organization in the past.

The second thing I'd like to mention is the amount of flak the NRA got for this. In the months following the uncovering of McFate, most of the people who oppose the NRA talked about how McFate was the "face of the NRA".

The thing is, I've never seen this kind of thing before, and I've looked. The NRA has never done something like this, and that's why it was such big news.

The anti gun groups lie on a regular basis, and yet their statements are published in media as fact, often without no opportunity to refute them. Their demands for Assault Weapons Bans and .50 weapon bans are steeped in lies, demanded for no legitimate reason, and yet they are still considered credible.

So, I ask you, which is worse? The NRA, who seems to have taken a first step into the evil side of politics, or anti-gun people like Bran Miller, who started there?
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Epiphany on gun control advocates [Aug. 25th, 2008|12:02 pm]
[mood | contemplative]

Hey readers(if there's anyone still there). Sorry about the lack of new posts, but there's very little new that I can post (or at least, very little that hasn't already been done better on other blogs).

I'm getting my life back on track just now, and I haven't really been able to post, what with college applications. However, I hope to have a couple more posts in the coming weeks. I've been meaning to look at the Mary McFate thing that happened recently, as well as another well-deserved bitching out of MediaWatch.

Anyway, a few months ago, the Supreme Court of the United States, or SCOTUS, upheld the complaint brought by a Mr Heller, that the Washington D.C. ban on handguns violates the Second Amendment of the US Constitution. Common sense, I'd think.

We're a few months past that now, and the debate's all said and done (apart from a few bigots who whine about the SCOTUS "misinterpreting" the 2nd Amendment (in other words, reading it as it should be read). There's not much I can say that hasn't been said in better ways, by better people.

During the discussions of the last few months however, I had a bit of an epiphany regarding how anti-gun people treat the honest people in the gun debate.

Set the Wayback Machine to 2003. I've just gotten into the whole gun debate, and found the website Keep and Bear Arms, an American website that posts the pick of the day's online articles regarding the Second Amendment and gun crime, as well as having some good political cartoons.

I remember seeing One of Scott Beiser's cartoons called "Learn to Listen". It was a cartoon regarding the difference between what gun owners say, and what anti-gun people hear.

The "What gun owners say" picture was of a man in a suit with his children, holding a rifle, saying "We just want to live in peace and be able to protect our kids".

The "What anti-gunners hear" is a picture of the steryotypical "'Roid-raging Rambo", holding a rifle to a childs head, both of them held in his other arm, saying "We just want to blow everyone to pieces, especially kids!", with rabid foam dribbling from the side of his face.

At the time, I thought it was kind of funny. Now, as I write this, I'm looking at that cartoon, and it's kind of scary how true it is.

Over the past few months, with the SCOTUS decision, there's been a lot of discussions, especially on Democratic Underground, one of my favoured sites for reading the debate of progressive against pro-gun control (Yes, there is a difference).

As I said before, I'm on the left end of the political spectrum, but on DU, there would be no place for me, because anybody who shows a truly progressive attitude towards guns is belittled on every place except the Guns sub-forum, a forum referred to as "The Gungeon" or Gun dungeon.

Okay, I'm not bashing DU. There are good people there as well as bad. It's just that outside of the "Gungeon", there's a hell of an attitude towards gun owners, which can only really be described as bigotry.

Seriously, it seems that every time there's an article involving an accident or gun crime, these people do their damn best to blame the innocent gun owners. There's references to "Gun Nuts", "Gun Loons", "Gun Fanatics", "Gun Fetishists", I've seen people who blame the NRA and the "Holy Second".

Every time something happens that's gun-related, there's a number of individuals who are hell bent on blaming innocent people for no good reason.

Even the higher-ups in the debate are guilty of this. Bryan Miller, head of one of the Ceasefire groups, has a blog where he told of how he wept at a comment left by one of the pro-gun contingent on the site, which he claimed was "ill-concealed and pathetic rage and misinformation", after reading about an officer's death in the paper the same day. He went on to describe his rage at the person, who he called a "fanatic", who "by both twisting the truth and attacking the caring and bereft, seek to derail any attempt to inject reason into the debate about guns".

What was the comment? This person, "VeroFeritas", had posted an angry and sarcastic comment on how Mr Miller had used the death of his brother to attack thousands of innocent gun owners.

Whether he likes it or not, it's true. These people did not "enable" the felon who committed the murder, they were not with him pulling the trigger, they had nothing to do with it. And yet, these innocents are the people he has convinced himself must pay, for no legitimate reason.

Don't get me wrong - the death of any innocent is a tragedy, no matter the circumstances. But you've got to be one fucked up person to think that the answer is to penalise equally innocent people, and belittle them when they make valid observations.

And "derail any attempt to inject reason into the debate about guns"? Injecting reason into the debate is all that people like VeroFeritas do. People like David Codrea, like Sebastian the "Pro-Gun Progressive", all they ever do is inject reason and logic and common sense, and for that, they are called fanatics, and attacked with such misplaced hate, that you'd expect their attackers to be wearing white robes and burning crosses on their lawns.

Looking at the "What anti-gunners hear" picture, I now realise that they actually believe this shit. They've deluded themselves into believeing that they're the arbitrators of reason and logic, and believe that shouting down legitimate criticism is the right way to have "Reasoned Discourse".

Take "Assault Weapons", for example. The AR-15 is one of the most popular target rifles and is adequate for defense too, but anti-gun people see the resemblance to the M-16, and say there's "no legitimate reason for it to be in the hands of civilians", picturing, as I said before, a "'Roid-raging Rambo", when in truth, there's thousands of them which are used for several legitimate reasons, including the two I listed.

*sigh*

If the anti-gun contingent is so convinced of their righteousness, then why in the nine hells do they do this? Every time there's a debate, they respond with bigotry, with hate, with unjustified aggression.

If anyone reading this is offended, I'm sorry, but the facts are the facts. What these people do is wrong, and instead of facing that, they unleash hate towards people who are only trying to protect themselves. Those people are called "paranoid", yet the advocacy for their disarmament is because they "might" go nuts and shoot up a mall or a school, which is just as paranoid.

Again, I'm sorry, but I'm tired of the whole damn thing. I've seen good points on both sides of the debate, but the gun owners win out, simply because for the most part, their points aren't wrapped up in slander and bile.

Instead of attacking those you distrust, and only reading the retaliations in their replies, read it all. Look at their facts, don't just dismiss them. I mean, going back to Mr Miller, Feritas did have a point in his reply. However, his reply was angry, based on the slander of a gun shop owner that was the subject of the blog post, and his point was lost in that anger. Mr Miller saw the anger, and ignored the point altogether.

That's kind of the whole thing. Gun owners are slandered left, right and center on anti-gun blogs, and when they do reply, their points are ignored in favour of a minority of angry comments, that antis hold up as "proof" of their slander. Why even start with the slander? Here's a thought - tell the facts, without the name calling and misplaced aggression.

Look at the people you're criticising, not the stereotype you've built up in your mind. Put the hate to one side, and talk to the gun owners you've been attacking. You never know, you might find you have more in common than you think.

Okay, rant over. Discuss if you want.
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Thoughts on Hungerford... [May. 29th, 2008|10:42 pm]
[mood | contemplative]

Since beginning this blog, I've posted a few times about the handgun ban over here, as well as the misinformation that the Gun Control Network has pushed while stifling actual debate and legitimate criticism.

I've posted about various gun enthusiasts in America, as well as various anti-common sense groups such as the Brady Campaign and the Joyce Foundation. I have also mentioned a few times, the people on one of my favourite reading spots, Democratic Underground, who have verbally abused the few true progressives in the "Gungeon".

However, I've neglected an important part of the history of British gun laws, the Hungerford Massacre. To be honest, I didn't know much about this tragedy, having been born less than a year before it. I didn't know about the madman who gunned down several people. I didn't know about the backlash against innocent gun owners.

However, a person on one of the forums I watch knew him, and compared the hatred towards Airsoft to the anger misdirected at the semi-auto rifle owners then. What he says does seem a little different from the "official" story on Wikipedia:

On the subject of Ryan..that's a little close to home.I was with him at the Wiltshire Shooting Centre in Devizes when he brought the AK in,he'd just bought it from Westbury guns in Westbury and got his 300 rounds of steel cased steel core commie block ammo from Dave & Andy at WSC.He didn't have any ammo for the M1 carbine as WSC had none in stock.Ironically enough he couldn't get the magazine into the AK (the tilt and turn method) and got quite arsey when we all took the ###### about it.Of all the shooters there he was always the one who bitched when we used to shoot at coke cans and fag packets on the 100 yard indoor rifle range "They aren't approved targets" etc etc and not once in the 2 years I shot at the same club did he EVER rurn up in combats ...

Had all the facts come out about the hungerford incident the new gun laws probably would never have gone through ,instead there would have been some red faces and sideways promotions in the local constabulary.

Just a few interesting facts that youmay wish to look at when people wonder why I'm cynical...

He had NO armour piercing ammo,he simply had M39 steel cored commie block stuff.Steel cores are used to promote tumblin and for reasons of cost.(this I know to be true as I still have some of the empties from that day at the club that I personally fired through his rifle)

The counter signature on his Firearms application was provided by the police officer who lived next door.

He had previously had his shotgun ticket revoked for "reasons of public safety" but it was returned after his mother made a complaint.

He was shot through the right upper jaw hinge just below the temple leaving no signs of powder burns from a gun publicly stated that was taped to his left hand.(Ryan was a lefty)

Again publicly stated he removed the magazine keeping one round in the chamber that he shot himself with(His 92F varient had been modified for target use and had a disconector sear that prevented it firing without the magazine in place)(I used that very pistol at the club 4 days before he used it in hungerford)

The impinge glass from the fatal shot to his head was on the INSIDE of the window on the floor.(If you want to see what I'm getting at fire a shot at a sheet of glass!)

There are a number of others things that don't add up about the entire incident but here isn't the place as I don't want to go off on what may appear to be an anti establishment rant.
There does need to be gun laws to protect the public and society from the most dangerous people IN society however never in legal history has penalising the honest ever had an effect on the criminal other than to make the honest easier targets.


Okay, before anyone posts to criticise, I'm not making any sort of conspiracy claim, there's enough of that kind of shit around already, what with the "Bush caused 9/11" people.

What I am interested in is honest discussion about the shootings, or at least starting a discussion on it. Probably nobody will even read this, but I'd like to think I tried.
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Covered in BATF(eces) Part Two: My thoughts [Apr. 24th, 2008|04:04 pm]
[mood | contemplative]

Okay, sorry 'bout the wait. Seems like whenever I thought of how to go about this, something else comes along that completely derails my train of thought. I'd like to apologise to David Codrea, who I mentioned this post to in a comment on his blog, since it's taken me so long to get my arse in gear.

Unfortunately, I only know little bits of what's going on, so here's what I've managed to piece together:

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, not content with their infamy after what happened at Waco, Texas, have decided to go after various firearms stores in America for what they deem "willful" violations of the law. They can't define "willful", just that it's being done. So, what is this violation malarkey? Are they selling guns without a background check? Making "illegal" machine guns?

Well, no. Nothing so grandiose.

Seems that the so called violations are nothing more than allowing customers to abbreviate their "Yes/No" answers to "Y/N" and, in some cases, allowing them to put the shortened form of their state.

......Yep.

So, one of these "violators" was Red's Trading Post, the owner of which, Ryan Horsley, has a blog, on which he's detailed some of his plight. Some of the posts on his blog are almost unbelievable. For example, when ATF inspectors visited his shop, one of his customers tried to film them. When he refused to cease filming, the ATF claimed Ryan was "harassing" their inspectors. Riiiight.

So, the trial continues. From what I've heard, the ATF's spent several million dollars on this one case. They've wasted a load of taxpayer's money, just for a simple paperwork error. But then again, that sums up the ATF in one go: a waste of money that shouldn't be there in the first place.

But then something very interesting happens. David Codrea, author of the blog The War on Guns has been following the case for some time. He also lists news articles in which ATF and other Law Enforcement Officers commit crimes for which they recieve a slap on the wrist, if any punishment at all. Some of these include crimes that would have non-LEOs behind bars for decades. It's really quite disgusting.

On the day Ryan Horsley was testifying in court, he was met by David A. Meyer, a US Marshal Judicial Security Inspector. He was threatened with jail under a new law, and was told to pass the same message long to Mr Codrea, that if there's any threats on his site, he'd be jailed.

Thing is, I've read David Codrea's War on Guns page for a few years now, and I've never seen him post a threat against any person. The only thing that comes close is when he suggests that corrupt police be put in prison where they belong. The only people who could actually find that threatening are the aforementioned corrupt police (which, come to think of it, might be what Meyer is getting at).

Okay, I admit I know very little about American laws. However, I'm pretty sure that what Meyer was saying counts as a threat too. So if Codrea isn't actually threatening people, what is he doing?

Well, he's shown his support for Ryan Horsley, who's fighting the ATF's bogus charges all the way.

That's right. A US Marshal was making threats against a good, honest man for not sucking the required amount of Government dick.

Unfortunately, it seems as though Meyer will get away with his crime. Threats against innocent people are okay when you're a Marshal, it seems. That's what amuses me. The Department of Justice can commit any injustice it wants to, but tell the truth a few times, and you've got threats up the arse.

Good luck to Mr Horsley and Mr Codrea. I hope you win your respective fights.
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Covered in BATF(eces) [Mar. 13th, 2008|01:38 am]
[mood | angry]

A few days ago, David Codrea, the author of the pro-gun rights blog The War on Guns was threatened with arrest if he made any threats towards the officials persecuting Ryan Horsley and Red's Trading Post over trivial errors that they falsely claim to be "wilful".

He's suggested that readers make a copy of that post in case anything happens. Since I'm busy this week with the local Opera, I'll add my own comments in a seperate post sometime next week.

For now though, here's Mr Codrea's blog post:

An Open Response to


US Marshal Judicial Security Inspector


David A. Meyer


dave.meyer@usdoj.gov



I understand you took Ryan Horsley aside at the conclusion of trial testimony and instructed him to advise me of the Court Security Improvement Act of 2007, specifically, "Inspector Meyer asked me to contact you in regards to posting any information with the intent to threaten, intimidate, or incite the commission of a crime of violence against that covered official... "

In other words, this:



`Sec. 119. Protection of individuals performing certain official duties

`(a) In General- Whoever knowingly makes restricted personal information about a covered official, or a member of the immediate family of that covered official, publicly available--

`(1) with the intent to threaten, intimidate, or incite the commission of a crime of violence against that covered official, or a member of the immediate family of that covered official; or

`(2) with the intent and knowledge that the restricted personal information will be used to threaten, intimidate, or facilitate the commission of a crime of violence against that covered official, or a member of the immediate family of that covered official,

shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.

`(b) Definitions- In this section--

`(1) the term `restricted personal information' means, with respect to an individual, the Social Security number, the home address, home phone number, mobile phone number, personal email, or home fax number of, and identifiable to, that individual;

`(2) the term `covered official' means--

`(A) an individual designated in section 1114; or

`(B) a grand or petit juror, witness, or other officer in or of, any court of the United States, or an officer who may be serving at any examination or other proceeding before any United States magistrate judge or other committing magistrate;

`(3) the term `crime of violence' has the meaning given the term in section 16; and

`(4) the term `immediate family' has the meaning given the term in section 115(c)(2).'.
Your message has been received loud and clear--along with your warning that you will not hesitate to come down and arrest anyone you suspect of violating this law. Before I give you my reply, I want to make it clear that my response is mine alone. Any retaliation is mine to face, and taking it out on the man who passed your message along at your direction will not be something you can now do outside of a brightly focused light.

That said, OK, I recognize bait when I see it. I'll bite. Here is my considered response. Now that you've snagged me, hang on tight.

First off, if you have anything to say to me, say it directly. Don't go presuming sovereign citizens are your personal messenger boys.

Second, how dare you?

Don't presume to have authority to impose any prior restraint on what I write. Don't presume to warn me about what you will or will not allow me to say.

For you to imply any of my work might be illegal is a vile slander and you know it--if it wasn't, I'd already be in custody (assuming I was allowed to survive the arrest). Hell, you even admitted as much, but qualified that while I hadn't broken any laws, people who comment on this blog might.

That ain't your call, either, Bub. Don't presume to tell my guests what they can say--I run this site, you don't. I don't moderate and pre-approve comments, so if you have a problem with that, take it up with Blogger, which provides this as a standard option.

I've made it clear on numerous occasions that I allow "comments except for those that are...something that could be legally perceived as a threat against a specific person other than myself..."

Those get removed. And I've even warned people against it.

I've also speculated that comments that may be perceived as threatening are invariably posted anonymously, and that trolls doing it could very well be agents provocateur attempting to bring discredit or worse to my site. Heck, they might even work for the DoJ--it's not like you guys don't hang out here at all hours.

But you apparently need to establish a plausible cover story. Let's see--the same mighty BATFU that sends armed invaders smashing into people's homes and businesses is just scared out of their jackboots over what's being said about them on... blogs, so they need to enlist a protector, that would be you, against "Homegrown terrorists".

That would be people like me?

I dunno, Dave. It seems more likely they don't have confidence Judge Lodge will arrive at the verdict they've invested--what--how many hundreds of thousands of dollars in(?)--so they're coming up with Plan B in case they don't get the vindictive satisfaction they crave?

And we know they don't like light being shined on their activities--hell, we knew that when they presumed to authorize whether or not reporters could be present when they conducted public business, and maintained that bloggers were not "Authorized Journalists."

For the record:

I've never threatened anyone nor encouraged anyone else to threaten any one. I don't threaten people.

I've never given out any specific identifiable information about any of the agents, inspectors or witnesses involved in this case.

Now we get to the word "intimidate" and boy, that's kind of like beauty, you know--in the eye of the beholder? I mean, that's kind of like the anti-gun loons who say they have a right to feel safe, like I have any control over how they react emotionally.

So with no watchdog press, and with this edict you're warning me about in practice, "intimidation" might be construed as taking of photographs of government agents in action who end up being witnesses. If this is now verboten, well, there's only one set of lights left to turn off: RKBA (look it up) bloggers.

Now I have on occasion meant to ridicule, like now, and even dare and defy, like..uh...now again.

So if you think you have grounds to arrest me for violating this new law you just had to issue an official warning on, if you think you can prove I'm out there doing anything illegal, immoral or fattening, well, y'all know where my taxes get sent to, so I don't think you'll have any problem finding me.

I think it more likely you're just engaging in one of those color of authority abuses to try to chill free speech. I think BATFU's tired of having their vindictive actions exposed and they wanted you to throw some fear out there to make it stop. Well, hell, why would you expect people who don't respect the Second Amendment to give a damn about the First?

Funny how unintended some consequences are, isn't it? Instead, here I am calling attention to things even louder. Say, do you think Judge Lodge will appreciate hearing about your ham-handedness in this? I'm going to write him and find out.

So here's the thing, Dave. If you want to take this further, just say the word. I won't talk with you on the phone unless I can record the conversation, or in person unless I have an attorney present, but you're free to email me back (dcodrea AT hotmail DOT com) as long as you know I'm going to post it at WarOnGuns. Aside from that, if you want to go even further and arrest me (and why would a US Marshal send me a warning that he was prepared to do just that if that wasn't the ultimate card in your hand?), I do hope you can conduct things peaceably, as I would have no intention of missing my day in court.

At the risk of sounding paranoid (right, BATFU fears people like me and my site visitors?), I want to establish a record that I will not physically resist. If anything transpires that says I did, it will be a lie.

Easy. I've got kids in my house.

So with all that out of the way, I guess there's nothing left to do but present you with this. I bit, so now it's your turn:

http://bp0.blogger.com/_Ll5chfz1qFU/R9GbHmf7vqI/AAAAAAAABZQ/63GGpXtiIEs/s400/WOGBITEMEGRAM.jpg

AFTERWORD:

This warning on the part of a federal marshal is chilling, and it was intended to be. By making specific mention of not just this blog, but of you who comment on it, and by warning us against something we've never engaged in, it's pretty clear what the intent was here.

Unlike many bloggers, I write under my own name. I do so because better men than me pledged their lives, fortunes and sacred honor, and bequeathed to me a sacred inheritance. If I am to consider myself even minimally worthy of their great sacrifices, I can do no less than strive to do the same--albeit with full humility in acknowledging my comparative shortcomings.

But I knew when I got involved in 2A activism many years ago that doing it sincerely would involve potential legal repercussions--from defying the state of California on registering my property, to chiding the City of San Francisco on their elitist hypocrisy and lawlessness. I do this not because I'm self-destructive, but because these are the agents of the state who rely on fear to impose their will, and I'm more resentful of that than I am afraid.

Governments are instituted among men to secure the blessings of Liberty. People should not be afraid of their government. I want to help dispel that fear. And I can't do that if I'm hiding in the shadows. I can't encourage others to do that--which is what we need if we're ever to secure meaningful reforms.

So I long ago made the decision that my Internet activities would be an open book. What I have written cannot be erased--at least by me. The good marshal here is free to look at everything I've ever said on this site and elsewhere, and he'll not find a shred of evidence supporting his decision to warn me--and you, the WarOnGuns correspondents--against committing a federal crime.

It's the same with emails. Many of you have written me and know I always make a good faith attempt to write back. And yes, at times I've wondered if some of my unknown correspondents might be trying to get me to write something imprudent. I've not only never taken that bait, but I don't even use encryption--something I've been urged to do, but my instincts say I will be better able to defend myself if I can demonstrate I've never tried to hide anything.

Regulars here will note that this post is a lot longer than I usually write. I did it because this time--with the specific mention of willingness to make arrests on the part of a federal LEO, I know making a post like this will not only anger him, but will get me as close to the line as I can get--knowing full well that this may still inspire him to increase the pressure, instead of just going the hell away and leaving me the hell alone.

Without meaning to sound paranoid, if the fedgov did decide I'd crossed their line with this and sent someone out to enforce their new edict against me, what do you think the chances are they'd send out someone to the home of a known "gun extremist" to politely ring my doorbell and hand me papers?

I figure my best protection at this point is to either let them cow me into silence, in which case this post would never have been written--or else shine as much light and bang as many pots as I can in case they decide to follow through. That's what I'm doing.

The ball is now in their court.

The floor is now open for comments. Careful now, both in what you say here and in what you say if you choose to email Inspector Meyer. As with so much else, and as he has made abundantly clear, intimidation and threats are the sole province of "The Only Ones," and they will brook no competition.

And if anybody wants to make a copy of this post, just as insurance in case there are repercussions, go right ahead.
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And Again... [Mar. 7th, 2008|05:56 pm]
[mood | contemplative]

A week or two ago, there was another college shooting in America, prompting the local bigots to come out en masse.

Now, I'm not going to go on about the state of gun laws, or anything. It's their law, and they can do what they want with it. What pisses me off, however, is how unconcerned the gun control nuts were for their fellow humans compared to their need to dance in the blood of innocents and use the tragedy to lie.

I mean, before the facts were even known, before the police had even made statements, the Brady Campaign had sent emails begging for money, and telling their subscribers that they wanted more bans and restrictions that they don't need.

Right, now everyone who reads this blog (if anyone still does) knows that I might not be able to articulate my words very well, but I do get my point across eventually. So, before I go into another visceral display of pessimism and righteous wrath, I'd like to say something.

My sympathies are with the families of the victims of the past month's shootings. I wish those wounded a speedy recovery.

Why couldn't Mr Helmke and his acolytes say such a thing? Oh, I forgot, they were too busy LYING about innocent people.

If you're reading this, you'll note that it's a couple of weeks after the shooting. Unlike Helmke, I have the decency to wait until the families of those wounded and killed have had time to mourn. The Bradys, however, had their lies out whithin a few hours.

Not to mention the shite on the forums I read.

As a geek, I read a few forums covering various subjects, one of those being guns. As a progressive, I read Democratic Underground, though I lurk due to the fact I can't be arsed registering to another forum (not to mention remembering yet another frigging password).

I was reading DU that day, and guess who used the tragic shooting as an excuse to attack innocent gun owners? billbuckhead, lynrd_skynrd, zanne, Paladin, people who, if you know the forums, would be called "the usual suspects". Less than a few hours, and they had made snide comments about "gun nuts", "gun loons", and various disgusting accusations. If those people (among others) were any more bigoted, you'd find them marching around in white sheets, burning crosses on gun owner's lawns.

One of the most disgusting things I saw on DU was when one of the pro-gun, pro-common-sense people on the forums was accused of not caring about those shot, when the same pro-gun person's cousin had a blood relative (unclear as to which) who was wounded in the attack. The accuser did not even have the decency to apologise.

To the poster, I hope your relative will be okay. (To the false accuser, I hope you fall out of a plane, and land arse-first on the jagged spire of a cathedral). Note: Since I can't find the thread I read this part on, I was going to delete it. However, I decided to strike it through, so you can still read it. Like both sides in the gun debate, I make mistakes. Unlike the Antis, I don't cover mine up.

One thing that's coming out of all of this, is the push to allow qualified students with permits to carry concealed on campus. These people can carry almost anywhere in their relative states, but if they're attacked in class, they're dead. Sounds like a good idea to at least think about it, yes?

Well, only if you're actually capable of rational thought. In the months since the Virginia Tech shootings, the Brady Campaign and their supporters have:

- Suggested that all college students are drunkards and druggies, and used that to justify rejecting Campus Carry right away, while claiming they were "open to any options".

- Suggested that qualified people with permits should drop out of college instead of being allowed to defend themselves

- Accused the pro-common sense group Students for Concealed Carry on Campus of being paid by the NRA and gun companies.

On the last one, SCCC responded a few weeks ago by giving an interesting proposal: they would let the public see all of their accounts (proving that they have no link with the NRA or anyone else but students), if the Brady Campaign would do the same.

The Bradys have not responded. I wonder why?

As always, feedback, anything I've missed, feel free to comment.
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(no subject) [Jan. 24th, 2008|07:01 pm]
[mood | bitchy]

During the forum discussion that I used for help with my last article, somebody posted part of a discussion that he found, in which somebody described the ordeal of Michael Yardley, the man assaulted by GCN members for his common-sense views on guns. I've copy-and-pasted it, so any mistakes are actually from the original post.

I'll tell you what I think at the end, for the moment though, enjoy:

Micheal Yardley was attacked by an anti-gun mob consisting of members of Mothers against Guns and members of the infamous Gun Control Network. I don't have the relevant copy of Gun Mart magazine anymore-I threw it away ages ago-, in which he gave a detailed account of his ordeal, but I will tell you how he became involved with a confrontation, with the antis below. This incident occurred I think between 1999 and 2003, because the GCN years ago was in its infant stages of development.

Mike was contacted by a member of Mothers against Guns, whose son was killed by gangsters armed with Ingram M-10 or M11 submachine-guns and possibly pistols as well. She wanted him to travel to this anti-gun conference in Nottingham, to talk some sense into members of the public-who would be attending this conference- on the basis he was an ex-British Army officer and Bonefide firearm and shotgun shooter;shooting journalist.

Micheal was astounded that a member of an anti-gun group had contacted him specifically and asked him to give a lecture to those people attending-and so he agreed and left his home and travelled towards Nottingham- not knowing what would happen.

When he got there he was greeted by this woman and the two of them joined an anti-gun march, protesting against illegal weapons held in the hands of criminals.In the hall Yardley went onto the stage and stated that the handgun ban was a farce and further controls on firearms were unneccesary,etc.Unfortunately for him Gillian Marshall-Andrews-the chairwoman for the Gun Control Network-shouted to the proles in the crowd: "He's a gunman, he's a gunman" and soon Yardley found himself hanging onto the chair ug his heels in on the stage-floor, to prevent an angry mob-led by a heavy-set muscular man- from dragging him off stage and throwing him out of the hall.

In the midst of this moronic-nonsense, Yardley shouted at the top of his voice: I am an invited speaker, I am legally allowed to be here because I was invited here to speak".Some of the proles in the crowd said to Marshall-Andrews: "let him speak, let him speak", but the arrogant; ignorant bitch still with her fanatics screamed: "he's a gunman, he's a gunman, he has no right to be here, we didn't invite him here".soon the cops turned up and escorted Yardley and the Conservative MPs away from the hall, but this did not stop the antis hitting and shoving him with their anti-gun placards.

The Conservative MPs were outraged and left in disgust with Micheal and Micheal wrote letters of complaint to Nottingham County Council and Nottingham Police, to show his contempt for the way that he was treated by the antis and for their incompetance in dealing with fanatical individuals from the GCN. Mike apologised to the woman who invited him and left Nottingham, to travel home.

What happened there was horrific, but is reveals much about the Gun Contol Network chairwoman, Gill Marshall-Andrews.

Yardley was welcomed by the person who invited him, but when he actually started to speak, Marshall-Andrews decided that his common-sense suggestions were a threat to the GCN, and started to incite the crowd, calling him a "gunman" for no good reason. That smacks of inciting terror to me. There's a word for that, when you incite terror for political gain, but I can't remember what it is....

According to her, it didn't matter that he was invited, he "has no right to be here" because the GCN members didn't invite him. He was invited one of the people who arranged the conference. And even if he had no right to be there, she certainly had no right whatsoever to assault him.

The Gun Control Network in this country has lied about innocent gun owners, assaulted them, and compared them to a paedophile, all since their group was shit into existence.

They even have an unjustifiable political influence. The chairwoman of their vile little hate group is married to Bob Marshall-Andrews, a Member of Parliament, who brings up the latest lie from his wife's group whenever gun crime is discussed in our Government.

Their group needs to be stopped, and their unreasonable restgrictions removed from the laws of this once-fine country.

Figuratively and literally, "For Good".
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Kee Riced All My Tea, do they ever stop? [Jan. 23rd, 2008|08:30 pm]
[mood | angry]

I realise that I'm a bit late posting again, and I'm sorry to anybody reading this site. No, I'm not dead, though if I were part of the Gun Contol Network, technically I'd be braindead by now.

Yep, this rant's about Britain's most popular hate group again, only this time their stupidity's gone to such high peaks, I was shocked to the point that I'm actually crispy.

In October, there was an article in the Yorkshire Post, detailing the tragic deaths caused by criminal misuse of guns.

Unfortunately, the Yorkshire Post also decided to get a quote from the Grand Dragon of the GCN, Gillain Marshall-Andrews, who wasn't so much concerned about the use of actual guns, as she was about the legitimate use of Airsoft guns.

The article quotes her as saying: "We campaign for tighter gun laws, and the recent Violent Crime Reduction Act introduced a ban on the manufacture, import or purchase of imitation guns.

"But the Act has a bizarre loophole which no-one can understand. It allows for the use of replica guns used in 'airsoft' activities – where people dress up in uniforms and re-enact battles.

"The guns used are exact replicas in every respect, although they are not used with live ammunition, obviously. However, it wouldn't take much to convert them."

As usual, the Gun Control Network leader's statements have a number of lies in them.

First, there is no "loophole". Yes, Airsoft has an exemption to the ban, but what the GCN fails to mention is that the Arisoft community have set up regulations to prevent their guns getting into the wrong hands. The mention of a "loophole" is just something the GCN made up, since they're pissed off that somebody listened to common sense and not them for once.

Second (and this is the important bit), Airsoft guns can not be converted to fire live ammunition, at least not without the idiot trying turning their gun hand into a fireworks display. It's stupid to think you can do it, and it's even more stupid to state it as if it were a fact, as Marshall-Andrews did here.

Well, as you can guess,the Airsofters were up in arms (pun intended). Fortunately, those people are much more civilised than their GCN adversaries (no matter how little they deserve it). So, they get polite letters, informing them that their statement was false, why it was false, and could they please retract it or give the Airsoft community a well-deserved apology?

And of course, the GCN said "Sure, we're sorry, we didn't know about that. We'll do the right thing and retract out statement".

Oh wait.

No they didn't.

Of course they didn't. If they did, I wouldn't be posting about it.

Of the emails I saw sent to the GCN, a few were told that their message "has been forwarded to members for comment", at which point, they were never replied to again.

However, one of the people who sent an email received a reply, stating that "We will shortly be placing information on our website about airsoft weapon conversion. Meanwhile we want to point out that the weapons used in your hobby are dangerous and contribute significantly to gun crime whether or not they are converted."

So, according to their bigoted viewpoint, responsible use of Airsoft equipment is the same as misuse by criminals. What a surprise.

The reply also included statistics of replica gun crime, that (contrary to what they claimed) proved that replica gun misuse had been going down three years before the VCRA came into effect, and the replica gun ban wasn't needed or justifiable at all.

Surprisingly, the GCN did placed information onto their site about airsoft gun conversion. Unsurprisingly, very little of it is either true or even relates to the Airsoft sport in the UK.

Their article references a 2005 article from Japan, about how Airsoft guns can be upgraded to lethal velocities by using Carbon Dioxide canisters. Their screed ends with another attack on the innocent Airsoft community:

"Having created the airsoft loophole the UK's Home Office must reassure the public that it will be impossible for airsoft gun owners to "trick out" their weapons. If no such guarantee is possible then the defence created for the airsoft gun owners should be withdrawn immediately."


The defence that Airsoft was given involved gaining membership at a site, or registering with UKARA, the retail group. Given that the sites in this country do not allow the guns at a power near what are allowed in other countries, the GCN's comments are shown, once again, to be lies.

Even if they had some basis in fact, their article refers to Airsoft guns being converted to fire standard Airsoft ammunition at "lethal velocities". Their chairperson, on the other hand, was ranting about Airsoft guns firing "Live Ammunition", or real bullets. Since it's undisputable that they can't be converted in such a fashion, the unscrupulous GCN still owes the Airsoft community an apology, one which I belive will never come.

After several Airsofters once again complained to the GCN, they were given no reply. Maybe because the GCN are on holiday, maybe because they don't care about lying after having done it for eleven years non-stop, we don't know.

You'll have to decide for yourself.
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Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies.... [Oct. 20th, 2007|06:22 pm]
[mood | pissed off]

A few days ago, I read a topic on an Airsoft forum I frequent, with a link to the website of the most popular hate group in the United Kingdom.

Now, this doesn't normally happen. The Gun Control Network doesn't really say much that deserves the attention of Airsofters (or to be frank, anybody in the UK), and as far as I know, they haven't called us paedophiles or assaulted us, so we're luckier than handgun owners in that respect.

As I mentioned some time ago, the UK Government has been pressured to do something about the (incredibly small) amount of crimes committed with replica firearms. The Violent Crime Reduction Act, which came into power this month, bans all replicas that look like a real gun, which unfortunately includes Airsoft.

During the time when the law was being amended, several members of Parliament stopped a necessary amendment doing through. This vital piece of the law would have given a much-deserved exemption to Airsoft. However, due to members of the GCN making complaints, Airsoft was denied an exemption. (After all, giving the hobbyists an exemption would be "doing the right thing", and we can't have that, can we?)

After a few days of fighting, the Home Office agreed that the sport of Airsoft should get at least a specific defense. This gives them protection like the exemption, but can be withdrawn for any reason.

When the section banning replicas came into power in October, the Airsoft community was happy, knowing they were given the protection they deserved, although not in the manner it should have been. On the other hand, the Gun Control Network was very disappointed that common sense had prevailed.

In their bigoted tirade, they make several unfounded criticisms of the Airsoft defence, among other things. Here's a few of my favourite parts of their attack, and my responses:

Anti-Gun Hate Group: "However, the Home Office has been persuaded by the Airsoft Skirmishers, a group whose hobby has only been in existence for about 10 years"

Truth versus Evil: First of all, what the hell's that got to do with anything? The Gun Control Network's been around for the same amount of time. The only difference is, the Airsofters aren't habitual liars.

AGHG: "it should still be permissible to buy extremely realistic versions of the most threatening guns in the world, including assault rifles such as the Kalashnikov AK-47."

"...Anything that looks like a real firearm, and airsoft enthusiasts insist that their guns must do so, will be as threatening as a genuine gun."

TvsE: Here's two statements that are kind of annoying. Since there's no legitimate reason to ban Airsoft replicas, their main argument is how RIFs used in Airsoft are "threatening". This statement pretty much sums up this group. Even though they have no evidence, they immediately cojure up images of Airsofters threatening people with their guns, an image that, if you know anything about the sport, has absolutely no basis in fact.

AGHG: "The Home Office seems to have accepted this as a defence, and a scheme has been devised which would allow airsoft guns to be sold to bona fide skirmishers. GCN is not convinced that this self-administered scheme will work effectively enough to prevent some of the guns falling into the wrong hands."

TvsE: Right, here's what I don't get. The Association of British Airsoft, who fought for the defence that the hobby got, proposed a registry of Airsofters who were eligible for the defence, and could buy guns. Outside of buying from a shop that can confirm your eligibility, there's no way to get guns except importing, and that's checked by Customs too. The Home Office accepted this plan, so why cant the GCN?

AGHG: "A dangerous and unnecessary loophole has been created and GCN will be monitoring the situation carefully."

TvsE: Riiight. And we all know they'd never lie, right? </sarcasm>

The Gun Control Network began after Dunblane, founded with the best of intentions: to ensure that gun violence was stopped. However, within days of the Dunblane tragedy, the members rode a wave of sympathy and incited hatred towards the innocent gun owners of the UK.

This "comment" on their site is another example of their shameless bigotry. Not content with ruining the collector's hobby, they are now out and out lying about the sport in an effort to destroy it. I wouldn't be surprised if they started up the lie about "Airsoft guns can fire real bullets!"

Yes, I'm sure the have good intentions. However, the only road they're paving is the one every one of them will walk down.
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BATFE(ces) [Aug. 26th, 2007|06:08 pm]
[mood | pissed off]

Okay, now most of the time, I'm just sniping at individuals, or groups that do nothing but lie. The Bradys, Jack Thompson, the list goes on. However, this time, I'm going after a US Government agency. An agency, it seems that is devoid of anything close to a moral center.

I am, of course, referring to the BATFE, or "Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives" (an ideal name for a store, not an agency, but that's governments for you, always regulating the good things in life).

The BATFE are probably the most hated group in America. They are responsible for enforcing firearms regulations throughout the country. If you've ever applied for the ability to buy a Title 2 NFA item such as a machinegun, it's them who handle the background check. So why are they hated?

Because they're wankers.

First of all, they're responsible for making sure nobody makes an illegal machinegun (the ownership or civilian manufacture of them being banned in 1986). In more than one case, they've had a person arrested, and a video made of their findings.

However, the modifications to the gun are not made by the defendant, but by the BATFE, who claim that it was the defendant's intention to make a similar modfication. If the person (somehow) is acquitted, his or her gun is destroyed as an unregistered machinegun (never mind that it was the BATFE's fault in the first place).

There's a civil rights group, the Jews for the Preservation of Firearm Ownership that has produced a documentary about the BATFE, called The Gang. Also linked on the documentary site are several of the Congress hearings regarding BATFE abuses, which have been going on for years.

Given enough time, I could research enough about the BATFE to dedicate a whole website about the myriad of things that make them dickheads, but then you'd never see any more of my crappy rants. Instead, I'd like to talk about what's happening to FFLs in America.

An FFL is the official name for a Federal Firearms License, which is the permit used to allow people to sell firearms as a business (hence my other name for it, "Firearms Flogging License"). If you've ever been to any kind of shop in America that sold real guns, that's a FFL licensed shop.

Over the last few years, about eighty percent of FFLs have been closed by BATFE for violations of their rules, including selling to prohibited persons. However, they seem to be particularly obsessed with closing a shop in Idaho called Red's Trading Post, run by a Mr Ryan Horsley.

And what is Ryan's horrific crime? Well, a few of his "violations" include allowing "N" and "Y" instead of "No" and "Yes" on Forms for firearms purchases, among other minor things.

WHOA! MOVE OVER AL CAPONE!!!!!!

Not only that, but the BATFE have investigated twice, whcih is something they aren't meant to do. Once they found violations, the next time they'd see if they were "willful" violations. (And if they weren't, they'd just say they were, and add them anyway.)

Ryan has even quoted a BATFE inspector who said "We're going to keep doing this until we find something". Now, that doesn't sound like a vindictive arsewipe, of course not.

Here's part of a visit described in Ryan's blog:

The ATF came in yesterday at about 10 a.m. and stayed until around 6 p.m. attempting to find violations to submit to the judge. They did give us a pass on one of the violations. A customer wrote his middle initial instead of a full middle name. We let them know that the customer does not even have a middle name and only an initial. They still told us they would let that pass. So, I am overflowing with gratefulness right now.
I questioned Linda Young (the Area Supervisor) on the last violation that we did not have our records in PERFECT alphabetical order, stating that if you wanted to read the policy literally then we should have to keep all of our records in full alphabetical order and not separated by year despite this being the way nearly all records are kept by dealers. She agreed and then stated that she had the authority to overrule procedures and policies. When I brought up the issue that [an] ATF Inspector ... advised us to keep them in the previous order that we were cited for, she then stated that inspectors did not have the authority to overrule procedures and policies.

Why was [the inspector] not cited or suspended for providing us incorrect information? We were cited for a violation on incorrect information.

I'm pretty sure that if the BATFE wasn't a government agency, this would be legally defined as harassment, among the other things they've done. So why, in the name of all that is unholy, has the BATFE not been investigated fully and where need be, reformed?

Hell, at one point, a customer was photographing the BATFE inspectors. They immediately complained to the judge that Ryan was "harassing" them. How the hell is letting a customer photo them "harassment"?

You can read more on Ryan Horsley's struggle with the BATFE at His weblog. I'd recommend buying a hat.
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"Reasoned Discourse"? My Arse. [Aug. 23rd, 2007|06:02 pm]
[mood | pissed off]

Earlier in the year, the Brady Campaign added a blog to their website, so that they could invite discussion on their latest lies news, posted by their spokesperson, Paul Helmke.

Unfortunately for them, some people of the common-sense persuasion (ie, those who think gun bans are wrong) started debunking every one of their claims. By the time the comments were disabled, there were at least three people telling the truth for each person who tried to back up the Brady Campaign.

A couple of months ago, Helmke posted the first of three posts, each of which allegedly contained a quote taken totally out of context quote from one of the pro common-sense people on his blog, intended to "attempt to demonstrate how contentious any discussion on gun restrictions is, and how difficult it can be to engage in civilized, honest, and open conversation."

(Of course, the Brady Campaign has never tried to "engage in civilised, honest, and open conversation" since they were founded, but let's not get into that.)

The first post in this "Reasoned Discourse" series was a quote from "melody", which was quite an abusive comment. Now I don't condone what she said, but given the abuse that Helmke's supporters were giving in the same topic, I think that focusing on the pro common-sense people is kind of hypocritical.

The next time he posted, many of his debators stated that they couldn't find the "quoted" post. This was because the "quote" came from a post blocked by their filter (which also blocked posts with more facts than their supporters could refure, on several occasions).

The last time Helmke "quoted", it wasn't a post at all, but quoted from a fax sent to the Brady Campaign.

So, when it was claimed that he had quotes from their site, one was not actually posted (so it had no context), and another wasn't even a post on the site. So, in order to claim that there was no "Reasoned Discourse" on his blog, he had to lie like the Bradys always do. And the result? Commenting is now closed on the Brady Campaign blog. Once again, they run form the truth like the cowards they are.

Okay then, let's see how Helmke likes it.

The blog still has the comments from each of their "Articles" that were posted before they stopped people telling the truth on their website of lies turned commenting off.

I'll quote the Melody quote, then I'll list a few of the choice quotes from the resident liar/apologists, "kelli", and "macca", from the same topic the quote was taken from.

Since there's no topic that the other two were posted on, I'll just take quotes from the "Reasoned Discourse" part 2 and 3.

Let's see how they like a taste of their own bullshit medicine.
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Ah well... [Jul. 1st, 2007|04:57 pm]
[mood | pissed off]

Looks like Jack won't have to lie about Manhunt 2 anyway, as it's been refused a rating by the BBFC, effectively banning it.

Funnily enough, they allowed Hostel Part 2 to be release, despite it being more graphic, or so I heard.

Sorry to the few people who read here, I've been a little preoccupied lately. I'll post some new stuff soon.
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I've just felt a great disturbance in my mind... [May. 9th, 2007|04:29 pm]
[mood | drained]

...as if millions of brain cells suddenly cried out in terror and then were silenced.

No, for once I'm not bitching about the gun control advocates that I usually do. This rant's about the insane John Bruce "Jack" Thompson.

Not long ago, Jack Thompson lost a lawsuit to stop the sale of Rockstar North's newest game, Bully. Not only did he lose said suit, but he faced jail time for contempt of court.

Take Two (Rockstar's publisher) filed suit against Thompson to stop him trying to block Manhunt 2 and Grand Theft Auto 4 in a similar fashion. In retaliation, Thompson countersued under the RICO anti-racketeering laws, claiming Take Two was at the top of a vast conspiracy to discredit him (though with that attitude, he seems to be doing it fine himself).

They agreed on a settlement in court. In exchange for T2 dropping the contempt charges, Thompson agreed to never block their games again.

More recently, the Florida Bar wants Thompson to accept a 91-day temporary disbarment over what is assumed to be his misconduct in the Strickland versus Sony case, where he (falsely, of course) claimed that an 18-year old that killed two police officers and a dispatcher did so because he played Grand Theft Auto.

Thompson's replied to this by claiming that "...this demand that Thompson receive the vocational death penalty is based upon The Bar’s secret collaboration with Blank Rome lawyers who represent Take-Two, the makers of the Grand Theft Auto murder simulation games."

So, he claims that it's another conspiracy. I wouldn't be surprised. If I started lying about the assholes I've put on this site like he constantly does, I wouldn't be surprised if they started a conspiracy against me. Seriously though, Jack Thompson has some serious mental problems. The latest crazy idea he has proves that.

The American fast food restaurant chain Wendys has made a series of toys based around the Nintendo Wii console. Okay, sounds fun. Not to Jack.

When Manhunt and the GTA series got unwarranted criticism heaped upon them, Jack Thompson was the one who started the trend of calling them "murder simulators", a term more unjustifiable than "assault weapon".

Rockstar's Manhunt 2, a game that was a victim of this unscrupulous labeling, is being released on the Wii. According to Jack, Wendy's Wii toys are evidence that they support games like Manhunt 2.

Here's how Gamepolitics puts it:

a.) Manhunt 2 is what Thompson calls a “murder simulator”

b.) Manhunt 2 will appear on the Wii (among other systems)

c.) Wendy’s is promoting the Wii, therefore;

d.) Wendy’s is promoting Manhunt 2, which promotes murder
(Don't think about it too hard, or you'll get a serious headache.)

It's pretty much obvious to anyone now that Thompson is totally insane. Now that he's been prevented from lying about Rockstar in court (something that he should have been called on a LONG time ago), he's taking any action he can to attack anyone associated with the games industry, using Rockstar as an excuse.

Sadly, this isn't the end. His unscrupulous counterpart in the UK Parliament, Keith Vaz, is rumoured to be inviting Thompson to try and repeat his lies over here.

I'm tempted to tell every Member of Parliament I can about Vaz and his unsavoury friend, so Thompson can get the audience he deserves.
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Thoughts on hate... [Apr. 24th, 2007|03:23 pm]
[mood | aggravated]

Last week's been rather heated in America. As you know, a gunman shot over thirty people at Virginia Tech. It's been revealed that he had mental problems, and should have been ineligible for a firearm, except that it wasn't noted on the NICS background check system.

Sadly, proper common sense is at an all time low, and anti-gun "common-sense" is soaring, combined with a lot of misplaced hate towards innocent gun owners. Here's a few examples.

On Democratic Underground, the bigots are in full swing. Scumbag regressives like "billbuckhead" and "Paladin" are leading attacks on the gun owners there. Most of the people there with a bit of common sense are having their arguments rejected as "NRA talking points", but it's far more likely that the person making said accusation simply cannot refute the truth. People who insist on using misuse of guns as an excuse for unjustifiably restricting the innocent have no rights calling themselves progressives.

There's been several attacks on the law-abiding by unscrupulous gun control advocates and reporters, the worst of which was the report made about Wayne Chiang.

When the Virginia Tech shooting was being reported, a few reporters took it upon themselves to identify the shooter. Geraldo Rivera, a reporter for Fox was one such reporter. This is the same Fox Reporter that despite being anti-gun, hypocritically carried an illegal gun in Iraq, not to mention giving away soldier's locations on TV.

Rivera's "report" involved him showing the camera a Facebook Profile of an Asian man with several guns, all the while talking about how "dangerous" the man looked, and making comments about his guns.

Aside from the obvious about him slandering gun owners, there was just one problem: the man he was slandering was not Seung-Hui Cho, the shooter at Virginia Tech, but Wayne Chiang, a VT Graduate who was miles away at the time of the shooting.

Not long after he was accused, Mr Chiang was the subject of many death threats online. He has a Livejournal where he explained that he was not the shooter, leading to several absent-minded people telling him he shouldn't have made the sites for publicity.

As far as I know, he's had those sites for years. If they're publicity stunts, then they're damn well planned ahead of time. And no, I'm not stupid enough to berate him.

In response to his complaints, the TV Station CTV produced a "Report", stating that he looked like the shooter, and that all Asians "look alike". Here's a suggestion: Go to that link, and look at the pictures of Mr Chiang, and the video of the shooter. If you still think they look alike, then check into a mental hospital, NOW.

What happened to Mr Chiang is a perfect example of hate towards gun owners. I mean, looking at the basic facts, it seems that Geraldo didn't even bother to check that it was the shooter's Facebook that he was looking at. That's either bigotry towards Asians, or to gun owners, neither of which should be acceptable.

Even after he gave a statement, several people bugged him about the amount of guns he had, something which has no bearing on the subject. Whether or not he has guns is irrelevant. What is relevant is that he isn't a maniac like Seung-Hui Cho, yet was attacked without justification anyway, like every other innocent gun owner was.

There is a rumour that Mr Chiang is going to sue Geraldo and Fox for slandering him. I personally hope that he does so and wins, as this kind of journalistic shite shouldn't ever be allowed to be broadcast.
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I am Jack's total lack of surprise... [Apr. 17th, 2007|10:01 am]
If anyone's read the last post I made, you'll see my predictions for the Brady Campaign lying about this latest tragedy.

Well, I was right.

Their latest press release states: "We have now seen another horrible tragedy that will never be forgotten. It is long overdue for us to take some common-sense actions to prevent tragedies like this from continuing to occur."

First thing, the bodies of these innocent people are barely cold, and these liars talk about their irresponsible laws like they would have made a difference.

Okay, from what I know, the shooter was there on a student visa, which as far as I know, precludes him from buying a gun. So, that "common-sense" law didn't work.

Not to mention that the law banned guns on campus. Not only did he break that law, but he could do it knowing that nobody could defend themselves.

It's unscrupulous vultures like the Brady Campaign that make me sick. I don't doubt that they're jumping for joy right about now.

You see, not that long ago, one of their supporters claimed that ...it's going to take the kind of massacre that kills lots of children. That's the only way we are going to see progress". They've got what they wanted. Innocent people are dead, and all they can think about is attacking equally innocent people.

Not to mention that the laws they prescribe are laws that don't deserve to be called "progress".

As I said before, two wrongs never make a right. No moral person can ever use this kind of tragedy to attack any kind of progressive freedom. A person who can legitimately call themselves a progressive would never demand the irresponsible bans that the Bardy Campaign demands.

Sadly, as the Brady Campaign, most of the Democratic Underground, and dozens of narrow-minded bloggers have proven, when it comes to guns, morality and progressive attitudes are still a long way off.
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VA Shooting... [Apr. 17th, 2007|12:18 am]
[mood | contemplative]

A few hours ago, I saw a news report about the recent shootings in Virginia. My sympathies are with the families of the victims.

Mind you, not all people are thinking about the families right now:

Almost immediately, on Democratic Underground, a topic was started to discuss gun control. Unsurprisingly, the current posts are mainly from unscrupulous gun control advocates, with a few gun owners trying to insert a little reason and common sense.

According to a few people, Jack Thompson has already been on the US News channels, blaming videogames, and I don't doubt that within 24 hours, we'll have the Brady Campaign lying their collective arseholes off about assault weapons, or some other term that they can make up.

Why? Why is it that whenever there's somebody shot in America, the Bradys are the first to dance in the blood of innocents and shout prayers to the Dark God of Gun Control?

I'm willing to bet that they'll start off demanding "sensible" laws like the Assault Weapons Ban, and "Gun Show Loophole" bans (i.e. things that are about as sensible as sticking your tallywhacker into a hungry lion's mouth), and other restrictions on the law-abiding.

Okay, I'll say this. This person shot over thirty people. Yes, this is in all likelihood, the largest shooting in an educational facility in America. No, that doesn't justify or require irresponsible restrictions on the law-abiding.

There's going to be all sorts of people trying to blame someone for this, more than likely the scumbags from the VPC and Brady Campaign will blame gun owners.

First and foremost, the blame is for the shooter. If he was supposed to be unable to acquire a firearm, the person who helped him should assume part of the blame. No good or reasonable person should ever consider blaming gun owners. They are just as innocent as anyone who was hurt or killed.

This is an emotional time for everyone. There will be all sorts of lying gun control advocates demanding "sensible" restrictions (an oxymoron if there ever was one). Show them true common sense, at the same time you show them the door.

The law-abiding gun owners of America are not to blame for this. Don't unjustifiably penalise them.

Two wrongs never make a right.
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