Non-resistance - the path to getting shot

New Haven Register - Three people shot in separate overnight incidents The Left loves the refrain, don't resist crime, cooperate with criminals for your safety. This is a lie.

At about 1:15 a.m., Osayande Johnson, of Bridgeport, was walking with a friend on Humphrey Street, near the Interstate 91 overpass by State Street when the gun man approached them, said Sgt. John Velleca.

The robber snatched the victim's chain and then shot him.

"It doesn't appear that he resisted," Velleca said.

Violent criminals are not going to turn non-violent in reaction to your pacifism. Time and again I read stories about people who cooperate and are still shot.

Self-defense is a human right. Being a sheep is not the highest aspiration you can hope for, and is no guarantee the wolves won't come to call.

Good Guys 1, Bad Guys 0

WECT TV6 - WECT.com - Wilmington, NC news and weather - Fatal Shooting in Columbus County In another case where the press (and the cops) can't tell the victims from the criminals, we have story of a domestic disturbance with as happy an ending as I have seen.

The sheriff's office says a man is dead after trying to break into his girlfriend's home on Robbie's Lane in Riegelwood.

The [goblin], 23-year-old Devon Tyrell Brown, was shot and killed early Sunday morning.

He was no victim. He was engaged in a criminal act - breaking into his girlfriends home, where he was obviously not welcome. The girlfriend's uncle shot him.

And the cops?

"Anytime a family member loses a loved one, they're all victims. We look at domestic violence very carefully and take it very seriously," Sheriff Chris Batten said.

Buy a clue buddy. This guy was a violent criminal, stopped by lawful self-defense. (The sheriff expects no charges to be filed.)

You can let the reporter know the definition of victim by writing to Kelli O'Hara

A Gun Buy-back, Chicago Style

Xavier Thoughts: Robin Hood of the Gun Buy Back What could you do with a 100 dollars for any old piece of scrap metal? (Well, not quite any piece of metal.) A gun club used it to raise money for a few projects.

Well the first problem with gun buy backs is that they get the wrong guns.

Now, Chicago officials would probably tell you this program is helping to get guns out of the hands of criminals in one way or another. Well, the average age of the folks waiting in line there was about 60 and I’m not sure anyone there didn’t have at least some gray hair. Heck, tne fella next to me was on oxygen and at least one lady had a cane. These were law-abiding folk. Typically, they were there with a gun that had been in the attic or closet for the last thirty or forty years. They were not criminals or dope slingers who would use a gun to victimize anyone.

So what did the money go for?

The last five of the cards are going to be spent at Darrell’s Custom Guns in Cayuga, IN for two CZ bolt-action .22s to be given away to two lucky kids participating in the NRA Youth Shooting Camp coming up over the first weekend in August.

All of the money (and then some) will be spent purchasing ammo for the kids to use during the camp or the rifles. The camp, located in Bloomington at Darnall’s, is the longest running NRA Youth Shooting Camp in the nation.

All supported by mayor Richarad Dumbbell Daley of Chicago, and whoever provided the money.

Dead Woman Didn't Qualify for Restraining Order

Man faces murder charge in ex-girlfriend's shooting -- baltimoresun.com The police were at her home on Friday because her ex was there and would not leave.

Later that night, she saw a court commissioner about obtaining a restraining order against Butler but was told she did not qualify for one, friends and relatives said.

The court officials bureaucrats are "not commenting" on why that is.

Of course, it is unlikely that a piece of paper would stop someone bent on murder, but they do work some of the time. What she really needed was a bit more in the way of a safety plan.

So now there is a dead woman, an orphan, and a man facing a very long time in prison, because he couldn't accept the fact that it was over. Good going.

Babes With Bullets

Babes With Bullets - Women Having Fun With Guns - by Debbie Ferns Nice web site, and check out the video from NBC Nightly News.

Illinois School District Starts Trapshooting Team

Shots signal new era: Illini West Scholastic Clay Target team benefits from Sunday fundraiser Who would think that a school district in Illinois would be so pro-gun? Not me. Just goes to show that Chicago (and Mayor Dumbbell) don't speak for the whole state.

A brand new high school, formed by merging three smaller schools, and a brand new trapshooting team.

Right now, the Illini West clay target program has 15 members -- 11 boys and four girls. Keith Hartweg, head coach of the scholastic gun program, came up with the idea after reading about similar programs in "Guns & Ammo" magazine. He approached the school board about the program in April, which received unanimous approval from the board. There were no similar programs available in LaHarpe, Dallas City or Carthage.

"This is something totally new," Hartweg said. " We appreciate the board's wisdom. It's a sport for kids that can't necessarily run fast or knock someone down on the football field."

So while Canada tries to kill scholastic shooting, Illinois fosters it. Whodathunkit?

University of Toronto Turns Its Back on 88 Years of Shooting

University of Toronto gun range to be silenced The politically correct are shutting an 88-year-old gun range.

"Universities, I think generally speaking, have come to the conclusion that there is no place for firearms on campus, period," university spokesman Robert Steiner told CBC News.

Typical Leftist weasel wording. Referencing everything from Columbine to Virginia Tech, they claim that this decision has been 10 years in the making.

Of course it is faulty logic.

Kris Coward, one of the 400 members of the university's Hart House rifle and revolver clubs, says there's no connection between sport shooting and violence in the community.

The truth is these guys making this decision don't like guns, are probably afraid of guns, and want the eeevil guns to go away.

Four Stories of Self-defense

Charlotte Observer | 07/29/2007 | Forced to kill: 4 stories of survival Not the kind of thing one usually sees in the MSM.

At least four times this month, would-be crime victims in Charlotte fought back against people trying to rob them. Two suspects were killed, two injured.

25 shootings from 2001 to 2006 in Charlotte were deemed justified. ("If it only saves one...") Four stories are covered. The crime, the shooting, the aftermath.

Hats off to the Charlotte Observer.

The Shooting Sports: Mounted Cowboy Shooting

Pistol-Packin’ Preacher rides into town for ‘Church,’ shooting competition It should be no surprise that people who like horseback riding and cowboy action shooting should come up with "mounted cowboy shooting." This is an interesting view of that sport.

Covering a cowboy preacher, named Gunn, is a great entry to this community.

After the service, Gunn and other participants from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and South Dakota climbed atop their horses for the shooting finals. The local chapter of that organization, Arcadia-based Mounted Justice, organized the event.

Cowboys and cowgirls fired pistols at balloons while steering their horses through an obstacle course of barrels and cones. Riders are docked points if they miss a target, and those recording the fastest times can claim points toward a berth in the world finals of the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association.

Worth a look.

One Car Crash, Three Perspectives

A tough but moving read. Don't expect a happy ending.

Teenage drinking and driving in small town America causes altogether too many problems.

The first is the cop - first on the scene

The second is the EMT/Paramedic who arrived a few minutes later

The last is a nurse at the local emergency room

Don't know if sending this to young kids adults will do any good or not. (I keep thinking of anyone under 25 as being a "kid." I think it is a sign of old age.) [Hat tip Tam]

Update: A reaction to the reaction

All the new fiction ...

... seems to come in more than one volume. I suppose this is to be expected given the hype and hoopla lavished upon various series lately.

Some series work - Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, even Spiderman (though they should have stopped at 2) - while others (like The Matrix) are pushed too far.

I suppose you can't blame David Weber. He created a series - Honor Harrington - by accident. He obviously modeled her on Horatio Hornblower. He even started in the middle the way the Hornblower series was originally written. The Honorverse is truly a masterpiece of science fiction. But the point is, each novel is complete, can be taken by itself in any order. They make more sense in order, but then most things do.

That he created the Hell's Gate series as a series is probably not too surprising, but it doesn't work. The end of the first book was more like the end of the first chapter - nothing was resolved. By the end of the 2nd book - Hell Hath No Fury - I don't really give a damn.

Lois McMaster Bujold wrote one of my all-time favorite series, The Vorkosigan novels. She then went on to write the Challion books - all three are in the same universe, but they are three independent novels. (and it is a fascinating universe) It makes sense to read them in the correct order, but it isn't required. The Vorkosigan series wasn't even written in chronological order. She came back and filled in some gaps later. So it shouldn't surprise me that she is writing a series - The Sharing Knife. I am half-way through Volume 1, Beguilement, and while I do like it, I can already tell that it is unlikely to end with anything resolved. I am not sure this is a good thing.

Time will tell if this becomes the next Lord of the Rings, or the next Matrix. (The original Matrix was a good movie - perhaps even great. The last two sucked so bad they tarnished the image most people have of the first movie.)

So far as I can tell, you can't turn out novels like a butcher turns out sausages. Or if you do, they will have about the same lasting value.

When is it OK to Drug Kids?

Classical Values :: Drug the children! When the authorities say so of course!

Too Old for Prison

icNewcastle - Bird man is spared jail A "sustained campaign of terror and intimidation" is not enough to get a British man (71-years-old) more than a few months in lockup.

The judge says he is too old.

He wasn't to old to hit his ex-wife in the head with a metal bar or to break windows in her home or to violate a previous restraining order. He now has another restraining order. Yeah, that should work about as well as the first one did.

The British have a real problem with crime and justice. They look for any excuse to turn violent criminals free. This is just another excuse. The UK has too much crime and not much justice.

Some Sanity on Eminent Domain

APP.COM - Another victory in "blight" fight | Asbury Park Press Online In New Jersey of all places, they have started to block the seizing of property for stupid reasons.

Eminent domain should never be used to force people out of their homes in favor of private redevelopment. Public uses, such as roads and schools, have merit. But to shove someone out of their house because a private developer likes the location of the property and can sell it to wealthier people is unconscionable.

And that is exactly what they have been trying to do. Seize a trailer park and turn it into a high-priced housing development, etc.

Anime and Guns

One of the attractions of Anime (and Manga) is the care and detail lavished on the weapons, even if they aren't exact copies of the real thing.

Good Guys 1, Bad Guys 0

KTBS :: Elderly man shoots burglar after being beaten with soda can How is a 93-year-old supposed to defend himself against a 24-year-old thug without a firearm?

Willie Lee Hill told police he saw the intruder while in his bedroom Wednesday night. Hill confronted the man and was then struck at least 50 times with the can.

Hill was knocked unconscious. Covered in blood from the attack, he soon regained consciousness, pulled a .38-caliber handgun and shot 24-year-old Douglas Williams Jr. in the throat, police said.

Hill was treated and released. Williams is in critical condition, and will be charged with several crimes.

Police said he is suffering at least temporary paralysis from the gunshot wound.

Self-defense is a human right.

"Just Give Them What They Want" is a Myth

Youth charged as adult in convenience story robbery - Breaking News from The Huntsville Times - al.com The Left is big on cooperation. They don't like stories that point out it is no guarantee.

A man entered the store and demanded money from the clerk, Ahmed Saeed, 33, police said after the robbery. Saeed gave the robber an undisclosed amount of money and the robber shot Saeed once in the chest before leaving.

Ahmed Saeed handed over the cash and still got shot. (He is out of the hospital and recovering at home.)

The goblin in the story - a 16-year-old - will be charged with first-degree assault and is being charged as an adult because a gun was used. Why not attempted murder? That's what he tried to do, is murder Mr Saeed. Why not federal time on the gun charge?

Cooperation with criminals has not been the best bet for coming away from a crime injury-free in a long time. And the Left never likes to discus what a woman should do if faced with rapist. Should she cooperate? I don't think so.

No Protection

Shooting suspect charged with attempted murder An order of protection was granted on July 16. As usual, the restraining order did nothing.

Eight days later, police allege he fired at least five shots at a car she was driving, before slashing his wrists and stabbing himself in the chest. One of the bullets struck the finger of a child in the back seat.

He had threatened to kill her and commit suicide.

It is a miracle he didn't kill anyone, especially that child in the back seat.

She left him, and has a new boyfriend, and he can't deal with that. (He wanted to kill the boyfriend as well.) What a loser. Life goes on; get over it buddy. Why do these idiots think murder/suicide is the answer? If you want to kill yourself get help. But leave everyone else out of your plans.

Medicine Not Great in Great Britain

Hundreds of hospital fatalities 'avoidable' - Telegraph Pretty dismal results for a system Michael Moore loves so much.

One third of deaths in hospital investigated by a patient safety watchdog could have been avoided, claims a report released today.

Equipment not working, workers not trained, general lack of urgency getting help in some instances....

I guess when the Dems give us socialized medicine, we can look forward to all of this as well.

No Time Served for Domestic Violence

The Harlow Herald - ‘Bully’ beat up his wife So this guy was given a suspended sentence, refused to abide by the strictures of a restraining order, showed "no remorse" for beating his wife, .... But she needs no means to defend herself. This is the UK after all, where you are just supposed to call the police and all your problems go away.

Except they haven't done a damn thing.

The victim was now afraid to leave her property because she feared further violence from the defendant, said Mr Wood [prosecutor].

But crime isn't a problem in the UK (ask the Home office). Guns are not needed by the average citizen in the UK. They can just hide at home in fear, knowing that "the system" will do nothing.

Good Riddance to Bad Rubbish

Why I Fired Professor Churchill - WSJ.com The bastard...

The panels found that Mr. Churchill rewrote history to fit his own theories. When confronted, he asserted he was not responsible. According to one report, "Professor Churchill has, on more than one occasion, claimed that certain acts that appear to have been his were instead the responsibility of some other actor: his editor or publisher, his assistant, or his former wife and collaborator." The report goes on to note that "we have come to see these claims as emblems of a recurrent refusal to take responsibility for errors . . . and a willingness to blame others for his troubles."

The Left will scream that he was targeted for his beliefs and for exercising his first amendment rights. But that would not be true.

If you are a responsible faculty member, you don't falsify research, you don't plagiarize the work of others, you don't fabricate historical events and you don't thumb your nose at the standards of the profession. More than 20 of Mr. Churchill's faculty peers from Colorado and other universities found that he committed those acts. That's what got him fired.

If only this was the last I was to hear of Mr Ward Churchill.

As they say on the moon

"There ain't no such thing as a free lunch!" Robert A. Heinlein's Legacy Interesting article about Robert A. Heinlein, and his impact on pop culture.

Why We Need the Castle Doctrine

Searsport man not guilty of manslaughter for stabbing brother - Boston.com DAs who would send innocent people to jail for defending themselves.

A Waldo County Superior Court jury deliberated less than two hours before returning the verdict [of Not Guilty] on Michael Nickerson, 50.

His crime - in the eyes of the DA? He responded with excessive force when attacked.

If I am attacked, I am going to respond with as much force as I can muster. I will consider none of it to be excessive. The person who attacked me started the confrontation, but I intend to see that ends on my terms. That is, with me alive and safe if at all possible.

Self-defense is a human right.

Democrats Show True Colors on Guns

ANTI-GUN GOOFS | By MICHELLE MALKIN | Opinions | Scott Stringer | Adam Brodsky They hate gun owners, pure and simple, and they didn't even try and hide it in their debate. Michelle Malkin calls them on it.

So when snide Joe Biden confronted a YouTube user who asked Democrat presidential candidates about gun control during a debate Monday night, what unfolded was a Teachable YouTube Moment - the caught-on-tape embodiment of ideological snideness toward the Second Amendment and those who defend it.

Read the whole thing.

Update: Even the LA Times (NOT part of the Right Wing Conspiracy) is getting in on this story. Gun enthusiast doesn't warm to Biden - Los Angeles Times [via NRA-ILA] A fairly nice article about how Biden put his foot in it. He got laughs locally, but hurt himself with gun owners.

UK has a crime problem

BBC NEWS | UK | Violent crime figures rise by 12% The British Home Office loves the British Crime Survey. But not everyone feels it is the most accurate picture of what is going on in the UK.

[Shadow home secretary David] Davis told BBC News the [British Crime Survey or] BCS did not record "various categories of violent crime", including murder and rape, retail crime, drug taking, or offences in which the victims were aged below 16.

Seems like a lot things are missing from the BCS. Maybe the Brits aren't worried about any of those crimes.

The 2 methods of tabulating crime, the BCS and actual police reports, give a very different view of what is happening in Britain.

While the BCS suggested violent crime had fallen by 3%, police records of violent crime increased by 12%.

But never fear, the change - according to the Home Office - is all brought on by reporting changes, and the publics' new-found willingness to report crime. Right.

This comes after the EU found Britain to be a high-crime society. BBC NEWS | UK | UK a high crime country - survey:

The UK is a 'high crime country' with a very high risk of common crime, a European Union (EU) survey suggests.

Now I have to point out that the BBC is not part of the British version of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, so I don't think any of this is overstated.

Self-defense - with a hammer

Clerk Attacks Would-Be Thief With Hammer - News Story - KERO Bakersfield Pretty standard good-guy story, but with video. Go check it out.

Good Guys 1, Bad Guys 0

Charlotte Observer | 07/24/2007 | Store clerk shoots, kills robbery suspect In a clear-cut case of self-defense, "a potential victim" shoots "a would-be robber."

A man entered the store, said he had a gun and demanded money, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said. The clerk confronted the man and shot him once as he lunged toward her at the counter, police said. Officers who responded found the man lying inside the front door. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

LEOs are still claiming it is best to "cooperate." (Really, you know these are men who never consider facing a rapist.) They offer no proof, no studies, no statistics about injury. I think they just don't like other people stepping on their turf, namely shooting bad guys.

Self-defense is a human right. [via KABA]

Meaningless but Fun

You are The High Priestess

Science, Wisdom, Knowledge, Education.

The High Priestess is the card of knowledge, instinctual, supernatural, secret knowledge. She holds scrolls of arcane information that she might, or might not reveal to you. The moon crown on her head as well as the crescent by her foot indicates her willingness to illuminate what you otherwise might not see, reveal the secrets you need to know. The High Priestess is also associated with the moon however and can also indicate change or fluxuation, particularily when it comes to your moods.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

U.N. Sends Rapists Home

U.N. suspends peacekeepers amid sex abuse charges - CNN.com Or as Tam says, they were told to go stand in a corner for having sex with large numbers of girls.

Could it really be this simple?

No, I didn't think so. If stopping crime was as simple as putting up a sign, there would be no crime. Gun free zones do not stop crime. [hat tip to The Freeholder]

Beauty Queen with a Gun

Kansas.com | 07/22/2007 | Miss Kansas USA has roots in nature Nice story about an outdoors woman, who fishes, target shoots, and can't wait to get into hunting.

“Stand Your Ground” Introduced in Ohio

Gun law change draws fire Proposal would ease self-defense rules in Ohio All the usual suspects are claiming all the usual things.

Currently in Ohio, if you shoot an intruder in your home, by law you must prove self-defense to avoid charges.

This changes that to say that if you kill an intruder in your home, you are presumed to be acting in self-defense, and will be immune from civil suits.

"When someone commits an act of self-defense, they can have civil charges brought against them by the attacker," [State Sen. Steve] Buehrer said. "That leads to thousands of dollars in court costs for innocent people. We want to end that."

Lawyers - especially District Attorneys - are opposed. The anti-gun groups have their collective knickers in a knot, and are calling it a "shoot first" law, as they have in every other state. [NRA-ILA]

For other posts on the Castle Doctrine and Stand Your Ground, click on the "Castle Doctrine" link below.

What We Need is Reasonable Baseball Bat Control

Postbulletin.com: Bats, sticks are used in weekend assaults - Mon, Jul 23, 2007 And can you imagine? A construction company left dangerous assault-two-by-fours where anyone could pick them up! Outrageous. <:/sarcasm>

It isn't the object used in the assault that makes it criminal, it is the person using the object. Bats, sticks, knives, lead pipes and tire irons: many things can be weapons. It is the person behind the weapon that is responsible for the act, not the object.

Drunk Shot in Wrong Home

Blind, drunk man shot entering wrong home | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle If you get so drunk that you don't know your home from another, expect bad things to happen.

This guy got into the wrong home, refused to leave - arguing that it WAS his home. He got shot, when he advanced on the home's owner.

Police do not expect to file any charges. The homeowner did nothing wrong, and the drunk has been punished. I wonder if he will learn anything.

Another Home Invader Shot

MyWestTexas.com - Homeowner shoots teen burglary suspect: Boy flees scene, seeks help after being shot with 12-gauge shotgun

In what the Brady Bunch will call a "teen tragically shot," a homeowner defends himself.

"The owner is inside and the 16-year-old breaks in the front window," explained Midland Police Department spokeswoman Tina Jauz. "And the homeowner confronts the suspect in the hallway and shoots him with a 12-gauge shotgun."

The goblin is in the hospital in serious condition.

Charges are not expected against the homeowner, who was checking on his rental property after a string of break-ins.

Homeowner Defends Himself

Titusville Homeowner Shoots Two Men - Central Florida News 13 Two guys attack a homeowner with a pipe and tire iron.

"These two guys with pipes started beating me,” Herring said. “I fought my way into the garage. They came in with me. I pulled my gun and they continued to fight me. I ended up having to shoot them."

One guy is dead. One guy is in the hospital with serious injuries.

The police believe the homeowner, and he has not been charged.

The newspaper can't tell the difference between lawful self-defense and a crime.

This marks the third fatal shooting in Titusville in as many weeks.

Those evil nasty guns. Without them, this homeowner would have been beaten to death.

Good Guys 2, Bad Guys 0.

She Asked Police for Protection, But Was Not Taken Seriously

Life sentences for honour killers The cops will be "disciplined." She paid the ultimate price when her own father, her uncle, and a third man killed her.

Mahmod Mahmod, 52, was told he would serve a minimum term of 20 years.

His brother Ari, 51, also received a life sentence and will serve at least 23 years.

A third killer Mohamad Hama, 30, was told he would spend at least 17 years behind bars.

The religion of peace? More like the religion of intolerance. Her crime of course was to fall in love.

This took place in the UK where self-defense is illegal. (They will split hairs, but 99 times out of 100, if you defend yourself, you will go to jail.) So you can't defend yourself, and you can't rely on the police to protect you.

Cops Behaving Badly Down Under

Cop raped women in custody | Herald Sun It happens all over...

[The cop] pleaded guilty at the Maroochydore Magistrates Court to 24 charges including rape, sexual assault, deprivation of liberty and procuring sexual acts by intimidation.

He was sentenced to 6 years, will be eligible for parole in 2 years. For 24 counts, that hardly seems like Justice. [h/t iFeminists]

Good Guys 1, Bad Guys 0

Homeowner shoots robber Title of the piece says it all.

Homeowner shoots robber who runs away. Police find and arrest robber with help of K-9 unit.

The bad-guy was shot twice, but no word on his condition.

More on the UK and its Culture of Crime

Shop attacked 200 times in 10 years - Telegraph Why bother to report a crime when nothing will be done? Many things have been "decriminalized" to reduce police paperwork and keep people out the criminal justice system.

David Davis, the shadow home secretary, said: "It is outrageous but sadly not surprising that small businesses are failing to report nearly half of crimes.

"The Government has effectively decriminalised so many offences including shoplifting, which is now merely punished by the equivalent of a parking ticket - with only a 50 per cent chance of being paid anyway." [my emphasis. Z-Deb]

But I'm sure the Home Office has great-looking crime statistics.

Of course while demanding "tougher action" from the government, no one on that side of the Atlantic is suggesting that people be allowed to defend themselves.

Girl with a Gun

Girl with a gun: NOISE reporter learns how to fire a weapon for the first time An interesting story. She didn't have a great time, but she did manage to get that introduction to the shooting sports.

Opponent of Castle Doctrine Doesn't Retreat

MySA.com: Self-defense OK for me, but, sorry, not for thee The Castle Doctrine says that if you are attacked you don't need to retreat, but can defend yourself. Rep. Borris Miles, D-Houston, opposed passage of the Castle Doctrine in Texas, but then got into an altercation and did not retreat. Hmmmm.

An altercation ensued during which, according to the Houston Chronicle, one of the thieves threw a pocketknife at Miles. The lawmaker, who has a concealed weapon permit, opened fire. One of the pilferers received a non-life-threatening wound.

The news accounts don't seem to suggest Miles made any effort to retreat from the dangerous situation.

Perhaps the shoe is on the other foot now, for while the Castle Doctrine was passed over this lawmakers objections, it doesn't take effect until September. [NRA-ILA]

She Got a Restraining Order, and then Got Shot

Charlotte Observer | 07/18/2007 | Woman shot, had restraining order The restraining order was granted last week. This week she is in the hospital, and her ex-boyfriend is charged in the shooting. (A four-year-old girl was also injured.)

According to police, about 10:30 a.m. Monday a man fired into a vehicle on Homewood Drive in northeast Charlotte. The shooter drove off in a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities truck, police spokeswoman Julie Hill said.

After the shooting, the suspect returned the vehicle to a city lot on General Commerce Drive and contacted police a little while later from another location, police said. Police arrested him without incident at his east Charlotte home on Rolling Oak Lane.

All too often, people (women particularly) expect that restraining orders will keep them safe, and while they do work some of the time, at other times they are not worth the paper they are printed on.

If you think you need a restraining order, then it is all too likely that you also need a comprehensive plan for your personal safety and your family's safety. I always start in the same place when formulating a security plan.

Of course, having a plan is no guarantee of safety. There is actually nothing in this article to indicate that the woman in question wasn't armed. Just as wearing seatbelts is not a guarantee you won't be injured in a car crash, having a plan for your personal safety is not a guarantee of safety. We are only human, and cannot plan for every eventuality and circumstance. We can however take some action - like wearing your seatbelt while in the car.

I hope this woman recovers, and if guilty, I hope this guy spends a lot of time in jail for attempted murder.

Home Invader Shot

Tempe homeowner shoots suspected burglar What would you do if two people forced their way into your home in the afternoon?

Someone knocked at the door, but the resident of the home didn't answer since looking through the peephole revealed 2 strangers.

He later heard the suspects forcing their way into the home and grabbed his handgun.

He saw the suspects in the living room, and noticed one of them was holding an object that he thought might have been a weapon.

Shot one of the invaders. The injured guy was detained when he showed up at a local hospital with a gunshot wound. The other guy is still on the run.

Self-defense is a human right.

Two Things I Would Love to See

1. A study that proves conclusively that air-travel by kids under 12 causes some debilitating disease, so that all those screaming brats would no longer be in the terminals/airplanes.

2. The people, who determine that your connecting flight ALWAYS leaves from another concourse and gate as far as possible from where your originating flight deplaned, lined up on a wall and shot. (They seem to get extra points for making you run to your next flight if the airport is particularly large and crowded.)

It is good to be home, but the TO-DO list seems to have gotten a lot longer in my absence.

It Seems Violent Criminals Go Free in MA as well

I posted a piece on the UK, and its attitude toward rapists the other day. It seems that the UK isn't the only place where criminals get a break from the authorities.

No Looking Backwards: Thousands of Killers and Rapists Walking Free? It seems the great (sic) state of Massachusetts hasn't bothered to study evidence in 16,000 cases, including 1000 homicides and 6500 sexual assaults.

Explain to us how the National Rifle Association is to blame for the inability of the City of Boston and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to arrest, prosecute, and incarcerate known violent offenders.

As they say, go read the whole thing.

Smoked Goblin? Aisle 5

Pittsburgh gas clerk kills robber demanding cash, cigarettes | AP | 07/16/2007 Who knew? Smoking really is bad for your health.

The robber entered the store just before midnight and pointed a large revolver at the store clerk, demanding the cash and cartons of cigarettes, police said in a statement.

The 58-year-old cashier complied. But when the robber demanded more cigarettes, the clerk reached for his own pistol and shot the suspect in the chest, police said.

Point a gun at enough people, and someday someone will point one right back at you. (And "enough" may be only 1.)

Good Guys 1, Bad Guys 0.

Self-defense is a human right.

In the UK, Rapists Go Free

There are a whole bunch of apologists for the UK and its lack of justice for victims who deny there are problems. But when a rapist gets off with a "slap on the wrist" there is something rotten and it isn't in Denmark.

Scotsman.com News - Opinion - An accomplice to rape So what happens to a kid who gets a 14-year-old girl drunk, rapes her, and has a friend record the incident on a mobile phone? In the UK (or at least Scotland), the answer is nothing.

the Crown decided not to proceed with the case and the perpetrators - Andrew Whitaker, who had sex with the girl, and Callum McKinlay, who filmed it - were given nothing more than a slap on the wrist. Believe it or not, McKinlay showed signs of a promising football career and it was decided that this boy's future could only be damaged by a custodial sentence.

So he has a promising career, and that means he should not be punished for his crimes? And that passes for justice in the UK.

Or as the Scotsman says:

Well, bully for him. Never mind that a child's future, her sanity and integrity had been snatched from her by this one vicious act of evil.

But then they had to find SOME excuse not to prosecute. The British prisons are just too full to bother sending rapists to jail.

And as to the people who maintain the British crime rates are falling, could it be that people have stopped bothering to even report crime?

Yet people, and I do mean the authorities, still have the bare face to ask why rape convictions are dropping. One reason is because victims, especially vulnerable ones like teenagers, who have the courage to act as witnesses, end up feeling utterly crushed, metaphorically raped all over again by smart QCs quite happy to leave victims with their lives in tatters.

Does Justice demand better soccer players? I don't think so.

Newspaper Prints Hysterical Headline

They talk about a "teen" shot, when in reality an armed robber was shot AFTER he shot at a store clerk. Teen In Spider-Man Mask Shot During Store Robbery

The goblin in this story is the teen, "identified by Tampa police as Xavier Pierre Whitehead, 17." Given that he is 17, and he was committing armed robbery with a firearm (a violation of federal law), I would guess there is a good chance he will be charged as an adult, not as a "teen."

But that is not good enough for the good folks at the Tampa Tribune, they had to print a headline that calls to mind a 12-year-old in a Spiderman costume, shot by some evil gun owner. The truth doesn't fit well with their anti-gun bias. A more reasonable headline would be on the order of, "Masked gunman shot during robbery." But then journalism stopped being interested in the truth long ago.

Life Isn't Perfect, But..

A high-speed internet connection helps big time.

I am really impressed with AT&T's service for DSL. Back in Florida it takes about 2 weeks for Verizon to set up a phone line for DSL. AT&T (NOT in Florida!) set things up in 2 days. (And the equipment arrived on the 2nd day too.)

I think this is more reflection on Florida than Verizon. It is hard to get anything done when you pay bottom-of-the-barrel wages, as they do in Florida.

Now to get started on those 80 emails....

Domestic Violence Can Happen to Anyone

Police: Man fatally stabbed by abusive girlfriend People believe they "know" about domestic violence. Mostly they don't.

Authorities say 37-year-old Jacqueline Fletcher was charged with stabbing 39-year-old Calvin Gadsden in the chest eight times inside their basement apartment.

This was not the first time she had stabbed him. She plead guilty in the previous incident in June. And she was in court at least one other time, but the victim did not want to proceed with the case.

Things don't get better on their own. Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse.

"You got a right to protect yourself in Florida."

Intruder shot in home invasion | SavannahNow.com What do you do if you armed intruders are in your home?

Surprising one of the intruders in a hallway, [the homeowner] squeezed the trigger as he tried to understand: "Why are these guys in my house" and "which one of these guys is shooting at me?"

One goblin is in the hospital in critical condition. The other two were detained at the hospital when they dropped the injured guy off.

The title of this piece is a quote from the homeowner. And the police agree with him - there will be no charges against the homeowner.

I love a story with a happy ending

Carjacker Shot to Death After He Kidnaps Couple Car jacker gets what he deserves in the end.

So this goblin car-jacks a couple coming out of a bar. They had no funds available from their ATM card so he drove them to their home.

While the suspect ransacked the home, the homeowner grabbed a hunting rifle and shot the man in the head.

No charges are expected against the homeowner.

Of course they were unable to defend themselves, because they were in a bar. In most states (is it all?) that allow concealed carry they don't allow concealed carry in a bar. I have no idea what the Texas laws are. Now the liberals will go on about how you don't want guns to mix with alcohol, but then they need to step up and provide increased police protection around all bars. But they won't do that.

Anyway, the story ended with the good-guys safe, and the bad guy dead.

Srebrenica - July 11, 1995

As I am still struggling with real life (and the current lack of a high-speed Internet connection) I can only do limited postings. So I give you this (Yes, a REPEAT) about the UN, and its complete lack of ability to stop genocide.

10 years ago, on the afternoon of 11 July 1995, Bosnian Serb troops began the final extermination of the Muslim population of Srebrenica.

London Telegraph: Grief and Guilt at Graveside. The diplomats bemoan the occurrence. Even Kofi Annan *spit* accepts some responsibility on behalf of the UN, but it is not enough.

The Useless Nitwits at the United Nations don't want the people of the world to have access to small arms (things like AK-47's or FN/FAL rifles). Yet Srebrenica demonstrates to the world that the UN will not protect those people when they need protection.

Srebrenica was to have been a UN enforced "safe area." It became a death trap.

When the Serbian onslaught rolled through Srebrenica, it made a mockery of United Nations Security Council Resolution 819, passed in April 1993, establishing it as a "safe area' after an earlier brutal offensive. Resolution 836 "guaranteed" protection for Srebrenica by "all necessary means, including the use of force", stipulating that "all military or paramilitary units would either withdraw from the demilitarized zone or surrender all their arms." The battered conclave was put into the care of the UN's Dutch battalion in February 1995.

Instead of a safe area, Srebrenica under relentless shelling became a nightmare zone. The town was teeming with refugees, many living on the streets. As the Serbs prepared their final solution to the siege, they blocked most UN aid convoys into Srebrenica, cutting off food shipments, medical supplies and even the supply of shoes. The Serbs confiscated cooking salt from UN aid convoys, replacing it with industrial salt to poison the townspeople.

The safe areas became UN-run concentration camps.

Some accounts hold that even though the use of force was authorized in advance, UN troops offered NO Resistance to the Serbs.

After the city was overrun, mass executions began. Did the UN try to stop them? No.

The UN Dutch battalion was even giving the Bosnian Serbs the fuel to drive the buses that brought the victims to the execution sites and the bulldozers which ploughed the corpses of their victims into the ground. [Ref.]

But the UN (and Amnesty International and many others) believe that citizens should be disarmed - as they were in Srebrenica, as they were in the Warsaw Ghetto, and in many other places genocide has been carried out. They say that the UN or the "International Community" will come to your aid. To the people who say this, I would ask them to name 3 places in which this international community came to anyone's aid in time to prevent most of the atrocities from occurring.

Earlier in the year, we observed the anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz. The speeches were about "learning the lessons of history," to ensure the horrors would not be repeated. But they have been repeated, over and over again. And over and over again, a disarmed populace is left at the mercy of those bent on genocide. Srebrenica is only the one we are talking about today. Someday our attention will return to Darfur, or we will remember the Hutu/Tutsi conflict. But I doubt seriously that the international community will ever come to the aid of those being exterminated by their own governments.

Real Life

Will be interfering with Blog posting for a while. I will try to post something every few days as time permits. In the meantime, visit the folks on the "Blogs of Interest" list, and especially the Gun Bloggers. (Below on the sidebar)

Defend Yourself - Get Sued? Not in Missouri

Home defense rights fortified: Home defense rights fortified: A new law gives more protection to homeowners who use deadly force on intruders. This is about a new law protecting people who legally defend themselves. It is the Castle Doctrine.

In 2001 a man defended himself from attack in his own home, killing his attacker.

In 2002, even though the homeowner was never indicted (it was CLEARLY self-defense) the dead-guy's family sued for wrongful death.

In 2004 the suit was thrown out.

Under a bill signed into law by Gov. Matt Blunt on Tuesday, the families of people who were killed while invading a home would have no legal recourse. And a person who defended his or her home from intruders would have no reason to fear legal reprisal.
...
Absolute defense protects homeowners from civil lawsuits. For instance, in a case like Jones’, where there was a two-year legal battle, there would now be no financial hit. And if a family member of the wounded intruder files a lawsuit, the Castle Doctrine protects the defendant from legal action and forces the plaintiff to pay all legal expenses.

“The way the law is interpreted, someone trying to hijack your car or breaking into your house, you can use lethal force to protect yourself,” said state Rep. Ed Robb, R-Columbia. “And there have been some cases where even though that’s true, the heirs, or someone else, whoever is attached to the person who is killed, sues. The Castle Doctrine would prevent civil cases, unless there was grounds from a criminal standpoint.”

So the goblin attacked him, and then his relatives attacked him again.

The suit was thrown out, but that doesn't mean it didn't take up his time and cost him money.

Self-defense is a human right. Suing anyone for any reason is not.

I never understand why more people don't carry

Tulsa World - Armed and Licensed: Concealed carry law hitting mark Oklahoma and concealed carry are getting along just fine.

More than 54,000 Oklahomans are licensed to carry concealed handguns under the Oklahoma Self-Defense Act, said Jessica Brown, spokeswoman for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. That number is up from around 31,000 in 2000 and 15,081 in 1996, after the first year of licensing. Once approved, applicants are licensed to carry concealed weapons for five years. After five years, they are required to renew their application.

I always think the numbers should be higher. With a population of 3,579,212 this means 1.5% of the population has carry permits.

"Wild West" shootouts have not materialized, as was widely predicted by the Left. (They never do.)

In the beginning, some people thought a wave of shootings by license holders would occur, but those fears have proved to be unfounded, [Jessica Brown, spokeswoman for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation] said.

"There's very little of that, quite frankly," she said. "Most people don't want to hurt each other."

"They didn't have confidence in law-abiding citizens like I did, but they do now," said [Former state Sen. Frank Shurden], a Democrat from Henryetta. "They claimed that every fender bender would be a shootout."

The Left loves scare tactics and hates statistics, which is exactly what they are using in Wisconsin to hold back concealed carry there. [via NRA-ILA]

They tried gun control. They tried knife control

Teen charged with boy's murder It doesn't seem to be working.

[This 14-year-old boy's] murder comes at a time of increase gun and knife violence in the capital.

Gun violence? But the UK is a gun free zone.

This is just one tragedy among many in Britain, a country in which violence is become more of an everyday fact of life. When you have 15-year-olds appear to be killing 14-year-olds, I am not sure what the government can do. (He is only charged at this point, not convicted.) It is a social issue. Knee-jerk legislation won't solve the problem.

Interesting Decision, Interesting Article

Sparks Fly at the Supreme Court - Yahoo! News There is much hand-wringing over the SCOTUS decision about education and race-based means for achieving some "end" in terms of balance. It is unusual to see Yahoo! News quote anything except the left-leaning Reuters.

Thomas began by distinguishing between racial imbalance, which is a fact of life based on housing patterns, and segregation, which is a state-imposed racial separation. Seattle had never engaged in de jure segregation and accordingly had nothing to remedy. Louisville had corrected its history of segregation and had been certified by a federal district court as having achieved "unitary" status, that is, no longer laboring under the cloud of past discrimination.

If a state is not acting to remedy past discrimination, Thomas and the majority argued, then the use of race as a criterion must be very narrowly tailored. Sure, Thomas conceded, the states may have had, or thought they had, impeccable motives for counting by race. But, Thomas countered, the effects may not be benign. " . . . Every time the government uses racial criteria to 'bring the races together' someone gets excluded, and the person excluded suffers an injury solely because of his or her race.

And as to the implied (by the Left) benefits of racially balanced classrooms.

Thomas replied that the social science data is hardly conclusive. There is actually very little evidence that racial mixing improves test scores. Further, Thomas argued powerfully that racial discrimination of almost any kind violates the 14th Amendment and requires far more than social science surveys to buttress it.

You cannot end racial discrimination by mandating racial discrimination.

That said, there is a place for affirmative action. Not quotas. Taking some positive action. Corporations do this when they recruit at universities that have high concentrations of minority students. They don't have to change their standards, but they often need to make an effort (not just recruit at the director's almam matter) to attract a diverse group of new hires.

As far as education goes, government schools in this country are in a lot of trouble. Parochial schools routinely spend only 10 or 15 percent per student as the large government schools, yet do a much better job. Pouring more money into that bottomless pit of "public" education is not the answer. I don't know what is, but I do know that the government can't mandate that everyone must WANT an education. The students have to do more than just show up. Parents need to do more than just send their kids to the school. Imposing some level of discipline so that the schools don't resemble life in a war zone might be a good start, but I don't see that happening either.

What to do about a stalker?

Seraphic Secret: Stalked Ten day waiting periods. Stupid tests. All to be able to defend yourself in the People's Republic of Kalifornia.

This is a really well written post about meeting a woman who is buying her first gun because of an ex-boyfriend-turned-stalker.

Ned has turned into a stalker, a human virus who has infected every aspect of her life.

It is worth quoting the best piece of advice, but do go read the whole thing.

“One piece of advice, even before you buy a gun, and this is important.”
“Yeah?”
“Lose the flip-flops.”
She looks down at her feet. Curls her toes, laquered a hot psychedelic pink.
“Huh?”
“You can't run or manuever in those things. Get in the habit of wearing a good solid pair of running shoes.”
“Oh, right. What was I thinking?”

If you have a stalker, you need to be on the defensive all the time. This isn't being paranoid - this woman has moved, changed her phone number, gotten a restraining order. There really is someone out to get her. [via Ace]

Restraining Order Doesn't Stop Him - a Bullet Does

WTVQ 36 - Lexington, Kentucky - News - Machete Wielding Man Shot & Killed A man with a machete - who was the subject of a protection order - shows up at his wife's home. He wasn't there to trim the hedges.

His father-in-law shot him dead.

[The father-in-law] had been staying at the home to protect his daughter from [the dead guy].

I would be more impressed if he had taught her to shoot the gun. But at least the bastard didn't get to use that machete.

Good Guys 1, Bad Guys 0.

Reporter Buys Cheap Gun

LJWorld.com / Buying into the gun culture In an effort to provide a first person account of the process of getting a concealed carry permit in Kansas, a reporter, Chad Lawhorn, buys a cheap gun (Jimenez JA-22) without ever firing one (or so it sounds like).

I don't know anything about the JA-22 personally. I know Jimenez has a bad reputation. (But can any gun that pissed off the state of Kalifornia be all bad?) I don't think I would choose .22 long rifle as a defensive round, except maybe as a backup, or if the size of the gun were critical, which is not the case here.

The best way to explain is first to do. Periodically this summer, I’ll be writing these first-person accounts as I receive gun training, fill out the necessary paperwork and, ultimately, carry a concealed weapon around for a few days.

All in all it is a fairly good description of buying a gun. The time it takes for the paperwork and call for the approval to sell - small. The form itself does have some stupid questions, but then it is a government form.

I will be looking forward to the rest of this series to see how it shapes up, as Mr. Lawhorn goes through the process to get his concealed carry permit.

Update - August 8, 2007: See the next entry in this series here.

Will You Believe Lies or theTruth

Alarmist global warming claims melt under scientific scrutiny :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Other Views The Chicago Sun-Times (definitely NOT a member of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy!) has an issue with Gore. An issue about telling lies.

Gore has a new book urging everyone to "accept science." A good idea. He should follow his own advice.

If Gore really means what he writes, he has an opportunity to make a difference by leading by example on the issue of global warming.
...
Many of the assertions Gore makes in his movie, ''An Inconvenient Truth,'' have been refuted by science, both before and after he made them. Gore can show sincerity in his plea for scientific honesty by publicly acknowledging where science has rebutted his claims.

There are many examples of where science and Gore disagree. Here are 3 of my favorites.

Gore claims global warming is causing an expansion of African deserts. However, the Sept. 16, 2002, issue of New Scientist reports, "Africa's deserts are in 'spectacular' retreat . . . making farming viable again in what were some of the most arid parts of Africa."

Gore argues Greenland is in rapid meltdown, and that this threatens to raise sea levels by 20 feet. But according to a 2005 study in the Journal of Glaciology, "the Greenland ice sheet is thinning at the margins and growing inland, with a small overall mass gain." In late 2006, researchers at the Danish Meteorological Institute reported that the past two decades were the coldest for Greenland since the 1910s.

But my favorite bit of science - since it impacts me.

Gore claims global warming is causing more frequent and severe hurricanes. However, hurricane expert Chris Landsea published a study on May 1 documenting that hurricane activity is no higher now than in decades past. Hurricane expert William Gray reported just a few days earlier, on April 27, that the number of major hurricanes making landfall on the U.S. Atlantic coast has declined in the past 40 years.

Thanks to the hysteria of the Weather Channel, we now hear about more of them, and thanks to the insanity of building more and more in hurricane impact zones, the cost of each one is going up. (That and the fact that today people feel bound to have the government take care of them, instead of standing on their own two feet, the way Galveston, Texas did in 1900.)

Accepting science and its observations are important. Denying simple facts that don't agree with the conclusions you want to make is dishonest and stupid. (How did the Catholic church look in all those centuries after they denied that the earth revolved around the sun?) As long as Al Gore states things that are not true - easy things like the average temperature in Greenland over the last 40 years - he will be branded by anyone without dogmatic blinkers on as being a liar.

Of course, he is right about some things. All together too many people - on both the left and the right - refuse to accept science when it challenges their beliefs. That is exactly what the Catholic church did with Galileo 500 some odd years ago. [Hat tip Les Jones]

Alinghi and America's Cup

Alinghi one win away from America's Cup - Sport - theage.com.au This is a cup worth remembering.

Alinghi was trailing after the first two marks, but a great pass engineered by American helmsman Ed Baird saw the Swiss boat tack past NZL 92 on the second upwind leg.

Though it isn't over till its over. The Ausies came from behind 3-to-1 to win 4-to-3 in 1983, so the Kiwis can still win it.