Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Good Question, Indeed

Quote of the Day - WINNER:

How can I not click on something called "buttrocket?"

- Leetie


Quote of the Day - FIRST RUNNER UP:

There's a reason they're not called bottom rockets.

- Bumble


Found here.

(link via Nate at Wasted Electrons)


When Common Sense Prevails...

...you can be sure there's a pissed-off liberal waiting in the wings somewhere, crying like a baby who's just lost his binky, as a direct result thereof.

From the Boston Globe:

Schools won't close on Parks's anniversary

School Superintendent Thomas W. Payzant rejected a request to close Boston schools tomorrow, when black leaders and antiwar activists plan a rally honoring the anniversary of Rosa Parks's refusal to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Ala., bus 50 years ago.


Good.

Councilor Chuck Turner of Roxbury blasted the decision and said the move will leave the school system open to accusations of racism.


Not good (or surprising).

"To keep the schools open and penalize those who chose to commemorate such an historic occasion is going to expose the City and School Department to unnecessary ridicule and create a level of anger, confusion, and sadness that will cast a shadow over a celebration that should be a high point of the year," Turner wrote in the e-mail. "Unfortunately, your decision will also be characterized as racist, based on the definition of institutional racism -- disparate treatment of people of color."


Up yours, you assmunch. The single biggest roadblock to overcoming racial bias in the City of Boston today is bloated, race-baiting douchebags like yourself who fly the racism flag everytime you hear someone ask for cream in their coffee at the corner donut shop, for Christ's sake!

"I believe that Rosa Parks was passionate about the importance of education and equal access to opportunity and that she would want children to be in school and not miss a day of learning to celebrate what she did," Payzant said in a letter to Turner.


What? Advocating for the education of children of color? How dare he? What a racist! Everyone knows school is just for nerdy white kids.

I'd take it one step further. I'd recommend additional mandatory schooldays, on at least a half-dozen Saturdays a year, to be dedicated solely to the teaching of proper English grammar and basic math skills, for all school-age children in the city.

I guess I'm not as "progressive" as Councilor Porno-gate Turner there.


Freedom Equals Death

It has been a while since I've read such a pathetic anti-gun column as this one. From the business section of the Boston Globe, comes this hyperbole-laden, Chicken Little-inspired, "The Sky is Falling" piece of blather from Globe columnist, Steve Bailey. You can almost taste the irrationality, fear and hatred in his words.

Live free and die


Yes, folks, according to this enlightened "progressive" thinker, freedom now equals death. I was woefully unaware of that until now - must have missed the memo. Thank you, Mr. Bailey for duly enlightening me as to this stunning new development.

WEST LEBANON, N.H. -- In the manic environment of the first shopping weekend after Thanksgiving, the competition was fierce. We hesitated and lost out on a lovely, slightly used grenade launcher, bargain priced in tax-free New Hampshire at $190.


I'll assume, based on his vilification here of "grenade launchers", that Mr. Bailey would also advocate the banning of small, single engine aircraft, seeing as they could be used to drop explosives on innocent children playing outside. A grenade launcher without a grenade is a metal pipe. I guess you could beat someone to death with an unloaded grenade launcher, but I suspect that's not the point he's trying to make here.

Not to worry. The dozens of dealers at the Fireside Inn gun show came well armed.


Gun dealers at a gun show? Dozens of them? With guns? AAAGGHHH!!! THE HUMANITY!!! I'm shocked the gun show didn't register at least a half-dozen homicides that day. Yet, none of these guns managed to jump up and kill ANYONE? Who would want to go to a gun show to buy such defective firearms?

Andrew Heggie, a Randolph police officer, spotted a Bushmaster, similar to the rifle he carried in two tours of duty in Afghanistan.


Yeah, just like a Honda Civic with a low front spoiler, a whale tail on the back and a bunch of "Type R Racing" stickers on it is "similar" to a Formula One race car.

And he found an AK-47, the same gun the enemy carried.


Doubtful. Even if it was a full-auto AK, the sale and possession of such a weapon would still be highly regulated by existing federal law. But, why let those silly facts ruin a good fit of hysteria. You've got uneducated people to scare, damn it!

There were military sniper rifles...


Clearly, we must act now to ban these excessively accurate firearms.... FOR THE CHILDRENTM!!! The world would clearly be a be much safer place if all guns were made to shoot at least a foot high and to the left at a distance of 50 yards. Besides, who, other than a crazed, maniacal killer, needs a rifle that can actually deliver a round to its intended target?

...and an M-16-type "machine pistol"...


Not sure what that might be, exactly, but it sure sounds scary. I think I peed my pants just thinking about it.

...capable of firing off 100 rounds before reloading...


Unlike any firearm that can accept a 100-round magazine.

...the kind of gun only an angry high school student could love.


When did I become an "angry high school student"? Someone has got to get my name on the distribution list for these important memos I seem to be missing on a regular basis.

Saturday night specials were cheap and plentiful.


What? You mean poor people are actually allowed to exercise their Constitutional rights in some parts of the country? Get me Senator Kennedy on the phone! Now, damn it! This loophole must be closed at once! How dare the peasantry demand equality!

In the end, we settled on a .38-caliber revolver, a trashy little thing popular with thugs in cities like Boston.


And liberal, gun-grabbing senators from San Francisco. But again, why let reality interfere with a good fear-laden rant?

Made by Connecticut's Charter 2000 Inc. in New England's "Gun Valley," the revolver retails for $349, but my fellow New Hampshire shopper, Walter Belair, picked it up, cash and carry, for just $240. It took Belair, a former prison guard, less than 20 minutes to fill out the federal forms and get approved over the phone. It took me longer to buy a refrigerator at Sears a few weeks ago.


And that's a relevant comparison, how, exactly?

RTWT.

It's amazing people like this can muster up the courage to leave the house in the morning without suffering a fatal fear-induced heart attack.

(thanks to loyal reader, Reginleif, for the link)


Saw This One Coming

Startling (not) news from the Boston Globe this morning.

Killings equal 10-year high

Boston reached a grim benchmark yesterday, recording its 65th and 66th homicides this year, surpassing the total for all of last year and equaling a 10-year high.

[snip]

By last night, police had made no arrests in either case, also typical for this year's homicides. According to a preliminary department count, police have arrested or identified suspects in only 20 of the 66 cases.


(click for full-size image)

I have just one question (for now).

When Boston had "only" 31 homicides back in 1999, that statistic was held up as incontrovertible evidence that the "most effective gun laws in the nation" were working, despite the accompanying fact that neighboring states such as New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont had pretty much the same, if not looser, restrictions on gun ownership in place that they do today.

But, now that the murder rate in Boston is back up to its highest level in ten years, why is it suddenly our neighboring states' fault for flooding our streets with guns, as the Mayor would sincerely like you to believe?

Hmmm..I wonder.

Well, I was going to leave it at that, but why not entertain a few Mumbles quotes from the above article.

"There's so many guns out there," Menino said in an interview. "It is so frustrating."


No, no, no, you clueless fucking moron!

What's "so frustrating" is reading day after day about your refusal to address the CRIMINAL problem in your city. News flash - You could drop a crate full of handguns, rifles, and shotguns on every street corner in a town with a low criminal population and guess what the result would be?

A LOW CRIME RATE!

If scientists can teach a chimpanzee to crap in a diaper, you'd think there might a faint sliver of hope that Menino could learn about, and address, some of the real problems facing the people of Boston today. But, that thought would soon fade.

And following the shootout outside an elementary school in Dorchester on Monday:

Menino angrily vowed to find the shooters...


Yeah, he and O.J. will get right on that.

"This isn't the Wild West; this is the city of Boston," the mayor told reporters in front of the school.


OK, now I'm confused. Liberal panty-wetting gun control zealots like Menino have been telling us for years and years that loosening the Commonwealth's gun laws will only result in "wild west" shootouts in our neighborhoods.

Mumblespeak Assembly Instructions

1. Blow smoke (A) up ass (B).
2. Repeat Step 1 as necessary.

It must have been that recently passed anti-children, pro-violence law that reduced the size of firearms licenses so that they actually fit in one's wallet (yes, some "common-sense" legislators actually voted against doing that).

"Somebody who knows there's a gun out there; they have to help us," [Menino] said. "I understand their fear, but...you can't be a bystander. You have to be part of the solution."


You want to "understand their fear"? Try spending just a week living in their neighborhood, trying to raise children and make a living - without the armed police security detail that these people are paying for with their taxes.

With all due respect (and I mean that literally), you don't understand shit, Mr. Mayor.


Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Got Some Time to Kill?

Here's one to keep you busy for a while.

First, if you haven't downloaded and installed Google Earth yet, do it. It's pretty freakin' cool.

Second, fly around the world looking for signage or lettering readable from an "eye altitude" (altimeter in lower-right of screen) of at least one mile.

Example: Here's one I found today - Seahawks Stadium in Seattle from an altitude of 5,287 ft.



Have fun. Just don't come crying after your boss fires you for goofing off all afternoon doing this stupid shit.

UPDATE: Runways at Logan Airport in Boston from 5,286 ft.



UPDATE: From reader, Alan, the USS Arizona.

(click for full-size image)


Like a Broke..Broke...Broke...Broken Record

Today's MGCSS features a rolling gun battle that took played out on the streets of Dorchester yesterday, just feet away from an elementary school.

Gunfire erupted outside a Dorchester elementary school yesterday afternoon, as more than a dozen fifth-graders were starting recess in their playground, outraged school officials and parents said yesterday.

It is unclear what prompted the shooting in front of the John Winthrop School, which is located on the Dorchester-Roxbury line, but Boston police were seeking two men in minivans who fired at each other, spraying the area with gunfire.


Now, how can it be "unclear what prompted the shooting"? Mayor Menino, our all-knowing leader, has had this one figured out for years now. As everyone knows, it was the mere presence of evil, mind-altering guns in the hands of these individuals that stripped them of all their moral fiber and transformed these otherwise respectable, law-abiding youth into ruthless thugs, prompting them to fire indiscriminately around a local schoolyard.

Hmmm...wait a minute. On second thought, it had to have been the lack of job openings at Friendly's that drove these upstanding citizens to a life of violent crime.

No, no, no, I got it. It was the need for more taxpayer-funded after-school activities. Or maybe some kind of midnight basketball program would have prevented this latest gunfight. Those have both been favorites of Mumbles for some time, as well.

Or, perhaps, this shootout was the direct result of recent efforts to reform the state's welfare program, and serves as an indicator that we need to funnel more money down that drain, lest we cause even more gun crime through our lack of compassion.

The Boston Herald has an interesting twist on this, one that I hadn't even considered. How could I not have come up with this one?

A brazen afternoon gun battle between two speeding minivans scattered terrified elementary school students from a playground and left a Roxbury neighborhood pitted with bullet holes.


It was those high-capacity assault minivans...of course.


Monday, November 28, 2005

With Crime "Crackdowns" Like This...

I don't know about any of you, but I certainly feel safer now.

A concentrated crackdown on crime in Roxbury resulted in 43 arrests over the holiday weekend.

Dubbed "Operation Home Safe," the crackdown by police and the Mayor'’s Office focused on the Grove Hall neighborhood. The crackdown targeted prostitution, drugs, gangs, and after-hours parties.

According to Boston Police, officers saturated the neighborhoods on foot, in patrol cars, on bikes and horses.

In addition to the 43 arrests, police seized one gun, 125 grams of cocaine, issued 100 parking violations and 365 moving violations.


Now, that will send a message to the city's gangbanger population.

Unfortunately.

Now the mayor'’s office will focus on other public safety issues in the Roxbury neighborhood, like repairing street lights and street cleaning.


What? You mean, now that they're finished writing parking tickets?

Quick question for you, Mr. Mayor. When you hear people talking about the rising level of gun crime in our communities, you do realize that they're not referring literally to just one gun, right?


My Early Christmas Present

No, it's not a new shotgun. Sorry. I picked this up last night.



I'm no fan of Best Buy, but they had the same price on this as Staples and Circuit City did (with $30 mfg. rebate), only they were also offering a $25 Best Buy gift card and a $20 American Express check card by mail with purchase.

The bottom line is, I once again have scanning capabilities, something I haven't had at home since my Windows XP upgrade rendered my old scanner obsolete. Now, you can all look forward to my upcoming "From My Photo Album" series of posts, which will be replacing the "From My Hard Drive to Yours" posts in the near future.

You will be entertained. Trust me.


If a Tree Fell in the Forest...

Alternate title: The 16th Minute*

Via Sweetness & Light, via The Smallest Minority, we get some AP and Reuters pics of Cindy Sheehan's recent book signing, um, for lack of a better word...event.

And be sure to check out her amazon.com page (screenshot saved and posted below, as I don't expect the additional "customer images" to stay up there long).


(click for full-size image)


Heh.

* shamelessly stolen from commenter, Joel, over at Kevin's place.


Bring Me the Head of...ANYONE!

From the Boston Globe:

At least nine high-level positions in the administration of Mayor Thomas M. Menino are vacant or filled by temporary "acting" chiefs. As the mayor, newly elected to a fourth term, prepares to ask for resignation letters from his department heads this week, government observers and watchdogs say he should be filling long-empty jobs.

[snip]

Menino declined to discuss his plans for open or temporarily filled jobs, saying only that he was sending e-mails to department heads asking for resignation letters last week.

"I'm going to tell them I value the work they've done for the city all these years and ask them to hand in a resignation," said Menino. "We can't stand still. We want new faces, new ideas, and new programs. We'll look at programs that don't work and they'll have to go. Change is good. Nobody likes to hurt people's feelings, but in the long run it might be good for the individuals and for the city."


Translation: This city's going nowhere with my having been at the helm for the last twelve years. So, get out there and find me some folks to fire for it.

Thus, the Legend of Teflon Tom lives on.


Back Again

Well, the long weekend has come and gone, as is inevitable. Regular blogging will resume shortly. Meanwhile, pop on over to Jeff's for his take on the latest installment of the Blame New Hampshire game being played by Boston Mayor Tom Menino as he tries to explain why the streets of Boston are teeming with violent criminals and it's not the fault of anyone connected to Boston or Massachusetts.

Guns are being brought into Boston from Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine at a stepped-up pace, according to city officials, who are grappling with a significant rise in shootings and firearms arrests this year.


Seems to me what we have here is a rise in the number of CRIMINALS taking up residence in our fair city. But we can't address that problem. Why, it might make the criminals mad at us. I've said it a hundred times, but it bears repeating: If the lack of gun control and the mere presence of guns are responsible for violent crime in our communities, the streets of Burlington and Montpelier would be running red with blood.

Yet, Menino, and other local officials will continue to blame neighboring states for their own inability to arrest, prosecute, and incarcerate (novel concepts, I know) the dangerous criminals who have taken over entire neighborhoods of the city.

I won't get into too much detail punching out all the holes in that article, but here's my favorite quote.

"Massachusetts has excellent gun laws," said Larry Mayes, the city's chief of human services.


Yeah, just like all those excellent murder laws, rape laws, drug trafficking laws, aggravated assault laws, armed robbery laws, shoplifting laws, carjacking laws, vandalism laws, auto theft laws, traffic laws, etc., that apply only to __________.

Anyone?

Bueller?

Bueller?

And there's this from our neighbor to the south:

The problem goes beyond Boston. In the past year, Hartford police have noticed that more guns from the streets were obtained in New Hampshire, said Matt Hennessy, chief of staff for Mayor Eddie A. Perez. The uptick followed a tightening of regulations that now require handgun buyers to obtain certification from Connecticut's Department of Public Safety.


Implying that (a) prior to the tightening of the state's licensing regulations, criminals were buying guns in-state, legally, despite the federally-required background checks, or (b) the tightening of regulations regarding handgun ownership caused ordinary citizens to abandon their law-abiding ways and become felons overnight by illegally buying guns in New Hampshire.

I'm going with (c) none of the above.


Wednesday, November 23, 2005

The Long Arm Hair of the Law

From the Irresistible Headline Department

OK, one more post before I sign off for the long weekend. There's just no way I could let this go without a mention.

Father Says Mullet Led To Fake Cop'’s Arrest

A Boston man is accused of pretending to be a police officer and patting down a 13-year-old boy.

39-year-old Kenneth Hyland was arrested Tuesday night, a short time after police say he grabbed a boy in East Boston, told him he was a police officer and then patted him down because he was looking for a weapon.

The boy ran into his home and told his father. Police say Hyland got into his truck, but before he could leave, the father approached him.

Paul Costa Sr. told the Boston Herald, "I knew he wasn't a cop. Cops don't have mullets like that."


It takes a keen eye to accurately differentiate between cop mullets and pervert mullets in a high-stress situation like that. This man is obviously a highly-trained professional.

Do not try this at home, kids.


Happy Thanksgiving!


See you in a few days.
Stay safe.

- Bruce


Bay Staters Buying More On-line

Does this come as a surprise to anyone?

According to American Online'’s fourth annual Online Shopping Cities survey, Boston has been dubbed one of the nation'’s top online shopping cities.

According to the survey, Boston shoppers will spend over $610 on shopping this year -– half of which will be spent online. Over 80 percent of Boston plans to do their shopping on the information superhighway because it is easier to compare prices and find the best bargains. Virtual shoppers also have access to stores 24 hours a day, according to Boston shoppers in the survey.


Funny, no mention of the fact that the greedy asshats on Beacon Hill haven't been successful yet in making the state sales tax applicable to on-line purchases. I'm sure that has nothing to do with the popularity of on-line shopping, though. Right?

Meanwhile, statist pricks like Attorney General Tom Reilly continue to work tirelessly to (selectively) enforce (some of) the laws of the Commonwealth.

Attorney General Tom Reilly has told Wal-Mart officials they must close their Massachusetts stores on Thanksgiving.


All those out-of-state web-based retailers send their thanks, Tom.

So, my follow-up question is, how long will it be until Reilly figures out a way to outlaw on-line shopping in Massachusetts?

I'm guessing that royal proclamation will come out some time before he figures out a way to dictate to the commoners which brands of underwear they will be permitted to wear in the future, but after he establishes a limit as to the number of squares of toilet paper Massachusetts residents will legally be allowed to wipe their ass with.

It would all be FOR THE CHILDRENTM, of course, given the amount of tax money the teachers' unions, I mean, the sweet, innocent schoolchildren are missing out on in the deal.


Public Service Announcement

As we head into the long Thanksgiving weekend, the State Police will be beefing up their patrols on the highways in the Commonwealth. In the event you are pulled over by the boys in blue over the next couple of days, make sure you don't end up like this guy.

A suspected drunken driver fumbling his ABCs turned to police asking if he could substitute with a math problem.

Police said sorry and he flunked the field sobriety test.

West Roxbury police said Matthew John Wyman of West Roxbury admitted he "has not said the alphabet in years."


To that end, here's a brief refresher course for you:

Right: A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O-P-Q-R-S-T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z
(repeat as necessary until you think you've got it down)

Wrong: A-B-C-D-E-F.......B...no...G? H-I-K....DAMN IT! Fuckin' pig.


Tuesday, November 22, 2005

The Perfect Storm Post

What do you get when you combine local current events, crappy 80's music, and the amply demonstrated impotence of the "most effective gun laws in the nation"?

Shots Fired At Poison Singer Bret Michaels

Michaels was on his bus in Chicopee, Massachusetts, where he was performing a solo show. According to the publicist, witnesses said someone in another vehicle fired at the bus while Michaels was still on it. Michaels was struck in the face by broken glass but was not seriously hurt.


Rock on, dude.


My Tax Dollars Hard At Work (cont.)

Here's a story from last week that I didn't get around to blogging at the time. No introduction or follow-up commentary required.

Court harass claim costs you $250G

Bay State taxpayers are funding a hushed-up $250,000 payment to two female Plymouth Juvenile Court employees and their attorneys to settle claims the women were sexually harassed last year by Judge Robert F. Murray.


WTM.


Monday, November 21, 2005

Rush Nerds and Gun Nuts

Wal-Mart (N. Attleboro, MA) has a hard-sided double rifle case for $21.12.

Just thought I'd pass that along.


Seeing the Light

What happens when you take an admittedly gun-phobic writer from the Boston Globe and drop him off at a gun range in North Enid, Oklahoma?

Answer here.

In summation, before...

If Quier had wanted to hear more of my flat acccent, I would have told him that I do not like guns, or, more specifically, the culture that uses guns for pleasure and personal protection. I would have said that I came to his shooting range to understand Enid, yes, but also to face something, or someone, I do not agree with.


...and after.

Quier handed me the Ruger semiautomatic. He told me to draw a deep breath, exhale a bit, then stop. He told me to aim the holographic crosshairs in the scope at the center of the silhouette of a person on the target.

I squeezed the trigger hesitantly. After 10 shots, Quier took the gun, removed the clip and reloaded it.

I liked Quier, and I wanted him to like me. I wanted him to think I was a good shooter.

I fired the next rounds more quickly.

I could feel the world as Quier does, as a place to be protected and fought over.

I removed the clip. The next time, I loaded the clip. The next, I dropped the chamber into place and, in rapid succession while holding a single breath, fired 10 rounds.

Soon, I would walk from the concrete bunker into soft twilight and the prairie that runs, seemingly, without end. I would hear the cicadas sounding in the sweet air and remember that while a black-and-white view may make sense, may even be necessary when dug inside the bunker, it does not work, for me, in the green, gray world beyond.

But standing next to Quier in that echoing firing range, I wanted him to think I was capable, and worthy, of survival in his world.

He took the gun and placed a smooth succession of shots through the center of the silhouetted head. Then it was my turn again. I quickly emptied one clip into the target. I loaded a final clip and fired again.

Quier retrieved the target. My shots had blown a large hole in the right side of the silhouetted head. A bit off the mark, but consistent. I turned to Quier and smiled.

"Well," I said, "he's blind in one eye, anyway."

Quier smiled, as though talking to a friend:

"There you go."


RTWT.


Welcome (Again) to Massachusetts

Immigration laws? Well, those are more like guidelines. So, let's give illegal aliens taxpayer-funded tuition discounts, and drivers licenses.

Drug laws? Well, those could best be described as suggestions. So, we'll legalize the sale of needles to known heroin users, while we prosecute people selling pipes to known marijuana users.

Sex offender laws? No such thing - so long as you're a confessed child molester who also happens to be a police officer.

But, wait a minute!

What's this?

A supermarket wants to open on Thanksgiving Day? And the owner wants to give his employees the option of working that day or not? And pay them double-time for showing up? Not in Massachusetts you don't! We have laws here, pal! And we'll enforce them with vigor, damn it!

An attempt by the Whole Foods supermarket chain to defy the state's centuries-old "blue laws" and open on Thanksgiving has been shut down by the state attorney general, who told the upscale chain to stay closed for the holiday or risk criminal charges.


We're from the government, and we're here to help.


Get With The Program, Pal

Old folks like you are supposed to keel over and die at the first sign of trouble. What business do you have actually defending your wife from knife-wielding thugs? Don't you know guns are nothing but evil killing machines?

Despite being 83 years old and reliant on oxygen tubes for a lung ailment, Harry Carpenter wouldn't let his wife of 57 years be robbed by knife-wielding intruders in his own home.

Two would-be robbers forced their way into the home of Carpenter and his wife, Jackie, Wednesday evening while the two were having dinner, according to a police report.

One of them made Harry Carpenter sit down in the sun room, while the other went with Jackie Carpenter, 80, to get money from her bedroom.

Carpenter tried to come to his wife's rescue but was threatened with the knife.

Then he got his break -- his wife pretended to faint and the intruder who was holding him went into the other room to see what was happening.

Carpenter shuffled to the laundry room, where he kept an old, unloaded rifle that he used to shoot squirrels, he said.

When one of the intruders came back, he found Carpenter aiming the rifle at him and yelled at his companion to flee. Police were unable to locate the two suspects, who didn't get any money.


Good on you, Harry.


Saturday, November 19, 2005

From My Hard Drive To Yours - vol. deich

Here's the scene: It's a cool, damp evening on the south coast of the Dingle Peninsula. You're sitting on the bench against the stone wall, at the well-worn wooden table just to the right of the fireplace, nestled comfortably into a dimly-lit corner inside An Droichead Beag (The Small Bridge) Pub.

A creamy pint of Guinness is keeping your Black Bush company on the table as you take in the sights, sounds, and smells. The wood in the fireplace emits a spirited crackle as the musicians seated on the opposite side of the hearth talk quietly amongst themselves.

You take a sip of whiskey and close your eyes at the pipes' first drone.

Eanair (Lord Mayo/Gavotte/Maid of Mount Cisco)
Feabhra (Snow on the Island/Brenda Stubbert's/Thunderhead)

~ by Lunasa

Oh, and if anyone has a large sum of cash burning a hole in his or her pocket that they could, um, "lend" me, it seems the Small Bridge is for sale.


No Double Standards Here

While the Massachusetts State Legislature was busy last week working to legalize the sale of hypodermic needles to drug addicts...

From The Patriot Ledger:

A police raid targeting the sale of bongs, scales and pipes from a Pembroke smoke shop may be the first in a countywide crackdown on paraphernalia that authorities say is clearly used for doing illegal drugs.

[snip]

...the state'’s drug paraphernalia laws were strengthened in 1997 in large part because of the efforts of Hanover Police Chief Paul Hayes, who went to the Legislature with examples of paraphernalia found in his town.

His demonstrations resulted in a law that prohibited the sale of anything "primarily intended" for drug use. The key, Hayes said, is that "primarily intended" is defined as the "likely use which may be ascribed to an item by a reasonable person."

Ahhh...a "reasonable person". Well, if there's one thing you can't accuse me of, it's using that term to describe the politicians who comprise the hack-o-rama that's overtaken the State House.

Hayes said this standard makes it easier to prosecute owners because a jury will readily identify a water pipe as drug paraphernalia despite its other possible uses.

Yeah, like...um....uhhhh....hey, man, is that a Yodel?

"(Owners) can't tell us in these stores that they don'’t know what they'’re being used for," Hayes said. "We've already been through that with the Legislature."

Again, that whole "reasonable person" thing there.

Hayes said the law is clear: Sell something you know will be used for drugs, and face prosecution.

Bottom line: If Walgreen's is allowed to sell needles to any strung-out junkie who walks through the front door, then there's no compelling reason I can think of why this storeowner shouldn't get her property returned to her forthwith, with a written apology from the Plymouth County prosecutor's office.


In Case You Forgot...

...today is National Ammo Day.



What is "Ammo Day"?

Glad you asked.


Dianne Feinstein's Worst Nightmare

An American citizen using a handgun to defend the lives of his loved ones. How tragic.

NEW BRITAIN -- Last year, after a burglar put a knife to his throat and made off with $100 from his home, Angel Benitez bought a gun for protection. On Wednesday night, he used it.

Benitez, 71, said he shot an intruder who was pointing a gun at his girlfriend and rummaging through a cabinet in the kitchen.


Just think, with a little more "common sense" "gun safety" legislation on the books in the State of Connecticut, the number of evil, scary handguns involved in that situation could have been reduced by a whopping 50%.

And fewer guns means less crime, right?

Senator Kennedy?

Bueller?

Bueller?


Friday, November 18, 2005

Found This Today

Like maps?

Then you'll love this site from the Perry-Castañeda Library at the University of Texas at Austin.


Invade Persia!

I mean, once we're done with Mesopotamia.


Don't You Dare Question Their Patriotism

They support our troops.

The fiery, emotional debate climaxed when Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Ohio, who is the lowest in seniority, recounted a message a Marine colonel wanted to send to Murtha. She said he told her, "Cowards cut and run, Marines never do."

Democrats booed and shouted her down, bringing the House to a standstill. Schmidt was eventually forced to withdraw her statement.


Uh huh.


What? No Mini-Bar?

Sorry for the light (OK, non-existent) posting today. To make up for it, here's a little something to bet your blood boiling blood as we get ready to kick off the weekend.

As if it wasn't enough of a disgrace to read about this fucknut over the last couple of days...

The Saudi prince who was sentenced to a posh Martha'’s Vineyard prison yesterday for mowing down a Cambridge father while driving an SUV had ducked serious motor vehicle charges twice prior to the accident.


...we now learn more about the so-called prison where he'll be doing his time.

His lawyers asked for, and received, a tour of the Dukes County Jail and House of Correction. The jail is a handsome clapboard house built in 1873 and ringed by a white picket fence.

The wind carries a sweet sea breeze to the prison yard, which boasts a full weight set that Al-Saud, 23, can use to bulk up his frame.

Inmates can take in the brilliant sunsets from their windows – which are framed with wooden shutters and decorated with understated iron bars. Cons wear their own clothes and can order their food from an in-house chef, said former inmate Alan Thistle, 53.

Cells are outfitted with 13-inch, remote-controlled cable TVs that inmates can hook up Nintendo game systems to, Thistle said.

"I got better treatment in there than I do at some hotels. I'’m telling you, it was picturesque," said Thistle, who served an 18-month sentence on drug charges.

"It was better than a B&B," Thistle said. "My friends asked me why I wanted to leave."


As far as I know, I still have to write a check to Comcast every month for my cable TV. Never let it be said the Commonwealth coddles its criminals, eh?

The Dukes County Jail and House of Correction
On Martha's Vineyard (courtesy: Dukes County)


Poor widdle baby.

I hope the little fucker's thumbs get all cramped up from playing too much Nintendo. That'll teach him!


Thursday, November 17, 2005

This All Sounds Familiar

Jeff at Alphecca (as well as several reader e-mails) points to this op-ed piece from The Standard Times (New Bedford, MA):

Gun control is not the answer to crime

It starts out strong, delivering a well-deserved jab to Ted Kennedy's (all-too-predictable) willingness to dismiss reality and embrace ignorance when it comes to discussing the right of the (supposedly) free people of this country to take responsibility for their well-being.

The headline on his Web site reads, "Kennedy urges House to not weaken D.C. gun safety law."

In the statement that follows, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy asserts, "The House amendment would repeal the D.C. government's long-standing ban on firearms and would be a disastrous blow to gun safety in the district. For almost three decades, D.C.'s ban on handguns and assault weapons has helped reduce the risk of deadly handgun violence."

Could Sen. Kennedy actually believe that Washington's ban on firearms has been effective? Perhaps he could prove his sincerity by giving his bodyguards and servants the night off and taking a stroll alone around a few of Washington's low-income neighborhoods one night.


The only thing I can see that is missing from this piece is the official "Dead Horse Beating Alert" banner, so I'll take the liberty of flying it here on Dr. Friedman's behalf.

DEAD HORSE BEATING ALERT

OK, you've been warned. Now, go read the whole thing.


THIS JUST IN!

What do you know? Turns out it's not guns after all.

Tourists cause crime!

Crime is on the rise in downtown Boston.

Boston police records show 292 reports of aggravated assault, 211 robberies and two killings so far this year in Police District "A" -- which includes the Theater District, North End, Bay Village and Downtown Crossing. The area also reported 21 sex crimes.

Shooing incidents are included in aggravated assaults.

Police conclude that tourists to Boston are luring criminals into the downtown areas.


Mayor Menino's office will be issuing a press release shortly to announce his plans to organize a "tourist summit" meeting where community leaders and residents will get together to discuss new ways to deal with this latest scourge on our city.

And the blog continues to write itself.


My Property Tax Dollars Hard At Work

From the Boston Globe:

To the casual eye, it is an inconspicuous ground-level window, streaked with soot perhaps, but nothing that detracts from the 19th-century charm of the red-brick Victorian rowhouse in Boston's South End.

But to city officials, the double-hung vinyl window on the side of the stairs to Gary Multer's historic apartment building is an affront to the neighborhood's lovingly preserved architectural character, one worth a fine of up to $1.4 million.

Yesterday, in the latest twist in an eight-year legal brawl between Multer and the South End Landmark District Commission, the city asked a judge to let it file a suit against Multer seeking fines of $146,000 to $1.46 million if he is found to have violated regulations that prohibit vinyl windows and changes to brickwork.


Bear in mind, this is not the owner of the property taking legal action against a tenant. Nor is it the case of a condomium owner's association suing the owner of one of its units. This is the city government suing the owner of the (supposedly) private property.

Quote of the Day:

"Yikes!"

~ Suffolk Superior Court Judge Thomas P. Billings


My sentiments exactly, your honor.

(photo by Evan Richman/Globe Staff)

What an absolute fucking paradise we must be living in today if the city has sufficient resources to take this guy to court over a friggin' window. When, according to our courageous leaders, it's George Bush's fault that the city of Boston can't afford to put more cops on the street.

My.

White.

Ass.


It's Contest Time!

***** POST UPDATED - WE HAVE A WINNER *****


Well, it's shaping up to be not so bad a day after all. So, David Ortiz came in second place in the AL MVP ballotting to Gay-Rod. I can live with that. At least he didn't help his team lose a seven-game series after going up 3-0.*

I just finished cleaning the Ruger from yesterday's very satisfying trip to the range and my hand's still have that distinctive aroma of feedom about them (Hoppe's No.9).

And, speaking of hands, I've got one wrapped around a nice cold Harpoon Ale. What could be better than this? Well, how about looking at the pile of mail from today and seeing this?



Behold, the prize.**

But, what's the contest, you ask? You are going to proofread my hate mail for me. Well, not exactly hate "mail", per se, as this appeared in the comments to one of my many "Stupid Dead Kids" posts, but you get the idea.

The rules are simple: Count up the spelling, punctuation, and usage errors in the charming little missive below - presented unedited, in its entirety. Here's an example to set you on the right path.***

fuck u asshole. im gonna kill u

becomes...

(F)uck (you)(,) asshole. (I)(')m (going to) kill (you)(.)

Answer: 8


Simple enough? Have fun.

listen i am alex girlfriend the mother of his chilldren he was the perfict father and man he made a simple misake and his life was lost i am mourning of him and my 2 children are to u need to get a new topic to speak about if not i will find out who u are and take care of u because u didnt no them personally so there 4 u shouldnt judge them and the rest of u need grow up u act like u never did the same shit but i dont wanna c this no more if i have to i will have ur sight shut down our families have gone through enough in the last few months we dont need this shit


*Just so you know, the statute of limitations for mentioning that will never expire - not as long as I'm still drawing breath, anyway.

** Only Massachusetts residents (US citizens or legal resident aliens) will be eligible to win the sticker. Though, all are encouraged to enter- if, for nothing else, than for the sheer fun of ridiculing illiterate lunatics.

*** Contest will remain open through Friday (11/18). In the event of a tie, the prize will go to the earliest received entry. And, as always, decision of the judges, that's me, is final.


UPDATE: 64*

(L)isten(,) (I) am (A)lex('s) girlfriend (and) the mother of his (children)(.) (H)e was the perf(e)ct father and man(.) (H)e made a simple mis(t)ake and his life was lost(.) (I) am mourning (of) him(,) and my (two) children are(,) (too)(.) (You) need to get a new topic to speak about(.) (I)f not(,) (I) will find out who (you) are and take care of (you)(,) because (you) didn(')t (know) them personally(.) (S)o(,) there(fore)(,) (you) shouldn(')t judge them(,) and the rest of (you) need (to) grow up(.) (You) act like you never did the same shit(.) but (I) don(')t (want to) (see) this (any)more(.) (I)f (I) have to(,) (I) will have (your) (site) shut down(.) (O)ur families have gone through enough in the last few months(.) (W)e don(')t need this shit(.)


The prize goes to behump, as he was the only Massachusetts resident to submit an offical entry (and he still beats out the "<100" entries). Both Carter and Eric von Michigan were close, but not eligible to win the prize.

* Your mileage may vary - decision of the judges is final.


Cry Me A(nother) River

The Metrowest Daily News sounds off on Matthew Braley, the dirtbag who got his ass handed to him on a platter by the 25-year-old waitress he tried to mug the other day using a hypodermic needle. Check out this tear-jerker of a headline:

Even the 'good kids' get hooked

"Good kids"?

Braley, 21, was arraigned yesterday on four charges, including armed robbery, attempting to pass a forged check, the forgery itself and accepting stolen property.


Shit, what do you have to do to be a "bad kid" in that town?

Another neighbor, who didn't want to be named, agreed the Braleys were good people but sometimes it isn't enough. "Even good kids are into heroin now," she said. "It's cheap and easy to get."


What the fuck is wrong with these people?

Note: That was a rhetorical question, for those of you who might be new to this site.

The "good kids" are going to school, holding down jobs, exercising personal responsibility, and bettering their lives through education and community service. It's the spoiled, snotty-assed, dirtbag kids who are doing heroin, cashing bum checks, and committing armed robbery.

Fucking idiots.

Here's the money quote from the article:

Like many other young people, Braley probably drank his share of beer...


Yeah, probably.


Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Let the Good Scams Roll

A few more points on the ongoing debate over the much-needed auto insurance reform in Massachusetts. From the Boston Herald:

BOSTON - Gov. Mitt Romney and Attorney General Tom Reilly sparred over auto insurance on Tuesday, with Reilly saying the governor's reform plan would create chaos for drivers...


Yeah, that's why the other 49 states can successfully manage having a free-market system operate within their borders, but in Massachusetts, it would "create chaos". We must be "special".

Sorry, I'm not buying it.

...and Romney accusing Reilly of failing as a leader because he had no plan of his own.


Oh, he has a plan. If maintaining the status quo, while readily accepting campaign contributions from those who benefit most from it, can be called a "plan".

"If that bill which has been proposed by the governor goes into effect, all hell will break loose in this state," Reilly said at a morning news conference.


As illustrated by all the hell that's been breaking loose across the nation over the last couple of decades. Is Reilly this delusional?

RUN!!! LOCUSTS!!! VOTE FOR ME! FOR THE CHILDREN!

Under the state's unique regulatory framework, the state Division of Insurance sets a baseline rate for all companies. Good drivers get credit for clean records, but they also subsidize bad drivers, resulting in rates that are higher than the national average.


Well, we already bend over backwards in this state to coddle the rapists, carjackers, illegal aliens, and illicit drug users, why would we want to discontinue this reckless driver welfare program?

The system has steadily driven auto insurers out of the state, leaving just 18 today.


But, it's the other 49 states who are doing it wrong. Yeah, right.

In his capacity as a regulator and the state's chief law enforcement officer, Reilly plays a role in the rate-setting process. He is currently seeking 18 percent lower premiums for next year, while insurers are seeking a 0.1 percent cut. That amounts to a $200 difference on the average premium, which is now $1,099.


That which the government gives, the government can, and will, take away.

After years and years of shafting a vast majority of Bay State drivers, Reilly is suddenly pretending to give a shit about what the citizens of Massachusetts want.

Coincidentally, Reilly is planning a run for governor this year.

If anyone sees this as anything more than a vote-buying scheme cooked up by this statist prick, please enlighten me as to what constitutes reality on your planet.

*******

More here: Baby, You Can Can't Insure My Car


This Shit Never Ends

Here's another stellar example of what passes for rational thought up on Beacon Hill these days.

House votes to allow sale of syringes


Yes, the same legislative body that would have you believe there's no legitimate use for a handgun, even in the hands of the most law-abiding citizens, just voted to legalize the sale of hypodermic needles to known lawbreakers - in an effort to "save lives".

Now, we could debate the legalization of drugs until the proverbial cows come home, but off the top of my head, I can only think of two groups of people that will benefit by passage of this bill: people who use heroin and other illegal intravenous drugs, and people who would be inclined to use a hypodermic needle as a weapon in the commission of a crime.

So, if you're an illegal alien who wants to use a hypodermic needle to rob someone - in between your criminology classes at U. Mass. - you're in luck. And, for your convenience, the state will continue to work diligently to ensure you will have a fresh crop of defenseless victims to choose from.


'Nuff Said

I'll just let Michelle McPhee's headline from the Boston Herald this morning speak for itself.

2 more shot dead as Menino works on anti-gun plan


After that, he'll swing by the State House to promote his new anti-car plan to combat the rise in drunk driving arrests in the Commonwealth.


Tuesday, November 15, 2005

With "Experts" Like These...

*** POST UPDATED - SCROLL DOWN ***

From Channel 5 in Boston:

WCVB-TV Channel 5 will broadcast a "When Disaster Strikes: Are We Ready?" -- Town Meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. Natalie Jacobson will host the live, one-hour special.

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will be among the panelists discussing topics including chain of command, communication and logistics. Joining Romney on the panel are Public Safety Secretary Ed Flynn, Health and Human Services Secretary Tim Murphy, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority General Manager Daniel Grabauskas and FEMA Acting Regional Director Ken Horak.

Audience participants include town administrators, representatives of the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, first responders such as EMTs, doctors and nurses, and interested citizens.

[snip]

Viewers will learn how to take personal responsibility for their safety. Experts will share what items people need to have in their homes and at work in the event of an emergency and what kind of plan to set up with their own families.


I'm going to venture way out onto that proverbial limb once again, and predict that not one of these so-called "experts" will have anything to say about the benefits of having a firearm to defend one's family after the breakdown of social order that is sure accompany any such disaster scenario.

Katrina who?

UPDATE: I taped the show last night, but haven't watched it yet. It's unlikely I ever will, having read this summation of the show provided in the comments section by reader, 1894C.

My favorite bit:

One "regular" guy in the crowd actually asked "who in the goverment will tell me what to do in case of a major disaster".


Nice knowing you, pal.


Humorous News Items of the Day

I'd say, this stupid little bastard got off easy with just an ass-kicking. Imagine trying to pull this shit in a state where the government recognizes - and the people exercise - the right of law-abiding citizens to properly defend themselves from assholes like this.

A young woman says she kicked a man in the head several times, moments after he tried to rob her at a Westboro ATM Monday evening.

[snip]

[Matthew "Too Stupid To Live"] Braley allegedly went after her and grabbed her purse. The woman says she fought back.

"I just kicked him repeatedly in face. And then it just looked like a boxing match... his head just kept going back and forth. And he ran off."


If you find something funnier than that in today's headlines, please let me know. I can always use a good laugh. I can't wait 'til the rest of the fellas in the joint hear about how he got his ass handed to him by this dangerous-looking individual.



[Police] say they were able to identify Braley because he left his driver’s license inside the bank.


As if being a total wussbag wasn't bad enough, this poor bastard's got a terminal case of the stupids on top of that.

In a similar story out of West Manchester, New Hampshire, we see what happens when you bring a t-shirt to a baseball bat fight, especially if you only plan on wrapping it around your head.


Monday, November 14, 2005

T-Minus 30 Minutes and Counting

We're about a half-hour away from the announcement of the 2005 American League Most Valuable Player.

Who will it be? Big Papi or A-Fraud?

Ortiz is making that fairy look like Walter Mondale in this poll.


(click image to enlarge)


UPDATE: WEEI 850AM is reporting it's A-Rod.


Blaming New Hampshire

So, it looks like the latest crime-fighting strategy du jour to be adopted by our elected "leaders" is going to be "Blame New Hampshire".

Holding off on the usual comments about the low violent crime rate New Hampshire enjoys despite its relatively lax gun laws, I found this interesting.

TEMPLETON, Mass. -- Police are looking for two suspects considered "armed and dangerous" after a home invasion in Templeton.

Police Chief David Whitaker says a 25-year-old woman who lived in the Depot Road home was tied up with bedsheets. After the men left, the woman said she managed to wiggle out of the sheets and call 911.

Among the items stolen from the home were four guns.


Massachusetts Common Sense Gun Control Lesson #1:

If you have any guns at home, make sure they're unloaded and securely locked up where there's no chance you'd be able to get to them in time in case you needed to defend yourself against violent home invaders.

That way, the criminal scumbag thugs who just overpowered you and tied you up with bedsheets in your own home can take their time stealing them without the risk of getting shot at.

Common Sense Gun Control: Saving Lives in Massachusetts - One Scumbag at a Time


Quick Question For You

If Jesse Jackson opens his mouth in a forest, and there's no one around to hear, does he still come off as a total assmunch?

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- The Rev. Jesse Jackson called the Philadelphia Eagles' punishment of Terrell Owens "much too severe."

Jackson said in a statement released Friday that Owens could have been more professional when he publicly complained about his contract, his team and the Eagles' organization.

But Jackson said Owens' suspension without pay for four games and deactivation for the rest of the season is "much too severe for the charge" and hurts the athlete's NFL career at its height.

The civil rights activist said the level of punishment could have been warranted if Owens had been caught shaving points, selling drugs, carrying a gun or fighting fans without sufficient restraint.


Reality Up Against a Wall

So, the Reverend Bruce Wall of Dorchester - who recently spent a week in a Lyndhurst Street apartment with other community leaders in a effort to draw attention to the gun crimes plaguing that neighborhood - is echoing Mayor Menino's call from last week for some kind of summit meeting to address gun violence in Boston.

What's the good reverend's take on this, you ask?

"We have to stop this new wave of suicidal and destructive behavior that is wiping out a generation," the Rev. Bruce Wall said yesterday in a speech at the Greater Framingham Community Church in Framingham.


Wait a minute. This might sound promising. He seems to recognize that the problem here is illegal, violent behavior by criminals, and that, in fact, it's not the mere presence of handguns in the city that's magically turning law-abiding youth into murderous thugs.

Might we actually be seeing a change in the way this problem is to be addressed in the future? Shifting from 'Guns Cause Crime' to 'Criminals Cause Crime'?

Don't hold your breath.

Wall said he planned to ask Mayor Thomas M. Menino to pay for the conference, which is being called "Why Are Illegal Guns Being Sent to Boston's Black Community?" The conference would probably cost about $5,000 for food, photocopies, and the printing of a document detailing the proposed solutions, Wall said.


Ummm...supply/demand, maybe?

UPDATE: Reverend Wall is on WRKO with Scott Allen Miler this morning. Apparently, Mayor Menino was right. Gun crime in the black community of Boston is New Hampshire's fault. These poor criminals children can't be held accountable for their actions. They're merely the innocent victims of ruthless Granite State oppression.

Seriously, people like him will blame the price of drywall screws in Sweden for the increased gun violence in Boston'd black neighborhoods before they turn their attention to the black community itself to address any of the real underlying issues (drugs, poor parenting, hip-hop thug culture, etc.).

And the PVS rolls on.


Sunday, November 13, 2005

Tree...Rope...This Guy

Some assembly required.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The atheist who's spent years trying to ban recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools said he'll file a new lawsuit this week.

Michael Newdow plans to ask a federal court to order removal of the national motto "In God We Trust" from U.S. coins and currency. He said it violates the religious rights of atheists who belong to his "First Amendment Church of True Science."


Jesus Christ. Seriously, dude...fuck off.

The church's "three suggestions" are "question, be honest and do what's right." Newdow said it wouldn't be right to take up a collection when the money says "In God We Trust."


And you'll be funding this litigation with what, exactly? Wampum? Food stamps? Sexual favors?

The truly pathetic part of all of this is that when he filed his loser lawsuit over the Pledge of Allegiance last year, nearly every pundit, comedian, satirist, and talk show host responded by asking, "What's next? Removing 'In God We Trust' from US currency?", as a way to show how utterly fucking retarded this guy is.

Apparently, he was paying attention.

I'd like to say I was out the door and on my to the range immediately upon reading this, but it's getting late and I was just there a few hours ago. Had I known...


Saturday, November 12, 2005

From My Hard Drive To Yours - vol. 9

Flashback: February 1992

While driving back home from a weekend of ice fishing in Maine, the transmission in my '81 Subaru wagon shit the bed somewhere along Route 1 in Saugus. In memory of the evening spent pushing that bucket of bolts all the way to my friend's house in Medford, I give you:

Piece of Shit Car - Adam Sandler


Friday, November 11, 2005

MSM: The Gift That Keeps Giving

This USA Today editorial is sure to make somebody's year-end top-10 List - and not in a good way.

The riots in France that started in the Parisian suburbs are ringing alarm bells throughout Europe. These incidents of civil disobedience should serve as lessons to neighboring countries on how not to treat a minority population.


From Clayton Cramer:

I was under the impression that civil disobedience carried the notion of peaceful resistance to an unjust law--not burning cars, buildings, and beating people to death. But I guess I just have to get with the modern definition of "civil disobedience." I suppose next that we will discover that 9/11 was "aggressive civil disobedience."


...committed by Arab-Americans, no doubt.


As the Hack-O-Rama Turns

Again, I'd like to say I was shocked to read this.

Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley has hired the son of state Senator Dianne Wilkerson as a civilian investigator in his office's homicide unit despite the young man's long history of arrests, court records show.


But, don't worry, it only gets worse from there. As is often the case, there's simply too much blogworthy material to excerpt.

I'll probably have more to say about this later on. In the meantime, RTWT.

Now.


Thursday, November 10, 2005

Checkpoint Mumbles


(click for larger image)


Because It Bears Repeating

"Sometimes I think it's the gyroscopic motion of all the dead patriots buried in Massachusetts spinning in their graves that keeps the planet aligned on its axis."


Mumbles Unveils His Latest "Plan"

I'd honestly like to say I was shocked to read this.

Pointing to the rising number of shootings in Boston, Mayor Thomas M. Menino is calling for a "handgun summit" in New England and raised the possibility of random police searches of cars crossing into the state to intercept illegal weapons.


I had to re-read that to make sure I read it correctly. Yep, that's what it said. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Translation: I have no plan clue.

I don't even know where to begin with this latest bit of idiocy to dribble out of his oxygen-depraved brain.

A "handgun summit"?

Give me a break! What are we? The U.N.?

Don't answer that.

How about a "criminal" summit? Or a "Why the hell can't we lock up these scumbags?" summit?

Menino, speaking a day after his landslide re-election over Maura Hennigan, said guns are no longer just coming to Boston from the South. Weapons are filtering in from New Hampshire and other abutting states, he said.

He raised the potentially explosive issue of random searches as a remedy.


"Potentially"? Yeah, like you're potentially the biggest moron* drawing breath in the Commonwealth today.

* OK, so it's two-way tie between Menino and State Senator Barrios. What would you say to pistols at 20 paces to settle this?


Post-Halloween Scare

OK, so I'm writing the latest "Crystal Ball Chronicles" post where we take a look at today's headlines to get an idea of what life would be like if it were possible to make all the scary guns in the world disappear. Needless to say, it doesn't look anything like the land of sugarplums and honeycakes being promoted by our country's "progressive" leadership.

Recent cases in point:

Lynn, Massachusetts: Two knife-wielding men beat and robbed a disabled woman last week on her way to her physical therapy appointment.

Revere, Massachusetts: A woman on her way to work yesterday morning was attacked and sexually assaulted in the MBTA parking garage.

Nary a gun in sight, yet these women were senselessly assaulted by violent thugs who had received, courtesy of the Massachusetts Sate Legislature, a guarantee that their victims would be powerless to effectively resist their actions.

But that's not the scary part.

I was going to put up the link to this idiotic statement I found a while back from State Senator Jarrett Barrios, where he defends his record of providing for the safety and well-being of the Commonwealth's rapist population, but the link had since gone dead.

"Massachusetts has the strongest gun laws in the country, and I'’ll oppose any measure that waters them down and puts our people at risk. Too many futures have been lost already."


Yeah, I know, I could fisk those thirty-one words until the proverbial cows come home, but even that isn't the purpose of this post. Or the scary part.

Be warned! Jay, Seth, Andrew, and the rest of my Massachusetts readers - you should be sitting down for this. It nearly scared the piss out of me when I saw it (OK, maybe a few drops came out, but nothing shows).

Click at your own risk!

Remember, I warned you!

(waiting for folks to recover from the shock)










(waiting)










(that should just about do it)









Yes, State Senator Jarrett Barrios wants Tom Reilly's job once his hero gets elected Governor, and has his fancy website already up and running. [UPDATE: As noted below, Senator Barrios was considering a run for Middlesex County District Attorney, not MA Attorney General. He has since abandoned that goal, and has decided instead to seek re-election to the state senate. Oh, joy. - ed.] I've said it before and I'll say it again. There is no fucking way I would even consider living in this state under such circumstances. You think Massachusetts is heading down the shitter now? Yikes.

Life according to Attorney General hopeful Jarrett Barrios:

The goal is simple: no Massachusetts resident...


And remember, kids, rapists are residents too.

...should ever live in fear for their families -– in their homes or on their streets.


Yeah, it would be nice if you actually believed that Jarrett, but this is simply rectal smoke blowing of monumental proportion.

I have led the fight to ... ban the sale of military-style assault weapons to criminals.


Fuck you, asshole. You did no such fucking thing. It had been illegal to sell any kind of firearm to criminals for quite some time now, thank you very much. What you did was ban the sale of guns that look like military assault weapons to law-abiding, licensed gun owners, you lying sack of shit!

Fuck.

You.

I believe in common sense gun safety laws that protect the rights of law-abiding gun owners...


Um, no you don't.

In 2004, I wrote and won a permanent extension of the state'’s ban on military-style assault weapons. These dangerous weapons have no place on our streets.


It was already illegal for criminals to carry any kind of gun "on our streets", asshole. What you did was make it illegal for law-abiding gun owners to posses these weapons and keep them locked up in their gun safes. Explain to me, please, how a law-abiding, licensed gun owner with a semi-automatic rifle in his gun safe presents a bigger threat to society than a 16-year-old crackhead with a .22 revolver in the pocket of his baggy pants.

Again - fuck you.

This year, I am partnering with the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police, Suffolk County D.A. Dan Conley, and Suffolk County Sheriff Andrea Cabral to ban the sale of cop-killer handguns (that can pierces police body armor)...


Can anyone think of any reason why he wouldn't go after your 30-30 Marlin lever gun next? After all, that particular weapon of war "can pierces police body armor".

...and military sniper rifles (that can shoot targets, like airplanes, from 2000 yards away).


OK, asshole. Show me.

Let's you and me take a Barrett .50-caliber rifle out to the desert and set up an airplane-sized target a little over a mile away, and start shooting. You can shoot 1,000 rounds at it. Here's the deal: you give me fifty cents for every miss, and I'll pay you $1,000 for every hit. Let's do it this weekend. I'm quite eager to see you back up your Sarah Brady cut-n-paste bullshit here with some physical proof.

Surely, this wouldn't be asking for too much. Unless, of course, you happen to be full of shit. So, which is it, Jarrett? Are you lying or just ignorant? Not that either reflects favorably on your character, I'm just curious. Because, you're certainly not being truthful or overly knowledgeable on matters of which you speak here.

And you think these are personal qualities that should be brought to the Attorney General's office?

Oh, wait never mind. I guess they're already there.

To quote fellow Tufts alum, Tracy Chapman:

You got a fast car
But is it fast enough so we can fly away
We gotta make a decision
We leave tonight or live and die this way


UPDATE: Correction - Jarrett "B.A. Baracus" Barrios is [UPDATE: was] contemplating a run for Middlesex County District Attorney, not Attorney General of Massachusetts.

Not that that changes the fact that he's a total douchenut - just wanted to clarify.


Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Who Dunnit?

No word yet from the police on what caused this series of explosions in Jordan today.

Explosions hit three hotels in the Jordanian capital Wednesday night, and at least 18 people were killed.

The first blast occurred at about 8:50 p.m. at the luxury Grand Hyatt hotel, popular with tourists and diplomats. An Associated Press reporter at the hotel counted seven bodies being taken away. Police said there were many others injured.

A few minutes later, police reported an explosion at the Radisson SAS Hotel a short distance away. Police said five people were killed and at least 20 wounded.

Another explosion was reported at the Days Inn Hotel, and police said there were casualties.

Police had no word on what caused the explosions, although an American businessman at the Grand Hyatt said a bomb went off in the lobby. Witnesses saw smoke rising from the building.


No doubt, this was the work of some disgruntled Baptists, or perhaps a gang of down-on-their-luck Episcopalians, or maybe some royally pissed off Lutherans, or a radical Amish fringe group, or...


Is "Dumbass" Hyphenated?

Question for you: What is the politically correct term to use when describing black people living in France these days?

Well, if you're CNN anchor, Carol Lin:

Hard to say because it's been 11 days since two African-American teenagers were killed, electrocuted during a police chase, which prompted all of this.


All this "politically correct" nonsense is enough to drive me to drink. I think I'll stop at the liquor store on the way home today and grab me a six-pack of African-American Label.

(link via Ravenwood)


As Ye Sow...

So, the "progressive" voters in San Francisco, the same folks who are constantly rallying against the evil majority imposing their will upon, and violating the rights of the oppressed, down-trodden minority, voted yesterday to strip all city residents of the right to defend themselves and their families from harm - in their own homes.

This is "progress"?

If your job description includes the phrases "home invasion", "aggravated sexual assault", and/or "crack trafficking", sure.

SAN FRANCISCO - Voters approved ballot measures to ban handguns in San Francisco and urge the city's public high schools and college campuses to keep out military recruiters.

With 100 percent of San Francisco precincts reporting on Wednesday, 58 percent of voters backed the proposed gun ban while 42 percent opposed it.

Measure H prohibits the manufacture and sale of all firearms and ammunition in the city, and make it illegal for residents to keep handguns in their homes or businesses.

Only two other major U.S. cities - Washington and Chicago - have implemented such sweeping handgun bans.


Makes perfectly good sense to me. I mean, why should they let Washington DC and Chicago steal all the "Murder Capital USA" headlines. Come on, share the love, fellas!

And perhaps, nothing sums up the gun control movement's true agenda better than telling comment:

Supervisor Chris Daly, who proposed the measure, said the victory showed that "San Francisco voters support sensible gun control."


There you have it: Sensible gun control = NO GUNS

And don't give me any of this "But we're only banning handguns!" crap. If they can get the voters to swallow a ban on .22-caliber target pistols, do you really thing they won't be going after pump-action "military-style" shotguns, and .308-caliber hunting sniper rifles next?

I can see the ads now, a picture of a .22 round with the word BANNED stenciled across it in some flowery pink lettering, accompanied by smiley faces, peace signs, and babies playing with kittens, and a 12-gauge shotgun shell next to it with STILL PERFECTLY LEGAL scrawled across it in flowing blood-red lettering.

Meanwhile, expect to see a surge in handgun-for-shotgun trades among San Francisco residents.

(link via Alphecca)