Go Fund Me for a Fallen Officer

Fundraiser by Tom Vaughn : Fallen Officer Lt. Aaron Allan

In case you didn't hear about it, the officer responded to a traffic accident, crawled inside the car to assist the trapped driver and the trapped driver SHOT AND KILLED HIM.

Lieutenant Allan left behind a wife and children. 

I am told that the Southport, IN, police department is very small, and the majority of officers are reservists, i.e., they serve without pay.

Tourniquets Save Lives

Lest it be lost in all the leftist blood-dancing over the attempted assassination of Representative Scalise, note that his comrades worked to save his life, including improvising a tourniquet.

Wow: Colleagues Rushed to Save Scalise’s Life - Cortney O'Brien

Since you can't count on having a veteran combat surgeon handy if and when the unthinkable happens, you should consider adding a trauma kit to your carry preparations.

PDF: Optimizing the use of Limb Tourniquets in Tactical Combat ...

tourniquets save lives at DuckDuckGo

Buy one, or more, and learn to use them.

I have a bunch of SOF-T Wide models, because group buy.

Tactical Medical Solutions | Training Resources


Here's one on improvising a tourniquet with a triangular bandage:

Another:


NOTE: It is highly recommended that you DO NOT limit your training on these essential items to watching a couple of YouTube videos, even if they are posted by an unimpeachable source.¹ 

In addition to TacMed, other good sources of equipment and information include Chinook Medical Gear, Inc and Imminent Threat Solutions.

Training is available through Insights Training: Tactical First Aid Training and Dark Angel Medical, among others.

Previously on The Cluemeter²:

• WSJ: "Tourniquet Use Urged in Public-Safety Push"
• Shooter Self-Care Class @ NRA AM2015 (Update)

1. Not that I consider myself unimpeachable on this sort of thing.
2. As I typed this I heard it in the voice of the announcer for the Adam West Batman series...

a pox on both their houses!

with apologies to e.e. cummings.

listen; there's a hell of a good universe next door. election 2016 is ted cruz v james webb. let's  go.

— Drang (@DWDrang) October 22, 2016

James Comey Should Resign

That is all.

New York Values!

Or: Some animals are more equal than others!

NYPD probe ensnares man offering to expedite gun permits - NY Daily News

A Brooklyn volunteer safety patrol member was charged Monday with bribing cops with $6,000 in cash and other goodies to expedite gun permit requests, and three officers were transferred out of the licensing unit as part of the far-reaching NYPD corruption probe.

Shaya (Alex) Lichtenstein, 44, was so cozy with cops in the License Division that he’d spent nearly every day inside the office in police headquarters since 2014, federal court papers say.

Mrs. Drang and I enjoy the TV show Castle, because Malcolm Reynolds is in it, after all, but I have to laugh every time Castle laments the fact that he can't get a gun permit...

The undercover then said he was nervous about getting involved in the scheme.

In response, Lichtenstein pulled out a calculator and estimated the officer could earn $900,000 if he helped with an estimated 150 permits.
...
He claimed all of his customers were eligible applicants and that he was merely asking the officers to speed up the process, the complaint shows.

But a review of his cases showed one applicant who was approved for gun permit in 2013 had a long criminal history, prosecutors said.

I know that a man named Jim March was bringing suit, or suits, in California because in the majority of the state, the way you got a carry permit was by making a large (four or five large, as it were...) donation to the county sheriff's reelection campaign.

Mr March's website does not seem to have been updated in over a decade, so I have no idea what his status is, although at least some counties are better about going shall-issue...)

This could get real festive: Sources: NYPD Corruption Probe Expands To Mayor’s Fundraising « CBS New York

See, the strongest argument against "may issue" (AKA "Local Option", AKA "Discretionary Licensing") is that whomever makes the decision gets to pick and choose, and even if that doesn't result in palms being greased to "expedite a friends request", it is inherently discriminatory. Which was part of Jim March's argument.

Check the date!

You know how all the Trumpites are losing their shit at this story?: Colorado Republicans cancel presidential vote at 2016 caucus - The Denver Post

Check the original publication date: Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2015.

Nearly eight months ago.

Don't recall what the polling looked like back then, but not spending money on caucusing so late in the primary season that it normally wouldn't have an impact on results probably seemed like a good idea at the time.

(Washington's  caucuses are done, but our primary is in May.)

(Since they have not adjusted to the fact that I retired over 15 years ago, my "military ballot" is already in the mail arrived today.)

(Minor update to fix wording, to match actual meaning, and update per the daily mail...)

Point Of Order!

People keep saying that the San Bernardino terrorists' AR15s were purchased legally, and then illegally modified.

The modifications WERE illegal, but the ARs were pruchased as part of a starw sale:
San Bernardino shooter used friend to dodge gun check, may have planned larger attack, sources say - LA Times

...one of the shooters in last week’s massacre at a San Bernardino social services center, asked a friend to buy two rifles used in the attack so he could dodge a federal background check and also may have been planning an even larger assault, according to government sources familiar with the ever-widening investigation.

One of the sources said Thursday that {dirtbag who's name I will not repeat} wanted to make sure “the guns were not tied back to him” when he asked Enrique Marquez to make the purchases at a Southern California gun store in 2011 or 2012. {DwnIwnr} feared he “wouldn’t pass a background check” if he attempted to acquire the military-style rifles on his own, the source said.

Gee, illegal activity facilitated terrorism.Who'd'u thunk it?

Not that I expect this fact to penetrate the hate-filled, bigoted skulls of those engaged in the "Let's Ban Guns!" blooddance.

The Blood Dance

Or: What Do Progressives Do When The Narrative Collapses?

QOTD worthy, from Tamara:

Today show is wall-to-wall "workplace violence mass shooting"as they cut off the legs of jihad to fit it into the Procrustean bed of the gun control narrative.

Meanwhile, as Tamara and Bobbi both also address, the definition of "mass shooting" has been redefined again, to now mean "four people shot, not necessarily killed." Because now they can claim "more mass shootings than days in 2015!" Ignoring the reality that most of these involve gang bangers, usually of the same (non-European) ethnic background, and quite frequently many are winged but few are killed.

Naturally, His Imperial Majesty Barack Hussein Obama, in Paris to deal with the number one existential threat to modern civilization(anthropogenic climate change, in case you missed it) got up on his hind legs, ran his suck, and once again made the claim that "these things don"t happen in other coutnries." 

In Paris.

Three weeks after ISIS slaughtered over a hundred.

The French press, apparently, called him an asshole. (Although I'm not as confident of that translation as the person reporting it is. Then again, insults and swear words often just sound silly, not insulting, in translation...)

Meanwhile, this seems to have been planned: Couple Kept Tight Lid on Plans for San Bernardino Shooting - The New York Times, although the Noo Yawk Slimes still insists a motive is unknown...

A good article: Obama’s inconsistent claim on the ‘frequency’ of mass shootings in the U.S. compared to other countries - The Washington Post

The Day After...

So, yesterday today* was September 11th.

Which, among other things, is Mrs. Drang's birthday.

My blogging friends, including those I have yet to meet, mostly posted... something.

Mind you, the whole thing still chokes me up, and makes me see red. Thus, in past years I posted videos which expressed the anger that Americans felt on September 11th,and many of us still do today.

However, it seems to me that the date has turned into yet another one on which we mark a box on the obligatory expression on whatever it has been deemed appropriate. (SEE: Christmas, Thanksgiving, et. al.)

Bobbi summed it up pretty well in her post, 11 September.

It does not help my attitude when our so-called "national leadership" seems bound and determined to sell us out to the adversary.

So, we were going to celebrate Mrs. Drang's birthday by going to the fair, ditched that, sent the morning doing not much, did some grocery shopping.

I installed a Surefire fore-end on my shotgun, then cooked dinner. Managed not to give either of us food poisoning


Just to show that I am not a complete curmudgeon, though, here is a Feel Good Video with a 9/11 tie-in: This Search and Rescue Dog and New York Hero Gets to Have the Best Day Ever Exploring New York City


*EDIT: Harummph, this was supposed to be scheduled to post in the wee small hours of 9/12. Oh, well.

More Thoughts On Murderous Nutjobs

Seen at Powerline Blog:
Dylann Roof and Vester Flanagan: Compare and Contrast | Power Line

Executive summary:

• Cracker nutjob tries to ignite a race war by murdering the members of the congregation of an African-American church, and the country loses its mind, bans the Confederate Battle Flag.
• Gay black nutjob tries to ignite a race war by murdering two former co-workers, and It's The Guns.

QOTD, 08/01/2015

I actually saw this yesterday, but I already had a QOTD for yesterday, so it got deferred to today.

At what Tamara likes to refer to as "An away game", and while discussing the Cecil The Lion "scandal", which in the way of these things devolved into a free range discussion of hunting, and what was Right And Proper and Pure, and What Was Evil and Wrong And Bad, David S. observed

How is it that so many of us in the gun community, who distrust the "liberal media," are so willing to accept this story at face value?

I've never been on an African "Safari"¹. If I had the money for same, I'd probably invest half and spend the rest on an Alaska hunt instead.

So here's what I know from talking about it with people who have been on Shikar²:

• You pays your money, you hires the Professional Hunter and his staff.
• The PH takes you around, and tells you when and where and which animal to shoot.
• That makes you the sport, not the, or a, "hunter."
• You have the option of paying "trophy fees" and getting a mount of the head.
• The meat is distributed among local communities.
• Hunting is controversial, especially among those whose knowledge of actual ecology ended at viewing Bambi at a young age.
• Hunting different from the way you/I do it is also controversial. 
• Mid-Westerners who "stalk"with a rifle or shotgun are liable to view those who hunt from a stand as some kind of barbarian, regardless of whether hunting from the ground there is practical, or even legal.
• People who have a scope on their shootin' 'arn feel the same about those without, and vice versa, ditto regarding legality.
• (EDITED TO ADD:) That goes double for weird styles of hunting involving strings and pointy sticks, guns that load from the front, or guns that look... icky.
• Also, some idiots are so much more concerned about the fate of a wild (well, semi-wild) animal than the facts that the "sport" in this case has received death threats, and the enlightened government of Zimbabwe (!) is demanding that said "sport" be extradited.
• Cecil was 13 years old. 
• The Average Life Span Of A Lion in the wild is 10-14 years.

Clearly, it's time to move to a cave in the mountains with a pile of "dead tree" books and give up on the human race.

***

1. Safari: A long overland trip, usually for diplomatic or trading purposes.
2. Shikar: Hunt, hunting.
This pretty much exhausts my knowledge of Swahili.

Magical Thinking

Or The Obama Misadministration summed up in one picture:

Stolen from.

Well, that's just unthinkable!

The Federalist: The Total Failure Of Gun Control Captured In One Photo

This is, of course, the front window of the Marine Corps Recruiting station at which four Marines were murdered yesterday by a member of the Religion Of Peace.
"FEDERAL INSTALLATION
"FIREARMS ARE PROHIBITED IN THIS FACILITY"

Later in this article is this tweet from AP:

BREAKING: FBI: Man who attacked military sites in Tennessee purchased some of his guns illegally.

— The Associated Press (@AP) July 17, 2015

Authorize Military Personnel To Defend Themselves

Petition up at whitehouse.org:

Re-instate the Right to Bear Arms to All Military Personnel By Allowing Concealed Carry of Firearms While On Duty. | We the People: Your Voice in Our Government

we petition the obama administration to:

Re-instate the Right to Bear Arms to All Military Personnel By Allowing Concealed Carry of Firearms While On Duty.

We petition an immediate and full revocation of Department of Defense Directive 5210.66 and all pursuant military service regulations restricting the rights of DoD / Military personnel in regards to firearms.
DoD Directive 5210.66 restricts all DoD personnel from exercising the right to bear arms while on a DoD installation unless it is expressly written into their job duties. This Directive (and pursuant service regulations) effectively prohibit service members from carrying a concealed firearm for self defense.
DoD Directive 5210.66 restricts our highly trained service members from access to their firearms when it is most needed. In its place a new directive should be authored allowing a "Shall Issue" concealed carry weapon permit system to be established for all DoD personnel.

h/t OldNFO

Dear Oregon

No. Just... No.

I was going to be quite a bit more colorful, but my mother occasionally reads this.

Outrage

The Pledge

If the Government makes rules that limit my First Amendment right to express my opinion, I will not obey those rules.

I'm see no reason to limit the Patterico Free Speech Pledgeto the Federal Elections Commission,or, for that matter, the Federal Communications Commission.

My greatest fear is that someone, somewhere, will find a way to interpret a simple statement of opinion as libel/slander or a "disclosure of national security information", and the next thing you know, it's off to the Lubyanka...

Not sayin' it's "decorate the lamp-posts" time, but, frankly, any politician, elected or appointed, who supports government control of the internet deserves the whole torch & pitchfork, tar & feather, stocks & pillory, ride 'em outta town on a rail treatment.

Illigitimati Nil Carborundum...

Takes on a whole new meaning in light of recent events in the City of Light...

23 Heartbreaking Cartoons From Artists Responding To The Charlie Hebdo Shooting - BuzzFeed News
A couple of my favorites:

"Died For The Freedom of Expression"

Washington State violates the Letter of Initiative 594

EDITED TO ADD:  It would probably have been more accurate to title this post "Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife Announces Intent to Violate Letter of Law, Support of One Percenters Endorsement of Selective Enforcement"  But that would have been absurd...

Apparently, the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife has sent out a letter to Hunters Safety Instructors regarding how Initiative 594 impacts them. Full text is here, Joe has an excerpt describing the way DFW says Hunters Safety classes will be conducted in order to avoid falling afoul of the law at at I-594 fears confirmed | The View From North Central Idaho.

Here's the rub: When I went to read the full text of the DFW's letter at the first link, I saw this:

•  I-594 exempts all law enforcement agencies from the background check/transfer requirement. WDFW, as a general authority Washington law enforcement agency pursuant to RCW 10.93.020(1), is therefore exempt from this requirement.  Any firearms purchase, sale or transfer to or from WDFW or WDFW employees when acting within the scope of their authority, is exempt from the background check/transfer requirement in I-594.
•   The Hunter Education Program is a WDFW program authorized by state law pursuant to RCW 77.32.155(1)(a).  Hunter Education Instructors, when in formal volunteer status for WDFW and acting within the scope of their authority for purposes of the Hunter Education Program, act on behalf of WDFW, and are therefore exempt from the background check/transfer requirements.  This exemption extends to Hunter Education Instructors whether or not they are actually in the classroom, provided that they are in formal volunteer status for WDFW and acting within the scope of their authority for purposes of the Hunter Education Program.

Emphasis added; essentially, DFW is claiming that any of their employees are Law Enforcement Officers under the definition of the law. Unfortunately for DFW, Initiative 594 defines Law Enforcement as follows:

Section 2(11) "Law enforcement officer" includes a general authority Washington peace officer as defined in RCW 10.93.020, or a specially commissioned Washington peace officer as defined in RCW 10.93.020. "Law enforcement officer" also includes a limited authority Washington peace officer as defined in RCW 10.93.020 if such officer is duly authorized by his or her employer to carry a concealed pistol.

Consulting Section 10.93.020 of the Revised Code of Washington, we learn the following:

 (3) "General authority Washington peace officer" means any full-time, fully compensated and elected, appointed, or employed officer of a general authority Washington law enforcement agency who is commissioned to enforce the criminal laws of the state of Washington generally.
(4) "Limited authority Washington peace officer" means any full-time, fully compensated officer of a limited authority Washington law enforcement agency empowered by that agency to detect or apprehend violators of the laws in some or all of the limited subject areas for which that agency is responsible. A limited authority Washington peace officer may be a specially commissioned Washington peace officer if otherwise qualified for such status under this chapter.
(5) "Specially commissioned Washington peace officer", for the purposes of this chapter, means any officer, whether part-time or full-time, compensated or not, commissioned by a general authority Washington law enforcement agency to enforce some or all of the criminal laws of the state of Washington, who does not qualify under this chapter as a general authority Washington peace officer for that commissioning agency, specifically including reserve peace officers.... A reserve peace officer is an individual who is an officer of a Washington law enforcement agency who does not serve such agency on a full-time basis but who, when called by the agency into active service, is fully commissioned on the same basis as full-time peace officers to enforce the criminal laws of the state.

Again, emphasis added; I don't believe that Hunters Safety Instructors are empowered to enforce any laws. Do they get handcuffs when they are certified? Badge and a gun?

Thing is, this whole POS of a law is full of land mines and traps for the well-meaning honest person, and every time we bring them up, we're told "Oh, don't worry, that's not the intent, no one will ever dream of enforcing that!"

Right.

Here's a fun fact: I-594 defines a "firearm" thus:

(9) "Firearm" means a weapon or device from which a projectile or projectiles may be fired by an explosive such as gunpowder.

Tomorrow being my day off, I am going to go to Lowe's and Home Depot and ask about the procedures they have in place to conduct a background check on persons wanting to purchase a powder-actuated  power tool.

Then I'll call some local contractors and ask if their employees provide their own tools, and, if not, what is the procedure they follow to ensure that anyone handling powder-actuated tools on their work sites are authorized to handle them. Any of your employees non-US citizens? Any felony convictions, for, say, drug use?  How about misdemeanor convictions for domestic violence?

Then I'll call a few boating supply stores and pursue the same line of questioning re: flare guns.

Typical classy gun banner does the Blood Dance

Too Soon? Nick Hanauer Posts Sarcastically, ‘We Need More School Shootings!!!’ | KUOW News and Information
This is the tweet in question:

Seen at KUOW News and Information

Nick Hanauer, of course, is one of the billionaires who is backing Washington State Ballot Initiative 594, which would mandate a background check for nearly every firearms transfer in the state, even if all you are doing is swapping guns with your buddy on the range.

Seen at KUOW, the NPR station of U of W. Not too crazy about their headline, either, frankly. According to the article, several backers of I594 have asked him to take the tweet down, but it was still up late this afternoon.

Liberals.  Can't live with 'em, can't string 'em up from the nearest lamppost, no matter how big a douche bag they are.