Friday Follies for March 22, 2013

Ammunition has become scarce while news arrives of the DHS buying more ammo and armored vehicles—2,500 armored troop carriers. There is not direct proof that the DHS is cause of the scarity of ammo but many believe that is one reason, if not the main reason.

Personally, I don’t know. The shortage has caused problems for police and sheriff’s offices, especially those outside metro areas.

Police Departments Beg And Barter For Ammo While DHS Buys Up 1.6 Billion Rounds In Past Year

March 22, 2013, 

The nationwide shortage of ammunition has left many police departments scrambling to get their hands on the necessary rounds – with some even bartering among each other.

Meanwhile, Rep. Timothy Huelskamp (R-Kansas) says the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has failed to respond to multiple members of Congress asking why DHS bought more than 1.6 billion rounds in the past year.

Police Chief Cameron Arthur of Jenks, Oklahoma says, “Ammunition and assault weapons in general have skyrocketed…In addition to the fact, not only is it a lot more expensive, but the time to get it could be six months to a year, or in some cases even longer.”

Arthur says he is waiting on an order placed last October and that many departments have begun to trade and barter with each other because of the high demand.

“Most police departments are having a very difficult time even getting the necessary ammunition for handguns, shotguns and especially rifles,” Arthur said.

“With the delay in ammunition, some departments are limiting the number of rounds they carry in their handgun because of the shortage of ammunition. We get to the point where it is difficult to have enough ammo to train and also equip the officers.”

There is more information at the website. You can read all of it here. One of the really surprising shortages, contrary to all the previous shortages since Obama was elected, is .22s. My last trip to Walmart found they had no .22lr nor .22mag ammunition. Whenever they receive any, it’s gone within an hour. Across the country, ammo replenishment for store shelves is low and slow.

No one, conspiracy theorists aside, really knows why.

***

Secret Police—paid informants who spy on their neighbors, has come to New York state, thanks to their tyrant, Governor Andrew Cuomo. He has funded a corps of secret police to enforce his latest gun control scheme. What is more troubling is that he started his plan a year before he rammed his gun control laws through the New York legislature.

N.Y. gun-rights advocates upset over tipline

 

Friday Follies for January 4, 2013

This comes under the category of “Actions have consequences.”

Police Kicked Out Of Belleville Denny’s For Being Armed

January 3, 2013 6:40 AM

BELLEVILLE, Ill. (KMOX) – Belleville police chief Bill Clay is ordering his officers to get their pancakes from anywhere but Denny’s, calling the restaurant “political stupidness.”

The new orders come after a New Year’s Day clash between five detectives and one Denny’s manager.

The department says the detectives were out of uniform but wearing their badges, when manager David Rice asked them to either leave or put their guns in their vehicle.

Rice, told the detectives that one of their weapons, specifically a female detective’s gun, was making another diner feel uncomfortable.

As the officers were leaving, without their food, General Manager Michael Van walked up and corrected the manager and said it was fine for them to stay, but the officers said it would be too awkward and they left.

Denny’s corporate office has released an apology saying, “Denny’s policy permits law enforcement officials to carry their firearms in the restaurant and we regret any misunderstanding.”

An employee at the Belleville Denny’s didn’t want to talk about the confrontation to KMOX, but some Denny’s customers said the presence of police and their guns was not an issue.

My wife grew up in a small town not far from Belleville, IL. Belleville is next to crime-ridden East St. Louis and has much of the same problems as does East St. Louis. I suspect the local manager may have had issues with the police and used their guns as an excuse to cause problems.

***

With little public notice the November unemployment rate was quietly raised one-tenth of a point to 7.8. Initially the rate was widely published as proof the unemployment rate was falling. Nope, another administration lie. The initial rate for December 2012 is flat—maintaining that 7.8% level. The administration’s usual practice means that percentage rate will be revised upward later this month.

***

Due to outcries of rage from downstate and across the country, Illinois dems pull their gun control bills that would ban semi-automatic rifles, pistols, shotguns, pump-shotguns and magazines holding more than 10 rounds.

The Illinois Senate pulled the plug on legislation to ban assault-style weapons and high-capacity ammo clips late Thursday, a stinging rebuke to Democrats and a wake-up call to the president and his supporters who think the Newtown, Conn. school child slayings will make it easy to pass gun control. — The Washington Examiner.

***

This article may be a portent of things to come. We received our Comcast bill yesterday for the month of January 2013. It had gone up $50. We have bundled service including cable, internet and land-line telephone service. If I analyzed the bill correctly, the bundle went up around $35 and rest in fees and taxes.  I didn’t see an Obamacare surcharge listed but I have no doubt it was there in some form.

Perhaps this is next.

Report: Cable Companies Look To Raise Cost For Heavy Internet Use

January 4, 2013 9:33 AM

WASHINGTON (CBS DC) – Heavy Internet users may see their prices rise as Time Warner and other cable providers continue testing a new business model that charges customers based upon the amount of data they use.

“Usage-based pricing” – which is similar to most wireless plans – is what cable companies are looking to use for all Internet due to congestion they claim is clogging up many networks. In a December report, the New America Foundation said caps on data would restrict customers who want to stream movies, television shows or take online classes.

As services like streaming video, cloud data storage, and videoconferencing have increased online, the amount of Internet data consumed by individuals has simultaneously increased. However, while new services and applications require more data, most major Internet service and mobile providers in the United States are moving in the opposite direction by discouraging Internet usage by implementing more restrictive and costly data caps.

I’m a moderate internet user. My usage isn’t due to streaming video or audio. Nor do I take on-line courses. I do own my own mail and web servers and a book search-engine for selected wannabe writers. So far I’m just a blip on the data usage monitor. That may change if this scheme comes to pass.

It’s ironic that telecom providers like AT&T, Sprint, Verizon and others have moved away from this concept in favor of flat fees and block usage. Sprint in particular has several very popular plans with unlimited voice and data usage. The telecom providers found that measured service restricted growth and revenue.

Cable providers are newcomers in the communication and data area and lack the experience that traditional telecom providers possess. I know some cable providers prefer to constrain usage instead of investing in network upgrades and expansion to allow more capacity and growth. 

Time will tell which scheme wins. Personally, I think the cable/internet providers are making a significant strategic error.

Tuesday’s Thoughts

VEEP Joe Biden was in town yesterday for a fundraiser for Claire “Mommy-mouth” McCaskill.  Only the party elites were invited. It was a closed, private session. No one from the public was wanted.  Why, they may ask some embarrassing questions like, “If you are against Obamacare as you now claim, why did you vote for it?”  Can’t have that!

The only public notice so far is the disruption of traffic as Biden’s entourage wanders around town. It must keep the KCPD on their toes blocking traffic everytime Biden turns left when he should have turned right.

***

Like New York, Illinois and California, Maryland increased taxes on the “rich.” Guess what?  Maryland lost population since those tax increases were enacted and actually lost revenue.

Published: Monday, 9 Jul 2012 | 11:52 AM ET

A new report says wealthy Maryland residents may be moving out due to recent tax hikes – a finding that is sure to escalate the battle over taxing the American rich.The study, by the anti-tax group Change Maryland, says that a net 31,000 residents left the state between 2007 and 2010, the tenure of a “millionaire’s tax” pushed through by Gov. Martin O’Malley. The tax, which expired in 2010, in imposed a rate of 6.25 percent on incomes of more than $1 million a year.

The Change Maryland study found that the tax cost Maryland $1.7 billion in lost tax revenues.  A county-by-county analysis by Change Maryland also found that the state’s wealthiest counties also had some of the largest population outflows.

In total, Maryland has added 24 new taxes or fees in recent years, Change Maryland says. Florida, which has no income-tax, has been a large recipient of Maryland’s exiled wealthy.

That’s known as voting with their feet. It takes a particular style of stupidity to believe folks will just stand there and accept more taxes when they can do something about it.

***

I saw a column today that rang bells in my mind.  I just don’t believe the story as written. Something has been misreported, misunderstood or somebody’s lying.

The story goes like this. A woman approached an off-duty police office from the rear, hugged him and “the gun just went off all by itself!”  The woman was shot through the lung and heart and died at a local hospital.

Let me list the things in this story that I question.

  1. Guns just don’t fire all by themselves.  The trigger must be pulled. Question #1 is how did the trigger get pulled?
  2. According the to story, the pistol was in a holster. Modern holsters are designed to cover the trigger and trigger guard to prevent the trigger from being pulled or from being snagged — while in the holster. Since the woman hugged the cop’s back, the muzzle of the pistol had to be horizontal and to the rear. That implies the pistol was in a shoulder holster. Every shoulder holster I’ve seen covers the trigger. Question #2 is how did the trigger get pulled?
  3. The wound included the lung and heart. If you look at an anatomical chart of the human body you’ll notice that to shoot someone in the lung and heart, the bullet must pass through the body from an angle or from the side. It unlikely a bullet passing from front to the rear would hit both the heart and lung. If the woman hugged the cop’s back and the gun went off, the bullet should have grazed her ribs.  Or, she hugged him from the side. Again, the story has some holes.

Of course we must remember, this happened in Detroit.

There are so many facts in this story that just doesn’t ring true. I suspect someone was playing with the gun — fast draw maybe — and the trigger was pulled.That happened here in KC, in the KCPD police locker room some years ago.  No one was hit in that instance as I remember.

Here is the story as it was reported by the AP.

Police: Hug triggers officer’s gun, kills woman

Jul 8, 11:28 PM (ET)

DETROIT (AP) – A woman celebrating the weekend before her 25th birthday was fatally shot Sunday when she hugged an off-duty police officer while dancing at a party, causing the officer’s service weapon to fire, according to police and her mother.

Adaisha Miller would have turned 25 on Monday, according to her mother, Yolanda McNair.

The shooting happened at an outdoor social gathering about 12:30 a.m., said police Sgt. Eren Stephens. It happened on the city’s west side.

According to Stephens, the woman “embraced the officer from behind, causing the holstered weapon to accidently discharge.” The bullet punctured Miller’s lung and hit her heart, and she died at a hospital.

Stephens said the Detroit officer will remain on administrative duties while authorities investigate the shooting and report their findings to the Wayne County prosecutor. The officer’s name was not released.

It appears to me this story was written to enhance the myth that guns, all weapons for that matter, are sentient and evil. Guns just wait for an opportunity to go off “all by themselves” and kill someone.

Yep, that sounds like the AP. Perpetuating the myth.

Survived the weekend (Updated)

I used to joke about that—surviving from one day to another.

I’m into my 10th day being sick. There have been a lot of ups and downs. For the last two days, I’ve incrementally been better. Overall yesterday was good. Yesterday evening not so good.

Today, my goal is a good day and a good evening.

Update (9/27/2011).  Great day yesterday. Went to the doc yesterday afternoon and got some different meds.  Felt great until it was time to go to bed.  Couldn’t sleep.  Didn’t doze off until after 2:00AM, and then intermittently.  Note-to-self: don’t take meds in the evening.

One day at a time.

At least, I’m feeling good enough to post something on the blog.

***

There are few things more frightening than cops with guns.  One of those few things are cops with SAMs.  Yes that’s right. The ability to shoot down an aircraft “if necessary.”  I can’t see the NYPD hauling around the large caliber anti-aircraft guns that would be effective, so, reading between the lines, that means SAMs.

I wonder if these are some of the ones missing from Libya?

NEW YORK (AP) — The chief of the New York Police Department says city police could take down a plane if necessary.

Commissioner Ray Kelly tells CBS’ “60 Minutes” that after the Sept. 11 attacks, he decided the city couldn’t rely on the federal government alone. He set about creating the NYPD’s own counter-terrorism unit. He says the department is prepared for multiple scenarios and could even take down a plane.

Kelly didn’t divulge details but said “obviously this would be in a very extreme situation.” 

This comes from the police department that needed 50 rounds to kill an unarmed man on his wedding day. There are other incidents by the NYPD when their officers killed an unarmed man.
Wonder what they’d do if Grandpa’s Piper Cub strayed off course over NYC?  Knowing the itchy trigger fingers of the cops in NYC…Boom!
Oh yes, this from the city who are afraid to allow their citizens the means to defend themselves but acquire heavy artillery for themselves.  More hypocrisy from Mayor Bloomberg.

***

Obama has been out campaigning and claiming to be a “class warrior.”  Of course we know what that is. Obama’s the enemy of the Eeeevile rich or anyone who still has a job, and an enemy of corporations and small businesses who provide those jobs.

Glenn McCoy has this view of Obama’s travels.

Class Warfare