Good Gun Bills Moving In Michigan

SB610, the lifting of the SBS and SBR ban, has passed out of the House Judiciary Committee and headed to the House Floor. Apparently there was an amendment to the bill so it will ave to go back to the Senate after passing the House but it is still moving.

This is a real improvement in Michigan law and lets Michiganians join about 40mother states that do not ban possession of SBRs and SBSs as long as you comply with Federal law.

In addition to the SBR/SBS legalization, there is a packet of bills to reaffirm that firearm records are confidential, not FOIAble, and only available to peace officers for proper purposes and disclosures in violation of the law would be a misdemeanor and a second violation will be a felony. Excellent.

Michigan's Supreme Court has already held that Concealed Pistol License Information is not subject to FOIA, but it is nice to see this both reinforced and expanded by statute to all firearms records along with some real teeth for violations.

Two very good proposed laws indeed, and it is worth politely contacting your Representative and asking them to support and vote for passage of both these reforms.

It's Always In The Last Place You Look

Hidden fortress found under Alcatraz

Previously thought to have been destroyed, it turns out that the Civil War era fortress was instead buried under the prison.

From The Detroit Free Press:

A surprising find under what used to be America’s most notorious prison: Texas A&M researchers using ground-penetrating radar have discovered the remains of an old military fortress long believed to have been completely destroyed, reports the BBC.

. . .

The radar has revealed old fortifications along with buried magazine buildings and tunnels dating from long before the main prison building was erected in 1915.

Yet another neat find, and an excavation of the prison's parade ground should turn up some interesting parts of the fortress.

Meanwhile, it looks like another lost fort, Fort Caroline, thought to have been in Florida may instead have been in Georgia all this time.

Some people lose their keys, but it takes a country to lose entire forts....

But, But, He's An Expert!

A cautionary tale of what happens when a scientist steps outside of his specialty to pontificate.

The Detroit Free Press: Can giant walls protect the U.S. from tornadoes?

Sounds like a great idea right? But in a word, no.

One scientist thinks we can protect parts of the central United States from ferocious tornadoes by building several gigantic walls across Tornado Alley:

“If we build three east-west great walls in the American Midwest .... one in North Dakota, one along the border between Kansas and Oklahoma to the east, and the third one in south Texas and Louisiana, we will diminish the tornado threats in the Tornado Alley forever,” according to physicist Rongjia Tao of Temple University.

The walls would need to be about 1,000 feet high and 150 feet wide, he said. Tao is presenting his research next week at the annual meeting of the American Physical Society in Denver.

Apparently there's a fair bit of healthy skepticism regarding this plan:

Naysayers abound. Aside from the cost of $60 billion per 100 miles (according to Tao’s estimates) and huge engineering challenges, “it wouldn’t work,” tornado researcher Harold Brooks of the National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, Okla., said in an e-mail.

Brooks said that China has deadly tornadoes despite the east-west mountain ranges there. In addition, he said, tornadoes still occur in parts of Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri despite the presence there of smaller east-west mountain ranges similar in size to Tao’s proposed walls.

“If his hypothesis was true, we’d already have the thing he wants to build naturally,” Brooks said.

“This is essentially a case of a physicist, who may be very good in his sub-discipline, talking about a subject about which he is abysmally ignorant,” Brooks said.

Another expert, meteorologist Mike Smith of AccuWeather Enterprise Solutions, also called the theory “nonsense.”

Global warmists that similarly think they have all the simple answers, take note.

A further reason beyond those given in the article as to why this will never work: Even if it could work, we can't even build a comparatively small wall across our southern border.

Anyone really think we would be able to build a series of 1,000 foot high, 150 foot thick walls stretching for hundreds of miles? The environmental impact stage alone would take decades and the cost overruns would push this into the trillions.

The Mysterious Mummies Of The Tarim Basin Reveal the World's Oldest Examples Of Cheese

The Tarim Basin Mummies, located in China, have already turned a lot of what was thought to be known about Bronze Age Chinese history and cultural transmissions on its head when it turned out that the mummies were not ethnic Chinese but instead Western Eurasians. The mummies have just revealed another interesting revelation.

An examination of their tombs has produced examples of the world's oldest cheese, apparently produced using by the kefir method and dating back to 1650-1450 BC

The Detroit Free Press: Great Gouda! World's oldest cheese found - on mummies

The combination of dry desert air and salty soil prevented decay to an extraordinary degree. The remains and grave goods were freeze-dried, preserving the light-brown hair and strangely non-Asian facial features of the dead along with their felt hats, wool capes and leather boots. Analysis of the plant seeds and animal tissues in the tombs showed the burials date to 1450 to 1650 BC.

Some of the bodies had oddly shaped crumbs on their necks and chests. By analyzing the proteins and fats in these clumps, Shevchenko and his colleagues determined that they're definitely cheese, not butter or milk. It's not clear why people were buried with bits of cheese on their bodies, Shevchenko says, though perhaps it was food for the afterlife.

The analysis also showed the mummies' cheese was made by combining milk with a "starter," a mix of bacteria and yeast. This technique is still used today to make kefir, a sour, slightly effervescent dairy beverage, and kefir cheese, similar to cottage cheese.

The Tarim Mummies continue to provide interesting revelations about trade, innovation and migration in the ancient world.

There's This Plane That's The King Of CAS, So Of Course The Air Force And DOD Want To Get Rid Of It

The Detroit Free Press: Military spending cuts could affect A-10 aircraft fleet at Selfridge

Yes, they want to retire the most effective ground-support aircraft we've got, and replace it with the unproven F-35 "one-bird-for-all-missions-master-of-none". The not yet ready for prime time F-35, I might add.

Between the excellent payload capacity, loiter time, ability to go low-and-slow and that monster 30 mm Gatling gun, The A-10 is close air support personified.

And they want to get rid of it because CAS isn't a very sexy mission and instead have F-35 jets do it.

Now the F-35 has less loiter time and also costs about ten times as much per aircraft (around $13 million per A-10 compared to $133 million per F-35 aircraft and the cost keeps rising), and we likely won't be able to afford enough of them for the F-35 to be available to perform all the missions for which it is tasked.

You'd think they'd want to keep the A-10s in place at least until the F-35 is a proven quantity and is shown to do the CAS role better than the A-10. As if.

Does anyone really think getting rid of the A-10 is a good idea at this juncture?

2 DGUs Reported In Detroit And A Threat Made Against The Police Chief All In The Same Week

Two serious defensive firearm uses in Detroit this week. In both cases, the bad guys were driven off and no good people were killed, and one bad guy's life of crime has been permanently ended.

The Detroit News: Detroit homeowner kills 1 intruder, wounds another

Two men who broke into a southwest Detroit house early Saturday morning encountered an armed homeowner who opened fire, killing one of the intruders and wounding the other.

The incident is the second this week involving a homeowner who used a firearm to fend off intruders.

. . .

“After two men broke into the home, one of the suspects attempted to hit the homeowner with a tire-iron,” Johnson said. “A struggle ensued, and the homeowner managed to shoot both of them.”

A 21-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene of a gunshot wound to the chest, Johnson said. The second suspect, ran away.

On Monday, a woman made national news after she fired at three teens, ages 14, 14 and 15, who broke into her northwest side home. The teens were quickly arrested and charged with home invasion.

Two DGUs in one week, both positively reported. In Detroit.

And Chief Craig gets my continued kudos for sticking to his support of armed civilians:

Craig has repeatedly stressed his belief that the city’s crime rate would be lowered if more responsible citizens were armed, because criminals would think twice about attacking them.

“I’ve said it many times: Good Americans with guns can help deter crime,” Craig said.

I really like this Police Chief. Unlike his predecessor Detroit PD chiefs, he's neither involved in affairs with his subordinates, ignoring laws, nor slavishly toeing the Democrat party line on firearms while breaking firearms laws.

So yes, I think finally Detroit has an effective and first-rate no-BS Police Chief.

He's also actually enforcing the laws and making a serious effort going after serious criminals, again unlike his predecessors.

So much so, a drug dealer has threatened him personally:

The Detroit News: FBI investigates death threat against Detroit Police chief

Craig believes the man who made the threat is upset because police are costing him money by ramping up the number of drug-house raids they conduct.

“We’re raiding, on average, 35 dope houses a week, and we’ve done five large-scale sweeps, and it’s putting a serious crimp in the dope dealers’ money,” Craig said. “What I take from this is, what we’re doing is working. This guy actually did me a favor, because he let me know we’re making a difference by going after these dope dealers.”

That's a big mistake threatening a quality Police Chief like Craig, a very big mistake indeed. Hopefully, they catch this stupid guy quick and put him away for a good long time.

Aww, UAW Being A Sore Loser

In fine Democrat/Union fashion, if you don't get the result you want, the UAW wants to throw the results out and try again until it does.

The Detroit Free Press: UAW asks labor board for new vote at Volkswagen

The sole reason for the appeal lacks comes down to "Oh Noes, Republicans were against it - publicly!"

Citing public statements by Republican U.S. Sen. Bob Corker and other Tennessee politicians, the UAW asked the National Labor Relations Board to set aside the results and conduct a new election.

. . .

“Senator Corker’s conduct was shameful and undertaken with utter disregard for the rights of the citizens of Tennessee and surrounding states that work at Volkswagen Chattanooga,” the union said in a 58-page document filed Friday. “It is a more than adequate basis for sustaining these objections.”

Wow, so a Republican says its a bad idea for the Union to get its claws into VW and points out there may be consequences and that's disregarding worker's rights? What the UAW thinks the VW workers are too dumb to evaluate the situation for themselves and vote in their own best interest?

Of course, President Obama coming out publicly in favor of the vote is not to be remarked upon as interference.

Man up UAW, you held a vote and lost, suck it up and maybe do a little introspection on how you've become less about the workers and more about self-aggrandizement and promotion for you and the Democrat party.

Apparently while there's no crying in baseball, there is when the UAW loses elections.

You Mayan Be A Viking....

If you think the end of the world takes place this Sunday, February 22.

The Detroit Free Press Headline: Viking calendar predicts the world will end Saturday

Actually, it doesn't really, nor is it a calendar. They're conflating the Mayan calendar with the misreading of a Viking legend about the end of the world.

The ragnar will be röking on Saturday when, according to some, the Viking calendar predicts the end of the world.

Nordic folklore has it that after three freezing winters, when there have been no summers in between, the world will come to an end.

Notice how it's Nordic Folklore and not a calendar! Ah well, the Freep never let a few facts get in the way of a headline or false cross-cultural comparison before.

The past two summers have been cold and wet, so declaring that Ragnarök (otherwise known as the Twilight of the Gods) is upon us is a subjective call.

No kidding it's subjective there sportsfans, that's not three freezing winters with no summer in between. That's a few mild-ish winters with low average summers, so no it don't count.

Arguably, this is the first freezing winter as its markedly colder than previous, thanks to that other great cross-cultural mythos, Global Warming.

So, I can happily confidentially predict that the world will not end Sunday due to a Viking Doomsday Calendar, as there's no such thing.

You may keep on ragnorockin' in the free world as usual, and normal pillaging will resume on Monday as scheduled.

Come On Now

It was sunny yesterday and with clean dry roads along with a slight snow melt.  This brought with it hope that this constant drudgery of snow shovelling and messed-up roads might come to an end.

They were predicting rain today.

Instead we got:

This is not rain.

We got snow, and a lot of it.  Even better than just a snow storm alone with it reducing visibility, we also got a nice layer of ice under the snow to really make driving a pleasure.  Lots of cars in ditches and slow moving traffic today.

Really truly sick of winter at this point.

Back From The 2014 Daddy Daughter Dance

Tonight was the annual Daddy Daughter dance, held at a local country club through the Township's Parks and Rec program.

It's a very special night for them where they get to be all dressed up and go out on the town.

Before we left, I presented them each with a corsage for the occasion.

The night is very well done with excellent organization, white tablecloths, great food and good music.

First we checked in and got a photo taken to memorialize the event, and it came out great and will be an excellent keepsake, and nice to compare it to the picture from two years ago.

Then we headed to the buffet line and had some excellent food - various salads. mac and cheese, vegetables, chicken and prime rib.  Then there was jello, chocolate mousse, and cake for dessert.

With the food digested, we hit the dance floor and they got to dance to the latest popular songs along with some that are more popular with the dads.

After dancing, they needed to take a break, and to supplement their strength with Shirley Temples. These were ordered from the bar, with each of them happy to have a properly sophisticated kid's drink.

Then back to the dance floor we went until it was time to go.  On the way out, each kid got a box of chocolates and a little stuffed animal which was a very nice touch.

They had a great time with smiles all around, and are now fast asleep with school awaiting them tomorrow.


They're growing up, but still young enough to have a fun time dancing with their old man and they've created a fresh batch of good memories to save for later.

Oy Puppy 2 - Jett Loses His Jett Pack

It wasn't enough that Jett just got the shave job from hell.

Yesterday, the day came when Jett was scheduled to be taken to the vet and get tutored.

We're going where? To Do What?

The surgery went well, and now his Jett pack is gone.

What the hell kind of tutoring was that? I'm sore and not any smarter! How could you let them do this to me?

At least he doesn't need to wear the Cone of Shame. He's been handling it pretty well and been in a good mood. He's receiving lots of treats.

I still can't believe you let them do this to me, and no, I will not wear that cone!

 However, I couldn't do much to object.

Not only is it the proper thing to do and the appropriate time for it, but Tash warned me that if I objected too strenuously, she was looking into a 2-for-1 special.

Yikes. Better him than me.

Yeah Aaron, if you and Murphy's Law are ever late coming back from the range or trip together again, she told me she's going to arrange that 2-for-1 special for you both.....

Ruh-Roh.

Michigan Bill to Overturn SBR and SBS Ban Heads To The State House

I blogger preciously about the Michigan Senate passing bill SB610 to overturn Michigan's ban on its law-abiding citizens possessing short-barreled shotguns and rifles.

Now the passed Senate bill has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee and is set to be heard by the committee on Thursday February 20th.

If your rep is on the committee, a politely worked email, or even better a phone call in favor of this bill would be a good idea.

Representatives on the committee are listed here.

It's certainly time for Michigan to join the majority of states that do not ban their law-abiding citizens from having such handy, not to mention already federally regulated, firearms.

It's From The Associated Press, So Let's Play Name That Party

The Detroit News: Former U.S. Rep. Melvin Jay Reynolds arrested in Zimbabwe

He's been arrested for pornography and immigration offenses, no less.

Reynolds, 62, was arrested Monday by police detectives and immigration officials at a Harare hotel, according to the state-controlled newspaper, The Herald.

He brought several Zimbabwean models and other women to his hotel room where he took photographs and videos, the newspaper reported.

As Reynolds was being escorted to a government vehicle he demanded that officials give him his mobile phone and laptop computer, according to The Herald, whose reporter arrived at the hotel as the arrest was taking place.

Reynolds complained that he was not expecting such treatment when he had brought investors to the country, according to the newspaper. He said he had been to Zimbabwe 17 times and had called for U.S. sanctions to be dropped against President Robert Mugabe and his top associates.

The difference between of course is that former rep Reynolds and Mugabe and associates is that Reynolds is only doing a few Zimbabweans at a time, while Mugabe & Co are doing the entire country.

Of course, this being the Associated Press, it's not until the sixth paragraph that we get a scant mention of his party affiliation and of his prior serious legal troubles:

This is the latest of several legal problems for Reynolds, an Illinois Democrat, who once was a Rhodes scholar. Reynolds resigned from his congressional seat in 1995 after he was convicted of 12 counts of statutory rape, obstruction of justice and solicitation of child pornography. While in prison he was also convicted of bank and campaign fraud. He was in jail until his sentence was commuted by President Bill Clinton in Jan. 2001.

How nice of Bill Clinton to have given a 12-time statutory rapist and child pornography solicitor, and fellow Democrat of course, a pass. Most people would let scum like that rot in jail.

Dearbon Democrat Caught Ducking Taxes

Representative Rashida Tlaib has been mentioned on this blog before, and she's now making an appearance for some tax problems, namely having two principal residence exemptions.

You're only supposed to have one.

Of course, she blames not herself as much as the

“broken” property tax system that allowed her and her husband to double-claim principal residences in both cities, lowering their annual tax bill on the rental house in Dearborn by 18 mills and shortchanging the Dearborn School District by about $350 annually.

As reported in The Detroit news: Tlaib blames 'broken' system for failure to pay Dearborn school taxes

This is rather nonsense, when you buy a house as a primary residence you have to affirmatively file a primary residence exemption and you're supposed to file the removal of the old one from your prior residence. This isn't unknown to home-buyers and Tlaib as both an attorney and politician knew or should have known this. It's not rocket science, and the instructions on the exemption form are very clear.

For 5 years she saved about $1,750 in taxes having her rental listed as a primary residence.

Democrat politicians and taxes just don't seem to go well together in the Detroit area.

After all, taxes are for the little people, not for Detroit-area Democrat politicians.

Oy, Puppy!

We took Jett to the vet because he had a case of Doggie pink eye, even after being treated with antibiotics some crud has lingered in his left eye. It turns out the muscle that controls his inner eyelid isn't well developed so it doesn't stay tight so gunk builds up. We've been cleaning it and trying to fatten him up so that some more fat and muscle might help pull it into place, but he's a rather measured eater and won't overeat no matter what we do. We needed to have the hair around his eye trimmed.

Jett loves to play in the snow and get snowy wet. See snowy wet Jett.

Jett then gets very matted hair, See matted Jett.

Jett today gets a groomers appointment.

If you regularly read this blog, you know what happens next......

Wait for it.....

Wait for it.....

Wait for it.....

See shaved Jett!

I never knew an Airedoodle could be converted into a Greyhound with a set of clippers!

Sigh. Somehow it's better than the last grooming appointment. At least he doesn't look like Gollum now.

Well, on the bright side there certainly isn't any hair around his left eye to irritate it now.

The poor pup actually growled at his reflection in the window thinking it was some strange dog outside.

I think some extra treats are in order.

The Guns Of February

Sunny and 20 degrees, about as good a February weather forecast for outdoor shooting that you can get in Michigan.

And so, to the range I did go.

I went with my friend Manuel to the outdoor range where I'm a member.

Manuel had just purchased a Tavor with an 18" barrel with a Trijicon ACOG mounted on it, and he needed to take it out and try it alongside mine, and get it zeroed in.

We shot the Tavors side by side at 25 yards and hit our targets nicely.

I think that makes us Tavorishes.

Both Tavors, as expected, functioned perfectly.

At close range, the Aimpoint Pro gave a faster sight picture, especially when we practiced snap shots, but the ACOG shines at longer range with its magnification. We each appreciated each other's Tavor and the different optics on them.

After shooting the Tavors, we pulled out our carry pistols. My S&W M&P 40c and his Glock 27.

I also pulled out my new-to-me but clearly used 40 M&P full size.

This was a police trade in with night sights, and the pistol arrived with a lot of slide wear and it was pretty gunked up. It was so gunked up that the magazine release would not drop the magazine when pressed but it only moved down a bit. The gunk seemed to have been coffee and doughnuts stuck in the internals. Some judicious cleaning and oiling and it is as good as new and the mag drops freely, the grip is no longer sticky and the suspiciously-looking-like-coffee stain on the metal part of the takedown tool is now gone.

After shooting the compact, the full size was much easier to handle, even though the full size is not that much bigger than the compact, it fits the hand just a tad better and is more controllable.

A little bit more grip goes a long way, and I could clear the plate rack a lot faster, not to mention make consistent head-shots out to 25 yards on USPSA targets. I may just follow Tam's lead and just start carrying a full size M&P. We'll have to try it out and see how it fits, or I may end up rotating it with the compact depending on wardrobe requirements.

Manuel's Glock 27 had a Crimson Trace laser grip on it, which unfortunately in all the bright sunlight and snow was not useful as the dot was completely washed out. The laser still is a valuable tool for use at night and in dark areas, but don't expect it to perform in bright light with reflective snow for a fore- and backdrop.

His Glock also had an interesting custom safety installed:

The safety was a bit problematic - if you weren't careful while firing you could unintentionally activate it, so you had to take care with your grip.

The Glock 27 was decent, especially how he has it setup with the 13 round magazines from the Glock 23 with magazine sleeves on them, but I'm finding I'm shooting better with the M&P.

We also did some weak-hand only shooting, which showed that yes, I need to do more weak hand shooting.

Then we headed out to the 100 yard range, breaking a path though thigh-deep snow to get there.

We shot the Tavors again and shot my 300 Blackout AR15.

The Tavors had no problem ringing the steel plates at 100 yards, as did the 300 Blackout AR15.

That's another 120 rounds through my Tavor with no stoppages or issues to date.

The hours passed and our hands were starting to get pretty cold by the time we were done shooting. So we cleaned up, packed up, and headed home.

A darn good range trip.

Obama Tends To Back The Losing Team

The Detroit News: Aide: Obama endorses UAW bid to organize VW plant

So Obama lets it out that he heavily backs unionizing VW in Tenessee to try and use his influence to push for unionization there, because the UAW has done such good things for the US auto industry, like turning one of the Big three into a Dutch corp or dragging another into bankruptcy. Perhaps and more likely it's just all the good things the UAW has done for the Democrats.

The result just now in the Detroit Free Press: VW workers in Tennessee stun UAW, reject union by 712-626 margin

Ah the famous Obama reverse-Midas touch in action yet again.

The UAW suffered a devastating defeat at Volkswagen’s plant here as workers rejected union representation by a 712-626 margin.

The defeat, which came despite Volkswagen’s neutrality, tarnishes UAW President Bob King’s legacy and could make it next to impossible for the union to extend its reach beyond domestic automakers.

. . .

Even President Barack Obama weighed in Friday, taking aim at Tennessee Republican leaders, including U.S. Sen. Bob Corker and Gov. Bill Haslam, who he said “are more concerned about German shareholders than American workers.”

You know, there's a fine and fitting German word for what I'm feeling at the moment. . . . . Schadenfreude. Sweet, sweet schadenfreude.

Hell Hath Frozen Over - 9th Circuit Strikes Down Discretionary 'Good Cause" Requirement For Firearm Carry

Certainly, it's another sign of the impending apocalypse, or that the latest cold snap caused by Global Warming freezing over the netherworld, if you believe in that kind of thing.

In a rather impressively well-written opinion, a panel of the the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down the discretionary and indeed discriminatory "Good Cause" standard that was in place in San Diego County whereby law abiding citizens were denied concealed carry permits. Under that standard you either had to make an appropriate campaign donation, be "connected", orpractically be already dead from a prior attack before they would issue you a carry permit.

The opinion rightly concludes:

San Diego County's "Good Cause" permitting requirements impermissibly infringes on the Second Amendment right to bear arms in lawful self-defense.

If you had told me a few years back that in 2014 the 9th Circuit would have issued an opinion affirming both the individual rights aspect of the Second Amendment and striking down the typical California government discriminatory approach to issuing carry permits I would have laughed in disbelief.

Nice to see the 9th recognizing and upholding an inalienable human right.

One Very Snazzy Olympic Commercial

Sometimes a commercial can have multiple messages.

Norway's Olympics commercial is an outstanding case in point, and is awesome to boot:

Well played Norway, well played.

More Michigan Democrat-Run Cities Running Out Of Other People's Money

A few more Michigan local governments are running out of other people's money. Now it's Highland Park's and Royal Oak Township's turn to face possible emergency management.

The Detroit News: Two Metro Detroit communities push back against state intervention

I've noted the odd case of Royal Oak Township before. Indeed the township has been in a tailspin since before 2009. A half mile township with some of the highest tax rates in the state that has taxed itself out of existence causing businesses to flee while paying its bureaucrats very well indeed. Of course, having many of the bureaucrats involved in corruption didn't help much either.

Now it seems that the state will take some action but the Royal Oak Township response seems to be a rather unacceptable excuse:

officials from the tiny half-square-mile township nestled along Eight Mile between Oak Park and Ferndale did not dispute their state review team’s findings, but blamed the township’s shrinking tax base and decisions by past officials for its financial woes.

In other words, we're not viable, but its not our fault that even with some ridiculously high tax rates and special assessments for police services, still can't even pay the bill for police protection.

It's long past time that Royal Oak Township closed up and was absorbed by a neighboring city. The problem is, will any city nearby actually want to take on the costs of recovering this wreck and shining example of decades of Democrat one-party misrule?