Customs agent shot by CCW holder in Florida
This story got a lot of press this week. A federal agent was shot in a Post Office parking lot in front of his 12 year old daughter. The shooter fled and a huge law enforcement man-hunt ensued. In short order they found him. (Not hard to do when your driving your own car and there was a witness present; the aforementioned slain agents daughter.) After the man, James Patrick Wonder, was arrested details began to emerge.
PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. — Police say “road rage” led to a federal agent’s death in South Florida, an area known for its bad driving habits.
Police said Thursday that James Patrick Wonder, 65, shot customs agent Donald Pettit in the head earlier this week after a confrontation erupted on the streets of Pembroke Pines.
Police say Wonder was on his way to a dialysis appointment when he and Pettit, 52, who also was driving, exchanged obscene gestures.
Wonder pulled into a busy post office parking lot, and Pettit followed. The men began arguing and Wonder pulled a handgun from his waistband and shot Pettit once in the back of the head, according to Police Cmdr. Mike Segarra.
So the questions I have are as follows. Why did the slain agent FOLLOW Mr. Wonder into the parking lot and continue arguing with him? Also, if he was on-duty as the news reports claim, why did he have his daughter in the car with him? Now don’t get me wrong, I am certainly not claiming Mr. Wonder is innocent or that he acted in self-defence. He fled the scene. He rented a car and tried to change his appearance to avoid capture. These are things you simply do not do if you acted in self-defence. But I will submit that the slain agent was not without blame for escilating the confrontation. The details in various news stories are very vauge as to exactly what transpired in that parking lo, yet we have multiple eye-witnesses. (I am also willing to look the other way about the “on duty” claim as it might have some bearing on survivor benefits, bit if that’s the case they are going about it in a pretty ham-fisted way.)
The shooter will get his day in court, and a jury will sort out the facts; though it looks to me like he let his temper get the best of him. Road rage is no excuse to brandish, let alone actually use a firearm on someone. (And it doesn’t matter one bit if the victims paycheck was signed by Uncle Sam or anyone else either.) But I also have to think that if someone was trading insulting gestures with me on the road, and FOLLOWED me into a parking lot I would certainly have one hand on my gun should the fellow try to take his road-induced anger out on me physically.
Topics: In the News | No Comments »
Heller Decision Day +1 -The Psy-Ops begin in earnest
Thursday was the Heller decision. Friday I get home from work and am flipping channels to find something to watch. It’s full-on prime time like 6:30 or 7:00pm. I hit AMC (American Movie Classics) and what is playing? Lethal Weapon 3. What’s wrong with that you ask? Nothing; but consider that Lethal Weapon 3 is really little more than an anti-gun screed dressed up as an action movie. The “bad guy” is an ex-cop who’s putting “Cop-Killer bullets” onto the streets and guns in the hands of innocent little gang-bangers kids.
Here is a short excerpt from a review from www.cinematical.com
To make matters worse, director Richard Donner apparently became strongly anti-gun around this time, and thus we get some obnoxious moralizing uneasily juxtaposed with scenes of our heroes blowing Travis’ crew of goons away. “This guy’s selling guns to people! Guns are bad! We should totally shoot him to death! With our guns!”
In the worst example of this anti-violence sermonizing, Murtaugh at one point shoots a gang banger who turns out to be one of his son’s friends. This leads to the film’s most ill-advised sequence — a funeral scored to Boyz II Men’s “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday,” complete with the boy’s mother slapping Murtaugh, and a priest (or something) giving him a speech about finding the man who put the gun in the boy’s hands. Really? In a series this violent, you’re going to give us this? You can almost imagine Joel Silver, sitting atop an enormous pile of money and big-breasted women, rubbing his hands together and saying “Gang violence is hot right now! Let’s get some of that Boyz N the Hood cash!”
Kind of reminds me of a time way back in the 90’s when Clinton dropped some bombs on an Asprin factory cuz he was involved in some big snafu with some intern chick and a cigar. Next day the “Arab culture is bad” movie Not Without my Daughter was playing when I got home from work. I laughed and pointed out the connection to my wife (the one actually watching the movie at the time) who hadn’t really seen any connection between the headlines and the entertainment of the day.
Hey, maybe it is all a big coincidence and I am “reading into things” more than I should. Then again, maybe not.
Topics: Movies & Media | No Comments »
Secret Service Wants Obama Killed!
Well, that is what you will naturally think when you read headlines like this and this.
Apparently the Secret Service ordered that metal detectors not be used as they were slowing down the lines of people waiting to get into an Obama speech. When I first read this article I thought, “No way this is accurate.” Well, it turns out I was right.
The Secret Service issued no such directive.
Secret Service spokesman Eric Zahren said there was no order from the Secret Service to stop screening people going to the Obama rally Wednesday at Dallas’s Reunion Arena. He said that the event’s security plans didn’t involve having each participant pass through a magnetometer, as may be the case at other events.
Think about it for a minute; all the people running for President make hundreds of speeches, and meet thousands of people in many different states. Do you really think that the Secret Service builds a bubble around them so that no one can come in the same building without going through a metal detector? They can’t; it’s impossible. Some places you can do that. I am sure many people prefer that functions take place in “secured” locations. But this speech was not being held at such a “secured” location. I am sure they were spot-screening, the same way we randomly choose people for extra scrutiny at the airport. I am sure the Secret Service was as on-their-toes as ever in Texas today. But the plan was never to have 100% of the people pass through metal-detectors. Yet we have front page headlines accusing the Secret Service of ordering less screening and security for our first black presidential candidate with a genuine shot at winning the office. (No, the Rev.Jesse Jackson does not count.) Now the AP is reporting that “Many Blacks Worry About Obama’s Safety”
Well, there is a subtle deal of the “race card” from the bottom of the deck. Look, do I think there are people out there that might want to hurt Mr. Obama because of the color of his skin, or his political views or some other flimsy reason? Sure I do. (Just as Hillary, Bush, McCain, Romney and Brittney Spears all have people out there that might want to hurt them.) Should the Secret Service be extra careful with Barack Obama heading into the election? Yup, they should. It really would be bad for our country if this man were hurt or worse, killed. If I may step away from the partisanship of the election for a second; this is the first time we have a black man and a woman as serious contenders (along with a few old white men, can’t forget them!) for the office of the President. Naturally they should be protected. But this baseless accusation, and all the talk about it that will ensue on all the talking-head news shows for the next few days, doesn’t add anything to the factors weighing the decision we all must make before we vote for the highest office in this country.
Topics: The Soap Box | No Comments »
VA Restaurant Ban bill on its way to the floor
From the VCDL alert:
Senator Hanger’s restaurant ban repeal, SB 476, passed out of the FULL
House Militia, Police and Public Safety committee today by a 16 to 5
vote!!
The bill is now on its way to the Floor of the House and we should
know its fate in the House by Friday!
As expected, the antis railed against the bill. The Virginia
Restaurant Association (VRA) railed against the bill. But the
committee was having none of it.
The VRA are hypocrites, BTW. The VRA wants the restaurant owner, and
not the government, to set a restaurant’s smoking policies. But the
VRA then speaks out of the other side of its mouth saying that they
want government, and NOT the restaurant owner, to set the restaurant’s
firearms policies. Which is it, VRA? The owner decides policies or
the government does?
Delegate Morgan Griffith did a superb job of carrying the bill for
Senator Hanger, who was delayed in getting to the meeting. The antis
and the VRA lobbyist were grilled on their illogical reasoning and not
given a free pass to say things that were flat out wrong or misleading.
Honorable mention for helping with the debate also goes to Delegates
Janis, Kilgore, and Athey.
If any of the following Delegates represent you, be sure to take a few
minutes to thank them for their support of SB 476 with a call or email:
Sherwood, Griffith, Kilgore, Wright, Carrico, Lingamfelter, Nutter,
Athey, Janis, Cline, Gilbert, Poindexter, Merricks, Shuler, Lewis,
Bowling
Voting against your rights:
Jim Scott, Barlow, Paula Miller, Poisson, Tyler
Delegate Moran didn’t vote.
Topics: VCDL | No Comments »
Range Trip & a New Shooter
I have several close friends and plenty of acquantiances, all of who know I an a “Gun Guy”. I know plenty of people decide to keep that information close to the vest, or on the “down low”. (My daughter is under strict instructions not to talk to teachers or doctors etc. about daddy’s guns etc.) But I choose to let those around me know how I feel, and I try to actively promote Gun Rights in my daily life. Part of that is, of course, introducing new shooters to the “Gun Culture”.
While talking with a good friend of mine on the phone last week, I told him about my recent gun purchases. He asked if we could get together to go shooting, so we set it up for Friday night. He lives about two-hours away. (Way up past Baltimore in the Peoples Republic of Maryland.) I sent out an email to several of my close friends telling them we were going to be at the range Friday night. There ended up being four of us; me, my daughter, and two of my friends. One of whom was also an NRA instructor and my buddy from Maryland. It was only his second time shooting. (His first time was a couple years ago, also initiated by a recent gun purchase I had made.) A couple of other friends had expressed an interest but we hadn’t heard from them so we commenced to drilling holes in paper with reckless abandon.
Well, a half and hour into our range session one of our other friends from way up past Baltimore all-of-a-sudden showed up on our lane! He’d come down a bit late and had been delayed taking the safety test required for a range card at the NRA range. So now we had two new shooters; including the recent arrival who had never fired a gun before. It was at that point that we cycled through so the two new shooters could get the most range time. We alternated between a Glock 23 in .40, a Para Hi-Cap in .45 and a Beretta 96 in .40. Now normally I wouldn’t start any shooter on these guns; had I known our other friend was coming I certainly would have gotten a .22 or a 9mm for them to shoot, but our new shooter was over six feet tall and outweighed me by a hundred pounds. He had no trouble with the recoil, and the mid-sized Glock even felt small in his ample hands.
A good time was had by all. And we’ve added another shooter to our ranks. Not a bad way to spend Friday night.
Topics: My Life | No Comments »
Gun Freee School Zones
Well, it appears there has been another instance of a deranged, angry, depressed or fervently Islamic (take your pick) individual intent upon ending their own life and taking as many people as possible with them. Did you ever wonder if these people, who are so intent to commit “suicide by cop” don’t just make things easy on them selves and, you know, start shooting up a police station instead? Then, instead of the two minutes, or 120 seconds, it apparently took in this case for the police to respond; the killer could have gone out in a “Blaze of Glory” almost immediately instead of just shooting innocent, helpless people to pass the time until the police got there.But I guess that wasn’t what he was after, was it? For some reason; if you want to kill as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, before committing suicide; the best course of action is to find a place where there are A) lots of people and B)where none of them are able to shoot back. (Remember my Police Station example a few lines back; it meets criteria A, but fails the all-important criteria B. So does NRA Headquarters, now that I think about it.) So once again we see the deranged taking advantage of the advertised fact that none of his victims would possibly have been able to resist.
And that is the main point I think most gun control proponents miss. (Either willfully or negligently, as the case may be.) Imagine YOU are so angry with the world, or your life, or “those infidels” that you are intent to grab your handguns, a shotgun or a scary AK, and hose down some people before you kiss this mortal shell goodbye. Going back to my Police Station example you might be able to get a few of them before they realized what was happening, but armed resistance to your assault would be swift, sure and carried out by trained cops with lots of guns. So that might be a bad choice. Same goes for NRA headquarters. Oh, they might not be cops, but I have it on good authority that they know how to shoot over on Waples Mill Road, and there would be plenty of people shooting back at you in a very short period of time. Same goes for most military instillations, government buildings, court houses, airports and even large sporting events as they all have guards or police on site. So what is a would-be mass murder to do? If only there were some place you could go where you wouldn’t have to worry about people shooting back until you’ve completed your wicked deed.
Well, your in luck! There are hundreds, even THOUSANDS of such places scattered all over the country! Just head on down to your local school or university. Time and time again they have been proven to meet both criteria A) and the all-important criteria B) enabling you to bring lots of people with you out of this life and into the great mystery that lies beyond it.
But what if America woke up and realized that all those pretty “Gun Free School Zone” signs don’t actually prevent guns from coming onto school property? What if America let mature, responsible adults who choose to be armed for self-protection actually do so wherever they go, including to school? Well, in my home state of Virginia, approximately 3% of the adult population have CCW permits. So that would be three out of every 100 people choosing to go about their daily life armed “just in case”, right? That’s about one in every thirty or so people right? How many people were in that lecture hall over the age of 21? So how many guns carried by mature, responsible adults might have been in that room ready to shoot back just as your ready to make your “Big Statement”? Far too many! Now your “sure thing” of being able to kill with impunity, possibly with time to even reload, isn’t such a cake-walk any more is it? So now where are you going to be able to slaughter the innocent unmolested?
England.
Topics: The Soap Box | No Comments »
NRA Personal Protection in the Home Instructor Class
I just mailed off my check to take an NRA Instructor class for Personal Protection in the Home. I will then meet all the requirements to take the Personal Protection Outside of the Home class offered later this year. I enjoy teaching (and learning!) marksmanship and firearms proficiency, so I plan to get “certified” in as many disciplines as the NRA Instructor program offers.
I’ll also be taking a couple of Suarez International courses in Pistol and Rifle later this year offered by a local place with an instructor on staff.
Topics: My Life | No Comments »
Jericho Season 2, Episode 1 Review
I heard about Jericho the same way I heard about Firefly; after it was already canceled. I watched a few episodes online and purchased the DVD set of season one when it came out so my wife could watch it also. We thouroughly enjoyed it. So naturally we tuned in last night to see the begining of season 2.
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
I felt the resolution of the big firefight between Newburn and Jericho was a bit rushed. It felt to me like they were just trying to get the conflict over with so they could move on to the new story-line. Hawkins used the tank to stop the train, the military came in and stopped the firefight. (Using A10 Warthogs!) And now we have troops everywhere keeping order. (Obvious shades of Iraq; with the fine people of Jericho playing the part of the Iraqi’s.) The military officer in charge of keeping order is played well; he isn’t a military dictator or trying to ‘crush’ anyone. He’s a professional doing his job.
I wasn’t really into the whole “Blood Fued” thing between the two towns, and kept thinking to myself that “revenge is a dish best served cold” so why not wack the guy six months later when his guard is down. Hawkins then comes out and sez the same thing I was thinking; which was great. They weren’t debating weather or not the guy should get wacked, just the best way to go about it. Refreshing. (Though Hawkins does get to do some stupid things with a pistol later in the show. Apparently the producers think stalking around in the dark with a pistol looks ‘cool’ so they let him do it whenever they get a chance. Get a good consultant to help with gun handling. Maybe you could hire someone from Ravenwood!)
The new government is restoring order, power and supplies so things are getting back to a new sort of ‘normal’. While I see where they are going with this I do miss the whole “Jericho is on its own” feel of the first season. But on the whole I am interested to see where the new direction leads. Hawkins and Co. are attempting to prevent the new government from consolidating power, which gives us a much better look at how the whole world is changing, not just this small town in Kansas. The new government is attempting to consolidate power, and they do a pretty good job of showing the double-edged nature of such ‘help’ using Mimi’s character. Jake is gonna be (literally) the new sheriff in town. (This part reminds me somewhat of the online novel Light’s Out by Halffast. Worth a read.) Heather is going to be the liaison between both towns and the military. It looks like it is going to be an interesting season ahead.
Topics: Movies & Media | No Comments »
Virginia’s Stupid Resturant CCW Ban Half-Way Dead
I just got an alert from the VCDL that the Restaurant Ban Repeal bill has passed out of the Senate today. Current law says that if you are carrying a Concealed handgun and you enter a restaurant that serves alcohol (Like Ruby Tuesday’s or Fudrucker’s, for example) you MUST open carry your gun. So no CCW legally in a restaurant that serves booze. (This has given rise to the “Virginia Tuck” where you lift your shirt to reveal your firearm and tuck part of it in while dining.) Virginia has the honor of being the only state in the union with this stupid law, and we have been trying to get it replaced with a law that allows you to carry but not consume alcohol while in possession of a firearm. But the forces of opposition put together sound-bytes linking “Guns” and “Alcohol” and scare the Bejeebeees out of the sheeple so we continue to be stuck with it. Well, the tides are turning it seems. The current bill that just passed out of the Senate isn’t perfect, by a long shot, but it is a step in the right direction. From the VCDL alert:
Anti-gun Senator McEachin had an amendment that would have required
that you identify yourself to the restaurant as a CHP holder and then
wear some kind of insignia so that the staff wouldn’t serve you
alcohol!!! So Senator McEachin thinks permit holders should wear a
“scarlet letter,” as if we are criminals or should be ashamed of
ourselves.The only person I am ashamed of is Senator McEachin.
Senator Hanger offered a substitute amendment that would require the
permit holder to let a restaurant staff member know that you are
carrying, but that is all. He offered that amendment to make sure he
had enough votes to get the bill passed. And the bill did, with that
amendment.VCDL is not thrilled with that amendment, obviously. Imagine telling
an 18 year old waitress, “Hi! I have a gun!” We will be looking at
options to improve the bill in the House and have some new wording
already.Here is the new wording ***in its current form***
18.2-308 J3. No person who carries a concealed handgun onto the
premises of any restaurant or club as defined in § 4.1-100 for which a
license to sell and serve alcoholic beverages for on-premises
consumption has been granted by the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage
Control Board under Title 4.1 of the Code of Virginia may consume an
alcoholic beverage while on the premises. A person who carries a
concealed handgun onto the premises of such a restaurant or club shall
inform a designated employee of the restaurant or club that he is
carrying a concealed handgun. A person who carries a concealed handgun
onto the premises of such a restaurant or club and consumes alcoholic
beverages is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor. A person who becomes
intoxicated while carrying a concealed handgun on the premises of such
a restaurant or club is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. However,
nothing in this subsection shall apply to a federal, state, or local
law-enforcement officer while actually engaged in the performance of
his official duties.
What Virginia ultimately needs is Alaska-style carry. But in the meantime we’ll keep hammering back the forces of evil stupidity nanny-ism one legislative session at a time.
Topics: VCDL | No Comments »
My Great Deal on Some Guns
Last year a local gun store had their range backstop catch on fire, resulting in the shop closing its doors while they looked for another location. For whatever reason they have been unable to secure another location and decided to go out of business. So they were literally having a fire sale! I heard about it from some guys I work with, and tagged along when they had their “By Appointment Only” trip to the non-descript office where they had been conducting business. Guns were leaned against the wall, filling shelves and tucked inside lockable cabinets. Nothing had prices. You picked what you wanted and saw the proprietor for the price.
I have been toying with the idea of building an AR so I was in the market for a receiver. I saw one from Rock River Arms almost immediately.
They had several Glocks and S&W M&P pistols, either of which I wanted; but I decided on the Glock 23.
I saw a well used range-rental Beretta 96 and added that to my “shopping cart”.
I took my finds to the man running the show to ask the prices. The Glock was offered at an OK price, a few bucks cheaper than I might find at a gun show. But I always wanted one, and I had the money so I decided to get it. The Beretta 96 was a steal, even though it was well-used as a range rental. I couldn’t pass it up. The receiver was about forty bucks cheaper than I had seen elsewhere. I filled out my paperwork and was waiting my turn when I saw a few pistol cases I hadn’t noticed earlier.
The top one had a Para Hi-Cap LDA Limited in .45. I was smitten. Thinking I wouldn’t have enough money for this beauty, I decided to ask how much they wanted for it. (Maybe I would put the Glock back reluctantly, or something.) He quoted me the same price as the Glock! (Which was well under half the MSRP of $1200 for this pistol.) I added it to my pile and let him put a hurtin’ on my Credit Card.
When I looked at my invoice I saw he knocked a few *more* bucks off the Beretta and the Para as sort of a “Volume Discount”! I ended up with the Para at one-third it’s MSRP, and saw the exact same gun at a gun show last weekend for just over double what I paid.
I’ll be poor for the next month while I pay back my credit card, but I sure am happy about it!
Topics: My Life | No Comments »