From the Guns, Nuts, Kooks & Ammo Division...

That's what the fruit and nut basket at Daily Kos call us...I kinda like it myself. They do point out the valid point that they Seventh Circuit's ruling that Heller does not apply to the states — the same ruling as that wise, wise Latino woman's Second Circuit made — pretty much kicks the struts out from under the antigun arguments leveled at Sotomayer's confirmation. Read Ann Althouse's analysis here. The NRA quickly appealed the Seventh's ruling to the Supreme Court, which generally steps in when Circuits are in direct opposition...of course, the Ninth Circuit found unequivocally that Heller did apply to the states through incorporation via the 14 Amendment.

I've said this before, but it probably bears repeating  the fight never ends! 

Am still transiting from hither to yon...I missed the NSSF Shooting Sport Summit this week in Florida because of my loony tunes work schedule. Here's an interesting link, though, from Sebastian at Snowflakes... about the gun industry and the new media, which are us:

There were a few wake-up moments for me though. For example, in the Q&A session, the first question asked if embedding a YouTube video on a website was copyright infringement. Someone else who got up to speak in the session following the new media speech didn’t seem to know that MySpace and blogs are totally different beasts. But then one person (who I believe was Paul Helinski of GunsAmerica.com based on his voice & his comments, but I’m not sure on that) got up and said every time he approached anyone in the industry, he encountered fear of new media. That’s so true, and something that came up briefly in our chat at the 2008 Second Amendment Blog Bash.

NSSF's 20/20 Task Force, of which I was a more-or-less member (less than more as work pressures increased) presented its plan to increase shooting sports and hunting participation 20% in the next five years. I certainly think it's a worthy and even necessary objective and one I will strongly encourage OC to be involved in making happen. If, however, you detect a note of less-than-100% enthusiasm, you're probably right. Time will tell. I tend to be more of a "skunk works" type person, using small focused groups rather than a large push for consensus across the board to effect change. That's based on my own experience, which is indeed only my own experience. Other people's mileage may vary.

Interesting new paper from Gary Kleck at my old alma mater, Florida State University, on school shootings and gun control. Here's the summary: 

The most frequent policy lesson drawn following the Columbine school shootings was the need for more gun controls. Review of the details of both Columbine and other contemporary school shootings indicates, however, that the specific gun control measures proposed in their aftermath were largely irrelevant and almost certainly could not have prevented the incidents or reduced their death tolls. These measures included restrictions on gun shows, child access prevention laws mandating locking up guns, and bans on assault weapons. Ironically, exploitation of school shootings for the advocacy of irrelevant gun controls may have obscured the genuine merits of various gun control measures for reducing "ordinary" gun violence. Thus, mass school shootings provided the worst possible basis for supporting gun control.

Am on the way to the airport in a couple of minutes...I wanted to post more, but the airport hotel I'm in, La Qunita, whacked my Internet access because of "questionable traffic..." That would, I suppose, be guns. I signed off their service and booted my 3G model. Interestingly enough, the specific site that got me was The Firearms Blog, which I like to check every day.

TFB links to a great Real World review of the SCAR system on AR15.com.

Tam at BooksBikesBoomsticks notes that MSNBC has a piece on the many gadgets alleged to make guns "safer" and notes:

Of course, all the gadgets and gizmos in the world won't keep a dumbass from shooting himself in the foot, as long as he's the dumbass with the key to the internal lock and the fingerprint reader recognizes him as an authorized dumbass.

Amen. 

The safety is always in your head!