The announcement by Iran's government that they will be stationing "powerful naval forces" off the Atlantic coast of the US may seem at first to be laughable. After all, their navy is small and it's largest naval vessel is a destroyer. They even have significant numbers of WW2 US vessels in their inventory. Predictably, US naval officer were quick to dismiss any threat.
For all our sakes, let's hope that this reaction does not reflect the US Navy's real evaluation of the threat. Forget the surface ships. The biggest worry in the Iranian subs, many of which were bought from Russia. These are diesel powered and are very quiet when running submerged. In addition, as we demonstrated after WW2, it is easy to modify an attack sub to launch cruise missiles. It may even be possible to use them to launch ballistic missiles by towing them in a "submarine trailer" that surfaces just before launch. In the final days of WW2 the German's designed such devices to enable missile launches on the US mainland.
Iran is also on the brink of developing nuclear weapons. Three weapons detonated at the right altitude and in the right locations above the US would blanket the whole country with an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) that could kill the electrical grid and solid state electronics, instantly returning us to the mid-1800's.
Add to this the fact that the Iranian theocracy may just do this even if they know we will retaliate and the potential danger becomes very real. I only hope that our defense department has learned to think "outside the box".
Friday, September 30, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
You Have To Love California
Talk about irony - as the Federal gun cops are involved in a huge scandal for smuggling guns into Mexico and Canada is about to abolish it's long gun registry - after spending 2 Billion dollars (yes, billion) and accomplishing nothing - what do you think is sitting on Gov. Brown's desk? That's right, a long gun registration bill!
But that's not all. There is also an ammunition bill that mirrors a Federal law that was repealed in 1985 as ineffective, and a ban on the open carry of unloaded guns - that UCLA Law Prof. and anti-gun activist Adam Winkler warns will result in the courts ordering CCW permits to be issued for simple self defense to anyone qualified to own a gun.
You would never know that the Supreme Court has affirmed that the 2nd Amendment protects a personal right and that all of these bills will cause huge legal bills for the state. The NRA and Calguns already have the lawsuits ready, and chances are that California will loss and have to pay all the legal costs for both sides.
Our legislature is in denial - they don't want o accept the fact that the right to keep and bear (hint guys - that means carry) firearms is now accorded the same level of protection as freedom of speech, assembly or religion. The level of protection is called "strict scrutiny" and it means that the government must have a compelling need for any restrictions and they must be the lest intrusive that will satisfy that need. NONE of these bills is likely to stand up to this test because other states are doing just fine without them and other laws (background checks, etc) are already in place.
So at a time when California is broke, our legislature wants to start a loosing legal battle with the gun rights lobby. Got to love California!
There is time left to stop these bills. Contact Governor Brown (http://gov.ca.gov/m_contact.php) and ask him to veto AB-144, AB-809 and SB-427. We cannot afford these expensive and unconstitutional bills!
But that's not all. There is also an ammunition bill that mirrors a Federal law that was repealed in 1985 as ineffective, and a ban on the open carry of unloaded guns - that UCLA Law Prof. and anti-gun activist Adam Winkler warns will result in the courts ordering CCW permits to be issued for simple self defense to anyone qualified to own a gun.
You would never know that the Supreme Court has affirmed that the 2nd Amendment protects a personal right and that all of these bills will cause huge legal bills for the state. The NRA and Calguns already have the lawsuits ready, and chances are that California will loss and have to pay all the legal costs for both sides.
Our legislature is in denial - they don't want o accept the fact that the right to keep and bear (hint guys - that means carry) firearms is now accorded the same level of protection as freedom of speech, assembly or religion. The level of protection is called "strict scrutiny" and it means that the government must have a compelling need for any restrictions and they must be the lest intrusive that will satisfy that need. NONE of these bills is likely to stand up to this test because other states are doing just fine without them and other laws (background checks, etc) are already in place.
So at a time when California is broke, our legislature wants to start a loosing legal battle with the gun rights lobby. Got to love California!
There is time left to stop these bills. Contact Governor Brown (http://gov.ca.gov/m_contact.php) and ask him to veto AB-144, AB-809 and SB-427. We cannot afford these expensive and unconstitutional bills!
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Why Attorney General Eric Holder Should Resign
As the “Fast and Furious” ATF scandal continues to move upward through the Department of Justice (DOJ), which the Attorney General heads, Eric Holder continues to deny both knowledge an responsibility. With more congressional hearings a certainty, this scandal is likely to grow – and Eric Holder will likely be forced to testify. This will be a “no win” situation for both Holder and President Obama. My unsolicited advice to AG Holder is simple: Take responsibility and resign now.
These are the reasons why:
1) With the scandal reaching to within one step of Holder, it is very possible that evidence or testimony will surface that will directly implicate him.
2) Even in the absence of such evidence, this scandal happened on Holder’s watch. It went on for two full years, purportedly without his knowledge. This alone should be enough to get him fired. A real leader would take responsibility and resign.
3) Someone in the Administration is going to have to take the fall for this mess in order for it to “go away” before the election. If no one does, this will be a major issue – especially in “swing states”. This is also a huge issue among Hispanics, and will cost Obama many votes in that community if it is still an issue.
If President Obama wants a second term he may decide that Holder must go. Yet another reason for him to “man up”, take responsibility and resign.
These are the reasons why:
1) With the scandal reaching to within one step of Holder, it is very possible that evidence or testimony will surface that will directly implicate him.
2) Even in the absence of such evidence, this scandal happened on Holder’s watch. It went on for two full years, purportedly without his knowledge. This alone should be enough to get him fired. A real leader would take responsibility and resign.
3) Someone in the Administration is going to have to take the fall for this mess in order for it to “go away” before the election. If no one does, this will be a major issue – especially in “swing states”. This is also a huge issue among Hispanics, and will cost Obama many votes in that community if it is still an issue.
If President Obama wants a second term he may decide that Holder must go. Yet another reason for him to “man up”, take responsibility and resign.
Why BATFE Does Not Have A Permanent Director
As the Gunwalker scandal has continued, defenders of both the BATFE and the Administration have attempted to blame the NRA and Republicans. They point out that BATFE has been without a permanent director for six years and they them contend that if there had been a permanent director this would not have happened.
In doing so, they choose to ignore three important realities:
1) What would be the reaction if an avowed racist were to be nominated to head the US Civil Rights Commission? Would people simply accept this? Would the media accuse those who objected of being opposed to civil rights? The 2nd Amendment has now been confirmed to protect, AS A CIVIL RIGHT, the right of every law abiding American to own firearms. The reason NRA and other gun rights groups have opposed nominees is that every single one of them is opposed to 2nd Amendment rights. Obama’s nominee has been caught lying to the press about “assault weapons”. If someone would nominate a professional who believes in simply enforcing the law, they would be confirmed.
2) As others have pointed out, the opposition to Obama’s nominee is bipartisan – when Democrats held a super majority they did not confirm him.
3) The problems with BATFE are also bipartisan and long standing – going back at least 30 years. Ruby Ridge and Waco both begin as BATFE operations. Now we have “Fast and Furious”. Let me make this very clear: There are many good people at ATF, including the whistle blowers. Indeed, many agents have been victims of ATF abuses. The bottom line is that a new director is not going to fix this agency because the problems are cultural. This agency needs to go away. The important job of firmly and fairly enforcing our current gun laws should be give to a more functional agency, such as the FBI. An alternative would be a completely new agency involving none of the current leadership. BATFE agents can and should be offered transfers, provided they have not been involved in corruption and/or wrongdoing.
Sometimes the only way get something right is to start over - this is one of those times.
In doing so, they choose to ignore three important realities:
1) What would be the reaction if an avowed racist were to be nominated to head the US Civil Rights Commission? Would people simply accept this? Would the media accuse those who objected of being opposed to civil rights? The 2nd Amendment has now been confirmed to protect, AS A CIVIL RIGHT, the right of every law abiding American to own firearms. The reason NRA and other gun rights groups have opposed nominees is that every single one of them is opposed to 2nd Amendment rights. Obama’s nominee has been caught lying to the press about “assault weapons”. If someone would nominate a professional who believes in simply enforcing the law, they would be confirmed.
2) As others have pointed out, the opposition to Obama’s nominee is bipartisan – when Democrats held a super majority they did not confirm him.
3) The problems with BATFE are also bipartisan and long standing – going back at least 30 years. Ruby Ridge and Waco both begin as BATFE operations. Now we have “Fast and Furious”. Let me make this very clear: There are many good people at ATF, including the whistle blowers. Indeed, many agents have been victims of ATF abuses. The bottom line is that a new director is not going to fix this agency because the problems are cultural. This agency needs to go away. The important job of firmly and fairly enforcing our current gun laws should be give to a more functional agency, such as the FBI. An alternative would be a completely new agency involving none of the current leadership. BATFE agents can and should be offered transfers, provided they have not been involved in corruption and/or wrongdoing.
Sometimes the only way get something right is to start over - this is one of those times.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Questions For The Brady Gun Control Group
Amid the continuing controversy over the Gunwalker scandal, the Brady gun control advocacy group released a report to the media alleging that US manufacturing facilities have "lost" 16,485 guns many without serial numbers. They also state that criminals love these guns because they cannot be traced.
For those who are not familiar with firearms, let me outline how the accounting system works:
1) Every gun has a central part called the "receiver" or the "frame" depending upon the design. It is this part that is the serial numbered and controlled part.
2) The serial number is usually applied to this part late in the manufacturing process, at which point it legally becomes a "firearm" and must be accounted for as such.
3) If this part later fails inspection and is destroyed, it is supposed to be accounted for.
4) Guns that pass inspection are then accounted for all the way from the factory to the retail buyer.
At first glance, I was very concerned that the Brady group might actually have a point. After a little critical thinking, and a bit of research, I have a few questions:
1) If large numbers of guns are flowing out of US plants - many without serial numbers - why is this not being reported in the media? I keep well abreast of news involving firearms - and I know of exactly one case where a manufacturer let a gun get out without a serial number. An employee stole the unserialized frame and the rest of the parts and built it at home. Serial numbers have been required since 1969 and police – especially anti-gun inner city departments - would definitely make a big deal about finding a gun without a serial number. Therefore we know this is not happening.
2) If criminals are using large numbers of these "lost" guns, this would be revealed every single time one of these guns was recovered because it would not be traceable past the manufacturer. Crime guns are traced by contacting the manufacturer, who tells ATF what distributor they sold it to, who tells them what retail gun shop it went to, who then looks up the buyer in their records. Again, if large numbers of serialized guns were disappearing into the criminal underworld this would be huge news and lots of people from the ATF to local police would know about it. Why have we never heard about it until now?
3) Why does this report not mention which manufacturers are missing guns so their figures can be confirmed or otherwise researched? This fact alone casts great doubt upon the "report"?
4) If some of these guns did not have serial numbers, how can Brady be so specific about the number of guns "lost"?
5) Given that this works out to an average of 4 guns per year, per manufacturer - is it not probable that we are dealing with paperwork errors, such as guns that failed inspection being destroyed but not accounted for?
6) Clearly, manufacturers have a responsibility to keep accurate records, but are they really doing a poor job? Given that, according to a Reuters news story, 4.5 Million guns are produced in the US each year 16,485 equals an accounting error rate of .37%.
7) What motive would manufacturers have for letting guns walk out of their plants? As outlined above, if they are found a crime scenes serial numbered or not, the manufacturer is in big trouble – as was the case with Kahr when they let this happen to one gun.
With a little critical thinking, it becomes obvious that this report is bogus. Large numbers of guns cannot be flowing unchecked out of US gun plants into criminal hands because this would be discovered almost immediately. The real reason Brady has cooked up this report is that their favorite agency – ATF – is in huge trouble. Of course, the Brady organization is in big trouble too. At a recent press conference the room was very nearly empty and the only video camera to show up was operated buy the NRA!
This report is so full of holes it could be used to strain pasta! The only people who are going to believe it is their ever shrinking base of supporters.
For those who are not familiar with firearms, let me outline how the accounting system works:
1) Every gun has a central part called the "receiver" or the "frame" depending upon the design. It is this part that is the serial numbered and controlled part.
2) The serial number is usually applied to this part late in the manufacturing process, at which point it legally becomes a "firearm" and must be accounted for as such.
3) If this part later fails inspection and is destroyed, it is supposed to be accounted for.
4) Guns that pass inspection are then accounted for all the way from the factory to the retail buyer.
At first glance, I was very concerned that the Brady group might actually have a point. After a little critical thinking, and a bit of research, I have a few questions:
1) If large numbers of guns are flowing out of US plants - many without serial numbers - why is this not being reported in the media? I keep well abreast of news involving firearms - and I know of exactly one case where a manufacturer let a gun get out without a serial number. An employee stole the unserialized frame and the rest of the parts and built it at home. Serial numbers have been required since 1969 and police – especially anti-gun inner city departments - would definitely make a big deal about finding a gun without a serial number. Therefore we know this is not happening.
2) If criminals are using large numbers of these "lost" guns, this would be revealed every single time one of these guns was recovered because it would not be traceable past the manufacturer. Crime guns are traced by contacting the manufacturer, who tells ATF what distributor they sold it to, who tells them what retail gun shop it went to, who then looks up the buyer in their records. Again, if large numbers of serialized guns were disappearing into the criminal underworld this would be huge news and lots of people from the ATF to local police would know about it. Why have we never heard about it until now?
3) Why does this report not mention which manufacturers are missing guns so their figures can be confirmed or otherwise researched? This fact alone casts great doubt upon the "report"?
4) If some of these guns did not have serial numbers, how can Brady be so specific about the number of guns "lost"?
5) Given that this works out to an average of 4 guns per year, per manufacturer - is it not probable that we are dealing with paperwork errors, such as guns that failed inspection being destroyed but not accounted for?
6) Clearly, manufacturers have a responsibility to keep accurate records, but are they really doing a poor job? Given that, according to a Reuters news story, 4.5 Million guns are produced in the US each year 16,485 equals an accounting error rate of .37%.
7) What motive would manufacturers have for letting guns walk out of their plants? As outlined above, if they are found a crime scenes serial numbered or not, the manufacturer is in big trouble – as was the case with Kahr when they let this happen to one gun.
With a little critical thinking, it becomes obvious that this report is bogus. Large numbers of guns cannot be flowing unchecked out of US gun plants into criminal hands because this would be discovered almost immediately. The real reason Brady has cooked up this report is that their favorite agency – ATF – is in huge trouble. Of course, the Brady organization is in big trouble too. At a recent press conference the room was very nearly empty and the only video camera to show up was operated buy the NRA!
This report is so full of holes it could be used to strain pasta! The only people who are going to believe it is their ever shrinking base of supporters.
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