Freeze, Or I'll Trim Your Bangs!

The Department of Homeland Security is obviously very concerned about public safety. This week, the DHS released a video entitled "Options For Consideration", meant to instruct the public on how to survive and even fight back during an active shooter situation.  It's quite remarkable.....

Let's take a closer look at this video's message....

"In most cases, there is no pattern or method to their selection of victims"

This of course is patently false.  There is an easily discernible pattern to active shooter situations....they almost always occur in areas where responsible citizens are prohibited from carrying defensive firearms, ie "Gun-Free Zones".  I prefer the more accurate "Target-Rich Environments".

"you might consider trying to overpower the shooter with whatever means are available"

As the narrator intones these words in his best "I'm from the government and I'm here to help" voice, the video shows someone reaching into their waistband to draw their defensive handgun....no wait, that's not right.  It actually shows the individual reaching into a desk drawer and pulling out........scissors.   Freeze scumbag, or I'll trim your bangs!  

"officers may arrive in teams, with tactical equipment such as vests, helmets, and rifles.

You know, all the stuff they don't want YOU to have to defend yourself.

Here's the kicker, on June 7 of last year, the DHS released a Request for Proposal (RFP) to purchase 7,000 "personal defense weapons suitable for close quarters".  After watching their video, I assumed the RFP was for a buttload of pinking shears.  Not exactly.  

What the DHS really wants is 7,000 select-fire rifles chambered in 5.56 NATO caliber, and capable of utilizing 30 round magazines.  Why, that sounds like the very weapons that the federal government doesn't want you and I to own.  There is one big difference..... the phrase "select-fire".  Select-fire rifles allow the operator to choose between semi-automatic function (like civilian AR-15s) and fully automatic fire.  Confused?  Read this.  OK, let's review...

Bushmaster AR-15....a weapon of war

• Black rifles chambered in 5.56 NATO, capable of utilizing 30 round magazines, but NOT capable of automatic fire are "weapons of war" and must be kept out of the people's hands according to Dear Leader, Dianne Feinstein, and the rest of their merry band of gun control moonbats.

Personal Defense Weapons, suitable
for close quarters

• Black rifles chambered in 5.56 NATO, capable of utilizing 30 round magazines, and that ARE capable of automatic fire are "personal defense weapons suitable for close quarters" according to Janet Napolitano and the DHS.  

We live in strange and dangerous times.

Monday Musings With The Crew

Well, it's been another fun-filled week here in the United States of SecondTermica.

• Apparently flu season is in full swing around the nation, and some of the 57 states are reporting vaccine shortages.  Outgoing SecState Hillary Clinton has ripped the admnistration for the vaccine shortage, saying "They're more interested in tax cuts for the rich than for flu shots for everyone who needs them".  SecState nominee John Kerry chimed in, blasting the President by saying "If you can't get flu vaccines to Americans, how are you going to protect them against bioterrorism?  If you can't get flu vaccines to Americans, what kind of health care program are you running?".   Oh, wait a second.  Those quotes from Clinton and Kerry were from 2004, blaming the Bush Administration for flu vaccine shortages.  Sorry, my bad.  

• The crazy was running on high in my home state of Missouri last week.....   Paul Potter of Kirksville was charged with murdering a man and setting a fire to cover the crime.  Witnesses in the public housing development in Kirksville reported Potter throwing objects at them.  The objects were later identified as the detached arms of Potter's victim.  No word yet on how he managed to stab his victim to death and dismember him with an AR-15.  Wait, wait, wait,  now I'm being told that no guns were used in the commission of this crime!  Well then, move along folks, nothing to see here.  Please be sure to duck as the severed limbs whirl overhead.

Ya know, maybe these Sharia moonbats are
finally on to something.....

• Interesting developments in the Aceh province of Indonesia.  Sharia law was introduced to Aceh in 2009, and a new regulation based on Islamic law is being introduced.  Women will no longer be allowed to straddle motorcycles as that position accentuates a woman's curves.  Sidesaddle only ladies!  I'm sure this can somehow be traced back to the Republican's war on women.

• What the heck was Jodie Foster talking about??

• Didn't the Denver Broncos win an overtime playoff game last season with Tim Tebow at quarterback?  

• Here is my New Year's plea to all the lefty statists out there......Can we all just put our cards on the table?  Quit hiding behind bans of high-capacity magazines, Evil Black Rifles, smoking in bars, 32 oz sodas, blah blah blah.  I would have more respect for you if you would just come clean and tell the truth.  You want to ban private ownership of firearms, ban tobacco products, ban sugar, etc etc.  Then we can have a real nuts and bolts battle for the soul of this country.  Unfortunately, liberal tyrants are masters of incrementalism, gradually eroding both our liberty and the document that sustains it, slowly bleeding the personal responsibility from our collective pysche until we have no recourse other than to grovel at their feet for whatever pittance they deem us to deserve.  Yeah, I'm talking about you Mayor Bloomberg.  

• Do you know who Louie Giglio is?  I learned of his story in the past few days, thanks to our brilliant reader Jill.  Check back here tomorrow to read more about the latest escalation of Obama's remarkable hypocrisy.  

All Together Now Class.... A Semi-Automatic Is Not A Machine Gun!

This is a Ruger 10/22, on of the most popular semi-automatic firearms in  this country.  It is not an assault rifle (unless you're a squirrel)

Is there any topic that brings out misinformation more overtly than firearms?  Me thinks not.  After Aurora, firearms and the Second Amendment have really taken a beating in the national media.  Even usually factual Bill O'Reilly stooped to idiotic blather about people buying machine guns, semi-automatics, and other "heavy weapons" without the feds being any the wiser.

To echo one of Rush Limbaugh's favorite sayings, words mean things.  Nowhere do words become more misapplied than when it comes to guns.  I have consulted the SACSTW chief armorer, and he would like to clear up a few of the common misconceptions.

Semi-Automatic:  A semi-automatic firearm is one that can fire, extract, and reload one round with each pull of the trigger until the ammunition is exhausted.  If you pull the trigger on a semi-automatic firearm and keep it depressed, the gun only fires one round.  The trigger must be released to "reset" before another round can be fired.

Automatic:  An automatic firearm is one that will continue firing, extracting, and reloading rounds as long as the trigger is depressed, until exhausting the magazine.

Assault Rifle:  By definition, an assault rifle is a selective fire rifle with a detachable magazine, usually used as the primary weapon for modern infantry.  "Selective fire" means the rifle operator can choose between full automatic fire and semi-automatic functioning.  A semi-automatic AR-15 like the one used in Aurora is no more an assault rifle than the .22 rifle your granddad squirrel hunts with is.  Incidentally, not to confuse the anti-gunners with more facts, the "AR" in AR-15 stands for Armalite Rifle, not Assault Rifle.

Clip:  When it comes to firearms, a clip is a device that holds multiple rounds of ammunition together in order to facilitate the process of inserting them into a magazine.

Magazine:  A magazine is the device that contains ammunition and feeds it into a gun's action to be fired.  A magazine can be either a permanent fixture of the gun's structure or detachable.  A gun fires rounds of ammunition from a magazine NOT from a clip.

"Magazine" and "clip" ARE NOT synonymous (that means the same you KCMO grads), and the use of the word "clip" instead of "magazine" is the best indicator that the speaker is not knowledgeable about firearms.

Want some more definitions of firearms terms?  Check out the great glossary at armsvault.com.