Monthly Archives: February 2008

11 posts
Civil Rights Ordnance

Tourism and the Gun Culture

Everyone who’s been abroad has seen the Ugly American. They’re tourists. They flaunt the local laws, they mock any customs they don’t bring with them, and they get offended because not everybody in the world speaks English.

Then they throw a self-righteous hissy fit because their rudeness doesn’t get rewarded.

The good news is, you don’t have to travel to a foreign country to see this animal in the wild. You just have to take a look at what the gun culture has turned into right here at home.

If you’re new to it, great. Welcome aboard. Bear in mind, you’re entering a culture with roots and customs going back several centuries. We’ve got rules, they’re important, and not following them could get someone hurt of killed.

We’re a bit sensitive about that sort of thing, as you could imagine.

Civil Rights

A Heritage of Guns

While the Left is trying their best to assure the Supreme Court that the 2nd Amendment only speaks to States’ relations with the Federal government, I thought I’d include the Founders’ thoughts on the matter.

“(…) and that the said Constitution be never construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of the Press, or the rights of Conscience; or to prevent the people of the United States, who are peaceable citizens, from keeping their own arms.”

Philadelphia Independent Gazetteer, August 20, 1789 quoting Propositions submitted to the Convention of this State by the Honorable Samuel Adams, Esquire.

Civil Rights

Are guns the real problem?

The smoke hadn’t even cleared from Steven Kazmierczak’s massacre before the Brady Campaign and VPC started using it as a springboard for their agenda. Both groups blamed supposedly lax firearms laws for the shooting.

What they failed to mention is that Illinois has some of the strictest laws in the country when it comes to guns.

You want a waiting period? Illinois has one. It’s 72 hours for handguns. You want all sales registered? They’ve got that. Individual cities can (and do) ban guns. In fact, it’s virtually impossible to transport a gun across the state without running afoul of one local ordinance or another. They’ve closed the fictional “gun show loophole,” and the state does not have any provision for civilian carry of firearms, concealed or otherwise.

Music

From Here We Go Sublime

There’s really nothing special about this record, except for the fact that it’s stunningly good. In itself, that’s quite daring these days.

If you’re making electronic music, it seems you need a manifesto of sorts. The whole scene is fractured into more subgenres than anyone could track, each with its own set of rules and practices.

Take the early glitch-hop work of Prefuse 73, the micromanaged chaos of Autechre, or the gliding layers of guitar loops in Fennesz. An artist is known for their techniques as much as they are their sound. The whole thing is an unremitting, steely-eyed march forward, sometimes at the expense of making music that’s simply enjoyable on a basic level.

You can’t get away with just making good music; you’ve got to be doing something revolutionary. And sometimes that gets just a bit tiring.

Civil Rights Ordnance

Elitism and the Violence Policy Center

Josh Sugarmann, director of the Violence Policy Center (VPC) has a Federal Firearms License (FFL). This is the same guy who raised fees on FFL applications and drove home dealers out of business, claiming

The FFL is a public safety scandal created by the very agency charged with enforcing federal firearms laws. By giving a federal gun-dealing license to virtually anyone who can come up with $30 and isn’t a convicted felon, ATF has put criminals in the business of selling guns.

Yet, according to the BATFE database, Sugarmann has held an FFL for at least a dozen years.

Code Humor

Why I’m thankful for spam filters

RTFM, courtesy of GoopyMart

They save me from wading through nuggets of wisdom like this, from akryr@hotmail.com:

WTF?!?!! I try to register on your site but it doesn’t work…98% of the world uses Explorer, so get over it LOL! It’s only like 10% use Firefox!

No, really. Some people really have nothing better to do with their time. This is why I don’t cater to IE on the site. It just brings out the worst in people. To those who insist on using it, I have only one thing to say:

perl -e ‘print $i=pack(c5, (41*2), sqrt(7056), (unpack(c,H)-2), oct(115), 10)’

Civil Rights

More support for Heller

This is the interpretation set forth by the United States Congress, not in 1776, but last week. In an amicus curiae brief (pdf) signed by 55 Senators and 250 Representatives, the Congress has taken a stand in favor of individual liberties.

In sum, the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to keep and bear arms. Recognition of that right promotes the well regulated militia necessary for a free State’s security.

They’re not the only ones, either.

Civil Rights

Georgia Carry Amicus brief for Heller

GeorgiaCarry.org has posted a copy of their brief (PDF) in DC vs. Heller, and it’s a good read.

“[T]he simple truth-born of experience is that tyranny thrives best where government need not fear the wrath of an armed people. Our own sorry history bears this out: Disarmament was the tool of choice for subjugating both slaves and free blacks in the South. In Florida, patrols searched blacks’ homes for weapons, confiscated those found and punished their owners without judicial process.”

—Silveira v. Lockyer, 328 F.3d 567, 569 (9th Cir. 2003)

Civil Rights

DC vs. Heller Respondent Brief

Alan Gura has posted his brief in the Heller case, responding to the District’s arguments. As usual, Gura’s writing is erudite, concise and very piercing.

Although this case does not call upon the Court to determine the standard of review applicable to regulations of Second Amendment rights, Respondent observes that the right to arms protects two of the most fundamental rights-the defense of one’s life inside one’s home, and the defense of society against tyrannical usurpation of authority. Petitioners’casual use of social science sharply underscores the importance of securing Second Amendment rights with a meaningful standard of review.

Music

One step sideways: review of Quaristice

The new Autechre record has been released a month ahead of time for download. This is a strange tactic for Warp. After all, Autechre doesn’t need the buzz. They’ve got a built-in fanbase who will likely buy the record no matter what.

Precedent shows that Booth and Brown are somewhat averse to having their material leaked beforehand, and this may be a way of cutting that off before it starts. Before Draft 7.30 was released, someone was distributing “bootleg” advance copies which were, in fact, completely fake.

If it’s not early promotion, and it’s not a means to circumvent leaks, why release the record early? It could be that Warp (or the artists) lack confidence in it.

It’s a harsh judgment, but Autechre have not only released some truly great music, they’ve rewritten a great many of the rules along the way. It’s rare for an artist to become an influence within their own career, and rarer still for them to avoid treading the same ground twice.

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