The 7th Circuit's decision in McDonald v. Chicago has been reversed by the Supreme Court and remanded for further proceedings.  That means we won.

To some extent, that is.

The ruling [pdf] was a narrow 5-4 decision, and the 2nd Amendment has been incorporated against the states through the Due Process clause of the 14th.

We get incorporation, but Slaughterhouse stands.

My order from El Paso Saddlery arrived Friday, and here's their Tom Threepersons holster for the 3" Model 65:

I was pleasantly surprised by their turnaround time: just over four weeks.

In other news, Leonard Embody, Cassidy Nicosia and Kurk Kirby have a new compatriot in David Walters.

New rule: if you're irresponsible enough to forget your weapon and leave it at the range, we're going to use it to stage goofy pictures.  I really wanted to do a parody of the final frame of Black Dynamite, but asking employees to curl up around my legs could constitute grounds for a lawsuit in some quarters.

If you haven't seen the movie, you should.  Heck, if Sandra Bullock can get an Oscar for whatever it is she did, Michael Jai White deserves one for pulling off lines like this with a straight …

A young man commited suicide on the range last Thursday. He fired 49 rounds, then turned the 50th on himself.

I reached him within seconds, but he showed no vital signs whatsoever.  He left behind two notes, one of which he appeared to have been holding while he shot himself, and another in his wallet. He waited until the area to his left was clear and aimed the weapon in such a way that nobody was downrange from the bullet.

We all expect suicidal people to give some sort of sign before they do something like this. As I've …

Let's get two things out of the way.

First, there is no ammunition ban, tax or other restriction being enacted this week.  I know my stuff.  Please stop yelling at me.

Second, if you wear sweatpants, please, for the love of God, consider underwear.

New Ahrends stocks for one of the S&W Combat Magnums. The wood is Cordia.

A few days ago, I spoke to a friend who's a lawyer friendly to the LGBT cause in Atlanta, and the scuttlebutt is that there's an amicus curiae brief in favor of the appellants in McDonald v Chicago. We're going to be keeping some strange…ahem…bedfellows on this one.

Which means two things. First off, I need to get a good shave and iron a shirt if I'm to hang with that crowd!

Second, people from all political sectors are going to be interested in the outcome. This case is about an entire doctrine of Constitutional interpretation; the 2nd Amendment is only a vehicle.

All of which means we've got to be accepting and open-minded when dealing with our new allies. This is a chance to truly "mainstream" the 2nd Amendment in the pantheon of civil rights, not just in the courts, but in public opinion. Every chance we get counts, but this is the big one, gang.

This is not the actual person, but it's pretty close.  Don't call me with stuff like this at 10:15 on a Saturday morning.  I haven't had my coffee yet.

Creepy Stranger:  "You ever shot a Desert Eagle?"

Me:  "Yep."

Creepy Stranger:  "That's bad ass, ain't it?"

Me:  "It's…um…different.  Can I help you with something?"

Creepy Stranger:  "You know, I carried one when I was in Desert Storm, or as we called it, 'Desert Joke.'  I was in the first chopper that touched down."

Me:  "Folks who served there might not appreciate…"

Creepy Stranger:  "I can say what I want.  I was Special Force.

First off, the gun porn:

New Ahrends cocobolo stocks on one of my L-Frames.  In recent years, Smith & Wesson retired their square-butt frames and standardized on round butts across the board.  This is a disappointment, as the square butt feels and shoots better for me.  Fortunately, Mr. Ahrends makes a conversion stock that emulates the traditional grip contour.

Yes, it's my summer carry gun.  I have little trouble concealing it.  Take note: hiding a handgun isn't as hard as you'd think.

This is the Fender American Standard Jazz Bass, 2008 model.

Leo Fender introduced the Jazz Bass in 1960, following the success of the Precision Bass. The Precision was the first mass-production, solid-body electric, and it had made quite a name for itself. Engineers and producers spent the latter 1950's coming to terms with this odd but effective new instrument, and by the end of the decade, it had made appearances in almost every popular genre.

Crap. I dodged the bullet last year, and it's catching up with me now. Of course, everyone I know who got that silly flu shot has it, too. So I guess I showed them. Erik: 1, Modern Medical Science: zip.

Excuse me while my sinuses drain.

There. I figured I'd share a tea recipe that really helps with some of the symptoms, along with a brief pseudoscientific explanation as to how.

Ingredients:

1/2 tablespoon whole-leaf black tea
2-3 whole cloves
4 cardamom pods (1/2 teaspoon if ground)
5-6 black pepper kernels
1/2 teaspoon ginger
whole milk

Put the spices in a pot and bring to a quick boil. Let it simmer for at least five minutes. Longer is fine. Add the tea and allow to simmer for two more minutes. Add 1/2 a shot glass of milk and bring to a boil. Strain and drink.

Don't worry if the whole concoction smells like wet dog, it tastes better. It'll start clearing up the head congestion fairly quickly, and it'll suppress the cough reflex.

It was an 11-hour drive home today, on which I had plenty of time to think. My father's body has been cremated by now, and his wife has the ashes. He had a farm in Tennessee to which he'd planned to retire in a few weeks. She'll see that he gets there.

I should be feeling some kind of closure, but my thoughts can't collect themselves.

My father had been fighting kidney and liver cancer for some time.  The chemotherapy suppressed his immune system, and he incurred a rare infection on Friday that killed him the following day.

He thought he'd broken his leg.  He didn't know he was going to die.  Perhaps that's for the best.  I just don't know.  His passing was quiet and without struggle.

I didn't have a chance to speak to him one last time.  I was unable to tell him what I never had: that I had forgiven him for the past, that I'd learned to see good parts of him in …