Fringe

12 posts
Humor

Snowden: Traitor or Troll?

Iranian news sources and the Russian FSB have parsed Edward Snowden’s 2-million document leak. Among the shocking state secrets revealed is the identity of our true lords and masters: Hitler space aliens.

Well, now the cat’s out of the bag. Is nothing safe?

Apparently, Snowden shared documents with former Canadian defense minister Paul Hellyer, who has gone on record to confirm that space aliens from Nevada (I knew there was something off about Harry Reed) have been running our government since 1945. They’d previously built submarines for the Nazis. The whole thing has been splashed all over the Russian and Iranian media.

I’ve heard a theory that Snowden isn’t real, that he’s an elaborate hoax. It makes a certain sort of sense. However, the idea that we put him out there to confuse and troll the bejeezus out of Putin and Rouhani is far more satisfying. And utterly hilarious.

Info Dump

The Crackpot Revival of 2013

Leonard Embody is back on the prowl. So is Art Bell. Coincidence?

I wonder.

Apparently, Mr. Embody was modeling his AR-15 S&M bondage suit by waltzing around Nashville with it. I notice with some chagrin that NewsChannel5 depicted him as a “gun rights advocate.” That is emphatically not the case.

At least Mr. Bell can be entertaining at times.

Mr. Embody has posted a video of his escapade. Contrary to his protestations, the police did have reasonable suspicion to stop him. Tennessee law Section 39-17-1302 prohibits ownership of unregistered NFA items. It is an affirmative defense if the owner can prove the items are legally registered, but that’s a defense made in court, not on the side of the road.

Now he has to go before a judge to prove his innocence. In the process, he’s wasting everyone’s time, he’s squandering the taxpayers’ money, and he’s probably going to try and bring another inane lawsuit.

Civil Rights

The Opposite of “Win”

It appears that Adam Kokesh will no longer be a problem for us. US Park Police raided his house in Fairfax last night, and among other things, they found psychedelic mushrooms. He’s being charged with possession of a Schedule I controlled substance, as well as being in possession of a firearm while in possession of drugs.

Though the warrant hasn’t been made public, it’s safe to presume they were following up on a ludicrous video he made on the 4th. In the video, he stood in front of Washington DC’s Freedom Plaza while he loaded an unregistered shotgun with unlawful ammunition. Those are both felonies in the District.

If any of these charges stick, he’ll be barred from owning firearms. The video constitutes a confession on the gun charges, as do statements he made following its publication. Speaking to Alex Jones after posting the video, he described it as “very specifically a call to overthrow the United States federal government.”

Continued...

Humor

I Am a Magnet for Crackpots

3 comments

Usually, I get one good nutjob a week. They waddle in, regale me with their conspiracy theories, then leave to do whatever it is they do when they’re not holed up in a makeshift Faraday cage somewhere.

Today, I had three before lunch. I checked: it’s not a full moon. So what gives?

The first mentioned that DHS put in a large order of ammunition, “like a million rounds or something.” A rational person would say, “OK. We’re going into the 4th quarter of the fiscal year.”

Well, that’s what a rational person would say. This guy? Noooo. He claimed it was to be to used on “sovereign American-born citizens who will one day stand up for their rights and refuse to lie down any more.” I got that part verbatim because I was so bored with the conversation I actually wrote it down.

I hadn’t even had my coffee before another guy came in railing about FEMA camps and bath salts.

Continued...

Civil Rights

Rhetoric Has Consequences

1 comment

As the news came in about the shootings of Gabrielle Giffords and Judge John Roll, I was sadly reminded that her office was one of those targeted by the so-called window war following her vote in favor of the health-care bill.  I’m not saying that any group or political stripe bears the sole blame, but we all need to step back and take a look at the rhetoric we’re tolerating from elected officials, the media, and from some in our own ranks.

In the months following the 2008 election, I lost count of how many times I heard some seemingly normal person blurt something like, “I wouldn’t pull the trigger, but I wouldn’t cry over ______’s grave, either.”  There was talk from armchair revolutionaries about it being “time to vote from the rooftops.”

There was more of it after the health-care vote.  In the 2010 mid-terms, we were treated to Sharron Angle’s drivel about “2nd Amendment remedies,” and Sarah Palin’s PAC ran an advertisement (now removed) portraying literal targets on the names of Democrats they hoped to unseat.

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Civil Rights

Reaping the Whirlwind

2 comments

Leonard Embody has received notice that this Tennessee Handgun Carry Permit is being revoked.  If you don’t know this guy’s background, I’ve written on it here.

This was his response to the media:

“I’m a private person,” Embody said. “I didn’t want to be in the spotlight. I didn’t want my name in the news reports.”

…which would be why he has gone to great lengths to bait law-enforcement with his antics, posting the results to every internet forum and blog he could find.  His last stunt was to walk down the streets of Belle Meade in an orange reflective vest, carrying an 1851 Navy in his right hand.

Apparently, this didn’t go as well as he’d hoped.  In response to this incident, the Belle Meade police department made the recommendation to the Tennessee Department of Safety that Mr. Embody’s permit be revoked.  The text of their letter reads, in part,

This request is not made lightly and based on the increasingly unsafe methods of displaying and/or carrying a firearm by Leonard Stanni Embody over the past 24 months.

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Civil Rights

Is this where it’s going?

7 comments

Last week, Leonard Embody donned a fetching camouflage and GoreTex ensemble and paraded around Radnor Lake Park carrying this:

It’s an AK-47 pistol, with the tip painted orange to resemble an Airsoft gun. His reasoning is that “cops don’t shoot people with airsoft guns. If this handgun looks like an airsoft the cops won’t shoot me.”

I can certainly see his concern. Apparently, he’ll be repeating this questionable behavior. According to one paper, “I guarantee that when I carry in Bicentennial Mall I will be stopped. You’re more than welcome to come and watch or video.”

This is the crux of the matter: Mr. Embody (known as kwikrnu on the forums) likes to be the center of attention. His hobbies include freaking out the squares, being stopped by the police and filing lawsuits.

Yep, this guy’s a winner. Far from being alone, he’s emblematic of the self-defeating caricature that is overtaking the open carry movement.

Civil Rights

Sharks in the Water

1 comment

Lots of people are openly carrying guns to political rallies.  It’s something of a big deal at the moment, what with a Chief Executive blatantly ignoring the will of the people.

Still, overlapping the Open Carry movement with other causes is a bit disingenuous.   These rallies are about health care, taxation and debt rather than the 2nd Amendment.  The signal is lost in the noise, and the media doesn’t hesitate to ask the hysterical question, “what’s that weirdo doing here with a gun?”

Fortunately, the whole thing has gone on without incident or accident.  When the media has gotten snippy, the rebuttals have been heard.

Let’s just be very careful, folks.  We need to be sure that none of this ends up being interpreted as threat rather than demonstration.

And we need to be wary of those among the ranks harboring less-than-noble intentions.

Humor

My Hands Are Lethal Weapons…

1 comment

So, a twentyish sort started asking me about AR-15 rifles.  He was interested in starting cheap and building up from there.  Fair enough.

Then he asked me which model was more “tactical.”  Devoid of any context, that term really doesn’t have any meaning, folks.

Realizing that I was edging into serious Mall Ninja territory, I chose to throw in some lingo.  I told him that the answer would depend on how he planned on “deploying” the rifle.

He responded that, for him, a fiream is “just a fallback, if you know what I mean.”

I assured him that I didn’t know what he meant, and then he said it:

“I don’t really need a gun.  My hands are registered as lethal weapons.”

He said this without the slightest hint of irony.  He was serious.

Ordnance

Concealed Carry Badges

CWP Badge

Back in the 1990’s, I used to see these things at gun shows from time to time, but I didn’t think anyone actually bought them. I certainly don’t expect to see anyone with a lick of common sense wearing one.  Yet, I saw three of these things this weekend.

I can’t emphasize enough what a bad idea they are.

Civil Rights

The November that Never Ended

In September of 1993, America Online (AOL) granted Usenet access to its subscribers. The infrastructure was crippled by the sudden, overwhelming influx of new users, none of whom knew the protocols or cared to learn. These were the days when a 28.8k modem was considered screamingly fast, bandwidth was precious, nobody had the time to sift through countless “me too!” posts.

In early 1994, Dave Fischer referred to this period as the September that Never Ended, and the name stuck. Usenet was, for all intents, dead as a medium and would never recover.

11/05/08 will go down in history as the gun industry’s version of this phenomenon. I have seen more lunacy in the last six months than I’ve seen in my entire life. I’ve heard conspiracies that would make Art Bell chortle, and trust me, that guy believed in everything. I thought it would die out, but it hasn’t.

Civil Rights

Things we don’t discuss

2 comments

I’ve been subject to some truly absurd lines of conversation over the last few months, some of which are truly troubling.

Yesterday, I was approached by a meek middle-aged sort. He asked me, without preamble, “which handgun calibers will pierce body armor?”

There’s no way I’m answering that, and he seemed a bit miffed when I told him so. Tough. You don’t go asking strangers that kind of thing out of the blue. It’s rude, and it’s dangerous.

Let’s get a couple of things straight. The Revolution is not on our doorstep, and frankly, if you’re asking stupid questions like that, you’re not going to be fighting it anyway.