US Arms Sales to Mexico

Fox's reporting basically takes it for granted that Gunwalker occured. Interesting.

Also, Fox quotes a figure of $20 million in semi and full auto small arms being sold to Mexico in 2009. The Army pays about $1K for a M4 carbine. That would imply that the number of small arms we sold to Mexico is on the order of tens of thousands. That seems reasonable given that Mexico is trying to raise several new units. Of course, Mexico seems to arm most of its regular forces with G3s and other 7.62x51 NATO rifles, but they're likely buying some AR-15 platforms for police/paramilitary usage as well as all the other goodies we see on TV (explosives, grenade launchers, light machine guns, etc).

As has been discussed previously, there are about 30K arms recovered in Mexico every year. This may be a high number due to double counting. Only about 10% of those are traced back to the US, and of those, about 2/3 were "walked" in Gunwalker. That means that we only need to account to around 1000 weapons. It seems reasonable to think that around 5% of the direct foreign military sales are being diverted to cartel usage in a country where corruption is systemic.

Memorial Day 2011: Learn Something

Today is Memorial Day. I work with veterans and I personally know people who have died in the GWOT so it means something to me but it is hard to express.

I think the number one thing the average person can do to honor the sacrifices which are being made every single day is to learn something about the wars we're fighting. Do you know the difference between a sunni and a shi'ite, or a pashtun and a tajik? Can you find the Af-Pak region on the map? Can you briefly explain the difference between counterinsurgency and counterterrorism?

These are not arcane policy topics. Nor are they judgmental or partisan. These concepts form the basic vocabulary of the wars that we're fighting in. Today the nation is in the curious situation where a tiny minority of Americans are fighting these wars; a small fraction of families bear the burden and the wars are very distant from the average person's life. This is very different from past conflicts where the load was carried across a broader portion of society. If it is your son/brother/cousin/uncle that is overseas, you're probably more inclined to figure out where places like "Laos" or "Danang" are.

Honor the sacrifices of those who aren't coming home by learning a little something about where they went, what they did, and why they did it. Read a history of Afghanistan, a combat memoir, one of Bob Woodward's chronicles of Bush and Obama at war -- do anything but sit on the sidelines, a vegetable that can't even be bothered to observe current matters of life and death importance. I'm not saying you have to agree with me or anyone else on policy choices; I'm just saying that you need to educate yourself and form an opinion on matters of war and peace, because to do anything else as a citizen of a republic is both intellectually and morally dishonest.

Finally, this is a link to a speech by Lt Gen Kelly, a US Marine Corps leader, from last Veteran's Day. I don't agree with everything he has to say, but I can say definitively, thank god for the US Marine Corps. He expresses a lot of ideas very powerfully that are worthy of consideration.

Appleseed Coming to Alaska

Looks like we're getting our first Appleseed rifle clinic. This looks like a very good value for some decent training.

Book Review: How to Arrest Proof Yourself

I haven't had many concerns about law enforcement in Alaska. In general, AK State Troopers are awesome. They often care about educating people on laws to gain voluntary compliance and don't freak out about private citizens carrying firearms. The Anchorage muni cops are not quite as good but still, we go shooting at the same range and they generally aren't flagrantly bad. Still, if I'm carrying, I do tend to avoid even casual contacts as our laws require you to inform a LEO that you're packing immediately upon contact and I just don't see a need to have interactions like that -- it isn't low-stress for either party.

With our road trip coming up though we will be going through a lot of states where law enforcement is not so genteel. Frankly in some of the places we're going through I think law enforcement may be more of a problem than a solution, at least based on media reports. I re-read my copy of You & the Police! and then got "Arrest Proof" as a second opinion. You & The Police is a good primer on your rights but maybe isn't so practical for dealing with aggressive cops.

I got two big things out of Arrest Proof yourself:

• The Electronic Plantation. A single arrest will be digitized into a federal database. Even if the arrest does not lead to a conviction, if the charges are thrown out, or if a state judge seals the record, the database entry remains forever. More and more local and state entities are also digitizing their arrest records and putting them on the internet. Employers, schools, and other institutions access these arrest records and assume that if there is smoke there is fire; that is, an arrest must mean you were doing SOMETHING wrong. Other police (and now--maybe TSA...) will also cross reference this database when they make a traffic stop or have other contacts with you. I am guilty of "mis using" these records myself; the Alaska court system makes it really easy to find charges brought against someone but not convictions. Carson calls this the "digital plantation" because it locks its victims into a lifetime of second-class citizen status without any conviction being required.
• Cops are Hunters. Most gun owners know that cops aren't really there to serve and protect ("When Seconds Count, the Police are Only Minutes Away" is the bumper sticker). They just can't be everywhere all the time. Carson lays out a convincing case that cops are hunters. They are rewarded for making arrests; the more, and the more impressive, the better. A DUI is ok. A DUI where they also make a drug bust is better. And a DUI with a drug bust and a scuffle is best because the cop gets some "action" and you can lay on charges of resisting arrest.
  
  This makes some sense based on my personal experience as a security guard. There were three broad types of cops where I worked. First were the lazy cops. These guys were the stereotypical donut munchers and were nice guys but not terribly aggressive. The next were the "good cops." They behaved much like the AK State Troopers. Finally where the Hunter Cops. These guys tended to be younger males and were pretty aggressive. They loved a good chase and scuffle. They were ambitious and were rewarded for writing citations and making arrests.
  
  If LEOs are hunters, then that means that you are the prey, and one misstep can land you on the electronic plantation.

The rest of the book was less useful. Carson acknowledges that he is writing for a primarily young, male, urban audience. I don't live the "urban outdoors" lifestyle, drive a low-rider, or wear pants that sag around my knees. I don't look like a gang banger. A lot of the advice he has isn't really relevant because I'm not Carson's target demograhic.

I did get a few useful counter-tactics though. First was asking for a notice to appear in lieu of being arrested. This eliminates the electronic plantation entry. Another was the absolute importance of avoiding the appearance of resisting arrest. For example, according to Carson, if you raise your hands to shield your face from spittle, a jab from a nightstick, or anything else, that is considered battery on a police officer. The best thing to do is grab both pant legs, close your eyes, and take it (if vertical). A final countertactic is the importance of shutting the heck up and getting a lawyer -- or better yet, having an attorney on retainer.

There is some good abstract material here on the downsides of the "war on drugs," the self-fulfilling prophecy of the justice system sausage grinder, and so on--and while it is interesting reading, it won't help you at a traffic stop.

Carson has good credentials to write this book: he was a beat cop in Miami, a federal FBI agent, and a defense attorney. So he's worked on all sides of the legal system sausage grinder. Overall this is a pretty good book. If you're in the target demographic that Carson is writing for, you might find it more useful, but for the stereotypically middle class suburban/semi-rural individual it may be of less use. Overall, it is worth ten bucks.

Threatening Jurors

A thief threatens a juror after sentencing in Anchorage. Who would do something like this?

Perhaps a person with literally dozens of traffic violations, multiple misdemeanor arrests (including several of the "class A" or highest variety), and multiple Class A & B felony charges.

I couldn't find details of the 2008 felony arrest, but he was charged with kidnapping (injury or sexual assault), robbery 1 with a deadly weapon, assault 4, and burglarly 1 in a dwelling. I don't know the disposition of that case, but assuming that at least one of the violent Class A felonies stuck, one has to wonder why he was back on the streets to steal a GPS unit about two years later.

Consolation Prize

So, as you may have noticed, we're in the process of moving to Not Alaska.  Needless to say, I'm not very happy about this turn of affairs, even if it is to be expected.  In the time we've been here I've fallen in love with Alaska as I never have a place before.  I fully intend to return ASAP!

That said, I am getting something of a consolation prize, in the form of a puppy.

I'm very excited about this.  Neither of us have owned a dog before, but we've been thinking about a bird dog for almost a year now.  We've decided it's something we want and something we can handle responsibly, so next spring we will become parents to a Brittany puppy.  I should be putting a deposit down next week, and I'm really darned excited.

Brittanys are great dogs.  They're small, the smallest of the pointing breeds, which is perfect for us.  They're also sweet dogs and are (reportedly) good for first-time trainers.  While the focus is obviously going to be on upland birds, many Brits seem to be capable of pointing rabbits and even retrieving ducks.  To top it all off, they're gorgeous animals.

There, now I've shared my excitement with you.  Next year, look for more posts about the pup and all the training woes and mishaps and funny stories I'm certain we'll encounter!

Caribou All Gone :(

We just finished the last of our caribou. We turned the ground meat into burgers on the grill and they were fabulous. Caribou is very lean, has nice flavor, and isn't at all gamey. Yum!

Netbook Review: Asus 1015B

I've recently been in the market for a Netbook. With the move coming up, our ancient bargain-basement laptop -- which has developed several spots on the screen along with a broken headphone jacket -- wasn't going to cut it for a long trip on the road. Additionally, my job requires me to travel fairly frequently and the old, heavy dinosaur laptop was both unsatisfying to use as well as cumbersome to fly with (especially with TSA being what it is). I was also sick of <2 hrs of battery life.

All these factors steered me towards a netbook: affordable, long battery life, and compact for easy portability. I also wanted something with decent computing power for internet browsing with multiple tabs, productivity applications, and maybe some light games. Finally, I wanted something with sufficient graphics power to run an HDMI-plug for a TV. That way when I'm not on the road, I can feed the TV HD content through my netbook, stream netflix, etc.

Netbooks have traditionally been pretty lackluster, boring affairs -- all running some variant of the single core Intel Atom processor, limited power, low price, etc. However, in the last year or so there has been a relative explosion in capabilities. The ASUS 1015PN burst onto the scene last year, offering an NVidia ION graphics capability that gives it HDMI out. The downside was that you had to reboot to switch between power-hogging graphics mode or a battery-conserving mode due to Windows Starter limitations. Acer also offered the 521, which offered HDMI through an AMD chip -- at the cost of marginal battery life. There were other offerings as well such as HP's netbook line.

Luckily for me, AMD's long promised "fusion" chip -- offering onboard graphics, decent processing power, and excellent battery life -- arrived to market just in time. I unpacked my Asus 1015B about two weeks ago and have been very impressed thus far.

PERFORMANCE

Out of the box, the computer is sluggish with 1 GB of RAM (a limitation imposed by Microsoft with WIndows 7 Starter). Luckily, for twenty bucks I picked up a 2 GB RAM chip and plugged it in. Getting the RAM access panel off the back was a bit hairy but all told it took less than 15 minutes and was pretty simple. The difference with 2 GB of RAM is night and day. It is the best $20 you can drop to pump up a netbook, I think.

The graphics capability is "as advertised." I can watch DVDs (from an external optical drive) with no problem. Same with HD 1080P streaming YouTubes. Most impressively, I was able to pump this picture through an HDMI cable to an external HD monitor and display it at a native 1920x1080 resolution with no stuttering. That's impressive for a netbook.

Otherwise, computing power is great for what I use it for. It can handle multiple browser tabs, an RSS-feed monitor, VLC playing music in the background, a word or excel sheet open, and some light file operations with no problem. Old netbooks running an Atom would probably struggle with this degree of multitasking. Truecrypt (more on this later) runs reasonably fast, as does Alcohol 52%. Overall, I'm impressed.

ERGONOMICS

For a netbook, this keyboard is pretty usable. I am actually writing this review on the chiclet-style keyboard right now. The touchbad is fairly standard; occasionally I clip it with a thumb while typing which is annoying. The single-piece clicker is not as nice as a two-button clicker would be but overall it is functional.

Asus did compromise with the size of the delete key; I use this key frequently and it is a bit out of the way. Additionally, they chose to make "page up/down" as well as "home/end" require a press of the function key to get to. Luckily, they put a second "FN" key right next to them so you can scroll through a document one handed fairly easily. On the plus side, the secondary functions given to the F1-F10 keys are actually pretty useful; you can adjust volume, push to a second monitor, change your power configuration, turn on/off wifi, and so on all with the provided controls.

The screen is worth special mention. This screen is one of the few with a matte display. Glossly looks great in the showroom but matte is much more practical for daily usage. The display is usable outdoors or under harsh lighting, which is great for a portable netbook that may be used all over.

Additionally, Asus made 90% of the rest of the netbook out of matte plastic and brushed silver surfaces. This is great; I hate finger-print smudge attracting gloss cases. Unfortuanetly, around the monitor bezel they used a gloss plastic, so your reflection stares back at you around the edge of the screen. A matte surface would have been much better.

PORTABILITY

At 10.1", the Asus 1015B is the smaller flavor of netbook. It is light and easy to carry.

I have not noticed issues with heating. If running in high-powered graphics mode, the case does got warm, but not uncomfortably so.

Battery life is great. In standard "surf" mode (wifi on, not running HD graphics or a game) 5-6 hours is reasonable. If running HD movies or other processor intensive tasks, life drops to ~4 hours -- about enough time for two movies or so. I haven't done a "torture test" with minimal settings (especially killing Wifi) but wouldn't be surprised to squeeze an extra hour of life out.

Asus packages this computer with "ExpressGate," a barebones linux-based OS that lets you skype, surf webpages, and do other core tasks. You can get into ExpressGate in a matter of seconds from a cold start, which is great for a quick email check on the run. However, a usable browser window in full up windows can be accessed in around a minute or less, which makes ExpressGate a little less essential.

AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT

There are some places where the 1015B could improve. First, the aforementioned glossy bezel around the screen should be subdued. My other complaints largely center on the screen itself.

The screen is a standard 1024x600 resolution. This is fine for productivity and casual video. It isn't enough to fully max out HD video, though. It is very weak for most games; you can't see enough of the action to really have sufficient situational awareness. An HD panel would be a nice option.

It would also be nice if the screen tilted back a bit farther. The viewing angles are fairly generous, but another 10-15 degrees of screen tilt would allow me to get a more comfortable typing position.

My last areas for improvement center on the innards. This netbook should come with 2 GB of RAM -- I know Microsoft's contract limits them to 1 GB, but still, there must be landfills full of discarded 1 GB RAM chips. Next, the hard drive is a bit dated at 250 GB. I know this is a low end netbook but a 320 GB drive would be a nice move up.

SUGGESTED ACCESSORIES

First, you need 2 GB of RAM as discussed.

I like having some external peripherals: a slim wireless mouse, a cheap $15 keyboard, and an optical drive are all nice. With the mouse and keyboard you can have desktop ergonomics for just a few bucks more. The optical drive is nice if you want to feed a picture to a TV and run DVDs.

There is an SDHC card reader in the computer and a card will fit in flush with the case. I suggest getting a 16-32 GB card and using it to run content such as movies and music off of. This will run the hard drive a lot less and theoretically help battery life out some.

Software wise, I grabbed four programs.

• GooglePack. This is a quick way to install OpenOffice, decent spyware/virus protection, and other productivity applications in one quick upgrade.
• Alcohol 52%. Alcohol 52% lets you create images of CDs or DVDs that can then be saved on a computer's hard drive or other media. For a netbook with no optical reader, this is obviously great. You can rip a disk using a desktop or an external optical drive, save it to your hard drive or SD card, then "mount" the image in a "virtual" drive to use on the go.
• TrueCrypt. This computer is highly mobile and thus prone to loss, unauthorized searches/snooping, and theft. If you use it to process sensitive information, then that info should be encrypted. TrueCrypt is the best, easiest software I've found to protect this kind of personal information.
• VLC. VLC is my media player of choice. It seems to be easy on processing power and run multiple file formats.

Luckily Asus does not include too much "bloatware." I got rid of a few of the more egregious programs but it isn't too bad.

VERDICT

Overall, I really like the Asus 1015B. It is an excellent value at <$300. AMD's new processor does indeed seem like it will kill the "Intel Atom:" it is cheaper, faster, more powerful for onboard graphics, and offers great battery life (traditionally the achilles heel of AMD portable chips).

There are really only two other competitors in this market niche that I have found:

- Acer 522. This computer comes with an HD panel, which addresses one of my problem areas. However, it is more expensive. Everything -- including that HD panel -- is glossy. Most troubling, there is no easy way to access the RAM compartment for that critical 2 GB upgrade. The HP DM1Z offers much better specs, but at 11" it is larger and the price tag is nearly double. At this point, the HP is getting really close to CULVs in both portability and price.

Overall, I can definitely recommended the Asus 1015B. For <$300 you get a lot of computer. It is great for road warriors. If all I did was light productivity, surfing, and media, I think I could use it as a full time desktop-replacement with a good mouse, keyboard, external hard drive, and HD monitor. All in all, this is a very functional gadget.

How Small is Too Small?

Some of the Alaska forums have been having a discussion about pocket pistols. I'd second all of the usual suggestions for how big a defensive handgun needs to be:

• In a decent caliber (I'd like at least 380 ACP or 38 special, although something is better than nothing, I guess)
• Able to land hits at 3-5 yards (a backup pistol will be used up close) fast
• Able to land hits at 7 yards with a bit more time

But one factor stands out that is not usually mentioned: "A pistol is too small if you don't respect it anymore." For some reason, people think its ok to toss a pocket pistol loose into a pocket without a holster or anything. This seems like a terrible idea unless you're keeping a paw on it at all times (for example, walking to your car in a dark parking garage). You have no idea where the muzzle is pointed or what may be getting inside the trigger guard.

People who would never toss a cocked and locked 1911 or a 44 magnum bear gun into a pocket loose (I hope) for some reason consider doing just that with a little holdout gun. I don't understand it.

Delightfully Unmoderated

Looks like "Reasoned Discourse" has not fully broken out over at CSGV's Facebook "discussions" pages. Perhaps they are beyond the reach or notice of the scorched earth mods.

One of them was particularly ironic.


As you may be aware, gun control laws in Iran are very strict. In accordance with their constitution, there is no right to keep or bear arms. All guns are registered and all owners are licensed. The system appears to be discretionary, which makes me think that the politically well-connected are more likely to be favored with permits. Of course, market price for a full auto AK-47 is around $200 US, so I can't imagine that illegal arms are out of reach for... well, just about any criminal.

So, what's been going on in Iran -- this utopia of gun control paradise -- in the recent past? Well, of course, the government has probably been shipping weapons illicitly to their pals in Syria who are brutally cracking down on a popular uprising. Locally, they're apparently using the "Arab Spring" as a chance to execute political dissidents, aggressively clamp down with security police on local gatherings, and fire into crowds of demonstrators. Just a few years ago we watched the regime send thugs and security troops into the streets to bloodily suppress a popular uprising after disputed elections.

Unfortunately, Hamsafar probably could tell us about some problems with guns in Iran, but I doubt they are caused by private citizens. The issue here is guns in the hands of that particular government. Good thing CSGV doesn't understand "irony."

Gun Control is Great: You Go First

All this musing about Joan Peterson has made me wonder: if she's such a fan of gun control, why doesn't she go first? After all, if these ideas work to reduce violence, then one should voluntarily adopt as many as possible. We know that her home has guns in it, as she's said that her husband uses them for sport/hunting. Let's apply some of her ideas and see what an individual could do to embrace gun control.

TYPES OF GUNS: Joan hates handguns, anything that can kill a person further away than a city block, semiautos, guns that can pierce a police officer's vest, and scary looking guns. Therefore the only kind of gun they should own is a single or double shotgun. A 30-30 deer gun can easily puncture soft armor and shoots well over 100 yards. Even a humble 22 can be lethal out to a mile or so, ballistically speaking at least. Shotguns are iffy as they can be loaded with slugs that can probably kill further than 100 yards and which can probably tear through soft body armor too, but that comes as close as we can get without just going to airguns. So, a pro-gun control household should not have anything but a single or double shotgun.

REGISTRATION: You could easily "self-register" your guns. You could mail a letter to the local police department with the make, model, and s/n of your firearm along with all of your personal information. In fact, you could ask a local law enforcement agency for guidance and permission prior to even buying a shotgun. Many gun control advocates also feel that the public has a right to know about gun registration records, so you could mail this information to a local newspaper and post it on the internet too.

LICENSING: You should seek out the most stringent licensing regime available prior to owning guns. In most states, this would consist of a CCW permit. If the idea of getting a CCW permit gives them the vapors, then come up with another set of requirements. For example, you could take the German Sportsman Club written test. You could also donate $1000 or so to the treasury to help pay down the debt (that's what licenses in many countries cost). Finally, you should get some hands on training in the form of at LEAST the NRA courses for shotgun and safe storage in the home or some other approved gun safety course. This information should also be made publicly available because the community has a right to know who owns guns, so be sure to send a letter to your newspaper and post it online.

STRICT ENFORCEMENT OF LAWS ON THE BOOKS: If you violate any law already on the books, you should report yourself immediately and surrender to the nearest LEO. Specifically, I'm thinking of the federal Gun Free School Zones Act, which is probably the easiest felony to commit with a gun. If you get within 1000 feet of any school and the shotgun is not unloaded and locked in a case, turn yourself in. You should do this even if you only realize after the fact that you were in a school zone, because that doesn't matter -- the law requires no guilty intent.

END THE PRIVATE TRANSFER LOOPHOLE: Refuse to transfer your firearm to any other individual - even a family member for lawful sporting purposes - without going through an FFL. Pay the FFL fee each and every time someone else uses the firearm.

REFUSE TO HAVE GUNS AND CHILDREN IN THE SAME HOME: If you believe the flawed studies cited by gun control folks, having a gun in the home -- regardless of how it is stored -- increases the chance that your children will die due to gun violence. Get a "self store" unit and store your firearm there, or see if a local armory or range will store it for you.

This is just a sampling of ideas that could be easily implemented by the average pro-gun control gun owner, like Joan Peterson. They require no legislative action. These people want to impose these sorts of rules and laws, presumably because they think they would work. If they think they would work, why don't they implement them on their own? Is it because they really know that the ideas wouldn't work, or because they feel that they are somehow superior to the plebian masses and thus the rules don't need to apply to them?

The Anti-War Left Riots in the Streets

The President unilaterally involves the US in a war without congressional authorization. He claims he never needs congressional authorization. I'm sure the anti war left will be rioting in the streets.

Oh, wait. Never mind.

Felons and Wanton Waste

Gwen is freaking out about a poacher who wounded a pregnant muskox with a 22. Because she is a bigot, she blames all gun owners for the actions of one criminal.

What sort of person goes out and shoots a pregnant muskox with a 22, anyways? Generally, a prohibited person. Mr. Friend has a rap sheet, including charges of harassment/stalking (misdemeanors), burglary I (felony), criminal mischief III (felony), providing alcohol to minors (misdemeanor), and a restraining order for sexual assault. The most recent case was filed less than a year ago. Furthermore, Mr. Friend is a young adult (DOB 1984), and we have no idea how many crimes are on his juvenile record.

Because he was a felon -- and perhaps because of domestic violence and substance abuse issues, too -- Mr. Friend was a prohibited person. That is, it was illegal for him to touch a gun, much less possess or shoot one. When he shot the muskox, a bunch of his neighbors were watching. He lives in an isolated village -- kind of like an island. I have to wonder what kind of gun control laws Gwen thinks would help with this situation. Despite being in a geographically isolated area where all goods in and out can theoretically be controlled, this multiple-offender felon flaunted the law in front of his friends and neighbors. Without community buy-in, laws are exceedingly difficult to enforce.

Cyber Vigilantes

Like a trainwreck, I just couldn't look away from Joan Peterson's latest post. I'd stopped bothering to read and comment there back on 1 April, but this spat over the whole "CSGV posting people's personal information and getting banned from twitter" was just too delicious to pass up.

As Heather recently pointed out, Ms. Peterson is all upset that people are discussing publishing her personal information online. The principled position would be to say that it is a dirty practice to publish this data, regardless of who does it. However, Ms. Peterson is on record cheering along the CSGV's efforts to cyberstalk multiple individuals.

Her latest post tries to explain why it is ok to "keep track of" gun rights people, but why it is unacceptable to publish personal information for her and her allies:

I am pretty open about who I am and why I am doing what I'm doing. I'm not trying to hide anything. Many who comment here use screen names or comment anonymously. This allows them to be as rude and aggressive as they want. Some bloggers don't allow comments or anonymous commenters. I still do, though I moderate for obvious reasons. Recently a gun control organization posted some of the real names of the gun rights activists hiding using screen names and anonymous postings. This was done because of many of the ugly verbal attacks made recently against victims and gun control advocates. Some of those names were actually already public knowledge. It caused a fire storm of accusations and even shutting down of a Twitter account of one gun violence prevention group. One of the results of this latest ugly and angry exchange is that someone threatened to publish directions to my house- where I'm not sure. The way it was worded was a challenge to me. Behind it, I could almost hear the tone of voice- the challenging, bullying, intimidating tone that was implied.

I'm trying to extract some general principles from this to figure out how reasoning works in JoanLand. I suppose one could derive the following principles from her screed:

1) If an individual publishes under a real name rather than hiding under a pseudonym, then it is not acceptable to "out" the individual or publish further information as the individual is not hiding.

2) If you feel that someone's words are ugly or hurtful, then you may ethically cyberstalk them and then publish their personal information.

3) If you feel that someone is verbally attacking a victim then you may ethically cyberstalk them and then publish their personal information.

I personally disagree with ugly, vicious personal attacks. Vulgarity is the last refuge of the small-minded. And threats which rise to the level of stalking, harassment, or other criminal activity should be reported to the police.

However, I find Joan's guidelines for ethically cyberstalking people to fall way short. Let's face it: In Joan Peterson's perfect world, all gun owners would be licensed like sex offenders, preferably with the information available to the public. Heck, based on what her political allies believe, all people who disagree with their opinions should be treated as such. Based on those sorts of beliefs, I find her protestations to be a bit feeble.

In my opinion, if someone needs to be "kept track of" due to threatening or harassing behavior, then you should report them to the authorities. That might mean law enforcement, or it just might mean the administrators of whatever social media the interaction is occurring on. What CSGV is doing could be most charitably described as vigilantism. Gun owners who are informed on the gun rights issue tend to understand the difference between legitimate, ethical self-defense and vigilantism, but unsurprisingly, anti-gun bigots tend not to.

Fire at Rabbit Creek

Looks like there wasn't any serious damage.

Internally (in)consistant

Japete thinks that we should just discuss ideas, not go after each other personally.

Oh, wait...

I guess that just goes one way.

Packing Firearms

We just packed a bunch of firearms for upcoming shipping. I figure we're pretty good with this routine:

- Thoroughly clean everything. Put on an extra coat of oil.

- Store in hard-sided airtight cases with foam cut to the shape of the firearms + scopes.

- Update insurance company information and check for accuracy.

- Toss big packets of silica gel dessicant into the cases.

- Lock cases.

- Seal cases with tape and initial over the seam of the tape.

I think we'll be using the same technique for other valuables like electronics, camera gear, optics, etc. Good shipping cases and insurance are expensive but the peace of mind is worth it.

The Police

Massad Ayoob's blog has had some interesting posts lately discussing police. He made some comments that set off a large debate in the comments section.

The links are here:

• http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/MassadAyoob/2011/04/27/sobering-knowledge-from-cops/
• http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/MassadAyoob/2011/05/01/combine-criticism-with-critical-thinking/
• http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/MassadAyoob/2011/05/06/clearing-up-misconceptions/
• http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/MassadAyoob/2011/05/11/more-questions-answered/

I like a lot of what he's written and have reviewed some books here in the past. He was slow to come around on shall-issue CCW, and his words about guns for women are kind of laughable for a 2011 perspective, but his views seem to have grown over time, and for someone who's been writing as much as he has for as long as he has, I'd be surprised if there were no changing opinions.

I specifically am just going to hit on the topic at hand, which is police officers. It is timely, as we've had a few bad cops in Anchorage lately ourselves (and a few more). First, I'll say that most police officers do a tough job and most do it fairly well. They deal with the worst dregs of society, put themselves into physical danger, and keep getting out of bed every morning. They don't write or even agree with the laws that they are charged to enforce. Bad laws and bad incentives have a lot to do with the "War on Drugs" and militarization of police. I will also say that Alaska police, especially the state troopers, seem to have a much more "community policing" oriented mindset where they try and win voluntary compliance via discussion more than some other departments.

Most police officers are probably nice folks with families. I've shot with some. I know some former cops. I worked with police officers on a regular basis as a traffic cop in college.

However, I will say that there is almost nothing positive that can come out of an interaction between me and a police officer on the street. If an officer approaches me and initiates a contact, he wants something. He is fishing for reasonable suspicion and the worst case is to detain me. If he can detain me, he can then fish for probable cause to arrest me. In all these outcomes, the best case is that I continue about my business; it isn't like I'll get ten bucks and an ice cream cone for waiting around while he conducts a search. The worst case is that I end up arrested. In an interaction with a police officer, the best outcome I can hope for is that I'll be as well off -- and no better off -- than I was when I began the interaction. I suppose that I might improve the cop's attitude towards my demographic, or CCW holders, or people of my profession, but that's a pretty minor, uncertain, and abstract benefit when weighed against the risk of arrest.

People say that if you have nothing to fear, then there is nothing to worry about. I kind of disagree. First off, everyone should be in fear of breaking the law. We all break laws every day, probably without even being aware of them. Furthermore, many statutes are so malleable that "contempt of cop" can very quickly lead to some sort of charges, even if they're trumped up. If you're carrying a firearm -- even legally -- then you're in especially dangerous legal territory. Police have a tremendous amount of discretion and in any "he said/she said" situation you're screwed.

I want to cooperate with police, especially local law enforcement who help keep the community safe. However, I also am realistic and understand that if I've been selected for a stop, it is because the cop smells smoke and wants to find a fire. In Alaska, where you have a duty-to-inform that you're carrying, I avoid police encounters when carrying a firearm because no good can come of them. I wouldn't consent to a search if asked. I'm not going to give more than the minimal amount of information. I don't carry a lot of junk in my car.

You don't have to be a dick about it. In fact an attitude that will get you in trouble faster than many other things, I think. The best strategy is probably:

• Prevent: Minimize clutter in the car, don't carry illegal items, don't be a felon/skip bail/have open warrants, don't use drugs. If you use prescription drugs like a painkiller after surgery then have the paperwork handy.
• Script: Think about what you'll say if detained and rehearse it. "Am I free to go?" is probably safe, and it will determine immediately if you're detained or not. If you are not free to go, then you can say, "May I ask why I am detained?" to ascertain the officer's reasonable articulable suspicion. If they ask you to submit to a search or more questions, you can reply with something like, "Actually, I have an engagement I'm on my way too. I don't consent to a search or more questioning. I would like to be on my way, please."
• Depart: Don't stick around, don't bait the cop, just leave.
• Record: If possible, record the encounter. If laws allow you to do so, I'd be covert about it.
• STFU. If things come down to it, shut up and it is time to ask for a lawyer.
  

If you watch enough crime dramas, you'll see that most of the people fail to follow these rules.

The fundamental issue for me is one of cost/benefit. The costs to me of even a casual interaction with police are extremely high. The benefits to me are diffuse and abstract: I suppose my cooperation might help in solving a crime, but if I had crime-solving information I'd probably volunteer it anyways. I might also build the police officer's respect for my demographic but that's a very abstract benefit.

How could one fix this? First, with trust. If I trust the individual officer that is interacting with me and feel that he has a genuine interest in a pleasant, non "business" discussion, I'd be willing to interact with them more. Another way would be reducing or eliminating vague criminal statutes. There are many crimes on the books which require neither a guilty mind nor a harmful act. It is easy to run afoul of these. A third way would be reducing the consequences of interactions; if police issued summons to appear (in lieu of arrests), if arrest records (NOT convictions) weren't computerized and put into a federal FBI database forever, or if any casual contact didn't go into a police database to be stored forever, then that might help as well.

I want to have a good, healthy, productive relationship with local law enforcement based on mutual respect. However, I think you're foolish if you aren't cautious. Mas Ayoob is part of the "club" so he might not understand the caution that ordinary citizens feel when they run into their local police.

Just Following Orders

TSA sexually assaults infant. There's a name for their defense.

First Shooting Match

DW and I recently attended our first-ever competitive match. We saw all the cool targets and stages being shot by the US Practical Shooting Association guys and figured it looked awesome. So, we showed up and jumped right in shooting "limited" with the M&Ps.

We were bottom in the final results but not at the bottom in each individual stage. I edged our DW in the four match stages, but she edged me out in the qualifier. However, we got a lot out of it. We just finished reviewing the videos.

• Safety. I was impressed with how safe it was to run around with guns on a hot range. It sounds insane but it really is a good set of protocols. Both of us did fine all day on this front. Zero "finger on trigger" issues. My muzzle got a little high during a reload once but nothing unsafe.
• Accuracy. I had two misses on paper targets all day (both in the qualifier at the end of the day; I still landed one hit, but the double-tap missed). Most of my hits were "A" and sometimes "B/C." I had very few outer "D" ring hits. Heather had zero misses on paper all day.
  
  We were actually pretty good on total points scored (based on pure accuracy), even in the middle of the pack a fair amount of the time--we're just slow. Heck, on one stage I scored as well as the winner; he just did it in 1/5th the time. :)
  
  I'll take accuracy over speed to start with; speed will come with practice.
  
• Polishing Fundamentals-Me. I struggled with the reactive steel targets. I realized that this was because I was focusing on the steel, not on my front sight. I think I was watching to see if it would fall down. I occasionally had some trigger squeeze issues -- I caught myself flinching once or twice in the video -- but nothing too egregious.
• Equipment. I struggled with some reloads in large part due to magazines getting stuck in the mag pouch. I need better gear. That is a free second or two on each reload that can be fixed with a $30 mag pouch.
  
• Polishing Fundamentals-DW. Heather is working on managing recoil. She's not leaning forward into the gun quite enough, and her arms are angling up some. Both of those contribute to a lot of muzzle flip which slow down getting back on target. She's not flinching or anything--it is just taking too long to get back on target for follow up shots.

Overall I'm going to say this was a big success. We both had a blast. It was a huge rush. We also stayed safe and learning some solid lessons that will help us "adjust fire" in our practice in the future. We got some good advice from other competitiors and saw some amazing shooters. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming to us "noobs."

I think both of us are more interested in trying IDPA in the future, as we want to shoot no-frills production guns in a manner that gives us maximum training value for our time and round count. However, USPSA was a blast and I would certainly do it again.

S&W M&P 40 Reliability Report

DW and I are S&W M&P shooters. We just broke the "approximately 1000 rounds without cleaning" mark. I'm happy to report that there have been zero non-intentionally induced malfunctions. In our recent class we did set up some type 1/2/3 malfs intentionally which obviously caused the gun to not work. Other than that, zero problems. I have noticed that the mag is binding a bit in the mag well and won't drop out as easily when you tap the mag release, but it isn't hard to rip it out.

I will say that the white dot in the front sight has fallen out of at least one of the M&Ps. This is an issue others have had too. However, I almost get a better sight picture without the dot so it doesn't bother me too much.

Its probably time to clean these, but I wanted to see just how long they'd run without TLC. The answer is apparently "long enough!"

NFA Day at the Range

We headed up to the local range today because we thought a league shoot was going to occur, and we wanted to try competing (for the first time!). Turns out we had the wrong date. Oh darn, stuck at the range on a glorious Saturday morning in fantastic weather with 500 rounds of ammo. There could be worse things!

We had a great time working with our M&Ps doing some practice. I also fired up a Beretta 96 Centurion which I recently obtained (got a great deal on it too!). That is probably worth a post in and of itself, but needless to say, it worked fine.

We started talking to the guy next to us; I complimented him on the can for his 9mm, which was really great, by the way. It made the 9mm sound like a 22. Suppressors really are the polite thing to use; I think more "fudds" would be appreciative of them if ranges allowed .22s and suppressed guns ONLY on the "shoulder hour" or two just prior to quiet hours. I bet a bunch of folks would be more interested in getting that suppressor if it meant they had an exclusive prime-time evening shooting hour to use during the week. Local residents would probably also appreciate it.

He had a bunch of NFA items and invited us to shoot his MP5. I was a bit hesitant, but hey, it was a really generous offer and when else am I going to have a chance to burn through a magazine of 9mm on full auto? Heather and I each got to burn through a full mag, lighting up a water bottle on the berm. What a fantastically fun weapons system to shoot. It was pretty controllable, as well, especially with a foreward pistol grip. Recoil was negligible, but there was some muzzle creep upwards. If you used good isometric tension and kept it to short 2-4 round bursts it was quite manageable.

We talked for awhile and I ended up tossing him two boxes of 40 ammo on the way out. Ammo -- even 9mm -- isn't cheap these days and I figured it was the least we could do for getting to shoot his $5K+ NFA full auto!

I really love Alaska. The people here tend to be really friendly, in all sorts of contexts. The whole state is like a big small town. Additionally, there are a ton of veterans up here so that brings a certain feel to the community too which I like. How many other places would a total stranger loan you their MP5 to blaze away with?

Ladies Night at Sportsman's Warehouse

Last night was the first ever Ladies Night at Sportsman's Warehouse up here.  The event was a fundraiser to support several groups, from what I could tell.  I have to say, it was pretty fun!

In addition to discounts on ladies clothing and footwear, they had raffles, dutch oven cooking seminars, Bird TLC, silent auctions (including two puppies!), gun wall raffle, fly tying stations, and even an archery range and a bb-gun range!

Unfortunately, I didn't win any guns, but I did win $20 by nailing the bullseye with the bb-gun, and a cell-phone holster by pinning a hanging six-inch diameter target to the backstop with a bow.  I'd never shot a compound bow before, and the last time I shot any bow was during summer camp as a kid, so that was actually really exciting.

I hope the event was successful as a fundraiser - they certainly had a surprisingly large turn out!

Brady Bunch on Alaska

ADN is reporting that the Brady Bunch are suing a Juneau gun store. The gun store was burgled and the gun was used in a murder. Of note, the gun store owner reported the incident to Juneau police right away. Additionally, the shooter made it a "sawed off rifle," thus making the rifle illegal to possess as well.

Brady Campaign argues that the gun store was criminally negligent. The store wasn't necessarily victimized in this case, as Coday left two hundred bucks on the counter for the gun that he walked off. Normally I'd blast Brady Campaign for attacking a crime victim; that's their usual MO, and it is about as classy as blaming rape victims for dressing provocatively. Ray's store didn't really suffer a financial loss although they probably were robbed.

However, the question is whether they acted criminally negligently. I rather doubt it, especially given Rayco's rapid and accurate cooperation with local police. Apparently, so did the Superior Court.

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Next, let's look at the shooter. Wiki actually has a pretty good run down on his history. Jason Coday was a registered felon in Nevada. After being arrested for meth, felon-in-possession of a firearm, possession of a sawed off shotgun, and some other odds and ends, he jumped bail. On 2 August he arrived in Juneau, stole a gun, and then within 48 hours committed murder. As is the usual pattern, most murderers have extensive criminal records including felonies and substance abuse. They are usually prohibited persons.

Even the Brady Campaign admits:

Between June 22, 2006, and August 4, 2006, Coday had at least 18 run-ins with police throughout the West, including the Henderson, Nevada Police; the Nye County Sheriff’s Office in Tonopah, Nevada; Nevada Highway Patrol in Elko, Nevada; the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office in Yerington, Nevada; State Patrol in Vancouver, Washington; U.S. Customs Service Inspection Control in Blaine, Washington; and Bellingham, Washington Police. After being released to his father’s custody after one arrest, Coday escaped, and made his way to Alaska.

I kind of have to wonder why Nevada let this multiple-felon back on the streets, and how he managed to get from Bellingham to Juneau (presumably on the ferry) even after he was detained by Washington police. Didn't they check for outstanding warrants and see he'd skipped bail?

I have to wonder why Brady Campaign didn't sue the police for letting an escaped felon on the lam get through multiple stops. If blame is to be assigned to anyone for negligence, I'd think that the multiple police agencies who had a chance to apprehend an escaped felon fleeing weapons charges would bear substantial responsibility.

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Meanwhile, Brady has engaged a local law firm in Juneau, probably because they don't really have any presence up here. Choate Law firm, run by Mark C. Choate, looks like a standard personal injury/ambulance chaser/divorce specialist type firm. A pillar of the legal community, I'm sure. Given Brady's financial state, Choate may likely be working on a contingency basis. This is what Choate says:

The Choate Law Firm LLC works exclusively on a contingency fee. This means that it costs no money to have your claim evaluated. If we decide that we can help you, we will enter into a written contingency fee contract where we will agree to work with you for a percentage of the total recovery. This percentage varies between 33% and 45% depending on the difficulty of the case. We will also advance the costs necessary to prepare the case for trial - for example, filing fees, travel and expert witness charges, on your promise to repay us at the conclusion of the case.

I find it interesting that Choate (annual revenues around ~$1 million) would go after Rayco (a small business with revenues less than <$500K). I'm wondering if Rayco has good insurance, because frankly, taking this case up all the way to appeal (in lieu of cutting a deal) doesn't make any sense financially unless the insurer has deep pockets. As the firm states:

"Similarly, we do not work in areas where, by design, it is almost impossible to represent clients cost-effectively. This means we do not represent claimants in workers compensation cases or social security claims."

So, even though the firm claims "there's no higher calling than helping those in need," of course, there's no higher calling than helping those in need... but only if the defendant has a lot of money.

Choate deserves to ply his trade and make money. But residents of Juneau could certainly consider the firm's activity when picking a lawyer. Choate is collaborating with an Outside activist group which desires to fundamentally undermine and end a right which many Alaskans hold dear; furthermore, Choate is attempting to put a small, locally owned business out of operation. That's sticking it to the man!

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In closing, I can agree with the Brady's sentiment:

“A deranged criminal like Jason Coday should not be able to walk into a gun store and simply stroll out the door with a gun."

However, their solution is to put gun shops out of business and suppress gun ownership, even if that infringes on the rights of the law abiding and disproportionately affects minorities, women, and the poor. My solution is for felons who are convicted of weapons crimes to be put in jail. If any of the numerous law enforcement agencies who had contact with Coday before he ran to Alaska had taken action, this tragedy could have been prevented. Kudos to the legal system for getting this one right, by all appearances.

Moving and Canada

We have just the prep for a short-notice move. It was a really tough decision, because we love Alaska; however, professionally, there was a great opportunity for me if we were willing to move and I felt like I had to take it. We do hope to return to Alaska in the very near future (our spring bear hunt for next year is still on!) and come back here to live permanently as soon as it can be arranged!

In addition to all the normal pain-in-the-neck of moving, we're also dealing with our firearms and Canada as we'll have to drive the ALCAN. Most of the guns will get moved with our furniture in such, but we want to have a few handy as we'll be separated from our shipped goods for a few months (including the fall hunting season).

Bringing long guns into Canada seems pretty simple; you declare them at the border, pay $25, register them, then are goo to go. Of course, they reserve the right to refuse entry to any weapon for basically any reason, or to "detain" the weapons for quite awhile without any cause, so maybe it isn't that easy.

Handguns are problematic, though. First off, anything with a "short" barrel is just outright prohibited (M&P compact, I'm looking at you). The other handguns require an "authorization to transport." To get this, you need to ask the provincial firearms office very nicely for permission. The form to fill out is not on their websites (US residents need a different form than actual Canadians). Of course, they don't publish an email address or direct phone number; all you can do is leave messages on their 1-800 number. I will say that they're pretty good at returning calls promptly, however, they seem incapable of emailing or faxing me the form I need to fill out. It is also impossible to talk to a real person, regardless of when you call. Hopefully I can get the stupid form so I can comply with their pointless laws.

The other option is to mail the guns to an FFL in the Pacific Northwest then pick them up once we transit Canada. This is going to be more expensive but may be what we end up doing, at least for the handguns. After all, if they seize a $300 shotgun and don't let us bring it in, then whatever.

Standard capacity magazines are also verboten, but we can mail those ahead easily so we'll just do that.

Ammunition might be problematic. I've seen several Canadian sources quote both a figure of 200 rounds and 5000 rounds. If its 5000 rounds, no problem. But if it is 200 rounds, then we'll have to have a fire sale on some ammo before we leave I guess.

Frankly, these laws are retarded. I could probably drive right through the border with an undeclared arsenal in my car, and they'd never know. Heck, compliance rates with the registry among their own citizens are very low, the registry is incredibly expensive and has solved no crimes, and the provinces themselves don't bother to enforce the useless laws. But, I'm a law abiding professional so I'll make sure to be in compliance to the best of my knowledge with their customs and firearms laws, as stupid as they may be.

Declare Victory and Move On

We finally got UBL.

This is great.

Now, maybe in another decade, we'll manage to fill in the smoking holes in the ground. I'm all in favor of ensuring that ass hats like UBL get a serious case of lead poisoning -- justice or vengeance, whichever you want to call it -- but I'd like to also think that we can build something too.