kimmy

The original bill contained the same language regarding intent, but nobody was convinced that it protected the rape victim from prosecution. That's because... ...if the abortion provider has been informed that the pregnancy is a result of rape, and this new law declares that the fetus is evidence in a criminal investigation, then the abortion provider will by default be guilty of intentionally destroying evidence. There will be a case to be made for prosecutors with an axe to grind to take to court if they wish. Perhaps it's your view that only a really malicious prosecutor would charge an abortion provider in those circumstances, but as we've seen in the Aaron Swartz case, it's mistake to assume that prosecutors will use their discretion with benevolence. If you really think this bill is about preserving criminal evidence, I think you're naive. The whole underlying idea that a fetus must be brought to term to be viable DNA evidence at a rape trial is blatantly false from square one. You can believe that Mrs Brown is so ignorant and stupid that she didn't realize genetic material from an aborted fetus would be completely valid evidence. Or you can believe that she's not ignorant and stupid, and that this bill has motivation beyond the stated goal of "getting tough on rapists". You can believe what you wish, but given that she had a successful career in law before her political career, I would not assume her to be stupid. That's an inane slippery slope. The prosecution of an abortion provider under this bill isn't an inane slippery slope, it's a foreseeable result of this bill. There's a big difference. This is a potential legal landmine for an abortion provider in New Mexico, not much different from legal landmines that other Republican-controlled states have been laying down for abortion providers. There was, as already pointed out. That they have not flocked to defend the bill in wake of the public outrage over just shows that they realize what a gigantic public relations disaster this enormous brain-fart has been. -k

I did watch The Untouchables yesterday. It really made clear the extent to which outfits like Countrywide were determined to sign up as many mortgages as possible no matter how dismal the applicant. And it really made clear the extent to which the investment banks were determined to ignore the fact that a large portion of the mortgages they were buying were "defective", because they were just going to "securitize" them and sell them to suckers anyway. And it strongly appears that the Obama administration wasn't actually interested in prosecuting anybody of any significance. It appears as if Senator Kaufman and Mr Connaughton weren't actually supported at all. One assumes the administration set them on their mission thinking that it would give the public the impression that something was being done. I liked the contrast between the federal prosecutors being unable to do anything, compared with the blogger and documentary film-maker being able to turn up these whistleblowers and the private law firm being able to put together a civil suit. -k

They have clarified that the rape victim would not be charged, but post-rape abortion will remain criminal evidence tampering. They old wording told a rape victim that if she got an abortion, she and her doctor would be charged with destroying evidence. The new wording tell the rape victim that if she gets an abortion, her doctor will be charged with destroying evidence. Big whoop. Either way, the rape victim can't legally get an abortion in New Mexico. The Republican Party has become so thoroughly involved with the pro-life movement that this has, in effect, become a partisan issue. You can look at many Republican controlled states and find measures in progress to make abortions difficult to obtain. Nothing as outrageously offensive as the original bill, but certainly there's a strategy of making abortion inaccessible by putting untenable financial and legal burdens on abortion providers. The New Mexico bill, in its updated form, remains just one more potential legal landmine for abortion providers. -k

You didn't specify teaching creationism or opposing abortion, you said "Republican ideological obsessions", and if you don't recognize the damage done by Republican obsessions like deregulation and cutting taxes, you must have slept through Bush's entire 2nd term. -k

So I got a couple of packages of "the expensive stuff"-- 20 rounds of Barnaul 123gr FMJ for the SKS , and 20 rounds of MFS 203gr SP for the SVT40. Not as economical as crates of surplus... but I didn't want to buy a crate of surplus until I've at least verified that the guns actually function. I think I might go out in the woods tomorrow and give it a go. Watch out, milk bottles! Spent the morning practicing loading and unloading with stripper clips. The stripper clips for the 7.62x54r ammo work *much* nicer than the SKS stripper clips. The SKS clips seem to bind a lot and you really have to fight with them to get the bullets to slide. I thought the rimmed ammo would be harder to deal with, but it seems that the reverse is true. I think the difference is that the 7.62x54r clips have "walls" that keep the bullets from tilting left-right while they're being fed, which makes them bind less. The 7.62x39 clips just grab the base, which lets the bullets tilt to the side and bind against the rails. There might be a better design for these. -k

I definitely plan to watch The Untouchables. One of the bigger topics in the internet community lately has been the suicide of Aaron Swartz. And I think the contrast between the US Attorneys' relentless pursuit of Swartz vs the complete disinterest in prosecuting anybody involved in Wall Street fraud paints a very clear picture. It's astounding that nobody has been held accountable. -k

Laugh of the day there, Tim. -k

I think you have WWWTT confused with Mighty AC, as it's Mighty AC who coined the headline you're objecting to. Regardless, I really don't care whether he was aware of the co-sponsors, or whether he's been granted a "save" or what issue you may have with him or WWWTT. My point is that your attempt to downplay this as "just one nut" is inaccurate. (and I think anybody who assumes these are the only 10 Republicans in the New Mexico legislature who were aware of this bill before it was presented is pretty naive as well.) They haven't backed off at all. They've updated the language of the bill to make it clear that the rape victim is not to be charged with evidence tampering. Which should get them off the hook for the most flagrant outrage in this bill, but in reality this bill was probably intended to target abortion providers all along, not rape victims. It's consistent with Republican strategies in other states where they've bypassed the whole issue of the right to choice, and simply made the regulations on abortion providers so onerous that abortion providers can't stay in business. -k

As the bill had nine Republican co-sponsors, the use of the plural "Republicans" is entirely correct. Perhaps Republicans will some day find their own Rosa Parks who will have the courage to sit at the front of the bus and throw off these shackles. We know that not all Muslims are terrorists. But when somebody blows themselves up at a market, we don't even have to ask what religion they're from. And we know that not all Republicans are deranged wingnuts... but when a US politician says or does something this disgusting and offensive and repugnant, we don't have to ask what party they're from either. Why's your team such a magnet for scumbags and imbeciles, Shady? Ever put any thought into that? -k

I think we need to hear more about this project! How big of a projectile are we talking about? I've seen a couple of neat "coilgun" projects on Youtube... I'm pretty sure these don't get anywhere close to Mach 2. I'm not very clear on the difference between a railgun and a coilgun. -k

Sure, society would probably be more balanced and healthy if people weren't covetous and greedy. But the premise proposed was that the 10 Commandments are values that are necessary for a civilized society. If that's the case, then our society simply isn't civilized, because coveting is an institutionalized and celebrated part of our society. I'd suggest that the only serious attempts to create a greed-free society in the modern world have been in communist states where the net result was that people ended up coveting food and shelter instead of wives, asses, or servants. -k

-k

From here on, that is the mental picture I will have when I read his posts. -k

What's the deal with 40 S&W? I gather it's popular with law enforcement types. What are it's benefits, compared to say 9x19 or 357 mag? -k

What a trained full-time soldier can comfortably carry into battle and what a basement dwelling slob could carry on the first and only "combat mission" of his life are two different things. I'm certainly all for careful screening. If the gun is loaded and he's ready to shoot? Nope. If he's trying to reload? Absolutely. I've been sparring with a boxing instructor for 5 years, I've got a whole lifetime of judo, I'm quick and strong. I'm worth my weight in wildcats. In that situation I'd way rather take my chances in hand to hand than wait for him to reload. If he's got a 5 round magazine, I have 6 times the opportunity to put the fists of karma on his chin that I'd have if he's got a 30-round magazine. A trained and experienced soldier with modern weaponry that's designed to maximize ease and speed of use can probably reload in a couple of seconds. An experienced teenager addled from stress and adrenaline probably takes twice as long or more to reload with the same equipment. The same teenager trying to operate equipment that isn't designed for optimum combat ergonomics probably takes twice as long again. This is modern combat equipment that was designed with the express goal of being as efficient as possible to use in a combat situation. Lighter, less fatiguing. Faster and easier to load. More shots. Faster to shoulder and point. Easier and quicker to aim. The same attributes that make these guns the best weapons for soldiers also make them the best weapons for a shooting spree. You're trying to convince me that these guns are not really any more dangerous than the WWII rifles I've got in my cabinet. But these modern guns are full of improvements that resulted from lessons learned the hard way by soldiers using guns like the ones in my cabinet. Of course they're much better at that purpose: they've got 3+ wars worth of improvements over my guns. And compared to typical hunting rifles that are ergonomically speaking no different from hunting rifles of 100 years ago, there's no comparison. It certainly doesn't seem very smart on her part, no question. I would rather have those guys be the ones who look like fanatics who are unable to make reasonable compromise. Right now our side is the ones who look like fanatics unable to make reasonable compromise, and it's going to hurt us. -k

Well, considering a TT-33 can be had for $200 you could put $70 grips on it and it's still a more affordable pistol than anything else you could buy, even a Norinco knock-off. Something else I was noticing about the TT-33... that ammunition appears to be pretty powerful. The big case and smallish bullet generates rifle-like muzzle velocity. The specs I'm looking at say the bullet has at least as much energy as a 9x19mm. -k

Which of the Ten Commandments are actually values that are necessary for any civilized society? 1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth... 3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; 4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates... 5. Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. 6. Thou shalt not kill. 7. Thou shalt not commit adultery. 8. Thou shalt not steal. 9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. 10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. Batting .400 is pretty good if you're a ball-player, but pretty crappy if you're a prophet getting advice direct from the almighty. -k

I don't think the appropriate comparison to make is WWII surplus in the hands of an experienced shooter vs modern "black guns" in the hands of an inexperienced shooter. I think a more appropriate comparison would be WWII surplus in the hands of an inexperienced shooter vs modern "black guns" in the hands of an inexperienced shooter. I think modern high-tech weaponry made it a lot easier for Adam Lanza to kill a lot of people. Weight is an issue. An SVT-40 weighs 9 pounds. And you're going to carry a bunch of heavy ammo to go with that beast too. Lets say a 9 pound gun and 20 pounds of ammo? The guy with the 5 pound gun only needs about 10 pounds to take as many shots. 29 pounds vs 15 pounds might not sound like a big deal, but as somebody who sometimes backpacks, I'm telling you, it's a big deal. The extra weight saps your energy and reduces your agility and slows you down very quickly. I have been backpacking with people who assured me that their packs were light and they could easily handle the weight, but got tired out way quicker than they expected. Ease of operation is an issue. You're inexperienced, you're amped up on adrenaline, you're fatigued, you're sweating, you're on the lookout for everything in your environment, your heart is racing, and you have to feed a stripper clip into your rifle every 5 shots? You're *going* to screw up. Maybe not the first time, maybe not the second, but you're going to screw up. I screwed up in the comfort of my living-room the other day. Didn't have the snap-cap fully seated, it didn't line up with the chamber, and I had to remove it by hand. If that happens during your rampage, your targets are going to escape or they'll tackle you. It's *not* going to be as easy as it is when you're shooting at the range. If he has to reload every 5 shots, he's got 6 times as many chances to screw up than he has with a 30-round magazine. Or 6 times as many chances for his targets to escape or attack him. I don't think anybody is under the impression that these mass-shooting rampages are the typical form of gun homicide. I don't think a ban on high-capacity magazines would have any effect on single-victim slayings, which I imagine are the vast majority of gun homicides. But I think it would make it harder for a would-be mass-murderer to kill so many people. Well, it's been noted that Adam's mom obtained her weapons legally. Does it seem likely that she'd have altered her magazines or bought illegal magazines to go with them? Does Adam Lanza seem like the kind of guy who'd have the underworld connections to smuggle in illegal magazines? Guys like Adam Lanza and Kimveer Gill and Marc Lepine Kliebold and Harris and so-on) don't seem like they'd have many connections outside of their World of Warcraft games. I don't think that logic applies to these guys, though. Certainly a new law isn't going to keep the local chapter of the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club from getting their hands on AR15s. But the Sons of Anarchy aren't going to show up at a school to wipe out the students. If they kill somebody, it's a good bet that it's other criminals. It's mistaken logic to say that a guy who wants to go on a rampage is a criminal so he can get illegal guns just as easily as career criminals like outlaw bikers. The guys who are going on these rampages seem to be isolated loners who probably have *less* ability to obtain contraband than the average person. I don't buy the slippery-slope theory that some of the gun-rights people are making. I agree that some of the distinctions being made are naive or just plain stupid, but I think the flip side of the coin is people who are saying "If we give up our 30-round magazines, pretty soon all we'll have left is slingshots!" I think that kind of talk makes people think gun-owners are crazy. I think trying to argue that people *need* 30-round magazines makes people think gun-owners are crazy. I think arguing that any concessions at all will lead to confiscation makes people think gun-owners are crazy. I think the loud-mouths who are causing the general public to think gun-owners are crazy are doing more harm to their own cause than the do-gooders they claim to oppose. Unless you're a moose or a sumo-wrestler, I suspect either would kill you equally well. I feel the more dangerous is whichever is easiest to smuggle into someplace where it had not ought to be. Perhaps either of those guns would be found with a half-thorough pat-down, but a derringer probably wouldn't be. A line ought to be drawn somewhere, and it ought to be drawn somewhere before derringer-sized pistols, or some other specialized weapon that comes in a low-profile form-factor that could be mistaken for a cell-phone or a cigarette lighter. -k

One thing I've noticed about the TT-33 is that it's ... ugly. I found a website for a Hungarian dude who can do something about that with these swank custom wood grips. Several different styles and numerous kinds of wood available. Purists might be offended, but I think they're pretty sweet. And you could return the gun to factory original condition in 30 seconds if you felt like it. -k

Well that rules us out. Enjoy, Wilber! -k

The whole time, I was thinking "if that was me, I'd have decked that guy" ...up until they showed the scoreboard. As for the thread topic, I had no idea what it was about, but a bit of Google magic revealed that Bradford City has defeated Aston Villa to reach the Premier League finals. I gather that this achievement is roughly comparable to a triple-A baseball team making it to the World Series. Wow! Congrats to your team, Sapper! -k

It's hilarious that you continue to cling to the myth that the government caused the sub-prime crisis after all the times you've been proven wrong. The "new conservatism" isn't just blind obeisance to authority, it also apparently requires complete denial of reality. -k

Is it true that the flu vaccines for each year are formulated to fight the strains of flu that epidemiologists anticipate will be most common that year? -k

To me it just sounds like bean-counters finding ways to increase the margins. First it's laying off all the experienced Marlin employees and consolidating production at one factory. Then it's cutting costs there too. Then it'll be finding a cheaper factory to build guns at. Maybe they can get a factory in Brazil or Korea to build the same guns for cheaper. "We've got the blueprints; what else do we need?" They were actually billed as "Mosin Nagant stripper clips" on the website I bought them from, but I had a strong hunch they'd work with the SVT40. You've mentioned Silvercore before. I'll look into it. If I was in charge of such things, I think I'd require a more permanent method of reducing the magazine than a rivet. Nonetheless, I have a hard time picturing the guy who's planning a massacre settling on the idea of an SVT40 with unpinned magazines as the optimum way of getting bullets away in a hurry. The magazines are hard to find, expensive, brick-heavy even when empty, and only hold 10 shots anyway. And the bullets themselves weigh twice as much as .223 bullets. Now, contrast that with the light synthetic 30-shot .223 magazines that are available. It's conceivable that a guy could carry enough ammunition to wipe out every person in a school in his backpack, and it's conceivable that he could kill everybody in a classroom without stopping to reload. There has to be a line drawn somewhere. I don't think either of us wants hand-grenades or 50mm cannons or fully-automatic weapons available to the general public. I don't think either of us thinks James Bond pen-guns should be available. And any time lines are drawn, it's arbitrary. Should the drinking age be 21 or 19 or 18? We know there are 17 year olds who are mature enough to handle alcohol, and we know there are 22 year olds who aren't. So what good is an arbitrarily chosen drinking age anyway? Well, whether we disagree on 21 vs 19, hopefully we all agree that it should be higher than 14. And with magazine sizes, I realize it's an arbitrary line to draw. Why is 5 ok but 6 isn't? I don't know why that particular number was chosen. But there should be a line somewhere, and I feel that the line should someplace well below 30 rounds. The guards, while carrying large boxes of money around, are inviting targets for violence. Presumably they don't get to wear their guns when they're at the bar after their shift is over. Also, their guns are on display, which probably has a strong deterrent effect on would-be attackers. Maybe there's an argument to be made that if citizens wore guns, it would have a deterrent effect on violence. I don't really want to get into that... but I do think that people who are allowed to carry guns should have their guns visible, not concealed. My firearms instructor mentioned the ban on .25 and .32 handguns; he believes the stated rational for the ban was complete BS. He believes the ban was simply an experiment to see if they could do it. I don't know why 4.5" is ok but 4.2" is not ok, but there should be a line somewhere. -k

I was a little concerned about buying a Marlin, with the ongoing talk of quality issues. However I gather that the QC problems have affected mostly the lever-guns, and I've heard many positive reviews of new Model 60s. It sounds to me like what has happened to Marlin and Remington is the same thing as Bain Capital did to Sealy mattresses. It's a Tula... but the replacement stock and magazine are Iveshk. I would like to get 2 more magazines to go with it. First off because this one is kind of beat-up looking (it's got serial numbers from 3 different guns scratched out!) and also for authenticity-- these guns came with 3 magazines, and it came with a 2-magazine pouch that's empty right now. I am pretty sure the magazine's original capacity was 10, not 20. I don't think I would actually swap the magazines to reload anyway-- the stripper-clips seem to work nicely (although I've only tried it with 2 rounds, not 5. A TT-33 is definitely on my to-do list! I still haven't joined a firing range, so I can't yet purchase a pistol, however. Where I live, I don't think urban camo would be that useful. Perhaps if they have camo that would help me blend in with SUVs... I might, however, need to get myself a nice red Hammer and Sickle flag and declare my apartment to be a very small collective. Would I turn into a deranged killer if the rivet popped out of my magazine? of course not. But if somebody had a propensity to be a deranged killer, I would much rather he have a 5-round magazine than a 20-round magazine. Ideally he wouldn't have a gun at all, but I think we all understand that there's no perfect way of assessing who might or might not be a threat. Security guards may have carry permits, but they don't have concealed carry. I don't think there is a good reason for concealed carry. As for prohibited weapons licenses, I don't know what the process for getting one in Canada is, but I doubt they're granted lightly. I think the laws we have are sensible and they seem to be pretty effective. I really don't have any sympathy for the people who shout "the gubbermint is coming for our guns!!" in response to proposals for reasonable and not very onerous restrctions. -k