20021023

I could have sworn . . .
. . . that I heard one of Phil Hendrie's voices calling in to Glenn Beck's show today.
Twenty-seven days until Ammo Day
Would it count if I bought the components for 100 rounds instead?

Reminds me, I need a new primer follower for the RL550B press.
My attorney's phone number is . . .
One more reason comes to mind about why many gunbloggers are reluctant to speculate about the I-95 shootings.

We don't want to attract the attention of agencies investigating the shootings, like that paid to poodle-shooter owners in the area. They are being treated rather poorly, if what I hear is true. I'm rehearsing, "all attorneys advise their clients never to consent to a search, so I won't. Either give me your consent to record this conversation, or this conversation is over" and similar phrases in case I get a call like they've gotten.

20021021

Back in the yoke
I have returned to my civilian job, finally, after more than a year's absence. It was sad, and weird. My manager didn't remember my skills and could not find my resume. I had two handshakes and one literal "thanks for your service" from the whole office.

Of course I should be grateful that I still had a job to which to return. The industry is in the chumbucket and I could easily have been laid off, so I'm grateful to be drawing a salary. Still, I am disappointed. More on this topic later.
No dead pool here
With a tip of the hat to James Rummel over at Hell in a Handbasket, your humble blogger will speculate a bit further on the Beltway shootings.

There is a shooter and a driver: two people. The shooter does most of the shooting, the driver does most of the driving. Changing roles may be responsible for the muffs that have occurred so far.

Whether the shooter-and-driver team are al-Qaeda-connected is not relevant. If they are, we've a full-blown nightmare. If they aren't, they are still establishing the feasibility of such attacks to the world. Look for similar attacks to appear elsewhere. They will continue against lone targets of opportunity, where they are exposed and alone, not in groups or within places of cover.

There have been discussions in the shooting community about the rules of engagement that would apply should an armed citizen be in position to challenge such an attack, just as the anti-defense community has editorialized that armed citizens are "powerless against such attacks." Powerless, hell. Folks, the solutions are being developed by people who know what they are talking about, away from the media glare. The solutions simply haven't been tried, and those who hold themselves responsible for Our Safety would rather eat ground glass than promote them.

It is not necessary for an armed citizen to wound or kill the shooter or driver to help bring these shootings to an end. A motor vehicle with a punctured radiator, shattered windshield, or body with non-factory ventilation will be easier to find than one that has not been challenged. Find the vehicle and we're that much closer to finding the perpetrators.

The most urgent point is that the armed citizen must call the police at once, within seconds of ceasing fire, to warn them of location, direction, markings, and what things he or she shot out of the vehicle, so the police can assemble their cordon immediately and tightly.

I won't try to argue that our police, through the media, should be briefing citizens of our imperial capitol and nearby provinces about the pertinent law. When to shoot, when not to, what to aim for, whom to call and when. Which arms and ammunition would be best for the application. What would happen to the armed citizen who did not follow these instructions carefully.

For those citizens who aren't taking the armed option, what to carry instead, such as a camera with a date-time imprint, on a lanyard around the left wrist at all times between car and building. The mobile phones with integral cameras come to mind. A voice-activated digital recorder might also be useful, in the hands of a person trained to stream consciousness into it if shooting starts.

Surely a Fox affiliate could summarize these instructions so pithily, after in-depth interviews with the experts, that motorists at the Seb'me Leb'm would be reciting them unconsciously under their breath while stroking their ATM cards in the gas pumps.

Naah. Never happen.