Great Ironic Headlines

California — capital of gun control — sees three mass shootings in four days

Like A Really Bad Joke

12/3/19 Forbes:

Leo Lech’s home was destroyed. The windows and doors were all blown out, glass strewn inside and outside. But it wasn’t an act of God, it was an act of the local police department.

Mind you, no one in the household had committed a crime. Instead, a suspect on the run fled there randomly. He’d been chased by police for miles after stealing a shirt and two belts from a local Walmart.

With the suspect armed and ignoring police communications, the SWAT team of the Greenwood Village Police Department in Colorado started systematically taking out windows and doors using explosives and an armored vehicle. They fired tear gas canisters into the home. At one point they used a robot to throw a cell phone to the suspect. After 15 hours, they entered the house to find the shoplifter holed up in the bathroom with a stash of drugs.

 The occupants of the home were Leo Lech’s son, the son’s girlfriend, and her 9-year old son, who now found themselves homeless. In apprehending a suspect wanted for a few dollars’ worth of goods, the police did damage costing Lech $400,000. While insurance covered some of the home repairs, it didn’t cover the full amount of the value of the home or personal possessions, and today, nearly five years later, Lech is still paying the loans he had to take out to repair the massive damage done by the local police department. And just recently, a federal appeals court ruled that he couldn’t be compensated for his loss under the Fifth Amendment’s takings clause: “nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”

The city's press release gives a rather different picture that makes Lech sound like someone trying to take advantage of a bad situation for financial gain.  The Institute for Justice is a libertarian organization that tends to portray "bad government" in situations that might look a bit different if viewed from a less ideological perspective.

Why Soros Backs Marijuana Decriminalization?

Conclusions and Relevance  Low-strength evidence suggests that smoking marijuana is associated with developing TGCT; its association with other cancers and the consequences of higher levels of use are unclear. Long-term studies in marijuana-only smokers would improve understanding of marijuana’s association with lung, oral, and other cancers.

TGCT: testicular germ cell tumor.

Be Ready to Laugh

You probably know that yesterday's terrorist knife attack in London was interrupted by a guy wielding a 5 foot long narwhal tusk.  Here are the inevitable narwhal tusk attachments for the AR-15.

Commonsense marine mammal tusk control is all we ask.

Why Gun Bans Do Not Work

“Inmate scam”, Santa Rosa (Cal.) Press-Democrat, January 20, 1993, A5.

Incredible!  That gun control laws fail to keep handguns out of New York City is not surprising.  But all those guards, metal detectors, strip searches, and who knows what else, can’t even keep guns out of New York City’s jails!  Does anyone seriously think that our national borders stand a ghost of a chance of keeping guns out?

Cleaning Out My Closet

This appears to be a Cyclop 1 Night Vision scope, like this one on eBay.  It comes in a leather or leather-like bag.

This is the scope itself, and what is apparently a camera adapter that goes where the eyepiece is located.  I have ever never used the adapter.  The scope has a little refresh button on the side that you use if you have been viewing for ten or more seconds.  It is of course a green image.  I have no idea how much light gain you get, but it makes even completely black interior rooms visible.  There is a black cover on the front to protect the receptors when powered up.  There is an almost invisibly small hole that allows testing without endangering the receptors.

It includes an infrared illuminator that makes low visibility objects visible.  The instruction manual is in Russian, but the only markings are in English on the illuminator.

History: shortly after the Wall came down, a friend in Munich acquired this for me.  He thought it was looted Red Army equipment.  I am sure it was a commercial product (English warning).  It uses AA batteries and a 12V battery.  It works but I have no use for it.  The one on eBay is listed at $195, and is the last one available.  Make me an offer.

Need a Wireless Mouse

I have an Inphic.  You charge it through a USB cable, then insert a transmitter in your USB port.  Works great, but my intended use was for travel.  Of course, if you leave in your travel bag for months on end, it will not be charged when you need it.  For desktop use, it seems like a good choice.  I can ship this to you in a Priority Mail box.