Tennessee up to 471,882 permits in July 2014, Michigan at 558,403, Utah at 550,663, and Florida at 1,290,362

Click on above screenshots to enlarge them.  It is pretty amazing that just seven states now have a total of just seven states account for over 5 million concealed handgun permits.  Indiana has had about a 13 percent increase in the number of permits in just 9 months.

	latest	After about 6mnths or noted otherwise
Florida	1,290,362	1,215,708	6%
Indiana	557,789	537,964	4%
Michigan	558,403	425,972	31%
Minnesota	175,026	159,968	9%
Pennsylvania	872,000
Tennessee	471,882	441,171	7%
Texas	708,048	584,850	21%	Change from 2012 to 2013
Utah	550,663	535,857	3%
	5,184,173

UPDATE: The number of permits in Lenoir County, NC has gone up 1,000% percent in 10 years.

The presence of crime is causing concealed weapons permits to rise. In the last 10 years permits have gone up 1000% in Lenoir County.
"They're applying for a concealed weapons permit because they want to be able to protect themselves and they want to be able to protect their families." Sheriff Chris Hill said.
In 2008, 210 people applied and in 2013 it jumped to more than 800 applicants. . . .

UPDATE: Illinois now has seen about 84,000 permit applicants.  Presumably almost all will have their permits approved.  Still many fewer than the unrealistic prediction of 300,000 by the state police.

UPDATE: From the West Virginia Associated Press: It looks as if West Virginia has about 126,514 permits that were issued over the last five years and that there were large changes in the number of permits issued in 2012 and 2013.  That would represent quite an increase from 92,000 active permit holders in 2011.

In 2009, county sheriffs’ departments issued 11,160 permits allowing residents to carry concealed handguns in most public places. In 2013, that number had jumped to 44,981.The largest increase was from 2012 to 2013, when the number of permits issued annually increased by more than 15,000, up from 29,712 in 2012.
Those numbers, compiled by the West Virginia State Police, are only the permits issued each year. A permit is valid for five years, so the total number of West Virginians licensed to carry concealed handguns is much higher.
While some may have been revoked or surrendered, a total of 126,514 permits were issued in the five years including 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. . . .

Minnesota permits by county

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A look at the types of things Lois Lerner called conservatives while writing on her government email account

If Lerner called conservatives these things on her government email account, imagine what she might be writing on her personal account.  But you would think that a government official would be somewhat circumspect in writing something down in a permanent form for others to see.  However may be she knew that these emails wouldn't be permanent!  From the WSJ:

A newly discovered email shows that former Internal Revenue Service official Lois Lerner once referred to conservatives as "---holes," according to new documents released by House Republicans.In the November 2012 email exchange, Ms. Lerner also suggested that conservative "crazies" could threaten the nation's future.
Her comments came in a wide-ranging email conversation, apparently with a friend or family member, while Ms. Lerner was traveling in England. At one point Ms. Lerner wrote that she overheard two women saying the U.S. had bankrupted itself and is "going down the tubes."
"Well, you should hear the whacko wing of the GOP," the person conversing with Ms. Lerner responded. "The right wing radio shows are scary to listen to."
"Great," Ms. Lerner replied. "Maybe we are through if there are that many ---holes." The word used by Ms. Lerner is redacted, with the first three letters blacked out.  . . .
Ms. Lerner adds later: "So we don't need to worry about alien teRrorists [sic]. It's our own crazies that will take us down." . . .

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Stunner: Three of the four women on "The View" support gun ownership for protection

Transcript

JENNY MCCARTHY: “People who would definitely disagree with the NFL ruling is a gun safety group that is trying to pressure Republican senators to support gun restriction laws for domestic abuser with a brutal PSA. Now, warning, get your kids out of the room. Because this is pretty disturbing. Take a look.”
[Everytown for Gun Safety Ad]
MCCARTHY: “Right? Effective, Lara?”
LARA SPENCER: “I would say highly effective. I mean so upsetting. Very strong message. And-“
SHERRI SHEPHERD: “For not getting a gun? For, for having gun safety?”
SPENCER: “Well right, but that’s, that’s the catch here.”
SHEPHERD: “Can I tell you, can I tell you the flipside of that. And that is absolutely so disturbing, but the flipside is when I was at my home and the alarm went off, and I ran to my son’s bedroom and Jeffery was crying, and I realized all I had to protect me and somebody coming around that corner was a daggone wicker trash basket. And I said to myself and “Everybody said to me, well get a bat.” You got one chance to use a bat and if they take it away. “Get pepper stray.” You know how close they got to get to you, if you use pepper spray? You got one of these? [makes a gesture like she’s holding a gun and makes a sound of cocking a gun] They’re not gonna come near you and your child! So when you’re standing there, and you don’t know how to protect your child ? Get a gun in your home!”
JULIET HUDDY: “Well I was gonna say when I was in my In my early twenties I had a stalker. A lot of people have that situation whether they are on TV or not on TV. And I remember feeling so vulnerable. And I just remember constantly going to sleep at night wishing that I could go over and grab my dad’s gun. You know? And keep it behind my bed. You know the knife? The butcher knife in the kitchen wasn’t gonna work for me. You know?”
SPENCER: “I have two kids. I would never want a gun in the house.”
MCCARTHY: “I’ve been in circumstances like Sherri where, you know people tried to break in and I’m with my son going, “I wish I had something to protect myself with.””
SHEPHERD: “I think that’s the thing when you’re standing there and if you’ve ever been in that situation where you have children and you go what do I have?”
MCCARTHY: “I used to think like you.”
SHEPHERD: “I used to think like you too. When you’re sitting there going-“
SPENCER: “What changed you?”
MCCARTHY: “That happened to me. They were trying to get in and I felt out of control and I had a child, and I was thinking to myself I wish I had a gun and I wish, you know, I have it very well protected now. There’s no way. Locked up.”
SHEPHERD: “Locked up, go to the gun range, know how to use it. There was a man who broke into a woman’s house. She was up in the attic. She had her two twins. He, as soon as he put his face in the attic she shot him. I betcha he’ll never try to break into that woman’s house again.”
MCCARTHY: “Long story short, don’t come at me and Sherri’s house!”  

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Great speech by Congressman Thomas Massie: "Day 3 - Washington Under Siege"

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My newest piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer: "Armed doctor saved lives"

My newest piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer starts this way:

On Thursday afternoon, Dr. Lee Silverman undoubtedly saved many lives. Using a handgun, the Delaware County psychiatrist stopped what both police and the district attorney described as a certain mass killing at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital. 

The attacker, Richard Plotts, is a convicted felon, which bans him from legally owning a gun. But Pennsylvania's universal background check law did not stop him. Neither did the hospital's signs banning guns. 

The proposed federal law on expanded background checks that President Obama continually pushes is similar to Pennsylvania's and would not have stopped Plotts either. Indeed, it is hard to see how it would have stopped any of the other mass shootings during his presidency. 

At Mercy Fitzgerald, caseworker Theresa Hunt was killed when Plotts opened fire during a regularly scheduled appointment with Dr. Lee Silverman. Fortunately, the doctor had his own gun and returned fire, hitting Plotts three times and critically wounding him. 

After firing all the bullets in his gun, Plotts still had 39 bullets on him, bullets that he could have used to shoot many other people. Silverman's three hits, however, made it possible for two other hospital employees to tackle the wounded attacker and secure his .32-caliber revolver. Plotts has since been charged with murder and attempted murder. 

Yeadon Police Chief Donald Molineux was clear: "Without a doubt, I believe the doctor saved lives. ... Without that firearm, this guy [Plotts] could have went out in the hallway and just walked down the offices until he ran out of ammunition." . . .

The rest of the piece is available here.

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Median Household Income still much lower today than it was when the recession ended!

Click figure to enlarge.  The original figure is available here.

It is one thing to say that the economy is worse than before the recession hit.  It is another to say that we are lower now than when the "recovery" started.

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Federal Judge Strikes Down DC's ban on concealed handguns, for non-residents DC is at least temporarily a constitutional carry area

A copy of the decision and some analysis of it along with key quotes is available here.

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Obama correctly insisted for years that he had absolutely no legal authority to slow deportations on a broad scale, well forget about that

Remember Obama's repeated public claims that he had no legal authority to ignore immigration law and purposely slow deportations?  Presumably he repeatedly made that promise because he didn't want to scare voters that he might do something radical.  Well, now that he no longer faces voters again, that repeated point is being ignored.  From Politico:

Obama’s pledge to use his executive powers by the end of the summer marked both a dramatic reversal in rhetoric and a major strategic shift on immigration. The president is no longer emphasizing his own powerlessness but rather his determination “to fix as much of our immigration system as I can on my own, without Congress.” 

The administration is examining how far it can go, legally and politically, to protect millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation. Despite the flow of young Central American children across the southwestern border, Obama remains committed to taking significant action, according to senior advisers and advocates who have attended recent meetings with White House officials. 

In other words, Obama has signaled that he intends to do exactly what he’s long said he’s unable to do. . . .

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Obamacare: Jonathan Gruber blatantly lying about whether federally run health insurance exchanges get a subsidy

It is rare for a prominent academic to so blatantly lie repeatedly for purely political purposes.  Unfortunately, for MIT's Jonathan Gruber there are videos to prove it.  Here is a video of Gruber in January 2012 where he makes it completely clear that only state run insurance exchanges get federal subsidies (see discussion starting at 31:55 in video):

JONATHAN GRUBER: What’s important to remember politically about this is if you're a state and you don’t set up an exchange, that means your citizens don't get their tax credits—but your citizens still pay the taxes that support this bill. So you’re essentially saying [to] your citizens you’re going to pay all the taxes to help all the other states in the country. I hope that that's a blatant enough political reality that states will get their act together and realize there are billions of dollars at stake here in setting up these exchanges. But, you know, once again the politics can get ugly around this.

It is crystal clear that the subsidy was limited to only state run insurance exchanges to force states to set up their own exchanges.

Well, that was then and this is now.  This past week on MSNBC Gruber can be seen claiming that there was never any intention to limit federal subsidies to state run exchanges and that the exclusion of the subsidy was just a result of an unintentional "typo" (video available here, transcript from Grabien).

MATTHEWS: "Why would Democrats put in a poison pill that says, 'oh, if you don't have a state exchange you can't give subsidies and you can't have the individual mandate so the bill is dead.' Why do that? Where is the logic?" 

GRUBER: "Someone wrote today a clever thing. When we fight about the Constitution we wonder what the framers really mean. We don't have to wonder. We know what the framers meant. We can ask them. We can go to the people who wrote it and say did you ever intend this as a poison pill or is it a typo every single one says it's a typo? And every single one of them will say this is just a typo. So there is no mystery here. There is no wondering about original intent in writing the law. This is just a typo. And if the courts pass it and it makes it to the Supreme Court, we are talking about 7 million Americans who would become uninsured because of this typo, if they really interpret it this way. It's just crazy."

Gruber is racking up a long list of whoopers:  promises that Obamacare would "for sure" lower health insurance costs, hiding that he was being paid $400,000 from the Obama administration to help work on and promote Obamacare while pretending to be a purely independent analyst, and possibly changing his positions on health care issues after he started working for the Obama administration.

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Fortunately, doctor with a gun critically wounded shooter who attacked hospital, gun-free zone sign didn't stop attack

This attack apparently occurred in a gun-free zone.  Here is a great quote from the Philadelphia Inquirer:

"There's a sign on the door that says you have to check your weapons at the front," she said, "But you can't expect every crazy person to do that."

From Fox News about an attack at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital in Darby, PA that was stopped by Dr. Lee Silverman:

A doctor who was grazed by gunfire from a patient in his office at a suburban hospital on Thursday helped stop him by apparently returning fire with his own weapon and severely injuring him, but not before a caseworker was killed, authorities said. 

The patient opened fire after entering the office with the caseworker, District Attorney Jack Whelan said. Witnesses reported hearing yelling before the gunshots. 

Several hours after the shooting, investigators had only limited information on what happened inside the closed office but believe the doctor, a psychiatrist, "from all accounts, would have acted in self-defense," Whelan said. 

The doctor, who suffered a graze wound to his head, "faced a situation where his life was in jeopardy," Whelan said. . . . 

Another doctor and a caseworker were among those who helped wrestle the patient to the floor of a hallway and grabbed his weapon after he had already been critically wounded from several gunshots, Whelan said. . . .

It seems extremely likely that this doctor was one on the almost 900,000 concealed handgun permit holders in Pennsylvania.  The Associated Press has information on how important that it was that the doctor was armed:

. . . Yeadon Police Chief Donald Molineux said that "without a doubt, I believe the doctor saved lives."

"Without that firearm, this guy (the patient) could have went out in the hallway and just walked down the offices until he ran out of ammunition," the chief said. . . .

From Channel 13 WGME there is information on how the attack started:

. . . The caseworker killed at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital on Thursday afternoon was Philadelphia resident Theresa Hunt. Authorities say she had accompanied Plotts to an appointment with Silverman at a psychiatric crisis center next to the hospital in Darby, just southwest of Philadelphia. . . .

CBS News has some more details:

The patient, who had psychiatric problems, opened fire after entering the doctor's office with a caseworker Thursday afternoon, Whelan said. The female caseworker was killed. The doctor appears to have suffered only a graze wound and was expected to be released from treatment later in the day. 

Authorities have not publicly identified the gunman or his two victims. CBS Philly reports Whalen said the gunman was shot three times. Both the doctor and the suspect were taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for treatment, according to the station. . . . 

The name of the attacker appears to be Richard Plotts. 

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Fortune Magazine completely mangles story on gun sales "declining"

Fortune magazine's Laura Lorenzetti makes a lot of logical mistakes in her "news" article here.

It looks like Americans may be buying fewer guns this year. 

Smith & Wesson  SWHC , the 162-year-old gunmaker, lowered its guidance for the quarter and rest of the year, even as it reported better than expected sales in its fiscal fourth quarter that ended Apr. 30. Shares of Smith & Wesson’s stock had dropped nearly 9% by the close of trading Friday following the announcement. 

The company reported sales of $170 million in its fourth quarter, higher than the average analyst estimate of about $164 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue was almost 5% less than the year-earlier quarter. . . . 

The once high-selling gun industry may be facing a comedown as incidents of gun violence have soared this year. There has been an average of almost one school shooting every week for the past year and a half, the Washington Post reported earlier this month. . . .

Does reporter Laura Lorenzetti have any idea how inaccurate the Bloomberg claim is that there was one school shooting every week for the last year and a half?  The claim that increased gun violence is responsible for a drop in sales makes many errors.  Does a sales drop for Smith & Wesson imply an overall drop in gun sales?  No.

So what do the NICS checks numbers show on gun sales (click on screenshot to enlarge it)?  NICS checks are not a perfect measure of gun sales, but it is hard to see how its biases have changed in a systematic way this past year.

With the exception of background checks in January and February, 2014's background checks exceed those in 2013 and they are well ahead of those in 2012 for all months.  Fortune incredibly fails to even mention the explosion of gun sales right after Newtown and President Obama's re-election.  Does anyone believe that January and February sales in 2013 were normal sales to make comparisons with?  Even if Smith & Wesson's sales might be down for the last quarter, sales for the entire industry during the April through June quarter look like they are still higher than 2013.  How the Fortune reporter can spin a discussion from one gun maker into a general commentary on the entire gun industry is pretty disappointing.

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Very amusing piece by Chris Friend on "Seeing red over Indian nickname debate"

The piece starts this way, but I strongly recommend that you follow the link and read the entire article:

Life is good. 

Summer is in full swing, the Trayvon/Zimmerman soap opera is finally fading away, government is probably reading only half our emails now, and the excitement of football is in the air. 

Most important, though, is that America apparently has solved all of its problems. Otherwise, how could you possibly explain the fact that a cadre of congressman — both Republican and Democrat — recently sent a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder, every league team, and Redskins sponsor FedEx urging them — demanding, actually — that the Redskins name be changed because it was so racially demeaning to Indians. Oops. Native Americans. 

Sorry. 

Really? That’s the most dominant issue consuming our elected officials? Granted, if we had an Indian nickel for every boneheaded thing Congress does, we’d all be millionaires. But those congressmen need to be scalped for this one, and publicly admonished until they turn red-faced with embarrassment. 

This is no time for peace pipes. We must, without reservation, not just hold down the fort but go to war with those riding roughshod over hallowed American traditions — fighting the people who love nothing more than to chop away at things no one actually finds offensive. As with most issues though, we lack a political chief brave enough to tackle this type of political correctness. The biggest irony? If a leader painted this picture as the insanity that it is, it wouldn’t be his last stand, but a feather in his cap, because the vast majority of Americans recognize that using Indian names isn’t offensive, but complimentary. . . . 

 The rest of the piece is available here.

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East Tennessee family restaurant posts "Guns are Welcome"

From WBIR in eastern Tennessee:

Gun control is a hot topic across the country, and one East Tennessee restaurant owner is making her opinion very clear by posting a 'Guns are Welcome' sign on the front door of her family-friendly establishment.

"As the owner, I wanted to stand my ground. I have that constitutional right. If you like it, that's great, if you don't, I'm sorry for you. I can't change who I am," said Sharma Floyd, with Shiloh Brew and Chew.

Floyd said she posted the signs about a month ago after reading a story out of North Carolina.

"They had put up a sign that said 'No Weapons Allowed' and they were robbed at gunpoint two days later. The convenience store manager was shot," said Floyd. "And that got me thinking. I lost a whole group of motorcyclists because they thought I didn't allow weapons. But I believe it's ok to carry as long as you have a permit."

The restaurant does not sell liquor, and Floyd said she asks anyone who orders a beer if they are carrying. . . .

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Obama uses Russia's actions in the Ukraine to ban importation of AK-47s

The day before the tragic shooting down of a passenger airline the Obama administration banned the importation of AK-47s from Kalashnikov company.  Here is the Treasury order:

374. If I own a Kalashnikov product, is that product blocked by sanctions?  Am I able to resell a Kalashnikov product at a gun show or other secondary market?  

If a U.S. person is in possession of a Kalashnikov Concern product that was bought and fully paid for prior to the date of designation (i.e., no payment remains due to Kalashnikov Concern), then that product is not blocked and OFAC sanctions would not prohibit the U.S. person from keeping or selling the product in the secondary market, so long as Kalashnikov Concern has no interest in the transaction.  New transactions by U.S. persons with Kalashnikov Concern are prohibited, however, and any property in which Kalashnikov Concern has an interest is blocked pursuant to OFAC’s designation of Kalashnikov Concern on July 16, 2014.  If a U.S. person has an inventory of Kalashnikov Concern products in which Kalashnikov Concern has an interest (for example, the products are not fully paid for or are being sold on consignment), we advise that U.S. person to contact OFAC for further guidance on handling of the inventory. [7-16-2014]

Of course, these aren't the military versions of the AK-47 that are used in wars around the world, but civilian semi-automatic versions of the guns. 

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Follow up on Philadelphia mother who unintentionally violated New Jersey's gun laws

The penalty for this mother of two children is out of all proportion to any possible harm that she did.  The point of these laws in New Jersey is to make people so afraid of violating the laws that they are worried about owning guns.  More background on the case is available here.  The new article from Fox News:

Allen, who has no prior criminal record, said she acquired the gun legally just a week prior to her arrest. She was headed to Atlantic City, N.J., in the early-morning hours to prepare for her son’s birthday party, which was being held three days later. 

“I was bringing a cake and the dog to the hotel room to surprise him,” she said. “That’s what I was doing out there and I got pulled over at 1 in the morning because I was sleepy and I swerved.” 

Allen purchased the gun for protection after being robbed twice in the past year, she said, adding that she never even fired it and feels somewhat snake-bitten by the entire ordeal.
“It’s definitely a freak thing,” she said. “I was trying to do a good thing and it turned out so bad — and just like that. I don’t know how to explain it, I really don’t.” 

Allen reiterated that she immediately told the officer she had a gun in her 2007 Chevrolet sedan, as well as a concealed carry permit for neighboring Pennsylvania. 

“The officer knew there was a gun there, she was completely honest and open,” her attorney, Evan Nappen, said. “There are no aggravating factors in this case; she’s a single mom of two, working in the medical field who was robbed twice and that’s what inspired her to get a gun license in the first place.” . . .

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Newest piece at Fox News: "Chicago violence: The buck stops with you, Rahm Emanuel"

The newest CPRC op-ed at Fox News starts this way:

Over the July 4 weekend, in Chicago alone, 16 people were shot to death and another 66 were wounded.  At a press briefing on July 11, the White House weighed in, stating that Obama would "continue to make the case" that lawmakers should adopt new gun control laws. Two days later, on Sunday, Gov. Pat Quinn also called for more gun control, in particular a state ban on assault weapons, as the solution. 

But Chicago's problems lie with the city’s politicians. Nationally, police solve almost two out of every three murders – 63 percent of them. That figure is much lower in Chicago. In 2010, right before Rahm Emanuel became mayor, the rate for Chicago was 39 percent. But by Emanuel’s second year in office, it had plunged to an official rate of 26 percent. (In reality it is even lower, because Chicago has tried to hide how bad things are by increasingly misclassifying murders as non-murders.) 

After becoming mayor, Emanuel did three unfortunate things to the Chicago police force: 

1) He closed down detective bureaus in Chicago's highest crime districts and moved them elsewhere, sometimes quite far away. 

2) Instead of increasing the number of police officers by 1,000, as he had promised during his campaign, he actually cut the number of police. 

3) He disbanded many gang task forces. . . .

The rest of the piece is available here.

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Share of permits issued to women is soaring: Tennessee and Texas

The raw Tennessee data is available here.

The raw Texas data is available here.

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House of Representatives passed a budget amendment that would have only federal gun control regulations in DC

By a 241 to 181 vote, the House passed a budget amendment by Rep. Thomas Massie limiting DC gun control laws to those passed by the federal government.  From The Hill Newspaper:

. . . Rep. Thomas Massie's (R-Ky.) amendment to the fiscal 2015 Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill, which includes a $637 million federal payment for the District of Columbia, would prohibit funding to enforce its handgun ban and other gun laws. The amendment passed 241-181. 

Massie said the District's gun laws ran counter to the Supreme Court's ruling on the issue. 

"Despite the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in District of Columbia v. Heller that struck down the D.C. handgun ban, as well as the unconstitutional gun lock provision, it's still difficult for D.C. residents to exercise their God-given rights to bear arms," Massie said.Massie said the District's gun laws ran counter to the Supreme Court's ruling on the issue. . . . .

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Detroit Police Chief credits city's huge drop in violent crime as due to surge in citizens carry guns

From the Washington Times:

Detroit has experienced 37 percent fewer robberies than it did last year, and Police Chief James Craig is crediting armed citizens for the drop. 

“Criminals are getting the message that good Detroiters are armed and will use that weapon,” said Chief Craig, who has been an open advocate for private gun ownership, the Detroit News reported. “I don’t want to take away from the good work our investigators are doing, but I think part of the drop in crime, and robberies in particular, is because criminals are thinking twice that citizens could be armed. 

“I can’t say what specific percentage is caused by this, but there’s no question in my mind it has had an effect,” he added. 

In addition to the drop in robberies, Detroit has seen 22 percent fewer break-ins of businesses and homes and 30 percent fewer carjackings in 2014 than during the same period last year, the Detroit News reported. . . .

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Young woman's life likely destroyed because of NJ's bizarre gun laws

Dallas News | myFOXdfw.com

Fox News in Dallas-Fort Worth has this story from New Jersey:

27 year-old Shaneen Allen wanted to protect her family. She took a gun safety course, applied for and was granted a concealed carry permit and she purchased a gun. 

“One of my family members, he thought it was appropriate for me to get one because I’m a single mother and I have two children and I work two jobs and I work late and getting up at that time of night I got robbed twice last year and he felt the need for me to get my license to protect me and my kids,” Allen explained. 

However, while Allen, from Philadelphia, was covered to carry a gun in Pennsylvania, she made the mistake of crossing into New Jersey with the weapon and now she's facing a mandatory minimum of three-years in jail. 

Allen said that she didn't know her permit didn't apply to New Jersey so when she was stopped for a minor traffic offense she told the police about her gun and her permit to carry. In this case, being honest may have cost her. 

“The judge tried to tell me that telling the truth messed me up, my life up and the cop said the same thing. Me opening my mouth and speaking out he said I’m one out of ten people that spoke up and was honest and that got me in trouble,” she said. 

Allen was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of hallow-point bullets which were in the gun. Under New Jersey gun laws, the illegal possession of a gun is a second-degree felony which holds a minimum sentence of three-years in prison. . . .

Note that when there was a related travesty with Brian Aitken in 2009 and 2010, Governor Christie commuted his sentence.  From the Star-Ledger:

Brian Aitken, who was convicted of illegally possessing three handguns he had legally purchased in Colorado, will be out of prison in time for Christmas.
Gov. Chris Christie commuted Aitken's sentence Monday, from seven years to time served, according to an order signed by the governor. It was Christie's first commutation since taking office almost a year ago. . . .
In 2009, Aitken was arrested for possessing three handguns and ammunition — the guns were unloaded — after state police found them in the trunk of his car. Aitken was visiting his mother in Burlington County when she became concerned about his well-being and called the police.
Aitken, who had recently moved from Colorado where he bought the guns, faced felony charges the same as if he had used the guns to commit a crime. Supporters of Aitken began a Facebook campaign to get his sentence commuted. . . . .

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The Rolling Stone Interview: Michael Bloomberg says he isn't afraid of the NRA, but should we be afraid of him?

Michael Bloomberg's interview with Rolling Stone magazine has already created its share of controversy but really just for his comments about Colorado recalling several Democrat state Senators for voting for gun control.

In Colorado, we got a law passed. The NRA went after two or three state Senators in a part of Colorado where I don't think there's roads. It's as far rural as you can get. And, yes, they lost recall elections. I'm sorry for that. We tried to help 'em. But the bottom line is, the law is on the books, and being enforced. You can get depressed about the progress, but on the other hand, you're saving a lot of lives.

But there are other bizarre claims that should be at least as controversial.  Bloomberg isn't asking people just to lock up their guns, he clearly doesn't want people to own guns.

And if you want to have a gun in your house, I think you're pretty stupid – particularly if you have kids – but I guess you have a right to do that. Someday, there is going to be a suit against parents who smoke in their houses or have guns in their houses by a kid. It's not that far-fetched. . . . 

guns are dangerous. The statistics are overwhelming. You're something like 22 times more likely to get killed in your home if you have a gun than if you don't. [Gestures at a staffer.] Let's say Amanda's trying to break in. "Excuse me, Amanda, I've gotta go get my gun to shoot you. Now, where did I put that combination to that lock? And the bullets were where? I don't know what the fuck…how do you turn the safety off?" Are you kidding me? The last thing you want to do when somebody breaks in and puts a gun toward you is try to go for a gun. That's really stupid. I don't know if you're going to get shot one way, but I guarantee you're going to get killed the other way.

About the one thing that is right here is that locking up guns, especially the way that Bloomberg wants them locked up, makes it very difficult to use defensively.  The claim about risks of guns in the home is based on completely bogus public health studies.  A brief discussion on the problems with this claim is provided in my book "More Guns, Less Crime" (University of Chicago Press, 2010, 3rd edition).

In addition, requiring that people lock up guns or reduce gun ownership does two things: 1) more criminals are emboldened to break into people homes while the residents are in the dwelling and 2) they are more likely to be successful in committing a violent crime.

Whatever one thinks of the NRA, it is clear that Bloomberg's attack on them isn't very honest.

But the NRA takes no prisoners. Put yourself in the following scenario. You're a Senator or Congressman, a Democrat. I ask you to have background checks. You say, "Mike, I can't be with you on background checks, but my opponent, the Republican, is worse." What the NRA says is, "Babes, we don't care. We're going after you. We're going after your spouse and your children and your grandchildren and your great-grandchildren. Long after you're dead, we'll still be going after you." It's hard to think these guys aren't cuckoo and wouldn't probably do it, when they say that. A rational person would consider all of my views before they make a vote – maybe he won't be happy with my gun position, but I'm so good on the others I'll probably still get his vote. But for the NRA that's not an option.

First, we already have background checks and as far as I can tell the NRA isn't trying to get rid of them.  The issue is a bill last year that Bloomberg supported and that bill included what many believed involved registration and would have affected the private transfer of guns.

Worse, this notion that the NRA appears to be just a smear.  A tougher, objective questioner would have asked for a specific example to illustrate his claim, but Simon Vozick-Levinson wasn't interested in actually questioning him.

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Is Apple where really controversial old Obama administration employees go after they leave government?

Among the major Obama administration employees Apple hired were former EPA administrator Lisa Jackson in 2013.  Jackson, who tried to hide government communication by using an EPA pseudonym "Richard Windsor," had a very controversial record.  "Windsor" was granted at least six ethics and cyber-security certifications.  From the Washington Examiner:

Among the certificates awarded to "Richard Windsor" was a Nov. 2, 2009 "Certificate of Completion" for "E-mail Records Management." Jackson had only been appointed by President Obama as EPA's top executive a few months prior to the certification. . . . 

During the ensuing years, however, EPA IT department officials awarded additional certificates to "Richard Windsor," including three for completion of the agency's "Scholastica Decentia," the Certificate for Ethical Behavior, in 2010, 2011 and 2012. 

"Richard Windsor" was a top student of ethical behavior in 2010, compiling 100 percent scores for the "Risk" and "Cyber Threats" portions of the course, but a 50 percent score on the "EPA Information" portion dropped Windsor's total score to 83 percent. 

Jackson's use of the fake name became known in 2012 with Horner's book, The Liberal War Against Transparency, in which he made public a memo from EPA to the National Records Archives Administration describing the agency's creation of the "Richard Windsor" moniker. . . .  

Jackson resigned as EPA administrator in December 2012 shortly after her agency's inspector-general announced an investigation of the "Richard Windsor" scandal.

Now it looks like they are about to hire Former White House Press Secretary Jay Carney:

Carney would replace Katie Cotton, who stepped down from the position earlier this year. It has previously been reported that Apple is looking for an external candidate to lead its communications team in the hopes of finding someone “friendlier,” although several internal candidates were also being considered. . . . 

Carney is reportedly being considered for such roles at several companies, including Uber.

How Carney gets identified as a 'Friendlier" candidate isn't exactly obvious to me.  The other question is why anyone would trust what Carney had to say.

Apple fans are not happy about the possibility of a Carney appointment.

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Could the writers of The Bill of Rights have anticipated modern guns? Meet the auto cannon, the Puckle gun, from 1718

Click on pictures to enlarge them.

Here is a gun from 1718 that can fire 9 or so cannon shells very rapidly.  Once the principle was developed the number of shells that could be quickly fired could be increased even more.  The Puckle gun was developed long before the Gatling gun in 1862.  If a auto cannon was developed well before The Bill of Rights, how could it be claimed that they couldn't foresee machine guns and other modern weapons?

It is pretty clear that the Royce Wilson article has a typo/error when it says that metallic cartridges weren't developed until the 1950s.

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New Tennessee law allows loaded guns in vehicles without requiring concealed handgun permits

From WJHL TV in Johnson City, Tennessee:

No permit necessary that's the new law for people in Tennessee who want to carry a loaded gun in their car.
The law took effect July 1st and is an extension of the castle doctrine, that's the law that allows home owners to have guns on their own property.
Proponents of the legislation area saying a person’s car is an extension of their home.
"I have no problem with the law I voted for it and I think if you're a law abiding citizen as with many other issues in our country the government needs to stay out of your business and let you carry that constitutionally guaranteed weapon," said State Representative Tony Shipley.
Law enforcement opinions vary across the state.
But the Washington County Tennessee Sheriff's Office agrees with the legislation.
"We will do whatever state legislator and what the law states and says for us to do. And as of right now it's a new law there are some people from the other end of the state that do not agree with the law but we're comfortable with it," said Washington County Captain Bryan Horton.
As for traffic stops while some have safety concern, Horton said for their department, nothing will change. . . .

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Latest concealed carry permit numbers for Arizona

The numbers are available here.

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Estimated Second Quarter GDP growth implies that Weather wasn't the reason for the drop in 1st quarter GDP

GDP fell at an annual rate of 2.96 percent in the 1st quarter.  To make that up, just to get back to where we were at during the end of December, would require a 3.1 percent increase in the 2nd quarter.  But that would leave us with zero growth over the first half year.  But if the shrinking GDP in the first quarter was just a temporary aberration from weather, we should easily make that up and be back up to at least the meager annual growth rate of 1.8 percent we have experienced during the Obama "recovery."  From The Hill:

Business economists have lowered their estimates for economic growth in the second quarter following news of a significant contraction during the first three months of the year. 

The April to June forecast fell to 3 percent from a 3.5 annual rate in June, according to a special survey released Friday by the National Association for Business Economics (NABE). 

The forecast change is due mostly to a late June report showing that the economy shrank at a 2.9 percent pace in the first quarter. . . .

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Last year Government gave $100B to people likely not entitled to receive them, congress thinks that the waste is greater

So much for Obama controlling waste and fraud.  From Politico:

By its own estimate, the government made about $100 billion in payments last year to people who may not have been entitled to receive them — tax credits to families that didn’t qualify, unemployment benefits to people who had jobs and medical payments for treatments that might not have been necessary. 

Congressional investigators say the figure could be even higher. 

The Obama administration has reduced the amount of improper payments since they peaked in 2010. Still, estimates from federal agencies show that some are wasting big money at a time when Congress is squeezing agency budgets and looking to save more. 

“Nobody knows exactly how much taxpayer money is wasted through improper payments, but the federal government’s own astounding estimate is more than half a trillion dollars over the past five years,” said Rep. John Mica, R-Fla. “The fact is, improper payments are staggeringly high in programs designed to help those most in need — children, seniors and low-income families.” . . .

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Jimmy Fallon makes a joke about Obama abusing executive actions

FALLON: "Here is some news out of Washington.  House Speaker John Boehner is threatening to sue President Obama for using executive actions to create laws instead of going through Congress first.  And Obama just shrugged and made a new law saying you can't sue the president.  [Fallon pretending to be Obama] I can do this all day Boehner."

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Ann Coulter and Ted Nugent's reading level of their tweets higher than WaPo's Greg Sargent or NYT's David Leonhardt

A measure of reading level of tweets is available here.  Some amusing comparisons are here.  Possibly the level that people write at might be one very rough measure of intelligence.  With actor Jim Carrey juvenile humor, it probably isn't too surprising that his tweets are at a 3rd grade level.  Or that Kanye West tweets at the 4th grade level.  But it is more interesting to compare some political commentators.  Ann Coulter is at the 8th grade level of reading, but the Washington Post's Greg Sargent is at 3rd grade.  Fox News has a higher level of posts than CNN, CBS, and NBC, but the same as MSNBC.  I have looked at a number of columnists at the Washington Post and they are usually at the 7th grade level of reading, again a little below Coulter and the same as Ted Nugent's.  Both also score higher than the WaPo's Greg Sargent, NYT's David Leonhardt, or Justin Wolfers.

Of course, at least over some range, some could argue that being able to make more complicated ideas simpler is actually more difficult.  I am not sure if this could explain a 3rd grade level of reading, but I am open to a discussion.

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