On Thu, 3 Sep 2009 20:40:08 -0600, the infamous Steve Ackman
scrawled the following to
the non-mayorial Huntress:

Went to Canyon de Chelly today. Didn't see a single
person out of the dozen or so tourists carrying. ;-)

That's one nice walk, isn't it? Did you hike up to the ceremonial
area and go inside the kiva? Powerful! Lew and his lovely wife were
kind enough to put me up for the night when I was out exploring new
places to live, but Albu was way to BIG/cold/hot/windy/dusty for me.
I had no idea it had a million people in it.

There were likely no carriers out there, but ya woon't have seen 'em
if they carried concealed anyway. (or was that the reason for your
smiley?


I've also spent weeks in and around Phoenix, and
Scottsdale, where a guy named Huntress used to be the mayor. Yes, he's a
relative.

Hope his politics were different than yours.

g

Two of us in the group of four were carrying, as I recall. We were the two
who were hunting javelina with handguns. We didn't see another person for a
week.

So, other people of like mind were NOT intimidated
by your open carry. Therefore carrying a loaded
weapon in and of itself is not intimidating.

Careful, you'll start to make sense to poor Ed.


The circumstances -- being out in a remote area with some guys I knew,
hunting -- were hardly intimidating. Attending a political rally of angry
people, some of whom are carrying guns, is a lot more unsettling.

If you say it's unsettling TO YOU, I'll have to
grant you that. To omit the caveat is to assume you
know how everyone else is feeling.

Excellent point.


You carry a gun with the intention, or the possibility, that you're going to
shoot it.

If it's a political statement, there is no such intent.
Possibility... well, that's sort of a circular argument
isn't it. There's obviously no possibility of shooting
a gun not in your possession.

Isn't "intent" more like when he has it in his hands and the muzzle is
tracking targets? Slung on his back, muzzle at the ground, seems
mighty peaceable. I wonder how he feels about loaded backpacks and
their "intent". (What say, Ed?)

Anyway, the only threat was a veiled "We're out here, Mr. & Mrs.
Politician, and we're getting awfully antsy with your actions of late.
Please stay in line and heed our wishes, Mr. Public Servant, or we'll
have to steer you with a firmer hand." What was Gunner's quote
regarding public outcry? "From the soapbox, to the ballot box, to the
cartridge box." This guy was a visual cue, a precursor, for that
statement's logical outcome...since they haven't taken the first two
cues to heed. shrug



It wasn't a fashion accessory.

Unless it was. You don't know. Maybe he looked
at his camo AR, his pink AR and his purple AR and
decided against all of them in favor of his black
one, based on what he was going to wear.

Nah, he couldn't have thought that, as the pink one was an AK.


You say you "imagine" that the man was trying to say something. What do
you
suppose he was trying to "say"?

I don't know exactly. That's the problem with non-
verbal communication, hence the word "imagine."

Yeah, now you're getting it. There's a man with a gun at a political rally,
and you just don't know what he's doing in that situation, do you?

I never know what anyone is going to do in any
situation. I could go to the post office and a cop who
used to work there could go postal.

Ed must have been on the Brady site earlier. I'm sure he normally
would have said "armed civilian", not "OH MY GOD, A MAN WITH A GUN!"


Neither did the guy
in New Hampshire who gave some interviews.

Most likely he was simply demonstrating that he was
aware of his right, in which case the message might
have read something like, "I LOVE this country we live
in where I have this right! A right not exercised is
a right waived, and I'm making sure *I* won't be part
of those inclined to let such a right lapse."

Maybe we should let random civilian visitors carry when they visit the White
House on tours. You think?

(That might make the President consider who he serves more frequently,
might it not, Ed? Heavens, we wouldn't want _that_!)


Since when was it in our power to allow such a
thing? "We" have absolutely ZERO input into whether
people are allowed to carry in the White House or not.
Your questions are getting more and more ridiculous.

I mean, they'd just be exercising their right, correct?

Yes.

How about at a high school football game? You have a great view from the
stands. You could adjust the elevation on your 'scope while you watch the
hated opponents score a touchdown. That only makes sense, doesn't it? And it
would make quite a statement to the opposing quarterback.

That would be brandishing, not to mention assault.
You're just getting more and more ridiculous.

Yeah, that nails it. He's gone over the the Dark and Brady side of
the Force. tsk, tsk, tsk


Or he might have been exhibiting signs of a mid-life
crisis much like other guys might buy a big bike, or a
fast convertible in which case the message might have
been more like, "Hey, look at me... I've got enough
money I can throw it away on a tool that'll probably
never be used in the contingency for which it was
purchased... but dayum, don't I look good carryin' it!"

You never know. And that's the problem. Let's hope he doesn't get all worked
up and angry, attending a highly emotional rally and with all those
two-legged targets out there who (in the Arizona case) are Obama supporters
and who want to...well, you'll see below what he thinks they want to do, and
what he thinks should be done about it.

So you're saying that since Liberals have been known
to bite strangers' fingers off, you think "we" should
prevent all liberals from attending health rallies. Or
just liberals with teeth? Or just disarm them before
they're allowed to attend? I don't quite see where you
draw the line.

Jody Miller is in fine form here. Since I don't watch TV, I had to
googlit when you mentioned the finger. This was one of the hits.
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/mithridate-ombud/2009/09/03/obamacare-supporter-bites-finger-elderly-man


So, here are the bald facts that only a moron or a juvenile fool would deny.

Hmmm... very ad hominem flavor. As I wrote to Don
a bit earlier, only the weakest arguments are bolstered
with ad hominem. I can see you are already becoming
less and less convinced with what you write.

Hmm, wasn't he just railing on me for that? Interesting!


These "tools," such as the AR15, or William Kostric's 9mm S&W, are designed
to kill people, period.

Those particular models... probably so, or at least
they're derived from designs designed to kill people.

Guns were designed for war and hunting game. Machine guns and AR-type
models have enhanced designs for soldiers for killing the enemy.
AR-type models are also primarily collected for DEFENSIVE use. (If
several people attack you at your house, would you rather have
Grandpa's old bolt-action single-shot .22 or a nice .223 AR-15 to
defend yourself, your family, and your property?)


I'm not entirely sure (and neither are you) that
firearms at the start weren't designed to kill game.

Has anyone else here used a tool designed for one thing to accomplish
another task it wasn't designed for, or is that just a wild thought?
Nobody has a bent or broken knife or screwdriver, at least? Besides,
Kostric wasn't -using- his tool. He was displaying it in hands-off
fashion as a visual cue.


It isn't why
they carry handguns on city streets, open or concealed. Oh, and Gunner uses
his for drilling holes in leather belts, but he's kind of strange in more
ways that one, as we know. g

(Why this protracted hard-on for Gunner lately, Ed?)


Whatever "statement" they're making hinges on the fact that these "tools"
are for killing people. Period.

(Well, paper targets, bottles, and cans can all have a collective sigh
of relief from now on, Ed. Thank you for that.)


We have an unfortunate set of memories about guns in
those circumstances. If we have anything like normal emotions,

(Yeah, those circumstances were tough on Presidents Lincoln and
Kennedy, but they also bred things like Mr. Brady and her campaign to
eradicate guns from the face of the Earth.)

Now would someone please intervene in New Jersey? Ed's gone over!

--
It's a great life...once you weaken.
--author James Hogan