The NRA's enemies

Having an "enemies list" is typically a sure sign that an individual or an organization is surely on the way to jail or irrelevance.  The NRA may prove to be the exception, but if listening to Wayne LaPierre didn't make you think its leadership is batshit crazy, what do you think of this?

So, what put the Royals, Chiefs and Rams in the NRA's, uh, crosshairs? After a series of failures, the state of Missouri in 2003 passed a law that allows individuals to apply for a permit to carry a concealed weapon. The Royals, Chiefs and Rams — quite understandably — didn't want to encourage fans to pack heat at ballgames.

Combat zones

Safer than Connecticut?  A true story in gun control.

Spittle flecked and dangerous

The Secret Service is so overwhelmed by threats against the president and his family that the agency may have to stop investigating financial crimes, according to a report in the Boston Globe.

The Southern Poverty Law Center says that antigovernment militias and white supremacist groups have strengthened in recent years, responding to an increasingly diverse population and what they see as an expanding government.

A center study released in August found a nearly 35 percent growth in racially based domestic hate groups since 2000 - from 602 to 926. The center concluded that opposition to Obama’s election has only increased the phenomenon.

“A key difference this time is that the federal government - the entity that almost the entire radical right views as its primary enemy - is headed by a black man,’’ the report said. “One result has been a remarkable rash of domestic terror incidents since the presidential campaign, most of them related to anger over the election of Barack Obama.’’

Threatening language has also found its way into talk radio broadcasts and social networking websites, raising fears that individuals not normally considered threats to the president could be incited to violence.

For example, the Secret Service in recent months has investigated a poll posted on Facebook about whether Obama should be killed. It has interviewed a Florida radio talk show host after a caller mentioned ammunition, target practice, and the president, and federal officials have raised concerns about several instances in which protesters carrying weapons showed up at Obama events, including a man at an August town hall in New Hampshire.

I'm sure Meghan McArdle and other libertarians will find this phenomenon encouraging since now we'll be able to identify whom we need to argue with calmly at presidential appearances.

From his cold, not quite dead hands

The Jews were coming to get his guns, so he shot a black man. The Times reporters can explain why this "lone wolf" did it, but they can't seem to wrap their head around how.

Local and federal authorities in Washington said Thursday that they were focusing on Mr. von Brunn’s intentions and how he got the rifle. Because of his felony conviction in the crime at the Federal Reserve, he was prohibited by federal law from buying or possessing a gun. But Mr. von Brunn could have had the rifle, described by the authorities as “an older weapon,” since well before his conviction.

Mr. von Brunn brought a .22-caliber rifle and a .30-30 rifle when he moved into an apartment in Annapolis, Md., two years ago, according to the affidavit. The police recovered the .30-30 as well as ammunition for a .22 from his bedroom after the museum attack.

Um, google "ashcroft gun shows," okay? It may lead you right back to your own newspaper!

No word yet on the NRA's statement deploring...

"My baby"

The enemy of Mickey Maus is my friend. I like Joe Biden more and more.