On The Radio for About 25 Seconds

I was listening to AM talk radio in the car on the way home, when I hear Steve Martorano, the conservative talk radio station's token liberal, say something along the lines of, "The NRA is a lobbyist group, representing the gun manufacturers."  I couldn't let that stand, without a counterpoint.  The NRA may take money from manufacturers, but the organization's raison d'etre is to represent the millions of American gun owners that pay dues to the NRA to give them a voice in Washington D.C., and as of late, in the UN Arms Trade Treaty conferences. It's not a capitalist organization, whose sole existence is to keep Colt, Rock River, and Kel-Tec in business, which I'm fairly certain is the notion that Mr. Martorano was trying to pass off as truth.

So, I called in.  After waiting on hold for maybe 12 minutes I got put on the air, without a queue or warning I  might add, to express my dissatisfaction.  Martorano tried to make it sound like I misunderstood what he said; that what he meant was that the gun industry indirectly benefits from the actions of the National Rifle Association.  That was about it.  The line just went dead after I said that he was misrepresenting the truth.

So I guess I got maybe 25 seconds of my 15 minutes of fame.

Shooting Rampage in England. Bobbies Unarmed and Helpless To Stop It!!!

John R. Lott on shooting
BBC news story on Derrick Bird shootings in Cumbria

An unarmed police officer hears shots, and goes to investigate.  He got into a passing car and followed the suspect, who had gotten into a taxi.  The first Bobby was joined by two other unarmed officers, who joined chase in a police van.

The suspect, Derrick Bird, killed 12 and wounded 11, on a shooting spree in Cumbria, before finally eating a bullet.  The police, not having any firearms, couldn't do much more than watch, and try to give aid to the victims.  It's not their fault.  It's the ridiculous idea that's spread through the U.K., that there's something wrong with self-defense, or the defense of others, particularly with a firearm.  That they haven't figured out that it's not working, is rather sickening.  We need to be sure not to let this happen here.